Golden Nanab Berries and Golden Pinap Berries might soon become an important part of Pokémon GO. Clues were found during data mining.
Since the latest arena update in Pokémon GO, trainers can use golden Razz Berries in the game and feed them to gym defenders or wild Pokémon. The difference from the regular Razz Berry is that the golden version has a stronger effect.
Now, golden Nanab Berries and Golden Pinap Berries have also been found in the code. This means the candies from Pokémon catches could be quadrupled!
Quadruple Candies from Golden Berries? A Dream for Trainers
During the last data mining for Pokémon GO version 0.67.1, a special change seems to have been overlooked. As PokémonGOHub reports, there are two new golden berries in the game’s code. There are currently no graphics for these berries that could provide insight into this possible change.
These new golden berries can only be released through a new update. It is not possible for Niantic to simply release them, as they are not yet in the game’s APK.
The Golden Nanab Berry is called ITEM_GOLDEN_NANAB_BERRY in the code and has the ID 707
The Golden Pinap Berry is called ITEM_GOLDEN_PINAP_BERRY in the code and has the ID 708
Effects of the Golden Berries in the Game
If these golden berries are implemented in the game, it would be a significant change for Pokémon GO. The recently introduced Golden Razz Berry has an enhanced effect compared to the regular variant.
A Golden Pinap Berry could completely change the way trainers play. Currently, the Pinap Berry provides double candies from a wild Pokémon that you catch. A golden variant could amplify the effect and therefore quadruple the candies.
If this change is adopted “as is“, you can look forward to many candies and collect them significantly faster. Here are the potential effects:
A Dratini gives 3 candies when caught normally.
With a Pinap Berry, there are 6 candies.
With a Golden Pinap Berry, that would be 12 candies.
A Dragonair gives 5 candies when caught normally.
With a Pinap Berry, there are 10.
With a Golden Pinap Berry, that would be 20.
A Dragonite normally gives 10 candies.
With a Pinap Berry, that would be 20.
With a Golden Pinap Berry, that would already be 40 candies.
It is also assumed that both new golden berries can fully restore motivation for gym defenders.
Keep in mind that these are results of data mining and not an official announcement. As soon as there are further news on this topic, we will report on it.
Tibia is an old school MMO that has existed for 20 years. A mysterious door has existed since 2005 that can only be opened at level 999. 12 years later, the door is open and the secret is revealed.
Tibia, an old school MMORPG by the German developer CipSoft, has been around since 1997 and still has a small but loyal player base. The biggest secret of the game is a door that apparently can only be opened at level 999. The aforementioned door has been in the game since 2005. After 12 years, its secret has finally been revealed.
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Tibia – “I will open the door, but only if you pay for my vacation!”
The mysterious door was already opened in August 2016. The responsible player Kharsek remained silent about his experiences behind the door and revealed it to no one. However, there have been successors now.
The Polish player and streamer Dev onica reached level 999 and offered to pass through the portal and stream the area behind it. But only if you donate 500 US dollars for his next vacation!
In doing so, the player made no friends. While someone donated a dollar, the requested amount did not come together.
In the end, however, Dev onica opened the portal and showed his viewers what lies behind it: a teleporter to a tropical island, where you could buy a few nice but not outstanding items. Among them a golden cup with the inscription “Congratulations on reaching level 999.”
Tibia – The mysterious door was actually just a gag by the developers
For many players, the secret behind the door was a huge disappointment, and many wish they had never learned it. The developers, on the other hand, thought of the door back in 2005 as a nice joke, as they never expected someone would ever reach that level.
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After all, you lose permanent experience points in Tibia when you die, and you are reset by hours or even days in progress. And that the game is still actively played in 2017 is something the developers probably never dreamed of.
What do you think? Should the door have remained closed? Or is it good that we now know and are not working towards something that does not yield much? Let us know in the comments!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Tomorrow, on June 30th, the public test servers for The Division will start on PC. Agents on PS4 and Xbox One need to note several things.
The State of the Game just aired on June 29th. It contained a lot of information about the near future of The Division.
PTS for Update 1.7
As announced weeks and months ago, the public test servers for Update 1.7 are coming to all platforms. These test servers are designed to test the upcoming content and address any bugs and balance issues early on.
However, what was not known until now: On PS4 and Xbox One, the PTS will come with significant limitations. First, the information regarding the PC-PTS:
Tomorrow, on June 30th at 10 AM, the PTS will start on PC. All PC players who own The Division can participate.
Information about the PTS on the consoles PS4 and Xbox One:
The start of the PTS for PS4 and Xbox One is not yet known. It will occur “soon”. At the earliest next week.
This delay is due to technical reasons. Since the consoles are not as flexible, they want to hold the first PTS phase only on PC. The most serious problems should be discovered and fixed, so that the consoles receive the PTS in a better condition. All “broken” bugs will be removed.
Additionally: The number of players on consoles is limited. The PS4-PTS will allow 10,000 players and the Xbox-PTS will also allow 10,000 players. Therefore, not all players can participate in the PTS.
Massive will send you invitations to the PTS via email. Only if you receive an email can you enter the PTS on consoles. The invitation will be sent to the email address associated with your Uplay account.
To receive an email, you must have played The Division within the last month and have at least one agent at Level 30. The longer your gameplay time in total, the higher the chance that you will be selected.
The emails will be sent out next week. There will be a preload (only for console).
