There is now gameplay material from New World, the legendary MMORPG that shipping giant Amazon is working on. The game is set in the time of the “discovery of a new world” but apparently has significant mystery elements.
In autumn 2016, shipping giant Amazon announced that it was working on three games. All of them were intended to be multiplayer and suitable for the streaming platform Twitch, which is owned by Amazon:
New World is supposed to take place during the time when America was discovered, in the 17th century. However, New World is said to be equipped with supernatural elements. Everything that was thought to be real back then would indeed be real.
Leak allegedly shows gameplay material from new MMORPG New World
In the subreddit for New World, a ~25-second leak with this gameplay material appeared out of nowhere. It starts abruptly with a description of how to work together in groups.
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There is not much to see – only the promise that people will work together to exert immense power: economically and militarily. The graphics of New World look fairly standard at first glance, but the map promises a certain tactical depth.
Roanoke points to mystery and horror elements in New World
In a snapshot, “Roanoke” can be seen – this is a legendary colony surrounded by numerous myths and horror stories. In Roanoke, 118 settlers disappeared without a trace after the colony had been left on its own for several years. Only a tree with the inscription “CROATOAN” was found. Since then, Roanoke has been a popular motif in horror stories.
It should be noted: The leak appeared in the subreddit without context. Currently, it is unknown where it originated from and whether it is “real”.
However, fans agree: If this is a fake, someone really put in a lot of effort. It doesn’t look like footage from a known game.
We’ll see when new information about New World comes! Currently, two things especially speak for the MMORPG:
It has a new, fresh setting
and it is by Amazon – money shouldn’t be a problem.
A shock for the German community of World of Warcraft. The streamer and fan site operator Patrick Michalczak, known as Vanion, is dead.
According to Vanion.eu, the founder of the site, Patrick Michalczak, passed away on January 2 at the age of 39. No details have been given regarding the cause of death, and it is requested to refrain from speculations out of respect for the deceased and his family.
Vanion.eu is only releasing the news because rumors and false reports about Michalczak’s death are already circulating.
As Buffed reports, Michalczak’s business partner Andreas Scholten will continue the site Vanion.eu on behalf of the deceased.
We at Mein-MMO.de extend our condolences to the family of the deceased, his friends, and colleagues.
Just two weeks ago, shortly before Christmas, Michalczak and Scholten reflected on 8 years of Vanion.eu in a podcast.
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Gaming and getting paid for it? It’s possible! As a streamer on Twitch, you can increase your income or even make a living from it. We explain what you need for it and even have some tips from the pros!
What is Streaming?
Streaming refers to the playback of recordings in real-time. On Twitch, this specifically means: the streamers play video games, record themselves, and allow others to watch them via direct video connection.
What exactly the streamer shows is up to him, as long as it adheres to the rules of the streaming service. Shooters and MOBAs are some of the most popular channels, but board and role-playing games are also offered by streamers.
The platform where most streaming currently takes place is Twitch. Twitch belongs to Amazon, has been in business for years, and is the dominant player in the industry. From small hobby streamers to large professional channels and even companies and broadcasters, you’ll find everything here.
How do I become a streamer on Twitch?
To start your career on Twitch, you need 5 things:
A Twitch account
Streaming software
A computer with gaming accessories
A good internet connection
An idea
You can get the account, the software, and the idea for free – for the rest, you’ll probably need to dig into your pockets. But it’s ultimately an investment that should pay off sooner or later.
Gaming and getting paid – the dream of many players.
At this point, it must be said: Successfully streaming is work! If you just want to game a bit and show it to a few people, basic hardware is perfectly sufficient. But if you want to stream professionally, it means that you’ll need sometimes very expensive peripherals and the willingness to put in the work.
No matter if you want to start as a hobby streamer or aim for a streaming career, the beginnings are the same and small, until the first success. With our tips, getting started will be easier, and you’ll get an overview of what to expect.
One who made it: Kripparian.
Internet Connection – Not Unfamiliar for Streamers
The most important tool for a streamer is their connection. Even with the best PC, you have no chance of success if the stream is not stable or does not come about at all. Investing in a sufficient connection is always the first step.
You should not focus on the speed that the provider offers for the download, but rather on the upload. The better the upload, the better the quality of the video that makes its way to Twitch.
There are roughly three values you can orient yourself by:
Absolute Minimum: 3.5MBit Upload. With this amount of data, you can stream in the simplest quality and get a feel for the streamer experience. However, don’t expect extraordinary streams with this.
The Average: 6MBit Upload. With 6MBit, you provide your viewers with a pleasant picture that rarely lags, and watching remains fun even after some time. The upload is already limited to 6MBit on Twitch. Everything above serves as a buffer for short outages to keep the quality consistently high.
The Professional Connection: 10MBit or more Upload. From 10MBit, you can fully exploit the potential of any computer and deliver the best quality to your viewers. Moreover, you can order “business connections,” which receive special support from the providers. In general, you have a right to the elimination of a disturbance within 24 hours.
A fast connection is a must if you want to stream!
Create and Set Up a Twitch Account
Creating an account on Twitch is easy: you visit the website www.twitch.tv and navigate to the “Sign Up” button in the upper right corner. In the following pop-up, you just need to come up with and enter a username and a password, complete with your birth date and email address, and you’re done! The account is created.
After creation, you immediately get started by choosing 3 games that you like. These are only important to suggest streamers you might be interested in. Select the games and confirm your choice to come to the actual website.
Here you navigate through the drop-down menu to the right of your name in the upper right corner to the “Dashboard”. From here, you manage the entire streaming profile, from the title of the stream to the settings for the chat.
Streaming Software
After you have created and set up your account on Twitch, you need software that displays what you want to show. There are many common programs for this, such as “XSplit”, “Bebo”, or “Open Broadcaster Software“, abbreviated as “OBS”.
Which of the programs you want to use is ultimately up to you. They all come with roughly the same functions and work similarly. OBS is a free open-source software that our author Leya also uses for the streams.
The homepage of OBS.
To connect OBS to your Twitch account, you need your “stream key”. You can find this when you click on “Settings” on the left in your Twitch dashboard. In your settings, you will find the link “Stream Key” at the top.
A click on this and the “Show Key” button gives a warning not to share the key, and finally shows it. Copy the long string and paste it in OBS under “File”, “Settings”, “Stream” at “Stream Key”. You can now use OBS to stream a video to Twitch.
Correctly Set Up OBS
The next step should be to set your settings for audio, video, and connection. Much of that depends on your personal preference and technical possibilities. However, there are some guidelines.
Settings/Output
Video bitrate: 3000-3500 for 1080p (Full HD), 1800-2500 for 720p (HD)
Encoder: Software (x264)
Audio bitrate: 128 Hz
Settings/Video
Base (Canvas) Resolution: Always use the native resolution of the monitor you are capturing the game on (commonly 1920×1080)
Output (Scaled) Resolution: The base value scaled down by a factor of 1.5 (so in our base resolution, it would be 1280×720)
Common FPS values: Here, 60 (or 59.94) are the values that offer the best quality. However, the resolution should be 720p because achieving 1080p at 60FPS without very expensive hardware or a second computer is impossible. 720P at 60FPS delivers better quality than 1080p at 30Hz.
Settings/Audio
The settings here should all be correct already. Check to see if the devices all show the standard of your computer or the devices you want to use.
Settings/Hotkeys
Hotkeys are optional, but a practical way to quickly access actions. It is recommendable to set a hotkey for starting and stopping the stream as well as a push-to-mute button. The community will thank you for it during the first sneeze.
