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EA Drops New Details On Star Wars Battlefront’s Drop Zone Game Mode

  by   David Veselka  
September 9, 2015 1:28 am in News

EA and DICE have dropped new details on another of Star Wars Battlefront‘s seven game modes that will ship with the title, come November 17.

Drop Zone, similar to “King of the Hill,” tasks players with capturing and controlling drop pods that fall through the atmosphere and onto the planet surfaces.

“When you locate a drop pod’s landing site, make your way to it and trigger the short claim process,” EA explained in a recent blog post. “Your team will win if it captures five pods, or control the majority of them after the 10-minute match is up. If a pod is constantly changing possession with no team able to defend it long enough to claim it, another pod will be sent down to break the stalemate. Then, there would be two pods that the teams have to gain control over.”

According to EA, players will want to make use of Turrets to lay down some defensive fire around captured pods, or use the Viper Droid’s ability to outline incoming attackers.

King-of-the-Hill-style game modes are always popular in shooters. Happy to see something similar in Battlefront?

Tags: Drop Zone Featured PC PS4 Star Wars Star Wars: Battlefront Xbox One

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

Home > News

Destiny Year Two Is Here With Update 2.0 & The Taken King Free Trial, Read The Patch Notes

  by   David Veselka  
September 8, 2015 1:31 pm in News

Exactly one year since launch, Bungie is kicking off Destiny Year Two with a massive update on all platforms, preparing Guardians for new adventures in the 365 days to come.

The update notes are pretty hefty, so we’ll get into it right away. We recommend paying close attention to what’s new in The Tower and with Activities so you’ll know where to go and what to see upon your next visit. Also, here’s a quick reminder of the kind of hard drive space you’ll need on your platform:

  • PlayStation 4 or Xbox One: 18GB
  • PlayStation 3: 20GB to install, then only 10GB
  • Xbox 360: 10GB

Don’t forget, The Taken King Crucible DLC Free Trial also begins today on all platforms, meaning you can test out the new maps and game modes before the expansion officially launches on September 15. For those interested in the story, take a look at the new cinematic trailer we embedded above. Now, on to the notes.

Destiny Update 2.0

PLAYER CHARACTER

  • Character Level Cap raised to 34 for all players
    • Your Character Level will be grandfathered into your highest possible Light Level from all gear in your inventory and vault 
    • Character Level Cap will be increased to 40 on 9/15 (requires The Taken King)
  • Character Level and Light are now separate stats
    • Light is now calculated by the average of the Attack and Defense scores of all your gear
    • Weapons, Ghosts, Class Items, and Artifacts now all contribute to Light
    • Grimoire Score has been moved from the Character Nameplate and now displays in the Character Screen
  • Attack Power values on weapons and gear have been renormalized in preparation for the Taken King
    • Year 1 Attack and Defense values caps have been renormalized for Year 2 (previously 365 Attack is now 170 Attack) 
    • All Defense values are now on the same scale as Attack
    • Weapon damage numbers and combatants have been scaled against renormalized Attack and Defense values
  • Outgoing and Incoming damage has been changed to reflect new Light system
    • Ability Damage is directly computed from your Light Score
    • Player Health is directly computed from your Light Score
    • Weapon Damage is heavily weighted by both your Light score and the Attack value of the weapon

CLASSES

General

  • Intellect, Strength, and Discipline now only change their effect in fixed tiers
  • Intellect, Strength, and Discipline stats now display their tier and the exact duration of the effect on the tooltip in the Character Screen
  • Orb generation is now capped to a maximum of 8 orbs at once when wearing exotic armor items that increase orb spawning rates
  • Increased Recovery stat time at low end by 1 second and Reduced high end reduced timer by 2 seconds.  These were re-normalized Recovery stat effects to make a more compelling character stats choice
  • Pulse Grenades secondary effect distance are now globally 8 meters (Thermal and Void: 7 -> 8 meters, Arc: 9 -> 8 meters).  Detonation distance still unchanged at 7 meters
  • Pulse Grenade fuse times have been reduced
  • Thermal Pulse (Incendiary Grenade) base detonation and damage have been increased to unify stats with other Pulse Grenades
  • Fixed an issue where perks that grant additional super energy for grenade kills did not work correctly in the Crucible

Titan

Defender

  • Line attacks (Fist of Havoc Shockwave and Arc Blade Razor’s Edge) can now no longer penetrate Ward of Dawn

Hunter

Gunslinger

  • Golden Gun Damage increased (350 -> 360) to ensure it consistently killed opponents in the Crucible

Bladedancer

  • Arc Blade can now generate up to 6 Orbs when geared with exotic armor that increase orb spawning rates
  • Blink movement ability activation delay increased by 0.07 seconds (0.26 seconds to 0.33 seconds)
  • Blink movement ability visuals now changed to better telegraphing direction: clearer activation FX and trail FX
  • Blink Strike now does Arc Damage
  • Arc Bolt grenades (Thermal and Arc) damage reduced by 25% to 75 damage
  • Arc Bolt Range reduced by 11% to 8 meters
  • Flux Grenade tracking shape volume has been changed to reduce tracking aggressiveness

Warlock

General

  • Armor Bonus perk “Strength of the Ram” (found on exotic helmet, The Ram) has been reduced (5->3)

Sunsinger

  • Fixed an issue where Sunsingers who self-resurrected from Fireborn were given a free orb upon respawn
  • Fireborn Sunsingers must now successfully kill to spawn orbs

WEAPONS

Auto Rifles

  • Base Damage increased across all archetypes
  • Damage Falloff now starts closer to the player to emphasize its role as a close range weapon
  • Base Stability reduced slightly.  Landing consistent precision shots require more weapon control
  • Damage done against AI combatants increased by 30%

Pulse Rifles

  • All Stable (low recoil) Pulse Rifles (i.e., Hopscotch Pilgrim) now use “Medium” Rate-of-Fire base stats
  • “Medium” Pulse Rifle’s Rate-of-Fire has slightly increased, but with base Damage reduced slightly (2.5%)
  • PVP: Bursts-to-kill (all precision hits) is 2 or 3, depending on victim’s Armor stat
  • Magazine Size increased on all base stats
  • Base Stability reduced slightly. Landing consistent precision shots require more weapon control
  • Damage done against AI combatants increased by 25%

Scout Rifles

  • Base Damage increased slightly for “Medium” to “High” Rate-of-Fire Scout Rifles. Small adjustment, does not change shots-per-kill in PVP against another Guardian with full health
  • Magazine Size increased on all base stats
  • Accuracy when firing from hip is reduced
  • Damage done against AI combatants increased by 5%

Hand Cannons

  • Damage Falloff distance has been reduced to be closer to the player to limit long range lethality
  • Accuracy while in Aim-Down-Sights reduced slightly, making long range snap-shooting less reliable
  • Accuracy when firing from hip is reduced
  • Magazine Size reduced on all base stat settings
  • Base Optics (zoom) reduced so Aiming Down Sights grants more width (in favor for depth)

Shotguns

  • Shotgun precision damage scalar grants 10% bonus damage (Was 25%)
  • Shot Package perk reduces the cone spread by 20% (was 50%)
  • Rangefinder perk adds a 10% base Range increase on zoom (was 20)
  • Damage done against AI combatants reduced by 45% ( 2.25-> 1.15)

Sniper Rifles

  • Final Round perk now buffs precision damage, not base damage. This change only affects this perk when combined with Sniper Rifles

Fusion Rifles

  • Fusion Rifles now no longer get more accurate with each projectile fired
  • Fusion Rifles that are slow charging, high impact now have a slightly lower base Range value, making it harder to max out
  • range for these weapons
  • Accuracy increased for low range Fusion Rifles; Accuracy reduced for high range Fusion Rifles
  • Max Fusion Rifle projectile speed decreased slightly
  • Damage done against AI combatants increased by 15%

Sidearms

  • Base Reload Speed increased
  • Ammo Stats for Sidearms have been reduced to match other Secondaries, but still retain starting bonus ammo

Rocket Launchers

  • Blast Radius distance slightly increased
  • Grenades and Horseshoes perk proximity detonation distance reduced to 1.3 meter (was 2 meters)

Machine Guns

  • Fixed an issue with all Dead Orbit Machine Guns where attached plasteel plate failed to animate properly on reloads
  • Damage done against AI combatants increased by 5%

WEAPON PERKS

General

  • Reduced Damage bonuses and penalties granted from weapon barrel upgrades
  • Overpenetration perk now only works on bipeds (no longer works on environment materials)
  • Mulligan perk chance increased to 20%

Year One Perks

We have revisted all of these Year One stat perks and reduced the amount they buff your weapon stat to re-normalize against Year Two weapon lethality and reinforce specialization so players are making meaningful trade-offs on weapons.

To compensate for the weaker stat perks from launch weapons, we added some new stat perks (introduced in House of Wolves) that provided a significant increase to a stat in exchange for a reduction in other stats. This allows players to be able to spike a stat that reinforces their specialized play style, but at a cost.

  • Accelerated Coils: Reduced charge time by 50%
  • Accurized Ballistics: Reduced range and damage bonus by 50%
  • Aggressive Ballistics: Reduced damage bonus by 50%. Increased stability and range penalties by 100%
  • Aggressive Launch: Reduced damage bonus by 50%. Increased stability and projectile speed penalty by 100%
  • Confined Launch: Increased projectile speed penalty by 25%. Reduced stability bonus by 33%
  • CQB Ballistics: Reduced range bonus by 25%. Reduced stability bonus by 33%
  • Enhanced Battery: Reduced magazine bonus by 60%
  • Extended Mag: Reduced magazine bonus by 33%
  • Field Choke: Reduced damage bonus by 50%. Reduced range bonus by 60%. Reduced stability penalty by 20%
  • Field Scout: No longer affects magazine. Reduced inventory bonus by 37%
  • Fitted Stock: Reduced stability bonus by 60%
  • Flared Magwell: Reduced reload bonus by 80%
  • Hammer Forged: Reduced range bonus by 50%
  • Hand Loaded: Reduced range bonus by 50%
  • Hard Launch: Reduced projectile speed bonus by 50%
  • Heavy Payload: Reduced blast radius bonus by 50%
  • Javelin: Reduced projectile speed bonus by 50%
  • Linear Compensator: Reduced damage bonus by 50%
  • Luck in the Chamber: Reduced damage bonus by 3%
  • Perfect Balance: Reduced stability bonus by 40%
  • Send It: Reduced by range bonus 40%. Inventory and equip penalties added
  • Smart Drift Control: Reduced stability bonus by 40%. Reduced range penalty by 33%
  • Smart Drift Control (Rocket Launcher): 
  • Reduced stability bonus by 40%. Reduced projectile speed penalty by 33%
  • Smallbore: Reduced stability and range bonuses by 25%
  • Smooth Ballistics: Stability bonus made into penalty. Range penalty is now a bonus.
  • Soft Ballistics: Reduced damage penalty by 50%
  • Soft Launch: Stability bonus made into penalty. Projectile speed penalty is now a bonus.
  • Speed Reload: Reduced reload bonus by 80%
  • Warhead Verniers: Reduced blast radius bonus by 37%. Reduced projectile speed bonus by 60%. Reduced stability penalty by 20%

EXOTIC/LEGENDARY WEAPONS

Hard Light

  • Base Stability increased to 80
  • Hard Light projectiles now have increased bounce count
  • Hard Light projectiles are now not affected by Damage Falloff
  • Hard Light projectile FX updated so it is easier to track the projectile ricochets

Suros Regime

  • Stability reduced
  • Added a Range boost to the Focus Fire node on the Talent Grid

Necrochasm

  • Base Stability increased to 60
  • Magazine Size increased
  • Cursebringer perk will now always trigger on a precision kill
  • Cursebringer perk explosion radius increased and deals more damage
  • Rangefinder perk has been replaced by Zen Moment

The Last Word

  • Range reduced by 10
  • Base Stability reduced by 10
  • Accuracy while in hip fire is increased
  • Precision Damage aim assist while in hip fire is increased
  • Fixed an issue where damage bonuses while in hip fire was not applying correctly

Thorn

  • Base Damage of Thorn DoT reduced by 1/3 for both PVE and PVP
  • Thorn DOT now stacks up to 5x over multiple shots
    • This is a net buff, but it is now spread over multiple shots to eliminates the PVP “2-shot walk away.”
  • Thorn DoT damage now correctly reports as poison

Hawkmoon

  • Luck in the Chamber and Holding Aces perks now have a stacking limit of 2.  Only 2 of the bonus damage perks will ever stack, which should eliminate the Hawkmoon 1-hit PVP kill to an undamaged opponent
  • Holding Aces perk now increases magazine by 2 rounds

Icebreaker

  • Ammo Recharge time increased to 7 seconds between rounds (was 5 seconds)

Gjallarhorn

  • Reduce damage of Wolfpack Rounds by roughly 1/3

Black Hammer

  • White Nail perk now fills the magazine from your ammo reserves

No Land Beyond

  • Fixed an issue where there were overlap/parallax issues in Sights during aim-down-sights view
  • Base Handling increased
  • The Master perk has an increased base precision damage bonus scalar (2.6x -> 3x)

Lord of Wolves

  • Rally perk now grants +5 Recovery to allies in close proximity

Thunderlord

  • Arc detonation chance for Lightning Rounds kill increased to 50%
  • Magazine size increased to offset ammo stat changes

Vex Mythoclast

  • Projectile Speed increased to compensate for global Fusion Rifle changes
  • Stability increased to compensate for global Fusion Rifle changes

Vex Mythoclast

  • Base Range increased by +20

Monte Carlo

  • Stability increased to compensate for global Auto Rifle Changes
  • Fixed an issue where the Method perk did not only trigger when killing players or combatants. Can no longer trigger when “killing” destroyable objects

Bad Juju

  • Stability increased to compensate for global Pulse Rifle changes

Red Death

  • Stability increased to compensate for global Pulse Rifle changes
  • Fixed an issue where Rate of Fire and Impact stats were displayed incorrectly. Stat values were not changed, UI display only

Plan C

  • Range increased to compensate for global Fusion Rifle changes
  • Stability increased to compensate for global Fusion Rifle changes

EXOTIC ARMOR

General

  • Many pieces of Exotic Armor now recolor when a Shader is applied

Titan

An Insurmountable Skullfort

  • Gain a second melee charge for Storm Fist and Sun Strike. (It doesn’t apply to Void melee yet—this is a bug I believe we have fixed in 2.0.1.)

