Genshin Impact developer Hoyoverse (formerly Mihoyo) has announced a brand-new event for the free-to-play open-world RPG: Divine Ingenuity, which opens up a customizable dungeon mechanic for players to show off their creative minds.

The limited-time event will run from March 2 at 10 AM server time until March 21 at 3:59 AM server time, adding a domain–the Genshin Impact equivalent of a “dungeon”–in Liyue, the eastern region of Teyvat. Five pre-made custom dungeons will be part of the domain once players arrive, and upon clearing them the ability to make custom dungeons will unlock along with standard rewards like Primogens and Hero’s Wit.

The Adventurers’ Guild has discovered a strange Domain in the outskirts of Liyue. Let’s take a look at what this new Domain has in store~
See Full Details >>>https://t.co/rV9LPZy5yO#GenshinImpact pic.twitter.com/qrhB7ciNlU

— Genshin Impact (@GenshinImpact) March 1, 2022

Many different parts will be available to players who want to build their own dungeons, including different terrains, slopes, traversal mechanisms, items to pick up, and traps to hinder progress. Players can also save up to five of their created dungeons for continued use, or share their creations with the community while challenging other user-created challenges.

The Genshin Impact Divine Ingenuity event is part of the recent Version 2.5 update, which added a new hero in Yae Miko. It follows the recent Three Realms Gateway Offering event, which was broken up into multiple parts.

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Valve’s Steam Deck console is out now, and some of the first units were personally delivered by none other than Valve founder and billionaire Gabe Newell. In a fun little video, we get to see Newell walking through neighborhoods near Valve’s headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, hand-delivering units to fans.

Some people are excited, some are confused, and some didn’t seem to recognize him at all. “Hi, I’m Gabe Newell. I’m just wandering around your neighborhood,” Newell says in the video.

Newell delivered newspapers and telegrams for Western Union when he was younger, so he’s got experience going door-to-door with packages in this way.

A common theme in the video is Newell asking people to share their honest opinions with him and Valve about Steam Deck. He gives out his work email to anyone who wants it, and says he reads every email he receives because that’s a good way to connect with fans and stay grounded. “I get anywhere from several hundred to several thousand emails a day. I read them all. And that keeps you super grounded. You know what people are actually thinking; what’s actually important to them,” he said.

Also of note here is that Newell signed the Steam Decks he delivered, so they will indeed become very unique and rare collector’s items.

For more on the Steam Deck, check out GameSpot’s Steam Deck review. “What the Steam Deck excels at is being a mobile hub for your Steam games, giving you enough to work with to get the best out of a selection of games you can’t go without while away from your desktop. In that regard, there simply is nothing better on the market right now,” reviewer Alessandro Barbosa said.

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From Software’s Hidetaka Miyazaki, the game director of the recently released Elden Ring, has weighed in on the discussion surrounding the game’s difficulty. Speaking to The New Yorker, Miyazaki said he feels apologetic to those who are hesitant to play From Software’s games due to their difficulty, but maintained that From Software is not planning to change anything because the feeling of overcoming hardship is the studio’s “identity.”

“I do feel apologetic toward anyone who feels there’s just too much to overcome in my games,” Miyazaki said. “I just want as many players as possible to experience the joy that comes from overcoming hardship.”

He added: “We are always looking to improve, but, in our games specifically, hardship is what gives meaning to the experience. So it’s not something we’re willing to abandon at the moment. It’s our identity.”

In Elden Ring, and other From Software games, you die a lot. Miyazaki commented on this phenomenon, too, saying the team has attempted to purposefully design Elden Ring so that the feeling of death and rebirth is something that is enjoyable, unlike in real life when you die and the lights go out forever.

“When I’m playing these games, I think, This is the way I’d want to die–in a way that is amusing or interesting, or that creates a story I can share,” he said. “Death and rebirth, trying and overcoming–we want that cycle to be enjoyable. In life, death is a horrible thing. In play, it can be something else.”

The full interview at The New Yorker is a great read that shines much more light on Elden Ring and Miyazaki himself–go read it here.

GameSpot’s Elden Ring review-in-progress scored the game a rare 10/10. Reviewer Tamoor Hussain said, “Elden Ring takes the shards of what came before and forges them into something that will go down in history as one of the all-time greats: a triumph in design and creativity, and an open-world game that distinguishes itself for what it doesn’t do as much as what it does.”

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Respawn Entertainment is delaying the launch of Apex Legends‘ mobile version until next week due to ongoing “current world events,” which is most likely a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The launch was supposed to take place today, February 28.

In a blog post, Respawn said the plan is to now launch Apex Legends Mobile on March 7 in select participating countries. These countries include Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Colombia.

During the limited launch, the following Legends will be available: Bloodhound, Gibraltar, Lifeline, Wraith, Bangalore, Octane, Mirage, Pathfinder, and Caustic.

As for when Apex Legends Mobile will launch in more places, Respawn hasn’t said yet. The studio will announce support for other regions after the testing phase in its initial markets.

You can help Ukrainians in need by donating to charity. We also have a roundup of how game developers are supporting the crisis in Ukraine.

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Epic Games has shaken things up in the Fortnite item shop, introducing a brand new content pack format in the Monarch’s Level Up Quest Pack. This new quest line not only offers an skin and other cosmetics, but completing the quests accompanying the character can also help you quickly level up your battle pass before the end of Chapter 3, Season 1 on March 19.

Fortnite Monarch’s Level Up Quest Pack Explained

Monarch’s Level Up Quest Pack can be purchased just like any other cosmetic in the Fortnite item shop at a cost of 1,200 V-Bucks. Purchasing the pack immediately unlocks the Monarch skin and a number of quests based on when you made the purchase. Buying it now? You’ll have the first seven quests to complete each week for the next four weeks. Waiting until the last week of the season? 28 quests will be unlocked as soon as the V-Bucks are exchanged.

Seven new quests unlock each week between now and the end of the season, with all 28 expiring at season’s end on March 19. By completing each week’s quests, you unlock a new cosmetic based on the initial Monarch skin unlocked at purchase. Those cosmetics are as follows:

Week 1 Quests: Shattered Wings back blingWeek 2 Quests: Monarch’s Glow wrapWeek 3 Quests: Golden style for the Shattered Wings back blingWeek 4 Quests: Golden style for the Monarch skin

That’s not all! Every single quest you complete from this pack also gives you an instant level up in your battle pass, with up to 28 levels up for grabs. Epic Games has also clarified that leveling up in this manner will not reset your experience bar, meaning if you have 100 XP left before reaching level 99 and you complete a quest from this pack, you’ll progress to 99 and only need 100 XP before reaching level 100.

Fortnite Monarch’s Level Up Quest Pack Week 1 Challenges

The first week’s worth of challenges for the Monarch’s Level Up Quest Pack is as follows:

Collect Level Up Token northeast of Logjam LumberyardCollect Level Up Token east of Greasy GroveCollect Level Up Token at Sunflower’s SaplingsCollect Level Up Token at Sandblast EstatesCollect Level Up Token at Rocky ResidenceCollect Level Up Token at Mighty MonumentCollect Level Up Token at Happy Camper

Now you might read those quests and worry that there’s a wild token goose chase in your future, but fear not: Every token you’re looking for will appear both on the main map and on the mini-map, so you won’t have to run around searching for it when you reach the designated location. Follow the map, collect your token, and earn that extra battle pass level.

Monarch’s Level Up Quest Pack is the latest addition to the Fortnite item shop but there’s more on the way, with the next major crossover coming via the new Uncharted movie.

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Pokemon Go‘s latest Mega Raid is now on, and this time Trainers will be facing off against an electrified enemy adorned with clouds. Mega Ampharos–an amplified version of the Johto region’s shocking sheep Mareep’s final evolution–has been named as the latest Pokemon Go Mega Raid, running from now until March 1. Mega Ampharos is the latest Mega Raid to challenge Trainers, with Mega Houndoom setting Mega Raids ablaze at the beginning of the month. We’re not sure when Mega Ampharos will return to the raid circuit, so if you’re going to challenge it check out our tips below.

The long-maned Mega Ampharos is the next Pokemon Go Mega Raid target.

What’s a “Mega” Pokemon?

Before we begin, let’s answer a simple question: what makes a “Mega” Pokemon different from a normal one? First introduced in 2013’s Pokemon X and Y, Mega Evolutions were a temporary power-up that designated Pokemon had access to, giving that Pokemon access to a more powerful form so long as the player had collected the correct corresponding item during the adventure.

In Pokemon Go, a Pokemon with a Mega form can access it by consuming Mega Energy specific to that Pokemon, earned through activities like research tasks and catching other Pokemon. The first transformation to Mega form will cost 200 Mega Energy, while future transformations will cost 40.

Mega Pokemon not only have increased statistics, but they offer a damage boost to other Pokemon participating in a raid. The transformation only last for eight hours though, so be sure you’re going to maximize the time given.

Mega Ampharos raid schedule

Mega Ampharos enters the five-star raid ring starting February 16 at 10 AM local time, remaining there until 8 PM on March 1. Unfortunately, the game does not follow any set schedules with its raid–Mega Raids are one of six ranks a raid can be once the countdown begins–but the game constantly tells you who’s around to raid, so just keep an eye out. Mega Raids, specifically, are indicated by a special red egg.

Mega Ampharos weaknesses and counters

Mega Ampharos becomes a dual-type Electric-/Dragon-type Pokemon when Mega evolved, adding the Dragon-type to its original form’s Electric typing. Amazingly, the addition of the Dragon-type with the Mega Evolution also quadruples the number of weaknesses the Pokemon has–increasing from a single weakness to four–which makes it much easier to strategize for come raid time.

Dragon-, Fairy-, Ground-, and Ice-type moves will all be super effective against Mega Ampharos, so load up on those moves before making your move. Excadrill and Rhyperior are fantastic options for this fight, and while Garchomp could also work it’s also a Dragon-type, meaning it will be weak to any Dragon-type attacks from Mega Ampharos. Galarian Darmantian and Mamoswine can exploit the Ice-type weakness with some powerful moves, giving you a few options.

Types to avoid

Mega Ampharos may quadruple its weaknesses in this form, but it also increases its resistances from three to six. Electric-type moves are the least effective against Mega Ampharos, so leave Raichu and Zapdos at home for this one. Fire-, Flying-, Grass-, Steel-, and Water-type moves are also bad ideas, though they aren’t as heavily resisted by Mega Ampharos as Electric-type moves are.

Once you’ve captured the shocking yellow Mega Pokemon for yourself, get it ready for the upcoming Pokemon Go Tour: Johto and the Poke Ball Prep Rally coming up soon.

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DICE has made some significant changes to Battlefield 2042‘s Breakthrough mode, which had been suffering from some amount of gameplay imbalance.

In a forum post, DICE said it is aware that the attacking team was often provided with too many reinforcements for the final sector–and that’s a problem. This is “neither balanced, nail-biting, nor fair for the opposing team,” the studio said.

As a result, the ticket values for the attacking team in Breakthrough have been updated. “The purpose of this change is to help even out the odds and create a more exciting experience throughout the match, especially in the final sectors,” DICE said of the changes.

For the 128-player version, the attacking team gets more tickets to start each match, but fewer with each sector cleared. That is the general rule, but the specific ticket numbers vary by map.

“We’ll be monitoring these changes to ensure that it’s producing healthier rounds, and will let you know if we need to make further adjustments in the future,” DICE said.

DICE delayed the launch of Battlefield 2042’s Season 1, citing a desire to improve the core game first before adding new content. Additionally, management at Electronic Arts plainly stated that Battlefield 2042 failed to meet its sales expectations. Though the company did not disclose a sales target for the game, management said issues related to COVID and some design choices that did not resonate with fans were partially to blame.

Still, EA stressed that it remains committed to growing and improving Battlefield 2042 and turning it around, not unlike how DICE successfully improved Star Wars: Battlefront II after a rocky start. There have been ongoing rumors that DICE is considering making at least some of Battlefield 2042 free to help reinvigorate the community, but no official announcements about this have been made.

Despite its issues, Battlefield 2042 was the fifth best-selling game in the US during 2021.

Battlefield 2042 Breakthrough Changes

Breakaway

128 PlayersInitial Tickets: 650 (up from 600)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 200 (down from 300)64 PlayersInitial Tickets: 300 (down from 400)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Discarded

128 PlayersInitial Tickets: 750 (up from 600)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 200 (down from 300)64 PlayersInitial Tickets: 350 (down from 400)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 100 (down from 150)

Hourglass

128 PlayersInitial Tickets: 700 (up from 600)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 225 (down from 300)64 PlayersInitial Tickets: 300 (down from 400)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Kaleidoscope

128 PlayersInitial Tickets: 600 (No Change)Tickets Rewarded per Sector:300 (No Change)64 PlayersInitial Tickets: 300 (down from 400)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Manifest

128 PlayersInitial Tickets: 700 (up from 600)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 275 (down from 300)64 PlayersInitial Tickets: 400 (No change)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Orbital

128 PlayersInitial Tickets: 700 (up from 600)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 150 (down from 300)64 PlayersInitial Tickets: 300 (down from 400)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Renewal

128 PlayersInitial Tickets: 650 (up from 600)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 150 (down from 300)64 PlayersInitial Tickets: 400 (No change)Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Elden Ring spoilers are leaking ahead of the game’s release, as some fans have gotten hands on their copies early.

While Elden Ring has a planned launch of February 25, some players have managed to get their copies just over a week early, and are streaming the game on Twitch (thanks, VGC). Not only that, but the game’s intro cinematic has been released early, alongside some screengrabs and gameplay features.

Publisher Bandai Namco is doing what it can to take down the leaks, but do be careful when looking things up about Elden Ring online. If you want to go in as spoiler-free as possible, now might be the time to avoid social media.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to learn more about the game, GameSpot recently had some hands-on time with the game, where we covered 13 things we think you should know about Elden Ring.

And you’re also wondering what time specifically the game is going to be available and how much space you’ll need, we’ve got you covered there too.

Elden Ring is launching on February 25 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

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It’s a big day for Rare’s swashbuckling adventure game Sea of Thieves, which welcomes its first new Adventure expansion, “Shrouded Islands.” The so-called Adventures are limited-time, story-focused events that are separate from the game’s ongoing seasonal updates.

The first Adventure, Shrouded Islands, has players venturing into the “ethereal mist” to uncover secrets, take part in battles, and earn new rewards. A new Adventure will come to Sea of Thieves about once every month, and these will run for about two weeks. Shrouded Islands is available until March 3.

“As Shrouded Islands opens, a new threat encroaching upon Golden Sands Outpost, the sudden disappearance of Captain Flameheart from the skies and reported sightings of the mysterious Belle have caused a hubbub on the Sea of Thieves–with Larinna, leader of the Bilge Rats, keeping a watchful eye on these strange events,” reads a line from its description. “Whenever you’re looking to venture forth on an Adventure, Larinna should have a lead to help you get started and will even beckon you over if you approach the tavern.”

The update that adds Shrouded Island is free and available to all Sea of Thieves players, whether they own the game outright or have it through Game Pass on console and PC. The patch notes and file sizes by platform can be seen below.

Years after launch, Sea of Thieves is still doing big numbers for Microsoft. By the company’s latest count, it has 25 million players. Sea of Thieves is one of GameSpot’s best Xbox One games of all time, and you can see the rest in our roundup of the Xbox One’s 25 best games.

Sea Of Thieves Shrouded Island File Size

Xbox Series X: 9.2 GBXbox Series S: 6.36 GBXbox One X: 9.2 GBXbox One: 6.36 GBMicrosoft Store: 8.95 GBSteam: 8.22 GB

Sea Of Thieves Shrouded Island Patch Notes

Gameplay Improvements

Improved Shanty Selection

When equipping an instrument, holding the secondary interact button will now open the Shanty Radial directly, allowing players to easily switch between shanties.

Shop Filters

New filters are now provided when browsing shop stock, allowing players to cycle through all items, owned items and unowned items for easier access.

Storm Effects

When sailing the open sea in a storm, the strong current requires players to fight the wheel to maintain a course. However, when approaching an island or shipwreck, crews will now find that the current is less forceful and no longer causes the wheel to spin erratically.

Emote Radial Improvements

Within a Vanity Chest, players now have access to 10 pages where emotes can be equipped.Bringing up the Emote Radial and cycling through the pages will also now only display pages which have emotes equipped.

Sunken Kingdom Treasury Balancing

When raiding the vault of a Siren Treasury, crews will now find two gold piles with consistent gold rewards.

Outpost Cosmetics

Stygian Admiral Set

The Outpost clothing shops now stock the Stygian Admiral clothing set, available to purchase for gold.

Accessibility

Ship’s Wheel Audio Support

Players can now access additional audio support when using the ship’s wheel. Within the Game Audio Settings, use ‘Enable Additional Wheel Turning Sounds’ to play a distinctive sound every quarter-turn of the wheel. The volume of this effect can be tweaked by using the accompanying volume slider.

Fixed Issues

Gameplay

While aiming down sights with a ranged weapon, being hit with a sword attack from another player or lightning attack from an Eel-ectric should no longer cancel the player’s aim.Resetting the input settings to default will now also reset the input for Swim Up.The Full Billow achievement can now be unlocked when completing the required criteria.Defeating skeletons or Phantoms while under the effects of a Cursed Cannonball will now progress the Master of Cursed Iron Commendation.Skeleton Ships and skeletons using island cannons should now fire at targets more consistently without long pauses between shots.When sitting in a Rowboat, interaction prompts for nearby seats and objects are no longer shown as they cannot be interacted with until the player stands.Mouse users on PC can now enable the ‘Recentre Mouse in Menus’ setting to ensure the mouse cursor returns to the centre of the screen when opening full-screen menus.

Pirate Emporium

Performing the Stargazing Emote while wearing the Lodestar Costume now ensures the emote camera zooms into the correct location on the pirate.

Environment

Players should no longer find areas within the Pirate Legend Hideout where they can trigger a safe teleport.

Visual and Audio

An audible wood splintering sound can once again be heard when ships take damage from a range of external sources.Players should no longer encounter a multicoloured chequerboard effect on ship materials when loading into a session.Shooting while moving forwards, then sprinting and abruptly stopping, should no longer cause the weapon reload animation to skip.The Dark Adventurers Beard no longer clips into the player’s mouth when using a range of emotes.During an Ashen Lord encounter, when an Ashen Lord lunges at a player, they will now animate correctly during the leap.During an Ashen Lord encounter, the geysers resulting from a World’s End attack will now fade back into the sand.The visual effects when firing cannons are now triggered immediately, removing a perceived delay in launching cannonballs.Loading screens on PC will now display correctly sized images when using a 4K screen resolution.Capuchin and Barbary monkeys wearing the Cronch Outfits now fit correctly into cannon barrels when loaded.Players standing on the Sloop bed will no longer generate muffled sounds for others in proximity.Standing behind the Ferryman on the Ferry of the Damned should no longer cause their head to snap to the player.When wearing the Bell Brigade Gloves, the player’s hands should no longer clip into held items.‘Dark Brethren’ – The water effects in the flume section now flow smoothly through the tunnel.When playing in windowed mode and resizing the screen during gameplay, using an Eye of Reach or spyglass zoom will no longer cause the screen to be off-centre.

Text and Localisation

Steam players using Turkish language settings within Steam game properties will now find Sea of Thieves launches in Turkish.The Night-Time Spectacular achievement now correctly states the unlocking requirement of a display of five or more fireworks at night.

Accessibility

When ‘Let Games Read to Me’ is enabled, the narration now clearly informs players when the game is loading.Enabling ‘Circular Navigation’ now allows players to equip emotes from Vanity Chests when using a controller.

Performance and Stability

Enhanced reporting has been added, helping identify scenarios where server performance can result in a reduction in hit detection accuracy.After being disconnected during a failed server migration, players should now be able to rejoin their session when prompted and return to their ship.Players on PC are now able to set the resolution scaling below 75% and have that setting persist across sessions.Server migration success rate has been improved, reducing the frequency of experiencing Hazelnutbeard while migrating between servers.Server stability has been improved, reducing scenarios where crews are removed from a game session.

Known Issues

Incorrectly Positioned Levers, Pulleys and Traps

When progressing through Tall Tales or Siren Shrines, players approaching mechanisms previously used by other players may initially perceive them in the incorrect location or position until they are used. For example, a moveable walkway controlled by a lever may be shown in an upright position despite actually being lowered, causing players to fall through unexpectedly.

Ranged and Melee Weapon Hit Detection

In areas of intense action, players may find themselves firing shots or landing strikes that do not cause damage to their targets. While small improvements continue to be delivered during our regular updates, we are continuing to investigate and identify further improvements to the player combat experience.Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Platinum Games bosses Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya have commented on one of the most buzzed-about topics in games lately, that being blockchain and NFT technologies. Speaking to VGC, Inaba–who is president and CEO of the Bayonetta studio–said the studio hasn’t given much thought to the blockchain/NFT space, but said the early examples have been less than idea. Vice president Kamiya reacted as well and said he wasn’t surprised to see Konami get involved in the space.

“I understand it’s a hot topic right now and it’s really starting to gain momentum, but the way that it’s gained momentum has been focused on profitability for the company, but with no positive impact on the creators or the users in any sense. So that’s frustrating to see happening,” Inaba said.

Inaba said he’s observed a trend that those wanting to get involved with NFTs are looking to make a quick buck. “The people who are trying to promote NFTs and partner with gaming companies, their conversations seem extremely one-sided. ‘Hey, you’re going to make money!’ But how does it benefit the user or the creator? If I want to spend my time on something, I want it to benefit making good games,” Inaba said.

The executive acknowledged that NFTs will likely have some place in the video game business going forward, but the early examples have left much to be desired in his eyes.

“As content gets more and more digital, I do think that NFT as a concept will gain more importance, but I think that the early adopters are just seeing it as a way to profit as much as possible. That’s not something I’m interested in being part of, to be honest,” Inaba said.

Also in the interview, Kamiya said he was not surprised to see another prominent Japanese game company, Konami, get involved with NFTs so quickly. “Not really. If it smells like money, Konami’s going to be there in a heartbeat!” he said.

“Honestly, I have zero interest in this subject. I think what Inaba-san just said really resonated with me because I consider myself a user at heart, more than a businessman. It doesn’t have any benefit for users at the moment. In the future, if it’s expanded in a way that has a positive side for users, then maybe I’ll start to be interested in what they do with it. But I’m not seeing that at the moment.”

The full VGC interview is stacked with interesting insight into the company and its future–go read it here.

NFTs, in particular, have been one of the most-discussed elements of games and the wider technology space for the past year or so. Recently, the indie games platform Itch.io slammed NFTs and the companies that support them. Check out GameSpot’s roundup to find out more on where video game companies like Ubisoft, EA, Nintendo, EA, and Xbox stand on them.

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