Apex Legends’ Bold Storytelling Is Its Best Asset

From the outset, Respawn showed it would be doing things a little differently with Apex Legends just by how it released the game. Unlike other triple-A games that launch after weeks or months of preview events and trailers, Apex Legends was announced and released on the same day. It was a bold strategy–one that could have doomed the Titanfall spin-off from the start given that fans were clamoring for Titanfall 3, not another battle royale game. But the game didn’t die out, and Respawn’s willingness to continually advertise Apex Legends with unorthodox methods has allowed the battle royale to thrive in an industry that is, now more than ever, always battling for your time.

In preparation for Season 4: Assimilation and the one-year anniversary of Apex Legends, Respawn utilized another risky strategy: killing off a character before he even had a chance to appear in the game. The move concludes a months-long cat-and-mouse game between Respawn and the Apex Legends’ community, one that has ultimately done a stellar job at selling the story behind the game.

If you haven’t been keeping up with Apex Legends over the past few months, here’s a refresher. Revenant has been a name that’s been circulating in the community since 2019 when dataminers discovered the name in the game’s files. It’s been theorized for a while that the character would be added as a playable legend–something that seemed all but confirmed when an Apex Legends developer released, seemingly on accident, an image that featured the character in an early concept of Octane’s Gauntlet on Kings Canyon. When pressed by news outlets for further details or confirmation on Revenant’s existence, Respawn remained coy on the matter.

Revenant’s inclusion in the game seemed even more certain during Season 3: Meltdown, though, specifically during the Halloween-themed Fight or Fright event, which saw Pathfinder accidentally wandering into a different dimension, the setting of the Shadowfall mode. The announcer and host of the mode was a robotic entity whose overall shape and voice lines matched that of the datamined Revenant files. Given Respawn’s track record of teasing legends ahead of their release through in-game hints, it seemed likely Revenant would be Season 4’s new character.

Then Respawn dropped a bombshell during its Season 4 Reveal Devstream: the season would add ex-MMA fighter Forge to Apex Legends, not Revenant. To lend credence to the reveal, dataminers found files for Forge in Apex Legends long before the announcement–some dating back nearly as far as the ones for Revenant. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like fans had just gotten the prediction wrong. Several members of the community then assumed that Forge would come to Apex Legends first, to be followed by Revenant later–maybe within the same season or perhaps at the start of Season 5. The game itself seemed to further support this theory, with in-game assets changing to reflect the arrival of Forge and only minor details hinting at Revenant’s further involvement. Respawn followed-up these map changes with the announcement that an interview featuring Forge would debut on January 27. The interview would be held in the Sorting Factory on World’s Edge, and a news station set even appeared in the in-game location ahead of the video.

This was all revealed to be a smokescreen, however. During the interview, Revenant appeared and stabbed Forge in the back. In the game, the interview set was trashed and Forge’s chair was replaced by a death box that contains his medallion (which is unlocked as a gun charm if you loot it). After promoting Forge for nearly a week, Respawn just killed the character off–his reveal and inclusion in Apex Legends designed for a plot twist and shocking reveal of a completely different character.

Telling their dedicated playerbase that they’re going to do one thing when they actually plan on flipping the script is not a normal strategy for video game developers to take. Blizzard and Ubisoft do not announce new Overwatch Heroes or Rainbow Six Siege Operators only to then turn around and kill said characters before players even have a chance to try them. Tricking your playerbase and getting them hyped for something that never actually arrives in hopes the surprise twist will draw even greater interest can backfire if players think that you’re now delivering something that’s less than what you originally announced.

But it’s because this strategy is so unorthodox that I believe it’s going to work out for Respawn and Apex Legends. Apex Legends launched into a battle royale genre that was already beginning to feel a little stale and a games-as-a-service market that’s been feeling overstuffed. However, Respawn’s game stands out because of how it’s structured around its narrative and not the other way around. Even without a single-player campaign, Apex Legends has a story, and Respawn is willing to subvert the expectations of how to market a games-as-a-service title in order to tell it. The developer has a narrative vision, and it’s sticking to it.

In a traditional single-player game, Forge’s story would likely transpire over several cutscenes and in-game conversations, only for his murder to catch players by surprise. Respawn has managed to capture this shock value by selling this narrative through a created Twitter account that acts as a news station for events that occur in the Titanfall and Apex Legends universe. So, of course, Forge would be announced as the new character with no mention of Revenant–news reporters don’t know athletes are going to be murdered ahead of time, they report the news as it happens. This means Respawn (which, again, is roleplaying as a news station entity) is as surprised as the rest of us when it comes to the narrative it’s building. Respawn is acting as if it’s not an all-knowing overseer of its world, allowing the developer to have a bit more fun with us, its audience, by leading us in one direction before surprising us with something else entirely. It’s a nice bit of meta storytelling in a genre that traditionally hasn’t told stories outside of cinematic trailers.

And all that being said, it’s still not a foregone conclusion that Respawn has finished tricking us yet and that Forge is definitely out for good. The gun charm in Forge’s death box describes the man as “often imitated but never defeated,” and the Forge in the interview has a scar on his eyebrow while all previous images have had no scar–which could imply that the Forge that Revenant killed is just a body double. There is still no definitive proof that Forge is dead and that Revenant will be the new playable legend. With the style of storytelling it’s using for Apex Legends, Respawn has put its fans into a position where we’ll be guessing right up until Season 4 begins to see which character actually gets added.

And ya know what? That’s kind of exciting.

Now Playing: Apex Legends Season 4 Map Changes Lead To Forge & Revenant – GS News Update

The Movie Contagion Surges In Popularity After Coronavirus Outbreak

The 2011 Steven Soderbergh movie Contagion has surged in popularity following the emergence of the real-life Coronovirus that has killed more than 100 people around the world.

You may recall that Contagion–featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, and other stars–told a story about a fictional deadly virus that originated in China before spreading around the world, leading to chaos and scientists scrambling to find a cure. Some part of that storyline is now happening in real life.

The Hollywood Reporter noticed that Contagion climbed up to No. 10 on the US iTunes movie rental chart. It’s the oldest movie on the charts by far, and it’s recent climb can surely be attributed to the real-world outbreak of the Coronavirus.

The majority of the deaths from the pneumonia-like illness have occurred in mainland China where the virus originated, according to the state-run China Global Television Network. China has quarantined entire cities as it tries to prevent the spread of the disease.

The Coronavirus outbreak also caused a huge surge in popularity of the video game Plague Inc., which is a real-time strategy game related to how diseases spread around the world. James Vaughn, the creator of Plague Inc., has advised people to seek out local and global health authorities for information on the Coronavirus, rather than relying on Plague Inc. as a learning tool.

Shanghai Disneyland has temporarily closed down amid concerns over the virus, while McDonald’s has closed thousands of locations in the country.

Go to GameSpot sister site CNET to see a detailed breakdown of the latest in the Coronavirus health crisis.

Destiny 2 Is Offline After Players Report Missing Currency

Destiny 2 was offline for most of today following reports that players were losing currency including, Glimmer, Bright Dust, Infusion Materials, and other types of game currencies. Bungie says it has identified the problem but will roll back characters to a state before the most recent update.

An issue with Destiny 2 started appearing soon after update 2.7.1 went live around 9 am PT/12 pm ET. Players began reporting that in-game currency started going missing. Bungie began investigating the issue and took servers offline an hour later for emergency maintenance.

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Since then Bungie has offered hourly reports on the state of Destiny 2. It appears that an issue was discovered in the 2.7.1 update that caused players to lose their currency. Bungie began testing a fix for the issue internally around 12 pm PT/3 pm ET and validated the fix two hours later.

To solve the problem, Bungie says it will roll back all player accounts to how they were before Update 2.7.1. Unfortunately, this means that players may have to redo any progress or quests they completed between 8:30 am – 10 am PST when the update went live and servers were taken offline.

Any purchases made using Silver during this time will be restored and added back to the players’ accounts. Separately, Bungie is removing “The Pidgeon and the Phoenix” Lore for a “separate issue” and it will be resolved in a later update.

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According to the official Bungie Help Twitter account, Destiny 2 should be back online by 7 pm PT/ 10 pm ET. However, players should follow the Bungie account for updates.

Emergency server issues are rare but not uncommon for live service games. Destiny 2 servers went down for emergency maintenance soon after the launch of Shadowkeep and New Light.

For more on Destiny 2 and the Shadowkeep expansion check out IGN’s Destiny 2 wiki for our full coverage.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Google Stadia Pro Gets Metro Exodus and Gylt for Free in February

Google Stadia Pro members will be able to add Metro Exodus and Gylt to their Stadia library beginning in February. Both of these games will be free for Stadia Pro members and once added, will remain in their library as long as they have an active subscription.

Stadia announced that the two games would be coming to its Pro service on February 1 and will replace Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration and Samurai Shodown. Both of these games will be available through January 31 and will remain in your account until you unsubscribe, as long as you have added them.

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For those who need a quick refresher, Metro Exodus is a FPS in which players will have to flee the shattered ruins of Moscow. Additionally, it was announced earlier this week that the final Metro Exodus expansion would release in February – however, it is likely not to be included with Stadia’s offer.

Gylt, on the other hand, is a horror game which forces players to face some of their worst fears as they travel through a spooky, yet beautiful, universe.

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Google Stadia Pro is available for $10 a month, and is currently the only way to use the service – unless you’re one of the Stadia Founders. However, Google is planning to launch it’s Stadia Base service for free later this year.

Google Stadia had a rocky start in its late 2019 launch, causing some to wonder if Google’s new streaming service was doomed before it ever officially began. If you’re on the fence, be sure to check out our Google Stadia review and the full lineup of games available on the service.

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Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith. 

All The Changes Coming to Apex Legends Season 4

Apex Legends Season 4: Assimilation begins February 4th and brings a ton of new changes that keep things fresh including ranked mode updates, a new Battle Pass, a new bolt-action sniper rifle, a new Legend, plus some more mysterious backstory for the Apex Legends universe. Here’s everything we know so far.

Map Changes

The Assimilation season will be split into halves, each containing a different map and will last for roughly six weeks. During the first split, players will continue playing on the existing World’s Edge map, although it appears to have undergone some changes. During the recent Apex Legends developer stream, we saw that Capital City has been destroyed and the lava beneath the ground is visible. While it’s not a huge change, there may be other locations that are affected which greatly reduces ground areas to explore and loot. World’s Edge will be available from the start of the new season through March 23. After that the second split will begin, bringing with it the return of Apex Legends’ original map, King’s Canyon, which will be available from March 24-May 5.

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Series 3 Changes

Since this is the first Series that features a split, adjustments have been made to the ranked system. After the mid-season split, players’ ranks will undergo a soft reset, dropping down 1 ½ tiers. In addition to splitting the ranked season, adjustments have also been made to the competitive ladder. For example, the new Master Tier now replaces Apex Predator and is attained once you reach 10,000 RP. Apex Predator still exists, but will now be reserved for the top 500 players on each platform. But, reaching Apex Predator doesn’t mean players remain there indefinitely. It’ll be a highly contested rank that players will fight for throughout the season.

Ranked rewards are getting some minor changes and are now generated based on the highest rank you achieve on either split. And, if you achieve the same rank during both splits, you’ll be rewarded with exclusive animated badges. Additionally, Dive trails will now be a reward for the following Series, and will expire at the end of that season (unless you manage to hit the same rank). Players who earned Dive trails during Series 1 or 2 will be excluded, however, and will keep those trails forever.

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New Legend?

Initially, Respawn revealed James “Forge” McCormick as the new Legend, a melee-based character armed with Shatter Gauntlets who is also known as the “Five-time Federation Fighting Champion.” However, shortly after his reveal, Forge appeared in a fictional interview where he was stabbed through the chest and allegedly killed by the mysterious character Revenant. The actual interview site is available to visit on the World’s Edge map right now in game in the ‘Sorting Factory’ landing spot. There, you can see Forge’s death box and grab his “Steel Cut” Commemorative Charm that’s a unique weapon charm players can equip after their game ends. Check out the location in the slideshow below.

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An interesting detail that’s included in the description of the charm is that Forge is “the often imitated but never defeated” champion. Players have been speculating that maybe the Forge we saw in the interview was merely a pretender, an impersonator, and the real Forge is alive and well. But that’s all speculation for now. Forge is also the first Apex competitor to be sponsored by the fictional in-game company, Hammond Robotics. Fans of the Titanfall universe may recall hearing about Hammond Robotics, but to really understand the connection between this company and how it ties into Apex Legends, we have to go way back…

What is Hammond Robotics?

The first Titanfall took place when the Titan Wars and the Frontier War were at large. The main powers fighting against each other were the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation and the Militia. The IMC, originally called Hammond Engineering, was a massive industrial conglomerate that existed on Earth. The IMC was notorious for sending their fleets to independent human-occupied worlds to exploit their natural resources. The colonists rebelled after suffering the loss of their homes and freedom and formed the Militia, which sparked a civil war that spanned many worlds.

Hammond Robotics was an allied component of the IMC that acted as a manufacturing, aerospace, and defense contractor. It famously produced war materials for the IMC including Titans, Spectres, and Marvins—janitor robots that resemble Pathfinder and may point to its mysterious past. There’s even a fictional website for Hammond Robotics that’s been around since the launch of Titanfall if you’re interested in learning more about the company. During this time, the IMC contracted a mercenary by the name of Kuben Blisk who led a mercenary group of elite pilots called Apex Predators—a fitting name for the top rank in Apex Legends. The story in Apex Legends takes place after the Frontier War, when both the IMC and Militia were dissolved following a final battle.

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This brings us to the new Legend, Forge. Because Forge is sponsored by Hammond Robotics, fans are speculating that the changes and destruction of World’s Edge aren’t a coincidence. There are even construction signs that have begun appearing in certain locations that read “future Hammond Robotics Worksite,” implying something beyond a simple sponsorship may be in the works. Oh, and Hammond Robotics sponsored the interview where Forge was assassinated.

What About Revenant?

After Revenant’s introduction to the game during the Halloween event (and a tease from the development team), people have been digging up evidence about the mysterious character. Reddit user VonHollde recently noted that Revenant can be seen in the background of Respawn’s Season 4 announcement page. Apex’s twitter page has been releasing updates after Revenant assassinated Forge, and there are several details within these posts that might give us a clue on what to expect. A statement from the fictional “Outlands Television” network stated that they were accepting any information about the assailant (Revenant) but “If your information involves a MRVN with fantastical claims that he interacted with “another version” of the attacker on Halloween, please refrain from contacting the Syndicate.”

The MRVN described in this statement is clearly Pathfinder from the Halloween event trailer that came out last year where Revenant was first revealed. Also, the Syndicate is the group that runs and moderates the Apex Games, though not a whole lot is known about them at the time. It’s been highly speculated by fans that Kuben Blisk may be the founder of the Syndicate.  Outlands Television also tweeted out an update about a recent break-in at Hammond’s facility, stating that whoever had broken in and murdered the security guards now has downloaded files containing information about nearly three hundred Hammond Robotics employees. It seems that Revenant may be causing more havoc after his stunt on live television, but this is all speculation for now. If Forge did somehow survive the interview encounter, then maybe Revenant will show up during the King’s Canyon split halfway through the season or earlier if Forge did not.

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There’s a ton of new content on the way in Apex Legends Season 4 that’s sure to keep us on our toes. It’s also the 1-year anniversary of Apex Legends, so there will be additional daily login rewards to look out for. What do you think is happening with the lore behind the Apex Legends? Do you think we’ll see Forge return from the grave, or was this all a ploy to reveal Revenant? Or, do you think we’ll get both legends during the season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to stick with IGN for all your Apex Legends news.

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Matthew Adler is a Features and News writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @matthewadler and watch him on Twitch. Stella Chung is Associated Gameplay Editor and Host at IGN. Follow her on Twitter  and watch her on Twitch.

Dying Light: Bad Blood Is Now Free to All Dying Light Players

Techland has announced that all owners of Dying Light are able to redeem a free copy of Dying Light: Bad Blood on PC. This comes just a week after Techland revealed that Dying Light 2 has been delayed indefinitely.

“As a token of appreciation for our amazing community, we are pleased to offer a free copy of Dying Light: Bad Blood to every Survivor eager to expand their Dying Light experience,” Techland wrote in the announcement.

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In order to get a free copy of Bad Blood, you need to head to the Dying Light dockets site, either login or register an account, and then link your Steam, PlayStation, or Xbox account if you haven’t already.

Once that’s done, and you own Dying Light on the platform you linked, a banner should appear on the website that says you’re eligible for a free copy of Dying Light: Bad Blood on PC. Just click on that banner and follow the instructions to get your Steam code.

Bad Blood takes the gory zombie parkour of Dying Light and gives it a battle royale style twist. Each match starts with 12 players but only one can be the winner. Players search the map for weapons and upgrades, and can choose to team up with other players to fight zombies, or battle each other – they’ll have to eventually if they want to win.

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Unfortunately, Bad Blood didn’t attract many players when it debuted on Steam Early Access back in 2018. But with many players able to pick it up for free now it should have a larger head count.

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Marvel’s WandaVision Show WIll Be “F***ing Bonkers,” Says Star

WandaVision is one of several new Marvel shows currently in the works for Disney+. As the title suggests, it focuses on the characters of Wanda Maximoff and The Vision, played by Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany respectively. The show is scheduled for release later this year, and now Bettany has hinted at what fans can expect from it.

Speaking at the Sundance Film Festival, Bettany suggested that WandaVision will be very different from other superhero shows. “It is f***ing bonkers,” he said, via The Playlist. “It’s so out there and nuts. Fans will not have to wait that much longer. They’ll get much more than an insight very, very soon.”

As Bettany suggests, we can expect something more official about WandaVision imminently. As for why exactly it will be so “bonkers,” it could have something to do with Olsen’s previous description of it as a “mash-up of sitcoms.” Concept art revealed at Disney’s D23 convention last year had a very surprising ’50s TV comedy look to them.

As well as Olsen and Bettany, other confirmed cast members include Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, and Kathryn Hahn as “the noisy neighbor.” For more, check out GameSpot’s guide to everything we know so far about WandaVision.

Other Disney+ Marvel shows on the way include Loki, She-Hulk, and Falcon and Winter Soldier. While no release dates have been confirmed for any of these, Deadline recently stated that Falcon and Winter Soldier will be with us in August.

Rainbow Six Siege Update 4.3 Patch Notes: Vulkan Support And ADS Nerfs

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege will be receiving another update before the end of the month, with Vulkan API support headlining the patch for players on PC. The patch will also address ADS (Aim Down Sights) speeds for all weapons, rectifying an unexpected increase with an animations patch with Ember Rise.

Vulkan support has rolled out on PC, with Update 4.3 (aka Y4S4.3) having launched earlier today. This allows you to select between the current DirectX 11 version or Vulkan when launching the game. The Vulkan API offers some performance improvements over DirectX 11 in general, which Ubisoft detail in a separate post, but experimentation between the two is advised.

Xbox One and PS4 players can expect the new update a day later on January 29, with all gameplay changes and fixes being applied to all platforms. The most significant change is to the ADS speeds of all weapons, with some increasing by over 30%. In the Designer’s Notes for the patch, it’s explained that the decrease is to offset a previous increase in ADS speeds that came about with an animation patch in Ember Rise. Ubisoft says this should return weapons to their original values.

In addition to some balancing changes to numerous Operators, Ubisoft has also identified the increase in Lesion’s win-rate and overall usage. Although they haven’t yet decided on an approach to further balance the Operator, they do state that they are looking at ways to reduce his overall effectiveness and the subsequent frustration he is currently causing players.

The full patch notes for 4.3 can be found below:

Rainbow Six Siege 4.3 Patch Notes

BALANCING

ADS

  • ADS time increased for all weapons.
  • Assault rifles: from 0.30s to 0.40s
  • DMRs: from 0.30s up to 0.40s
  • SMGs: from 0.20s up to 0.30s
  • LMGs: from 0.40s up to 0.45s
  • Pistol: 0.10s up to 0.20s
  • SMG in secondary slots: 0.10s up to 0.275s*
  • Shotguns: 0.20s up to 0.25s

*(Modified based on feedback from Test Server)

BLACKBEARD We support great beards and more decision-making.

  • ADS penalization will only apply when Blackbeard’s Gun Shield is equipped.
  • Weapons without the Gun Shield will maintain the same ADS timings as any other AR.
  • Weapons with the Gun Shield will retain the same ADS timings from before.
  • The Angled Grip will affect the SCAR with and without the Gun Shield equipped.

ECHO Echo forgot to activate 2SV.

  • Echo can now be called by Dokkaebi.
  • Echo now drops a phone when killed with Dokkaebi present.
  • When hacked, access to the Yokai cameras is also granted for Attackers.
  • Yokai now has lights that show only when NOT cloaked, and Yokai drone lights will change to reflect it is hacked.

ELA A little more princess, a little less Nerferella.

  • Reduced recoil on Scorpion Evo3 for the first 16 shots, any proceeding shots will retain previous recoil pattern.

FINKA The juice is loose.

  • Increased Finka’s Spear .308 damage to 42 (up from 38).

JAGER Wamai giving Jager a run for his money.

  • Reduced Jager’s 416-C damage to 38 (down from 43).

MAESTRO Maestro joins the No-ACOG club.

  • ACOG removed from Maestro’s ALDA.

YING New and improved Candelas! Great for flashing enemies and not just your team!

  • Candela’s now have a new outline that is visible only to Ying.
  • Improved distribution of Cluster Flashes to make the flash more reliable.
  • Number of pellets per Candela increased to 7 (up from 6) – (1 at floor level, 3 at around hip level and 3 at head level).
  • Pellets detonation time reduced to 0.3s (from 1s on throw and 2.5s on deploy).
  • Pellets that bounce on environmental props maintain their velocity instead of falling and detonating on the floor.
  • Candela explosion minor VFX improvements.

FMG9

  • Increased FMG9 damage to 34 (up from 30) for Nokk and Smoke.

BUG FIXES

GAMEPLAY

  • FIXED – Attachers can sometimes go through barricaded windows while attempting to hotbreach without detonating the breaching charge.
  • FIXED – Crashing if Lesion is pushed back by an airjab while trying to pull out a GU mine at the same time.

OPERATORS

  • FIXED – Jackal can’t scan footsteps while within the warning area of a Mute jammer. He can now scan footsteps while in the warning area – making it more in alignment with all other Operator gadgets and abilities that can be used while still in the warning area of a jammer.
  • FIXED – A rolling Candela that stops on a staircase will slide downstairs before detonating. Candelas will now stop and stay in place where they activated, even on stairs or uneven surfaces.
  • FIXED – Glaz’s Holographic Sight has a larger and thicker red reticle than other Russian Holographic Sights.FIXED –
  • FIXED – After being affected by Thatcher’s EMP, Yokai’s blue lights remain dark even when being operated.
  • FIXED – Castle’s Nail Gun remains present and clips while deploying his Armor Panels.

LEVEL DESIGN

  • FIXED – Invisible collision at the skylight of EXT Roof Top of Kafe for sticky deployable gadgets.
  • FIXED – Wall studs are not destroyed when a reinforced wall is first broken by Maverick and then shot by Zofia’s impact grenade.

USER EXPERIENCE

  • FIXED – Thunt matches count towards the “Match Win Streak” Battle Pass Challenge.FIXED – Battle Pass progression does not update properly on end-match screen, but shows correct progression in the main BP HUD.
  • FIXED – Various minor HUD and menu visual issues.
  • FIXED – Various minor shop and cosmetic visual issues.
  • FIXED – If a player mutes a teammate, they can still hear muted teammates after switching sides, even though the HUD indicates they are muted.
  • FIXED – In Caster or support mode, Nomad’s warheads pops in her hand while switching/reloading.
  • FIXED – Bandit’s shockwire gadget appears offset when he holds it in his hands.
  • FIXED – Incorrect animation for Ballistic Shield ops when being pushed back.
  • FIXED – Zofia’s KS79 Lifeline grenade launcher’s ammo faces the wrong side.
  • FIXED – Swapping weapons while vaulting will cause the operators arm to appear broken from a 3rd person POV.
  • FIXED – Weapons don’t sway back and forth while in rappel and moving L/R.
  • FIXED – Operators can appear to be floating over a shield from 3rd person POV if they vault over a shield twice.

Now Playing: Testing Rainbow Six Siege Y4S4 Operators

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Pokemon Bank: Get A Free Month To Move Pokemon To Sword And Shield

The Pokemon Company has finally shared some more details on Pokemon Home, the upcoming cloud storage service for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. The service will be available in free and paid tiers, the latter of which allows you to transfer over any Pokemon you have stored in Pokemon Bank on 3DS (among other additional perks). To make the transfer process even easier, you’ll be able to get a month of Pokemon Bank at no cost.

Following the launch of Pokemon Home, The Pokemon Company says Pokemon Bank–and the related Poke Transporter app, which is used to migrate Pokemon from DS games over to Bank–will be available for free for a one-month period. The service typically costs $5 USD per year, but this promotion allows players who spring for the premium tier of Pokemon Home to transfer their Pokemon over from the 3DS without paying a second subscription fee.

Once you bring Pokemon over from Bank to Home, you’ll then be able to use them in Pokemon Sword and Shield (provided they’re available in the Galar Pokedex or are added to the games later this year). However, any Pokemon that are moved from Bank to Home can no longer be returned to 3DS. You can read more details on the official Pokemon Home website.

As previously mentioned, the ability to move Pokemon from Bank to Home is limited to the premium tier, which costs $3 for one month, $5 for three months, and $16 for 12 months. The premium tier also gives you access to the Judge function–which allows you to check your Pokemon’s base stats–as well as more storage capacity and the ability to trade more Pokemon at once. You can see the full breakdown of benefits below.

Pokemon Home launches in February 2020, although an exact release date has not yet been announced. Meanwhile, Pokemon Sword and Shield are receiving two big expansions this year, each of which introduces a new area to explore, as well as new gameplay mechanics, items, and a variety of returning Pokemon to the games. The expansion pass is available to pre-purchase now and costs $30 USD.

Pokemon Home – Free vs. Paid Benefits

Description Basic Premium
Moving Pokémon from Pokemon Bank Unavailable Available
Number of Pokemon that can be deposited 30
Pokemon		 6,000
Pokemon
Number of Pokemon that can be placed in the Wonder Box at once 3
Pokemon		 10
Pokemon
Number of Pokemon that can be placed in the GTS at once 1
Pokemon		 3
Pokemon
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Now Playing: Pokemon Sword & Shield Are Getting Expansions, New Pokemon, & More – GS News Update

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Xbox Games With Gold For February Announced

Microsoft has announced its upcoming Xbox Games With Gold freebies for the month of February. The games available for Xbox One will will include TT Isle of Man, Call of Cthulu, Fable Heroes, and the 2004 Xbox classic Star Wars Battlefront.

TT Isle of Man is a tight-cornered motocross racer that will be available throughout the whole month. The other Xbox One game for the month, Call of Cthulu–a creepy game based on Lovecraft horror–will join it on February 16. Fable Heroes is a cute multiplayer spin-off of the main Fable saga originally released for Xbox 360 in 2012. And finally, Star Wars Battlefront is the original 2004 classic that spawned several sequels and DICE’s current-gen reboot.

Your Gold subscription, which enables online play, also includes the monthly Games with Gold library. Gold is also included with Game Pass Ultimate, which gives you a much larger subscription-based library on both Xbox One and PC.

The impending release of February’s games means you only have a few days left to claim the ones from January, including Styx: Shards of Darkness and Lego Star Wars 2. The other January game, Batman: The Telltale Series, will stick around until February 15.

Xbox Games With Gold for February 2020

  • TT Isle of Man (February 1-29)
  • Call of Cthulu (February 16-March 15)
  • Fable Heroes (February 1-15)
  • Star Wars Battlefront (February 16-29)

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