In the SF-MMO Star Trek Online , the outline of how the eleventh season could look has been sketched out.
In Star Trek Online, there is an increasing trend to align with the Enterprise TV series. They want to tell stories in “seasons”. Now that the “Iconian War” is slowly coming to an end, a look is being cast at the new season. This one is set to be “hopeful,” aiming to appeal to the discovery gene of Star Trek fans after all the battles and destruction.
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Due to the Iconian War, time travel has become widespread, the genie is out of the bottle. Now everyone has access to time travel, which will surely open up some bizarre possibilities.
A central element of the new season is set to be the “Mirror Universe.” This is the parallel universe where everything is a little different, and where Spock had a beard. In this version of the universe, the “First Contact” between Earth and the Vulcans did not go well, as the Earthlings hijacked the Vulcan ship and gradually grew into the “Terran Empire,” a dark version of Starfleet.
This was seen in an episode of the last Star Trek TV series “Enterprise”:
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This “Terran Empire,” which emerged from the above scene, also had its Iconian War, according to Star Trek Online. In our universe, this could only be contested because the different powers in the Delta Quadrant allied: “That’s not how the Terran Empire works,” remarks Executive Producer Steve Ricossa. So the question is how the Iconian War ended on the other side of the mirror.
It seems that players of Star Trek Online will soon find out. New game features are primarily centered around the “Admiralty System.” Players can send their replacement ships on missions here. Before the start of Season 11, there will likely be XP events and boosts again.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The former CEO of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley has left the company and is reportedly planning to start his own.
John Smedley was one of the fathers of Everquest, later involved in Star Wars Galaxies – his career is closely linked to the history of MMOs.
Half a year ago, he led the software studio “Sony Online Entertainment” away from Sony, now calling itself “Daybreak Game Company.” Just a few months ago, there was a big press tour, announcing golden times for the current titles H1Z1 and Planetside 2 and promised to deliver “Everquest Next, an MMORPG that will blow everyone away.”
But at the same time, Smedley was also engaged in a public battle with a group of cybercriminals who had targeted him as a preferred victim, subjecting him and his family to vile methods.
Everquest Next: Was supposed to be the next major milestone in Smedley’s career.
If you consistently display unfriendly behavior in Everquest II, you should be careful – otherwise, you will soon find yourself on the prison server.
Behind Bars and Firewall
Those who misbehave will be locked away. A bold step.
There are unfriendly players who obviously cannot handle the freedom of the internet on every server in every game without exception. Those who misbehave rarely have to fear penalties: More than a 3-day ban rarely awaits (with really serious offenses aside) the troublemakers. However, Everquest II now presents a solution for how to keep permanent troublemakers in check over the long term: A prison server. On the new server “Drunder”, all players who cannot adhere to the rules or basic social principles of multiplayer will end up. There is no returning from this server, and the respective players also have no access to support. If this is intolerable, there is only one remedy: Logging out.
Those who wish to subject themselves to this lifelong punishment can simply ask customer service for a transfer to the server – but that will also be the last conversation with a game master.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In recent years, many developers have been withdrawing from communicating with players. A game developer now reveals why this is happening.
In recent days, some developers spoke about this blog post, which discusses the issues in communication between players and developers. It particularly addresses why developers are increasingly hesitant to promise things or show details until the game is truly nearing its release. The main criticisms of the author can be summarized relatively quickly:
There is no second chance for a first impression. Until a feature is finished, it looks ugly, has bugs, and barely works. It could scare off many players and diminish excitement for the game.
Game development is malleable, player expectations are not. As soon as players see even a concept drawing of something, they interpret this as a promise that the feature will definitely be included in the finished game. It is common in the game industry for things to be cut or changed.
Players have no idea about game development, but believe they are experts who could do everything better. The public never has access to all the information that game developers have, which leads to changes being made.
Prominent Example: Mass Effect 3
Especially the ending of Mass Effect 3 upset many players – yet they were never promised 16 endings.
