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Even with crossplay coming to tons of major titles, PC remains the preferred gaming platform for many gamers. In fact, some of the most pristine gaming competitions revolve around PC games, and many of the most popular games are even free for everyone to play. View the full article

FromSoftware is pushing out a new patch for Elden Ring Nightreign, introducing a raft of balance adjustments, bug fixes, and improvements ahead of The Forsaken Hollows DLC. The Forsaken Hollows is Elden Ring Nightreign's first meaty, proper, named DLC. It drops tomorrow (December 4) and includes new bosses, new shifting earth, and new playable Nightfarers. Today's patch adds support for the DLC, but it also adds a number of new features and important balance changes for all players. The patch notes, below, apply to all versions: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. Elden Ring Nightreign update 1.03 patch notes:New features Added support for The Forsaken Hollows.If you own the DLC The Forsaken Hollows, it will be displayed in the lower right corner of the title screen.Added a display of the currently equipped relics in the Character Selection menu.You can check the effects of equipped relics by toggling the display.Added a feature to set names when registering Relics presets in the Relic Rites menu.Set names can be changed in the All Presets section.The order of presets for each character can now be changed in the All Presets section of the Relic Rites menu.In the Relic Rites menu, you can change the order of presets (but not the order of the character themselves) in the All Relics section.Added Deep Large Scenic Flatstone to the Collector Signboard shop.The map's layer display can now be toggled in the Results menu.The relics equipped by each player can now be displayed in the Results menu.Relics can only be displayed for sessions played in version 1.02 or later.Players with a Personal Objective that requires defeating a specific target while Reliving a Remembrance can now embark on Expeditions with players whose Personal Objective does not require defeating a specific target.Personal Objectives that do not require destroying the target will only appear for one player per Expedition.The flask count will now be highlighted in the following situations:When the flask count is at the maximum capacity,When an enemy-induced effect that influences the flask is triggered.The vertical position of the compass’ rune icon will now be displayed if the runes dropped upon death are significantly above or below the player character.You can now highlight specific events that occur on a map layer that is on a different level from the character’s location in the map menu.Adjusted the Dormant Power selection screen so that the HP gauge and other UI elements remain visible while the screen is displayed.Adjusted the weapon lineup in Limveld's shops.Added Fire Pots to the shop inventory inside the Spirit Shetler.The target-lock on enemies that are behind when the tombstone summoned by Raider's Ultimate Art appears no longer gets released.Balance Adjustments In general, the trigger conditions of Relic effects that trigger with low HP, equipment passive effects, and special effects have been broadened. Changes to Passive Effects and Special EffectsAdded new Passive Effects:Improved Melee Attack PowerImproved Dash AttacksImproved Rolling AttacksIncreased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Attack Power when Two-Handing.Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Attack Up when Wielding Two Armaments.Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Chain Attack Finishers.Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Charge Attacks.Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Jump Attacks.Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Guard Counters.Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Skill Attack Power.Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Physical Attack Up.Broadened the trigger conditions and decreased the effectiveness of the Passive Effect Improved Damage Negation at Low HP.Broadened the trigger conditions and decreased the effectiveness of the Talisman Blue-Feathered Branchsword.Changes to Relic EffectsIncreased the effect of Physical Attack Up.Increased the effect of Improved Initial Standard Attack.Increased the effect of Improved Critical Hits.Increased the effect of Improved Guard Counters.Increased the effect of Improved XXX Damage (excluding bow weapon types).Increased the effect of Improved Attack Power with 3+ XX Equipped (excluding bow weapon types).Broadened the trigger conditions and decreased the effectiveness of Improved Damage Negation at Low HP.Other ChangesReduced the FP consumption and increased the power of the Wrath of Gold Incantation.Bug Fixes & improvementsFixed a bug in the Augur invasion event where the character would not be properly teleported to the battle area against Augur if the player was performing a critical hit at the time of the teleportation trigger.Mitigated an issue where Sites of Grace or Churches would not activate and Leveling Up and Adding Charges to Flask could not be performed under some conditions.Fixed a bug where the range of Night's Tide differed from other players upon rejoining a session under some conditions.Fixed a bug where Hammer weapons with the Prayerful Strike skill would not appear.Fixed a bug where effects that heal or enhance allies did not apply to characters dodging or performing their Ultimate Art.Fixed an issue where the weak points created by Ironeye's skill Marking would appear for some players and not others under some conditions.Fixed a bug where Raider’s Retaliate skill would be canceled and the character would flinch when receiving some enemy attacks that deal no damage while the skill was active.Fixed a bug where affinity residues spawned by Recluse's Elemental Defense passive ability would not appear when hit by some enemy attacks.Fixed a bug where Stagger damage was not applied when parrying some enemy attacks with Executor.Fixed a bug where the range of rolls to dodge some enemies' darkness-imbued attacks was different than intended.Fixed a bug in Depths Relics where the effect Greenspill Crystal Tear in possession at start of expedition did not appear.Fixed a bug in the expedition menu where the gauge indicating the Deep of Night rating was not displayed when performing Reduce Depth, resulting in the subsequent gauge not reflecting the rate correctly.Fixed a bug in the Relic Rites menu where the icon indicating placement in other Vessels was not displayed correctly.Fixed a bug in the Dormant Power selection screen where the UI indicating rarity was not displayed on equipment and item icons.Fixed an issue where sorting by FP Consumption in the Sparring Equipment menu and Visual Codex menu of the Sparring Grounds, when displaying the list of Sorceries and Incantations, did not work correctly.Fixed a bug in the Results menu and Victor's Record menu where the attributes added by Relics to each character's weapons during an Expedition were not correctly reflected.Fixed a bug in the Results menu where the special effects held by other players were not recorded beyond a certain number.Fixed an issue where, if a session was disbanded immediately after a player left, the message at the title screen confirming the return to that session would keep appearing even after selecting OK.Fixed some graphical rendering issues.Fixed an issue where some sound effects did not play correctly.Corrected some text.Made several other performance improvements and bug fixes. Nightreign's ultra-hard difficulty mode, Deep of Night, released in September, having been discovered by dataminers back in August. That plus the duos mode was all we had for some time after Nightreign's release, which is why players had grown agitated at the lack of news or updates. "When Elden Ring Nightreign is played exactly as it was designed to be played, it’s one of the finest examples of a three-player co-op game around," we wrote in IGN's 7/10 Elden Ring: Nightreign review. "But a lack of crossplay, duo matchmaking, and built-in communication tools makes it hard to create the conditions needed to have this kind of experience unless you’re bringing two real-life friends on every run." Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky. 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No Man's Sky fans have claimed that an asset from the sci-fi sandbox game has been repurposed for ***** in Once Human without permission — and now the boss of Hello Games has gotten involved. This week, No Man's Sky fans on reddit flagged an "extremely similar" cosmetic item in Once Human that's now being sold within the post-apocalyptic surival title as a high-tier lootbox reward. The object, No Man's Sky's circular Base Teleport Module, looks to have been repurposed as some kind of sci-fi exercise bike, with the addition of a simple bicyle frame and a fresh paint job. Now, the controversy has stretched beyond the realm of reddit and reached Sean Murray, the head of No Man's Sky developer Hello Games, after fans flagged their suspicions. Murray's response? One of amusement more than anything else, as he reacted to the asset's apparent use elsewhere. A cosmetic item in Once Human looks extremely similar to NMS’s Base Teleport Module — and it’s being sold as a high-tier lootbox reward. Is this acceptable? byu/Koyonaku inNoMansSkyTheGame .reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; } "Jokes on them," Murray wrote in a post on X. "We forgot to LOD those rivets," he continued, referencing the lack of a lower quality model for the object when viewed from afar — something that could cause performance issues. Posting about the similarities of the two objects on reddit, No Man's Sky fan Koyonaku noted that Only Human's version "isn’t earned through gameplay — it is obtainable only as the highest-tier reward from a premium lootbox, often at significant cost." This isn't the first time Only Human has been suspected of basing in-game assets on other games, either, the user alleged. "This was brought up several days ago in the Once Human community, but the item is still being sold without clarification or adjustment," Koyonaku wrote. "There was also a similar past case involving icon resemblance to Rainbow Six, which was quietly replaced. I’m not here to start drama or accuse anyone of legal wrongdoing. But I do think there are times when staying silent lets things like this slide into being treated as normal." IGN has contacted Only Human developer Starry Studio for comment. Almost a decade on from launch, No Man's Sky recently celebrated its best-ever player numbers, following the launch of its Breach and Voyagers updates earlier this year. The Breach update lets players salvage wrecks, unlocking new ship building parts along the way, while Voyagers added multiplayer ship crew capabilities and skydiving, among many other features. Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social View the full article

New gameplay footage of Resident Evil Requiem has teased a glimpse at a fresh area in the game filled with classic zombies — and it all looks very Resident Evil 1. The snippet comes from a special Resident Evil program that aired recently on Japanese TV, shared online by long-time Capcom leaker DuskGolem. Within the footage, we can see Requiem's lead character Grace Ashcroft approaching a staircase in a dimly-lit mansion, and taking aim at a shuffling zombie. Ashcroft's shots miss, and the zombie lunges forward to grab the character. It looks like the undead enemy manages to gnaw her arm, before she eventually fights it off — only to find another zombie waiting for her down the corridor. There was some new Resident Evil Requiem gameplay of a new area with Grace fighting a zombie in the Resident Evil special program that aired on Japanese television. [Hidden Content] — AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem (@AestheticGamer1) December 3, 2025 It's only a short clip, but fans are celebrating the classic Resident Evil vibe it gives off, and the setting for this gameplay segment which looks straight out of the Spencer Mansion. (It's definitely not, but still.) Of course, another classic element expected to appear in Resident Evil Requiem is a certain fan-favorite Leon S. Kennedy, who has been named in persistent rumors and reports as secretly appearing in the game as a second playable character. Capcom has remained tight-lipped on the matter and refused to discuss Leon's involvement specifically, though recently gave its biggest hint yet when it acknowledged that other classic characters connected to the Raccoon City incident would indeed appear. Capcom has specifically pitched Resident Evil Requiem as a return not just to the classic location of Raccoon City, but also to the series' "overarching narrative" begun 30 years ago, after more recent games such as Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village focused on events set elsewhere, with fewer connections to past titles. What has Capcom got in store? Time is beginning to run short for Capcom to reveal much more, as Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S. Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social View the full article

The CEO of Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has responded to fan concern about the choice of Justin Lin as the director of the Helldivers movie, after it emerged he leaned into not being a gamer for his pitch. Helldivers 2 is an explosive co-op focused action shooter that’s a lot like a video game version of cult sci-fi classic Starship Troopers. You play as a disposable soldier in an ongoing galactic war, defending a fascist Super Earth regime against alien robots called Automatons and bugs called Terminids, all the while preaching "Managed Democracy." (Incidentally, Sony is also working on a new Starship Troopers movie, which should make for a somewhat bizarre one-two punch of sci-fi satire.) This week, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Justin Lin is set to direct the upcoming Helldivers live-action film adaptation. Lin is best known for his work on the Fast & Furious films, and was the director of the series from 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift to 2013’s Fast & Furious 6. He also directed 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, the final film in the modern Star Trek trilogy, and 2021’s F9. But it was one paragraph in THR’s story that raised eyebrows within the Helldivers community: Lin is not a gamer and leaned into that as a strength when pitching his take on the material, said insiders. He aims to find the humanity in the characters and weave timely themes into the story, while building out a world and mythology. There are plenty of details waiting to be drawn in, something that is compelling to the filmmaker. Some fans are now worried that Lin simply won’t get what Helldivers is about because he’s not a gamer and, presumably, hasn’t played Arrowhead’s shooter. And because of that, some players believe, the Helldivers movie is at risk of missing the video game’s vibe. Over on the official Helldivers Discord, Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani briefly addressed this concern. He first responded to one fan who asked if they could direct the Helldivers movie instead of Lin, saying: “let Justin Lin work his magic.” Jorjani then responded to the following question from a fan: “If you guys have any sway with Sony over the movie can you make sure the director plays the game at least once or at least sees some gameplay?” Jorjani replied: “I trust Justin. He did a great job on the Star Trek movie.” Arrowhead will likely face this sort of concern until fans see the Helldivers movie in trailer form, or hear from Lin himself on his vision for the film. And Helldivers is not alone in this approach. Amazon’s adaptation of God of War is helmed by Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica’s Ronald D. Moore, who isn’t a gamer either. But it is in contrast to the situation with the Elden Ring movie, which is being directed by Ex Machina and Civil War director and self-confessed Elden Ring superfan Alex Garland. In June, Garland told IGN he was on his seventh playthrough of FromSoftware's epic fantasy RPG, and revealed the boss he found the toughest to take down. As for Helldivers, in January, Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilestedt insisted the studio shouldn't have the final say on the Helldivers movie because it doesn't know anything about making films. "We are not Hollywood people, and we don't know what it takes to make a movie," Pilestedt said. "And therefore we don't, and shouldn't, have final say.” Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

It turns out that not only are Valve using the open source FEX for the Steam Frame but they have been funding FEX since the beginning of it. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Red Dead Redemption 2 fans might have their hands full right now with the recent release of the Red Dead Redemption 1 next-gen upgrade, but there might be an even better option for players—and it's a 2025 GOTY contender. View the full article

The Knee-Deep in the Ground quest is one of the harder ones to complete in Of Ash and Steel, and this guide will help you to finish all the key steps quite easily. The quest begins once you reach Nerest's House. You'll encounter an NPC named Mix in the nearby ruins, who will tell you about digging three different spots. Let's look at where you can find all three treasures to complete the quest. Table of contentsOf Ash and Steel Knee-Deep in the Ground quest walkthroughTreasure 1 locationTreasure 2 locationTreasure 3 locationOf Ash and Steel Knee-Deep in the Ground quest walkthrough As I mentioned above, there are three treasures to dig from the ground. Treasure 1 location Cave that leads to the first treasure. Screenshot by Destructoid Take the path that goes past Mix. You'll find a set of treehouses along the path. From there, go straight, and you'll find a cave on your left. There's a level 15 enemy inside the cave, so the best trick is to lure the enemy away. Alternatively, you can draw it towards Mix, and he can take out the enemy. The chest is at the end of the cave. Dig using a shovel, and you'll get Camp Supplies, three Torches, and 30 Gold. Treasure 2 location Treasure chest location behind the windmill. Screenshot by Destructoid Go back to Mix and continue until you reach the main path. Turn left and continue along the path to reach the abandoned village. Go to the back of the village to find a dark gray spot behind the windmill to find the chest. This chest contains two Lockpicks and 50 Gold. Treasure 3 location The third and final one can be quite tricky to find. The quickest way to reach the spot is by leaving the Abandoned Village and reaching the ruined stone bridge. Keep spamming the jump button, and you should be able to grab the ledge on the other end. Spot of third treasure chest. Screenshot by Destructoid Follow the path that leads you to the Woodcutter's Camp, and then go left. Keep following the path, and this will lead you to the ruins. The dig spot is towards the right of the ruins, going past the metal doorway. Open the chest, and you'll find 5 Peasant Lass consumables and 100 Gold. Once you find all three chests, return to Mix. While you can keep at least half or more cold (based on your INS), he will ask you for another favor. However, this task is separate from the Knee-Deep in the Ground quest, which automatically ends once you speak with Mix (after finding all three chests). The post How to complete Knee-Deep in the Ground in Of Ash and Steel appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

2025 has been quite a packed year for Disney Dreamlight Valley, but before it comes to a close, there's still one last major update in store. The Winter Ball update promises some exciting additions to round out the year, so to ensure you're ready for it, you'll want to know when it launches. Fresh updates are always quite exciting, as they come with loads of new content to explore, plus useful changes to older features and important bug fixes. This one promises some exciting new features you'll want to dive into as soon as possible, so here’s the exact time and date when The Winter Ball update will be released for Disney Dreamlight Valley. Table of contentsWhen is The Winter Ball update in Disney Dreamlight Valley?The Winter Ball update features in Disney Dreamlight ValleyWhen is The Winter Ball update in Disney Dreamlight Valley? Screenshot by Destructoid The Winter Ball update for DDV is officially slated to launch on Dec. 10. Precise launch times for updates are never shared ahead of time, but most previous updates and expansion content have all been released at exactly the same time, which is 8am CT, so we can likely expect this one to be as well. All updates and fresh content outside of those that launched around the time the game first released have stayed true to this launch time. Barring any unexpected delays, this one should be, too, so we've set our countdown to this time and translated it across major time zones to help you keep track of how much longer you have to wait. [hurrytimer id="1150396"]PT: 6am on Dec. 10CT: 8am on Dec. 10ET: 9am on Dec. 10BST: 2pm on Dec. 10CEST: 3pm on Dec. 10JST: 11pm on Dec. 10AEST: 12am on Dec. 11The Winter Ball update features in Disney Dreamlight Valley Screenshot by Destructoid The main focus of The Winter Ball update is introducing Cinderella to the village, but there are quite a few other exciting additions arriving alongside her. Here are all the key features included in this update. New character – Cinderella is finally arriving in the valley with this update. She's locked away behind a magical pumpkin enchantment, so you'll need to work with the Fairy Godmother to free her. Once you do, you'll get to place her castle home anywhere you'd like to have her move in. New quests and rewards – Like all characters, Cinderella comes with her own set of quests you can work through to befriend her and exclusive prizes you can claim as you get to know her. Throughout her missions, you'll try new hobbies, befriend some critters, and throw a Friendship Ball for the entire valley. New Star Path event – A fresh Star Path event is featured in this update, which is called the Winter Warmth Star Path. This event has lots of festive winter tasks you can tackle to claim rewards like winter outfits, furniture, and a Festive Baby Pegasus critter Companion. New bundle – The Cinderella Mega Bundle will be added to the Premium Shop. This pack includes fresh Dream Styles for Cinderella and Fairy Godmother, some other Cinderella-themed items, and holiday goodies inspired by Frozen. Screenshot by Destructoid DreamTeams feature – A fresh feature called DreamTeams will allow players to form crews of up to seven other friends. You can customize your team details, trade items with other players, share pictures, and more. Two events – The Gift of Giving event will return from Dec. 17 to 31, with the same tasks as in previous years and some new ones you can work through for fresh prizes. There's also a new event called Winter Floating Festival, which will run from Jan. 7 to 28. In this one, you can solve winter puzzles to earn rewards. Quality of life improvements – A new villager toggle feature is being added to photo mode, allowing all players to freely pick any unlocked villager to appear in the shot as desired. Scrooge McDuck now accepts returns, which means you can sell items back to him for the full original Star Coin price. His shop also finally has a search feature, plus some new sorting and filtering options to make finding what you're searching for easier than ever. While you wait for the next big update to arrive, you might consider tackling a few key quests around Wishblossom Ranch. Some good ones to work on are Automotive Appeal, Home Is Where the Heart Is, The Decay, and Solve the Puzzle. The post Disney Dreamlight Valley The Winter Ball update countdown: Exact start time and date appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Finding and unlocking the blue chests in Octopath Traveler 0 may be quite the task, especially because you won’t be able to access them in the early stages of the game, but you will be tempted to open them once you see them. These blue chests start appearing quite early on in the story, so it’s easy to lose track of them as you progress through the campaign following the release of Octopath Traveler 0. View the full article

We're on our kneesView the full article

The original was "never designed to be a linear narrative game" howeverView the full article

In the wake of its dramatic split with developer Colossal Order, Cities Skylines 2 has launched new DLC made by the community. 'Creator packs' have long been a part of Cities Skylines, with dozens of additions available for the original that offer plenty of ways to further expand on one of the PC's best city-building games. As we enter uncharted territory for the sequel, the Skyscrapers and Supply Chains packs offer a bit more of that familiar stability to proceedings, with the long-awaited CS2 asset editor finally due to arrive in beta right afterwards. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Cities Skylines 2 dev announces split from Paradox, new studio will take over development The best games like The Sims in 2025 If you're quick, you can now try Cities Skylines 2 for free and see how far it's come in the two years since its disappointing launch View the full article

At the PlayStation Partner Awards 2025 Japan Asia held in Tokyo on December 3, Monster Hunter Wilds won the Grand Award and the User's Choice Award. In an interview held before the award ceremony, Ryozo Tsujimoto, the producer of this work, and Yuya Tokuda, the director, answered questions from local media. IGN Japan was in attendance. When Monster Hunter Wilds was first released on February 28, some players left harsh feedback, but Tokuda said the team worked to improve the game by taking advantage of that feedback. "Immediately after the release, we apologized for the inconvenience caused by the volume of content and the difficulty level. Despite this, we were delighted to receive various awards, including Users' Choice awards. We would like to thank all the players who have given their opinions and spoken warm words even in this situation. The development team was able to turn everyone's feedback into an asset and work on the update with all our strength, and I think the result was also the reason why players voted for us," said Tokuda. "Monster Hunter has the characteristics of a title that gets regular updates, but player opinions were very helpful during the update process, and in order to make Monster Hunter Wilds better, the fans’ voices gave us power. There are still updates left to come, so we will continue to do our best," added Tsujimoto. The Monster Hunter series celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. The franchise was a hit in Japan, and after the release of Monster Hunter: World in 2018, it grew into a literal monster title overseas. According to Tokuda, the Monster Hunter Wilds team were more aware than ever of being accepted by newcomers or those who had trouble beating the games. "We analyzed what kind of places beginners were stuck in, including Monster Hunter: World. We have worked on these points in turn to make it easier for new users to clear hurdles such as being able to reach certain monsters or to craft certain types of armor. In addition, we have tried to adopt as many new elements as possible that are beneficial for both beginners and existing users, such as Focus Mode. This time, as a result of making the game easy to beat even for new players and players who could not clear it before, I think the difficulty curve was a little lacking for existing users,” said Tokuda. Tokuda said the team has focused on creating more difficult content with each update. "If you beat the game immediately after its release and stopped playing, I would appreciate it if you could pick it up again," said Tokuda. Monster Hunter Wilds still has updates to come, but Tsujimoto also talked a little about the future of the series. "Of course, we don’t intend to stop the series here. We plan to continue, and we want to let more people play. In addition, I would like to think about things beyond the games so that we can further expand the potential of the Monster Hunter IP," said Tsujimoto. From Tsujimoto's remarks, it seems we can continue to look forward to new games and more in the Monster Hunter series. Tsujimoto was also asked where Monster Hunter stands within the overall catalog of Capcom IP, which he answered diplomatically. "Capcom is a company with various IPs, and every IP is very important. I'm in charge of Monster Hunter now, that’s all I can comment on, but as Capcom, we want to expand all our IPs,” he said. Capcom is scheduled to release Resident Evil Requiem, Onimusha Way of the Sword, and Pragmata in 2026. Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

Brace yourself: someone has finally actually Escape(d) from Tarkov. As posted on Escape From Tarkov's Instagram feed, streamer Tigz has somehow actually managed to… well, escape, making them the first player to do so in the eight years the game has been live. "Congratulations to Tigz on being the first to Escape From Tarkov," the post reads. "You survived. But at what cost." Nikita Buyanov, director of the ultra hardcore extraction shooter, also celebrated the achievement, albeit confirming poor Tigz secured the "worst ending though… not cool." Congratulations to @RealTigz on being the first to Escape from Tarkov. You survived. But at what cost. [Hidden Content] — Escape from Tarkov (@tarkov) December 1, 2025 To be fair to other players, escape was only possible since the 1.0 version of the game went live last month, ushering in the crucial final map, Terminal. Nonetheless, it's an incredible accomplishment that took over two weeks to conquer. For those wanting proof (or just want to see a master at work), you can watch Tigz escape in real-time on his YouTube channel (skip to around 43 minutes). "Thanks for all the love guys and much love to all the haters as well," Tigaz posted to X/Twitter, appending a love heart emoji. AlexPerch — the first one to complete "Didn't Escape" storyline ending. He escaped from Tarkov but did not escape from himself.#EscapefromTarkov [Hidden Content] — Escape from Tarkov (@tarkov) December 3, 2025 He's not the only MVP getting noticed by developer Battlestate Games, though. Earlier today, December 3, Escape from Tarkov's socials also revealed AlexPerch as the first to complete the Didn't Escape storyline ending, although the developer stressed: "He escaped from Tarkov but did not escape from himself." XinChongg has similarly been immortalized as "one of the first to escape from Tarkov in PvP," and Tsukinogi has just been announced as "the first who escaped with best ending in PvE." #EscapefromTarkov @nikgeneburn One of the first to escape from Tarkov in PvP. The grind was fun! Thank you, @bstategames, for the awesome game! [Hidden Content] — ViiReX (@ViiReX2) December 2, 2025 The first who escaped with best ending in PvE - Tsukinogi [Hidden Content] — Nikita Buyanov (@nikgeneburn) December 3, 2025 Escape from Tarkov finally launched on Steam in 1.0 form last month, but with it came a 'mixed' user review rating. Buyanov later apologized to players for what he called a "rough" release, saying the team was "willing to continue fighting" to "finally crack the performance problems." Multiple patches have been released, the latest of which arrived on Monday. Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky. View the full article

Don't pay full price, the free version is on its wayView the full article

The best units in Anime Story depend on what role you need and what game mode you're playing. I'll show you the best single-target, AOE, Tank and Support units to bring to all game modes, even for farming. Here's my Anime Story tier list and unit guide. Table of contentsBest Anime Story Unit Tier ListMeta DPSS-Tier DPSA-Tier DPSB-Tier DPSC-Tier DPSS-Tier TanksA-Tier TanksS-Tier SupportsA-Tier SupportsBest Team in Anime StoryBest Traits & Relics in Anime StoryAnime Story FAQBest Anime Story Unit Tier List Image by Destructoid I've split the tier list into three sections for the best DPS units in Anime Story like single-target and AOE as well as best Tanks and Supports. I'll provide individual ranking reasons for all of them below. Afterwards, I'll talk about the best teams in the game for Raids, Progression/Tower and Farming as well as best Traits and Relics to use. For now, here are the tier breakdowns: Meta: Must-have units that transcend roles due to incredible DPS and utility.S-Tier: There are three tiers like this for DPS/Tanks/Supports which include the best units within their role.A-Tier: Either situationally powerful or build-specific units that are excellent alternatives if you don't have the S-Tiers. There are three tiers like this for DPS/Tanks/Supports.B-Tier: Underpowered DPS Mythics that are good early but struggle in late-game content.C-Tier: Beginner units that you shouldn't use in the later stages of the game. Evolutions: I have ranked all units according to their EVO stats taking into account their highest potential. You can consider that the Non-EVO equivalents are either on the bottom of the same tier or one tier below. For example, base non-EVO Pride is still an S-/A+ Tier tank. Meta DPSMeta DPSRanking ReasonAbility Vogita (Purple)SecretSingle-Target• One of the strongest units for raids and extended late-game fights due to infinite scaling • Theoretically, the best unit in the game if given enough time • That said, not the best for quick farm comps where you want to clear some levels in seconds • Evolve Vogita (Blue) using Scantron drops from World 1Every round gain 75% more Damage Roku (Ultra)SecretSingle-Target• Weaker than Vogita in extended fights but better for quick fights due to massive single-target damage • Plus you get to go first which is amazing for bursting down single enemies and eliminating their turn before they get to act • Evolve Roku (Blue) with materials from the Dragon Ball Raid Act 6Allows all allies to start battle first Mazara (Susanoo)Mythic5-Target• The best AOE damage unit in the entire game with some of the highest DPS in the game multi-hit-wiseIf enemy is stronger, deal 150% more DMG Kaizen (Kido)Exclusive/LimitedSingle-Target• Some of the highest single-target DPS you can reach in Anime Story • Outdamages Roku Ultra in single-target but Roku is still incredibly useful for the first-strike, especially in later fightsEvery 2nd attack, deal 100% more DMG Reaper (Bankai)MythicSingle-Target• Has high base damage due to being a single-target unit but can then do AOE damage on 4 units every third attack on average • Excellent DPS and can drastically increase if you get lucky and trigger the effect more often35% chance to target 3 more unitsS-Tier DPSS DPSRanking ReasonAbility Ant KingSecretSingle-Target• Similar to Raven (Red) in terms of incredibly high single-target damage, especially in later fights due to % damage50% chance to Poison a target for 15% of their Max HP Roku (Blue)SecretSingle-Target• Same as Roku Ultra but weaker • I would still bring him due to the incredibly useful ability that allows you to take out an enemy before they start a turnAllows all allies to start battle first Ant KingSecretSingle-Target• Only S-Tier because the EVO is incredibly strong • Only good in extended fights but you definitely want to rush EVO ASAP since the base version is much slower scaling • Personally I'd rather go with Raven EVO or Ant King over Vogita (Blue),Every round gain 50% more Damage Raven (Red)MythicSingle-Target• Like Ant King Raven Red is one of the strongest single-target DPS Mythics in the game50% chance to Burn a target for 100% DMG DestructionMythic3-Target• Amazing beginner Mythic and one of the best farm Mythics in the game • Deals impressive AOE DPS • That said, what makes him good is the farm potential due to the opening burst • Clears lower World stages in seconds for farming EVO materials • Also marks targets to boost your overall team damageUpon enter, deal 100% DMG to all enemies. Each attack has a 30% chance to apply MarkA-Tier DPSA DPSRanking ReasonAbility Dark AssassinMythicSingle-Target• One of the best units in the game for Raids where he can execute low HP enemies • This gets you a ton of value since enemies have incredibly high HPs here • Otherwise, he has A-Tier DPS or lower outside of Raids and end-game contentExecutes the target if it has 25% or less HP remaining Gray (Ultimate)Mythic5-Target• Really good AOE DPS but the ability is slightly awkward if Gray doesn't take hits or you don't get lucky with crits • That's why he's lower in the A-TierEach Crit you land, heal for 1.5% Max HP Wrath (Fury)MythicSingle-Target• Situationally good healing units like Roku (Rose), Orihime or Sakura and with Gluttony/Merlin to buff him • In these builds Wrath can deal both great AOE and single-target damage • Otherwise you don't get much value from the ability so Wrath is very situational35% chance to return 150% DMG to the attacker Time AngelMythic3-Target• A decent filler DPS, especially if you proc the ability on a high damage enemy • That said, Time Angel doesn't have a lot of synergy with other units so there's no OP combo potential and he doesn't scale well with buffs • He's A-Tier for raw stats aloneEvery round start, 30% chance to make an enemy attack its alliesB-Tier DPSB DPSRanking ReasonAbility Gear LupyMythicSingle-Target• Everyone's favorite beginner Mythic that you'll use once you start and almost never again • He's unreliable for late game due to the randomness of his abilityAttacks randomly deal between 85% and 235% Damage ****** One MythicSingle-Target• Basically a weaker Raven when you EVO Raven100% chance to Burn a target on hit for 30% DMG Ethereal ArcherMythic2-Target• Can deal quite impressive AOE DPS but is more of a beginner unit since there are better DPS carries for your teamIncrease Critical Chance by +35% Super RokuMythicSingle-Target• Just a decent beginner unit with slower-to-ramp but okay DPS, nothing wrong here • That said there are many better unitsEvery round gain +20% more Damage BooMythicSingle-Target• While the damage is really good and the Mark is OP, Boo is very unreliable • In later story fights and Raids there are so many enemies where you won't even get a chance to constantly proc the mark • That's why it's awkward to use Boo and I wouldn't recommend himHas 40% chance to apply Majin Power After 3 Majin Power stacks, the target is Marked and receives 200% DMGC-Tier DPS Sosuke, Youji and Agony are the worst Mythics in the game just in terms of being underpowered. They might get much better once they receive their EVOs. As for the Legendaries the best one is Levan in terms of DPS but decent options also include Acu, Xoro and Shibue for beginner comps. S-Tier TanksS TankRanking ReasonAbility Shadow KnightSecret Single-Target• Incredibly good tank in quick fights that don't drag on since he's unkillable for a short ******* of timeGain a Damage Immunity Shield for 2 turns after the first time this unit takes a Fatal Hit Pride (Sun)MythicSingle-Target• The counterpart of Shadow Knight that deals more damage after death and is slightly better in longer fightsIncrease DMG by 50% and after death, revive with 250% HP and 250% ATK Greed (Fox)Exclusive/LimitedSingle-Target• Very high-risk high-reward Tank that can last a long time if he deals good damage and is supported by a healer • That said if you don't have a healer like Roku Rose or Orihime to keep him from getting killed, he's much worse than Pride and SK if he dies • This is because Greed doesn't have a revive mechanicConvert 75% of your DMG to HP TitanMythic2-Target• Titan is the weakest revive Tank but is still quite reliable as your starter tank until you get Pride or SKRevives to 50% Max HP and gains a 50% DMG Boost after the first time this unit takes a Fatal HitA-Tier TanksA TankRanking ReasonAbility Ultimate WarriorMythicSingle-Target• A DPS tank hybrid that's less reliable Defense wise but deals more damage than the average tank unitWhen stunned, deal 200% DMG on the next attack Ruki LegendarySingle-Target• Your starter tank before you get Titan or the higher-tier onesReduce incoming Damage by 30%S-Tier SupportsS SupportRanking ReasonAbility Silent Bloom (Kageyoshi)Mythic3-Target• One of the best supports in the entire game, massively boosting your team's damage • Works great with high base damage units in the S and A-Tiers • Also deals impressive AOE damage himselfUpon entry, buff all allies’ Critical Chance by +30% LustMythicSingle-Target• A quick little damage boost for all your units due to the Mark • Deals decent single-target damage • Works better with high single-target base damage units to make the most of the mark boostUpon enter, Mark all enemiess to deal 30% more DMG on them Roku (Rose)Limited/Exclusive5-Target• The best healer in the game if you have him • Works amazing for all modes to heal tanks and especially good with units who love heals like Wrath or GreedAt the start of the round, heal all allies for 25% Max HP GojinMythicSingle-Target• A great alternative support option to keep your tanks and primary DPS alive for longerUpon enter, debuff all enemies to deal -25% less DamageA-Tier SupportsA TankRanking ReasonAbility GluttonyExclusive/LimitedSingle-Target• Can be quite powerful in a full Sin team but this is incredibly situational • That said, even in a full Sin team, while Pride is good, Wrath isn't the best main DPS without a healing support • Greed also requires a healer to be good • Gluttony can carry you in story but I would much rather have Silent Bloom as support instead of Sloth for Raids and late-game contentBuff all Seven Deadly Sins units Wrath, Lust, Envy, Sloth, Pride, Greed White Lotus (Haze)MythicSingle-Target• A decent support but the ability is a bit unreliable since you can't do it at will and must get this unit killed to benefit from it • Quite situationalUpon death Freeze 4 random enemies Soul GuardianLegendarySingle-Target• A decent heal option if you don't have Roku Rose • That said, the healing is unreliable so this unit isn't the best to bring20% to heal all teammates by 10% SlothMythic2-Target• Similar to Soul Guardian where Sloth can be really strong but the proc chance is so low that you might not get value as often • Still a stun is one of the most powerful debuffs in the game once you activate it10% to stun and apply a Mark on each attackBest Team in Anime Story In the table below you'll see some of the best teams in Anime Story and unit combos for various game modes. I'll include the best unit (Core/must-have) for that mode and a few units you can use to support the main one. Feel free to fill out the rest of the slots with your favorite Secrets and Mythics. Progression Tower ChallengesRaidFarmingBeginner Tank Core (Pick One) AOE Core Healer Core Going first is really good Use Blue/Still worth Core AOE Core Support Core Healer Core Single-target Fill Filler (For Execute) Farm Core Support Core Helps with DPS Fill the rest Best Early Tank Best Early DPS Best Traits & Relics in Anime Story Here are the best traits and relics in Anime Story for the various roles: Best TraitsFor All Units: Monarch (If you can get it)For DPS: Deadeye (Best), Ethereal (Second-best)For Tank: SolarFor Support: Deadeye/Ethereal Best RelicsFor DPS: Grapple HookFor Tank: StrawhatFor Farming: Use Katana on allAnime Story FAQWhat is the best DPS unit in Anime Story? The best single-target units are Vegito (Purple), Kaizen (Kido), Ant King and Raven (Red) while the best for AOE damage are Mazara (Susannoo) and Reaper (Bankai). What is the best Tank in Anime Story? Shadow Knight and Pride (Sun) are the best tanks where SK is more tanky but Pride deals more damage once revived. What is the best Support in Anime Story? The best supports for raw damage are Lust and Silent Bloom while Roku (Ultra) has one of the best secondary-support abilities making you go first. What is the best unit for farming resources in Anime Story? The best farm unit is Destruction because he can burst down enemy teams on-start really fast and mark them for your AOE DPS like Mazara for a quick finish. What is the best beginner unit in Anime Story? Destruction is amazing to get ASAP for everything but Levan is one of the best DPS Legendaries early while Ruki is the best early game tank. Honorable mention to Silent Bloom who just makes your team better in any team composition. 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