A few days ago, a new installment of the popular horror series Five Nights at Freddy’s was released on Steam. The game has an exceptional style for the series and is therefore very well received by the players.
What kind of new title is this? The new game from the FNAF universe is called Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit. We take on the role of young Oswald, who wishes for a more exciting life. His wish is fulfilled when he explores the ball pit of a shabby pizzeria and finds himself in the past.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit is based on the first issue of the Fazbear Frights books, which the FNAF universe is based on.
As the title suggests, Oswald must survive five nights among creepy animatronic figures.
The game offers a story with puzzles that require Oswald to jump between several time levels.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit features a pixel art style that is new for veterans of the FNAF franchise.
As is usual for the video game series, we are being hunted by bloodthirsty animatronic figures. The game thus offers a balance between solving puzzles and hiding from the creepy dolls. However, what many users on Steam particularly like is that the title returns to its horror roots.
The launch trailer clearly shows the dark atmosphere present in the title:
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Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit – The Launch Trailer for the Horror Game
Game sets new record in 10 years of FNAF history
How is the game being received? Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit has the best rating on Steam of all video games released since the first part in 2014. The game currently holds a “very positive” score with around 3,000 ratings and 96% positive votes.
There are many comments where players say that this is the best game in the series for them. For a franchise that has existed for 10 years and has published numerous video games and spin-offs, this is an impressive achievement.
According to user ItsJustKetchup, the game is exactly what the series needed. The last installments had gradually lost their scare factor. The atmosphere of the new game finally does justice to the series.
As a long-time fan, user “toxic cookie” might be bothered by the pixel art. However, he admits that the aesthetics have a certain charm and can create an eerie mood and tension.
On One Piece Day, the manga by Eiichiro Oda is traditionally celebrated. On the occasion of the anniversary, it was clear in advance that there would be some announcements about the franchise. In a trailer, Netflix and Wit Studio have revealed to us for the first time how the remake of One Piece will look.
What kind of series will it be? The remake, which will be titled The One Piece, is a shorter summary of the events that occur in the original anime. Since the anime series now has over 1,000 episodes, it is difficult for newcomers to get into the series.
Therefore, The One Piece is supposed to condense the most important events to their essentials. How many episodes the anime will include is not yet clear. However, we can expect to save a lot of time if we want to watch One Piece from the beginning.
What does The One Piece look like? The team has now shown some images from the series. Instead of the old 4:3 ratio, the images have been adapted to modern screens with a 16:9 format.
Eiichiro Oda wanted the team not to simply copy the manga. Rather, they should develop their own style. The video shows that they have accomplished this. The anime has its own drawing style, which resembles more of a children’s book than the original.
The images of The One Piece can be seen in the following trailer:
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The One Piece – Interview with the Remake Team
The One Piece could become a long-term project
How long is it supposed to run? The series is initially supposed to include only the East Blue Saga. This means the series will end at the point where the Straw Hat crew leaves Logue Town. At that time, Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro are in the crew.
However, if the series is well received by the audience, more episodes are planned, according to Masashi Koizuka, the director of the remake. He plans to implement the series to the very end. However, that depends on how much the viewers like the series.
Where and when can I watch the remake? The One Piece will be available exclusively on Netflix. Unfortunately, we still do not know exactly when that will be. It is unlikely that the remake will start in 2024. It is more likely that The One Piece will not be released until 2025.
The ZDF is currently airing an unusual and more intense thriller from France from 2021 due to the Olympics, which MeinMMO author Schuhmann wants to recommend. He says “Black Box – Dangerous Truth” is one of the cleverest and most exciting thrillers of recent years, shedding light on a fascinating field that hardly anyone addresses: acoustics and aviation technology.
This is how Black Box begins: An airplane with 300 passengers crashes. There are no survivors.
Our protagonist Mathieu works as an acoustician for a French agency that is specifically responsible for investigating such accidents. Mathieu is an eccentric misfit and so good at his job that he gets on everyone’s nerves because colleagues and superiors do not hear what he believes he hears. “He’s a bit crazy,” they think, he hears “ghost noises.” Always overinterpreting everything. A bit high-strung.
Because he just had an argument with his boss, he is not allowed to participate in this “most important accident of his generation” and is sulking. Meanwhile, his wife, Noémie, is advancing her career, just switching from the government to the private sector, and getting a lucrative job at precisely the company that she has just declared safe.
They have a mutual friend, the head of a security company who also works in aviation and who helped her get the job. Yes, in France there are plenty of connections. That’s the only way to work in the excessively strict and annoying safety regulations reasonably. To be successful, one must navigate the social landscape well. Matthew is not good at that; he can listen, but only to stuttering engine noises and the black box, the recordings from the flight recorder; otherwise, he constantly gets into trouble with everyone.
When Mathieu goes to work the next day, his boss has disappeared. He has to step in and investigate the crash. After much fiddling and tinkering with an analysis program, he hears from the black box “Allahu Akbar” from the cockpit – so, a terrorist attack?
Start video
Black Box – Trailer for the French thriller about a crash analyst
A thriller that would be hard to imagine in the USA
What makes the film so special? As viewers, we consistently follow Mathieu, an unusual protagonist for a thriller, who has nothing of a rugged thriller hero. His area of expertise is listening, careful listening, and what he hears just doesn’t add up and drives him mad.
Moreover, everyone around him wants to dismiss the case as quickly as possible. The flight attendant wasn’t paying attention, a terrorist got into the cockpit and caused the plane to crash. It shouldn’t happen. There’s nothing to be done: human error and terrorism.
But Mathieu starts to dig deeper and faces fierce resistance at every step; even his own wife quickly thinks he’s crazy and overly upset.
A thriller without heroes
“Black Box” is a thriller that would hardly be made in the USA – the tension comes from an “honest puzzle”; every step is logical and invites viewers to guess along. More and more information is being decoded from the distorted radio transmissions, and the picture of what really happened is becoming clearer.
This is intelligent and highly suspenseful, with a coherent, exciting resolution. Here, thoroughly normal people become heroes because they do not take the easy path but the thorny one, where every step hurts and is connected with social exclusion and disadvantages. The perspective on the characters keeps changing: we see how Mathieu sees his wife in a new light time and again.
Can he trust his wife as a protagonist? Is she the loving, cuddly wife or a careerist who will do anything for her own success?
Can we as viewers even trust Mathieu and his “hearing” if no one else does?
Can we trust our own senses at all?
Why is the film unknown? Despite 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is practically unknown in this country.
The film has somehow been unlucky – even now at its Free TV premiere. It was supposed to air this Monday evening, July 6, at 10:15 PM on ZDF – but due to the Olympics, it only aired on Tuesday in the slot where the Monday film is usually repeated, so after midnight.
“Black Box – Dangerous Truth” is also a pretty dumb generic title for such a strong thriller that truly deserves more viewers and listeners.
You can still watch the thriller until September 5 in the ZDF media library. It’s free (via ZDF).
The online game Roblox serves as a platform to develop other games. Roblox is primarily aimed at children. An allegedly 28-year-old man was very successful with a variant of Sonic in 2020, during the Corona pandemic, and became a star within the community. However, he made many offensive remarks, and the community’s suspicion that something was wrong with the man was confirmed in the worst way.
Who is this person?
The allegedly 28-year-old man was known in Roblox as “DoctorRofatnik,” a reference to the villain from Sonic, Doctor Ivo Robotnik. He claimed that his real name was Jadon Shedletsky and that he was the brother of John Shedletsky, the Creative Director of Roblox. This turned out to be a lie. His age was also fabricated.
During the Corona pandemic, his game within Roblox, Sonic Eclipse Online, became a hit and he became a star.
But soon suspicions arose that there was something wrong with DoctorRofatnik. He talked about young girls who helped him develop as “sex slaves.” He described himself as an “old man with children in the basement” and made jokes about rape, as Bloomberg reported.
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Roblox – The Official Trailer for the Virtual Universe
28-year-old banned after accusations, but remains active in Roblox
What was the scandal? In September 2020, screenshots were published in which the supposed 28-year-old made inappropriate remarks towards a minor. In the screenshots, he said:
“You are 12, I expect you to be a little slow in maturity, but soon I will corrupt you beyond your wildest dreams.”
“Words cannot describe what I want to do with you.”
“You are the reason I will end up behind bars.”
As a result, Roblox banned DoctorRofatnik’s account, but his game remained online until SEGA intervened. SEGA was informed about the case by a 22-year-old Japanese man. They made the fan game about Sonic disappear through a copyright complaint at the end of 2021.
In any case, DoctorRofatnik remained active under other accounts until spring 2022, when he disappeared as well. As Bloomberg reports, it was suspected in the community that he might have harmed himself.
If dark thoughts trouble you, you can contact the hotline at 0800/111 0 111 and 0800/11 0 22 for free support nationwide. If you or people in your surroundings are affected by cyber-grooming, you can find information and resources on the website of the BKA.You can also contact the children’s and youth hotline at 116 111 anonymously and free of charge from Monday to Saturday between 2 PM and 8 PM. The parents’ hotline can be reached at 0800 111 0 550.
What official actions were taken against the man? Roblox itself stated that they reported him to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Just like Twitch did with DrDisrespect.
A YouTuber known as Ruben Sim tried to take it further and involve the police. But the police said there was not enough evidence to initiate a criminal investigation.
15-year-old disappears from home, travels to the 28-year-old
This has now come to light: In May 2022, a 15-year-old girl from the U.S. state of Indiana was reported missing. She had left the state with her personal valuables, even though she did not have the money to do so. The FBI learned from her sister that she had been talking in Roblox with a man named Jacob Shedletsky, who had sent her gifts and food.
After 8 days, the girl was found in Paterson, New Jersey. This is 1,100 kilometers from Indiana, approximately a 10-hour drive. There, they also found a man, Arnold Castillo, who had posed as Jacob Shedletsky, Jadon Shedletsky, and DoctorRofatnik. The man had paid an Uber driver $1,000 to transport the girl from Indiana to New Jersey. He confessed to having had sex with her multiple times over the 8-day period.
The perpetrator described his victim as a talented artist who was unhappy at home. He offered to help her.
“The worst nightmare of every parent”
A prosecutor described the situation as “the worst nightmare of every parent”: During the 8 days, the girl was housed in a rented room next to his apartment. There was no furniture, only a dirty mattress. The girl was dependent on him for money and food. When she complained of loneliness, the man brought her a toy doll. He also bought her hair dye to change her appearance.
The girl’s sister testified in court that the 15-year-old suffers from depression, anxiety disorders, and can neither leave her room nor attend school. The scars will remain forever.
The FBI was astonished to learn what Roblox players had already uncovered 18 months earlier.
How did it end? The man was sentenced to 15 years in prison in August 2023 (via justice.gov). He pleaded guilty to “transporting a minor with the intent to engage in sexual acts, as well as coercion and seduction of a minor.” At sentencing, his age was stated as 23, significantly younger than his virtual self.
What kind of discussion arises from this? The Bloomberg report concludes that while Roblox claims to do everything to protect children, it does not allocate enough resources for this purpose. There is simply a lack of personnel to protect so many children online from pedophiles:
Roblox has 3,000 moderators. This is far too few, especially if they want to meet their business goals and continue to grow.
In comparison: TikTok employs 40,000 moderators and is only 3 times larger than Roblox in daily users.
Roblox disputes this claim and states that the report misrepresents how they protect users of all ages. The report also neglects the complexity of the problem.
Nevertheless, Roblox plans to revise their safety program and create many new positions. Because the longevity and long-term growth of Roblox depends on their ability to protect their customers, Roblox states.
In Sailor Moon, there are various warriors named after celestial bodies or other parts of outer space. MeinMMO lists the 5 most powerful warriors in the anime.
What was the ranking based on? The ranking was based on the power of the warriors. This includes physical strength, reputation, and special abilities. Unfortunately, the Inner Senshi Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter do not appear in the ranking at all.
[toc]
Place 5: Sailor Uranus
Sailor Uranus is the physically strongest warrior.
Real Name: Haruka Tenou
First Appearance in the Anime: Episode 90
Sailor Uranus, like Sailor Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn, belongs to the “outer senshi.” The difference from the “inner senshi” is that she is not part of the guard around Princess Serenity. Rather, her task is to protect the solar system, including Earth, from enemies.
For her attacks, she uses wind element abilities. Among all the Sailor warriors, she possesses the greatest physical strength. With her power, she has secured the 5th place in this ranking.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Season 5 has completely thrown the balance of Diablo 4 into disarray. The once overpowered Barbarians have slipped, while the laughed-at Sorceresses are suddenly on top. MyMMO editor Benedict Grothaus is pleased about this, but it makes the decision harder than ever.
Since August 6, Season 5 has been playable in Diablo 4, the season of the Hell Hordes. And from what I see so far, Blizzard has done everything right:
What surprises me the most is the new balancing. Blizzard has really cranked the screws with buffs, nerfs, and new items. You can find the details in the patch notes for Season 5.
In general, it can be said that the new best classes are Sorceresses and Hunters – exactly the classes that I enjoy playing the most.
As a “Sorc Enjoyer”, I have suffered quite a bit over the last 4 seasons. Sure, the builds are fun, but compared to the Barbarians with their 500,000 Life Points and fantastillions of damage, I have always been just a small flame.
Now my class is suddenly on top, and I don’t even know how to deal with it.
Start video
Diablo 4: The gameplay trailer for Season 5, the season of the hell hordes
2 classes with 4 builds each in S-Tier
In the tier list with the best builds in Season 5, shortly after the start, Sorceresses and Hunters each have 4 builds represented. Sorceresses even have at least 3 builds in the following A-Tier.
This may sound like a luxury problem, but: what in hell should I actually play now? Until now, there may have been one or two builds per season that weren’t completely out of the race. Now I don’t even know which gear to farm first.
And what may be even worse: Do I remain loyal to my now seventh Sorceress, or will my main this season actually be a Hunter?
At the moment, I’m just playing and seeing what happens. As a Firewall Sorceress, it levels quite comfortably, and depending on the Uniques I find, I’ll then decide on my build in the endgame.
Sorceresses and Hunters dominate, but why?
The strength of Hunters and Sorceresses is due to new items and buffs. Sorceresses now receive significantly more damage per attribute point, just like Druids and Necromancers. Hunters at least get a bit more.
The “game-changer” is, however, new or revised items. For Hunters, especially the Umbracrux, a new dagger, which is included in almost every build. With the Unique, you summon totems that reflect your damage onto multiple enemies. Due to a bug, the powerful weapon even had to be disabled.
For Sorceresses, there are two items that I see in many strong builds:
Splitter Verathiels, a sword that adds mana costs to base skills and increases their damage.
Most of the S- and A-Tier builds are based on one of these items and, what’s even better, they even allow for previously unseen builds. I can’t remember that the selection of strong builds in Diablo 4 has ever been so varied.
At the moment, Sorceresses and Hunters are the two best classes – perhaps Hunters even have a bit more power. Nevertheless, at the moment, every class has at least one, usually even two or three builds in S- or A-Tier.
No matter which class you play: You will be able to keep up in the endgame. At least as it stands now, the tier lists are still adjusting. And even though Blizzard has promised to “generally” change nothing about the balance in the seasons, I sense a nerf for the Umbracrux. If I’m wrong, I’ll be even happier.
I’m currently pleased with the direction Diablo 4 is heading, even if I have to get used to suddenly playing a meta class. Do Barbarians always feel this way? Are all expecting some heroic deeds from me now? But if this continues, I foresee a bright future for Vessel of Hatred – and I’m almost a bit sad that Season 5 will probably be significantly shorter than usual. Because the expansion is coming soon. Here you can find all the info on Vessel of Hatred.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Artificial intelligence threatens jobs, particularly in some sectors. One industry of particular concern is call centers. They could soon disappear, according to the CEO of an Indian IT giant.
The cover image is a symbolic representation.
Which industry is being discussed? Techspot.com reports on a conversation with Krithi Krithivasan, CEO of the Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with the Financial Times. TCS employs more than 616,000 people worldwide and is one of the largest companies on the subcontinent. He talks with them about the development of the call center market – and he brings a grim forecast for its employees.
Start video
In Germany, there are over 400 USB sticks protruding from walls – What is the ‘Dead Drops’ project?
AI threatens 17 million jobs
What could happen to the call center industry? Chatbots like ChatGPT, Meta AI, or Microsoft Copilot have gained enormous popularity and quality over the past few years: The better the results in communication with humans, the more appealing it becomes for companies to widely deploy chatbots – for example, in customer or tech support.
According to Krithivasan, it will only take “one year or a few years” before AI reduces jobs in call centers to a minimum. Human employees will primarily serve as backups in case the front-end AI cannot answer the customer’s questions.
Such use cases already exist at many companies, and he expects this to quickly become standard for the general population on a global scale. According to data from a specific report on AI (via Gartner), around 17 million jobs would be directly affected in or around the field of call centers.
How reliable are these forecasts? Generally, such predictions should be treated with caution, even by experts. Ultimately, the processes within companies are complex, and expanding the perspective to entire industries makes the situation even less clear. AI can equally create new job fields. But one thing Krithivasan sees as certain: The desire of managers to use AI is strong – whether to save labor costs or to reduce wages.
When Amazon’s stock value dropped by 80 percent in 2020, Bezos reached out to shareholders by letter. What we can all learn from it.
When did Amazon lose so much value? In 2000, Amazon’s stock lost about 80 percent of its value in just a few months. A shock for investors. This is why Jeff Bezos wrote an open letter to all shareholders (those who owned stock).
How is Amazon doing today? Recently, the stock of Jeff Bezos’ company also dropped significantly in value, from about 170 euros at the beginning of August to about 150 euros on August 9, 2024. Therefore, it is worthwhile to take a look at the fascinating document regarding Amazon’s history – and to learn from it. Generally, the global corporation is not in a crisis.
Today, Amazon as a corporation offers far more than just products in online retail. They are also a global giant in series and films.
Start video
The official trailer for the Fallout series on Amazon in German
Stay calm, the billions are only temporarily missing
What did Jeff Bezos write to investors? He primarily referred to a quote from economist Benjamin Graham, who is considered a mentor to Warren Buffett. The latter is a legendary investor who strictly aligned his actions according to a principle of his teacher, which Bezos also referred to at that time:
Short-term, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine
What does this mean? In brief, it means for companies: Markets can easily err in the short term and “vote” incorrectly, but in the long term, they function and reveal which companies manage to establish themselves because their business model is solid and future-oriented.
Bezos interpreted the statement in this way and pointed out that Amazon should be doing economically well and that the stable foundation should continue to be expanded. Even if the stock price falls, things are going very well internally. To maintain the image of a weighing machine as a display of success, he wrote: “We want to make the company heavier” – and he succeeded. Today, Amazon is one of the most significant companies in the world. You can find the complete letter in English here as a PDF (via document archive).
What can we learn from this in general? Anyone who deals with economic contexts, whether professionally or privately, should keep one thing in mind according to Bezos: It is about long-term development that builds a solid foundation for a project, a company, or whatever. In the short term, many things may look relatively bad, which may turn out to be a complete success months or even years later.
Where was the stock at the beginning of the 2000s? Back then, it was only a few euros per share. It wasn’t until 2013 that Amazon broke the 10-euro mark. Nevertheless, the drop was drastic and worried investors. You can view the exact values here on Yahoo Finance.
In 2022, there was also a significant drop in the stock price – however, this resulted from a stock split. In this process, the value of each share is reduced, but the number in all shareholders’ accounts is correspondingly increased, for example, “value divided by 20”, but “number also multiplied by 20”. Therefore, no shareholder loses assets, but the price is at least temporarily lower, which should attract new investors. You can read more about it, for example, at Forbes.
Above you can find more content about people who have made it far with their companies. And for those who want to know how Jeff Bezos organized Amazon internally to grow relatively quickly without overextending themselves, we have something: In the following article, we explore one of the strategies: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ recipe for higher productivity is simple: two pizzas
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A streamer on Twitch shared an encounter with two children that was initially quite unpleasant. That changed after all three got to know each other.
Which streamer is it about? Tokibbi streams on Twitch and runs a YouTube channel. Like many of her colleagues, she frequently has online encounters with various people.
On x.com, she now shares how she encountered two children while playing Valorant, who initially behaved very poorly. Tokibbi did not want to let that slide and sought a conversation with them.
Start video
3 German Twitch streamers you should know
Not so bad after all
What does the streamer say? While playing Valorant, two children spoke up in the voice chat, criticizing other players in a rather exhausting manner.
Initially, Tokibbi just listened and then told her viewers that such toxic behavior was the reason she herself did not want to have children. However, as she continued to listen to the two, she realized that beneath their mean facade, there were actually two lovable children.
The streamer started a conversation and got along well with them. This ended with all three taking a group photo in the game. She later posted a short video of their encounter on YouTube:
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What did the children write? They were likely excited to appear so prominently in the streamer’s video. One of them commented on YouTube: “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize your voice. I watch you all the time.”
The second one also recognizes himself in the video and wrote: “That’s so cool!” Tokibbi replied to both and urged them to behave well and work hard in school during the next school year. Instead of a sassy response, both agreed. One of them even wrote: “I will, I promise.”
In the end, the streamer summarized how much she enjoyed the interaction. She found them very sweet and it showed her once again why she does her job in the first place.
In LoL there is a concerning clip that has consequences. The South Korean star player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok lost a match against his arch-rivals GenG. The League of Legends star apparently could not cope with the defeat and repeatedly hit his head against a wall in frustration. Fans are worried about their idol and are sending him much love.
This is the situation surrounding T1 and GenG:
T1 is the most popular team in the world. Faker is the iconic star of T1, known and revered by LoL players for over a decade. But even though T1 is so strong internationally, there is a team in Korea that is considered their nemesis and has been in a clinch with them for years: GenG.
Since 2022, T1 has finished second behind GenG 6 times in the regular seasons and playoffs. Only 3 times has T1 triumphed over them (via lol.fandom)
Also in 2024, GenG is impressively strong again. With a record of 15-0, they lead the Summer Split in South Korea. T1 is in 4th place with a record of 8-6. GenG has continually acquired the best Korean players and this year they seem even stronger than in previous years.
Faker is considered an iconic player of LoL, who became world champion in 2023, but this year GenG seems unbeatable:
Start video
LoL – Hall of Legends: Faker Trailer
Faker Hits Head Against a Wall, Scaring Fans
This was the shocking scene: In a regular match on August 3, T1 faced GenG and although T1 started strong, GenG managed to turn the match around.
Commentators saw the clip as a sign of the immense pressure professionals in LoL are now under.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W419gJhspLQ
“I Only Earned My Degree with Honors Because of You”
These are the reactions: In the days following, the hashtag “#We_Stand_For-Faker” was established online, under which LCK fans express their support for Faker.
In numerous posts, people reassure how much T1 and Faker mean to them:
A girl writes that she graduated with honors from one of the best universities in Vietnam and she only achieved that because of Faker. He and T1 saved her from the “darkest time of her life”.
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“You Treat Other People So Gently – But Not Yourself”
Another fan urges Faker: “Please don’t hurt yourself. We all love you. You treat other people so gently, but not yourself. Take care of yourself.”
A third fan says: “I am so proud of you and I admire you. Please smile more. I like your smile. Trust yourself, we will always stand behind you and support you. You deserve more than this.”
“I know that you stand under a lot of dirt, even though you always try to be the best. Please take good care of yourself. I hope you don’t forget your own worth and don’t forget to believe in yourself. I will always be by your side.”
“We love you Faker, whether you win or lose. Please be gentle with yourself.”
Can you only tackle the Honour Mode in Baldur’s Gate 3 with really terrible strategies? A YouTuber wanted to find out – and the result is painful.
The Honour Mode of Baldur’s Gate 3 is considered a particularly tough challenge. After all, you have only one save file, and once the group is wiped out, the game is over. Therefore, good planning and foresight are essential to master this difficulty.
Some strategies considered “cheesy” can help. But what happens when you rely solely on such strange strategies? That’s what YouTuber Fracture shows, and we promise: You will repeatedly facepalm.
Start video
Baldur’s Gate 3 is 1 year old and to celebrate the creators share your dirty secrets
What rules does he impose on himself? To keep the run exciting, Fracture has imposed a few special rules on himself. These include:
Each strategy is used only once per run.
The characters are mostly naked. Exceptions are made only when a strategy requires specific equipment.
The result is that he is now forced to use as many different strategies as possible to tackle or bypass the battles in Baldur’s Gate 3.
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What strategies does he use? Those who expect only fair and honorable methods will now be enlightened.
For example, he leaves one of his characters stand aside from the fight and creates a pool of poison on the ground. He then dips a sausage (a mace) in it and passes the poisoned sausage around among all the characters every time they get to attack.
Another strategy is quite macabre. The group kills the mage Gale. Since he creates a necrotic aura upon death that damages everyone nearby, one can use the mage’s corpse as a weapon. Fracture puts Gale in a bag and tosses it back and forth on the battlefield, causing damage every time – infinitely per round.
Equally bad: He lets the little tiefling girl Arabella die first, only to resurrect her in the Underdark – and attack the Druid Grove. Children do not participate in round-based combat, so Arabella can kill absolutely everything without the fight progressing.
Right in the first village, he completely robs the merchant with a trick: If you sell a bag to the merchant, you can then push the entire inventory of the merchant into that bag and then pass it on to your own bag. This way he has a lot of equipment to master the start of the game.
Before the fight against the goblins in the camp, he respecs all his characters and summons 4 Mage Hands, which then drink strength potions (don’t ask). After that, they rain projectiles mercilessly down on the poor goblins.
Is all of this intended? Whether one sees all these strategies as “legal” or “fair” is probably up to personal interpretation. Some tricks, such as the method of completely robbing a merchant without resistance using two bags, should clearly be considered an exploit. Other methods, such as the “Gale in a bag,” are certainly strange, but the developers have repeatedly stated that Baldur’s Gate 3 was designed with the intention that fans would find strange ways that feel like exploits.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
It’s time again for our MeinMMO format “MMORPG News in Two Minutes.” We summarize the most important news regarding the best genre in the world. Look forward to news about ArcheAge 2, Aion 2, Throne and Liberty, Corepunk, WoW: The War Within, Final Fantasy XIV, ESO, and many other online role-playing games.
The highlights of the week:
The launch patch of WoW: The War Within will already be released on August 14, 2024 – featuring extensive class adjustments. From August 23, 2024, all pre-orderers of the Epic Edition will be able to dive into the contents of the new expansion. The worldwide release will occur on August 26 or 27, 2024.
And once again FFXIV: On August 27, 2024, the temporary EU data center Shadow will close its doors (via de.finalfantasyxiv.com). With the extra fallback worlds, developers managed to ensure a smooth Dawntrail launch.
Until August 19, you can play The Elder Scrolls Online for free, as the developers have launched a new free-play event in celebration of QuakeCon 2024 (via elderscrollsonline.com).
Based on feedback from beta testers, the developers of Guild Wars 2 have announced a long list of spear changes for various classes for the Janthir Wilds expansion (via guildwars2.com).
Amazon Games has released some statistics after the console test of New World Aeternum. More than 680,000 quests have been completed, and over 3.6 million enemies defeated. The bow has been used the most (via newworld.com).
What happened with the smaller MMORPGs:
A new raid boss, the Spider Queen, appeared in Tarisland on August 5, 2024 (via X).
From August 8 to 12, 2024, the test servers of Rift are surprisingly open. However, it seems there are no new features for interested players to check out (trionworlds.com).
Pearl Abyss has released a financial report with details on Eve Online and Black Desert. The space MMO is enjoying rising revenues (and a player record, thanks to the Equinox update). Meanwhile, the revenue figures for Black Desert have slightly declined but are still about three times higher than those of Eve Online (via irsvc.teletogether.com).
Speaking of Black Desert: The expansion Mountain of Eternal Winter has now also been released for the console version of the MMORPG (via console.playblackdesert.com). PC players have been able to explore the winter region for over two years now.
With patch 26.010.1, the first patch for Albion Online: Paths to Glory went live on August 7, 2024. The German list of hotfixes can be found at albiononline.com.
The development of ArcheAge 2 is delayed. The MMORPG will not be presented to the public at gamescom 2024, and the release may be pushed to 2026.
Aion 2 is still planned for 2025. Additionally, a new MMORPG based on a globally recognized IP is reportedly in development, which is expected to launch in 2026 and utilize Unreal Engine 5.
“The most frustrating experience for new players that I have ever had in an MMORPG” – MMORPG expert TheLazyPeon has taken a look at the third alpha test phase of Corepunk and provided a critical interim assessment. By the way, Alpha Test 4 will run from August 6, 2024, to September 6, 2024. It is expected to enter Early Access on November 26, 2024.
With that, we have summarized the most important things that have recently happened in the world of MMORPGs.
What have you been excited about this week? What have you been upset about? Let us know in the comments. By the way, there was a new special from MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz the other day, in which he listed some killer features that no new online role-playing game should do without: These 10 great features should be included in every MMORPG
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Korean gaming giant Nexon is experiencing a resurgence thanks to new games. The business figures for the second quarter of 2024 look excellent and there’s great anticipation for the future: The current Steam hit The First Descendant will fully launch in the third quarter. There are 8 new games in the pipeline – 4 of which are expected to come to the West.
What do the figures for Nexon look like? The figures for the second quarter of 2024 are excellent (via irpocket):
Revenue has increased by 30% compared to the previous year
This even exceeds the company’s expectations
Nexon is also expected to continue its growth in the future.
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The First Descendant shows the skills of the new descendant Luna in the gameplay trailer
The First Descendant is a “global success”
What about The First Descendant? This is arguably the most important new game from our European perspective. The First Descendant is a new brand for Nexon that only launched on July 2nd. Therefore, the revenue from The First Descendant will not yet count in the already strong figures but will only reflect in the third quarter.
It is emphasized that The First Descendant is a “global success” and there are expectations of further growth in the third quarter of 2024.
Mobile variant of the massive MMORPG doubles Nexon’s revenue in China
These are the current drivers: Nexon achieved a growth of 57% compared to the previous year with 3 game series:
Dungeon & Fighter – the largest MMORPG in the world on PC, has now received a mobile version in China and earns a lot of money from it
MapleStory – the classic MMORPG is experiencing a resurgence
FC – the football manager is also running successfully
In relation to the three games, Dungeon & Fighter Mobile and FC Online are performing so strongly that they balance out other weaknesses, such as in Dungeon & Fighter on PC.
By regions, the success of Dungeon & Fighter Mobile in China overshadows all other areas. In China, Nexon’s revenue has doubled in a single quarter. In South Korea and the West, revenue has slightly decreased, and in Japan, it has remained almost the same.
For the coming quarters, Nexon continues to expect strong growth:
In China, mainly through Dungeon & Fighter Mobile
In Japan, North America, Europe, and the rest of the world through “The First Descendant”
In North America and Europe, a doubling of revenue in 2024 compared to 2023 is anticipated.
Nexon focuses on PC and consoles – and action – for the West
What are the plans for the future? In the coming years, 8 games are planned, none of which has an actual launch date yet. 3 of the games like Mabinogi Mobile, Supervive, or Overkill are intended only for the Asian market. Very little is known about MapleStory N, so no information can be provided here. It will likely rely on blockchain.
However, 4 games are also expected to come to the West:
The First Berserker: Khazan – A hardcore action RPG for PC and consoles, in the same game universe as Dungeon & Fighter
ARC Raiders, a PvP Extraction shooter for PC and consoles
Nakwon_ Last Paradise – An extraction survival game for PC
Vindictus: Definy Fate: The genre is still pending, it is supposed to take place in the Vindictus world and will be released for PC and consoles
South Korea is not really into “consoles” – South Korea is strictly a PC and mobile market. Typically, when South Koreans talk about consoles, they mean PS5 and Xbox.
We have collected series that are similar to Pretty Little Liars in a list. We present 7 titles that you might like.
What is Pretty Little Liars? The series follows four friends – Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily – whose lives are turned upside down after the disappearance of their friend Alison DiLaurentis. One year after Alison’s disappearance, the girls begin to receive mysterious messages from an anonymous person named “A” who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets. The series is known for its thrilling plot twists, complex characters, and the constant guessing of who is behind “A”.
If you are a fan of Pretty Little Liars and looking for similar series, we have some recommendations for you. Feel free to leave a comment if you have more tips.
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1. Yellowjackets
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Trailer for the first season of Yellowjackets
The story centers around a girls’ soccer team from New Jersey whose plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness in the 1990s. The team then splintered into rival groups, and the traumatic events of that time haunt the survivors into the present day. Today, around 25 years later, they are threatened by a mysterious blackmailer who threatens to reveal their dark secrets.
This is what IMDb ratings say:On IMDb the series has an average rating of 7.8 stars from 88,470 reviews.
2. Cruel Summer
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Trailer for Season 1 of Cruel Summer
This thriller and mystery series revolves around the disappearance of popular student Kate Wallis and the unassuming Jeanette Turner, who gets associated with her disappearance. Jeanette becomes the most hated person in America. The series tells the story over three years from different perspectives.
This is what IMDb ratings say: With 20,425 reviews on IMDb the series gets an average of 7.4 stars.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Helldivers 2, reckless actions can quickly lead to the death of others. It’s unfortunate when that involves a friend. A Reddit user experienced just that when he discovered a detail in the game.
What detail is it about? Helldivers 2 repeatedly catches attention with absurd stories, such as when it comes to emotes, which can sometimes save lives. The Reddit user iliekturedles14 also has a story to share – but with a different outcome.
In a post on Reddit, the user shared a video where he points out an inconspicuous detail in Helldivers 2. His character approaches a terminal, causing the game to switch to first-person perspective.
In this moment, the weapon in the player’s hand is also shifted, pointing not forward but diagonally left upward. This is not unusual for a shooter and can be found in many games of this type when the character is approaching a wall or similar obstacles.
However, the user made a grave mistake. He fired a shot, which had consequences for his buddy.
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Helldivers 2 shows in the new war bond ‘Flame of Freedom’ fiery democracy
Friendly Fire Provides Unintentional Comedy
What happened after the shot? Whether the user fired his weapon intentionally or just by accident is not clear from the video. What is certain is that the bullet, due to the angle of the weapon at that moment, did not go forward but to the side. Exactly where a friend of the player stood.
Since there is Friendly Fire in Helldivers 2, and it was likely a random headshot, the co-player died. His weapons flew through the air, and he sank to the ground.
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What does the community say? Under the post on Reddit, comments from other players gather. The scene mainly evokes amusement:
“The cut to the equipment flying to the side almost killed me too,” writes SKaffine amusedly.
“P4 [name of the deceased] did not deserve this death. May he be remembered as a hero,” says Financial-Patient471.
“Just … leave that out of the official report,” suggests Dragonkingofthestars.
“Oh man, I shot Marvin in the face …,” quotes BasakalsTheStrongest a scene from Pulp Fiction that ended similarly.
“It was for science,” emphasizes the user paploleon.
Overall, the small detail is well received by the community. It provides funny moments like these and sweetens the arduous day-to-day battle for democracy and freedom. Another player has taken it upon himself to assist newcomers in Helldivers 2 with challenging missions. However, he receives not only gratitude for it – read on MeinMMO to find out why the friendly helper was yelled at and kicked.
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PvP duels in Old School RuneScape will soon be a thing of the past – at least if they use certain “rules”.
Although Old School RuneScape is certainly anything but a visual delight, the MMORPG enjoys great popularity. However, success always comes with various dubious dealings, as seen in many different games. Particularly, participation in “RMT”, or “real money trading”, is forbidden in almost all games – including RuneScape.
Yet, in dubious “PvP duels”, many believed they could evade this rule. But now Deathmatching is being put to a stop.
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Old School RuneScape – Trailer for the Steam Release
What is “Deathmatching”? In Deathmatching, as the name suggests, two characters meet for a PvP duel. In advance, they agree on what the “stake” will be. Usually, it involves a large amount of in-game currency that both characters are carrying. In a duel for life and death, they then fight over that exact stake. The loser drops their stake on the ground, and the winner collects it.
What is the problem with Deathmatching? What initially appears to be a completely normal duel usually has a component of real money trading according to Jagex. The duel is merely used as a smokescreen so that afterwards it can be claimed: Yes, everything was clean, I won the money fairly in a duel. The developer Jagex states:
Deathmatching devalues honest PvP and has become an increasingly popular way to participate in real money trading. These activities also encourage the buying of accounts that were created with the intention of participating in Deathmatching.
Moreover, Deathmatching is often used as a form of gambling. Participants use special equipment and rules that make their characters virtually equally strong – and then luck is the only factor that decides the winner. For some, it’s a casino substitute, which Jagex had banned years ago.
Jagex also seems to be aware that people will resort to other methods. However, they are confident that they will be able to track them down even then. After all, they have been working on a solution for Deathmatching for nearly two years and are now enforcing this rule because the developers “worked hard to ensure that [they] have a robust system to detect and punish such activities.”
Does this also affect normal PvP? Normal PvP is not affected by this change. Anyone participating in ordinary PvP fights does not have to worry about their account. However, those who have devoted themselves to the dark dealings of “Deathmatching” should quickly reconsider their actions. Because starting August 15, 2024, this could lead to a permanent account closure.
Although Old School RuneScape has been around for several years, there are always exciting stories of people breaking special records. Just recently, a “hero” delved deep into the game’s arrows and confused the community with the death of 16,000 chickens.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny 2, players have been able to discover something in the data since the latest update that looks like a new event for the 10th anniversary of the loot shooter. What you can expect is explained here.
What was discovered? After Patch 8.0.5 was released by Bungie, guardians found hints in the data about an upcoming event. The event revolves around the 10-year anniversary of Destiny. It is expected to bring new triumphs, a seal, and new armor into the game.
If you want to avoid spoilers, you should stop reading now. More details about the event can be found in the following section.
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Bungie shows the future of Destiny 2 after The Final Shape in the new trailer
Nostalgic Armors in New Design
What rewards are available? It’s not known exactly yet. A key art has been found in the data that is supposed to show an upcoming armor. The armor of each class is said to be nostalgically based on concept art from Destiny 1. Here we have selected the key art from Reddit for you:
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Unfortunately, no new weapons or other activities like dungeons are visible. The only thing that can be read from the text is that hidden chests can be found in the Bleached Heart of the Traveler. Whether the armors can be found in these or if one has to check out new missions is also unclear.
It is possible that Bungie could bring new missions, as well as weapons or a new dungeon for entertainment.
Is the event free? As much as the guardians would like a free event, nothing is known about this yet. It is conceivable that Bungie will sell this event just like the 30th Anniversary event for a small fee.
However, it could also be the case that the developers will offer the package for free so that guardians still have something to do until Episode 2 starts. According to data miners, there are supposed to be paid ornaments that can be purchased for real money.
When does the event start? This is also unknown for now. Destiny 1 was released on September 9, 2014. It is conceivable that Bungie will launch the event on September 3 or 10, 2024, as that is when the weekly resets take place and a new week as well as a server downtime could occur.
In World of Warcraft: The War Within, there was a bug for collectors. But the bug was so great that now everyone is demanding: Make it a feature! Blizzard complies.
A beta test is intended for finding errors and testing mechanics. However, some bugs turn out to be so great that the community later demands: Please make this a feature. This is exactly what has happened in WoW: The War Within. A bug resulted in much better collecting of transmog items and this will now retrospectively become a feature.
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WoW Cinematic: Threads of Destiny
What kind of bug was that? During the beta of The War Within, the warband feature was already extensively tested. One thing that worked differently at times: When you completed a quest, you unlocked all transmog templates that this quest could ever grant – even for other classes. So, for example, a mage could also unlock two-handed axes. A single completion of the quest meant that all rewards landed in the template collection.
The bug was so popular that the community assumed it was a feature.
However, Blizzard recently explained that it was a bug (via blizzard.com). While quests should unlock multiple transmog rewards, they were supposed to be only those that could be selected upon completing the quest.
The disappointment was correspondingly great. Of course, because the current rule means that you have to complete each quest up to 8 times with different classes to unlock everything. This clearly stands in the way of the idea of account-wide progress.
Blizzard is turning the bug into a feature: In the official WoW forum, Blizzard has taken this feedback to heart and states: The former bug will become a feature.
After the introduction of the warband, we have followed a lot of discussions and received much feedback from transmog collectors. We want to let you know that we are currently working on some improvements to the collection of templates that are planned for the next patch after the release of The War Within. […]
We are working on the much-discussed update that will allow, when quests are completed, all templates from non-cosmetic item rewards to be unlocked, regardless of whether your class could see or select those rewards. We plan for this to be retroactive so that all quests you have completed in the past should grant all corresponding templates the first time you log in after the patch. The intention is to remove the need to complete these quests multiple times with different classes to receive all the templates they can grant.
“Incidentally,” you will also be able to unlock class tier sets in old raids that you are not actively playing. For some raids, this was already possible through account-bound set tokens, but some raids drop the equipment directly – and this required being present with the correct class.
When will this feature be released? Blizzard has already revealed that the feature will appear with the first patch after the release of The War Within, specifically with patch 11.0.5. Work is already actively underway on this patch, as the update has already been deployed to the test realms and should be unlocked in the coming days. This also makes clear how things will continue after the release of The War Within.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO, you will receive Crypto-Cresselia from Giovanni. Is it worth catching?
Currently, Adventure Week: Takeover is underway in Pokémon GO. As part of this event, Team GO Rocket has returned to the game with full force.
Part of the takeover includes the rotating teams of the leaders. In addition to Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo, the main villain Giovanni has also changed his team. He now has a Crypto version of Cresselia with him.
However, the battle is not easy.
First, you must defeat all Rocket leaders to obtain the Super Rocket Radar.
Pokémon GO: Finding Rocket Bosses – How to Collect the Rocket Radar and Track Them Down
How strong is Crypto-Cresselia in Pokémon GO?
Cresselia is a pure Psychic Pokémon, meaning it does not have a second type. The legendary Pokémon from the fourth generation is characterized by its ability to take hits.
As a raid attacker: If you are looking for strong Psychic attackers for raids, unfortunately, you are at the wrong place with Cresselia. The monster is not particularly helpful in raids and is easily outperformed by other Psychic-type Pokémon.
So you won’t gain anything here. Instead, rely on monsters like Mewtwo, Hoopa, Necrozma, or many other options.
As a PvP attacker: This is where it gets interesting. Thanks to its HP and defensive stats, Cresselia is particularly suited for the battle league. For years, it has been considered a very strong option in the Ultra League, as well as a good monster for the Great League.
The problem: A Great League Cresselia is not easy to obtain, as you need values under 1,500 CP. You need some luck for that.
But with the Crypto variant, you finally have a very good opportunity to reliably get a “sufficiently weak” Cresselia for the Great League.
According to PvP expert “JRE47”, Crypto-Cresselia represents a kind of sidegrade for the regular Cresselia (via reddit). It gains a few potential victories but loses a few others as well. Nonetheless: An interesting monster for the battle league.
It is also conceivable to purify Cresselia to improve its stats, as the standard Cresselia ranks slightly higher than the Crypto variant in the rankings of PvPoke.com. However, be aware that you must not exceed the CP limits when purifying.
And: If you want to use the Crypto variant, make sure that Cresselia learns to forget Frustration during the Rocket event. This annoying move needs to go, but this is only possible during Rocket events. Instead, you want the charge moves Moonblast and Grass Knot, with Grass Knot only available through an Elite TM. For the fast move, Psychocut is worth it.
Is it worth catching Cresselia? That depends on what you are looking for.
If it’s missing in your Pokédex? Then definitely.
Do you need it for raids? Then probably not.
Do you want to use it in PvP? That could be worthwhile.
Will you catch Cresselia? Or do you prefer to save the battle against Giovanni for the next Crypto monster? Let us know in the comments and share your tips on which monsters you use to fight Giovanni! And if you need an overview of other exciting monsters in the event: There are currently some new or strong Cryptos that you should grab during the takeover. We show you 9 strong monsters from Team Rocket that are worth it.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Recently, the well-known gaming streamer HandOfBlood showcased a game on Twitch that almost no one knows about and that is no longer available for purchase on any platform. “Sea of Mutation,” as it is titled, is not only extremely rare, but is currently owned and played by very few players worldwide.
Who is the streamer? Maximilian “HandOfBlood” Knabe (31), also known as Hänno, is one of the most well-known personalities in the German gaming scene. Through his unique and entertaining style, he has built a massive following on platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
HandOfBlood: The most important thing about the YouTuber and Twitch streamer in under a minute
“No one in the world knows this. Exclusive insight”
What game is it? Recently, HandOfBlood welcomed his streamer colleague Sterzik during one of his live streams. During this, Hänno shares a curious story: He wanted to give Sterzik a tip for a new game – “Sea of Mutation” – the day before. However, when Sterzik tried to find the game on Steam, he encountered a problem – the game was simply not findable.
HandOfBlood explains on the stream that “Sea of Mutation” is a game that hardly anyone knows. To substantiate this, he shows his viewers that while the game is present in his Steam library, the link to the store page leads only to the general homepage of the Steam store. “Nobody knows this. No one in the world knows this. Exclusive insight,” jokes Hänno before launching the mysterious game live on stream.
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What kind of game is it? “Sea of Mutation” plunges players into a dark, nuclear-contaminated underwater world inhabited by strange creatures. Players take on the role of an initially ordinary fish struggling to survive in this hostile environment.
The main task is to attack and swallow other fish to absorb radiation that slowly mutates the fish. This mutation leads to an ongoing evolution that allows the player to transform into a gigantic sea monster (via GameFAQs).
The game reminds many in the community of the popular evolution game “SPORE” from 2008.
After HandOfBlood presents a bit of gameplay from “Sea of Mutation,” Sterzik notices something frustrating: “You know what’s frustrating right now? That people are watching this and cannot play it.”
What happened to the game? Shortly thereafter, Sterzik reads a message from the Twitch chat: “The publisher was banned on Steam.” Apparently, the game was removed from Steam right after its release.
According to SteamDB, “Sea of Mutation” was released on July 25, 2024, on Steam and cost about 5.30 euros. Currently, only about 16 people are playing the game simultaneously (as of August 9, 2024, 2:30 PM).
Why the game disappeared from Steam so quickly and what lies behind the publisher’s ban remains a mystery for now. There is currently no official information regarding the incidents. However, the fact is that “Sea of Mutation” is currently a rare game that cannot be found on Steam anymore.
