Today, on February 23, a patch is being rolled out for the online shooter Star Wars Battlefront. The February update brings a new mission and a map.
Currently, there is heavy patching happening on two of the three platforms that Star Wars Battlefront runs on. On PC, the fun started at 9 AM, on PS4 at 11 AM, and on Xbox One, it is scheduled for 1 PM. The patches are expected to take about an hour each. During this time, Star Wars Battlefront will be offline for maintenance.
The February update introduces the new map “Twilight on Hoth” for the “larger” modes. Additionally, there is the new survival mission “Survival in the Ice Caves” on Hoth. The turning point mode will be available today on all maps that previously supported Walker Assault and Supremacy.
One more technical change: The DLC Jakku will now be part of Star Wars Battlefront, and according to EA, you can delete the download you obtained from sales platforms.
Blizzard will soon release a new book that will completely deal with the background story of Azeroth. A few excerpts from the work World of Warcraft Chronicle already promise a feast for fans.
Of Troll Wars and the First Elves
Over the years, Blizzard has repeatedly tinkered with the lore of World of Warcraft and Warcraft in general. While many fan sites and wikis try to compile all this knowledge, it is still fragmentary. Blizzard has now set itself the goal of filling these knowledge gaps and once and for all answering the questions about the origin of Azeroth. The work “World of Warcraft The Chronicle: Volume 1” will answer many exciting questions.
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But the book offers far more than just compiled knowledge from quests and other books. Many aspects of the lore that were previously completely unclear are now revealed, and exciting details are highlighted (which role players will surely absorb).
Who would have thought that the Night Elves actually descend from the trolls? How did the old gods exactly land on Azeroth and how did the various Troll Wars unfold? “Chronicles” provides an answer to all these – and surely many more – questions. Chronologically, the book covers the history of Azeroth up to the events of the book “The Last Guardian,” which essentially marks the era of Warcraft 1.
But even if you’re just looking for something for the eyes, the work will be able to delight. Numerous new concept art and artworks adorn the book and show the formation of Azeroth and how the world shaped itself to what we know today. Blizzard has released some pages as examples to make fans even more excited about the book. We have the beautiful artworks here for you (click to enlarge).
World of Warcraft Chronicle 1 will be released in English on March 15, 2016, with a German release shortly thereafter in April.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny the new week starts on February 23 with a Nightfall strike and the raid challenge. Later in the day, 320 Ghosts and the February Iron Banner are available.
Additionally, the 320 Ghosts are expected to be delivered today. This should happen around 7 PM, as it has always been in the past. Every player who completed 7 games in the Crimson Week will receive a 320 Ghost, without acting like a lemming.
But first, let’s talk about the “normal” reset.
The Nightfall strike on February 23 in Destiny leads to the Sunless Cell
The Nightfall strike this week is “Sunless Cell”; Alak-Hul’s Dark Room. The Dark Room of the aliens, so to speak.
Modifiers are:
Berserker – The enemies won’t rest even after critical hits and want to devour you
Small Arms – Primary weapons should be favored
Chaff – The radar is blocked
Airborne – Guardians deal more damage while in the air
This week it is Balwûr’s turn. She is summoned by using an antiquated rune. She is the lady with the acolytes and the nasty floor.
Are there videos, tricks, and guides to this week’s challenges in Destiny?
At this point, we will add some videos throughout the day that show you how experienced Guardians take down the minions of darkness.
Here in the video, a Guardian defeats the Nightfall Sunless Cell today in the way of Han (namely solo) and explains how he did it (MIDA Multi-Tool was, for example, part of it):
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In Bless some servers are being merged. The reason for this is the unequal distribution of the player base.
Merger for the sake of balance
The Korean MMORPG Bless seems to be running out of steam, at least the latest steps paint a rather bleak picture. While some servers of Bless are well populated and there can even be queues, others are completely empty and players have to wait ages to find a group. With the merging of the realms, they hope to alleviate this issue a bit.
Especially in the large 100vs100 battles, there were often long waiting times. The rewards in PvP heavily depend on the time invested, making it particularly frustrating for PvP players when they are stranded on what seems to be a “dead” server.
Along with the merger, there will also be some new content, with Steparu reporting on new PvP opportunities in the RvR and GvG areas.
For more information about the game, you can visit our Bless topic page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Paladins brings a new patch in the closed beta. This introduces weapon skins, brings a new map, and makes minor balance changes.
The Glacier Keep is maze-like
The hero shooter Paladins, from HiRez, the makers of SMITE, receives regular new updates. In the current “Closed Beta 15 Patch” the number of available maps increases to 3. The “Glacier Keep” will initially only be available in the Siege mode, but is expected to distinguish itself clearly from the two maps “Enchanted Forest” and “Temple Ruins”. Many narrow corridors and winding alleys are expected to favor close combat, while certain positions will also provide wide visibility.
