Today, the last episode of the Living World in Guild Wars 2 has gone online. Many have been waiting for its outcome, hoping for clues about a possible expansion.
Spoiler: Warning, major spoiler alert. Don’t read any further if you still intend to play the current episode of the Living World. Really don’t.
Alright, the episode of the Living World is out, and the first have already played through it. We don’t want to go too much into the details. On reddit, some players are incredibly excited about the pivotal twist. Exactly what some had anticipated has occurred – keyword: Sylvari, Pale Tree, Mordremoth.
Many expected that a hint would come at the end of the episode about what will happen next in Guild Wars 2, and that is exactly what happened. However, it is not so clear.
Here is the final cutscene:
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There are now two likely scenarios. The first is: This is actually the title of an expansion. And the second scenario: It is the title of the next season of the Living World.
One thing is clear: The die is cast, the antagonist for the next major chapter in the history of Tyria is determined. Now it remains to be seen in what form it will come.
Before Early Access for H1Z1, popular streamers were invited to give fans a taste of what to expect starting January 15th.
SOE relies on streamers to reach their target audience. The studio’s president, John Smedley, has said this multiple times. Smedley is a big fan of Twitch and believes that the streaming service is the “television of today.” Even during SOE Live, a selection of streamers was invited to showcase H1Z1. The game is well-suited for this type of presentation with its often improvised gameplay and highlights at brief intervals, and when things might get quiet, a streamer can liven it up with some quips.
In the past, SOE has also worked with “Youtube” personalities; for instance, they collaborated closely with TotalBiscuit for Planetside 2.
It seems to be a classic win-win situation. The streamers get exclusive content for their channels and can promote it. SOE gets PR. And fans enjoy watching a familiar face craft their arrows and bows, probably more than just seeing the same developers all the time. Well, the topic has a few other sides, but let’s pretend this is where it ends.
Now before the start of Early Access SOE has uploaded five hours of gameplay with streamers. Some familiar faces from SOE Live are there, as well as some H1Z1 team members who have been seen in the streams by now.
This is the intro to warm up.
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Adrianne Curry (wow, a woman, reality TV star, actress, and according to her own statements, a geek, won the first season of a show called America’s Next Top Model in 2003)
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On December 20, 2011, Star Wars: The Old Republic was released. The game by Bioware launched with huge expectations but failed to fully convince many players. Nevertheless, the game managed to secure a place in the market.
When people are caught up in Star Wars fever, they might check back into SWTOR and see the many improvements the game has received since its release and play it again. That is at least the hope of the developers. Whether it will be fulfilled remains to be seen. Darion gives you his assessment of the past, the current situation, and the future of the online role-playing game in the video.
Haven’t seen the current trailer for “Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens”? You can catch up here:
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In the weeks prior, there had been numerous speculations that an expansion for Guild Wars 2 is on the horizon. And on January 24 a panel is scheduled, where many assume that Guild Wars 2 will announce an expansion.
Now it is read in a post on the English-speaking forum reddit that NCSoft wants to trademark a GW2 related name “Heart of Thorns” (Das Herz der Dornen), along with a logo.
Today also marks the start of the next episode of the Living World. It might be possible that at its end an “announcement” comes that puts an end to all this guessing and speculating. These speculations actually began with statements from GW2 employees hinting at an “incredible” ending of the Living World and that afterwards nothing would be the same as before. A point of no return will then be reached.
Caution: All of this is just evidence for an expansion so far. It could also be that Heart of Thorns is the name of the next season of the Living World – or something similar. But it already looks very much like something is happening that starts with “Ex” and ends with “pansion”.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
World of Warcraft is unlikely to be a purely Free2Play experience in the long run. But one should never say never. Data miners have found interesting hints regarding a possible Veteran Edition in the patch notes for version 6.1.
Veterans and Trials
The resourceful data miners found restrictions in the patch notes related to various game editions. However, one should not misunderstand the Veteran Edition. Unlike, for example, in Aion, one can compare the veteran access with the already existing starter access. For instance, veterans can only send limited whisper messages, reach a certain maximum level, or have a defined maximum amount of gold. A complete list of the restrictions can be found here on MMO-Champion.
What is behind this?
Why these new restrictions? A conceivable scenario could trace back to the introduction of tradable game time. This way, one can temporarily put their account into veteran mode to then purchase game time in-game. A similar feature exists in EVE Online, where players can also buy additional game time using in-game currency. With the Veteran Edition, the barrier for a possible fresh start in Azeroth would become more permeable. Real money would no longer have to be necessarily spent.
Is WoW then Free2Play?
With the game time that can be purchased for gold, World of Warcraft would be a step closer to the Free2Play status. Although real money would still have to be spent for the game, it would no longer be necessary for playing itself. To what extent the “gold for game time” system works remains to be seen. Many Blizzard fans may still remember the Diablo 3 real money auction house – and not positively.
Whether and how this feature will actually come with patch 6.1 remains to be seen. Would you start playing World of Warcraft again if you only needed enough gold in the bank to rejoin?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The zombie MMO H1Z1 is set to launch with 150 to 200 servers. The size of the servers is still unknown.
The early access of H1Z1, on Thursday, January 15, is only about 20 Bond movies away, as SOE President John Smedley posts the first server numbers. He tweeted that they want to start with around 150 to 200 servers.
looking like we’ll have 150-200 H1Z1 servers on 1/15.
And Smedley added in his typical fashion, with a certain degree of self-irony: 2Even the disgusting carebear-PvE servers will be ready for early access. I don’t agree with that, but people tell me I need to live with it.2
even the disgusting PVE carebear servers will be ready day 1. I’m not happy about that but people tell me I need to get over it.
Smedley plays, as known from streams, in H1Z1 like a real “psycho.” The studio head enjoys shooting at his employees in the streams and particularly likes to set things on fire. He is not particularly competent, but he’s extremely engaged.
On a PvE server, the “carebear” servers, which Smedley refers to, will not allow players to harm each other, but will only be busy with zombie hunting and crafting.
The exact distribution of servers by various server types is not yet known at the moment. This is expected to be provided in the next 40 hours.
The servers will start relatively “small,” with an area of 8×8 “kilometers.” This is already known. Later, the play area will grow significantly and become more geographically diverse.
A maximum number of players per server is not yet known. The servers are supposed to seem “relatively” deserted, typical for a post-apocalypse. They explicitly do not want the hustle and bustle of a starting area in a typical MMO. Players are expected to spawn at different points in the world so that there is no crowding. Friends who want to start together will have to agree on geographical features and find each other first.
We have closely followed H1Z1 over the last few months. Everything we have about it can be found on our thematic page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the Asia MMO Blade & Soul, a new class called the Warlock has been introduced, and a 24-man raid is being built for it to really shine.
This is also a new idea to promote a class: As reported by MMOCulture, the new 24-man raid in Blade&Soul is specifically designed to give the new Warlock class a chance to shine.
The Warlock itself is designed to appeal to “younger players,” as explained by Blade and Soul developers in an interview.
With the new Warlock class, we are targeting the younger users as well as trying out new things which will break the mould in Blade & Soul, hence there is a new look compared to the other classes.
The Warlock is a magic-based class that can summon dark powers and provide support to the group. The Warlock is also likely designed for the “Chinese” market, where it is expected to appear one month after it was first seen in the Korean version. This is scheduled for January 22.
The new 24-man raid was advertised with a teaser image of a powerful monster and the headline “1 against 24” – the image shows dead players and a giant creature with red piercing eyes.
The raid is supposed to significantly differ and stand out from the previous raids in Blade and Soul. Further details are not yet known.
We have compiled a few trailers and videos for you to get a glimpse of the new favorite at NCSoft, the Warlock.
The weekly Nightfall strike in Destiny begins this week on January 13 against Sepiks Prime. The popular damage modifier Arc Burn is active.
This week, which brought a lot of new content, features a popular and well-known Nightfall. It’s against Sepiks Prime in the Devil’s Lair on Earth.
There are now clear signs that the Nightfall strike is not as random as initially thought. The selection likely follows a pattern that cyclically connects specific strikes with certain modifiers (Sepiks Prime appears either as Void or Arc Burn, but not as Solar Burn, Triple Burn, or No Burn).
However, how the new strike “Crota’s Will” fits in is unknown, so surprises may occur. Additionally, this week should have featured something else based on experience – it’s all a bit strange. It seems that the “strikes” available are limited. The order in which they appear is not entirely clear.
The Nightfall is worthwhile for every Guardian, as it grants a bonus of 24.5% on all reputation and experience earned. In yesterday’s hotfix, they also adjusted the rewards. We will see how this affects things.
The modifiers for the weekly Nightfall strike starting January 13.
The five modifiers this week are:
Nightfall – if the entire fireteam is wiped out, it’s back to orbit
Epic – significantly increased difficulty compared to Heroic
Angry – Enemies are hard to stop even with heavy damage
Arc Burn – Arc damage is significantly increased for both enemies and Guardians
In the heroic Weekly this week, “Lightswitch” is active.
Weapon tips
For Arc Burn, weapons that deal Arc damage are favored. Classic options include:
Primary Weapon: The Fatebringer is still favored and will remain so until the new raid primary weapons with Arc damage come, the scout rifle Fang of Ir Yût and the pulse rifle Abyss Defiant.
Special Weapon. A sniper rifle with Arc damage. There’s a wealth of choices. The exotic sniper Patience and Time is popular. Arc variants of the LDR5001 or Efrideet’s spear are inside tips. The Murmur also works (the Whisper). The sniper Black Hammer is also suitable for certain parts of the Nightfall.
Heavy Weapons:Thunderlord, the exotic machine gun, is particularly powerful in combination with Ruin Wings among Titans. Other Arc machine guns, like Swarm or the raid machine gun Ir Yût’s Song, are also a good idea.
Tips and Tricks?
In general, during the Nightfall: Try to get hit only once, then retreat and regenerate health. Play it safe, especially if you’re solo.
We will post videos throughout the day with Nightfall runs; typically, there will be some tricks involved, like a cheese spot or similar.
A step-by-step guide in fast motion with the best spots (including a cheese spot for Sepiks Prime) can be found in this solo run.
http://youtu.be/ti9sEhsIjjQ A two-part run by a German YouTuber who dares to go solo into the “den of devils”. The loadout is quite consistent with our ideas. Fatebringer, LDR 5001, Thunderlord. And yes, he uses Black Hammer for the tank – and there’s a reason this video is in two parts: Caution is the mother of the solo run.
http://youtu.be/BioTQXdnuq4 http://youtu.be/ok_zpQfKvqw Here, a trio takes on Sepiks Prime, which probably comes closest to the experience of a “normal Guardian”. With three players, you don’t have to play perfectly, as heavy weapons help. http://youtu.be/V8tUD39max0 Finally, a solid run by a trio of players in German with a Swiss accent. http://youtu.be/WfwYSuaSHVE
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny , the exotic fusion rifle Vex Mythoclast holds a special position. Bungie’s Community Manager DeeJ recently commented on this.
All exotic weapons reach 331 damage … all? No … a small fusion rifle …
You can upgrade all the old versions of the exotic weapons in Destiny that only go up to a damage value of 300, through Xur to their new edition , which then goes up to 331. And thus deals 14.5% more damage. All weapons? No, the Vex Mythoclast is an exception.
The old version …
The exotic fusion rifle Vex Mythoclast, which is still carried as a primary weapon, already reaches a damage value of 323 in the “old” version. It remains so. Xur cannot upgrade the weapon.
Yesterday, in the context of the hotfix , the raid “Vault of Glass” was once again touched with Bungie’s love. So far, only “old versions” of the exotic weapons had dropped there. This was changed by the hotfix. The “Vault of Glass” exotics now also reach 331 damage, even without Xur needing to upgrade them.
But excluded from this update in Destiny is the Vex Mythoclast.
In the English-speaking forum Reddit, Community Manager DeeJ, so to speak, the spokesperson for the Destiny developers Bungie, commented on the case. DeeJ stated that there are currently no plans to ever upgrade the Vex Mythoclast. In that sense, it is not an “Exotic,” even though it is named as such; rather, the Mythoclast is tied to the raid “Vault of Glass” and thus exists “outside of time.”
The Vex Mythoclast (while branded as an Exotic) is bound as a reward to the Vault of Glass. Thus, it shall be frozen in time.
However, the Community Manager clarified that he cannot see into the future and rule out an upgrade for all time. At the moment, the Vex Mythoclast remains what it is: The most feared PvP weapon in Destiny.
In his role as Community Manager, DeeJ will continue to convey the wishes of some players to the developers, asking them to find an upgrade method.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The ambitious multiplayer shooter Overwatch from Activision Blizzard is at risk of a name change due to trademark issues. As it turns out, the name is already taken.
In April 2014, Blizzard filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to secure the name “Overwatch.” Unfortunately, Innovis Labs Inc. had already registered a smartphone app under the same name. This is evident from two documents published on uspto.com – a Suspension Letter and an Examiners Amendment – which indicate that a change in the content of the patent application is necessary and that the application has initially been suspended, i.e., rejected.
