In the movies he does not appear, yet there is an extremely powerful god in the world of The Lord of the Rings who accomplished great deeds with his creative power. In doing so, he created holy beings, including a great villain.
Who is this god? In the world of The Lord of the Rings, there are numerous mysterious and powerful beings. Eru Ilúvatar stands at the top. He is the god responsible for the creation of the world and its inhabitants.
In the movies or the books that tell the story of Frodo and the destruction of the Ring, Eru Ilúvatar does not appear. Only in “The Silmarillion,” the book published after J.R.R. Tolkien’s death, is this god mentioned.
While he is certainly comparable to the gods of our world – such as those of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam – the story of creation differs significantly from known narratives.
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Epic Trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship
The Creation of the Ainur
How was the world created? Eru Ilúvatar is a being that is eternal. This means that the god has always been there and will never disappear. Only through the power of his thoughts did he create the Ainur. Translated, this means “The Holy Ones.” These beings are part of the divine thoughts, they are very wise, yet originally bodiless. They are divided into Valar and Maiar, the latter includes the Istari, among them Gandalf.
The Ainur were taught by Eru Ilúvatar three musical themes, the so-called “Great Music.” From this, the universe, namely Ea, was born. Thus, the planet Arda, where Middle-earth is located, was finally created.
Remarkably, the god, though very powerful, after the creation of his world never intervened directly in events, except for one instance. Only during the downfall of Númenor did the god reshape the world.
Eru Ilúvatar is not hostile to other gods, but it is important to him to be at the top of the hierarchy. Despite his role in the world, he is hardly worshipped and revered as a great god anywhere in Middle-earth. This is also due to the fact that this aspect of being a god is not important to Eru Ilúvatar.
He prefers to observe the beings of his creation and delights in their diversity. One of them evolved into one of the great villains in Middle-earth.
Although Melkor was created by Eru Ilúvatar, he fell into conflict with the god. The god accused his Ainur of disturbing the peace and unleashing evil into the world. The harmony of the “Great Music” was disrupted, as Melkor himself harbored ambitions of dominion and also wanted to create as a god.
Melkor is a dubious part of Eru Ilúvatar’s creation. Other beings such as the Elves, Dwarves, or Men, as well as the beautiful flora and fauna of Middle-earth, are, on the other hand, among the god’s greatest achievements. Especially the Elves are among the strongest beings in Middle-earth: 9 powerful Elves from The Lord of the Rings who could easily take on Sauron’s Orcs
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
MeinMMO-Demon Cortyn is currently diving into the Switch 2 with the Zelda games – and realizes how annoying achievements in other games are.
The Zelda games on the Nintendo 64 were a big part of my youth back then. I loved Ocarina of Time and secretly played Majora’s Mask for way too long at night. Later, I played through Twilight Princess with a sibling and then also Skyward Sword with my roommate in my first shared flat.
The two Zelda raps from Starbomb still live rent-free in my head today (thankfully, they are still available on YouTube).
Zelda – or rather Link – has accompanied me my whole life. When Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were released for the Switch 1, I was itching to play – but I found the graphics on the Switch 1 not appealing enough to justify the purchase.
Now I’ve caught up with the Switch 2 and directly bought the two Zelda games. And they teach me something that I have basically felt for a long time but can now articulate clearly: In the Nether, achievement systems are so annoying.
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Trailer for the open-world game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
How Achievements Distract from the Game
It doesn’t matter whether I am tackling an extremely challenging boss fight in Clair Obscur Expedition 33 or following the emotional story of Lost Records: Bloom and Rage. As soon as any important point in the game is reached, there is a loud “Pling” that automatically makes me look at the top of the screen, where the trophy is displayed.
A brief moment that lasts a maximum of 1-2 seconds. The intention is to trigger the reward center. I have “achieved” something and “earned” something – namely the trophy. That is supposed to give me a brief dopamine kick.
Link and the Triforce on the sword – that has never changed.
However, these “rewards” have a disadvantage. They pull me out of the game world and the narrative of the world every time. The acquisition of trophies is non-diegetic, and in most cases, there is absolutely nothing connected with the trophy except reaching a certain point in the game or performing a specific hidden action at the right time.
Every time there is a trophy, it is a brief moment where I am pulled out of the game world. A brief moment where my PlayStation or Steam reminds me that I am playing a game and “completing” things. A hidden or visible checklist that tells me when I have seen and experienced everything.
Zelda is a Pure Experience Without Needing Achievements
The Legend of Zelda doesn’t need any of this, and I have noticed that clearly in the last few days. Because Zelda (or Nintendo in general) has no achievement system.
Of course, there are also “achievement experiences” in Zelda. When I find a hidden shrine or master one of the great temples, a new equipment item or ability usually awaits me.
3 seconds before Link gets lasered away.
The “achievements” in Zelda are part of the gaming experience. An achievement is not that an overlay shows me what I have accomplished, but the square bombs that no longer slide down slopes or the hot fire sword that can defeat frost enemies in one hit.
Actually, I was tired of open-world games. I was initially resistant to the “Your weapons break after X hits” system. I thought I had outgrown Zelda somehow.
But Breath of the Wild is currently showing me that this is not the case. The game has shown me some exciting things in just a few days that I probably wouldn’t have understood for a long time otherwise. The huge, freely accessible world where you can just march in any direction you want – even if that means encountering enemies that can beat several lives out of Link’s body with one hit. Maybe I should have taken the lesson from the song to heart:
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But like hardly any other game world, The Legend of Zelda is simply “round” and that completely without achievement systems. Even if I find many of Nintendo’s decisions a bit questionable, not having an achievement feature clearly belongs to the better ones.
And “Tears of the Kingdom” is also waiting here for me when I finally finish Breath of the Wild.
When that will be? No idea. I have no achievements that tell me how far I have come.
My lesson from it: Actively hide the reception of trophies and achievements as an option wherever possible. Since their introduction, they have increasingly devalued games for me. At first, one was still positively inclined because – let’s be honest – collecting is somehow something great, but it quickly wore off. Because in most cases, achievements are not part of the gaming experience, but simply something superficial that is imposed on the actual game to trigger another dopamine kick.
