The greatest stroke of genius to boost the morale of the Horde in World of Warcraft is nothing more than a coincidence. That is the funny truth about “Zappy Boi”.
A few days ago, when the new WoW cinematic “Old Warrior” was released, players of World of Warcraft were excited.
There was not only clear resistance against Sylvanas’ decision to set Teldrassil on fire, but also a popular meme from the community was revived. The troll Zekhan, better known in the community as “Zappy Boi” (or “Zappi Boi” or “Zappy Boy”), is, however, nothing more than a coincidence.
Where does Zappy Boi come from? In the official intro cinematic of “Battle for Azeroth”, a troll shaman can be seen casting a chain lightning and standing out among the other warriors of the Horde.
The community quickly picked up this troll and made him a symbol of the Horde. Memes with titles like “Fight for the Horde, fight for Zappy Boi” were created, but also the “Who would win?” meme, where Greymane faces off against the shaman.
Skepticism and joy in the community. When the cinematic “Old Warrior” was released a few days ago, the player base was instantly skeptical. Did Blizzard just include the troll after he became so popular on Reddit? Was this a clever stroke of genius to first stir up the community with the “Warbringer: Sylvanas” and then calm them down again with the new video featuring “Zappy Boi”?
Blizzard confirms coincidence. In the official forum, community manager Ythisens has now confirmed that the whole hype around Zappy Boi was a pure coincidence. The “Old Warrior” cinematic was already finished long before players even had the chance to see the intro to Battle for Azeroth. “We had no way to predict this. Just luck then? If you want to call it that.”
In FIFA 19 there is a new fun mode where many rules are set aside. This is “No Rules” in the new Kick-off.
A mode full of variety: Among the biggest innovations in FIFA 19 is the new Kick-off mode. In this mode, you can play all kinds of different matches with self-chosen rules against the computer or your friends, with the “No Rules” option in Kick-off surely being one of the most exciting.
This is “No Rules” in the Kick-off of FIFA 19
How do I start No Rules? In the new Kick-off, you first select the “House Rules” mode. There you will find several settings with which you can modify your gaming experience. Select “No Rules” here.
The survival mode, which was much speculated about, is also selectable in these “House Rules”:
What is special about “No Rules”? There is no offside, there are no fouls, and there are no cards. In other words, in this mode, the referee is practically blind.
This means you can let loose as you please. You can take out your opponents mercilessly without being sent off, and pass to teammates who are 10 meters offside.
The one who scores the most goals wins. The goals are counted by the referee, who does not take the rules too seriously.
Tom says: At a Kick-off event, I was able to play a match in the “No Rules” mode – and I must say, I had a wicked joy in brutally tackling the opponents non-stop. From behind, from the side – I jumped into the ball from everywhere, without any regard for whether a rival ankle was in the way.
The lifted offside rule took some getting used to, and I kept forgetting it, as it’s become second nature not to pass to an offside teammate.
However, despite these “No Rules”, there is no unpleasant chaos on the field. Primarily, tackling happens much more frequently than usual, but you can still see that football is being played.
This new mode in FIFA 19 is definitely fun. I can well imagine playing this more often with friends on the couch. And more often saying: “Look how beautifully your player is flying!” Because the collisions look really great in FIFA 19.
However, “serious” playing is not possible. No Rules is not suitable for determining the better FIFA player. It’s a fun mode that brings a fresh wind into virtual football.
What do you think of the “No Rules” mode?
With which teams and in which leagues you can tackle your opponents, you can find out here:
A player had a really great day in the tournament “Summer Skirmish” of week 4 at Fortnite. There was $86,000 prize money in just a few hours for the Underdog. The special thing was the emotional call from his father after the tournament.
What kind of tournament was it? The tournament “Summer Skirmish” is currently taking place at Fortnite. There is a total of $8 million prize money; the tournament runs over 8 weeks.
Friday and Saturday saw week 4 take place. The format was called “Hold the Throne.”
Format rewards victory, but also kills
This is how “Hold the Throne” works: 100 selected players compete against each other in several solo matches. The players should try to make it into the top 3 or to get more than “4 kills”. Because there is one point for that. For the “epic victory,” there are even 2 points.
Whoever has the most kills in a single game at the end of the tournament has conquered the throne, earns a point and a special bonus.
If a player reaches 8 points, the tournament is over.
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On the first day, Friday, the player NotVivid won the day and thus $60,000 prize money. However, the actual winner was someone else: The streamer “Reverse2k” took the throne.
Streamer makes $86,000 through special bonus
Streamer Reverse2k earns $86,000: The streamer Reverse2k finished fifth in the event. That already earned him $36,000 prize money.
However, he was on Friday the player with the most kills in a match. Thus, he sat on the throne and scooped the hefty bonus of $50,000 on top. So Reverse2k earned $86,000 in just a few hours, which is about €74,000.
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Live call with Dad: The highlight came after the tournament. His father, who had enthusiastically followed his son’s games, called him. Dad yelled: “$86,000 damn dollars? You need a damn tax advisor!”
The father knows his way around Fortnite and says: “You made more money than the winner! Vivid only got 60k! You made 26,000 more than the first. Are you crying right now?”
“Yes,” admits the streamer.
The father is apparently the biggest fan of his son and now wants to call himself “Papa2k”.
1000-follower streamer hits the jackpot
Who is Reverse2k? Reverse2k is a rather small streamer on Twitch. On July 23rd, he still had 1338 followers, as SocialBlade knows. However, the number has increased significantly in recent days. Now he has 9659 followers.
One can see the strong increase that some good Fortnite days can bring.
Won $86,000 as an “Underdog”
Even without a larger Twitch channel or eSports team involved: For the tournament, Reverse2k qualified through the limited-time mode Solo-Showdown. While the “known names” in Fortnite are directly invited, this allows non-professionals and underdogs to enter the tournaments.
