Author: Trafficblast

Monster Energy has launched a promotion to tie in with Halo Infinite, despite the game’s delay into a to-be-determined date in 2021. By collecting limited-edition Halo Infinite cans, you can get Double XP points to use sometime next year.

The special-edition Halo-themed cans will be available through December 31, 2020, which probably made more sense when the game was expected to be out by then. At any rate, you can stock up on Double XP points now, as well as use an exclusive Snapchat filter. Collecting all three Snapchat codes each month will get you an exclusive weapon. The announcement says you can redeem them at Monster-Halo.com, but the site isn’t live yet as of the time of writing.

Your receipts will also give you entry into a grand prize drawing. Ten entrants will win a trip for two to Paris, France plus $1000 cash to spend there. That would presumably be scheduled for sometime after France lifts travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Another 200 winners will get an Xbox Series X.

343 Industries said the delay was necessary to give the team “adequate time to deliver a Halo game experience that meets our vision.” No new date has been announced. Microsoft paired the announcement with word that the Xbox Series X will launch in November, touting the “thousands of games to play, spanning four generations” that will be available to play.

Fans have appeared mostly understanding about the delay, though it appears to leave Xbox Series X without a single big launch game. We still don’t know what the price for the Series X will be–or the PS5 for that matter–but that isn’t as strange as you might think.

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Destiny 2‘s summer event, the Solstice of Heroes, is underway, bringing Guardians a quest to unlock a set of armor that’s a celebration of everything they’ve accomplished in the last year. You’ll need to grind through a bunch of different activities to earn the armor–and some of the game’s hardest to upgrade it fully. That makes this a good opportunity to visit Xur and grab some new Exotics to help you get through. Here’s where you can find him and what he’s selling until August 18.

Head to Titan to find Xur this week, on The Rig. For his weapon, Xur is offering Graviton Lance. Hunters can pick up the Ophidia Spathe chest armor; for Titans, there’s the Mk. 44 Stand Asides leg armor; and for Warlocks, Xur has the Skull of Dire Ahamkara helmet.

Xur Location

Spawn in at the transmit zone on The Rig and head east, to your left around the building, so you can find a way through to the far side of the area. Once you get out from under the overhangs, turn left to look for the edge of the platform, and a low, dark building you can slip inside. You’ll find Xur there, hanging out in the shadows.

Xur Exotic Items

This week, Xur offers Graviton Lance, a pulse rifle that’s long been a solid Crucible option thanks to its high-powered burst and added deadly effects. If you’re not a fan of his other options, Xur also sells an Exotic engram that will decrypt into an Exotic you don’t already own. He also has the Five of Swords challenge card, which lets you enable modifiers for Nightfall Strikes.

• Exotic Engram — 97 legendary shards
• Graviton Lance — 29 legendary shards
• Ophidia Spathe — 23 legendary shards
• Mk. 44 Stand Asides — 23 legendary shards
• Skull of Dire Ahamkara — 23 legendary shards
• Five of Swords — free

Graviton Lance (Pulse Rifle)

Graviton Lance is one of those Exotic weapons that’s been around in Destiny 2 since the beginning, and it’s still a pretty reliable and popular gun in various circumstances. First, the second shot of its three-shot burst does serious extra damage, which gives you a really good reason to make sure you’re lining up your headshots. Second, enemies killed by Graviton Lance explode and send out Void projectiles that can kill others–a bonus that, coupled with its range, makes this a pretty great weapon in the Crucible or in PvE.

Ophidia Spathe (Hunter)

It’s simple, really: If you like chucking knives at people, Ophidia Spathe is for you. Thanks to recent buffs in Hunter throwing knives, this Exotic is a lot more viable, since you can score a one-hit kill with the new weighted knife. It’s also a useful piece of a Blade Barrage build, allowing you to keep the Playing With Fire perk going for longer, which speeds the cooldown of your dodge and your melee ability. Its stats are pretty great as well, so if you don’t have Ophidia Spathe already, you might want to snag this one.

Stats:

• Mobility: 8
• Resilience: 9
• Recovery: 17
• Discipline: 11
• Intellect: 2
• Strength: 18
• Total: 65

Mk. 44 Stand Asides (Titan)

Titans who rely on shoulder charge get a big boost from the Mk. 44 Stand Asides. You get an overshield whenever you’re sprinting at full health, so you’re even tougher to kill when you’re barreling down on some poor unsuspecting Guardian in the Crucible. You also get melee energy back after you hit something with your shoulder charge ability, allowing you to crush more puny Hunters and Warlocks more often.

Stats:

• Mobility: 9
• Resilience: 3
• Recovery: 21
• Discipline: 12
• Intellect: 6
• Strength: 13
• Total: 64

Skull of Dire Ahamkara (Warlock)

Bungie might have nerfed it a while back, but the Skull of Dire Ahamkara helmet is still a very useful Exotic for Warlocks who like Nova Bombs. First, it makes you tougher to kill while executing the Super, which is great in the Crucible when you’re trying to blast several opponents at once. Second, earning kills with Nova Bomb gives you Super energy back–which means more Nova Bombs more often. You won’t get a full Super charge after one use like you used to, but Skull of Dire Ahamkara still can help you drop bombs.

Stats:

• Mobility: 14
• Resilience: 3
• Recovery: 15
• Discipline: 13
• Intellect: 6
• Strength: 9
• Total: 60

Season 6 of Apex Legends is on its way, and with it come some new changes to the map. According to Apex’s Design Director Jason McCord, these changes are meant to “inject some ‘newness'” into the map and will create more viable play options in the lava fields, create better options for navigating rough chokepoints, and introduce a whole new map mechanic.

The first notable change is the addition of the Launch Site, a new drop point that’s now occupying a previously empty lava field. The Launch Site is another of Hammond Industries’ concoctions, and features four different control rooms said to have a ton of loot, and a new passage so you can rotate through this part of the map like never before. This new area will also serve to provide a variety of traversal options, as it’s near both the Dome and the Sorting Factory.

Apex vets will remember the Drill Site. Well, it’s being replaced by Countdown, another large Hammond facility whose purpose remains unknown. At its center is a pit that boasts some pretty stellar loot, but beware: if you aren’t in control of this area before delving below, you may be in for a bad time. Countdown is built to be a pretty formidable fortress that even includes three user-operated blast walls that can be used to fortify the approach from Skyhook, Lava Train, and Train Yard. These walls are a new mechanic for the map that allow for new ways to attack and defend and can be found at Launch Site, Countdown, and Staging.

Another big change to go with these walls is that the train has not only been stopped, it’s been dismantled. Now, players will be able to find pieces of it spread around the train tracks on World’s End. This will provide more cover in previously empty tunnels, and should give players more options for navigating tricky chokepoints. Two new geysers have also been added, so getting around has never been easier. You can check out all these new changes for free on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.