“It would be a nightmare for me” – Trymacs shows on Twitch how much he earns and explains why taxes don’t bother him

Maximilian “Trymacs” Stemmler is one of the most successful streamers on German Twitch. Once a year, he shows what he earns on YouTube. While it adds up to a significant amount, half of it goes to the government – but for the influencer, that’s completely fine.

This is how much Trymacs earned in 2024: In his stream from December 28, 2024, Trymacs shows what he earned this year solely from YouTube.

Distributed across his 3 channels, that’s over 1.2 million euros. Additionally, there are his Twitch channel, his podcast, as well as earnings from partnerships and his products Happy Slice and Happy Chips, which have also “exploded” this year.

  • Second channel SecondTry: 348,624.01 euros
  • Reaction channel TryReact: 456,737.56 euros
  • Main channel Trymacs: 418,872.74 euros

The Twitch streamer admits that his earnings are “unfair” compared to other salaries. It all started when he played a bit of Clash Royale during his studies – you can see the whole story in our video:

Start video
Vom Pizza-Lieferant zu einem der größten deutschen Twitch-Streamer – Leben und Karriere von Trymacs in 2 Minuten

“I gladly pay 50% taxes for that”

That’s why he gladly pays taxes: The 1.2 million euros are the earnings before tax – almost half of it goes to the government. For Trymacs, that’s fine; he doesn’t want to be a “tax refugee”.

You could be it, but for what? Absolutely enough money comes out of it. I gladly pay 50% taxes for being able to live in fucking Germany in Hamburg. What would I do with all that money in Dubai? It would be a nightmare for me.

That many influencers are drawn to Dubai is often critically examined, for example, by ZDF Magazin Royale (via YouTube). For German content creators, the Portuguese island of Madeira has long been the ultimate tax paradise: NoWay openly talks about tax evasion to Madeira – “If you don’t do it, you’re stupid.”

You can find the entire stream on Trymacs’ Twitch channel (VoD available for a limited time).

Trymacs thus clearly sets himself apart from his colleagues, who regularly complain about high taxes, like MontanaBlack, who has been contemplating leaving the country for years. However, he doesn’t want to move to Dubai either: Twitch streamer MontanaBlack surprises with statement about Dubai – “That has to be said like that”

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

The new MMORPG was supposed to be the alternative to WoW, but the launch on Steam turned into a fiasco

The largest gaming company in the world, Tencent, launched an MMORPG in 2024 to fill the gap that WoW had left. Tarisland started in July 2024 as a free MMORPG and caused quite a stir. However, it completely flopped on Steam.

This was the idea behind Tarisland: Because Activision Blizzard fell out with NetEase, there was suddenly no WoW in China. The servers went offline and many Chinese players were mourning.

Then Tencent announced that they would release an MMORPG for mobile and PC. It was obvious that they wanted to step into the gap that WoW had left in China.

The MMORPG was released globally on June 21, 2024, and was quite well received. However, a release on Steam was a flop.

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Tarisland: Trailer for the global launch shows cinematic class action

Tarisland could only maintain the interest of MMORPG players for 2 weeks

How much success did Tarisland have in Germany? An analysis of the interest in Tarisland in Germany shows that the MMORPG had quite a small hype at release in June.

For two weeks, it was more relevant in interest, as measured by Google Trends, than major MMORPGs in Germany such as The Elder Scrolls Online, Black Desert, or Guild Wars 2.

However, Tarisland was only able to spark a flash in the pan. The game was only truly relevant for two weeks, after which interest declined significantly and it dropped well below the interest in established competitors.

tarisland-google-interest

Late release on Steam turns into a debacle

What happened with Steam? Tencent apparently completely miscalculated, as they apparently planned for Tarisland to gain traction with the release on Steam in October 2024, but that failed completely:

  • Tarisland never exceeded 582 players at peak on Steam.
  • The ratings are disastrous, with only 24% positive reviews.
  • There is no significant spike in interest on Google Trends at the time of the Steam release.

In reviews, it is stated that players start at level 41, which nobody can understand, and is an absolute no-go for many players. Additionally, the game has many Pay2Win options and too few opportunities to customize characters.

Was there a new MMORPG in 2024 that performed better? Significantly more successful than Tarisland was the new MMORPG Throne and Liberty from NCSoft, which managed to hold players’ interest in Germany for about 8 weeks and remained above the interest in the strong established competition. However, in December, interest also waned here: Throne and Liberty loses more than 70 percent of players on Steam in 2 months, community cites reasons

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

In a free new Soulslike, you are the boss and crush the hero

In a pixel soulslike, players take on the role of a boss enemy, the Dark Queen of Mortholme. She is attacked by a feeble adventurer, who initially poses no significant challenge. However, the seemingly puny fighter learns from each defeat.

What defines The Dark Queen of Mortholme? In the recently released game on itch.io by developer Mosu, you play as a dark queen, a kind of final boss in reference to soulslike games. A initially pitiable adventurer breaks into her castle and challenges her, after which she can defeat the attacker with a swing.

But here, the game addresses perhaps the most powerful abilities of an adventurer in a soulslike: self-reflection, adaptability, and relentless perseverance.

The game itself is free, but you are free to choose whether and how much you would like to pay for it.

The game’s trailer showcases the art style and gameplay in reverse roles:

Start video
The gameplay trailer for The Dark Queen of Mortholme showcases the dynamics of role reversal

A battle between power and endurance

How do the reversed roles work? In games like Elden Ring or other soulslikes, the playable character seems like a mere nuisance compared to the oversized and powerful opponents at the beginning. The ability to walk away victorious from a fight with them lies in experience, which helps you begin to understand the boss, their attacks, and weaknesses.

It is precisely this dynamic between adventurer and boss that The Dark Queen of Mortholme plays with. The reversed roles turn the established perspective upside down. Instead of becoming stronger and more capable as the hero of the game, you start as the boss who gets increasingly into trouble with each fight.

How does the boss get pressured by the hero? While you initially take down the challenger with a single blow, the adventurer seems to improve after each defeat. They dodge attacks, acquire new and better weapons, and even begin to taunt the dark queen.

The short dialogues of the game further drive the increasingly thrilling dynamic of the two characters through teasing and intentional meta-humor. The queen wonders why the challenger keeps coming back, while the adventurer knowingly informs her that they are studying her attacks to get better. Thus, a fascinating narrative develops even in a short 20-minute game.

The challenger and the dark queen are in a constant exchange
The challenger and the dark queen mock each other

How is The Dark Queen of Mortholme received by players? Mosu’s game currently holds a 5-star rating with 193 reviews. Players express their enthusiasm for the perspective shift, art style, and atmosphere. The dialogues and the story seem to impress despite their short playtime.

Anyone interested in The Dark Queen of Mortholme should avoid any playthroughs or similar videos on YouTube or TikTok. All reviews promise an exciting and surprisingly heartfelt gaming experience.

It is no longer a secret that not only AAA games can generate excitement, and indie games are increasingly coming to the forefront in the mainstream. Indie games are recognized not only in their own category at the Game Awards but can also compete with other blockbusters. The indie game Balatro was among this year’s nominees for the title of Game of the Year 2024, even though the developer initially did not expect it: He thought 10 people would play it and he would have to work normally again: But a million buy his 1st game on Steam

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. YouTube
  2. itch.io

“What about Anticheat?”: New microtransaction from CoD Black Ops 6 angers players

There is currently not much left of the initial excitement about CoD Black Ops 6. One of the biggest problems right now is cheaters. But a new way to invest money into the game is also angering players: an Event Pass

What is it about? As reported by CharlieIntel on x.com, a new Event Pass is coming into play. It will appear as part of a collaboration with the series Squid Game in Black Ops 6 and Warzone. The pass is set to be released on January 3, and the price is still unclear.

In the game itself, there is talk of a premium route where players can unlock a new operator skin in line with the series.

However, the announcement of such an Event Pass is met with little approval on social media. Many players criticize the practice, which is otherwise more common in Free2Play games.

Start video
Black Ops 6: Gameplay trailer for Citadelle des Morts shows new fights against zombies

A new Event Pass, in addition to the current Battle Pass

What is the problem? On the one hand, there is already a Battle Pass that players pay for to unlock skins or new weapons. The new Event Pass is not included in this. If you want the premium event items, you have to pay again.

Another problem is previous events. Content from previous events could usually be unlocked for free. Now having to pay extra for an event reminds many players of Free2Play practices, which they believe do not fit a full-price game. On x.com, players are expressing their frustration freely.

