The fantasy MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV equips its birthday edition for the Chinese market with some collectibles.
These are still collector’s editions, as one would expect and know, at least if one can trust the photos. One year has passed since Final Fantasy XIV’s anniversary, and the local publisher Shanda is releasing an anniversary edition in China. For approximately €80, a collector’s edition comes with a Chocobo figure, a soundtrack, an art book, special emblems, and much more.
In China, they are still a bit behind the international version of Final Fantasy XIV; they are still working on releasing Heavensward.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In The Elder Scrolls Online, September is all about the Imperial City and its demonic lords – even in the Crown Store.
In the Crown Store of TESO, starting tomorrow, not only will the Imperial City, the first “buyable” DLC be available, but also various cosmetic items related to it. The “Demonic Horse” is a new mount that we have included as the title image. It will be available on PC starting tomorrow, and on consoles at the launch of the Imperial City in two weeks.
In addition, there is this “Daedratte” as a companion, if you seek demonic companionship and do not want to know exactly what the creature feeds on. Also on offer are costumes of the Mages Guild and these rags, which are attributed to the Soul-Bereaved. And it gets practical as well: Inventory and bank space expansions will also find their way into the store. However, these should only be “goodies,” as one will only be able to expand as much as one could do with gold in the game. For those who want to take a look into the future: It could be, that this will be the offer of a later month.
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The promising action MMORPG Devilian is approaching its Western release, with the alpha phase starting next week.
From September 3rd, the inner devil awakens
In the past weeks, we have already reported a bit about Devilian, an upcoming action MMORPG in the West that represents a cross between TERA and Diablo. Now there is fresh information about the start of the alpha phase. It is already waiting next week for all players who are willing to dig deep into their pockets. From September 3rd, the game can be tried out, provided one decides to purchase the most expensive founder’s pack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoxB7dwNgjw
Overview of the founder’s packs
Like many other free-to-play titles, Devilian will also offer three different founder’s packs, with which loyal (and well-off) fans can buy certain advantages. Because bronze is for losers, there is a three-tier classification between the silver, gold, and obsidian founder’s packs.
For $50, there is the Silver Pack, which includes a companion that serves as a merchant and bank, provides potion packs for new characters, and grants access to the beta version of the game. Other bonuses, such as a certain starting capital for the in-game shop, 30 days of veteran status, and exclusive titles are also included.
The alpha access costs – and not just a little.
The Gold Pack costs a hefty $100, grants all the aforementioned items but increases their quantity. There is more currency for the in-game shop, more veteran time, and new titles. As a special treat, a talisman that increases quest experience by 10% is included.
Those who choose the Obsidian Pack must lay down a whole $150, but will also receive access to the alpha version of the game and, of course, a bit more of everything, such as an exclusive mount and another talisman that increases experience points from dungeons.
Those who want to participate in the alpha will need to dig deep into their pockets – all others simply hope for access to the beta or settle for one of the smaller founder’s packs.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny there is new information about the additional content that has been controversially discussed.
It all started when the prices for the editions of “The Taken King” were announced. Because anyone who wanted “additional content” had to buy an expensive Collector’s Edition, which included the base game and the first two DLCs again.
However, Destiny veterans already had the base game and the two DLCs, they only wanted to buy the expansion “The Taken King” (40€) and access the digital content of the Collector’s Edition (90€). They didn’t understand why they had to purchase the base game and the two DLCs again for an additional 50€. They demanded a discount.
The “digital additional content” consists of three shaders, three class-specific emotes, and three exotic class items that grant bonus XP.
After the backlash, Bungie backs down
The debate gained traction at the time due to an unfortunate interview with Game Director Luke Smith. In particular, his statement that when showing the emotes, players would “throw money at the monitor” caused outrage.
After a backlash, Bungie backed down and said: We will offer a package that only includes the digital additional content, which players can purchase for 20€.
Now Bungie has announced when this will happen: On September 15, at the launch of The Taken King, players could purchase the digital additional content of the Collector’s Edition in their console store.
Another extra goodie for early buyers announced
They go even further: Players who purchased the digital Collector’s Edition early but already own the regular Destiny and the two DLCs (thus having bought them twice) have something extra in store.
They know who they are and recognize them.
However, they do not reveal what exactly it is, only stating that it will not be available at the launch of The Taken King and believe that it will please the Guardians. They only refer to it as “Stuff.”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the sand park MMO ArcheAge , the new Patch 2.0 and fresh servers will come in two weeks. Old ones have already been merged.
