Hearthstone has a bot problem, that’s no secret. But how can you identify the mechanical friends or foes?
The gaming magazine PCGamer had the opportunity to speak extensively with a bot user and questioned him about the methods he uses and his reasons for using a Hearthstone bot.
The 7 Signs that You’re Playing Against a Bot in Hearthstone
During the conversation, it becomes clear that you can identify a bot in Hearthstone by the following indicators:
The bot does not hover over cards and highlight them, nor are there action arrows, instead, the actions come out of nowhere. That’s the surest sign.
Most of the time, it will have a golden hero portrait, which you get for 500 wins with a class; of course, “real” players can also achieve this, but especially when you encounter someone with a golden portrait in the rather higher or mid-ladder range, this is already a clear sign.
Bots typically play Warlocks (Zoo decks), but they also manage well with Shamans and Druids. Anything that emphasizes minion trades with value against value can be easily calculated. At the moment, a Shaman deck with Sea Giants is popular. They struggle with more complex decks like Miracle Rogue.
There is always the same interval of time between the individual turns and actions of the botter.
The bot does not react to emotes like greetings but remains silent.
Sometimes, the bots simply give up at the beginning of a round for seemingly no reason, to keep their win/loss ratio low, so that Blizzard does not catch on to them.
The bots primarily come out at night when their owners are asleep.
I bot because I can
As motivation for botting, the interviewee from PCGamer states that he is expanding his collection, farming golden portraits for the heroes, and avoiding the tedious ladder climb. The bot manages to get up to rank 5, after that he takes over, shuts down the bot, plays himself, and gets Legend. His bots have problems with the new Naxxramas effects like Deathrattle. They overwhelm them to some extent.
You are the bot!
He is not afraid of being caught. In the last month, the bot has won him about 2000 games and earned him three golden hero portraits. Once, he says, he let the bot run for 72 hours straight and didn’t hear anything from Blizzard. Their blue posts in the forum, stating that they would find and harshly punish botters, are merely a tactic and result in no consequences. No one he knows has ever been caught.
Botting is widespread, although he does not believe that players do it out of profit greed to sell strong accounts with golden heroes and full legendaries on eBay, but more because they can simply do it.
PCGamer also spoke with Blizzard. They are aware of the problem and say it has high priority and they are working on it. Botters are a problem in all their games. There are so many highly intelligent people out there. Blizzard is coming with a fix, and they are coming with new versions. If you catch them, it results in severe penalties, including account bans.
The botter who spoke with PCGamer does not seem to be afraid of that. If he loses everything, he says nonchalantly, it wouldn’t be too bad. It’s not like he has really done much for it.
The first sales figures of Destiny from Japan are here and look good.
As reported by dualshockers, Destiny has performed well in the markets of the Japanese retailer Tsutaya. They have already published their sales lists every Monday. Destiny on the Playstation 4 has debuted at number 2, ahead of the Playstation 3 version of the game. In Japan, Destiny was released exclusively for Playstation. The lead of the PS4 over the PS3 is remarkable because more Japanese own a PS3 than a PS4.
dualshockers described the figures as a clear success, as Destiny managed to surpass such an established franchise as Naruto – and that as a Western game. The reason Destiny didn’t quite make it to the top has a name: Super Smash Bros. was released last week in Japan for the 3DS. Even Destiny can’t compete with that.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The great World of Warcraft patch 6.0.2 is currently on the public test realms and is being thoroughly tested there before players can enjoy it in a few weeks. In addition to the long-awaited transition event to the expansion “Warlords of Draenor”, it includes numerous improvements, especially regarding the players’ inventory. We have summarized the most significant changes for you here.
Toy Box – For all heroes who remain young at heart
Source: mmo-champion.com
Over the years and across four expansions, a lot of clutter has accumulated in the heroes’ inventories, especially many unique “toys” that are hard to part with. Whether it’s the “remote-controlled Zeppelin”, “Dartol’s rod” or the “orb of the Sin’dorei”, there are countless items that don’t serve any real purpose but have a cool effect, are filled with nostalgia, or are simply no longer obtainable in the game.
To ensure that you don’t have to part with all these beloved items, there is now a toy box in World of Warcraft, where all these items can be stored and can be used by any character on your account from now on – making the inventory much tidier!
reagent bank – Farewell, my bank alt
Source: mmo-champion.com
When Blizzard cleans up, they do it right: All crafting materials can be stored in a new bank slot, where you have a whopping 98 spaces free to store ores, plants, enchanting materials, and more.
To make sure that’s enough, most items can now be stacked up to a count of 200 – just “farm until the inventory is full” is now going to be a very lengthy affair. At the same time, there will no longer be a need to rummage through the bank for a long time when you want to craft something: As long as it’s in the reagent bank, it will be automatically consumed when you want to craft something with one of your professions.
Bag sorting made easy
Source: mmo-champion.com
What remains of your inventory can now be easily sorted. You can assign specific functions to individual bags, such that bag A only contains consumables like potions and flasks and bag B only contains equipment.
With a simple push of a button, you can have the bags automatically sorted. New items in your inventory will be specially marked so you can recognize them immediately – gray “vendor trash” now has a gold coin symbol so you can see at a glance what you can throw to the NPC.
Many minor improvements
But other aspects have also been simplified and made clearer in World of Warcraft ; for example, interface addons can now be toggled on and off while playing without the need to log out. The quest log and map are now connected and provide quicker and clearer information about where to go and what needs to be done.
The void bank has been expanded by 80 slots, and finally, the dungeon journal has already been filled with entries for Warlords of Draenor, so you can get a glimpse of the bosses you need to defeat if you wish.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Some media are now reporting that The Elder Scrolls Online may potentially head towards eSport. Our author Schuhmann shares his thoughts on this.
Strange things are happening in TESO, but for now, perhaps not enough. At MMORPG.com, a major English MMO site, columns about the game are regularly published. However, at the moment, everything that can be said about The Elder Scrolls Online has already been said: The fourth content patch is coming next week. What’s next on the agenda is already known. The game is slowly recovering from a rough launch, waiting for the next patches, and there is little to report.
In The Elder Scrolls Online, assumptions quickly turn into rumors
Let’s see what’s in the newspaper today?
The columnist at mmorpg.com is quite legitimately speculating: The new arenas, which are supposed to be introduced into the game, might potentially attract eSports players to The Elder Scrolls Online. Perhaps this is a way for Zenimax to win over new groups.
A German news site is now turning this into the information: There are rumors that Bethesda and Zenimax are considering opening The Elder Scrolls Online towards eSport.
Um, no? A colleague was merely contemplating and speculating. And just because you don’t feel like naming that as the source, you turn it into a “rumor” that is already semi-official and imply that an MMO company has some strategic considerations. As if the whole internet and the community were talking about nothing else, as if the sparrows on the rooftops of Tamriel were already tweeting it. As if there were numerous forum threads and discussions solely on this topic.
By the way, this is the same site that periodically claims that The Elder Scrolls Online is about to switch to F2P. Because… fans demanded it. If that were the case, cannabis would have been on the verge of legalization for 15 years now. Fans are demanding that too.
MMORPGs have a hard time with eSports
Of course, eSport is an interesting idea for many MMO companies, simply because they want the x gamers who play League of Legends and DOTA 2. And since MMOs are currently lagging behind a bit compared to MOBAs, such a new influx of players would be highly welcome. But they are not coming.
Arenas are not yet eSport.
How difficult it is to steer an MMORPG towards eSport, was recently seen with WildStar and Guild Wars 2. In WildStar, the war bases, one can say quite harshly, have failed, because not enough people were there. And one hears horrifyingly little about the arenas. Only stories about an exploit are circulating.
And in Guild Wars 2, which would actually be more suited for eSport in substance, much work and energy is being put into this idea. However, it does not seem to take off. The arenas in The Elder Scrolls Online are, this has been clearly communicated, created because we wanted to give visitors at conventions the opportunity to quickly glance at the game. And since it was well received, they will likely be firmly implemented. But just because something is “instanced PvP” does not mean it will automatically become an eSport hit. MMORPG companies have had to learn this again and again in recent months and years. It is not so easy to jump on the eSports MOBA bandwagon. And whether Zenimax is seriously considering this, is highly doubtful.
In our own matter
How quickly something turns into a rumor, we experienced on our site just last week. Our speculation that H1Z1 might announce its early access date at a Nvidia event landed on four German gaming sites. But our article did not appear there as: A colleague reported on this and he has his ideas about it and restricts it. No, no, it became a rumor and steadily grew. With each time, the message became a little bigger, and the restrictions found in our article faded. A rumor was born, and everyone can do whatever they want with it.
How boring are any articles that speculate, see things from one side and the other, and make it clear that they are merely expressing their own opinions. All concerns are set aside, and the label “rumor” is placed on it, making it much more appealing.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Guild Wars 2, the cycle repeats itself from April. For weeks, an important new patch was introduced. Now it is here, and parts of the community criticize it sharply.
Before the last feature patch in April, it was the same: For weeks, they presented bit by bit what great things were coming to the players. Then the patch arrived, but instead of the hoped-for cheers, there was much grumbling about the new mega-servers. And the good changes that came in April were somewhat overshadowed by the anger.
Criticism: World too limited, skill poverty, defective navigation
Now in September, the criticism is not as loud, but the new patch did not go smoothly. In particular, the new design of the early levels has received quite a bit of criticism. Guild Wars 2 now feels “too casual”; the world is too restricted, it is said; the charm of the open world has been lost.
New characters are being guided “too strongly”, arrows point somewhere, skills come only later, and the new systems are buggy. A “new compass,” which is supposed to give players orientation, now leads them into high-level areas and thus to their doom, similar to how a defective navigation system can cause cars to end up in lakes.
Parts of the active GW2 forum community on reddit and in the official forum are particularly bothered that the new system is so paternalistic. Most of the new features are anyway taken from the Chinese version of Guild Wars 2, so there shouldn’t have been so much fuss about it.
Response: We are working on it, changes necessary to attract new players
The Game Director Colin Johanson, responsible for game development at Guild Wars 2, now addresses the fans. He says that a lot of effort was put into the patch and they are sure that it will do a lot of good for both twinks and new players in the long run. And GW2 needs new players to stay healthy. The way new players have been introduced to Guild Wars 2 so far no longer meets ArenaNet’s standards. There urgently needed to be a new wind.
However, Johanson also admitted some difficulties with the new features that they are now working on. These difficulties are not only due to the systems but also because they are inadequately explained.
ArenaNet does not want to be stubborn. Although they have worked on these changes for over a year, tested them with new players, and are convinced of them, if it turns out that they were wrong and that some things do not work, they want to communicate that and correct it.
You can find our extensive coverage of Guild Wars 2 on our GW2 topic page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Development for Black Desert is still in full swing and interesting details are continuously emerging. For Black Desert, it is said to be possible to use skills even when they are still on cooldown, although with reduced effectiveness.
And why are people making a fuss about Black Desert already? Because it looks simply fantastic. With the start of the third Closed Beta, there is another video that almost strings together a gallery of still lifes: The game simply looks incredible, don’t you think?
http://youtu.be/TOgbYzE4KDE
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Not only the right mouse or the perfect headset are part of every MMO fan’s repertoire, but also the right gaming monitor. Here, Asus, BenQ, and Acer compete for market dominance. Therefore, we show you the 3 gaming models that you normally can’t go wrong with.
What makes a perfect monitor for gamers? In addition to a high resolution and good contrast, the response time is especially important. While some score here with 1ms, other common monitor models have five or even eight times the response time. It is important that this value is as low as possible. In MMOs, where it is fast-paced and action-packed, such as in TERA, Guild Wars 2, or Destiny, this sometimes determines a smooth gaming experience. To ensure that something is done for the back and eyes as well, the monitor should be tiltable and height-adjustable.
BenQ RL2455HM: Quick Response Time and Full HD
The BenQ RL2455HM is tailored specifically for gamers. The 24-inch monitor from the Taiwanese manufacturer was already used during the Intel Extreme Masters 2012/2013. In the eSports sector, a short response time of the monitors is crucial. Here, the RL2455HM meets all requirements with a 1ms response time.
With Flicker-Free technology, your eyes are also protected, which is especially advantageous during longer sessions. This dynamically adjusts the brightness of the monitor to the environment.
Pros: Fast response time, Full HD resolution, gaming features, energy-efficient, easy setup
Cons: Not height-adjustable
Conclusion: With the BenQ RL2455HM, you get a true gaming monitor for 169 euros at an acceptable price-performance ratio. The high resolution ensures a good gaming experience on the 24-inch monitor, and thanks to Flicker-Free technology, your eyes are protected.
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Asus VN247H: 23.6 Inch LED Monitor
Asus also offers a gaming monitor in its lineup. The VN247H is also available in a 24.1 inch (VN248H) and 27 inch (VN279QLB) variant. The Full HD resolution (1920×1080) is correspondingly high, the contrast values are impressive, and the response time is very short at 1ms: Perfect for gaming.
Unlike the BenQ monitor, the VN247H can be tilted and thus individually adjusted to the seating position. Asus primarily emphasizes environmental sustainability, which is why the monitor is energy-efficient and produces a low CO2 emission.
Pros: Various sizes, Full HD resolution, very energy-efficient, display can be tilted
Cons: Users complain about complicated settings
Conclusion: At just under 180 euros, the 24.1 inch variant is not exactly cheap. For that, you get a high-end monitor from the quality manufacturer Asus. The only negative point is the unnecessarily complicated settings menu. Otherwise, for gamers, the VN247H is worth considering.
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Acer S242HLCBID: Low Price for Top Product
Where there is Asus, there is also Acer. The S242HLCBID impresses with particularly good value for money. For 130 euros, you get a 24-inch full HD monitor. The response time is double at 2ms compared to the other monitors, but even professional gamers do not notice this difference. However, one must forgo individual height adjustment.
In return, the Acer monitor scores with vibrant colors and easy display optimization. For gamers who do not want to spend too much money on the best quality, the Acer S242HLCBID seems to be the perfect solution.
Pros: Best value for money, Full HD resolution, energy-saving LED monitor, display optimization, sleek design
Cons: not height-adjustable
Conclusion: Good monitor for little money – this is the best description for this Acer monitor. The only drawback is the lack of height adjustability. If you need a 24-inch companion for all MMOs, we recommend this monitor.
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At level 20, Destiny is far from over; it is just beginning. With light levels, Vanguard marks, Crucible marks, reputation farming, raids, and PvP, there is much for the Guardian to do.
In the sandbox MMO ArcheAge, the head start has some issues. ArcheAge is struggling to grant benefits to founders, the opening cinematic is for some not only a starting point but also an endpoint, the server Eanna is constantly down and rumors about possible Gilda Star exploits are circulating.
Yesterday at the head start at 7 PM, there were the expected problems: The queues were long, not everyone received their founder package immediately, the congestion was significant.
ArcheAge: Old problems are replaced by new ones
Now it has been almost 24 hours and the initial problems have been replaced by a series of new ones. Many players can’t currently log into ArcheAge at all, because they get stuck in the video, in the opening cinematic. The client reports: Account verification is missing. The problem lies with Trion Worlds’ Glyph system: It’s currently having issues. They say they are working on it.
Moreover, the server “Eanna” is causing major stress. It has repeatedly gone offline, maintenance has kept it down for a considerable time now. For anyone who planned to play on Eanna, this is quite frustrating. Their head start, which they had been looking forward to, is at least partially going down the drain. Stressful, because the first days in ArcheAge promised a high intensity for many, and some had planned their weekend around it.
Exploit or just really good work by hardcore gamers?
A rather annoying problem might still be felt in the coming weeks: At the moment, rumors about possible exploits are already circulating, for example in the official ArcheAge forum. Through these, players might have acquired too many “Gilda Stars”. With these, it is possible to place houses on free building spots. And these are a limited and highly sought-after commodity in ArcheAge.
Even before the head start, it was clear that some hardcore gamers and guilds would make a reckless sprint and then start a marathon for the building spots. In the release, it shows: Exactly this has happened and even harder than predicted. Whether the large number of houses is solely due to the rush and top-organized players, or whether an exploit was at least partially exploited here, is currently hard to tell. The next few days will surely reveal that.
On Tuesday, there will be another chance for a perfect start
At this point, it seems clear: There is a significant difference between the players who were well-prepared and came to the servers first at 7 PM with a clear battle plan and played optimally and effectively, and those who arrived a bit later and then started their work with a two-hour delay and faced various problems.
Especially the main quest, the main source for Gilda Stars, caused quite a stir, on some servers, for example, real queues formed at the “Flora” quest in the Nuia area, until everyone could click. On Reddit, the game has earned the nickname ArcheQue because of this and because of the server queues.
A conflict-oriented MMO like ArcheAge quickly raises emotions in such difficulties. It was probably clear to everyone that ArcheAge would have unfair moments, but how quickly players would be confronted with them was unexpected.
However, Trion Worlds will likely launch additional servers at the release on September 16, so that those who are disappointed now will get a second chance.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMO shooter Destiny launched with a huge boost, and now the first criticism is breaking. The game wants to please everyone and pleases no one. The production costs are said to be far too high for what comes out of it. There is too little to do.
What does Backlash mean in English?
Backlash refers to the snapping back of a rope that has been stretched too tightly. It happens when someone who was previously on top has everything blow up in their face. This is increasingly common in our media world. Something is first praised to the skies and then roughly thrown back to the ground.
A few months ago, it was even set to hit Jennifer Lawrence, the actress from the Hunger Games and Silver Linings. Everyone liked her, her career was going smoothly, not only beautiful but also clever, talented, and funny – that was too much for some. She did everything right, everyone thought she was great, so she faced backlash: somehow she was now supposed to annoy everyone. The world must have had enough of this grinning darling with the smoky voice, right? Nope, they hadn’t. The world decided to continue to find Jennifer Lawrence simply great.
Usually, however, it turns out differently: see Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, or the former Doctor zu Guttenberg.
In video games, such a backlash is quite normal: Until release, almost only the manufacturer talks about its game. And the manufacturer keeps a protective hand over the cradle, growling at anyone who comes too close with unholy hands. But sooner or later, even the most loyal developer, the most caring publisher, has to let their darling into the world, and then mean people come and write mean things about it.
With Destiny, the giant MMO that has been released for half a week, the hype was particularly high, the rope stretched to the breaking point. When it was said that Destiny would have the most successful launch of an IP in the history of video games, it became clear that the hype was worth it.
So how does the backlash, how does the criticism turn out? The first media outlets have dealt with the shooter.
Not the Bungie of old: Innovation is missing
In a long commentary on 4players.de editor-in-chief of the magazine, Jörg Luibl, extensively discusses the lack of innovative performance of the premium shooter. In the past, he writes, Bungie would have sweetened his gaming days, innovative genre gems like Myth would have advanced their genres, and risks were taken.
Today, Bugie is so tightly bound by a contract with Activision that it cuts off the studio’s creative vein. Everything in Destiny is designed to satisfy the masses. Destiny is destined for maximum financial success. And with the attempt and the burden of having to please everyone, no great achievement can be made.
Where has all the money gone?
At mmosite, they wonder: Where has the 500 million dollars gone? Time and again in a video, they touch upon the stark reality of Destiny and hold the good, but not outstanding shooter accountable for its high production costs. “They could have done that with 60 million,” they say.
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Even Star Wars: The Old Republic with the outrageously expensive and lavish voice acting only cost 200 million – and with Destiny they only hired Dinklage as the big name. And to make matters worse, they are also disappointed with him.
Is there too little Destiny for the money?
Already at mmosite, the criticism arises that the content is somewhat lacking. A few maps, a few PvP arenas, that all seems rather standard, there isn’t much to do after the initial hours.
Polygon also blows the same horn. For an MMO, in which players invest hours upon hours, days upon days, there simply isn’t enough to do. Although Polygon wants to wait until the 16th of September for the first raid to go live, they are not really convinced by Destiny. They only award 6 out of 10 points – and Polygon is not exactly known for scathing reviews.
Apparently, Bungie expects, the test states, that players will play the little content over and over again, in search of ever better weapons. Without the story depth typical of MMORPGs, there is alarmingly little to do in Destiny, and Polygon apparently has no desire to grind light levels through better gear past level 20.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
League of Legends, DOTA2, Heroes of Newerth, and Heroes of the Storm are just a few representatives of the “MOBA” (Massive Online Battle Arena) genre, and more are added monthly.
To make myself unpopular directly: I have not been able to get into MOBAs, I tried both LoL and DOTA and stopped after a few matches – the spark simply did not ignite. SMITE, on the other hand, managed to captivate me for at least a few days intensely, and now that my initial hype has subsided, I am trying to evaluate SMITE in a slightly more objective manner in the form of a test.
Summary: What is SMITE?
SMITE has the subtitle “Battleground of the Gods,” and the name is indeed indicative, as various gods have gathered to settle their disputes once and for all on the battlefield. The player controls their character from a third-person perspective, a feature that pays off. Furthermore, the game is free-to-play and can therefore be tried for free by everyone.
How does a match work?
Whoever defeats the Titan first wins the match.
In each round, 2-10 players compete against each other in two teams; in most cases, the goal is to destroy the Titan in the opposing camp to claim victory for oneself. Initially, the Titan is well protected, depending on the game mode, different numbers of towers and Phoenixes protect the Titan, in addition to the minion waves that appear every 30 seconds and, of course, the opposing players.
The task is relatively simply formulated:
Destroy the enemy towers,
slay the corresponding Phoenix,
let your minions advance,
and eliminate the opposing heroes,
to prevent them from thwarting your plans.
Defeating enemies grants gold and experience, with which your gods become stronger and can afford better equipment, which can be purchased at your Titan’s base.
Anyone who meets their end will be resurrected in base after a while – while at the beginning, there are only short respawn times of a few seconds, this eventually increases to over a minute, and every second you are in the majority helps to advance further. A round often consists of nerve-wracking back and forth until one side can ultimately claim victory, but very few games last longer than 40 minutes.
Gods, Demigods, and Their Abilities
The various deities can be categorized into several categories, genre-typical tanks, mages, assassins, and hunters exist. Although the classes all follow a basic concept (for example, that hunters mainly deal damage through their auto-attack), each god plays uniquely, with completely independent mechanisms and abilities.
Thanatos, for example, has an ability that kills enemy gods instantly if they are below a certain HP threshold. When an enemy is in this “instant kill zone,” the player hears a faint, beating heart that gets louder. This is pretty creepy but also kind of cool.
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Another example of this uniqueness is Aphrodite, the goddess of love. She can first kiss a friendly god, making them her soulmate, granting both players a speed buff. In combat, she can then kiss an enemy god, stunning them briefly with delight and making the previous soulmate jealous – the latter then deals increased damage.
Every playable god has a unique special mechanic or a separate resource that one must strategically combine with their 4 abilities to emerge victorious from battle. And even though 4 abilities may seem “few” at first glance, they lend the game an enormous tactical depth.
The Entry – Easily Through Practical Help
The entry into SMITE is very easy, as the game provides practical aids. There is a short but completely sufficient tutorial that teaches all the basics, and every game mode has a short video that explains the map’s peculiarities from the outset.
But even more help awaits beginners: If someone tries out a new god and doesn’t know what items to buy for them, they can simply activate an “Auto Buy” function, and the game will handle the purchases automatically for you as soon as you are back in your base and have the required gold. This allows one to focus entirely on their character and its abilities and avoids the risk of sleeping through the entire game in base because one is desperately searching for that one item they just can’t find.
Later, however, one should deactivate these options and create a personal shopping list and buying menu for their favorite hero – this can be conveniently done outside of a match to arrange all relevant items in such a way that they can be found immediately.
Is Everything a Matter of Perspective?
While most comparable games are played from a bird’s eye view, in SMITE, the camera is always right behind the played god, who is directly controlled using WASD and not through frantic left-clicking. This perspective shift itself is enough to evoke a whole different feeling in the game and develop a completely unique dynamic.
SMITE offers a unique gaming experience in the MOBA genre through its third-person perspective.
In every battle, you are right in the middle of the action, and the fact that every ability also has to be aimed precisely, and the opponent’s running direction must also be considered, gave me the impression that it is significantly more “skill-based” than comparable MOBAs. It even sometimes strongly resembles WildStar’s telegraph system.
And even though my friends from DOTA and LoL will probably lynch me for my last sentence in the comments: The rear view of the gods gives the game a charm that is second to none. Additionally, a larger view of the characters also means a better graphical representation. All playable gods look uniquely and incredibly good; at least in terms of character design, SMITE also offers something for the eyes.
Best Played with Friends
Newcomers, especially if they’ve never played a MOBA-like game before, should definitely grab two friends and jump into the training mode (Duel: 3vs3) until they get a feel for their chosen gods and can easily send the three computer-controlled opponents back to oblivion (or across the Styx – wherever the gods go).
Only after that should you dare to play against other humans, as there you will probably experience quite the shock and be thoroughly dusted and brought back to reality. Soon, however, you should manage to achieve your first extremely satisfying victories, and by then, it will be clear whether you have become addicted to the drug SMITE or if it leaves you completely cold.
Playing with randoms can be quite annoying in the long run…
As much fun as the game is in a group, whether playing against or with friends, it quickly loses its appeal when playing with completely unknown players. Every round I had to deal with raging “randoms” has been quite devoid of fun, completely independent of whether we won or lost; you will learn why below.
Unlocking New Gods and Level-Ups
In the beginning, you only have access to 9 of the total 57 gods; 5 are automatic and 4 more are part of the rotation that changes every few weeks. For each completed round, you earn both favor and experience points. With favor, you can acquire new gods or alternative skins, while experience points increase your player level – for each level-up, you receive an additional 500 favor.
Typically, a new god costs 5500 favor, although there are a few cheaper exceptions. As the early levels are reached very quickly, it doesn’t take long to unlock your favorite god, but as you play longer, you receive less favor (as level-ups become more rare and take more time). Besides the favor bonus, the level also has a second function, as you can only participate in ranked games and qualify for leagues once you reach level 30; before that, you must settle for unranked matches – especially for veterans from other comparable games, this threshold may be set a bit too high.
You can’t complain about the item shop. Fair prices, no pay-to-win!
Alternatively, you can also purchase all gods for €24 and support the developers – this offer includes all characters currently in the game, as well as any that will be implemented in the future. Especially nice: If you previously unlocked a god by spending favor, that favor will be refunded (allowing you to use it for additional skins).
The Character Design – Gruesome, Sexy, Simply Good!
As mentioned earlier, SMITE does not rely on purely fictional (this can be debated, but let’s not!) personalities like elves and orcs but draws from the mythological deities of various cultures. Currently, there are seven pantheons represented in the game: Hindu, Maya, Greek, Egyptian, Chinese, Roman, and Norse. There are currently 57 different gods or legendary figures to choose from.
The characters look great, and all gods have their own charm.
At first glance, one might overlook it, but the developers have put great effort into depicting all playable gods as they were presented in various traditions, and even the individual abilities are tailored to that. All gods clearly differentiate from each other, and especially their voices have really impressed me; I have rarely found the combination of character and voice so fitting as in this game.
I have definitely grown fond of Neith, Scylla, Hel, Thanatos, and all the others quickly, and I can understand why there are now so many (not always entirely PG…) fanfictions about this game – but that is a topic for another time…
Coordination is Everything
For MOBA veterans, this is probably nothing new, but coordination and communication are very important aspects of this game; lone wolves will rarely tip the balance of the game in favor of their team.
Since there is rarely enough time during action-packed fights to type long commands and strategy discussions in the chat, one can give auditory instructions through a very extensive quick selection menu. The key combination “VA1” makes “Attack the left path!” appear in the chat, while “VRR” means “Retreat Immediately!”.
Good team play is often rewarded at the end.
It takes a few matches to internalize the most common key combinations, but once that has become second nature, communication will be quick and precise. And there should always be time for a triumphant “Woohoo!” (VEW), just as there is for a praise-filled “You rock!” (VER) when someone has done particularly well.
“Just AFK for a bit”
Nothing is more frustrating than when a teammate logs out in the middle of a match, goes AFK, or decides to ruin the game for the team entirely. Of course, this behavior is also disapproved of by the developers, as it completely ruins the game atmosphere in the long term, so there are ways to deal with such troublemakers.
Each account has a “Goodwill” value that starts at 100%. If you disappear during a match, your teammates and opponents will have the opportunity to report the missing player and provide a reason; if this happens often enough, the goodwill value will drop further. To participate in ranked games, this value must be above the 50% mark, otherwise, you cannot even participate.
Teleport and being AFK? Better not…
However, even in the “normal” game mode, you will be punished, as a reduced percentage of the value means you will receive noticeably less favor per match. If someone is not deterred by this, they will be penalized with account punishments such as temporary bans; repeat offenders can have their entire game access blocked – and that permanently, regardless of how much real money they have already spent on the game, a very good measure that has now become standard practice in similar games.
Regardless, you will automatically be marked as a deserter if you leave a match early and cannot participate in any games for 30 minutes afterward – so always play to the end!
Details to Fall in Love With
I was particularly delighted by the countless little details that the developers have incorporated. This starts, as previously mentioned, with the very detailed implementation of the traditions into the game world, but it does not end there. Many gods utter interesting quips when they beat one of their mythological companions. Athena, a daughter of Zeus, says, for example, “Do you still love me, daddy?” and that is just one of many possible combinations – I haven’t found nearly all of them yet. An absolute plus is the gods’ jokes (VEJ) and taunts (VET); those who want to know why female video game characters always fight in high heels should definitely listen to Athena’s lines…
The developers have put a lot of effort into transferring the gods’ traits to the characters.
Another highlight is the victory/defeat screens after each completed match. Each deity has its own little sequence depending on whether you win or lose. Neith, for example, dances the “Caramel Dansen” in victory, and Scylla lets her tentacle dogs play with a captured minion – although when she loses, she doesn’t quite have control over her dogs.
All this is so funny, so thoughtful, and with so much attention to detail that I can’t help but express my gratitude for it. Even a defeat is only half as frustrating when you see the brilliant animations afterward.
Real-Money Shop Yes, Pay2Win No
Of course, SMITE also has a real-money currency, which has been dubbed “gems.” Let me say this directly: No item from the shop provides a gameplay advantage that favors someone in a match; all items offered are purely cosmetic.
It is obvious that the developers at Hi-Rez are paying their bills with it, as the possible beautifications are almost endless and can quickly add up. An exclusive skin costs between €6 and €10, and voice packs still cost around €3. Undoubtedly, these special skins look impressive, funny, or incredibly sexy, and also the voice packs can make you smile when you hear the voice of the goddess you are playing in chat coordination commands instead of the generic voice that normally handles the announcements.
None of this is necessary to have fun in SMITE; the game fortunately keeps itself in check and does not constantly push these offers onto you. I have, however, already succumbed and bought a skin for Neith, a voice pack for my beloved Scylla, and two treasure chests (by the way, I should correct that: a day later, it’s already four!) – I simply could not resist.
That Sounds Good – But What is Bad?
One of SMITE’s biggest weaknesses is the inadequate localization that the game currently has. There is no German voice output, so I am referring only to the plain texts within the game. Those proficient in English will have absolutely no problems, but the German translation is horrendous and at the level of “Google Translator.”
This is particularly noticeable in the ability descriptions, where occasionally there is a random switch between languages. It becomes really bad when the same ability has three different names in three texts; for example, “Broken Weave” turns into “broken fabric” and then into “destroyed weave.”
After a few hours, I switched to the English version in clear frustration; some texts are simply so terribly flawed in German that the content is not even understandable.
To be fair, it must be said that the launcher in the German version still has “Beta” attached. A beta that urgently needs revision by someone with adequate German and English skills (Here, me! Sounds like a cool job!).
Matchmaking Below Level 30 – Almost Non-existent
A significant downside is the matchmaking in the game, as it is, at least based on my experience, non-existent. When you see three players on the opposing team’s loading screen who have already mastered their heroes at level 10 and unlocked the legendary portrait while you are just a level 2 rookie, you can expect quite a beating.
The opponent selection in unranked game modes seems entirely arbitrary, and since this is the only way for new players to earn favor and level-ups, you will literally be wiped out like it’s a jam toast – and you will feel just as powerless.
Matchmaking still needs improvement…
Truly balanced matches are a rarity, and I have often wondered why three players from a clan sign up to give rookies a stern talking-to – this frustrates and does not make for fun in the long run.
Everyone Else is an Idiot
I know, I know. When everyone else in the game is unfriendly and has, in your view, “seriously lost their mind,” you are often the disturbing element and just don’t realize it. But I cannot help but emphasize again how terrible it is to play with randoms.
In all the 5-man groups I have had, there has always been at least one person who knows better, insults everyone else, spams emotes endlessly, or goes AFK in the middle of the game and does not return. In no other game have I used the “report player” function as often as in SMITE, and a (subjectively felt) large part of the community reacts allergically to newcomers or people who do not have at least two years of DOTA-logy and a doctoral thesis in “League of Legends.”
There were some exceptions who helped me and gave me valuable tips and constructive criticism, and I thank those players. Unfortunately, their goodwill fades against the seemingly endless trolls, haters, and flamers that have taken root in this game. Just to counteract this, you should always play with at least two friends – it saves a lot of headaches.
The fantasy MMO Final Fantasy XIV is really filling up the schedule. New classes, new races, and a multitude of ideas are planned for the near and distant future.
In the latest Producer Letter from Final Fantasy XIV, one can see how packed the schedule and the minds of the Final Fantasy staff must be. 2.38 is coming in about a month; with 2.4, a new class called Ninja will be introduced, which is supposed to lead to a new type originating in Japan, and preparations for Expansion 3.0 are already underway: the title has now been chosen, and the first decisions regarding the design have been made. At Gamescom, it was already announced that with Expansion 3.0 the maximum level would also increase.
Then, with 2.4, “Shiva” is also set to enter the game as a new boss. People are slowly starting to speak more loudly about a new race, which will only be revealed when a “certain NPC” finally reveals their face, as it is said.
And as if that wasn’t enough, it has now been said that on October 17th, new information will be released regarding what further jobs might look like. In Final Fantasy XIV, with 2.4, the Ninja will be introduced as a new DPS class. Perhaps fans will learn in a month what further tank or healer classes might look like.
Today, Blizzard released the third part of the “Lords of War” short film series! After the previous two episodes featured the warlords Grommash and Kargath, this time it focuses on the leader of the Frostwolf clan: Durotan.
It should be noted that the Orc Durotan was already well-known beforehand, as he is the father of Thrall, the former Warchief of the Horde, and the starting area of the Orcs “Durotar” was named after him.
The World of Warcraft film shows that the members of the Frostwolf clan, unlike the other Orcs, try to suppress their rage and constantly roam with the wise (and white!) wolves to sustain each other. Whether this always succeeds, what burden Durotan had to bear even at a young age, and how he came to have his iconic wolf pelt, you will find out in this video:
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In the Sandpark MMO ArcheAge the demand for the servers is, as expected, huge. Fans are waiting in long lines and fear that someone will snatch their building plot or that early starters will gain too great an advantage.
Queue times during the launch of an MMO are nothing unusual. And anyone launching an MMO during prime time in Europe at 7 PM on a Friday night can expect maximum attention, even though the head start is regulated by a founder’s package costing at least 46 euros. But the hype around the Sandpark MMO is great: After all, Archeage is arguably the most important F2P title this year. Some have been waiting for the launch for years.
So it was to be expected that the wait times in the queues would be longer. So why are some fans so upset about it?
Three reasons:
They paid money to receive a “premium” service that entitled them to log in before free-to-play players. However, since no one is participating in the head start, it is of no benefit to them now. Logically, this makes sense, but psychologically it is difficult to reconcile. While some in World of Warcraft might say, “Why am I paying 13 euros a month if my class is the only one that always gets nerfed?”, right now you hear, “Why am I paying 135 euros just to sit in a queue?”.
Something seems to be going wrong with the classification of “General” and “Patron”, leaving some fans feeling disadvantaged.
ArcheAge is launch-heavy, there’s a rush on the building zones, players in the queue feel significantly disadvantaged compared to those who are already making progress.
Fans are demanding more servers in the forum. However, a game like ArcheAge relies on each server being well populated to ensure there is action – even months after the release. MMOs have not always had good experiences in the past with opening new servers to handle the initial rush.
Therefore, Trion Worlds actually stated that no new servers are planned for the head start. Maybe that will change in the coming hours.
Update Saturday 02:00 AM: The launch began quite rocky but was far from the disaster some referred to in the first excitement.
Most founders have not yet received their rewards. This is likely due to server load interrupting the delivery. The issues of misallocated founders in the “normal” queue should be resolved by relogging and closing Glyph, according to a recent statement from Trion Worlds. They also want to keep fans updated on the fixes during the head start. We have linked the forum post in the source.
Update 10:00 AM: There was another update overnight. They are working on the issues with Patron status and the founder packages that have not been delivered. Further servers are not ruled out, but they wanted to be cautious at the beginning because they expected a large influx initially. They also plan to implement a buffer to allow players who are kicked from the game to log back in immediately without having to wait in the queue.
Basically, Trion Worlds says: We are aware of the issues, and we are working to fix them.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the sandbox MMO ArcheAge, everything is a bit different. This also applies to the classes. Which skill lines work well together? How do you become a tank, healer, or DPS? Which class is the strongest, and can all this still change?
There are 120 classes in ArcheAge. That’s something to deal with. However, these are not like in World of Warcraft or WildStar really “fixed classes”; rather, the system is a bit different. It relies on a modular approach.
Each character can choose three skill lines from a pool of ten.
The first skill line is chosen at character creation, the second at level 5, and the third at level 10, at which point you also receive a class title that results from the combination of the chosen lines.
These lines can later be swapped out, so no one is fixed on what they have to play. During character creation, every hero can choose from one of six skill lines.
These are individually:
The six main skill lines
Battlerage : A classic melee tree for melee DPS. Here you’ll find abilities you’d expect from rogues, warriors, ninjas, or samurais in other games.
Sorcery : These are caster DPS, specialized in area damage. A bit of crowd control is available as well. A mage in other games.
Archery : Range DPS for archers. Quite a standard line. Those who enjoy playing hunters, bounty hunters, or rangers in other games can access this.
Vitalism : This is a classic healer with healing skills, resurrection options, buffs, and some tricks.
Occultism : Caster DPS focused on curses and debuffs. It has some temporary pets and mind-control abilities, leaning towards theurgist, warlock, off-support caster DPS, mesmer, necro.
Shadowplay : These are the movement skills of rogues and assassins, all situated in the melee DPS area. It provides considerable movement radius. Currently incredibly popular for anything related to PvP. And since ArcheAge is basically a hardcore PvP game: the first choice for many.
The four support skills
These are called support skill lines because you cannot start directly with them, and there are fewer DPS abilities included. This means that in class composition in ArcheAge, you cannot mix 3 of these 4 skill lines with each other, but one of the upper six lines must always be included.
Auromancy : This is a defensive skill line that aims to protect primarily against magic damage. So it’s a counter against sorcery and occultism. Essentially an anti-mage tank.
Defense : Defensive skill against melee damage. Typical tank skill line against melee DPS.
Witchcraft : CC abilities that allow you to control enemies and dictate the outcome of a battle. In earlier MMOs, there used to be pure CC classes; today it’s hard to find comparisons.
Songcraft : A support line that primarily shines with buffs.
When looking at this from a conventional perspective, one would immediately come up with eight ideas about what class they could actually play: a totally offensive rogue, for example. Or a hardcore healer with vitalism, auromancy, and defense. Or something totally crazy with sorcery, shadowplay, and songcraft or so. Yes, others have come up with such class ideas before you.
According to a survey on reddit, shadowplay is extremely popular for patch 1.2 (1.2 is the patch with which ArcheAge goes live here). More than half of all people who participated in the vote plan to incorporate shadowplay into their character. The reason is surely the high mobility that this skill line grants the class. Many builds also include either auromancy or defense to benefit from physical or magical damage.
For melee DPS, rogue variations are popular. They work with battlerage, shadowplay, and protect themselves either from physical or magical damage. Or one can go “all-in”.
Darkrunner (battlerage, shadowplay, auromancy) – This is a type of assassin that protects himself from his typical predator, the mage, with auromancy. The idea is to get to enemies as quickly as possible to burst them down and then escape before things get complicated. A PvP killer and a pretty good all-rounder.
Blighter (battlerage, shadowplay, defense) – Also an assassin, but more focused on surviving direct enemy contact. More vulnerable to magic than the darkrunner.
Shadowblade (battlerage, shadowplay, witchcraft): A bit riskier, a bit more vulnerable, but can pull off some impressive feats with the additional CC abilities if he stays alive.
Class Archetype: Range Damage Dealer.
Among range DPS, shadowplay is currently valued as the primary movement element. Particularly for range DPS, having combat initiation on your own side is essential, and the mobility line is very helpful for that.
Reaper (sorcery, shadowplay, occultism): A range DPS glass-cannon, focused entirely on damage and deception. Shouldn’t be caught.
Spellsinger (sorcery, shadowplay, songcraft): A type of caster DPS with mobility and support capabilities.
Primeveal (archery, shadowplay, auromancy): A pretty classic ranger type who tries to get to a good position protected to make trouble there. With auromancy, he protects himself against magical damage.
Stonearrow (archery, shadowplay, defense): A tanky archer who isn’t as dependent on keeping enemies away as primeveal.
Trickster : (archery, shadowplay, witchcraft): The offensive version of the archer, who gains mobility through shadowplay and CC abilities through witchcraft. Considered a pretty potent PvP class.
Class Archetype: The Tanks
For tanks, defense is mandatory, and in most builds, auromancy is also included, depending on the situation. Here, rather ‘conventional’ builds dominate, as tanks have a clear task, a job description. Anything that only includes “defense” to give a DPS a bit more padding would be classified as an off-tank.
Skullknight (defense, auromancy, occultism): A strong combo, a CC tank so to speak, who is fully dependent on team play but can achieve impressive results.
Paladin (defense, battlerage, vitalism): More offensive than the skullknight, focuses more on self-healing than on blocking opponents.
Abolisher (defense, auromancy, battlerage): Another seemingly logical combo – a well-protected, classic bash-tank.
Class Archetype: The Healers
Healers need vitalism, and then it’s a question of whether they completely isolate themselves and focus on their own security, choose support with songcraft, or opt for other options, perhaps even play a bit more aggressively.
Templar (vitalism, defense, auromancy): Essentially a logical combo. A turtle healer, so to speak. Almost unbreakable, not very mobile, not very dangerous.
Necromancer (vitalism, witchcraft, occultism): A stark contrast to the Templar. The necromancer is fragile but can dictate battlefield strategy with his CC capabilities if left undisturbed.
These are just some of the class ideas circulating on English sites.
Basically, it’s important to understand which skill line does “what” and then consider how to piece them together. The modular approach should ensure that interesting combos are possible and that your character doesn’t become boring.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the Sandpark MMO ArcheAge , the first real estate agents have appeared. They promise to reserve plots… if the price is right.
ArcheAge, the game with the real estate dealer
In the official forum of ArcheAge, a thread has now caused a stir. An aspiring real estate shark announced that he and other players who listened to his command would rush to buy, grab, and block as much land as possible with the head start of ArcheAge. He and his minions would be ready to sell it afterwards. So, anyone who arrives late for the head start can reserve a piece of land from them. Orders and requests are being accepted.
Opinions on this behavior are naturally divided. While some are upset about such greed and see it as a decline of gaming culture and blatant grief play, others find these options in ArcheAge exciting and see nothing wrong with it: After all, land trading is intended in ArcheAge.
How do you handle the land grab?
This “land grab”, the urgent acquisition of as much land as possible, causes some excitement before the head start, heating up the players and leading to strange consequences. Never before has an MMO been as “start-heavy” as ArcheAge seems set to be.
Players have precise plans on how to reserve precious space with the first 50 Gilda Stars obtained through quests. Some even plan to create twinks afterwards and spread out on the most attractive land, making it difficult for others to build nearby. It could be a long night for many – or a long week.
We have already addressed the topic of “real estate” in ArcheAge in this article. How it will actually be at the head start and whether “real estate agents” or power gamers can gain as much influence as they claim is, of course, uncertain. The housing areas are large, there is plenty of building space, although acquiring a contiguous piece of land in a prime location can be challenging.
How about you? Excited for the head start? Do you have a plan for the “land grab” or are you just going to let it come to you?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO Destiny the first cheats have appeared, although some prefer to talk about mods, as they intervene in the gameplay in an unfair way.
As reported by the gaming site vg247, the first cheat has now reached the MMO Destiny. Whether you call it a “hack,” “mod,” or “cheat,” it amounts to the same thing: a player gains an advantage over others. With this cheat, the player no longer has to worry about ammunition and reloading the weapon is eliminated. So it’s a typical FPS cheat of the “unlimited ammo”, “no reloading” variety.
Such cheats or hacks are not unknown in shooters and have a long and infamous tradition. However, in an “always online” game like Destiny, they are not as widespread, even though the latest MMOs, like WildStar or The Elder Scrolls Online, had to deal with such issues in their early days – and certain speed hacks in titles like World of Warcraft are almost legendary.
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Recently, a discussion has arisen regarding how graphic the survival MMO H1Z1 might become. A designer has now spoken out.
The majority of the discussion about the survival MMO H1Z1 takes place in a specific subforum on reddit. The H1Z1 homepage explicitly links to the English-language forum. The community there is said to play a key role in the development of the zombie MMO H1Z1.
Can H1Z1 be a proper zombie game without zombies missing a leg?
A side comment during a stream seems to have caused quite a stir. Suddenly, there was the suggestion that H1Z1 could somehow become too tame. There is no blood, no “gore” (that’s what they call bloody effects, like protruding intestines or similar), and no severed limbs.
And all these elements are urgently requested by parts of the community for a proper zombie game. The discussion became heated and eventually called upon a developer from SOE, the Technical Lead Tom Schenck. He was able to provide answers and engaged in a detailed discussion with the fans. However, it wasn’t about morals, age ratings, or similar topics, but about bits and bytes. After all, Schenck is the Technical Lead and is concerned with what is feasible.
For H1Z1, it’s not a matter of morals, but of resources
Regarding blood, according to Schenck, it is merely a graphical effect that is not too complicated to program. Just cosmetics. If players are currently missing it, it’s only because they haven’t started to implement this design and the effects into the game yet.
With gore, it is a bit more difficult. These often involve animated objects that consume more resources during development. They might be gradually implemented into the game later, but these effects could also lead to performance issues, so caution is required.
With severed limbs or amputations, there are many factors to consider, which is why no work is being done on that at the moment. It requires complex animations. It’s a multifaceted problem: What do you do with amputated animals or zombies or people who remain alive (or undead) despite losing limbs? Animations and movements would have to change for the different models when limbs are missing – that would be extremely labor-intensive to program.
Schenck stated that it currently makes more sense to focus on a stable game for early access and only introduce features that can be guaranteed to work. Especially such complex and relatively minor aspects, like amputations, require significant work from the team; at the moment, there are more important systems that need attention.
Anyone who wants to follow the discussion, which became more technical and detailed afterwards, can find a link to it in the sources. Schenck posts on reddit as “CyclesMcHurtz.”
More about the survival MMO H1Z1 can be found on our theme page. An early access date is not yet known.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In ArcheAge, the head start is just a few hours away. It starts at 7 PM. The last built is now also finished: The laboratory potions have returned to their original value, and Archeum is said to be easier to obtain now.
ArcheAge brings back the old laboratory potions, addressing criticism of P2Win
The patch notes for the final release patch have been published for ArcheAge. The laboratory point potions have reverted to the original value of 300 credits with a 12-hour cooldown. Trion Worlds had already announced that they would try to implement this change, but could not guarantee it. Now we know it has been accomplished.
Additionally, the “Archeum” drop rates are said to have been significantly increased. During the beta, much criticism was directed at these: The low drop rates compared to other versions of the game and two newly introduced cash shop chests from which players could obtain Archeum led to accusations of Pay2Win.
Now monsters are supposed to drop “Loot Bags” more frequently. And from these loot bags, ArcheAge players are expected to obtain “Sunlight Archeum”, “Moonlight Archeum”, and “Starlight Archeum” more often. Also in the loot bags of the mobs: Equipment that can then be converted into Archeum.
Good news for Patrons: They are supposed to be prioritized even more in queues, meaning they will get onto the servers sooner than Free2Play players.
The costumes available for purchase in the cash shop will eventually lose their stats; they are to be purely cosmetic and no longer provide any advantages to players. Trion Worlds and XLGames are currently working on that and a better spam filter.
How are the auction houses related?
Just before the start, it has now become clear which auction houses will form a cluster in ArcheAge, meaning they will be linked together. In Europe, the servers Shatigon and Kyprosa will share an auction house; Eanna and Dahuta the other. In North America, Aranzeb, Naima, and Kyrios are together; also Ollo, Thayang, and Salphia.
A link will lead you to the complete patch notes in English in the sources.
The Crucible, the PvP arena in the MMO Destiny, proves to be robust. The gameplay holds up in a first test to the demands of true Halo pros and FPS masters.
A team of top FPS gamers and YouTubers faced off against a team of Destiny developers from Bungie for the opening. A kind of first endurance test of the “Control” map for esports suitability.
YouTuber “Drift0r” competed alongside five other players against a team of Destiny developers. Beside Drift0r are the Suddoth twins, two Halo pros and gamers, but the Bungie team is better than expected, much better than normal “developer” teams, as Drift0r says.
Most developers are quite okay at their game, but they could not possibly compete on a professional level. Top shooter players who stream all day and work on their skills usually play in a whole different league than developers. The Bungie guys are different.
They utilize their experience and worked as a team. While he and the pro gamers relied on the mobile Hunter and the Warlock and mostly ignored the Titan, the Titan, especially in his Defender subclass, played a key role in Bungie’s strategies. Again and again, the developers would retreat behind the shield to take advantage of the synergy effects the Titan provides them.
The first Destiny match under competitive conditions
In a video on YouTube, Drift0r analyzes Destiny’s suitability for “competitive gameplay,” for ambitious playing with some level of ambition.
His conclusion is rather positive: The game has a good balance, nothing is truly overpowered, it takes many hits to take down an opponent, which makes the game more skill-based. However, 30 FPS is really not his thing, and he notes that the test took place under “optimal conditions” against great opponents and with strong teammates. In good company, he states, everything is just more fun, even a round of Monopoly.
For a first glimpse into what might be the first Destiny match at “top” level, you can watch his video clip:
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