Blizzard has announced a legendary emote for the popular healer Lúcio in Overwatch. However, you will have to reach into your pocket to get it.
Legendary Emote in the All-Access Pass: You get the legendary emote for Lúcio if you have purchased the All-Access Pass for the Overwatch League. You can buy the pass on Twitch, directly on the official Overwatch League channel for $29.99. Anyone who owns or buys the pass from July 24 will receive the emote.
The Lúcio emote is the fourth legendary emote and is currently listed as “available for a limited time.” So it might be that you can only get the emote for a short time and then not again. How long it will be available is not yet known.
Break it down with the new legendary Lúcio emote, available to @Twitch All-Access passholders July 24!
The legendary Lúcio emote is included in the All-Access Pass of the Overwatch League – an additional VIP ticket that gives holders access to various features for the Overwatch League. The pass itself is, apart from the skin, rather aimed at eSports fans.
This is the All-Access Pass: Shortly after the start of the opening season of the Overwatch League, Blizzard released the All-Access Pass on Twitch. This allows fans of the Overwatch League access to special features related to the league and also receive additional digital items for Twitch and Overwatch itself.
The All-Access Pass includes
Access to different perspectives in Overwatch League games
Access to the “VIP Chat” on the Overwatch League Twitch channel
Access to player interviews after the matches, where you can ask questions yourself
23 Twitch emotes
Overwatch League chat badges
An ad-free stream of the Overwatch League
The emotes and chat badges.
If you have also linked your Battle.net account with your Twitch account, you will receive some items in Overwatch:
15 skins for heroes in Overwatch League style
An Overwatch League player icon
An Overwatch League spray
The benefits of the All-Access Pass are valid until the OWL Season 2019 – you may keep the gameplay content in Overwatch permanently.
Not visible in the picture, but included: McCree, Moira, and Soldier: 76.
How to buy the All-Access Pass: You can purchase the All-Access Pass on the Twitch channel of the Overwatch League. Directly above the stream, where other streamers have the subscribe button, you will find the option to purchase the All-Access Pass for the Overwatch League.
What do you think of the promotion? Will you buy the pass just for the skin, or are you not a fan of the OWL? Let us know in the comments!
In Fortnite, different rules apply with Season 5. With our tips and tricks, you’ll already have the upper hand to utilize the new gameplay!
Season 5 has changed a lot: In addition to the obvious map changes in Fortnite, I have also made changes to the gameplay. Overall, the game has become more dynamic and less static. Instead of camping, there is more movement in the game. Additionally, some weapons have been changed. In the following paragraphs, you’ll learn how to make the best use of the altered conditions.
Fortifications are less valuable
More movement: The big theme of Season 5 seems to be dynamism. Many gameplay changes target players who like to build fortifications or camp. Where it used to be common in the end game for players to shoot each other’s massive fortresses to bits, Season 5 takes a different route. With the following tactics, you can better counter fort campers and benefit from a dynamic play style.
The storm hates campers!
In Season 5, storms are mobile: The storm circles 7, 8, and 9 will not only get smaller, but they also move! So, it is no longer wise to build a thick fort in the center of a circle.
If you prefer less building and more running and shooting, you now have the advantage in the end game. So don’t barricade yourselves for too long and go hunting instead. Weapons like the drum shotgun and other SMGs are therefore a good choice in the end.
Rifts allow surprise attacks
Death from above: On the map, there are rifts to be found again and again in Season 5. When you go into one, you immediately find yourself in the sky above your last location and drop down. This is an ideal chance to surprise an opponent, especially enemies holed up in a fort.
But be careful: You must manually open your glider if you fall too deep. Otherwise, you crash as free loot in your opponent’s base!
Shotgun or SMG?
Shotguns are less effective: Until now, shotguns were the ultimate choice in close combat. Especially since you could quickly switch between two shotguns and fire quickly. A trick that became infamous as double pump.
No more double pump guns: Due to a nerf, you can no longer fire another shotgun for a short period after just firing one. This prevents the double pump trick.
SMGs are better: Shotguns are still a good idea in close combat, and you can now see how many individual pellets have hit. But they are no longer overwhelmingly powerful. Instead, submachine guns are now equal melee weapons that can shred your opponents at close range. So think about which weapon suits your style better. SMGs are definitely better for those who zip around quickly.
More tips for victory in Season 5
Here are a few smaller tips on how to rock Season 5 optimally.
Don’t leave your teammates behind!
Reviving is worth it: If you’re playing in a team mode, especially 50vs50, you should revive every fallen teammate as quickly as possible. Because doing so now gives you experience points. XP is everything you need, to further upgrade the cool Drift and Ragnarök skins.
Visit the Viking ship
Optimal loot: The new Viking ship is located on the hill northeast of Greasy Grove. It’s a small area full of loot. Land there, prevail in battle, and grab the loot. That should be enough to survive additional skirmishes well.
Source: FortniteInsider
Also cool: The Viking ship should reduce the number of players in Greasy Grove and Tilted Towers a bit, as the ship is also nearby and promises good loot.
Don’t hesitate to explore remote areas!
Don’t be afraid of the storm! Until now, it has been unwise to visit remote locations on the map. Because with a bit of bad luck, the safe zone was at the other end of the map, and you were just running.
However, in Season 5, there are several methods to quickly cover distances:
Rifts: The rifts in the game world are not only optimal for combating fortresses. You can also use them to quickly launch into the air and thus change your position quickly.
All-terrain carts: At the new locations Lazy Links and Paradise Palms, there are new golf carts. With these buggies, you can also speed away quickly. If you’re playing in teams, you even have teammates who can shoot from the vehicle!
That’s it for our tips. Do you have any more advice on how to rock in Season 5?
MMORPGs differ in many areas from single-player counterparts. Among other things, decisions in quests often do not matter. As a result, the quests do not lead to any consequences. Ashes of Creation aims to address this major problem of quests in a special way.
