The hero shooter Overwatch and a sales tactic from Blizzard are ringing the cash registers for retailers.
Gamestop is one of the largest retail chains, especially in the USA. Here, they are currently excited about Overwatch. Chief Operating Officer Tony Bartel stated during a conference call:
“Overwatch has exceeded our expectations. It was a very strong launch for us.”
Especially praised by the Gamestop representative is that Activision Blizzard allowed the sale of “physical”, i.e. “box games”, two days before the servers went live. Bartel notes that this is “very progressive”.
The retail chain is in favor of prioritizing box games – “a very progressive step
This allowed for two full days to sell the game before the server launch, resulting in a “significant increase, well above expectations.” However, Gamespot did not release any exact sales figures.
Bartel believes that this type of launch will spread throughout the gaming industry. It is thought that Blizzard Activision also benefited from a stronger overall sales due to this tactic.
Even at an international level, outside the USA, this phenomenon has been noted; the preference for the physical version leads to increased sales. Gamestop believes that the opposite strategy of favoring “digital sales” would have the exact opposite result: retailers and developers would sell fewer games.
Mein MMO says: Certainly, Gamestop, as a “retailer” that focuses on box sales, is tooting its own horn. In recent years, digital sales have become increasingly strong. Not only on PC, where Valve has established a dominant position with Steam, but also on consoles like PS4 and Xbox One. There, it has also become normal to download games digitally. A practice that is not embraced by everyone in Germany: fast internet is not the norm in our regions.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With Release 30 of the selective multiplayer RPG Shroud of the Avatar, the first NPC party member was introduced.
Fiona FitzOwen is a bard that you meet in the city of Ardoris. She wants to experience the hero’s deeds live and therefore offers to accompany you. Once in a while, she comments during the journey, sings a song, and supports you a little in battles. However, only in the offline mode of the game. In online mode, Fiona also exists and talks to you, but she does not accompany the hero.
NPC companions in an MMORPG?
The way Fiona is integrated into the game raises some questions about how companions should be integrated into an RPG and also how they could function in an MMORPG. Sure, an MMO is designed for adventuring with other players. However, Shroud of the Avatar offers a single-player online mode where you explore the online world alone. Companions have now been introduced to make it easier for players who play alone. Defeating a large dragon alone is quite a challenge. This is where the NPC party members come into play.
In offline mode, you ask Fiona FitzOwen (and later others) if she wants to accompany you, and then you walk together through the world and fight dragons together. In single-player online mode, however, she does not join you, even though you face the same problem. Then you have no choice but to switch to the friends mode or open mode and ask other players for help. Not a big deal, but it’s a bit awkwardly resolved. Wouldn’t NPC companions also be nice in online mode? However, the balancing might suffer if everyone carries an NPC – especially if they’re all the same.
Companion or pet?
In offline mode, Fiona acts like a talking pet. She behaves completely independently. There is no way to manage her inventory or her skills. At least for Episode 1 of Shroud of the Avatar, this is not planned. This has led to discussions within the game’s community. Some think it’s good that you don’t have to be a “babysitter” and decide every aspect of the NPC yourself. But others find it illogical that companions always roam around with the same equipment. The hero finds better weapons and armor along the way and cannot give them to their companion?
In SotA, heated discussions are almost a daily occurrence.
Some in the community have suggested that the NPC’s AI should handle this. If you find a better weapon, the NPC wants to use it. You then hand it to the companion, and he uses the weapon or the new armor. But what happens to the old equipment? Can you take it back and sell it? Will it just be dropped? What if you want an item back? Or if you have multiple companions and want to trade items among them? Can an AI handle such things?
There’s still a lot to do
A management system for companions would therefore be beneficial and certainly necessary. If Fiona constantly runs around with her little crossbow and a dress while the hero equips a magical two-handed sword and plate armor, one wonders why Fiona doesn’t want to equip herself better…
About this system (and about several others), the developers of Shroud of the Avatar should definitely think again and expand it before the “release”. But at least the first NPC companion represents a start.
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In The Division, we present the gear set “Predator’s Mark”. What makes the set special in PvE and PvP?
With the “Conflict” update, four new gear sets were introduced in The Division. We will gradually present them in detail. Let’s start with the “Predator’s Mark” set.
What “Predator’s Mark” does in The Division
The Predator set is tailored for assault rifles. It consists of a total of six pieces. You can find these by completing certain activities in The Division, such as the new raid “Clear Sky”. You can also purchase holsters, gloves, and knee pads from the special equipment vendor at the Base of Operations.
If you collect some of these pieces and equip your Division agent with them, you will receive additional bonuses. With the fourth equipped set piece, a unique talent is unlocked.
These are the bonuses of “Predator’s Mark”:
2 pieces: +20% Optimal Range
3 pieces: +800 damage with assault rifles and +700 damage with pistols
4 pieces:Talent “Predator’s Mark”: Hit the same target 10 times in a row to inflict Bleeding Wounds on them. This effect deals 100% of the damage that these bullets inflicted.
YouTuber Arekkz Gaming is skeptical about these bonuses and points out their pros and cons: The “Optimal Range” bonus seems somewhat weak compared to the bonuses of other sets. However, it serves useful purposes for the unique talent: It makes it easier for you to hit enemies accurately, allowing you to activate the talent quickly.