Hunter

Spine of Young Ahamkara

  • Bonus to Tripmine grenade duration increased
  • Gain a second grenade charge for Tripmine grenade

Warlock

 Heart of Praxic Fire

  • Gain bonus Agility when Radiance is active

ACTIVITIES

World

  • Year 1 Activities have been converted into Quest system
    • Year One Questlines do not require ownership of The Taken King
    • You can replay the story for more experience and reputation by looking at the Quest Collections in the Tower
  • The Ghost is now voiced by Nolan North
  • Fallen Wolf Hunt Patrols will retreat in anticipation of the arrival of Oryx in our solar system
  • Fixed an issue where “Medic” and “Blast Shield” PVP medals displayed while playing PVE activities 

Strikes

  • Players now are required to participate in the boss fights to be eligible for end-of-activity loot.
  • Bonus Loot and Reputation can now be earned via Vanguard Streak Bonuses for players who continue to recycle back into the Strike playlist without exiting to Orbit
  • Burn (Arc, Void, Solar) Skulls now only increases player damage by 2x (down from 3x). Combatant damage to player is unchanged at 3x.
  • Fixed an issue where the incident for completing a strike (i.e., earning the “Strikes Introduction” grimoire card) was not triggering in Strike playlists

Prison of Elders

  • Fixed an issue where the “Servitor Bonds Weakened” buff did not clear when Skolas is pushed into phase 2 
  • Fixed an issue where the web mine FX extended beyond effect area 
  • Fixed an issue where the rewards for Skolas’s Revenge does not grant “Hildian Seeker” to players who already have Ceres Galliot 
  • Glimmer Consumable drop rates reduced drastically from the Arena chest
  • Removed the Elder Cipher exotic bounty 
    • These exotics now have a chance to drop from the large chest in the Queen’s Arena
    • Players who were on any step of the elder cipher should receive a token to redeem at Variks for their choice of House of Wolves exotic weapon

King’s Fall

King’s Fall Raid will unlock on 09/18/15, 10AM Pacific

QUESTS

  • Quest Screen added to Menu
    • The Quest Screen allows you to view all active Quests
    • Quests may be abandoned, but they are recoverable at Abandoned Quest Archives at the Tower
    • Each Quest has a Details Screen that describes the current and previous quest steps
    • Up to four Quests can now be viewed in the Director and while in Nav Mode 
  • Year One Activities have been converted into Quest system
  • New Questlines have been added for each Year One Subclass
  • Reputation panel has been moved from the Inventory screen to the Quest Screen

BOUNTIES

  • Bounty slot size increased to 16
  • Incomplete Year 1 Bounties are auto-abandoned on 09/08 in preparation for The Taken King launch
  • Incomplete Year 1 Exotic Bounties are auto-completed at their respective Vendors
  • Bounties are now turned in for completion reward via the Quest Screen
  • Bounties can now be tracked via the new Progress UI in NavMode
  • Eris Year 1 bounties will be retired. Reputation with Crota’s Bane can continue to be earned via TTK Quests on 09/15

TOWER

General

  • All Vendor reputation from Year One carry over
  • Collections have been added to the Tower 
    • Shaders & Emblems Collections can be found near Eva Levante in North Tower
    • Ships & Sparrow Collections can be found near Amanda Holiday in Tower Hanger
    • Exotic Armor & Weapon Blueprint Collections can be found near the Class Mentors
  • Vault space has been increased to store up to 72 Weapons, 72 Armors, and 36 General 
  • The Bounty vendor, Xander-99, has a new stock of daily Bounties 
  • Map droids have been removed from North Tower, Plaza, and Hangar 
  • Loot announcements now appear in the Tower, but have a maximum range of 10 meters

Gunsmith

  • Starting on 09/09, reputation will be earned with Banshee-44 by using his Field Test Weapons

Speaker

  • New Ghosts are on sale with the Speaker
  • Year One Emblems have been moved to Eva Levante

Factions

  • Faction Emblems are no longer purchasable but will come from faction packages instead
  • Former Vanguard emblems are now unlocked at level 10 and 20 of their respective class quest chains

Crota’s Bane

  • Eris’ bounties have been retired as her ire shifts from Crota to Oryx and his Dreadnaught
  • Eris reputation can now be earned weekly by killing bosses in the Crota’s End raid, or through new methods to be discovered in The Taken King’s new destination
  • Eris’ reputation requirements for each rank have been adjusted to be faster
  • Characters will retain any rank they currently have with Eris
  • Eris’ reputation is no longer capped at Rank 4, and players will receive reward packages for Rank increases
  • Players will be able to earn rewards by continuing to level up the Crota’s Bane reputation

Queen’s Wrath

  • With the launch of The Taken King, Petra will have new bounties available in the Reef upon completing a new quest
    • These bounties will also drop a Treasure Key the first time one is completed each week

INVENTORY

  • Class-specific Armor materials have been deprecated in favor of a unified material
    • On Sept 15th, Vanguard Quartermaster Roni-9940 will exchange old materials for new ones
  • Fixed a bug where item upgrade UI was triggering when nothing was actually earned
  • Armor dismantle now makes a sound when dismantling is complete
  • Year Two Weapon Telemetries have now been combined per weapon slot instead of per weapon type

CRUCIBLE

Preview Event

  • The Taken King maps will be available for all players to preview for free 09/08 until 09/15
  • Rift game mode will be available for all players to preview for free 09/08 until 09/15
  • Crucible Daily will not be available on 09/08 and will resume on 09/15
  • Mayhem Clash game mode will be available for all players to preview for free from 09/11 until 09/15

General

  • House of Wolves maps (Widow’s Court, Black Shield, Thieves’ Den) are now available to all Destiny players
  • Year 1 Platform-exclusive maps (The Timekeeper, Exodus Blue) are now available to all Destiny players
  • Added a new Mercy rule that will end blowout games early
    • When the Mercy Rule hits, Shaxx will call out the end of the match. We immediately disable join in progress to prevent any additional players from joining the game (if anyone has dropped already) and reset the game clock to 10 seconds. After those 10 seconds, the match will end normally. All players will receive their end of match rewards and return to matchmaking.
    • More detail about this system can be found here
  • Legendary Loot drop rates have been increased
  • PVP post-game scoreboards now use abbreviated names
    • Hover over these stat headers to see more detailed information on what each stat tracks
  • The PGCR now does not display the “Score” column if the mode does not have individual player scores
  • Shaxx will now comment on multi-kills and kill streaks
  • “Victory Imminent” voice-over will no longer play when there is less than 30 seconds remaining in Crucible matches

Director

  • Salvage and Rift are now core Crucible playlists
  • The Taken King maps are now included in the core Crucible playlists

Medals

  • Added set of new Crucible medals
  • Buckshot Bruiser, Machine Lord, Sharpshooter, and Master Blaster medals can now be earned multiple times in a row (if you’re awesome enough)
  • Fixed an issue where “First Place Kill” score bonus (which triggers the “Uprising” medal) was awarded when killing the highest scoring player on the winning team, instead of the highest scoring player in the match

Maps

Widow’s Court
  • Added invisible physics to keep players from hiding in the ivy overlooking the courtyard Heavy Ammo 

Game Types

Salvage
  • Reduced Salvage score limit from 10000 to 7500, as our data showed too many games were ending to the time limit
  • Modified the base 3v3 options to have a 7-second min respawn timer
Skirmish
  • Modified the base 3v3 options to have a 7-second min respawn timer
Inferno
  • Changed special ammo crate timing for Inferno Clash, Inferno Control and Inferno Rumble modes to 2 minutes (small team modes will remain at 3 minutes)
  • Removed heavy ammo crates from all Inferno playlists
Rumble
  • Placing in the top 3 in Rumble playlists now counts as a win for Quest Step purposes
Control
  • Bastion, First Light, and Skyshock have been added to the core Control playlist with Pikes and Interceptors disabled
  • “Zone Captured” and “Zone Neutralized” scoring messages in Control will now display the zone being captured, i.e. “Zone A Captured,” “Zone C Neutralized”
Trials of Osiris
  • Trials Passage Coins are now discarded by the stack rather than by the item

UI

  • Super icons in kill messages are now displayed in yellow
  • Added icons to kill messages for precision kills
  • Super kill messages now display the name of the Super used
  • Voice channel settings in Nav Mode have been moved into the Nav Mode toggle display, which also includes quests & bounties, active modifiers, and PvP Scoreboard

TECHNICAL

General

  • Cinematics can now be skipped
  • Show/Hide Helmet options now also applies to the Character Screen
  • Unused update compat packs will be removed automatically on PS3 and 360 (to save HDD space)
  • Fixed a crash on PS3 when cycling through too many activities
  • Properly report free space required on PS3 when out of disk space
  • Enabled support for game content to be loaded from USB devices on Xbox 360
  • Improved Xbox One messaging and flow handling for users performing certain party options; the Pineapple error should only occur for actual malfunctions now
  • Fixed an Xbox One issue with suspend/resume on certain loading screens
  • If there is a valid playlist, use that for rich presence instead of the activity

Networking

  • Reduced latency of kill notifications in Crucible
  • Improved damage validation systems to reduce the effectiveness of players with extreme lag
  • Improved accuracy of network quality meters slightly
Tags: Destiny Destiny Year Two Featured PS3 PS4 The Taken King Update 2.0 Xbox 360 Xbox One

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

Home > News

Destiny Crucible DLC Trial Begins Next Week, Bungie Reveals Guide To Update 2.0

  by   David Veselka  
September 3, 2015 8:22 pm in News

Big changes are in store for Destiny once Update 2.0 hits next week on September 8. That goes for all Guardians, whether they’re participating in the new content from the paid The Taken King DLC or not.

Below is a transition guide, courtesy of Bungie’s latest Weekly Update, that you’ll want to familiarize yourself with before the big update hits. More detailed, specific patch notes are on their way, according to the studio, but the guide below will give you the gist of what’s changing and how you might want to prepare.

As a side note, September 8 also marks the start of a special Crucible Preview Event that will provide all players with a free trial run of the upcoming PvP content from The Taken King. That includes all new multiplayer maps and two new modes, Rift and Mayhem. After September 14, that content will be exclusive to those who purchased The Taken King.

Now, read on to be guided into Destiny Year Two. Here’s what’s changing when Update 2.0 launches on September 8.

Character

  • Character Level Cap for all players will be raised to 34
    • Level Cap for The Taken King will be 40
    • You will be able to level up by gaining XP alone
    • Character Level and Light are now separate statistics
    • Your Character Level will be grandfathered into your highest possible Light Level from all gear in your inventory and vault
  • Attack and Defense ratings for armor and weapons will be translated to the new systems – their power levels will be unchanged
  • Grimoire Score has been moved from the Character Nameplate and now displays in the Character Screen

Quests

  • A Quest Screen will be added to your Menu
  • Tracks all active Quests
  • Abandoned Quests can be recovered in the Hall of Guardians
  • Year One Activities have been converted to the Quest system

Bounties

  • Bounty slots will be increased to 16
  • Incomplete Year One Bounties will be auto-abandoned on 09/08 in preparation for launch of The Taken King
  • Incomplete Year One Exotic Bounties are auto-completed with their respective Vendors
  • Year One bounties issues by Eris will be retired
  • Reputation with Crota’s Bane can continue to be earned by completing Quests in The Taken King

Tower

  • Collections have been added to the Tower
    • Emblems/Shaders can be found near Eva Lavante
    • Ships can be found near Amanda Holliday
  • Exotic Armor and Weapon Blueprint added to the Tower
    • You will now have the Blueprint for all Exotics you own in your Collection
    • Report to the Vanguard in the Hall of Guardians

Inventory

  • Motes of Light will be used to grant XP to Weapons and Armor
  • Class-specific Armor materials will be deprecated in favor of a unified Armor Material
  • Vanguard Quartermaster, Roni-9940, will exchange old materials for armor material [Update: This change takes effect on 09/15]

Weapons & Armor

World

  • Fallen Wolf Hunt Patrols will retreat in anticipation of the arrival of Oryx in your solar system

What’s leaving Destiny when you download the 2.0 update

  • “Vanguard & Crucible Marks: Activities where you previously earned Vanguard/Crucible marks will now grant Legendary Marks. On Tuesday, your current Vanguard/Crucible marks will converted into faction commendations. [Update: This change takes effect on 09/15]”
  • “The Elder Cipher will no longer drop upon completion of the Skolas Challenge Arena in the Prison of Elders. The Exotic items offered with the Elder Cipher will now have a chance to drop from the Prison of Elders Treasure Chest.”

What’s going to be required to install the 2.0 update:

  • “If you’re playing Destiny on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you’ll need around 18GB of hard drive space free. We recommend turning on any console features that will automatically download game updates, when available.”
  • “If you’re playing Destiny on PlayStation 3, you’ll need about 20GB of hard drive space free to download and then install the update. Once the update is fully installed, you will only need around 10GB free.”
  • “If you’re playing Destiny on Xbox 360, you’ll need around 10GB of hard drive space free.”
  • “You can read more about the Hard Drive Requirements for the Destiny 2.0 update here.”

What’s the best way to send off Year One of Destiny:

  • “The Moments of Triumph have been extended to September 14, 2015 at 11:59 PM PDT (6:59 AM UTC). You can check your progress by visiting the Moments of Triumph progress page as part of your Legend.”
  • “Remember that your Moments of Triumph are tied to your active character roster. With the new Quest system and 2.0 changes incoming, we understand the appeal to start a new character. However, deleting a character to do so may jeopardize your progress towards the Moments of Triumph. We recommend waiting until you’ve secured your Emblem before deleting any characters that contributed to your Moments of Triumph progress.”
Tags: Destiny DLC Featured PS3 PS4 The Taken King Update 2.0 Xbox 360 Xbox One

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

Home > News

NetherRealm Announces More Mortal Kombat X DLC, Arriving Early 2016

  by   Joel Santana  
2:17 pm in News

Mortal Kombat X fans got the news they’ve been waiting for since it was hinted at during NetherRealm Studio’s latest Kombat Kast stream.

Today, the studio revealed that more Mortal Kombat X DLC will be released in the near future via a press release statement from WB Interactive Games:

“Today Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment confirmed that NetherRealm Studios is developing new downloadable content (DLC) for Mortal Kombat X, the best-selling game of 2015 to-date according to US NPD.  The new content will include four new playable characters, skins and a new environment, all of which will be available in the first half of 2016.”

Despite having to wait a few months for new content, which has yet to be revealed, series co-creator Ed Boon dropped a few of his usual cryptic hints on what’s to come:

The first hint is quite obvious. It’s the infamous “The Pit” stage that’s been featured in numerous Mortal Kombat games over the years. The second hint shows silhouettes of who the four new playable characters will be. Though speculation on who is featured in the teaser above is running pretty rampant throughout the MK community, most people generally agree that the silhouette on the far right strikes a very close resembles Bo’Rai Cho’s updated character model from MKX’s story.

Who would you love to see be featured in the upcoming Kombat Pack? Let us know in the comment section below!

Tags: DLC MKX Mortal Kombat X PC PS4 Xbox One

Joel Santana

Gamer for the past 20 years who loves anything ranging from RPGs, Fighters and of course FPS games. Author

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Watch The Battlefield Hardline Robbery Gameplay Reveal Tomorrow, New Snow Map Revealed: Precinct 7

  by   David Veselka  
September 2, 2015 2:08 pm in News

Tomorrow, September 3, Visceral Games developers will come together with audiences to live stream brand new gameplay from Battlefield Hardline‘s upcoming multiplayer DLC, Robbery.

You can catch it by tuning in to Twitch.tv/Battlefield at 3PM PT / 6PM ET / 10PM UTC, where the studio will show off Robbery’s four new maps, new weapons, and the new Squad Heist game mode, among other things.

In the meantime, check out this first look at a just-revealed map called Precinct 7, Battlefield Hardline’s first snow map.

[youtube id=”pGSdp8AWCK4″]

According to Visceral, Precinct 7 is “the largest map in the Robbery expansion pack,” set in the Detroit suburbs.

“It features two floors, a labyrinthine basement, and a bevy of ways to break in and infiltrate the most important room of all: the evidence locker,” the studio explains. “Criminals may decide to target nearby substations to knock out power and lights to the Precinct; alternatively, the weather-weakened roof of a nearby warehouse could provide a gadget-loving operator with a new approach.”

The map pairs nicely with the Hotwire game mode, but the the studio says the police station was specifically designed to bring out the best in Robbery’s new game mode, Squad Heist.

Check out the new screens:

Battlefield Hardline Robbery DLC launches in September, first for Battlefield Hardline Premium members.

Source: Battlefield

Tags: Battlefield Hardline Featured PC PS3 PS4 Robbery DLC Xbox 360 Xbox One

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Destiny The Taken King Live Stream Recap – Court of Oryx, King’s Fall Raid Launches September 18

  by   David Veselka  
12:06 pm in News

Bungie capped off the studio’s series of Destiny: The Taken King live stream reveals earlier today with a look at the Court of Oryx, a new player-driven public activity deep within the Hive Dreadnaught.

By collecting three different tiers of Runes throughout their adventures inside the Dreadnaught, players can use these items to instigate certain challenges of varying difficulty levels inside the Court of Oryx. A total of nine players, which can be anyone in the vicinity, can participate, though the original Rune holder who initiates the event will get the best rewards.

Tier 1 presents a single boss challenge, while Tier 2 presents two boss challenges at the same time. According to Bungie, Tier 3, which wasn’t shown during the live stream, presents a Raid-level boss. All bosses will feature some sort of mechanic that must be discovered in order to defeat them, even lower level Tier 1 bosses. Boss battles are also designed to not repeat themselves twice in a row.

Footage from the live stream included gameplay using the new Sword heavy weapon. In this instance, community guest Laced Up Lauren was using a Solar Exotic Sword called the Raze-Lighter. According to Bungie, these unique weapons must be earned through Quests and won’t be included in any loot drops. We’ll update this post with a gameplay replay once it becomes available.

UPDATE: And here it is:

[youtube id=”Klq7JEJegoc”]

Before signing off, Bungie Creative Director Luke Smith gave Twitch audiences an exclusive look at a brand new cinematic trailer for Destiny: The Taken King, as well as a brief introductory teaser for the new six-player raid, King’s End. He also announced that the new Raid will launch three days after The Taken King, on September 18.

If you missed Bungie’s previous live stream reveals, you can get all caught up with the recap and replays below:

Destiny: The Taken King and Destiny: The Taken King Legendary Edition launch on September 15 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. You’ll find more details on download sizes for each platform here.

Tags: Court of Oryx Destiny DLC Featured PS3 PS4 The Taken King Xbox 360 Xbox One

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Battlefield 4 Night Operations & Summer Patch Now Live, Check Out The Full Patch Notes

  by   David Veselka  
September 1, 2015 1:00 pm in News

Yet another massive Battlefield 4 update has arrived on all platforms, breathing new life into the almost two year old shooter from DICE LA.

Today marks the arrival of Battlefield 4’s Night Operations Update and Summer Patch. The former offers brand new content (for free) in the form of a map remake (Zavod 311: Graveyard Shift) that introduces new gameplay elements, while the latter improves the game in a number of aspects while patching up a few bugs.

Below is a list of general patch notes that covers the bulk of Battlefield 4’s Summer Patch, but we strongly recommend checking out DICE LA’s presentation page for new details on Night Operations, gameplay improvements, audio improvements, netcode improvements, and the new team balancer.

After reading up on what’s new, tell us in the comments if you’re back on the battlefield playing Battlefield 4 once again. How are you liking the new night map and other updates?

Battlefield 4 Summer Patch Notes

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

  • Fixed a number of known exploits in the game
  • Added the Team balancer (featured) as a default server option for larger modes
  • In Combat
    • Fixed an issue where players were able to spawn on a squad mate under fire (in combat)
    • Removed suppression active check, now only looks at suppression increase as an in
      combat trigger
  • Added the Zavod: Graveyard Shift map
  • Added server preset (Standard, Classic, Hardcore) to the deploy screen
  • Updated soldier animations to fix the issue where viewing players running backwards would
    cause leg popping when changing the movement direction slightly between back-left and backright.
  • Added the ability for all unlocks to be used in unranked servers, this applies to weapons and
    attachments including all premium weapons.
  • Soldier Movement: Slowed down side to side from 0.4 -> 0.35 on soldier sidestep to make that
    movement less jerky
  • Fixed an issue with the pillbox featured in Zavod and other levels. Bipods can now be deployed
    on the window sills of these pillboxes
  • Changed max default spotting distance to 200m on night maps
  • Fixed an issue where players would randomly take damage and even die from walking on certain
    staircases or other slanting objects
  • Fixed an issue where players took damage from vaulting over objects and landing “hard”
    incorrectly
  • PS3: Various crash fixes based on memory optimization
  • ALL CONSOLES: Allow players to leave a squad in game created through the Squad Join feature
  • ALL CONSOLES: Added Night Operations Large, Night Operations and Night Operations Infantry
    quick match selections for the Zavod: Graveyard shift map

NETWORKING

  • Updated server stall detection to better track servers going bad
  • Improved packet loss handling for clients
  • Improved “rubber banding” handling on client and server
  • Fixed an issue where the local player’s health would be incorrect if they took damage while
    regenerating health
  • Changed FrameHistoryTime variable to 1 to prevent dusting on fast moving vehicles (mainly jets)
  • Updated server & client code to support variable tick/simulation rates (featured)
  • Added indicators for current server “tick rate”/simulation rate on loading screen (>30hz only) and
    deploy screen
  • Network status communications suite: Added HUD indicators & warnings for bad or mediocre
    network connections (featured)
  • PC/PS4/XB1: Significantly Improved client to client damage delay by forcing all clients to send
    damage based on framerate instead of simulation rate

AUDIO

  • Enabled Audio obstruction (featured)

PERSISTENCE

  • Added Dog tag that will track players knife kills
  • Fixed an issue where the incorrect numerical value is displayed on MBT dog tags, showing total
    medals earned instead of ribbons
  • Fixed kill tracking on missing Mastery Dog Tags which were added in a previous patch. Progress
    will now reflect overall kills with those weapons

VEHICLES

  • Vehicle turrets
    • Updated turret logic to allow variable simulation rates
    • Added vehicle sensitivity slider for all input devices on all platforms
    • Added new input curves for all vehicle turrets in the game
    • PC: Fixed an issue where turning fast with the mouse would sometimes snap the view in
      the opposite direction/edge
  • Fixed an issue where free look cameras in vehicles were negatively affected by framerate dips
    causing slower than intended movement. Now mimics soldier look accurately.
  • Jet changes
    • Reverted attack jet physics to original setup (313)
    • Fixed an issue where mobility hits would cause a un-salvageable stall
    • Fixed an issue where jets would flip upside down in a jittery fashion when mobility hit
  • Aircraft interior glass got a pass for the Summer Patch. Reflection brightness, glass color and
    opacity have been unified across the board. Reflection brightness has been greatly reduced to
    improve visibility
  • Fixed an issue where players were unable to cause damage to an enemy standing in an open
    seat on any vehicle with any type of missile
  • Fixed the wake effect of jet skis for night vision
  • Reduced brightness of tank FLIR/IRNV HUD from 2 to 0.45.
  • Reduced bloom scale in vehicle FLIR.
  • Increased PLD IRNV range from 300/45 vehicle/soldier to 375/100.
  • All vehicles in Zavod: Graveyard shift now have headlights and interior lights
  • Attack Helicopter Smart rockets
    • Reduced Rate Of Fire to 200 from 300
    • Reduced max turning angle from 30 to 10, tracking less powerful against moving targets
  • Mobile Anti Air
    • Adjusted overheat ratios to be more balanced between 20mm and 30mm.
    • 20 mm has better range and is easier to use thanks to faster bullets
    • 30 mm has more consistent damage thanks to lower spread
  • Lock on missiles – make counter measures more effective and consistent
    • Turn rates reduced to stop missiles from doing instant 180s
    • Reduced time to activate guidance system in most missiles
    • Blast radii has been tweaked up to reduce “dusting”
    • Changed damage type from blast damage to impact damage – for example using IR
      smoke in a tank causing a near miss will no longer damage your tank almost max damage
      from the blast of the near missed missile
  • Hydra rockets, Smart & Zuni rockets now properly damage walls
  • PS4: Fixed an issue where reinstalling the game caused corrupt vehicle customization
  • PS3/PS4: Fixed an issue where vehicle customizations would revert to default after re-formatting
    the PS3/PS4.

