In October, the MMO trends show the impact of major expansions on Warframe, Star Wars The Old Republic, and Guild Wars 2.
Please note that the trends, the numbers are not representative, but come from users of a PC program called Raptr, which is installed alongside graphics cards. The numbers reflect the hours players spent with the program in PC games. We would like to give you representative, official numbers, but there are none and Raptr is the best we have.
The MMO trends are a bit late this time, clearly showing the impact of “fresh content” in online games.
Blizzard had little to offer in October – WoW, D3 lose
Unbelievably solid at rank 1, as in previous months, League of Legends (LoL). Every fourth hour that Raptr users spent on their PCs was dedicated to Riot’s MOBA.
There has been nothing new for a while in World of Warcraft, losing 8.6% of playtime and one position. This is likely to continue until summer 2016. It seems that Blizzard wants to really focus back on its MMORPG only with the expansion Legion.
The Shining Winners: Guild Wars 2, Warframe, SWTOR
Heart of Thorns was released at the end of October and it immediately impacts the playtime of Guild Wars 2 . It went up by 10.8% and thus reached rank 12. A further jump can be expected in November.
A major leap can be noted for SWTOR , where “Knights of the Fallen Empire” was released on October 27, pre-order players could start a week earlier. Playtime increased by a strong 44.5%. This might be the comeback game of the year.
And Warframe also received a boost of 17% due to several content patches: Jordas Rule was released in October, bringing Warframe to rank 15. This free-to-play game also presents itself significantly improved.
Developers took a short break after Heavensward, and in October there was a content drought.
Not so good: Final Fantasy XIV
It wasn’t so good in October for Final Fantasy XIV, as it lost 24.3% and is close to dropping out of the top 20. After Heavensward, the development team took a break, which was still in full swing in October. Players complained about “too little endgame content.” This is always deadly for playtime. In early November, however, Patch 3.1 was released, the vacation is over, and they’re picking up speed again.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
I am a big fan of the Ultima series and therefore very interested in the upcoming selective multiplayer RPG Shroud of the Avatar. However, there are one or two things about the game I am not so keen on.
The Ultima series by designer Richard “Lord British” Garriott always stood out from other RPGs. The stories had moral backgrounds, and in the later titles, the simulation of a world was at the forefront. For example, in Ultima VII, it was possible to buy flour, mix it with water from a well to make dough, and bake this dough into bread in an oven. Even the NPCs all had not just interesting and complex daily routines but also their own personalities. Even the interaction with the world was unparalleled. You could move objects depending on their weight and simply drop all items anywhere. With Shroud of the Avatar, Richard Garriott wanted to return to those days while also providing a multiplayer experience.
It’s not going smoothly yet
Currently, Shroud of the Avatar is still in a pre-alpha phase. So much will still change and improve in the game. Therefore, my opinion is based on what can be seen of the game so far and what is planned. Here now is what I currently do not like:
A dull battle
Shroud of the Avatar uses a mix of a classic World of Warcraft combat system that can be enhanced with a random element in the form of cards. The WoW system feels extremely outdated by now. Additionally, the combat system is very passive. You watch, give commands, and wait for those commands to be executed. While this may have been new and interesting ten years ago, it apparently only draws in the absolute hardcore MMO freaks these days.
There is a way to attack actively using a timer, but this feels more like an appendage. That it can be done differently is shown by MMOs like TERA or Vindictus. The active action brings excitement and surprises to the game. An intensity one wishes for in a fight. It’s a shame that this possibility was not considered for Shroud of the Avatar.
An arena spell system
The spell system could hardly be further from that of the earlier Ultima games or Ultima Online. You learn spells and can improve them through a skill system. Although there are reagents that one can use for each spell to enhance its effects, this is not necessary. There are only cooldowns that must be waited out before a spell can be cast again. This makes the combat system – as has been noted multiple times in the official forum – feel more like a shooter.
You cast spell after spell without really needing to pay attention to whether you have the necessary prerequisites. A spell system in which spells could be cast based on the reagents you possess – as it was the case in Ultima – would have been much more tactical and interesting.
Grinding? Please no!
A typical MMO problem that the developers need to tackle for the single-player mode at least is grinding. You collect experience points, and as long as the “EXP pool” is full, you can improve your skills through use. Experience points are currently earned through crafting and fighting. But what about exploring unknown areas? Completing quests? Solving puzzles?
Since you only gain EXP through fighting and crafting, you end up doing this over and over again, leading to grinding. There is completely no incentive to do anything apart from crafting and fighting. Grinding also includes the respawn system, which crushes any feeling of being able to achieve something in the game right away. When you defeat a monster, and it reappears out of nowhere right in front of you, you really don’t need to fight it again because you can never truly defeat it anyway.
Backward step in the UI
The entire UI of the game appears not only overloaded but also as if aimed at hardcore MMO gamers while forgetting the single-player fans (to whom Shroud of the Avatar is also addressing). The Ultima series has always been known for offering innovations. Also in terms of UI.
Ultima VII, for instance, had no HUD at all, and the game was still excellent to play. Why they are now taking such a backward step and using an abundance of windows, bars, text, and numbers is incomprehensible. Here they could have tried something completely new and innovative… This also applies to the simulation of the world. So far, it is not possible to drop items anywhere or move items like barrels. That’s a pity because many Ultima fans were looking forward to that.
Visually poor
The graphics in the game can best be described as “dusty”. It would not have been necessary to provide high-end visuals. A unique style would have suited Shroud of the Avatar well. But the developers decided to purchase assets from the Unity Asset Store and partially modify them for their own needs. The result looks like someone cobbled together a game from a kit.
The same objects like houses, chairs, benches, barrels, rocks, and boats alternate with cloned NPCs and not particularly pretty plants, all while grass sways in the wind at the same rhythm. While they are working to continuously improve the appearance, if you place screenshots from the first versions of the game next to the current ones, there is no groundbreaking difference. Why not? It’s the same assets being used.
Additionally, there are missing shader effects that could give textures structure and depth or certain effects like wetness or reflections. Many buildings also appear too smooth, too symmetrical with sharp edges, which looks unnatural and “cheap”. Even in terms of light effects and shadows, other indie games with lower budgets offer better. Thus, visually, SotA will have a hard time attracting players who value at least somewhat current graphics – unless Portalarium packs in a substantial improvement.
What about the single-player mode?
The single-player offline mode is a bit of the game’s problem child. During the Kickstarter campaign, this single-player mode was prominently featured. At that time, it gave the impression that SotA was a single-player RPG that could also be played online with friends.
Now, however, it seems the opposite is true. SotA gives the impression of an MMORPG, where you can simply hide the players and play alone. The developers justify this by stating that they first have to build an MMORPG framework upon which the single-player mode can be established. However, this raises several questions: Are the fundamental structures of MMOs and single-player games the same? Is it really that simple to design an MMORPG and then hide the players and say: Now it’s a single-player RPG?
What about balancing? Respawning opponents? Repeatable quests, grinding, etc.? Comparing Fallout 4 with World of Warcraft, these are completely different games. If you were to go online in Fallout 4 and add other players, it would still not be an MMORPG, and the same goes for World of Warcraft. Because it wouldn’t be a single-player RPG if you simply hid all the other players. Here, the developers of Shroud of the Avatar have a lot of work to do on the game, and they also need to explain how they want to make the game feel like a real single-player RPG in offline mode.
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Additionally, there are further issues, such as a dialogue system that resembles a chat rather than a conversation with an NPC and a housing system that destroys the entire atmosphere in the game because players misuse creativity. While this all sounds quite negative, it also shows that the developers have a lot of work ahead of them. Especially from a spiritual successor to Ultima, I would have expected more innovations, more courage to try something completely new. A kind of evolution of the genre – as the old Ultima titles always did. Perhaps the developers will take the criticism to heart and revisit some aspects. Next time, I will talk about what I like about Shroud of the Avatar!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The online offshoot of the Monster Hunter series is entering open beta – anyone who can live with “small” complications can participate in Monster Hunter Online (PC).
Monster Hunter – The Thrill of the Hunt
Probably everyone has heard of the Monster Hunter series or at least knows someone who has raved about the game. The core aspect of the game is – as the name suggests – hunting large monsters.
The latest installment in the series, Monster Hunter Online, will start its open beta on December 17. There will be no IP bans, so anyone interested – even from Germany – can participate.
However, hunting doesn’t work like in an MMORPG, where you just go into an area, take down the mob with 2-3 abilities, and then return to the NPC.
Instead, each monster must truly be hunted. Various traps and bait need to be prepared, and individual hunts can easily take three-quarters of an hour – including a 20-minute battle against the creature. Almost every hunt is its own small boss fight, where a variety of potions are consumed.
In general, it is always important in the MH series to keep the hunter fresh during the hunt – weapons need to be sharpened, protective potions consumed, and various items, such as earplugs for extremely loud monsters, must be acquired. It’s not uncommon for a monster to flee and retreat to its lair to lick its wounds. Particularly sinister creatures (like dragons) can also have individual body parts severed to reduce the threat.
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However, anyone who wants to take a look at the game should have some knowledge of the Chinese language, as there are currently no English texts or an English client – the community hopes for an English patch from enthusiastic players.
A localized version has not yet been confirmed, but recently, trailers for the game have also been provided with English subtitles – one wouldn’t do that if they didn’t want to prepare the West for the game; perhaps the game will eventually come to Germany and Europe.
The Korean version of Blade & Soul is getting a major update that focuses on beaches and kidnapped girls.
Child Abduction with Uncertain Fate
NCsoft has revealed the first part of the large update which will be rolled out on December 16 on the Korean servers. In addition to the 9th class, a mix of Kung Fu Master and Tidebringer, the patch brings vast new zones and a continuation of the story in the now 7th chapter of the storyline.
Abduction of a Girl
Many details of the story of the 7th chapter are still unknown, but the already released trailer provided some hints. The focal point of the excitement is the abduction of a girl, which runs through all the new areas. During this mission, numerous new NPCs appear, some of whom even offer their help to the player – but at what price or what goals they pursue is not immediately obvious.
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The central point of the update is the capital of the Cloud Empire; here begins the journey, the city is the starting and gathering point for many activities in the area. But even if the zone seems idyllic and the sea with its beautiful beaches invites you to linger, there are still some problems. The beauty of the surroundings cannot disguise the fact that the city is essentially divided. In the slums live the beggars, orphans, and the helpless, worrying about their survival. Right next to it is the fortified palace, where the rich and powerful have entrenched themselves and pursue their lavish life.
But even away from the city, rumors and contradictions await the players. The beautiful Coral Coast seems to be under a curse, as countless ships have already disappeared there and never returned. A mysterious fleet has recently appeared a little further away, and eyewitnesses report of a crew that seems no longer fully connected to life …
The update is therefore packed with new tasks, and it will likely take a while before all the secrets and puzzles of the beautiful beach environment are uncovered.
On Destiny , a new event will start on Tuesday, December 8th. Sparrow racing will take place. Additionally, more PlayStation-exclusive rewards have been announced.
For 3 weeks, the “Sparrow Racing League” will take place. Racing will heat up on Mars and Venus. In addition to Sparrows, new gear can be won.
A news post provided a bit more information. The charming and incredibly attractive Amanda Holliday will serve as the Quartermaster for the event. She will be the one to receive the quests and some loot runs (#TeamAmanda).
Additionally, Tess Everis, the cash shop lady, will sell some style and flair items.
The races are 6-player “free-for-all” death races through enemy territory! The event starts after the update on December 8th and lasts until December 29th.
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For PlayStation players, exclusive goodies were announced. There will be a PlayStation-exclusive quest for the Racing League, culminating in an exclusive Sparrow.
Starting next year, there will also be “PlayStation-exclusive” gear pieces during the Iron Banner. Bungie has announced a trailer (which is now available) and a Vidoc for the coming hours. It might be that the ViDoc (video documentation) is released relatively late at night. In the last ViDoc, there was extensive discussion about the motivation and ideas behind the game content, featuring some people from the second row (like an extremely passionate sound designer).
The hero shooter Battleborn will feature a split-screen mode. An open beta will start in 2016 exclusively for the PlayStation 4. Fans of Sony’s console will also receive an exclusive hero.
At the PlayStation Experience, GearBox also made an appearance and introduced the hero shooter Battleborn. They know how much players are excited about the big franchises like Borderlands, but they hope that fans are also interested in something new and fresh – namely, Battleborn.
They emphasized that alongside the game’s PvP mode, they also offer a large campaign with the possibility to play cooperatively. This will be created by the “Borderlands” team and will have the typical “over the top” humor. And in couch co-op, in split-screen mode, you can experience all of this as well.
As a bonus for PlayStation 4 players, they announced an exclusive open beta for them “early in 2016” and an “exclusive character” that only PlayStation players of Battleborn will experience at release.
In the latest version of the Alpha test of World of Warcraft: Legion, what has always belonged together finally comes together.
The prettiest flower merchant of Midgard
World of Warcraft is full of references to other games. Whether it’s the Un’goro Crater, which is dedicated to almost every aspect of the Nintendo company, or NPCs like Elizabeth Birdsong in Stormwind, which are more direct references to “Bioshock: Infinite”.
A special homage was given to the game Final Fantasy VII (the most popular installment of the series) when with Wrath of the Lich King, the NPC “Aerith Primrose” was positioned in Dalaran. Just like in the JRPG, the young woman, known in English as Aerith Gainsborough, is a flower merchant, and she also closely resembles the original.
Now, more than seven years later, Aerith finds her great love in the Alpha of World of Warcraft: Legion and has gained another NPC by her side, who resembles Cloud Strife more than just a little.
It seems that the developers of World of Warcraft are also looking forward to the remake of Final Fantasy VII …
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Christmas is coming to Hearthstone – new cards, modified game boards and other rewards in the card chaos are waiting!
Spirit of Christmas? Tavern Brawl!
It seems that the Winter Veil Festival will not only be celebrated in World of Warcraft this year, but also in Hearthstone. A new patch at least suggests this, as data miners have already extracted plenty of information related to the upcoming card chaos variants.
Christmas Game Board and Father Winter
While it would be a bit of an exaggeration to speak of a truly “new” game board, the surface of the Orgrimmar board will be freshly decorated in line with the winter mood. Snow now lays on the gates of the city, the catapult is shooting snowballs, and all weapons have somehow been dressed up in a kitschy-cute manner. It is assumed that these decorations will only stay during the season and will be replaced by the original board afterward.
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After being rewarded with a classic card pack in the card chaos so far, this will change during the Christmas season. Those participating in the special Winter Veil chaos will likely be able to secure a particularly colorful card back, adorned with colorful glowing lanterns. Whether this will replace the normal reward or be distributed “in addition” to the card pack is not yet known.
Even though the exact details of the Winter Veil card chaos are not yet known, it appears that gifts will appear on both sides of the game board. If one “defeats” these gifts, the player receives a reward, presumably in the form of a card that can then be used against the enemy.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A player of the SF-MMO Eve Online has died in a violent attack in San Bernardino. The game’s community mourns “one of us.”
It is often sad occasions when the communities of online games show their best side.
A tragic story unfolded on Wednesday in San Bernardino, 100 kilometers east of Los Angeles. Two heavily armed shooters, a man and his wife, opened fire at a Christmas party in a facility for the disabled. 14 people were killed by them. The two perpetrators took their own lives after the massacre. As has now become clear, the attack likely had a terrorist background.
Among the 14 victims was Robert “Photonentorpedo” Adams, an avid player in EVE Online, who made many friends there and influenced many lives. His best friend published a moving letter on reddit, describing Adams as an upright and honest man, a role model from whom he had learned a lot.
Other players are visibly moved, whether they knew him or not, as they shared a common hobby, a passion.
“No one leaves Eve,” says one, “you just go afk.”
Source: https://www.gofundme.com/t3d3nb38
Friends of the family have created a charity page to collect donations for the widow of the deceased and for his little daughter. So far, over $45,000 have been raised.
One can assume that there is also the occasional dollar from a virtual friend in the world of EVE involved.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, players can now purchase the vampire curse and werewolf bite for real money. Players accuse Zenimax of fleecing beginners. After all, these transformations are available for free at every corner of Tamriel.
Pay to bite – the purchasable rendezvous with a vampire
For 1500 crowns, you can become a werewolf or a vampire in the crown store via an item. Normally, this requires the help of another player (or a rather rare NPC) and you have to go on a quest. The vampire or werewolf state grants new skill opportunities, there were even phases when vampires were extremely strong.
There are two ways to trigger this transformation: Either you get infected by a player who already has it and start a quest line. Or you receive the curse from NPCs and then start with the quest journey.
At release and later at the console launch, there was a booming player market surrounding the two transformations with everything that goes with it: The spawn points for vampire NPCs were besieged so that no one could be bitten “for free” by NPCs; player bites, on the other hand, were traded at top prices.
Of course, there was fraud: “Give me money, and I’ll bite you. (…) Thank you for the money, but I won’t bite you, I’m a nasty vampire and I tricked you. Mohahaha! Please turn around now and imagine I transformed into a bat and flew away while I’m actually just logging out.”
Nowadays, you can find a vampire bite at every corner of The Elder Scrolls Online
But after a few weeks and months, as more and more players became vampires or werewolves in The Elder Scrolls Online, this usually settled down – because every “infected” person can pass on the curse once a week. The supply exceeded the demand.
In the forum, a discussion unfolds about the topic of the purchasable bite. Players say: You’re fleecing beginners with this. They buy this bite for 13 euros, perhaps not even knowing that it can be easily acquired for free in the game.
Players don’t see the sale of the bite as “Pay2Win”, but wonder why anyone should spend 1500 crowns (13 euros) for something that is offered for free at every corner.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Cautiously estimated, the probability might be around 20%, just to be clear. So no one should go into panic breathing, pray to their Xur statue, or start polishing their weapon collection, but: It is possible that a new DLC will be announced tonight.
Because tonight, Sony’s Playstation Experience 2015 takes place in San Francisco. There is no dedicated panel for Destiny, but: In the image for the “Keynote”, Destiny appears as one of only 5 games.
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The last major announcement for Destiny was also made at a Sony keynote
The last major announcement, the expansion “The Taken King”, was also made during a keynote panel by Sony at E3 six months ago.
Bungie is closely associated with Sony for marketing purposes, so it may be that they use this platform again to showcase themselves. The community manager has also pointed out somewhat subtly that they would be in San Francisco over the weekend and has been mentioning that they will soon address the “plans for year 2”. But this might mean nothing; it could also be that Sony simply put the “biggest hits” in their portfolio on a poster.
They might play a more important role soon.
The time is ripe for Destiny to announce the next big thing
Currently, it is indeed strange how little is known about Bungie’s “plans for year 2”. This is atypical for the developers. Fans have long been demanding that Bungie set the groundwork for the upcoming months. An announcement of a DLC would be possible around February, which would fit into the “Something new every 4 months” schedule.
Whether this DLC will be chargeable or just a “content patch” has been a hot topic in recent months since the introduction of a cash shop..
The “Keynote” starts at 7 PM; we will keep you updated if Bungie releases any important information. And if it’s just a snowstorm in the Tower.
In this article, we addressed the current information drought for Destiny: Destiny: What’s next?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The hero shooter Gigantic (PC, Xbox One) must postpone its release to 2016 and therefore lay off employees.
Gigantic is planned for Windows 10 and Xbox One, and now they have informed the players in a blog: We are aware that we must move the launch time frame to 2016. As a startup, our funds are limited. If we need to extend the production time without sales, we are also forced to allocate our resources differently, to stretch them. Therefore, we had to part ways with 16 employees with a heavy heart.
This is painful, but they remain determined to deliver Gigantic in the best possible quality.
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The news about the layoffs had already reached the US site Massively Overpowered. Former employees had reached out on Twitter for new job opportunities.
I’m sad to say that I was one of 16 laid off from Motiga. If you know of any CM work, here’s my linkedin https://t.co/haLcp2Mshk
The military MMO World of Tanks is now available on the Playstation 4 in an open beta, but beware: a massive download is required.
As reported by Dualshockers, the Playstation 4 beta of World of Tanks is a heavyweight. With an initial download of 1.979 gigabytes, players are first lulled into security, before the heavy artillery comes: 36.81 gigabytes are downloaded in the background.
A new pet in World of Warcraft serves a good purpose. The proceeds help terminally ill children.
The playful kitten with a hunger for magic
At more or less regular intervals, Blizzard works with the “Make-a-Wish” foundation to fulfill a great wish for children with life-threatening illnesses. This year, the new pet “Glowing Paw” serves this purpose and can now be purchased in the Battle.net shop.
Until the end of this year, all proceeds will go to the foundation. To promote the campaign a little, Blizzard has also provided the purring mana addict with its own trailer.
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Glowing Paw costs 10€ in Europe. If you have no use for the playful kitten yourself, you can also make a pet collector from your friend list happy, as the pet can also be gifted through the shop page. What is better than donating for a good cause and at the same time making a friend happy?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
This is due to the “Kit” of the Sunbreaker: The Super is already strong, and its support abilities further enhance it. This makes the Super too powerful and the Titan is not only a hammer-throwing killing machine but also extremely difficult to take down.
Many of its attributes related to the Super are now being weakened. Bungie says it is the first time they are making significant changes to class balance – also the first time they felt they had to.
However, Bungie assures: We are not ruining the Sunbreaker. It is still strong, just not as powerful as it is now. Additionally, the other two Titan specs will receive buffs: the Defender (Bubble-Bro) and the Striker (Punch-Bro).
Longer Arms, Faster out of the Blocks for All Titans
For all Titans:
Bungie increases melee attack range by 12.5%, from 4 meters to 4.5 meters. The Titan should feel like a melee fighter overall, as they diagnosed Tyrannosaurus Rex arms on him and want to counteract this. Also, the initial speed of Catapult is increased by 5%, so the Titan gets moving faster.
Titan Melee: Extend Titan Melee range (+12.5%)
Catapult Lift: Faster Initial velocity (+5%)
Sunbreaker becomes more vulnerable during Supers and support abilities are weakened
For the Sunbreaker, damage reduction during the Super is reduced by 9%, and the hammer will fly 1.3% slower.
Additionally, the bonuses that further enhance the Super will be lowered. Thus, “Flameseeker” will have 25% weaker tracking and will no longer provide +1 Recovery and +1 Agility. Those are now on Fleetfire (Agility) and Firekeeper (Recovery). Cauterize will have a 3-second cooldown, Forgemaster a 20% weaker radius multiplier for splash damage.
Sunbreaker
Melee
Sunstrike: Decrease DOT Time (6.5s ->5.5s)
Super
Hammer of Sol: Reduce Damage Resistance during Super (-9.09%)
Hammer of Sol: Slow Hammer travel speed by (-1.32%)
In the MMO shooter Destiny the PvP event Trials of Osiris has been active since Friday evening, December 4th. This time it’s a paradise for snipers.
Until Tuesday morning, the best 3-player teams of Destiny will face off in the Trials of Osiris. In a deathmatch, it’s about which team has a survivor left at the end.
The bulk of rewards comes from the loot contracts. Those with a 9-0 on the card can still pick up rewards on Mercury. Additionally, at 5 and 7 wins, there are special legendary items for all who achieve these milestones.
This map was created by the redditor knightsmarian.
At rank 5, there is the helmet from Osiris’s armor set, while the rank 7 reward is the hand cannon.
Among the most popular sniper rifles are the Eirene, the “Empty Look”, and the Beyond. We have already presented all three weapons.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The latest Hearthstone bosses in the 3rd wing of the Explorer’s League are tough – we reveal to you how to defeat the heroic bosses in “The Fallen City”.
Help little Finley out of trouble
Since last night, the latest wing of “The Explorer’s League” is open. In the now 3rd part, the fallen city, it is all about the little Sir Finley Mrrgglton, who needs help out of a perilous situation. While the bosses in normal mode do not pose much of a challenge, this changes drastically in the heroic version. We provide you with some tricks and tips to survive the three enemies unscathed.
Lord Slitherspear on Heroic – How to defeat the Naga head chef
The first major beta update expands Paladins with a new character and improves the starting conditions for newcomers.
The hero shooter Paladins: Champions of the Realm receives its first major beta update with so many changes that they could fill several pages in the forum. Particularly noteworthy is the new character, the frosty sorceress Evie, and the revised level system. For newcomers, the entry experience increases, as the starting decks of all characters have been massively improved.
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The first newcomer to Paladins is a true glass cannon and gifted illusionist. Evie is the wonder child of the archmage of Stonebriar, defying her master by binding the ice fury Xerses to herself forever. This process not only granted her great power but also bestowed her with immortality, though it led to her banishment. Since then, she has wandered the north, and no one knows why she has come to Crosswing Hold now – and no one dares to ask her.
As a weapon, Evie uses her Frost Staff. The projectiles don’t fly very far, but they explode and deal damage in a small area.
Illusion creates a copy of Evie that lasts for 6 seconds and attacks enemies, dealing 40% of the damage of its summoner.
With Blink, Evie can teleport a few meters – as is typical for mages – always in the direction she is facing. This works upwards into the sky or onto elevations as well.
She swings onto her broom temporarily with Soar, which gives her increased movement speed and is perfect for fleeing from dangerous situations or chasing fleeing enemies.
Her cards allow her to focus either on dealing devastating damage with her weapon or creating a variety of illusions. With the right cards, it is possible to have up to 5 illusions active at the same time. Since each copy deals 40% of Evie’s damage, they can often take out entire groups of enemies by themselves.
However, Evie herself is very fragile. If she is focused and her abilities are on cooldown, the young sorceress quickly bites the virtual grass.
Changes to the Starting Decks
Many cards have been changed and now have a different rarity than before.
To give newcomers a great gameplay experience right away and let them feel the impact of the most powerful cards, the starting decks of all characters have been revised. Every champion now starts with 4 common, 1 rare, 1 epic, and 1 legendary card.
At the same time, the rarity of many cards has been changed to better reflect their strength. Those who have already played in the beta benefit even more from these changes – as they will have the new cards in addition and will have many duplicates. These can be exchanged in “Card Crafting” to obtain new cards.
Level System Expanded to Level 10
Significant changes have also been made to the level system. During a match, heroes level up significantly faster, often reaching level 5 within just a few minutes (which grants them access to the legendary card). However, players continue to accumulate experience points thereafter, and at each level-up, one of the previous cards can be exchanged to further customize the playstyle.
Leveling up is now significantly faster – all can try their legendary cards within just a few minutes.
This should also be heeded, as at levels 1-5 the cards only provide half of their passive bonus (health points and extra damage). It appears that it is possible to always replace selected cards with “themselves” if desired. This keeps the selection of abilities the same and only increases the passive bonuses.
Siege machines are now more vulnerable during the journey and can only destroy a maximum of one gate before being destroyed themselves. This artificially lengthens matches, but often leads to exciting comebacks when a team seems to be losing.
Finally, there is now a punishment system for players who are AFK during the match. Unfriendly players can also be reported after a match and may face sanctions after multiple offenses.