A two-day mandatory break awaits the world of ArcheAge. From Thursday, September 10th, at 10:00 PM, the servers are planned to remain inactive for two days. During this time, the “Evolution,” the server merge, will take place. This is expected to last at least two days. However, such things are not set in stone beforehand and may change.
Nightly Land Rush
If everything goes smoothly, the servers will start coming back online one after the other on late Saturday evening, September 12th, at 10:00 PM. In addition to the remaining servers, the new merged servers and also the two completely fresh restart servers will then reopen.
You can expect a fierce land rush. This is what the first phase is called in ArcheAge on a fresh server, where players want to secure the best building spots. A race will take place.
Which MMOs did players spend the most time on in July? Final Fantasy XIV and the Diablo-like Path of Exile saw an increase.
Once a month, the folks at Raptr analyze which games users of their program spent the most time on. This is on PC and tracked by hours. The numbers should not be viewed absolutely as a “hit list,” but rather as a trend indicator of whether a game is currently gaining or losing popularity and why.
Diablo 3 was not very popular in July. That is likely to change only in September, when the new season is in full swing. Heroes of the Storm also loses a rank, with 18% less playtime than in June.
Ark Survival Evolved is not a flash in the pan, World of Tanks robust
Winners in July also include the dino MMO Ark Survival Evolved. It is not a flash in the pan, but continues to enjoy popularity among Raptr users in July. World of Tanks also gains a spot, now entering the top 5.
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League of Legends floats above all, Witcher III now in free fall
The rise of World of Tanks and Ark SE is also due to the fact that the strong single-player titles of the last months are now significantly losing steam. Witcher III is down about 50% in playtime compared to June, and GTA V loses 17% of its playtime. The MOBA Smite also belongs to the losers with 12% fewer hours played.
Speaking of MOBA: The godfather of the MOBA genre, League of Legends is once again in a completely different league than the rest of the titles. Almost a quarter of all hours from Raptr users are attributed to LoL.
#StillWinning: League of Legends.
Final Fantasy XIV and Path of Exile show strong gains
The fantasy MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV notices in July the expansion Heavensward. Playtime has increased by 65% compared to June. This is enough to climb from 15 to 13 among PC games. Playtime in the Diablo-like Path of Exile has almost tripled compared to June. The expansion “The Awakening” was released in early July and provided a boost that likely catapulted Path of Exile into the top-20 categories for a brief visit.
Interestingly, “Terraria” rose even more dramatically, with a new patch released in July increasing playtime nearly sixfold.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , you will change the voice of Ghost in the original English version. How does that look in the German synchronization?
The English voice of Ghost is Peter Dinklage, an actor whose star is rising since he took on the role of “Tyrion Lannister” in Game of Thrones and made it his own.
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He will not only voice the new lines for Ghost in the original English version but also re-sync the old lines. In this short teaser trailer, you can hear the first words of the “new Ghost” that were made public.
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We have been asked more frequently lately: What is happening in German? Is there also a new voice? We reached out to the PR agency of Activision, which handles Destiny in Germany, to inquire about this.
They say that they know nothing about a recasting of the German Ghost. After all, Nolan North is also re-recording the original lines, so that the voice remains consistent, and there’s no break. This further suggests that they will simply keep the voice actor in German.
That is likely to be Claus-Peter Damitz. He not only provides the voice for Dinklage in Game of Thrones but also in his newer films. It seems that everything will remain the same for German players, as we will continue to hear the German voice of Peter Dinklage as Ghost.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Hearthstone has a high addictive factor, not least because of opening card packs. However, only a few know how quickly that can turn into frustration…
Misfortune in Fortune
Every Hearthstone player is likely familiar with the phenomenon: You open many packs, which you either bought from the shop or earned in hours of arena duels. After having pretty much every white and blue card doubled and tripled, the orange shimmer of a legendary card finally appears, and the excitement rises. While you can generally say: “Every legendary card is a win,” because you can turn it into dust and thus into other minions or spells, you still hope for certain legendary cards that are still missing for your strategies.
However, how quickly things can turn into frustration, even though you find quite a few legendary cards, is shown in the video from YouTuber CosmosCopilot:
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While Bolf Rammschild is not a bad card in itself, there are currently few decks where he can be meaningfully included. Although he can temporarily increase the hero’s health by 9, he is vulnerable to silence. Moreover, decks with him tend to focus on “long survival” rather than a victory – which rarely leads to the desired success in Hearthstone.