The additional damage from assault rifles and pistols may sound tempting at first, but this advantage can be dismissed as “not very useful.” There is no compelling reason to leave SMGs on the shelf and switch to assault rifles. Arekkz recommends waiting for the weapon balance changes. These are supposed to come “at some point” after update 1.2, once Massive has collected more data.
The Talent “Predator’s Mark” is, however, exciting. The 10 hits required to activate the talent are displayed to you on the right side of the weapon:
This talent is useful in PvE for dealing additional damage. You can bring down the tougher foes more quickly with it. An added benefit comes from the bleeding: This allows you effective “Crowd Control,” meaning controlling the masses. Enemies are hindered in their movement speed while they happily bleed out.
In PvP, you also benefit from the talent: If you inflict Bleeding Wounds on enemy agents, you gain speed advantages (and additional damage) against them. With the rapid-fire weapon types submachine gun and assault rifle, the 10 hits can quickly be achieved. Thus, the Predator’s Mark is an interesting option in PvP.
By the way: If a shot happens to go astray and dissipates in the sand, the required hits for the talent will not be reset. You just may not hit another target while the effect is “charging.”
Additionally, you can only start stacking your shots again once the inflicted bleed has subsided. So it is not possible to inflict one bleeding wound after another for all ten shots.
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Overall, the Predator’s Mark does not seem to be an OP set that all agents must now desperately hunt down. Compared to the previously established sets, like the Striker or the Watcher’s Call, it does not set any new standards. However, if you enjoy spending time in the Dark Zone and want to inflict the nasty “Bleeding Wound” effect on enemies, you can complete this set without hesitation.
Have you already obtained the set pieces? What do you think of Predator’s Mark?
In Destiny, Guardians can improve their Intellect, Discipline, and Strength stats with certain items. How can you maximize these stats?
Are you already at Light Level 335? Do you have all your dream weapons and are you completely satisfied with your Guardian? Then you can set the following goal to get even more out of your Guardian: Tier 12!
This “Tier 12” has become increasingly important in discussions about Destiny in recent weeks. For example, during the spontaneous Iron Banner on Reddit, it was immediately asked: “Are there any Tier 12 pieces?”
To be part of the conversation in the future, you should read this article.
How to Achieve Tier 12 in Your Stats in Destiny
Tier 12 (or short: t12) is the term for the maximum you can achieve in your Intellect, Discipline, and Strength stats. These affect:
Intellect: Reduces the cooldown of your Super, allowing you to use it more often.
Discipline: Reduces the cooldown of grenades. Thus, you can throw grenades more often.
Strength: Reduces the cooldown of your melee ability, allowing you to perform powerful attacks at close range more often.
Your armor pieces, class items, artifacts, and ghost shells provide you with bonuses to these stats. Each stat can be improved by a maximum of 5 levels, and you can distribute a total of 12 “Tiers”.
If a Guardian refers to a 5/5/2 distribution, they have maximized Intellect and Discipline while also unlocking two fields of Strength. There are several distribution possibilities, such as 5/2/5 or 4/4/4. But how do you even achieve the maximum?
Not all items provide you with the best bonuses: You need to search for those that are capable of full potential for Intellect, Discipline, and Strength.Even items with the highest Light level sometimes only deliver 80-90% of the possible bonus maximum.
Which items can take you to the limit is not visible in the game itself. However, there are third-party apps that make these stats more transparent. If you want to take advantage of this, you can look for “Destiny Item Manager“, “Ishtar Commander” for Apple and Android, or “Tower Ghost“.
The following Titan gauntlets, for example, only reach 85% of the possible maximum:
With these, you cannot achieve Tier 12 and must look for better ones. Tier 12 capable pieces are, by the way, quite rare. In the current Iron Banner offering from Lord Saladin, only the Titan chest achieves the “Tier 12 capable” badge.
Is Tier 12 Worth It?
Tier 12 requires tedious and lengthy grinding, which not every Guardian may want to undertake. However, for the perfectionists among you, this can be a worthy goal to strive for: Because unless t12 is achieved, you haven’t gotten the best out of your Guardian yet. And since it will likely take a while until fresh content is delivered, you have a lot to do.
Because it is by no means easy to find the “perfect” items: After all, they not only provide you with bonuses to the stats, but also additional advantages that influence things like reload speed or ammunition capacity. If the item now has the highest stat potential but boosts the wrong weapon type, what sacrifice are you making?
It is probably more fruitful in practice to “only” run around with t11, for example, being able to reload faster with your preferred weapon type. By the time you have the “perfect” items for yourself, a considerable amount of time will likely pass.
Have you already reached Tier 12? Are you still aiming for this goal?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In The Division, we present the Light Machine Gun Hungry Hog. This is one of the new named weapons from update 1.2.
So far, there have been no weapon balance changes in The Division. However, the new gear sets from the Conflict update are intended to shift the focus towards other weapon types. The set “Lonely Hero” is specifically designed for shotguns and light machine guns.
A candidate for this is the new named LMG “Hungry Hog”. Is it worth keeping an eye out for this weapon?
This is what makes Hungry Hog special in The Division
You cannot acquire Hungry Hog from vendors or craft it at the crafting station. You obtain it as a random drop from elite enemies with unique names. A frequently mentioned source for the LMG are the enemies in the Dark Zone. However, there are also occasional reports of this weapon being spotted outside the Dark Zone in daily missions in Challenge Mode.
