Check out the spooky new items available for Halloween
Coming not long after Destiny 2's launch, last October didn't see the franchise's annual Halloween event, Festival of the Lost, take place. That changes for 2018, and Bungie is doing more than ever, adding a brand-new activity type, among other things. But of course the highlight for many players is the new gear and rewards you can get your hands on, all of which you can check out above. The new update is live, and with it comes Festival of the Lost 2018.
A fixture of Festival of the Lost in the original Destiny was the variety of masks you can obtain and wear, and this year is no different. Among those we've already gotten a look at are Petra, Shaxx, and the Traveler, though the best of the bunch might be Cayde's chicken friend. Masks can be obtained by purchasing them with Fragmented Souls. This is a new type of currency earned by completing Festival of the Lost daily bounties offered by Amanda Holliday.
We don't yet know if there will be other ways of getting your hands on masks. However, we do know there is a special Bright Engram--the Ephemeral Engram--that you'll receive in addition to the usual Steadfast Engram every time you fill the XP bar (assuming you've reached the level cap). These Engrams will contain a variety of new items, some of which will also be sold for Bright Dust at Eververse during the event.
Many of these items are also pictured above--there are Sparrows, ships, Ghosts (including one that looks like a cat), Ghost Projections, emotes, and more. In terms of usable gear, we know there's a new auto rifle called Horror Story that you'll be able to purchase with the aforementioned Fragmented Souls.
Alongside all of these new items to acquire, there are new activities to take part in. First and foremost is the Haunted Forest, where you'll take on increasingly difficult enemies over the course of a 15-minute run in a modified Infinite Forest. This can be played solo or with a Fireteam of three (with matchmaking available if your friends are too scared to dive in). There's also a murder mystery involving the cryptarch Master Ives; you'll have to find out who killed him over the course of a questline that rewards Powerful gear.
Festival of the Lost goes live today, October 16, and runs until November 6. Its debut coincides with the return of Iron Banner, which has been revamped with better rewards and easier bounties to complete. Additionally, a new update--patch 2.0.4--launches today.
Microsoft has been rolling out backwards compatible games for Xbox One on a near-weekly basis, and that continues this week with another new batch of BC titles. Three more Xbox 360 games are now playable on the current-gen console, and this time, they all hail from Crytek's critically acclaimed first-person shooter series, Crysis.
All three main installments in the series--Crysis, Crysis 2, and Crysis 3--can now be played on Xbox One. Renowned for their stunning, cutting-edge visuals, each game casts players in the role of a Nanosuit-clad soldier battling against alien invaders known as Ceph. The original in particular is widely regarded as one of the best first-person shooters of its time; GameSpot awarded the Xbox 360 version an 8/10 in our original Crysis review, in which we wrote, "It's absolutely attractive on its new platforms. More importantly, shooting humans and aliens amid lush jungle foliage and frigid ravines is as entertaining as ever."
If you still have a physical copy of any of the titles around, you can simply pop the disc into your Xbox One to initiate a download, allowing you to begin playing. If you've owned any of the games digitally, they'll automatically show up in the Ready to Download section of the console's My Games and Apps menu. All three are also available to purchase from the Microsoft Store for $20 each.
Since Microsoft first introduced Xbox One's backwards compatibility feature, more than 400 Xbox 360 titles and 30 original Xbox games have been made playable on the console. You can see all of the BC titles in our full list of backwards compatible games. If you need recommendations on which ones to revisit, be sure to also check out our gallery of the best Xbox One backwards compatible games.
Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man launched to a warm reception, but fans of the PS4 exclusive have long been clamoring for a New Game Plus mode. In September 2018, Insomniac teased that the mode was in the works, and now the developer has revealed New Game Plus is on its way.
In a tweet, Insomniac said that New Game Plus is "coming soon" as a part of a new update. It was initially thought that Update 1.07 would launch on October 17, but Insomniac has since clarified that is not the case.
On October 23, The Heist--which is the first piece of a three-part DLC expansion called The City That Never Sleeps--launches. According to Insomniac, the DLC adds new story missions where a robbery "entangles Spider-Man and MJ with an old flame from Peter Parker's past, Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat." Felicia is a part of a side-quest in Marvel's Spider-Man, but only appears in recorded messages. This DLC marks her first major role in the game.
The Heist also adds a new faction of enemies for Spidey to take on, as well as more challenges to complete and PlayStation Trophies to earn. Three new suits--Scarlet Spider II, Resilient, and Spider-UK--will also be added. Spider-Man enthusiasts might recognize these suits from the Ultimate Spider-Man TV show and Spider-Verse comic book series. The Peter Parker from Marvel's Spider-Man recently joined the expanded Spider-Verse in Spider-Geddon and his suit shows up in the upcoming Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse animated film.
In traditional Pokemon games, you set off on a journey to become a Pokemon Master alongside a rival, with whom you'll frequently battle as you make your way to the Pokemon League. That's certainly still the case in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, but unlike your smug foe in the original Yellow version, your rival in the Switch games is much friendlier, offering you advice and even occasionally gifting you items when you run into each other.
This isn't new for the series; while your rivals in Pokemon Red and Blue and their follow-ups, Gold and Silver, were straight-up jerks, all of them since have been much friendlier toward you--particularly Hau and Lillie from Pokemon Sun and Moon, both of whom would also frequently give you items to help you along. During our recent interview with Pokemon director Junichi Masuda, we asked why it seems like the series has been shying away from the meaner rivals of earlier games.
"I think the biggest reason that rivals were more of a jerk in the early days is that we were just limited in what we could express with the pixel graphics," Masuda told GameSpot through an interpreter. "There's not much that you can do with that kind of little sprite on the screen, so we worked harder to characterize them through dialogue and give them certain personalities.
"Also, because it's just dialogue and there's not a whole lot going on on the screen, it doesn't give as harsh of an impression even if they're jerks, I think. Now we have HD graphics and the visuals are much more impressive. If you also made him a jerk, the impression would be a lot stronger on players. Another thing, just my own personal take, is that it feels that people with those kinds of personalities these days are just not as accepted by players as they were back then."
October may not be as big of a month for Destiny 2 as September, but there's nonetheless a lot going on. In addition to two major patches and Festival of the Lost, Iron Banner has returned for its second outing during Forsaken. As with the previous instance, Power levels remain a factor, but you'll now find it's easier to increase your power by taking part. Here's what you need to know and a look at all of the gear--both weapons and armor--you can acquire from this instance of the event.
The big change for October's Iron Banner involves bounties. Although they have the same goals as last time around, they're easier to complete, as Bungie has lowered the requirements for almost all of them, and replaced another. You'll need to generate fewer Orbs, kill fewer enemies with precision hits, and so on. Better yet, each bounty you complete will reward you with Powerful gear--last time, only two bounties offered items that could bump up your Power level.
Each bounty you complete also grants you access to purchase a corresponding item that has "curated" rolls. For instance, the Claws of the Wolf pulse rifle comes with Outlaw and Kill Clip. You can see all of these curated items (along with all of the weapons and armor up for grabs) in our gallery.
Here's the updated list of Iron Banner bounties:
Lightbearer -- Land Super final blows in the Iron Banner (20)
In the Zone -- Capture zones in the Iron Banner (50)
Iron in the Blood -- Complete matches in the Iron Banner (15)
Shine On -- Generate Orbs of Light in the Iron Banner (50)
Iron Victory -- Win matches in the Iron Banner (7)
To Be Precise -- Land precision final blows in the Iron Banner (50)
All in a Week's Work -- Defeat other Guardians in the Iron Banner (150)
With the release of Forsaken, each class gets a brand-new set of Legendary armor, with one piece for each slot. There are also six Legendary weapons. All of this gear can be obtained from Iron Banner Engrams, which you receive for cashing in Iron Banner tokens earned by completing matches. However, that's not your only way of obtaining most of these items; as noted above, completing bounties will allow you to buy specific versions of these weapons with desirable perks from Shaxx.
Iron Banner works much like it has in the past, with Control as the game mode. But post-Forsaken, Iron Banner has level advantages enabled, which wasn't the case during the first year of Destiny 2. Your Power level will partially determine your performance, unlike in a standard Crucible match.
Destiny 2 is kicking off a few different special events today, the most limited of which is the return of the Iron Banner. The special event ends on October 23 and offers a bounty of prizes for completing its challenges in the Crucible. Best of all, those challenges have been made substantially easier this time around.
The easier bounties should mean you stand a better chance at completing multiple versions of them, and you can earn a piece of Powerful Gear for each one. Each bounty you complete also allows you to buy a corresponding piece of Iron Banner gear with "curated" perks. You can see these, along with all of the Iron Banner rewards, in our gallery.
On top of that, Masterwork Cores will be easier to come by, thanks to Double Valor from October 16-19, followed by Triple Valor from October 19-23. Bungie has previously said it wanted to make Masterwork Cores more available, and soon it will be changing the name to better reflect their current function in the game.
The newly revised Iron Banner bounties are:
Lightbearer: Super kills has been reduced to 20 from 25
Iron in the Blood: Match completions has been reduced to 15 from 30
Shine On: Orbs generated has been reduced to 50 from 100
Iron Victory: Match wins has been reduced to 7 from 10
To Be Precise: Precision kills has been reduced to 50 from 100
All in a Week's Work: Kills has been reduced to 150 from 250
In the Zone: Capture 50 zones in Iron Banner (unchanged)
The Iron Banner isn't the only event starting this week. The annual Halloween-themed event Festival of the Lost kicks off today as well. It includes a story-based murder mystery quest, a spooky Haunted Forest horde mode with a 15-minute timer, Ephemeral Engrams with new cosmetic rewards, a Legendary auto rifle called the Horror Story, and lots of creepy decorations adorning the Tower. It all comes alongside the 2.0.4 update, which has some balance changes and bug fixes of its own.
With the sheer number of new Pokemon Game Freak regularly introduces to the series, there are inevitably some that get left on the cutting room floor. We recently got a glimpse at a handful of unused designs from the original Red and Blue versions, but the most shocking cut Pokemon we learned about was one dubbed "Gorochu," which was originally intended to be another evolution for Pikachu after Raichu.
Ultimately, Gorochu was cut from the titles before their release, and Game Freak would go on to introduce a pre-evolution for Pikachu instead in its follow-up games, Gold and Silver. Now that Pikachu back in the limelight thanks to the upcoming Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee for Nintendo Switch, could we see its long-lost evolution Gorochu come back in some form? Not likely, according to Pokemon director Junichi Masuda.
"None of the Pokemon that we worked on, got to a point, and then discarded them have actually ever re-appeared yet, so I would say the chances are low," Masuda explained to GameSpot through an interpreter. According to Masuda, one of the reason Pokemon such as Gorochu end up being cut is that they don't fit into the game world.
"[W]e always have this base criteria at Game Freak of being able to explain why a certain Pokemon is in the world or why it exists in that world, trying to make it feel believable within the fantasy," Masuda said. "And usually the ones that get rejected are Pokemon that we weren't able to justify, I think. Usually there's a reason for why they weren't implemented, and as long as that reason still exists, they probably won't be put in the game.
"We always say Pokemon isn't a 'character game.' It's not a game where it's just the characters, but it's a game that shows this world where these living creatures are existing in a space. That's kind of a slight nuance, but that's what we always try to go for at Game Freak. It's not good enough that they're just cute. They have to have something more to it."
With the weekly reset comes another Ascendant Challenge in Destiny 2: Forsaken. However, it appears that we've now seen every different version of this activity included in Forsaken, as we're back to the original Week 1 version of the event. Here's where to go and what to do.
As always, the Ascendant Challenge starts out with acquiring the corresponding bounty from Petra in the Dreaming City. You'll also need a Tincture of Queensfoil, a consumable item you can earn by taking part in certain activities in the Dreaming City (or you can outright buy one). Once you have both the bounty and a Tincture, you'll head to a Lost Sector, Aphelion's Rest, which is located in The Strand, just beneath the area where Petra is sometimes found. Using a Tincture will grant you a buff, Ascendance, that allows you to see a Taken portal. This one is located partway through the Lost Sector, atop a hill--it's hard to miss if you've used your Tincture.
Jumping into the portal takes you to the Ascendant Plane's Ouroborea. There, you'll have to explore the area to find four different blights. Enter the dome and destroy its core; you'll know you've done it when it disappears and the text "a seal breaks" pops up in the bottom-left corner. Once you've dealt with all the blights, you'll go back toward the center to destroy crystals (whose protective shield has been temporarily dropped). Just beware the knights who will chase you around as you do this--your best bet is to keep moving in a circle, which should let you destroy the crystals without allowing the knights to get too close.
Although the chest is unlikely to have any worthwhile rewards, finishing the Ascendant Challenge also completes the bounty you picked up from Petra. That rewards you with a piece of Powerful gear that is highly desirable, making this all worth the trouble, provided you're capable of getting it done.
Although this Ascendant Challenge is not a new one, there is a lot happening in Destiny 2 right now. Iron Banner is back for this week, and a new update has been released. Most importantly, though, Festival of the Lost is now active until November 6, bringing a new Haunted Forest activity, new rewards, and more to take part in.
The PlayStation Store's latest sale on digital PS4 games is now live, offering big savings on games like Destiny 2: Forsaken, Fallout 4, and a wide selection of PSVR titles. As usual, PlayStation Plus members get an additional discount on many of the games and expansions. Let's dive in and take a look at what games we can save money on between now and October 23.
Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection, which comes with everything released so far for the online shooter, is down to $39. If you already own vanilla Destiny 2, you can pick up the Forsaken expansion for $34 (thankfully, you no longer need to purchase the Year 1 expansions separately to play it). This deal comes just in time to take advantage of the Halloween-themed Festival of the Lost event, during which you can collect spooky/silly masks, Ghosts, Sparrows, and other gear.
All things Fallout are on sale this week at the PlayStation Store, because the Bombs Drop Sale is running all week. You can get Fallout 4 for $15, or the game and all of the expansions with Fallout 4: GotY Edition for $30. Individual expansions are also on sale, as are the Fallout games and DLC for PS3.
One of the inherent appeals of the Pokemon series is collecting the eponymous pocket monsters, but moving your Pokemon between games has always been complicated by the fact that the franchise spans multiple generations of hardware. Developer Game Freak has made strides in simplifying this process with the Pokemon Bank service and Poke Transporter tool, allowing players to store all of their monsters in one place and access them across every mainline 3DS Pokemon title.
With the upcoming Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee games for Nintendo Switch, the Pokemon series is once again jumping to new hardware. While the titles support connectivity with Pokemon Go, giving you the ability to transfer certain monsters from the mobile game for the first time, it remains to be seen if you'll be able to carry the Pokemon you capture in Let's Go over to the next Switch Pokemon RPG slated to arrive in 2019. Asked whether Game Freak was looking at allowing Pokemon to move between Let's Go and the next core entry, Pokemon director Junichi Masuda assures that the development team is working to make that possible.
"We're definitely always thinking of that kind of forward-moving functionality, especially since we've introduced Pokemon Bank," Masuda told GameSpot through an interpreter. "Now, up to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you're able to store your Pokemon, and we know they're very important to everyone. I mean, obviously, people would be very sad if they couldn't use their Pokemon in a future game. So, it does get complicated when you talk about the details and we're still figuring it out, but we do have plans to find ways to let players use their Pokemon in the next game."
We still know very little about the 2019 Pokemon game, but The Pokemon Company announced it will release in the latter half of that year. Unlike Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, both of which streamline some of the series' mechanics to make it more accessible to newer and younger players, the 2019 game will be a "core" title more akin to those that released on 3DS, which presumably means that some of the elements that were removed from Let's Go--such as abilities and held items--will return.
The first post-launch content for Insomniac's PS4 Spider-Man game is nearly here. The Heist, the first of three planned DLC chapters in The City That Never Sleeps series, is set to arrive next Tuesday, October 23, bringing a slew of new enemies, missions, and challenges to take on. It also adds a trio of new suits, which we've now gotten our first look at. [Update: Insomniac announced on Twitter that Spider-Man's 1.07 update will not arrive on October 17 as originally planned, but is now slated as "coming soon." The story has been amended to reflect that.]
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Insomniac unveiled the three new Spider-Man suits players will be able to get in The Heist. Like most of the other suits in the game, two of them are drawn directly from the comics: the red and black suit from Scarlet Spider II, as well as the Spider-UK suit from the Spider-Verse. Rounding out the trio is the Resilient Suit, an original design by Marvel illustrator Gabriele Dell'Otto. You can take a look at all three below.
The Scarlet Spider II suit, Resilient Suit, and Spider-UK suit
The Heist centers around Peter Parker's love interest/villain, Felicia Hardy--better known as Black Cat. It will be followed by two more DLC chapters later this year: Turf Wars, which will arrive in November, and Silver Lining, which is slated to release in December. You can purchase The Heist individually for $10 USD, or get all three chapters together in The City That Never Sleeps bundle for $25.
That isn't the extent of the new content on the way to Marvel's Spider-Man. Insomniac is also planning to roll out the game's 1.07 update "soon," which will add New Game Plus mode, allowing you to play through the story again with all of the suits, gadgets, and skills you've unlocked. The update will also introduce two new trophies to earn, as well as an Ultimate Difficulty setting for an even greater challenge.
Marvel's Spider-Man was met with critical and commercial success when it launched for PS4 last month. GameSpot awarded it a 9/10 in our Spider-Man review and called it "a superior Spider-Man experience that leaves a lasting impression." The game has also been a big hit with fans, breaking sales records and having one of the highest Platinum trophy completion rates on PS4.
Epic Games has released the patch notes for Fortnite's 6.10 update, which is rolling out on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android now. The major new addition to Fortnite's Battle Royale mode is the Quadcrasher, a two-seater vehicle that has a boost function.
This new vehicle is perfect for smashing through structures, so will no doubt become key to securing those Victory Royales. It builds boost as you drive it, with the boost being usable once you've filled a meter, and running into players will send them flying into the air.
The patch also makes a variety of tweaks to the way the game performs and plays. For those on a PlayStation 4 Pro, Fortnite will now display at 1440p instead of 1080p when plugged into a 4K TV. The update also adds a new "Events" tab, where players will find in-game tournaments.
In the weapons and items department, Port-a-Fortress has been disabled while Epic figures out an issue with it. To compensate, the Port-a-Fort will drop more frequently, which should help out those who need to find one of these items for a challenge. The Guided Missile (which was recently disabled), meanwhile, no longer fires the wrong direction, which is nice, and players will no longer permanently attach to a Supply Drop when grappling to it.
Disco Domination, the recently launched limited-time mode, has changed in a number of ways. You'll no longer find bandages as often, and Common weapons are gone altogether. With respawns enabled--something that's quite uncommon for Fortnite--Epic has made some tweaks to improve the variety of places you spawn.
For those that want to see what's new with Save The World, check out the patch notes. The full Battle Royale changes can be found below, along with a video showing off the Quadcrasher.
Limited Time Mode: Disco Domination
What's New?
Reduced all bandage spawns by 50%.
Removed all Common weapons.
increased the variability of where you can spawn by 30% along your sides storm circle.
Brought in the side dance floors closer to the Storm edge.
Reduced max respawn distance by 20%.
Weapons + Items
The Port-a-Fortress has been disabled as we work to resolve some issues related to this item.
Drop rate for Port-a-Fort increased from 3.05% to 4.89% while Port-a-Fortress is disabled.
The goal is to keep the drop rate of Port-a-Fort the same as if both items were enabled to help with the completion of Challenges.
Bug Fixes
Guided Missile no longer fires the wrong direction
Players will no longer permanently attach to a Supply Drop when grappling to it.
Attempting to fire while reloading the Double Barrel Shotgun will no longer interrupt the animation.
Weapon equip animations no longer skip when simultaneously attempting to sprint and target.
Gameplay
Quadcrasher
Seats two players.
You build boost just by driving. Unleash that speed with the hotkey once you've filled your boost meter.
Smash through buildings while boosting.
Boost off ramps or cliffs to catch sick air.
Launch players into the air by smashing into them.
You can now view and change Edit Controls separately from Combat and Build Controls in the controller menu.
PS4 controller lighting will match player marker color.
You can now set building mode sensitivity for controllers in the options menu. It is a multiplier on the default controller sensitivity and allows up to a 2x increase.
Controller sensitivity slider in the options menu now allows for more than 10 values.
Added an option to Builder Pro that allows for building as soon as you switch to the piece, instead of selecting first and then placing. This allows for faster building without a preview.
Added an option that allows for edit hold timing to be adjusted.
Opening the Emote Picker with a controller will happen when the button is released, while holding the button will replay the emote that was last played.
Bug Fixes
Fixed inconsistencies with the damage trap not triggering properly.
Allow slight movement when using a consumable with Sprint by Default enabled. This will help match how it works without Sprint by Default enabled
Fixed problem with character orientation getting stuck after falling off the island in a vehicle.
Events
Tournaments can be found inside of the new 'Events' tab available in game. This tab will host a variety of online competitions which are open to everyone. Jump in and explore!
Each tournament has a series of scheduled dates and times that the competition will be run. A carousel of all upcoming competitions and times will be available for browsing, so you can plan and practice.
Every scheduled session is a completely clean slate with all players starting on an equal footing at the beginning of play.
Compete over the course of several hours to earn points by eliminating multiple opponents or surviving against the competition.
Players are matched against opponents with similar scores during the session.
Score enough points during any scheduled event session and you'll earn a golden pin for that tournament!
Performance
Weapon replication optimization for dedicated server to reduce load during rapid weapon switching.
We've made CPU performance optimizations on Switch across all threads. This results in a smoother gameplay experience and fewer hitches.
Improve multi-threading during heavy physics simulation.
Audio
Celebrate with style. The music selected in your Locker will now play after getting a Victory Royale!
Remove the Doppler effect from the audio when players are gliding.
Added an in-air loop to Grenade Launcher projectiles so you can spatialize where they're coming from.
Improved Grenade Launcher bouncing audio.
Reduced volume of medium-range Grenade explosion sound.
Bug Fixes
Cube ambient sounds no longer randomly play in the middle of matches.
Sequential explosion sounds no longer interrupt each other.
Added missing audio to the Compact SMG and SMG medium/distant fire sounds.
Audio 'pops' no longer occur when emote music loops.
Re-added the audio cue that plays before a new wave of Supply Drops start appearing.
UI
Bug Fixes
Fixed some touch issues for the controller mapping screen on Switch.
Fixed a bug where the player's banner in the top bar would not update when changing the banner in the locker.
Made the reticle hidden when skydiving.
Fixed issues with the display of the on-screen map and inventory inputs.
Fixed issues with touch functionality on the map for the Nintendo Switch
Resource buttons no longer cancel auto-run.
Art + Animation
Bug Fixes
Cosmetic items that change in some way over the course of a match are now marked as "Reactive" in-game (e.g., a harvesting tool that changes as you get eliminations).
Fixed visual display issues with cosmetic music items..
Animation pops no longer occur while in the air after using the Chiller trap.
Replay System
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue causing the first replay not be selected in the replay browser.
Fixed the nameplate distance slider not working.
Fixed an issue where firing guided missiles would start with the camera facing the wrong way in replays.
MOBILE
Major performance improvement for devices running Android 7 or earlier.
Memory improvements on iOS devices.
The first weapon you pick up will now auto-equip itself on mobile.
Touch control input now has smoothing enabled.
Tapping selected buttons on the build quickbar will once again build the selected build piece.
All elements in the Mobile HUD should now be placeable/movable in the HUD Layout Tool.
Updated visuals for independent Quickbar slots in the HUD Layout Tool.
Bug Fixes
Drag and dropping on the Quickbar will no longer select the thing you drag. Players can now adjust their inventory without interrupting other actions.
Fixing a bug causing some touch input to fall through the settings screen to gameplay.
Fixing edit button visibility issues when crouching on Mobile.
Battle royale style games took off in popularity last year thanks to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and reached new heights with Fortnite. Now, the Call of Duty franchise has hopped onto the fray with Black Ops 4's new Blackout mode. If you haven't experienced battle royale for yourself, but plan on hopping into Black Ops 4, this is for you. We'll run through some of the basics of the mode and cover the ways in which Call of Duty puts its own spin on it.
Battle Royale 101
First off, you can enter matches either as a lone wolf (solo), with a partner (duos), or a team of four (quads); you'll be matched with up to 100 players who choose the same group size option. Every player gets flown over the map in the same trajectory--visualized when you pull up the map--and it's up to you when and where to drop. Exiting the helicopter has you deploying your wingsuit, and you can glide horizontally to go further out or look straight down to drop faster.
The overall goal is to be the last player or team standing since everyone has one life, which makes combat encounters much more tense and risky compared to traditional Call of Duty multiplayer. Now more than ever, you should be aware of your surroundings; that or have a teammate watch your back. Also keep in mind that you can revive squadmates if they fall, but be sure to do so before they bleed out or take more damage from enemies.
Another basic ingredient of battle royale is the impending pressure of a deadly circle closing in on the battlefield. Every match has the circle contracting on a random area of the map, and it gets smaller as the match goes on to force remaining players into combat. If you get caught outside the circle, you'll take damage until you can get into the safe zone.
A Huge Map To Traverse
Blackout's map is much larger than any previous Call of Duty map since it has to accommodate 100 players. However with size of the map, it also induces a slower pace; so expect plenty of downtime between encounters. This change of pace may take a while for Call of Duty veterans to adjust to, but it also feeds into the high-stakes nature of combat in battle royale games since one small mistake can cost you an entire match.
There are 14 concentrated areas in the Blackout map, many of which pay homage to past Black Ops maps. For example, Nuketown Island, Estate, and Array will look and feel similar to the multiplayer maps they're named after. The in-between of these main locations is interspersed with smaller towns and groups of buildings that can have valuable loot. But vast forestry and open fields make up most of the terrain, so be on-guard when traversing between locations as firefights may break out at any moment.
The full map in Blackout mode.
Luckily, vehicles litter the map. An ATV doesn't provide much protection but it can get up to two players around from point A to point B fairly quickly. The cargo truck fits up to five players and doesn't leave the squad as vulnerable, but it moves pretty slow. Getting through the river that splits the middle of the map is quite easy with a zodiac boat, which holds up to four players. And unlike most battle royales, Blackout features air transportation via the helicopter that has five seats total. That's not the only means of air travel, though; you can deploy your wingsuit by sprinting and jumping off a building and holding the jump button.
Loot Your Loadout
You start each match without anything in your inventory and must loot all your equipment--a stark contrast to Call of Duty's tradition of letting players customize their loadouts. You're allowed to carry two weapons and have to scavenge for the proper ammo type for each as well. The following is a list of all the weapons available to loot in Blackout:
Tactical Rifles: Auger DMR, Swordfish, ABR 223, Essex Model 07
Sniper Rifles: Koshka, Paladin HB50
LMGs: Titan
Explosives: War Machine, Hellion Salvo
Zombie Weapons: Ray Gun, Galil, MP-40, Zweihander
Attachments are crucial for getting the most out of your weapons. A reflect sight or 4x scope will come in clutch for nailing precise shots with ADS, and a grip or stock will help control your recoil, but you need to scavenge for those items and get them onto your gun. Zombie weapons add a twist to combat, which can be found in zombie supply stashes after killing AI-controlled zombie hordes at certain locations in the map, like the Asylum. Even the sillier items find their way into Blackout, like the Ray Gun, Monkey Bomb, Acid Bomb, and RC Car (though it doesn't explode). Look out for blue beacons that shine in the sky as this indicates stash locations where you may get your hands on these rare items.
Inventory management in Blackout mode.
You'll also have to loot armor in Blackout; there are three levels and each one provides better protection (level 3 armor is the only one that'll protect from headshots). Backpacks open up five additional item slots, which comes in handy later in a match as you loot more useful equipment. And it goes without saying that stocking up on health items is important, too; first aid and med kits heal 25 and 50 health, respectively. Trauma kits will fully heal you and tack on an additional 50 health temporarily.
Be on the lookout for supply crates that randomly drop onto the map throughout the match; you're likely to find high-level loot, but creates a hotspot for preying enemies.
The Perks Of Call Of Duty
In another interesting twist, Blackout's take on battle royale also brings in the familiar Perks system, which act as consumable items found across the map. Each perk has a specific effect, usage limit, and duration. While some may be more useful than others, it's important to know what your equipped perk does as it can make the difference between life and death, especially in their most effective situations. The following is a perk list and what they do:
Brawler: Increases melee damage, gain 50 health for each melee attack landed. (Usage: 1, Duration: 4 mins)
Consumer: Health and consumable items activate 50% faster. (Usage: 1, Duration: 5 mins)
Dead Silence: Silent movement and less noise when opening stashes. (Usage: 2, Duration: 4 mins)
Engineer: Reveal all nearby vehicles and enemy equipment. (Usage: 2, Duration: 4 mins)
Iron Lungs: Steady aim with scoped weapons and underwater breathing time increased. (Usage: 2, Duration: 5 mins)
Medic: Health items and team revives replenish more health and with faster activation. (Usage: 2, Duration: 4 mins)
Mobility: Movement and weapon switch is faster, fire and use items while sprinting, move fast while reloading. Fall damage negated. (Usage: 2, Duration: 5 mins)
Paranoia: Audio cues for when you're targeted by an enemy via ADS. (Usage: 2, Duration: 4 mins)
Black Ops 3 introduced Specialists, unique characters that provided a variety of ways to play the game with their own attributes and abilities--akin to a hero shooter. While you can choose to play as a certain Specialist in Blackout, the equipment that was once tied to them are now items found in the field. Those abilities--such as the razor wire, mesh mines, and grappling hook--are hard to find, but they can give you a significant advantage when used in the right situation.
Tips
Those are the basics when it comes to playing Call of Duty Black Ops 4's Blackout mode. Battle royale veterans may know how the rules work, but the equipment system and map are still things that need to be experimented with and explored on your own. The most important thing to do is to play more and more matches to get a feel for how Call of Duty's take on battle royale flows. And now that you know what you're getting into, take the next step and check out our Blackout beginner's guide.
The Destiny 2 Halloween event Festival of the Lost, introducing all manner of special rewards to collect and new activities to enjoy. The activities include a murder mystery story quest and a Horde-like enemy wave area. For your troubles you can earn some loot and unique items, like goofy masks of Destiny celebs. Check out our Festival of the Lost gallery for a look at the cosmetics.
A new story quest has you solving the murder of Master Ives, a Cryptarch from the Reef. Solving the mystery will gain you Powerful loot for your trouble, along with the satisfaction of knowing you did some quality police work. The Infinite Forest from the Curse of Osiris is getting a refresh as the "Haunted Forest," which will send waves of enemies in randomized layouts. You can delve deeper and deeper into the forest to take on increasingly tough waves, but you only have 15 minutes to take down as many as you can.
All those festivities sound merry and bright, but this year's Festival of the Lost will be a little more somber than in past years. Major character and quest-giver Cayde-6 is now among the fallen Guardians. We can expect the Tower to be an even sadder place than it already was. Keep him in your thoughts as you wear your funny paper mache masks and chase down the new Ephemeral Engrams.
Another update out now increases Scout Rifle damage, decreases the drop rate of the grenade launcher Edge Transit, and fixes assorted bugs. A separate event, kicking off alongside Festival of the Lost today, is the newly revised Iron Banner. The challenges have been tweaked to be a little easier to achieve and earn your best loot. It will last through October 23.
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