As a particular example of wildly exaggerated player expectations, the author mentions Mass Effect 3, or more specifically, the ending of the game. Many players were extremely disappointed because they were promised 16 different endings, but there were only 3. The bizarre thing is: No BioWare employee has ever said anything about 16 different endings. Nevertheless, players built high expectations that were not meant to be met.
Blizzard Employees Join the Discussion
Particularly some Blizzard employees commented on this article and shared their opinions, which almost always go in the same direction: The author is right. “The sooner the era of ‘A developer said it, so it MUST happen or there will be an uprising’ is over, the better”, it says. Additionally, comparisons are drawn to other productions, such as films: No one expects unedited scenes to be shown in advance – in the game industry, it seems to be different.
Blizzard employees are tired of the accusations from players. Understandable?
Another significant criticism is the distrust that developers constantly face today. As soon as a feature is even hinted at in its basic form, it is expected that this content will definitely be in the game. If developers fail to deliver (for whatever reason), they would immediately be labeled as liars, never to be trusted again, and thought to have nothing better in mind than to lead the community around by the nose.
Frustration and Silence
Many comments reveal clear frustration from developers and community managers. One player defends the insults that employees often have to endure with the statement: “For some people, it is hard to discuss things objectively when they put a lot of passion into a game”. Although the response was harsh, it was also refreshingly honest:“In 80% of cases, when someone on the internet says ‘passion’, they use it as an excuse to behave like a gigantic idiot.”
For Legion, they only want to talk about things that are more or less set in stone.
For the future, at least Blizzard wants to try other communication methods. Of course, they do not solely blame the players, yet they will now have to make do with less information: “We spoke too much too early about Warlords of Draenor (…)”) and “That was a big mistake and we will do everything to ensure that does not happen again with Legion” conveys a clear message.
On one hand, I am naturally saddened to hear less about the development of “Legion”, but on the other hand, I can very much understand developers who are tired of such witch hunts that increasingly adopt absurd standards. What do you think about this?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MOBA League of Legends, the Cyber Cat is out of the bag. It is known what is behind the “Project” skins.
We have already reported on the cryptic Project action from League of Legends. They have set up a promo page that likely caused most users to scratch their heads and look puzzled.
Now the skins that are hiding behind it are known. They are for the champions:
Yi
Fiora
Leona
Lucian
and Zed.
Yi has also received a new voice and is said to cost 1820 RP, while the other 4 are priced at 1350 RP. There is a special effect when entering the game with a Project skin.
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The skins also have an additional bonus effect. When two players are in the game with one of these skins, the minions in the game receive special skins, and if three Project players are in the game, it is further enhanced. However, these two effects are probably only planned for patch 5.17.
At the moment, the skins are still on the test server. So everything can still change.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , it has been emphasized again that players, no matter what they hear, should not break anything before September 15.
It’s the “warning” that developers have been repeating like a mantra: “Don’t break anything before September 15.” Then comes “The Taken King,” the new Destiny expansion.
These could be the reasons for the warning
We now know two reasons for it:
On one hand, the starting level of players is determined by the “best gear” they have in their inventory at the time of the transition. How exactly this works is still unclear.
Bungie says: Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it. We’ll find the gear.
Originally, Community Manager Eric Osborne stated, “players will be given their highest level achieved.” However, during the stream on Wednesday evening, it sounded different: Players must still possess the armor pieces. So don’t break anything, or else you might start with a light level significantly lower than 34.
If someone breaks their SUROS regime (because it is lame), they might not be able to pull the new SUROS from the blueprints on September 15.
The other reason for the warning is exotic armor pieces and weapons. Players need to still possess them on September 15 (whether in their inventory or vault) for them to become “exotic blueprints”.
Bungie does not guarantee anything for exotic items that players had before but broke before September 15. This is tweeted by Mark Noseworthy, the producer of “The Taken King”.
Any Exotic you have in your inventory when Destiny update 2.0.0 goes live, will come with an Exotic Blueprint. No guarantees before that.
Desire to dismantle might soon decrease in Destiny
The desire to dismantle might soon decrease anyway. Because with a doubling of vault slots for weapons and armor, players should have significantly more space to collect come September 15.
