As reported last week, there were layoffs at Gazillion, the developers behind Marvel Heroes 2015.
Last week, a former employee of Gazillion tweeted that he is thinking of his former colleagues. Many were laid off and are now seeking jobs in the game industry.
Super sad for all my friends at Gazillion looking for work today. Again, if anybody knows of anything in SF, speak up. They’re good people.
However, his former employer Gazillion admitted to the same questions: Yes, there have been layoffs. These occurred as part of a “restructuring”. No details were provided. Players should not worry, they are healthy and will continue to deliver great game content.
Mein MMO says Aside from the fact that the gaming industry is known to be “volatile” (a nice word for “people are frequently hired and laid off”), one can see from this example how today’s news world operates. The ex-employee probably really didn’t want journalists to spin a news story out of it that would leave a negative aftertaste for the former company. However, anyone today in any official, prominent, or insider position who tweets can just as easily write a press release.
The gaming news sites are now structured in such a way that they encourage their readership to send them exactly such tweets or other news. Or the journalists themselves follow dozens of people on social networks.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blade & Soul discusses in more detail the subtleties of the combat system, focusing on quick reactions and countering.
Action and Reaction – A Wild Back and Forth
Although Blade & Soul has been available in Korea for some time, it will be released in Europe in the near future. After the founder packs were offered a few days ago, there are now talks about initial impressions from the combat system. On the Blade and Soul website “The Basics of Combat”, the basic functionalities of the various abilities are primarily in focus.
A peculiarity of Blade & Soul is that, similar to the telegraph system of WildStar, attacks always affect all targets in a certain area. Completely independent of how many enemies are in the target area, all suffer damage or are stunned.
You are on the ground? No problem! There are several reaction possibilities – if you hurry!
The importance of quick reactions is demonstrated by another example. If your character is knocked down, your skill bar changes and you can react in different ways. With a quick movement, your avatar could get back up and roll aside or parry the opponent’s follow-up attack and send them to the ground in response, making them vulnerable to your follow-up attacks. This back and forth continues until one side emerges victorious. What reads relatively slowly is intended to be played quickly and intuitively, leading to exciting battles.
For those wanting to learn more about the combat system of Blade & Soul, they are encouraged to watch the developers’ livestream on Twitch on September 9 at 7 PM.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , the PvP event Trials of Osiris will be taking a break.
“Enjoy the Trials of Osiris, these will be your last for now, until their triumphant return later this year!” tweeted the head of the Trials, Derek Carroll. By the way, this week is “Black Shield” – here we have tips for the map.
It disappears, but nothing for good, Carroll reassures the excited fans. Even in year 2 of Destiny, players will again have the opportunity to get into the Lighthouse. The Trials of Osiris will return better than ever. However, Carroll could not specify exactly when. That is not in his power. But it would not take “months” (plural).
By the way, Carroll dismisses matchmaking for the Trials, as that is intended for the normal playlists. Carroll also reveals a little something: the dreaded Hunter and Warlock ability “Blink” will be significantly more pleasant in year 2, and that for the one who is on the receiving end.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The next hero in Heroes of the Storm will be Rexxar. A new video showcasing his abilities and playstyles has now been released.
A classic hero of the Horde
It has been some time since Rexxar was introduced as a playable character for Heroes of the Storm at Gamescom. Just now there is finally a new “Spotlight” video showcasing the Hunter and his animal companion Misha. Like some other heroes, Rexxar consists of two character parts – himself and his bear, which he cannot control directly but must manage in other ways.
Rexxar and Misha are inseparable – a perfect symbiosis.
But who is this powerful Orc anyway? First and foremost: He is not a real Orc. Rexxar was created from a union of Orc and Ogre but is fortunate to benefit only from the advantages of both races. He possesses a high intellect that allows him to tame multiple animals and simultaneously has the raw strength that an Ogre brings to battle. He became famous, among other things, for founding Durotar, where he assisted Thrall – those who do not know these scenes should pack away Warcraft 3 from the shelf.
The abilities at a glance
In Heroes of the Storm, Rexxar is a ranged warrior who can both tank and deal damage. Let’s take a look at his abilities:
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With Misha, Attack!, his passive ability, Rexxar can determine the two stances of Misha. In the first, she remains passive near her master and stays out of fights. In the second, she supports Rexxar in battle and attacks enemies. By cleverly activating the two stances, one can keep Misha out of area effects or block enemies’ path.
The Spirit Swoop sends out one of Rexxar’s scouting birds, which briefly slows down all affected targets and deals minor damage to them.
Misha, Charge! causes the bear to charge forward in a short, straight line. In doing so, she overcomes all enemy heroes, dealing minor damage and stunning them for a brief moment. If Misha is currently in passive stance, she will automatically switch to attack stance.
The third ability is Mend Pet. It is similar to the Hunter’s ability from World of Warcraft and restores a large portion of Misha’s hit points over a few seconds and also has a short cooldown.
Rexxar has powerful control effects in his arsenal.
Also, the first heroic ability Bestial Wrath should be familiar to hunters. Misha receives a massive damage buff for several seconds and becomes a real threat to the opposing team. She simply devours weak Assassins with her bear hunger.
The second heroic ability Unleash the Boars summons a wild boar for every enemy hero, which relentlessly charges at them. If it reaches its target, it deals minor damage and slows it down for a while. A massive control effect that can prevent enemy teams from fleeing or advancing.
Not much is known about the talents of both yet, but it’s interesting that Blizzard continues to experiment with new heroes, as there has never been a ranged warrior before.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On the desert planet Tatooine, players will be able to participate in Survival Missions.
As confirmed by a DICE employee, the volcanic planet Sullust will also be a location for the beta. What exactly will happen there is still unknown. It is quite possible that players can indulge in the third beta mode “Drop Zone” on Sullust. However, Star Wars Battlefront has not yet presented what this mode will look like.
The registration for the beta has not yet started. EA warns against registering for it on fraudulent sites.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At DragonCon, a few new details about World of Warcraft: Legion were announced. Find the latest information about the Demon Hunter and more …
DragonCon Brings New Info
Jonathan LeCraft, a Senior Game Designer from Blizzard, was present at DragonCon. He held a dedicated panel about the upcoming expansion of World of Warcraft and revealed fresh information from Legion. Although this information is only current snippets from the alpha version and should be taken with caution, they still provide initial hints about the direction things are heading.
The Demon Hunter – Late Entry into Hero Life
Demon Hunters are very special – and have a few unique advantages.
As it stands, Demon Hunters start at level 98. This would mean that they would reach approximately level 100 with their introductory questline and thus seamlessly enter the events of Legion without having to catch up on “old” content first. This makes sense considering the lore of the Demon Hunter and the fact that they were not involved in the Draenor campaign. As the only class in the game, Demon Hunters will be able to use the new weapon type “Glaives” and there are currently no plans to disable their double jump in any form of gameplay content. The “Inner Demon” transformation will only last for a short duration, so it won’t be a permanent change.
Class Changes in Legion
Almost all classes will receive updates.
Also interesting are some new details about the various classes and how they will be changed in Legion.
Survival Hunters will receive a harpoon attack that can impale enemies and pull them in, similar to the Death Grip of Death Knights.
The Rogue Class Hall now hardly resembles a sewer anymore. Among other things, there are treasure chests there – but who expected anything else from Rogues?
Most talents will be revised or at least receive new names to fit the original idea of a class better.
Some classes will receive a new resource, so Shadow Priests will have “Insanity” in the future.
There will be no new major glyphs.
Professions and Items
In addition to artifact weapons, professions should also be able to create meaningful gear – with greater importance than before.
Many pieces of information have also been released regarding professions and the associated items that we want to share with you.
A single system will serve to upgrade crafted items. The current item will be destroyed in the process and will grant the resource necessary for the upgrade.