The Hungry Hog can fire 500 rounds per minute and has a base magazine size of 100. The stats are as follows:
Since it is a named weapon, you cannot apply other weapon skins to the Hungry Hog. Similarly fixed are the talents:
Predatory: When you take down a target, health regenerates by 13.5% over 5 seconds. Requirements include all attributes: 1547 in firearms and electronics, as well as 2579 stamina.
Stable: Stability is improved by 47% (Requirement: 1547 firearms, 2063 stamina).
Meticulous: When you kill a target, you have a 23.5% chance that the magazine will be refilled. This talent is always active.
These talents are rather average. Unfortunately, the Hungry Hog is fixed to this.
According to Arekkz Gaming, it is incredibly fun to roam the post-apocalypse with this weapon. When you can extend the magazine and shoot 200 rounds without needing to reload, you feel like a Terminator.
However, light machine guns currently belong to the “Lower Class” of weapon types in The Division. Even the “Lonely Hero” set does not significantly enhance them. Therefore, it is not worth farming the Hungry Hog in the Dark Zone to boost your agents.
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If you still want to approach the LMGs, the Hungry Hog is recommended as a fun weapon. After all, some players also report in the reddit forum that they are very happy with this weapon combined with “Lonely Hero.”
Fans have recreated some weapons from the latest installment of the shooter series Doom in the “Classic Doom” setting.
In the ZDoom forum, three Doom fans present their dedicated project: DBThanatos, Major Cooke, and Michaelis want to bring the weapons of the latest Doom installment into the “Doom 1 and 2” setting with a gameplay mod.
This project is called Doom for Doom and can be followed by curious fans of the series in the ZDoom forum until its completion.
A reason for this action is also mentioned: The modder Neccronixis has already created some weapons in the old school Doom style. These look so good that they must find a way directly into the game.
Currently, there is no fixed release date for the mod, other than the note “Coming Soon”. According to the modders, however, the waiting time will not be too long. A teaser trailer for Doom for Doom can already be found online:
https://youtu.be/DNl7S1z0zXk
What do you think of this project?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMORPG Project Gorgon has been expanded with a new update that allows guilds to complete special quests.
Currently, Project Gorgon is still in development, but players can participate in the Alpha to provide valuable feedback to the developers. This is intended to further develop the MMO together with the players. The Alpha has now been expanded with a large update.
Quests for Guilds
This update introduces a lot of new features, such as the way the camera responds in the game or the field of view of monsters. However, the biggest new feature is the introduction of guild quests. Each guild member can participate in a guild quest, but only one mission can be active at a time. By successfully completing a guild quest, the guild receives XP to level up. Currently, these levels do not have any effect yet, but later, higher-level guilds will be able to recruit new members. Activities in the guild can also be scaled to the number of members.
Return to Ancient Times
The loot, dungeons, and boss monsters have also been adjusted with the update. Overall, the MMORPG is taking more shape and evolving into a rounded game.
Project Gorgon is an MMORPG that aims to revive the times of classics like Everquest 1. Group play is of the highest priority. Here, the focus is on experiencing adventures with friends, exploring dangerous dungeons full of boss monsters, uncovering treasures, and improving one’s character. Therefore, combat is also at the forefront.
However, activities outside of combat also play a role, such as crafting and trading. For those who miss the times of Everquest or Meridian 59, Project Gorgon might be just the right title.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Publisher Daum will not be able to meet the deadline. In a statement, Daum said: They did not make the decision lightly, but it is unavoidable. The siege module has not yet been sufficiently adapted to the server structure. As part of the changes, they also plan to combat bots and unauthorized third-party software.
A new release date for Valencia has not yet been set, but they promise the update will come as soon as possible.
Mein MMO believes: Fans will surely be able to forgive this. So far, Black Desert has consistently provided content rapidly, which was imported from Korea. Overall, the months since the launch have gone smoothly. The team that was specifically assembled for the project could not have expected that.
Now there’s the first stumble – given the tight schedule they set for themselves, this was almost inevitable.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On June 1st, the next major update for the MMORPG Skyforge, titled Cybernetic Alliance, will be released.
This update will introduce several changes, including class balancing. With the new Symbol of Unity in the Progress Atlas, the power of a group’s damage dealer will increase by 25% for each additional ally from a different damage class within 40 meters. This aims to prevent players from forming teams solely composed of Gunners and Cryomancers .
More Balanced Groups
Additionally, archers will be improved, becoming more effective and dealing more damage. Many abilities for the Witch will also be enhanced, encouraging more players to choose this class. The adjustments made to the Gunner aim to ensure it retains its potential while being adapted. Overall, the changes to the game are designed to create more balanced groups, allowing for effective and enjoyable play with every class.
Regarding equipment, the update for Skyforge will also bring several changes. The mastery particles will be removed from the game and replaced by a system that limits the maximum rank based on proficiency. This means players will no longer need to collect hundreds or thousands of additional resources. The enhancement stones will also be replaced by a new currency that shares the same name but cannot be bought or sold on the market. They can be obtained by dismantling unnecessary equipment, which will deduct 300 credits from the maximum cap per stone.
The new system aims to ensure that players do not have to spend credits and stones, but rather have the choice. The costs for upgrades will also be reduced. Additional changes are expected, such as those related to the D2 distortions.
