During the latest Final Fantasy XIV producer livestream, which outlined the wave of content coming for the 5.4 update, it was revealed that a major event is planned for February next year: the FFXIV Announcement Showcase. While it was not explicitly stated what would be at the event, it’s likely to include the first reveal of FFXIV’s next expansion.
The FFXIV Announcement Showcase will be a live broadcast taking place on February 5, 2021 starting at 5:30 PM PT / 8:30 PM ET (February 6, 1:30 AM GST), and it will include live Japanese-to-English interpretation and English audio. This will be part of a larger 14-hour livestream, which will be in Japanese only.
Not much else was said about the event itself, although you can expect it to be the opportunity for Square Enix to show off the upcoming expansion for FFXIV. The MMORPG has been on a schedule that delivers one expansion every two years and five major content updates in between that link story events across the expansions. The latest one, Shadowbringers, launched in July 2019 and was met with wide critical acclaim–and the reveal for it took place on November 2018. The previous two expansions, Stormblood and Heavensward, launched in 2017 and 2015, respectively.
This most recent Live Letter From The Producer contained details on FFXIV patch 5.4, which launched on December 8. This update includes the continuation of the main story questline, the last phase of the Eden raid series, and the next Sorrow of Werlyt quest that pits you against Emerald Weapon in a boss fight. Major changes are also coming to the Monk job as well as other features such as Triple Triad and Explorer mode for dungeons. Subsequent updates will make changes and additions to the Ishgardian Restoration content and Bozjan Southern Front quests.
This year has been a weird one, with most people stuck working from home during the current pandemic. This has pushed many toward Zoom calls or even streaming on Twitch to interact with friends and family. With Black Friday 2020 in full swing, there is a selection of great microphone deals that offer the audio you need to sound great in your Twitch stream, work meeting, or even your weekly family chat. And if you’ve been keeping your eyes open for the Elgato Wave 3, it’s back in stock–though it does not have a special Black Friday deal.
The vast majority of these microphones work by connecting them to your PC via USB. These include models like the JLab Audio Talk USB microphone for $70 and the Maono USB microphone kit for $50. However, some of these microphones can even be connected to your iPhone or Android, such as the Shure MV5 microphone for $79 and the Shure MV88 microphone for $219. Whatever you need a microphone for, there’s sure to be a great Black Friday deal on the right one.
If you’re looking for more Black Friday recommendations, check out the best Black Friday webcam deals as well as the best gaming monitor deals available right now. A webcam will help complete your Zoom call presence, and if you’re a Twitch streamer, you’ll need a great monitor for your game while you use your second display for chat and stream management.
The JLab Audio Talk USB microphone is an excellent way to record your voice, whether you’re starting out with streaming video games or need to talk to your family or colleagues during a Zoom session. It includes a 6.5ft USB cable, tripod stand, and four directional pattern modes that can make your microphone sound better in different situations–whether you’re by yourself, podcasting with another person, or playing music.
The Shure MV5 is a great USB microphone that can also be used with your iPhone or iPad via Lightning cable. This makes it easy to take Zoom calls on your phone and still have great sound–or record anything else when you’re out and about.
The Shure MV51 USB microphone is another great microphone from Shure that lets you connect to desktop via USB or your iOS device via Lightning cable. In addition to the variety in connections, it also has a number of preset modes for different recording situations–these include options for speech, singing, and acoustic instruments.
The Elgato Wave 3 USB microphone is one of the best streaming microphones you can buy today, and while it’s only discounted by $1 during Black Friday–we’re guessing that Best Buy is simply price-matching Amazon’s slightly lower price–it’s still a microphone you should seriously consider buying. It boasts impressive audio and features easy on-board controls that let you adjust your mic volume, headset volume, and audio mix.
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly streaming or desk setup, then this Neewer XLR microphone kit is worth taking a look at. Neewer makes quality products, and this kit holds a 4.2/5 on Amazon with over 1,800 reviews. It comes with an XLR microphone, XLR cable, a power interface, and a cable that you can plug into the 3.5mm microphone jack in your PC’s sound card. It’s worth pointing out that this microphone can’t be connected via USB.
If you’re looking for a kit that comes with a USB microphone, then this one from Maono is the one to snag during Black Friday. It comes with a boom arm, pop filter, wind sock, and USB microphone. All you do is plug it into a USB 2.0 port, and you’re good to go.
If you don’t have a PC and you want great quality audio, the Shure MV88 is worth looking at. It can connect to any Android, iPhone, or iPad device via USB-C or Lightning cable. It also comes with a tripod, which makes it perfect for meetings and calls with family and friends.
Final Fantasy XIV keeps on rolling with patch 5.4 launching on December 8 this year. The update for Square Enix’s MMORPG comes with a ton of new content and gameplay changes, and a heavy-hitting trailer teases where its several story branches are going (you can watch below). The new content reveal came via the normally scheduled Live Letter From The Producer stream, which was presented in Japanese by director/producer Naoki Yoshida and community manager Toshio Murouchi.
Keep in mind that spoilers for FFXIV: Shadowbringers and the recent 5.3 storyline are part of the reveal trailer and new main story details.
The trailer opens with voice lines from the new main villain Fandaniel and a shot of what looks like an upcoming boss-type Primal. It’s followed by a shot of all the members of the main cast–the Scions of the Seventh Dawn–brought together with Lyse back in the mix, stating that most of the Garlean Empire’s capital has been destroyed. Shots from new cutscenes in the Sorrow of Werlyt sidequest are shown alongside Emerald Weapon–the new Trial boss fight within the questline–and lines from Nero talking to Cid about his expertise with technology exceeding that of the ancient Allagans.
There is also a tease of the latest instanced dungeon that comes with the main story quest, as you can see members of the Scions such as G’raha Tia, Alisaie, and Y’shtola fighting alongside each other against a boss. The older Master Matoya makes another appearance, too, which will play into that new dungeon called Matoya’s Relict. More content for the Bozjan Southern Front was shown in the trailer as well.
What’s more is that the main story seems to have mysterious towers, with beaming red energy, propped up across Eorzea–these appear in La Noscea and Gyr Abania, two separate regions of the map. Merlwyb seems to get directly involved and even fights alongside you at some point, and there’s an appearance from yet another villainous Ascian though for reasons yet to be revealed. G’raha Tia looks to be a centerpiece given his involvement in the new dungeon and main quest cutscenes. Lastly, we also catch glimpses of new raid bosses in the Eden series, which will conclude the raid’s storyline between Ryne and Gaia.
Emerald Weapon boss fight preview, screenshot via the r/FFXIV Discord server.
In the FFXIV 5.4 update stream, Yoshida-san played a bit of one fight in the new four-part Eden’s Promise raid chapter. This fight takes you back to the Cloud of Darkness from A Realm Reborn’s alliance raid and plays the battle theme from Final Fantasy VIII. The fourth boss in this raid is designed by Tetsuya Nomura (Kingdom Hearts and several Final Fantasies), and is a completely original creation. Players will need to have completed the previous Eden raids and the 5.3 main story in order access these new raids.
A new Unreal Trial was shown on stream as well–this time it’s against Titan from The Navel instance. And we got a preview of the actual Emerald Weapon fight and saw some of its attacks–it’s said to be a two phase fight, both of which will be vastly different from each other (similar to the Ruby Weapon fight).
Many changes were revealed for the Monk job, which seems to be a significant overhaul that tweaks its core mechanics (see screenshot below). Several other updates come with patch 5.4–Triple Triad gets refined with some rule changes and improved card management, completed dungeons will now have an Explorer mode free of enemies, and treasure hunting updates are in The Shifting Oubilette of Lyhe Ghiah.
Preview of changes coming to the Monk job.
While 5.4 brings a plethora of changes and pushes multiple storylines forward, subsequent updates were also detailed. Ishgard Restoration changes and its final chapter are coming in patch 5.41, and another set of updates, including a large-scale dungeon called Delubrum Reginae, are set for the Bozjan Southern Front in the subsequent 5.45 update.
Though physical game deals tend to get the most love during Black Friday sales, there are tons of stellar digital game deals to snag as well. Both Xbox Live and PSN have kicked off massive sales, and PC gamers can take advantage of deals at Fanatical and Green Man Gaming. Now, CD Projekt Red’s PC games storefront GOG has joined the party. From now until December 1 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET, you can save on more than 2,600 games.
In addition to the games that will be available for the entire sale, GOG has a rotating batch of flash deals. The first wave of limited-time deals are live now and include excellent games like Hollow Knight ($5), Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice ($6), and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire’s Obsidian edition ($21). We’ve rounded up some of the highlights from GOG’s Black Friday sale below. Be sure to check back with this GOG roundup, as we’ll be adding in more games over the course of the sale.
If you’re looking for more great discounts this week, make sure to take a look at our roundup of the best Black Friday gaming deals.
Baby Yoda’s backstory wasn’t the only thing this episode revealed.
Say what you want about The Mandalorian, but no one can deny that it’s full of fan service. With Season 2, Episode 5, “The Jedi,” that got ramped up several notches: The Mandalorian introduced the first ever live-action incarnation of Ahsoka Tano, explained Baby Yoda’s backstory and revealed his name, and name-dropped several other important things from Star Wars lore, including Grand Admiral Thrawn and the ancient Jedi planet Tython.
And that’s not all–but don’t worry if you can’t keep it all straight. We’re going to do our best to explain everything we caught in this episode, so keep reading if you want to know more.
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1. Ahsoka Tano
After being reported for months, we finally got a live action version of Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson. Ahsoka was the former Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker who has been featured in The Clone Wars and Rebels. She’s also armed with her trademark pair of white lightsabers–one single-bladed, and one scaled shoto lightsaber.
When Ahsoka first appears to the magistrate, you can hear the Anakin and Ahsoka theme playing in the background.
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2. I’ll be back
This character is played by Michael Biehn, who you most likely recognize as Kyle Reese (John Connor’s father) from the original Terminator.
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3. Jedi vs. Mandalore
The magistrate mentions to Mando that “The Jedi are the ancient enemy of Mandalore.” This is a reference to the Mandalorian-Jedi war, a series of conflicts between the Jedi and Mandalore. The final war resulted in the devastation of Mandalore.
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4. Beskar vs. lightsaber
We don’t know much about the Mandalorian metal beskar, but we learned one thing in this episode: it’s apparently resistant, or possibly outright impervious, to lightsabers. Mando would have probably had a much harder time fighting Ahsoka otherwise.
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5. The Owl
While Mando is walking through the forest, you can see Morai, Ahsoka’s companion in the top left. Morai is a female convor that appears in The Clone Wars and Rebels, who accompanied and watched over Ahsoka throughout her life.
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6. Baby Yoda’s name
The Mandalorian is often light on story, but this week the show dropped a major revelation: Baby Yoda’s name. Apparently it’s “Grogu” for some reason. Guess we have to call him that now? Ugh.
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7. Jedi Temple on Coruscant
While explaining Grogu’s backstory, Ahsoka mentions that the baby was being trained at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, which anyone who’s seen the prequel trilogy is familiar with. Coruscant was the capital of the galactic government.
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8. Justice for Yaddle
Ahsoka mentions that she’s known one other creature like Grogu. She was, of course, talking about Yoda, which is probably the closest this show will ever get to calling him Baby Yoda.. There’s one problem, though: Ahsoka definitely would have known of Yaddle, the other Yoda-like creature in Star Wars canon, who was a renowned Jedi Master. Guess we’re just not going to talk about her anymore. Oh well.
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9. Remembering Anakin
Ahsoka makes a comment referring to her former master, Anakin Skywalker, telling Mando, “I’ve seen what such feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi knight,” and that she “will not start this child down that path.” Clearly, she still feels bad about the whole Darth Vader situation.
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10. HK-series assassin droids
Mando mentions HK-series assassin droids, which are like deadly versions of C-3PO. They’ve appeared in Star Wars games including KOTOR and The Old Republic.
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11. Loth-cat
A wild screeching loth-cat appears! These small, temperamental cats native to planet Lothal first appeared in Star Wars Rebels. This marks the second appearance of a loth-cat on The Mandalorian, after first being seen in Chapter 4: Sanctuary.
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12. Thrawn
Ahsoka is looking for Grand Admiral Thrawn, which ties directly to the ending of Rebels. Ahsoka picked up Sabine Wren to go find Ezra Bridger, who Thrawn was last seen with. Thrawn is a major antagonist in the Star Wars franchise who first appeared in the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire.
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13. The Jedi Planet
Ahsoka sends Mando and Grogu on the path to the planet Tython, which is believed to be the location of the first ever Jedi Temple. This is one of the first times it’s been mentioned in the new Disney canon, after appearing in the 2019 comic book Doctor Aphra 40 (pictured above).
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Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company
The Mandalorian often sends its characters, Din Djarin and The Child, down side quest after side quest without revealing much about the core story–namely, the mysteries surrounding the character that has come to be known among fans as “Baby Yoda.” That changed this week when Mando encountered a character who Star Wars fans know well–the Jedi (depending who you ask) Ahsoka Tano (played for the first time in live action by Rosario Dawson, as the rumors claimed)–and she finally dropped some major revelations about Baby Yoda.
Chief among them: Baby Yoda’s name, which Ahsoka revealed is “Grogu.” Let that sink in before you keep reading. “Grogu.” Say it out loud a few times. Really chew on it. There you go. Yeah. OK.
In addition to The Child’s name, Ahsoka revealed that Grogu was in training at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant before the fall of the Jedi Order. He was taken from the Temple, and his memory becomes dark after that, according to Ahsoka. But at the very least, this explains why Grogu is proficient with The Force, though the Jedi pointed out that he’s been suppressing his abilities to keep a low profile.
It may be hard to imagine a literal baby being trained in the ways of the Force, although you have to keep in mind that Grogu is apparently decades old.
David S. Goyer has been attached to some major films over the last 20 years–including the Dark Knight trilogy, Batman v Superman, and Terminator: Dark Fate–but in games, he’s best known for his work on the Call of Duty: Black Ops series. Goyer has story credits on Black Ops and Black Ops II, and he was brought back for Black Ops Cold War, the latest game in the series. Now, in an interview on the official Call of Duty blog, Goyer has explained some of the philosophy behind his work on the series.
Reflecting on the first two Black Ops games, Goyer said that he had been excited to move into games when he was invited to do a script polish for the original. “I think the game was about two thirds of the way finished at that point, and I punched up the script and I made some other suggestions,” he recalls. “It was fascinating for me–it was just a different medium in the way that you convey exposition is entirely different.”
After that, he was asked to be involved in Black Ops II “from the ground up,” and he was able to get some interesting storytelling choices through. “I love the idea that there are multiple endings that can be achieved, depending on the moral choices that I make throughout the game,” “he says. It was something that I was really pleased to see that Treyarch and Raven were continuing on with this new game. I liked the idea that actions have consequences.”
Black Ops II and Black Ops Cold War ended up having the most variable plots in the series, and Cold War is the first time the series has let players create their own protagonist. Goyer says this presented some new challenges. “Every time someone plays, it’s going to be a little different because of that, and characters respond in a slightly different way,” he says. “When we were working on the scripts, we needed to come up with six different responses to something, but that’s part of the fun.”
He believes that letting players make choices like this is one of the things that sets the Black Ops series apart–and also that it allows players to kill or save certain characters depending on their choices. “Yes, we brought back some of the greatest hits characters like Mason and Woods and Hudson, but I think one of the other hallmarks of the franchise is that it’s uncompromising,” he says. “A lot of the missions are rooted in real, deniable operations or things that were exposed with the Freedom of Information Act, and we don’t pull any punches.”
Goyer also looked to real life Black Ops teams and operations for inspiration, and wanted to highlight the diversity of people involved. “There are men and women, agents and assets, from every country and every race that get involved in these operations,” he says. “That was something that we worked hard on in this; to really broaden the palette and broaden the story. So you got characters that have had backgrounds in the Mossad and other kinds of intelligence agencies that are getting involved in the story that, again, bring their own level of authenticity and specificity to the characters.”
The full interview is full of insights, and is worth a read.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The game’s campaign earned praise in GameSpot’s 7/10 review. “It’s overall a fun action-movie story that absolutely delivers on the quintessential Black Ops twists and turns, but it ultimately walks back its more interesting and relevant questions–though I was completely invested in the story for the entire duration,” wrote reviewer Kallie Plagge.
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It’s that magical time of the year again, when the deals are plentiful and the prices are just right. Whether it’s a shiny new pair of Apple AirPods, or the stunning Sony1000XM4, we’ve got them here for you plus many more. As Black Friday continues, we’ll surely come across more, so make sure to check back often to see the latest and greatest deals in the audio space.
If you’re serious about PC gaming, you absolutely need to get a great gaming keyboard, preferably mechanical. That added tactile feel makes it way easier to land headshots, select the right spell in the heat of battle, and generally WASD your way to victory in any game. You can also check out all the best Black Friday deals if you need any other goodies.
Plenty of stores have great Black Friday deals on keyboards right now, and we’ve gone and collected the best ones worth browsing over. You can’t go wrong with Logitech, which has an incredible 47% discount on a solid RGB mechanical keyboard. If you don’t care about brand recognition, Rosewill offers a strong 50% discount.
A gaming headset is one of the first accessories you should grab when you get a new console. Headsets are practically a must for multiplayer games, but they’re also great for every type of game, since they typically pinpoint sounds better than TVs. With the PS5 and Xbox Series X now available, it’s the perfect time to pick up a new gaming headset. Luckily, there are a bunch of solid options on sale for Black Friday 2020. We’ve rounded up a handful of the best Black Friday gaming headset deals below. If you’re interested in any of these headset deals, you’ll probably want to grab it as soon as possible, as we’ve been seeing headsets sell out at multiple retailers already. Plus, see our guide to the best PS5 gaming headsets for 2020 for more options if you’re shopping for that platform.
The Razer Kraken Tournament edition is a fantastic universal gaming headset that’s on sale for an even better price. Normally $100, Amazon is releasing the Kraken for only $55. It boasts 7.1 surround sound and has a noise-canceling mic. The cushions are infused with cooling gel to help them remain comfortable throughout lengthy gaming sessions. The Kraken Tournament edition is compatible with every major platform, including PS5 and Xbox Series X.
SteelSeries makes some of the highest performing and most comfortable gaming headsets on the market today. The Arctis 5 wired headset is no exception. It boasts 7.1 virtual surround sound that pinpoints audio to provide an immersive listening experience. The Arctis 5 also has RGB lighting on the ear cups to give it some extra style points. The Arctis 5 is compatible with PS5, PS4, and PC and is available for $30 off at Best Buy for Black Friday.
Another headset that supports every major platform, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Pro is a great choice for those looking for stellar sound without spending a ton of money. Best Buy has knocked $30 off the price of the Alpha Pro for Black Friday. HyperX’s Alpha series has unique drivers that help differentiate sounds to keep everything crystal clear. The Alpha Pro is compatible with PS5/PS4, Xbox Series X/Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
The Astro A40 is one of the best universal headsets around. Not only does it feature studio-quality stereo sound, but it’s extremely comfortable thanks to its soft ear cushions and well-designed headband. The A40 TR is on sale for $30 off at Amazon, dropping it down to a great price for those looking for a top-of-the-line headset for PS5 or Xbox Series X.
PC gamers searching for a great wireless headset can save $50 on the Logitech G935 at Amazon. The G935 has high-quality 50mm drivers and headphone-optimized surround sound with positional audio. It can run for 12 hours on a full charge or 8 hours if you have RGB lighting enabled. The included Logitech G hub software lets you customize sound and lighting settings to your liking.
If you’re a Turtle Beach fan, you can pick up the Recon 200 for only $30 at Amazon. Considering this wired headset with solid sound quality is compatible with both of the new consoles–Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5–this is a really nice deal that’s worth scooping up.
