- Helldivers 2 avoided PvP to reduce toxicity, so of course some players are being toxic anyway by fighting over shared resources and team-killing to steal weapons Gamesradar
- Helldivers 2 Players Are Kicking Teammates Who Don’t Have ‘Meta’ Loadouts IGN
- Helldivers 2 Should Be Enjoyed, Not Optimized Or Farmed Kotaku
- Helldivers 2’s first big war isn’t suffering because of tough evac missions or medal-hoarding farmers—it’s the pass-or-fail reward structure that’s spoiling the fun PC Gamer
- As Helldivers 2 players lose ground to Automatons, attention turns to the XP farmers not helping: “We are handing bots planets like candy on Halloween” Gamesradar
Tag Archives: PvP
A PvP Analysis on the Community Day Slowpoke Family | Pokémon GO Hub – Pokémon GO Hub
- A PvP Analysis on the Community Day Slowpoke Family | Pokémon GO Hub Pokémon GO Hub
- Pokemon Go Field Notes: Slow and Slower Special Research tasks & rewards Dexerto
- All Field Notes: Slow and Slower Slowpoke Community Day Special Research tasks and rewards in Pokémon Go Dot Esports
- Take a GO Snapshot of Slowpoke and win V-Battle Decks and Pokéball Tins | Pokémon GO Hub Pokémon GO Hub
- Shiny Slowpoke evolution chart, 100% perfect IV stats with Slowking and Slowbro best movesets in Pokémon Go Eurogamer.net
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Elden Ring’s PvP Colosseums Are Fun And Easy With These Tips
Elden Ring got a free PvP expansion with update 1.08’s December 7 rollout, which opened up three colosseums in the Lands Between, all ready for your spilled blood. I returned to developer FromSoftware’s open world after a long vacation (I hadn’t touched it since the spring, I needed to experience other games with in-universe indoor plumbing) to test it out, and was surprised by how much fun I had, even as decidedly not a “PvP person.”
Each colosseum, all empty and fairly nondescript battlegrounds in Limgrave, Leyndell, and Caelid, houses a different type of conflict. Leyndell’s Royal Colosseum contains a 1v1 “Duel Mode” with no respawn, the Limgrave Colosseum offers “United Combat” 2v2 with respawn or “Combat Ordeal” free-for-all with respawn, and the Caelid Colosseum has the previously mentioned modes with the added ability to summon Spirit Ashes.
Read More: Elden Ring’s Colosseum Update Arrives With Three New PvP Modes
And along with colosseums, the update brought a few necessary balance changes (and five new-but-Eurocentric hairstyles), which I think help level the playing field, despite a few immediate deaths on my end. In any case, I’ll gather my scattered bones and talk you through what you need to know about Elden Ring’s PvP refresh.
How do I access Elden Ring’s PvP colosseums?
Tricky FromSoftware wasn’t going to let you have your Roman fun that easily—you have to break down the gristle before you eat. But unlocking all three colosseums isn’t difficult, as long as you know where to go.
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- Limgrave Colosseum: from the Warmaster’s Shack site of grace, head north toward the circular building (aka the colosseum) by the shore. Open the main door and touch the stake of Marika inside to enter a match.
- Leyndell Colosseum: start at the Leyndell, Capital of Ash site of grace, and head southwest until you’re behind the dead dragon. Jump onto the ruins, head up the ladder, continue straight, then west along the mountain path until you reach the large doors. Open them and touch Marika’s effigy.
- Caelid Colosseum: You’ll need to start at the slightly arcane Deep Siofra Well site of grace. Ride your horse west around the mountain pass, past the big guys trying to kill you with giant arrows, and behind the large, disappointed-seeming jar. Open the door there, touch the effigy.
After you access all three colosseums for the first time, they’ll be available for fast travel. Go to the Roundtable Hold—a smaller Marika statue to the right of the fireplace in the main room will let you choose your combat mode and venue.
What balance changes should I expect?