WEAPONS

  • Fixed a long time issue where infantry weapons fail to reload properly (looked like they did, really
    didn’t)
  • Decreased tracer frequency for full auto weapons from every one to every third bullet shot
  • Flashbangs
    • Effective angle is now 145 degrees
    • Flash duration reduced for friendlies to 0.6s
    • No longer blinds dead people
    • Increased the suppression effect from flashbang explosions
    • Reduced number of default flashbangs from 3 to 2
    • Updated effect to work exactly the same in dark and light environments
    • Shielded players in vehicles (ex: tank driver) no longer gets blinded – open vehicle seats
      will however
    • Reduced time to live from 10s to 1.5s. This prevents players from dropping flashbangs
      from tall buildings at enemies below
    • Improved target line of sight obstruction testing
  • TV Missiles
    • Soldier damage multiplier is now .3 up from .1. This allows TV missiles to kill soldiers
      without the flak field upgrade outside of road kills.
    • Blast radius increased from 1.5m to 3m
    • Improved the responsiveness and steering slightly
    • Fixed an issue where players would get stuck in mid-air when exiting an Attack Helicopter
      & Attack Boats after firing TV missile
  • Increased SRAW range and top speed slightly
  • Fixed an issue which would cause blue flashes when player fires anti-tank weapon at a bright
    white source, e.g. the sun
  • Tweaked and improved visibility of the night vision optics at night
  • Fixed an issue where the HUD on the UCAV would blink intermittently
  • Tracer polish. Lowered brightness, thickness and length.
  • Reintroduced the AN94 bipod. It will be unlocked by default.
  • Removed extended barrel when using Heavy Barrel on PDWs. Affects MX4, P90, UMP45, and
    UMP9.
  • Added blinking red light to M15 AT mines to increase visibility in night map (and other dark areas)
  • Renamed all the mentions for RPK-74M to RPK, and renamed L96A1 to L115
  • Fixed an animation issue with the Mare’s Leg in 3rd person
  • Mare’s Leg: Added heavy barrel option, which can lower the spread from .2 to .1
  • M26 Dart: Increased pellet count to 19 from 12 to bring in-line with M26 MASS
  • Decreased headshot multiplier for revolvers/slugs/Desert Eagle from 2.35 to 2.13. This prevents
    pump action slugs from being able to one hit kill at infinite range and keeps Mare’s leg one hit kill
    headshot at ranges below 40m
  • L86: reduced horizontal recoil from 0.185/0.185 to 0.16/0.16
  • Zeroing fixes
    • CS5 add 1.004 initial bullet speed (y axis). Change displayed Zero from 100m to 75m
    • AS Val 1.41929 initial bullet speed (y axis). Changes zero from 50m to 35m, consistent
      with other suppressed PDWs
    • Groza-4: 1.41929 initial bullet speed (y axis). Changes zero from 30m to 35m.
    • AK5C: unsuppressed bullet velocity reduced from 630 to 620. Changes zero from 61m to
      60m. Consistent with other carbines
  • “Head-glitch” fixes
    • Added fix (spawn bullets from closer to barrel) on all four M26 variants.
  • Added a new JDAM explosion effect

GAME MODES

  • Gun Master fixes
    • Fixed an issue where the tension music remains after a user that reached last level quits
      the session
    • Fixed an issue where stats wouldn’t get tracked properly
    • Fixed an issue where using gun emplacements could cause a server crash
    • Added live scoreboard functionality
    • Updated Gun Master to display infinite magazines in the HUD

BATTLELOG

  • Removed requirement for Google Chrome plug-in support as Origin now provides that
    functionality. (You will be able to download and update your Battlefield 4 client now, but this
    feature will be activated at a later date.)

MAPS

ZAVOD: GRAVEYARD SHIFT

  • Enabled ladders for all modes except Defuse and Gun Master

ZAVOD: 311

  • Fixed an exploit where players could leave the game world
    Enabled ladders for all modes except Defuse and Gun Master

OPERATION WHITEOUT

  • Optimized memory usage

OPERATION LOCKER

  • Xbox 360: Optimized memory usage

GOLMUD RAILWAY

  • Fixed pink I beam on a collapsible building
Tags: Battlefield 4 BF4 Featured Night Operations PC PS3 PS4 Summer Patch Summer Update Xbox 360 Xbox One

David Veselka

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Get In On The Star Wars Battlefront Beta Early October

  by   David Veselka  
12:34 pm in News

Do you feel it? A disturbance in the Force. The Star Wars Battlefront Beta is happening.

“Coming early October to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and on Origin for PC, the Star Wars Battlefront Beta is a technical test and will feature Walker Assault on Hoth, a 40-player multiplayer battle featuring Rebels and the Empire,” EA announced in a recent blog update. “Walker Assault will also give you the chance to play as two of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars universe: Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.”

If you remember, Walker Assault was the first Star Wars Battlefront game mode revealed to fans, who got their first taste of actual gameplay at E3 earlier this summer.

“The Beta will also feature our Survival Mission on Tatooine, where you and a Rebel friend must fight back waves of Imperial forces,” EA added. “In addition to those two modes, we are excited to reveal a brand-new mode that will be available in the Beta, Drop Zone. We’ll be sharing more details on Drop Zone in the weeks ahead.”

During the Beta, the new Star Wars Battlefront companion app, based on a strategic card game called Base Command, will also be available at www.StarWarsBattlefront.com. It will let you earn in-game Credits that unlock Star Cards, weapons, and more. It will also let you check game stats and progression, customize load-outs and appearance, connect with and track friends, notifying you when they’re playing Star Wars Battlefront.

More details are coming in the weeks ahead, says EA. For now, you can keep an eye official beta page for updates.

Tags: Beta Featured PC PS4 Star Wars Star Wars: Battlefront Xbox One

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New Destiny: The Taken King Trailer Teases The Court of Oryx, Live Stream Reveal Tomorrow

  by   David Veselka  
12:16 pm in News

Tomorrow marks Bungie’s third and final live stream reveal event for Destiny’s upcoming expansion, The Taken King.

According to the teaser trailer released today (above), it will focus on a new activity called the Court of Oryx. From what we know so far, it’s like a public event that takes place within the Hive Dreadnaught that can be initiated by the player. It probably leads to a few nice rewards as well.

We’re interested to learn much more about it tomorrow with Designer Ben Wommack, Creative Director Luke Smith, and Community Guest Laced Up Lauren. Tune in to Twitch.tv/Bungie at 11AM Pacific Time.

Meanwhile, if you missed the previous live stream reveals, you can get a recap and watch them at the links below:

See you ’round tomorrow!

Tags: Destiny DLC PS3 PS4 The Taken King Xbox 360 Xbox One

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Fireteam Osiris Kicks Ass In Halo 5: Guardians’ Opening Cinematic Movie

  by   David Veselka  
August 31, 2015 6:52 pm in News

Don’t mess with Fireteam Osiris. As demonstrated in the opening cinematic movie for 343 Industries’ upcoming shooter, Halo 5: Guardians, they will wreck you.