The smartphone app Overwatch has been available on iTunes for some time and can be used to enhance paintball, laser tag, and airsoft matches. However, it is unclear which of the two companies will be awarded the trademark – both applications are currently on hold until a decision is made. There has not yet been an official objection from Blizzard. In the worst case, the developer would have to rename the game, which is supposedly set to start its beta in 2015.
Conclusion: Twice Overwatch seems to be once too many – a tough break for Blizzard. Those who research carelessly end up with the short end of the stick (although further details about this patent issue are likely to follow). I can practically feel the tense atmosphere in Blizzard’s marketing department. It seems that we might get to know the title under a different name in the future – in case no agreement can be reached between the court, Blizzard, and Innovis Labs Inc.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMO shooter Destiny is rolling out a hotfix today, Monday, January 12th, that prepares the Iron Banner for tomorrow and fixes some exploits in the raid Crota’s End.
Right now, a hotfix is being rolled out for Destiny, which serves as an update for the Iron Banner tomorrow, fixes some exploits in the raid Crota’s End, and makes a few other minor changes. We have summarized the patch notes from January 12th in German for you.
What’s available at the Iron Banner – Light level 36 gloves
The interesting part, which had not been announced before, is the loot at the Iron Banner. There are supposed to be the following items to earn starting tomorrow morning:
A legendary auto rifle at level 32 (probably Silimar’s Wrath), randomly drops from the playlist
A legendary sniper rifle at level 32 (probably Efrideet’s Spear), randomly drops from the playlist
A legendary hand cannon (should be Timur’s Lash) at level 32
A legendary rocket launcher (likely to be Radagast’s Fury ) at level 32
Legendary gloves at level 32
A legendary chest armor at level 31
For the last four rewards, players will likely need to earn reputation at the Iron Banner again. It’s important to note that players can reroll the perks of the Iron Banner weapons. This can yield extremely good items, especially if players want weapons with specific elemental damage, for example for the weekly Nightfall strike.
The path to level 32 will be shorter with the Iron Banner
The level 32 weapons are of the same quality as the ones you can buy from vendors. Legendary gloves at level 32 go up to the maximum light level of 36, while the legendary chest armor at level 31 goes up to a light level of 33.
Important: The Iron Banner gloves require ONLY Ascendant Shards to be upgraded. This means: The path to level 32 requires 21 less Lumens with them. The community manager posted this on reddit.
In the old raid “The Glass Chamber”, exotic weapons will now drop that correspond to the current maximum level of 32.
In the raid Crota’s End, some exploiting methods will be closed (for example at Crota and the bridge encounter).
Additionally, the first chest, known as the Solo Chest, now contains only Lumens and luminous energy. The previous loot from the chest has been moved to Ir Yût.
Important: Apparently, this change results in the first chest in Crota’s End also giving loot again in the current ID (i.e. luminous materials), even if it has already been opened by the character. However, killing Ir Yût at the moment brings nothing, according to reports from Guardians.
More maps for the Iron Banner, chance for more coins for the Nightfall
Additionally, with the patch in Destiny, three Crucible maps will be added to the playlist for Control, Clash, and the Iron Banner. These are:
The Anomaly
Asylum
The Burning Shrine
Furthermore, the legendary raid sniper “Black Hammer” has the perk “Hive Disruptor” disabled. This ensures that the Black Hammer deals increased damage to stronger Hive creatures. This will remain disabled until it harmonizes with the perk “White Nail”. The latter ensures that the weapon regains a full magazine with three precision hits in a row. This was previously a glitch. Therefore, players have recommended each other to skip the “Hive Disruptor” and not unlock it.
Moreover, the weekly Nightfall strike can now additionally provide 9 or more strange coins alongside everything else.
The system requirements for the asymmetric MOBA Evolve are here. They are not exactly monstrous.
Now for the weekend, there’s a PC technical beta. In time, Turtle Rock have published the system requirements for PC on their blog. The only outlier is the required free disk space of 50 GB.
The minimum system requirements for Evolve:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
INTEL CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600
AMD CPU: Athlon 64 X2 6400
SYSTEM RAM: 4GB
NVIDIA VIDEO CARD:GeForce GTX 560
ATI VIDEO CARD: Radeon HD 5770
VIDEO MEMORY: 1GB
HARD DRIVE: 50GB
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Recommended system requirements for Evolve:
INTEL CPU: Core i7-920
AMD CPU: A8-3870K
SYSTEM RAM: 6GB
NVIDIA VIDEO CARD: GeForce GTX 670 or GTX 760
ATI VIDEO CARD: Radeon R9 280
VIDEO MEMORY: 2GB
HARD DRIVE: 50GB
An image of the PC user settings for Evolve has also been added.