To what extent the message “No matter what you hear or think you know, don’t dismantle anything” will hold true beyond that is hard to say. So far, the only clear thing is why one shouldn’t dismantle exotic items and preferably not legendary armor pieces.
But what to do with legendary year-1 weapons, and why they should still be kept, is unclear.
Perhaps additional information from the developers will come.
Some fans are still hoping for good news regarding the beloved legendary weapons and armor, such as those from raids. However, there have been no updates on that front so far and little cause for hope. Except that the weapons will still find their place in “old content and in PvP without active level advantages.”
It may not be worthwhile to keep legendary year-1 weapons to dismantle them in year 2 either. Because it has already been stated that players will dismantle legendary items from year 1 in year 2 for the same materials as currently.
By the way: In year 2, dismantling new legendary items will be more attractive than before: On one hand, they will give the new universal currency “Legendary Marks”; on the other hand, high-level legendary items can be used to upgrade weaker gear that the player prefers.
To dismantle or not to dismantle – that’s not really a question right now
There is not much to gain from dismantling right now: So better stay put and not dismantle anything. Perhaps there will be information in the two remaining live streams that will give more weight to the warning.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With the twelfth edition, the dark fantasy MMORPG The Secret World becomes “normal.” Not in terms of the story, but in terms of MMO mechanics.
This week, a new content update, Issue 12, was released for The Secret World. And it has a lot to offer this time. In addition to new instances, world bosses, and raids, some of the fundamental reward mechanics have been revised: There is now a unified currency system, and thanks to a challenge log, it is always clear where the action is happening.
The new instances under the Orochi Tower receive good ratings from observers, with particular emphasis on the correct tuning of the AEGIS systems. The world bosses are said to be rather simple in terms of the combat systems. The numerous “Quality of Life” improvements have received praise.
With the expansion The Grand Tournament, Hearthstone players will finally be able to stand up to the rush decks – the developers share their thoughts on the design.
The endless possibilities of Hearthstone reduced to 2.
Fortunately only a card chaos – but a similar “complexity” as with the Face Hunter.
Basically, Blizzard’s card game Hearthstone is blessed with a seemingly infinite number of deck combinations. However, in recent months, most players tend to play rush decks that mercilessly overwhelm the opponent in 4-5 turns. No wonder, their success proves them right. The so-called Face Hunters and Rush Locks need only about 1/3 of the time to finish a game. Those who are frustrated by this eventually switch to such a deck themselves. Now Blizzard wants to finally give players new counter options, one of which is the jousting.
Superiority from the depths of the deck
The improved version of Zombie Chow – just without drawbacks if everything goes well.
Joust is at first glance just a fun, chance-dependent mechanic, but those who delve into it a bit longer will recognize the great advantages. In an interview with gamespot.com, Senior Game Designer Mike Donais and Executive Producer Hamilton Chu revealed how jousting is intended to work:
The new mechanic improves slow decks! Slow and late-game decks usually have expensive minions and should therefore benefit more from jousting – because the effects come into play when your own minion has higher mana costs than that of the opponent. This allowed the developers to create cards that are fundamentally a bit stronger, but whose advantage is not always realized, instead, it is hidden behind a semi-random mechanic.
Rush decks benefit from anti-rush cards
Warlocks and Hunters are planned to be the hardest hit – will they still remain the number 1 choice in the end?
The difficulty in the past was to create cards in the low mana range that could counter rush decks (like Deathlord or Zombie Chow) without being exploited by them. Because almost all cards that could restrain the hasty hunters and warlocks can also simply be used by them. However, if rush decks want to reliably benefit from jousting, they need to focus on what could break their neck: slow cards.
Of course, Blizzard does not want to completely eliminate rush decks with the new expansion, but only provide players with new options to better defend themselves against aggro decks, and to bring the game’s meta back into motion – because it has been a bit stagnant in recent months.
So far, there has been no release date announced for Heart of Thorns, the first expansion of Guild Wars 2. That could change next week.
