For a short time, the promo codes in Pokémon GO were activated. What are these codes about and could they soon be permanently in the game?
Just a few hours ago, a text field for promo codes was active in the Pokémon GO shop. However, this was (not yet) a permanent change, as the text field disappeared shortly after. It is quite possible that the codes will be integrated into the game in the next update, allowing players to enter voucher codes to receive items from the shop at a discount or for free.
Promotion codes exist in many online games to activate special items, heroes, or bonuses. They are often distributed at trade shows or sponsored events to promote a title and reward players who attend the event. For example, there were promo codes for League of Legends at Gamescom, which unlocked certain champion skins for you.
Promo Codes in Pokémon GO
There have been indications of these special redeemable codes in the past. In the data mining for patch 0.59.1, experts found lines of code in March that suggest this promo system. Trainers could receive various items in Pokémon GO as a result. More specifically, the code showed connections to avatar items, Pokémon candies, stardust, and coins. With the promo codes, Pokémon and eggs are considered unlikely.
Following the data mining in March, there are now new hints about these codes, suggesting that this feature may soon be permanently activated in the game. Reddit user Mont713 uploaded this screenshot from the shop a few hours ago:
Source: Reddit/u/Mont713
This field for promo codes was active in the game for only a few hours before it disappeared again. This clearly shows that this feature is either finished or at least close to completion and could soon be permanently activated in the game.
So far, Niantic has not released any official announcements about it. However, it is quite possible that this feature could be activated in the next update and made available to you. We are eager to see what promo activities these codes will be related to. As soon as there is more information, you will find out about it from us.
In the MMO shooter Destiny today, on May 2nd, the Weekly Reset occurs. A new dawn breaks, and it’s going into the Glass Chamber.
Last week in Destiny 1 was quiet. However, there was exciting information about Destiny 2: It is now officially known that the sequel will be a world without Light. Someone (most likely the Cabal) is turning off the lights for the Guardians. We spent the long weekend on this and embed the articles for you:
Now let’s look at the new week, which begins today at 11 a.m. There are new activities to master.
Dawnstrike on May 2nd on PS4 and Xbox One
This week, the Nightfall is The Will of Crota. It is against Omnigul.
The modifiers are:
Epic
Brute: Damage from Guardian melee is increased
Grounded: You take more damage when you are in the air
Chaff: Radar is disabled
Match Game: Enemy shields are resistant to mismatched elemental damage
In the heroic SIVA Crisis Strike playlist, the modifiers are Heroic, Specialist, Chaff, and Airborne.
Elder Challenge and Story Playlist
In the weekly Story Playlist, the missions are on Earth and Moon. The modifiers are Heroic, Small Arms, and Grounded.
In the Elder Challenge, there are bonus points on Super kills. The modifiers are Specialist and Trick. You fight against the Overmind Minotaur, Val Aru’un, and the Wretched Knight.
Raid Challenges starting May 2nd
This week, we are going into the Glass Chamber. If you want to hunt for an Adept version of the Fatebringer or the Vision of Confluence, you now have the chance again. The Templar and Atheon are waiting for you.
Sometimes even a recording mistake can be a great success. Mei’s most popular voice line in Overwatch is such a case.
For many players, the cosmetics in Overwatch are the most important thing that exists in the game. From skins to emotes, spray logos, and victory poses, there is something for everyone. And surely every player knows the various voice lines of their favorite heroes and most hated enemies by heart. When Reaper once again mutters “Another one off the list,” some gamers shudder.
But the cutest voice line in the game belongs to Mei. No, it is not “A-Mei-Zing!”, which is so popular with players, but her four-fold “Sorry.” But who would have thought that it was never planned by the developers to record this sentence?
Popular “Sorry” just a recording mistake
The Senior Game Designer Michael Chu revealed at the Tribeca Games Festival how the popular voice line came about. Because there actually was just one mistake during the recording made by the voice actress Zhang Yu. When she exaggeratedly apologized, this sentence came about: “Sorry! Sorry, I’m sorry. Sorry.”
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Chu then asked the technician, “Did you record that?” and he replied with a “Yep” – and thus a voice line was born that was never planned.
In Overwatch, the actually sincere apology is often used sarcastically. You place an ice wall in front of the allied Pharah, who then blows herself up. Or an ice wall saves enemies from the deadly D.Va explosion. Or you freeze a poor opponent and then shoot an icicle between their eyes. The possibilities are endless, but it is very rare for it to be a sincere apology.
What is your favorite voice line in the game and why? Do you use it “seriously” or almost only for sarcastic purposes?
Killers are stepping up in Dead by Daylight. And saboteurs are frustrated, as their work is restored after some time.
A new patch has been released for Dead by Daylight on Steam, the major update 1.5.0. This has brought significant changes to the balance and revamped entire game mechanics to allow for more exciting and balanced matches between killers and survivors. In general, many changes favor the killers, who previously felt disadvantaged.