The major problem of quests in MMORPGs
Decisions without consequences: In classic MMORPGs, players experience adventures in the form of regular quests. These are intended to tell exciting stories and usually run similarly to missions in single-player role-playing games. The heroes are supposed to rescue a kidnapped princess, kill the dark lich lord, free a village from undead…
Setting aside events by the developers, these MMORPG quests reveal a crucial difference from those in single-player role-playing games: Players’ actions have no consequences.
The kidnapped princess is repeatedly kidnapped, as other players also want to rescue her to claim the reward
The lich lord respawns again and again, allowing other players to fight him as well
The village is eternally haunted by the undead
Decisions with consequences that affect the game world and the NPCs and truly bring about lasting and significant changes are, nowadays, an important part of single-player role-playing games. However, in MMORPGs, such elements are usually sought in vain.
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Ashes of Creation will do it differently. Intrepid Studios is currently working on an MMORPG where the consequences of players’ actions play a significant role. Many may now wonder how that can work. Can only one player rescue the princess? Will the lich lord be gone forever? And can no other player free the village from the undead? No, because the developers have come up with something new:
Nodes change areas – Every play area in the world of Ashes of Creation has a so-called node. This is a type of storage system that collects players’ actions. These actions then lead to certain events that impact the world.
Mining awakens dragon – If players in a town near a resource-rich mountain extensively mine, this can lead to a dragon awakening in the caves. This dragon will then attack the town.
Sea monsters attack port cities – A port city that relies on fishing may attract a sea monster if too much fishing occurs.
The forests strike back – If you harvest too much wood, nature might retaliate. Trees come to life and attack you. However, if you manage your resources and do not harvest too much, nature might reward you by opening a safe path through the forest, allowing you to reach the neighboring city more quickly and trade more effectively.
Who killed the raid boss? – If you have uncovered a dungeon through mining, monsters will swarm out of it. You set out with your friends to explore this dungeon to find out the source of this evil. During a raid, you discover a dangerous monster that you defeat. The player who killed this raid boss will then become known throughout the world. The dungeon is then cleared for now until new monsters might settle there. Which ones those are and when this will happen will also be determined by your actions.
PvP plays an important role. Not only in PvE do your actions have consequences. PvP will also be included.
Escort missions – If you mine a lot of ore and want to transport it to the market of another town, it is necessary to hire players as escorts for the caravan. Because other players might organize an ambush and want to steal the ore.
War between cities – If you discover a new mine near your town and mine ore that you want to sell, this may lead to a conflict with the neighboring town if they have previously sold the most ore in the area. If no diplomatic solution is found, a war may ensue, resulting in huge PvP battles and sieges.
Sandbox with content. The developers of Ashes of Creation want to create a sandbox in which players enjoy many freedoms, but the team will also integrate quests and stories. You will also encounter regular MMORPG quests over time and can experience a story. Because the developers explain that a sandbox should not serve as an excuse for a development studio to avoid creating exciting content.
In the end, the question remains how well all of this will work in the game. On paper, such plans always sound very good. However, in actual gameplay, it often turns out that players find ways to ruin such systems. Whether this will also be the case with Ashes of Creation is the big question. At the end of the year, the Alpha 1 is set to start, which may already provide an insight into how well the planned system works.
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With the Scorn, Destiny 2 introduces new enemies as part of the Forsaken expansion. You can now watch a video showing how the Scorn defend themselves.
New Enemies – The Scorn: With the Forsaken add-on on September 4, 2018, Bungie introduces new adversaries that Guardians must face – the Scorn. Although the Scorn are technically reanimated Fallen, you will hardly recognize them as such.
More than just reheated meals: Because they are not just revised versions of existing enemies, but entirely new enemy types – both visually and in terms of the abilities of the individual units. Accordingly, Guardians will need to learn new tricks and adopt different tactics if they want to effectively combat the aggressive Scorn.
Bungie has now shown what your future enemies have in store in this fresh developer commentary video.
The new Symmetra allows for many crazy actions in Overwatch. We show you the craziest portal here.
The community had mixed opinions at first about the extensive rework of Symmetra. The changes to her portal, in particular, attracted attention. Symmetra can now place this portal within a certain radius around her, while the second portal appears directly at her feet. A few days ago, we reported on some pretty crazy portals and explained why Symmetra is only now a really good support.
However, a specific move with the portal has now been shown that puts everything else in the shade and will likely lead to some surprises.
Where will the portal be placed? The move takes place on Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Here, attackers often have a particularly hard time pushing the payload the last few meters to the target. However, with a Mei and Symmetra on the team, nasty ambushes can be set and even the strongest positions of the opponents can be taken out.
What needs to be done? Mei must jump off the cliff into the abyss at the last turn before the objective and place an ice wall at the cliff so that other heroes can stand there for a few seconds. During this time, Symmetra uses her opportunity to place a portal that then ends directly at the launch ramp of the rocket. This way, players can fall directly into the enemies’ backs, as this small clip impressively shows.
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No wonder this trick was posted on Reddit and received more than 25,000 upvotes within a day. It has become one of the most popular Overwatch posts of the year.
What funny things have you done with Symmetra’s portal? Have you accomplished any cool moves with her that you are proud of?
Even in the final of the Football World Cup, Antoine Griezmann celebrates after his goal like in the video game Fortnite. He brings out the “Take the L”, an emote from the game, and dances … quite silly in front of the world.
French people love Fortnite: By now, it is a familiar sight. Whenever center-forward Antoine Griezmann scores, he busts out a Fortnite celebration. This was also the case in the final of the Football World Cup, one of the most important sporting events in the world. There, Griezmann scored a penalty to make it 2-1 against Croatia. As he turned away, one could already guess what would come next: the Fortnite celebration.
Take the L dance in one of the most important sports events in the world
How did Griezmann celebrate? Once again, it was the “Take the L” dance, where Griezmann forms his fingers into an “L” and then dances quite silly. The dance originates from the reboot of Stephen King’s “It”; it is the loser dance.