A new team is working on professions this time. Among other things, they are handling the associated questlines!
Daily cooldowns are a thing of the past.
Some crafting materials will only be obtainable from instances.
The limit remains at 3 wearable items that players can craft and equip from professions.
Multistrike will be removed as a secondary stat and other attributes will also be adjusted and revised.
A Few Bits of Information on Various Topics
There are plans for Jaina Proudmoore – but which ones, that is still undisclosed.
Finally, several small details that players were interested in were discussed, hopping across all topics:
Instances will have a noticeably higher importance.
The park in Stormwind will not be rebuilt for the time being.
There are narrative plans for Jaina Proudmoore (no details were revealed).
The players’ inventory might be revised.
Lastly, it was emphasized that Warlords of Draenor is not a “filler” expansion, but rather has many things built in that they want to build upon in the coming years.
The shooter Battleborn is set to be released next year for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Now, 12 of the heroes are introduced, and the plans are explained on how MOBA and RPG elements will enhance the FPS genre. They are likely dismissing a Free2Play model like League of Legends.
In an interview with The Verge, one of the minds behind Battleborn talks about the plans for the unusual game: CEO and President of Gearbox, Randy Pitchford.
For him, Battleborn follows a similar path as the flagship of his company, the Borderlands series. With Battleborn, they also aim to combine a shooter with RPG elements while ensuring that the RPG systems are nicely digestible.
Instead of 50 Hours of Character Development – 30 Minutes
Whereas in Borderlands it takes 50 or more hours to equip a character with skills and gradually develop him, this happens in Battleborn within half an hour over the duration of a match. Pitchford mentions that Warcraft 3 and later MOBAs convinced him that this is possible.
However, they see the development of a shooter as their strength at Gearbox. It turned out well that the MOBA concept is not bound to the “top-down” perspective, but also works in First-Person. And this First-Person perspective is still Pitchford’s favorite way to play a game as a player.
Battleborn Will Probably Not Be a Free2Play Title, Follows Traditional Sales Model
A shooter with MOBA elements would then also be more accessible than typical First-Person Shooters, Pitchford explains, because where a newcomer in FPS combat sees no chance against other players, he at least has a few NPCs he can take down in a MOBA shooter.
Another advantage that Pitchford mentions is the ability in a MOBA to customize heroes to one’s own needs. They also want to achieve this with Battleborn; the personal hero should be modifiable. However, they do not want to follow games like League of Legends or DOTA 2. They do not want to make money by selling hats but rather focus on a traditional sales model.
Battleborn starts with 25 unique characters that differ significantly from each other. Thus, they also provide players with more variety in skills than the very limited skill set that FPS players are otherwise familiar with, the CEO of Gearbox further explains.
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12 of the unusual heroes are presented in this trailer. These include Thorn, Oscar Mike, Phoebe, Orendi, Caldarius, Marquis, Rath, Montana, Miko, Boldur, Benedict, and ISIC. From the mushroom person with a penchant for knife and head throwing to the stylish killer robot, there is really everything.
In the USA, a lawsuit regarding Destiny has ended. The long-time chief composer of Bungie, Marty O’Donnell, sued Bungie. Details about the development history have come to light.
Venturebeat reports on the recently concluded lawsuit regarding Marty O’Donnell. He had been with Bungie for a long time, co-founded the company, composed the music for Halo, and was also responsible for Destiny. Initially, it was planned that his music would accompany all Destiny titles.
O’Donnell composed a symphony with 8 movements together with former Beatle Paul McCartney and recorded it in early 2013. It was planned that this music, called “Music of the Spheres”, would be used for all Destiny parts.
http://youtu.be/qkNBJsx3WLs
The Cause of the Frustration: Activision did not use O’Donnell’s music for the E3 trailer
Problems arose, as it became known, in the run-up to E3 2013. It became clear that Activision would not use O’Donnell’s music for the E3 trailer. They also showed no intention of releasing it as a “standalone” work, which was very important to O’Donnell.
Instead, Activision created the trailer themselves and used their own music. For O’Donnell, this was a sign that Bungie was no longer the “community of brothers” it once was and that Activision was interfering too much in the creative process, causing the development studio to lose its independence. Bungie seems to have agreed to some extent with this. Bungie CEO Harold Ryan vetoed it, but Activision overruled it.
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Apparently, there were a number of internal conflicts afterwards, and the atmosphere between the chief composer, the company, and the colleagues worsened. If O’Donnell had resigned voluntarily, he would have faced huge financial disadvantages; he would have lost his shares in Bungie, which he was entitled to as a co-founder.
Reports from the court indicate that team members complained that O’Donnell was not delivering as much as they expected from him. Additionally, it became increasingly frustrating to work with O’Donnell.
Bungie believed that O’Donnell was prioritizing his personal interest in releasing the Destiny soundtrack over the company’s interests.
This is the trailer BEFORE the E3 trailer:
http://youtu.be/jS1BM9XRgvw
The Ruling Favors the Chief Composer
O’Donnell received poor ratings and contested them. His contract was ultimately terminated and his shares in the company were revoked, so that no one would be present at board meetings who would cause trouble. Later, Bungie’s lawyers at least stated this as a reason.
Apparently, not everything was above board: for example, his accrued vacation was not paid out. Bungie was concerned that O’Donnell wanted to release the music for Destiny on his own and used the money as “leverage.”
Now a ruling from an arbitration court is available. It favors O’Donnell. He will be significantly compensated financially and will regain his shares in the company. How much money he ultimately receives is unclear, as Bungie is not a publicly traded company. In a separate lawsuit, O’Donnell was awarded the money for the vacation days. That amounted to $95,000.
http://youtu.be/RAOyJ05HeRg
The Trial Reveals Insights About Destiny
Interestingly, during the trial, some details came to light:
Destiny was planned as a 5-part series, which was documented in a contract between Bungie and Activision on April 14, 2010.
The original release date for Destiny I was September 24, 2013; afterwards, it was postponed once to March 2014 before reaching the actual release date.
In August 2013, the story was significantly reworked, which caused the delay.
These are many details, that fans already suspected, but taking them officially from the court documents is certainly something different.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At Guild Wars 2, the next stress test for the upcoming expansion Heart of Thorns is coming up. Once again, the focus of the testing will be the Borderlands of WvW skirmishes.
The Borderlands with new defense bonuses
From September 8 to September 10, a number of willing testers can dive into the new Borderlands map of World vs World PvP. The number of candidates has been drastically increased: Those who have not yet received an invitation should check their email inbox and also take a look at their spam folder.
Not only the shape of the new map is being tested, but also recent changes, such as a new interface that has been added to the various conquest objectives. Here it can be seen, among other things, how long a specific objective has been under the control of a guild and which defense bonuses have been unlocked. In a rather lengthy developer post, various bonuses are discussed, as well as their requirements and benefits. Anyone who wants to participate in the feedback should study the post in its entirety to gain a better understanding of the changes.
During the hack ‘n slash Diablo 3 an AMA took place on Reddit. Will there be controller support for PC sometime and what changes will come with the next patch?
In Diablo 3, the new patch 2.3 is in full swing and captivates countless players worldwide once again to the world of Diablo, or better said to the devilish loot scheme that Blizzard has designed and perfected over the years. Blizzard has addressed the questions on Reddit. They talked about the present and then about the future.
About the present, it can be inferred that they are quite satisfied. As for the distant future, whether they will make another expansion or something else big, they remain tight-lipped. The only thing they let slip is that they are looking forward to Blizzcon.
Greed has a firm grip on Diablo players again.
What is already clear:
With the next patch 2.4, gold will become a more valuable resource again – they are also considering a “gem sink,” a way to meaningfully remove gems from the game, but have nothing to announce yet.
