In the MMO shooter Destiny players can get the Playstation 4 version for free with every digital Destiny content until January 15 for Playstation 3 users.
On the Playstation Blog there is a notice for owners of a digital version of Destiny on Playstation (PS3). They can switch to the Destiny version on Playstation 4 (PS4) until January 15 and keep their Guardian and their account. All progress, it is stated, will be synchronized and can be continued. The PS3 account is also retained.
The only requirement for this is that players own the digital version of Destiny and have a Playstation 4. They do not need to buy the game for PS4 again but can seamlessly transition to the new generation. This offer is valid for the base game and for the expansion “Darkness Awaits”, which is set to release on December 9.
This so-called “great Digital Upgrade Action” requires that the player logs into the Playstation Store on PS4 and adds the digital version of Destiny to their cart. There are no additional costs.
Here is the FAQ, which also addresses the transition from Xbox 360 to Xbox One. The promotion has already been running since early September; now, with the new DLC around the corner, Sony likely wants to draw attention to it once again with the blog post.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The genre mix Evolve completed its first alpha at the beginning of the month, and the numbers are as impressive as the monster that players can either hunt or play as.
The balance of Evolve between the two parties is already quite good: A little work will still be needed, but perhaps that will settle down as monster players improve. Over 1.3 million matches have been completed, with 57% going to the four hunters.
The monster (22.4%) was the second most popular choice among the “preferred” roles, with only the tough “Assault” guy (22.9%) among the hunters being more preferred. He also has a seemingly simple job: to deal as much damage to the monster as possible, and when it attacks, to mitigate it with a shield. The third place goes to the Medic (19.5%), who tries to keep teammates alive and shows weaknesses on the monster for his comrades to target in a first-person shooter fashion.
The “Trapper” has an important job; he is to track down the creature and secure the combat area. 18.6% of players preferred to take on this responsibility (with harpoons!), while only 16.4% marked the support role as their preference. Everything is still closely clustered percentage-wise.
What the makers of Evolve, Turtle Rock Studio, will likely find as pleasing as the balance is the interest of Twitch viewers. Over 2 million hours of Evolve alpha have already been watched, and that was only over a few days. The fast-paced game seems to hit a nerve with the crucial new medium “Twitch,” which guarantees free PR and high fan engagement.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
It’s like cooking. There are those who prefer to cook their own meals – everything homemade, with vegetables from their own garden and a pot forged by their great-grandfather. And then there are others who prefer to order a pizza. That’s how it is with theme park and sandbox MMOs.
And it holds true:
No matter how much end content there is to discover.
No matter which renowned publisher develops a game.
No matter how many innovative features a new MMO has.
All theme park MMOs have one thing in common: It always tastes the same. You chase quest after quest, following the plot of a story – you follow the red thread with the goal of exploring the end content. Always in sight are the max level, dungeons, and equipment.
IT LACKS SALT
But where is the innovation? The developers dictate exactly what we should and shouldn’t do, how we should approach something and what comes out of it. The current MMOs are all “content-driven” and leave little room for creativity. Time and again, we have to kill a dragon, rescue villagers, and even save princesses. Although – I think the one about the princess was a different genre.
Ultima Online was released in 1997 and is one of the forefathers of the sandbox genre.
In any case, it has become standard that developers not only develop the game but also significantly dictate the gameplay, at least in theme park MMOs. Especially in the European market, these theme park MMOs are at the top of the food chain.
There are only a few exceptions. Games like Ultima Online did not deserve a spring with me. I struggle with games whose graphics cannot keep up with a Gameboy game. But just before I wanted to throw in the towel completely, I discovered ArcheAge and changed my mindset.
TRYING IS BETTER THAN STUDYING
For a long time, no MMO has captivated me like ArcheAge. After trying various MMOs for years, I thought I was too old for computer games. But you’re never too old for something, especially not for computer games. After all, I wanted to spend my last years in front of the PC after retirement or maybe in Thailand? Was it perhaps because I had never played a sandbox MMO before? Ultima Online, Star Wars: Galaxies or EVE Online were all games that did not have their beginnings in my time. But back to ArcheAge.
The release was exactly during my semester break, which made for the most favorable timing. I learned about the game through Twitch. I really hadn’t heard much about the game in advance, even though I browse various magazines daily. I cautiously approached the game.
Especially Asian MMOs have a bit of a bad reputation for me due to the past. Grinding is just too dull for me. On the official ArcheAge site, the game mainly attracted my interest through housing, the strange class system, and the fact that you can breed animals. Man, how I miss Harvest Moon.
I dove right in. I completed one quest after another. The quest system felt well-rounded. Sometimes there were a lot of XP, even though I only had spoken two sentences with the quest giver. I also quickly joined a guild to mingle among my kind on the multilingual EU servers. Upon arriving in Teamspeak, I was overwhelmed by the individual experiences of the players. At first, I was uncertain whether we were playing the same game. One was working on his farm all day, another was hunting for treasures while diving – unfortunately, no one wanted to quest with me. After three days of intense questing, I was level 35. The others were in the same level range, but without having completed any quests. What was going on?
Before the release of a new MMO, I usually study the game thoroughly. With ArcheAge, everything was different. After a good week of playing, I understood where things were going. I was excited about all the freedom and possibilities that a sandbox MMO like ArcheAge offers. Why aren’t there more MMOs like ArcheAge that offer so many possibilities to shape the world yourself? With all that freedom, there should be something for everyone, right?
By now, I no longer play ArcheAge. I was overwhelmed by all the freedoms and possibilities. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I simply need someone to take me by the hand and tell me what to do. Just as the developers do in theme parks, or like my math teacher did.
TASTES VARY
Of course, every player has different preferences and motivations for why they prefer one thing or another. But I would almost argue that it depends on whether I am a casual or a progressive player. A sandbox MMO simply takes more time. In ArcheAge, I was practically “forced” to log in daily, because otherwise, half of my harvest on the farm would spoil.
Because of the Minecraft-like crafting system, it took forever to get that one item, as it consisted of 943 other items. Additionally, the work points you need for crafting were only available in limited quantities – even with a premium status. This certainly binds the player base to a game and makes it harder to rush through, but I am glad if I find one or two hours in the evening to play.
That’s why I appreciate the simplicity of theme park MMOs. That doesn’t mean they can be completed in five minutes. It’s simply easier to catch up due to their not-so-high complexity.
THE RIGHT RECIPE
ArcheAge has whetted my appetite for more with a mix of theme park and sandbox elements. However, I find that the theme park component in the game is still somewhat lacking. Sooner or later, after level 30, you lose the plot, as the main quest line comes to a sudden end. The solution would be a bit of restaurant attitude: after you find your seat at the restaurant, the waiter comes by and recommends the highlight of the day, including suitable wine. However, if I don’t feel like that, I’ll just order a schnitzel with fries. This way, we have the waiter and the menu to provide orientation.
That’s why I would wish for future MMOs to find a balanced mix of theme park and sandbox. With the familiar elements from theme parks that ensure clarity and orientation, and with a healthy dose of freedom to allow players to shape the world individually. Of course, everything must be properly seasoned.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, players in the USA can now get a taste of the first DLC “The Dark Below”. Activision is leveraging the creativity of the community and holding a competition on the microblogging service Twitter.
Players are asked to do specific things in Destiny, capture them as a video or with a screenshot, and post them with a “hashtag” on Twitter. Players should:
show off the coolest tricks they can do with their Sparrows in Destiny.
post pictures with the enemies of Darkness, where their Guardian then “photo-bombs”, meaning jumps into the picture.
find a particularly impressive viewpoint from which they can take a screenshot of the scenery in Destiny – following the motto: make tweets, not war.
Six selected participants of the campaign will be rewarded with a weekend for two in Las Vegas, where they can get a preview of the expansion “The Dark Below”. Unfortunately, to have a chance at this trip, you must be a citizen of the USA.
Mein MMO says: It is to be hoped that something like this will also take place in Europe – we Europeans often miss out on such competitions from US publishers due to legal and organizational reasons. At least Bungie (or rather publisher Activision) has recognized the signs that the Destiny community wants to present themselves on social media and showcase things in Destiny that perhaps the devs wouldn’t have thought of themselves. And surely some interesting clips will come together this way.
We have made a selection of the previous tweets for you:
In the survival MMO H1Z1 a new dev blog has presented the portable items in the game: mainly hats and backpacks. But there was also a helmet, which is for the most successful survivors.
The dev blog of H1Z1 this time focused on the look of portable items. The developers want to ensure that nothing looks like it just came straight from the shelf or the factory. Because the shelf is bent and the factory… well.
The developer blog showed how a basic cowboy hat can become various variants, each with slightly different skins. Here you can see, for example, the standard backpack, which shows signs of wear. “Not pretty, but can be lifesaving in the right situation,” for instance when you find a can of beans, penicillin, a bit of water, or ammunition.
For the first time confirmed: a type of “helmet” against firearms, against ballistic hits. This should be part of the “endgame” equipment and provide much-needed protection to the players. In the video that accompanies the blog, there is also confirmation that players might eventually have a “ghillie suit” in the game, these are full-body camouflage suits with ferns and shapelessness used by snipers to blend in with their surroundings. They look a bit like the “thing from the swamp”.
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The developers of EVE Online have decided that a new patch will be released every month, bringing some changes. With Phoebe, for example, the way of traveling has changed. Players can also expect some changes with the upcoming update Rhea in December.
WASD instead of Mouse Click
One of the biggest changes announced in a Dev Blog is the upcoming keyboard control. Previously, you could control your ship by double-clicking in space or flying directly to specific targets. CCP states that they want to lower the learning curve for the space MMO and give beginners a fair chance. However, one could also argue that EVE Online aims to compete with its upcoming rival Star Citizen in dogfights.
Wormholes… Wormholes are everywhere
A new system called Thera will also be released with Rhea. In this system, there are stations and access to over 100 different wormholes. Players are already discussing in forums that CCP wants to revive PvP and create a sort of arena for casual pirates. But what exactly the EVE community will do with Thera, is always unpredictable.
Some Changes Are Being Made Here and There
The list of changes is long and includes further improvements to the interface, the elimination of Clone Grades, meaning no skill points will be lost upon death, and various graphical adjustments. Additionally, a new ship class is introduced: the T3 Destroyer. It will be exciting to see what surprises Rhea will bring, but it is already clear that EVE will change significantly due to the keyboard controls. The update is expected to arrive on December 9.
The fantasy MMO World of Warcraft will be unavailable on Saturday morning for 6 hours due to maintenance work.
The launch of Warlords of Draenor is also proving to be an exceptional situation even for the veterans at Blizzard. After maintenance was scheduled in Europe on Friday morning from 7 to 9 AM (it was actually planned until 11 AM), further maintenance is now expected to bring solutions or at least get closer to them. The servers are expected to be down from 5 AM on Saturday, November 15th, until 11 AM.
Currently, they are trying to alleviate the massive lag issues by reducing server capacity. This has led to long queues on the busiest servers (Our title image shows Blackrock at 11:45 PM on Friday … and that’s not the end of the queue). Although Blizzard offers a server transfer for the fullest World of Warcraft servers, not everyone wants to take advantage of it. Moreover, a hotfix was already applied on Friday that massively increases the number of mobs or quest items at bottleneck quests, or makes critical mobs “taggable” for everyone. Additionally, things like the toy train have been temporarily disabled, which proved to be quite annoying. Here are the hotfixes from November 14th.
According to a recent announcement from Blizzard, technicians are working on the following issues:
The connection to the instance servers is unstable, which may lead to restricted access to the instances.