Receiving a new blessing at the statue – better than any achievement.
At least for me, it makes the gaming experience so much better and more immersive. Because no flashing pop-up can compare to the experience of having climbed that huge, snow-covered mountain with frost resistance potion after an hour, only to then plunge down from it with a glider.
I don’t want achievements in my games just for the sake of having achievements. I don’t want any more lists that feel like “going through a checklist” and most importantly, I don’t want a noisy “Pling” that pulls me out of the gaming experience every half hour and thus achieves exactly the opposite of what I really want: being able to dive into a world and forget everything else for that time. You can also ruin open-world games wonderfully – our Mary often manages that.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Helldivers 2 a foe currently dominates the battlefield like no other, and since the last update, deaths shine even more in the spotlight.
What enemy are the Helldivers afraid of? The Helldivers have just rescued Over-Earth from the attack of the Illuminated, but one enemy still terrorizes the brave soldiers: the Leviathan spaceships.
These gigantic spaceships are heavily armored all around, and even with the strongest efforts of the Helldivers, the fight against them proves to be extremely tough.
Worse than their thick ship hull, however, is their armament. The spaceships are equipped with laser cannons that can obliterate Helldivers with a single shot. Additionally, there are plasma bomb launchers under the wings of the spaceships, which can attack you even more easily. A change was supposed to weaken the enemies now, but in reality, it only reveals their true potential.
Here you can see the trailer for the Illuminated enemy faction:
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Helldivers 2 reveals the new enemy faction in the trailer for ‘Omens of Tyranny’
New patch is supposed to make the enemies easier, but instead shows how strong they really are
What has the patch changed? The developers seem to have realized that the Leviathan spaceships are too strong with their one-shot mechanic. Therefore, a nerf was supposed to come, which is intended to help the Helldivers primarily to avoid attacks in time.
The enemy spaceships recently received searchlights that show the brave soldiers of Over-Earth exactly when they are in the crosshairs of the enemy Leviathan. But now that the Helldivers can see exactly when they must dodge, they realize that it doesn’t work very well. The spaceships are so strong and quick in their targeting that even perfect dodging only increases the survivability by a few seconds.
How dodging looks can be seen in this clip on Reddit:
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How are players reacting to this? Now that players know exactly that they have become the target of the spaceship and are no longer simply taken out because of carelessness, it becomes clear to them how strong the enemies are.
On Reddit, there are various opinions from the soldiers of Over-Earth about the change:
Driglok: ‘I think it’s a fair change. At least it informs that the Leviathan is targeting you. It feels less
Dominator_3: ‘I love this change, now that I know what it is. I just thought, why does my teammate have this huge flashlight, before I realized that a Leviathan was flying above me.’
Sad-Needleworker-590: ‘Finally, I can be hit at the same time and see it.’
Driglok: ‘I think it’s a fair change. At least it informs that the Leviathan is targeting you. It feels less
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Dune: Awakening is currently a lot of fun for many players, but it can also be quite frustrating. That it’s not always just the deadly survival elements or nasty griefers to blame is shown by the story of a dad.
What happened to the dad? On Reddit, hyperco33 explains that he hardly has time to game anymore due to family and work. When he last had the house to himself for a few days, the MMO fan seized this rare opportunity to try out Dune: Awakening.
It was the right choice; the trip to Arrakis was incredibly enjoyable for him. Hour after hour, he farmed resources to build a huge base. With garages for the buggy and his bikes. His last goal before the family returns: to craft an ornithopter.
To achieve that, he had to hurry. So, he gathered materials and was even able to scavenge 10 diamond dust in Mysa Tarill – for the ornithopter, you need 14 units of this rather rare and expensive dust.
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Dune: Awakening: 7 schnelle Tipps, die das Spiel euch nicht verrät
On the way back, it happened: nothing was working anymore. The PC was completely frozen. Even the task manager wouldn’t open. He had to perform a hard reset and hope for the best. When he was able to log back in, however, there was no trace of his buggy. After some time, he at least found the contents of his inventory, but it was way too much stuff to carry back to the base on foot.
So hyperco33 grabbed the most important items and marked the location on the map to return later. Unfortunately, a long walk across open desert awaited him, flanked by large areas of quicksand. He avoided these areas and moved as slowly as possible to avoid startling any sandworms.
When he was almost there, the worm warning suddenly went off. One of the monsters broke through the ground behind him. hyperco33 ran for it, the nearby goal in sight. Only 50 meters to go. Almost made it … connection lost. The worst thing that can happen on Arrakis has happened. The unfortunate dad experiences a disconnect while a worm is on his heels.
When logging in again, the fear turns into bitter certainty: all his belongings are gone, including the 10 diamond dust.
Everything I worked for in my precious free time over the last few days is just gone. If it were my mistakes, I could maybe understand it, but two connection issues in a row that wipe out my progress after hours of work is the worst feeling I’ve ever had in a video game.
I don’t know why I’m even telling this, but I think I just need to share my pain with those who might understand. I’ve submitted tickets in the tiny hope that maybe something can be done about the crappy servers that caused this, but I’m not holding my breath. Anyway, good luck out there, you sleepers. Move quietly.
How does the community react to the report? With over 580 upvotes, more than 280 comments, and many kind words.
Terpapps has experienced something similar, he reports on Reddit: “Yes, I just had a similar connection issue when I was a few meters outside my base (fully loaded with my best gear and a backpack full of stuff). I thought: ‘Well, I’m close enough that there shouldn’t be a worm alert, it should be fine.’ I log back in and … naked, burning in the sun. I didn’t lose as much as you, but it’s still pretty annoying considering I wasn’t even in a worm sign zone.”
Victory28 explains on Reddit: “That’s actually the reason I don’t attack solo scouts who are just trying to get something in the deep desert. I don’t want to ruin the day of a dad who finally carved out a few hours to play. Sorry, man. I’d say there comes a point where you can get most things besides spice relatively easily and with minimal risk. You’ll make it, brother.”
