A few days ago, the developers of “Star Wars: The Old Republic” addressed player concerns regarding queue times and server structure. While they couldn’t provide concrete statements yet, they did mention several points they want to tackle in the coming year – from which at least theories can be derived.
First, the issue of queue times in PvP and PvE areas will be addressed, and they will also “rethink the separation of servers”. A natural possibility here would be cross-server battlegrounds and flashpoint visits, as they are already common practice in many other games.
Furthermore, they also want to continue to “support the chosen playstyle of the server, be it PvE, PvP, RP or RP-PvP” – this certainly reassures role-players that RP servers will not be abolished.
Lastly, they aim to improve the social systems within the game world or expand them. Here too, many known options present themselves, such as cross-server guilds or circles, reminiscent of those from WildStar. As soon as there are clear statements from the developers, we will of course inform you.
Finally, a small note: For the past two days, the “Life Day” event has returned to SWTOR and offers this year for the first time some housing items that are only available for a limited time. If you want to do some virtual Christmas shopping to make your Sith apartment a bit more festive, you can do so until January 6. Speaking of housing: In celebration of the third anniversary of Star Wars: The Old Republic, fortresses are currently available for just 3 credits. Additionally, players can pick up free decorations from the anniversary personal vendor on the fleet, including a large holo-projection of the entire galaxy, which is shown here on the title image.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Update 15.1 nerfs the essences of Gondor in the online role-playing game Lord of the Rings Online and makes the Battle for Pelagrir suitable for groups.
The new update for Lord of the Rings Online (15.1) came to the live servers last week. In addition to expanding the Battle for Pelagrir to group size (we already reported on this), 15.1 now makes the essences that were in Central Gondor uniquely usable. There were apparently some “unfair” usage possibilities that endangered the balance.
Moreover, they have also tweaked the bear, so to speak, and introduced some tweaks for the new class Beorning. Additionally, you can now hear Aragorn when he negotiates with the spirits. Previously, he was close to acquiring another nickname, “Ghost Whisperer”, alongside his numerous other titles.
Korea-MMO Black Desert has a new dual trailer that deals with open-world bosses and all sorts of war machines that will be needed for sieges.
The Korean MMO Black Desert starts a true trailer avalanche before the release. Today’s trailer is divided into two parts. In the first part, we see open-world bosses stepping into the world of Black Desert like nightmare figures. The players use a mix of mines, instruments (for whatever reason?), magic, and good old steel to carry out the exorcism. Whether this flashy combat style with correspondingly loud noises is too much for the delicate MMO sensibilities of us Westerners will likely be determined in a few months, when the beta is set to begin here.
Our highlight: the funny drummer.
In the second part, things are noticeably more organized. We see how players use the war machines to ambush opponents in PvP.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online (TESO) is facing significant changes next year. The final phase of the overhaul of the Champion System is set to occur with Update 6. On the late evening of Friday, December 19th, the details will be presented in the ESO Live stream show.
After The Elder Scrolls Online launched in April of this year, fans expressed criticism primarily regarding the “end-game”, which became apparent. The veteran ranks felt tedious and lengthy, progress with one’s own hero was only moderately exciting, and the bars increased far too slowly; not much happened after level 50.
The change from the veteran system to a champion system was one of the central points. In recent updates, preliminary stages were already introduced, and with Update 6, which is set to hit the test server in January, even bigger upheavals are on the horizon. The heroes are expected to differ more significantly from one another, have more opportunities for customization, and even twinks should benefit from strong main characters.
All characters on an account will enjoy “benefits” earned by champions (characters over level 50).
However, how all this will work in detail is still somewhat nebulous and difficult to explain. It is a complex system. This point is extremely important for TESO. Once the champion and rights systems are implemented, the port to current-gen consoles Playstation 4 and Xbox One will take place.
Questions about Gameplay and the Champion System
To quench the thirst for knowledge of the fans, they plan to answer the fans’ questions about the new champion system on Friday night during the “ESO Live” stream show.
The following points will be addressed:
Gameplay Changes
Removal of the attribute overload system
New buff and debuff categories
Changes to area effect caps
New ways to gain ultimate power
Armor and ability changes
Changes to synergy abilities
Champion System
Overview of the new system
How the system works and why we chose this path
Changes made since the announcement at the ESO guild meeting
Transition from the veteran system to the champion system
The “ESO Live” show takes place on Friday afternoon Eastern Time, while it will already be late evening around 10 PM our time. If you miss the ESO Live, don’t worry: We will summarize it for you.
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The Iron Banner in December started just a week after the expansion “Darkness Looms” and threatens to get lost in the general hustle and bustle around Eris Morn. Is it even worth a visit to Lord Saladin?
The Iron Banner is a bit like a snack stand that goes out of style overnight during the pre-Christmas season. Last month, Lord Saladin had great food, and the Guardians were starving. Everyone gathered around him, admired him, and tried to wheedle the items out of him. The sun was blazing down from above, and his level 30 boots and gloves were highly sought after: The Guardians wanted to be fit for the DLC “Darkness Looms”.
Now a month has passed, and Saladin is offline. The Guardians have filled their bellies elsewhere.
This week, the timing of the Iron Banner is unfortunate: The weather is bad, the snack stand is out of style, and Lord Saladin stands in the corner, wondering why no one wants his stuff while the ungrateful audience gathers around Eris Morn, the new hot thing, dreaming of holding the Necrochasm in their hands.
What Lord Saladin is selling this week
Let’s take a look at what Lord Saladin is selling this week in the Iron Banner:
Rank 1: Seal of the Iron Lords (3500 Glimmer), an Iron Banner emblem that grants a 10% reputation bonus
Rank 2: Millions Millions (7000 Glimmer), the Iron Banner shader, which also grants a 10% reputation bonus
Rank 3: Scar of Radegast (2400 Glimmer), another emblem; two pairs of Light 24/33 boots (9950 Glimmer)
Rank 4: The respective Class Item (4500 Glimmer), which also brings a 10% reputation bonus; two pairs of Light 24/33 gloves (9950 Glimmer); the legendary Sniper Rifle Efrideet’s Spear 272/331 damage (11,500 Glimmer)
Rank 5: Golden Spiral, another shader (7500 Glimmer); the legendary Auto Rifle Silimar’s Wrath 272/331 attack (11,500 Glimmer)
It is important to note that you do not need to buy the emblems, shaders, and class items again if you have acquired them in the first two Iron Banners. They grant 10% reputation again if you have equipped them.
Is the Iron Banner worth it?
The Iron Banner is being used extremely rarely this week, especially compared to last month, because the rewards are simply not very attractive. Above all, the Glimmer costs are still astronomically high.
This was okay when it was there last month and the Iron Banner was the only opportunity in Destiny to spend Glimmer. Now with the many changes at Xur and the legendary merchants, Glimmer has become significantly more important.
Additionally, the armor pieces are made more difficult as he only sells gloves and boots this week. Players have somewhat weaker ones from last time. Additionally, there were legendary gloves from the “Urn of Sacrifice” series for everyone. And the vendors in the Tower now sell similar or better stuff.
Furthermore, many are sharp on the loot in the Raid. And well: Right now everyone is upgrading their stuff and needs Glimmer for it – the Guardians are already “loot-sated.”
The trend in Destiny right now is that players already have enough items; now they have to upgrade all of them, try them out, and then they can think about what they might “buy extra.”
The Weapons
The weapons, especially the sniper rifle, are the highlight of this appearance. However, they come quite late (with ranks 4 and 5), and there is so much else to do in Destiny. The auto rifle Silimar’s Wrath is similarly built to the “Eidolon Ally,” the new auto rifle from the “Husk of the Pit” quest line. Everyone is likely to get the weapon in the coming weeks anyway.
It’s different with Efrideet’s Spear sniper rifle. This is by far the most attractive item in Saladin’s offer. However, it costs almost half of the Glimmer cap, and there are several alternatives now in this slot, including the Black Hammer, the Icebreaker, the Patience and Time, and the vendor rifle LDR 5001.
It’s a question of whether players will have the desire and time this time to keep rerolling the perks of the weapons with Light particles until something suitable comes up. Last time, players bought two editions of each weapon, to reroll one and save the other for now. Whether they will do this again seems questionable.
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Nevertheless, Lord Saladin’s items, armor, and weapons are an interesting “sideway” to obtain armor.
However, this week, Saladin’s snack stand meets more than loot-sated Guardians who are currently fattening themselves at the other snack stands, whether in the Raid, at Eris Morn, or the Vanguard and Crucible vendors.
One can only hope that he encounters hungrier Guardians next time.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny, players engage in exciting battles in the Crucible. This leads to thrilling situations and duels. We summarize some of the most spectacular moments in videos.
