In the MMO shooter Destiny, three of the most sought-after Exotics from “The Taken King” are now easy to obtain.
In about three months, the next big thing is coming to Destiny: The “Rise of Iron” expansion. Along with new quests, we can look forward to plenty of fresh weapons and armor pieces. One or two Exotics will certainly be included. An upgraded version of the exotic rocket launcher Gjallarhorn has already been confirmed.
A few days ago, the Update 2.3.0 in Destiny went live and brought a surprise: From now on, the mission endings that are prerequisites for coveted Exotics are permanently available.
These Exotics are now easy to obtain
Since “The Taken King,” missions have been available which provide an alternative ending on certain days and are prerequisites for exotic weapons. For example, if “Lost to Light” was the daily story mission, the “Black Spindle“ day was loudly declared. Many Guardians were frustrated by this, as they either had no time on those days, their clanmates were not online, or various other reasons prevented them from obtaining the time-limited Exotics.
Since the Update 2.3.0 a few days ago, Bungie has taken a different approach. Now you can tackle these exotic weapons at any time. They are:
Black Spindle: If you want to embrace this powerful sniper rifle, you must complete “Lost to Light” with an alternative ending. It’s all about speed. How to get the Black Spindle in Destiny, we have outlined here.
No Time to Explain: For this stylish pulse rifle, you first need to experience the alternative ending in the mission “Paradox,” so that the follow-up quest “Not Forged in Light” activates. How you can get “No Time to Explain”, we present here.
The alternative endings of Paradox and “Lost to Light” can now be selected at any time via the Navigator.
These Exotics are now available at any time. They have lost their time-limited “special status,” as all Guardians can now easily acquire these weapons. In the coming days and weeks, we will likely see these three exotic weapons more frequently.
Presumably, Bungie wants to give more players the opportunity to try out “Black Spindle,” “No Time to Explain,” and “Sleeper Simulant” themselves. The next DLC is just a few months away. Then there will be new things again that will take on a “special status” in Destiny.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Originally planned for release, the upcoming pirate MMO Sea of Thieves was expected to launch this year. However, the new official release date has now been announced.
In an interview, Aaron Greenberg, head of Xbox Games, stated that pirates will set sail in February 2017. The game will be released simultaneously with the action-adventure Scalebound and will be available for Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. However, a beta will take place beforehand; while registration is already available on the official website, the start date is still unknown.
MMO or cooperative adventure?
Sea of Thieves was one of the surprise hits at this year’s E3 gaming convention. Currently, it is unclear whether it is truly an MMORPG, as there is no information regarding the number of players that can be active on a server at the same time. However, several pirate crews will be sailing the seas, battling each other and searching for treasures. It is also not yet determined how deep the RPG elements will be. Can players improve their characters through skills? At least there will be quests and social activities like playing music and drinking.
Yohoho, it’s almost here!
Teamwork is essential, as large ships cannot be steered alone; a well-coordinated crew is needed to handle tasks such as hoisting the sails, steering, and managing cannons. At E3, developer Rare received great praise for the online game, which looks like a lot of fun.
If you want to embrace the seas as a pirate in Sea of Thieves, you can start sharpening your saber and prepare for thrilling pirate adventures by February 2017.
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Today we deal with the (almost) most powerful weapon in World of Warcraft: Legion – the artifact weapon for fishermen.
The most powerful fishing rod that Azeroth has ever seen
In the past weeks and months, we have dealt with various artifact weapons that players can acquire according to their respective class and specialization. However, we have not yet talked about one weapon, as it is a special case tied to a profession. Those who dedicate themselves to fishing in World of Warcraft: Legion will enjoy an artifact fishing rod!
Background story: Unlike the other artifact weapons, the Underlight Angler does not have a real backstory. Instead, this fishing rod is constructed as part of a quest line. For this, players must first fulfill certain requirements (see below) before they defeat a particularly powerful Murloc in a quest line. Nat Pagle, the greatest fisherman of Azeroth, then decides that the corpse would be perfect for crafting a special fishing rod.
