In Pokémon GO, new catching screens are being tested. However, the change seems to bring problems.
What kind of change is this? In Pokémon GO, when you want to catch a Pokémon, you enter the catching screen. Here you see the Pokémon you can catch against a background image. If you take a PokéBall in your hand, a catching circle appears around the Pokémon, showing you where to hit the Pokémon with the ball to catch it.
In exactly this catching screen, new background images are currently being tested for a portion of players. Niantic typically tests new features with a certain group of players before activating the feature globally.
Already in January, the first players reported on the test, which now seems to have been expanded. However, some players are reporting problems with the new backgrounds on Reddit.
Start video
Pokémon GO: This is what the new season ‘World full of Wonders’ looks like in the trailer
Problems with Shiny recognition and the catching circle
What kind of problems are there? On Reddit, it is reported that there are background images in which the Pokémon are perceived as Shiny, although they are not. A trainer writes in his post, where he also added corresponding images: Sunset backgrounds look pretty cool. For a moment, I thought I had found a Shiny.
He also writes: Even without vision impairment, some Pokémon look like their Shiny forms. Someone posted a Pikachu in our local Discord that looked just like a Shiny.
Another trainer notes that the performance of the game may also suffer from the change. He writes: If you have an old phone, the performance drop is enormous.
Another problem reported on Reddit regarding the change is the catching circles. These are currently partially behind the background images, as can be seen in another Reddit post.
Niantic will have to work on the new background images before they can be rolled out globally. It remains to be seen when and in what form exactly the new background images will be active for everyone.
What do you think of the new background images in the catching screen? Are you one of the handful of players who see this change in the game? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments. You can also find an overview of the events in March 2024 in Pokémon GO with us.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Destiny 2 still has a major update planned before the release of The Final Shape, and while many fans are currently engaged in the Guardian Games, some already know which weapons could make a return. We will show you the community’s speculations.
What major update can players expect? Bungie is currently preparing the release of the final major DLC for Destiny 2. The Final Shape is intended to conclude the saga of Light and Darkness, which has been told for a decade. However, before the release, players will receive a free update called “Into the Light”.
Not much is known about the update, only that longtime and new players alike will be prepared for the upcoming DLC with “Into the Light”.
Players have now rummaged through the data of Destiny 2 and accidentally discovered weapons that could make a return. Two of them are considered community favorites.
Start video
Destiny 2: Season of the Wish – Guardian Games All-Stars Trailer
Fans discover classics from the past in the data
What was found? Guardians like to browse through new seasons on the site todayindestiny.com. There they can view items in the Eververse calendar that are recorded in the data for the respective season, so they can be sold for Glimmer or Silver throughout the season.
However, Reddit user Voldernnn stumbled upon an interesting detail, as Bungie has included many older ornaments of old weapons in the rotation to be offered for Glimmer.
Two of these weapons are still considered fan favorites, but they are currently languishing in the Vault of Architects – The Recluse and Hammerhead.
The red markings show you the ornaments in the rotation (Source: todayindestiny.com)
Both weapons were found in almost every build a few years back and were the top choice for taking out many enemies in one sweep. However, they have both been pushed into the Vault, forcing players to choose other toys for their missions.
That Bungie is now bringing back three ornaments for these two iconic weapons and plans to offer them for Glimmer, even though they remain in the Vault, is no coincidence.
Players therefore suspect that Bungie will most likely bring these two weapons back with the upcoming “Into the Light” update, and that with new perks.
However, the Hammerhead is an item from the previous DLC “The Black Armory”. The machine gun could be crafted in the Volundr Forge on the EDZ, but that is no longer active since the Sunsetting.
So it may be that Bungie temporarily brings back old and iconic content, including the forges, before the upcoming DLC, allowing players to explore the best sides of the loot shooter once more just before the grand finale.
What do you think of the discovery? Are you excited and would you like to craft a new Hammerhead? Or do you prefer pulling out your version from the Vault? Let us know in the comments!
After the update of Helldivers 2, the game’s community is divided. While some welcome the update, others are really angry because their weapons are now worse.
Why are the players angry? The new patch of Helldivers 2 brought, in addition to new weather events, mainly balance changes for the players. The most used and strongest weapons of the community were nerfed.
Instead of choosing other weapons, players are venting their frustration online and receiving backlash from other players.
Emotions are running high, and there are also messages from the developers of Arrowhead regarding the situation.
Here you can watch the trailer for Helldivers 2, where the mechs were also announced.
Start video
Helldivers 2 Sign up for Duty trailer shows new mechs in the game
“If a game is no longer fun, it goes away”
What do the players say about the patch? In the MeinMMO comments under our article with the patch notes, some readers vented their emotions.
Absolutely terrible patch, the game is broken, there is no way to counter the Sturmer. The Acid Titan is practically unkillable except with lucky bomber strikes, the only weapon that was fun in the late game, also gave a chance solo, has been nerfed to death. Democracy can just forget me right now. Yesterday it was no fun with the buddies. And if a game is no longer fun, it goes away.
That newly armored enemies are a problem after the patch is being discussed a lot. Azaras responds to Scorpion under the post like this: “Well, there are alternatives; spear, rocket launcher, autocannon, flamethrower, or just play the railgun in unsafe mode, that way it is still much more efficient than other weapons, but not as overpowered as before”
Overall, the community is mainly upset about the nerfs because it seems as if all weapons are now weak, rather than all weapons being at the level of the SG-225 Breaker or the RS-422 Railgun before the patch.
The “FLAM-40 Flamethrower” flamethrower is one of the winners of the update.
What do the developers say? There are two messages from the developers. Even before the patch was released, there was a message from game designer Alex K. stating that all weapons should feel equally strong.
Players should choose the weapons they enjoy the most. The weapons were nerfed because they were too good, without having a negative component.
Furthermore, one should not compare the weapons to how good they were before, but how good they are now compared to others. However, the criticism that can be read online mostly states that now all weapons feel weak.
What is the second message? The developers also spoke up shortly after the patch regarding the situation. The Head of Product Testing, Patrik Lasota, published a blog post on the Arrowhead studio’s website with a lengthy contribution on each balance change, why they did it, and how the game should feel.
The most interesting thing is probably that the main weapons are not meant to hold off large hordes of enemies. For that, special equipment like airstrikes or turrets should be used.
The performance of graphics cards or processors is measured in TeraFlops (Tflops). But what does TeraFlops even mean, and what do they bring me as a gamer? Does my new graphics card need to have many TeraFlops, or are other factors more important for good performance? MeinMMO explains it to you.
Hardware manufacturers often compare their devices among themselves. In this comparison, TeraFlops play a significant role. These TeraFlops regularly spark large discussions among users. For example, fans had fiercely argued about whether an Xbox Series X with more Tflops is faster than a PS5.
But what do these often huge numbers say about a gaming console or a desktop PC? And are these numbers actually suitable for comparison in gaming?
MeinMMO explains what lies behind TeraFlops and what they mean for gamers.
The article was first published in November 2021. On March 7, 2024, we updated the article, supplemented it with new graphics cards, and added a few links.
Last updates: 03.07.2024, 11.16.2021
What are FLOPs actually?
A FLOP is an acronym that stands for “Floating Point Operations Per Second.” This term is often used in the context of graphics cards and processors.
A FLOP describes how many floating-point calculations (additions and subtractions) the device can perform per second. “Tera” is a computing prefix, so we are dealing with TeraFLOPs in a range of 10 raised to the power of 12, which is a huge number: about one trillion Flops.
What do these numbers mean? Simply put: The larger the number, the more powerful the computer or console because the system can perform more calculations per second. But that is initially just a theoretical value.
How are FLOPs calculated? The number of FLOPs describes the performance of the entire architecture, which consists of:
The main processor or graphics chip, which is usually located on the socket of the motherboard or otherwise mounted.
The bus or Back Panel Unit Sockets, on which, for example, the main memory sits, which also influences the computational speed
The compiler, which is responsible for ensuring that the data is computed and processed. The compiler converts the source code into executable code, which the main processor can then use.
GPUs operate a bit differently than CPUs. Typically, the theoretical computing power of GPUs is expressed in single precision (FP32).
TeraFlops of PS5, Xbox, and graphics cards in comparison
Does a high number of FLOPs mean a lot of performance? The number of FLOPs describes only the number of computational steps on paper that the CPU or GPU could theoretically achieve per second.
Usually, this is based on a best-case scenario estimation. In practice, the theoretical values are rarely reached. Because in reality, it also depends on where your computer is located, how good the cooling is, and what else you have built in.
The following things are not considered by FLOPs: Additionally, not all factors are taken into account, and other components also play a role
The video memory of the graphics card or the processor cache is not represented by the FLOPs. 8 to 12 GB of video memory is now a must if you really want to do gaming.
The overall architecture of the hardware also plays a role. Depending on how efficient this architecture is, the more performance you ultimately get.
Features like upscaling technologies like DLSS or FSR are also not taken into account in the calculation of FLOPs. In practice, however, these technologies provide a significant performance boost.
Basically, it all depends on the overall configuration and the game: Your system may theoretically have fewer TFLOPs than your best friend’s computer, yet your system still performs better because your system is better cooled, or your graphics card supports features like DLSS or FSR.
If you are interested in your system’s performance, we would give you another tip. Because with FLOPs, you can initially only capture your theoretical performance on paper.
Alternative for TeraFlops: Focus on FPS for performance
TeraFlops refer to a theoretical performance that a graphics card, processor, or computer can achieve.
In everyday life, this performance is hardly achieved. It’s a bit like driving a vehicle with 450 horsepower in the city, where you can’t actually use that power.
What you should pay attention to: In gaming, it’s not about how many TeraFlops your graphics card or processor ultimately achieves. Much more important is how many FPS you end up getting in the game. The more FPS you have in the game, the smoother the gameplay appears to the human eye.
For actual performance, you should rather use benchmark software that shows you how much performance is in your system.
The consulting company Sweet Baby Inc is currently the focus of a hate campaign being driven by one of the largest curators on Steam. SBI is accused of pursuing a “woke” agenda with games like Alan Wake 2 and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
What kind of company is Sweet Baby Inc? The Canadian company is dedicated to assisting developer studios in creating narrative content. SBI provides support with scripts, content design, as well as consulting in the areas of diversity and inclusion.
Clients of the company include, among others, Rocksteady Studios (Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League), Remedy Entertainment (Alan Wake 2), and Mimimi Games (Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew).
What is Sweet Baby Inc criticized for? The company is accused of pursuing its own agenda through its influence on studios and, for example, deliberately replacing white and/or male protagonists with individuals of different ethnicities and genders.
In short: SBI is allegedly making games “woke.”
Furthermore, it is criticized that Sweet Baby Inc is indirectly partly responsible for the current dire situation in the industry. The thesis of some critics: due to Sweet Baby Inc’s influence on the development of important games, these do not reach the expected quality and do not meet expectations, which in turn has led to the numerous layoffs in recent months.
Who leads the critics? The case came to light through the Steam user Kabrutus, who has made it his mission with his high-reach curator account Sweet Baby Inc detected (over 200,000 followers) to select all games that Sweet Baby Inc was involved in and to not recommend them regardless of the quality of the respective game.
A Discord channel called Sweet Baby Inc. Detected is also in focus, where alongside the criticism of SBI, GamerGate slogans, hate against feminist Anita Sarkeesian, and misogynistic image comparisons can be found.
Have there already been victims of the campaign? An employee of Sweet Baby Inc, who wanted to draw attention to the Steam curator and his activities, received so many hate messages that he had to set his X account to private. The same applies to SBI’s official X account. Even the company’s website is currently inaccessible.
By the way, Alan Wake 2 is a great game:
Start video
New video about Alan Wake 2 is for everyone who missed the predecessor
Is there any truth to the criticism? Alyssa Mercante from Kotaku has spoken with several employees of Sweet Baby Inc to find out how significant the company’s influence on various productions is. The simple answer: Not as significant as the critics assume.
When SBI employees appear, the story framework and the concept for the main characters of a game are already established. The narrative experts only provide the finishing touches, ensuring that characters behave consistently throughout the narrative.
The company receives support from the developer community. One theory among critics suggested that the influence of Sweet Baby Inc led to changes in the skin color of Saga Anderson (one of the main characters from Alan Wake 2). Via X, Game Director Kyle Rowley clarified that this was not the case.
Update March 7, 18:00: Why can’t I write comments anymore? Since this is a sensitive issue that can lead to heated discussions, we have decided to close comments from now on. Moderation that would be necessary to ensure respectful interaction on this topic can no longer be provided after the editing deadline. We ask for your understanding.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Acid Titans are huge and extremely dangerous opponents in Helldivers 2, but there are means and ways to eliminate these nasty creatures as effectively as possible.
What are Acid Titans?
Acid Titans are among the strongest enemies you will encounter in Helldivers 2.
They are gigantic, have strong armor, and a deadly acid attack that can take you out with a single hit even from several meters away.
Moreover, the feared Titan can easily stomp you to death with its long, armored legs. So you should beware of the giant beetle.
Start video
Helldivers 2 Sorrow Titan Liberation Gameplay Video
How do you recognize Acid Titans? Acid Titans are the currently largest Titans you can encounter in Helldivers 2. You recognize them by their long, thin, armored legs. On the underside of their otherwise gray body, they have a green acid reservoir, while on top they are heavily armored.
If an Acid Titan is near you, you won’t have any trouble seeing it. Due to its enormous size, it can be recognized from hundreds of meters away.
This is what Acid Titans look like:
When you encounter this gigantic beetle, you have found an Acid Titan.
Tips against the Acid Titan: Before we get to the actual combat tips against Acid Titans, we have 2 tips for you that can help you against the gigantic beetles.
If you stand between the Titan’s hind legs, it cannot hit you with its acid attack. However, you are not protected from its stomps there and should be careful not to stand incorrectly, as you would be a perfect target for its acid attack between its front legs.
You can shoot down the Titan’s acid reservoir. After that, it can no longer shoot acid and loses its strongest attack.
Defeating the Acid Titan: Here’s how to proceed
This is how you eliminate the Acid Titan: There are two effective ways to take out Acid Titans, but you need either strong orbital strikes or a railgun for this.
Ideally, you have an “Orbital: Railgun Strike” or an “Orbital Laser” that you fire at the Acid Titan. This will cause a lot of damage or possibly even kill it directly.
If the railgun strike does not eliminate the Acid Titan directly, the armor of the beetle will break at the point where it was hit. At this point, you can now deal damage to it. Ideally, you then shoot with the railgun or the automatic cannon at the unprotected spot to take it down as quickly as possible.
If you currently have no orbital strike available or want to deal damage from a great distance, you must shoot the Acid Titan in the face with the railgun in unsafe mode. However, this may require several hits.
If you shoot the Acid Titan with a fully charged railgun shot from unsafe mode in the mouth while it is spewing acid at you, even a single hit may be enough to eliminate the giant beetle.
In the fight against Acid Titans, it is important to have the best loadout possible, but for that, you should quickly reach level 20. If you have not yet reached this magical level threshold, you cannot equip the railgun strike and the railgun. The shield generator backpack, which was indispensable in the meta until its nerf, is also unavailable before.
If a member of your team owns the railgun, they can request it for you and resupply their ammunition at ammo caches or supply drops.
Pokémon GO has released the first teaser for the GO Fest 2024. A mysterious Pokémon is announced for the event.
What kind of teaser is this? On the platform “X”, Pokémon GO has published the first teaser that gives hints about this year’s GO Fest. There, Pikachu and Eevee can be seen in a meadow, as well as several buildings in the background.
However, there is indirectly a third Pokémon visible: In the last seconds of the teaser, the camera zooms closer to a tree in the meadow, next to which a shadow can be seen. Shortly after, the call of the Pokémon that is obviously hiding there follows.
And those who listen to it will recognize: this is Marshadow. You can watch the teaser here in the post:
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This is Marshadow: Marshadow is a mysterious Pokémon, similar to Mew or Celebi. It comes from the seventh generation of games, specifically “Sun” and “Moon,” and has the Fighting and Ghost types.
The rare, small Pokémon has the ability to take over the shadows of its opponents and thus steal their attacks. It does not have an evolution as of now. Due to this year’s GO Fest emblem, trainers suspected that Marshadow would appear at the event – now it should be confirmed.
The new season “World Full of Wonders” is currently underway:
Start video
Pokémon GO: This is what the new season ‘World full of Wonders’ looks like in the trailer
What is the GO Fest? The GO Fest is the biggest event in the Pokémon GO calendar and takes place every year. Recently, there have been local variants in individual cities as well as a global event that could be played by all trainers worldwide. It usually takes place in the summer.
More details about this year’s festival are not yet known, but that is likely to change soon. After all, the teaser hints at not only Marshadow but also upcoming additional information. We will keep you updated as always.
In Helldivers 2, the patch makes completely different weapons strong now. With one of them, you can even defeat assaulters and other armored enemies all by yourself and very easily.
Which weapon is it about? The Laser Cannon was virtually useless before the patch. Compared to other weapons, it dealt far too little damage, and at the same time, you were very slow when carrying it on your shoulders. With the patch from yesterday, the Laser Cannon received several buffs.
The weapon is now particularly suitable for defeating armored enemies, as the community quickly noticed.
Here you can watch the trailer for Helldivers 2, where the mechs were also announced.
Start video
Helldivers 2 Sign up for Duty trailer shows new mechs in the game
Defeating Assaulter Bugs is now easy
How do you best defeat the Assaulter Bugs now? With the Laser Cannon, this is no longer a problem, even for solo players. When the assaulter makes its attack, you dodge it and concentrate your fire with the weapon on one leg of the bug.
The bug is somewhat weakened after its storm attack and thus vulnerable to your attacks. It is important that you aim at the legs of the assaulter, as that is the best point to inflict damage with the weapon. Aiming at the bug’s rear does less damage.
With the buffs the weapon has received, the bug should already be destroyed before it has you back in its sights.
Here you can see a YouTube video that demonstrates it for you.
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Why is the weapon good now? With the new buff of the Laser Cannon, several aspects of the weapon have been strengthened, making it effective against armored opponents.
The LAS-98 Laser Cannon, as it is officially called, now deals more damage against the resilient body parts of enemies, has increased armor penetration, and improved ergonomics. All three aspects ensure that armored enemies quickly go down.
What do the players think about it? Players are divided on what to make of the weapon. On Reddit, there was also a post about the weapon’s ability to destroy armored enemies. There was a lot of surprise, as some players tried the weapon right away but did not yet have the new patch, which came for the PS5 a bit later.
Asleep_Assumption646 writes on Reddit: “Probably a bait video. I always liked this weapon, but it was useless against armored enemies. I tried it earlier, it doesn’t kill as fast as shown here.”
Siilk writes on Reddit: “Tried it yesterday against an assaulter. Could not get penetration from the front, but hitting the rear after dodging its attack was quite effective, […]”
At the Academy Awards, notable figures in the film industry are awarded the Oscar each year. There was once a special nomination – because there was actually no candidate for the award.
Which Oscar was it? At the Oscar ceremony in 2003, Charlie and Donald Kaufman were nominated for the script of the film Adaptation in the category “Best Adapted Screenplay” (via oscars.org).
But in reality, Donald Kaufman does not exist. He is thus the first fictional character ever to be nominated for the film award.
Here you can see a German trailer for Adaptation featuring Nicolas Cage in the roles of Charlie and Donald Kaufman:
Start video
German trailer for adaptation with Nicolas Cage in a double role
This is why a fictional character was nominated for an Oscar
How did the nomination come about? The script for Adaptation actually comes from Charlie Kaufman. He was commissioned at the time to adapt the book The Orchid Thief into a screenplay.
However, he was plagued by writer’s block and simply couldn’t come to a consensus. So instead of a pure 1:1 adaptation of the book, he wrote a somewhat different story, namely the plot of Adaptation.
What is Adaptation about? It is about the self-hating screenwriter Charlie Kaufman who has a fictional twin brother named Donald and struggles with adapting The Orchid Thief into a film.
In doing so, the writer simply had the brilliant idea to write his current situation as a story. Donald is Charlie’s personal nightmare, but then becomes an inspiration for the screenwriter, thus embodying the writing process behind the film.
Since Charlie Kaufman was ultimately so grateful that this character had resolved his writer’s block, Donald was quickly credited as a co-writer of Adaptation.
Because the name is in the credits, the character was then included in the Oscar nomination alongside the actual author.
Did the brothers win the Oscar? The Oscar for Best Adapted Script did not go to Adaptation, but was ultimately awarded to Ronald Harwood for the screenplay of The Pianist.
However, Donald Kaufman secured a place in the Guinness Book of Records with his nomination as “First fictional character ever nominated for an Oscar”.
In GTA Online, you fight in the new update alongside the law against a cartel and break into a fast-food factory. There are also new cars including a police car.
What is the highlight of the update? With the update on March 7, 2024, GTA Online has received a new heist, the Cluckin’ Bell heist.
This time, you don’t break into a bank, a casino, or a luxury mansion filled with countless treasures, but into a factory of the fast-food chain Cluckin’ Bell. On behalf of the upright police officer and former head of security of the Diamond Casino, Vincent Effenburger, you take on a cartel.
The cartel uses Cluckin’ Bell as a facade, just like in the series Breaking Bad, and it is up to you to outsmart the villains. You will infiltrate the factory in classic GTA style after some preparations, influencing how you want to proceed during the heist.
Here you can see a short teaser trailer for the update:
Start video
GTA 5 Online: The Cluckin-Bell Heist – Fight the Corruption!
New Police Car for Hobby Cops and a Jeep
What else is new? Besides the new heist on the Cluckin’ Bell factory, there are of course new vehicles that you can acquire, including the Bravado Gauntlet Interceptor. This is a new police car that you can buy for 5,420,000 GTA-dollars at Warstock Cache & Carry.
You unlock the Bravado Gauntlet Interceptor by completing the introduction of the new Cluckin’ Bell heist as the leader of your crew. If you then finish the heist finale as the leader, you can already purchase the car for 4,065,000 GTA-dollars.
The Gauntlet is a muscle car and is based in GTA Online on the Dodge Challenger, but it also features parts reminiscent of the Chevrolet Camaro. The Bravado Gauntlet Interceptor was also briefly seen in the first trailer for GTA 6 (1:04) when police approached a crashed vehicle on a highway.
Here you can see a picture of the new Gauntlet on X.com:
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In addition to the new police car, there is a new SUV called the Canis Terminus, which can be purchased for 1,877,500 GTA-dollars at Southern San Andreas Super Autos and is based on a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, as well as a truck in Cluckin’ Bell design.
What kind of bonuses are these? Thanks to some data miners, the bonuses for this week are already known: You will receive double GTA-dollars and RP for successfully completing the Cluckin’ Bell heist. You will also receive a hat from the namesake fast-food chain.
In addition, there are double GTA-dollars and RP in the mode “Hunt”, where 2 teams compete against each other and try to force a heavy vehicle to stop or defend it beforehand. If the target vehicle stops, it explodes.
Additionally, the modes “Motor Wars” and “Running Back” return. Motor Wars was originally introduced in 2017 as part of the “Smugglers Run” update.
For the first time in EA FC 24 the Team of the Year (TOTY) Icons have mixed in with the new player choice. We present you the corresponding Squad Building Challenge (SBC) and reveal how high the chances are of pulling a strong card.
Which SBC is it about? The Icon player choice has been available in EA FC 24 in various forms. The principle remains the same. After you complete the SBC, you can choose from 3 different Icons.
Over time, new Icons are repeatedly added to the player pool. By now, you can pull not only the base Icons and Winter Wildcards Icons but also the coveted TOTY Icons.
What are TOTY Icons? These special versions were released during the TOTY event in EA FC 24. The cards in the white-gold-blue design stand out due to very good upgrades of the already strong Icons. Accordingly, they are very expensive on the transfer market.
In total, you have the opportunity to get 11 TOTY Icons, with the cheapest card costing just under 700,000 coins. However, aside from the currently strongest Icon versions in the game, several other valuable players belong to the candidate pool of the new SBC.
Here you can see the best (left) and worst (right) picks from the player choice in comparison.
New Icon Player Choice: Here are the 10 most expensive cards
Below we present you with a list of the 10 most expensive Icons that you can get from the new player choice SBC.
Which potential Icons from the player choice cost you the most coins? This is the status as of March 6, 2024:
10. Pele – 3.5 million
9. Hamm – 3.8 million
8. TOTY Matthäus – 4.4 million
7. Ronaldinho – 4.6 million
6. TOTY Ferdinand – 5.1 million
5. Winter Wildcards Pele – 6 million
4. TOTY Vieira – 7.5 million
3. Ronaldo – 7.8 million
2. TOTY Hamm – 11.4 million
1. TOTY Ronaldo – 15 million (sold out)
As you can see, the TOTY Icons expand the list of valuable players with several heavyweights. Already 5 TOTY Icons are among the 10 most expensive cards that you can obtain from the new SBC.
The two Brazilian forwards Ronaldo and Pele, as well as the English women’s icon Mia Hamm, are even represented twice.
Not quite as good as Ronaldo, Pele or Hamm, but significantly cheaper, is a striker I tested who reminds me of a much better Haaland. Check out the review here.
Is the SBC worth it? In the player pool, there are around 130 Icons with a rating of 87 or higher. About 50 cards are more expensive than the SBC, which is currently priced at around 375,000 coins. (Status: 06.03.2024)
This gives the success rate a calculated value of under 50 %. However, you must consider that there are more than 30 players with which you can more than double your investment. Most of the aforementioned players even cost over a million coins on the transfer market.
Additionally, in a player choice, you are not only assigned one Icon but can choose between 3 different Icons, which further increases the chance of a strong pick.
In the end, Icon player choice SBCs remain a big gamble, and you have to decide for yourself if you want to risk your luck.
In GTA Online, the new update “Cluckin’ Bell Heist“ is live and brought 3 new cars right at launch. We show you their prices, appearance, and special features.
What kind of cars are these? Each new update in GTA Online typically includes new vehicles. From the last updates, it is known that there is usually a selection of new vehicles available for purchase right at release. This time, players can also acquire new vehicles right at the start of the new update “Cluckin’ Bell Heist”.
We show you here an overview of the cars that you can already purchase. This includes the purchase locations and what makes them special.
Dealer: You can purchase the Cannis Terminus at Southern San Andreas Super Autos.
Benson (Cluckin’ Bell)
Price: Purchase price 513,750 GTA-Dollars and to buy you need 685,000 GTA-Dollars.
Dealer: You can buy the Benson in its new look at Warstock Cache and Carry.
Important: The purchase price is only unlocked when you complete the “Unorganized Crime” step. However, the buying price is available from the beginning.
Gauntlet Interceptor
Price: Purchase price 4,065,000 GTA-Dollars and to buy you need 5,420,000 GTA-Dollars.
Dealer: You can purchase the Gauntlet Interceptor at Warstock Cache and Carry.
Important: The purchase price is unlocked when you, as the leader, complete the Cluckin-Bell Heist. The buying price will be unlocked after you have finished the “Black Money Register” step as the leader.
Which vehicle from this selection is your favorite? Do you think the new police car is strong, or would you rather indulge in the SUV in bright pink? Let us know your favorites in the comments and tell us which cars you will acquire first!
MMORPGs like World of Warcraft can easily consume a large part of your time with their regular updates and numerous contents. For some individuals, this can lead to gaming addiction as they neglect their real life. One player now reports how he overcame his addiction.
What problem did the player have? User finsup_305 writes in the reddit forum that he was “heavily addicted” to WoW. He invested dozens of hours of gameplay into the MMORPG over 16 years, neglecting his life: He failed 8th grade and dropped out of high school at 17.
Today, the user is 29 years old and happily married. However, he noticed that his life was slipping away from him again due to WoW. Therefore, he decided to take drastic action to free himself from the addiction.
Attention: If you feel that you may be affected by video game addiction, you can reach out to the following places:
German contacts for video game addiction Consultation for video game and internet addiction Vivantes Klinikum im Friedrichshain Landsberger Allee 49 10249 Berlin Tel.: 030 130 238 011 E-Mail: [email protected]
Lost in Space Wartenburgstraße 8 10963 Berlin-Kreuzberg Tel.: 030 666 339 59 E-Mail: [email protected]
Consultation for gambling addiction Untere Zahlbacher Straße 8 55131 Mainz Tel.: 06131 176 064 E-Mail: [email protected]
Player is addicted to WoW, manages to overcome the addiction thanks to strong will
What step did the player take? The user explains that he deleted all his characters and even his account. As a further precaution, he completely uninstalled the game.
He writes that this step was very emotional and difficult for him. However, he could not risk WoW taking over most of his life again.
What do others say about it? In the comments, there are many supporters. Some write that they are struggling with similar issues and that he is not alone. One user also advises that the thread starter should not fall into another addiction, as it happened to him.
How is the user doing today? The user from the reddit forum was also able to free himself from addiction. He writes that he would not dare to create new accounts and start the game again. He had a moment of clarity and understood how he needed to solve the problem.
Other users accused him of trying to fill the gap with a new addiction. As the former WoW player admits, they were right: Luckily, he is not addicted to alcohol, drugs, or gambling, but is focusing his newfound time on his work and health.
Making money is a new addiction for him. He is not particularly good at it, but he is now really working hard on the things that would benefit his life.
The latest patch 1.0.2 brings some changes to Last Epoch. One of them is likely to annoy many players: keys are now less valuable. The reason is allegedly that a few individuals exploited the faction system to get rich.
This is what Last Epoch changed:
With patch 1.0.2, keys for the arena are now less valuable. You now only receive 175 Gold instead of 6,500 Gold when selling normal arena keys. The value of memory keys drops to 265 (previously 7,250). These are nerfs of about 97 and 96% respectively.
By comparison: Rare items can be sold to vendors for 100 Gold or a bit more if you are lucky, Uniques for up to 500.
Additionally, there were further changes to quests and UI, but no significant balance adjustments. The tier list of Last Epoch therefore does not change significantly.
Why were keys nerfed specifically? It seems that there was a method involving keys to accumulate enormous amounts of money and exchange them directly for powerful items. Something that wasn’t really intended.
The reason for this is the two factions of Last Epoch: the Circle of Fate and the Merchant Guild. Members of the circle could farm significantly more keys through the faction mechanics and do so particularly easily.
The revenue they then received from selling to a vendor was used by a second character who is in the Merchant Guild. Because the gold is shared between characters.
In the Merchant Guild, you have access to the bazaar and can trade items with other players, buy and sell via the auction house. In this way, players who utilized this method quickly amassed gold and strong items.
In the video, we explain the factions in detail:
Start video
Last Epoch: Faction of the Merchant Guild or Circle of Fate – These are the advantages
“You are punishing the honest players”
On Reddit and in the forum, people are now extremely angry about the change. They say: Only a few had done it that way, especially streamers and players who emulate them. Something should have been done to counter the “abuse” but not like this.
The nerf now punishes all players who are only in the circle and need the gold. In the Circle of Fate, you find plenty of items and need accordingly many slots in the chest, which will eventually become extremely expensive.
Merchant Guild players can easily obtain gold through items. Circle players have to farm it – and may need it more urgently. Accordingly, the reaction to the change is now very angry.
What particularly annoys the community is the nature of the change. There is no alternative or compensation, just the nerf. Possible solutions could be:
Prophecies for circle players that yield a lot of gold as an alternative – which according to other players would not solve the problem
Remove keys as a reward for the circle but keep the price as is
Just in time for the cinema release of Dune Part 2, we get to see the first gameplay of the new survival MMO Dune: Awakening. We had the opportunity to speak with the developers at Funcom and have 4 facts for you that every Dune fan should know about the game. Because this game is being developed by true Dune nerds.
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On March 4th, developer Funcom released a Direct about Dune: Awakening. It included new information about the survival MMO, although nothing has been announced regarding a potential release date.
Funcom also invited MeinMMO to see the Direct earlier. During this, we had the chance to ask questions about the game to the Creative Director Joel Bylos and Senior PR Manager Natascha Röösli from Funcom.
Dune: Awakening shows gameplay for the first time for the survival MMO
Dune: Awakening – Made by nerds, for nerds? 4 supporting facts
Can I ride sandworms in the game?
In the first of the two new Dune films, it was only hinted at. In the second, we finally see it in action: The Fremen, the natives of the desert planet Arrakis, can ride the huge sandworms and look extremely cool while doing so.
In Dune: Awakening, the sandworms also exist: They are a constant, albeit mostly invisible, threat in the desert. Only fleeing into the air or onto rocky terrain saves you and your equipment like spice harvesting machines. If you spot them in time.
The sandworms in Dune also make an appearance in the MMO. To avoid being eaten, you must always stay alert.
Unfortunately, you cannot ride the worms in Dune: Awakening. At least not yet. In a conversation with Natascha Röösli, she indicated that the team would really like to implement that mechanic:
Riding sandworms is very difficult to get right. And because we really want it in the game, we are working towards that. However, we don’t know when that will happen at the moment. […] We just want to be proud of a mechanic we built into the game, especially since it’s something as important as riding sandworms. We want to get it right and we want the player to say, “Okay, that’s fantastic”.
Natascha Röösli, Senior PR Manager at Funcom, 02/27/2024 in Los Angeles
Of course, it’s a shame that such an essential part of Dune likely won’t make it into the game at release. However, it’s better for mechanics not to be forced and then poorly implemented.
But it’s not all over yet: The developers themselves seem to want to have sandworm riding. If they find the right approach, they will probably introduce the mechanic as soon as possible.
How much of the official Dune lore is in the game?
Dune is much more than just the first book and its film adaptations. Frank Herbert alone published six novels and wrote a short story. Additionally, there is the Dune Encyclopedia and the works of Herbert’s son Brian Herbert together with science-fiction author Kevin J. Anderson. Particularly, the Encyclopedia gives enormous insights into the history of the Dune universe and how it works.
Among the especially obscure facts is, for example, that the technology used in Dune is often powered by highly specialized animals and insects:
The light-emitting Glow Globes, mentioned on almost every page of the books but never explained, contain tiny glowing worms. The wings of the Ornithopter, which are also known from the films, are said by the Encyclopedia to be powered by specially bred scallops.
Ornithopters exist on Arrakis like sand on the beach. However, in the game, they are powered by traditional mechanics, not by highly specialized scallops.
When asked if crafting in Dune: Awakening also considers the animals used in the technology, Joel Bylos first had to grin: That was stated in the Dune Encyclopedia, and part of the agreement we reached is that the Dune Encyclopedia isn’t really canonical. We also spoke with the Herbert Estate about it. So we set that aside a bit. We focused on the mechanical side of building the machines.
Natascha Röösli later mentioned that they work very closely with the Herbert Estate. If they wanted to do something differently in the game than what is anchored in the official lore, they also receive support from Brian Herbert himself, who continued his father’s books.
But she also says: If something is not in the game, it’s usually because it’s too complex in terms of mechanics. Or we can’t really implement it in a way that does it justice.
The team behind Dune: Awakening seems to be doing its utmost to stay as close to the lore as possible. But due to technical limitations, not everything will make it into the final game.
How important is your guild in the political endgame?
As in every good MMO, you can also found guilds in Dune: Awakening, which can each join one of two factions. Together, you build bases, explore the desert, and harvest spice.
What is spice?
Spice is a drug that is essential for space travel in the Dune universe and is also used as currency. Anyone who consumes spice over a long period develops bright blue eyes, like those seen in the Dune films, for example, on the Fremen.
Specifically, the Guild of Navigators uses spice outside of Arrakis: By consuming the drug, they gain almost clairvoyant abilities with which they can chart safe courses for spaceships.
The background to this is that thousands of years before the story of Paul Atreides, humanity banned all computer-like technology. Consequently, specially trained humans must take on tasks such as the highly complex space navigation.
Once you have secured your survival and always have enough water available, your endgame begins. You can choose to focus on trade and crafting or to display political ambitions.
The Creative Director Joel Bylos explained during the Q&A with journalists that in the endgame, important politics is friendlier than in Eve Online, but especially with clear direction: The so-called Landsraat, an intergalactic association of the great houses, gives you missions. If you fulfill them, you gain votes for your faction.
The catch? According to Joel Bylos, you have to learn about the goals and objectives of the Landsraat through espionage missions involving members of the great houses. Additionally, each guild can join one of the two factions, both of which are trying to fulfill the missions of the Landsraat. This can quickly lead you into conflicts with your fellow players due to limited resources.
However, if you play your cards right and complete mission after mission with your guild, you gain more and more influence. This way, you can work your way up from a band of nobodies to the status of a smaller house under one of the great houses.
Where does Dune: Awakening fit on the Dune timeline?
During the press event that MeinMMO was also invited to, Joel Bylos announced that Dune: Awakening takes place in an alternative version of the so-called War of Assassins.
The War of Assassins, as described in the books and supplementary materials, begins around the year 10,187 – about 4 years prior to the desert war revolving around Paul Atreides known from the first book and the film adaptations.
During these four years, tensions arise between the great houses, leading to several targeted assassination attempts. Arrakis is still firmly in the grasp of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. House Atreides, already under the leadership of Duke Leto Atreides (Paul’s father), remains on its home planet.
During the events of Dune: Awakening, Paul experiences his first adventures and even foils an assassination attempt.
The trigger for the war is the death of a member of House Moritani. Since he died on the planet Ecaz from a disease prevalent there, his father seeks revenge on the ruling family of Ecaz. Ultimately, House Harkonnen and House Moritani are on one side, while House Atreides supports House Moritani.
However, the main part of the conflict does not take place on Arrakis, but on various planets in the universe. In the final year of the war, however, it comes to light that Baron Vladimir Harkonnen has been hoarding secret spice reserves that he did not include in normal trade. This is one of the triggers for the recall of the Atreides to Arrakis, as you see in the first Dune movie.
Dune: Awakening falls within these four years of turbulence between the houses. According to Creative Director Joel Bylos, however, the preceding history of the Dune universe unfolded somewhat differently:
An important decision was made in the book and film universe that would have made the MMO on Arrakis impossible. For the game, the developers rewrote the history so that this decision turned out differently.
Unfortunately, the developers kept quiet about what the decision itself was. Therefore, we cannot say at this point what is different from the book and film universe. What is certain is that the team is trying to stay as close as possible to the books and films.
What decision do you think the developers made differently for Dune: Awakening? Or do you not care as long as you can become the next spice overlord on Arrakis? Let us know in the comments.
Netflix is giving Avatar: The Last Airbender a second and third season – despite significant criticism from the fanbase of the cartoon original. Even the first new character has already been confirmed.
How is Netflix continuing with Avatar? The streaming giant Netflix is providing Avatar: The Last Airbender with two more seasons. This was recently confirmed by the company’s official X.com account:
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What does this mean for the series? The first season of the live-action adaptation is based on the American animated series Avatar – The Last Airbender. It adapts its first season, known as Book: Water.
In the Netflix account’s post, the numbers 2 and 3 are now visible, which are inspired by the official symbols of the elements in the Avatar world. The two is surrounded by a green Earthbending symbol, while the three is accompanied by red flames of the Fire symbol.
Netflix is likely hinting that they will adapt the missing seasons of the cartoon in seasons two and three – Book 2: Earth and Book 3: Fire.
Start video
Avatar – Herr der Elemente sorgt kurz vor Start noch einmal für Tränen bei Fans
Two new seasons for Avatar – The first new character is already confirmed
Have story details for the seasons been confirmed? Even though the announcement has just gone live, Netflix has already confirmed the first new character for season 2. In a response post, the account wrote TOPH IS HERE.
In the comments below, users are also excited about seeing their favorite character in live-action: Toph Beifong.
She is the only daughter of a wealthy family from the Earth Kingdom. She joins the group around the Avatar in season 2 to teach Aang Earthbending. She impresses with her natural talent, her roughness that is not suited to her status, and her blindness, which she compensates with Earthbending. And by the fact that, at least in the cartoon, she is just a 12-year-old girl.
You can see how exactly Toph is in this YouTube video:
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Further details have not yet been disclosed. However, since the first season was based on the cartoon, it is reasonable to assume that seasons two and three will do the same. The live-action adaptation, however, changed some story points that will naturally also need to be further changed and adapted.
How are fans feeling about this? The first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender actually received a lot of criticism from fans, as the Netflix adaptation lacks the ease of the original. Additionally, the live-action version omits the plotline surrounding Sozin’s Comet, which imposed a harsh deadline on Avatar Aang in the original to stop the Fire Lord.
Even before the release, the news caused excitement, that Netflix had removed Sokka’s sexism from the series. Sokka, the older brother of the waterbender Katara, is one of the three main characters. At the beginning, he has a very conservative worldview, which causes him to frequently find himself in arguments with Katara, as well as other women like Suki. However, over the course of the first season, he gains respect and begins to change his worldview.
Unfortunately, community feedback rarely influences the decisions of large companies. In this case, the adaptation seemingly did well enough for Netflix that the investment in further seasons is justified. Perhaps the company will take at least some of the feedback to heart.
Under the Netflix post on X.com, excited, happy Toph fans are currently gathering. How do you feel about the announcement: Are you excited and hoping to see Dwayne The Rock Johnson as The Boulder? What must seasons 2 and 3 absolutely not miss out on for you to tune in? Let us know your comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
GTA 5 Online brings you the new update “Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid” with fresh content for your criminal life as a gangster. What you need to know for the start of the update and what time the download begins, you will find out here.
What kind of update is this? The Cluckin’ Bell Raid is an operation that you will not carry out as a gangster, but rather as an anti-hero. You will be working together with the LSPD and thus reveal a major case of corruption.
We summarize all the information we know about the update here.
Time and Download for the Launch of Cluckin-Bell Raid
What time does the update come out today? There is currently no exact release time for the update. However, we rely on older updates that were released in a similar timeframe:
The Winter Update 2023 was released around 11:00 AM
Based on these experiences, we believe that the release of the “Cluckin-Bell Raid” update will take place between 11 AM and 1 PM.
As soon as the downloads start, we will update this article for you with the download sizes.
Start video
GTA 5 Online: The Cluckin-Bell Heist – Fight the Corruption!
Contents of the Cluckin-Bell Raid
The new contents of the update at a glance: In the new update, you will uncover a major corruption case. The former head of security of the Diamond Casinos, Vincent Effenburger, now works for the LSPD and wants to dismantle a new cartel that has its claws in the Cluckin’ Bell factory in Paleto Bay.
You will face off against a gang of corrupt cops and the cartel, trying to destroy their influence on the dirty business. It is not only a story offered, but also the possibility of being rewarded for your efforts.
Last but not least, new vehicles will also be released, including the law enforcement vehicle Bravado Gauntlet Interceptor. Now you make sure justice and order prevail on the streets of Los Santos as a gangster and you can also earn a good sum of money.
In Genshin Impact, the different elements of the characters play an important role. We at MeinMMO will introduce them to you in more detail and explain what combos exist.
Why are the elements so interesting? In Genshin Impact, each playable character is associated with one of the available elements and can utilize the special elemental powers of an Archon. And this plays an important role in the game because:
Enemies in the game have weaknesses against specific elements and can be defeated more easily with them.
There are certain combos between the elements that can be activated by switching characters.
Below, we will introduce you to the combos between the elements. We will also reveal which character belongs to which element.
This article was last updated on March 7, 2024. We have added new elemental reactions and characters to the list.
These are the elements and how they can be combined
These are the elements: There are 7 elements in Genshin Impact.
Cryo slows down your enemies in Genshin Impact. With the ice effect, you can also build bridges over water.
Pyro burns enemies and inflicts continuous damage. This element is also needed to ignite torches.
Geo relies on the power from the earth.
Hydro uses water attacks to give enemies the Soaked status. This makes them more susceptible to Electro attacks. Skills can also be used to extinguish fire.
Electro uses the power of lightning and inflicts heavy damage. The effect is also strengthened if enemies are wet or in water.
Anemo uses the power of the wind and is particularly interesting for combos with other elements. Here, the effect of Swirl plays a role.
Dendro utilizes the power of plants and shines especially in combination with other elements.
Freezes an enemy. The ice can be broken by attacks, causing bonus damage.
Superconduct: Cryo + Electro
Deals Cryo damage as AoE and reduces the physical resistance of affected enemies.
Melting: Cryo + Pyro
Provides bonus damage from Cryo (x1.5) and Pyro (x2).
Overloaded: Electro + Pyro
Creates an explosion that deals Pyro damage as AoE.
Electro-Charged: Electro + Hydro
Inflicts continuous Electro damage for a short time. If an enemy is then also melted, an electric field is created, causing AoE damage.
Vaporize: Hydro + Pyro
Provides bonus damage from Cryo (x2) and Pyro (x2).
Swirl: Anemo + Cryo/Electro/Hydro/Pyro
Causes additional damage and distributes it through the effect.
Crystallize: Geo + Cryo/Electro/Hydro/Pyro
Creates crystal fragments that you can collect to receive a shield.
Sprout: Dendro + Hydro
This effect creates fragments called Dendro Cores, of which only a certain number can exist at the same time. If another is created after reaching the limit or the duration of the cores ends, they explode and cause Dendro AoE damage.
If Dendro Cores come into contact with Pyro, they trigger Flame Sprout, which causes higher Dendro AoE damage.
If Dendro Cores hit Electro, the reaction Super Sprout is triggered. In this case, the Dendro Cores become proliferating projectiles that automatically hit their targets.
Overgrowth: Dendro + Electro
Inflicts the status effect Original Growth on the enemy.
Further damage from Electro or Dendro attacks on the target adds bonus damage, and the reactions Super Overgrowth or Vine Growth are then triggered.
This is what the Dendro Cores look like that are created in the combo of Hydro and Dendro
Bonus Effects in Team: If multiple characters with certain elements are present in the team or in co-op in the world, an additional effect is generated:
Geo + Geo = Increases resistance to interruptions. Increases damage from attacks by 15% when protected by a shield
Pyro + Pyro = Reduces the effect duration of Cryo by 40%. Increases ATK by 25%
Hydro + Hydro = Reduces the effect duration of Pyro by 40%. Increases incoming healing by 30%
Anemo + Anemo = Reduces stamina consumption by 15%. Increases movement speed by 10% and reduces CD by 5%
Electro + Electro = Superconducts, Overloads, and Electro-Charged particles have a 100% chance to generate an Electro-elemental particle (5 seconds CD)
Cryo + Cryo = Reduces the effect duration of Electro by 40%. Increases crit chance against frozen enemies by 15%
Dendro + Dendro = Increases elemental mastery by 50 points. Increases the elemental mastery of all nearby team members by 30 points when triggering the reactions Burning, Original Growth, and Sprout for 6 seconds. Increases the elemental mastery of all nearby team members by 20 points when triggering the reactions Super Overgrowth, Vine Growth, Super Sprout, and Flame Sprout for 6 seconds. The duration of the mentioned effects is calculated independently.
4 different elements = Increases all elemental resistances by 15%
Depending on which combination you use, you will receive certain bonuses.
These are the elements various characters have
Electro: – Beidou – Fischl – Keqing – Kujou Sara – Kuki Shinobu – Lisa – Raiden Shogun – Razor – Yae Miko – Dori
Here you will also find an overview of all the codes in Genshin Impact that are currently available and provide you with great rewards such as Primogems or One Hero’s Wisdom. We update these regularly for you:
A wizard player is currently by far the best on the new leaderboards in Diablo 4. In an interview, he explains: He doesn’t even know exactly how he accomplished this. However, he is convinced that the stat “Duration of buff effects from shrines” is the most important for success.
Now Mekuna is currently the best solo player on the new leaderboards in Diablo 4. With his wizard, he has reached 1,199,528 points, more than any other player even in other classes.
In an interview with PC Gamer, he explains how you can improve in the new trial dungeon. However, he keeps his build to himself.
This is the important stat: “Duration of buff effects from shrines” increases, as the name suggests, the duration of buffs you receive from shrines. Actually, this value is something that players would exchange for something else with the occultist right at the beginning.
Shrines are simply too rare in the world and have too little influence on your build. However, that’s different in the trials, as Mekuna explains.
However, there are shrines that increase the drop of the required items. The buff lasts for a standard duration of 30 seconds. With the shrine value on the armor, you can extend this to up to one minute.
Here the developers explain how the dungeon works:
Start video
Diablo 4: The developers talk about the leaderboards and how to climb up there
“Builds are part of the challenge”
According to Mekuna, the value for the leaderboards is “super crucial” to earn many points. Therefore, equipment is much more important than he had assumed before the challenge.
Get shrine duration on your gear and test many routes. You never know if yours is the best. [You] should also analyze your run, but I can’t give any advice on that because I don’t do it myself. But some streamers do.
However, the player does not want to reveal which build he uses. According to Makuna, a good part of the challenge is finding the best build: “Someone [else] could optimize their route/their gear better and anything could happen.”
However, he is likely using a variation of the chain lightning build for the sorceress with electric whip. This build is currently extremely popular for speed farming in Diablo 4 and combines high speed with high damage. However, Mekuna still wants to test many builds. You can find the currently best builds for Diablo 4 in our tier list.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With the milestone forge that once created Diablo, Warcraft, and Starcraft, Blizzard in 2024 has nothing in common. But who is to blame for this change? Many fans point to Activision. However, the main responsibility lies with the most successful MMORPG in video game history.
Do you know the saying “Where Blizzard is written, Blizzard is in it!?” After the disastrous Warcraft 3 Reforged, the virtual monetization hell Diablo Immortal, and mixed WoW expansions like Battle for Azeroth, it’s hard to believe, but there was indeed a time when the Blizzard Entertainment logo stood for quality.
With Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft, the Californians ultimately created three of the most well-known brands in video game history and several celebrated games with milestone status. But that was a long time ago.
Today, Blizzard is primarily associated with heavily monetized service games and some of the biggest scandals in the gaming industry. For many players, it seems clear: Activision is responsible for this change! After all, it has been downhill since the merger with Activision Blizzard in July 2008. In our analysis, we show you that the crucial turning point can actually be found much earlier.
Proudly presenting the small Blizzard team in the early 1990s with the new game: The Lost Vikings.
What was Activision’s influence on Blizzard?
First, let’s clarify: When Activision and Blizzard merged with Vivendi Games to create the new holding company Activision Blizzard, Vivendi still held the majority rights. Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick took over management in almost all areas, while Blizzard was given a special role and was allowed to develop games independently and release them through Vivendi.
