Author: Trafficblast

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Blizzard has announced a big update coming to Hearthstone in June, which suggests a noticeable change to its approach to game balance going forward. In addition to introducing a new card in the middle of an expansion, it’s also the first time in the game’s history that existing cards will be see a buff.

Though Hearthstone has often made card changes, the vast majority of these have been nerfs–usually lowering stats, raising the Mana cost, or changing a condition slightly. Some others have been lateral changes, with phrasing to clarify or add consistency. The closest the game has ever gotten to buffing cards is when it has added tribal synergy, such as making Molten Giant an Elemental card.

With the announcement on the Hearthstone Blog, the game appears to be changing that approach. According to the blog, the update will take two cards from each class introduced in last year’s Boomsday Project expansion and boost their existing power. These are cards that have often gone underused, so it seems aimed at increasing the power level of some decks that the community has rejected. According to Blizzard, these changes aim to inspire “metagame outliers” for new decks.

These changes are part of the “Rise of the Mech” update, which also marks a significant change for Hearthstone. The game traditionally releases three expansions per year, and the time in-between those expansions lasts 3-4 months without significant changes. This time, in addition to these card buffs, the game is introducing an entirely new card. The Legendary SN1P-SN4P is a magnetic Mech card with Echo, letting you attach it multiple times in a given turn. Anyone who logs in during the Rise of the Mech event between June 3 and July 1 will get a Golden copy for free.

(Blizzard notes that SN1P-SN4P will be officially counted as a Boomsday Project card, and will rotate out when the rest of those cards do. However, it won’t be available randomly in Boomsday packs. You must either claim it during the event period, or craft it using Arcane Dust.)

Finally, the Rise of the Mech event will rotate the current Arena sets. With the game growing so large, Blizzard has begun implementing Arena rotations that limit the sets for more cohesion. Starting on June 3, Arena will be limited to Classic, Basic, Goblins vs Gnomes, Grand Tournament, Karazhan, Boomsday Project, and Rise of Shadows cards.

If this suggests a change in philosophy, we may see more frequent updates coming from Blizzard, and more cards added midway through an expansion period to mix up the meta-game. That would be a welcome change for a community that often complains of the meta growing stale by the time a new expansion comes around.

Before these buffs, though, there’s one more set of nerfs coming. Blizzard recently announced changes to several cards, hitting the Rogue class particularly hard.

If you hit up the local cineplex to catch John Wick Chapter 3 over the weekend while eagerly awaiting the Game of Thrones finale, you got to see some incredible action scenes on the big screen. Keanu Reeves’ titular anti-hero clawed his way out of a New York City where seemingly half the population was out to get him, teamed up with Halle Berry’s Sofia and her very good dogs for a guerilla battle through a Moroccon market, and punched through the High Table strike team’s impenetrable armor with sheer force of will (and several well-aimed slugs).

One thing you didn’t see: John Wick and Lance Reddick’s character, the New York Continental concierge Charon, fighting alongside one another. But according to Reddick, that was originally supposed to happen in John Wick 3.

When John returns to New York and joins forces with Winston against the Adjudicator and the High Table, John and Charon gear up together in the Continental’s weapons vault. But although they leave together, they’re never actually seen fighting alongside one another–despite the occasional quick cuts between the two actors that make it seem like they’re part of the same scene.

Read more: Why John Wick’s World Of Secret Assassins Is So Alluring

“Interestingly enough, [Keanu and I] actually didn’t fight alongside each other,” Reddick told GameSpot. “And I say interestingly enough, because there was a scene where we were supposed to, but there was just so much shooting, and there was already so much action, we just didn’t get around to it.”

Reddick said the extra scene would have taken place after the two reconvene again in the Continental’s vault following their realization that their opponents’ armor is nearly impervious to bullets. “The second time, when he goes off and then I go off, at some point we were supposed to kind of meet up, and that didn’t happen,” he explained.

While watching the scene toward the end of John Wick 3 play out, you might not have even realized that the two fought completely separate battles. Reddick attributes that to good editing.

“It’s because we leave [the vault] together,” the actor said. “Because the action goes so fast between what I’m doing and what he’s doing, back and forth, and it feels like we’re fighting together. But we’re actually going in separately.”

Charon has typically been confined to scenes behind the Continental’s front desk, and Reddick said it was fun to get out and be part of the action this time. “It was a blast!” he said. “When you’re little kids, playing shoot ’em up and cops and robbers, and all that stuff, you love to do that. So to actually get to be part of the action was fun.”

He also said he hopes we get to learn more about Charon’s backstory in future installments (such as the just-announced John Wick 4). Considering that Chapter 3 revealed more about John’s origin, that’s not outside the realm of possibility.

Whatever else happens, it seems Charon will remain loyal to Winston and the Continental, as he did in Chapter 3’s climax. “It wasn’t about taking sides, in terms of two factions fighting,” the actor said. “It was about, ‘The Continental is my home, and my loyalty to Winston is my life.'”

John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum is in theaters now, and John Wick 4 is scheduled to arrive May 21, 2021.

Read more: John Wick 3’s Ending Explained

Rockstar has revealed the details for its newest content update to Red Dead Redemption 2‘s online mode, Red Dead Online, which recently left beta. If you play on PS4, you’ll have early access to some of the content, but those with an Xbox One will also get the update’s entire collection of add-ons soon enough.

The update adds new Free Roam missions, which see the return of two characters from Red Dead Redemption 2’s campaign. You can join Sadie Adler on a ride out to the Adler Ranch or head to Lemoyne to seek out Black Belle. These Free Roam missions will be made available on both PS4 and Xbox One at the same time.

Both PS4 and Xbox One players will also receive a 25% increase when it comes to A Land of Opportunity and Free Roam missions, as well as all Showdown modes, Races, and Free Roam events. If you’re a part of a posse, you’ll also earn an extra five Gold Bars, RDO$, and XP as a bonus when your friends play together.

The rest of the update’s content is coming to PS4 first but will make its way to Xbox One eventually. On PS4, Red Dead Online will provide early access to the Ancient Tomahawk weapon, two new Showdown modes, and the Perlino Andalusian Horse, as well as new horse equipment, clothing, and emotes. The two new Showdown modes are Make It Count: Ancient Tomahawk and Last Stand. The new clothing includes items from the Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue, such as the Wescott Skirt, Valdez Vest, Citadel Boots, and Plaid Cap.

In a blog post, Rockstar also mentioned that the update makes several quality-of-life fixes to Red Dead Online. “We continue to work behind the scenes to address overall game stability and performance with recent fixes including closing some duplication exploits, resolving issues related to reduced numbers of animals in sessions, updating Defensive mode to revert Playing Style to Offensive and apply a Hostility penalty when stealing cargo from another player’s horse and more,” the developer wrote.

E3 2019 is almost here. The Electronic Entertainment Expo is one of the biggest gaming events in the world, and always home to the biggest game announcements. Though the event itself is only three days long, the show has been slowly expanding to encompass the whole week around it. EA holds its annual EA Play event, big publishers take their turns holding press conferences, and this year, the event will be capped off with a Fortnite block party.

Here’s a complete rundown on everything you need to know. From the games and companies we know will be there to the press conference schedule and details on the event, you’ll find all of the key information about E3 2019 below. Be sure to stay tuned to GameSpot in the lead-up and through the event for full coverage.

When And Where Is E3?

E3 officially begins on Tuesday, June 11, and runs through Thursday, June 13. Those are the dates you can roam the show floor at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where publishers and developers will show their latest and upcoming games to press, investors, and the general public.

However, E3-adjacent events unofficially begin much sooner. Electronic Arts has branched off from E3 and now hosts its own event, EA Play, the weekend prior. That will begin on Friday, June 7 at the Hollywood Palladium. Starting Sunday, June 9, publishers like Microsoft, Bethesda, Nintendo, and Ubisoft, will host press conferences before the event starts, signaling what will be shown at their booths.

When Are The Press Conferences?

