Hearthstone: Blizzard cheats with card packs – distribution is not as random as thought

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

After evaluating some data, it is now clear: There is some cheating involved in the awarding of Legendaries in Hearthstone. To our advantage?

The Joy of Legends

Opening card packs is one of the most beautiful, as well as one of the most frustrating moments in Hearthstone. Everyone knows the thrill when opening a pack and seeing the orange shimmer around the targeted card. You’ve outsmarted fate again and snagged a legendary card! But… is the probability really random? Or is there a little cheating going on?

Hearthstone LoE Leeroy Header
The anticipation is often the best part.

A Sympathy Legendary for everyone over 39.

The evaluations from opening over 14,800 card packs from “The Grand Tournament” have brought some interesting insights to light. Blizzard has obviously implemented a “sympathy threshold” from which players receive a guaranteed Legendary. Within the test group, there was not a single person who opened more than 40 packs without receiving a Legendary. The probability of that happening is statistically under 0.001%. The logical conclusion: Blizzard has built in a mechanism that guarantees that you receive at least one legendary card in every 40 packs. However, there are some points to consider for these sympathy Legendary cards:

  • The 40 packs must be from the same edition. Opening 20 Classic and then 20 GvG packs does not have the desired effect.
  • The 40 packs do not need to be opened in the same session.
  • The 40 packs must be opened in the same region, as American and European accounts are treated separately.

Kripparian has addressed this topic in a video and explains it in a little more detail.

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By the way, there is also a sympathy threshold for epic cards – it is set at 10. It is therefore guaranteed that there will be an epic card in at least the 10th pack!

What do you think about this sympathy threshold? Does it bother you a lot, or do you find it a useful bonus to maintain the fun of the game?

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

Black Desert Online: Awakening der Valkyrie angeteasert!

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time < 1 minutes

In Black Desert Online, there is more and more information about the mysterious Awakening weapons, and now it’s the Valkyrie’s turn.

Supersize it!

In the upcoming MMORPG Black Desert, all classes will have the opportunity to obtain an Awakening weapon late in the game. This weapon not only has a much more imposing appearance, but also drastically changes the abilities of the respective character, thus allowing for a new and fresh gameplay experience for the Korean version. Now, fresh information about the new weapon of the Valkyrie is available.

Black Desert Valkyrie Awakening

She normally fights with a shortsword and shield, but exchanges them for a much larger blade that resembles a spear more than a true sword. How exactly this “Rensia”, which is the name of the weapon, affects the abilities is still unknown. Presumably, the next major patch in the Korean version will provide more insights when there are moving images available.

For more information about the game and the other Awakening weapons, you can find it on our Black Desert topic page.

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Source(s):
  1. 2p.com

The Division relies on viral marketing

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time < 1 minutes

The upcoming MMO shooter The Division relies on viral marketing – quite literally.

You innocently click on an email from Ubisoft, are asked to scan a banknote or enter identification details, and are presented with a virtual analysis: Where does the bill come from? How old is it? What distance has it traveled? What traces of marijuana and cocaine does it contain? What bacteria are on it, and how can they ruin the viewer’s health?

If you thought: That’s clever of Ubisoft, they want us to give them all our money – you are only partially right. The joke is: In The Division, the virus that causes all the trouble at launch spreads through the banknotes and what is on them.

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If you want to check out the “viral campaign” yourself, here’s the link.

The Division is set to be released on March 8 for PC, Xbox One, and Playstation 4. There will be a beta before that.

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

Destiny: Die ersten Videos der Woche in 2016 sind da

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time < 1 minutes

In the MMO shooter Destiny we are showing you for the first time in 2016 our videos of the week.

Bungie is taking a break. Normally, every Thursday a handful of videos from the community submissions are selected. We will have to do without that for the next few weeks. DeeJ has decided to become a lumberjack in Canada with his mighty beard. Well, that was nonsense. The community team is simply taking a break until the end of January. So we have to look for ourselves.

