Steam

All good things come to an end. DLC and content updates can turn a struggling game around, or make a good one great, but personally, I'm a big believer in finishing something - I prefer when developers complete a project, take what they've learned, and apply it to a brand-new idea. It's been three years since medieval MMO Chivalry 2 first arrived into the world and now its creator Torn Banner confirms that it is feature complete and that the recent Regicide update will be its last. More Chivalry games are coming. There's also zombie co-op shooter No More Room in ***** 2. But Chivalry 2 is retiring to that nice big castle in the country. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: ******** Squad is about to be given away for free on Prime Gaming Brutal medieval game, beloved on Steam, is now completely free Prime subscribers can grab one of the best medieval games for free View the full article

Amazon's Fallout TV show has rightly earned about nine million plaudits since it came out, and the latest comes from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. During a call outlining the company's latest batch of financial numbers, we've learned the extent to which the show boosted the player counts of Fallout titles on Game Pass. Touching on the show, which recently recieved a bunch of Emmy nominations and was renewed for a second season faster than you can bring up VATS, Nadella revealed (thanks, IGN) that "hours played on Game Pass for the Fallout franchise increased nearly 5x quarter-over-quarter" following the show's arrival. While we already knew that Walton Goggins and Ella Purnell running around California had done wonders for the amounts of folks delving back into Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Fallout New Vegas, and their predecessors, Microsoft hadn't previously outlined the effect it'd had on Game Pass specifically. Read more View the full article

At the core is a hybrid x86 CPU design with two clusters: one packing four beefy Zen 5 cores and 16MB of L3 cache, while the other has eight efficiency-focused Zen 5c cores each with 8MB L3. The clusters communicate via AMD's trusty Infinity Fabric interconnect. Read Entire Article View the full article

It’s that time again; the end of one Diablo 4 season and the (imminent) beginning of another. Blizzard has officially revealed the name of Season 5: Season of the Infernal Hordes. The new season is named after the new co-op activity it's adding to the game. It begins on August 6, and brings with it plenty of new loot to earn, a new questline, the Infernal Hordes activity, a new type of dungeon and more. Read more View the full article

While "blown away" by the beach scenes in the first GTA 6 trailer, former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij thinks the forthcoming open worlder might underwhelm players hoping for a palpable technological update on GTA 5, which has been reworked and re-released extensively since its 2013 launch. This has less to do with GTA in itself, Vermeij says, than with the fact that changes in computing capacity today simply aren't as dramatic as in the days of the very first PlayStation. It's becoming rare, he suggests, that you see a "jump" akin to GTA going 3D. Read more View the full article

The morbid topic of funerals arises in the July 31 NYT Mini Crossword as one of its core clues challenges you to work out the “Yogi who said, Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.” Famous quotes are often prophetic, and three down in the NYT Mini Crossword may get you thinking about your own ********. Don’t dwell too long, though; you need to work out who said this famous quote. View the full article

Self-proclaimed “misogynist,” British-********* kickboxer, and infamous internet personality Andrew Tate’s rise to fame first began after he was taken off the British version of the reality TV show Big Brother in 2016 due to the release of a video that appeared to show him assaulting a woman. Fast forward to now, and Andrew Tate has amassed a loyal, worldwide fan following, mostly comprised of impressionable young male teens. Tate has even managed to make an impression in the world of gaming and streaming as well. View the full article

If your first response to that headline was "what are these words, and why are they being put in that order?" That's understandable—the present discourse taking place in the ********* gaming community is, after all, centred around a genre we don't get to talk about too often over here: The visual novel... Read more.View the full article