With this tool you can check if your system can still handle the game. Or you have a monster PC that shouldn’t break a sweat here.
In the fantasy MMO Guild Wars 2 , a favorable forecast for NCSoft has further fueled speculation about a possible GW2 expansion.
It is rumored widely, players are wishing for it, the trade press expects it, and the Korean investment firm Daewoo Securities also predicts it: An expansion for the Buy2Play MMO Guild Wars 2 is expected this year 2015.
Daewoo Securities expects increased revenue for the publisher NCSoft in the third quarter of 2015 from the yet unnamed expansion. They anticipate two million sales of the expansion at a price of $50. The basis for this calculation is the figures from Guild Wars 1, where expansions sold nearly as well as the base game.
Daewoo Securities does not provide exact sources for how they arrive at the assessment that such an expansion is forthcoming and also does not guarantee it. They are speaking, so to speak, from “usually well-informed circles”:
Information and opinions contained herein have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable and in good faith (…)
Since the 91 in the fifth line from the top, in the seventh column … that’s what it’s about!
We could all know more by tomorrow, on Tuesday, the 13th of November, when the next episode of the Living World is released. Perhaps hints are already hidden here about whether and in what form the world of Tyria will be expanded.
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In March, “House of Wolves” DLC is expected for Destiny. A user has now compiled everything found in the code into a collage.
Data mining is always a tricky business: The information is in the database, but it’s unsure if all of it is accurate and how it will actually come.
There is a huge collage (here in full size) with everything the data miners know about the “House of Wolves” DLC, and it seems like there’s a lot:
Two exotic weapons, nine armors
Brief summary: There are only two exotic weapons. One Exo shotgun Lord of Wolves, which ignites the enemy in flames with multiple hits. And a scout rifle 347 Vesta Dynasty, where guardians can choose what precision hits do. Maybe the Fate of All Fools, the fate of all fools, will come too, possibly along with the Trials of Osiris event. But that would make two exotic scout rifles. Or they might introduce other exotic weapons shortly, which wouldn’t be a problem and seems quite conceivable.
Otherwise, there are again 9 new exo-armors (just like in The Dark Below) with some really cool new perks – like triple-jump boots for hunters.
The new activities sound very much like The Dark Below, with 3 story missions, 1 strike, 1 raid – actually the scope of the entire DLC sounds pretty much the same as the package that was available in The Dark Below. The story will probably revolve around the House of Winter and the House of Wolves, a Fallen storyline from the main game that will continue in the DLC. This was also one of the stories that was rumored Bungie had already planned for release and then cut out, to bring them later.
The only exception to the “just like in the last DLC” rule might be the “new” Inferno mode, which will be a kind of “hardcore” PvP mode without skills and trackers.
Maybe it’s still a bit early to complain about lack of content
Many will surely complain about the scope of the DLC (which will probably be around €20, €35 if you purchased the season pass), but it’s still a bit early for that.
So one more warning: These “data” that have been evaluated and compiled here are not particularly fresh or current, and “EXACTLY LIKE THIS” is how it will come, nor does it pertain to a leak (it has nothing to do with that), but these are likely elements that Bungie had prepared a while ago. The “actual DLC” could turn out quite differently. After all, Bungie now had feedback and time to revise the plans. And they must have definitely heard the criticism that “this is too little for a DLC.”
Here is a video from ProNDC two weeks ago, which roughly presented what was known about House of Wolves at the time, it doesn’t differ much from the new image:
http://youtu.be/t_mGajxPwfg
Data mining is difficult
This data mining is always difficult and should be approached with caution. The data miners have the puzzle pieces, but not the context of how they fit together. They construct that – usually successfully, but not always. And changes can also come in short order.
Actually, everyone was sure up until a day before the release of the Dark Below DLC that the fusion rifle Murmur (the Murmuring) would start as a white item and then slowly be upgraded to a legendary. However, Bungie apparently decided otherwise at the last minute and changed this in the finished Destiny DLC.
Please consider this now as a kind of preview “collage” to look at and nothing set in stone. When the House of Wolves DLC is closer, we will present the individual exotic armors and weapons in greater detail.
Zombie-MMO H1Z1 will enter Early Access on Steam in three days, on January 15. The system requirements are now known, as well as what will be included in the Starter Package and the Premium Package. The prices for the two editions are not yet known.
