At Carbine, developer Kristen “Caydiem” DeMeza has now published another developer blog about WildStar, where she shares a bit about her work and explains what players can look forward to in the “veteran shiphand missions.”
These will be introduced with the next major content patch on the planet Nexus and are meant to bring more variety to players at level cap. We have summarized the key points for you.
Solo or Trio: Challenging, but never truly difficult
The shiphand missions are still meant to be doable solo, including the veteran mode at level 50. However, players will be given the opportunity to group up and experience the mini-instances together, which is why all enemies will scale with the group size – once a tank or healer is in the group, it probably will become quite easy.
Although there will be some new tasks, so veterans can still expect a few innovations, fundamentally the missions will not differ from the “normal” ones during the leveling phase.
We have used the veteran mode to give all missions a little more “punch.” We also took the opportunity to expand the story of some missions… and added a little surprise here and there.
Rewards: Glory, Decorations, and Mounts
Those who complete the “new” missions will be primarily rewarded with glory – and that is a novelty, as this currency was previously only for group play. Players can exchange these glory points with the respective vendors in Thayd or Illium for entry-level gear, which should still be helpful in the first veteran adventures. However, those who do not need it can trade glory for other items, such as new colors, decorations, or even mounts. Speaking of which: All shiphand missions will now have a timer, and those who manage to secure the gold rank will receive additional rewards, including decorations and exclusive mounts, which should be very rare.
If you dislike long walks, you can breathe easy, as these mini-instances can now also be entered via the group finder, whether alone, with friends, or with strangers; everything can be conveniently set through the menu.
In Destiny, Xur, Agent of the Nine, had the Icebreaker last weekend. And that cost a lot of money. Additionally, we get to see the world’s first kill of Crota in Hard Mode.
The Weekly Update from Bungie is here and provides new numbers.
Last weekend, Xur had the exotic sniper rifle Icebreaker available, and his window display was more lucrative than it had been in a long time. The Obsidian Mind sparked small Void-related joy among Warlocks, and the Glasshouse was offered to Titans for the first time. But of course, it was the Icebreaker, that sought-after weapon in Destiny, that particularly stimulated the players’ desire to purchase. They really dug deep into their pockets and laid down 19,436,440 Strange Coins just for the Icebreaker!
According to Bungie, this corresponds to 2,159,604 heroic Weekly Strikes on the highest difficulty level. 1,143,320 Icebreakers have been circulating in the game since then. Xur can buy a lot of cat food for his tadpole babies on Jupiter. Or whatever those guys eat!
Today, on Friday, January 23rd, Xur will visit the Tower again. We will report whether he can increase his record earnings once again. We know what weapon would do that for him, but we have heard that speaking its name brings bad luck. And if anyone believes in such rituals, then it’s us.
Over half a million Hard Raids have already started
The other impressive figures from Bungie this week all relate to the Hard Raid that started on Wednesday evening. 24 hours later, 3,344,124 Guardians had participated in 557,354 Raids against the hard mode version of Crota. This is double the number of those who ventured to take down Atheon back then. The race for the First Kill was achieved by the clan “One and Done” in an incredible 27 minutes. It is a lesser-known clan that is not very active on social media and also refrained from streaming to not reveal their tactics.
They deny accusations that they might have cheated. “We are lactose intolerant, we don’t like cheese.” In the Weekly Update, the Kill video for the World-First Crota in Hard Mode was posted as proof of their impeccable performance. Judge for yourself whether everything went right.
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More about the MMO shooter from Bungie, which we only refer to as a Buy2Play MMO shooter, and which could also be described as an instanced coop online multiplayer loot shooter or “Shared World Shooter” or “Björn”, can be found on our fully packed Destiny theme page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Zombie MMO H1Z1 is in Early Access and has some bugs. Is the game worth it anyway? At least if you want to have fun.
A viral video is currently making the rounds in H1Z1. But it’s not a danger to life and limb. While the eponymous H1Z1 virus turns its victims into ravenous zombies, the video aims more at the funny bone.
YouTuber STAR_, who usually resides in the shooter Team Fortress II, summarizes in just over 6 minutes the quirks and oddities that players are currently encountering in H1Z1, true to the old question: “Is this a bug or is this a feature?”
But it’s not just the bugs and glitches that amuse players; the interactions between the “survivors” also provide moments of tension and comedy. Admittedly, while the game still feels quite rough at the moment, the video hints at why it has such overwhelming success on Steam.
And always remember: It’s Early Access… it’s supposed to be like this.
Next weekend, PAX South will take place, and ArenaNet has let a few cats out of the bag – or rather, opened the bag. Most people are sure: On January 24th, the developers will announce the long-awaited addon for Guild Wars 2 .
Low Price and Double XP
Anyone who has hesitated to purchase the MMO should rethink their decision. From Saturday to Monday, GuildWars 2 will cost only €9.99, provided you buy it through the official website. Additionally, there will be double experience points all weekend in Tyria – so this is the perfect time to jump into the game or finally level that one annoying twink you could never motivate yourself to play.
A Major Announcement?
The signs of an upcoming GW2 addon are becoming more and more apparent:
Why else would one say from the outset that it will be a “big show” without revealing concrete details?
What else could have prompted the developers to temporarily reduce the price of the game by 75%?
In a few days, we will have the answer, and all signs clearly point to the announcement of the first expansion. Those who want to be part of the big presentation live just need to tune into the stream at www.twitch.tv/guildwars2 – it starts on Saturday at 5 PM.
All of Tyria is talking only about January 24th. Everyone is sure: A new expansion will be announced.
In the god MMO “Skyforge,” the Gunner is a very rugged choice and doesn’t exactly look divine. He is a real weapon enthusiast and could have come straight out of an 80s action movie.
This week we presented the planned combat system at Skyforge in detail. The Allods team said that they want to have a flow in combat in Skyforge; individual attacks should be chained together to form real combos like in Street Fighter or similar games.
The “Gunner” is a good example for such a combo model: Even though he is a ranged fighter, he first fires wildly from his mini-cannon, doing it with so much verve that it overheats. “NP!”, he thinks, “I’ll turn it into a plasma launcher!” With the plasma launcher, he dissipates the built-up heat. And when he’s done with that, he switches to the third mode and transforms the device into a stationary mortar. But: “Why stop there?” A flamethrower is still in there, and he can also call in an orbital strike.
Well, he’s not just a simple foot soldier, but a guy with divine destructive power. And his weapon sounds a bit like the one Gary Oldman is trying to sell to the warrior aliens in “The Fifth Element.”
Gameplay-wise, the Gunner will take on a typical ranged DPS role among Skyforge classes with the self-buff and destructive abilities that come with it. He definitely has the arsenal.
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In World of Warcraft, a player has now claimed the title of “the craziest power-leveler” of all time. He has leveled 100 characters to the maximum level of 100.
World-First-Level-10,000. A player has now achieved leveling 100 characters to the maximum level of 100. It sounds completely logical as he explains it. At one point he realized he already had 20 level 90s and then thought: Well, 80 others won’t make much of a difference. This was sometime at the end of Mists of Pandaria, the last expansion.
At that time, there wasn’t much pressure for these “additional 80 level 90s”, so he chose a mix of dungeons and some farming methods through cross-realm leveling.
When Warlords of Draenor came, things got serious. The player hadn’t played the beta and therefore didn’t have a “perfect match plan.” He actually intended to reach a “certain gold goal” in World of Warcraft (but doesn’t say what exactly that was). He abandoned that gold goal when he realized that someone else might beat him to it. And then there were only three things for him: level, level, level.
Does he have a bird? No … DOES he have a bird?
This is how much time was spent in the standard plan for each WoD zone
The plan then took shape during the leveling phase, which he meticulously scheduled. In the end, the following time (including travel time) was allocated to each zone in the “perfect leveling plan”:
Frostfire Ridge – 1 hour, 6 minutes
Shadowmoon Valley – 44 minutes
Gorgrond – 42 minutes
Talador – 40 minutes
Spires of Arak – 39 minutes
Nagrand – 30 minutes
A variety of methods used
However, pure questing was not the only method he used to level in World of Warcraft; he also took advantage of the Garrison and the follower missions, where there are certain, rare missions, seven in total, that also grant the hero EXP. To enjoy this special experience, he logged in with his 100 chars more often to see in which garrison these special missions were available. The simple process of logging in took about two hours.
However, he is not sure how the experience through the followers worked: He says much more research is needed to determine when the missions return and what exactly triggers them. However, he believes that it is possible to get a character from 90 to 100 with only 30 minutes /played – it would just take months.
… and actually he doesn’t like leveling at all
However, he is very satisfied with the quest design in Warlords of Draenor. This allowed him to save himself the hassle of questing through all the zones and focus more on his favorite activities: Especially bonus missions that give a lot of EXP, or treasure hunting.
Of course, he didn’t level every char to 100 in one go (such craziness he would never do), but he took breaks with each char, especially when something new happened in the garrison, also to regenerate the rested bonus.
At the end of his post in the official forum, he explained: “Actually, I don’t really like leveling, but I love big projects.”
In the zombie MMO H1Z1, the “Hunger Games”-like battle royale mode has only been in development since just before Christmas, but that shouldn’t scare anyone: The guy who is responsible for it has already implemented it in DayZ and Arma 3. If everything goes perfectly, it should bring the mod to eSports.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Brendan Greene, better known as “PlayerUnknown,” talks about his baby, the battle royale mode. He initially designed it for DayZ, later for Arma 3, and now the mode is supposed to become one of the central aspects of SOE’s survival MMO “H1Z1”.
The mode is a kind of ruthless elimination tournament with a constantly shrinking map. And everywhere the mod has run so far, it has enjoyed infectious popularity.
We Should Talk
Greene explains in the interview that he followed the development of H1Z1 and then heard in a stream how SOE’s head John Smedley said something like, “I really like this battle royale mode. What the guys are doing there pleases me!” Greene felt a bit flattered. The next day, in the following stream, it was again about him and how much these battle royale events would fit H1Z1.
The next day, Greene received a message: “We should talk. I am John Smedley, the president of SOE.”
This was still before Christmas and since then Greene has been working to transfer the battle royale mode from Arma 3 to H1Z1: “I probably don’t need to say that the last month has been quite stressful.”
At the moment, they have an “early access” version that one can live (and die) with, but the goals are bigger.
Seeing eSports potential – a mix of shooter and poker game
For Greene, who has been fine-tuning and working on the mode for a year and a half, the battle royale mode is an ideal format for players for whom the typical professional eSports scene is a bit too reflex-heavy. For him, the battle royale mode has a lot of a poker game: When you sit at the final table and there are only nine left and then one goes out… that is the moment when the adrenaline starts to flow.
Unlike a shooter, his mode is not just about quick reflexes, but also about strategic skill. Moreover, the map is huge, and that constantly challenges even the professional players.
The Hunger Games scenario in XXL at H1Z1
Greene can easily imagine bringing the mode to greater heights and holding huge tournaments. The elimination mode in such a tournament couldn’t be clearer: Those who die are out. Those who stay alive are still in.
The battle royale mode works pretty much the same as in the “Hunger Games”: A map that becomes smaller with time. Limited murder tools and resources: And “there can be only one.” Compared to Arma 3, they now have a toxic fog wall that ensures the battlefield gets narrower, making the confrontation between players increasingly likely.
Next, they plan a hardcore mode with zombies that can only be stopped with headshots.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, a new shader called “Glowhoo” was introduced yesterday with the raid “Crota’s End” in hard mode. The shader “Glowhoo” looks a bit like chocolate mint or After Eight.
The loot table for the hard mode of Crota’s End is already relatively clear.
Only the “Crux of Crota”, the item needed for upgrading the “Eidolon Allies” to Necrochasm is still missing. The four primary weapons have already been found, and the new raid shader “Glowhoo” is also already in the hands of players.
In a YouTube video, you can see how the hard mode shader “Glowhoo” looks on Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans in full raid gear. It’s like a “fashion show.”
The special thing about this shader: It really “glows” in the dark, in a kind of fluorescent seaweed green.
Right after the closed beta weekend, a fresh trailer for the upcoming action title “Evolve” has been released. The video, which is nearly 7 minutes long, covers the entire game.
Both the four different hunter classes are briefly explained, as well as each of the monsters included in the base game. Additionally, one learns a lot about the upcoming game modes and boasts over “800,000 possible combinations” concerning the gameplay.
As someone who has already extensively experienced the beta, I can sincerely say that the trailer in no way overpromises – no match is like another, and it will likely take weeks and months to master the game, whether as a monster or a hunter team.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Details about the new 24-man raid at Blade & Soul have surfaced. The final boss is a powerful turtle and supposedly has 30 phases.
