Blizzard removes the strongest racial bonus from humans in World of Warcraft. The times of the bonus reputation are over.
With The War Within, there are many new abilities in World of Warcraft. However, one racial bonus is also coming to an end. After over 20 years, Blizzard is taking away the popular reputation bonus from humans. This ability simply has no place in modern WoW anymore and will be replaced by something new.
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WoW: The War Within – All the major features of the new expansion
Which ability is affected? We are talking about the racial ability Diplomacy. This bonus has so far ensured that human characters can gain reputation from almost all sources 10% faster.
If characters, for example, received 250 reputation for completing a quest, then humans would receive a total of 275 reputation. The same applied to reputation factions where reputation was gained by defeating enemies and not just through quests.
Why is this being changed? In The War Within, the reputation and glory system will be restructured and unlocked account-wide. All your characters will then work on the same progress with the new factions.
This, however, leads to a problem with human characters. Because when humans receive a 10% bonus on reputation while reputation is account-wide, there is basically only one solution for all players:
Everyone has to play human to quickly maximize the glory for all characters.
The human racial bonus Diplomacy is currently designed to grant a 10% bonus to reputation gain. Unfortunately, with the Warbands reputation, this racial ability causes issues due to its character-specific nature.
We do not want our players to feel compelled to play a specific character or race in order to unlock Warbands rewards more efficiently, which is why we are converting this racial bonus into something new.
As glory levels have become a significant part of progress, both in terms of rewards with character strength and story unlocks, we want to create equality for all characters.
What do humans get instead? This is still unclear. So far, the revision has not arrived in the test version of “The War Within”. The new ability will likely be implemented at a later date once something new has been devised.
What ability would you give humans instead? And do you think this decision is good?
The creator of Nier: Automata and the creator of Stellar Blade, which will be released soon on PS5, were together in an interview and showed mutual appreciation.
What kind of game is this? The PS5 will receive a new exclusive game on April 26, 2024. Stellar Blade is an action-adventure that is said to have soulslike elements. The game aims to impress with great graphics and characters, but has also sparked discussions.
How did the conversation come about? The creator of Nier: Automata, Yoko Taro, was together with the creator of Stellar Blade in an interview at IGN Japan. During this, both expressed mutual recognition and appreciation, and the creator of Nier: Automata also spoke about the new Stellar Blade, which is set to be released on April 26.
You can watch the trailer for Stellar Blade here.
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Stellar Blade, the action-adventure on the PS5 launches demo
The creator of Nier is envious of Stellar Blade
Why is the creator envious? The creator and director of Nier: Automata speaks very positively about Stellar Blade. He says that the upcoming action RPG makes him “quite jealous”, as he considers it to be “much better” than his own game.
Taro especially praises the graphics and character design of Stellar Blade and highlights the good performance of Hyung-Tae Kim, the director of Stellar Blade. Taro is also enthusiastic about Kim’s earlier works, especially Blade & Soul.
What does Hyung-Tae Kim say about it? The creator of Stellar Blade graciously accepts the compliments. He makes it clear that he appreciates the recognition that Taro grants him. Kim also praises Taro’s work on Nier: Automata and emphasizes how unique the game is.
The German Computer Game Award 2024 will be presented today. We have all the information for you about the nominees, the jury, the categories, and the streams.
What is the DCP? The DCP is the presentation of the German Computer Game Award. This has been taking place since 2009 and awards prizes annually related to video games. The event will be streamed live on YouTube and Twitch, and you can join live.
The award is supported by the industry association game – Association of the German Games Industry together with the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The award office is located at the Foundation for Digital Game Culture.
When and Where – How to Stay Updated on the DCP
When does the DCP take place?
Date of the award ceremony: Thursday, April 18, 2024
Start of the pre-show: 6:30 PM
Start of the award ceremony: 8:00 PM
Where does the DCP take place? The award ceremony alternates annually between Munich and Berlin. The DCP 2024 will take place in Munich.
Where can you stream the DCP? There are several ways to follow the DCP live:
In addition, our colleagues from GameStar will stream and comment on the show with paid cooperation with the DCP tomorrow on the official GameStar Twitch channel. Ann-Kathrin Kuhls and Daniel Feith will host the stream.
Who is the jury? The winners of the DCP 2024 will be determined in two stages. First, a specialist jury nominates the participants. A main jury ultimately selects the winners.
You can read who will be on the jury in 2024 on the official website of the DCP. For the award in the category Player of the Year, you could even vote in advance.
Who is nominated in which categories? In 2024, awards will be given at the DCP in a total of 15 categories:
Helldivers 2 has now been on the market for over 2 months and continues to captivate thousands of gamers. Some players who usually only play PvP realized through the cooperative shooter that their gaming routine was not good for them. In contrast, Helldivers 2 has positively impacted their mental health.
What are players reporting? On Reddit, there is currently a post that has garnered over 10,100 upvotes and 1,000 comments and has received a lot of support. The post discusses the player “Chiquemund_Freud,” who reports that he has turned his back on battle royale shooters for Helldivers 2.
The decision to play Helldivers instead of Battle Royale has had a positive effect on his mental health: “Giving up battle royales for Helldivers was great for my mental health. […] Playing this game with its incredible community has positively changed the place of gaming in my life.”
Before Helldivers 2, it was unthinkable for him to just have fun while gaming. Now he has laughed more in two months than in four years of battle royales, and his partner has noticed it too.
My girlfriend even noticed it. Yesterday, she said out of the blue: ‘I’m glad you found Helldivers. I really like it when I hear that you’re having fun instead of complaining and whining all night and then coming downstairs all upset.’
A few months ago, it was unthinkable to just open a beer and have fun. I was always angry because I wasn’t good and got taken out by a teenager. Not anymore. I have made new friends, laughed more than in 4 years of BR [Battle Royale].
Other players also say Helldivers 2 has helped them
The community shares similar experiences: In the comments of the post, there are numerous players reporting similar experiences.
Some of them played shooters like Warzone, Apex Legends, or Fortnite and only realized through Helldivers that these PvP games were taking away their enjoyment of gaming on a daily basis and making them angry. However, not only shooters but also other competitive titles like LoL and Dota are mentioned.
thepipesarecall: “Helldivers helped me quit Warzone, which I have been playing since March 2020. It was only after I stopped playing that I realized how much the game affected my mental health.”
Odd-Consequence9464: “I stopped playing PvP games (aka Dota, League, Overwatch, Apex) and only chilled with friends and played coop games. $40 for Helldivers was the best purchase I made in the last 2 years.”
DevilApeEnji: “I have over 2,000 hours in Tarky [Note: Escape from Tarkov]. Most, if not all, were stressful […]. Since Helldivers, I haven’t even looked at the Tarky Reddit, let alone booted up the game.”
A 36-year-old family man adds that besides Helldivers 2, other games like Path of Exile can have a similar effect. The problem for him was competitive, team-based games.
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Helldivers 2 Announce Trailer PS5 PC
What makes Helldivers 2 so special?Helldivers 2 has no PvP and that should remain the case. Johan Pilestedt, the head of the development studio behind Helldivers 2, said they do not want the toxicity associated with it in their game.
As PvP is completely absent, there is no frustration over a loss and no anger towards other players. Everyone fights together for the success of the Over-Earth and the annihilation of robots and bugs. Players can primarily negatively influence the experience in Helldivers through intentional griefing with team kills and a kick.
In general, players can simply sit back in Helldivers 2, choose the difficulty level that suits them, and have fun with their friends.
Even MeinMMO editor Dariusz enjoys Helldivers 2, although he usually plays PvP shooters like Rainbow Six: Siege and Valorant. On MeinMMO, he mentions 5 reasons that make Helldivers 2 so good.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
After the successful comeback on Steam in November 2023, the MMORPG Fractured Online was on the right track. However, the developers have now announced a change that has been sharply criticized by the community.
What has been announced for Fractured Online? A few hours ago, a new video was released on YouTube in which the developers from Dynamight Studios present the next Early Access update of the sandbox MMORPG.
The content package named “The Invasion” brings blood and hell demons as new races, specifically designed for fans of PvP. The corresponding continent of the demonic spawn will not be available yet, as the effort behind developing new regions is very high.
In the short term, the developers prefer to focus on polishing the existing content and expanding the endgame. Additionally, the team is introducing VIP status as well as an in-game shop, allowing buyers of the founder packages to finally benefit from their VIP advantages and acquired tokens.
You can watch the developer update for Fractured Online here:
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What is the problem with the update? Although the developers emphasize that they will continue to keep their promise and will not introduce Pay2Win elements in Fractured Online, because for money in the shop, players can only purchase account-bound cosmetic items and temporal advantages for character progression.
However, they undermine this statement seconds later with a glance into the store, which shows that players can spend real money tokens for gold and gold for real money tokens. This makes it possible to buy everything that can also be bought with gold using money – including orbs that permanently increase stats and skills.
How is the community reacting? The reactions of players on Reddit and Youtube show that the developers are crossing a line that many find too far. Omegalux writes, for example: “This is a dealbreaker for me, as I have steadfastly refused to play any MMO that features P2W.”
The launch trailer of Fractured Online:
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Fractured Online – Early Access Launch Trailer
TheFawz adds: “Faster progress through money is indeed Pay2Win. It definitely sounds like you are fully relying on real-money trade support, which is clearly P2W, so I don’t understand how you could previously claim that it is not P2W.”
Disappointment is also expressed by IntrepidHermit: “I know it was foolish of me to trust them, but I really thought that with their pursuit of creating the modern version of a sandbox MMORPG, they could carve out a small corner of the market. I took the risk, and they exploited it.”
What else do I need to know about Fractured Online? The online role-playing game from Dynamight Studios has been in Early Access on Steam since September 15, 2022, but the launch was not auspicious. There were many issues and technical problems.
In January 2023, the team decided to return to closed development. In November 2023, they celebrated a fairly successful comeback, but this time without the previous publisher gamigo.
In this version, Fractured Online left a significantly better impression, which allowed the negative Steam reviews from the launch (only 27 percent positive) to rise to a balanced 56 percent today. Additionally, the player numbers were finally high enough to pay salaries and other obligations.
As Michael Douglas revealed in an interview, he had a very special wish for his character in the third Ant-Man movie, even though Marvel did not fulfill it.
Recently, Michael Douglas appeared on The View to promote his new series Franklin. In response to a question, he mentioned that he wanted a very special exit for his character in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.
He plays Hank Pym in the MCU, a brilliant entomologist and physicist who also invented the Ant-Man suit.
Here you can see a trailer for the third Ant-Man movie:
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Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Trailer
He wanted a spectacular exit from the MCU
What did the actor wish for his character? As Michael Douglas shared, he wished for his role to die in the third Ant-Man movie.
However, he wanted to have a very special exit from the franchise and to die in a spectacular way.
Michael Douglas also had a very concrete idea of what it should look like:
[To be killed] was actually my wish for the third film.I said I would like a serious [death], with all these great special effects.
There must be a fantastic way for me to shrink down to ant size and explode, whatever that is.I want to use all those effects.
This was not the first time the actor expressed this wish. Already on the red carpet for the third Ant-Man film, the actor told Hollywood Reporter that he would do a fourth installment as long as he died in it.
Will we see Michael Douglas as Hank again? It doesn’t sound like it. Because even though Marvel did not fulfill Michael Douglas’s wish and Hank Pym survived the film, he seems to have no interest in a return to the franchise.
The actor mentioned during the interview on The View that he likely would not return for his role in a fourth Ant-Man film:
“But that was last time. Now I don’t believe I will [appear in a fourth].”
However, there has been no information from Marvel about how Hank Pym will continue in the MCU or if there will even be a fourth Ant-Man film.
The leveling speed in World of Warcraft is increasing even further. The more characters you have at max level, the faster it goes.
Leveling a character back in the Vanilla days of World of Warcraft was something that could take days, weeks, or even months. In the modern version of WoW, leveling mainly serves the purpose of quickly getting the next character to max level so that they are ready for endgame content.
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WoW: The War Within – All the major features of the new expansion
What will change? With the expansion “The War Within,” Blizzard aims to implement many account-wide changes and provide some bonuses. For players with many characters, there will be upcoming relief for leveling additional characters.
Because: A new series of achievements increases the experience gained by all characters up to the maximum level 80.
How does it work? Every character that reaches level 80 unlocks a special mentor achievement. This increases the experience gained by all characters on the account by 5%.
The more characters you have at level 80, the greater the XP bonus:
Characters at Level 80
XP Bonus
0
0 %
1
5 %
2
10 %
3
15 %
4
20 %
5 (and more)
25 %
Overall, this achievement is stackable up to 5 times. So if you level 5 characters to level 80, all characters will benefit from a substantial XP bonus of 25%.
What else is changing? In addition to this adjustment, the amount of XP required will be drastically reduced. Overall, the amount of experience points needed between levels 1 and 70 will be reduced by nearly 55%, with the largest reduction occurring in the range from level 60 to 70.
What are the consequences? As a result, this will make it easier for everyone to bring new characters up to level 80. While there are already many simplifications, such as the Legacy Armor, XP Bonus potions, or the popular buff from the Darkmoon Faire, another improvement is likely to ensure that the leveling phase is managed even more quickly in the future.
You can test the latest installment of the popular game series Assassin’s Creed for a short time for free. Why it’s worth it, you can find out here.
How long can you test the game? Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the latest installment of the popular game series. The game was released in October 2023 on PC, PS4/PS5, and Xbox. Currently, you can test the first two hours of this action-adventure completely for free in a demo.
You can find the various demo versions on the official website (via ubisoft.com). You have the opportunity to take advantage of this offer until April 30, 2024.
The trailer presents a new outfit that the protagonist and Viking Eivor wore in the previous game. Furthermore, you can see what to expect with the “Free Trial” update in Assassin’s Creed Mirage:
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Test Assassin’s Creed Mirage for free now
Why is the free demo worth it? The free demo is definitely worth it for all fans of the series, but also for players who are still undecided about whether they want to give the game a chance. By being able to test for two hours, you will get a sense of whether you want to play Assassin’s Creed Mirage – or not.
What’s particularly interesting is the fact that you can keep and transfer your progress from the demo if you decide to purchase the game afterward.
Even if you probably won’t get very far in the story of an “Assassin’s Creed” title in two hours, you should be able to get a good impression of the gameplay and certainly explore a lot of the environment.
What Assassin’s Creed Mirage is about: This installment takes place in the vibrant streets of Baghdad in the 9th century. You take on the role of young Basim, a street boy and a well-known character from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
He is searching for answers and uncovering the secrets of the past. As a player, you experience the roots of the “Assassin’s Creed” game series and explore the home of the original Assassins.
Another popular action-adventure game that has impressed players with breathtaking scenes, landscapes, and really good graphics will soon no longer be a PS exclusive. It launches in May, but is already listed on Steam.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Many were upset about buying Cyberpunk 2077 in December 2020. The game ran so poorly on consoles that it was even removed from the PS Store. But one person was even more upset than the average buyers. The YouTuber Willyrex. He wanted to be particularly clever and ended up failing spectacularly.
What unfair advantage did Willyrex have?
The YouTuber Willyrex has been in the business since 2011 and streams like some Spanish-speaking YouTubers from Andorra, which is their Madeira. This saves on taxes.
As a YouTuber, Willyrex could secure a new copy of Cyberpunk 2077 before many others. The game was released on December 10, 2020, and was a real hot topic from the start.
Willyrex obtained a copy of the game for PC. Big influencers receive, like gaming journalists in some cases, such “review versions” of a game even before the release from the manufacturer.
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Is this really Cyberpunk 2077? – 40 seconds that will convince you again of the game
“I thought this is Free Money”
That was his mistake: As Willyrex recounts in a podcast, he played Cyberpunk 2077 before the release and thought it was a great game. He wanted to be particularly clever:
“I told myself, I need to buy stocks. I have an advantage. That’s the way to cheat.”
After all, the motto of the YouTuber is “Use the bug to your advantage.”
So he bought stocks for $100,000 and said: “Finally free money.”
YouTuber buys stocks at absolute peak price
What was the problem? What Willyrex didn’t know back then: The PC version of Cyberpunk 2077 was running fine, but the console version was a disgrace and plunged the game and the company distributing it into a crisis. On December 18, Cyberpunk 2077 was even removed from the PS Store.
He says:
The game came out 3 or 4 days later and it was the only game in history that was removed from the PlayStation Store. I had played it on PC, it ran perfectly, maximum quality, they delivered everything they promised.
The stock of CD Projekt Red crashed right after Willyrex bought it. Because the stock was riding high in anticipation that Cyberpunk 2077 would become the game of the year 2020 and generate incredible revenue:
Stock crashes by 50% after one month
If he bought the stocks, as he says, 3 or 4 days before the release, he must have paid about $120 per share. Just 7 days later, the stock stood at only 86%. About a month later, on January 8, the stock had dropped to $65. Today, the stock is worth about $28.
Depending on exactly when he sold them, he probably lost several tens of thousands of dollars. Willyrex doesn’t specify how much he lost exactly. He refers to it as a “setback.”
His tactic of using every advantage didn’t work out at all.
Other YouTubers also have problems with money and their expenses:
In League of Legends, a bug has occurred that affects players who accidentally buy jungler items while playing on a lane. This causes them to receive less experience points in LoL for the rest of the game.
What bug is it? In League of Legends, there have always been annoying bugs, but players have now discovered one that can cost you the match. The bug occurs when you accidentally buy an item that is meant for junglers at the start of the game.
Even if you sell the purchased item again, it won’t save you, because according to the thread, you will receive less experience points for the rest of the game.
Start video
League of Legends opens the 2024 season with an emotional trailer
A wrong purchase and your match is over
How does the bug specifically occur? To trigger the bug, certain conditions must be met: You have selected Smite as your summoner spell. Summoner spells are chosen before the match begins.
If you then do not play as a jungler but are deployed on one of the lanes, you only lack the last step to seal your fate. If you then accidentally buy an item that is actually meant for a jungler out of habit, your match could be over.
How was the bug noticed? In a subreddit for League of Legends, a player reports on the incident. He actually wanted to play on the top lane, but accidentally took Smite as his secondary summoner spell.
Some players also use Smite as part of a sophisticated strategy on other lanes, which means this could become a bigger problem.
Other players describe similar issues in the thread on Reddit or have reproduced exactly this bug, confirming the previously reported incident. One player in the thread stated that this bug cost him the mid lane.
What happens next? Riot Games has already acknowledged the error and is working on a solution. In the latest patch notes 14.8 on their website, nothing has been described about the error so far, so it remains to be seen when the error will be fixed.
Riot usually responds very quickly to player bug reports. Sometimes, however, they also handle criticism from the community surprisingly humorously. You can read more about it here:
In EA FC 24 the big TOTS event will start soon, and you can help decide which cards should be included in the Bundesliga Team of the Season. How you can vote and which stars will be included, you will find out here.
Finally, the Team of the Season is starting, and it could be the freshly leaked “TOTS Live” that even might have replaced the traditional Community TOTS. Later, the Bundesliga TOTS will be released, for which you can surprisingly vote already now.
This is how you vote for Bundesliga TOTS: EA has provided a page for the voting.
When will the Bundesliga TOTS come? The exact release date of the Bundesliga TOTS cards in the game is currently not known. As soon as there is a specific date, you will find out here on MeinMMO.
EA Sports FC 24: Update teaser for the UEFA Euro 2024
EA FC 24 Bundesliga TOTS Voting – These players are up for selection
This is how the voting works: Overall, you need to build a team consisting of four defenders, three forwards, three midfielders, and one goalkeeper. You can select players from a pre-selection and assemble your personal Bundesliga TOTS.
Among the stars are: Neuer, Grimaldo, Wirtz, Musiala, Sané, Brandt, Kane, Guirassy, Frimpong, Xhaka, Boniface or Füllkrug. It is not surprising that most players come from the new German champions Bayer Leverkusen. A total of 8 players from Leverkusen are up for selection.
For comparison: Bayern has 4 players included and Dortmund offers 4.
Our MMORPG expert Karsten Scholz had the opportunity to play the new WoW expansion The War Within during an exclusive alpha test round. The new adventure in the World of Warcraft is as comfortable and accessible as never before, while losing even more of its MMO roots.
Blizzard is preparing for the upcoming alpha of WoW: The War Within and allowed me to play the new expansion a few days in advance. The following content awaited me on the press client:
A tailored introduction to the “The War Within” adventure, which is supposed to differ at the final launch.
The three campaign chapters of the new area Island of Thorn, which is home to the Earthlings (all in-game sequences were locked).
Some depths instances that I was able to explore with NPC dwarf Brann Bronzebeard.
At level 71, I unlocked the new hero talents for my rogue, which were still placeholders for my favorite class. The talent trees from Dragonflight will still be present.
The new character overview shows four heroes of the Warband.
Revised UI elements and options like the spellbook, character overview, or the new mode for arachnophobes (which replaces all spiders with other creatures).
Access to the first advantages of the Warband feature (such as an account-wide bank with multiple slots and account-wide reputation for all characters).
The opportunity to test the dynamic flying properties of dragon riding with a pure heart runner – the horse mount hops through the air.
Through the group search, I was also able to queue for the new battleground “Deephaul Ravine” and the first two dungeons. However, due to a lack of players, I was unable to conduct any practical tests. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to enter the PvE instances of The War Within with followers (which should be possible later).
The cinematic trailer of WoW: The War Within:
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World of Warcraft: The War Within – Cinematic Trailer
Typical WoW …
On a cozy evening, I was able to complete the quests of the island, master several depths, and bring my rogue to just below level 73. The War Within felt very much like Dragonflight during this time, only that dwarves are bouncing around everywhere on Thorn and much revolves around smithing.
True to WoW, my pre-made fighter equipped with green clothes chopped through enemies and quests like a hot knife through butter. You probably shouldn’t expect a crispy difficulty level or innovative quest mechanics while leveling.
The design of the new mushroom creatures is wonderfully detailed and bizarre.
The only remarkable task I found was one where I had to fend off several waves of Nerubians. For this, I had to place defensive structures at different access points. I then watched the actual fight from the back of a flying mount while throwing various lightning attacks at the approaching enemies.
… but even more accessible
What you can count on, however, is the even higher accessibility of WoW. With dynamic flying, you’ll reach every quest in just a few seconds while leveling. All dungeons of The War Within that you encounter during the campaign or leveling phase can optionally be played solo or with AI followers. Waiting for other players? That’s so 2020!
The rogue grabs aggro in the depths while Brann Bronzebeard heals.
And the new depths also play comfortably: There are several difficulty levels, if needed Brann Bronzebeard provides healing as well as additional damage, and after ten minutes you’re back in the fresh air. By the way, there are some special features awaiting you in the depths:
In the Earthcrawler mines, there are nets lying everywhere on the ground that slow down and regularly summon attackers as soon as you touch them.
The depths of Warvals empowerment are shrouded in darkness that gradually reduces your maximum health. You can only counter this with the bright glow of candles that burn out after a while.
In the depths, traps (such as flame thrower candles), special tasks (for example, I had to save all the Earthlings spun by the Nerubians) and elite bosses lurk.
Through boxes, you can earn temporary buffs that remind of the perks from Torghast in Shadowlands.
In the end, a treasure chamber awaits you with the final reward as well as a shortcut to the entrance of the instance.
Brann Bronzebeard gains experience points, levels up, and unlocks more abilities for your joint adventures.
Lastly, the new Warband feature brings more comfort and accessibility. You get access to a new account-wide bank with multiple slots (unlocking all slots costs a pretty penny). Additionally, reputation progress, achievements, and collections count for all characters on your account. For those of you who play multiple characters, this new feature is a blessing.
The new character model of Alleria Windrunner.
Homeopathic traces of MMORPG
For many years now, World of Warcraft has followed the path of all major theme park MMORPGs, breaking down walls and offering increasingly more options and content designed to expand the target audience and lure new players to the servers.
Especially casual gamers are the target of Blizzard, who only want to play quietly for a certain period from time to time. And players who do not want social obligations, fixed raid times, and unfriendly dungeon teammates.
A part of me can absolutely relate to that. As a dad of two kids, a quick dungeon run of WoW: Dragonflight or Final Fantasy XIV, which I complete alongside AI companions, fits much better into my daily routine than a three-hour trip through the Blackrock Depths in WoW Classic.
However, the other part of me thinks: At least you remember the whimsical visits to BRD! Modern MMORPGs already play too often like single-player RPGs with optional multiplayer. With The War Within, WoW is now moving even more in that direction. Silly!
Alternative perspective on The War Within My wonderful colleague Mary also had the opportunity to take a look at the alpha of The War Within for Gamestar. Furthermore, she was able to grill the Blizzard developers with all sorts of questions about the upcoming expansion of World of Warcraft. What she learned and what her personal view on the addon is, you can find out in her preview of WoW: The War Within.
You see, there are two hearts beating in my chest. Luckily, it’s not a matter of “either … or”, since WoW Classic and The War Within are running in parallel. Which version of World of Warcraft do you prefer?
The strategy game Millennia was released on March 26 on Steam. MeinMMO author Schuhmann has spent countless games with the 4x game and is enthusiastic. But he also says: With all due love, the ending is a joke. After 10 hours of world conquest, there’s a tired screen. Seriously?
What kind of game is this?
Millennia is something like Civilization, but you can only own and directly control a limited number of cities, perhaps six to eight. However, these cities can span a vast area and continue to grow even after many hours of gameplay.
Therefore, it is important where you position the cities and that you have enough space to expand them over 6,000 years.
Different ages, which sometimes appear and sometimes don’t, provide variety in gameplay. At times, you gain skills that you have always wished for in strategy games: You can build sandbanks where there is only water or flatten mountains. Areas that were previously useless suddenly become valuable after thousands of years.
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Announcement Teaser Trailer to Millennia
Millennia has a great learning curve and brilliant ideas
Why do I like the game so much? I was immediately captivated by Millennia from the start, and the fascination has only grown over the past three weeks as I understand the game more.
Because this is not Civilization, not even close, but a city-building simulation, where you have to eliminate neighboring peoples or at least lock them out of your territories so that their little villages do not ruin your plans for massive metropolises that span entire continents.
Millennia has an incredibly satisfying learning curve and is coherent in itself. It even holds pleasant surprises. In each age, new challenges await the player: constantly, the citizens want more, first food and houses, then sanitation, electricity, a religion, and finally even access to the Internet.
It is worth thinking logically and building production chains: Cities have natural tendencies to grow in one direction or another depending on their surroundings. Where there is a lot of forest, you can deforest it and produce paper. Perhaps here the religious or intellectual center of an empire arises. A mining city can extract ore, perhaps becoming the Ruhr area of your own empire.
Meanwhile, standard strategies from other games, such as unrestrained growth or ruthless conquest, come with some pitfalls, as those who grow too quickly will awaken desires in the populace that they cannot fulfill. Those who conquer too much without securing it will quickly have a revolution on their hands.
Whenever you neglect an aspect of the game, it comes back to bite you.
This gives me the thrill: Despite mediocre Steam reviews, I enjoy Millennia very much because I accept the limitations of the game:
Millennia would be much easier if you could simply demolish conquered cities of enemies to make room for your own cities – but this is not possible; you have to build around the existing enemy cities.
Millennia would also be much easier if you could take over all conquered cities and control them yourself – but that is not possible either; you are limited to relatively few cities.
This is criticized in the reviews on Steam; it annoyed me at first as well, but by now I have accepted it as a necessary limitation of the game. They make the charm of Millennia.
Complaining about it is about as reasonable as getting upset that the pawn in chess can only take opposing pieces diagonally and can’t just clear away pieces in front of him.
There is nothing more to it – Go back to the main menu and start again.
How do the games end? That is the point I cannot forgive Millennia, no matter how hard I try.
Although there are several ways to end a game. After 127 hours with the Steam version, I have found two of the standard endings; either you lead your people to transcendence, which is quite easy, or you painstakingly build a colony ship to Mars before the evil Germans do.
But no matter how you end the game: After an epic game of 10 hours, you get a single dull victory screen, with the message “You have won,” without any statistics, fanfare, videos, or anything.
And then it’s back to the main menu, where you are expected to start the next game, as the game makes clear.
If anyone thinks that “View Map” offers anything exciting for the player, they must be disappointed. You are only allowed to scroll over the map ineffectively and almost in slow motion, admiring the game’s weak point, the graphics.
For every way to win, there is an achievement.
For all the love and charm that I can find in the unpolished and unfinished game mechanics, the few hours of work to give Millennia a somewhat appropriate ending should indeed have been possible.
Thus, even I, who is utmost positively inclined towards the game, suspect that Millennia should have stayed in development for at least another six months.
You can read my impression of Millennia after the first days here:
In Baldur’s Gate 3 there are plenty of cool weapons. One of the strongest can be obtained early on. All it takes is a simple trick. A user on Reddit didn’t know this and was quite surprised about it.
It is especially suitable for fighters, barbarians, and paladins. The blade deals a base damage of 3-16. It consists of 2d6 slashing damage and +1d4 fire damage. Additionally, your strength modifier is added.
The fire bonus is quite impressive and useful against enemies who are susceptible to it. So it would be practical to use the sword right from the start, right?
It’s good that there is an easy way to obtain the weapon already in Act 1. Even better: You don’t even have to finish the prologue to call the Everburn Blade your own.
But not everyone knows this. The Reddit user Gingerbread_Dad, for example, didn’t know it and eventually revealed in a post how to get the weapon.
Start video
Baldur’s Gate 3 Temple of Shar Runthrough
A simple spell helps you
How do you obtain the sword? In the prologue of the game, you are trying to escape from the Nautiloid. During this, you encounter Commander Zhalk, who is fighting a mind flayer.
Zhalk carries the desired sword with him. However, he won’t just hand it over. You either have to fight him and take the valuable loot from his corpse – or you can use a trick.
If you have previously rescued Shadowheart from her prison, she can help you get the sword now. Open the menu and equip Shadowheart with the spell “Command”.
Then proceed until you reach the room where the fight takes place. But instead of attacking Commander Zhalk, cast “Command” with Shadowheart on him. More specifically, the command “Drop”.
When you reach Zhalk, you need to be a bit lucky. The chance that he actually drops the sword is 65%. To be on the safe side, save beforehand and possibly reload the game.
If you are lucky, the sword will lie on the ground waiting to be picked up by you. Grab it and continue to the console at the end of the room. Activate it, and the prologue ends. You start Act 1 with a powerful weapon in your inventory, which will make your adventure significantly easier.
What does the community think about the trick? The Reddit user Gingerbread_Dad emphasized in his post how silly he feels since learning about the trick.
He has gone through “several dozen runs” and often tried to kill the commander. He often died in the process, as the fight is quite difficult at the beginning.
The alternative would have been to ignore the commander and thus also his sword. When he realized how easy it is to get the weapon, he felt really silly.
Other players are also commenting in disbelief under the post:
“I foolishly commanded him to drop the sword, but then I never picked it up,” regrets Miss_M4rs her actions.
“It’s my second run and I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everburn Blade?” asks Junior_Mention2803, who apparently knew nothing of the existence of the sword.
“I prefer to kill Zhalk, because that gives me an early level up,” says Jaren_Starain instead.
One year ago, the then 17-year-old Makani Tran made headlines worldwide in the gaming scene. He had flown 4 hours to a tournament in the trading card game Pokémon, but was disqualified for laughing when asked about his preferred pronouns.
The 17-year-old Makani Tran had qualified for the regional championships in the trading card game Pokémon.
He had to fly 4 hours to Charlotte to compete against other trainers. The flight and hotel cost the young man $800. For the student, that was a lot of money. Until then, he hadn’t earned a cent with Pokémon.
The tournament was going well for him, so the excitement was even greater when he was excluded from the tournament. And for a reason that many found incomprehensible.
Pokémon is a serious competition:
Start video
Pokémon World Championship 2024: Trailer for the Event in Hawaii
The young man was nervous and couldn’t think of a darned pronoun
Why was he disqualified? During the tournament, the referee asked him which pronouns he preferred to be addressed with so that he could be referred to with the pronouns of his choice during a live-streamed game.
But the young player said: “Uh, he or him or um …” – he simply couldn’t think of the third pronoun “his.” He stood there and ultimately laughed nervously.
The referee took the laughter the wrong way. The referee said he preferred the gender-neutral pronouns “They/them” himself, and that Makani shouldn’t be a jerk for that.
17-year-old disqualified for violating inclusion rules
Shortly thereafter, Makani Tran was asked again about the incident, regarding what he had answered and the tone in which he had spoken.
Ultimately, he was excluded from the tournament by the head referee for violating “the inclusion rules.”
The player was completely devastated by the news. He insisted he had done nothing wrong, now wasted the big opportunity, and lost a lot of money. But the referee remained firm.
What waves did this cause? The story made quite an impact in the USA and was picked up by national news outlets.
Especially for the conservative press, such as Fox News, this story was a goldmine. The mention of preferred pronouns is a contentious issue for many in the USA.
Makani Tran himself found the whirlwind too much. He felt uncomfortable being drawn into the “culture war” in the USA.
When asking about preferred pronouns, it is about a person’s gender identity. This ensures that individuals are addressed and referred to in a way that corresponds with their gender identity. Providing preferred pronouns is increasingly common in social media. It serves to choose the form of address that the person prefers right from the start.
5 times more donations than desired
How is the young man doing today? The whole uproar had something good for Makani Tran. Through a “GoFundMe“, 339 donations came in to reimburse the young man for his travel expenses. The goal was to raise $1,500, but a total of $7,602 was raised for Makani Tran: There were some donations over $100. Two anonymous donors even contributed $500 to the cause.
Thus, the trip was at least a financial success in hindsight.
The first prize money in Pokémon has now also arrived
The Pokémon career also took off. In January 2024, he participated in two tournaments that offered prize money (via liquipedia):
At the Regional Championships in Portland, he finished 5th-8th and earned $3,000.
At the tournament in Charlotte, where he had been so shamefully disqualified a year earlier, he placed 9th-16th and won $2,000.
The tournaments then proceeded as Makani Tran had wished, without any national headlines. It was all about Pokémon.
In Helldivers 2 there have been clues for some time about a third enemy faction that could intervene in the galactic war – the Illuminates. We show you what is already known about the extraterrestrial enemies of democracy.
What are the Illuminates? The Illuminates are a highly advanced extraterrestrial civilization that fought against the Over-Earth in Helldivers 1 and is expected to appear as a third enemy faction in Helldivers 2.
There are different types of Illuminates that possess different characteristics on the battlefield.
Caution, Spoiler: In the following sections, we summarize already known information from Helldivers 1 as well as alleged leaks. If you want to be surprised, you should not continue reading to avoid possible spoilers.
What do we know about the Illuminates? Some Illuminates are already known from Helldivers 1. Units of the extraterrestrial civilization come with different characteristics. Some can even reverse your key inputs.
The following units are known from Helldivers 1:
Scouts
Observer
A tadpole-like patrol that moves stealthily and raises an alarm when it spots a Helldiver
Watcher
Basically the same as the Observer, but equipped with light armor
Obsidian Observer
A variation of the Watcher, but equipped with weapons
Infantry
Tripod
A machine with three legs that attacks at close range using electricity
Has medium armor
Attacks in groups of 3 to 5
Hunter
Ranged fighters that fire a powerful electrical pulse that can take out a Helldiver with a single hit
Has no armor
Operates alone
Apprentice
A melee fighter that attacks in groups of 2-3
Attacks with a projectile attack that severely restricts a Helldiver’s mobility and allows the Apprentice to engage in close combat
Has light armor
Outcast
Always cloaked melee fighters that attack with swift strikes and move quickly across the terrain
Has light armor
Does not have ranged attacks
Attacks in groups of 1-3
Strider
A heavier variant of the Tripods, also three-legged machines that attack at close range using electricity
Also has medium armor, but possesses a higher resilience than the Tripods
Attacks in groups of 3 to 5
Tanks
Obelisk
A heavily armored dome that fires an energy wall
The energy wall moves forward, kills Helldivers on contact, and blocks player movement and shots
Other Illuminates can walk through the wall and attack Helldivers
Obelisks operate alone
Elite
Illusionist
Strong enemies that use nanobot technology in battle to control other beings, but are very slow
Fire homing projectiles that can take out a Helldiver with 2-3 hits
If the Illusionist’s projectiles do not hit a target, they explode after a short time. Any Helldiver that was in the explosion radius then suffers from inverted controls
Has medium armor
Council Member
Similar to the Illusionists but stronger
Fire homing projectiles that can take out a Helldiver with 2-3 hits
If the projectiles of the Illusionists do not hit a target, they explode after a short time. Any Helldiver that was in the explosion radius then suffers from inverted controls
Has medium armor but high resilience
Operates alone
Master
Great Eye
Large, heavily armed machines that, according to reports from the Over-Earth, are controlled by AI
Fire multiple homing projectiles that can take out a Helldiver with 2-3 hits
If the projectiles of the Illusionists do not hit a target, they explode after a short time. Any Helldiver that was in the explosion radius then suffers from inverted controls
Only one Great Eye spawns, but is supported by multiple Striders
Why is everyone waiting for the Illuminates? In Helldivers 2, an entire enemy faction was briefly wiped out with the robots. Although the nasty machines have returned with an even stronger force after just one day, players are still eager to fight against the Illuminates.
The anticipation mainly rests on some in-game hints that have been indicating the arrival of the third enemy faction for some time. For example, players could see strange blue lights in the sky in Helldivers 2, leading them to believe in an extraterrestrial presence.
Additionally, shortly after the release of the co-op shooter, players could read a news ticker on their spaceship speaking of rumors about Illuminated sightings:
A user wants to upgrade their gaming PC. Installing a new graphics card fails for several reasons. The special form factor of their computer plays a significant role.
However, there are also cases where the existing computer becomes a dead end when one wants to swap or upgrade certain hardware components.
A gamer failed to install a new graphics card in their gaming PC because the manufacturer did not intend for such an upgrade for the system at all.
Start video
Manufacturer shows sleek case, gamers are thrilled: “Great design! Goes directly onto my wishlist”
Failed PC Upgrade Causes Frustration
What upgrade failed? A gamer wanted to upgrade their PC with a new graphics card. They chose the Arc A750 Limited Edition model from Intel. This budget graphics card currently costs 260 Euros and is intended for gaming at Full HD resolution.
This pixel accelerator is what Reddit user Clockwork_crowwww wanted to install in their computer to achieve better performance in games.
I just want to play newer games than Left 4 Dead with more than two frames per second. But apparently, some things like Unreal Editor and Cities Skylines require such a large and powerful graphics card.
But even the size of the pixel accelerator caused him problems. The graphics card does not fit in his small PC case, which did not stop another gamer from finding a solution for a similar space issue.
The HP computer is a system in SFF form factor (Small Form Factor). This is mainly used for office computers that do not require much space.
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The player Clockwork_crowwww describes his problem on Reddit
What other problems were there? If the player had not already failed at the size of their new graphics card, the proprietary hardware of their PC would have thwarted them at the latest.
Due to the form factor, the manufacturer-specific hardware components can only be exchanged or upgraded to a limited extent. HP has installed a special power supply that differs significantly from regular power supplies, especially regarding the available connections.
Additionally, there is likely the much too low power output of the power supply itself. Depending on the configuration, power supplies in SFF PCs range between 180 and 240 watts. The recommended power supply output is at least 550 watts, according to techpowerup.com.
I searched online for help, and in every video, it showed that I need to connect the graphics card to the power supply. But there were no cables included at all, and all cables that the computer has are integrated into the power supply.
Moreover, the computer is almost hopelessly outdated. An Intel i5-3570 processor from 2012 along with 16 GB of DDR3 RAM powers the system. Even if the player could use the graphics card, players would be held back by the aging CPU.
“Cities Skylines is a pretty intensive game for a CPU, probably even more intensive than the graphics card. Once you start with medium-sized cities, the computing power required to run the game engine becomes clear, and the slow speed becomes unbearable. Even at the absolute lowest settings at 1080p, you’ll achieve under 30 FPS with this CPU.”
What do others say about his case? Many comments under his Reddit post are full of sympathy and tell him not to be discouraged by this failed upgrade. They also advise him against spending more time and money on the existing PC.
Unlikely-Answer tries to comfort the player with his comment:
“This can sometimes be a very frustrating hobby, but don’t let it discourage you. We’ve all gone through many frustrating situations and annoyances. Most of the time it’s a love-hate relationship. However, when everything works properly, it will pay off.”
In Warzone, the sniper rifle “MORS” was introduced in Season 3 and has since dominated the meta lists for builds in the battle royale mode. We will show you strong setups with attachments.
The sniper rifle “MORS” came with Season 3 in CoD: MW3 and quickly secured a spot among the meta builds for Warzone.
To help you understand the attachments you can work towards, we have selected strong setups for the MORS for Warzone. According to wzstats.gg, the sniper rifle is currently the best choice in the category for the battle royale mode.
The MORS is also frequently chosen in multiplayer. If you missed the trailer for Season 3, you can watch it here:
Start video
CoD MW3: Season 3 Multiplayer Trailer
Warzone: Meta Loadout for the MORS
The sniper rifle MORS (Military Operated Rail Sniper) has a good combination of precision and damage, possesses a high destructive power and a relatively fast reload speed. With the right attachments, it becomes even stronger.
These attachments are needed in Warzone:
Barrel: Heavy Tonne Barrel
Laser: SL Razorhawk Laser Light
Stock: Lightweight Icarus Stock
Ammunition: HVP Anti-Materiel Slug
Bolt: Quick Bolt
Attachments in English
Barrel: Tonne Heavy Barrel
Laser: SL Razorhawk Laser Light
Stock: Icarus Light Stock
Ammunition: HVP Anti-Materiel Slug
Bolt: Quick Bolt
What makes the setup strong? The setup is considered according to wzstats.gg to be a meta build for Warzone. The SL Razorhawk Laser Light greatly improves precision and handling, while the Lightweight Icarus Stock reduces unnecessary weight. The bolts allow for quicker reloading, while the Heavy Tonne Barrel provides better range and precision.
Although the “HVP Anti-Materiel Slug” ammunition is fired at a lower speed, it has a higher stopping power. Stopping power refers to its ability to effectively stop or incapacitate a target when hit.
Meta loadout for the MORS in CoD: Warzone.
MW3: Meta Loadout for the MORS in Multiplayer
If you are also looking for a loadout for multiplayer in MW3, we have one for you here. If you have already tested and saved the loadout for Warzone, nothing changes except for the barrel, and you only need to swap one attachment.
These attachments are needed in multiplayer:
Barrel: Crown-50 Barrel
Laser: SL Razorhawk Laser Light
Stock: Lightweight Icarus Stock
Ammunition: HVP Anti-Materiel Slug
Bolt: Quick Bolt
Attachments in English
Barrel: Crown-50 Barrel
Laser: SL Razorhawk Laser Light
Stock: Icarus Light Stock
Bolt: Quick Bolt
Ammunition: HVP Anti-Materiel Slug
What makes the setup strong? The setup is considered according to wzstats.gg to be a meta build for multiplayer in CoD: MW3. The only difference from the setup in Warzone is the barrel. The “Crown-50 Barrel” is a shorter sniper barrel and gives you a more mobile approach in combat.
Meta loadout for the MORS in CoD: MW3 multiplayer.
How do I unlock the weapon? You unlock the MORS sniper rifle in Sector 4 of the Battle Pass. What you need to do exactly we have listed for you here.
To equip the attachments, you need to level up the weapon to a certain level. We used the private match for the loadouts, so we cannot say which attachment you get when.
Therefore, we recommend activating weapon XP tokens and playing a few rounds of multiplayer or other modes in CoD: MW3. With this, you should be able to bring the weapon to the maximum level 19 in 1–2 hours. You can find tips for quickly leveling weapons here.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In LEGO Fortnite you can upgrade your settlement to unlock rewards and increase construction and population capacity. On MeinMMO, you will learn in detail what materials you need for each level and what benefits they bring you.
How do I upgrade my village? Just like with the upgrade of the workbench, the requirements for your village increase with each upgrade. In LEGO Fortnite, there are a total of 10 levels that your village center can reach.
To do this, you need certain materials, and at the same time, you must build buildings and devices to unlock the subsequent level of the village center. In the game, you can observe how the village’s level bar fills up in the top right corner as you build.
Start video
Epic Games shows LEGO Fortnite in the cinematic trailer
All Village Center Levels, Required Materials, and Benefits
In the table, we list all the levels that your village center can reach in detail. Additionally, you can see the materials required for the levels and a glimpse of the benefits you unlock.
Village Center Level
Materials
Benefits
1
automatically occurs when building the village center for 10 granite, 10 wood
– friendly NPCs visit you – you can recruit 1 NPC for your village
2
15 granite, 15 wood
– you can assign tasks to villagers – 5 new building plans
3
10 planks, 20 granite
– occasional gifts from villagers – 1 more spot for villagers – 2 new building plans
4
10 gnarlroot, 15 planks, 25 granite
– new tasks for villagers – 3 new building plans
5
15 gnarlroot, 20 planks, 15 marble
– rare explorers visit your village – villagers gain more shield & stamina – 1 more villager spot – 3 new building plans
6
20 gnarlroot, 30 granite slab
– new tasks for villagers – 3 new building plans
7
20 gnarlroot stick, 20 marble slab
– occasional unique recipes from villagers – 2 new building plans
8
30 marble plates, 10 amber
– 1 more villager spot – 2 new building plans
9
15 softwood, 15 obsidian, 10 polished amber
– villagers also collect resources in other biomes – 2 new building plans
With the individual village levels, you unlock new items.
How do I build a village? To construct a village, you select “Village Site” in the building menu and place it for 10 wood and 10 granite where your village center and the NPCs’ point of reference should be. You will receive the blueprint for the village site after placing a campfire and a small hut.
You can build multiple village centers, but they do not level up, and you must unlock the levels for each one individually. However, you cannot move the centers.
For your first village site, you only need wood and granite.
What do I need a village for? Various NPCs congregate in your village center who can assist you in your work in LEGO Fortnite. You assign them tasks during conversations. Additionally, the NPCs defend your village against attacks, even at night.
By upgrading the village, you can recruit up to 5 NPCs – the final spot is unlocked at level 10. Furthermore, the individual village center levels provide useful benefits that you can use for your survival in LEGO Fortnite.
In EA FC 24, the highly popular TOTS event is about to begin. However, this year there could be significant changes, as leaks suggest a new starting team. Could the new LIVE team replace the Community Team of the Season?
In the coming weeks, a lot is in store for FC players, as the upcoming TOTS event is arguably the most extensive promotion of the FC 24 year. It spans several weeks and brings a dedicated team for almost every major league with extremely upgraded special cards.
However, a leak now suggests that the new TOTS Live Team could replace the venerable Community TOTS.
Start video
EA Sports FC 24: Update teaser for the UEFA Euro 2024
Leak shows new dynamic cards with “TOTS Live”
This is what the leak shows: The well-known leaker for Ultimate Team FUTDONK shared a leak on X regarding a supposedly new promotion for the TOTS event in Ultimate Team. It is called “Team of the Season Live” and, according to the leaker, is set to start on Friday, April 19.
As the name suggests, it is supposed to be a new live event that ensures that the cards can become better if certain conditions in real football are met. However, the leak does not specify what these conditions could be this time.
The leak team, filled with big names like Bruno Fernandes, Modric, Raphinha, or Romero, can be seen here:
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Will TOTS Live replace Community TOTS? For many years, it has been a tradition that the Team of the Season always started with the Community TOTS. The community was able to vote for players who had a strong season but did not receive more than one performance-based special card.
However, whether the Community TOTS will be completely omitted this year or will only start after the supposed “TOTS Live” is still uncertain. Perhaps EA will release a roadmap for the upcoming TOTS weeks. If we learn more, you will find out here on MeinMMO.
When does the TOTS event start? An official start date for TOTS in EA FC 24 is still pending. However, if you take into account the leak as well as the in-game announcement of the changed Weekend League rewards, then Friday, April 19 seems like a plausible date.
If you want to know how to perfectly prepare for the upcoming TOTS in EA FC 24, take a look here:
