In the MMO shooter Destiny, a new boss named Qodron awaits the Guardians in the Prison of Elders. He is a Time Lord of the mysterious Vex.
Today, the Guardians saw the third of four possible combinations of the “Arena” Prison of Elders for the first time on levels 32 and 34. On level 34, a Vex Arena is now active for the first time, where Qodron awaits at the end.
How can he be defeated?
The Brutal Method
The Guardians have come up with two methods. The first is called… well… it would probably best be described as “brute force” or “lolololol“. The tactic involves the Titan placing a bubble right at the entrance, everyone shooting Qodron like crazy with their Gjallarhorns, using heavy ammo synths under the protection of the bubble, and then sending him over the edge.
The tactic clearly continues the trend that some have already observed, that the Gjallarhorn is increasingly becoming a key that grants the owner access to supposedly elite circles.
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Advantage of the Tactic: It’s foolproof; no mechanics need to be considered.
Disadvantage: It’s pretty boring, and you need three Gjallarhorns for it.
The Other Method
The other method involves really facing the fight. Really fighting, taking cover, the old-fashioned stuff; you may have heard of it in ancient legends.
This requires understanding a boss mechanic. Qodron traps players in “bubbles”. He announces this with the phrase “Qodron is looking for his targets”. Now it’s important, or best a bit before that, to find a metallic-glowing Goblin named “Qodron’s Eye.” The player who defeats this Goblin can free other players from the bubble for 30 seconds if he shoots at them – preferably with a shotgun. He receives a corresponding buff.
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In the fantasy MMORPG World of Warcraft, the dispute between Blizzard and the bot provider Bossland goes into the next round.
The ban wave affecting supposedly 100,000 users of the bot “Honorbuddy” has prompted the provider of Honorbuddy to temporarily withdraw the most well-known WoW bot for a week. Now they plan to strike back and release a new version by the end of the week. However, they do not guarantee anything for that.
It’s still unclear what exactly happened and how the bot was discovered. One theory suggests Blizzard may have installed “malware” on players’ machines to find out who is using the bot. This is still uncertain. Last time, Blizzard was accused of reacting harshly due to a court case that appeared to favor Bossland.
In this time, we tried to figure out what happened. We must say that we have no idea what really happened and all we have are speculations.
We speculate, that at some point, Blizzard used parts of the World of Warcraft client that acted in a hidden manner like malware. Then they scanned everything they could scan on a given computer and flagged the ones they thought were operating against their TOS/EULA. They are fine to install any such malware-type hidden software at any given time according to their End User Agreement.
A number being mentioned is contradicted: 100,000 users of Honorbuddy have not been banned. There were never that many.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard’s MOBA Heroes of the Storm has entered an Open Beta worldwide. In South Korea, it is promoted with models in various cosplays.
“Things are different elsewhere,” said former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder aptly. As mmoculture reports, the Open Beta of Heroes of the Storm in South Korea is being advertised with the help of “Maxim Korea,” a men’s magazine. They send a few models over.
In the video, the beauties slip into the various costumes of the heroes and villains from Blizzard’s gaming history. While this seems somewhat appropriate for Nova, it might be a bit far-fetched for Nazeebo. But who would really want to complain about that, right? Okay, on closer inspection, a few names do come to mind. Anyway, here’s the video:
http://youtu.be/uHEEgcfKmek
We took the title image from the video.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
For players, the discussion sharpened to whether one prefers to play on a dead server with their own land or on a full server without land.
However, according to Trion Worlds, this question is not relevant at all. They have repeatedly stated that “server merging” is the wrong term for what they are planning. It doesn’t fit. They will take a “non-conventional approach.” It seems to be about merging the “populations of the servers” without anyone losing their possessions.
At the moment, Trion Worlds cannot or does not want to provide more details. It is currently difficult to answer questions or conduct a discussion without the basic FAQ regarding server transfers. That should be available soon.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At a press event in Western France, new information regarding the future of Final Fantasy XIV has been revealed. One topic was also the announced EU servers, which Square Enix has kept quiet about recently.
So far, the data centers are only located in America and Japan. Players from Europe have to deal with a higher ping. This means that the sent data packets take longer to reach the server. This can lead to delays, briefly referred to as lags. In an MMORPG like Final Fantasy XIV, this doesn’t have to be as big of a problem as in a shooter. Especially the combat system places only low demands on the MMO players’ reaction time with a cooldown of 2.5 seconds.
The Mogry is buried elsewhere. Players complain about the void zones: these are orange-colored areas that signal a threat. Players should get out of them as quickly as possible to avoid taking damage. Those coming from Europe often have problems with synchronization because the commands reach the server too late. The character’s location remains in the danger zone, without the player being able to see it.
This leads to the player still taking damage even though they appear to be in a safe position. In rare cases, “rubberbanding” can occur, causing the character to be suddenly teleported back: a rubber band effect.
What we knew so far: In autumn, Square Enix announced that the EU server would receive a new location. Moving from Montreal, Canada to Europe. However, all of this was still early planning, as stated.
What’s new now: Work is currently being done on the data center and server equipment is being purchased. The transfer is to take place as soon as the equipment arrives. This is expected to happen this year; the new EU servers will arrive in 2015.
Players have waited a long time for this. Since the release, many contributions on this topic have piled up. Better late than never, is probably the motto. Could it be that the game is now to become more appealing to Europeans?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In just under a month, on June 23, 2015, the first major expansion for Final Fantasy XIV for PC, MAC, PS3, and PS4 will be released. We had the opportunity to speak with the head of the MMO, the Japanese mastermind Naoki Yoshida, about his baby.
The entire event focused on Heavensward was held in France, near Nantes. We stayed there together with other German journalists, YouTubers, Chocobos, and Moogles. Naoki Yoshida is the Game Director, the face of FFXIV, and something like a beacon of light. If there is currently a MMORPG messiah worldwide, we had him in western France for half an hour for an interview.
The dear colleagues: “What can you still rate poorly?”
The day began with a presentation of the expansion, in a dimly lit room with medieval flair, which was able to capture the dark atmosphere of Heavensward well. Final Fantasy XIV will become harsher, focusing more on the conflict-laden background of the universe. What we saw in 60 minutes was already impressive. Huge amounts of content, accompanied by goosebump-inducing videos and musical performances by star composer Nobuo Uematsu.
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When we finished the presentation, Maria Beyer-Fistrich, Asia-MMO expert and editor at buffed, approached me and shrugged: “Now I really don’t know what could speak against a very high score“. This could mean higher than 85%, as that is the current score. I silently agreed with her, nodded just like my Hyruan during a story cutscene. You know, like in the main scenario when it comes to saving Eorzea.
Even Frank Fischer, the industry guru, known among other things for his Wiped column at Gamona, later expressed his astonishment in our conversations. Those who know his column know that this is not necessarily to be expected. He is considered one of the biggest advocates of the sandbox, seeing it as the future of the genre. Theme park MMOs do not come off well in this regard. Although Final Fantasy XIV does not offer any real sandbox features and the somewhat unfamiliar Japanese kawaii style for Western standards drives him to despair, he has great respect for what Square Enix has achieved in the last 2 years and now with the expansion.
We mostly agree: In the market of MMORPGs, it is hard to find a game that has been continuously developed at such a rapid pace. With a scope that is unmatched. In 21 months, there have been 18 major content updates. These are characterized not only by more of the same, but they regularly enrich the game with entirely new game systems: housing, weddings, Chocobo racing, mini-games like Triple Triad, flying mounts, airships, and much more. Heavensward takes it to the next level.
What Awaits Us with Heavensward
During my play session, I had the opportunity to check out two new areas, complete FATEs (dynamic public quests), craft airships, wipe in dungeons, and put the crazy Gilgamesh back in his place with a full party. But before we get to the impressions, we want to give you the basics about the new add-on. Here are the facts, what Heavensward brings.
Done with the facts? As you’ve noticed, the list of changes is long. But is quantity equal to quality, and are the contents well-rounded at all? We had all afternoon in groups to test the content of Heavensward and can give a preliminary forecast.
First Impression: Good. Way too much to look at in a few hours.
First off: All the content played made a good, polished impression. However, there was too little time to get a deeper insight. Some details were beyond our reach, and we were not allowed to interact with NPCs or show the story .
With the zones, I immediately noticed positively that they appear much larger than in ARR. The areas in Heavensward surpass the areas of the predecessor by 50 or even 100 percent.
That sounds like a lot, a whole lot. Finding a comparison is difficult here: Russia is 50 times larger than Germany. However, this is likely due to the fact that “over the clouds” numerous independent plateaus are floating. There is therefore no emptiness in the Earth’s atmosphere. The platforms are reached with flying mounts. These are twice as fast as their counterparts on the ground and are pleasantly steered in all directions. What I personally miss: a temporary turbo boost that I learned to love in other MMORPGs.
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For me, the combat system of Final Fantasy XIV still belongs to the weaker areas of the game, if I can put it that way. Here I want to commend that the new job abilities come across more powerfully on the screen. They radiate a force and harmonize visually better with the “flashy combat system”. Many animations of the previous abilities often get lost in the effect storm, appearing almost boring. They have improved this with the new skills; even in instances with other players they are still eye-catchers.
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The dungeons – we ran through some of the new ones – are variably designed. They offer impressive bosses as usual. The graphics upgrade through the Direct X 11 support makes the settings even more beautiful, especially noticeable in the reflections. Otherwise, it’s more of the same. Many will look forward to the new raid Alexander, which opens its doors 2 weeks after the release.
Of the 8 instances, by the way, 5 are on the level path, the other 3 present challenges in the endgame. The difficulty level is more aimed at casual players. This means: Journalists are a bit overwhelmed by it. The game masters from Square Enix tried their best to support us. Except for one, who played the new job “Dark Knight” as a DPS class and constantly pulled monster groups. Luckily, we had Thomas Wallus from PlayMassive in the team, who played the astrologian, a healer.
The Machinist was my favorite – “because he has Guns”
Speaking of new jobs: I was particularly taken by the “Machinist,” a Gunner DPS class. I am not alone with this preference. The Machinist held the first place on the community’s wish list for a long time. Fans demanded it like no other job. With the class design of the ranged fighter, efforts were made to address multiple play styles.
This makes it possible to force the opponent to their knees while moving with the stylish gun. Ideal for players who prefer dynamic fights. However, if you want your gun to really heat up, you change the gameplay with a skill. This means that while the attacks require a certain effect time to charge, they also cause significantly more damage.
A slight disadvantage: They must be executed from a standstill. The turrets that the Machinist can set up round off the gameplay. They provide AoE damage in a certain radius or enhance the skills. In the end, almost every journalist wanted to play a Machinist, even the GMs from Square Enix. The explanation for this could not be simpler: “…because he has Guns“. Unfortunately, new players cannot enjoy the new jobs as quickly. The content up to Patch 2.55 must be completed to claim their right to it. And general: Do only the old players benefit from the expansion?
“For subscribers, the content is very attractive, but have you also thought of new players?”
Naoki Yoshida is a very authentic, friendly guy. When my mother saw the photo, her comment was: “Is he your age?”
With this question, I confronted Naoki Yoshida after the test round. Because we in the Mein MMO editorial team feel that there is still room for growth in Germany with Final Fantasy XIV. It is undeniable that the style is very unique and that the classic combat system with a cooldown of over 2 seconds seems too outdated for some. Nevertheless, these are rather points that depend heavily on subjective preferences.
“For those who have not yet played Final Fantasy XIV, ‘A Realm Reborn’ is the starting point. New players have a long story line ahead of them and find a highly expanded game before them, with all the updates that have been introduced up to 2.55. They have access to everything.”
I missed the big hook in his answers to this topic, why Heavensward would be the perfect entry point for players who have not yet found their way to Eorzea or have only briefly checked it out in the beta or with a trial version. However, he is of course right that ARR was also continuously developed and offers newcomers a comprehensive MMO.
“With the launch of Heavensward, all rewards and experience points for completing the story quests will be adjusted and increased accordingly, so that you can catch up with the other players more quickly.”
There is also an all-in-one bundle that includes both A Realm Reborn and Heavensward.
It would certainly have been interesting if the developers had redesigned the old areas so that they would also be accessible to the flying mounts. This is said to be planned for a later date, as I was told. Overall, the game really picks up from level 20 – but then the free trial version ends abruptly. It is not necessarily easy to recognize what high quality is hidden behind this rough diamond. The partially missing voice-over in the main storyline can be disturbing for new players, as some comments on our site show. The announcement of a complete voice-over of the main scenario would also have been an argument.
Conclusion: Especially for active or former players, there is actually no way around considering Heavensward a mandatory purchase. The criticism points at release were consistently eliminated: One can hardly complain about the lack of variety in the endgame and the small zones.
But new players should also take a look, as long as they sympathize with the Asian style. Admittedly, Final Fantasy XIV remains a very special game that does not suit every taste. One should also not have any apprehensions about a classic combat system akin to World of Warcraft or expect sandbox content. For those who do not have a problem with that and with the subscription model: A lot has happened in the world of Final Fantasy Online in the past 18 months. It has improved. Fans of theme park MMOs should not miss a trial run.
We will keep you updated in the coming days: With further excerpts from the interview and information about the future of FFXIV.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Two MMORPGs for Dungeons & Dragons? Do we need that? Turbine’s Dungeons & Dragons Online is holding its ground, but Neverwinter is also achieving some successes.
Many gamers are wondering what the future of Dungeons & Dragons Online will look like. After all, the MMO is almost 10 years old and essentially there is a quasi-successor in Neverwinter that plays significantly more modern. However, Turbine, which also operates the still successful MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, sees this differently. In an interview with the US site Massively Overpowered, Senior Systems Designer John Cataldo stated that Dungeons & Dragons Online offers many advantages over other MMORPGs.
One of them is the many customization options for your own hero. Hardly any other MMORPG would come close to this. The expansion options for one’s hero through Feats, Skills, and Prestige Classes would keep it exciting to play with your character even at high levels.
Furthermore, you would have access to all worlds from the D&D universe. While one started with the world of Eberron, they would have additional worlds in sight besides the excursion into the Forgotten Realms that they would like to visit in the future. Although it was not specified which worlds they have in mind, for example, the Gothic Fantasy Horror realms of Ravenloft or the dark post-apocalyptic Fantasy desert scenario of Dark Sun could bring a significant fresh wind to the genre.
Dungeons & Dragons Online is not at the end of its rope yet, despite nearly 10 years and the competition from other MMOs, especially Neverwinter. With the planned Update 27 for July, they intend to introduce the Warlock as a new class. There is still a lot in store for the fans of DDO!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , the weekly Nightfall strike on May 26 is against Sepiks Prime on Earth. The Prison of Elders and Variks have also been reshuffled – we have the results.
A lot has changed in Destiny over the last 7 days: Players can hear the howling of the wolves. There are a lot of new resets and cooldowns, the routine checking for Nightfall and Heroic Weekly delivers unusual results.
The weekly Nightfall strike can now feature some fresh modifiers. The heroic Weekly leads to a different strike than the Nightfall. Players have a load of new or even old weapons freshly in their arsenal. Variks and Brother Vance’s inventory changes weekly. The Prison of Elders rotates. In Trials of Osiris, there is a different map each week – much has changed.
But as the past has shown: In some weeks, a lot will have become routine. At the moment, it’s still overwhelming how much there is to deal with regarding the new reset at 11:00 AM, how much there is to learn. But that’s what we are here for.
This week, the weekly Nightfall strike is against the Ball of Terror, against Sepiks Prime. In the weekly heroic strike, the “Shadow Thief”, the new DLC strike, is up.
The Modifiers for the Nightfall Strike on May 26
Nightfall – If all Guardians die, it goes back to orbit
Epic – The modifier makes enemies significantly tougher than on “Heroic”
Angry – enemies are not stopped even by damaging hits
In the heroic Weekly, it’s the new DLC strike “Shadow Thief” with the Specialist modifier active. It doubles the damage from special weapons.
What else does the weekly reset bring? What does Variks sell, what’s going on in the Prison of Elders?
Variks is selling a Fusion Rifle this week (weapon core available in the 34 Prison) and the Chest (armor core available in the 32 Prison).
Brother Vance’s inventory for Trials of Osiris is still hidden.
This is how the waves in the Prison of Elders are
In the “Prison of Elders,” the 35 strike remains almost exactly the same: The first 5 waves are identical. In the boss wave, Skolas now has Arc Burn instead of Solar Burn as in the last week.
What weapons would you like? – The recommended loadout for Nightfall
By now, the selection of weapons is significantly larger than in previous weeks. All raid weapons from “The Glass Vault” are interesting again, and even some long-forgotten vendor weapons from the first weeks of Destiny can come back into great shape. But perhaps a few ideas will help you, even if it will hurt some to part with the Vestian Dynasty for even a second.
Since no burn is active in the Nightfall strike (kind of a melee burn… okay), you can use whatever you want this week.
Tips, Tricks, and Guides for the Nightfall without Burn Sepiks Prime
At this point, we will later embed videos of successful runs in the Weekly Nightfall Strike. Generally, the rule is: Play Nightfall cautiously, avoid getting hit too often in a row, take cover in between, and regenerate. Last week, there was a particularly brutal video of a solo player taking on Omnigul, who died in the very last exchange of fire, just a heartbeat before he would have successfully defeated the Nightfall alone. No one wants to experience that feeling.
The first video: Nexxos guides with two colleagues through the “Melee Burn” Sepiks Prime. He recommends using the new weapons specifically designed against the Fallen from the arena. But also the Fatebringer or Black Spindle are strong options. He recommends Arc as the first elemental priority and Solar as the second. It’s a calm, well-explained run that eases the individual passages of the strike with small tricks and tips. Safe spot tips are at the end.
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In the MMO shooter Destiny , players quickly found ways to exploit the new mechanics within just a few days. With certain tricks and knowledge of specific Cheese-Spots the “Prison of Elders” becomes a piece of cake.
Destiny and the Cheese-Spots – a story full of misunderstandings
Cheese-Spots or glitches have been a huge problem in Destiny from the very start. “Just stand under the stairs and shoot at the boss, he won’t find you there; “Jump over here, and you won’t even have to deal with this boss mechanic” was the talk in the Destiny forums and Teamspeak.
No luck with Cheese-safe – new glitch spots in the Prison of Elders
There isn’t a raid with “House of Wolves,” but rather the 3-player arena “Prison of Elders.” Here, fans initially thought: This is just a wide area – there won’t be any Cheese-Spots here at all. It’s specifically designed so that no one can hide.
Players were excited: “Now it’s about skill in Destiny. No hiding and camping, everyone has to go out into the open field and react.” Because it involves defusing mines, eliminating special enemies quickly – all under the constant fire of ever-advancing hordes of enemies.
Additionally, certain mechanics are implemented such as forced teleportations – all of this should ensure that the Prison of Elders can only be conquered “legitly,” as they say, meaning in the “right way.”
But this assumption also turned out to be an illusion this time.
Video shows Destiny from its weak side
Our friends from ProNDC have processed the information from the Reddit experts in a video and demonstrate Cheese-Spots in the Prison of Elders where enemy spawns are completely interrupted or where enemies cannot reach the Guardians. Both take all urgency and tension out of these spots.
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ProNDC and many other players hope that Bungie will respond quickly and fix these problem areas. The past teaches us: It’s not exactly super likely that this will happen soon.
ProNDC’s announcement that they would also send the video to Bungie to alert them does not resonate well with every fan: “Why do you want to do that?” is heard under the video. “Then it gets too hard, you die, and it’s frustrating.”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the SF-MMO WildStar , the new contracts bring life to the Nexus; when fighting world bosses, it can get overwhelming.
The “world bosses” in WildStar were crucial during the progression phase at the beginning, as defeating them was necessary to gain access to the raids. After that, the hype around them faded a bit. Now they are experiencing a resurgence. Because they can become the target of the new “Contracts.” A kind of changing “Instant Quest.”
As indicated by a conversation between two fans on reddit, this activity seems to be extremely popular. And when the world bosses are the target of a contract, there are such large player gatherings that the server may suffer, leading to significant lag.
For WildStar fans, this video is likely to evoke mixed feelings. On one hand, it’s great that so many WildStar players are together in one place. On the other hand: It’s really laggy.
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In the fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online bargain hunters might face a nasty surprise. Tomorrow on Tuesday, May 26th, illegally obtained codes will be deactivated.
Would you buy a CD code from this Morag Tong?
“Greed is good and if you have to pay for an MMO, you want to pay as little as possible”, this is a common attitude among gamers today. One is almost gleeful, that instead of the nearly 40 or 60 euros that a game officially costs at Amazon or elsewhere, you pay only a fraction of that. Even if the sources from which you get the codes don’t always seem completely kosher: “Well, it’s not my problem, what could possibly happen?”
Tomorrow could be the day of reckoning for some bargain hunters: Accounts created with fraudulent codes in The Elder Scrolls Online will simply be deactivated. As Zenimax reports, there have been more and more illegally obtained codes redeemed recently. Starting from May 26th, these accounts will be banned, and players will receive a notification on how they can continue to play TESO with a valid game.
Zenimax states:
Certain companies profit from using stolen credit cards and fraudulently obtained credit card information to make digital purchases from legitimate merchants, then resell these stolen goods. These companies often offer their digital goods at minimal prices. Customers of these companies expose themselves to the increased risk of unintentionally sharing their personal data with third parties.
Extreme price differences compared to those on our official website may indicate that the offered digital code was obtained fraudulently.
It is recommended to make purchases either through their website or through a list of recommended dealers, which you can find in this source. And before you look for it: No, the known “game code only” sites with low prices are not on this list.
There remains the somewhat indiscreet question: Where did you actually get your codes from and do you trust your dealer?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, a video from the new Trials of Osiris showcases perhaps the most spectacular comeback of all time.
If Destiny were an action movie, the Guardians would each deliver one of those typical “action movie” one-liners with an insult at the end. Something like “Yippee-ki-yay, piggy-face” or “Surprise and then a certain bad word that’s not said.”
In the new Trials of Osiris , the fight is not over until it’s over. And it’s not when the “You have won” screen appears, but 3 seconds later. Because within that time window, some nasty things can still happen.
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What do we see in the video? Two Sunsinger Warlocks and a Titan practically give up, letting themselves be mowed down by the enemies who come closer to triumphing, seeing the “Won” screen, already feeling like they are on the sunny side, on Mercury, letting their guard down. The Warlocks then get back up thanks to their Super, revive the Titan, utilize the element of surprise, and win the match.
A classic case of “counting your chickens before they hatch,” “those who die early are not dead for long,” and “the Destiny match isn’t over until the fat lady sings and the Warlock has no Super left.”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Korean Wuxia MMO Blade & Soul is finally coming to the West after many years. In a live stream, there were details about the West release. We summarize it.
Blade and Soul will be released simultaneously in the West and the USA. Closed beta in autumn, launch in winter.
They are adopting a Free2Play model. Will provide more details in the coming months. NCSoft excludes Pay2Win and does not intend to establish “paywalls”. Players should not pay for content. This would drive the player base apart.
Too sexy for the West?
Blade & Soul will be tailored for the West, but sensitively
The Western Blade and Soul will be tailored for the West. This is nothing new; the same was done with the Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese Blade & Soul. These adaptations have shown great success. For instance, in China, up to 1.5 million players logged in simultaneously. Even in the billion-people country China, a significant success.
Currently, they are in the EN 1 phase of translation – everything has been translated 1:1 from Korean. “With Google Translate?” jokes one. “No, no, we already have authors,” they say. However, in this phase, cultural customs have not yet been considered. In the final launch, some Korean peculiarities, such as bouncing vampires, will be better explained in the translation. They don’t want to overdo it, will not have any “John Smiths” walking around, but they will make it easier for players to immerse themselves in the strongly Asian background.
The European servers will be based in Frankfurt am Main.
They want to leave nothing out of the original, rather add something new.
The Western Blade and Soul will not have a “Fatigue” system, as in other regions. This usually limits the number of activities possible in one go.
As a preliminary assessment, the ESRB gives it a “Mature” rating.
The game will not be censored. This was one of the most frequently asked questions. The game is meant to be enjoyed as it was intended. They do not want to interfere with the art style.
The race “Kun” will be renamed to “Yun” in English. It is too close linguistically to “Coon”, a highly offensive term with racist connotations.
Eastern narrative tradition reflected in storylines
Blade & Soul is an “over the top” Eastern Fantasy Martial Arts MMO, which they are aware of. They want to preserve that essence.
Differences in narrative tradition are significant. In Western fantasy, there is a clear depiction of good and evil. The good is chosen to defeat the evil and must save the world. In Wuxia narrative tradition, it is about avenging wrongs suffered. That is much more personal. The hero usually has something taken away from him and seeks revenge to repay it. It is somewhat reminiscent of Kill Bill or classic Kung Fu movies. A change in the MMORPG sector.
4 races and 6 classes: Assassin, Blademaster, Kung Fu Master, Destroyer, Summoner, Force Master. As is common in the West, not every race fits every class.
The character creation is also as one would expect. With choices, sliders, and a “Randomize” option that produces odd faces.
This is what happens when you hit randomize. Allegedly, the character creator also includes something like George Clooney.
The game will also be released in German
They will also translate Blade and Soul into German and French – and will also address cultural differences.
In the game, there will be a fully voice-over in cutscenes, a full dubbing of the cutscenes, to be heard in English, German, and French.
Some players would like to play it with Korean and Chinese voice packs. They plan to offer these as optional downloads. This is not yet certain.
The gameplay: walking on water and through the air
One of the strengths is the movement in the game – it should be typically “Eastern”. Players can glide through the air – almost like on a flying mount or as in ArcheAge with the glider – but entirely without aids, just thanks to their abilities. Players can also sprint on water.
There will be “Dragon Streams” found in the world, which are “Click A, arrive at B” travel routes that allow characters to jump and glide through the air in a martial arts fashion.
In combat, they are relying on a highly reactive system, within certain time windows, players must react.
There is no healer class; everyone has the responsibility to support others and take care of their own health. With an active combat style, they did not want a class that watches from the sidelines.
Those who die can attempt to crawl to safety and return to life through meditation. Defensive classes can assist with this.
Blade and Soul is expected to launch polished with many luxury features
Group search for instances runs via matchmaking (an LFG tool), taking all servers as a pool, so this should be relatively quick. These luxury options can be offered because the game is already mature and polished due to the long development time in Korea.
They want to start with a client that is up to date, but does not contain the entire story. In Korea, they have 6 “Acts” available, while in the West, they plan to start with 3 and deliver the rest later.
A lot of attention is being given to the possibility of continually upgrading one’s weapon. Players should be able to continue using a weapon from the beginning to the end if they wish and continuously upgrade it. The mechanics and prices for this will be adjusted based on player feedback. Weapons cannot break during the upgrade process.
Armor functions as a “Soul Shield”, the items are not visually represented on the avatar. That is handled by “costumes.” This also fits the Wuxia style, as one doesn’t necessarily show off their power outright.
For PvP, they have come up with something. They signal PvP activity by wearing a specific costume. This makes the opposing mobs clearly recognizable, resembling an army.
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Mein MMO states:The live stream was professional, entertaining, and amusing – featuring likable faces that appeared to be comfortable in front of the camera. Particularly amusing was how brand manager Juliane Harty embraced her Summoner role. Also, the “Hey, don’t diss me just because I’m British” moment is worth mentioning. The language was relatable to players with many film references and numerous MMORPG topics. One can clearly see the difference between NCSoft and a second-tier MMO publisher.
The English localization with the dubbing also seemed high quality, at least in the little that was shown. Given the negative reputation that Asia Free2Play games have here, it is certainly nice to see that a AAA publisher is stepping in and apparently giving the game high priority.
The impression was created: NCSoft West is aware of how unfortunate many things have gone in the past and that the game is arriving late, and they are trying to make up for it now.
Concerns plague the skeptical MMO fan until the exact details of the Free2Play model become clear. Here, the “weapon upgrade system” smells of a costly endeavor that flirts with player frustration and then invites them to the cash shop. But that is still speculation that arises from a “burned child dreads the fire” experience with previous Asia imports. Such “weapon upgrade” systems, as appealing as they may sound, are often a delicate matter.
League of Legends is known for causing some outbursts of anger. Often, this anger is unleashed in the chat, and other players are insulted and verbally abused. To encourage players who misbehave to change their behavior, Riot is now introducing a feedback system.
Behavior Confronted Head-On
The game developer assumes that players who are confronted with their bad behavior immediately after a game will change their attitude towards others. How will this work? In an initial test phase, European players will continue to report other players for negative behavior as usual. A few of these cases will be manually assessed, while others will be automatically evaluated. If successful, the feedback system will automatically identify abusive LoL players in the future and ban them for up to 2 weeks.
Your reports help the system understand the immediate feedback and punish the type of verbal harassment that the community actively rejects: homophobia, racism, sexism, death threats, and other forms of severe insults.
Rewards for Feedback
Players who consistently behave positively gain more trust from Riot. These players can also report teammates who are allegedly intentionally feeding the opposing team – a often subjective assessment. You can find all the changes in detail on the official League of Legends Blog .
Will Riot finally be able to gain control over the LoL community that is often labeled as “toxic” with this system?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Just a few days ago, a new video was released that introduces another hero from Blizzard’s team shooter Overwatch. This time, it focuses on the Japanese archer “Hanzo”, who not only provides his team with a tactical advantage but can also kill through walls.
Unlike most of his colleagues, Hanzo trusts not in modern guns, but is equipped with a traditional bow. Fired arrows have a curvy trajectory, so to hit a target far away, one must aim higher than usual.
With the push of a button, he can transform a regular arrow into a “Sonar Arrow“, which releases an energy wave, revealing enemies in the vicinity and making them visible through walls.
With his “Scatter Arrow“, he can neutralize multiple enemies at once, as it splits, ricochets off objects, and can injure several targets simultaneously.
His most impressive ability is, of course, the “Dragonstrike“: A massive dragon spirit is summoned, which slams through all obstacles in a straight line and devours the enemies it hits.
But enough of the written words, get a glimpse of Hanzo in action yourself.
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In the MMO shooter Destiny a new exotic helmet is making waves: Hunters are raving about Celestial Night Hawk, a true boss killer. Hunters become big game hunters with this.
On Friday, Xur had no new exotic items for sale, but he did have an exotic helmet engram. And the Guardians had collected and hoarded a lot of light particles in recent months to open engrams until the new exotics were released. Of the three new “House of Wolves” helmets available as rewards in the engram lottery, the Hunter version “Celestial Night Hawk” is getting the most attention.
Thanks to the perk “Big Game Hunter,” the Golden Gun, the super of the gunslinger, does six times the damage. As seen in this video.
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The shield goes down in one hit due to this massive damage. The Guardians rejoice: Who needs Gjallarhorn now? And they wonder what this thing can do to other bosses.
Poor Ir Yûts is almost killed with a single shot. No question, the helmet is causing a stir.
First combinations are opening up for Hunters in Destiny: Bad Karma or Titans
Hunters are already looking for ways to combine it. They’ve stumbled upon “Bad Karma” as a weapon that quickly replenishes the super. They already discovered Voidwalker back then, to benefit from Obsidian Mind, and Solar Singers also rely on them, to revive themselves particularly often.
Or they team up with Titans as sphere suppliers. It seems like Bungie has created a new problem with this weapon as well: now we need bosses that can stand up to this boss killer. Or put differently: new big game. By the way, there’s no need to worry for PvP, as the helmet is unsuitable for that.
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Celestial Night Hawk is just the first of a total of 9 new exotic armor pieces, where Guardians are discovering what possibilities they offer players. Surely clever players will also recognize enormous destructive potential in some other armor pieces.
With Celestial Night Hawk, it was probably just too big to overlook. The helmet is already considered by many to be the best exotic armor piece for Hunters.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Three weeks ago, we asked: Is 6.2 the last patch for Warlords of Draenor, is that it? Now Blizzard gives the answer: “No.” There is still a lot of story left to tell. This is revealed by lead designer Ion Hazzikostas in an interview with Polygon.
But work is already underway on the next expansion. A content gap like after “Mists of Pandaria” with 13 months should not occur again. They are striving for a good balance between the frequency of content patches and the next “big thing.”
In the SF-MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, a serious warning from Bioware has deterred most of the win traders in Season 5. Some bans likely played a role as well.
“These are not the droids you are looking for” – since this scene, we know that a true Jedi does not always resolve everything with the lightsaber; sometimes the right words are enough, especially when you have the Force on your side – and when those words are accompanied by bans.
The power to warn and ban lies with Bioware. They had issues in PvP: “win traders” and “ranked trolls” were causing trouble. There were numerous reports and complaints. Win traders exploit matchmaking to play against each other; the results are prearranged. “Trolls” intentionally play poorly or seek to cause their team’s defeat because they enjoy getting on others’ nerves. The troll is strong in them.
At the beginning of last week, warnings and bans were sent out. Now they say: The problem is under control. 90% of the issues have been resolved with the win traders. 50% of the “trolls” have stopped their behavior (and sometimes completely with SWTOR).
Since we started communicating about win-trading and the actions we were going to take, nearly 90% of the previous reports and related win-trading activity have stopped.
In addition, the majority of “trolls,” have stopped their behavior and over 50% of those players have ceased completely.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , there are increasing allegations that something is not right in the new PvP event Trials of Osiris.
Since the event “Trials of Osiris” started on Friday night, there have been at least a few reports from angry players who feel they have been defeated by “cheaters”. Players report, on one hand, about a run where every match goes fine until they play against supposedly weaker opponents who intentionally cause an extremely high ping and thus gain advantages.
On the other hand, and much more negatively: There seems to be a trick through which players can ensure that the opponents lose the match before it actually starts by not showing up: For the others, this counts as both a win and a loss. This can thwart the chances of reaching the Lighthouse on Mercury. And especially such losses, for which one has no control, weigh heavily. Even worse, some report that they continue to experience severe issues in Destiny after the match.
Destiny is vulnerable to such “tricks” or “cheats”. Players have known this since the Crota “pull the LAN cable” affair. It has also become known that players in the Crucible have managed to endlessly acquire heavy ammunition through manipulation and were banned for it. So-called lag switches have also appeared in Destiny and produced unbelievable outcomes.
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It is difficult to find exact evidence for these allegations. It is unclear if these are isolated incidents, if it is just coincidence, or if it can be deliberately induced. As the tension in the Trials of Osiris is so high, a single win or loss can make the difference between “goal achieved” and “that didn’t work out”; the situation is tense at the moment.
Bungie warns cheaters
Individual “disconnects” are sometimes blamed on the opposing team, claiming they “booted” someone, as it is said. The Olive error is making headlines here.
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If you get disconnected from the game, it apparently also bypasses the buff from Brother Vance – still counts as a loss and prevents the visit to the Lighthouse. This is only possible with a flawless 9-0 run.
Interestingly, there is a tweet from Bungie. It came on Saturday, a typically quiet day. In the tweet, it says, “Be nice in the Crucible. We see everything…”
Play nice in the Crucible. We are always watching…
One can probably interpret this as confirmation that not everything is above board in the Trials of Osiris. However, not every loss or technical issue can immediately be attributed to cheaters in Destiny. We will keep you updated should any new information arise. The situation is unfortunately always unclear in such cases, and until there is a “more concrete” statement from Bungie, one must view it with caution – but likely also with some suspicion.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
By the end of June, they plan to switch to a new shop model. The new one should be “cleaner”, with many “one-click is enough” offers and more payment options.
By the end of September, Turbine will move to new data centers. The European servers will go to Amsterdam. Turbine promises “upgraded hardware.”
Probably the biggest cut for many players will come with this. They will reveal details later, but it looks like they will open “new, larger servers” that players can then transfer to. The old worlds will no longer be accessible after a grace period. The transfer works directly through the launcher, not through the website. Clans can be transferred, taking over the achievements of the old guilds. After the new worlds are there, they will continue to run the “old worlds” for another 3 months. After the 3 months, characters can still be transferred, but players can no longer continue playing on the “old world”.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
