Diablo 4 – Open World Camps, Horse Customization, Exploration, PvP, and More Detailed

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During its "What's Next" presentation for Diablo 4, the development team at Blizzard dropped all kinds of details on the Rogue class and its specializations. However, it also discussed the actual world, and what players could expect from it. Exploration is a big thing as players will venture out and find unique areas, solve puzzles and defeat monsters for rewards like mounts.

These mounts can also influence how you play since some can travel faster. You can also customize them with horse armor and trophies. Camps see players venturing to monster strongholds and essentially reclaiming them for the people of Sanctuary. Once a camp is established, a new waypoint becomes available along with new vendors, quests, possible dungeon entrances and so on.

Player vs. Player combat takes place in special areas called Fields of Hatred. They're optional and involve collecting Shards of Hatred, either from downed players, monsters or events. Much like The Division's Dark Zone loot, these Shards are impure and must be purified in an event to convert into currency. However, everyone nearby is informed of the purification and can kill the player to steal their Shards.

Hilariously, you can even betray your friends and steal their Shards. Continuing to act in this unsavory way will confer the Vessel of Hatred status, which allows everyone to see you and collect a bonus on taking you down. Surviving during this time will provide a big reward for players.

Once purified, the Shards can be sent on new costumes, weapons, mounts and so on. None of this is more powerful than what's available in other areas of the game but it's a good source of rewards for PvP players. And yes, you can collect ears that have the names of players killed.

Diablo 4 is currently in development for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Diablo 4 – Rogue Specializations and World Groups Revealed

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Following its reveal of the Rogue as the next class to join Diablo 4, Blizzard Entertainment's development team went into more details on how it would differ from other classes. In this case, the Rogue gets Specializations, namely Shadow Realm, Exploit Weakness and Combo Points. Shadow Realm sees the player become immune for 1 second and drag targeted enemies into the Shadow Realm for five seconds. The player is unstoppable during this time and deals 50 percent more damage while being in stealth.

Exploit Weakness sees all hits against exploited enemies turning into critical strikes and dealing 60 percent increased damage. Enemies that can be exploited have an icon over their head – attacking at that time activates the ability. Combo Points has basic attacks accruing combo points which activate additional effects for different spender abilities (like shadowy archers that fire additional projectiles).

Earning these Specializations means taking on quests for World Groups like Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye and Remnants of the Order. These unlock the Specializations which can be mixed with other play-styles like melee and ranged for different benefits. It's exclusive to the Rogue class, sticking to the developer's goal of having something unique to each class. Of course, players can also customize the Rogue's physical appearance as well with a variety of hair-styles, skin tones, tattoos and so on.

Diablo 4 is in development for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Blizzard Entertainment also announced Diablo 2: Resurrected, a remake of the base game and Lord of Destruction expansion for previous and current-gen consoles. It's out later this year and sports improved visuals along with cross-progression.

World Of Warcraft Classic: Burning Crusade Coming In 2021

World of Warcraft has always been something of a phenom. It took over the world for a brief period of time and it seemed like everyone was playing it. While that tempered off somewhat, the game still has quite the incredible fanbase. In fact, in 2019, there was enough of those to launch World of Warcraft Classic, which was a version of the game that basically rolled back updates to something very close to the original release. It won't just be a one off, either.

Announced via this year's BlizzCon event, World of Warcraft Classic: Burning Crusade will be coming this year, as was leaked earlier. The original The Burning Crusade released in 2007 and was the first major expansion for WoW. While the original Classic was pretty close to the original release, there were some tweaks here and there, and most likely Burning Crusade Classic will see something similar as well.

World of Warcraft Classic alongside the regular edition of the game are available now on PC. No specific date was given for Burning Crusade Classic, only that it will appear at some point this year.

Overwatch 2 Hero Missions Encompass "Hundreds" of Worldwide Assignments

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Back at BlizzCon 2021, Hero Missions were mentioned for Overwatch 2. These were noted as a means of leveling up one's character. At BlizzConline 2021, the development team provided new details on the same. New enemy units are one thing but these missions will also have new technology and provide "hundreds" of new assignments that span the globe.

Different objectives, multiplayer maps that have been expanded into never-before-seen routes and a "living environment" have been noted but combat is also being made more "exhilarating." Heroes have more extensive skill trees this time and veer closer to RPGs with different specializations and builds. Of course, slight new story detailed were provided like how the second Omnic Uprising would be showcased and the aftermath of Zero Hour.

A branching dialogue system was mentioned along with "lore-rich new maps" and several choices for players to make. But overall, we'll learn more about each character's current situation and their role in the crisis. Overwatch 2 is currently in development for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Switch – stay tuned for more details from BlizzConline 2021.

Overwatch 2 – New York and Rome Maps, Sandstorms, New Enemy Units, and More Revealed

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Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch 2 sadly didn't get a release window at BlizzConline 2021 but the development team revealed tons of new details for it. Redesigns for Widowmaker, Pharah, McCree and Reaper were revealed, along with some new maps like New York and Rome. Various graphical improvements have also been made for all the different maps with new features like sandstorms and blizzards playing a role.

In terms of PvE, some new skills for each character – like Soldier 76's Biotic Field moving with him and damaging surrounding foes – were revealed. We also go a look at some new foes like Elite Grunts; The Breacher, which detonates a bomb after a short delay; and The Puller which draws players in and attacks at close range. Hero Missions for leveling up different abilities along with extensive skill trees were also shown.

In PvP, tanks are being slightly reworked to act more as brawlers while healers become more self-reliant. To that end, passives are being introduced and include benefits like knockback reduction for tanks, movement speed bonuses for DPS heroes, and auto-healing for supports. Changes like two Firestrike charges and charge cancellation for Reinhardt were also confirmed.

Check out the full behind-the-scenes update below for more details. Overwatch 2 is currently in development for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.

Blizzard Arcade Collection Launches Today For PS4, Xbox One, Switch, And PC

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While Blizzard is largely known for World of Warcraft, Diablo and Starcraft, the company's roots actually got quite a bit deeper than that. At this year's digital BlizzCon, it was announced that the company is going back, way back, with a collection of enhanced re-releases of their arcade past.

Blizzard announced the Arcade Collection, which will include enhanced ports of three titles: The Lost Vikings, Blackthorne, and Rock N Roll Racing. The three games were all originally released in the early '90s by the company. This release will include several bonuses such as art, interviews and unused content. For maximum nostalgia, it will also have both the remastered definitive editions of these games alongside the original editions, which will have watch modes that allow you to watch through an entire playthrough of the game and jump in whenever you wish.

Blizzard Arcade Collection will be available as of today for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC.

Diablo 4 Trailer Reveals Rogue Class and Gameplay

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Along with announcing Diablo 2: Resurrected, a remake of the 2000 action RPG and Lord of Destruction, Blizzard Entertainment showcased a new trailer for Diablo 4. As the rumors noted, the Rogue class was finally revealed. Check out its gameplay below (complete with an uncomfortable number of ears).

The Rogue is very much akin to the Demon Hunter from Diablo 3. Along with close-ranged daggers and swords, which can dish out combos, she can also utilize poison for slaying foes. Ranged attacks with bows are also possible and Shadow Magic also appears to be in effect. Overall, there seems to be a decent mix of styles for players to specialize in.

A release window wasn't mentioned but we may hear more about it at the game's dedicated panel. Diablo 4 still in development for PS4, Xbox One and PC though. Stay tuned for more updates and announcements from BlizzConline 2021 along with more details on Diablo 2: Resurrected.

Diablo 2: Resurrected Announced, Out in 2021 for All Platforms

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The rumors are indeed true – Diablo 2 is indeed being remade. At BlizzConline 2021, Blizzard Entertainment and Vicarious Visions revealed Diablo 2: Resurrected, a remake of the base game along with the Lord of Destruction expansion, releasing in 2021. Check out the announcement trailer below.

Along with the original graphics, players can switch to the new fully 3D visuals. These support up to 4K resolution and have dynamic lighting, physically based rendering and improved animations and effects. All cinematics are being remade entirely while Dolby 7.1 is being supported for the sound. The core gameplay remains intact with improvements like a shared stash added in.

Diablo 2: Resurrected is out this year for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC via Battle.net. It will support cross-progression across all of these. Technical alpha test sign-ups are currently live now but only for PC players. Stay tuned for more details from BlizzCon 2021 shortly.

Bravely Default 2 Gets First Japanese TV Commercial, Focused On Story

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We're a week away from the release of Bravely Default 2. The game is a long awaited sequel to the RPG series that began on the 3DS. It's a throwback in many ways to old school Final Fantasy, both in its combat and chibi art style. We've seen quite a lot of the game, from its battle system to the cast of characters you'll encounter. Now we get the first taste of how the marketing will deal with the RPG.

The first Japanese commercial for the game has popped up. It's brief, running at only a minute, but gives you an idea of how they'll be presenting the title. It focuses on the story and characters, with small snippets of the turn-based combat. It is, however, in Japanese. You can use closed captions, but it seems that only translates the song playing over the footage. There is a bit of new footage here, however, if you are a non-Japanese speaker.

Bravely Default 2 is set to release exclusively on the Nintendo Switch February 26th. If you're not sold on the game just yet, we have everything you may want to know about it through here.

Hideo Kojima Book, "The Creative Gene," Will Be Localized In English This Fall

Hideo Kojima

Considering the nature of making games, it's rare that a single personality can rise to prominence and actually stay there. One of those rare individuals is Hideo Kojima. Largely known for the Metal Gear Solid franchise, which he helmed for nearly 30 years, he's now heading his own studio and put out 2019's Death Stranding. That same year he also put out a book, though many people probably didn't know that outside Japan. Now, however, it seems that will change.

Viz Media announced that they would localize the book under the title The Creative Gene in English later this year. The book is a series of essays penned by Kojima that details his influences and inspirations for his works. It also involves his critical analysis of some of his favorite works.

Kojima Productions has confirmed they are working on a new title, though as now no details have been revealed on what it is. The last game from the team with Kojima as Director was Death Stranding for PS4 and PC. The Creative Gene will release in English October 12th.