H1Z1 will go into Early Access on January 15. Players can access it through two packages. The Starter Package includes:
Access to Early Access
3 event tickets
one key
Two crates
In the Premium Package, the luxury edition, the following is included:
Early Access to H1Z1
25 event tickets
3 airdrop tickets
4 keys
6 crates
The recipe to craft an exclusive hat
The prices for the two packages are not yet known. It is estimated that the Starter Package will cost around “20 dollars”; SOE was still uncertain about how it would be converted into euros. They didn’t know how this would be converted to Euros. Upon release, H1Z1 should be free-to-play and supported by a cash shop.
With the event tickets, players can purchase single access to certain server types, such as the Battle Royale mode that will be available at launch. What events will be expected at the Early Access start is still unknown at the moment. These special server types probably have only a limited duration. Once everyone is dead in the Battle Royale, the Battle Royale ends. This is, so to speak, a permanent death server.
With the airdrops, air drops of crates can be arranged. However, to access the contents of the crates, players must compete with others for what comes out of them. So it was announced a few months ago.
What the keys and crates are about, what is exactly inside the crates, and what the keys open (the crates are probably nearby), is still unknown at the moment.
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Processor: Intel i3 Dual-Core with Hyper-Threading (required)
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: nVidia GeForce GTX 275 series or higher
DirectX: Version 10
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 20 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Recommended:
OS: Windows 7 64 bit
Processor: Intel i5 Quad Core or higher / AMD Phenom II X6 or higher
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: nVidia GeForce GTX 560 series or higher / AMD HD 6870 or higher
DirectX: Version 10
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 20 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX compatible Sound Card
What is in the crates?
Mein MMO says: A big question that will probably interest anyone who has dealt with H1Z1 so far. “What is in the box? What is in the box?” – H1Z1 has repeatedly emphasized that they do not have any Pay2Win ambitions.
The airdrops have already been hotly debated by fans: Players could buy an advantage if they organize drops strategically and ensure with friends that they get the loot.
If there is anything other than pure vanity items in the “crates” that one may loot with these mysterious “keys”, there will probably be trouble. However, it doesn’t look like that’s the case. It’s likely that there are only alternate skins or “costumes” inside. We will see.
Sandpark-MMO ArcheAge has introduced new items that players can purchase for loyalty points. They receive five per day if they log in and have an active Patron status.
The highlight is the sloth glider for 350 loyalty points, which can be saved up over 70 days. This item is also presented with a .gif and has cult potential.
For 350 loyalty points, the sloth can be safely obtained on the back; otherwise, one must wait for a good roll with the “Treasure Chest of the Friendly Flyer.” This chest is not available for loyalty points but for 420 Gems, the cash shop currency.
The treasure chest can contain buff food for a group of up to 10 members if Sid is not inside. This is meant to help players overcome the “new and tougher” challenges that Trion Worlds and XLGames are planning for them now and in the future. This buff food should particularly support players who are not perfectly equipped. However, the chest will disappear from the game again.
For loyalty points, an “Archeum Thunder-Tree Sapling” can be purchased. It costs 35 loyalty points and has an increased chance of becoming a “thunderstruck” Tree.
A video recap for Destiny has been released, summarizing all the major moments in 2014.
Tomorrow, on Tuesday, January 13th, the new year in Destiny will really kick off. There will be a patch for Crota’s End, the Iron Banner is coming.
Even in 2015, the Guardians will experience new surprises and disappointments. But today it is still calm in the Tower.
Time to take a look back at 2014, thought a talented YouTuber. In a 5-minute video, he summarizes the entire year in Destiny. It really includes everything. The major franchise events, the important content patches, but also the many little things that made Destiny: The dancing on a Sparrow, the jump over the Hell’s Heart or the fate of the Loot Cave. Great video.
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No other thing in the MMOs is surrounded by such a mystery as the number of players. However, these numbers are highly sought after by fans.
Players are crazy about numbers for these 5 reasons
Players want to know numbers in MMORPGs. There are several reasons for this:
For many gamers, numbers are an indicator of the success and quality of a game. How “good” it really is. What many like must be good.
Numbers are great for discussions with fans of other MMOs. What? You play this niche game X? Mine has 5 times more players!
No one wants to play a game where they feel alone. MMORPGs need lively worlds to provide the full experience.
Numbers beautifully indicate how a game has evolved over the years.
Player numbers reveal whether the game will continue to be developed and supported in the future, or if it will soon go offline.
