There have been some discussions around “live elements,” which were mentioned in an article about Bioware for Dragon Age 4. Now, Casey Hudson, General Manager of the development studio, has spoken out.
“Live elements” is a broad term. When it came to light that a new Dragon Age should have such “live elements,” alarm bells went off for fans. Many associate “live elements” with pseudo-MMO games like Destiny or The Division. This is not what fans want for the series.
What is common with live elements?
They could be loot boxes that you have to earn or purchase.
There could be regular updates with new content or DLCs.
Or it could be an online mode similar to Destiny 2, where you meet other players in a hub to experience adventures together that are continuously expanded.
Since only this term was mentioned without explanation in connection with Dragon Age 4, many players wondered what exactly is meant by it.
Live elements are supposed to continue the story
Now Casey Hudson, General Manager at Bioware, joined the discussion. He explains that Dragon Age 4 will continue to focus on what has made the series great and successful: story and interesting characters. Nothing is supposed to change in that regard.
As for the “live elements,” they are simply a game design through which stories can still be told even after the end of the main story. However, Dragon Age 4 is still in a very early phase of development, which is why it is too early to get more specific.
This means for the upcoming RPG that we are likely to receive elements like these:
Regular content updates with new story content
Multiple DLCs that continue the story
Dragon Age Destiny?
So far, there has been no talk of a multiplayer mode. This is also a rather tricky topic. Suddenly turning a story-driven, single-player-focused RPG into a kind of Destiny, where you meet other players to form groups, could not sit well with fans.
Therefore, steady expansions of the story through small and large updates seem more likely. We will know more once Bioware officially announces Dragon Age 4 and then discusses the game design in detail.
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This player group took time for an EX Raid in Pokémon GO, but it disappeared a few minutes before the start.
EX Raids in Pokémon GO have a bad reputation among many trainers. They are supposed to give active raiders the chance to catch the rare monster Mewtwo. However, the system is opaque and often seems unfair to the community.
Another negative experience with an EX Raid was recently shared by a Reddit user with the TheSilphRoad community.
EX Raid disappeared, ticket gone?
The depressing story of a disappeared EX Raid is told by Reddit user ClamusChowderus.
In his city Burlington (in Canada), an EX Raid was supposed to take place at the Spencer Smith Gazebo Arena on January 31. The invitations were sent out on January 22 and informed trainers that the EX Raid would take place on January 31 at 3:30 PM. The Spencer Smith Gazebo Arena is located in a park where, on the specified date, there were no special events aside from the EX Raid.
The gazebo, which belongs to the arena, was removed months ago. A new gazebo was set up about 30 meters further away. However, the arena in the game remained in place.
For the raid on January 31, players took time off or planned their day so they could raid at the mentioned arena at 3:30 PM. Many trainers were already on their way to the arena when it suddenly disappeared from the game. This happened about an hour before the raid began.
The arena vanished, and trainers lost their EX Raid passes.
Five minutes later, a new arena appeared next to the old arena location. However, the players did not receive new EX Raid passes.
Players are angry, Niantic needs to improve
The community assumes that Niantic received feedback regarding the mentioned arena, and players explained that the gazebo no longer exists, but a new gazebo was set up a few meters away. As a result, the game updated the location with the new data in Pokémon GO.
Whether this happened because of the reports from annoyed players who did not receive an EX Raid invitation or just poor timing is hard to say. However, it is surprising that the arena in the game was changed exactly on that day, shortly before an EX Raid.
This example shows once again that Niantic’s EX Raid system has some weaknesses, and players are rightfully upset about such actions. It should not happen that arenas with such coveted events are removed or relocated shortly before the event, leaving trainers at a disadvantage.
To properly celebrate the farewell to the Year of the Mammoth, Hearthstone dives deep into its treasure chest. The lucky winner will receive 3,000 card packs – and that’s not all. Read here what you can win and how your name goes into the huge raffle.
The main prize is already 3,000 packs for one person alone. Thousands of other players will also get to unpack packs. In total, Blizzard is raffling off 183,000 card packs. A worthy mammoth prize to celebrate the Year of the Mammoth!
To enter the raffle, you must complete the daily quests from February 1 at 6:00 PM until February 14 at 6:00 PM. For each day you finish a daily quest, you will receive a raffle ticket for the contest. You can win up to 14 tickets.
The prizes
1st prize: 3,000 card packs, with 1,000 for each expansion released in the Year of the Mammoth: Journey to Un’Goro, Knights of the Frozen Throne, and Kobolds & Catacombs. Additionally: The Helm of the Lich King. You can see it again in all its glory in the video above. And the winner will also receive: a clothing package consisting of a T-shirt, a cap, and a pin.
1,000 players will receive: One mammoth package containing 10 card packs from each of the mammoth expansions. This will also be available for purchase in the shop, but only once per player.
Another 50,000 players will receive one mammoth package with one pack from each expansion.
The Lich King gives his last helm
It is wonderfully grand that the helm from the video above is actually up for grabs. Getting it sounds almost better than the 3,000 card packs! On the other hand, it would of course be fantastic to be able to open so many packs at once!
The “Secret Finding” community of WoW has uncovered a new secret. We reveal how to become a Doomsayer!
