A new shooter plays like Overwatch, but with Marvel heroes. After just a few hours, the game reached over 400,000 players on Steam.
Which game is being talked about? The superhero shooter is called Marvel Rivals and was developed by NetEase. The game was released on December 6 and has generated significant interest on Steam. You fight against other players in 6v6 matches and choose from over 30 characters.
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Marvel Rivals Season 0: The Official Trailer for Doom’s Rise
Over 400,000 players in just a few hours
How many people are playing the new hero shooter? According to the online database steamdb.info, Marvel Rivals reached a peak of over 440,000 concurrent players just two hours after release. One reason for this, besides the well-known brand, may be the low entry barrier.
Marvel Rivals relies on a free-to-play model, meaning it is completely free to play. The shooter is financed through an in-game shop and the Battle Pass. In the shop, you can purchase new skins for your heroes, and the Battle Pass offers rewards as you progress through the game.
How are players reacting? At least on Steam, Marvel Rivals is currently receiving a positive reception. Player reviews are “mostly positive.” There is strong praise for the fair design of the grind and the monetization.
Steam user whiskey summarizes it as follows:
Making all 30+ characters available at launch, battle pass systems without FOMO (THE BP WILL NEVER EXPIRE), and the ability to exchange the in-game currencies 1:1 (premium and free) should be the new industry standard!
The majority of negative reviews can often be attributed to severe performance issues. Other players are unable to get the shooter to run at all. Meanwhile, some praise the good performance on their PC. Therefore, it is not easy to draw a general conclusion about the technical state from the comments.
A CEO dismisses 90% of the staff because they do not attend a meeting. This leads to a lot of criticism of the CEO. However, he explains that the decision was the right one: the company is doing better than ever before, and the attempt to ‘cancel’ him completely backfired.
The CEO of a company that sells musical instruments on an online platform dismissed most of his staff. The reason: they did not show up for a meeting he had called on short notice.
Later, he claims that the dismissals were a justified decision and that his company is “stronger than ever before.” He does not regret the move for a minute.
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Chef ruined his company in 59 seconds on Twitch – What happened to him?
A missed meeting leads to dozens of layoffs
What exactly happened? Baldvin Oddsson, CEO of The Musicians Club, fired 99 of his 110 employees, or about 90%, because they did not attend a meeting. The English-language music magazine Musictech received numerous Slack messages detailing the situation. The announcement, which was disseminated on November 15 at 8:24 AM via Slack, was unambiguous:
I gave you the opportunity to improve your lives, work hard, and grow. But you have shown me that you do not take this seriously.
Of 110 people, only 11 were present this morning. These 11 can stay. The rest of you will be dismissed. Get out of my company immediately.
The Musicians Club reportedly relies on a system of interns and freelancers, mainly students of classical music, who are often lured with the promise of gaining work experience and potentially receiving a paid full-time position in the future. A former employee reported on the whole situation on Reddit. The post has since been deleted by a moderator, but the comments are (still) preserved.
Another issue: The problem was also that there was no prior notice for the meeting: a threat message was allegedly sent only a few minutes before the scheduled time, causing panic among the employees and leaving little room for reaction. Overall, the entire management of the company appears to have been very chaotic.
This is reported by the French magazine Jeuxvideo.com, which cites several anonymous sources that reportedly confirmed this. And the user on Reddit confirms it as well:
I did not receive any notification about a meeting. I was not granted access to the department in the Slack workspace where I was supposed to land.
He further states that he had arrived at the company just an hour before the dismissals, only to be dismissed just as quickly.
The CEO defends his tough approach: The company is doing better than ever
How does the CEO react? Despite the general astonishment over his tough approach, the CEO showed no remorse. Rather, he stated on the platform LinkedIn that the layoffs were a justified decision and that his company is “stronger than ever.”
He even praises the positive impact of the controversy on the company’s business, mentioning an increase in visitors to his website and a record number of applications following the mass layoffs. We have included his statement (via Musictech.com)
Last weekend, I received an overwhelming amount of attention – both positive and negative. Some tried to ‘cancel’ me, but that completely backfired. Our visitor numbers have risen to over 20,000, sales are higher than ever, and we receive hundreds of applications every day.
I have received more than 300 messages, including inquiries from CEOs, industry leaders, and major newspapers requesting interviews. I will do my best to respond in the coming days. I stand by my decisions and the values we uphold. Dismissing these individuals was the right step for our company, and we are stronger than ever.
Monster Hunter World is the most successful game by Capcom of all time, with over 25 million sales. It’s no wonder that Monster Hunter Wilds draws inspiration from it. In an interview, Art Director Kaname Fujioka discusses what was important to the team during the development of the latest installment. He mentions some things that veterans of the franchise don’t seem to fully appreciate.
What was important in the development? Fujioka talks in an interview with PC Gamer about how Monster Hunter Wilds focused on adopting the best features from Monster Hunter World and making them even better. Since Monster Hunter World was well-received by many players and made the franchise more accessible to a wider variety of player types, the goal was to build on that success with Wilds.
For the team at Capcom, it has been a great joy to see that so many different people, even if they aren’t good at action games, enjoy Monster Hunter:
I always enjoy that people seem to have fun with the game, and that makes me the happiest. Even people who aren’t very good at action games seem to have fun, or even if they are defeated by monsters, they seem to enjoy just wandering around.
When I see all these different aspects and each person enjoying it in their own way, I appreciate the details that we incorporate into Monster Hunter that reflect that.
They wanted to create an accessible Monster Hunter that ensures players who enjoyed Monster Hunter World become absolute fans of the franchise with Wilds. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Monster Hunter, they wanted to create an experience that is something truly special and brings out the best of what Monster Hunter has to offer, so that as many people as possible can have fun with it.
Here you can see how the monsters are animated:
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This is how Monster Hunter Wilds is created: We got a studio tour at Capcom
Was Monster Hunter World too easy?
