Home > Title Updates and Patches

EA UFC 5’s First Patch of 2025 Adds a New Fighter, Vanity Rewards

[summaraize]

Electronic Arts continues its amazing support of MMA sim UFC 5, as the game’s first-ever patch of 2025 is now live on all platforms. While the developers call this patch version 1.18, those on consoles should see this as UFC 5 update 1.018.

Like every major update, this brings a new fighter and alter egos. However, this time around, even new vanity rewards have been added too, which doesn’t happen often.

EA UFC 5 Adds Azamat Murzakanov as a New Fighter This January 9, 2025

General

  • New Fighters
    • Azamat Murzakanov
    • Three new Alter Egos
  • More Offers Store – Sort by Release Series (ie Pride, Prime, Champion, etc)
  • New assorted vanity rewards added

Gameplay

  • Reduced the stamina cost of the muscle modifier from x 3.125 to 2.5.

Bugs

  • Fixed incorrect translations in some languages
  • Fixed an issue where the match result method (KO/TKO, etc) wouldn’t appear in Ranked Championship: Stand and Bang
  • Updated AE UFC 309 Stipe and Jones portraits to match their glove update

That’s about it. Chances are, we’ll be getting another major patch in the next month or so, and we’re hoping it adds another new fighter again. Once EA releases another update, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.

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Alex Co

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

Home > News

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Delayed Again, This Time to March 2025

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Ubisoft has announced another delay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, pushing its release date to March 20, 2025. This marks the second delay for the highly anticipated title. According to the company’s official statement, the additional time is intended to deliver “an even more ambitious experience.”

“Since November, we’ve been thrilled to share our progress through Gameplay Overviews, and the overwhelming excitement has truly inspired us,” Ubisoft shared via X/Twitter. “Each week has brought valuable feedback from our community. While we’ve already made remarkable strides, we believe a few additional weeks are needed to implement that feedback and ensure an even more ambitious and engaging day-one experience.”

The announcement caught fans off guard, especially as Ubisoft had recently released details about the game’s main characters, Naoe and Yasuke, and key gameplay features such as combat and stealth. The extra time, however, will be used to refine these elements and create a more polished final product.

Ubisoft Likely Avoiding Competition in a Crowded February Release Window

Assassin's Creed Shadows delay

The delay also positions Assassin’s Creed Shadows outside February’s packed release schedule, which includes highly anticipated games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Avowed, and Monster Hunter Wilds. This could be a strategic move by Ubisoft to avoid competing in such a busy time.

Still, the company faces immense pressure. Industry insiders, including Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, have speculated that a failure of Assassin’s Creed Shadows could lead to Ubisoft’s sale, possibly involving Tencent.

However, fans will now have to wait until March 20, 2025, to experience the shinobi and samurai adventures of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Whether it will meet expectations and secure Ubisoft’s future remains to be seen.

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Taha

Television kills your vision.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

The Finals Update 1.000.068 Released for Patch 5.4.0

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2025 is here and that means a new update is now available for The Finals. 2025 welcomes update 1.000.068 (version 1.06 on PS4), and this is officially patch 5.4.0. Some of the arenas that you can play this week include Seoul, Fortune Stadium, Horizon, and even Las Vegas. The Quick Cash game mode has an issue fixed, while the Bernal Map has VFX polishes.

Read on to see the rest of the changes below.

The Finals Update 1.000.068 Ushers in Bug Fixes and the 2nd Week for the ISEUL-T Cup

Time to Shine!

Welcome back, Contestants! This week we have a plethora of bug fixes, an updated store, and a new stop on the World Tour!

This is the second week of the ISEUL-T Cup and our sponsors are illuminating the Arena with spotlights that shine bright over every active Cashout Station! Bask in the glow of this light to earn additional fans while you defend, attack, or just strike a pose! Your time in the limelight will be rewarding!

This week the Arenas will be:

  • Seoul

  • Fortune Stadium

  • Horizon

  • Las Vegas

Finally, check out the new store before heading down to read the bullets:

Content and Bug Fixes 

Animation

  • Fixed an issue where sights on the Cerberus shotgun could misalign and feel intrusive when aiming down sights

  • Fixed a where reload animations on the Cerberus could intersect

  • Fixed an animation error that could occur when swapping between items while vaulting

  • Fixed an issue where the red dot sight on the M26 Matter could move out of the sight window when reloading

Contracts

  • Earnings in Powershift will now count towards the total cash earned on some Contracts

Gadgets

Gravity Vortex

  • The Gravity Vortex’s particle effect, prior to activation, will now be visible to teammates

Zipline

  • Fixed a rare issue where the zipline Gadget would not connect to some surfaces

Game Modes 

Quick Cash

  • Fixed an issue that could occasionally cause respawning teams to be placed too close to already spawned enemy teams

Maps

Bernal

  • Improved traversal in some areas that caused issues when using Charge ‘n’ Slam

  • VFX polish and additions across multiple Bernal assets that previously had missing effects

Player Cards

  • Fixed an issue causing facemasks to clip on player cards

Private Matches

  • Fixed an issue where the HUD could sometimes not be visible for spectators in private matches

Rendering

  • Fixed an issue with the APS Turret and Guardian Turret that caused them to stop rendering at shorter distances than they should, when using Low graphics settings

Settings

  • Added a new secondary scaling option named “Upscaled Resolution”

  • Reworked the naming and description texts of existing resolution-related options to give more information on how various resolutions are used

  • Resolution scaling sliders are now showing the scaled resolutions in pixels as well as the scaling percentage

Specializations 

Change ‘n Slam

  • Fixed an issue where the Gravity Vortex could essentially capture players using the Charge ‘n’ Slam, rather than letting them pass through it

  • Fixed a rare issue where sprinting could desync between client and server, causing issues where it looks like you are sprinting but you are not. This happened most frequently after performing Charge ‘n’ Slam

Dematerializer

  • Fixed an issue that sometimes made it impossible to re-materialize walls that are close to a Cashout Station

UI

  • Fixed an issue with Player Cards that could sometimes make them too bright

  • Fixed an issue that caused player names to flicker in the recently played with section of the Social menu

  • Fixed an issue within messages in the eliminations log Club tags to have the wrong color

  • Fixed an issue where the character could sometimes perform the wrong emote

  • Fixed an issue with the reload duration stat for the KS-23 shotgun on the Equipment screen, as it didn’t match the current balance

VFX

  • Added the light visual indicator to the ‘Blast Back’ C4 skin, so players can tell when a deployed charge is primed and ready to detonate

  • Added missing destruction state effects on multiple objects across all maps

We will let our readers know when a newer update is out for the game later this year.

[Source: Reach The Finals]

Damien Seeto

Home > News

Lords of the Fallen to Continue Receiving Updates in 2025 Up to Version 2.0

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In the last two months of 2024, we were pleasantly surprised at how frequently HexWorks has updated Lords of the Fallen. These weren’t just simple bug fixes but even introduced gameplay adjustments that made it easier for newcomers and veterans.

If you thought that was the end of the game’s post-launch support, you’ll be glad to know that the studio has confirmed Lords of the Fallen will continue to receive updates throughout 2025.

This was confirmed by executives at CI Games — publisher of Lords of the Fallen. In a conversation with investors, Tom O’Connor, Senior Vice President of Development, was asked what CI Games’ business plan is for 2025.

Lords of the Fallen Will Get Patches Throughout 2025

Lords of the Fallen Update 1.058

O’Connor mentioned, “To continue maximising sales of Lords of the Fallen 2023 in line with strategic markdowns and the continued release of meaningful updates up to v2.0 in response to player feedback and external user testing.”

Continuing, O’Connor also went in detail regarding the company’s future projects, stating, “With regards to our titles in development – we have Project 3 in full production, the next instalment in the Lords of the Fallen franchise and during this year will have extensive player testing to ensure we achieve high-quality and maximise the games potential.”

“Both SGW Evolved and Project H are in pre-production, and we are closing in on the vision for these titles, with more details to follow at a later date,” O’Connor ended.

Another question was asked whether Lords of the Fallen will see free DLC, events “to further build positive sentiment towards the game and improve overall ratings on Steam? Which should translate into better sales in the long run.”

This question was answered by Ryan Hill, Marketing Director at CI Games. “To date, we have released a considerable number of post-launch updates and content drops for Lords of the Fallen, and have observed the direct results by doing so; the recent Steam User Score has been gradually increasing throughout 2024, reaching an all-time high of 80 (very positive) in December. We also track online sentiment using the Player XP audience sentiment tool; this clearly illustrates a strong ongoing increase in audience sentiment around the LOTF franchise across the online gaming landscape throughout 2024. As a result, we will continue with this strategy in 2025 with a robust content roadmap planned for Q1 with the releases of v1.8, v1.9 and v2.0, all of which will bring meaningful improvements to LOTF based on community feedback and external player testing. It is integral that we continue to increase the franchise sentiment ahead of the release of Project 3,” Hill stated.

This is definitely good news for those still playing the Souls-like action-RPG. Even if CI Games has publicly announced that the sequel is already in production and planned for release sometime in 2026, that hasn’t seem to affected Lords of the Fallen’s support at all.

Lords of the Fallen’s sequel will reportedly be titled Death of the Fallen according to a report we published last year.

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Alex Co

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

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Throne and Liberty Patch 28.501.075 Out for Update 1.12.0

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NCSOFT has released Throne and Liberty patch 28.501.075 for update 1.12.0 this January 9. The developer has extended the time for the Startree Solstice Pass Point Shop, and has made improvements to the combat and UI as well.

Read on for the official patch notes down below.

Throne and Liberty Patch 28.501.075 Adds Loads of Improvements

Throne and Liberty Patch 28.501.075

Startree Solstice Pass Point Shop

Due to an issue that caused the Startree Solstice Pass Point Shop to close earlier than intended, we will be extending the Startree Solstice Pass end date to January 16 to give players who may have missed out on some Point Shop rewards a chance to complete quests and spend any remaining star crystals. All previously unlocked progress will remain intact.

The premium pass track will no longer be purchaseable after January 9th, though mission progress will still be available. At the end of the Startree Solstice Pass season, your remaining Star Crystals will turn into Quality Recovery Crystals.

General

  • Guild Summon gates now properly last for the expected 3 minute duration.
  • Combat: Made improvements to how beneficial effects of party members are displayed when you select “only show my animations” from the settings so that healing effects like Fountain of Life will still appear.
  • Saurodoma Island: The dungeon token selection box awarded for successfully claiming chest spawns will now expire after 24 hours if not opened.
  • Training Dew: When one of your equipped weapons is at max weapon mastery, attempting to consume Training Dew will now show a warning message that the experience will not apply to the capped weapon type.
  • War Games: Respawn protection buff (Fonsine’s Blessing) no longer applies in War Game matches.
  • Maps: Adjusted the placement of the Region Details UI for available content and monster info.
  • Character: Corrected differences in display of character hair color between the character creation screen and in-world models.
  • Controller: Party Vote Kick should no longer lock movement when using a controller.
  • Gameplay: Fixed an issue where initiating gathering while morphed would fail to display the gathering animation.
  • Settings: Improved the presentation of Combat Settings presets that were causing confusion when making settings changes that then only applied during combat, or were not saved to the preset and reverted when closing the window. There is now a Current Settings tab to show settings currently applied to your client that allows you to make changes, which are saved and applied in real time. Individual Settings Presets are now applied persistently when activated, rather than only applying during combat mode.
  • Ornate Coin Shop: New items are now up for grabs in the Ornate Coin shop – including fresh titles, morphs, and Amitoi!

Combat

  • Fixed an issue where some incoming damage would not be reflected in player health bars during Two-Star Dungeons or Dimensional Trials.
  • Beneficial abilities no longer auto-target party members when your cursor is hovering over their name in the party list.
  • Spear: Gale Rush: Ability now highlights as available on the hotbar when selecting a targetable ally.
  • Crossbow: Explosive Trap: Detonation animation is now located on the affected target and not the player.
  • Greatsword: Guillotine Blade: Fixed on-screen damage text not appearing when using this skill with the AoE Damage specialization active.
  • Dagger: Brutal Incision: Fixed on-screen damage text not appearing when using this skill on a poisoned enemy, while having the Damage Increase specialization active.
  • Sword: Retaliatory Strike: Fixed enemy health bars not updating immediately when damage was dealt with this ability.
  • Interserver Conflict: Fixed instances where some field bosses would appear at level 55 instead of level 50.
  • Spear: Unyielding Sentinel: Now increases the CC resistances each time the player is hit for up to 15 hits. Cooldown reduced to 24 seconds.
  • Spear: Unyielding Sentinel: Added specialization that removes Unyielding Sentinel’s base effects, and instead grants hit and CC accuracy each time the user lands an attack.
  • Spear: Nimble Steps: Now also grants ranged evasion each time a movement skill is used. Removed stacking mechanism and now applies the bonuses directly.

UI

  • Chat: Chat window now scales in size based on screen resolution.
  • Chat: Fixed HTML code displayed in chat in certain messages.
  • Material Transmutation: Added sorting options to the Material Transmutation interface.
  • Amitoi Expedition: The selected duration of the previous completed expedition should now properly carry over when assigning a new expedition.
  • Guild Search: Fixed an issue with search results not clearing sometimes when this window was reopened.
  • War Games: Improved the team management window for easier assignment of team members.
  • Inventory: Fixed an issue that caused inventory slots to not refresh after opening some full-screen UI windows.
  • Dimensional Trials: Corrected the Defeat Progress info text that erroneously displayed x0 score multipliers.
  • Item: Allied Resistance Forces Contract Scroll II now has tooltip text.
  • UI: Auction House: Removed some duplicate and nonfunctional search criteria.
  • Inventory: Fishing bait can now be locked in the inventory.

We will let our readers know when the next update hits very soon.

[Source: Steam]

Damien Seeto

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Path of Exile 2 Update 1.010 Out This January 8 for Bug Fixes

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After taking a short holiday break, Grinding Gear Games are back again, working hard at bringing some fresh new improvements to Path of Exile 2. To kick things off, they’ve released the first update for the game this year, and it comes with quite a handful of fixes. Here’s a breakdown of everything in Path of Exile 2 update 1.010.

Path of Exile 2 Update 1.010 for Version 0.1.0f Brings Plenty of Bug Fixes, Including Fixes for Crashes on PS5

  • Fixed a bug where Rare monsters could pause Delirium mist for an extended period of time, even before touching the Mirror of Delirium. This could result in opening a mirror and having no monsters spawn, or the mist not expanding fully. In addition, Delirium mist is now paused for 10 seconds when opening a Strongbox (previously 5). Note that unrelated to Delirium Mist, further changes to Strongboxes will be made in an upcoming patch to make them less terrible.
  • Fixed a bug where “increased effect of small Passive Skills in Radius” on Time-Lost Jewels was affected by increases and reductions to modifier effect, such as through The Adorned Unique Jewel.
  • Fixed a bug where if a player changed their maximum life, energy shield or mana (such as through equipping and unequipping items) their current life, energy shield, mana, overcapped mana, or overcapped energy shield would also increase.
  • Fixed a bug where overcapped life from Life Remnants would be erased whenever maximum life changed (such as from levelling up or weapon swapping).
  • Fixed a bug where the projectiles of Zalmarath, the Colossus’ knife attack were incorrectly positioned on top of the player.
  • Fixed a bug where aftershocks of Rolling Slam were not dealing damage.
  • Fixed a bug where Ritual Altars could sometimes fail to activate.
  • Fixed a bug where Xesht, We That Are One could sometimes endlessly throw hands.
  • Fixed a bug where the Mad Wolf of Ogham quest could be incompletable if you travelled to Act 2 by other means than talking to The Hooded One.
  • Fixed a bug where many Precursor Tablet modifier descriptions did not display when hovering over Maps in radius of the completed Tower.
  • Fixed a client crash that could occur after entering Demon Form while fighting Zarokh, the Temporal.
  • Fixed a client crash that could occur with Fiery Death Support in party-play.
  • Fixed a client crash that could occur on PlayStation 5.

There are plenty of fixes, but most of all, crash fixes on the PS5, which hopefully have now been resolved with this update. Besides that, most of the fixes are related to bugs that were rather annoying to experience, such as endless hand-throwing and zero damage.

This update ios the first update for Path of Exile 2 for this year, though we don’t expect Grinding Gear Games to slow down anytime soon, meaning if something wasn’t addressed with today’s update, you can probably expect it in the next few!

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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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Marvel Rivals Season 1 Battle Pass Costumes and Skins Showcased in New Images

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In the first season of Marvel Rivals that’s kicking off in a few days’ time, players can expect new heroes in the Fantastic Four, new game modes, balance changes, and of course, a new Battle Pass. If you’re thinking of laying down some real-world money for the Luxury Battle Pass, we’re here to help you decide with a look at the skins that will be available once Season 1 starts.

Thanks to NetEase, MP1st was invited to try out Season 1 ahead of its launch tomorrow, and aside from using that chance to deliver an overview of Mr. Fantasic and Invisible Woman’s abilities, we also checked out the Battle Pass as well.

Again, worth noting that these skins will only be available if you purchase the Luxury Battle Pass, as the free one won’t award any of the skins. We have the full list available below,a nd of course, a look at each one via the gallery (for your convenience).

Marvel Rivals Season 1 Luxury Battle Pass Features 10 Premium Skins

  • All-Butcher Loki Costume
  • Blood Moon Knight Moon Knight Costume
  • Bounty Hunter Rocket Racoon Costume
  • Blue Tarantula Peni Parker Costume
  • King Magnus Magneto Costume
  • Savage Sub-Mariner Namor Costume
  • Blood Edge Armor Iron Man Costume
  • Blood Soul Adam Warlock Costume
  • Emporium Matron Scarlet Witch Costume
  • Blood Berserker Wolverine Costume

Season 1 launches tomorrow, and you can prep for it by reading the slate of new content, and we even have the complete patch notes available already.

Do you like the skins available in the Season 1 Battle Pass? Don’t forget, this is but the start, as we’ll be getting new mid-season content in the form of The Thing, the Human Torch, new maps and more.

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Alex Co

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

Home > News

Marvel Rivals Season 1 Complete Patch Notes Detail Expected Nerfs and Adjustments

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As promised, NetEase aims to do a complete balance pass when the first season of Marvel Rivals launches tomorrow, January 9. Meta heroes like Hawkeye and Hela have both been nerfed, while some heroes got some much-needed buffs according to the complete Marvel Rival Season 1 patch notes.

For Vanguards (tanks), Dr. Strange also got a nerf, while Captain America and Venom have been buffed, so their survivability is better now. For Strategists (support), Cloak & Dagger got a good buff with their ultimate, while Luna and Mantis got nerfed, which is expected. Even Team-Ups got adjusted as well, with the complete changelog available below.

Season 1 also sees the introduction of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman when the new season starts, while The Thing and Human Torch will be made available sometime mid-season. You can check out a breakdown of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman’s abilities and kit here.

Marvel Rivals Complete Season 1 Patch Notes Hand Nerfs to Overpowered Heroes

ADJUSTMENTS

Marvel Rivals xim

VANGUARD

Captain America
Steve will receive some enhanced survivability, allowing more frequent entering and exiting of the combat.
– Reduce the delay time for shield restoration after releasing Living Legend from 3s to 2s.
– Reduce Liberty Rush cooldown from 12s to 10s.
– Increase base health from 650 to 675.
– Reduce the energy cost for releasing Freedom Charge (ultimate ability) from 3400 to 3100; Reduce the additional health provided per second to self after releasing it from 110 to 100.

Doctor Strange
We’ll be reducing the threat range and increasing the defense window of the Sorcerer Supreme.
– Add damage falloff to Maelstrom of Madness and Gamma Maelstrom. Starting at 5 meters and reducing to 70% at 8 meters.
– Slightly decrease the shield value recovery rate after releasing Shield of the Seraphim from 80/s to 70/s.

Thor
The God of Thunder could use some slightly increased survivability and improved the success rate to his ultimate ability.
– Increase base health from 500 to 525.
– Added immunity to control effects during God of Thunder (ultimate ability).

Hulk
Dr. Banner has been dominant, but some decreased sustained combat capability upon entering the battlefield will bring him more in line with other Vanguards.
– Reduce the Indestructible Guard gamma shield value for Hero Hulk from 250 to 200.

Venom
With increased survivability and the threat of his ultimate ability, the symbiote menace will strike fear into the backlines of all enemy teams.
– Increase the Symbiotic Resilience bonus health ratio gained per lost health point from 1 to 1.2.
– Increase the base damage of Feast of the Abyss (ultimate ability) from 40 to 50.

Marvel Rivals "Hawkeye" Character

DUELIST

Black Panther
We’re slightly decreasing T’Challa’s combat survivability.
– Reduce the additional health provided to self after refreshing Vibranium Marks with Spirit Rend from 40 to 30, and the upper limit of additional health provided from 120 to 75.

Black Widow
Natasha was very much in need of optimization when evaluating the release experience of her abilities as well as a slightly increase to the threat of her ultimate ability,
– Increase the range of the first effect of Edge Dancer from a 3-meter radius to a 5-meter radius.
– Reduce the time required for Fleet Foot to recover from 0 stamina to full from 12s to 4s.
– Reduce the time required for Electro-Plasma Explosion (ultimate ability) to reach maximum power from 1s to 0.6s.