This power structure only shifted between 2013 and 2016, as Vivendi gradually sold off its shares. And who was the buyer? Of course, Bobby Kotick or Activision. As a result, Blizzard was then fully under the publisher’s thumb eight years after the merger.
But was the influence felt immediately from that moment on? With Jay Wilson (Game Director of Diablo 3; he was with Blizzard until 2016), there is at least one insider who reported on this during a panel at the Retro Gaming Expo in Portland (via Youtube). The influence was supposedly hardly noticeable at first and was limited to certain areas.
Wilson reports, for example, about meetings set up by Activision that aimed to discuss how to make more money with Heroes of the Storm. The MOBA had many of the typical Blizzard strengths (low entry barrier, good readability and playability, high polish), but could not hold its ground against the established, overpowering competition from League of Legends or DOTA 2.
According to Wilson, Activision was also involved in the conception phase of Diablo Immortal. The publisher was adamant about having a Diablo with a free-to-play payment model.
2018 as a watershed year: Save, save, save!
In a Kotaku article by investigative journalist Jason Schreier from November 2018, it is stated (based on eleven anonymous sources) that the culture at Blizzard began to noticeably change in 2018 due to the increasing influence of Activision.
Instead of “It’s done when it’s done” (an old Blizzard motto: games are only released when they are finished and meet their quality standards), the focus was on cutting costs and increasing the number of releases per year.
Start video
Ex-Blizzard employees introduce F2P strategy game – Show battle between huge monster and combat robot
The reason: as of the third quarter of 2017, the number of monthly active players at Blizzard drastically decreased (from 47 million MAUs in the second quarter to 22 million MAUs in the first quarter of 2022). There were hardly any releases. New releases like Destiny 2 fell short of expectations.
Moreover, it certainly didn’t help that Blizzard’s co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime left in October 2018. His successor, J. Allen Brack, was only president and therefore no longer operated on equal terms with CEO Bobby Kotick.
These reports were already confirmed in December 2018 by another insider report from Jason Schreier for Kotaku. In it, sources report that many of the strategic decisions since 2018 have been made by the finance department (which supposedly had no say in the previous years). Victims of the austerity measures include the esports sector of Heroes of the Storm (with the cessation of the Storm Global Championship in December 2018) as well as the far too early release of Warcraft 3 Reforged (according to a Bloomberg report from July 2021, Activision insisted on the early release and the elimination of various features).
Grown from Blizzard’s own mistakes
According to various reports, there was indeed a negative influence from Activision on Blizzard, widespread only from 2018. Until then, Blizzard managers had already sullied their clean slate from the first ten years with a few stains. Here’s a best-of the Blizzard fails until 2016:
Cataclysm (released in December 2010) is the first WoW expansion that has been loudly criticized by large parts of the community and is still one of the most unpopular expansions in WoW history.
In July 2010, Blizzard wanted to introduce that you could only comment in the forum under your Real ID real name. After a brief but fierce shitstorm, the decision-makers retracted this plan.
Diablo 3 made negative headlines upon launch – “thanks” to the online requirement, server problems, and real money trade in the auction house.
Blizzard missed securing the rights to DOTA. Valve was quicker. Blizzard DOTA had to become Heroes of the Storm. The development of the comparatively small title took at least five years.
In September 2014, Blizzard canceled the development of Titan. Due to the early announcement in 2008 and the grand promises of some developers, this premature cancellation felt much more like a failure for the involved team than had been the case with a Warcraft adventure or a Starcraft Ghost.
The WoW expansion Warlords of Draenor launched in November 2014 with plenty of potential but suffered from huge content gaps and perhaps the worst content patch in WoW history (Patch 6.1 brought highlights like the selfie camera, Twitter integration, or the new character models for blood elves).
In 2015, Blizzard introduced the WoW token and with it official real money trade in the European version of World of Warcraft.
In 2016, the Blizzard developers fulfilled a frequently mentioned wish from the community, but the implementation couldn’t have been more careless: the first Diablo received a remake as a simple retro event in Diablo 3.
During the WotLK expansion, WoW celebrated its greatest success.
Suspect Number 1: World of Warcraft
Let’s rewind a few years. There were already two important dates before 2008 (and the merger with Activision Blizzard) that fundamentally impacted Blizzard as a company: November 23, 2004, and February 11, 2005. You surely know the dates.
With the release of World of Warcraft, everything changed. For many players, for the industry, and of course for Blizzard itself. At its peak, twelve million subscribers played the enormously successful online role-playing game (during the WotLK expansion, starting in October 2010). And what to do with all that money? As so often, Blizzard’s answer was: grow!
Before the WoW launch, the company had less than 500 employees, but by 2009 the number had risen to about 4,600. That such rapid growth leads to major problems that can even bury entire companies is shown by examples like Westwood and Bullfrog.
At Blizzard, two main things happened: First, the company culture supposedly changed noticeably, which only came to light during the major sexism scandal in 2021. According to a report by Jason Schreier for Bloomberg from August 2021, the top developers were treated like rock stars due to the success of WoW, rendering them untouchable for complaints.
This supposedly led to a so-called “frat boy culture” developing at Blizzard (similar to that at Ubisoft): male employees would gather at work for drinks, only to prey on and hit on female colleagues at their workstations.
Secondly, after 2004, Blizzard’s focus clearly shifted to World of Warcraft. While almost every year saw Blizzard games released for various franchises since 1994, between 2004 and 2009 only WoW existed.
The Skyhorse mount generated more revenue than Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty at launch.
Such experiences, as well as the enormous success of WoW, partially explain why Blizzard gradually drifted in the direction of games-as-a-service. The other part can be traced to the ever-changing market realities. This includes the fact that developing games is becoming increasingly expensive, but also that success on the stock market comes with obligations. After WoW, Blizzard had to measure itself against this very success and adapt its corporate strategy accordingly.
All these factors combined, triggered by World of Warcraft, ensured that the “Blizzard corporation” – with its thousands of employees, service focus, and a partly toxic culture – had already little in common with the “good old” Blizzard long before the influence of Activision.
Johanna Faries has been the new president of Blizzard since February 2024.
There is no going back, but …
The bad news: There is no way back for the company. The “good old Blizzard” will never return. On the one hand, because Blizzard now likely employs significantly more than 6,000 people. The focus will therefore continue to be on service and mobile games that can be extensively monetized.
On the other hand, hardly anyone from the veterans is still on board. Instead of the Blizzard founders Mike Morhaime, Allen Adham, and Frank Pearce, Johanna Farie (formerly Activision), Rod Fergusson (formerly The Coalition), Holly Longdale (formerly Daybreak), and others are setting the direction. Only a few of the old Blizzard veterans are still around. Chris Metzen, for example, Aaron Keller, Wyatt Cheng, or Tom Chilton.
However, the list of former long-standing Blizzard developers is considerably longer. It was only recently revealed that Marc Messenger left the company in January 2024 (via Reddit). He was among others the leading force behind the fantastic intro cinematic of WoW: Legion.
But there is also good news: As part of Microsoft, Blizzard now has the opportunity to implement projects outside of the core portfolio without a service model, which fit well with the Xbox Game Pass. Small pearls like Hi-Fi Rush from Tango Gameworks or Pentiment from Obsidian prove this. Would you also like to see a new story-focused game in the Starcraft universe?