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Apart from the new map, there are now weapon skins to customize the various heroes. These are, however, expensive and require 1000 “Crafting Points” to produce – equivalent to the value of 10 legendary cards. This is suitable for players who already own all cards and want to stand out from the crowd.
Aside from that, Groverreceives some buffs. His movement speed has been increased and his axe now deals nearly 30% more damage in close combat.
Evie is slightly nerfed.
The assassin Skye loses some power from her Poison Bolts, and Evie’s Ice Storm no longer slows down opponents as much as before.
Finally, there were numerous bug fixes and minor changes to the menus and interface. In summary, Paladins is slowly but surely taking on a much rounder form.
For more news and articles about the game, check out our Paladins subpage.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMO shooter The Division has had the most successful beta for current-gen consoles.
“The hype is real,” as the cool kids say on the street. According to Ubisoft, 6.4 million players have tried The Division beta. This made it the largest beta ever for a new IP on current-gen platforms.
On average, players spent 5 hours in the world of The Division. Additionally, another 2 hours were spent in the Dark Zone. Half of the players succumbed to the lure of easy loot and went rogue. 63,309,800 items were smuggled out of the Dark Zone by players.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , new community videos have been curated for the videos of the week. This time, there are a lot of stars.
“Finally, the Taikonaut is good for something!” This is said about this Destiny version of the movie “The Martian” with Matt Damon. Great video of the week by Bungie’s grace. Highly recommended, it’s always amazing what the game has to offer.
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That’s it for Bungie’s videos. Now, let’s move on to ours. In this video, a player is on the run: Emperor Palpatine is after him. But he must have taken a course in “How to shoot like a Stormtrooper.”
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If you think you have what it takes to show up here with a video, then send it to us via the contact form. Non-crucible montages will be given priority.
The first location to be visited in the upcoming offline demo of the MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria has been revealed.
This is the “Ruined Watchpost”. The details about this ruin are still unknown. The image shows its location on a small hill near a forest. The screenshot also demonstrates how the graphics of the MMO currently look. Visually, the game is already very impressive, but the developers have stated that they will continue to refine the graphics.
The developers of Chronicles of Elyria also announce that they are currently working on a major update for the website, which they aim to complete this month. Next month will then become very interesting. Because they plan to release tech and gameplay videos of the game, allowing viewers to see how it looks in motion. Additionally, they want to share much more about the lore of the game world. Currently, more than a dozen people are working on the MMO, doing their best to develop a truly great online role-playing game.
No Kickstarter campaign for now
Regarding the funding of the game, they do not plan to start a Kickstarter campaign for the time being. The budget that they have managed to raise so far would last for a while, and only when it is exhausted will they consider Kickstarter.
Currently, the community consists of around 25,000 members who are keenly interested in Chronicles of Elyria. If a Kickstarter campaign were to start, it could very well be successful given the number of fans the MMO already has.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Asia MMORPG Blade and Soul introduces a new class, the Pactierer. A trailer is now presenting it.
Blade and Soul has a whole lot of updates in store. That’s the advantage when the game has been on the market in Korea for so long: you start with a full hand and can continually add more when the release is hot.
In Asia, it was said at the time that the class would be introduced to attract “young players” in particular. They may be especially susceptible to the mystery touch, while alternative classes like the Summoner are rather cute.
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The game world of the anime Sword Art Online could soon become virtual reality – IBM is working on an implementation of the series success.
Dive into Aincrad
IBM has now announced a new project. With the name “Sword Art Online: The Beginning Project“, tears of joy should immediately well up in the eyes of every anime fan.
The anime is set in the future and deals with the video game “Sword Art Online”, where players can completely immerse themselves in the game world and control their characters using their thoughts. During this time, their thoughts are entirely trapped in the game, and their bodies in the real world are immobile. When the “Logout” button is missing in SAO, 10,000 players find themselves in a suddenly very brutal game for their own lives – because if the avatar dies in the game world, the player also loses their life in reality.
The “game”, as one might say, is being developed in collaboration with Kadokawa, Bandai Namco, and Aniplex, who are responsible for the anime of the same name and have also engaged the original voice actors of Kirito and Asuna.
While not much is known about the project yet, IBM is indeed attempting to make “Cognitive Computing” more practical for the future – that is, the ability to simulate human thoughts and allow computers to “learn” how a human reacts to problems and social situations.