Once you’ve set everything to your liking, you just need to give OBS a source to stream. Go back to the main window and click on the large plus sign at “Scene” on the bottom left (Add Scene). Give it any name you can easily identify.
You now assign a source to the scene through “Sources”. With a click on the plus sign there, you get a drop-down menu from which you can choose one of three settings for the game you want to stream:
Display Capture: Captures the entire content of the monitor. Useful in a setup with multiple monitors if the game occupies the entire area of one.
Window Capture: Specifies a window whose content is captured. More comfortable for games played in (maximized) windowed mode.
Game Capture: Specifies the game to be displayed from a list of active processes. Pleasant, but sometimes cumbersome.
This is what the window capture of a browser with a great website looks like.
Hardware and Peripherals – What Works for Gaming, Doesn’t Always Work for Streaming!
To put all the streaming theory into practice, you need the right equipment. Along with devices like a mouse and keyboard to play games properly, you also need to be able to communicate with the community somehow.
To give practical tips, we spoke with three German streamers who can support themselves through streaming: Cirouss (Overwatch and various), TheEnclase (Hearthstone and PUBG) and Cillidbaaang (Rainbow Six: Siege and Call of Duty: World War II).
Cirouss has gained more recognition with his work as a caster for Overwatch – until streaming became his profession.
Webcams:
Cirouss uses the Logitech Brio. However, many streamers also commonly use the Logitech C920 and C922. In the high-end area of streaming, even DSLRs worth up to €2500 are used.
TheEnclase has streamed without a webcam since day one – and still attracts several hundred viewers each time. If charisma is enough, a webcam isn’t mandatory but makes the start easier.
Cillidbaaang relies on the Razer Kiyo. The camera from the gaming giant brings the advantage of including a light ring, thus providing better effect quality. It’s suitable for both beginners and professionals.
With a webcam, you can show yourself in all your glory!
When it comes to recording voice, all three agree: at the beginning, it’s perfectly fine to stream with a gaming headset that offers decent quality for voice. Enclase still uses such a headset today for successful streams.
Cirouss and Cillid, on the other hand, rely on professional condenser microphones and generally recommend microphones with XLR connections as soon as you become more known and bigger. If you integrate a second computer, you should also invest in a mixer to manage music, game sound, and microphone.
Especially important for sound quality is to avoid USB headsets. XLR connections always yield better results. Cillid also recommends a small mixer and a sound card for better quality at the beginning.
A good microphone rarely hinders streaming. It just belongs.
Computer:
A good computer can handle a decent stream on its own for the beginning. The three German streamers also agree on this. However, it is important that the PC is equipped with 16-32GB RAM and a powerful processor (8 cores are recommended). With a high-end PC, you can achieve extremely good results even without a second computer.
If streaming eventually becomes a profession, acquiring a second computer ensures the best quality. The computers are connected to each other via a capture card. When it comes to the computers, pay attention to the following:
Gaming Computer
should ideally display the game to be streamed at 144Hz
strong graphics card (at least Nvidia GeForce 1070 or AMD RX 480)
at least 8GB RAM
Streaming Computer
should handle most of the streaming work
at least 16GB, better 32GB RAM
strong processor to capture and display many sources simultaneously
Having two screens is almost unavoidable. You need one for the game and the other for the chat. Alternatively, you can use your smartphone to keep an eye on the community. However, a second screen is more practical. More monitors are only conditionally necessary for beginners and even later.
Cillidbaaang’s setup – multiple monitors are very helpful for overview.
A computer and the appropriate peripherals are still not everything you need to successfully start streaming and enjoy sticking with it.
For a practical insight into the profession, you can find our interview with three professional German streamers: Cirouss, Enclase, and Cillidbaaang here.
The Step to Success: In Conversation with Professional Streamers
Streaming involves more than just hardware and a basic understanding of Twitch. To become a streamer, you need to be able to adapt to the profession. To provide you with a bit of assistance, we spoke with three German streamers who earn their living from Twitch.
Cirouss: The Nice Neighbor You Like to Hang Out With
Cirouss is a streamer who specializes mainly in shooters and community games. With numerous community events, tournament casts, and much engagement in German eSports, he attracts primarily a competitive clientele.
His career in streaming actually began as a shoutcaster while casually streaming Guild Wars 2 and HEX: Shards of Fate. He has recently become better known through Overwatch, Destiny 2, and Escape from Tarkov.
Cillidbaaang primarily offers his viewers shooters, but he is also known for the music on his stream. For some viewers, that’s a certain extra that makes him one of their favorites.
He started with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and has recently mostly offered Call of Duty: World War II and Escape from Tarkov beside his main game Rainbow Six: Siege.
Cillidbaaang at TwitchCon, an event specifically for Twitch partners and fans.
TheEnclase: A King for a Kingdom Full of Wombats
TheEnclase is an old hand in German streaming. Besides his ambition in gaming, his presentation on stream is particularly important. His brusque style and dark humor have attracted and built a community that claims the wombat as its emblem.
The “Wombat Army” feels a deep love-hate relationship with their “king” and therefore supports him in (almost) everything he plans – although he never shows his face. With his unique character, he mainly aims for entertainment, which he likes to highlight at Hearthstone as his main game.
These three streamers entertain their viewers in diverse and unmistakable ways. However, they all have in common that they are self-employed and place a high value on proximity to the community. Through their different durations on Twitch and their average number of viewers, they provide a good overview of growth as a streamer.
Our Questions for the Streamers
To be successful as a streamer, it is not enough to just show your own gameplay to the world and wait for people to watch it. You need to bring “that certain something” that makes people want to support you. In our discussions, the streamers shared their own views and some tips for streaming newcomers:
The Heart of the Stream – What Makes a Streamer’s Success?
TheEnclase: “I guess just go for it. But I also believe that many simply aren’t made for streaming – like in every ‘job’ or ‘hobby’.
If you can’t stand playing for 8 or even 24 hours straight, if you don’t have a good eye for the chat, and if at the beginning you look at the viewer count and let that discourage you from making little progress … then you should just quit.
As a streamer, you should either be extremely good at a game and/or have a special personality. If both aren’t there, there won’t be success in most cases … Which is understandable amid the mass of streamers today?
The wombat graphic of the “Wombat King” Enclase. Even loyal viewers are immortalized in the stream.
Cirouss: “Have fun streaming and NEVER start with the intention of making money from it!”
Cillidbaaang: “There are two types of streamers: Entertainers and Pro Gamers. People watch entertainers to be entertained. Entertainers need to pay attention to the chat and be interactive. Pro Gamers only need to offer good gameplay; people want to learn from them.
The most important things for entertainers like me are multitasking to be both entertainer and player, and having fun with what you’re doing. You shouldn’t start streaming to get rich, but because you enjoy it. If it then works out, success will come with a bit of luck.
For newcomers, I recommend one of two concepts: Be yourself or be someone else. But be a personality. If you choose to embody a fictional character, then own it, but make it clear. The main thing is that you’re true to yourself (or the character) and have recognition value.”
What game did you start with, and how important is content choice for newcomers?
TheEnclase: “Duel of Champions. Everyone should play what they can at the beginning or what they enjoy. The top games have a lot of competition – but also more potential viewers. I don’t think it matters too much… in smaller games, it might be easier to build a starter community.”
Cirouss: “I started with Guild Wars 2 – like most, it was a coincidence that I started streaming. The choice of content is a personal matter. Everyone should stream what they enjoy and what they consider to be right.”
Cillidbaaang: “I started with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. To start, as a smaller streamer, it’s helpful to play what is liked to be watched if you want to dive in full force. Otherwise… just play what you enjoy. Watching a streamer who is having fun with the game is always more enjoyable than sitting with a bored wannabe.”