Destiny is currently facing quite a bit of criticism, but the gunplay, the actual gameplay, always delivers exciting moments. Right now, a video is circulating online that showcases a nail-biting duel between two snipers in the Crucible. However, it will turn out quite differently than one might expect. http://youtu.be/VwAVkA9yUVQ In a second video, Destinytracker compiles the five most spectacular Crucible clips of the week. In the last one, a Guardian achieves “Seventh Column”, securing 7 kills in rapid succession, all in a 6v6 match. It is perhaps the craziest thing currently possible in Destiny and significantly harder than “flawless Raider.” http://youtu.be/1707b4StkCo
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMO trends in November show a clear picture. While World of Warcraft experienced a significant increase in playtime thanks to Warlords of Draenor compared to October, the sandbox MMO ArcheAge saw a substantial decrease in playtime after a difficult month.
The numbers from ratpr measure how many hours players have spent in PC games while running the program “raptr”. Since there are no official numbers on how many active accounts most games have, the ratpr numbers are the next best approximation for a trend.
However, it is important to note that games that invite players to spend many hours in them are preferred. Naturally, MMOs are therefore far ahead.
World of Warcraft increases by 70%
The MMORPG World of Warcraft saw the expected massive increase in playtime that was anticipated from the expansion Warlords of Draenor, which launched in mid-November. It increased by more than 70% compared to October. Even then, there was an increase.
However, the accumulated hours of WoW players are not enough to reach the top.
In December, the number is likely to drop slightly again. Most players have their main characters at the maximum level of 100 and are now focused on raids. They are playing “normally” again, which should still be substantial with the mass of players, but probably not enough to challenge League of Legends.
ArcheAge loses 40%
The sandbox MMO ArcheAge was a pleasant surprise in the past two months, initially skyrocketing in player favor with the release and even climbing higher in October.
ArcheAge is still in a strong position in 6th place, making it the second most-played MMO on the list.
There were many issues at the beginning of the content patch Auroria.
However, the trend has clearly taken a downward turn, more than pure placement might suggest. Players have spent 40% fewer hours in ArcheAge. November was anything but positive.
The boost that the big content patch Auroria was supposed to bring does not seem to have worked, especially since the release of Auroria was accompanied by significant problems. The server downtimes at the end of November did not help either. After two months, a decline in the player base is noticeable for every MMO.
It can be assumed that ArcheAge will continue to decline in December.
War Thunder appears in the Top Twenty
Otherwise, little is happening in the list, at least among the games we cover at mein-mmo.de.
In Hearthstone, November was relatively calm and stable, but December could change that with the release of Goblins vs Gnomes. Similar to Guild Wars 2, it has lost some playtime compared to October, even though its rank has increased.
The trend looks different for Final Fantasy XIV and World of Tanks. Here, the numbers were slightly better than in October. For FF XIV, they even increased by 20%, possibly thanks to the Game-of-the-Year edition with free playtime, as well as the new patch and hotfixes.
Smite is surprisingly strong as well. And it now breaks into the top 5 for the first time. Perhaps the game will establish itself as a third force in the MOBA area. Although Blizzard with Heroes of the Storm might have something to say about that in the not too distant future.
And for MMO fans, positively: War Thunder secures a spot in the top 20.
On this Wednesday, I’m reaching out with a problem that isn’t primarily related to a computer game (but certainly has connections in the second and third aspects). This gives you a little insight into the incredibly dreadful issues authors have to deal with these days. But what is it about and how did it come to this?
Currently, I’m writing diligently or less so on the review for the first expansion of Hearthstone “Goblins vs Gnomes”, and whenever I hit a small writer’s block, I listen to some audiobook or – as this time – a podcast based on my roommate’s recommendation. A few prominent YouTubers (including “Cynical Brit”) have discussed rating systems for games in detail, and I can hardly support their opinion more strongly.
No one cares what I have to say
Maybe I’m seeing the whole thing too pessimistically, but it bothers me immensely that there are people who only look at the magic number in the rating and aren’t interested in how I arrived at that number. I can’t force anyone to read my articles in their entirety (well, I could… but I’ll be merciful), and in the end, every reader is responsible for how much they really want to consume.
However, if it is possible for authors to encourage readers in some way to read a text in its entirety, then I would love to make use of those methods. Often hours of work go into a detailed review, so I appreciate every person who takes away more than just “6 out of 10 points, bad game”.
To summarize it bluntly and briefly: A numerical rating ensures that the entire text loses its attractiveness. It doesn’t even seem to matter whether the readers can somehow recognize how I actually arrived at my rating. Maybe I just roll a die for it…
When numbers pay off
The biggest problem is probably the attention a page receives as long as it contains a clear rating system. I’m not hiding it: We are absolutely dependent on our readers and the resulting page views. If no one were to visit the page, we could probably shut down our operation in a week. On search engine pages, like Google, posts with a rating system are displayed prominently, which more or less forces me to continue handling it this way.