The World of Warcraft stands on the brink of disaster with each new expansion. This also has significant effects on the inhabitants of Azeroth, who are occasionally visited by Doomsayers. Both at the start of Cataclysm and at the launch of Legion, shady figures stood in the capitals proclaiming the impending end of the world.
With patch 7.3.5, Blizzard introduced a new toy, the Doomsayer’s Robes. According to its description, it disguises the player as a Doomsayer.
However, the only information provided so far on where the item is available was “world creatures” – not very precise. For weeks, players on the WoW Discord Secret Finding Server have been puzzling over where the robes might be.
Toy drops in Orgrimmar and Stormwind
Now the riddle has been solved. The toy does not drop in Silithus among the Twilight cultists, but in the capitals of the Horde and Alliance!
That’s right. To get the toy, you need to go to the capital of the opposing faction.
Alliance players head to Orgrimmar and look for the NPC Gustav Ghastly at the Zeppelin Tower near Undercity (51/ 55).
Horde players storm Stormwind and grab Gordon MacKellar in the northwest of the Mage Quarter (43 / 76).
Both NPCs have a chance to drop the Doomsayer’s Robes. However, the drop is not guaranteed, and the NPCs have a respawn timer of 3-5 minutes, which could make things difficult if many players from the opposing faction are present. Why exactly these two NPCs drop the robes is not quite clear. Perhaps they are simply the brokers who sell such robes. Even in the downfall of the planet, capitalists can still benefit.
The toy transforms you into a Doomsayer along with the tablets they carry around their torso. Those who want to summon the impending apocalypse will find it useful.
Already in early January, Bungie presented a roadmap for the year 2018, setting long-term, larger goals. The first milestone in this roadmap was recently reached with the update 1.14.
Now, the developers have released a more precise roadmap for spring 2018, listing a total of 26 new features that are set to be rolled out in the coming weeks and months.
Roadmap for Spring 2018
In a blog post, Game Director Christopher Barrett addresses the community. All features mentioned in the preview are free for all Destiny 2 guardians. Some dates may still change, Barrett says, but the developers are currently working on that: The update 1.1.2 (1.14) is already live. Three more major updates are planned in the coming months.
Update 1.1.3
The update 1.1.3 is scheduled for February 27:
Nightfall scoring and high-score tracking: In the Nightfall strike, the time limitation is replaced by strike scoring! To make strike scoring worthwhile, high-score tracking will be introduced, displaying your high score in emblems and unlocking new rewards.
Revision of badges and auras
Your team members will be displayed on the deployment map!
A public text chat will come to PC
A mechanic will be introduced to prevent getting the same Exotic repeatedly
In the companion app, you can interact with mods and shaders
In the companion app, you can inspect vendors
The Nightfall strike is set to receive unique rewards. – This goal may be achieved later.
Update 1.1.4
The update 1.1.4 is planned for March 27:
Sandbox changes to weapons and abilities
The heroic strikes will receive modifiers
The Iron Banner will then be played in 6v6!
Weekly crucible playlists will be introduced – including the “Master Trials”
Ammunition and gameplay in the crucible will be adjusted
For the Nightfall strike, “Challenge Cards” will be introduced
Punishments for quitters in the crucible will be established
A protection mechanism will be put in place so that the map in PvP or the strike does not repeat when playing the playlists.
Sandbox adjustments for exotic weapons and armor pieces – This goal may be achieved later.
Update 1.2.0
In May, update 1.2.0 will commence a new season, Season 3. The second DLC is expected to be released simultaneously. Several “big” changes are planned for Season 3:
The Leviathan raid will finally receive a prestige mode
Seasonal crucible leaderboards will be introduced
Private matches will be implemented
The vault will be expanded. According to the previous roadmap, with 50 more slots. Additionally, further changes are being worked on to prevent the vault from overflowing.
Multi-Emote: Soon you will be able to select multiple emotes – and not just one
Exotic masterworks are planned
Certain vendors will receive a seasonal rank. Earn reputation to unlock items from them. This rank will reset every season.
Improvements to team battles are expected
The mod system will be improved – This goal may be achieved later.
Actually, according to the previous roadmap, a new mod system was already planned for the February update. Apparently, it requires significantly more time. Bungie wants to make the mods “more unique”, and the influence of the mods on the power of the guardians will be significantly increased.
In the upcoming “This Week at Bungie” there will be detailed information about the new features the sandbox team is working on. They will go into the mentioned points in more detail with screenshots and developer comments in the future.
It didn’t take long for Blizzard to fulfill its promise. All WoW players now have additional character slots.
Since the day before yesterday, the next expansion for World of Warcraft has been available for pre-order. This has unlocked the allied races that are now roaming the game world of Azeroth. However, many players complained that they had no character slots left to play the new races.
Last night (31.01.2018), Blizzard released a small mini-patch for World of Warcraft that grants all players four additional character slots per server. This raises the maximum number of available characters on a server from 12 to 16 – that’s exactly 4 new slots for the 4 allied races. If desired, players can also fill the slots with “regular” characters or even restore old, deleted characters.
The character slots are available to all players, regardless of whether they have purchased Battle for Azeroth or not.
However, keep in mind that the maximum number of characters per account has not increased. If you have already reached the account maximum of 50 characters, you cannot create additional chars. In this case, characters must be deleted first before new ones can be created.
Saturn is hosting the TV Night, and as a result, you can get a 55-inch UHD TV from LG at the current best price.
For just a few hours, you can grab a new UHD TV at Saturn for a particularly low price. You can get the LG 55SJ8509 for 999 euros, making it cheaper than ever. Since its release last April, it has never been more affordable.
The LG UHD TV has a screen diagonal of 55 inches and offers you Active HDR with HDR10 as well as HLG. Furthermore, it features Dolby Vision and LG promises outstanding colors thanks to Nano Cell technology. The native refresh rate is 100 Hz. Additionally, it comes with webOS 3.5 so you can use apps like Netflix or Amazon Video directly on the TV.
The offers displayed here are equipped with so-called affiliate links. By purchasing through one of these links, we receive a small commission from the respective provider. This does not affect the price.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
As Epic recently announced, the new patch 2.4.0 will be deployed shortly, bringing various bug fixes and a new weapon to the Battle Royale mode of Fortnite: the Minigun! What’s included in the new update?
Epic had a few issues in Fortnite last week. A planned update brought a longer maintenance period, followed by login issues and problems with team finding.
As Epic has now announced, all Fortnite players will be compensated for the extended downtime. Battle Royale players will receive two tiers in the Battle Pass for free, while in Save the World mode, 1,600 seasonal gold can be redeemed in the event store.
As Epic now states, the new patch 2.4.0 will go live on February 1st and will include various bug fixes. But that’s not all: A new weapon will be added for the Battle Royale mode, while PvE players can now also warm up and heal by the crackling campfire!
Whether it’s performance, graphics, or gameplay – Epic delivers various improvements with patch 2.4.0. For example, the entire frames will no longer be displayed when selecting doors.
The annoying flickering visual errors (popping artifacts in the landscape) should, according to Epic, at least be fixed in the view from the Battle Bus.
Will be found less frequently from now on – suppressed pistols
The frequency of suppressed pistols has been reduced. Epic has noticed that these are increasingly preferred over assault rifles, and therefore the spawn rate has been decreased:
The epic variant can now be found 20% less frequently.
The legendary variant can now be found 33% less frequently.
Moreover, starting February 1st, a completely new weapon can be found: the Minigun. The Minigun is expected to become the preferred means of demolishing enemy fortresses. The weapon destroys structures in no time, but is less effective against mobile targets like other players.
The Minigun will appear in the rarity uncommon (green) – so it should be relatively easy to find.
The PvE mode gets the crackling campfire!
Besides the crackling campfire known from the Battle Royale mode, which continuously heals allies within a 3×3 tile radius, PvE players will also receive new expeditions:
Gather followers: An expedition with low requirements through which you can gather a small following of supporters.
Trap tours: Through these expeditions, you will receive traps.
Update January 31, 2018, 11:00 PM: As Epic just announced via Twitter, the update 2.4.0 will be postponed as they want to fix the server issues that have occurred sporadically in recent days first. As soon as there is an update from Epic, you will be informed as usual on Mein MMO.
Are you looking forward to the patch? Will you try out the Minigun right away?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
How was the Sea of Thieves beta received? The feedback from the community is largely positive, with suggestions for improvement.
Today, on January 31, the closed beta of Sea of Thieves ended. Our author Patrick draws his conclusion from the pirate adventure.
Start Issues in Sea of Thieves, the beta did not begin well
Last Wednesday, January 24, the beta start of Sea of Thieves was planned. For some players, including myself, this was indeed the case. We could dive into the game and set sail. But not everyone was that lucky.
Pre-order customers had to contend with software issues before they could deal with sharks and pirates.
A poor start, from which many pirates expected an even worse beta. But somehow it turned out very differently.
Initial Overwhelm – What am I even doing here?
After I just sailed around a bit with my ship during the alpha phase and enjoyed the ambiance, I wanted to really hit the ground running in the beta. But it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Instead of being guided by a starting quest, I found myself alone in a tavern.
By the time I figured out that I needed to approach a one-eyed guy in a tent who would sell me a free treasure map, a lot of time had passed. Many players had the same problem.
However, this is less criticism and more welcome variety. After all, the game is about solving puzzles. Why should a quest from the starting tavern guide me to a tent with arrows on the ground?
I actually liked that you had to experiment in Sea of Thieves to get closer to the goal.
Setting Sail – Water and visuals make a strong impression
I got a treasure map and started a “quest” on my ship with a treasure on a mysterious island. I checked the large map on the ship to see where the island is located at sea.
Then it’s time to remember the direction in which the island with the treasure lies, and up on deck: hoist the sails, haul anchor, roughly turn the rudder in the right direction, and adjust the sails. It’s a lot of work alone.
My absolute highlight of Sea of Thieves is the water. Of course, it’s about pirates, treasure chests, and ships in the game – one would think the water would look good too. But here, the developers deserve real praise: it looks not only good, but also feels good.
