The September 2023 games list is one of the hottest in recent memory. From the massive Starfield to the promising Soulslike Lies of P, there's something for everyone. Even motorheads will be happy this month. Here's what's coming out in September 2023, including some honorable mentions.

[caption id="attachment_396332" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Ubisoft[/caption]

The Crew: Motorfest (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Ivory Tower
Price: $69.99
Release Date: September 14
Trailer

Just when you think the summer season is over, Ubisoft brings us back to the heat and smell of fuel in The Crew: Motorfest. This time we're traveling to the Hawaiian islands. In this open-world game, we'll be racing through the city of Honolulu. Additionally, we'll be able to "test [our] off-road skills on the ashy slopes of a volcano [and] master the perfect curve on the tracks," according to the game's official website. We'll also be able to drive on the beach and adventure through "hidden paths of the luxurious rainforest." With over 400 cars as well, Ubisoft's racing open-world title sounds like a nitro boost to the soul.

[caption id="attachment_396327" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via CD Projekt Red[/caption]

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: CD Projekt Red
Developer: CD Projekt Red
Price: $29.99
Release Date: September 26
Trailer

The highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 DLC Phantom Liberty is releasing this month. Starring Idris Elba as Solomon Reed, V and Johnny Silverhand are taken into a new follow-up adventure. This time, you'll be trying to save the NUSA President in a new area called Dogtown. The game's Steam page teases that "your decisions impact not only the fate of the characters around you, but also yourself" when it comes to the ending. It's one of the most anticipated September 2023 games because we can't wait to see how it ends.

[caption id="attachment_396548" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via NEOWIZ[/caption]

Lies of P (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: NEOWIZ
Developer: NEOWIZ
Price: $59.99
Release Date: September 19
Trailer

After a lengthy and promising demo, Lies of P is finally releasing this month. This Soulslike is set in a beautiful European-inspired world full of creepy machines and gothic architecture. You play as Pinocchio, a puppet that's trapped in a horrific world. As he explores it, he'll "untangle the unfathomable secrets of the city's elites and choose whether to confront predicaments with the truth or weave lies to overcome them on the journey to find [himself,]" according to the Steam page. Hopefully, the game lives up its impactful demo from earlier this year.

[caption id="attachment_396553" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via WB Games[/caption]

Mortal Kombat 1 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: WB Games
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Price: $69.99
Release Date: September 19
Trailer

Mortal Kombat 1 continues the fighting game hype this year. WB Games and NetherRealm Studios are bringing a new origin to the series with a fresh reset of the MK timeline. It will also introduce Kameo Fighters that can be summoned to help you pull off incredible combos or get you out of a bad situation. Hopefully, the game lives up to its high expectations. Homelander and Peacemaker will be a few of the DLC characters as well.

[caption id="attachment_396555" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Bethesda[/caption]

Starfield (Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Developer: Bethesda
Price: $69.99
Release Date: September 6
Trailer

Starfield is the kind of game you desperately want to be good before it releases. There's so much potential. You can travel to over 1,000 planets with all manner of cities and environments to explore. There are quests to complete, hopefully with many intriguing characters to meet. You can even customize your own spaceship to your liking. It's a sci-fi fan's dreams come to life. I really hope it lives up to everyone's expectations, just like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim did in 2011. It would be a huge win for Xbox Game Studios if Starfield lands with players and critics.

[caption id="attachment_392728" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via EA[/caption]

Honorable Mentions

These five titles aren't the only highlights from the September 2023 games list. It's going to be a very busy month. You can also play the following:

• Rune Factory 3 Special (Switch, PC) - September 5
• Enchanted Portals (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - September 6
• Fae Farm (Switch) - September 8
• NBA 2K24 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) – September 8
• MythForce (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - September 12
• Super Bomberman R 2 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - September 12
• Eternights (PS4, PS5, PC) - September 12
• Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster (Switch) - September 14
• Monster Hunter Now (Android, iOS) - September 14
• Gloomhaven (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch) - September 18
• Party Animals (Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - September 20
• Witchfire (PC) - September 20
• PayDay 3 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - September 21
• EA Sports FC 24 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - September 22
• Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - September 26
• Mineko's Night Market (Switch) - September 26
• My Time at Sandrock (PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - September 26
• Paleo Pines (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC)
• Disney Speedstorm (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - September 28
• Gothic Classic (Switch) - September 28
• Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (PS4, PS5, Switch, PC) - September 28

The post Most anticipated game releases – September 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Surfing the sands of Atlas Fallen can be a daunting task when you first start playing. The dunes are harsh, and the sun god's wrath can be difficult to overcome. To help you with your adventure, we've put together 7 beginner tips for challenging Thelos in Atlas Fallen.

Try out the Knuckledust weapon

Even though you start with the Dunecleaver and Sandwhip unlocked, you will obtain the Knuckldust very early. The Knuckldust is a fist weapon that can ramp up to deal massive damage.

I actually played through a fair portion of Atlas Fallen before trying out the Knuckledust. After giving it a try I never swapped it out, as it synergizes well with the Sandwhip. It may end up being your favorite weapon too.

When fighting multiple enemies at once, a good offense is a good defense

In some scenarios, you may find yourself under attack by an onslaught of lesser enemies, perhaps mixed in with a stronger enemy. Your instinct may be to play it safe and keep evading around, but I've found this to be quite difficult at times. It always seems like once I'm encountering too many enemies at once, their attacks just so happen to line up. It gets to a point where it's quite challenging to keep evading or parrying a flurry of attacks.

On the flip side, you can often focus down and take out a lesser enemy in just a few hits. Doing so will mean one less attack you have to worry about coming at you, therefore going on the offense often ends up benefiting you defensively as well.

[caption id="attachment_395889" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Look for pulsing blue lights in the sand to raise objects

One of the non-combat abilities of the Gauntlet allows you to Raise objects out from under the sand. Sometimes this will unveil an anvil that you can upgrade, heal, and fast travel at. Other times, it will be a structure that you can climb to get to a higher elevation and find some hidden goodies.

Finally, you can also Raise up chests from under the sand that may hold Essence, Shards, and even equipment to enhance your build.

Do some sidequests

Even though sidequests don't really enhance the story in any way, you can sometimes obtain quality rewards for doing them. If you find yourself wanting a break from beelining through the main story, visit a quest hub and grab a few side quests. Often times they're grouped up within the same area so you can knock a few out at once.

Be sure to check the rewards afterward, as you may pick up an item that fits well into your playstyle.

Don't always evade; make use of your parry

Once you've mastered the art of dodging via evade, it can be tempting to do so to every attack. However, a successful parry can be even more beneficial than dodging an attack. Keep an eye out for the enemy to flash red before an attack, which means the attack can be parried. Some attacks may take several subsequent parries to have the intended effect, so keep at it.

[caption id="attachment_395890" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Check the inventory of new vendors when you find them

Throughout Atlas Fallen, you will encounter several different vendors. Most are found inside villages and quest hubs, with some also located in key story areas.

Vendors can carry all sorts of items beneficial to your progress, including equipment, Idols, Essence Stones, and more. There's also the Travelling Vendor who, as his name suggests, travels the world. You can always guesstimate his location based on his kite flying high in the sky wherever he currently is. After defeating certain encounters, the Travelling Merchant may update his inventory, so be sure to check it out frequently.

Don't forget to Shatter

In the heat of battle, it can be easy to forget how powerful your Shatter attack is. Keep in mind that it depletes your Momentum Bar, so you will lose the benefits of the Essence Stones you currently have enough Momentum for.

However, Shatter is very strong. If you're running out of heals and are particularly close to defeating a powerful enemy, but aren't sure if you will be able to survive long enough to defeat it: use your Shatter. It can deal an insane amount of damage if you have your Momentum Bar completely filled up, and it is often worth executing as opposed to saving the Momentum.

Hopefully, these beginner tips will help you as your journey through the deserts of Atlas Fallen.

The post 7 beginner tips for braving the sands in Atlas Fallen appeared first on Destructoid.

Just one day after the official release of Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios released Hotfix #1 for the RPG. This update officially brings the version number of BG3 to 4.1.1.3624901. The hotfix focuses on bug fixes, performance updates, and preventing crashes and progression blockers.

The hotfix takes aim at some particular sections of the massive RPG, just after its big launch yesterday. Hotfix #1 for Baldur's Gate 3 hits some dialogue hitches and crashes, as well as multiplayer quirks and more. Notably, it also addresses a dice rolling issue, where fast and furious re-attempts would result in failure.

Furthermore, Larian has found the origin of the pesky issue that has been affecting saves. Apparently, the culprit had to do with cross-saves with the PlayStation 5 version of the game. Because the PS5 version doesn't launch until September 6, Larian has disabled the cross-saving system for now to prevent the issue and will fix it later. (This shouldn't affect in-game or Steam Cloud saves.)

Also, some of the patch notes contain spoilers which we have chosen to omit for now. If you want to see the full patch notes including spoilers, you can do so here. For the rest, here are the Baldur's Gate 3 Hotfix#1 patch notes for the August 4 update.

Baldur's Gate 3 Hotfix #1 patch notes for the August 4 update

CRASHES AND BLOCKERS

• Fixed possibly getting stuck in a dialogue in the first confrontation with a major boss.
• Fixed a rare issue where player character states would not update properly after dying.
• Fixed a crash that could occur related to one of Astarion's cinematic dialogues in the endgame.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when loading an old savegame while at Last Light.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when using the brain reader in the Colony.
• Fixed an issue that could cause you to get stuck in a loading screen when loading a savegame after dying.
• Fixed a blocker during Character Creation preventing you from progressing if you chose a Zariel tiefling as your Guardian.
• Fixed a potential crash triggered by the light system.
• Added an error message to prevent crashes being caused by mods when starting the game.
• Disabled Larian Account cross-saves temporarily to solve an issue blocking loads and saves. Steam cross-saves are unaffected.
• Fixed a startup crash with the Steam API.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when quick-loading a game while a container or corpse was open for looting.
• Fixed a crash that could happen if an item unlocked a spell for a game entity without stats.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when switching a race or a class in Character Creation.
• Fixed potential crashes that could occur when closing screens like the options menu or when ending dialogues.
• Fixed a potential crash when an enemy tries to use the Motivator during combat in the Steel Watch Foundry.
• Fixed a blocker that could occur if you choose to attack the Emperor during a dialogue after you side with him.
• Fixed a crash in PhysX.

MULTIPLAYER

• Players will now correctly join cinematic dialogues that require all players to be present if they were listening in previously.
• Fixed an issue that allowed players to listen in on private dialogues using the context menu.
• Fixed an issue causing players to get stuck and not be able to join a dialogue if someone else is already in a dialogue.

GAMEPLAY

• Fixed hair physics on drow and elf male strong body types.
• Fixed an issue causing phase spiders to skip their turn in combat if they're standing on a web that's been destroyed.
• Fixed an issue with dice rolling, where retrying could cause the roll to fail if you were applying bonuses and clicking really fast.
• Duplicate spells no longer appear on followers' hotbars and you can no longer customise their radial menus. (Important to note: followers are not companions or full party members.)
• Fixed Dark Urge randomisation in Character Creation for non-white dragonborn characters.
• Fixed an issue preventing you from interacting with Withers in one of the camp locations.

UI

• Fixed issues in cinematic dialogues when listening in.
• Fixed an issue causing the character models for half-orcs, dragonborn, and half-elves to not update correctly when unequipping armour in the character sheet.
• Fixed some issues with prepared spells during Level Up, when multiclassing.
• Hid the version number during dialogues.
• Fixed splitscreen cinematics showing sampling garbage.

AUDIO

• Fixed audio issues with grunts, shouts, and moans across gameplay and cinematics.
• Fixed a line being cut off when speaking to the Restless Myconid in the Underdark.
• Removed a clicking sound during the credits.
• Fixed audio levels in a dialogue with Mayrina in the Lower City.

ENGINE

• Fixed a bug causing textures to appear in bright, neon colours.
• Fixed a splitscreen issue causing characters to remain invisible after a dialogue ends.
• Fixed an aspect ratio issue when FSR is active during splitscreen.
• Fixed surface texture details not updating when changing Texture Detail in the game video options.

CINEMATICS

• Fixed characters looking in the wrong direction in a dialogue with Mizora.
• Fixed the Emperor turning backwards in an endgame cinematic.
• Fixed a camera issue with the deep rothé.
• Fixed camera and lighting issues with the strange ox at Last Light.
• Fixed a blank screen in the cinematic when you put on one of Auntie Ethel's masks.
• The nautiloid crash scene will now play even if your avatar is dead and a companion used the transponder instead.
• Fixed an issue with clipping characters in a cinematic dialogue in the Colony.
• Fixed the avatar's head popping into place in a dialogue in the Colony.
• Fixed Cazador's staff disappearing in a cinematic dialogue.
• Fixed a camera that was zoomed in too far on a wolf.
• Fixed Lae'zel's head popping in a dialogue with Vlaakith.
• Fixed Orin and her victim clipping into an altar.
• Fixed a blocked camera in the dialogue with Lunkbug and Laridda.
• Fixed companions disappearing the morning after the Dark Urge gives into a particular Urge.
• Fixed lighting issues in a scene with Z'rell at Moonrise Towers.
• Fixed Araj's hands clipping when talking to her in the Lower City.
• Fixed some companions being visible in the background of dialogues where they shouldn't be.
• Fixed Ketheric's corpse standing back up in an idle pose.
• Fixed a blocked camera in the dialogue with the ogres at the Blighted Village.
• Fixed Raphael popping during the dialogue with the orthon.
• Fixed camera, audio, and character movement issues in the dialogue with the monk's amulet.
• Fixed a looping animation in the cinematic dialogue with the Brewer.
• Fixed half-orc hirelings clipping when speaking to the pale individuals in Fraygo's Flophouse.
• Fixed male halfling Dark Urge's hand clipping through his body when lying down.
• Fixed lighting issues in the endgame cinematic.
• Fixed Jaheira having jittering and popping hands in a dialogue in the Lower City.
• Fixed a repeating animation on the submersible.
• Fixed Wyll looking in the wrong direction when recruited.
• Added reactions to the player character's face when talking to the ox in Last Light.
• Fixed clipping between two Zealots of the Absolute in the Colony.
• Fixed popping issues with Cazador in several dialogues with Astarion.
• Fixed some issues with where characters are facing, animations, and cameras in the final combat cinematic.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 Hotfix #1 is out now, fixing up several bugs and crashes appeared first on Destructoid.

As we gear up for the Pokemon Scarlet & Violet double-DLC-drops this year, Game Freak and company are doling out more free gifts for the pair of recent mainline games. This time the newest promo involves a dark Tera Type Charizard: and who doesn't love a Charizard?! Especially given that you can't acquire one in Scarlet & Violet through normal gameplay.

Here's how to get the special July 2023 Charizard

We have a full breakdown on how to access the mystery gift system here. In short, it involves finishing up the tutorial (which requires you to get through the academy portion, after the bout with Arven) to fully unlock the required menu.

After you've completed the tutorial, complete the following steps:

• Press X and select “Poke Portal”
• On the Poke Portal screen, scroll down and find the code option and select it
• Enter the code DARKTERA0006

Here are some details for the July 2023 Charizard in case you need to discern whether or not it's worth even booting up the game for:

• Level 50
• Dark Tera Type
• Moves: Crunch, Flare Blitz, Acrobatics, Belly Drum

This promo will run through August 31, 2023, so you have some time. If you're seeking out more information, the original source of this code is straight from The Pokemon Company's site.

[Update: Nintendo has provided a new trailer for the event, which also ties into an "Obsidian Flames" trading card game product]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4-FOvO4ukY

The post Grab a special Charizard in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet for a limited time appeared first on Destructoid.

I miss Club Nintendo, but My Nintendo is the new reality. Gone are the days of elaborate statues for physical rewards, and annual loyalty bonuses (which, most of the time, ruled!). That said, My Nintendo does surprise us from time to time, and lately, they've been cooking up a ton of rewards to coincide with the summer release calendar. With all of the Zelda, Kirby, and Pikmin rewards on the My Nintendo marketplace at the moment, I figured it was worth reminding people that yes: your points do expire. Here's how to do a quick scan and see when everything will fall off.

[caption id="attachment_393208" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

How to check when your My Nintendo points are expiring

• Head to the My Nintendo website
• Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click on the "point summary" link
• At the top of the screen, look for the "points expiration" link and click that

From there, you'll be able to see an itemized rolling total of when all of your points are going to expire month-to-month. That includes Platinum points, as well as individualized mobile game points.

This is an important screen to check every so often (I just did it and splurged on the new Pikmin rewards!), as you'll want to dump points into rewards if they're going to expire at the end of the month anyway. It's a sneaky way for Nintendo to create point churn, and prevent folks from just playing through Fire Emblem Heroes, amassing thousands of points, and saving them for big-ticket rewards.

The post PSA: A lot of My Nintendo rewards are active, so make sure you check when your points expire appeared first on Destructoid.

Nintendo is no stranger to using the "Switch news channel" to give out items, whether you remember it exists or not. As a refresher, that little red speech bubble icon on the bottom of your Switch home screen is actually an app, which occasionally provides free stuff. Sometimes it'll offer up digital items for core franchises, including some promos for Zelda: Breath of the Wild back in the day. Now they're turning their sights to Tears of the Kingdom, and you can take advantage of it.

The news story in question is called "Whip enemies into shape," and you'll just click right on it and launch Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom directly from the app. After that, you'll log in and get the items instantly.

The items you'll acquire from this news story are:

• A Lizalfos Tail
• A Traveler's Sword

This is just enough gear to allow Link to fuse them together to create a whip. Hence, "whip enemies into shape." Cute, but underwhelming.

Yep, that's it! I warned you they were just "OK." Free is free, but hopefully, Nintendo steps things up and at least provides more unique items: potentially some amiibo stuff folks have missed out on (given the current state of re-releases and stock).

[Thanks John!]

The post You can get some free OK Tears of the Kingdom items through the Switch news channel appeared first on Destructoid.

Mastering the art of Dandori

When you’re not out collecting treasures and finding new Pikmin, you can participate in Dandori Battles which have you racing against an opponent to gather the most items. You can play them solo or with a friend. The battles are more challenging than they may initially seem, and it’ll take a fair deal of strategizing to come out on top.

If you want to up your game, learn these tips for winning Dandori Battles in Pikmin 4.

[caption id="attachment_393179" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

Don’t spread yourself too thin

At first, Dandori Battles can be overwhelming. There are several items to collect, a timer is running, and you also need to worry about hostile creatures. Things get a little easier if you have a good idea of what plates you need to keep spinning. These are the tasks that you need to complete with your Pikmin:

• Carrying items - to win Dandori Battles, you need to score the most points by collecting items and bringing them back to your base
• Defense - you need the Pikmin and Oatchi to take on any creatures that cross your path
• Overcoming obstacles - sometimes obstacles will stand in your path. Use your Pikmin to get around them.

Ensure you have enough Pikmin to delegate to each of these tasks. It may be tempting to have all your Pikmin carrying items, but you’ll soon find that it leaves you very vulnerable.

[caption id="attachment_393180" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

Take advantage of Oatchi

You have the adorable pup Oatchi to help you out. You can use the dog as a mount, allowing you and your Pikmin to travel faster and jump over obstacles. Oatchi can also charge at enemies, which can be devastating to them. When you’re low on Pikmin, the pup can also carry items.

Cleverly using Oatchi’s abilities will allow you to increase your efficiency. Be careful when taking on enemies with the dog, as it can only handle so much abuse before its health fully depletes and it has to recover before it can be used again. Upgrade Oatchi as much as possible by speaking to Shepherd and spending your accumulated Pup Drive.

[caption id="attachment_393178" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

Attack your opponent

You and your opponent share a battlefield, allowing you to sabotage their efforts. This can be done by throwing your Pikmin their way and stealing items they are carrying, or by dropping off Sneak Bombs at their base. Your opponents can also interfere with you, so be prepared to defend yourself against hostile attacks.

[caption id="attachment_393181" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

Go big or go home

Although playing things safe and collecting items closest to your base is a solid strategy, sometimes it pays to be daring and go for the bigger treasures. These will net you more points though you’ll need lots of Pikmin to carry them, and you’ll have to beware of enemies and your opponent that could both sabotage you on the way.

In addition to Dandori Battles, there are also Dandori Challenges to complete. You’ll have to accumulate a certain number of points in a given time to win these challenges. Of course, this means plenty of treasure collecting and monster hunting.

The post Tips for winning Dandori Battles in Pikmin 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

Hee Ho

While Pikmin 4 is very beginner friendly (even from a story perspective!), there are ways you can stretch out more efficiency; which comes in handy if you're ever stuck! Here are some quick ways to smooth out your run.

[caption id="attachment_392866" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Learn to delegate early

Pikmin 4's core tenet is "Dandori," which essentially asks you to delegate which party members gather which items (or destroy certain hazards). This can be as simple as throwing Yellow Pikmin at an electric fence to take it out, while Red Pikmin fight a fire enemy nearby.

As you progress, you'll need to learn to split up your party within each type to ensure you have enough Pikmin for the job. For a particularly big treasure, you may want to toss a few extra Pikmin at it so it gets back to your base quicker (and if you're attacked by an errant enemy, the team doesn't drop the item on the ground).

[caption id="attachment_392860" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Upgrade Oatchi's gathering and exploration capabilities first

As a general rule, Oatchi has two options at their disposal when it comes to upgrading their abilities: combat, and utility.

Combat isn't particularly tough in Pikmin 4, and the game also comes with a handy rewind feature. If, at any time, a battle is so tough that it wipes you out; you can rewind your progress instantly. As such, Oatchi doesn't need to become a combat machine, especially early on.

Instead, when you get the ability to upgrade Oatchi,  you're going to want to go for gathering and exploration abilities initially. This allows you to enter new areas, which in turn will grant you more upgrades (which you can then funnel back into combat if you wish).

[caption id="attachment_392868" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

There's no rush (or overarching time limit)

Don't stress out, and take your time. Despite the fact that each run has a full day and evening cycle (a run ends right before it gets dark), there's no penalty for going back into a level unless you're speedrunning.

If you're just starting out in a new area, get the lay of the land before you attempt to gather everything up. Don't worry too much about trying to get every treasure or captive on the first run.

[caption id="attachment_392871" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Spread out your Pikmin party makeup

You can take three types of Pikmin with you on each run, and the game will recommend the best three for whatever area you're in. That said, you can absolutely deviate from whatever it tells you to pick.

Going even further, make sure you have ample amounts of each Pikmin in your party. Red and Yellow Pikmin are by far the most plentiful types, so balancing an equal amount of those on top of a useful third type will help you clear the majority of the game's puzzles on any given stage.

[caption id="attachment_392858" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

If you're stuck and need to progress - go back and do the dungeons you missed

Dungeons are one of the best ways to wrack up Sparklium: which you'll need to unlock more levels and progress with the story.

If you're stuck, go to the very first level and see if you've cleared every dungeon on the map. Then move to the second level, and so on. You'll be unlocking new stages in no time!

[caption id="attachment_392876" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

You won't need to rewind much, but consider it if you lose Ice or Water Pikmin

Early on, Ice and Water Pikmin are paramount when it comes to reaching new areas in existing levels. Many stages follow a Metroidvania-like design, where you'll need to "come back later" with new tricks to actually access some of the trickier portions.

As such, Ice and Water Pikmin are extremely valuable, and you need at least 10 of them to grab specific items and drag them back through water (or freeze said water). If you lose either of those types and go below a total pool of 10, consider rewinding your session just a tad, and let Oatchi and the Red/Yellow Pikmin do the heavy lifting in tougher combat situations.

[caption id="attachment_392880" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

When in doubt, use Oatchi to slam into things

While Pikmin 4 can throw some head-scratching puzzles at you from time to time, there is a limit to that complexity. If an individual Pikmin can't solve a roadblock, fall back on Oatchi.

Use Oatchi's dash ability (hold X and release) to slam into hazards, enemies, objects, and treasures. Often times a dangling object can be loosened by slamming into a nearby wall!

The post 7 beginner tips to get started in Pikmin 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

A hot season starting to cool down

This year's summer has been chock-a-block with incredible games from Final Fantasy XVI to Street Fighter 6, but things are starting to cool down with the August 2023 games lineup. There are still some great games like Sea of Stars and Baldur's Gate 3 on the horizon. However, we can take a bit of a breather as most of these anticipated titles are fairly niche. Here's everything you can expect from the August 2023 games release schedule.

[caption id="attachment_392530" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via From Software and Bandai Namco[/caption]

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: From Software and Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Price: $59.99
Release Date: August 25
Trailer
Our Preview

The legendary studio behind Dark Souls and Elden Ring (From Software) is bringing back a mech favorite with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon.  The Steam page claims it's bringing the developer's "signature action gameplay" into the mix with "fast-paced, omni-directional battles." Each fight will be set in "massive stages," and now with better graphical fidelity, the action will look even more intense and stunning. While there isn't any Souls-like combat from this sequel, you can deeply customize your mech just how you'd like it.

Your judgment will impact your mech's movement and even its battle style. The Steam page claims that "each mission can be approached with a unique mech strategy." Something you'd expect from From Software is boss battles; this game comes with them in spades. Hopefully, this game lives up to the extremely high expectations of the developer's huge fanbase after its 2022 magnum opus Elden Ring. From the pedigree alone, this is one of the most anticipated August 2023 games.

[caption id="attachment_392533" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Larian Studios[/caption]

Baldur's Gate 3 (PC)

Publisher: Larian Studios
Developer: Larian Studios
Price: $59.99
Release Date: August 3 (PC) and September 6 (PS5)
Trailer

RPG fans, rejoice! Baldur's Gate 3 is finally leaving early access on August 3. There is deep customization in the game, allowing you to pick from 12 classes (with 46 subclasses) and 11 races (including 31 subraces) for your hero/heroine. Larian Studios also claims your decisions will leave an impact on the storyline. "Every choice you make drives your story forward, each decision leaving your mark on the world," says Larian on the game's Steam page. "Define your legacy, nurture relationships and create enemies, and solve problems your way."

We'll see how grandiose the story is when the game fully releases, but it certainly sounds promising. As the game is set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, it will be based on the 5e ruleset. You'll be rolling the dice for your actions during combat and can interact with the environment in unique ways. Oh, and you can have romantic relations with a bear...if that's your thing.

[caption id="attachment_392534" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via EA[/caption]

Immortals of Aveum (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: EA
Developer: Ascendent Studios
Price: $59.99
Release Date: August 21
Trailer

If you're tired of guns and want a bit of a change-up, there's Immortals of Aveum with magic instead of ammo. You'll be blasting away all sorts of foes with 25 different spells at your disposal. There are also 80 talents to learn in this FPS single player campaign. As one of the battle mages, you're tasked to save the world from villains who plan to send it to the abyss.

The game looks exciting with plenty of intriguing enemies to fight and a sense of verticality within its level design. The graphics look pristine as well with gorgeous visual effects and grand environments.  It's one of the more intriguing August 2023 games on this list.

[caption id="attachment_392536" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via EA[/caption]

Madden NFL 24 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: EA
Developer: EA Sports
Price: $69.99
Release Date: August 17
Trailer

EA has a busy month in store because Madden NFL 24 is also dropping in August. Instead of slinging spells, you'll be throwing footballs and handling them better with an improved version of FieldSENSE. EA claims on the game's Steam page that it's "giving you greater control and delivering realism to all the ways you play." Additionally, there's a new feature called the SAPIEN technology. Apparently, it adds more realism to the body definition and variation of the athletes' physiques. EA claims this results in "realistic player movement."

EA also says that your teammates' ratings and situational awareness have improved since the last game with better AI. Thankfully, Madden NFL 24 will include crossplay, allowing you to play with your friends on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. While this is not my particular cup of tea (soccer should be called football, damn it), this year's Madden seems to be a big step up. It might be worth waiting for it to come to Xbox Game Pass, however, like Madden NFL 23.

[caption id="attachment_392538" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Sabotage Studio[/caption]

Sea of Stars (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC)

Publisher: Sabotage Studio
Developer: Sabotage Studio
Price: $34.99
Release Date: August 29
Trailer

Sea of Stars is the standout indie out of the August 2023 games list. Sporting wonderful 16-bit inspired graphics, Sea of Stars will wrap you up in some good ol' JRPG goodness. It's seemingly inspired by classics like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. There's a turn-based combat system that relies on timed button presses. If you time them correctly, your damage will increase. As the game proceeds, each combo will progress in difficulty.

The animations are absolutely gorgeous within the art style, adding even more of a nostalgic rush to the game. The game does feel modernized, however, with no random encounters and no grinding to speak of. Go at your own pace and stop The Fleshmancer performing their evil doings. To keep you entertained, there are other activities in Sea of Stars, such as fishing, cooking, and a tabletop game called Wheels.

[caption id="attachment_392540" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Fireplace Games[/caption]

Honorable Mentions

• Thronefall (PC) - August 2
• Flutter Away (PC, Switch) - August 3
• Atlas Fallen (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - August 10
• Moving Out 2 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC)  - August 15
• En Garde! (PC) - August 16
• Marble It Up! Ultra (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - August 17
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (PC, Switch) - August 18
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
• Ride 5 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - August 24
• Goodbye Volcano High (PS4, PS5, PC) - August 29
• Samba de Amigo: Party Central (Switch) - August 29
• Under the Waves (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - August 29
• The Shape of Things (Switch) - August 31

The post Most anticipated game releases – August 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Remember these before you start hoeing

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life has finally arrived on modern platforms, and I am so excited for anyone about to experience this game for the first time. This is my favorite game in the Story of Seasons franchise. In my 9.0/10 review, I called it a "...remarkable experience..." that "takes the classic farming formula and gives it a purpose beyond just seeing how many S-ranked tomatoes you can grow." I love this game, and I hope you will too. But if this is your first time playing A Wonderful Life, I've collected this short list of tips to help you get started with your new life on the farm.

[caption id="attachment_388889" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

1. Befriend this guy as soon as possible

It's important to befriend all the townspeople in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life because their friendship will benefit you and your farm. But besides the person you intend to marry, the first person you should befriend is Daryl.

Go to the dig site, and if you find any fossils or old coins, give them to Daryl until your friendship grows to the point where he'll start giving you stuff. It's worth it, trust me.

[caption id="attachment_388891" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

2. Just keep digging

The archaeological site in A Wonderful Life is quite different from the various caves you mine in other Story of Seasons games. It hardly takes any energy—if it takes any at all—and everything you do at the site is at the behest of Carter. You're there to look for stone slabs, but anything beyond that you can keep for yourself. The dig site starts small and grows as time goes by. What's important to remember is that when you're digging at the site, don't just dig once.

Digging in the same spot two or three times might bring up an object you'd have missed if you only dug once. You'll know there is an object in the ground to collect whenever you see a part or even specks of an item in the dig spot. Keep digging until you fully remove it, then go ahead and dig one or two more times. Who knows, there could be another valuable item down there. I suggest digging in each spot at least twice, even if it already looks like it's been dug up when you arrive at the dig site.

[caption id="attachment_388894" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

3. Remember to check the bulletin board twice a season

One of the new additions found in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is the bulletin board. This is where the townsfolk will post requests for you to fulfill. Most requests must be filled within the current season.

As you advance further into the game, you'll get requests with different time limits. The rewards you get for completing these requests aren't exceptional at first, but they get better as time marches on. New requests will populate the board on the first of each season and on the sixth.

[caption id="attachment_388890" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

4. Visit the sprites daily for recipes

Cooking is a staple of the Story of Seasons franchise, and it's no different in The Forgotten Valley. You can get recipes from other people in town, but if you want to fill your collection quickly, visit the sprites at the tree at the end of the forest every day. Eat the mushroom outside the treehouse to shrink like Alice, then talk to one of them for a free recipe.

Some days you won't get anything, but in your first year, you should always make it a point to stop here every day.

[caption id="attachment_388893" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

5. All those old guides still work

Back before every gaming site was publishing guides, players could reliably visit a small selection of websites where guides were written up by passionate fans of whatever game they were playing. The Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons series is no exception, as you can find highly detailed guides for just about every game in the franchise.

That includes the original A Wonderful Life. And because this is a faithful remaster, all those old guides you can find online from 20 years ago still work today. Not everything will still be relevant as the Story of Seasons version of the game simplifies some of the farming elements, but if you want to make sure you woo the right bride or groom, those guides will help you get the job done.

The post 5 quick tips for starting Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life appeared first on Destructoid.

Early game tips for Final Fantasy XVI

I’d say Final Fantasy XVI is finally out, but compared to previous series games, this one hardly felt like a wait. Still, I think I speak for everyone when I say that Creative Business Unit III’s take on the mainline series has drawn a lot of curiosity. Fortunately, the final product is as fantastic as I hoped it would be.

Final Fantasy XVI marks a bold new direction for the franchise. If you’re a fan of the previous turn-based entries, this game may feel downright alien at the start. Thankfully, Final Fantasy XVI takes many steps to help ease players into its mechanics. With time, you too can Precision Dodge into deadly counterattacks that trigger long, impressive combos. So whether you’re an action game enthusiast or a total newbie, here are ten tips for Final Fantasy XVI that will enhance your early game experience.

[caption id="attachment_388115" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

1: Check the blacksmith often

A couple hours after the prologue for Final Fantasy XVI ends, you’ll find yourself in your first hub area. Naturally, this is where you’ll handle some basic upkeep between exploring fields and charging through dungeons. This is also where you’ll see the blacksmith, who you should check in with often.

Crafting isn’t necessarily deep here. Basically, you’ll shove materials you found into your equipment to make some numbers a little higher. Still, don't leave those stats on the table, especially when weapon upgrades can help take enemies down faster. Check for a circle marker next to the Blacksmith or Shop icons to see if they have new goods for you!

[caption id="attachment_388116" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

2: Watch which moves deal HP or Stagger damage

In your skill tree, you’ll note that abilities have star ratings that indicate both their raw damage and their stagger damage potential. These aren’t hard to understand, but in the thick of combat, it’s easy to just spam abilities off cooldown and hope for the best. However, you could seriously boost your damage output by using your moves strategically.

This especially applies to the early game, where your pool of Eikonic abilities is still relatively sparse. Moves that primarily stagger enemies can actively waste your time if you use them when an enemy is already staggered. Conversely, if you use your strongest HP damage abilities when a foe is already staggered, you can stack 150% damage modifiers on them.

As your playstyle evolves, you may opt to ignore staggering enemies depending on your build. Either way, as you equip abilities, make sure you know what you’re putting in those ability slots.

[caption id="attachment_388117" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

3: Activate Active Time Lore when you need it

The plot in Final Fantasy XVI can get pretty dense. You may infer key details from context, but just a few key background details can help immerse yourself in the story. That’s where Active Time Lore comes in.

Anytime during a cutscene, hold the touch pad button to open the Active Time Lore menu. This will show you a small handful of lore blurbs relevant to your point in the story. This is especially helpful near the beginning of the game when terms like Dominants and Bearers get introduced in rapid succession. You don’t need to use this throughout the entire game, but definitely check your Active Time Lore if something confuses you.

[caption id="attachment_388118" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

4: Respeccing is free

As you progress your skill tree in Final Fantasy XVI, you’ll see a mixture of cheap upgrades and expensive abilities to unlock. If you have your eyes on, say, the Flames of Rebirth move, you might think to save your ability points. Don’t do this!

Respeccing is fast and free in Final Fantasy XVI. If you aren’t in combat, you can get your ability points back from any skill, no questions asked. In other words, if you’re saving for an expensive ability, invest in other skills in the meantime and reallocate those points later. As a bonus, this system makes it very easy to experiment with different playstyles. Find what works best for you!

[caption id="attachment_388119" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

5: Use ranged attacks to learn attack patterns

Bosses in Final Fantasy XVI are absolutely bonkers. We’re talking multiphase, bombastic enemies that stretch the limits of what your PS5 can even handle. These encounters can easily pummel anyone who recklessly charges, which is where ranged attacks come in.

To learn attack patterns, it helps to keep a small distance while pelting magic with the triangle button. This makes it very easy to find out how long certain enemies will wind up moves, or what areas certain attacks will strike. Then, once you have the rhythm of the fight down pat, rush in to start comboing between Precision Dodges.

Honestly, it can be easy to forget you have magic at your disposal in any given moment. If a boss absolutely prevents you from closing in on them, chucking magic can help you squeeze in a few hits as you wait for them to return to the arena.

[caption id="attachment_388120" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

6: Pay attention to your grey health

When Clive takes damage, you should notice two things about your health bar. Firstly, you’ll lose health, because… well, that’s how video games work. But more importantly, you’ll also notice that part of your health bar becomes greyed out. This is no accident.

While grey health doesn’t contribute to your overall health pool, you can restore it using certain abilities. The biggest example of this is Torgal’s Cure command, which will slowly regenerate your grey health specifically. The Flames of Rebirth ability follows the same rules with its healing properties. To heal beyond this, you’ll want to either use an item or wait for a level up, which will fully restore your HP.

[caption id="attachment_388121" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

7: Remember that you can charge attacks

Once you start unlocking skills, you’ll discover charge attack options for both your melee and magic buttons. Don’t forget you have these once you unlock them!

The game will instruct you that charged attacks can break enemy shields, but that’s far from their only use. For example, when you’re still in recovery frames after finishing a combo, you can hold down an attack button to prepare a strong strike, even when you'd normally have to wait to start swinging again. Use all the tools at your disposal!

[caption id="attachment_388122" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

8: Stock up on items if you’re having trouble

Unlike classic RPGs, you can’t grind until you can afford 99 potions to breeze through every dungeon in the game. Clive can only hold a handful of each item, but they can easily make the difference between victory and defeat.

If you're stocked on items, any potions you find will turn into instant healing. Additionally, stat buff items like Stoneskin Potions can help you withstand attacks you don’t know how to dodge or amplify your damage during burst windows. They’re relatively cheap to stock up on, so you might as well grab them in case of an emergency.

[caption id="attachment_388123" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

9: Complete sidequests when you find them

So I don’t mean to sound any alarms with this tip, but Final Fantasy XVI does have points of no return. These generally won’t take you by surprise, as the game will nudge you to take care of unfinished business beforehand. However, they do exist. I recommend you clear side quests as you progress so nothing passes you by.

Granted, most side quests in Final Fantasy XVI involve small stories that flesh out the world. They do have some nice rewards, but missing them won’t ruin your save file or anything. Completing them does make Final Fantasy XVI feel more like an RPG than a character action game, though, which brings me to my final point.

[caption id="attachment_388125" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

10: Explore and find treasure chests

Final Fantasy XVI is not an open world game, but I wouldn’t say this is a bad thing. Like the NES and SNES Final Fantasy titles, many areas hide treasure chests to uncover if you spend time exploring. I recommend checking any curious corners or hallways you find to get the most out of Final Fantasy XVI, especially if you’re approaching it more as an RPG.

While most accessories you’ll find won’t necessarily change your game experience, they still add a great sense of discovery to the game. And at the end of the day, you paid $70 to play something you enjoy. Take the game slowly, soak in the scenery, and get as invested in the world as you want.

We don't know if we’ll ever get another mainline Final Fantasy game like this again. But if there's only one tip you should take going into Final Fantasy XVI, it's to enjoy it while it lasts.

The post 10 Beginner Tips for Final Fantasy XVI (FF16) appeared first on Destructoid.

Get Cold, Hard Cash Fast

Since the launch of Tears of the Kingdom, there have been a few money-making glitches that players have happily exploited. Many of the exploits have been patched away, but there has been a new one found that is quick, reliable, and effective. The only downside is that it requires an ability that is acquired a few hours into the game, so the glitch can't be used straight away.

To learn how to use the frozen meat glitch in Tears of the Kingdom, read on. Be aware that Tears of the Kingdom regularly receives updates, so although this trick works on all versions currently (up to and including version 1.1.2), it could be patched away soon.

[caption id="attachment_387710" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

Items Required for the Frozen Meat Glitch in Tears of the Kingdom

Prior glitches have been somewhat complicated and finicky, but this method requires just a few resources and it can be done repeatedly without fail. To do the glitch, you need two pieces of meat. The more expensive the meat you use, the more money you'll make.

Gourmet Meat is the best option, though other kinds of meat such as Raw Prime Meat will also work. Crabs and similar creepy crawlies don't work. You also need two weapons, and this can be something as simple as a tree branch.

Lastly, you need the Autobuild ability. It takes a bit of effort to unlock this ability, and a few quests need to be completed for Robbie. Using Autobuild requires Zoanite, so make sure you're stocked up on this as well. Once you've got everything you need, it's time to get rich.

[caption id="attachment_387712" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

How to Perform the Frozen Meat Glitch in Tears of the Kingdom

There are a few steps needed to do the frozen meat glitch, but it isn't anything that will have Link traveling to all the corners of the map or attempting to perfectly time item drops. When performed correctly, Link can make thousands of Rupees in mere minutes.

[caption id="attachment_387720" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

1. Create Meat Sticks

The first step involves fusing your chosen piece of meat onto a weapon. After this has been done, drop the weapon. Repeat the process, then use Ultrahand to fuse the meat sticks.

[caption id="attachment_387721" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

2. Create a Pile of Meat Sticks

Now that your meat sticks have been created, you can replicate them using Autobuild. Do so, and fuse the two new meat sticks to the two original ones. Repeat this process until you have a fused pile of about twenty meat sticks.

[caption id="attachment_387717" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

3. Visit a Snowy Region

The next step is to find a snowstorm. The quickest way to do this is to warp to Orochium Shrine which is beside Snowfield Stable. From here, rest at the inn until nightfall. Typically, when Link wakes up, a snowstorm will be raging. If not, simply sleep until the next evening.

[caption id="attachment_387716" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

4. Bring Up the Pile of Meat Sticks Again

With Link standing in the snowstorm, access the Autobuild ability and bring up the meat pile from Link's history. Do not build the meat pile - simply hold it up and let snow fall on it. In a second or two, piles of frozen meat will rain down. Claim the meat and repeat the process to your heart's content.

[caption id="attachment_387714" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

5. Cash out

With an inventory full of frozen meat, head to a buyer. If you're still at Snowfield Stable, simply speak to Beedle and he'll gladly buy Icy Gourmet Meat for 40 Rupees and Icy Prime Meat for 28 Rupees. Considering how quickly you can collect 500 pieces of meat, this method has the potential to make Link a very wealthy Hyrulean.

Consider saving some of that frozen meat because it is very useful when in a pinch. In addition to replenishing Link's hearts, frozen meat also provides heat resistance, allowing Link to survive in hot climates without wearing special armor.

The post Get rich quick with this frozen meat glitch in Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) appeared first on Destructoid.

It's easier to save Sanctuary with a few friends

The decision to make Diablo 4 have a more streamlined multiplayer aspect has been a success for the most part. However, for a game that unveils its online capabilities very early on, it's certainly lacking in ways to take advantage of those capabilities.

Diablo 4's Dungeoneers seem pretty united in the demand for Blizzard to add an LFG system.

Fans over on the Diablo subreddit have made their voices heard with over 280 upvotes in favor of the game adding some sort of "looking for group" option.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments/1433xro/diablo_4_needs_a_lfg_option/

Why Diablo 4 Dungeoneers demand an LFG system

First, let's be honest. Sometimes, Diablo 4 can be hard. If your build is not quite fleshed out just yet, or if you're attempting a Capstone Dungeon just a little bit earlier than recommended, it can be tough taking on the forces of Hell alone. Also, with a game that has a pretty well-done World Boss system, it would be nice to be able to create an efficient group to tackle such content.

Even though it wasn't perfect, Diablo 3 had communities that allowed us to find friends for tasks like bounty farming. Obviously, it's different, but Blizzard has crafted a pretty good LFG system for World of Warcraft. Of course, not as intricate of a system is necessary for Diablo 4, but perhaps something similar.

Dungeons themselves offer the perfect opportunity to group up with fellow players. Even though you can change difficulty in the game based on World Tiers, being able to quickly and easily group with others to tackle a specifically pesky dungeon would be perfect.

[caption id="attachment_385614" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Possibilities for an LFG system or similar in the future

Right now Diablo 4 has a pretty bare bones clan system. If an update made clans more similar to communities in Diablo 3, that might help players find groups.

Thankfully, the recent Diablo 4 Campfire Chat brought some pretty good news. During the stream, game director Joe Shely confirmed the team plans to implement more social features in future. They specifically highlighted a goal to eventually integrate a way for players to jump into dungeons with random players.

Unfortunately, the devs also pointed out that a system like that would take some time and probably wouldn't be in the game until around Season Two or Season Three.

Regardless of their final decision, it seems Blizzard realizes something needs to be done. I'd imagine we will see some sort of LFG system added to Diablo 4 for Dungeoneers in time.

The post Diablo 4’s Dungeoneers unite in demand for an LFG system appeared first on Destructoid.

The War for Cybertron comes to Fortnite

A new era is arriving for Fortnite, and this one is going to be a little bit wild. Fortnite Wilds is the name of the new season for Chapter 4 Season 3, introducing players to various map changes and content. The best part is that its release is impending across all platforms.

Fortnite Wilds Chapter 4 Season 3 release date, revealed

As announced during Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest livestream, Fortnite Wilds drops on Friday, June 9, 2023 worldwide. If the season follows the more recent trends of Chapter 4 seasons, it should last for about three months before giving away to a brand new one.

Wilds has quite a lot in common thematically and visually with a Chapter 2 season, Primal. During that season, players had a more feral and primitive island to check out, which had taken over wildlife. Fortnite Wilds has a similar theme, if the new reveal trailer is anything to go by.

What’s new to Fortnite Wilds Season 3

https://youtu.be/P2JnTforl_4

From this preview, there is a fair bit of information that we can glean about the upcoming Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3. Wilds will apparently feature some massive changes to the island, including what appears to be a large crater somewhere on the map.

This crater looks fairly massive, with various ruins, temples, and other structures throughout it. This return to a more untamed island also means the long-awaited return of the velociraptors from Chapter 2. The trailer shows a squad of players riding them, so it seems that players will be able to tame these creatures and use them as pets once again.

It’s uncertain if there will be other animals added to battle royale, besides the raptors, but there are a host of new characters who will be debuting on the island. The most surprising of these is the latest crossover character in the form of Optimus Prime from the Transformers universe.

With the summer blockbuster film, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Optimus Prime and potentially other characters are coming to Fortnite Wilds. For now, the leader of the Autobots is the only confirmed character from the franchise, but there is always the chance that someone else, such as Megatron, could make an appearance.

There is also a glimpse of Fishstick firing Optimus Prime’s cannon in the trailer, which could indicate that a new limited-time weapon could be arriving this season. Regardless, Epic Games already teased some of the characters for the new Fortnite Wilds Battle Pass. It looks like Meowscles is getting a new tiger version, alongside an Ultron-like robot character, and more.

Thankfully, players don’t have to wait too long to see this new season, as it arrives on Friday, June 9, 2023.

The post Fortnite Wilds Season 3 release date & information, revealed appeared first on Destructoid.

I always wanted 20 of these...

In Capcom's Street Fighter 6, World Tour allows the custom player protagonist to befriend all 18 members of the latest World Warrior roster. In addition, players can unlock artwork, emotes, camera mode poses, titles, and backstories for each of these nose-breaking chummers. Ultimately, fully "deepening your bond" with a character will unlock their alt attire, along with 10 color variants, for other modes.

Deepening your bond with Ryu, Kimberly, Marisa, and Co. ultimately comes down to leveling up, talking to them, utilizing their styles in World Tour mode, and performing bizarre, non-sequitur missions. But the quickest way to Dee Jay's heart, much like anybody, is through expenditure. Buy gifts for the characters, and they'll open up their hearts in no time.

Except Juri, but she's a bit sad and we need to look after her.

[caption id="attachment_384184" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

What should I buy the Masters in Street Fighter 6?

So, if you're looking to offer a little retail therapy to your favorite characters, here is a guide to the best items to buy each fighter, along with where to purchase the item. As I noted in my review, World Tour is a bit shabby in places, feeling a little "Statement of Intent" rather than fully featured. For example, each character only wants one specific gift, which means you basically have to buy it for them 20+ times. Yes, the exact same gift.

I cannot help but feel there were probably bigger plans for adding more gifts, but development time ran out. Oh, and you'll need this guide, as while some of the gifts make sense, others are just baffling.

• Luke - Red Elevator 8 Game (Jamaica Merchant)
• Jamie - Bao Bao Bro Sticker (Jamaica Merchant)
• Manon - Beaujolais (Jamaica Merchant)
• Kimberly - Heart of Love DVD (Jamaica Merchant)
• Marisa - Cold Tomato Soup (France Merchant)
• Lily - Celery Chips (Jamaica Merchant)
• JP - Antique Playing Cards (Jamaica Merchant) 
• Dee Jay - Lukewarm Beer (Brazil Merchant)
• Juri - Wrench (India Merchant)
• Cammy - Jellied Eel (Jamaica Merchant)
• Ryu - Instant Soba (Udon Shop, Metro City)
• Ken - Cook book. COOK BOOK. (Mexico Merchant)
• Blanka - Knock-off Blanka Chan (Jamaica Merchant)
• Zangief - Wooden Bear (Russia Merchant)
• Chun-Li - Canned Herring (Dora Shop, Nayshall)
• Dhalsim - Mild Curry (Tsanpa Shop, Nayshall
• E. Honda - Rubber Duckies (Italy Merchant)
• Guile - Natto (Japan Merchant)

Each of the above items will increase the Master's respective bond by 5 points, whereas most items only increase it by 2 or 3 points. Further points are earned by winning sparring matches, completing character missions, and giving appreciative answers in conversations. Additionally, generic items such as Double KO Gum, Fighter's Magazine, and Prepaid Cards increase bonds by between 1-3 points.

[caption id="attachment_384185" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

Finally, there are special "Ultra" gifts which are unlocked by completing quests for the Masters, these items are one-offs and can only be given to their intended recipient. They add a huge 30-40 points, and are a little more obvious as to their intended owner. (This section is work-in-progress)

• Luke -  Strawberry Fighter 6 (Get from Ken)
• Jamie - 
• Manon - Medal (get from Zangief)
• Kimberly -
• Marisa - 
• Lily - 
• JP - 
• Dee Jay - HeartBB CD (Get from Luke)
• Juri - Pricey Check (Get from Manon)
• Cammy - Neco Keychain (Get from Chun-Li)
• Ryu - Japanese Confectionary (Get from E. Honda)
• Ken - 
• Blanka - Locket (Get from Lily)
• Zangief - Weight Set (Get from Marisa)
• Chun-Li - Citrus Perfume (Get from Juri)
• Dhalsim - 
• E. Honda - Tirimasu Boba (Get from Cammy)
• Guile - 

You'll obviously need top dollar to pay for this stuff, so quick out our guide for quickly earning Zenny in game. Once the respective Master's bond reaches 100, you have essentially exhausted the unlocks for that character and will also earn their alt costume. There are plans to add further characters to World Tour as the roster expands over the game's lifetime. But, for now, go and make some friends. And ignore the fact that some of the characters are weirdly aggressive about receiving your gifts.

Except Juri, because she's a bit sad and we need to look after her...

Street Fighter 6 is available now on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox. Visit our guide hub right here.

The post Street Fighter 6 World Tour: What to gift the World Warriors appeared first on Destructoid.

Dancing with the devil

Over a decade after Diablo 3 was first released into the wild, Diablo 4 has finally become available to the public. I was able to play a pre-release build of the game for my review, which you can find here. In short, I have some concerns about the game in the long run, but otherwise I had a lot of fun playing it!

That said, I learned many lessons during my time with the game. Now that I’m replaying it from scratch, I’m already having more fun after figuring out how the game’s many progression systems work. Don't worry, Diablo 4 is perfectly playable without any prior knowledge. But if you want to streamline your playthrough, I recommend considering these ten beginner tips for Diablo 4.

[caption id="attachment_383754" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

1: Focus on the main story

Diablo 4 features an open world, filled with secrets to uncover and dungeons to crawl. Nothing’s stopping you from getting your butt kicked by superpowered foes right off the bat, so if that’s what you want to do, knock yourself out.

That said, you will want to clear the main campaign to unlock everything Diablo 4 has to offer. Everything from mounts to the highest difficulty settings will become available with story completion. Unless you specifically need to power up for a specific story encounter, I highly recommend making those yellow quest markers your highest priority.

[caption id="attachment_383020" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

2: Use potions generously

Potions in Diablo 4 work off a simple charge system. You’ll start with a maximum capacity of four potions, and you can freely refill them in most towns. Don’t be afraid to use them!

Dying in Diablo 4 will damage your gear. With enough damage, you’ll need to spend valuable gold on repairs. Conversely, warping back to town to refill your potions is incredibly easy. You’ll create a gate in town that will instantly bring you back to where you left off, so you won’t even lose progress. As long as you aren’t in combat, potion refills are always seconds away and will save you serious gold from the deaths you’ll prevent.

[caption id="attachment_383470" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

3: Know which gear to salvage

As with any game of the genre, Diablo 4 will shower you with more gear than you’ll ever feasibly need. Fortunately, you can put that excess equipment to good use by selling or salvaging.

As a rule of thumb, the materials you’ll get from salvaging Rare or Legendary gear will give you valuable materials that you’ll be glad to have by endgame. Conversely, Common or Magic items give materials that you’ll likely have in abundance. For this reason, I recommend salvaging Rare and Legendary gear and selling Common or Magic items. This will vary a bit once you reach high-level content, as you’ll have more specific resource priorities and other ways to use your Legendary items. But starting out, this will set yourself up well for later.

[caption id="attachment_383743" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

4: Don’t bother level grinding

Diablo 4 uses a level scaling system you’ve likely seen in other titles by now. While you can be underleveled for certain quests or areas, enemies will scale up if you exceed their minimum level requirement. In other words, if you’re stuck on a certain boss, leveling up could potentially become counterproductive.

That isn’t to say grinding is useless. Optional dungeons and cellars can hide powerful bosses that potentially drop great gear upon completion. As long as you’re deliberately working towards goals like these instead of mindlessly grinding mobs in the overworld, you’ll be fine. There are so many side systems that will increase your strength in Diablo 4, take advantage of them!

[caption id="attachment_382756" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

5: Activate waypoints as soon as possible

Waypoints make your life infinitely easier. Even after you get a mount, traveling around Diablo 4’s huge world will take ample time. If you see a waypoint icon on your map, drop everything and rush over to activate it.

Not only will this give you another fast travel location, you’ll earn Renown in the region you’re exploring. Speaking of which…

[caption id="attachment_382755" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

6: Earn Renown for extra power

If you do want to grind in Diablo 4, the Renown system is one of your best ways to do it. By completing a variety of objectives in different areas of the map, you’ll earn Renown. With enough Renown, you’ll unlock useful perks, including bonus skill points and potions. Best of all, rewards like these apply to your entire account. New characters you create will have a huge head start with these advantages!

If you specifically want to earn Renown in an area, side quests and waypoints are your easiest sources. However, if you’re up for the challenge, clearing enemy strongholds will reward you with a hefty Renown bonus while unlocking some nice perks afterwards as a bonus. If you’re stuck, I highly recommend collecting any extra skill points you can this way.

Until you reach World Tier III or higher, Renown rewards will be locked after the third unlock. Once you reach this stage, save the Renown grind in that area for later and check out different sections of the map.

[caption id="attachment_383744" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

7: Prioritize certain enemies

You'll face a wide variety of foes on your journey to defeat Lilith. While many enemies are easy fodder for you to hack through, stronger enemies will appear with potentially lethal attacks. Keep track of who exactly you’re facing on the battlefield.

Foes that buff or summon monsters should go down ASAP. You’ll often hear a sound like a rainstick if one is on the field, so playing with volume on will help. Meanwhile, bulky Elite foes might become easier to take down once you clear the field of small fry. Your priorities may change depending on your build, so always keep track of your biggest threats at any given time.

[caption id="attachment_383679" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

8: Use Gems if you’re stuck

Longtime Diablo fans should be familiar with Gems. Players can augment any piece of equipment with at least one open circle on its respective icon with a variety of Gems. These offer diverse perks depending on how you slot them, and these bonuses can provide some serious power boosts.

Honestly, for most of the campaign, I suggest simply collecting and storing Gems for the future. You’ll swap equipment often throughout the early and mid game, and un-socketing Gems costs Gold, so the benefit isn’t terribly worthwhile. However, once the leveling curve starts to slow down, the value prospect evens out.

UPDATE: That paragraph turned out to be bad advice! You can actually get your Gems back by salvaging the gear they're attached to, so you should almost always augment your equipment with them. Check out our Gems guide here for more information.

Given what we know about Diablo’s level scaling, Gems go a long way in giving you that extra push to defeat a particularly tough challenge. For me, this was invaluable as I made my way towards unlocking World Tier III difficulty. Fortunately, anyone just starting the game won’t have to worry about that for some time still.

[caption id="attachment_383745" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

9: Remap your hotbar

As you progress down the skill tree, you’ll naturally earn skills that will automatically appear on your hotbar. This works well enough at first, but as you flesh out your kit, you may find your skills don’t play well with your muscle memory. That’s where remapping comes in.

On the skill tree screen, you can press the right stick on a controller to manually assign skills. PC players can drag and drop skills from the tree directly onto their hotbar. This let’s you swap skills around however you like, which can make the game play much more naturally. For example, I like to have skills I use most often on the face buttons while leaving skills with longer cooldowns on the shoulder buttons. This screen also lets you map multiple skills of a certain type to your hotbar, which opens up the door for particularly wacky builds. In fact, this leads me to my final tip.

[caption id="attachment_383746" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

10: Play with your build

Early on, Diablo 4 lets you respec for free. This gives you some time to experiment with early game abilities, but you’ll only get a feel for how certain perks synergize as you progress down the tree. Reassigning skill points will eventually require a little gold, but trust me, finding your perfect build is well worth the cost. Don’t feel committed to making your first build idea work when you were still figuring out how to play the game!

Honestly, many builds won’t even function properly until you unlock Key Passives at the end of the tree. For this reason, deliberately respeccing as you progress through the game is arguably optimal for progression. You can already find plenty of build ideas in the wild, but at the end of the day, the best build will be the one that appeals to your playstyle the most.

Mess around with your character and tinker with your abilities, especially as you find legendary loot with unique effects. Maybe you’ll need to worry about optimal meta builds later, but for now, focus on having fun. Games shouldn’t be second jobs, so enjoy the adventure however you want.

The post Here are 10 beginner tips for Diablo 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

The path to victory begins here

If you picked up Street Fighter 6 today, then chances are that you're feeling a little overwhelmed by all of the characters, modes, mechanics, control systems, and more. It's understandable, fighting games are not easy. In fact, they're one of the hardest and most skillful genres in the whole of gaming. Always have been.

Victory isn't a matter of learning the biggest combo and performing it over and over again. It's a long road of building upon yourself, learning the intricacies of the characters, learning what to do, and — equally as important — when, where, and why to do it. But while I will never claim to be a fighting game expert, I can at least help you to start finding your feet, and the rest is up to you and your patience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_3cIvwbo98

Below are several individual guides written for Destructoid, but collated here for your reading pleasure. They focus on the new mechanics of Street Fighter 6, specifically the Drive Meter, while also taking a look at instances such as Burnout, and offering advice on characters that you should check out. None of these guides explain How to Win Online, no guide can tell you that, regardless of its "shocked face" thumbnail.

Winning comes as a result of playing better moment-to-moment. Learn to do that, and winning follows automatically. Wishing you luck on your journey with Street Fighter 6. This article will be updated over the coming weeks as more guides are added. Don't get disheartened, go at your own pace, and understand that losing is part of improving.

But do accept the hardest pill to swallow in fighting games: You have to put in the practice.

Street Fighter 6 Mechanics Guides

• Five characters beginners should check out
• Drive Impact, explained
• Drive Reversal, explained
• Drive Rush, explained
• Drive Rush Shortcut, explained
• Drive Parry, explained
• Burnout, explained
• How to Taunt
• How to perform Screw Piledriver consistently
• How to change your controls in Battle Hub

World Tour & Other Guides

• How to Change Your Appearance
• How to Deepen Masters Bond/Gift Guide
• How to Earn More Zenny
• Voice Actors & Cast List
• Fighter Coins Explained

The post Here’s are our guides to mechanics and more in Street Fighter 6 appeared first on Destructoid.

Retrofashionistio

While nobody would deny that the 18-strong roster of Street Fighter 6 is pretty damn slick-looking, everyone loves a bit of variety in the wardrobe — As such Capcom has released a new trailer showing shown off each of the World Warrior's alternate costumes.

As you can see, returning characters receive their classic skins, from Ryu & Ken's legendary karate Gis to Chun-Li extravagant... erm... Interpol Uniform. Cammy is sure to turn heads in her borderline obscene battle suit, while Juri gets her biker gear back, albeit missing the black undershirt. Damn, Capcom were feeling particularly thirsty with this release.

For the newcomers, Marisa has an incredible cream suit reminiscent of Like a Dragon's Kazuma Kiryu, while Manon simply stuns in an haute couture deal fresh from the streets of Paris. "Drip", or something. Of all the characters, Dee Jay Maximum perhaps pulls the biggest switcheroo, as his classic Super Street Fighter II gear makes him look like an entirely different character! All in, everyone looks pretty rad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNKO77QDCN4

How to unlock the Street Fighter 6 alt costumes

So, how do you bag these skins? Well, they can be purchased from the in-game store for 50 Fighter Coins each to 2500 Drive Tickets (this includes all color variants). They can be unlocked by playing through World Tour and maxing out your personal bond with the respective characters. Once the bond hits 100, then the character's outfit (complete with the color variants) unlocks for use in Arcade, Vs., and other one-on-one modes.

No doubt, as Capcom is wont to do, the cast will receive a huge array of additional DLC costumes as SF6 passes through its lifespan, to be purchased via Fighter Coins and/or Drive Tickets.

Street Fighter 6 is available now on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms.

The post Street Fighter 6 shows off its launch roster’s alt costumes appeared first on Destructoid.

Choose Your Fighter

Capcom's Street Fighter 6 has been unleashed on the public, bringing with it a roster of new and familiar faces with which to begin your journey to the top of the world... Or at least the top of your street. Every new Street Fighter brings in a squad of new and returning players, ready to lock horns in offline and online competition, and hoping to get a few good rounds under the belt in the early going.

Street Fighter 6 has launched with 18 World Warriors, all of which are, at least from first impressions, fully viable characters. But whoever you fancy taking into battle, there are, as always, several faces that will be particularly good at getting you up and running in the early going. Now, it is important that you play as a character that you vibe with. After all, you wanna roll with someone that you dig.

But whether is the rapid-fire excitement of Kimberly, the dangerous complexities of JP, or the stance-based combat of Chun-Li that appeals to you — You would do well to spend some time with the following five characters, especially if you're starting out your Street Fighter journey. The road to victory begins at the Character Select screen, so consider taking a look at these Fab Five Fighters.

Here are five good characters for beginners to explore, presented in no particular order.

[caption id="attachment_382259" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

Luke

The final fighter of Street Fighter V, and the poster boy for Street Fighter 6, Luke is considered the all-rounder of the new generation, and is extremely capable at long distance and up-close-and-personal. Luke mixes speed, ability, and technique to provide dangerous tools in all situations.

Luke's Sand Blast projectiles are easily executed and cover a lot of ground, while his Flash Knuckle attacks will help teach you combo and juggle skills. Luke also has reliable air attacks, while his Avenger sequences allow you to close the gap quickly without having to master the Drive Rush mechanic just yet.

He's also a PMC asshole, but let's try not to hold that against him.

[caption id="attachment_382251" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

Guile

The original Family Man is an extremely powerful character in the right hands. For the beginner, however, the Street Fighter veteran is key in teaching charge mechanics. Guile's Specials are relatively uncomplicated, while his solid defense keeps his game plan fairly basic. Boom 'n' Kick, Boom 'n' Kick.

Playing Guile not only starts you off with an easy-to-understand, but rock-solid moveset — as well as an education in Charge timing — but if you choose to stick with Mr. USA, you will soon see how his initial simplicity evolves into brick wall defense and hugely damaging and reliable offense. Keep your distance, toss out Sonic Booms, and Flash Kick leaping opponents. It's a technique as timeless as the series itself, and will help you learn solid defense and anti-air abilities.

[caption id="attachment_382261" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

Lily

Newcomer Lily is definitely a little different from your average Street Fighter all-rounder. The young Thunderfoot Tribe warrior does not have any projectiles, but teaches an excellent crash course in aerial maneuvers and long-range pokes. Spending some time with Lily will help you understand the all-important game of footsies, and being able to understand how important gauging reach is by eye.

Use Lily to explore attacking your opponent while staying just out of reach. Then progress to learning how to cancel long-range pokes into her fast-activating special moves. Lily also has a range of command throws, so you can practice both jumping and dashing into grabs, then learn how to retreat to arm's length for continued prodding and poking of your prey.

[caption id="attachment_382252" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

Zangief

In Street Fighter 6, Zangief is perhaps more powerful and dangerous than he has ever been — Able to cause unfathomable amounts of damage from his range of throws, while also afforded new moves to help him close the distance on fireball-tossing opponents, playing with Zangief will teach you patience in defense, and how to build a smothering offense. His Screw Piledriver and Russian Bear Grab will also train you in the ways of half-turns and 360 inputs.

With Zangief, stay calm at long distances, and learn how to use Block and Parry to fend off projectiles. When the time is right, utilize his leaping dropkick (Hold HK in air) and Rolling Wheel Kick (Forward + HK) to approach your opponent, before bringing a fast end to the fight with his staggering catalog of pro-wrestling maneuvers. Zangief will teach you patience and execution, while making every hit count.

[caption id="attachment_382253" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

Ryu

As solid as he has ever been, Ryu remains the core of Street Fighter, as much as he is the core of fighting game genre itself. Ryu's toolkit is great, dealing offensive and defensive capabilities at long distance, close-up, in the air, and against airborne opponents. There is a reason he is The Icon of Street Fighter, and age has only fine-tuned his timeless skills.

Use Hadoken, (along with its Denjin powerup), at long distances, while training your anti-air skills with both Shoryuken and his standard Down + HP strike. Practice canceling low attacks into Tastu in order to gain ground and corner the opponent, while mastering canceling his command normal, such as Forward + HP, into Shoryuken. Ryu's Supers are also snugly related to his Specials, making him the best character for practicing Supers, either raw or in the middle of combos.

Ryu makes for a perfect training buddy when it comes to learning every aspect of Street Fighter. From footsies to anti-airs, low attacks into Specials, Specials into Supers. Whichever character you choose to walk the path of the warrior with, learn Ryu — either as your main character or on the side. Playing Ryu will teach you universal skills that will be vital to evolving your game.

The post Five characters Street Fighter 6 beginners should check out appeared first on Destructoid.

Turnaround is fair play

[Update: This is a previously published guide tweaked for launch day. Get this tech down.]

The Street Fighter 6 demo might have be fairly limited in terms of its characters and modes, but that didn't stop the highly dedicated Fighting Game Community from already delving into its secrets and mechanics — Case in point: This Drive Parry shortcut, that could prove vital in Versus play.

Street Fighter 6's Parry mechanic allows players to perform essentially Perfect Defense against any incoming attacks, by holding MP + MK together. However, once in Parry state, the player can then instigate a dash cancel ("Drive Rush") by tapping forward twice. This allows for a fast turnaround and advance after blocking long-distance moves such as projectiles and supers.

However, some players have discovered an alternate way to activate Drive Rush, that actually reduces inputs from three (Parry, Forward, Forward) to just two. While several players have discovered this new trick, it has been mostly popularized by fighting game content creator Maximillian Dood, who demonstrated the technique live after discovering it seemingly by accident during a stream.

Here's how it works: Instead of inputting Parry (MP + MK) and then dashing (Forward, Forward) whilst holding the buttons, players can instead input Forward, and then input Forward and Parry together — This will result in an instant Drive Rush, coming out on frame one, while also reducing the inputs necessary from three (Parry, Forward, Forward) to two (Forward, Forward + Parry).

I have tried this trick myself and find it works consistently.

It should be noted that this technique is best used for gaining ground when not defending. If there are attacks headed your way, then you'll want to Parry them first before instigating the dash. But if you're simply looking to suddenly gain ground — Either at the start of a round or for a surprise attack — then this new method is definitely quicker off of the mark.

Street Fighter 6 is now available on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms. You can check out our review right here.

The post Players discovered a neat Drive Rush shortcut in Street Fighter 6 appeared first on Destructoid.

Dedicated follower of fashion

Ok, I get it — We all had top laughs making the stupidest-looking avatar we could for Capcom's new scrapper Street Fighter 6. But now you're kinda thinking that you want to shake things up, maybe for the avatar battles, maybe for the goofy World Tour cutscenes, or just because you want to look as good as my own Meiko Kaji gal pictured above.

Like a lot of features in Street Fighter 6, the avatar-changing mechanics are a little tucked away, while still being right there in front of your very eyes, but to make it 100% clear for all y'all...

Here's how you change appearance in Street Fighter 6

Once you've made your avatar, that becomes your default character for World Tour and Battle Hub modes, with only one slot (currently) assigned to each player. If you get bored of your look, (as in that actual physiology of the model, not just the clothes), then there a two backstreet hack 'n' slashers that can give you the nose job of your dreams... Also, an entirely new set of legs and eyes.

The first is located in Metro City, right in the starting locale of Beat Square. It is the Style Lab, located to the right of the central steps in the bustling hub of the city. This looks quite the Nip/Tuck outlet, but given that this flashy-looking joint is located in the same city as Final Fight, I'd seriously question the quality of the surgery that they'd perform.

[caption id="attachment_383581" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

The second body mod center is located in Old Nayshall, in the Central Bazaar area. Just opposite the market look for... erm... Dr. L's Beauty Salon. Reputable. I especially like the security drones hovering outside. Peace of Mind. Either way, visiting either of these centers will reopen the avatar creator and let you tweak your player model or even start again from scratch.

Either way, it will cost a total of 1000 Zenny (the World Tour currency) in order to lock in those changes, so get it right before you get Dressed for Success. Because beauty is a costly business.

[caption id="attachment_383584" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

Then again, as Christina once said, you are beautiful, no matter what they say, so whomever you look like in this article's header, it's irrelevant. We are all here for good times at the end of the day.

Break Conventional Rules. Thin the Legs. Grow the Hands. Expand the Head.

The post How to change your appearance in Street Fighter 6 appeared first on Destructoid.

Who knew slaying demons could be finger-licking good?

After Activision Blizzard and KFC partnered up to offer beta codes in exchange for chicken sandwiches, rumors started circulating that the partnership would continue with the actual release of Diablo 4. It turns out those rumors were true after all. The promotion appears to be similar to the one offered a couple of months ago that gave access to the beta.

Basically your purchase of a chicken sandwich — by itself or as part of a combo — via the KFC website or through the official KFC app will grant you a code. You can then link your KFC account with your Battle.net account and redeem the code. After redeeming you can then select one of five Diablo 4 KFC cosmetic rewards.

Although pricing varies by location, it looks like the cheapest item that qualifies for the promo is the classic chicken sandwich. At $4.99, this means you would need to spend about $25 (plus tax) in order to get enough codes to unlock all five of them.

What are the Diablo 4 KFC Cosmetic Rewards?

A couple of weeks ago the graphics for the five rewards were datamined and posted on Reddit.

All five of the rewards appear to be cosmetics for various weapons. Though the names for all the items appear to reference KFC in some way, the actual cosmetics themselves seem ordinary. None of them look too out of place in terms of graphical style. That being said, they also look quite...plain.

In my opinion, none of the weapon skins look interesting enough to me to bother going out of my way to get a chicken sandwich to redeem it. They all look quite simplistic and, honestly, I saw much better weapons within the first hour of the game.

We already know the battle pass will be full of cosmetics, likely better-looking ones than this promo.

Diablo 4 launches June 5 on PlayStation, PC, Xbox. Owners of the Deluxe or Ultimate Edition can enter early access from June 1.

The post Diablo 4 KFC Cosmetic Rewards program revealed appeared first on Destructoid.

What to do first when starting Tears of the Kingdom (TotK)

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's powers completely reinvent the way you interact with Hyrule. It took me a few hours to acclimate to them, and even then, I forgot how useful some of Link's new abilities were. Here's a quick primer in case you hit a wall early on!

[caption id="attachment_377850" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

Don't forget that you have Ascend!

As I was pondering how to order these tips, I had one unanimous thought: remind people that Ascend exists!

Ascend is one of the new abilities that Link will learn during the tutorial segment and allows him to rise up and literally ascend through solid ground. There are a few caveats: the height you want to ascend to needs to be directly under you, and that height has a minimum threshold for you to actually trigger it.

Many puzzles in the game can be solved with Ascend, and if you see a grate above you (or a small circular notch in a ceiling), odds are you'll need to Ascend upward to continue down the critical path. Remember this tip!

[caption id="attachment_377914" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

Fuse constantly, even if you don't think you need it

Fusing is super easy to do and forget through the course of the game. A lot of it is muscle memory for folks who played through Breath of the Wild already, but the Fusion power can be done very quickly when running through a dungeon.

If you're in an area with tons of waste, empty chests, or ingredients you don't need, swap to your Fusion power in the ability wheel. Go through all of your weapons and attach them to something. The sturdier the object the better generally, but even small items such as fruits can modify your weapons and add elemental effects or useful bonuses.

Fusion never really hurts anything, so fuse away and make your weapons last longer or do more damage for minimal effort!

[caption id="attachment_378013" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Try out the recipe system when cooking

When selecting items to "hold" and cook in a fire, you can also select the "recipe" option in that same item menu.

This is a useful way to instantly queue up items to cook with, or even discover new/returning effects that you forgot. Defense up is one of the more useful effects you can sift through, especially for some of the harder-hitting boss fights. Any effect you need, just look at an ingredient that serves as a key reagent for it, then hit "recipe" and see if you can cook anything on the spot!

You can spam amiibo for cooking ingredients

Although you can only use individual amiibo once per day, there's no real hard limit on using the entire Zelda line (or other lines) of amiibo in rapid succession.

While amiibo scanning will typically spawn treasure chests, you can also hoard tons of key ingredients, like rare fish or reagents for cooking. Piles of meat will fall from the sky to a copious degree if you scan amiibo, and it can cut down the amount of time required searching for ingredients for boss battle food.

[caption id="attachment_377915" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

Use sky islands as footholds to restore your stamina

In Tears of the Kingdom, towers will "shoot" you out like a cannon, which allows you to easily survey the sky islands, as well as the vast lands of Hyrule.

Naturally you'll want to paraglide your way from towers to key areas, but you may not have the stamina needed to float all the way across the map. You can fix that by making "pitstops" at sky islands to recover stamina, then jump off and float again. Rinse and repeat several times to make bigger strides when exploring Hyrule!

[caption id="attachment_377917" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

The Ultrahand ability is far more useful than you think

Replacing Magnesis, Ultrahand is like a "plussed up" version and is key to many of the new mechanics that Tears of the Kingdom offers. You can build bridges from scratch, as well as simple tools and obstacles that can be used to block enemies or hazards like flamethrower traps.

When you're in a dungeon and you can't Ascend up to solve a problem, consider building a rudimentary object (like even a small set of stairs): it could help propel you just enough so you'll clear a mountainside with the proper amount of stamina.

[caption id="attachment_377916" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

Launch yourself out of towers often to survey the land and mark up points of interest

One of the key sidequests in Tears of the Kingdom involves finding what are essentially crop circles out in the game world. The best way to actually find these is to shoot yourself out of towers to survey Hyrule. Given that most of the markings are obvious at great heights, you'll be able to easily press in the right analog stick and "mark" them to explore at a later date. The trick of marking locations with beacons, then going back into the map menu and changing the beacon to an icon still works!

Also, don't get tripped up when it comes to the Sahasra Slope Skyview Tower!

The post 7 beginner tips for Tears of the Kingdom appeared first on Destructoid.

Time for some American Disco Dancing

Following the exciting reveal of Mortal Kombat 1 this morning, Warner Bros. Interactive and NetherRealm Studios has released details of the three pre-order editions that will be made available for purchase from tomorrow, May 19.

Mortal Kombat 1 will be made available in three formats, as detailed below. All pre-orders include Shang Tsung as a playable kombatant.

• Mortal Kombat 1 Standard Edition will be available physically and digitally for $69.99 (USD) on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC, including Steam and Epic Games Store.

• Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Edition will be available physically and digitally for $109.99 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam/EGS) and will include the first Kombat Pack, early access to the game beginning Sept. 14, and 1,250 Dragon Krystals (in-game currency). The Kombat Pack will feature a Johnny Cage character skin with the likeness of famed actor and martial artist, Jean-Claude Van Damme (usable at launch), early access to six DLC characters (available post-launch), and five new Kameo Fighters (available post-launch).

• Mortal Kombat 1 Kollector’s Edition will be available physically at select retailers for $249.99 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only and will include all Premium Edition content, and early access, along with a 16.5-inch Liu Kang sculpture designed by COARSE and a similarly inspired Liu Kang in-game character skin. Also included are three exclusive art prints, steel casing, and a total of 2,700 Dragon Krystals.

As dedicated MK fans will know, Jean Claude Van Damme was the original inspiration for Johnny Cage, given that Midway had initially imagined Mortal Kombat as a fighting game that would actually star the Muscles from Brussels (as we all called him back then). These listings all give our first confirmation of post-release DLC characters, additional Kamoe Fighters for MK1's assist system, and, of course, in-game currency. Let's just keep it to one form of currency this time around, if we can.

Mortal Kombat 1 launches September 19 on PS5, PC, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Editions include Jean Claude Van Damme skin appeared first on Destructoid.

At least you'll know why you fell over

Ahead of the launch of Street Fighter 6, not to mention this weekend's open beta, Capcom has premiered a new series of video guides, giving newcomers a bit of a crash course on the new sequel's characters and mechanics, so you'll know what to expect come Fight Friday, (My words, not theirs.)

The first video, which you can check out below, offers an overview of the beta's two control systems — Classic and Modern — As well as giving a brief overview on SF6's Drive system, which is the core of the new sequel and a vital part of the frenetic moment-to-moment gameplay. As we've covered before, (at great length), Classic controls represent the typical six-button format that has been the standard controller type for Street Fighter for generations, while Modern controls maps all characters' special moves to a single button, at the cost of some normal attacks and a little damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjsAsj1IPcM

The Drive system, which once again we have covered in detail, is the metered system that dictates the offensive and defensive capabilities of every player. This meter can be spent on OverDrive (EX) moves, flawless parries, and the devastating, armored Drive Impact attack. Spend too much Drive and you'll end up in burnout, several hampering your movement and defense. As such, SF6 is focused around risk and reward, spending Drive meter when it really matters, while conserving/replacing some for those clinch moments. Check out the Street Fighter 6 guide for more details, and I'll catch you in the ring this weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDeOYJbg_zo&ab_channel=StreetFighter

The second video, which was released just this morning, looks at the Battle Hub: Essentially SF6's living lobby system. It is in here that you can challenge players to fighters, build your avatar, do some shopping, get some practice in, or even play some old Capcom classics, such as Magic Sword, in the Game Center. There are a lot of silly little features available, so be sure to explore when not kicking names and taking ass.

The Street Fighter 6 open beta takes place on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X from May 19 through May 21.

Street Fighter 6 launches on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms on June 2.

The post Capcom launches short video guide series ahead of Street Fighter 6 appeared first on Destructoid.

The easiest way to rekindle the first flame

Even though the original Dark Souls has proved a huge hit since its 2011 release, it's still yet to be experienced by many FromSoft fans who only entered the publisher's dark world via last year's Elden Ring. 

So if you're looking for a helping hand through the original Soulslike, worry not, as we're here to help make light of this dark and heavy burden by guiding you through all of its mandatory boss encounters.

[caption id="attachment_359785" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via FromSoftware[/caption]

Asylum Demon

Like the Vanguard Demon from Demon's Souls, the Asylum Demon exists as a living meat grinder for newbies. He can intimidate players via its sheer size and serious damage output, but its speed will impress no one. What looks like a mighty opponent for first-timers will feel like butter on a hot knife for any player with minimal boss-fighting experience.

Sadly, the game doesn't give players much chance to train beforehand, so they'll need to go at him with what they have. Too bad that what they have is a broken weapon. As soon as the fight starts, players should sprint towards the left side of the arena and enter a tiny door that will lead them to an actual usable weapon.

Stay away from it when he starts his vertical take-off, dodge when he falls down, then get behind him and destroy his backside. Done.

Bell Gargoyles

Most games task players with grand missions such as saving a princess or deactivating a nuclear-capable robot. At first, Dark Souls tasks players with ringing two bells, no more, no less. The Bell Gargoyles serve as the protectors of the cathedral bell.

Upon entering the arena, players shouldn't get too happy by realizing that the supposed gargoyles are, in fact, just one gargoyle. As soon as the first Gargoyle takes enough damage, its friend will show up to help. Newcomers should try to separate both enemies, as one's magical attacks complement the other's more physical move set.

Bonus tip: strike their tail to get a weapon. This is base Dark Souls logic, so from then on consider striking the tail of every enemy you find. Most will drop weapons. We promise we're not tricking our readers into being cruel toward these monsters just for fun.

Chaos Witch Queelag

Queelag is what you get when you try to make a centaur but you're all out of horse parts so you spider parts instead.

She's the first boss to push things into difficult territory. Queelag rules up close via her fire sword slashes, but she can also snipe the player from afar. Moreover, she spills area-of-effect lava all over the arena. Queelag requires patience, precision, and a lack of greed.

[caption id="attachment_3585" align="alignnone" width="1202"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Iron Golem

The Iron Golem offers players a nice breather after Queelag.

Despite his giant stature, the Golem moves very slowly and players can just position it in a way that a few leg hits will suffice in having it to fall to his death.

Players should bask in this glory because harder times will soon follow.

Ornstein & Smough

We won't mince words here — Ornstein & Smough will give most players a considerable headache. Nobody is joking when they call this the hardest battle in the history of Souls games.

Either member of the duo would make for an interesting challenge, but the challenge of the two combined might prove too much for many to handle. We recommend players use the many pillars that exist in the arena as a natural shield against both enemies. As with any other boss composed of multiple enemies, keeping them separated will help greatly.

As soon as players kill one of them, the other will become super-powered. For the sake of ease, we recommend players deal with Ornstein (the lion-headed one with the spear) first, as even in his super-form Smough won't cause as much trouble.

[caption id="attachment_258877" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Great Wolf Sif

By the grave of the great knight Artorias, players will find Sif, his obviously awesome wolf. The only reason why Sif doesn't laugh at a human's need for opposable thumbs is that he'd drop the huge sword he holds with his mouth.

Players should try to get under Sif, as they should with most huge four-legged bosses in the series. That will allow players to avoid most of his devastating swipes. Sif telegraphs his attacks, so anyone with decent reflexes should do just fine.

Sif can give players nightmares not because he can immediately slice one's life from 100 to zero, but because nobody wants to kill dogs. Also, did we mention that instead of morphing into a more powerful form when his life gets low, Sif just begins to limp and make players sadder?

Making this a mandatory boss is one of Miyazaki's all-time darkest moves.

Pinwheel

Pinwheel poses quite the contradiction. He's a boss in the catacombs, one of the toughest areas in the game, but if players only visit him when they're already strong enough to handle the area, he'll put up no more of a challenge than a regular enemy.

Bed of Chaos

At the deepest depths of Lost Izalith lives the Bed Of Chaos. It will either end up as one of the easiest or one of the most excruciating experiences for players. There's no in-between.

This gimmicky boss requires players to first hit both of its sides, then strike the tiny creature that lives within. The first two parts won't put up much of a challenge, but the last one will turn Dark Souls into sort of a platformer, a genre that doesn't jive too well with the game's mechanics.

Players will have to time a jump to both avoid the Bed of Chaos' arms and land safely on the platform that'll take them to the heart of the boss.

[caption id="attachment_233646" align="alignnone" width="1201"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Gravelord Nito

There's no running away from Nito, the final boss of the Catacombs area. Ok, that might be correct but we just made him sound much scarier than he is. Nito can strike from any part of the boss arena via his dark magic, but he won't put up much of a challenge when up close. He has a huge sword and can literally raise the dead, but his moveset is limited and he isn't particularly fast.

Ignore the Skeletons and go for Nito — We realize this might sound confusing since Nito is also nothing but a bunch of skeletons, but you'll see what I mean when you face him.

Seath The Scaleless

At the bottom of the Duke's Archives sits Seath The Scaleless, the smartest of the dragons — whatever that might mean.

Don't worry too much about the first encounter with Seath, as the game sets players up for failure. After forcing players to look at a rare, underserved "You Died" screen, Dark Souls has us reawakened in a jail cell. Players will have to find a way out and into Seath's lair, a challenge much larger than that of killing Seath itself.

Seath doesn't pose much of a challenge. Players can engage him from the front, but they should go around him and cut off his tail and then strike him in the back. Unfair? Yeah, but he started it.

Gwyn, Lord of Cinders

Gwyn is the final boss. This is the one you’ve all been looking for and… he’s not that hard.

His huge flaming sword could scare you off, but the thing about Gwyn is that expert players can easily parry his attacks.

Look, we would be out of our minds if we were to recommend newbies to try that, but hear us out — you're no longer newbies at this point. It's time to parry his attacks and show him who's lord.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kwBq-x-SAY

The post All mandatory Dark Souls 1 bosses in order appeared first on Destructoid.

A deserved eulogy to the members of the Cobra Unit

One fair criticism we can throw at Metal Gear Solid 3 is that most of its bosses went from being characters to just obstacles, but one thing we just can't say is that those obstacles weren't fun to destroy.

MGS3 features some of the most inventive and fun boss battles in the history of gaming, and it's high time that we pay our respects to these deadly and dramatic foes.

[caption id="attachment_27169" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ocelot (before becoming The Revolver)

The first boss battle is by far the least interesting in the game. Ocelot and his unit don't do anything special and don't put up all that much of a fight, so just shoot them and don't get hit, we guess. Jeez, that guy really was nothing before he started using a revolver.

One thing making Metal Gear Solid 3 boss battles stand apart from boss battles from other games is how Kojima usually leaves a secret easter egg that will totally devastate the boss. Sorry to disappoint you once again, but there's not much of that here, either. It's possible to shoot bee hives so that they sting Ocelot a little.

Maybe Kojima intentionally designed this boss so he could sabotage future lists attempting to celebrate the genius of MGS3's boss battles. Nice try.

The Pain

We all know The Pain for his ability to control bees, but he's also able to conjure up machine guns in his hands out of nowhere, something many would probably argue makes for a better ability. Still, he's hellbent on defeating Snake by sending swarms of bees at him.

Luckily for Snake, these aren't special bees, and our man is totally equipped with bug repellent, so this one won't prove too hard. Shoot the bees that The Pain callously uses as body armor, then shoot him. Easy.

The Fear

The Fear is a master hunter whose special ability is, well, having slightly longer arms than a regular human. We kid. He can climb trees and he also has slightly better senses that a regular bedroom-based gamer. We can go up against him as we'd go against a regular boss, but there are way more fun ways to go about it.

Kojima allows players to poison The Fear by feeding him bad food, but there's a twist here that not even Kojima could have predicted...

MGS3's best easter egg is one not even Kojima intended. One of the ways to defeat The Fear is by stunning him via grenade, but that should just allow players to get a free shot at him afterward. Players, however, can use his stasis to light up a torch and slowly burn his ass until his HP gets down to zero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8PybsQ8v-o

The End

The End proves the ultimate endurance test in the history of the series. Hideo Kojima really wanted players to display the resilience required to win a sniper battle, so this encounter forces players to search patiently for their enemy. Sounds easy enough, too bad we're talking about the guy who essentially invented sniping — someone so gifted at his job that even his skin exhibits natural camouflage abilities. Fun fact, Kojima originally wanted this battle to take up to two weeks to finish.

Conversely, The End can also be the fastest boss battle in the entire series. Players have the opportunity to snipe him in the head before the battle even starts, or sneakily have him "die of old age" by moving the console's clock forward by ten days.

The Fury

The Fury is an astronaut who went mad in space and yet still managed to convince someone he should own a flamethrower. Visually, the fight against The Fury marks one of the highest points of the acclaimed sequel — With flames that burn so bright and beautifully that the poor old PS2 hardware had a hard time keeping up. Mechanically, however, we don't have much to say of note about this one.

The Sorrow

The Sorrow offers players perhaps the most off-beat boss in the history of the series. Instead of fighting a physical foe, players will be facing their own choices throughout the game. The fight consists in walking on a river and having to dodge a ghost representing each of the soldiers Snake had killed up until that point in the game. A fascinating and very unique idea.

It's not a mechanically challenging boss, more of a morally challenging one. Oh, and it'll also challenge the patience of players who kill every enemy in sight because man, that will take a while.

Colonel Volgin

Volgin is the true villain of the game, a madman with the power to control lightning. Players can defeat him in standard armed combat, but he doesn't play fair, so why should we?

Instead, players have the ability to defeat Volgin by breaking his heart (figuratively). Volgin acts like a total monster, but he has enough love in his soul for one man: Ivan Raidenovitch, a Soviet soldier who just happens to look exactly like Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2. Players who inform the game that they're familiar with MGS lore before the campaign begins will start with a Raiden mask, so equip it to freeze Volgin and prevent him from attacking you for a while.

Kojima gave him this weakness for fun just so players could land one free blow, but we can use this window to plant a bunch of explosives in his vicinity and blow him up for good. Alternatively, players can fake their death with the fake death pill. This sneaky move will get Volgin to turn his back on Snake, assuming that the fight is over, and allowing us to repeat the explosive strategy mentioned above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3joaAV2AAg

Shagohod

The battle against the Shagohod — Russian for "The Walker" — provides an interesting alternative to the traditional big robot fight. Unlike the previous games in the series, in which we fill the shoes of a regular person who's somehow capable of dodging missiles, most of the battle against the Shagohod puts Snake in the gunner seat of a speeding motorbike.

Despite it turning into somewhat of an on-rails experience, the game makes up for the lack of freedom by creating a memorable set piece. Sadly, there's no hilariously wacky way to beat this particular foe.

[caption id="attachment_208103" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The Joy (The Boss)

The ultimate one-on-one battle. Naked Snake finally has to face off against his former mentor in order to earn the title of Big Boss. This encounter makes perfect use of all the awesome Close Quarters Combat mechanics that MGS3 introduced.

There's no intentionally fun way to beat this one, and chances are most players will simply feel too sad at this point to even go looking for one.

https://youtu.be/h3jKd6J36UY

The post Metal Gear Solid 3 had some of the series’ all-time great bosses appeared first on Destructoid.

Chesnaught a problem

Look, I’ll level with y’all. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom just came out. There’s a beta for Diablo IV this weekend. The amount of time and energy I have to write some colorful words about 7-Star Tera Raid events is as low as it will ever be. Thankfully, this latest Chesnaught Tera Raid event in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet couldn’t be more straightforward. It’s like Game Freak knew that attention on their flagship franchise would see an all-time low this weekend.

In other words, let’s speed through the dirty details so we don’t have to delay our adventures in Hell or Hyrule any longer.

Chesnaught will always appear with the Rock Tera Type, and its moveset will remain the same no matter how much you fight it. Only one Chesnaught may be caught per save file, but you can run the encounter as many times as you want for the bonus loot. If you participate, make sure you bring a level 100 Pokemon with optimized EVs and IVs. For an example of what this process looks like, dip into our Azumarill build guide. I really should write a more generic build guide than the one for Azumarill.

Maybe I’ll do it when the ghost of one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time isn’t hanging over my head.

[caption id="attachment_378909" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Chesnaught’s Moveset

As expected, Chesnaught comes at us as a pure physical attacker. It knows Earthquake, Hammer Arm, Stone Edge, and Woodhammer. This gives Chesnaught access to Ground, Fighting, Rock, and Grass-Type attacks. As usual, Chesnaught will prioritize moves that will deal the most damage to your Pokemon.

Chesnaught’s additional mechanics here couldn’t be simpler. In addition to the above moves, it will double up its turns using moves like Iron Defense, Bulk Up, and Curse. In this context, Curse is categorically worse than Bulk Up, but I digress. The takeaway here is that Chesnaught will perpetually buff its Attack and Defense stats throughout the fight. Conversely, Chesnaught will never clear itself of negative stat debuffs. If you counter its buffs with your own debuffs, they’ll stick throughout the entire encounter.

Note that Chesnaught will erase your party’s positive stat boosts twice before the encounter ends. Expect this to happen shortly after its shield goes up, as well as soon after its shield cracks. Like many 7-Star fights, Chesnaught enters its shield phase relatively early and features sturdy defense here. Fortunately, all these elements put together makes Chesnaught remarkably easy to exploit.

[caption id="attachment_378910" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

How to counter Chesnaught

Since Chesnaught consistently buffs its Defense throughout the fight, special attackers will make the encounter much easier. As we mentioned in our preparation guide, Chesnaught’s Bulletproof ability means Fighting-Type Pokemon functionally can’t use special attacks. For this reason, Grass-Type Pokemon come highly recommended. We’ll talk more about this once we get to our MVP picks.

Along the same lines, stat buffs that don’t get blocked by Bulletproof really weaken Chesnaught. This monster already features low Special Defense, so harassing that stat reveals how frail Chesnaught is. In fact, you can generally rely on a Shell Bell-held item in order to keep you healthy. Between Curse and Hammer Arm, most well-built Pokemon will eventually outspeed Chesnaught without much problem. This makes it even easier to know when to use healing moves and when to keep going on the offensive.

That’s really all there is to it. Buffing your resistance to physical attacks helps a lot here, so at least one person in your party should use Reflect. Otherwise, use moves like Iron Defense or target Chesnaught’s attack stat.

The best Pokemon to bring for Chesnaught

Surprise, the meta monkey isn’t MVP for once. While Annihilape can work, Chesnaught’s Defense makes it a bit riskier to use. Instead, there’s one clear winner that almost everyone should bring.

[caption id="attachment_378911" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

All-around MVP: Appletun

Appletun just kills this fight. Its great bulk and Typing form a perfect counter, and even its low speed becomes no problem after Chesnaught voluntarily slows itself down. The key here is Appletun’s signature move Apple Acid. This special attack deals decent damage and lowers Special Defense, bypassing both Bulletproof and Chesnaught’s shield. Multiple Appletuns working together can quickly debilitate Chesnaught’s defenses and make absolute mincemeat out of it.

It's hard to justify using practically any other Pokemon when Appletun has everything you need. If you want party support, give it Reflect. To make it reliably sturdy, one use of Iron Defense after every stat cleanse will make Chesnaught hit remarkably weak. Additionally, Giga Drain will give Appletun consistent healing once Chesnaught’s defenses get low. An unlucky critical hit might make things spicy for you, but that’s true of almost any other Pokemon.

Appletun works great as a solo and cooperative pick. Throw a Shell Bell on it for added healing and make sure to Teratalize as soon as you land three attacking moves on this boss.

You’ll clear this fight and get back to saving Hyrule in no time.

[caption id="attachment_365484" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Honorable Mention 1: Lurantis

The relatively low difficulty of Chesnaught doesn’t necessitate any min-maxing. If your party already has three Appletuns in it, you’re almost guaranteed a victory. Still, In the event you did want to clear this thing as fast as possible, Lurantis technically brings some value.

If your party has stat debuffs and support on lock, Lurantis will deal devastating damage with Leaf Storm. Thanks to the Contrary Hidden Ability, this will also massively boost Lurantis’ Special Attack while it hits. Just watch out for Leaf Storm’s low PP count, which you should boost with PP Ups. Like Appletun, Lurantis also brings valuable self-sustain with Giga Drain. You honestly don’t need any moves aside from these two. Maybe consider Sunny Day and Solar Beam in case your other attacks run dry.

I actually solo-cleared this fight with Lurantis as well. If you don’t run out of PP, Lurantis will easily outpace Chesnaught’s outgoing damage with Shell Bell. If you built Lurantis to fight Pikachu, it works here too.

[caption id="attachment_365485" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Honorable Mention 2: Arboliva

Speaking of Pokemon from the Pikachu encounter, Arboliva also has some relative value. Mainly, it can play a Support role if you really want to optimize. Reflect needs no introduction, but Charm also works if you want to drop Chesnaught’s Attack right off the bat. Additionally, the Grassy Terrain it lays via its Seed Sower ability boosts offenses for a party of Grass-Types. Chesnaught technically benefits from this boost as well, but its AI still doesn’t prioritize using Woodhammer after this buff activates.

That’s really all there is to it. Giga Drain once again comes in clutch for healing, and Terrain Pulse works for offense. This is another option for those who went hard against Pikachu and don’t want to build a Pokemon for Chesnaught specifically.

[caption id="attachment_378912" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Many options work here

Ultimately, the picks listed here will practically guarantee this fight moves smoothly. That said, I was surprised to see Pokemon like Koraidon and even Annihilape find some success online. You’ll need to work harder against Chesnaught’s Defense boosts, but if you’re really determined, you can brute force it with the right party. I wouldn’t use Pokemon like those to farm this fight, but if you like meta-monkey memes, knock yourself out.

There’s honestly not that much else to say here. Game Freak clearly didn’t want to distract you too much from Zelda, so I won’t either.

Whether you decide to go to Paldea, Hyrule, or Hell this weekend, I hope you have a good time.

The post How to beat the 7-Star Chesnaught Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet appeared first on Destructoid.

It's raid time, come Hell or Hyrule

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are committed to launching 7-Star raids every two weeks, and the launch of 7-Star Chesnaught proves nothing will stop that train. Who cares if potentially the biggest game of the year is launching on the Nintendo Switch? We got Pokemon to catch!

But hey, Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom costs $70, which is more than what trainers who own Scarlet & Violet need to spend on this event. So if you're ready to take this Rock Tera Type monster down, here's how to find Chesnaught in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

Here are when the Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Chesnaught events start

• May 12 - May 13, 2023
• May 19 - May 21, 2023

Chesnaught will only appear during these two weekends.

[caption id="attachment_378743" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Make sure you have high-end raids unlocked

Naturally, if you’re looking to challenge a 7-Star Raid, you should be able to cleanly defeat 6-Star raids. To unlock these, make sure you’ve completed all the core story paths and watched the credits roll after The Way Home story concludes. From here, you’ll need to finish the post-game quests that immediately unlock. After fighting a handful of raids with a 4-Star difficulty minimum, 7-Star raids will be available on the overworld and via online play while they are active.

Check out our detailed guide for unlocking high-end raids.

[caption id="attachment_378744" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Locate the Chesnaught raid den on the main map

With these prerequisites behind you, 7-Star Raids will finally appear on your map. Look for a dark flashing Rock-Type icon to locate Chesnaught. Chesnaught will always sport a Rock Tera Type, which should streamline both finding the encounter and preparing for it. If it does not appear, go into your main menu and press the L button to connect to the internet.

You can choose to either fight Chesnaught with a group of CPU companions or let other players enter your lobby. Joining other players is highly recommended unless you’ve discovered a solo-viable strategy for the fight. Make sure to bring a level 100 Pokemon with maxed EVs and IVs to help your allies.

[caption id="attachment_378745" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Search for a Chesnaught raid if one isn't available!

If you wish to farm this encounter for the sweet loot that it drops, you’ll want to join other rooms online. This is fortunately a simple process.

Connect to the internet, then select the Poke Portal in the main menu. Select Tera Raid Battle, then search for a silhouette of Chesnaught. The card will be yellow with seven blue stars, so you can’t miss it. Many people will be running this event while it’s live, so connecting to a room may take a minute. If your connection fails, just try again until it works.

If no Chesnaught raids show up, wait for the “check for new postings” sign to light up on the bottom right side of the screen. Press X and hopefully an Chesnaught card will appear. If not, you’ll have to wait a minute or two for the check for new postings prompt to appear again.

The post How to find the Chesnaught Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet appeared first on Destructoid.

The raids stop for no one

You know, I gotta hand it to Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. These games ensure I’ll never run out of things to do.

I mean, this Friday only has The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and a beta for Diablo 4 coming out, so I was worried that I might fit some sleep in sometime this weekend. Sure enough, Game Freak had decided to throw its hat into the ring and give us another Tera Raid event for trainers to bash their head against too. I’m sure the residents of Hell and Hyrule will understand that they'll have to wait another day before I visit.

Timing musings aside, 7-Star Chesnaught will indeed make its appearance in Paldea from May 12 to May 14. Adhering to recent tradition, it will reappear from May 19 to May 21. Unlike previous events, I imagine the rerun weekend will be much more popular. Either way, this Grass/Fighting-Type Pokemon will appear with the Rock Tera Type, which has the potential to be very funny depending on what moves it winds up using.

Let’s look at how we should prepare for this encounter. After all, what else are you going to be doing until Friday?

[caption id="attachment_378121" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Consider Chesnaught’s potential moveset

Given Chesnaught’s stat distribution, it will likely use physical attacks. So far, all 7-Star Tera Raids have given Pokemon attacking moves corresponding with their native typing and their Tera Type. Since Chesnaught only learns physical Rock-Type attacks, we can rule out a strictly special attacker. Its strongest Fighting and Grass-Type attacks are physical as well, though it technically has some strong special attacks in its movepool.

We should also assume based on past Tera Raids that Chesnaught will know its Hidden Ability Bulletproof. While Bulletproof isn’t quite as deadly as some Abilities we’ve contended with, its effect potentially squashes a few strategies. Namely, it nullifies “ball and bomb moves,” meaning Acid Spray, Aura Sphere, Energy Ball, and Focus Blast all won’t work. This shuts down Special-focused Fighting-Type Pokemon in particular, who would otherwise make for potent counters to Chesnaught. After all, this monster’s Defense is way higher than its Special Defense.

Beyond this, Chesnaught’s move set could go in a variety of directions. It could use Flying, Psychic, Ghost, or Ice-Type attacks, all of which would impact which monsters counter this raid best. Chesnaught also has access to the rare move Spiky Shield, which functions similarly to Protect while simultaneously punishing Pokemon that use Contact moves like Drain Punch. We haven’t seen a Tera Raid encounter use defensive moves like this, but we shouldn’t discount the possibility that it could pop up.

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Catch Pokemon to counter Chesnaught

As with every 7-Star raid encounter, the more Pokemon you have in your roster, the better. That way, when we figure out which monsters work best, you’ll have the ability to build your counter right away. Rock-Type Pokemon are weak to Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water-Type Pokemon. However, Chesnaught’s typing means Fighting and Grass Pokemon will likely excel. That said, as mentioned above, Chesnaught may potentially make life harder for Fighting-Type Pokemon.

In light of this, here are some potential picks to counter Chesnaught when it goes live.

Lurantis: This Pokemon already proved to be a winner during the surprisingly difficult Pikachu raid. Leaf Storm is an incredibly powerful special attack, and the Contrary Hidden Ability makes the move buff Lurantis’ stats. Additionally, Lurantis has valuable self-sustain in Giga Drain and Synthesis.

Gholdengo: Because of its Ghost/Steel typing, Gholdengo completely nullifies Fighting-Type attacks that would normally shut Steel-Types down. Additionally, its high Special Attack makes it an especially good counter.

Koraidon: Even as a physical attacker, Koraidon is so strong that it could defeat Chesnaught regardless. It may need to equip a Punching Glove if Chesnaught uses Spiky Shield.

Grimmsnarl: Grimmsnarl makes for a good generalist support option for raids, and it has some appealing options here. Namely, Reflect and Taunt could prove vital depending on Chesnaught’s strategy. Access to Fake Tears to lower Special Defense helps too.

Annihilape: I don’t necessarily have any reason to think Annihilape will dominate here. However, after seeing it ruin three raids in a row, I’ve learned not to doubt the meta monkey.

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Stock up on TMs

Just like past Tera Raid events, keeping a healthy stock of TMs makes building counters much easier. After all, hunting down that last Sunkern to craft a move you need is time consuming. Many moves from our best support TMs list should work well here, so grab those if you haven't already.

Additionally, consider grabbing the following moves:

(TM073) Drain Punch – If you wind up using a Fighting-Type physical attacker, Drain Punch will prove to be essential.

(TM110) Liquidation – Unlikely to see use, but a physical attacker could wind up using this. If you’re lucky, you’ll reduce Chesnaught’s high Defense stat too.

(TM111) Giga Drain – Self-sustain is vital in Tera Raids, and inflicting Super Effective damage in the process is even better.

(TM123) Surf – If you’ve ever played a Pokemon game, you know Surf is a very good move.

(TM133) Earth Power – Though a limited number of Pokemon can use it, Earth Power fills a unique niche as a powerful special Ground-Type attack.

(TM149) Earthquake – Conversely, physical attackers with no effective STAB moves against Chesnaught will almost always want Earthquake.

(TM159) Leaf Storm – This exists for Lurantis.

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Make lots of money

From here, preparation remains the same as always. If you’re waiting for the raid to debut to find out who exactly you should build, having a ton of money on hand will expedite the process. This will let you throw your face right at the encounter as soon as it goes live.

If you have cash on hand, all you have to do to instantly max your Pokemon’s EVs and IVs is visit Chansey Supply in Mesagoza. Getting everything you need for one Pokemon should cost approximately 500,000-600,000 dollars. This is a steep price, but fortunately, you can reduce the grind significantly by following a few steps.

Check out our money farming guide here!

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Check for updates

Finally, make sure your game is fully updated by the time the event goes live. We (fortunately) haven’t seen any nasty glitches like the Walking Wake and Iron Leaves event, but it doesn’t hurt to be safe.

There are plenty of battle preparations you can make, but in the end, don’t go overboard covering every base. Stock up on the things you think you might need and grab the resources to fully build two or three Pokemon if you plan to farm the event. One-and-done players can wait for solo builds to appear, so feel free to take any angle that keeps your grinding to a minimum.

The post How to prepare for the Chesnaught Raid Event in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet appeared first on Destructoid.