The bodyguards are undoubtedly one of the best innovations that have entered World of Warcraft with “Warlords of Draenor“. A handful of your followers can indeed be wonderfully abused as punching bags.
The different characters heal, tank, or even deal a lot of damage depending on who you call to your side using your barracks.
Faithful companions stand in your way
In addition to unlockable abilities, amusing quotes, and extraordinary mounts, the computer-controlled helpers have one particular characteristic: they can perfectly get in the way. No matter if you want to mine some ore, pick a flower, or loot a quest item: the faithful companions manage with near-perfect precision to position themselves in such a way that you can click on nothing except the companion itself. This problem will be a thing of the past with the next patch!
Honey, I Shrunk the Bodyguards
Thanks to the “Bodyguard Miniaturization Device”, which can be purchased for a mere 250 garrison resources, you will be able to shrink the companions for one hour each. From the dear Blood Elf, a handy Barbie doll will emerge, and from the big Saberon, a kitten for the handbag. While not the most elegant solution, it is definitely a funny one. The item will be available with the next major content patch 6.1, which will probably take a few more weeks to arrive.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Darion presents to you the fundamental pillars of MMO design, on which the entire concept of a game often rests. He identifies these in combat, progression, exploration, and story.
In the combat system, the goal is to establish the best possible balance. A popular way to achieve this is the Holy Trinity, which divides roles into tank, damage dealer, and healer. Essentially, MMO battles always focus on damage – the damage you deal and the damage you take.
Progression begins to diverge more here. There is leveling, which represents progress in character levels; a vertical progression. There is also horizontal progression, where it could involve expanding skills or a changed appearance of armor.
Exploration is pretty self-explanatory. You always offer the player new things to see and discover. Sandbox games particularly rely heavily on this factor to keep players engaged. And finally, there is the story. This encompasses all the narratives told in the game, whether through quest text, cutscenes, or player-driven stories.
But if every MMO is programmed according to this scheme, is innovation even possible?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Blizzard’s online card game Hearthstone , the reign of the Undertaker, the grave keeper, is over. He is being nerfed.
The Undertaker (the grave keeper) was a nasty 1/2 card for only 1 mana that grew by +1/+1 whenever its owner played a minion with Deathrattle. Why do we say “was”? Because the grave keeper is getting nerfed. He now only grows by one damage point; his health no longer increases.
The Undertaker was considered too strong because he could grow rapidly in corresponding Deathrattle decks in the early game and overwhelm the opponent. He was particularly popular among Hunters, Priests, and Warlocks. For his cost of 1 mana, he was simply too powerful. Now, while he is still expected to excel in a Deathrattle deck, he won’t be such a dominant little guy anymore.
Blizzard explains the nerf by stating that it has often been frustrating to play against the grave keeper. The golden version of the Undertaker can be disenchanted for its full dust cost for a limited time.
Undertaker was frustrating to play against. It often gained both Attack and Health stats significantly above those of other inexpensive minions very early in the game. With this change, we expect Undertaker will still be better than other 1-Mana minions when played in a deck with a Deathrattle theme, but more likely to die in combat against other minions.
The golden version of Undertaker can be disenchanted for its full cost for a limited time once this balance change goes live.
This nerf is set to take effect soon, likely to be active in Hearthstone by the time you read this.
The eSports site Daily Dot asked some of the leading Hearthstone players for their opinions. The general reaction is – cautiously speaking – rather positive. The article is titled “F**k Yeah”.
Serious concerns have arisen in the USA that AOL may be closing its gaming site Joystiq. Many leaders in the gaming industry are voicing their support for Joystiq.
The site Re/code reports that AOL intends to shut down its gaming site Joystiq as part of a “cleanup” effort, where they are distancing themselves from sites that fall short of expectations. Joystiq is associated with the MMO site massively, the WoW fansite “WoW Insider“, as well as the general gaming site Joystiq. It is still unclear how a closure of Joystiq would affect massively and WoW Insider. It seems quite likely that they would be shut down along with the “mother site”.
Joystiq published an article about the rumor. It is hard to say whether irony or resignation is present when a “source from within” reports that the employees are aware of the closure but have not been officially informed yet.
Meanwhile, a hashtag campaign is taking place on Twitter under #SaveJoystiq, featuring people like SOE President John Smedley (H1Z1, Everquest), YouTuber TotalBiscuit, or Trion Worlds CEO (ArcheAge, Rift) Scott Hartsman.
Competition or not, they do good work and enrich the industry with their presence and that’s far more important. #SaveJoystiq
The MMO shooter Destiny actually turned out to be the hoped-for system seller for the PlayStation 4 in 2014. In the release month of September, sales figures skyrocketed.
“System seller” – that’s something like Super Mario back then for the first Nintendo or the good Sonic for the Sega Mega Drive. Because despite all the technical innovations, it is the big icons and exclusive titles that ensure that gamers reach for new consoles.
Destiny was not an exclusive title for the PlayStation 4, but was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Sony’s marketing strategy, however, aimed to claim the game for itself and boost PS4 sales. So they offered attractive bundles at bargain prices.
And Bungie cooperated with Sony: There are Strikes, PvP maps, and exotic items that will be exclusive to PlayStation players for at least a year. PlayStation 3 players were also offered the opportunity to upgrade their Destiny to a PS4 version for free while keeping their Guardian. Of course, this also applied to Xbox 360 to Xbox One.
In the run-up to the release in September, analysts were concerned with the potential of Destiny to boost next-gen console sales. And the statistics say: Yup, it worked.
It wasn’t solely responsible, but it was largely thanks to the release of Destiny on September 9 that there was a threefold increase in PS4 console sales compared to the previous month, August. PS4 sales rose to 1.75 million units in September.
In October, there was again a dip before sales surged toward the end of the year, as expected. Additional hits like Call of Duty and GTA V hit the market. And thanks to tradition, for some, there was a new console under the Christmas tree. It’s a pity there were problems then – and no, we don’t mean the delayed Christmas presents …
Also exclusive … but not as coveted: The 4th Horseman.
According to vgChartz statistics, Destiny has sold 4.55 million copies on PlayStation 4. This makes it the fourth best-selling title of the year. We’ll surely learn about sales on Xbox One soon as well. Because even if Sony likes to see Destiny as an exclusive title, it should have contributed significantly to Xbox One sales as well.
To the article with the nice graphs and statistics go here.
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online will have a cash shop where players can purchase costumes, mounts, and pets for the premium currency Crowns. There will also be things like EXP bonuses.
The transition to a Buy2Play system for The Elder Scrolls Online will result in a cash shop being set up where players can buy items. During a large Q&A session on reddit, the question arose about what exactly will be included.
The Crown store will contain “Cosmetic and Convenience” items, as Creative Director Paul Sage stated in a response. What lies behind this? And what does the future hold for The Elder Scrolls Online, which will soon be called Tamriel Unlimited.
Cosmetic items and those that save time
Cosmetic items, as we have seen in nice screens from ESO Live, are armor, mounts, and pets that do not directly affect the player’s strength.
Convenience items refer to something else. They include items that significantly ease leveling or gathering certain points. According to Sage, these will likely be available in TESO. This removes “barriers,” which is something players want. It is by no means the case that players will receive the best items or become “stronger” than others through this store.
It will not allow people to get the best items or become more powerful in the game than another player could achieve. I will say openly that some people feel ‘time-saving’ items are buy-to-win such as being able to gain experience faster. But our perspective is that removing time barriers is something players want, without providing an unfair advantage in power.
An additional significant part of the cash shop will consist of game content such as new zones with new quests, items, and style books.
Further details about the cash shop and the plans for TESO
Moreover, there was a flood of additional insights from the large Q&A session on reddit that provide important information about the direction in which The Elder Scrolls Online should develop.
In summary:
The Dark Brotherhood or the Thieves Guild can be expected as DLC.
Prices for DLC will be oriented towards standard prices.
Items available in the cash shop will not become rarer in the “normal world” due to this.
The same applies to EXP, which should not be artificially reduced so that the EXP bonus for premium players is stronger.
The planned DLC, Orsinium, will primarily cater to solo players.
The planned battlefields (ESO style) are still in an early phase.
The new DLC should not be typically “level-bound”. Players should “scale up” to it. This will allow lower-level players to play together with higher-level players. The times when levels determined who could experience game content are over, according to Paul Sage.
Among the costumes in the DLC store, there should be the skins of some of the most popular armors in the game that can then be used as costumes without actually owning the armor.
New zones with their quests, items, and style books are typical content for paid DLCs; system changes, new talents, or balance changes are rather content for free updates. But it is actually still too early for such statements.
The digital Imperial Edition should also be available for purchase in the Crown store. Players who don’t need anything else can then spend the crowns they receive monthly through ESO Plus.
The three most important questions regarding DLC and the cash shop, and thus the future of The Elder Scrolls Online
How “strong” will these so-called convenience items be?
Convenience Items: This is a term that every developer loves to use. The same argument that Paul Sage used here was also brought up by Trion Worlds CEO Scott Hartsman regarding the cash shop of ArcheAge: Then friends can play together, even if one has more time than the other. In practice, it looked a bit different. However, this does not mean that this will be the case in TESO.
Under Paul Sage’s wording could fall not only EXP potions, but also “good starter items” or “decent endgame items,” all of which already exist in the cash shops of other MMORPGs that fall under convenience.
How will this work with content without level restrictions?
This is an interesting concept about which we currently know nothing, but it will surely have a huge influence on the development of The Elder Scrolls Online. “Scaling,” “mentor” – some games experiment with this. Are there also dangers that progress may become meaningless, whether you really feel the many hours in the Champion system… There are also positive sides; some consider a level system to be outdated and atavistic. But one should only sniff around the soup when it is on the table.
What is DLC, what is an update?
And this is the third major question: Will the Imperial City in Cyrodiil be paid or free? Is the spellweaving something for everyone or only for paying players? How do the priorities or the fans’ relationship with the game shift here? Some see Buy2Play very positively: They have to put in effort and deliver to earn money. There are negative voices and dangers with such a transition: “Well, they’ve already got the main part of my money, of course they’re not going to do as much anymore” or: “As a free-to-play player, you have the short end of the stick.”
Mein MMO says: It was a gigantic Q&A session on reddit with numerous answers. We have already created three articles from it.
The conclusion is likely: Even with so many answers, many questions remain open. Things will once again change in TESO. At the Guild Summit a quarter ago, there was already such a huge influx of information. Now, at the end of January with “Tamriel Unlimied,” the second one has come to us. It will be seen how everything will work in practice. There are many plans and ideas – just like last time – but little concrete information, not many data.
In contrast to other developers, Zenimax plays with an open hand and often talks about things that will come in months, maybe even years (they have even hinted at housing), which creates a strange phenomenon: There is always a TESO that you would rather play than the current one: the TESO of tomorrow.
Whereas this might not apply to everyone with the switch to a Buy2Play model.
To our report on the intricacies of the console port click here; with the future of The Elder Scrolls Online and the potential content drought until the release for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in June, we discuss in this article.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Guild Wars 2, the developers continue to discuss Heart of Thorns. This time, it’s about the PvE content in the endgame.
After the announcement in Texas on a big stage, smaller discussion rounds with the developers from ArenaNet followed. At Polygon, they chatted about the schedule, discussing massively about the masteries, and at the MMO specialists from mmorpg.com, the topic is now the PvE endgame.
And – if we didn’t know better – one could think that ArenaNet co-founder Mike O’Brien and game director Colin Johanson were talking about raids or at least the GW2 version of it.
But at ArenaNet, they do not use the R-word. At least they repeatedly talk about “challenging content for groups.“
With Heart of Thorns, PvE is supposed to become more challenging
Challenging content for groups has been something that has painfully been lacking in Guild Wars 2, according to Mike O’Brien. So far, ArenaNet has primarily had to develop content that players could solve immediately and without prerequisites. This was also due to the fact that they could not assume a proper development of the characters. The mechanics were missing. It was “everyone equal,” so to speak.
We release content all the time, but honestly, most of it is not very, very difficult challenges for groups. And when you think about it, I think you’ll realize that’s because it’s hard for us to be able to release content that’s so difficult that most players can’t solve it right away.
However, they know that Guild Wars 2 must become more difficult and much more challenging for groups. And in the end, there must be an “ultimate challenge” that motivates groups to reach it.
Heart of Thorns was developed with the idea of eliminating the equality of characters and making these more difficult challenges possible. The masteries are intended to differentiate characters from one another.
Guild Wars 2 Receives Endgame Progression with Heart of Thorns
Now they will be able to develop content for which players must first complete the “masteries,” Mike O’Brien continued: “Anyone who has not mastered the jungle and has not developed their character will not be able to complete this content.”
That’s actually a lot of the genesis of Heart of Thorns: being able to put in these endgame character progression systems so that we can release content in the jungle that requires you to have played all of the jungle to build up the abilities you need to solve that content. If you haven’t played the jungle and you haven’t built up your character, you’re not going to beat that content.
Through Heart of Thorns, they will be able to further develop the world and bring increasingly difficult challenges up to “ultimate challenges.” They want to give Guild Wars 2 an “endgame progression.”
Not only heroes, but guild halls should also be able to grow in GW2
The idea of this “progression,” this constant advancement, should also be reflected in the guild hall. Guilds will be able to continuously expand their halls, just as players will do with their heroes through the masteries.
We’re looking at fundamental progression throughout the game, and that includes guild progression. Your guild hall is your home for your guild progression. You will not just own a guild hall, you will build and progress your guild hall and your guild.
Pre-Cursors and the new sub-classes
There was also more information about crafting and the pre-cursors. These are the exotic weapons from which legendary weapons can be crafted. The pre-cursors will be awarded as a type of reward with Heart of Thorns. Players will have to embark on a quest journey through the world to complete collections, it is said.
These quest journeys will need to be unlocked through mastery points. The collections are account-wide. For each of the pre-cursors, players can start such a “journey” on their account. They will not only lead them into the new zones but also into the old world. Regarding the new “sub-classes”, the specializations, there was also new information. Anyone who is a druid can continue to play as a ranger. This would essentially mean changing some talents again. So every druid can continue to play as a ranger, but not every ranger can play as a druid; for that, they first need the appropriate masteries.
It seems that the masteries are the key to important changes in Guild Wars 2. At the moment, it still sounds a bit abstract; more information on the individual features is expected in the coming weeks.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
There is news about the Necrochasm in Destiny, the ultra-rare exotic auto rifle from Crota. It is supposed to be extremely rare, but has nothing to do with any shaders or tricks.
The “Krux of Crota,” which is needed to craft the exotic “Necrochasm” from the legendary auto rifle “Eidolon Ally” is incredibly rare. At least until now. Only one confirmed drop is known.
That’s why there’s an immense amount of attention and numerous mysteries surrounding it. Many doubted the first video and the drop of the Necrochasm because such a rare drop doesn’t fit the previous patterns of Destiny. Leading up to it, there were numerous theories that one had to do something very “special” with Crota, kill all adds repeatedly or defeat him with certain weapons. Some even said it was not a drop at all, but that you had to dismantle something for the Krux of Crota.
Even in our first report, we thought: There must be something behind this. Did he get it on his second kill with a character in the ID – out of the ordinary? Some even suspected he deleted a character and then killed Crota with a new Guardian to get 4 times the chance for loot. But there’s nothing to that.
Just damn rare
Now the YouTubers from ProNDC have sat down again and talked to the only (at least the only known) owner of the Necrochasm to clarify:
The Krux of Crota was a perfectly normal drop. It was even first noticed in the inventory because many other small items were dropping.
The Guardian got the Krux of Crota at the same time as the shader Glüü-Hüü. So it doesn’t have to be equipped or anything.
It was his third kill of Crota that week on the account. But his first with this character. So it was not a “drop out of the ordinary.”
The specialty of the weapon: It does not need to be leveled up first. The Eidolon Ally simply becomes exotic.
The only really strange thing about it at the moment is that it is so damn rare.
Today the second ID of Crota’s End is open and we’ll see if there’s any change in the drop rate. Whether there’s any hidden trigger for “With each kill the chance increases by x percent”. Many wish for such a trigger, as they consider Destiny’s loot system too arbitrary and indifferent, and would be pleased if performance and effort, not just luck, were in the foreground.
Update 14:30: That seems to be the case. Reports are now increasing, 4 hours after the start of the new ID, that players have received the Crux of Crota and thus the Necrochasm.
Update 20:00: Here is now a clear video showing exactly how this happens. The “creation” of the Necrochasm, so to speak. In this video, a player upgrades his Eidolon Ally to the Necrochasm on camera and then runs around a bit:
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In the MMO shooter Destiny, there is a very special Nightfall strike during the week of January 27: The Nightfall goes against Omnigul, with all three burns active. But not everyone will be pleased.
The weekly Nightfall strike leads this week into the “Will of Crota.” Only players with the DLC “Darkness Awaits” can partake or be tormented by it.
This week, the extremely rare “Triple-Burn” is active. This means that every elemental weapon, whether Arc, Solar, or Void, deals significantly increased damage. This also applies to enemies.
In the first week after release, the “Will of Crota” was already a Nightfall strike in Destiny. This immediately caused frustration because players without the DLC couldn’t participate in either the Nightfall or the Weekly Heroic that week. By now, the strike has come around for a third time in two months.
The modifiers for the Nightfall this week of January 27.
The modifiers for the Nightfall in Destiny are:
Nightfall – After a wipe, it goes back to orbit and the strike starts over. This is likely to happen more often this week.
Epic – This modifier makes enemies tougher, nastier, and meaner. They basically took some evening courses in the “How to Kill Guardians?” school.
Solar Burn – Solar damage significantly increased. This applies to both Guardians and enemies.
Arc Burn – Arc damage significantly increased.
Void Burn – Void damage significantly increased. Yup, this is a so-called Triple-Burn.
The heroic Weekly in Destiny has the modifiers Heroic and Solar Burn active.
The recommended arsenal
The “Triple-Burn” has only appeared once so far. That was in the week starting October 7. This is the exact opposite of the tough “No-Burn” weeks that have happened twice so far.
Loadout tips are difficult this week. Any weapon in Destiny that deals elemental damage is a killer. It is certainly recommended to have an Icebreaker – in the Nightfall, anything with range is already good, although in the special slot, there are many competitors with the LDR 5001, Black Spindle or a well-rolled Efrideet’s Spear.
An elemental machine gun? Thunderlord perhaps, Ir Yût’s Song? Some brutal gear combo. Many will certainly try one of the new elemental primary weapons from Crota for the first time, how about the new auto rifle Abyss Defiant? Or would you rather go for the Fatebringer?
We will see what the Guardians come up with in the videos we post later. We may be even more excited than usual. A triple burn invites creativity; one should definitely be prepared to deal with the respective shields of the enemies.
It is an exceptional situation.
Tips and tricks for the weekly Nightfall strike “Will of Crota”
The Will of Crota is already an unusual, still relatively young strike, where Guardians are refining their tactics. Now with Triple Burn, players will need to be careful as every elemental damage hits really hard.
The general tip that always applies is: Play very cautiously. This week it is probably only possible in a team. The Will of Crota is relatively long, and a mistake at the end could be extremely frustrating.
In any case, no one can complain this week that they are dealing too little damage in Destiny. For some, this will also be a really fun week; it’s at least something different.
Throughout the day, we will search for and post videos with guides, walkthroughs, or just particularly beautiful runs of Guardians in the Nightfall. These can serve as a guide or inspiration for you.
If you’ve developed real hatred towards Omnigul and her screams, you will enjoy this video. It shows how many shots from the Gjallarhorn she can endure when Solar Burn is active. Fun fact: Omnigul’s screams do not come from Yoko Ono (as some joke), but from the same professional voice actress who also lent her voice to the insane Eris Morn.
http://youtu.be/LqMgAF0CI4I
A duo takes on Omnigul in this video. A German-speaking YouTuber explains slowly through the entire strike, step by step, with a “safe spot” for Omnigul … well, more like a suicide spot, but at least it makes it foolproof. The prerequisite for this, however, is that there are at least two players. The loadout is quite solar-heavy with Black Spindle and Gjallarhorn.
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And those who really want to go solo will find a guide here with notes on the key scenes (although even the YouTuber calls for backup halfway through). Solo, the Will of Crota, the Nightfall in Destiny, is simply really tricky this week.
http://youtu.be/yHF9LzcBZ5Q
And for those who want to really take it on solo, here is a guide with notes on the key scenes (though the YouTuber calls for backup halfway through). Solo, the Will of Crota, the Nightfall in Destiny, is simply really tricky this week.
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It’s official now. After the terrible duckface wave has invaded the real world, it will now also strike the virtual worlds. The first stop will likely be Azeroth in World of Warcraft, as the upcoming Patch 6.1 will introduce a new item via follower missions: the “S.E.L.F.I.E.-Camera.”
The name says it all, as the item allows you to closely examine your character’s face, freely adjust the angle, and then hit the shutter at the right moment to create the most appealing image. Don’t worry, you won’t have to type emotes while in camera perspective; your character automatically makes faces, and the interface will be hidden. Afterwards, the image will be saved as a screenshot in the associated folder of your WoW directory.
If that’s not enough, you can still upgrade your camera! Through another follower mission, the portrait tool can be enhanced with additional filters, giving you more customization options without having to rely on Photoshop.
This new feature could become particularly interesting with the Twitter connection that you will soon be able to make in World of Warcraft. To what extent this will be possible, and whether you can directly upload images with it, remains to be seen, as it is currently not available on the test server. As soon as it becomes possible, we will of course keep you updated – if the tweet flood from your friends hasn’t taken care of that yet.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Blizzard’s online card game Hearthstone , there’s a new trend: Similar to chess puzzles, players are now supposed to figure out if they can see the decisive move in a certain situation.
Newspapers often have chess problems alongside crosswords and sudokus on their puzzle pages. Usually, it’s about how many moves it takes to win from a given position. Someone has put in the effort to create and present such a scenario in Hearthstone.
The situation is tricky. The priest has stolen some cards from the opposing druid. The druid is only at 6 HP, and the priest has a 6/6 minion ready to attack on the field, but the druid has two hefty taunts … hmmm! Can you find the right card sequence for “checkmate in one move?”
The Korean MMO specialist NCSoft has a new president at the helm, and she seems to be setting her sights on the West. This could have implications for NCSoft’s Western games such as Guild Wars 2 or WildStar – and affect the chances of potential Asia imports like Blade and Soul.
As reported by koreatimes and the Asia-MMO site mmoculture, there is a leadership change at the Korean publisher NCSoft (Guild Wars 2, WildStar, Blade and Soul, Lineage).
The new president is Yoon Song-yee (40), who was previously vice president of NCSoft and is said to have been responsible for the successful launch of strategically important titles in Europe and the USA, including Guild Wars. Now she is also expected to focus on the West and advance NCSoft’s “globalization strategy.”
Her promotion is seen as a sign that NCSoft will place greater emphasis on the West.
Hm … what could this mean for WildStar?
Wonder Child, Wife of the Founder, Inspiration for a TV Series
According to reports, she was a kind of wonder child, graduated from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and also met her husband there, NCSoft founder and current CEO, Kim Taek-jin. Later, she earned her PhD from MIT in the USA with a degree in artificial intelligence.
Her story is so extraordinary that she serves as an inspiration for the South Korean television series “Kaist” (which is the abbreviation of the university she also attended).
With WildStar and Guild Wars 2, NCSoft has several irons in the fire in the West. In 2015, fans are certainly most eagerly awaiting the port of Blade and Soul. Chances for this may have been further enhanced by this news.
The Fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online is set to release Update 6 on the public test server tomorrow, Tuesday, January 27.
The update is expected to be 14 GB in size, which will be played on the test server tomorrow. And for those who are wondering what on earth they are bringing? A whole lot. The patch notes will be released tomorrow, but as a rough guideline:
The Justice System, which gives TESO the “murder and robbery” component that so many are longing for
The new Champion System, which is supposed to completely change endgame progression
The maintenance work for the public test server is scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM German time. It is expected to take several hours, as the patch is indeed that huge.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A noteworthy fan trailer has been released for Destiny, cutting promotional material this time with current gameplay from Crota’s End.
There is something about the world of Destiny that inspires such excellent fan art. Whether people stand and pull one of the iconic weapons from the 3D printer or recreate it from Lego, whether one of the biggest comic stars online engages with the backstory of the Traveler, or someone comes up with the crazy idea to fire exotic weapons in such a way that a cool sound is produced: it is always truly remarkable what Destiny’s story and aesthetics provoke in the minds of creatives.
We have already featured several fan trailers: some were hilarious (like the 8-pixel version), others clever (the mashup with Guardians of the Galaxy), and some were a bit mean, but quite accurate (the Honest Trailer).
This time a YouTuber seems to have been inspired by the last EVE trailer that was so well received. Amidst the bombastic story of Destiny, players now find space for their joyful feelings and cheers when they take down Crota.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In World of Tanks, the Winter Showdown, the pixel tank event, has begun. Until February 9, tankers can try their luck in 8-bit.
Starting today, Monday, January 26, Wargaming’s World of Tanks is embracing Pixel Season.
The event “The Winter Showdown” puts tankers in the cockpit of 8-bit versions of the vehicles T110E5, AMX 50 Foch (155), and LTTB. The game is played on a special map.
The three tanks each take on a different role. The T110E5 is considered a mammoth, as a heavy tank. The polar bear is a tank destroyer (LTTB), a ranged fighter, and the arctic fox (AMX 50 Foch) is a nimble, light tank.
The event lasts until February 9 at 6:10 AM. A battle is expected to last about 7 minutes. For all the rewards and special features, you can read about it on the official page.
Definitely an unusual idea, it will be interesting to see how the players receive it. This evening, January 26, from 11:00 PM to midnight, there will be a presentation and Q&A about the event on the Wargaming Twitch channel.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Developers of the zombie MMO H1Z1 provided some insights in an interview about why the loot system is so damn difficult to balance and what the next steps in the development of the game will be.
The US site mmorpg.com found two of the minds behind H1Z1 in Texas for an interview: Adam Clegg and Jimmy Whisenhunt.
The loot system considers many factors, which is why so much can go wrong
First, it was about the loot. The journalist remarked that it shouldn’t be so hard to get more loot into the world.
However, it is really challenging, it turned out. The loot system in H1Z1 consists of a whole series of interlocking systems. Containers (such as cabinets, trunks, lockers, or desks) generate loot depending on how many players are on the server, how many are nearby, how quickly they die, and how good their gear is. Thus, 200 newcomers need very different gear and loot than 200 veterans.
The loot system of H1Z1 is designed to adapt to players and their needs. All these triggers, conditions, and probabilities caused recurring issues in the early phase of the game: At first, there was no loot in the containers, then there was some, but it disappeared if not picked up quickly, and then everything was okay, but it didn’t work when too many players were near the container.
In doing so, they always wanted to avoid giving players “too much” loot: That would ruin the survival aspect of H1Z1.
H1Z1 is gaining traction
Otherwise, the team of H1Z1 seems to be in good spirits. Jimmy Whisenhunt reported that he has never been approached about a game he was working on as often in his career.
Even people who don’t like the zombie genre approach him about it.
At Pax South, H1Z1 seems to be a big topic. It appears that they have a game with significant hit potential in the making. At SOE, they believe this is due to the cross-genre nature of the game. The journalist from mmorpg.com cites the surprising accessibility of H1Z1 as a reason for its popularity.
These are the next steps
As the next step, H1Z1 plans to introduce a so-called “roadmap”, a structure that will allow the community to influence the development of the game.
On the technical side, it’s currently about finding solutions for handling many players, especially when wanting to grow the world as intended. Here, the strategy has also changed: One must respond to the many players. Their sheer number is probably the main source of current issues.
Furthermore, there are big plans for the game. For instance, they can envision that at some point every abandoned vehicle not only serves as decoration or loot but can also be repaired and made drivable . However, they will be cautious about this: The last thing one wants in a survival game is for everyone to be sitting in cars.
In Guild Wars 2, the expansion Heart of Thorns does not squeeze players into the new area, Heart of Maguuma, as is common in other games, but instead allows them to return to the “old” world.
At massively, they discussed the “Masteries,” the new way to further develop a character after level 80.
These “Mastery Points” will NOT only be able to be acquired in the new area “Heart of Maguuma,” but they are supposed to be distributed throughout the entire world of Guild Wars 2.
You need to do “really hard things that you have never done before” on your account, said ArenaNet co-founder Mike O’Brien.
“The way that you earn mastery points is, I think, a very Guild Wars 2 way to earn mastery points: You do really really hard things that you on your account have never done before.”
The expansion pack should not leave the old zones deserted
Guild Wars 2 is simply different, and if they had presented a typical expansion pack, O’Brien continued, the fans would probably have stormed the stage.
While a “typical” expansion pack raises the level cap, devalues old content, and sends all players to the new areas, it looks different in Guild Wars 2. And that is exactly the plan.
“We are evolving the world and have purposely chosen a strategy that does not turn the old zones into empty wastelands,” said O’Brien.
The developers also did not want to let go of further details from massively. There is a small glimmer of hope for members of smaller guilds who were afraid that the “Guild Halls” would remain out of reach. As Game Director Colin Johanson says: “It is important for us that every guild knows how important they are to our world. We will ensure that every guild feels treated with respect.”
Additionally, it is clear: We have now presented the main features of the expansion. There will be no more surprises from us, such as introducing features that affect crafting non-legendary items.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMO shooter Planetside 2 was on a record hunt: They wanted to snatch the record for the most players involved in a battle in a first-person shooter. They have achieved it, but are still waiting for confirmation from the Guinness World Records.
With 999 players in an FPS battle, the record from 2012 stood, as reported by Polygon. This record was set in the browser game Man vs. Machine. And they aimed to take this record with Planetside 2.
Apparently, it was successful. With 1,158 players in a first-person shooter, this would likely be a record that lasts for a while. You have the recap from the Planetside 2 Twitch channel for you:
However, it must be said that 1,158 players is “only” the record for an FPS game. As Polygon notes, an MMO like EVE reaches different dimensions in this regard. In a space battle there, 7,500 players were involved. And as an MMORPG player, you already feel like you’re in an overcrowded elevator with 80 players in Alterac Valley.
Update 4:00 PM:It is now official. Planetside 2 holds the world record for “Largest online first-person shooter battle.” Here is the official page about it. Congratulations, PS2 and all involved!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny, a player has finally found the Crux of Crota and thus the Necrochasm. And the exotic weapon is indeed as special as thought.
It has been a long journey that came to an end on Sunday. For about two months, Guardians have been longing to finally get their hands on the “Necrochasm”, the latest and probably rarest exotic weapon in Destiny. Back then, Bungie had already teased us with a trailer.
The path to the exotic auto rifle Necrochasm is arduous …
To obtain the Necrochasm, Guardians first need the “Mantle of the Pit“, a white auto rifle. It then must be treated with care, players need to ingratiate themselves with Eris Morn and achieve rank 3 there. Then the white auto rifle will become a legendary auto rifle, the Eidolon Ally. Many have made it this far. This was where the road ended for a long time.
Only at Crota himself and in “Hard Mode” should the “Crux of Crota” drop, the crucial part that would turn the Eidolon Ally into the Necrochasm.
Guardians speculated if there was some trick involved. The prophet (in this case Bungie’s Community Manager) was asked, but after a brief consultation with the developers, he said: Nope, everything is fine. It’s in the loot table. No bug, everything fits. But no one wanted to believe him.
Yesterday, a video circulated on US sites and YouTube that apparently showed a tester who had simply “conjured” the weapon. He certainly hadn’t stepped into the end of Crota, let alone caused it.
This is the intermediate stage
German Warlock finds Crux of Crota, German YouTube channel reports first
But today is the day, today the first Necrochasm has actually appeared – or at least the first we know of. And the finder is a German. The YouTube channel ProNDC was alerted by a fan and provided with a screen. They made a video about it, and the Necrochasm went on a world tour. In 4 hours, the video was viewed over 7000 times, English YouTubers replicated it, it landed on Reddit, and now the English-speaking Destiny fan sites are also reporting on it.
First somewhat skeptical, but then increasingly confident, the Guardians accepted: The Necrochasm does exist. It is just damn rare.
It is also not entirely clear whether the German Warlock oSkyallo is the first finder of the Necrochasm, but whatever, he is the first one we know for sure.
And here is the thing.
These are the features of the Necrochasm
As befits an exotic weapon for which you must defeat the final boss of a raid, the Necrochasm has some unique features:
It starts fully upgraded: When the Eidolon Ally is upgraded to it, it simply takes on its properties.
The Necrochasm reaches a maximum damage value of 339 – that’s 8 points more than the “normal cap” of 331, which all other new exotic and legendary weapons reach – except for one special case, the last raid exotic, the Vex Mythoclast. That one also falls outside the damage frame.
The Guardian oSkyallo did nothing exciting to obtain the weapon. He “only” completed the hard raid 4 times across his 3 characters. The second time, as he told the YouTubers from ProNDC, it is said to have dropped. Currently, it is speculated that the Crux of Crota also drops if the Guardian has already killed Crota (HC) this week, as it is outside the normal loot table. But that is not yet certain.
It was previously suspected that the Crux of Crota could NOT drop at the same time as the shader Glüh-Hüü, which every Guardian receives on the first kill of Crota in hard mode. Therefore, Guardians probably have to kill Crota at least twice to have a chance at the Crux. Now, however, it’s said by the lucky finders that there is also a chance for the Crux of Crota to drop simultaneously with the shader Glüh-Hüü. In any case, the Crux of Crota seems to have a tiny drop probability. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so much fuss about it. If there are more drops from Tuesday, the 2nd checkpoint, we will know that there is a connection.
The weapon deals Arc damage.
When defeating “normal” foes with a headshot (precision shot), they explode like servant burst.
And here is the video with the first gameplay scenes in Destiny for the Necrochasm from the German YouTubers from ProNDC, who – as fate would have it – are also friends of our site:
The MMORPG Everquest Next is supposed to be created not only by the developers of SOE but also by the players.
It seems to be the trend of the hour in MMOs. Although MMOs are late to the game. Because it is actually the hallmark of Internet 2.0, in which we have all been living for 10 years or longer: “User-generated Content.”
Everyone is an artist; anyone can upload a video, paint a picture, write a text, and then others, the neighbors, friends and colleagues, strangers, enemies, and competitors, mom, dad, and the attractive dream girl can see it, talk about it, share it, like it, ignore it, or criticize it. And maybe even buy it.
The line between consumer and producer is blurring.
Everyone can upload a Youtube video; why shouldn’t that also work with an MMO adventure?
The provider, the industry, is leaning back. They have created the environment, set the parameters, and now watch how the surroundings develop. This can be quite exciting. While any consumer can be creative, not everyone wants to be, and of those who do, not everyone has the talent.
Players create the content themselves. Sometimes there are true masterpieces among them.
The more popular ones stand out, the less popular ones fade back and disappear. The provider only creates the environment, sets the parameters in which the users move, and no longer intervenes in the process.
This is known as user-generated content. This is, for example, the principle behind Youtube.
And isn’t it, from a gaming studio’s perspective, a fantastic idea for an MMO as well? You give the players the tools to invent their own stories and adventures, sell these to other players, and after creating the tools, you do not have to contribute anything to this game content anymore?
The delicate seedling of sandbox
With the tools from Landmark, you can unleash your creativity. In the open world.
In classic “theme park” MMOs, that would be unthinkable. A player cannot create anything in World of Warcraft that others could enjoy. Sure, with their own corpse and those of their friends, they can leave a mysterious message, but that’s about it.
In modern games like WildStar, there are at least attempts: Come by and see how I have set up my house. I have selected from a thousand items and built my own villa. For this, I have combined all the options I had in a unique way.
Niche games like Star Trek Online or Neverwinter even allow players to design their own missions, often with only relatively crude, primitive tools and within narrow confines. The idea has not really taken off in MMOs yet.
SOE is already profiting from the idea in another context
At the forefront of this development is Sony Online Entertainment, SOE, who have been at it for quite a while. In Planetside 2, players can design their own cosmetic items and skins. These designs go into a player shop and other players can buy them for real money.
SOE takes a cut and gives the creators 40%. The system has proven to be lucrative and gave SOE Studio a breakthrough idea: Apparently, players know best what other players want. Why not take advantage of that talent?
Everquest Next is to be collaboratively designed by players and developers
With Everquest Next, they are taking a step further and allowing players not only to design cosmetic items for the shop but parts of the world as well. Currently, not just parts of the Everquest Next world but also from other scenarios that could work in this engine: It doesn’t always have to be fantasy; with the tools, a space opera would also be possible.
Not only fantasy or a space opera would be possible, but also the Wild West.
In an interview with VentureBeat , Dave Georgeson, one of the minds behind Everquest Next, explains the idea. It began, long before thinking of Landmark, with the fact that they relied on voxels in EQNext, so the world would be changeable and destructible. With this idea, they wanted to usher in a new era of MMOs.
Then someone threw out the idea: “Wouldn’t it be great if we gave the players the tools two months before the release of Everquest Next, with which we are also creating the game?” Then they could already build their own guild halls in advance, before EQN appears.
The motto of Everquest Next: Everything we can do; the players should be able to do as well
Quickly, this developed further: Why wait so long? Now they wanted to give all Everquest Next players almost simultaneously the same tools they would use to create the world. SOE believes, according to Gregson, that it is better for a game to be developed by developers and players rather than just the studio alone. They even made it their motto: “Everything we can do; the players should also be able to do.”
From this point on, “Landmark” took shape, the sister project of Everquest Next, in which players would receive the same tools as the developers.
Landmark: Still soulless in the sandbox
At the moment, in the closed beta of Landmark, there are still some tools missing for players to breathe life into the world. So far, players have primarily built in Landmark with voxels. And they dug with their shovel voxel away. Currently, it seems as if players were just creating sites without the stories and people that would give them life. But that is supposed to change soon when players also receive the “Gamemaster Tools.”
When that happens, we will slowly see if the future of MMOs really lies in user-generated content. At the moment, these are ambitious theories that need to be put to the test in practice.
An interesting side aspect crystallizes from this trend also in offline games: This kind of “user-generated” content is increasingly serving as a recruitment tool for software studios. Why shouldn’t a person, who can create better stories, more fantastic buildings, and more exciting adventures than the developers themselves with the developers’ tools, be hired? Some talented modders or level designers are now on the payroll of companies.
Perhaps some developer is currently working to make himself unemployed, or at least drawing in talented competition.
[intense_blockquote color=”#f0f0f0″] Further articles on the topic:
Further articles on the topic: