Marvel Rivals offers up to 35 heroes in Season 1 that you can choose for your battles. Each of them is unique and has strengths and weaknesses, but which are the best in the current meta? You can find the answer in our tier list.
Update, February 11: The tier list has been reviewed and is up to date. It will be updated again on February 21 for the release of the heroes “The Human Torch” and “The Thing”.
How did our tier list come about? To create our tier list, we looked at tier lists from various sites and content creators, compared them, and drew conclusions from them. Finally, we also incorporated opinions from the community as well as our years of expertise in various hero shooters.
Please note that the list can change drastically depending on the season and balance updates, so feel free to check back often to not miss an update. With our directory, you can quickly navigate to each tier:
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Start video
Marvel Rivals kicks off the first season with a new trailer
Who are the best heroes?
Here we now focus on the best of the best heroes and explain to you why the respective fighters are so strong and have earned their S-rank in the tier list. We will start with the tanks:
Vanguards (Tanks)
Doctor Strange
The currently best tank and nearly unstoppable in combination with Hulk if you don’t know how to counter them.
His Seraphim shield provides protection against enemy fire, and with his cloak and portals, he can quickly reach important points on the map.
Lastly, your ultimate allows you to separate the souls of your enemies from their bodies – when you deal damage to the souls, their bodies also receive the damage.
Hulk
A strong tank with good combos. With Doctor Strange or Iron Man on his team, he can be a real threat.
He can stun enemies, jump on them, and deal massive damage.
His big counter, however, is Invisible Woman.
Duelists (DPS)
Storm
The currently best duelist and thus often banned in competitive – Storm. She has a powerful DPS output and a strong combo with Thor and Captain America.
If you pair Storm with a supporter like Cloak & Dagger, you can wipe out the entire team. Much too strong and therefore also ranked S on almost all tier lists.
Star-Lord
A strong duelist who makes your enemies melt. With his rocket boots, he is very mobile, can reach high points or dodge to reposition himself.
His blasters have a high rate of fire, reload quickly, and apply pressure to your enemies when you flank them.
With his ultimate, you don’t even have to aim as every shot hits your enemies that you can see in your line of sight.
Namor
Namor is a versatile duelist and strong for controlling the battlefield. He can set up to two turrets that block an area.
As he advances into enemy territory, he can also temporarily create a shield for himself to block damage.
Lastly, his ultimate helps him slow down fleeing opponents. If you want to play him, you should have Luna Snow on your team to benefit from their team-up.
Iron Man
Powerful duelist and even stronger when teamed up with Hulk. Very mobile and can even fly, making the fight against him a nightmare for melee fighters.
His attacks have long ranges and are versatile, and if you are accurate, you can easily win various 1v1 matches.
His ultimate is the crowning achievement, as it can defeat any character with one strike – especially useful when you want to sweep pesky supporters like Luna or Invisible Woman off the field.
Strategists (Support)
Cloak & Dagger
One of the strongest supporters in the game. The ultimate creates a black carpet on the ground that can make you immortal for a short time if used correctly and regenerates a lot of HP.
With Cloak, you have an offensive hero who can deal well with damage to enemies and interrupt their focus on your allies.
With Dagger, you are also a good healer, as her blades can heal nearby allies.
Invisible Woman
Versatile support with different talents to keep your teammates alive. Her shield can heal nearby allies and block damage.
She can also turn invisible and reposition herself to escape death.
Her ultimate is powerful, slowing down enemies in the area of effect and healing the team. If that’s not enough, she can also hinder enemies with her ultimate and protect the team from danger.
Loki
Anyone who knows how to play Loki can significantly complicate the lives of the opposing team with unfair tricks. With his healing aura, he can temporarily create an area that heals your allies. If enemies even shoot at you in this area, you receive even higher regeneration.
Your doppelgänger can also support you in battle and cast some of your talents.
As a trickster, you can also turn invisible and reposition yourself.
Lastly, your ultimate allows you to switch into a friend or enemy of your choice, enabling you to use their ultimates, which is very strong in the case of Storm or Luna.
Luna Snow
Luna is undoubtedly one of the best healers in the game. She can provide allies with a healing aura that automatically heals them without actively intervening.
She is very mobile and fast on her skates.
With her ice chunks, she can also freeze enemies and hinder them from using their talents.
With her ultimate, she also has the choice to grant her allies a healing or damage buff.
Luna can also defend herself and attack from a distance with ice shards.
All Heroes in the Tier List – These are the Best
How is the list structured? Our tier list is divided into four tiers from S (the best heroes) to D (preferably not to play). Depending on strength, we then list the heroes along with their appearance, name, and class in the respective tier.
Can I try every hero right away? Yes, you do not have to unlock a hero first with real money or missions. All heroes are available to you immediately and can be tried out.
This was our provisional tier list for the best characters in Marvel Rivals. Please note that the list may still change as the meta solidifies. Until then, you have an up-to-date overview of which heroes are already worth it. You can find more about Marvel Rivals here: Marvel Rivals: All Codes you can redeem in January 2025
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Path of Exile 2, the classes are divided into various subclasses, known as Ascendancies. We have ranked the Ascendancies and are showing you the best build for each.
How is the Tier List structured? For our decision, we visited the communities, gathered opinions, and evaluated rankings from websites and in the form of videos, and from this, we selected our best builds for Path of Exile 2.
Update: We updated this article on February 11, 2025, at 12:20.
Our result presents you with the strongest to the weakest Ascendancies with their respective best builds that you can choose in the current Early Access. With our directory, you can quickly jump to the individual tiers and subclasses:
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S-Tier: The Best Ascendancies Classes in PoE2
Mercenary Witchhunter
The Witchhunter crossbow build by PoE2 Content Creator Bigdaddy on YouTube is not only one of the most popular builds in Path of Exile 2, but also the best for the Mercenary Witchhunter.
In this build, you fire lightning bolts with your crossbow, which are amplified by many different values as in all builds. To move quickly, you traverse the map using Blink. You can find the exact build with all details on mobalytics.gg
Sorceress Stormweaver
The best build for the Ascendancy Stormweaver is the “Archmage Spark Mana Stacker.” The build relies on a high mana pool needed to ensure both damage and survivability.
Here, the “Archmage” buff is used to give the ability “Spark” a massive damage boost. With this build, you fire hundreds of lightning bolts from your hand to deal with your enemies. The build is quite simple regarding gear, but it’s important to find items that buff spell abilities for damage. You can find an example build on mobalytics.gg
Mercenary Gemling Legionnaire
Just as popular as it is successful is the “Gemling Attribute Stacker.” This build relies on special items that, in conjunction with the passive abilities of the build, ensure that your character accumulates an extreme amount of attributes. Your character values then enhance all your abilities, enabling your character to deal large damage with ice strikes.
The build combines tankiness with good clear speed and can improve over time depending on your budget. The goal of the build is to accumulate as many attribute points as possible. You can find a guide to the build at mobalytics.gg.
Ranger Deadeye
One of, if not the best subclass for farming endgame content is the “Lightning Arrow Deadeye.” The Ranger builds around lightning arrows that trigger additional abilities when shocking the enemies, creating a battleground filled with lightning through a combination of various lightning attacks.
The build is very beginner-friendly and can be expanded during the mapping phase to deal even more damage. It may take some time to get the hang of the build. Help and a guide for the setup can be found at mobalytics.gg
Start video
This NPC in Path of Exile 2 identifies your items
A-Tier: Good Subclasses in PoE2
Ranger Pathfinder
The Pathfinder subclass of the Ranger is also very strong. The build “Crit Poisonous Concoction Eye of Winter” deals high chaos damage and fully relies on critical hits. With this build, you throw poison flasks at your enemies, enveloping them in toxic fog and causing chaos damage. Additionally, you cast ice orbs that further weaken your enemies and fit perfectly with the toxic fog.
Depending on how extreme you want to build it, you may need to invest in certain uniques with good stats. If you do not do this, your own damage will not suffer, but your ability to survive in combat will. You can find the guide for the build at mobalytics.gg
Witch Minion Infernalist
The Witch leaves her own mark in Path of Exile 2 as the commander of her undead army. With the subclass “Infernalist,” she enhances her undead with hellish creatures and fire spells. She becomes particularly powerful with the many hellish beings that fight for her and handle her enemies on their own.
Notably, the strong Flame Skull is used, while the Hellhound provides enough defensive stats. We have taken an in-depth look at the build and guide you in our Guide from Early-Game to End-Game.
Witch Blood Mage
The Witch can become a bomber with a particularly good build. With the endgame build “Blink Autobomber 2.0 (Choir + Temporalis + TRAMPLETOE)” (via mobalytics.gg), you use the Temporalis Silk Robe for low cooldowns along with the “Choir of the Storm” for many lightning bolts.
The build additionally employs ice walls to farm overkill damage by using the “Trampletoe” shoes. So, in simple terms, you fire lightning bolts at your ice walls, which then explode to deal damage to enemies. Once you’ve built the build to the end, you just have to blink around, killing every enemy. You can see the build in action in this video on YouTube:
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The subclass Chronomancer has power over time. The build Cold CoC Chronomancer uses this unique ability to easily dispatch bosses. This ability is also very useful in trials to avoid getting hit. He mostly attacks his enemies with ice and cold attacks, hardly letting them strike back.
