In the MMO shooter Destiny, the mysterious vendor Xur has reappeared with a new selection of exotic items.
The “Strange Coins” are the only currency he accepts. His working hours are from Friday noon to Sunday noon, each at 11:00, making them quite dreamy. We’re talking about Xur, the “I only work on weekends and have cool stuff” vendor in Bungie’s Destiny. It’s that time again, the fine gentleman has decided to drop by the Tower once more. We’ll tell you where he hangs out and what he has this time.
Where is Xur? According to reddit, Xur, the Strange Coins vendor in Destiny, is located under the vendor of the Future War Cult, down the stairs next to the vendor for the Dead Orbit faction. But don’t take our word for it, we’re terrible at giving directions, check out how this guy finds him in a Youtube video.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
As a weapon for 23 Strange Coins, he offers this gem, the Suros Regime. It is considered the best auto rifle in Destiny so far – and auto rifles are strong anyway, Bungie is already planning a nerf:
For the Hunters, he has this exotic helmet and would like 13 Strange Coins for it:
For Warlocks and 13 Coins, he gives out this mirror thing, also an exotic helmet:
And the Titans can look forward to this exotic chest piece if they collect 13 Coins:
For 20 Motes of Light, he also sells another exotic helmet, what comes out is up to chance.
In the clip, you can see the auto rifle that Xur has this week in action. Many consider the Suros Regime to be the best exotic auto rifle in Destiny.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
In the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, TESO, the fifth update may revolve around dungeons, group search, and daily dungeon quests.
The Creative Director of The Elder Scrolls Online, Paul Sage, has now spoken up in the English-language forum reddit and provided a sneak peek – out of turn – at what players can expect in Update 5. In the past, Sage has unexpectedly shared information that nobody was anticipating; for example, he once preempted nearly all major changes and revelations planned for QuakeCon during a podcast.
The Elder Scrolls Online Improves Group Search Tool
According to Sage, players can expect a revamp of the group search and how dungeons scale in Update 5.
With Update 5, the group search tool, the LFG tool, will be fundamentally redesigned to better fulfill its purpose of bringing players together. This is necessary with this update, as dungeons are becoming increasingly important.
Daily Quests, Endless Repeatable Dungeons
The Undaunted would introduce daily quests for dungeons with Update 5. These daily quests (so-called Dailies) should provide rewards that are level-appropriate and also grant decent experience points.
And the dungeons could be adjusted to the player’s level with Update 5. They would scale according to the level of the group leader.
Once the minimum level of a dungeon is reached, one can always return; the dungeon remains challenging and rewarding. This dramatically increases replayability.
However, Sage says that while they plan to bring this with Update 5, one can never be completely sure about such things.
As a glimpse into the future, Sage also mentions that they have nothing against the idea of members of different factions tackling a dungeon together. However, that is something for the future and will take a while.
A real version of the online card game Hearthstone has now emerged in China. However, it is a fake and turns out to be quite impractical.
GamesinAsia has tracked down a “real” version of the online card game Hearthstone. It is a “knock-off”, an unauthorized copy of Blizzard’s digital game. While the reporter can indeed warm up to a real game and the allure of the new, he notices the drawbacks of this unusually analog version. The cards are now outdated, after numerous balance fixes in the live version, and the game proves to be significantly slower than on screen. Effects like a simple “silence” have to be awkwardly represented on the individual cards with markers.
A turn that takes thirty seconds online would quickly consume five minutes. It is particularly cumbersome to set up the board and gather the deck. Selecting the right cards from the various boxes is likely too tedious for digitally spoiled players of Hearthstone.
However, the game is – despite lacking a license from Blizzard – detailed and extensive: There are two of each class card, and four versions of the regular and legendary cards in the game – and even more of cards like the “Unleash the Hounds!” dog. With a price of almost $50, as venturebeat found out, one can probably expect that.
In Blizzard’s free online card game Hearthstone, a Hunter deck has once again reached the top of the North American rankings – despite the harsh nerfing of a key card.
The player ErA is currently being celebrated on reddit. He has reached 1st place in the North American ladder. That would already be an achievement. However, he has managed to do it with the class that some now say the nerf has finished off: the Hunter. Its key card “Starving Buzzard” was hit hard by the nerf hammer from Blizzard this week. The card draw card has been made almost unplayable and is therefore also missing in Era’s deck.
Instead, he consistently relies on the Undertaker and numerous smaller minions with Deathrattle effects and the combo of Mad Scientist and some traps. Additionally, the Black Knight shines in his deck, a card that reliably clears taunts and is among the strongest in high ladder matches.
Alongside the feared removals of the Hunter, the Savannah Highmane also shines in the deck as a truly powerful card.
In a thread on reddit, ErA is congratulated on the achievement. There is a consensus: at the top of the ladder, it’s mainly about playing with something that others simply do not expect. And that four days after the nerf, a Hunter deck is taking off, not many would have expected that.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , balancing will soon be adjusted, as is already being communicated. In an initial assessment of the situation, it becomes clear which weapon types can look forward to the next patch and which should rather fear it.
In addition to the hotfix that affected the treasure cave, Bungie also spoke yesterday about other topics, including how the situation on the weapon market is assessed. The individual weapon types are designed in Destiny with specific tasks in mind. How do they fulfill these and where does Destiny need to improve?
Scout rifles go up, shotguns and auto rifles go down
This is how the weapon types currently look, and this is the direction, either up or down, they are headed soon:
Shotguns, should be strong at short range, but useless at longer distances. That is currently not the case. Shotguns are still useful at long range, especially when tuned accordingly. This is not in line with Bungie’s intention, and it could change soon.
Scout rifles, on the other hand, are currently seen as too weak. They want to significantly strengthen them. However, they should be difficult to use at short range.
Auto rifles, should deal decent damage at short and medium range, but face issues at long range. Currently, they are too strong against distant targets, sometimes stronger than the intended scout rifles. They want to address this.
Destiny wants to strengthen the exotic weapons
Another weapon topic is the exotic weapons. According to Bungie, they should look as if they could turn the entire game upside down, but of course they do not. Exotic weapons should be such in Destiny that a player wants to collect them all, as they offer advantages in different situations.
Currently, especially “Thorn” and “Bad Juju” fall short of the quality standard that Bungie expects from exotic weapons. Some have taken great effort to obtain these weapons and are now disappointed. Bungie also wants to address this soon. Bungie advises not to dismantle these exotic weapons, but to keep them for a little while longer.
Here’s a short video on how to get your hands on Thorn:
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
Asian MMOs are developed today for the Asian market. This market is completely different from ours. However, the Asia MMOs are supposed to work in the West as well. Do many markets spoil the broth? Or can cultures eventually come together and give way to a kind of global gaming culture?
The absence of internet cafes in North America and Europe was a culture shock for a Korean visitor. After all, they are an important reason for the success of Free2Play MMOs in Korea. The markets are different. Can they grow together?
Asian MMOs designed for a completely different market
The CEO of Nexon in America, Min Kim, gave a talk at DICE in Europe about the different MMO markets, which is now receiving a lot of attention. He explains why it’s so difficult to develop an MMO for different markets and why this could change one day.
When he first came to America, he couldn’t believe that there were no “PC gaming cafes” there, Kim said. They are an important part of the MMO market in his home country of South Korea. The cafes do so much good for the MMOs in Asia. They do marketing for the game, players sit together, which is good for the community: All of this is something you wouldn’t know or understand in North America. Through special deals, MMOs also partly finance themselves with these cafes.
A sign of how different the markets are and how differently this affects their requirements for a game.
Kim explained that at the moment, developing for different markets feels like cooking in a kitchen for very different guests. One market wants this, the other that. Then someone asks for a specific feature. But what appeals to one market might reduce the success of the game in another market: “What works in Korea doesn’t have to work in America.” It is the case that if MMOs are designed for a specific market and then brought to another, they may achieve some level of success, but will never take off as they do in the core market.
League of Legends proves that world hits are possible
So is it possible, Kim asks, to develop a game from the ground up in a way that it meets the needs of all markets around the world, that everyone likes it? He thinks: Yes. In the coming years, it might already be time. A game like League of Legends proves that.
For this to happen, the kitchen needs to come directly to the players. This era will begin and completely change gaming.
My MMO says: The differences between the individual markets and especially the influence of internet cafes can currently be seen at ArcheAge. A “for every hour you are online, you will be rewarded” system can be explained through this IP fee and contradicts our habits in Europe: We are reluctant to leave our PCs on overnight. While game halls have nearly disappeared in Europe, they have developed into internet cafes in Korea, and it is quite normal to pay by the hour. It is clear that games developed for such a market are designed quite differently and struggle here with us. A much-discussed topic is also the gender-lock popular in Asia or upgrade systems for individual items.
Will 2015 be the year of the Asia MMO and will we be able to cope with it?
The year 2015 could be the year for us Europeans when we are properly confronted with Asia MMOs: Black Desert and Blade and Soul are both on the verge of the leap. ArcheAge has already made it. Other titles like Bless Online or Skyforge will also come with a culture shock. Here, the cultural differences will once again play a significant role.
It will be interesting to see if the markets, as Kim believes, really change and if we will agree on a globalized taste we will savor in a few years. Hopefully, this global market won’t lead to a uniform blend.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the Sandpark MMO ArcheAge, the AFK timer, which kicks inactive players from the game, has been readjusted and increased from five to twenty-five minutes.
The biggest issue in ArcheAge was AFK players who remained in ArcheAge, clogging the server. This was partially solved by setting the check for when players are considered inactive and kicked from the server to a very strict “5 minutes” with a patch a few days ago. While this led to short queues, it also resulted in players who just briefly went to the bathroom or got something to eat being kicked from the game. Especially in ArcheAge, which often invites waiting—for example, until the crops have grown or the wood has finished processing—some players might also be surfing or not be fully engaged at all times.
ArcheAge players have time for urgent matters again
With the new servers, it seems that the extremely strict AFK timer is no longer necessary, and last night, with a patch, the timer was raised to 25 minutes. Fans and commentators believe that this is okay; the main relief did not come from the short timer, but from the fix that players were kicked from ArcheAge who remained on the character selection screen.
ArcheAge players can now, in any case, once again pursue their most urgent matters with a bit more peace of mind.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Yesterday, Mike Donatelli, the Product Director of WildStar, publicly spoke out and wrote a few sentences about the current state of the game. While most of it is already known, we have summarized the key points for you.
Regular Updates: 4 per Year Instead of 12
At the beginning of WildStar, it was planned to release a content drop every month – but the hard reality stood in the way of the developers, as the rapid releases caused a multitude of bugs. They have now decided to provide one major patch per quarter and only then, when all bugs have truly been fixed – quality over quantity is the motto here.
Megaservers
At the beginning of WildStar, there was a huge influx of players, which is why as many servers as possible were needed – this capacity is no longer necessary, and so that players do not have to spend hours searching for an instance group on deserted servers, all realms will be merged into megaservers.
The megaservers will come
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny, with the latest hotfix, some tricks that emerged in recent weeks come to an end: the spawn timer of certain spots is significantly increased, thereby reducing the attractiveness of these places. The legendary items from the “Queen’s Wrath” event can no longer be processed into shards. It was already suspected, that the “Treasure Cave” in Destiny was too good to last, Every spot with its own name is threatened with closure, and this one had three: Treasure Cave, Loot Cave, Schatzhöhle. In total, the spawn timers of mobs at five of these locations have been significantly increased to reduce camping. In the last few days, Guardians found themselves in front of individual caves, shooting the mobs faster into the afterlife than one could say “Thank you for the loot.”
The following treasure caves are closing in Destiny
The Hive of the holy “Treasure Cave” have realized the futility of their endless assault on Skywatch and have retired to lick their wounds and plan their next attack.
Respawn timers for monster caves in Skywatch have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 6)
Respawn timers for monster caves in Forgotten Shore have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 10)
Respawn timers for monster caves in Ember Caves have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 10)
Respawn timers for monster caves in the Shattered Coast have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 10)
Respawn timers for monster caves in the Barrens have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 20)
According to Bungie, the enemies have now realized how pointless their assault was and drawn appropriate conclusions. And at another point, it is stated: While it can be understood that the herd behavior during this event and the communal collecting of loot was indeed beneficial for the community, it is impressive how quickly players came together here. However, it does not correspond to the Destiny that Bungie envisions and dreams of.
No shards from guaranteed legendaries
Also, the second big hype of recent days in Destiny, the farming of legendary items as part of the “Queen’s Wrath” event, is now being toned down. While the items can still be collected, they can no longer be dismantled into “Ascendant Shards.” The method of obtaining six of these legendary items daily and dismantling them did not seem to please Bungie. The items continue to be available, but since they only apply to two slots (chest and helm), that’s probably okay.
Material rewards for dismantling Queen’s Wrath gear will no longer provide ascendant materials, but missions will continue to drop Legendary items
Additionally, another change is being introduced. If an entire fireteam dies when a “hard wipe” occurs, the drop chance for engrams decreases afterward. This seems to be a measure to prevent teams from resetting a mission through suicide to enjoy specific spots in Destiny.
Reduced drop rate of engrams following a hard wipe [fixed in 1.0.1.4]
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Images of all new mounts in World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor have appeared. It looks like a tribute to the wildlife of The Burning Crusade.
On the MMO site “mmosite”, there is now allegedly a reader contribution showcasing all new mounts for Warlords of Draenor. The author mentions that he won’t go into detail about the images as the sources are currently unclear. Whatever he means by that: The pics are great and give an overview of what to expect in November.
The mount selection seems as if The Burning Crusade has come back to life, only that there is much more to ride than before – and not necessarily hooved animals or creatures that a passing troll would immediately think, “I have to swing my bony butt on that!”
Because not only Eleks and Talbuks are back, this time you can also ride on a Gron or even a Yeti into battle. Our favorites: The Ravager and of course the Core Hound (with seat heating).
In the sandbox MMO ArcheAge, there is a method to comfortably level up from the workbench.
Do you remember that before the release it was said that you could reach max level in ArcheAge without slaying monsters? We will show you an effective method that not only professionals can achieve, but you can too.
From work, you can make not only gold but also EXP
To calm everyone down, Trion Worlds has reset the cooldown, but left a goblin-sized loophole: Twinks can consume a labor potion starting from level 15, and the main character will also receive 1000 points from this potion. Because the cooldowns count per character, but labor points are account-wide. This means that a player with 6 characters can drink 6000 labor points every 12 hours. And since one can level the first 15 levels in a few hours with a little effort, it should not be a problem to get twinks to the drinkable age.
Additionally – here’s the thing – there are certain recipes that can practically reset back into their own components. It’s similar to pointing at a fried egg and then having the egg back in your hand.
From these three things, a trick has emerged that allows players to convert their labor points into measurable EXP with minimal gold cost and also raise their crafting professions, at least those necessary for armor making.
We will reveal the trick to you.
Use the trick at your own risk. We assume no responsibility for consequences.
What do you need for the trick in ArcheAge?
So what do you need for this method?
As many labor points as possible to start – 3000 would be good. If you have less than 3000 but more than 2000, prepare a worker’s salary potion. If you have even less, you need twinks.
About 10 moonlight Archeum dust. More won’t hurt; it also works with less. Archeum can be found as random rewards in bags or when you dismantle equipment with a moonstone. If necessary, a trip to the auction house helps.
A large quantity of “Blue Set Wedge,” available from the merchant for 5 silver each. About 90 pieces will do.
30 “Moonstones,” also available from the merchant for 5 silver each.
And depending on which profession you want to skill additionally, either 30 iron ingots (blacksmithing), 30 cloth (tailoring), or 30 leather. You can buy these at the auction house or gather them yourself.
And as a crowning conclusion, an Arcane Craft potion, available in the ArcheAge cash shop.
Level 15 twinks if you have fewer than 2000 labor points to start. Only level 15 characters can drink one of the labor potions. Each of these additional characters should have such a potion at the start (it’s called worker’s salary in German). If you want to push the trick to the limit, you definitely need these twinks.
And here’s how the method works
The trick works as follows: You find a suitable workbench, check if you have everything, gulp down the Arcane Craft potion, and then craft 10 times either “Tremor Apprentice Leggings” (blacksmithing), “Ocean Sash of the Apprentice” (tailoring), or “Typhoon Belt of the Apprentice” (leatherworking).
You then dismantle these ten items using the moonstone back into a moonlight Archeum dust. And then you can continue crafting. You repeat this until you run out of labor points.
And here’s how to push it to the limit
If you want to get the most out of the 100% EXP bonus, gulp down a worker’s salary potion when the labor points are exhausted, then you can craft ten more items. When you run out of breath again, log on to a twink and take the worker’s salary potion with it.
Depending on how often you want to do this, you might have to adjust and increase your supply of raw materials. To convert 1000 labor points into EXP, you need 30 blue set wedges, 10 moonstones, and either 10 iron ingots, cloth, or leather each time.
You can also simply log out for 12 hours in the meantime until the cooldown of the worker’s salary is up, then drink the next potion and continue to benefit from the EXP bonus.
The results of this method are excellent in terms of pure EXP yield. However, you don’t make a profit here but merely incur relatively minor losses. The credit expenses for the Arcane Craft potion and the worker’s salary in the ArcheAge cash shop also add up. But you gain a lot of EXP and also improve one of your crafting skills.
Do you have any tips for leveling in ArcheAge?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
This month there will be no developer letter from The Elder Scrolls Online, and Update 5 will only go to the public test server sometime in October.
In the first months, it was still a tradition for the developer letter “The Road Ahead,” a letter about the path that lies ahead for The Elder Scrolls Online, to always be released at the beginning of the month. However, the one in August was already pushed back significantly. The one in September will be completely absent this time, as confirmed by the community management in the official forum.
In September, there will be no “The Road Ahead” letter from Matt Firor.
The next letter from Matt Firor is expected to be released around the time Update 5 goes live on the public test server, the PTS. Some fans had anticipated this, as The Elder Scrolls Online had always been on schedule and ensured that the test server never ran dry. However, this time it seems it will take a bit longer. “Sometime next Month” it is said, then Update 5 will be deployed to the test server. So there might be some downtime on the test server now.
Will The Elder Scrolls Online get the Champion System with Update 5?
What will make its way to Tamriel in Update 5 is still unknown, but there are enough indications for a somewhat plausible assumption: The Imperial City will not be it, nor the Justice System and the Spellweaving will only come our way sometime in 2015.
The recently canceled Project Titan by Blizzard was, according to reports that have emerged, a truly wild mix of World of Warcraft, The Sims, Team Fortress 2, and Destiny.
The magazine Kotaku, known for quirky news, has now spoken, under the seal of confidentiality, with some Blizzard employees who worked on Titan during its seven-year development period. Titan is the prestige project that Blizzard buried this week.
According to Kotaku, Titan was an extremely ambitious, almost overambitious project consisting of two major parts. In the real world, players would lead normal jobs, could start families, build relationships with other players and NPCs, and advance their business or careers. For this aspect, they also brought in some staff who had worked on The Sims. Blizzard’s goal was to make gameplay in the real world truly dynamic with new AI. Store owners were meant to respond differently to regular customers than to passersby.
In the “Shadow” world, players engaged in deathmatches with others in a shooter style. It was supposed to work like this: a player goes about his job in the light world until he receives a mission call, which he can either pursue or ignore. If he accepts the mission, he would jump into a sort of elevator, change clothes, and off he goes to the shooting. In a presentation, they had seen a chef preparing a dish. He then quickly changed and dove into the adventure, only to return just in time to take the dish out of the oven at the now perfect moment.
Classes and gameplay mechanics in the shooter part were similar to titles like Destiny. There were snipers, Titans (Tanks), and Jumpers who were particularly agile.
The background story of Titans: Earth has survived an alien invasion, and the remaining states are vying for world dominance. Blizzard intended to gradually expand the game and introduce new maps, orienting itself to the geography of our world.
According to Kotaku, the game’s look and aesthetics resembled Team Fortress 2, which was the game the developers mentioned most frequently. One other developer described it as a mix between Starcraft and the Pixar movie “The Incredibles.”
Although the project is now canceled, the team behind it remains largely intact. And even though the name “Titan” is dead, Kotaku suggests it is quite conceivable that ideas and concepts from that wild mix survive, which we will never get to play.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, there is a legendary ship, the Chasing Infinity, which can be won with a lot of luck during the currently ongoing event Queen’s Wrath.
Even if you have so many legendaries in Destiny that you are thinking of starting a Twitch channel where you play Hearthstone drunk and in light clothing, there is still a reason to continue participating in the event Queen’s Wrath in Destiny: there is a legendary ship.
Now in Destiny, there is a chance to grab an extremely rare legendary ship, the Chasing Infinity, for a short time. While a ship in Destiny is not exactly the same as a mount, since it can only be seen in orbit, rare is rare and such a legendary ship looks great in the character profile.
Legendary ship extremely rare, available in Destiny until October 6
The “Chasing Infinity,” the legendary ship that can now be won at the event “Queen’s Wrath”, has as its description “The Queen speaks softly, and carries a big fleet.” This is a reference to the saying “Speak softly and carry a big stick” by US President Theodore Roosevelt, which describes two pillars of diplomacy: military strength and diplomatic skill. It is indeed easier to be heard when you have the means to underline your friendly remarks.
The legendary ship is only available in Destiny as long as the event is still running, until October 6. The Chasing Infinity can be obtained as an extremely rare reward when completing one of the story missions that can start with a kill order from the Queen. For this kill order, one must first complete a bounty.
We have a video of the ship, which is as rare as Bigfoot, but significantly cooler:
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
In the Sandpark MMO ArcheAge, three new servers went live on Wednesday evening.
The announcement came at 21:18 in-game on the European servers: The hunt for building plots, fame, and honor begins anew on three new European servers. The servers are named Nui, Janudar, and Nebe.
At the same time as the opening of the three new servers, the other seven EU servers temporarily closed their doors for the creation of new characters. The four letters that everyone can see here represent the individual races that can no longer be created. Such a restriction also existed in North America for a while but was recently lifted.
In ArcheAge, the initial hours are exciting on every server. With three fresh servers, without much warning, it should be quieter on Nui, Janudar, and Nebe compared to the others. Especially for Free2Play players, who are currently struggling with long queues on the existing servers, this is a new chance to experience ArcheAge. Here, it should also be possible for Free2Play players to start playing without waiting long in the queue. Additionally, there are still building plots available on the servers, which is not necessarily true for the seven existing worlds in ArcheAge.
ArcheAge launched with four servers during the head start, and shortly before the release, additional worlds were opened with Aier, Orchidna, and Melisara.
Update Thursday 2 PM: Character creation on Melisandra and Orchidna is now available again. Currently, there seems to be no queue on any European server.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A patch has significantly eased the difficult situation in ArcheAge, with the queue lengths shrinking to a normal level. Thus, the number one frustration factor should at least be resolved for the paying players.
A new patch was deployed to the servers last night. The crucial passage can be found at the beginning of the patch notes: They have worked on the idle check. Players stuck in character selection without moving will be kicked. Additionally, the AFK detection has been significantly tightened.
And apparently, with this change, ArcheAge has solved the Gordian knot: While just a few days ago there were several hours of waiting in the afternoon at 4 PM in front of the most popular servers, this is now the exception, and players can quickly immerse themselves in the world of ArcheAge (at least the paying players).
What it looks like this evening during peak time in ArcheAge is still unknown. However, it seems that the four-digit queues have come to an end.
New servers are supposed to arrive by Friday
Perhaps now not as urgently anticipated, but still on the way: The new EU servers for ArcheAge. They are supposed to go live by Friday at the latest, but it could happen sooner, as Trion Worlds informs. There have already been three new servers for North America since the weekend, but it is still unknown how many servers we can expect in Europe.
But in the coming days, there will likely be a rush for a front-heavy restart for some. New building areas need to be developed, new claims marked, and new scapegoats found on each server. After today’s patch, all of this should proceed a bit more smoothly.
Zzzzzzzzz I’m awake, I’m awake! Guilty!
Two problems remain at the moment: A cozy sleeping spot in the jury still likely protects against the kick and is therefore highly sought after. And some complain that the new AFK timer is quite severe. It is often heard that players are afraid to dash to the bathroom, fearing they might find themselves back at the login screen. But with the short queues, this should no longer be a major issue.
What experiences have you had? Has it improved for you, or do you notice no difference? And how do you feel about the new system as free-to-play players?
Update 21:30: ArcheAge has already opened three new EU servers on Wednesday evening. Here are the details.
Meanwhile, it has become almost a fixed ritual for me to think about what has bothered me the most in the gaming sector this week on Tuesday evenings, and every time I think, “Oh, just skip the column, the boss won’t notice,” a topic comes up in my circle of friends that perfectly qualifies as the outrage of the week. This time, it went from “bad endings” in games to an even bigger disaster: cliffhangers as the conclusion of a game.
I see into your heart …
[quote_box_right]Cliffhangers represent open endings at their peak and continue this in a future installment.[/quote_box_right]For me, the story in most games is a driving motivator to finish or continue playing the game. I simply want to know what happens to the protagonists, how I kick the antagonist’s ass, and why on the Nether this stupid princess keeps getting kidnapped every time.
This point can certainly be debated, but the story is for me the heart and soul of a game – even if the combat system is terrible and the AI is absolutely dumb, an exciting story can keep me entertained. I know this, but unfortunately, the developers do too. They know that an emotional connection between the player and the characters in the narrative is good and important, especially in role-playing games.
… see good times, bad times …
And this knowledge can, of course, be shamelessly exploited. For this, I present to you a prime example; the corresponding game is “Final Fantasy XIII-2”. Warning: If you still plan to play the game, you should not watch the video and only continue reading from the next subsection heading, massive spoilers!
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
Funny, isn’t it? You casually kill the main character, plunge the newly saved world into chaos, and then give the players a friendly “To be continued …” I have rarely been so angry and so disappointed by the end of a game (my roommates are still suffering from the effects it had on my mood).
Complete product = Complete story?
Maybe I think quite old-fashioned on this point, but I expect that when I buy a product, the product is complete. A story that ends abruptly and is only written as far as one is more or less forced to buy the next part of the game series is simply not complete. And no, I do not find the comparison to series and books appropriate here.
If Bioware does something very well, it’s definitely the storytelling.
Game series like “Mass Effect” have simply solved this much more elegantly: Although all parts build on each other, you were extremely satisfied with the first parts and did not have the impression that “something is missing.”
But even MMORPGs are now taking this route: WildStar, which I absolutely celebrate for many aspects, disappoints me in terms of story. The main quest about Drusera has still not been completed, and it seems that the next patch will only bring a few more breadcrumbs, but by no means a satisfying conclusion to this storyline. I don’t need story instances if the plot only progresses in slow motion or comes to a standstill.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about “open endings” where the future of the characters is uncertain and not further explored. I find that acceptable and it can often be very fitting!
A game sold, a fan lost
What disturbs me the most is the question of whether game manufacturers are not aware of how much they can sink in the esteem of their fans with such endings. The ending is such an important criterion for a good game and often decides whether the game was good or bad because it is simply the last moment you take away. Ubisoft, for example, was for a long time a guarantee for good games with wonderful, completed stories (Grandia 1&2).
[quote_right]The ending is such an important criterion for a good game.[/quote_right]
The Assassin’s Creed series only leaves me sighing and shaking my head, or to quote a friend: “In part 2, you learn what you did in part 1, and in part 3, you find out what you did in part 2.” So you are more or less forced to buy the next game to get a worthy conclusion – which then does not come because the current events are not resolved. Does a game sell better because of this? Most likely. Does that increase my trust in the respective game studio? Definitely not. If I have to read reviews to find out if the story is abruptly interrupted, then something is heading in the wrong direction – or I have outgrown the gaming industry.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In World of Warcraft, the system requirements for the expansion Warlords of Draenor have now been revealed for PC and Mac.
The next expansion for World of Warcraft is just around the corner, and some may wonder: “Well, can my old machine still handle it?” After all, with Warlords of Draenor a remodelling of the races is on the way, and it has been two years since Mists of Pandaria, which means the game could be hungrier for new hardware? Yes? No, it doesn’t seem like it. The graphics card needs to be a bit stronger, the CPU a bit larger, but not much changes.
Minimum System Requirements:
PC: Windows XP/Windows Vista/Windows7/Windows8 (latest Service Pack) Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or AMD Phenom X3 8750 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, ATI Radeon HD 4850 or Intel HD Graphics 3000
Mac: OS X 10.8 Intel Core 2 Duo NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT or ATI Radeon HD 4850
PC/Mac: 35 GB available HD space 2 GB RAM Broadband Internet connection Keyboard/mouse DVD-ROM drive 1024×768 minimum display resolution
Recommended Specifications
PC/Mac: 4 GB RAM Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel
PC: Windows 7/Windows 8 64-bit (latest Service Pack) Intel Core i5 2400 or AMD FX-4100 or better NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470, ATI Radeon HD 5870 or better
Mac: OS X 10.9 (or latest version) Intel Core i5 or better NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M or ATI Radeon HD 6750M or better
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The light level is the deciding factor in the MMO shooter Destiny. With this, Bungie directs the progression and makes it extremely difficult for low-level players to survive in higher content.
Meta stat light level in Destiny is crucial
Actually, one would think in an MMO that you should be as strong as the gear you wear, as the stats on it suggest. But apparently, that’s not quite the case in Destiny.
The light level, a meta stat that was previously believed to only show how strong you are, does more than just that. It ultimately determines how strong you are. Because the light level proves to be the probably most important factor. It decides how much damage the Guardian does to higher-level mobs.
A user on reddit has now discovered this in a self-test. He changed his gear so that he sank below the level of an opponent and then controlled his damage output. What came out can only be explained by the unexpectedly central role that the light level plays in damage calculation. Here are his results:
• 4 lvl or lower below mob: 100% damage penalty • 3 lvl below mob: ~52% damage penalty • 2 lvl below mob: ~42% damage penalty (guesstimate since I didn’t have the gear to put me to lvl 22) • 1 lvl below mob: ~32% damage penalty • 0 lvl below or higher than mob: 0% damage penalty
If the numbers are correct, and that seems likely, it means: Bungie wants players in Destiny to tackle the content linearly and ensures with this trick that everyone adheres to it and stays in their weight class, lest they feel like they have a pea shooter in hand.
Important for you: If you have been frustrated that you replaced one item with another, although it is worse in every respect except for the light level, you can now have a clear conscience: it is indeed an upgrade.
The redditor interprets his results that it is crucial to reach a light level of 28 for the raids to deal full damage to the mobs.
In the MMO Destiny, there is an opportunity to earn up to six legendary items every day until October 6. The special thing: The rewards are guaranteed.
Legendary items usually drive Destiny players to despair. They are as hard to obtain as the phone number of that really pretty woman at the bar or a decent hand in Hearthstone. Some have wished for the Cryptarch to be sent to the outer rings of Saturn while trying to decode them from engrams, as he always spat out the wrong one.
The Queen’s Wrath is more rewarding than expected
Since yesterday, the event “Wrath of the Queen”, “The Queen’s Wrath”, has been running. At first glance, it was judged by players over the age of 20 as too easy and not rewarding: “There are no legendaries, just blue items? What am I supposed to do with that?!” But that was a misjudgment. Although there is nothing spectacular for the six bounties that can be completed in the name of the Queen, and even the stuff from the reputation vendor doesn’t make the steel heart of the Titan beat faster, the reward comes from elsewhere and can significantly accelerate progress in Destiny.
Once you have completed one of the bounties and obtained the corresponding kill-order item, a level-24 story mission with epic modifiers opens up. These are not new missions, but variations of old ones. And once you have completed one of these missions, you will receive a guaranteed legendary item, the holy grail of Destiny, so to speak! So it’s the right method to push the light level significantly until October 6.
Tips for stress-free farming in Destiny
Destiny players have already discovered some tricks to make the process easier:
Players can simply go to orbit and back if they don’t like the offered mission. A new mission will already be available.
According to the modifier before the mission, players should carry and use a weapon that deals the requested elemental damage, making the missions significantly easier.
It seems that the only legendary rewards are chest and helm. But the stats vary, so sidegrades are possible. Additionally, the unused legendary items can be converted into shards, which you will need in large quantities later when you find the item of your dreams.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