The video of the week comes, unbiased as we are, from our good friend Nexxoss Gaming. He showcases his sniper skills in this montage, proving that he doesn’t just talk about Destiny, he actually plays it.

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This video may not bring much joy, but it represents the last week in Destiny … here someone can walk on water.

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A new Destiny montage can be found in the latest video – beautifully made, killing has rarely been more aesthetic.

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Yep, that’s it for this week. With all the New Year’s stuff, there were probably other things to blow up. For the next few weeks we need your help: If you have videos that we should feature here, send them to us through the contact form.

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The Repopulation im Clinch mit den Entwicklern ihrer Engine

Andreas Bertits Andreas Bertits Reading time 2 minutes

Who is to blame for the MMORPG The Repopulation not being able to continue development? The developers of the underlying Hero Engine and Above and Beyond Technologies are in dispute.

At the end of last year, the alpha servers of the promising sandbox MMORPG The Repopulation had to be shut down. It was said that there were financial problems with the developer of the underlying Hero Engine and that the engine could not be further developed, which also made the completion of the MMO impossible. After all, the Hero Engine also forms the backbone of the game.

An employee at Idea Fabrik, the team that programmed the Hero Engine, has now revealed that a company is to blame for stopping the royalty payments for the engine about two months ago. Therefore, the game’s servers had to be closed.

The Repopulation Combat
A complicated situation

The community immediately suspected that it was Above and Beyond Technologies, as the clues such as the timing and the server shutdown matched the situation with The Repopulation. However, Above and Beyond Technologies stated that the situation is much more complicated. A financing proposal was made, through which Above and Beyond Technologies was supposed to pay Idea Fabrik’s bills for the next five months. However, this proposal came from a person who had also withdrawn funding for the Hero Engine.

Above and Beyond Technologies felt pressured, as they would also have had to commit to remaining loyal to Idea Fabrik for two years. They rejected this proposal because they would not have received any guarantee of further support or servers after those two years. Additionally, they would have still had to continue paying the royalties during the five months. They are not pleased with the accusations and state clearly that they will likely only be able to settle this in court.

Above and Beyond Technologies even believes that Idea Fabrik owes them money, which they probably will never see. Idea Fabrik simply stopped the service, which caused significant damage to Above and Beyond Technologies. They do not owe the developers of the Hero Engine anything and are very surprised by how the situation is being handled now.

The situation seems to be getting more complicated, which of course affects the further development of the MMORPG The Repopulation. Whether an agreement can be reached is currently uncertain. It may be that The Repopulation will have no choice but to switch to a different engine.

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Source(s):
  1. MassivelyOP

World of Warcraft: Legendary Ring Upgrades for Valor Points!

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

The upgrade of the legendary ring from World of Warcraft is now easier. Soon the Alpha of Legion will return…

Upgrades for Valor

With the last patch, the Valor Points in World of Warcraft have been reintroduced, allowing item upgrades. This enabled every player to improve their gear by up to 10 item levels. However, a single item could not be upgraded until now: the legendary ring. To upgrade this, players had to repeatedly defeat Archimonde, as he was the only one who dropped “Crystallized Fel Energy,” which can be used to upgrade the legendary ring by 3 item levels – up to 20 times.

To speed up the process a bit and give players a new source for their Valor Points, Crystallized Fel Energy can now be purchased in the Tanaan Jungle. In your faction’s camp, you just have to visit Dämmerungssucher Krisek and trade him 1250 Valor Points each. Alternatively, you can also head to Talador and visit Zooti Zappenduster in front of Khadgar’s tower; he also has the crystals available.

Wow dawnseeker krisek fel crystal

If you want to bring your legendary ring to maximum level 795 only through Valor Points, you must spend a proud 25,000 Valor Points – although these can be farmed, at least in theory, without too much trouble and without a fixed raid group.

When does the Alpha of Legion continue?

WoW Legion Class Distinction 1
The next version of Legion is supposed to bring new content – perhaps finally all class specializations?

But there is also news from the Alpha version of the next expansion. It seems that the holiday season at Blizzard is now over, and many developers have returned to their workplaces. Although there is still no new date for the resumption of the Alpha, they aim to start directly with a new version that promises fresh content.

We will keep you updated and report as soon as there are reliable statements.

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Source(s):
  1. mmo-champion.com

World of Tanks: The next Open Beta starts on PlayStation 4

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time < 1 minutes

The military MMO World of Tanks continues with beta tests on the Playstation 4.

WoT is coming to PS4. The first test took place in early December, and the second beta test is coming this weekend.

From January 8 to January 10, the second open beta weekend will begin on the Playstation 4. You can step into some of the most famous tanks in history, such as those from the United States, Soviet tanks, or German ones.

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As with the first beta weekend, there are two exclusive rewards for logging in: a T1E6-PS and a chromed Locust-PS. The latter is designed to resemble the original Playstation in its paint job.

If you wish, you can start your download before January 8. Here you can find everything else on the Wargaming site.

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Smedley praises emulators for Star Wars Galaxies and Everquest

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time < 1 minutes

One of the greats of the MMORPG industry, John Smedley, has now praised people working on emulators for old MMORPGs he was involved with on Twitter.

John Smedley has launched or significantly contributed to several legendary MMORPGs – some critics say he has buried at least one.

Many still mourn Star Wars Galaxies today and some enthusiasts are trying to revive the MMORPG that was shut down in 2011 with emulators. There are also similar ideas for Everquest with Project 1999: Although the game is still running and supported, some want to run a retro/classic version.

John Smedley has now taken to Twitter to give his blessing to the emulator folks. “Now that I’m no longer with Sony, I can say it: I have always respected the people who do this!“

If he could have, he would have gladly given the source code for games to the people, as long as he was sure it was in good hands.

However, Smedley is not a fan of people charging money for their emulators. That opens up a huge can of licensing problems, as most developers were working with third-party tools. But fundamentally, anyone who brings a game to life with so much passion and “backwards engineering” deserves respect.

In his new company, they want to support such energy achievements.

Smedley opened his own studio after his departure from DGC. What is going on there is still unknown.

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Source(s):
  1. MO

ArcheAge: Nächster Patch 2.5 soll noch Ende Januar kommen

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time < 1 minutes

In the sandpark MMORPG ArcheAge , Patch 2.5 is set to release at the end of January. This is the version that Korea is currently playing.

Things have been quieter around ArcheAge in the last few months. Since the major relaunch with the server merger, there have been no major announcements and it is still quiet now.

But things are happening behind the scenes: As the community manager hinted, they are still on track to bring Patch 2.5 live at the end of January. This is the version that Korea is currently playing. However, one never quite knows how this will impact the West: Sometimes here in the West, major content patches are divided into subgroups. But there will definitely be new content coming at the end of January.

Surely, ArcheAge will introduce how exactly Patch 2.5 will affect things in the coming weeks. On January 8, Trion Worlds intends to go into more detail during a live stream. In Korea, Patch 2.5 brought among other things new houses (the tree houses) and dungeons. Here is the Korean trailer from the summer:

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By the way, one won’t fully catch up with Korea. Because there, the next Patch 2.9 will be released sometime in January. It will take care of the castles, bring new buildings, mounts, a new region, and more.

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

Pre-orders for Escape from Tarkov have started – MMO will be Buy2Play

Andreas Bertits Andreas Bertits Reading time 2 minutes

Which payment model will the shooter MMO Escape from Tarkov use? It has now been confirmed that it will be a Buy2Play title and that the game can be pre-ordered now.