Steam hit Once Human is set to go offline today, July 31, in order to release a significant update that makes a number of key changes to the game. Once Human is a free-to-play multiplayer open-world survival game from Starry Studio, a developer owned by ******** games company NetEase. It launched on PC on July 9 and quickly found an audience, with a huge peak concurrent player count of 231,668 on Steam, where it ******** one of the most-played games. IGN’s Once Human review returned an 8/10. We said: “Once Human combines simple but solid building and upgrading with some of the best, and weirdest, creature designs of the year to create a very enjoyable survival-crafting experience.” While you're out collecting rare Deviations or scouting the best base locations in Once Human, keep track of collectibles and Mystical Crates using IGN's interactive Once Human map. Starry Studio said the server maintenance, during which Once Human will be offline and unplayable, starts at 9pm PDT today, July 31, and is expected to last for four hours. “Please plan your game time accordingly, and thank you for your understanding and support,” the studio said. Ahead of the release of the next big update on August 1, Starry Studio published the patch notes, below: “We have been actively listening to and addressing feedback and suggestions from our community since the global release,” the developer said. Once Human August 1, 2024 update patch notes: Optimizations I. Memetic Optimizations 1. Added a new item drop: Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments - After using a Memetic Specialization Memory Fragment, you will gain the corresponding Memetic specialization effect. - Up to three Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments can be used per season. - When the in-game item Controller is used, there is a certain chance of obtaining a random Memory Fragment. - All Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments will be destroyed at the end of the season, and they will not be sent to the Eternaland Depot. - Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments can be traded between players. 2. Adjusted some display elements on the Memetic Specialization screen - Optimized the stacking of certain metal ingots in the Backpack. - Optimized the display of Memetic specializations in the gear details pop-up. - Production output of regular Ammunition can be increased by 50%. II. Gameplay Optimizations 1. Enriched the Highway Pursuit game mode - Added a new Highway Pursuit route to the Chalk Peak region. - The event starting time is now fixed to 9:00 PM, server time. - Rosetta trucks now automatically drop Sproutlets even if the player does not ******* them. - Increased the quantity of Sproutlet and reward drops. - Optimized the item storage quantity and subtraction rules of the Cargo Scramble game mode. 2. Optimized the ease of checking certain display elements - After opening the Map, you can now click on Monolith, Securement Silo, Public Crisis Event, Cargo Conquest, and other icons to open their details screen. - Added a combat invitation function to Public Crisis Events. You can now send invitations to other players via chat channels. - There is no longer a countdown timer for pressing Ready when entering a Monolith or Securement Silo solo. III. Vehicle Optimizations 1. Increased the acceleration and maximum speed of low-level Motorcycles. Slightly increased the acceleration and maximum speed of Off-Roaders and Coupes. 2. Fixed an issue where after boarding a vehicle, the player would need to press a movement key once before being able to operate the vehicle. 3. Added a function where if a vehicle is stuck on terrain, you can hold down the accelerate key to free the vehicle. 4. Added a setting for auto-centering the vehicle camera. You can now choose to enable or disable auto-centering while operating a vehicle. 5. Optimized the vehicle repair and modification procedure. Heavily damaged vehicles must now be repaired before they can be modified. IV. Planting Optimizations 1. Added a Continuous Planting function to the Planter Box. This function will automatically replant with the previously used seeds and fertilizer. V. Combat Optimizations 1. Fixed the issue where the ******* buff gained from defeating a target with Doombringer did not stack. 2. Fixed an issue where certain kinds of damage in PvP mode were not affected by the gear build. 3. Adjusted the rules for Bounce target selection. ****** Water will no longer be targeted by Bounce attacks. 4. Adjusted the displayed ******* accuracy values. The actual attributes have not been changed. 5. Added a ******* inspection function that can be accessed from the action wheel. 6. Added a hit counter for the KAM - Abyss Glance. 7. Optimized the field of view when using iron sights on some KAM weapons. VI. Wilderness Optimizations 1. Construction is now forbidden in the vicinity of the Scarecrow at Rippleby Market. 2. Added a Camera Height option to the Settings. The player can now adjust the character's vertical position on the screen. 3. Optimized the movement path of the Wanderer. It can now move around within a single region more effectively. VII. Interaction, Art, and SFX Optimizations 1. Optimized the appearance of Teleportation Towers. 2. Optimized the on-hit SFX for certain Deviants. 3. Unlocked some control functions and some settings. 4. Added a controls display function. The player can now view their current controls and their corresponding functions. VIII. Trades 1. Added Nisa's Loot Crate to the Sproutlet Shop of Nisa, an NPC merchant who can be found in neutral Strongholds. There is a 30% chance of obtaining a Legendary Mod when opening Nisa's Loot Crate. If a Mod is not obtained, one of the following will be obtained instead: Acid x200, Barreled Premium Fuel x20, or Stardust Source x67. IX. Deviation Interaction Optimizations 1. Optimized the controls for synchronizing Deviation Abilities. The player can now press G to interact with a Securement Unit to sync a Combat Deviation to their Cradle. 2. Adjusted the controls for withdrawing Deviations. After opening a Securement Unit, the player can now press U to withdraw the Deviation. X. Character, Controls, and Camera Optimizations 1. Optimized the camera when interacting with the Bed furniture item. 2. Reduced the player's recovery time after being grabbed and thrown by a Deviant. 3. Fixed an issue where changes to the character's body would cause their arms to clip when using a melee *******. 4. Adjusted the camera sensitivity when reloading while scoped to be the same as that of aiming while scoped. Camera controls when reloading a ******* with a high-powered scope will now be more fluid. XI. Task Narrative Optimizations 1. To make it easier for you to view all purchasable items at traders in neutral Settlements, items sold at Claire's shop are now included in the Settlement Shop. In addition, the player can now press W and S to scroll through dialogue options. XII. Cosmetics Optimizations 1. Added more hair ****** presets. 2. Optimized the results screen for Rift Space, Securement Silo, and dungeon instances to highlight players with outstanding performances. Added a results screen for The Prime War and Stronghold Conquest that congratulates the top-ranked players. Various stylish effects will be displayed based on the player's ranking. XIII. Performance Optimizations 1. On PC, the resolution can now be changed when playing in full-screen mode. XIV. Other Adjustments 1. Optimized the Manibus scenario on PvE servers. New server-wide tasks and rewards have been added for Phase V of the season. August-Themed Event On Nalcott Island, the month of August itself is an anomalous event. During this "forgotten summer," we will receive additional produce from harvesting every week. More events will be gradually unlocked in the game. All Metas are welcome to participate! 1. Login Event: On August 1, August 8, and August 15, special rewards will be unlocked, including the Epic cosmetic - Crimson Spider Gloves and a Butterfly's Emissary Crate I! Rewards can be claimed anytime before the event ends on September 4. 2. Upcoming Events - Wilderness Express: starts on August 15 Enjoy racing through the wilderness alone or as a team, and earn a rating for mileage and collisions achieved. Attain the required rating to claim rewards including Starchrom and the limited-edition cosmetic - Fulfilled Wish Vest! - Secure on Sight: starts on August 22 During the event, defeat enemies to earn Loot Crates which may contain Specimen Cards. Collect Specimen Cards and fill the Specimen Encyclopedia to obtain rewards. * Refer to the event screen for detailed rules. Shop Arrivals New arrivals are available in the Shop! Visit the Shop to check them out. 1. Added the Epic-quality outfit: Racing Loon, as well as a discounted theme pack. 2. Added the Neon series of Epic ******* cosmetics for the SOCR, MG4, KV-SBR, and other popular weapons. 3. Added the City Vending Machine cosmetic for the Vending Machine. It is the first facility cosmetic to be available and comes in three colors. Bring some glamor to your trades! 4. Added the Sunny Coast Living Room furniture set. Transform your home into a romantic summertime beach! Bug Fixes I. Territory Construction 1. Fixed an issue with the Supplies Workbench specialization that caused its actual healing effect to differ from its description. 2. Fixed an issue with the Electrical Expert and One with the Tides specializations that caused the actual number of Generators that could be placed to differ from their descriptions. 3. Fixed an issue where the list of Memetic logging, mining, and gathering devices was displayed wrongly. 4. Fixed where the duration extension effect of Stardust Tea did not affect Hydration. 5. Fixed an issue where fuel refinery facilities upgraded with Memetic specializations could not refine Barreled Crude Oil. 6. Fixed an issue that caused the Automated Mining facility screen to display the wrong Vein. 7. Fixed an issue where the button for returning to the list of facilities from the Facility Details screen would not work. 8. Fixed an issue that caused mining facilities to quickly produce Stardust Ore. 9. Fixed an issue where the Hydraulic Generator could not generate electricity correctly. 10. Fixed an issue that caused wires to remain on top of the Garage after recalling a truck. 11. Fixed a display issue that occurred when placing Blueprints while using Flight Mode in Eternaland. 12. Fixed an issue with building Blueprints where small grids could not be recognized when replacing materials. 13. Fixed an issue that caused queued Construction tasks to be counted toward the Crafting ****** limit. 14. Fixed an issue where the description of Stardust Tea did not match its effect. 15. Fixed an issue that caused Deviant Energy Generators on the home-moving vehicle would not work correctly in a Pollution Zone. 16. Fixed an issue where, after moving the Territory from a Pollution Zone to a normal region, Deviant Energy Generators would not work but would still display the working animation. II. Wilderness 1. Fixed an issue where the Map's navigation function would sometimes not work or fail to display the navigation route. 2. Fixed an issue where the player would receive the wrong item after buying a Bait formula from the fish trader. III. Combat 1. Fixed an issue where the Durability attribute would turn yellow if the gear lost Durability. 2. Fixed an issue where the Crossbow's Calibration Blueprint could not be disassembled. 3. Fixed an issue that caused a switching error to occur on the right side of the ******* selection panel when replacing a Calibration Blueprint. 4. Fixed an issue where some dropped weapons would randomly contain red-******** Blueprint attributes, so the ******* could not be disassembled to get its Blueprint. 5. Fixed the inconsistent descriptions of The Weaver elixir and the Whim effect. 6. Fixed an issue where if Hold to Sprint is enabled and the player is currently holding the Sprint key to sprint, clicking on Auto-Run would not stop the character from sprinting. 7. Fixed an issue that caused some ******* crosshairs to display incorrectly in 4K resolution. IV. Game Modes 1. Fixed an issue with the Mist game mode where the center point's location would be wrongly determined. 2. Fixed an issue with The Prime War that caused the Shadow Hound to get stuck in the air when using its skill. 3. Fixed an issue with The Prime War where if more players than the maximum attempted to teleport, they would get stuck on the edge of the map. 4. Optimized the on-hit visual effect and effective range of manual turrets in The Prime War. 5. Fixed an issue that caused Deviations to drop additional copies of items in Securement Silo - EX1. 6. Fixed the spawn rules of some Deviations in Securement Silo - PSI and Securement Silo - THETA. Dr. Teddy, Enchanting Void, Upper World Spawn, and Snow Globe will now spawn in the correct scenario. V. Deviations 1. Fixed an issue where Deviations whose skills have a designated target could not be recalled while the player was reloading. 2. Fixed an issue where Mini Wonder would absorb teammates' bullets in its range when attached to the player character. 3. Fixed an issue that prevented Mini Wonder from defending against shotguns. VI. Other Fixes 1. Fixed an issue where the wrong text was displayed if you had not been friends with another player for at least seven days. Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Star Wars Outlaws has an Explorer Mode that lets players turn off all "guiding ****** on core navigational elements" in the world. PC Gamer reports that Explorer Mode strips Ubisoft’s open-world Star Wars game of the “yellow paint” that has become a hot topic once again in recent months. While the rights and wrongs of ******** guides that point players in the right direction have been debated for years, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth reignited the debate earlier this year with its ******-coded paint that signals the parts of the environment that can be used for platforming. That followed a similar debate sparked by the Resident Evil 4 remake in 2023. The debate in summary: some people don’t like how in-your-face this hand-holding is in video games, whereas others find it helpful and point out that it is an important accessibility feature. Star Wars Outlaws developer Massive Entertainment addressed this debate with its Explorer Mode, which, PC Gamer notes, is essentially a yellow paint toggle. The website reports that the game is filled with this “guiding ******,” which it says is most prevalent during Uncharted-like climbing sequences and puzzles. But it’s also on “walls of climbable steel, critical path ledges that were already obvious before their paint job, and streaked above ventilation shafts.” Of course, Explorer Mode is nothing new for Ubisoft games, with recent *********’s Creed titles including the option. But it does sound like Star Wars Outlaws’ version will have a more meaningful impact. Earlier this month, Massive revealed to IGN that three of the five planets in Star Wars Outlaws can be crossed in four or five minutes while riding a speeder. For more on Star Wars Outlaws, check out IGN’s final preview. Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

Being a short-throw projector means the Hisense PX3-PRO can be sat just inches away from a wall – as opposed to being placed high up on the opposite side of a room. It's able to project an adjustable image of between 80 to 150 inches in a 4K resolution. Read Entire Article View the full article

Following its release, those delving into massive Fallout 4 mod Fallout: London have been faced with a number of teething issues. The good news is that the modders are very much on the case and have been busy prepping fixes, though it's taken an outside modder to help those whose characters can't stop munching on **** food. Since London came out last week, following an unavoidable delay caused by Fallout 4's next-gen update, it's been earning lots of thumbs up (we've enjoyed what we've played so far), but folks have been running into lots of crashes and other bugs. While there are some steps you can take to make the mod ****** less often, Team FOLON knows this isn't ideal and has put out a statement outlining its plans to deal with these teething issues beyond the kind of helpful triage that's been going on in Fallout: London's Discord server. Read more View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Katharine (RPS in peace) thought Dome Keeper's blend of tower defence and mining was both "meditative" and "perfectly formed" in her review. So it comes as great news, then, that the devs have somehow taken that perfect dome, expanded it and polished it to an even greater sheen. We're talking about new guild assignments, new gadgets, better world generation, a new world, new monsters. The list is enormous and designed expressly around improved replayability - take that, Las Vegas Dome. Read more View the full article

A member of the Palworld development team says it isn’t healthy to play the same game all the time, if it wasn’t created with long-term gameplay in mind. Speaking to the Going Indie YouTube channel, the game’s community manager John Buckley, better known to players as Bucky, responded to claims that Palworld is a “***** game” because its daily peak concurrent player count is around 60,000, rather than the more than 2 million it hit at launch. Buckley argued that the game was never designed to be played forever, and that doing so serves no purpose to players. Read More... View the full article

The 2v8 mode in ***** by Daylight is all fun and games until you ****** as a *******. With or without a premade, the ******* ****** can be quite lengthy, but you might wonder exactly how long it is. We have the answer. How long is the 2v8 ******* ****** in DBD? The Huntress is the most popular 2v8 pick. Screenshot by Dot Esports The ******* ****** in ***** by Daylight‘s 2v8 mode can vary, though not significantly, and is mainly inflated by the fact that most players simply do not want to play as Survivors. Developer Behaviour Interactive even tried to incentivize players by offering a 400 percent increase in match Bloodpoints to Survivors, which has helped somewhat though the issue persists. View the full article

Are you hungry? I’m hungry—I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet. Have you ever made spaghetti carbonara and just wolfed it down like a starving animal? I have. But where does “thoroughly devoured” come into all of this? I have some hints and the answer to today’s NYT Mini Crossword. ‘Thoroughly devoured’ NYT Mini Crossword hints and answer Two down. Screenshot by Dot Esports Hint 1: (3, 2)Hint 2: Two words.Hint 3: It begins with “A.”Hint 4: Eating. Oi you, stop scrolling! I’m about to reveal the answer. View the full article

Diablo 4 is now several seasons in, but if you’re struggling to keep up with what season is next and when it releases, you’re in the right place. The next Diablo 4 season is just around the corner and promises some interesting new features, so keep reading to find out when it releases and what new content it brings. View the full article

Marvel Rivals is one of 2024’s most hotly anticipated games. If its availability being limited to a closed beta test wasn’t enough of a bummer, a “CBT key out of stock” error has left several players trying to redeem their hard-earned codes confused and ******. If you can’t use a Marvel Rivals access code you claimed via Twitch or got from a friend due to the annoying “CBT key out of stock” message and are wondering what it means, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered with an explanation. View the full article

Once upon a time, my favourite place to write was on trains. Specifically, laidback intercity services with nobody else in the quiet car and certainly, none of those screeching smaller bipeds, or "children" as they are scientifically known. That idyll is now lost to me thanks to Covid: I have vulnerable family members and continue to be careful about social distancing. As such I spend most train journeys these days spend lurking between carriages, trolling the door sensors and scowling furiously at anybody who visits the loo. But now, thanks to the obscene magic of video games, I can get my fill of authorial locomotivation once again. Read more View the full article

In case you skipped the headline, I’ll repeat myself. Among the wonderful sights contained in space-poking adventure game The Great Fluctus are: beans, slug milk, alien volleyball, egg arguments, and massive frog. Additional screenshots suggest this frog later acquires wings. Like a captive Generation Game host, I am helpless but to shout out more incredible sights as they flutter past on the conveyor belt of pure flippin' videogame before me. It’s got dance parties with horrible gorilla aliens. It’s got building, namely the Statue Of Liberty out of goop, just as George Washington’s goop clone intended. It’s also got just sitting on a bench, enjoying some lovely serene space scenery. Feast your famished face on the trailer. Read more View the full article

Nexon has released the 1.0.5 update for looter shooter The First Descendant alongside the extensive patch notes. The 1.0.5 update, out now across PC via Steam, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5, makes a long list of changes to the game. The highlights include the addition of two new playable characters (Luna and Ultimate Valby), a new hard Void Intercept battle (Gluttony), a new Ultimate ******* (Peace Maker), and a new module (Arche Concretion). There are various changes to the way the game works, too. For example, Nexon has blocked equipping and removing modules, changing presets, and changing loadouts to prevent module swapping from becoming a strategy in Intercept Battles and Infiltration Operations. Alongside the release of the 1.0.5 patch, The First Descendant director Minseok Joo outlined the development team’s plans for issues that are much-discussed within the game’s community. Minseok Joo confirmed plans to introduce a “guaranteed drop” system where players will be guaranteed to get the item they want after repeating an activity a certain number of times, in response to complaints about “the vagaries of drop rate.” “The First Descendant has various missions and Amorphous Materials with chance-dependent rewards,” Minseok Joo said. “We're considering how we can effectively implement the ‘guaranteed drop’ in such diverse reward systems, and we're working to create a farming structure that players will be happy with. We hope to make improvements before long to provide a more rational and satisfying farming experience.” Elsewhere, Nexon is planning a system to dismantle leftover items to get byproducts, and a rotating shop system where you can exchange the byproducts for something of value. “This will allow the items you obtained to have a greater value in the game,” Minseok Joo said. Minseok Joo also discussed balancing, admitting “we can't promise that all Descendants and weapons will be equally balanced at all times.” However, Nexon intends to keep changing the “effective” builds. “To that end, we promise to make constant adjustments and offer different ways to play with new content.” These improvements will be made to the game during Seasons 1 and 2. Nexon’s free-to-play co-op focused looter shooter has enjoyed enormous popularity with over 10 million players in just 10 days. But it has been heavily criticized for its ultra aggressive monetization, which includes the cost of Ultimate versions of its playable characters. IGN has reported on one player who spent an eye-watering 200 hours to unlock every Ultimate Descendant currently available in the game without paying money. The First Descendant update 1.0.5 patch notes: New Descendant: Ultimate Valby - Added "Ultimate Valby." Ultimate Valby Modification Modules - Spiral Tidal Wave: The bouncy Bubble Bullet has been replaced by a projectile that flies in a straight line. Spiral Tidal Wave is stackable and can be fired three times in a row, and attracts impurities during the Gluttony Intercept Battle. - Hydro Pressure *****: Instead of "Plop Plop," she leaps forward and deals damage to enemies around the landing area. The more enemies in the Laundry state, the more powerful the damage. Added Ultimate Valby Amorphous Materials - Amorphous Material Patterns 011, 044, 115, 030, 055, 113, 023, 052, 073, 087, 110, and 125 can no longer be acquired. You can continue to use the Amorphous Materials you already have as before. - Added the "AA variants" of Amorphous Materials 011, 044, 115, 030, 055, 113, 023, 052, 073, 087, 110, and 125. You can acquire the Enhanced Cell Blueprint, Stabilizer Blueprint, Spiral Catalyst Blueprint, and Code of Ultimate Valby from them. Ultimate Valby's blueprint and Code Materials will replace one of the items available from the original Amorphous. - The Amorphous Materials of the "AA variant" can be acquired and used in the same place as the original. First Update Alert! Meet the new Descendants, Luna' and Ultimate Valby, and challenge the new boss, Gluttony. Don’t miss out on the action-packed looter shooter fun! [Hidden Content] — The First Descendant (@FirstDescendant) July 31, 2024 New Descendant: Luna - Added new Descendant, Luna. Luna Skills - (Passive Skill) Improvisation: Using any skill increases Inspiration Gauge, which allows Luna to use Enhanced Skills. - (Active Skill 1) Stage Presence: Using the skill changes Luna's ******* to her Unique *******. Performing the notes in time to the music by using skills or hitting monsters stacks and increases her Skill Power Modifier. - (Active Skill 2) Passionate Stage: Using the skill makes Luna play upbeat music, increasing the Skill Power Modifier of Luna and her allies. Gaining the Enhanced Effect increases the Skill Power Modifier even more and also increases the Skill Critical Hit Rate and damage of allies. - (Active Skill 3) Relaxing Act: Using the skill makes Luna play relaxing music. Hitting the ****** with a note grants an effect that instantly recovers the MP of Luna and her allies. Gaining the Enhanced Effect increases MP Recovery, and reduces Skill Cost. - (Active Skill 4) Delightful Stage: Using the skill makes Luna play delightful music. Hitting the ****** with a note increases Inspiration Gauge and decreases the skill cooldown of allies. Gaining the Enhanced Effect increases the Inspiration Gauge even more and immediately resets the cooldown of allies. Luna Modification Modules - Nimble Footsteps: This Modification Module enhances Luna's Movement Speed and amplifies the effect range of her performance, making it easier to support her allies. - Noise Surge: Transforms all of Luna's skills to combat skills. Performing the notes in rhythm unleashes a powerful AoE *******. When the Inspiration Gauge is full, summons a moving stage where she dances to recover MP and Shield. Added Luna Amorphous Materials - Amorphous Material Patterns 017, 038, 081, 020, 098, 068, 015, 049, 071, 027, 090, and 094 can no longer be acquired. You can continue to use the Amorphous Materials you already have as before. - Added the "AA variants" of Amorphous Materials 017, 038, 081, 020, 098, 068, 015, 049, 071, 027, 090, and 094. You can acquire the Enhanced Cell Blueprint, Stabilizer Blueprint, Spiral Catalyst Blueprint, and Code of Luna from them. Luna's blueprint and Code Materials will replace one of the items available from the original Amorphous. - The Amorphous Materials of the "AA variant" can be acquired and used in the same place as the original. Added New Hard Void Intercept Battle: Gluttony - Added new Hard Difficulty Void Intercept Battle, Gluttony. - Intercept Gluttony to collect the Hungry Sonic External Components Set and the blueprint of the Ultimate ******* Peace Maker. Gluttony External Components Set - Hungry Sonic Set: 2-piece set effect grants Toxin Resistance. 4-piece set grants an effect that recovers MP on hitting the target with a skill’s Unique ******* as well as an effect that increases Skill Duration and MP Heal Modifier proportionally to Max MP. New Ultimate Equipment: Peace Maker - Added new Ultimate ******* Peace Maker. Using a Dimension skill grants the "Single Reload for Peace" effect. At maximum stacks, the "Single Reload for Peace" effect enables you to ***** the loaded ammo in a single quick burst when taking an aimed shot. New Module - Arche Concretion: Decreases Movement Speed, Firearm ATK, and all Attribute ATK except the Non-Attribute ATK every time a skill is used, but each stack of Arche Concretion increases DEF and MP. Added New Products - Added "New Descendant: Exclusive Luna Bundle" which includes Luna and the "Pool Party" skin. - Added Luna to the list of standard Descendants in the shop. - Added "Premium Ultimate Valby Bundle" which includes Ultimate Valby and the "Vermillion Wave skin," and "Ultimate Valby Bundle." - Added "Valby's Summer Theme," "Viessa's Summer Theme," and "Male Summer Theme Set." - Added "Luna's Albion Academy Cadet," "Luna's Classic Maid Uniform," "Luna's Panda," and "Luna's Dinosaur" limited skins. - Added "Luna's Augmented Reality of Madness" premium skin package. - Added Luna's exclusive "White Mouse" premium head skin. - Added Luna's exclusive Hair & Makeup 1 & 2. - Added Luna's "The Ultimate High Feeling" and "Volume Up" standard skins. - Added Luna's makeup "Sly." - Added "Adjustment Control Axis X30" and "Fine Adjustment Control Axis 20" support items. ■ Hotfix 1.0.5 Content Improvements (1) UI/UX - To prevent module swapping from becoming a strategy in Intercept Battles and Infiltration Operations, equipping and removing modules, changing presets, and changing loadouts are now prohibited. - Added a feature to collect all Lost and Found items at once in the Mailbox. - After checking the map with acquired information in the Library, closing the map now leaves the Library open. - Added Camera Shake ON/OFF feature in Game Options. - (PS, Xbox) Added the ability to select preset search keywords to make it easier to search modules and research. - Added commas after every three digits in the game menu and HUD to make it easier to read numerical units. - You can now check key stat information in the *******, reactor, and external component inventories. - You can now register equipped items as Attached Items. - Saving a preset now automatically registers equipped items as Attached Items. - You can now turn the red dot crosshair display on or off cities in Game Options. - Added an image to some items in Graphics Options to show what they do. - Increased the speed of scrolling when scrolling the map with the gamepad's R-stick. - Changed the ****** of icons for Hard difficulty Void Intercept Battles on the World Map to make it easier to distinguish them from Normal difficulty battles. - The map no longer displays the marker when a quest NPC being tracked disappears. - The Modification Modules for the same Descendant are now displayed together in a row in the Library. - When the first clear reward and repeat clear reward are the same, the Acquisition Info in the Library no longer shows them both. - When selecting all duplicate modules in Dismantle Modules, you can now use a filter to register only the selected modules for dismantling. - Simplified the module combining animation. - Starting a research in the Materials tab of the Research menu now returns you to the Materials tab. - Added the "Leave Party" button to the Social menu to make the function easier to find. - Added a search function to the Consumables menu. - Even when acquiring skins for Descendants not currently in use the red dot still appears. - Added the red dot when acquiring paint. - The red dot now appears in the Weapons List side tab too when acquiring a ******* skin. (2) Descendants, Modules - Increased the Poison contagion range of Freyna's Room 0 Trauma from a 4 m radius to a 7 m radius. - Increased the maximum scaling range of Valby's skills from 200% to 250%. - Increased the maximum scaling range of Blair's skills from 200% to 250%. - Changed the blizzard generated by Viessa's "Glacial Cloud" module to be triggered instantly without delay. - Changed Valby's "Albion Academy Cadet" head skin to be dyeable. - Changed "Incoming Final Damage" to "Incoming Damage Modifier" in the description of the "Safe Recovery" module. (3) Equipment - Added a feature in Game Options that enables some single-shot and burst weapons to ***** automatically when the ***** button is pressed and held down. - Increased Enduring Legacy's Critical Hit Damage from 1.7x to 2.3x. - Increased Secret Garden's Critical Hit Rate from 35% to 50% and Critical Hit Damage from 1.85x to 2.25x. - Increased Nazeistra's Devotion's Critical Hit Rate from 36% to 45% and Critical Hit Damage from 2x to 2.25x. - Decreased the trigger rate of Bombardment of Greg's Reversed Fate, but now it also triggers when the ******* is fired at unshielded enemies. - Equipment can now be dismantled at once with no quantity limit. (4) Field - Increased the amount of Void Shards that can be acquired from Special Operations by about 7 times. # Director's Comment Hotfix 1.0.4 added Void Shards as rewards to Special Operations, but unfortunately, there were just too few. The original intent was to keep Void Fragments as the primary farming source for Void Shards, and get additional Void Shards from Special Operations. But the community has told us that many of you don't like this loop, so we've increased the amount of Void Shards that can be earned in Special Operations. We're also working on some steps for future improvements. Many players are currently farming materials without spending the Fragments at the Fusion Reactor, so we're considering removing the Fragments from the Fusion Reactor startup altogether. This would make the Fragments necessary only when the Reconstructing Device is used at the Fusion Reactor. We're taking a close look at how the reward loop we planned works in practice. We'll try to finalize a reward loop that players will be satisfied with in the near future. - Reduced the distance you're knocked down when hit by a trap. - Lowered the ratio at which the named monster's immunity sphere HP scales with the number of players in Infiltration Operations, and reduced the duration of immunity. - The Agna Desert, Vespers, Echo Swamp, White-night Gulch, Hagios, and Fortress fields now have a 100% chance to spawn Encrypted Vaults at spawn. - Increased the hit box size in "data collection" missions to make it easier to collect data. - Outside environmental sounds are now less audible in the indoor areas in Kingston. - Adjusted the distance that monsters spawn in the Laboratory to be closer as 15m. (5) Miscellaneous - Balanced sound levels for shield destruction notification, material research result window, etc. Optimization Improvements - (PC, PS5, XSX, XSS) Applied AMD FSR 3.1. - (PS4, XB1) Optimized memory usage. - (PS4, XB1) Optimized resolution to increase the maximum resolution by at least 5%. Bug Fixes (1) UI/UX - Fixed an issue where enemies defeated by the unique effects of Ultimate Weapons were not counted in Battle Pass Challenge and Awards. - Fixed an issue where the capacity cost reduced by matching socket types was not displayed on the ******* Module Enhancement screen. - Fixed an issue where closing the Capacity Exceeded warning message while enhancing a module made the game inoperable. - Fixed an issue where restarting an Intercept Battle, Infiltration Operation, or Special Operation after completing it would not matchmake you with allies who applied to restart with you. - Revised the description on the Info screen that incorrectly stated that the damage taken decreases the higher the "Incoming Damage Modifier," so that now it states the damage taken decreases the lower the modifier. - Fixed an issue where completing a mission with a ******* that has been socketed at least once would appear to give Mastery Rank EXP, when in fact it does not. - Fixed an issue where the names of the core materials and blueprints of Ultimate Weapons were swapped. - Fixed an issue where the quantity of attached paint was not displayed in the Mailbox. - Fixed an issue where the DBNO UI animation would persist when a DBNO ally left and another ally joined. - Fixed an issue where changing loadouts while in combat is not possible but the UI would switch to the selected loadout. (2) Descendants - Fixed an issue where Lepic could trigger the "Overkill" skill at 0 MP while equipping the "Increased Efficiency" module. - Fixed an issue where Yujin could not target an ally when using "Solidarity Healing" if part of their body was covered by an object. - Fixed an issue where DBNO allies rescued by Yujin could not use any skills for a short ******* of time after the rescue. - Fixed an issue where switching weapons after using Viessa's "Frost Road" skill caused the skill's visual effect to remain. - Fixed an issue where the Knockdown range of Valby's "Plop Plop" skill was larger than the actual Skill Range. - Fixed an issue where Enzo's "****** Support" was not applied to allies. - Fixed an issue where using Ultimate Gley's "Massacre" or "Life Siphon" skill did not increase her Skill damage when she is above 50% HP. - Fixed an issue where Gley's "Life Siphon" skill and her Modification Modules "Massive Sanguification" and "Explosive Life" could be used on objects in Intercept Battles. - Fixed an issue where Kyle's "Repulsion Dash" could be used on objects in Intercept Battles. - Fixed an issue where the skill animation of Kyle's "Repulsion Dash" skill would intermittently be cancelled. - Fixed an issue where the power of Ultimate Bunny's "Lightning Emission" was determined by the amount of Electricity she had at the time of use, unlike Bunny. The power of Bunny's "Lightning Emission" depends on the amount of Electricity she currently has. - Fixed an issue where Bunny's "Maximum Power" skill's sound pitch went up infinitely and sounded like a noise. - Fixed an issue where Esiemo would become uncontrollable while using the "Arche **********" skill. - Fixed an issue where after Ultimate Viessa used "Frost Road" with the "Absolute-Zero" module or Valby used "Laundry *****," Ajax placing a barrier on top of it inflicted reflective damage on Ultimate Viessa or Valby. (3) Equipment - Fixed an issue where moving on a field with three or four pieces of an external component set prevented the 2-piece set effect from being applied. - Fixed an issue where the damage of hitting the Ultimate ******* King's Guard Lance after it was deployed was recorded in the statistics. - Fixed an issue where the Ultimate ******* Executor's Hip ***** Accuracy was lower than what it should be. - Fixed an issue where the Ultimate ******* Thunder Cage's unique effect would deal more than 1.33x damage when monsters were clustered. Instead, Electric Shockwave now deals 2x damage regardless of the number of enemies. # Director's Comment During internal testing, we discovered a bug with Thunder Cage. Thunder Cage should always deal 1.33x damage according to its description, but it was dealing more than 1.33x damage when there were a lot of monsters. We fixed this bug, but we also boosted the 1.33x damage to 2x so that it doesn't become less efficient when hunting. We're well aware that the value of items you own is important to you. To ensure that fixing the bug doesn't devalue your items, we've given it more power than we originally intended. If something like this happens again in the future, we won't stop at simply fixing the bug but consider how to preserve the value of your items to provide a reasonable patch. - Fixed an issue where you could hear one or two extra shots when ******* single shots with a repeating firearm. (4) Modules - Fixed an issue where the Firearm Critical Hit Rate increase effect was missing in the description of Valby's "Supply Moisture" module. - Fixed an issue where Valby's "Tidal Wave" module would not properly stack Finishing ******* when piercing an ******. - Fixed an issue where equipping Ajax's "Body Enhancement" module would have different final result values depending on when it was saved. - Fixed an issue where if the "Matrix Recomputation module" was equipped by Ajax the Shield would recover every time after a very short while and the Shield started at 50% after equipment. - Fixed an issue where the "Pitmaster" passive would remain indefinitely when Blair removed the "Classic Chef" module while Flame Zone was in effect. - Fixed an issue where the knockback effect would not trigger when Blair used "Deadly Cuisine" while equipped with the "Backdraft" module. - Fixed an issue where the name of the "Sharp Precision Shot" module's buff was incorrectly shown as "Lethal Finish." - Fixed an issue where Bunny's Evolving Skin quest requirements were not counted when Bunny equipped a Modification Module. - Fixed an issue where Bunny unequipping the "Electric Condense" module left a status effect display that did not have any effect. - Fixed an issue where Gley's "Predator Instinct" module skill displayed the Frenzied state icon and name twice when used. - Fixed an issue where Ultimate Gley's "Demonic Modification" module sometimes did not deal damage when used. (5) Field - Fixed an issue where defeating named monsters at the same time as Void Fusion Reactor mission was being deleted allowed the player to use Reconstructing Devices without consuming Void Shards. - Fixed an issue where the zone map of "Hagios: The Old Mystery" showed different paths from actual paths. - Fixed an issue where the traps would remain on restart after dying in the No Resurrection Zone in Hagos: The Haven. - Fixed an issue where movement markers would appear while progressing through the Void Fusion Reactor. - Fixed an issue where roaming monsters would not spawn on the White-night Gulch: Hatchery battlefield. - Changed the Amorphous Material Patterns and Shape Stabilizers acquired from Hard Infiltration Operations in the White-night Gulch and Hagios. (6) Miscellaneous - Fixed an intermittent terrain rendering bug. - [XB1, XB1S] Fixed an issue where textures would intermittently display ****** lines when rendering terrain. - Fixed an issue where the Sub Quest "Obtain Freyna's Research Materials 1" would complete after clearing "Rockfall: Vulgus Strategic Outpost" even if the "Amorphous Material Pattern: Freyna" was not obtained. - Fixed an issue where the Sub Quest "Prepare to Obtain Additional Materials for Freyna Research" could not be completed with Ultimate Bunny. - Fixed an issue where the camera would intermittently freeze when removing parts during Intercept Battles. - Fixed an issue where the Elite Vulgus Special Effect "Chasing Orb" would not deal damage. # Director's Additional Comment Greetings, this is The First Descendant Director Minseok Joo. Today, I'm going to outline the Dev Team's plans for issues that are discussed frequently by the community. The team is currently working on Season 1 and Season 2 updates, while also responding to improvement issues discovered during the live service. Today, I'm going to talk more about how we plan to improve the current state of The First Descendant rather than about the Season 1 and 2 updates. Drop Rate Improvement Plans While all of our drop rate systems are operating fairly in The First Descendant, we do understand that some players are struggling with the vagaries of drop rate. To address this, we're planning to introduce a "guaranteed drop" system where you're guaranteed to get the item you want after repeating the activity a certain number of times. The First Descendant has various missions and Amorphous Materials with chance-dependent rewards. We're considering how we can effectively implement the "guaranteed drop" in such diverse reward systems, and we're working to create a farming structure that players will be happy with. We hope to make improvements before long to provide a more rational and satisfying farming experience. Disposing of Leftover Items Next is an update on items that are piling up in your Consumables. There is currently no way to dispose blueprints for Descendants and weapons that you've already completed, so there are cases where players are getting multiple copies of blueprints they already own during the farming process. We've been listening to the community, who have told us that there needs to be a way to dispose of these unwanted items. While we could consider simply converting them into some Gold or Kuiper, we want to reward you with more value for the time you have put into the game. To resolve this, the Dev Team is planning a system to dismantle leftover items to get byproducts, and a rotating shop system where you can exchange the byproducts for something of value. This will allow the items you obtained to have a greater value in the game. Supporting Build Diversity It's a lot of fun for us to see the variety of builds being posted in the community lately. We love seeing you try so many different builds and are amazed by the unexpected ways you've evolved them. We hope for more builds to exist in The First Descendant, and we want an environment where players are free to experiment with different builds. However, we've found that it is difficult to take advantage of loadouts after assigning socket types, which goes against our goal of experimenting with different builds freely. As a result, the Dev Team is planning to provide an environment where completely different builds can be created by assigning each loadout with different socket types. We hope this will help you experiment with different builds without feeling overwhelmed. Balancing Finally, some news about balancing. We are seeing a dominance of the skill damage-focused builds of some Descendants. Descendants and weapons that are well-suited for these builds are quite popular now. We want the meta builds to change from season to season. We want the Descendants and weapons that are effective in new content to be different from those in previous seasons. Also, we're looking to increase the proportion of firearm-based combat in the endgame. We can't promise that all Descendants and weapons will be equally balanced at all times, but our goal is to keep changing the effective builds. To that end, we promise to make constant adjustments and offer different ways to play with new content. We aim to implement the improvements I talked about today during Seasons 1 and 2. Your feedback means a lot to the Dev Team. We'll do our best to provide a better experience as we build the game together, and we'll continue to listen to you as we strive to make The First Descendant even better. Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Another NYT Mini Crossword daily, another science clue, this time for the July 31 edition of the puzzle: “Caustic chemical compound.” This side of trivia isn’t my strong suit, nor is it for many I would guess. This makes the “caustic chemical compound” clue a tough task—but there is a science behind it. View the full article

A fresh Warbond is set to arrive in Helldivers 2 soon, and it's got players all hot and bothered. To be fair, with a name like Freedom’s Flame, this shipment of gear was always likely to get the community's napalm aficionados excited — and that's exactly what it's done. After having its name pop up in some misbehaving PlayStation notifications a couple of weeks ago, the Freedom's Flame Premimum Warbond has now been properly revealed, and will be arriving on August 8, just after the big Escalation of Freedom update. As you can read in the PlayStation Blog about it, Freedom's Flame contains the usual array of stuff to add to your loudout, this time with the big theme being, well, *****. Read more View the full article

The First Descendant is approaching its one-month anniversary, and it’s getting plenty of new content. The developer just released a teaser showcasing what’s in the works, and it sounds like they’re listening to the community’s complaints. Like any looter-shooter, grinding for specific items is a core mechanic of The First Descendant. The grind can be frustrating, but after hearing players’ feedback, the developer says they’re changing things in a future patch. View the full article

Celebrity culture frankly annoys me, and I actively avoid reading gossip columns, so I struggled with today’s NYT Mini Crossword. I had to work out one down and five down to figure out this answer. ‘Hot couple, in a celebrity gossip column’ NYT Mini Crossword hints and answer Four across. Screenshot by Dot Esports Hint 1: It begins with the letter “I.”Hint 2: Slang, informal.Hint 3: It rhymes with “***** him.”Hint 4: In a romantic or ******* relationship. Stop scrolling! I’m about to uncover the answer. You’ve been well and truly warned. View the full article