Author: Trafficblast

A short film detailing the start of the No-Pat civil war that takes place in Battlefield 2042 has solidified the game’s connection to Battlefield 4. The two games officially take place in the same universe, with two characters from Battlefield 4’s campaign playing prominent roles in the film.

The film starts with Kimble “Irish” Graves, voiced by Micahel K. Williams (who played Omar in The Wire), exploring ruins while looking for an important data package. As it turns out, the package is being hauled by none other than his former squadmate, Clayton “Pac” Pakowski, voiced by Andrew Lawrence.

However, Irish decides that the package is best kept away from No-Pat leader Oz, sparking the No-Pat civil war. According to a press release from EA, Irish will be one of the specialists playable in Battlefield 2042, and the game’s story will continue to be told as more specialists are added.

With Irish’s reveal, we now know about five of the total 10 specialists that will be available in Battlefield 2042 when the game launches. Specialists are set apart in the game by their unique equipment, including grappling hooks and wingsuits. At the moment it’s not clear what ability Irish will bring to the battlefield.

While Battlefield 2042 is currently set to launch on October 22, EA has already opened the game up to some players. A technical test for the game started today, offering players a first look at what the game will be like at launch. That being said, it’s not likely that those outside the technical test will learn much about the game. Unlike Halo Infinite’s recent technical preview, Battlefield 2042’s technical test is under a strict NDA.

September 13 marks two years since Borderlands 3 first launched, and developer Gearbox plans to celebrate with several weeks of mini-events. Starting on August 12, these Loot the Universe mini-events will see an increase in Legendary-class gear drops on specific planets.

Specific types of Legendary loot have increased chances of dropping, and each planet will also have its own dedicated Legendary weapon type from the pool of exotic pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles available.

Legendary class mods, artifacts, shields, and grenade mods will also be up for grabs until the event ends on September 9.

Borderlands 3 Loot The Universe Schedule

• August 12 – 9: Pandora
• August 19 – 26: Promethea
• August 26 – September 2: Eden-6
• September 2 – 9: Nekrotafeyo

From September 9 there will be two more mini-events in the form of Mayhem Made Mild, which adds only easy modifiers to the endgame mode, and Show Me the Eridium, which grants increased Eridium drops and Eridium item discounts.

Gearbox says that it has more plans for September 13, which it’ll reveal closer to the big anniversary day. In other Borderlands 3 news, the game recently increased the level cap for characters, added cross-play, and introduced new Vault Cards for owners of the game’s director’s cut.

There’s also the Borderlands spin-off based on Tiny Tina that’s coming next year, as well as the Borderlands film which has finished principal photography and is now in the post-production phase of development.

Like several other games from the previous generation of console gaming, The Elder Scrolls Online is getting an enhanced edition for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. As part of the Waking Flame DLC, dynamic resolution scaling for performance mode on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 will be enabled, giving the game a visual performance of between 1080p-2160p and 60fps on the Xbox Series X and PS5, while the Xbox Series S will render the game at 1080p resolution and the same frame-rate.

“As part of the Waking Flame DLC, we are enabling dynamic resolution scaling for performance mode on Xbox Series X|S and PS5, which steps resolutions up and down based on performance metrics,” lead graphics engineer Alex Tardif explained in a press statement. “For example, we expect our players on Series X to be running at or very close to 4K at 60fps in performance mode in most situations. On the flip side, the headroom for dropping to as low as 1080p should further prevent dropped frames in high-intensity situations, such as large Cyrodiil battles and certain trial and dungeon boss fights.”

For all consoles, except for the base PS4 and Xbox One, a new HDR mode known as Default will be added. This mode aims to retain the look of the game’s original artwork while taking advantage of the increased range, but players who’d prefer the game to remain the way it is visually can choose the Vibrant option from the menu settings.

Over on PC, players can try out console render multi-threading through a new opt-in beta setting, with this setting being designed to improve frame rates for CPU-limited setups.

The most recent major update for The Elder Scrolls Online was June’s Blackwood DLC that made sweeping changes to the long-running MMO. Companions were added to the game, a new 12-player Trial called Rockgrove was introduced, and numerous other technical tweaks were made at the time. Waking Flame is expected to launch in Q3 this year, bringing with it new item sets, collectibles, and dungeons to explore.

As for The Elder Scrolls VI, that game is still currently in the design phase of production as the studio focuses all of its attention on the upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield.

Today you can save big on the latest generation Apple AirPods, Apple iPad Pro, and Apple Watches. If you’re Android-inclined, the new Samsung Galaxy Z phones with folding displays and the latest Samsung Galaxy smartwatches are up for preorder. Other deals include the lowest price we’ve ever seen for an RTX 3070 equipped gaming laptop, the best SSD upgrade for your PS5 console, a new price drop on an Arcade1Up Ms PAC-MAN cabinet, and more.

Preorder New Samsung Galaxy Phones & Watches

The newest generation of Samsung Galaxy Z smartphones are up for preorder. Unlike the traditional Galaxy S and Note, the Galaxy Flip phones feature screens that can be folded closed in typical clamshell fashion. The most impressive feat is that there is no bezel at the hinge; the screen itself folds in. These are the 3rd generation models and there are plenty of improvements over the previous generation including a better display and more powerful processor, but the best news is that the newest generation is actually less expensive. You can read more about all the new gadgets announced in Samsung’s Unpacked event.

Apple AirPods Pro Noise-Cancelling Earbuds

If you regret not picking the Airpods Pro up on Amazon Prime Day at 24% off, here’s your chance to get it today at the same price. The AirPods Pro is considered one of the best truly wireless noise-cancelling in-ear headphones you can get, especially for under $200.

Apple iPad Pro 11″, 12.9″ and Apple Pencil

Save $100 off the latest and most powerful iPad Pros on the market. Both 2021 iPad Pro models feature the powerful Apple M1 chip, which is significantly more powerful than any of the previous processors, and Liquid Retina displays with ProMotion, True Tone, and P3 wide color. The 12.9″ model goes one step further by utilizing an XDR Mini LED display that makes it the best screen of any phone or tablet on the market. The Apple Pencil (2nd generation) is compatible with both of these models and is currently $30 off.

Price Drops on Apple Watch Series 6

All Apple Watch Series 6 models have been discounted. The biggest discounts are limited to the (PRODUCT) Red version, but other color options have also dropped in price as well. The Apple Watch Series 6 boasts an always-on display with up to 2.5X brightness compared to previous models, an upgraded S6 processor, and some new health-related features like an always-on altimeter and blood oxygen monitoring.

Back in Stock (Including 1TB Model): WD Black SN850 M.2 SSD with Heatsink

The Western Digital official storefront has all models of the SN850 SSD with heatsink in stock right now, and that includes the extremely hard to find 1TB model. This is currently the most popular (and probably the best) SSD to get for your PS5 storage upgrade. It’s blazing fast drive with transfer speeds rated at up to 7,000 MB/s and a PCIe Gen4 interface and it comes preinstalled with a heatsink. It’s also confirmed by Western Digital themselves to be compatible with the PS5.

The Least Expensive RTX 3070 Gaming Laptop

Thus far this is the cheapest RTX 3070 laptop we’ve seen on the market, ever. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card performs almost as well as the previous generation’s RTX 2080, which means it can drive any game on the 1080p display without a hiccup. That’s really impressive considering most $1350 laptops are equipped with with an RTX 3060 or less. You also get the newest AMD Ryzen 7 processor and plenty of RAM and SSD storage.

Big Price Drops on Oculus Quest 2 Accessories

The Oculus Quest 2 is going to be more attractive than ever before. There is a new 128GB model that is going to be released very soon that will replace the 64GB model for the exact same price; that’s double the storage for no extra charge. In anticipation, Walmart has lowered the prices on the most popular official Quest 2 accessories. These aren’t minor discounts, either. Save up to 25% off accessories that have rarely been discounted.

Sign up for AT&T Gigabit Fiber Internet for $60/mo

Sign up for the gigabit plan and you get $20 off your first year. That means you pay $60/mo instead of $80/mo. You’ll get access to blazing fast gigabit speeds (both downstream and upstream) with no data cap. As a bonus, you’ll also get a free 1 year subscription to HBO Max. That means you’ll be able to watch Space Jam: Legacy and the upcoming Suicide Squad 2 movies absolutely free. I personally am subscribed to AT&T Fiber and would never dream of going back to my slower and more expensive cable internet.

Alienware Aurora R12 RTX 3060 Gaming PC

You’d be hard pressed to find another prebuilt desktop PC with RTX 3060 video card at this price from any vendor, let alone from Alienware. This is an outstanding deal for a very capable gaming PC. The RTX 3060 performs on par with the previous generation’s RTX 2070. It runs circles around the GTX 1660 Ti, which is the card you’d most likely find in a gaming PC at this price range. This deal is part of Dell’s 48-hour sale and will expire soon.

Alienware m15 R6 RTX 3060 Gaming Laptop

This is the lowest price we’ve seen so far for an Alienware laptop equipped with an RTX 3060 video card. Released in May, the “R6” is the newest 2021 revision of the ever popular Alienware m15 laptop featuring the new Intel Tiger-Lake CPU and the Geforce RTX 30 series video card. The RTX 3060 is more powerful than the previous generation’s RTX 2070. It’s powerful enough to easily handle just about any game at 1080p, the screen’s native resolution. This deal is also part of Dell’s 48-hour sale and will expire soon.

Arcade1Up Ms Pac-Man Arcade Cabinet

Save 22% off the rarely discounted Ms Pacman arcade cabinet from Arcade1Up. This is a 3:4 scale replica that measures 4 feet tall. A themed riser is also included that raises the cabinet by an additional 1 foot, so you can choose to play comfortably while sitting or standing. Games included are Ms Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, Pac-Man Plus, and Galaxian.

Herman Miller Gaming Sale: 15% Off Gaming Chairs, Including the Herman Miller x Logitech G Embody

Herman Miller makes the best ergonomic chairs in the industry. They’re also not cheap, with several of their models easily topping over $1000 in price. Penny pinchers might find it a waste of money, but honestly, in this case you get what you pay for. Many of us could spend a majority of our lives stuck to our chair, it makes sense that this would be one of the most important purchases we make. Today, Herman Miller is offering 15% off their top-of-the-line gaming collaborations with Logitech. This is the first time we’ve seen a substantial discount on these outside of Sample Sales and employee-only offers. If you’ve got deep pockets, then you’ll save on what is probably the best gaming chair on the market.

Best Ultra-Wide Gaming Monitor: Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 49″ 5120×1440 Mini LED Monitor

Preorder the Samsung Neo G9 gaming monitor (out on August 23), and get the JBL Quantum One Gaming Headset for free. That’s a $300 headset. This is the first Mini LED gaming monitor we’ve seen and easily the best monitor in Samsung’s “Odyssey” series. Mini LED technology is pretty new. You’ll see them in the highest end Samsung and TCL TVs as well as the newest Apple iPad Pro 12.9″ XDR display. The cost keeps 99% of us gamers at bay, but for those who can afford it, you currently won’t find a better ultra-wide monitor.

Video Game Deals

More Daily Deals for August 12

11 Bit Studios has announced Frostpunk 2, the sequel to the wintery city builder game.

Set 30 years after an apocalyptic blizzard, Frostpunk 2 is planned to advance upon the foundations built by the first game. Players will now need to establish an oil extraction industry to fuel their ever-demanding city, while simultaneously presiding over its citizens and making a frequent choices between ruthless survival and human rights.

“What players should expect is a wide universe of choices, freedom to shape the society and the city however they see fit – and reap the consequences,” said Frostpunk 2’s co-director, Jakub Stokalski, in a press release. “Frostpunk 2 builds on the conflicts of its predecessor – survival vs human values, life vs the arctic frost. But most importantly, it adds a new layer that is present in many aspects of the game – be it politics, be it society, be it technological progress – the conflict between humans and their nature”.

A new cinematic trailer reminds us all of the brutal methods of survival and society that was seen in the original, with a man left to freeze to death beyond the city limits, his chest painted in blood with the word ‘liar’. Behind him are a bank of oil pumpjacks, indicating the change from coal to oil as the focus of Frostpunk 2’s resource management layer.

Frostpunk 2 will be available on Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store, and can be wishlisted now. No release date has been announced. If you’ve never played Frostpunk and would like to see what it’s all about, it can be played for free on Steam this weekend, from August 12 to 16.

The original Frostpunk is a critical darling, having received a glowing 9/10 review from us, and been nominated for a BAFTA. Originally launched on PC, it has since come to consoles, and this year saw all three expansions made available for PS4 and Xbox One.

Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Three months until we’re #HomeSweetHomeAlone. The all-new Original Movie starts streaming November 12 on #DisneyPlus and stars Ellie Kemper, Rob Delaney, Archie Yates, Aisling Bea, Kenan Thompson, Tim Simons, Pete Holmes, Devin Ratray, Ally Maki, and Chris Parnell. pic.twitter.com/kXhI7qzAk5

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) August 12, 2021

Fortnite is almost always in the midst of a collaboration with someone or something, and the latest is Free Guy, the Ryan Reynolds live-action comedy about a man who discovers he’s actually an NPC in a sandbox video game. While a Guy skin is coming to the Item Shop very soon, you don’t have to spend a single V-Buck to earn his emote and finish off some bonus challenges. Here’s what you need to know about the Fortnite Free Guy collaboration.

Fortnite Free Guy Quests

Between August 12 and September 6, all Fortnite players will have access to the Free Guy quests, a range of new in-game quests as delivered to you by Ryan Reynolds’ character via new video-enabled ATM machines popping up all over the island. Just like you’ve been taking orders from Slone via payphone all season, you’ll now be taking orders from the Deadpool star via his latest fourth wall-breaking role. Here are the Free Guy challenges:

• Get hit by a moving vehicle (1)
• Take melee damage (1)
• Place coins around the map (3)
• Talk with any NPC (1)
• Reboot or revive teammates, or interact with campfires (1)

Doing the above challenges will grant you the Free Guy emote, which includes a voice line straight from the movie. Once you’ve unlocked it, you’ll have one more challenge to complete:

• Use Free Guy emote near any opponent (1)

Look for ATMs in any major location. You’ll know when you’re close because your mini-map will show a speech bubble just like it does when you’re approaching any other Fortnite NPC. If you’re not being swarmed by enemy players, you can enjoy the one-liners Reynolds delivers with each quest, or just head off to complete the quest right away. While these quests don’t reward XP, they do deposit Gold Bars into your account once completed–and the free emote is a nice bonus too.

Fortnite Free Guy Skin

If your appreciation for Ryan Reynolds’ biting wit goes beyond a free emote, you can find his character, Guy, in the Item Shop starting on August 12 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET. No price has yet been revealed and the skin is a strange one if you haven’t seen the movie.

Of course, that’s just the start of the busiest week of Fortnite challenges we’ve ever seen. Don’t miss the Week 10 challenges, Week 10 Alien Artifacts, the Superman quests, or the Rift Tour quests. There’s a ton on offer this week.

Heirlooms in Apex Legends are special melee cosmetic items that can be equipped to unlock unique melee attacks and inspection animations. These cosmetics are extremely rare–and expensive, too–though they can be easier to acquire for a limited time when they’re first added to the game. Here is a complete guide to which Legends have heirlooms, how to acquire them, and what they actually do.

What is an Heirloom?

An Heirloom in Apex Legends is a special cosmetic item that gives an individual Legend a special melee animation. The Heirloom does not give Legends a faster or more powerful melee attack; it is just a special animation. Legends will also hold the Heirloom item if they put away their weapons. Additionally, Heirlooms come with a unique banner pose and intro quip.

How to get an Heirloom set

Heirloom sets can be acquired in one of two ways, though the faster and potentially cheaper option is only available for a limited time. Currently, brand-new heirloom sets are added to Apex Legends during collection events. These collection events typically run for about two weeks and have 24 special cosmetic items available for direct purchase or obtainable through special event loot boxes. Purchasing all 24 items in the collection will automatically unlock the new heirloom.

While the items in a collection event can typically be directly purchased or crafted, the cheapest way to get all of them (assuming you don’t have or want to spend any Crafting Metals) will be to purchase 24 event loot boxes. These boxes are typically priced at 700 coins per pack, which equates to roughly $7 USD–although you get bonus coins for larger packs and can get a 10% discount for being a member of EA Play–so purchasing all of the items will take 16,800 Apex Coins, or roughly $168.

However, that number can fluctuate–Respawn has recently started including bundles in collection events that allow you to buy a lot of event-exclusive Apex Packs for cheaper than buying each pack individually, and certain events (like the Anniversary Collection event) don’t charge as much money for each individual pack. They aren’t huge savings (in the Anniversary Collection event’s case, as an example, buying all 24 packs was closer to $140). So it’s going to be very expensive regardless; however, it’s the fastest way to get an Heirloom item when it’s first added to the game.

How shards work

The other way to get an Heirloom item is to open an Apex Pack and earn 150 Heirloom shards. Heirloom shards are given in sets of 150 shards, the exact amount needed to get one Heirloom set. All of the Heirloom items can be obtained this way once they rotate out of their collection event and into the general cosmetic pool, but getting 150 Heirloom shards is a matter of pure luck. There is a less than 1% chance of obtaining these shards whenever you open a regular Apex Pack, although players are automatically guaranteed to earn 150 Heirloom Shards every 500 packs. So you can remove the need for luck by buying 500 Apex Packs, which at a cost of 1000 Apex Coins per pack would cost $500. Players who have all available Heirlooms cannot obtain more shards until a new Heirloom is available.

All Heirlooms currently available

Wraith

• Kunai Heirloom
• Fearless Banner Pose
• “You know what I look like – come find me.” Intro Quip

Bloodhound

• Raven’s Bite Heirloom
• Glory Hound Banner Pose
• “I honor those who’ve risen, not those who’ve fallen.” Intro Quip

Lifeline

• Shock Sticks Heirloom
• Shock Sticks Banner Pose
• “Check yo self – or wreck yo self.” Intro Quip

Pathfinder

• Boxing Gloves Heirloom
• Lights Out Banner Pose
• “Did you see how great I was? I did all kinds of really amazing moves… are you listening?” Kill Quip

Octane

• Butterfly Knife Heirloom
• Spin and Flick Banner Pose
• “Run fast. Hit fast. Win fast.” Intro Quip

Mirage

• Too Much Witt Heirloom
• You Really Love Me Banner Pose
• “Excited to see you all in the ring. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of ‘mes’ to go around.” Intro Quip

Caustic

• Death Hammer Heirloom
• Hammer Time Banner Pose
• “I look forward to getting my hands on you.” Intro Quip

Gibraltar

• War Club Heirloom
• Like a Rock Banner Pose
• “When this is over, they’ll all know the name ‘Gibraltar.'” Intro Quip

Bangalore

• Cold Steel Heirloom
• No Gun, No Problem Banner Pose
• “Hope you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty” Intro Quip

Revenant

• Dead Man’s Curve Heirloom
• No Escape Banner Pose
• “You don’t want to see this up close, skin bag.” Intro Quip

Legends without Heirloom sets:

• Crypto
• Fuse
• Horizon
• Loba
• Rampart
• Seer
• Valkyrie
• Wattson