Massive emphasizes that the goal of the PTS is to test the content.
The Content on the PTS
In the first PTS phase, which will be available only on PC, only the Commendations will be tested. The global events and the Classified Gear will go live on the PTS later. Information on this can be found in the provided links. Not all objectives or rewards related to the Commendations will be available on the PTS that will come with Update 1.7.
Further Information:
Through the Commendations, you can earn “patches” as new cosmetic items. However, with Update 1.7, more cosmetic items will be introduced: masks for the face. These will not be available on the PTS yet.
With Update 1.7, a new room will be installed in the Terminal – a bathroom! There you will be able to customize your agent’s appearance. A new hairstyle, new tattoos, new glasses – you cannot change the gender.
The Update 1.6.2 was so large because, in addition to the bug fix, adjustments were made to the map. Therefore, the entire map had to be redownloaded.
What do you think of these announcements?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In FIFA 18, you get several days of early access with EA Access and Origin Access. This way, you secure an advantage and play FIFA 18 before the release.
FIFA 18 is just around the corner, and if you are like countless other fans, you want to get your hands on this game as soon as possible. We show you what options you have!
Play FIFA 18 before the release
The global release of FIFA 18 is on September 29, 2017. The game will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, as well as in a scaled-down version on PS3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Switch. However, you can play FIFA 18 in advance.
EA Access for Xbox One
EA Access is an online service for Xbox One, where you get unlimited access to several EA games and early trials on upcoming games for 4 euros per month. There will also be an early trial for FIFA 18.
You can already play the full version of FIFA 18 starting on September 21 without having to purchase the game. Even the online modes and FUT 18 are available. However, there is a catch: the playing time is limited. You can only play this trial for 10 hours.
If you decide to purchase FIFA 18, all your progress will carry over to the full version. With EA Access, you can secure an advantage.
What EA Access is for Xbox One, Origin Access is for PC. This service also costs 4 euros per month and grants you an early trial without having to purchase the game. The early access starts on September 21, and you have 10 hours of playtime. Any progress will carry over to the full version if you buy it.
Two weeks before the official release of FIFA 18, a free demo version will be available to all players (PS4, Xbox One, PC, possibly also PS3, Xbox 360). We assume that this will be available for download on September 12.
The demo version includes only a few contents from the main game, such as the kickoff mode and a short excerpt from the story mode. It mainly serves to give you an impression of the gameplay. You can play the demo without time restrictions, but no progress will be carried over to the main game.
All previous info about the FIFA 18 demo has been compiled here for you.
Ronaldo and ICON Edition for Early Access
If you want to play before September 29, there is the option to pre-order the Ronaldo Edition or the ICON Edition. These are more expensive than the standard edition, but grant you certain pre-order bonuses in addition to 3 days of early access. This means you can start FIFA 18 on September 26.
Note: There are still several options to play FIFA 18 in advance. For example, it should be playable at Gamescom 2017. Additionally, there will be a closed beta in the summer, which will only be accessible to invited “FIFA 17” players from North America and the UK. Furthermore, special play events in the weeks leading up to the release are conceivable.
The colorful MOBA Gigantic is launching soon, and there are still Founder Packs available that will unlock all current and a few future heroes for you. If you don’t want to spend money on it, you can win 5 founder packs for all platforms (PC, Windows 10, and Xbox One) here.
Gigantic is a colorful MOBA game, where you compete as a quirky hero with four other allies against an equally sized opponent team. The goal is not a soulless, hostile building, but a giant creature that actively participates in the fight!
For this multiplayer fun, we are giving away 5 founder packs that offer you various advantages.
Gigantic: 5 founder packs worth 156 euros!
The founder packs contain all 18 heroes, two new heroes that are yet to come, as well as the skins “Sunbird” (Tytos) and “A Cult of Power” (Charnok). Additionally, there are 2 founder status symbols. The packs are valid for all platforms supported by Gigantic: PC via Arc, Windows 10, and Xbox One. You will learn how to redeem them below.
To win a founder pack, you simply need to answer the question about your favorite hero in the form below. Those who perform multiple actions increase their chances. However, only one founder pack can be won per participant. Winners will be randomly selected after the submission deadline, and the packs will be sent via the provided email. Submission deadline is July 7, 2017, at 12 PM.
To redeem the code for the founder pack, you just need to download Perfect World’s platform Arc and activate the code there. If you are playing Gigantic on Xbox One or Windows 10, you need to copy the code to Arc.
https://youtu.be/IsDmD-yUVkw
How it works can be seen in a video that we have embedded here for you. Very important: If you have a code, you should redeem it as soon as possible, as it is only valid until July 19.
Roadhog’s win rate is plummeting. He is losing more games in Overwatch than he is winning. We have the exact numbers.
Patch 1.12 for Overwatch has been on the live servers for a while now, and the data experts are diligently evaluating the changes to the heroes. Roadhog seems to have been hit hard, as his win rate has dropped significantly.
We recall: the patch drastically changed Roadhog’s weapon. It now deals 33% less damage, fires faster, and has one additional shot per magazine. In plain terms, this means that the “hook-shot-blow” combo is no longer lethal against many opposing heroes.
But what do the changes mean in concrete numbers?
Roadhog now only wins 46% of games
The site Omnicmeta evaluates data from a variety of players and checks how the success and failure of heroes have developed in different categories of the game. According to the latest report, things look pretty grim for the chunky Roadhog.
It states that Roadhog’s win rate has plummeted. While the loss among bronze players is “only” 4%, things look worse at the Grandmaster rank. Almost 8% fewer games are now won with Roadhog in the match.
Thus, according to Omnicmeta, Roadhog’s overall win rate has dropped to 46%. McCree and Reaper are benefiting from their changes – as they should.
At the same time, Roadhog has become significantly less popular among players. In Grandmaster, he is selected 10% less often, and in all other ranks, he is encountered 15% less frequently.
Cortyn states: One can certainly justify this decline by saying that the patch is “still not that old,” but such a drastic drop in win rate does indicate that Blizzard has gone a bit overboard. At least it looks like the man with the hook might soon get a small buff again. However, an official statement from Blizzard is still missing.
What do you think of this data? Does Roadhog need a buff again? Or should everyone just “stop whining” and “get better with him”?
The best Necromancer build for Season 11 in Diablo 3 brings you forward in the leaderboard of Greater Rifts. The Inarius set with Bone Armor is used.
Recently, the Necromancer is playable in Diablo 3 on the live servers and can already clear Greater Nephalem Rifts at level 100. You have four different Necromancer sets to choose from, with which you can climb to the top of the leaderboard. Currently, the Inarius set is best suited for this, providing a strong damage boost with its 6-piece bonus.
We will explain how to play the Inarius set, which gems and skills you need, which properties are activated in Kanai’s Cube, and why an inconspicuous legendary gem is now becoming very important in this guide.
Necromancer Build Season 11 – Best Set – Inarius
In this guide, we deal with the Inarius set of the Necromancer in Diablo 3. This set is currently considered “the best” and is used by top players on the leaderboard for Greater Nephalem Rifts. You play this equipment together with the Bone Armor skill of the Necromancer, which is significantly buffed by other items and the set bonus. We also use a legendary gem that has rarely been used in the meta builds of Diablo 3.
Diablo 3 Necromancer Guide Season 11 – How to play the Inarius Set “Bone Storm”?
Now we have presented the gear and skills for the best Necromancer build in Diablo 3. Next, it’s about how you utilize the items and how to apply the skills effectively.
The highlight of this set is certainly the Inarius set with its 2-piece, 4-piece, and 6-piece bonuses.
These increase the damage of Bone Armor,
give Bone Armor a bonus of 2% damage reduction per enemy hit
and let Bone Armor additionally create a powerful whirlwind through which hit enemies receive more damage from the Necromancer.
The 6-piece bonus of the Inarius set defines the gameplay of this build. Usually, Bone Armor creates a shield around your body. With the bonus, this armor also transforms into a whirlwind that circles around you and deals damage to enemies. Furthermore, it is stated in the tooltip that enemies suffer 2750% more damage from the Necromancer when hit by the whirlwind.
“More damage” refers here to damage from all sources of the Necromancer – not just specific skills. This also underpins the choice of legendary gems, which we will explain to you in more detail later.
Distributing Damage – How to Get Through the Rifts
As the main skill, we have Death Scythe, which enhances the 6-piece bonus of the set.
The Bone Armor stuns hit enemies and deals damage to them. Furthermore, it applies the strong buff of the 6-piece bonus to enemies.
The Corpse Lance now deals extremely high damage through the 6-piece bonus. The skill uses a nearby corpse as the source for the lance. With the Grasp of the Dead rune, we also get a damage buff.
The ability “Land of the Dead” has a high cooldown (2 minutes), but allows us to cast skills like Corpse Lance for free. While Land of the Dead is active, you can spam Corpse Lance! In difficult battles, this immense damage will help you quickly wipe out enemies. Additionally, with the “Frozen Land” rune, you cast a strong CC spell.
Altern allows you to permanently maintain the buff from Dayntee’s Binding. This toughness is important for melee fights.
Bloody Trails are used to move faster through the rifts. However, this rune provides us with additional armor, so this spell should be used to buff your toughness in tough fights.
Passive Skills:
The Overwhelming Essence passive increases maximum essence by 40. This synergizes with our weapon Reilena’s Shadowhook, which increases damage based on maximum essence.
Blood is Power grants cooldown reduction when we receive a lot of damage. This allows the damage boost with Land of the Dead to be used more often.
Lone Wolf doubles armor and grants us important toughness.
Growing Corruption increases your damage for every enemy afflicted by a curse. Combined with “Altern,” we can significantly increase our damage.
The Damage is in the Detail
At first glance, we have a build that looks “pretty okay”. A lot of toughness helps us in Greater Nephalem Rifts. Corpse Lance without the support of Land of the Dead is very slow and not a reliable source of damage. And that is where the Legendary Gems come into play, which change a lot.
Bane of the Trapped has become a part of many meta builds and is one of the best legendary gems in Diablo 3. The stone harmonizes well with the ring Krysbins Sentence and gives us a strong damage buff.
Pain Enhanceris further enhanced in our build by the 6-piece bonus of the Inarius set, making this gem significantly stronger and an important part of the build.
Mirinae, Teardrop of the Starweaveris a very special part of this build. The 15% chance to do high damage on a hit fits our skills since we utilize our Death Scythe for this effect. This hits many enemies simultaneously, increasing the chance of a smash significantly. The damage of the gem is also amplified by the 6-piece bonus of the Inarius set. This makes this gem particularly strong in this build.
In combination with the Pain Enhancer, which increases our attack speed, the teardrop is even more effective.