QuietlyDisappointed thanks Victory28 on Reddit: “Thanks from another dad gamer. This game is awesome, but based on my experiences so far, I will soon stop playing due to other players. Today a guy tried to pin my thopter to the ground by hovering over me while I harvested a little spice in Hagga. Even in PvE areas, people are trying to get me to uninstall the game.”
Obsidian_Psychedelic has a suggestion for hyperco33 on Reddit: “If you’d like, feel free to join us on Daedros – Yaracuwan and I will easily get you a new Orni. We’d also love to do farm runs with you to help you get your collected silicon back. Our guild would love to have you.”
The developers of Funcom have announced another server maintenance for Dune: Awakening. MeinMMO summarizes the most important information for you.
Update from June 18, 2025 – 10:11 AM: The servers of Dune: Awakening are back online. You can find the official patch notes for 1.1.0.15 on duneawakening.com and further down in the article.
Update from June 18, 2025 – 10:04 AM: There is still no update on the current maintenance from the official channels of Dune: Awakening. But we were able to download the 1.4 GB update on Steam just now. The servers should be back online soon.
What is known about the maintenance? The servers of Dune: Awakening are expected to go offline on June 18, 2025, at 9:00 AM. The maintenance is expected to last about 60 minutes. If everything goes according to plan, you should be able to explore Arrakis again around 10:00 AM.
As part of the maintenance, the developers will roll out an update with several bug fixes. What specifically will be adjusted is still unclear. As soon as the patch notes go live, we will update the announcement for you. The same goes if we see that you can download the patch through Steam.
Here is the release trailer for Dune Awakening:
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Dune: Awakening presents new action-packed trailer for the release of the game
Dune: Awakening – official patch notes for 1.1.0.15
CHANGES
Respawn timeout in PvP zones was adjusted. The first respawn will take 70 seconds, second and following respawns will take 115 seconds.
The Dvyetz Ornithopter Engine Mk5 Schematic was removed from loot tables, as it was a deprecated item.
Players no longer receive damage when hit by vehicles.
Since the Unstuck feature doesn’t work for vehicles and when the player is on the Overland Map, the Unstuck button won’t show when the player is on or in a vehicle or on the Overland map.
Service messages like server restart alerts now appear at the upper central part of the screen for better visibility. (used to be in the upper-right corner)
An additional safeguard was added when a player respawns across maps: Players now need to manually type “Respawn” into the confirmation popup field.
When players select the Private servers tab in the Server Browser, they will receive a notification pop-up.
Another set of changes to further improve the game server and client stability.
FIXES
Fixed an issue where the game client could freeze when the player attempted to cross the Deep Desert server border.
Fixed an issue where players who shared their base access with friends could not sometimes abandon their base via a map marker.
Fixed an issue that caused the dart trails from the Maula Pistol to sometimes deviate from the intended direction.
Fixed an issue where the Atreides Leader that the player needed to kill in The Advanced Contract – Mentat – Cataloging Defectors contact respawned immediately.
Fixed an issue that caused a possible crash when restoring a vehicle with the Vehicle Backup Tool.
Fixed an issue that made it possible to move Crysknifes into storage containers by swapping them with other items.
Fixed an issue causing the Landsraad refining time reduction bonus not to apply if multiple instances of the same resource were being refined simultaneously.
Fixed an issue that could cause the player to lose Solaris deposited in the bank.
Fixed an issue where service alert notifications would not show due to being blocked by other notifications.
Fixed an issue where exiting the dialogue with Anton Tolliver too soon after delivering the “Deep Extraction” contract would block the player from progressing the faction storyline.
Fixed an exploit where players could damage other players’ bases with a cutteray.
Fixed an issue where Research Journey steps wouldn’t get completed retroactively if the player was in a vehicle when performing research. Logging out and back into the game was needed to fix the issue.
Fixed an exploit causing people to be able to take out water from a deathstill that did not exist in the base.
Fixed an exploit where players could fire a salvo of projectiles.
What do I need to know about Dune: Awakening? The new survival MMO from Funcom was released on June 10, 2025, for PC and takes you to the desert planet Arrakis. However, you won’t find the familiar storyline from the books or films but rather an alternative timeline where Paul Atreides was never born.
Hunger, thirst, sun, aggressive enemies – from the first minute, survival is the focus of Dune: Awakening. By continually building better tools, equipment, bases, vehicles, and weapons, you will increasingly ease your daily life, allowing you to focus more on exploring the game world, mastering dungeons, or experiencing the story.
In large parts of the game world, you can encounter up to 39 other players. Exceptions include the two faction capitals and the Deep Desert, a vast endgame area where PvP is active almost everywhere and which fundamentally changes every week due to a storm. You can find out everything else in our overview: Dune: Awakening – Everything about the release on PS5, Xbox, and PC
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Fortnite the servers will be down today, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, for a patch. What you need to know about version 36.10 can be found here.
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
09:49 AM
Good morning! The player search has now been disabled for Fortnite and soon the entire servers will follow. So be ready for leaks regarding the new update at 10:00 AM.
What happens during the server downtime? The servers will be taken down. During this time, you cannot play Fortnite.
Server downtime in Fortnite – from when? The servers will be taken down on June 18, 2025, at 10 AM. A short time before (about half an hour), matchmaking will be disabled (via x.com).
When can I play Fortnite again? That depends on the size of the update and the duration of the downtime. This is a major update, so expect 1 to 2 hours.
When will patch notes be released? Epic Games now only sporadically presents patch notes for the updates and generally only after the downtime. As soon as they are available, you will find them here.
If you missed the trailer for Chapter 6 Season 3, you can catch up on it here:
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Fortnite showcases its Battle Pass for Chapter 6 Season 3 in the new gameplay trailer
Fortnite: Patch 36.10 – What do leakers say?
What can I expect with the upcoming update? The leaker Shiina has already made some speculations on X.com about what the update might include. The update is expected to bring new content to the Battle Royale. Here’s what you can expect:
New festival season with Bruno Mars
Free skin and umbrella
Collaboration with Squid Game
And much more!
