Author: Trafficblast

Double XP in Call of Duty: Warzone is live now, but it only lasts until tomorrow. Activision announced that, in response to 1 million players completing Call of Duty’s challenge for supporting veterans, it would grant extra experience points for all players for 24 hours.

Last week, Activision kicked off an in-game challenge to raise awareness for action to support veteran medics and hospital corpsmen and women. The challenge tasks people to revive five downed players in Call of Duty: Warzone; competing it by May 9 grants a unique Call of Duty Endowment calling card. In addition, Activision donates $1 to the Call of Duty Endowment charity for each person who successfully finishes the challenge.

The total number of players has just crossed 1 million, and as promised, Activision enabled Double XP for all Warzone players. But it won’t last long: the promotion will only be live until tomorrow. An exact time wasn’t specified, but Activision’s announcement came at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST so the Double XP is likely to expire at that same time tomorrow.

In addition to the challenge, Activision also added the Battle Doc Pack, themed after a real-world U.S. Army combat medic, that includes an Operator skin, a gun skin, and some other cosmetics. All proceeds from the sale of the pack go to the Call of Duty Endowment, which works to find job opportunities for military veterans. To date, the Call of Duty Endowment has helped place 81,000 veterans in jobs.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore is getting a new DLC character, developer Hidden Variable and publisher Autumn Games announced. Her name is Umbrella and she is part of the game’s Season 1 Pass DLC. She is planned to be released sometime in 2021 and will also be available in the Mobile version.

Hidden Variable says that Umbrella is still in early development, but the developer wanted to share some details about her playstyle. Umbrella has a living weapon named Hungern that she utilizes with most of her attacks. Hungern has an interesting mechanic where he gets hungrier and hungrier as the match progresses or after performing certain actions. His hunger level fluctuates and will affect his attacks.

Hungern has three states: Starving, Overstuffed, and Ravenous. When he is Starving, Umbrella’s normal attacks are slower, but attacks that devour opponents become stronger. The Overstuffed state provides bonus effects to attacks that have him spitting up something from his stomach. Being balanced between those two makes Hungern enter the Ravenous state. This means that he is hungry and powerful, but isn’t Starving just yet. Players that can maintain this state will be rewarded. It looks like Umbrella’s gameplay direction requires some micro-management.

Right now, Season 1 Pass owners can play a rough version of Umbrella for about 2 months while she’s still in early development. In Q3 2021, Umbrella will be mostly complete with full finished animations, with Hidden Variable continuing to fine-tune her mechanics. Umbrella is set to fully release into Skullgirls 2nd Encore during Q4 and will come with her own full story mode.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore is available right now for PlayStation 4, Vita, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

This weekend marks the last Trials of Osiris event in Destiny 2 before the launch of its next content season, the Season of the Splicer, on May 11. You’re going to want to jump into the multiplayer competition this time, because it’s your best chance ever of getting a god roll on Igneous Hammer, the hand cannon that has become a PvP favorite throughout the season. Every reward this week is Ingeous Hammer, greatly intensifying your chances of getting your perfect version. Here’s what you can expect from this weekend’s Trials of Osiris and what map you’ll play.

As always, this weekend’s Trials event continues to the Tuesday weekly reset, so you’ve got until May 11 to earn rewards and spend tokens with Saint-14.

Trials of Osiris Map And Rewards (May 7-11)

• Map: Distant Shore
• 3 wins — Igneous Hammer, Solar hand cannon
• 5 wins — Igneous Hammer
• 7 wins — Igneous Hammer
• Flawless run — Igneous Hammer (Adept)

While Trials is tough and most players might never go flawless, the event isn’t just for the very best players in the game. You can still earn Trials rewards–in this case, Igneous Hammer, a gun that has been extremely dominant in the Crucible all season–just by playing matches, win or lose. The End Game bounty from Saint-14 awards each week’s three-win reward just for participating. There’s also a Seasonal Challenge that awards another weapon drop if you can win a total of seven rounds (as opposed to complete matches).

The Trials of Osiris runs from Friday to Tuesday every week, providing one of the toughest challenges in Destiny 2 for Crucible players. Your goal in the PvP mode is to win as many matches as possible before you suffer three total losses, which forces you to reset your Trials run, or Passage, and try again. It’s worth noting, though, that there’s no team matchmaking in Trials: You have to assemble your own three-player fireteam to run the event. You’ll earn loot at certain points as you rack up victories, but the best rewards in the event come when you go on a winning streak of seven matches in a row–a “Flawless” run.

If you can manage to go Flawless, you’ll visit the Lighthouse and earn exclusive rewards. Opening the chest in the Lighthouse now gets you an “Adept” weapon, which has extra stat boosts you can’t get almost anywhere else. Visit Saint-14 to pick up a Trials Passage and bounties to get started, but remember that you have to spend any Trials tokens you earn for wins with Saint-14 before the weekly reset on Tuesday, May 11. These tokens expire at the end of the weekend you earned them, so get your rewards while you can.

Also See: Xur Location for May 7-11 and his items

After Returnal’s previous major update resulted in players having their save files corrupted, developer Housemarque has announced that May 8’s patch will solve the issue.

Housemarque made the announcement Friday on Twitter. The Returnal 1.3.6 patch will go live on May 8 at 11 AM GMT/4 AM PDT, but warned players to still disable the auto-update feature on their PlayStation 5 in the meantime.

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Though Returnal received generally positive reviews for its blend of bullet-hell action and roguelike progression, including from IGN, a common criticism was that Returnal’s single-life runs could take upwards of two hours. That issue is compounded by the fact that you can’t save your game mid-run. The only way to theoretically “save” your progress is to put your PS5 in rest mode, but any auto-update applied to Returnal would result in your current run being wiped.

Housemarque released Returnal’s 1.3.3 patch on Wednesday, which contained a number of standard bug fixes, but unexpectedly resulted in players having their save files corrupted. At the time, the only way to fix the issue was to redownload Returnal. Housemarque quickly released a patch that reverted the game back to its 1.3.1 state.

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Now, Returnal’s 1.3.6 patch will also address a number of bugs and issues, including stability fixes, pre-order cosmetics blocking progress, incorrect healing behavior, custom controller mapping issues, and more.

In the age of excellent roguelikes such as Hades, Returnal has spurred plenty of discussion on what makes a great roguelike adventure. IGN’s own senior news editor Kat Bailey says that Returnal isn’t too difficult, it’s just too long for its own good. If you’re wondering how to have a better run in Returnal, check out our wiki guide where we answer what to do first in Returnal, 23 things Returnal doesn’t tell you, and how to unlock the secret ending.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/patch note for IGN.

Resident Evil Village is setting new records for the series on PC. According to Steam Database, it’s currently sitting at 101,376 concurrent players, which is a new high-water mark for Resident Evil on Steam.

It’s enough to beat the Resident Evil 2, the previous record, by about 25,000 concurrent users. Resident Evil 2 topped out at 74,227 concurrent players, while Resident Evil 3 was able to attract just over 60,000 players.

It’s a far cry from 2017, when Resident Evil was considered to be a struggling series in some quarters, along with the rest of Capcom. It was in 2017 that Capcom released Resident Evil 7, and while it ultimately peaked at only about 20,000 users, it nevertheless set the stage for its comeback after the troubled release of Resident Evil 6.

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Fast-forward to 2021, and Resident Evil Village is a major next-gen release that is enjoying strong reviews. We gave it an 8/10, calling it a “disturbing and deadly Disneyland” that may nevertheless disappoint due to its relative lack of psychological horror.

If you’re one of the 100,000 or so people who happens to be playing Resident Evil Village right now, you may find our guide on how to avoid Lady Dimitrescu of use, as well as some of our essential tips. We also delved into how parity clauses relate to games like Resident Evil Village.

Resident Evil Village released on PS5, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Google Stadia, and PC earlier today.

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Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.

 

Update May 7, 2021: Xbox Series S is in stock and available to purchase at the Microsoft Store right now for its standard list price of $299.99.

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The newest generation of consoles has arrived, but judging by retailer inventory, you might not know it. Ever since launch, the Xbox Series X and S have been selling out nearly as soon as retailers can get them in stock. Even so, it’s not impossible to snag one of Microsoft’s new consoles if you’re willing to put in some time and effort. We’re here to help you find and purchase an Xbox Series X or S as painlessly as possible.

The IGN deals team is constantly monitoring stock of the new consoles at all the major retailers. In the time since the new devices have been on the market, we’ve learned a lot about what works when it comes to successfully adding them to your cart and making it through checkout. And, dear reader, we’re going to impart this wisdom on you.

Oh, and if you’re looking for discounts, check out our full list of the best Xbox deals, which covers sales on games, consoles, accessories, and more.

Where to Buy Xbox Series X

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Where to Buy Xbox Series S

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It’s no surprise that Microsoft’s new-generation consoles are tough to find. With many people upgrading to new TVs, they want a console that can make full use of the newest features. Xbox Series X is geared toward 4K TVs, while the Series S is optimized for 1440p output. But either console brings great new features like Smart Delivery (seamless upgrade to the next-gen version of games), 120 frames-per-second gameplay, and zippy loading speeds.

The first thing you need are the retailer links for the new hardware. But if you click them at any random time, chances are minuscule that you’ll find them in stock. How do you know when they come into stock?

Follow Xbox Series X|S Trackers on Twitter

While some retailers announce ahead of time when they have incoming Xbox stock, others just like to surprise people. In either case, your best bet for knowing when Xbox Series X and Series S are in stock is by following a Twitter account that tracks such things. If you really want a new console, you can also turn on notifications for when they tweet. Here are some accounts to follow to know when new stock is available:

• IGN Deals
• Xbox Series X|S Stock Alerts
• Wario 64
• CAG Video Game Deals

Tips for Getting an Xbox Series X or S

Prepare Your Accounts at All the Retailers

On all the devices you might use to try to purchase a next-gen console, make sure you’re signed on all the major retailer sites. It’s also wise to keep your credit card on file so you don’t have to mess with entering your details while the clock ticks down while you try to check out.

Speaking of retailers, each of the major retailers has its own quirks for dealing with Xbox Series X and S when it comes back into stock. Here’s what to expect from each one.

Amazon

Amazon is all about surprise. The online retailer never announces when new Xbox stock will arrive and be available. When new consoles come in, Amazon just switches its “Sold Out” button to “Add to Cart,” and whoever happens to see it in time can try adding it to their cart. Your best bet here is to follow IGN Deals or another Twitter account dedicated to such things.

Best Buy

Best Buy also tends to get new stock out of the blue. When it does, here’s how it works: you press the button to add the Xbox Series X or S to your cart. If you’re lucky, you’ll go straight through to checkout. If you’re not so lucky, the “Add to Cart” button will turn gray and after a couple of minutes it will turn yellow again, and you’ll have to tap the button again. Then the game starts over: the lucky few will go through to checkout, while the rest will have to wait until the button turns yellow again to try once more until all stock has sold through.

GameStop

GameStop tends to announce it will have new Xbox stock ahead of it going live on the site. And in addition to standalone Xboxes, it also offers bundles that include a new Xbox Series X or S, plus games, controllers, etc.

The bundling thing is something of a double-edged sword. If you’re lucky enough to get a bundle of items you would have bought anyway it’s no problem. But if the only Xbox you can manage to get is one that’s bundled with items you don’t want, it’s not so nice.

Walmart

Walmart is actually the best of all the retailers when it comes to announcing upcoming Xbox stock before it goes live. Sometimes the retailer lets you know a day or several days in advance. They even say exactly when to expect new stock to arrive, usually either at 11:30 a.m. PT or 12 p.m. PT of the day it’s set to happen. Also unusual is that Walmart releases its stock in batches. Each batch sells out in a matter of minutes, but a new batch gets released 10 minutes later until all the stock is gone.

On the plus side, this gives you a number of opportunities to try to get an Xbox at Walmart. It also gives you a chance to get one even if you don’t visit the site right at the moment they go live the first time. But on the downside, if you don’t manage to snag one all afternoon, it can be a big waste of time, and it can feel extra demoralizing.

When Will Xbox Series X and S Be Readily Available?

That’s the big question isn’t it? When can you expect to visit a retailer either online or in person and find plenty of stock of Xbox Series X and S? Both Sony and Microsoft have said they expect supply constraints on semiconductors to prevent them from shipping as many next-gen systems as they’d hoped at least through the first half of 2021, and potentially beyond.

Where to Buy Xbox Series Accessories

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You can count on it: along with a new console generation comes a new line of accessories. Microsoft and third parties have introduced an improved controller, a new wireless headset, and a few other items. That said, in keeping with Microsoft’s efforts to smooth the transition between console generations, all (or nearly all) Xbox One peripherals are also fully compatible with the Series X and S.

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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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