Rich Snippets on Google: Without stars and rating, the click rate is significantly lower, which ultimately leads to the review losing positions.
But why is that? I can’t say exactly, but it’s simply a fact that every page using a number-based rating system generates more attention and is searched for more often by readers. You could say that as soon as a “grade” is awarded at the end, the readers come on their own!
The problem in this advertisement-funded business is for me that ultimately it doesn’t matter what users do on the page. Whether they read my articles, just scroll down and look at the rating or leave an ugly comment, in the end, everything is “equally” good, at least in the short term.
What is your opinion on this?
What I’m burning to know, aside from Google search results and Metacritic scores: What do you think about this issue? Do you like a rating system that ultimately boils down to a score between 1 and 10, which is based on the subjective impression of a single person?
[pullquote]Something like “fun of the game” or “long-term motivation” is incredibly subjective
How would you feel about a system where there is ultimately no grade or score at the end, but you would be forced to really read the text? Personally, I find it increasingly difficult to rate games in certain categories – because something like “fun of the game” or “long-term motivation” is indeed incredibly subjective. Please let me know in the comments what you think about it. I’m curious!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny, the raid helm that goes up to light level 36 was reintroduced to the game yesterday.
Yesterday in the hotfix, Bungie wrote that the raid helm has been added to the loot table of “Crota’s End”. However, the question remained where it would drop. Some even suspected that Bungie would assign the helm to the “Death Singer”, a challenging encounter that so far has not provided any loot. But would Destiny really increase from three loot spots to four? No.
The helm drops from the final boss Crota. Each of the three classes in Destiny has its own helm: Hunter, Titan, and Warlock. The helm increases to a light value of 36, starting with a light value of 30.
The full new Hunter set.
The final boss Crota was already lucrative. He drops the raid weapons, a shader, and a special ship.
All the documented drops of the raid helm so far seem to come from the final boss Crota, and with the hard mode in January, it is expected to drop even more frequently: And the helm makes the set look really appealing. Guardians rave about their new look.
The complete raid set for the Warlock.
Mein MMO says: It will be interesting to see what Bungie has in store for the “hard mode” of the raid in January. So far, the only items missing from the loot table are the raid primary weapon and the Crux of Crota. The Crux of Crota will be needed to obtain Necrochasm, the new exotic auto rifle. The prerequisites can be completed already.
Initially, it was assumed that there could be a “second” raid set with higher stats or something similar. Perhaps that will be introduced in the hard mode of Crota’s End? However, such a second set has also already been found in the database for “The Glassed Chamber.” It has not been found there to this day.
The full Titan raid set.
The Hunter set in the video: http://youtu.be/G6MQFObXvv8 The Warlock set Deathsinger in the video: http://youtu.be/Q0xQ-ZGgiLc
Blizzard’s online card game Hearthstone can now also be played on tablets running the Android operating system.
Fans have been waiting a long time for this, and now it’s here: Since last night, Hearthstone works on the Android tablet. The dream of casual hours on the sofa, while biting into the cushion because you drew the wrong card again, is getting closer!
The port has taken a little longer since Blizzard wanted to ensure that the interface also works on smaller screens. For tablets, a display of 6 inches or larger is now recommended. Anyone logging in and playing a round on the Android tablet receives a free pack containing Classic cards.
The passionate WoW raider has, of course, cleared all raid content, on heroic, oh well, even on mythic! However, for those who are satisfied with the raid browser, we paid a visit to the second wing of Highmaul in World of Warcraft.
Pile of Tectus
I still felt uneasy from the first wing: 15 minutes long, without anyone falling below 90 percent health. However, Tectus proves that the second wing is a bit(!) more challenging. Once you hit Tectus to 1 percent in just a few seconds, he splits into two elementals. These further split into three additional elementals each, spreading various effects across the map. If you’re not quick enough, the entire arena gets cluttered with stone rubble. My first try looked good until… yes, until the boss simply reset. Second try, no deaths, let’s go!
Home of the Twins
A few trash mobs later, my randomly assembled group found itself in front of the ogre twins. Pol and Phemos were also just “better” trash. Except for that one moment when the tank dropped below 30 percent and us healers suddenly got anxious. But after that brief shock, the twins fell, setting everything on fire and throwing rocks at us… Ogres after all.