Destiny was recently a game where many streamers dared to start. It also meant a boost in popularity for existing streamers like Cirouss.
What were your first successes? At what point could you say: I can make a living from streaming?
TheEnclase: “Hmm … I had quite a bit of success from the beginning. I was one of the best players in Duel of Champions, which was quite a small game. Within days, a first community formed, back when it was still in English.”
Cirouss: “You always have successes in streaming, sometimes smaller things and sometimes larger ones like the Twitch partnership. For me, it was the small things that piled up and grew larger over time. It’s more of a process that led me there.”
Cillidbaaang: “I started as a YouTuber. Eventually, it became too boring for me as there was no interaction with the community. Exactly that interaction was eventually the reason I started, and the success I had made me a streamer.”
Some streamers involve their community in their success – at Enclase, there are limited collectible products to win.
What made you really make a living from streaming?
TheEnclase: “I don’t know. It just kept growing, and eventually, it was enough… it wasn’t really planned.”
Cirouss: “The point when I first exceeded 400 subscribers and it kept going well was crucial for me to implement streaming as a full-time option.”
Cillidbaaang: “To be honest: luck. I was one of the first players in Germany to get a beta key for Rainbow Six: Siege and had the equipment to stream. I had the right feeling for the right game at the right time and the motivation to stick with my plans. The killer instinct, so to speak.”
Even with Twitch, money has to be made – streaming is work.
With these tips, you now have everything at hand to become a streamer yourself. You just need the motivation and courage to get started!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Bungie talks about the raids in Destiny 2. We might soon be fighting against a big boss – without adds, without specific mechanics.
Joe Blackburn is the raid team lead of Destiny 2, so the raid chief at Bungie. Just a few days ago, he explained in a series of tweets what matters in Destiny raids: Namely, the right positioning and the line of sight during a fight. In a first-person shooter, the design of the environment plays a significant role.
Now Blackburn shared some information about the raids in Destiny again. He has read a lot of criticism in the forums that all previous raid boss encounters only allow brief damage phases on the boss. Why not have a fight with a “permanent damage phase”, where you can continuously shoot at the boss?
When designing such a raid fight, it should be fun
According to Blackburn, prototypes of such fights have already been tested, but they all come with the same core problem: It simply isn’t fun to constantly shoot at the same target.
There are opposing voices saying that this would work in other online games as well. As an example, he mentions WoW, where DPS boss fights are fun. However, there are significant differences between traditional MMOs and Destiny: In traditional MMOs, much depends on pressing the right keys at the right time. When do I use the ability, when do I use the potion? In the FPS Destiny, such elements are eliminated. Here you keep pressing the same shoot button whenever you have your target in sight.
The fun and challenge in first-person shooters lies in quickly switching targets, aiming at them, and finding new, better positions for new combat situations.
The simple idea of placing a boss in the middle, where six guardians shoot at it for four minutes, does not work. This is why there are
damage phases
and phases when the boss is immune, and new targets are prioritized,
available. The few seconds when the boss is vulnerable feel much more intense.
The idea of a pure DPS fight is still not off the table. Blackburn writes that he is still intrigued by the challenge of creating a fight where six guardians are alone in a room with just one boss. There are no adds and no “wrong time” to shoot at the boss. But if Bungie does something like that, Blackburn wants the guardians to love that fight.
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A user asked in the comments where to send design ideas for the “One Boss, No Adds, 6 Guardians” fight to the developers. Blackburn replied that he looks at every design idea for a boss or activity on the Reddit front page. The challenge then lies in bringing an idea into the game.
PUBG is too shallow for you? Then you should definitely keep an eye on the upcoming online shooter Escape from Tarkov (PC). We introduce the combat simulation for PC in “What is Escape from Tarkov”, which aims to be more than just a survival shooter.
Currently, it seems that the gaming trend is moving toward increasingly larger challenges. Players are expected to engage more deeply with game mechanics, not receive everything for free, but work hard for their successes, and regain the feeling that their character is exposed to dangers, and that it will not be a walk in the park to fight against other players.
Hardcore and Realism
Escape from Tarkov aims to provide such a hardcore gaming experience. The online shooter from the Russian studio Battlestate Games is currently in closed beta. An open beta is just around the corner, with a date to be announced. The developers do not want to be pushed into a box, and comparisons with similar games are not welcome. Because Escape from Tarkov is not just a hardcore PUBG with MMORPG elements; it is an independent product.
The story takes place in the near future. The Russian city of Tarkov has been sealed off due to a conflict. Several mercenary groups are fighting for dominance in the streets. Looting scavengers are looking for valuable items and want a piece of the pie. You either belong to the private army BEAR, the mercenaries from USEC, or the Scavs, who are essentially civilians banding together to cause chaos. Your goal is: Escape from Tarkov! But that’s easier said than done.
Tarkov is divided into several zones, or play areas. You need to fight your way through these areas. In each area, you must complete specific tasks and survive to reach the next area and eventually leave the city. PvP is at the forefront, as Escape from Tarkov is a competitive shooter. Of course, it is possible to team up with other players, but fundamentally, you never know whom you can trust, and every encounter with another player can end in a firefight.
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Escape from Tarkov is divided into several features:
Survival – Survive in each play area and search for better equipment
Tactical Combat – This is not just about simple shooting; cover and aiming are essential
Modification – You can customize your equipment – especially the weapons – with many mods
Character Improvement – Your character has skills that you can enhance
Trade – You sell loot to traders or become a trader yourself
Base – Your base serves as a retreat that you continuously expand
Escape from Tarkov: Survival
When it comes to survival, you need to act carefully at all times. Every step could be your last if enemies are hiding in the bushes, waiting to ambush you. Escape from Tarkov focuses on a lot of realism. This starts with the interaction with the game world. For example, if you use a light switch, you illuminate a room, which helps you find loot better, but the light can also attract other players who want to hunt you down. Collecting loot takes time during which you may be defenseless.
Additionally, every hit can lead to death, even a grazing shot. Injuries need to be treated quickly, as you could bleed out or develop an infection. Poisoning is also possible. Storming into a building and shooting does not get you to your goal. Furthermore, you need to eat and drink.
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The battles are tactical. Stealth is required, and it’s best to use a scope to spot enemies from afar. The environment must be taken into account. Who could be hiding where? Where could you take cover? Since every hit can mean the death of your character, it’s important to think carefully about your next step.
You should always communicate with your team and plan every action carefully. Your own skill plays a greater role in aiming and hitting than the skills, which only provide a small boost.
Modification
The mods for your equipment – especially for the weapons – are enormously diverse. It is possible to customize every weapon. And this applies not only to its appearance but also its function. Which suppressor do you want to use? Which barrel is suitable? This can affect the physically accurate ballistic calculations of the projectiles, which also impacts your hit probability or the overheating of the weapons.
The developers of Escape from Tarkov want your weapons to become a part of your character. You should be able to identify with your weapons just as you do with your character. The weapons have been modeled as closely to the originals as possible, and the team even enlisted the help of a military expert.
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Escape from Tarkov is not a classic shooter where your personal skill with mouse and keyboard decides the outcome. There are plenty of skills that you can improve over time through use. However, not to the extent seen in MMORPGs. You cannot suddenly become significantly better with a rifle just because you increased that skill. Skills are meant to provide small support and show you that you have learned something.
Additionally, you will also lose your skills if you do not use them for a while. If you want to learn them again, it will happen much faster. Skills exist in various categories:
Physical – These skills increase your health points or endurance slightly
Mental – Abilities like attention and stress resistance can be found here
Combat – Here you increase skills for various weapons and also handling grenades, etc.
Practical – How well you can trade, hack, move stealthily, or pick locks is determined in this category
Special – Here you will find skills that specifically apply to members of individual factions
Trade
Trading plays an important role in Escape from Tarkov. Traders are both NPCs and players themselves. Anything you find in the game areas that you don’t need can be sold to these traders. Or you can browse their inventory to find a better weapon. Depending on how you interact with the traders, they will offer you better or worse prices.
If you are a trader, then other players will buy from you. In doing so, you must ensure that you always have a large selection and offer fair prices. Otherwise, other players will look for alternatives. There is also a separate flea market for trading. Your trading skills determine how well you can sell or buy goods.
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A base is important because it’s where you retreat to rest and store your loot. Your hideout starts as nothing more than an old bunker. You gradually expand it over time to gain access to fresh water through a water purification system or to produce bandages in a medical station. Additionally, the warehouse is important to hide equipment in case you expire and your body is looted.
At workbenches, you craft ammunition and modify your weapons. Depending on which modules you use to expand your base, you gain certain bonuses. You can find/unlock modules during your adventures. However, it is necessary to keep the base running, for example, with a power generator for which you need to keep finding gasoline.
How can you start and play Escape from Tarkov now?
As you can see, Escape from Tarkov is a complex game. The developers are deliberately targeting players seeking a hardcore experience with great challenges. However, it should also be possible for beginners to join in. The team is currently planning special beginner servers. Additionally, the skills do not have a particularly large impact on the character, allowing a newcomer to hold their own against a veteran.
If you are looking for a game that challenges you more than PUBG or Overwatch, then you should keep Escape from Tarkov in mind.
The game is still in beta, and many of the features mentioned are not yet implemented. This includes player trading, the base, poisoning, and so on. In our preview, we of course covered the entire game as it is intended to be in its final state and not just the current state of the beta.
You can already participate by purchasing a preorder package with access to the beta through the shop. The game’s release is currently only planned for PC. Depending on how the soon-to-start open beta progresses, we might expect an official launch in 2018. The online military shooter adopts a Buy2Play model. The developers do not believe in Pay2Win and Free2Play.
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When the failed 1.0 version of Final Fantasy XIV (PC, PS4) was taken offline five years ago, hardly anyone expected that the game would develop into one of the strongest subscription-based MMORPGs on the market by early 2018. Revenues are higher than ever, and the numbers of active players are slowly but steadily increasing.
However, the critical voices from the community have long complained about the lulls between individual content patches and their repetitive content. Will the developers be able to address this criticism in the coming year? What are director and producer Naoki Yoshida and his crew planning for the future of Final Fantasy XIV in 2018?
2017 – The Year of Records for Final Fantasy XIV
The year 2017 started with a bang for FFXIV: At the beginning of February, the MMORPG took home two Guinness World Records at the Fan Festival in Frankfurt. Square Enix continued to build up the hype for the upcoming expansion “Stormblood” until it was released in June, catapulting the number of active players to its highest level since the release of “A Realm Reborn”.
But FFXIV was also doing excellently in other areas:
The concert “Eorzean Symphony” was completely sold out.
After the success of the restaurant “Eorzea Café” in Tokyo, another café opened in Osaka in 2017.
Moreover, the Japanese TV series “Father of Light”, which was localized in Germany by Netflix and is themed around FFXIV, quickly became a hidden gem among fans.
The Updates in Stormblood
With the launch of “Stormblood”, the developers also addressed various criticisms that had been repeatedly raised by the community.
Raid Content for Everyone, Hardcore and Casual
The difficulty of the epic raids was slightly lowered to accommodate the request of midcore players. The goal was to make it easier to get into raiding and to introduce a third difficulty level between hardcore and casual content.
At the same time, the development team released the first ultimate fight “Endless Shadows of Bahamut” in October, which was meant to satisfy the hardcore audience, which it indeed did. Raider Layla Bell, who already has two World First kills under her belt, wrote on her Twitter: “This is the best fight I’ve ever done”.
Other players from the raider community have praised the fight for its high fun factor, and FFXIV briefly landed in the Top 10 of the most-watched content on Twitch thanks to the Endless Shadows.
Overhaul of the PvP System
PvP enthusiasts were also not overlooked in the expansion. In Stormblood, the PvP mode received a tailored skill system, with the number of skills drastically reduced compared to PvE to make it easier for new players to get started and to implement balance adjustments more quickly.
In September, “Rival Wings” was introduced, a new PvP mode for 48 players, strongly reminiscent of modern MOBAs. Despite obvious balance issues, the mode quickly gained popularity, especially among Japanese players.
Community Criticism of Final Fantasy XIV
However, despite all the positive feedback and improvements in Stormblood, there have been continuous critical voices among players.
Players also complain about the lulls that begin about a month before the release of the next patch, as they feel there’s not enough content to bridge that time.
Additionally, the steep gear progression curve, which renders equipment nearly useless about six months after release, has been repeatedly criticized by players. This issue has existed since the launch of “A Realm Reborn”, but developers have not yet properly addressed or tackled it.
“Never Change a Running System?” – Near and Distant Future of Final Fantasy XIV
Do Naoki Yoshida and the team plan to address the “chronic issues” of the game in 2018?
For the year, Square Enix has big plans for FFXIV, and the feedback from the community plays a significant role in that. Content Patch 4.2 is already coming at the end of January, bringing, in addition to the usual contents, especially:
A complete overhaul of the projection system
Expansion of the inventory
Balance changes for jobs like Black Mage and Monk
Group ranking in PvP and adjustments to the “FEAST” mode
All important updates that players have been waiting for a long time.
To combat the monotony of patches, the long-delayed “Forbidden Land Eureka,” which according to Yoshida is content “that has never existed in the game before” will finally be released with the 4.2x patch series. The details have so far been kept well under wraps and will only be revealed in the next producer letter on January 19.
The community’s wish for difficult 4-man content is also expected to be fulfilled in 2018, as well as cross-server features.
Additionally, official PvP tournaments, the next ultimate raid, the assistant app, new PvP maps, balance changes, and much more will be introduced.
Most importantly, however, is the announcement of a fan festival in the USA on November 15, 2018. This was an important piece of news, as fan festivals have always been accompanied by the announcement of a new expansion.
The community can thus look forward to what the developer team has in store for them in 2018, or to put it in Yoshida’s words: “Please look forward to it!”
About the author: I am Echo Mirage: raider, crafter, and community person who has been active in FFXIV for over 5 years. In the German community, some may know me from the Facebook fan page Eorzea 24/7, where I post daily news, fan art, memes, and more and regularly organize fan gatherings for players from the Berlin and Frankfurt area.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
It is a frequently asked question: What happens to the artifact weapons in WoW: Legion when the addon comes to an end. A newly found cutscene now gives insight into the fate of the historic weapons.
With Antorus, the Burning Throne, the last raid for WoW: Legion has arrived. With Argus, the Unmaker, the last boss of the addon has fallen. This marks the end of the Legion expansion: Data miners have now discovered a cutscene that provides hints about the fate of the artifact weapons.
Spoiler warning! If you do not want to find out what happens after Argus falls and what happens to the artifact weapons after Antorus, you should not continue reading!
The fate of the artifact weapons as vessels for dark energy
Once you have defeated Argus, the Unmaker in Antorus, you will see a cinematic. In this, Sargeras plunges his gigantic sword into Azeroth in a final act of wrath, specifically in Silithus, where it creates a massive wound.
This sword is now gradually poisoning the lifeblood of the Titan Azeroth through Sargeras’ power and thus threatens to destroy the planet. To prevent this, Magni calls upon you aboard an airship to absorb the power of the dark titan and render it harmless.
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To avert the damage, the champions of Azeroth must together contain the sinister energy in vessels that can withstand the power – the artifact weapons. With united forces, they finally succeed in absorbing the power.
The weapons are (still) not destroyed. Most of the artifact bearers are still standing at the end of the cutscene, holding their weapons in their hands. However, the weapons are probably corrupted afterwards…
Since this is datamining, please note: The cutscene is currently not complete, some voice lines are missing, and the scene can be changed at any time before the release of Patch 7.3.5!
If you enjoy battle royale games like PUBG but currently have no cash for purchasing the game or a new computer, there’s a quick alternative. BRUH.io is free, has retro charm, and runs in the browser!
Fans of high-end graphics will probably be horrified by BRUH.io’s pixel aesthetics. For everyone else, it presents a pleasantly simple game of rough pixels that doesn’t require extensive instructions. A handful of keys are explained, then you choose a server and one of eight skins: Boom, you can jump in without registration.
However, registration is necessary for those who want to save their progress and compare their high scores with others.
An eternal cycle
When your game is running on the chosen server, you start as a ghost. You can walk around observing, passively participating in the rest of the skirmish. You also become a ghost when you die in BRUH.io.
When the next game starts, you are automatically added and herded together with opponents into a hall where you can practice shooting. Then, finally, it begins and you spawn in a random location on the map.
From now on, the goal is to quickly take out enemies and be on guard because the enemy can lurk anywhere! In the end, there can only be one: the “Last Man Standing”!
Although you start with a mundane pistol, you can equip yourself with better weapons scattered on the street in BRUH.io. There are 12 different guns in the game, and whether it’s a rifle, shotgun, or sniper, each weapon has different advantages. The shotgun deals more damage, the sniper increases visibility, and others have a higher fire rate. Also, med kits are available along the way.
No, BRUH.io is not complicated or demanding – and it doesn’t aim to be. While you can somewhat deduce where someone is based on the gun sounds, those who remain in motion and cleverly hide behind cover will have an advantage. However, extensive tactical understanding is not required.
It’s about quick fun in between. This is reflected in the short matches that last five to seven minutes. The brevity is enforced by the map shrinking over time. Moreover, the map is filled with so many beautiful details that it’s worth just looking around. I’m waiting for the Easter edition…
BRUH.io in numbers
Since its launch at the end of December 2017, BRUH.io has recorded the following data (as of 06.01.2018):
Games played: 3,037,528
Kills: 2,510,125
Shots fired: 146,358,112
Players who died from gas: 272,508
Registered player with the most kills: User “fractal” with 1,485 wins, 8,667 kills and a win rate of 41%
The developers see themselves as hobbyists, as revealed by the Twitter profile of Sam Stiles. He also has a clear answer to the question of why the game is called BRUH: “Bruh is a silly word that I just like!” Simple. Just like the game itself.
In Destiny 2, the mood is not great. A fan has traveled to Seattle to give the developers of the shooter some high-fives.
On reddit, a player shares that he spent a day at Bungie’s headquarters holding up a homemade sign: “I love Destiny 2 – Free High-Five!”
Once he got past the security guard, there were high-fives for the devs
The fan says: I was already in Seattle visiting a friend, who was working all day, and I went to the headquarters on Friday with the sign to cheer up the developers.
While he admits that Destiny 2 deserves criticism, he believes that it has recently gone overboard and become negative and harsh. He wanted to show Bungie that not all fans out there are just complaining and grumbling.
After the young man got past the security guard and was able to wait for the devs at the entrance of Bungie, his plan actually worked.
He stood there at the Bungie headquarters for five hours, chatted with developers, and handed out a lot of high-fives.
Bungie employees are people just like you and me, they want a better Destiny 2
He shares:
The Bungie employees are aware of the negative feedback and it weighs on the morale of the team – but the employees are determined to improve the game and the mood
The developers enjoy working at Bungie and on Destiny 2. They want Destiny to improve – from the conversations, it seems clear: Bungie is functioning, people love the teamwork and the family atmosphere in the studio
One of the frequently criticized individuals at Bungie is M.E. Chung, who is blamed for the lack of a general chat on PC – she says she was once just as angry a fan in Ultima Online and complained about the devs just like fans are now complaining about her. Fans think Bungie deliberately chose to exclude chat – however, the general chat on PC probably wasn’t feasible at launch.
In conversations with individual developers, the fan got the impression that some features simply were not finished at launch. A lot of things are not as they seem from the outside.
The fan concludes his post with: The developers are just like us. Feedback is valuable, but this distrust from fans and the pressure we exert makes it even harder for the developers. How about spreading a high-five instead of a slap?
On reddit, the fan’s post receives a lot of support, even though he cannot silence the critical voices.
Mein MMO says: Nice gesture. With criticism, there is always the risk of going overboard and becoming unreasonable when attributing “motives” to others. Whenever it is said: They did that on purpose because they are stupid/greedy/lazy, you are on a dangerous path. Such an action serves as a reminder that the employees at Bungie are doing their best, especially when Destiny 2 was created under difficult conditions.
Next week there might be more reason to be cheerful:
On the PTR of World of Warcraft, a change regarding Legendaries for Patch 7.3.5 has appeared. With the upcoming patch, you can buy a random Legendary easily with Refined Titan Essence – thus also providing benefits for Twinks.
In the current build of the PTR (Public Test Realm) for WoW, there is the option to buy an item for Awakening Essences. This creates a random, legendary item for the current loot specialization.
The item can only be used on the character on which it was purchased – but with a trick, you can make this change useful for Twinks!
A snippet of possible Legendaries for Rogues. By the way: Rogues and Demon Hunters have the least legendary class items.
Buying Legendaries: Here’s How
The new item, the Refined Titan Essence, can simply be purchased from Arcanomancer Vridiel in Dalaran. The elf, where the quests for upgrading legendary items can also be turned in, is located at the forge by an anvil.
To buy the essence, you need 175 Awakening Essences. These were also necessary to upgrade Legendaries to item level 1000.
Update: Since another patch, the awakened titan essences cost 300, the refined ones 1000 awakening essences!
The Refined Titan Essence – Details on the purchasable legendary items
The essence has some peculiarities. It cannot be used to equip your Twinks. Both the awakening essences and the titan essence itself are bound on pickup, not account-bound. Therefore, if you want to buy a Legendary, the character for whom the item is intended must also possess the essences.
Legendaries generated in this way, however, do not count towards the “legendary counter” just like crafted Legendaries! Purchasing and using an essence has no influence on the next regular drop – except that the item obtained cannot be received again.
Although the essences cannot be passed to other characters on the account, there is a way to equip your Twinks through purchasing!
With the Legendary Tokens introduced in Patch 7.3.2, a character who already has all legendary items of their class can receive a token with some luck. The token can be sent to any character on the account and will generate a Legendary for the current class and loot specialization upon use.
If you already have most legendary items and do not need more on your main, you can simply buy the missing ones. From then on, you have the chance to receive a token with the next regular drop, which you can use to equip your Twinks.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A few days ago, it became known that Intel’s CPU is vulnerable to attacks. A first security update was released to address the “Meltdown” issue. This leads to significant performance losses, which also affect Fortnite players.
The news caused a major stir: Intel chips are vulnerable to attacks. As Google has now confirmed, AMD and ARM CPUs are also affected. Researchers have described two attack scenarios, Meltdown and Spectre, which exploit the leak.
Fortnite is having issues: lags and login problems
A hastily assembled update was supposed to close the gap, but at the same time brought performance losses that are to be gradually resolved. Initially, losses of up to 5% were expected. At least Epic has it significantly worse.
After the first patches, players quickly noticed that there are problems in Fortnite. Lags and long queues caused frustration. Now Epic has commented extensively on the issue – and the resolution will take several days. Epic speaks of the problem “during the next week.”
To get a handle on the performance issues, Epic must carry out extensive updates on its cloud services. Whether the problem is limited to PC or if consoles are also affected, Epic has not elaborated on. However, it is known that both the regular PvE mode and the Battle Royale mode are affected.
How drastically the Intel update has increased CPU usage in Epic’s backend is shown by the graph released by Epic:
Cleanup work lasts up to a week
During this time, Fortnite is playable, but there may be lags, disconnections, and login problems. Epic apologizes for the issues and promises to keep players updated.
In an exclusive interview with Mein-MMO.de, Hi-Rez’s CEO Todd Harris revealed that we can expect a beta release for the new mode Paladins: Battlegrounds soon. However, PS4 and Xbox One players will have to wait longer than PC players.
For the newly announced 100-player mode Paladins: Battlegrounds, which is based on the battle royale principle, the Paladins chief mentioned a targeted release period.
The studio Hi-Rez aims to release Paladins: Battlegrounds on PC in the first quarter of 2018. This will be in the form of a beta and not a full release.
The beta release for consoles PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will happen at a later date. The waiting period compared to the PC version will be at least one month.
Paladins: Battlegrounds – Release date on PC likely in the first quarter of 2018
Todd Harris confirmed that the release for Paladins: Battlegrounds on PC will be at the latest in March 2018. That is at least the goal that the team has set. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are scheduled for a later date. But why?
Todd Harris stated this to Mein-MMO: “This is related to two factors. On one hand, there are technical differences between consoles and PC. On the other hand, we want to receive feedback from players to refine Battlegrounds together with the community. Just testing with players on PC will take approximately a month.”
When exactly the release for PS4 and Xbox One is planned, Harris could not yet say.
During Saturn’s Super Sunday, there is a 49-inch UHD TV from LG, Nintendo games, and the Nolan Collection in 4K on sale.
Saturn offers some really interesting deals for the first Sunday of the new year. Especially if you are looking for an affordable UHD TV, you should take a look at the LG 49SJ800.
This one has a screen diagonal of 49 inches and a UHD resolution. Furthermore, it features Active HDR with HDR10 and HLG, as well as Dolby Vision. Additionally, True Motion 200 and webOS 3.5 are included in the performance package.
The offers shown here are equipped with so-called affiliate links. By purchasing through one of these links, we receive a small commission from the respective provider. This has no effect on the price.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At the HiRez Expo, our author Leya conducted an exclusive interview with Paladins Managing Director Todd Harris, who is also a co-founder of the studio. Harris and Leya discussed the new Paladins: Battlegrounds.
As in every battle royale, it’s a fight for life and death. The last team standing wins. There are random loot crates on a huge map that are full of items and provide advantages to players.
I, Leya, am currently in Atlanta, USA, at the HiRez Expo and spoke with Todd Harris about Paladins: Battlegrounds. We discussed the influence of MOBAs and hero shooters on the battle royale genre. I also learned more about the planned release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Our author Leya with Paladins’ Managing Director Todd Harris.
Why a title that will bring clone accusations again?
Mein-MMO:Paladins has long struggled with the accusation of being a copy of Blizzard’s hero shooter Overwatch. Now you have decided on the title Paladins: Battlegrounds for the new battle royale mode. Everyone immediately associates this with PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). Why did you choose a title that could again bring you clone accusations?
Todd Harris: SMITE had previously been titled “The Battleground of the Gods”, so we actually had the title first. But that’s not the reason we called it Paladins: Battlegrounds. This is merely a mode and we needed a title that is descriptive of this specific mode. Players should know right from the start what they can expect from Paladins: Battlegrounds.
The two most obvious options were “Battle Royale” or “Battlegrounds”. We felt the mode was like an MMO PvP battleground, similar to what you know from games like World of Warcraft. That was basically the main reason we chose to call the new mode “Battlegrounds”.
Mein-MMO: When did you start working on Paladins: Battlegrounds and what was the development process like?
Todd Harris: A long time ago, we had the Survival mode in Paladins, which also had the “Last Man Standing” principle and fog. However, it was removed from the game. The mode was generally well received by players, but there was a problem. It featured 5vs5 teams. Those who died at the very beginning had to wait long to continue playing. It was fun to win this mode, but losing was frustrating.
Then we started working on the core mechanics of Paladins: Battlegrounds and introduced a system where players can jump directly into the next battlegrounds match when they die. That was about 6 months ago.
In the last 3 months, we have invested a lot of resources into the new mode and placed a lot of pressure to get a playable version of Paladins: Battlegrounds out.
Paladins Battlegrounds – Release on PC in Q1 2018 – PS4, Xbox One will take longer
Mein-MMO: Will the release of Paladins: Battlegrounds happen simultaneously for all platforms (PC, PS4, Xbox)?
Todd Harris: No, we will start with PC. Our goal is to release Paladins: Battlegrounds on PC within this quarter, so in the next 2-3 months. Then we will need a bit more time to bring Battlegrounds to consoles.
This is due to two factors. On one hand, there are technical differences between consoles and PC. On the other hand, we want to get feedback from players to refine Battlegrounds together with the community.
Testing with players on PC alone will take about a month.
Paladins Battlegrounds brings 3 new elements to the genre
Mein-MMO: Let’s talk a bit about gameplay. First, you brought MOBA to hero shooter with Paladins, and now you are bringing hero shooter into the “battle royale” genre. What impact will the MOBA elements and teamwork of a hero shooter have on a battlegrounds mode?
Todd Harris:
The mere fact that players can play a champion with integrated skills instead of just having a weapon will bring a new experience to the “battle royale” mode. That would be the first step of a new element.
The second step is the teamwork arising from the different roles (damage, tank, support, flanker).
Thirdly, we have our card system where players can customize their character with a loadout.
These are just the core elements of Paladins. The big difference for Paladins players will be that they can find items (like protective helmets) in random loot boxes. Ultimately, Paladins: Battlegrounds revolves more around the champion and teamwork. That’s a big difference from many survival games.
Mein-MMO:I know that you intensively test your games with the entire team at Hi-Rez. Have you made any specific observations on how players use the different classes in Battlegrounds? Does the tank play the classic protector and does the supporter heal the team?
Todd Harris: That’s right, we have played the new “battle royale” mode a lot. It wasn’t that easy because we always needed at least 100 players to test Paladins: Battlegrounds. This gave us a nice mix of testers as even people from the team who don’t actually work on Paladins played.
We observed surprisingly a lot of variation in roles. We allow in Battlegrounds that everyone on the team can play the same hero. We were concerned that if a sniper like Kinessa was available, everyone would choose the sniper due to the high range. But that wasn’t the case.
We also observed that the most successful teams were those that stayed together and where everyone fulfilled their role. The supporters who stayed with their team also tended to heal their group. I play a lot of support in Paladins as well, and I also tended to play the supporter in Paladins: Battlegrounds. I enjoyed doing my best to keep the team alive and maintain a certain distance from the opponents.
Mein-MMO: So far, Paladins: Battlegrounds only has one, but quite large map. Can we expect to see more maps for this mode?
Todd Harris: We will release more maps, but that will be a slow process. We want to build and improve the existing map first. We have taken many places from the known Paladins maps and integrated them into the Battlegrounds map. We will continue to expand this large map and start with regular updates for it.
Mein-MMO: Finally, one last question about a currently hot topic: The Switch. Do you have plans to bring Paladins to the Switch?
Todd Harris: I can’t confirm anything at the moment. But we are always looking for new platforms, and the Switch is definitely interesting for us.
Mein-MMO: That was a pretty good PR response! But I didn’t miss the huge wink.
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Are you hungry Pokémon GO trainers? In a few days, you will find Pokémon toys in Happy Meals from McDonald’s.
Happy Meal with Pokémon
Starting from January 18, you will find Pikachu not only in Pokémon GO in the wild, at PokéStops, or in gyms, but also at McDonald’s. In an advertisement, the fast-food company shows that Pokémon fans can choose between a book or a Pokémon toy when they order a Happy Meal starting from this date.
It is unclear which Pokémon will be available on the menu. The advertisement only shows a happy Pikachu, which Pokémon GO trainers are already familiar with from special in-game events. Just recently, there was a Pikachu with a hat during the Christmas event in Pokémon GO.
Alleged leak claims to know the additional Pokémon
For such special events, there are often leaks from anonymous sources claiming to know “more.” A picture of the possible Happy Meal promotion has also surfaced, showing not only Pikachu but also Sprigatito, Eevee, Rowlet, Squirtle, Meowth, Litten, and Psyduck.
At least Litten could be confirmed through this leak, as the Austrian McDonald’s website is also promoting this Pokémon for upcoming Happy Meals. However, there starting from January 11.
Source: Mcdonalds.at
Fans speculate that it might be the same figures that were available in English and Canadian McDonald’s locations. There, the figures also came with collectible cards of the respective Pokémon. Which monsters we will find in Germany will likely be revealed in a few days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_XUU69yVAg
Which Pokémon would you like to see as collectible figures from a Happy Meal?
OGN itself states in the announcement that the eSports sector is currently highly competitive worldwide. The company aims to uphold its reputation as the origin of eSports and, through new, innovative decisions, explore new events that initiate a new era of eSports.
Blizzard is working hard to expand the eSports sector for Overwatch . To this end, the company has entered into a new partnership – prompting the Korean eSports broadcaster OGN to end its established Overwatch APEX tournament.
Since Blizzard aims to establish the online shooter in eSports with the Overwatch League and the Contenders, third-party organizers have been increasingly struggling. To plan more events, Blizzard is now forming partnerships with additional broadcasters. This was reason enough for OGN to cancel the fifth season of Overwatch APEX.
The Overwatch League is set to become one of the most important events in Overwatch eSports.
What is the Overwatch APEX?
The Overwatch APEX tournament in South Korea is one of the most famous Overwatch tournaments in the world. With nearly 180,000 dollars in prize money, the APEX tournament is also one of the highest-paying tournaments. Accordingly, it is popular among players and viewers. As it is a Major League tournament, only top-tier teams compete in the APEX – including well-known names such as Lunatic-Hai, Team EnVyUs, and Cloud9.
The APEX was open to teams from around the world until July last year. Since the fourth season, it has been reserved exclusively for Korean teams. However, for fans and eSports enthusiasts, this was no reason to lose joy in the tournament.
The winners of the fourth season of the Overwatch APEX: GC Busan. Image source: Invenglobal.
Blizzard forms new partnership with the competition – OGN cancels Season 5
In its efforts to establish Overwatch in eSports, Blizzard is preparing another competition with an as-yet-unknown broadcaster. It is speculated that the “still unknown broadcaster” could be OGN’s competitor MBC.
After OGN received news that Blizzard was collaborating with a competitor, they canceled the fifth season of their tournament.
In the announcement, it states that preparations for Season 5 had been in full swing when they received the message. To not stand in Blizzard’s way, OGN will cease work on the tournament. The broadcaster apologizes to all fans and supporters of the APEX for the end of this journey.
MVP Space celebrates a victory as an underdog in the last season.
The end of the OGN Overwatch APEX is the beginning of a new path
Despite the news and the end of the APEX, OGN still values Blizzard as a partner. OGN will continue to collaborate with the game studio and maintain a good relationship to provide more content for the eSports scene.
This specifically means: The OGN Overwatch APEX tournament no longer exists.
OGN itself states in the announcement that the eSports sector is currently highly competitive worldwide. The company aims to uphold its reputation as the origin of eSports and, through new, innovative decisions, explore new events that initiate a new era of eSports.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Hi-Rez presented gameplay for the new mode Battlegrounds in their shooter Paladins (PC, PS4, Xbox One). The mode looks like a lot of fun, but it feels more like a competitor to Fortnite than to PUBG.
Paladins is a hero shooter and is often compared to Overwatch. At the Hi-Rez Expo, the developers introduced a new 100-player mode for Paladins that follows the battle royale principle: 100 players start, fight for loot, kill each other until only one player or team remains.
Name “Paladins Battlegrounds” was perceived as brazen or shameless
The presentation of Paladins Battlegrounds reminded many of the PC hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Especially the fact that Paladins simply added “Battlegrounds” to the name caused some coughing and frowning. Terms like “brazen” or “shameless” circulated.
But in gameplay, there are significant differences between Paladins and PUBG. Aside from the name and the fog, they have little in common.
In a live stream, several Paladins Battleground matches were broadcasted, and one can observe the first gameplay.
The key facts about Paladins Battlegrounds
The key information from the gameplay:
In Paladins Battlegrounds, always 4 players play in a team together
At the beginning of a match, you choose one of 8 randomly selected champs – there are 2 champs of each type available: so DPS, flankers, tanks, and supports.
This is a difference from the competition. In PUBG and Fortnite, everyone plays a generic hero, the same character. In Paladins, everyone plays a champ with skills, strengths, and weaknesses.
Of these 8 champs, 4 are based on whether you own them on your Paladins account, while the other 4 are always available to choose from
In the game, there are mounts – so you can move quickly – it all goes relatively quickly
The main goal is to stay together as a team, loot items, and then kill other players to grab their loot
Legendary items make the difference in Paladins Battlegrounds
There are 4 item slots that you should fill with items to become stronger: They provide percentage bonuses to life, damage, speed, and other stats – this significantly affects the character’s strength
There is a fog that increasingly shrinks the world and drives the players together – typical battle royale
You can obtain items from defeated opponents or from chests
The strongest items, the legendary items, are dropped regularly – you can see the chests from afar through a laser beam, attracting players
This is how the gameplay of Paladins Battlegrounds feels
What can be seen in the gameplay rewards Paladins for a different playstyle than the tactical waiting and hesitating seen in PUBG. It won’t help to hide in the middle of the map and wait for everyone to die in the fog.
The commentators also jokingly say: You can’t wait in the bathroom until it’s over.
Who masters the loot drops, masters the game
Paladins rewards a mobile and aggressive playstyle in a team. Those who avoid fights, play stationary and passively, will later become victims because the opponents become too powerful with strong items.
Legendary items provide massive bonuses and are key to victory along with teamwork.
As you can see from the screens: A “normal item” gives a 20% bonus to a value, while a “legendary item” gives up to 100% bonuses to 3 values. You won’t be able to compensate for that with “skill”.
Paladins Battlegrounds introduces new facets that Fortnite and PUBG do not offer
It will likely be crucial to control the legendary drops and to fully stock up on legendaries. You will definitely notice 100% more health points.
Teamplay also seems to be significant here; there are RPG elements with supporters and tanks like in Paladins. This sets Paladins Battlegrounds apart from competitors like PUBG or Fortnite.
But of course: These were just the first matches with people who have little idea. Perhaps other play methods will crystalize with time.
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The game seems to be relatively fast-paced and places great value on teamwork. It is more of an arcade team mode and therefore resembles Fortnite more than the simulation-heavy PUBG, but brings in new facets.
Does Paladins Battlegrounds cost anything and when can you play it?
Paladins itself is free to play – the Battlegrounds mode will also be free. An alpha version is already running during the expo, looking quite stable and good. When Paladins Battlegrounds will be publicly available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One is still unknown.
By the way: Our author Leya is currently live on site in Atlanta, USA, at Hi-Rez and has already been able to play the battle royale mode of Battlegrounds. You can soon expect a gameplay test and developer interviews here on Mein MMO!
In Destiny 2 has the Colony everything an Exotic should have. Unfortunately, there is also a bug on PC …
Since the launch of Destiny 2, the Exotics have been criticized. They are said to be too weak, too boring, and there are too few “new” Exotics that provide a fresh gaming experience, as is often read in the forums.
In the meantime, numerous Guardians have been able to try out the Exotic called “The Colony” and the answer to the question is: Yes, the Colony is truly exotic!
However, not all Guardians find it fun, as it has an annoying bug on PC. Let’s take a look at the weapon.
How to Get the Colony – How to Obtain the Grenade Launcher
The Colony is not tied to a specific quest. You can obtain it through standard sources:
Xur: Sometimes the Agent of the Nine has the weapon available. It can also be in a Fateful Engram.
What Makes the Colony Stand Out in Destiny 2?
The Colony is an exotic grenade launcher that is equipped in the Power slot. It has a high rate of fire of 140 and has solid stats all around, aside from the speed. The magazine can hold up to 7 shots:
These are the special perks:
Insectoid Robot Grenades:The grenades are insect-like robots that chase enemies and explode when they are near.
In the Service of the Colony:Insectoid robot grenades quickly refill the magazine with reserves while the Colony is not equipped.
Insectoid robot grenades? What does that mean? This grenade launcher fires not regular grenades, but seeking robot spiders. They crawl along the ground and explode when a target is nearby:
Is it Good in PvE and PvP?
After playing with the Colony for the first time, numerous Guardians wrote: The thing is a lot of fun. The Colony feels powerful, it has a unique and exciting mechanic, it looks great and sounds just as good. It is useful in PvP and PvE. Moreover: Robot Spiders!
In PvE, the Colony performs rather mediocre. It is cool and fun to send the spiders after the enemies. But the Colony is not a top-tier weapon. After all, it is still just a grenade launcher, and these weapons do not hold a good standing in Destiny 2. In many situations, other power weapons perform better, yet the Colony provides a welcome change in gameplay that many Guardians long for.
In PvP, however, the Colony can be quite nasty. Sending a few spiders towards opposing Guardians creates immediate chaos. The seeking robot spiders shine especially when enemies are hiding around a corner. Because the spiders easily find their way around the corner. This allows the Colony to get extremely easy kills.
Some users therefore believe that the Colony is too powerful in PvP. However, consider that the spiders cannot fly. Just float away from them, and they cannot harm you.
Some Guardians conclude that the Colony is a perfect example of how an Exotic should be in Destiny 2.
Those with Too Many FPS Have No Fun with the Colony
However, not all Guardians find the Colony enjoyable. Some PC players do not understand what is so great about this weapon. Because the tracking of the robot spiders is said to be much too weak. Or?
It has now been revealed that there is obviously a bug on PC. When the FPS exceeds 40, the spiders no longer chase the enemies. They simply crawl forward and fizzle out. When you lower the FPS to, for example, 36, the spiders work as intended again. Here is a video on this, the relevant part is marked:
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Some Guardians joke that Bungie is currently working on a fix for the issue: Simply implementing an FPS cap of 30 on PC. Let’s hope that Bungie finds another solution soon so that all PC Guardians can enjoy the Colony.
In The Division, the big vendor reset is today, on January 6th. Which offers are particularly worthwhile?
On the night from Friday to Saturday, the first vendor reset of the year 2018 took place. You can now visit all vendors in the post-apocalypse, browse their fresh offers, and purchase various items from them.
If you do not want to visit each vendor individually, we now show you a list of vendor goods that are particularly worthwhile this week.
Recommended Weapons Since January 6th
Special Equipment Vendor: Liberator with Receivable and Gifted
Advanced Weapon Seller: MP5 ST with Malevolent, Vindictive, and Gifted
The Meat Locker Safehouse: M60 E4 Military Version with Malevolent, Agile, and Gifted
W 53rd St: Navy MP5 with Malevolent, Precise, and Talented
The Mods After the Vendor Reset
Special Equipment Vendor: Mod with Sticky Bomb Damage
Advanced Weapon Seller: Robust Mini Reflex Sight with Crit Chance, Crit Damage, and Headshot Damage
Equipment Vendor in the Base: Electronics Mod with Damage to Elites
Camp Clinton: Rifle Suppressor Omega with Headshot Damage, Crit Damage, Precision, and Reduced Threat
Camp Hudson: Stamina Mod with Crit Chance
W 34th St: Firearms Mod with Crit Chance
W 53rd St: Extended Magazine with Crit Chance and Rate of Fire
E 34th St: Stamina Mod with Skill Power
E 53rd St: Mod with Bonus on Support Range
The Offers of the Special Blueprint Vendors
The blueprint vendor in the terminal has blueprints of these items:
M4 – Lightweight – Assault Rifle
ACR – Assault Rifle
Electronics Vest
Electronics Mask
Pro Laser Sight with Crit Damage and two additional bonuses
Small Laser Pointer with Precision and two additional bonuses
Stamina Equipment Mod
Firearms Equipment Mod
And these are the goods from the blueprint vendor in Camp Clinton:
M60 Classic – LMG
M9 – Military Version – Pistol
Firearms Vest
Firearms Gloves
Muzzle Brake with Precision and two additional bonuses
Compensator with Stability and two additional bonuses
The hero shooter Paladins (PC, PS4, Xbox) gets a new champion. The flanker Moji has a two-headed mount that must constantly eat magical snacks to unleash its powers. We present the skills and the companion of the new champion.
Moji is a magical flanker and brings a new race to Paladins: the Leipori. The small beings live secluded in the forest and resemble rabbits a bit with their floppy ears. Leipori are strongly connected to nature and possess magical powers.
When the great war broke out, the Leipori fled deep into the forest to hide. Only the brave Moji ventured out to protect the forest and her people from evil. Moji summons a two-headed companion in battle named Po-Li. The lizard-like companion serves as Moji’s mount and weapon.
Moji’s abilities: Ultimate turns opponents into magical snacks
Moji is a magician and harnesses the powers of nature. She takes on the role of flank and has 2,200 health. Here are Moji’s abilities:
Familiar Spit: Moji’s companion Po-Li fires a magical projectile every 0.6s that deals 250 damage. Deal more damage for each stack of the magical mark.
Familiar Spray: Deal 50 damage every 0.1s in a cone of magical energy. Each hit grants the opponent a magical mark that can stack up to 10 times.
Magic Barrier: Summon an impenetrable shield for 2s around Moji. Opponents who deal damage to Moji while the barrier is active receive 10 stacks of the magical mark.
Scamper: Hop quickly forward.
Bon Appetit: Cast an arcane spell that transforms a single opponent into a tasty snack. Upon touching the transformed victim, the opponent CANNOT be revived by abilities.
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