Hooks respawn
For new killers, this is probably the most terrifying scenario. After endless chasing, one finally manages to catch a survivor and wants to sacrifice them. But a quick glance at the map reveals: All hooks have been sabotaged and the basement is out of reach. This frustration often leads killers to not see themselves as a threat, but rather as playthings of survivors. The update now ensures that sabotaged hooks will be respawned by the Entity after 180 seconds (3 minutes). Therefore, permanently disabling hooks is not possible.
Bloodlust makes the killers faster
Another problem was the so-called “Infinites” – paths where survivors could endlessly run in circles and killers had no chance to ever reach them. That should now be over. The new “Bloodlust” mechanic ensures that the killer becomes increasingly faster if they chase the same survivor for a while. If the survivor fails to shake the killer off and hide, they become so fast that escaping seems nearly impossible.
Longer matches
Overall, matches should now last longer, as each generator takes approximately 10 seconds longer to activate. The duration of cleansing totems has also been increased by 40% – to compensate for this, cleansing totems now grants 50% more blood points than before.
A complete list of all changes can be found as usual in our sources.
Cortyn says: After the changes, I played some matches with my friends again and honestly have to say: it feels much smoother now. Killers and survivors are much more balanced, which has led to more exciting games overall. The numerous changes to the perks are sensible, although there are still some “must-have” perks – but here the developers want to improve in the next major update.
With Patch OB 49, a new champ and a new map come to Paladins. The new champion is a fairy: Willo. The new map “Brightmarsh” is a city nestled among trees and mushrooms. Pip and Grover are getting epic skins.
Paladins’ new Patch OB 49 is entirely themed around the forest. The new champion, the new map, and the new chest could all have been taken from an enchanted fairy tale forest. We have summarized the highlights of Patch OB49 for you.
Paladins’ new champion: Willo can suppress healing and is a damage dealer
Willo is a fairy that resembles a mix of a flower and a butterfly. She is a damage dealer and deals area damage with her weapon and skills. Willo throws seedlings around her that explode like bombs. When the fairy has had enough, she simply flutters away with her large wings.
With her ultimate ability, Willo can fly for an exceptionally long time. From the air, she drops her bombs or toxic spores on her opponents. With the toxic spores, Willo suppresseshealing.
Paladins’ new map “Brightmarsh” – Looks a bit like Smurf Village
The new Siege map Brightmarsh is located in the midst of a swamp. However, this swamp is not stagnant and muddy, as one might expect from a marsh. Everywhere, the swamp shines in a friendly light. The houses are built into trees and resemble mushrooms. Brightmarsh feels like the perfect home for Willo or Grover.
The map features corridors and open spaces. The control point is suitable for aggressive gameplay with large battles. The payload route has plenty of defensive options.
Paladins Patch OB49: New skins for Pip and Grover
Grover gets a skin that fits the swampy theme of the new map “Brightmarsh”. Pip’s skin has a galactic flair, transforming him into a bright green alien.
Doom-Shroom: Grover is overgrown with mushrooms
Grover’s new epic skin looks like a nasty fungal infestation. The gentle tree is completely overgrown with mushrooms. Both his weapon and bark are now more whitish than brown. The skin can only be obtained in the “Overgrown Chest”.
Invader: Pip turns into green Darth Vader
Pip’s new skin “Invader Pip” is meant to be a reference to Darth Vader from Star Wars. However, Invader Pip is much more colorful than his dark counterpart. This skin can be purchased directly for 400 crystals.
ARK Survival Evolved is home to a large volcano near the center of the island. This will be activated with the new PC patch v257 and converted into the Tek Cave.
Near the center, there is a large, dormant volcano in Ark Survival Evolved. This will soon change. The volcano is awakening from its slumber and will become active with patch v257.
Originally, this PC patch was announced for the end of April. However, Studio Wildcard postponed the release to May. The developers wanted to give players the chance to relocate their structures and bases. With the update, all structures and dinos will be destroyed that are within a certain radius of the volcano.
The volcano still slumbers. This will change soon.
The volcano will not become an all-destructive lava beast
The original plan was for the volcano to become a fire-breathing beast upon activation. At regular intervals, lava flows were supposed to devastate the center.
However, Studio Wildcard has abandoned these plans. On one hand, this would have contradicted the rest of the island’s gameplay, in the eyes of the developers.
On the other hand, there were concerns from technical and artistic perspectives. It would have taken too much timeto build a volcanowith a destructive cycle now. The focus would lie on other things right before the final full release. The team felt that a lava-breathing volcano would bring too little benefit to the players. This was revealed by lead designer Jeremy Stieglitz in an interview with Kotaku.
Studio Wildcard opted for a different solution.
Ark’s volcano will become the Tek Cave
Caves function in Ark Survival Evolved like dungeons. Some of them are easy to explore, while others require a lot of sweat and effort. Those who dare to enter have the chance to obtain strong and varied rewards.
With the activation of the volcano, it will be transformed into the Tek Cave. Since the Tek technologies represent the final stage of the game, these caves are correspondingly difficult to master.
Despite the changes, the volcano remains one of the best places to farm metal.
Keep Out! Safety tape indicates the danger zone in Ark Survival Evolved
Destructive lava will not flow over the center. However, destructive developers will come and smash everything around the volcano. To activate the volcano, the area requires a massive geographical overhaul.
Therefore, all dinosaurs and structures at the volcano will be destroyed as soon as patch v257 arrives. All tribes and players who have a base or house dinos in the danger zone should relocate them beforehand.
To assist the volcano residents, Wildcard has installed a safety line. Those who want to ensure that their dinos remain unharmed and structures intact should heed this. The line is marked in the game itself.
Everything above the line will be destroyed.
On PvE servers, it will no longer be possible to build structures at the volcano after the update. In PvP mode, structures there will take more damage – just like in all caves on the island.
Ark PC Patch v257: ETA May 4 – Until then, relocate with all dinos and structures
At this time, update v257 for the PC is planned for May 4. The date may still be pushed back further. Those who want to be on the safe side should relocate with their belongings as quickly as possible.
When this patch will come to PS4 and Xbox One is still unclear.
Blizzard briefly ended the event “Uprising” in Overwatch , then realized it was too early and extended it. Now there is a new “end date” for the event. When does “Uprising” in Overwatch really end? And what about update 2.12?
Blizzard is playing “lights on – lights off” with the seasonal event “Uprising” in Overwatch.
On May 1, the event ended briefly earlier than originally planned. The date “May 1” circulated as the end date for the event, but it was apparently in the afternoon in the USA when the event suddenly ended. Players had hoped for midnight.
Fans did not find this early ending great and raised alarm.
Overwatch Event “Uprising”: When does it really end?
In the night from Monday to Tuesday at 4:00 AM our time, Overwatch then spoke up again and said: Oops. We accidentally ended the event earlier than expected. That was a mistake.
Now Blizzard has extended the event. It now ends in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday at 2:00 AM German time. This is the official end time for the event.
Seasonal events are the highlight for Overwatch and a cash cow for Blizzard
In such events in Overwatch, players can draw seasonal cosmetic items from special loot boxes that are only available during these periods: skins, highlight intros, or emotes.
If players are craving a specific skin and haven’t obtained it by the end of the event, the direct purchase for real money tempts them, and Blizzard’s cash register rings.
In the last events, Blizzard has made a killing. Revenues from Overwatch have skyrocketed during the previous seasonal events. Game times also shot up.
It’s easy to understand that Blizzard gives all players the opportunity for one last purchase.
Overwatch PS4 Patch 2.12 – that’s why there were no patch notes
The premature end of the event is also causing confusion, as a patch 2.12 for Overwatch went live on PS4, but no patch notes were released.
Basically, patch 2.12 simply extended the event. Therefore, there are also no patch notes for update 2.12 in Overwatch.
Here we have listed all the skins, emotes, and sprays. You still have a few hours to get the coveted Genji Blackwatch skin. Good luck!
Blizzard lets a round of Hearthstone packs go, as a new milestone for the card game has been reached.
The latest expansion of Hearthstone “Journey to Un’Goro” is probably considered a full success by the developers. This is especially confirmed by the fact that Hearthstone now reports a new record of registered players. More than 70,000,000 players are said to be diving into the card game of Blizzard’s Warcraft universe across all platforms.
With such great success, Blizzard is even giving out a few small gifts that all Hearthstone players can now claim. Anyone who logs into the card game from now on will receive 3 packs of “Journey to Un’Goro” for free. This also applies to completely new players – so it would be a good time to start playing the card game now to grab some bonus cards right away.
The offer is valid until the end of May – during this time, all players will receive the promised 3 card packs upon logging in.
Destiny and The Division have conquered the gaming market on PS4 and Xbox One. What similar games are in development? We believe there are up to three more titles like Destiny in the works. They will be revealed at E3.
If you look at the games that generated the most revenue digitally on PS4 and Xbox One, there’s no way to overlook Destiny, The Division, and GTA Online.
These games are referred to as “Games as a Service.” They continue to be developed even after release. They operate like a service or hobby. Even years after launch, these “Games as a Service” games continue to generate revenue and remain attractive to players as they receive new game content.
Destiny, The Division, GTA Online – the big winners of 2016 on PS4 and Xbox One
Although GTA Online V had been around for several years in 2016, it generated the third highest revenue: 378.9 million USD.
The Division had a rather rocky launch – nevertheless, it secured 4th place with 261.8 million USD.
With Destiny, very little happened in 2016 due to the postponement of Destiny 2 to 2017. Still, the game earned 214.1 million USD.
It’s clear: Other publishers also want a piece of this pie. Certainly, shooters with “MMO elements” have been in development for several years. Now they should be ripe enough to be shown to the public.
We think: At E3 2017 in June, we will see up to 3 new games that will resemble Destiny or The Division.
Existing titles are already shifting towards Games as a Service and PvE
The wave is already having an impact on the existing trio and their development. All three titles have increasingly focused their gameplay DNA on PvE and “Games as a Service”:
GTA V Online, originally a classic single-player title, has increasingly recognized the potential in the “Games as a Service” operation since its release. In recent months and years, this area has been expanded with updates: Suddenly, GTA V Online is about a lot of money, about businesses and enterprises.
