If you're looking for an extra incentive to enjoy the content of Diablo 4 Season 6, ??there's a Welcome Back Boost waiting for you.

A mid-season Campfire Chat on November 12 discussed the significant changes to the existing builds and classes. While there are some significant shifts and tweaks, the Welcome Back Boost can be a great incentive for those who may have taken a break from the game. Alternatively, it can be the perfect jump start for beginners who might be playing Season 6 for the first time. Either way, you won't want to miss out on this bonus to help yourself clear the content in the ongoing sixth season of Diablo 4.

Diablo 4 Season 6 Welcome Back Boost explained

The Welcome Back Boost does precisely what its name suggests - it boosts. We are talking about an Eternal Realm character, and you'll be able to boost it all the way up to level 50 instantly. This will allow you to ignore the grind of building a class up and then pick from the available builds. This will also unlock all Altars of Lilith for that Eternal Realms character.

Finding the boost isn't rocket science, as it will be automatically offered to you as part of the seasonal content. You can use only one character of your choice, and there are two huge advantages. The first significant advantage is the ability to skip the early in-?game guide and just take the character instantly to the next level, where you can grind for the relatively endgame content.

The bigger advantage is the instant access to Altars of Lilith, which is a fantastic contributor to your Renown. Having access to all 160 of them from the very start will greatly boost your ?character's power.

The benefits of Altars of Lilith are not restricted to a single character, unlike the Welcome Back Boost. Of course, you might not find much use for this benefit if you're a veteran, but it's entirely different for beginners. Do note that unlocking the Altars of Lilith with the Welcome Back Boost might be exclusive to the Eternal Realm characters in Diablo 4 Season 6.

What's the best use of the Welcome Back Boost in Diablo 4 Season 6

There's no way to go wrong with your choice, as long as you're not using it on a character already at Level 50. That's a sub-optimal way of using the boost, and the benefits accrue only once. If you own the Vessel of Hatred DLC, you'll get an additional boost.

You could also use it on old seasonal characters who are present in Eternal Realm, but they're yet to reach endgame levels. Irrespective of your decision, the Welcome Back Boost is a smart little addition that allows you to enjoy all the Diablo 4 Season 6 content in an easier fashion.

The post How to get and use the Diablo 4?? Season 6 Welcome Back Boost appeared first on Destructoid.

It's a good time to be a Blizzard fan. Not long after revealing a release date for the upcoming World of Warcraft: The War Within expansion, Blizzard revealed the opening cinematic as well as a release date for the first Diablo 4 expansion, Vessel of Hatred. Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred will be releas?ed on all platforms on October 8, 2024.

The cinematic trailer is just as hellish as you've come to expect from Blizzard and its Diablo 4 cinematics. Tempted by the Prime Evil Mephisto, Neyrelle? heads to the new jungle region of Nahantu.

Pl??ayers will follow Neyrell to Nahantu where they can play as the new Spiritborn class, recruit mercenaries to join them in combat, and participate in an all-new PvE co-op activity with friends.

Following the recently released Season 4: Loot Reborn, this feels like a great release time for the expansion. The Loot Reborn season essentially changed how loot works in the popular ARPG, paving the way for a great opportunity for some new Diablo 4 content using the new systems.

Diablo 4: Vessl of Hatred will be re?leased on all pl??atforms on October 8, 2024.

The post Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred opening cinematic is exceptionally hellish, ex??pansion set to release October 8, 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.

No one arguing in good faith could reasonably claim Diablo 4's?? new season, Loot Reborn, hasn't been a massive boon for the game's longevity. The game reached a new all-time peak of over 28,000 players on Steam over six months after its initial launch thanks to this season's major overhauls to loot systems, upgrades, class balance, and more. With all this knob-turning and sweeping modification, however, comes a ??new problem: game balance.

Diablo 4 is now too easy

When I say game balance, I don't mean how one class performs compared to othe?rs. Gone are the days of Barbarian and Sorcerer supremacy: now every class has a nearly equally-busted collection of fantastic builds. No, I mean game balance of the player-versus-enemy variety. The game is, for the majority of an average player's experience, easy to a degree that borders on braindead.

This isn't an unexpected result of objective increases to player power and agency in the form of Tempering and the new, absolutely bonk??ers affixes it brings. Even just throwing a few build-appropriate affixes on your weapons will give you more felt power than ten or fifteen levels would. But still, in an effort to preserve "fun," it seems the team more than slightly overshot the mark, resulting in a leveling experience that feels about as frictional as a freshly-Zamboni'd hockey rink.

Until endgame, the game is a breeze

I knew there was a slightly more serious problem than the game being a little too easy when I was face-rolling Capstone Dungeons (required to progress to the next World Tier difficulty) upwards of 20 levels earlier than I should have been just to feel something. Even then, when I'd progressed to a zone where enemies' levels displaye?d an ominous "you're not supposed to do this yet" red hue, I was cutting them down all the same.?

To be fair, blasting enemies in the dozens, hundreds, and thousands is fun.. for a little while. But after reaching level 80 or so my eyes are starting to glaze over every time I enter the game, run headfirst into the Helltide after popping a Profane Mindcage and utterly decimate every foe with the press of a button. Even World Bosses die in a matter of seconds. There's no longer a measuring stick for player power besides the endgame Pit because from the moment your build starts to functi??on until the moment enemies start one-shotting you in the Pit, the amount of pushback you'll be getting from foes will remain ar?ound zero.

The Diablo 4 grind is no longer rewarding

Diablo 4 is primed to be the perfect "brain-off" game. Action RPGs in general are my go-to "second screen" games that I use to catch up on YouTube videos which may or may not have recently included a four hour essay on the failed Star Wars hotel. But the "brain-off" properties should probably come after you've spent some time crafting a build, earning great loot, and upgrading your character until your mere presence causes rooms of enemies to explode instantly. By offering this fantasy almost immediately, players are being robb??ed of the draw of action RPGS entirely: to start out annoyingly underpowered and eventually becoming a God.

The post Diablo 4’s loot rework is a huge win, but a new problem needs attention appeared first on Destructoid.

Echo Knight is by far the most difficult boss encounter in No Rest For The Wicked for numerous reasons. No matter which is preventing you from bringing him down, this guide ?will help conquer this se?emingly insurmountable foe.

How to beat the Echo Knight boss fight in No Rest For the Wicked

One of the biggest reasons Echo Knight is so difficult is because he is at the tail end of the Cerim Crucible, meaning you have to learn the fight on the? fly, or risk being sent back to the beginning on death. There are a few things you can do to make your next encounter with Echo Knight much easier.

Make use of Health gained on Damage Dealt

Regardless of your build, Echo Knight does massive damage with most o??f his attacks. His attacks are relentless, designed to pressure you to make a mistake. Taking even one hit from him is enou??gh to disillusion you from victory, often causing fatal cascade mistakes when you attempt to heal. Enter Health gain on damage dealt, an incredibly potent stat that allows you to heal yourself for significant amounts, cutting out the need to use consumables unless the situation grows dire.

This stat provides you a competent, safe way to sustain yourself?? without having to hunt for breakpoints in Echo Knights assault. It is best used with a fast weapon, but make no mistake, if you're using a slow two-handed, you should still aim to use it anyway.

Make use of the Blink Rune ability

If you've used Blink before, there's a high chance you weren't impressed with its performa?nce. It does not teleport you far, and its cost, while not expensive, takes away from your Focus bar. At first glance, it is unremarkable. However, it has a very powerful mechanic attached that is not obvious.

The Blink Rune ability allows you to break enemy tracking. What does this mean? When an enemy begins their attack animation, a significant portion of it will follow you no matter where you move. This is why you must make use of the iframes (Invulernablity Frames) in your dodge roll. Un??iquely, using Blink dur??ing an enemy attack animation will prevent it from following you, allowing you to walk away from it easily.

This is especially strong against Echo Knight (especially during Phase 2) because his attacks all have incredibly long animations. Using a Blink during any of his attacks will break his tracking, giving you several seconds to deal large amounts of damage to him without risk of retaliation. This works against all of Echo Knight's attacks, including his homing sword combos in Phase 2. Best of all? Blink can be slotted into any weapon with an open slot, and does not require a specific build. Just make certain you use Blink after an attac?k has started, otherwise it won't be d?isjointed.

Strategically place Echo Knight's Fire Patches

One of Echo Knight's most deadly attacks causes him to spawn blue fire patches under your feet in rapid succession. These patches persist for a long period once they are out on the field and exist to limit the amount of movement you can do while fighting. What's more, if you touch one of these patches for even a moment, you'll suffer a large amount of Plague damage and will be immediately afflicted with the?? Plague DoT (Damage ove?r time), which also does a lot of damage. Needlessly to say, don't stand in the fire. These patches are bad news and can end your run if they end up all over the battlefield.

However, because Echo Knight spawns the fire patches at your feet, you have some agency to control where they end up. Instead of running around in a panic, aim to keep the fire patches gathered on the outskirts of Echo Knight's arena. Ideally, you want to keep them all bunched in a corner, but just placing them around the outside gives you enough room to maneuver. Even better, once placed, move to the opposite side of where they are so your back is never to them. Echo Knight wants t?o kill you. He will come to you. Don't let him box you in.

Don't stand directly in front of Echo Knight

Echo Knight's most dangerous attacks come from his lightning-fast spear thrusts. He does them in rapid succession and they deal large amounts of damage but can be avoided if you position yourself well. Echo Knight will only use his spear thrusts if you're directly in front of him. So, don't be. Attack from his sides, or back, but never stay in front of Echo Knight for long. If he uses his spear thrust combo, focus on evasion (Blink, dodge away) until you can reposition away from him. Getting out of his range will cause him to end the combo early.

Be Aggressive against Echo Knight

Aggressive is often thought to be the last thing you want to be in a difficult boss encounter, especially in a Souls-like. Ironically, in such games, aggression tends to be the secret key to victory, because if you're dictating the terms of ??the fight, then the boss becomes fodder. I can confirm that this is the case for Echo Knight as well.

Echo Knight has a Break bar under his health that fills up every time you hit him. Filling this bar will cause him to fall, giving you a chance to deliver some? painful blows. After a few seconds, i?t fills back up, and he's back on his feet.

Now, imagine he is about to use his fire patch mechanic. You recognize it and shatter his Break bar just before he gets even one of his casts off. You just canceled one of his most dangerous mechanics, and now you won't have to worry? about it. Even if he does manage to cast once, having one fire patch in the field is way better than having six. Aggression is the key to victory against Echo Knight, and with the above-mentioned tools (Blink, Health on damage dealt), you should have no problem keeping him pressured.

The post How to? defeat Echo Knight in No Rest For The W??icked (tips and tricks) appeared first on Destructoid.

When gearing up in No Rest For the Wicked you want to look for gear that? best fulfills the vario?us needs of your build. However, there are several stats that you always keep an eye out for regardless of the type of character you're making.

Strongest Gear Stats in No Rest For The Wicked

The gear grind is the universal standard in ARPGs, and despite its Soul-like gameplay, No Rest For the Wicked is no exception. As such, the best stats you'll find on gear tend?? to focus on improving your overall damage, or your survivability in a big, impactful way. Here are the ones you should look out f??or.

Attacks deal % Extra Elemental Damage

Many weapons you'll find will come with a stat line that grants you some random element as a percent extra damage on hit. This is a massively impactful stat as a high percentage roll of this stat (20% or higher), adds a significant amount of damage to every one of your blows, greatly improving your damage per second (DPS). With this stat, you can roll extra Heat, Cold, Electric, or Plague as extra d??amage. The amount you get is random,? so you'll have to hunt down a god roll for maximum power gains.

Health Regeneration

This stat is relatively common on Epic rarity (purple) items you'll come across while farming gear. Health Regeneration slowly restores your missing health over time, which is rather useful due to the limitation of having to craft your own healing consumables at all times. This regeneration will never save you in a pinch, but it will help you cut down on the overall healing consumables you're using. Most importantly though, Health Regeneration stacks with itself, meaning if you have multiple pieces of g??ear with the stat, you'll passive regeneratio??n health faster.

Gain % Health on Damage Dealt

With this stat, every time you land a successful attack on something with a health bar (even wildlife), you'll gain a percentage of your health back every time you land a hit. The percentage is the random portion of it, so you'll want to hunt god rolls to make significant use of this stat. Like Health Regeneration, you can stack this stat to increase your overall health gain. Finally, the health gain is based solely on your successful hits, meaning this stat is far more powerful with a fast-hitting weapon, over a slow one.

Gain % Focus on Damage Dealt

This stat functions the same as the one above, only for the F??ocus bar instead. This stat is also just as strong, as, with a high enough percent roll on a piece of gear (typically a weapon), you can effectively spam yo??ur Rune abilities as long as you're landing hits. Just like with the Health Gain stat, the faster your weapon, the more potent a stat this is.

Gain % Health on Block

Functionally, this stat is identical to the two mentioned above, only instead of needing to deal damage, you simply need to block an attack instead for its effect to activate. When blocking with a shield in No Rest For The Wicked, you'll still take some damage if your Armor Value is too low for the attack.?? With enough armor and this stat, however, you can forgo all damage, and cause blocking to heal you instead. This is major for any build that makes use of a shield.

Gain % Focus on Block

Naturally, the same stat is just as useful on a shield, but for Focus generation instead. If your build relies heavily on Rune-based abilities, then using a shield with this stat is a great way to? make sure you can use your Rune abilities as actively as?????????????????????????? you please.

Poise Defense Increased by %

Poise is your ability to ignore enemy blows while launching your own without interruption. If an enemy attacks you and your ??Poise stat is too low, the attack will interrupt you. With high enough Poise, you can swing through your enemies' attacks, shrugging them off as you crush them under your heel. Typically, attacks with a 'Charge-Up' mechanic tend to have high innate Poise. However, faster attacks, such as ones done with daggers, tend to have very little normally. Additionally, heavier armor has more Poise, meaning this stat is best on said armor since it is a percentag?e increase.

Damage Dealt Increased by %

This stat is self-explanatory as it simply ?boosts all your damage when you have it. Oddly enough, I've found this one to be extremely rare even after roughly 70 hours of playtime. Even so, this is a big one to keep an eye out for for obvious reasons.

Focus Gained Increased by %

Not to be mixed up with Focus on damage dealt, this stat acts more like a multiplier for your overall Focus gain. You naturally gain Focus when dealing damage, but you also gain Focus when using Rune abilities such as Channel. This specific stat boosts the amount of Focus you'd gain about the stated percentage of the base gain from any given ability. So, if you get a base 13 Focus from?? one swing, and you have a piece of gea??r that grants 'Focus Gained Increased by 23%', you'll be getting 16 Focus per swing instead.

Healing Effects Increased by %

This stat boosts the total base effectiveness of all sources of healing you can obtain. This includes consumables, Rune abilities, 'Health Regeneration', and even 'Health Gained by Damage Dealt'. With enough of this stat, your most basic healing functions can restore you to full, effortlessly. It functions exactly how I explained above with 'Focus Gain Increased by %', only with health healing instead o?f Focus gain.

Which Gear Stats to Avoid in No Rest For The Wicked

Most of the above-mentioned stats come only on Epic rarity gear, which comes with the additional caveat of a negative stat. This stat line works entirely to weaken your character and must be paid attention to, as some negative stats should be avoided at all costs. You know you're looking at a negative stat when the stat line is entirely red.

Damage Taken Increased by %

When wearing a piece of gear with this stat, you'll flat-out take increased damage. This amount can be minor, or could massive. Either way, you should work to ??avoid this one if you see i?t, as it lowers your survivability.

Experience Loss on Damage Taken

??As it states, if you take any source of damage, no matter what it's from, you'll lose experience. Awful. Avo?id at all costs unless you're already at max level.

Health Decreased by %

Gear w??ith this negative stat flat out reduces your maximum health by the stated percentage. This is awful unless you're godly at avoiding damage. If you're not, avoid this one like the plague.

Stamina Decreased by %

With this negative stat equipped, you are effectively reducing your ability to swing your weapon, dodge attacks, and perform any other functional ability to act. Once again, avoid this one if you see it, regardl?ess of the other stats.

The post Best Gear Stats in No Rest For The Wicked appeared first on Destructoid.

If you've been playing No Rest For the Wicked, there's a good chance you ran into a man named Finley locked in a cell within the Nameless Pass. Any attempt to open his cell is blocked by the need for a certain Quarry ??Guard Key, so if you haven't found ??it yet, here's where you can.

How to get the Quarry Guard Key in No Rest For The Wicked (Map)

Unlike most other keys in No Rest For The Wicked, the Quarry Guard Key is rather hidden and well out of the way. The key is located in a hanging cell above the prison where Finley is imprisoned. As the cell is hanging, there is no traditional method or pathway that will allow you ?to reach it. Instead, you'll need to do a bit of climbing and careful platforming to reach it.

First things???? first, if you haven't already, make your way over to the circular prison ward in Nameless Pass. You'll find it toward the end of the pass, just before reaching the imperial encampment.

Once you've reached the prison area, make your way onto the ruined wall, like you're going toward the imperial encampment. Transverse the path, following the broken wooden bridge south until you reach a high-reaching vine wall leading toward the encampment.

Climb this vine wall and at the top, you should see a campfire where you can sit down and cook food. From here, follow the rocky path directly south of the campfire. It is a narrow path so watch your footing or you'll?? die and have to start thi?s process over.

Continue following the rock path until you reach what appears to be a dead end. Look to the right of the endpoint and you should see a rock slope. Very carefully slide down this slope to a small rocky platform below it. Note that you cannot see this platform until you begin sliding down the slope. Once more, if?? you mess this up, you will most certai??nly die and have to begin anew.

From here, you should see a thin wooden path leading to a broken prison cell with an item at its center. Drop down on the wooden path and follow it into the cage. Loot this item and you'll have obtained the Quarry Guard Key.

Now all that's left for you to d?o is return to Finley's pris?on cell and free him from his shackles. Finley is a special vendor that only appears in Sacrament at certain times, but I assure you this harrowing platforming excursion was worth the trouble.

The post Where to find the Quarry Guar?d Key in No Rest For The Wicked appeared first on Destructoid.

Diablo 4's fourth season got a hearty month-long delay, owing to the fact that it's spring-boarding a complete overhaul to the game's itemization, crafting systems, and endgame. Plenty of folks, myself included, are more than a little e??xcited for a new start?? to Blizzard's powerhouse IP, but we're stuck waiting until May 14. So rather than sit on our clicking hands, I have a few suggestions to help pass the time:

Grim Dawn

Grim Dawn is my absolute favoritest-favorite action RPG. Not only is it an absolute beast in terms of its content (if you cop the expansions on one of the game's regular sales, you're looking at 100+ hours of content at least), it's unmatched in class fanta?sy and build customization.

Sure, it's not the flashi??est action RPG in the world, but its gruff, high contrast aesthetic is a bit reminiscent of the gold-box RPG glory?? days, isn't it? The oversaturated hue of the spell effects mixed with the pitch black shadows gives it some real character.

Grim Dawn is a fair bit more complex than Diablo, but not nearly the impenetrable fortress that is Path of Exile. Think of it as sitting somewhere in the middle-complexity sweet spot that games like Last Epoch occupy. You can blitz through the campaign on the breezy Normal difficulty or crank things up a few notches and see if your build can stand u?p to Ultimate.

If you're worried about this game's age meaning it isn't receiving updates or content, you may be pleasantly surprised to hear that that's decidedly not the case. The latest mega-patch, 1.2, saw a whole slew of changes, including difficulty scaling, loot tables, and the addition of an evade button. There's even a whole new expansion on its way, and a second game in early development. So, if you're looking for something with a little grit, it's never too late to become a fan of Grim Dawn.

V Rising

V Rising is, unlike Grim Dawn, markedly not old. In fact, it's not even fully released yet. 1.0 is hitting just a bit shy of Diablo 4's new s??eason, on May 8, but you can explore plenty of?? the game's content right now in Early Access.

The elevator pitch for V Rising probably went something like, "What if Diablo, survival crafting games like Valheim, and old-school MMO's got thrown in a blender?" You'll hunt down treacherous bosses and collect bear asses both, all in service to your ever-growing castle. The game has the same sticky mechanics that all the great survival games do: you'll craft increasingly impressive and useful tools using workbenches, but you'll only find the blueprints after defeating some of the world's many, many big-bads.

By day, you'll likely be cooped up in your castle, rear?ranging furniture, stocking the furnace with ore, that sort of thing. But come nightfall, when the sun's rays won't cremate you, you'll be pushing further and further in?to the wilds, collecting resources and slaying foes.

If you've got a knack for building houses in The Sims or seeing how big you can make your Minecraft fortress, V Rising has a fantastic base-building system that's sure to satiate your lust for interior design. If you also enjoy skill-shotting folks in MOBAs, the game so happens to use WASD movement such that its combat plays like a frenetic mix of League of Legends and Lost Ark. It'll take s??ome getting used to, but this weird combination of cozy homebuilding and action is surprisingly harmonious.

No Rest for the Wicked

And at last, we have Moon Studio's (makers of Ori) very left-field foray into the action RPG space: No Rest for the Wicked. I was embarrassingly excited for t??his game, which?? launched last Thursday, April 18 into Early Access.

My recommendation of No Rest for the Wicked comes with two caveats: first, you'll need a pretty juicy rig to run it. With a "recommended" GPU equivalent to an RTX 3070, it isn't particularly optimized in these early days. Second, it barely qualifies as an "action RPG" in the traditional, Diablo-esque sense of the phrase. Its ??com??bat is slow, methodical, and heavy.

Those caveats out of the way, what's here is very good so far. The first act of the game i??s available to play, which should run you anywhere from 10 to 15 hours depending ??on your propensity for exploration and upgrading the capital city of Sacrament using resources found along your journey.

One of the more progressive features of No Rest for the Wicked is its ever-changing landscapes that are a joy to revisit. Starter zones level up alongside your progress through the campaign, and trekking back through previously explored lands may reveal new enemies, bosses, and loot. Loot rarity has had the script flipped a bit too - "common" items are the most customizable, while higher rarities may come with hefty drawbacks in exchange for the??ir affixed bonuses.

It's early days for the game, but after two quick and beefy hotfixes (which went live over the weekend, no less), I think it's worth keeping an eye on at the very least. Jumping in e??arly ??is always a bit of a leap of faith, but I haven't regretted a moment spent with the game.

The post Three games to scratch t?hat action RPG itch during the wait for Dia??blo 4 Season 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

Yesterday, Moon Studios released No Rest for the Wicked, the developer's new action RPG game, to Early Access. The team behind Ori and the Blind Forest �and its sequel Ori and the Will of the Wisps �has been thanki?ng fans for quick feedback, but ma??ny will be wondering whether it's coming to other platforms.

While it's only available on Steam at the moment, there are plans to release No Rest for the Wicked on current-gen systems, including the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. There's no release date for these versions yet, but the stores for both PlayStation and Xbox do have pages for the game, with options to?? wishlist it.

Sadly, for anyone hoping for a PS4 or Xbox One port, it doesn't appe??ar as though the studio is looking to release the game on these platforms.

What about No Rest for the Wicked on other platforms?

As for other PC clients, there also doe??sn't seem to be a version of the game on GOG or Epic Games Store. However, if you hav??e access to Nvidia's GeForce Now cloud service, you can play it there.

No Rest for the Wicked is so far getting some mixed reviews on Steam. It's worth remembering that it's still in Early Access, so there are almos?t certainly going to be teething troubles. However, Moon Studio is acknowledging some of these issues, and is looking to address some of the more egregious ones.

If you're not familiar with the game, here's a quick overview ??of the story:

The year is 841 �King Harol is dead. As word of his death echoes throughout the kingdom, the crown passes to his arrogant, ye????t untested son Magnus.

Even worse, the Pestilence, an unholy plague not seen for a thousand years, has returned. It sweeps across the land, corrupting every??thing and everyone it? touches. Madrigal Seline, a ruthlessly ambitious figure in the church, sees the Pestilence as a chance to prove herself in the eyes of her god.

At the time of writing, it's sitting at the number two spot on Steam's Top Sellers list. But then again, this isn't anything too spectacular for anticipated releases, especially from an award-winning developer, so it's almost certainly going to drop. Still, gives us something different to look at than all the Fallout games that are currently in the charts.

So, just to recap: No Rest for the Wicked is currently a P?C exclusive title for now (Steam and GeForce Now, specifically). PS5 and Xbox ports are being planned, but we don't know when they're? likely to drop.

The post Is No Rest for the Wicked coming to PS5 and Xbox? appeared first on Destructoid.

The latest 1.0.3 update for the new and popular ARPG Last Epoch is here.

With it comes one highly-requested change, lower stash tab costs. ?Additionally, the patch notes outline tons of other changes, including balancing abilities, many bug fixes, and more. With the ability to purchase 100 tabs f?or your stash, lowering the cost might be the best thing Eleventh Hour Games has done yet. It was getting expensive for me to hoard every cool item I could find.

1.0.3 patch lowers stash tab costs in Last Epoch

Players in Last Epoch, like many ARPGs, have a stash treasure ches?t ?they can fill with items. It gives you the ability to save items for later, maybe to try another build or revert back to old gear or weapons at any time. One of the best features in the game is 100 available stash tabs. Who doesn't want all that space for all the stuff they don't want to sell or shatter?

Unfortunately, up until now, stash tabs could get pretty costly. Previously, aft??er the first six you purchased, each tab would cost 10,00??0 more gold than the previous one. Now, tabs seven through 16 cost 2,500 more, and those beyond the 16 mark cost 5,000 more each time. In total, that's good for a 50% cost decrease once you get into the larger stash tab numbers. If you're like me and haven't thrown out a single Unique, Set, or Exalted item, cheaper stash tabs are more than welcome. They're also just about the only reason to collect gold.

What else is in Last Epoch patch 1.0.3?

The majority of the latest Last Epoch patch consists of bug fixes. However, there are a few balancing changes that may or may not impact your character and build. For example, Wandering Spirits now has 30% more spirit reveal frequency and a higher base damag?e. Additi?onally, Cloud Gatherer can now only apply to one smoke bomb at a time.

Other skill-and-passive-based changes are listed as bug fixes. One example of a fix is the effect of Chthonic Fissure's Eradication was no?t doubled when the player was cursed. Another is the Flame Whip ability, which now receives 4% increased damage per point of intelligence.

More fixes the developers have implemented impact travel, entering/exiting dungeons, and small quality-of-life features. Players could previously run into invisible ?enemies while playing in a party, but that is now fixed.

The developer p??atch notes note that a bugfix for Infernal Shade is also co??ming in a hotfix later this week. You can read all the changes and fixes below:

Changes

Campaign

• Moved Transition to Temporal Sanctum from The Ruined Coast so it’s not as easy to accidentally transition after combat.

Skills

• Changed Cloud Gatherer to only apply to any individual Smoke Bomb one time.
• Wandering Spirits now has 30% more spirit reveal frequency
• Wandering Spirits now has a base of damage of 20 (from 16.2) and damage effectiveness of 200% (from 180% actual, 140% listed)

  • These are compensatory buffs that were intended to be included alongside the change in 1.0 that made Wandering Spirits always fade out when the reveal duration ends, but the buff did not make it into release. Since the initial change was a nerf and did make it into 1.0, and this compensatory buff was always planned to be paired with the change, we’re adding the buff in this patch instead of waiting for the next cycle.

UI / Visual

• Added “Localizationâ€?type to in-game bug reporting tool
• Improved player to player trade user experience so that you can no longer request a trade which requires a higher rank than the potential buyer possesses.

Audio

• Reduced the frequency of the Falcon’s CAWWWWs (attack vocal sounds)
• Updated audio for Healing Hands

• All chapter 6 scenes have new 2D ambient loop sfx
• The Barren Aqueduct has new music
• Soul Cage props in chap 6 have looping sounds again
• The Barren Aqueduct and Nests of the Fallen now have sounds for the running water on the ground in the aqueduct
• The large running water props in chapter 8 now have sfx
• Added looping sfx to the large rusty pipelines that cross the map

Other

• Reduced cost of Stash Tabs

  • Stash tabs beyond the first 6 previously cost 10000 more than the previous tab. Now stash tabs 7 to 16 cost 2500 more than the previous tab, and stash tabs beyond the first 16 cost 5000 more than the previous tab. This results in the cost of large numbers of stash tabs being reduced by around 50%.

Bug Fixes

Campaign

• Added a failsafe to Imperial Welryn for killing the commander early or off-screen.
• Fixed an issue where you could complete all Chapter 1 quests, but do not have the first Chapter 2 quest “Last Refugeâ€?/li>

Skills and Passives

• Fixed a bug where Profane Veil’s Vampiric Pool gave 40% of the consumed minion’s maximum health as ward, instead of the listed 4%
• Fixed a bug where Runemaster’s passive node Sanguine Runestones’s threshold bonus (15% of health regen applies to ward) was scaling with points allocated
• Fixed a bug where the effect of Chthonic Fissure’s Eradication was not doubled when the player was cursed
• Flame Whip now receives 4% increased damage per point of intelligence (this affects Flame
  Whip casts from all sources, and previously never received attribute scaling from any source)

Gameplay

• Fixed several issues with Heorot fight including Ice Spike stopping projectiles, and being frozen not stopping actions in multiplayer.
• Fixed bug where minions were not benefiting from items when being respawned after leaving towns in multiplayer.

Items

• Fixed a bug where items influenced by the Rank 8 passive from Circle of Fortune would not have the Circle of Fortune tag

  • They still have the “cannot be tradedâ€?tag

• Fixed a bug where casting Summon Skeletal Mage with Grave Passage allocated caused the “minions transported with traversal skillsâ€?experimental affix to not bring any minions with you
• Fixed a bug where a Two-handed weapon and off-hand could be equipped at the same time
• Fixed a bug where Circle of Fortune Prophecy Lenses could be socketed into locked sockets with Shift + RMB
• Fixed bug where Wraithlord would try to consume other player’s minions
• Fixed a bug where Stygian Coal’s more Stygian Beam Damage per 10 current mana affix did not work
• Fixed a bug where Stygian Coal’s Stygian Beams were not affected by Drain Life’s Horrify, Condemnation, Unholy Mass, Stupefy, Soul Blast, and Ravenous nodes
• Fixed a bug where Chronicle of the Damned’s chance to reveal a Wandering Spirit on kill would cause the player’s existing cast of Wandering Spirits to stop releasing spirits
• Fixed a bug where the Wandering Spirit from Chronicle of the Damned’s chance to reveal a Wandering Spirit on kill always instantly faded away
• Fixed a bug where Flame Whips did not benefit from Chthonic Fissure’s Eradication when using Spine of Malatros
• Fixed a bug where Chthonic Fissure’s Grasp of the Undying did not apply to Flame Whip when using Spine of Malatros
• Fixed a bug where only the “while cursedâ€?benefit of Chthonic Fissure’s Death From Below applied to Flame Whip when using Spine of Malatros
• Fixed a bug where Chthonic Fissure’s Chronicles of Ruin did not apply to Flame Whip when using Spine of Malatros

UI / Visual

• Fixed a bug where right clicking a dungeon key upon first entering game would not open the map
• Fixed a bug where campaign prophecies could still appear while blocked
• Fixed a bug where enemies could appear invisible while playing in a party
• Fixed a bug where the gate in Soul Warden’s Road wouldn’t animate going down.
• Fixed a bug where The Mountain Beneath would walk through terrain in The Sheltered Wood
• Fixed some instances of players facing backwards after a scene transition

  • Please continue to report any instances of this issue via the in-game bug reporter

• Fixed bug where item tooltips could disappear when loot dropped

Audio

• Fixed a bug where mousing over a vendor inventory then back to your inventory it would play the “item boughtâ€?sound effect

The 793.2 MB update is available now.

The post Last Epoch? 1.0.3 patch notes include lower st??ash tab costs and more appeared first on Destructoid.

With the official full release of Last Epoch a few weeks ago, tons of new players flooded in, and, as a result, we all have a lot of questions about crafting and gear systems. I was one of those new players, and one of the most confusing features involved Exalt?ed items and using the Eternity Cache.

How to find the Eternity Cache

Before you worry about using the Eternity Cache in Last Epoch, you'll have to locate it at the very end of the Temporal Sanctum dungeon. As with a few other dungeons, you'll need a key to enter. Key drops are completely random, but much easier to find in the Monolith of Fate dungeons. Specifically, choosing quest echoes that ??offer keys should simplify the grind.

Once you've got the key in your possession, just right click to teleport directly to the entrance. Inside, you'll find a fairly challenging le?vel 55 dungeon (unless you're already over-leveled/geared) with a tough boss at the end. Throughout the dungeon, you'll use the 'D' key (default key binds), to swap back and forth in time between modern and ruined environments. This can open new pathways and spawn enemies you couldn't see before.

After defeating the boss, walk into the next room and you'll find the Eternity Cache. If you're like me, you'll stand there wondering why you can't use it for a few minutes. Only to find out you must p?ress 'D' and get back to the Divine Era (the more modern ??looking one). While in the Ruined Era, you won't be able to activate and use the Eternity Cache.

How to use the Eternity Cache

The Eternity Cache is a very useful crafting device c?apable of offering players some of the most powerful items in the game. In short, you'll be able to combine a specific piece of Unique gear with an Exalted item, taking affixes from the latter. Here's what you'll need:

• A unique item with at least 1 Legendary Potential
• An Exalted (purple) item with at least four unsealed affixes

Moreover, the two pieces of gear will have to be of the same slot. For example, two sets of boots, helmets, etc. You can't combine an amulet with a pair of gloves. After placing the proper items in the Eternity Cache and combining them, the Unique gear piece will take on a number of affixes from the Exalted piece, depending on its Legendary Potential.

For example, if your Unique boots have 1 Legendary Potential and your Exalted boots have four affixes, your Unique boots will get one random affix from the Exalted boots. However, Unique boots with 3 Legendary Potential will take three of the four affixes from the Exalte??d boots. This is your best chance to get the optimal affix from your Exalted gear, the one with purple text that boosts a stat tremendously.

What you need to know about fusing items

If this is the first time you've heard about fusing items together in Last Epoch using the Eternity Cache, we're sure you have questions. I personally had to do a lot of research, video-watching, and testing to figure out how the?? syste??m works. Here's what else you need to know:

• Fusing items consumes the Exalted (purple) item, so it is gone forever.
• Original affixes from the Unique item remain unchanged
• The final fused item cannot be modified further
• The final fused item will be rescaled to a new item level based on the transferred affixes from the Exalted
• Class-specific Exalted items can fuse with non-class specific Uniques, offering a class-specific Legendary item
• Set items cannot be fused with Exalted items
• Items of different character classes (ex. Unique Acolyte, Exalted Rogue) cannot be fused

Fo??rtu?nately, there is no specific currency or item required to use the Eternity Cache. Just a Unique with Legendary Potential and an Exalted item of the same gear type.

Unfortunately, there is no teleporting pad inside next to the Eternity Cache and no way to get in once you walk?? out the door. In other words, every time you want to use the Eternity Cache, you'll have to find and use another Temporal Sanctum key, complete the dungeon, then use it.

The post Last Epoch?: How to find and use the Eternity Cache appeared first on Destructoid.

Supergiant Games released a development update for Hades 2 today, shedding some light on the roguelike action RPG's Early Access release plans. The sequel to Hades will launch in Early Access ?in Q2 of 2024 on both Steam and the Epic Games Store. The team went on to clarify that the exact date, pricing, and system requirements will be revealed later. Prior to the Early Access release?, there will also be a limited technical test for a handful of players. This test will serve as a way to solve technical and compatibility issues before Early Access.

Early Access worked wonders for the original Hades

The original Hades also followed this Early Access schedule. The Early access period lasted almost two years, and really helped shape and polish Hades ahead of launch.

Similarly, Hades 2 will have several major updates that add content as EA progre??sses. The story will expand and add more characters with each update leading up to the v1.0 launch.

Hades is roguelike done right, and I'm excited to see what Hades 2 will expand on. I'm typically not a fan of the Early Access model but it seems like Supergiant Games utilizes it in all the right ways. Hades was great in EA, and even better when it was released fully. Hopefully, Hades 2 will follow the same route and end up better for i??t in the long run.

Hades 2 will enter Early Access in Q2 of 2024 on PC. No other platforms have yet to be confirmed, though Supergiant Games indicates in a FAQ on their website that they expect Hades 2 to eventually be available on consoles as well.

Update: Originally this post indicated Hades 2 will also be on all consoles. However, Su?pergiant Games has corrected us that no console platforms have been confirmed yet.

The post Hades 2 will return to hell in Ea??rly ??Access in Q2 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.