In the MMO shooter Destiny, a group of YouTubers investigates popular myths and rumors.
The guys from DefendTheHouse are back with the second episode of a “Mythbusters”-like series, where they put popular or at least entertaining myths in Destiny to the test. In the first episode, they dealt with some Sparrow stunts and duck ideas. This time, they are trying to find out if you can really evade a “Stuck Grenade,” a sticky grenade, by teleporting? And can you really get a double kill on a single player?
The entertaining video investigates this myth and three others in Destiny, delivering astonishing results.
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World of Warcraft has been causing low-level players some difficulties since the pre-patch – especially in dungeons. It has become too hard. Is the item squish to blame, or are the players just not handling it well?
Yesterday, Wednesday, the pre-patch 6.02 was also introduced here in Europe, and players logging in now are experiencing a sort of culture shock. Although it was known that the stats would be lower; a gem that only gives 10 strength still looks strange at first. The item squish is as hard as expected.
World of Warcraft with 6.02 suddenly harder than before
Sure, acclimatization difficulties were to be expected, but complaints arose that World of Warcraft has now become much harder. Players are wiping through 70 dungeons, having no chance to get through. While questing, players are dropping like flies, somehow lacking the firepower. Is it just a placebo effect? No, it is not.
Somewhere in the complicated balance of the game, mistakes have crept in that make World of Warcraft significantly harder, especially at low levels. Where two casts were enough for an enemy the day before yesterday, now it takes significantly more. “It’s great,” some say, “finally you need skill again! Blizzard must have thought this through!” No, they didn’t.
Especially low-level dungeons become death traps in World of Warcraft
Late on Wednesday night, a hotfix was announced in the official forum. Shortly thereafter, the lead designer of the expansion, Ion “Watcher” Hazzikostas, also explained the problems. It is not only the item squish that is to blame for the difficulties. With 6.02, three changes were implemented:
The aforementioned item squish from level 60 into the Mists of Pandaria dungeons has flattened the item curve.
The doubling of player HP to compensate for the removal of resilience from the game.
Changes in base spell damage to improve scaling in the future.
In combination, these three effects are causing balancing difficulties that were not planned.
Players who found difficulties in the leveling area, especially in dungeons, are therefore not suffering from any kind of illusion or acute noobism, but from a bug. At the moment, Blizzard is already working on a hotfix that is expected to be deployed within a day and will require a server restart.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, the loot caves, the most popular farming spots for engrams, glimmer, and EXP, have now been closed twice. But another treasure cave has appeared in the Shattered Coast on Venus.
Skywatch, the first loot cave in Destiny, has been closed for a while, along with some other spots. They have gained some fame in the already short stories of Destiny. The original treasure cave, the root of all evil, has even been memorialized. The treasure caves were ultimately just spawn points where easily defeatable enemies emerged in large numbers and at high speed from their holes to be taken down as quickly as possible and to relieve them of their loot. It is important to pay attention to certain things; it is crucial not to block the spawn point, so one must not stand too close, and every wave must be completely defeated if the next one is to spawn.
Bungie is – as we know – not a big fan of this farming method and wants players to participate in dynamic events instead, hence the closure of the previous farming spots.
After the closure of the first round, trigger-happy but lazy players primarily farmed spots on the Rocketyard. Here it has been busy since Tuesday. Should all treasure caves, all farming spots, all loot caves really be closed? No, not really.
Even now, a video has surfaced showing the latest treasure cave. It resembles the original loot cave, so you should position yourselves with several players as far from the entrance as possible and then shoot away with weapons that have the greatest range. The spot works best with two or three guardians, otherwise, there is a risk that the Dregs will run behind one of the pillars and interrupt the spawn.
Whether the loot caves are still worthwhile today or if it is a bit silly is up to each individual to decide. People seem to be crazy about these spots. But players who are drawn to Venus to pay tribute to the loot gods should hurry. This spot won’t last long either.
Here is a summary of the spot: https://youtu.be/ggzH08nuknI
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
You know, I have a really divided opinion on DLCs. I see the positive sides, but also the negatives. And do you know which side is the worst of all? Pre-order DLCs. The latest candidates, like “Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel”, are literally driving me up the wall again. Why? I don’t want to keep that from you…
DLC: My Definition
Over the years, the definition of “DLC” has changed significantly. In the past, I naively assumed that DLCs would always remain free, like new maps in shooters or new areas in MMOs.
At some point, someone came up with the idea (and my feeling tells me it must have been EA) to charge money for these expansions. That was quite a harsh step, as I had always seen DLCs as nice extras, as concessions to the fans, as bait to encourage them to buy later versions of the product (like the 40th Call of Duty installment). Well, unfortunately, in our world, most things still revolve around money, so it’s only logical to eventually say: If you want more, you have to pay more. The cow has to be milked until only the skeleton lies in the grass.
Once again, please don’t misunderstand me completely. I fundamentally consider DLCs to be nothing bad, as they are merely “smaller addons” for me. There are some titles I like to think of when it comes to these bonus contents and found that they were worth the money. “Shadowbroker” from Mass Effect 2 is one of those cases, just like “Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon’s Keep” in Borderlands 2, where I was truly happy and satisfied in the end and didn’t regret investing a few more euros.
Mass Effect 2: Shadowbroker. A DLC that was worth every cent.
Once paid, double scammed
In recent years, a new evil has crystallized: “Pre-order DLCs”. Not only do pre-order customers actually pay a “trust advance” to the developers since they haven’t seen any final reviews of the game, they are also lured with content that others either don’t get or only receive for an additional charge. Particularly absurd are such titles where different “bonuses” are advertised depending on where you buy the game.
But what does that actually mean? Simply put: You cut the finished game, call the cut part “DLC”, and sell it as a super great additional content. Another brilliant example was Mass Effect 3, which had a “Day 1 DLC”. The justification for this was that a “different development team” was responsible for the DLC and “just happened” to be finished in time. Sure. Or in German: I can fool myself, but thanks for wanting to help. Just give me a complete game.
I look back sadly into the past when games came with many side quests. Some games still do that today, but increasingly, more and more are moving towards packing everything that doesn’t relate directly to the main plot into DLCs and asking players to pay again. A few particularly brazen developers even deliberately exclude certain target groups, such as the game series “Heileen”. A core point of the series has always been the different romances in which the game could end – in the latest installment of the series, this is again the case, but you can only flirt with the male characters. If you want to smile at a lovely woman, you need to buy a DLC that unlocks that.
What is your opinion on DLCs? Where does the scamming start, and where might it still be justified?
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Turbine lays off employees. The US development studio is behind the fantasy MMO Lord of the Rings Online.
According to the US magazine massively, there are layoffs at Turbine, the creators behind the somewhat outdated Free2Play MMO Lord of the Rings Online. The layoffs came to attention through a tweet from former community manager Nick Heaton. He mentioned that he is thinking of his friends at Turbine and Lord of the Rings Online.
Thinking of my friends at #Turbine and #LOTRO and elsewhere today. I’m easy to find if you need me.
Massively asked Warner Bros. for a statement on this. They confirmed the layoffs and issued a statement.
As part of their usual business processes, they regularly review the strategic direction of the company. To invest in growth areas at Turbine, they concluded that some positions had to be eliminated. These are always difficult decisions that are not made lightly, but are necessary for Turbine to be positioned to meet existing and upcoming market challenges.
To what extent Lord of the Rings Online is affected by the layoffs is not known.
In April 2010, Turbine was acquired by Time Warner and has since been part of the US corporation Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
ArcheAge has found a new problem. Now some players have been banned. They are screaming that this is completely unjust. But is that really the case? No, says Trion Worlds. A clear case of bad acting.
Trion Worlds, the western publisher of ArcheAge, is facing a new problem. As announced, they are now cracking down harder on hackers and botters who threatened to overwhelm the game and are banning accounts left and right. Every second of them runs to the forum, assures their innocence and demands Trion Worlds to immediately rectify this appalling injustice. They claim they have done nothing.