Escape from Tarkov is becoming increasingly interesting. The action-packed shooter battles, combined with a highly interactive game world and plenty of RPG elements such as many skills that can improve your character, exert a great attraction. The now announced payment model also makes it enticing to dive into the adventures, as Escape from Tarkov will use a Buy2Play model.

This means you buy the game for a one-time price and don’t have to pay any subscription fees or fear any clowns ruining the atmosphere of the game if it were free to play.

escape from tarkov room
Pre-order with bonuses

From now on, the game can also be pre-ordered through the official website. Several packages with different contents are available for selection. The prices for these range between 45 and 140 US dollars. Depending on the extent of the packages, they may include bonus items, safer or larger storage spaces, or you may be well-positioned with all traders in the game, allowing them to offer you better prices and more items.

New information in the FAQ

Escape from Tarkov

On the official website of the MMO, an FAQ can now be found, where interesting facts about the game can be read. The Steam launch is supposed to happen only shortly after the launch on the developers’ own platform. The alpha is still planned for the first quarter of 2016 and will not take place over Steam.

Additionally, the game is also supposed to be regularly released in stores, a Collector’s Edition is even planned. Those who wish to participate in the alpha and beta must expect regular wipes. However, those who pre-order and consider purchasing a larger storage space can expand their storage later in the game by meeting certain requirements.

The shooter MMO Escape from Tarkov is set to be released this year.

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Source(s):
  1. MassivelyOP

Activision Blizzard hat die MLG vor allem wegen der Stream-Möglichkeiten gekauft

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

Activision Blizzard bought the struggling esports organization MLG primarily for the streaming opportunities it offers. And it was also cheap.

Analysts from various firms paint a clear picture to the business magazine Fortune: The MLG had overextended itself. A stadium was to be built in China, and then there was ESL, another competitor on their heels. Even though esports is a booming sector, MLG has likely found itself in financial trouble in recent months and was looking for a buyer. They had trouble capitalizing on their own success financially.

Analysts believe that the league has become unfocused. The loss of Call of Duty to ESL and the departure of one of its key figures were seen as contributing factors.

After negotiations with Yahoo ended fruitlessly in October, Activision Blizzard struck.

Call-of-Duty
The loss of Call of Duty to ESL hit MLG hard

Activision Blizzard wants to leverage streaming opportunities and broadcasting experience

This came to light last week. A disappointed MLG shareholder angrily shared information with a smaller U.S. site. However, both MLG and Blizzard remained silent for a long time. Yesterday, the official press release came out: Yes, we have bought MLG. No numbers were disclosed. According to the first source, MLG cost Activision 46 million U.S. dollars – quite a bargain when you consider, the amounts they usually operate in.

Overwatch all heroes
It doesn’t take much imagination to picture what Activision Blizzard plans to do with MLG.

Now that the deal is done, the heads of Activision are using flattering words. CEO Bobby Kotick speaks of MLG being able to produce “premium content” and having proven technology for broadcasting their shows – this includes live-streaming capabilities. All of this strengthens Activision’s strategic position.

According to Kotick, the plan is to establish the “ESPN” of esports. The acquisition of MLG helps with that. ESPN is the major U.S. sports network. Like Sport1 multiplied by a factor of 100. Activision believes, and supports itself with analysts, that the esports audience will grow to 300 million people by 2017. They clearly want to be a part of that.

The esports team of MLG will be taken over by Activision Blizzard. The CEO Sundance DiGiovanni will also be on board. Initially, there were reports that he would be completely out, but he is just switching to the new boss.

According to DiGiovanni, esports is currently at a turning point, the popularity of esports is rising and competing with many traditional sports. This acquisition will provide new opportunities for “competitive play” and help recognize players who achieve extraordinary feats.

Heroes of the Storm Header

They had already acquired the co-founder of MLG… now they got the rest

MLG is now supposed to continue as planned following the acquisition, working with partners and other publishers. As stated to the U.S. site Gamespot, Activision Blizzard did not step in to interfere with MLG’s existing activities, but rather wants to add things. It will largely continue as it has been – just better. This statement comes from Mike Sespo, a co-founder of MLG. Blizzard had already brought him on board a few months ago to lead the new, own esports division.

Now they have also snatched up the rest of MLG.

Somewhat concerning: Sepso’s partner in leading the esports division is Steve Bornstein. He actually used to run ESPN… the sports network they now want to emulate.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Fortune
  2. vg247

Heroes of the Storm Guide: 10 Profitipps, die du noch nicht kennst

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 5 minutes

Blizzard’s MOBA Heroes of the Storm is easy to learn, but hard to master. We have 10 special tips, some of which you probably don’t know!

The Decisive Advantage

Blizzard has always emphasized the principle of “easy to learn and hard to master,” and this is clearly evident in Heroes of the Storm. While the benefits of many abilities may seem obvious at first glance, there are moments where a little more knowledge can give you the decisive advantage. The user gunleg has compiled some tricks on Reddit that we have translated into English for you.

Lunara – the Jump over the Trickster

Lunara-Hots

Lunara is the newest character from Heroes of the Storm and is currently underestimated by many players. Her agility is fantastic, especially at level 20 when you can also apply her heroic ability “Spear Leap” to allies. How useful it is to be able to create your own ally! If the Trickster is placed against a wall, Lunara can jump over it with the Spear Leap and escape from tight situations – or surprise enemies.

Anub’arak – the Net of Theft

Hots Anubarak

The Tomb Lord Anub’arak can not only incapacitate enemy players for 8 seconds with his cocoon, he can also perform some pretty nasty tricks with it. Anyone inside a cocoon is essentially “out of the game” and cannot capture control points – like at a boss or a mercenary camp. This is perfect for taking away a camp from enemies and then disappearing. A rather sneaky cockroach!

Zagara – The Swarm Catapults

Hots Zagara

Players of Zagara often dismiss the talent “Infect” because its effect is often minimal in the early stages of the game. However, once catapults are in play, this changes dramatically! If you manage to infect two catapults simultaneously and let them fire at the enemy core, each shot takes away about 10% of the core’s maximum HP. Just keep in mind that 2 catapults now have the effect of 10 catapults, as their damage is increased by 400%. Many opponents won’t have time to use a Hearthstone.

Sylvanas – the Quiver of Infinite Arrows

WoW Legion Sylvanas Cinematic

The specialist Sylvanas is excellent for tearing apart enemy fortifications. However, with a certain combination of talents, she can also achieve spontaneous damage output that makes even Nova or Kael’thas look outdated. Full quiver, Instable Poison, Death’s Breath, and Storm’s Wrath ensure that an enemy surrounded by their own minions simply explodes. Give it a try and let the Banshee Queen become the stealthy assassin!

Read on the next page for the second part – including tips for Abathur and Tychus!

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. heroesnexus.com
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Das erste Virtual Reality MMO “Wizard Online” erscheint noch 2016!

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

The first VR MMO is coming this year! What does “Wizard Online” have in store for fans of the new technology?

Weaving spells with hands

Basically, it was only a matter of time before the technology of virtual reality would also be used on a larger scale for gaming projects. 2016 marks the starting point for the first VR MMO, as Wizard Online is set to be released this year and will be available for users of Oculus Rift and HTC Vive (Steam).

Wizard Online Hand Spellweaving
Waving hands in front of the screen to cast spells? That will be possible in Wizard Online.

On the official Facebook page of the game, screenshots have already been released. Users describe the atmosphere of the world as a mix of Harry Potter and World of Warcraft. But what really makes the game special are the possibilities of VR. Spells can truly be woven with hands, and a sword can be wielded. Mystical creatures like Satan and Baphomet will populate the game world and can be defeated by players to earn various mounts. Currently, everything looks quite minimalistic, but the images are also from an early version.

Although Wizard Online is primarily being developed for VR devices, it can also be played on PC and the two consoles Xbox One and PlayStation 4. There is no release date yet. However, a trailer is expected to be released in the coming days, which we will keep you updated on.

Wizard Online Townsfolk

Wizard Online will use Unreal Engine 4 and support DirectX 12 – it would be the first game of this generation to hit the market, if it is released before Final Fantasy XV.

Mein-MMO says: At least in the screenshots, everything looks quite interesting; however, whether VR is suitable for an MMO remains to be seen. If it is a game with competitive components, the VR players will likely be at a significant disadvantage or will have to forgo VR for those content. The future will tell.

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

Destiny: Dawn Strike and Raid Challenge on January 5th.

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

In the MMO shooter Destiny a new week begins on Tuesday with a fresh Nightfall strike and a raid boss that calls for a challenge: Challenge Mode Oryx is active.

It was a stressful Monday evening: Especially since nothing stresses a gamer more than waiting idly and impatiently for something to work again. The PSN outage frustrated PlayStation players, ruining the entire Central European evening. For many players, little happened until the night. And then the Iron Banner ended already at 9:00 AM on Tuesday morning, an hour earlier than expected, and completely ruined the already bad mood for some.

Let’s see what the new week brings. Bungie is at least on vacation regarding communication until the end of January. Then they want to provide the community with information again via Weekly Updates. Maybe they should consider that. Tweeting a bit at night doesn’t really help …

Destiny-Bloody

Weekly Nightfall Strike on January 5th is the Dust Palace

For this week’s Nightfall Strike it’s into the Dust Palace, an earlier PlayStation-exclusive strike.

Modifiers are:

  • Embrace of Void – Void damage is significantly increased
  • Berserk – Enemies do not flinch
  • Specialist – Damage from special weapons is favored
  • Juggler – No ammunition drops for the currently equipped weapon
  • Grounded – Guardians take more damage when in the air

For the situation, the Telesto is recommended.

Destiny-Zaehne

Strange: Instead of the usual 4 modifiers and the always same difficulty indicator “Epic”, this time there are 5 modifiers and Epic …

This week’s raid challenge comes from Father Oryx

This week, the final boss of the raid, Oryx, is issuing a challenge. If you defeat him in a specific way, there will be bonus loot for everyone. You can read about how the challenge works and what reward awaits you in our article on the raid challenge Oryx.

The Challenge Mode awaits.

The T3 boss in Oryx’s Courtyard is Thalnok

In Tier 3 in Oryx’s Courtyard, Thalnok awaits players this week. He is the mini-Crota.

Are there guides, tricks, videos for this week’s challenges?

At this point, we will present you with videos from groups that have tackled the Nightfall, Challenge Mode Oryx, and the T3 Boss throughout the day.

Fresh from today: The Nightfall strike on Mars. It is against the Psion Splicer – there are some nice cloaks.

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The Oryx challenge is explained by our friend Nexxoss in this guide:

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And this is how Thalnok, the mini-Crota, works in Oryx’s Courtyard:

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If you now say: “Group? I would like that too,” then check out our article on finding German-speaking players in Destiny.

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Destiny: Iron Banner was not extended despite PSN outage, ended even 1 hour earlier

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

In the MMO shooter Destiny , the Iron Banner will not be extended on January 5th. It is finished, and one hour earlier than usual.

Last night, there was an outage of PSN for over 11 hours. Playstation players were unable to play online games, including Destiny. That wouldn’t be the end of the world.

But in Destiny, it was the last day of the Iron Banner, and on that day, the “Hardened” bonus is at its peak, giving significantly high bonus points. Many are waiting until Monday evening to hand in their raids and collect reputation. Due to the PSN outage, that was not possible.

Destiny-Reputation Bonus

Many players on reddit or via Twitter urged Bungie to extend the Iron Banner to give players the opportunity to make up for the lost day. Bungie had done something like this at Christmas 2014, when they kept Xur in the Tower longer to account for the hacking attacks that made it impossible for many to play over Christmas.