In heavy seas, one sometimes loses control of the ship, rushes towards huge rocks, and fears that the ship could break apart at any moment. Along with strong sound effects like creaking wood, splashing waves, and raging thunderstorms, sailing in Sea of Thieves is an experience every time. Adding picturesque sunsets makes pirates’ stress (and other ships) forgettable.
Puzzles are fun, but more content is urgently needed
The treasure maps in Sea of Thieves are fun, but the adventures quickly become monotonous. You sail to an island, orient yourself, fight against 2-5 skeletons, and then bring back the chest. You take it to the ship and either head to the next puzzle or sell it for a few gold coins on the home island.
Not every treasure map is the same. Some quests are puzzles where I had to use my brain and find specific points on the island based on mysterious phrases. While this brings variety, it’s not enough. Somehow everything repeats itself too quickly. Definitely, more content needs to be added to the game.
I often read this feedback on Reddit: Rare, this is really a great game, but more stuff needs to be added.
There is already positive news on this topic.
First, the developers said that they have trimmed the open beta experience so that there are still surprises for players at the release.
Third, the developers confirmed in a video that there will be special mechanics and progression systems with different factions.
What surprises await us in the end, we will only see at the release on March 20. But it has to be more than just a few new enemy types.
Good numbers on Twitch.TV, viewers love pirate entertainment
During the closed beta, many big streamers took the opportunity to showcase the pirate adventure to their viewers.
Combined with voice chat and streamers with humor, many funny scenes emerged. This went down well with the viewers who propelled Sea of Thieves to the top of the Twitch.tv charts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opVuGSZ4FL8
Conclusion: Sea of Thieves has hit potential if you work with the community
The pirate adventure Sea of Thieves does not appeal to everyone. You have to be willing to cooperate with your crew, go on expeditions, and take risks to put your loot at stake.
Single players might enjoy Sea of Thieves
While you can sail through the Sea of Thieves as a lone pirate, the focus is clearly on co-op
Group players will love Sea of Thieves
With three or four on a ship, a lot of fun arises. One is at the helm, one reads the map, and the others are responsible for sails and spotting enemies. This can end up in enjoyable chaos.
The game is “something different” and has a hefty price tag of €70. This probably deters many. Whether the game is “worth” the price is for everyone to decide.
The fact is that the developers have many possibilities open. The community of freshly-minted pirates is passionate and sees that a lot of heart and soul has already gone into the game. With announced content such as factions, animal transports, and limited-time deliveries, we will take another step in the right direction.
I am already looking forward to the release of Sea of Thieves and believe that the harmony of fan feedback and developer know-how can make the game very successful. To bid farewell to the beta, the Reddit user JakeMannlington and his crew said:
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The Elder Scrolls Online (PC, PS4, Xbox One) will soon receive new content in the form of a new DLC. In Dragon Bones, players will explore two new dungeons. Additionally, there will be the free Update 17 with the outfit system for clothing customization. The release date is now known.
As usual, the online role-playing game The Elder Scrolls Online will also receive a DLC package every quarter in 2018, which includes new content such as instances and additional gameplay mechanics.
The current DLC Dragon Bones and the free Update 17 bring both: new dungeons and the outfit system.
The Dungeon DLC brings the instances “Horn of the Kral” and “Summit of the Scaled Caller”
However, it takes on a radically different form, but the background story remains. In the abandoned Dwemer mine, a necromancer cult has settled, aiming to resurrect an undead dragon.
The second dungeon is the “Summit of the Scaled Caller”. There, a resurrected, renegade Dragon Priest has sought the Daedric Prince of Plagues as her new patron. Hence, her mountain stronghold is now swarming with infected cultists and stinky disgusting bosses!
Each dungeon offers its own gear, trophies, and emotes as loot.
Update 17 with Outfit System
In addition to the paid Dragon Bones DLC, the regular and free Update 17 for ESO will also be available. The highlight of the update is the new outfit system. With this, you can – similar to the transmog system in WoW – overlay the appearance of one armor over the appearance of another item of clothing.
So, if you don’t want to wear ugly full plate armor, you can now display the look of a robe or leather armor instead. The stats of the original armor are not affected.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Release Date for Dragon Bones in February
The Dragon Bones DLC along with the update will be released for PC on February 12, 2018.
Players on Playstation 4 or Xbox One will have to wait a bit longer and will get the DLC and Update 17 on February 27, 2018.
Update 17 with the outfit system and the dungeon DLC Dragon Bones is expected in February.
Allegedly, the location of the next ESO addon is already known.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The release date of the SF shooter Anthem has been postponed, but it is not officially delayed. How EA justifies this is quite an art, according to our author Schuhmann.
That’s quite an achievement: EA postpones a launch by half a year but claims it is not a delay.
While acting exactly as an insider report predicted a few weeks ago, they deny this insider report and say, “Everything is going according to plan.”
What’s going on? Anthem and the release in autumn 2018
At E3 2017, BioWare finally presented Anthem, EA’s answer to games-as-a-service shooters like Destiny, The Division, or Warframe.
Back then at E3, it was stated: “The launch of Anthem is planned for autumn 2018” – so for sometime between September and December 2018, just in time for grandma to place it under the Christmas tree for her favorite.
