The fantasy MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV is struggling to establish itself in China. Therefore, there are considerations to introduce a level boost to 50.
2p reports on the one-year anniversary of Final Fantasy XIV in China. There, Game Director Naoki Yoshida admitted that Final Fantasy XIV is falling short of expectations in China. Three factors are identified as reasons for the delayed success:
the mobile market in China is booming
the subscription model is unpopular
and a lot of time must be invested in Final Fantasy
At least the third issue is something Square Enix can control itself. There are considerations to introduce an instant level boost to 50 after Heavensward launched in China in the fall. This is not a step towards “Pay2Win,” Yoshida assures. While they are planning a cash shop, there will only be cosmetic items available.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Something is happening in the Free2Play MMORPG Cabal 2 . Starting tomorrow, a new patch awaits that brings fresh content for PvP and PvE players.
Against Players or Monsters – Everyone as They Wish!
Starting from September 10, there will be a new content update for the F2P game Cabal 2. The patch primarily includes 2 brand new arenas, one of which can be used for PvP skirmishes. In the second arena, players can fight solo against multiple monsters. While the first matches are still quite manageable, the difficulty of the encounters is expected to quickly increase, thus separating the wheat from the chaff soon. Both events are available for all players starting from level 10.
With the introduction of these two instances, a new ranking system will also be introduced that tracks your progress in the arenas and battlefields. The players can not only compete against each other, but will also be rewarded for their performance at the end of each season – a higher rank means better rewards.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , a new patch 2.0 will be released this evening. We summarize the patch notes for you in English.
This is what patch 2.0 brings in patch notes. It is a summary. We have highlighted what “new information” there is that at least surprised us.
Level and Light Level
The level cap increases to 34. Players receive the highest level they can achieve with all their gear in their inventory or vault.
The level cap will rise to 40 on September 15, if you own “The Taken King”.
Character level and light level are now two different things.
This player has experience level 40; light level 214.
Light Level
The light level is calculated from the average attack and defense values of the items.
Weapons, Ghosts, artifacts, and class items now all count towards light level.
Attack and Defense Values
The attack value has been changed. What was 365 in year 1 is now 170.
The defense values are now as high as the attack values.
The enemies have been adjusted accordingly, so that nothing changes for players despite the lower numbers.
A robe with 280 defense should belong to the endgame gear. The best armor now should have 170.
This is the Role of the New Light Level for Damage Dealt and Taken
Outgoing and incoming damage depend on the new light level system.
Ability damage and health points come directly from the light value; outgoing weapon damage closely consists of the total light value and the player’s attack value.
Classes
Intellect, Strength, and Discipline now only affect players at fixed levels, as shown in a tooltip in the character system.
Generating Orbs of Light at the same time has been limited to 8 if you are wearing corresponding gear.
A variety of changes have been made to grenades and the Guardian abilities.
For example, the damage of the Golden Gun of the Gunslinger has been increased from 350 to 360; the Warlock helmet Ram has been reduced in effectiveness; the bubble of the Defender Titan now withstands the shockwave of Fist of Havoc and the wave effect of the Blade Dancer super instead; the ability “Blink” is a bit slower and it is easier to assess where it ends.
For instance, automatic rifles are now 30% stronger in PvE and deal more total damage; while hand cannons have been significantly weakened at long distances.
The Gjallarhorn is expected to deal about 1/3 less damage with its Wolf Pack Rounds, the Icebreaker now takes 7 instead of 5 seconds to generate a round, while the Thorn now deals its poison damage over time; however, other weapons such as the Necrochasm or Hard Light are significantly buffed.
Armor
Shaders now color many exotic armors as well. Additionally, Bungie has buffed “An Unyielding Skullfort”, “Heart of Praxic Fire”, and “Ahamkara’s Spine”.
Activities
Year 1 activities are now in a new quest system.
This year 1 quest line can be played without owning “The Taken King”.
And if you look at the “Quest Collection” in the Tower, you can replay the year 1 quest line to gain experience.
The Fallen patrols are retreating.
Strikes
Anyone wanting loot from a final boss must participate in the fight.
Those who fight multiple strikes in a row without returning to orbit receive a “streak” bonus.
The burn now deals double damage instead of triple damage, but this only applies to players. Enemies still deal triple damage when an appropriate burn is active.
Prison of Elders and King’s Fall
In the Prison of Elders, bugs have been fixed, Glimmer loot from the chests has been reduced, and the Elder’s Monogram loot has been removed; the three exotic weapons are now available from a single chest.