Teleported 100 times and nothing happened … and then it zoomed
There are postings in the official forum where someone is shouting that he has invested so much money into the game and now such an injustice is being done to him, until community manager Scapes closes the post with a simple “You have been caught using the teleport hack over 100 times.”
Wild West mentality in ArcheAge is now paying off
The policy of banning hackers at the first offense is currently running contrary to the Wild West conditions that prevailed in ArcheAge for a while. Many thought it was like doping. To keep up, you just have to cheat; the others are getting away with it, so nothing will happen. If the banhammer hits you, the outcry is great.
In fact, banned players not only lose the time they have invested but also a considerable amount of real money. A plea for clemency is quickly written, paper (even electronic) is patient, and words cost nothing. A banned person has little to lose. And among those who unjustly cry out, the voice of someone who really had bad luck and suffered injustice may be drowned out. There doesn’t seem to be much trust in the community that Trion Worlds always gets the right ones.
A case of bad acting
At mmorpg.com, Trion Worlds CEO Scott Hartsman comments on the complaint flood in the forum and says they have recently dealt a lot with bad acting. They want to make it clear that they take complaints from unjustly banned players seriously and will lift their bans as quickly as possible. For “innocent” players, it is indeed the case that their accounts were hacked, and once the problem is resolved, they need to make sure to lift the ban again. However, most bans are completely lawful and will remain in place.
“It may surprise some,” Hartsman says, “but the real hackers who use teleport hacks and have their own gold trading accounts are the ones who write the best pleas for clemency.” One day he took on 500 cases, and only one was so close that they could decide in favor of the user and reverse the ban.
The hotfix from yesterday is supposed to be just a taste of the changes that are still to come for the shooter MMO Destiny. Some issues in the raid will be fixed, and they will also address exotic weapons. There are some that could be stronger than they are now.
Templar nerf in “The Glassed Chamber” was just the beginning – Cheese Spots in danger
Yesterday, with the hotfix, one of the most well-known tricks in the raid “The Glassed Chamber” was rendered useless: The Templar could be easily defeated from a special spot.
In the language of Destiny, the term “Cheese Spot” has become established for such a place where you can hit, but cannot be hit. These spots – somewhere between “clever” and “clear exploit” – are also the key to some solo nightfall strategies.
Anyone who thought that with this fix “The Glassed Chamber” was finished for now is mistaken. Raid designer Josh Smith from Destiny already tweeted shortly after the fix that the changes to the Templar were just the beginning of larger renovations and repairs.
Today’s Templar fixes aren’t the end of the fixes and changes coming to VOG. http://t.co/N7Iu6pZkaV
A “legal” solution to the Templar problem on Hard has already appeared on YouTube. A raid group uploaded a video showing how the Templar still gracefully lies down even after the current changes. The fix seems to release some completely new capabilities, so a video has emerged showing how a single Guardian takes on the Templar. https://youtu.be/UNxe1Ewj9z8
Dorn and Bad Karma are still set to be strengthened
A similar message that yesterday was just the beginning was also given by the developers regarding changes to class and weapon balance. While, as announced, the automatic rifles and shotguns were nerfed and the nerf of the Vex Mythoclast was probably anticipated, the promised enhancements to other exotic weapons did not materialize. What exact exotic weapons are meant is still unknown, only for two weapons is it known. They had promised that both Dorn (Thorn) and Bad Karma (Bad Juju) would be strengthened. This is supposed to happen in a larger update where they plan to enhance “under-performing” exotic weapons and continue addressing the balance of Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans.
“We’re still working on a larger update which will address under-performing Exotics and overall class balance.” -Destiny Dev Team — Bungie (@Bungie) October 13, 2014
Nerf of the currently best weapons in Destiny is harsher than expected
Meanwhile, the nerf of the Vex Mythoclast is causing a lot of complaints on Reddit. In the English-speaking forum, it is vigorously discussed that the announced 34% nerf to base damage in the game is much worse than expected. It is calculated before all multipliers and severely downgrades the weapon, which has been so hard to obtain. The Vex Mythoclast drops only in the Hard Mode of the raid “The Glassed Chamber” from the final boss Atheon and has caused headaches for opponents, especially in the Crucible.
Some are actually speculating that “Icebreaker” could be next on the list of threatened weapons in Destiny. Since it was available for purchase from Xur last Friday, many have been raving about the exotic sniper rifle “Icebreaker”.
The “Delta Rising” expansion has been released for the SF MMO Star Trek Online. Retired captains are lured back into the MMO with the prospect of a Delta Flyer.
We have already reported extensively on the “Delta Rising” expansion over the past few weeks. It is all about “Voyager”. Some of the series actors have been engaged, having intensively watched the series and developed stories that recount the tumultuous history of the quadrant based on the TV series.
In addition, all MMO typical features of an expansion are brought along: level cap increases, new ships, new skill trees, new captain specializations , a new highest rank, the full program.
Star Trek Online also lures retired captains back into the world of Star Trek Online with a promo campaign. Those who log in at least 10 days within the next 13 days (until October 28) will receive a Delta Flyer, 66 Lobi crystals, and three keys. If you manage to log in only 6 or 3 times in the 14 days, you will also get something, but less.
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Mein MMO thinks: Both the expansion and the base game are free. Frankly speaking, Star Trek Online has a very player-friendly payment model. So if you’re interested in checking out ST:O for free, you could certainly find worse times than right now.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In a panel discussion, the developers of the zombie survival MMO H1Z1 answered questions from fans. The main topic was: The Early Access of H1Z1.
Five or six developers joined the Dead Feature Rant livestream to answer questions from the moderator and fans. The whole thing took place in a very relaxed atmosphere, the devs were relaxed and in a good mood. The unpleasant topic of “Early Access” was taken with humor. In a longer explanation about a side aspect, the Object Designer mumbled, “Early Access in a week!”, for which he received dirty looks from his colleagues.
The last 20% are always the hardest
When the topic “Early Access in H1Z1” finally came up, it was up to Senior Game Designer Adam Clegg to respond: Most of it is done, now only 20% are missing. And those, as often, take the longest. It’s similar to when you move files on your computer and the last bit of green takes forever. From something that still needs to be done, quickly five more arise.
All this time, Clegg had been saying that one had to wait until the interaction with the objects worked, which has now been resolved. The three biggest hurdles left to overcome are: Missing animations, missing animations, and missing animations. Tom Schenk, the Technical Director, added that the three biggest challenges are probably still animations, code, and level design.
That’s also a relatively vague answer. Ultimately, it seems that it just takes time to get the “vertical slice”, the bit of everything that one wants to present in Early Access, good enough to be satisfied with it.
Cars, buses, hackers, and lootable zombies: Mixed topics in H1Z1
Otherwise, the conversation flowed casually between different topics. They addressed the car questions, which were recently the subject of a dev blog. The pick-up truck is not only supposed to be a two-seater but provide space for up to six people, four of whom can take the opportunity to lounge in the back. After the pick-up and bicycles, one might imagine a police car, and a bus is also being discussed. That would probably be something for larger combat groups. Perhaps there would only be one per server, a real prestige item.
A concerned question about hackers came from the stream, after all, competitors like DayZ have struggled greatly with these issues, but Schenk reassured: “We have an anti-hack system from Planetside 2 that has been working excellently for a long time.” They will also apply that to H1Z1.
This week, zombies are supposed to become lootable. Then you can take from them what they carry on their undead bodies.
You can watch the chat in a relaxed atmosphere here, although the audio quality is not always perfect (we have fast-forwarded past the Early Access question).
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Today is finally the day, the long-awaited World of Warcraft Patch 6.0.2 has been applied to the live servers, officially ushering in the era of the expansion “Warlords of Draenor” which launches next month. What the “small” 6.4 GB patch brings in terms of important changes for you, we have summarized here.
