Home > News

Astro Bot Gets New Character Mention in Credits, Implies More Content to Be Added After Speedrun Levels

Just two months ago, we reported on how Astro Bot’s end credits confirmed the existence of upcoming bots in the game. While almost all the bots mentioned in the report have made their way into the game as part of Team Asobi’s free DLC speedrun levels, it seems more are on the way.

Astro Bot’s credits have been updated to acknowledge the use of another IP in the game, and if you don’t want anything spoiled, I suggest not scrolling further.

Still here? Good! Go check the image below and see if it rings any bells (if it does, congrats! You’re old).

Thanks, AssanCHOP!

If you’re unfamiliar with the character, Tomba! is a game released way back in 1997 for the original PlayStation console, and was developed by Whoopee Camp, and published by Sony.  On July 2023, Limited Run Games announced they would be working with game director Tokuro Fujiwara to re-release the game on modern consoles and PC. In August of this year, Tomba! Special Edition was released on PS5, Switch and Steam, and was running on Limited Run Games’ Carbon Engine, and even featured a new soundtrack by Fujiwara.

Not familiar with the character? Perhaps this image will jog your mind:

While Team Asobi has already released new bots for Astro Bot as free DLC, there are still a few that have yet to make it into the game as well. Based on the end credits acknowledgement, we have yet to see Team17’s Worms franchise, Ubisoft’s Rayman, an Beyond Good & Evil, Assassin’s Creed, and Argonaut Games’ Croc Legend of the Gobbos.

Could we be getting more Astro Bot DLC in the future? Based on the evidence spotted, and how the end credits confirmed some of the bots that were introduced in the speedrun levels, I’d say that’s a certainty. Let’s hope this means more free content is on the way for Astro Bot owners.

Speaking of DLC, we are set to receive the Rising Heat download later today, which will introduce a new speedrun level, and most likely, a new bot. Just don’t expect anyone from Final Fantasy 7 to make an appearance, as Square Enix nixed the idea when approached by Team Asobi.

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Throne and Liberty Update 14.400.730 Pushed for Version 1.7.0, and Kicks Off Arena Season 1

Developer NCSoft has rolled out Throne and Liberty Update 14.400.730 , and this is for the game’s version 1.7.0 patch. While not a major patch that ushers in new content, this title update does bring in Arena Season 1, adjust the game’s time for those living with Daylight Savings, and ends the Haunted Harvest event, and more.

There’s of course, bug fixes and other improvements made, which are all listed in the official patch notes below. For the Arena Season 1, players can shoot for higher ranks, which will grant unique rewards such as a seasonal title, plus themed Dash, Glide and Swim morphs.

Throne and Liberty Update 14.400.730 Includes In-Game Improvements and Various Tech Fixes

General

  • Guilds that have control of Stoneguard Castle can now schedule Tax Deliveries.
  • Haunted Harvest is now over. Thanks to everyone that participated!
  • Arena Season One is now live. Ready your weapons as the rankings reset for a fresh climb to the top of the ladder.
  • Event Times: Regions with Daylight Savings Time changes (Europe and North America) have had their hourly event schedules adjusted to return events to the pre-time change hours.
  • For Peace-mode world boss spawns, new access portals will now appear at the entrance of open world dungeons to transport players to the boss location and avoid Night and Eclipse effects.
  • Weekly Mission rewards adjusted to once again reset during the weekly maintenance window.
  • Accounts with negative Lucent balances will no longer be able to receive Lucent distributions from their guild.
  • Equipment: Extract items can now be compared with equipped gear to view the effective changes of applying the extract.
  • Equipment: The default keybind for viewing a piece of equipment at max enhancement is now ALT+G.
  • Skills – Dagger: Fixed an issue that caused the effect from the passive skill Assassin Step to carry over when changing weapons.
  • Combat: Enhanced the visual effects for Heavy Attacks.

UI

  • Exiting a popup with the ESC key while viewing your inventory no longer closes the Inventory screen.
  • Fixed an issue when opening multiple selection chests that reset the quantity opened to 1 when clicking to confirm.
  • Applied the latest localization strings to correct various text length issues.

Once another patch is available, we’ll let our readers know.

[Source: Throne and Liberty]

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > Title Updates and Patches

The First Descendant Update 1.31 for Hotfix 1.1.8 Now Live

Nexon has released a small patch for looter shooter The First Descendant, and it’s available for download now no all platforms. Console gamers will see this as The First Descendant update 1.31 (PS5/XSX version 1.031), which is for Hotfix 1.1.8. While there’s no new content in the patch, it does slot in improvements to explosives, bug fixes to the timer UI and more.

The First Descendant Update 1.31 List of Improvements Made in Latest Hotfix

Content Improvements

(1) Content Improvements

– Explosives – Gas Tank and Vulgus Shells now only explode when damaged by firearms.

  • ㄴ Explosives will no longer explode due to skill damage.

– The rate of outgoing damage of explosives has changed.

  • ㄴ For players, reduced from 0.3 to 0.05
  • ㄴ For Common Monsters, increased from 0.9 to 1
  • ㄴ For Elite Monsters, increased from 0.2 to 0.4

(2) UI & UX

– You can now change field settings (Public/Private) while on the battlefield.

  • ㄴ Similar to the Field Difficulty change, Public/Private settings will take effect upon visiting a Camp or Outpost after making a change.

– The maximum number of players you can add to your Friends and Block lists has been changed.

  • ㄴ Previously: 50 → Now: 100

Bug Fixes

(1) Contents

  • – Fixed an issue where the Timer UI showing the remaining time to attack the Commander monster in Invasion would sporadically not be visible.
  • – Fixed an issue where the monsters would move around the defense objects and stop attacking in the Special Operation Albion Resource Defense Fortress.

(2) Descendants

– Fixed an issue where ‘area targeting skills’ would not activate and be cancelled when the target was too far from the reticle at the center of the screen.

  • ㄴ Affected Skills: Viessa (Ultimate Viessa)’s ‘Blizzard’, Valby (Ultimate Valby)’s ‘Plop Plop’, Enzo’s ‘Start Supply’ and ‘Supply Firearm Enhancer’, and Yujin’s ‘First Aid Kit’

That’s about it. While Season 2 is slated to drop next year, expect a bigger patch to be released before the year is done.

[Source: TFD Nexon]

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > News

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 1 Patch Notes List Everything New

Ahead of tomorrow’s patch download, Activision has revealed the complete Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 1 patch notes! Alongside that, we also get the COD Warzone Season 1 patch notes for the game’s  debut of connecting to this year’s Call of Duty game.

Without further ado, read no for the new content, gameplay changes and more.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 1 Patch Notes

New Multiplayer Maps

  • Season Launch 
    • Hideout (6v6)
      • Sharpen your combat skills in this mid-sized Multiplayer map featuring an extensive training site including target practice, an obstacle course, and a lifelike recreation of a vault and security room to help plan for the next mission to hit the Luttazzi crime family.
    • Heirloom (6v6, 2v2)
      • Crash a private showing of Luttazzi family art to create a diversion for the other Rogue Black Ops team as they execute the real job.
    • Extraction (6v6)
      • All hell has broken loose in the aftermath of a Crimson One ambush when the attack on the Luttazzis goes sideways.

New Multiplayer Modes

  • Season Launch 
    • Ransack
      • Ransack sees you looting gold bars from crates dotted around the area of operations on 6v6 maps. Once gathered, secure your loot by bringing it back to your team’s stash.
  • In-Season 
    • Prop Hunt
        • Prepare for an infamous game of hide-and-seek, as the fan-favorite Black Ops party mode is back! Drop into a Multiplayer map as a Prop or Hunter

New Weapons (Multiplayer & Zombies)

  • Season Launch 
    • Krig C – Assault Rifle (Battle Pass)
      • For a hard-hitting, versatile Assault Rifle that performs well across multiple ranges, look no further than the Krig C.
    • Saug – SMG – Battle Pass (Battle Pass)
      • Pepper your enemies with a hailstorm of lead using this rapid-fire SMG that’s perfect for breaching and clearing small spaces.
  • In-Season 
    • Sirin 9mm – Special Weapon (Special Event Reward)
      • Take your game to the next level with this foldable Special category weapon offering full-auto fire with a slow and steady fire rate to help you stay on target up to the mid-range.
    • Power Drill – Melee Weapon (Event Reward)
      • There’s no better tool for the job than the Power Drill, offering a rapid attack speed for quick follow-up hits to get the job done.

New Attachments (Multiplayer & Zombies)

  • Season Launch 
    • 12 Gauge Dragon’s Breath (Battle Pass)
      • Add some heat to your Shotgun blasts with incendiary rounds comprised of magnesium sparks that stick to and burn enemies over time.
  • In-Season 
    • Buffer Weight Stock (Event Reward)
      • The heavier Buffer Weight Stock provides significantly smoother action through the additional resistance met by the bolt carrier group for the XM4 Assault Rifle, XMG LMG, and DM-10 Marksman Rifle.
    • XM4 Burst Fire Conversion (Event Reward)
      • Convert the XM4 Assault Rifle’s primary firing mode into a three-round burst to help conserve ammo and stay on target.
    • Kompakt 92 Burst Fire Conversion (Event Reward)
      • Convert the Kompakt 92 SMG’s primary firing mode into an exceptionally rapid three-round burst.

New Multiplayer Perks

  • Season Launch Window 
    • Shadow – Strategist
      • Undetectable to enemy traps and mines.

New Scorestreak (Multiplayer & Zombies)

  • Hand Cannon 
    • Available as an Event Reward in the Season Launch Window, this mid-level Scorestreak allows players to equip a massively powerful handgun for a finite amount of time.
    • The Hand Cannon can also be accessed in Zombies at the Crafting Table under Support.
  • Goliath (BlackCell, Rogue Black Ops, Launch) 
    • Solidify your fiery combat mastery as the molten man of fire himself, Goliath! All biographical information for this Operator has been redacted.
  • Sevati “Sev” Dumas (Battle Pass, Rogue Black Ops, Launch) 
    • A main player in the Rogue Team after the conclusion of the Campaign, Sev is ready to make a deal with the untrustworthy French Syndicate and is gearing up to take down the rival Luttazzi family to prove it.
  • The Replacer (Bundle, Rogue Black Ops, In-Season) 
    • There’s no substitute for greatness. The Replacer has concluded his whirlwind Black Ops 6 takeover tour and has freed up some time to appear in-game, available as a Store Bundle shortly after Launch.
  • Competitor CDL Home and Away Operators 
    • Two new Operators arrive just in time for the 2025 Call of Duty League® season, and both are available (along with a host of other content including a Weapon Camo) in the CDL Store Bundle. The first available Bundle includes the “2025 CDL Home” “Competitor” Operator (Rogue Black Ops), and the “2025 CDL Away” “Competitor” Operator (Crimson One).
    • Access either of the Competitor Operators to find the location where a variety of incoming Operator Skins will become available, once earned. Expect the following as Season 01 progresses:
      • CDL Team Packs for the Atlanta Faze, Boston Breach, Carolina Royal Ravens, Los Angeles Guerrillas, Los Angeles Thieves, Miami Heretics, Minnesota Rokkr, Cloud9 New York, Vancouver Surge, Optic Texas, Toronto Ultra, and Vegas Falcons.
      • Skins unlocked during Multiplayer Ranked Play for Challenge Wins, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Crimson, Iridescent, Top 250, and Seasonal World Champion.
      • Skins unlocked during Warzone Ranked Play for Challenge Wins, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Crimson, Iridescent, Top 250, and Seasonal World Champion.

New Events 

  • The Hit List (In-Season) 
    • Who’s next? Keep up your luxurious – but slightly corrupt – lifestyle during the Hit List Event. You’re offered up a take-no-prisoners mission: kill or be killed. The Hit List Limited Event gives players a board of contracts with one goal – take them all out. Cross off the entire list and earn some exclusive loot for hire.

New Zombies Directed Mode 

  • Liberty Falls and Terminus 
    • For those players looking to witness the Zombies story with a guided experience to complete the objectives of the Main Quests in Liberty Falls and Terminus, Directed Mode is available at launch.
      • Directed Mode offers direct assistance in completing the Main Quest with objectives listed on-screen.
      • All Side Quests, S.A.M. Trials, and the Rampage Inducer are disabled in this mode.
      • Rounds are capped based on certain steps in the Main Quest progression, with a maximum of Round 15.
      • The chance to earn unique Calling Card rewards for completing the Main Quests for Liberty Falls or Terminus before Directed Mode goes live will expire when Season 01 launches.

GLOBAL

Here is a message from our partners at Team Ricochet:

Treyarch has delivered several updates to combat disruptive behavior, including:

  • Enhanced AFK detections to battle against account boosting
  • Adjusting ping thresholds to require players play matches in their region to cut down on VPN abuse

To unlock Ranked Play in Black Ops 6, players will need to win 50 match-made multiplayer matches:

  • This ensures that players are experienced with multiplayer before they enter the mode and gives #TeamRICOCHET a historical match history to examine before an account enters Ranked Play
  • #TeamRICOCHET also utilizes its Replay Investigation Tool to monitor replays of top players as part of the investigation process

Detection systems initially deployed at launch from #TeamRICOCHET to collect data to test for effectiveness will be activated to help flag accounts for action beginning with Season 01.

The security system updates listed above will also be active for Ranked Play in Call of Duty®: Warzone™, which launches at mid-season.

Armory

  • The Armory will go live in Black Ops 6 in S01 Reloaded when post-Event content is available to unlock.
  • In Warzone, the Armory will be available to unlock at Player Level 24 at Season 01 launch. For more details, check out the Warzone Season 01 patch notes here.

CAMPAIGN

Performance

  • Made improvements to mission intro sequence animations.

Bug Fixes

  • Updated text for a number of languages localizations.
  • Addressed various issues that resulted in infrequent game crashes.
  • Addressed a memory error that was forcing players to restart their game.
  • Addressed visual fidelity issues with water effects.
  • Addressed an issue causing the High Contrast setting to be on by default.
  • Addressed an issue where players would be mistakenly shown an out-of-bounds warning while navigating a mission.
  • Addressed an issue that would prevent players from completing a mission due to the untimely passing of Gladney.

MULTIPLAYER

Maps  

  • Lowtown
    • Addressed an issue where the water would flicker for some players.
  • Protocol
    • Adressed an issue where the water would flicker for some players.
    • Adjusted the A S&D bombsite to prevent line of sight from artillery above.
  • Red Card
    • Addressed an issue where players could get outside of the intended playspace.
  • Vault
    • Adjusted the A S&D bombsite to reduce line of sights from start spawn area.

Spawns

    • Spawn logic updates across several maps to reduce the chances of spawning near enemies.
    • Adjusted start spawns in Subsonic to prevent damaging opposing enemy team at match start.

Modes

  • Addressed an issue across several maps where Hardpoint zones could be captured outside of the intended boundaries.
  • Addressed an issue where incorrect icons could display on the Next Hardpoint lock icon.
  • Addressed an issue where the bomb in Search & Destroy could not be retrieved if dropped on a destroyed vehicle.
  • Addressed an issue where the “Time is almost up” line would play too frequently in Gunfight.

Game Chat

  • Addressed an issue where some players were unable to hear each other during Intermission (between rounds) and in Post-Game voice chat.

Weapons

Throughout the pre-season we have seen a steady and healthy variety of weapon usage. Most weapons sit quite closely in both performance and pick rate, with no weapons dominating in both areas. As such our first round of Season 01 tuning changes will not be introducing any major shifts to the current state of weapon balance, and instead focus on elevating some of the weapons at the bottom of the pack. We are also addressing feedback regarding Assault Rifle damage in Hardcore and completing our adjustments to the shotgun slug attachment.

All Weapons

  • Adjusted weapon motion while moving and changing stances to improve aiming feel and centering (especially with optics).
  • Hold Breath focus state will now be maintained while firing if applicable.
  • Improved Weapon depth of field settings when performing a Weapon Inspect.

Assault Rifles

SMGs

Shotguns

Strelok Laser Attachment Adjustments

  • Increased the time it takes to reach ADS spread from 20% of Aim Down Sight Speed to 70% of Aim Down Sight Speed

Slug Attachment Adjustments

  • Slugs allow players to run shotguns as mid-range precision weapons. As a tradeoff, they have limited short range effectiveness if you are not carefully hitting headshots

Marksman Rifles

We are adjusting handling stats on the burst rifles so that they fit more squarely into their intended roles. The Swat 5.56 has a slower fire rate within each burst and more recoil, making it better suited for mid-range engagements. Meanwhile the AEK-973 has better stability and precision, but a longer burst delay makes it a riskier pick when playing aggressively. We are also significantly reducing the power of the AEK-973 Rapid Fire, which was too strong not to take.

Sniper Rifles

We have been monitoring feedback on Sniper Rifles and are making some changes to promote more build diversity and improve the sniping experience before gaining access to a complete attachment set. We are lowering the baseline flinch on all Snipers and reducing the Flinch Resistance given by stock attachments. The resulting received flinch values are much lower up front and just a bit lower overall after equipping the stocks. We are also increasing Aim Walking Movement Speed bonuses on stock attachments to make those choices more valuable.

Lastly, we are improving the ADS Idle Sway delay by default on all Snipers, meaning that on average there will be less deviation from your point of aim when entering ADS. Our goal is to support the various sniping playstyles you all enjoy through several viable weapon builds. We will continue to monitor weapon and attachment data as well as your feedback to ensure that all sniping playstyles are fun and rewarding in Black Ops 6.

Sniper Rifle Class Adjustments

  • All snipers now have 1 second of 50% Idle Sway scaling at the beginning of Aim Down Sight
  • All snipers have had base Flinch Resistance improved by 17%

Gunsmith  

  • Various updates to weapon descriptions.
  • Addressed an issue where stickers would appear in the Decal slot.

Perks

  •  Slight reduction to Ninja footstep volume.
    • Additionally we’ve made a slight reduction to default footstep volume.
  • Addressed an issue that prevented Gearhead from being able to booby-trap enemy Care Packages.
  • Addressed an issue that prevented Equipment from replenishing with the Scavenger Perk.

Scorestreaks 

  • Archangel 
    • Addressed an issue where the rocket would sometimes explode immediately when firing near a wall.

Challenges 

  • Addressed an issue where some Daily Challenges were not tracking properly.

Movement Updates 

  • Addressed a bug causing player to be slowed when shot while mantling.

Theater 

  • Added Nuketown and Private Match recordings.
  • Addressed various stability issues when viewing matches.

UI 

  • Closed an exploit that allowed players to equip Operators they had not unlocked.
  • Addressed an issue where the AAR could close when entering the Scoreboard tab.
  • Addressed an issue earned and unearned medals would not display correctly in Collections.
  • Addressed an issue where the option to select an attachment skin would not be visible for some players.

Graphics 

  • Addressed an issue where some weapon effects would persist on the character after changing weapons.

Stability 

  • Added numerous stability fixes.

ZOMBIES

Maps

  • Terminus 
    • Addressed an issue where defuse progress was sometimes not saved if the player stopped defusing during the Apocalypse Protocol Main Quest step.
    • Addressed an issue where entering a Kazimir after completing the Main Quest would teleport the player to the boss arena and down them.
    • Addressed an issue where loading into a saved game after unlocking the Pack-A-Punch machine could cause some doors to have inconsistent collision.
    • Addressed an issue during the Main Quest where connecting both Node Connectors at the same time would cause overlapping voice lines.
    • Changed the location of the Ammo Cache on the Seaside Path.
  • Liberty Falls 
    • Updated the first Mangler whose arm is blown off to always drop a Mangler Cannon instead of only the first Mangler that spawns.
    • Resolved an issue where Blanchard would not be present during some dialogue.

Weapon Adjustments

The recent changes to Assault Rifles in Zombies were an unintended carryover from a global weapon tuning pass. We do not intend to inherit all MP weapon tuning without looking at how it affects Zombies tuning as well.

We have corrected this in this update, while also making a pass on increasing the damage performance of ARs in Zombies. All ARs have had their Pack-a-Punched base damage and overall critical damage increased. While you may see the word “decreased” in a few places, the performance for these weapons is still increased overall!

Additionally, the HE-1 Launcher has gotten a buff to become more useful at stopping hordes of zombies. When Pack-a-Punched, it will now have more stock ammo and a larger explosion with more overall damage.

For the complete Zombies weapon changes made, head on over here.

Bug Fixes
  • Addressed an issue where camos were not being applied to Zombie Builds.
  • Closed an exploit that allowed players to have 3 weapons.
  • Addressed an issue where Wallbuy rarity would reset when loading into a save.
  • Addressed an issue where yellow damage numbers would appear when hitting a critical spot with the Ray Gun.

Perks

  • Quick Revive
    • Dying Wish Augment
      • Addressed an issue where Dying Wish could activate when diving from large heights while protected from fall damage.
  • Elemental Pop 
    • Addressed an issue where Elemental Pop would prevent normal Ammo Mod activations.
  • Jugger-nog 
    • Turtle Shell Augment
      • Turtle Shell will now apply damage mitigation when being grabbed by an Amalgam.
  • PHD Flopper 
    • Addressed an issue where diving onto an elevated or inclined surface, such as stairs or up a hill, would not activate the perk.

GobbleGums

  • Addressed an issue that prevented players revived by Near Death Experience from keeping all their Perks.

Field Upgrades

  • Adjusted the description for the Energy Mine to no longer say it deals Electrical damage to accurately reflect the damage type.
  • Increased Dark Flare damage from 25% to 40% of the base zombie max health per tick.
  • Addressed an issue where an extra charge on Field Upgrades would be lost when loading a save.

Support

  • Addressed an issue that could cause the Mutant Injection to end early when near water.
  • Addressed an issue that allowed the player to pick up a Sentry Turret while using Mutant Injection.
  • Reduced self-damage from the LDBR.

Save & Load

  • Closed an exploi that allowed keeping a save file after it had already been loaded.

Enemies

  • Addressed an issue where zombies charmed by Brain Rot could prevent the player from completing an exfil.
  • Addressed an issue where loading a save would disable the rampage inducer if it was active.
  • Addressed an issue where zombies would throw guts at the end camera if the player leaves the match to end the game.
  • Terminus
    • Addressed an issue where rarely the round would not end after killing all zombies.
    • Addressed an issue where the Amalgam could grab the player while slowed.
    • Addressed an issue where the Amalgam could pull players into walls causing them to get stuck.
    • Addressed an issue where diving while being hit by knockback from Patient 13 could push the player further than intended.
  • Liberty Falls
    • Addressed an issue that prevented the Abomination from spawning inside Fuller’s Liberty Lanes.
    • Addressed an issue where the Abomination could fire off a beam attack before leaving a spawn closet.

Activities

  • Addressed an issue that would prevent one elite from spawning consistently during exfil from rounds 16 onward
  • Updated S.A.M. Trials that required the player to not take damage to display a progress bar instead of a timer.
  • Terminus.
    • Addressed an issue where players would be able to use Equipment, Scorestreaks, and fire weapons during the Boat Race awards sequence.

XP Earn Rates

  • Addressed an issue where XP was being awarded to all weapons being used in an assist instead of just the last one.
    • If two weapons were used in an assist only the last one used by the players getting the assist will be awarded XP.

Challenges

  • Addressed an issue where Wall Buys would not progress the Prestige 8 Challenge Value Town.
  • Addressed an issue where Legendary GobbleGums would progress the Ultra Prestige 8 Challenge Full Power instead of Ultra GobbleGums.
  • Addressed an issue where the Liberated Challenge could be completed by saving and quitting before starting the final encounter.
  • Addressed an issue that would complete the Social Distancing and Invincible Challenges by joining a game in progress.
  • Addressed an issue that would complete the Harbinger of Doom Challenge when loading into a saved game and using a Scorestreak.
  • Addressed an issue where the Prestige 5 Challenge Fire & Forget would mention needing a Bombing Run medal instead a Lethality medal.
  • Addressed an issue where the player would not complete Outrageous Challenge until Round 16 instead of Round 15.
  • Addressed an issue where loading a save past Round 25 would complete the Sticks N’ Stones Challenge.
  • Addressed an issue where the Dark Journey Challenge could show as not complete when unlocking Nebula on 33 weapons and being awarded the Calling Card.

AFK Detection

  • We have updated the detection logic to determine if a player is AFK during an active match.
    • This should reduce the amount of false positive AFK kicks in Zombies.
  • Added AFK Kick warning UI to ZM

UI

  • Updated visuals on all GobbleGums to improve readability.
  • Addressed an issue where the Boat UI would overlap with the Map with the Central Command HUD preset.
  • Addressed an issue where the Drop Node Connecter prompt during the Terminus Main Quest would overlap with the Map with the Central Command HUD preset.
  • Addressed an issue where the Round number would initially be displayed incorrectly when loading a save.
  • Addressed an issue where the Weapon Stats on the AAR would show the loadout players started with instead of the loadout they ended with.
  • Addressed an issue where some items would show the wrong text on the Tac Map when pinged.
  • Removed Multiplayer information from Melee Weapon descriptions.
  • Added a Highest Round icon to the AAR when reaching a new personal highest round.
  • Added a timer to the scoreboard.
  • Added a notification when picking up Intel.

Graphics

  • Addressed an issue on PS4 where some effects would stop rendering at higher rounds.
  • Addressed an issue where some effects for the Mutant Injection were not working when Sprinting.
  • Addressed an issue where the character effects from Brutus would be present during Mutant Injection.
  • Liberty Falls
    • Addressed an issue where some damaged vehicles would not have smoke effects.

Stability

  • Addressed an issue where the game could crash when attempting to start a solo match after playing in splitscreen.
  • Addressed an issue where sometimes the player would be unable to Save & Quit with the error “The game failed to save for an unknown reason. Try again later.”
  • Added numerous stability fixes.

Call of Duty Warzone Season 1 Patch Notes

GLOBAL

RICOCHET ANTI-CHEAT

Treyarch has delivered several updates to combat disruptive behavior, including:

  • Enhanced AFK detections to battle against account boosting
  • Adjusting ping thresholds to require players play matches in their region to cut down on VPN abuse

To unlock Ranked Play in Black Ops 6, players will need to win 50 match-made multiplayer matches:

  • This ensures that players are experienced with multiplayer before they enter the mode and gives #TeamRICOCHET a historical match history to examine before an account enters Ranked Play
  • #TeamRICOCHET also utilizes its Replay Investigation Tool to monitor replays of top players as part of the investigation process

Detection systems initially deployed at launch from #TeamRICOCHET to collect data to test for effectiveness will be activated to help flag accounts for action beginning with Season 01.

The security system updates listed above will also be active for Ranked Play in Call of Duty®: Warzone™, which launches at mid-season.

EVENTS

The Hit List (Launch Window)

Who’s next? Keep up your luxurious – but slightly corrupt – lifestyle during the Hit List Event. You’re offered up a take-no-prisoners mission: kill or be killed. The Hit List Limited Event gives players a board of contracts with one goal – take them all out. Cross off the entire list and earn some exclusive loot for hire.

WARZONE

MAPS

New Map

Area 99

Season 01 introduces Area 99, a new Warzone map designed by Treyarch and inspired by Nuketown’s high-paced gameplay. This map is set in the Nevada desert at the Echo Ridge Weapons Station — a hidden 1950s government site abandoned after a reactor leak. The map offers intense, tactical combat through desert roadways, open trenches, and pipework around a central Reactor “bullseye,” anticipated as the hottest drop zone. Another key point of interest is a massive crane suspending a Nuketown house in the Loading Bay, adding to the map’s unique and dynamic environment.

  • Points of Interest
    • Reactor
    • Bunker
    • Test Site
    • Mannequin Assembly
    • Cooling Towers
    • Nuketown Shipping
    • Loading Bay
    • Warehouse
    • Manufacturing
    • Pods

Returning Maps

Urzikstan

The “big map” returns to its early days featuring familiar landmarks from before the destruction of Popov Power Plant and the arrival of the Atlas Superstore.

Enhanced with Black Ops 6 innovations, Urzikstan is the staging ground for a fierce Ranked Play Battle Royale later when Season 01’s Mid-Season launches.

Rebirth Island

The infamous prison island returns during Season 01’s playlist with Resurgence Modes, enhanced by Omnimovement, Black Ops 6 weaponry, and Killstreaks for added tactical intensity.

Map Adjustments

Urzikstan, Rebirth Island

  • Vehicles 
    • All new vehicles with improved handling, detailed further below.
    • Brand new dirtbike for quick rotation.
  • Loot  
    • All new Black Ops 6 ground loot including weapons and equipment.
  • Visuals 
    • Lighting and visual improvements to the map with Black Ops 6 technology.
  • Sound  
    • Audio improvements to in-game sound effects including footsteps balance tuning.

Rebirth Island

  • Submarine 
    • The Submarine POI introduced earlier this year now appears 100% of the time.
  • Redeploy Drones 
      • Increased Redeploy Drone count and spawn rate for balancing later circles.
  • Biometric Scanner & Weapon Trade Station 
    • Rewards for the Biometric Scanner and Weapon Trade Station have been rebalanced and updated to Black Ops 6 loot.

MODES

Returning Modes

Battle Royale

This mode offers the classic Warzone experience, centered around high-risk, high-reward gameplay. You and your squad have only but a few attempts to survive – and the match concludes with one ultimate winner.

•    Player Count: 120 (Solos, Duos, Trios, Quads)

•    Map: Urzikstan

Resurgence

This mode offers a bit more forgiveness and a whole lot more action. As long as one squad member remains alive, others can redeploy after a countdown. However, once the resurgence window expires, free redeployment is no longer possible for the remainder of the game.

•    Player Count: 44 (Solos, Duos, Quads), 45 (Trios)

•    Map: Area 99, Rebirth Island

Plunder

This mode is a squad-based mode where accumulating Cash is the main objective. The squad that gathers the most Cash by the end of a timed period – extended into overtime once a squad reaches $2 million – claims victory. Cash can be earned by eliminating players and collecting their valuables, searching ground loot and Supply Boxes, and completing Contracts and in-game events. Operators can start with a custom Loadout and redeploy after each elimination throughout the entire match.

•    Player Count: 120

•    Map: Urzikstan

Bootcamp

This mode is a Quads-only training mode, allowing players to experience Warzone with up to 20 players and 24 bots. XP progression is limited, and the mode does not contribute to Daily/Weekly Challenges or include public events or advanced contracts.

•    Player Count: 44

•    Map: Urzikstan

Mode Adjustments

  • Resurgence 
    • Players will receive an additional 25% discount in the Buy Station on “Redeploy Squadmate” while the Resurgence timer is still active.

PLAYLIST

RANKED PLAY

An all-new Ranked Play experience will come to Battle Royale on Urzikstan for the first time with Season 01 Reloaded. Keep an eye open for more intel later this year.

GENERAL

  • Carry-Forward 
    • Weapons, blueprints, operators and skins, and vast majority of the cosmetics from Modern Warfare II and III will be available to players in the Black Ops 6 era of Warzone.
  • AFK Detection 
    • We have updated the detection logic to determine if a player is AFK during an active match.
  • Leaderboards 
    • To accommodate and track the new statistics coming with the Black Ops 6 integration, the Warzone Leaderboard stats will be reset at launch.

ARMORY

The Black Ops 6 Armory (BETA) is a repository that provides access to previously missed Loadout content from prior titles including Modern Warfare II and III. Players can look for and activate an item in the Armory to start earning XP toward unlocking it.

The Armory is unlocked at Player Level 24 and is added to the Level Unlock Menu. This menu serves as a platform to browse items that otherwise cannot be earned through normal weapon progression.

Please note that certain legacy attachments will be missing from the armory at the launch of Season 01. New players seeking to unlock these items can do so by playing the respective legacy title until they are implemented in Black Ops 6 in a future update. Players that have already unlocked this content in previous games are not impacted.

PROGRESSION

Season 01 introduces an extensive progression and Prestige system, with 55 levels of unlocks, 10 Prestige levels, and a final Prestige Mastery tier with 1,000 additional levels. Players unlock weapons, equipment, killstreaks, and perks through progression, with exclusive Calling Cards, animated “Dark Ops” cards, and 10 reticle unlocks per optic. Weapon camos include 9 Military Camos per weapon, 2 Special Camos sharable across modes, and 4 Mastery Camos, including animated designs like Gold Tiger and Abyss. Some rewards are exclusive to Black Ops 6 but can be earned retroactively.

CAMOS

Weapon Mastery Camos NEW

The Weapon Camo grind has been overhauled in Black Ops 6 and is bigger than ever. You’ll be progressing through Camos on the quest to earn the first ever Call of Duty: Warzone Mastery Camo: Abyss (Season 01).

COMBAT

New Combat

  • Body Shield 
    • Sneak up behind an unsuspecting enemy and double-tap the melee button to pull them close as your personal shield against incoming fire.
    • Once they’ve served their purpose, gracefully deliver the coup de grâce.
    • Body Shield is the spiritual successor to the previous Interrogation mechanic.
  • Dedicated Melee Weapon 
    • All player loadouts will have a dedicated melee weapon by default, in addition to their primary and secondary weapon slots.
    • Players can swap to their dedicated melee weapon by holding down the melee button.
    • Players holding a melee weapon will benefit from unlimited tac sprint.
  • Shootable Doors 
    • Doors can now be shot open allowing for new tactics and strategy.

Combat Adjustments

  • Primary Weapon 
    • The Loadout inventory is returning to the classic Warzone experience where players can only equip one Primary weapon.
    • There is a Wildcard detailed further below that allows for two Primary weapons to be equipped.
  • Self-Revive Auto Pickup 
    • While downed, players will now be able to automatically loot Self-Revive kits that are within close proximity.
  • Live Ping Duration 
    • The duration of live pings has been reduced from 3 seconds to 2 in order to bring more balance to a combat engagement.
  • Armor Plate Replacement Speed 
    • The speed at which players can replace broken or missing armor plates has been increased by 8% to match the fluidity of Black Ops 6 Omnimovement.
  • Abandon Timer 
    • The time players must wait to give up has been reduced from 5 seconds to 4 seconds due to the previous Interrogation mechanic being replaced.
  • Deaths Door 
    • The health at which players will enter the death’s door state has been reduced from 50% to 35%.
    • The health at which the death’s door state will end has been reduced from 70% to 55%.
    • This change is due to us wanting to enable Players to better hear and see their surroundings when under threat by an enemy.

MOVEMENT

New Movement

  • Omnimovement 
    • The movement and combat innovations from Black Ops 6 are fully integrated into Warzone. This allows players to Sprint, Slide, and Dive in any direction, perform 180-degree Combat Dives, and execute advanced moves like the Combat Supine and Omni-Sprint for dynamic tactical play.
  • Combat Supine
    • Drop to a prone position, then rotate your Operator for a complete 360-degree view of your surroundings. Then fire to eliminate the enemy quickly as they appear, all the while staying in the supine position.
  • Intelligent Movement 
    • Players can now customize elements of how they traverse landscape and navigate combat.
    • Available in the Keyboard & Mouse or Controller Options under “Movement,” players will find the following features:
      • Sprint Assist: Choose whether to manually or automatically sprint, tactically sprint, how much of a delay before sprinting begins, and if the assist occurs while sprinting sideways or backwards.
      • Mantle Assist: Customize how and when to automatically mantle over obstacles.
      • Crouch Assist: This enables crouching and sliding when the intent is to move through a valid opening.
      • Corner Slice: Allows the act of inclining weapons (and camera) when adjacent to or moving around a corner. This doesn’t affect aim. Default is “on.”
  • Unlimited Tac Sprint  
    • Players will have access to unlimited tac sprint via the Sprinter Perk or by holding their dedicated melee weapon.
  • Mantle Protection 
    • Players will now climb onto thin or high ledges rather than over them to prevent untimely deaths.

Movement Adjustments

  • Tac Sprint Duration 
    • We heard feedback around default tac sprint duration, so it has been increased from 2 seconds to 4 seconds.
  • Landing Tuning 
    • The duration of the shock effect when falling from a near-death height has been reduced to 2.1 seconds from 3 seconds.
    • The minimum fall damage required before the shock effect from landing is now 55%, up from 50% allowing for slightly higher jumps with less punishment.
    • This change is made to better enable the movement opportunities that the Black Ops 6 integration allows.
  • Vertical Ascenders & Horizontal Zipline Improvements Quality of Life 
      • Interacting with the Ascenders and Ziplines lines has been improved, making it easier to attach to the line from an angle or while free falling to increase fluidity.
  • Redeploy Drones 
    • Redeploy Drones are fixed in place for the duration of a match.
    • Once a Redeploy Drone has been consumed by the gas, it will leave the map rather than relocating to give a more consistent experience.

INVENTORY

  • Streamlined Inventory 
    • At the start of Season 01, we’re streamlining the inventory system by removing the “Backpack” and returning to a classic inventory layout, organized by sections for cash, gas mask, armor plates, killstreaks, field upgrades, weapons, ammo and perks.

PERKS

Perks in Warzone are now streamlined, allowing players to choose three Perks (one from each color-coded slot) in the Loadouts Menu. Most Pick-3 Perks unlock as you level up but re-lock upon Prestiging. Black Ops 6 player levels carry over to Warzone, unlocking corresponding Perks.

General

  • Lootable Perks 
    • Lootable Perks return! Each season, players will encounter a number of perks via Ground Loot and Supply Boxes. These perk effects stack on top of the original Pick-3 Perks players have selected in their loadout.
    • When a player is eliminated, their Pick-3 Perks will drop on the ground as a “Custom Perk Pack” to be recovered or stolen by another player, while any looted perks will disappear.
    • The Lootable Perks players can find include a mix of perks from the 18 possible Pick-3 Perks, in addition to two perks that are unique to ground loot;
      • Shrouded
      • Irradiated
    • Players will recognize their Pick-3 Perks when they are equipped in the bottom right of the HUD, while lootable perks can be viewed in the Inventory.
  • Specialist Perk Package 
    • Found as a rare loot drop or Care Package reward, Specialist grants every Perk including all 18 Pick-3 Perks, as well as both Ground Loot exclusive Perks – Irradiated and Shrouded.
    • If you’re eliminated, the Specialist Perk package will disappear.
    • Can be acquired in Buy Stations in limited quantities for $30,000.
  • Pre-Match Perks Quality of Life 
    • Perks can now be edited in the pre-match lobby.

Available Perks

Slot 1

Veteran

  • Reduce the negative effects of some enemy equipment.
    • Immunity to Grenadier.
    • Immunity to Snapshots.
    • Resistant to Flash, Gas, Movement, and Shock negative effects.
  • While aiming down sights reduce flinching and extend Hold Breath duration.
  • Unlocked via Season 01 – The Hit List Event Reward

Grenadier

  • Explosive damage slows enemy health regeneration and movement speed.
  • Throw equipment farther and see a previous of the trajectory.
  • Throw distance reduced to 15% from 25%.
  • Increased the delay for enemy health to regen to 10 seconds from 5 seconds.
  • Unlocked at player level 1

Dexterity

  • Reduced weapon motion while jumping, sliding, and diving.
  • Take less fall damage.
  • Unlocked at player level 20

Scavenger

  • Start equipped with maximum reserve ammo for your primary weapon.
    • Extra ammunition from Loadout acquisition only.
  • Resupply ammo, equipment, plates, and extra cash from dead enemies.
  • Unlocked at player level 26

Survivor

  • Start regenerating health more quickly.
    • Health regen begins after 3 seconds.
  • Your allies revive you faster when you’re downed.
  • The passive ability to ping enemies that down you has been moved to Tracker.
  • Removed reviving allies faster.
  • Removed the death tax reduction.
  • Unlocked at player level 47

Slot 2

  • Recharge equipment over time (50 seconds).
  • Unlocked at player level 1

Bomb Squad

  • Reduces incoming explosive and fire damage.
    • Does not reduce Killstreaks damage.
  • Spot enemy equipment and Killstreaks through walls.
    • Can hack enemy equipment.
    • ADS to highlight equipment for your squad.
  • Unlocked at player level 8

Tracker

  • Track enemy footsteps, bullets you fire briefly mark an enemy on contact for you and your squad.
    • Hitting the enemy from farther away increases the time they are marked.
  • Enemies that down you are automatically pinged.
  • Unlocked at player level 29

Sprinter

  • Can Tactical Sprint indefinitely.
  • Unlocked at player level 32

Cold-Blooded

  • Undetectable by AI targeting and thermal optics.
  • Prevents some enemy recon Perks and effects.
    • Immunity to EMP and Scrambling.
    • Immunity to Tracker.
    • Will not trigger Alertness.
  • Unlocked at player level 41

Quick Fix

  • Killing enemies or inserting armor plates immediately starts health regeneration.
    • Health regeneration triggers on gun, melee, and throwing knife kills.
  • Players can now insert amor plates one-handed enabling them to still hold onto a weapon and hip fire.
  • Unlocked at player level 50

Slot 3

Gung-Ho

  • Reduced movement penalties when reloading or using equipment.
  • Reload while Tac Sprinting.
  • Unlocked at player level 1

Resolute

  • Taking damage from gunfire provides a boost to movement speed for a short duration.
    • 15% movement speed bonus, an increase from 5%.
  • Unlocked at player level 5

Ghost

  • Undetectable by enemy Radar Pings while moving.
  • Cannot be detected by some devices.
    • Immunity to Heartbeat Sensor and Proxy Alarm.
  • Unlocked at player level 17

Birdseye

  • UAVs you call in are 25% larger and show the heading of the enemy for your squad.
    • Increase applies to UAV Killstreaks, UAV Towers, and Portable Radar.
  • Detects players who have the Ghost effect.
    • Players with Ghost do not show a heading.
  • Will no longer increase sweep speed or duration of UAVs.
  • Unlocked at player level 23

Tempered

  • Refill armor plates to full with two plates instead of three.
  • Unlocked at player level 35

Alertness

  • Sense when enemies are nearby with on-screen information.
    • Sense at a 30m radius.
  • Your vision pulses when you are being aimed at by the enemy.
  • Unlocked at player level 44

Lootable Perks

Shrouded

  • Drop a Smoke Grenade when entering the downed state.
  • Available via ground loot

Irradiated

  • While under the effects of the gas circle or equipment you will move faster, take reduced gas damage, and can insert armor plates.
  • Available via ground loot

WILDCARDS

First introduced in Black Ops Cold War, Wildcards come to Warzone with 4 options that act as special, single-use perks for each loadout. These loadout modifiers allow players to equip more gear, weapons, or attachments, adding unique customization and variety to gameplay.

Available Wildcards

Bandolier

– Your loadout provides a Munitions Satchel.

– This Wildcard is only available in Warzone.

– Unlocked at player level 15

Overkill

– Equip two Primary or Secondary weapons.

– Unlocked at player level 24

Gunfighter

– Get 3 extra attachment points for your Primary weapon.

– This only applies to Black Ops 6 weapons.

– Unlocked at player level 33

Battle Ready

– Your loadout provides a UAV and Utility Box.

– This Wildcard is only available in Warzone.

– Unlocked at player level 38

SATCHELS

Satchels are new loot items that expand storage for inventory slots, allowing players to carry more of an item type and improve efficiency. Each Satchel type can be equipped simultaneously and are dropped upon elimination.

Available Satchels

Armor Satchel

– This substantially increases your Armor Plate carrying capacity from 6 to 12.

Munitions Satchel

– This increases the Ammunition capacity for all weapon types.

– Increases Equipment capacity by 2 to 4.

EQUIPMENT

Warzone continues to provide an extensive selection of lethal and tactical equipment, allowing players a range of options to suit their combat style. With the release of Black Ops 6, players can explore new additions to the equipment lineup, some of which we suspect may become fan favorites. We’ve also made several visual and balance adjustments to classic equipment, ensuring a diverse arsenal to choose from.

Available Equipment

Lethal Equipment

Frag Grenade

  • Cookable fragmentation grenade.
  • Unlocked at player level 1

NEW

Spring Mine

  • Proximity-triggered explosive that launches in the air and deals heavy damage to the surrounding area.
  • Unlocked at player level 1

Semtex

  • Reliable sticky grenade with a timed fuse.
  • Unlocked at player level 9

C4

  • Sticky explosive with large damage radius.
  • Unlocked at player level 14

Thermo Grenade

  • Creates a large fuel-air cloud that explodes after a duration.
  • Updated to the Black Ops 6 version of the Thermobaric.
  • Unlocked at player level 21

NEW

Impact Grenade

  • Precision grenade that explodes on impact.
  • Unlocked at player level 26

Molotov Cocktail

  • Thrown incendiary weapon that creates a patch of flames.
  • Unlocked at player level 32

Throwing Knife

  • Retrievable knife that is lethal on impact to unarmored targets or the head.
  • Unlocked at player level 36

NEW

Blast Trap

  • Planted explosive device that detonates when enemies come near.
  • Unlocked at player level 41

Drill Charge

  • Explosive charge that burrows into a surface and explodes, damaging enemies on the other side.
  • Unlocked at player level 50

NEW

Combat Axe

  • Retrievable axe that is lethal on impact to unarmored targets and bounces off surfaces.
  • Unlocked at player level 53

Tactical Equipment

NEW

Prox Alarm

  • Thrown sticky alarm that rings and flashes when an enemy is nearby. Tripped alarms show on allied minimaps.
  • The alarm will outline enemies within the tripped area. This cannot be seen through walls.
  • Available via ground loot

Concussion

  • Grenade that slows enemy movement and aiming.
  • Unlocked at player level 1

Flashbang

  • Grenade that blinds enemies for a duration.
  • Unlocked at player level 6

Snapshot Grenade

  • Provides a momentary glimpse of enemies within the blast radius for your squad.
  • Unlocked at player level 11

NEW

Spy Camera

  • Quickly mark enemies and hostile Equipment for your team.
  • Unlocked at player level 12

Smoke Grenade

  • Deploys a smoke screen that blocks vision and automated targeting systems.
  • Unlocked at player level 17

Experimental Gas

  • Grenade that releases a lingering cloud of gas that causes slowed movement, blurred vision, coughing, and light damage.
  • Unlocked at player level 27

Stim Shot

  • Combat stim that heals wounds, provides an immediate burst of movement speed, and refreshes tac sprint.
  • Unlocked at player level 30

Decoy Grenade

  • Grenade that simulates footsteps and gunfire to confuse enemies. Sticks to surfaces.
  • Unlocked at player level 35

Shock Charge

  • Electrical trap that sticks to surfaces and electrocutes enemies, stunning them.
  • Unlocked at player level 42

NEW

Neurogas Mine

  • Deployed trap which emits a neurotoxic gas cloud, causing severe hallucinations, disorienting, and damaging enemies.
  • Unlocked at player level 48

Equipment Adjustments

With the Black Ops 6 integration, we have adjusted a number of the Lethal and Tactical equipment to offer a new and fresh arsenal of choices.

  • Maximum Deployed Equipment 
    • The maximum number of lethal and tactical equipment that can be planted at the same time has been increased to 3 up from 2.
    • We aligned Warzone with the changes to Multiplayer. This enables some of the new traps to be better utilized and function better with other adjustments like the Munitions Vest and Bomb Squad.
  • Frag 
    • Outer damage decreased to 65 from 110.
    • Middle damage increased to 170 from 155.
    • Inner damage decreased to 260 from 275.
    • Frag Cooking Indicator Quality of Life 
      • Players will now notice a UI indicator to better determine the time remaining until a frag detonates.
  • Semtex 
    • Explosion radius decreased to 5m from 6.5m.
    • Outer damage decreased to 45 from 110.
    • Inner damage decreased to 180 from 200.
  • Throwing Knife 
    • Damage decreased to 180 from 200.
  • Drill Charge 
    • Outer damage decreased to 39 from 110.
  • Molotov 
    • Burn stage damage was reduced to 10,15,25 from 15, 25, 30.
  • Smoke 
    • VFX updated to be at parity with Black Ops 6.
  • Experimental Gas 
    • Will now deal 10 damage per tick.
  • Snapshot Grenade 
    • Radius increased to 15m from 10m.
    • Will now put a mark over a successfully “snapped” target which lasts for 5 seconds.

KILLSTREAKS

Killstreaks in Warzone, much like Multiplayer’s Scorestreaks, are game-changing tools that players can find via ground loot, Supply Boxes, or as rewards from contracts and events. Many of these Killstreaks are lethal, unleashing devastating airstrikes and explosions that can decimate enemy squads from above. Others are tactical, offering valuable intel on enemy positions or on ideal positioning for upcoming fights. With Black Ops 6, a few new Killstreaks have been introduced designed to give players a real advantage in the heat of battle.

Available Killstreaks

Killstreaks

NEW

Care Package

  • Call in a care package that will provide several random items including killstreaks, legendary or greater weapons, lootable perks, and field upgrades.

NEW

Napalm Strike

  • Launch a targeted carpet bomb strike of explosive napalm.

NEW

SAM Turret

  • An automated turret that scans for and attacks enemy aerial vehicles within range.

NEW

Sentry Turret

  • Automated turret that scans for and attacks nearby enemies in a forward-facing cone.

UAV

  • UAV recon that reveals enemy locations in a large area.

Advanced UAV

  • An advanced version of the UAV that reveals the enemies across the entire map.

Bunker Buster

  • Designate a missile strike that pierces a building, detonating on impact and deploying gas several stories downward.

Cluster Strike

  • Launch a missile bombardment in a targeted area for a duration.

Counter UAV

  • Launch a drone that scrambles enemy mini maps.

Foresight

  • Shows all future Gas circles on the map.

Precision Airstrike

  • Call in twin jets for a precision strike along the best available path.

Supply UAV

  • Radar sweeps that show Supply Box locations on the map.

Killstreak Adjustments

  • Bunker Buster 
    • Similar to the Predator Missile from Modern Warfare, the Trophy will now cause the Bunker Buster to detonate mid-air stopping it from penetrating the building. The explosion damage is reduced and the gas will unload at the location it was destroyed. Like all projectiles the trophy must have line of sight.

FIELD UPGRADES

Available Field Upgrades

Field Upgrades

NEW

Scrambler

  • Creates an area that disrupts enemy equipment, field upgrades, killstreaks, and minimaps.

NEW

War Cry

  • Rally your team, improving nearby allies’ movement speed and health regen speed for a duration.

Armor Box

  • Drop a box of armor for you and your squad.

Munitions Box

  • Drop a box of ammo and equipment for you and your teammates.

Decontamination Station

  • Deployable autonomous neutralizing agent that disperses the toxic gas cloud to enable breathing in it. Lasts for a limited time and is very fragile.

Deployable Buy Station

  • Marks a location and calls in a Deployable Buy Station by drone.
  • The drone can be shot down as it flies in, enabling you to change the drop location.

Deployable Cover

  • Portable, rapidly deployable ballistic cover.

Heartbeat Sensor

  • A limited use tablet that displays rough information about nearby enemies.

Loadout Drop

  • Marks a location and deploys a Loadout Drop Crate, allowing your team to pick-up their loadout, including weapons, perks, lethals and tacticals.

Portable Radar

  • Emits a periodic radar ping to detect nearby enemies.

Portable Redeploy Drone

  • A portable drone used for fast repositioning.

Recon Drone

  • Player controlled drone that can be parked. Targets in the reticle of the drone for a time will be marked for the squad.

Redeploy Drone Beacon

  • A compact redeployment system for fast team repositioning.

Reinforcement Flare

  • Flare gun that brings a squad mate back.

Trophy System

  • Deployable autonomous defense system that destroys up to three nearby pieces of equipment and projectiles.

Utility Box

  • Deploy a box of ammo, equipment, and armor plates for you and your teammates.

Field Upgrade Adjustments

  • Heartbeat Sensor 
    • The warning display now highlights in red when enemies are within 15 meters, up from 7.
    • The time between pings has been reduced to 1.5 seconds, down from 2.5 seconds.
  • Munitions Box 
    • The munitions crate now grants 3 clips of every ammo type, rather than only refilling your primary and secondary weapon ammo types.
    • With this change players are enabled to make pivots in their weapon choices. A focus on breadth rather than depth of ammo.
  • Portable Radar 
    • The duration of the portable radar pulse has been increased from 25 seconds to 30.
  • Personal Redeploy Drone 
    • Deploys 50% faster.
    • No longer prohibits firing while in use.
    • Standardized height across the different maps.
  • Reinforcement Flare 
    • 30% faster to use.
  • Trophy System 
    • Counter charges increased from 3 to 5.

WEAPONS

Introduction

We’ve expanded the Warzone arsenal to include weapons from the launch of Black Ops 6 in October 2024, giving players even more options to customize their loadouts. Dive into Warzone with these powerful additions, now available alongside fan favorites from previous titles.

At launch, Black Ops 6 weapons in Warzone will share similar values to their Multiplayer counterparts such as ADS speed, sprint to fire, and recoil. However, damage profiles for a number of weapons have been modified to establish a baseline for Warzone. We encourage new and returning players to study their favorite weapon’s details in the Gunsmith.

With the integration of Black Ops 6, we also now have new tuning options for weapons that weren’t previously available, allowing us to adjust aspects like handling (ADS speed and sprint to fire), magazine sizes, recoil, and more. For instance, while the AS VAL has a default magazine size of 20 in Multiplayer, we’ve set it to 30 for Warzone.

Our goal is to make weapon adjustments faster to keep the available selection dynamic and engaging, without making any weapons feel obsolete. With these new tuning options, we aim to refine each weapon’s identity and role specific to their use in Warzone, such as emphasizing Assault Rifles as strong long-range options.

Additionally, all bolt-action snipers and pump-action shotguns (while aiming down sights) from Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, and Black Ops 6 will have a one-shot headshot potential within their respective max damage ranges. Additionally, in order to incentivize intentional aim, all shotguns will fire 5 pellets while ADSing versus 4 when fired from the hip.

We want players to feel that weapons from Modern Warfare II and Modern Warfare III continue to remain solid, viable choices in Warzone. Our goal is to create a unified combat system that makes each gun enjoyable to use, regardless of its origin. We’ll continue to improve legacy weapons and attachments throughout the coming year to further support this vision.

Black Ops 6 Weapons

Black Ops 6 weapons have a unique Warzone damage profile, which includes specific base damage, range, and location-based modifiers.

We’ve adjusted several Black Ops 6 attachments to function differently in Warzone:

  • CHF Barrel 
    • For Assault Rifles, LMGs, DMRs, SMGs, and Pistols: This now grants an increased neck multiplier rather than a head multiplier.
    • For Sniper Rifles and Shotguns: This now provides increased leg modifiers instead of arm modifiers.
  • Flip Magazine 
    • The magazine capacity penalty from Multiplayer has been removed. In Warzone, flip mags match the base weapon’s ammo capacity.
  • Rapid Fire 
    • This attachment now applies a base damage penalty in Warzone, along with greater penalties to bullet velocity and range.

Modern Warfare II & III Weapons

A visual recoil reduction pass has been applied to Modern Warfare II weapons, enhancing their feel and control while shooting.

Barrel and stock attachments from Modern Warfare II have also had their penalties reduced. Additionally, a significant balancing pass has been completed for underbarrel and muzzle attachments from both Modern Warfare II and III. All cons have been removed from these attachments, meaning they now only provide stat boosts, with each subcategory of underbarrels and muzzles functioning identically except for cosmetic differences. AMP attachments in these slots, however, retain their unique functionality and balancing.

  • Muzzle Enhancements 
    • Suppressors: Boost velocity and damage range.
    • Comps: Improve recoil control.
    • Flash Hiders: Increase damage range and firing aim stability.
    • Breacher: Enhance melee damage and recoil control.
  • Underbarrel Enhancements 
    • Angled Grip: Increases hipfire and tacstance accuracy and aim walking steadiness.
    • Handstop: Improves sprint-to-fire and ADS speed.
    • Vert Grip: Enhances recoil control and firing aim stability.

Furthermore, Modern Warfare II and III weapons now have corner-slicing functionality, adding an extra tactical edge.

Global Weapon Builds

Seamlessly access a custom weapon build you’ve created across Black Ops 6 Multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone. This time-saving feature lets you adjust any Build or Blueprint in one game, with changes automatically applied wherever that weapon is equipped. To create a build, select a base weapon or Blueprint, add attachments and cosmetics in the Gunsmith, and return to the Custom Loadout screen to save it. The build, with all selected customizations, will then appear in other modes under the same weapon type.

New Weapons

These weapons are new to Season 01 and were not part of the original launch of Black Ops 6 Multiplayer in October 2024.

  • Krig C Assault Rifle 
    • Full-auto assault rifle. High damage and average handling. Recoil pattern starts very controllable before ramping up.
    • Unlockable via Battle Pass Page 3 HVT Tier Reward OR Page 14 Battle Pass Blueprint
  • SAUG Submachine Gun 
    • Fully automatic submachine gun. Excellent mobility and good handling. Great rate of fire. High recoil.
    • Unlockable via Battle Pass Page 3 HVT Tier Reward OR Page 11 Battle Pass Blueprint
  • Sirin 9mm Special Weapon (In-Season)
    • Fully automatic specialty weapon. Offers SMG characteristics as a secondary weapon. Slow rate of fire.
    • Unlockable via Event Reward
  • Power Drill Melee Weapon (In-Season)
    • Two-hit kill. Very short range. Very fast attack speed.
    • Unlockable via Event Reward

New Attachments

These attachments are new to Season 01 and were not part of the original launch of Black Ops 6 in October 2024.

  • 12 Gauge Dragon’s Breath 
    • Add some heat to your Shotgun blasts with incendiary rounds comprised of magnesium sparks that stick to and burn enemies over time. Equipping the 12 Gauge Dragon’s Breath Fire Mod prevents using Barrel Attachments, but the tradeoff is well worth it when seeking a fiery finish.
    • Compatible with Shotguns
    • Acquired via Battle Pass Page 7 Reward
  • Buffer Weight Stock (In-Season)
    • The heavier Buffer Weight Stock provides significantly smoother action through the additional resistance met by the bolt carrier group. The improvement results in more manageable recoil through sustained fire, ideal for staying on target though at the expense of ADS Speed and Aim Walk Movement Speed.
    • Compatible with XM4 Assault Rifle, XMG LMG, DM-10 Marksman Rifle
    • Acquired via Event Reward
  • Burst Fire Conversion (In-Season)
    • Convert the XM4 Assault Rifle’s primary firing mode into a three-round burst to help conserve ammo and stay on target. There’s an impressive lack of recoil too, so it’s still possible to pump out consistent damage when facing heavy threats.
    • Compatible with XM4 Assault Rifle
    • Acquired via Event Reward
  • Burst Fire Conversion (In-Season)
    • Convert the Kompakt 92 SMG’s primary firing mode into an exceptionally rapid three-round burst. Equipping the Burst Fire Conversion Fire Mod locks the Underbarrel and Barrel Attachment slots. When you need to fire quickly in close quarters, hold down the trigger to automatically cycle through burst shots.
    • Compatible with Kompakt 92 SMG
    • Acquired via Event Reward

Weapon Adjustments

The following weapon adjustments are strictly limited to Modern Warfare II and III weapons. It’s a lot.

Future patch notes for Black Ops 6 weapons will follow the table format introduced with the launch of Black Ops 6.

CLICK HERE TO SHOW/HIDE INFO

LOOT

  • Ground & Supply Box Loot 
    • Added Black Ops 6 items including:
      • Weapons
      • Field Equipment: War Cry, Scrambler
      • Killstreaks: Napalm Strike, Sentry Gun, SAM Turret, Care Package
      • Lethals: Throwing Axe, Blast Trap, Impact Grenade, Spring Mine
      • Tacticals: Neurogas Mine, Prox Alarm, Spy Camera
      • Perks: Grenadier, Combat Tracker, Dexterity, Cold-Blooded, Irradiated, Shrouded
      • Satchels: Armor Satchel, Munitions Satchel
    • Removal of the following:
      • Killstreaks: Cluster Mine, Mosquito Drone, Guardian, Bomb Drone
      • Lethals: Proxy Mine, Claymore, Thermite, Breacher Drone
      • Tacticals: Tracker Grenade, Scatter Mine
      • Redeploy tokens
  • Loot Distribution 
    • The loot distribution system will now create further space for larger items as they are dropped to the ground to avoid overlapping loot.
    • The loot distribution system will now purposely avoid dropping items near objects in close proximity such as Buy Stations.
  • Medical Cabinets Quality of Life 
    • Loot that drops out of medical cabinets now drops within closer proximity of its origin.
  • Buy Stations
    • Buy Station inventory and prices have had slight adjustments with the Black Ops 6 integration.
  • Weapon Outlines Quality of Life
    • Weapons now have rarity outlines to help players better evaluate the options at their disposal throughout a match.

CONTRACTS

Available Contracts

Below is a summary of each contract type to help both new and returning players quickly grasp how each one functions with the integration of Black Ops 6. These summaries cover key objectives, mechanics, and rewards, making it easier for players to jump in and engage with contracts confidently.

Bounty

When you pick up a Bounty contract, a nearby player will be selected as your target. A circle will appear on your tac map, periodically updating to show the target’s location. The target will be somewhere within this circle each time it updates, and the circle gradually shrinks as you move closer. The target can also see an indicator on their HUD showing how close the closest player from your hunting team is; this is displayed as a three-level “threat indicator.” Completing the contract by killing the target rewards cash, XP, and a singular ping from the bounty target’s body. If another team kills the target, your contract ends with a “poached” outcome, offering a lesser reward. Allowing the timer to run out or losing your team will fail the contract.

Big Game Bounty

This contract works similarly to the base Bounty but with a few twists. It only spawns after Circle 2 closes and prioritizes teams with the highest cumulative kills, provided they’re not already bounty targets. If you complete this contract by eliminating the target, you’ll earn an immediate advanced UAV ping along with extra cash and XP, offering greater rewards than a standard Bounty.

Scavenger

Upon picking up a Scavenger contract, three scavenger caches will spawn near the pickup spot. You’ll be directed to each cache one at a time, with the next cache revealed only after you open the previous one. Opening a cache adds 45 seconds to the contract timer. These caches contain slightly better loot than usual, and each will drop a lootable perk. Opening the third and final cache completes the contract, rewarding your team with cash, XP, and an armor satchel from the last cache. Failing to open all caches before time runs out, or having your team wiped, will fail the contract.

Intel

When you accept an Intel contract, a nearby upload station will be marked for your team to upload sensitive intel. Reaching the station and interacting with it initiates an “upload” phase where one team member must remain near the station until the upload is complete. If multiple players are in this radius, the upload speed can increase by up to 200%. Completing the upload rewards cash, XP, and a peek at the next circle’s location. Failure occurs if the timer expires or if your team is wiped.

By picking up the Most Wanted contract, you or the team member who picked it up becomes visible on the map for all players. Opponents who kill the Most Wanted target receive cash and XP, while the Most Wanted team can reduce their contract time by obtaining kills and opening loot caches (10-second reduction per cache, 25-second reduction per kill). If the Most Wanted target survives the full contract duration, the contract is completed, and the team earns cash, XP, and revives any dead squad members. Whether the contract ends in success or failure, a “VIP reward crate” appears near the VIP’s location, containing ammo, plates, a killstreak, a weapon, a Gulag token, and cash.

Signals Intelligence

This contract directs your team to hack nearby contracts for rewards. The nearest contract will be marked for hacking, although you can hack any contract. The number of contracts required depends on team size: solos and duos hack one, while trios and quads hack two. Hacking all required contracts completes the mission, rewarding your team with XP and ten periodic cash payments. Letting time run out or losing your team results in failure.

Spy Drone

This contract spawns multiple drones in a circle formation near your team. The number of drones varies with team size—solos face five, duos six, trios seven, and quads eight. Destroy all drones to complete the contract and earn cash, XP, a UAV, and redeploy drone beacon from the last drone. Failure results if time expires or your team is wiped out.

Elite Contracts

These are tougher versions of existing contracts, offering higher rewards. Elite Contracts reduce the contract time by 45% and reward an additional 1,500 cash on completion. Completing an Elite Contract also drops a reward crate with items, including an ammo pile, armor plate, ultra-rare weapon, and one of several rare items such as a UAV, redeploy drone beacon, deployable kiosk, or, with low probability, a Specialist or Foresight. Note that Most Wanted contracts cannot become Elite, although other contracts might turn Elite as the match progresses.

Contract Adjustments

  • Bounty 
    • Completing the contract now includes finishing downed targets you didn’t down yourself.
    • Bounty contracts should no longer start without a valid target.
    • “Poached” end state now counts as a contract failure for challenge tracking.
  • Most Wanted 
    • Removed the redeploy token from the Most Wanted reward crate in solos.
  • Scavenger 
    • The primary reward in Battle Royale and Resurgence is now an armor plate carrier.

PUBLIC EVENTS

Battle Royale & Resurgence 

  • Firesale 
    • All items in the buy station are discounted at 50% for a limited time.
  • Restock  
    • All Supply Boxes close and are refilled with items.
  • Jailbreak  
    • All operators in gulag and eliminated operators are redeployed at the end of a timer.
  • Fly Buy  
    • A series of drones drop a number of deployable buy stations across the warzone.
  • Recon Flyover  
    • Avoid the detection of overhead drones to prevent your location from being broadcast.
  • Squad Loadout Drop  
    • Loadout drops that are only accessible by their assigned team.

Battle Royale 

  • Contested Loadout Drop  
    • Limited number of loadout drops that are accessible by any team.
  • Cash Drop  
    • A number of crates are dropped across the field that, when captured, drop a bounty of cash.
  • Contractor  
    • All contracts pay out more when completed within a timer.
  • Rogue Signal  
    • All teams compete on a random task — the top teams get access to a reward with exclusive loot.

Resurgence 

  • Bounty Royale 
    • All teams are automatically assigned a Bounty contract.
  • High Stakes 
    • A number of crates are dropped across the warzone that, when captured, double the XP earn in the current match for the team while also drop high tier loot.

Plunder 

  • Blood Money 
    • For the duration of the event, operators that are eliminated drop significantly more money.
  • Attack Choppers 
    • Once the match enters overtime, attack choppers enter the warzone. Take them down for a large payout.

Gulag 

  • Locked & Loaded 
    • Start the match with full armor and upgraded guns.
  • Go Again 
    • Get another chance at gulag if you lose your fight.
  • Cash Drop 
    • The ground loot is replaced with all cash.
  • Climb & Punishment 
    • Ladder’s drop in the center of the Gulag. Choose to leave together or perhaps betrayal?

OPERATORS

New Operators

Warzone is now home to all of the operators that were introduced with the launch of Black Ops 6 in addition to a few newcomers introduced in Season 01.

  • Goliath
    • Solidify your fiery combat mastery as the molten man of fire himself, Goliath! All biographical information for this Operator has been redacted.
    • Acquirable via BlackCell Bundle
  • Sevati “Sev” Dumas
    • A main player in the Rogue Team after the conclusion of the Campaign, Sev is ready to make a deal with the untrustworthy French Syndicate and is gearing up to take down the rival Luttazzi family to prove it.
    • Acquirable via BlackCell Bundle
  • The Replacer
    • There’s no substitute for greatness. The Replacer has concluded his whirlwind Black Ops 6 takeover tour and has freed up some time to appear in-game, available as a Store Bundle shortly after Launch.
    • Acquirable via Store Bundle
  • Competitor CDL Home and Away Operators  
    • Two new Operators arrive just in time for the 2025 Call of Duty League® season.
    • Acquirable via CDL Store Bundle

VEHICLES

All new vehicle physics tech leveraged from the Treyarch engine and Infinity Ward engine.  Our goal is to bring more fun to driving with enhanced maneuverability and natural physics that is easy to use but can also be mastered. Towards this goal, we have removed flat tires, vehicle repairing and fuel.

In addition to the aforementioned changes, we’ve included a number of additional improvements listed below:

  • Updated models
  • Improved Natural Physics
  • Improved Camera
  • Procedural Character Leaning
  • Improved VFX – Vehicle lights, exhaust
  • Dynamic vehicle death and explosion reactions
  • New helicopter simulation and audio
  • Support for Aim-Based controls

FIRING RANGE

  • Damage Summary Quality of Life 
    • The Firing Range now provides the total amount of damage done with the currently equipped gun.
  • Default Armor Plates Quality of Life 
    • The firing range will default to 3 armor plates per target dummy.
  • Default Health Quality of Life 
    • The firing range will default to 150 health per target dummy.
  • Default Perks Quality of Life 
    • The firing range will now default to Warzone perk settings.
  • Reset Speed 
    • The target dummies will now “respawn” or reset to their active position faster than before.
    • Removed the delay that prevented target dummies from receiving damage as soon as they reset.
  • Hit Locations Quality of Life 
    • Target dummies will now have the same hit location modifiers as actual players to more accurately reflect damage dealt to opponents in a match.
  • Movable Target Dummy Quality of Life 
    • A new target dummy is now available that can be moved to various damage ranges based on the currently equipped weapon.
    • The moveable dummy cycles between damage ranges as soon as it’s eliminated.
  • Target Collision 
    • Target dummy collision has been improved so that bullets register more precisely.
  • Line-of-Sight Quality of Life 
    • Removed vertical walls that previously broke aim assist when testing weapon strafing.

EMOTES & SPRAYS

Adding to the personalization of your Operators are the return of Emotes  and Sprays (iconography you primarily daub on walls, either to tag them or to tactically flag a location for your teammates). Emotes are accessible anywhere you have control over your character.

EXFIL

  • Winner’s Circle
    • The winning squad in a match receives their own Winners’ Circle showcase, with some of their statistical competence on display for all to see. This is also a location where you can celebrate your prowess more individually by employing a favorite Emote, too!
  • End-of-Game Flow 
    • The exfil sequence duration has been reduced with a larger focus on the winning squad.
    • Players can now swap between their own squad and the winning squad showing off accolades & player stats.
    • There is a new progression overview screen, focused on player choice experience.

UI/UX

The upcoming Season 01 update for Call of Duty: Warzone introduces a revamped, fully integrated user interface. The primary game tiles on the Home tab will feature Black Ops 6 and Warzone, allowing for instant access to gameplay. The Store and Battle Pass tabs will direct players to their respective sections in either Black Ops 6 or Warzone, depending on what is installed. Warzone will also get its own unique UI with enhancements similar to Black Ops 6.

  • Customize Menu 
    • The customize menu now includes a legacy tab to equip your unlocked MWII and MWIII Calling Cards, Emblems, and Loading Screens.
  • Legacy Content Filtering 
    • Similarly, brand new quick filtering for Black Ops 6 and other legacy titles helps filter content organized by game in the gunsmith, operator select, and barracks.
  • Tac Map Icon Layout 
    • Cleaner Interface: We’ve streamlined the interface by hiding the icon prompts on the right side of the screen.
    • Reorganized Contracts: Contracts have been moved to the left side of the map for easier access and a more intuitive layout.
  • Minimap Type Quality of Life 
    • Added the ability to change minimap type and compass type without impacting your Multiplayer settings.
  • Munitions Satchel Ammo Count Quality of Life 
    • Added an icon next to your ammo count when a munitions satchel is equipped to indicate if your weapon has room to carry more ammo.
  • Classic Squad Widget 
    • We brought back many elements from Warzone’s original release including equipment icons, the shape of armor plate icons and more.
  • Loot Cards 
    • Loot cards have been updated with overall layout treatment for improved visuals.
  • Squad Wipe Kill Feed 
    • The messaging that appears in the kill feed when a squad is wiped has been updated as follows:
      • Battle Royale: the message will now display “Sent to Gulag” if the defeated team has one or more members going to the Gulag.
      • Plunder: the message has now been reworded to “Squad Repositioning”.
  • Kill Feed Calling Cards 
    • Eliminating an enemy player now displays their calling card in the bottom center of the UI.
  • Aim Assist Settings 
    • Numerous aim assist settings have been changed including but not limited to the addition of:
      • Minimum aim assist distance
      • Max turn clamp speed
  • Loot Ping Distance 
    • Loot can no longer be pinged from more than 40 meters away for improved legibility during combat.
  • Live Ping Visibility Quality of Life 
    • Live Pings and Danger Pings have received position and scaling adjustments to prevent blocking or covering enemies upper bodies.
  • In-Game Splash Frequency Quality of Life 
    • We have reduced the overall clutter of in-game splashes by reducing frequency and associated noise.
  • Weapon Attachment HUD Quality of Life 
    • The weapon attachments show on the HUD with a blue color for better visibility and clarity on which part of the weapon has an attachment attached.
  • Playlist Navigation 
    • The menu for playlists have been improved – it now includes a vertical list with sub menus for each squad size and a map preview window for a complimentary view of maps offered for each game mode.
  • Buy Station Redeploy Ping Quality of Life
    • An eliminated Player who pings a Buy Station for a Redeploy, will show a unique Redeploy icon on the Buy Station to better inform their Squad of the buy-back request.

AUDIO

  • Enhanced Headphone Mode 
    • We’re excited to introduce our best-in-class audio experience to Warzone with the introduction of HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Function) via Universal Profile in Enhanced Headphone Mode, which is available to all players for free.
  • Armor Plate Break Audio 
    • New audio has been added to indicate that armor plates have been destroyed.
  • Proximity Chat 
    • Proximity chat radius has been reduced from 55 meters to 45.
  • Stacking Hit Markers & Sound Effects Quality of Life  
    • Enables displaying both a wall bang, hitting a player in water and pairing of new audio per marker.
  • Bounty Contract Sound Cues Quality of Life 
    • Added sound cues for when the bounty threat level increases or decreases.

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

[Source: Call of Duty (1, 2)]

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > News

Former #1 Trophy Hunter, Hakoom, Is Retiring After PlayStation Employees Allegedly Stole, and Sold His Personal Data

PlayStation’s former #1 trophy hunter, Hakoom, has announced that he is retiring (again) from trophy hunting, or more so specifically, retiring from PlayStation, as the company has terminated their partnership with him, all because he found out that someone at PlayStation was allegedly being bribed to sell his personal information, which came with an unexplained ban.

Edited – The story has been revised to include some of Hakoom’s past interactions. While we shouldn’t dismiss the possibilities of his data being breached and stolen, it has come to our attention that Hakoom may not be entirely telling the truth about his past when it comes to legitimately earning trophies, as a few community members have come forward to point out this out in his statement. Again, while it doesn’t disprove what Hakoom is saying as false, it does mean we should be more cautious of his statement given past allegations about him being misleading to the trophy hunting community, which have included prior bans and removals from PSNprofiles’ trophy leaderboards 

This Is More Than Just About Trophies, This Is About a Breach of Trust

While many may shrug off the news of Hakoom’s retirement, the circumstances surrounding it should not be taken so lightly. In a lengthy post shared on X, Hakoom, whose real name is AbdulHakam, explained that after 17 years, he’s quitting his trophy-hunting journey and PlayStation. The reasoning? According to AbdulHakam, it’s because an employee at PlayStation stole and sold off his personal data, which led to a ban last September and that also saw him kicked out of the PlayStation partner program he was part of. At the time, Hakoom wasn’t aware of the circumstances. However, a few days later, he mysteriously received a message saying that his data had been breached, with the user apparently bribing PlayStation employees to steal and sell his user data. He mentions that the image that he was sent contained sensitive systems that he believes to be part of administrative systems at PlayStation.

“On sept 9 my acc was permanently suspended for no reason and i received no email at all.. even when i talked to customer support they didnt help at all i was then lucky to get in touch with another department and they said they will look in to the matter few days later i received a msg on whatsapp from a random person saying my datas are leaked on the internet and the user is bribing playstation employees and stealing user datas and selling/banning them ( all photos and evidence are in the video) The photos clearly show playstation admin computers which no user can access on a normal computer this information was all forwarded to playstation for investigation.. the scammer even called me and tried to get private datas from me which is show in in the video too and that was also forwarded to PlayStation.”

With the newfound evidence, AbdulHakam reached out to PlayStation support once again in hopes of resolving the situation, but things didn’t go as he had hoped as the rep then gave him a new reason for the ban, stating that he illegitimately earned trophies. In this case, they were trophies that would have taken hundreds of hours to achieve that were earned in mere minutes.

AdbulHakam did provide an explanation in that those trophies were earned on the PS5, with some games granting instant platinum if you previously earned all the trophies on the PS4 version and transferred your save over to the PS5 version.

“I was like wth? what is the game which i platinum in few hours and req 100? psnprofiles would insta flag me for that… then i remembered something called auto trophy pops or platinum pops which all of you trophy hunter know.. If you platinum Spiderman for example on ps4 in 50h then boot up the ps5 version you earn it in 1min that’s something normal and the system is implemented by playstation them selves.. ( google auto trophy pop) so auto pop is a ban able offense now? and regarding the 0 min games there are loads of games on PlayStation which can be completed/platinumed in 10 seconds 20 seconds 30 seconds etc… every trophy hunter knows this.”

However, it is important to point out that despite him saying this was the reason why he unlocked several trophies in minutes, he has been removed in the past, on multiple occasions, from PSNprofiles’ leaderboards over cheating, with users pointing out trophies from other games being unlocked with the same timestamps, and other inconsistencies that led to many believing that there were multiple people using his account in addition to cheating.

This was also one of the reason behind his PSN being banned as he detailed that PlayStation said his account has showed up across multiple systems, along with thousands of accounts being logged into his own system.

Ultimately though, for AbdulHakam, this wasn’t really about the fact that he was booted from his partnership with PlayStation or banned, but more so about how a company could throw him under despite the evidence he provided (some shared in his Instagram video) and how this could happen to any other user.

“What i see from this is playstation is running away from the real issue which is user data leakage and just threw me under the bus so they put this issue under the rug and get it over with.. companies will always blame the user for there mistakes If your acc gets banned or email changed for no reason that is 100% stolen with this method and your datas are on the blackmarket there is no other explanation and its over for you. so as you see guys how can i trust a company who sells user datas to some scammers on the internet and get away with it. Even after the mountain of evidence i showed they still wouldnt accept it and just told me we will raise the ban after 45 days.. they also removed me from the partnership program.. My account is back, yes, but I can’t live with this oppression and corruption! So I had to share the story with everyone”

For many, it’s just a trophy, but for AbdulHakam his journey, which started 17 years ago, has led to some incredible life-changing opportunities. Understandable that he would be frustrated over this outcome, and if it is true, then that’s a unfortunate way to have things end.

But of course, this is just one side of the story, and though it’s unlikely we’ll hear about the other side from PlayStation, this could very well end up being completely fabricated, with he ban justifiable, even if it is being lifted.

Though whether he cheated his way to the top or not, the biggest concern here is if there’s any validity to the claims that a PlayStation employee(s) is selling customers details illegally. It’s a scary thought, but sadly, it’s the kind of world we live in where that could happen anywhere and to anyone.

More MP1st Reading:

Avatar photo

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

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Patch 2 Released on PC This November 13

While the first post-release patch for Dragon Age: The Veilguard was pushed out last week and it included a host of fixes. BioWare has released Patch 2 this November 13, and this is a minor patch resolves two specific issues that, though might be considered minor, should still be something worth fixing.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Patch 2 Fixes Rook Reset Bug

The two fixes in today’s patch for PC players are:

Bug Fixes: 

  • Fixed a rare issue where some of an existing Rook’s settings got unintentionally reset after making and saving a new Rook.
  • Reduced instances of a game crash issue during Shader Compilation when launching the game.

As you can see, this is only for PC players, and shouldn’t be released on consoles at all.

The fix itself is a minor one, but still welcome given how annoying it is to constantly change your settings when creating your new character. No word yet on whether we’ll be getting a console patch, but BioWare did state that we should look out for more updates “in the coming weeks,” so chances are, we’ll get another patch download before the year is over.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is available no current-gen consoles and PC, and is a return to form for BioWare. It’s at a healthy 82 overall rating on MetaCritic, while on OpenCritic, it’s at a 81 critic average, landing at a “Strong” rating.

[Source: EA]

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > News

Marvel Rivals: Devs Have Designed System to Identify XIM Users; Zero Tolerance on Illegal Tools and Cheats

Like it or not, cheaters are part of online games — doubly so if it’s a free-to-play title, since there’s zero barrier for entry. This is an issue the devs are anticipating for the upcoming hero multiplayer game, Marvel Rivals.

In the closed beta conducted a few months ago, NetEase announced that they have banned over 190 accounts. Even with that accomplishment, the studio is already looking ahead for the release, and those looking to use a XIM/Cronus Max to gain an unfair advantage, NetEase is aware of these contraptions, and has said they have designed a system to identify said players using ’em.

This was revealed by the studio in an exclusive chat with MP1st.

MP1st: We’ve seen the devs ban quite a lot of accounts, which we assume are from PC. How will the devs handle XIM/Cronus users? And what’s the long-term plans for cheaters? Are IP bans considered?

NetEase: We have a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal assistance tools and cheats. We not only invest significant resources to monitor and analyze battle data and suspend suspicious accounts, but we also dedicate substantial effort to robust server and client security. For example, concerning the XIM converters mentioned above, we have designed a system to identify their behavior, and it currently shows promising accuracy. We will continue to follow up on this research in the future. After the game’s launch, we will monitor in-game situations at all times, promptly identifying and addressing any detected cheats.

This is definitely good news for both PC and console gamers. Hopefully, NetEase can combat these cheaters the moment Marvel Rivals launches this December 8.

In other Marvel Rivals news, the devs revealed Moon Knight will be added to the launch lineup, and you can check the character out here to see what he can do on the battlefield.

More Marvel Rivals Reading:

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Minecraft Preview Update 1.47 for Version 1.21.50.29 Now Out

Mojang has pushed out Minecraft Preview update 1.47 (PS5/XSX version 1.032), which is for version 1.21.50.29, and implements a short list of fixes to the game. Compared to past Preview updates, this is a super short patch, and the full details are available below.

Minecraft Preview Update 1.47 Is Now Out and Implements Various Fixes

New Features and Bug Fixes

Blocks

  • Addressed a single-pixel inconsistency between the textures of Chiseled Resin Bricks and standard Resin Bricks
  • Nether Bricks and Red Nether Bricks are now aligned with Bricks and Resin Bricks (MCPE-188200)

Creaking Heart

  • Increase the base amount of time it takes to destroy a Creaking Heart with no tool to 15 seconds

Graphical

  • Resolves an Android (Adreno only) specific stall that can occur at high frame rates.

User Interface

  • Using the scroll wheel when hovering a Bundle placed in hotbar with creative inventory search tab active now selects an item in the Bundle

Vanilla Parity

Blocks

  • Fix Glow Lichen playing the Grass sound when stepped on instead of the Vine sound like Java

So far, there’s not patch released for the vanilla version, though they usually get released on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays, so there’s a chance we can see one drop tomorrow.

[Source: Minecraft]

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Ark Survival Ascended Update 1.055.019 Delivers List of Bug Fixes

Studio Wildcard has served up another hot title update for Ark Survival Ascended fresh of the oven. Players will see this as Ark Survival Ascended update 1.055.019 (PC and Xbox version 55.19), and this brings a list of bug fixes that touch on Tinkering Desk not displaying slots or items, flickering bug on Aberration, and more.

Read on for the complete patch notes for all three versions of the game below/

Ark Survival Ascended Update 1.055.019 Fixes Issues

v55.19 – Minor Version for Client – 11/13/2024

  • Fixed Tinkering Desk not displaying slots or items when used in some languages
  • Fixed flickering on Aberration when shadow quality is reduced
  • Fixed pixel painting not working on Female player characters
  • Fixed being unable to land flyers while holding W in Singleplayer
  • Fixed Shovel’s audio attenuation
  • Updated Lazarus Chowder’s description to accurately match its duration
  • Set Wooden Cliff Platforms to require Wood Ceiling engram instead of the Wood Tree Platform
  • Fixed Reaper roaring on Gamepad when tapping the right shoulder; it now only roars if held for 0.2 seconds and released
  • Fixed a visual issue for PS5 Splitscreen

Alongside today’s patch, there were also server-side updates released for the game, and we’ve included the changelog for those as well for convenience’s sake.

v55.24 – Minor Version for Servers – 11/11/2024

  • Can no longer carry cryofridge with Rhyniognatha if Cryopod Cryofridge requirement is enabled. (This will apply to Official PvP)

v55.23 – Minor version for Servers – 11/11/2024 – PC

  • Official PVP servers no longer restrict deploying cryopods when enemies are near.
  • Official PVE Servers no longer require a CryoFridge nearby.
  • Fixed a few crashes

That’s about it. Given how frequent we get patches for the game lately, don’t be surprised to see another one released.

[Source: Survive the Ark]

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Starship Troopers: Extermination Update 1.100 Deployed for Loadout Locker, Company Stats and More

Offworld Industries has released Starship Troopers: Extermination update 1.100, which is for patch 1.1!  This brings new features such as company stats, loadout locker, bug fixes and more. Alongside that, there are performance improvements, and did we mention bug fixes? Yep, there’s a long list of bugs squashed with this title update.

Starship Troopers: Extermination Update 1.100 Brings Version 1.1 and Introduces Quality-of-Life Improvements

PERFORMANCE CHANGES

Client Performance Improvements

  • Optimizations to Trooper deaths as weapons and inventory items were causing match performance degradation.
  • Optimization for Beacons: Replace Beacon Skeletal anim cycle with vertex animations.
  • Optimization of Base Ammo Crate skeletal mesh.
  • Optimization for the following LODs (Changing how detailed objects in the game look based on how far away they are from the player):
    • Ammo Boxes
    • S.P.L.I.T Drum Shotgun
    • MG Turrets
    • Morita XXX Sniper Rifle
    • FU-17 Flamethrower
  • Optimizations to the root bones of Gunner Bugs.
  • Optimizations to the root bones of Tiger Elite Bugs.
  • Optimizations to the Chaos Physics system on PC.

NEW FEATURES/NEW CONTENT/QUALITY OF LIFE

Loadout Locker

Troopers! The Loadout Locker is a new feature coming in Update 1.1.

Loadout Lockers can be found at the back of the initial dropship in AASARC, and Hive Hunt. While in Horde, they can be found placed randomly within the build zone for the first (two) waves before self-destructing. The goal of the Loadout Lockers is to allow Trooper to change their loadout early on in games. Now the question might be, why only early on?

Choosing a Loadout, and locking in that choice, is integral to our intended gameplay. Troopers are given incomplete information about the combat situation and they must make choices on the gear they bring. By limiting Loadout changes to the early phases of the mission, we continue to reinforce both a Loadout’s strong aspects and weaknesses – while offering a little bit more quality-of-life and flexibility.

We want to ensure that the choice of equipment and class abilities still matter. As the different classes are not equally viable at all stages of the mission; Engineers and Rangers may excel during the opening phases and Ore/Resource running, while Guardians and Demolishers can be invaluable during the final siege. Troopers will need to play smart, improvise constantly, and rely on their teammates to cover their Loadout’s shortcomings.

That being said, we’ve heard you out, and there are absolutely cases that are frustrating in terms of class selection, and most of them happen right at the start of a game. So now, if you join in as a Sniper and there are 15 other Snipers that all select at the same time as you, you can quickly run back to the dropship and switch things up. We think this is a pretty good compromise between the intent of picking and being locked into a loadout, but also allowing players to avoid weird or annoying team compositions for the entire course of a match.

Troopers need not worry as any XP earned applies to the class and weapon it was earned on. So if you are a Ranger, kill a few bugs with your Morita MK1, and then switch over to a Demolisher with a shotgun for the remainder of the match, at the end of the match you will gain XP on the Ranger and Morita for the few bugs you’ve killed and then you will also gain the rest of the XP on the Demolisher and Shotgun.

Company Stats

It’s time to track your collective achievements like never before! Our new Company Stats feature gives you high level insight into your Company’s accomplishments and showcases the strength of your Company in the fight against the Bug menace. Here’s what you can expect:

Intel Gained: See the total amount of Intel your Company has accumulated, highlighting the strategic prowess of your members as they complete regular missions and contribute to your Company’s resources.

Company Operations Completed: View the number of Company Operations your Company has successfully finished. Whether you’re defending the ARC or launching full-scale Assault and Secure missions, this stat tracks every hard-fought victory.

Company Operations Created: Keep an eye on how many Company Operations have been initiated by your Company Officers. This stat reflects the activity and ambition of your Officers as they strategize to conquer new challenges.

Victory Points Earned: Your Company’s total Victory Points earned in all Galactic Fronts to date, are a true testament to your group’s impact on the battlefield. This number captures your Company’s success and dedication to conquering every threat.

This is just the beginning! We have plans to roll out even more stats in future updates, giving you deeper insights into your Company’s performance. Rally your Company, aim high, and let your accomplishments be known!

Quality-of-Life

Weapon mastery has been added to Special Operations Group missions. A player should be able to master one weapon if they choose to by completing all 25 solo missions with that weapon or earn XP on any of the unlocked class weapons as they see fit. Solo missions are repeatable (three) times for Class and Weapon Mastery XP, with diminishing returns for each playthrough.

NOTABLE BUG FIXES

Known Issues

  • Trophy progress for Bug Kills on PS5 appears stuck.
  • PS5 players may encounter stuttering on player entry into a match.

Highlights

  • Fixed significant performance drops that occurred after Hive Explosions.
  • Quick Play matchmaking no longer causes an infinite queue time.
  • Redeploying after respawning no longer causes invincibility.
  • Settings changes should now save consistently across sessions.
  • Stims Pistol now revives downed players more reliably.
  • Tactical SMG bullets now align accurately with the crosshair.
  • The FU-17 Flamethrower no longer causes screen darkening when used against enemies or allies.
  • The Engineer’s Mobile Build tool ability should now be easier to use on Boreas
  • The “Search Company” function now enforces character input limits.
  • The “Create Rally” callout now appears instead of “Ping” when holding a canister.

Console

  • The Xbox controller now allows skipping of the intro cutscene.
  • Fixed an issue where players were unable to scroll through the “Recent” tab list in-game using the Right Stick.
  • Fixed the arrow icon on the “Suggested Company” screen, which was not functioning when attempting to move to the next page.
  • Removed console EULA from the PC build.

Audio

  • Xbox players can now hear PlayStation players in voice chat during matches.
  • Corrected voice line for the first drone encounter in S.O.G. Mission 4, which now plays the intended line.
  • Matchmaking voice line for drone encounter now plays correctly in S.O.G Mission 4.

Art & Animation

  • Fixed backface mesh visibility on the map in Horde_Boreas_North.
  • Fixed texture inconsistencies on the floor for Agni Hive Hunt.
  • Sniper Trooper model skeleton no longer deforms.
  • The Engineer’s backpack now displays the updated operator logo.
  • Trooper’s equipped helmet decals no longer appear on Carnage corpses.

Localization

  • Addressed untranslated English text on the newest Steam build.
  • Completed missing strings for “Respawn Ready and At.”
  • Corrected incorrect display of “Exterminate Tigers” with the proper string.
  • Corrected partial display of the “Й” symbol in Russian text.
  • Corrected overlapping of voice chat instructions with controller image in settings for Japanese, Russian, and French.
  • Fixed progression text displaying in English for all languages.
  • Fixed possible text issue in the item description for “Cluster Grenade”.
  • Fixed untranslated texts on several menus and features.
  • Fixed text errors in the English language.
  • Fixed broken text string in the “Settings” Menu for the French language.
  • Fixed text overlapping the button on the match results screen under the company tab for the Russian language.
  • Fixed limited space causing incorrect line breaks in the construction tutorial for the Chinese language.
  • Localized the graphic text “Main Missions” on the Main HUD.
  • Resolved English text displaying on the “Mission Info” Screen for the tutorial on consoles.
  • Shock Grenade description is now consistent across instances and across all languages.

UI

  • Adjusted the text name on “Settings” to fit its description text.
  • Corrected “Nuclear Det Pack” description to reflect proper timing.
  • Corrected item description in DLC referencing a trailer in the rights section.
  • Fixed truncated display of secondary weapon level by Rico on the S.O.G “After Action Report” (AAR) screen.
  • Fixed an incorrect player distance display from Data Pads in S.O.G. Mission 13.
  • Fixed overlapping text fields in the tutorial on PS5.
  • “Failed” status no longer displays in the Completed Activities history after finishing all SOG Missions.
  • “Galactic Front” info banner and button now appear on the “Play” tab while active.
  • Tooltip no longer appears on the cursor when hovering over the “Fed Net News” tab during Galactic Front’s pending state.
  • “Team” and “Local” chat icons no longer overlap when spamming “Party Chat” in the Main Menu.
  • “Mission ends in X min” timer added to the Company Ops mission panel.
  • Mission details for party members now display correctly when queuing for Company Operations.
  • The cooldown icon no longer overlaps with the ability icon.
  • The correct mission timer and label are now displayed on the Company Operations mission panel.
  • The “Company Ops” mission icon now correctly appears gold.
  • The “Company Operations” mission panel displays the correct mission name.
  • The “Restore Default” button for video settings now functions correctly.

Gameplay & General Fixes

  • AI Troopers no longer get stuck on ledges near the Pit on Planet X-11.
  • Fixed issue where companies created on different consoles were not displayed correctly in cross-platform play.
  • Fixed a bug where the Narrative Slideshow did not appear after achieving a new stage on Galactic Front.
  • Fixed a black screen issue when queuing, previously preventing players from spawning.
  • Redeploying no longer causes Troopers to become invincible.
  • Resolved clipping issues for players near rocks in Horde_Boreas_North and the snow-covered rock near the dropship in AAS_Boreas_6.
  • Rocks on X-11 now have collision to prevent players from falling through.
  • “Scan Dart” duration now matches the intended 15 seconds.
  • The Barrage ability now affects hive eggs properly in Hive Hunt missions.
  • Traitors no longer have access to the redeploy button, as it allows them to get stuck in a bad state.
  • Warrior Soldiers no longer spawn inside walls during S.O.G Mission 9.

‍That’s one huge patch! Once another one is released, we’ll let our readers know.

[Source: Starship Troopers Extermination]

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > News

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Review – A Classic Returns

The Dragon Quest series is one of the oldest RPG franchises in gaming, though those in North America knew it as Dragon Warrior until the early 2000s. The series has grown in popularity in the West over the last decade or so with the release of Dragon Quest XI, as well as spinoffs like Builders and the return of the Monsters series more recently, but fans have been awaiting the next mainline entry in the series with Dragon Quest XII. In the meantime, Square Enix has chosen to return to the past with one of the most classic entries in the franchise by giving it an Octopath Traveler-style makeover in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake.

A Trip to the Past

Dragon Quest III initially released all the way back in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and has received a number of remakes and re-releases over the years for systems such as the Super Nintendo, Game Boy Color, and even a mobile version that was later ported to more modern platforms. Since those remakes, Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler introduced the idea of the HD-2D style, which has continued to get more popular with Square Enix in recent years. This has included new games using the style like Triangle Strategy and Octopath Traveler 2, as well as the previously unreleased in the West game, Live A Live, finally released in the West with the HD-2D treatment on modern systems. A remake of the most well received of the original Dragon Quest trilogy with this style made a ton of sense and Square Enix has delivered, with HD-2D remakes of the first two games coming in the near future as well.

Dragon Quest III may be the third entry in the series, but it falls chronologically first in the timeline of what is known as the Erdrick Trilogy that comprises the first three games. The story begins with our Hero being summoned by the king on his 16th birthday and is tasked with taking down the villainous Baramos. This quickly turns into a very personal mission for the Hero, as his father Ortega was also entrusted with this missions years prior and was killed in the process of trying to defeat Baramos. The story from there is pretty typical for the majority of the game as a good guy goes on a journey to take down the bad guy, but there are some really surprising moments and twists later in the game that really took me by surprise having only played the first two games of the classic trilogy in the past and how this ties into those.

One of the downsides of this game that has always been the case with the early RPGs is the lack of party members that play any role outside of combat. From the start of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, you must visit Patty’s Party Planning to recruit three additional party members. You can pick from the preset options available or you can request to add specific members based on their class, gender, and design. I always recommend the latter, because it allows you to feel like you played a part in the building of the party, plus you have the option to get any of the classes here instead of being limited to the few offered by Patty directly.

As I mentioned though, the downside here is that these party members do not speak and are only around to help you win battles in the game. This is a major difference from say Dragon Quest VIII, where the party members are created specifically to play major roles in the story. While this is disappointing in a sense, this is just the way that RPGs were build back then and the series even went back to it with Dragon Quest IX as well, so you just have to kind of roll with it as a faithful remake.

After you start on your grand adventure from your hometown of Aliahan, you must venture across different landscapes in the overworld to get from point to point. This is made easier here with a run button to navigate around more quickly both in the overworld and when in a town or dungeon. Like in any classic Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy game, the overworld is quite large with landmasses that include a mix of the aforementioned towns and dungeons. There is a world map to help you figure out where you are going, complete with an optional objective marker to show where you need to go next. This does come in pretty handy, especially when trying to figure out where you need to go after getting sidetracked with different quests in the game.

As you traverse the overworld or dungeons, you will encounter random battles with enemies. The turn-based gameplay here is just as you remember it in the original game, though it now comes with some quality-of-life enhancements. You alternate turns with the enemies and are able to control each of your four party members, though you can even set your entire party or just part of your party to auto-battle using the game’s Tactics menu. In this menu you can set to have them do things like follow orders, fight wisely, focus on healing, and more. I personally prefer to take make every decision in battle so I didn’t use this much, but it’s a cool feature to have, especially if you’re really grinding for experience points.

Speaking of grinding for experience points, the leveling system in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake does make the game seem a bit hard at times if you are playing on the default normal difficulty even. The game really requires you to do some grinding right out of the gate and to keep up with it throughout the game or else you will find yourself getting overwhelmed by stronger hordes of enemies very quickly. This feels like it could have been balanced a little more, especially if you are strictly going through the objective markers given for the main story and aren’t taking time to level up along the way. To help alleviate this issue a bit, the game did add in an easy difficulty setting known as Dracky Quest if you are just wanting a more passive experience without having to work too much. For those that want even more challenge though, the remake also added a Draconian Quest mode that makes things even harder with stronger enemies, and less experience points and gold coins being earned in battle.

The classes that make up your party will have a dramatic impact on how your combat experience goes, as each class has different focuses. For instance, my party was made up of the Hero, a Martial Artist, a Mage, and a Priest. This gave me a mix of physical offensive, magical offensive, and a healer to keep my team alive, which seemed to work well together. There are a number of other classes available as well that you can choose, including a brand new one for the game known as the Monster Wrangler. This new class is an interesting mix that is worth trying out. In fact, once you reach level 20, you can go and change your classes as well, though you do go back to level 1 while retaining your learned moves.

Also carried over from past remakes is the Personality system, which decides how your party members’ stats grow over time. Each party member starts with a set personality, including the Hero based on the initial questions you answer to start the game, but these can be reshaped via the numerous books that you come across from bookshelves in the game. This is something that the game honestly doesn’t explain too well even in this version, so you likely will be better off looking for more details on each one online.

A new feature in Dragon Quest III HD-2D that is a major help to the enjoyment of the game is the ability to speed up the gameplay in battle with a simple button press. This is something that has become standard in pretty much any modern remake or remaster of older turn-based RPGs that tend to move on the slower side. Without this feature, Dragon Quest III’s combat is very slow and I very quickly found myself turning the battle speed up to the ultra fast option before too long.

Something that actually surprised me in the game was the additional of voice acting for much of the spoken dialogue in the game. A lot of remakes of older RPGs avoid adding this and keep things as they were in the past, but I greatly appreciated this version adding not only English voice acting, but also the option for Japanese as well. The soundtrack for the game has also been redone in this release, though still maintaining the original tunes. Dragon Quest’s classic themes are some of my favorite songs in gaming and hearing them in this new variation here was glorious.

The HD-2D style is very distinct and it works wonders here in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Its art style pops off the screen throughout with its gorgeous environments and pixel characters that look like a modernized SNES game such as Chrono Trigger, but doing things that were never possible on that system either. This is most apparent within the towns and dungeons that really show off the graphical prowess of the game when you really might not expect it to be able to do so.

Not only do the visuals look fantastic, but the performance in the game is top notch as well. Playing on the Nintendo Switch, I never experienced any slowdown, blurriness, or issues with loading environments. Moving around in the game just feels so smooth and mixed with the quality of life speed up features, it has taken an older style game and made it run better than ever.

Another modern quality of life improvement that is a great addition to Dragon Quest HD-2D Remake is that of autosaves. Autosaves are not the default save option, as you still have your multiple save slots that you can use by saving at a church in each town. Autosaves serve as a backup option though that have many more save situations, such as when you enter part of a dungeon or enter a town. You can even restart a boss battle right away instead of having to travel back to the battle if you fail to win. However, this is exclusive to boss battles and not regular battles in the game. I’m the type of person that will always save manually before stopping a play session, but having the autosave as a backup just in case of death in the game to avoid a lot of lost time is a fantastic feature to include.

Monster Arenas have been a big part of the Dragon Quest franchise over the years, with Dragon Quest III having a version of its own in the past that you could bet on. Dragon Quest III HD-2D now has enhanced this to where you can now recruit special monsters you come across in the game and take them to fight in Monster Arena tournaments. Expanding on this feature was a great decision by the development team, as this felt more reminiscent of the excellent Monster Arena from Dragon Quest VIII. Mixing this in with the aforementioned new Monster Wrangler class, fans of the monsters in the Dragon Quest series are going to be in for a good time.

Whether it’s taking down hordes of Slimes or fighting to save the world, there is always something magical about Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake showcases why it is still one of the best entries in the series more than 36 years after its initial release. The HD-2D style is a great way to relive older games like this, giving me hope we may see more in the coming years with a game like Chrono Trigger, and this is yet another fantastic use of it. Mixing in the gorgeous visuals and quality of life improvements on top of what was already a great, yet still a bit dated in some ways game, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a must play for fans of the series as well as any RPG fan that has been waiting to jump into the series for the very first time.

Score: 9/10

Pros:

  • Beautiful HD-2D visuals
  • Quality of life improvements
  • Story is very captivating, especially with late-game surprises
  • Revamped Monster Arena
  • Added voice acting and redone soundtrack

Cons:

  • Party members are useless out of combat
  • Still beholden to more rigid turn-based mechanics of its time

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

Avatar photo

Dean James

Home > News

Phil Spencer Says Xbox Handheld is “Years Away;” No “Red Lines” for Xbox Games on Other Platforms

After teasing a potential handheld Xbox device earlier this year, Xbox Head Phil Spencer has now shared more details about the device. While still in its early stages, Spencer confirmed that prototypes are being developed, and the hardware team is actively analyzing market trends to shape their vision for the device.

Speaking to Bloomberg, he emphasized that any potential handheld Xbox device is still “years away” from release, reflecting the careful approach Microsoft is taking. “I’ve asked our hardware team to develop its vision based on what it learns,” Spencer said.

In the same interview, Spencer discussed Xbox’s current direction and shared insights into the future of its games on other platforms. Based on what he said, it seems clear that Indiana Jones and The Great Circle won’t be the last Xbox exclusive to appear on Sony’s console. His comments suggest a growing openness to bringing Xbox games to other platforms, signaling a shift in strategy.

When asked specifically about the future of Xbox’s exclusives, Spencer took the opportunity to clarify the company’s evolving approach. Although previous reports suggested that certain franchises, such as Gears of War and Halo, were off-limits for other platforms, his recent statements indicate otherwise.

He said, “I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say ‘thou must not.’” This shift was further emphasized when he addressed Halo, stating, “It’s too early to make any sort of decision on the next version of Halo,” leaving the door open for the possibility of the Master Chief saga appearing on Sony’s consoles.

Spencer also spoke about the growing trend toward platform openness, emphasizing user and creator freedom. “I think the ball is moving in the right direction,” Spencer said. “I think this idea of open platforms, where users have more choice, creators have more choice, you see the momentum, right?”

Spencer concluded by addressing questions about the company’s overall health, especially after a year marked by repeated layoffs. When asked how he felt about the outlook for 2025, he struck a confident tone: “The Xbox business has never been more healthy,” he said. “The business is performing right now, and I think that means a more healthy future for hardware and the games we build.”

More MP1st Reading:

Thanks, Jason Schreier!

Avatar photo

Taha

Television kills your vision.

Home > News

Baldur’s Gate 3 Has Sold Two Copies in Vatican City, the World’s Smallest Country With 764 Residents

How can you resist a thrilling adventure like the one Baldur’s Gate 3 offers? The fantasy RPG from Larian Studios has already sold more than 15 million copies and was crowned GOTY 2023, proving its success is undeniable. Yet, even in all the twists and turns of its vast story, few could have imagined how far its influence would reach.

Michael Douse, Larian’s publishing director, shared on X/Twitter that Baldur’s Gate 3 has even made its way into a place as unexpected as Vatican City. With just 764 residents across 0.44 square kilometers, this tiny nation in the heart of Rome is the smallest country in the world.

Sold 2 copies of Baldur’s Gate 3 in The Vatican, with 1 wishlist. I’d like to think the latter is just the Pope waiting until he has a free minute. Wish I could see their mod list. Bet it’s absolutely gnarly.

The Vatican is known as the seat of the Pope and the Catholic Church, but it is also home to priests, bishops, and the Swiss Guard. Among them, two individuals have decided to explore the Forgotten Realms of Wizards of the Coast through Baldur’s Gate 3. Surprisingly, they aren’t the only ones interested.

A third Vatican resident has also shown interest in the game, keeping it on their wish list. Though they haven’t yet made the purchase, they clearly intend to add it to their collection at some point.

MP1st’s review of Baldur’s Gate 3 gave it a score of 9.5 out of 10, stating, “If you can only purchase a single game for a couple of years because budget is tight, Baldur’s Gate 3 should be the one.”

Related Reading:

Avatar photo

Taha

Television kills your vision.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Fortnite Update 1.000.157 Out for v32.10 Includes Reload Map Rotation This Nov. 13

A new update has now landed for all platforms of Fortnite today which is version 32.10. For console players this is update 1.000.157, and this includes new features and cosmetics. The Reload Map Rotation is also a part of this update, but Kicks has been delayed. Read on for more details below.

What’s New In The Fortnite Update 1.000.157 Patch Notes:

Epic Games has not revealed the official patch notes just yet, but our readers can check out the game’s known issues from the official Trello Board.

GENERAL TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Low-resolution textures on Nintendo Switch
  • Built-In Emotes may not appear in the “My Locker Loadout” tab.
  • Incorrect Emote order in the Emote Wheel.
  • Unable to change the style of Outfits with customizable elements.
  • Built-In Emotes do not play in Creative / UEFN Experiences.
  • Jam Emotes may not function properly in Team Rumble and might not work in Battle Royale after a Team Rumble match.

In Development

  • Nintendo Switch players encountering storage space issues
  • Players cannot close the emote wheel without selecting an emote
  • Splitscreen Issue when player 2 logs out.
  • Videos in the Lobby playing with every launch on Amazon Luna.

BATTLE ROYALE TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Players may get stuck in “Toggle Walk” mode at times.
  • Can’t edit structures while a DBNO (knocked) player is nearby.

LEGO FORTNITE TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Trees and rocks regrowning after harvested
  • NPCs might spawn in foundations or terrain.
  • Stuck when exiting the Crusher.
  • Swivels might break when touched while on a moving vehicle.
  • Villagers exploring with players may destroy structures while trying to harvest.
  • Bottom of HUD can disappear after using macrobinoculars.
  • Bottom of HUD can disappear after using macrobinoculars.

In Development

  • “Memory Reached Critical Levels” error followed by a crash.
  • Players may get stuck in a cannon if its damaged or falls into water while operating it.
  • Consumable buff timers can be overwritten when eating another consumable with a buff
  • There is no indication of which direction some furniture is being placed
  • The Swag Shot emote is not correctly translating on the Chalk Board
  • Cleared areas in the Rebel Outpost don’t complete

Fixed in Next Game Update

  • Game may freeze if players cancel the Battle Bus Fast Travel at the last second.
  • Players cannot harvest fruit from Fruit Trees

ROCKET RACING TOP ISSUES

In Development

  • Locker’s Vehicles – SUV/Truck and Sports Cars sections changes to a different background color when navigating through the cosmetics options
  • Jam Stage Mixers – Players need to equip Jam Tracks before hopping into the Jam Stage to access songs and start making music.
  • The “Level Up” sound effect may be too loud and overlap the currently played Jam Track.

FORTNITE FESTIVAL TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Audio Stuttering On Switch After Extended Play

In Development

  • Jam Stage Mixers – Players need to equip Jam Tracks before hopping into the Jam Stage to access songs and start making music.
  • Jam Stage Mixers – Players need to equip Jam Tracks before hopping into the Jam Stage to access songs and start making music.

FORTNITE MOBILE TOP ISSUES

New Update

  • Stamina Bar Location Change

In Development

  • The screen may flicker on certain Android devices.

SAVE THE WORLD TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Class icons may not appear on the Lobby screen.
  • Mission Alerts may reset incorrectly.
  • Floor Launchers may be indestructible or prevent players from walking over.

Fixed in Future Game Update

  • The “Daily Wargames” Storm Shield option does not apply current Daily Wargames Challenge.
  • Backpack resets the selected item category after closing.

Datamined Content:

We will update this post when the official patch notes are revealed. Be sure to refresh the page often to see more datamined content too.

Damien Seeto

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Fortnite Update 4.46 Includes Ice Spice and More This November 13

Epic Games has released Fortnite update 4.46 today, and this includes the addition of Ice Spice and other celebrities. Sadly, Kicks has been delayed until a later date. Read on for more details about today’s update below.

What’s New in Fortnite Update 4.46:

No patch notes have been revealed yet, but the Fortnite Trello Board has listed known issues.

GENERAL TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Low-resolution textures on Nintendo Switch
  • Built-In Emotes may not appear in the “My Locker Loadout” tab.
  • Incorrect Emote order in the Emote Wheel.
  • Unable to change the style of Outfits with customizable elements.
  • Built-In Emotes do not play in Creative / UEFN Experiences.
  • Jam Emotes may not function properly in Team Rumble and might not work in Battle Royale after a Team Rumble match.

In Development

  • Nintendo Switch players encountering storage space issues
  • Players cannot close the emote wheel without selecting an emote
  • Splitscreen Issue when player 2 logs out.
  • Videos in the Lobby playing with every launch on Amazon Luna.

BATTLE ROYALE TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Players may get stuck in “Toggle Walk” mode at times.
  • Can’t edit structures while a DBNO (knocked) player is nearby.

LEGO FORTNITE TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Trees and rocks regrowning after harvested
  • NPCs might spawn in foundations or terrain.
  • Stuck when exiting the Crusher.
  • Swivels might break when touched while on a moving vehicle.
  • Villagers exploring with players may destroy structures while trying to harvest.
  • Bottom of HUD can disappear after using macrobinoculars.
  • Bottom of HUD can disappear after using macrobinoculars.

In Development

  • “Memory Reached Critical Levels” error followed by a crash.
  • Players may get stuck in a cannon if its damaged or falls into water while operating it.
  • Consumable buff timers can be overwritten when eating another consumable with a buff
  • There is no indication of which direction some furniture is being placed
  • The Swag Shot emote is not correctly translating on the Chalk Board
  • Cleared areas in the Rebel Outpost don’t complete

Fixed in Next Game Update

  • Game may freeze if players cancel the Battle Bus Fast Travel at the last second.
  • Players cannot harvest fruit from Fruit Trees

ROCKET RACING TOP ISSUES

In Development

  • Locker’s Vehicles – SUV/Truck and Sports Cars sections changes to a different background color when navigating through the cosmetics options
  • Jam Stage Mixers – Players need to equip Jam Tracks before hopping into the Jam Stage to access songs and start making music.
  • The “Level Up” sound effect may be too loud and overlap the currently played Jam Track.

FORTNITE FESTIVAL TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Audio Stuttering On Switch After Extended Play

In Development

  • Jam Stage Mixers – Players need to equip Jam Tracks before hopping into the Jam Stage to access songs and start making music.
  • Jam Stage Mixers – Players need to equip Jam Tracks before hopping into the Jam Stage to access songs and start making music.

FORTNITE MOBILE TOP ISSUES

New Update

  • Stamina Bar Location Change

In Development

  • The screen may flicker on certain Android devices.

SAVE THE WORLD TOP ISSUES

Investigating

  • Class icons may not appear on the Lobby screen.
  • Mission Alerts may reset incorrectly.
  • Floor Launchers may be indestructible or prevent players from walking over.

Fixed in Future Game Update

  • The “Daily Wargames” Storm Shield option does not apply current Daily Wargames Challenge.
  • Backpack resets the selected item category after closing.

Datamined Content:

Make sure to refresh this page to see more datamined content. Also, we will update this post when the patch notes are revealed.

Damien Seeto

Home > News

Fortnite Down for Server Maintenance and Patch v32.10 Roll Out This Nov. 13

Epic Games has taken the Fortnite servers down this November 13, and this is to release v32.10 for everyone. Read on for the schedule of when the servers go offline.

Fortnite Down Server Schedule for November 13:

Here’s the announcement from Epic Games:

In related news, Epic Games also announced on X/Twitter the delay of Kicks. You can read the full announcement below.

We are delaying the release of Kicks in the 32.10 release while we work on a visual issue. Players will still unlock the AJ1 Black Toe Reimagined in the Remix Pass, but will be unable to equip them.

We’re working on a fix now and will let you know when Kicks will be enabled and will release in the Shop. We’ll provide more updates on this as we have new info.

We will update this post to let our readers know when the patch and patch details arrive soon.

Damien Seeto

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Sonic X Shadow Generations Update 1.011 Speeds Out

SEGA has released Sonic X Shadow Generations update 1.011 on current-gen platforms, and this is the game’s first post-release patch. Note that upon checking, the download isn’t live on last-gen platforms, though that could change soon.

Sonic X Shadow Generations Update 1.011 Is Now Out on PS5

SEGA hasn’t mentioned anything about today’s patch just yet, and given it’s not available on last-gen, Upon our inspection, the patch isn’t PS5 Pro-related as well, since there’s no new settings implemented in the game post-update.

The PC version did get patched last week, and it rolled out the following fixes:

  • Fixed issue where when a device (controller, mouse, headset, keyboard) was inserted or removed while Sonic Generation was booting up, the game would crash.
  • Fixed issue where if a monitor’s resolution options exceed 32+ options, the game would crash when you would open the Options menu in Shadow Generations.
  • Error message now displayed when game crashes on PCs that are not compatible with AVX.

We’ve reached out to SEGA to ask what the patch is about, though don’t be surprised if we don’t hear anything about it.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is out on last-gen, current-gen platforms and PC, and is faring quite well currently. It’s sitting at an 80 average on Metacritic, with a user average of 90, while on Open Critic, it’s labeled as “Strong,” with over 86% of critics recommending it.

Avatar photo

Alex Co

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

Home > News

ARC Raiders Gameplay Reveal Gives Us First Look at New Extraction Direction

First announced as a cooperative third-person shooter, Embark Studios’ ARC Raiders has undergone quite some changes over the years. The most notable is that it has moved away from being strictly a coop shooter to now being an extraction shooter that pits groups of raiders against one another as they scavage for resources in a massive city. Though Embark has had a tight lid on the title over the last year, that all changed today, as the studio finally gave a true look at ARC Raiders gameplay with snippets of raw footage captured from a recent tech test. 

ARC Raiders Gameplay Shows Off Gorgeous Visuals and Some Rather Tense Moments

As captured from a recent tech test last month, below you’ll find 6 minutes of gameplay for ARC Raiders, showing off the first real look at the game’s new direction. 

Visually, ARC Raiders looks fantastic. Not much of a surprise, considering Embark Studios’ other title, The Finals, which also featured some impressive graphics and some insane destruction. ARC Raider looks to be following in The Finals steps, at least in the visual department, and the gameplay itself looks like it could be pretty fun. There are a lot of cool little moments scattered in the gameplay reveal, and it does seem that there are some brief teases of things throughout that we’ll likely get a bigger reveal for, like that giant robot foot that could be seen for a few frames. 

All in all, ARC Raiders looks to be shaping up to potentially be something special, and though the shift in direction may have some division, I don’t think there’s no denying that it still looks like a rather interesting shooter to follow. 

There is no word on when ARC Raiders will officially release, though Embark Studios is targeting a 2025 release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles. The title will also be a premium experience, costing $40.

Avatar photo

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 > News

Stellar Blade PC Release Aiming for a 2025 Release

Released earlier this year as a PS5 exclusive, Shift Up’s Stellar Blade PC release looks to be eyeing 2025, with the studio expecting it to perform even better in sales than it did on consoles. 

Note that we reported on the action game being in development for PC before, but this is the first time the studio gave a release window for it.

Stellar Blade PC Release Targets 2025, But No Firm Date Just Yet

As revealed in the Q&A section of their Q3 earning sheets, it looks like PC gamers will be able to enjoy Shift Up’s debut title, Stellar Blade, sometime in 2025. Though they haven’t exactly said what part of next year they are aiming for, they did say that they fully expect sales on the platform to exceed even those of the PS5 version despite coming out later. This is partly due to seeing how successful Wukong Black Myth was when it was released, which Shift Up is fully expecting similar results once it releases on Steam worldwide. 

“The release is being considered within 2025.” A Shift Up rep said in the earning sheets, ” Considering recent trends such as Steam’s expanding market share in the AAA game sector and the global success of , we expect the performance on PC to exceed that on consoles.”

Though the title already looks and runs beautifully on the PS5, especially with the recently released PS5 Pro patch, a PC release is expected to bring in several new improvements and an array of graphical options, and likely support for other upscale, such as DLSS. All that will be revealed at a later date, and seeing that they don’t have anything firm to share, we’d wager we won’t see Stellar Blade on PC until the second half of 2025. 

Stellar Blade is now available on the PS5 and PS5 Pro. New content and features will arrive on November 20 with the Nier collaboration update

Avatar photo

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

NHL 24 Update 1.021 Brings Franchise Mode and World of CHEL Fixes

EA Sports NHL 25 Update 1.021 is now live on all platforms, bringing key fixes to Franchise Mode, World of CHEL, and general gameplay. The update includes a planned downtime of up to one hour and addresses crashes, memory leaks, and other issues affecting these game modes.

NHL 25 Update 1.021 Fixes Returning to Dashboard Bug and More

Below are the full patch notes:

Game Play

  • Fixed an issue where during gameplay the game would return the user to the console dashboard.

Game Modes

Franchise Mode

  • Fixed memory leaks that could occur when simulating games for long periods of time.
  • Fixed an issue where the conversation negotiation with a qualified Restricted Free Agent could differ in contract preferences compared to the contract offer overlay.

World of CHEL

  • Fixed an issue where a black screen loaded in instant replay in the post-game screen in EASHL 6v6 games.
  • Fixed a rare crash when playing EASHL 3V3 during matchmaking.
  • Fixed an issue where the message Ranked Rewards +/- X was shown on the player and club progression screen in World of CHEL.
  • Fixed an issue where large amounts of player XP and Club XP were being granted in the post-game flow causing multiple level-ups to happen in a single game.

If you haven’t played the game yet, go read our review here where we state, “While it may be the first exclusively next-gen NHL game this generation, NHL 25 doesn’t really feel like that much of a leap over last year’s game. In fact, the additions last year felt much more substantial with the gameplay to where this year’s feels much more like a roster update than anything else. ”

[Source: EA]

Avatar photo

Taha

Television kills your vision.