Fortnite wants to become an eSport for everyone. You can see that in the prize money:
If a professional makes $86,000 in 3 hours, that is a lot, but somehow normal
If an underdog like Reverse2k earns that much money with eSport, it is a reason for him and his father to be euphoric
Slowly, it’s working out with Fortnite and eSport
What does that mean for Fortnite? Fortnite currently has an $8 million tournament running, but is still searching for the right format. Here, they experiment with different ideas from week to week.
In the first weeks, the formats failed because players played too defensively. With “Hold the Throne,” the offensive play from kills has now been rewarded more strongly. This is more attractive for the fans.
The current format provided the best tournament so far for viewers and players. Thus, it is light years away from the major disaster of the first tournament in mid-July. That had to be even canceled.
The Summer Games in Overwatch are starting soon and Blizzard is presenting new skins. Fans of D.Va and Reinhardt can be excited!
Also in 2018, for the hot season of the year, an event is returning for the hero shooter Overwatch. The Summer Games are starting anew and are enticing with new rewards. So far, skins for D.Va and Reinhardt have been revealed.
D.Va is getting the new WAVERACER skin. She is wearing significantly less clothing, appropriate for surfing, and is perfectly equipped for a beach holiday with sunglasses. The mech is also slightly modified and resembles a jet ski visually.
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On the other hand, Reinhardt is getting the Gridironhardt skin, presenting himself as a genuine football player. Who would want to stand in his path? As a player of the Gryphons Champions, he will soon stomp over the battlefields of Overwatch.
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Skins from loot boxes and for credits. As usual, there will be new skins available from loot boxes that players can earn or buy during the Summer Games. Those who already have a good stash of credits can directly purchase the desirable skins – however, the cost of the new skins is significantly higher than that of the “old” skins from previous years.
When do the Summer Games start? The Overwatch Summer Games 2018 will begin in just a few days, namely on August 9, 2018. Then they will be active for three weeks.
What’s in the Summer Games? In addition to the old and new skins of the summer games, the popular Lúcioball will also take place again. Players can once again compete against each other in 3vs3 and showcase who has the best shooting skills. Whether there will be any additional game modes is still unknown.
Are you looking forward to the Summer Games 2018 in Overwatch?
In Pokémon GO, Niantic will introduce the “PvP”, meaning player versus player battles, in 2018. This was stated in a new interview. Players have been waiting for trainer battles for over a year. The new feature is expected to arrive in Pokémon GO by the end of 2018.
Who said that? The statement comes from Anne Beuttenmüller. She is the head of Product Marketing for the region of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, which is the center of the world. She gave the interview to the Polish site “Gram.pl”.
What exactly did she say about PvP? Beuttenmüller said:
At the moment, Niantic is working on the PvP mode, which will be released soon.
The PvP mode is the next big thing in social features, and they want to deliver it by the end of 2018.
Are there already details? No, there are no details yet about how the PvP will work.
PvP battle as part of the social features in Pokémon GO
Focus is on social features: The statement about PvP is related to the current focus of Pokémon GO: social features.
They are continually working to expand and improve the features they already have. Additionally, they want to enhance the offering with further features: like PvP.
The existing social features revolve around friends, the exchange, and interaction with them. You can now trade Pokémon.
PvP has been on Pokémon GO’s to-do list since 2017
Announced for a long time: It has been known for a long time that Pokémon GO will introduce PvP battles. This has been on a to-do list alongside the trading feature, at least since 2017. There have been repeated indications from Niantic, that such a PvP feature is on the way and is seen as a part of the future of Pokémon GO.
The trading feature came out this summer 2018 – the PvP doesn’t seem far away.
However, how exactly such “one-on-one” battles will work in Pokémon GO is still not known.
Something is missing from the War of Thorns in World of Warcraft – it would have been more impressive if the burning of Teldrassil had been a surprise.
The War of Thorns has come to an end and forever changed the face of World of Warcraft. However, the big reveal did not come, as long before the pre-event, players knew that in the end, Teldrassil would be in flames. I believe that Blizzard ruined a very important, dramatic point with this. Ignorance ahead of time would have been beneficial.
Theories instead of shock: Because Blizzard announced the burning of the World Tree at BlizzCon, the War of Thorns lacked a bit of spice. It would have been much more exciting and dramatic to find out during the event that Teldrassil would be in flames.
But since this was already known in advance, it was more about the question of how exactly the tree burns down. When the big surprise failed to materialize and the “most obvious of all solutions” actually occurred, the disappointment was great.
Ignorance would have had a stronger effect. The entire event would have been much more dramatic and impressive if one did not already know about the end. Horde players would have fought eagerly at the Dark Shore, and Alliance players would have defended feverishly because the outcome would have been uncertain. This was not the case, which is why the whole war seemed a bit “in vain” – both sides knew what was at stake in the end, and that every defense was useless and was only meant to usher in Battle for Azeroth.
Datamining as the culprit? In the fast-paced age of the internet, with massive access to information and dataminers tearing apart every patch long before release, it is quite difficult to withhold information. Or is it?
In this case, I’m convinced that it wouldn’t have been so difficult. Because it would have only required a few encryptions in the game – the final cinematic, the “skybox” of the burning Teldrassil, and the one quest that Alliance players experience on the burning tree. Blizzard has already proven that they can obscure certain elements beyond recognition – for “Warbringer: Sylvanas” was in the game data since Patch 8.0 but was not extracted.
The burning Teldrassil – the reason for the excitement.
In retrospect, I wish I had not known about the downfall of Darnassus. The quest line would have had a much stronger impact if the fire had only been visible at the last moment.
In the future, I hope that Blizzard will conceal more big twists again and not reveal them in advance – even if it makes BlizzCon somewhat less exciting. Thus, the downfall of the Night Elves became somewhat less thrilling and significantly less dramatic. It lacked the shock of the unexpected; instead, a rather whiny “Why did it have to be Sylvanas?” came to the fore.
What is your opinion on this? Is it cool that you know about such big events long in advance, so you can “say goodbye” a bit? Or would it have more impact if it remained concealed until the end?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
It seems that a major cosmetics offensive is being planned for Fortnite. Dataminers have now found numerous new types of items that could end up in the cash shop. The most popular item is likely to be hats, but the Battle Bus could soon look different for everyone.
The cash shop of Fortnite is the primary source of revenue for the game. It makes sense that Fortnite is expanding it. Dataminers have recently found a number of new item categories that could make it to Fortnite’s shop.
This is what the shop looks like today – a mix of skins, pickaxes, emotes, and a glider.
This is what Fortnite’s shop looks like now
These item categories already exist in Fortnite’s shop:
Dataminers find hints of new offerings: Various data miners (via FortniteBRLeaks) have found a plethora of new categories in Fortnite’s code. These include:
The Battle Bus
Decorations for Golf Carts
Hats
Map Markers
Trails
Emotes for consumable items (such as how to react when eating an apple)
and Victory poses that you perform when you win
Some of the item categories differ from the previous ones. Players do not own the Battle Bus or Golf Carts, they would just see them differently from other players.
Many questions remain open: It is still unclear how exactly this will work. Whether the item categories will be added to the shop individually or be part of a new Battle Pass for Season 6.
It is also not known whether and when the new item categories will come to Fortnite. As always, caution is advised with datamining.
Hats in Fortnite would be a bestseller
Hats are the most popular: The biggest reactions to the news come from hats. It’s easy to imagine what cosmetic hats would look like in Fortnite. They fit best as the 5th item in a set. Already, many sets have 4 items (skin, pickaxe, glider, back bling).
At the moment, headgear is still part of the skin, but that could easily change.
In this 4-part set, it was thought it might be a Twitch pack. However, it’s probably not, this is what is in the shop today.
Player shows skins without hats
From the community (via FortniteInsider), there has already been a suggestion to implement an option to toggle hats on and off. This is already the case in “Save the World”.
Here is a redditor’s idea of how skins would look without their hats.
With “cosmetic” hats, there would definitely still be a lot of potential in Fortnite to customize the character even more.
How does Fortnite make its money?
Skins and Battle Pass are the big business: Epic makes a fortune with Fortnite. The game is essentially free-to-play, but relies on microtransactions. Anyone who wants to customize their character buys “cosmetic” items in the game’s cash shop. They do not provide any gameplay advantages.
One of the major sources of revenue is the Battle Pass for just under 10€ every 10 weeks. Millions buy this pass – the start of a season is payday for Epic Games every time. When Season 4 started on May 1, it was like a gold rush.
Players can then gradually complete the Battle Pass and receive new cosmetic items.
In the meantime, the shop in Fortnite has a changing selection of skins. It increases attractiveness that skins are not always available. This creates pressure to buy the item immediately because one does not know when it will return.
Currently, a community event is taking place in the MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria. Here, players without a founder package become plague spreaders. However, the MMORPG has not even started yet.
Event without game: Chronicles of Elyria is currently not permanently playable. Although the indie MMORPG is constantly being developed, it is not fully operational yet. Fans are still waiting for Alpha 1.
However, the intention is to involve the community more. Therefore, a 6-week event is being held: the “Searing Plague”.
Plague as a Browser Game
What kind of event is this? In the world of “Chronicles of Elyria,” this “Searing Plague” was a plague that lasted three years and spread across the land.
The plague caused eyes and throats to swell, skin to peel, and a high fever was also present – and certainly the worst part – the mouth became dry.
Additionally, the infected fell into a delirium that clouded their vision, making them unaware of how terrible they looked; with bulging eyes and all.
Scourge vs. Healing: Fans of Chronicles of Elyria are now reliving this historical event in a “community” event. It functions like a sort of browser game.
There are two bars: one symbolizes the plague, the other the healing. Depending on which bar is ahead at the end, it will affect the world.
If “Healing” wins, players can turn one of their characters into a “Plagueborn.” This character will be resistant to the plague and will pass this ability on to their children.
If the “Plague” wins, the individual servers will show signs of the plague. There will be a “Plagueland” biome, and the plague will occur more frequently.
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Incentive for “Free2Play” Players: If a player without a founder package manages to find 180 of the “Pure” seals through community links, they are considered healed and also receive a founder package. With that, they can then play Chronicles of Elyria at launch, which is still far away.
Apparently, No One Has a Problem with It
Isn’t that somewhat tricky? Even though the cash shop and the benefits there play a role in the event, it seems that hardly anyone in the community has a problem with it. Because it is unclear whether it is really that bad if the “plague” wins.
Some even seem to prefer this outcome and work towards it. Thus, the event is not perceived as “disreputable” by the community.
However, for outsiders, the event seems a bit strange, as the “healing” appears to be linked to shop elements. Such themes are always delicate in crowdfunding games. And indeed, there are also individual voices on Facebook that criticize this.
On YouTube and Facebook (via Soulbound Studios Facebook), the question is asked somewhat puzzled as to how a game can have an event that is not yet released.
However, Chronicles of Elyria is currently still a “relatively” small game and far from such harsh reactions as those triggered by Star Citizen.
Sometimes players just need to let out all their frustration that has built up over the years. A player has now called on the fans of Black Desert to do just that.
This is what happened: On Reddit, the user BullDozier1337 published a thread where users can freely complain about Black Desert. He lays down a few simple rules:
No personal attacks are allowed.
Users must write in all capital letters. THIS LOOKS LIKE THIS.
Why are people yelling? The idea is very well received among players. After all, there has been enough to get upset about in recent months:
Black Desert was plagued by hackers and some players accused Kakao Games of not doing enough about it. The publisher banned a large number of hackers in response to the criticism.
A controversial streamer became an official Kakao Games partner. Some players were not too happy about that.
Players like Black Desert, but it has its problems
The biggest criticisms of Black Desert: Players complain about completely different issues. Some players praise Black Desert to the skies, while others loudly express their frustration over the current problems with the game:
Many players are upset about the low drop rate of certain items. Some items are incredibly hard to find.
Some players are unhappy about the nerfing of the Dark Knight class. It is no longer playable in PvP.
Players are angry about the enhancement system of Black Desert. They keep trying to upgrade their gear, but it always fails. This frustration leads some players to resort to crazy rituals.
Players want Kakao Games to address the hacker problem. The game is infested with bots.
However, there are also players who don’t take themselves too seriously:
One player writes that he has been playing Black Desert for 2 months, but has absolutely no idea what he is doing and the game lets him know that all the time. Nonetheless, he cannot stop because the game is so damn much fun.
Another player simply screams to the world how much he loves the game. Finally, a game where he can invest time.
One player wants to finally play Black Desert on Xbox One and can’t wait any longer.
Idea comes from the card game Hearthstone
Successful concept. The idea of letting out one’s anger on Reddit probably comes from the subreddit for the online card game Hearthstone. There, a player already created threads 4 years ago where players could vent about the card game.
Over the years, other subreddits have picked up on the idea. In addition to the online card game Gwent, players of Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes and One Piece Treasure Cruise also use the idea to blow off steam.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
MSdossary won the final of the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 and is now the FIFA 18 world champion! Here are the details about the match, the prize money, and the winner.
It was about $400,000: From August 2 to August 4, the final matches of the FIFA eWorld Cup took place in London. The 32 best FIFA 18 players, who qualified over the past months, competed against each other in the Grand Final to share the total prize money of $400,000.
The winner alone received $250,000 – and as decided on the evening of August 4 in the final, the money goes to MSdossary in Saudi Arabia.
This is how the FIFA 18 World Cup final played out
The road to the final: The 32 qualified participants first played a group stage and then three knockout rounds to find the best PS4 player and the best Xbox One player. Participants played these matches on their preferred platform.
The final was contested by the PS4 champion and the Xbox One champion in two matches. One match on the PS4, followed by one match on the Xbox. This determined who would be the best FIFA 18 player across platforms – and thus the world champion.
The Xbox champion was Mossad “MSdossary” Aldossary from Saudi Arabia, while the PS4 champion was the Belgian Stefano Pinna.
The two final matches had rather clear outcomes:
The first match was on the PS4, Pinna’s preferred platform. The Belgian put pressure on at the start and had two good chances. MSdossary initially focused on defense and countering. In the 38th minute, MSdossary took the lead.
Right after halftime, MSdossary scored again in the 52nd minute with a header. You can see it here:
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The match ended 2:0 in favor of MSdossary. However, he truly displayed his class on the Xbox. He played extremely dominant and assuredly, leaving nothing to chance defensively and scoring in the 30th and 82nd minutes. Pinna had no notable chances on the Xbox.
After both matches, the score was 4:0 for MSdossary – he won convincingly and deservedly the FIFA 18 World Championship.
Pinna fought in the final but was ultimately outmatched
What are the prizes for MSdossary?
MSdossary can now call himself the FIFA 18 world champion, he was also awarded a trophy, received an invitation to the “Best FIFA Football Awards”, and pocketed an incredible sum of $250,000 – approximately €215,000.
However, Pinna will not grieve for long either. The runner-up receives a substantial $50,000, the semi-finalists $20,000, the quarter-finalists $10,000, and those who made it to the top 16 receive $2,500.
MSdossary with trophy
MSdossary was considered one of the top favorites beforehand. He already showed his world-class performance this year at the FUT Champions Cup in Manchester, where he became the champion. The 18-year-old represents the eSports team Rogue.
Now he follows in the footsteps of Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing, who became world champion last year and was eliminated in the quarter-finals this time, as the best FIFA player in the world. Many other top favorites, such as the Argentinian nicolas99fc or the German Megabit, were eliminated early in the quarter-finals as well.
Michael “MegaBit” Bittner was one of the favorites for the title, but he faced MSdossary in the quarter-finals, who proved unbeatable.
A total of eight Germans participated – Germany was thus by far the most represented nation. However, none made it past the quarter-finals. The German dreams were dashed early.
It was thought that Epic was planning a third exclusive deal with Twitch Prime for Fortnite. However, the set with skins from the Archetype was already in the Fortnite shop on August 5.
Update 5.8.: It has been revealed that the skins found by dataminers are not the third package for Twitch Prime. Parts of the “Archetype” set were available in the Fortnite shop for the first time today, on August 5.
This seems to rule out that the Archetype set will be distributed “for free” through Twitch Prime.
This is what the shop looks like today – a mix of skins, emotes, and a glider.
Original announcement:
Good things come in threes: There have been two deals between Twitch and Fortnite so far. Those who subscribed to “Twitch Prime” received a special loot pack containing exclusive skins for Fortnite.
This has happened twice already, and each time there was great excitement and huge demand:
It would therefore be due in August again and quite conceivable. After all, the deals have worked excellently, bringing in a lot of money and popularity.
Skins are “free” for a Twitch Prime subscription
What is special about the skins? The special thing is that they are “free” and players do not have to spend V-Bucks or Euros in Fortnite for them. The skins are obtained by subscribing or maintaining a Twitch Prime subscription.
If you want to buy a 4-piece set of skins in Fortnite, it can get relatively expensive. So the subscription is a cost-effective alternative. Additionally, the skins look quite stylish and match well together, which is important to many players.
This is the 2nd set from May
What has happened now? In the latest patch 5.1, there were some fresh cosmetic items that a dataminer (via Fortrisen) has already found and that should go live over the next few days.
Among the skins, the contents of the third Prime package for Fortnite were supposed to be included. This one:
This is supposed to be the 3rd Twitch Prime package for Fortnite – it might come in August.
4-piece set for Twitch Prime subscribers
What is included this time? The new Twitch Prime set for Fortnite could contain four parts:
A skin
A pickaxe
A glider
and a back bling
The look is modern and military-inspired.
When could this happen? It is possible that the deal will be announced in the coming days, perhaps by the end of the week. Then the Fortnite deal would start in early August.
This was the 1st set back in March
What do you have to do to access this? When the deal is active again, you proceed as follows:
You need to be a Twitch member and have an Amazon Prime account. This automatically gives you access to Twitch Prime – and thus the loot from Twitch Prime Loot.
Then you need to connect your Twitch account on the official Twitch page with Epic Games.
Once you have linked both accounts, you can claim your loot on the Twitch homepage by clicking the small crown in the top bar. You can also access it through this Fortnite Twitch Page .
Is this already confirmed? Currently, it is not yet official. It is merely the view of a leaker. However, it seems plausible.
Twitch Prime has made streamers millionaires
These Twitch Prime deals are partly responsible for the tremendous growth of Fortnite and its streamer scene. Every Twitch Prime user can donate a subscription to a streamer of their choice. In total, that adds up to tens of thousands of dollars:
What is Critical Role? In the online video format Critical Role (or the variation CelebriD&D), voice actor Matt Mercer (voice of McCree in Overwatch) takes other voice actors on a Pen&Paper adventure. Since all participants are voice actors or actors who can immerse themselves well into characters and play them, it always has a high entertainment value.
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Pen&Paper with PvP: Especially cool about this episode is that there are two different groups of players competing against each other – a ship crew of the Horde and one from the Alliance. After separate introductions, it leads to the big showdown at the end, where both groups face off against each other. This is not only exciting but also incredibly funny.
Those who are proficient in English and have a few hours to spare should watch the entire episode of CelebriD&D. Not only is Terry Crews’ performance as the Orc blacksmith fantastic, but Troy Baker (the voice of Gul’dan) is also convincing and fully embodies his role as a permanently drunken Alliance priest.
A bizarre bug has been discovered in Fortnite. Apparently, the turning speed of the “Guided Missile” depends on a graphic setting, the FPS. In addition, the Guided Missile is said to fly much faster with the keyboard.
Missile back in Fortnite this week: The “Guided Missile” has only been back in Fortnite since this week. On Tuesday, it returned with the content update 5.10.
De-buffed missile: However, the patch turned the former “Finger of Death” into a weapon that is more suitable for scouting. Almost all values were significantly reduced: including the turning speed. The missile should no longer be as agile as before.
Because the last time it was in Fortnite, the guided missile was considered so powerful that it ruined the game and was removed again after just a few days. However, it seems that the missile can be made “sharper” again.
Strange behavior detected: The Reddit user “SwordofFlame” was the first to discover the strange bug.
The missile turns noticeably sharper when the FPS limit is increased on PC. It is clear to see that the turning speed at 160 FPS is significantly higher than at 60 FPS. That could be an important advantage.
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Guided missile flies twice as fast with keyboard trick
Even more strange: Users contribute their experiences with the guided missile. This shows that the FPS glitch is not the only strange behavior of the missile. If players hold down the “W” key on PC while simultaneously pressing the “up arrow” key, the missile is said to fly twice as fast. This would make the weapon even better as a scouting tool and could also be used offensively again.
Users have taken a liking to it: In the thread, users are now discussing whether increasing or decreasing the FPS rate could bring further advantages.
Some take it with humor: The FPS bug also triggers some ironic comments. One user says, paraphrased: “This clearly makes Fortnite Pay2Win. A powerful graphics card brings decisive advantages.”
Just yesterday, the two vehicle types were removed from Fortnite after a glitch occurred. Perhaps the Guided Missile will soon share this fate and must return to the vault. Inactive items with issues in Fortnite are stored there.
In EVE Online, players have wanted a massive battle for months, where they can unleash everything they can muster. This mega-battle happened on the night of August 1st, and everyone is pretty happy that the servers held up. The battle of X47L-Q will likely go down in history as the “Largest Battle in EVE.”
The last great MMORPG: EVE Online is considered by many to be the “last great MMORPG” because more than 40 people can interact simultaneously.
EVE operates on a single massive server, where thousands of pilots are always on the move. Players trade, fight, and intrigue with and against each other. This is basically what MMORPG used to mean before WoW pretty much abolished it with the idea of “instancing.”
Titans are the most valuable ships
The preparation for war is the daily routine: Most of the time, players in EVE spend gathering resources, building bigger and stronger ships, and preparing for “the war.”
The largest ships are called “Titans.” Building one of these is incredibly expensive and labor-intensive. Player alliances work together on this. And once a Titan is destroyed, it is gone.
Of course, players handle Titans with care, pulling them back and protecting them in times of danger.
In EVE, massive power blocks are in conflict. People are furious that they lost two years ago, seeking revenge, wanting to destroy enemies, and become even more powerful. These power blocks have been building their Titans for years, growing stronger and larger until something eventually gives.
Server issues delayed the mega-battle
Last battle canceled: At the beginning of January, it seemed like the “largest battle” in EVE Online history was about to occur. However, due to server issues, this battle failed. The servers could not handle the mass of players. The game mechanics of EVE made it impossible for the battle to take place, and the parties withdrew.
Players were terribly disappointed: Why had they built up their fleets for years if there would never be a showdown?
Developer CCP explained the flop as a result of the dimensions still getting larger, but promised improvement.
Both sides go all-in
Finally, it happened yesterday: On the night of August 1st, the largest battle in history occurred. In the X47L-Q system, 3500 players gathered and fought over the Keepstar of the “Northern Coalition.” They defended their death star with everything they had. The attackers from the “Imperium” wanted to destroy it.
What is special about the battle? The special thing is not the number of pilots – it was 3500 – but the quality of the ships they brought. As PC Gamer knows, the previously most famous battle in EVE only had 200 Titans.
This battle had about 400 Titans on each side.
By the way: This was the most famous battle in EVE so far. In 2014, the “Bloodbath of B-R5RB” occurred:
“Never seen anything like this:”: PC Gamer quotes observers of the battle. They say they have never seen in 15 years of EVE that everyone went “all-in.” There had been fights before, but that two sides entered a battle with such force had never happened before.
Usually, in battles, it quickly becomes clear who is losing, and the losing side tries to minimize their losses. This time, no one withdrew, but they all went full throttle.
How much money was at stake? Real money can be used to buy the in-game currency ISK. When making this calculation, Titan losses of about $700,000 were incurred in the battle, calculated by a reddit user. About 10% of that was destroyed, so approximately $70,000.
Super fleets clash in mega-battle
How did the battle go? The attackers have a specific time window in which they can deal damage to the Keepstar, while the defenders must bridge that time. If the attackers deal enough damage, they will get the opportunity to completely destroy the Keepstar about a week later. The attackers succeeded in inflicting this damage.
The attackers, the Imperium, thus achieved their primary goal.
After that, both super fleets shot down each other’s Titans. In the end, the Imperium lost 29 Titans and the North also lost 29, depending on which battle report one believes, this varies by a few Titans for one side or the other.
But overall, the losses were balanced in terms of both sides.
What happens next? This is now the beginning of a war that will determine how well each side can compensate for its massive losses. Both sides have so many resources and pilots that the war could drag on for weeks or months.
How are the players reacting? They are first thanking for the fight (via reddit) and are relieved that CCP’s servers held up.
Note: We have supplemented the article with some information; it was originally published on 2.8.
In Destiny 2 two features will be disabled for a week this month – the transition to Forsaken may be a bit bumpy.
At the end of the summer event, unusual things are happening: Currently, the “Solstice of Heroes” event is taking place to celebrate your achievements so far as the first year of Destiny 2 comes to a close. The fun ends on August 28 with the update 2.0.0.
This update is supposed to pave the way for Forsaken: the Year 2 expansion, which will be released a week later on September 4. And as Bungie has announced, you will notice some unusual things in Destiny 2 during this “transition week.”
Or in other words: Bungie is initially breaking something with the update 2.0.0, so that the launch of Forsaken can happen.
The collections will be disabled for a week
According to Bungie, more details about the unusual things that will be in the game from August 28 to September 4 will be released in the coming weeks. They already share that the collections and Nightfall strike scoring will not be available.
Collections will be disabled: During this transition week, you will not be able to pull items from the collections in the vault. If you want to play with a specific exotic during this time, you need to ensure in advance that you have it in your possession.
What exactly are the collections? You can find the collections in the vault by switching to the “Collections” tab. There, all the exotic weapons, exotic armor, and emblems that you have already found will be listed. You can pick up the emblems for free at any time; the exotics cost 10 Legendary Shards each. In other words, if you dismantle an exotic and want it back, you can always retrieve it from the collections.
Items in the vault are not affected: Community manager dmg04 clarifies via Twitter that only the collections in the vault are affected. The items that you have stored in the vault can still be retrieved.
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Nightfall strike scoring will also not be available
Regarding the Nightfall strike, Bungie simply states that the strike scoring will not be available during the transition week. More information on the strikes and how they will change in Forsaken will be provided in the upcoming weeks.
The update 2.0.0 will not only bring new features but will also temporarily break existing ones. Bungie explains that this is necessary for the launch of Forsaken. They apologize for the dust and ask that you plan accordingly – and especially ensure that you retrieve the exotics you want to play with from the collections in time.
Since the update 2.0.0 changes weapon slots, you might want to try out one or another exotic with this change right away.
What features does the update 2.0.0 actually bring?
These features will be available to all Destiny 2 players starting August 28:
What are the Ones to Watch? The OTW cards, also known as the “Stars in Focus,” are special cards in FUT 19 that will only be available for a limited time. Only players who changed clubs in the summer can receive OTW cards. They are basically the “best summer transfers.”
The special feature of the OTW cards: They are dynamic cards. Each time an OTW player receives a TOTW card or another special card during FUT 19, their OTW card will automatically adjust to that card and remain at the higher rating.
In other words: The better the player performs in real football (and thus receives a special card from EA Sports), the better your OTW card will be throughout the season. There will then be a form boost that corresponds to the latest values.
During the major FUT 19 reveal on 4th August, EA Sports presented the first three OTW cards:
They are:
Cristiano Ronaldo: The superstar moved from Real Madrid to Juventus Turin.
Leon Goretzka: The national player moved from FC Schalke 04 to Bayern.
Thomas Lemar: The Frenchman moved from AS Monaco to Atletico Madrid.
The card design of the Ones to Watch in FUT 19 differs significantly compared to that of FUT 18. While the cards in FUT 18 were predominantly black, in FUT 19 they are quite colorful and flooded with neon colors.
Important: The ratings indicated on the OTW cards are not final yet. They may change before the release of FIFA 19.
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The new OTW cards are, by the way, not the only new feature in FUT 19. A completely new mode is coming, which replaces the online seasons. You can read all the information about the “Division Rivals” mode here:
Blizzard has clearly stated which faction in WoW has achieved victory over certain bosses. We reveal who performs better: Alliance or Horde?
This article was originally published in March 2018 and has been supplemented with a poll.
With the release of the third volume of the Warcraft Chronicles, the latest version of Warcraft lore, much of the story has been reworked and corrected from past mistakes.
For the first time, the achievements within World of Warcraft are clearly assigned to the different factions. Who has killed Onyxia? Who has cleansed the Darkshore? Whose responsibility is the death of Cho’gall?
Blizzard has provided answers to all these questions. On Reddit, the user Pywodwagon has already consumed the Chronicles and listed which faction is responsible for each heroic feat. We certainly don’t want to deprive you of this:
“Vanilla” WoW
Imperator Thaurissian is killed by the Alliance.
The Molten Core is freed by “a group of heroes” – thus neutral.
Maraudon is cleansed by the Horde.
The Darkshore is liberated by the Horde, defeating demons and ogres.
The druids from the Caves of Wailing are saved by the Horde.
The Sunken Temple goes to the Alliance. The Atal’ai trolls are defeated by Alliance heroes on behalf of the Cenarion Circle.
Jin’do and Hakkar in Zul’Gurub are defeated by the Horde on behalf of the Zandalari trolls.
Ahn’Qiraj is attacked by both factions, led by the orc Varok Saurfang. While the Horde holds the city and the ruins, the Alliance breaches the temple and kills C’thun – once and for all. He is completely dead.
Naxxramas is driven out of the Plaguelands and Kel’thuzad is killed – the assault originated from the Alliance.
The Burning Crusade
Highlord Kruul is secretly taken out by Illidan and his demon hunters shortly after the Alliance and Horde poured through the Dark Portal.
The entire Hellfire Citadel, including Kargath Bladefist and Magtheridon, is overrun and destroyed by the Horde.
The Draenei of Telredor ask the Alliance to handle the problem in the Serpent Shrine. They defeat Lady Vashj and rescue the captive Broken.
The Fortress of Storms is captured by the Horde under the command of Lor’themar after he discovers that Kael’thas has made a pact with Kil’Jaeden. However, Kael’thas does not die here, but is saved by demonic powers.
The Black Temple is attacked by a combined force of Alliance, Horde, and the troops of Shattrath. The leadership was held by Akama and Maiev.
A strike team from the Horde invades Zul’Aman and kills Zul’jin, sparing Quel’Thalas from a troll invasion.
In the Terrace of the Magisters, Kael’thas is ultimately killed by the Horde.
Meanwhile, the Alliance prevents Kil’Jaeden from fully manifesting at the Sunwell Plateau.
Varian Wrynn drives Onyxia out of Stormwind and subsequently kills her in her lair.
Wrath of the Lich King
Naxxramas is attacked jointly by Horde and Alliance. Kel’thuzad’s soul disappears this time into the Shadowlands.
The united forces of the Wyrmrest Temple, including Alliance, Horde, and dragons, defeat Malygos.
After the betrayal of the undead Putress, both factions attack Undercity. The Horde kills Varimathras and the Alliance takes out Putress.
In the Halls of Stone, the Alliance prevents the “Forge of Wills” from being used.
In the Halls of Lightning, the Horde kills Loken.
Yogg-Saron is defeated by joint troops from Horde and Alliance.
The Lich King falls to the champions of the Argent Tournament, supported by the great armies of the Horde and the Alliance.
Cataclysm
Al’akir is defeated by a joint force of Horde and Alliance, led by the Earthen Ring.
Grim Batol is freed by the Alliance and the Red Dragonflight.
Cho’gall is taken out by the Horde in the Bastion of Twilight.
Zul’Aman and Zul’Gurub are cleansed from the threat of the Zandalari trolls by “champions of the Horde and Alliance,” led by Vol’jin.
Led by the Circle of Cenarius, a joint force defeats Ragnaros in the Firelands.
Nozdormu is assisted by the Horde in killing his corrupted self Murozond.
Meanwhile, the Alliance travels back in time to secure the Dragon Soul.
Deathwing is weakened by combined forces from Horde and Alliance and then destroyed by Thrall using the Dragon Soul.
Are you satisfied with the heroic deeds attributed to your faction? Or do you think some attributions have been made to the wrong sides?
FIFA 19 introduces a new kick-off mode, the “New Kick-Off Mode”. This includes revolutionary game modes and turns virtual football on its head.
From a boring mode to a mode full of creativity: Every FIFA fan has played some kick-off matches in their life. Whether to play against friends on the couch, to try out some tactics, or just to play a little until the online friends finally arrive.
The kick-off mode from previous FIFA installments does not offer long-term motivation at all. But that is changing now: FIFA 19 overhauls the kick-off mode and revolutionizes it with varied modes!
From Champions League to Survival – These are the modes included in the new kick-off in FIFA 19
EA Sports has officially unveiled the “New Kick-off” mode in FIFA 19. It consists of several modes that we present here:
The various new kick-off modes:
Classic: A normal kick-off match, as known from the predecessors.
Europa League: You can also experience Europa League vibes in kick-off matches.
First and Second Leg: A short “kick-off tournament” that consists of first and second leg matches.
“Best of” Series: Here you can set how many games will determine the winner (3 or 5).
Cup Finals: Play the final in real cup competitions (Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup Final, etc.)
House Rules: This mode allows you to play creative and varied matches. We will present the house rules in the following chapter.
The house rules in the kick-off mode
You can select only one house rule per match:
Long Range: This mode focuses on scoring goals from distance. Almost everyone has a friend who always shoots from all sorts of positions. This is the mode for that friend! A goal outside the box counts double.
Survival: A survival game mode reminiscent of “Last Man Standing” from FIFA Street: For every goal you score, a player from your team must leave the field. Read more about the survival mode in FIFA 19 here.
Headers & Volleys: Only goals scored with a header or volley count. The old saying “play flat, win high” does not apply here. Penalty and free kick goals count as well, all other goals do not.
First to: Whoever scores a certain number of goals first wins the game. You can set the number of goals yourself.
What other innovations does the kick-off mode have?
Statistics about statistics: In the various kick-off modes, heaps of stats are collected about your matches that you can view. This way, you always notice how you play, where your goals hit, which side you attack most often, and much more.
Additionally, a kick-off name can be created with which you can save all your statistics on the EA servers.
The gameplay innovations with dynamic tactics also apply in the kick-off mode. This way, you can tweak your tactics and gradually improve the statistics.
Tom thinks: At the kick-off event, I found the various house rules in the kick-off mode especially exciting. My colleague Philipp and I tried several of them, particularly enjoying the “No Rules” and the Survival Mode. However, the “Headers & Volleys” rule did not suit us at all, as we both represent the type of player who likes to play flat and carry the ball into the goal with combinations. But other types of players will surely have fun with that.
Therefore, I believe that “kick-off 2.0” will definitely bring fresh wind into classic virtual football. Still, I see it as “only” a nice alternative for a few quick matches – I do not see long-term motivation here for weeks.
Surprise in the “Ultimate Team” mode of FIFA 19: The FUT Online Seasons will no longer exist; they will be replaced by a new mode: Division Rivals in FUT 19.
In the last two FIFA installments, the competitive aspect in FUT has been significantly expanded:
In FUT 17, FUT Champions was introduced with the Weekend League. Here, the best FIFA players can compete against each other for the best rewards in Ultimate Team.
In FUT 18, Squad Battles were added, which strengthened the “casual-competitive” aspect. Players can compete against AI opponents, choose their difficulty, earn points, climb leaderboards, and match themselves against other human players.
And in FUT 19, the “traditional” online matches become more competitive: Online Seasons are replaced by Division Rivals. This was announced on August 4th in the EA Sports livestream.
These are the Division Rivals in FIFA 19 Ultimate Team
Here’s how you start in Division Rivals: You select this mode in the FUT menu. Then you play 5 matches, during which your initial skill rating is determined. This can be understood as a first selection based on which you are then placed in a division (a league).
How do the Division Rivals work? There are 10 leagues in total, where you can rise based on your skill rating. The skill rating increases (or decreases) only slowly, so you need to maintain your rank in a league for a while to be able to leave it.
Weekly Competition: Each week, you can try to climb the ranks within your league. There are 5 ranks per league. Each week, you play only against other human opponents who are in your league. If you are among the top 20% of players in your league at the end of the week, you achieve Rank 1.
Rewards are rank-dependent: Depending on whether you are Rank 1 or Rank 5, you will receive better or worse rewards. The weekly rewards are such that you receive multiple prizes to choose from. These can be coins, packs, or even a Weekend League qualification. You can select the reward of your choice:
How do Division Rivals fit in with Weekend League?
Wait, who is supposed to be able to play Weekend League and Division Rivals simultaneously? Those who are already worried about how to free up so much time to be successful in Division Rivals and to play 40 games in Weekend League can breathe easy: All games in Weekend League also count towards Division Rivals. The two modes do not conflict, so you do not have to choose between them.
You qualify for Weekend League through Division Rivals. There are no more knockout tournaments. For each game in Division Rivals, you earn not only skill rating points to rise in the league but also Weekend League points. With enough points, you can buy a Weekend League access pass. You can use this on any weekend – it doesn’t have to be the upcoming weekend.
Weekend League Access in FUT 19
And are the Online Seasons as we previously knew them no longer available? Yes.
No further information about Division Rivals is available yet. We will see how the skill rating allocation and how relegations and promotions in the leagues work at the latest by the release of FIFA 19 on September 28, 2018. If you pre-order the right edition, you can start playing as early as September 25:
FIFA 19 is coming with a fun new mode: Survival. For every goal, one player must leave the field!
Although the FIFA series has introduced various game modes such as Career, Pro Clubs, or FUT over the past decades, matches in these modes have always followed the same pattern: Two teams chase a ball while adhering to the official football rules.
Survival breaks the rules: In FIFA 19, you can play a mode that takes the football rules a bit more loosely and brings variety to the previous virtual football experience. This mode is called Survival – it’s all about survival!
The mode was revealed on August 4th at 4:15 PM during the EA Sports livestream:
Survival reveal
What are the rules of Survival?
This is how you start Survival: This survival mode is part of the new Kick-off mode. Choose the “House Rules” category, where you’ll find the “Survival” setting.
How is it played? Two teams of 11 players each compete against each other – at first, everything is normal. However, the peculiarity now is: For every goal scored, one player from the scoring team must leave the field. A maximum of 4 players per team can leave the field per match. Additionally, no more than 2 red cards are allowed.
An example: FC Bayern plays against Real Madrid. Bayern scores a goal. Now one player from FC Bayern must leave the field, for instance, Kimmich. If Bayern is leading 4-0, 7 Bayern players will be facing 11 Madrid players. When it’s 5-0, no one else needs to leave the field. The team with the most goals wins.
Which players are removed from the field? This is decided by chance. According to EA Sports, primarily defenders and midfielders must leave the field to ensure that you still have the offensive power to score more goals. The goalkeepers always remain in play.
At the top left corner of the screen, it will display who must leave the game:
A red cross will be displayed at the top left for every player that must leave the field:
Isn’t this all too “crazy”? Football purists will likely just shake their heads at this mode. However, it can certainly bring some variety to the game. Moreover, this mode is only available in the new Kick-off – FUT, Career mode, or Pro Clubs will likely remain unaffected. It is purely optional.
Has there ever been something like Survival in a football simulation? In FIFA Street, there was a mode called “Last Man Standing”. In that, four players faced off in two teams without a goalkeeper. Every scorer had to leave the field, and whoever had all their players on the sidelines first was declared the winner. Survival is somewhat reminiscent of that.