The raid “King’s Fall” opens on 18.9. at 19:00.
Quests
There is now a dedicated screen for quests in the menu. You can see which quests are active, cancel them, take them up again later, and follow up to four at the same time in the navigation system.
New quest lines are available for the year 1 subclasses.
Bounties
The number of bounty slots in Destiny has been increased to 16.
Vault space now allows for 72 weapons, 72 armors, and 36 general items.
The bounty vendor Xander-99 has been restocked.
The gunsmith Banshee-44 will be active starting September 9, where reputation can be earned through weapon field tests.
The Speaker now sells new ghosts, and year 1 emblems are available from Eva Levant.
The faction emblems are no longer available for purchase and come from faction packages; the Vanguard emblems are obtained at level 10 and 20 of the respective class quests.
At Eris Morn, reputation can be earned beyond level 4, either through kills in the Crota raid or through new activities; there are also reputation packages for leveling up.
Petra Venj will have new bounties with “The Taken King” that will activate once you complete a quest with her.
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Today, on September 8th at 7:00 PM, a massive patch is coming to Neverwinter. We have the patch notes and a trailer.
The servers for Neverwinter are currently down for maintenance. If all goes according to plan, the servers should be back up at 7:00 PM today. Players will find a significantly changed Neverwinter on Xbox One.
ARK is slowly approaching a release date. In the near future, the updates will become less frequent, but the remaining bugs will be fixed.
The Co-Creative Director in Interview
The dinosaur game ARK: Survival Evolved has been persistently ranking high in the charts of most played games on Steam for several months. Although several early access titles have secured a spot there, ARK stands out for several reasons. In a interview with rockpapershotgun, Jesse Rapczak, the co-creative director of the game, talked about the future and why ARK needs to reach the finish line soon.
Why ARK is so Successful
The main reason for the great and ongoing success of ARK, according to Rapczak, is the frequent updates of the game, which not only fix numerous bugs but also continuously provide the community with new gameplay content. Anyone who has not played ARK for a few weeks will have many new things to accomplish upon their return.
At the same time, the developers are working to increase the flexibility of the servers. If the game is too lengthy and grind-intensive, players can simply join a server that accelerates these processes significantly. This way, ARK offers something for players who are dissatisfied with certain aspects.
Another plus point he sees is in how players are treated: Progress is rarely lost, even despite the early access phase, unless there is no other option. This significantly reduces the frustration of those who have invested many hours into a character.
Regular updates with new creatures are an important aspect of ARK’s ongoing success.
Early Access Must Not Last Forever
Many games, according to Rapczak, seem to be stuck in the early access phase endlessly. For some players, this business model has become disreputable, because even after money has been paid, they never receive a finished game. With ARK, they want to bring this kind of game development, in which players can massively participate, back into a positive light. Fans should know that they will soon hold a complete, finished game in their hands, and that is now being worked on intensively. On the other hand, there are many players who cannot relate to early access at all and just want to enjoy a finished game.
The First Expansion Brings More Story and Additional Content
There will be numerous new creatures in the expansion as well.
Once the polishing of the main game is complete, they want to start working on the first expansion without major delays. Although there are no concrete details yet, it should contain new areas, more story content, and additional creatures. Just a few months after the release of the base game, the expansion should also enter an early access phase to again provide fans with the same participation opportunities as before.
Rapczak is confident that the players’ feedback and his team’s quick responses to criticism and wishes contribute greatly to ARK’s success – and they want to maintain that success in the future.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
What players have earned here will not be carried over to the release; however, they will receive its cash equivalent in their inventory upon launch. Additionally, Braben promises rewards for players who purchased Elite: Dangerous during the Early Access.
Moreover, they aim to make it possible in the future for players to transfer their PC account to Xbox One.
Studio Frontier is doing great, thanks to 825,000 copies of Elite: Dangerous sold
Massively Overpowered is currently reporting on the financial situation of Studio Frontier. It looks rosy thanks to Elite: Dangerous. They have sold 825,000 copies, earned good money, look confidently to the future, and are working on a second franchise and a second expansion for Elite: Dangerous Horizons.
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The Heroes of the Storm collection is expanding again, but there will also be harsher actions against unfriendly players.
Rexxar enters the Nexus
With the patch (today or tomorrow) the time has finally come. Not only the eternal conflict ends, devouring the treasure goblins and related achievements, but it also brings a new hero to the Nexus. Rexxar, the legendary half-orc from Warcraft 3, will step onto the battlefield and be the first ranged warrior in Heroes of the Storm. He enters the battle alongside his bear Misha and forms a symbiosis with her in combat that will instill fear in many a cloth-wearer. Learn more about Rexxar in our introduction post.
The new punishment system
No matter which MOBA one is playing, almost everyone has been insulted multiple times or felt harassed by hate rants from some players. In order to shape Heroes of the Storm into a friendly gaming environment, the system for reporting toxic behavior is being improved and introduces a new punishment: silence.
Those who are reported multiple times for spam or insulting chat messages will quickly find their communication options restricted. While troublemakers initially cannot use chat for 24 hours (except with group members/friends), this penalty increases over time, as it is doubled each time. If one does not adjust their behavior and demonstrate a friendlier tone, they will quickly remain silent for 2, 4, 8, or 16 days – there is no limit to the punishment.
Temporary bans for feeders and absent players
Anyone who intentionally throws themselves to their death – and does so multiple times – could soon lose their access to the game.
But they also want to take a tougher stance in the other categories. Anyone who intentionally gives experience points to the opposing team (Intentional Feeding) or does not participate in the game (AFK/refusal) will also face account penalties, but these can restrict access to the entire game – in extreme cases even permanently. It was also emphasized that players controlling characters with special mechanics do not need to worry – a Murky simply dies significantly more often than other characters, and a Abathur in the base may look like they are not participating in the game to an inexperienced player. These special cases will be taken into account in the reports.
What do you think of the changes? Necessary or exaggerated? Are the punishments strict enough?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Cloud Imperium Games has released a new monthly report on the upcoming space MMO Star Citizen, detailing what the developers have been working on in August. The following list is remarkably long, considering that this work was done in the middle of summer, a time when things are usually quieter.
August was used to improve the AI of pilots and work on the UI.
Work was done on the designs of the ships, weapons, and interiors.
The art team created artworks for Marines and miners as well as for some equipment.
The Constellation ship was further refined to enhance its appearance.
Another group was busy elaborating on the game’s lore, developing the solar systems to ensure they withstand scientific scrutiny. The group also continued working on the texts for the single-player part Squadron 42.
Bug fixing in various areas was of course included, and the performance of the game was continuously improved.
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In England, a group worked on further developing the upcoming shooter module Star Marine. The graphics were further refined, systems were tinkered with, and real sound effects were integrated into the module for the first time.
Additionally, another team in Frankfurt worked on the AI and optimizations of the CryEngine – no wonder Crytek, from whom the engine was licensed, is also based in Frankfurt.
Furthermore, additional motion capture recordings took place, focusing primarily on facial animations and cutscenes.
At Illfonic (developer of the upcoming MMORPG Revival), work continued on the animations used in Star Marine, and some bugs were fixed. A team in Montreal continued to work on the star map of Star Citizen and the jump points, as well as on the community hub. Additionally, many other systems are being worked on and bugs are being eliminated.
Anyone who secures the Collector’s Edition of World of Warcraft: Legion will receive, as usual, a special mount – see here what it looks like in action.
A Cuddly Demon Hunter
For many years now, each expansion of World of Warcraft has featured its own mount, accessible only to the owners of the Collector’s Edition. Legion is no exception. All buyers of the CE can look forward to a true Demon Hunter that will carry them across the Broken Isles from now on. Whether it is really such a wise idea to ride on the back of this magic-consuming demon as a spellcasting person remains to be seen. However, mmo-champion has already extracted the game data and created a small video showing the “Illidari Felstalker” in action.
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The flying animation of the Demon Hunter does not exist yet; it is simply the “Swim” animation of regular demons. Whether the mount can actually fly is not yet evident from the game data.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, maintenance work will take place at noon on September 8th, 9th, and 10th for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The login systems will also be affected.
Patience is required this week as well. There will be some maintenance work:
For the Xbox One, maintenance will begin on September 8th at 12:00 PM, the servers will be down.
PC players have it significantly better as maintenance on the EU server will start on September 9th at 4:00 AM, with a new patch also coming.
PS4 players will experience maintenance on September 9th at 12:00 PM.
On September 10th, starting at 3:00 PM, the login system and the ESO Store will be down, so be sure to log in beforehand if you want to play on Thursday.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
By the way, it would have been Phogoth with Void/Solar burn and Juggler as Nightfall and Omnigul-Juggler as heroic strike.
But everything is normal … at least until this evening
Update: It seems to be the case that you can actually get into the Nightfall and heroic Weekly after all. They are only locked initially, and if you switch characters, you can get in. Long live Bungie …
However, it could be that both activities will no longer work this evening with patch 2.0.