Blade and Soul will step into unfamiliar territory with the new 24-man raid , as reported by the Asia site mmoculture. This raid is said to be scalable for the first time and provide a challenge even for just 6 players. However, the loot that drops will be weaker.
The game mechanics and raid design probably dictate that players clear enemies in a kind of “arena battle” until a “meter” is filled and then the boss appears.
The “final boss” could probably be described as a kind of “ghost turtle”. Allegedly, it has 30 phases in which it assaults the players with various spells, summons adds, and sometimes even mini-bosses. Sounds like a real challenge. It will be interesting to see how it actually turns out.
In the zombie MMO H1Z1, the European servers are now here, and they have quirky names.
Finding 200 names for servers within a few days is not that easy. For such things, the community is often involved in the zombie MMO H1Z1. They proposed all sorts of names, and SOE selected from them. The now chosen server names range from “Amsterdam” to “Zaragoza.” However, this does not specify the server location (coincidentally, Amsterdam does), but these are just names.
Thus, there will also be EU PvP servers (which is the norm) and PvE servers (no combat between players possible). In addition, there are hardcore servers with permadeath, where zombies can only be killed by headshots, and first-person perspective is always used. Then there are hardcore servers only for PvE players (headshots, permadeath, first-person perspective) and servers where everything is “normal”, but only allow first-person perspective.
Permadeath means in the world of H1Z1: When the player dies, they lose all learned recipes, and containers assigned to them become freely accessible to everyone.
The servers named after German cities, terms, or regions
Berlin (Hardcore Server)
Black Forest (Hardcore) – Schwarzwald, ha, we requested that in an article
Bremen (Hardcore PvE)
Cologne (Carebear PvE) – Köln
Dortmund (normal)
Duisburg (Hardcore)
Düsseldorf (normal)
Essen (normal)
Frankfurt (normal)
Götterdämmerung (normal) – Wagner
Hamburg (normal)
Hannover (normal)
Heisenberg (normal) – not the meth cook, the physicist
Munich (normal) – München
Scharnhorst (normal) – a Prussian general and a district of Dortmund
Schwerer Gustav (Hardcore) – a railway gun in World War II
Stuttgart (normal)
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny, the new exotic weapon, the Necrochasm, is currently not in the game.
While Crota kills in hard mode of Destiny are still quite rare, there have been a few. However, there hasn’t been a confirmed drop of the “Crux of Crota” yet. This item is supposed to allow crafting the Necrochasm from the Shroud of the Pit/the Eidolon Ally: An exotic auto rifle that fires incredibly fast.
At the moment, it seems that this drop is either not possible at all, really, really rare, or that certain conditions are tied to the drop.
The most likely option is probably “The drop is not possible yet”.
The “Husk of the Pit” (Shroud of the Pit) was only unlocked with another patch that came out of the ordinary. Perhaps it will be the same with the Necrochasm, that it will be added to the game later.
Currently, as is often the case, there are already some rumors circulating. Some suspect that you have to defeat hard mode Crota in Destiny while using the fully upgraded Eidolon Ally or at least having it in your inventory.
http://youtu.be/9dfiTYb3fdk
Update 23.1. 2:20: A somewhat nebulous update. Bungie has officially commented on the Crux of Crota. Community Manager DeeJ has asked the developers. And received confirmation: The Crux of Crota is in the loot table. And will drop. He is following up to confirm. As of now, not a single drop of the Crux of Crota and thus the Necrochasm has been confirmed.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Publisher Ubisoft releases the Extreme Car Pack, the first DLC for the “Racing MMO” The Crew, and simultaneously makes the Extreme Live Update available for all players for free.
The Extreme Car Pack is the first of four DLCs for The Crew and is available for download at €6.99. It includes three new cars: the Aston Martin V12 Zagato, the 2013 SRT Viper GTS, and the Abarth 500. Additionally, there are new tuning kits available in the in-game shop that allow you to change wheels, paint, and interiors as part of customization options.
The Extreme Live Update offers all players four new missions for free: Either you compete in a high-speed race along the Colorado Rivers in Vertigo, climb to the top of a mountain in roller coaster mode, or prove your ice skillz on icy roads. In Hurricane, you can drive full throttle through a construction site filled with jumps. With all these new features, I almost forgot to mention the new animal and nature design stickers for your cars.
In the new trailer, you can check out the content update nicely showcased. Perhaps you’ll then see why the operators call everything “extreme.”
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Anyone who did not receive an invitation to the Closed Beta of Blizzard’s MOBA Heroes of the Storm can now directly purchase access with a founder’s pack. This includes heroes, skins, and a sack full of gold.
Who doesn’t know it? You sign up as the first of all for the beta phase of a new game and, of course, receive no key. Blizzard now offers the opportunity to purchase a founder’s pack for Heroes of the Storm. For €34.99, you can secure the pack and thus access to the Closed Beta. Additionally included are the three heroes Raynor, Diablo, and Tyrande, as well as three skins (Commander Raynor, Diablo as Lord of Depths, and Blood Elf Tyrande).
On top of that, there is a starting capital of 2500 gold, with which you can unlock additional heroes or items. Speaking of gold: The golden Cyberwolf as an epic mount is also included in the founder’s pack.
Heroes of the Storm will launch as a free-to-play title after the beta phase. To ensure a stable and safe beta phase, the founder’s packs are therefore only available in limited quantities. From Blizzard, it is stated:
The founder’s pack will become a full version of Heroes of the Storm. Only a limited number of founder’s packs will be sold. Please note that the sale of the founder’s packs may be temporarily suspended to provide a safe testing environment for the game.
Conclusion: Some sell their souls to the devil, and others buy a founder’s pack from Blizzard. I actually think it’s good. Unfortunately, I always belong to the unlucky ones who never receive a beta key for any game. Now I have the opportunity to sneak into the game beforehand and also receive some extras. I think that there is no kindness on the part of Blizzard hidden behind this, but rather a concept – whether for extended monetarization or for strengthening customer loyalty (through early investment in a new game). Still, the decision is ultimately up to everyone themselves.
Sure, the patient among us can wait for the open beta or have already enjoyed the alpha phase. I, however, have not. How do you actually find the trend with founder’s packs that guarantee advantages such as direct access to the beta phases?
As an extra goodie for everyone, the founder’s pack comes with a trailer in typical Blizzard fashion. The trailer humorously explains the founder’s pack.
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In Destiny, the hard mode started around 19:00. By 19:50, the race for the first kill was already over. There he lay.
This is what the new shader, which can be obtained from Crota, is supposed to look like. Nickname: After-Eight.
Yes, it is getting faster in Destiny. It took around 50 minutes, then Crota was defeated in the hard mode of Crota’s End. His new level and the resulting damage advantage did not help him.
The new champions of the “World-First-Belt” are, as it currently looks, the players of tripleWreckTV. They replace InvigorateGaming, who had claimed the title of “World First” the last few times.
The last World-First for the “normal kill” of Crota came after six hours. This one after 50 minutes.
The final fight against Crota plays out somewhat differently than in normal mode.
There is no “Chalice” and no cups, and some adds spawn more. For the sword bearer, according to reddit from the Crota killers, not much has changed. For the other five in the team, though, the fight has become significantly more stressful. Now they kite the Gatekeepers and do not kill them anymore. Additionally, there are considerably more “yellow” mobs than before – and the enrage timer is either tight or directly tied to a health value, which is still uncertain.
Are they too tough or is he too weak?
The speed of the World First is impressively high. This raises the suspicion that the raid in Destiny would be “too easy.”
Here, difficulties in balancing become apparent: If you keep hardcore players in the starting blocks for 6 weeks, let them refine the tactics further, and then scale the raid only relatively linearly, it will quickly be over.
Furthermore, raiding in Destiny differs significantly from classic MMO raids: A days-long rehearsal of specific tactics is not feasible. There is also no “real” progression within the raid, that you need gear from boss A to defeat boss B, in Destiny.
We will bring further updates about the story as it develops. The kill by tripleWreckTV seems secure. Now it’s just a matter of whether maybe another fire team that hasn’t streamed themselves was faster but is now silent.
According to the first reports, the upgrade material for the Necrochasm has supposedly NOT dropped. It seems not to be a “guaranteed” drop, but rather like the Vex Mythoclast, a drop probability in the game.
Legendary weapons are definitely already dropping at least two before Crota.
