We are only a few days away from the official Xbox One release of the battle royale shooter “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.” During the Paris Games Week, PlayerUnknown personally spoke about the launch on Xbox.
PUBG on Xbox One Price and Release Date
Starting December 12, 2017, PUBG will be available on Xbox One. Then you can join the millions of battle royale players on consoles and fight with AKs, shotguns, sniper rifles, and frying pans for the coveted chicken dinner. Currently, PUBG is still in early access on PC.
In terms of pricing, PUBG is also in the mid-range on consoles. The game is expected to be available for €29.99.
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If cute anime girls and overwhelming psycho horror were to have a child, it would be Doki Doki Literature Club. A perfect game for Halloween.
Now and then, we encounter games that are not MMOs but still move us in such a way that I just have to write about them. Today, I am doing this for “Doki Doki Literature Club” – a free game on Steam that develops very differently than one might first expect: Link to the Steam page of Doki Doki Literature Club
At first glance, Doki Doki Literature Club appears to be a dating game, like thousands of others. With a regular story, little freedom of choice, and plenty of cute anime girls waiting just for the protagonist.
Right from the first start of the game, you might have slight doubts about what you have downloaded onto your hard drive. Because before it even begins, the game warns us three times:
“The game is not suitable for children and those who are easily disturbed.”
This is surely just a warning because such a dating game might sometimes contain the odd suggestive scene … or?
A cliché dating game – Or is it?
The game begins as one would expect: On the way to school, accompanied by Sayori, a good friend, as the first new school day unfolds. You have to join a club that engages in joint activities after school. As fate would have it, you end up in the literature club, which (of course) consists only of pretty girls:
Sayori, the long-standing childhood friend who always brings good cheer
Yuri, the quiet beauty who likes to hide in books
Monika, the club president who keeps everything together
Natsuki, the cliché tsundere who is just cute and loves manga
Gradually, the game develops just as one would expect from a dating game. You pick (more or less) one of the girls to spend particularly time with. During the daily “write a poem” task, you then choose only words that your love interest likes. If you succeed, she becomes more and more enthusiastic about you, allowing you to get closer.
In return, we also get poems to read, and some are really good. Each girl has her own style, and often there are interesting statements hidden in the poems. While Yuri enjoys particularly elaborate poems with complex metaphors, Natsuki prefers them simpler, like in this example: Towards the “end” of the game, you reach a typical scene as well. After a small date with Yuri, we see Sayori, who is on the verge of tears, declaring her long-standing love to us.
“Veterans” of this type of game know: This is the last “trap” that a dating game sets for you. Will you stay with the girl you’ve been interested in early on? Or do you give in to the crying girl and her feelings so as not to hurt her further?
Because I had already fixated on Yuri early on, I promised Sayori that she would always remain my “best friend.”
And from now on, the game becomes “special.” The following part contains many spoilers. Anyone who clicks to the second page has been warned.
How does the challenge at the Royal Pools in the Destiny 2 Raid work? Here is the solution to the raid challenge!
Since October 31st at 6 PM, the first raid challenge in Destiny 2 is live. This takes place in the encounter “Royal Pools”. In this challenge, you have to break your usual strategies and master the Pools phase in a new way.
It applies: The raid challenge is playable in both normal mode and prestige mode. When you retrieve your Ghost in the raid, this challenge will be shown to you.
About 30 minutes after the start of the challenge, the first Guardians reported on reddit that they had mastered it. Meanwhile, many other users were able to confirm the method.
This is how the Royal Pools raid challenge works – solution
You only need to meet one requirement for the challenge:
The center must always be occupied by you.
What does that mean? In the center of the playing area is a platform where you must replenish your Psionic Shield. This platform is surrounded by water that deals damage without the Psionic Shield. To master the challenge, at least one Guardian must be in contact with this water throughout the entire encounter.
Standing in this soup that surrounds the platform with the Psionic Shield
In other words, as soon as no Guardian touches the water in the center anymore, the challenge has failed. This will then be displayed at the bottom left of the screen:
Notes and tips:
Keep in mind that the Guardian in the center cannot stand constantly on the plate with the Psionic Shield, otherwise the other players cannot get protection. The player in the center will grab the buff for themselves and then wait in the water (not on the platform) until they are relieved by another player.
You will then rotate through, but you must not dawdle. Since there must always be one player in the center, good timing and coordination are important. It is not a problem if the outer platforms are unoccupied for a short time.
The Guardian currently in the center may not jump. A small hop is still acceptable, but a double jump will result in the challenge failing.
Therefore, pay attention to the Psions that can fling you into the air. This will also lead to the challenge failing.
Destiny 2 Guide for Challenge Mode Royal Pools in video in German
Here you can see a guide from Venero TV in German:
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If the challenge is completed, a second chest appears. This contains tokens, an emblem, and raid gear: Good luck with the challenge! If you have any further tips, please write them in the comments!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Today at 6 PM, Bungie announced the first challenge in the Leviathan raid. The Royal Baths will kick things off. If you complete this encounter in a new way, you will receive additional rewards.
How this raid challenge will work is still unknown. The Guardians will have to figure it out themselves.
If you can’t join the start directly or prefer to watch other Guardians at work first, you can watch Nexxoss Gaming during his raid run. He will go into the raid with his fireteam at 6 PM to tackle the challenge. We embed the Twitch stream here:
https://www.twitch.tv/nexxossgaming
Info on the Raid Challenge
Once the challenge is solved, a guide will appear on Mein-MMO.de shortly thereafter. Until then, feel free to speculate on how the challenge will go.
Bungie has generally released only a few details about the challenges. We currently know only that starting October 31st, each week a different encounter in the raid will feature the challenge. And as soon as the challenge fails, you will be informed via in-game message.
As rewards, there will benew emblems for each raid challenge as well asguaranteed raid drops. This means that collectors among you will likely have to wait four weeks until they have all the raid challenge emblems together.
Raid challenges were first introduced in the Winter of 2015 in the Oryx raid. In these, encounters must be completed in specific ways and enemies must be defeated in specific ways. This is meant to break established strategies in the raid and require a rethinking.
Do you have any ideas in advance about how the challenge in the Baths might look?
Dauntless, the “Monster Hunter”-like Free2Play MMO, has received its first major content update. There is now a new tutorial and players can embark on a spooky Halloween event. Phoenix Labs has also decided to abolish the random loot box system.
In Dauntless, players go on the hunt for dangerous creatures, the Behemoths, similar to Monster Hunter, and engage in monster fights that consist of various phases and can take some time.
Dauntless is free to play on PC and is currently in closed beta. Phoenix Labs has now released the first major content update for the action RPG: Forge your Legend.
Phoenix Labs does not want to be known for taking players’ money
The developers are particularly passionate about this planned change: Loot boxes with random items will be abolished in Dauntless.
Phoenix Labs wants to implement a system that moves towards “Player First”. They want to respect the wishes and budgets of the community. Lead designer Chris Cleroux made a statement regarding this decision:
“We felt that our loot box-based monetization provided one of the worst experiences. We will depart from this model as our main source of revenue and introduce a model that works more like Warframe or Path of Exile. There, you are able to choose and purchase the items you want directly […] We believe that such a model goes much more in the direction of “Player First” and aligns more with the interests of the community.”
Previously, Dauntless had “Chroma-Cores”, through which players could purchase new cosmetics. The cores contained a random assortment of banners, emotes, and seals that have varying rarity. This model was introduced by Phoenix Labs some time ago and they hadn’t thought about it since.
According to the developers, Dauntless will soon receive an update in which the Chroma-Cores will disappear and players can directly buy the cosmetics they want.
This is what Dauntless’ major content update: Forge your Legend includes
With the update, Dauntless receives content optimizations and a Halloween event:
The tutorial has been completely revised: Dauntless may seem simple at first glance, but it is quite complex. Players need to learn how to effectively hunt Behemoths, how the weapons work, and how to forge them. Randomly hitting the monsters will not work in the long run. Phoenix Labs wanted to create a better introduction to the action RPG and accomplished this with Forge your Legend. Players will now receive more support during their first steps in Dauntless.
Cosmetics have been expanded: Players still see a major weakness in Dauntless’ character creator. Phoenix Labs wants to address this shortcoming now. With the update, there are new hairstyles and makeup options. The goal is for players to one day showcase an individual style.
The Halloween event “The Dark Harvest” runs from October 31 to November 7: A mysterious and deadly darkness is spreading across the island, attracting Behemoths. They will flock to the city in large numbers, and players will have to drive them away with skill and teamwork. Unique rewards await the hunters.
Phoenix Labs also teased that the combat system will be massively revised by December 2017. There will be two new Behemoths and a new weapon type. Players will be able to upgrade their equipment in a new way, which should add even more depth to Dauntless.
Today, Leya has invited a special guest to play Warframe with her in a live stream. Vanthenos is an official guide of the Lotus and has spent over 7,000 hours in the online shooter. He will be available in the stream to answer questions and talk about his work as a guide.
We are hosting a live stream for Warframe today, and I, Leya, am not alone this time. Vanthenos will accompany me on a few missions and share his experience as an official “Guide of the Lotus”.
Additionally, he wants to be available to answer your questions about Warframe. That is his job as a guide of the Lotus.
“Guides of the Lotus” is a program established by Digital Extremes to help new players get started. The guides have official insignias on their characters and are there for you when you ask for help. To become a guide, these players must have at least 800 hours of Warframe experience and be well-versed in the online shooter.
Vanthenos has been playing Warframe since March 2014 and has spent over 7,000 hours on missions. In April 2017, he became an official guide of the Lotus. He enjoys introducing other players to Warframe and making connections with various space ninjas.
The Lotus is the voice in Warframe that guides you through the missions.
Do you have questions about Warframe? Don’t hesitate to ask them in the stream!
If you’re new to Warframe or just curious about what a guide of the Lotus actually does, ask your questions! I can’t promise that we’ll have time to answer them all. But we will try.
Vanthenos will be on voice chat throughout the stream and will surely have some useful tips ready.
The stream starts today, on October 31, at 6:00 PM.
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Raikou is one of the strongest Electric Pokémon in Pokémon GO. We will show you how to counter and catch the legendary Pokémon in this Raikou guide.
Through the rotation of the legendary beasts, we will encounter Raikou in Europe in November. For a month, we can try to catch many monsters of this species, thus upgrading our Pokémon collection. November 30 is likely to be the last day we can encounter the Pokémon. If Niantic does not extend the event, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou will retreat again.
In this guide, we will show you how to defeat Raikou.
Raikou Max CP and Weaknesses
The Electric part of the feline trio has the highest CP. As a boss, Raikou has a maximum of 42932 CP and after being caught, at most 1913 CP (at level 20 with perfect IVs).
It is recommended to have 6-7 trainers for the battle against Raikou. Similar to Suicune and Entei, it will also be possible to succeed against Raikou with fewer trainers. However, you should have strong counter Pokémon, which we present to you here in the article.
Raikou has already been defeated by four trainers (level 30+) who all used Rhydon. They mastered a moveset of Mud-Slap and Earthquake.
Raikou Raid Counters
If you want to succeed in the battle against Raikou, you need strong counters. Due to its pure Electric type, Raikou is especially weak against Ground-type Pokémon. Therefore, Rhydon, Golem, or Donphan are suitable. An important attack is Earthquake.
Raikou can know the moves Thunder Shock, Volt Switch, Spark, Thunderbolt, and Thunder. We will show you the most effective attackers against Raikou here:
Rhydon with a moveset of Mud-Slap and Earthquake
Golem with a moveset of Mud-Slap and Earthquake
Donphan with a moveset of Tackle and Earthquake
Exeggutor with a moveset of Confusion and Solar Beam
Machamp with a moveset of Counter and Dynamic Punch (Glass Counter – Takes a lot of damage)
Tyranitar with a moveset of Bite and Crunch
Mewtwo with a moveset of Confusion and Shadow Ball
Dragonite with a moveset of Dragon Tail and Outrage
Sandshrew with a moveset of Mud Shot and Earthquake
Nidoking with a moveset of Poison Jab and Earthquake
Catching Raikou
As with the other beasts Suicune and Entei, the base catch rate of Raikou is just under 2%. It is best to use your golden razz berries and throw curveballs to increase your catch chance. Without medal bonus, the catch chances look like this:
The launch of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (PC, PS4, Xbox One) is just around the corner! The shooter has now reached gold status and the launch trailer has been released. The internet is reacting refreshingly positively to these few moments of moving video game art. “Rightly so!” thinks our author Guddy.
After all, this nearly one-minute video is packed with explosive action, various locations, and iconic characters. It seems like a fantastic dish made from only the best ingredients. And it is served damn hot! [Disclaimer: Similarities to Klingon quotes are purely coincidental.]
Here is the launch trailer for Star Wars Battlefront 2
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“Amazing”, “Badass”, “Hype” – The Triforce of Reactions
“Guddy, come on. Now you’ve mixed up Star Trek and Legend of Zelda here. It’s all about Star Wars!” Good catch, little Padawan, but isn’t it precisely this melting pot that characterizes the launch trailer? We see characters and locations from the three main eras!
A lightsaber-wielding Rey (by the way, actually voiced by Daisy Ridley), an agile Yoda facing off against Darth Maul, and not to forget one of the most iconic battles ever: Luke against Darth Vader. We see Sullustans and Wookiees, AT-ATs and X-Wings, and as a cherry on top, also Boba Fett! Star Wars diversity at its finest!
That the aforementioned Triforce of reactions dominates the comment sections like here on Reddit is quite clear. Fans are mostly thrilled about the new Battlefront trailer. I suddenly felt like a little girl under the Christmas tree decorated with mini Death Stars.
The force is alive with the sound of music…
Hardly anything is currently highlighted positively as much as the music and sound effects. Everything is on point, and the music allows for an even deeper immersion into the scenes.
For those wondering who created the trailer, here’s the answer: The Australian composer Blake “Blakus” Robinson, who has been engaged not only for video games but also for movies like Beauty and the Beast and Alice in Wonderland. The remix for the launch trailer is his latest work for this campaign.
Some questions still remain…
Why is an AT-AT shooting at Stormtroopers? Spoilers from the campaign incoming! This makes one very curious about both the single-player aspect and possible manipulation opportunities.
Will it actually be possible to slice off limbs with the lightsaber? Especially with the droids, that would be wonderful!
Guddy is also hyped because…
… she is incredibly excited about the immersive effect. Of course, this is not actual gameplay footage. But the premise is right and the variety is impressive. There are just over two weeks left until the launch of Star Wars Battlefront 2.
Time to treat yourself to a new, more comfortable desk chair. And a fridge for the home office. Just in case.
Bungie announces major changes for Destiny 2 and apparently leaves the substitutes in the field.
The development of Destiny is opaque. While hundreds of specialists are working in a huge studio in Seattle on Destiny 2, the game releases come from different people in leadership positions. They are responsible, set the direction, and are the ones who present and showcase these games.
There are at least three people who have already been “key figures” for a part of Destiny, for an expansion or a DLC. They appear together with others, with whom they work in a team. Each individual is accompanied by a group of additional developers. This is Bungie’s philosophy: they rely on teams working together, not on individual people.
But we will still pick out the individuals as representatives for their teams.
Like an overloaded football team, there is a kind of “A-team” that takes care of the important releases, and a “B-team” that handles smaller releases.
In addition, there is a live team and a PvP team, led by the rogue Lars Bakken. There is a sandbox team that balances weapons, and the community team, and many other departments of Bungie that we want to exclude here.
A-Team and B-Team – Who is who at Bungie?
The original game Destiny is mainly attributed to Jason Jones. He is a co-founder of Bungie and a programmer who gradually transitioned into management. Jones was already responsible for Halo. He also served as Project Lead for the 1st DLC “The Darkness Rises.” Jason Jones was for a long time the head of Destiny, the leader of Bungie’s “A-Team.” However, he seems to have gradually stepped back into the background since the release.
Jason Jones.
For the Destiny DLC House of Wolves, the B-Team from Bungie was used for the first time. The team included Game Director Christopher Barrett, Producer Scott Taylor, and Designer Matt Sammons. By the way, Sammons was the poor guy who suffered for an hour alongside DeeJ and Professor Broman during the legendary “Prison of Elders” stream .
Christopher Barrett
For the first expansion to Destiny 1, for “The Taken King,” another team stepped in. That was Luke Smith supported by Producer Mark Noseworthy. Smith is a trained journalist and passionate WoW player. Until then, he had designed the raids in Destiny, and was promoted after the success of “The Glass Chamber.”
The reluctant expansion “Rise of Iron” had Bungie create it once again with the B-Team led by Christopher Barrett, while the A-Team with Luke Smith took care of Destiny 2. They explicitly wanted to stay together as a team after the celebrated “The Taken King.”
The irony is that while the “A-Team” led by Luke Smith was responsible for Destiny 2, the problems that arose should now be solved by the B-Team with the DLC “Curse of Osiris.”
Because Thursday evening it was Christopher Barrett who announced how Bungie intends to improve Destiny 2. Luke Smith has gone underground again; he is probably busy with a big addon for Destiny 2 that we expect in September 2018.
So Barrett has to fix it. Christopher Barrett is probably responsible for the first DLC for Destiny 2, for “Curse of Osiris.” This would be the third Destiny project he leads after “House of Wolves” and “Rise of Iron.” Because Barrett had already inquired on Twitter what the fans want for the “first expansion” to Destiny.
Christopher Barrett, like Luke Smith, is a kind of lateral entrant into Bungie’s “Game Director” ranks. Barrett is actually a trained artist, was an artist on the first Halo, and over the course of 15 years became the Art Director for Destiny and now has been promoted to Game Director, gradually transitioning into management.
Can the B-Team solve the problems?
Destiny 2 is in a strange situation. While there is plenty of content available and the gameplay is fantastic, the economy of Destiny 2 is off. There is too little reason to explore the game’s content.
Especially strikes, adventures, and lost sectors are played too little. Public events dominate. Prestige activities and the crucible are also not rewarding. Players lack the carrot in front of their noses that they can chase after in Destiny 2. In Destiny 1, there were still special exotics or the god roll of legendary weapons – in Destiny 2, there are no god rolls and the exotics are not as coveted as in Destiny 1.
Christopher Barrett is supposed to save Destiny 2 by changing some of the fundamental ideas of Destiny. Changing the way guardians deal with loot, how they get stronger, and the reasons they play Destiny 2.
Barrett was already the head of a Destiny DLC that fundamentally changed the economy:
“House of Wolves” was low on content but introduced gameplay mechanics changes. Back then, Bungie introduced the ability to upgrade weapons to the current maximum level. This went quite wrong. The sudden generosity of Bungie took away the motivation for players to engage with the game’s content: They already started “House of Wolves” with the overpowered old weapons like the Fatebringer and no longer want the new ones.
Now Barrett and his team are supposed to ensure that hardcore players have something to do in Destiny 2.
The central promises from Barrett on Thursday were also that they want to create incentives to reward players better. Destiny 2 wants to make better use of the existing content; everything should become more interesting, inviting players to replay it multiple times.
Currently, Bungie has only “11 goals” in mind for what they want to change in Destiny 2. They haven’t communicated exactly how all of this will work yet.
Barrett and his team will probably introduce the planned improvements in a series of three live streams in November. They currently have no date yet – but fans should expect them on November 14th, 21st, and 28th.
With most of the improvements, one can be optimistic about maybe getting them in the first DLC. It is already set for release on December 5th.
If one is pessimistic, one might also suspect that changes will only come later.
Will the changes really come with Curse of Osiris?
Currently, there is only a time window for “Private Matches” in the crucible – they are supposed to return “early in 2018.” This could mean that the other 10 points might really come to Destiny 2 on December 5th – but one shouldn’t be too sure about such things. Bungie is not really known for reacting quickly to feedback. The December expansion has often been rather thin.
Barrett should hurry with his mission to save Destiny 2. The PC guardians are still fresh, but players on PS4 and Xbox One are losing interest.
The second DLC for Destiny 2 – it’s going to get even funnier – will likely not come from the A-Team or B-Team, but from the “C-Team,” from the external High Moon Studios that Activision has brought in as help.
In the new co-op trailer for Far Cry 5, you blast through missions, fly planes, or ride quads. But the mode lacks the crucial feature.
During the Paris Games Week, a new Far Cry 5 trailer was revealed. It focuses on the co-op mode, where you can solve all missions together with another player. Together, you can take control of the fate of Hope County and hopefully save it.
However, the world progress is saved differently for the two participating players.
Far Cry 5 Co-op Gameplay Video
With a partner, you can run, fly, and drive through the world of Far Cry 5. You have access to flashy muscle cars with roaring engines or mobile quads to race across uneven terrain.
For air support, grab a plane and explore the game world or take out annoying enemies with bomb strikes from above.
This creates new tactical possibilities, which are demonstrated in the video. While Player 1 storms a place like Rambo, Player 2 shoots at the enemies from a safe distance. Check out the trailer here – Happy Together!
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What can the Co-op Mode in Far Cry 5 do – and what can’t it?
You can play all Far Cry 5 missions together in co-op mode, except for the tutorial. The one who starts the game is the “host”. The other player is merely hired and can join as a “guest” at any time during the game. There is voice chat support.
Medipacks and ammunition can be shared to support each other during missions.
But: Only the host can accept missions and keep world progress. Hired co-op players join the “world” of the host. They only retain character progress, such as money, perks, and other loot. Mission progress only counts for the host, not for the guest. And that is a bitter pill for many players.
This means that you lose all world progress earned as a guest in co-op mode. By “world progress,” the developers mean all quests, activities, and completed or unlocked content. Once you leave the co-op mode, you lose that reputation, progress, and unlocks.
Afterwards, you are back in your own Far Cry 5 world and only retain experience points, in-game currency, and items in your inventory. Some special items that you receive when you complete quests will also be deleted.
Patrick says: “That’s illogical”: Although I really like the new co-op trailer and it increases my anticipation for Hope County and the present crazy cult, the lack of progress in co-op mode makes it really hard for me to keep my enthusiasm.
Why should I play co-op if I am just there as a lackey to help the other player complete his missions? For experience points and in-game currency? Well, thanks a lot!
Sure, playing together is more fun in video games. But in Far Cry 5, it just isn’t effective.
I would have preferred a system like in Ghost Recon Wildlands. There, everyone can play through the missions together, and everyone gets credited for the progress. This way, you advance together in the game and fight through the story (and keep the progress!). Everything else seems illogical and poorly thought out to me.
The announced Halloween event is now running in The Division. What new features does it bring to the post-apocalypse?
Several weeks ago, the developers announced a special Halloween event. Since then, the agents have been guessing what it could be about. How “big” will this event be? Will it bring new content? Are there fresh items to hunt for?
Last week, there was a setback during the “State of the Game” livestream. The developers apologized for raising expectations too high, stating that this special event is not that special.
Internally, the “special event” refers to the “Double Rewards” events, also known as weekend events. And that’s exactly what the Halloween event 2017 is.
The Halloween Event 2017 in The Division
Massive announced via Twitter that this event starts today. They also wished everyone a happy Halloween.
The Halloween event started on October 31 at 1 AM and will last until November 3 at 1 AM.
Here’s what makes this event special:
You will receive double the supply drop containers than usual. This means that if you gather enough experience points, you will receive not one but two crates as a reward.
No new activities or special items are coming this Halloween in The Division, however. Fresh game content will only be introduced with update 1.8.
PTS for 1.8 has now ended
As announced last week, the PTS for update 1.8 has been shut down today, Tuesday. This occurred at 11 AM our time. This means that you can no longer test the contents of update 1.8 in advance.
The developers are now preparing everything for the 1.8 release on the live servers. There is no specific date for this yet. It is likely to be expected in two weeks.
Diving completely into MMORPGs with a VR headset. A former WoW developer reveals how realistic the desire for an MMO like Sword Art Online is.
The dream of fully immersing oneself in a game world is great for many gamers. Especially in movies like eXistenZ or the anime series Sword Art Online, this theme is repeatedly addressed. Players can completely sink into a game world, controlling everything solely with their thoughts or the movements of their bodies. The immersion is perfect, and all influences from the real world have no significance for the duration of the game.
But how realistic is it actually? Could VR MMORPGs really be feasible in reality?
“No. At least not in the near future.” This is what Rob Pardo, who previously worked at Blizzard on World of Warcraft, thinks. In 2014, he left the game studio and then founded Bonfire Games, which is still waiting for its first game release.
Virtual Reality still has a long way to go
In a keynote at a gaming conference in Italy, Pardo spoke about the possibilities of VR and the current state of technology. He knows that many fans are eager to finally be able to play an MMORPG in VR, but he has no good news on that front.
Pardo sees the biggest problem being that Virtual Reality still has too many issues to resolve.
The VR headsets need to be lighter so that they can be comfortably worn for hours.
Then the technology must be improved so that no motion sickness occurs.
A better input device optimized for MMORPGs is also necessary.
But all these points are only half the battle. MMORPGs cannot simply be transferred 1:1; content and game design must be specifically adapted for a VR MMORPG. Just this development could take several more years before a satisfying gaming experience can be achieved.
In conclusion on the topic, Pardo said:
“I believe that it will take a very long time until we can experience complex games like MMORPGs in VR. But someday, I am sure, we will have a holodeck. However, I don’t think that will be soon.”
How long do you think it will take until the technology for truly good VR MMOs is mature? Do you think we will see significant advancements in the next decade? Or is that still a long way off?
Furthermore, today, October 31, the first Raid Challenge in the Leviathan Raid begins.
As Bungie announces, it will start at 6 PM. The Royal Baths will challenge you in a new way this week.
There isn’t much known about the Raid Challenges in Destiny 2 yet. Only: Starting October 31, each week, a different encounter in the raid will be the challenge, though Bungie does not reveal in advance how these challenges work. Once the challenge fails, you will be informed via in-game message. As a reward, there are new emblems for each Raid Challenge. Additionally, you will receive a guaranteed raid drop.
We will accompany this challenge today and publish a guide article shortly.
Duskstrike on October 31 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC
Today at 10 AM is the weekly reset. New activities are coming, such as the Duskstrike:
This week, as Nightfall, The Arms Dealer is up. It was also the case last week.
The modifiers are new though:
Prism: Attacks matching the displayed element deal increased damage. Other elemental damage is reduced. The displayed element changes.
Timewarp: Stall time: Defeat enemies to extend the timer.
The challenges in the Duskstrike:
Complete the Duskstrike with at least 5 minutes remaining.
Complete the Duskstrike with less than 3 deaths.
Take down a Harvester while fighting Bracus Tynoc.
Flashpoint, Treasure Maps, Meditations, Raid Order
The Flashpoint is in the EDZ. You must master public events there.
Cayde-6 has treasure maps for the EDZ.
Ikora Rey is still offering the meditations from last week. These are Unbroken, Revenge, and Theft. We will add the new missions soon.
The creators of World of Warcraft have deleted a telling video from BlizzCon. Was Lordaeron exactly the right hint?
In the lead-up to BlizzCon 2017, Blizzard already released a lot of videos intended to prepare for the major trade show of the game studio. In a rather inconspicuous video about the setup of BlizzCon, clever users discovered the symbol of an in-game kingdom: Lordaeron. This sparked wild speculation about the upcoming expansion.
Apparently, the speculation went too far for Blizzard, as they have now reacted: The corresponding video has been abruptly deleted and is no longer accessible!
BlizzCon video about Lordaeron deleted
In the forums and on Reddit, it seems clear to most: The next expansion will thematically place a significant focus on Lordaeron. Lordaeron and the surrounding lands were most heavily devastated by the Scourge, but have been in reconstruction since the Cataclysm. Currently, Sylvanas rules over large parts of the area, as Lordaeron is in the hands of the Forsaken. Or is a certain Lich King coming back to “reshape his kingdom”? There are many possibilities.
Others assume that there might have been even more details hidden in the video, from which one could have drawn conclusions about the upcoming expansion.
And lastly, there are also speculations that Blizzard deliberately deleted the video after the emerging Lordaeron discussions to further ignite them. Ultimately, this would only be “a false trail” meant to distract from the actual expansion.
Blizzard did not provide a specific reason for the deletion of the video – which only makes the situation more suspicious.
How do you assess the situation that Blizzard has now deleted the video? A tactical move to create confusion? Or did the Lordaeron symbol actually reveal more than they intended to?
This trailer contains few hints about new gameplay content. It primarily showcases the setting and teases the story that the first expansion will revolve around. However, this trailer does not reveal what “Curse of Osiris” will specifically bring in terms of game modes and activities.
Shortly after, Bungie and Activision followed up and announced in blog posts which features this DLC would include. This information comes from Bungie:
– Explore Mercury and its mysterious “Infinite Forest” – New story missions and adventures – New thematically designed weapons, armor, and gear – New co-op activities – New competitive multiplayer arenas – And more …
Many Guardians are wondering if “Curse of Osiris” will also bring a new raid. However, Bungie’s list does not announce a “new raid.” Activision, on the other hand, lists other features.
What are “new raid contents”?
According to Activision, the first DLC will include a new story, returning characters, a new location (Mercury with the Infinite Forest), a social space called the Lighthouse, new strikes, new raid content, new activities in the open worlds, a new world quest, and more.
What does that mean? The community is speculating and has several ideas:
A completely new raid is coming. After all, the first DLC of Destiny 1 also introduced a new raid (Crota’s End).
New raid content could also mean that the current raid is being expanded. That the Leviathan raid will receive new content.
An old raid could return in an updated form. Therefore, there might not be a “new raid”, but only “new raid content.” Possibly the Vault of Glass, as Curse of Osiris revolves around the Vex.
It might not refer to a raid at all, but just to raid-like content. Something like the Prison of Elders from Destiny 1, which was not a real raid but treated as raid content (You could even earn the raid trophies through the Prison).
Prison of Elders
Which of these ideas turns out to be true will only be revealed in the future. One can assume: If a new raid comes eventually, the responsible parties will announce it loudly with “a completely new raid is coming!” and not hide “new raid content” in the middle of a sentence. So we should not expect a new raid.
The last point, that some kind of PvE arena will be introduced, similar to the Prison of Elders, seems to be the most likely. This Infinite Forest on Mercury could be an arena that is randomly generated, creating a new player experience each time. In the trailer, Vex platforms can be seen respawning:
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In the arena, players will fight against the Vex. Perhaps Activision means with the “new raid content” what Bungie means with the “competitive multiplayer arenas” …
This is, however, not confirmed. In the coming weeks, we will learn more.
Curse of Osiris will be released on December 5, 2017, for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
What do you think, what could be meant by the raid contents?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
My colleague Cortyn explained in her article why she believes that single-player games are slowly disappearing. I agree with her on many points, but I don’t believe that we will stop seeing single-player titles.
When I still worked as a full-time editor, many voices were raised after the release of World of Warcraft in 2004, claiming that the end of single-player games had come. No one would need single-player titles anymore, they said. And for a while, it seemed like these people were right. The market was on the brink of collapse. But it recovered.
High sales figures show that there is interest
Titles like The Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Skyrim, and most recently Divinity: Original Sin 2 (DOS 2) show that interest in good single-player games still exists.
Skyrim has sold more than 30 million copies. The Witcher 3 over 25 million. As a recent example – and this will appear more often in the column – we can mention Divinity: Original Sin 2, which sold more than half a million copies within just four days after its release.
DOS 2 achieved a rating of 93 percent on Metacritic! An incredibly good rating.
Metacritic also shows that the majority of the highest-rated games of all time are single-player games. These include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with 97 percent, Half-Life 2 with 96 percent, and The Last of Us with 95 percent. Additionally, the crowdfunding sector shows the strong interest of players in single-player titles. Games like Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2 and 3, Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2, Shenmue 3, or Torment: Tides of Numenera prove that gamers still want such titles.
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So it’s not that there isn’t a market for single-player games. On the contrary. The “problem” is a different one. Games as a Service promise developers more money with less effort, as well as a loyal player base that stays long-term and is also willing to spend small amounts on “their” game repeatedly. For a developer and a publisher, it’s a gold mine.
You produce a game and instead of putting the team on a sequel, it gets significantly reduced. The team that remains keeps the title alive with updates, DLCs, loot boxes, and new items. This means less effort for the studio with lower personnel costs but a steady flow of income from the players.
Many development studios, especially larger AAA teams, will orient themselves toward this system. After all, they are profit-oriented companies. The goal of any company is to make a profit. If a new, lucrative system establishes itself in the market, it must be exploited. It was no different with free-to-play. But this is an opportunity for smaller development studios that don’t have the means to produce and maintain a high-quality online game. It stands to reason that these teams will focus on the single-player sector.
This has happened with CD Projekt Red, who catered to this genre with the Witcher series and made a fortune out of it.
The market exists
As mentioned, there is still a market for these games. Perhaps AAA productions will continue to decline and games with lower budgets will conquer the market, as Divinity: Original Sin 2 impressively shows. Yet, even that is questionable. Bethesda will not want to alienate its core community, which, despite The Elder Scrolls Online, still calls for a The Elder Scrolls 6 year after year. And if a Skyrim has sold more than 30 million times, why would Bethesda want to forgo that customer base?
Even large companies like Rockstar Games still see a “point” in single-player games. Next year, Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released, a Western epic focused on single-player content. And Rockstar Games developer Imran Sarwar recently stated that the team consists of big fans of single-player games, as such games simply offer a completely different immersion and narrative structure than an online game. Even though the focus is currently on the online mode in GTA 5, according to Sarwar, that does not mean that Rockstar Games will neglect single-player.
Even Zach Wilson from the now-closed studio Visceral explains that it is absurd to write off single-player games. Electronic Arts may be one of the studios that are not as active in this area anymore, but there are many other developers who are successfully working in this genre. He also addresses the issue of asset development, which costs a lot of money. The production costs of a single-player game are high because creating the graphics and animations is very expensive.
However, according to Wilson, something is changing in this area that could make the development of single-player games more attractive in the future.
Are single-player fans switching to multiplayer games?
Another question that arises is: What would happen to players if there were no more single-player games? Would they simply switch to online titles? There are some significant differences between multiplayer and single-player games. First and foremost, the telling of a dense story and decisions with visible consequences.
Why would someone who wants to experience exactly that in games suddenly only want to play battle royale shooters? That didn’t even work with MMORPGs. There is still a significant gap between MMO fans and those of single-player RPGs.
Whoever wants to reach the largest part of the market must either expand their offerings or settle for a niche. But AAA studios cannot afford to develop games for the niche. Because they are expected to produce extremely high-quality products with excellent graphics. And the production of such a game costs a lot of money. Then to target only a niche market with high expenses is financially unfeasible. This is also one of the reasons for the focus on “Games as a Service”.
In summary:
The PC was already declared dead when consoles emerged.
Single-player games were declared dead when MMORPGs emerged.
Turn-based combat systems were declared dead when real-time titles took over the market.
Yes, the market is changing – over and over again – but that single-player games will disappear, I am not convinced; there will continue to be coexistence. Sometimes you just want to experience an exciting story alone and sometimes have fun with friends. The interest in single-player games is still present.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The symbol of Lordaeron from World of Warcraft causes excitement, as it has now been spotted on the BlizzCon grounds.
The BlizzCon 2017 is taking place a bit differently than previous Blizzard events. Even beforehand, the creators of World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Overwatch are releasing a lot of videos for the upcoming event.
In a rather inconspicuous video about the organization of BlizzCon and the associated tasks, user Destaen noticed a small detail on Reddit. On the “WoW eSports stage,” there was a suspicious stage element that immediately caught his eye: the symbol of the kingdom of Lordaeron.
Lordaeron as the theme of the next expansion?
Lordaeron was one of the great human kingdoms until the events of Warcraft 3. After the rise of the Lich King, the capital and surrounding areas were ravaged by the Scourge, and the ownership then passed to the Forsaken under Lady Sylvanas Windrunner.
That there will be new conflicts between the three Windrunner sisters has already been teased in the current patch 7.3, as Vereesa and Alleria discuss their fallen sister Sylvanas. Players speculate about a “Lords of Lordaeron” expansion, where the war over the former capital of humans is in the forefront and the corresponding zones are significantly revamped.
Other fans think that the Lich King might be more integrated into the story again. That seems rather far-fetched, considering that Arthas should actually be permanently dead – but in WoW, you never really know. Maybe Mr. Menethil will return from the Shadowlands once again.
The Ashbringer also has the “Lordaeron” L as the grip.
Some players also think that this symbol was chosen simply because there is also a Lordaeron arena that takes place in Undercity. That would fit well with the eSports stage and wouldn’t have much significance.
The BlizzCon will take place next weekend, on November 3rd and 4th, 2017. We will report promptly on all announcements and reveals.
What do you think? Is this just a random find, or will Blizzard surprise us and pull a “Lordaeron” expansion out of the hat, focusing on the war between the factions?
Monster Hunter World will still be playable in 2017, as long as you have a PS4. Capcom announced the exclusive release date for the beta. A trailer also shows that you can play as Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn.
Monster Hunter World will have an exclusive beta launch for the PlayStation 4. To participate in the beta, you must have a PlayStation Plus account.
Monster Hunter World starts its beta on December 9, 2017
The date was announced by Sony at the “Paris Game Week”. The beta will be available to PS4 players from December 9 to December 12, 2017 – The beta will therefore last 3 days.
In the beta of Monster Hunter World, PS4 players can:
Complete 3 quests – Alone or with up to 4 players online
hunt in the Ancient Forest, including hunting the hungry Great Jagras or the aggressive Anjanath
chase the Barroth in the Wildspire Wastes, which lurks in the muddy water waiting for hunters
Confusion about the 2nd DLC of Destiny 2. Apparently, it is coming later than expected – or maybe not. There are two different release dates, both seem official.
We also know more about the 2nd DLC today – however, the release date depends on which source we trust.
In one version of the trailer, it is clear to see: The 2nd DLC is planned for “Autumn 2018″. That is the version uploaded by PlayStation.
In another version of the trailer, the 2nd DLC is planned for “Spring 2018”. That is the case in most versions provided by Bungie, as far as we could verify.
Delays or on schedule – When is the 2nd DLC for Destiny 2 coming?
The confusion is now great: When does the 2nd DLC for Destiny 2 come out?
Fans of Destiny 2 actually assumed it would be in Spring 2018: a second DLC in Spring 2018 was actually considered likely. This corresponds to the typical schedule expected from Destiny. A release in May would be typical.
The “second version” now gives reason for concern. If the DLC does not come until Autumn, it could lead to significant content gaps. Players would likely have nothing to do in Destiny 2 from February to September. Even worse: The expected expansion for Destiny 2 would then surely come later. The entire schedule would be thrown into chaos.
Did Bungie delay the 2nd DLC to resolve endgame issues?
There are several possibilities as to what has happened:
Either Sony simply messed up and set the wrong date. While that is strange, they wouldn’t have made the trailer themselves.
Or there truly were or are considerations at Bungie to delay the 2nd DLC by half a year. Perhaps to solve the numerous endgame issues. It could be that they informed Sony about this, but then decided against it – and Sony used an outdated version.
It is deemed unlikely that Microsoft has worked out a secret deal with Bungie and that Sony players now have to wait 6 months for the DLC.
Update: Sony likely used the Australia trailer…
Update: Community Manager DeeJ has since confirmed via Twitter: In Spring 2018, the DLC will be released. Everyone will start the second expansion at the same time. DeeJ’s reasoning “Different parts of our global community had different seasons”: It seems PlayStation Europe must have picked up the trailer from PlayStation Australia.
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Are you ready for the next legendary Pokémon in Pokémon GO? Soon the three beasts will change their locations.
Currently, we can find three different legendary Pokémon in Pokémon GO that we can battle in the game without a special invitation. These three legendary beasts are divided across different regions and rotate at the end/beginning of a month.
Raikou is coming to Germany
With the monthly rotation, the three legendary beasts Entei, Suicune, and Raikou travel around the world. Here in Germany, we have been able to find Entei in raids since September 1st. In October, we had Suicune, and starting from November 1st, we will find Raikou.
The changes occur according to an official press release from Niantic on the last day of a month. Accordingly, the last change is on October 31st, then they will stay in their region for the last month before disappearing. However, since these changes happen around 10:00 PM German time and no raids are running at that time, we will only find Raikou starting from November 1st.
After having a Fire-type Pokémon with Entei and a Water-type Pokémon with Suicune in our raids, Raikou brings the Electric part of the trio to Europe. So if you don’t have Suicune yet, you should hurry. You only have a few hours left.
Starting from November 1st, Entei will be in Asia and Suicune will be in North and South America.
Update takes place during Halloween event
Currently, we are celebrating the Halloween event 2017 in Pokémon GO, which rewards us with many candies. This event runs until November 2nd and brings us the wild shiny Pokémon Zobiris and Zwirrlicht.
Everywhere we currently find spooky Pokémon and the first ghosts from Gen 3. Unfortunately, more Pokémon from the third generation will not be released until December. Niantic writes about this: “The remaining Pokémon from Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire will gradually be found in Pokémon GO in December.”