By the way, it’s recommended to people who haven’t done this yet to definitely take on the bounty Skoriks, the Archon’s Slayer, today. Everyone in the US forums is going crazy about it right now. It seems to be disappearing this evening with patch 2.0 and is crucial for some super important Grimoire stuff. We wouldn’t want it to be said later that we knew about it and, being the mean people that we are, kept it quiet.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In League of Legends, the next patch 5.18 aims to ensure balance. It will serve as the foundation for the World Championships. Meanwhile, fundamental revisions for three more champions are on the horizon.
Garen gains hatred for the most dangerous opponent on the enemy team. This allows him to maintain a lane relatively well, even when he messed it up, as he holds so much rage against his opponent that he could compensate for the item/gold advantage. They don’t want that. Thus, kills no longer grant Garen these villain points.
The initially weak Darius was catapulted too far with a hotfix. Now Riot finds his healing from Q too strong and wants to tone it down.
They are quite satisfied with Skarner, but still find his gank a bit strong, so they are nerfing the slow effect of E.
Mordekaiser is probably causing Riot the biggest problems, as he is a strong two-man laner but weak in solo lanes. Here, Riot wants to adjust how he functions.
These three champions can look forward to a rework in League of Legends
The champions that they want to properly overhaul next, at the level of “Sion”, are:
Poppy, who will probably get a new R, is expected to continue functioning as a top laner/jungler
Taric, but probably not until 2016
And Yorick has not been forgotten either; they want to make him a strong pusher, but that will be after Poppy and Taric
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With these words, “Midnight” prepares the dramatic ground in Star Trek Online:
The Iconians have been a constant threat in Star Trek Online for the last five years, and we have been waging war against them for almost 6 months now. The Alliance has achieved small victories and suffered heavy losses, but it now possesses a technological advantage that it will bring to the battlefield. With its back against the wall and the Prime Directive in mind, the Alliance is ready to make an inconceivable decision. These are hard times, filled with tough choices and personal sacrifices. The future will shine again, but it is always darkest before the dawn.
Many players in Hearthstone can’t wait fast enough. But what if a single turn takes forever?
A Tough Test of Patience
The Endless Servant – perfect food for the Knife Thrower.
Hearthstone is designed to be a relatively fast game. For this reason, a single turn usually lasts only about 75 seconds. This is generally enough time to think long enough about the possibilities without putting the opponent into shock freeze or deep sleep. However, two players set out to create one of the longest turns in the history of the game. It takes about 14 minutes for all effects to be resolved.
What Did the Players Do?
By combining the Knife Thrower with the Doomguard, an almost endless turn is triggered. Because every time a Doomguard dies, a new one is automatically summoned. This triggers the Knife Throwers again, who in turn are very likely to destroy another Doomguard. Anyone who wants to see the final turn in full length should take a look at the video:
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Of course, this scene is staged and planned by both players well in advance – still, it’s amusing to see what can be drawn out of Hearthstone when taken to an extreme.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny, there is a big patch day on Tuesday, September 8th. But when does it start?
Update Tuesday, 6:15 PM: It’s starting now. Bungie has tweeted that they will begin the patch shortly. Players will need to download it and will be kicked out of activities.
Update 7:00 PM: The download is starting. On PlayStation 4, the patch is just under 17.6 GB, and a similar size on Xbox One. Patch notes are not yet available; we will bring them in a separate article. Xbox 360 players with insufficient storage will be given the option to install Destiny on an external USB drive with patch 2.0.
The last few days in Destiny have been dominated by patch 2.0. This is supposed to revise some game systems a week before “The Taken King”, turning Destiny into a new experience. It will revise weapon balance, bring the new Crucible live, and shape the quest system, level system, and much more, as will become everyday life in the coming months.
But when does it start? Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 8th. We don’t have a definitive time yet. Community manager Deej has tweeted: “In the morning, before lunch is had on the West Coast.”
@NSPanamera Morningish. Before lunch is had by the West Coast.
For us in Europe, this is bad news. It would be during prime time. If you assume a start at 8 AM US time, it’s already 5 PM here. If you go by 10 AM US time, it’s 7 PM. And if you wait until lunchtime on the West Coast, it’ll be 9 PM in Central Europe. It therefore seems that the update will fall into the German prime time again. Any ideas that this could happen at night can probably be shelved for now.
Whether the creation of a hero or heroine in Bless is as impressive and detailed is something you can see for yourself in this video about character creation.
http://youtu.be/6OLXfSMo1-M
According to Neowiz, players have over 170 options to customize their avatar. The video shows the character generator for the third closed beta phase. In the open beta, it is expected to be even more impressive.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Great Tournament has brought many new cards for Hearthstone. But one stands out from the crowd: The Murloc Knight.
Murkimus, the Gladiator
With the current expansion, Hearthstone has been given a lot of new cards. However, one very special card from the great tournament was significantly underestimated and has established itself as a true terror in the Arena mode over the past few weeks. Who needs a demonic Jaraxxus or a royal Varian Wrynn when Paladins can send a Murloc Knight into battle?
Deadlier than expected: The Murloc Knight.
Many players laughed at the Murloc Knight for 4 mana with relatively weak stats of 3/4 and the inspiration effect: “Summons a random Murloc” – I am no exception. However, in the past weeks, it has shown how devastating the little lance bearer with its frog can affect the entire board! On average, its inspiration summons a Murloc with stats of 2/2 – on the first use. Due to the high synergy values of the Murlocs, this value increases dramatically every turn. It becomes particularly critical for the enemy when the Murloc Knight simply summons a second Murloc Knight, as this throws the game out of control.
The streamer and Hearthstone pro Kripparian takes a closer look at the little gurgling creature and analyzes in detail the advantages and disadvantages of the card in the Arena and the ranked mode.
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In the MMO shooter Destiny , tomorrow basically marks the beginning of Year 2. The videos of the week prepare for this with a story.
This week, Bungie crowned a short story as video of the week, telling the tale of SmoggyPluto, who was banished from the Crucible, then gets kidnapped by possessed Guardians with a Russian accent and is to be transformed into one of them. The videos are becoming more ambitious week by week.
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And from our community, we received this video in the category “If only I finally had the Hawkmoon, then I would also be imba.”
http://youtu.be/yzb2EZRQ_R4
Do you have any videos this week? Post them in the comments. And if you have a video that we should feature, you can send it to us via the contact form. We would love to check it out. Maybe it will be our video of the week.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The upcoming expansion Knights of the Fallen Empire brings some innovations to SWTOR. A fan is now worried about the future of the old class missions …
No changes to the existing story
Next month, the next expansion for SWTOR will be released. With Knights of the Fallen Empire, a lot is changing in the state of the galaxy; the Republic and Empire will largely be destroyed, and only small fragments will remain. A player asks in the official forum whether these changes will also affect the existing class missions. His concern was that the “old” level 1-50 quests would disappear, and players would no longer be able to experience the original storyline of the game.
The “old” main stories can still be played – even with KotFE.
Eric Musco, the Community Manager, immediately reassured: The fundamental class stories will still be included in the game. Anyone creating a brand new character at level 1 will still be able to experience the entire story. However, there will be some changes to make leveling between 1 and 50 more enjoyable – a possible XP booster could be introduced, similar to what is already active for subscribers.
In the coming days, a complete blog post will be dedicated to this topic to inform fans and potential players about the changes in detail.
More about Star Wars and the upcoming expansion can be found on our SWTOR topic page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Guilds in ArcheAge will have only 100 members starting Saturday
There are big plans especially for guilds. With 2.0, ArcheAge will remove all members from existing server guilds except for the guild leader. For the “new evolution servers”, transferring guilds will be disbanded. They will have to reestablish themselves.
Anyone thinking: No problem, we will all just join back in, will face the second change: Guilds can have a maximum of 100 members. This is done for better comparability, it is said.
Wars, Sieges, Guild Levels
Then they are introducing rank levels for guilds: When guilds accumulate experience, either through special quests, through wars, or through leveling up their members, they will slowly advance through the rank levels. There are eight in total. A rank advancement grants bonuses and there are new items in the guild store.
Additionally, there will be new features for guilds, as they can now recruit new members through ads in the guild search system. Recruits will apply with a short message asking to join.
And one guild can declare war on another guild, then hunt them down without guards interfering. However, this costs gold.
To learn more about the new system, such as the bonuses of guild levels or the modalities of wars, you can read this Dev Blog by Trion Worlds. It’s available in German. The Update 2.0 is expected for Saturday, September 12. The servers are supposed to go down 48 hours before for extensive maintenance.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
![Destiny: When does Patch 2.0 come out on Tuesday, September 8th? [Update: It starts!]](https://images.mein-mmo.de/medien/2015/08/Destiny-Jahr1.jpg)