Hawkeye
We’ll be decreasing the medium-long range damage capability, reducing the threatening combat radius, and slightly improving the close combat resistance for the avenging archer.
– Slightly reduce the spread angle between every two Blast Arrows.
– Reduce the triggering distance of passive ability Archer’s Focus from 60 meters to 40 meters. Reduce the maximum additional damage of the passive from 80 to 70.

Hela
The Goddess of Death has been a menace and we’ll slightly decreasing her combat strength.
– Reduce base health from 275 to 250.

Magik
The Queen of Limbo needed an Increase to her threat after unleashing her ultimate ability.
– Increase Umbral Incursion damage in Darkchild form from 115 to 135.

Moon Knight
The Hand of Khonshu will receive a slight increase to the threat of his ultimate ability.
– Increase the number of talons generated by Hand of Khonshu (ultimate ability) from 10 to 14.
– Increase the explosion radius of each talon from 4 meters to 5 meters.

Namor
We’re optimizing the throwing feel of Namor’s eggs!
– Adjust the throwing feel of Monstro Spawn and Frozen Spawn. Now, Namor can more accurately throw them to the desired location.

Psylocke
We’ll be providing more options for other heroes to counter the demon slayer’s ultimate.
– Now Dance of the Butterfly (ultimate ability) will check for barriers (including Magneto’s Metal Bulwark, Hulk’s Indestructible Guard, etc.).

The Punisher
We’re slightly increasing the damage capability of Frank’s weapons.
– Slightly reduce the spread of Deliverance and Adjudication.

Scarlet Witch
We’re Increasing Wanda’s combat strength when she’s facing Duelists or Strategists.
– Increase Chaos Control’s fixed damage from 50/s to 60/s.
– Reduce the percentage damage per second from 5% to 3%.
– Increase Chthonian Burst’s projectile damage from 30 to 35.

Storm
The Weather Witch needed an overall increase to her damage capability; We’re also optimizing the feel of her left-click projectile and the release experience of her ultimate ability.
– Increase Wind Blade projectile speed from 100m/s to 150m/s and left-click damage from 50 to 55.
– Increase Bolt Rush damage from 70 to 80.
– After releasing Omega Hurricane (ultimate ability), the bonus health provided for herself will be increased from 350 to 450. Moreover, following its conclusion, the extra health will no longer vanish instantly but will instead diminish at a rate of 100 per second.

Squirrel Girl
We’re increasing the threat of Doreen and her furry friends in their ultimate ability.
– Addition of a new effect to the Unbeatable Squirrel Tsunami (ultimate ability): the squirrels will rush towards the nearest enemy after bouncing instead of bouncing randomly.
– Reduce the squirrel tsunami health from 600 to 300.

Winter Soldier
We’ll be adjusting Bucky by decreasing his long-range combat strength and increasing his survivability in medium-close range combat.
– Increase the bonus health provided by Bionic Hook and Tainted Voltage from 30 to 40.
– Increase Roterstern’s projectile damage from 70 to 75.
– Reduce the area damage from 70 to 65 and reduce damage decay from 65% at 40 meters to 60%.
– Increase base health from 250 to 275.

Wolverine
Logan will receive an increase to basic combat strength, but a slight decrease to the additional survivability after activating Undying Animal.
– Increase base health from 300 to 350.
– Reduce the damage reduction ratio provided by Undying Animal from 50% to 40%.

STRATEGIST

Cloak & Dagger
Ty and Tandy will receive an increase to their healing capability as well as an expansion to the coverage area of their ultimate ability.
– Reduce Dagger Storm cooldown from 15s to 12s.
– Increase the number of dashes in Eternal Bond (ultimate ability) from 3 to 4.

Jeff the Land Shark
We’ll be adjusting the range for his ultimate ability so it now better fits the warning marker. In addition, we’ll also be increasing his healing capability.
– Adjust It’s Jeff! (ultimate ability) range from a 10m sphere to a 10m radius, 5m high cylindrical spell field.
– Increase the healing of Joyful Splash from 140/s to 150/s.

Luna Snow
While we’ve enjoyed her dropping the bass, we’ve made adjustments to Luna’s ultimate ability to prevent players from abusing its healing capabilities.
– Increase the interval for switching between healing and damage in Fate of Both Worlds from 0.1s to 0.5s.

Mantis
We’ll be making Mantis a bit less fleet-footed, reducing her roaming support capability.
– Reduce Nature’s Favor (passive) movement boost from 2.5m/s to 1.5m/s.

Rocket Raccoon
Rocket could use an enhancement to his healing capability.
– Increase the healing of Repair Mode from 60 per/s to 70 per/s.

marvel rivals contract
TEAM-UP ABILITIES

Hawkeye – Black Widow
To further tone down Hawkeye’s oppression, we’ ll be reducing his seasonal buff.
– Reduce Hawkeye’s season bonus from 20% to 15%.

Hela – Thor – Loki 
Much like Hawkeye, Hela’s overwhelming power will be receiving a slight reduction.
– Reduce Hela’s season bonus from 20% to 15%.

Luna Snow- Namor
We’ll be increasing the threat of Namor’s Frozen Spawn.
– Increase Frozen Spawn damage from 25 to 27.
– Increase Frozen Spawn slowing effect applied to hit enemies from 25% to 30%.
– Increase berserk state Frozen Spawn damage from 16 to 18.

Rocket Raccoon – The Punisher – Winter Soldier
One of Rocket’s best tools will be available more often!
– Reduce the cooldown of Ammo Invention from 45s to 40s.

Scarlet Witch – Magneto
A bit underwhelming, the damage capability of this father-daughter Team-Up ability will be enhanced.
– Increase Metallic Fusion projectile damage from 55 to 60.
– Increase Metallic Fusion spell field damage from 30 to 35.

Thor – Storm – Captain America
We’ll be enhancing the damage capability of Storm’s side of this Team-Up ability.
– Reduce the cooldown of Charged Gale from 20s to 15s.
– Increase the damage of Charged Gale from 50 to 55.

Regarding Team-Ups, NetEase said they have “exciting redesigns” and adjustments planned for Season 2! So that’s something to look forward to outside of the content drop.

Once the download is live, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.

More Marvel Rivals Reading:

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Alex Co

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

Home > News

Marvel Rivals Season 1 Heroes: Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman Abilities Listed and Explained

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Marvel Rivals was released just last month, and the title has already gathered a massive audience. The buzz continues as it was recently confirmed that Marvel’s first family, The Fantastic Four, consisting of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing, and Human Torch, will appear in the first season of the game, which is coming in two days.

Thankfully, we don’t have to wait until Season 1 kicks off to know what the Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman — the two heroes available at Season 1’s launch — can do on the battlefield. NetEase has been nice enough to grant MP1st early access to Season 1, and we have a full breakdown of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman’s abilities and their kit.

Mister Fantastic Hero Overview

Difficulty Rating – 3/5 Stars

Team-Up Ability – (With Invisible Woman):

Weeded Harmony – The Invisible Woman taps into her powers, channeling Psionic Might to fortify the entire Fantastic Four team. This formidable force bolsters Mister Fantastic, granting damage resistance. Once activated, they can continually generate Bonus Health, making up for lost Health with each passing moment.

Attacks:

STRETCH PUNCH:

Stretch out a forward punch to attack enemies.

Mister Fantastic’s Abilities

BRAINIAC BOUNCE (Ultimate):

Leap upward and smash the ground, slowing enemies within range. Can leap again upon landing a hit.

DISTENDED GRIP:

Extend arms forward to entangle an enemy, then press LMB to pull the hit enemy toward you, or select and yank another enemy, Knocking Them Airbone against each other.

FLEXIBLE ELONGATION:

Gain a Shield, select a target, and dash towards them, dealing damage to enemies and granting a Shield to allies.

REFLEXIVE RUBBER:

 Stretch the body to absorb damage before launching stored damage in the targeted direction.

ELASTIC STRENGTH (Passive):

Using abilities generates Elasticity, boosting attack power. Reaching full Elasticity triggers an Inflated state that grants a Shield and boosts even more damage.

Invisible Woman Hero Overview

Difficulty Rating – 4/5 Stars

Team-Up Ability – (With Mr. Fantastic):

FANTASTI-FORCE:

The Invisible Woman taps into her powers, channeling Psionic Might to fortify the entire Fantastic Four team. This formidable force bolsters MISTER FANTASTIC, granting damage resistance.

Once activated, they can continually generate Bonus Health, making up for lost Health with each passing moment.

Attacks:

ORB PROJECTION:

Launch a force field that can pierce heroes, flying to the maximum distance before returning to Invisible Woman, damaging enemies, and healing teammate

Invisible Woman’s Abilities

INVISIBLE BOUNDARY (Ultimate):

Manifest an unseen force field within a chosen area, rendering allies inside undetectable by enemies and providing Healing Over Time. Enemies that pass through the field are slowed.

PSIONIC VORTEX:

Gather psionic energy and then cast it. Upon hitting a target or scene or pressing the LSHIT key again, it erupts into a psionic vortex, continuously drawing in enemies and causing damage.

FORCE PHYSICS:

Manipulate psionic energy to push or pull enemies in front of you.

AGILE STRIKE:

Release a three-hit combo; the third attack will launch up enemies in front.

VEILED STEP:

Generate a force field at your feet; stepping on it propels you into an Invisible state.

GUARDIAN SHIELD:

Generate a force shield in front of a selected ally.

The shield can block damage and provide Healing Over Time to nearby allies. Enemies that pass through the shield are slowed.

COVERT ADVANCE (Passive):

Enter an Invisible state sometime after disengaging from combat and grant yourself Healing Over Time.

We’ll have more Marvel Rivals Season 1 coverage leading up to launch, so stay tuned to MP1st.

In other news, Overwatch 2 experiences a significant decline in Twitch viewership following the launch of Marvel Rival.

More MP1st Reading:

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Taha

Television kills your vision.

Home > News

Report: Games on Game Pass Lose Up to 80% of Expected Sales on Xbox

[summaraize]

Many Xbox titles find success in terms of player engagement, with Game Pass offering a vast library for subscribers to explore. However, while these games might be popular with players, they don’t sell as well as games outside the subscription service, leading to concerns about how this affects developers.

Christopher Dring, former director of GamesIndustry, talked about this issue during a Q&A session, sharing data that shows how Xbox Game Pass affects the sales of games in its catalog.

Xbox Game Pass Significantly Affects Game Sales

game pass sales

“Anecdotally, games that are in Game Pass can expect to lose around 80% of its expected premium sales on Xbox. That’s the figure that gets thrown around,” Dring said, based on his access to gaming data from the UK and Europe.

He added that the effect is less pronounced for major mainstream releases but still noticeable. “Look at how low Hellblade 2 charted. Or where Indiana Jones came. Or even Starfield. Game Pass clearly hurt sales of those titles on Xbox,” Dring remarked. “Game Pass clearly hurt sales of those titles on Xbox, but if it’s a game on multiple platforms, it can be beneficial. That surge in players on one Xbox can have a strong impact on sales on PlayStation, for instance.”

Microsoft has previously stated that Game Pass is profitable, however, this subscription model is quite different from how games have traditionally been sold.

He further said, “I am actually torn on subscription. I believe it can lead to lost revenue, and services like this make it harder for everyone else. Try being an indie game on Xbox right now that’s not on Game Pass.”

Dring also acknowledged the benefits of Game Pass in an increasingly competitive gaming landscape. “But also, getting people to play your game in 2024/2025 is so, so, so hard. And subscription gets games in front of lots of people. We know from data that there are a lot of people that only play Call of Duty. And if some of those people decided to get Call of Duty this year via Game Pass, and those very same people took the opportunity to play some other Game Pass games, games they wouldn’t have otherwise played… it’s hard to argue that’s a bad thing..”

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Game Pass helps more people discover games, or does it make things harder for developers? Let us know in the comments below!

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Taha

Television kills your vision.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Madden NFL 25 Update 1.015 Rushes Out Season 5 on PS5 and XSX

[summaraize]

Madden NFL 25 update 1.015 has been pushed out for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, for the big Season 5 content drop. Football sim fans can expect a new Field Pass, new Ultimate Team items.

While the patch is also out on last-gen platforms, expect a few key differences between the two when it comes to fixes given the last-gen version doesn’t have the full slate of features that the current-gen versions have.

Madden NFL 25 Update 1.015 Now Available for Download on PS5 and Xbox

Gameplay

  • Increased the amount of force necessary to cause a physics-based knockout on interception attempts, reducing the amount of dropped interceptions.
    • DEV NOTE: We’ve noted lots of feedback regarding too many dropped interceptions. We found that many of the drops were a result of physics-based catch knockouts. In this Title Update, we have increased the amount of force necessary to cause a catch knockout on interceptions, which will result in fewer interception drops. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
  • General Tuning to lower the ratings threshold necessary for a player to have a guaranteed catch chance on an interception attempt on Competitive Gamestyle. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
  • Updated the ‘Throwing Dots’ achievement description to appropriately detail what is necessary to unlock the achievement.
  • Reduced the accuracy of High Throw mechanic passes on Competitive Gamestyle.
    • DEV NOTE:  We are reducing the pass accuracy of high throws to bring more gameplay balance between offense and defense, based on player feedback. The mechanic will still be effective but players will not be able to successfully use it with such high frequency. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
  • User-controlled ball carriers are no longer able to dive when they have their Ball Carrier Coaching Adjustment set to Conservative.
    • DEV NOTE: Users will still be able to slide and give up when their Ball-Carrier Coach Adjustment is set to Conservative but they will no longer be able to use the high leaping dive animation. Regardless of whether the user taps or holds X/Square, they will only be able to Slide or Give up.
  • Increased the chance of catch knockouts when a receiver is hit immediately after the catch point.
    • DEV NOTE: After receiving feedback from players about wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends holding onto too many catches when being hit hard immediately after the catch point. Our goal here is for the skilled Catch-In-Traffic receivers to still hold onto catches when being hit while trying to secure the catch but lesser skilled Catch-In-Traffic receivers will get the ball knocked out on those bang-bang plays. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
  • Fixed physics-based tackling issue that would cause the ball carrier to spin on the ground after a hit stick
  • Addressed an issue where the outside receiver on the Gun Trips Slot Close: Blast play had the wrong assignment and would not block appropriately on the play

Playbooks

Huddle up!

Before we break into our regular Gridiron Notes Formation… let’s talk about the more than 800 updates spanning all 32 NFL Team playbooks, all stemming from real-life utilization and play-calling.

In today’s Title Update, offensive ingenuity is front and center. More than 800 updates have been made to offensive playbooks alone, including the addition of some plays that are brand new to Madden after they’ve made a splash in the 2024-2025 NFL season.

Let’s take Justin Jefferson’s 97-yard Week Two touchdown, for example. That’s now in Minnesota’s offensive playbook as PA Shot Post. You can even custom stem the Shot Post route that led to Jefferson’s house call!

Sample New Formations:

  • 49ers
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
  • Chiefs
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
  • Commanders
    • Pistol Doubles Hip
      • DEV NOTE: New play added: Z Shake Crosser – Terry McLaurin’s Week Four Touchdown against Arizona.
  • Chargers
    • Gun Bunch Spread
  • Falcons
    • Gun Bunch Spread
    • Pistol Doubles Hip
  • Jaguars
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
  • Packers
    • Gun Bunch Spread
  • Rams
    • Gun Bunch Spread
  • Seahawks
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
  • Vikings
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty

Notable New Plays:

  • Bears
    • Gun Doubles HB Wk – Boomerang Y Delay (Cole Kmet TD)
  • Bengals
    • Gun Trey Y-Flex – PA Deep Over. (Ja’Marr Chase TD)
  • Bills
    • Gun Bunch TE – Boomerang Mesh Traffic (James Cook TD)
  • Broncos
    • Gun Bunch Wide Nasty – Mesh Drive (Courtland Sutton TD)
  • Browns
    • Gun Doubles Flex Wk Swap – Mtn Slot Post (Cedric Tillman TD)
  • Bucs
    • Gun Bunch TE – Mtn Snag Under (MIke Evans TD)
  • Cardinals
    • Gun Ace – Flood Post (Marvin Harrison Jr. TD)
  • Commanders
    • Pistol Doubles Hip- Z Shake Crosser (Terry McLaurin TD)
  • Chargers
    • Split T Tight – HB Lead (Goalline TD Run)
  • Colts
    • Gun Bunch TE- Mtn Mesh (Mo Allie-Cox TD)
  • Falcons
    • Gun Bunch Spread – Mtn Slot Out (Drake London TD)
  • Jaguars
    • Gun Trey Y-Flex – Stick Nod H-Angle (Travis Etienne TD)
  • Jets
    • Gun Trips X Nasty – Mtn Triple Slants (Garrett Wilson reception)
  • Lions
    • Gun Spread DBL Flex Wk – Mtn Out N Up Seam (Amon-Ra St. Brown TD)
  • Lions
    • Singleback Bunch X Nasty – Mtn PA Deep X Over  (Jameson Williams TD)
  • Patriots
    • Singleback Wing Close- PA Cross Y Delay (Hunter Henry TD)
  • Ravens
    • Gun Wing Slot Wk – Mtn Stutter Wheel (Justice Hill TD)
  • Saints
    • Gun Doubles Flex Y Off Close- Mtn Slot Post (Rashid Shaheed TD)
  • Seahawks
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty – Z Swirl Choice (Tyler Lockett TD)
  • Vikings
    • Singleback Wing Flex Close – PA Shot Post (Justin Jefferson 97 Yard TD!)

Franchise Mode

  • Updated NFL Head Coach Likeness for New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears

NFL Authenticity

  • Added Jordan 1 Vapor Edge Cleats
  • Added Jordan 3 Cement Cleats
  • Added Light Robot Jagged Facemask
  • Added Robot 808 Jagged Facemask
  • Added the following Face Scans
    • Jaylen Warren – RB – Steelers
    • Ryan Kelly – C – Colts
    • Donovan Wilson – SS – Cowboys
    • Wyatt Teller – G – Browns
    • Skylar Thompson – QB – Dolphins
    • Aidan O’Connell – QB – Raiders
    • Jake Haener – QB – Saints
    • Luke Musgrave – TE – Packers

Madden PlayerCard & NFL Team Pass

This update introduces the Madden PlayerCard & NFL Team Pass.

The Madden PlayerCard is a new customization feature that allows players to design their own unique PlayerCard featuring content of your favorite NFL Team! Set your Background, Profile Picture, Border and Badges to represent your favorite franchise. Your PlayerCard will be displayed in online games to other Madden Players. NFL Team Pass content requires in-game purchase and gameplay to unlock.

NFL Team Pass is a new objectives system that allows players to unlock awesome themed content for the Madden PlayerCard. Select your favorite team and complete objectives across multiple game modes to unlock the coolest NFL Team Pass Content.


No patch notes are available yet, but here’s some of the info for Season 5, which EA officially released.

Other than that, expect the gridiron notes to be available later today. Having said that, don’t expect much in terms of changes and fixes, since we usually get new Ultimate Team content a new Field Pass and that’s it — at least based on previous seasons.

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Alex Co

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

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Madden 25 Update 1.12 Runs Out for Season 5 on PS4/Xbox One

[summaraize]

Electronic Arts has pushed out Madden 25 update 1.12 on PS4 and Xbox One, and this is the game’s first major update of 2025. This brings Season 5 into the football sim where players can expect a new Field Pass, new Ultimate Team content and more.

Those having issues logging in, EA has pulled the Madden 25 servers down temporarily to apply the patch, so don’t be surprised if you cannot access any online modes.

Madden 25’s January 8 Patch Brings Season 5

Gameplay

  • Increased the amount of force necessary to cause a physics-based knockout on interception attempts, reducing the amount of dropped interceptions.
    • DEV NOTE: We’ve noted lots of feedback regarding too many dropped interceptions. We found that many of the drops were a result of physics-based catch knockouts. In this Title Update, we have increased the amount of force necessary to cause a catch knockout on interceptions, which will result in fewer interception drops. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
  • General Tuning to lower the ratings threshold necessary for a player to have a guaranteed catch chance on an interception attempt on Competitive Gamestyle. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
  • Updated the ‘Throwing Dots’ achievement description to appropriately detail what is necessary to unlock the achievement.
  • Reduced the accuracy of High Throw mechanic passes on Competitive Gamestyle.
    • DEV NOTE:  We are reducing the pass accuracy of high throws to bring more gameplay balance between offense and defense, based on player feedback. The mechanic will still be effective but players will not be able to successfully use it with such high frequency. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
  • User-controlled ball carriers are no longer able to dive when they have their Ball Carrier Coaching Adjustment set to Conservative.
    • DEV NOTE: Users will still be able to slide and give up when their Ball-Carrier Coach Adjustment is set to Conservative but they will no longer be able to use the high leaping dive animation. Regardless of whether the user taps or holds X/Square, they will only be able to Slide or Give up.
  • Increased the chance of catch knockouts when a receiver is hit immediately after the catch point.
    • DEV NOTE: After receiving feedback from players about wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends holding onto too many catches when being hit hard immediately after the catch point. Our goal here is for the skilled Catch-In-Traffic receivers to still hold onto catches when being hit while trying to secure the catch but lesser skilled Catch-In-Traffic receivers will get the ball knocked out on those bang-bang plays. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
  • Fixed physics-based tackling issue that would cause the ball carrier to spin on the ground after a hit stick
  • Addressed an issue where the outside receiver on the Gun Trips Slot Close: Blast play had the wrong assignment and would not block appropriately on the play

Playbooks

Huddle up!