There are problems with the continent servers that lead to disconnections and issues with player searches.
There are problems with the garrison servers that lead to phase errors and performance drops.
Here is the tweet announcing the maintenance:
Planned maintenance will begin at 05:00 CET and is expected to be completed by around 11:00 CET. #maint
Meanwhile, fan complaints have taken on bizarre forms; while a petition has been opened in the USA to gather 100,000 signatures for the US government to address Blizzard’s server problems, German fans have started a similar campaign. Their goal: to get consumer protection agencies to pay attention to the issues with World of Warcraft.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Blizzard’s free card game Hearthstone, two players teamed up to see how far they can push the damage points in the game.
Among Hearthstone players, the phrase “That’s why you never go full Northshire” has become established, based on a joke from “Tropic Thunder”. One should never play “fully handicapped” if they want an Oscar, they explain – just a bit handicapped like Rain Man or Forrest Gump. “Northshire Cleric” – the cleric from Northshire usually ensures that the priest can draw cards when a minion is healed on the field. With the 1-mana drop, he gains a card advantage.
However, if you play two of these clerics at the same time and the opponent has a few tricks up their sleeve, they can ensure that the priest draws more cards with the two clerics than is good for him. Then he burns excess cards and ultimately suffers damage.
Pushing the principle of “You never go full Northshire” to the limit, two players have now demonstrated this in this video. 7 Northshire Clerics indeed cause a huge card draw and likely a record damage sum of 312417 so far.
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In the SF-MMO WildStar , the 40-player raids are being replaced with 20-player raids.
It was seen coming: The 40-player raids in WildStar were not embraced by the community and are now being scaled down to 20.
The fact that the 40-man raid Datascape was not accepted was partly due to how difficult it is to find and coordinate 40 players. Secondly, it’s also because the first raid in WildStar, the “Gen-Archive,” is a 20-player raid. Once a group has completed it, they can move on to the next raid, the “Datascapes.” However, that one is designed for 40 men or women or Mechari.
Guilds had to either merge with another guild (difficult) or find another 20 players to join an existing team (likely even more difficult). These issues (along with some frustration from bugs and glitches) have previously caused some progress guilds to break apart.
Alongside this recruitment stress, the combat feel of WildStar did not match such 40-player raids, according to a statement from Carbine regarding the change. Additionally, there were FPS drops, it was too complicated to test with 40 players, and the “irregular” raid sizes would have caused problems for future development.
Experiment “Back to Molten-Core” in WildStar failed
In short: The experiment has failed, and WildStar is moving away from 40-player raids back to 20-player raids. The 40-player raid will remain active for now, and with 1.2.0, there will be a 20-player version of the Datascapes. The 20-player Datascape is supposed to launch together with the next drop on the test server. The bosses will basically remain the same, but will be adjusted. Accomplishments in the 40-player raid will convert to “Galactic Hotshots,” so to speak, into feats.
We have addressed the raid sizes in WildStar twice: Once before the release and once after the release, when it was already becoming clear that the experiment “Back to Molten-Core” would bring about significant problems.
Mein MMO thinks: Perhaps 40-player raids belong more in the rearview mirror, in tales from old days, or in “nostalgia” events. However, within the concept of WildStar, the 40-player raids have been made extremely difficult to shine.
The jumps in WildStar seem to have been quite exhausting and have thrown some players off.
The formula “I level solo, gear up in 5-man groups, raid in 20-player raids, and eventually tackle the PvE and PvP endgame with 40 players” didn’t work out for many. The approach is now changing, with the last branch being cut off (the PvP endgame with the Warplots is also not well received) and a focus being placed more on content for solo players and small groups.
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At WildStar , there was apparently a severe disruption in the economic system. An exploit in the garden caused a spontaneous increase in gold, which then led to rampant inflation. However, the problem has been brought under control by Carbine.
A “exploit” in the “Garden” – there’s not much more to hear from official sources – and we don’t want to fuel this further, caused unrest in WildStar over the last 24-48 hours. On Reddit, players were already screaming disaster: Players allegedly exploited massively, and the C.R.E.D.D. price had risen to 30 Platinum.
How will everything turn out in the future? Players were calling for a rollback – the damage was too great, couldn’t be fixed, the Chua in the well has fallen, now the only solution is to erase the last days.
Carbine responded through the official forum, stating: They are aware of the exploit, will respond, and are giving players who are guilty here a few hours to come forward. Those who do not will face the ban hammer even harder than before. They said a rollback was unnecessary, the dimensions of the exploit were still manageable enough to fix manually – and then the banning likely began. They are preparing a hotfix. In the meantime, gardening is disabled.
Mein MMO states: It is always extremely difficult to assess from the outside how many players have been banned, how great the damage is, and whether all the “counterfeit money” will really disappear from the game. The reaction of fans on social media is not proportional to the actual damage done. This will ultimately only become evident over time. In The Elder Scrolls Online, something very similar took place right at the beginning, and ArcheAge just recently. These are problems that every MMO will eventually face. The “rollback” is often demanded. However, publishers now seem to dread it like the devil fears holy water. Because even all the “innocents” would be directly affected, as well as players who didn’t even notice it: This is a slaughter. Everyone notices it, then there’s no going back anymore.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy sci-fi MMO Skyforge , the technical beta is running. A one-hour stream also gives insight to those who were not selected into the current status.
Skyforge is the MMO with the slogan “The endgame is about becoming a god.” Much has been said about Skyforge, but there has been little to see. Currently, the game, developed by Team Allods in collaboration with Obsidian, is in a technical beta, to which only a few were invited. This beta is mainly to test the server structure in the West.
