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Baldur’s Gate 3 Character Customization Details Revealed, Devs Comment on Game Master Mode

The developers of Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios, took part in a recent Reddit AMA to answer some of the community’s burning questions, such as the Baldur’s Gate 3 character customization details, and lots more.

This first post will revolve around Baldur’s Gates 3 character customization as it was one of the most asked questions.

While the options are still a work in progress, game producer David Walgrave assured fans that Baldur’s Gate 3 character customization will allow players to get as in-depth as they want to.

Character creation can be as in depth as you want it to be 🙂

After you select a race and a class, you could be all set and ready to go, but if you want to, you can dive in deeper, and change all the abilities, spells, skills, cantrips… and customize visuals.

You will be able to select a face type, hairdo, facial hair, skin color. I cannot give numbers or details, because it’s still a work in progress, but there won’t be sliders.

Although the game won’t feature a slider (at this time), David did go on to say that this is their most diverse character creator they have ever created.

We have more diversity in creation than in any other game we’ve done before. You’ll be able to mix and match a wide variety of defaults, to create something unique.

Senior writer, Adam Smith added a bit more to the importance of custom characters and how unique they can be in the world of Baldur Gates 3. He also confirmed that they will have full voice acting with players able to select which voice they want to use.

I’m Adam, one of the Senior Writers on BG 3 😀 . Custom characters are hugely important to us, and when you choose your class, race and background, you’ll already have made choices that have an impact throughout the game – both in terms of what you can do, how you’re perceived, and what you know. But just as in tabletop, it’s what you do after character creation and how you choose to roleplay that character that will make your adventure and character unique. In many ways, they’re more unique, because you made them.

The world and the characters that populate it – whether companions, NPCs, enemies or potential allies – will remember and react to your actions and attitude. Custom characters are central to the arc of BG3, and as your journey unfolds, you’ll walk your own path. And when your story ends, you’ll have determined your own fate… and the fate of many others.

 Yes, custom characters will have voice acting – you’ll choose a voice as part of character creation.

Adam Smith went on to also gave a comment when asked about whether or not Baldur Gates 3 would see a Game Master mode, similar to the one in Divinity: Original Sins. While he didn’t explicitly state the game will have it, he did hint it would make sense for the team to eventually do one.

When we built GM mode for Original Sin, we were, of course, thinking of D&D and how long it had been since anyone had made such a mode. So yeah it’d make a lot of sense, but we’re focusing on developing the game first at the moment…

Hopefully, if the mode does return it offers a lot more options than the one found in Divinity.  Baldur’s Gates 3 will be releasing this year on PC for early access.

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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Borderlands 3 March 12 Update Released via Server-Side, Changes Listed

Gearbox Software has released the Borderlands 3 March 12 update on all platforms, and it brings a host of changes and  improvements. This is a server-side patch, and no download is necessary. Players will know that it’s been implemented by waiting until a “Hotfixes Applied” sign posted on the sign post on the main menu.

Borderlands 3 March 12 update changes:

GENERAL

  • Addressed a reported concern that was causing Typhon to sometimes be a potential blocker in “Shadow of Starlight”
  • Addressed a reported concern that the Jabbermogwai was sometimes not dropping loot at the correct rate

CHARACTERS

We’re looking to go over each of the Vault Hunters to identify any inconsistencies in gameplay. Some of these concerns will have to be addressed via patches, but for issues such as incorrect values being listed, we’re able to adjust in hotfixes.

  • Removed the Gunner’s “General Winter” minigun damage penalty and Cryo penalty.
  • Adjusted the Gunner’s “Exploding. Bullets.” skill to match the current damage output, which was sometimes higher than stated on the skill description
  • Addressed an issue with the Beastmaster’s “Furious Attack” skill where it was sometimes rounding its values and making the skill description and damage output appear inconsistent
  • Addressed an issue with the Beastmaster’s “Hunter’s Eye” skill where the skill description was sometimes showing values from incorrect fields

LOCATION RE-BALANCING

This adjustment will only affect new characters as we continue to improve and balance progression. We’ll first implement this change on Friday, March 13 for PC players on Steam and Epic; players on all other platforms (PlayStation®4, Xbox One, Stadia, and Mac) will receive these improvements in a patch coming later this month.

We found that new players were consistently entering certain areas over-leveled for the content they were playing. This occasionally trivialized those areas, as enemies were sometimes much weaker than intended for that point in the game. We also found that some side missions later in the game were largely ignored because of these balance irregularities. These balance changes bring the enemies up to the average level that we see players hitting in these locations.

