ArcheAge promises improvement for 2015

The sandbox MMO ArcheAge aims to change quite a bit and improve many aspects in 2015: more transparency, a more stable economy, and more content.

The sandbox MMO ArcheAge has had a terrible image problem since early November. At that time, Auroria failed. Players had worked for 6 weeks towards the opening of this island. At the launch in the USA, half of the players could not log in. This can only be described as a “disaster.”

Even before and after that, there were serious problems in the game, which meant that the initial rush to the Free2Play game turned out to be a flash in the pan. By the end of the year, ArcheAge faced a lot of mockery and ridicule, but above all anger. However, there are also players who were unaffected by all this and continue to have a lot of fun in the game. The general mood among former players is, however, poor, at least for those who are heard from.

ArcheAge-Beautiful View

In 2015, a new breeze is supposed to sweep through ArcheAge. A new producer, Merv Lee Kwai, addresses the community in a letter and announces the following changes:

  • More transparency – From now on, players should be better informed about what Trion Worlds plans and what is currently happening. Streams, social networks, and the forum will be used for this purpose. Players should know what Trion Worlds is planning for the future of ArcheAge.
  • Easier access to dungeons – This has already been addressed in a patch, which is now live, where players should have easier (and cheaper) access to the instances.
  • More stable economy – Recently, some items in the auction house have become far too expensive, especially related to regrade materials or Archeum crystals. They want to counteract this, not like before with the lightning trees, but in a much more controlled manner. Therefore, they are now starting to introduce certain items into the game via “Divine Gifts.”
  • Desired items as loyalty rewards – Trion Worlds has decided to grant desirable cosmetic items (so-called vanity items) through loyalty points, with the sloth glider initiating this program.
  • No power to hackers – They want to crack down harder on cheats and hacks in 2015 than ever before.
  • General improvements – Trion Worlds wants to introduce a better spam filter in ArcheAge, listen more to the fans, and therefore also lift the glider and mount “normalization,” so faster mounts are really faster. Events like a PvP arena or a fishing tournament are also supposed to be introduced. Additionally, they want to set a limit on how many scaffolds a player can place.
  • New challenges – Furthermore, the next content expansion is soon to come, the Diamond Shore, level 55, and new challenges in instances.
ArcheAge-Village2

Mein MMO says: Better late than never, of course. The limit on how many scaffolds a player can place … that would have made a significant difference back in October and sent a clear signal. Now it’s the end of January, and it will still take a while for this to be implemented. For many who were upset over the significant issue of “land grabbing and reselling at high prices” through unscrupulous methods, the clock has long run out. The sense of justice of many players has been damaged in recent months in ArcheAge, and this is something they can only slowly and with difficulty forgive.

A Free2Play game with the potential of ArcheAge will hopefully and likely continue to attract new players who want to give the game a chance. But until the worst anger dies down and the damage to its image is repaired, it will likely take some time. And Trion Worlds will need to show that they want to and can deliver.

At least in this producer letter, there were open words and it was clearly stated that changes need to be made and will be made. The last statements from Trion Worlds, even in December, sounded more like: “You are exaggerating, everything is fine here.”

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. ArcheAge

Destiny: Xur, Agent of the Nine, offer and position on January 23rd.

Xur is visiting the MMO Destiny on Friday, January 23. What exotic weapons and armor does he have this time? And which items will you be able to upgrade with him?

Xur is rich. Last weekend in Destiny, he earned over 19 million strange coins. It’s about time for a “My Crib” video, where he dances through his villa on Jupiter and shows off his bling-bling.

Xur is powerful. What he sells, people have, and what he doesn’t sell is coveted. This is shown by all surveys and statistics among players. The Gjallarhorn and Thunderlord are now among the most sought-after weapons: The Gjallarhorn (the “G” is silent) was available only in the second week, while the Thunderlord has not been available yet. The Icebreaker, which he had with him last week, is now over a million times more common in the world of Destiny. These are dimensions that have an impact on daily life. Xur is the Warlord of Destiny.

Xur is being imitated. The fake account we told you about last week, which claims to be an important Bungie employee (though no one knows him), has once again heavily criticized Xur this week and even held a kind of press conference (an AMA on reddit): Gjallarhorn is supposed to drop in the next 4 weeks!

So writes a super-serious website that sees the fake account as an absolutely reliable info source for Destiny. This site also reports on four-headed dragon babies in India, the perfect way to lose 70 kilos fast, and Elvis sightings. Oh yes, and in the week when Xur had the Icebreaker, their big Destiny story was: “Bungie has permanently removed the Icebreaker from Xur’s inventory.” Coolio.

Destiny-Xur

Everything about Xur, the Agent of the Nine, on January 23, 24, and 25 in Destiny

When does the black market trader Xur come to the Tower and when does he leave again?

Xur arrives on January 23 at 10:00 AM German time in the Tower and leaves again on Sunday, January 25, at 10:00 AM

Where is Xur? What is his position, his location?

Xur is located with the Vanguard’s armor masters. Here in a video from our homies at ziro.tv you can see his location.
http://youtu.be/8p-ZkciD7sQ

What is the deal with the numbers on the exotic armors?

In Destiny, exotic armors always have the same properties, but different values in Strength, Discipline, and Intellect. This means that two “Sunbreakers” may be identical in build but can have different values in Intellect. The higher this value is, the better. This is referred to as a “roll”, and this value is rolled. You can find more about this topic in this article.

What armor does Xur have this week for Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans? And what exotic weapon?

Xur is selling this week for 17 strange coins the exotic sniper rifle “No Land Beyond” (Kein Land Ausserhalb). The weapon has managed to perform poorly in both the PvP and PvE rankings, even though some do quite well with it. Xur last had it on offer 4 weeks ago.

Destiny-Kein-Land-Ausserhalb-231

For Warlocks, he is once again selling the exotic DLC chest Starfire Protocol. He had it a couple of weeks ago and the week before that. This week it has 128/137 Intellect. The chest costs 13 strange coins.

Destiny-Sternenfeuerprotokoll231

For Titans, the DLC boots “Type 44 Offside.” He last had them on offer three weeks ago. This time they have 112/120 Strength and Xur charges 13 strange coins for them.

Destiny-Typ44imAbseits-231

For Hunters, he is selling the exotic DLC boots Radiant Dance Machines. With impressive 137/147 Strength. He is selling these disco shoes for 13 strange coins.

Destiny-Strahlende-Tanzmaschinen-231

Additionally, this week there is an exotic helmet engram, but no synthesis for heavy ammo.

Which weapons and armors can Xur upgrade this week?

Xur can upgrade six exotic armors and six or seven exotic weapons each week. However, this only applies to “old” exotic armors with a light level of a maximum of 30 or “old” exotic weapons with a maximum damage of 300. There’s no point in trading 36 light armors or 331 light weapons. You can read here how the exchange works. The only exotic weapon he cannot upgrade, is the Vex Mythoclast. The new version of the weapon is 14.5% stronger than the old one.

Destiny-Hawkmoon

These exotic weapons he upgrades this week:

  • The pulse rifle Bad Karma
  • The shotgun Defiance
  • The other shotgun Universal Remote
  • The exotic machine gun Thunderlord
  • The rocket launcher Gjallarhorn
  • The other rocket launcher Truth
  • And PS-exclusive: The hand cannon Hawkmoon

Destiny-Schwachkopf-Radar-1912

These exotic armors Xur upgrades this week

  • For Hunters the Weakhead Radar (110/118)
  • and the helmet Achlyophage Symbiote (90/97)
  • For Titans the Helm of Inmost Light (98/105)
  • and the Mark of Alpha Lupi, a chest (134/144)
  • For Warlocks the Helm of Light Behind Nemesis (weak 86/92)
  • and the gloves Sunbreaker (99/107)

Well … Xur probably won’t make record sales with this.


More about the somewhat sadistic MMO shooter from Bungie can be found on our Destiny theme page. And by the way: Those who wonder why the post was only available at 10:05 AM and not as usual at 9:45 AM… you can thank the merciless F5 junkies of the last weeks! That’s our revenge!

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

SMITE: Win the god Hou Yi, defender of the Earth!

As SMITE has released a new god again this month, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to share this with you! Therefore, we are once again giving away three codes that allow you to unlock the new god along with his alternate appearance!

Hou Yi originates from the Chinese pantheon and is also known as the “great hunter”; it was he who shot down nine of the ten suns of the Jade Emperor from the sky to free the people from the scorching heat. In anger over this act, the Jade Emperor cursed Hou Yi and his wife Chang’e with mortality.

Although the great hunter managed to find an elixir of immortality that was supposed to elevate him and his wife back to the status of gods, this never happened: the potion was stolen and only Chang’e could drink her part of it. Too much for a single body, it banished the dancer to the moon – and the couple is still waiting to be reunited.
http://youtu.be/SPutAnV5pl8

In SMITE Hou Yi is, as expected, a hunter and is particularly suited as a counter god for stealth characters such as Loki or Serqet.

His passive ability grants him three seconds of immunity against critical hits whenever he suffers one, and his “Mark of the Golden Crow” allows him to see enemies even through stealth and walls. Coupled with “Ricochet”, a shot that bounces off objects and can therefore be shot around corners, it makes him a deadly surprise for any assassin. “Dive Bomb” additionally allows him to fly briefly over the battlefield and seek a new position. Lastly, with “Sunbreaker”, he can summon the nine suns he shot down, which deal damage in a large area and slow down all targets afflicted during the duration of “Mark of the Golden Crow”.

[intense_blockquote color=”#ffec7d” border_color=”#00d3e6″]
If you have discovered the latest hunter for yourself and want to try him out along with his recolor “Sunbreaker”, just leave a comment under this post and you will be entered into the draw for one of the three codes. But hurry, the competition lasts only until January 26, 2015 at 8 PM! Good luck to all participants![/intense_blockquote]

The competition is now over!


SMITE is a free-to-play MOBA featuring playable gods from mythology, and its third-person perspective and telegraph system brings the gameplay experience very close to that of an MMO. Want more? Then be sure to read our review of SMITE.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Destiny: New Crucible Mode Brings Two-on-Two

In Destiny this week there is a new Crucible mode: In “Doubles Skirmish,” two teams of two Guardians each compete for victory.

Destiny-Skirmish

Bungie is coming up with something new for the Crucible. The “New Monarchy” declares a new Skirmish format. Only in pairs will Guardians venture into the Crucible and meet two other Guardians to test their strength against each other. Level advantages will be disabled (so it is not an Iron Banner variant), but the usual Skirmish, just that instead of three Guardians, you will only go into the Deathmatch with two.

The mode is already in the game since the last hotfix on Tuesday evening, but only now is it being officially introduced in the Weekly Update.

Destiny-Doppel-Schmelztiegel

Since there are only a few players, the regeneration time of the Super will be extended. In addition, there should only be heavy ammunition once per match. Maybe it’s a preview of the planned Inferno mode, when PvP designer Lars Bakken says you should rely only on your mind, your weapon, and your wingman.

The goal is slower, harder battles, where it will also be about reviving your teammates. This is already attractive in Skirmish because there are big bonus points for it.

With only two Guardians on each team, it will be even harder to place blame on others. Everyone should be able to show what they are made of.

The first reports are quite positive. They say there are small maps where the individual really matters and where strategic play is key. Knowledge of the maps and timing when to activate the Super is especially important.

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Sure, not every Destiny player is thrilled about PvP and some wish for more PvE content, but this is already a good start. In the Weekly Update that introduced the mode, Bungie promised that there will be more news in the coming weeks. They say they will tirelessly work on the game to continue its development.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Weekly Update

WildStar: Cabin Boy Missions with a little more ” oomph ” at Level 50

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

WildStar shiphand mission mount

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.

The full blog can be read at wildstar-online.com. At this point, I would also like to recommend my WildStar outlook for 2015.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Destiny: 1. Kill of Crota on video; Icebreaker gives Xur record revenue

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.

Destiny-Eisbrecher-1601

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

Destiny-Ohoh

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.
Source(s):
  1. Bungie.net

H1Z1: Laughter is contagious – Video celebrates quirky moments

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.


More about the Zombie MMO can be found on our H1Z1 topic page.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Guild Wars 2: Price Reduction! GW2 Addon on the Horizon?

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%?
  • Why are investors expecting extremely increased revenues?
  • Why did they recently secure the name “Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns“?

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.

GW2 Heart of Thorns
All of Tyria is talking only about January 24th. Everyone is sure: A new expansion will be announced.

Source: guildwars2.com

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Skyforge: Attention weapon enthusiasts – Here comes the Gunner!

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.

Skyforge Gunner 2

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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More about Skyforge, the classes, gameplay systems, and the ascent to godhood, you can find on our topic page.

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World of Warcraft: Incredible! 1 player brings 100 characters to level 100

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.

WoW-Pepe
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

WoW-Loadscreen-Horde

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.

WoW-Level-10000

… 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.”


This is competition for the previous holder of the “Okay, this is not fun anymore, this is really crazy, but in a way impressive” title.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. US.battle.net
  2. kotaku

H1Z1 has eSports plans with the Battle Royale – the creator of Dayz and Arma3 mod is on board

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.

h1z1-werwolf-zombies

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.

H1z1-Zombies-vor-dem-Haus

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.

H1z1 Screenshot 8

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.


More about SOE’s ambitious zombie MMO on our H1Z1 topic page.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. PC Gamer

Destiny: The new shader “Glowing-Hue” on Titan, Warlock and Hunter in raid gear

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.

Destiny-New-Shader

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.

If you want to see how this shader looks on you: Here’s our post about the Shader Previewer, where the Glowhoo is already available for selection.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Evolve: Trailer introduces the game

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.

Blade & Soul: The final boss of the new raid has 30 phases and is a turtle

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.

BladeandSoul-neuer-Raid

For the release of Blade and Soul in the West, here is the latest news.

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H1Z1: Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Schwerer Gustav – the new EU servers are here (“German” servers)

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.

An insider has already found all the server names beforehand and also created a Google doc where the individual servers are listed according to their special rules.

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.

H1Z1-Apocalypse

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)
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Destiny: Necrochasm is probably not in the game

In Destiny, the new exotic weapon, the Necrochasm, is currently not in the game.

Destiny-Necrochasm

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.

The Crew: Ubisoft releases “extreme” update and DLC

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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Heroes of the Storm: Founder Pack offers beta access and a few extras

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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Source(s):
  1. HOTS Gründerpakete

Destiny: That was quick – Tough Crota softened up in just under 50 minutes (World-First)

In Destiny, the hard mode started around 19:00. By 19:50, the race for the first kill was already over. There he lay.

Destiny-New-Shader
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.

Destiny-Necrochasm

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):

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 is the kill from the perspective of a Gjallarhorn player:

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Source(s):
  1. reddit

Whining Wednesday: Evolve and the DLC policy

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.

Evolve-Abe

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”

At TurtleRock, they felt unfairly treated when the DLC prices were announced. They emphasized that they are just developing the game, but 2K is responsible for the sale. This certainly allowed them to pull their own head out of the noose a bit, but it still seems somewhat hypocritical to me.

[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”.

Evolve

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.

Evolve Screenshot 2

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.

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Source(s):
  1. Evolve DLC Plan