Epic Games may also be hiding one or two shop items in the data. So expect that data miners or leaks will reveal plenty of information about upcoming content.
We will follow the server downtime live for you and provide you with the most important information and leaks. If you just started Fortnite and are still a complete beginner, then we have 6 tips for you that will make you better immediately: 6 quick tips in Fortnite that will make you better immediately
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The franchise of Dungeons & Dragons is shaped not only by its settings but also by important characters that players cannot ignore. We present 4 that have particularly significant influence.
How were the characters chosen for this list? Dungeons & Dragons thrives not just on what players and dungeon masters make of it, but also on various NPCs found in numerous campaign books, modules, comics, video games, and films.
For this list, we have selected 4 of them that not only frequently appear but also have a great influence on Dungeons & Dragons. For example, by immortalizing themselves as creators of important spells or items or frequently being important points of contact for players, as they appear in many parts of various adventures.
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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – Second Official Trailer for the Movie
The following personalities should absolutely not be missed if you dive into the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons.
[toc]
Mordenkainen
Mordenkainen is one of the most powerful archmages of the multiverse and wields arcane powers unlike anyone else. Many of his iconic and legendary spells are utilized by gifted spellcasters such as “Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion,” “Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound,” or “Mordenkainen’s Sword.”
Additionally, there are numerous supplemental rulebooks with his name in the title, such as “Mordenkainen’s Fiendish Folio” or “Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.”
Moreover, he is distinguished not only by raw magical power but also by his extensive knowledge of the multiverse and his strategic ability to influence events from behind the scenes. As the leader of the Circle of Eight, a secret group of wizards dedicated to maintaining cosmic balance, he enhances his power through collective influence.
Mordenkainen embodies the ideal of the extremely powerful yet morally complex and far-sighted mage who watches over the fates of realms and worlds, thus becoming a fixture in D&D.
A special fact that also anchors him in the franchise: He was created by none other than Gary Gygax, one of the co-creators of D&D, as his own player character, which granted him a unique status from the start. Originally from the campaign setting Greyhawk, he is known for traversing the entire multiverse. He is thus also among the so-called “planeswalkers,” who connect the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons with those of Magic: The Gathering.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Dune: Awakening, you can build various types of flying vehicles. If you like it armed, you need a combat thopter. MeinMMO explains how to obtain it.
What is the purpose of the combat thopter? The combat thopter, also known as “Assault thopter,” is a fast and battle-ready flying vehicle in Dune: Awakening. Unlike the other flying vehicles, the combat thopter can be equipped with rockets to fight airborne and ground targets.
Building a combat thopter is an important step for many characters, as it ensures that players can really hold their ground in the endgame area “Deep Desert”.
What do I need to research? To build the combat thopter, you first need to research the assembly kit. It differs from the ordinary ornithopter and can be found in the research menu at tier level 5, duralumin. You will need 45 intel research points for the research.
On a private server, you can calmly gather the necessary materials
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Dune: Awakening: Private Server erklärt
Resource Checklist:
188,005 ml water
262 duralumin bars
80 advanced servos
111 cobalt paste
34 armor plates
10 diamond dust
10 carbide scrap
14 particle condensers
21 complex machines
7 hydraulic pistons
7 military energy regulator
8 industrial pumps
Water
To collect enough water, you should always have enough blood bags with you. Once you get into a fight, you can turn your opponents into valuable water supplies. We explain how this works here: Dune: Awakening Blood Cleaner – How to easily get water
It works even more efficiently with a Fremen death distiller. In this device, you can place the bodies of your defeated enemies to extract their blood by bleeding out. Although the process takes about an hour per corpse, it yields significantly more water and continues automatically while you gather other resources.
Aluminum
While your enemies are being processed into water, you should also focus on acquiring aluminum. The best approach is to get into your buggy, which you’ve previously equipped with a suitable cutter and enough storage space, and head to the eastern shield wall.
Follow the roads and paths there – along the edges, you will regularly discover aluminum deposits. These can be easily mined by switching to the gunner seat (hold down the “F” key) and using your buggy’s cutter. If you’re missing a suitably equipped buggy, it’s advisable to at least take your sand bike with you. Ideally, you should expand the storage space of the bike to avoid having to return to base too often.
Jasmium Ore and Duralumin Bars
Jasmium ore is found in the Hagga basin only in the Sheoul area. There you will find the crystals in the irradiated area, which is why it makes sense to use an ornithopter for transporting and safely extracting the ore. Additionally, you should wear a radiation protection suit to withstand the radiation longer.
In the area, you will find the ore in the lakes and ponds. To mine it, you need at least an industrial cutter level 4. Be careful not to stand in the water while mining, as your radiation dose increases much faster there.
In your base, you can then create the duralumin bars from jasmium ore and aluminum bars, which you need for building the combat thopter.
Other Resources
Cobalt Paste
Cobalt paste is one of the essential materials in Dune: Awakening and is made from erythritol crystals. You can only find these deep in the Hagar Rift, specifically in the Chome mineral extraction facilities. The crystals have a distinctive reddish-pink color and can be seen on the rock walls.
It is also worthwhile to arrive with a buggy or sand bike with expanded storage to avoid unnecessary trips. Once you have collected enough crystals, it’s best to produce the cobalt paste immediately – the production process takes some time.
Advanced Servos and Particle Condensers
You can find these two resources in the testing stations of Dune: Awakening. Depending on how many dungeons you have already completed, you might already have some samples in your inventory.
It is generally advisable to visit the testing stations regularly – there you can complete quests and tasks in addition to the loot.
If you specifically want to farm a certain station: The loot appears about 45 minutes after the last visit. Additionally, there are numerous enemies there that you can utilize for water acquisition.
Diamond Dust and Carbide Scrap
These materials are among the rarer resources in the game and require more effort than simple farming tours. To obtain them, you should visit the Mysa Tarill area.
Between cliffs and building ruins, you will repeatedly find boxes that may contain diamond dust or carbide scrap with a bit of luck. If you don’t find any, there is the option to purchase these resources at the crossroads trading post for Solaris.
Here you can find the most boxes:
Hydraulic Pistons
To get hydraulic pistons, you need to go to the NPC bases in the Sheoul area. There you will find them in boxes within the bases and in small quantities. Alternatively, you can also buy them from the merchant.
Military Energy Regulator
This rare component is needed for the combat thopter. You can find it at the outpost Edge of Acheron in the western part of the map (Sheol region). Beware: The area is heavily irradiated – don’t forget your protective gear! Strong NPC enemies await you on site, and PvP is active. Secure the area, go into the main building, and loot the chest on the table.
With some luck, you can also loot the regulator from crashing ships or buy it from the merchant at the crossroads trading post (Mysa Tarill).
Here you can find the Edge of Acheron:
Complex Machine & Armor Plate
You probably already have these components in your inventory, as they often appear as loot from defeated enemies or in enemy camps.
A helpful tip: In areas with large machines, the chance of encountering these components is significantly higher. Avoid fights against smaller groups, such as those that only linger at a campfire – the effort is usually not worth it. These resources can be farmed particularly efficiently in Sentinel City, together with the next important component.
Industrial Pumps
The last required resource is the industrial pumps. Their best find location is also Sentinel City, in the area of the eastern shield wall. In the chests there, you will regularly find these pumps – however, you should prepare for strong enemies in large numbers.
Our tip: Use distraction abilities to circumvent enemies and focus on quickly looting the chests instead of getting into long fights.
If you don’t find anything in Sentinel City, you can also turn to the merchant at the crossroads trading post for industrial pumps in exchange for Solaris, just like with diamond dust and carbide scrap.
Once you have all the materials, you can easily craft the components for the combat thopter at a vehicle factory and assemble them with the vehicle tool. Remember to bring enough fuel – you don’t want to break down in the skies of Arrakis.
The Total War series is celebrating its 25th anniversary with strong discounts on Steam. And since the series now covers a variety of historical settings, there should be something for every history fan.
What kind of games are they? Total War is a strategy game series from Creative Assembly. For 25 years, the series has combined turn-based global strategy like in Civilization with real-time battles where thousands of soldiers engage in combat.
For the 25th anniversary of the franchise, you can find many parts of the series on Steam at significantly reduced prices. For most games, you save up to 75%, and for some even 80% of the purchase price.
Here you will find all the games in the Total War series that are currently on sale on Steam. All “historical” games are discounted – the Warhammer trilogy is excluded. However, there are still some interesting games for fantasy fans. The sale runs until June 26, 2025.
The most interesting of these games for fantasy fans can be seen here in the trailer:
Start video
Announcement trailer for A Total War Saga: Troy
From the Trojan War and the hordes of Attila …
If you are fresh from Total War: Warhammer, then A Total War Saga: Troy is worth a look. The game revolves around the Trojan War and offers both a historical game mode and two mythological ones:
In “The Truth Behind the Myth” you lead heroes with superhuman powers onto the battlefield, as well as units inspired by mythical beings.
With the “Myth” DLC, you have real monsters, and the gods actively intervene in the battle.
If you want to experience the Bronze Age from a historical perspective, check out Total War: Pharaoh – the latest installment in the series. After a difficult start, Creative Assembly has significantly improved it. The game now includes not only the Hittites, Canaan, and Egypt since the Dynasties update, but also the Greeks and Trojans in the West and the Assyrians and Babylonians in the East.
Pharaoh is currently on sale for €9.99, significantly cheaper than Troy, which costs €24.99, and offers more variety for historical fans.
You can help the Roman Empire achieve eternal glory in Total War: Rome 2 and Total War: Rome Remastered. The more modern game is Rome 2, which offers a lot of content thanks to a variety of mods and DLCs. Or you can burn Rome in Total War: Attila as the “Scourge of God”…
Total War: Rome 2 is currently priced at €14.99 on Steam instead of €59.99.
Total War: Rome Remastered costs €10.19 on Steam instead of €29.99 and includes both expansions of the original.
Total War: Attila is available for €8.99 instead of €44.99, with 80% being one of the largest discounts of the sale.
… into the Middle Ages and up to Napoleon
If the Bronze Age and Antiquity are too early for you, then Total War: Medieval 2 offers one of the most popular Total War games. This game covers the Middle Ages, including the discovery and conquest of America and the first firearms. Note that some things, like the camera control, are not up to date for the series. After all, the title was released in 2006.
Total War: Empire and its spin-off Total War: Napoleon take you into the early modern period. With the widespread use of cannons and muskets, battles play out noticeably differently here. They also include what many players consider the best naval battles of the entire series.
Also always worth recommending is Total War: Three Kingdoms. The game depicts the Three Kingdoms period in ancient China and excels with its focus on characters and a very deep diplomacy system. As in Troy, you also decide here between a historical mode or one with heroes who can easily slice through normal soldiers.
The first Total War played in Japan with Total War: Shogun, by the way. With Total War: Shogun 2, the original already received a sequel. Especially Shogun 2 is highly regarded by many fans and is still very playable today – even if you only know the new Total War games.
The Total War games are among the best representatives of their genre. If you are looking for more games for strategists – whether turn-based or real-time, with a focus on war or construction – you will find more recommendations in our overview on MeinMMO: The 15 best strategy games for PC 2025
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On the official Bungie website, the responsible parties announced that they will postpone the targeted release of Marathon to September 23, 2025, and move it to an indefinite date.
Bungie shows first gameplay of Marathon in trailer
More Survival, More Marathon, More Social
Why is the postponement happening? Sony and Bungie can both really use a hit. In other words: Marathon must not fail. However, since the feedback so far has been mixed, the developers are postponing the planned release on September 23, 2025.
On the official website bungie.net, they explain:
Through every comment and every real-time conversation on social media and Discord, you have expressed your opinion loud and clear. We have taken this to heart and know that we need more time to make Marathon a game that truly reflects your passion.