At least in the trailer, it looks more like “only” a virtual reality with VR glasses and motion sensors. For the period between March 18th and 20th, they are already looking for 208 testers in the Greater Tokyo area to try out the basic concept.
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We will keep you updated on how the project develops.
Mein-MMO says: This is of course still to be approached with some caution. Even though the goals like “Cognitive Computing” sound incredibly good, it will probably take a few more years until that becomes reality. Just the thought of being able to experience the world of Kirito and Asuna in VR already makes every anime and VR fan jump for joy. If we are lucky, there might actually be a Logout button this time.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Ubisoft has high expectations for the launch of Tom Clancy’s The Division. According to John Parkes, the most successful launch of a new title may be ahead.
The Division is currently on everyone’s lips. Anyone interested was able to take a look at Ubisoft’s upcoming MMO shooter in the past days and form their own opinion about it. At the moment, nothing seems to stop the hype around this game.
Parkes highlights the various features that distinguish The Division: RPG, shooter, MMO, realistic setting in a beautifully recreated New York, and a great open world that can be played solo or co-op. Therefore, the game could have a very successful launch as a new title.
The hype around The Division is enormous
He adds that the trailers for The Division generated over 225 million views; that’s 30% more than the trailer views for Watch Dogs – about the same time before release.
Furthermore, Ubisoft is overwhelmed by the interest of players in The Division: the closed beta of the game had more registrations than all Ubisoft games before. Additionally, the number of players Ubisoft expected in the closed beta was exceeded threefold.
It won’t be long now until Ubisoft’s MMO shooter launches. March 8, the release date, is approaching quickly:
With the end of the 2nd beta test, Black Desert is heading straight towards its release. We have listed for you all the important dates on how the game will proceed.
A tight schedule until release
This morning, on February 22nd at 9:00 AM, the second beta test of the long-awaited MMORPG Black Desert ended, but fans will not have to wait long for the game to finally celebrate its release. The release will take place in stages, so there are several important dates in the coming days, creating a fairly tight schedule. We have listed how it will proceed until the release of Black Desert.
On Friday, February 26th, at 9:00 AM the pre-sale of Black Desert ends. Until then, there is still an opportunity to enjoy the pre-order bonuses (such as Early Access).
On Saturday, February 27th at 9:00 AM, name reservation will close. If you haven’t taken advantage of it yet, you should hurry so that this bonus does not simply expire!
On Sunday, February 28th at 9:00 AM, the redemption of pre-order items begins. If you purchased a Conqueror’s Package, you can use Early Access from this point on.
From Tuesday, March 1st at 9:00 AM, Early Access starts for all pre-order customers of a Explorer’s Package.
On Wednesday, March 2nd at 9:00 AM, the last Early Access wave starts for all buyers of a Traveler’s Package.
Finally, Black Desert will be officially released on March 3rd (Oh wonder: also at 9:00 AM). All buyers now have access to the game and at the same time the cash shop will launch.
As announced by developer RiotGames, the champion Vel’koz will also receive an update in the middle of the year in League of Legends (LoL) .
According to Riot, there are various mages that need an update, among other reasons, due to their poor mobility. In the official LoL forum, a list of mages was published that should be updated first. This allowed players to express wishes and ideas that the developers want to consider in the update.
No strategic champion in League of Legends
There have been many discussions about why this particular champion needs an update. The developers at RiotGames believe that while this champion has a very good theme, there is currently no strategic point to play Vel’koz. However, they are also aware that this character does not need a complete overhaul to fit back into the game.
The developers hope that the update will give Vel’koz his final polish so that he has his own role in League of Legends and is not just a mage with high base damage.
The changes to Vel’Koz in LoL
Properties of Vel’Koz that are likely to be retained:
The poke and kite ability he has through his Q+W abilities. Coupled with a strong combo/all-in with his ultimate ability.
Understanding the opponent gradually through building up the passive ability and dealing additional damage.
Harder targeting of objectives. With Vel’koz, it is more difficult to hit the backline targets – when you succeed, it should feel rewarding.
Properties that are attempted to be improved:
Farming minions in the midlane can be done “brain-afk” with the W ability.
His lack of role in the game was compensated by high damage. There will be a balancing here.
What is hoped for from the update
Creating a strategic point for why one should choose Vel’koz.
Clear difference from other artillery champions and supporters with very high damage.
Adjusting the damage better to his theme.
Keeping the poke/kite possibilities as well as the all-in potential.
LASER – A LOT OF LASER!
With this information, we can already get a rough idea of how Vel’koz will function in the future. Are there any additional points in your opinion that should be considered in the update of this champion?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Recently, the Iron Banner weapons and armor have received changes in the database. Weapons now have an attack value of 240-330. Armors also go up to 330 defense value. Not only the Iron Banner is affected by the changes, but also other items like the Gear from the Hardmode raid or the Adept weapon from the Trials of Osiris now have the increased values in the database, while other weapons remain on the lower 310 values, even though they can also reach 320 through infusion in the game.
In itself, this is not sensational news. Exotic items that could rise to 330 had already been found in the database for a while. However, there was no way for them to reach this higher value in the game. 320 was the limit. Meanwhile, the “330 Exotics have been capped back down to 310” again.
What does this find mean?
At the moment, this find is being controversially discussed among players. Just a few weeks ago, there was an announcement from Bungie,that they would significantly increase the Light value with the spring update. If this really only means “330”, it would likely be a reason for disappointment. If Bungie unexpectedly goes up by 10 points with the Light already now, players would have something to do.
Giving players 3 options to reach the new Light value: Iron Banner, Hardmode Raid, or Trials of Osiris flawless would somewhat align with the reward philosophy from the first year of Destiny.
At the moment there are numerous questions about how Bungie plans to design the spring update: How high will the Light value go? Are new enemies coming our way? What about the 7 missing Exotics?
Concrete announcements are expected in the coming weeks. We will keep you updated.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With Asker, Project Black Sheep, yet another MMO in Korea is closing its doors.
We have occasionally reported on Asker, a relatively new Korean MMO with a strong action emphasis. The game was introduced as Project Black Sheep in 2013.
According to 2p, the game is already finished. It is set to close in Korea next month, with no plans for a Western release. Asker launched in Korea in August 2015 in an open beta and has reportedly remained below expectations from the beginning. The maximum it ever achieved was a 50th place in the charts, according to 2p.
Asker was marketed in Korea as a “Ultimate Action MMO”, the MMO version of Devil May Cry – apparently, that didn’t help.
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At the moment, many experts are talking about an MMO extinction in Korea. Publishers are withdrawing from the PC market, pushing into mobile. Numerous MMOs from the second and third tiers are being left behind.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The development team of The Division made a significant effort in the graphic design of the MMO shooter. We look at 11 impressive details that you should not overlook.
The world of The Division is developed with great attention to detail. We have already reported on the graphics of this game, with the result that they are quite presentable, but will not set new milestones – not even the ultra-high settings on PC. One thing cannot be denied about the game: There are numerous impressive details that one should at least be made aware of.
Detail 1: Many fictional brands
The Division takes place in a post-apocalyptic New York. Anyone who has been to present-day New York can confirm that this world city is a stronghold for advertising. Not only is Times Square plastered with advertisements, but in every corner of the city, colorful posters and billboards can be found.
In The Division, one finds countless fictional brands that shape the city’s face with their advertisements. These include coffee shops, fast-food chains, soft drink manufacturers, and much more.
There are over 230 different advertisements, and each brand has its own identity, slogan, and advertising campaign that can be found throughout New York. The lead environment artist, Chad Chatterton, mentions that even plastic bags in the game point to certain brands and stores. The brands are meant to feel alive and go beyond simple billboards.
Detail 2: Excellent Graffiti
IGN speculates that the graffiti in The Division might be the best that has ever been seen in games. There are 320 unique graffiti artworks in the city, meaning not just a few were created and then carelessly copied and pasted throughout the city.
It is claimed that graffiti artists were consulted during the design of the city on how they would express their art if Manhattan were abandoned. The following image shows the answer. Thus, deserted scissor lifts can still be found in the city:
Of course, there is also vandalism and scribbles that have nothing to do with art:
Detail 3: Fictional Movies
Similar to the fake brands, there are also many fictional movies promoted in the New York of The Division. For example, there is the movie “Don’t tell Mom”, which looks like fun for the whole family.
The poor mom was disfigured on the following poster. The author of this alteration was probably not a fan of this movie.
Detail 4: Very realistic poster textures
Since we are on the subject of posters: it’s worth taking a closer look at them. When you get close to them, The Division reveals a texture that simulates printed materials. See for yourself:
Discover on the next page how detailed the destruction in The Division looks.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The developers of the upcoming MMORPG Riders of Icarus have revealed new details about their game.
In an interview with MMORPG.com, the developers explained that mounts play a very important role in the game. You can count various creatures that allow you not only to move faster through the world but also to fly. Mounts grant your character access to certain skills.
For example, riding a horse gives access to a special skill that allows you to use spear and shield while mounted. Other mounts provide different abilities that make sense when using the corresponding mount.
On land and in the air
Riders of Icarus aims to enable flying through the air in almost all areas with creatures such as dragons, flying whales, or griffins. The developers ensure that it’s also fun. The controls must work well and be intuitive, and combat on a flying mount must function properly – therefore, there is an auto-targeting feature in the MMO.