You can check out the intro above or at this direct link, courtesy of BuzzFeed.

Opposite of Master Chief and his fireteam of Spartan-IIs, Fireteam Osiris is led by newcomer Spartan Locke, consisting of both new and returning characters from the Halo universe who’ve all been upgraded to the Spartan-IV program. If you missed it, you can see them in action during the campaign demo that was shown off at E3 3015 right here.

Halo 5: Guardians hits Xbox One on October 27.

Tags: Featured Halo Halo 5: Guardians Xbox One

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Upcoming Mortal Kombat X Patch To Release Tomorrow, More MKX News Later This Week

  by   Joel Santana  
3:01 pm in News

A few short days ago, Mortal Kombat X co-creator Ed Boon announced that a new major patch will be getting a release soon, aimed at addressing issues such as option selects, quality of life, and, of course, character balance.

You can view the patch notes for the rather massive update in its entirety right here, or check out the VoD of the latest Kombat Kast with NetherRealm developers going into details. The patch is scheduled to go live sometime tomorrow.

Finally, before NetherRealm devs wrapped up their latest broadcast, they revealed that the studio is set to announce more news for Mortal Kombat X later this week. So, keep your eyes tuned into MP1st for more details when they become available.

Tags: MKX Mortal Kombat X Patch Notes PC PS4 Xbox One

Joel Santana

Gamer for the past 20 years who loves anything ranging from RPGs, Fighters and of course FPS games. Author

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Destiny: The Taken King Launch Trailer Arrives, New Raid Won’t Launch On Day One

  by   David Veselka  
11:55 am in News

Oryx my be pissed at the loss of his kin and hell-bent on devouring our entire solar system with his mammoth-of-a-fortress, but perhaps an offering of his very own launch trailer will help ease his troubles and cause him to rethink his actions.

It’s worth a try. The Taken King himself stars in the just-released trailer for the upcoming launch of Destiny Year Two, along with a Fireteam of Guardians and other characters that will have a place in the events to come.

It comes a bit early, as there are still a good 15 days to go before the $40 expansion arrives. There’s also one more live stream reveal event that developer Bungie has planned for this Wednesday, which will explore new locations in the DLC. Last week, the studio showed off gameplay with the three new Subclasses during a three-player co-op Strike.

To quote Bungie Community Manager “DeeJ,” The Taken King DLC will include all of the following:

  • “New story missions and an array of sidequests that conspire to tell the story of our battle to defend our Solar System against Oryx and his Taken army”
  • “New narrative driven by cinematic cutscenes starring an engaging cast of characters”
  • “New Exotic Weapons, Exotic Armor, and Exotic Questlines”
  • “The Dreadnaught, a full new destination, with unique secrets, rituals, and treasures to uncover”
  • “A new breed of enemy combatants, The Taken, armed with new abilities and weapons”
  • “An increased Level Cap, and new ways for your Guardian to grow more powerful”
  • “The most substantial injection of new, unique, and redesigned weapons, armor, and talents to date”
  • “New subclasses with all new Supers and abilities”
  • “New cooperative Strikes with unique and dynamic new Boss battles”
  • “Redesigned and reimagined Strikes – Dust Palace, Undying Mind, and Cerberus Vae III – are now overrun by the Taken”
  • “New Crucible multiplayer maps with new Crucible modes, including the previously revealed Rift and Mayhem”
  • “And, of course, last but not least, our biggest six-player Raid yet”

According to Bungie, the new six-player Raid will launch a few days following the release of The Taken King, likely to give Guardians the time they need to work through the new story content.

Destiny The Taken King launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on September 15. The $60 Legendary Edition, which includes the base game along with all three Destiny expansions, launches on the same day.

Tags: Destiny DLC Featured PS3 PS4 The Taken King Xbox 360 Xbox One

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NUK3TOWN Pre-Order Bonus Map Coming To Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 On PS4, X1, & PC

  by   David Veselka  
11:14 am in News

Following the rumors that surfaced earlier last week, Treyarch and Activision have officially announced the return of the Nuketown bonus multiplayer map to Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 as a pre-order incentive this Fall.

Now cleverly spelled NUK3TOWN, the map has appeared in all of Treyarch’s Black Ops games since the first one and quickly because a fan-favorite due to its far-future setting and hectic gameplay design. According to the official website description, NUK3TOWN “has been re-designed from the ground up to highlight Treyarch’s new momentum-based, chained-movement system…” giving player a “fresh take on this classic run-and-gun, close-quarters multiplayer map.”

Black Ops 3

As of this writing, the website states that the NUK3TOWN pre-order incentive is only available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions of Black Ops 3. You can pre-order here on any of those three platforms.

Missed Nuketown? Happy it’s coming back in Black Ops 3?

Tags: Black Ops 3 Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Featured Nuk3town Nuketown PC PS3 PS4 Xbox 360 Xbox One

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Black Ops 3 Xbox One & PC Beta Ends Monday Night, Level Cap Increased To 49

  by   David Veselka  
August 30, 2015 1:26 pm in News

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Multiplayer Beta on Xbox One and PC is here to stay for at least one more day, Treyarch announced this morning. As was the case with the PlayStation 4’s Beta schedule, the Xbox One and PC Beta is being extended to 10PM Pacific Time on Monday, August 31.

That should give dedicated players a little more time to reach the new level cap, which was also increased today to 49.

Keep in mind that the studio has confirmed on multiple occasions that progress earned in the Black Ops 3 Beta will not transfer over to the final game, so hopefully you level 49s aren’t too bummed about losing your unlocks. It might also be worth noting that ranking up in the final game will be much faster with the inclusion of challenges and the XP they reward.

Either way, we’ll see you online for more Black Ops 3 Beta!

Tags: Beta Black Ops 3 Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Featured PC Xbox One

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Battlefield 4 Night Operations Update & Summer Patch Dated

  by   David Veselka  
August 29, 2015 2:10 pm in News

Battlefield 4’s Summer Patch, which includes the hotly anticipated Night Operations Update, is on course to launch September 1, DICE LA has announced.

Both the Patch and the new content that contains a night version of the map Zavod 311 and new Gunmaster presets will arrive on all platforms worldwide, the exception being that PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 in Europe (edit) will get the Night Operations Update on September 8 instead.

You’ll find plenty more on Night Operations in our previous article right here.

Official patch notes for Battlefield 4’s Summer Patch aren’t quite available just yet, but we’ll make sure you see them as soon as they’re available.

Tags: Battelfield 4 BF4 Featured Night Operations PC PS3 PS4 Summer Patch Xbox 360 Xbox One

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Boss Key Unleashes First Gameplay Trailer For LawBreakers, Will Be Playable at PAX Prime

  by   David Veselka  
August 28, 2015 10:37 am in News

As promised, new gameplay footage from Boss Key Productions recently unveiled shooter, LawBreakers, debuts today with an exciting trailer showing off new characters, abilities, and gravity-defying arena combat.

It’s pretty early, but the gameplay certainly has a charm to it, making neat use of the grappling hook and abilities like the classic rocket jump. Weapons appear to range in style and capabilities while different characters seem to have their own unique strengths. Watch the trailer for yourself in the featured section above.

LawBreakers is also, in fact, currently playable. If you’re down at PAX Prime this weekend in Seattle, WA, head on over to 128 Belmont Ave. East on Saturday at 10AM Pacific to get some hands-on time with it.

LawBreakers launches next year. What are your first impressions of the footage you just saw?