  • Various areas and side missions on Nekrotafeyo should now match the average level of players
  • Enemies in The Anvil should now match the average level of players

WEAPONS

Sickle

  • Addressed a reported concern that the “Boom” prefix was sometimes not receiving the buff from last week’s hotfix

Boomer

  • Increased weapon damage

The Garcia

  • Increased the Fire Rate
  • Increased the number of projectiles shot

Hellfire

  • Increased weapon damage
  • Increased the Damage Over Time amount

Hyperfocus XZ41

  • Increased weapon damage

Linc

  • Increased weapon damage

Nemesis

  • Increased weapon damage

Nimble Jack

  • Increased weapon damage
  • Added 100% Bonus Critical Damage

Ogre

  • Increased weapon damage

One Pump Chump

  • Increased weapon damage

Roisen’s Thorns

  • Increased weapon damage

Sawbar

  • Increased weapon damage
  • Adjusted the timing of when the three projectiles split to be sooner

SkekSil

  • Increased the Extra Projectile Damage

Tankman’s Shield

  • Increased the Maximum Damage Cap by 200%
  • Increased the percent damage awarded per kill

Once we get another hotfix, event or a new patch, we’ll let our readers know ASAP.

Source: Borderlands

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Overwatch Update 2.84 Introduces Share Replays & More, Full Patch Notes

Blizzard Entertainment has released Overwatch update 2.84 today, and it’s live on all platforms! This introduces Share Replays, bug squashes, hero balancing changes and lots more! There’s no event, but this is one hefty Overwatch update.

Overwatch update 2.84 patch notes:

OVERWATCH ARCHIVES 2020

Experience story-driven co-op missions from pivotal moments in Overwatch history. While the event is active, earn Archives Loot Boxes containing skins, highlight intros, emotes, and sprays inspired by moments from Overwatch’s past. And, new this year, demonstrate your tactical finesse with weekly Challenge Missions. Challenge Missions allow you to play Uprising, Retribution, and Storm Rising with new gameplay twists.

GENERAL UPDATES

New Feature: Share Replays

Players can now share their in-game replays with others!

A replay is shared via an alphanumeric code typically 6 characters long. The code can be shared however you want: in game, on forums, over social media. Another player can input that code and watch your replay. Codes are valid until the next patch.

The replay system has also received several improvements:

  • Pin up to 10 replays to keep until the next patch. Unpin a replay to make room for a different replay
  • The 10 most recently imported replay codes are tracked. This allows you to watch the same imported replay again without retyping the code
  • There is a new note field for each replay entry, allowing you to add descriptions or notes for yourself

General Updates

  • In game friend requests will now only display in game once per session
  • RealID friend requests will only show RealID names in game if you have recently played with that player
  • The initial Assemble Heroes timer for games using the Assault, Hybrid, Control, and Payload game modes has been further reduced from 35 to 30 seconds
  • In the Assault, Payload, and Hybrid game modes for Competitive Play, when both teams complete a round of offense and have more than 2 minutes of time bank then each team’s time bank is equally reduced until one of the teams has a 2 minutes remaining
    • Example: If Team A completes a round of offense on Volskaya with 4:37 remaining in their time bank, and Team B completes their round on offense with 2:50 remaining, then 50 seconds is removed from each team’s timebank. This leaves the teams tied 2-2 and Team A with 3:47 remaining and Team B with 2:00 remaining

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

  • Season 3 of Competitive 6v6 Lockout Elimination has begun!

HERO UPDATES

Baptiste

Exo Boots

  • Charge time reduced from 1 to 0.7 seconds

Regenerative Burst

  • Cooldown lowered from 15 to 13 seconds

D.Va

Boosters

  • Cooldown increased from 3 to 4 seconds

Mei

Ice Wall

  • Cooldown increased from 10 to 13 seconds
  • Player collision now allows large heroes to fit through 1 pillar gaps

Orisa

Fusion Driver (Primary Fire)

  • Damage increased from 10 to 11

Sigma

Gravitic Flux

  • Ultimate cost reduced 10%
  • Flight speed increased 30%

Soldier: 76

Helix Rockets

  • Cooldown reduced from 8 to 6 seconds

Sombra

Machine Pistol (Primary Fire)

  • Spread decreased by 10%

BUG FIXES

General

  • Fixed a bug that could cause the “New” tag to remain on the “Player Icon” menu tab even after viewing the new icon(s)
  • Fixed a UI bug that could cause both teams to show 100% at the end of a Control Point map
  • Fixed a bug that could cause friend request “toasts” to be permanently displayed on screen when getting more than one request at a time
  • Fixed a bug that could cause several heroes’ ultimate sounds to be silent when observing in third-person
  • Fixed an issue preventing replays from recording in Custom Games that start immediately
  • Fixed a bug that caused hero portraits in the Hero Select screen to appear blurry / low resolution
  • Fixed a bug where Slept or Knocked Down heroes could not be walked over by enemies

Maps

Numbani

  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to stand in an unintended location near the final checkpoint

Heroes

Bastion

  • Brick Skin: Fixed a bug that caused Bastion’s brick bullets to grow in size after shooting through a Mei Icewall