According to industry expert Paul Tassi, who is closely connected to the Bungie environment, the team learned of the postponement only with the release of the developer announcement. See also his message on X.
The plans for the coming weeks and months at Bungie are as follows:
They want to conduct further beta tests to continue gathering player feedback about the current status and implemented adjustments.
The developers want to strengthen the survival aspect through challenging AI opponents, dynamic events, motivating loot, and a more intense combat experience.
The team wants to better articulate the universe of Marathon through graphics, more narrative elements, and a darker tone that aligns better with previous Marathon games.
Marathon is to receive more social features while also improving the gaming experience for solo players and duos.
About the grind in the endgame of Diablo 4 is regularly discussed in the community. For some, it is simply part of the experience to keep rehashing the same content. Another player sees it quite differently: he believes many have become completely desensitized because items are almost thrown at them.
Which items are we talking about now? In a Reddit post, a player writes that many hardly notice the grind in the endgame anymore because they are constantly being “fed with duped materials.” This refers to the materials needed to open the loot boxes of the hideout bosses. The bosses themselves can now also be summoned without materials.
The user Blubbpaule explains in his post that the perception of grind and loot has completely shifted for many players. “People have completely forgotten what real grind feels like for non-dupers,” he says. The dupes have shifted the baseline for what one considers “normal effort.”
Those who do not buy dupes through trading need many hours to gather the materials and defeat hundreds of bosses, to farm certain uniques and mythic uniques. For those who “respect the grind,” the game is becoming less rewarding, believes Blubbpaule.
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Diablo 4: Der Gameplay-Trailer zu Season 8 mit Belial
Fans believe: The system itself leads to this problem
What do other players say about this? The post ignites a discussion about the endgame system, specifically regarding the path to obtaining strong mythic uniques. For instance, the_millenial_falcon mentions that Diablo 4 should better connect all the mechanics so that one does not have to do 300 boss runs for a mythic.
Also, DisasterDifferent543 suggests: “The fundamental problem with the gear system in Diablo 4 is that it leads players directly and exclusively to this point. As soon as you are somewhat well-equipped, the entire game is just about boss farming.” Everything boils down to grinding XP in the pit or mindless material farming.
“The system promotes monotonous, boring grind instead of real challenges – and that’s a persistent problem,” says Zanaxz. He believes: If the trading of boss materials is restricted, then bosses and loot must be significantly improved in return.
The endgame of Diablo 4 is repeatedly criticized by the community. Hardcore players miss variety, while others complain about boredom. Although Blizzard has made adjustments, with new activities and new difficulty levels – and the roadmap for 2025 promises changes. But even this is being criticized. One fan says: Some players are just never satisfied.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A player orders hardware on Amazon, but his package is lost. He is sent a replacement, but cancels his shipment in parallel.In the end, he has one CPU from AMD and one SSD too many.
An Amazon customer ordered an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and a 2 TB Samsung 990 EVO Plus for his gaming PC. In Germany, you pay nearly 500 Euros for both products combined: about 350 Euros for the CPU from AMD and 120 Euros for the SSD (via Geizhals.de).
After the package did not arrive as announced, he contacted the automated customer service and received replacements for both items. This was reported by the user on Reddit.
However, he exploited the customer service in such a way that ultimately both a replacement delivery was sent to him and the full purchase price was refunded. Two days later, the supposedly lost package was delivered after all, so the customer now received both orders. He paid nothing thanks to the refund, which is why he described the action as “free.”
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Chef ruined his company in 59 seconds on Twitch – What happened to him?
Duplicate and lost shipments frequently concern buyers
Does this happen often? In fact, it happens frequently that users receive more goods than ordered. A player bought an OLED monitor on Amazon and also received a second one due to the report that the first package was lost.
He reported the error to Amazon, and the provider allowed him to keep the second device for free. Unlike this lucky fellow, the user in this case, at least at the time of the post, had not yet contacted Amazon and was even considering simply selling the excess goods.
However, he should definitely not do that, as his conduct could be viewed as a violation of Amazon’s terms of service and could potentially even be illegal. Furthermore, there is still a chance that Amazon will notice the error and request the return of the goods.
What is the best way to proceed in such a case? Simply keeping the goods without informing the seller is usually not legally permissible and can, in the worst case, be considered unjust enrichment or fraud. MeinMMO has consulted a lawyer on the topic of incorrect deliveries. Generally, the following steps are recommended:
Immediately inform Amazon about the excess goods delivered.
Safely store the excess goods until the matter is clarified.
Obtain written confirmation if Amazon still allows you to keep the goods. You can provide evidence later should there be any issues.
How does something like this happen? Users on Reddit repeatedly report that Amazon allegedly does not clearly verify returns or lost packages. Often, it is also said that third-party providers are to blame for not delivering the package or for delivering it incorrectly.
Amazon has long been transitioning in Germany to deliver packages directly and no longer hiring DHL, Hermes, or other service providers for shipping.
The latest patch for World of Warcraft is live. From today, you have players who only need to press a single button.
The latest patch of World of Warcraft is live. Update 11.1.7 launched with today’s maintenance on 18.06.2025 and brought one of the most controversial features ever in World of Warcraft. Starting today, it is possible to play WoW with just one single button, which takes almost all the work out of combat.
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WoW: Xal’atath and the Destruction of Dalaran
What is this feature? From today you can activate the “1 Button Assistant”. This gives you a new button that you can simply drag into your action bars. Whenever you use this button, a skill will be automatically selected and used. The system is “intelligent” and uses skills that are sensible. It takes into account what buffs you currently have or how many enemies you are facing in combat. This allows for a solid rotation to be played without having to select them manually.
What is the downside? To balance this automation, everyone who uses the feature receives a penalty in the form of an increased global cooldown. You will thus use fewer abilities in the same amount of time than other characters who do not use this feature.
This means: The vast majority of people using this feature will perform significantly worse than those who do not.
Note that this is primarily a feature of accessibility. It is designed to help people who may have physical limitations and can only play with aids. However, it can also be used by anyone who does not enjoy the combat in World of Warcraft and plays the game for other reasons – such as pet battles, professions, or role-playing.