Before we break into our regular Gridiron Notes Formation… let’s talk about the more than 800 updates spanning all 32 NFL Team playbooks, all stemming from real-life utilization and play-calling.

In today’s Title Update, offensive ingenuity is front and center. More than 800 updates have been made to offensive playbooks alone, including the addition of some plays that are brand new to Madden after they’ve made a splash in the 2024-2025 NFL season.

Let’s take Justin Jefferson’s 97-yard Week Two touchdown, for example. That’s now in Minnesota’s offensive playbook as PA Shot Post. You can even custom stem the Shot Post route that led to Jefferson’s house call!

Sample New Formations:

  • 49ers
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
  • Chiefs
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
  • Commanders
    • Pistol Doubles Hip
      • DEV NOTE: New play added: Z Shake Crosser – Terry McLaurin’s Week Four Touchdown against Arizona.
  • Chargers
    • Gun Bunch Spread
  • Falcons
    • Gun Bunch Spread
    • Pistol Doubles Hip
  • Jaguars
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
  • Packers
    • Gun Bunch Spread
  • Rams
    • Gun Bunch Spread
  • Seahawks
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
  • Vikings
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty

Notable New Plays:

  • Bears
    • Gun Doubles HB Wk – Boomerang Y Delay (Cole Kmet TD)
  • Bengals
    • Gun Trey Y-Flex – PA Deep Over. (Ja’Marr Chase TD)
  • Bills
    • Gun Bunch TE – Boomerang Mesh Traffic (James Cook TD)
  • Broncos
    • Gun Bunch Wide Nasty – Mesh Drive (Courtland Sutton TD)
  • Browns
    • Gun Doubles Flex Wk Swap – Mtn Slot Post (Cedric Tillman TD)
  • Bucs
    • Gun Bunch TE – Mtn Snag Under (MIke Evans TD)
  • Cardinals
    • Gun Ace – Flood Post (Marvin Harrison Jr. TD)
  • Commanders
    • Pistol Doubles Hip- Z Shake Crosser (Terry McLaurin TD)
  • Chargers
    • Split T Tight – HB Lead (Goalline TD Run)
  • Colts
    • Gun Bunch TE- Mtn Mesh (Mo Allie-Cox TD)
  • Falcons
    • Gun Bunch Spread – Mtn Slot Out (Drake London TD)
  • Jaguars
    • Gun Trey Y-Flex – Stick Nod H-Angle (Travis Etienne TD)
  • Jets
    • Gun Trips X Nasty – Mtn Triple Slants (Garrett Wilson reception)
  • Lions
    • Gun Spread DBL Flex Wk – Mtn Out N Up Seam (Amon-Ra St. Brown TD)
  • Lions
    • Singleback Bunch X Nasty – Mtn PA Deep X Over  (Jameson Williams TD)
  • Patriots
    • Singleback Wing Close- PA Cross Y Delay (Hunter Henry TD)
  • Ravens
    • Gun Wing Slot Wk – Mtn Stutter Wheel (Justice Hill TD)
  • Saints
    • Gun Doubles Flex Y Off Close- Mtn Slot Post (Rashid Shaheed TD)
  • Seahawks
    • Gun Bunch Spread Nasty – Z Swirl Choice (Tyler Lockett TD)
  • Vikings
    • Singleback Wing Flex Close – PA Shot Post (Justin Jefferson 97 Yard TD!)

Franchise Mode

  • Updated NFL Head Coach Likeness for New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears

NFL Authenticity

  • Added Jordan 1 Vapor Edge Cleats
  • Added Jordan 3 Cement Cleats
  • Added Light Robot Jagged Facemask
  • Added Robot 808 Jagged Facemask
  • Added the following Face Scans
    • Jaylen Warren – RB – Steelers
    • Ryan Kelly – C – Colts
    • Donovan Wilson – SS – Cowboys
    • Wyatt Teller – G – Browns
    • Skylar Thompson – QB – Dolphins
    • Aidan O’Connell – QB – Raiders
    • Jake Haener – QB – Saints
    • Luke Musgrave – TE – Packers

Madden PlayerCard & NFL Team Pass

This update introduces the Madden PlayerCard & NFL Team Pass.

The Madden PlayerCard is a new customization feature that allows players to design their own unique PlayerCard featuring content of your favorite NFL Team! Set your Background, Profile Picture, Border and Badges to represent your favorite franchise. Your PlayerCard will be displayed in online games to other Madden Players. NFL Team Pass content requires in-game purchase and gameplay to unlock.

NFL Team Pass is a new objectives system that allows players to unlock awesome themed content for the Madden PlayerCard. Select your favorite team and complete objectives across multiple game modes to unlock the coolest NFL Team Pass Content.


No patch notes are available yet, but here’s some of the info for Season 5, which EA officially released.

Other than that, expect the gridiron notes to be available later today. Having said that, don’t expect much in terms of changes and fixes, since we usually get new Ultimate Team content a new Field Pass and that’s it — at least based on previous seasons.

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Alex Co

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

Home > News

SteamOS Will Be Available for Third-Party Handhelds Starting This April

[summaraize]

It’s been four years since Valve released the Steam Deck, and although the company isn’t quite ready to release a successor, they’ve certainly inspired many other manufacturers to create their version. Many of their competitors have already managed to beat out the Steam Deck regarding raw power and other features. That has prompted many in the community to ask, where is the Steam Deck 2?

While we’re sure that will eventually be a thing, it seems that Valve has given a rather ingenious answer to that question, as they’ve announced that soon, people will be able to load SteamOS on basically any handheld that allows OS installation. 

SteamOS Is Expanding Beyond the Steam Deck

During CES this year, Lenovo announced the Lenovo Legion Go S, a new and improved version of their previous model, though this time, instead of being powered by Windows, it will be running SteamOS. The news came as a rather big surprise for many, though a very welcomed one, as the OS has been praised for its ease of use and working out of the box without hitches. But with this news, Lenovo has become the first-ever third-party handheld to officially support the SteamOS. Well, it seems like it won’t just end here, as Valve revealed in a blog post shortly after the Legion Go S announcement that they plan on releasing SteamOS to the public so that they can install it on any of their other handhelds. 

“With Lenovo’s announcement at CES 2025 of the Lenovo Legion Go S, we are pleased to share that their “Powered by SteamOS” model is the first handheld officially licensed to ship with Valve’s SteamOS. We built this operating system to provide a seamless user experience optimized for gaming, while retaining access to the power and flexibility of a PC. SteamOS is the same operating system we run on Steam Deck, and the team is making updates to ensure it fully supports the Lenovo Legion Go S and provides the same seamless experience customers expect.

In addition, the same work that we are doing to support the Lenovo Legion Go S will improve compatibility with other handhelds. Ahead of Legion Go S shipping, we will be shipping a beta of SteamOS which should improve the experience on other handhelds, and users can download and test this themselves. And of course we’ll continue adding support and improving the experience with future releases.”

They note this will be the same operating system that the Steam Deck runs. It is Linux-based and supports desktop mode for installing non-Steam games.

This announcement comes right after Microsoft announced that they would be exploring the option to allow third-parties to build Xbox-branded devices such as handhelds that would run on Xbox OS. We’re unsure how much of a shake up this will be for Microsoft, considering that many PC players prefer the Steam store over Windows. Still, more option are always great to have, and we cannot wait to see how both companies transform the handheld market with their readidly available OS. 

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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.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

The Crew Motorfest Update 1.12 Fixes Season 5 Issues, Released During Server Downtime

[summaraize]

If you’re trying to log in to The Crew Motrofest but seeing the servers offline, it’s not just you. Ubisoft has taken he servers down this January 8, 2025, and this is to deploy The Crew Motorfest update 1.12 (PS5/XSX version 1.012),, which is the game’s first patch of the year.

The mid-season patch aims to fix a few nagging issues that stemmed from the Season 5 patch that was released in November 2024, and this also disables the winter boosts too.

The Crew Motorfest Update 1.12 Drags the First Patch of 2025 Amid Server Downtime

Patch Notes for January 8, 2025

BUG FIX

  • [Fix] Players receive error 3_180ce9b2_182 and disconnect while attempting photo for side activities of new playlists
  • [Fix] Fixed several voice lines that are triggered at the wrong times/doubled in Chase
  • [Fix] Liberty Walk Playlist stuck on collecting final prize – Challenges relocked
  • [Fix] Fixed problem with Resolution of Sticker on Car in FreeDrive/Photomode
  • [Fix] Murdock is using a placeholder avatar
  • [Fix] Cops Hands animation doesn’t look good in Chase Podium movie

That’s all Ubisoft has shared for now. Given the frequency of the title updates for the game, don’t expect another title update until at least in February or March. If we do get one, expect it here on MP1st.

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Alex Co

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

Home > Title Updates and Patches

EA Sports FC 25 Update 1.000.011 Released for Title Update #7

[summaraize]

EA Sports FC 25 update 1.000.011 today for title update #7 on all platforms. For PS4/Xbox One owners, this is tagged as update 1.11. Players can expect to see the correct country flag now being shown during opening card pack animations, updated stadium themes, and various gameplay adjustments made.

The complete patch notes are available below straight from EA.

EA Sports FC 25 Adds Correct Country Flags and More in First Update of 2025

EA Sports FC 25 Update 1.11

Ultimate Team

Addressed the following issues:

  • When opening a Player Pick Item and performing specific actions, the Player Item could display as tradable; this was a visual issue only.

  • Addressed a stability issue that could occur when opening multiple Player Pick Packs.

  • Sometimes, Player Item portraits could have appeared misaligned with the rest of the Player Item during the walkout animation.

  • When opening a pack containing double walkout Player Items, the details of the second Player Item were shown.

    • Details of the first player reveal will now be displayed in the tunnel sequence.

  • Sometimes, the country flag was not displayed on time during the pack opening animation.

Gameplay

Addressed the following issues:

  • In certain situations the positioning system was bringing players too close to the ball carrier when cutting off passing lanes, resulting in autotackles.

  • This could also result in midfielders being pulled out of position to overload the ball carrier, reducing passing options.

  • Addressed multiple situations where the goalkeeper would deflect the ball instead of catching it, making it look like they “fumbled” the save.

  • Addressed an issue where skill moves could be unresponsive or not be triggered.

  • Addressed an issue where the goalkeeper could sometimes fail to perform desperation animations when running back to the goal on chip shots.

  • Addressed an issue where the player not receiving the ball from the ball kid could cause a broken throw-in animation, preventing the game from progressing.

  • Addressed issues where attempting a lobbed through pass would sometimes result in a through ground pass instead.

  • Players were incorrectly able to do precision lobs off of headers, which could result in headers launching enormous distances across the field.

  • We have resolved this issue and players will no longer be able to perform this action.

  • Sometimes the goalkeeper could trigger an unrealistic jumping animation during a save.

  • Addressed an issue where the Precision Pass UI would incorrectly enlarge after a pass was made.

  • Addressed an issue where a Super Cancel sometimes did not stop the player from running after the ball.

  • Reduced accuracy of first-time lofted through passes.

  • In rare situations, players could appear invisible on the Pitch.

Clubs

Addressed the following issues:

  • At the Top Performers screen, the CPU Avatar could have incorrect body types.

  • Sometimes, following a player disconnecting from the match, the CPU AI would be assigned as the penalty taker.

  • Addressed an issue that would cause UI elements to appear twice on Short Goal Replays.

Career Mode

Addressed the following issues:

  • A stability issue could have occurred while playing Live Starting Point.

  • In Manager Career, a stability issue could have occurred after consecutively substituting players during the simulation.

  • In rare situations, in Manager Career, a stability issue could have occurred when creating a club.

  • In Player Career, addressed some instances of irrelevant and incorrect emails being sent by Managers.

Made the following changes:

  • Increased the amount of Player Roles a player within Manager Career Mode can be familiar with.

  • Updated UEFA competition rules so teams cannot face opponents from their own association (domestic league), and can only be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same association.

General, Audio, and Visual

Made the following changes:

  • Updated some tifos, stadium themes, balls, kits, hair, stadiums, trophies, star heads, crests, props, scenes, broadcasting, and crowds.

  • Added Favourite Team Selector that allows Squads and Line-Up saves to be carried over to Seasons and Co-Op Seasons.

Addressed the following issues:

  • Addressed instances of placeholder text, incorrect UI elements, incorrect camera angles, and button conflicts.

  • Addressed instances of stability issues that could have occurred.

We will let our readers know when the next update is out.

[Source: EA Sports FC Trello Board]

Damien Seeto

Home > Title Updates and Patches

The First Descendant Update 1.42 Released for Hotfix 1.2.3b

[summaraize]

Following the patch from yesterday that brought in content improvements, Nexon has released The First Descendant update 1.42 and this is shown as update 1.042 for current-gen players. Officially, this is tagged as hotfix 1.2.3b and it fixes abnormal objects being placed in Albion. Check out the January 8 patch notes for the game below.

The First Descendant Update 1.42 Fixes Minor Issues

■ Patch Schedule
– 2025.01.07(Tue) 18:20 PST

■ Platforms
– Steam, XBOX SERIES X│S, XBOX ONE, PS4, PS5

■ Patch Details
– Fixed an issue with abnormal objects placed in Albion.
– Fixed an issue with Special Operations: Hard showing only “Sterile Land – Block Kuiper Mining”
– Fixed an issue with Ultimate Descendant skin displayed as “End of Sale” in [Customize > Descendant Skins].

That is all the news today about this patch. More patches are expected to be released for the game later this year, so stay tuned to MP1st for all the latest news.

[Source: The First Descendant X/Twitter]

Damien Seeto

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Valorant Update 1.000.024 for Patch 10.00 Shoots Out for Tejo

[summaraize]

Riot Games has pushed out the first major update for Valorant in 2025, and this brings a new agent in Tejo, automatic remake voting, a new map rotation and more. Those on consoles will see this as Valorant update 1.000.024, while it’s officially tagged as patch 10.00 by the developers.

Read on for the complete changes made with today’s download, and details on Tejo’s kit as well.

Valorant Patch Notes for January 7, 2025

GENERAL UPDATES

ALL PLATFORMS

  • Starting in 2025, VALORANT will no longer be using Episodes. This year we’ll be introducing a year-long calendar called Season 2025.
    • Each Season will last the whole year and is broken down into 6 Acts so we can celebrate a year-long journey with you.
    • Ranks will be resetting at the beginning of Season 2025, and will also reset again at an upcoming midseason moment.
  • Gameplay logic around ability effects themed as explosions has been updated
    • Raze, Sova, and Gekko’s explosions should behave more consistently in how they deal damage.
    • Most notably, this should affect instances where Raze’s Showstopper (X) fails to deal damage in situations where it clips into level geometry.

AGENT UPDATES

ALL PLATFORMS

Tejo is en route. Our newest Initiator from Colombia will be released in a staggered rollout to all regions starting at 9:00 AM PT on January 8th.

  • Tejo
    • Special Delivery
      • EQUIP a sticky grenade. FIRE to launch. The grenade sticks to the first surface it hits and explodes, Concussing any targets caught in the blast. ALT FIRE to launch the grenade with a single bounce instead.
    • Stealth Drone
      • EQUIP a stealth drone. FIRE to throw the drone forward, assuming direct control of its movement. FIRE again to trigger a pulse that Suppresses and Reveals enemies hit.
    • Guided Salvo
      • EQUIP an AR targeting system. FIRE to select up to two target locations on the map. ALT FIRE to launch missiles that autonomously navigate to target locations, detonating on arrival.
      • CONSOLE ONLY: EQUIP an AR targeting system. ALT FIRE to select up to two target locations on the map. FIRE to launch missiles that autonomously navigate to target locations, detonating on arrival.
    • Armageddon
      • EQUIP a tactical strike targeting map. FIRE to select the origin point of the strike. FIRE again to set the end point and launch the attack, unleashing a wave of explosions along the strike path. ALT FIRE during map targeting to cancel the origin point.
      • CONSOLE ONLY: EQUIP a tactical strike targeting map. ALT FIRE to select the origin point of the strike. FIRE to set the end point and launch the attack, unleashing a wave of explosions along the strike path. ALT FIRE during map targeting to cancel the origin point.
  • Brimstone
    • Stim Beacon
      • Normal equip times are rare and usually reserved for abilities with higher counterplay needs. This is a light quality of life change for Brimstone.
      • Equip time after casting adjusted from Normal >>> Fast

COSMETICS UPDATES

ALL PLATFORMS

  • You can now access the FLEX cosmetic customization menu in Collections. Everyone will have a default FLEX, STAT-COM, added to their inventory. You can equip a FLEX by assigning them to your Spray Wheel, which from now on will be referred to as the Expressions Wheel.

ESPORTS FEATURES

PC ONLY

  • The Esports Hub is back for VCT25!
    • Check out our new overview page that provides a concise snapshot of where we are on the year long VCT journey!
    • See where everyone landed after roster-mania and get familiar with our four new guest teams!
    • Dive into the brackets for the International League Kickoff starting on January 11!

GAMEPLAY SYSTEMS UPDATES

ALL PLATFORMS

  • Automatic Remake Voting
    • When a player AFKs in the first round, a remake vote now automatically starts and requires only a majority vote of the remaining players to pass.
      • Example: Previously if one player was AFK, this vote required all four players to vote yes. Now it only requires three out of the remaining four players to vote yes to be successful.
  • Ping System
    • A “show map pings in world” cheat has been added to Custom game modes to support labbing lineups and practice.
    • When enabled, this cheat reverts the map pinging behavior to pre-patch 9.11 behavior.

MAP UPDATES

ALL PLATFORMS

  • Map Rotations
    • Starting with patch 10.00, maps will rotate every Act. We’ll provide updates about which maps are rotating on a per-Act basis, announcing the next Act’s map pool shortly after the current Act starts.
  • 10.00 Map Rotation:
    • Fracture and Lotus are back IN the COMPETITIVE and DEATHMATCH queues.
    • Ascent and Sunset are OUT of the COMPETITIVE and DEATHMATCH queues.

PREMIER UPDATES

PC ONLY

  • Welcome to Stage V25A1!
  • Matches start on January 15
  • If your team was in the Invite Division in Stage E9A3 and did not finish the Stage in the top 16 teams, your team has been demoted. You’ll see your new Provisional Division in the Premier hub.
  • Demoted teams seeded into the zone they originally promoted from. Your Team Owner can change your team’s zone in the Team Settings dropdown anytime before your team plays a match.
  • If your team cannot be placed into a zone, your Team Owner will be prompted to select a zone.

BUG FIXES

  • Agents
    • ALL PLATFORMS
      • Fixed a bug causing some abilities to display as the wrong team color for observers.
      • Clove
        • Fixed an issue where Not Dead Yet could fail to cast when pressed in the last few frames of the activation window
      • Skye
        • Fixed a bug where Guiding Light’s flash duration was not scaling properly
        • Fixed a bug where Guiding Light’s hit confirm sound and VO would not play when hitting Yoru’s Fakeout Clone
      • Cypher and Viper
        • Fixed an issue where shooting through Cypher’s Cyber Cage or Viper’s Poison Cloud could cheat wall penetration if they were placed too close to level geometry
      • Phoenix
        • Fixed an issue where Blaze referenced a Harbor projectile asset for a few frames
        • Fixed an issue where Blaze’s visual effects could be slightly offset
      • Improved the performance around Brimstone’s Sky Smoke dissipation effect
      • Fixed an issue where specific flashbang projectile visuals would stick around for Observers
      • Fixed an issue where players taking damage with Regen Shields would play hit-confirm sounds regardless of player visibility
  • Weapons
    • ALL PLATFORMS
      • Fixed a bug where if you were in Aim Down Sights (ADS), weapons would occasionally exit and re-enter ADS without any input.

There will be no more episodes for Valorant starting this year, though we’re unsure how this will affect Riot’s cadence for game updates.

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Alex Co

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

Home > News

Battlefield 3 Cut Missions From Campaign Detailed by Former DICE Dev

[summaraize]

If you’ve played Battlefield 3’s single-player campaign that consisted of 12 missions, you wouldn’t think that DICE had more planned for it, given its run time was the same as your standard military first-person shooter experiences. However, it seems there were at least two cut missions that didn’t make the final build, and now we know a bit more about it.

The info comes from former DICE dev and Battlefield 3 Lead Designer David Goldfarb. Over on Twitter/X, Goldfarb reminisced about Battlefield 3’s campaign in response to a tweet.

Battlefield 3 Had Two Mission That Were Cut

Goldfarb didn’t stop there, as he talked about portions of the campaign that didn’t make the final cut. Goldfarb revealed that one character in the game had a much more significant role than in the final product. The in-game character I’m referring to is Dawkins, the pilot in Battlefield 3’s dogfight mission titled “Going Hunting.”

According to Goldfarb, two cut missions involved Dawkins. In the first cut mission, Dawkins gets captured and has to escape captivity, while the second cut mission consists of Dima meeting up with her.

Even without the cut content, Battlefield 3’s campaign (and multiplayer) were the stuff of legends. If you don’t believe me, just watch one of the game’s marketing trailers.

Amazing, right? It’s a shame we don’t have that kind of drama to the series. Of course, there’s a chance (little it might be) that we’ll see it again in the next Battlefield game brewing at EA. Speaking of which, DICE is set to hold a large-scale test for the new Battlefield game in “early 2025,” so we should be hearing news about it soon.

Pivoting back to Battlefield 3, when people ask what the best Battlefield game of all time is, the usual nominees are Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 4. and yes, BF3. Interestingly enough, Goldfarb was a part of BF3 and Bad Company 2, and those games turned out great. Will we see Bad Company 3 from EA or DICE? Probably not, but Goldfarb has publicly stated he’s interested, and we’re hoping EA gives him a ring at the very least.

While EA hasn’t revealed when the next Battlefield game will be released, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it launch later this year.

More Battlefield Reading:

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Alex Co

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

Home > News

Red Dead Online Update for January 2025 Listed

[summaraize]

It’s the start of the year but that hasn’t stopped Rockstar from delivering the latest monthly update for Red Dead Online. For what’s new this month, read on for the Red Dead Online update for January 2025 where the discounts, activities and more are listed.

Red Dead Online’s First Update of 2025 Is Now Out

  • Double RDO$ and XP on Blood Money Contracts
  • Triple RDO$, Gold, and XP on Blood Money Opportunities
  • A pair of stylish blue Tied Pants for completing any Blood Money Opportunity through February 3
  • Triple RDO$ and XP on Free Roam Events
  • A Reward for the Lost Jewelry Collector Map for completing a Round of the Salvage or Condor Egg Free Roam Events
  • Fast Travel fees waived
  • Double RDO$, Role XP, and XP for Collector Set Sales
  • Triple Role XP on Discovering Collectibles
  • Limited-time returning clothing: The Shaffer Chaps, Cossack Hat, Squat Stovepipe Top Hat, and Eberhart Coat
  • A Reward for 25 Capitale and the blue Manteca Hat for playing Red Dead Online between now and February 3
  • Community-Inspired Outfit created by YouTuber Brute*VS, including a Gambler’s HatSheep’s Wool JacketCollar Overshirt (Male), Wide Collar Shirtwaist (Female), Workman’s GlovesPadded Saddle Work PantsAlvarado Chaps, and Tornado Boots
  • Double RDO$ and XP on the Hardcore Featured Series:
    • January 7 – 13: Hardcore Last Stand
    • January 14 – 20: Hardcore Public Enemy
    • January 21 – 27: Hardcore Most Wanted
    • January 28 – February 3: Hardcore Plunder and Spoils of War
  • Weekly Rewards:
    • January 7 – 13: Complete any Free Roam Event to receive a Reward for a Free Change of Appearance
    • January 14 – 20: Discover three Collectibles to receive a Reward for the Lake Isabella Treasure Map
    • January 21 – 27: Rank up five times or reach Rank 20 as a Collector to receive the gray Pelt Half Chaps
    • January 28 – February 3: Complete all Collector Daily Challenges two days in a row to receive the gray Macbay Jacket
  • Discounts: 5 Gold Bars off the Collector’s Bag, 40% off all Novice, Promising, and Established Collector Role Items, Breton and Mustang Horses, Sniper Rifles, Pistols and Pistol Style Customization, Torras Poncho, and Bandoliers and Dresses, plus 25% off The Clelland, Dedham, Haraway, and Zapatero Outfits

Free Community-Inspired Outfit

YouTuber Brute*VS designed this outfit with utility and versatility in mind. Rugged work pants, sturdy chaps, and a warm sheep’s wool jacket make a perfect ensemble for braving the muddy trails of Valentine. Find all the clothing and accessories to complete this look for free at local Tailors or the Wheeler, Rawson & Co. Catalogue:

That’s it for this month! While we’re not foreseeing any major updates anytime soon, we’ll continue providing these monthly updates for the remaining Red Dead Online players out there.

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Alex Co

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

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Apex Legends Update 2.75 Flies Out for Astral Anomaly Event

[summaraize]

The first major update of the year for Apex Legends is now live on all platforms for the Astral Anomaly event. Players can now download Apex Legends update 2.75 (PS5/XSX players will see this as version 1.000.089), bringing a new limited-time mode in Launch Royale, new cosmetic items, and more.

Alongside the new event, a new wave of gameplay changes and improvements are also part of the patch, with the complete details listed below.

Apex Legends Gets First Major Update of 2025

BALANCE UPDATES

Care Package

  • Opening a Care Package now grants EVO to the entire team instead of just the opener

Gold Weapon Rotation

  • Charge Rifle, Prowler PDW, Nemesis Burst AR, G7 Scout, CAR SMG

Ring Lethality

  • Support Perk benefits will be disabled once a player reaches the Ring Lethality Warning time limit
    • Revive Expert benefits will still maintain a long cooldown before re-use after being used inside the ring

ATTACHMENTS & ORDNANCE

Accelerated Weapons

NEW Accelerator: stock on the Nemesis Burst AR, G7 Scout, and CAR SMG

  • Increases EVO gained from damage
  • Increases Ultimate charge from damage
  • Knocks grant 30% ult charge as long as an Accelerator weapon is equipped

Dev Note: We are trying something fresh with this new Hop-Up and adding it to the base of these weapons by default. An ability like increased EVO and Ult charge gains makes the biggest impact when acquired early in a match, so we wanted to try and provide that exciting gameplay without the need to hunt for a rare item.

Arc Star

  • Players will now be notified with a “STUCK” message when they have been stuck with an Arc Star

Dev Note: It can sometimes be difficult to know if you’ve been stuck by an Arc Star in the heat of combat. This messaging should help take the guess work out of making the right play.

Hop Ups

  • Added Select Fire
    • Equippable on Prowler PDW and Charge Rifle
    • Adds a togglable automatic firing mode

WEAPONS

Charge Rifle

  • Increased ammo capacity
    • Base Ammo: 6
    • White Mag:7
    • Blue Mag: 8
    • Purple Mag: 9
  • Increased projectile size at closer ranges
  • Increased projectile speed
  • Improved recoil
  • Maximum damage for range scaling now achieved at 200m (was 300m)
  • Reduced projectile gravity
  • Now takes Select Fire Hop-Up
    • Alternate fire: automatic firing mode
    • Damage reduced by 25%
    • Increased fire rate
    • Recoil improvements when in auto

Dev Note: The Charge Rifle is an absolute monsoon of a gun in the right hands, but it can be a bit tricky to get the hang of. We are taking a pass at making the Charge Rifle more approachable by increasing magazine capacity, adjusting recoil, lowering the range to get max damage, and adding the Select Fire Hop-Up into the mix. 

Mastiff

  • Aim down sights blast pattern tightening reduced
  • Blast Pattern size increased
  • Increased the time before the Mastiff is ready to fire when raising
  • Raise and lower times slightly increased

Dev Note: The Mastiff has proven particularly strong this season and its consistency at range is a big part of that. We are smoothing out some timing issues which allowed niche double Mastiff builds to deal higher than average DPS and pulling some power out of its range by widening the blast pattern and ADS tightening. 

Peacekeeper

  • Choke speed significantly increased
  • Increased projectile speed

Dev Note: When it comes to good range shotguns we want the Peacekeeper’s choked shot to be the main talking point so we’re speeding it up and making the projectiles fly faster. This should drastically improve its performance at range, particularly around hitting moving targets.

RE-45

  • Damage increased to 13 (was 12)

Dev Note: The RE-45 has taken a backseat since Akimbo took the stage. This damage bump should help it feel a bit more viable within the current meta.

LEGENDS

Alter

  • Void Nexus
    • Cooldown reduced to 120s (was 180s)
    • No longer times out by default
    • Range increased to 300m (was 200m)
  • Upgrades: Level 3
    • Eternal Nexus: removed, moved into base kit
    • NEW Multidimensional: grants a second Void Nexus and both can exist at the same time
From the Rift Launch: Level 3
Eternal Nexus Void Nexus no longer times out.
From the Rift Mid-Season: Level 3
Multidimensional Grants a second Void Nexus. Both can exist at the same time.

Dev Note: We have made a small change to allow more flexibility with Alter’s Ult. We have more plans for her in the near future, but wanted to release a small change to see if players find more use with her updated Ult.

Horizon

  • Gravity Lift
    • Adjusted visual effects of the lift to reduce visual load on the battlefield
    • Adjusted audio of players in the lift to be more noticeable

Loba

  • Black Market
    • Ultimate starts with 99% charge (was 50%)
    • Added griefing protection
    • Can now be remotely picked-up
    • Can now grab banners (does not consume a Black Market usage)
    • Can now open vaults without a key, but no EVO is awarded
      • Stealing vault loot no longer breaks Black Market, but can only be done by Loba and will still set off the alarm
    • Can once again take loot from Explosive holds
    • Removed delay after placing Black Market before it becomes useable
    • Small meds (shield cells and syringes) no longer consume a Black Market usage
    • Trials, Big Maude, and Caustic Labs loot no longer appears in Black Market
  • Burglar’s Best Friend
    • Now has two charges
    • Reduced Tac toss time slightly and recovery time significantly
    • Reduced sound FX and VFX on thrown bracelet
  • Eye for Quality: Loba can ADS when unarmed to see the loot UI for items highlighted by her passive
  • Upgrades: Level 2
    • High Value: removed
    • Market Expansion: removed
    • Shopping Spree: moved to Level 2, reworked to allow entire squad to take 3 items from a friendly Black Market
    • NEW Wolf’s Claws: gain speed boost and significantly faster weapon draw after a teleport
  • Upgrades: Level 3
    • Tactical Upgrade: removed
    • NEW Brand New Bag: entire squad receives gold backpacks when selected
    • NEW Escape Artist: Loba can regenerate 50 shield HP after teleporting with her Tac, damage stops the regen
From the Rift Launch: Level 2
High Value Increase Tactical height and range.
Market Expansion Increase Ultimate range by 25%.
From the Rift Mid-Season: Level 2
Wolf’s Claws Gain speed boost and faster weapon draw after teleport.
Shopping Spree Squad can take 3 items from a friendly black market.
From the Rift Launch: Level 3
Shopping Spree Loba can take an extra item from Black Market Boutique.
Tactical Upgrade -5 second tactical cooldown.
From the Rift Mid-Season: Level 3
Brand New Bag Squad gains gold backpacks.
Escape Artist After teleporting, regen 50 shields. Damage interrupts.