EA Play won’t be hosting an official press conference this year, but EA has signaled that its livestreams from the event will serve to make its announcements. Then on Saturday, June 8 Nintendo is hosting a series of invitational tournaments, including one for the unreleased Super Mario Maker 2. Press conferences will begin on Sunday, June 10 starting with Microsoft and Bethesda. On Monday, June 11, we’ll see the PC Gaming Show, and press conferences from Limited Run Games, Ubisoft, and Square Enix. Nintendo, as usual, has claimed the morning of Tuesday, June 11, just before the show floor opens.

You may notice one conspicuous absence from this lineup. Sony has opted out of E3 this year, which means it won’t be giving its usual press conference or occupying a booth on the show floor.

How Do I Watch The Press Conferences?

You can watch all of the press conference streams right here on GameSpot, naturally. We’ll be streaming the press conferences live, followed by reactions from our staff. We’ll have a livestream filled with developer interviews and game demos throughout the week. Meanwhile, Nintendo will follow its Direct-style press conference with a Treehouse stream that showcases games coming to its platforms. The PC Gaming Show will stream on platforms like Twitch.

What Companies Are At E3?

A huge number of developers and publishers, both big and small, will be in attendance at E3. Of course, just being there doesn’t mean they have something to announce or show, as the conference is often home to B2B meetings between developers, publishers, investors, and license-holders.

What Games Are At E3?

Even weeks away from the big event, we already know about quite a few of the games coming to the show. Some of them have been known for some time, while others were recently announced with teases of more to come soon. We even know that some already-released games, like Apex Legends, will use the event to debut substantial announcements of upcoming live events.

Is E3 Open To The Public?

Like the last few years, E3 is once again open to the public, but you can’t just show up and get in. Tickets for the Gamer Pass are up for sale for $249, though you should be prepared for long lines to get into see most things on the show floor. Hours for Gamer Pass holders are slightly shorter than those for Industry Pass holders on each day except for Thursday, June 13, so make sure to check when you’ll be allowed in the doors.

What Does E3 Stand For?

It’s a seemingly silly question, but given how often the term “E3” is used, it’s easy to never consider what it actually stands for. E3 is short for Electronic Entertainment Expo, although as the show has evolved, the name has changed slightly at times over the years.

I felt a great disturbance on Sunday night. It was as if millions of tweets were suddenly sent out in anger (and millions of fans were definitely not silent). That’s what happened after Game of Thrones aired its final episode. The North may have survived the Battle of Winterfell, but the internet looks more like the people of King’s Landing right after Daenerys showed up and burned them all to death.

After the show became a worldwide cultural phenomenon, Game of Thrones turned its fans against each other with this final season. Beyond the online discussions on Twitter and Reddit, the disappointment-turned-into-hatred toward Game of Thrones has reached the point where well over a million people–at the time of writing this article–have signed a petition begging HBO to remake the last season with new writers.

Many critics have correctly pointed out that this season felt rushed. GameSpot’s Michael Rougeau wrote about why the last few episodes have been full of misplaced fan service. Wired covered the notable differences in storytelling from when the show passed the books, focusing on how the showrunners gave themselves a fixed endpoint instead of accepting more episodes like HBO offered. That forced the narrative of this season to become more of a checklist of what people wanted to see than the natural story of the characters making decisions and following the consequences of those decisions. Daenerys going Mad Queen and slaughtering the people she vowed to free was the moment that seemingly broke the fandom, and many fans felt betrayed by the choices in this season.

Of course, this is far from the first time a giant franchise released a new installment that split the fandom right down the middle. Coincidentally, this past Sunday also marked the 20th anniversary of the release of the start of the prequel trilogy and a film absolutely everyone loves, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Remember that one? The movie people hated so much, with characters so loathed by fans, that one of the stars of the movie considered suicide because of the backlash against his character, and another one destroyed all his Star Wars memorabilia after being bullied endlessly? Maybe an online petition isn’t so bad, considering.

That movie wasn’t a masterpiece either, and despite news clips of early reactions showing satisfied viewers (watch this below), the film is now regarded as one of the worst things to happen to the Star Wars franchise and the start of a trilogy that threatened to destroy everything the franchise had built.

Except it didn’t. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Star Wars in general? Is it Jar Jar Binks doing fart jokes? Qui-Gon Jinn talking about midi-chlorians? Probably not, unlike you actually love the prequels, which is totally fine. Otherwise, you probably think of scenes in the movies that you love, like the Binary Sunset scene, the Darth Vader reveal, or maybe even Han and Chewie arriving on the Falcon in The Force Awakens. No matter what your favorite Star Wars movie is, you always remember the moments that made you happy more than the ones that disappointed you.

Confession time: I used to love the prequels. Despite having memories of seeing the special edition of A New Hope shortly before the release of Episode I, the movies I vividly remember seeing in theaters were Episodes I-III. Even if I always thought it was weird that Anakin was so much younger than Padmé and I had no interest whatsoever in the taxation of trade routes, I still loved the podracing sequence, the Battle of Naboo, and of course the lightsaber battle between Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon. If I think back to 1999 it is those scenes that come to mind.

Likewise, no matter what you think of this last season of Game of Thrones, we will always have those early days. More than that, we survived up to this moment. We survived seeing Ned Stark beheaded in the first season, the massacre of the Red Wedding, and that awful, awful Dorne storyline. It is entirely within everyone’s right to criticize the show, but a handful of disappointing episodes won’t take away all those moments of thrilling political intrigue, staring in awe at the cunning conversations between Arya and Tywin, the horror of seeing Oberyn suffer such a horrible death, the collective anger after watching the Red Wedding, and the many tears we all shed every time a favorite character bit the dust.

I get it. You can only do the series finale of Game of Thrones once, just as you could only tell the story of how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader once–or could you? There probably won’t be a remake of the prequels, and you can’t go to the past and change the script or the acting, but you can build up from what’s already there and try to make it better. Star Wars has the Expanded Universe, and even though most of it is technically not canon anymore thanks to Disney, there are still plenty of stories that expand on what we see in the movies and even improve them. After the prequel trilogy was over, Dave Filoni made Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and in the show’s six (soon to be seven!) seasons: Darth Maul came back, Jar Jar became a bit less annoying, and we got to know more about Qui-Gon Jinn and how the clones were created and their purpose in the creation of the Empire. More importantly, it got us to care about Anakin Skywalker even if the prequels didn’t. The Phantom Menace may not be fully vindicated in the eyes of fans who were burned after spending years waiting, but thanks to the ever-expanding EU, the prequel era feels fresher than ever.

And if even after all that you still don’t want anything to do with the prequels, there’s still Disney’s sequel trilogy, and the recently announced non-Skywalker movies, and the Disney+ TV shows. Star Wars fandom survived the prequel era, and the dark times before it when fans had to wait a decade and a half for more Star Wars. There has truly never been a better time to be a fan of the galaxy far, far away.

The same thing applies to Game of Thrones. For better or worse, the series has become a cultural phenomenon bigger than any single episode or season of the show. Not only did we all become addicted to the endless cycle of rooting for a character only to see them mercilessly killed by their own stupid decisions, but an entire tourism industry flourishes in Northern Ireland and Dubrovnik thanks to filming locations for the show. A few polarizing episodes do not take away from all the discussions regarding what characters were secretly planning, debates over what Hodor meant, and the watch parties that occurred all over the world.

HBO is still working on those prequels. And best of all, we still have the books! Even if you end up disappointed by the finale, remember you can still look forward to reading George R. R. Martin’s ending eventually. Being the rare adaptation that got ahead of its source material, we still don’t know what the original ending is, or if it will change because of the show. In any case, that’s as close as you can get to a remake, even if you have to use your imagination to picture how it all looks.

Game of Thrones, and by extension its fandom, will be OK. We may argue, we may fight, but even if we don’t love it now, we all used to love this show and watched it religiously every Sunday night. Winter came and went, and there will be other shows in the future, but for now–and only for now–our watch has ended.