As many of us begin to reach closer to level 30 on our battle passes, I wanted to review and analyze which light cones are the ones you should consider adding to your lineup and which are not worth taking for now.

There are a total of seven different Light Cones to choose from. Each corresponds to a path in the game, so no matter what characters you have, you should be able to get value out of one of these. Each Light Cone will be timestamped. So, if there’s a certain one you wanted my insight on, feel free to skip to that portion, and the order they are covered does not have anything to do with their usefulness.

Since this will be our first battle pass, I will be reviewing each light code at their superimposition level one just to make things simpler.

Carve The Moon, Weave The Clouds

We will begin with our first Light Cone, Carved The moon, Weave The Clouds for their Harmony, which states at the start of the battle and whenever the wearish turn begins.

One of the following effects is applied randomly. All allies’ attack increases by 10%. All allies’ critical damage increases by 12% or all allies’ energy regeneration rate increases by 6%. The applied effect cannot be identical to the last effect applied and will replace the previous effect.

The applied effect will be removed when the wearer has been knocked down. Effects of the similar type cannot be stacked. This Light Cone has a lot of useful buffs. However, the biggest issue with it is just the lack of consistent support. The best support here being the critical damage and having a 1/2 chance of appearing can be a real coin toss and in the best-case scenario, it would only have 50% uptime, but realistically more close to 33%.

When compared to the consistency of Chorus or Dance! Dance! Dance!, and Planetary Rendezvous, even with the type restriction, it is a hard Light Cone to sell even more so since it doesn’t really boost any of our three main harmony units or change their play styles.

It’s not awful and can be great for damaged showcases if all situations line up, but I wouldn’t recommend it since I like consistency.

Related: Honkai Star Rail: All Details On Combat & Characters - Beginners Friendly Guide

Return To Darkness

Next, we Return to Darkness for the Hunt, which increases the wearer’s crit rate by 12%.

After a critical hit, there is a 16% fixed chance to dispel one buff on the targeted enemy. This effect can only trigger once per attack. Another RNG Light Cone, however I’m a bit more favorable for this one as it does have a consistent boost to a critical rate and a high amount at that.

My only issue here is the chance of this proccing can be annoying, but the spell is not something to take lightly and just that utility alone can make some fights a lot more manageable, such as the fight against the Searing Prowler and Forgotten Hall Stage 12.

Don’t worry, more enemies like this will appear in the future, as well. If you have no plans on building Pella, who is your main source for dispel, this might be a decent pickup even if you don’t run it 100% of the time, just for the small times you may need it.

Nowhere to Run

Next up, we got Nowhere to Run for the Destruction, which increases the wearer’s attack by 24%.

Whenever the wearer defeats an enemy, they restore health equal to 12% of their attack. While not as good as Something Irreplaceable, this could make a good substitute for anyone wanting to throw this on their Clara.

Arlan and Trailblazer Physical can use this, as well. But I think On the Fall of an Aeon works better for them and it’s also free to play.

The only issue with this Light Cone is situations where some other character steals to kill when you needed it to heal. But outside of that, it’s pretty solid and might be useful for some nasty Clara solo.

This Is Me

We are now on to This Is Me for the Preservation, which increases the wearer’s defense by 16%. It also increases the damage of the wearer when they use their ultimate by 60% of the wearer’s defense.

This effect only applies one time per enemy target. This is probably the most optimal Light Cone for Trailblazer Preservation for a good mixture of damage and defense and will help great against fights, such as Cocolia when she spawns her Ice Spears.

Also, I feel like this isn’t my first time mentioning this funky March 7th setup. But for a few of you looking to push her into some weird counter DPS, this is another Light Cone to help push that narrative.

Today Is Another Peaceful Day

Next up, we have Today Is Another Peaceful Day for the Erudition.

After entering battle, it increases the wearer’s damage based on their max energy. Damage increases by 0.2% per point of energy up to 160 energy.

To make this a bit easier to understand, every multiple of 10 is 2%, so a unit with 120 like Himiko will gain 24%, which honestly isn’t bad. However, when compared to the free to play option, The Seriousness of Breakfast, which is super easy to superimposition due to it being free to play, becomes much harder for this to become a worthwhile pick, not to mention on some units like Serval. It’s not good at all and it is not something really worth recommending at the moment.

We Will Meet Again

Second to last, we have We Will Meet Again for the Nihility.

After the wearer uses basic attack or skill, the wearer deals 48% of attack as additional damage to a random enemy that is attacked by abilities. This one is a kind of funky. It doesn’t offer any real boost to your base stats.

However, you get additional damage based on attack on a more support debuffing unit, making it very weird to use. Not to mention, our current Nihility units aren’t the biggest damage dealers, with raw attack numbers being average at best, such as with Welt. Not really something I can say is worthwhile, but maybe someone in the future can make great use out of this.

Warmth Shortens Cold Nights

Lastly, we have Warmth Shortens Cold Nights for the Abundance, which increases the wearer’s maximum health by 16%. When using basic attack or skill, it restores all allies’ health by an amount equal to two percent of their respected maximum health.

In the previous time, I’ve mentioned this Light Cone as being a very good option. Unfortunately, this has not changed and I think it’s great for people who want to do auto battle since I am sure people have noticed by now healers suck on auto battle since they will take until the lowest amount of health before they even consider healing you, which can result in your death.

Outside of that, I don’t think this is too great to pick up since Abundance is one of the rare paths with almost too many good options in their Light Cone choices. Only pick this up if you’re looking to use it for auto battle just for a quick.

By the way, if you want to have the Light Cones or chacracters with five stars, geting Honkai Star Rail Accounts will be a good choice!

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We’re going to be looking at three awesome places to grind out rabbit kills so you can get your Easter event rewards as fast as possible before we get into that

Rabbit’s Revenge Event - Release Time & Rewards

The new Easter Event Rabbit’s Revenge starting on April 12th and going until April 26th. There are a couple of really cool rewards to look forward to. All the rabbits in New World during this period will be transforming into these bigger corrupted versions and have a chance of exploding when they die. This will be very similar to the event they did for Easter last year, but with a couple of new rewards and added lore.

The main two items you want to look out for from these new rabbits are the Defiled Storage Chest of the Hare, which is the same from last year and a pretty cool new mask skin called a Corrupted Rabbit Mask.

Last year, the chest was a big cause of pain for many users since some people killed thousands of rabbits without it. But thankfully this year, you’re guaranteed this chest after 400 kills if you have not gotten it already. You can hold 1050 weight in this chest, so it’s pretty great, and it looks awesome as well.

How To Get These Rewards?

The mask is purely cosmetic and is guaranteed after 200 kills if it hasn’t dropped for you yet, but I can see some very interesting transmog options with this mask. Along with these two items, you’ll be getting your daily gypsum from rabbits up to a total of six per day and up to five Defiled Rabbit’s Feet, which can be consumed for increased luck. So, even if you already got your two drops, it’s worth getting a few rabbit kills per day for these items.

It’s worth noting when going after these items, luck gear will have no effect on your drops. But if you want to kill two birds with one stone, you might as well throw on some Skinning Luck gear while killing the rabbits for better odds at rare rabbit meets.

Also, since these rabbits are so easy to kill, ranged weapons are best to be most efficient, especially the Musket due to its long range. And, if you’re having issues find any rabbits in certain areas, don’t forget to use your compass at the top of your screen to locate them. Sometimes, they are hidden in a bush right beside you.

Three Spots To Grind Rabbits

Next, let’s go over the three spots I like to use to grind out my rabbit kills.

*The first location we’re going to be looking at is over in Brightwood. You can teleport into the main city and then head north along the path up to the Tempest Valley Shrine and then further along to the Imperial Shrine. There're tons of rabbits spawning along this path, so be able to get tons of kills up here.

*Next up is Everfall. You want to be teleporting into the main city and slowly making your way down to the Excavated Shrine, weaving side to side, keeping an eye on their spawn location map and trying to stay in the areas most populated. Because this is such a low level zone, though, I could see a lot of people using this area and bots as well, just because any roaming monsters won’t be of much thread.

*The third and final spot is over in Ebonscale Reach. If you're a high level player, this will be a perfect spot for you since the higher level mobs will scare away the newer players. Simply teleport into the main city and follow the path on the screen just outside the city, killing all the rabbits in your path. Then, head back to the city when you have killed enough.

New World Map

If you tried all these locations and there are too many people taking all the rabbit spawns, then you can check out a really cool resource called New World Map. But if you hide all the things on the map and only show rabbits, it'll show you all the places they spawn on the map and simply go to any area very populated by rabbit spawns and grind until your heart is content.

Related: New World: What’s New For Season 1?

More Tips

Now, let's go over a couple more tips and tricks to maximize this event for you. For starters, when hunting for rabbits in an area, I like to move my camera from side to side, keeping an eye on my radar as I'm running the routes, so I don't miss any of the rabbits. Because sometimes they're hidden by the vegetation.

Also, when it comes to event items like the Defiled Rabbit's Foot, if you're not interested in the love benefits from this item, still hold on to them for a few months because after the event has finished, the prices will just go up and up as time passes. That means you have to spend more New World Coins later.

The same applies for any rabbit related food like the Sumptuous Rabbit meat because so many people will be hunting these rabbits. Prices will drop like crazy. So, for any of these items you gain during this period, hold on to them for a while until prices go back up. If you want, you can even purchase tons of them while prices are at all time lows and eventually sell them on for crazy profits.

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In Breaking Bad, an Elden Ring player brings three iconic characters to the Lands, with one being designed with precision. While Elden Ring isn't the most competitive in the market, it does a good job of representing the fictional characters in the IP, and its character creation is so good that even a chemistry teacher who handles meth is confronted with Shardbearers. It's a very challenging thing.

Breaking Bad aired nearly a decade before Elden Ring, ended its five-season series in 2013, and was well received by many viewers. Despite its earlier airing, Breaking Bad hasn't lost any cultural relevance or popularity because of the pin-off and prequel Better Call Saul that ended last August. With characters such as Kratos and celebrities, including Morgan Freeman, present in the Elden Ring community, Walter White and his acquaintances will eventually travel through the fog.

Through some screenshots posted by Suitable-Ad7551 on Reddit, we can see Ehrmantraut, Walter White, and Hector Salamanca and the specific variables that form their surface characteristics. By sliding the scale, Elden Ring can show the facial features of the characters in great detail, such as Mike, whose rude behavior can be accurately expressed. Inspired by Breaking Bad season four, an Elden Ring player dramatically changes Walter's appearance throughout the show, wrapping a bandage around the main character's nose.

Some think Mike's looks fit him perfectly, others think if he had been "Patches' weird old time travel alter ego, or his dad", they wouldn't just blink twice. Others joked that if the ex-cartel agent had included the Exploding Crystal Tear in Hector's Flask of Wondrous Physick, the build would have been perfect. You can also use Elden Ring Runes to get better gear, so your build can become better. Depending on the context, we'd know that Hector blew himself up to kill Gus Fring, but the Exploding Crystal Tear caused the Tarnished to explode.

FromSoftware isn't actually averse to adding role-playing game's character creators, as evidenced by Elden Ring's Colosseum update. Today, there are not only various contents introduced into the open world but also various new hairstyles that are quite popular among players. Colosseums are very popular in the Elden Ring community, and although the combat inside has become standard Moonveil and Rivers of Blood spam, it's still familiar to PvP veterans.

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TGA, aka The Game Awards, has been successfully completed a few days ago. With heart beating brand new game trailers, Great battle between Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök, and of course Bill Clinton win the Game of the Year, it is hard to express that TGA 2022 is not good enough.

Currently lot of people put their sight further, predicting 2023 game industry form, and dig into overhaul technology to game immersions. But from my perspective, with a new TV series released, maybe it is the perfect timing to rewind a little bit to a massive controversial games two years age, I bet you guys already feel what I want to discuss, the Game of the Year 2020, The last of Us II.

Gameplay and Vision Performance

There is much to admire in Naughty Dog's ultra-dark revenge video game The Last Of Us Part II. And there is much to critique. The devs who poured their blood, sweat and tears into the game deserve praise for its technical achievements. The writers who mangled the story deserve the lumps that follow.

Despite its gore and violence, The Last Of Us Part II is a beautiful game, with renditions of post-apocalyptic Seattle and Santa Barbara that are simply staggering in detail and scope. The sights and sounds of this game are lush and lovely, gruesome and harrowing. In terms of presentation, The Last Of Us Part II is easily one of the best of the current generation.

The first game didn't have much going for it in the gameplay department, neither game is particularly strong as an action/shooter, and each forces players to spend far too much time tediously picking up odds and ends in order to craft bombs and med, kits, and ammo for your routinely empty firearms. (There's a setting that makes this somewhat less tedious in the sequel). But I do love the process of gun transformation in The Last Of Us Part II, absolutely vivid and attractive, hint how much developers paid on in-game details. So when it comes to gameplay, both games are fine.

Comparing the previous version, The Last Of Us Part II did an amazing update, open world, more characters, more weapons and fight systems. But we both know the result - most controversial game among the play community, two groups of players totally stand the opposite sides, no one can convince each others, even after two year those controversies still exist. What led to this situation?

Disastrous Narrative

There is only one correct answer to the question "How many lives would you sacrifice to save humanity?"

For the Last Of Us Part I, lackluster gameplay was more than made up for by a compelling story filled with complex characters in a gritty, intriguing post-apocalyptic world. It didn't hurt that it also had one of the best endings in video games, period.

It was an ending that deserved to be just that, the end of Joel and Ellie's story, unresolved and bittersweet. Brittle and precarious and powerful all at once. A happy ending in many ways, but an unsettling one, too.

Joel's was a lie told out of love, but it was still a lie. He kept that secret for the same reason he rescued Ellie from the Fireflies. Because he couldn't stand to lose his daughter. Not again.

That same lie kicks off the events in The Last Of Us Part II, but it quickly runs roughshod over everything we loved about the first game, trampling even our high opinions of the protagonists in the process. What follows is a too-pretentious-by-half story of nonsensical revenge and relentless violence. It masquerades at depth and meaning but fails to deliver either.

For Naughty Dog, the Sony-owned studio behind the series, the safe thing to do from a financial standpoint would have been to continue the first game's story in a predictable way that kept fans happy, as the makers of Marvel and Star Wars movies have done so profitably. But The Last of Us Part II does nothing of the sort. Instead, the punishingly bleak sequel kills off the original's main character and turns the secondary hero into a villain. It takes violence to a level that is uncomfortable even by the standards of video games, and seemingly does everything in its power to make gamers feel bad about the act of playing it.

Arrogant Screenwriter

Enough Budget, amazing technology, outstanding characters, charming views, tons of fans, why The Last of Us Part II step into the black hole? Just one single fool, selfish writer is enough, Neil Druckmann.

Revenge can be fun. John Wick does "fun revenge" very well. I remember watching Braveheart for the first time and William Wallace's revenge was thrilling. But the moral of the story in serious works of fiction is that revenge is bitter (not bittersweet) and never quite plays out the way you'd hoped. It creates a cycle of violence that hurts everyone caught up in its wake. Hamlet is consumed by his desire for revenge - prompted by the ghost of his father - but in the end it just means that everyone dies, including innocents like Polonius and Ophelia and, though she's perhaps a little less innocent, Hamlet's mother as well. Revenge, like that green-eyed monster, jealousy, is dangerous. Something to be avoided if at all possible. Even justifiable revenge, kill can lead to all sorts of problems.

What this game needed in the end was grace. The kind of strange, unsettling thing that comes over someone when they suddenly realize something profound and choose to take a different path. When Ellie sees her emaciated enemy hanging from a poll and, instead of feeling gleeful satisfaction, feels only horror and pity, she acted with grace and mercy and, in that moment, became the person we hoped she would become. It was never about killing Abby. It was about Ellie finding her own redemption.

And then they throw it all away.

Two angry, beat up, half-dead murderesses slicing each other over and over again in the shallows, blood and saltwater spraying everywhere, until suddenly Ellie gives up and let's Abby go. Again. I'm not one to usually criticize games for their violence, but this felt exploitative to me. And redundant. All that potential for mercy and grace lost.

The ending could have worked with mercy or revenge as the outcome, but apparently the writers had trouble making up their minds about which direction they wanted to go, and decided to try and have their cake and eat it, too. The result feels sloppy, repetitive and frustrating.

Overall Review

The Last of Us Part II is one of the toughest gaming experiences I've ever endured, and writing about that experience is equally difficult. I loved the original Last of Us despite the story far outshining the gameplay, but thought it didn't need a sequel. The ambiguity of Ellie's final word, "Okay," before the credits rolled earned The Last of Us a top spot for best video game endings of all time.

Furthermore, the sort of hate that is being leveled at the game itself is primarily homophobic, misogynistic, and transphobic in nature - attitudes beneath contempt. Unfortunately, that disturbing and abusive behavior has been conflated by Naughty Dog - and Neil Druckmann in particular - with respectful criticism of the game itself, notably the writing and pacing issues that I personally found grating. Moments in this game are exceptional, thus the devil deserves to be given its due before exorcising it.

Undoubtedly, The Last of Us Part II will be fondly remembered as the Playstation 4's swan song in the way that the original Last of Us game was for the Playstation 3. Purely in terms of technical achievement, Part II is a must-play for owners of the current generation consoles, and our own Andy Webb reviewed this game as "groundbreaking."

But in terms of narrative, I almost wish that Part II was never made, that the original game would forever live on as lightning in a bottle, the one zombie game that rose to the cream of the crop in an overly saturated genre. And though the sequel has moments of greatness that occasionally top the original, Part II leaving me cold at the idea of any future Last of Us games.

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In the NBA, many players have their own unique nicknames. When it comes to these nicknames, fans can quickly think of the corresponding players. However, when asked where these nicknames come from, fans are often left speechless.

In fact, some of these epithets were awarded to players by the NBA community, and some players used their original nicknames directly after entering the league because they had a befitting moniker themselves.

If someone asks what the coolest nickname in league history is, "Magic" is the first thing that pops into my mind. However, because the name has spread so widely in the basketball world, many people don't know what the Hall of Famer's real name is.

Without further ado, let's reveal the answer directly. This player is the famous Earvin Johnson. Earvin Johnson has been known to cause a stir no matter what level of game he plays. Especially when he was 15 years old in one game, he scored an incredible 30 points alone, including 20 rebounds and 19 assists. He also became famous and was given the pseudonym "Magic" by a sports reporter.

In recent years, due to the continuous emergence of outstanding players, more and more cool nicknames have appeared in the NBA. Next, I will focus on the top five coolest current NBA player nicknames.

Top 5 Kyle Anderson - Slo-Mo

Kyle Anderson's most accurate nickname is "Slo-Mo" since "Slo-Mo" is the primary style of play for the forward on Kyle Anderson's team, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Anderson's approach to combat is very cautious. So, you often see an interesting phenomenon in him. That is, even if the shooting time is about to end, he will not shoot easily. This results in his release rate being the lowest in the league.

For most of Anderson's career, he was basically a role player and often came off the bench. As a result, he averaged 7.2 points per game in his first season with the Timberwolves while shooting 40.9 percent from the field.

Top 4 Kawhi Leonard - The Claw

Kawhi Leonard earned the nickname "The Claw" because of his unusually large hands. Visually speaking, the way Leonard takes the ball every time is as easy as an eagle grasping its prey from above with its talons.

Although it is said that almost all NBA players will have the skill of controlling the ball with their hands, Leonard's ball-handling ability is one of the best among all players. It is also because of Leonard's superior ball-handling ability that helped him win the NBA Finals MVP awards twice.

Top 3 Nikola Jokic - Joker

In general, you rarely see a second-round pick turn into one of the most incredible talents in the league. But Nikola Jokic has done it, and proved that no matter where he is selected in the draft, he will play at a superior level.

Jokic's "Joker" nickname was given to him by his coach Mike Miller in 2017. Jokic used to be called "Big Honey", but he prefers to be called "Joker". He was given this nickname purely because of his amazing ability, especially his passing ability.

Jokic has been the reigning league MVP for two seasons as a big man for the Denver Nuggets. At the same time, he's also the only second-rounder to win the MVP award.

Top 2 Steph Curry - Baby-Faced Assassin

If you only observe Steph Curry from the outside, you will find that he has an innocent face and is personable. But on the court, you will find that this guard from the Golden State Warriors perfectly interprets "appearances are deceiving."

Curry's ball-handling is outstanding, and his three-point shooting rate is extremely high. Specifically, he is the historical three-pointer leader and holds the record for the most three-pointers made in a single season. That's why Curry was nicknamed "Baby-Faced Assassin".

Top 1 Kevin Durant - Slim Reaper

Kevin Durant is one of the greatest scorers in league history. Because of his nearly seven-foot height and superb guard ability, basically no player can guard him.

It is precisely because Kevin Durant's offensive ability is very strong, he is currently one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league. The nickname "Slim Reaper" is apt given how he scares opposing defenders.

All of the above are digressions from NBA games. If you want to improve the player's strength faster and win the game in NBA 2K23, then preparing lots of NBA 2K23 MT in advance is a good choice.

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Elden Ring has been very popular with players since its release. To cement its place as one of the best role-playing games of all time, Elden Ring is constantly being updated to surprise players with new content and a variety of new ways to play. That effort has finally paid off recently. That is, Elden Ring recently won the Game of The Year award.

In a few months, Elden Ring will celebrate its one-year anniversary. To celebrate the award and one-year anniversary, the game's developer FromSoftware decided to continue bringing more fun to all its fans.

In FromSoftware's recent 1.08 patch for Elden Ring, we can clearly find some fresh elements. Specifically, in addition to seeing a series of bug fixes and balance adjustments, you can also experience a new PvP mode called Colosseums. These Colosseums are located in Limgrave, Leyndell and Caelid. Interestingly, these Colosseums were originally only used for viewing in the Elden Ring. Now players can play against each other in these Colosseums.

Read More: A Complete Guide For Three Colosseums In Elden Ring

In addition to the new content mentioned above, Elden Ring 1.08 also provides players with many new hairstyles and similar cosmetics. Players can customize the design of their favorite characters according to their own preferences.

Recently, an Elden Ring player with the username heavy_tempest uploaded a picture on his Reddit. This is actually a photo collage. One is the protagonist Sailor Moon in the comic of the same name in the 1990s. There are also two showing an Elden Ring character he himself modified from different angles. This character is exactly what he borrowed from Sailor Moon and created himself using the character creator.

From this picture, we can see the focus of his reference. As we all know, the most striking thing about Sailor Moon is its golden twin tails. It is this feature that heavy_tempest cleverly replicates. Due to the high resemblance, this image was appreciated by most Elden Ring players once it was released.

In fact, the new ponytail hairstyle in Elden Ring's latest patch has gained a lot of favor from Elden Ring fans once it was announced. In addition to the heavy_tempest we mentioned today, there is another player who made Harley Quinn in Elden Ring with the above hairstyle not long ago. In the latest update, Elden Ring has added a lot of new hairstyles, including the anime-style hairstyle of Dante's hair in the Devil May Cry series. Heavy_tempest's creation joins the club of numerous Elden Ring player characters that are inspired by iconic anime figures.

You are not familiar with Sailor Moon? Then I will briefly introduce this manga character to you at the end. Sailor Moon is actually a heroine from a very popular manga of the same name in the 90s. She was originally a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino. So, by chance, she accidentally obtained magical powers and transformed into Sailor Moon, a guardian soldier who must save the Earth from dangerous evils. Later, she also formed a team called the Sailor Guardians, who fought villains to protect the Earth and the Solar System.

If you use the Elden Ring characters with Sailor Moon traits, it should be a lot of fun to tackle the game's many challenges! Come and try it for yourself!

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Sneaky YouTubers are pretending their simulated football games are actually the World Cup.

Clever YouTube channels have found a way to tap into World Cup fever, streaming fake football matches that have been simulated in FIFA 23. Some of these videos have racked up tens or even hundreds of thousands of views, most likely tricking people who are searching for live pirate streams of the World Cup (Google Trends confirms spiking interest in the term "World Cup stream" over the last week).

According to Vietnamese news site VNExpress, a reader noted that one such video streamed near the start of the World Cup fooled them into thinking it was simply a low quality stream. "It wasn't until I read the comments on the livestream and watched the player's face close-up that I knew it was the image in the FIFA 23 game simulating the World Cup," they said (via machine translation).

A YouTube channel called Minute90Kplus, which VNExpress highlighted, has recently uploaded a number of videos and livestreams of World Cup matchups simulated in eFootball (formerly PES) and FIFA 23. One stream, posted on Tuesday, racked up 214,000 views. The most popular, from eight days ago, has accrued 277,000—though based on YouTube's chat replay feature, it seems like there may never be many active viewers on these streams. If I had to guess, they're just tuning in long enough to figure out they're not looking at the real thing.

But eFootball21 and FIFA 23 can be pretty convincing, at least from a camera angle high above the pitch. Drop the quality down to 240p or so, and I can see how people could be fooled.

I found several other Vietnamese World Cup channels, though they're not always trying to completely hide that the footage is fake. Still, using the #WorldCup2022 hashtag suggests they're hoping to grab a piece of that World Cup traffic. FIFA claimed 3.57 billion people watched the 2018 World Cup, so there's a whole lot of attention to go around.

The simulated match trick is hardly exclusive to Vietnamese YouTube channels: English channel Football Live, for example, has 1.25 million subscribers thanks to the same scheme, and countless YouTubers film themselves watching the World Cup with titles like "BRAZIL vs SOUTH KOREA LIVE Stream Watchalong" to catch a few eyeballs, too. Because some of these videos throw you into a couple ads immediately before you can watch, they're guaranteed to get a little bit of ad revenue even from viewers who bounce as soon as they realize they're not actually going to watch the match.

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