The team from Overwatch is not accountable to any Blizzard boss in its actions. But is this all true?
When thinking about the video game industry, strange ideas often come to mind. Somewhere there is a big boss overlooking everything, swimming like Scrooge in his money vault and making his little developer slaves toil for him.
The boss wants to see profits, and all goals must be subordinate to that.
The team from Overwatch seems to be somewhat different, at least if we believe the words of Game Director Jeff Kaplan. He explained in a lengthy post on the official forum what the development team looks like and how they proceed.
The nearly 100 developers see themselves as artists and craftsmen. They try to avoid the feeling of being “cogs in a big machine.” There is not one person or selected individuals making decisions about what the team does. It is all a huge collaborative effort where the thoughts and wishes of the entire team come into play.
“We are not the peons of some visionary who simply implements his wishes – and we are certainly not bound to any corporate bosses telling us what to do or not do.”
The more than 100 developers share a common wish and see themselves almost as a kind of family. They have put their heart and soul into the game together, risking their names and careers to create something “truly special.”
The Overwatch team cannot simply be “infinitely expanded”
The high, self-imposed standards are also a reason why the team cannot simply be expanded to produce updates and patches faster. The team has been built around the people who they believe are the best developers in the entire industry. That is precisely why they cannot simply increase the number of employees to increase the pace of releases.
Kaplan also mentioned that the Overwatch team is far more critical of itself than a large part of the community. You will never find an employee claiming that Overwatch is ever perfect.
Kaplan emphasized that Overwatch means much more than just “work” for all employees:
“Since the day of release, we have only increased our efforts. Overwatch is a 24/7 matter for us. Overwatch does not stop for us when it’s 5 PM on a Friday. Overwatch does not stop for us when our children have birthdays.”
In The Division, the second global event called Assault starts tomorrow, on October 3rd. What modifiers does it bring? What masks and what secret gear sets does it have in store?
To avoid this mask chaos in the future, Massive changed the system. The masks are no longer tied to the leaderboards but to commendations. From now on, there will be containers containing classified gear through the rankings.
This revision took time, which is why the second global event can only start in early October, on 3rd of October. Tomorrow is the day.
Here’s what to expect in Assault!
Massive released a graphic showing the contents of the global event:
The event starts at 2 PM our time. It introduces three Halloween masks that you can see on the right side. Additionally, secret gear set parts from the Striker set, from the Vigilante, and from the Recovery will be included.
These are the modifiers:
Global Modifier: Agents deal higher damage at close range to enemies.
Activity Modifier: Enemies deal increased damage to you at long range.
Group Modifier: Stay close together to deal more damage.
In short: An offensive play style at close range to the enemy is favored.
While the global modifier is always active, you can optionally activate the other two modifiers in certain activities. You will receive additional rewards upon successful completion.
The event ends after a week on October 10th at 2 PM.
Many guardians are reporting the loss of raid keys in Destiny 2. How can this be prevented?
The individual phases of the Leviathan raid reward guardians not only with raid tokens, which can be exchanged for cool rewards, but also with raid keys.
With these keys, you then venture into the depths of the raid, where several chests are hidden. Each key fits a chest. And since these chests can drop exotic loot at the highest power level, the keys are very sought after and valuable.
This is why many guardians are upset these days that their keys suddenly disappear. They are no longer in the inventory. How does this happen and what can be done about it?
Log in with all characters after each weekly reset
As Bungie recently reported, two scenarios were identified that could lead to the loss of raid keys:
If you log in with another character for the first time after a weekly reset, any keys earned so far will be removed.
If you have raid keys in your inventory and create a new character, the keys will be lost.
To prevent this issue, Bungie recommends the following solution:
Before completing a checkpoint in the Leviathan raid, you should log in with all characters after a weekly reset or check all characters in the Destiny Companion app.
Keep in mind that raid progress and raid keys are reset weekly on Tuesday. This means that with each weekly reset you will lose your keys. This is intended. So make sure to open the chests by Monday night at the latest to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
A permanent solution to avoid unintentional raid key loss is not provided by Bungie’s suggestion. This issue is expected to be fully resolved in a future update.
New features are coming to Battle.net soon – will we finally be able to be “invisible” to our friends?
As nice as it is to always have all friends online in a friends list, it can also be annoying. For those who want to switch off for an hour and just play without immediately dealing with their friends, they are still out of luck on Blizzard’s Battle.net.
Other programs, like Steam or even EA’s Origin, have had a feature for years that allows you to appear as “invisible”. Friends can only see you online if you actively message them or switch your status to “online”.
“You are invisible” warnings found in Battle.net
In the latest version of the Battle.net app, data miners have already extracted new information. It seems that the application will soon receive new support for group chats – with corresponding group pictures and plenty of settings.
One suspicious line of code indicates that a warning will be issued if you try to write something in a group: “You are currently displayed as offline”
However, it is questionable whether this feature means that you won’t show up in character friends lists in World of Warcraft. After all, there is still the “risk” of simply seeing the respective character in the game. Whether the feature will apply “only” to the Battle.net app or also to all games remains to be seen.
If the character is running around in WoW, being “invisible” is probably difficult.
The announcement of this feature was already made in 2012. Nearly 5 years later, the first files for it are actually included in the software. The good old “soon” from Blizzard has struck again!
When exactly these features will become active remains to be seen. Presumably, new details will be revealed at BlizzCon in November.
Are you looking forward to the feature? Or should you not be able to be “invisible” in friends lists at all?
In fact, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is the darling of players on Steam and Twitch. Only through this dynamic duo was the success of the rocket start possible.
Through Steam, PUBG can be distributed worldwide without the need for classic structures – PUBG has no publisher with global distribution structures, but doesn’t need one either because there’s Steam.
Through Twitch, the game is streamed and thus advertised. This saves on marketing and advertising.
People watch PUBG on Twitch, become curious about the game, read the positive Steam reviews, and then get PUBG. Then, ideally, they write a positive review themselves. Win-win really.
This cycle has lead PUBG to dizzying heights.
Review Bomb for PUBG – 10 times more negative reviews than usual
For a long time, this was working fine – but currently, PUBG is experiencing a flood of negative reviews on Steam. Thumbs down. Since the end of September, the number of daily negative reviews has roughly tenfold. Where previously about 400 negative reviews came in a day, there are now already 5000.
What happened?
Apparently, the discontent is coming from China. There, players are frustrated with a new patch that makes it difficult for them to connect to the servers as before. Chinese players now have to do this through a VPN – a virtual network.
Now the Korean developer Bluehole put the crown on the problem. They advertised a “speed-boost VPN” service from a third party within PUBG itself. This service is supposed to improve connection quality to the international servers.
If you don’t want lag, use this tool
The Chinese players are extremely angry about this for two reasons:
For one, they believe that a title that costs money should not have in-game advertising, after all, PUBG is not a free-to-play game. Only in F2P games is such “in-game advertising” common. In games that cost something, that’s actually taboo.
And on the other hand, they think that Bluehole should really deal with the lag issues instead of offering a paid tool – the Chinese feel “discriminated” and sold to a “third party”.
And since they don’t feel heard, they use the negative reviews on Steam to exert pressure on developer Bluehole.
Steam Reviews as a Weapon of the Players
The flood of negative reviews from China has, by the way, triggered a counter-reaction. One day after the flood of negative reviews began, the number of positive reviews on Steam also rose. Where previously about 1000 positive reviews came in a day, it’s now about twice as many.
Steam has been dealing with these so-called “review bombs” for quite some time. They are now issuing a warning and stating: “We are seeing a trend with a high volume of negative ratings, you can also hide this.”
In the past, players have repeatedly used negative Steam reviews to exert pressure on a developer. This has had quite an effect.
In FIFA 18 Ultimate Team, you can no longer play together. Co-op in online modes is no longer possible. Fans have now started a petition to demand the return of the guest feature.
In recent years, it was possible in the FUT mode to play the online modes with a guest. This means a friend would grab a second controller, log in as a guest, and then you would compete together against another random player.
This guest feature is missing in FUT 18. The reasons for this are clear: EA Sports wants to prevent unfair advantages that co-op players could have over solo players. In many cases, solo players had advantages because the AI could maintain order better than a second player running wild on the field; however, FUT 18 should ensure competitive balance for all players.
Therefore, you can no longer play FUT Online Draft and FUT Online Seasons together. Many fans are now disappointed – and angry!
Nigel emphasizes that many fans assumed when purchasing FIFA 18 that the guest feature would still be in FUT, as it had been carried over from previous years. After all, EA Sports did not mention in advance that it would be removed. There is a complaint about the lack of information. People feel cheated.
Whether and how EA Sports will respond to these complaints is currently unknown.
Although the guest feature has been removed, there are some other new things in FUT 18:
The upcoming space MMO Star Citizen aims to create a believable game world where NPCs appear to live in it.
The game’s developers place great importance on ensuring that the animations are appropriate. There will not be NPCs just standing around waiting for the player to interact with them in Star Citizen. NPCs will perform activities and are expected to interact with thousands of objects in the game world.
Scripting too complex – AI to the rescue
However, it would be an enormous effort to have to script all of this. For example, spaceships consist of different modules, and an NPC would need its own animation script for each module and its handling.
To minimize this effort, the team developed an AI. This AI determines which animation is triggered and played for an NPC when interacting with a specific object. For instance, an NPC might angrily take a glass of water and pour it over a laptop to destroy it.
Animations must feel natural
However, this also brings problems, as shown in a new video. For example, when multiple people are sitting at a table.
The game should not play the same animation for each person, as this would break the illusion of being in the game world. Therefore, a system is necessary that plays different animations that feel distinct. One leans coolly against the table, another slides on the bench, and the third rests their elbow on the edge of the table.
Coordinating all of this and integrating it into the game in a meaningful and visually appealing way is a significant effort. It is also one of the reasons why nothing new about the single-player mode Squadron 42 has been shown yet. Because a lot of work still needs to be done on the animation AI before Squadron 42 can be showcased in action.
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Star Citizen is slowly adopting the status of an early-access title, which is expected to be reached with the launch of Alpha 3.0. Alpha 3.0 is still planned for this fall.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Mobility in Destiny 2 makes you faster, but how fast exactly? And will you be faster in all areas? We show you what the mobility stat really does!
Bungie has always kept the exact numbers regarding weapon perks, stat values, or the exact effects of exotic armor a great secret. Luckily, there is a creative community that takes care of this and determines the exact numbers through elaborate tests.
Thus, the Redditor Crystic_Knight examined the exact effects on mobility and played around with different combinations.
To obtain truly reliable numbers, the Redditor equipped the exotic sniper rifle D.A.R.C.I. This shows the distance to enemies. To find the same conditions, he went solo into the Leviathan raid. Right in the starting area are enemies that do not move. In between is a lot of open space. The perfect testing ground.
With which values / weapons was tested?
Crystic_Knight tried various combinations to increase the different speeds. The following aids were used:
For the exact determination of the sprint speed, the Guardian assumes a base speed of about 8.3m per second. The various aids increase the sprint speed as follows:
Without specific bonuses, the Guardian sprinted at a speed of about 8.3m per second.
The weapon perk Lightweight, the Transversive Steps, the Focused Breathing, and the Eager Scout each increased this sprint speed by 5%.
With an equipped MIDA Multi-Tool, this speed increased by 8.5%.
A combination of weapons and armor showed that the sprint speed cannot be increased by more than 10%.
It should be noted that the mobility stat has no effect on sprint speed.
Unfortunately, the Guardian could not test all armors that grant a bonus to sprint speed – such as the Dune Marchers of the Titan or the STOMP-EE5 of the Hunter. However, he assumes that these also grant a 5% bonus.
Did you know that you walk slower when moving sideways than when running straight ahead? To investigate the effects of mobility on walking speed, Crystic_Knight tried the following combinations. Here are the speeds when walking straight:
Oops, unfortunately this table is no longer available.
It is clear that there is an upper limit of 7.8m per second. You will not be able to move faster without sprinting. The following graph illustrates this once again:
The walking speed with various bonuses
The effects on sideways movement
The Guardian also examined the effects on sideways movement:
Oops, unfortunately this table is no longer available.
You cannot move faster than 5.7m per second sideways. This can be easily achieved with a mobility value of 10. Alternatively, you can simply equip the MIDA combo and benefit from maximum speed with a mobility value of 6.
The listed bonuses also apply when you move sideways while aiming. However, you have to accept a flat penalty of 25% that extends across all possible variants. Here too, with a mobility value of 10, you get the maximum (4.3m per second).
Many players are not only looking forward to the online battles of the upcoming online shooter Star Wars: Battlefront 2, but also to the single-player campaign.
In this campaign, you take on the role of the imperial soldier Iden Versio, who belongs to a special unit and witnesses the destruction of the Death Star and thus the death of the Emperor during the Battle of Endor. However, the Emperor had made preparations.
A first sequence from the story!
So far, only a few snippets from scenes of the story campaign have been seen, which were shown in trailers. But now you can watch a complete sequence. This apparently takes place shortly after the defeat of the imperial fleet at Endor.
Iden Versio meets with her father, an imperial admiral, who has just received a high-profile visitor. This is an ambassador of the Emperor, who now conveys the last order in case of his demise.
This order involves the execution of a secret plan that is intended to bring an end to the Rebellion. Operation Cinder aims to destroy strategically important planets through weather manipulation. However, the ambassador is not particularly fond of Iden…
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The story sequence shows how much attention to detail the scenes are presented with. It really makes you eager to finally experience this story. But it will take some time. Star Wars Battlefront 2 will be released on November 17 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
The shooter Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex First Assault Online is being shut down. The last days have begun.
It simply wasn’t meant to be. The shooter with the cumbersome name Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex First Assault Online will be shut down on December 6, 2017. The further development of the game has been stopped.
In an official statement, the developers explain that “further work on the game does not help to make it what we all hoped it could be.”
Ghost in the Shell is one of the most successful anime ever and is still considered one of the best stories even more than 20 years after its release.
However, the shooter adaptation faced harsh criticism repeatedly. Many fans of the anime were disappointed, as for them, the game was just a “soulless shooter that was imposed with the Ghost in the Shell license.” There were truly noticeable parallels missing to the source material, and the anime fans felt disappointed and even saw the game as an insult to the IP.
There were also recurring complaints about the monetization model of the game from Nexon, which showed outside signs of Pay2Win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3nSyz20miA
However, loyal players can breathe a sigh of relief: Those who purchased in-game currency in recent months (after February 27) will receive compensation and can use it in other titles from Nexon.
Cortyn says: As harsh as it sounds – I am also glad that nothing came of this game. It did not meet the demands of an exciting shooter, nor could it fulfill the high expectations of anime fans. One can only hope that there will someday be a good GITS game. Probably only when VR games finally achieve the right breakthrough …
Did you play Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex First Assault Online? Did you like the game, or is it good that this game is leaving the market?
The space online game Dreadnought has been in early access on PC since May, and the open beta on PS4 has been running since August – but both are only available in English. Until now.
Dreadnought is an online game developed by the German studio Yager. One would actually expect that a German localization would be available from the start. But no such luck. Dreadnought was only released in English. The relatively small development team wanted to focus on the international market and provide a German translation later.
Highlight image Dreadnought
German texts and voice output
Now the time has come: all fans who have been waiting to play the space game because they may not be proficient in English can finally start. With an update, German texts and even a German voice output are now available. This should make it easier to dive into the tactical space battles.
Other new features included in the update
The update, however, brings additional new features. This includes the new map Amirani, which revolves around a research station near a supervolcano on the Jupiter moon Io. Also new are:
A new reward system for battles has been introduced. The maintenance system has been replaced by a new cooldown system. Players can actively influence this based on their in-game performance.
Improved matchmaking
The tutorial has been revised and allows newcomers to Dreadnought an easier entry into the game
With “Tunmen” and “Hanuman,” two new hero ships make their way into the game
The developers of the online game Dreadnought hope that German players are satisfied with the localization, which required a lot of work.
Want to know how the space battles in Dreadnought unfold? Then read our article on it, including a detailed video.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Ishtar Commander is now available for Destiny 2 . This app is considered the best companion app for item management.
In Destiny 1, it was used by countless Guardians: The Ishtar Commander. This term refers to a third-party companion app that allowed users to easily transfer items from one Guardian to another. And that on the second screen (iOS, Android). This item management was a complicated and time-consuming process within the game itself, but with the Ishtar Commander, it takes just a few seconds.
The Ishtar Commander was not the only third-party companion app during the Destiny 1 era, but according to many Guardians, it was the best. Our readers wrote that it was truly perfect, simple, clear, and practical. The high comfort of this app has been praised multiple times.
Now, about four weeks after the launch of Destiny 2, the developer of the Ishtar Commander speaks up. From now on, the app is compatible with Destiny 2. This has sparked jubilation in the reddit forum.
What can the Ishtar Commander do for Destiny 2?
The Ishtar Commander for Destiny 2 is a free app. Here are the links for your store:
According to the app developer, Bungie provides a fantastic API that allows your Guardians’ gear to be loaded and displayed extremely quickly. In addition, plenty of new features and versions for Windows 10 and Mac OS (planned for October) are on the horizon.
So far, the features of the Ishtar Commander for Destiny 2 are still manageable:
It is supposed to have a secure login.
The app shows you all your gear clearly across all characters and in the vault.
Item management is quick and straightforward. Tap on an item and choose where it should be moved (to another Guardian or into the vault)
If you press and hold on an item, all the item’s stats will be displayed. The power level (and the elemental damage of the weapon) is always visible.
By tapping on the character’s power level, you can automatically equip your best gear.
The app can be set to English.
The app is clear, easy to use, fast, and has a Destiny 2 design.
In the near future, the developer plans to add more features, such as Loadouts or Sounds.
In this video, you can get a picture of the app:
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In the reddit forum, many users write that Bungie should hire this guy, as the Ishtar Commander is an excellent app that makes item management much more comfortable than the official Destiny 2 companion app.
While the official app has significantly more features, such as clan management or an overview of live events, for those who are just looking for an app to quickly and easily manage items, the Ishtar Commander is an excellent choice.
Will you use the Ishtar Commander for Destiny 2? You can vote in this survey – you have one vote:
The developers of Overwatch sometimes find the community really frightening. That’s why there is so little interaction from them in the forums.
Anyone who develops a game must always be prepared for feedback from the players – and that is often not easy to bear. Especially with Overwatch, a hero shooter with several million players, there are thousands of threads, tweets, and Reddit posts about the game every day.
But the community is rarely satisfied with what they get from the developers. There are repeated accusations that the developers aren’t listening to the players. Fans critically question whether Overwatch simply lacks enough staff to manage the forums properly.
The Game Director Jeff Kaplan took the time to respond to a fan’s complaint and explained in a lengthy post how things currently stand with Overwatch.
At Overwatch, they always try to be open with the community and not “hide behind community managers” – the developers always respond themselves in the forums. However, only a few developers do this, as editing the forums takes valuable time and is often not worth the effort.
Developers’ words on the balance scale
This is because developers often have to think multiple times about what they say. If they reveal, for example, that they are working on “changes to Mercy,” the expectation immediately arises that something will change about Mercy very soon. If the developers then conclude that Mercy will remain untouched for a while longer or completely discard the point, it will be held against them even months later.
Kaplan also emphasized that the situation is fundamentally unfair. Because the developers do not hide behind a pseudonym, they are often personally attacked.
The majority of developers love programming games and pour their heart and soul into it. However, the entire “public speaking and posting” aspect is just creepy and intimidating. “It often feels like you can’t win anything by doing that.”
Developers should be fired
In the end, Kaplan explains how far it sometimes goes when developers muster the courage to address an issue in the forum.
“We can’t post in the forum without our bosses (and I mean that literally) receiving emails demanding that we be fired. That’s not exactly what I would call a safe environment for creative people who want to express their thoughts and feelings openly.”
Basically, we welcome feedback as long as it is open, direct, and constructive. Because feedback has made Overwatch as great as it is today. We are proud not to see ourselves “just” as developers, but as part of the community – at least as the 99% who can behave.
In The Division, the servers are down today, October 2nd. Massive is rolling out a change that affects loot in the Dark Zone.
If you took a bridge day off on this Monday to play a lot of The Division, you at least need to find another activity for the morning. Because in Tom Clancy’s The Division, there are several hours of maintenance work taking place.
This is stated to be the regular weekly maintenance, which has been moved from Thursday to Monday this time:
On October 2nd, at 9:30 AM, the servers will be taken down. The server downtime will last three hours, so you can play again around 12:30 PM.
Important: This is not the PTS, but the live servers.
During the maintenance, a change will be implemented.
The Dark Zone receives more Exotic loot
The change today affects the Dark Zone:
The loot table in the Dark Zone now includes all Exotics. In other words, starting today, you can find all exotic items in the Dark Zone.
Until now, you had to play different activities in the hunt for certain Exotics. Many exotic weapons were only available in raids or from open-world bosses. The fact that all Exotics are now available in the Dark Zone should make this PvE-PvP area more lucrative for more players.
Will the Dark Zone be full again in The Division 1.8?
This is a change that will be introduced even before update 1.8. 1.8 will then bring several more new features for the Dark Zone. The entire Rogue system will be revamped.
In the future, there will be no Friendly-Fire in the DZ,
you must announce your rogue intentions beforehand,
the manhunt no longer has a timer (instead, you must deactivate this status at a specified location)
and you earn “Manhunt caches” that can contain Exotics and Classified items.
In general, with update 1.8, it should be rewarding again to hunt other agents, but also to hunt rogues. And today’s change is the first step to make the Dark Zone more lucrative.
October boasts falling leaves and pumpkins for Halloween, as is its arrogant nature. Plus, there are 5 cool MMOs or online games. And we add one insider tip that we particularly recommend for October.
In October, many MMO fans look forward to Halloween events. But even without such frills, there’s a bunch of games that are particularly worth it in October.
We have compiled a colorful list that should please fans of sports, online role-playing games, mobile games, and shooters. With a bit of luck, there might even be a 6th game with a big October update coming. We present that on page 6.
Destiny 2–PC Release with 60 FPS and 4K
Destiny 2 has been available for consoles PS4 and Xbox One since September 6, 2017. PC players have until now looked on in vain. But not for long! On October 24, the long-awaited PC version of Bungie’s shooter will finally be released!
And it gets even better! The PC version looks even better thanks to over 60 FPS and 4K support than the already good-looking console version. Waiting a few weeks longer for the game is definitely worth it! Moreover, for some players, it plays more comfortably on PC due to the precise mouse and keyboard controls than with a gamepad.
Contents Still Unclear – No Cross-Save
At this point, there is still no concrete information about the contents of the PC version Destiny 2. Even upon inquiry, no one could tell us yet if the PC version will have the same contents as the console versions.
At least on the consoles, contents like the Leviathan Raid or the factions were added later, so players could take their time. It is quite possible that the same procedure will be followed for the PC version.
What definitely does not work is cross-save. You cannot transfer your progress from PlayStation 4 or Xbox One to PC. Instead, you have to start anew if you want to play Destiny 2 on the computer as well.
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Paladins celebrates Halloween in Patch OB 60 and brings spooky quests and skins to the hero shooter. Additionally, there are new achievements, adjustments to the user interface and champions, and a new map for the Assault mode. We have summarized the highlights of Paladins Patch OB60.
Paladins presents its spooky side in the new OB60 update, celebrating the Night of the Ghosts. The Halloween Chest is coming, and in it, you will find skins like the Pumpkin King or Witch Evie.
Besides the horror look, Paladins has even more new content to offer in this patch.
15 New Achievements in Patch OB60
Those of you hunting for achievements will get 15 new challenges. Achievements are rewarded with essences and titles.
A New Challenger: Ranked games unlocked
Bulletproof: Absorb more than 100,000 damage in a match
Field Surgeon: Heal more than 100,000 health in a match
World Citizen: Receive daily rewards for 7 consecutive days
The Winner Takes the Loot: Earn more than 500,000 gold over your gameplay history
Millionaire: Earn more than 1,000,000 gold over your gameplay history
Unstoppable: Achieve a 20-kill streak in a match
Major Investor: Spend over 100,000 credits on match items
Top Job: Become a master in ranked play
Witness: Your Paladins account is at least 1 year old
Diversity is the Spice of Life: At least 30 champions at level 10 or higher
Committed: At least 30 champions at level 15 or higher
Crazy: At least 30 champions at level 20 or higher
Paladins Halloween Chest Contains Spooky Skins
The spooky chest contains rare skin pieces and complete epic skin sets. The Halloween Chest costs 75 crystals.
The skin pieces shown in the upper image are:
Ghoulish-Goalie Jenos
Screech Androxus
Blightmark Grover
Lil’ Andy Ruckus
Parasite Seris
The Halloween Chest also contains:
Witch Evie
Pumpkin King
New Quest Skins for Mal’Damba & Strix
For Halloween, there are new quest skins in Paladins Update OB60. Unlock Wickerman Mal’Damba for 400 crystals to open up a quest, allowing you to win Raven Strix.
Wickerman Mal’Damba
Raven Strix
Additionally, there is a weapon skin available for direct purchase for Pip. You can get the Boo Blaster for 200 crystals. With this, your opponents transform into chickens with a ghost sheet when you activate Pip’s ultimate ability.
The VIP Shop Gets a New Mount in Patch OB60 – It’s a Nightmare
A new emote for Pip: Duck Dance (for 20,000 VIP points)
A new announcer pack: Bruce Buffer (for 15,000 VIP points)
A new mount: Nightmare (for 40,000 VIP points)
General Bug Fixes and Interface Adjustments in OB60
In Update OB60 there are minor bug fixes and adjustments. Here is an excerpt:
In the options, you can now set to display Cauterize on the team health bar
There is now a sound notification for receiving messages and invitations
More champions have received voice lines for special gameplay situations such as healing or damage
The sound of Raeve-Maeve can be muted (this will apply in the future to all champions who receive their own music)
In the match lobby, only the chat of your team will be displayed at the end of the match. Bug fix
The mounts now rotate correctly. Bug fix
Champions OB60: Rework for Pip & Androxus, Adjustments for Torvald & Talus
Many champs received minor adjustments and bug fixes. The biggest changes are to Pip, Androxus, Torvald, and the newest champ Talus.
Androxus’s ability “Disregard” receives a rework – Punching instead of shooting
Disregard New: Strike an enemy quickly, dealing 700 damage
Developer’s explanation: Androxus’s “Alt fire” should be completely overhauled. His new ability will be a close-range punch. This is effective for finishing off enemies.
Pip’s legendary card “Acrobat” receives a new name, improves attack speed
Acrobat is now called Medic: Improves ability Life Potion – If you hit an ally with the Life Potion, your attack speed is increased by 50% for 3 seconds
Developer’s explanation: Acrobat has seen little success. We believe that Medic can be a fantastic choice for players who want to heal and deal damage.
Torvald receives adjustments that slightly weaken him
Cancel can now receive CC reduction
Charge
Shield health per tick increased from 85 to 212.5
Duration reduced from 2.5s to 1s
Cooldown increased from 10s to 15s
Legendary Card Alternate Current: Duration reduced from 1.5s to 1s.
Developer’s explanation: We are happy with the gameplay that Torvald shows after his rework now. However, he is currently incredibly strong at all levels and has therefore been slightly adjusted.
True Strength: An extra battle cry was added to Talus’s ultimate ability.
Revitalization: Healing reduced from 200/400/600/800 to 100/200/300/400.
Developer’s explanation: We are generally happy with the way Talus is played. He has a learning curve and players still need to experiment with how to handle the new option that the Rune of Travel adds. However, Talus had too little damage for the role he needs to fulfill. Additionally, Revitalization was a necessary card, which is why we automatically added healing to Talus when activating Rune of Travel.
New Map for the Assault Mode: Foreman’s Rise
The Survival mode of Paladins receives a new map, Foreman’s Rise. The map resembles a medieval village where you can fight for life and death with the champions. Additionally, there will be no “Overtime” in Assault starting from OB60. Here you can get an impression of Foreman’s Rise in the video.
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You can expect Paladins OB60 on PC starting Wednesday, October 4th. The PS4 and Xbox One usually follow one week later. You can find the complete patch notes in our source reference.
Destiny 2 has a strange problem – the game lacks the hated element, the grind. Yet many wish for it to return.
“The grind” – it is such a nebulous thing. Casual players hate the grind. However, some MMO players love it.
What is the grind?
The grind – it is something you do to achieve a goal in a game. You work towards something. You have to earn something through tedious work.
You can grind EXP, you can grind items, you grind for a specific achievement or trophy. Players are in a treadmill and are pedaling hard to achieve something. They’re staying in the same place.
According to popular belief: The “grind”, the pedaling, in itself is not fun, but the fun comes only from achieving the goal. You’ve completed your 10,000 meters and are happy about it.
Others say: It is precisely the pedaling that is fun. You set a goal and work towards it. According to Camus: One must imagine Sisyphus as a happy man.
Story vs. Grind
In any case: In the grind, you play something you already know, which you must or want to repeat.
The “grind” stands in contrast to experiencing the story. In the grind, you stay in the same place, playing content that you already know. While the story is forward-looking and brings “new things”.
Grind is bad – Dumb filler material
The view of many game critics and single-player fans is: “The grind is bad.”
They want to experience the story of a game, always want to learn something new. From their perspective, “grind” is an unnecessary inflation of content, it is filler material.
The worst accusation: “The game does not respect the player’s time.”
A game should rather tell its story, compress the best content, and come to an end, then players can experience the next game anew. For these critics, grind is something you have to do to “keep up,” even though you don’t really want to. It is an unnecessary, somehow crazy compulsion.
Often, the example is given of an RPG where you “need to beat dumb mobs” to be strong enough for the final fight, which you actually want to experience.
These players want “more story” – they want to experience something new and reject the grind.
Grind is good – Spending time on something fun
The counterpoint is: Grind is something good. Especially in Destiny, the gunplay has always been praised. It’s fun to spend time in the world, shooting and blasting. But something should come out of it too.
The grind serves as an excuse to work toward “something”, no matter what. In Destiny 1, players enjoyed farming a specific weapon with various combinations, the legendary “God-Roll.”
Forpeople who have spent 1000 or more hours in Destiny, these goals are essentially just an excuse to play Destiny. In reality, it wasn’t even about getting item X, but they wanted to play Destiny with their friends – to spend time on something they enjoy doing.
What they were grinding for wasn’t so important – as long as they got closer to the goal with every hour.
These grind fans have nothing against more story. But the most important thing is: they have goals. They can spend time in the world of Destiny.
Destiny 1 was the grind
In Destiny 1, the game was essentially the grind. Destiny initially had no real story, then there were long content breaks. The gunplay was outstanding and Guardians desperately wanted to spend time in the game with their friends.
They set themselves obscure goals that only minimally strengthened their characters: They chased various high scores, collected more and more items (the vault must get bigger!), looked for a “Holy Grail”, the God-Roll, or beat Crota to death.
In Destiny, the desire for the grind even went so far that players created “leaderboards” that were not even intended in the game to compare: Who is best in PvP? Who is the strongest in Trials? Who throws grenades best? There was even a competition about who spends the most time in Destiny 1!
Bungie went along with the game and introduced quite silly PvE leaderboards in prison and published the “winners” for a period in their weekly letter to the community. In Destiny 2, Bungie wants nothing to do with all this.
Destiny 2 removed the grind – Big applause from the US press
Destiny 2 has now listened to the group of “grind opponents” and removed the grind from the game. There are no longer any goals. This was announced long in advance. Time and again it was said: We reward you. We are more generous. We respect your time.
For the decision to make Destiny 2 “grind-free,” there was heavy applause from the US gaming press. Polygon wrote “Destiny 2 is like Destiny, just without the bullshit” or “Destiny 2 players have nothing to do and that’s a good thing.”
In Destiny 1, Polygon had heavily criticized Destiny, giving the title a 6/10.
Destiny 2 now has the common problem of “new MMORPGs”
Objectively speaking, the situation of Destiny 2 is now not so bad. It’s nothing special. Destiny 2 is now in exactly the situation many new multiplayer titles start;
But then the playtime stinks. Because the endgame is still missing. There is nothing to do.
This is a normal situation. In Destiny 2, it stands out only because it was so different in Destiny 1.
Moreover, Destiny is not an MMORPG – it lacks the typical “side activities” that MMORPGs offer: There is no housing, no crafting, you cannot collect pets, and there is no fishing.
In front of the problem where there were no goals was “The Division.” Then Massive later patched in difficulty levels and new item grades. They changed the formula of the game. Even large MMORPGs had these problems and expanded their content over time, giving players something to do.
WoW expansions only start with the story and much comes later with subsequent patches.
Bungie seems to be following this plan with Destiny 2 and is releasing “more content gradually.” The problem so far is: they are not really bringing in new goals permanently.
Give us something to do – if necessary cosmetics
Therefore, it is Bungie’s task to change the philosophy behind Destiny 2 and give players new goals, to bring them in with DLCs or patches.
This can either be a story that really goes forward – but that usually doesn’t work, because it requires too much production effort and players consume the story faster than developers can deliver it.
Or you simply give players something to do – no matter what, as long as Guardians have an excuse to spend time in Destiny 2.
Ideally, things like:
Obscure achievements like in WoW that unlock special shaders or titles
The collection of “extra-rare weapons and armor” – even if they only have different skins or outfits that are different colors
or “horizontal” progression like with the God-Rolls in Destiny 1 – items gain more variations, and Guardians can adapt them to their needs
For Destiny 2, it was a big mistake to link the outfit, like with the shaders, to the loot boxes – they need to be tied to such grind goals. God-Rolls should come back too. The power increase from these items is only relatively low but noticeable. With the next DLC, power levels can still be raised, making the “grind achievements” optional.
Basically, Bungie doesn’t have to bring anything that makes frequent players “really stronger”. It’s enough if they give players something to pass the time. A significant power increase is not necessary.
There just needs to be a visible, reasonable goal to play the content.
Stop respecting our time
The reaction of the players should now show Bungie: It is nice that you respect our time, but please stop it. Give us something to do. No matter what.
One should listen closely in the next weeks and months whether Bungie recognizes the signs of the community and responds accordingly.
You can criticize Bungie a lot, but at least in Destiny 1 they drew the right conclusions from player feedback at the beginning of Destiny 1 and recalibrated things. Bungie needs to do that again for Destiny 2.
A sage of the MMORPG scene explains why it is clever when games kill their kings. As an example of what happens when you don’t, he mentions professional tennis or Amazon.
Raph Koster is regarded as one of the great MMORPG thinkers of the last 20 years. He is a designer of game systems and played a leading role in MMORPG milestones such as Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies.
Currently, Koster advises the indie MMORPG Crowfall and provides them with feedback on their game systems.
Koster explains on his personal blog why MMORPGs must kill their kings and why game systems should not focus on stability but on decay and change.
Professional tennis shows the problems with “The strong always get stronger”
In professional tennis today, the champions are getting older because they can buy advantages and optimal conditions with previous prize money. Young, financially weak professionals cannot afford these advantages, therefore do not win tournaments and remain financially weak.
Thus, statistics show that the top 100 tennis players in the world today are much older than before.
For example, the top 100 male tennis players in the world:
1990 averaged 24.6 years old – only 6% of the top players were over 30
2017 they are 28.6 years old – 40% of the top players are over 30
This means: The strongest climb the success ladder to the top and then throw the ladder away so that no one can follow.
Roger Federer, born 1981.
Because the prize money in tennis has consistently increased and older players have had time to gather winnings, the elite can buy huge advantages:
A star like Roger Federer can afford a huge team of coaches to optimally prepare for each match.
Novak Djokovic sleeps in a hypobaric chamber.
Andy Murray treats himself to a personal diet where he eats 50 different types of sushi daily.
All of this young professionals cannot afford. It becomes increasingly difficult for them to win tournaments and break into the top 100 in the world, according to Medium.
MMORPGs must regularly destroy their kings
According to Koster, MMORPG systems have the same problems: A system that rewards the strong leads to the strong getting stronger. This makes it more difficult for everyone else to catch up with them. The strong raise the “price” that newcomers must pay to enter the elite circle.
If an MMORPG system continues to give advantages to the best PvP players, they will only get stronger and it will become increasingly difficult to beat or catch up with them.
No one can catch up to the strongest. The typical player will sink below average, driven up by the super-strong. This leads to stagnation and regression. At the top, a cartel emerges, perhaps even a monopoly. The system dies.
This applies not only to tennis stars or PvP systems in MMORPGs. According to Koster, it applies also to Amazon or supermarkets. It applies to Facebook or MMORPGs themselves: The largest MMORPGs have the most revenue and can therefore grow the strongest and expand their dominance.
If the strong get stronger, they eliminate the competition and the system dies.
Break it, or everything will break
According to Koster, every system perishes that does not regularly destroy its kings.
Koster says: You need a certain amount of inequality; this leads to teams and cities, to competition and cohesion. But too much inequality leads to stagnation and centralism, to the loss of freedom.
A game designer must constantly learn: Build your systems so they ferment and bubble; do not rely on stability and the inevitable.
The title image is “The Death of Caesar” by Carl Theodor von Piloty (1865).
Koster’s ideas from the article can be found in the MMORPG Crowfall. Each round is meant to start anew – the system is intended to guarantee a constant fresh start. Because “the hunger” erases the game worlds after a certain time. Decay plays a constant role:
In FIFA 18 you can edit and change your formation. Which lineup is suitable for your team? Is there the best formation? We provide some tips.
Before each match in FIFA 18, you have the opportunity to change your team’s lineup. Especially in FUT 18 and the “Pro Clubs” mode, it is important to find a suitable formation that you are comfortable with.
Below we provide you with several tips and suggestions on what to consider when choosing your team’s lineup. We focus on the “Ultimate Team” mode in FIFA 18.
This is how you choose the right lineup for your Ultimate Team
To build a team in FUT 18, it is theoretically advantageous if you decide on a formation in advance. Only then can you specifically buy players who fit this formation. If you change the lineup afterwards, your chemistry will suffer. You can find out how chemistry is calculated in FIFA 18 here.
To change your team’s formation, go to “Active Team” and then press the formation button displayed at the top left of the screen. On PS4, it is the L2 button:
What should I consider when choosing a formation?
Think about the following:
What is my playing style? Take a look at yourself when playing and think about how you play in FIFA 18. Do you often attack from the wings? Do you prefer dominant ball possession? Do you rely more on counterattacks?
Which formation appeals to me? Before you commit directly to a formation for your Ultimate Team, you should first experiment a bit with different formations. Do you manage well with a three-defender setup? How many strikers do you want to play with? You will realize after a few games whether some formations appeal to you or not. There will be formations that make you feel more confident than others.
Which players do I want to play with? If you have favorite players that must be in your Ultimate Team, you can already choose a formation that fits these players. If you want wingers in your team, you need a lineup that can showcase these players.
In FIFA 18 there are a total of 25 selectable formations:
These are the best lineups in FIFA 18 – sorted by playing style
To guide your formation choice, we now give you suggestions on which lineup you can choose for your playing style. These have proven themselves in the past in FIFA.
Lineups for an offensive game in FIFA 18
The following formations are very offensively oriented. However, it can be extremely dangerous at the back, as most of them rely on a three-defender lineup:
3-4-2-1
3-4-1-2
3-4-3
3-5-2
4-3-3 (4)
Lineups for a defensive game in FIFA 18
With these formations, you will build a solid defense:
5-3-2
5-2-1-2
5-2-2-1
4-3-3 (3)
4-2-3-1
Lineups for a counter game in FIFA 18
If you prefer to play on the counter, you should consider the following formations:
5-2-1-2
5-2-2-1
4-3-3 (2)
4-4-2 (2)
4-2-3-1 (2)
Lineups for ball possession in FIFA 18
FIFA is played differently by each player. If passing and high ball possession are a priority for you, check out these formations:
4-5-1
4-5-1 (2)
4-1-2-1-2 (2)
4-2-2-2
4-3-3 (5)
Lineups for wing play in FIFA 18
If you have fast dribblers on your team who come down the flanks and should create dangerous crosses? Then these are the formations for you:
3-4-3
4-4-2
4-4-2 (2)
4-3-3
3-4-1-2
Ttime says:
Keep in mind that you can influence how players behave on the field not only by choosing the formation. During the match, it is possible to use the arrow keys to select quick tactics, such as counter-attacks or high pressure, or to adjust the positioning to be more offensive or defensive. This way, you can respond to your opponent’s playing style without having to overhaul the entire lineup in the menu.
I personally prefer the offensive variant of the 4-3-3. An important reason for me: I really enjoy playing with a strong CAM, who ideally takes the game into his own hands as a passing option and “strategist”. 4-1-2-1-2 is also well suited for that. Which formation I will settle on in FIFA 18, I can only decide in the coming days or weeks.
We can battle the raid boss Suicune in October in Pokémon GO. With these tips, you can defeat the boss and get the chance to catch the legendary beast.
Suicune is part of the trio of legendary beasts that are currently traveling the world in Pokémon GO. This means that we can only find each of them in specific areas for one month. In October, Suicune will be available as a raid boss in Europe and Africa. You can learn how to effectively defeat the water Pokémon in our guide.
Suicune Max-CP (CP) and Weaknesses
In the coming days, you will encounter Suicune as a legendary raid boss here in Europe. As a boss, the monster has a maximum of 34471 CP (CP) and has a maximum of 1613 CP after capture (Level 20, perfect IV).
Source: Bulbapedia
About 6-7 trainers are recommended for the battle against Suicune. However, you might also be able to defeat it with fewer trainers.
Suicune Raid-Counter
In the coming days, we can expand the trio of legendary beasts in our PokéDex. The water part is now available. To catch Suicune, you have until the end of October, when the next rotation of legendary monsters occurs.
The water Pokémon Suicune is vulnerable to Electric or Grass-type attacks. For the battle against the water Pokémon, we recommend Zapdos, Exeggutor, or Venusaur. In the following overview, you will see some of the best counters against Suicune:
Source: PokémonGOHub
Raikou with a moveset of Thunder Shock and Spark or Thunderbolt
Zapdos with a moveset of Charge Beam and Thunderbolt
Exeggutor with a moveset of Confusion and Solar Beam
Dragonite with a moveset of Dragon Tail and Outrage
Venusaur with a moveset of Razor Leaf and Solar Beam
Gengar with a moveset of Razor Leaf and Solar Beam
Jolteon with a moveset of Thunder Shock and Thunderbolt
Catching Suicune – Low Catch Chance, Use Curveballs!
The base catch chance for Suicune is very low. We recommend using berries and throwing curveballs if you want to catch the legendary Pokémon. You will find an overview of the catch rates in the following table. The bonuses for the bronze, silver, and gold medals still need to be added.
Source PokémonGOHub
Razz Berries and Golden Razz Berries are therefore a great help when catching the beast.
