Startled real estate sharks in Final Fantasy XIV are demolishing houses

Irina Moritz Irina Moritz Reading time 3 minutes

With the content patch 4.2 of Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix aims to tackle the crisis concerning housing in their flagship MMORPG. This has now led to a surge in the housing market. Some real estate sharks may have panicked.

Strict rules on buying and clearing properties are set to prevent the scarce houses in Final Fantasy XIV from being resold at inflated prices in the future. When a new housing area is implemented, real estate professionals buy properties and resell them at a significant markup.

This will soon no longer be possible.

FFXIV_house

However, there were some ambiguities in the regulations that sparked heated discussions in the community and a sudden increase in house sales.

Will players be punished retrospectively?

Primarily, players have been wondering what will happen to accounts that own more than just one private or guild house, thus violating the new regulations.

Will they lose their houses?

SS_26228_1510277822

In the official summary of the producer’s letter, where the rule changes were announced, there was no answer to this question.

Increase in house sales on Reddit

SE’s silence had an interesting side effect. The subreddit /ffxihousingmarket has seen a threefold increase in sales listings per day over the past four days.

This is likely due to two reasons:

  • On one hand, patch 4.2 prevents the “flipping” of houses. Therefore, agents need to offload their inventory before 4.2 launches. Otherwise, they will be left with dead capital.
  • On the other hand, this wave could be a panic sell-off. Players with many properties fear losing their excess houses with the launch of patch 4.2. They fear expropriation.

However, as it is not allowed in FFXIV to advertise the sale of properties through the group search in-game, the selling frenzy has been moved to an external platform.

9e1186a54beb7ef59eb5ab78d49945e5

Community representative clarifies the situation

To put an end to the debates in the official forums and on Reddit, community representative Clément “Kaposhipi” Ruggeri clarified the situation in his post:

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your feedback regarding the changes to the private housing system.
I have an update for you regarding your question about what will happen to the housing of players who own more than one private house! It was verbally mentioned in the producer’s letter, but players who own more than one private home will NOT lose their homes after patch 4.2!

I hope this information helps you!

Opinions in the community are divided

On one hand, many believe it is unfair to punish players for violating a rule that did not exist “at the time of the offense.”.

bd8t2evofu5y

On the other hand, many accuse Square Enix of lacking consistency at this point. Especially in extreme cases, when someone owns not one, not three, but a total of 28 houses, some might wish for tougher measures up to expropriation.

However, owners can definitely breathe a sigh of relief. They will be able to keep their property.

To read how bad the housing situation was so far, you can check out our article on it:

Housing in Final Fantasy XIV out of control – 1 billion Gil per house?

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

PUBG cheaters continue to cheat despite the banning wave, using healing cheats

Jürgen Horn Jürgen Horn Reading time 2 minutes

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PC, Xbox One) still has a lot of cheaters despite a large ban wave. They have now started to heal and resurrect themselves immediately.

For some players, there seems to be nothing better in online games than to throw in a few cheats and then win with unfair advantages. Such cheaters naturally annoy the rest of the community, and the developers regularly retaliate with ban waves. This happened in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, where over 100,000 cheaters were banned in one go.

PUBG Crossbow Title

But the war against the cheaters is like the proverbial fight against windmills, because hardly a few cheaters are gone, they come back in large numbers and continue to cheat.

Cheaters heal and resurrect themselves immediately

pubg-weapon-drop

To the dismay of honest players, there are still plenty of cheaters around. They are now cheating not only with the well-known aimbots, wallhacks, and speed hacks, which allow them to see through walls, hit extremely accurately, or zip around at high speeds.

They also have cheats that allow them to resurrect their fellow cheaters immediately and heal themselves just as quickly.

Such actions normally take several seconds in the game, during which you are defenseless. Thanks to the cheat, the cheaters are immediately up and running again, giving all honest players a long nose.

Cheaters in the proof video

One such cheat victim is Reddit user and PUBG fan MagicIsBull. He uploaded the kill cam footage on Reddit. You can see exactly how the cheaters pull themselves up immediately and carry on.

https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/ThickHarshEyra

Such cheats have been common for a while according to comments on Reddit. But that less than a short time after the large ban wave cheating is already happening again happily is simply frustrating and sad for many players.

Players demand China ban

A large number of cheaters are said to come from China. Therefore, many players still demand a region lock that excludes Chinese players from all non-China servers. However, this does not align with the ideas of PUBG head Brendan Greene.

Instead, they want to work closely with Tencent, the China publisher of PUBG, to combat cheaters more effectively. Recently, around 120 cheat programmers from China have even been arrested!

This kill was so spectacular that the PUBG head shared it. And there was no cheating!

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

Security vulnerability in Overwatch, WoW, Destiny 2: Blizzard’s software vulnerable

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

A vulnerability in Blizzard software could lead to major problems for players in WoW, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo 3, or the PC version of Destiny 2. The software from Blizzard can be hacked via JavaScript.

This must be quite embarrassing for Blizzard. Google’s Project Zero security researchers were able to uncover a significant issue with the Battle.net app. Apparently, the software that installs all Blizzard games on PC has a huge security problem.

Blizzard Update Agent is likely to have a vulnerability

Part of the Battle.net app is the Blizzard Update Agent, which runs in the background and usually ensures that games (World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo 3, Destiny 2) are kept up to date. Patches and updates are downloaded and installed through it.

Through a hacking method known as DNS Rebinding, hackers could exploit this software – simply through JavaScript commands.

Battlenet App 1

Simply visiting an infected website is enough to gain access to the user’s computer. Due to the extensive permissions of the Update Agent, hackers could easily carry out uninstallations and other commands that should actually be reserved for admins.

It has even been proven that through this vulnerability hackers would be able to cause the software to change the paths of downloads and subsequently download malicious files independently.

Blizzard is already working on a solution

Blizzard has been aware of this issue since December. Since then, Blizzard has been working on a solution, which will be implemented with one of the upcoming patches for the Battle.net software.

A temporary hotfix for damage limitation is already in place. Blizzard has now activated a blacklist for such requests, which is intended to temporarily intercept harmful requests.

Until the issue is resolved, you should perhaps avoid unusual sites that others recommend. Although… just don’t visit any unusual sites.

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

After XP nerf, WoW players demand: Make the level boost cheaper!

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

The experience point bonuses in WoW have been capped from 250% to 50%. Now players are demanding a price reduction for the level booster.

This morning, many fans of World of Warcraft received a little shock: Blizzard has suddenly drastically reduced the effects of “Recruit a friend”.

Blizzard prohibits speed leveling

When referring a new player to World of Warcraft, the accounts of the referrer and the new player have previously been linked for 90 days. When both players played a new character together, they received a whopping 200% additional experience points. This bonus could even be further increased with heirlooms to get nearly 250% additional experience points.

On January 22, 2018, Blizzard radically reduced this bonus to 50% and it can no longer be stacked with heirlooms.

WoW Goblin Levelboost Rocket

It didn’t take long for some players to express outrage over these changes in the forums. It is obvious that Blizzard is trying to sell even more character boosts by dragging out the leveling process. After all, the required XP for a level-up has also increased with the scaling of the entire game world.

Players demand cheaper character boosts to level 100

The players’ demand is clear: as a sign of “goodwill” and to show that they are not simply looking to sell more character boosts, Blizzard should reduce the costs of the character boost by the same proportion as the reduction in experience points received – a proud 75%. Instead of €60, a character boost to level 100 would then only cost €15.

Alternatively, the costs of a character boost should be dynamic, calculated based on the remaining levels. If a character is boosted from level 50 to 100, there should be a 50% discount.

Blizzard has not yet commented on these demands.

WoW Draenei Drawing Power
Are Blizzard just greedy, wanting to sell even more level boosts? Some players suspect so.

Cortyn says: Honestly, I find the “demands” of these players quite audacious. Sure, there are a few people who simply don’t enjoy leveling. However, one cannot ignore that leveling in World of Warcraft has always been an essential part of the game.

With the latest patch, leveling is finally back to being in a pleasantly playable form, allowing Blizzard to adjust the experience point bonuses. Honestly, I see this as a “good thing” because new players should also be able to enjoy the old zones. They are still faster than without a friend.

What is your opinion on the subject?

Especially nice leveling can be done as Alliance in these areas – even without XP boost.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. reddit.com/r/wow/
  2. buffed.de

Einem Duo in Fortnite: Battle Royale gelingt ein spektakulärer Kill-Rekord

Jürgen Horn Jürgen Horn Reading time 2 minutes

In Fortnite: Battle Royale (PC, PS4 & Xbox One) has a player duo set a new world record for kills in a match. Together, they eliminated more than a third of all enemies on the map and achieved the new world record!

Fortnite: Battle Royale is a colorful and fast-paced battle royale shooter from Epic Games. You can play alone against 99 other players or on servers with squads and duo teams. While in squads four players fight together, you are in duo mode as a pair and fight against 49 other 2-player teams.

Fortnite-50vs50-03

A particularly successful duo team has recently broken the current world record for kills in Fortnite: Battle Royale!

With 36 Kills to the New World Record!

The duo dream team consists of players NinjasHyper and KingRichard. They are considered one of the best duo teams in Fortnite: Battle Royale, but their last performance puts everything else in the shade.

Because the two have gone extremely wild and eliminated more than a third of all other players on the map. In total, they account for 36 kills. NinjasHyper achieved 21 eliminations, while the remaining 15 kills are credited to King Richard.

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The previous world record was 35 kills by a single team in duo mode.

A video of the team’s final action and their exuberant celebration has been embedded here for you.

Learn here how to land faster in Fortnite: Battle Royale. This way you can start slicing earlier and maybe even break the current kill record!

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

The Division: Global Event 4 is live! – The modifiers and secret gear sets

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 4 minutes

In The Division, the fourth global event is now running. Here you can see the modifiers, masks, and the secret gear sets at a glance.

Anyone starting The Division from now on will notice that the term “Ambush” is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen. There is a reason for that, as the fourth global event is now live, called “Ambush”.

  • The start was on January 23, 2018, at 1 PM.
  • The end is on January 30 at 1 PM.

The Modifiers of Ambush

The global events bring temporary variety to the post-apocalypse. In many PvE activities, you can adjust the challenge with various modifiers. Here are the modifiers of the fourth global event:

  • Ambush – always active: You deal increased damage when you do not move.
  • Concealed Ambush: The effect of “Ambush” + you take damage when the damage bonus expires. What does that mean? A white bar will be displayed over your health points when you are in combat. If you move, it decreases; if you stand still, it fills back up. If the bar is empty, you take damage over time. 
    division-balken
  • Strategic Ambush: The effect of “Concealed Ambush” + damage bonus; you also take damage when you are too close to allies.

You can only select the Concealed and the Strategic Ambush in the missions Times-Square Power Relay, Broadway Warehouse, Police Academy, and Queens Tunnel Storage as well as in the Dragon’s Den raid. You will then receive more GE credits as a reward.

In short: Try to stand still as much as possible. Then you will have advantages in this event.

The Rewards in the 4th Global Event

division-masken

With the event, four new secret gear sets and several cosmetic items were introduced, including three new weapon skins, a new outfit, and three masks. This is what the masks look like: You receive the masks through specific commendations. To do this, open your dossier and select the “GE – Ambush” overview in the commendations.

  • Bug Mask: Motion Blur – Kill enemies while moving, World Rank 5, at least on Hard
  • Cage Mask: Like a Statue – Kill enemies while stationary, World Rank 5, at least on Hard
  • Veil Mask: Privacy – Kill enemies near allies in Strategic Ambush, World Rank 5, at least on Hard

The 4 Secret Gear Sets

Now the last secret gear sets that were missing are in the game. These are AlphaBridge, Firecrest, Hunter’s Faith, and Tactician’s Authority. By collecting GE credits, you can purchase “Superior Ambush Containers” in the Terminal, which have these secret gear sets with increased probability.

After the event, the four secret gear sets will be added to the general loot pool. Then the chances of obtaining these items will be significantly lower.

AlphaBridge

  • 2-Piece Bonus: +100% Health Regeneration
  • 3-Piece Bonus: +5% Weapon Damage
  • 4-Piece Bonus: Talent – If the primary and secondary weapon belong to the same category, the equipped weapon receives the third (always active) talent of the weapon not in use. Additionally: All talent requirements become irrelevant for all weapon talents.
  • 5-Piece Bonus: +25% Health Regeneration; +10% Weapon Damage
  • 6-Piece Bonus: Inactive versions of the individual skills rotate every 6 seconds and can be activated by killing enemy agents or veteran/elite NPCs. The individual skill that is up in the rotation when an enemy is killed will be triggered for 10 seconds when all primary attributes are balanced. The times shorten depending on the differences in primary attributes. You can no longer manually activate individual skills or benefit from those of allies.
division-agenten-17

In short: You cannot activate the individual skills (like the recovery link) “normally” at the 6-piece talent, but only by killing certain enemies. Which skill is then triggered depends on a rotation, so more or less on chance.

Firecrest

  • 2-Piece Bonus: +3 Fire Grenade Capacity
  • 3-Piece Bonus: +50% Flame Turret Range, +30% Flame Turret Damage
  • 4-Piece Bonus: Talent – Damage is increased by 15% against burning targets.
  • 5-Piece Bonus: +1 Fire Grenade Capacity, +5% Flame Turret Range, +20% Flame Turret Damage
  • 6-Piece Bonus: Bullets have a 2% chance to set the enemy on fire. Burning targets can trigger a flame explosion when killed by bullets (possible every 10 seconds). NPCs set on fire by the flame turret burn 25% longer for every 2000 electronics.

Hunter’s Faith

  • 2-Piece Bonus: +20% Optimal Range
  • 3-Piece Bonus: +10% Headshot Damage
  • 4-Piece Bonus: Talent – Each subsequent shot with a marksman rifle that hits the enemy increases damage by 3%. The damage bonus increases by 4% for every 3000 firearms. The bonus is removed once a shot misses the target, when you switch weapons, reload, or after 10 seconds.
  • 5-Piece Bonus: +20% Optimal Range, +10% Headshot Damage
  • 6-Piece Bonus: Headshots double the increased damage bonus (from the 4-piece talent). Two consecutive missed shots are required to lose the damage bonus.
    division-kugel-sniper

Tactician’s Authority

  • 2-Piece Bonus: +15% Skill Haste
  • 3-Piece Bonus: +10% Skill Power
  • 4-Piece Bonus: Talent – Each bullet that hits an enemy grants +1% skill power. Each bullet that an active skill hits an enemy grants +0.2% skill power. The bonus can be up to 30%. The bonus disappears only when a skill is used.
  • 5-Piece Bonus: +5% Skill Haste, +5% Skill Power
  • 6-Piece Bonus: When you use a skill while you have the maximum bonus (from the 4-piece talent), the buff resets, but the new maximum will be increased to 60%. If you use another skill while you have the 60%, there is a 40% chance that the buff power will reset to 30% and the maximum will remain at 60%. This chance increases by 20% for every 3000 electronics.

Which secret gear sets do you want to hunt?

Interesting: The Division: How to create the best builds! – Best-in-Slot Guide 1.8

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

Rust verlässt Early-Access, Chef warnt: „Spiel ist noch nicht fertig!

Jürgen Horn Jürgen Horn Reading time 2 minutes

After 4 years, the survival game Rust is finally set to release. However, the lead developer has already pointed out that it is still not finished and that expectations should be kept in check.

Do you remember Rust, the survival game that randomly generated the gender and possibly the penis size of your avatar?

It has been in Early Access for 4 years now, and it is supposed to be officially released soon. However, according to the lead developer, Rust is still not finished, and one should not get too many hopes up.

“Just don’t expect a finished game!”

Rust Survival Screenshot Weapons

According to Rust head Garry Newman, version 1.0 of Rust is set to release on February 8th. This means it will have been over 4 years in Early Access since the launch on December 11, 2013. However, Newman remains rather pessimistic in a statement.

One should not expect too much. The game is still not finished and should not be compared to a final product. But in comparison to the start of Early Access 4 years ago, significant progress has been made.

Costs are rising

Rust Alpha

So now one can confidently leave Early Access. Newman describes it as a prototype that is now transitioning into the alpha stage. The launch itself will be a quiet affair without events or frills.

Additionally, Rust is set to become more expensive, increasing from 20 to 35 euros. According to Newman, “this has always been the deal.” After all, they are not just raising the price to 60 euros.

Due to the price change, Newman felt obliged to publicly post about it in the developer blog rather than doing it quietly.

Only monthly updates, except on the PTR

Rust Female Character Model Wood cutting

To avoid accidentally “breaking” something before the launch, there will now be no weekly updates, only monthly updates for Rust. However, there will be a kind of test server called “Staging Branch” that will receive daily updates.

There, things will be tested that, if successful, will come to the regular server at the end of the month. Both versions of Rust can be played simultaneously.

Rust has been returned over 300,000 times.

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

Whoever photographs bosses in WoW gets new filters for the S.E.L.F.I.E. camera

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

Selfies in World of Warcraft should look nice. We will tell you where you can get the five new filters for the S.E.L.F.I.E. camera.

Patch 7.3.5 brought a lot of new features to World of Warcraft. Not all changes are as significant as the scaling of the entire game world with the character’s level. But even small adjustments provide entertaining hours in Azeroth, such as the improvement of the S.E.L.F.I.E. camera.

This toy allows characters to take screenshots where they hold the camera up and smile in classic selfie style. Various effects and filters can enhance the image further. For example, you could apply a sepia filter to create a completely different atmosphere.

S.E.L.F.I.E. Camera in WoW easier to obtain in 2018 with 7.3.5

With Patch 7.3.5, it has been simplified to obtain the S.E.L.F.I.E. camera. Through new quest lines in Stormwind and Orgrimmar, you can receive the basic version of the camera starting at level 15. At level 30, a further quest will transform the camera into a full-fledged toy.

WoW Selfie 3

This makes it significantly easier to get the camera in 2018 than in previous years.

5 new filters for better snapshots

If you really want to make the most out of the S.E.L.F.I.E. camera, you should also look for the five new filters that Blizzard has hidden in Patch 7.3.5. These filters change the respective background, or “skybox”, so that the sky looks like in certain locations.

To unlock the filters, you must take the camera to specific locations and take screenshots with individual bosses. The following filters can be obtained this way:

  • Firelands filter: Visit Ragnaros in the Firelands. The raid entrance is located in Hyjal. Take a photo with the final boss and you’ll get the filter.
  • Twilight filter: Travel to the Bastion of Twilight in the Twilight Highlands. In the last room, take a photo with Cho’Gall and the filter is yours.
  • Sha filter: In Pandaria, in the Terrace of Spring, you will find the Sha of Fear. A photo with him unlocks the new filter.
  • Frostgram filter: For an icy Northrend background, you need to travel to Icecrown and take a snapshot with the Lich King in the Icecrown Citadel. Note that you must have started the fight (talk to Tirion) for it to work.
  • Argus filter: You get the last filter in the fight against the final boss of Antorus, the Burning Throne. Take a snapshot together with Argus and enjoy your new filter.

Have you ever accidentally pulled a boss while trying to take a selfie?

Have you seen our guide to Uuna? The undead Draenei girl has a cool story in Patch 7.3.5!

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

FIFA 18: New update is live – Patch notes for update 1.08

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 2 minutes

A new update for FIFA 18 is now live on PC. The update for PS4 and Xbox One will be version 1.08. The patch notes are already known.

FIFA 18 received its first title update in 2018 today, on January 23rd. Currently, it is only available for download and installation on PC, with console versions for PS4 and Xbox One to follow in the coming days. The update will likely carry the version number 1.08.

On PC, it is around 1.5 GB in size.

The patch notes are available in English; we will translate them into German.

Patch Notes Update 1.08 – What changes in FIFA 18

Gameplay changes:

  • After the kickoff, the defending team will behave more compactly in defense.
    • Their offensive players will act slightly less aggressively.
    • The defenders will reduce the gaps between them and the offensive players by keeping the space tight. This way, they will give the attacking team less room.
  • A problem will be fixed where goalkeepers unnecessarily cleared the ball in some situations when passing the ball to them.
    FIFA 18 bundesliga

Changes to “FUT Champions Weekend League” matches:

  • All matches now take place in the FeWC stadium. The time of day is always set to evening and the weather to clear.
  • The pre-match screen no longer shows which team is the home team and which is the away team. Instead, players will always see their team on the left side and the opponent’s team on the right side.
  • You will not see the opponent’s jersey in gameplay or on the pre-match screen. Instead, you will see your second active jersey, which you did not select for the match, on the opponents.
  • The jersey selection and the match preview screen will be adjusted to this change.
  • When watching FUT Champions Channel replays, you can now use the orbit camera.

Issues in Ultimate Team that will be fixed:

  • A problem with the search filters for player fitness and team fitness cards, as well as contracts, will be fixed in the transfer market.
  • Some visual issues with Inform players will be fixed. Some special abilities were displayed incorrectly – however, this had no impact on gameplay.
    FIFA 18 Pro Clubs

Online modes:

  • In all online modes, including FUT, the display of connection quality has been adjusted:
    • 5, 4, and 3 bars –> Green
    • 2 bars –> Yellow
    • 1 bar –> Red

Additionally, a problem in Pro Clubs will be fixed, where pros had incorrect attributes, and numerous jerseys will also be updated.

Interesting: FIFA 18 – Ratings Refresh: Choose the players for the winter upgrades now!

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

Sci-Fi survival game Fragmented is basically dead after a lot of drama

Andreas Bertits Andreas Bertits Reading time 2 minutes

The science fiction survival game Fragmented has had a bumpy development, which has now resulted in it being essentially dead. The developers refer to a “maintenance mode.”

Fragmented was born out of necessity. The developer studio Above and Beyond initially worked on the interesting sandbox MMO The Repopulation, which was inspired by the classics Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies.

Many players showed great interest in The Repopulation until problems arose between the developer studio and the engine developer, Idea Fabrik. These ultimately led the original developers to abandon the project, and the engine developers took over. A strange situation.

fragmented screenshot

What happened with Fragmented?

Let’s summarize the issues once again:

  • Financial difficulties at engine developer Idea Fabrik forced Above and Beyond to shut down the servers for the alpha of The Repopulation at the end of 2015
  • Idea Fabrik claimed that Above and Beyond stopped payments for the license of the Hero Engine, which had initially led to the financial problems
  • Above and Beyond announced their intention to switch to the Unreal Engine
  • The switch of the engine was to be financed by the development of a new survival game called Fragmented
  • Above and Beyond wanted to focus on Fragmented and sold the rights and assets of the MMORPG The Repopulation to Idea Fabrik
  • After the early access launch in spring 2016, patches for Fragmented were regularly released
  • The official release of the survival game occurred in August 2017
  • The game did not receive a good reception, and the ratings on Steam continued to decline
  • According to Steamcharts, an average of 10 players are online at the same time
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Fragmented is dead

The developers now state that they have not given up on Fragmented yet, but it is in maintenance mode now. This means that aside from bug fixes, no further work is currently being done on the game.

Fragmented simply does not generate enough revenue to create more content.

A large part of the team has already turned to other projects. Fans should not hold out hopes of seeing major updates for the survival game in the near future.

Thus, Fragmented is essentially dead. Hardly anyone plays it, the ratings are poor, and there is no new content. The team has not discussed which projects Above and Beyond is currently developing.

The early access launch of Fragmented took place in 2016.

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

Ghouls are now roaming in Warframe on PS4 and Xbox

Leya Jankowski Leya Jankowski Reading time 5 minutes

Today, a new update for PS4 and Xbox is coming to Warframe. The consoles will be brought up to the standard of patch 22.8.2 and receive all content that has been available on PC up to that point. This includes the Ghoul event, personal quarters, new weapons, and Focus 2.5. Here are the key highlights of the patch notes summarized.

Console players in Warframe can expect a huge update with a lot of new content. The Ghoul Purge Bounties event starts and takes place on the Plains of Eidolon. Through this event, new enemies will come to the plains, which are decayed zombie versions of the Grineer.

Players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can now invite other Tenno to their spaceship, the Orbiter, with this update. Additionally, the personal quarters, which are hidden behind the last closed door in the Orbiter, will open with the update, allowing the (living) room to be decorated with new items like an aquarium, action figures, and dog beds.

Below you will find a summary of the patch highlights for PS4 and Xbox One.

Warframe-Octavia

The Ghoul Purge Bounties event starts – Bringing zombies and rewards to the plains

The population in Cetus is in danger, as the putrid ghouls are coming to the Plains of Eidolon! By defeating the enemies in the Ghoul Purge Bounties event, players can receive special rewards.

  • The rewards for the Ghoul event mostly consist of Endo, various relics, and valuable mods like “Hunter Adrenaline”.
  • Those who want to participate in the event must go to the NPC Konzu in Cetus. He now has two additional quests with which players can start the event.

What are ghouls?

Ghouls are essentially deformed and underdeveloped Grineer. The defective clones are bred over several days in embryo sacks buried in the ground. Ghouls currently only exist on the Plains of Eidolon. Here they break out of the ground and surprise the inhabitants from ambush. Ghouls can be compared to zombies. They behave animalistically and exhibit pack behavior.

Our editor Jürgen found the plains scary enough even without zombies: “The Plains of Eidolon scare me, but I want more!”

These ghoul enemies exist: 

  • Rictus Ghoul: This unit has a rideable chainsaw that shreds everything in its path.
  • Augur Ghoul: Instead of arms, these ghouls have dual drills. With the drills, they can bury themselves and attack opponents from the ground. Surprise!
  • Rotting Ghoul: These ghouls are a kamikaze unit equipped with explosives. They run towards every Tenno and blow themselves up.
  • Devourer Ghoul: With their grappling hooks, these plump ghouls pull enemies towards them. If Tenno are not careful, they will be eaten by the Devourer Ghouls.

The origin story of the ghouls is shown in Warframe’s new webcomic “Fragments 003: The Rise” .

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Mutual visits on the Orbiter and personal living area

Squads can now visit each other on the Orbiter! For this occasion, the last closed door on the spaceship will now open as well. However, players must have completed the quest “The War Within”! After that, they will receive a segment that allows them to open the last door. Behind it is a spacious room that can be designed as a personal living area.

With the personal quarters come new deco and features:

  • Personal Warframe action figures
  • Built-in shelves
  • Mannequins
  • Aquariums
  • Music box
  • Emotes can be used in the Orbiter. After all, the squad deserves a proper welcome!
Warframe expands housing, makes it like Ikea – Here you will find the details about the personal quarters.
Warframe-Zimmer

New weapons: Corinth, Gunsen, Quartak, and Stubba

There are a total of four new weapons in Warframe.

  • Corinth – A shotgun that is most powerful at close range.
Warframe-Corinth
  • Gunsen – A melee weapon, with additional slash damage, when charged. The blades are made of steel and fan out like a fan.
Warframe-Gunsen
  • Quartakk – A rifle that fires 4 bullets in an explosion. The weapon has lower damage but has high accuracy and fire rate. Additionally, the rifle has a high chance of status and critical damage.
Warframe-Quartakk
  • Stubba – An automatic pistol with a large magazine size. The sidearm causes bleeding and crippling effects due to its good critical stats.
Warframe-Stubba

Focus 2.5 – “Shared Pool” allows schools to share their points now

Focus gives Tenno special abilities that can be used after completing the quest “The Second Dream”.

With the large update 22.8.2, Focus is getting an overhaul and is now called Focus 2.5. The biggest change is that the different schools now share their Focus points. For example, if players have collected points for the Unairu school, they can now invest those points in abilities of the Zenurik school.

Here are the summarized changes:

  • Focus points and Shimmering Eidolon shards will be reset. These can now be redistributed with Focus 2.5.
  • “Shared Pool” capacity: The point pool capacity can now be increased by any school. This will simultaneously increase the capacity of each school.
  • Cost of nodes reduced: The cost of the node points of all schools has been reduced by almost 30%.

All details about the adjustments coming with Focus 2.5 can be found here in the Warframe forum. 

Fokus-2.5

The Warframes Gara and Volt are being revised with update 22.8.2

Gara’s revision

The ultimate skill “Glass Frame” has been completely overhauled:

  • Glass Frame is NO longer invulnerable. The glass of the ring barrier now breaks and explodes piece by piece when damage is dealt to it. The amount of damage absorbed now scales with strength and armor. Explosive damage scales with strength.
  • Glass Frame no longer has a duration and remains until the barrier is recast or destroyed by damage. Shattering Whip also destroys the glass ring.

Volt’s revision

  • Electric Shield: It is now possible to switch to the main weapon while Volt is holding his Electric Shield. However, this will cause Volt to drop the shield.
Gara-Warframe1

What else is interesting about Warframe’s update 22.8.2 on PS4 and Xbox One?

  • Dynamic weather is coming to the Plains of Eidolon. This means it can now rain.
  • The individual Zaws and Amps are now listed in the profile.
  • Fishing: If someone throws bait, dyes, and pheromones into the water, the entire team benefits from it.
  • There have been user interface and performance improvements.
  • There are new stances, cosmetics, and new decor.
  • There are new animation sets for the Operator.
  • The Captura has been expanded with Archwings.
  • Bounties can now be repeated to gain more reputation.

The update 22.8.2 is coming on this Tuesday, January 23, to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The complete patch notes for both consoles can be found in the source reference.