The new models – more curves, fewer edges
Undoubtedly, the biggest highlight is likely cosmetic: the new character models. The now 10-year-old models are being retired and replaced by their new variants, especially the facial expressions and gestures are now portrayed much better, which is particularly evident in the countless emotes of the game.
However, if you are attached to your old appearance, you can keep it if you wish and simply switch it in the options – though this is not advisable, as you can clearly see the work of each of the new avatars. Only Blood Elves unfortunately look through the tube, their new appearance is not yet finished and will be provided in one of the upcoming patches – hopefully before the next expansion.
Reduction of values – small numbers, big fun?
All values in the game are dramatically reduced to counteract the exponentially growing damage numbers. Where you used to deal hits of “50,000” and higher, significantly smaller numbers will now be seen.
But don’t worry, no one is effectively robbing you of your combat power, absolutely nothing should change about the pure gaming experience, you will still be able to defeat enemies as quickly as before. But even beyond that, even more is happening with the values: chance to hit completely disappears as a value, all previous forms of “haste” are combined, as are “critical hit chance”.
The changes mainly ensure that you no longer have to painstakingly reach the “hit cap” to then take care of the values that really provide fun – such as increasing damage numbers or better tanking abilities. Whether this will actually lead to the desired, more varied value prioritizations remains to be seen.
Toy Box – more space for more fun!
The best change for me is the introduction of the Toy Box. Especially veterans from classic times, who still have their deception ball, Sin’dorei ball, and many other amusing fun items in their inventory, will be able to breathe a sigh of relief – some space will finally be freed up!
Once the objects are unlocked, every character from your account can access it – neatly organized in an additional menu. For me, this means that, after a long, long time, I finally have more than 10 inventory slots available and don’t have to part with my beloved toys anymore.
reagent bank – even more space for crafters
While we are already on the subject of inventory tidying up: Every player receives their own reagent bank where you can store your hard-earned ores, herbs, and cloth.
Additionally, the stack size of all these items has been significantly increased, so they take up even less space. Last but not least, you don’t have to retrieve the items from the bank when you want to use them for crafting – practical and useful, even if not entirely logical!
Auction houses will be merged
Another big step is the merging of auction houses, so Alliance and Horde players will now have access to the same offerings. Especially on one-sidedly populated realms, this will of course lead to massive improvements, as once-empty auction house lists will now be filled to the brim.
This change is certainly sensible, but is it also logical in the game world? I wonder why Horde and Alliance should have the same offerings – they are enemies and that should be reflected in such aspects. I find the change illogical and from a role-playing perspective, I can only roll my eyes about it.
Character restoration
Who hasn’t experienced this… you were angry at the game, a guild broke up, you wanted to “finally quit” WoW, or your ex-girlfriend (or ex-boyfriend) wanted to get back at you one more time. After a few months, you realize what a fatal mistake you made, the beloved character is deleted.
“Look, I’m back! But who did I give all my clothes to? Damn!”
If this or something similar has happened to you, you can now breathe a sigh of relief: From this patch on, it will be possible to restore deleted characters above level 50 – although only one per month, that should be more than sufficient.
Many, many more changes
Aside from the above-mentioned highlights, there are many small details that we have not listed here. Guild levels and their associated bonuses are disappearing, the Void bank is getting some extra slots, the group finder is being revamped, some areas are getting darker nights, a new quest line is waiting in the shattered lands, and so on…
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You can read all the changes in detail here on Blizzard’s official developer blog, especially the massive changes to the individual classes could be worth a closer look.
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, TESO, update 5 is so large that the developers are now providing players with a checklist of what they could do on the test server.
The fifth update in TESO is hydra-like. It hisses in every corner, and one doesn’t even know where to start. Players might feel lost due to the numerous changes on the test server. Therefore, Zenimax has now decided to take an unusual step in the forum: they provide players with a kind of guide on what they can do if they want to give feedback to the developers.
The TESO to-do list includes things like:
Address the veteran edition of the City of Ash – if you’re doing a livestream, it’s best to inform Zenimax beforehand so they can stalk.
Talk to as many NPCs as possible to check if they are lip-syncing.
Play a stamina build to see if the improved abilities really make a difference.
Complete a daily quest of the Daring and see if you’re satisfied with the reward.
The full list with extensive suggestions and feedback guidelines can be found here. Currently, only characters from the North American megaserver can be transferred to the PTS, but Europeans can use pre-made characters.
Mein MMO thinks: Cool idea. However, it seems TESO has forgotten how to get MMO players to work through such lists: Achievements! For next time, we recommend some popping achievements. WildStar presents boom boxes for that.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Today is the day, the previous WildStar realms will be merged into the megaservers. Since the maintenance work will likely last all day, all players with an active subscription will receive an additional day of playtime and a whopping 30 surprise bags, which can contain all sorts of nice things. In the process, all auctions will also be canceled and returned to the players, and all characters below level 3 that have not logged in the last 30 days will be deleted.
Once the servers are back online, you will need to come up with a last name for each character – however, this can also simply be a title. Additionally, you can also give yourself a new first name if you wish.
When the WildStar servers will be back online and what else you need to keep in mind can be found in this post about the megaserver.
Nexusreport: From two… make one… make none.
But even more announcements have been made: In the weekly Nexusreport on Twitch, there was once again talk about the upcoming changes and a brief outline of Content Drop 3. Since this is now done every week, they also draw another conclusion; the Nexusreport is disappearing. Instead, there will only be a livestream when there is really something worthwhile to report, such as before or after a content drop.
However, one does not have to completely forgo a weekly stream; the English community manager Tony Rey will instead host his new show “Zero to Fifty,” in which he will work with the community to finally get a character to level 50. Where the journey will go, which faction and which race he will play, will be decided by the viewers in the first episode.
My Opinion: I find it somewhat unfortunate that the Nexusreport is now more or less completely being shelved, especially since it was recently reduced from two streams a week to one. One can only hope that WildStar will regain its footing with the content patch and the megaservers and emerge stronger from its low point – but I remain skeptical, no matter how much I would like to see the game and its likable developers succeed.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, the developers mix with the players to gain an information advantage and to know what is worthwhile in Destiny and what is just bad.
Launch went solid
In an interview with joystiq, Zach Russell, the Director of Online Service at Bungie, talks about the first month of the MMO shooter and cannot hide a certain excitement before the launch: “When you let millions of players through the door into your game, you are pretty nervous. Did we think of everything?” For such a large project, the launch went solid. They had some complex issues, for example with access to Destiny from dormitories at US universities, but they are working on that. The servers were rarely down. Maybe four hours in the first month.
In World of Warcraft, the latest expansion “Mists of Pandaria” has now also been integrated into the base game. For just 15 euros, you get the complete WoW package.
It was to be expected, but it comes surprisingly early: Mists of Pandaria, the last WoW expansion, is now also available in the base package. For 14.99 euros, Blizzard is now offering “World of Warcraft” on their website. This includes not only the base game but also the four previous expansions The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, and most recently, Mists of Pandaria. In recent months, the price for Mists of Pandaria has been reduced.
In the lead-up to the upcoming expansion “Warlords of Draenor”, key figures at Blizzard announced that they want to do everything possible to avoid scaring players away with too many expansions. Now the equation is quite simple: everything is included in the base package. In a month, the new expansion will come, and it will have to be purchased separately.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy MMO World of Warcraft, the number of active players has increased ahead of the expansion Warlords of Draenor. Currently, the number stands at 7.4 million players.
Three months ago, the numbers looked bleak. World of Warcraft had shrunk to 6.8 million players (which is still a significant number), but with three more months of content drought until Warlords of Draenor, it was expected that the numbers could fall further. However, Blizzard managed to avoid this. The reason likely lies in a series of promotional activities and perhaps also the return of players after visits to MMORPGs that suffered from launch issues and quickly lost steam.
As some media report, citing a statement from Blizzard in light of the pre-patch, World of Warcraft has gained 600,000 subscribers compared to the second quarter and now boasts 7.4 million players. Even though this is still far from the 12 million that World of Warcraft achieved at the peak of the second expansion “Wrath of the Lich King”, the decline has been halted.
Although the industry always anticipates a boost in subscription numbers with the launch of a new expansion, the fact that it has already happened beforehand is certainly a good sign. However, Mists of Pandaria also briefly caused WoW to exceed the million mark before it went down again. In recent months, Blizzard has promoted several promotional and trial activities to attract more players, although an announced price increase in China caused a brief stir.
In the “paying players”, Blizzard also includes players of the Chinese World of Warcraft, who do not have a monthly subscription but pay by the hour in the so-called PC bangs, the Internet cafés in Asia.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
First came The Elder Scrolls Online on April 4th of this year. Long before the launch of the game developed by ZeniMax Online Studios, there was a huge hype about the unofficial successor to Skyrim. In the meantime, it was even referred to as the “Skyrim MMO”, although the developers distanced themselves from such statements. Nevertheless, just the name “Elder Scrolls” generated high expectations among fans who hoped for a mix of a classic MMORPG and the single-player games.
On June 3rd, WildStar was released. The comic-style sci-fi MMO from Carbine Studios took a completely different path than TESO and did not build on an existing IP but created a new one. The result is the self-proclaimed “hardcore MMO” WildStar, where the two factions fight for control over the planet Nexus.
Taking a different approach is the recently launched ArcheAge. It is based on an MMO that was already released in South Korea in January 2013 but was adapted for Western countries. ArcheAge is also often referred to as a “sandpark MMO”, which represents a mix of “sandbox” and “themepark”. In the early levels, it is a classic themepark MMO with quests and quest hubs, but later it opens up a bit and includes many sandbox elements, such as extensive crafting or housing.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, an Easter egg has now been patched into the original Loot Cave.
Strangely, the hotfix not only removed things but also added new ones.
On Tuesday evening our time, some players found a very special “Easter Egg” on reddit, which is what hidden gags by the developers are called, winking at players through the “fourth wall.” This must have come back into the game with the hotfix. In the first Loot Cave in Destiny, which caused a lot of commotion back then, there is now a pile of charred corpses. If the player decides to disturb the peace of these corpses, they hear a voice from the grave groaning, “A million deaths are not enough for Master Rahool.” – “One million deaths are not enough for Master Rahool.”
What does this mean?
Master Rahool is the Cryptarch in Destiny. The opponents brutally massacred in the Loot Cave were killed for their engrams, which players could then decode with Master Rahool in the hope of better equipment.
If taken seriously: The eerie Easter egg suggests that the slain monsters were offered as some sort of “sacrificial” offering to the loot god, the Cryptarch. This fits well into the theories of some players that the “Guardians” are actually the bad guys in Destiny and serve the dark wanderer. Well, hopefully, you now regret having worshipped the loot idol so intensely in Destiny.
And if taken lightly: With the recent hotfix, the newly discovered Loot Caves have also been closed. The Easter egg is likely a tribute to the good old days and proves once again how well Bungie knows the community and that they indeed have a sense of humor about the events in Destiny.
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In World of Warcraft, a little social warmth has been lost over the years. With Warlords of Draenor, a new group finder comes to make the game a bit more social again.
Veterans who have turned their backs on World of Warcraft often complain about two disturbing elements in the “new” World of Warcraft: Anonymity through the LFG system and the “simplification” of the game through the loss of abilities. The lead designer of Warlords of Draenor addresses both issues in an interview.
Pre-Made Group Finder is meant to bring back social warmth and conversation culture
In an interview with eurogamer.net, lead designer Ion Hazzikostas spoke about the new group finder that will come with Warlords of Draenor. While the old one was efficient, it was cold in that efficiency. The new “Pre-Made” group finder is intentionally meant to represent a step back. Even if one ends up with a completely unfamiliar group in an instance, one had to address and manually invite them beforehand.
This helps, Hazzikostas found, to ensure that more talking occurs in the instance: “There is something in this process of writing to someone or inviting them manually that leads to more conversation. Suddenly, one is reminded that they are dealing with real people, not faceless robots.”
If World of Warcraft is so simple, why do the same teams always win?
Hazzikostas also has an answer to the accusation that World of Warcraft has become simpler and easier over the years. “If that were really the case,” he asks, “how can it be that the very best arena players are still significantly better than even the top one percent of the others?” How can it be that it is always the same top guilds that prevail against the competition in the top 100?
Even today, there is still an enormous depth in the game and opportunities to get the most out of one’s characters, to be creative, to find solutions. Systems like “Reforging” have disappeared because they ultimately raised questions that had only one correct answer, and that was not easy to find. One had to use a tool, visit another site. This made swapping items a lengthy process.
One of the main goals with Warlords of Draenor is to bring the game as close as possible to the point where players are in a raid or instance, and an item with a higher item level than what they are currently wearing drops. Then they take the drop, equip it, and are happy.
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The god MMO Skyforge will feature its own companion system: The more disciples a player gathers around themselves, the greater the benefits.
The “Companion” system is in. A year ago, there was almost only Star Trek Online in the West, but now it stands in World of Warcraft in the form of the garrison and followers, in Rift it is implemented with minions as a card game, and even in the still-in-development Skyforge, a version of this is planned. It is a type of mini-game where a powerful hero slowly gathers their own servants, subordinates, and employees, whom they can send on missions in a mini-game separate from the main game and who grant them various advantages.
In Skyforge, as the latest dev blog revealed, gods want to inspire disciples, whom they can then send on missions. In this process, they gain experience and can acquire special traits that predispose them for other missions. During the invasion events, very special missions are supposed to be available.
Also in Skyforge, a limit on active servants is planned: “Retired” disciples will become missionaries and help the aspiring god strengthen the cult surrounding them by bringing in more disciples.
The more powerful a god becomes, the larger the statue that their disciples erect in their honor in Skyforge.
My MMO says:It definitely sounds like an exciting variant of the follower system that we will undoubtedly see in many more games over the next few years.
One thing is clear in the MMO market: If a studio has a good, new idea (or has found a good implementation of a browser game idea), the others notice as well, and the trend becomes a new feature that everyone will want soon. It was similar with achievements, which today cannot be imagined without MMOs, although they were still new and innovative a few years ago.
The weekly Nightfall strike in the MMO shooter Destiny takes place this week in the Devil’s Lair on Earth. Especially Void damage proves to be highly effective.
Oh yes: It is important that you log out and back in on Tuesday morning after the weekly reset of the missions before you start with the new missions. Otherwise, you may not receive rewards.
This Week’s Modifiers
The Nightfall has different modifiers each week (except for two that remain the same). These modifiers require a different playstyle each time. This week they are:
Epic – this is always the same and ensures that it remains quite challenging.
Nightfall – this modifier is also the same, meaning if a fireteam completely dies, it’s back to orbit and the mission must be restarted; you cannot just rush through the strike.
Juggler – this modifier means that no ammo drops for the weapon used to secure the kill. This means you have to “juggle through” your arsenal.
Lightswitch – enemies deal significantly increased melee damage. You should definitely avoid letting them get too close.
Void Burn – Void damage is significantly increased. This applies to both players and enemies.
This Week in Destiny: Increased Void Damage, Adjust Your Arsenal Accordingly
The increased Void damage means Guardians should pull out weapons that also deal Void damage. Particularly popular is the auto rifle Atheon’s Epilog, perhaps along with the sniper rifle Praedyth’s Revenge or the machine gun Corrective Measure and little stands in the way of a successful visit to the “Devil’s Lair”.
Many complain that the beginning of the Devil’s Lair instance is a tough test for players who want to go solo. Towards the end, there are again “safe spots” to make the boss easier and avoid the worst. We have selected two videos from players tackling the weekly Nightfall this week. Definitely watch out for the Stalkers, with increased melee damage they can become very unpleasant.
https://youtu.be/FeQjqenFm_k
https://youtu.be/OSBFqAfw5N4
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
