Darktide's Patch 11 has added Crossplay, a new Mission Modifier and buffed the useless Ogyrn Shield
- By Ash
- in News
[Update #2]: Darktide will be getting RPG-like talent trees and an Xbox version on October 4th.
[Update]: Darktide's August update is looking to fix long-standing issues like crafting locks.
While not quite as exciting as the previous update that brought with it two lengthy new maps to explore and a boss to square off against, Darktide's freshly released Patch 11 is still an important one due to it finally adding crossplay. As such, Steam and Game Pass players are now able to matchmake together, become friends and make parties. Unfortunately, there is a slight catch - there is no cross-progression. In other words, you currently aren't able to move your progress, DLCs or in-game currency from one platform to another.
Besides crossplay, you can also look forward to a new mission modifier called Elite Resistance. As the name might imply, Elite Resistance makes it so fewer enemies spawn throughout the mission, but most of the ones that do spawn are going to be far tougher than usual. Additionally, Specialists are going to be a lot more opportunistic than usual, so expect them to attack you specifically during the most hectic of moments. I haven't had a chance to try the new modifier just yet, but it definitely sounds like a fun little challenge!
Diablo 4 has massively buffed experience gains in Nightmare Dungeons and Helltides
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[Update #2]: Diablo 4's pre-season Patch 1.1 has brought with it a massive reduction in player power and survivability.
[Update]: Diablo 4's Season 1 will be launching on June 20th with new quests, items, boss and fresh start.
If you've been messing around with Diablo 4's endgame over the last few weeks, chances are you've noticed that that simply playing the game casually isn't exactly rewarding. This is especially apparent if you're trying to level up, since doing the incredibly challenging, high tier Nightmare Dungeons gives less experience than just roaming around a PvP zone and absentmindedly cleaning up elite pack after elite pack.
Thankfully, with today's Update #42677 this is now a thing of the past. I say this because the experience gain from killing monsters in Nightmare Dungeons has now been drastically increased, as has the experience awarded for actually completing the dungeon. While no exact numbers have been given, in my experience it seems to be a boost of around 80% or more. So if you're looking to push through to level 100, doing a couple of Nightmare Dungeons a day will get you there quite quickly, especially since you can now teleport to them directly!
MTG Arena's highly flavorful The Lord of the Rings crossover set has now been unleashed
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[Update #2]: The Wilds of Eldraine set has now arrived with a bunch of new cards, improved duplicate protection, as well as Alchemy rotation.
[Update]: MTG Arena is getting Khans of Tarkir in 2023, while Modern Horizons 3 and Pioneer Masters will be coming in 2024.
After testing the waters with two Dungeons & Dragons themed expansions, Wizards of the Coast has now finally decided to take the plunge by releasing a sizable crossover set based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. For MTG Arena this means that there's a bunch of new cards to play around with in the Alchemy and Historic formats, a fresh Mastery pass and the usual assortment of cosmetic goodies, new Jump In decks to smash together, and naturally, the full suite of limited events like Draft and Sealed.
Since Tales of Middle-earth is supposed to be an introductory set and an onboarding tool for new players, there aren't that many new mechanics to talk about. In fact, the only noteworthy addition is "The Ring Tempts You". Whenever this happens you'll have to choose a creature as your Ring-bearer (if possible), as well as gain or upgrade The Ring emblem that will grant your Ring-bearers special powers. These powers are gained in sequential order and they all work together, so a fully upgraded emblem will grant your Ring-bearer all of the following abilities:
Deep Rock Galactic's Season 4 has arrived with new enemies, boss, jet boots, and an arcade cabinet
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update #2]: Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is a surprisingly challenging roguelite auto-shooter spin-off.
[Update]: Deep Rock Galactic's Space Beach Party event has arrived with festive decorations, silly hats and doubled Battle Pass experience.
After a surprisingly long stretch of teasers and previews, Deep Rock Galactic's much-anticipated Season 4: Critical Corruption has now finally arrived. The free update brings with it a wide assortment of new enemies to shred into tiny little pieces, both variations of existing ones and entirely new creatures. You can also look forward to a gnarly new boss, an arcade cabinet loaded with the classic Jetty Boot game, a whole bunch of improvements and balance tweaks, and most importantly, Jet Boots!
Before you get too excited, it's important to mention that these Jet Boots are only temporary and not a part of anyone's regular equipment. To use them you'll first need to locate a special crate somewhere in a mission, hack it by playing the completely original Jetty Boot mini-game, and then slap them on. Once you've done that you'll be able to fly around to your heart's content throughout that entire mission, and even burn enemies by flying over them!
Vermintide 2 has added three lengthy (and free) maps based on the original's Karak Azgaraz DLC
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[Update #2]: Many years after being canceled, Vermintide 2's PvP Versus mode is coming back.
[Update]: Vermintide 2 will be adding Sienna's completely unexpected Necromancer career on October 19th.
After Darktide released I figured Vermintide 2's updates would start to peter out, perhaps culminating with Sienna's long-awaited fourth career. However, in a refreshing twist, not only has Fatshark not abandoned Vermintide 2 in favor of its minty fresh ‘sequel’, but they have actually redoubled their efforts!
And so, a mere two months after the last big update, the Vermintide 2 team has now unleashed another batch of maps to explore! This time around you can look forward to three freshly remastered (and heavily edited) levels from the original's Karak Azgaraz DLC, as well as a couple of new challenges and cosmetics to seek out along the way. Best of all, it's all free!
Dota 2 is getting rid of its Battle Pass and instead focusing on more frequent updates
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- in News
[Update #2]: Dota 2 devs have started up a new blog detailing development challenges and interesting bug fixes.
[Update]: Dota 2's Patch 7.33e has brought in nerfs to most of the overperforming heroes from the Bali Major.
Out of all the Battle Pass systems I've interacted with over the years, I'd argue that Dota 2's is one of the absolute worst. Progressing through it is slow and extremely grindy, the majority of the actually interesting cosmetics are locked behind high levels that can only be reached by spending copious amounts of money, and a solid 90% of the 'rewards' are either useless filler or quite literally nothing. Even after getting it for free thanks to Valve's giveaway last year, I found the whole thing to just be highly disappointing.
As such, I am delighted to say that Valve has now announced they're giving up on the whole Battle Pass system! Not only that, but they're also aiming to refocus their efforts on adding more elaborate events and gameplay updates, such as the absurdly massive Update 7.33 that expanded the map and reworked many core mechanics.
It looks like Overwatch 2's downsized PvE content will be locked behind a $15 purchase
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: Overwatch 2's July 11th update has added Summer Games 2023, a new Team Queue mode, and a variety of buffs
As a part of a recent announcement, the Overwatch 2 team revealed that they will be drastically downscaling the scope and amount of the long-awaited PvE missions. Furthermore, the unique and powerful talents first shown during the reveal trailer many years back have been cut entirely, and with them a fair bit of potential replay value as well.
Instead, a couple of new Story Missions will be introduced as seasonal content every once in a while, starting with the upcoming Season 6. The first batch of mission will have us face off against Null Sector yet again, this time in an effort to prevent them from seemingly trying to brainwash innocent Omnics. While the exact details are still few and far between, the gameplay shown so far makes them appear like slightly more spruced up Archives-style missions. Nothing too groundbreaking, but still a fun little diversion from the endless competitive PvP.