The Future of Heart of Thorns
In a week, we may know the release date.
ArenaNet has promised to have a major announcement at PAX Prime 2015, which will be held next week in Seattle. Thematically, it will of course revolve around the current state of Heart of Thorns – and its future, namely: When will the game be released? Since ArenaNet still plans to release the addon this year, the dates for major events are running out – so PAX Prime is a great opportunity for this. Of course, there could also be further announcements regarding corresponding beta events, as they have maintained close communication with players here and have taken their feedback to heart. Next weekend, we will know more.
The Korean action MMORPG Bless Online is soon going into its third closed beta. Changes to the combat system, numerous new features, and a higher level cap are the highlights.
It still looks like Neowiz is placing great hopes on the Unreal Engine 3 MMORPG, which is being developed with great effort. They are working “day and night” on the game, they say.
The next closed beta is expected to raise the level cap to 45, and the “combat system” will be changed for some ranged classes, shifting from an action to a classic tab-target system. Additionally, systems for politics and guilds will come, as well as numerous other features.
Now it has happened again: First it was just rumors, then they were confirmed. Bethesda has also commented on this and said about the layoffs: “After the successful launch of The Elder Scrolls Online on PC and consoles, we have adjusted our customer service to the needs of the players.”
It seems, then, that this time they have “only” parted ways with customer service employees and not with designers – unlike the first time. After a launch, when everything runs reasonably well, fewer tickets come in and less staff is needed to handle them.
Of course, this is still an unpleasant situation for those affected. The number of employees affected by the layoffs this time is not known.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Today we ask ourselves and you the question: What game did you have no expectations for and were then blown away?
The Cucumbers of the Internet
The only family-friendly picture of Scarlet Blade in the world. Really.
If we take a moment to reflect soberly: The virtual world is full of cucumbers. There are games where you can hardly do anything else but walk from A to B. Every 10 minutes you get stuck with your character somewhere and can’t move anymore. Other games focus only on one aspect, which is often not particularly realistic wobbling animations of secondary sexual characteristics (Scarlet Blade, anyone?). But hidden among all the garbage, in all the bad productions, there are also a few really good games that you wouldn’t expect at first glance – and this is where we ask: Which MMO was better than you expected at the beginning?
Cortyn says: I have seen some really, really bad games in my life. This, in turn, has led me to not give many games a chance anymore if the screenshots or trailers don’t get me excited at first glance. Nevertheless, there are some examples where I had absolutely no expectations. One of those games is definitely TERA. Even today, I can’t rationally explain why I even bought TERA (but what can I rationally explain anymore?). I just felt like playing a new game and it got into the shopping cart faster than I could think about it.
Tera turned out to be much better than expected.
Although my first thought when creating the character was already “Oh dear!” at the sight of the character models of both genders, the whole thing quickly transformed into a coherent overall picture. The world had a coherent design, and the combat system was incredibly fun at the time. For a “new” universe, the background story in the game was well thought out and even relatively dark, which I liked immediately. The multitude of role players surprised me so much that my initial doubts due to the revealing clothing of most outfits were quickly dispelled – now the Castanic even count among my favorite races.
But now back to you! Which game did you perhaps expect nothing from and only started because a friend recommended it or because a strange mood overtook you? Which game turned out to be significantly better than your first impression suggested? Share it with us and discuss in the comments!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On August 21st, Xur, the Agent of the Nine, arrives at the MMO shooter Destiny. He brings a variety of exotic armor and weapons, which will be included in a strange blue-print collection in a few weeks.
It’s also unclear how many new exotic items he will get. At the moment, it seems that Bungie is more inclined to distribute new exotic weapons through long quests rather than simply placing them in the inventory of the tentacled guy.
In the last live stream, it was shown that one of the methods to gain reputation is to turn in heavy ammo synths. Here it might be worth stocking up – but that is pure speculation at the moment.
Everything about Xur, the Agent of the Nine, on August 21st, 22nd, and 23rd in Destiny
When does Xur come and when does he leave again?
Xur arrives on Friday, August 21st, at 11:00 AM in the Tower or the Reef. He stays for 48 hours. Thus, he leaves the world of Destiny on Sunday, August 23rd, also at 11:00 AM.
Where is Xur?
Xur is located in the Hall of Guardians, by the Vanguard.
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Xur is selling this week the exotic machine gun Donnerlord for 17 strange coins. This means that Xur has offered the rarest exotic weapons in two consecutive weeks. Both the Gjallarhorn and Donnerlord were previously available only once until last Friday. Now both weapons available for the second time.
For Titans, there is the DLC-2 helmet Eternal Warrior (mediocre 72 INT, 57 DIS)
For Hunters, the Mask of the Third Man (weak 97/102).
For Warlocks, the chest armor Starfire Protocol (weak 123/130).
As an engram, he has a chest armor. From the DLC-2 items, the Warlock chest Purifier Robe can come out.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At this year’s gamescom, I encountered a particularly special game: Vainglory. A MOBA title specifically for tablets and smartphones from Super Evil Megacorp. Immediately afterwards, I had the exclusive opportunity to have a little chat with Bo Daly, the co-founder and CEO of Super Evil.
Vainglory was brought to the tablets and smartphones of Apple enthusiasts by the American publisher Super Evil Megacorp last year. Recently, the release on Android followed. As in any other MOBA, the goal is to work as a team to destroy the enemy base. Also involved are various heroes, skins, towers, monsters, and items. However, unlike its 1000 MOBA colleagues, Vainglory was developed solely for the mobile market.
Intuitive controls allow barrier-free gameplay
Initially, I was really skeptical about whether a MOBA could be played on a tablet, let alone a smartphone. But anyone who thinks the same has not played Vainglory. The controls are simple, precise, and intuitive, ensuring that the gaming experience is not hindered by cumbersome controls. The development team really put a lot of thought into usability. Thanks to the touchscreen-optimized one-click controls, we command our heroes with simple clicks on the screen, aim at opponents with a click, and then attack automatically. To keep the gameplay manageable, the size of the team is limited to 3 players. Another plus is the graphics. The game runs very smoothly and looks appealing on the latest devices from Apple and Android.
You can see how it all looks in practice in this fun trailer
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Bo Daly, co-founder and CEO of Super Evil, explained to me that the goal with Vainglory is primarily to appeal to hardcore gamers. Developing a casual MOBA for mobile platforms is impossible. In the past, one could observe at several major titles the negative effects that “casual-ization” brings. However, this does not mean that Vainglory is not accessible to potential players.
Bo compared it to ice hockey and football. In hockey, you need expensive equipment, hockey sticks, skates, and an ice rink. Moreover, not everyone has a hockey team nearby to train with. In football, it is much easier. All you need to play is a ball that everyone can afford – and it is the same with Vainglory. You only need a tablet/smartphone and an internet connection, and you can game anywhere in the world.
“The community is the most important thing ever”
Vainglory places great importance on the community. With regular updates containing new content, they aim to continuously develop and improve the game. They try to work as closely as possible with the community. They want to respond to the wishes and suggestions of the players. After all, a satisfied community is important for any game, as only then is long-term success guaranteed.
On the rise to Mobile eSports
With Vainglory, they want to be the first mobile game to enter the hallowed grounds of eSports – which is already looking good. In collaboration with OGN, Super Evil held the Vainglory World Invitationals Tournament in Korea in July. Last Sunday, the Vainglory International Premier League (IPL) started. This is an elite competition with the best teams from around the world competing for a prize pool of $70,000.
At Vainglory, they believe in a change in eSports. Even if it’s hard to imagine nowadays that pro gamers play mobile games in tournaments, a transformation is expected to take place in the next five years.
Bo Daly believes in the success of Vainglory in eSports. And with 1.5 million active players, around 270,000 viewers on Twitch, and more than 13 million minutes of playtime on Twitch, there’s no need to be ashamed as a “new” mobile MOBA.
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A persistent rumor about Hearthstone is being fueled again – some game files indicate a possible 2-player mode!