Soon there will be mini-games in Minecraft: The first will be a PvP multiplayer competition!
In Minecraft, the main focus is on mining blocks in a randomly generated world and crafting new things. You can build huts, houses, or even castles. Additionally, crafting weapons from gathered materials is possible and is part of the game’s objectives.
New Multiplayer PvP Competition Mode in Minecraft
Source: Planetminecraft
The developers behind the popular sandbox game will integrate a whole set of new mini-games in Minecraft. The new PvP mode is expected to be released in June for the console version. The update is set to be free for all players on the console. Microsoft states that there will be purchasable maps for these modes in the future to support the project.
“Battle” is the name of the new mode in Minecraft
The marketing manager of Microsoft, Jaime Limon, explained “Battle” as follows:
With Battle, you can start a multiplayer survival match where not only speed and strategy matter, but sometimes sheer luck decides who the winner is. Players in Battle use randomly generated resources found in chests placed on special PvP maps. In an exciting free-for-all deathmatch, players fight until only one survivor remains.
When you are dead, you can still participate as a spectator in the Battle and fly over the map as a bat to watch the fighting players. Battle games can be played with up to 4 players via split-screen or up to 8 players online via Xbox Live. Additionally, there is a matchmaking system that can add players with similar skill levels to your team when needed.
Although there is currently no more specific statement regarding the release date than “in June” – it won’t be long now.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Overwatch is a good game that is incredibly fun. However, some things disturb the overall impression.
First of all: Overwatch is one of the absolute highlights of the year for me and Blizzard’s hero shooter has the potential to be a total mega-hit. But nothing is perfect and a few aspects of the game annoy me even more, especially since the game is otherwise so devilishly polished. Here is my list of annoyances in Overwatch.
Annoyance #1 – Overwatch is too beginner-friendly
Overwatch follows Blizzard’s concept “Take a genre, break it down to the basics, and make it beginner-friendly.” This worked well for Heroes of the Storm and allowed me a smooth entry into the MOBA genre, which games like LoL never achieved.
But Heroes of the Storm is – thanks to different game modes and various talents – a complex game that only offers a quick and uncomplicated entry but still presents a lot of depth.
Success experiences that are not
Overwatch, however, goes too far in my opinion with the beginner-friendliness. Here, on average, I have three skills that I can use from the very beginning and that do not change anymore. And then there are heroes that are designed so much for newcomers that it almost hurts. Soldier: 76, for example. That guy has an aimbot as an ultimate. Seriously?!? Even total noobs, who usually can’t hit a barn door, can easily rack up 5-kill streaks.
Soldier: 76 makes it too easy for one again.
In my opinion, that’s too much of a good thing, because aimbots and wallhacks (like Widowmaker uses) are not without reason extremely popular cheat tools in shooters, quickly ruining the fun for all other players. And yes, of course, you can also fail spectacularly with an aimbot ultimate and the aim assist is not always active, but still, the skill is simply “cheap” in my eyes.
The same goes for other ultimates, like Hanzo’s dragon strike or Bastion’s tank mode, which require little skill and still lead to high kill numbers. Greater kill streaks should in my opinion be something special that only good players achieve. But here, everything is somehow devalued because of such skills.
Annoyance #2 – Original game modes, please report!
Next, what annoys me are the game modes. They are focused on capturing and holding capture points. Ancient shooter fare that I have honestly seen and played hundreds of times. Sure, it’s fun, but considering that Blizzard has created original maps with special victory conditions in Heroes of the Storm, the creative desolation of the game modes in Overwatch stands out even more.
Most game modes revolve around capturing points on the map. Not exactly very original…
The escort game mode doesn’t change much either. It is indeed more original than the other modes, but often devolves into frustrating trench warfare that is not fun at all. In contrast, if you consider Battleborn, which transferred the MOBA game principle perfectly into a shooter, especially with the “Meltdown Mode”, I am even more disappointed by Blizzard.
Annoyance #3 – Story relevance, please report!
I am a big fan of background stories and especially with Overwatch, I find the setting interesting and the backgrounds of the heroes fascinating. Well, it’s just unfortunate that you don’t notice anything of that in the game, as Overwatch is just a pure PvP shooter.
Overwatch has a lovingly designed story – unfortunately it is completely irrelevant in the game!
It’s nice that there are organizations like Talon, Overwatch, or the Omnics. It’s just completely irrelevant, because in the game, Widowmaker, Tracer, and Junkrat can effortlessly face off against Winston, Reaper, and Roadhog and freely shoot each other to pieces. Even worse for immersion in the game world are the clones of the heroes, as two Genjis and three Tracers can easily zip around.
I seriously wonder why Blizzard even bothers to present a complex story when it is so completely trivial and contradictory to the actual game. Here, it becomes quite clear that Overwatch emerged from the ruins of Blizzard’s MMO flop Titan and they wanted to utilize the whole Titan story somehow. An alternative PvE mode with small missions – like in Battleborn – would really be an enhancement.
Annoyance #4 – Hello cliché!
As much as I like some of the heroes from Overwatch, they annoy me too. Instead of really creating cool and unique characters, Blizzard often resorts to clichés in my opinion.
He is sooooo evil!
