Conan Exiles plans torture devices, heads on poles, castration

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

In an AMA on reddit, the plans for the future of Conan Exiles were presented. It’s about models, genitalia, and their mutilation.

Things are rough in Conan Exiles, and it’s going to get even rougher. In a “Ask Me Anything Hour,” the developers from Funcom chatted on reddit about their plans for the survival MMO.

For now, the Funcom team is working on relatively simple and fundamental things. They want to improve the feel of combat, refine numerous little details that promise a better player experience. They also plan to address bows and crossbows.

Once that is done, they want to distinguish between “light” and “heavy” attacks in the combat system. The dodging mechanic is set for a complete overhaul.

Snip-Snip, Penis Off

The much-discussed penis slider is said to be a natural development stemming from the decision to stay true to the setting and allow nudity. And if there’s already a slider for breasts, then… equality and all that.

conan-exiles-kreuz

Just as it’s currently possible to drag NPCs to your base, it should also be possible to knock out opposing players and then sacrifice them to your god for a powerful boost.

One can imagine torture and killing tools like an Iron Maiden. They also want players to truly be able to harvest the heads of their enemies and display them on spikes outside their fortress. Perhaps even castration will come at some point.

Conan Exiles Aims to Land Somewhere Between Skyrim and Minecraft – ARK as Inspiration

The team’s vision is to place Conan Exiles somewhere between Skyrim and Minecraft. It is intended to be a game where NPCs navigate in a living, breathing world. Players should be able to exert a noticeable influence on their environment.

When asked which survival games influenced Conan Exiles, Funcom replies: All of them. They played Minecraft and DayZ when the genre started. And since then, all the others. Apparently, they have great respect for ARK. It expanded the genre. They are thankful to all the predecessors, borrowed their ideas, and connected them with their own.

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In the future, they want to bring more “boss” NPCs into the world and improve their drops.

We have discussed these boss NPCs and their special drops here:

Conan Exiles has undead dragon bosses, legendary items, bleeding skeletons

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. reddit AMA
  2. pcgamer

Overwatch: Those who intentionally lose risk account penalties

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

To face easier opponents in Overwatch , some players intentionally lose – but Blizzard is putting a stop to that.

In online games, there are plenty of behaviors that can really annoy other players. This starts with teabagging, goes through bad behavior in chat, and has yet to fully test the limits of creativity.

Overwatch Soldier Cinematic

Many players of Overwatch who have achieved a high skill rating intentionally lose some matches to lower their skill rating. The consequence is that the “good” player is assessed as worse and subsequently plays against significantly weaker teams that they can easily steamroll.

While it is definitely forbidden to intentionally troll your team members when they are “randoms”, one user wanted to know what happens when an entire team of 6 people decides to simply lose without a fight. After all, theoretically, no one gets hurt unwillingly in that scenario.

Jeff Kaplan, the Game Director of Overwatch, addressed this directly in the official forum:

“We are strongly against this behavior and are currently working on guidelines to detect and sanction such behavior. Even if you are playing in a team of 6 people, intentionally losing to drop in skill rating is not acceptable.”

Overwatch Eidgenossin Mercy

“For now, please use the reporting system and select ‘Griefing/Inactivity’ to report this behavior (the reporting system will soon be available on consoles as well).”

This clarifies the stances on this issue. Those who intentionally lose, whether in a team of like-minded individuals or alone, hinder the enjoyment of all other players. Therefore, anyone who does not want to face account penalties should always give their best – or at least not get caught doing otherwise.

Soon, Overwatch will also make a splash with more story content.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. us.battle.net/forums/en/

Dauntless: “Monster Hunter for the West” – first impressions rave

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

The new game Dauntless compares itself to Monster Hunter and Dark Souls. Now the first players have had a chance to try it out and are impressed.

At Pax South in Texas, the first journalists had the opportunity to get their hands on Dauntless. Early impressions are circulating.

Dauntless is a relatively hard-to-describe genre mix. A kind of F2P MMO with significant action elements, it describes itself as a “co-op, action RPG.” Basically, it’s as if most of an MMORPG were removed and the focus was primarily on the boss battles and preparing for them.

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The Brits from PC Gamer are visibly impressed with Dauntless. The combat is said to be combo-based. It is equally important to control your own attacks as it is to understand the attacks of the opponent, a huge monster. In combat, it is about recognizing patterns and responding correctly.

Depending on which weapon you use, you have a different gaming feel: The swings feel heavier with an axe than with a sword.

Dauntless – the best new MMO of 2017?

On the US site MMORPG.com, they also played the demo. Here, they currently find the combat too slow and static, but recognize a lot of potential in the title. Especially the minimalist UI is liked, although it may be difficult for beginners to read the fights correctly.

