AMD rounded out its Ryzen family of CPUs today by releasing two budget-friendly Ryzen 3 processors. Both the Ryzen 3 1300X and 1200 come equipped with four cores and four threads, but differ in clock speeds. The slightly stronger R3 1300X sports a 3.5 GHz base clock and 3.7 GHz boost clock while the R3 1200 has a 3.1 GHz base clock and 3.4 GHz boost clock. These are the cheapest current-generation quad-core CPUs; the R3 1300X goes for $130 and the R3 1200 costs $110.
CPU
Cores / Threads
Base / Boost Clock
TDP
Price
Ryzen 3 1300X
4 / 4
3.5 GHz / 3.7 GHz
65 Watts
$130
Ryzen 3 1200
4 / 4
3.1 GHz / 3.4 GHz
65 Watts
$110
All Ryzen CPUs are unlocked, but those with the "X" moniker (like the 1300X) are capable of higher overclocks. Overclocking does require an AM4 socket motherboard with either the X370, B350, or X300 chipset. Included with both Ryzen 3 CPUs is AMD's Wraith Stealth air cooler which is said to be a low-noise cooling solution. The Wraith Max air cooler can also be purchased separately for $60 if you need a more robust option for keeping temperatures down.
The AMD Ryzen 3 1300X quad-core CPU.
Intel offers the Core i3 series of CPUs at around the same price range as Ryzen 3, but Intel only offers dual-core options. AMD also asserts that its 1300X beats out the Core i3-7300 by at least 10% in games such as The Division, Overwatch, and Dota 2 at 1080p resolution. With its two-core advantage, the Ryzen 3 CPUs also outpace their Intel counterparts in video production tasks by a significant margin. Ryzen 3 is also said to strong enough for virtual reality applications.
Now with Ryzen 7, 5, and 3, AMD's place in the modern CPU market is nearly complete; the high-end desktop Threadripper CPU series is set to release early next month with 12-core ($800) and 16-core ($1000) options. For more on AMD's processors, check out our review of the Ryzen 7 1800X and Ryzen 5 1600X / 1500X.
After a handful of releases yesterday, Microsoft has today added another game to the Xbox One backwards compatibility library. Today's addition is Tomb Raider: Underworld, the 2008 entry from longtime series developer Crystal Dynamics.
It's a follow-up to the studio's first Tomb Raider game, 2006's Tomb Raider: Legend. Underworld was received fairly positively upon release; GameSpot's 7/10 review lauded its variety but criticized its technical issues and a failure to innovate on the core gameplay of earlier titles.
As with all backwards compatible titles, you can simply pop in the physical Xbox 360 disc to play it on your Xbox One. Alternatively, if you own a digital copy, you'll find it in your Ready to Download list. It's also available for purchase from the Xbox Store for $20. You can see all the Xbox One backwards compatible games here.
Overwatch is packed with characters that each has their own unique skills and abilities. While it's simple to pick up and play most of them, there are several important tactics you need to understand. That's why we've made in-depth guide videos on all of its characters. With so many videos to watch and learn from, we've compiled them all in one place. Below you'll find our detailed series of videos offering tips and strategies on how to best play each hero.
We recently updated this feature with a guide on Doomfist--Overwatch's fourth post-launch DLC character. Be sure to check back often as we update this page with guides on future DLC characters.
Doomfist
Doomfist is one of the most diverse damage dealers in the game. His assortment of melee abilities allows you to get creative with how to deal with enemy Heroes. His Rocket Punch does a fair amount of damage, as well as stun enemies who happen to survive the might of its devastating power. Combine that alongside his uppercut and ground smash abilities for a variety of different offensive and defensive maneuvers. For more on how to use him, watch the in-depth video above.
Orisa
Orisa is an anchor tank capable of effectively fending off enemies and detouring their attacks. Aside from her long-range rapid-fire machine gun, she has a variety of other useful tools, such as a projectile that sets up a barrier and an energy weapon that creates an effect similar to Zarya's Graviton Surge. Orisa is a useful tank class with offensive and defensive abilities that can compliment any team. For more on how to use her, watch the in-depth video above.
Sombra
Sombra is a distinctive offensive character capable of rendering foes helpless and dealing a decent amount of damage along the way. With her hacking abilities, she's capable of variety of tricks, such as disabling an enemy's abilities, making a health pack regenerate fast, or seeing enemies through walls. In addition, her Translocator ability offers her the ability to freely enter and exit the frontline with ease. Sombra is well suited for those looking to sneak around and deliver grief to the opposing team. For more on how to use her, watch the in-depth video above.
Ana
Ana is a fascinating new character that uses a special sniper rifle capable of shooting bullets that heals her allies but damages her opponents. Unlike Widowmaker--whose primary role is to slay opponents--Ana is out there to provide support to her allies either by buffing them or putting members from the opposing team to sleep with her handy sleep dart. For more on how to use her, watch the in-depth video above.
Bastion
Bastion is a formidable tank with an arsenal of heavy weapons. Its firepower easily makes it a priority target for the opposing team; that's why it's important to know how to utilize Bastion's weapons and abilities. For more on this lethal robot, watch our Bastion Hero Guide video.
D.Va
D.Va is a powerful tank that can easily lay down the pressure against opponents. Her mech suit comes equipped with twin short-range cannons capable of continuous, high-damage fire without the need to reload. She also has a variety of useful offensive abilities that further her impact on the battlefield. For a closer look at how to use her, watch our D.Va Hero Guide video.
Genji
Genji is a powerful offensive character whose hit-and-run tactics demand patience and precision. While he's difficult to master, he should please any player willing to understand the subtle nuances of his attacks and abilities. For more on this cyborg ninja, watch our Genji Hero Guide video.
Junkrat
If you like being a pest to your opponents, then Junkrat is the character for you. His wide-range of explosive weapons and abilities make him a great damage dealer for any team. For a closer look at how to use him, watch our Junkrat Hero Guide video.
Hanzo
Hanzo is a sniper that requires precision and quick thinking. Players often underrate his abilities, but when they're used properly, Hanzo can be incredibly versatile. For more on how to use this wandering archer, watch our Hanzo Hero Guide video.
Lucio
Lucio is one of the most effective support characters in the game, providing first-aid and ability buff support to teammates. He's highly adaptable and is a great fit for any team. For the specifics on how to use him, watch our Lucio Hero Guide video.
McCree
McCree is a powerful offense hero who's best used against opponents at close-range. With his trusty magnum and its multitude of accompanying abilities that can instantly kill enemies, McCree is a force to be reckoned with. For a detailed look at how to use this gun slinging hero, watch our McCree Hero Guide video.
Mei
Mei is a well-rounded and self-sufficient defense character capable of being a great nuisance to the opposing team. Her Endothermic Blaster can freeze enemies in their tracks, denying them their mobility while damaging slowly them. For more on her various ice-based abilities, check out our Mei Hero Guide video.
Mercy
Mercy is a valuable support character who's capable of using her first-aid and ability buffs to maximize the effectiveness of both tank and offensive characters. In addition, her ultimate--the ability to revive downed teammates--can quickly turn the tide of any battle. For more on Mercy's abilities and how to play her, watch our Mercy Hero Guide video.
Pharah
Pharah is a great offensive character to play if you want to hassle the opponent while dealing considerable damage. When used properly, her rockets and jetpack make her highly effective at hit-and-run tactics. For a full breakdown, watch our Pharah Hero Guide video.
Reaper
Reaper is a deadly offensive character that specializes in close-ranged damage. With this wraith abilities, he can easily flank opponents and assault them with his dual shotguns. For more on how to use him effectively, watch our Reaper Hero Guide video.
Reinhardt
Reinhardt is an easy-to-use tank who primarily acts as a team's frontman. With his handy shield and giant hammer, he can be used for a variety of effective offensive strategies. For a detailed breakdown on how to utilize his abilities, watch our Reinhardt Hero Guide video.
Roadhog
Roadhog is a hefty tank that can quickly lay down the offensive against the opposing team. As a tank, he's great for hassling enemies, bringing them towards him with his chain hook and bombarding them with his scrap gun. For more on how to play him, watch our Roadhog Hero Guide video.
Soldier: 76
If you're new to Overwatch or shooters in general, Soldier: 76 is one of the best offensive characters to start with. He sports a well-rounded set of abilities and can handle a variety of situations. For more on how to use this masked commando, watch our Soldier: 76 hero guide.
Symmetra
Symmetra can be an incredibly useful support character if played properly. With her handy teleporter and arsenal of turrets, she's capable of easily tipping the odds in your team's their favor. For more on how to use her abilities, watch our Symmetra Hero Guide video.
Torbjorn
Torbjorn is an engineer class hero capable of all sorts of useful strategies with his stationary turret. Whether you want to play him defensively or offensively, Torbjorn can be an effective addition to any team. For a detailed look on how to best utilize his skills, watch our Torbjorn Hero Guide video.
Tracer
Tracer's strength as an offensive character lies not in her damage output, but in her ability to distract and annoy enemies. For more on how to use her, watch our Tracer Hero Guide video.
Widowmaker
Widowmaker is a formidable sniper with a plethora of abilities that support her long-range capabilities. With the ability to see through walls, plant mines, or grapple-hook her way on to a roof, she's not a character that opposing players should take lightly. For a detailed breakdown on how to best use her, watch our Widowmaker Hero guide video.
Winston
Compared to other tank class characters, Winston is less of a brute and more focused on disruption tactics. His mobility allows him the ability to get the jump on his opponents when they least expect it. For more details on how to use this guerrilla scientist's abilities and tactics, watch our Winston Hero Guide video.
Zarya
Zarya is one of the most difficult tanks to play, utilizing an assortment of complex offensive and defensive abilities. While she may not be the robust tank to use at first, her abilities carry a wealth of nuance that's fulfilling to master. For more on how to use her, watch our Zarya Hero Guide video.
Zenyatta
Zenyatta sports a wide range of support abilities that can aid in his team's efforts to turn the tide of battle. But unlike most other support characters, he's a great damage dealer, capable of throwing out high amounts of DPS at a time. For more on this Omnic monk, watch our Zenyatta Hero Guide video.
For more on Overwatch, check out our news and features below:
Overwatch's next big update is now available, the main component of which is a new character: Doomfist. The long-awaited Offense character is now playable on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
Doomfist has been available for the past few weeks on the PC version's Public Test Realm. Not long after his initial PTR debut, a patch made some changes to the way he works. The range of his Rocket Punch was reduced, while his Ultimate gained a UI indicator to help gauge how effective it will be.
Aside from introducing Doomfist, today's patch also makes some adjustments for a number of other characters. Reinhardt's hammer can now be swung more quickly, while Zarya's Ultimate receives a buff so that it now disables all movement abilities for those trapped inside. McCree's Flashbang slows enemies more, Reaper's Shadow Step sound effect and voiceover can't be heard from as far away (making it easier for him to be stealthy), and D.Va has new sound effects and voice lines for her Defense Matrix. Those include one that will let you know when it absorbs an enemy Ultimate.
For a complete rundown on those new features, check out the full patch notes on Blizzard's website. You can see some of the key sections below.
General
Adjusted the respawn timing to limit defensive stalling strategies when the offensive team has a clear advantage and plays aggressively
Custom Games and Game Browser
Clarified the text on the "Flag Carrier" options under the Capture the Flag settings for Custom Games
Removed the "Projectile Speed" and "Projectile Gravity" options for heroes who do not have projectile weapons
Minimum movement speed has been changed to 50% (formerly 10%)
Players can no longer select Roadhog during Limited 1v1 matches
User Interface
Added ability to create customized reticles
Reticle options can be found under the "Controls" tab in the "Options" menu (click the "Advanced" expander under the "Reticle" heading)
The name of Mercy's "Stethoscope" spray has been changed to "Heartbeat"
Statistics gathered from 6v6 Elimination matches will now be added to statistics in the Career Profile
Tie games will no longer be included in the win percentage calculation that's listed under the Player Profile
Hero Updates
D.Va
Defense Matrix
New sound effects and voice lines have been added, indicating when Defense Matrix has absorbed an enemy's ultimate ability
Genji
Deflect
New sound effects and voice lines have been added, indicating when an enemy's ultimate ability has been deflected
McCree
Flashbang
Stunned targets are now slowed heavily, meaning they're less likely to escape while stunned (especially while in the air)
Developer Comment: This change will make McCree's Flashbang consistent against fast-moving targets like Genji or Lúcio.
Reaper
Shadow Step
Sound effect and VO distance has been reduced by 50%
Developer Comment: Even though Shadow Step wasn't intended to be used as a way for players to teleport right next to an enemy without their knowledge, the sound effects were audible from distances that made teleportation difficult from nearly anywhere. This change allows Reaper to be a bit more sneaky with his flanking options.
Reinhardt
Rocket Hammer
Swing speed increased by 10%
Developer Comment: In the last update, Reinhardt's Rocket Hammer had an issue that allowed players with higher latency to swing faster. We fixed this bug, which suddenly made the swing speed feel too slow, so we're compensating by increasing his standard swing speed. During this process, we also found and fixed a few bugs with Rocket Hammer's hit registration. Overall, the hammer should feel much better.
Zarya
Graviton Surge
Now disables mobility abilities on all affected targets
Developer Comment: In the past, the abilities that allowed heroes to escape Zarya's Graviton Surge felt fairly arbitrary. We're cleaning this up and increasing Graviton Surge's overall power by rendering all movement abilities unusable when an enemy is trapped.
It's a big day for Civilization VI fans: the game's latest patch is available today alongside its newest DLC. While the update primarily includes balance changes and bug fixes, the DLC pack adds a new civilization that looks pretty cool.
Civilization VI's Summer 2017 Update includes one big feature that players have been requesting for a while. It adds a restart button that lets you regenerate the map while mid-game with your current game settings. The update also includes the ability to save game settings, so that you don't have to redo a certain configuration every time you start a new game.
It also features some game balancing and tweaks. For example, the warning that pops up when enemy units are within range of bombardment by one of your cities will now block you from accidentally advancing the turn without attacking. There are also some adjustments to the cost of certain buildings as well as to specific civilizations. You can see the full patch notes below.
The Nubia DLC, meanwhile, adds the new Nubia civilization to the game. The civilization has the Ta-Seti ability, which gives bonus production when creating ranged units. Those ranged units also gain experience more quickly in combat. Nubia mines also give more production when built on strategic resources and more gold when built on luxury resources. You can read more about the DLC here and watch it in action in the embed above. It's on sale for $5 as a standalone purchase, but owners of the game's Digital Deluxe Edition get it for no extra cost.
Full Patch Notes:
New Features
Added Restart button to regenerate the map
Added the saving of game setup configurations to reuse when starting future games
General Balance Changes
Reduced the cost of the Aqueduct by 30% and Sewers by 50%
Reduced cost of all other districts by 10%
Increased the discount for districts you have less of from 25% to 40%
Increased costs of district buildings by 10% (except Aerodrome buildings), and increased per settler cost bump by 50%
Reduced cost of all spies by 25%
The Hanging Gardens now provides +2 Housing in city it is built
Walls now provide Tourism, and do not have Maintenance
Battering Ram and Siege Tower now upgrade to the Medic support unit, and no longer are functional against a city with Urban Defenses
Gave St George an additional Charge
Updated Monarchy's Medieval Wall bonus to: +50% Production toward defensive buildings. +1 Housing for each level of wall.
Proselytizer Apostle Promotion only evicts 75% of existing pressure of other religions, not 100%.
Press Gangs will now unlock with Exploration and Native Conquest with Colonialism.
Increased Anti-Air strength values by 5 across the board. Increased Destroyer AA strength to match other units of the same era.
Balance Change to Archer (cost +10) and Maryannu Chariot Archer (cost -20, combat +2, ranged strength +2)
Increased cost to repair city outer defenses
Civ-Specific Balance Changes
Norway
Thunderbolt of the North gains +50% production of naval melee units
Stave Church gains +1 Production for all water resources in the city
Spain
Treasure Fleet civ ability has its gold for international trade boosted from +4 to +6.
Mission: increase from +1 Science to +2 Science if next to a Campus.
Scythia's heal down from 50 to 30.
Kongo: 50% more Great People points rather than double.
Greece: Award an envoy whenever they complete an Acropolis.
Catherine's Flying Squadron: now awards a free Spy when the extra capacity is earned at Castles. All spies start as Agents with a free promotion.
Map Generation
Aluminum may now appear on Plains
Increased Lake generation
Updated Bonus and Strategic Sea resource generation
Inland Sea maps now have rivers
UI Enhancements
Added a turn blocker notification when city ranged attack is available
Combat Preview UI has received multiple improvements
The Civilopedia now shows the number of spies/envoys granted by a civic
Multi-turn unit movement paths shown when unit reselected
Add Relationships tab to city state Intel Reports which displays that city state's at war status with other civs and city states
A popup box is now used to modify deal item values
Added leader dialog for Gifts and Demands
Scenarios no longer display extraneous UI screens
Reports now displays great works, adjacency, and districts information
Additional improvements to the Trade Route chooser
Diplomacy Enhancements
Added tooltips explaining why you can or cannot declare each kind of war or undertake another diplomatic action.
"Are you sure you want to denounce?" confirmation added
Liberation changes:
Liberating cities can now occur even if you got the city in a deal (peace deals are the most common case of this).
A case where the Persian player didn't see "(cede)" or "(return)" besides cities on the peace deal screen has been fixed.
When you liberate a city-state your military units are only kicked back from the first ring of hexes around the city; you aren't ejected from their territory entirely.
AI Tuning
Improved AI ability to move great works around to get theming
AI will now better handle air attacks
Bombers will attack Districts, Improvements, and then Units in that preference
Fighters will prefer to attack other air units
Improved desire to pillage cities
Improved city planning with regard to adjacency bonuses
During city attacks, concentrate unit attacks on more threatening units rather than spreading out
Fixed a bug that resulted in the AI overestimating the value of demand tribute
Adjust AI acceptance of embassies to be a bit more like what they already do for delegations
Specifically, they probably will reject it if they're unfriendly, will accept at neutral unless they have any other reason against it (close balance) and will generally accept it at friendly unless they have a strong reason against.
In evaluating deals, the AI will mark elements that are unacceptable at any price, and expose that to the player
Improve ability to utilize city-states, beyond just suzerainty
As a player approaches victory, AI will become less friendly and more aggressive
Multiplayer
Improved stability after receiving a multiplayer join error
Fixed unnecessary host migration when exiting a LAN game
Fixed an occasional hang during wars in dynamic turn mode
Miscellaneous UI fixes and stability improvements
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where plot tooltips would show when we didn't want them to
Don't allow paradrops to include other units in an escort formation
Fixed multiple issues with Air combat
City Banners were not reacting to population changed events
Barbarian camp art will now update as the game progresses into later eras
Fixed an issue where pillaged improvements lost their pantheon bonuses forever
District repair costs now computed properly based on both game speed and start era. Will always be 25% of the cost of creating a new district of that type.
Correct Alexander's "To the World's End" healing ability so it only triggers if the city has a COMPLETED wonder in it.
Wonders should always be repairable after they have been hit by a nuclear blast
Coastal Raids can be used to explore Tribal Villages on the shore
Fixed issues with Reports screen totals not adding correctly
The Monster Hunter series boasts a wide variety of weapon types to craft and wield, which can be a bit daunting for those unfamiliar with the franchise. To ease newcomers in, Capcom has released a series of new trailers that give fans an overview of all the different weapon classes featured in Monster Hunter: World.
Like other Monster Hunter titles, World features 14 different weapon types, each of which has its own unique play style and abilities. The new overview videos are divided into three categories: the first covers light weapons such as the Long Sword and Dual Blades; the second trailer details heavy weapons like the Great Sword and Gunlance; and the final video covers some of the more esoteric "technical" weapons such as the Insect Glaive and Hunting Horn. You can watch the light weapons trailer at the top of this story; the other two can be seen below.
Monster Hunter: World is the first new home console installment in the series since 2010. The game features a number of new mechanics and improvements over previous titles, most notably the world itself, which is much larger and more detailed than ever before. Capcom recently showed off over 20 minutes of single-player gameplay footage, which showcased the lively ecosystem of the game's Ancient Forest area.
Modern Warfare Remastered was originally released as a special edition bonus with last year's Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Despite being an obvious candidate for a standalone release, official word of that didn't come until last month, when Activision announced plans to launch it on PS4. The publisher said it would then follow on "other platforms" at a later date, which has turned out to be exactly one month after the PS4 release. This is in keeping with Sony's timed exclusivity arrangement that sees Call of Duty DLC release on PS4 before other platforms.
As the name suggests, Modern Warfare Remastered is an improved version of 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It includes the full campaign and multiplayer mode with enhanced visuals and audio. You can even buy a $15 DLC pack for it, which adds the same four maps that launched for the original Call of Duty 4 as DLC. These maps are not included for free with the standalone release, which will only ship with the 16 base maps.
A creepy new trailer has been released for the upcoming film adaptation of Stephen King's It. You can check it out above, but those scared of clowns should stay far, far away.
This is the first of two planned movies based on It. This one centers on a group of children dealing with the villainous clown, Pennywise. The second movie--which may begin production soon--will focus on these characters as adults, again having to deal with It.
The new trailer provides an expanded look at some of the scenes we've seen previously, as well as the addition of some new content. That includes the talk of a curse on the town that's responsible for the many tragedies that have taken place there, as well as the apparent reluctance of the adults to acknowledge that something is truly awry.
The film's young cast includes Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Lieberhe (Midnight Special), Sophia Lillis (37), Wyatt Oleff (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Chosen Jacobs (Hawaii Five-0). It also features Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise.
In a recent interview, director Andres Muschietti provided some insight into how this year's film will differ from the 1990 TV adaptation, which starred Tim Curry as Pennywise. "People who read the book and got the book, they're not crazy about the miniseries," he told Variety. "It was a very watered-down version. It didn't contain the darkness that the book had. They couldn't make something for TV about a clown who eats children."
"I wanted to stay true to the essence of [Pennywise]," he added. "I knew that I didn't want to go the road of Tim Curry. Bill Skarsgard caught my attention. The character has a childish and sweet demeanor, but there's something very off about him. Bill has that balance in him. He can be sweet and cute, but he can be pretty disturbing."
If you're a fan of Batman, then the Sideshow Collectible booth at San Diego Comic-Con is heaven on Earth. The company, known for its highly-detailed statues and figures, showed off a plethora of DC-related merchandise, some of which is currently available on its website. Here are some of the best DC statues and figures we saw at the con.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends has been available on PC and tablets since earlier this year, and today it finally launches on smartphones. The collectible card game is now available to download for free on iPhones and Android phones.
According to Bethesda, the game features a "streamlined interface" designed to make it playable on smaller phones. This release brings it in line with its main competitor in the CCG space, Hearthstone, which has been available on phones for two years.
This release comes about a month after the launch of The Elder Scrolls: Legends' first big expansion, called Heroes of Skyrim. As the name suggests, it adds a bunch of cards themed on The Elder Scrolls V. Two new types of cards were added to the game in the expansion: Dragons and Shouts. Dragons are special cards that operate differently if they're played with other Dragons, while Shouts can be leveled up the more you play them.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends is free-to-play, but you'll have to hand over some money if you want to try out Heroes of Skyrim. The game includes a single-player story mode, a competitive Versus mode, and an Arena mode that pits you against either human- or AI-controlled enemies.
Lego Worlds has been out for a while now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The Minecraft-like sandbox building game officially launched to decent critical and commercial reception back in March on those platforms, but WB Games also announced that it would come to Nintendo Switch at some unspecified date. Today, it has finally shared the release date for the Switch version.
Switch owners will be able to pick up Lego Worlds on September 5 in the US and September 8 in the UK. WB Games announced the news on Twitter, stating that the game would be $40 and include two DLC packs.
The first of the DLC is presumably the recently released space expansion, which adds a large adventure world set on the Moon. It includes quests and new models for building. It's available right now on other platforms for $4. There's no word yet on what the second DLC will be.
Although the Dark Souls series is known for its punishing difficulty, memorable narratives, and somber worlds, the series' music has received as much acclaim as the games themselves. Across three titles, composers Motoi Sakuraba and Yuka Kitamura have expertly conveyed the dark themes and melancholic moods of From Software's series.
Now, Bandai Namco is making the soundtracks of all three games available for fans to purchase on vinyl. The nine-vinyl collector's box will be limited to just 2000 copies and available through the new Bandai Namco Entertainment store later this year.
GameSpot was able to take a look at the collection ahead of its launch and snapped some nice pictures. Check out the gallery to see more of the box, as well as the individual vinyl collections featured within it.
In the months following its release, For Honor has been through a bit of a lull. Despite a relatively strong start with a solid player base, the number of users dropped off significantly, mostly due to rampant server and balancing issues in the online multiplayer modes. Though there's still a dedicated community dueling online at this very moment, the developers behind the ambitious online brawler are looking to reignite the fire of battle with a slew of new features and balance adjustments to the core game.
Taking cues from Ubisoft's other titles, such as Rainbow Six Siege and The Division, Ubisoft Montreal plans to reinvigorate For Honor by introducing sweeping balance fixes; new multiplayer modes like ranked 1v1, 4v4, and special season play for online multiplayer; and the introduction of dedicated servers to ensure stability. For hardcore players, these changes are tremendous. GameSpot spoke with creative director Roman Campos Oriola and game director Damien Kieken, who discussed how they plan to revitalize the game.
GameSpot: For Honor's existing community has been very passionate about the game. They're giving constant feedback for you guys about what can be improved, and you seem to have a lot in mind to improve the game in a number of ways. Can you talk about the challenges of trying to keep things interesting for players?
Damien Kieren: So first thing, since the beginning of the year, we are the number three multiplayer game in summer sales. So it was pretty successful. Last month, in June, we had more than 1.3 million active player users, and we're still getting into those numbers in July. So even if it's not the biggest player base for competitive games, it's still quite a lot of players. That's why when we're speaking about, for example, dedicated servers, we have a commitment to our players to improve the game and make it grow. And that's why we are continuing to develop new features and improve the game. It's for the players that are playing the game, that we are still continuing to develop new seasons, add new characters, fix the issues, etc.
And then will that help acquire new players and make the community grow? I hope so. But for me, the most important thing is delivering for the people that are currently playing the game. There are gonna be some drops and some people are gonna leave. I'm playing a s***ton of online games. I constantly drop one game to play another game and come back and stuff. So I think it's something normal.
Roman Campos Oriole: But what we see is that, often when we release a new season, we have a lot of players coming back to see the new content, to test the game again, and then part of them stay. So what is cool with the seasons system, is we have at least a rendezvous that comes back quite often, and we think that with features like ranking and things like that, competitive players will have a real interest to stay, to try to climb the ranked ladder to get the best rank as possible and things like that. And as Roman said, we are bringing more content every month, so we think it will be good.
Dedicated servers were a big request from fans, as the existing game has a number of connection and stability issues, which for a game like this is very important. Can you talk about what led to the decision to finally include the dedicated servers now, and why you chose to focus on peer-to-peer matchmaking instead for the launch and debut months?
RCO: Basically, since launch, we did a lot of things on the game. And we discovered some problems with the current architecture that we haven't really seen before, during closed alphas, beta, etc. And one of the things we witnessed is that we had a stability issue, mostly on the 4v4 mode. So that's where we have those problems, and we tracked those, we did patches to track them, to understand what was going on, to start fixing them. And at one point we decided to take a step back, basically, and start doing an analysis of our whole infrastructure and compare it to what exists elsewhere in other games within Ubisoft and outside Ubisoft. And to see what could be the best thing to do, after all the things we learned in the past month, and how players are consuming the game. That's when we decided to move to dedicated servers.
For Honor's roadmap of upcoming content.
There are many reasons why we made that choice, and it will change some of the overall experience of the players. It will improve stability, but it will also remove some irritations that the players could have. For example, by being peer-to-peer you need to check your NAT, so that you can play with other players that have the same NAT as you or that have a green NAT, etc. Things like that don't matter anymore when you have a server--you don't have false migrations, session migrations anymore when you have a server. So there were obvious wins on that aspect. And it's also for us a more long-term reliable move, where we want to go with the move to dedicated servers. It's a huge change.
DK: And why we make that change now, it's because we have a long-term commitment with that game. Like I said, we've updated it a s***load of times already since launch, and we want to continue to support it. As you see with the roadmap, we're continuing to add content, and so improving the players' experience when they are playing the game is something very important, and dedicated servers goes in that direction for us.
What exactly fueled your decision to change up the defensive meta? Was it because of how sometimes, inexperienced players can sometimes feel a little overwhelmed against tougher opponents, or if they feel like one moment they mess up, they're basically dead? Was that sort of the issues you encountered?
DK: Since [launch], we've been monitoring a lot the player feedback. There's no such thing as defensive meta problems in 4v4, because in 4v4 you're constantly in group fights, or helping friends or asking for items, [that] kind of thing. It's more a problem in duels, but [it's] something where we need to be really careful, because we don't want to break the 4v4 experience also by making dueling a little bit more aggressive. That's one thing. So all the changes that we are targeting improve the dueling experience without breaking or changing that much [of] the 4v4 experience. And basically, what we want to do is, we want to reward a little bit more the attacker, and we want to make attacking less risky. We want to make defending a little bit more risky with a little bit more commitment.
So for example, one thing that we are doing is, we are making the out-of-stamina state much more dangerous. Today, when you attack or some defense like dodging--like dodge rolls kind of stuff--you lose stamina. And today, when you are out of stamina, there's no real drawback; you can dodge your way out of it and then you're back in the game. So we want to make that state more dangerous, so for instance, when you are out of stamina, your dodge is gonna be a little bit slower. When you are dodging, you won't be able to regenerate stamina, this kind of thing. You won't be able to parry anymore, that's one thing that we are testing. So we want to make that state a little bit more dangerous, like if you fall in that state, you made a mistake.
On the other hand, to help people who are attacking, what we are doing is, every time your enemy will block an attack, it will boost stamina regeneration, so it helps you put a little bit of pressure on the opponent. Also we've increased the team damage--team damage [used] to be between 5% and 10%, now all the team damage will be 18%. So you're gonna take much more damage when you block an attack. So that will help a lot.
And the last thing is, one of the other things also, is with parry. So parry, for me, is fine almost across the board. Just when you get to that top 5-10% of players that can almost parry, with that you have an issue there because the reward of parrying is a little bit too much. So what I really like in the game in terms of pacing is, at that level the whole mind game is around trying to bait your opponent into attacking, to parry him, and you have all that which is really interesting that I don't want to break. It is just that the reward for parrying is overshadowing all of the other actions because after a successful parry today in the game, you have guaranteed guard break, and out of that guard break you can almost, in some cases you can one-shot kill the opponent by throwing him out of the ledge or something like that, or you can deal massive damage based on your character. So that was a little bit too strong.
So what we do is, no you don't have anymore guaranteed guard break out of a parry, because that would be a massive frame-rate advantage and you do more stamina damage. But that's the kind of things we are doing, we are rebalancing a little bit more the balance of the attack and the defense to make defending slightly less good.
The games as a service model is becoming more and more popular these days. Since its release, For Honor has been attempting to make a mark in that space. Has the game met your expectations thus far? And what do you think the game really needs to do in order to grow, and what exactly are your hopes for the game in the future?
DK: So in terms of hopes for the game, I won't speak about it because that's more the goal of higher people than me in the company to set, the objectives in terms of sales and player base. What I can tell you is, currently the biggest thing in terms of growth of For Honor that we are focusing on, and I want the team to move on, is to make the game better in terms of experience. To remove all the issues that you can have with connectivity, to improve the balancing to the point that it's not only good in terms of data and matchup, but it's also perceived as good as the community. I want the player to, like for example with ranking, set up more objectives to play the game than just maxing their character or winning the next match. That's for me what is important and what eventually, if we don't f*** it up and if we continue to deliver on that, we will make the game grow bigger than what it is today. And at least, for now that's my goal and that's the goal that we're giving to the team.
It's a new experience and then in terms of how it was received and how well it sold. Well, being the third best selling multiplayer game since the beginning of 2017, for me as the game director of the game, I can say I'm a little bit surprised, like that "it's not that bad". [Laughs] If I had knew that four years ago when I had started on the project, yeah I think I would have gone, "Yes, I would do that game, no problem!" But I'm happy to say that, that's the point, it is something completely, it's not only a new IP, it's also a new experience. And so being there with that innovative gameplay, yes, for me I'm proud of it. And is Ubisoft proud of it? We'll see in the future. But I'm proud of what the team achieved, yes definitely.
Dutch developer RageSquid, which previously made the platformer Action Henk, has revealed its new game: Descenders, a downhill freeriding game. Based on the first trailer, it looks like it's not for the faint of heart.
Descenders puts players on a bike and sends them through procedurally generated downhill environments. Based on the trailer, there will be forests you have to weave your way through, trains to jump over, and giant drops that might be a touch unsafe to try in real life. It also features a "fully fledged physics system" that can be used to "string together incredible trick combos," according to a press release. There's a glimpse of a frightening-looking first-person mode in there as well, although this is a standard camera view, not a VR mode.
When you first start, you'll choose from one of three teams--Enemy, Arboreal, or Kinetic--and rep points you earn will go toward that side. Everyone who plays the game will be contributing to their respective team in an attempt to push it to the top of the leaderboards at the end of the month. "Special prizes" are awarded to teams for making it to the number one spot. Players can also come together in the Descenders Overworld area to practice tricks and check out the leaderboards.
Descenders is being published by the new label No More Robots, which was founded by Mike Rose, who previously worked at noted indie publisher TinyBuild. An exact release date has not yet been announced, but it's said to be coming "soon" to PC and unspecified consoles. No More Robots tells GameSpot it's in talks with Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo about bringing the game to their respective platforms.
You'll want to see this high level loot, guns, traps and heroes you don't have yet in Fortnite.
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