Controller support for PC is not planned and will not come, they would have to make too many adjustments; Blizzard has changed many small things in the console version of Diablo so that it plays well with the controller, they consider it impractical to implement these changes on PC.
Microtransactions (that’s the evil cash shop stuff) are not planned outside the Chinese version.
For patch 2.4, they will strengthen some of the 6-piece sets that are currently underplayed. They aim to have all sets at a similar level.
Bounties where players get stuck will be disabled soon, repaired, and then brought back.
Many fans asked about changes to recipes for Kanai’s Cube, whether the current ones could be reduced in price or changed, but Blizzard seems quite certain about Kanai’s Cube and doesn’t want to tinker with it too much; to the question of whether there are more secret recipes, they evade. They aim to introduce new recipes in the long term.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A bar in Sacramento has now mixed cocktails based on popular weapons from Destiny.
Amid all the important information, videos, statements, and questions that Destiny faces shortly before the expansion “The Taken King” and keep fans busy, there is little room for fun and the cult around the game. But by now, Destiny has arrived so much in the mainstream that there are still amusing and cult stories about the game.
Therefore, despite all the hustle and bustle, we want to present one of these pieces of news on the side. A user posted this drink menu on reddit with the note: “Guys, the pub around the corner is amazing.”
The menu features the two exotic cocktails Hawkmoon and The Last Word. Next to it “Luck in the Chamber”, named after perhaps the most famous weapon perk (in German “Roulette”), and Epilogue named after the legendary auto rifle Atheon’s Epilogue. The drinks also got the flavor text of their exotic counterparts. A “value display” describes the mixing ratio and the ingredients.
The cocktails are noble creations: The Last Word consists, among other things, of a special gin, Luxardo (an Italian cherry liqueur), the French herbal liqueur Chartreuse, and a bit of lime. It is supposed to do justice to perhaps the most elegant weapon in Destiny, the Last Word.
In the reddit thread, the bar owner, a big fan of Destiny himself, spoke up. Originally, he planned to use Glimmer instead of $ on the menu, but he ultimately decided against it: the potential for confusion among non-gamers was too high.
The Destiny cocktails are a sales success, the creative bartender says. He is toying with the idea of offering them year-round. And to the first Guardian who brings him a strange coin, he wants to treat to a cocktail on the house.
But always remember: Don’t drink and shoot. Otherwise, the Last Word could really be the last word.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Star Wars Galaxies is considered by sandbox fans to be one of the games that best convey the sandbox feeling. The shutdown of the MMORPG in December 2011 broke many hearts – but now the game is truly back!
The Star Wars Galaxies Emulator is a remake of the cult MMORPG. It was developed by fans without access to the original source codes, but it offers basically the same gaming experience as Star Wars Galaxies and the best part – it’s free to play! You just need to create an account and then download the game client. Then you can get started.
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The developers have set themselves the goal of bringing Star Wars Galaxies back during the game’s heyday. The MMO is almost finished. Some minor details are still missing compared to the original game, but together with the community, they aim to change that quickly. Among other things, the content of the “Jump to Lightspeed” expansion, the Jedi profession, and some missions are still missing. Additionally, the team is counting on the help of SWG fans to adapt the systems to match the original game.
Veteran MMO players still rave about housing in Star Wars Galaxies.
This is a non-commercial fan project, so hopefully Disney won’t have any issues with the licensing. However, this is not entirely ruled out, as many players from Star Wars: The Old Republic may want to switch to the free game to relive the old SWG feeling. So it is quite possible that Disney might shut down the project. One more reason to sign up right away and play for as long as possible!
Admittedly, the installation of the game is not that easy: The easiest way is to have the original Star Wars Galaxies client, install it first, then download the SWG Launchpad Enhanced from the SWGEmu site and run it as administrator after installation. After updating the client, you can log into the game. Another, albeit more complicated method to install SWGEmu can be found here.
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In a new developer blog, the creators of Guild Wars 2 talk in more detail about the raids. And it becomes clear: Teamwork is essential!