McCree is a cowboy and of course he MUST fulfill almost every western stereotype, High Noon anytime and anywhere! He could as well be named “Eastwood”! Or Widowmaker, who could only top her cliché-ness by being called “Femme Fatale”.
Reaper is totally evil, we get it!
Or Zarya, who already corresponds to the cliché image of the Russian “manwoman” and then also waxes poetic in every second sentence with a comical accent about her preference for Siberian bears. All of this is only surpassed by Reaper, who, with his cloak, overly deep voice, and pseudo-cool moves, is sooooo evil. Muhawhawhaw! He even crushes Winston’s glasses in the trailer, the villain!
Blizzard simply overdoes it with the stereotypes and fails to create more profound heroes – especially villains – and instead reverts to platitudes. I think Gearbox does this better in Battleborn. The quirky heroes there are so extremely exaggerated that they are cooler and more original than most Overwatch characters.
But enough complaining. Maybe I am just artificially getting upset about little things. Or what do you think? Do these things annoy you too? Or does it not matter at all as long as the game is fun? Or are there perhaps completely different things that bother you about Overwatch? Write it in the comments and let us know!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In World of Warcraft: Legion, a lot revolves around artifact weapons. These are given to players early on and grow with their bearers over the duration of the entire expansion. Each talent specialization receives a unique weapon, which is why shamans have a total of 3 artifacts available. Let’s take a look at the individual weapons.
Elemental – Fist of Ra-Den (Artifact Weapon for Elemental Shamans)
Backstory: The primarch of the Titan Pantheon, Aman’Thul, created this artifact and gave it to his greatest servant, Highwatcher Ra.
Ra used his power to awaken the Mogu and lead them into battle against the black empire of the Old Gods. After Ra lost this weapon, it fell into the claws of Xuen, the Celestial Exalted, who was aware of the weapon’s power and decided to hide it from the world until a worthy shaman would use it for righteous purposes once more.
Properties of the Fist of Ra-Den: As a pure spell specialization, most properties directly increase the shaman’s damage. Noteworthy is also the option that each cast Lava Burst reduces the remaining cooldown of the Fire Elemental.
All start with Stormkeeper, a spell with a short activation time that ensures that the next 3 Chain Lightnings or Lightning Bolts deal 200% additional damage.
Fury of the Storm improves the ability “Stormkeeper” (see above), so each time a powerful Lightning Elemental is summoned for 8 seconds, assisting the shaman in battle.
Power of the Maelstrom grants your Lava Burst a chance to trigger elemental overload for each of the next 3 Lightning Bolts.
With Vulcanic Inferno, Lava Burst is granted a chance to create a small volcano under the target that damages all enemies in a small radius over 6 seconds.
Enhancement – Doomhammer (Artifact Weapon for Enhancement Shamans)
Backstory: The Doomhammer was forged from the lava flows of Draenor, deeply connected to the wild elements, and thus regarded as one of the most powerful weapons for shamans. For a long time, it was passed down, and only those who could speak with the elements were aware of its true power. Once it was the weapon of Orgrim Doomhammer before being handed over to Thrall, the former leader of the Horde, years later. He still wields this hammer to this day.
Properties of the Doomhammer: Most properties of the Doomhammer enhance the shaman’s various attacks and reduce cooldowns. An interesting option is to heal a significant portion of lost hit points with Astral Shift.
At the beginning, there is Doom Winds, which every 45 seconds causes automatic attacks to trigger Wind Fury and increases damage from Wind Fury by 400% for 6 seconds.
Unleash Doom grants Stormstrike a chance for special attacks to infuse the target with additional elemental damage.
Doom Wolves enhances all spirit wolves of the shaman with the power of fire, frost, and lightning, teaching them a new special attack each.
Doom Vortex gives Lava Lash a chance to create a fiery vortex that damages all enemies in the immediate vicinity of the target over 3 seconds.
Restoration – Sharas’Dal, Azshara’s Scepter (Artifact Weapon for Restoration Shamans)
Backstory: Once, the Scepter was wielded by Azshara, the Light of Lights, the Queen of the Night Elves. This weapon channels the pure waters of the Well of Eternity, granting it strong magical power and powerful healing abilities. When Azshara was swallowed by the sea at the end of the War of the Ancients, the scepter fell into the hands of the leftover Night Elves, who were unaware of its power. The scepter was handed to an unknown priestess in Azsuna, where it still waits to be found by someone who knows how to wield this power…
Properties of Sharas’Dal, Azshara’s Scepter: As a specialization for healers, the properties of the scepter are also designed for this purpose. Almost all abilities enhance healing or reduce cooldowns. The interesting option is to increase healing done during Combat Readiness/Battle Cry by 25%.
Starting off with Gift of the Queen, healing up to 6 nearby group members by a large amount and increasing their maximum health points by 10% for 6 seconds.
Tidal Pools grants the deluge a chance to summon a totem at the feet of the target, healing nearby allies by a moderate amount over 6 seconds.
Cumulative Upkeep ensures that each time Healing Tide Totem heals an ally, the healing received from this effect increases by 10%. This is stackable up to 10 times.
Queen’s Decree improves the Healing Stream Totem so that each target hit is additionally healed over 6 seconds by a moderate amount.
For more news and articles about the upcoming expansion Legion, you can find them on our World of Warcraft gaming page.