The new housing in Warframe is actually not without its surprises: Warframe said goodbye in 2017 with a shocking story twist!

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. warframe
  2. warframe hotfixes
  3. warframe patchnotes

Without this decision, Destiny 2 could be in a much better position now

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 5 minutes

If Bungie hadn’t made this decision, the mood around Destiny 2 would be much better now.

Destiny 2 is currently not doing well at all. The current faction rally is a complete disaster, social media is still full of criticism for the endgame, and even major Destiny YouTubers have announced in recent days that they will put Destiny 2 behind them for a while and move on to new games. It’s increasingly being reported that many Guardians would prefer to return to Destiny 1.

destiny-hüter-merkur

Bungie has only offered apologies and promises so far that they are working on super exciting content for Destiny 2, that everything will be better in 2018, and that they will implement the community’s feedback. And indeed: By the end of January, some new features and fixes are coming that could attract more Guardians back to Destiny 2, such as raid-specific mods and masterwork armor pieces.

Nevertheless, these changes do not address the “big problems” of Destiny 2 – such as long-term motivation in the endgame or boring loot. Perhaps one can expect improvements in the fall when Bungie plans changes to the weapon system. However, it will be months before that can be implemented.

destiny-jäger-hüter

Because Destiny 2 is currently suffering from a wrong decision that cannot be easily fixed. All current events, such as the faction rally, are falling victim to this decision, and the problem of long-term motivation is largely related to it. Namely: Fixed weapon perks can never replace random perks.

Without random perks, the loot is boring

When all the teasers and information about Destiny 2 flooded in during the summer of 2017, my first reactions mostly ranged between “That sounds pretty good” and “Aha, we’ll have to wait and see how that looks in the finished game.”

A new weapon system? Okay! Mods for weapons and armor? Sounds good! New subclasses replacing the old ones? Alright!

destiny-2-fraktion

But when we received the news that random weapon perks would be removed, I had to swallow initially. Schuhmann and I immediately predicted that Destiny 2 would have problems with the loot. After all, it was precisely the hunt for God-roll weapons that kept many Guardians motivated for months in Destiny 1. The discussions about which weapons with which rolls were the best kept Destiny alive.

The current faction rally is the latest example that a loot shooter without random rolls simply does not work. Bungie introduced five new weapons per faction for Season 2. So that future rallies remain exciting, the developers decided that in the third and final rally of Season 2, Guardians will get four of the new weapons through faction engrams, in the second rally of Season 2, they will get two of the new weapons, and in the first rally (the current rally), Guardians will simply not receive any new weapon.

Of course, Bungie does not want to blow all their powder at once, which is why they are making the weapons available gradually throughout the season. But it cannot be that in the first rally, there are no weapons to earn at all.

With random rolls, there wouldn’t be this problem; with random rolls, the faction rally would be a solid event all around. Assuming each rally of a season would have two faction weapons with random perks in the engrams, then

  • casual players could get both weapons with little time investment
  • and hardcore players could spend hours hunting for the God-roll faction weapons.

The slow release of the new faction weapons would actually be welcome here because it would give time to find the best perks on the two current weapons.

destiny-2-hüter-fraktionen

Fixed rolls hinder such a hunt for God-roll weapons – and thus the thrill with every drop. And if Bungie’s solution for long-term motivation looks like denying any new weapons to earn in the first rally, then it is a clear sign that the current weapon system with fixed perks is not working.

Destiny 2 needs “Perks 2.0”

For many Guardians, it’s clear: The solution to all problems is the return of random perks. Then the endgame would be exciting again, events would be relevant again, and Destiny 2 would be much better off now.

While Bungie is currently working on “Mods 2.0,” which are supposed to make mods more important, some players are demanding that Bungie should rather deliver “Perks 2.0” – namely, the random perks.

destiny-2-hüter-geist

These should have the highest priority. We can deal with balance later, but Destiny 2 needs variety and excitement with the weapons. And that best right now. It is time for this “game-breaking” change.

Why are there no random perks anymore?

Why Bungie decided against random perks in Destiny 2 is hard to understand. Bungie itself has only been sparse in commenting on this decision. According to game director Luke Smith, it allows for quicker and more targeted responses to balance issues. Each weapon and armor piece is “handcrafted,” giving the sandbox team more flexibility.

This advantage has not yet been realized in the history of Destiny 2. On the contrary: When the Prometheus lens was completely overpowered in PvP, Bungie reacted only a week later – and that with an emergency fix that weakened the weapon too much. Only by the end of January 2018, almost two months later, will the lens be rebalanced.

Many Guardians think: “Thanks, I would rather have the random rolls back!”

destiny-2-hüter

This decision likely also occurred to make Destiny 2 a bit more “casual-friendly,” at the expense of hardcore and midcore Guardians, who wanted to play Destiny 2 not just for a few weeks, but for months and years.

Solutions for the missing random perks are on the way: Bungie wants to increasingly focus on masterworks, which at least bring back a bit of the “God-roll hunting” feeling.

But as long as the weapons continue to have fixed perks, Destiny 2 will always have problems with long-term motivation and seasonal events.

What’s your opinion on this?

Destiny 2 is likely to receive new content that Destiny veterans will recognize.

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

Monster Hunter World – With this trophy guide you can achieve 100%

Jürgen Horn Jürgen Horn Reading time 3 minutes

In Monster Hunter World (PS4, PC and Xbox One) you can earn 50 trophies and achievements. Learn everything about achievements and how to get them in our guide.

You can earn achievements in Monster Hunter World. There are a total of 50 achievements: 1 Platinum, 2 Gold, 11 Silver and 36 Bronze trophies.

All Trophies at a Glance

These achievements are available in Monster Hunter World for diligent monster hunters. We have sorted them by trophy value.

monster-hunter-world-katze-koch

Platinum Trophies

There is only one Platinum trophy in Monster Hunter World. As in other games, you can only obtain it after you have earned all other achievements.

  • Conqueror of the New World (Platinum): Earn all other trophies in the game
monster-hunter-world-anjanath

Gold Trophies

These are the two Gold trophies in Monster Hunter World. You receive them for collecting crowns in your hunting log.

  • Miniature Crown Master (Gold): Record a miniature crown for almost every monster in the hunt log
  • Giant Crown Master (Gold): Record a giant crown for almost every monster in the hunt log
Monster-Hunter-World-Nergigante1

Silver Trophies

In total, you can obtain 11 Silver trophies. However, you need to put in considerable effort and catch special creatures, among other things.

  • The Sapphire Star (Silver): Unravel the mystery of “Elder Crossing”
  • A Living Fossil (Silver): Catch a fish known as “The Living Fossil”
  • Snuggles for All (Silver): Catch a cuddly, affectionate creature
  • Bristles for All (Silver): Catch a stiff, spiky creature
  • Rainbow Bright (Silver): Catch a creature that glows like a rainbow
  • Monster Ph.D. (Silver): Conduct research on nearly every monster
  • Indomitable (Silver): Hunt 50 enraged monsters
  • Miniature Crown Collector (Silver): Record 10 or more miniature crowns in the hunt log
  • Giant Crown Collector (Silver): Record 10 or more giant crowns in the hunt log
  • Capture Pro (Silver): Capture 50 monsters
  • Monster Hunter (Silver): Hunt 500 large monsters
Monster-Hunter-World-Palico-Feline

Bronze Trophies

The majority of the trophies in the game are Bronze achievements. Here you can find all 36 of them. They’re awarded for various tasks.

