Nakamura

We are very pleased to announce Season 2 for our SpellForce 3 Tournament League! This season will be made up of the following tournaments: Meta Plays Monthly #2 - $100 + Community Donations, Single Elimination - August 13 - One day event Meta Plays Monthly #3 - $100+ Community Donations, Single Elimination - September 11 - One day event Meta Plays Monthly #4 - $100+ Community Donations, Single Elimination - September 18 to October 22 - Free Scheduling Meta Plays Monthly #5 - $100+ Community Donations, Single Elimination - October 30 to November 27 - Free Scheduling Season Finale - Heart of the Inferno Golem - $400+ Community Donations, GSL Group Stage - December 5 to December 18 - Free Scheduling Thanks to a massive $1000 donation, we have increased the prize pool from $50 monthlies and a $100 season finale to $100 monthlies and a $400 season finale! The next season will receive the same treatment. We are humbled by this contribution and will do our best to deliver a great season. We are also hosting separate low-level-only events, with a prize for the winner! These "Skirmish" Tournaments will be covered by community casters. Meta Plays Skirmish #1 - $10, Single Elimination - August 20 - One day event Meta Plays Skirmish #2 - $10, Single Elimination - September 18 to October 16 - Free Scheduling Why Return Now? When we launched season 1, we were banking on THQ Nordic's marketing efforts to help push the game to a wider audience. This marketing was delayed along with the console release, but recently a notable amount of effort has gone into spreading awareness of the game, and there's a significantly greater audience thanks to the console launches themselves. While the season 1 events will remain completely cancelled, we are going ahead with this brand new season, and intend to keep going so long as there is interest. Our budget will be smaller than planned for in Season 1, as we feel we first need to build up the scene slowly with consistent events - we are committed to doing this! How the Season Works Each Tournament we host will not only come with cash prizes, but also Meta Plays Ladder Points. These points go towards the corresponding ladder. Based on your position in the ladder, we assign you to a "Class" - one of D(lowest), C, B, A and S(highest). The classes give you a badge and will be featured on your Tournament Profile. By the time the Season Finale comes around, we will invite the top players based on the Ladder. Check out the Class icons below. The top 4 players will also receive medals corresponding with their final placement in each Tournament. While most are generic, Season Finale events will receive custom medals. For additional info, please check our Tournament and Ladder explainer posts! Give Us The Numbers Based on the number and quality of signed up players, we modify the number of total points that a tournament can provide. Our guidelines for this are below: Base value: 10x Prize pool in USD (or monetary value in prizes). For any class exclusion combination, remove 10% points per class removed. S+A Class only tournaments are excluded from this ruling on a case-by-case basis. The number of players in the tournaments will scale the points in the following way: 4-8: -50% 9-15: -25% 16-23: no change 24-31: +50% 32-47: +75% 48-64: +100% You can review the point spread between player placements using our Tournament Point Calculator. Can I Host Tournaments Too? Yes! We are in fact looking for additional Content Partners that are willing to contribute to our Seasonal Ladders, or cover events that we may not be able to. You can apply as a content partner here. Can I Help Meta Plays Directly? For any of you looking to support our project, the best way to do so is becoming a subscriber on the website. This is a monthly recurring payment that you get perks and exclusive news for. The more goals we hit, the easier and safer it is for us to keep the project going. We are also currently looking for Moderators to join our team, so that we can keep our chats, discords and website a pleasant and friendly environment for all. You can apply here. Where To Watch We will live stream the main events on our Twitch, and VoDs will be available on our YouTube. Community casters will have access to cover any and all matches even live, since SpellForce 3 does not have a spectator limit. We also provide replay packs that may be used for replay casts or learning purposes. That is pretty much it! Let us know what you think in the comments below, join us on Discord for real-time chats, and we will see you on the battlefield!

The first tournament for Season 3 in Halo Wars 2! $100 and 1000 Meta Plays Ladder Points are up for grabs. The tournament will take place on Sunday, August 7th, starting at 4 PM GMT. Brackets get locked at 3:45 PM GMT. The final stage will be a ONE DAY EVENT, scheduled by the remaining players. Seeding is based on the Season 2 ladder standings first, and your Solo War CSR second. @_TheLegend_ is the manager for this tournament. For any questions, concerns or requests, please reach out to him on Discord, or @ him in the comments here (if not urgent). EVENT PRIZES 1st place: $40| 255 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Gold Medal Icon 2nd place: $30| 185 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Silver Medal Icon 3rd place: $20| 135 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Bronze Medal Icon 4th place: $10| 95 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Copper Medal Icon 5-6th place: 54 Meta Plays Ladder Points 7-8th place: 37 Meta Plays Ladder Points 9-12th place: 24 Meta Plays Ladder Points 13-16th place: 17 Meta Plays Ladder Points Confused about the tournament system? Check our Tournament and Ladder info posts, and the Halo Wars 2 Season 3 announcement! GAME SETTINGS Higher seeded player may veto 1 map per series First map is picked by the lower seeded player Once the map is picked, each player may veto 1 leader per series. The higher seed should veto first. Losing player each game picks next map. Each map may only be played once. Valid maps: Ashes, Badlands, Bedrock, Fissures, Frontier, Mirage, Rift, Vault. No repeat leaders in a series. No Voridus. Accidental pick of vetoed leaders or Voridus results in loss. No node strat - do not take nodes without the intent of killing Sentinels. Exception: you can draw the Sentinels to attack an enemy minibase or units, and still capture the node. Exception: Cannon Fodder can take nodes any way you want. 1 hour time limit. Casters must either call the winner, or give both sides 1 point. Replay match if the series ends on tie. No cheating or intentional exploiting of any form allowed. Hosting Games will be hosted by the higher seeded player when staff is not present. Casters will host if they are present. SOCIAL RULES Participants must be in the Meta Plays Discord. Report match results there. Forfeiting/not showing up to any match with prizes and without notice will result in disqualification and you forfeiting the prizes. 1 rescheduling opportunity is granted when external conditions force it. There will not be a second rescheduling. Forfeiting players that break rules on any of our platforms, or do so out of malicious intent will be banned from the next event. Repeat offenders will receive a ban from the entire season. There will not be a fourth chance after the season-long ban expires. Penalties for not showing up: Timer starts when 1 player is ready and neither player is currently playing a match. Late by over 10 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win. This is the wait time BEFORE a series begins. BETWEEN games in a series, the lateness limit is 5 minutes. Late by additional 5 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win for each 5 min. Once a player wins via lateness penalties, the late player is disqualified. No harassment or discrimination of players/viewers/staff on any of our platforms. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. No excessively derogatory messaging targeting our staff on any platform. This will result in a permanent ban on all Meta Plays platforms. Win trading will result in forfeit. Do your best to win. You may resign if you are clearly losing. Do not sign up with smurfs. Match all account usernames. We will remove suspicious sign-ups. In the event of player lag disputes, players must submit speedtest results. The event manager will make a judgement call. In the event of a disconnection or crash: If the game was relatively even: If all parties crash, re-play the game. The game doesn't count for score in the first instance. The player who didn't disconnect may choose a new map, and both players may choose a new leader. In the second instance, the player who didn't disconnect receives a point on the score board. In the third instance, the player who didn't disconnect wins the series. If both sides crash 3 times, reset PC/Xbox and internet. If a player was significantly ahead: Admin win is awarded for the match for all cases. In the third instance, the player who didn't disconnect wins the series. Johnson/Jerome crash: The Johnson/Jerome player loses. In the event of both players causing a crash, we will treat this case as a disconnect and follow rules around them. No account sharing. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. PAYMENT You will be paid approximately 2-5 work days after the event. Please reach out to @Nakamura with your payment information after the event. If you do not provide payment information despite requests within 60 days after the event, you forfeit the prize money. You confirm that the account you provide is owned by you. We do not take responsibility for funds getting lost to third parties in the event of the account not belonging to you. We will not pay out to a known third party. We can pay out via bank transfers or Paypal. We do not pay out via other methods. We do not pay extra to cover transfer fees. This tournament takes place during a war period. Ukraine has been invaded by Russia and Belarus. In light of NATO sanctions against Russia and Belarus, we are not able to pay out prizes to Russian and Belarusian competitors residing in Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian citizens are not affected by this if they reside in an un-sanctioned country, or have financial accounts in such a country able to receive payments. Affected prizes will be paid to a selected charity unrelated to the war, chosen by our staff. LIVE STREAMING & VIDEOS: Everyone: You may stream all of your own matches. You are required to feature the provided Meta Plays Logo over gameplay at all times. We request you give Meta Plays one shout-out mid-commentary, such as an invitation to make an account on the site. We recommend you use the Meta Plays Casting Tool for the best viewer experience. Content Partners: 60s delay is required. You may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays. Please contact @_TheLegend_ for approval. You may upload videos at your leisure. Non-Partners: 90s delay is required. You may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays or Content Partners. Please contact @_TheLegend_ for approval. We request you wait with video uploads until the Meta Plays channel has posted its version of the identical match.

We are pleased to announce the Meta Plays Halo Wars 2 League Season 3! Meta Plays will cover key matches, with the rest being open to community casters. Meta Plays Monthly #12 - $100 + Community Donations, Double Elimination - August 7 One day event Meta Plays Monthly #13 - $100 + Community Donations, Single Elimination - September 4 - One day event Meta Plays Monthly #14 - $100 + Community Donations, Single Elimination - October 2 - One day event Meta Plays Monthly #15 - $100 + Community Donations, Single Elimination - October 29 - One day event Season Finale - Goliaths - $200 + Community Donations, GSL Group Stage - November 27 - One day event We are also hosting separate low-level-only events, now with a prize for the winner! These "Skirmish" Tournaments will be covered by community casters. Meta Plays Skirmish #4 - $10, Single Elimination - August 14 - One day event Meta Plays Skirmish #5 - $10, Single Elimination - September 10 - One day event Meta Plays Skirmish #6 - $10, Single Elimination - October 9 - One day event Note: this article and our calendar will be updated as we progress through the season and new info becomes available. How the Season Works Similarly to the last season, but with some tweaks! Each Tournament we host will not only come with cash prizes, but also Meta Plays Ladder Points. These points go towards the corresponding ladder. Based on your position in the ladder, we assign you to a "Class" - one of D(lowest), C, B, A and S(highest). The classes give you a badge and will be featured on your Tournament Profile. For the Season Finale, we will only take our own ladder into account for your seeding - but unlike prior seasons, these events will now be open to all that are in C class or above (essentially everyone that won at least one series in the season). Check out the Class icons below. The top 4 players will also receive medals corresponding with their final placement in each Tournament. While most are generic, Season Finale event will receive custom medals. For additional info, please check our Tournament and Ladder explainer posts! Give Us The Numbers Based on the number and quality of signed up players, we modify the number of total points that a tournament can provide. Our guidelines for this are below: Base value: 10x Prize pool in USD (or monetary value in prizes). For any class exclusion combination, remove 10% points per class removed. S+A Class only tournaments are excluded from this ruling on a case-by-case basis. The number of players in the tournaments will scale the points in the following way: 4-8: -50% 9-15: -25% 16-23: no change 24-31: +50% 32-47: +75% 48-64: +100% You can review the point spread between player placements using our Tournament Point Calculator. Can I Host Tournaments Too? Yes! We are in fact looking for additional Content Partners that are willing to contribute to our Seasonal Ladders, or cover events that we may not be able to. You can apply as a content partner here. Can I Help Meta Plays Directly? For any of you looking to support our project, the best way to do so is becoming a subscriber on the website. This is a monthly recurring payment that you get perks and exclusive news for. The more goals we hit, the easier and safer it is for us to keep the project going. We are also currently looking for Moderators to join our team, so that we can keep our chats, discords and website a pleasant and friendly environment for all. You can apply here. Where To Watch We will live stream the main events on our Twitch, and VoDs will be available on our YouTube. Community casters will have access to cover games as well - all games that we don't cover are open casting for live streamers. Please contact each event's manager for clearance. Bear in mind though, that in Halo Wars 2, due to limited spectating slots, our Content Partners have priority in key matches. That is pretty much it! Let us know what you think in the comments below, join us on Discord for real-time chats, and we will see you on the battlefield!

The first Monthly Tournament for Season 3 in Age of Mythology! $250 and 3750 Meta Plays Ladder Points are up for grabs. We would like to thank @Flaco for his $150 contribution to this prize pool! The tournament will take place on Saturday, July 30th, starting at 3 PM GMT. Brackets get locked at 2:45 PM GMT. Please note this is a one day event. Make sure you have enough time before you sign up! Seeding is based on the Meta Plays Season 2 EE Ladder first, and your 1v1 Supremacy Elo second. The total amount of tournament points is subject to change based on sign ups. @fophuxake is the manager for this tournament. For any questions, concerns or requests, please reach out to him on Discord, or @ him in the comments here (if not urgent). EVENT PRIZES 1st place: $100 | 987 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Gold Medal Icon 2nd place: $75 | 724 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Silver Medal Icon 3rd place: $50 | 537 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Bronze Medal Icon 4th place: $25 | 387 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Copper Medal Icon 5-8th place: 148 Meta Plays Ladder Points 9-16th place: 67 Meta Plays Ladder Points Confused about the tournament system? Check our Tournament and Ladder info posts, and the Age of Mythology Season 3 announcement! GAME SETTINGS Use Age of Mythology: Extended Edition on Steam Use the Meta Plays Balance Mod. No repeats of a god you have won with (within a series). You can only win with the same god 1 time and must switch to another. First map per round is defined in the bracket. Losing player each game picks next map. Each map may only be played once. Valid maps: Alfheim, Anatolia, Arctic Craters, Blue Lagoon, Borderlands, Ghost Lake, Marsh, Mediterranean, Midgard, Oasis, Savannah, Tropical Mirage, Tundra, Watering Hole. 1 veto per player per series. Must be used before 1 minute. No excessive wall connector spamming allowed. Banned cases: Connector spam to protect wonders Illegal placements around gold mines and Settlements Acceptable cases include: 4 pieces around towers (including around your main base gold mine, if it blocks) 4 pieces to save dock builder Segments to seal off a gap that was meant to be walled No hunt deleting. No unnatural wall usage, such as deleting wall segments and setting up a gate network. No Gaia Forests around Gold Mines or Settlements. No cheating of any form. HOSTING Games will be hosted by the higher seeded player. SOCIAL RULES Participants must be in the Meta Plays Discord. Report match results there, with replays. Forfeiting/not showing up to any match with prizes and without notice will result in disqualification and you forfeiting the prizes. 1 rescheduling opportunity is granted when external conditions force it. There will not be a second rescheduling. Forfeiting players that break rules on any of our platforms, or do so out of malicious intent will be banned from the next event. Repeat offenders will receive a ban from the entire season. There will not be a fourth chance after the season-long ban expires. Penalties for not showing up: Timer starts when 1 player is ready and neither player is currently playing a match. Late by over 10 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win. This is the wait time BEFORE a series begins. BETWEEN games in a series, the lateness limit is 5 minutes. Late by additional 5 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win for each 5 min. Once a player wins via lateness penalties, the late player is disqualified. No harassment or discrimination of players/viewers/staff on any of our platforms. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. No excessively derogatory messaging targeting our staff on any platform. This will result in a permanent ban on all Meta Plays platforms. Win trading will result in forfeit. Do your best to win. You may resign if you are clearly losing. Do not sign up with smurfs. Match all account usernames. We will remove suspicious sign-ups. In the event of player lag disputes, players must submit speedtest results. The event manager will make a judgement call. No account sharing. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. PAYMENT You will be paid approximately 2-5 work days after the event. Please reach out to @Nakamura with your payment information after the event. If you do not provide payment information despite requests within 60 days after the event, you forfeit the prize money. You confirm that the account you provide is owned by you. We do not take responsibility for funds getting lost to third parties in the event of the account not belonging to you. We will not pay out to a known third party. We can pay out via bank transfers or Paypal. We do not pay out via other methods. We do not pay extra to cover transfer fees. This tournament takes place during a war period. Ukraine has been invaded by Russia and Belarus. In light of NATO sanctions against Russia and Belarus, we are not able to pay out prizes to Russian and Belarusian competitors residing in Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian citizens are not affected by this if they reside in an un-sanctioned country, or have financial accounts in such a country able to receive payments. Affected prizes will be paid to a selected charity unrelated to the war, chosen by our staff. LIVE STREAMING & VIDEOS Everyone: You may stream all of your own matches. You are required to feature the provided Meta Plays Logo over gameplay at all times. We request you give Meta Plays one shout-out mid-commentary, such as an invitation to make an account on the site. We recommend you use the Meta Plays Casting Tool for the best viewer experience. Content Partners: 60s delay is required. You may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays. Please contact @fophuxake for approval. You may upload videos at your leisure. Non-Partners: 90s delay is required. You may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays or Content Partners. Please contact @fophuxake for approval. We request you wait with video uploads until the Meta Plays channel has posted its version of the identical match.

We are pleased to announce the Meta Plays Age of Mythology League Season 3! The main events will be held on Age of Mythology: Extended Edition! Meta Plays and our Content Partners will cover key matches, with the rest being open to community casters. Meta Plays Monthly #11 - $100 + Community Donations, Single Elimination - July 30 One day event Meta Plays Monthly #12 - $100 + Community Donations, Single Elimination - August 28 - One day event Meta Plays Monthly #13 - $100 + Community Donations, Single Elimination - September 24 - One day event Meta Plays Monthly #14 - $100 + Community Donations, Single Elimination - October 23 - One day event Season Finale - Baldr's Betrayal - $250 + Community Donations, GSL Group Stage - November 4 - December 3 - Manual Scheduling We are also hosting separate low-level-only events for Age of Mythology: Extended Edition! These "Skirmish" Tournaments will be covered by community casters. Meta Plays Skirmish #4 - $10, Single Elimination - August 6 - One day event Meta Plays Skirmish #5 - $10, Single Elimination - September 3 - One day event Meta Plays Skirmish #6 - $10, Single Elimination - October 1 - One day event All Extended Edition Tournaments will be using the Meta Plays Balance Mod. The mod adds maps, rebalances the Chinese civilization, and tweaks the Egyptian one. Note: we made tweaks since our announcement in reaction to community feedback - be sure to check the updated change log! There is more! We are also hosting 2v2 Tournaments for Age of Mythology: The Titans on Voobly! These "Hands-Off" Tournaments will have community-driven prize pools and coverage. Meta Plays Hands-Off 2v2 #1 - Community Donations, Single Elimination - August 27 - September 26 - Manual Scheduling Meta Plays Hands-Off 2v2 #2 - Community Donations, Single Elimination - October 15 - November 14 - Manual Scheduling Note: this article and our calendar will be updated as we progress through the season and new info becomes available. How the Season Works Similarly to the last season, but with some tweaks! Each Tournament we host will not only come with cash prizes, but also Meta Plays Ladder Points. These points go towards the corresponding ladder. Based on your position in the ladder, we assign you to a "Class" - one of D(lowest), C, B, A and S(highest). The classes give you a badge and will be featured on your Tournament Profile. For the Season Finale, we will only take our own ladder into account for your seeding - but unlike prior seasons, these events will now be open to all that are in C class or above (essentially everyone that won at least one series in the season). Check out the Class icons below. The top 4 players will also receive medals corresponding with their final placement in each Tournament. While most are generic, Season Finale event will receive custom medals. For additional info, please check our Tournament and Ladder explainer posts! Give Us The Numbers Based on the number and quality of signed up players, we modify the number of total points that a tournament can provide. Our guidelines for this are below: Base value: 10x Prize pool in USD (or monetary value in prizes). For any class exclusion combination, remove 10% points per class removed. S+A Class only tournaments are excluded from this ruling on a case-by-case basis. The number of players in the tournaments will scale the points in the following way: 4-8: -50% 9-15: -25% 16-23: no change 24-31: +50% 32-47: +75% 48-64: +100% You can review the point spread between player placements using our Tournament Point Calculator. Can I Host Tournaments Too? Yes! We are in fact looking for additional Content Partners that are willing to contribute to our Seasonal Ladders, or cover events that we may not be able to. You can apply as a content partner here. What's Up With These Community-Funded Events? Same as in Season 1 and 2, we are unable to fund Team events and 1v1 events on 2 platforms. However, we have received so many requests to attempt running Team events, as well as simultaneous Voobly and EE events, that we will indeed attempt to make this happen! However, we will need your help with donations to prize pools, so as to make this all worth the players' time. Can I Help Meta Plays Directly? For any of you looking to support our project, the best way to do so is becoming a subscriber on the website. This is a monthly recurring payment that you get perks and exclusive news for. The more goals we hit, the easier and safer it is for us to keep the project going. We are also currently looking for Moderators to join our team, so that we can keep our chats, discords and website a pleasant and friendly environment for all. You can apply here. Where To Watch We will live stream the main events on our Twitch, and VoDs will be available on our YouTube. Community casters will have access to cover games as well - all games that we don't cover are open casting for live streamers. Please contact each event's manager for clearance. Bear in mind though, that in Age of Mythology, due to limited spectating slots and lag reasons, our Content Partners have priority in key matches. We also provide replay packs that may be used for replay casts or learning purposes. That is pretty much it! Let us know what you think in the comments below, join us on Discord for real-time chats, and we will see you on the battlefield!

Hey everyone, We are pleased to announce the Meta Plays Age of Mythology: Extended Edition Balance Mod! The mod will be used in our AoM EE events going forward. Before getting into the details, let's all thank @EEL_Hagrit for organizing and making this mod happen! Summary: We feel one of the most important aspects of keeping an RTS fresh are maps. As such, we are bringing over the community maps that have been used in our Voobly tournaments as a start. From here on, we are planning to seasonally rotate the map pool in an effort to provide new experiences for both the players and viewers. The balance changes primarily focus on rebalancing the Chinese civilization to be more in line with the power levels of the rest. As part of this, we are retooling the Scout Cavalry to focus it more heavily on its anti-archer nature, rather than it being an anti-villager. We also felt the Chinese have been severely over-performing in 2 key moments: the Call to Arms rush with Immortals, and Great Flood. We are making significant changes in an attempt to address these, while also disabling Blessed Construction on Fu Xi's towers and castles, as there was a glitch that kept these buildings firing double the projectiles after completion. Further changes were made to the Egyptian Civilization, slightly reducing their power level via tweaks to Shifting Sands, the Roc, and Locust, while making Set's animals more accessible in an effort to shift the meta away from Ra slightly. Subscribe to the mod in the Steam Workshop! Remember you need to disable the mod if you want to play with people that don't have it! Please feel free to make suggestions - since it's the first iteration, we expect needing tweaks before the end of our upcoming Season 3. For discussion, we recommend our Forums or our Discord, as those allow us to monitor your feedback best. Change Log: UI/MENUS: Post game Quit button is removed. MAPS: 4 new maps added to the random map set: Borderlands Tropical Mirage Frozen Wastes Arctic Craters CHINESE GAMEPLAY & BALANCE: Earthen Wall cost reduced from 150f 150g to 100f 100g. Earthen Wall research time reduced from 50s to 30s. Chinese dock cost reduced from 125 to 100. Immortal Hero train time increased from 9 to 12, and population cost increased from 2 to 3. Immortal Hero ranged attack range reduced from 13 to 10, increasing by 2 each age instead of 1. (Age 1 = 10, age 2 = 12, age 3 = 14, age 4 = 16) Chu ko nu and Toxotes now do -10% damage vs Scout Cavalry, similar to vs Raiding Cavalry. Chu ko nu attack animation length reduced from 1.5 to 1.2. Scout Cavalry bonus damage vs economic units removed. Scout Cavalry turn rate increased to match other cavalry units, from 9 to 18. Scout Cavalry hack damage reduced from 6 to 5. Scout Cavalry Hack armor reduced from 15 to 10%, and pierce armor increased from 30 to 35%. Scout Cavalry bonus increased vs archers from 1.3 to 1.75. Garden obstruction radius reduced from 4.0/4.0 to 3.5/3.5. FU XI: Blessed construction no longer works on towers/castles. Wood cost reduction no longer works on docks. SHENNONG: Tower upgrades now also get a 25% discount. Wheelbarrow now also increases villager building speed of all buildings except towers by 10%. Monks can no longer convert Earth Dragons. HUANG DI: Call to arms human units duplication reduced from 4 to 3. CHANG'E Barrage damage changed from 70 hack 15 crush to 60 hack 15 crush, and from 4 area of effect to 3. Barrage Min/Max damage cap reduceed from 600/800 to 600/600. Barrage duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds. Barrage Area radius increased from 10 to 15. Barrage attack interval reduced from 1.0 seconds to 0.8 seconds. ZHONG KUI: Uproot damage radius reduced from 7 to 3. XI WANGMU: White Tiger Population Cost increased from 4 to 5. White Tiger bonus damage vs heroes with the special attack reduced from -50% to -75%. AO KUANG: Great Flood: Now spawns 1 less "child", effectively reducing its width by 25%. Persistent damage has also been reduced from 1.5 to 1.0 hack, and from 2.0 to 1.5 crush dps. Azure Dragon can now use his special attack on Ships. Nezha's Defeat now also gives +30% hack damage to Azure Dragons. EGYPTIANS: Set Food-based animals are ~50% favor cost. (costs may vary due to rounding) Set Damage-based animals are ~25% favor cost. (costs may vary due to rounding) Skin of the Rhino may only be researched in the TC. Khopesh speed reduced from 5.8 to 5.5. Shifting sands minimum HP of enemy units reduced from 400 to 200. Shifting sands can not shift enemy villagers anymore. Roc speed reduced from 4.6 to 4.2. Locust DPS reduced from 30 to 25. BUG FIXES Earthquake, Shockwave and Barrage have their camera shake massively reduced. Polyphemus, Titan, monkey and General special attacks do not affect earth dragon anymore.

The third tournament for Season 2 in Halo Wars 2! $425 and 4250 Meta Plays Ladder Points are up for grabs. Thank you to @jimmins31, Nick T. and @Kimber45ACP for the $75, $25 and $25 donations respectively! The tournament will begin as soon as we have 16 players. Sign ups are invite-only. Each group will schedule their own day to play. All group stage games must be played on the same day, and must be streamed. The final stage will be a ONE DAY EVENT, scheduled by the remaining players. Seeding is based on the Season 2 ladder standings only. @_TheLegend_ is the manager for this tournament. For any questions, concerns or requests, please reach out to him on Discord, or @ him in the comments here (if not urgent). EVENT PRIZES 1st place: $150 | 1162 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Gold Medal Icon 2nd place: $125 | 865 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Silver Medal Icon 3rd place: $100 | 652 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Bronze Medal Icon 4th place: $50| 483 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Copper Medal Icon 5-8th place: 175 Meta Plays Ladder Points 9-12th place: 101 Meta Plays Ladder Points GAME SETTINGS First map is picked by the worse seed Losing player each game picks next map. Each map may only be played once. Valid maps: Ashes, Bedrock, Fissures, Frontier, Mirage, Rift, Vault. No repeat leaders in a series. No Voridus. Accidental Voridus pick results in loss. No node strat - do not take nodes without the intent of killing Sentinels. Exception: you can draw the Sentinels to attack an enemy minibase or units, and still capture the node. Exception: Cannon Fodder can take nodes any way you want. 1 hour time limit. Casters must either call the winner, or give both sides 1 point. Replay match if the series ends on tie. No cheating or intentional exploiting of any form allowed. Hosting Games will be hosted by the higher seeded player when staff is not present. Casters will host if they are present. SOCIAL RULES Participants must be in the Meta Plays Discord. Report match results there. Forfeiting/not showing up to any match with prizes and without notice will result in disqualification and you forfeiting the prizes. 1 rescheduling opportunity is granted when external conditions force it. There will not be a second rescheduling. Forfeiting players that break rules on any of our platforms, or do so out of malicious intent will be banned from the next event. Repeat offenders will receive a ban from the entire season. There will not be a fourth chance after the season-long ban expires. Penalties for not showing up: Timer starts when 1 player is ready and neither player is currently playing a match. Late by over 10 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win. This is the wait time BEFORE a series begins. BETWEEN games in a series, the lateness limit is 5 minutes. Late by additional 5 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win for each 5 min. Once a player wins via lateness penalties, the late player is disqualified. No harassment or discrimination of players/viewers/staff on any of our platforms. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. No messaging targeting our staff on any platform with excessively derogatory language. This will result in a permanent ban on all Meta Plays platforms. Win trading will result in forfeit. Do your best to win. You may resign if you are clearly losing. Do not sign up with smurfs. Match all account usernames. We will remove suspicious sign-ups. In the event of player lag disputes, players must submit speedtest results. The event manager will make a judgement call. In the event of a disconnection or crash: If the game was relatively even: If all parties crash, re-play the game. The game doesn't count for score in the first instance. The player who didn't disconnect may choose a new map, and both players may choose a new leader. In the second instance, the player who didn't disconnect receives a point on the score board. In the third instance, the player who didn't disconnect wins the series. If both sides crash 3 times, reset PC/Xbox and internet. If a player was significantly ahead: Admin win is awarded for the match for all cases. In the third instance, the player who didn't disconnect wins the series. Johnson/Jerome crash: The Johnson/Jerome player loses. In the event of both players causing a crash, we will treat this case as a disconnect and follow rules around them. No account sharing. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. PAYMENT You will be paid approximately 2-5 work days after the event. Please reach out to @Nakamura with your payment information after the event. If you do not provide payment information despite requests within 60 days after the event, you forfeit the prize money. You confirm that the account you provide is owned by you. We do not take responsibility for funds getting lost to third parties in the event of the account not belonging to you. We will not pay out to a known third party. We can pay out via bank transfers or Paypal. We do not pay out via other methods. We do not pay extra to cover transfer fees. This tournament takes place during a war period. Ukraine has been invaded by Russia and Belarus. In light of NATO sanctions against Russia and Belarus, we are not able to pay out prizes to Russian and Belarusian competitors residing in Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian citizens are not affected by this if they reside in an un-sanctioned country, or have financial accounts in such a country able to receive payments. Affected prizes will be paid to a selected charity unrelated to the war, chosen by our staff. LIVE STREAMING & VIDEOS: Everyone: You may stream all of your own matches. You are required to feature the provided Meta Plays Logo over gameplay at all times. We request you give Meta Plays one shout-out mid-commentary, such as an invitation to make an account on the site. We recommend you use the Meta Plays Casting Tool for the best viewer experience. Content Partners: 60s delay is required. You may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays. Please contact @_TheLegend_ for approval. You may upload videos at your leisure. Non-Partners: 90s delay is required. You may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays or Content Partners. Please contact @_TheLegend_ for approval. We request you wait with video uploads until the Meta Plays channel has posted its version of the identical match.

Hey Subscribers, hope you are having a great day! From now on, we will post some exclusive news for you every month! Today, you are getting an early look before everyone else at our upcoming showmatch system. You may have seen us running showmatch events before, but we didn't really have a place to store them, so we used news posts as a temporary measure. This changes as our third season begins!

The season 2 finale tournament in Age of Mythology! $400 and 4000 Meta Plays Ladder Points are up for grabs. The tournament will begin as soon as we have 16 players. Sign ups are invite-only. Each group will schedule their own day to play. All group stage games must be played on the same day, and must be streamed. The final stage will be a one-day event, scheduled by the remaining players. Thank you to @Kilty @joeybadz and @Chenla for the $50, $48 and $2 donations respectively! Seeding is based on the Season 2 ladder standings only. @fophuxake is the manager for this tournament. For any questions, concerns or requests, please reach out to her on Discord, or @ her in the comments here (if not urgent). EVENT PRIZES 1st place: $150 | 1093 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Gold Medal Icon 2nd place: $120 | 814 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Silver Medal Icon 3rd place: $80| 614 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Bronze Medal Icon 4th place: $50| 454 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Copper Medal Icon 5-8th place: 164 Meta Plays Ladder Points 9-12th place: 95 Meta Plays Ladder Points Confused about the tournament system? Check our Tournament and Ladder info posts, and the Age of Mythology Season 2 announcement! GAME SETTINGS Use Age of Mythology: The Titans on Voobly Game mod: Voobly Balance Patch 5.0 Blind Pick No repeats of a god you have won with (within a series). You can only win with the same god 1 time and must switch to another. First map per round is defined in the bracket. Losing player each game picks next map. Each map may only be played once. Valid maps: Alfheim, Anatolia, Arctic Craters, Blue Lagoon, Borderlands, Frozen Wastes, Ghost Lake, Marsh, Mediterranean, Midgard, Oasis, Savannah, Tropical Mirage, Tundra, Watering Hole. 1 veto per player per series. Must be used before 1 minute. No excessive wall connector spamming allowed. Banned cases: Connector spam to protect wonders. Illegal placements around gold mines and Settlements. Acceptable cases include: 4 pieces around towers (including around your main base gold mine, if it blocks). 4 pieces to save dock builder. Segments to seal off a gap that was meant to be walled. No hunt deleting. No unnatural wall usage, such as deleting wall segments and setting up a gate network. No Gaia Forests around Gold Mines or Settlements. No cheating of any form. HOSTING Games will be hosted by the higher seeded player when staff is not present. Casters will host if they are present. SOCIAL RULES Participants must be in the Meta Plays Discord. Report match results there, with replays. Forfeiting/not showing up to any match with prizes and without notice will result in disqualification and you forfeiting the prizes. We grant 1 rescheduling opportunity when external conditions force it. There will not be a second rescheduling. Forfeiting players that break rules on any of our platforms, or do so out of malicious intent will be banned from the next event. Repeat offenders will receive a ban from the entire season. There will not be a fourth chance after the season-long ban expires. Penalties for not showing up: Timer starts when 1 player is ready, and neither player is currently playing a match. Late by over 10 minutes: the opponent gains 1 match win. This is the wait time BEFORE a series begins. BETWEEN games in a series, the lateness limit is 5 minutes. Late by additional 5 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win for each 5 min. Once a player wins via lateness penalties, the late player is disqualified. No harassment or discrimination of players/viewers/staff on any of our platforms. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. No messaging targeting our staff on any platform with excessively derogatory language. This will result in a permanent ban on all Meta Plays platforms. Win trading will result in forfeit. Do your best to win. You may resign if you are clearly losing. Do not sign up with smurfs. Match all account usernames. We will remove suspicious sign-ups. In the event of player lag disputes, players must submit speedtest results. The event manager will make a judgement call. No account sharing. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. PAYMENT You will be paid approximately 2-5 work days after the event. Please reach out to @Nakamura with your payment information after the event. If you do not provide payment information despite requests within 60 days after the event, you forfeit the prize money. You confirm that the account you provide is owned by you. We do not take responsibility for funds getting lost to third parties in the event of the account not belonging to you. We will not pay out to a known third party. We can pay out via bank transfers or Paypal. We do not pay out via other methods. We do not pay extra to cover transfer fees. This tournament takes place during a war period. Ukraine has been invaded by Russia and Belarus. In light of NATO sanctions against Russia and Belarus, we are not able to pay out prizes to Russian and Belarusian competitors residing in Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian citizens are not affected by this if they reside in an un-sanctioned country, or have financial accounts in such a country able to receive payments. Affected prizes will be paid to a selected charity unrelated to the war, chosen by our staff. LIVE STREAMING & VIDEOS: Everyone: You may stream all of your own matches. You are required to feature the provided Meta Plays Logo over gameplay at all times. We request you give Meta Plays one shout-out mid-commentary, such as an invitation to make an account on the site. We recommend you use the Meta Plays Casting Tool for the best viewer experience. Content Partners: 60s delay is required. You may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays. Please contact @fophuxake for approval. You may upload videos at your leisure. Non-Partners: 90s delay is required. You may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays or Content Partners. Please contact @fophuxake for approval. We request you wait with video uploads until the Meta Plays channel has posted its version of the identical match.

The fifth tournament for Season 2 in Age of Mythology! $150 and 1500 Meta Plays Ladder Points are up for grabs. The tournament will take place on Saturday, May 21st, starting at 2 PM GMT. Brackets get locked at 1:45 PM GMT. Please note this is a one day event. Make sure you have enough time before you sign up! Seeding is based on the Season 2 ladder standings first, and the Voobly 1v1 ladder second. The total amount of tournament points is subject to change based on sign ups. @fophuxake is the manager for this tournament. For any questions, concerns or requests, please reach out to her on Discord, or @ her in the comments here (if not urgent). EVENT PRIZES 1st place: $60| 435 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Gold Medal Icon 2nd place: $40 | 330 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Silver Medal Icon 3rd place: $30 | 255 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Bronze Medal Icon 4th place: $20 | 195 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Copper Medal Icon 5-8th place: 74 Meta Plays Ladder Points Confused about the tournament system? Check our Tournament and Ladder info posts, and the Age of Mythology Season 2 announcement! GAME SETTINGS Use Age of Mythology: The Titans on Voobly Game mod: Voobly Balance Patch 5.0 Blind Pick No repeats of a god you have won with (within a series). You can only win with the same god 1 time and must switch to another. First map per round is defined in the bracket. Losing player each game picks next map. Each map may only be played once. Valid maps: Alfheim, Anatolia, Arctic Craters, Blue Lagoon, Borderlands, Frozen Wastes, Ghost Lake, Marsh, Mediterranean, Midgard, Oasis, Savannah, Tropical Mirage, Tundra, Watering Hole 1 veto per player per series. Must be used before 1 minute. No excessive wall connector spamming allowed. Banned cases: Connector spam to protect wonders Illegal placements around gold mines and Settlements Acceptable cases include: 4 pieces around towers (including around your main base gold mine, if it blocks) 4 pieces to save dock builder Segments to seal off a gap that was meant to be walled No hunt deleting. No unnatural wall usage, such as deleting wall segments and setting up a gate network. No Gaia Forests around Gold Mines or Settlements. No cheating of any form. HOSTING Games will be hosted by the higher seeded player when staff is not present. Casters will host if they are present. SOCIAL RULES Participants must be in the Meta Plays Discord. Report match results there, with replays. Forfeiting/not showing up to any match with prizes and without notice will result in disqualification and you forfeiting the prizes. 1 rescheduling opportunity is granted when external conditions force it. There will not be a second rescheduling. Forfeiting players that break rules on any of our platforms, or do so out of malicious intent will be banned from the next event. Repeat offenders will receive a ban from the entire season. There will not be a fourth chance after the season-long ban expires. Penalties for not showing up: Timer starts when 1 player is ready and neither player is currently playing a match. Late by over 10 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win. This is the wait time BEFORE a series begins. BETWEEN games in a series, the lateness limit is 5 minutes. Late by additional 5 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win for each 5 min. Once a player wins via lateness penalties, the late player is disqualified. No harassment or discrimination of players/viewers/staff on any of our platforms. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. No messaging targeting our staff on any platform with excessively derogatory language. This will result in a permanent ban on all Meta Plays platforms. Win trading will result in forfeit. Do your best to win. You may resign if you are clearly losing. Do not sign up with smurfs. Match all account usernames. We will remove suspicious sign-ups. In the event of player lag disputes, players must submit speedtest results. The event manager will make a judgement call. No account sharing. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. PAYMENT You will be paid approximately 2-5 work days after the event. Please reach out to @Nakamura with your payment information after the event. If you do not provide payment information despite requests within 60 days after the event, you forfeit the prize money. You confirm that the account you provide is owned by you. We do not take responsibility for funds getting lost to third parties in the event of the account not belonging to you. We will not pay out to a known third party. We can pay out via bank transfers or Paypal. We do not pay out via other methods. We do not pay extra to cover transfer fees. This tournament takes place during a war period. Ukraine has been invaded by Russia and Belarus. In light of NATO sanctions against Russia and Belarus, we are not able to pay out prizes to Russian and Belarusian competitors residing in Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian citizens are not affected by this if they reside in an un-sanctioned country, or have financial accounts in such a country able to receive payments. Affected prizes will be paid to a selected charity unrelated to the war, chosen by our staff. LIVE STREAMING & VIDEOS You may stream your own matches, but a minimum of 60s delay is required. Third party casters may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays. Please contact @fophuxake for approval. 60s delay is required. Third party cast videos may be uploaded 1 day after Meta Plays uploads. Please contact @fophuxake for approval. If you are casting our event, please consider giving us a shout-out, and sharing the next tournament with your community.

The third tournament for Season 2 in Halo Wars 2! $100 and 1000 Meta Plays Ladder Points are up for grabs. Starting on Saturday, May 15 at 4 PM GMT. Brackets get locked at 3:50 PM GMT. Please note this is a ONE DAY EVENT. You must complete the tournament in 1 sitting. The event might take 6+ hours. Make sure you have enough time before you sign up. Seeding is based on the Season 2 ladder standings first, and the 1v1 Solo War ladder second. The total amount of tournament points is subject to change based on sign ups. @_TheLegend_ is the manager for this tournament. For any questions, concerns or requests, please reach out to him on Discord, or @ him in the comments here (if not urgent). EVENT PRIZES 1st place: $40 | 261 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Gold Medal Icon 2nd place: $30 | 191 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Silver Medal Icon 3rd place: $20 | 141 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Bronze Medal Icon 4th place: $10 | 101 Meta Plays Ladder Points | Copper Medal Icon 5-6th place: 64 Meta Plays Ladder Points 7-8th place: 42 Meta Plays Ladder Points 9-12th place: 25 Meta Plays Ladder Points GAME SETTINGS First map is picked by the worse seed Losing player each game picks next map. Each map may only be played once. Valid maps: Ashes, Bedrock, Fissures, Frontier, Mirage, Rift, Vault. No repeat leaders in a series. No Voridus. Accidental Voridus pick results in loss. No node strat - do not take nodes without the intent of killing Sentinels. Exception: you can draw the Sentinels to attack an enemy minibase or units, and still capture the node. Exception: Cannon Fodder can take nodes any way you want. 1 hour time limit. Casters must either call the winner, or give both sides 1 point. Replay match if the series ends on tie. No cheating or intentional exploiting of any form allowed. Hosting Games will be hosted by the higher seeded player when staff is not present. Casters will host if they are present. SOCIAL RULES Participants must be in the Meta Plays Discord. Report match results there, with replays. Forfeiting/not showing up to any match with prizes and without notice will result in disqualification and you forfeiting the prizes. 1 rescheduling opportunity is granted when external conditions force it. There will not be a second rescheduling. Forfeiting players that break rules on any of our platforms, or do so out of malicious intent will be banned from the next event. Repeat offenders will receive a ban from the entire season. There will not be a fourth chance after the season-long ban expires. Penalties for not showing up: Timer starts when 1 player is ready and neither player is currently playing a match. Late by over 10 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win. This is the wait time BEFORE a series begins. BETWEEN games in a series, the lateness limit is 5 minutes. Late by additional 5 minutes: opponent gains 1 match win for each 5 min. Once a player wins via lateness penalties, the late player is disqualified. No harassment or discrimination of players/viewers/staff on any of our platforms. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. Win trading will result in forfeit. Do your best to win. You may resign if you are clearly losing. Do not sign up with smurfs. Match all account usernames. We will remove suspicious sign-ups. In the event of player lag disputes, players must submit speedtest results. The event manager will make a judgement call. In the event of a disconnection or crash: If the game was relatively even: If all parties crash, re-play the game. The game doesn't count for score in the first instance. The player who didn't disconnect may choose a new map, and both players may choose a new leader. In the second instance, the player who didn't disconnect receives a point on the score board. In the third instance, the player who didn't disconnect wins the series. If both sides crash 3 times, reset PC/Xbox and internet. If a player was significantly ahead: Admin win is awarded for the match for all cases. In the third instance, the player who didn't disconnect wins the series. Johnson/Jerome crash: The Johnson/Jerome player loses. In the event of both players causing a crash, we will treat this case as a disconnect and follow rules around them. No account sharing. You will be disqualified, forfeit of prizes in this event, and be permanently banned from all event participation. PAYMENT You will be paid approximately 2-5 work days after the event. Please reach out to @Nakamura with your payment information after the event. If you do not provide payment information despite requests within 60 days after the event, you forfeit the prize money. You confirm that the account you provide is owned by you. We do not take responsibility for funds getting lost to third parties in the event of the account not belonging to you. We will not pay out to a known third party. We can pay out via bank transfers or Paypal. We do not pay out via other methods. We do not pay extra to cover transfer fees. This tournament takes place during a war period. Ukraine has been invaded by Russia and Belarus. In light of NATO sanctions against Russia and Belarus, we are not able to pay out prizes to Russian and Belarusian competitors residing in Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian citizens are not affected by this if they reside in an un-sanctioned country, or have financial accounts in such a country able to receive payments. Affected prizes will be paid to a selected charity unrelated to the war, chosen by our staff. LIVE STREAMING & VIDEOS You may stream your own matches, but a minimum of 60s delay is required. Third party casters may stream matches that aren't marked to be covered by Meta Plays. Please contact @_TheLegend_ for approval. 60s delay is required. Third party cast videos may be uploaded 1 day after Meta Plays uploads. Please contact @_TheLegend_ for approval. If you are casting our event, please consider giving us a shout-out, and sharing the next tournament with your community.