At that time, observers noted: “That’s quite early for a game that we’re hearing about for the first time now.” Also, in the following months, there was practically nothing from Anthem. No developer blogs, no interviews, no major news.
Nearly everyone assumed a postponement and discussed it extensively. Hardly anyone expected that Anthem would actually be released in 2018.
Insider report says: Release in 2018 was never realistic
However, EA insisted that Anthem should be released at the latest in spring 2019, as the fiscal year ends then. It’s important for investors that something good comes in the books.
At Kotaku, it sounded like a “planned delay” that did not result from significant development difficulties. Rather, the source stated: “The date was never realistic.” It was already clear at E3 2017 that autumn 2018 would not happen.
Later date to make space for Battlefield
EA did not comment on this report. Now, a week later, the CFO spoke with a journalist from the Wall Street Journal. The EA representative said that they want to release Anthem early in 2019 and not in autumn anymore. However, this is not due to problems in development, but simply because they want to release a new Battlefield in October 2018, and that should take priority.
People are trying to create a story out of this.
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Interesting: In the Kotaku report, there was not even a direct mention of delays in development, instead it was stated: The 2018 date was NEVER realistic. Even with the denial, no one addresses this.
EA also wants us to believe the following:
Anthem is actually already almost finished and the development is going as planned. But EA has decided to wait half a year longer with the practically finished Anthem because they want to release a new Battlefield in October.
While Kotaku’s version is:
Anthem was planned from the beginning for spring 2019.
If you believe that, EA probably only mentioned an earlier date at E3 to make the game sound more interesting and to provide a reason for presenting it big in 2017, while it should actually have been presented a year later.
Not give the impression that they are just “early” releasing to remain within the fiscal year,
Nor do they want to give the impression that there are difficulties in development.
So they act as if they could actually release Anthem in autumn, but they don’t, to make room for Battlefield. However, this has nothing to do with Anthem itself.
In the world of EA, Anthem comes later, but there is no delay.
Anthem belongs to the top games of 2018, well … 2019:
These are all new raid mods in Destiny 2 introduced with update 1.14. They have raid-specific perks.
At the end of January, update 1.14 was released, which made some changes to the endgame of Destiny 2. The raid rewards were adjusted to make the loot more exciting and to give Guardians new incentives to dive into the raid.
One new feature concerns the raid armor pieces. These can now be equipped with special mods with raid-specific perks.
List of all raid mods with perks
Keep in mind that the following perks only work on the Leviathan – that is, on the massive ship where the raid activities take place.
Helmet:
When you activate the super, the grenade is charged (there’s one mod for each element)
Gloves:
Melee kills temporarily increase your damage by 20% for about 10 seconds
Melee kills temporarily reduce incoming damage by 20%
Melee kills have a chance to grant power ammo
Chest armor:
Defeat enemies with yellow health bars using power weapons to temporarily increase power weapon damage by 15%
Leg armor:
Normal enemy kills with energy weapons increase energy weapon damage by 15%
Class item:
25% more ability damage (there’s one mod for each element)
By the way: The armor pieces from the standard raid, the prestige raid, and the raid tract all have the same mods with the same perks.
The bonuses are also supposed to be stackable. If your damage is increased by 20% after a melee kill and you have the class item mod, you deal an incredible amount of damage with your super. The Celestial Night Hawk sends its regards…
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The raid mods are reusable. If you swap the mod for another mod, it remains intact. This swapping process costs you 1 Calus token each time. All raid mods are legendary and provide +5 power.
When you apply a raid mod to an armor piece, your existing mod is replaced. An armor piece cannot have two mods active at the same time.
How do I get raid mods? From now on, raid armor pieces will drop with these mods. If you already own raid armor, you can select the mods directly.
Many Guardians conclude that these mods are quite strong in practice. They greatly simplify the raid activities. However, don’t forget that the mod perks are only active on the Leviathan.
This backfired: A nasty jab at Paragon from the SMITE developers was received by fans as “meh”.
Just a few days ago, the developers of Paragon, Epic Games, announced that the MOBA is being discontinued. They simply could not retain enough players, did not meet their own expectations, and even promised a full refund of all in-game purchases to customers.
Hi-Rez, the developers of SMITE and Paladins, however, mocked the downfall of Paragon in a video. The two community managers of SMITE, HiRezSt3alth and HiRezIsiah, invited “all players” to join SMITE in its fifth year in a short clip. They repeatedly threw in trigger words, zooming the camera in extra close.
Unfortunately, the “puns” cannot be meaningfully translated, so here are the original phrases that you can also see in the video below:
“If you don’t know Isaiah and myself, we’re just a ‘PARA’ community managers for SMITE”
“Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s ‘GON'”
“Five years? That sounds like one ‘EPIC GAME.'”
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A clear mockery of Paragon and the manufacturer Epic Games.
There was not a significant outcry from the remaining Paragon community, but rather from the SMITE fans. They found this jab to be extremely silly and tasteless and believed that Hi-Rez perhaps should not be so loud when it comes to discontinued games, if looking back at Global Agenda or Tribes: Ascend.
SMITE recognized its mistake and apologized afterward. They only tried to welcome new players and wanted to achieve this with the typical “Hi-Rez humor,” but clearly missed the mark.