When Players Suddenly Die
As the last boss, we got to grapple with Ko’ragh. The mage did what no healer hopes for: he actually killed several players. Did Blizzard take the criticism in the forums seriously and make the second wing harder? It seems so. The second tank dies, gets revived, and dies immediately again. The group becomes restless, and many forget to run out of effects out of sheer fear. Everyone also gets a debuff that they must avoid being near other players. With the thought already on epic loot, this costs most of their lives. Yet somehow, we manage to defeat the ogre mage Ko’ragh.
Conclusion
The second wing of the Highmaul raid is somewhat harder than the first. My group took a good 30 minutes and made it through well. Only on the last boss were some players perplexed and probably forgot where the W, A, S, and D keys are located. It remains to be seen whether this slightly increased difficulty will appease the hardcore raid browser raiders.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
From the Korean MMO Bless, there are now first images from character creation. It seems that Bless will not have the gender lock that many Asian MMOs typically use and that Western MMO fans dislike so much.
Asian MMO specialist Steparu has released a video from the character creation of the Korean MMO Bless. This comes from the second beta phase. Those looking forward to a thrilling trip, like the one back in Black Desert, will be disappointed: In the second closed beta phase, customization is disabled. You can only work with pre-made characters.
Also, in Bless, the classes will be limited to certain races – but that’s something we’re already used to here in the West.
However, Bless could additionally introduce a faction lock (like in the past with RvR-oriented games like DAOC or early WoW). This means: Players can only create characters on a server that belong to one of the two factions. In a PvP-heavy game like Bless, this seems appropriate. Those who want to “change” factions must first delete all characters of the other faction.
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Chad Moore, Creative Director of WildStar, has published a letter to the players detailing the focus and content of the next update for the sci-fi MMORPG.
In addition to new customization options, this update includes a number of changes based on player feedback:
[intense_blockquote color=”#f2f2f2″ author=”Chad Moore”]Many changes are a direct reaction to our players’ feedback. And we have received a lot of feedback about WildStar over the past few months. Much of it focused on the fact that while many of our systems are unique, interesting, and fun, they remain inaccessible to certain groups of players. Our philosophy at Carbine has always been “Play how you want,” and that is why we have worked very hard to ensure that players can experience and enjoy the content of WildStar – regardless of level or play style.[/intense_blockquote]
The 4th so-called Content Drop brings expansions to the shiphand missions, new content for max-level players, and further improvements everywhere, including in the lower level area. Additionally, a new currency called “Respect” is introduced. This currency, which players receive for completing dungeons and raids, can be exchanged for high-quality equipment in major cities.
An overview of the upcoming update’s content:
Players now have access to a low-level practice dungeon called “Protostar Academy” where they can learn teamwork to tackle group content more successfully.
A brand new level 6 shiphand mission titled “The Horror of Fragment Null,” taking place in the unexplored areas of the “Halon Ring.”
All shiphand missions now have versions for experienced players, so solo and group players can engage with additional content after reaching max level.
The looking-for-group tool has been expanded. It now also provides access to all shiphand missions – players can queue whether they want to play solo or with a group.
The group finder now features a new random queue bonus that rewards valuable currency and experience alongside reducing wait times.
Numerous player customization options have been added, including costumes and the ability to change the appearance of your avatar after character creation.
The quests in the starting areas have been significantly altered, particularly in terms of gameplay flow, number of objectives, and group accessibility.
The dungeon medal system now provides an improved overview of a dungeon’s objectives as well as rewards after each section.
There is a new currency called “Respect” which is awarded for completing dungeons and raids. “Respect” can be exchanged for high-quality equipment in the major cities.
The new dungeon “Ultimate Protostar Games” offers max-level players exciting new challenges from the most notorious (and profit-oriented!) corporation in the galaxy.
The required group size for the data zone has been reduced from 40 to 20 players to allow more people to experience this great raid.
Additional information will follow in the coming weeks. The release of Content Drop 4 is expected in early 2015. All other details about the new content can be found in the official blog post on the WildStar website.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On H1Z1, the last live stream of the year will take place on the night from Thursday to Friday. A lot has happened in the game again, it would be a good opportunity for fans to catch up.
The holidays are approaching, and once the week is over, it is likely to be calm in the worldwide MMO forest for about 3 weeks, until January 6. The developers of SOE’s Zombie MMO H1Z1 are aware of this and have scheduled a live stream for Thursday night in our time zone. It is set to start at 1:00 AM. It’s the right time to deal with zombies.
