CoD: Warzone is a game that allows for many different tactics in the professional arena. In tournaments, you often see impressive plays. In a qualifier for a 1 million dollar tournament, the player Shifty won with an incredible play.
What happened? On June 19, the WSOW Qualifiers took place. Those who perform here get a spot for the global final, which has a prize pool of 1 million USD (approximately 930,000 €). The team that manages to achieve 1st place in the final will receive 300,000 USD (via Dot Esports).
In the final of the NA 1 million dollar qualifier, the well-known player Shifty competed alongside his two teammates Biffle and Hisoka. At the end of the match, things didn’t look so good for Shifty, but he made an impressive move, allowing him to win.
Trailer shows “Contamination” in Season 4 of CoD MW3 and Warzone
How did he play? You can watch the whole match on Warzone Nation on YouTube. There, you can see around 21:40 how the zone shrinks to its final point. Shifty, who at that point is the only one alive from his team, is inside the gas.
If he runs to the zone now, he would likely die. However, he runs away from the zone to a marked point of his teammate. There is a truck. Just barely, he survives the way to the truck and throws a PDS field on it, allowing him to drive with the truck for a while without taking damage.
With the truck, he then drives into the zone and runs over two players. Then he briefly drives out of the zone and kills the last player outside the zone. With this, he wins the qualifier for the big tournament for his team.
The play was also celebrated by the commentators and viewers. Shifty is considered one of the best Warzone players. The team of Shifty, Hisoka, and Biffle is already regarded as a favorite team. In CoD, there are regular crossovers for operator and weapon skins. However, a current bundle does not satisfy the players: The new crossover of Call of Duty and Fallout is making fans of both games unhappy
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the launch phase, Tarisland proves to be the perfect MMORPG for all fans of the genre who have little time or only short time slots to play. Our MeinMMO Dad Karsten Scholz celebrates this and enjoys the very relaxed launch of the new online role-playing game so far.
Over the past two decades, I have experienced quite a few launch phases of MMORPGs, and yes, on one hand, they have often been very special experiences because you dive into a completely new, often fascinating world together with many other enthusiasts.
On the other hand, the release of an online role-playing game is always quite exhausting. Often, server technology fails, and there are bugs. At the same time, you want to quickly review all the features and advance to the endgame so as not to miss anything or waste any IDs. Due to the scope of MMORPGs, you have to invest an enormous amount of time in just a few days and weeks.
Who is writing here? Karsten Scholz is the MMORPG expert at MeinMMO. He has been dealing with the best genre in the world almost daily for 15 years. The first private contact was in 2005. Since then, he has accumulated several years of game time in various online role-playing games and has played nearly every relevant genre representative of the past two decades at least for a while.
Karsten is also the father of two children, two and eight years old. While the older one loves to unleash his creativity in Minecraft or has fun with the goat in Goat Simulator 3, the younger one (still) limits himself to two tablet apps for the children’s formats Bing and Kikaninchen.
The cinematic trailer of Tarisland sets you up for the new adventure:
Start video
Tarisland: Trailer for the global launch shows cinematic class action
Snacking Leveling
However, Tarisland does not feel exhausting or time-consuming at all so far. On the contrary. As a working dad of two kids, I am very happy that I can experience the new MMORPG from Level Infinite and Tencent quite relaxed in short time frames without feeling like I am missing out on anything.
Just two more level ups, and Karsten’s character from Tarisland has reached the current server maximum level again. The next day, it will go from level 38 to the maximum level 40.
What I do after that is up to me. Often, new dungeon or raid challenges await, which are quick to complete and therefore fit perfectly into any small gap of free time.
Or I visit the currently active PvP battlefield, improve my crafting, or specifically complete daily goals or achievements – optionally, I can even do that with my mobile phone when I lie next to the little one in bed at night.
These are all small snacks that are fun and bring variety. There are also limitations here with resources like stamina for professions or that there is always only PvP content active each day. However, if you want, you can spend considerably more time with Tarisland and level up side characters.
The raids and dungeons of Tarisland never last very long.
A Lot of Comfort that Saves Time
That I can play Tarisland wonderfully in short time slots is also due to the high level of comfort. Team members for group challenges are quickly found thanks to automatic matchmaking, you can simply teleport to the region where the selected quest is located, and the useful pathfinding indicator makes it almost impossible to get lost.
There is also a lot of small comfort. For instance, I can sell or repair items directly from my inventory. Or I can teleport myself to the vicinity of my warehouse by clicking on the appropriate symbol.
I also like that there are many optional aids in character development. Skills can be automatically improved after a level-up, there are build recommendations (also for the inscribed stone), and when you swap an item, socketed gems are automatically transferred. You can delve into all these systems, but you don’t have to.
Sounds like I am quite excited about Tarisland, doesn’t it? Well, I am indeed happy that a new, solid theme park MMORPG has been released once again. Even more so because it fits perfectly into my current life situation, and I have so far noticed no technical issues.
In contrast, another game felt significantly more frustrating recently: In the past few weeks, I had been trying to squeeze in a round of Final Fantasy XIV to prepare for Dawntrail. I consider Square Enix’s MMORPG to be one of the absolute best representatives of the genre on the market, but the game is only suitable for small play sessions to a limited extent.
For the finale of Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, you need to take (a lot of) time.
This is especially evident during the finale of Endwalker. There, one of the few group challenges of the expansion awaits Eorzea heroes, which cannot be tackled with AI fighters. It took weeks for me to finally find enough teammates for the battle.
Often, I had to log out after 45 to 60 minutes of waiting because the kids needed me, dinner had to be made, or the next appointment was due. All parents with fairly young kids are likely to know this. But the waiting for the invitation is not all there is.
The epic encounter was accompanied by another (solo) fight and many cutscenes that I didn’t want to skip, of course. To fully enjoy the finale, you actually need several hours of peace and quiet.
If you find the opportunity for that, you get an emotional rollercoaster ride served that burns itself into your memory. For me, it was more of a “stop and go,” with interruptions and missed scenes.
I am glad that Tarisland does not require such a time investment. However, the MMORPG is of course also not as multi-faceted, complex, extensive, and refined in many other areas as Final Fantasy XIV. It is more of an MMORPG snack that currently satisfies me and entertains me well. I will not miss Dawntrail in a few days, however.
The modders of one of the best games on Steam seem to have done a very good job. So good that the actual developer of the game has now even taken notice of them.
Which game is it about? Terraria is considered one of the best games on Steam. With over a million reviews, the game has 97% positive ratings. On steamdb.info, it ranks 8th among the highest-rated games.
Not only the game itself, but also mods for the game enjoy great popularity. Accordingly, the number of mods is also high. In addition to some small mods that do not change much in the actual game, there are also large mods that bring countless content into the game.
One of these large mods is Calamity. The mod brings new enemies and bosses, endgame content, more than 1,000 new items, and even more to Terraria.
The development team behind the mod seems to have done such a good job that even the studio behind Terraria has taken notice of them. And is now making them an offer.
Start video
Terraria: Journey’s End
Terraria Head Sends Offer
What did the Terraria team say? Andrew Spinks, who appears on X as Redigit, is the head of Re-Logic, the studio behind Terraria. In a post on X, he has now linked the team behind the Calamity Mod and asked them if they would be interested in working for ReLogic.
Yo @CalamityModTeam who among you wants to work for @ReLogicGames and get paid for their work? Send me your resumes
In response, Shayy_TV, one of the developers of the Calamity Mod, stated that he does not have a resume but manages the mod’s X account and knows how to make funny videos. Spinks subsequently points out that ChatGPT is very easy to use.
There is no information on whether and how many developers of the mod will take up the offer and work for ReLogic from now on. It is not even certain if Terraria will receive any further updates in the future or not.
Several years ago, the team behind Terraria announced that they would bring one last major update and then cease development on the game, which was released back in 2011.
Originally, development on Terraria was supposed to end in 2015. But that did not happen. Instead, the developers simply could not stop development and released an update in 2020 with the fitting name Journey’s End, which was supposed to represent the conclusion.
This conclusion lasted 2 years, until 2022. Here, the developers released another update, Labour of Love. Since then, no new update has been announced or released by ReLogic.
Whether they are, however, quietly working on a new update and whether the developers of the Calamity Mod will soon be involved in it, remains to be seen.
What is your opinion on Terraria? Are you a big fan of the game, or is it not for you? Have you played the Calamity Mod yourself? If so, what do you think of it? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments. In the past, the head of ReLogic had a feud with Google.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The 28-year-old Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is the most famous and successful player in League of Legends. To celebrate his career in LoL, Riot Games has dedicated a special skin bundle to him. In a stream, he has now promoted the skin and made a significant profit.
What kind of skin is it?
Faker won Worlds 2023, marking his fourth world championship. He is such an important player and an icon in LoL that he was the first to be inducted into the new Hall of Fame of League of Legends.
To honor his achievements and his prominent status as an icon, Faker received a luxury Mercedes and his own skin bundle in LoL, which costs around €450.
Faker’s team, T1, will receive 30% of the revenue from the skin. Faker is a co-owner of T1.
We presented the skin to you in the video:
Start video
LoL: Whoever wants the new skin of Faker has to pay 450 €
Faker promotes the skin on the Chinese version of TikTok
This is how much he has sold so far: Faker sold some LoL products during a livestream on Douyin, a Chinese alternative to TikTok, on June 23.
A report from a Chinese media outlet reveals that he had 100,000 simultaneous viewers. After about an hour, Faker was done.
It is reported: He sold versions of his bundle worth approximately €617,400. That corresponds to about 10 “normal annual salaries” of €60,000, which is already generous.
The gross annual salary in Germany for full-time employees is about €52,000 (via Wirtschaftswoche).
The “median annual salary”, which many consider to be the more realistic figure, is only €43,750.
Would he use the skin himself? When asked directly why he played Ahri recently but did not use the skin, Faker replied: He focused on the game and never uses skins. So he is not used to it.
He didn’t even consider using the skin: but hopes that his fans use the skin often.
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Why is the skin so expensive? The skin is so expensive because it is indeed that expensive. According to Riot, they aimed to create a status symbol here.
The skin is meant for showing off and is only intended for a very small portion of players. Those who have the money should buy the skin and be able to show off, said the game director of LoL.
Even before the launch of Throne and Liberty in the West, many players are concerned about the monetization of the new MMORPG. At an event in Korea, Korean community members were able to ask questions to the developers, including concerns about Pay2Win and bots.
Where did players question the developers? Content creator and “Throne and Liberty” streamer Kanon recently shared a video on YouTube. The video features an event from Throne and Liberty where he and other community members are allowed to ask a team from Throne and Liberty questions.
The community members did not hold back and asked the developers questions on the topics of Pay2Win and bots.
Here you can watch the trailer that announced the release date for us.
Start video
Throne and Liberty: New trailer reveals release date, introduces the fantasy world of Solisium
Throne and Liberty is supposed to operate just like in Korea
What do the developers say about Pay2Win? Content creator Kanon confronted the developers with the accusation that many already think Throne and Liberty is Pay2Win in the West.
The bad reputation of NCSoft in the West would also contribute to many being negative about the game (via YouTube). He then asks whether the developers plan to implement the same monetization system for the West as is currently running in Korea.
The developers replied: “As we aim to maintain a global and Western service as one identity, we currently have no plans to operate them separately.
Since we operate two different regions, we are also in discussions with Amazon. At the moment, it can be said that we are combining the Korean service and Amazon’s service as one identity.”
This answer was presumably not enough for the content creator, as he asked again whether the marketplace currency could be designed in such a way that it could only be earned in-game.
The developers replied: “Currently, we plan to continue with the discussed singular model. But as you mentioned, the concerns regarding P2W… or how some might see it as aggressive monetization, or prejudices towards the game and the company, we will continue to discuss and improve this issue. This topic is also constantly criticized and discussed internally.”
How does the system work in Korea? According to content creator Kanon, the auction house currency Lucent can only be obtained by purchasing it. Players who do not want to spend money can only earn the currency by offering items for sale in-game, which other players who have spent real money can buy.
However, he himself views the game as less Pay2Win than other Korean MMORPGs like Lost Ark and Black Desert Online (via YouTube).
The community is divided on how much Pay2Win Throne and Liberty really is
What does the community say about the responses? The community is not particularly happy with the developers’ responses. However, opinions are still divided on how Pay2Win Throne and Liberty is in Korea.
Chemical-Leak420 described the situation in Korea on Reddit as follows: “This is a whale game. It is p2w with a pvp-centered focus. That’s the worst combination, if you ask me. […] It’s also important to note that gear in this game is huge…..A p2w geared warrior can mow down 10 f2p plebs in PVP. Well, a whale will enjoy himself, but those 10 f2p plebs will quit the game.”
However, Ghaith97 disagrees on Reddit: “This just shows that you haven’t really played the game, because that’s simply not true. The size of the zerg is by far the most important factor. The difference between min-maxed gear with perfect stats from the auction house and gear from someone who just played the same amount of time but without spending is minimal.
Sure, you probably lose 9 out of 10 1v1s at the same skill level when you pit a f2p player against a Giga-whale, but you will never play 1v10 against someone in this game, you simply don’t have the cooldowns for that.”
The Reddit user Paintspot mentioned that another question did not even make it into the content creator’s video.
He wrote: “It’s also worth noting that another community member told them that they need to fix botting/hacking as soon as possible because so many people have left the game. NC [editor’s note: NCSoft, the developers of Throne and Liberty] shrugged and said that all games have bots and hacks lol”
That Throne and Liberty will launch with the same monetization model in our region has become more likely. However, the developers can still change their minds in the short term. We recently updated our article with all important information about Throne and Liberty: Everything important about release, classes, gameplay, open beta, price, and platforms
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
World of Warcraft is a massive MMORPG – it also consumes a lot of storage on your hard drive. Much more than the developers probably ever dreamed of.
World of Warcraft is considered one of the biggest, if not the biggest MMORPG. This is not only due to the numerous continents that together make up the game world but also to the sheer data size. What was a nearly “cute” game of just 4 GB at the time has now grown by leaps and bounds – and it shows no signs of stopping.
We take a look at how drastically WoW has grown over the years.
You can see the trailer for the next WoW expansion The War Within here:
Start video
WoW: Trailer for the release date of The War Within
Where does the data come from? The Reddit user factor3x recently compiled the sizes of the different game versions of World of Warcraft. The colleagues at Icy-Veins then created a graphic illustrating the increase in required hard drive space:
The data consumption of WoW over the years. Image source: icyveins.com
Where once a simple HDD with 4 GB of free space was sufficient, the demand has significantly increased. Not only does the upcoming expansion “The War Within” require a whopping 128 GB of free space – that’s 32 times more than during Vanilla – but now an SSD drive is also required. But that’s probably not surprising, as such data volumes would likely lead to loading times in the minutes range with a regular hard drive.
How WoW has grown over the years: The (relatively speaking) biggest jump was made by World of Warcraft with the introduction of The Burning Crusade. The game grew from 4 GB to 10 GB – significantly more than a doubling. However, in absolute numbers, there have been many expansions that added significantly more:
Cataclysm brought 10 GB of data.
Battle for Azeroth brought a whopping 25 GB of data.
Shadowlands added another 30 GB.
Dragonflight, on the other hand, weighed “only” 20 GB.
You can find the exact numbers in this table:
Expansion
Size of the Expansion
Total Size of WoW
Vanilla
4 GB
4 GB
The Burning Crusade
6 GB
10 GB
Wrath of the Lich King
5 GB
15 GB
Cataclysm
10 GB
25 GB
Mists of Pandaria
5 GB
30 GB
Warlords of Draenor
5 GB
35 GB
Legion
10 GB
45 GB
Battle for Azeroth
25 GB
70 GB
Shadowlands
30 GB
100 GB
Dragonflight
20 GB
120 GB
The War Within (preliminary)
8 GB
128 GB
What takes up so much space? The biggest space consumers in games are usually not the files responsible for the actual world – but media. Especially videos, such as the high-resolution intro videos of an expansion, as well as cutscenes from recent years take up a lot of space and cause World of Warcraft to be considerably bloated.
Of course, more and more voiced dialogues and higher resolution textures also take up space – but this is relatively minor compared to the videos (and the duration they are displayed in the game).
Why is The War Within so small? Critics might point out that The War Within brings “only” 8 GB of new data. However, this is not an indication that the expansion will also be small in content. Because the data is missing the cutscenes, which usually take up a lot of space. Furthermore, the content from future major patches that will surely be released during The War Within is also missing here. This means that the entire story of World of Warcraft continues to grow.
It can therefore be expected that The War Within will grow significantly beyond 128 GB by the time of its release.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
For a long time, the Twitch ban of Guy “DrDisrespect” Beahm has been a major mystery. Following allegations against the streamer, his gaming studio, Midnight Society, is now parting ways with him. The Doc announced an indefinite break from streaming.
Update 26.06.2024: There is now a detailed statement from DrDisrespect in which he admits that there was inappropriate contact with a minor. Friends and business partners subsequently distanced themselves from the streamer.
What is the situation around DrDisrespect? Once, the streamer was one of the biggest stars on Twitch, calling himself the face of the streaming platform. However, in June 2020, DrDisrespect was permanently banned without any apparent reason.
For four years, the ban raised questions until a former Twitch employee seemingly revealed the alleged true reason on June 22, 2024, without any particular cause: The Doc is said to have exchanged inappropriate messages with a minor and attempted to meet her at TwitchCon.
DrDisrespect responded to the allegations rather curtly: The matter has been settled, and “no wrongdoing has been admitted”. Now Midnight Society, the “AAA studio” that the streamer founded in 2021 to compete with CoD and Apex Legends, is stepping in.
Start video
DrDisrespect was a celebrity on Twitch – His ban remains a big mystery to this day
Studio says it believed in DrDisrespect’s innocence
What is the current development? In a post from June 24, 2024, the studio announced on X, formerly Twitter, that it was ending its collaboration with co-founder DrDisrespect. They had learned about the allegations against the streamer the previous Friday and had assumed his innocence.
However, they then spoke with the “involved parties”. To uphold the principles and standards of the studio and the people who work there, they are parting ways with the Doc.
Furthermore, it states: “Although it is difficult to hear these facts and even harder to accept them, it is our duty to act with dignity on behalf of all involved, especially in the name of the 55 developers and families we have employed along with our gaming community.”
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The news seemed to reach DrDisrespect while he was in the middle of a stream for Elden Ring. The streamer had just defeated a boss and appeared to be in a good mood. During the loading screen for fast travel, he seemingly looked at his phone, and his mood changed abruptly.
There followed a lengthy silence from the Doc. As the game continues, it can again be seen that the streamer is apparently looking at his phone. You can watch the entire clip here:
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What does DrDisrespect say? Following the scene, the streamer announced that he was tired of social media and felt burnt out. Fifteen years ago, when he started, it was a different scene: They had a great time and played fun games.
DrDisrespect says he had in any case planned a break from streaming in the near future – now he wants to bring that break forward, effective immediately. Whether and when the Doc will return from this “vacation” is still uncertain (via X).
Currently, fans can watch the 4th season of Demon Slayer. This is the penultimate arc of the manga. Since the source of the anime, the manga, was completed in 2020, we know that the Final Battle Arc will be the very last arc. However, it might not be adapted as an anime season.
What could we expect instead? The Final Battle Arc is divided into the Infinity Castle Arc and the Sunrise Countdown Arc. Both arcs are intended to be released as a film trilogy. Thus, there would be no fifth season, but rather a three-part movie evening.
The information comes from WSJ_manga on X. According to this, the leak appeared during the giveaways for visitors of the “Jump Victory Carnival” website. However, the information has since been deleted:
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There was supposed to be a hint on a merchandise fan that the film trilogy is on the way. However, the image with the hint was removed from the website.
The hint reportedly only mentioned the Infinity Castle Arc. However, according to the X account, both arcs are supposed to be referenced, which have been summarized under this name. Thus, there would be no additional season after the film trilogy, as the story would be concluded with the films.
In the following trailer, you can get a picture of Demon Slayer:
Start video
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Trailer for Season 1 of the anime series
4th Season of Demon Slayer also deviates
Could the leak be true? In the past, there have been several films about Demon Slayer. They often summarized the episodes that were between two arcs. This way, fans could simultaneously watch a recap of the last season and a preview of the upcoming season, just in short form.
It would therefore not be unusual to bring a movie to Demon Slayer. If both arcs of the finale are indeed being adapted as a film trilogy, there would be enough material to tell the arcs in about six hours.
The approach would be that the film is initially shown in theaters and then lands on a streaming platform. Accordingly, fans would have to leave their homes if they want to be among the very first to see the new arc.
Consequently, we assume that the leak could be true. However, we should wait for something official to hear before making a final confirmation.
What is the current situation? Even the Hashira Training Arc was not adapted the same way as the first three seasons. The 4th season consists of only eight episodes and is thus significantly shorter than the other three arcs:
The first season comprises a total of 26 episodes
The second season is divided into two parts, which total 18 episodes
The third season has been the shortest so far with 11 episodes
Currently, the last episodes of the 4th season are running on Crunchyroll. To compensate for the short episode count, the length of the individual episodes has been adjusted. The seventh episode is currently set at a length of 31 minutes instead of the previous 23 minutes. The eighth episode is expected to last nearly an hour.
In Japan, a 31-year-old is said to have embezzled his grandmother’s savings of about €230,000 and invested everything in an MMORPG “Magic Sword Legend.” The sister is desperate and is calling for help on Twitter.
This is what the man is said to have done: The man’s sister, Quu_Nao, writes desperately on Twitter :
Her 31-year-old brother took the money without the grandmother’s (82) permission and transferred it to his own account.
The brother claims: This is not a crime; he can only be held liable at most civilly. The sister is desperate and asks if there is no way to reclaim the money.
As the screenshots indicate, a substantial amount, about €230,000, has flowed into the mobile MMORPG “Magic Sword Legends.”
Start video
Trailer for the mobile MMORPG Magic Sword Legend
MMORPG advertises: Already 200 Gacha spins in the tutorial
What kind of game is this? “Magic Sword Legend” is a mobile game from the developer “Spotlight Network Limited.” The game is only available in Japanese, making engagement difficult.
But everything suggests that it is a “classic” mobile MMORPG. The game itself describes itself as:
A full-fledged MMORPG where one can explore the world.
You can “level up easily” and make friends.
You can form a group and defeat bosses with your friends.
You can also dominate in “huge real-time battles” (the question is, who you dominate when dominating).
And of course, you can already spin the Gacha wheel 200 times in the tutorial, which clearly indicates where the €230,000 likely went.
A translated version of the game’s homepage.
What one could have done with the money
This is how it is being discussed: Japanese Twitter users are shocked by the story. Many of them talk about what one could have done with the money:
40 million yen is an amount with which one could buy a house – an amount that changes lives, and this is how it is used… by the family itself.
This is too much money to waste like this. If one bought a one-room apartment with it, one could live there forever – or one could rent it out.
Other users give the sister advice to sue the brother or to go after the bank he apparently tricked to withdraw the money.
A cynical comment says: The most realistic hope of getting money back is life insurance. Apparently, the woman is also being accused of selfishness, that she is worried about her inheritance that her brother is currently squandering.
This is what it comes down to: People who sink other people’s money into mobile games is a critical issue. Because mobile games with “Gacha” systems carry the same risk of addiction as other forms of gambling.
Gacha is a mechanic from video games that replicates a gambling machine. Essentially, you buy the chance to win something with each spin. However, the value of the prizes varies massively, so you often have to spin the wheel quite a lot and spend a lot of money to get the best prizes.
Coreborn, the survival game from a German developer, has recently left Early Access on Steam. For a limited time, you can still secure the game for under 10 euros.
What game are we talking about?Coreborn is a survival game based on the pen & paper system Ultracore and developed by former Rocket Beans member Hauke Gerdes and a small team.
On June 19, 2024, the game left Early Access along with a major update. A trailer shows you some of the key changes, such as a new area, more biomes, and additional creatures.
Start video
Coreborn leaves Early Access with a major update
How long does the offer last? Currently, you can secure the game on Steam at a 30% discount. Instead of the full price, you currently only pay 9.79 €. However, the offer is only valid until June 27, 2024.
You can also secure the Coreborn Supporter Bundle on Steam for a total of 22% off. Currently, you pay 14.78 € for the bundle. This bundle includes the game and a package with soundtracks, wallpapers, an official comic, and the official tabletop adventure “Bandits of Pipers Whistle”.
What can you expect? In Coreborn, you play as a resident of the world of Tormantosa and team up with other races to confront the alien villain Sorgoth. The goal is to gradually reclaim the world.
The survival game strongly relies on multiplayer mechanics. When entering a game world, you will be assigned a “layer” that you share with several other players. On this “layer”, you can build, craft, and explore various areas.
Coreborn is a survival game that is also suitable for newcomers to the genre due to its simple mechanics. The focus is on PvE and exploring the world. You can expect NPCs with stories around the world of Ultracore and cooperative gameplay where you build houses and villages together.
In War Thunder there was a curious incident: An image used graphics based on a real event – an accident in which several people died.
War Thunder is a game that places a particularly high value on realism in many areas – for this, it is loved by the community. But now the developers have become a bit too realistic. They used an image from reality and parts of it as promotional material for the war-themed online game.
This is quite macabre, and the developer is clearly uncomfortable: Because the image is from an explosion in which seven people lost their lives.
Here you can see a gameplay trailer for War Thunder:
Start video
War Thunder PS4 Gameplay Trailer
What kind of image is this? In a “Key Art” image, which is a prominently used promotional image for new content in the game, a rather striking explosion was noticeable in the background. Large clouds of smoke with smaller wisps of smoke trailing off. Obviously debris falling – remnants of whatever was destroyed.
The explosion is unfortunately not fictional in War Thunder, but comes from a real incident.
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Where does the image come from? Parts of the artwork come from the explosion of the Challenger. This was a NASA space shuttle that completed several spaceflights between 1983 and 1986. On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle was supposed to launch once more. However, shortly after the launch, the Challenger exploded, resulting in the deaths of its crew of seven astronauts.
The “Challenger disaster” is considered one of the tragic moments in NASA’s history.
This is what War Thunder says: After some players noticed the image, the community manager spoke up in the War Thunder forum and explained:
Hey guys, we accidentally used the explosion from the Challenger disaster in one of our Key Arts. Please accept our sincere apologies for that. The image was part of an image package for air explosion references for our artists, and the context got lost.
We will replace the image as soon as possible and ensure that something like this does not happen again in the future.
War Thunder is anyway a curious game with a very passionate community that has a nearly fanatical drive for realism. In the past, there have been repeated cases in War Thunder where fans argued about the realism in the game and went deep into the details of tanks. On several occasions, real, secret military documents have been used to support respective viewpoints.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO, the next Spotlight Hour is approaching. This time, you’ll see Bubungus and a Stardust bonus.
What kind of event is this? Every Tuesday, the so-called Spotlight Hour takes place in Pokémon GO. During this, there is a Pokémon that is in focus and appears in much larger numbers.
Additionally, there is a bonus during each Spotlight Hour that is also active for the duration of the event.
This time, the Pokémon Bubungus is in the spotlight. This Pokémon has the types Grass and Fairy and originates from the 7th generation. It has an evolution, Lamellux.
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Pokémon GO: It’s time to #RediscoverGO!
Spotlight Hour on June 25 – Start and Bonuses
When does the Spotlight Hour start? As every week, the Spotlight Hour begins at 6:00 PM. Exactly 60 minutes later, at 7:00 PM, it ends.
What bonuses are active? This time, you can look forward to a Stardust bonus during the event. If you catch Pokémon, you will receive double the amount of Stardust. Regardless of whether it is Bubungus or another Pokémon.
Can you catch Shiny Bubungus? Yes, Bubungus is already available in its Shiny form in Pokémon GO. With a bit of luck, you might encounter the Shiny variant during the Spotlight Hour.
Is the Spotlight Hour worth it? Both Bubungus and its evolution are not strong Pokémon. You should not use them in battle leagues or for raids. For the latter, it is more worthwhile to use the best attackers in Pokémon GO.
If you want to secure the Shiny specimens of the Pokémon, you need to be lucky. The number of Pokémon spawns for Bubungus is significantly increased during the event, but the chance of encountering a Shiny remains unchanged.
The bonus of the event could be interesting for you if you want to improve your Stardust supplies. With double the Stardust per catch and the large number of spawns, you can accumulate a nice amount of Stardust during the Spotlight Hour.
You can further increase the amount of Stardust by using a Star Piece.
What do you think of the Spotlight Hour? Are you also looking forward to Bubungus and the Stardust bonus? Will you participate? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments and interact here with other trainers. We also have an overview of all events in June 2024 in Pokémon GO for you.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Watchmen – The Watchmen is a movie based on the comic of the same name by Alan Moore. In the superhero film by Zack Snyder, we enter an alternative timeline where the Watchmen use their superhuman abilities to influence events. The director hid an Easter egg in the opening that is related to Batman.
What is seen in the opening credits? In the opening credits of the film, there are several scenes showing the Watchmen intervening in world history:
The assassination of John F. Kennedy was carried out by the superhero The Comedian instead of Lee Harvey Oswald
The nurse in the famous V-J Day photo in Times Square is kissed by the superheroine Silhouette, not by a sailor
Neil Armstrong said during the moon landing, “Good luck, Mr. Gorsky.” In reality, this is a myth that was never confirmed. The astronaut revealed that he had a neighbor in his childhood who would have received oral sex from his wife if the kid next door landed on the moon (via Snopes). This is filmed by Dr. Manhattan.
In addition, there is a scene in the opening credits that is related to Batman. Director Zack Snyder is a supporter of the DC universe, having worked as a director or executive producer on various DC films. With Watchmen, he likely aimed to create a connection between the two universes, as one scene proves.
The mentioned scene can be seen in the following video directly as the first scene:
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At the beginning of the opening, the superhero Nite Owl is seen preventing a robbery at a theater. In the background, a wealthy couple is visible, which Zack Snyder reveals as Thomas and Martha Wayne. However, Bruce Wayne as a child is not seen in the picture.
The Batman posters in the background also suggest that the scene is somehow related to the Bat superhero. In the world of Batman, it seems there is only Batman in fiction, not in the movie’s reality.
Batman would be a rich snob in Watchmen
What is Batman’s connection to Watchmen? In a 2021 interview, Snyder explains some scenes from his earlier films (via YouTube). He also comments on the Watchmen opening and reveals that there would be no Batman in this alternative universe:
The origin of Batman. The concept is that Nite Owl saves the Waynes from death after a visit to the opera. And that’s why there is no Batman there.
Watchmen is not an official part of the Batman story.
Instead, Snyder envisioned an alternative universe and started a thought experiment about what would have happened if Batman had not existed. Bruce Wayne still exists in that universe, but not as Batman.
What would have become of Bruce Wayne? Wayne only became Batman because his parents were murdered. He vowed to bring justice to the world as a masked superhero. Since his parents do not die in Watchmen, he does not undergo this transformation. Instead, he would have likely enjoyed his wealth and become a pretentious playboy.
Soon a Batman villain will get his own movie:
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The Penguin – Teaser for the gangster story in the Batman universe
Instead, the hero “Nite Owl” in Watchmen can be seen as a parody of Batman. The superhero has no special powers but relies on his gadgets just like Batman. He uses many tech gadgets in fights, like a flamethrower and devices that emit an unbearable sound. He even has an “Owlship,” a nod to the Batmobile.
Throughout history, Harry Potter and his allies have repeatedly dealt with the so-called Death Eaters. But which of these dark wizards is actually the strongest? In this ranking, we search for the ten most dangerous Death Eaters that one should avoid provoking.
What are Death Eaters? During his cruel rise to power, Lord Voldemort gathered many allies around him. His most loyal followers were called Death Eaters. Their identifying mark is the Dark Mark, which they carry on their left forearm.
What criteria do we use? In the ranking, we consider all bearers of the Dark Mark, including those who at some point turned against Voldemort.
[toc]
Warning: Spoilers: To explain the ranking, various events from movies and books will be discussed.
Do you like anime and Harry Potter? Then you shouldn’t miss these three animes:
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3 Animes that you should know as Harry Potter fans
Position 10: Amycus Carrow
Amycus Carrow is best known as a cruel teacher at Hogwarts. He got his position after Voldemort took power over the Ministry of Magic and appointed Severus Snape as the new headmaster of Hogwarts.
Amycus taught the subject Defense Against the Dark Arts, which under him became Dark Arts. Together with his sister, Alecto Carrow, he was also Deputy Headmaster and loved to terrorize his students and even torture them.
His extensive knowledge of the Dark Arts and his cruelty make him a dangerous opponent. Ultimately, he was struck down by Harry Potter and Professor McGonagall – two worthy opponents.
His sister Alecto was overpowered by Luna Lovegood, who is not known for her fighting skills. In contrast to Amycus, she barely makes it into the ranking.
Position 9: Lucius Malfoy
Lucius Malfoy is the father of Draco and a member of a very old, “pure-blood” wizarding family, which he takes great pride in. In the second part, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, he smuggles Voldemort’s old diary into Ginny’s belongings, making him partly responsible for the reopening of the Chamber of Secrets.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he leads a group of Death Eaters to steal Harry’s prophecy. A task that Voldemort surely would not have entrusted to just anyone. However, after this mission fails, he falls out of favor with his dark lord.
Overall, Lucius derives his power more from social influence, money, and intrigue. He is less known for combat skill, thus landing only at position 9 in this ranking.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Role-playing games are a major vice for MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus. One of his favorites is Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. It received its last DLC a few weeks ago and is now “complete”. A good reason to play it again – after the first playthrough already took forever.
I love role-playing games. Whether Dragon Age, Baldur’s Gate, or Pathfinder: If I can dive into a story for dozens or hundreds of hours and develop my character, I’m happy.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (“WotR”) was released in 2021 and is among the best role-playing games on Steam. I started it only a year later and took a proud 6 months to complete it for the first time.
At that time, the game was just in a “playable” state, many bugs fixed and the first patches available. I finished just before the first DLC “The Last Sarkosians” and used almost 250 hours back then.
The game has already captivated me for 60 hours again and has occupied me almost my entire vacation. Even though I already know the story, I want to keep playing – because there are so many reasons to play Pathfinder multiple times.
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Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous celebrates its final DLC in June
The DLCs provide new content that fits perfectly into the story
If you, like me, haven’t played since shortly after the release, you now get tons of new content:
The Last Sarkosians brings a new companion with its own quests, story, and romance options
Through the Ashes is a small, standalone campaign where you play a group of townsfolk instead of the great hero
Lord of Nothing continues this mini-campaign and when you complete the content, there’s a new dungeon in the main campaign of the game
Inevitable Excess picks up after the actual campaign and adds a few more hours of gameplay
Now, with A Dance of Masks, the celebration continues right after the story. It goes back to the town where it all began, new villains appear, and there’s content for all companions who were along on the journeys – as well as new romance scenes. The best part: Everything is fully voiced!
Additionally, there are new classes, items, and some content like dungeons and endless modes through all the DLCs. Much integrates into the story, some I can experience separately. But the DLCs aren’t the only reason why it’s worth playing Pathfinder again.
An image from the DLC The Last Sarkosians. I’m down there on the ghost horse.
After over 300 hours, still not boring
A very special mechanic in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous are the Legend Paths. I don’t play just any hero, but a chosen one with divine powers – so a really badass character, even more intense than usual in role-playing games.
As such, I can channel my powers and walk various paths with new abilities. The special thing here is that the paths all have unique interactions in the game, sometimes completely new mechanics or even entirely their own endings:
Tricksters do not take the whole world too seriously and even break the fourth wall with their strange jokes
Aeons can change the past and thus have a direct influence on what happens in the story – or does not happen
the “Swarm-that-Walks” completely gives up its body to become a swarm of locusts that only knows hunger and destroys everything
In my first playthrough, I played an evil lich who gave up his soul and love to become immortal – and achieved the “secret ending” that I won’t spoil here.
The current path for me is to get my special ending as an Aeon. Even though I already know the story itself and what the big plot twist at the end is, I want to see what I can achieve as someone who literally changes reality.
Pathfinder is quite dangerous!The area can get quite gloomy.My romance back then had nothing against the fact that I am undead.The character sheet of my lich witch back then.Now I can adopt cats. Yoink!
“Greater” than Baldur’s Gate 3 – But …
As an CRPG, Pathfinder naturally has to be compared to the wonder-child Baldur’s Gate 3, which was released in 2023. And indeed, Wrath of the Righteous is significantly larger on paper:
A complete playthrough, i.e., with all possible content in one go, takes according to HowLongToBeat 211 hours in Pathfinder
Baldur’s Gate 3 comes in the same category at “only” 159 hours (via HowLongToBeat)
Just the class selection is enormous. Baldur’s Gate 3 comes with 12 character classes and numerous subclasses that differ little from the main classes. Pathfinder, on the other hand, has 26 classes, each with unique archetypes, plus 13 prestige classes that are only acquired in the game – and the mythical paths as well.
If you really want to see EVERYTHING, you’ll be busy with Pathfinder for a significantly longer time. In my experience, Baldur’s Gate 3 still has more scope because there’s a ton of hidden content that does not belong to the actual story content.
Certain interactions are only visible in Baldur’s Gate 3 under the right conditions. The focus here is more on the “around”, meaning on the companions and the world – the voice acting helps tremendously here. Pathfinder places more emphasis on you as a character and the story of the world.
By now, I have reached 311 hours in Pathfinder and will probably need another 150 or more until I have seen everything I want to see. Right now is the perfect time: After that, I can comfortably play Baldur’s Gate 3 with the latest patch or tackle the spiritual successor Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader again. Or I’ll play Dragon Age Inquisition again in preparation for The Veilguard, which looks really good: For 10 years, I was afraid for the next part of my favorite role-playing game – Now it looks better than hoped
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Shrines are supposed to empower you in Diablo 4 with powerful spells, allowing you to easily mow down enemies or gain other advantages. This works for most shrines – except for one. It is so useless that players not only skip it, it would actually weaken them.
What kind of buff is this?
The Conduit Shrine grants you the power of lightning for a few seconds. This buff has existed similarly in Diablo 3, and it was already considered the best at that time.
During this time, you transform into a lightning ball that can jump to enemies and shoot chain lightning in a small radius.
In the early seasons of Diablo 4, the buff was still incredibly useful, especially for classes with little mobility like Necromancers. By the time of the current Season 4, you should definitely avoid the shrine, at least in the endgame.
This is why it weakens you: The Conduit Shrine is still theoretically strong, but only for low-level characters or those with poor equipment. Because it comes with several disadvantages for almost all builds:
During the buff duration, you only have a lightning jump as a skill on all slots, you can’t cast anything else.
The jump can only be cast on targets, not on the ground – like the Sorceress’s teleport or a jump from the Barbarian.
Since you are a lightning ball, you can’t even use your horse.
Already here, a major flaw becomes apparent: You are simply slower. Most classes can move faster without the shrine, especially since they can freely decide where to use their mobility skills.
More importantly, the shrine deals significantly less damage compared to most builds. Even most mediocre builds from the Diablo 4 tier list do more damage in the endgame than the shrine itself.
Since you can acquire really good equipment much faster in Season 4, you’ll probably be stronger than the shrine in just a few hours of gameplay. This means: You can really only benefit from it while leveling – and even then, only in certain cases.
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Diablo 4: The trailer for the events for the 1st birthday of the action RPG
“It only harms you more”
In a thread on Reddit, a user asks if anyone is still using the Conduit Shrine. The buff just makes them slower, and many other players see it the same way.
Others quickly point out that even Druids suffer under the shrine. Simply because it interrupts or deactivates their transformations and related buffs, leaving them practically defenseless afterward, the Conduit Shrine cannot be used.
The discussion also touches on the fact that the shrine was once the best. With the Conduit buff, you could previously one-shot nearly everything and every build benefited from the short boost.
Today, everyone is so much stronger that the shrine, which has not been changed since, is a downgrade for all. Even other shrines, such as the Protection Shrine, are often avoided – at least by builds like the Thorn Barbarian. If you take no damage, you can’t reflect any. Whether the shrines will improve with the upcoming season is still unknown – but at least we already know one new feature: Diablo 4 is bringing a new mode in Season 5 that promises tough fights and great rewards
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Twitch streamer HandOfBlood recently held a nearly three-day live stream to master the new Elden Ring DLC. He entertained many viewers and experienced some surprising moments.
His goal was to stream continuously until he completed the DLC. Spoiler: Unfortunately, he didn’t quite manage that. Nevertheless, the stream was highly entertaining for many viewers and brought him up to 20,000 viewers (via Sullygnome).
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HandOfBlood wanted to change e-sports with his LoL team, now he is finally the German champion
Laughing Yoga to Laugh the Final Boss Down
How did HandOfBlood achieve that? Besides his usual witty style, there were many funny moments and the joy of the viewers watching HandOfBlood struggle with an Elden Ring boss. But the highlights of the stream were probably the surprises.
There were also many unexpected moments for the streamer: From Laughing Yoga, which was supposed to help laugh the final boss down, to a DJ, pretty much everything was included that made the stream a huge event on Twitch.
When HandOfBlood got hungry, he was surprised by a waiter from his favorite restaurant. Alternatively, by his friends, who diligently prepared cabbage rolls and interrupted him in the middle of a boss fight, as shown in a clip on TikTok.
Despite the motivations, he was unable to complete the DLC after nearly 3 days.
Why did he fail? The main reason for this is the final boss of the DLC. In total, the streamer gave his all for over 12 hours to defeat him. However, after nearly three days in the early morning, he decided to end the marathon stream and continue normally with the DLC in the following days.
His community seems to show a lot of understanding for this. Many of his viewers had already advised him during the long hours to perhaps first take a nap and try the boss again with a fresh mind.
Final Fantasy XIV offers many options for solo play for the lone wolves among you, especially after the numerous adjustments between the Endwalker patches. The concept of the MMORPG is designed to be as accessible as possible.
In this guide, we will look at how solo content works in FFXIV and which classes you should choose to achieve your goals in the MMORPG.
Also, check out our beginner’s guide for more helpful tips:
The answer to this question depends on how you define solo play. Basically, you can play through the entire campaign of the game and all dungeons up to the endgame without ever having to talk to other players.
However, you will not always be alone. Some content requires you to join a group. This happens automatically, and you do not have to search for players or be a member of a guild yourself.
Here is an overview of the content:
These activities can be done solo
In the open world, you can do almost everything on your own. This includes, for example:
Story and side quests
Favors
Daily quests from the Beast Tribes
F.A.T.Es – spontaneous events on the maps
Monster hunting in your bestiary
These activities make up a large part of the content at the beginning of the game and provide you with a lot of EXP.
F.A.T.E.s are marked on the map with blue circles. Most of them can be completed solo without any problems.
For these activities you need a group
Instances are generally considered group content in Final Fantasy XIV. You need a group of either 4, 8, 24, or more people to master most of this content.
During the leveling process up to 90, there’s no way around this. These activities include:
A large part of the dungeons
Trials – major boss fights
8-man and 24-man raids
The Deep Dungeon – an instance for leveling classes where you don’t need a fixed group composition of tank, healer, and 2 DPS.
In the content search, you have an overview of all dungeons and boss fights in the game.
If you enter these instances solo through the content search, you will automatically be grouped with the corresponding number of other players.
Almost all old content from FFXIV is kept relevant through dailies, so you should have no problems finding people for very old dungeons.
What is the Content Assistant System?
This is how it works: This special solo-friendly system was introduced with patch 6.1 and allows players to enter dungeons with NPCs. So if you don’t want to deal with other people in instanced content, you can enter some of the dungeons with a group of NPCs.
The content menu for NPC groups.
It doesn’t matter which class or job you play, NPCs will fill the remaining group slots. This saves you, for example, from the wait time for a group if you are out as DPS and have to wait a bit longer. In return, NPCs normally move slower than players.
In this way, you can play the game in many mandatory dungeons that are necessary for the story alone. Currently, all mandatory dungeons from the base game A Realm Reborn and all expansions can be played with NPCs.
Is there a “best solo class” in Final Fantasy XIV?
Yes and no. If you are just starting fresh in FFXIV and are in the process of creating a character, you will have the following options available:
Gladiator and Marauder as tank classes
Pugilist, Lancer, Archer, Thaumaturge, and Summoner as damage dealers (DPS)
Druid as healer
At this point, you can choose the class that appeals to you the most from the in-game description.
You can change it freely in the game if you don’t like it.
You will be able to progress alone with all these classes in the game. This also applies to advanced jobs that are only unlocked at levels 30, 50, or 60.
In FFXIV, you can play any job with one character.
Which class should I take now? In the open world, meaning in the activities listed above, none of the classes or jobs offer particularly large advantages or disadvantages. Even if a Druid can heal themselves, it does not necessarily make them better suited for solo play.
The difficulty of the content in the open world is designed to be manageable with all classes without major issues. From this perspective, any class is “the best” for solo play.
However, this does not mean that all classes are equal. Some are indeed better suited for players who prefer to play alone and quickly.
You can check which job suits you best in our guide:
That’s why some classes are better for solo players than others
The inequality of classes arises from the differing needs for tanks, healers, and DPS in group play. It is a classic problem of MMORPGs that use the Holy Trinity concept.
This leads to DPS players often waiting longer for their spot in an instance group compared to healers and tanks. Depending on the content and the time of day, waiting for a DPS can take between 5 and over 30 minutes.
In the end, it depends on your “solo priorities” which class is better suited for you.
I want to progress through the MMORPG at my own pace: Then choose a class that appeals to you the most. In mandatory dungeons and boss fights, you will have to wait a bit longer for a group, but there is plenty of content outside of instances. You can craft or gather resources while waiting for a group, for example.
I want to get to the endgame quickly: Tank and healer classes are more suitable for this. With these classes, you will rarely have to wait longer than 10 minutes for a group. However, as a tank or healer, you will take on more responsibility for the group than a DPS. It is your job to keep everyone alive.
Are there classes that are favored in the endgame?
The endgame usually consists of farming dungeons and raids to obtain better equipment or cosmetic items in MMORPGs.
While this is group content that cannot be mastered alone, there are ways to get by without a guild if you prefer.
Again, it is usually irrelevant which class you choose. The same rule applies as with other dungeons: DPS wait longer, tanks and healers have more responsibility.
This is the hardcore endgame content: In challenging content, it becomes more complicated for solo players. If you still prefer to play alone and without a guild at this point in the game, you have the option to participate in this content even when it is no longer available in the content search.
Players use the group search for this. In this feature of FFXIV, they can specify exactly which content they need people for and what their requirements are.
Group leaders specify in the search the content they are looking for, which language they speak, whether they want only one or multiple kills, and more.
Again, tanks and healers are often more in demand. However, their responsibility also increases with the difficulty of the content. Especially healers often have a lot to do in epic raids.
If you are not deterred by this, then you can choose between these jobs:
For DPS, the current raiding meta determines how in-demand they are in groups, and it often changes after new balance adjustments.
What does it mean for me as a solo player?
If you intend to play solo in the endgame, it means two things for you:
Familiarize yourself with the group search: Not every group search is suitable for everyone. Some players want to practice the first phase of the epic raid fight, while others are already close to the kill. So think beforehand about which type of group suits you best and don’t hesitate to create your own search with your own requirements.
Bring patience: In random groups, the skill levels of players can vary greatly. Don’t expect quick and easy kills in difficult raids. You will often wipe, groups will often fall apart, but then you find a new one and continue.
And don’t be discouraged! I myself raided through the group search for a long time. It can be frustrating, but it works, and many players get their loot every week through this feature.