FromSoftware altered some builds’ power, so players’ fixation on thrust weapons has definitely abated. According to update notes, these are the following colosseum balance changes:
- Thrust weapons have reduced counterattack damage
- Some weapon types elicit reduced guard efficiency for attacks performed with a raised shield
- Straight Swords, Thrusting Swords, Heavy Thrusting Swords, Curved Swords, Axes, Spears, Twinblade Swords, Katanas all have reduced poise damage
- Bestial Sling also has reduced poise damage (but people still love to spam it!)
- Carian Slicer is less powerful
What’s the best PvP build right now?
There doesn’t seem to be one build above the rest at the moment. People are vibing, letting their Spirit Ashes take care of each other in “Pokémon” battles and one-shotting you with their black magic.
Because of prevailing one-shots, I would recommend you opt for sweeping, ultra powerful attacks that can hold their own like Dragonfire, Collapsing Stars, and Giantsflame Take Thee, or weapons like Twinblades or a Curved Sword.
And if I really had to choose the best build… not pure strength, I’ll tell you that much. My Great Hammer-wielding, level 134 character died instantly trying to get close to some spellcasters, and I’ve noticed that fast, blood-letting, and dexterity-scaling weapons are most popular. Sluggish strength weapons struggle against them, though I was able to eliminate opponents in three hits when they finally let me land some.
But, I don’t know, I still had fun while losing. It’s certainly amusing to try shit out, especially in password-protected combat rooms where you can coordinate with your friends. I made my friend engage in torch-only warfare, for example, and learned that the Torchpole is much more punishing than the Torch. I also found that the rot-inducing Scorpion’s Stinger is a funny thing to whip out when you’ve agreed to a bare knuckle fistfight. Now you learned it, too.
I wouldn’t worry about what attacks should be considered “toxic,” or OP, or recommended builds, or whatever—this is a really relaxed update, and more than anything else, I think you should just try to enjoy yourself.
A Quick PvP Analysis on Community Day Alolan Golem
Hello again, fellow PvPers! Community Day is upon us, so this comes to some of you JUST in time for the event. Sorry about that, but Niantic waited longer than even THEY usually do to finalize the stats for the new exclusive move, so I got a VERY late start myself!
There is NO time to waste, so let’s just get right to this month’s Community Day spotlight Pokémon and examine its merits in PvP, both with AND without its new exclusive move. Time to put ALOLAN GOLEM… under the lights!
First, as I’ve been doing of late, let’s start with our TL;DR — our Bottom Line Up Front — FIRST!
B.L.U.F.
- Even with the very nice last minute buff to Rollout, it would seem that existing Volt Switch is generally still the preferred move, but not always!
- There ARE formats where Rock damage will be preferred (those with many Ice or Bug types, for example), and/or the crazy high energy that comes from Rollout (now the highest energy move behind only Lock-On). It IS worth trying to land a couple good Rollout specimens while you can. I highlight below specific areas where it stands out, and there ARE several notable ones in Great and Ultra Leagues. Don’t worry so much about Master League A-Golem though… this doesn’t really move the needle for it there.
Due to the VERY last minute nature of the stat change, I had to scrap an entire article written with the assumed stats and crank this one out in like an hour and a half. It covers the main points, but is NOT as fully extensive as normal… I am quite literally just out of time before other obligations. So please bear with me as I rush through to get you the key info. I’ll try to answer other questions as I can, and keep digging when time allows, but this is likely all I’ll get to before Community Day starts kicking off around the globe. I apologize for any gaps you were hoping I could fill and any extra grammatical errors, but I did my best with what I had to work with. Sorry!
Let’s get right to it….
ALOLAN GOLEM – Stats and Moves
Great League Stats
| Attack | Defense | HP |
|---|---|---|
| 125 (123 High Stat Product) | 122 (123 High Stat Product) | 117 (119 High Stat Product) |
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 1-14-15, 1498 CP, Level 19)
Ultra League Stats
| Attack | Defense | HP |
|---|---|---|
| 162 (159 High Stat Product) | 155 (160 High Stat Product) | 153 (154 High Stat Product) |
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-15-15, 2498 CP, Level 33.5)
Master League Stats
| Attack | Defense | HP |
|---|---|---|
| 179 (190 at Level 50) | 168 (179 at Level 50) | 162 (172 at Level 50) |
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; CP 2949 at Level 40; CP 3334 at Level 50)
Very average stats, slightly favoring offense over defense. It is slightly less bulky (and very slightly more Attack-centric) than things like Swampert, Venusaur, Pelipper, and Talonflame, and very slightly bulkier than Trevenant… and at least in Great and Ultra League, its overall Attack and bulk are right in line with Togekiss and Empoleon. Just to give you some rough frames of reference of where it stacks up.
As for the typing… that’s much more unique. The Alolan Geodude/Graveler/Golem family are the only Rock/Electric types in the franchise. (There’s not even a Rock-based version of Electric-catch-all Rotom… I checked! ⚡)
ᴱ – Exclusive (Community Day) Move
Fast Moves
- Volt Switch – Electric type, 3.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 2.0 CoolDown
- Rolloutᴱ – Rock type, 1.33 DPT, 4.67 EPT, 1.5 CD
- Rock Throw – Rock type, 4.0 DPT, 2.5 EPT, 1.0 CD
So up until, like, moments before I wrote this very sentence (and had to scrap and quickly start rewriting wide swaths of this article), Rollout was assumed to be a clone of Electric fast move Spark, with 2.0 DPT and 4.0 EPT, which would have left it basically strictly inferior to Volt Switch (same energy gains, but 50% less damage). There were a handful of matchups where Rollout would have had an advantage in that case (versus things like Abomasnow due to type effectiveness, or Gengar in Master League where the long cooldown of Volt Switch meant that it lost but Rollout could win), but overall it was basically to be all Volt Switch, (nearly) all the time.
NOW though, Rollout enters the game with the second-highest energy generation behind only the insane 5.0 EPT (1.0 DPT) Lock-On. Better than Snarl and Bullet Seed, better than Poison Sting and Psycho Cut and Mud Shot and Thunder Shock, better than everything else except Lock-On. And THAT should help further distinguish it from Volt Switch.
But is that in a positive way? Let’s add in the charge moves and see…
Charge Moves
- Rock Blast – Rock type, 50 damage, 40 energy
- Wild Charge – Electric type, 100 damage, 45 energy, Decreases User Defense -2 Stages
- Stone Edge – Rock type, 100 damage, 55 energy
So we have to ways to go now depending on the selected fast move. Volt Switch deals significantly more damage on its own than Rollout and applies some nice pressure on its own as it rips big chunks of life away with each hit. Rollout obviously applies practically no fast move pressure but gets to charge moves lickity split. Rock Blast is ready after just three Rollouts (42 energy in 9 turns, or 4.5 seconds of real-time) or three Volt Switches (48 energy in 12 turns/6 seconds), and Stone Edge is ready after just one additional Rollout (14 more energy for a total of 56, and only 3 turns/1.5 more seconds), while Volt Switch ALSO requires one additional to way overcharge at 64 energy (and another 4 turns/2 seconds). Rollout is much more consistent in hitting the Rock charge moves in a timely and consistent manner.
Wild Charge gets a little tricky, though. Requiring only 45 energy, the three Volt Switches required for the first Rock Blast results in 48 energy, so you COULD fire off a Wild Charge instead, while with Rollout, three results in only 42 energy, so an additional one is still needed to (over)charge to 56, with which you could just fire off Stone Edge if you had it anyway. Hmmmm. However, in terms of turns/seconds, they both reach the energy required for Wild Charge at the same time (12 turns/6 real-time seconds). So not surprisingly, overall advantage in charge move usage goes to Rollout. Just thought it was interesting to briefly note HOW they got there.
In the interest of time (which is QUICKLY ticking down now 🕚😬), gonna leave the other interesting bits of comparing charge moves for another day and just jump right into the numbers!
GREAT LEAGUE
So very briefly, a look at where you start with Volt Switch.
- With both Rock charge moves, you beat all the core meta’s major Flyers and Fires, all Ice-types but Lapras and its dang Surf, Bugs like Galvantula and Araquanid, and bonuses like Cresselia, Venusaur, Sableye, Drapion, Jellicent and Politoed (albeit JUST barely), and the major Charmers.
- With Wild Charge plus Rock Blast for baits, Abomasnow and Venusaur slip away, as well as Altaria (neutral to Electric, remember, but takes super effective versus Rock). Interestingly, so does Cresselia, as Rock Blast doesn’t have knockout power and Wild Charge leaves A-Golem vulnerable, but Stone Edge does the job without hobbling A-Golem. BUT, Wild Charge picks up Cofagrigus, as well as all moveset combinations of Azumarill, which is a big deal.
There’s our starting point. What does Rollout do?
It looks very slightly better with double Rock charge moves (gaining Abomasnow and Charm Alolan Ninetales as compared to Wild Charge/Rock Blast, which uniquely beats Play Rough/Hydro Pump Azumarill instead), but it obviously lags behind Volt Switch sets, no longer able to beat Venusaur, Sableye, Jellicent, Politoed, Cresselia, Cofagrigus, Wigglytuff, or any Azumarill with Ice Beam. The one plus is that it DOES now consistently outrace Lapras, as well as Altaria regardless of whether utilizing Stone Edge or Wild Charge, but that seems a small consolation. I literally don’t have time to lay out all the details — sorry! 🕚 — but I DID look into shieldless and 2v2 shielding scenarios, and Rollout is a slight downgrade in the former and much less of an upgrade (really more of a sidegrade) than I hoped for even in 2v2 shielding. Obviously, Rollout DOES have the energy advantage that helps in certain spots, but generally it seems that in Great League, Volt Switch still manages to keep pace (or even outpace) because of the extra fast move damage that racks up as you race to those charge moves. And it’s not THAT far behind in energy gains anyway.
So… sidegrade, one that will have more applications in formats where shields and/or Rock charge moves matter (like Ice- and Bug-filled formats). Worth getting, but Volt Switch A-Golem (and A-Graveler, for that matter!) aren’t going anywhere.
ULTRA LEAGUE
In Ultra League, running with Volt Switch, Stone Edge and Wild Charge remain close, with Edge beating down Aboma and Alolan Ninetales (type effectiveness) as well as Greedent and Umbreon (lack of self-nerfing), and Wild Charge instead overpowering Empoleon, Cofagrigus, and Alolan Muk (with Snarl… either Edge or Charge take down Poison Jab A-Muk). Again, just table-setting. Alolan Golem with Volt Switch is arguably a little underrated in Ultra already.
Rollout similarly has some differences depending on charge move selection. Again assuming Rock Blast is Move #1 for baiting, Wild Charge uniquely takes out Empoleon, Politoed, and Scizor thanks to type advantages, and Granbull thanks to sheer speed-to-damage ratio. But it overall takes a back seat to Stone Edge, which instead smacks down Abomasnow (regular and Shadow), Greedent, Poison Jab A-Muk, Drapion, and Dragonite.
But what is much more interesting is what happens when you forgo Rock Blast and just run with both bombs. While the overall results still trail the higher potential of Volt Switch (missing out on things Switch can beat like Walrein, Umbreon, Escavalier, Sylveon, and Tapu Fini), the performance DOES keep up with the best that Rock Blast sets could do, preserving all the same wins except Scizor, Shadow Dragonite, and Jellicent (all of which miss being able to properly bait). But Abomasnow, Drapion, A-Muk, Empoleon, Politoed, Greedent, non-Shadow ‘Nite… they’re all there. I daresay this might be THE preferred set for Rollout A-Golem in Ultra League now, and it’s thanks to the higher energy gains. Volt Switch with both closers suffers a notable dropoff as compared to Volt Switch operating with Rock Blast baits, but Rollout does not.
So again… recommend getting an Ultra League A-Golem with Rollout, yes. Perhaps even a couple. Volt Switch still reigns supreme overall, but you may find you actually enjoy Rollout and double KO moves more.
MASTER LEAGUE
Okay, this’ll be quick.
Technically Rollout is overall an upgrade… in Master League Premier Classic. It gains Avalugg, Gengar, and all varieties of Dragonite as compared to Volt Switch, which instead beats Milotic and this little walrus you may have heard of lately called Walrein. But uh… yeah, I still don’t think you really want it. A-Golem’s overall CP and stats are just a little low for this level of play. And don’t even look into Open ML… yeeeesh. Spice, at best, and Volt Switch is a bit better anyway.