Todd Harris from Hi-Rez added:
“Our team planned the video as fun and not as disrespect. We have had to discontinue games ourselves and know exactly how devastating this can be for developers and the community. We apologize for this offense and will represent a more positive attitude in the future.”
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Cortyn says: I think “tasteless” sums it up best here. From my perspective, it wasn’t particularly funny and was disrespectful. Discontinuing a game that you have worked on for years is certainly not an easy step for the developers, who now see years of their work ending up in “nothing.” Making fun of it is probably not the smartest move. But we are all just human.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Playing in a big event like the Overwatch League is a dream for many gamers. One who made it is Hyung-seok “Bischu” Kim of the Los Angeles Gladiators. In an interview with Invenglobal, he describes how it happened—and how things were for him before. And the situation before didn’t look too promising.
With the Overwatch League, Blizzard has created a gigantic spectacle for eSports this year. With its own arena and players from around the world, the game studio offers entertainment for almost half a year.
To be able to play in the Overwatch League, players must be among the best. Each player is contracted by a team for one year—of course, the owners want to ensure quality.
One of the players in the league is Hyung-seok (“Aaron”) “Bischu” Kim, the Tank/Flex player of the Los Angeles Gladiators. In a detailed interview with Invenglobal, he talks about his past and how he finally made it to the league. We have summarized the most interesting points for you.
“Before I joined the LA Gladiators, I had 80$ in my bank account.”
Before Bischu started with Overwatch, he was a League-of-Legends streamer. During his high school time, he streamed in his free time but never really thought about playing in a team. Solo games and streams were more important to him.
However, the question nagged him whether he really wanted to earn money by streaming games and what his future would look like. He eventually decided that he preferred to play for his money. So, he didn’t go to college as his parents intended, but started playing Overwatch and probably moved to LA to join a pro team.
From the last dump to the league
With savings from his time as a LoL player, he struggled through Korea Town in Los Angeles. He was too proud to ask his parents for help and lived off his dwindling savings.
Bischu lived in the last dump, a hole, as he puts it. He was at the end of his nerves, surviving on “shitty meals” and waiting day by day for the call from a pro team. Just before he had to return to Korea due to lack of money, he finally received the relieving call from the LA Gladiators. At that time, he still had 80 dollars in his account.
For him, that was salvation: he didn’t have to go back to Korea, not return to college, and wouldn’t have to live with the question “What if…?”
“It’s humiliating when you lose. You disappoint your fans – that must not happen!”
With the contract in hand, things finally started looking up. Being a pro gamer also means work. A lot of work, in fact. Bischu: “If you don’t train hard, you won’t last long.” Nevertheless, Bischu knows that he now plays in the OWL because he deserves it. He has fulfilled that dream.
As a pro, however, a defeat must never be of no concern. Anyone who becomes complacent has already lost—and if you don’t care about losing, you lack the mindset that defines a pro.
Bischu doubts that a pro ever resigns. Pro players are beyond the point of an amateur who simply brushes off a loss. They play because they hate losing. Especially in the Overwatch League, much more is at stake—and more and more players are beginning to understand that.
“You are not good. You need to be better than the best.”
Bischu therefore makes every effort not to disappoint the fans of the LA Gladiators. “Nothing compares to the feeling when I was on stage and the fans were chanting my name. I don’t think I will ever forget that moment.” Consequently, it is also tough when one cannot meet expectations.
For him, that is the motivation to keep going and the reason why he loves this job. He also advises aspiring players: “Never be complacent, always be critical, you are not good. You need to be better than the best.”
ST – Fabricio – Portimão – 67>76 LM – Roux – FC Metz – 73>79 LM – Sobota – FC St. Pauli – 71>78 ST – De Tomás – Rayo Vallecano – 72>79 ST – Kean – Hellas Verona – 64>74
These were the predictions for Team of the Week 20 in FUT 18
TOTW predictions are forecasts of which players would deserve a spot in the upcoming Team of the Week. Although these predictions never align 100% with the official TOTW, it is risky to act on the transfer market based on these. However, they provide a good overview of which players might receive the coveted special cards.
We provide an overview of forecasts from various FIFA sites.
What is the Team of the Week (TOTW) in FIFA 18 Ultimate Team?
Every Wednesday, EA Sports reveals the Team of the Week in the “Ultimate Team” mode of their annual football simulation. This is also the case in FIFA 18. Players who performed excellently in real football in the past week are rewarded with special cards that possess improved attributes.
You can pull the TOTW cards within a week from the sets that may contain Rare (Gold) players. However, the chance of this is considered low. Additionally, it is possible for you to buy these on the transfer market if they are offered by other gamers. However, the prices for them are usually extremely high.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the free round-based tactics game Atlas Reactor, Season 5 begins. It brings a new story, an additional hero, a Valentine’s Day event, and tanks with more punch.
In Atlas Reactor, you play as one of the now 30 quirky cyber heroes (Freelancers) and team up with other players to defeat an enemy team in a small area. However, the game does not run in real-time, but in rounds with a tight time limit. So, tactical foresight is essential.
Atlas Reactor continues its story in seasons and regularly brings new content. Therefore, with the start of Season 5, there is again new content!
