Hearthstone is going back to its World of Warcraft roots this year, first in the Horde-aligned Barrens and next in the Alliance-themed expansion, United in Stormwind. The new expansion introduces questlines, multi-step quests that pay off with a big reward. And given that this expansion is Stormwind focused, it only makes sense that the Paladin’s quest is all about marshaling the forces of the light.

The Rise to the Occasion quest rewards you for playing various 1-cost cards. Like all of the quests, the first reward is fairly minor, simply giving you a 1/4 Light’s Justice weapon. As you proceed to stage two, Pave the Way, you’ll earn an upgraded hero power that summons two Silverhand Recruits instead of just one. The final step, Avenge the Fallen, will earn you Lightborn Cariel. After you play this 5-Mana 7/7, you’ll get a dramatic +2/+2 boost to your Silver Hand Recruits for the rest of the game. This could mark the return of “Dude Paladin,” a formerly popular archtype that relies on overwhelming your opponent with tons of powered-up Silver Hand Recruits (aka dudes).

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It’s notable that the quest demands you play three different 1-cost cards in each step, which means you need nine different 1-cost cards in total. You can’t, for example, bounce a Pen Flinger back into your hand to use it in the next quest phase. Still, this questline is relatively easy to complete compared to some others we’ve seen thanks to Paladin’s many 1-cost options. First Day of School is a 1-cost spell that gives you two more 1-cost minions. If you use an Aldor Attendant to make your Libram of Wisdom cost one Mana–a very common early-game Paladin play–that’s two steps in the quest down already.

You may even be able to actually complete the quest by turn five and then play Cariel on-curve, making for a huge tempo play. Once you’ve completed the quest, your 2-Mana Hero Power will be able to generate two 3/3 Silver Hand Recruits in perpetuity.

You can pair this with other Silver Hand synergy cards as well. Lothraxion the Redeemed, a Legendary card from the Barrens expansion, will give those Silver Hand Recruits Divine Shield for the rest of the game. You can also summon the Silver Hand en masse using cards like Day at the Faire and Stand Against Darkness. Dude Paladin saw a brief re-emergence during the Forged in the Barrens meta based on some of these tools, and this new questline could be what it needs to push it to a powerful mainstay.

United in Stormwind launches on August 3. Two preorder bundles are available now–a standard bundle with 60 packs, one random Legendary, and a Lady Katrana card back for $50; and a mega bundle with 80 packs, two random Legendaries, five golden packs, the Lady Katrana Mage hero and card back, and a Ve’nari Battlegrounds Bartender cosmetic for $80.

Take a minute to set up a free 30 day trial, and Amazon’s Prime Gaming service will deploy a copy of Battlefield 1 your way. While that’s going to be a tough deal to top, we think we’ve also gathered an array of must-haves for console folk, too. Quick e.g.: sports fans should pay particular attention to the exclusive kit being offered in Amazon’s FIFA 22 edition on PlayStation and Xbox…

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Following a two-year investigation by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the state has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for fostering a “frat boy” culture in which female employees are allegedly subjected to unequal pay and sexual harassment.

As reported by Bloomberg, Activision Blizzard is being accused by the state of California of discriminating against female employees at nearly all levels of employment, including in regards to compensation, promotion, assignments, and termination. The state alleges Activision Blizzard’s leadership has failed to address any of these outstanding issues or prevent them from occurring within the workplace. You can read the full details of the lawsuit here.

The suit, filed Tuesday in the Los Angeles Superior Court, says Activision Blizzard — which is made up of about 20 percent women — assigns women, and women of color, to “lower paid and lower opportunity levels” with lower starting pay for similar work as their male counterparts.

The documents also accuse Activision Blizzard of fostering a “pervasive ‘frat boy’ workplace culture in the office. Male employees are said to drink “copious amounts of alcohol” as they make their way through cubicles and “often engage in inappropriate behavior toward female employees.”