Tags: Bo Boss Key Productions Cliff Bleszinski Featured Gameplay LawBreakers PC

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Destiny’s Daily & Weekly Activities Are Changing With The Taken King, Update 2.0 Arrives Sept. 8

  by   David Veselka  
August 27, 2015 7:28 pm in News

With the launch of Destiny: The Taken King next month, Bungie is making a few tweaks to your daily and weekly rituals that are bound to re-form once you’re through with the DLC’s main story arch. Though not immune to the weekly reset that takes place every Tuesday morning, weekly activities in Destiny ought to feel a lot less ‘grindy’ for those with multiple characters.

Take, for example, Heroic Strikes. In The Taken King, this weekly activity will be replaced with the new Vanguard Heroic Playlist. The weekly reward from this playlist, a batch of Legendary Marks that can be earned up to three times, is account-wide, meaning you can complete it with either one character three times, or with three different characters one time. It’s up to you how you want to earn those Marks, which can used to purchase Vendor Legendary Armor. Here are a few other changes Bungie is making:

  • Requires Level 40
  • Removed the Weekly Heroic Strikes
  • Instead, accounts receive Legendary Marks for completing the first three Weekly Strikes
  • Removed the Weekly Cap on how many Legendary Marks can be earned.
  • Guarantee a Legendary Engram drop from a character’s first clear of a Weekly Heroic Strike

Similarly, rewards earned in Daily Heroic and PvP activities are being increased and will now also be account-wide. So, just like those new Heroic Vanguard Strikes, you can earn Legendary Marks on any character.

Bungie is also making the Weekly Nightfall Strike less of a chore by removing the death penalty and the Weekly XP Buff in exchange for “a mark of prestige for having achieved something challenging.” In place, the studio has also increased sources of XP and Reputation to account for it. Another difference, thanks to the introduction of new armor Perks, is that the Burns applied to each Nightfall will now affect your choice armor in addition to your choice of weapon. Here are a few other points:

  • Now Requires Level 40
  • Wiping no longer returns Fireteams to Orbit
  • Now uses 30 second time-out penalty for Death (same as Raid Normal)

Wish rewards were more plentiful for your actions inside the Crucible, Destiny’s PvP arena? The Taken King has you covered. Upon completion of Lord Shaxx’s introductory quest chain, Guardians will get access to new Weekly Quests specific to the Crucible. Completing these will open up Lord Shaxx’s “The True Meaning of War” Bounty, which, as mentioned earlier, will reward players with Nightfall-level loot.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to head on over to this week’s update from Bungie. There, you’ll find details on the amount of hard drive space you’ll need to clear on your console in order to make room Update 2.0, which launches September 8 and is required whether you purchase The Taken King or not. Here’s the TL;DR.

  • PlayStation 4: 18GB
  • Xbox One: 18GB
  • PlayStation 3: 30GB? (requires clarification)
  • Xbox 360: 10GB

Lastly, there’s also an update for those who bought the Digital Collector’s Edition of Destiny: The Taken King before the optional $20 upgrade was announced.The TL;DR? Uhh. More updates are coming.

So, what do you think about the new changes coming to Destiny’s Daily and Weekly end-game activities? Hit us up in the comments below!

Tags: Destiny DLC Featured PC PS3 PS4 The Taken King Update 2.0 Xbox 360 Xbox One

David Veselka

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Rumor – Brazil PSN Suggests Nuketown Will Return In Black Ops 3 as NUK3TOWN

  by   David Veselka  
3:42 pm in News

An updated PSN Brazil page for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 suggests the fan-favorite Black Ops and Black Ops 2 map, Nuketown and Nuketown 2025, respectively, will make its return in Treyarch’s upcoming shooter.

Now removed, the page stated, after translation, that buyers will “get the bonus NUK3TOWN map.” According to the description, the map has been “completely redesigned to highlight the new chained motion system based on momentum of Treyarch, providing battles full of adrenaline.”

CNcS5BWW8AAPOLY-600x400It’s been long-suspected that the iconic map, known for its small size and hectic gameplay, would return in Black Ops 3, but the news still comes as a surprise as neither Treyarch nor Activision have made any official announcements.

Stay tuned for updates.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Closed Multiplayer Beta is currently running on Xbox One and PC but is scheduled to go Open Beta on August 28.

Source: @Long_Sensation, via CharlieIntel

Tags: Black Ops 3 Buk3town Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Featured Nuketown PC PS3 PS4 Xbox 360 Xbox One

David Veselka

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Battle of Jakku Concept Art Offers New Look At Star Wars Battlefront’s First DLC

  by   David Veselka  
12:19 pm in News

New concept art of the Battle of Jakku describes the events that unfold in Star Wars Battlefront‘s first multiplayer expansion, arriving only a few weeks after launch.

EA and DICE dropped two pieces of art today, both portraying intense infantry battles taking place in the shadow of a massive Star Destroyer that crash landed onto the planet.

BattlefrontBattlefront

In the artwork, DICE says that “a Star Destroyer has crash landed, and from the belly of this battle-scared metal giant, a myriad of Imperial ground troops have evacuated and engaged with Rebel troops, also strangers to this desert planet.”

DICE Concept Artist Anton Grandert added that there is “a David and Goliath theme to this. The epic, huge super structures of the Star Destroyers contrast against the tiny but brave Rebel soldiers fighting the Imperial forces.”

“We wanted to portray a battle completely surrounding you, in every direction,” he explained. “Debris is falling from the sky, telling the story of battles above. On the surface of the planet you can see ground troops as well as X-wings, all taking part of the fight.”

The Battle of Jakku will tie into the upcoming movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and will provide players with two new locations based on the title planet. It will be free to everyone, launching on December 1 for those who’ve pre-ordered Star Wars Battlefront and December 8 for those who have not.

Star Wars Battlefront launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 17.

Tags: Battle of Jakku DLC Featured PC PS4 Star Wars: Battlefront Xbox One

David Veselka

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Battlefield Hardline Gets New Weapons & Gadgets In Free Update Coming Next Month

  by   David Veselka  
11:44 am in News

EA and Visceral Games have announced a new weapons pack coming to Battlefield Hardline that includes a “throwback” Carbine rifle along with other “fan-favorite” weapons.

The pack will be available to all players, Premium members or not, in a free a game update arriving around the same time Battlefield Hardline’s upcoming Robbery DLC launches next month. In addition, the Fire-Resistant mask will also be a free upgrade for the Operator class that lets him reduce damage from molotovs and incendiary grenades.

As for weapons, here’s what EA and Visceral listed on their official website:

  • Assault rifle for the Operator class – “It fires 5.56MM x 45MM at 850 rounds-per-minute, and is most effective in medium-ranged combat.”
  • Shotgun for the Enforcer class – “This is a semi-automatic 12 gauge shotgun that’s extremely effective in close-quarters.”
  • Sniper Rifle for the Professional class – “This semi-automatic sniper rifle shoots a .416 round, and is a go-to weapon for long-range combat.”
  • SMG for the Mechanic class – “This SMG fires a 9mm bullet and is great for the short-to-medium ranged game.”
  • SMG for all classes – “SMG-style weapon that fires rounds that can penetrate body armor; great short-to-medium ranged weapon.”

As you may have noticed, the list dances around the actual names of the weapons, but we think we have a pretty good idea of what they might be. This footage captured from Gamescom 2015 from an updated build of Battlefield Hardline shows off a number of new weapons in action, including the M1 Carbine, MP7, Famas, and many more. You can see the names of the weapons and watch the footage right here, if you missed it, but take it with a grain of salt.

Either way, we’ll keep you updated, so keep your sights on MP1st!

Battlefield Hardline Robbery DLC still has no specific release date, other than some time in September, first for Battlefield Hardline Premium members.

Tags: Battlefield Hardline BFH Featured PC PS3 PS4 Xbox 360 Xbox One

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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