Orisa

  • Fixed an issue where Orisa’s supercharger placed on Petra’s breakable floors was not properly being destroyed along with the floor

Reinhardt

  • Fixed a bug that resulted in assisted or environment kills not being counted in Reinhardt’s Charge Kills stat, if the killed player was first knocked back by Reinhardt’s charge

Sigma

  • Fixed a bug where Sigma’s Gravitic Flux animation would play even if he was slept or stunned

Sombra

  • Fixed a bug where Sombra’s translocator placed on Petra’s breakable floors was not properly being destroyed along with the floor

Zarya

  • Fixed a bug where Zarya’s Projected Barriers could prevent mutual knockdowns from happening between charging heroes

Workshop

  • Fixed an issue causing Player Joined Message to trigger multiple times when a player joined the match
  • Fixed an issue preventing Set Team Score/Modify Team Score from working in Assault, Hybrid, and Payload
  • Fixed an issue causing the editor to eat the last character of a unicode string when pasting in text
  • Fixed an issue preventing “Is Firing Primary” from returning true when Doomfist shoots his last bullet
  • Fixed an issue causing “Disallow Button” to fail to disable Reaper’s Shadow Step
  • Renamed “Spectators” to “Non-Team Spectators” in Create HUD Text and Create In-World Text for clarity
  • Fixed an issue preventing the Non-Team Spectators option from working properly in Create HUD Text and Create In-World Text

Told you it was a big patch. We’ll be on the lookout for the next Overwatch event and patch. Don’t forget that there’s an Overwatch animated show being developed — or at least rumored to be. The Overwatch League matches are also cancelled due to COVID-19.

Source: Overwatch

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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For Honor Update 2.18 Now Out, Brings Prince of Persia Crossover & More

Ubisoft has released For Honor update 2.18, which brings in the Prince of Persia crossover event, gameplay changes and more! Check out our full coverage of the Prince of Persia crossover event called “Blades of Persia” right here to see what’s in the game for a limited time.

For Honor update 2.18 patch notes and changes:

Blades of Persia:

Available today until April 2, 2020. Brings a new limited-time game mode, a new quest for Acrade mode, and Prince of Persia-themed items for players to collect, which includes a free event pass available to all players.

In addition to the special mode, For Honor will receive Prince of Persia–themed changes including revamped in-game menus with new visuals and music from the Prince of Persia universe.

As part of the free event pass, players will have access to 30 tiers of the Prince of Persia-themed gear and loot. Within the free tiers, players can obtain a new Battle Outfit, Sand Mood Effect, Emblem Outline and 26 new Ornaments, as well as Salvage, Steel and Crates.

Here’s a list of in-game items players will be able to acquire while the mode is active:

  • 26 new weapons are lootable on the battlefield.
  • Two illustrious outfits, Ratash and Sandwraith, are available via the in-game store for 20,000 Steel.
  • The Prince’s own execution is available for purchase via the in-game store for 10,000 Steel.

This is a two-part event, and Ubisoft has mentioned that second week’s new game mode will be unveiled on March 19.

Once Ubisoft released the full patch notes for the gameplay changes made in For Honor update 2.18, we’ll update the post.

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Mortal Kombat 11 Voice Actors Are Returning to Voice New Stuff

It would appear that work in underway for some new Mortal Kombat 11 content, as one of the main voice actors, has confirmed he’s working on new recordings.

In a post on his Instagram, Mortal Kombat’s 11 voice actor, Richard Epcar (Raiden, Joker) posted the following image with some text.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

If you knew what I was recording today you’d squeal like a pig! #richardepcar #warnerbros #yinandyang #netherrealmstudios

A post shared by Richard Epcar (@richardepcar) on

If you knew what I was recording today you’d squeal like a pig

What’s more, he uses the hashtag “#yinandyang#”, which actually does have some significance in the Mortal Kombat series outside of the story. For those who don’t remember, or never played it, in Mortal Kombat Deception there was a stage called “Ying Tang Island” which took place on the beach. The map was rather unique as it would alternate between sunny and rainy weather variation during combat, thus the name.  Of course, this is just speculation, but seeing as the actor voices Raiden who happens to be one of Mortal Kombat’s 11 character announcers, if it was a new stage then he would need to record a few new lines.

Richard isn’t the only confirmed voice actor to be making his way back to the Studios at Warner Bros as Steve Blum (Sub-Zero) has also confirmed his presence there.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

So grateful to still be doin’ the thing after all these years. #ilovemyjob

A post shared by Steve Blum (@blumspew) on

We wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being just that as we already have confirmation that more DLC content is planned for Mortal Kombat 11.  It’s also possible that the studio got Richard back to record any future DLC lines, as most new dialogue that comes with each DLC is pre-recorded well ahead of their reveals.