Update 20:50: Oh, there was actually another group faster. According to Bungie, the folks from “One and Done” are the champions (with a guest player):
Bungie User Research has confirmed the World First finishers for the Hard Mode version of Crota’s End. One and Done. pic.twitter.com/jRxFsUcPxN
The kill by tripleWreckTV has also been confirmed. It just wasn’t the first. Whether everything happened without any glitches or shortcuts being used is currently a topic of discussion. If no one streams it, it cannot be verified. And the raids in Destiny have been known since release for having “shortcuts” or being prone to tricks that significantly simplified the raid.
According to data from DestinyTracker, “One and Done” completed the raid in 27:50 minutes, while tripleWreckTV needed 39:07 minutes for their kill.
Small Guide: And here is the tactic for Crota Hard Mode in Destiny
Update 1:50: Here are two videos demonstrating a tactic that is currently considered relatively good. The tactic is based on defeating Crota in just two sword phases, keeping the fight under 4 minutes and saving a lot of hassle.
The tactic focuses mainly on staying in the middle, ignoring the Boomers, and providing the sword bearer with a Titan bubble. On reddit, they are quite excited about this.
This is the kill from the sword bearer’s perspective:
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This time we probably don’t need to talk long about the topic of the week, as a game has secured the top spot all by itself. Of course, we are talking about Evolve, which even before its release revealed its plans for future DLCs and their pricing. For many aspiring players and pre-order customers, this is a slap in the face for several reasons…
“Full-price title” for 100€
There were several reasons to be upset about Evolve. On the one hand, the game already costs 50€, but those who want to “invest in the future” should immediately buy the package for a mere 90€, which includes additional monsters and hunters, as well as exclusive skins.
Unfortunately, those who had already decided to pre-order and did not do so directly on Steam cannot simply “upgrade” to the 90€ version, but will probably be forced to buy the other contents individually. One already expresses trust in a product from the outset and then is left empty-handed.
“We’re just making the game, we’re not selling it”
[pullquote]Ripping off remains ripping off[/pullquote]
Don’t developers notice when they build a game in such a modular way that content can be “pushed out” almost monthly? This reasoning alone justifies relatively little for me personally. Ultimately, as a consumer, I don’t care who is responsible for the additional, absolutely overpriced content. Whether it’s TurtleRock or 2K, ripping off remains ripping off.
“You will never be excluded because you don’t own a DLC”
I can only smile sarcastically at the second big statement. It is true that one can play with players who have purchased new characters, but that is not supposed to diminish the fun? Even during the beta last weekend, it became clear that certain hunter combinations are significantly more successful against a specific monster than others. I can already see the first matches in front of me, where you get kicked from the lobby because you haven’t bought “DLC-Hunter 17”.
I could absolutely understand the prices for new characters (15€ per monster, 7.50€ for a hunter) if the game were free to play and had to sustain itself that way. But selling a brand new game for 50€ and then introducing “microtransactions” that absolutely do not deserve the name due to their pricing is nothing short of a ruthless insult.
The timing
Probably, the whole act wouldn’t have been met with such terrible feedback if they had just held back with this announcement until after the release. Then they could have said: “Hey, we would like to keep the game alive, but we need the money. Therefore, the new content will cost something again.” Together with a reduction in DLC prices, I would have gladly swallowed that lie. This way… they have left many people in a mess.
If the alpha and beta weekends hadn’t given me so much fun, I would probably drop this game.
However, since the game is still one of my favorites for the year based on what is included in the “normal” version, I will probably continue to play it. Whether I will have paid another 100€ for any DLCs in a year, I dare to doubt.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny the start of the Hard Mode of Crota’s End will be launched this evening. We will accompany the event.
This evening from 19:00 our time it might be happening. However, the exact time is unknown: The Hard Mode of the raid “Darkness Lies Ahead”, Crota’s End, is supposed to open this evening.
Bungie is clever. They do not just make the raid trivially easy to access, but open it manually and create a small event around it, so that players wait for the start signal like runners in a race.
When does the Hard Mode of Crota’s End start?
Some groups and Guardians are already in position and want to be the first to face Crota’s enhanced forces and him. The exact start time is still unknown. It should be announced “from 19:00”.
In approximately one hour, we will begin the process of activating Hard Mode for Crota’s End. Are you ready?
It really seems like it will start on time. Remember to log out!