Unfortunately: No MMO, or at least hardly any, reveals its player numbers.
Player numbers are a state secret. This is due to the nature of MMOs, which always have losses after an initial hype. The numbers often drop, and continuously. With official numbers, publishers and development studios fear that they would give players the feeling that the game is in a downward spiral.
But it is exactly these numbers that players desperately want to know. What they search for on Google, what they pay attention to in articles about MMOs, what they ask about. So the gaming press must provide them with numbers. What happens then?
Numbers are circulating everywhere, but most of them lack meaningfulness.
We have the player numbers for you… approximately
Recently, when PC-Games took a bird’s eye view of the MMORPG world at the end of the year, the magical word “number of players” was neatly listed for each game. However, it was difficult to properly fill it with content. Lord of the Rings Online? No player numbers. Rift? No comment. Age of Conan? No statement.
Well, the skeptical reader might say: But those are also older MMOs that started as subscription models and have long since become Free2Play. They are likely struggling. What about new games? What about paid games? Yes, let’s have a look at that.
Player numbers in TESO and WildStar
Want to know the player numbers of ESO? I’m just showing them with my hands!
The Elder Scrolls Online remains silent
The Elder Scrolls Online is consistently silent about subscription numbers. In the summer, in July, a figure of 770,000 subscribers was mentioned. A market research institute wanted to ascertain that number. That figure probably came from the studio, they said they got all the numbers from there. But no one at Zenimax wanted to confirm or deny it.
The number circulated globally, and if Zenimax had been dissatisfied, they would probably have contradicted it. However, they say absolutely nothing about it. The number now circulates, looks quite decent. At least it is not damaging to their image, and since they have never commented on it, they cannot be held responsible for it either. Quite a tactic.
Assuming that this figure of 770,000 players (if it ever was correct) is still current six months later and still relevant today is rather naive.
Yet it is repeated time and again: it’s the only number we’ve ever had.
WildStar remains silent
We have more than 2 players! Oops, I wasn’t supposed to say that…
As much as the developers of WildStar would like to talk about their initial successes, apparently contracts prevent them from doing so. In such a puzzling situation, whether he is allowed to disclose numbers or not, Carbine’s president Jeremy Gaffney found himself shortly after the release. He was apparently only allowed to speak of server load, not player numbers directly.
Officially, neither TESO nor WildStar has published any numbers, aside from “uncontradicted market research figures” and “I let that slip out once.”.
“Yes, well,” the reader will now say. Elder Scrolls Online and WildStar have both somehow underperformed. What about the success stories this year? What about Final Fantasy XIV and especially WoW?
Final Fantasy – sugar-coated
At Final Fantasy XIV, there were new record numbers throughout the year. The game came to the PlayStation 4, it launched in China. The numbers kept growing, looking increasingly impressive at the end of videos.
To know the exact numbers, you have to look into my cards! But I had a lot of customers!
However: The talk was always of “registered” accounts. 2.5 million was the last count. This came right after the announcement that they were now offering free trial days (for which you also had to register, so the trials probably counted towards the 2.5 million in some way or another – there simply wasn’t space for the fine print under large numbers).
Then came the news: Final Fantasy XIV, the predecessor MMO Final Fantasy XI, and Dragon Quest 10, the three MMOs from Square Enix, together had almost 1 million players. Even though the lion’s share is likely to fall on FF XIV, this is still far from the registered accounts and doesn’t look so impressive anymore.
What was once shortly before “on par with WoW” has now become “probably globally about as big as TESO alone in the West” (if the TESO number were correct, which we also don’t know).
In FF XIV, another effect comes into play. TESO relies on mega servers, while FF XIV uses traditional single servers. It’s a bit like having the same audience in a giant Olympic stadium or in a small provincial arena. 5000 people get lost in a Bundesliga stadium but look like a huge crowd in a third-tier arena.
How do the 10 million subscribers fit in with the fact that, for example, a recent statistic on the AVs at mmo-champion recorded only 2.7 million accounts in NA/EU?
This is because that lighthouse figure “10 million players” is only partially composed of the WoW we know. The Pay2Play game, the subscription game, the one where you have to buy a box and a digital expansion to be up-to-date. In Asia, where WoW is also distributed, they have a different business model. There, players pay by the hour for a trip to Azeroth in internet cafes, the so-called PC bangs.
PC Bang Panda!
So does the person who logged in for one hour in China for 9 cents count the same as the player with a monthly subscription here in these 10 million, in this statistic? That would be absurd to equate, right? About that, the press releases that give out the peak numbers remain silent.
