Activision Wants You To Share Your Call Of Duty Loadout On Instagram

Loadouts have become an increasingly important part of the Call of Duty series over the past two years. Players can create their ideal weapon in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone by equipping attachments, camos, charms, stickers, and more with the Gunsmith feature. Activision wants players go further with their creations and share their loadouts on social media.

The publisher’s patent for “systems and methods for customizing weapons and sharing customized weapons via social networks” was approved on November 17. The patent, credited to Treyarch lead multiplayer developer David J. Vonderhaar, indicates that a new tool that helps players share their custom weapons on social networks like Twitter and Instagram may be coming in the future.

Loadout and Gunsmith systems are mainstays of recent Call of Duty games.
Loadout and Gunsmith systems are mainstays of recent Call of Duty games.

The patent goes in depth about what the new sharing system might feature, including the ability to challenge other players to beat your best scores and records. “According to an aspect of the invention, the sharing engine may further enable a player to issue challenges to one or more other video game player,” the patent reads. “To obtain or exceed certain player performance statistics, weapon usage statistics, or ratings, and/or achieve other objectives using a given weapon configuration.”

The existence of a patent doesn’t mean that the feature is coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War or Warzone, but it does make it more likely. Patents are uncovered all the time in the video game industry, but the inventions they cover don’t always see the light of day.

Call of Duty developers split loadout functionality between Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare earlier in November. Players now have the ability to make ten custom loadouts for each game, giving them more content to share on social media if Treyarch follows through on this patent.

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The Best Apple Watch Deals This Week

Getting an Apple Watch opens up a whole new world, where all the tools and apps you need are only a glance away, all while looking like a relatively stylish accessory and not some gaudy appliance. Amazon and Walmart are running some of the best deals on Apple Watches this week, meaning you can finally snag one for a little less than you otherwise would have had to shell out.

Wev’e rounded up all the best Apple Watch deals we can find and listed them out below. Make sure to check out Walmart’s great 40% discount on the Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS.

You can also check out the best Black Friday deals on all Apple products, including iPads, AirPods, Macbooks, iPhones, and more.

Best Apple Watch Deals at Amazon and Walmart

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If none of those deals strike your fancy, check out all the links below to see the rest of our Black Friday deals coverage. We’ve got the best deals for video games, gaming PCs, graphics cards, 4K TVs, and much more. You can also follow the IGN Deals Twitter account for live updates on stuff like PS5 availability.

More Black Friday Deals

Xbox Live Bug Let Hackers Access Gamertag Email Addresses

A bug in Xbox Live allowed hackers to find any email associated with a registered gamertag. The site used to report bad behavior in the Xbox online community was hiding a vulnerability that allowed hackers to snag user email addresses.

Motherboard reported that last week an anonymous hacker reached out to them claiming to be able to find the email attached to any Xbox gamertag. Motherboard verified the hacker’s claims by sending them two gamertags, one of which was created specifically for this testing. Within seconds the hacker sent back the email addresses these tags were registered with. Normally, these email addresses are supposed to be private. Another anonymous hacker told Motherboard that the bug could be found in the Xbox Live enforcement portal. This page is where players can contact the Microsoft team that monitors Xbox’s online communities.

Despite the apparent threat to customer security, Microsoft’s original response to this security breach was not exactly urgent. In an email response to Motherboard’s bug report, the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC for short) said, “An email may be considered sensitive information, however, since it provides nothing else to identify the issuer, is not something that meets MSRC bar for service. As such, MSRC is not tracking the issue and will leave it to the product group to determine a mitigation as needed.”

But on Tuesday a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that it “released an update to help protect customers.” One of the anonymous hackers who contacted Motherboard specifically requested that reporting on the leak not be published until after a fix had been made because it was “the easiest vulnerability I’ve ever found.” Ensuring such precautions are taken is important, even with information that’s not extremely delicate like email addresses. Hackers have a precedent of using these kinds of vulnerabilities to dox people, like in 2017 when they used a similar bug on Instagram and created a searchable database to dox celebrities.

Now Playing: Xbox Console Evolution: Xbox To Series X

Best Black Friday GameStop Nintendo Switch Deals

GameStop’s Black Friday deals on Nintendo games are among the best around. When live, they reflect some pretty unparalleled savings on games we’ve never seen offered at such low prices. GameStop’s Black Friday deals are quite good this year, and you also have the option to have a lot of the games and accessories delivered curbside at your local store, if you prefer.

You can read through this article, our Best Black Friday GameStop Deals post, and our Black Friday Mega Post to stay up-to-date on all the best Black Friday deals available.

GameStop Nintendo Switch Console Deals

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GameStop Nintendo Switch Game Deals

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GameStop Nintendo Switch Accessories Deals

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Best Steam Black Friday 2020 Game Deals

Celebrate Thanksgiving With The 13 Best Movies About Families

Celebrate Thanksgiving With The 13 Best Movies About Families – GameSpot

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Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company


Destiny 2 Cloudstrike Exotic Guide – How To Get The Thunderlord-Like Sniper Rifle

With the release of the Deep Stone Crypt raid in Destiny 2, a whole new crop of Exotic weapons and armor pieces are now available with the Beyond Light expansion. Some require completing quests to reach them, while others have their own prerequisites. With Cloudstrike, a powerful sniper rifle that zaps enemies with lightning, you’ll have to complete a few tasks before you can take a crack at earning the Exotic.

Cloudstrike is technically a random drop in the Empire Hunt activity on Europa, but you have to unlock your chance to nab it. Here’s everything you need to know so you can track down Cloudstrike and fill out your collection of new weapons.

While you’re hunting Cloudstrike, make sure to check out our guides to nab The Lament Exotic sword and the Salvation’s Grip Exotic grenade launcher.

Step 1: Complete The “A Hard Rain Falls” Mission

Variks, one of Europa’s quest-givers, has been dishing out special Sabotage bounties since the expansion was released. After the Deep Stone Crypt raid was added to the game, it became possible to access several that were previously hidden. First, though, you’ll need to knock out a story quest.

To do that, you’ll have to head to the Exo Stranger and pick up the story mission called A Hard Rain Falls. This is a reference to how the world has changed as a result of a team completing the Deep Stone Crypt raid. Because of the destruction of the orbital platform that’s part of the raid, one area of Europa becomes “eclipsed” every week. You’ll see which area is eclipsed when you check the Europa Director map. When an area is eclipsed, the Fallen and Darkness presence there increases, changing how things in the zone work slightly.

For our purposes, you just need to know that completing A Hard Rain Falls requires you to go to whatever area is eclipsed and complete events. Pick up kill enemies, pick up patrols, and complete Public Events. You’ll get the best progress on the mission from completing Heroic Public Events and killing powerful enemies–the ones who sport orange and yellow life bars. Knock out a few Heroics and you should complete the mission without much issue.

Step 2: Complete Variks’ “Europan Explorer” Sabotage Bounties

You'll need to knock out the Europan Explorer I and II sabotage bounties from Variks before you can get a crack at Cloudstrike.
You’ll need to knock out the Europan Explorer I and II sabotage bounties from Variks before you can get a crack at Cloudstrike.

Now head to Variks. Finishing A Hard Rain Falls should have filled out a bunch of new Sabotage bounties that weren’t previously available (the rest unlock when you complete the Exo Stranger’s last story quest, Born of Darkness 4). The two bounties you need to finish are Europan Explorer I and Europan Explorer II–the second one only becomes available when you finish the first. Make sure you have a fairly decent stock of Herealways Pieces, as you’ll need 10 to buy the first bounty, 20 for the second, and if you’ve completed Variks’ other upgrades, 20 for one of his Empire Hunt missions. You can earn more Herealways on Europa from completing Lost Sectors, killing High-Value Targets, and beating Public Events.

Both these bounties are pretty simple. Europan Explorer I just requires you to kill enemies on Europa with your various gun types: 50 for Kinetic, 50 for Energy, and 25 for Heavy. Europan Explorer II sends you into Empire Hunts, where you need to kill 30 total powerful enemies. You should be able to do that in one Empire Hunt if you’re careful–make sure not to kill any of the big boss enemies until you’ve knocked out all the smaller minions in any given room, or you might rob yourself of the opportunity to kill every orange- and yellow-lifebar enemy in the mission. You might also want to avoid The Warrior if you’re trying to do this in one go, since we only got 29 powerful enemies in that one and had to do a whole second hunt.

Step 3: Complete Variable Difficulty Empire Hunts

Variable difficulty Empire Hunts are launched from the Director, and not found as mission banners on Europa's surface.
Variable difficulty Empire Hunts are launched from the Director, and not found as mission banners on Europa’s surface.

Once you complete Europan Explorer II, you’ll gain access to Empire Hunts that function more like Shadowkeep’s Nightmare Hunts, where you can adjust the difficulty from Adept all the way to Master. You won’t find these on Variks’s menu, however–the new hunts are located on the Europa Director Map, toward the top. That means you can launch the hunts from orbit. They’re also quite a bit speedier, since they cut out the requirements that send you around Europa to kill various enemies before you actually unlock the Empire Hunt mission.

Every difficulty level of the variable Empire Hunts lists Cloudstrike as a potential reward. Unfortunately, the emphasis is on “potential,” as Cloudstrike is listed as a “Rare” drop. That means you might get it from a variable-difficulty Empire Hunt, but you also might not. The good news is that the rarity is the same for every difficulty level, so you don’t need to bother with the harder hunts unless you really want to.

Unfortunately, that’s it. Once you have the variable-difficulty Empire Hunts unlocked, it’s just a matter of completing them to get Cloudstrike. Keep working on Variks’s Sabotage bounties and you can amp up the Empire Hunt rewards, adding a weekly pinnacle drop. But if you want the Exotic, you’re going to have to keep playing hunts until it drops for you.

Now Playing: Destiny 2: Beyond Light – Official Launch Trailer

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Black Friday 2020: Hades Is On Sale For Only $20 (PC/Nintendo Switch)

Hades is a fantastic twist on the roguelike genre, and you can get it on sale for Black Friday 2020 this year. Supergiant’s latest and greatest adventure has a gripping narrative that stretches over dozens of attempts to escape the underworld. Whether you want to play on PC or Nintendo Switch, you’ll be able to get a 20% discount.

Hades took some of the best elements of Supergiant’s previous games, Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre, and combined them into one amazing package that has changed the roguelike genre.

“That long-tail approach to worldbuilding may not work for everyone; before I played Hades, I didn’t see myself as someone who’d continue to play a roguelike after beating it. But I wanted to keep learning more about these characters and this underworld enough to keep coming back,” Suriel Vazquez wrote in GameSpot’s Hades review. “That, along with a robust postgame that alters every weapon and boss, lets you make the game even harder for more rewards, and offers even more reasons to play an already entrancing mix of RPG and action combat, has absolutely hooked me. When I’m not playing Hades, I’m thinking about how cool it’d be to build the Exagryph machine gun with lighting boons combo that got me that first victorious run, but also throw some critical damage on top of that.”

We’ll be covering Black Friday 2020 news and deals from now through Thanksgiving weekend and into Cyber Monday, so stay tuned. Check out our roundup of the best Black Friday gaming deals available this year, including the best deals for Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, and Xbox One/Series X.

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Pokemon Go Azelf, Mesprit, And Uxie Raid Guide: Best Counters And Weaknesses

Three more Legendary Pokemon are back in Pokemon Go for a limited time. The Legendary Lake trio Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie are once again appearing in five-star Raids as part of the new Lake Legends event. To help you add the Legendary Pokemon to your collection, we’ve rounded up some tips on how to beat and catch Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie below.

Lake Trio Raid Hours

Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie will all be appearing in five-star Raids until 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET on November 30. These Raids don’t follow a set schedule, so they can occur any time, but you’ll receive an in-game notification when a Raid is about to begin at a nearby Gym. As usual, you’ll need to have a Raid Pass to participate in a Raid while physically at a Gym, or a Remote Raid Pass to join it remotely.

Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie
Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie

Your best chance to encounter the Legendary Pokemon will happen on Wednesday, November 25, when Niantic hosts its weekly Raid Hour event. From 6-7 PM local time tonight, Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie Raids will be occurring much more frequently at Gyms, effectively ensuring you have a chance to battle the Legendaries.

Lake Trio Weaknesses And Counters

Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie are all pure Psychic types, so regardless of which one you encounter, you’ll generally want to use the same strategy. Dark, Ghost, and Bug Pokemon all have an advantage against Psychic types, so your best bet will be to bring along Pokemon of those types when battling them.

Dark types in particular will be most effective against the Lake trio, as they resist Psychic attacks. Some great choices include Darkrai, Tyranitar, Houndoom, and Weavile. Scizor is your best bet when it comes to Bug Pokemon thanks to its part-Steel typing, making it also resistant against Psychic attacks. Ghost Pokemon don’t have any resistance on their own, but they do deal super-effective damage against the Legendaries, so you can round out your team with Pokemon like Giratina, Chandelure, and Mismagius.

Types To Avoid

Psychic Pokemon have an advantage over Poison and Fighting types, so you’ll want to avoid using Pokemon of those types when you battle the Lake trio. That includes Gengar; although the Ghost Pokemon will dish out super-effective damage to the Legendaries, it’ll take super-effective damage in return due to its part-Poison typing.

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G4 Thanksgiving Reunion Special Includes New Hire From The WWE

Returning television network G4 Media, which hosted Attack of the Show and X-Play, released a Thanksgiving reunion with the shows’ original cast. The approximately one-hour special also revealed the networks’ latest on-air hire.

WWE superstar Austin Watson, better known as Xavier Woods and one-half of The New Day (the current WWE Raw Tag Team Champions), is G4’s “first official on-air talent [hire].” This comes after Watson pitched extensively to the network on Twitter through his #Creed4G4 campaign, which was a multi-month endeavor and generated millions of views online.

Alongside Watson in the G4 Thanksgiving reunion special is the original cast of Attack of the Show and X-Play: Adam Sessler, Blair Herter, Kevin Pereira, Kirstin Adams, Morgan Webb, and Olivia Munn. All of them reminisce about various moments in their respective show’s history, including that one time in 2008 when Olivia Munn shaved Kevin Pereira’s face and head.

You can check out the reunion special below, which is moderated by comedian Ron Funches. It will also air on SyFy Network and Peacock, Saturday, November 27 at midnight (ET and PT).

G4 is also holding a weeklong Gravython charity drive. It features a variety of streamers and professional esports organizations, including Dr. Lupo and Team Liquid, as they host livestreams on their respective Twitch and YouTube Gaming channels. The Gravython charity drive supports nonprofit organizations like CodePath, Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, Boys & Girls Club of America, No Kid Hungry, The National Fragile X Foundation, and Connor’s Cure.

This is all in anticipation of G4’s imminent return slated for next year. While the network hasn’t outlined its revival plans yet, it seems the return of G4 could go digital this time around.