In FIFA 16: FUT, the TOTS tournament of the Italian Serie A is running. The reward is an exclusive TOTS player card.
Since Friday, the teams of the season from the French and Italian leagues can be found in the sets. These bring numerous top players to the “Ultimate Team” mode of FIFA 16. However, EA Sports is still holding back two TOTS cards: One of them can currently only be obtained through the “Serie A” TOTS tournament.
The TOTS card of Nicola Sansone is only available as a reward for the “Serie A” tournament
The German-Italian winger Nicola Sansone, who grew up in Munich and went through the youth department of FC Bayern Munich, will also be rewarded with a TOTS card for his strong performances last season.
He plays as a left winger for Sassuolo Calcio and has solid pace, shooting, and dribbling stats. With an overall rating of 82, he is not an overpowered player, but he can enrich some Ultimate Teams.
You will receive this card exclusively through the “Serie A” tournament. These are the participation requirements:
Exactly 18 players from the Serie A in the starting lineup and on the bench.
These are the online rewards:
For the first win: TOTS card of Nicola Sansone
For the second win: Gold pack and player card of Dries Mertens
For the third win: Premium coin pack (at least 4000 coins) and Martin Cáceres
Further wins: Premium gold packs with at least 4000 coins
These are the offline rewards:
First win: Premium gold pack
Further wins: Coin pack with at least 2000 coins.
The TOTS card of Sansone and the cards from the packs are all untradeable, meaning they cannot be placed on the transfer market.
The tournament will run until May 30th. So you don’t have much time to grab the rewards.
The Ligue 1 tournament will start on Monday, as soon as the current tournament ends. From then on, there will likely be another exclusive TOTS card.
In The Division, it is sometimes not that easy to extract your loot from the Dark Zone – especially when the rope has a mind of its own.
Since the 1.2 update, the pickups in the Dark Zone have become more exciting: Now you have to keep an eye on your loot even when it is already dangling from the helicopter’s rope. Because sneaky agents can simply cut the rope and take all that nice loot.
However, some agents report that it apparently is not that easy to execute this sabotage: Because some ropes dance wildly and need to be caught first!
Rope bug causes frustration and amusement
The YouTuber 246 Gaming captured one of these obstinate ropes in a video:
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While some agents can heartily laugh at such scenes, other users get in a bad mood due to this bug in The Division. On reddit, a few players confirm that this “problem” is not an isolated case, also occurring here and there for them and has been causing trouble for a while now.
The dancing rope is certainly one of the more amusing problems that Massive currently has to deal with. But it also shows that not everything in The Division is running smoothly yet.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, some locations have been recreated in Minecraft.
The indie open-world game Minecraft allows players to unleash their creativity: They can mine resources, craft them into new items, build beautiful things, and occasionally battle pixel monsters. The game world consists of blocks.
While some eager Minecrafters assemble fancy houses, mazes, or even entire castles, one user has taken it upon himself to recreate Bungie’s MMO shooter Destiny in this block world.
Fan creates Destiny in Minecraft
infered5 is the name of the Destiny fan who has undertaken this project. So far, he has done quite well. The following video introduces you to this world, which is full of familiar details:
https://youtu.be/cZHo1IntrSc
According to infered5, the Tower and the Reef have been completely recreated so far. Some parts of the Earth can already be explored as well. However, the Moon still looks quite barren and lacks any underground areas. Information about server access for this Minecraft-Destiny can be found on PlanetMinecraft.
Below, we show you some screenshots from this world. Every Guardian recognizes the Tower right away, right?
Where the Tower is, the Ghost is not far:
The Vestian Outpost in the Reef must not be missing either:
Here we are in the Cosmodrome:
The Minecraft-Destiny world is also lively – almost like the original:
What do you think of the block-built Destiny?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Warcraft movie is mainly aimed at fans of the associated games. But can a relatively uninformed fantasy fan still have fun in the cinema?
I didn’t care much about the big Warcraft movie until recently. I was never a big fan of World of Warcraft before the Legion beta and while I had enjoyed playing the strategy games, that was quite a while ago and I only had a rudimentary idea of the whole backstory. But then I was supposed to make a collection of all press reviews for the Warcraft movie and got curious. So I actually went to the premiere of the film at midnight on the same day – but without rose-colored Warcraft fan glasses!
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Let’s get one thing straight: The Warcraft movie isn’t a license turkey like the ones Uwe Boll tends to make. Rather, they found a real Warcraft enthusiast in director Duncan Jones, who was wholeheartedly involved in the project. Therefore, the film is packed with details that even a relative Warcraft noob like me can notice, such as the typical leather-covered Orc buildings or the bulky armor of the human foot soldiers.
Yuck, fur in the soup!
However, the strict adherence to the source material also serves as the main criticism of the film. It races through the plot at a breakneck pace, which can only be understood if you’re well-acquainted with the Warcraft lore. Because only then do you understand who exactly this Medivh is and why he is so important for Azeroth as a Guardian. This is never explained in the film.
What kind of city is that, why is it floating, and who are the mages inside? The film doesn’t explain any of this!
Or what is up with the “Fel”? Without prior knowledge, it’s just some weird green stuff that seems “evil”. And whoever had the brilliant idea to continue referring to it as “Fel(l)” in the German version should really be punished, in my opinion. Sorry, but it just sounds incredibly silly and ruins the mood when someone seriously whispers, “He was touched by the ‘Fel(l)’, he is lost.” Acute case of pet hair allergy, or what?