However, you will not be flying all the time. There is much to do on the ground as well. You will explore dungeons and complete quests like in any other MMORPG. It also won’t always make sense to take your mount with you, so you’ll have adventures on foot as well.
Beta starting soon in Europe
In the USA and Mexico, a first closed beta of the MMORPG has already ended. According to the developers, they received a lot of positive feedback and some improvement suggestions, which they are now trying to implement. A beta is also set to start soon in Europe.
If you are interested in an MMORPG that represents a kind of “Pokemon meets MMO with aerial combat,” you should keep an eye on Riders of Icarus.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The massive space game Star Citizen is no fake. Chief Chris Roberts would have liked to do a few things differently.
There are people, who say Star Citizen is a total fraud. They claim it is not a game, but just a facade. There are supposedly no studios, but the pictures of ships are put together by Chris Roberts on his laptop while he sips drinks with umbrellas in the Caribbean with his wife and lights his cigar with the crowdfunding money. This is malicious nonsense, as Roberts, his fans, and the team have emphasized often enough.
They challenge people who say such things to come for a studio tour and see the daily work. Exactly that is what a film crew did now. And that a game is being developed and that a lot of effort is behind it is shown in the BBC video. There, they visited the 100-million-dollar project.
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Work on Star Citizen is being done “around the clock”
In 4 studios in 3 countries, in England, Germany, and the USA, designers, technicians, and developers tirelessly work to bring the project to fruition.
This “around-the-clock” work enables some interesting effects. One can give a task to the partner studio across the ocean just before heading home, making them much more flexible than other studios, a staff member explains in the video.
Where one studio is stuck and desperate, the others might find a solution with fresh eyes and approaches.
More money, more game, more time
Chris Roberts himself is addressed about the many controversies surrounding the game, about delays in the plan. Roberts says: Games are constantly being postponed. However, players rarely hear about it because it happens before the official presentation.
One thing he would do differently today, Roberts explains. There is a fundamental contradiction in crowdfunding: The more money you get, the bigger the game becomes, and the longer it takes to develop the game.
If he were to start such a project again today, Roberts says, he would spend more time explaining that.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Overwatch faced a lot of criticism, especially from fans who do not have access yet. Is Blizzard really only inviting streamers and the press to the closed beta?
Are only streamers and press invited to Overwatch?
Although since the resumption of the Overwatch beta significantly more players are hanging out in Blizzard’s hero shooter, the criticism from fans is still high. Only streamers and the press would gain access to the game, it is said. In the forums and on Reddit, frustrated players called the game “OnlyWatch”, meaning “only to watch”. Jeff Kaplan from Blizzard spoke with pcgamesn about these accusations. We have summarized the key points for you.
This assumption that only streamers would have been allowed into the beta is simply incorrect. According to Kaplan, “just under 1% of the approved players” are streamers and press. The perception of it is completely different.
“It’s just that, when you look on the internet and search for the Overwatch beta, what will you find? You will see the streamers playing the game and the assumption is immediately that they are the only people who have access. But that is absolutely not the case.”
Generally, Blizzard was surprised by this wave of outrage. Kaplan last had a beta running in 2008 with “Wrath of the Lich King”. Since then, expectations for a beta test have changed significantly. Players expect when they hear the word “beta” a free, almost finished trial version of a game that anyone can dive into.
Kaplan even retrospectively considers the closed beta a mistake. “In hindsight, I would have been happier if we had just called it alpha and put an NDA (“Non Disclosure Agreement”) on it. Then we could have avoided these negative reactions.”
Finally, he also sees something good in the whole issue. “If fans are angriest about not being able to play the beta themselves? I would prefer that over any other kind of criticism.” That’s understandable, because anyone complaining about not being able to play wants to – and in a few months they will be able to.
What would Hearthstone look like if it were released during the GameBoy Color era? A video provides the answer …
8-bit graphics and catchy tunes as music
When a game achieves such great success as Blizzard’s card game Hearthstone has, it’s not surprising that numerous parodies and fan works start to appear. Some time ago we had Hearthstone with Pokémon cards, and now a video is taking a similar direction – yet somehow entirely different.
The YouTube channel Roflstone has taken on the task and created a “Mobile Version” of Hearthstone – as it would have likely looked more than 10 years ago on the GameBoy Color. Clunky menus, wonderful tunes as music, and numerous funny references included.
Anyone who secretly played the first Pokémon games under the blanket at night will feel right at home …
For more news and articles about the game, you can find them on our Hearthstone topic page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