The US site mmorpg.com had the opportunity for a live stream with Eric DeMitt, one of the US developers working on the game, which is primarily developed by Team Allods. In the one-hour stream, a look at Skyforge can be taken: one can see the aesthetics of the game in motion from a cross-section, not just static concept art. Numerous details are provided about how the game is intended to feel and play later on. However, the free-to-play MMO is not yet optimized, and streaming issues are evident, leading to crashes.
Skyforge is currently being developed exclusively for PC. It has taken a lot from console action games. In the combat system, they aim to become a real “button masher.” When it comes to the look, it should not matter to players which equipment they are actually wearing. Players can freely choose from a variety of costumes. Skyforge is one of the few new releases in the MMO sector from the tripple-A, the largest weight class, in 2015.
Update: Unfortunately, the stream has been set to “Private,” apparently there are issues or a misunderstanding with the US site mmorpg.com.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, with the new Iron Banner, it will also be possible for non-raiders to come very close to the maximum level, the light level 30.
Actually, Friday is reserved for Xur, otherwise there’s not much happening in Destiny. There’s enough excitement, when the old noodle face shows up. But that will change from now on: Bungie has moved the “Weekly Update” forward by one day. There, they talk with the community once a week. The blog will now no longer come (according to our time) in the night from Friday to Saturday, but now already from Thursday to Friday. The reason is that they have now become “global”.
Between the lines, one could suspect it’s because gaming sites were already into the weekend by the time the update came, and the results of the Weekly Update were usually not available on their sites until Monday. However, the Iron Banner could already be followed on the relevant pages on Friday morning.
Anyway: Iron Banner 2.0 is coming.
The new Iron Banner should be as it was meant to be.
What has happened so far: The Iron Banner ran at the beginning of October as a week-long event. It was designed as a highlight for PvP players, a counterpart to the raid, so to speak. In the Crucible, the Guardians’ armor should now fully count, it was said. But that was not the case. There were difficulties in the event, and the equipment only played a slightly more significant role in the normal Crucible. Moreover, what equipment was available was not very appealing. Additionally, the Iron Banner suffered from several process issues: Players who thought they would lose simply left a match and started the next one, as they received no reputation for a defeat but also had nothing to fear in terms of negative consequences.
Bungie then decided to put the event on hold – just like the other major event in Destiny The Queen’s Wrath. They announced extensive changes, which they must have been working on in recent weeks. Actually, the Iron Banner should have returned last week but it was mistakenly active for 3 hours. However, they probably needed a bit longer to make the changes.
The Iron Banner and You: The most important questions about the new Iron Banner in Destiny
When is the new Iron Banner supposed to come? Data for it should be uploaded on Monday. It should start maybe on Thursday, the 20th of November, or Friday, the 21st of November. So far, it has only been mentioned as “by the end of next week”. And only if everything goes smoothly.
Equipment counts this time: Like a boss
Does armor count this time? Yes, they promised. A more heavily equipped player should feel like a “boss” to a weaker one. However, even the less well-equipped players can deal damage. It’s important to bring fully upgraded weapons to the Iron Banner. Players below level 20 can only participate in the mode if they team up with a player above that level (in a fireteam).
What about reputation?
What’s happening with reputation? The reputation from the last time carries over. However, there are now five reputation ranks instead of three. A 12-hour bonus can be activated. During this period, players gain significantly more reputation. The bonus should be used as late in the week as possible, as it brings more, it is said. The bonus is still quite a puzzle, regarding how it will work.
Attention, important: After this event, the reputation will be reset again. One should “forge the iron while it’s hot.” This could cause disappointment and frustration for some.
Running away doesn’t count in Destiny
How does Bungie want to prevent players from just leaving a match when they lose? For a defeat in the Iron Banner, there’s no reputation but a “medal.” In the event of a victory, up to 5 of these medals can be redeemed. Therefore, a defeat can still provide some reputation after the next win. Quitters get nothing.
And now the most important thing? What gifts await? Where’s the loot?
Is it worth it this time? According to Bungie, yes. However, players need to reach higher rank levels. It will therefore be something for frequent players of Destiny or for frequent winners. At a higher rank level (probably 5), there will likely be legendary gloves and boots that, when fully upgraded, will reach the light value of 30. Only exotic armor parts or legendary parts from the raid previously achieved this. Whoever has all 4 armor pieces at light level 30 reaches the light level 30, the current maximum level. This player will deal significantly more damage to level 30 mobs (important for the raid) and their drop chances will improve as well.
In the old system, players had to rely on luck in “The Glassed Chamber” to score some raid gear. This is likely to change now.
After the new Iron Banner: To reach 30: An exotic helmet or chest, 1 raid helmet or raid chest, and then boots and gloves from the Iron Banner.
All items will, of course, need to be upgraded with upgrade materials.
Almost to 30 without a raid, but just almost
This means: You still can’t make it without a raid. But whoever has the raid chest and an exotic helmet from Xur (that should be possible), can likely reach “safely” level 30 with the Iron Banner through effort. Depending on how the new items are distributed, whether randomly or available for purchase – that is still uncertain. It’s also hard to say how long it will take. Up to rank 5 could be quite a long way.
Besides the two armor pieces, there will likely be shaders, emblems, maybe ships, and also some legendary weapons.
Important: Legendary weapons have random “perks,” i.e., attributes. In the new Iron Banner, you should be able to reset them repeatedly until you are completely satisfied with a combination of these attributes.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Last weekend, the 10th anniversary of World of Warcraft was celebrated at BlizzCon in Anaheim. In addition to spectacular highlights like Overwatch, there was plenty of time to chat.
The colleagues from kotaku.com had the opportunity to speak with some Blizzard employees about the future of the Warcraft series.
World of Warcraft Lead Game Designer Ion Hazzikostas once again promised that future expansions will be released faster than before: “I know we have been saying this for years. You can find quotes from 2008 where we talk about how we want to release one expansion per year.” Blizzard wants to avoid long droughts in content, yet the planned rhythm for the last expansion was once again pushed back by a year to ensure the usual Blizzard quality.