Moreover, he can deliver good results with minimal investment, but he is not easy and intuitive to play. However, thanks to “Temporal Chains” and “Apex of the Moment,” you are less likely to die, as your enemies will be heavily slowed down. If you want to try a different playstyle, you can find the guide at pathofexile.com
Monk Invoker
The Invoker transforms the monk, originally intended for melee combat, into a nuker thanks to the “NUKE Crit Wave Lightning Invoker,” which eradicates all surrounding enemies with a single hit of “Storm Wave.” With this build, you eliminate your enemies with waves of lightning fired at them.
In boss fights, “Tempest Furry” comes into play, which, in conjunction with “Cast on Shock,” causes a damage burst along with freezing and electric shock, and can also deal with adds using “Tempest Bell.” The build is costly and complex. Before starting, you should read the complete guide at mobalytics.gg.
There are very few good builds for the Warrior. One of them is the “Hammer of the Gods Ignite Titan,” which focuses on igniting enemies and scaling the damage from it. The main skill used is the “Hammer of the Gods,” which causes extreme single-target damage. With this build, you call upon the gods and then drop a massive hammer on your enemies that buries them.
However, the downside is that the slam has a long cooldown. This is where igniting enemies comes into play, which helps maintain damage during downtime. The damage from igniting is always based on the damage of the slam that triggered it, making the extreme single-target damage a good source. You can find more about the Titan build at mobalytics.gg
Warrior Warbringer
The best build for the Warbringer comes from “Path of Exile 2” content creator Woolie, showing how even the weakest class in the game can defeat every enemy in just one hit.
The build is quite simple, you just hit your enemies with your “Cultist Greathammer,” and the AoE damage triggered by the weapon is buffed so much by your build that you can defeat even the strongest opponents in the game easily. The right setup is crucial, which you can find in the detailed guide on YouTube.
Monk Acolyte of Chayula
The probably weakest subclass in Path of Exile 2 is the Acolyte of Chayula. With the “Poison Spiral Volley Acolyte of Chayula” build by creator sprEEEzy on YouTube, you can nonetheless achieve high clear speed while taking little damage. Thus, the build essentially turns the monk into an archer with skills to make this subclass successful in the endgame.
This is made possible by wielding a bow and utilizing the ability “Spiral Volley” for your AoE damage in combination with “Rain of Arrows.” The build resembles many Deadeye builds, except that the Acolyte of Chayula naturally has such good defensive stats that he can hardly die. You can find an explanation of the build at YouTube.
The melee classes in Path of Exile 2 are more challenging to master and only work as well with certain builds compared to the ranged classes. However, this could change in the future as more classes are introduced, providing a greater variety of skills. All the information on the release can be found here: Path of Exile 2: All Information on the Release – Early Access, Classes & Crossplay
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At WoW Classic, the first raids of the Twitch guild OnlyFangs took place in the Molten Core. The first raid claimed some victims. Alongside Tyler1, it also took down Quin69, a well-known streamer. Interestingly, one of his teammates, Summit1g, was directly responsible for his death.
Here was the situation: The Twitch guild OnlyFangs has so many members that they send two raid groups into the 40-player instance Molten Core (The Molten Core), the first raid ever in World of Warcraft. Molten Core came into play with the release of the MMORPG in 2004. 21 years later, the boss mechanics are causing a stir, as every death here is permanent and costs the streamer their character, many hours of work, and ultimately the chance to actively participate in OnlyFangs.
A “draft” took place before the raid: The raid leaders could alternately pick a player from the player pool. One raid group was led by Tyler1, while the other was led by Mizkif.
Mizkif chose Quin69, who had previously hoped not to end up in Mizkif’s raid. He apparently sensed what was about to happen.
The New Zealander Quin69 is one of the leading streamers on Twitch when it comes to Path of Exile and Diablo 4. The 34-year-old has repeatedly gotten into trouble and faced bans in the past because he spoke faster on Twitch than he could think.
Start video
WoW: Guild loses 30 characters on a hardcore server – And it wasn’t even a boss fight
Streamer ends up in the wrong raid – Already suspects how it will end
This was Quin69’s reaction to the pick: During the draft, Quin mumbled as Mizkif explained whom he would choose: “Not me, not me.”
But Mizkif chose “his boy Quin69.” The selected streamer screamed out: NO! Take it back, take it back! But it was too late.
This is how the raid went: Quin69 actually managed to die during the first boss fight in the Molten Core and lost his character permanently.
The problem was that the Twitch streamer Summit1g triggered the ability “Blade Flurry,” which causes every attack to hit an additional target.
However, such abilities should be avoided in the boss fight. With the “Mind Control” ability of the boss enemies, teammates can be taken over and displayed as “hostile.”
The 1st boss in Molten Core is Lucifron: He casts a curse that deals 2,000 damage and needs to be dispelled. Additionally, 2 Fireguard Helguards accompany Lucifron: They can mind control and take over players. Therefore, all players should refrain from using area-of-effect abilities to avoid accidentally killing a teammate.
Summit1g accidentally takes out Quin69: Could be my fault
How did he die? Quin69 died because Summit1g accidentally hit him with Blade Flurry and took him out. The rogue’s Blade Flurry ability causes him to attack 20% faster and hit a second target. One should strictly avoid this ability in the boss fight against Lucifron.
When Quin69 dies, the first call is immediately MC-Kill,” a death by one’s own fire, while a player was mind-controlled and taken over by the enemy.
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In the discussion, Summit1g repeatedly apologizes to his colleague, saying he is sorry. He hadn’t even considered it, while raid leader Mizkif takes responsibility: It was his fault. He should have made it clearer that during the fight, mages need to dispel all curses and players should refrain from using abilities that cause area damage.
On reddit, it is critically noted, however, that Quin69 should not complain so loudly: The statistics indicate that he was the one who caused the most damage to teammates.
What happens next? Mizkif and his raid actually managed to complete Molten Core. Mizkif led the raid from an internet cafe in Japan (via reddit).
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Quin69 was replaced because he lost his character and could no longer participate. It is assumed that Quin69, as a hardcore player, will simply continue with WoW and level up a new character.
The most successful coach in League of Legends in the West is a German: Fabian “GrabbZ” Lohmann (30). He was close to winning the World Championship in 2019 when he reached the finals with G2. However, in an interview in March 2024, he said: The gap to South Korea and China is much larger than it seems. He explains the problems why Europeans are so much weaker in LoL than the teams from China and South Korea.
This is the situation: The most important tournament in LoL is the World Championships, the Worlds. European and North American teams have performed worse in recent years, after it had seemed a few years ago that the West was close to being at the top in Asia close:
In 2018, the EU team Fnatic became the runner-up in the World Championship – G2 and Cloud9, two more teams from the West, finished third and fourth.
In 2019, G2 made it to the finals in Paris and became the runner-up.
In 2020, G2 at least reached a third/fourth place and was eliminated only in the semifinals.
However, from 2021 onwards, even the best teams from Europe in LoL couldn’t achieve even notable successes. By the quarter-finals, it was over and from the semifinals onwards, only teams from Asia played against each other.
Why is the interview still more relevant today than back then? Back then, in March 2024, GrabbZ was without a team. Today, the 30-year-old is an active coach again and trains the champion of the LEC in the regular season, Fnatic. Moreover, the gap between Europe and Asia has grown even larger: in 2024, the best team in Europe, G2 was even eliminated in the group stage.
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Former German LoL Pro is Now One of the Most Successful Twitch Streamers – This is NoWay
This is what GrabbZ says: GrabbZ explains in an interview with Tolkin that the gap between professional teams in Europe and those in South Korea and China is much larger than many fans believe (via youtube).
Only the success of his team G2 in 2019 concealed this huge gap for years, but the success back then was not as significant as many believe:
We hadn’t had the discussion for a long time because of G2, that we said “We are close” – we are not. We were lucky. We all knew Damwon would beat us 3-0.
G2 lost 15 matches in a row against South Koreans in training, wins on stage
This is how GrabbZ sees his greatest success: The coach explains in the interview that even the greatest success of a Western team in 2019 was actually a stroke of luck.
G2 eliminated a highly favored South Korean team, DAMWON Gaming, 3-1 in the quarter-finals of the Worlds in November 2019.
Now he says in retrospect: They lost all the training matches against Damwon Gaming back then, they played 0-15 and thought they would surely lose the match against them. In two hours, they lost 6 training matches against the South Korean team and got completely destroyed. The South Koreans were still suffering from jet lag, having just arrived in Europe.
However, G2 managed to win the decisive match because the young South Koreans couldn’t handle the experience of a live match on stage:
We were completely overrun by them. And then we sit on stage in Madrid and win 3-1. What the hell happened? No idea, because they choked.
However, it was never the case that Europe was as close as people believed after the game.
In Europe, the coach is fired more often than the player
Why is Europe so much worse in LoL than China and South Korea? GrabbZ explains:
In China, 20,000 players are scouted at the youth level, while Europe lacks any comparable opportunity; there is no radar here. Therefore, there are far fewer players available who have a chance of becoming professionals. The entire academy system, in which upcoming players are trained, works much better in Asia.
Moreover, in Asia, coaches have the power to bench any player and decide who plays and who does not – even superstar Faker can be benched. In Europe, this is not possible: stars always play.
GrabbZ says he spoke with a goalkeeper coach from Liverpool, and it is unimaginable for a football coach that a LoL coach would lack the ability to bench a player.
In the West, the power lies with the players – coaches are more often fired than the players.
Due to the narrow salary budget of a team in League of Legends, where the top players earn so much, there is hardly any money available to develop upcoming players.
Ultimately, established players lack the pressure and motivation to continue working hard on themselves.
GrabbZ misses the dedication from European professionals and the willingness to do more
He sees this as a particular problem: GrabbZ explains that the motivation to improve must come from the players themselves. It’s like in football. If someone stays on the pitch after training to practice free kicks, they are motivated and improving. However, if a coach orders such extra sessions, it is completely ineffective because the motivation is lacking.
Thus, GrabbZ criticizes that in his last team, there was a lack of motivation to truly improve by analyzing Asian games or approaching solo queue matches with a clear intention. That was different with G2.
GrabbZ talks about “mindfulness”; that even in solo queue as a pro, one plays with the intention of improving an aspect of their game. Just doing their 10 mandatory games isn’t enough. 2 games played mindfully are more valuable than 10 aimless games.
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How can it get better? GrabbZ believes that European LoL should actually make a cut and sacrifice the next 3 years while focusing on developing a new generation of players who truly want to play and improve.
But he sees this as unrealistic. In the fast-paced business of a LoL coach, there is no time for that. Even an academy coach must achieve success because it is about their job. GrabbZ himself, who is now at the top of the table, had not trained a team for 2 years after he had no success with his last team: Fnatic brings in German coach for LoL, who no one wanted for 2 years – fans mock, now he is the savior
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
From Friday, February 7 to Saturday, February 8, 2025, the PlayStation Network was down for 24 hours. Steam experienced a player increase during this time and demonstrated that it has an advantage over PlayStation.
What is that advantage? Through the PlayStation Network (PSN), Sony imposes an account requirement for some games. Players must have a PSN account to play a whole lot of games, often even for single-player games.
There was a discussion surrounding the game Helldivers 2, as Sony required players on other platforms, such as Steam, to also have a PSN account. Since the PSN servers were offline for 24 hours, it became clear how dependent players are on the service’s functionality, even if they just want to play offline.
Steam does not impose this requirement on its players. On the gaming platform, no specific account is necessary to play a game offline.
Start video
Sony releases the official reveal trailer for the PS5 Pro
Steam enjoys new player numbers
Did Steam benefit from the outage? While PSN struggled to find a solution to the problem, Steam was able to enjoy new user numbers. On SteamDB, one can clearly see how many new players joined from Friday, February 7 to Saturday, February 8: It was about 2 million new players in total.
The current Steam players on Friday, February 7.
The current Steam players on Saturday, February 8.
It is clear that not all 2 million players necessarily had to be affected by the PSN outage and therefore migrated to Steam. However, the rapid increase is certainly significant and could have been influenced by it.
Another reason could be the major releases of the weekend: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Civilization 7. Many players likely intended to try out one or both of the games over the weekend.
In CoD: Black Ops 6 you can complete the main mission on the map “The Tomb” to unlock rewards. This mission, also known as an Easter Egg, is not explained and you have to figure out the individual steps for yourself. To save you the stress, we’ll show you how the Easter Egg for The Tomb works.
What do I need to know before the Easter Egg? We will now go through all the steps of the Easter Egg, tell you what you need to do, and give you important tips that you should know. We will also show you the rewards that you can earn. The following steps are crucial for the Easter Egg:
Step 1: Unlock the entire map and enter the door to nowhere
Step 2: Build or draw the ice staff from the mysterious box
Obtain the monocle
Activate the murals
Find the head piece
Find the staff
Step 3: Assemble and defend the staff
Step 4: Upgrade the ice staff
Quickly extinguish the three flames
Shoot three stones in the ether and remember the symbols
Unlock the locked portal
Collect souls with the ether ball
Place the staff on the pedestal
Step 5: Complete all ether tests
Insect test
Parasite test
Doubleghast test
Amalgam test
Step 6: Defeat the artifact
Rewards for the Easter Egg of The Tomb
With our directory, you can quickly jump to each step and get an overview:
[toc]
Start video
Black Ops 6: The Tomb shows you the dangerous Ether
Preparation: What should I consider before starting?
Before you start a run for the Easter Egg, you should consider the following equip, weapons, and items:
Your weapons should have silencers – especially the GS45
Why? Because weapons with silencers increase the drops for scrap
Take a weapon with a lot of ammo that deals bullet damage (Raygun does not deal damage to the final boss)
You should pack the following gum in your collection if you have them:
Who counts the points?
Profit sharing (if you are in a team)
On the house paired with soda fountain
Wonderful
Secret strength
Extra addicted
Get smoke bombs in your loadout to escape from the zombies
Set up some builds of your favorite weapons that can also be bought off the walls in a zombie loadout
Why? So that when you pull the weapon, you get the attachments you used in your build
Step 1: Unlock the entire map and enter the door to nowhere
The first step requires you to unlock the entire map until you reach the underground temple. Interact with the crystal to open the door to nowhere. Step through the gate to enter the ether.
Interact with the crystal and step through the red gate
Step 2: Build or draw the ice staff from the mysterious box
The second step requires you to have the ice staff. Just like in the previous zombie maps of Black Ops 6, you can also draw the wonder weapon from the mysterious box here – but you need a lot of luck or the gum “Wonderful” for that. However, if you want to get the staff safely and save your points, you can simply build it. However, you need two parts and a tool for this:
The monocle
The head
The staff
We will now show you what you need to do and how to find each part.
Obtain the monocle
Before you can grab the individual parts, you need the monocle. With this, you can discover secret symbols in the murals of the ruins. To obtain the monocle, you need to have played until round 8.
At some point in the round, the enemy “Shock Mimicker” will appear. Defeat this and pick up the monocle.
Defeat the mimicker and collect the monocle
Activate the murals
After you have picked up the monocle, you now need to activate the murals. Go to the excavation site and look for the purple beacons hanging from the walls. You need to shoot these until they find their way in front of one of the two murals.
This is what one of the torches looks like
But be careful, because when you shoot them, they spill their flames on the ground, which can then damage you.
What you should note: It may happen that no new flames spawn. Look for torches that do not burn and destroy these with a shot – these can block the spawn of new torches.
Find the head piece
The head piece of the staff can be found at the mural of the archer in the Neolithic catacombs. If you have activated the beacon nearby, you will find yourself in front of 10 glowing symbols that you must shoot in the correct order. In our image, you see the order:
Follow this orderThe head is the first building part
If you have entered the correct order, a purple sphere will spawn in front of the mural. Follow it and defeat the surrounding zombies and elite enemies until the phase is completed and the sphere dissolves. You will then find the head piece in front of the mural along with the “Max Ammo” power-up.
Find the staff
You can find the staff at the mural of the bull, at the burial place. Make sure that the purple beacon is also lit nearby. Now activate the 8 glowing symbols in the correct order to spawn a second purple sphere. The correct order can once again be found in our image:
Follow this orderThe staff is the last building part
Here too, just like with the head piece: Follow the sphere and defeat enough zombies and elite enemies until the sphere disappears. Afterwards, the staff will spawn in front of the mural. Now you should have all the parts to assemble the staff.
Step 3: Assemble and defend the staff
Important for the step: This step is quite tricky for solo players. If you are alone, make sure to have Kazimir or monkey bombs ready. In case of doubt, even carry smoke grenades.
To build the ice staff, you now need to go back into the gate of nothingness and place the individual parts in the center of the map. You will find the right point on a stone structure near the Pack-a-Punch machine.
Place the staff on the altar
Once you have placed the staff, you must defend it while it assembles. Now starts the difficult part: Many zombies will spawn to damage the staff. If it takes too much damage, you will need to repeat the part in the next round.
Additionally, you must not leave the glowing red plate under the staff for too long, as the phase will end here as well.
It is advisable to use Kazimir, monkey bombs, or smoke grenades to keep the zombies at bay. If you survive the phase, you can pick up the staff from the platform and use it.
After the ritual, the staff is complete
Step 4: Upgrade the ice staff
Equipped with the ice staff, you now need to upgrade and strengthen it. Unfortunately, this part cannot be skipped and is essential for advancing the Easter Egg.
Quickly extinguish the three flames
In the excavation site, three purple beacons will now spawn on the map in the real world. You need to shoot these with your ice staff within a time window of 10 seconds to extinguish them.
Speed is especially important here, and to ensure this, you can use a trick:
Shoot the beacons that are too far away for you with your weapon. These will then spawn in a new location. This reduces the radius of the beacons and allows you to shoot them more quickly.
Additionally, you can use Dr. Wrench’s augmentation to get a speed boost when you slide. Lastly, you should also equip the perk “Stamin-Up” to have increased movement speed.
Shoot three stones in the ether and remember the symbols
Once you finish with the torches, you now need to return to the dark ether. Go to the center of the map and look up at the floating stones. Three of the stones will glow. Shoot the glowing stones with your ice staff to bring them down. Each of the stones has a symbol that you need to remember.
This is what the stones and their symbols look like – remember them
Unlock the locked portal
Once you have memorized the symbols, you now need to unlock a locked portal. In the dark ether as well as in the real world, there are four portals that are interconnected. Now look for the locked portal in the dark ether and go to the opposite side to the opened portal. Teleport to the real world and now look for the locked portal in the real world.
Only three symbols are correct
Once you have found the gate, you will now recognize 8 symbols that serve as a lock. Use the ice staff now and shoot the symbols that you remembered from the stones – the order does not matter. Once you have activated the gate, you must enter it.
Collect souls with the ether ball
After stepping through the portal, you will find a purple glowing orb in front of you. Interact with it to activate it. It will now jump down onto the map of the dark ether and wander around from your platform. Your task now is to kill enough zombies in the vicinity of the ball to charge it up.
Follow the ball and defeat as many zombies as possible
You should definitely have weapons with you that allow you to defeat your enemies quickly, as the ball moves fast. If you are not fast enough, it will disappear and you will need to unlock the portal and activate the ball again.
Place the staff on the pedestal
Once you have charged the ball, you must now take out your staff and interact with the ball in the middle of the map at the altar. It will now transform your staff. Be aware that your teammates must wait for their turn to upgrade their staff.
Step 5: Complete all ether tests
Equipped with your staff, you must now complete the ether tests. These are manifested in the form of zombie statues. Each test presents you with a different task that you can activate using the alternative shooting option of your ice staff – which is essential. The following tasks need to be completed:
Insect test
Shoot the spider statue (insects) with the healing ray of your ice staff to activate it. Interact again with the charged statue to pick up the crystal. Now you must use the blue portal to reach the spawn area – that’s where the first test starts. Interact again with the spider statue there.
Activate the insect statue with your ice staffActivate the second statue in the spawn to start the test
After activation, a large area will be marked for you in which you must eliminate the insects. With each elimination, the stone on the statue is charged. Once enough energy has been collected, you must bring the crystal back to the ether to the spider statue.
WARNING: If you pick up the crystal, you must not be hit more than 3 times by zombies, otherwise you will lose it and have to pick it up again in the spawn. Also, the spawn portal is not active – so you need to use another portal to get back to the ether.
Parasite test
Shoot the fly statue (parasites) with the healing ray of your ice staff to activate it. Interact again with the charged statue to pick up the crystal. Now you must use the yellow portal to reach the shrine of the hierophants – that’s where the second test starts. Interact there once with the fly statue.
Activate the parasite statue with your staffYou must deliver the glowing balls at the statue
Your task is to eliminate enough zombies and deliver 10 purple energy balls at the statue. You will also receive these from the parasites. The same principle applies when delivering the crystal, be careful not to be hit too often, otherwise you will lose it. Additionally, you need to find another portal to the ether.
Doubleghast test
Shoot the double-headed statue (doubleghast) with the healing ray of your ice staff to activate it. Interact again with the charged statue to pick up the crystal. Now you must use the green portal to reach the place “Bone House” – that’s where the third test starts. Interact again with the double-headed statue there.
Activate the statue of the doubleghastWatch out for traps while defeating the zombies
Here you need to collect kills and charge the crystal. But be careful not to be hit by the beams of the statue. Once the crystal is charged, use another portal to deliver it.
Amalgam test
Shoot the amalgam statue with the healing ray of your ice staff to activate it. Interact again with the charged statue to pick up the crystal. Now you must use the red portal to reach the deep excavation – that’s where the final test starts. Interact again with the amalgam statue there.
The last test is the one of the amalgamDefeat the amalgam to complete the test
Now you need to defeat a red amalgam to charge the crystal. Deliver it again.
Step 6: Defeat the artifact
Once you have completed all the tests, you now need to challenge the artifact. To do this, you need to interact with a pedestal in the northeast. This will then build a platform that takes you to the arena. However, before you enter the arena, you should prepare because there is no turning back after that. So pay attention to the following:
Take a weapon with a lot of ammo that deals bullet damage
Bullet damage is important because rayguns cannot deal damage to the artifact
Take the ether veil as an ultimate and use it during the damage phase
Crouch when you are on the lower level of the arena, otherwise you will be hit by the beam
Ping the artifact your team is focused on destroying during the damage phase to coordinate damage
Buy the strongest armor and a mutation injection just in case
The helicopter gunner unfortunately does not work in the ether
Once you have everything you need, you go into the arena and start the boss fight, which consists of three phases. The three phases proceed as follows:
Phase 1: Divide the artifact
The artifact is catapulted into the air and shoots a beam around itself. Your task is to avoid the beam and the zombies until the damage phase starts. You will notice the start of the damage phase when the artifact rises into the air and materializes.
Be careful not to get hit by the artifact
Now fire with a weapon that fires the correct rounds at the materialized artifact until it divides. Repeat this phase until there are 5 copies of the artifact. Now proceed to phase 2.
Phase 2: Find and shoot the correct artifact
Now a red artifact will appear in the arena that will sit on a zombie. Your task now is to find and defeat the chosen zombie to destroy the artifact again. You must repeat this 4 times.
The chosen zombies will get stronger – first it’s a zombie, then a shock mimicker, then a doubleghast, and finally an amalgam.
The artifact divides into several copies
But don’t be fooled, because after each phase, blue artifacts will also appear alongside the red ones, which turn out to be decoys. You should ignore these.
Especially the last phases, where you fight against the doubleghast or amalgam, are very nerve-wracking, as all zombies will try to annihilate you and pursue you like wild beasts. Take your time with this step and utilize your staff to slow down the enemies. Once you have repeated the phase 4 times, you proceed to the final phase.
Phase 3: Final stand against the artifact
The artifact is now ready for the last phase. It moves up in the northeastern direction and is then shot by all good artifacts with a laser beam. Now you must shoot at the artifact with everything you have to take away its last bit of life.
If you succeed, the Easter Egg is complete and you will receive the rewards for your clear. Additionally, a cutscene will play that continues the story.
Anyone who completes the Easter Egg will receive the following rewards:
A skin for the ice staff
A calling card
5000 XP
If you also complete the Easter Egg before the start of the “Guided Mode”, you will get an alternative version of the banner with a golden skull. This should show other players that you were one of the first to complete the Easter Egg before it was simplified.
The Easter Egg of The Tomb is difficult and especially a challenge for solo players. Therefore, it is advisable to form a team that you can communicate with. Are you looking for more tips for zombies to survive longer rounds? Then we have just the thing for you: CoD Black Ops 6 Zombies: 15 Tips for Beginners on How to Survive More Rounds
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Brit Josh Strife Hayes is considered a smart MMORPG expert on YouTube. He now speaks out about the Twitch guild “OnlyFangs” in WoW and why he doesn’t participate there. He also criticizes the Twitch streamers for playing the MMORPG World of Warcraft from Blizzard after everyone had expressed outrage towards Blizzard years ago and called for a boycott.
This is the situation: In WoW Classic, there is a “Hardcore mode”: If you die in WoW, your character is lost.
Under the leadership of US streamer Sodapoppin, around 150 Twitch streamers and creators have gathered on a Hardcore server and established a joint guild in WoW Classic: OnlyFangs.
One person who is indeed an expert in MMORPGs but has nothing to do with WoW is Josh Strife Hayes. He has been urged by his community to comment on or even join OnlyFangs. However, he is completely against it.
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Blizzard bans the man who ruined WoW Hardcore
Hayes compares OnlyFangs to trash TV formats
What he says about OnlyFangs: Josh Strife Hayes described OnlyFangs as Jersey Shore for online people in the final stage. The docu-soap “Jersey Shore” is roughly equivalent to our trash TV formats on RTL2 like “Love Island”.
Jersey Shore follows a group of Italian-Americans during their summer vacation and showcases their conflicts and romances. The show was criticized in the USA for reinforcing stereotypes about Italian-Americans by portraying the characters as brash and mindless.
Hayes explains that such drama as in OnlyFangs is stressful for the people who are actually involved and comes at the cost of their mental health – even if it is just acted out.
Everyone loves internet drama – so does he. But for one’s own health, it’s best to say: I simply don’t care.
Moreover, the mechanisms and dynamics of OnlyFangs are well known through corresponding formats in trash TV:
This is drama that arises at the expense of interpersonal relationships. Who could have seen this coming? Who could have guessed: When you put a bunch of people who are used to the limelight together in a guild, they compete for who gets the most attention. No one could have seen that coming!
Even though he is critical of it, Hayes hints that he knows what is happening in OnlyFangs. So he slyly asks: What do people expect from him? He has no mana to change anything in the situation.
Strife Hayes criticizes the mob mentality towards Blizzard
What bothers him: Josh Strife Hayes is particularly annoyed that in October 2019 everyone expressed outrage towards Blizzard and swore to boycott Blizzard and never play a game from them again until “things get better.”
In reality, however, nothing has gotten better; instead, people have grown bored, turned to the next outrage topic, and started playing Blizzard games again. This culture on the internet annoys him.
He has now been asked to throw his principles overboard and join OnlyFangs, but he has no interest in WoW and is not part of this subculture.
Others may have had to turn away from Blizzard and WoW because of the outrage – he has never turned to the game or the company.
Hayes comments on the repeated calls to boycott Blizzard
What does he mean by the boycott of Blizzard? In October 2019, the so-called “Blitzchung affair” occurred: An e-sports pro from Hong Kong, Blitzchung, had called out as the winner of a tournament in Hearthstone during an official Blizzard stream: “Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our time.”
As a result, Blizzard’s Chinese partner, NetEase, revoked his prize money on behalf of Blizzard and banned him from Grandmaster tournaments for a year. Additionally, the contracts of the casters were terminated. They had hidden under their table during Blitzchung’s statement.
NetEase’s action on behalf of Blizzard sparked calls for a boycott against Blizzard in the West.
Even in later years, Blizzard has repeatedly come under criticism: Among other things due to the releases of Diablo Immortal and Warcraft 3 Reforged. During the sexual harassment allegations against Blizzard in 2021 there were again calls for boycotts.
Josh Strife Hayes says:
Back then, everyone was angry about how the company did this and that. And they will just boycott Blizzard until things change now. But then things didn’t change. The boycott simply bored people, and they started playing Blizzard games again.
He says: In such a “mob mentality,” it’s not about being for the right cause, but just about being part of the mob that is against the topic that everyone is currently against. When the current outrage topic changes, it suddenly becomes “weird” to still be against the old topic.
The MMORPG expert who doesn’t like the biggest MMORPG
What’s behind it: The interesting thing is:
Even people who have nothing to do with MMORPGs, like Tyler1, play WoW through OnlyFangs and benefit immensely from it
The top expert for MMORPGs consciously distances himself from Blizzard and WoW and has been doing so for a long time
It is certainly partly a decision based on principles because Josh Strife Hayes has a real problem with Blizzard, but it is probably also a strategic decision. By deliberately positioning himself against WoW, Hayes does not compete with the content creators who cover the dominant WoW, but goes his own way. He has been doing well with this in recent years.
Bruce Willis had a great career. Especially in the beginning, he also appeared in more quirky films for which he is probably least known. One of his best films is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie with Brad Pitt, which already showed in 1995 that Bruce Willis is a good actor.
Which film is it about? In 1988, Bruce Willis became a celebrated action star with Die Hard, and the role as an action hero followed him through most of his career. Occasionally, especially early on, Bruce Willis also experimented in other genres, showcasing that he can do more than just be the cool action hero. One of these is The Sixth Sense, which almost didn’t happen.
He also appeared in some sci-fi films. One of his best is 12 Monkeys, in which he co-stars with Brad Pitt in an unusual time travel story.
Image rights for 12 Monkeys belong to Universal Pictures.
You can find a trailer for the film here:
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12 Monkeys – Trailer for the Unusual Sci-Fi Movie Starring Bruce Willis
Not just a simple sci-fi story
What is 12 Monkeys about? In 2035, a large part of humanity has been wiped out by a virus that has contaminated the air. Therefore, the remaining people live underground.
To fight the virus, scientists send willing criminals back to the year 1990 to find out what kind of virus it is. One of them is James Cole, played by Bruce Willis. However, due to his unusual behavior, he ends up in a psychiatric clinic in 1990.
What makes 12 Monkeys so good? Both the vision of the future and the depiction of the past by director Terry Gilliam are quirky and unusual. The camera angles and the portrayal of Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis ensure that you don’t always believe the protagonist and even begin to doubt whether James really comes from the future. Like the protagonist, you eventually also feel trapped and isolated.
The big highlight is primarily Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. Willis plays beautifully reserved, and the increasingly growing despair of his character is portrayed credibly. Brad Pitt is virtually the opposite of Bruce Willis. He is presented from the outset as a crazed young man, but there seems to be more to him than one initially believes.
Combined with the hypnotic soundtrack, a sci-fi world is created that remains unique to this day, because it seems so isolated and artificial, even though it is supposed to be the 90s.
How is 12 Monkeys rated? On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 88% based on 74 reviews. The same result is given by over 250,000 user reviews. Financially, 12 Monkeys was a great success. With a budget of 29 million US dollars, the film earned nearly 170 million US dollars according to IMDb.
Although Bruce Willis became known for worse action films towards the end of his career, he appeared in many brilliant films throughout his career. The 7 best of them are listed in a ranking by MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes: The 7 best films with Bruce Willis ranked
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Is AAA gaming past its peak? Are extremely expensive and elaborate games like Genshin Impact or Cyberpunk 2077 a thing of the past? Yes, they are, according to Mark Karch. He is the CEO of Saber Interactive and has just scored a hit on Steam with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 , but at a low price.
This is the thesis: The head of Saber Interactive said in an interview (via gamefile):
I believe the era of AAA games that cost 200 million $, 300 million $, or 400 million $ is coming to an end. It’s not necessary, it’s not appropriate.
I don’t know how to put it best… but I think: If anything has contributed to so many people losing their jobs, it is the budgets in the several hundred million $ range.
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Space Marine 2 shows in the video what content is coming in the next few months
AA+ games are much cheaper than AAA, costing only a quarter
What is the alternative for him? He sees his own game “Space Marine 2” as an example of how it can be done.
Such games can be made for a quarter of the budget of an AAA title. Some might say that this is not AAA, but AA+, but still. It is a solid game and much cheaper than what others pay.
Focus on the core and eliminate the unnecessary
Why is the game so much cheaper? In an interview with IGN, the chief creative of Saber, Tim Willits, explained:
For Space Marine 2, a focus is placed on the central gameplay loop
You must focus on the elements that make up the core experience. For Space Marines, these are melee combat, ranged combat, and swarms
Other games make the mistake of broadening their games too much and getting sidetracked. There should be this or that element added, but then you lose focus on what’s essential, on what is fun.
According to Tim Willits, it’s about focusing on the essentials and doing that as well as possible.
What Willits does not mention, but which surely helps: Many successful games today are no longer being developed in the densely populated areas of the USA, where wages are high, but are being developed in low-wage countries, where the work is often “outsourced”.
Which games would no longer exist? If the CEO is right and studios stop betting on games with a budget of 100 million $ and above, such games would be a thing of the past:
Genshin Impact – Production costs about 900 million $
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Production costs about 700 million $
Cyberpunk 2077 – Production costs about 441 million $
Red Dead Redemption 2 – Production costs about 450 million $
Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 – Production costs about 385 million $
What’s behind this: The problem with the extremely high costs is that games then need to achieve incredibly high sales numbers to avoid being a flop. Therefore, players are designed as big and broad as possible to reach many. But that doesn’t seem to work, as some gigantic flops have recently proven. It dilutes the uniqueness and signature of a game when trying to appeal to a maximum wide audience.
Furthermore, successful players from recent years are no longer disappearing but are binding their players long-term. This makes it even harder for extremely expensive games to recoup their production costs. Because even a game like Genshin Impact, which was released in 2020, still has thousands of players today. Even Baldur’s Gate 3 captivates tens of thousands: New MMORPGs can only dream of this: The role-playing game keeps its fans entertained on Steam for 1 year stable
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Akira Toriyama was the original manga artist of Dragon Ball and responsible for the original character designs. His manga ran from 1984 to 1995 in Weekly Shonen Jump. An interview partner managed to get him to reveal that he was only truly satisfied with one picture.
What picture is that? The picture shows Son-Goku with his son Son-Gohan. He is carrying the little one on his back and is dressed in sporty clothing. However, in contrast to their training suits, the clothes look like regular everyday wear. The Saiyan father is even wearing a cap.
The two are riding in a vehicle that looks like a Harley-Davidson with two long stilts. The logo of the Capsule Corporation, Bulma’s father’s company, is prominently displayed on the front.
Son-Goku rides with his son on a futuristic vehicle.
The picture was even colored by the manga artist himself. He used watercolors and employed cool, contrasting colors with many shades. The futuristic vehicle is well showcased. The drawing can be found in issue 37 of the Dragon Ball manga. It was published in April 1994.
What the Z in Dragon Ball Z stands for is revealed in the following video:
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Dragon Ball: This is what the Z in the title stands for
The only drawing with which Toriyama was satisfied
Why was it the only drawing that Toriyama was satisfied with? The manga artist revealed in an interview, which took place after the completion of the entire Dragon Ball manga, which image he was most satisfied with.
He mentioned this drawing. He added that it was the only picture that one could say he was satisfied with.
There can be several reasons for this:
The picture combines nostalgia, pleasure, and freedom
It contrasts with the actual manga
At that time, Toriyama had a three-year-old son himself
The manga artist is a big fan of motorcycles and other mechanical vehicles
It is likely the combination of all factors that make this drawing one of Toriyama’s favorite images.
What is currently happening with the Dragon Ball manga?Akira Toriyama passed away in 2024 from a brain hemorrhage. Since then, the Dragon Ball Super manga has been on hiatus. His assistant, Toyotarou, is supposed to continue the story.
In Diablo 4, you summon some of the toughest bosses in the game with the right materials. One of them is the Beast in Ice, from which you can obtain certain uniques. Here you will learn everything about the location, the loot drops, and how to summon and defeat the boss.
Update, May 6, 2025: The article has been revised and updated for Season 8.
How to summon the Beast in Ice:Since Season 5 of Diablo 4, the Dungeon of the Beast in Ice is no longer a Nightmare Dungeon, and you can simply summon the boss at the altar. You can find the Beast starting at Torment Level 1 in the “Glacier Rift” Dungeon, southwest of Kyovashad. To summon shelter bosses, you no longer need special materials since Season 8.
Where do I get Distilled Fear? After defeating the Beast in Ice, a chest spawns that you can open with 12 Distilled Fear to obtain the loot. You can get Distilled Fear as drops in Nightmare Dungeons starting at Torment Level 1. The bottles also drop from treasure goblins, hellflowers, the Blood Maiden, and from chests of the Whispering Tree.
The level of the Beast in Ice thus depends on your difficulty level, as does that of the enemies you encounter in the Glacier Rift. There you will mainly face Crushers, Flesh Butchers, and Succubi. The Beast can be quite a challenge even with a strong build. We will show you what to pay attention to in order to emerge victorious.
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Diablo 4 shows the new level system and difficulty levels in the video
Because the Beast primarily deals cold damage, you should also ensure that your resistances are at least 70%. If not, stock up on potions to increase that value.
What should I watch out for? The Beast in Ice attacks you with cold damage, such as through icy breath, with its sword, and with ice spikes. Move behind the boss when it attacks in close combat, and be aware of ice spikes flying towards you. The Beast slams its sword on the ground, creating ice patches on the ground; avoid the circles and try to dodge.
The Beast jumps into the air and then slams down. The impact causes massive damage and releases ice crystals. Use defensive or mobility skills here to protect yourself or to evade.
As soon as the Beast in Ice has about 66% and 33% of its health left, it summons a snowstorm that constricts the arena. During this, the Beast is invulnerable. It also spawns smaller monsters – kill them, but pay close attention to the arena and stay in the center. Additionally, ice waves will form that will throw you into the storm if they hit you. This is announced by lines on the ground; look for a safe spot or use a skill that makes you unstoppable.
After that, the Beast will attack you again with icy attacks and explosions. Dodge well, use “unstoppable,” and always keep an eye on the arena – especially the ground. If you defeat the Beast, a chest will spawn with loot, including uniques and materials you need for the boss Andariel.
Necromancers: Mutilator Plate, Mendel’s Ring, The Nullifier, Indira’s Remembrance
Spiritborn: Disdain of the Earth, Wounddrinker, Harmony of Ebewaka
Have you already defeated the Beast in Ice, and if so, with which build did you enter the battle? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. If you’re looking for other uniques, you can find them in our listing: Diablo 4 Boss Loot Table: List of all bosses and their drops in Season 8
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Helldivers 2 launched on PS5 and Steam in February 2024 and was immediately well received by many gamers. It quickly became clear: The co-op shooter is a huge success. Now, Helldivers 2 is one year old. How has the surprise hit been doing since then?
What kind of game is Helldivers 2? Helldivers 2 is a co-op shooter that primarily impresses with its humorous presentation in a serious setting and packed action. Intense explosions regularly create a nearly cinematic atmosphere.
Within the first 12 weeks of release, Helldivers 2 sold over 12 million copies on PS5 and PC, Sony stated (via sony.com), publishing the shooter under “PlayStation Publishing.” On Steam, Helldivers reached a peak of 458,000 concurrent players about a year ago, on February 19, 2024 (via SteamDB).
If you missed the huge hype around the game last year, we summarize the most important information about Helldivers 2 for you here:
What sets Helldivers 2 apart?
In Helldivers 2, you fight with squads of up to 4 players against countless enemies. You are a Helldiver sent from over-earth to various planets to complete a mission.
You battle against gigantic bugs, nasty robots, or since December, against the extraterrestrial civilization of the Illuminated. You have various firearms and air and orbital strikes available to blow up numerous enemies in one go.
Helldivers 2 features friendly fire. This often leads to funny situations when your orbital strike obliterates your best friends with a massive explosion.
Helldivers 2 has a very intrusive humor that parodies “the world police” and some political views or ideologies through exaggerated representation. This is especially true for the conducted war to spread freedom and democracy.
However, a Helldiver is not an immortal super soldier. Helldivers are sent to their deaths in droves. When you die, your Helldiver does not respawn; a replacement is sent via a landing capsule.
You can see a trailer for Helldivers 2 here:
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Helldivers 2 Announce Trailer PS5 PC
Helldivers fought against criticism, not just against bugs and robots
How did the months after release go? In March, one month after release, the developers released a patch that nerfed the community’s favorite weapons – and this did not go down well. The community was really angry. In April, the next big wave of nerfs followed. Again, the players were not very pleased. However, this did not change the fact that in the following weeks and months, further nerfs would come.
However, the criticism of the nerfs was overshadowed by an intense controversy. Starting in May 2024, it was announced: Anyone playing Helldivers 2 on Steam needs a PSN account. This also applied to players who do not own a PS5 or another Sony console.
Many players criticized Sony’s decision because they did not want to be forced into a PSN account. Others criticized the PSN requirement because the service is not available in their home country. They would not have been able to play the co-op shooter, which is why Sony even stopped the sale of Helldivers 2 in some countries.
This is what Helldivers 2’s ratings looked like in May on Steam when the community reacted with review bombing to the PSN requirement.
Helldivers 2 aims to make amends
For months, the relationship between players, who actually love Helldivers 2, and the developers was tense – even though the PSN debacle ultimately ended well for the community. The many nerfs still regularly heated discussions.
However, one wish from the community remained unfulfilled for a while: a new enemy faction. Some players lost interest in always fighting against the same enemies, i.e., the bugs and the robots. Then in December came the long-awaited update: The Illuminated are finally in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 in February 2025 – The state of the shooter
Helldivers 2 is now a year old and is still doing well. In the past 30 days, there have been an average of 45,000 players online on Steam. On the recent February 9, nearly 93,000 Helldivers were fighting for over-earth on Steam (via SteamCharts). PS5 players are not included. Since the community remains active, you can easily find teammates if you don’t want to go solo.
Additionally, the developers continue to roll out updates. There are regular patches with buffs and new content. Just on February 4, the new war bond “Servants of Freedom” began, introducing a new powerful handgun to the game. But especially the new enemies have brought fresh wind into the game. The battles against the Illuminated feel very different than against the robots and bugs, and the urban setting is a successful change of pace.
Gameplay-wise, Helldivers 2 is currently at a really good point. Thanks to the many buffs, you can play with weapons and stratagems that are not meta but still fun for you. Many weapons are really useful, even if they might not be suitable for the highest difficulty levels.
MyMMO editor Dariusz also experienced that there are currently fewer trolls and game wreckers in the game. Helldivers 2 is no longer in the hype, and mostly the players who enjoy the co-op shooter have remained – and that includes playing together with other Helldivers.
Is Helldivers 2 worth it in 2025? Yes, now is a good time to check out Helldivers 2 again – especially if you haven’t played since December and aren’t familiar with the new enemies.
But don’t hesitate to lower the difficulty a bit at first after a long break and test the weapons. A lot has changed in the game over the past six months, and it’s no shame to need to get used to the processes again.
In the first of two phases of the 2nd beta of Monster Hunter Wilds, players were able to face two additional monsters. One of them caused widespread despair. A newcomer managed to defeat the strongest monster of the beta just in time.
Which monster is it? The monster that cost many hunters their nerves last weekend is the flagship monster of Monster Hunter Wilds: Arkveld. Flagship monsters are a type of ‘boss monster’ – particularly strong opponents that essentially represent the ‘final boss’ of every Monster Hunter game. Therefore, it was clear to many players that confronting Arkveld would not be easy.
Numerous experienced players literally bit their teeth on it, as various threads on Reddit show, where hunters lament their plight and celebrate those who succeed (via Reddit). It’s no wonder, then, that newcomers had an even harder time with it.
The unique difficulty in the beta lay not only with the monster itself but also with the tight time limit of 20 minutes for the hunt. Many therefore failed or only managed to defeat it just in time. A newcomer is now sharing his story on Reddit and is being celebrated for it – as he had never played a single Monster Hunter game before.
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In the new trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds, it gets icy
“As a newcomer? You’re a natural talent!”
What story does the player share? In his thread, user Wingnut7489 shares some screenshots with the words: “Arkveld defeated. For me as a newcomer, it feels great.” He had never played a single Monster Hunter game before and is now proud to have defeated all the monsters in the beta, including Arkveld. During this run, he didn’t even die once. Just under 2 minutes before the timer ended, his group of 2 newcomers and 2 veterans finally managed to defeat the monster.
How does the community react? In the comments, he receives admiration from the community:
denofgames01 writes: “Well done. He is a great fighter, but the timer is a killer.”
JargoCHL celebrates him: “As a newcomer? You’re a natural talent!”
HyenDry ceremoniously welcomes him to the ranks of hunters: “Newcomer in the sense of your first Monster Hunter? Welcome, OP! I can’t wait until you can play the whole game.”
Draxsis_Felhunter congratulates: “Congratulations on defeating the hardest monster in the second open beta set.”
Alongside the admiring comments, there are also some veterans who provide tips to him and all other players who had trouble with Arkveld on how they ultimately succeeded.
What tips do the veterans have? For example, user Joeljb960 advises mixing the armor set and equipping the following pieces when facing Arkveld (via Reddit):
3 parts of the Doshaguma set (chest, helm, legs)
1 part of the Hope set (arms)
1 part Chatacabra (hips)
It is also important to strengthen yourself with meals beforehand and focus on not getting knocked out since the way back to the monster would take too much time. Additionally, a weak point presents itself on his arms after his big dragon explosion. Through this, one can use focus mode to knock him down for about 3 seconds and deal a lot of damage. Others recommend capturing him instead of defeating him. This would save a considerable amount of time.
Next weekend, interested hunters will once again have the chance to confront Arkveld and the other monsters. From February 14th to February 17th, you can once again dive into the world of Monster Hunter Wilds during the second beta phase. We have selected 10 cool features that you should not miss in the beta: Monster Hunter Wilds: 10 hidden features you must not miss in the 2nd beta
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Diablo 4, there are numerous materials and items necessary for crafting and various activities. We will show you where you can most effectively farm tributes, oboluses, mats, glyphs, and other items for the endgame.
By the time you reach the endgame of Diablo 4, certain mats become more important, such as Angel’s Breath and Obduzit for crafting, as well as mats for summoning bosses. For your Paragon boards, you will also need glyphs and runes for your endgame builds. Oboluses also play an important role in Season 6, as you can currently get really strong items from the Curiosity Trader for them.
The Diablo expert wudijo explains in his YouTube video what the best spots and methods are to farm various mats in Season 6 of Diablo 4. This is based on farming at Torment Level 4. We summarize the key spots for you, add more based on our own experiences, and adjust the list as necessary.
Update February 10, 2025: We have revised and updated the article for Season 7.
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Start video
Diablo 4 shows the new level system and difficulty levels in the video
Diablo 4: The best farming spots in the endgame
Where do I get important mats and items? In Diablo 4, there are various activities you can engage in during the endgame. Some of them are particularly well-suited for farming XP, while others reward you with important mats or strong gear.
Farming spots for mats
Forgotten Souls
best spots: Uber bosses, Hell floods
good alternative: chests from the Whispering Tree
Herbal Bundles & Angel’s Breath
best spots: chests from the Whispering Tree, Uber bosses
good alternatives: Hell hordes, Hell floods
Iron Nuggets
best spot: chests from the Whispering Tree
good alternative: dismantling items
Raw Leather
best spots: chests from the Whispering Tree
good alternative: dismantling items
Master Stones
best spots: Hell floods (chests), chests from the Whispering Tree
good alternatives: Legion events, Nightmare dungeons, the Undercity of Kurast
Seal Powder
best spots: chests from the Whispering Tree, Nightmare dungeons
good alternative: world events
Scattered Prisms
best spot: world bosses
good alternatives: Hell hordes, the Undercity of Kurast
Gem Fragments
best spot: chests from the Whispering Tree
good alternative: elite enemies
Obduzit
best spot: Nightmare dungeons
good alternatives: Hell hordes, the Undercity of Kurast, trading at the Mercenary hideout
Khazra Horns
best spot: Uber bosses
good alternatives: world bosses, Dark Citadel
Farming spots for boss mats
Living Steel: Hell floods, chests from the Whispering Tree
Malignant Hearts: chests from the Whispering Tree
Exquisite Blood: Blood Maiden (in Hell Flood), chests from the Whispering Tree
Distilled Terror: Nightmare dungeons
Slime-Slick Eggs: Varshan, world bosses
Shard of Torment: Grigoire, world bosses
Sand-Burning Shackles: Lord Zir, world bosses
Needle-Pierced Doll: Beast in Ice, world bosses
random boss mat drops: elite enemies, events, the Undercity of Kurast (with tributes), world bosses
Farming spots for gear
legendary aspects
spots: head hunting zones, trading at the Mercenary hideout, Curiosity Trader
Ancestral Items (Inherited Items)
best spots: Uber bosses, Hell hordes, head hunting zones
good alternatives: Curiosity Trader, Hell floods, chests from the Whispering Tree, world bosses, Nightmare dungeons, Dark Citadel, the Undercity of Kurast, trading at the Mercenary hideout
Uniques
best spot: Uber bosses
good alternative: the Pit
Mythic Uniques
best spot: Uber bosses
good alternative: the Undercity of Kurast, crafting
How to craft Mythic Uniques in Diablo 4 you can find out here:
Keep in mind that you need the Vessel of Hatred expansion if you want to visit the Undercity of Kurast and the co-op dungeon “Dark Citadel.” You can also convert or craft some mats. At the Alchemist, you have the option to turn Gem Fragments into other forms and craft items for summoning bosses from boss mats, crafting mats, and Khazra horns.
If you are unsure which of your items you should optimize or if your build is not going as you want it to, take a look at our Tier List. There you will find the currently strongest builds in Season 7 – including tips on how to play them correctly: Diablo 4 Season 7 Tier List: The best builds in the endgame
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Players are currently plagued by an old problem in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6: the error code “Travis Rilea.” What it’s about and what you can do about it, you can find out here on MeinMMO.
What does “Travis Rilea” mean? The error code “Travis Rilea” is an error related to connecting to the game. This specifically means that you cannot play Black Ops 6 because you cannot connect to the servers.
In the game, it states: “Connection failed: Timeout while signing in to online platform [Reason: TRAVIS-RILEA]”
There can be two reasons for this:
There is a problem with the servers of Activision/the platform you are playing on
There is a problem with your internet connection
Info: The article is regularly adjusted and updated.
This issue has also occurred in Modern Warfare 3 – and now it seems to be recurring regularly. Below we list some possible actions.
Start video
CoD: Everything you need to know about Black Ops 6 – in under 2 minutes
Restart – or wait for the issue to be resolved
What can I do about “Travis Rilea”? The error is mainly due to the servers of the game or your platform and should not typically persist for long. If you are playing CoD via Steam, it may also happen that the error occurs when Steam is undergoing maintenance. This usually lasts around 20-30 minutes.
To rule out that the issue lies elsewhere and to make use of the waiting time, you can carry out the following steps:
Restart the game: Restarting a game when there is a problem is always the first logical step. A little “CoD hiccup” could help.
Restart the router: If the problem is with your internet connection, restarting the router could help.
Check information sources: If it is an error that is widespread and currently affects many, you will surely find information on social media.
On the Activision website, you can check the server status of your platform.
Take a break: If it is an issue on Activision’s part and/or you have already tried everything, use the time to take a break. Go outside for a bit, refill your drink, and stock up on snacks for the upcoming rounds.
During the break you could read some news about Black Ops 6:
If you are also plagued by frequent deaths of your player character in the zombie mode of Black Ops 6, we have some tips for you. Especially beginners will find some helpful advice to better learn and understand the gameplay mechanics of the mode. You can find out more here: CoD Black Ops 6 Zombies: 15 tips for beginners on how to survive more rounds
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The next big enemy in season 2 of the live-action adaptation of One Piece is the Baroque Works. Thanks to the manga, we even know what has become of each of the individual agents.
Warning, spoilers: If you don’t know the manga but only watch the live-action series, here are some major spoilers for you.
Who is the Baroque Works? In the organization, fighters are divided into numbers following a “Mister.” Mister 0, or Sir Crocodile, is the leader of the organization. The organization is divided into the following membership ranks:
Officer Agents (Mister 0 to Mister 5)
Billions (Mister 6 to Mister 12)
Millions (freelancers)
Unluckies (intelligence service and punishment command of the Billions/Millions)
Each higher-ranked employee is assigned a partner named after a holiday. In the case of Sir Crocodile, it is Miss Bloody Sunday, who later joins the Straw Hat crew. The only exception is Mister 2, as he occupies both ranks simultaneously as a transvestite. Many of them also possess a Devil Fruit power.
The Baroque Works will also be seen in the remake of One Piece:
Start video
The One Piece – Interview with the Remake Team
The Baroque Works aims to help Sir Crocodile gain more power. He wants to become the Pirate King. However, through an encounter between the Straw Hat Pirates and the criminal organization, the Baroque Works is dismantled. Thanks to the manga, we know what the individual agents are doing today.
The Baroque Agents live a normal life
What happened to the Baroque Agents? Meanwhile, the Baroque Works has been dissolved. Some characters later meet the Straw Hat crew, but we also see what happens to some of the other agents.
Sir Crocodile has experienced a lot after the dismantling of his organization. He was stripped of his status as a Warlord of the Sea and captured by the Marines. However, in the Impel Down prison, he teams up with Luffy and escapes. He founds the Cross Guild together with Mihawk and Buggy. His partner is now part of the Straw Hat crew.
Mister 1 is still a loyal companion of Sir Crocodile. His partner, Miss Doublefinger, has chosen a peaceful life instead. Together with Mister 4, Mister 5, Miss Goldenweek, Miss Merry Christmas, and Miss Valentine, she opens the New Spiders Café, a legal business.
The New Spiders Café after its reopening.
Mister 2 and Mister 3, however, are in different circumstances. Mister 2 now lives on level 5.5 of the Impel Down prison and is the queen of the transgender kingdom there. Mister 3 has stayed with Buggy and is now also part of the Cross Guild.
There are several characters from One Piece that suddenly no longer appear in the main story. However, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the manga, has not forgotten them. He regularly updates how the characters are doing today. This also applies to Enel: One Piece: What actually happened to Enel? Here’s how the Thunder God is doing today
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred there are stones that complement your builds with rune words. Where you can farm the runes the fastest is explained here on MeinMMO.
Update February 10, 2025: The article has been revised and updated.
Where do I get runes? You can farm runes of any rarity level as drops from monsters throughout Sanctuary. You can also create them at the jeweler from other collected runes, and you can trade runes with other players.
There are also specific activities and places where you are guaranteed to get them. Below you will find out how to get runes the fastest.
Start video
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred shows the new features and the new region Nahantu in the video
Diablo 4 Runes: The Best Farming Spots
Where can I farm runes the fastest? While runes can drop from all sorts of activities, the best chances for runes – especially rare and legendary runes – currently come from bosses starting at Torment level 1. Additionally, with tributes, the Under city of Kurast is a good farming spot.
In the following activities, there are guaranteed drops according to Blizzard. Therefore, it is worth farming the following content if you want to collect runes:
Chests from the Whispering Tree: If you complete so-called whispers and collect a total of 10 gruesome gifts for the Whispering Tree, you can exchange them for a chest. These now contain runes as guaranteed loot.
World bosses: World bosses also drop runes as a reward when you defeat them.
Taking over outposts: You can find a total of 18 outposts spread across the map that you can take over – 3 in each area. The game rewards you with runes for the first time conquering an outpost.
In boss encounters in the Vessel of Hatred campaign: If you start with Vessel of Hatred, you will likely first deal with the campaign. Within the new story, you will encounter various bosses that you need to defeat to progress. Some of them reward you with runes.
What do I need runes for? The runewords allow you to integrate different skills into your builds – including skills from other classes. You can craft other runes with collected runes and combine them with magnificent sparks to even produce mythics.
Where else can I get runes? Aside from the “guaranteed sources”, they can also drop in other endgame content. This includes dungeons, nightmare dungeons, and events in the open world.
The trading cards on Steam are a feature that most users probably don’t pay much attention to, as the collectible cards are usually worth almost nothing. One gamer has now earned a Steam Deck with them.
What kind of action is this? Steam Trading Cards are digital trading cards that you can earn by playing participating games on the platform. You can use them to craft badges, display them on your profile, or sell them on the community market.
However, like their real-world counterparts, most trading cards are only worth a few cents. One player has set out to earn a Steam Deck solely through the sale of these collectible cards.
To put that into perspective: In Germany, the base version of the Steam Deck costs 419 euros, while the OLED version starts at 569 euros. When selling a trading card on Steam, you can expect to earn less than 10 cents unless you happen to have a particularly sought-after card.
Start video
Happy Birthday Steam Deck
Gamers come together to support one of their own
Here’s how he did it: The player, who goes by the name “Ringler” online, announced his plan on February 3, 2025, via X. However, the action really gained momentum with another post in which Ringler explained that he would eventually run out of friends to ask for trading cards.
He also asked people to send him a private message if they wanted to contribute trading cards. These posts were seen by more than 200,000 users – and many of them apparently showed generosity (via X).
Later that same day, Ringler shared his Steam balance of over 100 US dollars, with sales worth $6.41 still pending (via X). It had already become clear that the player would not only reach his goal but possibly exceed it. He joked, “The gang is crashing the Steam economy.” (via X)
On February 5, Ringler had received so many cards that he had to automate the process of accepting and selling them. However, this led Steam to momentarily block him and display an error message: He had made too many requests and should try again later.
Shortly thereafter, the player was able to continue selling again. Ringler joked that he must have a guardian angel at Steam.
Not only Ringler himself was to benefit from the action: As the player explains, his sole goal from the start was to buy a Steam Deck. He didn’t expect such an overwhelming response. With the surplus money, he plans to buy an additional Steam Deck to donate to a children’s hospital.
In the night of February 7, our time, Ringler finally announced with the note: “It is done…” and shared a screenshot confirming a recent transaction on Steam, presumably for the long-awaited Steam Deck (via X).
In his last update, Ringler had just over $650 in his Steam wallet, enough for a more expensive OLED model. However, it is still unknown whether the player opted for a more expensive version or if he plans to invest the surplus money in a second unit for charitable purposes.
In any case, it can be guessed which game will be the first to run on the new device: “House MD and Binding of Isaac in bed will taste so sweet.” (via X)
In The Lord of the Rings, there are many characters of different ages. But appearances can be deceiving. Characters appear older or younger in the film than they actually are. In the ranking, we take a look at the true ages of 14 important characters and compare them with the ages of their actors.
What are these numbers? The main events of The Lord of the Rings take place over just a few years:
3018 T.A. (Third Age): Frodo and his companions leave the Shire and embark on their dangerous journey.
3019 T.A.: The One Ring is destroyed and Sauron is defeated.
3021 T.A.: Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond leave Middle-earth. The Third Age ends.
For the characters’ ages, we base our list on the beginning of the story in 3018 T.A. For the actors’ ages, we refer to the start of filming for part 1, which officially began on October 11, 1999.
Image rights for The Lord of the Rings are owned by Warner Bros. Pictures
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Start video
One of the most promising projects in the universe of The Lord of the Rings is actually an anime
Place 14: Éowyn
Éowyn is the youngest character on this list. After the early death of her parents, she was raised by her uncle Théoden, the king of Rohan. While her brother Éomer often roamed the land, she stayed at home and cared for her uncle.
At the same time, she was also a shieldmaiden and could ride and fight excellently. She proved this especially in the Battle of Pelennor. There she defeated – with the help of Pippin – the terrible Witch-king of Angmar, the leader of the enemy army. It was said that no man could kill him. But being a woman did not concern her much.
Actually, Éowyn is “not yet matured into womanhood”, as it is said in the book. But in the film, she seemed like an adult woman, as actress Miranda Otto was several years older.
Character: Éowyn – 23 years
Actress: Miranda Otto – 31 years
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
MeinMMO’s demon Cortyn has completed one of the most annoying achievements in World of Warcraft. And now the oven is off – at least for now.
There is a lot to do in World of Warcraft. Especially if you like to collect achievements – just like me. For some achievements I work on them in stages, others I try to complete “in one go” if they can be finished during an evening.
This is the major meta achievement for the expansion Battle for Azeroth. However, the achievement was only introduced to the game many years later, with patch 11.0.5.
The achievement arrived along with the Sirens’ Isle:
Start video
Siren Island – The New Content in WoW Patch 11.0.7
Basically, most of this achievement requires pure diligence. You can work on reputation factions, complete various collection achievements, or catch up on some story aspects that you might not have completed on Horde or Alliance side.
That was okay.
But a few aspects of the achievement were really, really annoying.
Because some partial achievements could only be completed if you finished very specific world quests in very specific ways.
What doesn’t sound too complicated in theory comes with relatively meticulous control. Because some of the world quests only appear every few weeks and – in the case of invasions – are then even active only for a few hours. So, you have to check for the quests not only daily, but preferably several times a day, to not miss the small time window in the month when you could complete the achievement.
It took a while. A long time.
But even when the desired world quest is active, you have to pay close attention to finish the quest exactly in the way the achievement requires.
In the invasion of the Blood Trolls, for example, you have to complete the quest in about 30 seconds. That’s not so easy, because a single wrong click can already mean that you can no longer achieve the success in this bombardment quest.
“No problem, just try again” – Yeah, right.
Because once the quest is completed, it’s gone with that character, and you either have to log over to a second character or hope that the world quest appears again soon.
AFK in Dornogal – posing a little with the mount. As it should be.
Even crazier are world quests where you have to act completely unintuitively. In “Sand Fishing” for example, you have to collect 5 rare items that drop from the quest enemies – but only as long as you are actively on this quest. This, in turn, means that you must not loot the items necessary for the quest, because otherwise the quest will be completed and you cannot continue farming.
Some of these tasks have driven me to sheer frustration at times. But hey, now I’m done. And I feel a bit burnt out. Because this achievement was one of my “big goals” that I had in World of Warcraft currently. Now I have Jani as a mount, but also a certain emptiness and less desire to log in.
I don’t know if the achievement and the mount were worth the effort. But hey, there were 100 achievement points, and the bar for “completed achievements” has become a tiny bit bigger again. I guess I deserve a break. At least until Patch 11.1 Lorenhalt, which will start in almost 2 weeks …
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
