Pokémon GO now has the final form of Unknown: The alphabet is complete

At the GO Fest in Chicago, the last missing Incognito appeared for the first time in Pokémon GO. Incognito is associated with the special research for Celebi.

Which form of Incognito was added to Pokémon GO? The question mark. Incognito is a special Pokémon that has several forms. Each Incognito corresponds to a letter of the alphabet. Additionally, there is the exclamation mark: ! – and the question mark: ?

Incognito
Incognito is a rare Pokémon and does not often appear in Pokémon GO. In total, it has 26 forms that correspond to the alphabet and two punctuation marks.

At the GO Fest, trainers must catch Incognito to get to Celebi

Incognito is related to Celebi at the GO Fest 2018: The mystical Pokémon Celebi first appeared at the Pokémon GO Fest 2018 in Chicago. Here, trainers must complete a five-part special research to encounter Celebi. At the GO Fest, the letters “C,” “E,” “B,” “L,” “I,” appeared, which together spell out Celebi.

Incognito is not a particularly strong Pokémon and is not useful as an attacker or defender. However, since it is so rare, trainers enjoy catching all its forms. Therefore, trainers were also excited about the spawn of the “C,” “E,” “B,” “L,” “I,” forms at the GO Fest.

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Do we also need to catch Incognito in Germany for Celebi? We do not know that yet. The speculations suggest that the special research for Celebi is currently only valid for the GO Fest 2018. For the worldwide release of the mystical Pokémon, there will likely be other tasks. Niantic will surely reveal more information after the big fan festival in Chicago.

More Pokémon are coming soon: Niantic recently released an official image showing the 4th generation in Pokémon GO. However, these Pokémon are not yet in the code. What is in the code, are the still missing Pokémon from the 2nd and 3rd generations:

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Who among you has already completed the alphabet and now just needs to catch the question mark? 

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. gamerant

Realm Royale copies Fortnite’s Battle Pass – but there’s less in it

The new battle royale game Realm Royale from HiRez Studios wants to compete with Fortnite. To do this, the developers adopted the popular battle pass concept for their own colorful battle royale game.

What is a Battle Pass? A battle pass is a progression system in which you can level up within a limited time through gameplay progression. For each level, there are rewards such as skins or emotes that you get from the pass.

Realm-Royale-Battlepass-01

Normally, there is a free version of the pass, but it only offers very meager rewards. If you want everything, you have to purchase the pass. Once the season of the pass is over, the rewards that have not yet been unlocked cannot be achieved anymore. Additionally, each season of the pass has a special theme.

A must for all battle royale games: Since the developers earn a lot of money with the battle pass and at the same time keep their players engaged for many hours with the prospect of loot, there are battle passes in almost every battle royale game. Fortnite started it, PUBG also adopted it, and now the new game Realm Royale is following suit.

What is the battle pass of Realm Royale?

Realm Royale, the colorful battle royale game from HiRez, has only been available for a short time and is in alpha, but there is already a battle pass. It costs you 950 crowns, which is about 9.50 euros. Like in Fortnite and similar games, you play Realm Royale, earn points, and level up in the pass. In return, you get skins and other stuff.

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What is the theme of the first battle pass?

Dinosaur instead of chickens: The first season in Realm Royale has dinosaurs as its theme. Therefore, instead of a horse, you get a cool velociraptor as a mount. As skins, there are among others, dino hunters and warriors with dino accessories. And if you don’t want to wait to be revived as a crazy chicken, you can now also be a dino egg with little feet sticking out.

Less content than Fortnite

Realm-Royale-Battlepass-03

All just copied? Indeed, the design and presentation of the battle pass in Realm Royale are strongly reminiscent of Fortnite. Even the price is the same at 9.50 euros. However, you get less for your money overall. The season lasts only 55 days, there are only 65 levels with rewards, and the free version of the pass hardly offers any rewards. Luckily, your progress is retroactive if you later decide to buy the pass.

No challenges: Additionally, you currently have to grind through it. There are no challenges yet that give you extra XP when you complete them.

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Earthfall invites to co-op alien hunting on PC and Xbox One, PS4 is delayed

The new cooperative shooter Earthfall has now been released and sends you on an alien hunt in the northwest of the post-apocalyptic USA on Xbox One and PC. However, there are issues with the PS4 release in Europe. 

Earthfall x2

The developer Holospark released the cooperative alien shooter Earthfall for PS4, Xbox One and PC on July 13, 2018. However, there appear to be issues with the release of the PS4 version in the EU. Apparently, the Earthfall PS4 release has been postponed at short notice.

Earthfall sends you on an alien hunt, but not yet on PS4

Earthfall PS4 release in the EU is delayed: On July 13, 2018, Earthfall was released for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Earthfall was supposed to be released simultaneously for PS4, Xbox One and PC everywhere, but so far the shooter has only been released on PC (Steam) and Xbox One in the EU. Earthfall is still awaited on PS4 – at least in Europe. In the USA, the game is already available in the PSN Store.

earthfall x4

New PS4 release date unclear: There appear to be unforeseen problems with the EU release and the developers are working on a solution. This was at least suggested by a tweet from Holospark, which has since been deleted. When exactly the cooperative shooter will be released for PS4 in our region is still not entirely clear. According to some fans, Holospark hinted at July 18 as the new Earthfall PS4 release date on Twitter. However, that tweet can no longer be found.

Earthfall – Left4Dead with Aliens

What is Earthfall? Earthfall is a cooperative shooter in the style of Left4Dead. After an early access phase on Steam, the shooter from developer Holospark was officially released as a finished game on July 13, 2018.

earthfall-2

What is it about? In short – it’s about shooting together. The story is kept very superficial and only outlines the essentials: The end of the world is near. After a meteorite impact, aliens devastate our Earth. The surviving humans in the northwest of the USA band together to fight off the alien invaders with all sorts of equipment.

 

What’s included? In a 4-player team, you play as one of four fixed characters alongside up to three friends for peace and freedom. If no online teammates are available, the game provides AI companions.

Now it’s time to extinguish the aliens’ lights in cities and wilderness. You have to complete different tasks across two campaigns and eleven missions in various scenarios while blasting your way through the alien hordes to the final boss.

You’ll use a powerful arsenal of weapons, set up defenses, deploy manned or automated turrets, use portable barricade kits, and set traps with them. You can also print new weapons and supplies with a 3D printer. Various firearms can still be found in the individual levels.

By the way: The developers announced that they will regularly update the game post-release with new missions, modes, and weapons.

Earthfall offers the following multiplayer elements: While Earthfall can certainly be played solo, the game is clearly designed for cooperative multiplayer. Up to four players can hunt aliens together online.

Through “drop-in/drop-out” multiplayer, you can join multiplayer sessions, leave them, start solo, and then bring in friends for support – the game imposes no boundaries. AI bots always fill in for missing human players.

Earthfall-3

Earthfall is ideal for anyone who enjoyed the Left4Dead series. Many fans say: Earthfall looks like Left4Dead with aliens, feels like Left4Dead with aliens, and plays like Left4Dead with aliens. The developers are also quite open about having taken inspiration from the competition.

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Final Fantasy XIV: New relic weapons are coming – Those who want them must work for it

Patch 4.36 of Final Fantasy XIV will go live on August 7 and brings the continuation of the new relic weapon quest from Eureka along with the new area “Pagos”.

Eureka is a mysterious island that appeared one day from the ocean. Players will gradually explore the island over the course of the Stormblood patches and will be able to upgrade their job-specific relic weapons.

final fantasy xiv eureka pagos snow

Pagos is a snowy landscape

In contrast to the first area of Eureka “Anemos”, which was very green and floral, Pagos is covered in snow. The story surrounding the events on the island continues, and players must complete Eureka Anemos before they can come to Pagos.

9894cc39e7b089b9e7617f0fe6cbe862

The elemental mechanics used in Anemos will be replaced in Pagos by a new system, for which no specific details have been revealed yet. In this area, the heights and jumping puzzles will play a major role.

b50da6558bd4f9bb0496192bf41a51d8

The relic weapons will change their appearance at this stage, as demonstrated by the staff of the Black Mage. Initially without glow. Although this is by no means the final form of the Eureka weapons, it will also involve a lot of grinding.

As a reward, there will also be the following companions:

final fantasy xiv eureka pagos morbol
final fantasy xiv eureka pagos taru taru

What is coming in the future?

The continuation of the Eureka story beyond patch 4.36 has already been announced for patch 4.4, which is scheduled to go live in mid-September.

stdin_snapshot_10.11_2018.07.16_03.05.23

A new system named “Logos” will be implemented. Players will have to “use certain abilities to trigger this system,” producer Yoshida said. He also added that it won’t be as cold there as it is in Pagos.

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WoW: The new BfA zone Zuldazar is even more vibrant than Suramar

We took a look at Zuldazar, the first zone in WoW: Battle for Azeroth for the Horde.

After we quested through the Alliance areas in the beta of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth in recent weeks, we have now repeated the process for the Horde. We give you a first impression of what you will see in Zandalar and whether the Horde can keep up with the good impression of the Alliance areas.