Bone Armor can trigger the effect of Mirinae when enemies are hit.
Toughness – Toughness is Important in this Melee Build for the Necromancer
With this build, we belong to the melee Necromancers and stand in the midst of enemy crowds. Therefore, toughness is important.
We gain that, for example, by Dayntee’s Binding, which gives us damage reduction when an enemy is afflicted by Altern. To keep this buff active at all times, you should use “Altern” regularly.
Aquila Cuirassin Kanai’s Cube ensures further toughness, as we expend very few resources in this build and can keep the effect active almost all the time.
With the toughness buffs and the harmony between equipment, skills, and gems, you should advance well in Greater Nephalem Rifts. If you have any suggestions to improve this build, let us know in the comments.
As an alternative to the Inarius build, we have a blood pet build for the Necro. If you like pets, you should check this out:
This news, which is actually positive since you can play Destiny 2 earlier, doesn’t sit well with some players. The reason: Since the reveal at the end of March, it was assumed that Destiny 2 would start on September 8. And since many fans want to dive deeply into the new adventure without being distracted by annoying trivialities like work or everyday life, they already requested vacation for the weeks following September 8.
This doesn’t seem to be a rarity to take vacation for releases: I have read that in various Destiny forums, and a reader has also written that in the comments under our articles, and even in my clan, some hardcore Guardians immediately entered their vacation.
Survey: Are you planning vacation for the release of Destiny 2?
That Destiny 2 is now coming out two days earlier doesn’t fit into the vacation plans of these Guardians at all. Because two days can be a lot of time if you have to sit in the office or toil on the construction site while others are having fun in the Destiny universe. But maybe the vacation can still be postponed by two days…
We are now very interested: Are you one of the Guardians for whom it is a matter of course to take vacation for the release of Destiny 2? Or do you approach it very calmly and continue as usual since gaming doesn’t hold such a high place for you? Let us know in the survey!
Ttime says: For me as an editor at Mein-MMO, the release of such a large and important game for our site will be an exciting and busy time. In the first weeks after the release, I will likely only report on Destiny 2 during the day and play it in the evenings and at night. Because there will certainly be a lot of new stuff in the MMO shooter that Guardians are burning to know: How do I get this Exotic, what function does this item have, how does this mechanic work? We also expect some bugs and issues that the developers will need to fix in a timely manner. Schuhmann and I will certainly have a lot to do.
If you take vacation – let us know in the comments how many weeks!
The upcoming online shooter Star Wars Battlefront 2 will offer microtransactions, which have now been presented in a bit more detail. Additionally, the first alpha keys are currently being sent out to testers.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 will not have a season pass, and the DLCs as well as the new characters will be offered for free. For this, the developers are introducing microtransactions.
This works as follows: You earn credits that you can use to open crates. In these crates are Star Cards and crafting materials. If you want to get credits faster, you can also buy them with real money.
Star Wars fans are to play together
The reason for this change is that the developers noticed with Battlefront 1 how difficult it is to let players play together when only some own the DLCs. By releasing these for free, it ensures that all players are always on the same level. To compensate for the revenue lost from the sale of DLCs, the above-mentioned microtransactions are being introduced. The first DLC with the theme “The Last Jedi” will be released in December, coinciding with the theatrical release of Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi.
The first alpha keys have been sent out
Additionally, some fans of the online shooter are reporting via the NeoGAF forum that they have received emails from Dice containing alpha keys for Star Wars Battlefront 2. An alpha phase for the game has not yet been officially announced. However, it cannot be too far away if the keys are already being sent out now.
Gigantic (PC, Xbox One) is currently in open beta phase on the Arc platform, known from games like Neverwinter, along with Xbox One and Windows 10. Our guest author Dennis has taken a trip into the colorful world of Gigantic and has written a few lines about the game and its features.
In Gigantic, you enter a colorful world where gigantic creatures fiercely battle for victory. My hero, a robot armed with thick rocket launchers and a minigun, races through the wilderness of the game to take down some enemies. Just as I capture a point, our Guardian is attacked, and it’s time to defend.
In a flurry, I rush to our spawn point and unleash fire on the enemy minions until the attack on our giant creature is repelled. This was roughly how I experienced the first minutes in Gigantic, and I must say that this game stands out from other genre representatives like Paladins or Overwatch and fascinates with its unique elements.
However, in recent years, several games have been announced that were supposed to revolutionize the market as a mix of shooter and MOBA but have had little success. As a hardcore Overwatch player and MOBA fan, I checked out Gigantic’s open beta for a test and initially needed to find my way around. Because Gigantic does a lot of things differently than other genre representatives, which led to some initial confusion for me.
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My experiences in Gigantic are also available as a video that you can watch here.
The First Step Is Hard
Before it starts, the game needs to be downloaded first. There are now several options for that. The distribution platform Arc by Perfect World now offers the game for all Windows users, as previously the hero shooter was only available for Windows 10 and Xbox One owners. If you have played Gigantic before, you can start an account transfer so you don’t have to start all over again. The download is about 6 gigabytes.
Once you’re done, you can get started. Before facing real players, there’s a small tutorial that consists of four sections and guides you through the world. At the beginning, three heroes with different play styles are available to you.
Gigantic shows you how everything works with small animated and voiced cutscenes. Even though everything is well explained, it was personally too much for me at once, so by the end of the training, I still didn’t quite know what was going on.
After the tutorial, I would recommend trying a few games against the AI to refresh your understanding of the game. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the surroundings, you can jump into real player battles.
Something for Everyone
Once you start a new match, you have the option to choose from currently 18 different heroes, each with different skills and roles. There are classic tanks that can take a lot of damage, assassins that attack you from behind and deal huge burst damage, or shooters who are heavy on ammunition.
What I find cool: Every hero can sprint with the Shift key and escape tricky situations. Once you eliminate enemies or capture points, Gigantic rewards you with experience points that you can spend on various upgrades. With each character, you continue to enhance your abilities and can choose between two options. Of course, there is also an ultimate alongside the regular skills, which can completely turn the game around at well-timed moments.
The robot “HK-206” plays like a classic shooter and pulverizes his enemies with a large railgun, a mortar, and rockets. By sprinting, he moves quite quickly and can escape from tricky situations. Besides his normal arsenal, he can transform into a small fortress through the skill “Fortifying” – comparable to the hero “Bastion” from Overwatch.
The intelligent robot has even more to offer. With his ultimate, he unleashes a swarm of rockets that can do damage to enemies when used at the right moment.
Gigantic Test – A Touch of MOBA
The maps and deployment areas consist of different points that you can capture and populate with a small selection of creatures that will then defend the areas. The goal is to obtain power by capturing points and eliminating enemies. Once you’ve collected 100 power, your Guardian attacks the enemy, and for a short time, the opposing Guardian is vulnerable.
Each of these large beasts has up to three lives, so ideally, there would be up to three successful attacks. Here, the game does many things differently than conventional MOBAs. It’s not just about simply beating down enemies, but the captured points and the collected power also influence the course of the game.
Gigantic plays fast and comfortably; however, it leans more towards MOBAs than Overwatch, as you need a bit of patience to eliminate an enemy hero. The focus here is on gathering power to deal damage to the guardians and thus decide the match in your favor. Since the 2.0 update for the open beta, PC players can also play cross-play with Xbox One gamers. Since the game was also designed for consoles, there’s also the option of playing via controller on your PC.
Free2Play, But Right!
Gigantic is currently in the open beta phase and is free to play for everyone. Since it is based on a Free2Play model, there will also be microtransactions here. In the game, there are two different currencies: earned crowns and jewels that can be purchased with real money.
For some items in the shop, you can pay with crowns and jewels. I believe that you cannot buy any advantages in the gameplay with real money. Only boosters that allow you to level up faster and cosmetic items can be purchased with jewels.
There is also the opportunity until July 20 to purchase a so-called founder pack that grants you various bonuses. However, you should first check out some gameplay or at least spend some time in the game to avoid buying the wrong thing and being disappointed.
Beautiful Graphics, But Sometimes Too Much of a Good Thing
First of all, it must be said that the graphics stand out from other representatives with its extreme comic style and simply look fantastic. Sometimes, however, the action can become a bit overloaded due to abilities and chaos, which slightly harms the overview. Some damage values against hit enemies sometimes get lost in all the chaos.
Although an event bar appears that displays important information, it is not as prominent as, for example, in Paladins or Overwatch. When I set the graphics settings to low, oddly all colors disappear for me, and the heroes consist solely of gray and blue tones. However, it must be said that the system requirements are not too high and the game should run on many PCs.
Conclusion Gigantic in Review
Even with some initial difficulties, Gigantic is fun and especially stands out from other genre representatives due to its dynamics, such as capturing different points. Gigantic is a game that gains enjoyment from longer play sessions. You first have to navigate through a bit, but once you get the hang of it, nothing stands in the way of enjoyment.
In addition, the game is Free2Play and with its small download size of only 6 gigabytes invites many players to play together. Perhaps a bit should be adjusted in the effects so they don’t come off as overloaded. If you ever feel like playing something other than Overwatch or Paladins or are looking for something new and refreshing, you can sign up for the open beta phase and dive into the world of Gigantic. By the way, the release version is set to arrive on July 20, 2017.
The heart of the PvP MMORPG Crowfall is the campaign. This has not been playable yet, but an initial test is on the way.
In Crowfall, you repeatedly participate in what are called “campaigns“. You travel from your Eternal Kingdom as a Crow Soul to one of the Dying Worlds, create a hero there and start conquering the world with this hero to mine as many resources and earn as many points as possible before the Hunger consumes this world. Afterward, you travel back to the Eternal Kingdom, expand it with your collected achievements, and prepare for the next campaign.
Test the campaign
How this will play out is something the upcoming first campaign test is meant to show. The developers emphasize that this is only a test and not the first “real” campaign. All systems are to be thoroughly tested to determine whether everything works as it should. When you arrive in the campaign world, you initially choose one of the three factions Order, Balance, and Chaos, and you are bound to that choice. Afterward, you create your hero in the temple.
There is much to do
Now you begin to explore the world, fight against monsters (and other players), and mine resources. With these, you expand ruins of fortresses that you find in the landscape. You must defend these fortresses against other players and also venture out to conquer the enemy castles. Each faction has specific victory conditions. Chaos wins by finishing the game with as many fortresses as possible. The same applies to Order. Balance claims victory by ensuring that neither Order nor Chaos wins clearly.
Currently, it is not yet determined when the first campaign test of the MMORPG Crowfall will start. A date will be announced soon.
Anyone who needs arcane dust in Hearthstone can now buy it directly in China – as a “little bonus” card packs will then be included.