The changes are partly massive – but HiRez wants to experiment here.
Mein-MMO says: It feels like leveling up is now too fast, and often you reach level 2 after just taking the first shot. However, this is a very early beta version, and HiRez has announced that they will try many “crazy things” to see how the gameplay experience changes. Evie fits well into the group of champions and offers many customization options thanks to her cards to play her in different ways – an advantage that some other characters have not had yet. Especially the punishment system for AFK players was important – previously, there was hardly a match where a player didn’t drop out.
December brings numerous in-game events in SWTOR – there is no time to catch your breath!
Paving over content drought with events
The disappointment after the developer live stream a few days ago was significant. Fans will have to wait until February 2016 for the next chapter of “Knights of the Fallen Empire”; only then will the story continue. To prevent boredom among players until then, December has been filled with plenty of in-game events. Plenty could basically also mean “all”, as there is hardly any break.
08.12 to 15.12: The Relics of the Gree
15.12 to 22.12: The Rakghoul Plague
15.12 to 05.01: The Life Day
18.12 to 01.01: Double Experience Points
22.12 to 29.12: Bounty Hunter Week
There is a lot to do before the main story continues in February.
While most events take place in familiar form, there are slight changes for Life Day. All items from previous years will now be available for event currency, including cartel market items like the Life Day orb. However, there are a few fresh items available on the market, as a tank that can shoot snowballs has already been teased.
Apart from these events, SWTOR is celebrating its fourth anniversary. Those who log into the game between December 8, 2015, and January 5, 2016, can look forward to a small gift for their characters.
Star Wars: The Old Republic caused some unrest in recent days with the announcement that bonus story chapters would only be available to subscribers. Cortyn (that’s me!) thought this was enough of a scandal for a Whine Wednesday.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Telesto is one of three “normal” exotic weapons that came with the Taken King – the others are Primus and Zhalo Super-Cell. The Telesto is not tied to any quest.
It can be found in exotic engrams for special weapons from Year 2, as a random reward from Nightfall Strikes, Oryx, or in the King’s Fall Exotic chest. And Xur can sell it.
What makes the Telesto special?
Halo counterpart: The Needler
The Telesto is a fusion rifle and deals Void damage. Many fans have compared it to the “Needler” from the Halo series. The weapon comes with rather weak stats, relatively low range, only 4 shots in the magazine, and the impact could be higher. Additionally, fusion rifles are generally unpopular.
However, these stats can be deceiving, as the unique perk “Unplanned Reprieve” causes fusion projectiles to stick and detonate with delay: This means that both range and impact do not matter for this part of the damage – similar to the cluster rockets from Gjallarhorn back then.
Other strong perks on the weapon include:
“Spark of the Harbinger” – Multikills with this weapon generate Light Orbs for your allies (double kills create one spark, quadruple kills create two).
Battle Runner: Kills with this weapon grant a temporary sprint bonus.
If you choose Improved Battery, the magazine increases to 5 shots.
How good is the Telesto in PvE and PvP?
In PvP, the weapon can be overlooked. It’s fun to use, but not suited for the core idea of the Crucible in Destiny: The one who dies first loses. With the Telesto, you often go down just before your opponent while they die from the explosion: That’s not an ideal result: It’s preferable for the other to die while you happily bounce away to find the next target.
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In PvE, however, you should definitely give the weapon a try. Against “small enemies”, known as trash mobs, you can provide your allies with plenty of sparks. Thanks to the bonus damage from the explosion, Telesto is also a weapon with surprisingly high bite against strong champions in Destiny.
Even though fusion rifles have few friends, the Telesto is worth a look for the experts at PlanetDestiny and belongs to the weapons that a Guardian of the world should carry. When Void-burning is active in the Nightfall strike, it can really shine.
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It is definitely a recommendation to buy. It may not please everyone and is not among the “must-have exotics” like Zhalo Super-Cell, Black Spindle or Malevolent Touch … but it’s very close.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