New Developer Insights
With Heart of Thorns, the world of Guild Wars 2 finally gets independent raids – that is, raid instances for 10 players. Although many details have been revealed in recent days, the two developers Crystal Reid and Jason Reynolds discuss the challenges and requirements that raid-oriented players will face in their blog post.
Endless Events Without Entry Barriers
Every single player will be important – a single mistake can mean the end of the group.
As previously reported, there will essentially be no entry requirements for the raids. Anyone with a character at maximum level who finds 9 like-minded players can dive into the battles without much delay. During boss encounters, they intend to make generous use of tried-and-tested mechanics that have not yet been seen in this context in PvE.
The defense of specific points, the capture of strategic objectives, or the conquest of entire locations are just some of the possibilities that will be adapted from dynamic events. The bosses themselves cannot simply be “zerged” down; they require complex strategies, often span multiple phases, and gain new abilities during a fight that require quick reactions – all things that raiders in other games also love.
Many events lead to the bosses – it will be challenging.
Teamwork is Everything – the Individual Must Submit
Teamwork is essential for overcoming the fights. Certain encounters may require specific builds from individual players – it might be necessary to select traits that have never been used before for a boss fight. Wearing specially tailored gear that provides significant toughness might also be necessary.
Needing specific equipment does somewhat conflict with the statement that little preparation is needed, but it remains to be seen how relevant that will actually be.
As is fitting for exciting PvE boss fights, individual players will have to take on special responsibilities in the battles. Sometimes a summoned minion must be moved away from the group, and at other times, two players must activate an object at the right moment. Missing your cue will likely result in the death of the entire group. But jokingly, there’s good news: There is an anvil for repairs at the entrance of the instance.
The Masteries and Understanding of Combat
Gliding will be important – without mastery, there won’t even be a fight.
The new masteries will also play a critical role in the raid instances. In one section of the raid, players will need to glide for an extended period to cover large distances and reach the bosses. At the same time, players should have a deeper understanding of the combat system of Guild Wars 2. Those who do not know what the combo field is or how they can manipulate it with their own abilities should perhaps conduct an intensive Google search until the expansion is released.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MOBA League of Legends , the new Project skins are set to be released during the current patch 5.17.
As reported by Kotaku, the first Project skin of Yasuo was so popular last year that Riot came up with the idea to design more of these “robot skins.” And these are supposed to be introduced during the current, rather smaller patch 5.17. Patch 5.17 mainly dealt with the “too drastic impacts” of patch 5.16, the Juggernaut patch. Riot is currently working to achieve a stable, balanced build for the important World Championships.
But back to the skins, even the splash art of the skins looks fantastic.
A new rumor suggests that the Overwatch beta is set to launch this month – at least that’s what one of the Brazilian voice actors claims.
Overinterpreted or very likely?
One of the most eagerly anticipated games is Overwatch by Blizzard. The announcement at BlizzCon 2014 was nearly a whole year ago. Only at Gamescom was it stated that nothing had changed regarding the original plans for the beta release – it is still scheduled for this fall. Now a new rumor is causing excitement among fans: Is the beta coming this month?
Just a rumor or the truth? According to a voice actor, the beta could start this month.
“Yes!” is the answer, according to a Facebook post by Brazilian voice actor Marcio Seixas. He published the following message on his Facebook profile: “Friends. I am currently recording for a new game by a major developer. The beta begins this month, if I’m not mistaken. (…)”
Together with this message, Seixas published three photos, one of which shows Gustavo Nader – the Brazilian director for the voice acting of Blizzard games.
Is Overwatch within reach?
Another clue in one of the photos is the logo of the company KiteTeam, which handles the localization of games for the Brazilian market – and they haven’t done much on their Facebook page yet, but they linked a video of the character “Soldier 47”.
Whether there’s any truth to these rumors will inevitably be revealed in the coming days. So far, the only statement regarding the start of the beta is the rather humorous remark: “On 10th fall.” – Let’s hope that it comes soon.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
They will complete the next update with the core team; the update is already as good as designed. They worked on it with full attendance in July and August.
She urged existing fans to maintain their subscriptions, as the money ensures that the lights do not go completely out. During this difficult phase, they are only offering one-month subscriptions.
They are negotiating with companies to see if they have any interest in an acquisition, and things are also progressing there. New partners are coming in every day, but it takes time to find the right one who can bring the game over the finish line.
Stevens says she has been in such situations before, where it looked very dark right before the big breakthrough. With Vampire: The Masquerade, they had to cancel electricity and phone service a month in advance, it was that tight. When working on Magic: The Gathering, they had to let the whole team go for 9 months. And both became fantastic games.
Goblinworks has been underdogs from the beginning, but they have made it this far and survived; now they want to see it through to the end.
http://youtu.be/M3IPkSQCia0
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Today, there is a new monster in Evolve – and it is free for absolutely all players: the Meteor Goliath!
The Evolution of Monsters
As a special bonus, the developers have prepared a very special gem for all players of Evolve this week: There is a free monster! The Meteor Goliath is similar in its basic features to the original variant but has a whole range of changes that give it a new gameplay feel. Let’s take a look at the modifications that the Meteor Goliath brings:
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The Meteor Goliath emits permanent blue flames around it that damage all targets – merely being in its vicinity is already dangerous. Upon request, the flames can be disabled by the monster player switching to stealth mode to hide or ambush individual hunters.
The thrown stone from Rock Throw flies significantly faster, giving the hunters hardly any chance to dodge in time. It is also enveloped in bluish flames that leave a small DoT on hit targets.
The range of Leap Smash has been drastically increased. This allows it to strike unsuspecting hunters from very great distances – like a meteor, which is what gave this Goliath its name. To compensate for this, the cooldown has been noticeably increased.
Fast and super deadly – the burning Rock Throw.
The Fire Breath has a significantly higher range and its strong, blue glow can blind many enemies. As expected, the damage from the ability also leaves the “blue flames” debuff on enemies that continues to cause damage for several seconds.
Charge has also been modified. The cooldown has been increased, but the duration – and thus the range – has been drastically increased.
Finally, the regular jumps of the Goliath are now significantly faster – it darts across the battlefield like lightning and can cover large distances even more quickly.
The Meteor Goliath is the first “adaptation” from Evolve – an adjustment of the monsters to better face the realities of nature (or the hunters). Although no further adaptations have been announced yet, this will meet the community’s cry for new content – because free is always good, right?
Wizards of the Coast announced a massive campaign for D&D with Rage of Demons, which also extends to the MMORPG Neverwinter .
Wizards of the Coast have recognized the signs of the times. Games are more than just sitting at a computer or around a table with friends. Adventures can span all areas and affect various games. Why shouldn’t a disaster that devastates in a new Pen&Paper adventure have repercussions in the MMORPG Neverwinter? Wizards of the Coast is launching such an expansive campaign with Rage of Demons.
Travel with Drizzt Do’Urden to the Underdark!
The campaign mainly takes place in the Underdark. The Underdark is home to the Drow elves and many dangerous monsters. Rumors are reaching the surface world that dark demons like Demogorgon, Orcus, and Graz’zt are attacking the Underdark and assaulting cities along the Sword Coast. Chaos is said to have erupted in the Underdark. The legendary hero Drizzt Do’Urden is sent to check on the dark caves of his former homeland, and you will accompany him. In the upcoming Underdark module of the MMORPG Neverwinter, you travel with Drizzt to the Drow city of Menzoberranzan. There you will experience numerous quests written by bestselling author R.A. Salvatore.
The adventure Out of the Abyss will be released on September 15 for the Pen&Paper RPG, where you will face the demons directly, and for those who are more of a bookworm, check out the novel Archemage, written by bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, to experience the events from a different perspective. You will also be drawn into these events in the upcoming multiplayer and single-player RPG Sword Coast Legends (releasing on September 29).