Only when you lose a few hundred thousand players in a quarter do they say: That was mainly due to Asia. Don’t worry about us; things are going great.
When you research what the fine print says, you read that the “10 million” WoW players are not all players with a subscription but that the 10 million actually also includes those players who logged in in an Asian internet cafe in the last month.
No wonder that pure subscription games prefer to keep the numbers secret without this “support from Asia,” as they are immediately measured against the 10 million WoW players and look quite shabby in comparison.
ArcheAge 3 million, Hearthstone 20 million, World of Tanks 100 million! Records!
Where are the 3 million players? The sun is blinding…
Things get a bit stranger with free-to-play games. They report things like “This has been downloaded so often” or “This many registered accounts exist.” This leads to crazy numbers that say nothing about the current enthusiasm of players for the game. They also count inactive accounts.
Live with it: There are no official numbers, only approximations
As a fan and also as a gaming journalist, you have to live with the fact that we do not receive any official, comparable, up-to-date numbers. As much as we would like to have them.
However: There are certainly ways to measure the success or trend of a game.
We at Mein-MMO, for example, use Raptr figures or certain trends on Google as a basis to see how active players were in a month in an MMO or how interest fluctuated in search engines. We look at quarterly reports and try to deduce conclusions from the revenues that some companies have to list for their investors. We see what traffic the game homepages approximately record and use that to determine a trend.
These numbers are vulnerable, relative, influenced, and not set in stone. Especially players who don’t like them often doubt them thoroughly.
However: these numbers are still the best we have. If you want insight into these numbers, then check out this post:
Maybe players should come to terms with the idea that it is not so important how many people play a game. As long as there are enough around to have fun.
What does it ultimately matter whether 120,000 or 1.2 million people are playing the game outside your own circle, and what the future may look like due to the financial situation? Much more important is that at the moment, you enjoy it. And you don’t need hundreds of thousands for that; often a dozen good teammates is enough, and sometimes just one.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny , a player dismantled their exotic weapons and armor collected over many hundreds of hours. The reason was a kind of “Then I will eat a broom” situation. And the man stands by his word.
Do you know these “Then I will eat a broom” statements? One should really be careful with that.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, a Guardian has fallen in insatiable love for hand cannons. Only: Hawkmoon just wouldn’t drop for him.
After 350 hours, he possessed 33 of the delicious Exotics spread over his 3 characters, including treasures like Thorn, the Last Word, and the Icebreaker, but the coveted Hawkmoon simply would not show up. Everyone in his Destiny clan had gotten it by now and constantly teased him with it.
Then the hand cannon friend made a fateful statement: “If the Hawkmoon ever drops, I will dismantle all my Exotics.”
It’s nice to have friends who remind you of such a promise. You can see the whole drama in this video: http://youtu.be/55V9vcC0rWs
Someone in the related reddit thread also wrote and posted a list of all ex-Exotics:
Type 44 in Offside
Healing Armor
Ruins Wing
An Unbeatable Skull Fortress
Helmet of Inner Light
Helmet of the 14th Saint
Thorn
Bad Karma
Hard Light
Universal Device
No Land Beyond
Infinity
Plan C
Mockery
Dragon’s Breath
Truth
Extremely Good Advice
Patience and Time x2
Icebreaker
The Last Word
Emblem of Alpha Lupi
Achlyophage Symbiote
Mask of the Third Man
Mida Multi-Tool
Starfire Protocol
Sunbreaker x2
Claws of Ahamkara
Light Behind Nemesis
Skull of the Terrible Ahamkara x2
Obsidian Mind
By the way, the reddit thread about the action is also very recommended. The Guardians’ reactions are along the lines of: “Oh my God, I couldn’t bear to watch.”
What do you think?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The asymmetric MOBA Evolve prefers players on the Xbox One.
As reported by the US magazine Polygon, Evolve prefers players on the Xbox One. Polygon suspects that 2k Games has a special deal with Microsoft.
We have already reported that the beta for the Xbox One is significantly longer and more extensive than for PlayStation and PC players. But that’s not all.
During the beta (starting on January 15), Xbox One players who have already pre-ordered the game digitally will immediately enjoy the third monster “Wraith” and additionally unlock the third tier of hunters. This offer is only valid if the game is pre-ordered through the Microsoft Store.
According to Polygon, players save approximately 10-15 hours of “work” this way. It takes that long to unlock monsters and hunters through playing the “base versions” otherwise.