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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Call of Duty Warzone Update March 12 Released

While Infinity Ward just released Call of Duty: Warzone a few days ago, the studio released the Call of Duty Warzone update March 12 edition and it’s for fixes more than anything else. Note that this is a server-side update, and doesn’t need a client download. Curious what it does? Read on below.

Call of Duty Warzone update March 12 changes:

According to Infinity Ward this is a playlist update across all platforms that fixes an exploit for players where they could counter the gas ring in Battle Royale.

Aside from that, we don’t expect any changes to be made. That said, Infinity Ward does have a habit of rolling out stealth changes (unannounced changes), and if we spot any, we’ll make sure our readers know.

If you notice any gameplay changes made by this server-side update, share them down below in the comments below. If we use it, we’ll update the post and credit the tipster.

More Call of Duty: Warzone Reading:

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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For Honor Prince of Persia Crossover “Blades of Persia Event Announced”

The For Honor Prince of Persia crossover event called “Blades of Persia” has officially been revealed today by Ubisoft, giving For Honor players an event themed around the Prince of Persia franchise.

The Blade of Persia event update will bring a large collection of new cosmetics for For Honor, along with a new game mode, and map all inspired by the Prince of Persia games.

The event will be divided into two chapters, with the first one featuring the new limited game mode called “ruler of time”. In this mode, players are tasked with taking down the prince himself. He will return multiple times during the game mode, allowing players to rack up major points. And yes, he is extremely powerful and does plenty of damage to players if you confront him.

The For Honor Harbor map has also been reworked for this event. Players may have noticed a sandstorm slowly moving closer. With this event, the whole map is now covered in sand, bringing a new look to it. Even the water has been replaced with sand.

Ubsioft revealed that this will just be the first chapter of the event, with the next chapter dropping March 19. Stay tuned as they will be revealing more on chapter 2 before it launches. Check out the official details via the press release below.

Following a sandstorm that has descended on the lands of Heathmoor, the Prince of Persia arrives to stake his claim to the throne in For Honor. He brings an army of sand creatures in his wake for a special limited-time game mode, Ruler of Time, which tasks heroes to fight and defeat him and his sand creature minions in a variation of the Harbor Dominion map. During the match, the Prince will periodically emerge from a sand tornado and seek to destroy any heroes in his way with the legendary Dagger of Time.

In addition to the special mode, For Honor will receive Prince of Persia–themed changes including revamped in-game menus with new visuals and music from the Prince of Persia universe.

The eventalso introduces a variety of themed customization items. As part of the free event pass, players will have access to 30 tiers of Prince of Persia–inspired gear and loot. Within the free tiers, players can obtain a new Battle Outfit, Sand Mood Effect, Emblem Outline and 26 new Ornaments, as well as Salvage, Steel and Crates along the way. Players will also be able to acquire these in-game items while the event is active:

  • 26 new weapons are lootable on the battlefield.
  • Two illustrious outfits, Ratash and Sandwraith, are available via the in-game store for 20,000 Steel.
  • The Prince’s own execution is available for purchase via the in-game store for 10,000 Steel.

The For Honor Blades of Persia event will be live later today with a new client update. We will have the full patch notes posted shortly.

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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GTA Online Update This Week – Triple Rewards in Deadline, Vehicle Discounts & More

It’s Thursday, and that means Rockstar Games has rolled out the GTA Online update this week! There’s triple rewards in Deadline and Business Battles, discounts, and lots more.

GTA Online update this week summary – March 12. 2020:

  • Triple GTA$ and RP in the Adversary Mode, Deadline, featuring the Nagasaki Shotaro 
  • Triple GTA$ and RP also available across all Business Battles
  • Motorcycle Club Discounts such as 40% off MC Business Properties and Business Upgrades, plus 35% off the MC Clubhouse Custom Bike Shop
  • New Twitch Prime Benefits of a GTA$1,000,000 bonus, and 80% off the Pegassi Tempesta and Vapid FMJ, plus the Pixel Pete’s Arcade property rebate and an additional 10% of this week’s discounted items
  • New Vehicle Discounts, including 30% off the Oppressor Mk II and 35% off the Western Rampant Rocket

There’s also the Nagasaki Shotaro that’s available now!

Deadline

Get 3X GTA$ and RP when playing Deadline this week. Hop on the back of a Nagasaki Shotaro and cut your foes off with a luminous and destructive beam of light, blowing them to smithereens.

Brake

It’s not a race. Utilize timely braking and make the most of the Zoned power-up to slow things down and save yourself from an untimely demise.

Bounce off 

If you can’t maneuver in front of a rival biker in time, try steering directly into them and bouncing off instead.

Bunny hop

Use the Bunny Hop power-up to bounce over opponents’ trails.

Run illegal Motorcycle Club businesses
Get 40% off MC Business Properties and MC Business Upgrades, plus take 35% off the MC Clubhouse Custom Bike Shop.­

Make a pretty penny by competing in Business Battles and returning cargo to your Warehouse. In addition to the stock of contraband, you’ll be rewarded with 3X GTA$ & RP for your efforts.