TIME’S UP!
Major apologies again for the rushed nature of this… not going into the various shielding scenarios and all I would normally. But it literally could not be helped with the 11th and half hour nature of how they changed everything up with Rollout, sorry! I’ll pop out another analysis on things like Miltank and Dunsparce and others that may benefit from this move in the near future, but for now, I need to keep it to just Alolan Golem as time is about up!
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with near-daily PvP analysis nuggets or Patreon.
Thanks for your faithful readership, and good hunting this weekend! Don’t forget your Pinaps, and stay safe out there! Catch you next time, Pokéfriends.
0.235.0 APK Breakdown: Mega Legendary Egg, more on Routes, PvP updates, and more!
Hello Trainers! Pokémon GO 0.235.0 update is currently rolling out to a device near you and it brings with it some pretty neat updates under the hood.
💡 Disclaimer: You know the drill by now, everything in this article is data mined, and therefore subject to change or not even being released at all. All of this information is publicly provided by the PokéMiners and is included along with some of my own commentary.
New Assets
That’s a pretty awesome background they’ve made for the Mega Tutorial.
Mega Updates
Mega Legendary Raids
RAID_LEVEL_MEGA_5 LegendaryMega
Mega Legendary Raids have been added. Well, at least the egg has.
New Search
BY_MEGA
You’ll be able to search Pokémon in your Pokébox by Mega Level.
Mega GUI Update
ShowMegaLevelUp _megaLevelUpContainer megaLevelUpGuiPrefab quickMegaEvoGuiPrefab megaEvoCostDialogPrefab freeMegaVisibility MegaPerkConfig cooldownFillColor cooldownEmptyColor ShowRainbowBlur
This looks like the rest of the Mega GUI
Mega Evolve Button Locations
POKEMON_DETAILS RAID_LOBBY GYM_BATTLE_LOBBY NPC_COMBAT_LOBBY PLAYER_COMBAT_LOBBY
All of the locations you’ll potentially be able to Mega evolve a Pokémon.
Sleep & Pokemon GO Plus Updates
DeviceConnectState ScannedWearableDevice StartDevicePlugin wearablesMenuRoot
They’ve renamed the Plus connection state to the more generic “Device” There’s also a new wearables menu.
Auto Spin / Auto Throw
AutoModeConfigType NO_AUTO_MODE SPIN_AUTO_MODE THROW_AUTO_MODE set_WainaAutoThrowEnabled set_WainaAutoSpinEnabled
It appears that auto catch and auto throw are only set up for the new Plus Plus device.
Sleep Device Logs
UpdateAutoModeConfig RequestWainaDeviceReadSettings ForcePairingUserDialogCallback EnableSleepLogging SetSleepLogFlag SetCurrentTime pairingCode SetPairingCode SetAlwaysAdvertising ReadUnreadSleepLogs
It looks like your sleep logs will be kept on the device, and the game will request them from the device when it syncs with the game.
Route Updates
Badges
BADGE_TOTAL_ROUTE_PLAY BADGE_UNIQUE_ROUTE_PLAY
The badges previously mined have been added to the APK.
Travellers (NPCs)
TRAVELER_FEMALE TRAVELER_MALE
Two new models of NPCs were added as well. These will likely be the NPCs you encounter on the routes.
Official Routes
set_RouteName .set_IsOfficial
It looks like we’ll get official routes as well. Likely for in-person events like Go Fest or Safari Zone.
Routes Page
routeMedalGuiPrefab routeMedalWidgetPrefab routeMedalPreviewList medalsPage countText enhancedScroller medalListLinePrefab sortButtonData currentSortButtonImage currentSortButtonArrowImage
There will be a page you can view your routes medals. You’ll be able to sort them as well. Recent, Alphabetical, Distance?
Route Details
CompletedRouteMedalWidget poiImage nameText officialTag
When you tap on a route you’ll be able to see the details about it. Including the name and image, and it’ll have a tag if it’s official.
Pause & Resume
PlayRouteButtonOnClick PlayRouteButtonOnPointerUp routeProgressUnpausedSprite routeProgressPausedSprite
It looks like you’ll be able to pause and resume routes while you’re on them.
