The dead Draenei girl Uuna from World of Warcraft is more than a “pet” – she is getting her own quest line!
With the release of WoW Patch 7.3 Return to Argus we have already reported on the little girl Uuna. It seemed particularly macabre that the spirit of the dead Draenei child has become a “pet” for players, dropped by the Faceless One in Argus.
The Faceless One belongs to the Ur’zul. These are special demons that are made from the bodies and souls of tortured Draenei.Uuna was also bound into such a body, which never gives her soul peace.
Evidently, Blizzard had more plans for Uuna. The game files from Patch 7.3.5 reveal that there will be a scenario involving Uuna. Her soul is missing.
Uuna’s soul must be saved
The players are tasked with rescuing Uuna’s soul from a strange intermediary realm. Presumably, this plane lies between the physical world and the Shadowlands. The description states that the player “has no power in this place. The inhabitants cannot be harmed by mortals.” This suggests a stealth or even dialogue mission.
It is also possible that we have to escort Uuna out of this shadow world while she is attacked by previously unknown creatures that the player needs to eliminate.
In any case, the quest is full of dialogues in which Uuna recounts her fear and the terror she has been experiencing since her body and soul were merged into the Ur’zul.
Later in the quest line, Uuna will experience a journey through Azeroth. She will see Pandaria, Dalaran, and the culture of the Draenei who were able to flee from Argus.
Uuna’s fate is still unclear
The exact ending of the quest line is still uncertain. Either players will lead Uuna’s soul into the light and she will be considered “saved” and find eternal peace, or the darkness will swallow her at the end of the mission. Sound files exist for both scenarios, with the swallowing by darkness potentially being just a voice line if players fail during the quest.
Whether Uuna’s quest line will already appear with the next patch 7.3.5 or only with the release of Battle for Azeroth is still unclear.
Spooky: A little ghost girl as a pet!
Many players had complained in the forums at the launch of Patch 7.3 that it was quite macabre to keep the spirit of a dead girl as a “pet”. It may be that Blizzard is trying to calm the community with this quest retrospectively – or that this was planned a long time ago. Because the implementation of “Uuna” seemed strange to many back then.
In Destiny 2, you should use your raid keys today, on December 4th.
In the Leviathan raid, there are not only tokens and raid gear to earn but also keys.
These raid keys are then carried into the maze of the raid. Inside, you will find chests that can be opened with the keys. Since each chest has a chance for exotic loot with the maximum power level, you should not miss out on these rewards, especially if you are not yet at max level.
However, shortly after the launch of Destiny 2, a problem with the raid keys was discovered. Under certain circumstances, they could unintentionally disappear from the inventory. This happened when you
created a new character
or earned the keys with character A and then logged in with character B or C after the weekly reset. Then, all keys from character A were gone.
This problem will be fixed with “Curse of Osiris”.
Open the chests now
Actually, the raid keys were supposed to be removed during the weekly reset every week. That is the “normal functionality” of the keys. However, to prevent the unintended disappearance as described above, Bungie disabled this feature, so the raid keys will remain permanently in the inventory. Some of you will now have a few keys in your inventory.
Tomorrow, on December 5th, Curse of Osiris will be deployed along with update 1.1.0. Bungie has now announced that this update will fully resolve the raid key issues, so starting tomorrow, they will reintroduce the “normal functionality”.
This means that from now on, the keys will be removed from the inventory with each weekly reset.
The first key reset will take place tomorrow, on December 5th. You can download update 1.1.0 around 5 PM. After that, all your keys will be gone.
Bungie specifically notes in a blog post – to avoid any nasty surprises with the keys tomorrow.
The Nightborne from World of Warcraft join the Horde. But how does this happen? We explain the background.
On the PTR of Patch 7.3.5 of World of Warcraft, many game files indicate content for the new expansion Battle for Azeroth. One of the core features is the six new allied races that will later be available as playable characters.
While the Nightborne, Highmountain Tauren, and Zandalari Trolls join the Horde, Void Elves, Dark Iron Dwarves, and Lightforged Draenei go to the Alliance.
But how exactly do these races join the factions? This is explained in detail in an interesting questline. In the case of the Nightborne, this questline has already been largely read from the game data.
Spoiler Alert: The text logically contains spoilers for Battle for Azeroth.
Until the release, much can still change, but so far, it seems the inclusion of the Nightborne into the Horde happens as follows:
The Invitation to Silvermoon
The Nightborne under First Arcanist Thalyssra are fundamentally neutral, after all, they fought in the war against the Legion on the side of the mortal races.
After the war, Thalyssra tries to negotiate with both sides – however, her request is quickly rejected by Tyrande and thus the Night Elves.
Lor’themar Theron, the leader of the Blood Elves, does not reject Thalyssra’s request. He invites the leader of the Nightborne, along with Silgryn and Valtrois, to Silvermoon.
As fate would have it, Alleria Windrunner is also visiting the Blood Elf capital at the same time. The High Elf wanted to revisit her homeland and at the same time bring the words of High King Anduin Wrynn to Lor’themar as a diplomat.
However, Lor’themar does not want to hear anything about Anduin and is disappointed that Alleria did not return “out of love for Silvermoon” but only to spread the “words of the child king.”
The Void in the Sunwell
When Alleria realizes that her words will not reach Lor’themar, she decides to leave the city but asks to see the Sunwell one last time.
Lor’themar grants her this request, as he still views Alleria as “the child of Quel’thalas” and will not deny an elf this journey. However, he insists that Thalyssra comes along to experience the splendor of the Sunwell.
Thus, the Sunwell is a clear lure, as the Nightborne have just lost their Nightwell.
However, an incident occurs at the Sunwell. The Void from Alleria’s body breaks forth and threatens to corrupt the Sunwell once again.
To prevent the catastrophe, Lor’themar, Grand Magister Rommath, the three Nightborne, and Alleria try to reverse the event, which they only manage with great effort.
Alleria is then permanently banished from Quel’thalas. In addition, the Blood Elves prohibit the use of Void magic, as every Void Mage poses a threat to the Sunwell and thus all of Quel’thalas.
Thanks to this unfortunate incident, the Blood Elves are very grateful for the help of the Nightborne and willingly offer them to join the Horde (which Sylvanas had already intended).
The banishment of the Void Mages from Silvermoon also sets the stage for the story of the Void Elves, which we will explore in more detail in the coming days.
Bungie is responding to major criticisms of Destiny 2 with central changes. But are masterpieces and armor ornaments enough to replace the hunt for God Rolls and the maximum Grimoire points from Destiny 1?
Many find Destiny 2 too boring by now. But why is that?
Players have recognized the problem with Destiny 2 for months, and Bungie knows it now as well: Players are given too few reasons, too few excuses to play Destiny 2. In Destiny 1, dedicated players had some reasons to log in. But most of these reasons have been removed without replacement. Now players are missing something to really sink their teeth into.
Players have searched for that thing in the perfect configuration for months.
Destiny 1 had mountains to climb because they were there
But what did players actually do in Destiny 1 to spend so much time in the game? What did they do in Destiny after all missions were completed and all exotics collected?
Dedicated players had mainly three goals in Destiny 1:
They wanted to collect all Grimoire cards to have the maximum Grimoire value. Those who could show high values were considered Destiny veterans. To achieve those points, one had to accomplish some insane feats – 100 wins in Rumble, reaching the Lighthouse, winning 100 Doubles, completing 250 VIP kills – that was the hard stuff. And none of that provided any real advantage. They were mountains to climb because they were there.
With the hunt for God Rolls, Guardians spent their time looking for weapons with just a few more percent performance.
Then there was PvP and the hunt for “Flawless” in the Trials.
The Flawless in the Trials still exists – we’ll leave the difficulties with that aside, Destiny 2’s team shot PvP is a different topic. But the other two things are no longer available: Both will now return to Destiny 2 in a somewhat diluted version.
For the next two weeks, there will be free updates every Tuesday to give dedicated players something to do, those who have found Destiny 2 too boring. Let’s look at the measures Bungie is taking to respond to the criticism.
The Strange: Xur even more generous?
When one takes a look at the list of changes Bungie is planning for Destiny 2, one may scratch their head in surprise at one point:
Xur is supposed to be even more generous with Exotics starting December 15 than he already is. The Three of Coins are coming back, and every week there will be an Exotic that is still missing via Engram as a bonus.
These are changes many veterans wished were the opposite. Players actually prefer “fewer Exotics and for them to feel more powerful, like special weapons.”
But that boat has probably sailed, and Bungie can continue distributing the remaining exotic items as if they were dairy products about to expire and need to be given to the Guardians.
The Half Compromise: Power Enhancement through Masterworks
Bungie is making a half-step towards critics who have missed God Rolls. Those were the strongest configurations of legendary weapons in Destiny 1.
Masterwork weapons are coming to Destiny 2 on December 12. They are like the little siblings of the God Rolls from the past – but probably almost without “Rolls.” Only small value improvements from a narrow pool of bonuses are to be expected, and they can be re-rolled again.
The focus of Masterworks is that they count kills and generate orbs. Furthermore, they should be easier to obtain if you complete heavy activities.
The question is whether the Masterworks will really provide long-term motivation. As they are described, it sounds rather like dedicated players will quickly level up the Masterwork weapons they frequently use. Long-term motivation is questionable here.
Cosmetics as Motivation: Armor Ornaments
More interesting is a change that has somewhat gone under the radar: Armor ornaments will arrive in Destiny 2 on December 5.
These armor ornaments are basically a replacement for the “Grimoire cards” of the past. They are supposed to give players a lot to do and will then reward them with a purely cosmetic enhancement. Players will be able to give certain armor sets a special look if they achieve elaborate successes beforehand.
As a preview for the Iron Banner set, the condition to acquire these ornaments was already seen: 25 wins in Iron Banner. That’s not 100 wins in Rumble, but it’s a start.
In this form, there will likely also be “evergreen” achievements for the other 8 sets, which Guardians can nibble on for weeks and months if they want to. There will also be a set and armor ornaments for the new “Raid Lair.”
The interesting thing is: Destiny 2 will probably receive new goals with each season. So every quarter, 9 new achievements for Guardians to chase.
If these are “difficult achievements” – especially in the raid, it would certainly be interesting for players.
Changes show that Bungie has understood, but will the Guardians accept it?
The question is whether armor ornaments together with the “Masterwork weapons” will really be enough to keep players engaged. It is definitely a step in the right direction.
Especially since Bungie has understood what players care about: They don’t necessarily need to entice with “stronger loot”; sometimes it’s enough to just give players mountains they can climb. As long as something quantifiable comes out of it.
The crucial question of the coming weeks is whether these cosmetic goals will be enough for all Destiny 2 players. You can share your opinion with us in the comments.
The first player has reached level 63 in Black Desert. This is a crazy endeavor, as it took thousands of hours of grinding.
It is not easy for outsiders to understand why it is so special that someone has reached level 63 in Black Desert. But behind it lies a ridiculous grind, farming mobs for hours on end in the same spot.
There is no maximum level in Black Desert, but only a few can reach above 60
Black Desert does not have a fixed maximum level, but after level 50, the experience gain becomes noticeably tougher, at level 56, it becomes brutal, and at level 60, inhuman.
We reported in February about a player who was the first to reach level 62 in our version of Black Desert. For that one level-up, he had to grind for about 2000 hours, playing from October 2016 to February 2017, just to achieve that single level. He ground at the pirate spot, which was the highest spot in our version of Black Desert at that time.
Meanwhile, there are new areas in the MMORPG with tougher and more lucrative farm spots that guarantee more EXP. Nevertheless, the grind is insane.
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In South Korea, the first player has now reached level 63. Her character name is Witch-E-Lahng. She was immediately asked for an interview by the Korean gaming site Inven, where she was found at her favorite spot, the “Gyyfin Rhasia” temple, grinding with her party.
She says:
She actually wanted to stop after reaching level 62, when the EXP noticeably decreased, but then realized that even the little EXP was slowly adding up and decided to keep going.
Her husband supported her, looking for groups for her or letting her sleep longer in the mornings. She is also grateful to the Musas and Maehwas at the grind spot for taking on the task of pulling mobs.
4 months of daily playing until level 63 – on days off 12 hours a day
Since reaching level 61, she has not left the “Gyfin Rhasia” temple. That is her farm spot. She once tried to reach the grind spot “Hytria Ruins” because there is also good EXP, but she got lost on the way and returned to the temple – the temple is a party grind spot.
It took about 4 months from level 62 to level 63. She tried to gain 1% EXP every day. During the week, she farmed in the mornings before work and in the evenings after work. On days off, she played about 12 hours a day. This way, she caught up on the EXP she missed during workdays.
To the next 2000 hours until level 64
Now at level 63, she gets about 0.048% per hour in the temple with all buffs. To reach level 64, she would need about 2083 hours.
She copes with the grinding by doing regular stretching exercises and watching online streams.
It is not entirely clear how many hours she has needed in total to reach level 63. She has been playing for about 17 months. Her character is about 8 months old. A full 4 months of intense playing went from 62 to 63.
She does not have a real goal of reaching level 64. She just does not change her routine and keeps farming. She simply enjoys the grind. Also because she earns a lot of in-game money while doing it.
From Black Desert, she wishes for fewer lags and that the developers listen more to the players who love Black Desert so much. Furthermore, Witch-E-Lahng wishes for more grind spots.
These are already the hard grind spots for advanced players; we will show you other spots in Kamasilvya here:
With Star Wars Battlefront 2, EA has once again ventured into the dirty realms of loot boxes and thus into the dark side of the Force. This has drawn the wrath of some fans. Enough reason for a petition to prompt Disney to revoke EA’s license for Star Wars!
It all began in 2013, when Disney and EA negotiated a deal: For a full 10 years, EA would hold the exclusive license for video games of the powerful franchise. As the children of this union, titles such as the Battlefront series emerged. The latest addition, Battlefront 2, is particularly unpopular.
Meanwhile, EA has softened many aspects – for now. It no longer takes 40 hours to unlock Vader alone, and loot boxes have been mostly removed. Yet many still do not like the game: They find it not balanced enough, struggle with the gameplay, or feel that the soul of Star Wars is not captured properly.
Hunt likely hopes for a clause that allows Disney/Lucasfilm an early exit from the contract if the Star Wars brand is severely compromised. He writes:
Lucasfilm, if you cannot or do not want to see that EA is seriously abusing and damaging the Star Wars brand, you are part of the problem. The longer you remain partnered with EA and work together with them, the more your famous brand will suffer. Do the right thing, act in the interest of your customers – end this nonsense once and for all and give the brand to a developer studio that treats Star Wars with respect and care. Because if the last 4 years have shown us anything, it is that EA does not care about any of these things… [John Hunt via Change.org]
The petition is immensely popular: With up to 100,000 signatures [As of: December 3, 2017], it will not be long. Currently, the petition stands at 96,282!
Whether the authorities will be impressed and whether EA will actually have its license revoked remains to be seen. Either way, a clear point is being made, an exclamation mark from the fans that can likely have more impact than the solitary whining in the living room.
When the RNG god rings twice, a clear defeat can also be seen in Hearthstone. We have the face of despair here for you!
Blizzard’s card game Hearthstone, despite its popularity, is often criticized. Many players dislike that Hearthstone often relies on random effects that have many different possible outcomes. This “RNG” makes Hearthstone exciting for other players, as it allows seemingly hopeless situations to be turned around with a bit of luck.
Such a situation faced AKAWonder at the DreamHack Winter 2017 tournament. His opponent Davidos had clear control of the game, but only had 6 life points left. Thanks to a strong presence of minions and the lifesteal of some cards, Davidos could have quickly recovered from that.
AKAWonder had to literally put everything on one card, as it was the only one he had in hand. The Pirate Thief. This card costs only 1 mana and generates a random card from the opponent’s class.
Luck is on AKAWonder’s side, as he receives the Cabalist’s Tome. This spell grants the player 3 random Mage spells. As it must happen: Here, too, he draws exactly the one card that secures his victory: Fireball. This causes exactly the 6 necessary damage points and can just barely be played with the remaining mana.
The probability that the Pirate Thief first pulls the Cabalist’s Tome from the hat and that it actually brings forth a Fireball afterward is extremely low.
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This play will likely be a prime example for RNG opponents of why Hearthstone cannot be an eSport. Everyone else will likely remember this moment as one of the most exciting and funniest moments of the past tournaments.
Sometimes a picture simply says more than 1000 words. Because the feelings of the defeated Davidos can hardly be better summed up than with this facial expression:
What do you think about this play? Is it good that such things can happen in Hearthstone? Or should RNG effects be completely banned from the game?
Many players want to be able to identify with their character in MMOs. A comprehensive character editor is a great help in designing their avatar to their liking. We want to know from you, who do you actually create?
The character creator plays a particularly important role for many fans of MMORPGs. After all, you plan to spend some time in the game of your choice. Thus, your avatar should meet your personal taste – Because it personifies our gaming self.
In our comments or even in the editorial office, the topic of which type you prefer to create in the character editor often comes up.
For example, there are men who prefer to play as women because they are attracted to the aesthetic of the female body.
Delicate women suddenly play massive, brutal ogres and become the absolute opposite of their real self.
Then there are gamers who let their imagination run wild in the game and simply want to create what isn’t possible in real life.
Likewise, there are those who create their character in their own image, so they can find themselves in their game.
We want to know: Who or what will YOU become in the game?
Since this topic comes up repeatedly, we wanted to turn it into a small reader survey. Who do you become in games?
Feel free to let us know in the comments what is important to you when creating a character!
I’ll start: I particularly enjoy it when a character creator is extensive and diverse. It’s not so important to me where the eyes or nose are positioned in minute detail.
If the game has different races, I would never play a human. I can already be human enough in real life. I’d rather become a half-dragon or an alien with tentacles. However, I tend to give my characters at least a piece of myself. I prefer to play as female characters and usually give them long, dark hair – just like I have in reality.
I would claim that I unconsciously create myself, but tailored to the respective universe. This way, I can immerse myself fully in the worlds.
In Warframe (PC, PS4, Xbox One) there is the horror quest “Chains of Harrow” – This is said to resemble a terrible nightmare in which one is chased by something unknown. Our author Leya plays “Chains of Harrow” live in a stream and invites you to join her on this horror trip. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
This quest makes even the strongest space ninjas shiver, and the words “Rap, Tap, Tap” trigger post-traumatic states in some players.
I have not played the quest yet and only know that “Chains of Harrow” is said to resemble a creepy chase where one becomes the victim. I warmly invite you to join me on this horror trip!
If you do not know the quest yet and do not want spoilers, you should not watch the stream. Below, the stream will be embedded, so from now on there will be spoilers.
Date and time of the stream:
When? The stream will take place today, on December 3rd
What time?The stream will last 3 hours from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the evening. – If I have not finished Chains of Harrow by 8 PM, I will still complete the quest.
More and more development studios and publishers want to jump on the “Destiny train” and offer “Game as a Service” games that are structured similarly to Bungie’s successful shooters Destiny and Destiny 2. But does this not lead to market saturation? Is another bubble looming?
If we look back about 13 years, Blizzard’s MMORPG World of Warcraft created a wave of online role-playing games. Development studios and publishers believed they had found the new Holy Grail of the gaming industry, one that could delight millions of gamers and rake in even more millions of dollars.
Too much competition is not good either
More and more MMORPGs were developed, which ultimately led to the entire market being flooded. This has somewhat stabilized now, but even today new MMOs are regularly released. In a market that is actually saturated.
An MMORPG thrives on many players, but in a saturated market, the customer base gets spread across many products. This causes weaker games to be filtered out. As can be seen, many MMORPGs have not managed to hold their ground in the market – simply because the competition is so fierce.
Are we facing the same situation with the upcoming Destiny-like games?
A lucrative game model – and everyone wants to join in
Destiny is a successful game and has a gameplay structure that is gratifying for developers. It combines online elements with single-player content. Missions can be completed either solo or in groups, and in the hub, players meet each other. Microtransactions can also be integrated well. It seems to be an excellent model that connects many players.
And yet, do we want to see a wave of similar titles in the future? Where is the variety then? Do we not want to experience completely different things when trying out new games? New game systems? New worlds? New mechanics? Something we do not already know inside out?
“Another game like Destiny?”
Game companies are primarily businesses and are therefore focused on profit. When a lucrative business model comes up, it usually has to be imitated. We can only hope that it does not “get out of hand” like it did with MMORPGs: For a long time, the nth WoW clone only elicited yawns from players, and developers invested a lot of time and money in games that hardly anyone wanted to play.
Wouldn’t it be a shame if one day we thought, “A game like Destiny? Again?”
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With the update 1.8, the new Rogue system “Rogue 2.0” comes to The Division – despite criticism.
Since the launch of The Division, the Dark Zone has followed the same pattern: Some players run through a designated area, defeat NPCs, and collect loot. When encountering other players, you can team up with them, ignore them – or shoot them down and steal their loot.
This is intended to make the Dark Zone the most exciting place in the game, where everyone represents a potential, unpredictable danger.
Over the last year and a half, little has changed in this PvE-PvP area. There was a feature added that allowed cutting the helicopter rope, and at the beginning of 2017, the DZ was expanded to the north – but the Rogue mechanics have not changed so far.
This “Rogue / Non-Rogue” system is the basis for Rogue 2.0 with the update 1.8.
What is Rogue 2.0 actually?
The probably most important change of Rogue 2.0: There is no more friendly fire. You can no longer accidentally become rogue.
So far it was the case: Whoever fired first became rogue. Since it is rewarded when you eliminate rogues, many players intentionally ran into the line of fire of other players so that they would unintentionally become rogue and could be eliminated.
Rogue 2.0 abolishes this sneaky method. From now on, you must show your intention to become rogue in advance.Then the other agents have a short time to prepare for the upcoming fight. Because with the previous rogue system, you only realized another agent was going rogue when they had already shot at you. This meant you could only react to the attack after you had already lost many health points. And this usually led to inevitable defeat.
Your ISAC system will inform you about rogue intentions. It is important: If a player from your squad becomes rogue, you can decide whether you want to become rogue as well. You will not automatically be “pulled in”.
Moreover, the manhunt status will be revised with Rogue 2.0. If you want to get rid of the “manhunt”, you must run to a random location in the Dark Zone that is displayed on the map. There you can deactivate your status. Then you will receive rewards. This objective is intended to bring more action to the manhunts.
The maximum manhunt rank is 5. Depending on the rank, there are reward crates that can contain exotics and “secret gear sets”.
Overall, it should be more rewarding to become rogue, but also to hunt rogues.
Rogue 2.0 has already been tested on the PTS, where it was controversially discussed:
Some praised this new system, especially the abolition of friendly fire, which prevents anyone from intentionally throwing themselves in front of bullets to gain advantages.
However, some criticized it, as it takes away the tension and unpredictability from the Dark Zone. “Hey you, please be careful, I’m going to attack you soon.”
Massive has now commented on Rogue 2.0. It is intended to ensure better balance in the Dark Zone. The goal is to have a 50/50 distribution between PvE and PvP activities in the DZ. Currently, we are far from that.
Over 75% of all kills occur in PvP, and most of them come from rogues who eliminate “peaceful agents”. Additionally, this graphic was released: It shows the deaths in the Dark Zone over the past months and how the percentages changed with the updates:
The red area indicates how many players died from rogues,
the green area indicates how many rogues died from non-rogues,
and the orange area indicates how many agents die from NPCs.
Rogue 2.0 is intended to balance this. Non-rogue players should have better chances to defend themselves. This should make PvP in the Dark Zone fairer.
Massive emphasizes that The Division is a live game. This includes changes. Regarding the Rogue 2.0 critics from the PTS, the developers directly say: Agents play on the live servers with different intentions than on the PTS. This is a new situation. They will keep a close eye on Rogue 2.0 once it is released with update 1.8 and may make further adjustments.
Lineage 2 Revolution (iOS and Android) is the perfect game for a quick break while still igniting the competitive spirit, says our author Jürgen. Learn here why Jürgen logs in daily and spends at least an hour in Netmarble’s mobile MMO.
Lineage 2 Revolution plays almost by itself. You can watch your hero grind. It may sound boring, but it’s more enjoyable than one would admit. A good hour of Lineage 2 Revolution has now simply become part of a successful day for me.
But what makes the game’s fascination?
A Dream for Micro-Managers and Optimizers
Every morning I start the same routine. Right after waking up, I check Lineage 2 Revolution to see if there are any special events happening. Then I begin my daily and weekly quests, which my hero accomplishes automatically thanks to autopilot. I just have to assign him a new task every now and then. In between, I take a shower, brush my teeth, and make coffee.
While my character happily grinds monsters, I occasionally organize his inventory, claim rewards and achievements, and optimize the combat value. The combat value is the eternal carrot on a stick that keeps me engaged in the game. The combat value is the sum of all the advantages my hero has.
The higher the combat value, the tougher challenges I can take on and get even better loot. And with this loot, I further improve my combat value to tackle even tougher challenges! An eternal cycle of grinding and optimizing that is addictive!
Players Take Charge! It Works Without Autopilot
Then again, there are situations where the combat value isn’t optimal yet to confidently let the autopilot take over. But the loot is especially tempting.
This is the point where you can prove your skill as a player and still enter the dungeon. With a little skill, you can defeat strong opponents after a tough battle with a combat value that is actually too low.
The cool thing is: The game remembers this achievement, and almost all instances can later be completed automatically at the currently best level with auto-completion items. It is worth the effort to tackle a tougher challenge manually once.
I have cleared the “Tower of Insult”, a kind of eternal dungeon where you fend off increasingly stronger waves of enemies, with much effort several levels above my own.
The bonuses earned this way kept me going for a long time, and for a while I had a better combat value than other players at my level. A wonderful feeling of achievement!
Great Anticipation for PvP
I spend a good hour every day on Lineage 2 Revolution. Besides the action in the morning, I quickly check in during lunch break, and I finish the rest comfortably in the evening alongside household chores or while on the bus to the pub (if the connection is good).
There’s something meditative about watching my dark elf slice through enemies. Often, I do nothing and just enjoy how he unleashes fury. It’s almost like wellness!
But until then, I still have to properly optimize my combat value so that I don’t appear as a noob in front of my guild colleagues from the Mein-MMO guild! So let’s get grinding!
With patch 7.3.5, a lot changes in World of Warcraft. There is a new hub for the Horde – Suramar will become a small Horde city!
Currently, the update 7.3.5 is being tested on the test servers of World of Warcraft. This brings a lot of changes to the game world, such as the messages of the Horde and Alliance, as well as the first gameplay data for the upcoming expansion Battle for Azeroth. Dataminers and players are finding new details in the game, and one thing is sure to please all “Hordish” fans of the Nightborne.
As we have known since BlizzCon 2017, the Nightborne are joining the Horde as a new “allied race“. However, even in patch 7.3.5, there are the first signs of this because the great city of Suramar is changing.
The displayed images are from wowhead (see sources).
The re-conquest of the city is largely completed, the Nighthold has been taken by Lady Thalyssra and her rebels. Anyone who wants to see this only needs to fly to the Nighthold, in the non-instanced area – meaning the Nighthold in the Suramar area, not within the raid.
Many old acquaintances in Suramar
In addition to Thalyssra, Ly’leth, Oculeth, and Valtrois, you will also find Theryn, the withered, who was essential for the research on training the withered army. He has now found his peace and is strolling (still without sense) leisurely through the park and is accompanied by a caregiver.
Since there is no longer a need for arc wine, as the Arc’andor has healed the Nightborne, the vintners now only produce regular wine.
For Horde players, there are even new portals here – to Shal’Aran, Dalaran, and Orgrimmar.
On the PTR of patch 7.3.5, however, the residents of the area are friendly to both Horde and Alliance. This will likely change only with the release of Battle for Azeroth.
The “old” Suramar remains old
The basic quest area will remain unchanged. For fresh characters at level 110, nothing changes. They can still complete the entire Suramar campaign and miss nothing. The “old” areas of the city also remain largely unchanged. World quests can still be completed.
It will be strange when a Nightborne quests in Suramar – whether there will be slight variations in the existing quests remains to be seen. Otherwise, it could get very, very strange.
Are you looking forward to the changes in Suramar? Or will you not be hanging around there anyway?
An official image from Bungie has surfaced, showing the true scale of the Traveler from Destiny 2. This was necessary – because the game does not always provide the right perspective to make estimates.
The Traveler is one of the central “Figures” in Destiny 2. He is omnipresent. The massive sphere has been hovering above the last refuge of humanity since the Collapse. It was already known that the Traveler has gigantic dimensions – but the exact measurements were not known, at least until now!
14 kilometers of pure light
For an image has emerged that shows the Traveler in relation to enemy spaceships. This and other concept art comes from Bungie’s concept artist Dorje Bellbrok, which he published on his blog! According to this, the diameter of the Traveler is 14,000 meters:
This makes the Traveler outshine all other formations on our planet, even Mount Everest, which is only a measly 8,849 meters high. For comparison: The Earth has a diameter of about 12,700 kilometers.
Also interesting: Even next to the Destiny 2 location Nessus, the Traveler need not hide; the planetoid measures only 60 km in diameter.
That’s why the Traveler could have wiped out the dinos
Scientific calculations revealed that the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs millions of years ago was between 10 and 15 kilometers in size. The Traveler fits perfectly into this scheme.
The meteor that allegedly has the dinosaurs on its conscience
One can count themselves lucky that the Traveler was friendly towards humans; a slight shove, and the few insects that would have survived the catastrophe could have enjoyed a golden age.
The Traveler and the right perspective
The Traveler does not always appear so gigantic. Even though the sphere is visible from space, the Traveler does not seem that impressive upon close inspection. These perspective flaws can be found in several places within the game.
The following image shows the Traveler as seen from space:
The Traveler clearly stands out from the earth’s surface. The following image comes from the second story mission of Destiny 2 and provides an impressive, albeit perspectively questionable, panorama:
The Traveler appears much smaller than when viewed from space. These irregularities clearly serve for presentation, but make accurate estimates more challenging. Such inconsistencies were also apparent in the predecessor.
Oryx’s Dreadnaught also offered more show than substance
With the Taken King, Oryx parked his Dreadnaught in the rings of Saturn. In relation to the rings, estimates suggest that the Dreadnaught must be between 1,000 and 2,500 km long.
Doesn’t seem so gigantic in this view: The Dreadnaught
For comparison: The Death Star from Star Wars measures only 900 km in diameter. In the story sequences and when approaching the Dreadnaught, however, it appears much smaller.
Even though the dimensions are not always easily ascertainable, large objects are impressive and must also be easily recognizable from close up for presentation purposes. For this reason, the Traveler does not always appear to be the same size.
What do you think? Would you have considered the Traveler to be larger or smaller?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Warframe, there is the “TennoGen” project, in which fans design skins for frames and weapons. The community votes on which skins will actually come to the online shooter. The creators share in the profits of the skins.
The developers at Digital Extremes place great importance on being close to the community. Therefore, there are ongoing projects that involve the fans of Warframe in game design. TennoGen is one of these projects where fans can express their creativity and artistry.
With TennoGen, fans submit their content for Warframe through the Steam Workshop. Then, there is a vote on which fan-created content should actually appear in the online shooter. Anyone can vote and discuss the submitted content.
Digital Extremes has the final say on which community skins are implemented in Warframe. Each selected skin will then be available for sale in Warframe’s in-game market.The profits from the sales are shared between Digital Extremes and the creators of the respective skin/s.
Largest bundle to date: TennoGen 11 brings 34 new community skins to Warframe
Round 11 of TennoGen has just concluded, bringing a total of 34 new skins for characters, weapons, and syandanas. According to Digital Extremes, this is the largest bundle of fan content that has come to Warframe so far.
Digital Extremes plans to distribute the 34 community skins in 3 waves over a month on PC, as there are so many this time. It is still unknown when exactly this will happen. The developers hope to release the skins on consoles in the future as well. Some of the older TennoGen skins have already made it to PS4 and Xbox One.
Anyone who wants to buy one of the fan skins must link their Steam account with Warframe. The skins cannot be purchased with the in-game currency Platinum, only through common Steam currency.
The TennoGen rounds take place at irregular intervals. However, new content ideas can always be submitted through the Steam Workshop.
These fan cosmetics will be seen in Warframe soon
Here we show an excerpt of the 34 community skins from TennoGen 11.
Diva Octavia, by lukinu_u (This skin was also used in the title image)
Dracun Nezha, by Novabjorn
Mirage-Mithra, by lukinu_u
Oberon Taurus Helmet, by Master Noob
Phorcys – PolearmOrthos Model Swap, by Stenchfury
If you want to see more than this excerpt, you can findall 34 new community skins in the official Warframe forum.
The developers of Fortnite want to further expand the PvP mode Battle Royale. In the future, it should become easier to find friends, the inventory should improve, and player killers should be penalized more effectively.
Fortnite: Battle Royale, the PvP mode of Fortnite, will soon be bigger and more efficient. The developers are diligently working on a whole range of changes, some of which should be coming soon.
Find your friends more easily & punish team killers
The developers want you to find your friends in the game more easily in the future. Therefore, there should be options to find and invite people via social media. Additionally, there should be duo playlists for regions like Oceania that have not had such options before.
Another issue is team killers. To prevent such villains from ruining your fun, work is being done on a better system to report team killers. It should also become clearer whether and how a response to a player killer report is handled. Ultimately, there should be a model to filter out the worst offenders and only allow “nice” players to play together.
In addition, the developers want to improve shooting behavior. The random shot deviation while aiming should be fixed. According to the developers, the new system already looks promising, but further testing is required.
Better inventory, statistics, and much more
For the future, the developers have even more cool innovations planned for Battle Royale. Among other things, you can look forward to the following innovations:
There will be a new UI for the inventory that is cleaner and more organized
A detailed statistics page after the match
The map will be expanded with more points of interest
Some items like pickaxes, gliders, and characters will be completely overhauled
The footsteps of your teammates will be quieter. Depending on the terrain, footsteps will sound different. An audio bug that makes sounds follow players permanently will be fixed soon
Game modes with time limits are coming in December
Server performance will be improved
There will be better leaderboards
There will be more weapons and items
Custom games with your own parameters are planned
Constant 30 FPS is the goal for consoles. Performance takes precedence over graphics
There will be special badges and medals for cool actions in the game
Soon, players of WoW will have to say “bye bye” to their artifact weapons. We reveal how the farewell from the weapons takes place.
The major feature of the current expansion of World of Warcraft, Legion, is the artifact weapons. These powerful items are not only the strongest that Azeroth has to offer in the context of the story, but they have accompanied heroes for over a year. Some of them, like Xal’atath (Shadow Priest) or Aluneth (Arcane Mage), even have their own personalities. All of them are much more than just lifeless instruments of murder.
But soon it will be time to say goodbye to the artifact weapons in WoW. The weapons are not a feature of the next WoW expansion Battle for Azeroth, because there, “ordinary” weapons will drop from the bosses in the game again.
Spoiler Alert: If you don’t want to know why we are losing our artifact weapons, you can avoid this now.
Magni calls the heroes to him
But how exactly does this tough break happen? How do players lose their artifact weapon?
The PTR of Patch 7.3.5 gives initial answers. Data miners have read out a new quest line within the game that takes place in Silithus.
As a brief reminder: In Silithus lies Sargeras’ blade, which has drilled deep into the crust of Azeroth.
At the behest of Magni Bronzebeard, players rush to this sword and are asked to take up the corruption of Sargeras’ sword with their own artifact weapons.
According to Magni, the sword has begun to poison Azeroth’s lifeblood and only the shared use of the artifact weapons of all the great heroes (i.e., all character classes) can absorb this corruption. However, this will also corrupt the artifact weapons themselves, making them ultimately useless.
At the end of this quest line, there is an in-game sequence titled “7.3.5 [AWR] Artifact Weapon Retirement.” In English: Artifact Weapons Retirement.
It is to be expected that players will still keep their artifact weapon as an item, and the quest line will merely provide the story explanation for why these weapons are no longer available.
However, it is still unknown when exactly this quest line will be activated. Most players suspect that this will not occur with Patch 7.3.5, but rather at the earliest with the big Pre-Patch 8.0, even if the data has already been found now.
Do you think it’s good that the artifact weapons are disappearing? Are you glad when these things are finally gone? Or would you rather keep them?
The history of Massive Multiplayer Online Games – or short MMOs – is longer than some might think! It extends its roots back to the 60s. The history of MMOs has taken a rocky path full of misunderstandings. We give you an overview of the milestones of MMOs!
Today, it’s hard to imagine the video game landscape without MMOs! Whether big or small titles, whether Sci-Fi or fantasy, whether for young or old – there is the right game for everyone. However, one couldn’t always draw from the full. The history of MMOs began small. The structure can be compared to a tree:
The roots: The origins of MMOs run deep but are not necessarily visible to everyone.
The trunk: In the 90s, the genre took shape, structured itself straightforwardly, and formed the basis.
The crown: In the early 2000s, the market grew lavishly. Numerous games sprouted from this boom.
The roots of MMOs lie in the details
In the 60s, the teaching and learning system “PLATO” was introduced at the University of Illinois, bringing with it a first hint of MMO. To pass the tedious time, some particularly motivated students worked on their own programs. PLATO served as a tool for communication. Over the network, one could group up with other students and fight together or against each other.
Later networks like ARPANET built on this, a US network for universities and research institutions. Many game-loving (or rather: procrastinating) students developed the first multiplayer games. These initially gained only local fame, as most networks were locally limited.
First steps with Mazewar
Over ARPANET, “Mazewar” ran from 1974. It formed the first graphical, virtual world and is thus one of the milestones on the way to today’s MMOs. For the first time, players could act together from separate computers! From a first-person perspective, one could turn around their axis in 90° increments and move back and forth. What seems commonplace to us today must have been incredibly exciting for players back then!
The MUD
Mazewar is part of the MUDs, the Multi User Dungeons. This term goes back to the first text-based “MMO” MUD 1 from 1978. Developed by students Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle, players could navigate through the highly simplified world using text commands. What seems ridiculous today was phenomenal back then: a total of 36 players could play simultaneously! It wasn’t even about defeating dangerous monsters or hoarding treasures, but simply about social interaction.
The 70s were the time of virtual mazes, and games were still free to play. But that changed in the 80s.
Who hasn’t missed multiple shots with their hand cannon, even though they aimed correctly? The blame lies with a mechanism in Destiny 2 called Bloom. But what does this mechanism do? And why do hand cannons perform so much better on PC?
A Redditor analyzed the current usage stats of weapons in Destiny 2’s Crucible. Specifically, hand cannons are significantly more popular on PC. What is the reason for this? And what role do “Aim Assist” and “Bloom” play in this? To find out, we embark on a small time travel.
Hawkmoon, Thorn, The Last Word – The Overweapons
There were times in Destiny 1 when the Crucible was predominantly populated by hand cannons. Guardians primarily played with
the Hawkmoon, which could eliminate opposing players from a great distance with a single shot,
the Thorn, whose poison damage led to an exit with just two headshots, and
the Last Word – the hand cannon with the fastest TTK of all primary weapons (approximately 0.3 seconds).
Was a powerful weapon at the start of Destiny: Hawkmoon
In combination with the standard Aim Assist on consoles, these weapons were overpowering.
To break the dominance of hand cannons, Bungie introduced a system for this weapon category called Bloom.
Bloom – also known as Ghost Bullets
The mechanism was first introduced by Bungie in Halo: Reach. The system already caused great discontent among players back then, as Bloom added a random element to fights that nobody requested.
Generally, the bullet should hit where you aim. However, with Bloom, that’s not always the case.
What does Bloom actually do? Let’s imagine a line from the barrel of the weapon to the opposing target. Without Bloom, the projectile follows that line exactly and hits where the shooter aimed.
When the Bloom mechanism comes into play, this line becomes a funnel. Visually speaking, you attach a cone to the barrel of the weapon that widens towards the target. Now, the bullet no longer hits on a line but somewhere within this funnel. Where the bullet hits exactly is left to chance.
Source: Moment.com
For this reason, hand cannons feel inconsistent. Even though you aim at the critical area of an opponent, the bullet may go astray or only hit the body. This phenomenon is also referred to as Ghost Bullets – bullets that disappear into nowhere.
To describe the manifestation of Bloom – and thus the size of the cone – we need to consider initial and final precision:
Initial precision – Describes the manifestation of Bloom upon firing the first shot. Typically, the funnel is very small with the first shot, therefore critical hits while carefully aiming are very likely. In other words, the first shot lands where you aim.
Final precision – Describes the size of the funnel after firing several shots in quick succession. The funnel becomes larger, and thus the probability of missing the target increases.
This spread was very low in Halo: Reach, in Destiny, the funnel is significantly larger, not only regarding final precision but also when firing the first shot.
The effects of this principle were vividly demonstrated by Redditor Opnomonous in a short video:
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Exotic hand cannons were too strong in Destiny 1 due to their perks and the Aim Assist on consoles, that’s why Bungie introduced the Bloom mechanism
Thanks to Bloom, projectiles no longer fly in a straight line, but in a funnel
Where the bullets hit within the funnel is determined by chance
The size of the funnel depends on initial and final precision
That’s why hand cannons perform worse in Destiny 2 than in its predecessor
Players were less than thrilled with the introduction of the Bloom mechanism. Consequently, chance now determined victory or defeat, no longer the player themselves. Why some few representatives of the category continued to be used (Eyasluna / Palindrome) was partly due to the handling of the weapons and partly due to Aim Assist.
However, the main reason were the available perks that could be rolled on the weapons. The effects of Bloom could be reduced through precision and range perks. Because range positively influences Aim Assist and the size of the funnel, shots hit their mark more often.
One of the few strong hand cannons in Destiny 2: Better Devils
This perk selection no longer exists in Destiny 2 – Guardians have to make do with what’s available. The lack of perk selection negatively affects weapon behavior. Bloom is significantly more pronounced without appropriate stability or range perks.
Consequently, hand cannons particularly suffer from the removal of random weapon rolls. Does this circumstance also reflect in the usage behavior of the Guardians? The results are surprisingly striking at first glance.
Usage behavior of weapons in the Crucible – Console / PC
This is the usage of the various weapon categories according to the external site Guardian.gg. On consoles, it looks like this (game mode Iron Banner):
Weapon usage on consoles – Source: guardian.gg
Not surprisingly, automatic rifles dominate. They are easy to handle and their range is outstanding. In second place, with a large gap, are scout rifles (or should we rather say: The scout rifle?). All other weapon types are used below average.
The picture looks quite different on PC:
Weapon usage on PC – Source: guardian.gg
Also on PC, automatic rifles are the most popular weapon category. Following closely are hand cannons. In third place are scout rifles.
Why are hand cannons so popular on PC? The answer lies in the Bloom mechanism. Because it does not exist on PC.
No Aim Assist = No Bloom
Since PC players can aim significantly more precisely with a mouse and keyboard, Aim Assist does not exist on PC. Only when a controller is connected to the PC does Aim Assist become noticeable.
With no Aim Assist, the Bloom mechanism also becomes obsolete. Thus, aimed targets are guaranteed to be hit, the element of chance is non-existent. How unpopular the Bloom mechanism is, is clearly shown by the graphic above.
It was revered in Destiny 1: Thorn
Players have been wishing for a long time for a reduction of Aim Assist, not rarely targets move through the screen, causing the aim to be thrown off. If Aim Assist were reduced, Bungie wouldn’t need to rely on the Bloom mechanism anymore, the skill of the individual player would come to the forefront again.
How Bungie will continue to handle this issue is unknown, there are no official statements. Bungie, however, is undoubtedly aware of weapon usage, it is therefore likely that hand cannons will be revised in some form. Perhaps already in one of the two major updates in December (December 5 and December 12)?
Have you noticed this mechanism before? What do you think of it?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Just a few weeks ago, they became world champions in LoL, and now they have a new employer. The League of Legends champs from Samsung Galaxy have a new owner and will soon carry a new name.
A month ago, we reported on the monumental battle between the two LoL teams Samsung Galaxy and SK Telecom T1 for the world championship in LoL. Samsung Galaxy took the trophy from the hands of LoL god Faker with a triumphant 3:0 victory, claiming the title of the world’s best LoL team for at least a year.
After that, the team extended the contracts of Ambition, Ruler, Crown, and the others.
As now known, the eSports company KSV has acquired the Samsung Galaxy team. This means KSV now has four major eSports teams under contract.
Teams of the company now compete in League of Legends, Overwatch, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Heroes of the Storm. All these teams are based in Seoul, South Korea, the center of eSports. The PUBG and HotS teams are among the best in the world. The LoL team is now as well.
Made rich from mobile gaming, now KSV the 4th top eSports team
Behind KSV eSports is Kevin Chou, who is co-founder of the mobile gaming company “Kabam.” The company made a fortune with apps, Facebook games, and other mobile games. According to Gamesbeat, Kabam was sold in parts for more than $800 million to Netmarble and Fox. This happened in February 2017. So there’s a lot of capital that has flowed into the new company “KSV.”
KSV is an eSports company that is making waves in South Korea. The company refers to itself as a “collaboration of Silicon Valley and South Korea.“
According to Kevin Chou, the idea was considered from the start to enter LoL and saw the perfect opportunity now that Overwatch is running. Although they initially thought they had little chance of poaching Samsung’s popular LoL team, the discussions began, and everything went quite quickly.
Now with an Overwatch team (Seoul Dynasty) and a LoL team, KSV sees itself in the ideal position to become a global player in eSports.
New name for the best LoL team in the world is not yet known
According to Chou, KSV’s plan is to become the dominant force in eSports from South Korea and to aim for worldwide success, improve the players, and bring them to a global stage. They see eSports as a global growth market. Apparently, KSV is looking more towards China than North America after Korea.
The LoL team Samsung Galaxy will compete in the new LoL season under a new name. This name is not yet known.