New Cyber Ice Hero Vonn
A highlight of Season 5 is the new Freelancer “Vonn, The Scion of Ice”. This is a cyborg that uses supercooled water. With this, he initiates various ice attacks and inflicts an effect on opponents that explodes in the following rounds and causes area damage.
Additionally, there are the usual slowing effects that ice heroes have in almost every game. This makes Vonn a good control hero who disrupts and influences the enemy’s gameplay.
The general feedback from the community about Vonn is quite positive. The hero is considered well-balanced and not overpowered.
Frontline Freelancers Receive Damage Buff – Now Hit Hard!
Even more interesting than the new hero Vonn is a large-scale buff for the frontline freelancers. This refers to the tanks in Atlas Reactor. Such heroes are meant to absorb a lot of damage and protect their less sturdy teammates.
With the last patch, the developers gave these heavyweights a significant damage buff. The tanks hit much harder now. This is also well received by most players.
However, some heroes, like the mutant Rask, are said to be clearly overpowered according to some players and are expected to be on perma-ban in the upcoming ranked season.
Beatings for Valentine’s Day
Until February 20, 2018, the “Mad Love Event” celebrates Valentine’s Day in Atlas Reactor. During this time, you can acquire special loot boxes through daily missions and in the shop.
The boxes contain unique Valentine’s skins for the freelancers Celeste, Grey, Titus, Orion, and Quark. Perfect to host a festival of hits with your newly empowered tank heroes!
If you log into Monster Hunter World on PS4 or Xbox in the next few days, you will receive a free gift package. The package contains useful items that every hunter can use.
Update February 1: The article now also includes a list of the items you will receive in the package
You can find the package in the login bonus screen when you log into Monster Hunter World next time. The small login bonus screen will be displayed at the bottom right of your screen. All hunters on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can pick up the gift.
What’s in the gift package?
In the package you will find:
50 x Mega-Potion
20 x Life Powder
10 x Demon Powder
10 x Hard Shell Powder
5 x Steelite
Celebration-Pack is distributed in waves
The package will be distributed over several rounds. So it may be that your package arrives later and you might receive it only in a few days. The items can be collected only once per account. The thank you gift can be collected until February 15, 2018 – You should receive it by then at the latest.
Are you new to the world of Monster Hunter World? We have some useful guides for you:
In FIFA 18 Ultimate Team, the Ones to Watch for the winter transfers are coming. All information about the new OTW player cards and an explanation of what the “Stars in Focus” are and how you can get them is available here.
Update: These are the Ones to Watch for winter:
As early as the end of September, “Ones to Watch” cards were available in packs. These are actually called “Stars in Focus” in German, but are mostly referred to as “Ones to Watch” or OTW here.
Now, in winter 2018, EA Sports is launching new OTW cards.
This time it is the winter edition of the Ones to Watch. A selection of 23 players who are among the most promising top transfers in winter will receive dynamic special cards.
Release of the Stars in Focus – Winter Edition in Ultimate Team
Update: It is now official, yes the OTW in winter will be released on February 2nd at 7 PM!
The fact that there will be winter OTWs in FUT 18 has been officially known since January 28th. This was revealed in a tweet from EA Sports.
The fifauteam site now assumes that the winter OTWs will likely be available in packs from February 2nd at 7 PM until February 9th at 7 PM.
As soon as there is official information, we will update the article.
Once the OTW cards are in packs, they will replace the standard cards of those players in the packs. After the OTW phase, you will no longer be able to pull them from packs, but can only purchase them on the transfer market.
Update: These are the Ones to Watch for winter:
Predictions for the OTW
In addition to Sanchez, Mkhitaryan, and Coutinho, 20 other players will receive OTW cards. Which ones those are, we will learn in the future. In the meantime, here are predictions from fifauteam – a forecast of which other footballers might get OTW cards:
Defenders
CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
CB: Lisandro López (Inter)
CB: Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund)
LB: Terence Kongolo (Huddersfield Town)
LB: Nicolás Tagliafico (Ajax)
Midfielders
CDM: Yann M’Vila (AS Saint-Étienne)
CDM: Francis Coquelin (Valencia CF)
CDM: Soualiho Meïté (FC Girondins de Bordeaux)
CM: Vincent Koziello (1. FC Köln)
CM: João Mário (West Ham United)
CM: Rafinha (Inter)
CAM: Ross Barkley (Chelsea)
RM: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal)
RM: Theo Walcott (Everton)
LM: Vitolo (Atlético Madrid)
LW: Alexis Sánchez (Manchester United)
LW: Coutinho (FC Barcelona)
LW: Marko Pjaca (FC Schalke 04)
Forwards
ST: Diego Costa (Atlético Madrid)
ST: Luciano Vietto (Valencia CF)
ST: Cenk Tosun (Everton)
ST: Jürgen Locadia (Brighton & Hove Albion)
What are the Ones to Watch in FUT 18? How do the upgrades work? OTW explanation
The special thing about the OTW cards: They are dynamic cards. Every time an OTW player receives a TOTW card or another special card (like MOTM, Hero, etc.), that player’s OTW card is automatically adjusted to that card and will consistently stay at the higher rating.