Too much of a good thing
Overall, the entire film screams, “Give me more time.” Because the complex Warcraft world with its factions, races, and kingdoms is simply too intricate to be touched on lightly or thrown into the picture. With an additional hour of runtime and a slightly slower narrative pace, it would have been certainly doable with a little effort.
Once again, The Lord of the Rings has to be mentioned as a comparison, because just because that film took its time to build the world and the plot back then, an uninformed viewer could also follow the story and get lost in it. Unfortunately, Warcraft: The Beginning only succeeds in this regard for hardcore fans.
For the Horde!
However, what the film lacks in narrative build-up, it triples back in visual power! Because even though the trailers looked somewhat cheap, everything looks amazing in the final version on the big screen! And here, especially the Orcs are the real heroes of the film, as the CGI masks of the Orc actors are extremely well done, and the lumbering giants have surprisingly expressive facial expressions. The last time I saw something like this was in Avatar, which similarly presented the Na’vi aliens impressively.
The Orcs appear both brutal and very alive and emotional thanks to the very good CGI technology.
Therefore, the Orc characters like Durotan, Orgrim, and Gul’dan are much more impressive than their human counterparts. The only ones who really stand out are Lothar as the cool badass knight and the tough half-orc Garona; the rest remain rather pale and uninteresting.
Brutal action!
The battle scenes are wonderfully executed and brutally staged. Here too, the Orcs show where the war hammer hangs, and you really feel sorry for the poor humans who rarely stand a chance against such muscular giants.
The battles in the film are simply epic!
It gets even more epic when the Orcs are polishing each other’s green or brown snouts, as the cinema hall shakes with primal force. And that’s how you want to see Warcraft. As a battle epic full of visual power.
Exactly that was done very well by the film. But if the director had only taken a little more time to build up the world and the characters well, Warcraft: The Beginning could have become a really good movie. Instead, it sadly turned out to be “just” an epic fan film.
This was the criticism from Jürgen, a non-WoW fan regarding the film. You can read our fan criticism from WoW expert Cortyn here:
Developer Epic Games is giving away the next free hero for all early-access players of their MOBA Paragon next week. We present him and some changes to the previous tanks.
The Angry Cyborg…
In a few days, the next of the total 39 planned characters of the MOBA Paragon will be released from the developer dungeon: Riktor.
The cyborg is a melee tank with a large range, so you should be careful of him. Because if you get too close, you risk finding yourself directly in front of his fist in the next moment. Or in the midst of the enemy team.
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Riktor can not only pull enemies and minions towards him, but also interrupt abilities and deal massive damage and stun with his ultimate, a net of chains.
…and his tank colleagues
Appropriately, there was a patch this week that addresses the balancing of the previous tanks, among other things.
Thus, Sevarog swings his mace a bit faster after activating the ability and now has a slightly increased range. His base damage was raised from a maximum of 325 to 380. However, he loses the additional damage that was built up by stacking.
Sevarog’s Hammer – now with more penetration power
Steel, on the other hand, is now supposed to become more useful for the team with his shield block. Therefore, his collision size has been increased to better block incoming projectiles. However, you can no longer count on a protective shield when passing through his kinetic shield, as this has been completely removed. Additionally, Steel’s throwing arm lacks some power, as he can now only throw his shield half as far as before.
The biggest changes, however, affect the almost unbreakable Rampage. He will now receive a constant health regeneration of 4.2 per second as long as he is in the jungle. The passive bonus, which was previously based on missing health, is now a thing of the past.
Rampage – a rascal who thinks of Evolve
The ability “Wild Roar” has been completely discarded and transformed into a new one. This is now called “Thick Skin” and gives Rampage a passive health regeneration.
And if you liked to leap directly into the fight, you should now be aware that this cannot be activated again immediately upon activating the ultimate. Moreover, there is no more bonus health, but a regeneration of up to 250 HP per second. Rampage regenerates, you could say. Whether he will still rock after these changes, everyone has to find out for themselves.
The Gates to Agora are Open
And where could one do that better than during the currently ongoing open beta weekend? This started last Thursday and ends on Tuesday, May 31 at 3 AM.
New clothes for the Agorans
So if you want to take a look at Paragon between Battleborn and Overwatch, you can lead the now 16 heroes onto the battlefield of Agora. Provided you registered on Paragon.com by May 25.
If you missed this date, it is still advisable to check it out if you are interested. The next open beta weekend will surely come.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
We conducted an interview with the developers of the upcoming shooter MMORPG Escape from Tarkov and learned a lot of interesting things about the game.
Mein-MMO: Escape from Tarkov is a game that focuses on realism. How far does this go in the game?
Battlestate Games: There will be enough realism to make the game stand out compared to others. Of course, it can’t be completely omnipresent, but everything regarding the combat system will be there in the right amount.
Mein-MMO: Aren’t you worried that the strong realism could make the game too hard, causing casual gamers to hesitate?
Battlestate Games: Primarily, the game is basically not designed for casual gamers. And we try to convey this from the first impression. The success and effectiveness of the combat system will depend heavily on the player’s knowledge of the game and understanding of modern combat.
Mein-MMO: Some people are beginning to compare Escape from Tarkov (EFT) with The Division. Can these two games even be compared? What do you think are the biggest differences?
Battlestate Games: It doesn’t make sense to compare EFT and The Division. They are two completely different games. The Division is an arcade-like MMO action RPG without realistic hardcore elements. There are no advanced weapon mechanics, their modifications, nor an extensive inventory. However, the game does offer a solid quest system, but EFT also has enough to offer in that area.
Mein-MMO: The Division gives its players the option to take on missions alone, much like in a single-player game. Will EFT offer something similar?
Battlestate Games: EFT can be played solo; this means you do not necessarily have to play with your friends, but it still requires a constant internet connection because it is an online game.
Mein-MMO: The game will be released chapter by chapter, right? Each episode will reveal a new area of the city. Will the world ultimately be a unified open map?
Battlestate Games: This is how we will release the game: The initial release will showcase several completed locations. Following that, we will continually add new areas through updates (no separate DLCs, but voluntary updates) that will complete the main story of the game and unlock the entire freely navigable world. From there, we will transition to DLCs that will again add new locations, tasks, and content.
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Mein-MMO: Can you give an example of what quests might look like and how teamwork affects these?
Battlestate Games: There will be various types of quests in the game; from straightforward ones like “Find 10 car batteries” or “Clear the lighthouse of scavengers” to more intuitive tasks. Here the player receives small pieces of information that he can find and decides on his own whether to follow the clues. Sometimes the game also gives no tips at all on what to do next. For example, you might receive a memo from the factory guard stating that he has forgotten his locker keys at home. The player then searches for his address, goes to his apartment in the city, and randomly finds the keys in an abandoned car stuck in traffic in another area. Then he returns to the apartment, and so on. A pure adventure quest. Working together as a group improves the chances of solving such quests and surviving longer. Because nothing beats helpful friends who might have enhanced lockpicking skills to make the search for important items easier.
Mein-MMO: PvP plays a major role in EFT. How will you handle player death? Are you planning to incorporate a permadeath system?
Battlestate Games: If you die during a raid, you lose everything you were carrying or found during that time. No exceptions. However, we are considering a way for the partner, provided he survives, to carry the lifeless body out of the area to keep the loot and equipment. But, dying does not mean losing everything. The character’s belongings remain intact, he gains experience, and advancements in skill areas are also saved. The game offers a certain degree of protection against team killers. If the area has rules against killing members of one’s own PMC or any PMC, but the player still kills them, he will receive a negative karma point. This will affect trading chances and even put him on the bounty list, which makes his life significantly harder.
Mein-MMO: What are the special features of the game; elements that entice players to want to buy EFT?
Battlestate Games: First of all, it’s the weapons, and everything that comes with them. The handling, shooting, ballistics, the details of the levels, and the modifications. A large number of realistic weapons, ammunition, and special modifications, components, and accessories. Second, the high degree of reality and the fact that everything can happen on the screen. Third, the numerous small elements and mechanisms that differ from modern shooters. This significantly expands the basic mechanisms and tactical opportunities, allowing the player to identify with their character. This represents our concept of the “high-risk environmental combat simulator” in EFT. Of course, the game also offers other interesting additions such as the backdrop, sound effects, and sound design, and so forth.
Blizzard is removing porn featuring characters from Overwatch from the internet.
Rule 34 and why Blizzard probably doesn’t like it
Overwatch is the game of the moment, and that also applies to internet porn clips. Relevant sites reported a boom in clips showing Overwatch characters engaging in sexual acts with the start of the beta. A phenomenon known on the internet as “Rule 34”: “If it exists, there is porn of it.”
Spicy: Especially the “innocently drawn” Tracer, who was intentionally not meant to be sexualized, is at the top of the relevant searches and even outshines the obviously sexualized killer Widowmaker.
Even the 19-year-old D.VA is highly popular among fans of Overwatch porn. And that there are also a gorilla and a robot among the hero lineup of Overwatch…
Blocked for copyright violation
A creator of such clips has now complained on reddit that his creations were deleted by porn sites due to copyright infringement. Apparently, Blizzard has hired the company Irdeto to carry out this “cleansing” and take action against such videos.
As PcGamesN writes, many of these videos come about because the creators use the “Valve’s Source Filmmaker Kit” to take assets directly from the code and then “use” them.
The user on reddit urged the community to put pressure on Blizzard. It’s like Blizzard is “blocking fan art.”
Searching for porn all day? Where do I sign up for that job?
The outrage on reddit is, unsurprisingly, quite limited.
There’s more of a fascination that someone has to have the job “Search for porn all day and make a list of it.”
As one user says: “How can I apply for that position?”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The infamous Goat Simulator has its sights set on Star Citizen .
Goat Simulator is actually a crazy idea, but it is also a video game. From the beginning, it was intended as a biting parody of current games, and it is continually being developed. A “MMO version” was released some time ago, and recently there was an expansion that dealt with the hype of zombie games.
Now, with “Waste of Space“, it seems to have taken aim at Star Citizen and the crowd-funding craze, and while they’re at it, it takes a jab at the entire science fiction genre. The “plot”, if we can call it that: The goat must bring a space colony up to speed, but there is no money available. Can it squeeze the civilians by having them “found” the colony?
In a video, it manages to mock Star Citizen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Donald Trump, Star Wars, and Star Trek simultaneously.
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