There has been a lot of negative reporting about the SF-MMO WildStar lately. Now, two of the responsible parties are speaking out.
In a conversation with eurogamer.net, two of the heads of Carbine Studios, Chad “Pappy” Moore and Mike Donatelli, discuss the negative headlines that WildStar has accumulated lately: The departure of prominent figures, complaints about bugs, allegedly declining player numbers, negative reports from former employees, and most recently, the layoff of 60 employees by the publisher NCSoft.
A lot of sales at launch, but then likely a significant decline
It all started so well. The launch of WildStar went excellently. They had no clear idea before the release of how often they would sell the game. Donatelli never thought, “Sure, we’ll hit a quarter of a million players.” Then they actually reached that number and exceeded it by far. But after that, the conversation about WildStar, the hype surrounding the game, faded and disappeared.
Neither of the two wanted to comment on the current numbers of how many players WildStar still has. In a conversation a few weeks ago, they spoke vaguely about “several hundred thousand players,” so at least 200,000. NCSoft did not want to specify this number when asked by the US magazine massively.
271 employees before release – now 60 have been laid off
Recently, Mike Donatelli sat down and talked with the publisher of NCSoft. They are experts and specialize in MMOs. They believe in a future for the game and want to continue supporting WildStar. Carbine wants to hold the Korean publisher to that word, as stated in the conversation with eurogamer.
The layoffs at Carbine by NCSoft were confirmed by Donatelli. No official numbers were known before. According to a source from the US site Polygon, 60 employees of Carbine have been laid off. The number seems correct according to Donatelli: “So in that range, yes.” Before the launch of WildStar, they had significantly increased the team, at its peak employing 271 people. Even now, hundreds are still working on WildStar. Layoffs are tough, but they are part of the business.
Negative employee reviews were the result of frustration over layoffs
The negative reports from former employees on the “Employees rate their company and management” site Glassdoor are, according to Chad Moore, also the result of these layoffs. They have nonetheless addressed each individual criticism, taken it seriously, and learned a lot from it. Overall, they have become a different, better studio since the launch of the game.
With the current update, they have primarily addressed the numerous bugs. Fixing them was a priority. Looking to the future and with the next content drop, they have set the goal of continuing to work on the game and, above all, offering more to solo players and smaller groups in the endgame. This is currently seen as the biggest challenge. Players should also be rewarded richer in WildStar.
On our WildStar topic page you can find a lot of information about the MMO, although – lately – often rather bad news. These have been dominant in recent months, as can be seen from the course of this conversation. Hopefully, happier times will come again soon.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The launch trailer for the World of Warcraft add-on “Warlords of Draenor” has been released: In the Age of Iron, the conflict between Azeroth and the Iron Horde of Draenor begins.
Blizzard is making a big splash a few hours before the release – it is supposed to start at midnight in Azeroth. In the launch trailer “Age of Iron,” the characters of the upcoming expansion once again have time to mark their territory. You see the Warlords in action, there are strong quotes, and the Draenei also get their appearance, although their Slavic accents in the German voice-over can still be a bit confusing.
The farming of upgrade materials in Destiny such as Helium Filaments, Relic Iron, Ghost Flower, and Spinmetal is supposed to change, likely becoming more action-oriented.
It must have been a bit like shouting your frustration about the world into the forest, and then someone answers: “You’re right, I’ll take care of it.” In the Destiny subreddit, a user explained their issues with the game: they can no longer see any chests. That would be the only thing that could still advance them in the game.
User complains on Reddit about the monotonous farming of materials in Destiny
Every day, PolygonMan wrote on Reddit, they log in less frequently. They have weapons, they also have the ascendant materials, they have XP, they have everything that they can usually achieve in the game through shooting: “The only thing I need now can only be obtained by running in circles for hours and opening chests.”
Investing hours into the same monotonous task is not fundamentally a problem. They have nothing against grinding, but the chest farming is so mind-numbingly boring that they can’t bring themselves to do it anymore. And all of this just for these materials? Who even thought of this! Running in circles forever in a shooter without shooting. For such a sacrilege, heads should roll.
The community on Reddit shared their frustration. It’s also not really clear what the purpose of farming the materials is. In every other part of Destiny, the gunplay, the shooting, comes to life; during material farming, though, there’s just endless running. Farming planetary materials (Spinmetal, Helium Filaments, Ghost Flower, and Relic Iron) remains a necessary evil, if you want to upgrade your items and progress further in the endgame.
More hunting, less gathering – will the boxes soon face the axe?
Well, that wouldn’t be anything special. Everywhere on the internet, there are long discussions and reasonable complaints about weaknesses in the game mechanics. But then came the surprise. The complaints from the community were heard. Bungie’s community manager DeeJ floated into the thread and said: “We will have you hunt more than gather in the future.” They listened to the thread starter and people who think like him and heard their complaints.
Apparently, Bungie realized that the pacifistic farming of upgrade materials in Destiny was somehow the wrong idea and is now steering against it. One can only guess what Destiny is planning exactly; perhaps we can soon say goodbye to the chests, and then the upgrade materials will drop – like everything else – from enemies. That upgrading is supposed to become “more interesting” was already stated in the last Weekly Update.
By the way, there’s a bunch of videos on the best “farm runs” to the chests, we’ve compiled a few:
Helium Filaments on the Moon
http://youtu.be/PCpa0IcShF0
Spinmetal on Earth: http://youtu.be/zEdiV7gRRF8
Ghost Flowers can be found on Venus: http://youtu.be/O2KF2-zjMlQ
And the Relic Iron then from Mars: http://youtu.be/YGOL6TNLVhY
The Collector’s Edition of Warlords of Draenor is in the hands of a YouTuber. She is working on the expansion of World of Warcraft in an unboxing video.
Unboxing videos are somewhat like watching other people eat. Still, or probably because of that, they are surprisingly popular. We have dug up an unboxing video of the Collector’s Edition for Warlords of Draenor – so of the box, digital would be quite silly. By the way, our favorite unboxing is the last five minutes of “Seven.”
The lady in the video is Michele Morrow, who according to massively was also a co-host of Blizzcon. Have fun watching her unpack (not what you think). If you want to read about what’s included in the Collector’s Edition of Warlords of Draenor, click here. At midnight, WoD will seamlessly transition to the live servers.
http://youtu.be/O63hFmWz37A
And here’s another little picture:
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The long-awaited Western port of the Korea MMO Blade and Soul (Blade&Soul) is slowly taking shape. Now they are looking for key staff for the West.
There has been trouble surrounding NCSoft’s Korea MMO Blade and Soul for some time. The port to the West has been delayed. Recently, there was a sign of life, when an employee from NCSoft dropped some hints at Gamescom in Cologne. After that, there was another “ping” on the EKG, when it was said at an Nvidia event, they really want to release it (unfortunately, they had incorrectly translated the Korean original in the video subtitles, an announced release still in 2014 turned out to be a serious mistranslation).
So far, fans have not really trusted the situation, having been disappointed too often in the past.
However, another sign has now emerged that NCSoft is serious about it, even though things haven’t been going so well in the West lately. NCSoft is advertising two important positions for the office in California: They are looking for a Brand Manager for Blade and Soul and also a Publishing Producer.
These seem to be exactly the people needed to create hype for Blade and Soul in the West. A port and a soon-to-be release seem to be secure.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Korean MMO Black Desert is a feast for the eyes. This is once again shown by screenshots of one of the classes, the female Ranger.
The Korean MMO Black Desert has released new screenshots of the Hunter class “the Ranger” or better said “the female Ranger” – the Korea MMO is known to have a gender lock. The screenshots look fantastic once again.
The MMO has such impressive graphics that a video about character creation was enough to make MMO players worldwide gasp in awe. Black Desert has completed the third Closed Beta phase in Korea and is expected to release there soon. Here in the West, at least that’s the plan, the beta begins in early 2015, and the game is supposed to be released in 2016.
If you want to have something to look at, but also want to learn about the gameplay, we recommend our preview of Black Desert.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With World of Warcraft, the new expansion Warlords of Draenor, WoD, starts on Thursday. But when?
“When does Warlords of Draenor begin? Is it at midnight, or when?” These are the questions you read in the trade channels of this world. Now you have an answer: Yes, exactly at midnight. On the night of Wednesday, November 12, to Thursday, November 13, at 0:00 German time, we are going to Draenor. This is the official release time.
The transition is supposed to happen smoothly. You don’t even have to log out. Of course, there may be problems when Horde and Alliance stream to Draenor, but well … who cares about the saying that toothless old men murmur by the campfire: “Never play on a Patch Day”, when they can stay ahead of the unwashed masses and be the first to plunge their sword into a virgin mob, with the cheerful certainty: Exactly that mob hasn’t been killed by anyone before me.
That aside, it is clear: With the launch of Warlords of Draenor, things are heating up again in World of Warcraft.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The god MMO Skyforge is stylish enough to present itself to the public, and is now looking for YouTubers. The hype around the triple-A title has so far been absent in the West.
Skyforge is certainly the game among the promising MMOs that are set to launch soon, which is the least on the radar here in the West. Everquest Next has a large fanbase from the older titles, while fans of the Asia-MMOs Black Desert, Blade and Soul and Bless Online know what they are getting, even Camelot Unchained, a small Kickstarter project, has found its audience with DAOC and Warhammer Online veterans.
But Skyforge, a Russian MMO being developed by Team Allods together with Fallout creators Obsidian, somehow hasn’t gained much traction in the West. So far, there has been a lot to tell and relatively little to see. That is supposed to change this weekend, as a technical beta weekend will start. The catch: Only a few are invited. However, the relatively low awareness of the game could now become an advantage for YouTubers. Anyone with an active YouTube channel with over 5000 subscribers can get in touch with my.com and secure an invitation to the beta. Condition: They need to create a few videos.
Mein MMO says:It is perplexing how little hype there still is around Skyforge. Although we already know relatively much about the game and the beta is approaching, Skyforge is only on a few radars, even though it strongly resembles a triple-A production. Perhaps the Russian game is struggling because it is neither fish nor flesh. While Asia-MMOs have their fans and Western MMOs do as well, Skyforge sits between worlds, unable to be precisely categorized. For the MMO, we hope that more players will soon become aware of it.
We live in a gaming world where every major offline franchise is now relying on MMO elements and pushing into the market. Therefore, a fresh MMO title that has no existing fanbase can easily sink into obscurity. Unfortunately, there have been examples of this this year. Perhaps Skyforge, like World of Tanks or War Thunder, is focusing more on the domestic market and will be a hit in the states of the former Eastern Bloc. The collaboration with Obsidian Entertainment should ensure that the title also reaches the West. During public appearances in English, which the Russian developers visibly struggle with, the veterans from Obsidian take over speaking. They should also ensure that Skyforge reaches our market.
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The MMO shooter Destiny will be unreachable on Thursday evening our time from 5 PM to approximately 9 PM on all platforms. The servers will be taken offline for maintenance.
Thursday, November 13th, will be a black Thursday for Destiny fans. Whether on Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360 or Xbox One – the screen will remain black, the servers are down for maintenance, Destiny is offline. A patch or so is not to be deployed, no fix for exotic weapons or the raid. In the medium term, the announced updates are to be prepared, which are planned for the upcoming weeks.
The maintenance should start at 5 PM and last until approximately 9 PM, but it may be delayed if problems arise. Thus, the maintenance falls right into primetime. On the West Coast of the USA, it takes place in the morning from 8 AM until about noon. Australians have it best: For them, this all happens at night from 3 AM to 7 AM. One can skip a round of Crucible or a visit to the raid.
At least there is a 36-hour advance warning, so there is enough space to adjust your evening plans for Thursday accordingly.
Mein MMO says: This is the downside of a global server where everyone plays together. The maintenance times are quite favorable for the USA, but for us Europeans, they are in the middle of prime time. Luckily, such maintenance occurs relatively rarely in Destiny.
In MMORPGs with regular maintenance like The Elder Scrolls Online, such breaks during European prime time led to protests, Zenimax responded and scheduled maintenance in Europe for the early morning. With Destiny, that is probably not to be expected.
Update 16:30:Bungie tweeted:
We’ll be taking Destiny offline shortly for planned maintenance. Destiny will come back online once our work is done. http://t.co/G4zgKX0Zpy
With a tweet, the developers of Destiny, Bungie, congratulated the gaming studio 343 Industries on the new “Halo: The Master Chief Collection”.
It must be a strange feeling for Bungie to see someone else bringing out a Halo now. After all, Bungie grew up with this franchise, becoming a global phenomenon, practically exploding – and some say that Destiny is basically a kind of “Halo” with slightly different names for the characters. The gunplay and the 30-second rule can be recognized again. You can’t quite separate from what made you great after all.
Today it happened again: A new Halo was released worldwide – or rather: not really a “new” Halo. With “Halo: The Master Chief Collection,” 343 Industries exclusively released a collection of remastered and graphically enhanced versions of those classic Halo games in which the Master Chief played a pivotal role.
Bungie congratulated with a tweet. It’s nice to see the Chief back in action.
Congratulations, 343. It’s great to see the Chief back in action.
As expected, the tweet sparked a huge discussion among fans, including some Halo veterans who are now playing Destiny. Some believe that since Bungie is no longer involved, Halo is going downhill, wishing Destiny a quick death and hoping Bungie returns to the Halo franchise. Others say that travelers should not be stopped, and that the franchise has flourished under studio 343.
Bungie had separated from Microsoft amid great attention from the industry and gamers and teamed up with Activision, to build a 10-year franchise, namely Destiny. They secured a stronger position in the partnership with Activision.
One of the reasons for this move, it was said later, was that with Activision they could also develop for PlayStation and not just exclusively for Xbox as under Microsoft. This way, they could also connect with players outside of North America, where Xbox is particularly strong. Additionally, they likely wanted to be their own boss again. And well – as already mentioned – Destiny is not that far from Halo, as this somewhat biting video shows:
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The story of the fantasy MMO Guild Wars 2 continues on November 18 with the episode “Twisted Paths”.
The second half of the second season of the Living World started a week ago with “Echoes of the Past”. Next Tuesday, it continues with “Twisted Paths”. ArenaNet is once again releasing a trailer to get fans excited.
Anyone who logs in within two weeks after the episode starts at Guild Wars 2 unlocks the episode for all their characters on the account. As seen in the trailer, it involves a dragon egg that has been discovered, and each of the factions in Tyria would like to have it – including Mordremoth. And if he gets it …
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Recently, a highly dubious rumor has surfaced regarding the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online: The port to the consoles Playstation 4 and Xbox One has supposedly been cancelled because Bethesda does not want to ruin the reputation of the franchise.
Currently, there is a rumor from the site “levelsave”, which all gaming magazines around the world are likely jumping on. According to “Levelsave”, a hacker who heard it from an anonymous source told them: The Elder Scrolls Online is not coming to Playstation 4 and Xbox One. The game would be in a “playable” state, but Bethesda is dissatisfied with it and does not want a TESO on consoles to collide with a potential The Elder Scrolls 6. They are concerned about the good reputation of the franchise.
Rumors are a sign of how much scorn The Elder Scrolls Online still faces
Mein MMO believes: There are not enough quotation marks in the world to wrap around the word “rumor”. Unfortunately, even the big gaming sites in Germany report on it gratefully, even though the source situation here is extremely uncertain. It is no coincidence that such theses repeatedly emerge around The Elder Scrolls Online. Such a resounding slap in the face for the game would be water on the mills of those who already held nothing of The Elder Scrolls Online in April and now feel confirmed by such “Bethesda finds it dumb” things. Few games face as much scorn in forums, social networks, or on gaming sites as TESO. Many fans of Skyrim or veterans of the series clearly wished for a sixth Elder Scrolls part and not an MMO, especially not one only on PC.
In the past, various gaming magazines have reported “rumors” that TESO would soon be Free2Play. However, these were simply speculations from fans, but that just sounds too unspectacular.
The Elder Scrolls Online has been actively developed and improved on PC in recent months at full speed. Therefore, such a dramatic turn of events for the worse seems highly unlikely. Zenimax is not a contractual partner of Bethesda, as they are under one roof.
Update 22:15: What a crazy surprise. The rumor was baseless. Wow, who would have seen this twist coming?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy MMO Guild Wars 2, there’s a new lumberjack axe in the Gem Store – and ArenaNet has come up with something special.
Normally, we don’t report on cosmetic items in MMO stores (“Oh! There’s the twenty-fourth costume this year!” “Oh, the exclusive pet that only buyers of a Collector’s Edition should have received is now available in another color for everyone!”). But for special things, we gladly make an exception.
In Guild Wars 2, generous arborists can now purchase the Woodchop-R-Tron for the considerable sum of 1000 gems. Gameplay-wise, it’s simply an axe that you never have to replace. But that would be somewhat cruel considering the animations and the show that the woodchopping bot puts on. A brave new world: We never have to chop down a tree ourselves again.
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Not only the animation makes one smile, but also the lines are something. Whether one is willing to put down the considerable sum of 1000 gems is another question.
Also new in the cash shop, a costume (there it is again): The Glaring Glint Mask. And a pet in the form of an airship. The two cosmetic items are available for 500 gems each. And for more serious news about Guild Wars 2, here’s our article on GemGate.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard’s free online card game Hearthstone has no plans to come to consoles. They also rejected the idea of a physical edition.
A few weeks ago, images from Asia circulated: someone had turned “Hearthstone” into a physical, tangible edition with cardboard cards and numerous plugs and buttons. After Blizzard took legal action against a digital copy from Asia, it is expected that the Chinese cardboard Hearthstone will soon face a similar fate.
The risk of explosion would simply be too great
Nevertheless, it’s an interesting idea. Could Blizzard themselves be interested in putting something like this together? “No,” said Hearthstone Software Engineer Rachelle Davis in an interview with Shacknews. The game is digitally designed. A tangible version of the game would have trouble replicating the individual effects. “Sure, one could make a card explode – but would that still be child-safe?” she asked with a smile.
There are currently no plans for a console port either. With the Android tablets, set to get Hearthstone in December, and the smartphone port next year, they apparently have enough to do. However, in the future, further cross-promotional actions with other Blizzard games can be imagined, such as the Hearthsteed mount with World of Warcraft. Because “Blizzard loves Blizzard” and they enjoy collaborating with the other franchises under the corporate roof. http://youtu.be/vgMGgKDKctk
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny the weekly Nightfall strike is this time on Venus against the Archon Priest in the strike “Winter’s Run”.
In the week from November 11 to November 18, the mood is electrified. It’s buzzing again. An Arc Burn is activated, which means electro weapons deal significantly more damage.
Meanwhile, the week for Guardians in Germany starts at 10 AM on Tuesday morning. In summer it was 11 AM, but somehow the post-apocalypse seems to have abolished daylight savings time – and so Bungie’s shooter Destiny ignores our earthly time change. The ideal week start for Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans who are already further advanced is the weekly Nightfall strike, the Nightfall. It goes somewhere else every week.
It’s worth it because a successful completion grants a one-week bonus that increases all collected experience and reputation by 24.5%. This is ideal for leveling weapons or further increasing reputation – and the drops in the Nightfall strike shouldn’t be too shabby – if karma is on your side. Additionally, the Nightfall is a challenge every week, and some Guardians have made it their goal to complete it solo.
The modifiers for the weekly Nightfall strike on November 11.
The Nightfall has its own rules. It features 5 modifiers, of which two are always the same; the other three change. This week there are the following modifiers:
Epic – This makes the Archon Priest and his minions a bit more disgusting than in the heroic versions of the strike
Nightfall – Go back to start; if the entire team of Guardians wipes, it goes back to orbit, and the strike must be completely restarted
Juggler – With this modifier, no ammo drops for the weapon used to defeat an enemy. Therefore, you should switch through your weapon arsenal, practically juggling
Lightswitch – Enemies bring the big spoon, causing significantly increased melee damage
Arc Burn – Arc damage, so everything that buzzes or shocks – is significantly increased for both enemies and Guardians
And what weapons should you take this week in Destiny?
Generally, sniper rifles are always in demand for the Nightfall, especially if you want to complete it solo like many in Destiny. This week, a weapon with Arc damage is recommended. A sniper rifle with Arc damage? Is there something? Sure, Patience and Time, an exotic sniper rifle, is the ideal choice for this round. Good thing that colleague Xur recently had it on offer during Halloween. Those who seized that opportunity can now smile.
If you have it, you can fully utilize the machine gun Thunderlord. As a primary weapon, the legendary hand-cannon Fatebringer is suitable. Or you can reach one tier lower on the shelf and take out a legendary sniper rifle with Arc damage, perhaps one of the weapons available from the Vanguard Quartermasters for 150 tokens, if you have reached reputation rank 3. Thunderlord is pretty rare, as it’s never been on offer from Xur.
What should be considered during the Nightfall strike?
Not dying. Sounds trivial, but usually the focus during the Nightfall strike is to fire from cover, take a maximum of one or two hits, and then go down to regenerate until you’re full. Particularly the strike on Venus, where it’s headed this time, has a so-called cheese spot during the boss fight against the Priest. You can fire from there but will be hard to hit.
We will post the first videos in the coming hours about especially successful or noteworthy runs for the Nightfall strike in Destiny. These can then serve as inspiration or template. If you managed it, let us know whether you went solo, with a buddy, or in a group of three. And maybe which weapons you used. Good hunting!
In the first video, a German Guardian team from the YouTube channel ProNDC is on with three members. The comment nicely introduces the strike and explains it in broad strokes: http://youtu.be/IBaB28Nvd9k?t=55s
Here, a level 28 Titan shows you the “cheese spot” for Askor, the Archon Priest and boss of the Nightfall strike. And in some torturous 7 minutes or so he brings him down (Spoiler! Spoiler!). http://youtu.be/s755AGvXm7s
And if you’re into the lone wolf thing, here’s one with nearly perfect gear: Patience and Time and Thunderlord. 20 minutes solo run, impressively composed, decisively successful, and with a bit of hide-and-seek at the end. That’s how you succeed in Destiny. http://youtu.be/Ck0g0AE2G0Q
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The BlizzCon 2014 in Anaheim is over. It focused among other things on World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and the new franchise Overwatch – the first new IP from Blizzard in 17 years. Undoubtedly, a significant era comes to an end for the fans of game developer Blizzard. Our author Cortyn summarizes her impressions.
The BlizzCon is now three days behind us, and I had enough time to let it sink in so I can calmly summarize the highlights again. I tried to keep it somewhat neutral the first time – I failed, so you’ll just have to live with the fact that I added my own opinion quite clearly every time.
HearthStone – 120 new cards in December
The virtual card game “Hearthstone” is getting its next major expansion called “Goblins VS Gnomes”. Let’s be honest: Everyone expected an announcement. What no one expected, however, is that this addon will go live next month and include a whopping 120 new cards! Thematically, everything will revolve around the titular races and their inventions, which will likely completely shake up the current meta. Many cards will have new mechanics, such as randomly distributing a buff to all allies. A new minion type, the “Mechs,” will also be introduced – and they interact with each other in many interesting ways, so it is safe to assume that there will be many, many new decks.
What I personally like the most is the assurance that the new cards will be just as easy to obtain as the old ones – through the Arena for 100 gold each. If you still have a lot of arcane dust saved up (like I do!), you can even craft them.
Heroes of the Storm – New heroes and Closed Beta
I must admit, the fact that seemingly everyone else now has an alpha key for “Heroes of the Storm” except me has already put a slight damper on my excitement for this game. That being said, I still believe that there is a pretty good game coming our way, even though it plays significantly slower than other MOBAs like “Smite.” Especially the many Blizzard characters will give the game its unique charm, but that’s also sorely needed to find a suitable gap in the oversaturated market. The new heroes like Jaina and Sylvanas look fantastic and promise a lot of fun – I especially liked the announcement of the “Lost Vikings” as playable characters – a tribute to Blizzard’s past. This game developer just loves all their creations, and that’s evident in the little things that show they generate a lot of income.
World of Warcraft – Nothing big, but many questions
The major announcements for “WoW” were naturally a bit lacking – but what did you expect? The addon is coming in a few days, all details about it are largely known. Of course, some people secretly hoped for some major bombshell from the Warcraft universe, especially since the name “Eye of Azshara” was secured shortly before. Fans were reassured with a very interesting documentary and several engaging events, where, for example, the making of the cinematics was showcased.
However, there were a few bright spots in the general Q&A session for the future: They are currently working on a new concept to store all the old armor sets in “collections” so they no longer overcrowd the empty bank – of course, there was no release date for these plans yet, but it still pleased the fans. Many questions were unfortunately answered with trivialities this time – especially the lore questions, which naturally frustrates me double, but I can also understand that you can’t always pull answers out of thin air.
Overwatch – New game, new genre, new hype
Ah, how hyped I am again. They have coldly announced a new game in a genre that Blizzard has not touched at all (except for the canceled “StarCraft: Ghost”). “Overwatch” is the latest creation and is a team shooter in comic graphics. What I particularly like is the concept that even people without shooter experience should fit well into the game – because the heroes’ abilities are far more important than just aiming accurately with the crosshair. The people I spoke to who had the luck to test the game at BlizzCon were all enthusiastic – even absolute shooter opponents fell in love with “Overwatch” and are already looking forward to an alpha or beta test.
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The only criticism that really stands out to me is the lack of background story conveyed within the game world – which is practically non-existent. Any background knowledge is conveyed through “external” sources, such as websites or possible books and short films, and I find that disappointing. If Blizzard mastered anything almost perfectly in my opinion, it was the storytelling within their games. To exclude this from the start in more or less complete form makes me a little sad. So sad that this will be the topic on Wednesday.
The “Warcraft” movie
The film with the appropriate title “Warcraft” has now been in planning for almost eight years, but it’s nearing the finish line: Filming is complete, and from now on, only special effects will be added. “Only” is, of course, relative since the film won’t hit worldwide theaters until March 2016. This becomes understandable when you hear that the special effects will be a mix of “Avatar” and “The Lord of the Rings” – in theory, exactly what fans have wished for years. Some of the actors emphasized at the fair, “We are fans of Warcraft, body and soul. I have over 500 days of playtime – I love this world. I don’t want to be the person who will be said to have ‘ruined Warcraft!’.”
Video game adaptations have always been a controversial topic; hardly any director has succeeded in meeting fans’ expectations or creating more than a mindless action film with exploding heads. Attendees on-site saw a very short trailer of the film, and the opinions are clear: It will be amazing. I have faith in these people. The film will offer the opportunity to show all video game newcomers what a wonderful world Blizzard has created. They simply cannot mess it up. They must not.
… and the “small” Warcraft movie
Many were looking forward to the nearly one-hour documentary “WoW: Looking for Group“, and it was by no means a wasted energy. The video makes you really sentimental (in the best way possible) and wonderfully showcases the journey of World of Warcraft, the developers, and its players. It shows what kind of impact this game had on many of us and what a significant aspect of our lives it represented – and still does for many today. It is more than “just a game”; it is a social component, and many of my friends would probably not exist today if Blizzard had not developed this game. I was particularly touched by a player’s phrase, which roughly says: “Acquaintances from WoW are more than just strangers… over many years, they have become friends – no, actually even family.” If I had been able to show this video to my parents ten years ago… much would have been a lot simpler!
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The publisher Perfect World Entertainment released a new gameplay trailer about a week before the launch of Neverwinter “Rise of Tiamat”.
With the fifth module, the devs from Cryptic Studios continue the Season of Dragons. The five-headed dragon queen Tiamat has been summoned from the nine hells and is ready for the big finale. Tiamat is the namesake of the expansion and now threatens the world of Faerûn.
In addition to exclusive gameplay footage, we see in the new trailer for the first time the new zone Dragon’s Well, some new equipment items, and the exemplar path Soulbinder for the warlock, with which we can summon support from hell.
Now it’s a wait until November 18 and enjoy the official trailer. Anyone who would like to test the Free2Play-MMO Neverwinter in advance can register here on the official page, download the client, and play for free.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online increases the experience points gained for veterans. There were issues with the last update. Players were leveling up too slowly, and adjustments are being made now.
With the Update 5, players got the first taste of the transition from the current veteran system to the upcoming Champion system. It casts its shadows ahead.
Therefore, the previous “veteran points” have vanished from the game and have been replaced by experience points. According to a post from the official forum, this was done to prepare for the transition: It is important for the further course that it does not matter whether a low-level character completes a quest or a veteran does. Numerous adjustments from veteran points to experience points had to be made now: actually a technical matter that players ideally should not notice at all.
Problems with the transition from veteran points to experience points in TESO
However, the transition did not go perfectly. Players in the veteran rank complained that they were leveling up too slowly and as a result were too weak to progress into new veteran areas in The Elder Scrolls Online and were getting defeated there. Some even asked whether it was worth continuing to play their veteran now or if they should just wait for the introduction of the champion system.
The developers of The Elder Scrolls Online are now responding to these calls: According to Zenimax, the lower experience gain is indeed a problem, and therefore they want to increase EXP for veterans. Before Update 5, it was planned that players would reach a new veteran rank approximately every 20 hours, with Update 5 targeting 15 hours—though of course, some may progress a bit faster, and others a bit slower.
Veterans of The Elder Scrolls Online should level up faster
To achieve this value, some changes are being made. This is relatively dry material: it’s about the maximum number of experience points you can obtain from a quest – and that was not balanced correctly. And it’s about how much percentage of the total experience points a slightly weaker opponent gives, and so on. Here is an excerpt from the patch notes:
NPCs
In preparation for the Champion system, we have increased the experience granted for killing weaker NPCs:
You receive full experience when the enemy NPC is 1 to 3 ranks below you.
You receive 75% of the experience when the NPC is 4 ranks below you.
You receive 30% of the experience when the NPC is 5 or more ranks below you.
Note: This change does not affect levels 1 to 50.
With the next interim patch, these changes should become active. It is hoped that players can smoothly navigate through the veteran areas in TESO again and are capable of meeting the challenges that await them there.
The 1.5.3. patch in The Elder Scrolls Online, which aims to achieve this, will be released on Tuesday, November 11, most likely early in the morning and thus before 11:11 AM. You can read the patch notes here.
Update: November 11 10:20 PM: The patch was only partially deployed on the servers; complications arose. The rest of the patch is expected to go live on Thursday (US) or Friday (for us).
More about The Elder Scrolls Online can be found on our TESO topic page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the sandpark MMO ArcheAge , a player could seemingly crash the servers at will. Another chapter in the chronicle of problems plaguing Trion Worlds and their game ArcheAge.
As reported by the US magazine massively, a player was able to crash the US game servers Kyrios and Naima accidentally at first and later reproducibly. He made this known in a post on the public forum to alert Trion Worlds. Normally, one would say: What nonsense, that can’t possibly happen, someone just wants to make themselves important. In this case, however, the situation seems to be unfortunately a bit different.
To prove that he is not a fool, he announced the server crashes, as massively reports, twice in advance – and indeed the servers were really down then.
He does not comment on the method he used to avoid instructing imitators. According to him, the first crashes happened accidentally, then he realized what caused it and planned to repeat it.
According to his statements, he anonymously opened a forum thread and did not write a bug report ticket because he wanted to ensure that this “bug” received maximum attention and that the report would not end up in the crowded inbox of Trion support.
The method, as he suspects, has also been discovered by other players who brought down other servers. Trion Worlds has stated that they are investigating this. The relevant thread in the official forum has since been closed after reaching 323 pages, so at least the community showed a little “interest”.
Chronicle of Trion Worlds’ Technical Problems with ArcheAge
For parts of the community active in forums about the game, this action shows once again the large problems Trion Worlds has with the Korean import ArcheAge. In the past, there have been repeated issues with the Free2Play MMO that Trion Worlds only publishes in the West but does not develop.
At the beginning, there were several reports that the service was under DDOS attacks. Difficulties with the “pay” system resulted from difficult technical problems integrating the Korean system into their own launcher “Gylph”: Therefore, players struggled for a long time to receive the bonuses in the game they had paid for.
Shortly before the launch of ArcheAge, the game disappeared from Steam after the founder packages sold like hotcakes. They cited technical problems with the integration as the reason. Trion Worlds did not say more about it, except that they would address it and reach an agreement with Valve. This was about two months ago.
At the launch, there was the well-documented situation with “too few servers for the influx“: Extremely long queues were the result. After the launch, it became clear how susceptible the game was to various hacks, cheats, and bots, as the Korean hack shield apparently functioned poorly. According to Trion Worlds, this had to be used, although they were not really satisfied with it, as ArcheAge only functioned with it.
On top of everything, the technical problems are not the only difficulty ArcheAge is currently facing. A significant change to the cash shop stirred the emotions of fans over the weekend.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Next month, Hearthstone will see the next expansion “Goblins vs. Gnomes.” Blizzard revealed some details over the weekend.
The cards introduced at Blizzcon provide just a small glimpse of what is to come in “Goblins vs. Gnomes” for Hearthstone. During a panel, they presented two class cards and answered numerous fan questions on Twitter. It’s time for a closer look.
Yes, new class cards are coming: Priest and Warrior already known
Let’s start with the two already known class cards.
The class card for Warrior is quite wild. It is a 3-mana spell that hops randomly across the board and deals 1 damage to a minion until one dies.
The Priest receives a 5-mana creature with 5/5 stats, which as a Battlecry grants 5 health to a “Mech”.
Speaking of Mechs: This is a new category, similar to the beasts or pirates. Some cards already in the game will become Mechs with this expansion, including the popular Harvest Golem.
Speaking of randomness – it shouldn’t be that bad
“Random” was the keyword that appeared in almost all the cards seen so far. However, Ben Brode, Senior Game Designer at Hearthstone, reassures players who believe that strategy will disappear from the game. Although he himself is a fan of randomness: It does the game a lot of good.
@thethirk randomness does a lot of good for the game! That said there are tons of cards that are not random yet to be announced. Good mix.
However, “Goblins vs. Gnomes” will not be that random. Not all cards have been revealed yet. Many others will launch without randomness. Additionally, many tactical plays can often eliminate random elements. As an example, he mentioned the popular 5-mana creature “Panicked Kodo”. It randomly selects a target. However, it is usually played in a way that it only has 1 target to choose from. Thus, randomness will disappear from Hearthstone as a result of strategy.
New game mechanics come to Hearthstone with Gnomes vs Goblins
Some of the now-known cards have sparked speculation. Especially “Sneed’s Old Shredder,” a 5/7 creature for 8 mana that summons a random legendary minion upon deathrattle. Brode says when Kel’Thuzad is called, the old shredder is also brought back to life, and the game continues from there. The shredder can only summon “collectible” legendaries, from Nat Pagle to Ragnaros.
The fact that they are reacting to trends in the current meta, proves Blizzard once again. With the “Clockwork Giant,” a sort of inverted mountain giant, they aim to make things a bit harder for Handlocks and other “hand variants.” The 8/8 card becomes cheaper the more cards the opponent holds in hand.
Also, with minions like Blingtron 3000 (summons a weapon for both players) gives an interesting opportunity for counter-play. Four other trends in game mechanics that can be recognized are:
Two-in-one cards: where a Mech summons a random creature upon death.
Stackable buff effects like Mukla’s Bananas, which might make the tiny difference.
Explosive minions like the ticking sheep or Boombots – it seems the designers liked the two exploding tanks from Naxxramas.
And numerous cards that benefit when a Mech is on the board. According to Brode, they do not want to encourage a “swarm” effect with Mechs like with Murlocs. Usually, only one Mech is enough to boost another card.
What card packs are available in the Arena? Is Hearthstone free-to-play?
For all skeptics who thought Blizzard wanted to turn the new card packs into a Pay2Win scenario and cash in: They can rest easy. The new packs still cost 100 gold – but you can also get them with real money.
In the Arena, the new “Goblins vs. Gnomes” card packs will replace the current packs as rewards. The “old” classic packs will no longer be available through the Arena starting in December, although individual cards from them may still be obtained as random Arena rewards.
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