The host will be Jimmy Whisenhunt, the former Counter-Strike pro gamer, who has preserved quite a … “competitive streak” from that time, to put it nicely. Adam Clegg will support him. The two will answer questions from fans and show the latest build.
Since we haven’t seen much from H1Z1 lately – the last stream was at the end of October, there could be some surprises again.
And if you miss it because you prefer to sleep: We will summarize the live stream.
Here it starts on the night from Thursday to Friday, December 19, at 01:00: http://www.twitch.tv/h1z1
Even the finally released Firefall won’t miss out on a great Christmas event. What is there? Of course, presents, presents, and presents. On the side, you can throw snowballs at your friends or beat up elves… just the usual.
Father Wintertide is coming to town
Presents are available from December 15 to January 6 at Father Wintertide. But even a simple login brings advantages: Anyone who logs into Firefall between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day receives a VIP bonus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJVdJTYxgLA
Beating elves is also part of it
If you think that Christmas at Firefall is traditional, you are mistaken! In Beat an Elf, the goal is to knock out as many elves as possible in the style of “Hau den Lukas”. As a reward, more presents await, which can include cool weapons. If that’s too boring, you can just dive into the snowball chaos and compete against friends and foes. So if you have some time during the Christmas season, take a look into the world of Firefall! More information can be found on the official event page for Wintertide.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny, the Husk of the Pit, the Shroud of the Pit, reportedly came into the game with the hotfix last night. So far, Guardians have searched almost in vain for the auto rifle, which is considered a precursor to the “Necrochasm,” perhaps the best new weapon in the game.
The hotfix last night was modest, just a few points, hardly a whole page of patch notes, yet Bungie seems to have hidden another secret – just as back then with the Loot Cave monument. Reports are increasing (and there are also screenshots) that the “Shroud of the Pit,” the Husk of the Pit, is now obtainable in the game.
We explain to you where to find it and why you want it.
Where can you find the Shroud of the Pit?
It drops from “Blades of Crota,” around the Cosmodrome (those are the sword bearers). Many farm it by repeating the first new story mission “Fist of Crota.” That has been possible since last night.
There’s no secret about it, you don’t have to activate any black wax idols or have a special reputation with Eris. It’s simply a relatively rare drop that some might spend up to three hours trying to get.
The special thing about the “Shroud of the Pit” is that it will probably become the exotic auto rifle “Necrochasm”. Data miners discovered this some time ago. And there are currently no indications of how to obtain the “Necrochasm” otherwise. It is an auto rifle with an immensely high rate of fire.
Currently, it is believed that after reaching a certain limit, the “Shroud of the Pit” will become the “Eidolon Ally,” a legendary (purple) auto rifle. About 420 kills on the Hive are needed, according to Guardians. After that, you need an item from Eris Morn, a balming orb for 10 wax idols, which she only sells starting from rank level 3.
Is there already something about the Eidolon Ally, the second upgrade stage, and how do I get the Necrochasm?
Yes, the first Guardians have already succeeded in upgrading the Husk of the Pit accordingly.
The Eidolon Ally is a legendary auto rifle that can go up to 324 damage points. To upgrade it again into the exotic form “Necrochasm,” a “Crux of Crota” is needed, which only definitely drops in the hard mode of Crota’s End, probably from the final boss Crota himself. That will only be possible starting in January. Thus, the Necrochasm is the successor of the Vex Mythoclast. Guardians only received that in Destiny when they defeated the final boss of the raid on “Hard.”
The Necrochasm is not yet available; we will only see the first live pics in January.
The reports from data miners have been fully confirmed so far: Husk of the Pit (white) -> Eidolon Ally at reputation rank 3 with Eris Morn (legendary) -> Necrochasm – Crota’s End on hard mode (exotic).
In the last few weeks, things have been a bit quieter regarding the third-person MOBA “Smite”, due to the developers only fixing minor bugs and the studio mostly being on vacation – now they are back just before Christmas, bringing a lot of new things into the game. Among other things, players can expect a new goddess, some new skins, and of course the usual balance changes; we have summarized the most important points for you.
New Goddess: Awilix, Goddess of the Moon
From the pantheon of the Maya, Awilix now joins the battle! The goddess of the moon is an assassin and the first character to truly have a mount. But Awilix has even more new mechanics, as she is primarily used as a counter-goddess to take out mobile gods like Neith or Odin. Her ultimate allows her to pull gods that are currently “in the jump” or “in the throw” towards her, dealing massive damage. Furthermore, she can summon her panther and ride on it, significantly increasing her movement speed, making her a fast threat across the battlefield.
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New Skins: Pirate Neith, Nerd-Rage Cabrakan, and Archangel Thanatos
The last items of the Odyssey will be released early, so they will all be available for gems with the arrival of the patch. Fans of the archer Neith can particularly look forward to this, as she will receive a pirate outfit, complete with a flintlock pistol and a monkey (and significantly more clothing than in all her other skins combined).
The highlight: the new skin of Thanatos.
The big tank Cabrakan also gets an alternative look; the long-awaited “Nerd-Rage” skin finally makes its way into the game and comes with its own voice pack that will make many players chuckle.
The highlight is, of course, the new Thanatos skin, which you can only obtain if you purchase all 21 items of the Odyssey. The special feature: The higher Thanatos’ level in a match, the more impressive the skin becomes! At the beginning, he only has white wings, but with increasing level, a halo forms, his scythe grows larger, and he is adorned with an epic robe. Especially in his final form, the developers have truly outdone themselves in terms of detail – a fitting reward considering that all Odyssey items together cost nearly €80.
Nox Reworked: More Resilient and Now with 10% More Night!
The biggest changes in this patch affect Nox, whose abilities have been completely overhauled for the most part. Her passive “Flames of the Night” now increases her damage reduction by 4% per candle, her “Shadow Barrier” now reduces the damage taken by 90% at each level, and the duration has been increased to 2 (previously 1) seconds. The silence duration of “Nightfall Raven” has increased from 1.5 to 2 seconds, but the damage is slightly adjusted downwards, as is that of “Siphon Darkness”.
Her ultimate has also been adjusted: it can now hit multiple targets, guarantees the damage twice, and stuns at the end of its duration for one second. Furthermore, Nox no longer has to maintain a “connection” to the enemies. All in all, these changes can be described as a strong buff that allows Nox to fight much more effectively.
Harsh Nerfs for Vulcan, Serqet, Vamana, and Ao Kuang
On the other hand, things look bleak for Ao Kuang, whose second activation of “Dragon Call” (that is, the ranged attack) will be nerfed by about 40%, which the developers justify by saying that Ao Kuang is supposed to be a melee mage – and therefore they want to make his ranged abilities less attractive. Vulcan is similarly hard hit; his “Magma Bomb” has been massively nerfed. While the damage values remain identical, the range of the ability has been reduced from 65 to 60 units, and hit targets are no longer stunned before they are launched. As if that weren’t enough, the same ability now gets a “target circle” on the ground, allowing enemies to see where the bomb will land.
Serqet, the goddess of poisons, loses some of her crowd control; her “Cobra’s Madness” now lasts only 1.4 seconds instead of the previous 2.
Finally, Vamana is also getting a (rather small) nerf; the 5th avatar of Vishnu is weakened in his avatar form, which now grants only 100 physical power at the highest level (previously 140), thus forcing the little warrior to focus more on one point in his item selection: damage or tank.
If there are no drastic errors or major balancing issues, the patch will reach the live servers on Wednesday – typically in the early afternoon our time.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A hotfix was released for Destiny on Tuesday evening, December 16th, which allows a raid helmet to drop in the current raid “Crota’s End”.
A hotfix was just applied to Destiny, an update, as you might call it. The game now has the official version number 1.1.0.2. We have translated the patch notes for you into German.
This armor has a light level of 30 – even without upgrades.
Additionally, the raid gear now starts with a light level of 30, previously starting raid chest, raid boots, and raid gloves with lower light levels. This is likely to prevent Guardians from dropping in light level when they exchange their “fully upgraded” old armor for “fresh” new armor.
This also applies to the five raid weapons, which now have higher damage at the “not yet upgraded” levels than before. This means weapons like Black Hammer or Ir Yûts Song are now significantly stronger right after looting.
It is the same with exotic armors and weapons; the “new” ones start with a light level of 30 or a base damage of 302, thus starting where the “others” leave off – at least regarding their base values.
Additionally, specific issues with the exotic fusion rifle “Pocket Infinity/Infinity” are fixed (but this also reintroduces old problems), ensures that the “Dead Orbit” hunter cloak does not mistakenly grant Vanguard/Crucible reputation, fixes bugs with the shield penetration of the “Fallen” shields, and makes the first story mission in “Darkness Awaits”, Crota’s Fist, replayable again.
For us Germans, Bungie also has an extra hotfix: “Glowing Energy” is now called “Light Energy.” There was previously an extra syllable.
Mein MMO says: At first glance, one might think: Oh, Destiny fixes a raid; it must be about “The Glass Chamber,” but that is not the case. The current change to the raid armor is certainly reasonable, but now it doesn’t blow anyone away. But it probably has the “positive” effect that now some log in and are instantly at a higher light level or deal more damage.
From a psychological perspective, this is an effect MMOs want: players receive “fresh loot” and can use it immediately and feel stronger. This is a “more pleasant” feeling than: I get new loot and first have to jump through eighteen hoops before it is really better than what I previously had. World of Warcraft has spent the last few years trying to counter this feeling. Bungie seems to have recognized the danger now as well.
Since Thursday it has been playable in Europe, and today the largest expansion of “TERA” also goes online in America. The release is announced by the American publisher EnMasse with a launch day trailer.
In addition to the new maximum level of 65, the update also offers additional abilities for each class, which are much needed in the new environment. Characters are sent to the previously uncharted continent “northern Arun”, where an extensive story awaits to be told.
But even fans of PvP skirmishes will find something to enjoy with the content update (a strange term for a F2P MMO!), because things will heat up in the Colosseum and it’s not just because of the Castanic. Of course, there are also numerous dungeons to explore and a whole lot of bug fixes and improvements, such as a completely revamped enchanting system. Anyone interested in TERA and wanting to test it can register through the official site and get started. For a first taste, we also have the German story trailer for “TERA: Fate of Arun” here.
In Destiny, the goal of the weekly Nightfall strike for the week of December 16 is Phogoth the Untamed, an Ogre boss in the Summoning Pits on the Moon.
The Nightfall, the weekly Nightfall strike, has been raised to the new level of 30 and is quite tricky. This week, all Guardians in Destiny who feel called can take it on. Whether they can handle it is another question.
However, while last week only players with the “Darkness Rising” DLC had access to the Nightfall, now everyone can try it again.
The Nightfall is not only sought after for its chance at great loot but also because it grants a 24.5% bonus on earned experience and reputation. In times where you need to feed weapons with EXP, like a hungry pack of children with pizza rolls, the “smoking head” is even more desirable than usual.
The modifiers for the Nightfall strike on December 16 in the Summoning Pits
The modifiers for Phogoth and his buddies this time are:
Nightfall – after a complete wipe of the group, it’s back to orbit and start over
Epic – makes the level 30 Nightfall strike really tough
Angry – The enemies can hardly be stopped even by heavy damage
Lightswitch – The enemies deal significantly increased melee damage, making the lights go out quickly
Arc Burn – Arc damage, i.e., electrical damage, is increased by 300%, applicable to both Guardians and enemies
What weapons are recommended for the Nightfall strike?
This week’s tips are mainly for “old” gear:
Primary Weapon: Once again, the Fatebringer, a Hand Cannon that has risen to become one of the most popular weapons overall, is recommended as the primary weapon.
Special Weapon: The sniper rifle Patience and Time – Patience and Time. Range is always good in the Nightfall. However, there is now a valuable alternative available from the vendors in the Tower for Patience and Time. They offer it now. The LDR 5001 from the Vanguard. Experts say: If you buy one, make it this one. Also, the “Whisper” deals Arc damage and could prove useful.
Heavy Weapons: Thunderlord, if you have it. Otherwise, the new legendary weapons can also serve as alternatives. For example, the Arc machine gun Ir Yûts Song, affectionately known as Thunderlord Jr. Available from Crota in the raid.
Tips and tricks for the Summoning Pits?
Especially for Phogoth, there are some cheese spots, tricks, and tips. He is extremely dangerous, so a hit-and-run tactic is advisable. Overall, caution is the mother of successful smokes. Shoot, shoot, get hit, and then go into cover and regenerate.
Since the Nightfall has been made harder solo and the level raised to 30, it is advisable to only go in with friends.
We will upload videos and guides of successful runs throughout the day.
There are two quick walkthroughs here. The tactic is actually always: Retreat as far back as possible, for the Wizards it’s best to have a Solar weapon to get through the shield, while the rest can use Arc weapons. And here, the well-known spot for Phogoth is chosen: Just don’t go into the room, better stay in the hallway. http://youtu.be/ZIZrP3HYAhY http://youtu.be/2d9q5JiN7gM Nexxos uses the well-known Arc duo Fatebringer and Patience and Time for his Nightfall solo run and has the DLC raid machine gun Ir Yûts Song as a “heavy weapon”. Naturally, this is a much more cautious and detailed video that can provide a valuable guide for lone wolves. And for Phogoth, he also has a safe method at play, a cheese spot on the cliffs. http://youtu.be/2PPPiHb19AU
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