2 Players Against a Boss?
Since the beta version of Hearthstone, players have speculated that there might eventually be a co-op mode where players can team up against specific bosses. A very similar system was also present in the original Warcraft TCG, where multiple players could face raid bosses like Onyxia or Illidan.
The interface would need to be adapted for a co-op mode – how that will be done on smartphones?
The Gearmaster is currently in the Borean Tundra – but only in WoW.
In the new patch 3.0, which already contains the 132 cards for The Grand Tournament, data miners have now found some data sets that may reignite the discussion. Accordingly, there are already commands in the game for voice lines that hint at a multiplayer mode:
“Well done. You have defeated the boss together. Both players win!” and “Defeat Gearmaster Mechazod together to win!”
Even though there are no concrete statements from Blizzard about this, it strongly suggests a multiplayer mode. An adventure that can be played together with multiple players seems plausible – it could also be well presented in the form of a card chaos to gather initial feedback and opinions.
Whether there is any truth to the rumor will likely only be revealed in the coming months, after the excitement around The Grand Tournament has settled and Blizzard speaks about future plans for Hearthstone – the BlizzCon would be an excellent date for that.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the official forum of the upcoming (MMO)RPG Shroud of the Avatar, a heated discussion has erupted over a feature many believed would definitely make its way into the game – the ability to drop any items anywhere in the world.
To understand why this causes such an uproar: In the earlier Ultima games, it was possible to move and drop items from the inventory. For example, a cup on a table could be moved, picked up, or placed elsewhere in Ultima 7. This allowed players to find additional objects hidden under other items. Or it was possible to discover hidden secret doors.
This interaction with all objects in the world was one of the features that always set Ultima apart from other role-playing games and made the world feel more alive and interactive, unlike the static worlds of other games where objects seem to be glued everywhere.
Should items be able to be placed freely in the game world?
A feature like this was also planned for Shroud of the Avatar. Players should have the option to simply drop the items they were carrying on the ground or a table, and other players could pick these objects up. Additionally, barrels and chairs in the game world should be movable.
However, there were still some problems to overcome. On one hand, performance would significantly drop if every player could place objects anywhere and everywhere. These objects need to be calculated, which could cause the game to experience severe lag. Another issue is that players could, for example, trap doors or NPCs as well as other players by surrounding them with cabinets or barrels. This could lead to unfair behavior. One idea was that objects placed freely in the game world would disappear after a certain time to minimize lag.
Is the feature coming or not?
Rumors have now surfaced that this feature has been completely scrapped, leading to the mentioned discussions. Starr Long, Executive Producer of the game, spoke up and explained that while they would still like to integrate this feature, they first need to solve the problems. However, many interpreted this as an indication that the feature would likely not make it into the game.
Another suggestion was that free placement and movement of objects in the game world should at least be possible in the offline part of Shroud of the Avatar. This part, which is intended to be played like a regular single-player RPG, is eagerly awaited by about half of the entire community, and some unique features for this mode have already been announced – including NPC companions that will accompany players on their journey.
If so many are interested in the single-player offline part and there are issues with implementing the desired feature in the online part, then at least it should be made available offline. The developers have not yet commented on this. The discussion has since been interrupted as it led to heated tempers, and the thread needs to be moderated first.
Therefore, it is still uncertain whether players will be able to freely place and move items in the game world of Shroud of the Avatar, and if so, whether this will apply only to the offline or also to the online modes.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , Bungie has now announced new rewards for Year 1 and clarified the fate of the Gjallarhorn.
On the night from Thursday to Friday, Bungie’s latest Weekly Update was released. There, they addressed questions from the community. This time, they clarified a lot of information needs, even if they did not want or could answer all questions.
Is there a Year 2 version of Gjallarhorn?
These are the new facts:
Despite the reduced numbers for Year 1 weapons (exotic weapons had an attack value of only 160 instead of 365 during the stream), they are still supposed to perform as well in Year 1 activities, even if you disregard the balance changes in 2.0
Gjallarhorn will not receive a Year 2 version, what this means exactly and how powerful fully upgraded Year 1 exotic weapons and armor will be in Year 2 is also not mentioned this time
A Year 2 version will be given for the SUROS Regime, not for the Gjallarhorn.
However, the Titan gloves “No PlanB” will receive a Year 2 version. Also confirmed during the live stream on Wednesday night were the SUROS Regime and the Warlock helm Light Behind Nemesis. They will receive enhanced Year 2 versions
You can access the Year 2 versions of Year 1 exotics by owning the Year 1 version of the exotic item. Then you can print the Year 2 version from your “Blueprint” collection – this will likely cost legendary marks
Legendary marks will be account-wide like Glimmer and the exotic blueprints
Players will earn legendary marks through the weekly heroic strike, daily story chapters, and daily PvP bounties – and when they dismantle legendary Year 2 items
There will be an exchange of Year 1 Crucible and Vanguard marks, players will receive a “Fame Item” for every 50 of them they exchange
The Glimmer cap remains the same as in Year 1, there is supposed to be a lot in Year 2 that guardians can spend Glimmer on.
The Year 1 rewards are now known
After a long back and forth, the “rewards for Year 1 players” are now known. These will be received by “VIP” players who have either reached light level 30 or own both DLCs. The deadline to meet one of the two conditions is August 31, 2015.
The rewards are:
The Ghost shell “Brave Ghost Shell”
The “Be Brave” emblem
The “Old Guard” shader
And the “S-34 Ravensteel” Sparrow
You can check out the rewards in this trailer:
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We will take a look at Xur’s inventory on Friday, August 21, at 11:00 AM. He will either appear in the Tower or in the Reef, assuming he even comes back after the Gjallarhorn story last Friday. Here is our report on Xur and his inventory on August 21.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MOBA League of Legends, the new Patch 5.16 has significantly shaken up the balance of champions.
This happens relatively rarely: Not that League of Legends gets patched, that happens all the time, but rarely does a patch change so much about the game mechanics, balance, and the meta as the current 5.16 patch.
This changes the four “Juggernaut” champs Darius, Mordekaiser, Garen, and Skarner both radically and creatively. These are “off-tanks” that ended up playing quite similarly in practice, struggling to fulfill their role. Riot no longer wants to leave it like that. We have already presented the changes.
Darius, Garen, Mordekaiser, Skarner get a new identity
Here, Riot is not only tweaking the value distributions but also giving each of the champs a “new” twist that should impact the matches they participate in:
Darius becomes significantly more defensive but deals heavy damage when a frenzy builds up within him
Garen aims to eliminate the most dangerous enemy in the opposing team
Mordekaiser builds a special relationship with the dragon
And when Skarner is in the game, crystal spikes erupt from the ground at key points on the map
This is part of Riot’s new idea that should clearly indicate whether this off-tank is in the opposing team or if another one is running around. Additionally, they will buff and nerf various champs across the roster once more and take a look at the items as well.
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Three new items are freshly coming into play that are a bit inspired by Marvel superheroes:
Titanic Hydra allows the bearer to gain speed, rolling them into a juggernaut
Rage turns the bearer into the Hulk when they really need to take hits
And the Plate of the Dead Man (okay, this is not a Marvel hero) provides an interesting area damage effect
In addition to all these “actually noticeable” changes, fresh skins like Arcade Riven or Battle Boss Blitzcrank, who looks like he’s from Toy Story, are also coming.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, the 3 new subclasses are presented, and glimpses into the maps are given.
When Destiny launched in September 2014 with the 6 subclasses that every player knows so well now, another team was already working on three more. The 3, Nightstalker, Stormcaller, and Sunbreaker, will be introduced to Destiny players with the “Taken King” expansion.
By the way: Originally, there were plans to start with 4 character classes, designing a fourth base class in addition to Titan, Hunter, and Warlock, but that didn’t work out. After all, the character classes were intended to be distinct from each other and not exhibit too many overlapping abilities. So the decision was made to go with 3 base classes, and everything fit together.
Warlock was meant to be a Necromancer, became a Stormcaller
During the design process for the Taken King, new ideas for subclasses kept emerging, while old ones were discarded.
Originally, there was a plan to turn the Warlock into a “Necromancer” with the Taken King. He would have been able to resurrect defeated enemies and make them fight for him, but nothing came of that idea; instead, they opted for the “Stormcaller”.
It’s clear that the Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars inspired this class. “He is not very subtle, flies around, and distributes electrical shocks,” Bungie reveals. Enemies would learn to hate his melee attack. Because it has an enormous range when fully charged. As a Warlock, one should get used to working with the melee attack early on. Stormcallers would have high chances of winning in a melee duel.
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In the talent tree, several builds for the Stormcaller will be possible. Stormcaller Warlocks can either deal increased damage to single enemies or be designed to control and harass a larger group of enemies. Another build focuses on mobility and has a Blink, a short teleport.
Hunter is subtle this time, but not too subtle as Nightstalker
For the Hunter, the initial design was thought to orient more around a classic “Tracker” version: a hunter who reads tracks and can see through walls. While thematically fitting for the Hunter, this version simply never played well.
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Eventually, they settled on the Nightstalker. He will be rather challenging to play. His super is designed as a “counter ability” that can pin enemies to walls or the ground. He can evade attacks through a combat roll and uses smoke grenades.
A “Voidwall Grenade” also creates a barrier.
Star of the expansion could be the Titan: Billiards with burning enemies
In the first images and videos, incredibly popular: the Titan as Sunbreaker. The initial trailers elicited reactions like: “Oh God, I need a Titan, I want a flaming hammer.” Many of the Titan’s actions ignite the enemy.
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Bungie advises that rather than killing enemies immediately, it’s better to ignite them and knock them into their friends to create a chain reaction.
Caution: The videos in this article originate from the fan site PlanetDestiny. They are two months old and based on the E3 presentation, an earlier version. Therefore, everything can still change or may have changed by now. The text of the article, however, refers to new information from Bungie.
In the SciFi MMO WildStar, the new loyalty system has now been introduced, which will reward subscribers and cash shop users in the future.
More real money = more points
Current cosmos points can be viewed in the game – as well as the next rewards.
As known from some other Free2Play MMOs, WildStar also introduces several reward systems with the switch to a free-to-play game model. One of them is the cosmos points system. In short, it grants buyers of premium services (like subscription costs, NCoin, Gametime-Cards) a new reward, the cosmos points. The more purchases a player makes (and the more expensive they are), the more points are credited to the corresponding account and the better rewards await.
What do the cosmos points bring?
New colors are also among the rewards.
The rewards vary greatly. At the first level (1,000 points), there is only a special helmet of a costume. At 2,000 points, it becomes more interesting, as players then gain unrestricted access to circle functions, guilds, and war troops – a free pass for most social systems in WildStar. At higher ranks, there are also some gameplay-related advantages, such as at 12,000 points an extra 10% chance to receive additional materials when gathering resources, and at 24,000 points even an exclusive mount.
The war pig awaits at 24,000 points.
Retroactive awarding of points
And now for the good news for all loyal fans: Those who have already purchased items in the past will be rewarded retroactively! All real money purchases will be compiled and credited to the account in the form of cosmos points. This includes both the purchase of the base game (12,000), the deluxe upgrade (3,000), as well as purchases like CREDD for real money (4,000). Particularly generous: even those who have previously paid for a character rename or server transfer will receive a large chunk of points credited.
An exclusive house is also available – how many points are needed is not yet known.
Cosmos points without spending money?
For Free2Play players who do not want to spend money, it is a bit more difficult to obtain cosmos points and the associated rewards – however, it is not impossible. If one purchases CREDD in the game (for platinum) and then redeems it, the corresponding account receives 1,000 cosmos points. This ensures that everyone can eventually enjoy the bonuses after a certain time, although this naturally involves some farming work or auction house magic.
So far, not all rewards have been presented, but as many loyal players should already have over 30,000 points with the switch to the F2P model, the developers are surely still cooking up something.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