How to obtain the artifact fishing rod?
Acquiring the Underlight Angler is relatively simple, but requires some preparation. Especially the prerequisites that must be met can take some time. Three things must happen:
Fishing must be at rank 800
All rare fish from Legion must have been caught (Achievement: Bigger Fish to Fry)
All coins from the well of the new Dalaran must be caught (Achievement: The Wish Remover)
Once these prerequisites are met, one will soon catch a special pearl. This starts a quest line that leads the player to Khadgar, who in turn directs us to Nat Pagle. After that, a bit of fishing is done (who would have thought), a big Murloc is defeated, and then you can fish with much more style than before.
Features of Underlight Angler: Most features of the fishing rod increase the chance of finding certain fish in their respective areas. However, there are also many fun tricks, such as a chance to catch shoes while fishing or being able to walk on water.
Undercurrent winks as first and saves walking distances, as it allows the fisherman to teleport directly to the next school of fish.
With Fishbane, the damage of automatic attacks against aquatic beings is increased – so fish, crabs, and similar.
One becomes a fish with Fishrender’s Blessing. This allows one to move quickly in the water and breathe underwater at the same time.
Really useful is Blood Fishing. With this, one can occasionally catch blood from Sargeras while fishing, which is needed for many crafting recipes.
By the way: The fishing rod does not gain artifact experience in the usual way, but – oh wonder – by fishing rare fish.
In The Division, the time for paid DLCs is approaching. But what about those agents who do not want to purchase an expansion? Will they still have a chance in the Dark Zone?
Updates 1.1 and 1.2 were fully delivered to all agents who purchased the base game. That is now coming to an end. From now on, with the “Underground” expansion, only players who pay extra will receive the complete content.
Massive distinguishes between DLC content and free updates:
DLC owners will receive the Underground missions, the raid “Dragon’s Nest” and four DLC-exclusive gear sets upon the release of the Underground expansion. On PC and Xbox One, it launches on June 28th, on PS4 on August 2nd.
Additionally, all agents will be provided with free content upon release on June 28th. This includes bug fixes, weapon balance changes, gameplay changes, new weapons, and a new gear set.
Thus, all players benefit from some new features. But: Will one remain competitive if they choose not to buy the DLCs?
Do the DLCs create a two-tier society in the Dark Zone?
One thing is certain: Without DLCs, you will not be able to play new missions and raids. You will also have to forgo the DLC-exclusive gear sets. But what happens to the content that has already been purchased? Specifically, regarding the Dark Zone?
The Dark Zone is characterized by player versus player combat. Nothing is more frustrating than encountering another agent against whom you have no chance.
And for the future of The Division, there is now a risk that players without DLC may not keep up with those who have DLC. For example, upcoming gear sets could provide “unfair” advantages that severely disadvantage the “no DLC” agents. What is Massive doing to ensure that these agents can continue to enjoy the base game to the fullest?
So far, little is known about how Massive will deal with the “left behind” players. Can they even reach the new gear score caps? Can they still play with agents who own the expansions?
It is possible that a separate Dark Zone class will be established for them, where agents without DLC are among themselves. This is to prevent unequal power dynamics from arising. But it will definitely be interesting to see how the developers approach this splitting.
What do you think? Have you already purchased the Season Pass?
Gameplay footage from E3 shows the first insights into the upcoming online melee game Absolver.
Absolver is an online action RPG with a strong focus on pronounced martial arts combat. You play as a masked fighter who must prove their worth in an open world filled with other players and NPCs to become an “Absolver”.
One aspect is particularly important and interesting: How does Absolver play? How are the melee fights conducted?
Quiet but deadly – The combat system in Absolver becomes complex
According to the developers at Slocap, the battles in Absolver are conducted very fluidly and dynamically. However, the fights do not occur in a way where you wildly hammer a button and your opponent eventually lies on the ground.
Instead, the mechanics behind martial arts are complex and strategically developed. You can switch between different fighting styles at any time, which you can individually combine and create.
You can learn these “moves” throughout your journey and create combos from them. Your enemy will never know exactly which attacks and movements you intend to use to take them down. This way, you can create your personal fighter. You also have further customization options with the choice of your gear.
Besides the diverse attack options, you must parry or dodge enemy attacks during combat. All of this takes place in real-time and requires not only strategic action but also quick reflexes and skill. You must observe your opponent and read their movements.
You can see fascinating battles and some options in Absolver in the following video. It features pre-alpha gameplay:
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At first, the fights are meant to be simple and intuitive. But as the game progresses, they become increasingly complex as you discover the different combat mechanics. Each “move” is purposeful and not just another animation of the same attack.
Compared to other action games that rely on explosions and heavy sound, Absolver aims to provide a pleasantly quiet experience. However, boredom will not occur: You may be quiet, but deadly.
By the way: You do not fight only with your fists. Swords have also been confirmed so far. You can customize these weapons in various ways. But beware: In combat, your enemies can take them from you.
Absolver will be released in 2017 for PC and PlayStation 4.
The next big patch for ArcheAge brings new playable races and a lady who hasn’t received enough attention.
Goddess Orchidna hates you all
For the Korean version of ArcheAge, patch 3.0 has already been announced, which is expected to bring many new features to the game. A new adversary will be the goddess of hatred, Orchidna, who, along with her snakes, is in a pretty bad mood because she has apparently been forgotten. Instead of taking her anger out on the developers, she directs it at the players. Understand if you can.
This announcement also included the news that there will be two new races for players to choose as characters. One can transform into demons, while the other has mechs that can be summoned in battle.
The good news for us Europeans: Patch 3.0 will be released “later this year” in the West as well; apparently, they want to speed up the release rate in our region a bit. The new trailer certainly whets the appetite for the content… Best to check it out yourself:
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Tracer, a hero from Overwatch, is now also in Street Fighter V thanks to a mod.
PC gaming is quite an exciting story. Thanks to mods, a lot is possible. Modders have now brought the popular hero Tracer from Overwatch to Street Fighter V. She drops her weapons there and engages in hand-to-hand combat.
http://youtu.be/i9QbXicD7v0
If you look closely, you’ll see the trick. Cammy has been given a new skin. Still pretty cool! Blizzard is known to want to expand Overwatch into a franchise with multiple games – maybe someday we’ll actually get such a fighter. In the meantime, here you can download the mod for Street Fighter V.
Just a few days ago, the largest and most extensive update of the early access MOBA Paragon found its way into the game. However, this can sometimes lead to unexpectedly high downtime and a lot of frustration.
The Draft Mode
Last Tuesday, some fundamental systems of Paragon were significantly changed, such as the balance of all heroes and experience gain.
Also, the altered player search debuted in the form of the Draft Mode. However, this brings not only positive aspects.
The Draft Mode is a first step towards ranked games. The adjustment of the search was also necessary, as there were sometimes extremely long wait times before the start of a match. Now you simply select the actual game mode (PvP, co-op vs. AI, or solo vs. AI) and then your preferred hero.
The Draft Lobby – in this example: Solo vs. AI
Basically wonderful and not different from other genre colleagues and big titles. After all, there is the possibility of forming a meaningful hero team even with a random player composition. Previously, you had no idea (unless you were playing with friends) what character someone would join the lobby with, which could lead to rather suboptimal compositions.
However, it becomes problematic when there is a little rage monster among the supposed team members, who is further back in the pick order and cannot play his preferred character because someone else snatches it right before his nose.
No Place for Sociopaths
Theoretically, he could simply choose another hero, thereby contributing to the balance of the team, and might even get to know an interesting second or third choice far away from his main character. However, if he is so self-absorbed and/or filled with hatred that he does not make any pick at all, no game can take place.
The entire team gets kicked out of the lobby, and everyone starts searching again. Now, you are probably thinking: “Hm, yes, that’s not pretty, but what’s the problem?” The crux of the matter is that while the one who remains inactive does not pick an alternative character and thus leads to the dissolution of the group, he immediately receives a warning in the form of a message on the screen.
If one dances out of line…
However, all previous team members are subjected to a 5-minute player search ban, even though they had no influence on the behavior of a single sociopath. And if you encounter such an uncooperative moron again after this forced timeout, your downtime will directly increase to 20 minutes. With the third consecutive dissolution, it would even be 60 minutes, and so forth.
Developer Epic Games stated that they consciously chose this general penalty to avoid unfavorable or unwanted team compositions with backup players or accounts that are not penalized, preventing them from jumping into the game.
Furthermore, the goal of the Draft Lobby is to provide players with a better coordination opportunity and more space for cooperation among each other. This decision also fits into the rules for better interactions, as Epic is aware of the increasingly present toxicity of the genre, but they do not want to count such individuals, AFK players, and uncooperative self-absorbed individuals among their players.
Lone fighters should probably stay away from team-based games
A positive, helpful, and still competitively oriented community is the goal of the developers. Therefore, in the future, there will be some words from Epic regarding further actions with toxic players, those who leave during ongoing games, and other annoying individuals and behaviors.
However, one should also keep in mind that Paragon is still in early access, and therefore nothing is set in stone. Especially since Epic Games has so far had a very open ear for its players and their problems and suggestions.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, it is now certain: There will be “Moments of Triumph” for year 2.
Almost a year ago, before the “The Taken King” expansion, Bungie celebrated the first anniversary of Destiny with the “Moments of Triumph.” These were specific activities that could be completed in year 1: such as mastering the raids, eliminating Skolas, or winning a certain number of Crucible matches.
Now Bungie has confirmed that there will be “Moments of Triumph” this year as well.
“Moments of Triumph” are meant to remind of the deeds from the past year in Destiny
At E3 2016, the Creative Lead Cristopher Barrett spoke about these moments of triumph. When asked by GameSpot whether the “Rise of Iron” expansion would also reward players who have been active in Destiny for some time, he said:
We talked a little about the Moments of Triumph, and that is something we will do again.
Barrett mentioned that there will be rewards associated with this content. This will remind players of what they accomplished in the past year.
The specific rewards were not hinted at by Barrett. Last year, Guardians could receive a stylish emblem by completing all the assigned tasks.
This emblem was given to Year-1 veterans in Destiny
So far, there is no official confirmation about which tasks Guardians will have to tackle for the special year-2 rewards. Recently, a graphic appeared that is supposed to show the “Moments of Triumph” from year 2. Now that we are certain that the Triumph Moments will return, this leak seems to gain credibility. The graphic was discovered in Bungie’s API.
“The Rise of Iron” will be released on September 20 for PS4 and Xbox One.
The colorful Void trader Baro Ki’Teer is once again visiting the Tenno in Warframe. And this time, he brings something new for PC that you shouldn’t miss.
The War Within
As previously reported, the upcoming major update 19 is split into three smaller parts to allow a bit more time for bug fixes and the completion of certain things. The new Conclave game mode “Lunaro,” which was released this week for the PC version of Warframe, kicks things off. Console Tenno will have to wait until the end of June/beginning of July.
After that, it continues with “Specters of the Rail,” which not only brings the long-awaited Kavats but also a complete overhaul of the star chart. Additionally, the Void farming system for Prime parts will be completely revamped. Furthermore, the revised control of the Archwings, a new support/healer Archwing itself, and a new Archwing mode are part of “Specters of the Rail.”
The upcoming star chart 3.0 resembles the original version
Finally, the cinematic quest “The War Within” and the brand new, fairy-themed Warframe “Titania” will round off update 19.
To prepare yourself, a visit to Baro Ki’Teer might be worthwhile. PC Tenno can expect an unprecedented mod this time.
The ‘When, Where and What’ of the current offer
When can Baro be found?
From June 17, 2016, 7 PM until Sunday, June 19, 2016, 7 PM.
Where can he be found?
PC: Larunda Relay, Mercury
PS4: Strata Relay, Earth
Xbox One: Leonov Relay, Europa
What does he have?
To tease PC Tenno a bit further, here’s the offer for PS4 and Xbox One:
The two mods “Jolt” and “Shock Coil” add 60% electricity damage and 60% status to your respective weapons and combine with toxin mods to form the secondary damage “Corrosion,” which can be quite helpful against Grineer.
The Prisma Skana is an expensive toy, but it serves more as fodder for your mastery rank than for most of you to actively bathe in the blood of your enemies for an extended period.
But what does Baro have for PC players this weekend?
Brand new, fresh, first in the lineup, and definitely useful is the mod “Primed Point Blank.” This increases your melee damage by up to 165%. In comparison, the regular version of this mod only grants you 120% more power.
All that’s left to say is: Buy, buy, buy! So you can turn your enemies into a nice meat salad.
“Primed Close Range” should definitely be added as well, especially if you are either a shotgun enthusiast or the owner of the Carrier (Prime) sentinel, as its weapon also uses shotgun mods and can be made significantly deadlier with this.
Console Tenno will unfortunately have to wait an additional 6 weeks for the arrival of the Primed mods. But isn’t anticipation the greatest joy? With that in mind, a joyful buzzing around in space… and make Lotus proud.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Overwatch there will soon be golden weapons. What the ranked game mode has to offer, we will tell you here.
Jeff Kaplan, the Game Director of Overwatch, addressed the players of Overwatch directly in a new Developer Update. He answered some pressing questions about the long-awaited “ranked game mode”. Many of the insights were not new and we have already covered those in this article. The new aspects have been summarized here for you.
Transparency – Every skill rating will be disclosed
A major concern for players was transparency. Who am I playing against? How good is the opponent? Is this a fair match? Therefore, in the ranked game mode, you will be able to view a lot of information at the start of a match, some of which Kaplan briefly mentioned:
Which players are registered as a group? Who is playing alone?
What is the skill level of my opponents and allies?
What is the average skill level of both teams in comparison?
How strong are the enemies? In Ranked Play, everything will be disclosed.
Kaplan briefly mentioned that it will not always be the case that a game only contains players of the same skill level. If you are on a team with a lower average rating, you can gain significantly more and would lose fewer points if you lose. Players should therefore be more motivated in such cases, rather than throwing in the towel right from the start.
Rewards for ranked games – Golden weapons
Those who participate in Ranked Play will also be able to unlock some rewards. In the ranked game, there will be special spray logos that can only be obtained through this mode. The real highlight, according to Kaplan, is golden weapons for the heroes – another way of customization. Skilled players will be able to unlock these weapons much faster. Some of these rewards (details have not been revealed yet) are to be reserved only for the best players so they can display their achievements visually.
In principle, however, the same applies to these rewards: purely cosmetic, no gameplay benefits.
They promise to publish more detailed information about the entire systems in the coming days, which will be released later this month.
You can watch the complete “Developer Update” here:
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For three years, they were in a “secret, stupid legal dispute,” says developer Sean Murray. Because the British telecommunications and pay-TV company “Sky” holds the rights to the term “Sky,” that is, the sky.
On Twitter, Murray exclaimed, “Yay! We reached an agreement with Sky, we can now call our game No Man’s Sky. 3 years of secret, stupid, legal nonsense are over.”
Yay! We finally settled with Sky (they own the word “Sky”). We can call our game No Man’s Sky. 3 years of secret stupid legal nonsense over
As Murray says, the situation was quite serious. In the same situation, Microsoft was forced to change “Skydrive” to “Overdrive.” On the other hand, Murray jokes that this situation is probably also why Skynet never happens.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , Bungie has suspended the Trials of Osiris on June 18.
At the moment, the Trials of Osiris are not active. As Bungie announced on Twitter, they have been suspended due to issues preventing players from participating in matches.
Trials of Osiris is currently disabled as we investigate issues preventing some players from joining matches.
This was announced on Twitter at 6:14 AM our time on Saturday morning. It is still the middle of the night for Bungie in Seattle. Therefore, it is not expected that further information will be available soon regarding whether and when this week’s Trials of Osiris will continue.
Daybreak Game Company is discontinuing two of its titles, including the shooter PlanetSide.
PlanetSide launched in 2003. It will come to an end on July 1, 2016, as announced by Daybreak.
The game was very important to Daybreak and held a special place in the hearts of all who worked on its successor. However, due to “evolving business reasons and technical requirements,” it is now necessary to terminate the service. Since 2014, PlanetSide has been free-to-play.
The mentioned successor Planetside 2 was released in 2012 for PC and in 2015 for PS4.
In addition to Planetside, Daybreak is also shutting down the Everquest card game “Legends of Norrath.”
In The Division, the vendors will offer fresh goods on PS4, Xbox One, and PC starting today. We take a look at the offerings of the specialized equipment vendor and the Dark Zone weapon vendor.
The big vendor reset in The Division takes place from Friday to Saturday. While some sellers change their inventory every day, the vendors for high-quality items only change their offerings once a week. Today is the day.
The specialized equipment vendor’s offerings as of June 18th.
You can find this vendor in the operations base in the tech wing. He only offers you his items in exchange for Phoenix Credits.
M870 – Military Version (shotgun): 223 PCs – value 182 (talents: Stable, Resolute, Careful)
You can also buy many backpacks today. In addition to the “Hunter’s Mark” backpack (value 191), there’s a high-end backpack with value 204 and two with value 182. Additionally, the vendor has the “Hunter’s Loyalty” vest (191) and a high-end mask (204) available.
Offerings of the Dark Zone weapon vendor after the reset on June 18th.
If you want to acquire the weapons from this seller, you must rush into the safe room of DZ03 with a thick bag full of Dark Zone currency. However, with currency alone, the DZ vendor won’t offer anything. Certain Dark Zone ranks are also required. Today he has two of the most exciting weapons available. However, they do not have sky-high talents. However, the blueprints are top-notch.
The high-end weapons this week:
SCAR-H – Military Version (sniper rifle): 19503 DZW – value 163 (rank 25) (Deadly, Enduring, Stable)
Paragon is suing a German player. According to Epic Games, he created a “hack” for their MOBA Paragon and demanded a monthly fee for it.
Epic is therefore demanding damages from Robin K. from Constance in Germany, as reported by the US magazine Polygon.
The hack was reportedly developed in March 2016. At that time, Paragon had been in development for three years and was briefly in Early Access.
According to Polygon, the hack was advertised on relevant sites as the “most powerful hack for Paragon in the world.” It was promoted with aimbot, triggerbot, 3D radar, and that it could be customized to make it harder to detect.
Source. Polygon
In early June, Epic issued two “takedown notices” for YouTube videos showing the hack. On June 8, K. demanded that these videos be republished. This led to the conclusion by Epic that the German opened the door for a lawsuit in California. Epic demands that this be resolved before a jury. They seek damages and that all copies of this software be destroyed.
Patch 3.35 in Final Fantasy XIV aims to bring all players together with the Deep Dungeon while still being challenging.
What is the Deep Dungeon in Final Fantasy XIV?
At Kotaku, during E3, there was an opportunity to speak with Game Director Naoki Yoshida, who shared some insights about the “Deep Dungeon” that will appear in Patch 3.35.
Essentially, the “Deep Dungeon – Palace of the Dead” is designed to be accessible to as many players as possible. For this reason, players can dive into the chaos starting from level 17 – but it’s not that simple. There are supposed to be more than 50 different floors that deviate from what Final Fantasy players are accustomed to. During their stay, players will receive new gear and weapons, but these will only work within this zone – at least until they earn the right to take the items outside.
The stay is quite tough and can sometimes be frustrating – as there are checkpoints only every 10th floor. So if you perish on level 19, you fall back to floor 10.
The Deep Dungeon is also supposed to be dynamic and adjust to the group. Anyone can venture out alone or bring up to 3 friends. Healers and tanks are not strictly required; everyone should be able to play what they want.
Veterans of the series might feel reminded of the single-player titles – there was often an “endgame dungeon” here that featured numerous levels and was usually more difficult than the actual final boss of the game.
The release of the Deep Dungeon will not be the end of this feature – later, additional levels will be added that will increase in difficulty. A specific release date for Patch 3.35 is still pending.
In World of Warcraft: Legion, much is promised for the release. In the livestream, the developers explained what is coming – and what will be added later.
Flying only at “mid-expansion”
Until the release of World of Warcraft: Legion, the developers plan to hold a livestream every week, where they will answer questions from the community and explain their thoughts behind certain decisions. In the first of these livestreams, they had Ion Hazzikostas in front of the camera – the choice of topics was therefore diverse. We have put together the highlights for you.
Flying will only be possible on the Broken Isles late.
A topic that has been controversially discussed repeatedly is the possibility of flying. As in Warlords of Draenor, it will not be possible to fly on the Broken Isles at the start of the expansion. While players can work towards the necessary achievement from the very beginning, they will only be able to soar into the skies “mid-expansion” – probably with Patch 7.1 or 7.2. In any case, more content is expected to appear after the introduction of flying.
What about Thal’Dranath?
For several months, fans have missed an area that was originally announced for Legion: Thal’Dranath. The island was supposed to be full of elven ruins and primarily inhabited by followers of the Legion. However, the zone was scrapped, according to Blizzard, “without sacrificing content.”
In the first map for Legion, Thal’Dranath was still an independent area. It has since been scrapped.
While no concrete details are mentioned here, the developers supposedly had a “much cooler idea” that players would love once it appears in the game – probably in some patch.
Patches – What comes after launch?
Blizzard has already planned quite a bit for the time after the launch. The first patch with a new instance is expected to appear just a few weeks after the release. After that, the story will continue in Suramar, and new animations for spellcasters will be introduced into the game. Generally, they want to – as every time – be better prepared and avoid a content drought. “But actions count here more than words,” Blizzard admits.
Caster are set to receive new animations – but only after launch.
In next week’s livestream, they want to deal extensively with the professions in Legion.
Next week, Lord Saladin will kick off the Iron Banner in June. Until then, you can enjoy the weekly PvP event “Trials of Osiris” in the Crucible.
It starts today at 7 PM. The Trials will end with the weekly reset on Tuesday at 11 AM.
This week, the map “Blind Watch” will be played.
In the Trials of Osiris, you compete in teams of three. Your goal is to fill the scorecard with wins: With 5 and 7 victories, you receive random Osiris items. If you perform well, you can reach Mercury with a flawless ticket. Good loot awaits you in the chest.
Tip: Also remember the bounties from Brother Vance. You can earn additional loot through them.
EA Sports’ upcoming football simulation FIFA 17 is under the motto “Football has changed”. Already in the reveal trailer, the development of virtual football has been presented from pixel players to FIFA 16 – and FIFA 17 is set to be the next big step on this path to realistic and authentic football.
For FIFA 17, extensive gameplay changes have been promised, which “are supposed to change football”. But as Adi Preißler once said:
“Theory is grey – crucial is on the pitch.”
Therefore we ask: How does FIFA 17 play?
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Mein-MMO was able to play an early version of FIFA 17, take a peek into the “The Journey” mode, and kick the virtual ball for a few minutes. We noticed several things to look forward to – but also aspects that we need to address critically.
What innovations we are looking forward to in FIFA 17
If you played FIFA 16 occasionally in recent weeks and months, the transition to FIFA 17 will not be difficult. The controls remain largely the same. The features introduced with FIFA 16, like the powerful pass, are still present in the game. EA Sports has not reinvented football controls, but sticks to the proven key combinations. You are back in it immediately.