Is the DLC for Elden Ring really that hard, or are you just bad at it? The expansion has been buried under an avalanche of criticism, despite many gaming sites praising it highly. We at MeinMMO are trying to understand where this discrepancy comes from.
With the announcement of the DLC “Shadow of the Erdtree,” a dream came true for many fans. A sequel to the game that enchanted them so much.
Many gaming sites, including ours, were among the first fans to visit the Shadowlands and test the expansion. The result: reviews with very good scores and endless praise – on metacritic with an overall score of 95.
On June 21, 2024, the players got their turn. They eagerly awaited a DLC that would be on par with the base game. Now, a few days after release, reality sets in.
The expansion is being bombarded with criticism on Steam. The DLC is said to be far too difficult and poorly optimized. We looked at both sides and will show you where legitimate criticism lies.
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Elden Ring introduces the boss enemies of the DLC
Masterpiece or pure torture? – What the reviews say
What were the reviews like on the websites? Extremely positive. Many gaming sites praised the DLC and shared their opinions on metacritic. With an overall score of 95 points, the expansion catapulted itself to a must-have. The following aspects were celebrated:
The great bosses
The secrets that await you
The items like weapons, armor, and spells
Additionally, the scope of the expansion was celebrated. The DLC feels like a game within a game and offers fans many things to explore to get lost in for hours.
There was hardly any negative criticism. The difficult bosses were mentioned, but not cast in a bad light. Performance issues? Again, not really. However, it is a different story in the communities.
What did fans complain about? Fans had a lot to complain about:
Way too difficult bosses
Slow progress
Poor performance
Co-op mode for seamless gaming no longer works
On metacritic, the user ratings are divided. A large portion of fans (465 votes as of June 24, 2024) loves the DLC, while only a small part of fans (95 votes as of June 24, 2024) is dissatisfied.
The situation is different on Steam. There, the expansion is being bombarded with criticism and dropped from a “very positive” rating to a “mixed” rating. The main reason: The DLC is simply way too hard. The following opinions can be heard on Steam:
“It’s too hard for me, I admit that. I feel a bit like I’m in a gamble hoping the bosses will use their very punishable attacks too often.” – Corpse Patty
“It needs optimization; the frame rate always drops to 20 FPS and it’s very laggy.” – arda.guersoy
“I’m very disappointed. You can go too far with this. The bosses are extremely aggressive, leaving hardly any opportunity to attack.” – PilotFrosch
“Good DLC, but I’m not sure if I would recommend it unless you’re a hardcore fan of the base game.” – Halver
It becomes clear that the DLC is much harder than the base game, and if you’re not used to such difficulty, frustration will arise sooner or later. A run through the DLC can feel like pure torture. But why do the opinions of players differ so much from those of gaming sites?
An expansion, two player experiences
Why are the opinions so different? One could philosophize about the reasons, but for me, the reason is clear: time and experience.
Players who eagerly wait for a release play the expansion in their own way, unlike editors who have to report on it. Critics are given early access to such titles or expansions to test them and write about them.
For them, the focus is to gather as many impressions as possible in a short time to report on it. Many impressions may be overlooked or missed, which would be important in a review.
Players, on the other hand, have all the time in the world. They enjoy games and expansions at their own pace and do not have to figure out where the best dungeon or next meta weapon is hidden. This makes problems much easier to notice, as such things can dampen the enjoyment of gameplay.
As for the difficulty classification, one could attribute this to the experience of the players. Elden Ring attracted many new fans upon its release who had never had anything to do with the souls genre before.
Those who have been around for a long time know the approximate difficulty level of new expansions in the Souls games. Many players seem to be overwhelmed because the DLC is essentially Elden Ring, but 10 times harder.
Even I, with my 10 years of experience in the genre, was thrown to the ground by the bosses and had to experiment for several days with two bosses before I got through them. But that was something I was used to. I enjoyed that challenge, and I believe many veterans of the genre feel the same way. However, players who are used to the relaxed vibe of the base game and then find themselves overwhelmed by the Shadowlands will look back with frustration sooner or later.
Shadow of the Erdtree is a topic in itself. Those who know the lore of Elden Ring understand that the Shadowlands is not a place for relaxation. Only the toughest have survived in this place, and that perfectly fits the expansion.
The “base game” of Elden Ring was relaxed and resembled a mystical wonderland full of freedom. The expansion is its distilled form, with only the hardcore left. As newcomers to the genre, it is understandable to feel quickly overwhelmed.
As for performance, not much can be done besides upgrading hardware. Elden Ring runs on the engine that also powered Dark Souls 3, which is very old. Depending on the platform you are playing on, you may experience more or fewer issues. In our tests on PS4 and PS5, we found no problems other than some stutters. Essentially, these are the same performance issues we encountered at the release of Elden Ring.
If you overlook these and focus more on the game, you can also overlook some hiccups in the world of Shadowlands. For my part, I must say that the DLC for Elden Ring is the toughest piece I have ever played from FromSoft and I love it.
In Star Wars, kinship is not only an important theme, but often also a mystery. While we know who Anakin Skywalker’s mother is, we never find out who his father is. However, there is an official explanation from a comic.
Kinship is a central theme in Star Wars. Already in the original trilogy, kinship was an important theme in Star Wars. The question of Luke’s father was a central plot twist of Episode 5.
Curiously, we never learn in the films who Anakin Skywalker’s father is. We meet his mother, Shmi Skywalker, already in Episode 1, but the father is never properly mentioned. However, since 2018, it has actually been known who Anakin’s father is, and it has even been officially confirmed by Disney.
Soon you can once again playfully immerse yourselves in Star Wars:
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Trailer for Star Wars Outlaws, the first open-world game in the ‘Star Wars’ universe
An Absurd Story
In Episode 1, Shmi explains to Qui-Gon Jinn that Anakin actually has no father, as she gave birth to him alone. As Jeuxvideo reports, the official comic series Star Wars: Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith tells stories about Darth Vader. It also provides some background information about the character.
In issue 25, the true father of Anakin Skywalker is discussed. As it turns out, Anakin’s birth was part of Palpatine’s plan, who manipulated the Force to impregnate Shmi. This fits with the almost biblical role that Anakin is said to have in the prequels and is basically the story of the birth of Jesus.
This also reminds us of the origin of Rey Skywalker. She is the daughter of a clone of Palpatine (via Wookieepedia). This admittedly absurd explanation has caused a lot of angry fans, who have long been dissatisfied with Disney’s direction. Recently, Star Wars: The Acolyte caused trouble with the fans.
Unlike some old books and comics that are categorized under Legends, this comic is canon, thus recognized by Disney as official story.
Star Wars and new backgrounds are always a matter of contention. Often something is retconned later, meaning original rules are changed. With Rey, it was previously said that Palpatine was her grandfather. Later, that was changed with the clone story. But if one just wants to enjoy the movies, one can ignore such background information. Since Disney bought Lucasfilm, George Lucas no longer works on Star Wars, which he finds regrettable: George Lucas was very disappointed when Disney did not want him for Star Wars 7 – he compared it to a breakup
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