Route Expiry
add_IsCurrentRouteExpired remove_IsCurrentRouteExpired
Apparently, routes can expire. There’s no indication of what triggers the expiration. So we’ll have to wait and see if routes are time-sensitive by default, or if they can be set to expire. I would imagine that the official event routes will be set to expire once events end, like at the end of each Go Fest day or the end of Go Fest weekend. That sort of thing.
POI’s closed for Routes
get_IsClosedForRoutes
POI’s will be able to be closed for Routes, and the POI will have an indicator that displays that.
Routes on the Nearby
ROUTES
This was added to the deep linking. The routes will appear to the left of the nearby Pokémon. You’ll also be able to get a notification that, when clicked, will take you directly to the tab.
New Moves
Rollout
V0368_MOVE_ROLLOUT_FAST
Rollout is a Rock-type move introduced in Gen II. It can be learned by a lot of Pokémon. I personally think this will be a Geodude Community Day move, with it being Kanto Golem’s move.
Brutal Swing
V0367_MOVE_BRUTAL_SWING
Brutal swing is a dark-type move introduced in Gen VII. It can be learned by a lot of Pokémon, notable Pokémon include Guzzlord and Hydreigon (Community day move?)
PvP Updates
WebSocket / PubSub Additions
COMBAT_DEFENSIVE_MINI_GAME_DECIDED COMBAT_DEFENSIVE_MINI_GAME_SERVER_RESPONSE
The option to shield or not is now part of the PVP WebSocket / PubSub system.
Shield Canvas
shieldUiCanvasGroup shieldFailCanvasGroup shieldFailText shieldFailDisplayTimeSec
Some canvas groups were added to the shield UI. This will likely lead to some tweaks to the way shields look.
Timing Functions
get_ServerNowMs get_CommunicationServerNowMs get_GetRealDeviceTime AssignTimeAccessor
More timing functions to keep the game in sync with the server.
Candy Colour Updates
PokemonCandyColorData
CandyColors
{
"FamilyId": 1,
"PrimaryColor": {
"r": 0.215987027,
"g": 0.797,
"b": 0.659303248,
"a": 1.0
},
"SecondaryColor": {
"r": 0.6313726,
"g": 0.9843137,
"b": 0.509803951,
"a": 1.0
}
},
It looks like there’s a new way for the game to calculate candy colours. Above is an example. You’ll be able to find the full set of changes on the PokéMiners repo soon.
Gift Updates
POSTCARD_SAVED_BY_FRIEND postcardNotificationDisplayWidgetPrefab
Notification for when a friend saves a postcard from a gift you sent them. You’ll be shown what postcard it was, and the sticker that was attached to it.
Ad Updates
Niantic.Holoholo.Sponsored.ImpressionTracking AdvertisingIdentifierCallback advertisingId trackingEnabled get_ImpressionTrackingSettings set_ImpressionTrackingSettings FULL_SCREEN_AD_VIEW FULL_SCREEN_POI_INSPECTION POKESTOP_SPINNER_ APPROACH_GYM APPROACH_RAID
Tracking settings for ads so they can track who’s watching the ads, and full-screen ads. You wanted full-screen ads, right?
GM Settings Update
get_GarbageCollectionSettings get_SuppressPopups
Guzzlord confirmed! No, but seriously… Garbage collection refers to removing unused items from memory, so it’s odd they’ve set it up to be controlled remotely.
That’s all for now folks, stay safe out there!
Elden Ring’s most overpowered PvP build nerfed in new patch
Elden Ring’s new patch, version 1.03, made a handful of overpowered weapons and summons in FromSoftware’s new game less effective, much to the frustration of players who relied on certain swords, ashes, and character builds. But the new patch also fixed Elden Ring’s most game-breaking build of all by fixing a bug with a problematic spell — and if you’ve played or watched any Elden Ring PvP, you’ve probably seen players get instantly wrecked by it.
