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Respawn has released a small patch for Apex Legends on the day of the Season 8 Ranked Split. The patch brings back heat shields to the ranked playlist, but also nerfs the item.

Primarily designed as a means of temporarily surviving outside the ring, heat shields were removed from the ranked playlist following the discovery of an exploit that allowed players to survive indefinitely outside the ring. With their return to ranked, it’s probably safe to say that the exploit has been fixed.

The patch is geared towards addressing the heat shield’s secondary function: faster healing. When used outside the ring, heat shields imbue healing items with enhanced strength, allowing those inside them to more quickly recharge body shields, use bandages to recover health, revive teammates, or self-revive. This patch removes that function.

It’s actually a pretty major change–and honestly, not one that I’m all that fond of. Heat shields previously existed as this risky way to get the drop on squads by temporarily fighting from places outside the safe zone, with their loud deployment and bright blue dome acting as a beacon to your location. Additionally, they worked as a great way to loot and heal up before making a last ditch effort to reach the safe zone after being caught outside of the ring following a prolonged fight.

With this patch, neither strategy will be as easy to pull off–I think you need the benefit of being able to quickly heal in order for heat shields to have any utility in Apex Legends’ meta. Heat shields last for shorter periods outside the ring the later into the match you go, but the faster healing benefit ensured you could quickly pop at least one healing item before the shield collapsed during the end-of-match rings. Without that benefit, they’re just beacons to a squad caught outside the ring–despite their name, heat shields do not actually act as shields that block damage.

That said, Respawn seems open to feedback on how heat shields are working out and whether they need further tweaking, so maybe the item will be further adjusted in future updates. “Share clips of why turning this on in ranked is a bad idea,” Apex Legends associate live balance designer John Larson tweeted. “Share clips of why turning this on in ranked is a good idea. Curious to see how heat shield affects gameplay. I got some theories. Keep in mind we have plenty of dials we can turn for balancing.”

A new update for The Sims 4 is now available on all platforms. It makes a number of fixes to the game, as well as adds bunk beds and tweaks Afro-centric hairstyles.

Hairstyles like “Puffball” and “Short Afro” have been retextured so they look a little more realistic, with curling patterns that are more prominent. In addition to the change, both hairstyles now have conversions for adults, children, and toddlers.

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The update also adds bunk beds to The Sims 4. There is a “basic style” bunk bed that matches the Mod Pod bed from the base game, as well as a metal framed version. Furthermore, the top bunk can be separated from the rest of the frame and used “on its own.” There’s also relax posture Sims can use when in all bed types.

Various Sims 4 expansions also get bug addressed. The base game sees toddlers now actually eating the food prepared for them, while Seasons gets a new Polar Bear Plunge Tradition. The full patch notes are below.