In ten minutes, we’ll start clicking buttons to activate Hard Mode for Crota’s End. Sign out of Destiny and await updates to begin the race. — Bungie (@Bungie) January 21, 2015
Ehm… does that mean: It’s starting? (Oh right, they have begun “clicking the important buttons” to start the raid. Well played, well played!
19:10: Now the hunt for Crota’s scalp should officially be opened.
What can the Guardians expect in Crota’s End?
It is not yet clear what the Guardians can expect in the Hard Mode of Crota’s End. Whether Bungie only increased the light level (from 30-32, to about 33-35 or 32-34) or if there are more surprises waiting for the Guardians. A mere increase of the light level would already make the raid considerably harder, as Guardians would then inflict only a percentage of the current damage. The loot is already known: 4 primary weapons, the Necrochasm, a special shader, and a spaceship, and probably also the “normal loot“, but one cannot be completely sure, maybe the guys from Luke Smith have come up with something new.
Live streams for the Hard Mode of Crota’s End
We at mein-mmo.de will monitor and accompany the start of the Hard Mode and will look for a German stream where you feel like you’re sitting “in the front row”.
At the moment, teams are getting ready to rock the raid “Crota’s End”. Many will have already run through the normal raid in preparation and are now taking a little “bio break.”
If successful (so not during the bio break, but during the raid) the evening could turn out to be a lucrative undertaking. Bungie has promised fame and fortune to the first Guardians to defeat Crota. Well, actually just fame.
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Here is our little “Aha-this-is-happening” ticker for the raid
19:15: The first mobs start at level 33. That looks like 33-34-35. That means
A level-32 Guardian does only 68% damage to the 33 mobs.
To the 34 mobs, they only do 58% damage
And to the 35 mobs (Crota), they do only 48% damage … half
A light-level-31 Guardian will not deal any damage to Crota at all. And … apparently, respawning is disabled throughout the entire raid.
Update: Ah, apparently it’s not 33-34-35, but level 33 for all… so it might not be that tough, at least not towards the end.
19:30: Oh, it looks like there might be (at least one) primary weapon already before Crota. In German, it’s called “Erlass der Überseele”, that’s the pulse rifle. It dropped to a Guardian right after the lamp phase both in the stream at PRONDC and also with this guy here:
19:35: According to Bungie’s tweet, the first teams are already at Crota.
19:40: Yup, it seems that “Erlass der Überseele” (Oversoul Edict) is a confirmed drop for the lamp encounter.
19:55: The first kill of Crota’s End (Hard Mode) is probably already completed. The first reports mention about 50 minutes. Invigorate was not it; they are still fighting. Bungie is currently looking into the action; it definitely ended extremely quickly.
20:00: It’s said to be TripleWreckTV. The kill was shown on a stream and seems to have been the fastest among the current streamers. Now it’s about whether someone who wasn’t streaming was faster.
20:30: So – the whole raid maximum level is 33. Legendary primary weapons are NOT just from Crota, but there seems to be a chance for one after each section. Pulse rifle after the lamps, auto rifle after the bridge, scout rifle after Ir Yût, and the hand cannon with Crota himself. Nothing has been heard about the Crux of Crota (the Necrochasm thing). The new shader is said to be great. Here we’re struggling with the Crota-First: Destiny: That was quick – Hard Crota softened after about 50 minutes (World-First)
20:50: According to Bungie, the World-First kills are confirmed. However, it wasn’t tripleWreckTV, but “One and Done” who were even a bit faster.
21:20: The loot is apparently not as logical as we thought earlier. Now there are conflicting reports. The lamp drop is the pulse rifle, the bridge drops the pulse rifle and the auto rifle. Ir Yût drops nothing, and Crota then drops hand cannon and scout rifle.
21:30: By the way, it’s said that the Red Death will make a comeback – as a health regenerating weapon. Bad news for the Red Death: Suros Regime will also be used, and armor that regenerates health when orbs are collected will perform well.
22:15 Here is the new shader Glowhooo in a video. The shader can only be obtained from Crota. Code word: After-Eight.
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01:55: Many EU players have now headed to bed. In the USA and other parts of the world, things are just getting started. The general consensus so far: Up to Crota, it works, then it doesn’t anymore. Only a few have defeated Crota in Hard Mode. However, a tactic has now emerged that should make the kill significantly easier. We will introduce it to you at the end of this article.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online will indeed switch its payment model. It will adopt a Buy2Play model. It will be available on consoles XBox One and Playstation 4 on July 9.
This is a bombshell. The fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online is actually changing its payment model, but it will not be, as some speculated, a Free2Play game; instead, it is switching to Buy2Play.
This means: Players will have to buy the base game to play it, but will not have to maintain a monthly subscription (like with World of Warcraft). However, money will probably be required to unlock content that comes with later content updates (the major patches). Everything that has been released in TESO until the switch will be available to everyone.
The Elder Scrolls Online will continue to offer a “Premium Membership” called TESO Plus. Those who engage in this will receive a fixed amount (1500) of the new in-game premium currency “Crown” every month. With these crowns, players can purchase and download additional content. It is likely that these crowns will also be available for purchase “without a subscription.”
With these crowns, new game content (DLC) can be purchased as well as some cosmetic items like companions or services. However, the game should also be well playable without crowns and a subscription.
During an active “TESO Plus” membership, players will have access to all DLCs and receive a 10% bonus on experience, gold, and crafting materials. On March 17, the switch to the payment model will occur for PC players. The Elder Scrolls Online is set to come to consoles XBox One and Playstation 4 on June 9.
As part of this change, The Elder Scrolls Online will also take on a new name. From now on, it will be known as “The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited.”
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Players on Xbox One or Playstation 4 will need an Xbox Live Gold or Playstation Plus membership to play TESO. Pre-order customers who have already secured TESO for the consoles will now receive a TESO Unlimited variant. Existing subscriptions or game cards will be converted into the corresponding duration of the “Premium Membership.” As a welcome post, everyone starts with 500 crowns.
My MMO says: Yeah, this is probably the “The Secret World” way. The base game is free. To further ensure financing, additional new content (DLC) will likely be placed behind a paywall. Currently, there are no details on what will be DLC and what will not. However, it is assured that the game will also receive non-paid updates.
One actually expected such a change, as an “subscription model” would have been very hard to sell on consoles. Therefore, the “Free2Play” rumors that have circulated for a long time are definitely unfounded. This is a completely different model.
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Yesterday, the closed beta for the Free2Play shooter PlanetSide 2 started on PlayStation 4. The Executive Producer Clint Worley answered some questions about the upcoming test run. For example, he revealed that players cannot enter the entire game world.
PlanetSide 2 Registration on PlayStation 4
Since the beginning of December, players have been able to register for the started beta and hope for their luck. Contrary to expectations, premium members of the PC version did not receive any advantage in the allocation of slots. However, those who missed the registration should not despair, as spots can still be snagged.
Release version is expected to be relatively bug-free
At the start of the beta, mmorpg.com interviewed Executive Director Clint Worley. He stated that not every feature of PlanetSide 2 will be unlocked for the beta on PlayStation 4. Initially, only two continents will be available. However, console players can look forward to a new tutorial map, which is expected to guarantee a more effective learning curve. Worley also said that great emphasis is being placed on eliminating various bugs. In the end, the console version should be released as error-free as possible.
Players should be pleased that the developers of PlanetSide 2 are extensively hunting for bugs in the closed beta, and we can expect a largely error-free release version throughout the year.
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Every week, extraordinary performances take place in the MMO shooter Destiny in the Crucible. Some of the best can be seen here.
These highlights and YouTube clips of Destiny are sought after and evoke reactions like “Pah! That was just luck!”, “Oh God! Is he good!” or “Nothing special! I can do better!”. While montages sometimes give the impression that anyone can pick 3 good minutes from 40 hours, it is much harder with individual plays or an entire match.
The five most spectacular plays in the Crucible from this week can be seen in this video by Destiny Tracker.
http://youtu.be/p9YouJcNiDU The actual highlight that we want to draw your eyes and ears to, however, is not found in these plays. Rather, it is a video of a Japanese player who is out and about with the Fatebringer and the shotgun Secret Handshake in the Iron Banner . Japan has been given a localization by Bungie that gives the whole game a different flair, don’t you think?
At reddit they are already asking how to get the Japanese Lord Shaxx to their homes… and of course, with which controller the guy is out and about? Perhaps, like for so many other games, it simply follows the rule: Skill Level – Asian.
http://youtu.be/cRRz9id5MKE
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