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Germans also like Fortnite but have little reason to celebrate
Interesting detail: According to information from Bild newspaper, the German national players were also caught up in video game fever. It is suspected they were eager to play FIFA 18 and Fortnite. Allegedly, the higher-ups of the DFB team even turned off the internet in their accommodation in Russia for at least one night to prevent the German players from gaming all night long.
The German team had little reason to celebrate in Russia, as is well known. They scored only two goals and were eliminated after the group stage.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In collaboration with a burger chain, Blizzard is launching a crazy PR stunt for the new expansion for World of Warcraft, Battle for Azeroth!
Faction Burgers as a PR gimmick: Blizzard has teamed up with a burger chain from Sydney, Australia, to promote the new WoW expansion Battle for Azeroth. In the Australian city, Horde and Alliance burgers are now available for a limited time.
WoW Burgers at Burgers by Josh
Until the release of Battle for Azeroth on August 14, 2018, two new burgers will be on the menu at the burger chain “Burgers by Josh”. The most popular burger will even remain available for one month longer after that.
Alliance burger for beef fans: The Alliance has received a burger in the colors of the Alliance with plenty of fine beef as a kickoff for the new expansion. The burger costs 22 Australian dollars (about 14€).
The Alliance Burger
blue-colored potato bun
stuffed fried jalapeño (jalapeño popper)
double wagyu beef patty, a specialty of the store (special meat from Japanese cattle)
American cheese
crispy bacon
hash browns
pickled peppers
golden saffron aioli
mild green chili jam
lettuce, tomatoes and onions
Horde burger for poultry fans: The Horde also gets a burger in faction colors with horns on top – it resembles the flying creatures of the Horde a bit. Instead of beef, there is fried chicken for Orcs and others. The Horde burger costs 20 Australian dollars (about 12.70€).
The Horde Burger
red-colored potato bun
horns made from pickled Guindilla chilies
spicy fried Nashville chicken
“Turbo-Charged Sauce”
Sriracha maple syrup bacon
coleslaw
jalapeños
Bourbon honey chipotle barbecue sauce house style
Only available in Australia: The burgers are only available in Sydney, Australia. There are currently no plans to make them available elsewhere.
The Forsaken expansion brings 9 new Supers for the individual Guardian classes in Destiny 2. However, many fans are wondering what will happen to the existing ultimate abilities. Bungie has now provided a first hint.
Many new Supers are coming: With the Forsaken expansion for Destiny 2, players can expect a greater variety of abilities and Supers for their Guardians. Starting September 4, 2018, a new path can be chosen for each subclass. Thus, you will soon have a total of 9 additional paths available for your characters – including 9 completely new Supers.
But what will happen to the old ones? Even though many fans are looking forward to the new diversity, some are concerned: What will happen to the already existing paths and their Supers? Will they be revised? Will they remain? Many players fear that the “old” ultimate abilities might be overshadowed and become irrelevant once the big autumn expansion is released.
Bungie has now provided a first hint.
Bubble Titan gets a buff with Forsaken
Confirmed – Bubble Titan buffed: As Senior Sandbox Designer Claude Jerome announced via Twitter, the Bubble Shield receives a buff. No further details about the buff were provided. However, they are supposed to follow at a later time. There is also no information yet on the other Supers from Year 1.
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Tweet gives fans hope: This news sparked numerous discussions within the community. Bubble Titan fans especially hope that their favorite class will regain its standing, and with this buff, abilities like Weapons of Light and Blessings of Light could return. The Bubble Shield, along with the iconic Void Shield, is not remotely comparable in its current form to its power from Destiny 1.
However, Hunters and Warlock players are also hopeful that this hint from Jerome means that all Supers from Year 1 will be overhauled or upgraded to compete with the 9 new Supers. Many Guardians feel that all new Supers appear to be more powerful than the previous ones.
And the chances look good, according to some fans. In a prior conversation, Jerome emphasized that Bungie aims to expand the options for players with the new paths and does not want to devalue the old ones. Therefore, some Guardians believe that all Year 1 Supers will be revised.
In FIFA 19 must Pro Clubs come with some innovations – at least that is what many fans hope. Here are our ideas on how EA Sports could improve the club mode.
FIFA 19 is on the horizon! After this year’s FIFA edition was officially revealed at EA Play in mid-June, some of the biggest innovations of FIFA 19 came to light:
More and more FUT, while fans love the “Pro Club” mode
But what about the “Pro Clubs” mode in FIFA 19? Many fans have complained for years that this mode is neglected by the developers. While every FIFA edition expands the FUT mode, Pro Clubs stagnates without inspiration. Yet the club mode has the potential to advance FIFA’s online aspect and provide intense multiplayer matches: the Pro Club mode is the mode of the hearts for FIFA fans.
Currently, there is no official information about innovations in Pro Clubs. However, we have a ton of ideas for the club mode!
The gameplay in Pro Clubs needs to improve
For many players, Pro Clubs is the most interesting mode in FIFA. In it, you create a club, design your own characters, the so-called “Pros”, and try to rise through the leagues together. Each player takes on a position, allowing for 11v11 matches. In practice, however, the player count is often much lower, such as 4v4. Nevertheless: Team play and communication are at the forefront in the club mode.
Sounds cool – it is – but one aspect regularly causes frustration and flying controllers: The gameplay in general and the CPU players in particular. Because every position not occupied by a human player is necessarily controlled by AI. And this often leads to “adventurous” moments: defenders may not mark their men or open spaces for the opponents. Suddenly they stop while sprinting, causing a pass to fail. And occasionally, a senseless sliding tackle is launched in the penalty area, leading to a penalty kick.
To avoid these annoyances, a player can take the “Any” position, which is almost exclusively referred to as “Any” in the German-speaking community. This player then controls all remaining field players not occupied by human players.
However: Numerous users can confirm that these non-human players are hardly controllable, making gameplay with them a nightmare. It takes ages for them to react. While the gameplay in other FIFA modes feels significantly more dynamic, Pro Clubs has to deal with slow and sluggish CPU players, with whom only the best “Any players” can cope.
In short:
Gameplay can be improved in Pro Clubs.
Moreover, it is often read in forums that the referees in club mode are particularly poor. EA Sports can also work on this.
Captains need more options
If you start a club match without “Any”, the team’s captain has a few options to influence CPU play. He can pull the goalkeeper and use the D-pad to select various quick tactics – such as offside trap, counter or high pressure.
However, the current options are far from sufficient to influence CPUs effectively. In many games, you can select team pressing or high pressure as often as you like, yet the CPU bots simply do not engage in duels. And when, despite a very defensive setup, defenders push forward and leave huge gaps in the defense, the frustration threshold is quickly exceeded.
Therefore, it is desirable for captains to receive more tactical options – and for these to be implemented by the CPUs as well. By the way, this wish is likely to be fulfilled: Because the D-pad options are expected to become more diverse in FIFA 19, allowing for more tactics during gameplay.
A more extensive progress system in “FIFA 19 Pro Clubs”
Until FIFA 16, there were so-called “achievements” in the club mode that could be unlocked, providing boosts to your Pro’s stats permanently. However, these achievements required many selfish actions on the field, so they were replaced by a new progression system with skill points since FIFA 17.
While the current system is supposed to emphasize team play more, it has several annoyances:
The maximum skill points are reached after just a few games.
With the skill points, only a few abilities can be unlocked – extensive customization options are lacking here.
Additionally, this progress system lacks concrete goals to strive for. In other words, monotony sets in early on. You only complete one game after another to gain a few percentage points to the overall rating.
A mixture of skill points and achievements that do not promote “selfish actions” would be more exciting. Definitely, more goals are needed in Pro progression to enhance long-term motivation.
More customization options for the Pro and the Club
Many players want to give their club more personality, but the options for this are limited. Since FIFA 17, it is possible to create your own crests and jerseys, but only based on pre-made templates.
We wish for:
More options for customizing Pros (more hairstyles, tattoos, etc.)
More customization options for jerseys and crests
Being able to build and manage your stadiums
Customizing and naming CPU teammates
In the FIFA forums, there has been a call for EA Sports to introduce an in-game currency for Pro Clubs (which can only be earned through gameplay), which would unlock certain customization options. Whether it’s stadiums, better CPU teammates, or cosmetics.
Pro Clubs as e-sport
While there are frequent unofficial tournaments and competitions centered around the club mode, many fans wish that EA Sports would further strengthen the competitive scene of Pro Clubs. It is a shame, as some users say, that EA does not recognize and foster the passion many players have for the club mode.
So far, all efforts toward e-sport have come from the community. Little is done by EA Sports in this regard. According to reports, little will change in this area for now: Brent Koning, the FIFA Competitive Gaming Commissioner at EA SPORTS, said in an interview that the focus at the moment is on “one-on-one” matches. What the future holds, he couldn’t say.
More modes, more social interaction options
In “Pro Clubs”, you can do two things:
Compete with your club against other clubs
Play spontaneous games where you are matched with other Pros
This mode still has much more potential. We wish for:
A training arena where you can practice tactics together or test game situations
Skill games that can be played with multiple friends
Perhaps even a kind of “social space”, where you roam around with your Pro, compete in mini-games, and meet other players to invite them to matches.
More info about opponents
A few years ago, after a game, you received information about the opponents you just played against in a club match, such as their “overall points score.” However, this feature was removed with the introduction of Seasons, which some fans now miss.
The overall points score reveals to you how strong and experienced a club is. The “Top 100” based on overall points can still be viewed in the leaderboards, but it was always exciting to receive information about the opponents directly after a game. The names of clubs with high points were always memorable, giving the club mode more personality.
Pro Club in the shadow of the lucrative FUT mode, but a little love, please
Most of these Pro Clubs wishes probably won’t be implemented anytime soon. FUT will remain the dominant game mode in the FIFA series, to which other modes are subordinate.
Nevertheless, a glance at social networks shows that many gamers enjoy playing Pro Clubs with passion because it offers a unique online experience. And perhaps the developers will soon give this mode more love…
We are curious to see what will come to the club mode in FIFA 19. What wishes do you have for this mode?
FIFA 19 is set to release on September 28, 2018, on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. If you want to start three days earlier, you need to preorder the Champions Edition or Ultimate Edition:
The mystical Pokémon Celebi has been in Pokémon GO since the GO Fest 2018. The stats are now known. Fans have already noticed that Celebi is a bit weaker than its predecessor Mew.
Celebi first appeared at the GO Fest 2018: Celebi is one of the mythical Pokémon that are extremely rare – So rare that its existence is even doubted. Trainers who are at the Pokémon GO Fest in Chicago (USA) can currently complete a five-part special research task that leads them to Celebi.
When will Celebi come to Germany? This is still unknown. Celebi is currently exclusive to the GO Fest. We assume that Niantic will reveal when Celebi’s special research will be globally unlocked after the festival.
Celebi has been in the game since the GO Fest 2018, roaming around in the park. Source: Reddit
How will Celebi perform? Here are its stats and moves
Celebi’s stats:
Stamina: 200
Attack: 210
Defense: 210
Max CP: 3090
Celebi is of the Psychic/Grass type: This gives it the following advantages and weaknesses against other types:
Advantage (0.714 x damage): Fighting, Ground, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Water
Weakness (1.4 x damage): Flying, Poison, Ghost, Fire, Ice, Dark
Double weakness (1.96 x damage): Bug
Celebi’s moves: Although Celebi is of the Grass type, it does not possess a charged Grass attack, which disappoints some fans. Here are the attacks:
Confusion: Psychic, Fast Attack
Charge Beam: Electric, Fast Attack
Hyper Beam: Normal, Charged Attack – 1 bar
Mystical Fire: Fairy, Charged Attack – 2 bars
Psyshock: Psychic, Charged Attack – 1 bar
Source: Comicvine
Why is Celebi weaker than Mew?
The difference lies in the moveset, meaning the attacks: Celebi has the same base stats as Mew, but has fewer options regarding attacks. This means Celebi will be less useful in battles than Mew. Trainers will particularly notice the difference when facing meta-relevant Pokémon such as Machamp, Kyogre, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Dragonite, Rayquaza, Salamence, or Tyranitar.
Mew simply has the better attack combinations right now, giving it a slight advantage over Celebi.
However, in Pokémon, it’s not always just about the strength of the various creatures. Each tells a little story and in Celebi’s special research, you will also learn more about the little time traveler. Perhaps we will soon see more about Celebi’s legend, as we did with Mew:
In Fortnite, the first major eSports tournament took place yesterday. However, it turned out to be a disaster and had to be canceled. Viewers on Twitch were disappointed by lags and the boring play style of the participants. The prize pool was $250,000.
Which tournament is being discussed? On Saturday, Epic Games held the first major tournament for Fortnite: the “Summer Skirmish series” started. The event is set to run for two months. A total of $8 million was offered as prize money. On Saturday, the prize pool was $250,000.
35 duos were handpicked by Epic as “invited” – including players from well-known eSports teams like Faze or TSM.
14 duos were selected based on their performance in the last Fortnite event “Showdown” – meaning these were “regular players” without an eSports contract or stream.
Probably a duo from Showdown canceled last minute, which is why there were only 98 instead of 100 players.
This was the mode: The rules were simple. Ten matches were to be played. The first team to win twice would take the first place and earn $50,000 in prize money. If there was no winner with two wins after 10 matches, the team with the most kills would win – that would also earn an additional $65,000 in prize money.
Lags and “cowardly play style” ruin the tournament
Immediate issues: However, the tournament faced difficulties from the start. The games were held on North American servers and the tournament had players from all over the world. This led to lags and severe delays. Teams were eliminated without having moved once in the game.
Viewers disappointed: Tens of thousands of viewers followed the tournament on Twitch. Peak viewership was 120,000 on the main Fortnite channel. However, the viewers were disappointed and bored by what they witnessed. Not only was the lag annoying, but also the defensive play style of the participants. They were more focused on winning than on getting many kills and collecting bounties. Therefore, they tended to hide instead of seeking risks.
Cancelled after 4 matches
Event canceled: The tournament was canceled after just four matches. The lag made Fortnite unplayable in this format. Following the great success of the “Pro-Am” tournament at E3, this event is now regarded as a failure and disappointment. Observers describe what they saw as “almost unbearable” and “boring.” The players were hiding 95% of the time.
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More aggro please: ESPN believes Epic should focus more on successful community tournaments, like the one by Keemstar. There, finely tuned rules promote a “aggro” play style that is much more entertaining. In Keemstar’s tournament, kills are rewarded, not simply surviving until the end.
Epic wants to try new modes: Fortnite has already responded, assuring that they are working on the issues. They plan to resolve the lag problems and test new formats. Each week there will be a different format.
At the Monster Hunter Festival, the producers of Monster Hunter: World and Final Fantasy XIV showed the fans how the battle against the new monster Behemoth will look. Here is the gameplay footage.
Announced at E3 2018, the collaboration between the two major gaming franchises was a surprise for the fans.
Besides the Behemoth itself, for hunters during the crossover event, there will also be the iconic Dragoon Armor and the spear Gae Bolg from Final Fantasy XIV and a baby Behemoth skin for the Poogie.
Behemoth arrives on August 2
The crossover event with Final Fantasy XIV starts in Monster Hunter: World on August 2.
If you want to learn more about the beast Behemoth, check out our article on it:
In Fortnite, there have been real vehicles since Season 5: the all-terrain carts. However, these golf carts are not easy to find. Here you will learn everything about the locations of the golf carts on a map and how to use them to your advantage.
What are the golf carts? The golf carts in Fortnite, also known as all-terrain carts, are the first real vehicles in the game. They were introduced in Season 5. One player is the driver, and the rest can join as passengers and even shoot while riding.
Why should you drive the all-terrain carts? First of all, the carts are fast and, despite their size, are hard targets. Moreover, you can take tight turns with the carts thanks to powersliding. With the help of passengers, you can also perform jumps. And the roof of a golf cart serves as a trampoline, ideal for surprise attacks on entrenched opponents. When you get out of the cart, you also receive a speed boost.
That all sounds extremely cool! But where are the carts?
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Where are the golf carts? Unfortunately, there are far too few all-terrain carts on the map. And those pesky things spawn only in certain locations. Here you will learn where to best search! So far, the vehicles seem to spawn mainly in locations related to luxury or vehicles.
At the locations marked with tires, you can find the carts.
Paradise Palms
All carts in the desert: The new desert biome, Paradise Palms, contains some of the new vehicles. Here are the locations:
At the racetrack: At the garage at the new racetrack far east, you can find a cart.
In the city: The large city in the desert contains a golf cart at the central square with the cactus.
On the southern road: At the coordinates H9 on the road south of the desert, there is a police vehicle. A golf cart can also spawn there.
At the gas station in the southwest: If you follow the road west from the previous location, you will come to a gas station with a water tower. Another cart can be found there.
Lazy Links
The carts from the golf course: In the north, where Anarchy Acres used to be, there is now the luxury golf course, Lazy Links. Here you will also find the following golf carts:
At the garage: In the southwest of the building complex, there is a garage. You can also find golf carts there.
By the lake: In the northeast of the complex, there is a lake where several all-terrain carts can appear.
Snobby Shores
The carts from the wealthy settlement: Here you can also find golf carts. They are all located at the northernmost house.
In the garage: The house at the very north now only has one car in the garage and next to it a golf cart.
By the lookout hut: On the road towards Tilted Towers in the north, there is a small lookout hut. Two golf carts can appear there.
Junk Junction
The cart from the junkyard: A golf cart seems to have been damaged because it is standing next to the central building in the junkyard of Junk Junction.
Wailing Woods
A cart on the coast: Far west of Wailing Woods, there is a small house on the coast. There, in the driveway, you will find a golf cart. The house is located at the edge between I2 and J2 on the map.
So much for the known locations of golf carts. Do you know of any other locations?
What makes Destiny so appealing? Our author Schuhmann says: It somehow lies with Luke Smith and an extraordinary biography. But hardly any fan truly appreciates it – quite the contrary: Smith is for many the scapegoat for Destiny 2.
What is the secret of Destiny? I have always had the impression that Luke Smith understands better than anyone else what players of Destiny actually want: They want the gameplay mechanics and environment of World of Warcraft mixed with the shooter gameplay and the great, juicy shell of Halo. So practically a soulmate with great inner values in the body of a supermodel.
Luke Smith once summed up his vision of what Destiny is: “Destiny is shooting aliens in the face while discussing the Oscars with your friends.” In short: social bonding meets gameplay.
But there is a bit more to a functioning Destiny:
A great universe that offers so many possibilities
A deep customization of your character until it works exactly as it should
And a constant progression, a pursuit of something – actually no matter what.
All these characteristics and the understanding thereof seemed to long characterize Luke Smith’s work. But why is there so little of that reflected in Destiny 2? After all, Smith was the Game Director there, meaning he was essentially the director and the main responsible person. And why should a single individual be so important in a game, that has 700 people working on it?
A nerd plays with the cool kids
How does a WoW fan end up in the Halo studio? For many, Destiny seems to be thrown together as if from a drawing board. Destiny appears as a “commercialized brand.” Created and crafted to print money. But in the end, a WoW fan had to find his way to the Halo studio Bungie for it to become something.
Who is Luke Smith? Luke Smith has shared his life story in interviews (via gq). He was not exactly what one would call a successful person. After school and university, around 2004, he graduated with a degree in English, studied a bit of film and psychology – and he loved video games. What would come of this?
Smith let himself be tasered for an article
On the brink of poverty: Back then, Smith wrote for a local newspaper and was on the verge of poverty. He let himself be shocked for an interview with a taser to then write about his experience of what it feels like. To this day, he hears the “Click-Click-Click” of the taser, he says. He describes the experience of being tasered as “disturbing.”
Dream “Bungie”: In an interview, Smith recounts that he saw the special edition DVD of Halo 2 at the time and was totally impressed by how cool the guys at Bungie were. They were a cynical group of gamers who said, “If we don’t like something in the first 10 minutes, we’ll just turn it off.” Back then, Smith thought there was no chance for him to ever work at such a company.
Time at Kotaku was also a time of maximum WoW addiction
Professionally a “WoW player”: Later Smith wrote for several months for the online gaming site Kotaku (via YouTube), where he financed a life in which he mostly played World of Warcraft. Smith describes the time back then as “8 or 9 months of robust Warcraft playing and writing.” Like many at the time when the MMORPG was released, Smith’s life revolved around WoW. Meanwhile, he wrote for Kotaku:
“I woke up at 9 am, wrote all the stories for the morning in the first two hours, programmed the articles, lay back down, woke up again at 3 pm, made sure nothing was completely messed up, then I got something from Taco Bell, logged into World of Warcraft and played until 3 or 4 am. That was it.”
One of the top gaming journalists in the world: But Smith did his job well and received further opportunities in gaming journalism at the new site “1Up.” By 2006, he was already considered one of the 50 top gaming journalists in the world. During his time at 1Up, he primarily covered Halo. But after an offer from Bungie, Smith switched sides and ended up at the company that developed Halo and that he once thought was so cool when he was still getting tasered.
Worked his way up: The experience as a WoW junkie came in handy for him 10 years later when he was promoted to raid designer for Destiny and later even to game director. He essentially started at Bungie after a ride up and down as a gaming journalist just to write a few jokes for the internet, as he says. But little by little, Smith worked his way up the career ladder and became a game designer.
First successes with the raid, done with The Taken King
Designed the Vault of Glass: In Destiny, Smith had already become an important team member and was responsible for the raid “The Vault of Glass.” At the time, it was a kind of secret mission. Even many developers at Bungie did not know for a long time what the raid team was doing there. After it went well, and “The Vault of Glass” became a hit in Vanilla Destiny, Smith was ultimately promoted to “Creative Director” of Destiny “The Taken King.” He was now the strong man of Destiny.
WoW noticeably present in “The Taken King”: The influence of World of Warcraft on Destiny is noticeable in “The Taken King”: Tricks like time gates, delaying missions, and the desire for loot were felt in the expansion like never before. Destiny even introduced quests. The game seemed to have finally found its purpose after a difficult first year. It even received a cohesive, reasonable story.
A little play with the character: Smith is himself an enthusiastic “min-maxer,” who strives for every little bit more power for his Destiny guardians. That was most pronounced when Smith took over the leadership of The Taken King.
Rescuer of Destiny – at least responsible for the highlights
Important role in Destiny: The YouTuber Datto planned to cover Destiny like WoW before the launch. With his MMORPG experience, he would explain MMO mechanics to the unblemished shooter players on PS4 and Xbox One.
When Destiny launched, however, there was almost nothing to explain or “mysterious.” Destiny was considered a flat game with good visuals but not much to it. Only when the raid “The Vault of Glass” opened with its secrets and mechanics and players engaged with it did something for the “Destiny explainer” become available to do.
The heyday of Destiny YouTubers began with “The Taken King” – that’s when the game became profound and there was a lot to do and know:
The raid and the Vault of Glass are considered by fans to be the two major highlights of Destiny 1. For both, Luke Smith was largely responsible.
The issue of money and the monitor
Throwing money against the monitor: The great irony of the story is that Smith has become, for many, the villain of “The Taken King.” This is because Smith also took on PR responsibilities for “The Taken King” with his experience as a journalist. In an interview, Smith found himself in a strange situation in a heated atmosphere.
While on a PR tour, he expected a casual interview, and he usually got those from the American journalists, especially when they pointed a camera at him. However, Smith also encountered a journalist from Eurogamer who conducted a written interview with him.
Pushed with questions about the price and conversion into euros and pounds, Smith talked himself into a corner. At that time, Smith flippantly said the fateful sentence: “If I could show you the gestures now, you would throw money against the monitor.” Even though “The Taken King” later exceeded fan expectations, this hung over Smith.
Destiny 2 – the firefighter: What happened to Smith then is not entirely clear. After the end of “The Taken King,” it was clear that Smith would continue to work on Destiny in some form. But the public did not know in what capacity. The plan was probably for Smith to make the first major expansion of Destiny 2, which was still scheduled for September 2017. But from the end of 2015 to early 2016, strange things happened at Bungie:
The idea of Destiny as a hobby was suddenly buried, even though they had introduced Sparrow Racing back in December.
Transition: Destiny 2 was actually scheduled for September 2016. The paths had already been paved in a stream to present CJ Cowan as a new “strong man.” He had been with Bungie for 13 years as “Narrative Lead” and was probably also set to be the head of Destiny 2.
In a stream, he had already positioned Mara Sov and Eris Morn – it seemed clear: “They will be the stars of Destiny 2.” But suddenly, in April 2016, Cowan left the company, Destiny 2 had already been postponed to September 2017. Mara Sov and Eris Morn have been missing since then, and Luke Smith became the new Game Director of Destiny 2.
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Destiny 2 doesn’t suit Smith: It is interesting that almost none of what made “The Taken King” excellent finds its way into Destiny 2. That same “Destiny as a hobby” has disappeared. In a podcast, Smith has quietly criticized some of the ideas – he was apparently also against changing weapon slots with Destiny 2, but he has also never openly criticized Bungie or the decisions made.
Scapegoat Smith: Luke Smith, who has done so much good for Destiny, is now more seen as a scapegoat for the problems of Destiny 2. The fact that he was the one who gave “the big announcement speech” about Destiny 2 and attended the PR appointments for the game is resented by many fans who still remember the “money against the monitor” comment. For many, Smith is the face of the crisis.
Or really the guilty one? Since we don’t know what happened behind the scenes, one can also view Smith’s role critically: After all, it seems he could not realize his creative vision. He supported the idea that Destiny 2 would become a better game by making it as broad and accessible as possible, rather than deep and somewhat cumbersome like the first part.
Working blind: Developers at Bungie complain, when they finally speak, not only about time pressure, but also about working blind. They were so focused on polishing Destiny 2 that they planed away the magic. This can be clearly seen from the outside. Yet within the studio, while developing the game, they were absolutely sure they were doing the right thing. That would be a fault of the “director” and game director, who is responsible for the overarching vision of the game.
Perhaps Smith lost his way after the success of “The Taken King,” listened too much to others, or he was simply overwhelmed with the project “Destiny 2” – having risen so quickly that it no longer worked out.
Forsaken are now being made by others
Rebuilding is being done by others: Whether one sees Smith as the guilty one or scapegoat, in any case it has become quieter around him. The “good” news about Destiny 2 is now coming from other developers at Bungie, such as Christopher Barrett, who frequently announces changes and positive reports. The expansion “Forsaken” is being directed by Steve Cotton as Game Director.
Christopher Barett
Since then, Smith has retreated from the public eye: It remains to be seen whether and what we will hear from Luke Smith in the future. Currently, Bungie is pursuing other projects: They have entered into a development deal with NetEase. It is quite conceivable that Smith will lead a new project there.
At the moment, he still tweets about Destiny, but he has clearly stepped back. How much input Smith still gives to Destiny 2 is hard to say from the outside. But it seems that for the very game where his name is prominently featured as “Game Director,” his influence is absent.
I miss Smith: I, for one, feel that Destiny was stronger when Smith was at the helm with his months as a WoW junkie when he could push through his artistic vision – with enough time and when everything was still going according to plan. I miss his ideas that captivated so many in “The Taken King” in Destiny 2. I am curious when Smith will reappear and what kind of game awaits us when he is back at the helm.
Until then, I hope that Steve Cotton and the many other talented developers at Destiny 2 manage to achieve what Smith and his team achieved with “The Taken King”: A commercial popcorn product that still somehow has a soul.
The Free2Play online shooter Warface has been quite popular on PC for years. This autumn, the game is expected to arrive on consoles, and the battle royale mode is set to double in size.
What is Warface? Warface is a Free2Play online shooter from 2013. You play as an elite soldier from one of four classes. This leads you into various multiplayer PvP or PvE modes. The game has a solid fanbase and recently introduced a battle royale mode. In that mode, however, only 16 players initially fight for survival.
However, that should change soon.
Console launch in autumn
Was Warface not already on consoles? Indeed, there was once a version of Warface for the old Xbox 360. However, that version was discontinued in 2015. Now, a relaunch of the title is imminent on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The shooter is set to reappear on current-gen consoles in September 2018.
What is special about the console version? The console versions of Warface will have a UI adapted for controllers and will feature aim assist. This will help you aim better with the gamepad.
Is there crossplay? Unfortunately no, the developers will release each version separately. Since PC players have an unfair advantage with mouse and keyboard, there will be no crossplay with PC.
What about Battle Royale? The new battle royale mode will also be included on consoles. And it will be bigger! The developers plan to release an update in September that will increase the BR mode from 16 to 32 players.
Eevee gets a Community Day in Pokémon GO for two days! On August 11 and 12, you will encounter the little Normal-type Pokémon more often, and there will also be some bonuses.
When does the Community Day start in August? Eevee will appear on August 11 and 12, from 11 AM to 2 PM. This makes Eevee the first Pokémon to have a two-day Community Day.
Why is Eevee here for two days? Niantic finds it fair since Eevee has so many different evolutions. With the release of upcoming generations, there will be even more. So make sure to stock up on Eevee!
Community Day in August: The Bonuses
As is customary for a Community Day, there will be bonuses for you. These bonuses will apply to both Eevee days, where you will encounter the Pokémon more frequently.
Bonuses:
lure modules last for 3 hours instead of 30 minutes
catching Pokémon earns you triple stardust
Weather Boost: Partly Cloudy
Special Event Move: Still unknown. This will be revealed shortly before the event
You also have a good chance to obtain the shiny variants of all previously released Eevees during the Community Day. Below is a graphic from pokemongohub that shows all shiny variants.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will offer a battle royale mode alongside the usual Call of Duty multiplayer modes. You’ll soon be able to test it yourself in a dedicated beta.
According to the developers at Treyarch, the battle royale in the new Black Ops 4 will have its own Call of Duty flair. Therefore, characters from the series will appear, and there will be land, water, and air vehicles.
When is the beta for Battle Royale coming?
First Console and Multiplayer: For Black Ops 4, Activision and Treyarch have planned two betas:
Multiplayer Beta: This beta includes only the regular multiplayer modes and starts on PlayStation 4 on August 3 and ends on August 6. The following weekend, starting from August 10 (for preorder customers) and August 11 (for everyone else), the PC version is to be released, playable through BattleNet.
Battle Royale Beta: This beta will start in September and specifically focuses on the battle royale mode “Blackout.” More precise details on the start of the beta are not yet known.
Are there rewards for beta participation? Indeed, Treyarch is offering a unique recognition feature for all beta participants. You can then show off your achievement. Those who reach the maximum rank in the beta will receive a unique item for the class editor.
The legendary Pokémon Lugia can be caught this weekend in Pokémon GO. You will encounter Lugia in raid battles and have the chance to meet its shiny version.
When is Lugia available? From July 14th to 15th, which is today and tomorrow.
Regice is temporarily disappearing: Lugia will be a level 5 boss. Therefore, during the time Lugia is catchable, Regice will disappear from the gyms. This way, you can maximize your time to catch Lugia. After all, you have the chance for a reddish shiny, which is why you’ll likely want to do as many raids with Lugia as possible.
The Pokémon GO Fest is happening now: The legendary bird appears in connection with the GO Fest in Chicago. All trainers around the world can now take part in global challenges over the weekend. We’ve summarized the most important information for you:
Next comes Zapdos Day: If all trainers worldwide manage to conquer the GO Fest challenges, Zapdos will be the next to join the game. On Zapdos Day, you can encounter the legendary Pokémon exclusively in raids for three hours. Zapdos Day will take place on July 21st. That’s a weekend after the big GO Fest.
In the coop monster hunting game Dauntless, your enemies are fearsome beasts. But thanks to a bug, you can roast them with a rainbow death ray effortlessly.
What is Dauntless? Dauntless is a coop game similar to Monster Hunter World. You embark alone or with friends to slay massive beasts known as Behemoths. These creatures are particularly tough on higher difficulties and cannot just be easily taken down. Therefore, you need top gear and a solid teamwork strategy to hunt such a monster.
Or you can pack the rainbow laser and take them out from a distance in Ghostbuster style!
In Ghostbuster style against the Behemoths
Rainbow laser? In Dauntless, you fight the monsters with axes, hammers, and spears. Some special weapons have unique powers. One of them is the spear “The Godhand”. Its special power is a colorful rainbow death ray that can be channeled for 6 seconds. During this time, it deals increasing damage. However, since it only lasts a few seconds and has a long cooldown, the weapon should still not be overpowered.
Bug causes super death ray: The problem is that a player can exploit a bug. In combination with overlapping animations, one can maintain the death ray of the Godhand indefinitely. This leads to a constant DPS stream on the poor monster, which melts under the laser like a snowflake. Especially in coop, it looks as if the Ghostbusters are taking down a particularly nasty ghost.
Developers want a bug fix, but the bug remains!
Why is no one doing anything? The developers of Dauntless are not pleased with the bug and have already brought a fix to the game. However, it has not been successful so far. Players soon found a new way to use the rainbow lasers infinitely.
Meanwhile, the developers have reached out again. They plan to bring another fix for the laser bug in the next update. Hopefully, this will finally put an end to the Ghostbuster mode once and for all!
In Ashes of Creation the head of the MMORPG has taken control of the subreddit for his game. Allegedly at the request of the previous moderators. Not everyone is happy about this.
Oops, what happened: A user on reddit/mmorpg recently noticed that something is going on in the subreddit of “Ashes of Creation”. All mods there have been reappointed. The new head mod is “AOC_Steve” – behind this is the founder and head of the MMORPG, Steven Sharif, himself.
Is that okay? Actually, it is against moderation etiquette on reddit, the user notes, when employees of a company moderate the subreddit for a product of the company. Because there could be a conflict of interest when the head of an MMORPG also leads the subreddit, where people often discuss MMORPGs critically.
What does the boss say? The boss of Ashes of Creation, Steven Sharif, says that the previous operator of the subreddit contacted him and suggested returning control of the subreddit to the studio. The previous owner of the channel hopes that the subreddit will get a mod team that can invest time. Sharif explains: They accepted this at Ashes of Creation and will use the voluntary mod team from Discord. Steven Sharif will also be more involved in the discussions now.
How are users reacting? The discussion in the MMORPG subreddit is somewhat divided, with critical voices prevailing:
People discuss that there is a good reason why devs should generally stay away from such moderation positions. Because it opens the door to accusations of censorship and control. Steven Sharif would have been a mod in the past but would have returned it after complaints.
Others take it more lightly. It’s still not a large subreddit. Moreover, voluntary mods are often passionate fans of the game and do not allow criticism.
In the subreddit of Ashes of Creation, the mood is similar. Here, however, the positive voices prevail. Previously, the subreddit was not moderated enough. Furthermore, it is still years until Ashes of Creation appears, so there is no need to create stress now.
Ashes of Creation – Indie with Elbow?
Ashes of Creation – a bit different Indie MMORPG: Ashes of Creation is an indie MMORPG like others, but the game gives off a different vibe. It was noticed earlier that Ashes of Creation employs methods that are more reminiscent of hard business practices than the cozy “we” feeling that other indie MMORPGs like Camelot Unchained or Chronicles of Elyria give off.
They have introduced a “Referral System” that resembled a pyramid scheme, where players were financially rewarded for referring new players. Sharif himself, the head of the MMORPG, has a professional past in organizations that rely on such pyramid systems: he sold juices and vitamins.