The Sims 4 Patch Notes

Bug Fixes

• Sims 4:
  • Toddlers will now eat the food your Sims have prepared for them. My mom used to say when my siblings and I were children that “this is not a restaurant, you eat what I cook for you all” so yeah… a lot of times I saw my sister stay at the table until she finished all her veggies… her nemesis was spinach. Bet my Mom wishes she had this fix… yup!
  • Is your Sim creating puddles as they drink water? We have tweaked and duct-taped every leak your Sims could have so this should no longer occur.
  • Auto Solving for Hygiene should no longer queue a drink in the interaction queue. OK.
  • Elder, Adults, Young Adults, and Teen Sims can now Play Dolls With Toddlers. Aww, adorable. ^_^
  • 21st Birthday Create a Sim assets puTop_EF28TankScallop and puBottom_EF28JeansCuffed are now properly displayed with the Special Birthday icon and tooltip.
  • As always this editor and the Localization team made some adjustments and perfected some of the text in-game across all packs and previous updates. #fabuloso
• Get to Work
  • Scientists Sims can now complete the Transform Some Grass task.
• Cats and Dogs
  • Kittens will now Age Up when given Age Up Treats. Now, why would you have your kittens age? Who wannnntttsss kittensss to live foreverrrrrrrrrrr? – Oh ooo oh – Who dares to be a kitten foreveeeerrrr?
  • Pet Poop is now able to be used properly as a Fertilizer. This means that no, you are not storing Pet Poop forever in your Sims inventory, it will now be used again… as intended.
• Seasons
  • Ever heard that saying “it is as useless as plowing the sea?” What? Is that a Venezuelan saying only? Well, those Maids that were mopping puddles while in a thunderstorm? That’s a thing in the past… the immediate past… yes.
  • For those who are Polar Bear enthusiasts, we have great news! The Polar Bear Plunge Tradition is now able to be celebrated.
• Get Famous
  • Global Superstar Sims will no longer get the React with Disgust from other Sims – especially on their wedding… really? This was a thing? – Reacting with Disgust will be left for those Celebrity Sims that are not famous and they appear on the Lot – Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
• Eco Lifestyle
  • Fixed an issue with Insect Farms that were displaying Ready to Collect when they actually were not. Hold yer tiny insect horses little guys!
  • What? Vertical Gardens are evolving! Fixed an issue in which Vertical Gardens didn’t Evolve when they were both in the Ready to Evolve and Ready to Harvest state.
  • The Community Voting Board has been found and reinstated in Build Mode! However Cafés, Restaurants, and Vet Clinics will have to wait for a future update as it will be still missing for these lot types.
  • Loving that Off the Grid life but suddenly plumbing is required? Wait, what? Say no more… We have now made it so that eating/drinking Cereal, Milk, Juice, Yogurt, and Water doesn’t require plumbing. Wait, why would Milk – well even Cereal – require plumbing? Is there a Cereal bar plumbing system I don’t know about that is in the game? Wouldn’t that be filled with soggy Cereal? I have questions!
  • The best way to keep Cricket Flour is to store it in the refrigerator! Now you can have your flour ready to use extra fresh and crisp (crisp? crunchy?). We have also made it possible to store Beetle Nuggets, Bombardier Beetle Nuggets, and Grub Meal. Buen Provecho!
• Parenthood
  • Parent Sims, were your Teens misbehaving? You grounded them, but they keep doing mischievous things? We have fixed an issue with Teens misbehaving stealthily while Grounded via the Phone. My parents grounded me in person, but hey, whatever works.
• Journey to Batuu
  • We fixed an issue in which Batuu alien residents did not have the correct look. However, this fix is not retroactive and will be seen fixed in New Saves.
• Nifty Knitting
  • Sims can resume Knitting after being interrupted while Knitting.
  • The Beginner’s Yarn Basket is now properly tagged under Skill-Building Objects in Sims’ Inventories.
• Bust the Dust
  • We retrained our adorable yet filthy Dust Bunnies to not appear quite so often. We also made some tweaks to the dust situation and we hope now that it doesn’t accumulate as frequently as it has. What’s your favorite name for your Dust Bunny? Mine is Furthur! (Italian Simmers… hope you know what I’m talking about).

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

The high-end controller features customization options like swappable thumbstick caps, back paddles, and face plates.

The PowerA Fusion Pro controller for Nintendo Switch is now available for preorder, in advance of its release next month. The wireless controller implements many of the customizable features of other higher-end controllers and brings them to Switch. It costs $100 and will release on April 4.

The PowerA Fusion Pro includes four programmable paddles on the back, and magnetic faceplates so you can swap between white and black appearances. The thumbstick caps are swappable as well, with convex and concave configurations, and it has rubberized grips. It also comes with a detachable 9.8-foot USB-C cable for charging, and a travel case to carry the controller and all of its accessories and swappable parts.

This suite of controller features is similar to what the Xbox Elite controller has. That controller also boasts customizable paddles and higher-end grips than the standard controller. Similarly, Sony released a back-paddle peripheral that attaches to the PS4 DualShock 4 for extra customization.

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If you’ve been upset about Stasis abilities dominating in Destiny 2‘s Crucible since the release of the Beyond Light expansion, the end of your long nightmare is finally here. Bungie’s update for the game finally addresses Stasis rebalancing, tuning down some of the abilities that have been getting heavy use in Destiny 2 PvP.

Bungie previously gave a preview of the changes in Update 3.1.1.1, but the hotfix is still pretty extensive, as the developer detailed on its website. Some of the most notable changes to Stasis will make its deadliest abilities a little less deadly, at least in PvP. The notorious Shatterdive ability for Hunters has been tuned to eliminate the damage resistance it grants players using it in PvP, making them easier to kill–something their opponents have been clamoring for. Another notable alteration is one that lowers to magnetic draw of Duskfield grenades, which have been so powerful that players can use them to yank one another out of cover or around corners for easy kills.

The patch notes also detail a few other fixes, including one Bungie mentioned recently in its This Week at Bungie blog post. It turns out that drop rates for the Eyes of Tomorrow Exotic rocket launcher, which is only available as a random reward in the final encounter of the Deep Stone Crypt raid, weren’t being adjusted correctly. Normally, raid drops like that one have “bad luck protection” that slowly raise your chances of receiving it every time you clear the raid, but for Eyes of Tomorrow, the math wasn’t being done correctly. Bungie’s fixed that, which means it should be slightly easier to get the Exotic, especially if you run the raid often.

This update also corresponds with the release of a new Strike in the game, called Proving Grounds. The Strike is currently only available for players who’ve purchased the season pass, but it’ll join the playlist for free-to-play Guardians on March 30. You’ll also see a Nightfall version of the Strike on that date.

Check out the complete patch notes below.

Hotfix 3.1.1.1 Patch Notes

ACTIVITIES

Presage

• Fixed an issue where players could respawn into the void, instantly bringing an end to their feeble attempts to survive this activity at Master difficulty.

Wrathborn Hunts

• Fixed an issue where “Immune” text appears when players deal damage to the High Celebrant.

Destinations

• Fixed an issue where players would die instantly if they stood in a particular spot of the Quitter’s Well in Tangled Shore.
• Fixed an issue that prevented Scan and Heroic VIP patrols from appearing on Europa.

Battlegrounds

• Fixed an issue where players could regenerate infinite Super energy from teammates running through hallways.
• Fixed an issue where players would incorrectly receive an “online privileges” dialog when trying to launch specific Battlegrounds activities or the Battlegrounds playlist with a fireteam member who hadn’t unlocked the activity.
• Fixed an issue where the Cabal Pyro Flamethrower projectile generated a lot of network usage, leading to strange combatant behaviors within Battlegrounds activities.

UI/UX

General

• Fixed an issue where the Prismatic Recaster was not displaying all available engram types on a single page.

GAMEPLAY

Armor

• Updated Mantle of Battle Harmony to function in PvP.
  • Grants small amount of super energy when defeating Guardians with weapons matching the damage type of your Super.
  • Grants small damage bonus when defeating enemies with weapons matching the damage type of your Super while your Super is full, but at a shorter duration than when you defeat combatants in PvE.

Weapons

• Fixed an issue that caused Eyes of Tomorrow to do less damage than intended against yellow bar enemies.
• Fixed an issue where Guardians could embrace their darker side and damage their teammates using the Frenzy perk.
• Added Unrelenting as a possible perk for THE SWARM Machine Gun.

Hunters

• Shatterdive
  • Removed damage resistance from Shatterdive.
  • Added a 4s cooldown between activations of Shatterdive.
• Withering Blade
  • Decreased Withering Blade damage against players from 90 to 65 damage. PvE damage is unchanged.
  • Decreased Withering Blade slow stacks applied to players from 60 to 40 stacks. PvE slow stacks are unchanged.
  • Decreased the target acquisition range of Withering Blade after it impacts a player from 12m to 8m. Range after impacting PvE enemies is unchanged.

Titans

• Glacial Quake
  • Removed AoE freeze against players on Super cast. Will still freeze PvE enemies on cast.
  • Reduced damage resistance while in Super from 60 percent to 50 percent.
  • Increased the energy cost of using Shiver Strike while in Glacial Quake from three percent to seven percent Super energy.
  • Using the combo of a Shiver Strike into a Heavy slam attack will now cost the full Super energy of both the Shiver Strike and the slam (this previously only cost energy for the slam).
• Shiver Strike
  • Increased downwards velocity applied to Shiver Striking players when they are slowed to more quickly pull them out of the air.
  • Fixed an issue where Shiver Strike (or Thundercrash) could get the player stuck against soft ceilings in Crucible maps.

Warlocks

• Winter’s Wrath
  • Improved tracking of Winter’s Wrath projectiles, now tracking strength decays from its max value over 10s instead of 2.2s.
  • Increased the size of the Warlock Super projectile’s proximity detonation radius 1.5m – 1.65m.
  • The proximity detonation now starts at its largest and scales down to 40 percent over time.
• Penumbral Blast
  • Decreased Penumbral Blast damage against players from 80 to 30 damage. PvE damage is unchanged.
• Iceflare Bolts
  • Fixed a bug where Iceflare Bolts would continuously try to switch targets.
  • Increased target acquisition range of Iceflare Bolts by 33 percent.
  • Increased turning speed of Iceflare Bolts so they can more effectively hit nearby targets.
• Chaos Reach
  • Decreased the amount of Super energy refunded when cancelling Chaos Reach early.

General Stasis Tuning

• Duskfield Grenade
  • Reduced how strongly Duskfield Grenade pulls players inwards, effectively reducing the pull range from 9.5m to ~6m. PvE pull impulse is unchanged.
  • Reduced the slow stacks applied to players by the grenade detonation from 20 to 10 stacks. Detonation slow stacks are unchanged in PvE.
  • Reduced the slow stacks applied to players on each tick of the grenade from ten to five stacks. Per-tick slow stacks are unchanged in PvE.
  • Adjusted the UI presentation of the “Slowed” status to display slow stacks as X/100 instead of X/10, to increase readability when adding slow stack amounts that are fewer than ten.
• Stasis Crystals
  • Reduced crystal shatter damage against players from (85 max, 55min) to (55 max, 25 min). PvE damage is unchanged.
• Whisper of Chains
  • Reduced Whisper of Chains damage resistance bonus while in Super from 25 percent to five percent. Damage resistance when not in Super is unchanged. This only affects damage from other Guardians.

INVESTMENT

Stasis Fragment Quests

• Significantly reduced objective completion values for all Crucible fragment quests.

Bounties and Pursuits

• Fixed an issue where players could earn Exotic Cyphers with a full inventory, resulting in the loss of their reward.

Triumphs

• Fixed an issue that prevented the “Trash the Thresher” Triumph from completing even when the conditions were met.

Stat Trackers

• Reset raid completion time stat trackers for any player who has exactly five minutes time recorded in the stat tracker.

Rewards

• Fixed an issue that prevented bad luck protection for Eyes of Tomorrow from accumulating properly on accounts where players raided on multiple characters.
• Fixed issues with the Frozen in Time ornament for the Exotic Pulse Rifle No Time To Explain.
  • The ornament will no longer display “Exclusive Item” which prevented players from socketing it.

Chosen Seal and Title Requirements

• Replaced the “Bound in Memory” Triumph with “All the Scattered Memories” to ensure players who missed a week of playing the Presage activity could earn the seal before the Season ended.

n celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Resident Evil series, we’re taking a look back at some of the best transformations we’ve seen over the years from villains such as Albert Wesker and Eveline. Join Persia as she talks about these gruesome and gory fights from various titles in the series such as Resident Evil 5, RE 2 Remake, Revelations 2, and more. Warning! There will be spoilers ahead!

By Persia and David Ahmadi on March 23, 2021 at 12:14PM PDT

When it comes to zombies, gore, and unimaginable creatures, Resident Evil has hit the mark on them all and likely did so with a few rocket launchers. The series has created lasting memories and always leaves us eager for more which can be easily said for Resident Evil Villiage. While we wait patiently for Lady Dimitrescu, it’s always nice to take a look back on the series.

In this video, Persia talks about some of the best Resident Evil villain transformations. From the gruesome and gory phases of William Birkin’s transformations in the Resident Evil 2 Remake to the iconic Uroboros-fueled transformation of Albert Wesker in Resident Evil 5, Persia covers a variety of titles from the legendary series as we celebrate its 25th anniversary this year.

For more Resident Evil news, breakdowns, and round-ups, be sure to visit our channel!