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August 18, 2022

Corsair's "Plan your next power move" page covers speedy DDR5 RAM, CPU coolers, high-performance PSUs, and some tempting numbers for next-gen storage. It has also outed the name of its first PCIe 5.0 SSD as the Corsair MP700 Gen5 PCIe x4 NVMe 2.0 M.2 SSD. That's quite the mouthful. Importantly, this new SSD promises to hit 10,000MB/s reads and 9,500MB/s writes.

(Image credit: Corsair)

That's speedy to be sure, although some way off the doubling of throughput that the new interface promises. For comparison, the MP600 Pro XT, which is a second-generation PCIe 4.0 drive built around Phison's E18 controller, manages 7,100MB/s reads and 6,800MB/s writes. Phison has already said that its new E26 controller is capable of hitting 13,500MB/s, so Corsair could be playing it safe or possibly isn't using that controller.

That's still plenty speedy in terms of straight throughput though, and besides sequential reads and writes are only part of the story. Random performance is important, and from the noises made by Phison and Sabrent recently, a drive's ability to handle sustained transfers for long periods of time is going to be vital to get the most out of DirectStorage.

Keeping the drive running cool while sustaining high transfers and also handling drive maintenance duties looks to be key here, and could explain that 10,000MB/s figure. Alternatively, we may see a similar situation as PCIe 4.0 which saw a notable uplift in performance going from first-generation and second-generation drives.

There's a good chance that we'll find out more details about this new PCIe 5.0 SSD, and others for that matter, with the release of AMD's Zen 4. AMD's Ryzen 7000 CPUs will support PCIe 5.0 storage devices directly and are expected to be announced later this month at AMD's livestream event on August 29.

Intel's Raptor Lake, which is the follow-up to Alder Lake, is expected to be released at roughly the same time and will also natively support PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs.

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August 18, 2022

Today at Wizards Presents, Wizards of the Coast announced that the next generation of Dungeons & Dragons is on its way via a massive public playtest called One D&D. This will include a revision of the core rulebooks: The Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual. This update will come alongside an offical digital toolset and virtual tabletop for D&D.

The new rules will be backwards compatible with 5th Edition, or 5E, the current version of the D&D rules. These have been around since 2014 and are probably the ones you play, statistically speaking. Don't panic: We knew this would come. It's not that drastic, and it has happened before.

Wizards of the Coast isn't calling the new ruleset D&D 6th Edition, but that's really what it is. If it doesn't pick an official name other than One D&D, players will call it 6E, or maybe 5.5. Trust me: Wizards tried to make 5E just "Dungeons & Dragons" for years, but we all called it 5th Edition anyway... and now Wizards itself calls it that. The "One D&D" thing won't last.

"One D&D is the codename for the next generation of Dungeons & Dragons that brings together updated rules, backwards compatible with 5th Edition, D&D Beyond as the platform for your D&D experience, and an early-in-development D&D digital play experience that will offer players and Dungeon Masters full immersion and rich 3D creation tools," Wizards said in a press release.

"We did a smart thing with 5th edition by listening to the fans," said D&D designer Chris Perkins, "and what came out of that process was a system that is stable, that is well-loved, that incorporates the best elements of earlier editions. Now that we have that we are no longer in the position where we think of D&D as an edition. It's just D&D."

Wizards tried to be very clear in their presentation that their plans for changes to D&D weren't about "taking anything away" from D&D players or "changing that stuff you love." As a D&D veteran who went from 3rd Edition D&D to its evolution D&D 3.5, then 4th Edition to 4E Essentials, I can comfortably say that's going to be... partly true, probably.

This 5th edition update has a lot of development time behind it, and a lot of play experience with D&D 5E. Subtle rules updates have happened in the last eight years, as has game design philosophy. It'll also benefit, at least in part, from the knowledge gained in those earlier game updates.

But will the thing you like most get changed in the official printing? Maybe. Fundamental core rules are altered in the first document: A natural 20 is now always a success, while a natural 1 is always a failure. That change was made, said D&D's game design architect Jeremy Crawford, because the vast majority of people were playing the game that way whether it was the official rules or not.

Which, if you've done this before, is actually kind of refreshing.

The first playtest focuses on Race and Background, giving an evolved version of previous rules that's still pretty simple and familiar. It also introduces, for the first time, a celestial opposite of the Tiefling: The animal-headed Ardlings. It also collapses spell lists into three simple, separate Arcane, Divine, and Primal lists.

Then there are much larger changes: Critical hits are seemingly now only for player characters, not for NPCs. That's huge! Some people will hate it.

In short?

It's me. I'm James Franco. You, statistically speaking, are probably a new D&D player, and you are the crying man. (Image credit: Netflix, Annapurna Pictures, Mike Zoss Productions)

In many ways, this is the natural evolution of things. Having acquired D&D Beyond, Wizards of the Coast now has, for the first time, a single common platform on which to distribute digital content for D&D—including what sounds like living rules updates over the next several years ahead of those new core rulebooks. (And it's also making an official 3D virtual tabletop tool.)

If you're interested in the future of Dungeons & Dragons, you can sign up for the One D&D public playtests at dndbeyond.com.

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August 18, 2022

An official digital toolset and virtual tabletop for playing Dungeons & Dragons is on the way. During an event today, Wizards of the Coast showed off some in-engine footage from the toolset's pre-alpha phase.

The software, which Wizards refers to as an "early-in-development D&D digital play experience," will work with the existing D&D Beyond digital tools and the updated ruleset on the way (which is basically D&D 5.5 Edition). Wizards says it will "offer players and Dungeon Masters full immersion and rich 3D creation tools."

The D&D digital play experience is being developed in Unreal Engine 5. Among other reasons, Wizards chose the engine to help "make it look dope," according designer Kale Stutzman in a video about One D&D, which is what Wizards is calling "the next generation of Dungeons & Dragons."

Aside from looking dope, the goal is to build an easy-to-use official virtual tabletop that will include "all the tools" needed to play a D&D adventure, and that will work together with other D&D tools developed for mobile and PC. You might buy a premade adventure on D&D Beyond, possibly bundled with a physical version, and get that playset on digital with terrain and NPCs, for example. You could then use it as-is or take it apart and reuse those digital assets and rules for custom scenarios.

The virtual playspaces are meant to look like sets for miniatures, not like real spaces.

"The tilt-shift camera was really chosen so that people understood that this wasn't a videogame, but it is a digital experience," said Wizards.

The isn't the first time Wizards of the Coast has attempted an online service, subscription, and digital toolset for D&D. The ill-fated D&D Insider, tools that used Microsoft Silverlight, and D&D Virtual Table were developed during the 4th Edition era, but after four years of teasers Virtual Table was cancelled before public release. That was in part due to low subscription numbers, but the number of active D&D players has grown by an order of magnitude in the 5th Edition era and shows no signs of stopping.

You can learn more about the digital toolset at DnDBeyond.com, and you can learn more about One D&D right here.

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August 18, 2022

For a few years now, Magic: The Gathering has been doing crossover sets with other worlds under the Universes Beyond and Secret Lair labels. We've recently seen adaptations like Street Fighter and Fortnite, while an upcoming set will explore the various Warhammer properties. None of these crossovers have ever reached past paper Magic and into the digital world of Magic: The Gathering Arena.

Next year, however, that changes. Upcoming set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will release sometime next summer, or "Q3 2023." Its release will bring the world of LOTR to a booster set that will appear not just on digital, but will be a set in Alchemy, the standard-equivalent ruleset of Arena. Wizards of the Coast previewed the set today during its Wizards Presents event.

Magic designers showed off a huge piece of art, planned to span 18 cards, that will be part of the larger booster release for Tales of Middle-earth. It's a tableau of The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the epic defense of Gondorian capital Minas Tirith from The Return of the King. Central to the tableau are characters like Aragorn—complete with flaming sword Anduril—warrior-maiden Eowyn, and an extremely Ralph Bakshi-inspired Witch King of Angmar.

The set is inspired by and drawn from the books, rather than later depictions, and there are a lot of characters you don't see in most other work. On the right you can see what may well be the knights of Dol Amroth, for example.

This image shows how the larger tableau will be cut up into 18 separate cards art. (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

The same art, sans card frames. (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Other artwork shared included characters like Frodo, holding the ring, and Gandalf facing down the Balrog of Moria, which will probably start some nerdfights because it's very notably not depicted as having wings.

(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Prepare for the "Do Balrogs have wings?" debate to return, at least for a bit. (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will be out next year for both Magic: The Gathering Arena and paper Magic: The Gathering.

In other Lord of the Rings related news, the commercial rights to the stories, including The Hobbit, have been purchased by Embracer Group. Seeing as Embracer also owns Wizards of the Coast tabletop games competitor Asmodee, this may well be the first and last time we see Lord of the Rings in Magic's Universes Beyond.

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August 18, 2022

More top Genshin Impact builds

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Genshin Impact Heizou build: Brawling detective
Genshin Impact Klee build: Little red bomber
Genshin Impact Kazuha build: Anemo ronin
Genshin Impact Yelan build: Hydro spy
Genshin Impact Kuki build: Loyal lieutenant

Dori is one of the new Genshin Impact characters set to arrive alongside the new Sumeru region in version 3.0. Although small in stature, this mercantile mastermind drives a hard bargain. Unlike Collei and Tighnari, the other two incoming Sumeru characters, Dori doesn't use the Dendro element that's arriving with the new jungle-filled region.

Since some of its new elemental reactions are Electro-based, though, she might still come in pretty handy. Dori is a four-star Electro claymore-user, meaning we have two four-stars and only one five-star currently arriving in version 3.0. This does seem a little strange, but perhaps there is also another as-of-yet unannounced five-star character on the way, so both of the four-stars will have a banner to use.

Here's what we know about Genshin Impact Dori, her possible release date, and her newly revealed abilities. She sounds like a pretty strong support character, truth be told, and her Lamp Spirit will likely make getting your bursts up that little bit easier.

Possible release date

What is the likely Dori release date?

Genshin Impact Dori will arrive in the second phase of version 3.0 which should arrive in the first half of September. This new four-star Electro character will be available through both Ganyu and Kokomi's banner reruns when they go live.

"No matter how rare the experimental materials are, you can buy them from Dori. I don't know where she gets her goods from..." — Tighnari◆ Dori◆ Treasure of Dream Garden◆ Sumeru Merchant◆ Electro◆ Magicae Lucerna#GenshinImpact #Sumeru pic.twitter.com/qLjPqzAevBJuly 11, 2022

Abilities

Dori's abilities

We actually already know Dori's abilities (Thanks Honey Hunter), though these may change or be tweaked a bit after the version 3.0 beta.

Normal Attack: Marvelous Sword-Dance
Normal	Perform three consecutive strikes.
Charged	Drains stamina to perform a continuous spin that ends in a powerful slash.
Plunging	Plunges to strike the ground causing AoE damage.

Elemental skill
Spirit Warding Lamp: Troubleshooter Cannon	Fires Troubleshooter Shots at opponents, dealing Electro damage. When Fixer Shots hit opponents they will create two After-Sales Service rounds that track opponents and deal Electro damage.

Elemental burst
Alcazarzaray's Exactitude	Summons a Lamp Spirit that connects to nearby characters, continuously restoring energy and HP based on Dori's max HP. When the Lamp Spirit connector touches opponents it deals Electro damage.

Passives
Unexpected Order	Has a 25 percent chance to recover character or weapon materials when crafting them.
An Eye for Gold	When a character connected to the Lamp Spirit triggers Electro-Charged, Superconduct, Overload, Quicken, Aggravate, or Spread reactions, the cooldown of Spirit Warding Lamp: Troubleshooter Cannon is decreased by one second.
Compound Interest	When Troubleshooter Shots or After-Sale Service rounds hit opponents, Dori will restore five elemental energy for every 100 percent energy recharge possessed. A max of 15 energy can be restored this way per skill use.

Constellations
Additional Investment	The number of After-Sales Service rounds is increased by one.
Special Franchise	When the Lamp Spirit heals a connected character, it will fire a Jinni Toop that deals 20 percent of Troubleshooter Shot's damage.
Value for Mora	Increases the level of Spirit Warding Lamp: Troubleshooter Shot by three. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
Discretionary Supplement	The character connected to the Lamp Spirit will gain 50 percent increased healing if HP is below 50 percent, and 30 percent increased energy recharge if energy is below 50 percent.
Wonders Never Cease	Increases the level of Alcazarzaray's Exactitude by three. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
Sprinkling Weight	When using Spirit Warding Lamp: Troubleshooter Cannon, Dori now gains Electro infusion, and her normal attacks heal 4 percent of her max HP for all party members. These effects last for three seconds.

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August 18, 2022

The heat may have broken where you are, but Fanatical's summer sale continues apace. If you're looking to beef up your library without emptying your wallet, you'll want to head over and see what they've got on offer.

But if you're overcome by choice paralysis, we've got you covered. Just like last week, we've picked out five of our favourites from Fanatical's wide catalogue of discounted games for your perusal. As ever, remember to grab everything you want before the sale concludes on August 21.

Top Pick: Resident Evil Village - 56% off

(Image credit: Capcom)

£21.99/$26.39 | Fanatical link

Resident Evil Village is an enthralling tale of a bumbling dad and the things that happen to his hands. It's also one of the finest survival horror experiences of the last few years, pitting you against a patchwork assemblage of lycanthropes, lunatics, a magnet guy, and—yes—a very tall vampire lady.