China is currently trying to massively restrict gambling and steer it into clear, government-desired paths. For many game operators, including MMOs, this has led to several restrictions. For example, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Heroes of the Storm (among many others) had to disclose the exact probabilities of their loot boxes and card packs.
Another law ensures that game manufacturers can no longer offer such “loot boxes” directly for purchase. However, Hearthstone earns all its money directly through the sale of card packs. A solution was needed.
Blizzard is not foolish and is now earning money differently. In China, you can now only buy arcane dust in the Hearthstone shop, which is used to craft cards.
Blizzard circumvents anti-gambling law in Hearthstone
However, the prices are so absurdly high that no one would think of spending money on it. Because 78 arcane dust costs about as much as buying 60 card packs here!
But there’s a trick to it. Those who buy arcane dust in the shop get “gifted” the same amount of card packs in addition. Thus, the card packs are considered a bonus and do not fall under the corresponding law.
What do you think of this obvious circumvention of the law? A clever move by Blizzard and a clear loophole in the law? Or a shady step to continue selling packs?
Although in the live version of World of Warcraft the patch 7.2.5 and thus the Tomb of Sargeras has just been opened, Blizzard knows no break. On the public test server, the PTR, the next big update 7.3 is already in progress. As already known, this will take us directly to Argus – the homeworld of the Burning Legion.
As Argus is a no-fly zone, flying mounts unfortunately have to stay in the bag. However, this does not mean that travel on the surface of the planet will be slow. Players can utilize the Vindicaar, a ship that presumably belongs to the Draenei. Here there is a large network of portals that takes players to their desired locations, eliminating long walking routes (after initial unlocking).
Traveling with the Vindicaar is fast.
Overall, Argus will consist of three areas, two of which are likely “Mac’Aree” and “Stygian Wake”. The areas are expected to resemble the Timeless Isle, the Throne of Thunder, and the Molten Front in terms of replayability, while also offering plenty of story. Generally, however, Argus is “only” a new zone and does not aim to represent a complete planet (like Draenor).
Argus will be a place full of story
Generally, patch 7.3 is supposed to be a very story-driven update and regain trust that was lost with the 7.2 questline about the Legion judges. At least according to the effort Blizzard has made to create new species and models, this seems to be succeeding. Now the quests just need to deliver what the environment promises.
Finally, patch 7.3 also includes the promised improvements to the caster animations for Restoration Druids, Elemental and Restoration Shamans, Discipline and Holy Priests, and all three Mage specializations. The animations for Shadow Priests are not finished yet but will be added later (still in this patch).
The current version of patch 7.3 is still not complete. In future versions of the patch, more content is expected to follow, such as:
Additional chapters of the Argus questline with “many cinematic story moments”
New world quests
Updates for professions, including epic gems
The Netherlight Tiger, with which one can further customize the relics of artifact weapons
A new dungeon: the Seat of the Triumvirate
A new raid: Antorus, the Burning Throne
Invasion points – repeatable content where one can fight the Legion on various worlds
Further updates and improvements to existing features
In the coming hours and days, we will delve even deeper into individual details of the patch. The displayed screenshots are from mmo-champion (see sources).
Generally, game developers are silent about how often their game has been returned on Steam. The developers of the online survival game Rust are very open about it.
Garry Newman, the developer of Rust, explains that his game has been returned 329,970 times through the Steam return program so far. This amounts to refunds of 4,382,032 US dollars. However, it doesn’t seem to hurt the developer much. He also states that this is only about six percent of total sales.
Developer understands when Rust is not fun for players
The most common reason for the return is “Not fun.” Garry Newman can understand that, as Rust is not an easy game. It is hard to master, and any mistake can have severe consequences. For many, this simply leads to frustration, which is why they cannot get into Rust. While other developers view Steam’s refund system critically, Newman has a different opinion. He believes that the system has even led to more sales.
It is interesting to see what refunds developers are facing. Making comparisons with other games here would be very exciting, but most studios do not want to talk about it.
What is your opinion on Rust? Do you think the game is good? Did you perhaps buy it and also return it? Let us know in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A new survey is online for The Division: Massive wants your opinion on the Base of Operations and the Endgame.
After you complete the story missions and reach level 30, you enter the Endgame of The Division. Now it’s time to push the Gear Score to the maximum of 256 and optimize your gear and weapons.
To achieve this, you have several options, namely … what actually?
This is what Massive wants to know in a new survey: Does the Endgame confuse you? Do you know which activities you can play now? Does the Endgame motivate you or does it get boring quickly? And if you have already stopped playing: Why?
Survey on the Endgame and the Base of Operations
Apparently, Massive wants to improve things here in the future. In a multi-page survey, they ask various specific questions about your Endgame experience.
First, you will answer general questions about which platform you are playing on, how many hours you have invested in the game, whether you are playing solo or in a group, and what your favorite activities are.
Then come interesting questions regarding the Base of Operations. Do you find your way around in it? Do you want options to customize the base? Massive may plan for you to be able to design your base individually soon.
After questions about the Improvement Station and the Mega Map, the focus shifts to the Endgame. Does it motivate you? Does it confuse you – do you know all the activities within it, such as HVTs or Underground or incursions or Dark Zone? What are your favorite activities in the Endgame? How would you improve it? And if you are no longer playing The Division: Why did you stop? Finally, Massive also wants to know if you are hunting trophies/achievements.
What Massive will ultimately do with the results of the survey remains to be seen. In the past, there have already been several surveys, but nothing that was asked in them has been implemented so far.
So one should not expect imminent changes to the Base of Operations or the Endgame. Update 1.7 is certainly too early. Perhaps Update 1.8 can be aimed for. Or maybe the developers are collecting feedback for a future sequel…
Bungie is making the transition from Destiny to Destiny 2 as player-unfriendly as possible, believes our author Schuhmann. But hardly anyone is currently angry about that.
Politicians make the most unpopular decisions during the soccer World Cup. As the article “Distraction Maneuver” in Deutschlandfunk describes, during the summer fairytale of 2006, the VAT was raised from 16% to 19%. During the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, the contribution rate for health insurance was increased from 14.9% to 15.5%.
What would have sparked weeks of debates and angry protests in the country went unnoticed amidst the general football fever. We can be glad that the World Cup only takes place every four years.
In a similar way, Bungie. While players rejoice over reports about Destiny 2, Bungie disconnects the current game “Destiny” and makes one unpopular decision after another.
It’s as if there’s an internal competition running: What outrageous act can we commit without upsetting the players?
Here everything remains as it is!
Let’s start small, with a “mini-outrage” and then escalate to the biggest.
Many players are currently struggling with the “meta” in Destiny.
Again and again, you hear that the “current meta is the worst of all time.”
Players are dissatisfied with the balance in the Crucible. The current difficulties:
Politely put: The current meta does not suit everyone’s taste.
Previous metas were more popular, as players were only bothered over time that they became dull. But the current meta has few fans.
Players complain about balancing. Although this state is nothing new and there are always issues with balancing, the worst part of the current balance is: It will never change again.
Because Bungie has decided not to touch the balance in Destiny 1 anymore. This means Destiny 1 will continue with a balance that hardly anyone really likes.
Bungie informed the players casually in a This Week at Bungie: We are currently super focused on Destiny 2. We won’t do anything with Destiny 1 anymore.
Osiris is being discontinued – The end of Destiny 1 is thus sealed
However, the bad balancing isn’t that bad, because soon there will be no reason left to play Destiny 1.
In August, the Trials of Osiris and the Iron Banner will end. These PvP modes are the only reason many still play Destiny at all. They are now set to disappear.
Bungie doesn’t provide a real justification for this decision. It seems that they want to give the mode “a break” so that everyone looks forward to its return with Destiny 2, and that everyone buys the new game. No one should come up with the idea of continuing to play for free in the old game.
The decision means, that Destiny 1 will be massively devalued. It will not represent an alternative to Destiny 2. Those who want to play competitive PvP in Destiny must switch to Destiny 2. Destiny 1 is practically dead as a result.
Moreover, the future of Destiny 1 is not secure. It is only known that the servers are supposed to stay online “for the foreseeable future”. When one hears such news, it sounds as if the end is near.
The news of ending Osiris and Iron Banner in Destiny 1 came in the last “This Week at Bungie”, while players were still recovering from E3, and Bungie promised them “souvenirs from Destiny 1 in Destiny 2” with some emblems. This brings us to the biggest outrage that Bungie is inflicting on the first Destiny.
Cosmetic items will not be transferred, even though players paid for them
The hard reset was probably necessary and without alternative: Players lose their weapons and gear to enable a fresh start with Destiny 2. In the game, this is justified by a Cabal attack.
But why should I not be able to dance anymore? Do the Cabal also wipe my brain?
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In Destiny 1 players purchased gestures, including dances, via the Eververse, an in-game shop. Why are those gone with Destiny 2? Players did pay real money for them. The fact that the real money currency, Silver, will not be transferred to Destiny 2 is also an unnecessary decision that is disadvantageous for players. Why? Why do you push players away so unnecessarily?
The site Polygon indignantly addresses this in an article. The argument is: In WoW, players can access cosmetic items they received 12 years ago, and the game is doing wonderfully. And in Destiny, cosmetic items that could be purchased just half a year ago are gone?
It simply makes no sense. Bungie devalues the cash shop by imposing an expiration date on every item: You can buy something, but it will become worthless soon.
Especially the most expensive and valuable fans, who were willing to spend more money on fluff in Destiny 1, are punished by Bungie with this decision: Oh, you wanted to buy that dance for 5€? Yes, it will be gone in three months! That was only for Destiny 1 – Destiny 2 is something completely different!
Players will only realize all this later
The problem with the messages: Players do not notice them yet.
The meta is annoying now, but it used to be too – players do not yet realize that it will not change.
Osiris and Iron Banner will still run for a month, players will only notice their disappearance after a delay or in the worst case, when the mode in Destiny 2 is not fun and they want to return to Destiny 1 for a nostalgia trip.
And the current cosmetic items from the Eververse have only disappeared with Destiny 2.
Similarly, politicians did it during the soccer World Cup. The VAT increase only applied six months after its resolution. However, we still feel its effects today, ten years later.
Who will be the new hero in Heroes of the Storm? Blizzard recently teased contaminated Zerg biomass in a lab on Twitter. Therefore, many players now suspect the contaminated Admiral of the Terrans as a new character.
After the last appearance of the Angel of Death Malthael, a Diablo character in Heroes of the Storm, it is once again time for a hero from Starcraft. At least a teaser image on Twitter suggests something related to Zerg, as it shows a data pad from the “Moebius Foundation” along with various Zerg slime.
Initiate containment protocol 5-P0T immediately! …the Nexus has been contaminated… pic.twitter.com/Ccb0VVbq3o
Is this a hint towards the long-awaited Starcraft character Alexei Stukov or a completely different Zerg?
Heroes of the Storm – Stukov, Dr. Hanson or “Dronius”?
Stukov, a former Admiral of the Earth forces from Starcraft: Brood War, who later mutated into a Zerg and commands both the slime aliens and his contaminated comrades, was already expected by some fans in January 2017. Blizzard teased back then with Zerg eggs. But then the new hero a cute Protoss probe named “Probius”. Hence, players have become more cautious since then.
In a large thread on Reddit, discussions and speculation are lively about who else could be other than Stukov. Among them are some highlights, such as the scientist Dr. Hanson from Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, who also had quite a connection with the Zerg.
Who wouldn’t want “Dronius”, the helpful Zerg drone, as a new hero in Starcraft?
Rather as a joke, the speculation that the new hero is supposed to be a Zerg drone named “Dronius” seems to be meant. “How is that supposed to work?” ask the players? “A kind of Murky that self-destructs and then becomes a building?”
So much for the speculations on Reddit. Who do you think will be the new hero in Heroes of the Storm? Stukov or someone completely different? And if it should be Stukov, what do you think his role in the game is and what skills could he have? Let us know in the comments!
Free Battlepacks in Battlefield 1 are available from today through a progress bar. Play and finish games to get the packs.
In Battlepacks, you can expect cool skins for weapons and vehicles as well as XP boosts in Battlefield 1. You can either buy these packs for real money or scrap items, or let the game gift them to you. Until now, the Battlepack gifts were only available for players who were lucky at the end of a round.
With the new progress bar, you can see when your guaranteed free Battlepack will be unlocked – without any luck.
Free Battlepacks – Update on Distribution
The developers apparently want to move away from the system of random distribution of Battlepacks. An announcement in the game has already introduced some players to the new system. Reddit user 0asis25 made a screenshot of it:
There, the developers explain that previously you had the chance to receive a Battlepack after a finished match. However, luck had to be on your side. This old system has now been overhauled.
On the end-of-round screen, you will now see a progress bar. Your progress towards the next free standard Battlepack will be displayed there. By playing and finishing multiplayer matches, you can fill this bar.
Furthermore, it is noted that you can fill the bar even fasterif you play “well”. The progress points are apparently dependent on the respective match and your kills/assists and other important stats. You will also earn more points for attacking and defending objectives in the game. Perhaps this is a reason for players to focus more on the objectives again.
The update is set to activate today, on June 29, during the day. If you don’t see the progress bar yet, restarting the game should help according to the developers. No server downtime has been announced so far.
The coop shooter Warframe received the long-awaited PC update “Chains of Harrow” yesterday, on June 28, featuring the graphics update for Earth and the new Warframe Harrow. Harrow is a ruthless priest who self-flagellates and loves headshots.
Warframe has been around for a few years now and it is high time for a proper graphics update. After a graphic overhaul of the maps on Earth was previously announced, it’s finally here. The graphics update arrived together with the new Warframe Harrow on June 28.
Warframe – Chains of Harrow makes Earth beautiful
The PC version of Warframe is made more beautiful with today’s update Chains of Harrow. At least, if you re-enter the good old Earth, as the now green planet has been thoroughly redesigned. Now the maps on Earth are significantly more magnificent and the foliage of the trees looks better. A video from the developers shows what it looks like before and after the update.
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But the more beautiful Earth is not all that “Chains of Harrow” offers for Warframe fans. The highlight of the update is the titular new Warframe Harrow, a futuristic priest and flagellant who self-flagellates and grants absolution to his enemies through headshots.
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You can find a detailed article about Harrow’s abilities and skills at the provided link. The developers have also created a nice video about Harrow, which we have embedded here for you. In addition to Harrow, the update also features a new quest, a new pistol called Knell, a scepter named Scourge, a stylish stole for Harrow, and a new enemy.
What do you think of Harrow and the new graphics on Earth? Do you wish for such updates for the other planets in the game as well, and if so, which ones? And will you get Harrow? Let us know in the comments!
If someone wants to vent their anger about a computer game, they usually write an intense forum post, an email, or a letter. A fan of EVE Online sent the developers penises.
EVE Online game designer Brenton “CCP Larrikin” Hooper was surprised when he received a letter from the Icelandic customs authority. A package had arrived for CCP Games, but without an invoice. And without an invoice, nothing can be delivered, because in Iceland, taxes are applied to shipments. Therefore, Hooper asked the customs officials to please open the package to see what was inside.
Rubber penises for the developers
The customs authority then wrote to him that the package contained two bags of candy, the contents of which were rubber penises. Additionally, there was penis-shaped confetti included. There was also a note that said “Eat a bag of dicks” – which means “Eat a bag of penises!” When Hooper posted this on Reddit, the person who had sent the penises actually came forward and posted the necessary invoice of $38. However, Hooper had already informed customs to dispose of the penises.
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This is not the first time something like this has happened. Last year, CCP Games received mail containing a huge cardboard penis. Community manager Paul “CCP Falcon” Elsy revealed that he had also received such mail before. However, he did not want to go into detail about what was in the package. He only said that liquids were involved.
At least some of those who criticize EVE Online are quite creative …