Dazar’Alor – A city as big as Suramar

WoW Zuldazar Dazaralor

As soon as Horde players arrive in Zandalar, they enter the gigantic city of Dazar’Alor. And gigantic is truly gigantic in this case. The massive pyramid that forms the center of the city allows players to look across the entire area.

The city, with an active harbor, a large marketplace, many walkable buildings, and plenty of NPCs going about their daily business, strongly resembles Suramar. Blizzard has taken the beautiful design of a city from Legion and transferred it to Troll architecture.

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WoW Zuldazar Rastakhan

But other aspects also remind one of Suramar. In many areas of the city, there are enemies and NPCs that are hostile to us. This is because all the existing Troll tribes come together in Dazar’Alor. Not only the Zandalari and Darkspears are present, but also the Gurubashi, the Amani, and all the other Troll tribes that one has encountered in 13 years of World of Warcraft.

A vibrant, exciting city

What I particularly like is how much there is to discover in Dazar’Alor. In one corner, you can find the troll vendor Gaunah, who sells “Vol’jin’s Totem of Indomitability” and explains that Vol’jin would still be Warchief if he hadn’t forgotten his totem. In another location, there stands an ogre selling “designer stones” – gray stones of no value but with funny descriptions.

WoW Zuldazar Rezan

In another place, you find an unremarkable heap of scrap that imposes a mysterious debuff on players in the vicinity – allegedly there is a “strong presence” nearby. Only a click on the scrap heap reveals Jani, a Loa, who collects scrap and whose shrines are these scrap heaps.

In the slums of the city, many troll children run around, stealing from passersby and then fleeing quickly. With a little skill, you can find out that they serve a “Mr. Nett” who forces them to do this work. This is reminiscent of real problems in German cities.

WoW Zuldazar Dino

And all of this is just the capital, where a large part of the quests take place. Zuldazar itself is incredibly beautiful but might seem a bit claustrophobic to some players. The dense canopy of trees that blocks out sunlight can create a feeling of anxiety for some.

WoW Zuldazar Loa Paku

The story is quite convincing. Much revolves around blood magic and voodoo, but especially the interesting Loa, the god-like beings of the trolls, are well-designed and well-woven into the story. Basically, it revolves around the troll king Rastakhan and his daughter, Princess Talanji. They try to maintain peace in the city and figure out who the advisor is that is playing false. To avoid spoilers, we won’t go into more detail for now – you can play it yourself in a few days.

The first area of the Horde promises that Zandalar is just as beautiful as Kul Tiras in the Alliance. Whether this is still the case in Nazmir and Vol’dun will be revealed here in a few days.

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Overwatch: So erhaltet ihr das legendäre Emote für Lúcio

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.

An Lúcio Emote for eSports Fans

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.

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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
Overwatch League Twitch Chat All Access Pass Emotes and Chat Badges
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.

Overwatch League Twitch Chat All Access Pass OWL Skins
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.

Overwatch League Twitch Screenshot Boston vs Philly All Access Pass

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!

More information and news about Overwatch can be found on our Overwatch page on Facebook!

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Fortnite: Optimize your gameplay in Season 5 with these tips

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.

fortnite-drift-ragna-titel

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

Fortnite-Riss-neu

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?

Fortnite-Tommy-Gun-01

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

Fortnite-season-5-start-09

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.

Fortnite-Wikinger
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!

Fortnite-Kart

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?

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This is how Ashes of Creation will solve the big problem of quests in MMORPGs

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.

Ashes of Creation Gameplay 2

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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An MMORPG with consequences

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.
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ashes-of-creation-karawane

PvP and content are important

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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Destiny 2: The Scorn in action – It’s against these monstrosities in Forsaken

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.

Destiny 2 Forsaken 5

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.

By the way: The eight Barons also belong to the Scorn.

What do you think of the new enemies? Are you looking forward to the fight? Or are you not really drawn to the new design of the adversaries?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

This is the coolest Symmetra portal in Overwatch

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.

Overwatch Symmetra Posing 2

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?

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Yes, Griezmann just pulled off the Fortnite celebration in the World Cup final

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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French and English people apparently also love Fortnite at the World Cup

More Fortnite celebrations at the 2018 World Cup in Russia by the French: 

But not only the French celebrate this way, the English are also enthusiastic about Fortnite – the group around star striker Harry Kane loves the game

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England’s football star Kane plays more Fortnite than ever during the World Cup
von Jürgen Horn

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.

WoW: Check out these giant burgers – fitting for Battle for Azeroth!

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 battle for azeroth burgers by josh sydney burger

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.

More on the topic
Pokémon GO: Cute Pokémon Burgers – Would you eat them?
von Patrick Freese

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
wow battle for azeroth burgers by josh sydney allianz burger

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
wow battle for azeroth burgers by josh sydney horde burger

Only available in Australia: The burgers are only available in Sydney, Australia. There are currently no plans to make them available elsewhere.

What do you think? Would you buy the burgers if they were available near you? What do you think of the PR stunt? Let us know in the comments!


Properly prepare for BfA: All information about the new WoW expansion Battle for Azeroth at a glance

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. gamespot

Destiny 2: Forsaken bringt 9 neue Super, doch was passiert mit den alten?

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.

More on the topic
Destiny 2 Survey: Which of the 9 Forsaken Supers do you think is the coolest?
von Sven Galitzki

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.

destiny-2-pvp-titan

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.

More on the topic
Destiny 2: The Highlights in July – Update 1.2.3 and Solstice Event
von Sven Galitzki

How do you see it? Would you welcome the revision of Year 1 abilities and Supers? Or are you satisfied with their current state?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. GameRant

FIFA 19: Pro Clubs – Diese 7 Neuerungen braucht der Modus, den Fans so lieben!

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.

Update: In Pro Clubs, nothing changes in FIFA 19 – here is all the information.

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.

fifa-19-ronaldo-madrid

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.

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FIFA 19 Gameplay Analysis: First in-game video material leaked
von Philipp Junge

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.

fifa-19-neymar

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.
fifa-17-pro-stats

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
fifa-17-pro-club

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.

FIFA 18 Pro Clubs

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.

fifa-19-neymar

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:

More on the topic
Pre-order FIFA 19 – Contents of all Editions and Preorder Bonuses
von Tom Rothstein
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Celebi now in Pokémon GO, but slightly weaker than Mew: These are the stats

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-AR1
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
Celebi Pokémon GO
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:

More on the topic
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von Patrick Freese
 
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. pokemongohub

Fortnite: The 1st official eSport tournament fails catastrophically and is cancelled

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.

Fortnite-Event

The first team to win twice wins the tournament

Who was playing? Epic had 49 duos invited (via Epic). They included top players, streamers, or people who excelled in the in-game event “Showdown”:

  • 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.

Wikinger-Fortnite

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.

fortnite-drift-ragna-titel

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.

More on the topic:

More on the topic
Fortnite hastily launches 8-million-dollar tournament and now it doesn’t work
von Schuhmann
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. ESPN
  2. Forbes

Check out the 1st gameplay video of Behemoth in Monster Hunter: World

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:

More on the topic
Who is this Behemoth coming soon to Monster Hunter World?
von Irina Moritz
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Siloconera

Fortnite: How to find the new golf carts – Map with all locations

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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The Locations of the Golf Carts

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.

fn-steinköpfe
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.
fortnite-Wüste

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.
Fortnite-Lazy-Links

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.
Fortnite-New-Skins-01

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.

Fortnite-woche9-season4-schatz-04

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.

Fortnite-Golfwagen-03

So much for the known locations of golf carts. Do you know of any other locations?

More on the topic
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von Jürgen Horn
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Gosunoob
  2. PSU

Luke Smith – How the Savior of Destiny Became the Villain in Destiny 2

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.

destiny-2-scorn-titel

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?

destiny-2-smith

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.

Destiny 2 Forsaken Barons mindbender

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.

Destiny 2 Forsaken Bow 5

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.”

Warcraft-Film-Trailer

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.

destiny-atheon-gläserne-kammer

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.

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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.

destiny-2-hüter

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.
Destiny-Taken-King

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.

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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.

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Later, Smith apologized for the statement: Anyone who knows him knows how he meant it and that he speaks flippantly. To everyone else, however, he must have sounded like an ass.

Destiny 2 – not as planned

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:

Mara-Sov-Destiny

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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Is Smith only the scapegoat for Destiny 2?

Showcase figure for a project doomed to fail: From what we know, Luke Smith only took over Destiny 2 in April 2016, only about 17 months before the planned ultimate release date in September 2017. Smith then bravely went on a PR tour and did not say a word about the conflict behind the scenes. But between the lines, it could be heard that time was running out for him. For example, regarding the replacement for “Random Rolls”, it was stated that they had a great idea, but they did not know if it would make it into the game.

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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.

Destiny 2 Forsaken Barons trickster

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.

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Or has Smith lost his way?

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.

Destiny 2 Forsaken Cayde Guardian

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.

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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.

https://twitter.com/thislukesmith/status/1004041693497208832

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.

All about Destiny 2: Forsaken – release date, features, season pass

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Mit Warface kommt ein neuer, kostenloser MMO-Shooter zur PS4 und Xbox One

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

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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.

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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. GameSpot