Village takes the humid, intimate horror of Resident Evil 7 and swaps it out for a more extravagant and traditional spooky story of monstrous aristocrats in an unnamed Eastern European village. The icky dread of the Bayou is traded in for a more action-packed adventure through the infinite perversions of Europe's lingering noble class, which have been a recipe for excellent horror for literal centuries. Which one you prefer is, of course, up to you, but we really liked Village here at PCG, scoring it a handsome 85% and praising its "strength and variety of ideas".

Prey - 77% off

(Image credit: Arkane Studios)

£5.74/$6.89 | Fanatical link

Arkane's confusingly-named opus takes all the open-endedness of the Dishonored games and transplants it into a big, unhappy space station. In my book, the mark of a great immersive sim is when your failure to overcome an obstacle feels like a failure of your imagination rather than talent or resources, and that's definitely the case here. Personally, I'm looking forward to Prey 2 almost as much as I once looked forward to Prey 2.

Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire - 80% off

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment)

£5.99/$7.99 | Fanatical link

Ask me what gets me up in the morning and I'll tell you it's the white heat of my anger that so few people played this game. PoE 2 takes the materialist history and interesting factions of New Vegas, the tactical combat and divergent character builds of Icewind Dale, and sets it all in a fantasy version of the golden age of piracy. It is a sumptuous-looking and sumptuously-written game and it's a steal at this price.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy - 56% off

(Image credit: Capcom)

£13.19/$13.19 | Fanatical link

Even if you've never laid hands on a Phoenix Wright game, you'll know its spiky-haired protagonist from the endless proliferation of "OBJECTION!" memes that get shared online everyday. But behind the meme-worthy antics is a classic puzzle game that splits its time evenly between crime scene investigation, courtroom chicanery, and some of the most anime nonsense you've ever seen.

Card Shark - 15% off

(Image credit: Nerial)

£14.27/$16.99 | Fanatical link

It's the 18th century, the industrial revolution is on its way, the Enlightenment is upending centuries-old moral norms, and the hot breath of revolution is on the aristocracy's neck. But you don't care about any of that; you're just a con artist out to take the blue bloods for everything they have in a series of increasingly elaborate scams. It's basically Barry Lyndon does Ocean's 11 and we liked it quite a bit.

Regency Solitaire - 75% off

(Image credit: Grey Alien Games)

£1.74/$2.49 | Fanatical link

Forget everything you've just read, Regency Solitaire is the real main pick here: the one that lives in our hearts. Regency Solitaire dares to ask, "What if Jane Austen's Lizzy Bennet played cards?" and answers it with a worryingly addictive solitaire sim that tells an unfolding love story across a series of solitaire games. Microsoft Solitaire has nothing on this.

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August 18, 2022

The Epic Games Store is still giving away free games each week throughout 2022. Completely free, no strings attached (except the one tied to Epic's storefront).

Even if you don't plan on playing these free offerings anytime soon, you might as well log in and add them to your library if you've got an Epic Store account. Keep checking in here to see what's free right now and what's coming in the future. We've also listed the full history of Epic's giveaways, so you can see what's already been given away.

For games that are free every week, check out our lists of best free PC games, best free games on Steam, and best browser games.

Epic Store free games right now

We're on the usual weekly schedule now for Epic's freebies, so keep an eye out for each week's new free choices.

Epic Games Store: What's free until August 25th

(Image credit: id Software / Nightdive Studios)

August 18 - August 25, 2022: Doom 64, Rumbleverse Boom Boxer Pack

Put the N64 emulator away, Doomslayers. Released on PC in 2020 to celebrate Doom's 25th anniversary, the enhanced version of 1997's Doom 64 has ripped and/or torn its way onto the Epic Game Store with updated visuals and controls, as well as the addition of new "Lost Levels." And while you're here, you can also snag some free stuff for Rumbleverse, the free-to-play battle royale brawler.

Epic Games Store free games: What's coming next?

August 25 - September 1, 2022: Ring of Pain

Epic free games List 2022

The Epic free games history

Did you miss a good deal by a few days, or months? Can't remember if a game has been offered in the past? Worry not, here's a complete list of previous free game offers from Epic for posterity.

August 11 - August 18, 2022: Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
August 4 - August 11, 2022: Unrailed
July 28 - August 4, 2022: Lawn Mowing Simulator
July 21 - July 28, 2022: Shop Titans, Tannenberg
July 14 - July 21, 2022: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
July 7 - July 14, 2022: Ancient Enemy, Killing Floor 2
June 30 - July 7, 2022: Geneforge 1: Mutagen, Hood: Outlaws & Legends, Iratus: Lord of the Dead
June 23 - June 30, 2022: Car Mechanic Simulator 2018, A Game Of Thrones: The Board Game Digital Edition
June 16 - June 23, 2022: Supraland
June 9 - June 16, 2022: Maneater
June 2 - June 9, 2022: Wolfenstein: The New Order
May 26 - June 2, 2022: BioShock: The Collection
May 19 - May 26, 2022: Borderlands 3
May 12 - May 19, 2022: Prey, Jotun: Valhalla Edition, Redout: Enhanced Edition
May 5 - May 12, 2022: Terraforming Mars
Apr 28 - May 5, 2022: Paradigm, Just Die Already
Apr 21 - Apr 28, 2022: Amnesia Rebirth, Riverbond
Apr 14 - Apr 21, 2022: XCOM 2, Insurmountable
Apr 07 - Apr 14, 2022: Rogue Legacy, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Mar 31 - April 7, 2022: Total War: Warhammer, City of Brass
Mar 24 - Mar 31, 2022: Demon's Tilt
Mar 17 - Mar 24, 2022: In Sound Mind
Mar 10 - Mar 17, 2022: Cities: Skylines
Mar 3 - Mar 10, 2022: Centipede: Recharged & Black Widow: Recharged
Mar 3 - Mar 10, 2022: Dauntless (Epic Slayer Kit)
Feb 24 - Mar 3, 2022: Cris Tales
Feb 17 - Feb 24, 2022: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Feb 10 - Feb 17, 2022: Windbound
Feb 3 - Feb 10, 2022: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
Jan 27 - Feb 3, 2022: DAEMON X MACHINA
Jan 20 - Jan 27, 2022: Relicta
Jan 13 - Jan 20, 2022: Galactic Civilizations 3
Jan 6 - Jan 13, 2022: Gods Will Fall