The Frostbite engine is noticeable within seconds: The graphics are improved compared to the predecessor, the facial expressions are more realistic, and the stadiums are livelier – overall, FIFA 17 looks great. If you look closely, you can even see the sparkle (the light reflections) in the players’ eyes.
FIFA 17 is supposed to have 3x more animations compared to its predecessor. We noticed this immediately once the ball started rolling. The footballers have more “moves” now, which breathes more life and variety into the game. While in FIFA 16 you could almost predict the players’ movements after a few matches, in FIFA 17 we were confronted with new body postures, duels, and shooting stances.
In FIFA 17, the players are expected to become smarter. They will be equipped with individual personality profiles, can read spaces better, and are able to take new running paths, for which the system in FIFA 16 was not intelligent enough – as EA Sports itself admits. You can notice this particularly in the attacking play:
If you want to create a nice passing game, your teammates try to run into spaces or make themselves available. They also adjust their speed to cleverly lurk at the offside line. Compared to FIFA 16, you will notice significant differences here, as the AI behaves differently now.
The few games we could test FIFA 17, however, are far too few to make a definitive judgment. The gameplay has undoubtedly been enjoyable – however, we did not celebrate every action.
What has not convinced us in FIFA 17 so far
The attacking game is really good – there were rarely moments when we were dissatisfied with the AI’s running behavior. In FIFA 17, some beautiful goals are certainly possible.
However, the defense left us skeptical. Not because of the AI. It did not open spaces or make gross mistakes that would raise our pulse. But: It was incredibly difficult to actively take the ball from the opponents. Most of the time, a team lost the ball due to a misplaced pass or an inaccurate cross. With a normal duel, it was nearly impossible.
All the “tricks” that one resorts to in FIFA 16, like calling for a second player or blocking running paths, were rarely successful. It was better to resort to a well-placed tackle.
It was also hardly possible to chase down an opponent in full sprint to reclaim the ball. A few games would surely have been needed to develop effective defensive strategies.
It is hard to make reliable predictions at this point: But compared to the more defensively oriented FIFA 16, FIFA 17 will probably allow for more scoring opportunities and goals.
Regarding the goalkeeper: In our games, we did not notice any gross blunders by the goalkeepers. They can now collide realistically with other players and are expected to behave more authentically overall. However, when we peeked at the screens of our colleagues, we observed a curious scene: The goalkeeper had already secured the ball in his hands, took a few steps forward, tripped over a teammate lying on the ground, and dropped the ball. The opponent scored. One could debate: Well, such a thing could happen in reality with a lot of bad luck – but in FIFA 17, this will either cause laughter or frustration – depending on the perspective.
By the way: The referees did not push themselves into the foreground. Every offside whistle was offside, and fouls were assessed understandably.
Has football really changed with FIFA 17?
Yes, football has changed. The story mode is a drastic innovation, with which EA Sports may appeal to an even broader audience of football fans. The positive reaction from fans is evident in the rating of the story reveal trailer on YouTube: About 120k thumbs up so far, only 3k down.
A lot has also changed on the pitch: In addition to the graphics, the animations, and the smarter AI, it is mainly the new set-piece mechanics that first need to be learned and perfected. We missed some penalties, as well as free kicks and corners that went only roughly in the intended direction.
Has football changed with FIFA 17 as well? We don’t want to go that far. It is not a completely new experience – it remains football, Germany’s favorite sport. But EA Sports seems to be doing quite a bit right with FIFA 17. Many details are still missing: What innovations will come in the “Ultimate Team” mode? How will “Pro Clubs” change in FIFA 17? Which stadiums and leagues will be new? Many fans here have been longing for the 3rd league for years. More information will be revealed by the developers over the summer.
How the fun will unfold in the final version, we will find out on September 29, 2016. Then FIFA 17 will be released on Xbox One, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.