That build is, of course, the combination of the Fire’s Deadly Sin incantation paired with the Eclipse Shotel curved sword. Using those two items in tandem pre-patch let invaders win games without any semblance of skill; Fire’s Deadly Sin amplified the Eclipse Shotel’s unique skill, Death Flare, in such dramatic fashion that users of that setup never needed to actually touch their opponent. Simply being near them sent opponents into a death-blighted state — aka instant death.
FromSoftware’s patch notes say the team fixed a bug which caused Fire’s Deadly Sin to have a different effect.
That bug fix may also address an extremely overpowered spell and shield combo. Pairing Fire’s Deadly Sin with the Erdtree Greatshield — and its Golden Retaliation skill — was also immensely overpowered in PvE situations. Here’s a video from YouTuber DragooX, with examples of just how broken Fire’s Deadly Sin was.
Amusingly, some players are still going into PvP situations using the Fire’s Deadly Sin/Eclipse Shotel recipe unaware that they’re no longer the death-blighting machines they once were. (The below video from the Elden Ring subeddit shows that the Rivers of Blood katana and its Corpse Piler skill are still a force to be reckoned with in PvP, in case you need a new build.)
Elsewhere, Elden Ring players are lamenting the loss of a couple other overpowered items. FromSoftware has seen fit to decrease the damage of the Sword of Night and Flame (and its weapon skill) and the damage of the Mimic Tear Ash summon (even though it is still quite effective at drawing aggro from enemies).
Suffice it to say, Elden Ring players who rely solely on specific builds or techniques to achieve peak power in the game might want to explore other opportunities. FromSoftware has a history of rebalancing weapons, spells, and other offensive abilities in its games, and patch 1.03 is likely just the start of its work.
Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 PvP Open Beta To Launch This April
Today, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2, the long-awaited sequel to its team-based hero shooter, isn’t dead and has a closed PvP beta out in late April.
Although Overwatch 2 was hyped up for its inclusion of PvE gameplay–a game mode only playable in the first game during seasonal events like Junkenstein’s Revenge–its closed beta will only feature PvP. Overwatch 2’s game director, Aaron Keller, explained in an update video that Overwatch 2’s “decoupling” of PvE and PvP content was to provide the team more time to work on PvE, while getting new PvP content into players’ hands sooner.
“Today’s change and approach enables us to deliver frequent PvP content to the live game, with the goal of far-exceeding Overwatch’s previous rate of content release, and making the live game the most vibrant and dynamic PvP experience anywhere,” Keller said.
Overwatch 2’s alpha test, which will primarily involve Overwatch League players and Blizzard employees, comes out today. Everyone else will be able to play Overwatch 2 and provide feedback by opting into the closed beta, due to arrive in late April. Here’s a rundown of what the closed beta will feature:
- Reduced team size from 6v6 to 5v5
- Four new maps
- Circuit Royal (Escort Map)Midtown (Hybrid Map)New Queen Street (New Push Map)Colosseo (New Push Map)
- New ping system
- The long-awaited debut of the 31 hero Sojourn
- Hero reworks (something Overwatch has overindulged with in the past) to Bastion, Doomfist, Orisa, and Sombra.
Overwatch 2 was first announced way back in 2019 at Blizzcon, alongside a cinematic and gameplay trailer. The trailers not only showcased new character models, but teased the game’s focus on having an in-game storyline, something the series often retconned in its previous game. Its announcement suggested very promising additions to the series, but at that time the Overwatch team didn’t provide information on the game’s release date.
Fans began to worry that the game would never come out, something exacerbated by the company’s radio silence over the matter, while its lead writer Michael Chu and beloved game director Jeff Kaplan left the company in 2020 and 2021 respectively. On top of all that, there was Activision Blizzard’s ongoing lawsuit, where the company has been accused of fostering a “frat boy” work culture, where women across multiple studios are alleged to have been sexually harassed, assaulted, and psychologically traumatized.
Read More: Everything That Has Happened Since The Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Was Filed
Last year’s BlizzConline did feature an Overwatch 2 panel showing its updated character models, but the game went concerningly unmentioned during the event’s opening keynotes. This caused increased concern among fans, who were getting very wary. This lack of information, and the stretches of silence, are something Keller acknowledged in his recent video.
