EA has secured a new milestone that the company surely is not proud of.
Last year, there was significant negative criticism aimed at Electronic Arts. Particularly, the pay-to-win scandal surrounding Star Wars Battlefront 2 stayed in the minds of many players. A listing from Wall Street now shows that this negative criticism has special consequences.
EA in 5th Place among the Most Hated Companies
Based on factors such as major events, customer surveys, employee reviews, and more, 24/7 Wall Street compiled a list of the most hated companies in America.
In 5th place, behind the NFL (National Football League) and the University of Phoenix, is Electronic Arts. They have previously won the title of “worst company” more than once. Regarding the latest ranking, Wall Street writes:
“Electronic Arts, or EA, has been creating particularly successful video games for many years. EA has produced many successful franchises such as ‘The Sims’, ‘Battlefield’, or ‘Need for Speed’ as well as the annual titles ‘Madden’ and ‘FIFA’. They had a significant role in shaping the face of gaming, but the company’s reputation has suffered greatly. There are many examples where EA acquired smaller studios due to a particular game and then either took away the originality of the game or drove the studio into the ground.”
Furthermore, Wall Street addresses the issues with Star Wars Battlefront 2 in their description: “EA released an early access version of the game which immediately caused a lot of anger. Players discovered that unlocking popular characters would cost more than 40 hours of gameplay or several hundred dollars [for in-game purchases]. The public outcry over the perceived greed prompted the studio to temporarily disable in-game purchases.”
After the scandal surrounding Battlefront 2, EA disabled microtransactions in BF2 and even in Need for Speed. While fans did not criticize the in-game purchases in Need for Speed, EA likely wanted to act preemptively here.
Now EA stands in 5th place among America’s most hated companies. Do you think this is justified?
The top spots:
In 1st place is Equifax, a financial services company
In 2nd place you find the film production company Fox Entertainment Group
In 3rd place is the NFL (National Football League)
In 4th place is the University of Phoenix
You can find the complete list of America’s most hated companies here at 247wallst.com
In Destiny 2, Bungie finally listens to the community – just the right time for fresh ideas, like the Archive! A guest contribution by Sven.
Destiny 2 currently resembles a gigantic construction site. Bungie is visibly struggling to listen to and meet the demands of the upset and dwindling community – as evidenced by the recently released roadmap for Spring 2018 – but the list of necessary changes is long, and it will take a lot of time before they are implemented.
While Bungie focuses on some core elements of the game, like PvP or Strikes, one topic is being overlooked, many Guardians feel: The Lore of Destiny 2. Numerous players wish for the Grimoire Cards to return, or at least a similar system, that allows players to retrieve and look up information gathered in the game about the Destiny universe and its associated lore at any time.
The YouTuber and recognized lore expert My name is Byf, who gained fame through his profound lore videos on Destiny, has now developed a detailed concept for just such a system in cooperation with his friend and colleague NFSgaming.
This is “the Archive” – a kind of compendium for Destiny 2, which meaningfully expands the Grimoire system with the functions of the seal books and cleverly connects it with the collections (kiosks) from the predecessor, while also taking into account the existing lore systems from Destiny 2.
Thus, Byf addresses multiple weaknesses of the current Bungie title and offers some remarkable solutions for them. The community and Bungie itself have already taken notice of this concept and expressed consistently positive feedback.
What is it all about?
The lore should be told in the game – the dilemma of the missing Grimoire Cards
With regard to the story of Destiny 1, Bungie has not exactly shone. Story missions without clearly recognizable goals and sometimes without any connection led to long faces in 2014, and finding a red thread in the first part was often a fruitless endeavor. Disillusionment soon spread among the Guardians, followed by mockery and derision. Anyone wanting to dive deeper into the story and the lore in the background ultimately had no choice but to deal with the Grimoire Cards.
What are the Grimoire Cards?
These are a kind of collectibles for Destiny 1 that were meant to shed light on the story surrounding the Destiny universe and could be unlocked in various ways in the game – such as by killing enemies, reviving dead ghosts, or participating in certain activities.
The content of these cards, which mostly consisted of detailed lore texts, could only be viewed through Bungie’s website or the companion app, which caused even more frustration among large portions of the still fairly young community at the time.
While the Grimoire Cards offered interested players some very profound background knowledge and helped to close some narrative gaps and rectify a few logical errors, their poor accessibility and lack of integration in the game itself turned out to be no truly elegant solution for conveying the undoubtedly exciting and captivating lore of Destiny to the broader player base.
What has happened to the Grimoire?
With Destiny 2, Bungie has discarded this Grimoire system. The lore is now supposed to be told in the game world. The cards from the predecessor have been replaced with items that are distributed throughout the playable world and reveal details about the background story to players after a scan.
Additionally, players can now undertake so-called adventures at all locations. These are self-contained instances that function as mini-missions and provide players with deeper insights into the story surrounding Destiny 2.
Moreover, all exotic weapons and armor, as well as the entire raid and “Trials of the Nine” gear, received what are known as lore tabs. So now, when viewing these items, players have the option to display the associated lore by pressing a button.
Many players initially reacted positively to this new lore concept. Information about the background story was finally available directly in the game. External sources were no longer necessary. Hardly anyone seemed to truly miss the Grimoire Cards.
The problem with the lore system in Destiny 2
Only a small minority – the lore community – warned that the lore surrounding the Destiny universe could lose its depth if it completely abandoned the Grimoire system. And to a certain extent, they were right. For soon, the new concept revealed its first weaknesses.
Yes, the adventures play well and are mostly interestingly designed, the scannable objects often provide exciting background information about the story, characters, and locations surrounding Destiny 2. However, there is nowhere to read or watch all of this again. Not even on bungie.net, where at least the Grimoire Cards could be viewed.
There is no encyclopedia, no journal, no collection of objects and background information in the game that one has already found, to read or view again later when needed. There are also no indications of where exactly to search for these objects, should one wish to listen to the recordings again, because one might have been more occupied with shooting than listening the first time.
Ironically, linking complex storylines and better understanding new insights isn’t as easy anymore as it was in Destiny 1 – even though one had to rely on external means back then, while Bungie in the case of Destiny 2 itself resorts to external means like the comic “Fall of Osiris”, as it apparently isn’t possible to adequately address such a complex and extensive universe solely in-game.
Furthermore, participating in adventures and searching for scannable objects is not necessarily tied to the game’s progression system and can generally be completely ignored.
This leaves a lot of potential background knowledge hidden for many – knowledge that could still have been easily accessible via Grimoire Cards in the first part, even if one had rushed through the story.
Moreover, there are no worthwhile incentives for the broader player base, such as Grimoire points, progression rewards from a seal book, or special quests that encourage players to dive deeper into the game’s story than what was necessary during the initial playthrough of the campaign.
And precisely this issue is where My name is Byf and NFSgaming focus with their concept for the “Archive”.
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The Archive – more than just the return of the Grimoire
The core idea behind the Archive is to optimize various lore and tracking systems, such as the Grimoire Cards, the seal books, and the different collections from Destiny 1 and integrate them into the game as a unified construct, primarily to minimize or eliminate the following problems in Destiny 2:
Destiny’s universe and associated lore have always been phenomenal. However, the lore is often so poorly accessible that it simply does not reach the mass of potentially interested players.
There has never been a truly successful attempt to motivate players through gameplay mechanics or incentives to willingly delve into the lore and uncover and pursue the background story.
The world of Destiny almost overflows with lore, but the game fails to tell it in a suitable manner because of a lack of support. It’s like trying to view the Mona Lisa through a keyhole or listening to Mozart through a tin can.
The Archive:
The “Archive”, according to the idea, is located in the character menu, where it can be selected as a standalone tab. It is divided into 6 different categories, which are structured and function similarly to the various seal books from Destiny 1. The following categories are represented in the Archive and can be selected there:
Path of Enlightenment
Cutscenes
Grimoire
Codex
Arsenal
Collectibles
Path of Enlightenment
In “Path of Enlightenment”, this is an archive-specific progress and reward system – essentially a huge seal book from Destiny 1. By progressing in the archive, players can enhance their “Enlightenment Score” or “enlightenment points”.
The “Enlightenment Score” point system includes both the Grimoire points and milestones achieved in Destiny 1, as well as individual achievements and completion of certain milestones in Destiny 2, cumulatively calculating the amount of the mentioned enlightenment points.
This system is designed to honor Destiny veterans for their past deeds in Destiny 1 with unique cosmetic items like auras, class items, or emblems, while also offering new players who have just started with Destiny 2 lucrative incentives for endgame grinding – both in PvE and PvP. Reaching different milestones offers fixed thematic rewards such as unique armor sets, sparrows, ghost shells, shaders, weapons, etc.
The “Enlightenment Score” or the “Enlightenment system” represents a kind of Grimoire points, but with more significance and relation to the actual gameplay.
The “Path of Enlightenment” section includes, tracks, and rewards progress in the following areas: Story, Adventures, Collectibles, Crucible, Strikes, Faction Rally, Iron Banner, Trials of the Nine, Raids, and cumulatively calculated “Enlightenment Score” and milestones.
All of this also applies to any future content. The “Path of Enlightenment” section will be thematically expanded accordingly.
Cutscenes
Under the category “Cutscenes,” players can rewatch all previously unlocked cinematics in the game.
Grimoire
The category “Grimoire” contains all Grimoire Cards from Destiny 1. These do not need to be unlocked first; all knowledge is available from the start.
The Grimoire points are still counted and displayed if a player has played Destiny 1 or still does. However, these no longer influence the availability of the cards.
The cards will maintain the same categories and order as in Destiny 1.
This category is primarily aimed at Guardians who truly want to immerse themselves in the world of Destiny.
Codex
The area “Codex” essentially resembles an encyclopedia. Here, everything worth knowing from the Destiny universe – that is, from both games – can be quickly referenced.
The “Codex” also serves as a beginner’s guide for new players who want to gain a quick overview of the world of Destiny.
This category is not as profound and complex as the Grimoire. It is meant to be accessible, straightforward, brief, and self-explanatory.
The “Codex” is divided into 4 sections: People, Events, Places, and Objects.
If new players are asking, “Who was Rasputin again?”, “What is the sword of Crota?”, “Who or what is SIVA?” or “What small cubes is Osiris holding in the trailer?”, then the Codex is the perfect place to find answers to these questions.
Arsenal
Under “Arsenal”, all lore tabs from Destiny 2 are compiled and listed – sensibly ordered into different categories like exotic weapons, exotic armor, raid armor, trials armor, ghost shells, ships, sparrows, etc., with corresponding subcategories. This ensures that, for example, the lore for the Trials gear can be coherently traced under the category “Trials”.
The individual items with lore tabs and additional information will be unlocked as they are acquired in the game.
The “Arsenal” also serves as an overview of the items already obtained or still missing in the personal collection.
Collectibles
In the category “Collectibles”, all collectible items from Destiny 2 are to be listed. Nothing concrete is known yet, but it was recently confirmed by Chris Barrett that new collectible items are coming.
Furthermore, Byf suggests reintroducing the artifacts known from the predecessor. Unlike in Destiny 1, these should not carry stat boosts but function as collectibles that do not take up inventory space and are archived.
These artifacts could be found in the open world like dead ghosts, serve as milestone rewards, or be obtained as a reward for completing certain activities. All artifacts would have a lore tab and tell their own story. Primarily, however, they would be obtainable by completing lost sectors to further illuminate their background story. Additionally, collecting these artifacts would contribute to the “Enlightenment Score”.
What do you think about this? Would such a system benefit Destiny 2 and contribute to long-term motivation, or is the current system sufficient for you, and should Bungie focus on other things instead? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments.
This guest contribution comes from Sven.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
You have to wonder: What initially looked like a desperate act has taken off. In the first weeks of 2018, Fortnite: Battle Royale is the big hit. What is the reason for this? Interpreting Google trends shows: It’s free, on PS4, quite deep, and has a low age rating.
Why are players addicted to Fortnite: Battle Royale?
In autumn 2017, Fortnite was almost dead. Just a few months later, it is the probably biggest game in Europe and the USA. In February 2018, the internet explodes as the Fortnite servers go down for an update.
What is it that makes Fortnite hit the nerve of players so much? We take a look back at summer 2017. And we ask Google what the reason could be for the world becoming addicted to Fortnite.
Fortnite brings developer Epic back on stage, but only briefly
In summer 2017, Fortnite was released as a grindy coop shooter. The project and the developer Epic had pretty much been forgotten.
Epic was a big deal in the early 2000s with the Unreal series, then developed Gears of War, but gradually faded from public awareness. By 2017, a generation of gamers barely knew them or only as an engine manufacturer. Epic lacked hits. Their current game Paragon went relatively unnoticed.
Suddenly, Fortnite appeared in summer 2017 and made quite a noise for a few days. The timing was perfect because not much was happening in gaming at that time. The mix of shooting zombies, building bases, and coop action provided good vibes for 20, 30 hours.
PvE rush in Fortnite faded quickly
But the rush quickly faded:
Fortnite was grindy. The loot was oddly regulated and closely tied to the cash shop.
You had to buy access, but it was supposed to become Free2Play later.
Each round began with base building and searching the map. Ultimately, it became monotonous. After about 40, 50 hours, many fell into a motivational slump.
And Fortnite felt unfinished starting from mid-game – it was still an Early Access title.
Most players ultimately felt: It has potential, but needs a few months or a year. Let’s wait until it becomes Free2Play sometime in 2018.
Essentially, Fortnite was already done in autumn 2017. Then the idea came to Epic to integrate a separate battle royale mode into the game. This was causing a stir at the time with PUBG in Early Access on PC.
The battle royale mode in Fortnite works like this:
It is completely detached from PvE – you do not carry over any existing inventory
There are no classes anymore, everyone plays soldiers
You play on a large map specifically developed for the mode
Epic has essentially adopted all working elements from PUBG (100 players, danger zone, “Last Man Standing” principle, and starting from an airplane)
But they retained the building mode and the colorful, relatively harmless aesthetics of Fortnite
While Fortnite was viewed suspiciously in the first weeks and people asked: “What were they smoking? That doesn’t fit together at all,” the insane success of Fortnite: Battle Royale is now justifiable.
Fortnite: Battle Royale has become a successful alternative to PUBG.
When the servers go down for maintenance in Fortnite, the internet explodes. People are crazy about Fortnite: Battle Royale. What is the reason for this?
Why is Fortnite: Battle Royale a hit? – This is what Google says
If you look at the search interest of people asking about Fortnite and interpret these results, you come up with 4 ideas.
Fortnite is free to play
People are repeatedly searching for “play Fortnite for free.”
The PvE variant of Fortnite does cost something. The battle royale variant, however, is detached and free to play. Competitor PUBG, on the other hand, wants players to reach for their wallets from the start.
This is a big advantage for Fortnite: Battle Royale: It’s a game for everyone and has a low barrier to entry.
This can be read as a hint that parents are faced with the game and are uncertain. They ask: Should my child be allowed to play Fortnite? This is a youth protection aspect.
When parents search for this, they usually find something reassuring: Fortnite is recommended for ages 12 and thus the “youth-friendly alternative to PUBG.” There are weapons in the game, but no blood or corpses.
Another advantage for Fortnite: Battle Royale.
Fortnite is not available for PS3 and Xbox 360, but for PS4
The next question might surprise people who deal a lot with gaming. After “PUBG alternative PS4,” Google frequently returns “Fortnite” as an answer.
Fortnite: Battle Royale is available for PS4. With PUBG, Microsoft is against it and wants to keep it exclusive to Xbox One for as long as possible. There are even rumors that Microsoft wants to buy PUBG Corporation to keep PUBG away from PS4 forever. But that’s not official.
Many are even searching for “Fortnite Xbox 360” or “Fortnite PS3” hoping to still participate in the hype with old consoles. But the videos about how to supposedly play Fortnite on Xbox 360 or PS3 are fakes. On the other hand, developers are considering a version for the Switch, but that’s still up in the air.
All these questions indicate that Fortnite has a certain depth and keeps players engaged, even when they are not actively playing.
Fortnite is a hit because it appeals to so many
In combination, one can say: The interest in Fortnite:Battle Royale is incredibly high because it has the same gameplay principle as PUBG, but finds a larger common denominator:
Fortnite is free, available on more platforms than PUBG, and is also suitable for teenagers. The building aspect adds a flair and unique twist to the battle royale formula.
So much for the answers that Google provides. Our Fortnite expert Robert, who has dealt with the advantages of Fortnite: Battle Royale, comes to the conclusion: It’s simply a good, fun variant of battle royale that is enjoyable. It looks simple, but offers a lot of complexity and depth.
With the upcoming PS4 firmware update 5.50, your PS4 Pro will receive supersampling support. This leads to better graphics for all gamers who do not own a 4K TV.
Recently, the beta for the firmware update 5.50 has been ongoing, with selected PS4 users able to participate. There are no details from Sony yet regarding the main features, and a release date is still unknown.
However, information about 5.50 has leaked to the public. Apparently, some beta testers leaked screenshots and features of the update that are now circulating online.
Among them is supersampling support for the PS4 Pro.
PS4 Firmware 5.50 brings innovations such as supersampling
This screenshot (via wccftech) mentions supersampling for Sony’s latest console:
Translated, this means:
“The supersampling mode allows you to receive 4K-like picture quality, even if you connect the PS4 Pro to a TV with a resolution of 2K or less. The effect depends on the game – not every improvement is visible. In some games, supersampling reduces the FPS.”
In short: If you own a PS4 Pro but do not have a 4K TV, supersampling will enhance the graphics quality more or less. However, this may come at the cost of framerate, which is why you can decide for yourself whether you want to enable the supersampling mode or not.
What is supersampling actually?
Supersampling is a method where the PS4 Pro scales down high-resolution images to the lower resolution of the TV. This results in anti-aliasing and avoids “stair-step effects.” The result is a better picture.
Via Resetera, an (unconfirmed) list of games has been published that are supposed to support supersampling at launch:
The Last Guardian
Dishonored 2
Final Fantasy XII – The Zodiac Age
Final Fantasy XIV – A Realm Reborn
Assassin’s Creed – The Ezio Collection
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
Metal Gear Solid 5 – The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Survive
Life is Strange – Before the Storm
Nex Machina
No Man’s Sky
Injustice 2
Ys VIII – Lacrimosa of Dana
Everybody’s Golf
Call of Duty – Black Ops III
Other Features 5.50 – PlayStation 4
According to beta testers, there are these additional features:
You can delete notifications
You can hide purchased games in the library. This way you can hide annoying demos or betas.
On the PS4, you can create “teams” for various social activities.
Keep in mind that these are not official details. They have been compiled by beta testers. Before the release of the update, Sony will announce all new features.
With the battle “Soulstorm – Byakko”, players received a new trial in patch 4.2 of Final Fantasy XIV, where they can farm weapons, mounts, or materials for furniture and companions. To successfully navigate through the battle, here is a guide to fighting Byakko.
Before the Countdown
There are two important things to do before the fight to make your life easier:
Around the arena, markers should be placed equidistant from each other. Later, players of the different roles will place their AOEs at these spots. Tanks on A, healers on B, and DPS on C (the distribution can obviously be different).
The group must be split into two smaller groups, with one tank, one healer, and 2 DPS in each. The groups are assigned numbers 1 and 2 accordingly. In the group search, this can be done using the markers:
Group Division
The battle itself lasts a maximum of about 11:30 minutes, after which Byakko enrages and kills the group with AOE.
Depending on the players’ DPS, individual attacks from Byakko can be skipped.
List of Attacks
Thunderwave
AOE on the entire group.
Heavenly Strike
Tankbuster attack.
Hits all near the tank.
Also kills fairies and summons.
Banish Lightning
Byakko stuns and grabs the player with the highest enmity.
Highest Risk
An AOE circle appears on the field, into which the caught tank is thrown. Three other players must stand inside to share the damage. Affected players receive a vulnerability debuff.
Pandemonium
Red orbs will slowly spread out in a spiral from the center. Affected players receive a vulnerability debuff that increases over time.
Three players will receive the red “Maleficent Wind” aura. They must not touch each other, otherwise they will explode and receive a vulnerability debuff.
Fire and Lightning
A wide ground AOE.
Hakutei
Tiger add, held by the off-tank.
Impact
Three small AOEs on two random players, remaining as purple puddles on the ground. Touching them causes strong DoT damage.
Autumn Gale
AOE on the off-tank.
Thunder Rolling
Huge AOE around Byakko with a safe spot within his hitbox for the tank and melee.
Roar of Thunder
AOE from Hakutei. The strength depends on how many HP Hakutei has left at the end of the preparation.
In One Stroke
The ultimate attack of Byakko.
Hundredfold Devastation
Cross-shaped AOE that spreads from the center.
Verticality
270° AOE attack in front of Byakko.
Vacuum Claw
Each tank, healer, and DPS are marked with AOEs. After impact, they start to grow and must not touch or overlap.
Phase 1 in the Boss Fight Against Byakko in Final Fantasy XIV
The fight opens with a Thunderwave AOE on the entire group, followed by a Heavenly Strike that should be intercepted by the tank with a cooldown.
Banish Lightning -> Highest Risk
Next is the first mechanic: it is a more complex version of the Banish Lightning from the normal mode of the fight.
Byakko starts casting Banish Lightning and grabs the main tank of the group. This is immediately followed by “Highest Risk”.
The 3 players from the first group must now stand in the stack circle that appears in the fight arena to catch their tank. Otherwise, he will be killed.
Stack AOE Marking
Additionally, the main tank loses all his aggro. Therefore, the second tank should provoke Byakko during the time he is preparing for “Highest Risk” and draw his attention.
Immediately afterward, Byakko will turn around and cast Banish Lightning again. This time, he grabs the person who is now at the top of the aggro list, ideally the second tank.
The second group repeats this process.
It doesn’t really matter who stands in the stack circle. It could also be 3 DPS and one tank. As long as 4 players are there, everyone will survive. Later, as the average item level increases and players have more HP, 3 people will also be sufficient.
WARNING! At this point, a bug may occur. Players have repeatedly reported that their tanks were immediately killed as soon as Byakko caught them with Banish Lightning.
Short Form:
Tank 1 is grabbed -> Group 1 positions in the stack AOE -> Tank 2 provokes
Tank 2 is grabbed -> Group 2 positions in the stack AOE -> Tank 1 resumes Byakko (as needed).
Pandemonium
The Pandemonium attack differs little from that in normal mode. The orbs that Byakko shoots deal low damage, but give a vulnerability debuff on contact. From 3 onwards, it can hurt badly.
Maleficent Wind on Bard and Paladin
The new mechanic in the fight is a red aura called “Maleficent Wind”, which is randomly cast on three players. These players must not get too close to each other or their auras will touch, otherwise, both will explode and receive multiple vulnerability stacks.
Pandemonium Orbs + Maleficent Wind Aura + Fire and Lightning AOE
During the Pandemonium attack, Byakko will target a random player with the Fire and Lightning AOE from the middle.
Afterward, a short Thunderwave AOE follows, and the fight proceeds to the next phase.
Short Form:
Byakko spreads orbs in the arena -> Players spread out, red auras must not overlap.
DPS Check: Hakutei
This phase is the traditional DPS check. Byakko will release his tiger Hakutei, which must be brought down to about 25% HP or less as quickly as possible while the group performs various mechanics simultaneously.
The tiger will be taken by the second tank and tanked roughly in the middle of the arena. All DPS should switch from the boss to the add immediately.
He should also be turned away from the group, as Hakutei also has a very strong cleave.
The DoT Puddles
Meanwhile, Byakko will randomly target two non-tanks and throw three AOEs on them one after the other. These remain as puddles on the battlefield and should therefore be placed at the edges.
Players who step into these AOEs receive a dot tick that deals approximately 6000 HP damage and can potentially die from it.
Autumn Gale -> Thunder Rolling
Next comes a Thunderwave, and shortly thereafter, Hakutei jumps away.
Hakutei will now target the off-tank with an AOE that deals more damage to players near him. The OT should therefore try to move as far away from the rest of the group as possible to reduce damage.
At the same time, the large AOE “Thunder Rolling” will appear around Byakko. The AOE covers a large part of the arena, but it is safe within Byakko’s hitbox.
Thunder Rolling on Byakko and Autumn Gale in the Background on OT
Once Hakutei disappears from the battlefield, the entire group except for the OT must run to Byakko and stand within his hitbox. After the Autumn Gale and Thunder Rolling are over, Hakutei will shoot Fire and Lightning at the group again.
Then Byakko will briefly cast a Thunderwave and then completely disappear. The group can now deal with the tiger. He will begin to cast the Roar of Thunder.
During this time, orbs will appear at the edges of the arena, moving toward the tiger. They heal a significant amount of his HP. To prevent this, players must stand in their path.
The Orbs Move from the Edge of the Arena to the Center
The orbs deal only minor damage, but remove 300 TP. Therefore, they should be intercepted by healers and mages as much as possible. Ranged players can also take one or two as long as their Reckless ability is available.
Ideally, you should hit Hakutei down to about 25% HP or lower to survive the attack. During this time, healers should use their regenerative spells like Sanctuary and various shields on the group to reduce damage.
After the attack, the group is immediately thrown high by Byakko.
Short Form:
Hakutei appears -> targeted DPS drop their AOEs at the edge of the arena -> all DPS on Hakutei for DPS check
Hakutei jumps away -> entire group except OT to Byakko in the hitbox -> Hakutei comes back -> everyone back on him -> intercept orbs.
Free Fall
This phase also does not differ much from the normal mode. Byakko will teleport under the group and fire projectiles from there.
The orbs will come in groups of 3-4 and change direction in flight. However, this is not as scary as it sounds, as most will explode near the center.
AOE with a Safe Area in the Middle
After some time, Byakko will rise up to the group and create an AOE around himself. To avoid this, the entire group must move to the center of the arena.
Immediately after that, Byakko disappears. Meanwhile, Hakutei will dash across the middle of the arena. Affected players will be thrown to the edge of the arena and die. One should also avoid touching the edge.
Finally, Byakko will make a circular AOE, for which the group must move to the center, and Hakutei will then dash through the middle one last time.
Byakko’s Projectiles combined with Hakutei’s Attack
After that, the group lands roughly on the ground, and Byakko uses his ultimate attack “In One Stroke”. The group has enough time to heal and use all necessary shields.
Short Form:
Avoid orbs -> to the middle to Byakko -> avoid orbs -> avoid Hakutei -> avoid more orbs -> to the middle to Byakko -> avoid Hakutei
Phase 2 in the Boss Fight Against Byakko in Final Fantasy XIV
Now the real party begins.
The phase opens with a Heavenly Strike. Immediately after, Byakko introduces a new combat mechanic and combines it with the Banish Lightning. This is the Hundredfold Devastation. It works as follows:
The first 4 arrows will appear in a cross shape on the ground, indicating the direction in which the AOE will move. From there, 4 circular lightning strikes will now come in every direction, overlapping and moving towards the edge of the arena with each strike.
The first wave of the Hundredfold Devastation. The character is in a safe area.
Simultaneously, 4 more cross-shaped AOE markers will appear in the middle, rotated by 45° and overlapping with the first ones. They will also move toward the edge of the arena.
To dodge correctly now, players must stand in the gaps between the circles of the first AOE wave (see pictures).
Second wave of the Hundredfold Devastation. Wait until the first has started.
This spot is initially safe. Don’t worry about the fact that the circles of the second AOE wave point directly on them. This will only begin after the last strike of the first wave is over.
Once the first two strikes are over, run to the spot where they hit.
At the end of these AOEs, Byakko will cast Banish Lightning + Highest Risk on the first tank. This mechanic works just like in the first phase.
The lightning strikes of the Hundredfold Devastation combined with Highest Risk
After the second Highest Risk attack, Byakko will execute Verticality. The whole group should therefore position themselves directly behind him, precisely where there is a gap in his hitbox.
But it all sounds more complicated than it is: You have plenty of time to orient yourselves on the field. Just don’t panic. In case of doubt, it’s better to be hit by a Lightning attack than to be out of the stack for Highest Risk.
Group assembles behind Byakko to avoid Verticality.
The lightning strikes deal low damage, but cause an annoying paralysis effect. And in an emergency, you can ask the healer or bard to remove the paralysis.
Short Form:
The first wave of cross AOEs appears on the ground -> stand between the AOEs
The first wave of cross AOEs begins -> the second wave appears on the ground
Wait until the first wave is over -> run to the safe area
Tank 1 is grabbed -> Group 1 positions in the stack AOE -> Tank 2 provokes
Tank 2 is grabbed -> Group 2 positions in the stack AOE -> Tank 1 resumes Byakko.
Everyone runs behind Byakko
Pandemonium -> Fire and Lightning
After the last mechanic, Byakko gives your group about 10 seconds of break. After that, the next sequence of boss mechanics begins.
Byakko starts with Pandemonium, closely followed by two Thunderwaves, which the healers should prepare for. Just like in the first phase, three players will also receive the Maleficent Wind auras here.
This is where the markers come into play that were established at the beginning of the fight in the arena. Each tank, healer, and DPS will receive a “Vacuum Claw” AOE circle around them.
Correct Positioning of the Purple AOEs
Once placed, the AOEs start to grow (like in the Sephirot fight). Their areas must not touch or overlap under any circumstances, otherwise they will explode and wipe the group. Accordingly, the Vacuum Claw AOEs must be positioned as far apart as possible.
According to our agreement above, the tank would thus go with his Vacuum Claw to A, the healer to B, and the DPS to C.
While the AOEs grow, Byakko will use Fire and Lightning according to the known pattern. Once from the center towards the edge and once across the center of the arena. At this point, care must be taken not to be pushed into the corner by the Pandemonium orbs and the Vacuum Claws.
Vacuum Claw in Combination with Fire and Lightning AOE
It’s better to eat a Pandemonium orb than to get hit by Fire and Lightning. Touching the Vacuum Claw AOEs causes a rising vulnerability debuff.
Here too, you have enough time to orient yourself. For the placement of the AOEs, you have a whole 7 seconds, and with Sprint you will definitely get to your position quickly enough.
Short Form:
Pandemonium -> Players position themselves next to their markers -> Players drop their AOEs
AOEs begin to grow -> Byakko uses Fire and Lightning from the center -> Byakko jumps and uses Fire and Lightning across the center of the arena.
Hakutei Returns
Byakko will now release his tiger again. Actually, this is also a strict DPS check, but there is a much simpler strategy for this phase: You ignore Hakutei.
It is again up to the OT to pull the tiger away from Byakko and hold it there. The rest of the group does not need to care anymore.
Two players will be marked again with impact AOEs that will leave puddles and should be placed at the edge of the arena.
After that, everyone can return their focus to Byakko and stay near him.
Off-Tank Holds Hakutei in the Middle. Group Focuses on Byakko
Hakutei will again use Autumn Gale on the off-tank, followed by Byakko’s Thunder Rolling. The entire group except for the OT should stand directly in Byakko’s hitbox at this point.
Immediately after he lands and after Thunder Rolling activates, the tiger will target the group with Fire and Lightning.
Once that’s over, the next round of Thunder Rolling will follow, along with another Fire and Lightning attack from Hakutei. The sequence of attacks is very fast, and the group must keep running out of AOEs.
Afterward, the tiger will hit the off-tank several times and jump to the center. Now his Roar of Thunder begins. The entire group continues to focus on Byakko and ignores the orbs while healing the tiger.
After Hakutei disappears, Byakko uses Fire and Lightning
Once the progress bar of the Roar of Thunder is filled to about 60% – 70%, one of the tanks must use the Level 3 Limit Break. This will effectively protect the group from the attack.
After that, Hakutei disappears and does not return. The group will be briefly stunned and must then run out of the Fire and Lightning AOE from Byakko.
Short Form:
Hakutei appears and is pulled away from the OT -> marked players drop their AOEs at the edge of the arena -> the group focuses on Byakko.
Autumn Gale on OT -> group positions in Byakko’s hitbox for Thunder Rolling -> run out for Fire and Lightning -> back in for Thunder Rolling -> out for Fire and Lightning
Hakutei begins to cast Roar of Thunder -> group stays on Byakko -> Tank Limit Break at around 60%
You’re almost done. After the tiger is away, Byakko launches the final combination of attacks. Players should already position themselves near their assigned markers.
After Byakko has used two Thunderwaves, he will again mark 1 tank, 1 healer, and 1 DPS with the Vacuum Claw AOEs.
This time, however, this mechanic is combined with the Hundredfold Devastation and Banish Lightning + Highest Risk. The devastation goes out while the Vacuum Claw AOEs are placed.
Players must dodge this while simultaneously positioning themselves in groups for Highest Risk.
Warning: It may and will happen that the stack marker for Highest Risk is inside a Vacuum Claw AOE. In that case, you must position yourself in front of it and wait until it disappears, then immediately run into the marker.
Highest Risk Marker within a Vacuum Claw AOE
In conclusion, Byakko will again use Verticality.
Short Form:
Tank, healer, and DPS are marked with AOEs and position themselves accordingly -> the cross AOE appears in the middle
Tank 1 is grabbed -> Group 1 positions in the stack AOE -> Tank 2 provokes
Tank 2 is grabbed -> Group 2 positions in the stack AOE -> Tank 1 resumes Byakko.
The group goes directly behind Byakko
And that’s it. From this moment on, the sequence follows Heavenly Strike on Thunderwave x2 on Thunder Rolling on Heavenly Strike. After that, the rotation from the beginning of the second phase starts.
Two attack combinations will come, and after about 11:30 comes the enrage.
On the second page, you will find the list of attacks from Byakko in the order in which they are used in the fight.
Good luck!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With Dual Universe (PC), we are expecting an interesting space MMO that aims to compete with Cloud Imperium Games’ Star Citizen, but wants to offer players even more freedom.
A huge, open universe with multiple planets that you can freely explore without loading times? Players are already looking forward to this in Star Citizen, while this is something the pre-alpha of another game already offers: Dual Universe.
Imagine EVE Online where you can walk around on other planets and build cities there. It is possible to construct everything yourself, even spaceships or space stations. Unforeseen freedoms combined with a player-driven economy. The developers refer to it as a “Civilization Building MMO”, which sounds ambitious. And it really is.
Minecraft in Space
In Dual Universe, you start on a planet and mine resources there. This strongly resembles Minecraft, as the landscape can even be altered. With the resources, you create everything you can imagine: your own house, artworks, or you team up with other players to build entire cities together.
It is also possible to build your own spaceships. These can be customized individually, meaning you determine design and function through your own constructions. These ships are fully operational based on scripts written by you.
Once you have built a spaceship, get in and take off. You speed not only across the surface of the large planet but also seamlessly fly into space. Completely without loading times. In space, you then search for other planets or moons where you can mine resources again and establish settlements. Perhaps there is already a city on one of the planets, so trade with the inhabitants there. Maybe they need resources that you possess.
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It is still possible to build space stations in space. Here too, you have complete freedom in designing the station. You might create a trading post in space, a place where many players land to buy or sell goods.
How you live your virtual life in Dual Universe is entirely up to you. It is a sandbox where you determine your own path and you experience many adventures that simply arise from situations. Over time, you improve your character based on skills that grant you access to, for example, better weapons.
PvP plays a significant role in Dual Universe. Fractures can form between players that become enormous empires. And between these empires, animosities can arise that lead to massive battles. Here you have the opportunity to participate in wars in various ways, whether as a pilot fighting in space battles, as a fighter in ground conflicts, or as a designer of spaceships that are highly sought after by an empire because they are particularly well-handling in battles.
Or you become a pirate or smuggler. The possibilities are endless. During wars, territories can be conquered that then need to be defended. However, PvP is not possible everywhere. The developers also want to provide safe zones in the game world.
You are the Engine of the Economy
Generally, the economic system is an important pillar of the game. You mine resources on various planets and craft items that other players need. This creates a goods cycle completely determined by the players – similar to EVE Online. And all this happens in a universe where you can go everywhere without loading times. Everything you see, you can also reach. If a moon interests you that you can see from a planet, get into your ship and fly there. Maybe you will discover rare resources there that you can sell for a high price.
You have hardly any limits in Dual Universe. Many activities await you:
Building cities, spaceships, and space stations
Exploring planets
Mining resources
Crafting
PvP with massive wars
A player-driven economy
An open universe to explore without loading times
Character development through skills
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Currently, Dual Universe is still in pre-alpha and it will take a while before it is released. However, we could be looking forward to a highly interesting MMORPG if everything that is planned can actually be implemented and work.
How is the game funded? A Kickstarter campaign raised over $560,000. So far, more than $6.5 million has been raised through the sale of founder packages. However, the sale has been temporarily suspended to revise the crowdfunding.
How far along is the development? The MMO is currently in pre-alpha. The servers are opened for several days from time to time. A date for the alpha or beta phase has not yet been set.
When will a beta be released? Currently, it is unclear when the beta of Dual Universe will start. The game is so ambitious that it will likely take a while. We expect that the beta will start at the earliest at the end of 2018.
When will Dual Universe be released? The release is expected no earlier than 2019.
According to current plans, Dual Universe will be released with a subscription model, where a monthly fee is charged. The game itself is free. It will also be possible to acquire playtime via an in-game currency or to receive it as a gift from a friend. An additional temporary free trial phase will also be available. There is a strong orientation towards EVE Online here. The exact details are still not known. The developers at Novaquark have also not yet discussed the prices. The platform is PC.
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In FIFA 18 Ultimate Team, the winter upgrades are coming. Here are predictions for the Spanish La Liga. Which players could receive upgrades and downgrades in the ratings refresh?
In mid-February, the “ratings refresh” is expected in FUT 18. During this time, numerous football players will receive upgrades and downgrades to their standard cards.
EA Sports awards better standard cards to those players who showed strong performances on the pitch in recent months and stood out. Those footballers who fell short of expectations will be penalized with downgrades, meaning worse standard cards.
An official release date for the new cards has not yet been announced. We assume that the “ratings refresh” phase will start in mid-February, from the 16th.
Prediction for players from La Liga who could receive upgrades and downgrades
We will only find out which players are included in the ratings refresh once EA Sports releases them. Until then, you can see here predictions of La Liga players who, according to the fifauteam site, would have deserved upgrades or downgrades.
Keep in mind that these predictions are just estimates. Therefore, it is risky to act based on these in the transfer market.
Upgrades – La Liga Predictions
You can sort the table as you wish and search by names or clubs in the search bar:
Oops, unfortunately this table is no longer available.
Downgrades – La Liga Predictions
Oops, unfortunately this table is no longer available.
How do I get an upgrade card with a higher overall rating?
Once the winter upgrade cards appear, they can be pulled in the sets. The only requirement is that the set can contain players. The “old” cards of the respective players will no longer be found in the sets from that moment on – only the new standard cards will be in the packs until the end of FUT 18.
If you already own a card of a player who is being upgraded, that card remains unchanged. It will not be automatically updated. If you want the player’s card with improved attributes, you must pull it from a set. It is also possible to purchase winter upgrade cards from other players on the transfer market.
In other words: After the ratings refresh, two versions of standard cards of the respective player coexist in FUT.
The future League of Legends champions who will receive a World Championship skin have now been determined.
After winning a World Championship, the players of the winning team get to choose champions who will receive a special skin.
The corresponding six heroes from the winning team of 2017 have now been determined.
LoL Championship Skins 2017
Lee “CuVee” Seong-jin is the reigning world champion in League of Legends. He won with his former team SSG (he now plays for KSV esports) as a top laner in the LoL World Championships 2017.
In his stream, CuVee published the list of the six selected champions who are to receive a special look.
Gnar
Jarvan IV
Ezreal (was once played as a jungler)
Taliyah
Xayah
Rakan
Riot confirmed the list of champions. The six players of KSV have already visited Riot to record the movements for the recall animation that will represent the skins in the game.
Jarvan IV and Ezreal? Again?
That the champions Jarvan IV and Ezreal were selected caused a stir among many fans. Because Jarvan IV already has a championship skin from Team Fnatic from season 1. Ezreal already has a championship skin from Team TPA from season 2. These two in-game characters will thus be the first to receive another World Championship skin.
Riot states that there are no limitations in this area and that the heroes can be selected again.
The announced World Championship skins are to be released in summer 2018.
In Destiny 2, further XP adjustments are on the agenda. Currently, Crucible matches grant too few experience points.
Just the day before yesterday (1.2.), we reported on a new issue with XP: Update 1.14 introduced the change that only 120,000 experience points (instead of 160,000) are now required to earn a Glimmering Engram. However, it seemed that something went wrong.
According to the Bungie.net API, it now costs 240,000 XP to obtain a Glimmering Engram. It seems that the required XP has not been reduced, but rather increased.
Bungie responded directly, fixed a server issue, and subsequently released a hotfix to adjust the Bungie.net API. XP gains should now be displayed correctly again.
XP gains in the Crucible will be increased
In the latest blog post, Bungie briefly addresses this XP confusion. The issue has now been resolved, and they thank all players who reported it and provided screenshots and videos as evidence.
However, the developers do not want to completely close the chapter on “experience points” just yet. They are already working on a future hotfix for further XP adjustments:
The Crucible XP rewards will be revised. Both the Quickplay and Competitive playlists will then offer higher XP gains.
Specific numbers are not mentioned, and no release date is provided. However, since this is just a hotfix that is already in development, one can expect it to arrive soon.
From “Destiny Player Support” come two more pieces of information:
Shader Preview: Shortly after the release of 1.14, a problem was identified affecting the shader preview. When a player wants to preview a shader, the tooltip automatically switches to the first page of shaders in the inventory.
“Lost Sector” Throttle: A temporary solution has been published, reducing the throttle timer from 10 minutes to 5 minutes. A hotfix is planned for mid-February to fully address this issue.
In the cold February, a few promising online games are particularly popular this month. Here are 5 online games that we recommend to you.
This February, we have a colorful mix of MMORPGs, online shooters, and action RPGs with an MMO approach for you. Enjoy our selection of the recommended MMOs and online games for February 2018!
Monster Hunter World – Finally in the West!
Monster Hunter World by Capcom was finally released on January 26 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in our region. With this part of the series, the Monster Hunter franchise aims to finally establish itself in the West and on consoles.
So far, Monster Hunter games have been mostly popular in Japan and on handheld consoles. However, Monster Hunter World has received good ratings in the West so far and seems to be a success for Capcom.
In Monster Hunter World, you are a hunter targeting particularly dangerous prey. You track down giant beasts, like the dragon-like Nergigante or the mysterious Kirin. To take down such a beast, you must first locate it and slay it within a time limit.
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You need to target the weak spots and skillfully evade, just like in Dark Souls. Mistakes can be deadly. Luckily, you can play Monster Hunter World online with up to three other players and hunt particularly nasty creatures as a hunting team.
Tips and Tricks for Starting Monster Hunter World
To ensure you don’t get frustrated right off the bat in Monster Hunter World, we’ve been diligent and put together a bunch of guides for Monster Hunter World that will help you get started:
In The Division, the big vendor reset is today, on February 3rd. Which items are particularly worth it?
Since last week, all secret gear sets are available in The Division. The variety of builds is greater than ever. If you want, you can now spend days refining your build to optimize it for the greatest challenges in post-apocalyptic New York.
You might be able to use some vendor items for this. The vendor reset took place from Friday night to Saturday! Here are the items we recommend this week.
Recommended Weapons as of February 3rd
Special Equipment Vendor: Historian with Brutal and Balanced
The Last Call Safehouse: M700 Carbon with Deadly, Malevolent and Increased
Wolves Den Safehouse: M4 Lightweight with Destructive, Focused and Deadly
The Grindhouse Safehouse: SASG-12 K Tactical Version with Competent, Retaliative and Precise
E 40th St: LVOA-C with Competent, Predator and Prepared
E 34th St: G36 Military Version with Predator, Gifted and Focused
The Mods after the Vendor Reset
Advanced Weapons Vendor: Russian Reflex Sight with Precision, Headshot Damage and Crit Chance
Equipment Vendor in the Base: Mod with First Aid Self-Heal
Camp Hudson: Stamina Mod with Damage against Elite
Southpaw Safehouse: Firearm Mod with Hit Points
Southpaw Safehouse: Electronics Mod with Damage against Elite
W 34th St: Mod with Bonus on Support Station Healing Speed
DZ09: Extended Magazine with Crit Damage and Crit Chance
E 61st St: Ti-RANT Suppressor with Crit Chance, Headshot Damage, Crit Damage
E 42nd St: Mod with Sticky Grenade Damage
The Offers from the Special Blueprint Vendors
The vendor in the Terminal has blueprints for these items:
M870 Express – Shotgun
Super 90 – Shotgun
Stamina Knee Pads
Electronics Mask
Rifle Suppressor Omega – Light Brown with Headshot Damage, Reduced Threat, and two other bonuses
High-Speed Magazine with Crit Chance and two other bonuses
Firearm Equipment Mod
Electronics Equipment Mod
The blueprint vendor in Camp Clinton:
M870 Express – Shotgun
SASG-12 – Shotgun
Firearm Gloves
Stamina Gloves
Vertical Grip – Olive Green with Optimal Range and two other bonuses
Mk4-M5A2 Scope (15x) with Optimal Range and two other bonuses
Fortnite: Battle Royale (PC, PS4 & Xbox One) is plagued by nasty bugs in the building system. Therefore, update 2.4.0 and the highly anticipated minigun did not arrive as expected on February 1st. Instead, the update is postponed and the building system will be reverted to an earlier version. The server maintenance for Fortnite will take place today on Friday evening.
The whole world is waiting for update 2.4.0 in Fortnite. Especially the bulky minigun included in it is eagerly awaited by many players. The hefty weapon could make short work of the enemy forts in the endgame and could be a “game-changer”.
But unfortunately, there will be no minigun or update for the time being. The cause is building bugs!
The building system is buggy, so there is no update!
Since update 2.3.0, there has been a serious issue in Fortnite. The building system in particular is causing major problems and results in entirely different things being built than intended. Some players have complained that they wanted to build a wall and had even selected it in the build menu.
What ultimately appeared in the game world was a staircase. Annoying, frustrating, and in the worst case, such building mistakes could cost someone their virtual life.
This is especially annoying when you are frantically building defenses in the final phase of a battle royale match and cannot afford to make mistakes.
Developers want to load the old version of the building system until bugs are fixed
According to the developers at Epic, the bugs in the building system are more vicious than expected. Therefore, they were unable to fix them by the release date of update 2.4.0. Instead, the developers intend to re-implement the building system from version 2.2.0 when version 2.4.0 eventually goes online.
However, they could not or would not reveal when that will be. We will keep an eye on the situation and inform you immediately when a new date is known.
Server maintenance and new update for Fortnite coming Friday evening
Update 19:10: The postponement did not take as long as expected. The servers for Fortnite on PC, PS4, and Xbox One will go down for maintenance at 7:00 PM on Friday to roll out the new update 2.4.0.
The servers will be down for a while. Players will need to download an update once the maintenance of the Fortnite servers is completed.
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It is not known how long the servers will be down for maintenance. Epic states: They will bring players back to Fortnite as soon as possible.
The demand is so high that the Epic Games launcher is showing a queue for Fortnite.
Information on when Fortnite will be back online should arrive at 10 PM
9:00 PM: There is now an update. It does not sound too promising. Epic has not yet provided a time when the Fortnite servers will return. They plan to provide information around 10:00 PM our time.
Update 10:10 PM: It seems to be working again. Reports are increasing that Fortnite is back online. The minigun is in the game, and there is a hint of a new mysterious weapon: “With this, you will become the secret hunter.”
In Guild Wars 2 has long had issues with its large WvW mode. The distribution of players across servers just doesn’t work properly. Therefore, ArenaNet is looking to thoroughly realign the system.
In Guild Wars 2, you can engage in epic battles with hundreds of gamers in an open world, in addition to the structured 5v5 PvP in the arena. At least in theory, as the previous system assigned players to realms quite arbitrarily and has caused frustration for years.
Frustration arose especially when players from different languages and time zones were on the same server and could hardly play together.
Therefore, the developers have devised a plan for a complete restructuring of the WvW system.
World Creation and Restructuring
In a detailed forum post, the developers presented their new concept for WvW. The plan includes the following changes and innovations:
In addition to pure playtime, the system will also consider parameters such as game participation, time as Commander, and related group size, as well as relationships among players.
Guilds can designate themselves as WvW guilds and will then be preferentially placed on the same realms. Players should specify one of their guilds as their preferred WvW guild to be counted.
Guilds will be able to form alliances with the planned alliance system. These alliances are expected to include between 500 and 1,500 players.
Transfers between realms will be possible during the season. But there are rules:
If the server is full, no transfers to this realm are allowed.
If the server is over 91 percent full, players can transfer to the realm if they are part of an active WvW guild there.
Servers that are up to 90 percent full can be chosen as a transfer destination by any player.
The costs for transfers have not yet been worked out by ArenaNet.
New WvW System Only If Players Want It
All these innovations in WvW are currently just a concept. If the majority of players outright reject it, they will stick with the old system, even if it is ineffective. Therefore, they want to listen more closely to community feedback.
This has so far been quite positive in the Guild Wars 2 forum. Many players welcome an innovation in the system.
However, many fans see a completely different problem with WvW. It is simply boring, as you either steamroll everything as a massive horde (Zerg) or get rolled over by the Zerg as a poor solo player.
Fights between two large Zergs are also a boring brawl, where it feels like there is no resolution for ages.
Blade and Soul is getting another update. In “The Call of the Depths” there is a new dungeon and new content for PvP fans. In the new battlefield, you will play bowling
The huge update “The Lost Continent” for NCSoft’s kung-fu MMO blade & Soul has only just recently been released on the servers, and the developers are already following up. The next update is called “The Call of the Depths” and finally brings a new PvP battlefield.
Extreme Bowling in PvP
The new 6-vs.-6 battlefield “Novakern” provides long-awaited content for PvP enthusiasts. The instance is located inside Seolak and is a kind of killer bowling. Your goal is to guide the energy spheres that spawn in the center of the map into your goal through various paths.
To do this, you must set the switches in time to ensure the sphere reaches its target. Your opponents will, of course, try to prevent this. The new game mode thus requires good coordination and a lot of teamwork.
New Dungeon and Valentine’s Event
PvE fans also get something in the new update. The new dungeon “Depths of the Flood” offers a heroic instance for 6 players. Tentacle horrors from the depths await you inside, who like to … sing?
Less spooky is the Valentine’s event, which also starts in February. There, you can complete daily and weekly tasks to unlock exclusive rewards.
The new update for Blade & Soul starts on February 7, 2018.
The Prime versions of the frames Loki, Ember, and Frost return for a limited time to Warframe. The Prime Vault will open, allowing you to obtain exclusive Prime items that have long been out of the game. We will tell you which ones they are and how to get them.
Through the Prime Vault, you will soon have the opportunity to obtain exclusive Prime items that are not available in Warframe anymore. Prime variants provide an upgrade to items such as weapons or Warframes. They have better damage values or other advantageous status changes.
What is the Prime Vault?
When an item is placed in a Prime Access in the Prime Vault, you can no longer obtain new relics from this Prime Access.
Prime Access is a program that offers the latest Prime Warframes, corresponding Prime equipment, and other exclusive items for purchase. Prime Access provides immediate access to the latest Prime Warframes and Prime items without having to build them first.
When the Prime Vault opens, you can obtain certain Prime Warframes and Prime equipment for a limited time. This program is an extension of the Prime Access packages and offers access to Prime equipment from previous Prime Access versions. This occurs in an irregular rotation. The items for which the Prime Vault opens are always different.
The exclusive items can be purchased in Prime Vault packages with discounted Platinum, the premium currency of Warframe, but it is also possible to earn some of the Prime items back:
Cosmetic items are usually only obtainable through the Prime Vault packages.
Items such as Prime weapons and Prime Warframes can be earned back.
The Prime Vault opens on February 6: Prime Packages for Loki, Ember & Frost
The Prime Vault opens this time on February 6 and will be closed again on April 6. You have a total of 2 months to get the exclusive Prime items.
Note for PlayStation 4: The Prime Vault will open on the PS4 on February 7.
This rotation includes packages for the Prime frames of Loki, Ember, and Frost. The packages contain exclusive weapons and the respective Prime versions of the frames. Additionally, there are cosmetic items.
Loki Prime Package: Comes with Weapon Bo Prime & Sentinel Wyrm Prime
The Loki Prime Package includes:
400 Platinum
Loki Prime: Has a higher energy capacity compared to Loki and has and Polarity
Bo Prime: The Bo staff is for melee combat and mainly deals impact damage, making it helpful against the Corpus.
Wyrm Prime: The Sentinel is a very offensive companion with “Warrior” and “Distraction” as its default behaviors.
Ember Prime Package: Comes with Weapons Sicarus Prime & Glaive Prime
The Ember Prime Package includes:
400 Platinum
Ember Prime: Has better shields and armor compared to Ember, as well as a and Polarity.
Sicarus Prime: The pistol’s shots fire in quick bursts. It offers a balance between the deadly effect of automatic and the precision of semi-automatic pistols.
Glaive Prime: When thrown, this melee weapon bounces off up to 3 enemies or flies up to 30m before returning to the player.
Pyra Prime Syandana: Cosmetic item
Titan Extractor Prime: Collects resources and has twice the capacity of the normal extractor.
Ember Prime Glyphs: Icon
Frost Prime Package: Comes with the Weapon Reaper Prime
The Frost Prime Package includes:
400 Platinum
Frost Prime: Has a higher shield capacity and an additional Polarity.
Latron Prime: The rifle has an efficient ammunition consumption and high accuracy.
Reaper Prime: Has the highest damage among scythes, especially high cutting damage.
Misa Prime Syandana: Cosmetic item.
Titan Extractor Prime: Collects resources and has twice the capacity of the normal extractor.
Frost Prime Glyphs: Icon
Ember & Loki Double Prime Package: Contains everything from the Ember and Loki package
This double package contains exactly the same items found in the respective individual packages of Ember and Loki. However, it contains more Platinum.
The Ember & Loki Prime Package includes:
1200 Platinum
Loki Prime: Has a higher energy capacity compared to Loki and has and Polarity
Ember Prime: Has better shields and armor compared to Ember, as well as a and Polarity.
Bo Prime: The Bo staff is for melee combat and mainly deals impact damage, making it helpful against the Corpus.
Wyrm Prime: The Sentinel is a very offensive companion with “Warrior” and “Distraction” as its default behaviors.
Sicarus Prime: The pistol’s shots fire in quick bursts. It offers a balance between the deadly effect of automatic and the precision of semi-automatic pistols.
Glaive Prime: When thrown, this melee weapon bounces off up to 3 enemies or flies up to 30m before returning to the player.
Summus Prime Sentinel Accessories: Cosmetic item
Daman Prime Sugatra: Cosmetic item
Pyra Prime Syandana: Cosmetic item
Titan Extractor Prime: Collects resources and has twice the capacity of the normal extractor.
Prime Glyphs: Icons of Ember Prime and Frost Prime
Which Prime items can be farmed in-game?
Some of the above-listed Prime items can be farmed again. The components for the special Prime parts are located in Void relics. The relics work like small treasure chests from which you can obtain the special Prime components and Forma blueprints. To open such a relic, you must participate in Void Fissure missions.
These Prime items can be farmed in-game from February 6 to April 6:
Rank 1 on Twitch.TV, over 400,000 quests completed and 2 million hours of gameplay. The closed beta of Sea of Thieves went well – even on the streaming service Twitch.
The pirate adventure “Sea of Thieves” ended its one-week closed beta on Wednesday, January 31. Although the beta was restricted to invited guests (pre-order customers and selected players from the Insider program), the testing phase achieved impressive numbers. More than 300,000 pirates counted themselves among the testers of the Closed Beta.
Over 800,000,000 gold earned by pirates
Despite a difficult start, the developer studio Rare does not have to hide from the numbers of the closed beta of Sea of Thieves.
User “Gowans” from the Resetera forum published a photo from the headquarters of Rare showing the summary of the Closed Beta. According to this summary, a total of 314,021 players played Sea of Thieves during this testing phase.
Together, they completed 402,488 quests, earned 871,180,805 gold, and spent over 2,000,000 hours in the game. 35,882 pirates were online at the same time at most.
Players preferred 4-player ships, 2-player were the losers
The summary shows that 4-player ships (Galleons) were preferred. Here, pirates either played in a premade group or were matched with random other players to explore the seas together. However, this had its pitfalls. For those who annoy in Sea of Thieves will simply be locked in the hold. This was often experienced by players in 4-player groups.
Source: Wccftech
In second place among the most popular ships was the 1-man boat (Sloop). Many lonely pirates ventured out and set off into the adventure alone. The least number of players were found on the 2-man boats.
Large audience on Twitch and Mixer
The game recorded another success with viewers. On the live streaming services Twitch and Mixer, the game ranked first with an average of 104,240 viewers. On Twitch, up to 269,000 viewers watched simultaneously.
Update 1.14 has been deployed, which, in addition to a lot of bug fixes, also brought two major innovations: the Masterwork armor and a revamp of the raid rewards.
But future-oriented information has also been released:
In light of all these events, we want to remember one thing: Xur! The Agent of the Nine is coming today, let’s welcome him together.
All info about Xur in Destiny 2 on 2/2 on PS4, Xbox One and PC
When does Xur come? – Time
Xur comes every Friday at 6 PM to the Guardians. He then chooses a location where he can offer his exotic wares undisturbed. You have until the next weekly reset to make a purchase from him. For on Tuesday, 2/6, he will leave at 6 PM.
Where is Xur? At this location you can find Xur today
Xur has his specific positions where he likes to stay over the weekend. This time he is located on Nessus. He is again standing on a tree.
Offer and inventory of Xur – List of items with prices
The weekly PvP event Trials of the Nine starts on Friday evening at 6 PM in Destiny 2. The Trials end with the weekly reset on Tuesday evening at 6 PM.
The LoL (League of Legends) team is currently working on a marksman that will reward you for risky play.
In a roadmap, the developer team from Riot explains what is coming to League of Legends in 2018. Among other things, a niche was identified in the marksman role that will be filled with the next champion of this role.
New ADC in LoL will be similar to Vayne
Many players are likely to look forward to the new marksman, who are tired of defensive gameplay and prefer to operate in enemy lines.
The lead champion producer of League of Legends, Ryan Mireles, explained what the new marksman champion is about:
The champion design team is already working on the implementation of the new ADC. In analyzing the already released marksmen, designers noticed a “gap in the champion pool”: A marksman that is extremely risky, but that risk pays off. “Something in the direction of Vayne.”
With this champion design, the goal is to reward players who seek “the perfect opportunity” in the game. It should not matter where this opportunity leads. Those who want to master the new champion will have to venture deep into enemy territory and will thrive there.
Players who shy away from this opportunity and prefer to let the game happen around them will achieve nothing with the character and will perish.
Updates for Irelia, Akali, and Aatrox planned
In the overhaul of Irelia, the team does not want to reinvent the wheel. She should still be strong against ranged fighters. The Q ability will be retained because it characterizes Irelia. Options for resetting the attack will be enhanced.
The changes to Aatrox will be the largest gameplay update so far. For this, the champion team is taking a lot of time, as Aatrox needs to be changed from the ground up. His new design direction is “a bloodthirsty warlord swinging his greatsword.” His attacks should feel very heavy and strong.
With Akali, the design team is overall relatively satisfied, but they want to improve her shroud. She is to receive unique features that set her apart from the well-known ninja theme. Through the redesign of the shroud, she should blend in even better with the environment.
Nunu rework hinted?
After these many indirect and direct hints for the future of League of Legends, the champion producer says goodbye with a small teaser. The text states “That would be all for today! It’s still a bit early to talk about the rework for Akali, but I can reveal that the champion team is currently feeling pretty chilly …”
Additionally, a picture of a snowball was released. Is the anticipated Nunu rework on the way?
This legendary LoL player, who was unceremoniously kicked out of his team, would probably also welcome the new marksman.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A leak shows that the release of Deoxys and Castform in Pokémon GO is being worked on.
An update for Pokémon GO is said to include forms of extraordinary monsters that have not yet been released in the game. Additionally, there will soon be a Shiny filter for the PokéDex. At least that’s what the leak from a well-known dataminer says.
Deoxys and Castform coming soon to Pokémon GO?
In datamining, data from Pokémon GO is closely examined and checked for changes. A well-known dataminer goes by the name Chrales and is associated with the PoGoDev group, which deals with content from Pokémon GO. In the past, he has correctly predicted many changes. Now he has shared more news with the members of the TheSilphRoad subreddit.
According to his analysis of the Pokémon GO network traffic, the game is loading the following information from Niantic’s servers:
The names of Deoxys’s various forms
“form_defense” “Defense
“form_attack” “Attack”
“form_speed” “Speed”
“form_deoxys_normal” “Normal”
Source: PokéWiki
The names of Castform’s various forms
“form_normal” “Normal”
“form_sun” “Sunny”
“form_rain” “Rainy”
“form_snow” “Snowy”
Source: PokéWiki
There are also hints that a new Shiny filter will make sorting Pokémon easier. This works by entering the word “Shiny” as your search. Similar to when you search for specific Pokémon. New text messages will also be added for unsupported devices, for example.
As Chrales explains, a new update is needed for the mentioned changes. However, there are no indications of when this will be released.
Keep in mind that this does not represent official information from Niantic.The developers have not announced these two new Pokémon. The information shown comes from a leak and may not occur in the near future.
Many trainers are already looking forward to Deoxys because it’s one of the special monsters due to its changeable forms. Whether trainers can change the forms of the monster themselves and without much effort remains questionable.
We are curious whether Niantic will confirm these leaked news in the near future. Until then, we should consider this leak as such and handle it accordingly.
Do the Naga qualify as an allied race for World of Warcraft? Many fans are sure: With Battle for Azeroth, this will become reality!
When Blizzard announced at BlizzCon 2017 that there would be Allied Races in World of Warcraft, the excitement was huge. After exciting reveals like the Nightborne and Void Elves, questions arose: What other races will come?
Almost as quickly, demands came for specific species that should be playable. In addition to Murlocs, Furbolgs, or even Orcs from Draenor, which are actually supposed to come, there was another wish: Naga.
Naga will play a central role in Battle for Azeroth, as their leader Queen Azshara will make an appearance, get a new model, and will even be a raid boss.
Naga as an Allied Race – Possible or Delusion?
Many players hope that there is a splinter group of the Naga that renounces Azshara and the Old Gods to return to their roots instead.
Colleagues from wowhead jokingly imported the Naga into their model viewer, allowing them to dress the Naga in WoW armor. Even without additional effort from Blizzard, it looks relatively solid (see title image)!
The argument that “Naga are excluded because they can’t wear shoes” is only partially valid. After all, Draenei also usually (with a few exceptions) do not wear shoes, and Blizzard has used a simple trick: The shoes are not displayed. A similar treatment could also be possible for a cloak.
Greater problems may arise with the mount animations. But ultimately, simple restrictions could also be introduced here, meaning Naga could only use certain mounts.
Queen Azshara appears in BfA. Is there a splinter group of the Naga?
What do you think of the idea? Would you like to see Naga as an allied race in World of Warcraft? Or are there already enough elf races, so we don’t need the “fish elves” as a playable race?