Dauntless

It is remarkable that Dauntless has only been in development for two years.

The author of mmorpg.com believes it could become the best new MMO of 2017.

Beta Registration for Dauntless – How to Register for the Beta

The demo only featured two of the “Behemoth” that you will take down in co-op with up to 4 players. The finished game is supposed to have dozens of them.

You have not seen much more from the game, which is set to enter open beta in 2017. You can register for the beta of Dauntless here on the game’s website.

More information about Dauntless can be found here:

Dauntless: Action RPG aims to mix WoW, Monster Hunter, and Dark Souls

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Source(s):
  1. pcgamer
  2. dauntless

Ghost Recon Wildlands: Players Demand a Later Release After Beta

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 3 minutes

In Ghost Recon Wildlands, the world is turned upside down. Players want to play the game “later” and not “sooner.”

Unusual images are currently circulating in the social networks of Ghost Recon Wildlands. The reason for this is the closed beta phase, which started on Friday and will remain active until Monday.

In various Reddit forums, one can read feedback from players who have gathered their experiences during the testing phase and draw their conclusions. However, instead of being impatient for the release and asking for Wildlands to be released sooner, many wish for a later release date.

Our conclusion of the Ghost Recon Wildlands beta

Much potential and bad experiences

Ghost Recon Release Delay

It feels like living in another world. “Never before have gamers been so strongly in favor of delaying a game release,” is the content of a popular image related to Ghost Recon Wildlands. But what lies behind this image? Why are many in favor of a delay?

Shortly after the closed beta began, posts about the game’s poor performance piled up. Lags, low FPS, and error messages tarnished the testing phase for many gamers.

Despite the partly poor performance, players fight for Wildlands and advocate for the game, which is supposed to be released next month on March 7.

Ghost Recon Wildlands Beta Motorcycle

“Everyone sees how much potential the game has. I would find it good if the release was delayed and game mechanics and other things were added, improved, or removed,” writes Overload92 on Reddit. The beta shows that Wildlands still has many rough edges that should be addressed before the release.

The vehicle control is not refined, the AI behaves questionably in some situations, and the stealth mode does not properly “reward” players:

  • Controlling the vehicles in Wildlands currently feels vague and partly uncontrollable. Especially flying the helicopter should be heavily revised, as it can quickly become deadly for inexperienced players.
  • Dealing with the AI proves particularly challenging in many situations. When trying to stop a convoy on the road and positioning your car across both lanes, the AI opponents simply drive full speed into the car instead of braking or taking a detour.
  • Players can choose whether to complete missions “loudly” or “unseen” in stealth mode. In games like Payday 2, the stealth variant is rewarded with more experience points to give players an advantage for tactical approaches. In Wildlands, rewards for tactical approaches should be worked on to make this method more popular among players. The only (noticeable) advantage in stealth missions in this beta so far is that you die or get shot less often.

Alongside the many negative performance feedback in the community, it is interesting to see how players defend Ghost Recon Wildlands and would like to give the game more time. “As much as I would hate to wait even longer for the game. I’d rather play with joy than frustration,” comments Reddit user AkAmpZ.

Ghost Recon Wildlands Screenshot Coop Title

Some players in the community wish that the game works from the start and is successful. This is often based on bad experiences from the past. “Look at The Division. The game had a rocky start, and the first patches were questionable. I don’t know how the numbers look now, but everyone I know has already stopped playing the game,” writes armada127 on Reddit.

The mood in these threads shows that players see a lot of potential in Wildlands and want the developers to unlock that potential. Instead of writing the game off and saying “Well, it had potential, but nothing will come of it anyway,” many players are willing to wait longer for a release to avoid disappointment afterwards.

Would you also prefer a later release of Ghost Recon Wildlands?

Ghost Recon Wildlands – All Beta Missions in Gameplay Video

All information about the Ghost Recon Wildlands beta

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The Lord of the Rings Online: Mordor will take place after the destruction of the Ring

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

In the fantasy MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online players will not interfere with Frodo and the Ring in the expansion “Mordor.”

This summer, a major expansion for LOTRO, the first in years, will be released: In Mordor, the journey of the Ring comes to its end.

In an interview, the developers of The Lord of the Rings Online have now revealed how they want to handle the Ring and Mordor.

The players will not impede the destruction of the Ring, as stated. Because Frodo and Sam could only reach Mount Doom because they were working “in secret.” If there had been an army of heavily armed players nearby, Sauron would have spotted them and everything would have turned out differently. Staying true to Tolkien’s work is the top priority for The Lord of the Rings Online.

Gollum-Ring

Therefore, most of the Mordor expansion will take place after “Frodo and Sam have done their thing.”

This has been known for 10 years. Since 2007, lead designer Jeff Libby has been confident about how he will portray this part of the story.

The Lord of the Rings Online tells its own stories with Mordor

The team is venturing into new territory, telling its own stories based on the situation that arose at the end of Tolkien’s work. It is clear: “Something as evil as Sauron doesn’t just go away and everything is great. Mordor is still a terrible place of evil.”

Up until now, players always had a safety net. They knew Tolkien’s heroes would pull the chestnuts out of the fire and advance the plot. With Mordor, the players will have to step into the spotlight and take responsibility themselves.

The Lord of the Rings Online

Is it going back to the Shire?

The interview also contains subtle hints about where the story could head after Mordor.

The players might then leave Mordor and hunt down servants of evil that have spread throughout the world. Thus, it is possible that they will return to a changed Shire. For in the literary original, the hobbits do not return to an idyll but to the next crisis. In the Shire, an old acquaintance rules under a new name.

The technology for a kind of phasing is present in The Lord of the Rings Online. It could really lead to a dark version of the Shire. However, the developers do not want to reveal their cards just yet. Currently, they are fully focused on the expansion.

Read more about Mordor and what The Lord of the Rings Online is planning here:

The Lord of the Rings Online: New race, nicer characters, and better housing

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. mmo-central

Conan Exiles has undead dragon bosses, legendary items, bleeding skeletons

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

In Conan Exiles , a player ventured into the “Underground City”. What he found strongly resembles MMORPG elements.

Conan Exiles is a survival MMO by Funcom and is still in its infancy. Unlike most other survival MMOs, it comes from a studio with plenty of MMORPG experience. After all, the Norwegians at Funcom are behind MMORPGs like The Secret World and Age of Conan.

Even though it has been expressly stated for Conan Exiles: “This is not an MMORPG”, the game still places an emphasis on the background of the world, its history. One feels connected to the universe of Robert E. Howard in Oslo.

Thus, the game features an “Underground City”, where undead and snake creatures dwell. Here, you will find “bosses”, oversized, terribly frightening beings. There are also reports of enemies that carry names, as known from MMORPGs and RPGs.

A YouTuber has now embarked on an initial expedition in this city:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RKMHxQR1SQ

We see much that astonishes and impresses us. If one overlooks the fact that the giant snake clips through the stone walls and the skeletons bleed when punched, there is surprisingly much potential and “raid atmosphere” to be recognized in the game.

As unshaped and chaotic as one usually expects survival MMOs to be, this does not seem to be the case.

Other survivors from Conan Exiles report that they have found “named weapons” – each with its own little story. But somewhat anticlimactic in a simple box.

conan-exiles-pike

It will be exciting to see if such “MMORPG” elements come into play more strongly as Funcom continues to work on the game. At the moment, players and Conan Exiles are still in a getting-to-know phase, and surprises can await players at every turn or lurk, as in the case of bleeding skeletons.

Have you already experienced adventures in Conan Exiles that you want to tell us about? Then write it in the comments.

More about Conan Exiles can be found in our beginner guide that should ease you into your first moments

Conan Exiles: Beginner Guide – First Steps in the Barbaric World

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Diablo 3: “Too much randomness” – Diablo’s creator criticizes archaic items

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 2 minutes

Are the new ancient items in Diablo 3 Patch 2.5.0 too much RNG? This is what the creator of Diablo says about it.

A few days ago, Blizzard introduced the new patch for Diablo 3. In the patch notes of update 2.5.0 there were not only changes to items but also new features currently being tested on the PTR servers. As a new feature, the ancient items were introduced, which are even rarer than primal items and offer even better stats. In the community, these items are the cause of many discussions. For some, the luck factor is too pronounced, while for others, they are the right reward for grinding.

The creator of Diablo David Brevik is still not convinced of the ancient items.

Is the luck factor too high?

The YouTuber and streamer Rhykker interviewed David Brevik and asked him about his opinion on the ancient items.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft85XKRtbvY&

He is not convinced by the system because it feels like players have no influence on the loot. When he kills a specific boss in World of Warcraft once a week to get a rare mount, then the chance is high that after a few weeks he will obtain this loot. As a player, you have more direct influence because you are repeatedly killing the same target, and the rare loot is either there – or not.

With ancient items, one has to hope that at some point exactly the right item with the right stats randomly drops for the character. Players farming these items might get frustrated if the chances of obtaining the items are so extremely low and the “search” for them feels hopeless.

Diablo 3 Primal Ancient2
Source: PTR forums

At the end of the video, Rhykker emphasizes that David Brevik gave his personal, spontaneous opinion on the topic in the video and could not delve deeply into the subject beforehand. Before this interview, Brevik was not aware that there are primal or ancient items in Diablo 3.

To resolve the randomness of the Primal Ancients, Rhykker suggests a proposal for a enhancement mechanic. With this mechanic, one could guarantee upgrading an ancient item to an ancient item. However, the costs would need to be significantly higher .

What is your opinion on such a mechanic?

How strong are ancient items in Diablo 3?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Destiny: Back to the Past – How to Get Old Vendor Items

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 2 minutes

In Destiny, it is possible to obtain old vendor items from “The Taken King” and “House of Wolves”. How?

Currently, there is a “glitch” circulating on YouTube that can reverse time: This allows vendors in the Tower to offer items from TTK or HoW times again. If you have only been involved since “Rise of Iron” or want to browse the old vendor offerings again, this trick should allow you to purchase items like the Iron Sledge directly from the Crucible Quartermaster.

destiny-xbox

The prerequisite is that you own the original Destiny disc. It does not work with the digital version or a newer disc. Furthermore, the glitch has only been confirmed on Xbox, and there is no guide for PS4.

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Here’s how

destiny-dlc

On Xbox, close the game, select Destiny, and then press “Manage Game”. You will see the DLCs displayed there. Now delete “Rise of Iron” to see the TTK inventory. Also delete the TTK DLC to see the “House of Wolves” inventory.

Now start Destiny as usual, run to the vendors, and buy the desired items for Legendary Marks. When you reinstall the deleted DLCs, the purchased items should still be in your inventory.

destiny iron sledge

By the way: Not only the vendor inventory is reversed in this way. The items you receive from faction packages or from engrams are also “old” items.

Whether you want to reverse time is entirely up to you. It only works with the original Xbox Destiny disc. There is no way to delete the DLCs individually on PS4.

The Iron Sledge was one of the most significant weapons in Year 2 of Destiny. What other weapons characterized “The Taken King”, you can read in the given link. Or you can look back even further: These are the most important weapons from the first year of Destiny.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Overwatch: Blizzard promises more story content – “very soon”

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

In the shooter Overwatch , the story and the world behind the shooting will be highlighted more closely.

The last time players got a glimpse of the world behind Overwatch was at Christmas. A comic was released. It provided insights into the characters and how they spend their time outside the matches. But above all, the revelation that Tracer is gay dominated the headlines.

Overwatch: Too Many Questions, Too Few Answers

The comic did not contribute much to shedding light on the mysterious world of Overwatch and making connections that many long for. So far, there are many hints from Blizzard about the world in which Overwatch takes place, but no cohesive story yet.

There are many narrative threads left open. Numerous questions arise from the hints, but answers are lacking. This bothers the story-interested fans of the shooter.

Overwatch Winston Trailer

As this has been lacking lately, a user in the Blizzard forum asked: Is the lore dead? We have only scratched the surface of the story. The Christmas comic told us nothing at all.

Why is Symmetra there? What is the story of Roadhog, Junkrat, and the others? Too many questions, too few answers. As it is now, it feels empty.

Blizzard’s lead writer Michael Chu then spoke up. Blizzard is excited to explore the world of Overwatch and is working hard to create new story content for 2017. It is set to start “very soon”.

Zarya Overwatch

A hint as to why there is a lack of lore in Overwatch can be found in an earlier statement from November 2016. A graphic novel titled “First Strike” was actually supposed to be released for Overwatch.

There, Blizzard wanted to shed light on the early days of Overwatch, the Omnic Crisis, and the founding of the organization. However, the project was scrapped because the story had changed too much over time. Since the concept of “First Strike” was created, too much had changed, Chu said at that time. Including the perspective on how the early days of Overwatch unfolded.

Apparently, Blizzard is still in the process of redesigning the background of Overwatch.

Overwatch: Graphic novel about the background story canceled

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Us.Battle.net

The Division: Was ist eigentlich mit Midas? Was kann sie in 1.6?

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 2 minutes

What can the exotic submachine gun Midas do in The Division? It is currently being tested on the PTS for 1.6 and Last Stand.

There is an interesting piece of information about Midas: This named high-end submachine gun was the first overpowered weapon in The Division. On March 8, 2016, the shooter was launched, and many agents rushed into endgame and immediately discovered the advantages of Midas. This made it possible to activate individual skills in no time.

division-midas-exo

As early as March 12, we reported that this weapon was “overpowered” and that Massive was working on a nerf. Thus, the first overpowered weapon was swiftly toned down.

Midas in Update 1.6

With Update 1.6, the Midas becomes a exotic weapon with a unique talent. When the PTS went live a few weeks ago, this talent was still unknown. So: What can the submachine gun do now?

The Midas comes in 1.6 with an interesting property that is always active:

  • Talent – Midas: Every bullet that hits an enemy reduces your own damage by 1% and the enemy’s damage by 1% as well. The maximum is 20%. The effect decreases by 5% every second.
division-midas-debuff

In other words: With the Midas, you weaken both yourself and the opponent. The effect is displayed as a number below the grenades:

division-midas-gegner

An enemy who deals less damage due to the Midas is marked as follows:

What benefit does this Midas talent have?

This talent probably won’t make the Midas the new overpowered weapon that every agent must have. Rather, it offers interesting possibilities for your game, especially in the strike team.

Combine the Midas, for example, with the D3-FNC set. This set allows you to carry a submachine gun along with the ballistic shield. Thus, you can advance with the Midas, weaken the enemies, and your teammates shoot down the weakened enemy from a distance. Can be useful in PvE as well as in PvP.

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However, the Midas will have to prove its usefulness in live play. At the moment, submachine guns are not a sought-after weapon class anyway. Whether the Midas can hold its own against assault rifles and other exotic weapons will remain to be seen.

You can read information about exotic weapons here. And here we present the best weapons in 1.5.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. forums.ubi.com

Crowfall wants to know – wants to accelerate MMORPG development

Andreas Bertits Andreas Bertits Reading time 2 minutes

Last year, the developers of the PvP MMORPG Crowfall announced their intention to speed up development.

Now, plans for the upcoming period have been announced, and it seems that the team is really going to step up the pace.

On one hand, a revision of the inventory is on the agenda. It seems that all bugs have been found, so the new inventory can be introduced with the upcoming update. Furthermore, the Knight class will receive a balancing overhaul. The Knight was not as attractive to many players due to the new classes, which is why its role is being redefined. It will receive new skills and will be able to act more effectively in battles.

Crowfall Gameplay
Recently, many sandbox titles have been announced. Crowfall is considered one of the biggest MMORPG hopes.

A Virtual Show Home Settlement

In addition, the developers are working with the Templar on a new archetype. This will be available in both a male and a female version. More about its powers will be shared at a later time.

After the first player houses were shown in a livestream, they now want to present these more closely on the Sanctuary server. There, players can inspect the houses directly. The sale of the houses will last until February 27.

Build Your Own Eternal Kingdom

Crowfall_Pre Alpha_1 1

The biggest update will concern the Eternal Kingdoms. Players will be provided with a tool that allows them to assemble plots and then upload that area as their personal kingdom on the server. The realm will then be accessible.

Since this is such a large, new system, it will initially be tested in multiple phases. Backers will be allowed to participate in these tests to give feedback to the developers.

Later this month, the team plans to announce further details about the updates, especially regarding the Eternal Kingdoms. As you can see, the developers have their hands full working to make Crowfall a polished game that will hopefully be released this year.

More articles about Crowfall:

Crowfall: Digging up body parts to create your zombie

Crowfall Crafting: Every resource matters – there is no trash

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. MassivelyOP
  2. MMORPG.com

Paragon has 5.7 million players – will bring 15 new heroes, co-op

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

The MOBA Paragon (PC, PS4) gives an outlook on 2017 and announces a variety of new heroes.

The F2P-MOBA Paragon is quite satisfied with itself. In a letter to fans, they summarize:

  • We have 5.7 million registered players
  • In 2016, 25 new heroes were added
  • And we have deployed 132 patches since March

As a turning point, Epic highlights the Monolith update in November. Since it came, they have greatly increased the number of active players. In November before Monolith, there were only 182,000, but in January, there were 832,000 active players.

A new hero every three weeks in Paragon

In 2017, this pace is expected to continue. Every three weeks, a new hero will be released – except for around Christmas or when significant patches are pending. This should amount to about 15 new heroes in Paragon.

Recently, however, they have had too many melee fighters, so they now want to introduce more ranged characters.

paragon2
Co-op mode and ranked play are coming

Further planned for 2017:

  • New game modes – two are already in development, a PvP mode that focuses on fast matches, and a co-op mode against the computer
  • Matchmaking will be completely renewed
  • Balancing and older heroes will be revised
  • With skins and loot boxes, Paragon should become more diverse
  • There will also be ranked games

More about the turning point “Monolith” in Paragon can be found in this article for you:

Paragon: MOBA has great player numbers after action update and trouble with veterans

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. paragon

Destiny: “Bungie, give us more grind!” – Guardians want to become stronger

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

In Destiny there is a lack of vertical progression. 400 Light is reached too quickly, and then there is nothing more to do.

One of the most popular YouTubers and streamers for Destiny is Datto. He demands in a new video: “Bungie, give us more grind!” Many players stopped because there is simply too little progress after reaching Light Level 400. 400 is reached quickly and isn’t even necessary. In the game, everything can be accomplished with Light Level 390.

Light Level 400 has lost all meaning

The vertical progression, meaning actual strength gain, is too short in Destiny. This is the phase that is often described as “grind”. In other games, such as World of Warcraft, you can always log in and make your character a bit better – by collecting points for your artifact weapons.

In Diablo 3, your character also continuously levels up through the Paragon levels, which marginally improve the character’s base stats. A similar system exists in The Elder Scrolls Online. Champion points guarantee a steady vertical progression.

Destiny-Tresor-72
Full vault – large selection. But this is all just horizontal progression – guardians grow wider.

In Destiny, however, “growing up” ends quickly. Then you can only grow “horizontally” to the side, acquiring a larger selection of items. These do not truly make the character stronger, but only more versatile, giving him more options to react to situations.

No Forever 31, but guaranteed upward progress

Datto therefore urges Bungie to bring more grind into the game. And also activities where you can really grow. 400+ raids or instances where guardians can test their newly gained power.

destiny-aksis-conzept

Datto does not want a progression like in Vanilla Destiny times, no Forever 31. Progression should not be too reliant on chance: Am I getting that one item that I am still missing to reach maximum level, or am I not? Instead, there should be a steady progress possible.

New challenges for Bungie in boss design

Mein MMO thinks: The difficult part is that Destiny has a different skill ceiling than games like WoW or Diablo 3. In Destiny, it is much more about the player’s personal skills, and it is not about overpowering your equipment. Even if many believe otherwise, who just got acquainted with the Matador .

Ultimately, it would be necessary to play excellently in such “400+” activities. Always hitting the final boss and not getting caught by his abilities to defeat him. This is the core of Destiny.

destiny-strike-omnigul

Perhaps one would then need to play perfectly at Light Level 400. At Light Level 410, there would be a small margin for error. At 420, an even larger one.

Incorporating a vertical progression here would present new challenges for game design:

  • How can boss encounters in a shooter be designed in such a way that these gear aspects and the margin for error come into play in the right amount?
  • How should vertical progression affect the gameplay experience?

Difficult, but necessary

Even though it’s difficult: It is necessary that Bungie thinks about this.

Destiny-Trio

It is clear that with the relaxations at light level the vertical progression is currently far too short. Bungie should indeed consider alternative ways to allow guardians to become stronger.

It can only go upward now, there is no more space horizontally

So far, it has always been the solution in Destiny to allow players to grow horizontally. To always offer them new variants of exotic weapons and armor. But that can’t last forever.

Already now, many guardians are wondering what weapons and armors could possibly still come. The current selection seems to cover everything.

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Of the last 7 exotic armor pieces that came, hardly any item has been able to establish itself. This significantly reduces the fascination of Destiny and puts a damper on the mood.

For Destiny, progression can actually only go up, and not widen.

Different times were still prevalent in Year 1. Here are the 11 most important weapons from that era, which many consider the golden age of Destiny:

Destiny: The 11 most important weapons from Year 1 – People loved them, hated them!

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The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind with its own TV spot – Watch it here

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time < 1 minutes

The Morrowind addon of the fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online (TESO) gets its own TV spot.

ESO-Boss

Last week there was a big reveal of Morrowind, the first real addon for the The Elder Scrolls MMORPG TESO. The addon is set to be released on June 6 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
It takes place in Vvardenfell, with 30 hours of new adventures waiting for players. A new trial, PvP battlegrounds, and a new class, the Warden, are set to come to the MMORPG.

The TV advertisement shows the most action-packed snippets from the trailer in a juicy 30-second bite.

How The Elder Scrolls Online has evolved is what we look at in this article:

The Elder Scrolls Online: One Tamriel in review – Is ESO worth it in 2017?

 
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. dualshockers

Gigantic: Colorful MOBA gets even more colorful – New purple heroine arrives

Jürgen Horn Jürgen Horn Reading time 2 minutes

The cute MOBA game Gigantic has just received its first update, and the next expansion is already on the way. This time, you will get a new heroine with a spear and purple skin.

Gigantic is a colorful MOBA game where archery goats, wild oxen, croaking frogs, and cuddly brutal bears polish each other’s cute faces. But it still gets even more colorful! After the huge cuddly bear Pakko as well as snow and ice were introduced in the last update, the new update is already on its way.

Gigantic Zandora_03

The Purple Snob

The new update is called “Eternal Dawn” and this time you will get a new character: The spear wielder Zandora. Zandora is a being from the Eternal race and hails from the Star City. However, she has left it to wander among mortals and to impale them with her spear.

Gigantic Zandora_01

Zandora’s skills make her a hybrid of a melee damage dealer and a supporter. Further details about the update and Zandora will be released by publisher Perfect World in the coming weeks. Eternal Dawn is set to be released on February 23, so the new information will come quickly.

Related topic: Gigantic Payment Model – No one intends to build a paywall

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Ghost Recon Wildlands: Beta-Start – Alle Missionen im Video

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time < 1 minutes

You can watch the entire beta of Ghost Recon Wildlands here in the video and get an impression of it.

Yesterday, the closed beta phase of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands started. This tactical shooter is set a few years in the future in Bolivia. There, the Santa Blanca drug cartel has gained significant power and must now be fought against. As a Ghost, you can play the various missions in Wildlands with up to three other players in cooperative mode. If you did not receive a beta invite, you can see the contents of the test phase in the video.

Character Customization, Missions, Gameplay

Ghost Recon Wildlands allows you to make some changes in the game. This includes the CharacterSmith, which lets you customize your Ghost’s appearance. You can save up to six different outfits there to prepare for various regions like jungles or mountains.

For weapon customization, Ghost Recon Wildlands provides you with the GunSmith, with which you can modify assault rifles, submachine guns, or other weapons to your liking.

If you did not receive a beta invite yourself or want to see the test phase from a different perspective, you can watch the contents of the closed beta in the video by Skill Up.

https://youtu.be/7CJgUq9ro-o
  • 0:29:00 Character Creation
  • 0:33:00 starts the game’s intro
  • 1:12:00 –  Mission completed – Weapon reward
  • 1:14:47 – New mission started
  • 1:35:00 – Adventure with the plane
  • 1:40:00 – Gameplay at night
  • 2:06:00 – Short “flight” with another helicopter model
  • 2:44:00 – Attack on a camp – Sniper rifle and bullet drop in action

What is your impression of the Ghost Recon Wildlands beta?

You can find all information about the closed beta of Ghost Recon Wildlands here

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Conan Exiles wanted barbarians, got pirates – Funcom accidentally removed copy protection

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time < 1 minutes

Funcom accidentally removed the Denuvo copy protection from Conan Exiles, opening up treasure chests for pirates.

As reported by Eurogamer, the Denuvo Anti-Tamper copy protection was supposed to ensure that Conan Exiles could not be easily cracked and pirated.

However, due to an error in the build process, the copy protection was temporarily removed. Thus, “pirates” had an easy time grabbing the unprotected version of Conan Exiles and spreading a DRM-free torrent.

Funcom is quite disheartened. While barbarians are no issue, pirates are not well-received. Even though they quickly reactivated Denuvo in a later patch, the damage has already been done.

Conan Exiles Bat

Funcom reluctantly states: Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done if people download and play an unauthorized copy. They hope that it will lead them to the official version, which continues to receive updates, patches, and improvements.

Funcom’s hope seems to be: A cracked version cannot be updated. But patches are essential for an early access title. Ironically, the “raw state” of Conan Exiles could be a good thing for Funcom. If the pirates get a taste for Conan through the pirated version, but quickly lose interest in the raw version and crave an improved version instead.

More news from Funcom came yesterday when they shut down the official servers:

Conan Exiles shuts down official servers – “Too poor quality”

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Eurogamer

WoW: Gul’dan down – World First does not go to Method this time

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

In World of Warcraft (WoW) the Night Fortress is cleared on Mythic difficulty. Gul’dan is dead. The World First kill goes to Russia.

Exorsus is the first guild to reach 10/10. All 10 bosses of the latest WoW raid Night Fortress have been defeated on the highest difficulty Mythic. The guild announced this via the social media platform Twitter. WoW-Progress also confirms it. Exorsus is a Russian guild.

Gul’Dan has fallen in the second ID. The race for World First began on January 18. From then on, the raid was open on Mythic.

Exorsus has now claimed two of the last three World Firsts – for the second they were disqualified

The other two favorites in the race for World First, “Method” and “Serenity”, are still at 9/10 as of Saturday afternoon, February 4. The French guild From Scratch is also at the same stage.

In the race for World First in the interim raid “Trials of Valor”, Exorsus and From Scratch were temporarily banned by Blizzard for bug-using at Helya. Method secured the World First at Helya.

One raid earlier, in the Emerald Nightmare, Exorsus was also at the forefront and defeated Xavius as the world’s first guild.