  • @Trevorjblake: So the community doesn’t trust you. The first thing you do is introduce more microtransactions?
  • @Koreyzzz: I love the full-priced Free2Play gaming experience that I get every year with Cod.
  • @sph3rical: They really know how to lose players

According to the comments, a big frustration also comes from the fact that CoD currently has other issues that many players feel are hardly being addressed. The anti-cheat system, which requires improvement, is repeatedly criticized. One user writes: How about anti-cheat?

Cheaters are probably the biggest problem currently in CoD Black Ops 6. For many players, it ruins the fun of the game and thus generally creates a frustrated atmosphere within the community. This is particularly unfortunate as it was well received at launch. Even MyMMO shooter expert Dariusz Müller praised the game: Black Ops 6 is the best Call of Duty in years because it does a lot right despite problems

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. 3DJuegos
  2. Dexerto

Expert explains how realistic the dinosaurs in the movies ‘Jurassic Park’ actually are

In 1993, Jurassic Park by Steven Spielberg was the cinematic embodiment of the dinosaur fascination that has always existed. On screen, impressive creatures could be seen that one would otherwise only know from documentaries or books. But how realistic are the dinosaurs throughout the series?

How did the Jurassic Park series evolve? In 1993, Jurassic Park was released, a film based on the book DinoPark. The adventure film deals with the fascination of dinosaurs and a scenario in which dinosaurs can be resurrected.

The film was a huge success and became a franchise with a Jurassic Park and a Jurassic World trilogy. The greatest magic was probably created for most fans by the first part. In a YouTube video, an expert explained which of the 6 films is actually the most realistic.

You can build your own park in Jurassic World Evolution 2:

Start video
Jurassic World Evolution 2 Launch Trailer

The Classic Remains the Best

What does the expert say? In a YouTuber video from the channel Insider, paleontologist David Hone looked at several scenes from all the films in the Jurassic Park series, evaluates them, and subsequently rates the whole film based on the portrayal of the dinosaurs.

Jurassic Park from 1993 is, according to the expert, the best in terms of realism. He directly rates the first part with a 7 out of 10. He considers the first part quite good regarding realism, considering what was known about dinosaurs at the time.

He also rates the second Jurassic Park with a 7 out of 10. He likes the Stegosaurus and also the way the creatures move. The Stegosaurus is even his favorite dinosaur representation in the entire film series.

The finale of the first film trilogy fares a little worse in the realism rating than the previous ones. He gives the film a 6 out of 10. Many of the models are quite good and realistic, but some weaker spots detract from it.

The Newer the Films Are, the Less Realistic They Become

The expert finds the Jurassic World trilogy significantly worse than the previous one. He gives the first one a 5/10. Some anatomical features of the dinosaurs are misinterpreted, which affects the realism. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom also scores poorly. Hone criticizes the models and the behaviors displayed.

The worst rating goes to Jurassic World: Dominion. Here, the models are not realistic, nor are the behaviors. According to Hone, much in the film does not make sense, which is why he rates the last part with a 3 out of 10.

Interestingly, the films score similarly in reviews, as they do in realism. The old Jurassic Park series, especially parts 1 and 2, are significantly more popular with fans than the later Jurassic World trilogy with Chris Pratt. Such films do not always have to be realistic, but even a mosquito poses problems for realism: Why a tiny mosquito calls the entire logic of “Jurassic Park” into question

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

GTA 6 fans develop absurd theory about the possible trailer date, disappointed by new post

There is hardly a game that is currently awaited as eagerly as GTA 6. Since the first trailer in December 2023, fans have been waiting for new information about the open-world game. Absurd theories have emerged about when a new trailer will follow. A new post from Rockstar disappointed the theorists.

What is the current status? On December 5, 2023, the first trailer for GTA 6 was released. It revealed quite a bit. Possible protagonists and the setting were in the foreground. Since then, however, it has been relatively quiet about the game. Official information or new trailers were sought in vain for a year.

Of course, some fans have spun their own theories about when the latest trailer will be released. One of the biggest theories revolved around the number 27, which supposedly can be recognized everywhere in Rockstar’s posts.

The fans thought: It has to be, the new trailer for GTA 6 must be released on December 27, 2024. Rockstar even posted something on that day, but it disappointed the theorists.

Start video
Rockstar Games shows GTA 6 for the first time in the trailer

Rockstar posts the wrong thing on the right day

What did Rockstar post? In fact, Rockstar published a new post on their X account on December 27, 2024. But unfortunately, it was the wrong post. In the promotional post, Rockstar only reminded that players can currently save on games like Red Dead Redemption or GTA 5 in the Rockstar Store.

The post in question received over 7 million views, and the comments are filled with disappointed fans and people mocking the absurd theories.

  • @manchester_vo: The general disappointment when we saw your post notification and it was that.
  • @TheGTABase: My heart is broken. My soul is crushed. But I still love you, Rockstar Games.
  • @tourenscom: I can’t wait for people to decode this tweet and figure out the next date for the trailer.

On the same day, the GTA-6 subreddit announced the Lockdown Mode. Apparently, there were too many posts due to the sale reminder, which forced the mods to unlock individual threads and comments. All posts regarding the non-announcement were apparently not unlocked.

Theories are everywhere, not just in games. However, through the immense hype of GTA 6, it takes on absurd and bizarre dimensions. The longer fans have to wait, the more desperate the many theories seem to become. A car dealership in the USA has now noticed this: A car dealership is forced to respond to fans of GTA 6 because they called constantly asking for the second trailer

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Dexerto

WoW: Last Chance – only a few days left to get many rewards you won’t be able to receive anymore

You haven’t claimed all the cool birthday rewards from World of Warcraft? Now is your last chance before the event ends.

In World of Warcraft, the event celebrating the 20th birthday of the MMORPG has been ongoing for several weeks. However, these celebrations are coming to an end, and along with them, many rewards will disappear, likely not to return for several years.

Start video
WoW celebrates its 20th anniversary – Here’s what you can earn

How much time do you still have? The event ends on January 7, 2025 – so you have about 10 days left to stock up on all the rewards you want.

Which rewards are particularly important? Although all rewards are cosmetic and therefore not essential, you should secure the nice rewards while you still can. Particularly interesting are:

  • The high-resolution variants of the “Tier 2” sets that were available back in Blackwing Lair. Each class received such a new set.
  • Various Blizzard items, such as a visible ring, sword, or shield.
  • The rewards from previous birthday events.

Especially the nice tier sets work well for all classes and decrease in price. The first set still costs 60 tokens, the second only 40, and all subsequent ones just 20 tokens – the grind is becoming less and less.

Can you still get everything now? Yes, it is possible. If you haven’t done anything for the birthday event so far, you’ll need to invest some time, but it is still possible to obtain all the rewards now.

To do this, complete all major weekly quests, both in Khaz Algar and at the celebrations in Tanaris. After that, you will also complete the various puzzle quests available at the large tent in the center. Most puzzle quests are relatively simple and reward you with 5 or 10 tokens per quest series.

It is important that you reach the value of 100 collected Bronze Dragon Festival tokens. Because with this, you will receive an achievement, enabling you to farm unlimited tokens – for example through Timewalking dungeons. Each dungeon lasts only between 8 to 15 minutes (some even faster), allowing you to farm tokens fairly quickly – on all your characters. Feel free to combine this with leveling up your twinks. This way, you should be able to gather enough time and tokens to claim all rewards even now.

Also remember that you can exchange excess Bronze Dragon Festival tokens for Timeworn tokens before the event ends. This way, you can secure further rewards from the various Timewalking vendors in the upcoming weeks – after all, all vendors have new items in stock, for which you will need many tens of thousands of tokens.
You can also grab other gifts right now – as the Winter Veil Festival is still ongoing!

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

The Current State of The Division 3, Ubisoft’s Unloved Stepchild

In Malmö, Sweden, a team of developers is currently working on The Division 3. But the game feels like it’s in an impossible situation. Nevertheless, there seems to be an air of confidence. MeinMMO author Schuhmann looks at the difficult situation surrounding the shooter game series

Why is the situation for The Division 3 so difficult? The team at Massive is indeed in a really tough spot:

Because the game series “The Division” was practically dead and canceled. If it had been up to Ubisoft, the expansion for The Division 2, “Warlords of New York” in March 2020 would have marked the end of development. However, Ubisoft realized how loyal and dedicated the fans of the game are, and development was ramped up again.

But the cessation of development meant a long content pause from which The Division 2 never fully recovered.

In 2023, far too late, it was finally announced that a The Division 3 is on the way.

The Division 2 has been continued for years with seasonal content but is hardly being actively developed:

Start video
The Division 2 Shows Year 6 Season 2 in the Launch Trailer

What about other things in The Division universe? Up until around 2018, The Division was still the shining star in Ubisoft’s sky, and numerous new games and even a movie in The Division universe were announced:

  • We were actually supposed to be playing “The Division: Heartlands” by now, a Free2Play version of the shooter – but that was canceled, so Ubisoft apparently no longer has much confidence in the game series.
  • A mobile version “The Division: Resurgence” doesn’t really interest anyone. However, the game is supposed to be released in 2025.
  • The movie based on “The Division” featuring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain, announced in 2016, has not been a topic since 2022. The idea of a movie was killed by Covid: After the global pandemic, the fictional dollar bill pandemic of The Division was too close to reality.

Ubisoft has neglected The Division for Hollywood, but that brought no success

How are the developer and publisher doing? Ubisoft criticized The Division 2 back then for not meeting sales expectations. Therefore, they apparently shifted priorities and assigned the developers at Massive to big names from Hollywood. They even outbid a studio for the rights to Avatar that offered everyone a nose of cocaine.

However, the last two games from Massive Entertainment, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (72% Metacritic) and Star Wars: Outlaws (75% Metacritic), are considered flops that hardly excited anyone. Outlaws was mocked for its stealth requirement.

Publisher Ubisoft has been in a deep crisis since 2023. There is talk of a possible sale to China or even bankruptcy.

Nothing is known about The Division 3 yet

What is known about The Division 3? Absolutely nothing. Although the game recently has its own sub-section on the page of Massive Entertainment, there is no game presentation, no trailer, nothing at all.

It is only known that they are looking for “new people for the project” and that Julian Gerighty is leading the development. But based on the information from Massive Entertainment, one cannot even say that active work on the development is already underway.

The Technical Director of The Division 3 is proud of his engine

How do they spread good cheer?? In fact, they are currently celebrating themselves a bit for having the technician Nikolay Stefanov as the chief architect of the Snowdrop Engine and the Tech Director of The Division 3.

He proudly shares (via massive) how he landed in Malmö in 2009 and has been working on the engine that has proven how great it works and that it can now also present open-world sci-fi games wonderfully.

He is proud that the Snowdrop Engine has powered several “AAA” projects such as The Division 1 and 2, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and Star Wars Outlaws. In the two new games, they have made “great progress” in what is possible in open-world games and have upgraded the engine to the new generation of consoles.

The Tech Director emphasizes that the Snowdrop Engine achieves 60 FPS on consoles with ray tracing. They are particularly proud now that in an article by Digital Foundry, they are mentioned positively for Star Wars Outlaws as a game that shows what is possible with modern technology.

Ubisoft doesn’t have a good touch with The Division

Why is that so sad?: It is really hard as a fan of The Division to feel good or optimistic. This is because Ubisoft has handled the franchise too carelessly in recent years.

They have sidelined The Division to work on the big names Star Wars and Avatar, only to realize that this was a wrong path that brought no profit: Both games were unable to create the hype in gaming that The Division 1 and 2 did back then.

The neglected brand The Division has a lot of potential that has been left unattended for almost 6 years. Because “The Division” has always had a loyal and dedicated fanbase that spends hundreds and thousands of hours in the game and has been waiting for new content for years. There’s nothing comparable to The Division in the realm of a PvE cover shooter: Players love collecting items, perfecting their builds, and completing missions together as a team.

Especially the atmospheric tension in The Division games is considered exemplary for the genre, the US cities are beautifully captured, and the moral conflicts brought on by such a pandemic are wonderfully narrated.

Even with The Division 2, Ubisoft showed a lack of insight because they drew the wrong lessons from The Division 1 and left the improvements of the predecessor in replayability and different game modes behind to focus on delivering a better campaign.

The financial situation of Ubisoft reveals what a poor decision was made to neglect such a loyal and dedicated player base. We can only hope that Ubisoft will invest more resources into The Division 3. But at the moment, it does not look like we will be spending more time in the world of The Division in the coming years: “The Division was a masterpiece” – Players rave about New York in the winter of the great plague

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

In 2024, 18,945 new games have been released on Steam, the best has more players than ever before

According to current statistics, 18,945 new games have already been released on Steam in 2024: An indie game, Balatro, has received the best ratings on Steam and now, during the holidays, 10 months after release, it has more players on Steam than ever before.

This is what the statistics say: According to an analysis by SteamDB, 18,945 new games have been released on Steam in 2024. That’s another 5,000 more than in 2023, which was already a record high:

  • In 2006, only 70 new games were released on Steam
  • In 2014, the number of new games on Steam reached 1,745 for the first time, hitting four digits
  • In 2021, the number of new games on Steam hit 11,307, marking the first time it was in five digits.

However, of the nearly 19,000 new games released in 2024, only a few are truly played a lot.

With 96.75% positive reviews on Steam, no game has been recommended more than Balatro:

Start video
Trailer for the roguelike poker game Balatro by LocalThunk

Steam is a two-class society: Only 3,964 get the important features

How many notable games have been released on Steam in 2024? Steam is clearly a two-class society because not all games receive the same recognition on Steam.

Only 3,964 games out of nearly 19,000 received the most important Steam features, allowing them to grant measurable achievements or trading cards, badges, and emotes.

Only one full-price game makes it into the Top 10 of the highest-rated new games on Steam in 2024

These were the best new games of 2024: Ranking the new games by their ratings on Steam, free titles and indie games are mostly at the top.

The best new title of 2024 is the card game Balatro, created by a single developer. The game has now reached a new player peak with 39,430 concurrent players during the holidays. Balatro is priced at €12.59 on sale.

steam-top10

Other new top titles include MiSide, WEBFISHING, The WereCleaner, and Sheepy: A Short Adventure.

The first “full-price game” with a rating of over 95% positive reviews on Steam is Black Myth Wukong. The next game that costs more than €40 is Silent Hill 2 in 66th place.

Balatro is also such a wonderful Cinderella story because the developer was completely surprised by its success: He thought 10 people would play it and he would have to go back to normal work: But a million buy his 1st game on Steam

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. PCGamer

In Warhammer 40,000 there are Space Dwarfs who are even tougher than in Deep Rock Galactic

Dwarves are very popular among gamers. They even have their own game category on Steam. Although they are actually a fantasy race, there are now space dwarves in several variations – even in Warhammer 40,000. MeinMMO explains who this stubborn little folk is.

Originally known as “Squats”, the space dwarves in Warhammer 40,000 are now referred to as the “Leagues of Votann”, or conglomerates of Votann. They are the newest complete race in tabletop gaming and were reintroduced in 2022.

The Squats are a people of clones and now call themselves “Kin”, meaning relatives. They are a small, sturdy race with a lot of technical expertise and a strong bond to their clan.

The Leagues of Votann live near the core of the galaxy, trade with other species, and do what dwarves do: hoard treasures, build fortresses, and keep to themselves. And, stubborn as dwarves are, they will not be driven away from there.

Now, this wouldn’t be Warhammer 40,000 if it were just some random race in the void that was discovered by chance. Behind the conglomerates of Votann lies a long and – as expected – quite absurd history.

Start video
Der Cinematic-Trailer zu den Leagues of Votann in Warhammer 40.000

Stable Mutations or a New Species?

The Squats are actually descendants of the Imperium of Man, before it even became the Imperium. In the early days of human expansion, a group of explorers settled near the center of the galaxy.

Over thousands of years, this part of humanity evolved further, but not through pure evolution. The first of these ancestors ensured that these “settlers” had a chance of survival so close to the core of the galaxy.

Through targeted mutations, the clone strands literally bred certain traits into the Kin, such as:

  • denser flesh and denser bones for higher resilience
  • Infrared vision
  • Resistance to extreme temperatures, radiation, and gravity

The Kin are bred in “melting pots”, each using slightly different compositions of clone strands. This creates “Kindred”, or clans, whose bond is sometimes stronger than a familial one – after all, the Kin are clones.

Too Stubborn to Fall to Chaos

One of the special traits of the Kin is that they are nearly impervious to the whispers of Chaos. Their souls are virtually invisible in the Immaterium and correspondingly uninteresting to demons.

Sensitivity to the Warp is bred through clone strands. Accordingly, there are only a few psychers in the Leagues of Votann, and those Kin who can cast spells “shine” just strong enough to utilize a few minor powers.

Traveling through the Warp is possible, though considerably safer, but also more complicated. Compared to the horrors that humans must endure, this is likely an acceptable trade-off.

In contrast, it is known that there were indeed a few Squats who fell to Chaos. How relevant this is under the new rules remains to be seen.

A Love-Hate Relationship with the Imperium

These new traits have so distinguished the Kin from humans over the years that the Imperium is not quite sure whether they are still metamorphs, meaning mutants, or if they are already Xenos.

And the Kin do their best to hide their ancestry from humans from many millennia ago, for fear of being forcibly integrated into the Imperium. The people enjoy their independence and engage in trade with various other species.

Numerically, the Kin are quite a large race. However, since the conglomerates of Votann often travel in small fleets, they are often regarded as an insignificant species, for example by their partially allied Tau.

Additionally, it is known that the Leagues have had friendly contacts with the Eldar. They regularly go to war only with the warlike Orks and the awakening Necrons.

Fantasy Races in Warhammer 40,000: The worlds of Warhammer, both 40,000 and Fantasy/Age of Sigmar, are independent universes. Nevertheless, there are many counterparts for the various races. The Eldar correspond to the Elves, the Dark Eldar to the Dark Elves, and Gruflords are very similar to the Necrons. Many other races appear in 40,000 as mutations, such as Dwarves as Squats or Ogres as Ogryn.

The Vikings as an Inspiration for Space Dwarves

Although many Warhammer fans would probably see the Space Wolves as the space Vikings, the conglomerates have much more in common with the Nordic raiders. This is evident in their names.

Wotan is one of the many names of the Allfather Odin. Another name of Odin is Grimnir. The “living ancestors” of the Kin are referred to as Grimnyr.

In any case, ancestors are an important part of the culture of the conglomerates of Votann. In their belief, deceased Kin join the ranks of the ancestors, much like honorably fallen warriors among the Vikings do in Valhalla.

The administration of the individual clans is conducted through a “Spakerönde”, where various speakers gather and debate. In Norse culture, politics functioned similarly through a Thing.

Technology That is Actually Forbidden Today

Since the Leagues of Votann are descendants of earlier humans, they have retained some technology from that time. However, it originates from the Dark Age of Technology, and much of it is strictly forbidden in the Imperium in the 41st millennium.

This includes artificial intelligences, which have been replaced in the Imperium by lobotomized humans. In the conglomerates, there are besides the Kin also the Ironkin, living and sentient machines. These are regarded as completely equal by the Kin.

Additionally, the Kin have excellent master blacksmiths and researchers. The old blueprints and technologies have been continually improved over the years. They are considered better and more efficient than their imperial counterparts. This fits perfectly, after all, the Kin are still dwarves in some way: Where do dwarves actually come from and why are they always such good blacksmiths?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

The 5 most important products from Twitch streamers in 2024 ranked

As a successful Twitch streamer, one thing is essential: a product of your own. Whether it’s a short-term collaboration with a personal edition of the respective product or even starting your own business, many influencers establish a second source of income in this way. MeinMMO presents the 5 important products from streamers in 2024 and rates them based on controversy.

What kind of ranking is this? We have looked at 5 products from well-known Twitch streamers and present them to you here. We have also included new varieties or products from already established brands.

Subsequently, we evaluated the products based on the level of controversy they sparked and how much the communities reacted to them.

Disclaimer: This ranking should not be taken too seriously. The controversies or opinions of the community say nothing about the quality of the products.

Even Twitch streamer Trymacs is part of this list. We present his career in our video:

Start video
Vom Pizza-Lieferant zu einem der größten deutschen Twitch-Streamer – Leben und Karriere von Trymacs in 2 Minuten

Place 5: Loops at VITA VATE by Elias, Sidney Friede and Niklas-Wilson

  • Release: November 2024
  • Price: 14.99 Euros to 27.99 Euros

Originally, VITA VATE was launched as a healthy alternative to soft drinks. The beverage is a mineral water enriched with many vitamins. But a lot has happened since the Vitamin Water.

There is now gum to go with it, and this year the VITA VATE Loops have been added. A cereal that comes in three different flavors: Choco-Caramel, Cinnamon, and Strawberry Cheesecake.

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The cereal seems to be selling well. Both trial packages and large packs are sold out in the shop. The products can be purchased not only in the own VITAVATE online shop but also at EDEKA, Kaufland, and Rewe, among others.

In our ranking, the Loops only made it to 5th place, as there was no major outcry around this product. Overall, the brand seems to be as innocent as possible.

The three Twitch streamers have managed to bring a brand and associated products to the market that remain far from controversy.

Place 4: Knabe Malz by HandOfBlood

  • Release: March 2024
  • Price: approx. 1.25 Euros per 0.5 l

With the slogan “First it cracks, then it bangs,” Twitch streamer and YouTuber HandOfBlood released his beverage Knabe Malz.

Knabe Malz is a malt beverage that is designed to resemble a beer in its presentation. HandOfBlood, in his role as President Knabe, is the face of the drink.

This is how Knabe Malz was announced in March 2024:

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At launch, HandOfBlood faced little backlash. Some community members criticized the branding surrounding the drink. The malt beverage was partly portrayed as if it contained alcohol.

Apart from these few voices, there was little criticism, and the community largely received the product positively. Therefore, it earns a well-deserved 4th place in our ranking.

Place 3: HAPPY CHIPS by Trymacs and Knossi

  • Release: September 2024
  • Price: approx. 2.29 Euros per 150 g

As part of the already established pizza brand HAPPY SLICE, Twitch streamers Trymacs and Knossi launched their own chip brand HAPPY CHIPS. They come in three flavors: Salted, Paprika, and Sour Cream & Onion. By the end of November, two more varieties were added: Tasty Truffle and Extra Cheese.

Here you can watch a video about Happy Chips:

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HAPPY CHIPS faced quite a bit of criticism. Once, the brand was accused of lacking creativity since there were only three standard flavors, and secondly, a specific marketing video was criticized.

Trymacs released a video on his channel where he was pranked by his brother and Twitch colleague Chefstrobel. His community, however, accused him of staging the video and it was obviously visible as such.

In our ranking, HAPPY CHIPS thus takes 3rd place. These controversies are still manageable.

Place 2: Goodie – Fibii Edition Orange-Mint

  • Release: June 2024
  • Price: 0.79 Euros per 0.5 l

Twitch streamer Fibii has launched her own iced tea flavor in collaboration with Goodie. The Fibii edition is a blend of brewed green tea flavored with orange and mint. It is supposed to contain less sugar compared to other conventional iced teas.

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However, the iced tea faced several criticisms. The brand Slotea, which is behind the product and is also responsible for the BraTee, is not without concerns. They entice their customers with QR codes on the packaging for sweepstakes.

This presents a danger especially for children, as they are led to a gambling mechanism. The colorful design of the Goodie-Fibii Edition suggests that the drink primarily targets children.

Additionally, it was criticized that Fibii did not significantly enrich the market with another iced tea variety. Numerous influencers have already launched an iced tea or a similar beverage.

As the criticism was quite prevalent, including under the announcement video on YouTube, Fibii with her iced tea comes in at 2nd place.

Place 1: New Varieties of Gönrgy by MontanaBlack

  • Release: February, June and November 2024
  • Price: approx. 1.49 Euros per 0.5 l

The Gönrgy brand by MontanaBlack has existed since summer 2023. An energy drink that is sugar-free but still has a sweet taste.

Upon release, there were three varieties: Raspberry Cheesecake, Blueberry Coconut, and Tropical Exotic. Gönrgy is available at all major supermarkets and many gas stations as well.

In 2024, several varieties have been added:

  • Sweet Lemon
  • Juneberry Jam
  • White Peach
  • Arctic Ice
  • Cactus Kick
  • Plum Cinnamon
  • Tropical Guava

Here, Zarbex tried the latest varieties of Gönrgy:

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Gönrgy can hardly escape controversies. It feels like every announcement could trigger a shitstorm at any moment.

The energy drinks are criticized for being marketed to the young audience of MontanaBlack. An energy drink should only be consumed by those over 16 years of age, yet many in MontanaBlack’s target group have not reached this age.

Recently, Twitch streamer Zarbex was also criticized for being the first brand ambassador of the energy drink.

MontanaBlack, as the creator of the brand, repeatedly casts a negative shadow on his own product through his controversial actions and statements. Whenever he faces criticism himself, criticism of his product is not far behind.

The energy drink by MontanaBlack rightly takes first place in our ranking. There are no other products with so many controversies surrounding them, as is the case with this product and Twitch streamer.

Gönrgy has a tough time as a product of MontanaBlack. Especially, the driving behavior of the Twitch streamer is repeatedly criticized: Twitch: The driving behavior of MontanaBlack is criticized – “I reported a clip to the driving license office”

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How the Dracthyr Destroyed the Loot System of WoW

The Dracthyr in World of Warcraft have broken the loot system. A bug made them the luckiest characters in Azeroth.

The Evokers are currently the newest class in World of Warcraft, added to the game with Dragonflight. However, there was a major incident around their release that tested the game’s loot system. A story that may have been forgotten by some, but:

Evokers had bonus luck and could farm rare mounts like no other class.