In Destiny , the developers originally focused more on PvP like in a classic online shooter, but players found the coop aspects more interesting: Raids and Strikes, which feature PvE content, characterize Destiny and will surely be emphasized in the coming years. Quests have been increasingly integrated since Year 2, significantly improving the story elements.
Even in The Division , steps have already been taken to emphasize “PvE”. The Division has likely been more closely modeled after Destiny during development, with world rankings emphasizing PvE and grinding during ongoing operations.
What games are coming our way?
Since the success of Destiny, it’s clear that other studios will develop shooters with these coop and multiplayer elements.
Currently, no further title has been officially announced, but that should happen in the next 50 days. We expect that at E3 in June, one to three high-profile games will be revealed that will follow in the footsteps of Destiny and The Division.
It’s clear: Such a project devours money in the range of 100 million USD and upwards. Grand Theft Auto V reportedly cost 137 million USD. For Destiny, the development costs are estimated to be similarly high, even though the “500 million USD” that circulated for a long time were likely not reached. Additionally, both titles likely incurred just as much in marketing costs alone.
This can only be managed by a “publisher” giant that commissions a large development studio. On the next pages, we will examine the candidates we are keeping an eye on.
In the MMO shooter Destiny we look at the videos of the week. Included: A cinematic video about Radegast, the first Iron Lord.
The name “My name is Byf” will certainly ring a bell for the diligent Mein-MMO readers. In the past months, we have presented some of his videos. He is particularly known in the English-speaking Guardian community as an expert in the lore, the background story of Destiny.
He now presents his new project: An animated Destiny story cinematic. The first part is about the first Iron Lord. About Radegast. A Titan who was the founder and leader of the “Iron Lords”. In the video, you will see his story.
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That’s it for the videos Bungie presents. Now let’s see what our community has created!
This week, we received a video that we do not want to withhold from you. It is by RolBoKoPP and shows a really well-edited montage. Short but impactful!
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Until the “Destiny 2” launch, there are still good four months. You could still use this time to create some really cool clips in Destiny 1 that impress our readership. Craft your creative ideas into videos, upload them to Youtube and then send us the link, preferably via Facebook. Send us a private message there. This way, we will definitely watch the video and with a little luck you will end up in the next week’s “video of the week” article.
A video that we will probably see again next week is presented here:
Because he played Pokémon GO in a church and released a video about it, this Russian player could now face 3.5 years in prison.
Pokémon GO is a mobile game that is preferably played outdoors to visit PokéStops and find wild Pokémon. The Russian Pokémon player Ruslan Sokolovsky played the game in a church and made a video about it, which is now going against him. Several years in prison could be the penalty for that.
He knew what penalties exist for that
In August 2016, Sokolovsky uploaded the aforementioned video, in which he played Pokémon GO in a church and violated Russian laws – accusation: incitement to religious hatred. By the way, the band “Pussy Riot” was also imprisoned in 2012 for this accusation. The case of this punk band received worldwide attention.
At the beginning of his YouTube video, Sokolovsky showed a clip that pointed out what penalties exist for playing Pokémon GO in churches. However, he could not understand how someone could be punished for playing with their smartphone in a church. So he was not deterred and went to the “Church on the Blood” in Yekaterinburg to catch Pokémon. Orthodox prayers accompanied the attempt to catch a wild Wooper. At the end of the video, he mentions that he unfortunately could not catch the “rare Pokémon Jesus.” The video is available with English subtitles on his YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfMn1yahGYk
Shortly after he published the video, Sokolovsky was arrested and has been in custody since. Now his case is going to court, and according to Kotaku, he could face up to 3.5 years in prison.
Sokolovsky says that he may be an idiot but is not an extremist. “In the past, people were locked up for decades in camps for making jokes about communism and Stalin, for example. Today they want to imprison me for 3.5 years because I made obscene jokes about Orthodoxy and Patriarch Kirill. In my opinion, this is brutal and cruel. I do not understand how this is possible. But as we can see, it is indeed possible,” Sokolovsky writes in a statement for the Russian news site Meduza.
The long-awaited console version of Marvel Heroes Omega is currently in a closed beta. We purchased a founder’s pack, played it, and share with you our first gameplay impressions of the PS4 version of Marvel Heroes Omega in the video. And all of this together with a special guest.
This action-packed game featuring numerous Marvel superheroes was originally developed by Diablo creator David Brevik and, after a rocky start, became a real hidden gem among action RPG fans. Marvel Heroes Omega is set to release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in the summer of 2017. When the console version of Marvel Heroes was announced, we noticed a great interest from your side. It plays like a modern Diablo with stronger MMO elements. Why I see great potential for it to become my favorite game, you can see here:
https://youtu.be/MeJrrJqxYUM
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In The Division, an agent showcases his PvE build: With each shot, he manages to defeat an elite enemy at level 34.
The agent JakesiK recently gathered some upvotes on Reddit. He presented a short clip to the community, where he quickly introduces his build and then demonstrates what he can do with it. And it is quite impressive.