But this time, Bungie seemed deaf to the pleas or could not comply for technical reasons. As mentioned on Twitter by Bungie during the night, the Iron Banner would end on Tuesday at 9:00 AM – even one hour earlier than expected. The Trials of Osiris will end at 10:00 AM.

Ironically: On Monday evening at 6:25 PM our time, it was still tweeted that both events would end at 10:00 AM with the reset. So, until a few hours earlier, there was no reason to suspect anything else. No one really understands why such an important message comes “only” through Twitter and not through an in-game warning.

Destiny players are upset about the development. There are some reports of Guardians who were just about to hand in their raids – at the last minute – and were then surprised by the “premature ending.” They are far from pleased with this development.

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

Hearthstone: Legendäre Karten und ihre WoW-Vorlagen

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

Hearthstone and World of Warcraft are inextricably linked. But which card motifs can really be found in Azeroth?

A Great, Strange Journey

From a pure story perspective, Blizzard’s card game takes place in the taverns of Azeroth, thus in World of Warcraft. Numerous NPCs across all continents play the game, and with certain toys, you can also highlight that you like to let the cards fly across the board. So much for Hearthstone in WoW.

Conversely, WoW in Hearthstone, the characters and spells from WoW serve as templates for the cards. The player Jeppz has undertaken the long and arduous journey to find the various WoW characters of the legendary cards.

Hearthstone WoW character Paletress
Paletress – A boss at the Argent Tournament.
Hearthstone WoW character Dr Bumm
Hearthstone WoW character King Mukla

For this, he had to visit numerous locations and also cheat a little, as not all characters are still present in World of Warcraft. Nevertheless, he has managed to create a quite respectable collection that covers most NPCs. A small selection of his screenshots is presented here.

You can view the complete list of all screenshots on Jeppz’s imgur page.

More information about the game, such as the 10 most popular decks of 2015, can be found on our Hearthstone theme page.

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

Black Desert: “Das Spiel ist gut genug, um direkt Geld zu verlangen!”

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

In several interviews, senior personnel from Black Desert Online faced numerous questions – they believe that Buy2Play will be beneficial for the game.

Confident in Sales

The Marketing Manager, Rick van Beem, is absolutely convinced of the Buy2Play model in the West. The decision for this step was not easy, but it seemed to be the best method. On one hand, because the Free2Play MMO market is currently very saturated, and on the other hand, because Black Desert is “of such high quality” that it can reasonably demand direct payment.

Ultimately, it helps the balance of the game – as one does not have to deal with any Pay2Win items from the real money shop. While they still want to have a real money shop, it will only focus on cosmetics and quality of life. An increase in character power is excluded.

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Another question focused on the “sexy” content that can be found in Black Desert – such as lingerie and underwear. Here they want to be cautious and “westernize” the game to avoid certain issues that western players have with certain provocations that are perfectly normal in the Korean market.

In the future, they would not be opposed to a console version and would be pleased to see Black Desert on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 someday – but currently, they are completely focused on the PC version.

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Also, Daniel Loehr, the Project Manager, once again addresses the topic of the Buy2Play model. In his opinion, this model has a “premium” feel in the West, and Free2Play has failed in many places. He mentions that there have been many recent failures in adapting Free2Play games (though he doesn’t name it, he probably means WildStar). Black Desert Online is different because it would provide content for several months at launch and satisfy the fans.

For more information about the game, you can visit our Black Desert topic page.

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

Final Fantasy XIV welcomes 2016 with a flying turtle, plans FFXIII cash shop items

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

In the fantasy MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, the new year is welcomed with a flying turtle.

Mastermind Naoki Yoshida addresses the fans for the new year. 2015 was also an exciting year for him. He traveled extensively across the world, attending conventions on three continents to meet as many players as possible. The highlight was Heavensward. The release of the expansion reinforced Yoshida’s impression that they were on the right track 5 years after 1.0.