Currently, WoW is celebrating its 20th anniversary – but only for a few more days:

Start video
WoW celebrates 20 years of the highlights of Azeroth

Evokers had only one valid loot option

The underlying problem was how loot is distributed in World of Warcraft. With the world boss “Sha of Anger”, the underlying system is quite simple:

  • When the boss is killed, the game internally rolls a 100-sided die.
  • On a roll of 1-59, the character receives gold and nothing else occurs.
  • On a roll of 60 to 100, the character is entitled to a piece of loot.

If a character would receive a piece of loot, then the game rolls again internally, this time on the loot list. The list has all available items weighted according to the character’s class. For example, a priest can only receive cloth items and staves, while a warrior can only snag plate items and two-handed swords.

On this loot list, the mount “Celestial Onyx Cloud Serpent” was also available for all classes, but with an extremely low chance, somewhere between 0.02% and 0.01%.

Basically a typical loot system for rare mounts.

But the Evokers broke this system. Because when the Sha of Anger was introduced (Mists of Pandaria), Evokers did not exist yet. If an Evoker now defeated the Sha of Anger and rolled a 60 or higher on the first internal roll (thus entitled to loot), the game faced a problem. Because there was no loot list for Evokers. There were no valid items that could be awarded to the Evoker.

No valid item, except for one: The Celestial Onyx Cloud Serpent.

WoW Onyxsnake
The Onyx Cloud Serpent is considered one of the rarest mounts to this day.

Chaos in the forums – Blizzard reaches a compromise

It took just a few hours for the news to spread across various forums, guilds, and social media. Everyone who caught wind of it quickly created a Dracthyr Evoker and tried to defeat the Sha of Anger to have their drastically increased chance at the mount.

When the bug was noticed, the problem was already out of control. Thousands of accounts had created a Dracthyr and farmed the Sha of Anger to get the cloud serpent with extremely high probability.

But the situation was diffuse. After all, many thought: One shouldn’t exploit this bug. Because in the worst case, there could be a retroactive penalty for exploiting a clear game error. On the other hand, many thought: If I don’t get the mount now, I will never get it.

After a few hours, Blizzard stepped in and tried to find a solution that would satisfy everyone somewhat:

  • Those who had already obtained their cloud serpents were allowed to keep them.
  • The drop chance for all rare mounts from the world bosses of Pandaria was drastically increased.

This seemed to be a good compromise for most. Because the mounts – especially from the Sha of Anger – are now farmable. The probability of obtaining one is about 1%. That’s a multiple of the original value that the mount had before the change.

The story once again illustrates how complex MMORPGs are and how drastically the introduction of a new feature – such as a new class – can affect old content and beloved collectible items. Because even though bugs are annoying, it is nearly impossible to foresee all eventualities in advance. But perhaps that’s also quite nice, because that gives us stories like this that we can revisit over and over again.
5 other mounts from The War Within are much easier to farm.

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One of the best villains in Dragon Ball Z never met Son Goku – This caused a mistake in the series

Son Goku has fought against almost all the main villains that have appeared in the series of Dragon Ball throughout the entire series. However, he not only did not fight against one of the most important villains, but he also met him only over 20 years after the end of Dragon Ball Z.

Who is it about? After Son Goku and his friends defeated Frieza on Planet Namek, a new danger threatens them on Earth: The androids of Dr. Gero. C16, C17, and C18 have only one task, which is to kill Goku.

Interestingly, Son Goku never spoke with C17 in Dragon Ball Z. After the battle against C19, Goku’s heart disease manifested, but Future Trunks was able to heal the illness. However, Goku was bedridden for 10 days. In the meantime, Cell appeared and searched for the androids.

C17 had a lot to do during that time. In the battle against Piccolo, he presented himself in one of the best fights of the series, but later he was absorbed by Cell. The same happened with C18. Goku met C16 as the first of the androids at the Cell Games. He encountered C18 when Cell spit her out, and later as Krillin’s wife.

However, C17 and Goku never met, which makes a statement from C17 later sound illogical.

Start video
Dragon Ball Super: The Trailer for the Anime

Where does C17 know his voice from?

What happened after the Cell Arc? After the Cell Arc, all the dead were revived, including C17. He was not seen for a long time until the final battle between Buu and Goku, in which Goku gathers energy for the Spirit Bomb and speaks to all the people on Earth through Master Kaio.

In a brief scene (via YouTube), C17 can also be seen offering his energy. He also expresses himself here and says that it has been a long time since he heard that voice. The problem is, he could never have heard that voice. Only in Dragon Ball Super, almost 20 years later, do the two meet for the first time.

In the manga for Dragon Ball Super, this small plothole is addressed. In chapter 31, C17 and Goku meet for the first time. Goku asks C17 where he knows him from. C17 explains: He could see and hear Goku in Cell’s body. That was after C17’s appearance in the Dragon Ball Super anime.

In Dragon Ball GT, which is not considered canon, the two are portrayed as much more aggressive towards each other. There, a clone of C17 creates the evil Super 17. He engages in a fierce battle against Goku. Super 17 is quite popular among fans. However, he is missing in the latest game of the series: The new game of Dragon Ball on Steam has 182 characters, but an important villain is missing

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Fifty years ago, family-friendly Nintendo developed a risqué game that never came out

Nintendo is known as a family-friendly developer and console manufacturer, targeting this demographic with Super Mario in various games. Even before the plumber’s first appearance, Nintendo attempted to create an erotic game that never saw the light of day.

What game was it? When you watch a promotional clip from Nintendo, you almost always see families playing games like Mario Kart or Switch Sports. Even if their children do not always play perfectly, Nintendo is generally known as a kid-friendly game company, but that wasn’t always the case.

Before Nintendo produced its own home consoles, the company was known for toys and card games. Before the NES, they experimented with arcade consoles, which were fixed games that could be played in dedicated halls. You would insert coins into the machine to play a round until you died and then had to insert more money.

A major genre during the arcade era was light-gun shooters. Instead of a classic joystick, a replica of a gun was used to aim at a screen and shoot opponents. The most famous game in this genre is probably House of the Dead.

For a presentation of one of these games, Wild Gunman, a legendary developer from Nintendo envisioned a much more risqué version: Fascination.

Not risqué at all is Super Mario Bros. Wonder:

Start video
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be released in October for Nintendo Switch

A prototype allegedly designed to impress male journalists

What kind of game was Fascination? In 1974, seven years before Mario’s first appearance in Donkey Kong, the prototype Fascination was developed during the production of Wild Gunman. In Wild Gunman, there were recorded scenes with real actors, with which players could interact using a toy gun. A document containing the prototype can be found on the Tumblr blog of videogamesdensetsu.

Gunpei Yokoi was supposed to develop the game. The legendary developer later became responsible for the Game Boy at Nintendo. According to a quote from GoNintendo, the developer remarked about a presentation for the game:

I knew that only male journalists would be present at the presentation of Wild Gunman, so I wondered if there was a way to land a big coup by doing something unusual that would seduce them. That’s how I envisioned Fascination.

In Fascination, you did not shoot opposing cowboys. The focus of the game is a young woman dancing to the rhythm of the music. As a player, you shoot at her clothing, causing the model in the game to become increasingly revealing.

Although it was reportedly quite popular according to Yokoi’s quote, it was never properly released.

While prototypes were said to have been set up in Shinjuku, there was never a proper release. This was allegedly because the technology was too complicated and the parts were more fragile than other light-gun shooters. Since the game never appeared as an arcade game, there are also no videos or proper images of the gameplay.

Are there games for adults on Nintendo consoles? Nintendo itself did not develop any games that were classified as 16+ or 18+ afterward. However, several games aimed at an adult audience were released on their various consoles. With Resident Evil 4, they even had an exclusive deal for the GameCube.

There are also countless games on the Switch that are not just family-friendly. Mortal Kombat 1, Doom Eternal, or The Witcher 3 are just a few examples. With Catherine: Full Body, there is even a puzzle game with erotic elements from the well-known Persona developers. But of course, the current Nintendo console is primarily known for family-friendly games. In disputes with other companies, however, Nintendo is not so friendly: Palworld is currently in a legal dispute with Nintendo, changing how you summon your monsters

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Player causes the highest damage in every Pokémon game: Here’s how he did it

The games about Pokémon are actually considered quite simple, but there are complex tricks and strategies hidden in the battle system that have shaped a competitive scene. A player attempted to deal the most damage in every Pokémon game, but that is more complicated than one might think at first glance.

What should you consider regarding damage in Pokémon games? Pokémon started in 1996 with Pokémon Red and Blue, and over the last 28 years, the games have become increasingly complex. Therefore, several factors are important for the damage value, not just the strength of the attack and the Pokémon.