What else is in the patch? Apart from this new feature, the patch also includes some new quest lines revolving around Xal’atath, the Titans, or the former Lich King, as well as a new campaign in the Arathi Highlands. If you are interested in all the new features of the patch, it may also be worth taking a look at the full patch notes of Patch 11.1.7.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The international championships of the Pokémon Trading Card Game were held in North America from June 13 to June 15, 2025. In the Junior League finals, two special finalists faced off against each other.
Who were those finalists? In the very last round of the Junior League, Annabelle Oono and Kenji Oono from the USA faced each other. As you might guess from their last name, they are indeed siblings.
Out of 330 participants, it is quite a coincidence that these two ended up in the finals. The sister and her brother wanted to visually show that they belong to the same family, and dressed in red and black colors.
Even their hair and partially their fingernails were red and black. This was a nod to Team Rocket, whose logo features a red R on a black background. Annabelle wore a Meowth plush toy on her shoulder, the mascot of the original Team Rocket. Kenji chose a Zubat as a plush toy, a typical Pokémon of Team Rocket’s minions.
Appropriately, their decks also consisted of Team Rocket cards. The exciting match can be seen on YouTube.
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Pokémon Horizons: The Series – Trailer for the Anime on TOGGO
Sibling Battle in a Pokémon Card Tournament
Who won? The match between the two lasted almost an hour. After many rounds, it was clear: Annabelle is the shining winner and defeated her brother after an exciting match. But instead of breaking into sibling rivalry, which some of you might know, the two embraced each other lovingly and gave each other their special handshake.
However, there must be a reason why they didn’t go to war with each other: 1st place receives a prize money equivalent to about €6,050, and 2nd place still receives a respectable €4,300 (see the official page of Pokémon). Since both are under 18, the money will be paid out either as a Pokémon Visa Prepaid Card or as a scholarship. Still, both should be satisfied with such amounts.
What do others say about it? In the comments under the video, there are many positive remarks. Some users write that the parents must be proud, or that it was wholesome to watch the two.
One commenter even writes that his girlfriend usually rolls her eyes whenever he talks about Pokémon. But even she watched the match with him.
In Dune: Awakening, there are players who annoy others with nasty tricks. However, some also show how beautiful unity can be in a survival MMO – and even help others to survive.
However, the community also has very different sides. Many players report friendly encounters, gifted loot, and spontaneous help in the desert of Arrakis.
To protect your base from unwanted visitors and to grant access to your guild members, you can set certain levels:
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Dune: Awakening: So funktionieren die Zugangsstufen
Players leave bases and play taxi
This is how helpful the community of Dune: Awakening is:On Reddit, a user reports that a player sought shelter in his garage during a storm. He himself was in the process of moving his loot to a new base – so he simply left it for the stranger. Now he occasionally visits him.
The user Cizhu also experienced something similar: During a sandstorm, he was taken in by someone. A sandstorm gradually drains you of a lot of health – and you cannot heal against it as long as you are taking damage. Many players deliberately build their bases in a way that allows other people to seek shelter during sandstorms or sun exposure.
Cizhu also recounts that while messing around in a bar, he jokingly said in voice chat that he needed a drink. Several people promptly approached him, asking with concern if everything was okay, and one offered him water. “In the end, we sat in a circle and chatted for about 10 minutes. I’m still quite new, asked a lot of questions, and the people gave me great tips. I have never had such a wonderful experience in a game,” he reports.
Another user tells on Reddit how he got stuck in quicksand with his sandbike, lost his loot, and then respawned far away. He asked for help in chat – and indeed someone came with a buggy, picked him up, retrieved his loot with him, and brought the player back to his base.
Unlocking the mirror mode in Mario Kart World on the Nintendo Switch 2 is so confusing that even Nintendo got it wrong in the description.
Nintendo provides incorrect information: The mirror mode is a popular mode in Mario Kart World, as you race the tracks in mirrored form, giving you a different experience on the course. However, the mode is not available from the start in Mario Kart World and must be unlocked under certain conditions.
In a newsletter email sent on 12.06.2025, in which Nintendo gave tips to players of Mario Kart World, they also described how to unlock the mirror mode. However, the information in it was incorrect, leading Nintendo to correct their mistake in a following email.
Here they also wrote the actual conditions that apply to unlock the mirror mode.
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Mario Kart World – Reveal Trailer
Unlocking the mirror mode in Mario Kart World
How do I unlock the mirror mode? To play the mirror mode, you need to meet the following conditions:
Complete all Grand Prix races in 150cc mode (Bronze or better)
Complete all knockout tours in 150cc mode (as fourth or better)
Find all 10 Peach medals in free driving
Find all 10 ?-blocks in free driving
Find all 10 P-switches in free driving and complete all associated tasks
Complete the special cup again
After the credits, you should receive a new scene that tells you that you have unlocked the mirror mode. From now on, you can select this variant in the menu.
Activating mirror mode in free driving: You can not only race in the Grand Prix or the knockout tour in mirror mode, but you can also activate it in free driving. To do this, you should first drive to Peach’s stadium. Then you need to do the following:
Drive straight from the start and over the winding track, then you will see Peach’s castle on the right side
Pass through the pipes and leave the course on the right side to drive onto the roof of the castle
Drive to the large stained glass window that shows Princess Peach and drive through it. The mirror mode is activated.
Total War: Warhammer 3 received a comprehensive update with 6.2 on June 17, 2025, which is remarkable for several reasons. The community celebrates many of the new features.
What does Patch 6.2 bring for Total War: Warhammer 3? Already in April 2025, my colleague Benedict Grothaus celebrated the announcement that the developers want to finally overhaul the questionably stupid AI of the game, which often declines sensible alliances or starts pointless wars. The new update brings two new options in the game settings that allow you to customize the AI.
The additional highlights of the update:
Comprehensive overhaul of magical items
The installation has been rebuilt, saving you 27 percent of storage space. Load times are also expected to improve significantly. However, you will need to download a hefty 55 GB of data as part of the patch.