In other words: The better a player performs in real football (and thus receives a special card from EA Sports), the better your OTW card will become throughout the season. There is then a form boost that corresponds to the latest values.
Important: The OTW cards will not be upgraded by those special cards that grant extreme stat boosts, such as TOTY or TOTS.
The position on the OTW player card always remains the same, even if the position on a new TOTW card differs.
With Patch 4.2 came many new contents and along with them new cool rewards for the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV (PC, PS4). In this guide, you will find an overview of the mounts (Mounts) and companions that are available starting from 4.2, and their locations.
Warning: The list may contain possible spoilers for the Omega Sigmametrie, as well as upcoming events. It will be updated with further findings and information as necessary.
How to find the new companions in FF XIV 4.2
Yotsuyu Doll – As a bonus code in the new artbook “Art of the Revolution: Western Memories”
The most digitally lucrative games in 2017 are not new releases, but old games. Only a few in the top 10 lists of 2017 regarding digital revenue were released that year. Thus, the 4-year-old Grand Theft Auto V beats the new Destiny 2 on PS4 and Xbox One.
In the news pages of the gaming industry, it’s about the daily occurrences. The current games are making headlines:
What troubles are there with Destiny 2?
What record has PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds broken this time?
What is EA doing with the loot boxes in Star Wars Battlefront 2?
However, the “naked numbers” paint a different picture of the gaming industry. The analysis firm SuperData has released a report on which games generated the most digital revenue in 2017.
The digital revenue from the platform providers’ shops or through in-game sales, the microtransactions, is becoming increasingly important for games, while physical sales have been declining for years.
What are Games-as-a-Service and why are they the big winners in gaming 2017?
In terms of digital revenue, the so-called “Games as-a-service.” dominate. These are games that, at first glance, have little in common and span across all genres and platforms.
According to SuperData, bonus revenues are rising much faster than revenues from product sales, which remain relatively stable. Source: Superdata
FIFA and Grand Theft Auto V, Hearthstone and LoL, Destiny 2 and Minecraft have, at first glance, no commonalities, but all belong to the Games-as-a-service.
The games are characterized by the following features:
They are multiplayer games
They have a strong online component
They rely on microtransactions
And they are usually supplied with content for years.
This leads to strange blooms. In the past, games only made money at release and perhaps with expansions and sequels later. But today, the “revenue curve” for Games-as-a-Service looks different. A popular example here is FIFA 17, which generates almost consistently high revenue over a full year until the successor is released.
The winners of 2017 on consoles: Oldies beat newcomers
This trend means that the strongest game in 2017 in digital revenue on PS4 and Xbox One is the 4-year-old “Grand Theft Auto V” (2013).
Also, FIFA 17 (2016) made more money in 2017 than almost all other games that were released this year. Only Call of Duty: WW2 ranks higher.
Even older games like Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015), Rainbow Six Siege (2015), or Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016) have generated enough digital revenue to make it into the top 10.
The level of the figures shows that microtransactions and digital revenue on PS4 and Xbox One are not yet as widespread as on PC or mobile, but they are coming.
The winners of 2017 in premium games on PC: Fresh wind
On PC, there is indeed something like fresh wind in paid games: With PUBG, there is a current game in 1st place, which has generated almost twice as much as the second-placed Overwatch from 2016.
But in 3rd place, there’s an oldie: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is from 2012, making it older than GTA V, which appears at 5 on PC. However, on PC, Destiny 2 beats GTA V significantly despite the very late PC release.
With “Divinity: Original Sin 2,” the only single-player game that has shone in digital revenue can be found here.
Surprisingly: Guild Wars 2 ranks 8th, being the only paid MMORPG in the top 10. Here, a problem of SuperData shows: It seems they cannot access all the numbers from MMORPGs for this statistic – perhaps games like WoW, Final Fantasy XIV, or The Elder Scrolls Online would actually rank higher on the list, but their numbers are likely not publicly accessible.
The winners in Free2Play games on PC: LoL and games that no one here knows
With League of Legends, a two-billion title stands at the top of digital revenue among Free2Play games on PC. LoL has been running its rounds alone for years. It is from 2009.
LoL is already old, but still considerably younger than the most popular games from Asia like Dungeon Fighter Online (2005) and CrossFire (2007).
In the top 10 table, several games appear that probably say nothing to westerners, or are “very niche” like Roblox.PC gaming, especially in the Free2Play area, is often a regional affair. Only a few games work worldwide like League of Legends.
Mobile games have the most billion-dollar titles in 2017: 5 billion-games
There are as many as 5 billion-dollar titles among mobile games. Mobile games rely heavily on microtransactions, as they almost exclusively offer Free2Play.
Here, the unofficial mobile version of League of Legends, Arena of Valor (in China: Honour of Kings), ranks high with almost 2 billion dollars in digital revenue. The MOBA breaks record after record in Asia and has now also been released in Europe and North America. Allegedly, 108 million women play this alone.
Pokemon GO also holds its ground well in the charts at 9. The fresh “Lineage 2 Revolution”, a mobile game with MMORPG elements, ranks at 7.
These were the digital revenues of 2017. Many games are included that are not often talked about but still make their rounds. How 2018 could develop, we will shed light on in this article:
