His life is not really going well right now. That’s why this WoW player is doing a Level 60 “speedrun” in which he will only kill pigs.
When a patch is released on the WoW servers that brings new content or features to the game, it is always exciting for the community. A large portion of players will rush to the new content. For example, with patch 7.3.5, the final wing of Antorus, the Burning Throne is available.
However, a player is doing something that outsiders would call “crazy”. He is doing a speedrun to reach Level 60. In doing so, he will only kill pigs.
A lost bet and the step back into life
On Monday, Ian “ianexplosion” made a fateful bet on Reddit. He posted in the WoW subreddit that he would do a speedrun from Level 1 to Level 60 by only killing pigs if Blizzard releases patch 7.3.5 on January 16.
Shortly thereafter, the developers at Blizzard announced that the update would be released on the specified day. Ian says he had some feeling that the patch would actually come out on January 16, “but with Blizzard, you never know”. Now he is taking his bet and has already been grinding his lengthy way to Level 60 for several hours.
Because effectively this method of leveling is not efficient. It will take him several hours or even days to reach his goal. And wild boars are really not the most exciting encounters in World of Warcraft.
https://www.twitch.tv/ianxplosion
Killing the pigs is a reminder of the South Park episode “Make Love, Not Warcraft,” where Cartman and his friends are repeatedly killed in WoW by a higher-level player, forcing them to grind wild boars to achieve a high level and fight back.
With the new WoW patch 7.3.5, the zones in World of Warcraft scale with the player’s level. This makes the planned grinding easier. Players from the community have already sent Ian routes where he can continuously find pigs to kill for his big goal.
Special circumstances motivated him
In a video, Ian explains how this special livestream event came about. He lost his job and his girlfriend and was then at rock bottom. He watched livestreams and kept reading jokes on Reddit about the “Make Love, Not Warcraft” episode of South Park.
When his bet received so much support on Reddit, he became motivated again for the first time. Many players from the gaming community are supporting Ian and wishing him the best, donating in his livestream, and watching his adventure to Level 60.
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When asked if he would stream nonstop or take breaks, he replied, “I’m not immortal! Of course, I take breaks.” We have embedded the stream for you above.
The bad news about the upcoming MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria is piling up. The studio has now announced layoffs.
Have the developers of the MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria taken on too ambitious a project? After having to scrap the software SpatialOS for cost reasons, which was actually intended for creating vast worlds, the company has now confirmed that it had to lay off several employees.
No publisher could be found
In an open letter, the decision is explained. The studio’s goal was to find a publisher who would support the team financially and in terms of distribution and marketing, but leave the developers with full creative control over the game. Since the team assumed they would find such a publisher, they doubled the team size in 2017.
However, now it is the case that no publisher could be found and they have to refocus on crowdfunding. No publisher wanted to take the risk of releasing the MMORPG without being able to participate in the creative processes.
This meant that layoffs occurred in order to bring the team size back down to a level that could be maintained with less money. It was not an easy task to lay off members of the team, as many had developed close relationships with each other.
Development of the MMORPG now seems secured
The team also states that through the layoffs, they have now reached a financial status that allows them to continue the development of Chronicles of Elyria without being reliant on a publisher. Crowdfunding will be continued through the shop and should enable the team to maintain creative control over the development of the MMORPG in the future.
With the new expansion of World of Warcraft, there is also a new maximum level. Our level guide for Battle for Azeroth provides you with everything you need to know to quickly reach level 120.
In Battle for Azeroth, most content starts at level 120: world quests, heroic and mythic dungeons, later also raids and war fronts. Since Patch 8.3, you can also unlock the legendary cloak and complete the titular visions.
The best way to quickly reach the maximum level is currently to complete quests in the classic manner.
With our tips and tricks in the guide, you will always know how to proceed best while leveling up.
This article was created on August 15, 2018, and updated with new information on January 17, 2020.
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WoW: Level Guide from 110-120 for BfA in English
The leveling phase in Battle for Azeroth consists of two separate strands that should both be completed: pure questing and the war campaign. The war campaign prepares you for some features of the expansion and introduces you to world quests.
In our guide, we try to give you the path that will get you to level 120 as quickly as possible while also preparing you for endgame content – this way, you’ll have less work to catch up once you reach level 120.
Level Guide Overview
If you want to start immediately and only need a small guide with important points, we have listed the most important waypoints for you here.
Level 110: Complete the Siege of Undercity, get “Heart of Azeroth” and sail to Zandalar/Kul Tiras
Level 110: Complete quests in Drustvar (Alliance)/Vol’dun (Horde)
Level 113: Establish the first outpost for the war campaign in Vol’dun (Alliance)/Drustvar (Horde). Then complete quests in Tiragardesund (Alliance)/Zuldazar (Horde).
Level 116: Establish the second outpost in Zuldazar (Alliance)/Tiragardesund (Horde) and complete the introduction to the island expeditions. Complete quests in the old area, then quest in the Stormsong Valley (Alliance)/Nazmir (Horde).
Level 118: Establish the last outpost and complete quests for the achievements “Kul Tourist” (Alliance)/”Zandalar Forever!” (Horde).
Level 120: If necessary, raise factions for world quests to “friendly” and complete “Kul Tourist”/”Zandalar Forever!”.
Preparation
To level as effectively as possible in the new areas, you should prepare accordingly beforehand. With the right prerequisites, you will save valuable time and make your life a bit easier.
Empty your bags and bank: To avoid having to constantly return to the capital city, you should have at least 60 bag slots free. This way, you can gather loot for a while without constantly running to the vendor. There should be enough space in the bank for materials.
Unlock flying: If you are playing with a twink, make sure you have previously unlocked flying in Battle for Azeroth. This makes traveling much easier. If you cannot complete the achievement yet, get 30-40 Goblin Gliders for the leveling phase.
Use war mode: War mode gives you 10% more experience and must be activated in Stormwind/Orgrimmar. Read more about war mode in the separate section.
Potions and more: Use whatever flasks, potions, runes, and buff food you have! While leveling, this will increase your damage and speed. Especially, Bear-Tartare can be beneficial as it increases movement speed after a kill.
The right mounts: Equip yourself with vendor mounts like the Traveler’s Tundra Mammoth and Water Striders. Both will save you time during the leveling phase. Alternatively, you can stock up on Water Walking potions.
Note: Water Striders require a lot of reputation with the anglers in Mists of Pandaria! If you don’t already have this reputation, it’s not worth the time to farm it compared to the savings! Especially if you can fly, it won’t help you at all.
Quick Leveling through Invasions
What are invasions? Invasions are a new mechanic introduced with Patch 8.1. They function almost exactly like the invasions from Legion.
Each of these quests gives a hefty amount of experience and after completing the end scenario, you receive a one-hour buff that increases your gained experience in Zandalar and Kul Tiras.
Utilize the invasions themselves and the buff to level even more efficiently.
This is what invasions look like on the map.
The War Mode: More Experience through PvP
When you activate war mode, you gain more experience and better rewards (at level 120). For this, you will be placed in a different phase with other people in war mode, and can attack players of the opposing faction.
You also have access to special PvP talents that also work while questing. Check your PvP talents closely and choose ones that seem useful for the leveling phase.
In war mode, an airship periodically drops war loot. War loot consists of chests that a faction can claim for themselves. Here, you will find useful resources and equipment.
However, be aware that you can only see players in your respective phase! If you are leveling as a group, all players must have the war mode activated or deactivated, otherwise, you will not see each other.
We recommend utilizing the war mode – especially at the beginning, you’ll encounter enemies less often, and the benefits are significant. If you find it too risky, disable the mode before traveling to the new world. The leveling path remains the same, it just takes longer.
Dropped war loot.
Level Guide: The Areas from 110 to 120
To reach level 120 as quickly as possible, it is important to choose the right route. It particularly depends on which area you start in:
For the Alliance, we recommend starting with Drustvar. The way after that is not as decisive as the initial choice, but we recommend Tiragardesund, then the Stormsong Valley.
For the Horde, we recommend starting with Vol’dun. Here too, it doesn’t matter much in which order you proceed afterwards. Zuldazar is a bit better suited as the next area.
Drustvar and Vol’dun are the “most difficult” areas, and at the first new levels, your equipment from Legion scales even better. Up to level 115, the effects of Legendaries are also active. Once you have cleared Drustvar/Vol’dun, you won’t have to do the hardest quests at the end. Due to various buffs and heirlooms, it is even possible to reach level 120 just through these areas and the final dungeon.
The Stormsong Valley and Nazmir are the most expansive and require a lot of grinding to complete. It makes the least difference whether you do everything with level 110 or level 120 – which is why they are best suited for the end.
A flight over Drustvar.
Leveling from 110 to 120 in Detail
You will have to return to Boralus/Dazar’alor repeatedly on your journey to complete certain tasks or get rid of your items. Here is an overview of what you can best do at each level:
1. Level 110-113
Complete quests in Drustvar/Vol’dun in this area. Follow the story shown in your quest log and avoid side quests. Try to complete the story as much as possible up to level 113. Collect rare enemies and chests along the way!
Rare enemies are marked on the minimap with stars, treasures as chests.
2. Level 113
Return to Boralus/Dazar’alor and establish the first outpost in Vol’dun/Drustvar. The war campaign in these areas consists of a few quest hubs that you will complete here. You will receive a substantial boost in experience and items for this.
Warning! During this time, you will be in enemy territory! If you are in war mode, it is likely that you will encounter enemies – even higher-level ones! If you fear being killed, disable war mode beforehand.
You can now also start your first missions at your mission table. Send your companions out and collect the rewards whenever you are back in town.
The Alliance’s mission table.
3. Level 113-116
Complete the last quests in the old area to finish the story or move on to the next area, Tiragardesund/Zuldazar. Again, prioritize completing the story quest and continue to gather special rewards.
4. Level 116
Establish the second outpost and complete the introduction to island expeditions. After that, you can start the first research for your war campaign. Choose what you prefer, but let the research run early on.
5. Level 116-118
Complete the story in the old area and then head to the final area, Stormsong Valley/Nazmir. Here again, prioritize the main quest and continue to collect special rewards.
6. Level 118
Establish the last outpost for the war campaign.
7. Level 118-120
Complete the last quests you need for the achievement “Kul Tourist”/”Zandalar Forever!” This prepares you for the Pathfinder achievement for faster riding (and possibly for upcoming flying ability).
8. Level 120
Unlock world quests by farming any necessary reputation, if needed. Otherwise, complete the remaining quests for the achievements and start into the endgame content!
We have already included the individual steps for the war campaign in the guide for you. The time required for the war campaign is not optimal compared to the other areas, but it saves you unnecessary quests at level 120.
To unlock world quests at level 120, you must have established an outpost in all three enemy areas. Therefore, the war campaign should be completed as far as possible on the way to level 120.