Ion Hazzikostas, however, remains optimistic: “We have expanded our team, and I think we are able to work faster than before. Our goal is to get expansions into the hands of players faster.”
They are also already working on a new expansion for World of Warcraft. However, a makeover of the shattered world is not to be expected. WoW has evolved significantly over time, and the shattered world serves as a sort of “contrast program”.
Warcraft IV in development?
With Warcraft III, a new era of the RTS scene (Real Time Strategy) was ushered in. Looking back over the past 10 years, World of Warcraft would thus provide enough material for a Warcraft IV expansion, right? “There’s a lot of cool potential. Everyone from the WoW team sees Warcraft as an inspiration,” said Hazzikostas. Even though the Lead Designer does not want to comment further on Warcraft IV, Blizzard remains “interested”.
Regarding the question of Warcraft IV, they also asked Blizzard’s real-time strategy team. However, they are currently busy developing the last Starcraft II expansion “Legacy Of The Void.” Thus, the focus is clearly on completing the Starcraft II trilogy. After all, next year assets from Warcraft 3 will be added to the mod tools of Starcraft 2. This will allow Warcraft fans to implement their own scenarios in Starcraft II. However, Lead Game Producer Tim Morten added: “A return to the Warcraft universe would be awesome. I wish this would come true.”
If not Warcraft IV, then at least WoW 2?
We probably won’t have to wait for a WoW sequel. In a functioning MMO that’s been running for a decade, you can’t just reinvent or throw out basic game elements. A WoW 2 could be interesting if Blizzard wanted to implement something completely new that couldn’t be realized in World of Warcraft.
Conclusion: Fans have known for years that Blizzard would like to release new content and expansions at shorter intervals to bridge the drought around content. Despite the increase in the team, it doesn’t personally bother me if more time passes between expansions. After all, quality comes before speed.
Warcraft III is still a hit at every LAN party and is what it is: perfect. Sure, I would be very happy about a Warcraft IV, but let’s be honest: If Blizzard had a Warcraft IV alongside Overwatch – even I would find that too much anticipation.
WoW 2? Never! World of Warcraft not only has cult status but has also gone through a 10-year development process. Every player or former player can fill hundreds of books with stories from the past in WoW. If Blizzard were to simply come out with a… They would never do that!
Or what does your crystal ball say?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, Xur, the Agent of the Nine, has once again appeared in the Tower. What exotic goods does he bring for the weekend of November 14th to November 16th?
Xur is the most important man for equipping Guardians in Destiny
The most important man in Destiny for the lives of the Guardians is indeed Xur. This was recently revealed by a survey, where Guardians voted on which exotic weapons they possess. The result clearly showed how much players in Destiny rely on the Tentacle Man, the Black Market Dealer, and Weekend Worker: Ice Breaker, Patience and Time, Suros Regime – all of these weapons he had offered before for 17 or 23 strange coins – and lo and behold: Numerous Guardians reported owning these weapons.
Other exotic weapons that may either be random or from Xur, such as Thunderlord, the Mida Multi-Tool, or The Last Word, were searched for in vain by the Guardians in their pockets. They are significantly rarer.
It is clear: If the weapons appear today or on one of the next Fridays in Xur’s showcase, the soundscape in Destiny will change once again.
Exotic armor pieces can determine who will reach level 30
Besides weapon enthusiasts, each week those players wait for him who may have three armor pieces from the raid and hope that Xur has an exotic armor piece this time that they still lack. It is worth noting that Xur offers six items per class: 3 for a helmet, 2 for a chest piece, and 1 for gloves. There are no exotic boots. What he has exactly changes every week. With the right piece, Guardians can advance here and reach the coveted Light Level 30.
Oh, and for those who are frustrated that Xur doesn’t have the right items for them, you can take comfort in this: Mathematically, that’s completely okay.
All about Xur on the weekend of November 14th to November 16th
When does Xur come to the Tower and how long will he stay?
Xur, the Agent of the Nine, arrives on Friday, November 14th, at 10 AM German time in the Tower. He will stay there until Sunday, November 16th, at 10 AM.
What does Xur accept as payment?
Xur takes 13 strange coins for an exotic armor piece, 17 for an exotic secondary or special weapon, and 23 for an exotic primary weapon. An exotic engram costs 23 Motes of Light. Where is Xur in the Tower?
The location of Xur, or for our English-searching friends Xur’s Location, is: by the Speaker. So when you enter, it’s immediately to the left towards “Tower North.” The guys from Ziro.TV have made a video for you with the German names of the items, the current stats, and Xur’s location and everything else:
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What does Xur have this time? Which exotic weapons and armors are available?
For Titans, this week he once again offers the Armamentarium – this probably won’t please them. You can get the chest piece for 13 strange coins.
Also for the Hunters among you, there is a chest piece for 13 strange coins, the Crest of Alpha Lupi.
And for the Warlocks, there is also a chest piece, the Voidfang Vestments, which Xur offers for 13 strange coins.
The exotic hand cannon The Last Word is definitely the highlight this week. Xur has it for 23 strange coins. It’s likely that The Last Word will significantly change the dynamics in the Crucible of Destiny in the coming days and weeks.
And probably especially sought after this week: an exotic engram for the helmet slot. But be careful: 9 different helmets can drop. It’s therefore not very likely that the one you’re looking for is among them.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With the launch of the open beta, we had the opportunity for an interview with the lead artist of Trove, Brian Clarke. The voxel MMO adventure is a sandbox title with RPG elements and a blocky engine in a comic style. Players can let their creativity run wild in Trove and interact with the environment in various ways – together with other players.
That’s enough about Trove. Let’s start with the interview.
Please introduce yourself briefly to our readers. What are your tasks at Trove?
I am Brian (also known as GrumpNTu online) and the lead artist on our team. This means that I take care of the overall visual presentation of the game. I am responsible for areas such as character design, lighting effects, colors, and oversee pretty much everything that your eyes see, including the UI. Additionally, I also lead the Trove Creations on Reddit, where players can create their own content for the game.
Hello Brian. Since November 5th, Trove has been in open beta and accessible to everyone. What timeframe are you aiming for the release and what do you want to expand by then?
We haven’t set a timeframe for the release. Our goal is to leave beta status when we believe the game is ready and mature. Of course, we will continue to work on the game for a long time afterward – the beta is mainly there to get the core elements of the game, which should feel relatively complete, running smoothly.
Looking at the updates, Trove has been enriched with many new features and content in recent months. Does the voxel adventure hold a higher status internally at Trion now than at the beginning?
Trove has always received great attention within the team, and Trion has done a wonderful job giving the project all the opportunities it needs to thrive. It’s always been the team’s biggest goal to release new and exciting content regularly. Since the beginning of the project, we’ve had interesting updates almost every week. And we try to outdo ourselves with each patch. I think the company as a whole recognizes the importance of this and therefore shows great support.
In the market, there are three other sandbox games with Minecraft, Cube World, and Landmark. How do you differentiate Trove from the others, and what target audience do you want to reach?
I believe that Trove surpasses all others in terms of support. The game itself is incredibly entertaining and has grown tremendously in a very short time. However, that doesn’t prevent us from being very engaged with the community. The entire team checks the forums, Reddit, emails, and more every day. So it’s not just our community team that is amazing (which it is). The game developers genuinely want to create something that players are asking for. We offer many aspects of building and exploring, and lots of ways to experience adventure. We add new ones every day, but we really listen to our player base and involve them everywhere. I don’t think you would find such an intense player-developer collaboration elsewhere.
Why did you choose a comic and blocky voxel engine? The world and the art design are quite abstract. Were there initial discussions about a more realistic graphic style?
We never intended to make Trove realistic. We knew it was going to be fantasy and something fun, but we experimented with a lot of different varieties and approaches to the art style. The idea of using voxel to remove barriers from building became a necessity. The team was very small at the start (yes, even smaller than our current team of 12 developers), so we needed something that allowed us to be flexible with both concept and graphic changes. We also wanted a unique look that set us apart from others, which is why we decided to go with a very colorful and crazy setting. I prioritized a cartoon style first and voxel second. I feel we’ve done a good job so far while continuously growing and developing new techniques that aren’t typically found in voxel games.
According to the definition on the official website, Trove is an MMO. How “massive” is Trove really and what makes it an MMO?
Trove allows all our players to play together; if they are on your friends list, you can instantly switch to the world they are in. No character transfers, no ensuring that you are really on the same server as your friends, or anything like that. Once you are in Trove, it is very easy to play with your friends and find new ones. The entire game world is regularly enriched with community-created adventures and dungeons. These are randomly assembled, so your gameplay experience never feels exactly the same. There are also many classic MMO gameplay elements in Trove: professions, crafting, leveling, and more. Based on that, we’ve introduced a few fun things that can be experienced alone or with friends. It is also very easy to create a club (our version of a guild) and design an entire world according to your ideas just among club members. There is something for everyone in Trove, and more is always on the way.
It seems that many players are longing for sandbox content or are at least curious. There was quite a hype with ArcheAge recently, with hours of waiting times. Did you benefit from the influx caused by ArcheAge?
I think so. I feel that many of the points that attract players to ArcheAge are also present in Trove at a beginner-friendly level. The freedom to take your own path and gradually improve your character through new skills and adventures. You create a very unique and immersive experience when playing ArcheAge. I believe that Trove satisfies many of those needs as well. You receive your own “cornerstone”, a piece of land where you can build whatever you want. To realize that, you only need to gather resources. All sorts of loot and crafting resources can be obtained during your adventures in the world. This also makes you a better fighter. Whether building or shadow invasions (note of the editor: dynamic events with intruders), alone or with friends, in a small or massive scale – so much is possible. Whatever you are looking for in a sandbox game, I am convinced that Trove can deliver it.
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Trove contains relatively many elements of online role-playing games, which is unusual for a sandbox game of this kind. Which do you consider to be the most important at Trove?
I would say personally, the community. There are many great things that Trove offers that other games of this type do not. But for me, it’s special to play with friends or meet new people – that’s not usually offered by sandbox games. Most sandbox titles are single-player or allow only a very limited number of players. Trove gives you all these exciting elements from the sandbox genre and combines them with the online experience that I have come to love from other MMOs. Respectfully, Trove has some great features, but in the end, it’s the people who make an MMO so special, and I find our community to be amazing.
Currently, players have 5 different classes to choose from, each with their own skills. Why did you introduce them? Are they simply to provide a different gameplay experience or do they play increasingly significant roles in game design?
Each class is packed to fulfill a fun fantasy role. We have the tricky wizard, the steadfast knight, a transforming dragon magician, and so on. Our aim with all classes is that they play as you envisioned during the class selection.
Right now, you are totally focused on PvE. Will PvP content also be added in the future or are you intentionally excluding that area?
We are very focused on PvE. We like the community that has formed and think that PvP promotes a player behavior that currently doesn’t fit the game – not for the Trove we are creating.
With the last patch, you introduced a new profession called “Gardening”. What can players expect in Trove?
Gardening is all about investing time to create new resources. You plant your plants and wait for them to sprout! It’s also our first profession, a type of crafting that unlocks new recipes. This happens by creating products that come from recipes of the previous tier in the progress tree.
Do you have plans to expand group content in Trove? Would raids for, let’s say, 12 players be conceivable?
We already have group content! Up to 8 players can participate in the “Shadow Arenas”, which is essentially our endgame. We have further plans for this, including expanding it into content that can also be created by the community.
Building, exploring, and fighting can certainly be fun, but long-term incentives must also be created. What features or systems will ensure that players remain loyal to Trove and always have goals ahead of them?
I believe that the “Mastery System” is very well suited for this. There are many other ways to obtain the best gear, craft the best rings, collect everything conceivable in the world, but the Mastery System ties all this together and offers even more. Each class has its own, individual level that gradually increases. As a player, you also have the mastery level. This level increases by pursuing all the content that Trove offers as much as possible. Collecting recipes, leveling classes, claiming weapon skins, and much more increases your mastery level. With each new level achieved, you receive something new, such as an increased number of health potions, improved stats, credits filling your wallet, and new mounts as well. The mastery system will continuously be expanded, as we plan to add a large amount of content to the game. There are many reasons to keep playing, but personally, I love the mastery system.
Do you have a personal favorite among the player-created content?
Choosing a favorite is always dangerous for me because I edit all the reviews and decide which player-generated items make it into the game. I want them to still like me after this interview. As long as they understand that I still care about them, I can reveal that we are adding a new dungeon soon, which I think is very well made. This comes from our players Uniquisher, Stedms, and Brolycia. Awesome job!
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What major features can we expect in the future? What’s on the “Wall of Crazy”?
Fishing! Ice Wizards! Pet Eggs! Festivals and Seasons!
Trove is free-to-play and thus relies on an item shop and supporter packages. What advantages can players purchase in the shop?
I have a feeling that the shop designers have done a great job introducing items that are worth buying but leaving out those that would offer too many advantages. Trion is generally very much against the whole “pay-to-win” concept, and we take great pride in that. We want to give players items that they would like to have but don’t necessarily have to buy – like cool-looking mounts. Players can get everything they need to have fun and improve by playing Trove. We are interested in enriching the shop with unique items that are meant to bring fun, but aren’t necessary to play the game.
Last but not least: How do you want to convince our readers, who haven’t played Trove yet, to give it a try?
I believe that Trove offers a lot for many different types of players. We have adopted known and popular features from classic MMOs, but we also offer everything you would expect from a sandbox game. It is by far the most unique and exciting project I have ever worked on; the only one where the team collaborates so well with the community. We not only take suggestions every day and respond to player feedback, but we also let the community participate in shaping the game. Each of us on the team is very connected to Trove, and I think you can see that passion in Trove. We will regularly add updates with new content and fix issues to provide the best possible player experience. What’s great about Trion in general is that they strongly support their products and listen to their player base. Our team believes in that. I think all these things make for a great experience for our players.
Thank you for the interview, Brian.
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Those who would like to take a look at the sandbox game Trove after this interview can sign up on this website, download the client, and play for free: http://www.trionworlds.com/trove/
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The most popular servers in World of Warcraft are suffering under the influx of fans for Warlords of Draenor. Now Blizzard is opening the emergency valve and offering free server transfers.
On the most popular servers, Warlords of Draenor is causing significant issues. Server outages, eternally long queues, unstable zones (especially Frostfire Ridge), frustrated players. The player distribution is indeed highly uneven among the World of Warcraft servers and a disproportionately high share of players is on the large servers: The 25 smallest servers fit into Blackhand, the largest.
Time to move away from Blackrock, Blackhand, or Thrall?
Therefore, Blizzard has opened the emergency valve for such occasions and is offering free server transfers for players to the following realms:
Blackmoore
(PvP) -> Nazjatar, Nefarian
Antonidas
(PvE) -> Arygos, Netherstorm
Blackhand
(PvE) -> Arygos, Netherstorm
Thrall
(PvE) -> Arygos, Netherstorm
Aegwynn
(PvP) -> Nazjatar, Nefarian
Eredar
(PvP) -> Arthas, Nazjatar
Blackrock
(PvP) -> Arthas, Nazjatar
The server transfers (or character migrations or character transfers) now apply to both factions and not just the “dominant” one as before.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The fantasy MMO Guild Wars 2 has earned significantly less in the last quarter compared to the previous year. The publisher NCSoft announces very softly that they may soon say something about a possible expansion.
Currently, quarterly figures are coming in from various companies, including the Korean publisher NCSoft, which is mainly associated in the West with Guild Wars 2 and WildStar. For Guild Wars 2, a 19.6% decrease in revenue compared to the previous year and 8.5% less than in the second quarter of 2014 is reported. This means Guild Wars 2 has recorded the lowest revenue to date in the last quarter. Nevertheless, NCSoft is satisfied with the developments in the West, although they expected more from the expansion to China.
In the future, they plan to advertise more aggressively and initiate some marketing campaigns to attract new players to GW2.
A sensitive topic among fans is an expansion. They desire a lot. Here, NCSoft has only a weak statement: “The game is now two years old. Therefore, we think that in the not-too-distant future, an opportunity may arise to present our plans for expansion packages.”
Overall, NCSoft is doing well, mainly due to the strong presence of the corporation in the Asian market. Here, older and rather unknown games in the West like Aion, Lineage 1, and Lineage 2 continue to generate revenue.
For hardcore fans of the numbers, here are our two articles on NCSoft’s first and second quarter reports this year:
In the MMO shooter Destiny the new expansion, the DLC “The Darkness Awaits” is set to arrive in December, and players have already been given a glimpse of what to expect through concept art. YouTubers, however, have already made excursions to these places a month ago, which were still considered “secret” at that time.
Long before the first bits and bytes come into play, artists and designers sit down and create a vision of the characters, items, and places that players will see on their screens years later. These designs are known as “concept art.” This can refer to character sketches, images of weapons and armor, or locations, dungeons, abandoned ruins, and mysterious structures that give a moody game that sense of space, time, and atmosphere that is so important.
The next expansion, the DLC, for Destiny, “The Darkness Awaits,” will not bring new planets or Saturn or Jupiter, but will open new parts of the world. Bungie has now provided a look at the concept art for it.
Four Concept Art Pieces for “The Darkness Awaits” in Destiny
Deep beneath the abandoned structure of the Cosmodrome lies the “Seraphim Vault.” An ancient crypt of power and knowledge lies in wait for the seasoned adventurer.
With “The Darkness Awaits,” the “Jovian Complex” in the Cosmodrome also opens, promising exciting action. The Hive has taken over the building – and you can see that.
Under the sands of Mars, the Hypogeum awaits the Guardians, created by the Vex ages ago, where a powerful and watchful Guardian lurks.
And in the deepest inner part of the Moon, the Guardians gain access to the “Chamber of Night.” Terrible rituals of the Hive are said to take place here.
From “The Jovian Complex,” it is already known that it will be the next official strike for all Guardians – another one remains exclusive to players on PlayStation. In the Complex, a monstrous adversary named Omnigul awaits the Guardians. The “Chamber of Night” will likely be another story mission dealing with the Hive and will then lead into the raid “Crota’s End”. The other two locations could also play a role in the course of the new story missions.
Due to glitches, the locations in Destiny are already visible
Most of these locations are already accessible in the game, but only through “glitches,” through exploiting. They are currently still empty. There isn’t much to see yet. These are the places that drove everyone crazy a few weeks ago with “Oh my God, here’s a secret area!”, “Oh my God, here’s another one!” Back then, everyone thought they were for strikes; today we know: Most are probably intended for story missions. We’ll show you a few videos – but be warned: There isn’t much to see.
This will probably be the new strike “Jovian Complex”:
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The sand park MMO ArcheAge has drawn the ire of numerous fans due to a change in the cash shop. Now, Trion Worlds states that it didn’t go as planned.
If there was still something like a house blessing between players and the publisher Trion Worlds, it has not only been askew since the weekend, but even more so. A new limited-time chest was introduced in the cash shop. The content: seedlings for special trees (Rumbling Archeum Trees), from which there was a 10% chance to become a “Thunderstruck Tree”.
That had been one of the most valuable resources in the game, fetching prices of 400 gold (depending on the server). “Successful” players had previously made great efforts to acquire these “Thunderstruck Trees”, created massive forests that were farmed, saved up every coin, prayed to the Karma gods, trusted their luck, robbed and plundered. It was also a valuable speculative commodity. Now prices have plummeted. They could be found – with a bit of luck and effort – directly for some euros from the chests.
Some cheered: Finally, the trees had become affordable and the “Farm Cart”, with which one could more easily complete trade runs and become rich faster, was within reach. Others were visibly upset, as their efforts turned to ashes overnight. And why did this change come out of nowhere? Was it an attempt to make a quick buck with ArcheAge? Did they want to snatch away the retroactively accumulated 10% bonus from patrons?
A dangerous trend was observed, many said: Trion Worlds intervened from the outside, through the cash shop, in the economic cycle of the sandbox ArcheAge, which should actually be determined by the players. The excitement was great. Pay2Win accusations circulated. The discussion went back and forth, tempers were heated.
The blame for the tree fiasco in ArcheAge was a misunderstanding in the communication with Korea
Now Trion Worlds has commented on the issues: It didn’t go as planned.
The fault was once again the apparently difficult communication with the Korean developers XLGames and Trion Worlds’ own difficulties in explaining clearly and timely what they were doing to the fans. XLGames proposed changes to the cash shop and intended to introduce the new chests to ensure that more players received their “Farm Cart”.
At Trion Worlds, they agreed to the request but did not know how high the chance of the trees actually would be to become a “Thunderstruck Tree”. They did not realize that the changes to the shop would bring so many new trees into the game. They thought they would be significantly rarer and harder to obtain. Here, a misunderstanding in communication occurred. In the future, they want to pay more attention to ensure that this does not happen again.
They want to test changes to the cash shop more thoroughly and broadly, also regarding their long-term effects, and tell players exactly what they are planning.
Currently, it happens that they meet with XLGames twice a month, talk, make suggestions, and agree on what they want to change in the cash shop, then the Koreans program that and it gets inserted into the game. It is the sole responsibility of Trion Worlds to explain this to the players correctly and in a timely manner. That went wrong here.
They will now first remove the chest from the game, as they had already planned with XLGames, and then consider how to reintroduce it into ArcheAge. Since the chest was introduced, they have noticed an increased volume of trade and more activity in the game. They find that good.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the free online collectible card game Hearthstone , three new cards from the expansion “Goblins vs Gnomes” have been revealed. One of them continues the trend of attacking too strong decks in the game with new cards.
The Clockwork Giant, an 8/8 creature for 12 mana, already targeted the currently popular “Handlock” deck with its ability to become cheaper the more cards the opponent has in hand. In this deck, a Warlock plays few of their own cards in the early rounds, draws cards to hand faster with their hero power, and then destroys the opponent with cards like the Mountain Giant or the Twilight Drake, which benefit when the player has a full hand. Of course, Blizzard is aware of this but does not simply want to nerf the Handlock and other similar decks but rather “balance” them in the game with new cards.
One of the new expansion cards, a 2/3 creature for 3 mana (above), is supposed to counter this. Its damage increases by four points if the opponent holds more than 6 cards. A 6/3 creature for 3 mana is quite nasty. The second new minion (right) that has been revealed will please rogues. It is their class card and a 2-mana drop with solid 3/2 stats, granting +1 to the weapon.
In the near future, Blizzard plans to reveal more Hearthstone cards from the expansion, allowing players to vote on which one it will be. To start, they’ve shown this gnome (left), which gives the hero 4 health points per turn as long as they have a secret active. “Secrets” is also an exciting topic: they have become significantly stronger with Naxxramas, especially some Hunter and Mage variants rely on them. Here, Blizzard hints that there might be a new “Gnomes vs Goblins” card in Hearthstone that makes it a bit harder for secrets. However, they do not provide specifics.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