Male employees are said to come to work hungover, play video games during work “while delegating their responsibilities to female employees, engage in banter about their sexual encounters, talk openly about female bodies, and joke about rape.”

The lawsuit also cites one particular incident where a female employee, who was already subjected to intense sexual harassment at the company, committed suicide during a work trip with a male supervisor who allegedly brought inappropriate, sexual items with him on the trip.

The lawsuit is asking for an injunction that will force Activision Blizzard to comply with workplace protections, as well as deliver unpaid wages, pay adjustments, back pay, and lost wages and benefits for female employees.

An Activision Blizzard spokesperson sent the following statement in response to the allegations:

We value diversity and strive to foster a workplace that offers inclusivity for everyone. There is no place in our company or industry, or any industry, for sexual misconduct or harassment of any kind. We take every allegation seriously and investigate all claims. In cases related to misconduct, action was taken to address the issue. 

The DFEH includes distorted, and in many cases false, descriptions of Blizzard’s past. We have been extremely cooperative with the DFEH throughout their investigation, including providing them with extensive data and ample documentation, but they refused to inform us what issues they perceived.  They were required by law to adequately investigate and to have good faith discussions with us to better understand and to resolve any claims or concerns before going to litigation, but they failed to do so.  Instead, they rushed to file an inaccurate complaint, as we will demonstrate in court. We are sickened by the reprehensible conduct of the DFEH to drag into the complaint the tragic suicide of an employee whose passing has no bearing whatsoever on this case and with no regard for her grieving family.  While we find this behavior to be disgraceful and unprofessional, it is unfortunately an example of how they have conducted themselves throughout the course of their investigation. It is this type of irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State’s best businesses out of California. 

The picture the DFEH paints is not the Blizzard workplace of today. Over the past several years and continuing since the initial investigation started, we’ve made significant changes to address company culture and reflect more diversity within our leadership teams. We’ve updated our Code of Conduct to emphasize a strict non-retaliation focus, amplified internal programs and channels for employees to report violations, including the “ASK List” with a confidential integrity hotline, and introduced an Employee Relations team dedicated to investigating employee concerns. We have strengthened our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and combined our Employee Networks at a global level, to provide additional support. Employees must also undergo regular anti-harassment training and have done so for many years. 

We put tremendous effort in creating fair and rewarding compensation packages and policies that reflect our culture and business, and we strive to pay all employees fairly for equal or substantially similar work. We take a variety of proactive steps to ensure that pay is driven by non-discriminatory factors. For example, we reward and compensate employees based on their performance, and we conduct extensive anti-discrimination trainings including for those who are part of the compensation process. 

We are confident in our ability to demonstrate our practices as an equal opportunity employer that fosters a supportive, diverse, and inclusive workplace for our people, and we are committed to continuing this effort in the years to come. It is a shame that the DFEH did not want to engage with us on what they thought they were seeing in their investigation.

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Matt Kim is a News Editor at IGN.

Call of Duty’s Season 4 Reloaded arrived with one of the biggest weapon balancing passes we’ve seen for Warzone, which Raven Software made with the overall goal of increasing the average time-to-kill and making more weapons viable.

Some of Warzone‘s nerfs to popular weapons such as the FARA 83 assault rifle and the Bullfrog submachine gun still leave them as solid choices, but this mid-season update definitely evens the playing field for those wanting to branch out with other guns like the QBZ-83 assault rifle or Bruen Mk9 light machine gun.

Here are some recommended gun setups to try in your next match of Warzone.

Best QBZ-83 Loadout

Warzone’s Season 4 Reloaded update added a nice damage buff to Cold War’s QBZ-83 assault rifle, making it a strong choice for anyone looking to try something other than the recently popular Krig-6 or FARA 83.

Recommended QBZ-83 Attachments

• Muzzle: Agency suppressor
• Barrel: 15.5″ Task Force
• Underbarrel: Field Agent Grip
• Ammunition: STANAG 60 Rnd Drum
• Optic: Axial Arms 3x

Best Krig-6 Loadout

Cold War’s Krig-6 still serves as a standout choice for assault rifles in Warzone. This is a really popular choice for being an easy-to-handle assault rifle, and with the attachments recommended below, you can get very little recoil and beef up your ammo count.

Recommended Krig-6 Attachments

• Muzzle: Agency Suppressor
• Barrel: 19.7″ Ranger
• Underbarrel: Field Agent Grip
• Ammunition: STANAG 60 Rnd
• Optic: Axial Arms 3x

Best CR58 Loadout

Even after the recent nerf, Cold War’s CR58 assault rifle is still quite the contender as a long-range weapon for Warzone’s Season 4 Reloaded. This is a heavy-hitting assault rifle that will pair nicely with something like the Ak-74u submachine gun.

Recommended CR58 Attachments

• Muzzle: Agency suppressor
• Barrel: 18.5″ Task Force
• Underbarrel: Field Agent Grip
• Ammunition: STANAG 55 Rnd
• Optic: Axial Arms 3x or personal preference

Best Bruen Mk9 Loadout

Season 4’s recently added MG82 light machine gun didn’t stand the test of time. The gun was only viable while “broken” in Warzone with very little recoil. Now that Raven Software nerfed the newest light machine gun, many players are turning to an old favorite, Modern Warfare’s Bruen Mk9. With attachments like the Tac Laser, you can rock this light machine gun in Warzone with very little penalty to your aim-down-sight speed. It’s also a very accurate option in the light machine gun class.

Recommended Bruen Mk9 Attachments

• Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor
• Barrel: XRK Summit 26.8″
• Laser: Tac Laser
• Underbarrel: Commando Foregrip
• Optic: VLK 3x Optic

Best OTs 9 Loadout

Cold War’s brand-new OTs 9 submachine gun is quickly gaining popularity in Warzone. While it definitely has worse range than the other Cold War submachine guns, its low recoil and solid handling make it powerful for close-range gunfights. You just need to unlock the right attachments before adding this gun to one of your Loadouts. You shouldn’t really need a grip or underbarrel attachment since this submachine gun shoots pretty accurately, but you’ll want to equip something like the Spetsnaz 40 Rnd to bump up your ammo count.

Recommended OTs 9 Attachments

• Muzzle: GRU Suppressor
• Barrel: 8.1″ Task Force
• Laser: Tiger Team Spotlight
• Stock: KGB Skeletal Stock
• Ammo: Spetsnaz 40 Rnd

Best Ak-74u Loadout

Cold War’s Ak-74u submachine gun received an increase to bullet velocity and the upper torso multiplier in Warzone’s Season 4 Reloaded, making it a viable option to pair with your favorite long-range weapon.

Recommended Ak-74u Attachments

• Muzzle: GRU Suppressor
• Barrel: 10.3″ Task Force
• Laser: Tiger Team Spotlight
• Stock: KGB Skeletal Stock
• Ammo: Spetsnaz 50 Rnd Drum

Best Swiss K-31 Loadout

Cold War’s Swiss K-31 sniper received improvements to its aiming stability and ADS speed in Season 3, and it continues to gain traction in Season 4 as a popular choice over Modern Warfare’s Kar98k.

Recommended Swiss K-31 attachments

• Muzzle: GRU Suppressor
• Barrel: 24.9″ Combat Recon
• Laser: SWAT Laser Sight
• Underbarrel: Bruiser Grip
• Rear Grip: Serpent Grip

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Epic Games is teasing a collaboration with the iconic car company Ferrari. The official Fortnite Twitter account posted a cryptic image of the Ferrari logo on a car with Fortnite tires. In the reflection on the car you can see the Fortnite battle bus.

It’s not exactly clear what this is teasing, but Ferrari’s own social media account made the announcement. The Italian car company’s 296 GTB will be coming to Fortnite tomorrow, July 22. That’s all there is to go on at the moment, so there is no word yet on if it’s drivable in the battle royale game, but keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

Fortnite added its first drivable cars in 2020, but Ferrari appears to be the first real-world car company that’s set to appear. Again, we don’t know if the new 296 GTB is drivable in Fortnite yet, but it seems that could be the case given the wording of Ferrari’s tweet.

The Ferrari 296 GTB is Ferrari’s latest supercar. It features 830 horsepower and a very slick-looking design. It can go from 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds and achieve a maximum speed of 205mph.

If you want more Fortnite, it’s a busy week for the game thanks to the new Bugha skin and cash-prize tournament, the Week 7 Alien Artifacts, and the 17.20 patch notes.

Minor spoilers follow for select scenes from Dune.

IGN was among the media outlets invited to screen advance footage from Dune in IMAX this week, including the movie’s opening 10 minutes and the new trailer, which debuts Thursday. What was shown truly showcased the film as a treat for the eyes and ears. It’s as stunning-looking as you would expect from Denis Villeneuve, the visionary director of Blade Runner: 2049 and Arrival, but the sound design and musical score (by Hans Zimmer) were just as singular and gripping as the direction, cinematography, art design, costumes, and special effects. While we only saw a sliver of the final film, the footage shown certainly left this writer even more excited for this highly anticipated screen adaptation of the seminal Frank Herbert novel. 

Dune begins with narration from Arrakis native Chani (played by Zendaya) speaking about her homeworld and their alien overlords — the House Harkonnen — who have brutally oppressed them in order to extract their planet’s most valuable natural resource: the spice melange. Her narration plays over an attack by the native Fremen, including Chani, on the spice harvesters. The brutal environment of the desert planet Arrakis is evident as wind and sand pummel the Harkonnen troops and their giant spice harvester. But nearly as swift and brutal as the elements is the ambush by the Fremen upon these interlopers. Chani recalls how the Emperor eventually recalled the Harkonnens from Arrakis but now the Fremen are left to wonder who their next oppressor will be. 

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We cut to the planet Caladan, homeworld of House Atreides, where we are introduced to young Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), the heir and only son of Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac). Paul dreams of someone he’s never met on a planet he has not yet visited: Chani of Arrakis. Awakened by what we learn is a recurring dream at this point, a weary Paul has breakfast with his mother, the imperial consort Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson). She’s a member of the Bene Gesserit order who tests Paul’s telepathic abilities by having him use “the voice” to command her to pass him his drink. It’s our first but small introduction to Paul and his mother’s powers that will gain greater significance later in the story. 

During this sequence on Caladan, we also see that items have been packed in crates for shipping and we learn the Spacing Guild is on their way for the ceremonial handover of power from House Harkonnen to House Atreides. The opening ten minutes conclude with the Guild arriving in full pomp and circumstance as Duke Leto — flanked by Paul, Lady Jessica, and their chief officer Gurney Haleck (Josh Brolin) — formally accepts the charge given him by the Emperor and the Guild to assume oversight of Arrakis and its spice production. 

The film’s costume design is immediately apparent in these opening 10 minutes — from the spice harvesters’ oppressive gear to the regal militarism of the Atreides to the survivalist stillsuits of the Fremen and the exotic, quasi-ancient garments worn by the Guild. Then there’s the oppressor chic of the darkly clad Harkonnens and the austere vestments of the Bene Gesserit.

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The amalgam of influences on Dune the book is well documented and the looks on display in this film adaptation are suitably diverse and powerful. Although set in the year 10,191, Dune depicts a fusion of futurism and feudalism. The Guild and House Atreides may use giant spaceships for transport but the ceremonial handover event is marked by such medieval elements as reading from a paper scroll and Leto signing off with the wax seal of his aristocratic house.

In a video introduction, Denis Villeneuve presented another scene from Dune, this one taking place a bit later after the Atreides have arrived on Arrakis to assume control. In this action-packed sequence, Duke Leto, Paul, Gurney, and imperial planetologist/ecologist Dr. Liet-Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) fly over the dunes of Arrakis in an Ornithopter to observe one of the Atreides spice harvesters in action. However, they then spot a massive sandworm — one of the monstrous creatures inhabiting the dunes of Arrakis — quickly burrowing its way under the sand on its way to attack the spice harvester vessel. 

When a ship-to-ship airlift recovery fails, Leto risks all to lead a rescue operation of the harvester crew, abandoning the spice in favor of saving lives. But it’s during this sequence where Paul has his first true psychological and spiritual connection to the planet Arrakis and its spice. It’s an overwhelming, almost narcotic moment for Paul where he is overwhelmed by a strangely emotional and psychological oneness with the desert. If not for the arrival of Gurney then Paul might have perished. The two barely make it back to the ship in time before the sandworm devours the giant spice harvester vehicle whole.

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In a separate video, Villeneuve chatted with composer Hans Zimmer about creating the unique musical score for Dune. Zimmer turns out to be as much of a die-hard fan of Frank Herbert’s Dune as the director. Zimmer observed how he was always irritated when alien civilizations in science fiction films were scored using traditional earthly musical instruments so he had new musical instruments invented just for this film! Based on the footage screened, Zimmer’s score is both otherworldly and ancient, brutish yet haunting.

Between the new trailer and all the additional footage screened at the IMAX press event, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune feels both operatic and intimate, a cutting-edge science fiction film that also hearkens back to the epic period spectacles of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Here’s hoping the final film lives up to the promise of this exciting early presentation.

Dune opens in US and UK theaters and on HBO Max on October 22 and in Australia on October 21.

Everyone knows Mark Hamill is the once-and-future Luke Skywalker. But the actor revealed today on Twitter that he’s played a secret role in every Star Wars movie since 2015.

More specifically, Hamill revealed that he’s done secret voice cameos in every Star Wars movie since 2015, so that means his voice can be found somewhere in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One, and Solo.

The actor revealed this secret on Twitter after the Wookieepedia Twitter account posted about his role as EV-9D9 in The Mandalorian.

New goal! Track down the secret cameos

— Wookieepedia (@WookOfficial) July 21, 2021

As you can see in the Tweet above, Hamill’s revelation has sent the Wookieepedia (and many others who replied to Hamill’s tweet) into a frenzy to track down the secret voice cameos Hamill has done. EV-9D9 is a great start, and anyone who’s watched Season 2 of The Mandalorian knows Hamill has another appearance in the show.

However, how can one go about finding the other cameos in the Star Wars movies released since 2015? Well, a great start would be William M. Patrick. This is the name Hamill is listed as in the credits of Rogue One, Solo, and the Sequel movies for his secret voice performances, something Hamill revealed last year on Twitter.

Hamill said his secret voice cameo pseudonym, William M. Patrick, is a reference to his brothers, William and Patrick Hamill. As for the M, Hamill said last year that he’ll not reveal what it stands for but something tells us it stands for Mark.

It was never about billing (L-#RogueOne R-#Solo) or salary. It was for fun & the fans & because I❤️#EasterEggs! I misremembered my pseudonym as “Patrick Williams”-It was actually “William M. Patrick” (for my older & younger brothers) I’m not telling what the M. stands for. #Guess pic.twitter.com/AOSdsdtD5a

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) June 22, 2020

For more about Star Wars and Hamill’s place in it, read about why the actor can’t imagine playing Luke Skywalker again, and then check out his heartfelt letter that he wrote to fans as he reflects on the end of his Luke Skywalker era. Read this story about the ending for Star Wars: The Force Awakens that Hamill pitched to director JJ Abrams after that.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.