A game like Warhammer 40K: Darktide is best enjoyed with friends, so it’s natural to want as wide a pool as possible of potential co-op partners among your real life peeps. To that end, crossplay seems like a natural fit for a cooperative, PvE experience like Darktide. Unfortunately, at least at launch, Fatshark has definitively confirmed that every potential platform for Darktide will be siloed off from one another.
Will Warhammer: 40K Darktide have console crossplay?
In a word, no. A post on Fatshark’s official support website (opens in new tab) dated November 14 states that “We appreciate the value in Crossplay and Cross-Save. However, for launch these options will not be available. At this time, we are unable to comment on when or if Crossplay and Cross-Save will be available.”
Does Warhammer 40K: Darktide have crossplay between Steam and Game Pass?
Also firmly no. Back in June a Fatshark employee responded to a Steam forum post (opens in new tab) on the subject, writing “We’re not saying it’s not possible, or not being explored, but we’re also not going to say ‘yes it’s in, Day 1.’ We like the idea of it and are exploring it, but don’t expect it.”
Will crossplay ever come to Warhammer 40K: Darktide?
Unclear—I wouldn’t hold my breath on it being a priority for Fatshark, though. Both of those posts leave the door open just a smidge to the possibility. With language that hedged, I could see it being a year two or three addition if the game maintains a steady player base that keeps asking for it.
Before being able to add Xbox-PC crossplay, Draktide actually has to be released on Microsoft’s console, and we don’t know when that will be happening. When Darktide was delayed to November 30 on PC earlier this year, Fatshark said the Xbox release would follow “shortly after.” That may mean early 2023.
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1668836651_Dont-expect-console-or-Game-Pass-crossplay-from-Warhammer-40K.jpg5761024Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2022-11-18 23:36:552022-11-18 23:36:55Don’t expect console or Game Pass crossplay from Warhammer 40K: Darktide any time soon
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (opens in new tab) doesn’t officially launch until November 30, but it’s available now on Steam for anyone who preorders the game. Reactions to the game, to turn an overused phrase, are decidedly mixed at this point: Some players are digging it, but quite a number are posting negative user reviews. Darktide is currently sitting at a “mostly positive” user ranking on Steam, with 70% of the user reviews (opens in new tab) giving it a thumbs up, but earlier today it sunk all the way down to “mixed,” meaning that only 40-69% of user reviews were positive.
That’s a surprisingly low number for the followup to the acclaimed Vermintide games, but it may not represent how players feel about the game in a few weeks. Technically, Darktide is being reviewed before it has “released.”. In a message (opens in new tab) about what to expect from the “preorder beta,” developer Fatshark listed a number of features not in the beta, including proper spawn points and a detailed weapon stats view, and warned that the initial beta release would be missing quite a lot of content.
The plan is to roll out new content, events, and presumably fixes and tweaks over a four-week schedule. (It’s not actually broken down in weekly chunks, but that’s how Fatshark describes it so we’ll roll with it.)
WEEK ONE (November 17 – 20)
Full access to the game hub and mission board.
4 changing missions across 4 zones
We will regularly run in-game events (Conditions), namely Power Supply Interruption and Ventilation Purge. We don’t want to spoil them too much. We encourage you to experience them for yourself 🙂
WEEK TWO (November 21 – 27)
Up to 8 changing missions across 4 zones
In-Game Events, other surprise additions we do not want to spoil right now
WEEK 3 (November 28 to 30)
Up to 10 changing missions across 4 zones
Downtime to get the game ready for wide release: Tuesday Nov 29, 2022 19:00 UTC
NOVEMBER 30 (LAUNCH)
13 missions across 5 zones
1 New Zone (We do not want to share its name yet)
New Conditions (In-Game Events)
In other words, Fatshark is treating this pre-release beta like, well, a beta test: Giving a limited number of players access to limited selections of the game to ensure that everything works like it’s supposed to. But even though the studio specifically noted that a detailed weapon stats view isn’t available, for instance, there are complaints about missing weapon information. Other user reviews criticize the lack of private lobbies (opens in new tab) or solo play, and there are many complaints about overall performance, even on relatively beefy hardware. Many of the negative reviews actually specify that the game is fun, just not quite ready for launch yet—which of course is the exact point of this final beta.
“It’s a fun game and not bad, just not enough content to feel fresh,” one Steam user wrote. “After a few games with different characters I didn’t feel the excitement that I felt with Vermintide 2 and none of the starting characters were my favs.”
“This game wasn’t ready for release, it has consistent crashes, the (early access version) runs arguably worse than the beta,” another wrote.
Darktide players don’t bear all the blame for the confusion. Beta tests are as much a marketing tool as a diagnostic these days—they’re often presented simply as a way to start playing the game early, rather than to help figure out what’s still broken—and opening the user review functionality on Steam only amplifies that impression. Fatshark says this Darktide release is a beta, and clearly it is, but it’s also fully out there on Steam, user reviews and all. For anyone who’s purchased it, in other words, Darktide is effectively in full release, and how they react to it will leave a lasting public impression—for better or worse.
We’ve put together some of our own thoughts on what we like and what we don’t like about Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (opens in new tab) so far: It’s gloriously grim, but like many others on Steam, our best Warhammers found that it struggles with ray tracing and has an unfortunate tendency to crash. In the words of our online editor Fraser Brown, Darktide right now is “still very much a beta.”
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1668814341_Warhammer-40000-Darktide-is-causing-confusion-on-Steam-with-its.jpeg8001200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2022-11-18 23:19:052022-11-18 23:19:05Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is causing confusion on Steam with its pre-launch launch
The pre-patch festivities are well underway for World of Warcraft’s upcoming Dragonflight (opens in new tab) expansion, and we’ll soon be able to soar over new lands and face new foes. But I want you to forget about all of that, make a fresh character, and go kill some wolves in Northshire. Even if you already have one of every class at max level. Seriously.
Let me explain: My favorite part of the pre-patch is the return of what I will refer to from here on as the ‘old school’ talent system, which players who started after Mists of Pandaria only got to experience when WoW Classic reminded everyone how much better it was than the system that replaced it. Every level, you get a talent point that you can put into one of two, long trees. Sometimes you’ll unlock a small, passive buff like 2% extra critical hit chance. Sometimes you’ll get a new button that lets you pull a horse out of a pocket dimension and trample your enemies.
This differs from what I’ll call the ‘new school’ talent system, which we’ve actually had since 2012—making it a full decade old, the norm for most of WoW’s history, and not actually new at all. I was never a fan of this newer, streamlined system with way fewer options. It tried to boil all of those small, incremental choices down to bigger, more meaningful choices that came along every several levels.
One step at a time
The problem was that it took away a lot of the feeling of becoming incrementally more powerful while you level up, especially now that most of WoW’s world mobs have some degree of level scaling to keep pace with your character in raw stats. Yes, high-end raiding and PvP usually pulled everyone toward the same talent build under the old school system. Yes, choosing between 2% crit chance and a shorter cooldown on my pocket horse isn’t the most impactful, single choice. But those little choices add up. And I feel like I’m getting more big crits after I take that 2% crit talent. I’m customizing my character little by little, and making myself more powerful, in a specific way of my choosing, every level.
The one downside of the old school talent system returning, though, is that you’re going to log into a max level character and have 50 talent points poured over your head out of a giant bucket, leaving you to sort out what to do with them. If you just want to get back into running high-end content right away, you’ll probably go read a guide that tells you where to put them and how to use them. Like a chump. Yeah, I said it. You’re cheating yourself out of the journey if you do that. And, more importantly, you’re cheating yourself out of the very real, very significant boon of internalizing all these little pieces of your character’s kit one at a time.
(Image credit: Tyler C. / Activision Blizzard)
Back to basics
That’s why you should start fresh with no talent points, especially if you’re a returning player. I’ve been playing a Retribution Paladin since 2004, but I rolled a brand new one anyway and tossed them into the same kobold-infested valley I got my start in 18 years ago. I took my time, carefully and lovingly choosing a new talent at each level based on what I liked most out of the available options. Even though I haven’t mained this spec since Legion, it was very easy to figure out which buttons were core to my role now and which ones were optional or situational. I never had to deal with learning more than one new button at a time. When I felt like I had enough buttons to worry about, I could simply choose talents that don’t add more buttons.
I’m sure upon hitting level 60 that my build wasn’t Mythic raiding optimized. But I felt a strong sense of ownership over it. I knew what every part of it did, through repetition and refinement. Every ability was in precisely the spot on my hotbar where it needed to be, with the abilities I used more often given priority real-estate on the one through six keys. I understood Dragonflight’s Retribution Paladin on a holistic, intuitive level, instead of trying to copy what I read on Wowhead (opens in new tab).
Zero to hero
You’re building your character up from buffoon to badass a little at a time, exactly how you want to.
There has never been a better time to play this way, either. I’ve also started a new Marksmanship Hunter and a new Fury Warrior, both specs I have mained for at least one entire expansion cycle in the past. The new leveling curve that just rolled out allows you to go from level one to 60 in about eight to 12 hours playing like a normal person. Determined speedrunners can do it in less than four. If you play in War Mode (which enables PvP almost everywhere but gives you an experience bonus to compensate), take advantage of the 18th anniversary buff you’ll find waiting in your mailbox until November 27, or want to help sweep up elemental baddies during Dragonflight’s pre-patch Primal Storms event (which you can start at level 10), you’ll really tear through those experience bars.
(Image credit: Blizzard)
Perhaps best of all, the Chromie Time feature now lets you level from 10 to 60 in any expansion, so you never have to see the Shadowlands ever again. You could start two brand new characters of classes you’ve never played and have them maxed out over the weekend if you have enough free time. Never before has there been so much harmony between reason and opportunity to start a new character.
WoW is a game that has steadily become more about the destination than the journey over the years. I think that has been to its detriment overall. And yes, being able to get a character to max level at warp speed contributes to this. But that doesn’t mean you can’t reroll and live in that sweet spot for a little while, where the journey is what matters and you’re building your character up from buffoon to badass a little at a time, exactly how you want to. That’s the essence of a good RPG, after all.
Weeks or months from now, you’ll be staring at a slate of maxed-out characters throwing themselves into higher Mythic key runs for a chance at earning some marginal stat increases. And you may find yourself longing for the days of questing through Redridge and Silverpine, learning how to be a hero again. Enjoy it as much as you can, while you can.
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1668840296_WoW-Dragonflights-new-talent-trees-are-so-good-that-you.jpg6751200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2022-11-18 23:18:482022-11-18 23:18:48WoW: Dragonflight’s new talent trees are so good that you should start at level 1
I love a good pacifist run in a game. Usually no-kill runs happen in an RPG or immersive sim with a stealth system, crouch walking around and bopping guys over the head. It takes a true connoisseur though, like YouTuber ThatFriendlyGuy (opens in new tab), to pursue the path of peace in Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer, a team shooter all about taking human life with tacticool guns. Thanks to Eurogamer (opens in new tab) for the spot.
This is ThatFriendlyGuy’s speciality though—the content creator boasts of 710 hours logged on Escape From Tarkov without a single kill on the board, as well as a pacifist run of Resident Evil Village where only the bosses were harmed. He’s turned Paul Denton scolding you to not kill NSF guys into a whole lifestyle and social media brand.
ThatFriendlyGuy set his sights on achieving max level in Modern Warfare 2 without scoring a kill, and was able to do just that by embracing what is anathema to most gamers: playing the objective, and supporting his teammates. ThatFriendlyGuy claimed on Reddit (opens in new tab) that the process took almost 24 hours, and left him with a 1.4 win ratio, 0 kills, and 2,678 deaths.
In the Kill Confirmed mode, where you have to pick up dog tags from fallen enemies, ThatFriendlyGuy maxed out speed and mobility, hoovering up the dropped tags of his teammates’ kills like a spec ops roomba. In the Hardpoint objective capture mode, meanwhile, ThatFriendlyGuy used that favorite tool of FPS trolls everywhere, the riot shield, to hold down capture points despite heavy enemy fire.
Across both modes, ThatFriendlyGuy made use of support-focused, nonlethal streak bonuses like the UAV and airdrop. He also, rather humorously, did keep a rocket launcher handy in his loadout to take down enemy UAVs (remote-controlled drones are fair game). Kinda reminds me of my favorite Deus Ex loadout: taser, baton, and GEP Gun.
It honestly looks like ThatFriendlyGuy had a fun time with this build, and his video highlights some fun antics like his sneaky, slapstick juking of enemy players, almost like Majima repeating “the customer is king (opens in new tab)” as he dodges drunken punches in Yakuza 0. If you’re interested in more life preserving action from ThatFriendlyGuy, you can check out his YouTube channel (opens in new tab).
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1668843953_This-Modern-Warfare-2-pacifist-player-hit-max-level-with.jpg6741200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2022-11-18 22:29:022022-11-18 22:29:02This Modern Warfare 2 ‘pacifist’ player hit max level with zero kills. How’d he do it? By only playing the objective
Demon’s Souls, a remake of the eponymous 2009 game and a PS5 launch title, is available right now for $30 at Amazon and Best Buy.
Like many other Black Friday PlayStation deals, this is the lowest we’ve seen Demon’s Souls go on sale for. It was released in 2020 and since then has periodically been discounted. The lowest price the physical edition ever dropped to, before now, has been around $40.
For those looking to experience the full range of Soulsborne games, Demon’s Souls is a remake of the very first Souls game. In GameSpot’s Demon’s Souls review, critic Tamoor Hussain praised the game for its faithful adaptation of a classic game and technical prowess. “There’s much to praise about the remake of Demon’s Souls. It’s a remarkable technical showpiece for the PlayStation 5,” Hussain said. “A gripping gameplay experience that oscillates between exhilarating, nerve-wracking, and downright heartbreaking; and a faithful recreation of the seminal title that birthed the Souls-like subgenre.”
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
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Warhammer 40K: Darktide is an online co-op shooter full of nasty little ghouls just begging to be decapitated. The average mission will see you and three squadmates smashing and blasting your way through approximately 1,000 baddies in half an hour (seriously—I’m not exaggerating). By default, Darktide’s mission board throws you into quickplay matchmaking, where you may be tossed into a mission in progress or match up with three other players to start one fresh.
But if you don’t want to play that way—if you’d prefer to play solo, or perhaps with a single friend—your options are unfortunately limited.
Darktide does not currently support offline singleplayer or private online matches. You can’t start up a mission solo with a trio of bots as your wingmen, which is currently the biggest complaint I’ve seen from Darktide’s players. Here’s the situation in Darktide right now, and what Fatshark has said about future plans (it’s good news).
No, you can’t play Darktide just with bots (yet)
There is currently no built-in option to start a solo match of Darktide with bots. Bots are only available to fill-in for players who quit or are disconnected from a match mid-mission.
However, Fatshark is working on such a feature. According to Fatshark’s first community update, posted on November 18, private matches are coming either on launch day (November 30) or in December:
“We’ve been working on an option to play exclusively in Solo Mode, where you will be hosting locally your own instance with bots. Because you will be hosting the AI and other game systems locally, this will increase performance cost. However, we continue to monitor and improve the performance where we can. Solo play is in its final stages of testing as we fix the last issues that remain. We aim to release this at Launch. If not, a patch shortly after that in December.”
Fatshark also shared a few details on private match options. More on that below.
Can you create a private Darktide lobby?
Sadly no—not right now. There is no way to create a private match in Darktide—except by inviting three friends to your game to create a four-player squad. If you have a full four-player squad, Darktide won’t matchmake you with other players.
While Vermintide 2 operated on peer-to-peer networking—meaning individual players hosted their own games—Darktide 2 runs entirely on dedicated servers. That may be one reason for the lack of private play, but a more likely explanation is that Darktide is simply balanced for a full squad at all times, and scaling hordes of enemies and difficulty down for one, two, or three players would add a lot of complexity. Darktide’s bots may also not be up to the challenge of carrying their weight as more than temporary fill-ins.
Good news, though: Fatshark says private matches are on the way in December:
“We have recently begun implementing Private Games as an option, and we’re in the middle stages of development for this. When launched, you can start a private game with 2-4 of your friends. We expect to be able to release this later in December. We heard your feedback on these topics and needed some time to investigate the solutions we had available to us. We hope you enjoy these features when released and welcome further input on them.”
Some players desperate for a private co-op experience during the beta have actually come up with a workaround for playing with bots in smaller groups, but it’s not elegant.
(Image credit: Fatshark)
However… there is a way to play Darktide with just one friend and bots, but it’s rude
As outlined by a player on the Steam forums, it is possible for you and a single friend to play Darktide with two other bots. If you party up and join a match together, then go AFK, the other two players won’t be able to kick you—that requires three votes. Assuming those other players get fed up and quit, they’ll be replaced with bots.
It’s obviously not a great solution. You’re wasting other players’ time just because you don’t want to play with them, which is selfish. And Darktide supports join-in-progress, so it’s possible new players could be matchmade into your game to replace the bots, anyway.
I wouldn’t recommend this technique to anyone—it’s a rude way to treat other players who are playing in good faith. But if you see two players immediately going AFK when you start up a mission, well, now you know why.
Could you play just with bots in Vermintide 2?
Yes. In Fatshark’s last game, Warhammer: Vermintide 2, you can create a private game, where only your friends can join. There’s also a lobby browser and a “strict matchmaking” toggle that allows you to only join lobbies that haven’t yet started a mission. Those features existing in Vermintide 2 are likely a big reason why so many players are upset to find no private lobby option in Darktide 2.
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1668810679_Can-you-play-Warhammer-40K-Darktide-solo-with-bots-Not.jpg5631200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2022-11-18 21:25:132022-11-18 21:25:13Can you play Warhammer 40K: Darktide solo with bots? Not yet, but private matches are coming
NBA 2K23 is on sale right now for as low $30-$40 at several retailers.
Best Buy currently has the best price on physical copies, offering the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version for $30, or PS5 and Xbox Series X copies for $35, but you need to sign into your free My Best Buy account to get the discounted price.
If Best Buy’s deal sells out, Amazon also has NBA 2K23 on sale. Standard physical copies for Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch are $30, while PS5 and Xbox Series X copies are $40. You can also grab the game digitally for several platforms, including $27 for Switch or Xbox One codes, or $35 for PS5.
Lastly, Xbox owners can purchase NBA 2K23 digitally from the Microsoft store at a discount as well. The Xbox Series X version is just $35 and the Xbox One version is $27. The digital version of the Michael Jordan Edition is also on sale for just $50 (normally $100).
NBA 2K23 is the latest release in 2K’s long-running annual basketball series. In GameSpot’s NBA 2K23 review, Mark Delaney says the game “looks and feels lifelike and exciting in every drive,” and despite a few issues with in-game ads and microtransactions, it’s “an exceptional basketball game made with an intense attention to detail and a love of the game.”
Fans of other sports franchises can also take advantage of several other holiday sales running right now, including deals on NHL 23 and PGA Tour 2K23.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1668946706_Grab-NBA-2K23-For-Its-Lowest-Price-Yet.jpg6751200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2022-11-18 21:24:002022-11-18 21:24:00Grab NBA 2K23 For Its Lowest Price Yet
Activision has dismissed as “nonsense” a claim by Epic Games that Google paid it $360 million in exchange for an agreement not to launch a mobile app store that would compete with Google Play. The allegation was revealed in an unredacted complaint filed earlier this week as part of Epic’s ongoing lawsuit against Google, which also claims that a similar agreement was reached with League of Legends studio Riot Games.
Epic filed its lawsuit against Google (opens in new tab) in August 2020, the same day it sued Apple for its “monopolistic practices” on the App Store, and for basically the same reasons: Google requires developers on the Play store to use its In-App Billing system to process payments, which takes a 30% cut of any purchases made through the storefront, and Epic wants the option to use its own payment processing.
The suit has been grinding on for a while now, and has been largely overshadowed by Epic’s beef with Apple, which has given us sweeping pronouncements, silly graphics, and even a full-on cinematic parody (opens in new tab) of Apple’s famous 1984 ad. But there was one very interesting development on the Google front: Epic claims that Google has made multiple “anticompetitive agreements” with other developers who were considering either the development of a competing mobile app store, or releasing their products standalone.
“Some of these agreements were intended to, and did, stop developers from launching competing app stores, which is a per se violation of the antitrust laws,” Epic’s lawsuit states. “Other agreements were intended to, and did, unlawfully stop developers from making Android apps and other unique content available outside Google Play.”
The filing alleges that Activision was considering its own mobile distribution platform, which it expected would have “better economics” than Google Play, but dropped the idea after reaching a “Project Hug” deal with Google. Google allegedly paid Activision $360 million over three years, and Activision “abandoned its plan to launch a competing Android app store.” Also according to Epic’s lawsuit, Riot Games was considering a similar standalone path for League of Legends, but made a separate “eight-figure” deal with Google in exchange for dropping its plan.
Google reached Project Hug deals, or “App and Games Velocity Program” deals as they were later known, with numerous other games companies, according to the filing, including Bandai Namco, Electronic Arts, NCSoft, NetEase, Nexon, Nintendo, Square Enix, Tencent, and Ubisoft. There are no specific allegations that those deals were made to prevent the launch of competing app stores or standalone game releases, however.
Epic initially made allegations about Project Hug in August 2021, but did not reveal any specific dollar amounts of names of companies involved at that time. In response, Google acknowledged the existence of the programs, but denied that they were aimed at shutting down competition.
“Google Play competes with other app stores on Android devices and on rival operating systems for developer attention and business,” a rep told The Verge in 2021. “We’ve long had programs in place that support best-in-class developers with enhanced resources and investments to help them reach more customers across Google Play. These programs are a sign of healthy competition between operating systems and app stores and benefit developers tremendously.”
In response to this new filing, Activision also denied the allegations of a quid pro quo deal to shut down plans for its own mobile store.
“Epic’s allegations are nonsense,” an Activision representative said in a statement sent to PC Gamer. “We can confirm that Google never asked us, pressured us, or made us agree not to compete with Google Play—and we’ve already submitted documents and testimony that prove this.”
We’ve been continually astonished by Google’s brazen embrace of anticompetitive practices. From the secret “Fortnite Task Force” they created to attack Epic when we launched outside of Google Play, to the big-money deals they made with competitors to dissuade store competition. https://t.co/uODqd6lsWxNovember 18, 2022
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Generally speaking, corporations are not famously big fans of meaningful competition, but Epic’s claim in this particular instance could be difficult to prove. Activision took a swing at going its own way several years ago on Battle.net (opens in new tab), but eventually came back to Steam (opens in new tab)—which also charges a 30% cut—presumably because it’s so deeply entrenched. Other publishers, including Electroni (opens in new tab)c Arts, have reached the same conclusion, and it’s likely that remaining holdouts will eventually give in (opens in new tab), too. So it’s not hard to believe that Activision abandoned plans for a standalone mobile app not because of a payoff, but because it’s just not economically worthwhile.
It’s also worth noting that Google, unlike Apple, already allows other storefronts on Android devices—Amazon (opens in new tab) has one, for instance—and it seems inevitable that more will be coming. Microsoft, for instance, recently revealed plans to build a mobile Xbox store (opens in new tab), which somewhat ironically would bring Activision games to a non-Play storefront anyway.
Riot Games declined to comment on Epic’s allegations. I’ve reached out to Google for more information and will update if I receive a reply.
Darktide is here! Sort of. Fatshark’s FPS follow-up to Vermintide 2 is technically out on November 30, but anyone who pre-orders the game between now and then can jump in early to play a pre-launch beta, which currently offers four somewhat-randomized missions across four somewhat-randomized levels, aka “zones.” It’s not the full game, then, but you can play all four classes and level up and unlock weapons with no limitations.
Now that we’ve had a day to get ourselves situated, here’s what we think of Darktide—and its changes since the October beta—so far.
How do the classes feel?
Fraser Brown, Online Editor: I’ve mostly been playing a Psyker and while I’m very much enjoying Darktide broadly, I’m less enamored with the class. It was hit with a big nerf and now feels a bit hobbled as a result. That said, I’m still finding myself grinning like a maniac every time I pop a brain or send a horde of enemies reeling thanks to my psychic shockwave. Even when I’m just slicing up a hundred poxwalkers with my shitty sword, I’m having a blast. And it feels just different enough from Vermintide that I don’t feel like I’m retreading old ground.
Judging by the heavy-handed changes to the Psyker, though, balance still feels very much in flux right now. The tutorial and tool tips haven’t even been updated to reflect all of the most recent changes. So yeah, still very much a beta. Fatshark has already warned players that changes are to be expected, and couldn’t promise there’d be no wipes, so don’t get too attached to a build.
Sean Martin, Guides Writer: Though the start of the beta has proven a sad time for Psykers, it’s only cemented the love I already had for the Preacher class. I know I’m just playing Slayer all over again, but the joy of hunting pesky ranged units through dimly lit corridors and ventilation shafts as they try to escape me is sublime. The whole breach-and-clear Preacher playstyle of hurling a stun grenade then charging a bulwark of ranged enemies to hack them to pieces feels like a new iteration of what the Slayer was, and I’m very much here for it.
(Image credit: Fatshark)
Wes Fenlon, Senior Editor: I’m having a real good time with my big Ogryn boy so far, but I’m eager to try a Psyker too—just not until Fatshark’s had some time to tweak it. Fraser’s Darktide classes guide offers a good overview of the strengths and weaknesses for each at launch. I love my survivability as a giant, but I admit I was a bit disappointed by the limited options in the character creator. I wanted to make an Ogryn pretty boy—a true 40K Gaston—but the set of bulbous faces and raggedy haircuts didn’t give me a lot to work with. Still, I’m chuckling every time there’s a cutscene and my character has to take a knee just to be at eye level with whoever’s talking.
Progression is slow at the start
Wes: One of the most significant changes Fatshark’s made from Vermintide 2 is going the create-a-character route, instead of having five preset characters. I’m excited for the change—I loved Vermintide 2’s banter, but I like that this approach frees us up to have a bit of roleplaying and more personally crafted characters. I assume Fatshark will be doing a lot more with cosmetics and customization than it did in Vermintide 2 for the first couple years; but right at the start, I’m kind of missing that game’s simpler approach. I’ve played three hours of Darktide, and I still don’t have a single piece of cosmetic gear to show for it.
At this point I’m not sure what features are missing in the beta that I don’t even know about
Why am I still decked out in my prisoner garb at level four? Why can’t I at least buy, like, a skull-emblazoned baseball tee for my big ogre boy? At least every character in Vermintide 2 looked cool off the bat.
I can’t start equipping Curios, the stat-buffing accessories like Vermintide’s trinkets, until level eight. Completing missions earns me a bit of cash I can spend at a shop on slightly better gear, but the options just give me choice paralysis. I didn’t love Vermintide 2’s loot chest system, which relied on finding specific items in each mission to get decent gear, but those chests did just give me stuff to mess with as soon as I started playing, and it felt good to have some incremental upgrades and weapons to try out with no risk of a bad investment. These complaints will probably be moot after spending more time with Darktide, but it kinda sucks playing a game with a cosmetics system and not getting any cosmetics for several hours.
(Image credit: Fatshark)
There are also some beta issues making progression more confusing: currently none of the missions I’m able to select seem to have secondary bonus objectives. I think those are just… broken, right now? Or they simply haven’t been added yet? At this point I’m not sure what features are missing in the beta that I don’t even know about.
Performance and stability are still rough
It’s certainly better than it was during the last beta
Fraser: Even with my 3080 Ti, I’ve only been able to get an acceptable performance by kicking ray tracing to the curb, which is a shame, since it’s why I got the card in the first place: all those lovely reflections. My older CPU is partly to blame, though not exclusively. It’s certainly better than it was during the last beta, though.
Wes: Trying to play with a friend last night was a bit fraught. The first time we launched a mission, her game crashed immediately. When she rejoined… crashed again. We thought drivers could’ve been the culprit, so after she updated to Nvidia’s latest we tried again… and my game crashed, breaking Nvidia Broadcast’s mic input in the process. And I was already on the latest drivers. Finally, our third match worked, and neither game crashed, which felt like luck more than anything. I have a feeling there’s a lot of frantic work to be done on crash fixing between now and November 30.
Performance has been pretty good on my 3070 with RTX on low and DLSS enabled—well above 60 fps at 1440p—but I’ve seen a lot of complaints from other players. We’ll definitely be digging into performance more during the beta.
Sean: I had a few disconnects due to crashes, but one thing I must say is that I managed to rejoin every single game that I dropped from, and that definitely wasn’t the case in the previous beta. Darktide does have its fair share of bugs right now, though, such as when a charging mutant tackled my teammate through a wall and kept running into infinity.
(Image credit: Fatshark)
40K vibe check: it’s as grim as I hoped
Tim Clark, Brand Director: Due to yesterday’s PC Gaming Show I’ve only managed to play just past the prison break prologue, but Fatshark has nailed the 40K setting far better than most of Games Workshop’s licensees. No surprise, given the quality of Vermintide’s take on the fantasy version, but Darktide feels like it’s going to be the kind of proper triple-A game us nerds are always hankering for. From the shambling animation of the pox walkers as they barrel (distressingly quickly) towards my face to the satisfying CRAAAAK of my Veteran Sharpshooter’s las rifle, it instantly feels right. My hope is the campaign is going to be like being transported into a particularly combat-porn Black Library novel.
It’s also no surprise that so far the melee combat feels better resolved than the ranged model does. By which I mean, this feels like a game from a studio that has specialized in chopping through gibbering waves of enemies. The initial gunplay is a little basic. I’m also not entirely enamored with how clunky and heavy my character feels. There’s a good chance that’s because I’m thousands of hours over-familiar with Destiny 2’s double-jump bounciness, but I’m keen to see whether that weightiness changes as I unlock more abilities and weapons.
Honestly though, for now I’m just excited to spend this weekend exploring such a gorgeously bleak and detailed 40K world. Plus the head chopping tech is really *chef’s kiss*.
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1668851347_What-we-like-and-dont-like-in-Warhammer-40K-Darktide.jpg6751200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2022-11-18 21:07:032022-11-18 21:07:03What we like and don’t like in Warhammer 40K: Darktide so far
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is here with the new DMZ extraction mode. This is more of an objective-based sandbox game that plays very different to battle royale. With many ways to tackle a round, including a variety of objectives all set in a PvPvE environment, it can be a lot to take in. Here we’ll list some tips and general information to help you get started and make the most of your time in DMZ mode.
Quick DMZ overview
DMZ is a trios mode in a PvPvE environment, where you can have the option to choose how you want to play, which includes looting for high-value items and weapons and completing faction objectives. You keep everything you loot with a successful exfil, but you risk losing almost everything if you die and fail to extract from the match.
General DMZ tips for beginners
Weapons work differently than battle royale
DMZ’s insured weapon blueprints and Contraband weapon types
Before loading into a match of DMZ, it’s important to understand how weapon loadouts work. Here’s a full guide to DMZ weapon types, but basically, there are weapons you extract from the mode called Contraband, and there are the weapons you customize with the Gunsmith to take into DMZ, and those are called weapon blueprints.
Whether you choose to go into a mission with your custom weapon blueprint, a Contraband weapon, or nothing at all will depend on what your goal is for the match. If your objective is just to go in and scavenge loot and money to extract with, it’s not worth risking your best guns. You can easily load into a match with just your fists, melee the first AI you see, and take their weapon. Or you can scavenge a building and likely find something to use.
Save the better guns for when you’re loading in for something specific that requires more firepower, such as clearing out Strongholds or a series of difficult faction missions.
Freebies and early essentials
Make sure to always load into a match with your lethal, tactical and field upgrade equipment. You always get to pick these items at the start of a match, and you never lose access to them. I recommend the munitions box for the best field upgrade, so you always have ammo at your disposal. You can always scavenge more or different lethals and tactical equipment, but always take those freebies.
Once in the match, look for the vests that let you equip more armor. You can buy these from Buy Stations, but there’s a good chance you’ll loot one if you search nearby buildings.
Easy weapon unlocks
One really important thing to note is that if you’re new or only have Warzone 2.0, you can unlock weapons much faster in DMZ. Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 have a complex weapon progression system that requires you to use certain weapons to unlock others, but you can bypass this hassle by simply extracting with guns in DMZ. Everytime you exfil with a weapon you don’t already have unlocked, it will unlock it for use across all modes. So, if you find a new gun you like, make sure you exfil with it.
Start faction missions early
DMZ faction missions
Before loading into a match, you’ll have the option to choose three faction missions to complete in-game. These are tons of various challenges, including tasks like looting specific items, collecting intel, and eliminating marked targets. They do range in difficulty, but completing them will not only give you decent XP and rewards, but it also works towards unlocking additional insured weapon slots. Here is our full guide on how you unlock the additional weapon slots for DMZ, which also explains how you can reduce the cooldown penalty of your weapon blueprints.
DMZ assimilation feature and communication
If your squadmates die or you just need backup, you can use Warzone 2.0’s new assimilation feature. This lets you use a communication wheel to request to join other trios, or ask others to join you. This function is found by pressing up on the D-pad to access the mode’s communication wheel. This wheel also lets you use basic communication options for grouping up with friendlies or asking for help in your area.
Some AI are tough
Some AI are easy to fight, but beware of the armored AI and those at Strongholds or other dense objective areas, as they offer a more challenging fight. Make sure you have ammo and armor plates at your disposal, and don’t be afraid to retreat from a fight.
You can refuel and repair your vehicles
Unlike the original Warzone, the vehicles in Warzone 2 don’t have an unlimited fuel capacity. Make sure to watch the fuel meter at the bottom center of your screen. You can refuel vehicles with looted gas cans on the fly, but you can also refill and repair vehicles at gas stations.
Don’t feel pressured to stay
Loading in as a trio might seem like your fate is permanently tethered to teammates, but you can exfil at any time and don’t have to wait on your squadmates. You can choose to exfil separately, and so can they.
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