On one hand, he shows solid aiming skills as he lands headshot after headshot, and on the other hand, the elite enemies at level 34 fall with just one shot each. We embed the video here:
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He uses the precision rifle M700 Carbon with Disciplinary (one kill makes the next shot automatically a crit) and Brutal (increased headshot damage). He has mods active that increase headshot damage and improve crit damage and crit chance.
The armor pieces:
Merciless Chest Piece (Increases damage by 8% and incoming damage by 10%) with health points and enemy armor damage
Refreshing Mask with crit chance and damage against elites
Promising Knee Pads with health points and damage against elites
Specialized Backpack with crit damage
Skulls MC Gloves (damage increased by 16% when no gear set bonuses are active) with enemy armor damage, increased precision rifle damage, and crit damage
Agile Gloves with crit chance
Otherwise, a full focus is on firearms and mods that increase damage to elite enemies. In total, he reaches a solid 9000 firearms. This build is designed to deal a lot of damage to PvE enemies. In practice, the low toughness will pose problems.
Before he engages the enemies, he uses the skills Pulse and First Aid for additional damage boosts. It can also be seen that he activates Tactical Advantage (character talent). This further increases damage, depending on the distance of the “cover-to-cover” movement.
This allows the agent to take down one elite enemy after another with just one shot. Strong!
The healers in Overwatch are all peaceful and kind. Fans are now calling for a dark supporter and presenting their own well-thought-out ideas.
In the Overwatch subreddit, there are always some players with crazy ideas or cool demands. Currently, the user Thats_One seems to have hit the nerve of the supporters – because he is fed up with only playing a “good” supporter.
The characters of Overwatch are quite diverse when it comes to their alignment. There is the clearly good-hearted Reinhardt and the life-affirming Tracer, but also the edgelord dark Reaper and the cold Widowmaker. Such differences run through all groups of characters – just not among the supporters.
The supporters, meaning all characters with healing abilities, seem to come from the good spectrum.
Mercy has a big heart for all the wounded and heals everyone, regardless of alignment and past deeds.
The omnic monk Zenyatta preaches peace and harmony.
The cheerful Lúcio stole something, but then leads a “good” revolution against corporate oppression and has since used music to spread positive vibes.
Ana is the elderly, caring mother who sees the entire Overwatch team as her children to be protected.
Only Symmetra, as a member of Vishkar, has a slight “evil” touch, but ultimately she is just a neat-freak – far from the truly evil spectrum.
Not really evil: Symmetra just likes things neat.
Life steal as an “evil” healer concept
Thats_One demands on Reddit that there should finally be an “evil” supporter. Someone who uses the powers of life and death for dark purposes, which ultimately has a supportive effect on the team.
The user Blazedrag responded with a cool concept: A medical officer from Talon. Story-wise, this character would be responsible for the manipulation of Widowmaker – the guy who brainwashed Amélie LaCroix. There are already some ideas for abilities, the main concept is based on life steal.
Passive: The character has a different resource, the “blood bank.” It fills up automatically over time, but also fills up when damage is dealt. Damage is converted to blood at a rate of 50% and has a maximum supply of 300 blood. In addition, the character possesses 50% life steal – damage dealt heals him for 50% of the damage dealt.
Main weapon: Injection crossbow
A crossbow with medication capsules. Only a small magazine, but several shots per second, each dealing damage to the target.
Second weapon: Injection saw
A strange melee weapon that can be swung at both allies and enemies. Allies are healed for up to 100 health points on hit, which costs 100 blood points. “Overhealing” is stored as temporary maximum health up to 75 health points. If there is less than 100 blood available, healing decreases accordingly (about 50 healing for 50 blood).
If the weapon is swung at an enemy, it deals 50 damage.
Ability: Bloodlust
The character injects a serum into an ally (like Ana’s Nanoboost) for 150 blood points. The target receives 100% life steal with all its abilities and weapons for 5 seconds, converting dealt damage directly into HP.
Ultimate ability: <no name yet>
All characters within a 15-meter radius are enveloped by a gas cloud. Allies gain life steal for 10 seconds, while enemies suffer 10 damage per second for 5 seconds.
Blazedrag has also put a lot of thought into the story of the weaponry and the character. The technology of the weaponry resembles that of Ana. Mercy has already stated that the technology could also be misused for dark purposes – Talon would have stolen the plans (for example, via Sombra) and then used them for their own purposes.
What do you think of this concept? And do you also wish for an “evil” healer? Or should supporters always be kind and peaceful?
In the SF MMORPG Elite: Dangerous , a group of space pirates managed to change the history of the MMORPG. They killed an important NPC during a community event.
On Saturday, there was to be an event in Elite that would influence the history of the universe. The story of the SF MMORPG is also continued in novels.
The science fiction author Drew Wagar controlled an NPC named Salomé on Saturday. She was to be protected. The outcome of this event will play a role in a future novel in the Elite universe.
Protectors’ Group in a Blood Frenzy
As reported by Arstechnica, it became clear during the community event that a group called “Premonition Allied Coalition” (PAC) would play a major role. They wanted to protect Salomé and other player-controlled VIPs. The group includes more than 3000 players.
There are accounts stating that the group “PAC” fell into a kind of power frenzy. They labeled everyone in the system who did not belong to PAC as hostile and opened fire on them. Russian players were expelled from the chat server under the suspicion of being spies for an “Anti-Salomé” faction.
Reports increased that Salomé and her ship were under heavy attack.
Troll Group Smiling Dog Crew Triumphs
And indeed: ultimately, the NPC Salomé was killed. The worst part: They were not enemies. A PAC member eliminated the NPC who was so important to the story. A pilot named Harry Potter.
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Because PAC had been infiltrated by a group called “Smiling Dog Crew.” This is a pirate organization that aims to undermine public order in Elite: Dangerous. They seem to be quite good at it.
Internet Sociopath Harry Potter
Apparently, members of the Smiling Dog Crew joined in as a sort of “trojan horse” of PAC, learned their exact location, and ultimately eliminated them. The death shot was supposedly fired by a player named “Harry Potter.”
Author Wagar now has to deal with the fact that Salomé was killed by a player named “Harry Potter,” and incorporate that into his story. Wagar had anticipated Salomé’s death, though he had hoped she would make it. After all, he wrote and prepared a speech for her.
She survived for 1 hour and 45 minutes, made it within 6 systems of her destination, and traveled 600 light-years through space. The author denies rumors that Potter even ended up on Salomé’s friends list.
This was the summary of the events. In the game, there are still intrigues and accusations being made, as always when community events in MMORPGs reach such a scale.
Others say PAC was only the “figurehead” of the defense. In reality, other groups took over the defense, as the “bodyguard of Salomé,” and PAC had nothing to do with it. The group around Harry Potter simply played very well.
In any case, Salomé is dead, and Harry Potter has taken her down.
Visionary Realms, the development studio behind the MMORPG Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, has secured funding from investors for the further development of the game.
From the beginning, the financial aspect of developing the MMORPG Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has been a problem. The Kickstarter campaign failed, and subsequently, the further development had to continue mainly with volunteers. Company founder Brad McQuaid, known for his work on the original Everquest as well as the MMORPG Vanguard, invested a lot of his personal money into the project.
Additional funding accelerates development
The studio has now secured financing from investors. This money will now be used to expand the team in all areas.
Moreover, it is now possible to open the closed pre-alpha for external testers. This will provide developers with even more feedback from fans who can finally join and experience the MMORPG in action.
The team is currently looking for more investors for an additional funding round. However, they are now glad that investors have recognized the game’s potential and are willing to invest in the company.
Pre-Alpha Coming Soon
Currently, 15 developers are working in the Visionary Realms team. There is no exact date for the start of the public pre-alpha yet, but it is expected to happen soon.
Anyone wishing for the old days of the original Everquest should keep an eye on Pantheon. Brad McQuaid aims to follow in Everquest’s footsteps with the MMORPG.
A change in the Chinese version of H1Z1: King of the Kill suggests that the shooter may soon find a publisher in China.
According to 2p, police cars in the Chinese Steam version of H1Z1 have been replaced by taxis. This has occurred in a patch.
This leads to speculation that H1Z1 might have convinced an “official Chinese publisher” to take it under contract. Thus, by removing the police cars, H1Z1 could become presentable to acquire a license from the Chinese government.
The relationship of Western games to China is complicated. Access to the Chinese market is highly attractive for Western developers, but the hurdles to actually appear and earn money there are high. A “reasonable” strategy seems to be establishing collaborations with local Chinese companies and adapting their games to the sometimes arbitrary requirements of the Chinese government from a Western perspective.
Blizzard does this with World of Warcraft and Diablo 3. They work with “Netease” and have made changes to their games. For instance, bones cannot be shown openly in China.
To obtain the license, the developers thus adapt their games for China in advance: a kind of self-censorship that takes into account the peculiarities of China.
To Destiny 2 there are indications that the Guardians will not start completely from scratch. These powers may remain with them.
Destiny 2 will be a world without Light. What has been speculated since the reveal trailer is certain since the end of April: Bungie and Activision sent out invitation cards for the gameplay reveal, which state on the back “Welcome to a world without Light” . A dead ghost is depicted on it.
In Destiny 2, things look bleak for the Guardians. No ghosts and a world without the Light of the Traveler mean: The Guardians will be extremely disempowered. The ghost can no longer resurrect us. (How Bungie will solve this with the Crucible, the PvP, remains to be seen). The Guardians will have to face problems that did not exist in Destiny 1.
But how did we end up in this “world without Light”? Do the Guardians now have to start completely from scratch? And what options do the Guardians have to reclaim their homeland? We dive deeper into the lore.
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Destiny 2 will be directly tied to the events in “The Taken King”. This is where Oryx enters our solar system. This god-king of the Hive not only deals heavily with the Awoken and the Guardians, but also with the Cabal. They send out a distress signal – and as we now know, the Cabal Empire responds in Destiny 2 with an invasion of the Red Legion led by Ghaul.
But why do we no longer have Light in Destiny 2? Are the Cabal to blame?