  • Buffs and Debuffs
  • Items
  • Stab (attacks deal more damage if the Pokémon also has the type of the attack)
  • Opponent values and types

Also, the peculiarities of the different generations are important. Before Generation 3, there was no division between physical and special attacks. Each type was assigned to a specific attack type.

The YouTuber behind the channel King The Luck tries to deal the highest damage in each generation in a YouTube video. The interesting thing is that it’s not always the strongest Pokémon that can achieve the highest damage. You need mathematics and tricks from the individual generations.

The currently most popular Pokémon game is Pokémon TCG Pocket:

Start video
Pokémon TCG Pocket: Watch the booster ‘Mythical Island’ in the official trailer

Sometimes the games need to be tricked

How does King The Luck proceed? He first looks at which is the strongest attack in the respective game. In Generation 1, for example, it is Sky Attack. Then he tries to find the strongest Pokémon that fits the attack. However, since Dragonite cannot learn strong buff attacks like Swords Dance, he switches to Dodrio. Dodrio can learn Sky Attack and with Mimic he copies the opponent’s Swords Dance.

However, one must also consider that he always takes the weakest Pokémon as an opponent that can still learn Swords Dance. In this case, a Paras, as it is also weak against flying attacks.

In Generation 2, the theoretically strongest attack is Waltz in the fifth turn. This is doubled if you have used Ingrain beforehand. However, it gets more complicated here.

He must first use Swords Dance with another Pokémon, switch with Baton Pass, copy Ingrain, then prepare Waltz to hit a Yanma, which has copied the debuffs from its previous teammate through Baton Pass, with the 5th hit.

You can see the exact setups in his YouTube video:

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From Generation 3 it gets exciting

What’s next? In Generation 3, Waltz remains the theoretically strongest attack by value. Deoxys (Attack Form) has the highest attack value. To hit Waltz with Stab, Deoxys needs to grab Kecleon’s ability and change its type. With Right Hand and hatched level 1 Pokémon, you can achieve an even higher value against Yanma.

In Generation 4, the highest attack value is with Pottrott when it uses Trick Room to exchange its defense value with its attack value. In addition to the setups from the third generation, Kinoso’s ability Grassy Surge and the item Metronome come into play.

Generation 5 works the same way, only with 2 Kinosos during the Triple Battle. In Generation 6, the attack Forest’s Curse is added. It gives a Pokémon the Ice type in addition. Pottrott remains, and the previous setup also. You turn it into an Ice type through Kecleon and deal the highest possible damage with Frost Beak, the ice equivalent of Waltz, against an eF-eM, which now has 3 types that are weak against ice.

In Generation 7, there are no Triple Battles, but through an opposing command, you can ensure that Right Hand is used more than once. As an opponent, you use a Color Change Pokémon that has acquired the Dragon and Flying types and, through Forest’s Curse, also Grass.

In Generation 8, the attack Frost Beak has disappeared, so you have to work again with Waltz. The setup remains similar to before. In Generation 9, the theoretically strongest attack is Last Honor. It deals more damage for each defeated Pokémon in the team. Through Revive, you can achieve absurdly high attack values.

What is the highest possible damage in 28 years of Pokémon? It can be reached through Last Honor in Generation 9. Since Pottrott is not in the game, you must use the move Protect to maximize your Pokémon’s defense value and then switch your attack value with Trick Room.

With Color Change and a similar setup as before (only as a Ghost type), you can then achieve the probably highest value that can be reached in the games. However, you can only do this if you control both sides of a battle. In a normal battle, such setups are impossible. If you, as a fan, have ever wondered which Pokémon probably tastes the best, then check out this list: The 5 tastiest Pokémon in the ranking

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Games Radar

EA FC 25: Winter Wildcards Team 3 is here, enhances Ultimate Team with 40 new cards – All players at a glance

In EA FC 25 the Winter Wildcards have been launched as a new promo. Starting Friday (December 20) at 7:00 PM, you can benefit from strong cards and new daily content. Currently, you can pull 65 players in winter designs from packs in Ultimate Team. On MeinMMO, we present all of them to you.

Update from December 28, 2024 (2:00 PM): We have updated the article with the latest cards from the Winter Wildcards.

What are Winter Wildcards? The promo has become a bit of a Christmas tradition. Since FIFA 22, EA has been supplying the community with daily rewards, special Squad Building Challenges (SBCs), and exclusive offers in the Ultimate Team shop.

And of course, there are many new special cards again. Some of them even come in twin packs featuring double cards. This is also the case in Winter Wildcards Team 3.

EA FC 25 Winter Wildcards Team 3
All players from Winter Wildcards Team 3

The following 40 special cards are in Winter Wildcards Team 3:

  • Dalglish (double)
  • Prince
  • Sawa (double)
  • Smith (double)
  • Carles Puyol
  • Son (double)
  • Vitinha
  • Rolfö (double)
  • Milito
  • Vidić
  • Diaby
  • Scott (double)
  • Bowen
  • Sörloth
  • Openda
  • Danilo
  • De Gea
  • Campos
  • Juan Mata
  • Mbeumo
  • Doorsun
  • Mitrovic
  • Fred
  • Onana
  • Kuyt
  • David Neres
  • Gilles
  • Amiri
  • Vanegas
  • Davitashvili
  • Bryan Gil
  • Maeda
Start video
EA FC 25 trailer shows new features for Ultimate Team

25 more cards from Winter Wildcards Team 2 in the packs

  • Hamm (double)
  • Rivaldo
  • Buffon
  • Neymar Jr (double)
  • Wirtz (double)
  • Tévez
  • Kompany
  • Rüdiger
  • Mead
  • Bernardo Silva
  • Solskjær
  • McManaman (double)
  • Mainoo
  • Santi Cazorla
  • Abdulhamid
  • Hancko
  • Hudson-Odoi
  • Rafa
  • Černý
  • Süle
  • Steijn
EA FC 25 Winter Wildcards Team 2
All players from Winter Wildcards Team 2

Best-of-Winter Team brings 24 more special cards

This year’s event not only offers a promo team with Icons and Heroes, but also 24 strong players from a Best-of-Team. This is a selection of the strongest cards from previous promotions:

  • Total Rush Mbappe (92)
  • Succession Messi (92)
  • Trailblazers Vinícius Júnior (92)
  • Centurions Hansen (92)
  • Centurions Rodri (92)
  • Thunderstruck Valverde (91)
  • Total Rush Wirtz (90)
  • Succession Marquinhos (90)
  • Thunderstruck Gyökeres (90)
  • Thunderstruck Olise (89)
  • Centurions Modric (89)
  • Succession Bacha (89)
  • Trailblazers Kvaratskhelia (89)
  • Trailblazers Dembele (88)
  • Centurions Rafael Leao (88)
  • Track Stars Davies (87)
  • Thunderstruck Reijnders (87)
  • Succession Palhinha (87)
  • Trailblazers Rodman (87)
  • Track Star Ramirez (87)
  • Track Star Chiesa (86)
  • Total Rush Tomori (86)
  • Track Star Van de Ven (86)
  • Total Rush Diogo Dalot

These players were in Winter Wildcards Team 1

  • Ronaldo (double)
  • Carlos Alberto (double)
  • Hazard
  • Xavi
  • Touré
  • Sócrates (as SBC)
  • Scholes
  • Hagi
  • Di Natale (double)
  • Mascherano (double)
  • Al Owairan
  • Haaland (double)
  • Vinícius Júnior (double)
  • Hansen
  • De Jong (double)
  • Rice
  • Pedro Porro
  • Lookman
  • Lavelle
  • Lacazette
  • Al Dawsari
  • Nuno Mendes
  • Tilman
  • Parejo
  • Janssen
  • Icardi
  • Undav
  • Vivian
  • Sergio Gómez
  • Orban
  • Guehi
  • Van den Boomen
  • Sahraoui
  • Dinkci
  • Delap

During Winter Wildcards, you can expect new content daily, such as SBCs, tasks, or evolutions. A daily log-in could be worthwhile. The dynamic Thunderstruck cards are also gradually getting their final upgrades. We have all the progress and important dates for you on MeinMMO: EA FC 25: Thunderstruck Tracker – All players, upgrades, and dates

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Twitch streamer says he’s giving away his Tesla for Christmas, but people accuse him of scamming

Streamer David “TheGrefg” Martínez has the sixth largest channel in the world on Twitch in terms of followers. At Christmas, he announced that he would give away a Tesla styled like “Lightning McQueen”, the car from Cars. The car is worth about €110,000. However, upon closer inspection, the giveaway turned out to be a lottery with slim chances of winning, except for the streamer himself, who is surely making a profit this Christmas.

That was the promise: In a YouTube video from December 25, TheGrefG kissed a red Tesla that was painted like Lightning McQueen.

With his usual energy, he wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a great new year 2025. He was giving something to people for Christmas: his car, a Tesla Model S Plaid – that’s a car worth about €110,000.

Then he talked, like in an advertisement, in detail about how great the car is. However, it was suspicious that he suddenly started talking about a lottery and that viewers should watch the entire video to get all the details about the lottery.

TheGrefG is a big name in Fortnite, just like this young man:

Start video
18-year-old Fortnite streamer buys a Lamborghini for 193,000 € – When he wants to show off, everything goes wrong

Streamer is not giving away a Tesla, but raffling it off

What is the catch? The “gift” that TheGrefg is offering to his loyal fans is not a gift at all; he is organizing a lottery: Because anyone who wants to “receive” the car has to buy a ticket for €1 and then hope to be drawn.

What is the reaction? As reported by the Spanish site 3DJuegos, the reaction on social media is far from as positive as TheGrefG presumably hoped.

People say: One cannot announce a gift when one benefits more from it than the recipients. Given TheGrefG’s massive reach, surely more people would buy a ticket for €1 than the car is actually worth.

Moreover, the winner of the car would face additional costs; he would have to pay taxes on the thing, register it expensively outside of Andorra, and much more. What might seem like a great opportunity to win a Tesla looks less appealing when considering the details.

A user says:

“99% of the people participating here do not have enough money to pay the fees for the Tesla, and 99.9% do not have a connection at home to charge the Tesla. A giveaway is free. What you are doing is a lottery: You are making so much money from it that you can afford 5 new Teslas.”

Other users see it as a stroke of genius by TheGrefG: He spends €120,000 on a Tesla to get back double or triple what he invested through the lottery.

Another adds: If I were TheGrefG, I would always do such lotteries. It’s probably three times as profitable as the prize – the guy is a genius, he always wins.

A third says: “I have been following you for years. But this looks more like a gift for you than for us.”

TheGrefG says: The raffle causes him enormous costs

This is what the streamer says: TheGrefg has actually anticipated the reaction in the fully monetized video filled with ads. He claims that the raffle incurs enormous costs for him. There needs to be a website set up and a notary involved, and all of that – oh, the expenses coming his way.

And he doesn’t even know how many people will actually participate in the event and buy a ticket. While he hopes it goes well, he bears the risk here. Oh, by the way: The car has not even been driven for 2,000 kilometers.

So far, it seems that his love for Christmas and the community does not go as far as covering all the costs himself.

The streamer TheGrefG became internationally known after he got a skin in Fortnite, but the affection has cooled down: Twitch streamer became famous through Fortnite, now breaks with Epic: “Lost all respect”

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. 3DJuegos

In LoL a major champion was removed for a week because he was dead

League of Legends has always had events. These usually come with new skins, new lore entries, or new champions. In the past, the events were much more experimental than they are today. One event even completely removed a champion from the game because the story required it.

Which event is it about? In 2015 there was a special event for the city of Bilgewater. The pirate city is known for all kinds of criminals. The Burning Tides event told a story in 4 acts around Miss Fortune, Graves, Twisted Fate, and Gangplank.

The story told was also represented in the game through various content. The ARAM map was visually altered, even with a new announcer voice. However, the strangest event of this event was the death of Gangplank.

At that point in the event, Miss Fortune supposedly killed Gangplank within the lore. As a result, she gained power in Bilgewater. The skin Captain Miss Fortune is also based on this story. Following Gangplank’s lore death, the champion was also removed from League of Legends. This, however, caused problems especially in Esports.

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Das ist LoL – Einmal richtig ehrlich erklärt

No one could train with him

What is the problem? At that time when you started the game, it only said: Gangplank is dead and has been disabled in all queues (roughly: Gangplank is dead and has been removed from all modes). Gangplank was removed for a week and then returned with a rework that completely changed his playstyle.

This caused a problem in Esports matches, as even on the test server he was not playable at first, otherwise the reveal wouldn’t have been so exciting. In subsequent Esports events, however, Gangplank was playable immediately, even before he was back on the live servers for everyone.

No one could train with him or against him. A week is simply too little time. The successful German Twitch streamer and former pro player Tolkin tells his own story about this in a stream, which you can see in this clip:

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In fact, champions and new patches are rolled out cautiously in Esports. For example, the Worlds have a delay because professionals naturally prepare with their own picks and counter-strategies.

If a patch were changed every 2 weeks in the professional area, training and preparation would be impossible.

What was the event like apart from this situation? Within the community, people remember the event quite positively. The new lore was interesting and implemented in such a way for normal players that it was fun. The new skins were good, even a Gangplank skin was free, the new game mode was unique, and the then-new ARAM design was liked by the players.

Many wish for such an event again. However, that a champion is removed for a week will probably never happen again, as the game is too competitive nowadays. Whether we will ever get old game modes or even patches back is questionable. MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes has tried to analyze it: LoL: Players wish for a game mode that WoW successfully introduced 5 years ago – but can that work?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

10 Types of Players You Have Met in Groups

In MMORPGs, there are many types of players. However, particularly in group content, you often encounter clichés with “Randoms”. Here are 10 of them.

Those who enjoy tackling group content in MMORPGs can only rely on friends and guild members in the happiest of cases. More often than not, you find yourself having to deal with a few “Randoms”. Usually, that goes smoothly. But the encounters that stick in your memory are often the clichés that you can only shake your head about later.

We want to outline some types of players that everyone has probably encountered in groups. While these players are based on experiences in World of Warcraft, we are quite sure that you can find them in similar forms in other MMORPGs as well.

Note: This article was updated in December 2024.

Also interesting are the funniest bugs that WoW has produced so far:

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1. Warlocks with strange names

When creating a new character, things often need to be done quickly. Most people just use their usual username for their first character or think of some random fantasy name on the spot. However, warlocks are more likely to feel the urge to use some “super-genius” pun that clearly shows they know their class’s abilities. Usually, some pun with “Fear” or other skills. Want a few examples?

  • Critneyfears
  • Incinderella
  • Feargewinnt
  • Harrydotter
  • Mattdemon
  • Hartzfear
  • Succubusdriver

At least, with these colleagues, usually only the name is the “problem” and the rest works. Because we already know that they know their abilities. At least a few.

WoW Gnome Warlock Casting a Bolt titel title 1280x720
Gnomes like this often have names like “Critdotcom”.

2. The greeting AFK-er

As so often, only one player is missing to get started. Since you only need one DPS character, that one is quickly found. You invite the first brave soul, greet them kindly, port them to the dungeon, and just as you’re about to go in, the chat lights up.

“BRB, having a smoke.”

This doesn’t necessarily have to mean a cigarette; it could also be brewing tea or writing a semester paper.

The rest of the group stares at the last player with increasing aggression as the minutes slowly tick away.

Why on earth would someone gather a group just to go AFK immediately? Why not take care of the things that are clearly important first and then join a group?

Aside from spontaneous emergencies, this is primarily one thing: rude. And it doesn’t leave a good impression.

3. Hunters

This is one of those clichés that has persisted over the years. Ever since Uncle Barlow comically ridiculed the class with his hunter blog on YouTube. Yet it stubbornly remains, and time and again the hunters that fit this cliché stick in memory: they seem pretty confused, deal way too little damage, and their gear just doesn’t seem to fit together.

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If you look closely, you quickly find out that the hunter is actually only using their automatic attack and occasionally lets their pet rush ahead. Sometimes the hunter also charges into melee – not to use strong abilities but to heal their pet with a bandage.

That alone would still be bearable; however, the pet also has the habit of running into groups of enemies that you actually intended to avoid. But the hunter is quite certain in the chat that “pets can’t pull anymore” – even when the mob group has beaten his pet to pulp and is now charging happily towards the healer.

4. Players with over-rating and no skill

As soon as the warrior with an item level of 278 and a rating of 3,200 signs up, everyone in the group raises their eyebrows in confusion. Because for these dungeons, one only needs gear of level 200 and a rating of 700 would be more than sufficient.

But alright. Maybe this god has an open quest or simply wants to amuse himself by blessing these lower creatures with his presence.

However, by the first boss, it becomes clear that something is wrong with the warrior. The boss mechanics are played in a remarkably bizarre manner, to put it bluntly: not at all. Abilities are not dodged, and there seems to be a complete lack of basic knowledge about one’s class or the dungeon – and that, despite wielding overpowering gear.

With a bit of research, it becomes clear: this guy has only been carried through dungeons so far and has probably shelled out a lot of gold or even real money for it. Now he probably wanted to show off a bit with his gear and ends up looking ridiculous.

These players represent one of the biggest clichés and are one of the reasons why many wish that boosting would be banned. However, encounters with such players are rare, and usually, it becomes clear within a few seconds whether these characters actually have anything to offer. After that, one has to look for a replacement or feel compelled to teach the over-equipped player everything very slowly.

WoW DPS Sepulcher of the first ones Titel Nachtelf Flex 2
Not every shining hero has something to offer.

5. The silent ones

Even if social interaction in games like World of Warcraft may have suffered a bit in recent years, at the very least, a brief greeting in the group chat is still expected. A quick “Good evening” or “Hello :)” isn’t too much to ask, is it?

Well, sometimes it appears to be. Because no matter what you ask, no matter how friendly you offer a port to the dungeon – there is simply no reaction.

Various questions run through your mind:

  • Can the player simply not type?
  • Have the parents restricted communication in the account settings?
  • Has the player simply hidden the chat?

Such players turn out to be a complete mystery regarding their gaming performance. From absolute bomb DPS players to the grand prize in the “idiot lottery”, anything can be included.

If the player can’t even manage to type a quick “Hi” in the chat before the dungeon starts, one should seriously consider whether to take them along.

On the other hand, many MMO players do somehow enjoy loot boxes… and sometimes you end up with a zonk.

6. The over-tank

The search for a tank is difficult and often takes a lot of time. Most of the time you just take the first one who responds. Often that goes well. Sometimes it goes poorly. And very rarely, the tank is so incredibly good that the healer can just deal damage, and the DPS players hardly have to dodge abilities because the tank is already distracting them all. You basically fly through the dungeon, as quickly and efficiently as never before.

When you ask at the end of the dungeon whether the tank is available for more instances, you usually get the same answer in a modified form:

“Ah, thank you for the offer, but I just wanted to quickly do a dungeon before my guild gets back, with whom I’ll be heading out now. Have a nice evening and good luck!”

As your tears slowly seep between the keys of your keyboard, you say goodbye – and see the tank never again.

The best tanks are sadly rarely seen again.

7. The wannabe over-tank

But where there’s light, there’s also shadow. Where there’s an incredibly good tank, there are also those who merely maintain this facade and pretend to be something they are not. Most of the time, however, you only realize this when it’s too late.

With a self-importance that leads the group to firmly believe that the tank usually plays this way and absolutely knows what they are doing, the warrior jumps in with a running start into the first, second, and third group at the same time. A big pull, many enemies to be defeated at once. But that doesn’t happen.

Even before the healer can click the first spell, the warrior already falls over dead. Amid the roar of enemies tearing into the healer and DPS players, all you see is the group chat flashing with an aggressive “HEAL?????”.

The sad play repeats itself. Twice. Three times. Four times. While the healer ages years in just a few minutes and wonders if they should have chosen the path of a DPS character instead of this class.

Then the warrior, who you only now realize is still wearing some green items, silently leaves the group.

WoW Tanks angry Red background titel title 1280x720
One screams, the rest cries.

8. The macro monster

Macros and addons can be a great thing, making many aspects much easier. And sometimes, an automated chat message for special events is also helpful in quickly informing the group.

But then there are those who take it too far and have truly associated every action in the game with some ridiculous command.

Not only is summoning a soul wellspring accompanied by a “I summon from the depths of the Nether a spring of healing energy that will consume your soul” line, but pretty much every attack as well.

Whether it’s interrupting an enemy spell – which might still be sensible to communicate to the group – or scoring a critical hit, summoning a demon, or simply sitting down for a mana snack, everything has been plastered with some macro or addon text, so that after the first 10 minutes, the chat window already has the length of the first “A Song of Ice and Fire” novel.

9. The confused one

In the beginning, this hero turns out to be a completely average random. They deal solid damage, follow the group, and don’t accidentally pull; they belong to the 95% of standard experiences you have in dungeons. At least until they die.

Then they become a bit overly eager and don’t wait for the healer’s resurrection, but revive themselves – and end up at the entrance of the dungeon.

Annoying, but not entirely tragic. Typically, it doesn’t take long to reunite with the group – if you know the way. And that’s exactly where the problem begins.

Utterly clumsily, the player now stumbles alone through the dungeon and has apparently lost their sense of direction. Even after minutes, they are unable to rejoin the group.

WoW Thex troll shaman asking title 1140x445
Somewhat confused, but nice – a pleasant type of person. Unless you’re in a hurry.

However, this version of a player at least has some humor and a little shame. He or she apologizes dozens of times in the chat while the rounds continue to be turned in circles, and the interface announces several times that they have apparently walked into enemies again and died again.

After several minutes, someone finally takes pity and returns to the missing player, who has somehow ended up back at the instance portal after another ten minutes of wandering. Hand in hand, the character is now escorted back to the group and the final boss. Although the dungeon was not completed within the time limit, somehow everyone still had a good time – because sometimes this complete, naive scatterbrainedness can also be a little cute.

Or there were drugs involved. One can only speculate.

10. The unteachable hothead

DPS players love one thing above all: damage. As big numbers as possible, as quickly as possible. And everything that could possibly reduce their damage is extremely annoying. Also this huge fire area they are currently standing in. Of course, they could move out of it, but that would reduce their damage output – so… they stay put.

However, because this often cannot be compensated by the healer in tougher dungeons, the player dies.

After a noticeably annoyed “HEAL????” in the chat, the incident repeats.

Most healers are somewhat patient people (or elves, dwarves, whatever…), but after the third time the colleague has chosen fiery death, a message is finally sent: Either you move out of the fire promptly or you can find another group, because the healer cannot compensate.

And – of course – this doesn’t work. So in the end, nothing remains but to remove the player from the group and look for a replacement.

WoW Female Mage Angry Cower title
Some continue to flame even after hours.

But that’s not where the story ends, because now the spurned one really gets going. In the whispers channel, the healer or group leader (or both) receive a good rant.

The group consists only of failures if someone like him is thrown out. He already has a new group, which is much more competent. But ultimately, that’s better this way, because one does not associate with such [insert pet name here]. He actually plays on a world level in a mythic raid guild – how stupid does one have to be not to notice that?

Furthermore, he should greet his mother, he left so early last night. And all in all, he is a pretty poor sausage if he spends his leisure time in an MMORPG on a Saturday night instead of going out partying – while ignoring the fact that he himself was still part of this activity.

This encounter typically ends on the ignore list.


Do you know any other “cliché encounters” with players in dungeons? Have you had any quirky experiences with people in MMORPGs that ultimately can be summarized as “somehow quite funny”?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

“I am the victim here” – The big tech YouTuber Linus is again on the defensive

For many years, Linus Sebastian, the man behind the YouTube channel “Linus Tech Tips”, was a darling of the community. But for some time now, he has had to deal with ongoing accusations. Even now, he is accused of having known for years what dark dealings the savings app “Honey” was up to, but he did nothing to inform the public about it.

Why is Linus Tech Tips on the defensive?  The YouTuber MegaLag released a video before Christmas, in which he accuses the savings app Honey of reprehensible practices: The app did not always show the best deals, as it promised.

Furthermore, there was misconduct with affiliate links, which were exchanged in a non-transparent manner so that Honey profited from it while the influencers promoting Honey ended up with nothing.

The accusation against Linus Tech Tips is that he, as a huge tech YouTuber, collaborated with Honey, but then ended the collaboration because he apparently knew that something was wrong. However, he did not make this public, allowing the “fraud” to continue for years.

The video by MegaLag has now gained over 11 million views, and the accusations carry significant weight.

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YouTuber does not understand what this has to do with him

This is what Linus Tech Tips says: The tech YouTuber Linus Tech Tips sees himself once again unfairly accused. He does not understand at all why the accusations should now have anything to do with him.

He ended the partnership with Honey three years ago. Much was already known back then: But these were all things that disadvantaged influencers like him because the exchange of affiliate links cost them money.

If he had known back then that normal customers were also disadvantaged by the provision of false optimal savings coupons, he would probably have raised an alarm sooner, but at that time, one simply did not have an idea of what was going on, says Linus.

I am the victim here

What is he defending against?? Linus Tech Tips is defending against the accusation that he knew more back then and concealed it:

“The situation is bizarre, man. I am a victim here.”

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He explains that he and his team were among the influencers who relied on affiliate revenues, and Honey cheated them out of this income.

He also does not like the fact that he is now considered “the biggest influencer who promoted Honey”. He says: MrBeast with his 300 million subscribers is much bigger. He does not understand why he is in the spotlight here.

LinusTechTips has had a tough year in 2024; the former darling of the tech community had to endure a lot of criticism: Tech YouTuber receives massive criticism for his work – investigation says: accusations are “unfounded, misleading, and unfair”

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. dexerto