Depending on how one counts, Final Fantasy XIV turned two or five years old in 2015 – either way, it is now an adult MMORPG, right in the middle of its lifespan. For 2016, Yoshida hopes everyone remembers what it was like when they themselves were new, so that the community can progress together.

Yoshida then shares two pics. He slyly says nothing about them. Fans suspect that one might be one of the “Warring Triads” from Patch 3.2.

Warring-Triad

There might be long-term plans behind the flying turtle to make every mount in Final Fantasy XIV a flying mount. Later reports suggested they want to make the turtle from the Golden Saucer flyable with 3.2. However, nothing seems set in stone yet.

Schildkroete-FF14
Final Fantasy XIV plans to bring FF XIII items to the Mog Station

Nothing concerning the New Year’s greeting relates to the news that Square Enix plans to bring the items that were available at the “Lightning Strikes” event into the cash shop. The event was associated with FF XIII. The items will come in sets with a weapon, a hairstyle and one of two different equipment sets. Players can choose a weapon for their job. However, there are no weapons for the 3 “new” Heavensward classes.

FF13-Event

These are statements from the Japanese forum. A specific date and details will be announced later.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Lodestone
  2. Dualshockers Lightning Strikes Shop

PSN down: On January 4th, there will be unexpected maintenance [Update: It is operational again]

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

The PSN network is currently down. There seem to be unscheduled maintenance works happening.

The PSN is crucial for players to play online on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. And since many games today, such as The Elder Scrolls Online or Destiny , require an online connection, a system outage is extremely inconvenient.

On the afternoon of January 4th, it is happening again: The PSN has been experiencing issues since around 5:00 PM and is down. There has been no warning or comment from Sony regarding this action. The service page states: Everything is great. It seems to be a case of unscheduled maintenance.

For players of Destiny, this is particularly disruptive today: It is the last day of the Iron Banner and also of the Trials of Osiris. Many players typically want to complete the last matches for their rewards. Especially in the Iron Banner, it pays off due to the increasing bonus.

Players of The Elder Scrolls Online are also doubly affected by the outage: Just a few hours ago, the scheduled maintenance for the game on the PS4 was completed.

Update: Sony has now changed the status page of the PSN and acknowledged the issues. There is the phrase that technicians are working on resolving the problems. The news is also available on Twitter: Some users are having trouble accessing the PSN. We are aware of it. Thank you for your patience while we address this issue.

At around 11 PM, Sony reassured again: We are working on it. This time also in German.

Update: During the night it came back – around 4, 5 AM. The downtime of the PSN lasted approximately 11 hours.

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

Armored Warfare: So soll das Panzer-MMO in 2016 wachsen und gedeihen

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time < 1 minutes

After nearly two months in the open beta, Armored Warfare proudly reflects on 2015 and has a vision for 2016.

The developers of Armored Warfare, a military MMO, seem to be shining like a child with a honey cake at Christmas. After only 2 months in the open beta, they look at their game with as much pride as a parent would. They are particularly pleased about:

  • how many players have embraced the PvE aspect of Armored Warfare – this aspect they want to further enhance
  • and how much the players appreciate the balancing at mid-tier in PvP – they have spent a lot of time on the balancing here and want to transfer that to other tier levels
Armored Warfare Desert

Armored Warfare wants to apply and polish

The plans for 2016 can be summarized with a Karate Kid quote: apply and polish. They want to bring new features while constantly refining and perfecting the game. The goal is to continue to hone the game during the open beta phase to fully exploit its potential upon release.

In 2016, new maps, game modes, traders and thus vehicles are expected to come. They also want to refine balancing and matchmaking and work on all the mechanics so that they can be meaningfully improved.

Armored Warfare seems to be on the right track, as shown by our test. The game even made it to our MMO of the Month December.

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