Netflix has dropped a new "Special Teaser" for the upcoming Squid Game: Season 2, and the roughly one-minute video actually gives us quite a bit of information about the upcoming season. If you want to go into Squid Game: Season 2 completely blind when it drops on December 26, you might want to skip it. But if you're like us and looking for any more Squid Game goodness, here's what we've ga??thered from the teaser.

Return of Gi-hun (and Player 456)

Even though Squid Game: Season 1 ended with the main character Seong Gi-hun planning to head to the United States and never return to the madness that is Squid Game, we quickly realize that's not the case. Even though Squid Game: Season 2 takes place three years after Gi-hun won Squid Game, in the teaser we see Gi-hun once again waking up in the infamous room full of stacked bunk beds with other contestants which confirms what many have suspected: For one reason or another, Gi-hun is once again a contestant in Squid Game.

Oh, and he's once again rocking the Player 456 jumpsuit. Assuming the second season's challenge also consists of 456 players like the first, that makes it highly unlikely that Gi-hun just so happened to randomly get the number in back to back Squid Games. And in?? the teaser, Gi-hun wakes up in the room of beds seemingly surprised to be there. So what does this mean? It's highly likely that someone—perhaps even the Front Man, In-ho, ?from Season 1—is messing with Gi-hun for some reason.

However, it's also possible that the teaser is intentionally misleading its viewers into thinking Gi-hun is surprised to be there. Perhaps Gi-hun has intentionally returned to the game with the goal of seeking revenge, or perhaps Gi-hun has returned to the Squid Game in the role that Oh Il-nam, the old man, playe?d in Season 1: not as an actual contestant, but a "hidden player" for one reason or anoth??er.

Plenty of New Games

As expected, it looks like the contestants in Squid Game: Season 2 will have some all-new gam??es to endure for their chance of winning 45.6 billion won. Throughout the teaser, we get brief flashes of various game rooms and challenges that are taking place, including once again an arena of sorts with a retractable roof hidden amongst the treetops of a remote island.

One of the flashes we see is a dirt or floor with two big rainbow circles on the ground, with contestants pouring into the game room from a single door. It's way too early to tell, but some of the new games even appear to be inspired by games from the original Squid Game season like "Red Light, Green Light" and even the final challenge, aptly titled Squid Game.

Second seasons are always very hit or miss, but it at least looks like Squid Game: Season 2 is similar enough to Season 1 that fans wanting more should be happy. We'll know more soon as Squid Game: Season 2 is set to release on Netflix on December 26.

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Ready to return to the world of Halo? The second season of Paramount Plus' live-action ?adaptation just released a first look at CCXP alongside a February 8 release date.

The news comes a day or two after the streaming service launched its flagship show's first season on YouTube. Unfortunately, the date was leaked via the descriptions for??? a bit, so it wasn't much of a surprise. However, we got our first teaser for the new season and it looks to be a ride for sure.

I Can See Your Halo, Halo

In the minute-and-a-half-long trailer, we see a bunch of wide shots and some action, a??nd the epic scale does feel a bit more on par with viewer expectations. It's just a first look, so we can expect a better picture when a full trailer comes around. For now, what we got looks, dare I say, more promising than the first.

Despite Halo receiving mixed reviews, the viewership was record-breaking for Paramount Plus, easily prompting a season two renewal. Well, that could be attributed to its looseness in the adaptation department. I mean, the show's first episode had Master Chief take his helmet off (and if you didn't last through that, he takes off more than just that). Personally, I hope ?the team takes into consideration the feedback from viewers and crafts a series worthy of its fanbase.

Halo stars Pablo Schreiber (Narcos) as Master Chief/John-117 and Jen Taylor (Halo: Combat Evolved) as Cortana, whom we got to speak to last year. The supporting cast boasts the likes of Charlie Murphy (Happy Valley), Natascha McElhone (The Truman Show), and Bokeem Woodbine (Spider-Man: Homecoming), just to name a few. So, if you have time to kill, you can watch all the episodes free of charge via this playlist and finish the fight before February 8.

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My Hero Ultra Rumble recently got a Season 2, just after its launch in September of this year. Bandai Namco dropped Season 2 of the MHA brawler on November ?24, featuring one fiery addit?ion to the roster in Endeavor.

One of the most anticipated changes that Season 2 will feature is a new playable character. Fiery and fierce hero Endeavor has been added to the playable lineup. Endeavor is featured in the Plus Ultra Roll banner, while the vein-wielding hero Ibara is headed to the Character Tickets section.

Alongside the Flame Hero, players are getting a new “Duo� or two-player team, option where 12 teams of 2 can go head to head in battle. You can also spice up your fighters' looks in game with new costumes being added to My Hero Ultra Rumble Season 2.

My Hero Ultra Rumble is a fighting title based on the popular superhero manga-turned-anime My Hero Academia. This battle royale based fighter features matches between teams of players, made up of characters from MHA. In the series, characters are able to use “quirks�or supernatural abilities that ??make them a bit out of the ordinary, in combat and in everyday life.

My Hero Ultra Rumble only features an online m?ode, meaning that there is no offline option for the game at this time. The free-to-play fighter is available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.

The post My Hero Ultra Rumble Season 2 brings Endeavor ??to the fight appeared first on Destructoid.

UPDATE: After about 2 hours, Season of Blood has officially started for Diablo 4. The servers appear to be getting slammed, but theoretically, you should now be able to login to play. Also, the Steam version is now av??ailable as well with a 25% discount.

Well, I didn't have this one on my Season of Blood bingo card. Season 2 of Diablo 4 was supposed to launch, well, 10 minutes or so ago. Instead, Blizzard released a post on their forums announcing that some technical issues have popped up with the current build. According to the post, they ant?icipate the delay of Season 2 to be "by a few hours" while they remedy the issues.

Blizzard's definition of a few hours have varied between like one hour and several days in the past. Hopefully, it's on the ??shorter side today.

Wait, who do I blame now? Microsoft? Bobby Kotick still? Just k??idding. Mostly.

Diablo 4 Season 2, ??Season of Blood, launches so??onâ„?on all platforms.

The post PSA: Diablo 4 Season 2 has been delayed by a few hours(Update: Season 2 is now l??ive) appeared first on Destructoid.

With the launch of Season 2, Season of Blood, Diablo 4 will be running another Twitch Drop campaign. This specific campaign takes place over four weeks and will reward viewers with various Oricalchum cosmetics. Each week a separate cosmetic is obtainable, with viewers having to watch four hours total of anyone in the Diablo 4 category on Twitch in order to obtain the drop.

Diablo 4 Season 2 Twitch Drop Schedule

Here is the complete schedule for the Diablo 4 Season 2 Twit?ch Drop campaign over? the next four weeks:

Week 1: Twitch Drops for Necromancer, Rogue, and Sorcerer

• Start Time: October 17, 10 a.m. PDT
• End Time: October 24, 11:59 a.m. PDT
• Cosmetic: Oricalchum Blade Item Cosmetic

Week 2: Twitch Drops for Barbarian and Druid

• Start Time: October 24, 12 p.m. PDT
• End Time: October 31, 11:59 a.m. PDT
• Reward: Oricalchum Mallet Item Cosmetic

Week 3: Twitch Drops for Barbarian and Necromancer

• Start Time: October 31, 12 p.m. PDT
• End Time: November 6, 11:59 a.m. PDT
• Reward: Oricalchum Greatsword Item Cosmetic

Week 4: Twitch Drops for Druid

• Start Time: November 6, 12 p.m. PST
• End Time: November 13, 12 p.m. PST
• Reward: Oricalchum Quarterstaff Item Cosmetic

Overall the Orichalcum cosmeti??cs look pretty clean. They aren't flashy or anything, but I kind of prefer that way. Instead, they looked stur??dy and intricately laden with Orichalcum, I guess to help slay vampires, which is the theme of the season.

Diablo 4 Season 2, Season of B??lood, begins on October 17 on all platforms.

The post Diablo 4 Season 2 Twitch Drop?s are the Orichalcum Collection appeared first on Destructoid.

"The measure of intelligenc?e is the ability to?? change."

-Albert Einstein

Sorry for the random quote, but it feels very applicable to Diablo 4 with the Season 2 Campfire chat that just ended. In the roughly 1 hour and 15-minute stream, the Diablo team highlighted all the big changes coming ?to the ARPG with the launch of Season 2, Season of Blood.

I have to say, I've been very impressed with what I've seen from this devstream and last weeks. While the previous stream focused on the new content coming with Season 2, today's instead highlighted the bigger core changes coming to Diablo 4 including class changes, quality-of-life updates, and more. I'm not willing to bet the house just yet. But, I will say this: Diablo 4 Season 2 looks promising, and I will be giving it a try. Here is a full recap of the Diablo 4 Season 2 Campfire Chat.

Diablo 4 Season 2 Campfire Chat recap

The first topic was a rework of Elemental Resistances. First and foremost, they will now be Additive instead of Multiplicative. This works very similarly to Path of Exile, which honestly handles resistances pretty well, so this is a good thing. Elemental Resis??tances will have a base cap of 70%, with item effe??cts that can increase the cap to 85%. With things being Additive, you will have a clear picture of where your defenses hold up. If you currently have 20% Fire Resistance, and equip an item that gives 10% Fire Resistance, you now have 30%. It's that easy.

As part of the change, Rings and Amulets will have All Resistance modifiers, making?? it easier to cap all of your resistances. You'll still have to utilize other gear, your Paragon Board and Skill ??Tree to get the rest of your specific resistances.

This is a good change all around. It will make it easier to understand w??here exactly your defensive capabilities lie, while also giving a direction solution fo??r increasing your survivability.

According to Blizzard, as long as play?ers update their Rings and Amulets they should not fall behind on resistances. Players should be able to hit the base cap ??of 70% around Level 80.

Unique Items rework

Nearly every Unique Item in Diablo 4 has been updated to a new system. Under this new system, Unique Items will have stats that don't exist anywhere. Blizzard provided a fake example just so we could have an idea of what to expect. In the example, an item could have "Increased Tornado Duration". Once again, this is??n't a real stat, but shows that the Unique Item stats are truly unique.

Also, the stat ranges for Unique Items have been increased. This will make it so there's more variability when a Unique Item drops. It will still always be a good thing, but you may be tempted to keep farming for a better one. Alongside these changes, you can now also target-??farm specific Unique Items. Each of the new bosses coming in Season 2 has their own Unique Item drop table, with a much higher drop rate than currently exists for Unique Items.

Finally, Unique Items can override existing slot rules. For example, weapo?ns cannot typically have the? Cooldown Reduction stat.

Class Buffs

Every class?? has been buffed, which I think we can all agree was nee?ded. Season 1 just felt slow, like we were being intentionally handicapped from becoming powerful. According to Blizzard there was a few situations they targeted with these buffs.

First is builds and playstyles that dramatically outperformed others. Blizzard wants players to be able to have diverse build viability, and not feel like they have to play one or two specific ones. Next, they aimed to fix unintended interactions that created some extreme outliers. Situations like this OP Rend Bleed build. Finally, they?? wanted to change certain builds that had the potential for infinite power scaling.

Of course, with such sweeping chang??es, the team mad??e it aware that they might have to make adjustments on the fly if some builds end up way overperforming with the changes.

The? full patch notes are supposed to drop any minute now, but based on the examples on th?e Devstream here are some highlights I could see:

Berserking bonus damage for Barbaisn is now multiplicative instead of additive (more damage). For Sorcerers, Incinerate will n?ow ramp up faster, and Enhanced Frozen Orb grants additional explosion damage to Elites. As a Necromancer, the Death's Defense passive is now baseline and does not require a skill point. The damage of golems has been increased across the board, and most Minion P?aragon Damage nodes have had their values increased.

We'll have to wait to see the full patch n??otes, but at a glance, it all seems like quality changes to make each class more fun and viable.

Damage Buckets, and New Paragon Glyphs

Critical Strike, Vulnerable, and Overpower will now have all their multiplicative damage bonuses capped. Vulnerable w??ill have a cap of x20%, while Crit Damage and Overpower Damage will cap at x50%. Once you reach that cap, they will instead gain additive extra bonus damage. According to Blizzard, Overpower has also been reworked to be much better now.

The goal of these changes is to reward ?players for investing in a primary damage vector. Monsters are also being tuned a bit t??o fit appropriately with the new caps and changes.

As such, more Multiplicative stats have also been ??added to gear, Paragon Nodes, and Aspects. This will give more options to build a specific damage bonus type.

Lastly, ea??ch class will be getting two n?ew Paragon Glyphs.

As you can see, there are a plethora of fundamental changes coming to Diablo 4 with Se?ason of Blood. From all that I have seen, these are good changes. I'm cautiously optimistic that this is going to be a good season, of course as long as the seasonal content is fun. Only time will tell, but things definitely appear to be headed in the right direction, at leas?t.

Oh, and ?a Training Dummy is being added to Kyovashda in patch 1.2.1.

Diablo 4 Season 2, Season of Blood launches o?n October 17 on all plat??forms.

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Blizzard hosted the first of their two Devstreams regarding the upcoming Diablo 4 Season 2, Season of the Blood, yesterday. And, I have to say...it was actually pretty good. In the trove of quality-of-life changes and enhancements coming to the ARPG, a buff to the drop rate of Uber Uniques was mentioned. Diablo Designer Joe Shely followed up on Twitter afterward confirming the buffed drop rate.

Promising changes coming to Season of Blood

In the slide, Shely references, it mentions that players will have "Greater access to Uber Uniques via Uber Duriel". Duriel is the final of the five new bosses coming in Season 2. Players will need to farm materials from earlier bosses in ord??er to spawn him. In the tweet, Shely states that Uber Uniques will still be rare. But players who farm Uber Duriel are going to see them eventually. In its current form, there's no way to farm Uber Uniques and even players wh?o spend hundreds of hours farming a season aren't likely to see them drop.

This is an immensely positive change for Diablo 4, and makes me hopeful about future development. The ability to actually target farm Uber? Uniques, even if they still have a rare drop, at least gives players a goal. Blizzard has a history of refusing to change their philosophy on certain mechanics like drop rates. But the decis??ion to make a big change like this is a big improvement over previous Blizzard titles.

I'm still reserving my overall judgment for the fate of Season 2 because that will depend a lot on the new content of the season. But a lot of the changes that were announced simply make the game better. Blizzard plans to support Diablo 4 for years, so we're still very early on its lifecycle. If it plans to stand with other long-lasting ARPG's like Diablo 2: Resurrected, Diablo 3, and Path of Exile, updates like this are a big part of it.

Diablo 4 Season 2, Season of Bl?ood, launches on October 17 on all platforms.

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In the first of the two planned Devstreams for Diablo 4 Season 2, Blizzard revealed some pretty big changes coming to the ARPG. First, the team discussed the details of Season 2, including its new systems and content. Then a plethora of upcoming changes were discussed, most of which on the surface should improve Diablo 4 in a big way. Near the end, Blizzard casually announced that Diablo 4 would be launching on Steam at the start of Season 2. Overall I'd say it was a good Devstream. Let's ??go over some of the highlights!

Season of Blood

The second season of Diablo 4, Season of Blood, will go live on ?October 17 at 1 p.m. ET. The current season, Season of the Malignant, wi?ll also end at the same time. Furthermore, Patch 1.2.0 will also go live the same day Season 2 begins. Blizzard has a separate Devstream planned one week from today, on October 10, that will go over some big changes coming in Patch 1.2.0 including Class balance, Unique items, Resistances, and more.

As for Season of Blood, however, it seems as though we'll be getting a bit more content than we did with Season 1. In terms of the narrative, players will venture into a Sanctuary's vampire-infested underbelly on a new questline. There we will recruit vampire hunter Erys to our cause and discover a?? sinister plot behind the vampirism.

A new Pact Armor will allow players to harness the Vampiric Powers of the new enemies we will encounter in Season 2. In order to do so, we will require Potent Blood. Potent Blood is a new re??source acquired from slaying enemies, which can then be used to unlock new Vampiric Powers or upgrade existi??ng ones. Five powers in total can be equipped, with every power being upgradable to Level 3.

In total, there are 22 Vampiric Powers in Season 2. All Classes can equip any Vampiric?? Power, which in theory should add a ton of build variety.

Finally, there is a ?new open-world event similar to Helltides that is called Blood Harvest. The event is available ?starting at Level 1 and will rotate through the various zones.

New Bosses

Five new? bosses will appear in Season 2, with each one having different requirements to encounter them. Each boss has its own exclusive Unique items that they can drop, which will more than likely mean we have to far some of them too. Here are the new bosses:

• Grigoire, The Galvanic Saint (Encountered in World Tier 3 and 4)
• Echo of Varshan (Encountered in World Tier 3 and 4)
• The Beast in the Ice (Encountered in World Tier 4)
• Dark Master (Encountered in World Tier 4)
• Echo of Duriel (Encountered in World Tier 4)

You must defeat Grigoire and Varshan in World Tier 4 to acquire materials to summon Duriel. Duriel is a special encounter because he has the a?bility to drop the super rare Uber Unique items, as well as potentially a smoldering Brimstone Mount.

Lots of changes, mostly good ones

There are a lot of quality-of-life changes coming with this season. You can find them all in detail here, but here are the most important ones:

• Players will gain 40% more experience in Season 2. Goal is to make leveling smoother and quicker to get to Level 100, making it a realistically achievable goal.
• Gems no longer drop. Instead, players will automatically loot Gem Shard materials to a new material tab, which can be used to craft Gems.
• Enchantment costs have been lowered.
• In World Tier 3 and above, Normal and Magic items will no longer drop, just their crafting materials.
• In World Tier 4, only Ancestral items will drop.
• Higher-level monsters will drop items with higher Item Power potential. Whisper caches and Helltide caches will reward items with an Item Power bonus potential.
• Your Stash can now be Sorted and Filtered to find items more quickly.
• An Auto-run button has been added.
• Streamer mode can be enabled to hide identifying information.
• Combat text can be removed.
• Minimap can be zoomed out.
• Nightmare Sigils from Whisper Caches will always be within 5 levels of the highest Nightmare Dungeon you have completed.
• Gold Reward from whisper caches greatly increased.
• Experience Reward from Whispers and Helltides increased substantially.
• Helltide Chests have unique icons on the map to indicate their type.
• Teleporting to a NIghtmare Dungeon will put you inside, instead of just at the entrance.
• Dungeon Event monster density increased. NPC's will no longer get one shot in higher World Tiers.
• Crowd Control across the board has been greatly reduced.
• Increased Paragon Glyph experience.
• Legion Events will spawn more frequently.
• World bosses will spawn more frequently, and give you a longer heads-up of their imminent spawn.
• Base mount speed increased, and can now break through barricades.
• Stashes at every waypoint, and gambling vendors closer to waypoints.
• Renown rewards persist between seasons and characters.
• Incenses grant experiences and experience bonuses are multiplicative with World Tier.

Overall these are good changes to Diablo 4. But a lot of the Devstream seemed to be focused on these changes as opposed to the actual Season 2 content. Don't get me wrong, these are all good changes that will make Diablo 4 a better game. However, I can't help but be a little afraid that Season 2 ends up just as lackluster as Season 1, which is not good. I hope I'm wro?ng, but I guess we will see soon!

Diablo 4 Season 2, Season of Blood, will start on October 17 on all platf??orms.

The post Diablo 4 October 4 Devst?ream Recap: Lots of good changes and an intriguing season appeared first on Destructoid.

Big updates are on the way for MMO Wayfinder. Developer Airship Syndicate revealed the updates during their Wayfinder Wednesday blog post. In the near future, a mid-season update is on the horizon bringing a new live event called Call of the Void as well as some new content. Later, Season 2 will kick off and see the release of a new Wayfinder character named Grendel?. An in-depth look at the new content from the mid-season update will be coming in early October.

The Fierce Beast Grendel

A new Wayfinder named Grendel will be joining the rost?er of characters with Season 2. The ferocious beast will be available immediately for players who have an Awakened or Exalted Founder's pack. Other players will have the ability to farm the components required to craft Grendel, who will then be permanently unlocked.

Other than the teaser trailer, A?irship Syndicate hasn't released much about Grendel just yet. According to his description, Grendel is an enraged berserker who explodes into battle in a whirlwind of speed and f??ury. His full reveal details will be coming soon.

Mid-season Live Event and New Content

The first-ever live event, Call of the Void, will have stranger rifts appearing all across the Highlands. Players will be able to seek out and explore the rifts which are full of mysteries and surprises. Two new quests will lead players into the flames as they confront the Highlands Fire Lord. Another quest titled The Final Score will unlock the Drill Machine, a new secret weapon constructed deep in th?e Mines.

A new Lost Zone, Gloom Dungeon, and a new weapon called Juggernaut are also coming in the update. Wayfinders who complete the event will gain access to an exc??lusive Gloom Dagger skin called Dawning Hope.

Finally, a slew of quality-of-life and balance updates will be coming to Wayfinder in phases. You can find the full patch notes full of fixes on the Wayfinder Wednesday blog post.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Season 2 was titled Call of the Void. Call of the Void is actually a live event that is part of an upcoming mid-season update with new content, whereas Grendel will come to Wayfinder with Season? 2. We apolog??ize for the incorrect information!

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During Gamescom 2023, Blizzard revealed Season 2 for Diablo 4: Season of Blood. It looks like Blizzard will be following the originally promised quarterly release schedule for Diablo 4 seasons. Sea??son of Blood will release on October 17, almost exactly three months after?? Season of the Malignant.

After a pretty lackluster Season 1, hopefully Season of Blood adds more meaningful content, especially in the end-game of Diablo 4.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF65c670lpM

The announcement trailer didn't give us much information, other than that we'll be accompanying a new character named Erys. Erys is voiced by actress and producer Gemma Chan and leads the effort against a deadly new evil in Sanc?tuary. Based on the trailer, the new evil seems to be some blood-thirsty vampire-like creatures with extremely pointy teeth.

At the end of the trailer, we get a few quick glimpses of new features coming in Season of Blood. A new questline, new vampiric powers—which will probably replace the existing malignant hearts—and five new endgame bosses. Honestly, the endgame bosses could be pretty exciting, as that's currently a lacking feature of Diablo 4 compared to other ARPGs like Path of Exile.

Also, it appears we'll be getting updates to renown rewards, gem and stash storage, and resistances and status effects. Without concrete details it's hard to know how ex??actly to feel. But, all of these sound like good things, so I'm excited to find out more.

Diablo 4 Seas?on 2, Season of Blood, will release on all platforms on October 17.

The post Diablo 4? Season 2 is Season of Blood, starts October 17 appeared first on Destructoid.

We all saw this one coming

HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us has been one of the biggest hits for the platform in about a decade, garnering a staggering 10 million viewers within the first two days of the premiere alone, as well as gaining the most viewers from a first to second episode of any show ever on HBO. It pretty much felt like the show was going to get a renewal as soon as we saw the success of the premiere episode, so the writing was o?n the wall with this one. We haven't gotten any other official info from the announcement so far �we just know Season 2 will be on the way.

//twitter.com/TheLastofUsHBO/status/1619017515581??018112

As far as the content of Season 2, we know as per the show's creators that it will be covering the events of The Last of Us Part II, as this first season will come to a close along with the first game's story. One thing to consider is that the sequel is considerably longer than its predecessor �over double the length in terms of hours �so there's a chance that they'll need more than one season to tackle its narrative. In an interview from The Hollywood Reporter, Neil Druckmann re??vealed that they don't have any plans for the s??how's story to go beyond the games.

Personally, I think my viewing experience of The Last of Us will have to end with Season 1. My curiosity is enough to carry me through as of now, but I don't think I'll have it in me to sit through a whole other season �especially because the story of Part II wasn't my favorite to begin with. As a fan, I'm happy to see the franchise thriving, but I've spent so much time thinking and talking about it, I think it's time to move on for a while after I finish covering Season 1.

The post HBO’s The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season appeared first on Destructoid.

The fan-favorite mode makes a return

Infinity Ward tried some new things with the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II �some of them stuck like semtex, and some of them didn't. One change that many players are excited to see reverted is the game's Hardcore mode, or more specifically, its return to the game with MWII's Season 2. The news came via the official Infinity Ward Twitter account, where they announced the return of the mode that makes an already-difficult game even harder. In addition, the studio stated that more updates on what to expect from Season 2 will be coming later this week on their blog.

Hardcore mode isn't for the faint of heart, as it gives players significantly less health, reduces the HUD down to a minimum, and turns friendly fire on. As usual, players will be able to access Hardcore mode through a specific playlist, so don't worry about getting roped into these games by accident �although I wouldn't put it past anyone considering how unnecessarily confusing Modern Warfare II's UI is. The mode dates all the way back to the original Modern Warfare in 2007, so I don't really understand why they?? didn't include it from launch to begi??n with. Oh well, something to look forward to I guess.

//twitter.com/InfinityW?ard??/status/1617220677517381632

Season 2 has already been delayed two weeks to February 15, as was correctly predicted by known Call of Duty data miner CODSploitz. In addition to Hardcore mode, the update will include the return of Resurgence mode, as well as "a brand new small map" and "new multiplayer maps, new modes, weapon?s and ??much more."

The post Hardcore mode is coming back for Modern Warfare II’s Season 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

We missed you, 1v1

Warzone 2.0 brought about a whole host of changes to Call of Duty's beloved battle royale mode, but the most divisive of them all has to be the new version of the Gulag, which changed from a 1v1 fight to a 2v2 with the introduction of the sequel. As if it wasn't already hard enough contending with two enemies instead of one, especially if you have a teammate who is AFK, uncooperative, etc., they also added a Jailer with a minigun for you to contend with, too. It's clear to me why this was one of the least popular changes that came along with Warzone 2.0.

Thankfully we won't have to put up with it for very much longer, though, because Infinity Ward has announced on Twitter that they're reverting the Gulag back to its former 1v1 glory. This change is scheduled to be implemented along with the Season 2 update for both Warzone 2.0 and Modern Warfare II, which we learned yesterday has been delayed by two weeks. I guess this gives us yet another reason ?to look forward to the game's second season, along with bug fixes, a new Raid episode, and new game modes, just to name a few of the upcoming features.

//twitter.com/InfinityWard/s????tatus/1616133411189710848

Season 2 is officially dropping on February 15, as per a tweet from the Call of Duty Twitter account yesterday, so we only have to deal with the 2v2 shenanigans for a little while longer. It's nice that they wanted to branch out and try something new to keep ??things feeling fresh, but unfortunately, this turned out to be more of ?a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" situation.

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Man, that's a lot of 2's

[Update: This morning, the official Call of Duty Twitter released an update stating that Season 2 for both Warzone 2.0 and MWII will be dropping on February 15. Warzone 2.0 will see the return of Resurgence and will also get a "brand new small map," while MWII will?? get some "new multipla??yer maps, new modes, weapons and much more."]

Call of Duty fans have been anxiously awaiting Warzone 2.0 and Modern Warfare II's second season, but based on some new info, it looks like they're going to h??ave to wait?? a couple more weeks. Neither Activision nor Infinity Ward have officially announced any dates yet regarding the new season, but fans have surmised that the release date was supposed to be February 1 by looking at the days left on the Season 1 battle pass.

Based on a tweet from known data miner CODSploitz, Season 2 will allegedly drop on or around February 15. By mining for the dates of the last Season 1 bundle, CODSploitz claims to have found that the final Scavenger bundle will be available in the store from February 2-15 -- hence the supposed Season 2 delay to that date, or sometime after it. CODSploitz's predictions hav?e been right in the past, so we'll have to see if this one helps or hurts his t??rack record when Season 2 finally drops.

//twitter.com/codsploitz_img??s/status/1615158500493037568

The last major update we saw for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II came in the form of Season 1 Reloaded from back in December. That update came with bug fixes, which added the Chimera assault rifle, the brand new Raid mode, and my pers?onal favorite, the Shipment 6v6 multiplayer map. There's been some speculation that Season 2 will bring another new Raid episode, but other than that, the second season will likely be full of surp?rises.

Related: How to Win Hardpoint in COD MW2 Ranked Play Prima Games

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Big changes are ahead

Like any live service game, Overwatch needs ?constant maintenanc?e �not only to add new content, but to just fix all the stuff they have in there already. When the whole point of the game is to have a bunch of overpowered heroes fighting it out, it's easy for certain characters to get a little too overpowered in the process.

Players are looking forward to seeing some new maps and the rebalancing of heroes like Sojourn and Bastion, and of course, the real star of the show this time around is the new Tank hero, Ramattra. There's a whole lot of new info in this huge start-of-season patch, so let's?? see if w??e can't simplify and find the most important bits.

A new hero

With this update, Ramattra is now a playable character in the game. He won't be available in the Competitive pool for the first two weeks of Season 2, but he's available for us all to fight over in the Quick Play queue. Ramattra has a pretty long list of abilities, so if you're at all interested in trying him out, I'd recommend checking out our previous report to get a sense of his powerful kit.

Plenty of other heroes got some balance changes as well, incl??uding Doomfist (he probably had the most changes to his kit), Junker Queen, Bastion, Sojourn, Symmetra, Tracer, Ana, Kiriko, and Mercy.

Damage hero passive update

This one's a bit tucked away in the patch notes, but it's one of the more significant changes this t??ime arou?nd: the damage role passive no longer gives players a movement speed bonus, and will instead increase the reload speed bonus from 25 to 35%. It's a smaller tweak, but it affects the majority of the hero roster, so it's worth noting for sure.

Map pool

Players have been itching for some new maps, and Blizzard is definitely delivering on that front. Not ??????????????????????????only are we getting an entirely new location in Shambali Monastery, but we're also seeing some?? new time-of-day reskins of old favorites like Blizzard World, Nepal, and Oasis.

As expected, there are also fixes for the ?plethora of bugs that have been plaguing the game. Some of the more notable changes include a fix for an issue that caused some players to lose competitive challenge progress, a fix on the Busan map where players could get stuck, a fix for the geometry on Colosseo and Esperanca that allowed players to contest the payload without being seen, and heroes can no longer take damage from their own abilities while on the other side of a friendly barrier. Of course, there's plenty of other stuff going on under the hood, too, if you're interested in checking it out.

With this being the first big update since Overwatch 2's release, I'm pretty pleased with the offerings so far. It all looks good on paper, at least, with those hero rebalances and other fixes, but as always, it'll take getting in-game and playing around for a while before deciding how effective the changes actually are. The only hero I regularly play who had any changes was Mercy, and I don't really care about her getting more ammo for her pistol in the ?grand sche?me of things. So, all things considered, it could have been worse.

This is gonna s??ound silly, but even over a whole new hero, the change I'm most excited about with Season 2 is the new maps. I'm excited to see the return of some old favorites of mine (Blizzard World is a particular point of interest for me as a theme park enthusiast), a??nd even a time-of-day reskin can make the whole map feel entirely fresh.

Don't get me wrong, Ramattra is an exciting new addition to the hero roster, but I can't help but feel that Blizzard's character design is getting a bit bogged down with too much noise, especially when it comes to the ever-growing hero kits. As I said, it'll take a few days of playing around to reach a final verdict. I'm just happy that my unjustly-doled-out ban that I earned from disconnecting to the servers too many times has finally lifted. See you in-game!

The post Here’s a breakdown of Overwatch 2 Season 2 patch notes appeared first on Destructoid.

The second season of Halo Infinite has had some stumbles out of the gate

The newest season of Halo Infinite multiplayer is having a rough start. And in response to already mounting feedback, the Halo Infinite devs say they're reviewing options internally to address the?? issues players have with Season 2.

Season 2, dubbed "Lone Wolves," adds some new maps, modes, playlists, and more to the lineup for Halo Infinite. There's also a new battle pass which, adhering to Halo Infinite's structure, is permanently ??open for u?nlocks and progression.

The launch didn't go smoothly, though. Last Spartan Standing, a new game mode, is a pretty neat idea, but challenges weren't accurately tracking. An unintentional glitch was causing weapons to "jam," an issue they're working on now. And players have had issues with both multiplayer movement tech and single-player speedrun tactics getting patched.

Joseph Staten, the head of creative at 343 Industries, addressed the feedback on Twitter:

"Hey Spartans, this week has been bumpy. That definitely wasn't our goal. We ?are indeed taking your feedback to heart, especially rega?rding map jumps and speedrunning. We're reviewing options and will have more news to come."

Sr. Community Manager John Junyszek, meanwhile, addressed some of the specifics. Last Spartan Standing should be tracking more accurately for the Interference event, and anyone who logs in during the event will get five XP Boosts and five Challenge Swaps. The difficulty of some Event Challenges are also being lowered next week, and completing them will earn two levels on the Event Pass. Junyszek also addresses the issues with multiplayer jumps and speedrun strategies, saying they're taking feedback seriously and i?nternally reviewing options.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=o69uckS2jlU

Lone wolves

The second season of Halo Infinite has, much like its preceding season, struggled to get off on the right foot, it seems. Though I've seen some folks happy with new ma?ps and modes, lingering frustrations with the aforementioned systems still exist.

Halo Infinite is still due to receive a co-op campaign mode and Forge somewhere down the line. To ??343's cre??dit, they're at least working to right the ship still. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later.

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Gimme a Break(er)

Halo Infinite Season 2 arrives on May 3, and with it, two new maps for multiplayer. Today, 343 Industries put ??out a trailer showing of?f the sights and sounds of the two maps arriving this season: Breaker and Catalyst.

The first one is Catalyst, an abandoned Forerunner edifice. This feels pretty classic Halo to me, with plenty of sightlines and elevations to play around with. Power weapons are sitting in the open, so they're a calculated risk. And it has all the metallic sheen and glowing blue bridges that make a Halo map feel very Halo.

While Catalyst is the Arena map, Big Team Battle fans will be headed to Breaker. This Banished shipbreaking yard looks pretty open for chaos, given the giant laser moving around in the middle. The jump ramps seem perfectly poised for the comical Warthog leap right into the hull-slicing beam. Of the two maps arriving with Halo Infinite ??Season 2, I'm definitely into Breaker—but then again, I'm also a Big Team Battle player.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD88v-0IKJ0

Lone Wolves

This second season of Halo Infinite, set for May 3, is dubbed Lone Wolves. Alongside adding Breaker and Catalyst to the map pool, the new season will also have a new battle pass. That means plenty of new cosmetics to earn and, due to how 3??43 is handling battl??e passes, no time limits on when you get them.

While new content is good, there is a downside. 343 Industries has also confirmed that campaign co-op will not be arriving with the launch of Halo Infinite Season 2. The team has said it's aiming to deliver campaign co-op via network play later in the season, while split-screen co-op is still up in the air. The Forge for Halo Infinite, meanwhile, is still due to arrive with Halo Infinite Season 3.

The seasonal updates for Halo Infinite have led to a mixed reception so far. The updates make for good excuses to come back, but big Halo features like co-op and Forge moving back with updates has made it tough for Infinite to stick with me like other Halo games have.

We'll see what the Lone Wolves can do for Halo Infinite when Season 2 launches on May 3.

The post Here’s a look at two maps arriving with Halo Infinite Season 2, Catalyst and Breaker appeared first on Destructoid.

Lone Wolves be free tonight

343 Industries are showing off the next season of Halo Infinite. Dubbed "Lone Wolves," Season 2 of Halo Infinite is due to arrive on May 3, and it's ??got some new multiplayer content in tow.

The Halo Infinite team has made the targeted launch date of May 3 known over on the Halo Waypoint blog before now, but today we got a glimpse of all the action in motion. This includes new maps, modes, and more in the upcom??ing Battle Pass.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=o69uckS2jlU

343 Industries has been discussing what's in store for Halo Infinite Season 2 over on the Waypoint, includi??ng some story. A? mix of cinematic, story-themed Events, and Battle Pass items are all intended to embody the "Lone Wolves" theme.

Cosmetics are one thing, and thankfully Halo Infinite's Battle Pass system means this one will stick around,?? rather than being time-limited. When it comes to gameplay, however, a few updates are on the way too. Map-wise, an Arena map called Catalyst and Big Team Battle map called Breaker are on the way.

Bigger birthday parties

New modes are also in store for Halo Infinite Season 2. Last Spartan Standing is a free-for-all elimination mode, and another new mode called Land Grab is on the way. King of the Hill fans (not the TV show, sorry) will also be happy to see the mode return this season too, w??ith a r?efresh.

343 Industries went into some more detail about what's in store with this upcoming season for Halo in another blog, ranging from weapon damage changes and odd issues to audio alterations.? My personal favorite: "The volume of the Grunt Birthday Party sound effect will be increased in Campaign."

What's not in store for Halo Infinite's second season is campaign co-op. 343 has confirmed the feature is not able to ship on May 3, though it is looking at delivering Campaign network co-op sometime later in Season 2. Forge is also still on the way, and 343 has said it still aims to ship Forge in Halo Infinite Season 3.

The post Halo Infinite Season 2 trailer shows what’s in store for May 3 appeared first on Destructoid.