DISCOUNTS & BENEFITS

  • Oppressor Mk II – 30% off
  • MC Business Properties – 40% off
  • MC Business Upgrades (all Properties) – 40% off
  • Ocelot Locust – 40% off
  • MC Clubhouse Custom Bike Shops – 35% off
  • Hakuchou Drag – 35% off 
  • Western Rampant Rocket – 35% off

Twitch Prime Benefits

Get GTA$1,000,000
Twitch Prime members who linked accounts to their Rockstar Games Social Club account should receive GTA$1M in their Maze Bank account within 72 hours.

Free Arcade Property
Pixel Pete’s Arcade property in Paleto Bay for free via a complete rebate within 72 hours

80% Off Two Vehicles
Get 80% off the Pegassi Tempesta and Vapid FMJ

Additional 10%
Additional 10% off all this week’s discounts listed above

ENDS MARCH 31­

Stay tuned next week for the next GTA Online update.

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Doom Eternal Launch Trailer

Find out why Doom Slayer is the most dominant life-force in the Doom Universe in the Doom Eternal Launch trailer!

The trailer clocks in just a little over a minute and a half and is solely focused around why Doom Slayer is the most dominant, most deadly lifeform on earth.

Doom Eternal Launch Trailer


There is only one dominant life form in this universe, and it carries a steel-barreled sword of vengeance. Become the Slayer and hunt Hell’s armies to the far reaches of the earth and beyond. The only thing they fear… is YOU.

More related Doom Eternal News

 

Doom Eternal is launching next week, March 20. It will be available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Google Stadia, and at a later date the Nintendo Switch. The title will retail for $59.99 on all platforms. Stay tuned as we will have plenty of coverage following its release, including gameplay, news coverage, and even a review!

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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Battlefield 5 Weekly Challenges Chapter 6 Week 6 Gain Ground, End of Round Report Bug Fixed

DICE has rolled out the Battlefield 5 weekly challenges and rewards for Tides of War Chapter 6 Week 6 called “Gain Ground.”

Battlefield 5 Weekly Challenges Chapter 6 Week 6 – Gain Ground:

When matchmaking through the nodes, you’ll be joining our Grind playlist:

  • Grind Operation Underground
  • Grind Rotterdam
  • Grind Twisted Steel
  • Grind Devastation
  • Grind Narvik

CARROT AND STICK – 5,000 CHAPTER XP
Kill an enemy or revive a teammate.

(OPTIONAL) LEAD POISONING – 14,000 CHAPTER XP
Fire 5000 bullets.

BULLETS AND BANDAIDS – 14,000 CHAPTER XP
Resupply or heal teammates for 1000 score.

DIRECTED FIRE – 30,000 CHAPTER XP
As a squad, spot or kill 100 enemies.

FIREWORKS – 14,000 CHAPTER XP
Damage vehicles for 300 health using explosives.

(OPTIONAL) KILL IT WITH FIRE – 5,000 CHAPTER XP
Kill one enemy with fire.

CHIPPING AWAY – 30,000 CHAPTER XP
Inflict 3000 damage.

ALL IN THIS TOGETHER – 30,000 CHAPTER XP
Revive or be revived by teammates 50 times.

(OPTIONAL) SLAM-FIRE BOOGIE – 14,000 CHAPTER XP
Inflict 3000 damage using the M37 Ithaca Shotgun.

Unfortunately, this week’s reward is just a Tier Unlock and not a new weapon or skin. But hey, you can’t have everything all the time, right?

While this week’s Battlefield reward isn’t really all that exciting, players will be glad to know that DICE rolled out a server-side fix earlier today during maintenance, and it fixes the end of round report bug! Players previously not receiving the end of the round report should start to notice their progress tracking once again. Any progress earned during the issue was/is still tracking despite it not displaying in-game, so nothing was lost during the effected timeframe.

In other Battlefield 5 related news, DICE announced yesterday that updates for the game will experience “short delays” due to COVID-19.

Source: Battlefield forums

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Nioh 2 Launch Trailer Reveals Returning Character

Nioh 2 is releasing in just two short days, and to celebrate, PlayStation has released the Nioh 2 launch trailer. Though major spoiler warning for those wanting to go in blind.

Thew new trailer, which can be seen below, features a number of new enemies and characters we’ve yet to see, along with some rather stylish gameplay. However, it is not until the very end that viewers are treated with a surprise returning character. Still here? Well for those who played the original Nioh, that familiar face happens to belong to the main protagonist, William Adams.

Nioh 2 Launch Trailer

About Nioh 2:

Master the lethal arts of the samurai as a mysterious half-human, half-supernatural Yokai warrior, in this challenging action RPG sequel.