  • Welcome to the New World (Bronze): Earn the right to accept 2-star quests
  • Nothing Stops This Commission (Bronze): Earn the right to accept 3-star quests
  • Defender of Astera (Bronze): Earn the right to accept 4-star quests
  • Into the Deep (Bronze): Earn the right to accept 5-star quests
  • Death Begets Life (Bronze): Successfully lead Zorah Magdaro
  • The Empress of the Highlands (Bronze): Earn the right to accept 7-star quests
  • One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall (Bronze): Earn the right to accept 8-star quests
  • The Hunter’s Life for Me (Bronze): Complete 40 optional quests
  • An Inquisitive Mind (Bronze): Complete your first research
  • The Franchise Hunter (Bronze): Complete 50 researches
  • Step into the Arena (Bronze): Complete your first arena quest
  • Nowhere to Go but Up (Bronze): Complete 50 arena quests
  • New World Settler (Bronze): Establish 5 camps
  • The Art of Camouflage (Bronze): Escape from the Jagras pack by hiding in the bushes
  • Angling for a Bite (Bronze): Catch your first fish
  • Mmm, So Tasty! (Bronze): Cook your first steak well done
  • The Bigger They Are… (Bronze): Jump on your first monster
  • Commissioned Work (Bronze): Earn 100,000 research points
  • Bourgeois Hunter (Bronze): Have 1,000,000 Zenny
  • Impregnable Defense (Bronze): Obtain 5 extremely rare armor pieces
  • Power is Everything (Bronze): Obtain 5 extremely rare weapons
  • Movin’ On Up (Bronze): Move into an upgraded room
  • First Friends (Bronze): Make friends with your first “Tailrider”
  • Bosom Buddies (Bronze): Learn to use all Palico gadgets
  • Temper Temper (Bronze): Hunt your first enraged monster
  • Miniature Crown (Bronze): Record your first miniature crown in the hunt log
  • Giant Crown (Bronze): Record your first giant crown in the hunt log
  • Capture Novice (Bronze): Capture your first monster
  • Elderslayer(Bronze): Kill 50 Elder Dragons
  • Monster Slayer(Bronze): Hunt 100 monsters
  • HELP (Bronze): Fire a SOS flare for the first time
  • I Am the Reinforcements (Bronze): Respond to a SOS flare and assist in 10 quests
  • Hunters United (Bronze): Complete a quest via multiplayer
  • Hunters United Forever (Bronze): Complete 100 quests via multiplayer
  • Spreading the Word(Bronze): Collect 50 Guild Cards
  • Established Hunter (Bronze): Reach Rank 100

This is how the release version of Monster Hunter World plays: As a newbie!

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

FIFA 18 – Ratings Refresh: Choose the players for the winter upgrades now!

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 2 minutes

In FIFA 18 Ultimate Team, the ratings refresh is coming up. You can now choose the players you think deserve a winter upgrade.

The standard player cards in FUT 18 have remained unchanged since launch. While new special cards have been added in recent months, the standard cards (Gold, Silver, Bronze) are still the same.

That will soon change: The ratings refresh will provide numerous players with new standard cards.

Until FIFA 16, there were only “winter upgrades” in the winter, but since FIFA 17 this event is called “ratings refresh”, where downgrades are also possible. EA Sports has now announced that the ratings refresh in FUT 18 is imminent and that you can help decide which players should receive better standard cards.

fifa-reguläre-karten
Some players will receive new standard cards in the ratings refresh

Which player deserves an upgrade?

Players who have shown consistently strong performances on the pitch in recent months should receive an upgrade. Generally, Gold cards are upgraded by 1-2 points in rating. Silver and Bronze players receive upgrades of about 4 points. In rare cases, improvements for Bronze players can reach up to 15 points.

If you believe, for example, that Joshua Kimmich definitely deserves an upgrade, enter his first name in the first field and his last name in the second field. You also need to propose a new, higher overall rating. Kimmich currently has a standard card with an 81 rating. Suggest a new value of, for example, 83.

kimmich-stats
Standard card of Kimmich

Finally, you can decide on the form whether your player should also receive an upgrade for the weak foot or special move rating.

Which players do you suggest?

You can find all further information about the ratings refresh and predictions here. We also explain what will happen to the current standard cards. 

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

With these system requirements, Far Cry 5 runs in 4k at 60 FPS

Andreas Bertits Andreas Bertits Reading time 3 minutes

Ubisoft has announced the PC system requirements for the upcoming shooter Far Cry 5: There are minimum specifications required to run Far Cry 5 and high-end requirements that allow Far Cry 5 to run in 4K at 30 or even 60 FPS.

Graphically, the shooter Far Cry 5 looks good, as can be seen from the screenshots and previous trailers. However, that doesn’t mean that you need a high-end PC to be able to play it.

As Ubisoft has now announced, a mid-range PC is sufficient to meet the minimum requirements. However, those who want to play in 4K at 60 fps will need to have a pretty good PC.

Far Cry 5: Release date & trailer – Campaign playable co-op

Far Cry 5 Eat the Bible

Many settings options on PC

“The PC has always been one of the core elements of the Far Cry DNA, and with Far Cry 5, that becomes clearer than ever,” says Kirill Bragin, producer of the PC version of Far Cry 5. Far Cry 5 will feature a benchmarking tool that allows players to configure their game for the best possible experience. This will be aided by the VRAM usage display and the many options available. It will be possible to customize the aspect ratio, FOV, optional FPS lock, and resolution.

Bragin continues: “However, players will not have to struggle through many calibration menus if they don’t want to. Our game will automatically detect their hardware and make the appropriate settings, as well as optimize the resolution. Additionally, Far Cry 5 will also support multi-GPU functionalities, allowing players to significantly increase performance.”

Here are the system requirements for the shooter Far Cry 5:

MINIMUM CONFIGURATION for Far Cry 5:

  • Operating System: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit only)
  • PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5-2400 @ 3.1 GHz or AMD FX-6300 @ 3.5 GHz or comparable
  • GRAPHICS CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or AMD R9 270 (2GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
  • MEMORY: 8GB
  • Resolution: 720p
  • Video Preset: Low

RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION (60 FPS) for Far Cry 5:

  • Operating System: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit only)
  • PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-4770 @ 3.4 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 @ 3.2 GHz or comparable
  • GRAPHICS CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD R9 290X (4GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
  • MEMORY: 8GB
  • Resolution: 1080p
  • Video Preset: High

4K 30 FPS CONFIGURATION for Far Cry 5:

  • Operating System: Windows 10 (64-bit only)
  • PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-6700 @ 3.4 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X @ 3.6 GHz or comparable
  • GRAPHICS CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD RX Vega 56 (8GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
  • MEMORY: 16GB
  • Resolution: 2160p
  • Video Preset: High

4K 60 FPS CONFIGURATION for Far Cry 5:

  • Operating System: Windows 10 (64-bit only)
  • PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.0 GHz or AMD Ryzen 7 1700X @ 3.4 GHz or comparable
  • GRAPHICS CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 SLI or AMD RX Vega 56 CFX (8GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
  • MEMORY: 16GB
  • Resolution: 2160p
  • Video Preset: High/Ultra
    Far Cry 5 Title 2

Additionally, Ubisoft has announced which graphics cards will be supported at the game’s release:

  • GeForce GTX600 series: GeForce GTX670 or better
  • GeForce GTX700 series: GeForce GTX760 or better
  • GeForce GTX900 series: GeForce GTX950 or better
  • GeForce GTX10 series: GeForce GTX1050 or better
  • Radeon 200 series: Radeon R9 270 or better
  • Radeon 300/Fury X series: Radeon R7 370 or better
  • Radeon 400 series: Radeon RX 460 or better
  • Radeon Vega series: A Radeon Vega series graphics card

Of course, it is also possible to play Far Cry on Xbox One or Playstation 4. The shooter will be released on March 27, 2017.

Only at the end of last year, the release of Far Cry 5 was rescheduled by Ubisoft.

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Source(s):
  1. Gamespot

Project X, die XXL-Variante von PUBG, zeigt sich Mitte Februar

Andreas Bertits Andreas Bertits Reading time 2 minutes

We have already reported on the upcoming online game Project X and it sounds pretty good. But how does it play and how does it look in motion? We will find out soon.

The developer studio Automaton plans to officially present the online game Project X on February 17. It is particularly interesting as it mixes MMO with Battle Royale. You will find yourself on a large island inhabited by up to 1,000 players.

In Battle Royale battles, 400 people will compete.

Automaton Screenshot 2

SpatialOS for a believable world

To create a believable and large game world, the team uses SpatialOS technology. This technology allows for the creation of a large world where wild animals are simulated, fire can spread, footprints are left in the mud, and water is simulated better than in other games.

The MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria also wanted to use this technology, but recently opted for a cheaper alternative for cost reasons.

Automaton Screenshot 3

Fight for dominance on an island

The story of the game revolves around several factions fighting for dominance on the island. You are a newcomer who gets involved in this struggle and wishes to overthrow the prevailing regime. Each of the four factions on the island has its own goals that you can support or sabotage.

Project X aims to convince you with the following features:

  • MMO with 1,000 players
  • 400-player Battle Royale battles
  • Battle Royale is naturally integrated into the game world
  • Simulated game world thanks to SpatialOS
  • A large city serving as a hub
  • Four factions pursuing different goals
  • According to the developers, “photorealistic” graphics

How exactly Project X plays, how it looks, and what it has to offer will be discussed by the developers on February 17, when they will also showcase the first gameplay footage.

The upcoming online game Project X aims to compete with PUBG and offer MMORPG elements.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. PCGamer
  2. MMORPG.com

League of Legends: Das Stoppuhr-Meta in LoL nervt die Fans

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 3 minutes

The stopwatch in League of Legends makes heroes invulnerable. This affects the early game phase and takes away entertainment for viewers during tournaments.

Last weekend, the North American League of Legends Championship Series (NALCS) started. It was the beginning of the first LCS tournament held with the latest LoL patch. Fans were excited to finally see their favorite players in the tournament again. But much of the discussion was not about the players’ skills, but about the “stopwatch.” An item that changes the meta.

The stopwatch steals everyone’s time

The item “stopwatch” has existed since November 2017 in League of Legends. However, it was only used for the first time in front of a large audience by professionals during the NALCS tournament. The item has a one-time-use stasis effect. It holds you in place and makes you invulnerable for 2.5 seconds. Once used, the stopwatch breaks and cannot be used a second time.

The topic of the stopwatch is welcomed by many players: You pay gold in the in-game shop for a one-time “Oh, Shit!” button.

However, you can bypass this purchase requirement if you skill the “Perfect Timing” talent. Then you get the stopwatch for free once. And this apparently is particularly well received by professionals.

LoL Stopwatch Mastery

Reddit user BlizzardMelon calculated that in the first week of the NALCS, 60% of teams skilled the “Perfect Timing” mastery, which gives players a free stopwatch in their inventory. Note that teams from Europe and Korea were not included in this calculation.

Tough early game – Few kills at the start of a game

In many early phases of tournament games, the stopwatch was seen with at least three players on each team. In some matches, even more players carried it.

The stopwatch is worth it, as it allows you to simply “forgive” mistakes. Mispositioned or on the way to your deadly skillshot? The stopwatch lets you survive.

In combination with the Flash summoner spell, the stopwatch provides a new opportunity to escape a kill. This pushes important gold revenues and tactical advantages, which are rewards for a kill, into the later stages of the game. The early game is thus becoming more boring for many viewers who like to see action.

Jinx-LoL
  • A jungler comes by for a gank and his skillshot will kill you? No problem, press the stopwatch and survive.
  • In the second attempt, the jungler still has no luck, as the victim can escape with the Flash spell, which teleports the player over a certain distance in the game.
  • Only in the third attempt do the survival options for the “victims” diminish, and the chance for opponents to get a kill increases.

Of course, a free escape button is a good way to minimize risks. But without alternatives or disadvantages of the stopwatch, we will likely see this item in many more matches.

The real plan of the stopwatch is cool plays

Apart from the tough early game, the stopwatch brings opportunities for cool situations in League of Legends. With good communication, you can time turret shots well, so that everyone survives. You could see this in the LPL.

The turrets in League of Legends switch targets when the current target becomes invulnerable. The players of SNG skillfully used this in the following example with the stopwatch.

The community is annoyed

On Reddit and in the League of Legends forums, there is a lot of complaining about the stopwatch. Generally, it is said: League of Legends has become “slower” and the stopwatches make it even worse.

The Ardent Censer caused a similar uproar, becoming a must-have at the World Championships.

The discussions about the stopwatch are now spreading further, and the League of Legends team has already caught wind of it. They are initially reacting by celebrating the “meme” and making the stopwatch the profile picture on their Facebook page.

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What do you think about the stopwatch in League of Legends? Yay or Nay? This is how a pro LoL player got revenge on his team that kicked him out disgracefully

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

A 1 million $ battle could happen today in EVE Online

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

A massive conflict is brewing in EVE Online, where ships worth 1 million US dollars could be destroyed. However, the community assumes that not much will happen. Too much is at stake.

In EVE, players invest insane amounts of time and energy into building their ships. Players gather increasing value and invest it into their ships for the moment of the big battle. In such a battle, these ships can then be permanently destroyed. When the player’s prized ship turns into an incoherent mass of pixels, days of work go up in smoke.

As you can exchange real money for the in-game currency ISK, some like to calculate and say: The ship is worth millions of ISK and thus also hundreds of US dollars.

If there should be a major battle in EVE, gaming magazines write: “Now 300,000 US dollars have been destroyed.” This happened four years ago in February 2014. A pilot took a wrong turn and a huge conflict ensued.

EVE Online

The opponents from back then are now back and planning a “1 million dollar battle,” but the community assumes that it will be a terrible flop and nothing will happen.

A player has now opened a thread on reddit, describing the background story of the conflict so that even non-EVE players can understand it.

Megalomaniac Space Dictator vs. Casino Boss

In EVE, there’s a kind of self-proclaimed arch-villain and super villain, The Mittani. He leads the “Goonswarm Federation,” a coalition of gamers that comprises about 15,000 people.

The Mittani has his own website with his name and a Twitch channel. It’s a mix between a cult of personality and smart propaganda, leaning towards “dictator of a medium-sized villain state.”

They have dominated EVE for a long time. However, over time it appeared as if The Mittani was getting megalomaniac. He “rented” his army of players to games like H1Z1 to cause chaos. That was in the spring of 2015.

The-Mittani
Doesn’t look like a bad space dictator at all. But he is: The Mittani. Source: Twitter

In addition, he started a Kickstarter campaign to pay a well-known sci-fi author to write a book about a war in EVE that he had won. That was the last straw.

This ego trip rubbed the EVE community the wrong way and resistance against The Mittani formed. The “richest man in EVE,” a guy named Lenny, financed a resistance with his immense wealth, and they ultimately crushed The Mittani and his group. This happened in the spring of 2016.

Mittani’s “The Imperium” had to retreat and lick their wounds.

However, the “richest man in EVE” was only so rich because he made his money through EVE-related betting. In connection with the CS:GO betting scandal, his account was banned. The developers CCP were evidently afraid that the gambling scandal would spill over to them as well. And without the financier, the Moneybadger coalition fell apart.

However, the remnants of this coalition are still powerful space factions.

Eve Online Wallpaper

The Mittani ultimately swore to take terrible revenge, and the following months became an arms race of the various parties with some nasty intrigues.

2 Insanely Expensive Fleets Face Off Tonight

Now The Mittani is back, and a battle date has been set. Tonight at 9 PM, two fleets worth about 1 million US dollars are supposed to face off.

However, many assume that no shots will be fired, as so much is at stake for both sides that the pilots are hesitant to send their valuable ships into a battle where so many hours of work can be destroyed. It is therefore possible that both fleets will just stare at each other for hours and shout at the other what cowards they are from a safe distance.

But maybe the players are in for a surprise.

An example of a nasty intrigue in the run-up to the conflict:

In 1 hour he lost everything he had built in 14 years of EVE Online

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

All current, new Overwatch skins coming this week

Benedict Grothaus Benedict Grothaus Reading time 4 minutes

At Blizzcon 2017, the team from Overwatch announced new loot in the loot boxes. Skins, sprays, and logos are to be available through the regular boxes. Get a first look at the new skins that await you starting January 23!

Loot boxes in Overwatch contain skins and sprays for heroes, voicelines, poses, emotes, and player logos. Since their number is limited, diligent players can eventually unlock all items and have no more incentive to continue leveling for loot boxes.

The Overwatch team also recognized this and announced new content for the standard loot boxes at Blizzcon 2017. Unlike events, you can get these items at any time! And that’s coming soon.

Great Fan Service: With Lucio, less is more

Update 01/23/2018: Many have been asking for it, and it is finally here: The skin that actually deserves that name. It’s called “Capoeira Lucio” and shows more than it conceals. This joins the series of new skins added since January 18 and causes quite a stir within the community.

In total, eight more have been added! Alongside D.Va, Hanzo, and Pharah, these skins herald the new patch centered around the Blizzard World map. Here are the eight skins that have been added:

Pharah Overwatch Skin
Overwatch DVa new Skin
Overwatch new Skin
Overwatch new Skin Junkrat
Zenyatta Overwatch Skin
McCree Overwatch new Skin
Overwatch Skin Lucio
Hanzo Overwatch Skin

The other skins from recent days

The Skins – Finally, Zarya gets something pretty!

For each hero from Overwatch, the team plans to add a new legendary skin to the old loot boxes. Many of the outfits are inspired by other Blizzard games, fitting with BlizzardWorld – like Butcher Roadhog and Nova Widowmaker (a particularly nice nod, as Nova in Heroes of the Storm also has a Widowmaker skin).

Fans are particularly excited about Zarya’s barbarian skin. Her appearance is inspired by the barbarian from Diablo 3 and even includes details like gem socket slots. In the forums, there have been frequent complaints that none of the skins looked good on the muscular Russian – that is now changing.

Since all skins are included in the standard loot boxes, you can also buy them at any time with credits and do not have to obtain them forcibly through loot boxes! So, anyone already playing diligently can purchase one or another legendary skin immediately upon release on January 23.

Some of the released content may hint at further skins!

At the time of writing, Blizzard has already released nine of the new skins. A new skin will appear daily until the patch day, which you can view on the official Overwatch website. You can find the previously released skins in our gallery.

  • Overwatch Blackhand Doomfist
  • Overwatch Immortal Orisa
  • Overwatch Magni Bronzebeard Torbjörn
  • Overwatch Ecopoint Mei Skin
  • Overwatch Nova Widowmaker
  • Overwatch Young Reinhardt

Loot Box Patch arrives on January 23 and brings Blizzard World with it

On the upcoming Tuesday, January 23, 2018, the patch will be deployed to the US servers. In Europe, the content is usually available on the same day in the evening or the following Wednesday morning.

Blizzcon Overwatch Blizzardworld

Alongside the new skins for all heroes, some of which are original and some that depict characters from the Blizzard universe, the highly anticipated new map: Blizzard World!

Learn more about Blizzard World in Overwatch in our article!
 
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Overwatch
  2. vg247

WoW: Hotfix! Uuna bug fixed, quests are working again

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 3 minutes

A new hotfix for World of Warcraft resolves major and minor issues. Warriors can finally obtain all artifact weapons again!

Although Patch 7.3.5 of World of Warcraft intended to be just a “small” patch, it has fundamentally reshaped the game world of Azeroth. All zones now scale with the level of the respective player. It is obvious that such a comprehensive overhaul would not come without initial errors. Therefore, Blizzard has implemented a new hotfix that is already active on the American servers. The hotfix is likely to be implemented on our side in the coming night.

Primarily, the fix addresses some quest issues that could not be completed. For a time, warriors were unable to obtain their third artifact weapon, and Alliance players had difficulty solving the puzzle concerning Uuna, as it could only be correctly completed on the horde side.

Other bug fixes address problems with individual classes where certain abilities had unintended effects.

WoW Sylvanas Azerite Staff

Below you will find the complete patch notes for the hotfix from January 23:

WoW Hotfix January 23, 2018

Achievements

  • The united Algalon achievement “Enough Watched” now grants both titles: Starcaller and Astralwalker

Characters

  • Some graphical errors related to characters with tattoos have been fixed.
  • Uuna now reacts correctly to her surroundings for both Alliance and Horde players when taken to Suramar.

Classes

WoW Fanart Demon Hunter 970x500
Demon Hunter

  • A bug has been fixed that caused Demonic Eruption to deal no damage when the target was immune to stuns.
    Wrath of the Illidari now deals the correct damage again.

Mage

  • Frost Mages can again receive their Frostfire Remnant template.

Shaman

  • Artifact traits and other effects that influence healing now have the correct impact on Healing Stream Totem and Healing Tide Totem.

WoW Warlock Artwork
Warlock

  • Haunting no longer ends its cooldown prematurely when used against certain enemies with scaling health points.

Warrior

  • A bug has been fixed that prevented warriors from obtaining their third artifact weapon because the quest “Another Legend” was missing.

Dungeons and Raids

Deepholm

  • A bug has been fixed where Aeonaxx did not leave loot behind.

WoW Legion Karazhan Midnight
Karazhan

  • Attumen properly considers the tank’s threat for his abilities again.

Sshadowfang Keep

  • The damage of certain enemies now scales correctly when attacked by high-level characters.

The Mistress’ Quarters

  • Demonic Rage that appears in the mythic fight against Tirathon Saltheril no longer stacks on “Escape”.

World of Warcraft Evil Cat
Mounts and Pets

  • A bug has been fixed that caused manual names to partially disappear.
  • Sending the Malevolent War Fox in the mail no longer transforms it into the other faction’s War Fox.

Skinning

  • Venomous Whelp now grants Green Whelp Scales when skinned.

Quests

  • The Alliance quest in the Dragonblight “An End and a New Beginning” can now be completed.
  • The giant rock in the Redridge Mountains quest “Rescue High Keeper Oslow” is back.

Have you already checked out the most beautiful leveling areas of the Alliance?

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