The [Black Star Army Badge - Evolution] is a powerful tool for completing quests and running dungeons. Besides this item, there are other items that are disabled in various star systems, not just the Black Star Army.
"The qualifiers are almost over, and the official start of the league is just around the corner."
Han Xiao rubbed his fingers together, reopened the forum, and browsed the preliminary round information.
All players could register for the qualifiers. After three versions of operation and promotion, the number of players participating in the third edition was enormous. In the end, 40 teams and 64 individuals were selected for the regular season in each region. The elimination rate was astonishingly high, and the competition was extremely fierce.
As the saying goes, each version brings a new god, and with the addition of the Compression Ball Technology, the Mechanic Class rose to prominence in the third league, just like in its previous life, significantly improving its average performance in both team and individual matches.
Especially in individual competitions, the Mechanic Class, which was originally relatively weak in individual competitions, has now shone brightly in the qualifiers and has been promoted to a Tier 1 class.
The Mechanic Class field-filling combat power is indeed strong, but the downside is that it's too expensive. Players have finally encountered this bittersweet dilemma.
Looking across all regions, the strongest area for the Mechanic Class is the Shattered Star Ring region, which has become a local specialty. The Black Star Army is currently one of the best factions for Mechanic Class players.
Due to the rise of the Mechanic Class, many dark Mechanic Class emerged from this year's qualifiers.
However, this does not include Maple Moon. In her previous life, she only participated in the third edition and made a name for herself. But this time, she participated in the previous league ahead of time and even won a good ranking of 38th in the regional individual competition. Her development trajectory has been completely different.
Because of her good relationship with Frenzied Saber, Jiangcheng Club extended an offer to her early on and signed her before the qualifiers even started. So now Maple Moon is not a free agent, but a member of the Jiangcheng Team, and her status is already that of a professional player.
Whether it's character attributes, equipment, or personal skills, Maple Moon is a level above her previous self, firmly securing a place in the top 64 of the regular individual competition and qualifying for the next round.
It's worth mentioning that the Russian and Australian clubs in the Shattered Star Ring sent some core players to Sniping a team to participate in the qualifiers, aiming to eliminate as many strong teams as Huaxia.
While Sniping during a match isn't considered using underhanded tactics, and such actions against competitors are understandable, the exposure of such behavior still sparked considerable discontent among Huaxia players.
Your professional players stay in their own region and play, but you send some troublemakers to our region to cause chaos? You call yourselves big-name international clubs? You're really pathetic!
The teams sent by Russia and Australia faced resistance and targeting from Huaxia players. Because they were not professional teams and were not excessively strong, these Sniping were eliminated midway through the qualifiers.
Now that the players who have qualified from the qualifiers in each major region are basically clear, the official league is the stage for these players. As a result, a large number of players are enthusiastically analyzing the performance of these players in the qualifiers and posting various analysis posts. The forums are now basically flooded with these kinds of posts.
Han Xiao watched with great interest, recalling that he had received similar treatment in his past life.
After browsing the forum for a while, a new post suddenly appeared in the section and was immediately pinned to the top, attracting Han Xiao's attention.
I glanced at it and saw that this was a new episode of the Galaxy Times, a final promotional event to warm up for the official opening of the league. It was quite long and featured all the players who were slated to qualify, as well as professional teams from various clubs.
Master Han reads every single issue of the * Galaxy Times *, so he immediately clicked on it.
Male host. "Hello, fellow gamers! This is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing firsthand gaming information and supporting your gaming journey."
Female host. "The qualifiers are coming to an end, and the official league is just around the corner. Today, we are honored to have professional players from various clubs in the Shattered Star Ring region and all the players who qualified through the qualifiers for an interview. Please give them a round of applause."
Clap clap clap... (Applause and cheers added later)
Everyone logged on, showed their faces, and introduced themselves under the guidance of the host.
Female host. "Welcome to Galaxy Times. On behalf of all the players, I would like to congratulate you and Tu-Shu on securing your spots in the regular season. This year, we have many new faces. Some say that this year's qualifiers belong to the dark horses. Let me first interview the players who have made it into the regular season for the first time. What are your thoughts on making it into the highly anticipated regular season for the first time?"
The host interviewed all the newcomers, many of whom were familiar faces. In his previous life, a significant portion of these newcomers who rose to prominence in the third season joined professional teams. After some veteran players retired, these newcomers gradually became important members or even main players of the teams, holding positions equivalent to Li Ge and Hao Tian. Looking at the green faces of these newcomers now, Han Xiao felt quite refreshed.
After interviewing the newcomers, it was the turn of the professional teams. Finally, the main event was interviewed: the three teams that made it to the top eight in the previous international competition— Long Sky, Dynasty, and Jiangcheng.
"Captains Hao Tian, Kings and Generals, Frenzied Saber, you achieved excellent international rankings in the last league. Now that the third league is about to begin, are you feeling any pressure?"
Frenzied Saber nodded, "There is definitely pressure. The better our results, the more eyes will be on us, and even the slightest mistake will be Infinite. But there is also more motivation. We have a promising newcomer like Maple Moon, and the team is working together very well. We are very confident in this competition, and we will grow bigger and stronger, and create new glories."
"Alright, we also wish Jiangcheng even better results. And what about Long Sky and Dynasty? You were the international champions and international third-place finishers last year, respectively, and have received a lot of attention. What are your goals for this league? What ranking do you hope to achieve?"
Hao Tian said in a deep voice, "We have only one goal: to defend our title. Any achievement beyond that is a step backward."
The Kings and Generals, "Unfortunately, our only goal is to win the championship."
"It seems both captains are very confident and eager to bring back international trophies for Huaxia again," the female host said, diffusing the tension between the two.
The host continued the interview, focusing on topics related to preparations, and concluded by emphasizing the start date of the regular season and delivering a final wave of promotion.
After watching the program, Han Xiao glanced at the players' replies and saw that most people were optimistic.
[Lick Until the End and Have It All: We occupied three of the top eight spots in the last international competition. If it weren't for the Dynasty's bad luck, having to fight two rounds of internal battles and Tu Shu in a row, we might have been the runner-up!]
[Twin Lotus Flowers: What does it mean to be a top international team? (Leans back tactically)]
[A Cartload of Bread People: We have a great chance of defending our title. The Mechanic Class has risen in this version because of the Black Star Army. Our region's Mechanic Class is the strongest, which is our advantage. Our overall ranking will definitely be better.]
Where there are optimistic families, there are also those who disagree and pour cold water on things; no matter how few they are, their presence cannot be concealed.
[Rewind: Can you stop bragging? You got lucky and won a championship and you're already getting cocky, haha. I think they'll have a slim chance of even making the international top eight this year.]
[Dudu's Father: I really dislike these professional players being praised so highly. I don't know what's so great about them.]
[Hanzo: You should be happy with just one championship. Stop fantasizing about defending your title. It's unrealistic. I'm speechless.]
Han Xiao glanced at the comments and couldn't help but give them a thumbs up.
When it comes to stirring up hatred, these people are the experts.
The extensive promotion has generated unprecedented buzz for the third league, and as the opening day draws closer, players on the forums are becoming increasingly active.
A few days later, the opening ceremony arrived as scheduled, and the players' long-accumulated excitement finally erupted!
The opening match of the Shattered Star Ring region was between Long Sky and Dynasty, and the commentator was the extremely popular Meat Bun.
Even before the match officially started, the number of viewers on the live stream channel skyrocketed. Han Xiao, who was staying at headquarters, also immediately opened the forum to watch the opening match.