Explore violent Sengoku-era Japan and the deadly Dark Realm, both plagued with grotesque, merciless demons.

Unsheathe your deadly weapons and cut down all enemies in your path using a revamped combat system and the ability to transform into a full Yokai to unleash devastating paranormal powers.

Journey to 1555 Japan, a country gripped in endless warfare where monsters and evil spirits stalk a land of natural beauty and menacing peril.

Hunt down your enemies as a rogue mercenary wielding the supernatural powers of the mythical Yokai.

Can you survive the treacherous Sengoku era and the new and terrifying Dark Realm?

Pretty exciting right? Nioh 2 is launching this Friday, exclusively for the PlayStation 4. For those who pre-ordered, the title is now available for pre-load.

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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Call of Duty Warzone Player Count Reaches Over 6 Million in 24 hours of Availability

It’s been a pretty busy week so far for Call of Duty, as Infinity Ward launched Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s free-to-play (F2P), standalone battle royale mode, Call of Duty: Warzone yesterday. It seems players are still excited for the genre, as the Call of Duty Warzone player count has already surpassed six million in just 24 hours of being out!

This was announced by the official Call of Duty Twitter account recently:

https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1237865764167639041

This isn’t really all that surprising given this is Call of Duty after all, and it’s free. Still, this is quite an accomplishment. Congrats, Activision and Infinity Ward!

We’re still putting the game to its paces and will have a review up once we can. In the meantime, go check out some of the Call of Duty: Warzone stuff we ran in the links below.

Are you liking Call of Duty: Warzone? Do you think this has the chance of toppling battle royale giants Apex Legends and Fortnite? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below.

More Call of Duty: Warzone Reading:

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Battlefield 5 Updates to Experience “Short Delays” Due to COVID-19 According to DICE

The COVID-19 pandemic development continues to grow as many areas are now starting to be affected by it. More so recently,  E3 2020 has been cancelled due to it and now game developers are starting to take a hit at their home base. today, Battlefield developers, DICE, issued a statement on COVID-19, and how it affects their work and Battlefield 5 as a whole.

Here’s the statement in full posted by DICE:

Hey folks,
‏‏‎ ‎
Today we’ve taken the necessary steps to help enable our teams across DICE with the option of working remotely, in order to best protect their health and wellbeing in response to the COVID-19 Outbreak. We also wanted to take the time and share a few quick points with you, our players, in order to help you all understand what effect this will have on our games.
‏‏‎ ‎
This will not have an impact on our infrastructure. All of our titles will remain online, our servers remain active, and we have live support teams across the globe that we work with each and every day that help to monitor and track the health of our services.
‏‏‎ ‎
If you encounter anything weird in our games, we’re likely already on top of it, and we’ll still be able to keep you informed on our progress for addressing any live issues.
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So what will this affect?
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We’ll need some time to switch up some parts of our workflows and adapt to the change. Remote work isn’t new to us, we’re a flexible Studio that always supports our team with the ability to work from home, but to do it en masse will likely throw up the odd hiccup that we’ll work with our central teams at EA to resolve as quickly as possible.
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We’ve also decided to openly share all of our processes, learnings and decisions with the wider Swedish games industry to support all small and big studios out there as they potentially start exploring work-from-home setups.
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In turn, this may result in short delays to our next sequence of monthly updates, and extend the time between updates beyond your usual expectations, but we largely anticipate no significant changes for any of our planned releases.
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In the meantime, we’ll still be engaged with folks across the Studio helping to share your feedback, and supporting the teams with their production of future content.
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We’ll keep you updated and over communicate with you on all things. If the COVID-19 Outbreak necessitates any further changes, we’ll let you know.
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Big thanks for your understanding. Stay healthy!
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EA DICE

As you can see from the memo, the studio has relayed that game updates (patches) will experience short delays given the studio’s workflow and processes are taking a hit to ensure no one is contaminated or affected by the virus spreading worldwide.

The studio also added that they are completing the review of patch 6.2, and working on finalizing patch 6.4, which will most likely miss its original first week of April release date.

While I love games and want updates pushed out ASAP, people’s lives are infinitely more important, and it’s perfectly understandable that DICE takes their time in developing Battlefield 5 all the while tip-toeing around COVID-19.

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Nioh 2 PvP Not Available at Launch

Fans of original Nioh may be disappointed (or happy) to learn that there is no Nioh 2 PvP (player vs. player) mode in the game — at least at launch. There is currently no explanation as to why there is no PvP mode in Nioh 2, though it could simply be due to the team wanting to focus more on the co-operative playstyle as the title now offers three-player co-op. This may not be surprising for some, as the demo didn’t indicate that there would be a mode, nor did Team Ninja ever speak about it since the reveal.