Veterans express criticism: However, during the time of Monster Hunter World, some veterans of the franchise criticized that Monster Hunter World was too easy compared to previous entries, leading to many discussions (via Reddit). It was considered too “casual” and did not provide a challenge. Some disagree, stating that it was simply their experience with the gameplay mechanics that was improving, making the battles easier for them.
Others emphasize that the game was simply made more accessible and beginner-friendly, opening up the community to more varied player types.
Now this discussion is flaring up again, as, as Fujioka additionally confirmed, there is a strong focus on adopting and developing features from the predecessor in Monster Hunter Wilds.
In a thread on Steam, there is a heated debate about whether Monster Hunter Wilds will still become easier from a player’s perspective and offer fewer challenges. Many veterans feel that this approach is further distancing the franchise from the beloved earlier titles, and there is concern that they will no longer enjoy Monster Hunter.
Overall, however, this approach seems to be well-received, as many defend the design decisions and look forward to going monster hunting again with as many like-minded individuals as possible in February. Just because a game is beginner-friendly does not mean that all newcomers are bad or that the game lacks depth and challenges for veterans.
The free alternative to Monster Hunter, Dauntless, recently launched on Steam. However, the loyal players who have been gaming for years are extremely angry.
What kind of game is this? Dauntless is a free alternative to Monster Hunter, where you take on the role of a “Slayer” and go monster hunting. Just like in Monster Hunter, you gather loot to craft equipment and weapons. You can embark on quests either solo or in co-op with other Slayers.
Various modes await you, where you have to do one thing in an open world, in a rogue-like game mode, in an arena, or in a race against time: kill monsters!
While the game was previously exclusive to Epic Games, the developers wanted to celebrate the release on Steam with a major update. With Dauntless: Awakening, improved graphics as well as many new contents were supposed to come, along with a revision of well-known systems.
Dauntless: Awakening is now live on Steam, but instead of a celebrated update, it has received nothing but endless negative reviews.
Here you can watch the trailer for the big Dauntless update:
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Launch trailer showcases the reboot of Dauntless: Awakening
Community is angry
What is making the players angry? Instead of bringing fresh momentum into the game with the comprehensive update and attracting new players on Steam, as fans might have hoped, the update primarily resulted in empty inventories for players.
A main component of Dauntless was not only defeating monsters but also crafting with the materials that these bosses dropped. However, weapon crafting has now been removed from the game.
With the new system, many of the old weapons were also removed from the players’ inventories. Only a few weapons remained, while all others were turned into skins. Bitter for the players who had invested thousands of hours into their characters.
Instead of a variety of weapons as before, there are now only 18 different ones, of which only 7 can be unlocked for free through quests. The other 11 weapons are available for purchase in the shop using premium currency, which can be obtained for real money, from the battle pass, and through challenges (via playdauntless.com).
What other changes are there? Many of the new features simplify systems that players previously enjoyed. The update removed entire progression systems and skills from them. However, there is a new loot box system that did not previously exist in the game.
The improved graphics, which was considered one of the major innovations, also receives little praise from players. When visual optimizations are mentioned, it is often cited as the reason for the noticeably degraded performance.
What do the fans say? The fans who have been playing Dauntless on Epic Games for years are outraged. Especially the core player base is likely to be the most affected by the update. Accordingly, many players’ reviews are highly negative:
Dulon (Gimli) writes on Steam: “Removing weapons – Removing weapon crafting – Adding loot boxes – Placing weapons in loot boxes – Resetting 90 % of progress on the existing account – ‘NEW UPDATE GUYS, NOW GIVE US MONEY!’”
No Shoes rates Dauntless on Steam: “This used to be a decent game, a fun PC version of Monster Hunter, before Monster Hunter came to PC […] The game is dead, this is a soulless cash grab that barely works. It’s sick to call the [Editor’s note: new update] the same game”
Hack Doug finds the new update on Steam like this: “The worst iteration so far. Resets the progress to zero. Paywall weapons, you only get the effects of legendary weapons if you spend real money. Stupid idea. This could be the end of Dauntless.”
On Steam, the game currently has only 16 % positive reviews and is thus just one point better than the heavily criticized project The Day Before. Many players accused the game of fraud, prompting a lawyer to take a look at it: The Day Before: “Fraud of the Year” on Steam? – This is what a lawyer says
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With Tarisland, the Chinese gaming giant Tencent aimed to conquer the western MMORPG market. However, the current numbers on Steam are disastrous just before the turn of the year.
What is the status of Tarisland? Although the MMORPG, launched for PC, Android, and iOS in June 2024 by Level Infinite and Tencent, recently received new content such as a raid boss and an event in the past week, it seems that the responsible parties simply cannot manage to sustainably attract a large number of players to the servers.
At least, the very weak player numbers on Steam suggest this (unfortunately, there are no statistics from other platforms). According to steamdb.info, there are currently (December 6, 2024, 11:13 AM) only 31 players online simultaneously.
And even during prime time in the evening, the situation is only slightly better. The 24-hour peak is just 63 concurrently active players. These are disastrous numbers for an MMORPG that launched with high ambitions this year. User reviews on Steam reflect this, with a “Mostly Negative” rating, showing only 35 percent positive assessments.
The trailer shows that Tarisland launched with some ambitions:
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Tarisland: Trailer for the global launch shows cinematic class action
“The worst MMORPG released recently”
How does the community assess the numbers and the game? The state of Tarisland is currently being discussed in the Reddit community.
InternetExplorer020 writes on Reddit: “Unfortunately, Tarisland is the worst MMORPG released recently.”
Arrotanis is not surprised by the poor numbers (via Reddit): “They made the game worse and removed 90% of the content before releasing it on Steam. Surprisingly, that was not the right move.”
Bro_sapiens had fun at first, but … (via Reddit): “I truly enjoyed playing Tarisland, both in beta and when it came out (through the website, not now on Steam). The only thing that stopped me from continuing after about 50-60 hours was the absolute lack of visual progress with my character.”
Eriyal explains on Reddit: “This game had some of the most fun raids and dungeons for midcore players that I have ever played. […] Ultimately, many players probably felt like they were playing a game system and not a fantasy world. That probably drove many people insane (consciously or unconsciously) and ultimately pushed me away from Tarisland as well.”
In recent reviews on Steam, players criticize that in Tarisland, one starts at level 41, right in the middle of the story campaign, without even receiving a proper recap of previous events. Furthermore, monetization, world, controls, the class system, the mobile-like user interface, and much more receive a lot of criticism.
How does MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz rate the MMORPG today? You might remember: I actually had a surprisingly good time with Tarisland during the launch. Surprisingly, because I expected very little – due to the factors of Free2Play, PC AND mobile release, and Tencent.
But I actually liked the strong focus on raids and dungeons, with the very first group challenge in the tutorial. Just like the high comfort in finding players, fast traveling, or inventory management. And the staggered leveling phase delivered in small snack-sized portions, as Tarisland fit perfectly into the daily routine of old Karsten from June 2024.
However, at maximum level, the excitement faded quickly. Snacks don’t keep you full for long. Sufficient content supply was slow to arrive. Moreover, as an MMORPG fan, I really couldn’t complain about a lack of new food this year.
Almost weekly, new series are released on Netflix, and 2024 was also full of new series, movies, and documentaries. With the huge selection, it is of course difficult to keep track. We show you 5 series from 2024 on Netflix that you should catch up on if you missed them.
Tons of series and movies are released weekly on Netflix. Keeping track of them is quite difficult. Many good series can thus get lost. MeinMMO presents you with the following list of 5 series that you absolutely should have seen.
How was this list created? The list is based on the opinion of MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes. We wanted to provide a good mix of genre and type of series. Since it’s impossible to watch everything, it may be that your favorite series from 2024 is missing. But let us know your favorites in the comments.
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1. Mr. McMahon
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Mr. McMahon – Trailer for the documentary series on Netflix about the man who made WWE great
Viewers familiar with wrestling probably know the name Vince McMahon. He is the man who turned the wrestling organization WWE into a massive entertainment product. The documentary series Mr. McMahon tells the story of this person.
But it’s not just about business and wrestling; it also delves into the many scandals and morally questionable things McMahon has done. Former wrestlers, managers, journalists, and McMahon himself share their perspectives. This creates a comprehensive picture of the person.
With its strong focus on the scandals, it captivates like a good thriller. The editing and direction attempt to contextualize the sometimes questionable statements, making it worth watching. Mr. McMahon can also be enjoyed by those with no knowledge of wrestling, as the basic story behind the man is both fascinating and shocking.
If you are hungry for RPGs, you should take a look at Eternal Strands. This fantasy role-playing game promises action and an exciting game world.
Since Baldur’s Gate 3, the hunger for RPGs in gaming has been reignited, and there is a greedy gaze on every role-playing game that is in the starting blocks. Fans of the original Dragon Age games could soon have a new treat ahead. Because “Eternal Strands” not only comes from the former Creative Director of Dragon Age but also reminds in some respects of the popular setting.
What is the game about? The story follows Brynn, a mage known as a “Weaver” in this world. The land has been devastated by a terrible magical incident, and together with her group, she now wants to try to uncover the mysteries behind these events while also making her people’s homeland habitable again.
Looking at the gameplay, Eternal Strands appears to be an interesting mix of Zelda and Monster Hunter. Creative use of the three schools of magic is rewarded, and depending on the environment you are in, the surroundings might respond differently to magic, creating new advantages and disadvantages.
The game even has a trailer that you can watch here:
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Eternal Strands: This is how the gameplay unfolds in the new action RPG
Eternal Strands is for fans of Dragon Age
What does the trailer show? The trailer for Eternal Strands focuses mainly on the combat system with the various challenges and effects of magic. Your character can use fire, frost, and kinetic energy to influence the battlefield. Enemies are protecting themselves with a shield? Just throw it out of their hand. The dragon doesn’t want to land? Freeze its wings so it crashes to the ground.
A special focus is also placed on the large bosses known as “Arks.” They bear some resemblance to “Shadow of the Colossus” or fights from Monster Hunter.
The combat system feels more action-oriented and thus differs from Dragon Age, which at the beginning of the franchise relied more on tactical, almost turn-based mechanics.
With kinetic energy, Brynn can hurl enemies around.
When will Eternal Strands be released? Whether the story can convince and the gameplay is ultimately as interesting as the trailer suggests, remains to be seen. In less than two months, we can experience it ourselves, as Eternal Strands will be released on January 28, 2025 – on all current consoles and PC. For the latter, you have the choice between Steam, the Epic Games Store, or the Ultimate PC Game Pass.
Who is behind the game? Behind the game is Yellow Brick Studios, which was founded by the former Creative Director of Dragon Age, Mike Laidlaw. Laidlaw was responsible for the entire Dragon Age franchise for a long time. However, in 2017 – during the time of the great Anthem chaos – he left the company and founded his own studio, which is now releasing its debut work with Eternal Strands.
What is your first impression of Eternal Strands? Does it look like an interesting game that you will definitely take a closer look at? If you are currently in the mood for RPGs, we have presented the best RPGs on Steam here.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the founders of the animation studio Ghibli, which produced many well-known animes such as Spirited Away. The 83-year-old Japanese man is concerned about the children of the future.
What are his concerns? In an interview with Japan Today, Miyazaki revealed that it would become increasingly difficult to reach the souls of children with his films in the future. This is primarily due to rising consumption and the virtual world.
In his view, television, video games, emails, mobile phones, and mangas “rob children of their powers.” This means that children escape into virtual worlds by reading mangas or spending time in front of the television, which is why serious topics like those in Ghibli’s films can no longer reach them. He cited Ultraman as an example that has made an entire generation dumber.
For him, it is therefore clear that he should not focus on questions about infrastructure but rather on creating an appropriate environment for future generations. He believes that children are the best investment for Japan.
A well-known film from Studio Ghibli isMy Neighbor Totoro:
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My Neighbor Totoro – The Trailer for the Anime Film
Studio Ghibli invents anime stories centered around children
Why is this topic so important to him? Miyazaki often deals with children and their worlds of thought. For him, utopias exist only in childhood.
In his films, children and teenagers are often the protagonists. They have to assert themselves against difficult conditions or have suffered serious traumas:
In Kiki’s Delivery Service, Kiki moves to a strange city without her family at the age of 13.
Chihiro is only 10 years old in Spirited Away when she has to save her parents from an evil witch.
Moreover, Hayao Miyazaki has his own children and grandchildren. It is therefore understandable that he is concerned about the future of children when he has descendants himself. The founder of Studio Ghibli wishes that his son Goro Miyazaki will take over the management of the animation studio. However, his son is doing everything in his power to avoid having to follow in his father’s footsteps: Son of legendary studio chief does not want to become his successor, finds himself in his father’s latest anime film.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The rush for Path of Exile 2 is greater than expected. So great that just a few hours before the launch, the head honcho himself steps in to warn the players.
But that magical number of one million has now been surpassed. In a video message on YouTube, Jonathan Roggers informs the fans that about one million keys have already been distributed around 15 hours before the launch.
On Steam, the game is currently the bestseller at number 1, as shown by a post on Reddit. The sale of the game on PS5 has only just started. But instead of just being happy about the many players, the head issues a warning before the launch:
The cinematic intro of PoE2 has already generated hype for the game:
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Path of Exile 2: The Cinematic Intro of the Greatest Diablo Competitor
No idea what the backend servers can handle
What kind of warning does he issue? The head of Path of Exile 2 also talks about the problems that come with more than one million players in his video message to the fans.
Since the servers are not designed for a rush of this size, there will be queues on the launch weekend. At the same time, the developers have already ordered more capacity, which is supposed to be “available very soon.”
The big problem, however, seems to be the backend servers. Jonathan Roggers expresses in the video on YouTube what he thinks:
“But I have some concerns regarding the backend issues. To be honest, we don’t know what our backend servers can handle when we reach over one million users. We have now added more database shards and scaled everything we have as much as possible. But we really are not sure what limits we might hit.”
So it is conceivable and probably even likely that there will be server crashes, lags, and other issues.
How do players react to the problems? The community of Path of Exile 2 finds the statement really good. Instead of disappointment or even hatred, players appreciate the open communication. On YouTube, many comments reflect this:
@Amocoru comments: “That’s how you do it damn right. Admit the problems, prepare the community for it, and allow us to have reasonable expectations. That’s how you run a company.”
@deathcryr5269 writes: “Something that is rarely seen. A developer who takes the effort to communicate. This is just one reason why I wish them great success.”
@voyager137 says: “One of many reasons I love GGG is that there’s no corporate speak, just honest, down-to-earth communication. And by the way, congratulations, guys!”
Path of Exile 2 is actually a free-to-play game like its predecessor, but to participate in early access, you need to purchase an edition. You can find our overview of the available editions and their contents here: Path of Exile 2 Supporter Pack: All 7 versions compared
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
MMORPGs have been around for several decades. But in which online role-playing game was the very first raid challenge? MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz has gone on a quest to find out for you.
Surely you remember exactly which MMORPG you participated in your first raid and what the challenge was called. For me, it was sometime in spring 2005, the Molten Core from World of Warcraft, and among the 39 comrades were some Azeroth newcomers who had not yet reached level 60. “Cheerful wiping” was the motto of the first night.
But in which MMORPG did the first raid occur? Who was a pioneer and who just cleverly copied? To find answers to these questions, I have gone on a quest again for you. By the way, my last trivia article was about the question, why certain characters in games are actually called twink, toon, or alt?
Do you want to play your MMORPG on the go? Here are the best options:
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The 7 Best Mobile MMORPGs 2024 for IOS and Android
Where does the term “raid” come from and what does it mean?
Those who search for “raid” in the MeinMMO Lexicon will find the following:
“A raid in PvE means approaching a special instance, a raid instance, that requires more than just one group of players. In PvP, a raid usually refers to an attack on a particularly well-protected enemy target, which requires the concerted cooperation of several groups. Generally, it can be stated: Raid means everything for which you need more than about 8 players and that requires greater coordination.”
The term “raid” comes from the military or police field, where it describes a sudden attack (for example, on a drug ring) or the capture of an enemy target (via dictionary.com).
In the first part of the report on the history of MMORPGs, it was about the multi-user dungeon (MUD) from the late 1970s, the 80s, and early 90s, which are considered the precursors to the first 3D MMORPGs.
One of the later MUDs was the text-based role-playing game DikuMUD created by some students from Copenhagen, which was released in 1991 and established many elements that were later used by various well-known MMORPGs.
On his website, developer veteran Raph Koster (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, EverQuest II) describes, for example (via raphkoster.com), that in DikuMUD there were already
fights with multiple phases,
skills with cooldowns,
the holy trinity of tank, healer, and DPS,
and first raid challenges (!) against powerful monsters like a dragon.
Raph Koster was, among other things, the lead designer for Ultima Online, creative director for Star Wars Galaxies, and chief creative officer for EverQuest II.
Who was the first to be inspired by DikuMUD? When the first EverQuest was released in March 1999, it offered, besides the massive game world, 14 classes, twelve races, guilds, and much more, but there was still no raid content; however, that was to follow in October 2002 – a premiere for the still young 3D MMORPG history. Coincidence?
Nope! There was even a near lawsuit as there were accusations that the EverQuest developers had taken too much inspiration from DikuMUD (and even copied part of the code). Thus, on the official website of DikuMUD, there remains a concluding statement to this day:
“The DIKU group is proud that the DIKU spirit has found its way into such an entertaining and award-winning game as EverQuest.”
Official screenshot from The Plane of Time of EverQuest
What was that raid in EverQuest like? In October 2002, “The Planes of Tower” was released as the now fourth expansion of the MMORPG. It was aimed at high-level players and introduced the raid challenge “Plane of Time” to Norrath, where a whopping 72 players had to collaborate to succeed.
Participants faced six time-critical phases, with five different trials needing to be completed in the first phase (with a maximum of 18 characters allowed to participate in one trial). In Phase 2, several waves of enemies were to be defeated in three areas.
Phase 3 then combined all areas to send eight more waves at the players, including some bosses. Afterwards came the “first major challenge”, at least according to this guide on raspersrealm.com. With Saryn, Terris Thule, Vallon Zek, and Tallon Zek, the raid had to overcome several bosses – fortunately not simultaneously, but in any order.
After defeating the lesser gods, Phase 5 brought the encounter with the higher gods Bertoxxulous, Innoruuk, Cazic Thule, and Rallos Zek. The finale was then capped off by the fight against the overlord Quarm. The developers of EverQuest thus made an impressive statement right from their first raid. More trivia can be found here: Why is loot always white, green, blue, purple, and gold?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A new series is starting soon, which takes various video games as inspiration. Among them is also Pac-Man, but its episode is supposed to be different from what one might initially expect.
Which series is it about? Secret Level is a new series, which will soon premiere with the first episodes. It is an animated series that tells a new story in each of its 15 episodes. Various video games serve as the basis, such as Sifu, Warhammer 40,000, or Mega Man.
The first episodes will be released on December 10, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Two episodes will be released each week. The project is led by filmmaker Tim Miller, who was also responsible for the anthology series Love, Death & Robots .
One episode of Secret Level is supposed to stand out in particular. The episode with Pac-Man could surprise the audience.
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Teaser Trailer for Secret Level – the anthology series on Prime Video
The Showrunners Had Creative Freedom
What was done with Pac-Man? The little yellow circle seems like a cute character at first glance. Yes, he constantly goes ghost hunting in his game and always seems hungry, but he still comes across as a harmless fellow.
In his episode of Secret Level , that could change. According to the creators, the episode is quite dark and brutal. It differs significantly from the original.
Dave Wilson, one of the producers of the series, explains that the explicit goal was to show the most absurd version of Pac-Man possible. In discussions with rights holder Bandai Namco, the Showrunners were encouraged not to stick too closely to the original.
We talked to the developers at Bandai, and the mission was: ‘We want the audience to wonder: What the hell have they done to Pac-Man?’ And we said: No problem.
After that, the creative minds behind Secret Level got together and came up with something really wild. The script was sent to Bandai Namco and was approved without comments. Only the placement of a logo was, according to Wilson, determined by the company. Other than that, the Showrunners could do whatever they wanted with Pac-Man.
Already in the first trailer , you get a quick impression of how Pac-Man now looks in the series. He is no longer cute and yellow but seems to be made of metal. When he opens his mouth, the view shows rotating, sharp teeth. Who Pac-Man will devour in his episode is still uncertain. In any case, the sight already makes it clear that we must say goodbye to the cute glutton.
Is this usually the case? Not necessarily. Usually, rights holders strictly control what is done with their characters. After all, they want to ensure that the identity of a brand is not completely turned upside down. Tim Miller sees it that way too: “I think there is a whole range of people who want to control the process very closely.”
In Throne and Liberty, while there are no classes to choose from at the beginning, your currently equipped weapons each create a class specialization.
How does the class system of Throne and Liberty work? As described in our Tier list of the best weapons of Throne and Liberty, the MMORPG does not rely on classes in the conventional sense. Instead, you can equip two different weapon sets, and you can switch between them at any time during combat.
It doesn’t matter which weapon you start with in the tutorial of Throne and Liberty. After a short time, you will reach a practice area and a weapon chest that grants you access to all seven weapon types of the MMORPG.
Update on December 6, 2024: With the spear, a new weapon was released on December 5, 2024, enabling numerous new weapon combinations. It’s clear that we have updated our overview of the classes from Throne and Liberty.
Those who are new to Throne and Liberty should find a guild:
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Throne and Liberty: Deshalb ist eine große und aktive Gilde so wichtig
Now also with spear specializations
Where do the class names come from? Depending on which two weapons you equip, a different playstyle emerges. And all 28 combinations have been given a class name by the developers that you can find in the character window (shortcut: P) in the upper left corner, above your character’s name.
The following class specializations are available:
NEW – Shadow Dancer: Spear plus daggers
NEW – Gladiator: Spear plus two-handed sword
NEW – Polearm: Spear plus bow
NEW – Steelheart: Spear plus sword and shield
NEW – Eradicator: Spear plus staff
NEW – Void Lance: Spear plus wand and book
NEW – Cavalier: Spear plus crossbow
Scorpion: Daggers plus crossbow
Devastator: Daggers plus two-handed sword
Berserker: Daggers plus sword and shield
Infiltrator: Daggers plus bow
Spellblade: Daggers plus staff
Dark Tormentor: Daggers plus wand and book
Paladin: Wand and book plus two-handed sword
Templar: Wand and book plus sword and shield
Wrath: Wand and book plus crossbow
Seeker: Wand and book plus bow
Summoner: Wand and book plus staff
Battlestitch: Staff plus crossbow
Guardian: Staff plus two-handed sword
Follower: Staff plus sword and shield
Redeemer: Staff plus bow
Ranger: Two-handed sword plus bow
Protector: Bow plus sword and shield
Scout: Bow plus crossbow
Forerunner: Two-handed sword plus crossbow
Crusader: Two-handed sword plus sword and shield
Plunderer: Crossbow plus sword and shield
Which class does MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz play? Rogue in WoW, Nightblade in ESO, Monk in Final Fantasy XIV: One could say that I favor swift damage experts who belong to the assassin or thief category.
In Throne and Liberty, I have thus chosen the combination of two daggers and crossbows. With many attacks in a short time, you can unleash extremely high single-target damage. However, the Scorpion cannot take too much damage and is only allowed to make limited mistakes. Which class have you chosen?
What else do I need to know about Throne and Liberty? Throne and Liberty will be released on October 1, 2024, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. There will be crossplay between the platforms. The MMORPG intends to fund itself through an in-game shop, battle pass, real-money currencies, and the sale of early access packages (starting from September 26, 2024). You can find more information in our comprehensive overview: Everything important about classes, release, crossplay, gameplay, payment model, early access, platforms of Throne and Liberty.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With Season 7, new content is coming to Diablo 4, and players are currently praising the new, small dungeons on the PTR. The “Root Halls” are said to be particularly rewarding and reminiscent of a feature that was really well received back in the day.
Which dungeons are we talking about? These are the “Root Hall” dungeons that are coming with Season 7 in Diablo 4. In these small dungeons, you can hunt the seasonal “Headrot” enemies, perform rituals, and secure rewards. To enter the dungeons, you need “Whisperwood” from Silent Chests and Whispering Tree Chests.
Blizzard summarizes the story of Diablo 4 in the video
A mix of Hellbreaks and Nightmare Dungeons
What is the dungeon compared to? In a post on Reddit, mightysleigher mentions that there is a selection of “Curse and Blessing” in the “Root Hall” dungeons – similar to the Hellflocks. This allows players to influence how the upcoming wave of monsters will unfold.
In the comment, heartbroken_nerd compares it to the Hellbreak Dungeons that were in Season 5. He writes: “If you enjoyed the Hellbreaks in Season 5, then these Root Halls are a mix of Hellbreaks and Nightmare Dungeons, adapted to the theme of the current season.”
Basically, Hellbreaks were a smaller version of the Hellflocks that were well suited for gathering XP. The developers based it on the dungeon “Tunnels of Domhainne”. Due to the good enemy density, layout, and constant action, the community dubbed it the “Dopamine Tunnel” back then .
How is this received? Euphoric_Bee_6909 was surprised to find the small “Root Halls”. He also notes that the keys for the dungeon drop rarely. He wishes for higher drop rates. heartbroken_nerd believes that you can only get them starting from Torment Level 1.
Some players comment that they are pleasantly surprised by the seasonal features. nanosam comments: “The mechanics for Season 7 are actually surprisingly well done. The mob density is crazy, and the number of events appearing in the new green seasonal areas is intense.” And mightysleigher comments that the mob density and witch powers make it “super fun”.
There will be new uniques, and the ancestral items will be reworked, with their drop rates increased.
On top of that, there are several “Quality of Life” changes that affect the base game. Among other things, Blizzard is overhauling the user interface for character creation, as well as the layout of the area at the “Whispering Tree”.
Brazilian History in the Demonic Purgatory: The new action RPG Hell Clock from Rogue Snail is available for free for a limited time in the Steam playtest and shows how the studio aims to create a connection between real war history and fast gameplay.
What kind of game is Hell Clock? The new ARPG from the Brazilian studio Rogue Snail appears at first glance to be a fusion of the demonic Diablo concept, dipped in the art style of Hades. And this assumption is not too far from the truth.
“When we started working on this game, we asked ourselves: ‘What if an entire Diablo season (…) only lasted 20 minutes?'” says Mark Venturelli, CEO of Rogue Snail, in conversation with PCGamesN. “And that’s what Hell Clock is: a roguelike that encourages aggressive and fast gameplay.”
The reveal trailer offers insights into the gameplay in question:
Start video
The reveal trailer of “Hell Clock” shows the art style and story of the new ARPG
Fast Gameplay and Real History Amid Demons
How does the gameplay work? As the protagonist Pajeú, one fights through an ever-deepening dungeon filled with demons and other challenges. You build various builds, fight monsters, and learn new skills to go as far as possible.
The entire gameplay is a three-part story campaign with a finale in which the chosen approach is put to the test.
However, the enemy demons of the dungeon are not meant to be taken literally. With each descent, you are confronted with the injustices of 19th century Brazilian history, which you must face and are given the chance to make amends for the past.
What role do true events play? The team places a special focus on the time of the Canudos War, a military conflict during the years 1896-1897, in which the town of Canudos was destroyed in conflict with the Brazilian Republic and many residents were killed.
We feel that we are ready to tell our version of the Canudos story – not only to the whole world but also to many Brazilian compatriots who may not be aware of the brutal events and the impacts that are still felt today.
Mark Venturelli, CEO of Rogue Snail (Source: PCGamesN)
How can one test Hell Clock? At this time, interested parties can participate in the playtest on Steam, which is available until December 11. Those who want to engage with the gameplay and story of the game need to act quickly.
The planned release of Hell Clock is set for the second quarter of 2025. Until then, however, the game can already be added to your wishlist. Anyone else interested in action RPGs and looking for an alternative to Diablo might find something on MeinMMO: Games like Diablo 2024 – The Best Alternatives to Diablo 4
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Path of Exile 2 brings new Ascendancy classes into the game. But for those who like to lead a horde of undead, there is now a problem.
Update from December 6, 2024: Maurice Weber has contacted us to respond to the community’s suggestions. We have updated the article with his response.
What is the problem? In Path of Exile 2, there are the so-called Ascendancy classes. These are class specializations that guide your character in a certain direction. In the predecessor, there were always three specializations per class. However, at the start of Early Access, only 6 of the 12 Ascendancy classes are available in Path of Exile 2.
The Witch, who is played by many players as a Necromancer with an undead army, has a problem with the new class specializations. While there was a specialization centered around undead minions in the predecessor, this is missing in the new version. Instead, only the Infernalist remains, which provides a bit of fire to the minions.
Here you can see the current gameplay trailer for Path of Exile 2:
Start video
Path of Exile 2 shows new gameplay trailer for early access
Minion fan is in despair
Maurice is part of the Webedia network, which also includes MeinMMO, GameStar, and GamePro.
How does the probably large German Necromancer fan react? Maurice Weber, with over 137,000 followers on Twitch, is probably the biggest German Necromancer fan. Now that it is known that there will be no class specialization solely for minions, he is in despair on X.com.
There he writes: “Path of Exile 2 shows its subclasses for Early Access and the WORST FEARS are coming true: Infernalist for the Witch is… only somewhat mediocre necromantic. Catastrophe! What are we supposed to do now, dear Necromancer colleagues?”
What does the Infernalist offer for minions? In response to Maurice Weber’s desperate inquiry, more Necromancer fans have come forward. They agree that the Infernalist is not a perfect minion build, but there are still useful aspects for Necromancers.
The Path of Exile content creator and Twitch streamer @saltydayn claims to have 17,000 hours of playtime in Path of Exile (via Twitch). He has specific tips for everyone who enjoys fighting with an undead army. On X.com, he writes:
Summoner Playstyle in Poe 2 is just a bit more active, Infernalist is indeed the right choice;
Hellhound minion is really strong + 20 % DR
Pyromantic Pact resolves Mana issues
Highest Spirit gain of all classes via Beidat’s Will
The build suggested by SaltyDayn uses the “Infernal Hound” ability, a minion that ignites all nearby enemies and tanks 20 % of incoming damage for the player. The build receives additional Spirit through the “Beidat’s Will” ability, the more life the character has.
Spirit is used to spawn more minions. The more Spirit the character has, the larger the army. Additionally, there is the skill “Pyromantic Pact”. This replaces your Mana with an ever-burning flame that consumes instead of Mana.
Instead of consuming Mana, the flame fills up. When it reaches its maximum, you take fire damage and the flame resets to 0. To let the flame decrease again without taking damage, you must stop consuming Mana.
How does Maurice Weber respond to the suggestions? Maurice Weber has contacted MeinMMO to respond to the suggestions from the community. He writes: “We have no choice. We must make the best of this necromancer-less world. Together! Together we must find the best possible minion build. Somehow! I hope I can count on you, my dear… uh, loyal viewers and community advisors!”
He also invites all interested players to his stream on Twitch. Daily streams are planned for the release weekend. On Friday, it kicks off right at the start of Early Access at 8:00 PM. On Saturday and Sunday, the stream starts at 1:00 PM. Content-wise, Maurice aims to build the best possible minion build and counts on your support.
Even though the class specialization of the Infernalist does not directly buff or significantly strengthen your army, the included buffs are quite useful and can solve the weaknesses and problems of the build. If you are still looking for the right specialization for your classes, you can find an overview with all the available ones for Early Access here: Path of Exile 2: These are the 12 Ascendancy classes available to play in Early Access
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A lack of tanks and healers is normal in MMORPGs. But World of Warcraft is currently exacerbating the problem.
Basically, there has always been a problem with the distribution of roles in World of Warcraft. There are endless DPS characters, but tanks and healers are in short supply. This leads to long wait times for group formation, whether automated or manual.
Over the years, Blizzard has introduced new classes that can function as tanks or healers, but the original problem remains unchanged.
Currently, it even seems that Blizzard has exacerbated this issue, as the shortage of healers and tanks is increasing. The reasons for this are obvious – at least part of the community believes so.
Start video
WoW celebrates 20 years of the highlights of Azeroth
What is the problem? With The War Within, tanks and healers have undergone massive changes. Tanks have to endure significant restrictions on their self-healing across all classes. While all tanks still have numerous cooldowns to keep themselves alive for a while, fully healing independently is nearly impossible. Tanks are extremely reliant on healers this season.
At the same time, healers are facing multiple problems. On one hand, they must focus more on the tank, and on the other hand, there are significantly more fights with a lot of unavoidable AoE damage.
Additionally, the interrupt system for enemies has been changed. As a result, spell interruptions are now less frequent, which in turn leads to more damage in the group and on the tanks. This adds extra strain to both roles.
What has happened as a result? These changes have led to more and more players throwing in the towel and losing their enjoyment of healing or tanking over the course of the season. The consequence is that groups are forming less frequently, and wait times have increased.
This is how the community discusses it: In the WoW Subreddit, the problem has been discussed for weeks, and various threads about it appear almost daily. In one of them, there are these opinions:
“I’m sorry, but nerfing all tanks so that ‘healing is more engaging’ was incredibly dumb. They need to revert the tank nerfs and change something about how horrendous healing is this season.” – Jigsaw-Complex
“You know what would help with the shortage of healers and tanks? Let’s massively nerf the survivability of tanks and make healing even more stressful. That will definitely encourage the player base to play those roles!” – Someone at Blizzard, probably” – Heybarbaruiva
Tomorrow, the research day “Emerging Dragons” will take place in Pokémon GO. There you’ll find an increased shiny chance for some Pokémon.
When is the event? The research day “Emerging Dragons” will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
What kind of event is this? The research day is an irregularly occurring event where field research takes center stage. You have 3 hours during the event to complete it and benefit from an increased shiny chance.
Start video
Pokémon GO reveals the new season Dual Destiny in the trailer
Research Day “Emerging Dragons” – All Information
Which Pokémon are available in field research? By completing the field research during the event, you can encounter the following Pokémon, all of which have an increased chance to appear as shiny:
Seeker*
Cracklion*
Wablu*
Algitt*
Which Pokémon are available in the wild? Additionally, you can find the following Pokémon in the wild:
Habitak*
Yanma*
Kanivanha*
Lithomith*
Piccolente*
Bithora*
All these Pokémon can also appear as shiny. However, the chance for this is not increased compared to the Pokémon from field research.
Paid limited research: For $2 (approximately €2), you can also purchase a paid limited research. During this, you need to complete field research and will be rewarded with encounters with an event Pokémon of your choice.
After the first part of the research, you can choose another Pokémon, which you can also find in field research, and then you will also receive further encounters with that Pokémon.
For all Pokémon you receive in the research, there is the same increased shiny chance as in field research.
The research day is just one of the events waiting for you in the game in the coming weeks. If you want to get an overview of all events this month, feel free to check out our overview of all events in December 2024 in Pokémon GO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The new Path of Exile 2 can already be downloaded earlier on PS5 and Xbox. However, those who purchased PoE2 on Steam cannot do so yet. A trick allows you to download the game in advance on PC.
Update, December 6: Steam now also has the preload available if you have purchased one of the aforementioned supporter packs. The download size is 86 GB. (via reddit.com)
When does the preload start? If you want to download Path of Exile 2 to start playing directly on Friday evening at the launch of Early Access, you can do so soon. The times vary by platform:
PC: The preload for Path of Exile 2 on PC starts on Friday, December 6 at 02:00 AM German time.
Xbox: For Xbox players, this starts earlier, as the game can already be downloaded now.
PS5: Those playing Path of Exile 2 on PS5 can download the game immediately as soon as the supporter packs are available in the store. This is expected to happen on Thursday, December 5 at 08:00 PM German time.
Steam: No preload has been announced for Steam yet, but with a trick, everyone who purchased the game on Steam or Epic Games can still download it in advance.
You can now watch the cinematic intro of Path of Exile 2 here:
Start video
Path of Exile 2: The Cinematic Intro of the Greatest Diablo Competitor
This trick also works for buyers on Steam
What is this trick? Those who purchased Path of Exile 2 on Steam or Epic Games currently have no option to download the game in advance. The developers of PoE2 state:
We are still checking whether we can offer the pre-downloads for other platforms and will update this post as soon as they are available.
However, if you still want to download Path of Exile 2 in advance, you can do so as a buyer of a version on Steam or Epic Games. The developers of PoE2 provide all players with a dedicated launcher for the game through their website. This is primarily intended for players who purchased their supporter packs through the game’s website.
But even as a buyer of a supporter pack on Steam or Epic Games, you can use this launcher:
Can you switch back later? Yes, once the game is available on Steam or Epic Games, you can install it anytime through your chosen platform and continue playing with your characters.
Since your accounts are linked, your progress is automatically transferred, and you don’t lose anything. However, switching is not mandatory. You can also continue to play the game through the developers’ launcher. Are you already looking forward to Path of Exile 2? Let us know in our survey: In a few days, Path of Exile 2 will start in Early Access – We want to know if you’ll be there
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The creator of PUBG is pursuing a big goal with a new survival game on Steam: A gigantic game world, perhaps as large as our Earth. A demo shows what could be possible.
What game are we talking about? Following the PC Gaming Show on December 5, 2024, the development studio Playerunknown Productions – the new studio of Brendan Greene, the former chief developer of Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) – announced three new games.
The first of the three announced games is named Prologue: Go Wayback! and is set to enter Early Access in the second quarter of 2025. The developers have also released a trailer.
Start video
PUBG creator Brendan Greene presents his latest project
New Technology for Huge Game Worlds
What kind of game is this? Prologue: Go Wayback! is a single-player survival game. Your goal is simple: Protect yourself from extreme weather, reach the weather station, and call for help.
As the name suggests, this is only a first step towards an even bigger game. This is currently known under the project name Artemis and is expected to offer multiplayer as well. At its center is a large, emergent open world that continually changes. This is made possible by an in-house technology called Melba, which, according to the developers, can instantly generate millions of maps through machine learning.
A preview of this technology is offered by Preface: Undiscovered World. This is a tech demo that you can now download on Steam. There, you can explore a “world at Earth scale” that is dynamically recreated each time, and without a cloud connection.
Scope and Future Projects
How large will Prologue: Go Wayback! actually be? The game is unlikely to reach the scale of the tech demo, at least the developers have not explicitly stated this anywhere. However, Project Artemis is likely to aim for such a large game world.
So far, it is only known that Project Artemis is also supposed to be a survival game. However, it will offer multiplayer as well. This could mean that it could do a lot more with such a gigantic game world than a pure single-player title.
What has been announced now? Excluding the tech demo Preface: Undiscovered World, two new games have been named. However, three games were announced. The second is intended to be released before Project Artemis, but more details about it are not yet known.
The current roadmap is as follows:
Preface: Undiscovered World (Tech Demo, now available)
Prologue: Go Wayback! (Single-Player Survival, Q2 2025)
In the manga and anime industry, many creators are under pressure. This often affects the health of many mangakas. That’s why it’s increasingly common for a manga to have to take a break.
Which manga is affected? This Sunday, the 410th chapter of the manga Hunter x Hunter will be released. For several weeks, fans have already been able to experience a new chapter of the story weekly. But now the manga is going on a longer break.
As the end of the chapter reveals, the manga will only continue “when it is decided.” So it’s still unclear when chapter 411 will be released. However, for fans of Hunter x Hunter, this is nothing new, as it has become rare for new chapters to be released at all. The reason for this is also well-known.
A fighting game based on Hunter x Hunter will be released soon:
Start video
Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact – The Trailer for the 2D Fighting Game of the Anime Adaptation
The mangaka of Hunter x Hunter needs to take care of his health
Why is the manga being paused? For several years, the release of a new chapter has repeatedly been interrupted because Yoshihiro Togashi, the mangaka of Hunter x Hunter, is not exactly in the best health (via X).
One reason is the stress that mangakas are exposed to. Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece, revealed that he used to sleep just a few hours and hardly ate. This negatively affected his health so much that at times he had to report his blood values to a doctor daily.
In Togashi’s case, however, it is his back that causes great problems. He suffers from chronic back pain and can therefore only draw sporadically. And that too only when he is lying down. It even got to the point where after every time he had a bowel movement, he got into the shower because he couldn’t wipe himself properly (via ANN).
Has the manga been on a break before? The last year in which the manga Hunter x Hunter was released regularly was 2005. After that, the publication has been repeatedly interrupted by eternally long breaks. The longest break was from 2019 to 2022.
At the beginning of 2023, four chapters were published, but then the manga had to go on break again until about 11 weeks ago. Since then, the chapters have been appearing weekly again, but now it is heading into the next indefinite break.