A Shared Universe
You will be able to experience the huge new campaign Rage of Demons in many ways. Wizards of the Coast calls this a “Shared Universe”, a universe where everything affects everything else, whether it’s a book, a Pen&Paper adventure, an addon for Neverwinter, or quests in a new RPG. The campaign starts now with the release of the novel Archemage!
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This week we want to know from you whether the traditional Pay2Play model for MMOs and MMORPGs is still актуальны. What do you think about it?
Is the Future Free2Play?
WildStar is now also switching to F2P – the future of all MMOs?
In recent years, a lot has changed in the large market of MMORPGs. While the basic principles of “Kill 10 Monsters” and “Bring me 15 Butterflies” have hardly changed, the various payment models are subject to constant change. Many games relied on a “Pay2Play” model in the past, which is a classic subscription where the player must pay a fixed amount monthly to gain access to the game. This was justified back then by the provisioning costs of the servers, access to customer support, and the ongoing development of the games through patches and content updates.
Aside from World of Warcraft as the undisputed market leader and Final Fantasy XIV, the representatives of the subscription model are slowly fading away. Both SWTOR and WildStar pulled the emergency brake after a relatively short time and switched to a Free2Play system, and most new releases are also based on this system. Some exceptions, such as Guild Wars 2, require payment for the purchase of the game (or the latest expansion), but then have no further fees, aside from any in-game shops.
And now we come to the question: Is the future of MMOs entirely in Free2Play? Does Pay2Play (Subscription) even stand a chance anymore?
SWTOR failed with a classic subscription system – and is now thriving in a F2P variant.
Cortyn says: Maybe my stance is no longer quite up to date, but I really like the subscription model. It’s clear that the component has been removed where you theoretically have access to customer service for 13 euros a month and are provided with bug fixes and new content at more or less regular intervals. Yet, even once immovable giants like World of Warcraft are slowly loosening their concepts with the possibility of the WoW token, whereas other games use such services in the form of a “premium membership” to provide players with more advantages.
Cortyn still enjoys paying for WoW – even if not quite sure why.
The more I think about it, the more I question why I still like this system. Perhaps because I still have the impression in World of Warcraft that I am not missing anything relevant in the game – despite the cosmetic item shop (which, to be fair, only has a very sparse offering). Probably it’s just pure nostalgia and the feeling built over 10 years that it has “always been this way”. In my mind, a subscription still stands for high quality – and at least so far, I’ve never been disappointed; for me, WoW, SWTOR, and also WildStar were high-quality titles that I felt were always worth the monthly fees.
But now to you: Do you think the days of Pay2Play games are numbered? Can anyone still represent this model or is it just a matter of time before Free2Play has swallowed every game? Or would you actually wish for more Pay2Play games? Discuss with us in the comments!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , Xur, Agent of the Nine, appears on Friday, September 4th, in the Tower or the Reef. What exotic armors and weapons does he have this time? And how will he be in Year 2 of Destiny?
What do we know about Xur in The Taken King? What is changing?
A lot is already known about Xur, the Agent of the Nine, in Year 2, but nothing is set in stone yet. It is known that he will continue to appear, he will offer “a certain number of exotic items,” and he is still expected to like strange coins. Everything sounds like it does now.
Two changes are known:
Xur will offer “Legacy Engrams” that will drop Year 1 Exotics – this is particularly interesting for collectors.
But we will probably have to wait to see which Year 2 Exotics he really has on offer. At the moment, it seems that almost all of the new weapons are tied to bounties. Traditionally, Xur cannot sell bounty weapons. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the new year. One possibility would be that he no longer sells weapons at all, but only armor pieces.
All about Xur on September 4th, 5th, and 6th in Destiny
When does Xur come and when does he leave?
Xur arrives on Friday, September 4th, at 11:00 AM in Destiny and leaves on Sunday, September 6th, also at 11:00 AM.
Where is Xur?
Xur is located in the Reef.
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