Dev Note: Many of Loba’s changes aim to improve some of the cumbersome qualities around her kit and make her abilities more responsive. Her Ult being faster and granting free small meds gives her potency in her support style, while her two Tac charges and faster recovery make her more slippery and evasive. Just as a master thief should be. However, her upgrades are where we believe players can really lean into these two angles depending on their play preference or squad makeup. A more support-focused Loba can keep her team stocked with her improved Shopping Spree and Brand New Bag or she can flex into a more skirmishing style with Wolf’s Claws and Escape Artist. It’s a pretty substantial makeover for Loba and we’re eager to see players strut her onto the podium.

Mirage

  • Now You See Me…
    • Now also cloaks when using a healing consumable item
      • Cloak is removed by damage, ability use, or dropping the heal action
      • Cloak has a 5 sec cooldown that begins after exiting the cloaked state
    • Entering cloak now only takes 1s (was 1.5s)
    • After a revive, Mirage now has increased speed while cloaked
  • Upgrades: Level 2
    • Battpack: removed
    • More Me: removed
    • NEW Boozle-Eye: Bamboozles now also scan the target who shot the clone
    • NEW Renaissance Man: gain access to all other Classes’ world interactions: Assault Bins, Care Package scans, Survey Beacons, and Ring Consoles
      • Mirage and his team will ONLY gain EVO for these interactions if the squad also has a member of that class
From the Rift Launch: Level 2
Battpack Carry an extra battery per slot.
See battery count in Death Boxes.
More Me Extra Clone in Ult. Cooldown reduced by 30s.
From the Rift Mid-Season: Level 2
Boozle-Eye Bamboozles now also scan enemies.
Renaissance Man Gain access to all class consoles, bins, beacons and package scans.

Dev Note: Mirage is a much loved Legend who is seen as having too little team utility and too easy to detect amidst his clones. We are aiming to challenge those notions in the sunset of this support season by giving him a “jack-of-all-trades” access to bins and beacons, and more ways to escape with his cloaking abilities. We expect players to find him more useful as squad support and utility flex, and are eager to see some of the really creative ways you can now escape and re-engage. Is the world prepared for this Mirage-a-flage?

Pathfinder

  • Grappling Hook: cooldown increased to 30s (was variable)
  • Insider Knowledge
    • Reduced Max Cooldown earned from Scanning Care Packages
    • Reduced zipline change gained by Scanning Care Packages
  • Upgrade – Zipline Zen: damage reduction reduced to 25% (was 50%)

Dev Note: Despite a heavy support season, Pathfinder has remained as a highly picked Legend and often the main flex pick of a squad looking for rotations. We’ve pulled back the immediate Ult gains from scanning Care Packages which, alongside his Zipline Zen upgrade, gave him and his team frequent and safer rotations. We have also adjusted his grapple cooldown to encourage players to make more tactical choices with his abilities and seed the way for other Legends to step into his role in different comps.

Vantage

  • Sniper’s Mark: reloading with an Ult Accelerant uses new animations and keeps the weapon active

MODES

Launch Royale

  • Replicator spawns are enabled
    • Each Legend can craft teammate banners at a Replicator
    • Craft Level 1 Armor at a Replicator
  • Opening a bin will guarantee you a weapon if you have no weapons
  • Ring Timings Adjusted
    • Wait time between rounds will better match current values
    • The closing speed of the ring will be faster
  • Map Rotation: Kings Canyon, World’s Edge, Olympus, Storm Point, Broken Moon, & E-District

Rift Relics Continue

The items available in Rift Relics will be updated regularly, adding an additional weapon to the lineup as well as rotating the available Boost Kits.

  • Boost Kits
    • Newly added
      • Upgraded: unlocks and activates all Legend Upgrades while equipped
      • Emergency Smoke: release a vision obscuring smoke cloud at your location when you receive damage
      • Map Hack: occasionally pings enemies within range on your minimap for you and your allies
      • Phase Rewind: activating this sends you back to a previous location
    • Returning
      • Hover: ADS in the air will allow the player to hover, keeping them afloat and steadying aim
      • Void Reflex: damage that would knock a player instead sends them into the Void for several seconds, returning at critical health
      • Reactive Regen: Health/Shield bars regen over time
      • Squad Heal: using a health/shield consumable also applies it to nearby teammates
      • Nessies: summon Nessie companions to fight on your behalf
  • Relic Weapons
    • Newly added
      • Relic Pulse Blade: an enhanced version of the throwing knife that incorporates a small scan at the impact location and increased damage
      • Relic Charged Sentinel: keep your Shield Cells, this Sentinel is always charged
      • Relic Charged Rampage: Thermite Grenades are for throwing, this Rampage is always fired up
      • Relic EVA-8 + Double Tap
      • Relic Devotion + EMP: do additional damage to surrounding enemies when you break an enemy’s shield (the more damage done, the more powerful the EMP)
      • Relic Charge Rifle: the original Charge Rifle on release
    • Returning
      • Relic Alternator: Launch Royale variant modified with Disruptor Rounds
      • Relic Mastiff: Launch Royale variant
      • Relic L-Star: Launch Royale variant with high fire rate and limited mag capacity
      • Relic Spitfire: Launch Royale variant with fast reload, improved hipfire, and heavy ammo
      • Relic Wingman: Launch Royale variant with Skull Piercer
      • Relic Prowler: Launch Royale Select Fire (automatic) variant with high power scope
      • Relic G7 Scout: Launch Royale variant with sniper scope
      • Relic 30-30 Repeater: players heal for a percentage of the damage dealt to enemies and monsters
        • If the player succeeds in landing a headshot, health and armor are immediately highly refilled
        • Embedded Dual Loader
        • Mag size of 12
        • Skullpiercer Hop-Up
      • EPG-1: single fire, direct energy propelled launcher

MAP ROTATIONS

Pubs & Ranked

  • E-District
  • Olympus
  • World’s Edge

Mixtape

  • January 7-January 20, 2025
    • TDM: Skull Town, Monument, Zeus Station
    • Control: Production Yard, Thunderdome, Lava Siphon
    • Gun Run: Wattson, Fragment, The Core
  • January 21-February 10, 2025
    • Big TDM: Thunderdome, Skull Town
    • Control: Production Yard, Lava Siphon
    • Gun Run: Skull Town, Fragment
    • Lockdown: Zeus Station, The Core

RANKED

RP Value Tuning

We identified an issue where RP buckets and matchmaking were not fully aligned which led to some unexpected overlaps in ranks during matches. For example, players of similar skill levels could appear in different tiers, creating confusion when higher-tier players showed up in lower-tier matches. We’ve adjusted the system to better align RP buckets with matchmaking to fix this. As part of this adjustment, players will lose less RP and maintain progression closer to what was originally intended. Thank you for your understanding as we continue improving the Ranked experience!

  • Rookie IV to Silver IV: no RP value changes
  • Silver IV to Silver III: decreased to 500 RP (was 600RP)
  • Silver III to Silver II: decreased to 500 RP (was 600RP)
  • Silver II to Silver I: decreased to 500 RP (was 600RP)
  • Silver I to Gold IV: increased to 750 RP (was 600RP)
  • Gold IV to Gold III: increased to 750 RP (was 700RP)
  • Gold III to Gold II: increased to 750 RP (was 700RP)
  • Gold II to Gold I: increased to 750 RP (was 700RP)
  • Gold I to Platinum IV: increased to 750 RP (was 700)
  • Platinum IV to Platinum III: 750 RP (was 800)
  • Platinum III to Platinum II: 750 RP (was 800)
  • Platinum II to Platinum I: increased to 1000 RP (was 800)
  • Platinum I to Diamond IV: increased to 1000 RP (was 800)
  • Diamond IV to Diamond III: increased to 1000 RP (was 900)
  • Diamond III to Diamond II: increased to 1000 RP (was 900)
  • Diamond II to Diamond I: increased to 1000 RP (was 900)
  • Diamond I to Master: increased to 1000 RP (was 900)

BUG FIXES

  • Added a buffer to tap strafes to combat automated movement tech at high frame rates
  • Charge Rifle weapon UI no longer occasionally displays when in ADS with a high power optic
  • First draw animation no longer plays with Akimbos after every death in Mixtape
  • Fixed a rock wall on Broken Moon that players could hide inside of
  • Low shield voicelines no longer plays when no Shield Core is equipped
  • Out of bound timers will once again trigger while using Rampart’s Sheila while mounted
  • UI icons should no longer sway off center on ultrawide
  • Weapon mastery XP will now count correctly when Akimbo weapons are being held

LEGENDS

  • Alter
    • Loot in Death Boxes can now be pinged while using Alter’s passive
    • Passive prompt should no longer show up without looking at a Death Box occasionally, including after respawning
  • Caustic
    • Fixed an issue with barrels not deploying on top of one another
  • Lifeline
    • D.O.C. Halo will no longer be destroyed by various large doors
    • D.O.C. VFX and SFX will not linger longer than expected after expiring
    • First person audio will no longer play on squadmates when D.O.C. is deployed to herself
  • Newcastle
    • Now properly breaks free of Ash’s snare when using Ult and doesn’t hover awkwardly in the air

QUALITY OF LIFE

  • Adjustments to EVO points gained from consecutive revives
  • Dropped loot on the rising walls on World’s Edge will now pop off the wall after it finishes raising rather than stick to it
  • Healing option now defaults to cells instead of syringes
  • “Incoming Voice Chat Volume” menu option is now available on consoles and the maximum value has been raised from 100% to 200% (values above 100% will attempt to boost quiet players)

GRAPHICS

  • DirectX 12 is now the default version on PC. Data from the last couple of seasons has shown that the typical player will have better performance and stability in DX12, as discussed in our Reddit post.
    • Players on Steam can still select DX11 as a startup option, and players on the EA App or Epic Game Store can use DX11 with the commandline argument –anticheat_settings=SettingsDX11.json.
    • Note: compiling shaders for the very first time can take a while for both DX11 and DX12, but players newly switching to DX12 may take a while to connect to the lobby for the first time.
  • This patch also includes improvements and fixes for DX12:
    • Added support for AMD Anti-Lag 2: this option will be enabled by default in the Video Settings for players with compatible AMD GPUs. Internal testing found that in situations where the game is bottlenecked by GPU performance, Anti-Lag 2 improved in-engine input latency by roughly 25%.
    • Black borders should no longer continue to show the Steam Overlay or visual artifacts when using aspect ratios different from your monitor.
    • Game cursor should now be centered when opening a menu while using a game resolution different from your monitor’s native resolution.
    • Inventory menu should no longer jump around when using a controller (sorry, House of Pain).
    • Removed the “Dynamic Streaming Budget” toggle from Video Settings since it should be left on for virtually all players. This option generally has no effect unless your GPU runs out of VRAM, and in these situations it can save performance degradation. It can still be disabled in the videoconfig.txt file.
    • Significantly improved performance of streaming geometry data to the GPU, especially on low-end systems, reducing stuttering and missing in-game models.
Once Respawn releases another patch, we’ll let our readers know.
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Alex Co

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