If you prefer to structure the steps yourself, here are the different phases of the war campaign:
Level 110: Unlocking the mission table
Level 112: First outpost
Level 114: Second outpost and research options
Level 116: Island expeditions
Level 118: Third outpost
This table starts the war campaign of the Alliance.
Tips and Tricks
Some tips and tricks will make leveling easier for you and the beginning at level 120 a bit more pleasant:
Use the Darkmoon Faire. The buff “Yippie!” and the Darkmoon Hat increase the experience and reputation gained by 10% (not stackable).
Use legendary items up to level 115. Only with level 116 do they lose their effect. Items that are not worn in the head, shoulder, and chest slots are best, as you will receive early Azerite armor with a higher item level.
Buy Remarkable Grenades. The gems increase the experience gained by 5% (uniquely equippable). It’s best to socket the gem in a legendary ring, as you will be wearing this for a long time.
Avoid dungeons until level 120, as they take a long time and provide relatively little experience.
Ignore crafting professions until level 120. You can still level professions afterwards. However, Herbalism and Mining give you a small advantage as you gain experience through gathering.
With this guide, you can quickly get new characters to level 120 and perfectly prepare them to “soon” start the new expansion Shadowlands:
The new map Blizzard World for the online shooter Overwatch has a release date. In just a few days, you’ll be diving into battle.
From January 23, a wild ride awaits you in the hero shooter, as Blizzard World, the new map, is an amusement park that offers many attractions inspired by Blizzard’s games.
This means you’ll discover many elements from the MMORPG World of Warcraft, the “hack ‘n slash” series Diablo, the collectible card game Hearthstone, and also from the RTS series Starcraft. Even attractions from early Blizzard games are represented, including Lost Vikings.
Mix of Attack and Escort
There is plenty to see and you will surely indulge in nostalgic feelings. However, you should not let this distract you from your main task: namely, to defeat your enemies. Blizzard World is described by the developers as a hybrid map combining the game modes “Attack” and “Escort”.
Your tasks include attacking certain key points on the map and escorting payloads. Therefore, it’s necessary that you communicate well with your team and develop a sophisticated tactic to achieve your goals and defeat the opponents.
Players have been testing the map on the PTR for about two months now and have provided Blizzard with plenty of feedback.
The final version, which will be released on January 23, should have been thoroughly tested and promise a lot of fun. Blizzard World will be available to you on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
2018 Will Bring Many More Contents
2018 will be a highly interesting year for fans of Overwatch. As Blizzard’s Jeff Kaplan recently mentioned, many more contents for the hero shooter are planned for the coming months. This includes new maps, new heroes, and further exciting events. Such as the Overwatch League, whose first season started on January 10.
A new trailer for Heroes of the Storm sparks interest in a HotS anime. Check out the battle of the robot heroes here!
Since Overwatch, Blizzard has realized that animated short films resonate quite well with players. Some time ago, Blizzard first experimented with an “anime style” for Heroes of the Storm – back then, the developers announced Kel’Thuzad and a range of cool skins (like Jaina as a Dreadlord). This was well received by fans, leading Blizzard to continue down the “anime path” and release new trailers.
This time, it’s not about releasing a new hero, but rather three fresh mecha-style skins.
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In typical anime fashion, the battle between good and evil awaits – or in the language of Heroes of the Storm: Rehgar and Tyrael against the evil mastermind Abathur. While Abathur creates and continually improves his endless hordes of minions, Rehgar and Tyrael try to hold their ground against the masses of enemies. These are continuously enhanced by Abathur.
If you look closely, you can spot several parallels to mecha animes, such as Gundam or Neon Genesis Evangelion. What’s particularly cool is that the artists managed to incorporate almost all of the heroes’ abilities. This ranges from Abathur’s Ultimate Evolution to Rehgar’s Bloodlust.
New mecha skins are included in loot boxes or available for direct purchase
The corresponding skins for Abathur, Rehgar, and Tyrael are now available in Heroes of the Storm. Either in loot boxes, crafted from shards, or through the direct purchase of a skin bundle.
Fans hope that this trailer is just the beginning and might hint at more content in the “mecha” style. Many players would also wish for a new map set on a large spaceship.
What do you think about the new skins and the presentation? Should Blizzard announce more content in the “anime style”? Or maybe even produce an entire anime series? Let us know in the comments!
Many players are furious in Destiny 2: The faction tokens can no longer be farmed quickly, there are secret throttles. What’s going on?
The third faction rally has finally started, after being delayed by a good month. However, currently this event is failing to bring happy guardians and positive headlines: Because already in the first hours, players have encountered inconsistencies.
It is reported by several guardians that no new faction weapons are dropping, except for a new pistol. Bungie has not yet commented on this, the situation is quite opaque. Read more about it here.
And a huge barrier has been put up against faction token farming. There may even be a bug here that many users are complaining about. Bungie has already addressed this issue.
What is happening with the faction tokens?
Bungie fixes former farming method / exploit
In the previous two group fights, the guardians discovered farming methods within a very short time, with which one could earn hundreds of tokens per hour. It was possible to loot the chest in a lost sector on Earth, then quickly change the area and loot the chest again a few seconds later.
Bungie reacted and already fixed this in mid-December. Meanwhile, it is known how this fix affects:
If a player loots more than two chests in lost sectors within 10 minutes, they will not receive rewards from these chests for the next ten minutes. All lost sectors are affected by this. Milestones tied to lost sectors are not affected by this throttle.
This information is official, it comes from community manager dmg04, after many guardians complained that they could no longer farm tokens quickly.
On reddit, there are some “test results”: The cooldown is not exactly 10 minutes, but rather 10-15 minutes. Furthermore, the timer is not reset when traveling quickly from planet to planet. However, if you close and restart Destiny 2, the timer is said to be reset. These details are not officially confirmed.
Are public events also affected?
The fix just described is intended by Bungie, apparently it works as planned. However, there seems to be another throttle: The top thread in the reddit forum currently complains that there is also a lockout for public events.
A user writes that they played four public events. Only the first event awarded tokens, the other three did not. Several thousand users agreed with him, while others said that they did not experience this problem.
Community manager Cozmo has since spoken up: This annoyance is currently being investigated. It seems to be no problem that affects all players.
In other words, it is not intended for public events to have a cooldown for faction tokens.
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An “exploit” for farming faction tokens has not yet been discovered. According to the YouTuber xHOUNDISHx, however, you can get tokens the fastest by completing activities in the open world on Nessus. The other activities are less worthwhile:
For a strike, you only receive 5 to 9 tokens,
for a nightfall strike 10 to 18 tokens (on the first completion per character)
and for a crucible match 2 (loss) or 5 (victory) tokens.
By playing heroic public events, which go significantly faster than strikes or PvP matches, you receive 5 tokens. The lost sectors grant 3 tokens per fireteam member. So run around on Nessus and alternately loot the chests of the lost sectors and public events.
Are you affected by this possible “public event” bug?
Two new cinematics are in World of Warcraft. We reveal how the Alliance and Horde learn about the powerful Azerite.
The latest patch of World of Warcraft: Legion is live. In Update 7.3.5 there are a handful of new story missions that are available once players have defeated Argus, the Unmaker in Antorus, the Burning Throne.
Part of these quest lines are two brand new cinematics – one for the Horde and one for the Alliance. They tell the story of the factions and give a first impression of what the Battle for Azeroth will be about.
Spoiler Warning:If you prefer to experience the cinematics in-game, please do not continue reading.
The Horde Cinematic – Sylvanas seeks more power
The fight against the Burning Legion has claimed victims, but now it is won. The leaders of the Horde gather to celebrate together and to work on their further plans. After a few solemn words from Baine Bloodhoof, who receives applause from everyone – except for Sylvanas and Nathanos – Gallywix takes the floor. He wishes to speak with Sylvanas privately. He shows his leader a small stone, the powerful Azerite. Sylvanas immediately recognizes the power in this resource and orders to extract as much Azerite as possible without the Alliance finding out.
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Meanwhile, High King AnduinWrynn is in Stormwind delivering a victory speech at his father’s tomb. He is being watched by Genn Greymane, who is immediately addressed by Matthias Shaw, the leader of the Stormwind intelligence agency SI:7. Shaw informs Anduin that a large number of goblins have been sighted in Silithus, apparently having come across something valuable. Anduin is also handed a small shard of Azerite and immediately recognizes the power that lies within it.
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Those who are playing on the test servers of Diablo 3 are being showered with legendary items.
With a new update on the PTR servers of Diablo 3, Blizzard wants to test the optimized gameplay. For this, they need voluntary testers. And how do you best get them? With lots and lots of Legendaries.
PTR Patch in January 2018, Blizzard needs your help
In the background, the Diablo 3 developers are working on improvements for the hack & slash spectacle. However, before the gameplay optimizations can be transferred to the live servers, they need to be thoroughly tested. Therefore, Blizzard is now inviting the D3 community to the test servers. Instead of luring with sweets, the team tempts with a hefty loot buff.
Since January 16, the new PTR patch has been available and offers you a 2000% increased chance for legendary items.
The developers hope for reports from the testers about bugs that occur when players try:
To join a multiplayer game
or to create one
Or when players communicate via the game chat
You should not expect new content from this. Blizzard points out that there is no new content to be found in the update. Instead, you can copy existing characters from the live servers and play on the test servers. Maybe you’re still missing that one pesky Legendary that you can finally get through the 2000% buff. With it, you can at least blast through the monster masses on the test servers with your favorite build.
All progress made on the test servers of Diablo 3 will not be transferred to the live account. This test phase is only valid for a limited time and serves to find bugs and report them in the bug forum.
There may occasionally be connection issues and restarts on the test servers.
How do I register for the Diablo 3 PTR server?
To participate in the PTR, you first need to link your Diablo 3 account to the test servers. Go to your account management, click on Diablo III, and select “Create PTR Account”. Here is the official website on eu.Battle.net
If the button to create is not available, you probably have already created a PTR account.
Now start the Battle.net application for your computer and select Diablo III in the game overview (on the left side). Above the “Play” button, you will see a drop-down menu where you can select “PTR: Reaper of Souls”.
Then click on Install or Play and follow the game’s instructions.
How do I copy a character to the Diablo 3 PTR server?
Copying an existing character to the PTR server can be done in a few steps.
First, start the normal Diablo 3 game (not the PTR version), briefly enter adventure mode with one of your characters, and then exit the game
Then log in to the PTR server again via the drop-down menu
Create a level 1 character there
Then go back to the character overview
Now click on the “PTR Copy” button that you will now find in the upper right corner
Select your region
When you click on “Copy”, all your characters will be copied to the PTR server
Then your connection will be interrupted
If you log in again now, your character copies should be available and ready to play.
Patch 7.3.5 of World of Warcraft is live. We provide you with an overview of what has changed in Azeroth.
With the end of the maintenance work today, January 17, 2018, the latest update of World of Warcraft has arrived on the live servers. In this article, we want to give an overview of Patch 7.3.5 and reveal to you what has changed in Azeroth.
