Rockstar has announced the latest update for Red Dead Online, the online multiplayer portion for Red Dead Redemption 2, is now live. Despite the several pieces of new content included in the update, Red Dead Online remains in beta.
The update adds a new Showdown mode, called Plunder. This mode sees two teams face off in a race to gather supplies from a central location to outfit their respective bases. You can also sneak into your enemy's base and steal their supplies. However, all other players can more easily spot you when you're holding supplies, so if you're going to steal from the enemy, it might be best to bring along a friend or two to watch your back.
New cosmetic items also come included in the latest update. After logging in to Red Dead Online, you'll be able to find the new Owanjila Hat, Porter Jacket, and Concho Pants being sold from outfitters. Additionally, until April 15, all rank 40 coats, holsters, boots, and gloves will become available for all players, regardless of in-game rank. The Turkoman, Missouri Fox Trotter, and Arabian horses are all being lowered to rank 40 as well, with the Volatile Dynamite, Incendiary Buckshot, Explosive Slug, Express Explosive, and Dynamite Arrow pamphlets going down to rank 60.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is not only one of our favorite games from last year, it's our game of the year for 2018. In our Red Dead Redemption 2 review, Kallie Plagge gave the game a 9/10, writing, "Red Dead Redemption 2 is an excellent prequel, but it's also an emotional, thought-provoking story in its own right, and it's a world that is hard to leave when it's done." However, our follow-up review for the Red Dead Online beta was not as positive, though Kallie did point out "there's a lot of potential for Rockstar to iterate upon and expand...both in the amount of content available and the nature of that content."
Back in October and November, Destiny 2's Festival of the Lost brought back Thunderlord, a lightning-slinging machine gun of original Destiny fame. Since the timed quest to retrieve it expired, though, any players who didn't earn Thunderlord have been hoping it to earn it randomly from the pool of Exotics that sometimes drop as they play. As part of the festivities of its Arc Week event, though, the Thunderlord quest is back, and if you haven't completed it, you absolutely should.
The multi-part Exotic quest to grab Thunderlord is back with Update 2.2.1, and you've got until April 23 to grab it. Part of the experience is the chance to revisit the Cosmodrome, a location from the original Destiny that's not available in Destiny 2 in any other way. After the quest vanishes again, you'll have to get your Thunderlord from the Exotics pool, which means the chances of it dropping are extremely low.
To start the Thunderlord quest and hunt down the killer of Master Ives, the Cryptarch from Destiny's Reef area, head to Amanda Holliday in the Tower. She'll give you Master Ives' journal, which requires players to search for the missing pages from Ives' diary out in the world. Here's how to solve the mystery and get Thunderlord.
Step 1: The Crytarch's Journal
Clearing that first step is actually pretty easy to accomplish. There are 10 pages to acquire, and players can get them either by finding Legendary engrams in various activities--including Gambit, the Crucible, Strikes, and everything else you already do in Destiny 2--or from killing tougher Fallen enemies in the EDZ on Earth.
Actually snagging all the pages is an easy feat to knock out if you head to the EDZ. You're looking for Fallen with orange-colored health bars, which are otherwise known as Elite bad guys. You need the orange enemies in particular; you won't get pages from Majors, who have yellow health bars, like the ones designated as high-value targets, for instance.
The quickest way to find Elite Fallen to kill in the EDZ is to find a public event and join it. The Glimmer Mining event that takes place in various places in the EDZ is a solid bet, especially if you knock it up to its Heroic level. You won't get a page for every Elite you kill, but the drop rate is pretty high--one or two public events should do it.
If you don't feel like messing around on Earth, you can also spend some shards at the Cryptarch in the Tower to quickly gather up the Legendary engrams you need to complete the step. That method will cost you 250 Legendary shards if you buy 10 engrams to get all 10 pages. Given how easy it is to get the pages in the EDZ or by earning Legendaries organically, though, you probably don't need to waste the shards.
Step 2: Hunting The Fallen
The second step is almost as quick and easy as the first. It returns you to the EDZ, this time to complete four Lost Sectors. You'll start with a batch of three that need cleaning out: Atrium, Widow's Walk, and Terminus East. If you're not familiar with the names, those are the three Lost Sectors located in the Trostland area of the EDZ.
You'll find Atrium in the church where Devrim Kay hangs out, Widow's Walk in the northwest corner of the area, and Terminus East in the northeast corner. Once you've wrecked the Major enemies in all three, you'll get a new step that directs you to yet another Lost Sector, called Whispered Falls.
Jump on your Sparrow and drive west to the Outskirts area, and look for the Lost Sector up in the hills in the west end of the area. It's north of the narrower portion of the map you drive through to access Winding Cove.
Kill the Major in Whispered Falls and you'll need to wait for Amanda Holliday to summon you back to the Tower. She'll eventually give you new coordinates, which will send you to the third and final stage of the quest.
Step 3: Return To The Cosmodrome
Your final step for the mission unlocks when you're prompted to return to Amanda Holliday. She'll identify a strange teleporter in Earth's European Dead Zone you should go check out--it's actually a Mission that starts you on the final step of the quest. To get there, warp into the Winding Cove location in the EDZ, then ride east toward the Outskirts. You'll find the mission start in the northern part of the canyon in the Whispered Falls Lost Sector. Fight your way inside to reach the teleporter.
Starting the mission warps you back to the Cosmodrome, the place where Destiny players first started way back in the beginning of the original game. You're basically following the path of the very first Destiny mission, fighting through Fallen into the Wall around the Cosmodrome. Keep following the mission markers until you get inside, where you'll face a big battle with a Fallen Captain called Kikliss, Murderer, and a huge batch of minion enemies.
This is the toughest fight of the mission by far, so bring your best guns and try to keep moving. Smaller Fallen enemies will continually spawn into the battle, so Supers that take out lots of enemies at once or are good for crowd control will help. Once you damage Kikliss enough, a giant Servitor will join the fight, which makes it even more annoying. Try to keep space between you and Kikliss while you focus your fire on the Servitor, since it can make other enemies invincible--including the boss.
Killing the Servitor should make it a little easier to take down Kikliss, which is your main objective for the mission. Once you do, you'll be prompted to fight your way back out the Cosmodrome. Back outside, you'll get a message from Amanda Holliday suggesting that this could be your last time back in the Cosmodrome, and you'll see an objective prompt reading, "Leave The Cosmodrome?" It seems Destiny 2 is suggesting there might be more secrets to find hidden in Russia, so take your time in leaving to look around. We haven't found whatever secret the game is hinting at just yet, but we'll update this guide when we do.
If you approach the teleporter near where you started, you'll be sent back to orbit and prompted to return to Holliday in the Tower. When you do, she'll wonder about what the Fallen who killed Master Ives were really after, but she'll also thank you for avenging his death. Your final reward is a "trinket" she found in his stuff, which is none other than the sparking machine gun Thunderlord. The Exotic goes in your Heavy weapon slot, and carries the "Reign Havoc" perk, which causes lightning strikes from the sky as you rack up kills with bullets.
Nintendo is launching its first virtual reality headset (of sorts) this month in the form of the new Labo VR kit. Not only do the included VR Googles allow you to experience Labo minigames in virtual reality, they will be compatible with two of Switch's biggest games, Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, following free updates for both titles later this month.
Ahead of the updates, Nintendo has revealed a few more details--as well as a handful of new screenshots--for Super Mario Odyssey's upcoming VR mode on the game's official Japanese Twitter account (via Siliconera). The VR mode will take the form of three "mini missions" set in the Cap, Seaside, and Luncheon Kingdoms, with the main objective being to collect coins and music notes.
The notes will be scattered throughout each kingdom, and when you collect enough of them, you'll obtain different musical instruments that you can then give to NPCs to assemble a band. Once all of the performers have received an instrument, you'll be able to watch a special concert in the Metro Kingdom. You can take a look at some new screenshots of the mode below.
Both Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be updated to support the Labo VR Goggles on April 25. While the former will receive a dedicated VR mode, the latter will be entirely playable in VR (with the exception of pre-rendered cutscenes). You'll be able to toggle the option on or off at any time from the game's menu, and you won't need to create a new file in order to play it in VR.
The Nintendo Labo VR kit launches on April 12 and will be available in two configurations. The full suite will retail for $80, while the starter set--which includes the Labo VR software and the materials to make the VR Goggles and Blaster Toy-Con--will cost $40. The remaining Toy-Cons can be purchased in $20 expansion sets. You can read our impressions of the Labo VR kit here.
If you managed to go into Shazam totally blind without being exposed to any spoilers, congratulations! You just experienced one of the most fun twists in superhero movie history: the surprise introduction of the Shazamily. During Shazam's climactic fight, Darla, Mary, Eugene, Freddy, and Pedro all got to Shazam themselves for the first time, transforming into their super-powered, adult alter egos and helping Billy to defeat Dr. Sivana and the seven deadly sins.
It was a fun, exhilarating moment on multiple levels. For one thing, it was a payoff for things the movie had been hinting at from the start. It fulfilled the thematic promise of Billy's search for a family. And it was great to see the cleverly cast adult actors (including The OC's Adam Brody) who played the superheroic versions of the kids.
In some ways, it seems like an unlikely twist. In the current superhero movie landscape of sequels, prequels, and ever-expanding connected cinematic universes, it's easy to imagine a different version of Shazam that focused entirely on Billy Batson and saved the Shazamily for the sequel--maybe with a teaser thrown into the post-credits scenes. But for once we got to live in the best possible timeline, and Shazam really nailed this crucial twist.
Director David Sandberg told GameSpot that this was the plan from the start. "That was always the idea," he said. "We wanted to have that payoff--you get to meet these kids and see their personalities, and then have that transferred into superhero form. That was always the big thing about the movie--that's going to be the big payoff."
"It's a delightful moment," Zachary Levi, who plays Shazam himself, told GameSpot. "The movie has so much wish fulfillment in it, and then you get it like times five, right? Five more kids get to be their super-self. I mean, that's f***ing dope...I thought that about it when I read it in the script, and was like, 'This is so cool! We're team building in our own franchise--total Voltron superheroes,' you know?"
Part of the magic is that the kids' superhero forms really do look like juiced up versions of themselves. That's down to good casting, including Meagan Good as the adult version of Faithe Herman (Darla), Michelle Borth as Grace Fulton (Mary), Ross Butler as Ian Chen (Eugene), D.J. Cotrona as Jovan Armand (Pedro), and of course, Adam Brody as Jack Dylan Grazer (Freddy).
"It makes your job as a director so much easier if you cast people who basically are these characters," Sandberg said. "If you cast it right, your job just becomes 10 times easier." That began with Zach Levi, who the director fondly referred to as "a big child," and extended to casting the other Shazams later. Sandberg also said the most important thing was making sure the adult actors' personalities matched their younger counterparts.
As an aside, it's worth noting--as Sandberg pointed out to The Hollywood Reporter--that Brody and Cotrona were also at one point cast as The Flash and Superman, respectively, in George Miller's Justice League: Mortal, production on which stalled around 2008. "So, afterwards, we said, 'Oh, s***! They finally get to be superheroes in a DC movie,'" Sandberg told THR. "They didn't even know they were auditioning for superheroes."
Of course, if you pay attention to these things, you might have seen the Shazamily twist leak ahead of time. But the filmmakers went to great lengths to prevent that from happening as much as possible. For example, in order to prevent spoilers when they auditioned the actors that would play the adult versions of the kids, they wrote new scripts that weren't actually from this movie. "We just wrote special scenes with characters that have their traits, basically--Darla would be the fast talker, and so on," Sandberg said. "And so, when they auditioned, they had no idea what it was for really, or what it was actually going to be, but we still had close enough personalities to be able to cast from them."
Levi said he's glad he wasn't responsible for any of the leaks. "I'm really good at keeping secrets. Loose lips sink ships, as I learned from my time in the Navy during the Second World War," he joked. "You don't want to spoil anything. It's really interesting that people like to spoil things. They like the feeling like they're the ones who gave the secret information. But that's the worst. It's way cooler to not tell people and let it be a surprise."
As Sandberg pointed out, the Shazamily reveal works best as an unexpected twist. "I think it works so well when you don't see it coming--and even if you suspect that it's coming, but you're not sure, it still works really well," the director said.
One of the events detailed on Bungie's content calendar for the Jokers Wild expansion and Season of the Drifter is Arc Week, an event that's never been in Destiny 2 before. Last week, Bungie explained what Arc Week actually is--a week dedicated to Guardians' Arc-based subclasses that sees them being amped-up, all at once. With its latest patch, Destiny 2's Arc Week is officially underway, but Update 2.2.1 also brings a host of other changes that should make life a little easier for Destiny players.
The Arc subclass changes are some of the most significant in the patch, to be sure, as Bungie's patch notes show. Each increases the effectiveness of perks, abilities, and Supers for each character class. The durations of just about every Arc ability has been lengthened, which should make all the classes a lot more fun to play with. If you haven't messed around with an Arc Super ability in a while, this week is definitely the time.
In keeping with the Arc theme, Bungie is also bringing back the quest to unlock the Exotic Arc machine gun Thunderlord. The quest became available last fall during the Festival of the Lost, but ended soon after, forcing players to rely on random drops to get the machine gun if they'd missed it. If you're still Thunderlord-less, though, you can start the quest during Arc Week and finally get a lightning-spitting Exotic of your own. Use our guide to get you started.
Another big change in Update 2.2.1 is the addition of new Exotic catalysts. These are special drops related to Exotic weapons that increase they're capabilities, making them even better than they are when you first get them. All the catalysts currently in the game require quite a bit of grinding, but the rewards are usually worth it. Bungie's latest update brings four new catalysts to the game, for Hard Light, Rat King, The Prospector, and Suros Regime. The first three have a chance to come as rewards for regular Strikes and Nightfall Strikes; the last comes from Crucible matches.
For players chasing special rewards and Triumphs, Update 2.2.1 also has some major quality-of-life changes. It increases the drop rates for many special rewards, like the ship, Sparrow, and ghost shell that come from completing activities in the Dreaming City. Those items are tied to completing Destiny 2's Seals, a set of major accomplishments that hardcore players chase. These changes should make completing several a few Seals quite a bit less punishing.
You can read the full patch notes below.
Destiny 2 Update 2.2.1 Patch Notes
Sandbox
Titan
Striker—Code of the Juggernaut
Frontal Assault:
Buff duration increased from 10 to 16 seconds
Buff timer is now displayed on the HUD
Buff now increases weapon damage
25% in PvE
20% in PvP
Knockout:
Buff duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds
Buff is no longer disabled after a melee attack
In addition to breaking a shield, buff now triggers once you deal 60% damage to a target
Any damage dealt after 60% refreshes the timer
Increased bonus melee damage from 25% to 60%
General bug fix
Fixed an issue where Titans using Code of the Missile could perform the wrong melee
Hunter
Arcstrider—Way of the Warrior
Combination Blow:
Bonus melee damage can now be stacked 3 times
Buff increases melee damage by 60% per stack in PvE
Buff increases melee damage by 22.7% per stack in PvP
This ability was previously 1 stack and increased melee damage by 50%
Kills with this ability now heal 40 health in addition to starting health regen
Deadly Reach:
Increased buff duration from 6 to 8 seconds
Buff is no longer consumed by a melee hit
Arcstrider—Way of the Wind
Disorienting Blow:
Increased the melee disorient distance from 4 meters to 6 meters
Increased duration of disorient on players from 1.5 to 2 seconds
Focused Breathing:
Increased dodge recharge bonus while sprinting from 50% to 100%
Combat Meditation:
Increased bonus grenade and melee regeneration while bloodied by 25%
Lightning Reflexes:
Increased damage resistance while dodging from 25% to 40% in PvP
Increased damage resistance while dodging from 63% to 70% In PvE
Warlock
General Arc Changes
Stormcaller Super
Damage scales up to 150% over 5 seconds of continuous use of the attack
Updated FX and audio to support this functionality
Stormcaller—Attunement of Conduction
Chain Lightning Melee
Can now chain up to 5 times, up from 1, and each individual target can be hit twice
Chain damage decreased from 50 to 31 damage per hit
Arc Web
Increase chain range from 10 meters to 12 meters
Can now chain to many more targets, and back and forth between targets
Chaining Arc damage now reduces the cooldown of your grenade
Works with Arc Web chains and chains from Chain Lightning melee
Earn 3% energy per instance of damage in PvE
Earn 10% energy per instance of damage in PvP
Stormcaller—Attunement of the Elements
Electrostatic Surge:
Increased bonus regeneration rate of Rift by 600% per nearby friendly Guardian
Added a UI notification when the buff is active
Now extends Rift duration from 15 to 20 seconds
Arc Soul:
Extended duration from 8 to 12 seconds.
Voidwalker Nova Warp
Reduced initial charged detonation energy cost by 20%
Reduced energy cost of holding the charged detonation by 7%
Reduced time required to fully charge the charged detonation from 0.9 seconds to 0.7 seconds
Reduced Dark Blink cost by 20%
Increased base Super duration from 18 seconds to 22 seconds
Dawnblade Everlasting Fire
Tuned the amount of Super gained from Everlasting Fire
Initial return increased from 10% to 13%
Return then decays linearly over the course of 30 kills from 13% to 0.75% returned per kill
Abilities Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where the Warlock ability "Bloom" was not dealing any damage
Improved consistency of Handheld Supernova
Fixed a bug in which canceling Blade Barrage allows players to traverse across the map
Weapons
Weapon Changes
The Last Word
Added a timer to the Fan Fire perk
The Wardcliff Coil
Reduced PvE damage by 25% against bosses and vehicles
General Weapon Bug Fixes
Fixed a material on Coldheart that was no longer shiny
Fixed an issue where ready audio on Veist Submachine Guns was not playing on PS4
Updated the Meganeura perk's description to be more accurate
Fixed an issue where Grenade Launcher initial ammo had been unintentionally reduced
Fixed an issue bug where the Powerful Statement ornament was visible in Loaded Question's ornament socket before it had been obtained
Fixed an issue where Thorn dismantled faster than other Exotic weapons
Fixed an issue where the ATB Long Range scope was erroneously highlighting enemies when equipped on the Long Shadow Sniper Rifle
The Recluse now appears in Collections only when it has been obtained to match the behavior of other pinnacle PvP weapons
Fixed an issue that caused poor scope behavior on the Prospector's ornament "Caution: Heavy Machinery"
Fixed an issue where Wish-Ender did not highlight targets while user was invisible
Fixed an issue where Jötunn was recorded as a Scout Rifle
Fixed an issue where the Vow could not be infused above 650
Fixed an issue where the accuracy ring was not visible on the reticle of Linear Fusion Rifles when using a controller on PC
Armor
Armor Bug fixes
Using Getaway Artist with Storm Grenades now correctly spawns a super-charged Arc soul
Crown of Tempests once again works with Ball Lightning
Stronghold will no longer drain heavy ammo while guarding with Black Talon
Investment
Rewards
Increased drop rate of items in the Last Wish Raid
Starlight Shell (Dreaming City Ghost Shell): 2% → 20%
Silver Tercel (Dreaming City Sparrow): 5% → 20%
Increased drop rate of Lore Books
Cayde's Stash Lore
Cayde treasure map chests: 40% → 100%
Planetary chests: 4% → 50%
Dreaming City Lore
Public event completed: 2.5% → 50%
Ascendant challenge completed: 2.5% → 100%
Blind Well completed (Tier 1–3): 5% → 50%
Lost Sector completed: 1.25% → 100%
The Marasenna lore book was missing two entries: Revanche I and Palingenesis III; these entries now unlock after you unlock all other entries.
Tangled Shore Lore
While Tangled Shore is the Flashpoint
Public event completed: 6.5% → 50%
Heroic adventure completed: 16% → 50%
Lost Sector completed: 3% → 50%
Gunsmith reputation packages now only reward Gunsmith Weapons
Four new Exotic weapon catalysts are now available to drop in Nightfall, strikes, and the Crucible
Prospector (Nightfall, strikes)
Rat King (Nightfall, strikes)
Hard Light (Nightfall, strikes)
SUROS Regime (Crucible)
Xûr's inventory now offers random rolled perks for armor
Fated Engrams from Xûr now have the chance to reward Forsaken Exotics
Quests/Bounties
Power Surge Bounties that have expired or been deleted are now available on the Drifter, though each bounty can still be completed only once per character
Power Surge Bounties now specify "Requires Annual Pass and Level 50" if either requirement is not met
Reaping in the Wilds Gambit Prime bounty now progresses from all high-value targets in free roam
Players who sided with the Vanguard on the Allegiance quest can now also bank Motes in normal Gambit to progress on the Prime Research quest step
Quest progress for the Survival Guide or Hidden Messages quest steps will now re-initialize properly; if you are stuck on these quest steps, you should abandon them and pick them up again from the Drifter to update the "tapes discovered" count
The weekly lockout reset for Invitations of the Nine has been moved to Thursday Reset (1700 UTC); players will now have two extra days to complete them before being locked out of a new Invitation the following Friday
Lost Sector Gambit Prime bounty now progresses from all Lost Sectors
All four weekly role bounties for Gambit Prime now grant powerful head rewards
Yes Sir, I'm A Closer weekly Gambit Prime bounty now awards 4 points for a win and 2 points for a loss, with a completion value of 20 points
Pursuits
Ada-1 will now offer all seven weapon frames each week
Players can still complete only two powerful frames each week, at which point remaining frames are removed until weekly reset
Fixed an issue where players could acquire pinnacle weapons once per character; pinnacle weapons are meant to be acquired only once per account
Drifter's weekly role bounties will now properly count Motes wagered in the Reckoning when the Mote is a lower tier than the activity itself
Gambit Prime now counts to unlock the weekly Gambit clan engram
When recycling Synths at the Drifter, the error "Your Glimmer is full" will now be properly displayed on all four Synths
Fixed an issue with the Sentry emblem where killing Giant Blockers wasn't incrementing the "Blockers killed" stat
Fixed an issue where the Gambit Prime weekly challenge didn't display completion in the UI
Triumphs
Fixed an issue where Triumphs from previous seasons were counting Glory Win Streaks in the current season
Fixed an issue where the Triumph "The Best Offense" was not giving credit for all orbs generated
The Haul Triumphs "Greater Powers" and "IX" can now be completed and will initialize for players who have already completed them as soon as they enter Orbit
General
Arsenic Bite now drops with random rolls; removed Vestian Dynasty from the general loot pool
Fixed an issue where the BrayTech RWP Mk. II could not be infused above 600
Increased drop rate of Polestar II Ghost Shell from 1% to 4%
Fixed an issue where Obsidian Crystal would sometimes not drop from the Unidentified Frame quest step
Activities
Reckoning
Reckoning Tier 2 and Tier 3 boss kills now always have a chance to award a Gambit Prime weapon
Chances for weapon rewards increase each time a boss is killed without a weapon drop
Players near the bank should no longer be able to see waypoints until they jump through the portal
When players jump through the portal, they should be placed in one of three active locations:
Anytime before players begin capturing the bridge: over the horde mode area
Anytime after players begin capturing the bridge, before they fully capture the bridge: at the beginning of the bridge
After players fully capture the bridge and begin the boss fight: at the end of the bridge
Fixed an issue where the Tier 1 Deceived Nokris was not summoning its Taken Warbeasts
Gambit Prime
Some Reckoning weapons now have a chance to drop as match completion rewards from Gambit Prime
Chances increase after each Gambit Prime match without a weapon drop
An invasion kill now heals 8% of the Primeval's health, down from 12%
The invasion portal cooldown time during the Primeval phase has been increased to 40 seconds, up from 30 seconds
This cooldown triggers after a player has been killed or successfully returns from an invasion
Fixed an issue where all Gambit medals that shipped in Forsaken were not displaying in the HUD when players earned them in Prime
Fixed an issue where the Primeval Hobgoblin was not functioning properly in Gambit Prime
Boss reintroduced to Gambit Prime
Fixed an issue where killing players in subsequent Wells of Light would unintentionally count towards earning the "Well Well Well" medal
Fixed on issue on Deep Six and New Arcadia where the Ascendant Primeval Servitor wasn't summoning Immunity Blights
The Burrow front on Six Deep had some minor adjustments to reduce combatant/environment collisions
Gambit
High-value targets now have a chance to spawn during the first round of a Gambit match; the chance for the HVT to spawn in the second round has been increased
Private Matches: Sudden Death can now be enabled or disabled via the Rounds to Win options
Fixed an issue where the "Open 24/7" medal could be acquired during a Sudden Death round of Gambit
Fixed an issue where the "Rainmaker" medal could be acquired during a Sudden Death round of Gambit
Gambit intro cinematics now run at unlocked framerates on PC
Fixed an issue where Scorn Captain's immunity totems were not properly shielding combatants
Fixed an issue where Drifter was announcing "Portal's Up" after the round had ended
Reduced the number of required Blockers to send for the Taken Herder, Shepard, and Whisperer Triumphs
Reduced the number of required number of Motes to bank in order to achieve the Protect the Runner Triumphs
Fixed an issue where players who are restricted from the Crucible/Gambit due to poor network quality were unable to launch Gambit Private Matches
Fixed an issue where Infamy ranks could be repeatedly reset without needing to progress through the ranks between each reset
Strikes
Fixed an issue where the gravlift would sometimes be missing in the Warden of Nothing strike
Nightfall tickets now have min/max and +-25 for incrementing power reduction; this will allow players to get to the +100 power reduction easier to increase the score multiplier
Crucible
Competitive
Fixed an issue where players who are disconnected from Destiny servers could not rejoin games in the Competitive Crucible playlist.
Iron Banner
The curated roll "Wizened Rebuke" Fusion Rifle awarded from completing the "Atlas, Unbound" Triumph will now appear in Lord Saladin's inventory so that players can inspect it prior to acquisition
Once earned, the weapon may be viewed in Collections
The curated roll "Wizened Rebuke" Fusion Rifle can now be reacquired from Collections for the same cost as other Masterworked, curated roll weapons
The Heavy as Iron emblem may be earned when securing 2500 kills under the effects of the Iron Burden
Removed ship "Volk-CER" from Collections due to an issue impacting the ship
Expect this to return in a future Season
Patrols
Fixed an issue where the architects would sometimes kill Guardians for absolutely no reason in a very specific area of the Dreaming City
Combatants
General
Fixed an issue where the Taken Hydra rotating shield would flicker when shielded by Taken Goblins
Fixed an issue where the Ultra Taken Hobgoblin was using the Swarm attack more frequently than intended
UI
General
Player will now always see equipped titles when inspecting another player
The weapon ornament "Powerful Statement" is no longer visible in the socket preview for Loaded Question before being obtained
Postmaster "open bundle confirmation" dialogue now shows appropriate strings when it pops up; would previously cause occasional crashes
Material cost no longer appears red on vendor tooltips if the item is not purchasable, but you have enough material
Fixed the description on some bounties to correctly read " ability kills" instead of " kills"
PC
General
Fixed an issue where performance on PC would slowly degrade over time
By Anonymous on Apr 09, 2019 10:25 pm Petra in the Dreaming City has a new bounty to complete an Ascendant Challenge for Powerful gear. Here's the location of the portal and what to do.
Destiny 2's Season of the Drifter is in full swing, and while you might have already fought your way to Thorn, there are new events on their way. This reset marks Arc Week, a full week dedicated to improving the Arc subclasses, and the season is about to see a new spring event called the Revelry. And there's always that new Power level cap of 700 to try to hit, which is where the weekly Ascendant Challenge and its Powerful gear drop comes in.
This week, the curse has been reset in the Dreaming City, which means the Shattered Throne dungeon is no longer available--a bummer for anybody who needs to finish it to unlock Izanagi's Burden from The Black Armory. It also brings us back to Week 2's challenge, which is available for one more day before Tuesday's weekly reset. Below, you'll find a complete guide on where you need to go and what to do to complete this week's bounty to earn Powerful gear.
The Ascendant Challenge always involves you heading through a portal to the Ascendant Plane, but the particulars of what you're doing are entirely different from week to week. To start out, you'll need a consumable item called the Tincture of Queensfoil. With a Tincture in hand, make your way to the Garden of Esila area near the southernmost point of the map, as seen in the image below. Consuming the Tincture will provide you with the Ascendance buff that allows to see a Taken portal that's somewhat hidden on a cliffside. Jump in, and you'll be teleported to the Ascendant Plane's Forfeit Shrine.
Once you're there, you'll have to fend off Taken--or just avoid them--while trying to secure three Arc Charges around the area. Once you pick one up, head toward the center starting area, near the giant Blight ball. Walk into the bright point at the bottom to dunk the charge you're holding. Repeat the process two more times and you'll receive an endless supply of Super energy that will help you to kill all of the remaining Taken in the area. Once they're dealt with, you can complete the bounty (netting you Dark Fragments and Powerful gear) and open a chest.
Given that the bounty (not the chest) offers Powerful gear--a reliable way of increasing your Power level--this is an activity you'll definitely want to take part in once you're able. But bear in mind it is a challenge, so be sure to come prepared. It can be done solo, but having multiple teammates to grab charges and draw the enemies' attention can help immensely.
Meanwhile, if you're hunting still hunting gear in The Black Armory, be sure to check out our guides to getting Izanagi's Burden and the Jotunn fusion rifle. Also, don't bother collecting Powerful gear bounties to turn in next week when the new season starts--Bungie is dropping an update that changes things so you can stockpile gear drops for a big boost as soon as the level cap rises. You'll have to play through Season of the Drifter content like everyone else to raise your level to the new cap.
Nintendo is holding another tournament in Switch's battle royale-inspired Tetris game, Tetris 99. The second Maximus Cup runs this weekend from April 12-14, with another $10 worth of My Nintendo Gold points at stake. And this time around, you don't need to be a Tetris master to have a shot at winning.
Unlike the first Maximus Cup, which ranked participants by the number of first-place wins they racked up during the tournament, all players will receive a different amount of points depending on what place they finish during this weekend's competition. Every 100 points you amass will count as one "Tetris Maximus"--equivalent to a first-place win. You can see the full point breakdown below.
1st Place -- 100 points
2nd Place -- 50 points
3rd Place -- 30 points
4th - 10th Place -- 20 points
11th - 30th Place -- 10 points
31st - 50th Place -- 5 points
51st - 80th Place -- 2 points
81st - 99th Place -- 0 points
As before, the top 999 players with the most points during the Maximus Cup will receive 999 My Nintendo Gold points, which can be redeemed for specific rewards on the My Nintendo website--such as discounts on select 3DS or Wii U games--or used to purchase games and DLC from the Switch Eshop. Gold points can typically only be earned by buying Switch titles, so if you fancy yourself a good Tetris player, this is a good chance to earn some free Eshop credit.
The second Maximus Cup begins at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET on April 12 and runs through 11:59 PM PT on April 14 (2:59 AM ET on April 15). Nintendo will notify the winning players via the week of April 28. You can read the full rules on the official Tetris 99 website.
Tetris 99 is free to download, but only for players who subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online service. Memberships cost $4 USD per month, $8 USD for three months, and $20 USD for 12 months. Nintendo also offers a $35 annual Family Membership that can be shared between eight Nintendo Accounts across multiple Switch consoles.
After a few days of teases, Blizzard has further detailed its upcoming Storm Rising event for Overwatch. As expected, this story segment will be the latest rotation of the Overwatch Archives seasonal event, starring a few fan-favorite characters in their younger days for a four-player co-op PvE mission.
You'll play as Tracer, Genji, Winston, or Mercy as they go after a Talon operative, the Omnic Maximilien. Max is hiding out in Cuba while a storm presses down on the island, and the four heroes need to track him down before he can using the cover of bad weather to escape yet again. Storm Rising will be playable alongside the two returning Archives missions, Uprising and Retribution.
Of course it's not an Overwatch event without additional cosmetics, and you'll be able to earn more than 160 spiffy new ones during the event. Storm Rising will run from April 16-May 6, so we're likely to see some of them teased in the meantime. A video (above) shows off the environment and your target.
The previous teasers already suggested the four-player team would be going after Maximilien, a well-known member of Doomfist's organization. Today's announcement doesn't shed any further light on Sojourn, the mysterious figure who chewed out Commander Morrison (Soldier 76) and authorized the Storm Rising mission. Blizzard appears to be setting up another important story character who may become playable someday, or otherwise factor into the story.
Blizzard has been known to drop hints well in advance of actually introducing new characters, though. Maximilien has already been known in the lore, and Doomfist was mentioned in the very first teaser-trailer for Overwatch, years before he was added to the game. The trailer that accompanied the announcement of Ashe also introduced another upcoming character, Echo. Blizzard says it already has six characters planned out which amounts to "years" of releases. One of those was the recently released Baptiste, so counting Echo that leaves four others still a mystery.
The Addams Family is set to return to the big screen. The spooky family were last seen in a pair of live-action movies in the 1990s and will next appear in a new animated film, which hit theaters in October. The first trailer has been released.
The trailer starts by explaining that "some families are more different than others," before introducing all the familiar members of the Addams clan. There's dad Gomez and mom Morticia, their kids Wednesday and Pugsley, plus Uncle Fester and manservant Lurch. It looks like the movie is aimed at a younger audience than the '90s movies, but there's some good jokes in the trailer, including a nice It reference. And of course, the iconic theme music is in there too. Check it out below.
The Addams Family has a hugely impressive voice cast. It stars Oscar Isaac as Gomez and Charlize Theron as Morticia, plus Stranger Things's Finn Wolfhard as Pugsley, Chloe Grace Moretz as Wednesday, Nick Kroll as Uncle Fester, and Allison Janney as villainous Margaux Needler. The movie is directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, who previously helmed Sausage Party. It releases on October 11.
The Addams Family was created by Charles Addams. It first appeared as a comic strip in 1938, and was adapted into the popular TV show during the 1960s. In 1991, Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) directed the hit movie The Addams Family, which was followed by Addams Family Values two years later.
Those keeping their eyes on the PlayStation Classic's ever-dropping price will be interested to know Sony's mini retro console is now cheaper than ever. Right now, you can pick up the PS Classic for just $34 at Rakuten. It's currently listed for $40, but if you use the code SAVE15, you'll get $6 off. Note that you'll have to create a free Rakuten account to use the coupon code; the site doesn't allow guest accounts to redeem them.
The PS Classic's price has dropped consistently since it released December 3, 2018 with a launch price of $100. Since then, its price has fallen to $60, then $40, and now $34. When compared to Nintendo's NES and SNES Classics, which quickly sold out following their release, the PlayStation Classic has not garnered nearly as much hype, with many fans (including GameSpot's Peter Brown) feeling it doesn't match the quality of competing mini retro consoles or do justice to the original PlayStation system, especially for $100.
"The PS Classic doesn't feel like a celebration of PlayStation's formative years the way Nintendo's systems do," Brown wrote in our PlayStation Classic review. "Nor is it a smart adaptation of a capable emulator working behind the scenes."
That said, the console is now nearly 70% cheaper than it was at launch, and $34 may be enough to entice fans with fond memories of the PlayStation to give this mini model a try. As to whether the price will drop again? Only time will tell.
Our first look at Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is days away, with an official reveal planned for Star Wars Celebration. The Celebration panel will take place on April 13, but ahead of that big event the studio and EA have updated the official site with a new look at the game's logo, and dropped a clue on social media.
As you might expect, the new logo puts a heavy emphasis on the word "Jedi," as the order of warrior-monks is one of the most enduring parts of Star Wars pop culture. One of the few details we know about Jedi Fallen Order is that you play as a Padawan--essentially a rookie Jedi--who survived the Emperor's purge in Revenge of the Sith.
The EA Star Wars Twitter account also dropped its own teaser, which appears to show an image of a shrouded lightsaber and the phrase "Don't stand out." This is likely a reference to the story, in which the remaining Jedi have gone into hiding. This game is said to be set against a backdrop of a dark time for the galaxy, as the Emperor consolidates his power and hunts down the few remaining Jedi. We don't have a name or other identifying information about the protagonist, so it's difficult to say yet how this new story will tie into the main narrative of the saga.
It has been more than five years since the release of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, so fans are understandably eager to find out what's next for Sam Fisher. In a new interview, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot offered an explanation for what's taking so long to bring the franchise back.
He told IGN that Ubisoft won't bring back the franchise until it can do something novel with it. Not only that, but some of Ubisoft's development teams became too anxious to want to work on a new Splinter Cell game due to pressure from fans, Guillemot said. And third, Ubisoft's other big franchises like Assassin's Creed are "taking off," which has led the company to focus on them instead of Splinter Cell.
"When you create a game, you have to make sure you will come with something that will be different enough from what you did before," Guillemot said. "Last time we did a Splinter Cell, we had lots of pressure from all the fans saying, 'Don't change it; don't do this; don't do that.' So some of the teams were more anxious to work on the brand.
"Now there are some things and some people that are now looking at the brand; taking care of the brand. At one point you will see something but I can't say more than that," he added. "Also because of Assassin's Creed and all the other brands taking off, people wanted to work on those brands more. so we have to follow what they like to do."
Further fuelling the rumors about a new Splinter Cell is the news that original Splinter Cell designer Clint Hocking has returned to Ubisoft where he is working on "unannounced projects." Guillemot was asked if Ubisoft might bring back Splinter Cell for the next generation of consoles, which are apparently coming soon, but Guillemot wouldn't be drawn into that conversation.
It is known that there will be a massive battle scene in Game of Thrones Season 8, and now one of the actors who fights in it has described what it was like working on it.
John Bradley, who plays Samwell Tarly in the fantasy series, told Entertainment Weekly that director Miguel Sapochnik has a "forensic sense of detail." As you may remember, Sapochnik also directed the Battle of the Bastards Season 6 epic fight sequence.
"[Director Miguel Sapochnik] has such a forensic sense of detail the way he can see the point of view of all these different characters in his head and know what each individual beat meansto them. It's so inspiring," Bradley said.
Bradley also shared an anecdote from filming the sequence. He said he got carried away while shooting the sequence and did things himself as an actor that Sam probably wouldn't have.
"When doing these huge fight sequences, you get carried away sometimes. You want to make yourself look as good as possible. Miguel said to me, 'I know that you want to show you're quite good at this. But remember your character. Sam's not that good at this," Bradley said. "You have to play him because that's what's going to be truthful. So stop being so good!"
The battle scene from Season 8 sees living characters like Sam, Jon Snow, Daenerys, Sansa, Arya, Brienne, and others fighting against the Night King as his army; it's the showdown that's been teased since the show started years ago. The battle is reportedly the "longest consecutive battle sequence ever committed to film," eclipsing the 40-minute Helm's Deep battle scene from The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers.
Filming the episode took 11 weeks of night shoots. According to a report, up to 750 people worked all night for almost three months in sub-freezing temperatures and enduring cold rain, mud, and heavy wind.
Game of Thrones returns for its eighth and final season April 14 on HBO.
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