“I want to thank our players for your continued support,’’ Keller said. “We recognize we haven’t communicated well, haven’t kept you up to date, and honestly, we’ve let you down when it comes to delivering Overwatch content. We hear you and we’re committed to more continual updates on all things Overwatch 2.”
Overwatch 2 is slated to release sometime in 2023.
Elden Ring Fans Think DLC Could Include a PvP Mode
Elden Ring fans are debating the meaning of a few curiously locked parts of The Lands Between, with many concluding that they’ll be used for PvP or Boss Rush DLC additions (although the latter seems much less likely).
Warning: This article contains small spoilers for Elden Ring locations.
It’s very possible that you’ll have stumbled across one or more of the Colosseums in The Lands Between, and subsequently been a bit confused about why you can’t get inside.
The game’s opening area, Limgrave, includes a Colosseum, guarded by an NPC invader you have to defeat in order to claim two of the game’s multiplayer items. However, the Colosseum itself remains closed, with a ghostly figure sat outside wondering why they can’t get in.
FromSoft dataminer Lance McDonald has now released a video showing what’s inside that Colosseum, which is a fully realised area, complete with an arena, stands for spectators, and elevators. There are Colosseums found in multiple parts of the map, too.
While some see this as simple cut content, many (including McDonald) have speculated that the areas will be used for future DLC. Many see this as a natural way of adding a full PvP mode to the game. While PvP invasions are a working part of the game, there’s currently no dedicated area for players to test their mettle against one another, as in other Souls games.
Others have speculated that the areas could be used for a Boss Rush mode, allowing you to replay fights against Elden Ring’s many, many bosses. However, this seems far less likely, given that producer Yasuhiro Kitao previously told GamerBraves that the team isn’t currently planning to add such a feature.
You can expect any possible expansion DLC to be months away at least, but given how huge Elden Ring is, you’ll probably have enough to keep you occupied for some time.
We’ve got tons of How-To guides for the game on our Elden Ring Wiki. If you need convincing to pick it up, check out our full 10/10 review.
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends multiplayer getting standalone release and Rivals PvP mode
Ghost of Tsushima’s Legends multiplayer mode is getting a bunch of new content in the weeks ahead, starting with a new 2v2 PvP mode called Rivals out September 3.
Darren Bridges of developer Sucker Punch outlined the studio’s redoubled plans for Legends in a new blog post. Rivals will be a free update for all current Legends players, and like the rest of the mode, it will support cross-play and cross-progression between PS4 and PS5.
Rivals was described as a 2v2 PvPvE mode where teams compete to slay waves of enemies to collect and deposit Magatama which can “harm the other team.” If that sounds a lot like Gambit from Destiny 2, that’s because it is a lot like Gambit from Destiny 2, at least at first blush.
“You can spend Magatama on Shades to block your opponents’ purchases, Curses (health drain, exploding bodies, etc), Hwacha fire, and more,” Bridges explained. “Once you’ve spent enough Magatama, you’ll unlock Final Stand waves. Complete these before the opposing team to win!”
Rivals will launch alongside a bigger update which will raise the gear level cap from 110 to 120. By binding a level 110 piece of gear to a class completing new mastery challenges, players can add a second perk slot to their gear and unlock new abilities and techniques for the bound classes.
Ahead of the September 3 drop, Sucker Punch will push out a more general update on August 20 alongside the Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut (you won’t need to actually purchase the Director’s Cut DLC to get the update). This will make “some changes based on feedback from the community,” Bridges says, like shortening Survival mode and adding weekly challenges to it, and adding more Legends cosmetics awarded from Jin’s story in the base game.
If you don’t already own Ghost of Tsushima, you’ll also be able to purchase Legends individually going forward. Legends will cost $19.99 / €19.99 / £15.99 on the PlayStation Store for PS4 and PS5, and apart from a few cosmetics tied to the main game’s campaign, Bridges says it’s got all “the same Legends content.” The studio will also offer an upgrade package for players who decide to get the main game after buying Legends, which will go for $40/€50 /£44 on PS4 and $50/€60/£54 on PS5.
How Ghost of Tsushima’s upcoming Iki Island shows “a different viewpoint on the Mongol expansion.”