The Mythic difficulty has been adjusted by Blizzard for 20 players to ensure a “comparable race” and a clear winner. In earlier expansions, 10-man and 25-man raids were equal, and it was unclear which of the kills was harder and more important – this changed from boss to boss. Since “Mythic” was introduced, there has been a clear king class in WoW. And now it has a crowned king with Exorsus.

This time in Night Fortress, there was an unfortunate incident between the two guilds Method and Serenity when a member of Method was able to disrupt the raid progress of Serenity:

WoW: Raid Blockade – Method player sabotages Mythic raid Serenity

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The Division: Silly Rabbit Costume Discovered – What does Massive say about it?

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 2 minutes

In The Division, a rabbit outfit was found in the game files for the agents. What’s the story behind it?

Now to a curious story: Just a few days ago, the Redditor and data miner iamunkn0wn discovered several cosmetic items in the game files of the PTS for 1.6.

division-hase1
division-hase2

Among them were these two rabbit outfits: one in white and – yes – one in pink:

The data miner suspected that these would be introduced into the live game with update 1.6.

Given these silly costumes, the community’s reaction was not surprising: they threw their hands over their heads and wondered what this was all about.

After all, the post-apocalyptic atmosphere is an important part of The Division. A ridiculous rabbit agent outfit just does not fit into the concept at all. The agents wrote incredulously in the comments that they would definitely not fight against pink rabbits in Last Stand. The end of The Division had already been declared.

Massive: Calm Down

Some players did not want to believe these found files at all. Maybe the data miner was just joking?

division-fäuste-agent

In the last livestream, Massive made a statement: Yes, the images are real. However, it has never been a topic to actually bring this outfit into the game. The agents can calm down; there will be no rabbit costume in The Division. They laughed briefly about it and changed the subject.

Now iamunkn0wn spoke up again: He noted that with the PTS Phase 3, the rabbit costume has been removed. It is no longer in the game files. In PTS Phase 2, it was still there.

Some agents now suspect that Massive actually wanted to bring the rabbit costume – possibly as a premium item for real money. However, after they saw the intense discussion about it on Reddit, they decided to remove it. However, the reasons why this outfit was first introduced into the files and then removed can only be speculated upon.

What do you think about it?

What premium items will be available with 1.6 can be read here.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. reddit.com
  2. reddit.com

ESO: Wer macht hier was? Der Trailer zum Addon erklärt

Jürgen Horn Jürgen Horn Reading time 2 minutes

The cinematic trailer for the Morrowind expansion of The Elder Scrolls Online showcases the Warden, the island of Vvardenfell, and intense battles. But what is it actually about?

The exciting trailer for the recently revealed ESO expansion Morrowind undeniably looks fantastic. But what exactly is happening here? Who are all the characters and creatures? Why are they fighting? And what is that giant construct at the end? ZenMax itself has revealed some details.

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Death to the Grandmaster!

At the beginning of the trailer, you hear Naryu Virian, the Morag Tong assassin, addressing the living god Vivec. She seeks permission to kill the Grandmaster of her own order. This is granted to her. Then you see the Grandmaster and his Argonian escort. However, this does not help him, as in the face of a Morag Tong assassin, the lizards flee and leave the two Dark Elves to themselves.

ESO Morrowind Trailerscreen07

In his flight from Naryu, the Grandmaster runs into the ruins of the ancient Dwemer. The Dwemer are a long-forgotten race that left behind magical steampunk constructs as their only legacy. Due to the Grandmaster and his clumsy escape, the guardians of the ruins are activated, and crawling mechanical spiders, as well as rolling Dwemer spheres, descend upon Naryu.

Beard-tastic!

Fortunately, Naryu is not alone. An unknown Redguard is aiding her by first unleashing his bear on the mechano-monsters. Mr. Unknown is  a Warden, the new ESO class from the Morrowind expansion. In addition to his bear tricks, he can also use ice magic. Using the skill “Hailstorm,” he incapacitates the constructs at the end of the battle.

ESO Morrowind Trailerscreen12

But the next danger does not take long to appear. With a great roar, a Dwemer Colossus, a gigantic clockwork battle machine, emerges. This obliterates the unfortunate Grandmaster and would turn the heroes to ash as well, if the Warden hadn’t created a handy ice shield.

Come all to Morrowind!

We unfortunately do not see how the battle against the colossus ends, but at the end of the trailer, we again hear Vivec asking Naryu to bring more heroes to Vvardenfell. They seem to be in demand.

And since Naryu should know your hero from the base game, it’s clear who she will ask first. You can read about the exact background of Naryu’s actions and her assassination attempt on the Grandmaster in the accompanying diary in the Collector’s Edition of Morrowind.

Related to the topic: ESO – Oops, where is the endgame?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. ZeniMax