More than 1,200 2D icons for units have been optimized.
There are countless bug fixes for the campaign, battles, and multiplayer. Performance has also been significantly optimized.
The update is so comprehensive that the developers have issued a mod warning, as compatibility issues may arise. You can find the full patch notes at creative-assembly.com.
One of the trailers for Total War: Warhammer 3:
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Total War: Warhammer 3 – The official teaser for the DLC Tides of Torment
“Fantastic Work”
How does the community rate the update? Many fans of the strategy game celebrate the adjustments and improvements for Total War: Warhammer 3.
Player#752132 writes under the official patch notes: “Fantastic work! We would appreciate further performance improvements!!!”
toskyrun#2614 especially celebrates the improved load times: “That’s all I wanted.”
Haganaz#8763 is also pleased with the update: “Oh! A surprisingly large number of tremendous improvements under the hood! This is fantastic and extremely welcome!”
Many of the comments show that fans are still excited about Total War: Warhammer 3 and would greatly appreciate further improvements of this kind. But even now, the trend is clearly positive: The overall rating on Steam is still a decent 72 percent positive, while reviews from the past 30 days show a significantly better 84 percent positive.
With Crimson Desert, the developers at Pearl Abyss (Black Desert) have a very hot role-playing fire in the forge of their game studio. But when exactly in 2025 will the potential highlight be released?
However, the Korean website MTN now reports (via pcgamesn.com) that the open-world RPG by the Black Desert creators is expected to be released worldwide on November 2, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series. Why “expected”? Because this is said to be an internal, preliminary date.
The team is currently in the final development phase. If everything progresses as planned in the coming months, the release date remains November 2, 2025, and the date will be officially confirmed, according to MTN. This also means that there could still be delays at the last minute, which would affect the planned launch in November.
Crimson Desert will be a graphics powerhouse:
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Crimson Desert: Trailer shows powerful graphics engine of the open-world RPG
The best action RPG in a strong RPG year?
What do I need to know about Crimson Desert? Unlike Black Desert, Crimson Desert will be a purely single-player experience, but is expected to shine with comparable strengths – such as beautiful graphics and a brutal combat system.
The previous trailers not only shine with great visuals and dynamic battles in the open world (including wrestling moves, destructible siege machines, and mounted combat), but also showcase activities such as fishing, balloon rides, flute playing, arm wrestling, parkour climbing, taming mounts, and much more.
The setting (the harsh continent Pywel) and the characters of Crimson Desert heavily remind one of Westeros from Game of Thrones with their western appearance. The main character Kliff resembles a certain Jon Snow. You can even ride dragons, like the Targaryens.
Who gives positive feedback on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is extremely popular among its players, as the game is “Very Positive” on Steam, but also among other development studios. Both Hideo Kojima and the Community Director Marcin Momot from CD Projekt Red have now shared positive words about the game and its developers.
Clair Obscur is so good that players are sad when they finish it:
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hinterlässt bei den Spielern eine Leere
“This is my ideal scenario”
What does Marcin Momot from CD Projekt Red say about the game? On X, Marcin Momot posted his brief assessment of Expedition 33 after finishing it. He praises the characters, the fun gameplay, and the music. He also states: “We need more games like this!” and “Brilliant! It must be in the conversations for GOTY!”
What does Hideo Kojima say about Expedition 33? The creator of the Metal Gear series, Death Stranding, and P.T. praised especially the small size of the development team behind Expedition 33. Sandfall Interactive, the studio behind the game, consists of a team of just over 30 employees.
Hideo Kojima mentioned in an interview with Dexerto: “They have only about 33 team members and a dog. That is my ideal scenario when I develop something with a team.” He further explains that something in a larger team might not work out as initially envisioned, simply because so many people are involved in a project.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 was released in February 2025 and turned out to be a great role-playing game for medieval fans. A related documentary has now been released, providing an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Warhorse Studios.
What is this documentary about? On 17.06.2025, a documentary by our colleagues from Gamestar about Warhorse Studios and their work on Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 was released.
In it, fans get a detailed insight into the development of one of the best role-playing games of this year. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 impressed both the press and players and holds a rating of 88 points on Metacritic, with a user score of 8.7. Even MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz was impressed.
The path to success on platforms like Steam was anything but easy. The documentary tells this story, featuring not only the leading figures from Warhorse Studios but also developers and the main actors of the game.
Here you can watch the documentary in full length:
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The documentary provides insights into the development
What does the film say? Daniel Vávra and Martin Klíma are the founders of Warhorse Studios and share in the documentary about the beginnings of their great medieval role-playing game. They were keen to depict a scenario that is as authentic and realistic as possible.
Initially, there were difficulties in finding investors. Particularly the first part experienced a lot of rejection, as the underlying philosophy of Warhorse Studios sounded little promising.
After all, historical accuracy was a priority for the first part, and that seems to be just as important for the fans. “People can smell bullshit,” say the developers, explaining why they were so eager to depict every little detail historically correctly. However, it was important to them that players should not only admire the world but also immerse themselves completely in it.
The new documentary ultimately shows how medieval Bohemia was created in practice. Fans gain insights into the planning and creation of the game world and characters. Other aspects such as music and recordings with the actors are also highlighted. It is revealed that Heinrich actor Tom McKay was not the first choice for the role.
How does the documentary end? At the end of every game development comes the release. An exciting moment that is also captured in the documentary. It shows how the first reactions to Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 arrive and how the team ultimately experiences the launch.
The effort and perseverance have paid off in the end. The role-playing game enjoys great popularity and when looking at the work behind the scenes, it becomes clear why Warhorse Studios was able to celebrate this success. The developers are ambitious and pursue a clear vision that sets their game apart from others.
If you got excited about Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 again after the documentary, there is good news. The game still has some highlights in store for 2025. Among other things, fans can expect several story DLCs and regular patches. You can find details on this at MeinMMO: Kingdom Come Deliverance 2: Roadmap announces new monastery quest, hardcore mode, and more
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