The “Space Turtles” are definitely smarter than they look. The Grimoire card “Ghost Fragment: Cabal 4” makes it clear that the Cabal are aware of the power of the ghosts. Excerpts from a report to the staff of Primus Ta’aun can be read therein. We quote:
Guardians can even be rebuilt after complete disintegrative trauma. This ability is enabled by a small, autonomous drone unit called a Dead Person [Note: This refers to the ghosts]. The Dead Person hides during fights. It is not a viable target for direct fire.
Furthermore, the card states that the Psion Flayers have discovered that the Hive have developed abilities that can disable the ghosts. Thus, it is a goal of the Cabal to capture Hive leaders in order to gain important strategic information that would allow them to eliminate the Guardians permanently. The Grimoire card ends with the statement: “We assume that the Hive fleet poses a strong target near Saturn.”
This is probably the real reason why the Cabal made a ship crash on the burial ship. To gain a tactic to defeat the Guardians. And apparently, they succeeded in acquiring the info. Because Zavala confirms in the trailer for Destiny 2 that many Guardians have died.
How the Cabal will specifically bring about “the world without Light” is still unclear. The trailer shows a kind of shield surrounding the Traveler. Perhaps this is how we are separated from the Light of the Traveler. And since we draw all our powers from the Light of the Traveler, we are completely powerless at the beginning of Destiny 2 – or?
Is the Traveler shielded here?
Have we really been stripped of all our powers?
As mentioned: The events in The Taken King are significant for what happens in Destiny 2. And in The Taken King, there was an important innovation that could be interesting here: The Guardians received their third subclass.
Both the Sunbreaker Titan, the Nightstalker Hunter and the Stormcaller Warlock have one thing in common: They are subclasses that do not directly come from the Traveler. The Guardians must go on quests to gain these abilities. The Titan must travel to Mercury to gain the new power from a Flame Forge. The Nightstalker draws its powers directly from the Void and the Stormcaller from the Storm.
Let’s take a look at the Sunbreaker Titan, for instance: Zavala sends you out to bring back “the fire” to the city. You go to Mercury, where there is a forge that you ignite. From this forge, you then gain the hammer and thus your new powers.
It is said that the Sunbreakers obey no one and nothing, but follow the will of Light. The only power a Sunbreaker needs is the Wrath of Flames. In short: One does not need the Light of the Traveler to unleash these powers. In Destiny 2, one should still have the Sunbreaker subclass available. Just like the Nightstalker and the Stormcaller.
Thus: It is very possible that the Guardians will keep the new subclasses from The Taken King. This is also indicated by a scene from the trailer for Destiny 2, in which Ikora Ray unmistakably uses a Stormcaller ability:
Dead Ghosts do not stay dead forever
Most likely, throughout Destiny 2, we will regain our Light powers. Because the English voice of our ghost, Nolan North, will definitely be heard again in Destiny 2. The award-winning voice actor has already announced that he is back.
After all, the Guardians have revived numerous dead ghosts in Destiny and shown that a dead ghost does not have to stay dead forever. It will probably be that we will be allowed to revive our ghost this time. That sounds fair, after all, he has brought us back into action countless times in Destiny 1.
The question remains exciting about what further abilities and subclasses we will acquire in Destiny 2. Highly considered in this regard is Hawthorne, a new character who survived without the protection of the Guardians out there. She will know powers that will be useful to us. Also Eris Morn or Osiris are candidates for characters who may teach us new abilities – some users hope for Darkness subclasses.
The Awoken also have special powers, maybe the queen will make a return. It is unlikely that we will follow the Fallen’s example and use SIVA as a source of new powers. Then there are the Nine, the rulers of the worlds outside the asteroid belt of the solar system, who surely have some cool tricks up their sleeves. And those are just a few possible examples! It will definitely be exciting to see what awaits us in Destiny 2.
Paladins‘ new champion has been revealed: Willo. She belongs to the damage dealers and is a cute fairy. Here you will find her skills and cards.
We have just welcomed the dark oracle – Seris – to Paladins. With patch OB 49, a small, fluttering light being arrives: Willo. A fairy that may look cute, but has a lot to offerbehind those long elf ears.
Willo’s Abilities: Area Damage & Healing Suppression
Willo is a damage dealer who inflicts area damage with her staff of overgrowth and seedlings. She doesn’t deal direct damage. What is particularly interesting about the fairy: Willo can create a death zone that suppresses healing. A tough counter for champions with self-healing and healing supporters.
The wings of the fairy are not just pretty decoration: Willo can fly into the air for 10 seconds with her ultimate skill “Elf Flight” and bombard enemies from above. Additionally, she can quickly chase after enemies with “Flutter” or escape from them.
Willo’s Skills – Here are her Abilities in Detail
LMB – Staff of Overgrowth: Area damage – Fire a burst of elvish energy that deals 500 damage every 0.75seconds.
RMB – Death Zone: Fire toxic spores that suppress all healing for 4s in an area. Enemies affected by the spores who leave the infected area cannot heal for 2s.
Q – Seedling: Area damage – Throw a seed that explodes after 1 second, dealing 500 damageand producing 4 additional seeds that also explode after one second and deal 500 damage each.
F – Flutter: Beat your wings quickly and move forward or upwards.
E – Elf Flight: Harness the power of the elves and rise into the air for 10 seconds.
Paladins’ new champ: Willo’s Loadout and Legendary Cards
With Willo’s legendary cards, you can choose to give the elf more damage. Either you increase the damage of her weapon or of Willo’s seedlings. Or you enhance Willo’s death zone to inflict additional damage to opponent’s shields.
Willo’s Legendary Cards
Mockery: Seedling – Increases the damage of each seedling by 350.
Blast Flower: Weapon – Targets hit by you take an additional 50 damage from your attacks. Stackable up to 5 times.
Burning Earth: Death Zone – Shields in the death zone take damage equal to 50% of maximum health for 1s.
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Belief (Armor) – Eliminations reduce active cooldown by 10/20/30/40%.
Fauna (Armor) – Increases movement speed outside of combat by 8/16/24/32%.
Flora (Armor) – You gain 50/100/150/200 HP.
Escapades (Weapon) – Your reload speed increases by 5/10/15/20%.
Fairy Dust (Death Zone) – While in the death zone, you heal 20/40/60/80 HP every second.
Sparkle (Death Zone) – The duration of the death zone is increased by 0.5/1/1.5/2s.
Ruckus (Death Zone) – Upon entering the death zone, your movement speed increases by 10/20/30/40% for 2s.
Dusk (Death Zone) – The cooldown of the death zone is reduced by 0.5/1/1.5/2s.
Photosynthesis (Seedling) – After using seedling, your reload speed increases by 10/20/30/40% for 3s.
Germination (Seedling) – Produces 1/2/3/4 ammunition upon activating seedling.
Nectar (Seedling) – You heal 50/100/150/200 HP after activating seedling.
Sprouts (Seedling) – If you hit an enemy with seedling, the cooldown of seedling is reduced by 0.5/1/1.5/2s.
Flitting (Flutter) – Reduces cooldown of flutter by 0.5/1/1.5/2s.
Hummingbird (Flutter) – Produces 1/2/3/4 ammunition upon activating flutter.
Pranks (Flutter) – You heal 50/100/150/200 HP upon activating flutter.
Alive (Flutter) – After flutter ends, your aerial control increases by 15/30/45/60% for 3s.
Leya says: I am particularly curious about how Willo’s skill “Death Zone” will affect the game. Combined with her legendary card “Burning Earth“, Willo unites the items “Cauterize” and “Wrecker” into one skill. Both items are some of the strongest in Paladins. I’m not sure yet how balanced that will ultimately be. Both healers and tanks will likely have a hard time against the little fairy.
I really like the design of the elf. Willo has something cute about her. However, she doesn’t look like the typical, pretty little fairy that grants wishes. Willo has something boyish and challenging in her gaze, which could be due to her prominent eyebrows.
I look forward to floating above the enemies with Willo’s ultimate and wildly bombing them with exploding seedlings!
Willo is already on the test server and will officially appear with patch OB 49. Until then, the mentioned abilities and cards may still change slightly.
In the SF MMORPG EVE Online the next major conflict is brewing. This time it revolves around anime. There are many fans and fierce opponents in EVE – a conflict is escalating.
The site PC Gamer reports on the next conflict in EVE. It all started when the alliance WAFFLES looked for a new way to communicate with each other: They gathered on a Discord server. Discord allows images to be shared – something earlier chat programs could not do.
Fun Fact: “Discordia” is the Greek goddess of strife.
It all started with a Discord server
Before long, the Discord channel was flooded with anime images and memes. It got so wild that the head of WAFFLES, Reza Najafi, banned anime images until further notice.
Anime fans were appalled by this, but anime opponents were pleased. This anime conflict has been simmering under the surface at WAFFLES ever since.
It really heated up when WAFFLES head Reza ran into a political opponent, Jin’Taan, in a podcast. He sits on the player council of EVE and is himself a fleet commander.
The two cannot stand each other and clashed in the podcast. On top of that: Jin’Taan is a passionate anime fan. That pushed things over the edge.
Jin’Taan – Most Wanted in EVE Online
Reza ordered an invasion. Ostensibly because Jin’Taan had publicly insulted him and because he is an anime fan. But some believe it is also because Jin’Taan’s fleet sits on valuable resources.
To further motivate his clan, Reza placed a bounty: If his soldiers managed to kill Jin’Taan 10 times and retrieve his corpse, Reza would lift the “anime ban.” This horrified the anime enemies in Reza’s ranks. So he offered them: If you kill him 20 times, then the ban will be permanent!
As a result, Jin’Taan became the “most wanted man” in EVE. The conflict is currently named “World War Weeb.” The usual propaganda accompanying conflicts in EVE will this time be conducted in anime.
Thus this image from redditor invisusira shows Jin’Taan as Moses, leading his oppressed people of anime fans from the tyranny of the wicked Pharaoh Reza:
Mein MMO says: A similar conflict nearly split the Mein-MMO editorial team a few years ago. The Cortyn faction, consisting of Cortyn, constantly attacked the shared communication platform with anime images.