As of launch, the only online modes available are expeditions, random encounters. Expeditions allow you to set-up rooms or join co-operative lobbies with friends and others. It differs from the summoning option in that it functions off a life meter and shrines don’t heal players. Random Encounters is the traditional summoning method for players who need help during their own campaigns. Outside of this, you can still battle other players’ revenants, though these are CPU players. There is a clan battle mode, but this is only to donate items to gain passive perks.

Still, this doesn’t mean the mode won’t appear down the road as the first Nioh launched without it. It was not until almost seven months after release did it see a free update to add the mode, though support for it was quickly cut short as it brought a number of balancing issues.

Personally, as someone who played Nioh PvP mode when it released, I’m a bit thankful the mode isn’t returning. At the time, it was plagued with game-breaking builds that eventually caused a number of massive nerfs to skills, scrolls, and Yokai’s transformations. To say the least, it wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped for it to be and if Team Ninja does ever plan on having it make a comeback, hopefully, they separate the balancing from PvE and PvP.

Nioh 2 will be releasing this Friday, exclusively for the PlayStation 4. Pre-loading is now available, and we also posted the official Trophy list.

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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Call of Duty Warzone Secret Bunkers Are in the Game and Here Are the Known Ones So Far

While Call of Duty: Warzone just launched yesterday, it seems there’s already an Easter egg tucked away in the game in plain sight that has players scrambling to find out more. If you’ve played Warzone, you’ll see these as the Call of Duty Warzone Secret Bunkers!

Here’s a look at one of them in the game:

There’s now a dedicated group of people over on the ModernWarzone subreddt that’s aiming to find out where these Call of Duty Warzone secret bunkers are, and what they do. One of the bunkers seems to have a keypad, which no one knows what codes need to be keyed in just yet.  

Over on the Airport part of the map, there’s a control tower that players can get to and players can use the phone in it.

There are more bunkers doors found with some featuring keypads, and some that have it don’t have the number 9 for some reason.

So far, there have been 11 secret bunkers found. If you want to find where they are, here’s the map marking each bunker. Note that this isn’t the complete map for the bunkers, as no one knows how many are in the game just yet.

We’re as curious as the rest of the community is as to just what is inside these bunkers, and how they open. We’re going to keep a close eye on it and will report if anything substantial develops.

For more on Warzone, read up on our FAQ, and if you haven’t downloaded it yet, head on over here for links (for all platforms).

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Xbox E3 2020 Digital Presentation Announced

Following today’s announcement that E3 2020 is officially cancelled, it seems Microsoft is taking a step to make sure gamers are still getting their dose of Xbox Series X reveals this June, as the Xbox E3 2020 digital presentation has been announced.

Over on Twitter, Xbox boss Phil Spencer mentioned that they will celebrate the next generation of gaming with the Xbox comnunity with an Xbox digital event!

E3 has always been an important moment for Team Xbox. Given this decision, this year we’ll celebrate the next generation of gaming with the @Xbox community and all who love to play via an Xbox digital event. Details on timing and more in the coming weeks

This means we can expect a livestream event to take place sometime this June, which isn’t all that bad given most people aren’t press members, and most wouldn’t risk going into a jam-packed convention hall with the COVID-19 pandemic happening currently.

Hopefully, even if it’s just a digital presentation, the Xbox E3 2020 livestream or video presentation brings the big guns.

More Xbox Series X Reading:

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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E3 2020 Cancelled Due to Coronavirus, ESA Planning “Online Experience” to Showcase Announcements

Due to the ongoing development of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), E3 2020 will no longer be taking place this June.

In a statement issued this morning by event organizers, ESA (Entertainment Software Assocation), the company cited the reasoning behind E3 cancellation is the growing concern over the spread of the Coronavirus. This will be the first time ever that E3 has been canceled, with the event first starting in 1996 and going on yearly since. This news comes just one week after the ESA stated that E3 was still on schedule. You can read the full statement down below (via GameSpot).

After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry–our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners–we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles.

Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it’s the right decision based on the information we have today.

The ESA says that it would coordinate with both exhibitors and attendees for a full refund. As for the big event itself, the entity is exploring options with members to “coordinate an online experience” where companies can showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020.

E3 joins the latest in gaming events being canceled due to the virus. GDC was recently postponed to this Summer, but with E3 previously taking place in June, it is looking very unlikely that GDC will still happen this year. Gaming this year has suffered a major blow due to the virus, but at the end of the day, we shouldn’t be upset by this news. Safety should always be our number one priority, and right now preventing spread is of the utmost importance.

It’ll be a lot quieter this year for gaming, but for those wanting to learn of all the new exciting announcements that would have debuted at E3, you can expect many companies to now stream their reveals.

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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New Mortal Kombat 11 Spawn Intro Videos, Kombat Kast Announced

Down below you’ll find three new videos, showcasing a few of the many Mortal Kombat 11  Spawn intro scenes that will be available in Mortal Kombat 11 come next week.

Mortal Kombat 11 Spawn Intro Videos

 


You may have noticed in the last one that Kotal Kahn was being shown off in his new Skin from the Matinee Skin pack. For those unaware, the skin is called “Osh-Tekk Vandal Kotal Kahn” and is based on Conan the Barbarian. NetherRealms Studio has released a new image of the skin, giving us a better look.

And don’t worry, there’s a lot more Spawn coming as the studio has announced a new Kombat Kast that will be streaming later today! The Kombat Kast will begin at 1 PM PT // 3 PM CT // 4 PM ET and will give us a deeper look at Spawn. Expect plenty of new gameplay along with other news. We’ll be sure to post anything major, along with the new gameplay footage.

Mortal Kombat 11’s Spawn will release on March 17 for Kombat Pack owners, and to everyone else on March 24. His release will mark the end of the Kombat Pack, but don’t fret as studio’s creative director Ed Boon recently confirmed that more support and surprises are on their way to the game later this year.

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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Star Wars Battlefront 2 Update 1.48 Released, Here Are the List of Fixes

As expected from DICE’s previous announcement, the studio has rolled out what it calls a “small patch” for Star Wars Battlefront 2! Given that the big Age of Rebellion patch just went out two weeks ago, this one is more for fixes than anything else. Console gamers will see this as Star Wars Battlefront 2 update 1.48, and we got the full patch notes below.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 update 1.48 patch notes:

  • Fixed an issue where the Play Any button would not be able to matchmake into a game.
  • Fixed an issue that would occasionally cause a game server to matchmake players into the same team.
  • Fixed an issue that would occasionally lead players to be matchmade into opposing teams when transitioning to a new round of Co-Op.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the AI opponents to only take one path on Jabba’s Palace – Co-Op Defend.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause a delay when attacking after evading.
  • Set up planet-specific appearances for Heroes and Troopers on the Age Of Rebellion maps.
  • Added randomization of head options for Officers controlled by AI.
  • Fixed an issue where the AI Officers on Hoth would show up with wrong names.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause Yoda to be occasionally invincible against certain opponents.
  • Added more info to show how to unlock certain weapon mods.
  • Fixed an issue where the ISB Agent would be blocked from firing her blasters for too long, after performing a melee strike.
  • Fixed a visual issue where the Ewok’s Hunter’s Instincts ability would show footprints on top of the trail left behind by BB9E.
  • Fixed an issue where snow particles would sometimes be visible indoors when playing on Starkiller Base.
  • Fixed various visual issues with texture popping on the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer.
  • Fixed various visual and collision issues on the MC85 Star Cruiser and Death Star II.
  • Added the spear melee attack for Ewok Hunters controlled by AI
  • Made minor visual improvements to the Ewok Hunter’s abilities.
  • Fixed a visual issue where inaccurately high numbers were shown under the “PLAYER DAMAGED” score event, after defeating an enemy.
  • Added support for Cyrillic characters in the chat window when playing in non-Russian versions of the game.
  • Fixed an issue where the Scoreboard would not show the accurate class level of other players, or when deploying with vehicles.
  • Class level now appears on the Scoreboard when playing Starfighter Assault and Hero Starfighters.
  • Removed the class level for AI players on the Scoreboard.
  • Fixed an issue where the button to view the profile of another player on the Scoreboard would not work.

Hopefully, this fixes most of the issues players encountered with the Age of Rebellion patch. If you spot any that are new, or still bugged, let us know down in the comments.

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Nioh 2 1.03 Update Changes Detailed, Pre-Load Now Live

With the pre-loads now being live, details on Nioh 2 1.03 update have been revealed.

PlayStation 4 owners who pre-ordered Nioh 2 on the PlayStation Store will be happy to know that the pre-loading functionality is now live for North America and European markets. As for those in the Asian markets, Nioh 2 pre-load was live since this morning. You can begin pre-loading directly from your console, however, if there are any issues with getting it to work, the immediate fix is to force download it either from the PlayStation Store on PC or a mobile device. The download size for Nioh 2 is 36 GB and includes two recently released patches.

As for what these current two patches do? Well, they’re simply general bug fixes and stability improvements.

 

Nioh 2 1.01 Update

  • Fixes various bugs

Nioh 2 1.02 Update

  • Fixes various bugs

Nioh 2 1.03 Update

  • Fixes various bugs

This “technically” can be considered as the day one update (for discs), but we are sure we will see another patch come launch to further squash any other issues.

Along with the main game download, players can also download any additional pre-order bonuses and Deluxe edition items like the PS4 theme, Demon Horde Katana weapon, Demon Horde Armor, and the first Samurai Armor.

Nioh 2 will officially be available this Friday, March 13, exclusively for the PlayStation 4. Stay tuned as we will have coverage throughout the coming weeks, including a review and a number of gameplay videos. And if you haven’t yet, and don’t mind a bit of spoilers, make sure to read up on the Nioh 2 Trophy list here.

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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