The Scaling World
The biggest change of the patch may seem like a true blessing to avid players and twinkers. Since today, all zones in World of Warcraft scale with the player’s level to a certain extent. Just like in the areas of Legion, the enemies now scale with up to a certain level. For example, Westfall scales from level 10 to 60, giving you plenty of time to explore the zone with all its quests.
Since today, the last wing of Antorus, the Burning Throne is also accessible. Those who defeat Argus can then travel to Silithus and complete a new questline that will introduce the transition to the next expansion “Battle for Azeroth.”
A New Battleground
Patch 7.3.5 also includes the new battleground, the “Seething Shore.” However, the 10vs10 PvP area will only be released in the coming weeks, when the story of Silithus has fully unfolded.
In the Eververse, you can obtain the exotic emote “Six Chambers” as well as the emote “Good with Hat” for Glimmer. Additionally, an ornament for the Sturm, an ornament for the Wardcliff Coil, and the exotic Ghost shell “Victorious Shell” are available.
Ikora Rey has meditations on Burning, Chosen, and Deadly Trials. Above her, there is still an incorrect waypoint.
Don’t forget to choose a faction with the faction leaders.
A “little trolling on the internet” can have severe consequences. In Canada, a spammer who disrupted the streaming platform Twitch now faces 10 years in prison.
In the vastness of the internet, different laws apply than in the real world. For many, the internet is even a “lawless zone” – no matter what others say. That this is slowly but surely changing and also leading to penalties is something a man from Canada will now experience firsthand.
The user behind the name “Apple” had made a negative impression on the streaming platform Twitch last year – and that is still an understatement. He apparently set out to ruin the day for as many streamers and their viewers as possible and organized several spambots for this purpose.
These programs flooded the chats of over 1000 streamers with more than 150,000 messages, up to 700 messages per minute.
But it’s not just about the sheer spam; it’s also about the content of the messages. These were often insulting, racist, and often linked to pornographic content, sometimes even involving children.
Mstym, one of the affected streamers.
Here are some excerpts from the messages that Apple sent with his bots:
“Death to all Jews, death to all Jews”
“Allah hates gays KappaPride”
“We want to see gameplay and not these big tits”
A Canadian court is now taking on the matter. The person behind “Apple” faces up to 10 years in prison, as reported by the US site Kotaku. Apple has not yet issued a defense.
Twitch employees needed 200 hours to uncover the alleged perpetrator
Twitch only discovered the identity of the accused after obtaining a court order, which put pressure on sites like CloudFlare and Whois Privacy. Apple wanted to conceal his identity with the services of such sites. It is said that employees from Twitch spent 200 hours trying to uncover the identity of the spammer.
This is not the first incident involving Apple that a court has to deal with. Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Apple may not develop or distribute any software that harms Twitch channels and their chats.
What do you think of these penalties? Is it good that the internet is gradually being enforced more strictly and that not everyone can do whatever they want anymore? Or should it be viewed “lightly” because it is “only online”?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Epic Games, the creators behind Fortnite, are once again taking action against an alleged cheater. This time, it’s not directly about cheats that should give him an unfair advantage, but about the in-game currency V-Bucks.
We have already reported that Epic Games has legally pursued various cheaters who have created or distributed cheats. These cheats were meant to give players an unfair advantage in Fortnite: Battle Royale.
According to Epic Games, such cheats undermine the gaming experience of Fortnite for everyone and harm the integrity of the game.
Now, they have a different type of villain in their sights: and this is directly related to the developers’ profit. The accused is alleged to have stolen from the company.
Exploit is said to have generated free premium currency
Epic has filed a lawsuit in California. A man from New Zealand is accused. He is alleged to have developed an exploit that allowed players to obtain V-Bucks for free.
V-Bucks are the premium currency of Fortnite and are used to purchase loot boxes in the game, known as Llamas. In Fortnite: Battle Royale, V-Bucks are used to obtain skins.
Fortnite says: Those who create this currency ultimately steal money from us.
Exploit was then showcased and promoted on YouTube
Epic believes they have found the culprit: He developed an exploit for Fortnite Battle Royale that allowed players to obtain V-Bucks without paying for them. He then created a video, uploaded it to YouTube, and showcased and promoted his exploit.
Epic managed to get the video taken down from YouTube, but now wants to go further.
They are suing the New Zealander for copyright infringement and breach of contract. They demand compensation and that the accused destroy all copies of Fortnite and Fortnite-related works.
3 lawsuits against cheaters already settled out of court
One of the most powerful items in World of Warcraft is being nerfed. The end of the Picollo of Flaming Fire has come. Cortyn mourns.
There are only a few fragments in World of Warcraft that I associate with the “good old days” of Classic. One of them is my Mage’s Tier 0 set, of which I am still very proud. Another is the trinket “Neltharion’s Tear” that I obtained from Nefarian back then – it was the first item for me with a “flavor text”, meaning a yellow description under the item.
The last piece from that time is the Picollo of Flaming Fire.
For everyone who is not familiar with the item: The Picollo of Flaming Fire was a trinket back then. It had no stats and only a “Use” effect: All players within a certain radius around the character would start dancing.
When I first heard about this item in Classic, I did everything to get the Picollo.
I stayed up all night and fought – often alone – through Stratholme. I pulled groups, defeated a single enemy, and then fled from the instance. This reset the group, I reentered the dungeon and repeated the process. Over and over. Continuously. Until I reached the rare mob Hearthsinger Forresten and after well over 20 kills, he finally handed me his Picollo.
Since then, I have always kept the Picollo in my inventory. Often it remained unused for several weeks, but occasionally it came into play and made everyone in the vicinity dance.
Even when the Picollo was transformed from a trinket into a toy, it always had a place in my hotkeys. For me, it was and still is a piece of “WoW history”.
Picollo of Flaming Fire can only be used in groups now
With patch 7.3.5, Blizzard introduces a small change that I do not like. Other players will no longer be affected by the Picollo of Flaming Fire unless they are in the group of the Picollo’s owner.
I find it hard to put into words why this change affects me so much.
The Picollo of Flaming Fire was simply a constant in World of Warcraft that could make any place (at least temporarily) a little sillier, funnier, and more positive.
No matter if it was in the auction house of Ironforge, in front of the crowded entrance to Blackrock Spire, or in front of the bank of Stormwind. Whenever someone pulled out the Picollo of Flaming Fire, you had to roll your eyes in exasperation, but couldn’t help but grin at all the dancing characters.
But apparently, the complaints became too loud, feeling wrong to see your own character forced into such reactions. While I can absolutely understand that from a roleplay perspective, it still makes me sad to know that the time has passed when the entire auction house was happily dancing.
Rest in peace, my beloved Picollo of Flaming Fire. Tonight we will dance one last time in the auction house. You will never be the same again.
Capcom introduced a PS4 Pro Edition styled after Monster Hunter World that is available in limited quantities. It was previously unknown whether the PS4 Pro with the head of Rathalos would also come to Europe. It has now been confirmed that it will be released in Europe and thus also likely in Germany.
In Japan, the special “Monster Hunter” controller will be offered independently of the console bundle. It is not yet known whether this will also be the case for Europe.
Whether in the game or within the community, online or in “Real Life,” there is a lot happening in Final Fantasy XIV. Here are 15 curious facts about the MMORPG from “Square Enix”:
1. Foxclon’s Stinky Nickname
In the Japanese community, Toshio “Foxclon” Murouchi, the right hand of the producer, has the nickname “Morbol”.
In FF games, a Morbol is a plant monster that smells terrible. This not-so-flattering title was earned by the Head Game Master for the avatar he uses in the official forums.
However, it doesn’t seem to bother him, as he wore a Morbol hat at an FFXIV event in Kobe that could even make Morbol noises.
2. The Generous Community
The FFXIV player and YouTuber Denmo McStronghuge, along with community figures like Mr. Happy, Larryzaur, and Very Merri, raised around $21,500 in a charity stream for the victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in America.
Players from the community were invited to participate in the Lalafell parade with their freshly created Lalafell characters or to attend the event as spectators. There were also trivia quizzes and raffles with FFXIV merchandise as prizes.
The food and drinks served there are based on their names and appearance from monsters and items in the MMORPG. The Moogle ice cream is shaped like a Moogle, and the White Mage Cure cocktail is accordingly milky-white. The prices on the menu are listed in Gil, the traditional FF currency, which correspond to a 1:1 conversion in Yen.
4. The FFXIV Rock Band “Primals”
The sound designer and composer of FFXIV, Masayoshi Soken, along with the Japanese Localization Lead, Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, founded the band “Primals.” The name is a reference to the summons in FFXIV.
With the founding of the band, Soken followed in the footsteps of his mentor, the most popular composer in the FF series, Nobuo Uematsu, and his band “Black Mages”. The band plays rock arrangements of the FFXIV music featured on the official soundtrack CDs “Duality” and “Astral to Umbral.”
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5. “A Stage Reborn” – A Theater on the Diabolos Server
A group of players from the Diabolos server decided to express their passion for theater and acting in FFXIV. The guys and gals from the team built a stage in their guild house and regularly practice their plays there. They use all sorts of tricks that the game offers them.
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Their first project was the play “I Want to Be Your Dove” from Final Fantasy IX. It received enthusiastic responses from the community. Initially, only one performance was planned, but the demand for audience was so great that it turned into four. The fans of the theater troupe even created new characters on Diabolos for this, and the performances were even attended by SE employees.
6. Yoshida’s “Fortune Teller” T-Shirts
It is a popular theory among fans that the T-shirts Naoki Yoshida wears during his presentations at fan festivals always contain a hint about the unannounced jobs. For instance, he wore a Batman shirt at the 2014 fan fest, which fans interpreted as a hint at the Dark Knight job.
At the 2016 fan fest, it was the shirt with a Scarlet Witch motif that pointed at the Red Mage. When asked if it was intentional, the producer grinned: “Maybe I just like wearing superhero shirts.”
7. The “Great Goobbue Wall”
Shortly before the 1.0 version of the game was taken offline, the developers staged an apocalypse scenario for the remaining players during which hordes of monsters flooded the capitals. To prevent this, players summoned their Goobbue mounts to create the “Great Goobbue Wall” in front of the gates of Ul’dah, blocking the way of the monsters.
8. The Running Gag of the Dead Dragoon
After the launch of FFXIV: A Realm Reborn, the Dragoon job became infamous for its long animation locks. Bad timing when using abilities often led to Dragoon players ending up dead on the ground.
Although the developers adjusted the animations a long time ago, the Dragoon continues to be humorously referred to in the community as Loldragoon,Lolgoon, or Floor-Tank.
9. Yoshida – The Troll
During the Producer’s Letter in April 2017, fans begged to finally show the benchmark for the upcoming “Stormblood” expansion set to release in June. In Japanese, the benchmark is abbreviated as “Benchi” (bench), and Yoshida reacted with agreement… and showed a picture of a bench on stream.
As a bonus, there was the composer Masayoshi Soken sitting on it.
10. Final Fantasy XIV in the Guinness World Records
FFXIV scored two world records at the Fan Festival 2017 in Frankfurt. The first was for the longest credits in an MMORPG. This was due to the names of all players who financially supported FFXIV during the 1.0 version, the so-called legacy players.
The second record was for having the most original music pieces in an MMORPG. The composer Masayoshi Soken was particularly pleased with this record.
11. Singing Talents at Square Enix HQ
Many of the songs in FFXIV are sung by Square Enix employees. Mainly by Localization Lead Koji Fox, whose voice we can hear in songs like “Locus” and “Rise” from the Alexander raid.
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Moreover, the songs of Lakshmi and Ravana were sung by regular SE employees. In an interview, composer Masayoshi Soken stated that he finds it impressive how Koji Fox continuously discovers such talents among the staff.
12. Final Fantasy Easter Eggs
For fans of the FF series, Final Fantasy XIV is a huge toy box full of references to other entries in the series. Some are obvious, like the Magitek mount that many fans should recognize from FFVI. Others, however, are well hidden and can only be noticed by true connoisseurs of the series.
For example, the red symbols of the main villains of FFXIV, the Ascians, were borrowed from the FFXII summons like Matheus and Cuchulainn. Players have tried to make a complete list of all Easter eggs, but since more are added with each patch, the thread eventually came to a standstill.
13. Producer Yoshida’s Fear of Flying
The director and producer of FFXIV, Naoki Yoshida, claims to suffer from severe fear of flying. It is therefore impressive that he flies several times a month across the world to attend various events and conventions.
For instance, he flew from Japan to China last August, during the Fan Festival celebration, and then went straight to Germany to perform on stage with fans at Gamescom before returning to Japan.
14. Raubahn Extreme
The incident known in the community as “Raubahn Extreme” occurred during the Stormblood launch and was based on a bug that occurred when starting a fight.
The instanced solo fight began with the NPC named Raubahn, and the high influx of players in the first hours and days after launch caused players to be kicked from the instance and unable to progress in the story. While the developers frantically tried to find a solution, players formed
Conqueror’s Blade (PC, PS4 version planned) is a mix of action game and strategy. Those who want to try it out can play the Closed Beta in January. Additionally, the developers explain the vibrant world you can conquer.
If you’ve always wanted to combine wild battles like in For Honor with the large-scale battles from a Total War game, keep an eye on Conqueror’s Blade. In it, you play a general from Asian or Western medieval armies. However, you don’t lead your troops comfortably from a command hill. Instead, you need to participate in the frontline as the leader.
The Closed Beta of Conqueror’s Blade is set to start in January 2018. The start date is now known: It is January 26. Registration is possible via the official Conqueror’s Blade website. In the game, you can then set off with your army and conquer the world at your leisure.
The world “Big World” of Conqueror’s Blade is not a static map with fixed values. Instead, it is a dynamic simulation modeled after the real world. You have to find resources for training and maintaining your troops. Depending on the terrain and season, there are different types of raw materials.
Also cool: Depending on the terrain and incline, you will progress faster or slower. To make the map as realistic as possible, the developers studied maps and terrain of the real world thoroughly.
In FIFA 18 Ultimate Team, the TOTY midfield players are well-known. You can grab these three top cards from the Team of the Year starting today.
Let’s go to Round 2 of the TOTY phase in FUT 18!
After the forwards of the TOTY were released yesterday, on January 15th, they will be replaced today by the TOTY midfield players. These three players will receive upgraded “Team of the Year” cards:
Modric – 96 Rating
De Bruyne – 96 Rating
Kanté – 95 Rating
These three players are available starting at 7 PM for 24 hours in the packs. They replace the TOTY forwards, who will no longer be in the sets from that point on. Tomorrow, on January 17th, the defenders + the goalkeeper will be released. We suspect that the entire TOTY will be in packs afterwards – at least that was the case in previous years.
What could the complete Team of the Year look like in FUT 18?
Here’s a look at predictions for the other possible TOTY cards. The large fifauteam community voted diligently last week, so these candidates may also land in the official TOTY:
Goalkeeper:
David de Gea, Manchester United (overwhelming majority with 60% of the votes). Buffon follows with 30%.
Defenders:
Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid (18.3%)
Marcelo, Real Madrid (11%)
Leonardo Bonucci, Juventus Turin / AC Milan (8.6%)
Antonio Valencia, Manchester United (8.2%)
Midfielders (fully consistent with the official TOTW):
Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City (19.9%)
N’Golo Kanté, Chelsea (16.6%)
Luka Modric, Real Madrid (15.1%)
Forwards:
Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona (23.4%)
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid (22.8%)
Neymar, Barcelona / PSG (13.9%) – Neymar did not make it into the official TOTY, but Kane did. He received 9% of the votes and landed in 4th place.
Once the TOTY players are available, you can pull them from packs for a limited time, as long as you’re lucky. There will be special pack offers during this time. After that, it will only be possible to acquire the TOTY players on the transfer market, where they will fetch high prices.
It applies:
Once the TOTY cards are in the packs, the standard cards of the respective players can no longer be pulled from the packs.
A set must contain rare gold players to have a chance at a TOTY player.
If you own a standard card of a TOTY player, nothing happens to that card. If you want a TOTY player, you have to pull it from packs with luck or buy it on the transfer market.
The chances of pulling a TOTY player are exactly the same as the chances of pulling that respective player’s standard card at another time.
The 3rd faction rally is approaching in Destiny 2. Three factions are fighting for victory – and for a special weapon. We predict: The winner is already determined.
Today, on January 16, 2018, the third group fight in the history of Destiny 2 starts. This is the first rally of Season 2, which offers new rewards.
What is special about this event: The Guardians join at the start of a faction (Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, New Monarchy) and then fight for their cause for a week. They dive into various activities, collect faction tokens, and exchange them for engrams. The faction that drops the most engrams at the end wins the group fight and rewards a victory weapon. The victory weapons of the other factions remain undisclosed.
Which faction is expected to win the 3rd group fight?
The first faction rally was won by Dead Orbit, the second rally went to New Monarchy. And in the third rally, the Future War Cult will emerge as the winner!
Why is that? We conducted two surveys in the past weeks asking which faction you will support this time:
The second time last weekend, after the new date for the 3rd rally was announced. With over 2200 votes, the Future War Cult now won somewhat more clearly with 30% against New Monarchy with 26%. Dead Orbit received 19% of the votes:
In the previous faction rallies 1 and 2, we conducted surveys that correctly predicted the outcomes. However, the results of the third rally were not as close. Dead Orbit received nearly 50% of the votes in the first rally, while New Monarchy reached exactly 50% in the second rally.
This time, the factions are separated by only a few percentage points, so there may still be a surprise winner. But at Mein-MMO, we naturally trust our readers and confidently predict: The Future War Cult will take home the victory of the third rally.
All info about the third faction rally in Destiny 2
The faction rally starts on January 16 (Tuesday) in the evening (after maintenance)
and ends a week later, on January 23 at 6 PM.
Participation requirements:
Must have at least character level 20
Complete the campaign
Once the rally starts, you must play the faction rally introduction milestone
After that, you join a faction. Each character can join one faction
The new rewards:
From this rally, you can earn ornaments by completing specified objectives. You do not need “drop luck” for this. These are the ornaments:
Dead Orbit:
New Monarchy:
Future War Cult:
The faction that drops the most reward packages after one week wins the rally. The winning faction, and only the winning faction, will then release a victory weapon. These are the victory weapons that you can receive at the end – all are auto rifles:
Dead Orbit:
New Monarchy:
Future War Cult:
If you are a member of the winning faction, you receive the victory weapon for 1000 Glimmer. But all other Guardians can also purchase this weapon – but for 50,000 Glimmer.
Hori is launching an officially licensed wireless controller for the PS4 from Sony. Its design is reminiscent of the bulky Xbox One gamepads.
The topic of “controllers” divides console players:
While some swear by the classic PS4 DualShock with the central analog sticks and will not accept any other gamepad layout at home,
others prefer the “bulkier” Xbox controller with the offset analog sticks.
It’s often said that such controllers in the Xbox layout fit better in hand – ultimately, that is probably a matter of taste.
For all of you who are gaming on the PS4 but like to have something more in hand and prefer asymmetrical analog sticks, Hori (Japan) has now developed the controller “Onyx”.
What can the Onyx controller do?
The Onyx controller is an officially licensed product from Sony. According to the PlayStation blog, the controller is compatible with all PS4 systems, including the PS4 Pro. Onyx was designed to offer all PS4 players a wider selection so they can find the controller that fits their unique playstyle, according to Sony.
The somewhat bulkier controller offers all the basic functions of a regular DualShock 4. Here are the special features listed:
Wireless
Ergonomically shaped
Large grips
Bluetooth connectivity
Dual vibration motors
Asymmetrical sticks
Onyx has been on the market since January 15, 2018. It costs around 60 euros, similar to the standard PS4 controller.
Here you can find an Amazon offer for Oryx:
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That Onyx closely resembles the Xbox design is, of course, not something Sony mentions. But no one can really dispute that…
By the way, Hori has also developed an officially licensed set of mouse and keyboard for the PlayStation 4. You can read more about it here:
Today, on January 16th, Update 1.1 was launched on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, showing that the developers of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 quickly respond to criticism. Furthermore, according to the patch notes, players can look forward to new content and especially a better balance.
In this context, especially well-established elements are being improved and complemented by new modes. For example, the Blast mode can now also be played on the beautiful map Crait. The last part of the map, the mine tunnels, offers excellent terrain! Team Deathmatch on red and white ground? That was exactly what I was missing! And I mean that quite seriously.
Iden Versio is blown up
The heroine of the campaign, Iden Versio, is now playable not only in ground battles but also in Starfighter Assault. For this, she hops into her agile, custom-modified TIE/In Fighter, which boasts special abilities:
Afterburner: Provides a temporary speed boost. Good for dodging enemy missiles.
Laser Barrage: Rapid fire that deals high damage.
Double Proton Torpedoes: Fires two proton torpedoes that track the target and deal high damage.
Inferno Leader: While active, all enemies in the vicinity are revealed to allies and receive increased damage.
The corresponding star cards are also provided, which enhance the relevant abilities. Additionally, players can achieve further milestones with the new space battle heroine, such as by repeatedly eliminating opponents through barrage fire.
A balancing act
More important than the now broader positioned Iden Versio and the Crait Deathmatches is probably the balance. In the past, this has often been criticized. Specifically with the weapons CR-2 of the Assault and Blurgg of the Officers, players could cut through enemies too easily. As announced, these have now been nerfed.
The Wookiee warriors, Boba Fett, and Finn will also be weakened to create a better game balance. Lastly, a few known bugs have been fixed. Now all abilities of Finn and the Officers should really respond accordingly to all affected units.
The gaming experience should now be much more pleasant.