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Yesterday, many exciting details about Heart of Thorns were revealed. Among other things, raids and new armor sets are waiting for the players …
Raids without Item Spiral – Everything that Players Love
The big news right away: Guild Wars 2 is getting raids! While it would have been much more spectacular if it hadn’t been accidentally leaked a few days ago, the announcement still causes a stir. The creators of the now 3-year-old MMORPG have departed from some typical raid conventions to offer players exciting and challenging content. There will be no item spiral, and raids should never become easier. At the same time, players will never have to wait for a specific role – because GW2’s versatile combat system allows all classes to perform supportive abilities.
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It has been clearly communicated that an endless item spiral like in other games (WoW, WildStar, SWTOR) has no place in Guild Wars 2. For this reason, loot will be awarded in the form of legendary armor with unique skins – they are purely cosmetic in nature. This will be equivalent to the existing ascended gear. This leads to no devaluation of the items earned, and it also ensures that boss fights remain exciting and challenging even in several years. The developers consider it a devaluation of player achievements if the boss encounters became weaker due to continually better items.
Scope and Future of Raids
The first raid will consist of three wings, each of which will be released with several weeks delay after the release of Heart of Thorns. Access requires the expansion, of course – as well as some teammates, as a full group of 10 heroes will be needed. They should also bring patience, discipline, and plenty of time, as the new instances are said to be more challenging than anything the PvE area of Guild Wars 2 has offered so far.
10 players are needed for raids – and plenty of stamina.
But even in the future, raids will play an important role: Future updates (such as the “Living World”) are set to introduce new areas and thereby provide fresh content for raid enthusiasts in the long term.
4 Gigantic Maps
The new areas of Heart of Thorns will be gigantic, if the developers are to be believed. The 4 new zones will not be traditionally designed as “flat” but three-dimensional. Consequently, the events will take place on multiple levels, and the map-specific events are said to offer the “greatest replay value that has existed in Guild Wars 2 so far.”
“Free Accounts” will have some limitations, but nothing extreme. They are complete accounts, not trial accounts.
They will not be able to use map-wide chat, start with less inventory space and character slots than players who purchased the box, they will only be able to whisper every 30 seconds and while free players can use the trading post, they cannot send items to other players. Only upon reaching level 10 can they leave the starter areas, and at level 30 the LFG tool can be used, while World vs. World can be entered at level 60.
Most of these measures are probably aimed at dealing with gold sellers and their dreaded spam.
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Guild Wars 2 does not change payment model, does not want to scare off current players
As stated, this step does NOT see themselves as a Free2Play title, but remains with its current payment model Buy2Play, only releasing the base game for free. ArenaNet wants to keep the payment model simple: They believe in “Buy2Play”, but want to limit the purchase to a box, which is Heart of Thorns. Those who buy the expansion will receive the base game, which has already been announced. Now they are consistently taking the next step and releasing the base game for free. They will not become a Free2Play game that constantly pester players with prompts for microtransactions, they say.
To ease the fears of paying players about the “Free2Play” phenomenon, they assure that existing players will not be disturbed by the new players and even add this costume as a gift.
Until now, Guild Wars 2 was a “Buy2Play” game; the base game had to be purchased and no further purchases were necessary. Guild Wars 2 is considered an absolute triple-A MMORPG and perhaps the best new release in the MMORPG market in the last three years.
In The Elder Scrolls Online, Update 7, the Imperial City, is coming soon. It will also bring two new dungeons: White-Gold Tower and the Imperial City Prison. What can players expect there?
On Monday, August 31st, it starts for PC players: The Imperial City is finally coming. Players have been waiting for over a year for it to make its way into the game, but game systems were prioritized first. The wait is not over for everyone: Players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will have to wait two more weeks on Monday.
The Imperial City will bring, among many other things, two classic new dungeons, which are the iconic White-Gold Tower and the Imperial City Prison. Both instances will be haunted by demons, whose corrosive influence is already noticeable. The two dungeons will also be accessible normally for PvP haters. You can enter through the group finder, you don’t have to set foot in the PvP part of the Imperial City, but you will need the DLC.
Some brave heroes have already checked out both dungeons on the test server and uploaded these videos. If you want, you can get a taste of the dungeons there. The boss encounters are mainly showcased and explained in English.
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Star Wars Battlefront is considered the safest bet for the 2015 holiday season; it has already been booked as a success, and for this occasion, Sony is releasing a “Limited Playstation 4.” This was presented two weeks ago to loud applause.
Now it is also available in Germany at Amazon. It is available for pre-order. Included are a PS4 system with 1TB of storage and a Dualshock Wireless-4 controller. Both come, as you can see, in a Star Wars design. Additionally, there is Star Wars Battlefront in the Deluxe version and four classic Star Wars games as well.
The bundle can now be pre-ordered, with delivery on November 19th. Just in time for the start of the shooter spectacle.
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In short introduction videos, the developer Aeria Games now presents the 4 classes of Dragomon Hunter.
The Classes: Somewhat … Classic.
In the upcoming MMORPG with cute anime/manga graphics Dragomon Hunter, there will be a total of 4 different classes to choose from. Scout, Mercenary, Mage, and Cleric will be playable at launch. To introduce the classes in their basic features, a series of Youtube videos have been posted online to give an initial impression of the game mechanics and effects. Besides a lot of big numbers, it seems that the combat system places great importance on the character’s positioning, but see for yourself:
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According to recent statements, Dragomon Hunter will be released in the fall of this year, but not in Germany. Consequently, the game will also not be localized – players in this country will have to rely on the English version.
Dragomon Hunter has already generated some discussion, for instance, because it allows same-sex marriage, which is still a taboo subject in many parts of the world.
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The developers of WildStar have long been planning to introduce seasonal events. This year, for the first time, the Halloween event “Shade’s Eve” is coming.
The first major in-game event
Recurring events have been a part of many MMORPGs for some time now. Carbine’s SciFi MMO WildStar had big plans last year to create a Halloween event. Many of the necessary files had already been completed the previous year. However, due to other priorities, such as the large-scale eradication of bugs and general improvements to the player experience, the spooky event was canceled. This year, they are back and want to decorate the game world for Shade’s Eve with scary decorations, offer special quests, and of course, unique rewards that are available to characters in the form of costumes. In the one-hour video, developer Caydiem talks about the event and reveals first details:
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Although WildStar is a rather colorful and generally friendly game, the in-game explanation behind Shade’s Eve is quite dark: According to legend, settlers from Cassus (the predecessors of all humans in WildStar) were afflicted by a plague that quickly wiped out a large part of the population. Large fires were lit to give the bodies of the deceased to the flames, while the remaining survivors hid in their shelters, praying that they would withstand this predicament. Shortly thereafter, a girl was identified as immune to the plague, and scientists were able to create a vaccination.
Shade’s Eve is expected to be dark – but who would expect otherwise?
During the festival, the plague of the past is personified as “Jack Shade” and the savior girl as “Angel” – we can probably expect to find many quests and references to the two.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The current expansion of Hearthstone has added some mechanics and cards to the game – but many of them behave strangely and create questionable plays.
Unpredictable Effects of Some Cards
Collectible card games are quite complex. This is not only because the number of cards steadily increases over the years, but also because each card can influence existing rules. In many cases, it is even the cards themselves that introduce new rules or completely overturn existing ones. Hearthstone is no exception, and especially The Grand Tournament provides plenty of discussion material. The YouTuber Disguised Toast has now compiled a series of apparent errors in a video that definitely offers inspiration for extensive discussions.
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In my opinion, many errors are not real bugs, but intentional. However, as I have also gained several years of experience with real TCGs, I know how complex certain processes can be and that it is often just a chain of actions that brings about the effect. For many players, this might seem like an error at first glance, but to me, it appears intentional. One example of this is the Tiny Knight of Evil, who benefits from Countersong. Here, the devil is in the details! The little knight receives +1/+1 every time a card is discarded. Countersong ensures just that: A capability is countered, meaning: It is interrupted and discarded without effect. This also explains why Countersong does not trigger the damage from “Fist of Jaraxxus”, as the card is also discarded here without effect.
But I don’t want to sugarcoat everything: The fact that Sense Demons can draw the card Demonfuse is clearly a gameplay mistake, as is the Fallen Hero, who can bypass a character’s immunity with his damage. The various effects of Wilfred Fizzlebang are also odd and would at least need to be explained clearly in terms of rules. There is indeed a need for improvement here and quickly, otherwise Hearthstone loses what makes it so great for newcomers: the immediate understanding of each card.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Bless is set in a “Western setting,” the backdrop resembles the European Middle Ages.
The core feature of the game is intended to be, like in World of Warcraft, the battle between two opposing factions. It will be a “Realm versus Realm” fight. In the next beta phase, which will take place in mid-September, two new classes are set to join the battle: the Mage and the Assassin.
As MMO Culture reports, over 800 pets and mounts are planned to be tamed, some will even complete quests on behalf of the player.
Currently, Bless has found publishers only for China and Taiwan outside of South Korea, but with an English-language trailer, they are addressing players here in the West.
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In Destiny, the expansion “The Taken King” raises numerous questions. 16 of them now have answers. Among them: What happens to Etheric Light? What does the light level do? When does it start? Which Year 1 Exotics will be available in Year 2? What will happen to the old raids?
In an interview, the two main actors of “The Taken King”, Game Director Luke Smith and Producer Mark Knowsworthy, answered many questions from the community.
We summarize the most important answers:
What happens to Etheric Light?
Etheric Light may not be important anymore. At least Bungie is not talking about any functionality, but only about a way to exchange this resource. It became important with “House of Wolves” to bring legendary items to the Year 1 maximum of 42 light or 365 attack value. This seems to be settled for Year 2.
Currently, there is no exchange option for Etheric Light. However, they are considering introducing such an exchange option, perhaps with the Speaker.
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When does The Taken King start exactly? At what time on September 15?
Important for many players: When do I need to free up time? When should I be sitting on the couch with my controller in hand and a full fridge behind me?
There is no exact time for “The Taken King” yet, at the moment it is still uncertain. However, they promise to announce a specific “From then on you can log in” time.
On the next page, we’ll discuss how your Guardians will become stronger in Year 2 of Destiny.
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In the action MMORPG Neverwinter on Xbox One, a massive patch is coming. Four PC modules are being released all at once for Xbox One. The date set is September 8.
It’s a bit complicated regarding the version issues with Neverwinter. The major content patches that bring new gameplay are called “Modules” in Neverwinter. There are already 7 on PC, but Xbox One only started with one module, while in other aspects it is “up to date with the PC version.”
This one module with which the Xbox One version started is “Tyranny of Dragons,” which on PC (and now for the surprise) is not the first module, but Module number 4. Later, “Rise of Tiamat,” which is Module number 5, was added. They were thematically related.
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This means: On September 8, the level cap will rise to 70, the new class Oathbound Paladin will be added (thanks to Elemental Evil), and there will be many new gameplay elements from the first three modules.
The fantasy MMORPG Guild Wars 2 has without much effort or fanfare, now announced the release date of the expansion Heart of Thorns.
This is quite disheartening. With a tweet, Guild Wars 2 has let the cat out of the bag: On October 23, the eagerly awaited expansion “Heart of Thorns” is set to launch.
Normally, there’s quite a fuss when such things are announced, but not in this case.
Well, quite a bit is already known about “Heart of Thorns”. Guild Wars 2, as we know, does not intend to overhaul, does not raise the level cap or suddenly go crazy with an item spiral. A large new zone, the Heart of Maguuma, will be introduced, along witha new class, the Revenant, grants existing classes “elite specializations” and gives players plenty to do through complex success systems, the masteries. Additionally, changes are being made to PvP to lay the groundwork for Guild Wars 2 to continuously improve in the coming years. Unlike games that go for the WoW approach of “higher, faster, further,” ArenaNet wants to find its own path,taking inspiration from games like the Zelda series.
So, it all starts on October 23, let’s see how it aligns with the other plans of publisher NCSoft. The free-to-play transition of WildStar still doesn’t have a set date, but it is on the horizon.
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ARK: Survival Evolved is currently in Early Access. However, the developers are already planning an expansion that is to be released as a DLC.
Only a few months of downtime
The dino game ARK: Survival Evolved is likely to go down in gaming history as the surprise title of 2015. Within just a few weeks, the game, which is still in Early Access, has already surpassed 1,000,000 players. Apparently, the revenue has been well invested for the future – because already now Jesse Rapczak, the Co-Creative Director of Studio Wildcard, is talking about future plans, which are quite concrete: Just a few months after its release in June 2016, they aim to have the first expansion completed!
It is supposed to include more hours of gameplay and expand the story.
The addon is expected to bring many hours of new gameplay and story.
Fewer updates towards the finish line
At the same time, it has been announced that the game is now in the home stretch of its completion. For this reason, the coming months will bring fewer innovations, and the overall frequency of patches will decrease – they would rather fix existing bugs and make final adjustments.
Like the main game, the expansion is also expected to be offered in Early Access, as they have had good experiences with it and want to keep the direct channel to the community open.