Epic free games List 2021

Dec 30, 2021: Tomb Raider Trilogy
Dec 29, 2021: Salt and Sanctuary
Dec 28, 2021: Moving Out
Dec 27, 2021: Mages of Mystralia
Dec 26, 2021: Control
Dec 25, 2021: Prey
Dec 24, 2021: Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Dec 23, 2021: Vampyr
Dec 22, 2021: Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Dec 21, 2021: Second Extinction
Dec 20, 2021: Loop Hero
Dec 19, 2021: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Dec 18, 2021: Remnant: From the Ashes
Dec 17, 2021: Neon Abyss
Dec 16, 2021: Shenmue 3
Dec 9, - Dec 16, 2021: Prison Architect
Dec 9, - Dec 16, 2021: Godfall Challenger Edition
Dec 2 - Dec 9, 2021: Dead by Daylight
Dec 2 - Dec 9, 2021: while True: learn()
Nov 25 - Dec 2, 2021: Antstream - Epic Welcome Pack
Nov 25 - Dec 2, 2021: The Hunter: Call of the Wild
Nov 18 - Nov 25, 2021: Guild of Dungeoneering
Nov 18 - Nov 25, 2021: KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION
Nov 18 - Nov 25, 2021: Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)
Nov 11 - Nov 18, 2021: Rogue Company Season Four Epic Pack
Nov 9 - Nov 16, 2021: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-shot Adventure
Nov 4 - Nov 11, 2021: Aven Colony
Oct 28 - Nov 4, 2021: DARQ: Complete Edition
Oc 21 - Oc 28, 2021: Among the Sleep
Oct 14 - Oct 21, 2021: Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
Oct 7 - Oct 14, 2021: PC Building Simulator
Sep 30 - Oct 7, 2021: Europa Universalis IV
Sep 23 - Sep 30, 2021: The Escapists
Sep 16 - Sep 23, 2021: Tharsis
Sep 16 - Sep 23, 2021: Speed Brawl
Sep 9 - Sep 16, 2021: Sheltered
Sep 2 - Sep 9, 2021: Yoku's Island Express
Aug 26 - Sep 2, 2021: Saints Row: The Third Remastered
Aug 26 - Sep 2, 2021: Automachef
Aug 19 - Aug 26, 2021: Yooka-Laylee
Aug 19 - Aug 26, 2021: Void Bastards
Aug 12 - Aug 19, 2021: Rebel Galaxy
Aug 5 - Aug 12, 2021: Minit
Aug 5 - Aug 12, 2021: A Plague Tale: Innocence
Jul 29 - Aug 5, 2021: Train Sim World 2
Jul 29 - Aug 5, 2021: Mothergunship
Jul 22 - Jul 29, 2021: Verdun
Jul 22 - Jul 29, 2021: Defense Grid: The Awakening
Jul 15 - Jul 22, 2021: Obduction
Jul 15 - Jul 22, 2021: Offworld Trading Company
Jul 8 - Jul 15, 2021: Ironcast
Jul 8 - Jul 15, 2021: Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead
Jul 1 - Jul 8, 2021: The Spectrum Retreat
Jun 24 - Jul 1, 2021: Sonic Mania
Jun 24 - Jul 1, 2021: Horizon Chase Turbo
Jun 17 - Jun 24, 2021: Overcooked 2
Jun 17 - Jun 24, 2021: Hell is other demons
Jun 10 - Jun 17, 2021: Control
Jun 3 - Jun 10, 2021: Frostpunk
May 27 - Jun 3, 2021: Among Us
May 20 - May 27, 2021: NBA 2K21
May 13 - May 20, 2021: The Lion's Song
May 6 - May 13, 2021: Pine
Apr 29 - May 6, 2021: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms
Apr 22 - Apr 29, 2021: Alien: Isolation
Apr 22 - Apr 29, 2021: Hand Of Fate 2
Apr 15 - Apr 22, 2021: Deponia: The Complete Journey
Apr 15 - Apr 22, 2021: Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
Apr 15 - Apr 22, 2021: The First Tree
Apr 8 - Apr 15, 2021: 3 out of 10: Season Two
Apr 1 - Apr 8, 2021: Tales of the Neon Sea
Mar 25 - Apr 1, 2021: Creature in the Well
Mar 18 - Mar 25, 2021: The Fall
Mar 11 - Mar 18, 2021: Surviving Mars
Mar 4 - Mar 11, 2021: Wargame: Red Dragon
Feb 25 - Mar 4, 2021: Sunless Sea
Feb 18 - Feb 25, 2021: Rage 2
Feb 18 - Feb 25, 2021: Absolute Drift
Febr 11 - Feb 18, 2021: Halcyon 6
Feb 4 - Feb 11, 2021: Metro: Last Light Redux
Feb 4 - Feb 11, 2021: For The King
Jan 28 - Feb 4, 2021: Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition
Jan 21 - Jan 28, 2021: Galactic Civilizations 3
Jan 14 - Jan 21, 2021: Star Wars Battlefront 2
Jan 7 - Jan 14, 2021: Crying Suns

Epic free games List 2020

Dec 31, 2020 - Jan 7 2021: Jurassic World Evolution
December 30, 2020: Torchlight 2
December 29, 2020: Solitairica
December 28, 2020: Stranded Deep
December 27, 2020: Night In The Woods
December 26, 2020: My Time At Portia
December 25, 2020: Darkest Dungeon
December 24, 2020: Inside
December 23, 2020: Tropico 5
December 22, 2020: Metro: Redux
December 21, 2020: Alien Isolation
December, 20, 2020: Defense Grid: The Awakening
December 19, 2020: The Long Dark
December 18, 2020: Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
December 17, 2020: Cities: Skylines
Dec 10 - Dec17, 2020: Pillars of Eternity
Dec 10 - Dec 17, 2020: Tyranny
Dec 3 - Dec 10, 2020: Cave Story+
Nov 26 - Dec 3, 2020: MudRunner
Nov 19 - Nov 26, 2020: Elite: Dangerous
Nov 19 - Nov 26, 2020: The World Next Door
Nov 12 - Nov 19, 2020: The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia
Nov 5 - Nov 12, 2020: Dungeons 3
Oct 29 - Nov 5, 2020: Blair Witch
Oct 29 - Nov 5, 2020: Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered
Oct 22 - Oct 29, 2020: Layers Of Fear 2
Oct 22 - Oct 29, 2020: Costume Quest 2
Oct 15 - Oct 22, 2020: Kingdom: New Lands
Oct 15 - Oct 22, 2020: Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs
Oct 8 - Oct 15, 2020: Rising Storm 2: Vietnam
Oct 8 - Oct 15, 2020: Abzu
Oct 1 - Oct 8, 2020: Pikuniku
Sep 24 - Oct 1, 2020: RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition
Sep 17 - Sep 24, 2020: Watch Dogs 2
Sep 17 - Sep 24, 2020: Stick It To The Man!
Sep 17 - Sep 24, 2020: Football Manager 2020
Sep 10 - Sep 17, 2020: Railway Empire
Sep 10 - Sep 17, 2020: Where The Water Tastes Like Wine
Sep 3 - Sep 10, 2020: Into The Breach
Aug 27 - Sep 3, 2020: Shadowrun Collection
Aug 27 - Sep 3, 2020: Hitman
Aug 20 - Aug 27, 2020: God's Trigger
Aug 20 - Aug 27, 2020: Enter The Gungeon
Aug 13 - Aug 20, 2020: Remnant: From the Ashes
Aug 13 - Aug 20, 2020: The Alto Collection
August 13, 2020: A Total War Saga: Troy
Aug 6 - Aug 13, 2020: Wilmot's Warehouse
Aug 6 - Aug 13, 2020: 3 Out of 10 Episode 1
Jul 30 - Aug 6, 2020: 20XX
Jul 30 - Aug 6, 2020: Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP
Jul 30 - Aug 6, 2020: Barony
Jul 23 - Jul 30, 2020: Next Up Hero
Jul 23 - Jul 30, 2020: Tacoma
Jul 16 - Jul 23, 2020: Torchlight II
Jul 9 - Jul 16, 2020: Lifeless Planet: Premier Edition
Jul 9 - Jul 16, 2020: Killing Floor 2
Jul 9 - Jul 16, 2020: The Escapists 2
Jul 2 - Jul 9, 2020: Hue
Jun 25 - Jul 2, 2020: Stranger Things 3: The Game
Jun 25 - Jul 2, 2020: AER: Memories of Old
Jun 18 - Jun 25, 2020: Pathway
Jun 11 - Jun 18, 2020: Ark: Survival Evolved
Jun 11 - Jun 18, 2020: Samurai Shodown Neogeo Collection
Jun 4 - Jun 11, 2020: Overcooked
May 28 - Jun 4, 2020: Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
May 21 - May 28, 2020: Civilization 6
May 14 - May 21, 2020: Grand Theft Auto 5
May 7 - May 14, 2020: Death Coming
Apr 30 - May 7, 2020: Crashlands
Apr 30 - May 7, 2020: Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Apr 23 - Apr 30, 2020: For The King
Apr 16 - Apr 23, 2020: Wheels of Aurelia
Apr 16 - Apr 23, 2020: Just Cause 4
Apr 9 - Apr 16, 2020: Close to the Sun
Apr 9 - Apr 16, 2020: Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments
Apr 2 - Apr 9, 2020: Drawful 2
Apr 2 - Apr 9, 2020: Gone Home
Apr 2 - Apr 9, 2020: Hob
Apr 1 - Apr 8, 2020: Totally Reliable Delivery Service
Mar 26 - Apr 2, 2020: World War z
Ma 26 - Apr 2, 2020: Torment x Punisher
Mar 26 - Apr 2, 2020: Figment
Mar 19 - Mar 26, 2020: The Stanley Parable
Mar 19 - Mar 26, 2020: Watch Dogs
Mar 12 - Mar 19, 2020: Mutazione
Mar 12 - Mar 19, 2020: A Short Hike
Mar 12 - Mar 19, 2020: Anodyne 2
Mar 5 - Mar 12, 2020: GoNNER
Mar 5 - Mar 12, 2020: Offworld Trading Company
Feb 27 - Mar 5, 2020: Inner Space
Feb 20 - Feb 27, 2020: Faeria
Feb 20 - Feb 27, 2020: Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Feb 13 - Feb 20, 2020: Aztez
Feb 13 - Feb 20, 2020: Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Feb 5 - Feb 13, 2020: Carcassonne
Feb 6 - Feb 13, 2020: Ticket To Ride
Jan 30 - Feb 6, 2020: Farming Simulator 19
Jan 23 - Jan 30, 2020: The Bridge
Jan 16 - Jan 23, 2020: Horace
Jan 9 - Jan 16, 2020: Sundered: Eldritch Edition
Jan 1 - Jan 9, 2020: Darksiders Warmastered Edition
Jan 1 - Jan 9, 2020: Darksiders 2 Dethinitive Edition
Jan 1 - Jan 9, 2020: Steep

Epic free games List 2019

Dec 31, 2019 - Jan 1, 2020: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
Dec 30 - Dec 31, 2019: Hello Neighbor
Dec 29 - Dec 30, 2019: Talos Principle
Dec 28 - Dec 29, 2019: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Dec 27 - Dec 28, 2019: Hyper Light Drifter
Dec 26 - Dec 27, 2019: FTL: Faster Than Light
Dec 25 - Dec 26, 2019: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
Dec 24 - Dec 25, 2019: Celeste
Dec 23 - Dec 24, 2019: Ape Out
Dec 22 - Dec 23, 2019: Little Inferno
Dec 21 - Dec 22, 2019: Superhot
Dec 20 - Dec 21, 2019: Towerfall Ascension
Dec 19 - Dec 20, 2019: Into The Breach
Dec 12 - Dec 19, 2019: The Escapists
Dec 12 - Dec 19, 2019: The Wolf Among Us
Dec 6 - Dec 12, 2019: Jotun: Valhalla Edition
Nov 29 - Dec 6, 2019: Rayman Legends
Nov 21 - Nov 29, 2019: Bad North
Nov 14 - Nov 21, 2019: The Messenger
Nov 7 - Nov 14, 2019: Nuclear Throne
Nov 7 - Nov 14, 2019: Ruiner
Oct 31 - Nov 7, 2019: SOMA
Oct 31 - Nov 7, 2019: Costume Quest
Oct 24 - Oct 31, 2019: Q.U.B.E.2
Oct 24 - Oct 31, 2019: Layers of Fear
Oct 17 - Oct 24, 2019: Observer
Oct 17 - Oct 24, 2019: Alan Wake: American Nightmare
Oct 10 - Oct 17, 2019: Surviving Mars
Oct 3 - Oct 10, 2019: Minit
Sep 26 - Oct 3, 2019: Everything
Sep 26 - Oct 3, 2019: Metro 2033 Redux
Sep 19 - Sep 26, 2019: Batman: Arkham Collection
Sep 19 - Sep 26, 2019: Lego Batman Trilogy
Sep 12 - Sep 19, 2019: Conarium
Sep 5 - Sep 12, 2019: The End Is Nigh
Sep 5 - Sep 12, 2019: Abzu
Aug 29 - Sep 5, 2019: Celeste
Aug 29 - Sep 5, 2019: Inside
Aug 22 - Aug 29, 2019: Fez
Aug 15 - Aug 22, 2019: Hyper Light Drifter
Aug 15 - Aug 22, 2019: Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden
Aug 8 - Aug 15, 2019: GNOG
Aug 2 - Aug 9, 2019: For Honor
Aug 2 - Aug 9, 2019: Alan Wake
Jul 25 - Aug 2, 2019: Moonlighter
Jul 25 - Aug 2, 2019: This War of Mine
Jul 18 - Jul 25, 2019: Limbo
Jul 11 - Jul 18, 2019: Torchlight
Jul 4 - Jul 11, 2019: Overcooked
Jun 27 - Jul 4, 2019: Last Day of June
Jun 20 - Jun 27, 2019: Rebel Galaxy
Jun 13 - Jun 20, 2019: Enter The Gungeon
Jun 6 - Jun 13, 2019: Kingdom New Lands
May 30 - Jun 6, 2019: City of Brass
May 23 - May 30, 2019: Rime
May 16 - May 30, 2019: Stories Untold
May 2 - May 16, 2019: World of Goo
Apr 18 - May 2, 2019: Transistor
Apr 4 - Apr 18, 2019: The Witness
Mar 21 - Apr 4, 2019: Oxenfree
Mar 7 - Mar 21, 2019: Slime Rancher
Feb 21 - Mar 7, 2019: Thimbleweed Park
Feb 7 - Feb 21, 2019: Axiom Verge
Jan 24 - Feb 7, 2019: The Jackbox Party Pack
Jan 11 - Jan 24, 2019: What Remains of Edith Finch
Dec 28, 2018 - Jan 10, 2019: Super Meat Boy
Dec 12 - Dec 27, 2018: Subnautica

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August 18, 2022

I never expected to like the new Roccat Kone XP. Especially not as much as I do. With greater concerns over environmental change, pandemics, and rising inflation, news of yet another over-the-top RGB gaming mouse from Roccat is not exactly what I think the world really needs right now.

Gosh darn it though, Roccat has managed to make one of the best gaming mice you can buy and thanks to a few tricks, it's also a great productivity mouse too.

Let’s start with the price—$75 (£80, AU$150) classifies the Kone XP as a mid-range mouse but I can assure you there’s much more to this mouse than its absurdly cool 3D RGB lighting. Roccat has managed to craft one of the most ergonomic rodents I’ve ever used. Granted, that really depends on the size of your mitts and grip style but for me at least, nothing has felt this good in hand for a very long time.

I found that whether I use a claw or palm grip when playing Destiny 2 or mindlessly scrolling Twitter, the Kone XP feels just right. At 102g, it's far from lightweight but the overall feel in hand is light enough for quick flicks but heavy enough for precise movements outside of gaming. The Kone XP's back arches just high enough to fill out the cradle of your palm while the textured thumb well and its flared-out "Easy-Shift" paddle gives the right support.

The Kone Pro has plenty of buttons—15 to be exact and they're all programmable. There are four thumb buttons positioned perfectly where I don’t have to contort my thumb painfully just to use them. The same goes for the two DPI buttons embedded into the left mouse button which are surprisingly easy to use and potentially more so than the thumb buttons.

The brilliantly lit and tactile Krystal 4D Wheel is translucent, which is great for RGB but also allows you to click it left, right, or down for additional functions. Behind the wheel is a profile switch to cycle through the custom profiles you’ve created and saved in the Roccat Swarm software. Lastly, and most importantly, are the main left and right mouse buttons that sit on top of Roccat’s Titan Optical switches. They are crisp, clicky, and responsive with no distracting key wobble.

Roccat Kone XP specs

(Image credit: Future)

DPI: 19,000
Sensor: Roccat Eye-Owl
Interface: USB
Buttons: 11
Ergonomic: Right-handed
Weight: 102g
Price: $75 | £80 | AU$150

Roccat says you can map 29 possible functions to the Kone XP and that’s largely thanks to the Easy-Shift functionality. Press your thumb down on the paddle and it acts as a shift key that doubles all the button functions.

It's really up to your imagination how you set this up and the Swarm software makes it very easy to do. I loved having my media controls available on Easy-Shift so that scrolling adjusted volume, clicking skipped tracks, and the DPI buttons on the front made quick work of copy and paste. It’s no Logitech MX Master 3 but with patience, you can get the Kone XP almost there.

Complimenting the versatile button functionality is an excellent 19K DPI Roccat Owl-Eye optical sensor with 50G acceleration. It’s not the highest number in the mouse world today, but let’s be real, can you really tell the difference? I certainly can’t. The PTFE feet on the bottom let the mouse glide effortlessly on most surfaces while the lightweight PhantomFlex cable never gets in the way of speedy flicks and swipes.

But of course, the biggest showstopper of the Kone XP is without a doubt the 3D RGB AIMO Lighting. The whole top of the shell is made of translucent plastic which is perfect for showing off what the insane 22 individual LEDs can do. These are grouped into 8 guidelines, four on each side, allowing for some truly mesmerizing RGB light shows. I’ve seen a lot of gaming mice but nothing comes remotely close.

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Roccat Kone XP gaming mouse (Image credit: Future)

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Roccat Kone XP gaming mouse (Image credit: Future)

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Roccat Kone XP gaming mouse (Image credit: Future)

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Roccat Kone XP gaming mouse (Image credit: Future)

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Roccat Kone XP gaming mouse (Image credit: Future)

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Roccat Kone XP gaming mouse (Image credit: Future)

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Roccat Kone XP gaming mouse (Image credit: Future)

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Roccat Kone XP gaming mouse (Image credit: Future)

While the lighting might be a bit much for some, you can always change things up in the Swarm software but you don’t have too many options and you can’t create your own effects from scratch. That said, whatever you choose, the lighting is bold and bright thanks to the never-ending power supply from your PC or laptop.

Putting it all together, the Roccat Kone XP is a fantastic wired gaming mouse and an easy recommendation. It ever so slightly bests the Razer Basilisk V3 but undoubtedly trumps it in the RGB department. It's great for fast-paced shooters or complex MOBA while still being perfect for productivity work.

The build quality is excellent and the 3D RGB lighting looks way better in person than you'd think. There’s only one reason why you shouldn’t buy it and that's the new wireless Kone XP Air. However, if you don’t want the bother of dongles, battery lives, and the added weight, then this wired Kone XP is hard to beat.

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August 18, 2022

Riot has announced that it has entered a longterm partnership with the luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co. to make the League of Legends World Championship Trophy. The Summoner's Cup, as it is called, has been redesigned by the venerable New York firm, and will be fully shown off for the first time on August 29 on various Riot social channels (you can see a partial image below).

Tiffany & Co. is a famous longstanding jewellery brand, headquartered in New York City and founded in 1837 by the jeweller Charles Lewis Tiffany. Over its history the company has not only flogged a lot of diamond engagement rings, but branched-out into other high-end goods and operates hundreds of stores worldwide. Tiffany & Co. has an old-world cachet as well as having designed plenty of more traditional sporting trophies, and first worked with Riot on something of a trial run in redesigning the Chinese LoL league's Silver Dragon Cup last year.

"The Summoner’s Cup is a symbol of greatness in esports and the crowning achievement in League of Legends," says Riot's LoL esports lead Naz Aletaha. "[...] Tiffany & Co is a storied brand and the preeminent designer of the world's greatest sports trophies. We’re honored to partner with them to celebrate our past, present, and future World Champions.”

The press release also has numbers! The new Summoner's Cup is made of sterling silver, weighs 44 pounds and stands at around 27 inches tall. Tiffany's designers spent four months working on it and 'expert artisans' spent 277 hours crafting it at a hollowware workshop in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

"We are excited to continue our partnership with League of Legends esports" said Tiffany's Alexandre Arnault, while thumbing through a wad of hundred-dollar bills. I made up the bills. "Creating the Summoner’s Cup is another important moment for Tiffany in the world of esports and an exciting new chapter in our 160-year legacy handcrafting sports trophies."

(Image credit: Riot)

The League of Legends World Championship returns to North America this Autumn for the first time since 2016, with a multi-city tour format. Qualifying rounds begin in late September with the Worlds Final taking place on November 5 in San Francisco. The Worlds event is serious business, and grows its enormous audience every year: the 2021 Finals match averaging more than 30 million viewers a minute and over 73 million peak concurrents.

In the wider LoL landscape, Riot is still working on a long-term goal to "slow the pace of combat" in the game, and also recently added all League champions and Valorant agents to Game Pass. The future for Riot looks incredibly bright, and things like this trophy are a bit of well-deserved showing off.

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August 18, 2022

More top Genshin Impact builds

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Genshin Impact Heizou build: Brawling detective
Genshin Impact Klee build: Little red bomber
Genshin Impact Kazuha build: Anemo ronin
Genshin Impact Yelan build: Hydro spy
Genshin Impact Kuki build: Loyal lieutenant

Looking for the best Genshin Impact Zhongli build before his rerun in version 3.0? This is the third time that the Geo Archon is returning to Genshin Impact. Even eight months after his last banner, he's pretty much one of the best shielders in the game, and his Planet Befall burst can still do decent damage, while also hurling a literal asteroid at enemies.

Zhongli is still the linchpin of many Geo teams due to his Stone Stele Geo construct and how it resonates with others, like Ningguang's Jade Screen, Albedo's Solar Isotoma, and even Itto's little bull friend, Ushi. All in all, this can create some incredibly powerful Geo character combinations. So if you're on the prowl for a good Genshin Impact Zhongli build, as well as info about abilities and ascension materials, look no further.

Builds

The best Genshin Impact Zhongli build

Zhongli is the best shielder in Genshin Impact. The Jade Shield he creates with his elemental skill scales with his HP in terms of strength, but also Fortifies when hit by up to 25% strength once you unlock his Resonant Waves passive. His Dominance of Earth passive also boosts damage output based on his max HP, making him a pretty amazing hybrid support/DPS.

Support/sub-DPS

Weapon: Staff of Homa

Sadly, Zhongli's signature weapon, Vortex Vanquisher, isn't actually very good for him. However, Hu Tao's polearm is pretty much perfect. The Staff of Homa boosts HP by 20% and grants an attack boost based on 0.8% of the wielder's max HP. If their health ever drops below 50%, that boost is increased by 1%.

As you'd imagine, the HP boost increases Zhongli's damage and shield strength, and the attack boost based on HP stacks nicely with what he already gets from his Dominance of Earth passive.

Artifacts: (2) Archaic Petra (2) Noblesse Oblige

Two-pieces of Archaic Petra buffs Geo damage by 15%, which strengthens Zhongli's burst and skill. Speaking of bursts, two-pieces of Noblesse Oblige increase burst damage by 20%. This allows Zhongli to be more of an all round damage-dealer.

In terms of substats, you'll want to prioritise HP due to that shield strength and damage increase, and also Geo damage bonus if you have an artifact with the relevant stat.

How to unlock

(Image credit: miHoYo)

How to get Zhongli in Genshin Impact

Zhongli is returning for a banner rerun in phase one of version 3.0 on August 24, with one of the new Dendro characters, Collei as a boosted four-star alternative.

The Geo Archon originally released back in version 1.1 on the Gentry of Hermitage banner, before returning in version 1.5 alongside the release of the Azhdaha boss. Then Zhongli was available during his third rerun back in January, where you could wish for him alongside Ganyu to celebrate the return of the Liyue Lantern Rite event.

Abilities

Zhongli's abilities

Here are Zhongli's abilities, passives, and Constellations:

Normal attack: Rain of Stone
Normal Attack:	Zhongli performs six rapid strikes in quick succession.
Charged Attack:	Zhongli lurches forwards, causing stone spears to drop behind him. Costs some stamina.
Plunging Attack:	Zhongli slams down with a strong attack.

Elemental Skill
Dominus Lapidis	Zhongli forms a stone stele, dealing AoE Geo damage. This attack becomes stronger if other Geo elements are nearby. If charged, this skill creates a jade shield, which absorbs damage, with better absorption for Geo damage.

Elemental Burst
Planet Befall	Zhongli summons a meteor, dealing Geo damage and applying Petrification. Gets stronger as Zhongli’s health increases.

Passives
Resonant Waves:	Jade shield will Fortify when damaged, gaining a 5% increase in shield strength. Can stack five times.
Dominance Of Earth:	Planet Befall gets a damage boost equal to 33% of Zhongli’s max HP.
Arcanum Of Crystal:	Refunds 15% ore when crafting Polearms.

Constellations
Rock, the Backbone of Earth:	Allows Zhongli to create two stone stele’s at once.
Stone, the Cradle of Jade:	Planet Befall grants nearby allies a jade shield.
Jade, Shimmering through Darkness:	Increases Dominus Lapidis’ level by 3.
Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless:	Increases Planet Befall’s AoE damage by 20%, and increases Petrification’s duration by two seconds.
Lazuil, Herald of the Order:	Increases Planet Befall’s level by 3.
Chyros, Bounty of Dominator:	40% of damage taken by jade shield becomes health regeneration for active party members.

Ascension materials

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Zhongli's Ascension materials

Character

You're going to need Prithava Topaz, the Geo character ascension material, in order to upgrade Zhongli's level cap. You can get this from any Geo boss, but you'll want to fight the Geo Hypostatis in the Guyun Stone Forest in Liyue, as this will also give you the Basalt Pillars he needs. On top of this, you'll need a couple of world materials:

Cor Lapis
Slime materials

You can get Cor Lapis all across Liyue, though particularly on Mt. Hulao and all across Jueyun Karst. There's a complete location list on the official Genshin Impact map. Slime materials, on the other hand, come from fighting Slimes and you should already have lots of them.

If not, you can find them everywhere, or fight them as part of Mondstadt's Blossoms of Wealth and Wisdom if you want to farm Mora and EXP materials at the same time.

Talent

Here's what you're going to need to ascend Zhongli's talents:

Gold scrolls
Slime materials
Tusk of Monoceros Caeli
Crown of Insight

You can get Gold scrolls from the Taishan Mansion Domain on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Slime materials, as mentioned, come from Slimes. The Tusk of Monoceros Caeli is dropped by the Childe boss, or crafted from his other boss materials at the Alchemy Bench with Dream Solvent.

Finally, Crowns of Insight come from upgrading the Frostbearing Tree in Dragonspine, the Sacred Sakura in Inazuma, or doing seasonal events such as 'Fleeting Colours in Flight' in version 2.4.

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August 18, 2022

What would superhero universes look like if the superheroes... well, lost? It's an avenue not often explored, but it's what the team behind deckbuilder Hand of Fate is looking to do with its newest game Capes.

The tactical RPG looks at the bleak world of supervillain supremacy, where they managed to wipe out the good guys two decades prior and have since wreaked a fair bit of havoc. But now the new generation of superheroes are all grown up, ready to reclaim the city from the various baddies that have set up shop. It's a fun premise, and I'd be interested to see how a band of green champions can stand up against veteran ne'er-do-wells.

The trailer gives a good glimpse of what can be expected. There'll be a whole slew of superheroes to recruit, with the developer promising some neat diversity in powers as well as "ethnicities, genders, hopes, and dreams." The turn-based combat will have the heroes rescuing civilians from debris and taking on the bad guys throughout a series of missions. You'll be able to combine powers to create new and deadly attacks as well as upgrade stats and efficiencies to make your team even more powerful. If you're a fan of XCOM or Divinity, Capes may be right up your alley.

Capes is set to release on Steam in early 2023.

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August 18, 2022

The Xbox Adaptive Controller has proven itself a tremendously useful device for anyone with limited mobility to game without compromise. So much so that Nintendo may have been eyeing up its own version of the accessibility controller, with a view to making it platform agnostic.

Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has spoken about the possibility of such a controller in an interview with Inverse (via TechRadar).

"Imagine an adaptive controller that you could play with your latest Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo platform. That's what we were working on three years ago."

Fils-Aimé left Nintendo in 2019 and cannot say for sure whether Nintendo still has hopes of creating such a controller. He notes that he would like to see it reach the market sooner rather than later, however.

"My hope is that the effort has continued. I'm not sure if it has or has not," Fils-Aimé says. "But also, my hope is that controller, and the ability for that controller to connect with all of the various systems, is launched and shared with consumers as quickly as possible."

There is a XAC-like device that works with Nintendo Switch already: the Hori Flex Assistive Controller pictured above. The device isn't quite as cheap as the $99 XAC, though it will also function with a PC, so it's another option for owners of either platform. While initially available solely in Japan, it now appears available elsewhere, too. The Hori Flex is actually an officially licensed Nintendo product, though whether that means anything for the development of an accessibility controller from Nintendo itself, I can't say.

Meanwhile, the Xbox Adaptive Controller has been well-received for its role in simplifying bespoke controller setups on PC and Xbox since its release in 2018. Though Microsoft told us last year that it is still "figuring out the benefits" of the controller and where to go next to improve accessibility in gaming. That includes working with developers to improve in-game accessibility options, and there's still plenty of work to do.

It now appears the XAC is headed to Linux, too. So that's one more potential platform where it can do some good.

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August 18, 2022

Elden Ring was released on February 25 this year and, just under six months later, publisher Bandai Namco has announced it's sold a staggering 16.6 million copies of the game. This makes it by far the biggest individual success in developer FromSoft's history: the Dark Souls series has sold a combined total of around 27 million, while the most recent figure for Sekiro was 5 million copies sold as of summer 2020.

Clearly the mass market loves some demigod runes and a bit of body grafting. The news came as part of Bandai Namco's financial results (thanks, Gamebiz.jp) for the first financial quarter of 2023 (meaning April through June 2022), which show that the Japanese giant is in rude health: it reported videogame sales totalling ¥40.5 billion yen, a roughly 55% year-on-year increase, with 11,444,000 units sold over these three months.

Despite such sales, the publisher forecasts an overall drop in profit over this financial year. This is explained by both ongoing development investments and the lack of 'big' game launches it has over this time. Though, if Elden Ring continues to sell like this, the final picture may be a lot rosier. Investors certainly seem to think so, with the publisher's stock having risen to and held its highest-ever level (¥11,200 a share) since these results were published.

Sadly, the dry-as-dust numbers report didn't contain anything more juicy like, I don't know, a hint about the inevitable Elden Ring DLC. The game may be enormous but folk are slavering at the chops for a bit more of that Lands Between goodness: to the extent we've even seen a few fake 'leaks' of DLC titles and logo art. FromSoftware has developed some of the best DLC I've ever had the privilege to play (hello, The Old Hunters) and, with 17-odd million players and counting, the question with Elden Ring DLC is not if, but when.

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August 18, 2022

With a name like a long-lost Japanese tokusatsu series and a slavish dedication to a 16-bit aesthetic, Blazing Chrome developers JoyMasher are at it again. They've just announced their fourth game, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider, an action platformer the the kind of 16-bit style that would have been right at home on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, or even the glowing backlit screen of a Game Gear.

In Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider you'll play the eponymous Moonrider, a super soldier who turns against the evil government that created it and fights for its overthrow. It's an action platformer that draws from the classic era of action platforming, with the creators citing Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi as inspirations.

Like Blazing Chrome, JoyMasher will partner with indie publisher The Arcade Crew to help Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider along. Yes, I'm going to type out the entire title Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider as many times as I can because 1) I think it's an evocative title with some nice words in it and 2) while they're badass words it's still really unwieldy as a phrase.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider (I didn't lie) will be a bit more than you might expect from the precise inspirations, though. As you fight through its stages you'll be able to find hidden modifier chips that customize your Moonrider's fighting style to get new or upgraded abilities, promising more advanced gameplay than the older action platformers it draws on and mimics. That'll help your unlikely hero succeed, I hope, in their "relentless battle for vengeance against its creators and fellow super soldiers."

Which is kind of the draw here as well, isn't it? Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider looks nice. At the very least it definitely has the gorgeous, deep pixel art that characterized Blazing Chrome's world—though here's it's applied to a much bleaker, quite literally darker setting. The cutscenes wouldn't be amiss in a Robocop game, invoking as they do a world where "authoritarians have built super soldiers as weapons of war, but their creators have sealed their fate by bringing the warrior known as Moonrider online."

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I don't normally put the logo cards in galleries but COME ON that one rules. (Image credit: JoyMasher and The Arcade Crew)

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