Borderlands 3 – New Skill Trees, Arms Race Mode Out Now
It's a busy week for Gearbox Software's Borderlands 3. Season Pass 2 is currently live, which adds the Designer's Cut and Director's Cut DLCs, while the looter shooter launches for Xbox Series X/S today. PS5 players can play it on November 12th. In the meantime, check out trailers for everything new below.
The next-gen versions of Borderlands 3 run in 4K/60 FPS for single-player and online co-op on Xbox Series X and PS5. Local split-screen support is also expanded to allow four players to co-op together while vertical split-screen is being added for two player co-op (and comes to current-gen versions as well). Current gen owners can avail of the upgrades for free.
As for Season Pass 2, its first DLC – the Designer's Cut – is now available and adds four new Skill Trees, one for each Vault Hunter. It also brings Arms Race, a new PvE mode that sees players dropping into a map without weapons and abilities. Collecting different loot allows for combating the more serious threats and extracting lets you keep that loot. Beware though – dying means losing everything and starting over. The Director's Cut DLC is out in 2021 so stay tuned for more details.
Sony Has Launched Dedicated "Ultimate FAQ" For All Your PS5 Questions
This week is the week for the launch of Sony's PS5. Or well, depending on your region, next week could be the week but I digress. Sony has largely lifted the veil on the machine in an effort to get as much information that you'll need in case you're lucky enough to get one this week. For instance, they released a handy set of instructional videos for the basics of the system, which you can see through here. If you're looking for something a little more comprehensive and text-based, they got something for you, too.
Sony has seen fit to release what they are calling the Ultimate FAQ for the PS5 on their official website. While it's hard to say if it'll actually answer every question you could have, it has just about everything here from launch dates, prices, USB compatibility, SSD shortage and much more. You can see the full Ultimate FAQ in all its glory through here.
The PlayStation 5 will launch November 12th in select regions. For those in those regions, it seems there are reports that PS5s have started to ship out, so keep your eyes peeled to your emails. Worldwide, the system will ship on the 19th.
PS5 Units Have Reportedly Started Shipping Out From Sony
This week is now the beginning of the next generation of consoles. Microsoft will launch both their Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S and in some regions Sony will launch their PS5. Unfortunately, it seems like it's going to be quite a challenge to actually get this on launch day, but for those lucky few who got in pre-orders, there's some good news on the Sony side.
As reported via MP1st, it seems as if those who ordered their system directly from Sony has started to go out. They have a copy of their email for their company a couple of days ago, which you can see through here. They also say that others have reported the same for their orders, though it's not clear if this is universally the case or not. While these are specifically for those who pre-ordered direct from Sony, it's probably a good indication that stock is in the process of being moved around for Thursday's launch. Do remember that we are still in the midst of a pandemic and, if you're in America, our postal system is kind of in shambles, so you may or may not actually receive your system at launch even if they are going through the system.
The PlayStation 5 will officially release on November 12th in some regions with a worldwide release on the 19th.
Forza Horizon 4 Shows Off Xbox Series X/S Upgrades In New Trailer
While Microsoft lacks a real killer app next gen-only exclusive for their Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles that will release tomorrow, one of their key pitches is the ability to play so many previous titles with a lot of new updates. One of those is the highly popular Forza Horizon 4. Today we got a new, slick trailer to give you an idea of what to expect when playing the game on these new systems.
The trailer is brief, but hopes to sell you on trying out the game on the new systems. It's actually not the first time we've seen Xbox Series X footage of the game. It's unclear in the video what, if anything, is from the Series S, but that version is said to run at full 1080p and 60 FPS as opposed to the 4K resolution of the Series X, and both systems will have drastically improved loading. It is also, of course, smart delivery so any who own the Xbox One version will get both of these free with everything uploaded and updated. It was also recently revealed this port was worked on by the fantastic Panic Button, so no doubt it'll be solid.
Forza Horizon 4 is available now on Xbox One and PC and will be there day 1 for Xbox Series X and Series S when they launch November 10th.
Sony Reportedly Considered Charging More Than $70 For PS5 Games At One Point
As we enter into a new generation of consoles this week, there is a lot to be excited about. There's new tech and new games, even if a lot of those games are cross-generational titles, and just in general the air of newness after 7 years of the previous systems. However, a bit of a bitter pill that we've been forced to swallow is that prices are now going up. It looks to be the standard now that a $10 USD price bump will be happening (with varying other bumps happening in other regions). While Sony wasn't the first to announced their first party PS5-only titles would be going up, as the market leader and lead platform holder, when that domino fell, it became an inevitability that the majority would follow shortly after. Apparently, however, Sony was looking at going beyond even that at one point.
According to a new report from Bloomberg, not only was Sony all in on the idea of a price hike, at one point they were considering going even further than the $69.99 that looks to the new standard. Apparently, a price hike has been something that has been discussed among higher executives for a long time, with many feeling it was overdue because of things like inflation and rising game development costs.
While some publishers have been a little more cagey about the eventually hike, it seems $69.99 is the standard in the US, with more varying price increases in other regions such as Europe and Asia. It's obviously been a somewhat polarizing issue, with arguments for the hike being rising game costs that are countered with the fact that game sales in general are far more than what they were just a few years ago as well as stagnate wages throughout many countries. Either way you feel about it, seems at this point it's inevitable.
Marvel's Spider-Man Update Will Allow Cross-Gen Save Transfer
Insomniac Games and Sony have seen their fair share of controversy over Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered. Along with the lack of cross-gen saves, the only way to really purchase it on PS5 is via the Ultimate Edition for Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The lack of a next-gen update, whether paid or free, didn't help either.
Thankfully, Insomniac Games is addressing some of the complaints with the PS5 remaster. On Twitter, it confirmed that an update would release around Thanksgiving to allow for exporting one's save from the PS4 to PS5 version. Furthermore, this will add the three new suits from the remaster to the PS4 version.
While it doesn't address the inability to purchase the PS5 remaster standalone, it's a welcome step to meeting PS4 owners half-way. Both Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered will launch on November 12th for PS5 (with the former also coming to PS4). Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
We have heard you – in an upcoming update for #SpiderManPS4, we will add the ability to export your save to Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered. This update will also add the three new suits from Remastered to the PS4 game. We expect to bring you this update around Thanksgiving. pic.twitter.com/EqoKnto3FV
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) November 9, 2020
DOOM Eternal is Backwards Compatible at Launch for Xbox Series X/S, PS5
Bethesda has released new details on DOOM Eternal for Xbox Series X/S and PS5, confirming that the first person shooter would be backwards compatible on both platforms. However, its free next-gen upgrade is planned for a "future date" which is still undecided. The good news is that the upgrade will work with both physical and digital versions (though physical disc owners can't upgrade to the digital-only version).
Using Smart Delivery and a PlayStation download for each respective version, players can download the upgrade when it becomes available. As for what the upgrade provides, id Software has yet to provide any details. It would seem 4K/60 FPS is a given but we'll need to wait for confirmation.
DOOM Eternal is currently available for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Google Stadia – it will be playable on Xbox Series X/S starting today. It's on Xbox Game Pass as well which means new console owners can hop in immediately. PS5 players can look forward to playing the PS4 version on November 12th.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Guide – 13 Beginners Tips and Tricks to Keep in Mind
Just as you'd expect from an Assassin's Creed game, Assassin's Creed Valhalla is massive. There's a lot going on in 9th century England, and Ubisoft's newest open world action RPG has a boatload of content for you to tackle. As you prepare to step into the boots of Viking raider Eivor and bring your foes to heel, in this feature, we'll be going over some basic tips and tricks that should help make your early hours with the game a little smoother. So without further ado, let's get started.
ODIN'S SIGHT
Eagle vision has been a staple in the Assassin's Creed franchise for as long as its been around, and though it takes a different form in Valhalla as Odin's Sight, it's still an incredibly useful tool. Looting chests and finding resources in the world is crucial in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, because that's the primary way of upgrading your settlement, and not all chests immediately show up on your compass when you enter a new settlement or town. As such, keep holding down R3 to use Odin's Sight any time you find yourself in the middle of a new and unexplored cluster of buildings, because chances are it'll lead you to chests and resources you otherwise definitely would have missed.
BARRED DOORS
Often, you'll come across chests and doors that will be locked, which means you'll have to go looking for the keys that will open them. Usually, keys aren't too far away from their locks. Using Odin's Sight is a great way to pinpoint the location of keys if they're in your immediate vicinity. If that doesn't work, you can always use your raven to survey the area around. Meanwhile, you'll often run into doors that aren't locked but are barred from the other side, which means you'll be tasked with finding other ways around them- but often, it's as simple as shooting an arrow through a window to destroy whatever is barring the doors from the other side.
SECRET ENTRANCES
There's quite a bit of emphasis on exploration in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and the game routinely rewards you with powerful new gear pieces, artifacts, Books of Knowledge, and more- but it makes you work for it. Often, simply finding your ways to walled off or locked areas to get to those rewards is a challenge in and of itself, and if you find that you can't just break doors or find keys to get to them, that's usually because there's a secret entrance somewhere close by that leads to passages that in turn lead to those rewards. As such, if you ever come across such rooms that seem inaccessible, make sure to search the area with your raven for hidden entrances.
WORLD EVENTS
Assassin's Creed Valhalla's quest structure is unlike anything this series has done before, which means that traditional side quests are pretty much a thing of the past. In their place, you have World Events, and while these may seem like entirely skippable little vignettes, it's a good idea to seek them out whenever you can. For starters, World Events are pretty short as a rule, which means they're not too time consuming. On top of that, they usually also reward players in meaningful ways, either through decent amounts of resources that you can use for upgrades, or with supplies that you can use to build up your settlement, or just with interesting little stories, if nothing else.
AVOIDING FALL DAMAGE
Given that this is an Assassin's Creed game, it goes without saying that you're going to be jumping off of high places quite a bit throughout the game. And while there's no in-game ability that you can unlock to remove fall damage as there was in Odyssey, there is still something else you can do. No matter what kind of a height you're falling from, all you need to do is press RT or R2 to do a heavy attack right before you're about to hit the ground, and that'll cancel any fall damage you may have otherwise sustained.
FEASTING
Appropriately enough for a game in which you play as a fierce Viking raider, raiding towns and villages is a pretty important (and extremely enjoyable) side activity in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. On each raid, you'll be accompanied by your crew- before heading out though, it's a good idea to hold a feast in your settlement's longhouse. Feasting before heading out on a raid gives temporary buffs to your crew, which makes them that much more effective during subsequent raids. Additionally, if you've unlocked buildings like the brewery or the bakery in Ravensthorpe, your feasting bonuses will also be multiplied, which is something else to keep in mind.
SUMMONING YOUR CREW
Your crew's primary purpose is to help you out during raids, which are usually initiated by sailing your longship to a settlement's shore, but Assassin's Creed Valhalla is pretty flexible about how you choose to use your Viking warriors. Depending on where you are, you can summon your crew to fight by your side at any time. As long as you're close to a river, you can summon your crew to your side and initiate an attack on any enemy encampment or location.
STUN
Enemy variety has been emphasized greatly in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and depending on their size and what weapons they're using, they may have varying strengths and weaknesses- but invariably, stunning enemies is a surefire way of winning any fight. Every enemy has a stun meter, which, once filled, lets you initiate a brutal finishing attack. The stun meter fills up dramatically if you parry attacks with the right timing, giving you a brief window to execute that finisher, so always be on the lookout for parrying opportunities.
SHIELDED FOES
Enemies will often come at you with shields in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and that, as you can imagine, can be pretty annoying, especially if more than one of them advance on you at the same time. Light attacks don't do much good against shielded foes, so any time you see one, hit them with a heavy attack. The same goes for enemies with spears as well, since they can block your light attacks with their weapon's shafts. While light attacks will eventually do some damage through brute force, it's better to resort to heavy attacks against such enemies in order to dispatch them quickly.
UPGRADE YOUR RATIONS
Just as healing in Assassin's Creed Origins was done through potions you found in the world, healing in Valhalla is done through rations that you pick up in the field. In the beginning, however, your supply of rations is quite limited, and running out in the middle of a hectic fight is always a very real possibility. Upgrading your rations pouch with the materials you pick up in the open world should be a priority for you- we'd recommend upgrading it at least once or twice before you start spending those resources on upgrading your weapons or gear.
HIDDEN ONES BURAEU
There's a vast number of buildings you can unlock in Ravensthorpe right from the get go, but the first one that you unlock should be the Hidden Ones Bureau. For starters, you won't be able to a leap of faith until a character named Hytham teaches it to you in a main mission, and that main mission is only unlocked once the Bureau has been built in Ravensthorpe. More importantly, one oft he game's central main questlines – which is best left unspoiled – begins only after the bureau has been built, which means you should make it a priority.
RESPEC
Assassin's Creed Valhalla has a vast and complex skill tree on offer, which allows you to invest points into building out your character one of several different ways. There's plenty of freedom to create a build focused on stealth, ranged attacks, melee combat, or any combination of those that you prefer, but if you ever find that the build you've worked toward isn't suiting your needs, you can easily start over. All you have to do is hold Y or triangle in the skill tree menu to respec your entire character and start from scratch.
EIVOR'S LETTERBOX
Eivor has a room in Ravensthorpe's main longhouse all to themselves, and it serves one very important purpose. The letterbox is where Eivor will often receive messages from characters, either providing updates on their stories or often also paving the way for new quests and questlines. As such, every time you return to Ravensthorpe, it's a good idea to check and see if Eivor has received any new letters.
Bright Memory Out Today for Xbox Series X/S, Launch Trailer Released
FYQD-Studio is prepping Bright Memory Infinite for PC and Xbox Series X/S. But before that, publisher Playism is releasing Bright Memory today for Microsoft's next-gen consoles. It will be available for $7.99 via the Microsoft Store – check out the launch trailer below.
Bright Memory is intriguing because it was initially developed by a single person. It combines first person shooting with hack and slash action and a sleek art-style. There's even a story with SRO agent Sheila who travels to an ancient island and fights for survival against mythical threats. Of course, how much the story really matter remains to be seen, especially with all the crazy combos that players can pull off.
As for Bright Memory Infinite, it's essentially a full-fledged game with Sheila still serving as the protagonist. Currently, it's slated to release in 2021 for PC and Xbox Series X/S with owners of Bright Memory on the former receiving a free upgrade to the full version. Stay tuned for more details on it in the coming months.
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, 6800 XT, And 6800 – 14 Features You Need To Know
AMD has announced its much anticipated Big Navi graphics card, with the Radeon RX 6800 priced at $579 and the top-end 6900 XT at $999, around 50% less than the similarly performing GeForce RTX 3090. While the performance seems solid, more or less on par with the competing RTX 30 series parts, there are a few things you ought to know about the new GPUs before you decide which one to buy:
Big Navi Performs Better at 1440p Compared to 4K
Although the Radeon RX 6000 graphics cards are capable 4K parts, they generally perform more consistently at 1440p compared to the rival GeForce RTX 30 series offerings. That is primarily because NVIDIA's GPUs feature a wider bus (320-bit for the RTX 3080 and 384-bit for the 3090) and GDDR6X memory, both of which together offer significantly more bandwidth than the Navi 2x parts. Bandwidth matters more at higher resolutions as you're constantly buffering in large texture assets to and from the VRAM buffer.
The Radeon RX 6800 XT is the Sweet Spot and Likely the Next Bestseller
While all three GPUs are decent products, in terms of the price-performance ratio, the RX 6800 XT takes the cake. You're getting RTX 3080 levels of performance and perhaps a bit more for $50 less at $649. Furthermore, the lack of availability of the RTX 30 series cards means that most RTX 3080s will sell $50-60 more than the MSRP of $699. The RX 6900 XT isn't a poor choice if you aren't strapped for money, but the RX 6800 is hard to recommend. You're getting an RTX 3070 competitor for potentially worse or similar ray-tracing performance for an additional $79.
Infinity Cache is the Secret Sauce and the Substitute for a Wider Bus Width, As Well as Better Ray-tracing Performance
No one believed that AMD would pack a whopping 128MB of L3 cache AKA Infinity Cache with its Big Navi graphics cards. There were rumors, sure, but it seemed way too out there. This massive cache buffer is similar to the GameCache on the Ryzen 3000 CPUs. By caching large amounts of data, it reduces the stress on the relatively smaller 256-bit bus and GDDR6 memory. It is also instrumental in ray-tracing as ray/box intersection data tends to be quite substantial, often choking the smaller L0 and L1 caches that are private to one or more Compute Units.
The Radeon RX 6000 Graphics Cards Will Work Best When Combined With the Ryzen 5000 CPUs, Thanks to Smart Memory Access (SAM)
The Radeon RX 6000 GPUs feature something AMD called Smart Memory Access or SAM. AMD Smart Memory Access improves gaming performance by up to 11%. But how does Smart Memory Access work? When you are using an all-AMD system with a Ryzen 5000 CPU and a Radeon RX 6000 graphics card, the CPU has direct access to the GPU's memory sub-system via the PCIe 4.0 lanes. The exact functioning isn't clear, but it would seem that this is a proprietary solution similar to AMD SmartShift on Renoir notebooks, which allows the 500 series chipsets to bring the GPU and CPU closer to each other, thereby reducing overhead and latency.
Introducing RAGE MODE (No, It's Not Auto-Overclocking- That is a Different Feature)
One of the new features introduced with the Radeon RX 6000 GPUs is Rage Mode. It boosts performance by around 5-7% by providing the GPU with higher boosting headroom. And no, it's not auto-overclocking. It doesn't affect the base or boost clocks. It simply increases the power limit of the GPU by a small amount, allowing it to boost higher and stay there for larger intervals, similar to how Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) works on the Ryzen CPUs.
NVIDIA's RTX 30 Series "Ampere" Graphics Cards Will (Likely) be Slightly Better at Ray-tracing
NVIDIA's RTX 30 series GPUs thanks to the 2nd Gen RT Cores will most likely be better at accelerating the ray-tracing algorithm compared to the Navi 2x parts. This is due to two reasons. While NVIDIA uses its RTCores for both BVH acceleration and ray-triangle intersection, AMD relies on its RT units for only the latter. The base shaders or SIMDs are used for the former. Furthermore, NVIDIA's Ampere architecture can run its RTCores, shaders, and Tensor cores asynchronously. It's unclear whether AMD's RT units can do the same but if they're anything like the Xbox Series X's GPU, they'll have a common data path with the Texture Units, meaning only one of them can run per cycle. At the same time, partner titles such as Far Cry 6 and Godfall will likely see the RDNA 2 parts perform on par or even better than the RTX 3080/3090, even with ray-tracing turned on.
AMD is Working on a DLSS Alternative to Improve Performance With Ray-tracing Turned on
AMD has also informed the press that it's working on an alternative to NVIDIA's DLSS upscaling algorithm, one that will be OpenSource and likely benefit from the massive Infinity Cache on the Big Navi GPUs. From what I can tell, it will be based on DirectML. AMD is going to pair this Super Resolution technology with the rest of its FidelityFX tools such as the denoiser, CAS, optimized AO, and SSR to further improve both image quality and performance. The performance should be in line with traditional upscaling technologies allowing doubling of the input resolution. That will be sufficient to allow the RX 6800 XT and 6900 XT run even the most taxing games at 4K Ultra with ray-tracing turned on.
The Radeon RX 6800 Series Will be Available Starting November 18
The Radeon RX 6800 and 6800 XT will hit retail starting on the 18th of November. Keep in mind that these are the launch dates for the reference cards while third-party board partner GPUs will land sometime in December. It's worth noting that the AIB partner cards will come with higher in-game boost clocks, resulting in 7-12% better performance compared to reference models.
The Radeon RX 6900 XT Will Launch on December 8 and Will be an AMD Exclusive for a Month
The flagship card, the Radeon RX 6900 XT is slated to hit stores on the 8th of December, but we'll only see the reference cards for the time being. The board partner variants are set to launch in January 2021. As with the RX 6800 series, it may be worth waiting for these models as they'll likely be faster while costing marginally more.
The Radeon RX 6700 Series Will Land in 2021 and Come Without the Infinity Cache
The budget-range Radeon RX 6700 and 6700 XT will arrive sometime in 1H 2021, without the Infinity Cache. Knowing how expensive SRAM is and targeted resolutions for these parts are 1080p and 1440p, they'll come with a 192-bit bus and the same number of Compute Units as their predecessors (5700 and 5700 XT). They might feature a smaller Infinity Cache of around 64MB, but not the whole 128MB.
Supply for the Radeon RX 6800 Series Should be Ample
Unlike NVIDIA's RTX 3080/3090, there should be enough supply for the Radeon RX 6800 and 6800 XT in November itself, with the board partner launch in December further reinforcing inventory. As far as the Radeon RX 6900 XT is concerned, we'll only be seeing the reference cards for the time being. Supply will be somewhat constrained, but not as much as the RTX 3090. Seeing that not many people line up to buy a $999 graphics card, that shouldn't be a problem though.
The Radeon RX 6000 Series Graphics Cards are More Power-Efficient Than the Rival NVIDIA RTX 30 Series
For the first time since, well, forever, AMD's GPU lineup is more power-efficient than the rival GeForce stack. Both the RX 6800 XT and 6900 XT have a TBP of 300W while the RTX 3080 has a rated TBP of 320W. The RTX 3090 has a TBP of 350W. In reality, both the Ampere cards draw close to 400W under load. It'll be interesting to see how much the Big Navi cards draw under load.
Lower Thermals, Noise, and Fewer Complications
The Radeon RX 6000 series cards are not only more power-efficient, but they will also have lower thermals, run quieter and come in a smaller form factor. This isn't just because of the lower TDP, but the use of GDDR6 memory which runs much cooler compared to the GDDR6x standard employed by NVIDIA and Micron. Furthermore, the use of back drilling, more power phases, and other complicated techniques to reduce interlayer noise also adds to the overall thermals.
The Big Navi Graphics Cards Will Most Come in Dual-Slot Widths, With the RX 6900 XT Maxing Out at 2.5 Slot Width
Unlike the GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 which are triple-slot cards for most AIB partner cards, the Radeon RX 6800 XT won't exceed the dual-slot factor for most board partner models while the RX 6900 XT will max out at 2.5 slot width.