Steam is considered the most important gaming platform in the world with millions of players. A few months ago, the platform was reportedly affected by a massive attack. However, very few players are likely to have noticed anything.
On August 24, 2024, Steam was hit by a massive, coordinated DDoS attack that was likely the largest ever directed against the platform. This was reported by the Chinese security site Qianxin.com.
The attack targeted Steam servers worldwide but largely went unnoticed. This highlights how sophisticated and robust Valve’s infrastructure is in handling such attacks.
Start video
Students spy on passersby with hidden cameras and AI, find name and address in seconds
In August 2024, Steam was affected by a major cyberattack that likely went unnoticed
What kind of attack was it? A total of 107 Steam servers across 13 regions were reportedly affected by the attack, including China, the USA, and Europe. The attacks aimed to bring down Steam’s servers. However, most of you likely did not notice the attack much.
Overall, more than 280,000 attack commands were reportedly triggered. There were said to be four coordinated waves aiming to take down Steam’s servers. About 30,000 bots were said to have a combined attack capacity of 1.3 to 2 terabits per second. For comparison: the most important German internet node (De-Cix Frankfurt) reached a data record of 18 terabits per second (via faz.net (Paywall)).
Typically, compromised devices operating in a botnet are used for such attacks. Security experts explain that most of the devices used were reportedly located in Brazil, Russia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Phones, tablets, even wearables, webcams, or routers can be used as bots if they are not adequately secured (via bsi.bund.de).
Why is this unusual? Almost all websites online are attacked or hit by bots. Typically, they search for security vulnerabilities or try to annoy operators and users. Even on Steam, it is claimed that attacks occur daily, but they are only in the dozens per day. Thus, such an extensive attack is rather unusual.
However, some users joke on Reddit: To bring down Steam, a DDoS attack is not needed, just a summer or winter sale would make the servers unreachable (via Reddit.com).
Some content will soon disappear in World of Warcraft. This is the last chance to tackle it before the release of Patch 11.1.
Patch 11.1 Lorenhalt finally has an official release date after a long wait. In February, we will dive into the depths of Azeroth, to the capital of the Goblins, against the nasty Gallywix and lots of explosions. However, with the release of a new update, some content will also become outdated, and some achievements and rewards can no longer be obtained. We will tell you which 3 tasks you should quickly complete.
Start video
3 NPCs mit seltsamen Realvorbildern in WoW
Zekvir on ??-Difficulty
Zekvir is the current final boss of the depths of Season 1 and basically the “final adversary” when it comes to the story of the depths. However, this enemy will change with Season 2 – there will be a new threat.
Zekvir comes in two different difficulties, once the “?” difficulty and once the “??” difficulty. This corresponds roughly to the difficulty of a depth level 8 (for “?”) and level 11 (for “??”).
Zekvir is still tough – but with enough perseverance, you can do it!
The fight is quite demanding and is likely to take most classes around 5 minutes, maybe even a bit longer. You will need several attempts and have to invest some time – as individual mistakes will lead to immediate death for nearly all classes.
Although Zekvir is indeed challenging, it has become a bit easier over the past patches. This is mainly due to strong items like Circe’s Ring from the Island of Sirens, which gives each character a bit more power.
If you have not yet defeated Zekvir on its ??-difficulty, now is the time to do so. Use the remaining days to defeat the Neruber once and for all and secure the Void skin for the depth mount, as well as an achievement that no one can take away from you.
Alongside the release of Patch 11.1 Lorenhalt, the Plunderstorm game mode will also end – at least until it returns in the future. So if you haven’t yet earned many new rewards, like mounts, pets, and a stylish transmog set, now is the time.
Even though the bizarre PvP mode is quite controversial and doesn’t make everyone in the community happy, there are plenty of rewards for little effort. Even if you haven’t unlocked anything yet, you can easily earn all rewards within a weekend – with a bit of skill, even much faster.
Plunderstorm will also end soon – quickly grab the rewards.
Keep in mind that the Plunderstorm mode will likely return in the future, and you can still earn the current rewards then. However, when that will be is still unknown.
The War Within: Keystone Hero
With the start of Patch 11.1, the first season of The War Within also ends. This means that several seasonal achievements will be lost or no longer obtainable. One of them is the “Keystone Hero” of The War Within. For this, you must achieve a dungeon rating of 2,500 or higher in the “Mythic+” category. This roughly corresponds to completing all dungeons on the Mythic+10 difficulty.
Although the first season of The War Within is generally considered one of the hardest of all time, such a rating should now be within reach for the vast majority. Items like Circe’s Ring provided a good boost and now make it possible to tackle dungeons that were one or two levels above the previous personal maximum.
Quickly venture into M+ – also as practice for Season 2.
For this, grab a good group, preferably made up of friends and guildmates, and take two to three evenings to play.
After all: In The War Within, you no longer have to complete the dungeons on two different weeks since “Tyrannical” and “Fortified” are active at the same time. This certainly makes it possible to manage everything within a week.
What else should you do? Apart from the 3 “big” things we’ve mentioned here, there are still several other contents that might be of interest to you. If you still have some achievements pending, take a look at the following contents:
Defeat Queen Ansurek in the Palace of Nerub’ar on Heroic.
Complete “Mythic+” dungeons at level 10 within the time to unlock permanent teleportation for the whole account.
Earn PvP rewards from Season 1.
Complete all story quests in Khaz Algar to start the new patch with a “clean” quest log.
Clear your inventory to fill it up again with Goblin nonsense soon.
How will you use the last days until the release of Patch 11.1? Do you have some achievements on your list that you absolutely want to tackle? Or have you already completed everything and can’t wait for it to finally start? If you have already done everything, we have here 5 cool mounts from The War Within that you can farm.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Riichiro Inagaki was a big fan of scientists and aimed to create a successful manga. However, he wanted to do something fundamentally different from many genre representatives like Naruto, One Piece, and Dragon Ball.
Which manga is it about? Inagaki wrote the manga Dr. Stone from 2017 to 2022, which has also been adapted into an anime since 2019. In the story, all of humanity is turned to stone. But two boys manage to awaken and fight to revive civilization.
High school student Taiju Oki and his science friend Senku are the first to awaken from the petrification. The two find themselves in the harsh wilderness and must rebuild humanity from scratch.
Senku is a genius and creates various chemicals from the natural ingredients he finds. He manages to produce ethanol or gunpowder within a short time.
Over time, he produces increasingly complex things like electricity, mobile phones, or medicine. This brings him one step closer to his goal of reviving humanity.
Although the manga belongs to the shounen genre, there are no exciting battles like in other representatives of the genre. Instead, what is exciting is how Senku consistently discovers newer inventions and thus reiterates the status quo of humanity before petrification. Of course, there are also other mysteries that he and his friends must uncover.
Start video
Dr. Stone – The Official Trailer for the Anime
Dr. Stone aimed to break the superhero cliché
How did he want to differentiate himself? In the shounen genre, to which Dr. Stone belongs, there is usually a protagonist who pursues a dream and does everything for it. Typically, he becomes stronger and undergoes intense training. This is especially true for many older mangas like Naruto, Dragon Ball, and One Piece.
However, Inagaki revealed that he wanted to break with people’s obsession with Superman and superheroes. Instead, he wanted to write from the perspective of ordinary average people. For him, it was important that a manga be funny and entertaining, even if he feared that other mangakas might be upset with him for this statement:
In today’s entertainment landscape, there are a lot of supermen and superheroes who can do everything. But in reality, most people are not like that. I’ve thought about the average person. For an average person to achieve something, they have to work hard and keep working towards their goal. I think that’s cool, and that’s what I wanted to write about. I wondered how to best portray this average person who works hard for their goal.
To strengthen this vision, he came up with the idea of petrification. Because when you are petrified, there is nothing you can do about it. But in this situation, at least you can count, just like the main character Senku does. He embodies the idea of working diligently by counting for thousands of years.
How successful is he with this idea? A manga adaptation of Dr. Stone has now been turned into an anime, which speaks volumes about how popular the original work was. On MyAnimeList, Dr. Stone has a rating of 8.27 out of 10 (based on over 1 million reviews).
Thus, the anime is rated even higher than Dragon Ball (7.98) and Naruto (8.00). One could say that Inagaki was spot on with his idea of not making the hero a fierce fighter but rather a diligent average person. Not to mention that Senku is already a bit of a genius.
Those who want to watch Dr. Stone in streaming can do so on Crunchyroll and Netflix. However, currently, there is a particularly successful anime on the latter platform that recently landed in 3rd place in the global charts. It also follows a person who wants to lead an ordinary life: New anime jumps to 3rd place in the international Netflix charts – even reaching 1st in Japan
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In a current event in Pokémon GO, you have to choose a path in the limited research. We will show you the differences.
What kind of event is this? On February 11, 2025, at 10:00 AM, the “Good Buddy” event started. It will run until Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 8:00 PM.
In addition to some Pokémon, bonuses, and even the debut of Moruda, the event brings you a limited research task. Here, you have to choose a path again. We have looked at the rewards for both paths for you.
Start video
Pokémon GO reveals the new season Dual Destiny in the trailer
Good Buddy (1/3)
Task
Reward
Catch 15 Pokémon
5 Ultra Balls
Spin 5 PokéStops or Gyms
Encounter with Remoraid
Walk 2 km
Encounter with Mantyke
Stage Reward: Additionally, you will receive 1,000 Stardust and 1,000 experience points as a reward at this stage. After this step, you also have to decide which path you want to take. You can choose between Candela or Arlo.
Good Buddy – Working with Candela (2/3)
Task
Reward
Earn 10 hearts with your buddy Pokémon
500 Stardust
Earn a candy by walking with your buddy Pokémon
Encounter with Luvdisc
Add a new friend
2 Snubbull
Stage Reward: After these tasks, you will also receive an encounter with Dummisel and 2,000 experience points.
Good Buddy – Working with Candela (3/3)
Task
Reward
Play 5 times with your buddy Pokémon
10 Ultra Balls
Send 3 gifts to friends
500 Stardust
Trade a Pokémon
Encounter with Shellder
Stage Reward: After this step, you will also receive an encounter with Rapidash, 3,000 experience points, and 2,000 Stardust.
Good Buddy – Working with Candela (★/3)
Task
Reward
Already completed
2,500 experience points
Stage Reward: You will receive an additional 2,500 Stardust at the end of the research.
Good Buddy – Investigate Arlo (2/3)
Task
Reward
Catch 15 Pokémon
500 Stardust
Send 5 Pokémon to the Professor
Encounter with Trubbish
Defeat 3 Team GO Rocket Grunts
1 Rocket Radar
Stage Reward: Additionally, after this step, you will receive an encounter with a Shadow Diglett and 2,000 experience points.
Good Buddy – Investigate Arlo (3/3)
Task
Reward
Catch 25 Pokémon
10 Ultra Balls
Send 15 Pokémon to the Professor
500 Stardust
Defeat Team GO Rocket Boss Arlo
Encounter with Psyduck
Stage Reward: Additionally, for this step, you will receive an encounter with Scyther, 3,000 experience points, and 2,000 Stardust.
Good Buddy – Investigate Arlo (★/3)
Task
Reward
Already completed
2,500 experience points
Stage Reward: You will receive an additional 2,500 Stardust at the end of the research.
Besides the “Good Buddy” event, there are several other events with different contents waiting for you in the coming weeks. If you want to get an overview of this, feel free to check out our overview with all events in February 2025 in Pokémon GO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In 2023, fans of fantasy and role-playing games got a fun movie about Dungeons & Dragons. However, this was not the first film that wanted to adapt the popular game. 25 years ago, a horrible adaptation featuring Jeremy Irons was released.
What kind of movie is this? In 2000, Dungeons & Dragons was released, directed by Courtney Solomon. This was his first of three directorial efforts, none of which were particularly successful. He is mainly known as a producer.
Nowadays, the film is forgotten because it didn’t make much of an impact even upon its release. According to IMDb, the budget was estimated to be 45 million US dollars, but the film only managed to gross less than 34 million US dollars. Therefore, the film is considered a flop.
Usually, a film is considered a success if it grosses twice the budget. The quality of the film likely contributed to its failure, as it failed to truly convince anyone.
Image rights for Dungeons & Dragons belong to Silver Pictures and New Line Cinema
Start video
Dungeons & Dragons – Trailer for the original adaptation of the popular game from 2000
The quality of Dungeons & Dragons failed to convince anyone
How did the film fare with critics and audiences? On Rotten Tomatoes, it can be seen that critics were far from enthusiastic. With 93 reviews, the film has a disastrous score of 9%. The tonal quality of the film is primarily criticized, claiming it is a comedy that fails to be funny.
The look and quality of the acting are compared to cheap TV productions. General audiences were not really impressed either. With over 25,000 reviews, the film has a user score of 20%. It should be noted that some reviews likely confuse the film with the 2023 adaptation.
Camila F enjoyed the film despite its poor quality: Just watch the movie if you’re looking for good laughs… but for the wrong reasons! Jeremy Irons is at the height of ridiculousness. And I love it!
Another user completely advises against the film: Just watch the new film. The effects are terrible and even the talented Jeremy Irons is awful.
Some Guy F tried to watch it, but it doesn’t even work as trash: I mainly watched the film because I heard it’s “so bad it’s good,” but it’s not; it’s just bad.
A major surprise with the film is that Oscar winner Jeremy Irons plays in it. In an interview with The Guardian, he explained that he needed the money to pay for his purchased castle. At least his very over-the-top performance shows that he had fun.
If you’re looking for a shooter with high replay value, you shouldn’t miss Door Kickers 2 – the game is considered an “underrated gem” on Steam.
What kind of game is it? Door Kickers 2: Task Force North is a tactical shooter developed by KillHouse Games. The game entered Early Access on Steam in 2020, with the official release of version 1.0 occurring on February 10, 2025, along with a major update.
Here you can see a trailer for the game:
Start video
Door Kickers 2: Task Force North – Tactical Shooter Leaves Early Access on Steam
Three special units all pursuing a goal
What is the game about? In Door Kickers 2, you take on the role of various special units fighting against a terrorist threat in the fictional country of Nowheraki. In daring missions, you rescue hostages and put the terrorists out of action. Currently, three special units are available for selection before each mission:
The United States Army Rangers
The Special Activities Division of the CIA
The local Nowheraki SWAT
Each squad brings its own advantages. For example, the Rangers have particularly strong firepower, while the CIA is particularly adept at infiltration with its covert operatives. The Nowheraki SWAT utilizes improvised technology or equipment borrowed from US advisors.
Door Kickers 2, like its predecessor, is played from a top-down perspective and in real-time. You can move freely through the mission area and oversee the action from a bird’s eye view. You meticulously control your operatives’ movements with the mouse.
How is the game currently being received? Door Kickers 2 is receiving extremely positive reviews on Steam: 95% of nearly 8,000 reviews recommend the game. The tactical depth, challenging missions, and engaging gameplay are particularly highlighted. If you don’t want to play solo, you can also dive into missions with up to three other players.
Ganjirah writes after over 2,500 hours on Steam: “This title is an underrated gem, and I hope it has a long life ahead of it. I can’t recommend it [the game] enough.”
Door Kickers 2 offers both handcrafted and generated missions and campaigns. You can also create your own missions in the level editor and share them through the Steam Workshop. The freedom to complete the same mission in different ways, as well as the existence of the level editor, ensures that you will never run out of new challenges.
In Dragon’s Dogma 2, you can learn one to two master disciplines for each vocation to become even more powerful. We will show you the corresponding master for each vocation and where you can learn your master discipline.
What is a master discipline? A master discipline is a powerful technique that can complement your vocation. It offers you either more damage or a variety of talents that can completely change your play style.
However, to gain access to the master disciplines, you must assist the masters of the respective vocation. There are a total of 12 master disciplines that you can acquire from masters. We will now name all the masters and reveal their locations and quests that are necessary to learn their teachings.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 offers exciting insights into the story with its launch trailer:
Start video
For the launch, Dragon’s Dogma 2 will receive a final trailer
Fighter Master Discipline
Master: Lennart
Location: Melve
You will receive the master scroll after completing the quest “Return of the Evil”. Help Lennart and Ulrika with their mission and inform Lennart about Ulrika’s well-being. After that, you will receive the teaching. You can find out more about it in the romance guide for Ulrika.
Skill: Unbridled Fury.
Archer Master Discipline
Master: Taliesin
Location: Sacred Arbor
You will receive the talent after you have helped Glyndwr with his quests. At some point, you will reach the mission “The Archery Test” where you must rescue his sister. After completing it, you will receive the scroll from Taliesin.
Talk to him in this village and exchange information. You will then receive a scroll as a reward.
Unnamed Village for Srail
During the main quest, you will eventually meet Srail, the leader of the thieves’ guild. After passing the guild’s trials, you will receive the scroll from Srail.
Trysha sends you on a journey in Eini’s hut to find 5 books. The hut is located north of Melve. Once you have found the books and brought them to her, Eini will reveal the master teaching to you.
Skill:Heavenly Praise.
Warrior Master Discipline
Master: Beren
Location: Beren’s Home
To unlock the warrior’s master discipline, you need to complete Beren’s side quests. Once you have the quest “The Last Lesson” active, you will encounter him in Rest Town at his old home. There, you will learn his master lesson.
Skill: Strike of the Retainer
Archmage Master Discipline
Masters: Trysha and Myddin
Location:
Eini’s Home for Trysha
If you give her the five sought books, Trysha will become restless. You need to calm her down and return to her after a few days of rest. Visit her again to learn her master discipline.
Rest Town for Myrddin
Myrddin is also looking for Trysha’s five books. To obtain both skills, you can have copies made of the books and give the copies to Myrddin. In return, you will receive the master discipline.
Skills:
Champion Summoner by Trysha
Maelstrom by Myrddin
Spell Archer Master Discipline
Master: Cliodhna
Location: Camp on the volcano island
To obtain the master discipline, you need to complete the quest “Source of Well-being” for Gautstafr. After that, seek out his wife Cliohna to receive the skill.
Skill: Martyr’s Bolt
Mystic Blade Master Discipline
Master: Sigurd
Location: Harve or Melve
You can speak with Sigurd in Melve if you have the quest “Return of the Evil” active. Defeat the dragon and speak with Sigurd to learn his vocation. Visit Sigurd again in Harve to obtain his master discipline.
Visit the Shrine of Devotion in Battahl. You will first receive the corresponding vocation – the illusionist. However, continue searching around the building and get onto the roof. You will now find the old woman in her true form. Speak with her to acquire the master discipline.
To unlock the lesson, you must talk to Lamond and learn the vocation of the Warlord from him. Bring him three bottles of Molch liquor. Once you have done that, you need to talk to him again to obtain the master discipline. You can make the liquor yourself.
That was all the talents and locations for the master disciplines in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Have you secured them all already or are you not that far in the game yet? If you’re looking for more guides, tips, and tricks for the RPG, we have the perfect overview for all support for Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dragon’s Dogma 2 Guides: All tips and tricks at a glance
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A player tested whether you should get your packs with hourglasses or with gold in Pokémon TCG Pocket. He documented the results in a video.
To obtain additional boosters beyond the daily free ones in Pokémon TCG Pocket, you basically have 2 options. The first is to collect pack hourglasses and exchange them for packs. The amount you can receive each day is quite limited.
The second option is to exchange your real money in the game for gold and use it to open new boosters.
A player wondered if you draw better cards with one of the two currencies than with the other. In addition to the pulls from the boosters, he also included a small concluding analysis in a video.
Start video
Pokémon GO reveals the new season Dual Destiny in the trailer
80 Packs with Hourglasses, 80 Packs with Gold
How did the player test it? The player opened 80 packs each with hourglasses and with gold. You can see in detail which cards he drew in his video on YouTube. Besides many low-rarity cards, there were also some strong pulls hidden in the boosters.
Since operating multiple accounts in the game violates the guidelines, he opened the gold packs on his own account and used the account of a viewer who offered to let him use it for the hourglass packs.
What cards were drawn? In both the hourglass packs and the gold packs, the player was able to obtain one of the rare and popular immersive cards with 3 stars.
Overall, the distribution of pulls looked like this:
Rarity
Hourglass Packs
Gold Packs
♢♢♢
23
26
♢♢♢♢
12
7
☆
6
9
☆☆
6
2
☆☆☆
1
1
While the result for the ♢♢♢ and ☆☆☆ cards is very balanced, more ☆ cards were drawn in the gold packs. For the remaining rarity levels, the free hourglass packs are clearly in the lead.
What should be noted about the experiment? It’s important to highlight that opening 80 packs each is a too small data basis for a meaningful statistic.
Even though the player had a slight tendency for better pulls with the hourglass packs, only large datasets with significantly more opened packs can lead to a definitive and meaningful conclusion.
The next update of World of Warcraft is in the starting blocks. Patch 11.1 Lorenhalt will launch in 2 weeks – and the new season shortly thereafter.
Meanwhile, even the slowest players have probably completed the story of World of Warcraft The War Within and have feasted their eyes on the depths and dungeons. It’s time for the first, really big patch – Patch 11.1 Lorenhalt. It finally has a release date and brings a lot of goblin action.
Start video
3 absurde Bugs, die in WoW passiert sind
When does Patch 11.1 go live? The official launch date for Patch 11.1 Lorenhalt is 26.02.25 – that is, Wednesday in two weeks. As usual, the patch goes live on the US realms a day earlier.
When does Season 2 start? As usual, the new season does not start directly with the launch of the patch, but is slightly delayed – by exactly one week. The start of Season 2 is therefore on March 5. This should give everyone enough time to check out the new story, familiarize themselves with the changes, and then be able to jump into the new endgame content.
What’s included in the new patch? The centerpiece of the patch is the new area Lorenhall. This is the capital of the goblins, which has not been seen in the game so far, but has been mentioned multiple times in the story. Different cartels rule here, and you must join one of them – but you can switch every week.
There’s also the raid “The Liberation of Lorenhall,” where you must face Jastor Gallywix. He has teamed up with Xal’atath – she wants his help. You’ll find out what it’s all about best by experiencing it yourself.
Movement in Lorenhall is also a bit different. Instead of using flying mounts, you naturally use motorized vehicles in the goblin metropolis. They can even reach higher speeds than dynamic flying.
Are you already looking forward to the patch? Or don’t you like the goblin theme that much? Keep in mind that with the start of Patch 11.1, the Plunderstorm event will also come to an end. If you still lack rewards, you should collect them as soon as possible!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Zepla is one of the largest content creators for the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. For the expansion Dawntrail, she was invited by Square Enix to an event. Now she has received a strike on the related video – Square Enix itself is cutting off her funding.
Who is Zepla? The YouTuber and Twitch streamer Zepla is one of the largest content creators around Final Fantasy XIV. According to her, she discovered the game around 2016 when she was looking for an alternative to World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor.
At the start of her career, she published guide and comedy videos. She now has over 304,000 subscribers on YouTube as ZeplaHQ and her eponymous Twitch channel has over 261,000 followers.
In 2024, Zepla was invited by Square Enix for the media tour for the new expansion Dawntrail. At this event, journalists and influencers from around the world are given first insights into the new content of the expansion.
To this end, she released a video with footage she recorded on-site with permission. Eight months later, she reported receiving a copyright strike on it – from Square Enix itself.
Start video
Final Fantasy XIV: Here are the 2 new jobs in Dawntrail – Pictomancer and Viper in under 2 minutes
Change of heart after the release? Final Fantasy XIV turns off the funding
In a stream excerpt from February 5, 2025 (via Youtube), Zepla talks about it and expresses her astonishment: The video was made as part of the media tour. The image and sound were therefore usable. In particular, the fact that the strike comes about eight months after the video was published is surprising.
Zepla also emphasizes that the video was explicitly not paid for by Square Enix. The purpose of the event was to report on Dawntrail. The video was exactly what Square Enix would have expected from the invited people.
It seems that they wanted the advertisement [through my video], but now that the expansion has been released, they are behaving strangely.
Editor’s note: MeinMMO has requested a statement regarding the situation from Square Enix, which will be added to the article once we have it.
What exactly happened to Zepla here?
In her video, Zepla talks about a copyright strike. In fact, this is probably not a classic strike, but a content ID claim. This allows copyright holders to block, demonetize, or monitor a video.
Since Zepla’s video is still live and has ads running, Square Enix probably did not issue a copyright warning, aka a copyright strike, but made a content ID claim. However, what exactly happened behind the scenes cannot be verified from the outside.
However, it also happens time and again that rights holders unlawfully distribute strikes and ID claims: The creators behind Dragon Ball Z Abridged reportedly regularly have to defend themselves against unlawful claims from Toei Animation.
One strike too many and the YouTube career is over
What are the consequences? The first consequence of the claim was that Zepla could no longer earn money from the video. In her stream, she announced her intention to contact Square Enix about the issue. Currently, ads are also being shown before the video. However, it is not clear whether the revenue from that goes to Zepla or Square Enix.
But even if the strike was a mistake – Zepla suspects a bot – it could lead to permanent problems: If a YouTuber receives three copyright strikes within 90 days, the channel and all associated channels are terminated by YouTube. This is stated by YouTube itself in the information regarding copyright violations. Provided, of course, that it is a real copyright strike.
In her video, Zepla also talks about her hope that such strikes do not become a bigger problem now. She uses in-game music in many of her videos about Final Fantasy XIV. If Square Enix were to manually or via bot issue more strikes, this could quickly lead to the termination of all of Zepla’s YouTube accounts, if they are indeed real strikes.
Editor’s note: In an earlier version of the article, there was mention of a specific copyright strike that Zepla also talks about in her video. However, she likely only received a content ID claim. We have accordingly updated the news.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
February 2025 brings new raid bosses to Pokémon GO. We will show you all the 5-star raids and take a look at which raid hours are scheduled for February.
Raids in February: As every month, there are different raid bosses that may be worth your time. Especially the legendary 5-star bosses are interesting. We will show you who you can challenge this month.
Additionally, some of these monsters will have special raid hours this month. These occur every Wednesday evening from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. During this time, a selected raid boss will occupy almost all gyms in the game. This is always a great opportunity to catch the legendary boss of the week.
In our overview, you will find all raid hours, 5-star raids, and mega raids in February.
Start video
Pokémon GO reveals the new season Dual Destiny in the trailer
Time of the raid hours: Are you targeting a specific raid boss? Then the raid hour could be the right opportunity to challenge him. It always takes place on Wednesdays starting at 6:00 PM.
Special feature: At the end of the month, the Way to Einall event will take place. From February 24 to 28, there will be a new raid hour every day with different bosses.
The following bosses will be in this month. Some of the monsters are also available as shiny, if you’re lucky. Possible shinies are marked with an asterisk*.
Date (from 6:00 PM)
Raid Boss
February 5
Dialga*
February 12
Cupidos
February 19
Yveltal* & Xerneas*
February 24
Genesect* (various modules)
February 25
Kobalium*, Terrakium*, Viridium*
February 26
Boreos*, Voltolos*, Demeteros* (all in their Therian form)
These are all the major raid bosses in February 2025. One of these dates you should keep a particularly close eye on: One of the best attackers in Pokémon GO is also returning this month and will have its own raid day. This is the unleashed Hoopa, which will occupy the gyms in Pokémon GO on February 15. All information about the raid day with Hoopa can be found here.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The big Sims alternative inZOI on Steam punishes evil characters even after death and lets them return as ghosts.
What is inZOI? The upcoming game inZOI is a life simulation from the Korean developer Krafton and is set to be released in Early Access on Steam in 2025. According to the current plans of the developers, the release is scheduled for March 28, 2025.
As PCGamer reports, the developers have now released new details about the game on their Discord server. This time the focus is on the afterlife.
Here you can see insights into the gameplay of inZOI:
Start video
Trailer for inZOI provides insight into gameplay
Those who do evil become ghosts
What is the deal with the ghosts? inZOI features a karma system that constantly evaluates whether your character does good or bad and distributes positive or negative karma points accordingly.
At the end of your character’s life, it will be decided whether you were a good or a bad ZOI. If you collected more negative than positive karma points during your life, your character will be denied entry into the world of the dead.
Instead, your character will return to Earth as a ghost and try to bring their karma points into the positive. Only then will their soul be redeemed.
Can you play as a ghost? Playing as a ghost will not be available at the Early Access launch in 2025. The ghosts will be controlled by the system and can “encounter your characters at designated times and under certain conditions”.
Further gameplay mechanics are expected to be added only after the Early Access launch. However, the gameplay of the ghosts is not intended to dominate the entire game, writes Game Director Hyungjun “Kjun” Kim.
In Dragon Ball Daima, Son-Goku and his friends become children again. If this premise sounds familiar to you, it’s no coincidence.
What anime is Dragon Ball Daima based on? There was already an anime where Son-Goku shrank. In Dragon Ball GT, the Saiyan turns back into a child and goes on an adventure with his granddaughter Pan and teenager Trunks.
That both animes feature a child-version of Son-Goku is no coincidence. Akio Iyoku, a producer of the anime, confirms that Daima was made for the fans who watched GT during their own childhood:
I was aware of the generation of people in their early 30s and older, who are now adults with children. I wanted to create an anime that parents and children can watch together. They are the generation that watched “Dragon Ball GT” as children. I was aware of that, and my attempt to create a new anime series like “GT” became the starting point.
Thus, Daima is actually just a remake of GT and was created only because of the existence of the GT anime. However, to have a difference from the original, Akira Toriyama came up with the idea to shrink the entire group.
You can watch the trailer for Dragon Ball Daima and how the Z team shrinks here:
Start video
In Dragon Ball DAIMA, Son Goku and his friends shrink
Dragon Ball Daima is received better than GT
Why are the two animes received so differently? Dragon Ball GT was hated by many fans back then (via Reddit). The reason for this is that it is not part of the official story. This leads to a weak plot and logical gaps to the original material. On IMDb, the anime only scores 6.8 out of 10.
Daima currently stands at 8.0 / 10. Several other factors play into this anime:
Dragon Ball GT aired just a year after the Dragon Ball Z anime. However, there was a 6-year anime break before Dragon Ball Daima. Dragon Ball Super last aired in 2018, while Daima premiered in 2024.
Dragon Ball Daima clarifies many myths that are not addressed in the manga. The focus is on the Demon Realm, which has hardly appeared in the official material so far.
What’s next for Dragon Ball? Whether there will be a second season of Dragon Ball Daima is not known yet. Dragon Ball Super is also currently not being continued, even though the airing was cut off in the middle of the manga’s story.
Civilization VII costs 130 € in the Founder’s Edition on Steam, but the 4x strategy game launched with a bug that primarily affected veterans who found the game “unplayable”. The mode “Marathon”, which is especially popular among frequent players, simply did not work. MeinMMO editor Schuhmann pushed his limits in the gameplay: Civilization VII was first way too fast, then way too slow.
This was my irritation: I was really looking forward to Civilization VII, started playing it on Friday afternoon, and found the first 5 hours of gameplay really disappointing. I stopped after 3 games and played Against the Storm again on Saturday.
The pace of the game just didn’t match what I was used to from Civilization VI: first the game was uncomfortably fast and an era was over before I could do anything. Then I changed the game speed settings, and Civilization VII ran painfully slowly.
The game was boring, the pace didn’t match, it just didn’t have the same flow I was used to from Civilization VI. The famous “just one more turn” feeling didn’t come to me at all. What was going on?
Start video
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 shows gameplay in the trailer
A tailored bug for people like me
But series veterans like Writing Bull and Steinwallen praised the game in a GameStar podcast, saying that one should give the game and its new mechanics a chance. They didn’t elaborate much on the problems with game length that plagued me. Apparently, it was a problem that affected only me:
What was going on?
Was it a bug that only I had?
Why was my gaming experience so different from that of the testers and experts?
Now I understand where my irritation came from: a bug at launch ruined my entire entry into a game I was really looking forward to. But the bug only affected people like me who typically play Civilization as a marathon. It thoroughly ruined the first weekend with Civ VII for them.
The marathon in Civilization VII turns into a sprint
This is the situation: In Civilization VI, many players of the series, including myself, had gotten used to the “Marathon” game length:
The game length determines how many turns and thus hours a game in Civilization VI usually lasts:
A “quick” game reaches the end year 2050 after 330 turns.
A marathon game takes 1,500 turns.
Depending on the game length, building, researching, and city growth take longer or shorter. However, those accustomed to the “Marathon” game length and wishing to start Civilization VII in the same manner experienced a rude awakening.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from Reddit 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.
Even before the wheel is invented, the ancient era ends
This was the problem: At the launch of Civilization VII, the game lengths that were slower than the standard were clearly totally broken. It took far too long to build or research anything in the game while the gameplay relentlessly progressed with crises and era changes.
Turn 100, no wonders built, no legacy points collected, the largest army in the world consists of my slinger and warrior. 90% of the ancient era is gone, and I’m wondering if I have time to invent the wheel before the era changes, and I have to explore the New World.
35 turns wandering the world with the scout before being able to do anything
I experienced this: As someone who generally plays Marathon, I had the same frustrating gameplay experience: it took 35 turns for me to build my first slinger. By then, 20% of the era was already over – I found it utterly ridiculous.
The entire game balance seemed completely out of control: it couldn’t seriously be that I wandered only with the scout for 35 turns before I could build anything? I enjoy Marathon, but that is not how I imagined playing.
This is how I wanted to solve it: Civilization VII starts with a second setting that allows you to influence the duration of the eras. I fiddled with this after the frustrating “waiting for the slinger” experience.
However, if you set the game speed to “Standard” but extend the era length, you faced the opposite problem.
Now the game gave you so much time in the ancient era that all wonders could be built and all research completed by the time the era elapsed. By 500 BC, I was already researching “future technologies” because all ancient technologies had been researched. I had emptied the ancient era of research.
For me and several others, Civilization VII became “unplayable” in this way; I really didn’t understand why the experts praised the game so much in a talk on GameStar.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from YouTube 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.
Weak launch state evidently contributes to bad reviews on Steam
This is the solution now. Yesterday, on Monday, February 10, 2025, a first patch went live for Civilization VII (via steamcommunity.com). The first line states:
Fixed an issue causing Ages in Epic and Marathon speed games to be shorter than intended (“Fixed an issue that caused the ages in Epic and Marathon games to be shorter than intended”)
This is roughly equivalent to Activision Blizzard’s first patch for Call of Duty: “Weapons now also have bullets.”
With all due respect to Firaxis and the series that has given me so many wonderful hours: I really wonder how a game from such a prestigious series, which demands such a price, can be released with such a serious flaw? Does no one play Marathon? Was the mode added at the last second?
Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp is a leading Twitch streamer for the MOBA League of Legends. However, in recent weeks he has been active in World of Warcraft. But his guest appearance in the MMORPG ended tragically: His warrior died during a boss fight and was thereby lost. Tyler1 is quitting WoW and is confronting the players of his Twitch guild, OnlyFangs.
Why is Tyler1 so angry? Over the weekend, Tyler1 led a raid on a hardcore WoW server. The goal was the raid “Molten Core” from 2004. Tyler1 was leading the raid, even though he is a newcomer to WoW, only because he had seized leadership of the guild in a duel after the actual guild leader, Sodapoppin, had sadly died.
Baron Geddon had only a little health left, but cast an area damage effect around himself, which dealt increasing damage the more often one was hit by the ability:
Tyler1 called for an attack, ran towards the boss while he was casting, shouted for healing, and ultimately died
Many of his fellow players ran out of the damage and took cover
Start video
How the Worst Troll from Twitch Became the Face of League of Legends
Tyler1 confronts teammates who let him down
This is what Tyler1 says: Although Tyler1 initially saw part of the blame with himself. He thought he had made the call to stay on the boss too late. But a bit later, when he watched the clip again, Tyler1 was then in rage mode (via YouTube):
Fuck the guild. Fuck it. I’m not continuing. Fuck the people, pussies. I don’t care. There are a handful of good people, but these WoW players are all pussies. They can like themselves.
He then explained that 39 people should have listened to his call, but 30 of them ran away. He had done so much for the people: spent his private time with them and spent hours with them in dungeons, and then they left him hanging like that. He was done with the people.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from Twitch 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.
This is how the guild leader reacts: The actual leader of the guild OnlyFangs, “Sodapoppin”, an experienced WoW player, defended Tyler1 on one hand, but on the other hand, he also criticized him:
The call to attack the boss was bad. WoW players are taught to avoid damage and not run into area effects. Such a call cannot just be made and expect everyone to act against their instincts in fractions of a second
On the other hand, Tyler1 deserves credit for leading the raid without much experience. In any case, Tyler1 has been an asset to the WoW guild, contributing a lot to the entertainment
But Sodapoppin now views Tyler1’s outburst critically. Sodapoppin believes:
Tyler1’s uncontrolled outbursts could lead to the members of OnlyFangs being attacked by Tyler1’s fans and labeled as “roach.”
Sodapoppin says:
This will now ensure that people are called roaches by fans of Tyler1. But that’s simply wrong and annoys me. Maybe Tyler1’s ego is hurt, and yes, that’s silly. He didn’t necessarily make a bad call, from his experience – but he learned the hard way what happens in the situation.
Sodapoppin says he understands Tyler1’s frustration; the Baron was indeed very close to dying, but Tyler1 simply does not take into account the psychology of the other players. That annoys him.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from Twitch 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.
This is what’s behind it: Sodapoppin elaborates on the fundamental problem that Tyler1 expects players to “run into the area effect and risk their lives,” while every player in WoW is taught from day one: “Don’t stand in the fire.” Avoid area damage whenever possible.
The general consensus regarding the pull of Baron Geddon and Tyler1’s death is: Yes, the Baron would likely have died, and everyone would have survived if the entire raid had listened to Tyler1 and immediately attacked the Baron with all their might.
But the call to attack with full risk came very late, and the natural instinct of players to run out of the fire is understandable. Even if, from the perspective of the LoL player, they are all “pussies.” But when Tyler1 dies in LoL, he respawns at the fountain. When he dies in hardcore WoW, it’s game over: WoW: Guild Leader “OnlyFangs” dies in raid, is betrayed by all, and is also insulted by Blizzard
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
You will be able to test the new MMORPG ArcheAge Chronicles later this year. The first opportunity will be available soon.
What type of MMORPG is it? The MMORPG from Kakao Games and XLGAMES is set to release sometime in the fiscal year 2026 for PC (Steam and Epic Games), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series, and due to its ambitions, it is likely to be one of the most exciting genre newcomers of next year.
ArcheAge Chronicles: Behind the Scenes – This is the Vision of the New MMORPG
Multiple tests in 2025
What is happening this year with ArcheAge Chronicles? The MMORPG is not set to release until 2026, but it will be thoroughly tested this year. According to the developers (via nspna.com), there should be a first test with players in the first half of the year. They specifically mention April, although this timeframe should be viewed more as a planned target rather than a definitive date.
How can you participate? While only a few players will be invited to the test, you still have a chance to participate by signing up for the MMORPG newsletter on the Kakaogames website. Be sure to check if you receive an invitation to fill out more information about yourself and your system, and make sure to complete it. This message may arrive at any time via email before the test.
Initially, only a few players are expected to be invited to the first test. It is also expected to take place in secret. The developers currently offer no other way to get on a list for beta access.
A new crime series on Netflix is currently ranked number 2 in the most-watched series worldwide. It is also well-received in Germany. The reason for this could be the setting and the country of production.
Which series is it about? The Åre Murders is a new series that was released on February 6, 2025, on Netflix. The story is based on the book of the same name written by author Viveca Sten.
Hanna is a police officer from Stockholm who was left by her partner and suspended from her job.
She moves into her sister’s holiday home in the Swedish ski resort Åre. There, a young woman disappeared just before Hanna’s arrival.
She is unofficially assigned to the case since the local police station is understaffed. She becomes Daniel’s partner. They struggle to gain each other’s trust.
Since the ski resort is located in the depths of Sweden, the two detectives also have to contend with the harsh weather conditions.
The first season available on Netflix includes 5 episodes, each lasting between 35 to 57 minutes.
In the trailer for the series, you can see that Åre would actually be a dream ski vacation destination:
Start video
The Åre Murders: The Official Trailer for the Netflix Series
The Åre Murders is becoming the most-watched series
How good is it? Just 5 days after its release, the crime series is becoming the most-watched series on Netflix (via FlixPatrol). It is ranked number 2 in the world in terms of most-watched series, and in Germany, it even lands at number 1.
On IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, however, it only receives average ratings. With 2,575 reviews submitted, the Netflix series achieves a 6.7/10 on IMDb, while on the other platform it has 73 out of 100 %. Since not many votes have been cast yet, it may change its rating.
What do viewers like about it? Among the comments on YouTube, there are some fans questioning why people in Scandinavia are so good in the crime genre. The actors are also praised. So if you are a fan of murder mystery, you should give The Åre Murders a chance.
The genre of Scandinavian crime series is also referred to as Nordic Crime or Nordic Killing. If you want to see more movies from this genre, this list from MeinMMO might help you: 5 strong Nordic crime series for a gloomy TV evening.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
You want to get started with Palworld, but you don’t know where to set up your first base? MeinMMO will help you choose the right location.
[toc]
Are you looking for a suitable place for your base or looking for tips on what to pay attention to? MeinMMO has gathered important information for you and explains what you should keep in mind to ensure a good start. You can find the best tips for starting in Palworld in the following article.
Tips and Recommendations: Here we present you with a few things to keep in mind. If you want to see our tip for the best campsite directly, then click on the recommendation in the list:
The article was first published in January 2024. On 11.02.25, we updated the article and added a few new recommendations for a good start. We also adjusted the structure for better clarity.
Last updates: 11.02.2025, 06.02.2025, 29.01.2024
Space for your base
Make sure you have plenty of space when building your campsite. Some buildings, such as the livestock farm or breeding farm, require a lot of space. Your Pals also need beds which you will need to place somewhere, or they will become unhappy.
Avoid tight areas surrounded by water or cliffs, as there is little room, and the game often denies you permission to build. It’s best to look for an open area where you can expand and have plenty of space for your farms and production.
Tip: If you are unhappy with your position, you can change the location of your base at any time by relocating your Palbank. During the “move,” most buildings will remain in place, and you will need to rebuild them at the new location.
Protection and Safety for your Pals
If you have activated the “Raids” feature, you will regularly get uninvited visits from hostile Pals or enemy marauders. They will try to destroy your base and kill your Pals. So, choose a location that you can defend well. A steep wall behind you, for example, is practical.
Some Pals are also aggressive and will attack you on sight. You can tell this when an exclamation mark appears over their heads. You should also avoid settling too close to them, as that could end badly for your base. Sometimes there are territorial fights between the Pals: If two level-30 Mammorests carry out their territorial fight in your settlement, you will have no chance.
Tip: We have experienced that the pathfinding of certain enemies is so poor that they cannot overcome certain obstacles like steep walls or small hills and end up getting stuck in trees and rocks. After a while, the attacks will stop on their own, and you do not have to defeat all the enemies.
Start video
Palworld: Feybreak – Trailer presents free update with loads of new content
Important Resources for Starting Your Base
For your first base, you will primarily need wood, stone, and Paldium. Later on, other materials like ore, coal, or sulfur will come into play. So, be sure to position your base so that you have a stone or at least an ore deposit nearby. Otherwise, you will have to mine the materials yourself, and you can’t leave that work to your Pals.
Tip: You can later establish a lumberjack and a quarry, making you independent from the available trees and stones on the map. Paldium and iron deposits can only be found on the map and cannot be built.
Other resources, such as food, wool, or grain, can be produced by you later on without needing to pay attention to your surroundings.
Changes with Feybreak and Sakurajima
This is important: With the past two major updates Feybreak and Sakurajima, new buildings have been added to Palworld. These include several new mines that you can build yourself: You will no longer need a coal, sulfur, or quartz deposit nearby, as new mines have been added with the latest updates.
This way, you are completely independent of natural resources, and you have much more freedom when placing a base.
Observe your surroundings and see which Pals are nearby. Especially recommended starters in Palworld like Lamball, Foxparks, Chikipi, and Cattiva should be close by. We would not recommend settling in a high-level area.
A few of the best Pals from Palworld can already be found in the starting zone if you want to get off to a good start.
You can find the good starter Lamball right in the starting zone.
Recommendations for the best campsite in Palworld
Are you looking for a good starting point for your campsite in Palworld? We have selected three very good starting points for you below, with which we have already had many good experiences.
Tip: If you are unhappy with your position, you can change the location of your base at any time by relocating your Palbank. However, during the “move,” most buildings will remain in place, and you will need to rebuild them at the new location.
Waterfall at the Plateau of Beginnings (227, -485)
Here is the position on the map.Here you can see the best option in the landscape with the resources.
Location: Plateau of Beginnings
Coordinates: 227, -485
Resources: Wood, Stone, Ore, Paldium, Red Berries
Common Pals: Lambal, Cativa, Dinossom, Chikipi
Level Recommendation: 1 – 15
Why is this a good option? A very good option for your first base can be found directly in the starting zone, slightly north of the first fast travel point. This means you can get started right after the game starts and do not have to walk far. The area also has several advantages:
On one side, you are protected by a river and a steep wall, so you only need to worry about one side, which you can close with a wall. Thanks to the elevation, you can quickly see if enemies are approaching.
There are plenty of trees that you can chop down at the beginning for your buildings. At the start, every building and tool requires large amounts of wood.
Additionally, there is a large ore deposit and Paldium near the river.
With Lamball and Chikipi, you also have good starter Pals nearby that you can catch and utilize.
There are lots of Pals nearby that you can catch or defeat. Catching Pals is an excellent way to quickly level up in Palworld.
Campsite in the Fortress Ruins (180, -390)
Location: Fortress Ruins
Coordinates: 180, -390
Resources: Wood, Stone, Ore, Paldium, Red Berries.
Common Pals: Lambal, Teafant, Lifmunk, Eikthyrdeer
Level Recommendation: 1 – 15
The Fortress Ruins is a small area north of the point where you usually start the game. The area already offers you natural defensive structures due to the ruins, which can be easily integrated into your own base. In the fortress area, you will already find ores, and to the west on an elevation, there is an additional large ore deposit.
Westward by the river, you will find plenty of berries as well as Paldium for your Palspheres.
Campsite at the Beach by the Plateau of Beginnings (256, -552)
Location: South of the Plateau of Beginnings
Coordinates: 256, -552
Resources: Wood, Stone, Ore, Paldium, Dungeon with enemies and Pals
Common Pals: Lambal, Cativa, Chikipi
Level Recommendation: 1 – 14
The beach is located in the southwestern area of your starting point. To reach it, you have to traverse the ruin at the start and descend to the beach. The descent and the return up are not exactly easy.
At the beach, you will find not only plenty of space but also Paldium deposits which are very useful for the start of the game if you want to create spheres. Additionally, you will find right next to it the dungeon “Cave of the Gentle Hills,” which is suitable from level 13. Here you can find Pals and especially resources from Syndicate enemies. Some players also report that they are spared from attacks (raids) by robbers at the beach.
All Guides to Palworld: Are you looking for more tips, tricks, and help with Palworld? Then check out MeinMMO. We are following the game for you and have compiled all guides that should help you into a clear list: Palworld Guides: All tips, tricks, and Pals at a glance
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
MeinMMO editor Alexander Schürlein is quite taken by the world in Monster Hunter Wilds. One innovation has particularly crept into his heart. And its impact on the hunts could be far greater than many have previously suspected.
Monster Hunter Wilds places a strong focus on an immersive world and a coherent ecosystem. This is a point that has personally appealed to me from the very beginning. Therefore, I paid special attention to it during my demo session as part of the event in Hamburg.
This feeling of a coherent, vibrant world that you can immerse yourself in for hours captivated me immediately. Above all, the innovations surrounding the behaviors of the monsters drew my attention.
One aspect particularly fascinated me: the new herd mechanics. Ever since their announcement, I have been thinking about how they could possibly change the game.
During the demo session, I was able to get to know several different herds and test their impact on solo hunts. However, my thirst for knowledge was not quenched. I wanted to know how this could affect multiplayer and what thoughts were important to the developers in creating this mechanic.
That’s why I had to seize my chance in the interview with Game Director Yuya Tokuda and Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto to learn more about it.
A compilation of the gameplay footage of my hunt on Rompopolo can be seen here:
In the midst of trampling herds and threatening packs
As I dive into the world of Monster Hunter Wilds for about 4 hours, I encounter various monster groups. I come across a group of Doshagumas led by a powerful and aggressive alpha that needs to be dealt with.
I already know the pack from the beta, but I had decided to pay more attention during the gameplay to how to handle this kind of hunt. While in the beta I just went in swinging, I wanted to approach this a bit more tactically.
At first, I don’t think much of it – after all, they are just multiple large monsters in one place. However, the closer I get to the situation, the more I realize: this is probably not going to be that simple.
The situation seems highly threatening and poses the problem: How do I get to the alpha Doshaguma without being completely torn apart? Can I somehow lure the group apart? Draw him out? What are the other Doshagumas doing in the meantime? Can they be distracted at all?
The Doshaguma pack doesn’t make it easy for you
Therefore, I try to separate the alpha from the group to avoid getting caught between the other Doshagumas. However, this proves more difficult than I thought, and I immediately wish for other hunters by my side to coordinate and share the attention of the monsters.
After some back and forth, I manage to fulfill the quest more poorly than well, and I realize that I may have underestimated this new aspect of the game a bit too much. I’m left wondering how this could have been solved differently in a group with other players.
Upon proofreading my article, I was then informed that I should have simply used Dung Capsules to scatter the herd. Had I listened to Alma, I would have known that too. Be it as it may, I’m probably not the only one who ignores calls in the game like a true player… or am I?
As my demo time comes to an end and I have encountered several more groups and herds, there are still some questions left for me, and I decide to bring them up in the now upcoming interview.
I excitedly enter the room where the interview takes place and mentally review my questions that I particularly want to ask about the herds. After we greet each other, I start the interview with some general questions about the new monsters and the ecosystem.
Since we are currently talking about the new monsters, it would fit if I also directly ask my questions about the herds?
So I pose my first question on the topic to Yuya Tokuda, the Game Director of Monster Hunter Wilds, and want to know what was particularly important to them in developing the herd mechanics:
My goal with this title was to create a more dynamic and – in the truest sense of the title – wilder ecosystem. I wanted players to feel the threat of nature more strongly. When suddenly a whole herd of monsters appears, it can be overwhelming. Their behavior becomes less predictable and, in a way, more terrifying. The idea that a group of monsters is coming directly at you seemed to me an exciting way to elevate the sense of the creatures in the game to a new level. Therefore, I wanted to advance the technical side to be able to display more monsters on the screen at the same time. I think that dramatically changes the perception of the monsters and their ecosystem.
I also wanted to avoid herds always acting the same way, thus becoming predictable. The AI is very intelligent – it ensures that the monsters do not simply move in a straight line behind one another. There can be a leader in the group that the rest follow. But depending on what the player does – for example, if you deliberately try to scatter the herd – they can panic. This creates unpredictable gameplay situations that make the gameplay even more interesting.
This also confirms my feelings during the demo session. The threat that was meant to be created is clearly recognizable to me and instantly brings me back mentally to my fight against the alpha Doshaguma.
So I ask my second question. I want to know what they think about how the new behavior of the monsters will affect multiplayer. I want to know if the hunts will have to become more strategic from their perspective and whether hunters will take on new roles within hunting groups:
Definitely! Now, as a group, you can develop entirely new strategies. One of you could focus on the alpha, which is the main target of the quest. But if you do that, the herd might panic and scatter – then the other players have to deal with the remaining monsters.
You could even deliberately seek out an even stronger apex monster and lure it to the herd with a special item, so the monsters fight each other and deplete each other. How you and your hunter friends divide up and decide who takes on which task adds a whole new strategic depth to the game.
An answer that makes me very happy, as it confirms to me that this was also addressed during development. That it was not only about creating threatening and impressive herd visuals that simply make the fight harder. But that care was taken to also introduce a new strategic depth into the game with the new mechanic.
After the interview, my thoughts continue to revolve around the different herds and what possibilities they will bring in the finished game. What monsters will we still encounter in groups? How will they react? And how can we as hunters influence that?
MeinMMO editor Alexander Schürlein was able to play the full version of Monster Hunter Wilds for 4 hours during an event in Hamburg. The world and monsters captivated him far more than the predecessors could. He wondered what could cause this and came to a clear conclusion.
Even on the train, I think about what I want to pay special attention to while playing. Previously, I had only played the stripped-down beta version and now want to get a more accurate picture of what makes Monster Hunter Wilds so different from the previous parts.
During the beta, I felt like I was only scratching the surface and couldn’t grasp the “soul” of the game. I didn’t feel like I could fully immerse myself in the game. Something was missing in the beta that would draw me completely into the world.
My thoughts revolve around what makes Monster Hunter Wilds so special. Because at its core, the parts of the series are very similar – which also makes it appealing to a large extent. Nevertheless, I can’t shake the feeling that the game experience in this part would stand out significantly from its predecessors, and I want to find out why.
Upon arriving in Hamburg, I can play the full version of Monster Hunter Wilds for a total of 4 hours with other journalists. We also got the chance to face two of the later monsters and even take a first look at the Ice Shard Cliffs area.
So, I set out to search for an answer to my question about what the soul of the game would be. After 4 hours of intense hunting, I am sure: I have found it.
A compilation of my gameplay footage of my hunt for Rompopolo can be seen here:
That said, I throw myself into the adventure and am still unaware that the next 4 hours would pass far more quickly than I would like. Shortly after the story continues at the point where it ended in the beta version, the world pulls me deep into its spell.
I let the characters show me their world and discover something new at every corner. I pause and observe the many creatures that roam in the Wind Plane and the Crimson Forest. The world feels alive, coherent. Don’t get me wrong, Monster Hunter World also had well-made areas with great monsters, but…
Wilds takes everything to another level. It feels like a safari where I explore the two areas with my Saikrii.
At every corner, it is evident that detailed thought has gone into the surroundings, the world, and the ecosystem. Every plant, every insect, and every monster feels authentic in the place where it is located.
As I push deeper into the Wind Plane with the characters on my Saikrii, I notice the many small monsters making their way in a bustling group towards the river. In a herd next to us, the alpha watches over its females, as one of the NPCs tells us during the ride. A little further, I see another herd drinking at the river, with some of the monsters sleeping in the sun. Next to me, a small scaly monster pees in the sand. The interactions of the monsters with their environment are diverse and convince me of their coherence. I want to see more of it. Discover more.
Traveling with the Saikrii feels almost like being on a safari
Also, the design of the areas cannot be more different. From the drier desert landscape of the Wind Plane to the colorful Crimson Forest with its red waters to the dreary oil spring basin and the icy Ice Shard Cliffs, there is much to discover.
I can hardly get enough of the flora and fauna. The “seamless” world system, which allows us to switch areas with really short load times, gives me a sense of freedom that I have never felt in any part before.
Large monsters, large impact
In particular, I notice the large and especially new monsters. They don’t just roam around and occasionally encounter other large monsters to fight with, like in the “Turf Wars” back in Monster Hunter World.
They also interact more with their environment, just like the smaller monsters. Their attacks and abilities make more use of the environment than was the case in previous installments. As a result, they seem much more credible to me and convey a picture that forms a coherent whole. This also aligns with a statement from Yuya Tokuda, the Game Director of Monster Hunter Wilds, after the demo session in our interview:
My goal with this title was to create a more dynamic and, in the truest sense of the title, wilder ecosystem. I wanted players to feel the threat of nature more strongly.
Thus, the Rompopolo integrates authentically and threateningly into the oil spring basin. Not only does its color scheme match extremely well with the grayish-muddy area, but its attacks extensively use the slimy sludge to make your life hell. It uses its stinger to pump gas into the oil springs and cause explosions in its environment.
In addition to the large environments that characterize the individual areas, every monster has its own territory where it is “at home.” There, it appears particularly threatening and knows how to use its surroundings against its hunters. For example, Lala Barina or Nerscylla have their “nests” where it becomes additionally difficult for players to hunt their prey due to the environment. The monsters can climb around there, making it hard to follow them.
And that was the point where I realized: Monster Hunter Wilds, compared to its predecessors, has a much greater focus on its world and the various ecosystems and does everything to ensure that this concept is also received by its players.
The mud in the oil spring basin gives Rompopolo a decisive advantage.
Good entry concept without underchallenging
Besides the world, I also notice the flow that has changed compared to the predecessors. As someone who has played all parts of the series since Monster Hunter Tri, I am used to being thrown into the hunt more or less. A bit along the lines of: “Either it works or you try again until it works.”
In Monster Hunter Wilds, the entry feels more pleasant. More coherent. With a good and stable learning curve. Beginners are suggested a weapon through a short question catalog, which they can then directly test and possibly also exchange multiple times before heading into the first real hunt.
The monsters additionally act as meaningful teachers, which is meant to make the entry easier for newer players. Each monster serves a purpose, as Yuya Tokuda revealed in our interview:
I consider two different aspects when designing a monster and determining where it fits into the game. The first aspect is the ecosystem: This monster belongs to a certain type of monster that occurs in a specific environment and behaves accordingly. The second aspect pertains to gameplay design and difficulty. When does the player encounter this monster in the game? If it appears early, it should have more basic attacks. If it appears later, it can have more complex and difficult attacks. The behavior also changes: Early monsters are easier to read, while with later opponents, you have to adapt and react faster.
An example is Quematrice – it appears quite early in the game and is the second large monster you have to face. It has wide-range attacks, so I thought that a sweeping tail attack would fit well. So if the monster is to have a tail attack, it influences its design and overall appearance. These two design aspects work together.
Lala Barina, for example, is meant to teach players to keep their focus and always pay attention to their camera. Since it can move in all directions as the first monster in Monster Hunter Wilds, it is the perfect monster for this purpose and was therefore placed in this spot.
Thus, the difficulty increases pleasantly with each monster without being underchallenging and making it too easy. Let’s take Chatacabra and Quematrice, the first two monsters in the history, as an example: While Chatacabra focuses only on a single opponent and frontal, simple attacks, Quematrice introduces the first area attacks as the second monster.
And also, although the two monsters have relatively spartan attack patterns, they do have several, and they still challenge with their stamina and the damage they deal. Of course, very experienced players will have an easy time with the first monsters, but that was the case in previous games as well.
Here, the developers simply found it important to bring new players on board and reduce the arising frustration, so that these players do not lose their fun. They should be encouraged to continue and not be faced with challenges that lead them to quit the game.
As an experienced hunter, I quickly get along with the first monsters. However, the further I progress in the story, the more I have to pay attention again. Because the monsters get relatively faster, and you also have to react with a clear mind, otherwise, you’ll get quite a beating.
In this, I personally found the increase in difficulty through the monsters very pleasant and felt more that the game was pulling me forward rather than boring or frustrating me.
After 4 way too short hours, I head back content and full of anticipation for the release. For now, I am sure I have experienced firsthand what makes Monster Hunter Wilds so special. With its vibrant world and coherent ecosystem, Monster Hunter Wilds offers a gaming experience that I simply missed in previous installments. Perhaps I have also found my candidate for my personal game of the year?
Besides all that has been mentioned so far, another aspect particularly stuck with me, which raised further questions. Because with the new behaviors of the monsters, the approach of hunters to the hunts could also change.
I took this thought as an opportunity to carry a special focus into our interview with Ryozo Tsujimoto (Producer of the Monster Hunter series) and Yuya Tokuda (Game Director of “Monster Hunter Wilds”) after the session and question them about: I asked the developers of Monster Hunter Wilds about a feature that is still totally underestimated: “I wanted players to feel the threat more strongly”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
