Sackboy finally has a game to call his own. The smiley mascot for LittleBigPlanet and, occasionally, the PlayStation brand has always been treated as more of an icon than a character, a cutesy tabula rasa through which all video-game-related things are possible. In Sackboy: A Big Adventure, his purview is much more traditional. He’s a jumpman, a platformer in the tradition of Mario, Sonic, Crash, and all the other mascots that came before him. Sackboy, both the character and the game, rises to succeed the mascot platformer mantle well in many respects. Though its aesthetic often feels bland, its solid platforming makes for a worthy challenge.
Like many platformers, story is not Sackboy’s strong suit. You’re jumping around Craftverse, the world of LittleBigPlanet, to save it from a villainous jester doll called Vex. Though you’ll get a fairly steady stream of updates reminding you of Vex’s evil presence, there’s not much you need to know. You could say the story is a waste of Sackboy’s surprisingly compelling cuteness. On the other hand, you could argue that Sackboy’s cuteness keeps your interest in the game afloat, even without a compelling story.
Sackboy regularly evokes LittleBigPlanet’s arts-and-crafts visual aesthetic. Sometimes, the motif works well. There are great visual details in many of the levels, like hard-drawn cutouts of animals in the backgrounds or platforms made from stacks of books, which imply that the levels were set up in a child’s bedroom. More often, though, it leads to generic “imagination-world” design. Most of the enemies are multi-colored animals or blocks with cute but angry eyes. And, even with those craftsy details, the basic level settings–space, the jungle, under the sea–all feel vague.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure’s visual design on the generic side, but the art itself is stunning on PS5.
While the visual design is generally uninspired, the art itself shows off the impressive technical capabilities of the PlayStation 5. The bright and colorful levels, full of spinning platforms, lasers, and all kinds of moving parts, make for a visual feast in 4K. The movements of the gracefully weaving camera feel notably smooth. Lasers and metallic surfaces–like ruby armored crabs–shine. It may not give Craftworld a strong sense of place, but the art looks adorable.
It also helps that the game has a great soundtrack to keep you moving. Each level’s catchy, upbeat track feels good to jump along to. Some of them feature riffs based on pop hits and classical scores you may recognize. I rarely take a moment to stop and just listen to game music, but I frequently found myself wanting to take these tracks in, either because they were songs I recognized or because they simply had me bouncing my head along.
Sackboy’s core competency, platforming, is quite strong. All the moves in Sackboy’s core arsenal–a jump with a secondary flutter, a punch, and a roll–all feel responsive and precise. Like the LittleBigPlanet games, Sackboy’s jump is a little floaty with a full button press, but having a flutter ability gives you more control over when and how you land. Despite its storybook appearance, Sackboy does feature sequences that present some significant challenges, particularly if you’re trying to collect every item along the way. But the levels are built around Sackboy’s particular jump, and the game’s demands are based around it.
Sackboy’s multi-faceted levels are the real stars, though. It feels like every part of each level serves up a new challenge, which keeps things fresh. Some areas are straightforward, pushing you to string together jumps as if you’re running an obstacle course. Other areas are more self-contained. In some levels, you’re forced to search a larger area for a set of hidden keys to advance. Some are built around items you find at the start of each level, like a boomerang, which allows you to hit enemies and collect items from afar, or anti-gravity boots, which let you float at the height of your jump for an extended period of time. There’s an incredible amount of variety within each level and from one level to the next.
Not every concept level works, though. Each world has a musical level, where all the elements of the world–enemies, platforms, and background objects–move in time with pop songs like “Uptown Funk,” which are playing, lyrics and all. It’s an interesting concept, but ultimately jarring. Different level elements move in time with different parts of the song, which made it hard to track at times. There’s a moment of recognition when each level starts, which is pretty neat, but that quickly falls away. By the end, the lyrics are so distracting that it can be difficult to keep track of everything going on. Obviously, this is in stark contrast with the standard soundtrack, which is impressive with and without a pop connection.
Gallery
Sackboy is a hoarder’s platformer. Every level is chock-full of things to pick up: score bubbles, a LittleBigPlanet holdover; collectibells, which you use to buy costumes between levels; dreamer orbs, which you need to collect to unlock the final level of each world; and costume parts. Bounding through each level, you’re constantly grabbing items and scouring the levels for more. To find it all, you need to keep an eye out for alternate paths, extra spaces, and hidden rooms housing self-contained minigames and puzzles. At the end of each level, you’re given a trophy based on how many score bubbles you got. (It takes a picture of your Sackboy with the trophy. It’s cute.) While you can technically complete a level with very little, the expectation is that you will make an effort to find most, if not all, of it.
And lowering your score is the primary form of punishment. You start each level with five lives, which you lose by getting hit by enemies or falling in pits. When you lose a life, you lose a percentage of your score bubbles, making it harder to get a high score. When you lose all your lives, you have to start the level over. Having a limited number of lives is rarely an issue–even when you die frequently, extra lives start popping up frequently from enemies and breakable items the moment you lose one. The real impact is how it affects your score.
So the goal is to master each level, completing it with the highest possible score, collecting all the important items, and without losing a life. It seems fairly attainable at first, but by the halfway point in the game, Sackboy ramps up to offer a pretty significant challenge, even without the score chase. Mastering most levels should take a couple tries, and there’s always room for improvement. That said, the game kindly avoids penalizing less competitive completionists; other than score bubbles, once you acquire an item, you have it for good. Even the dreamer orbs and costume pieces you’ve acquired before dying mid-level count as acquired.
The story may not be incredibly interesting, but the adorable art carries you through.
In addition to the standard levels, you can unlock short but extra challenging time trial levels that really push you to make every movement count. Even these levels feature a collectible-hunting component–most have clocks in the world that shave seconds off your time. Short and precise, these challenges feel very different from the long, winding campaign levels and give you the chance to mix things up if the standard flow ever starts to feel stale.
There are also optional co-op-only Teamwork levels, which feature puzzles that require a certain amount of coordination. (In the interest of full disclosure: I’m quarantining solo, so I’ve only played one of these, just to get a sense of how they work. I’ll say this: The puzzles are trickier when you’re holding two controllers at once.) You can also play the core Sackboy campaign multiplayer via local co-op all the way through with up to four players. Everyone plays as Sackboy, but with different outfits, so you can put that wardrobe to good use. According to Sony, cross-gen online multiplayer is coming later this year. Personally, I prefer to play platformers solo, so I didn’t see not having access to co-op as a real loss.
Sackboy is a solid platformer and, despite its rote art style, makes great use of the PS5’s enhanced visual and technical performance. It’s a fun little romp of a platformer, with lots of interesting moments. At times, the visual design can look a bit flat. Even in those moments, though, the tight controls and interesting level layouts create gameplay challenges that make those flaws easy to overlook.
In The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 3, Mando (Pedro Pascal) heads to Trask with The Child (aka Baby Yoda) and Frog Lady, where he finally finds more of his kind. We finally find out who WWE superstar Sasha Banks (credited as Mercedes Varnado) is playing on the show, and it turns out she’s part of Clan Kryze. Not only that, but she’s with Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff)! Bo-Katan calls Mando a Child of the Watch, basically confirming he was rescued by Death Watch as a child.
We learned exactly what these other Mandalorians were after and how they could help guide Mando to locate a Jedi on his journey to get The Child home. The episode was also full of Easter eggs and references to other corners of the Star Wars galaxy, like The Clone Wars and Rebels!
Demon’s Souls on PS5 is a full remake of the classic FromSoftware action-RPG that began the stoic and uncompromising trend of Souls-likes that we know of today. For those who experienced the dangers and threats within the kingdom of Boletaria in 2009, you’ll quickly find that the tough-as-nails gameplay and sense of anxiousness when exploring remains intact. However, for those who’ve never played a Souls game or who focused on the Dark Souls series or other iterations, you’ll quickly find that Demon’s Souls has a particularly sharp edge to it in areas you’d least expect. And most often, it leaves much of the finer details of its gameplay for you to uncover.
With the launch of the Demon’s Souls remake, we’ve put together some tips that will help make your opening hours a bit more manageable. If you want to read more on Demon’s Souls, check out our early review impressions of the full game from editor Tamoor Hussain.
Pick Your Starting Choices Carefully
Once you begin your journey, you’ll create your character and choose their starting class. While traditionally character classes have defined stats and skills, the classes of Demon’s Souls are merely a starting point for your journey. Once you begin collecting weapons and using the souls of fallen enemies to level up and amplify critical stats, you’re free to evolve your character in any way you see fit. So a humble barbarian has the means to evolve into a magic-wielding glass cannon by the game’s end.
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Demon’s Souls First 16 Minutes On PS5 (Performance Mode)
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Still, your choices here can have a significant impact on your chances of surviving. For beginners, the Knight, Soldier, Temple Knight, and Royal classes are solid picks as they cover all the bases for attack and defense, and have reliable weapons and armor to back them up. The Royal class, despite starting at level 1, has access to the powerful Soul Arrow, which can easily wipe out enemies from a distance. After you pick a starting class, you can also choose a starting item. A majority of these are one-time use items, so you’re better off picking something with a longer shelf life. We’d recommend picking the Providential Ring, which will increase Luck and raise the drop rates on healing items and crafting materials. In the early hours, this can be a massive boon for your survival.
Get To Know The Nexus, And Keep It Safe
After meeting your inevitable first death at the hands of the Vanguard Demon (or, if you manage to beat him, the Dragon God), you’ll find yourself whisked to the Nexus. This place will serve as your main hub, and it’s the one true safe haven in Demon’s Souls. In this location, you’ll get to meet the game’s key characters, merchants, and supporting allies who will offer you advice on how to proceed. While at the Nexus, you can upgrade your equipment and manage your inventory, which is excellent for improving your chances in the many locations you’ll explore. The upper levels of the Nexus also include an interesting take on player leaderboards, which keeps track of the online community’s standing in the game.
The Nexus’ most important character is The Maiden, who will help players level up with the collected souls. You’ll eventually have more characters enter the Nexus who can offer you new items, magic spells, and other insights on places to explore. Depending on your choices, though, you may set into motion events that can put your allies at risk. So if you meet someone who seems “sus” and wants to visit your place in the Nexus then maybe you shouldn’t ask them to come back to your only safe space. Always use your best judgment when it comes to new faces looking to journey to the Nexus.
Don’t Be Afraid To Explore Elsewhere
Unlike the Dark Souls series’ winding, interconnected levels, Demon’s Souls has five standalone worlds that are all tied to the Nexus. Inside the Nexus, you can travel to each location in the game from one of five Archstones. The places you’ll visit include the Boletarian Palace, the Stonefang Tunnel, the Valley of Defilement, the Tower of Latria, and the Shrine of Storms. After defeating the Phalanx boss in the Boletarian Palace, you’ll have access to each of the Archstones, giving you more freedom to explore the different realms.
It’s important to stress that you are not expected to complete each Archstone in a single run.
It’s important to stress that you are not expected to complete each Archstone in a single run. Once you’ve defeated a boss in one realm and unlocked the next waypoint, you’ve essentially completed the first part of that realm. It’s a much better use of your time to head out to a new location and make progress there. While it’s possible to keep proceeding forward, you’ll quickly find that the monsters and enemies after a completed boss fight are much more challenging, so don’t be afraid to venture off to a new space if you feel like you’ve hit a wall in your progress.
Only Take What You Need
Inventory management is just as essential in Demon’s Souls as swordplay and carefully dodging traps in the environment. Each item and piece of gear in the game has a unique weight attached to it. Depending on your character’s endurance, you’ll find that items you have in your inventory will eventually begin to affect your character’s movement and what they can pick up. An inventory that hasn’t been managed can be especially troublesome when you find a valuable item but can’t pick it up when you need it.
With this in mind, you need to keep track of what your character has on them, even for smaller items like healing grass–which can add up. In the Nexus, you can talk with Stockpile Thomas to access the game’s storage boxes, allowing you to offload spare items, unused gear, and crafting materials. Early on, it’s best to ditch things you don’t need and place them inside. One fantastic quality-of-life improvement with the Demon’s Souls remake is that you can instantly send items to the storage box if your character’s weight limit has reached its limit. While this can still prevent you from using certain items at the moment, it does take the sting out of missing out on valuables forever.
Leave A Helpful Message Behind
A hallmark of the Souls games is their communication system, which players can use to leave helpful messages or vague notes in the environment for others to find. These notes can point out upcoming threats, offer insight on nearby items, or sometimes be used for nefarious purposes to lead players into a deadly trap. The remake of Demon’s Souls has the original’s messaging system intact, and given the incredibly harsh stakes in the opening hours, paying attention to these notes–while also using your best judgment–is key to survival.
Using the touchpad, you can select the option to leave a message based on a preset list of keywords. Besides being a great way to help fellow dungeoneers, it also allows you to get a sudden health boost if another player gives your message a positive affirmation. While its usefulness can be a bit situational, that boost can potentially be a massive help when exploring a lengthy dungeon. So be sure to take advantage of the message system when you can.
Know Your World Tendency
One of Demon’s Souls’ more intricate features is the world tendency system. Essentially, your actions and choices, which include defeating key characters, bosses, and even your instances of death, can shift the balance in various realms of Boletaria. The world tendency systems move between both white or black tendencies, and these shifting tendencies alter the way you explore dungeons and fight enemies. For instance, exploring dungeons with black world tendency will have more aggressive enemies and a larger frequency of enemy Black Phantoms invading your world. However, the black world tendency will also lead to higher drop rates for specific items, which adds some incentive to stick with the added challenge.
What made this feature such a strange system in the original was how vague it was to understand how things were shifting clearly. Thankfully, the remake makes the world tendency system a bit more evident with the inclusion of a new menu that shows off the balance of each realm and your character. Coming to grips with world tendency will not only make it easier for you to understand your current odds, but it will also allow you to understand how to tip the balance in your favor. In some cases, you may want to shift a particular realm to the black world tendency, which can open up a pathway to a hidden encounter. So the sooner you learn how the system works, the better you’ll understand how to pull the various threads holding the world together in Demon’s Souls.
Be Patient, And Always Be Prepared For A Fight
Despite its uncompromising approach to combat, Demon’s Souls is a largely fair game when it comes to each encounter and boss fight. The trick is understanding that you’ll need to think several steps ahead before you engage in a battle. More often than not, you’ll meet your end when fighting aggressive foes with wild attack patterns, falling into pits, or simply running too fast down a hallway and barrelling straight into a crowd of enemies. It’s never a pleasant sight to see a death, but each one is a learning opportunity.
The keys to overcoming the many challenges in Demon’s Souls are perseverance, patience, and understanding the threats you face.
The keys to overcoming the many challenges in Demon’s Souls are perseverance, patience, and understanding the threats you face. Combat is one of the core pillars of the game, and while the introduction will walk you through the various ins and outs of its standard attacks and defensive skills, sometimes it’s much better to let enemies wear themselves out with their attacks and then rush behind them for a backstab while they’re catching their breath. The moment-to-moment experience of playing Demon’s Souls can be tense and challenging, with countless outcomes for every move you make, so always take a second before an encounter to analyze what’s to come.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon has gone full-on RPG, and that means introducing classic RPG elements like a character class system. These classes are called “jobs” (a la Final Fantasy) and offer the chance for characters to learn new skills, get a boost to stats, and generally break out of their default roles. While it’s possible to finish the game without changing jobs, exploring the system to its fullest will make your adventure a lot more satisfying, and gets you a few important skills that carry over between jobs. So which jobs are worth using, and which careers are best left ignored? Read on to learn all about your job options.
Kasuga and company will be able to learn and use different combat skills from changing their jobs. Jobs can be changed starting in mid-chapter 5 at Hello Work. Talk to Ririka and she will give you a list of available jobs for each character. Not all jobs will be available immediately–some will require characters to be at certain experience and bond levels to be selectable. In Kasuga’s case, some jobs will require both a certain experience level and his various attributes to be at certain levels.
Not all jobs will be available immediately–some will require characters to be at certain experience and bond levels to be selectable.
There are separate job sets for male and female characters. Also, every character has at least one job that is unique to them that no other character can use. (Kasuga has two.)
How Do Jobs Work?
After a fight, you get both character EXP and job EXP. Your chosen job levels up separately from your character. At certain levels, you will either learn a new, job-specific technique or get a permanent stat boost.
While most skills you learn from job levels are only usable while the character is in that job, each job has two “Character Skills” that will always be available once learned, even when you switch over to other jobs. Some otherwise mediocre jobs are worth leveling simply to get access to the character skills. Party members will also get unique skills every five character levels that are usable regardless of job, and Kasuga can earn additional skills through the business management minigame.
What About the DLC Jobs?
There are two optional DLC jobs, the Devil Rocker for males and the Matriarch for females. Since these are paid DLC that isn’t a part of the base game, we’re leaving them out of the guide.
We won’t be covering the paid DLC jobs in this guide.
When Should I Start Exploring the Job System?
As we wrote in our starter guide, it might not be a good idea to start job-swapping right away, as it’s much harder to level jobs and get skills in the early part of the game, and you will lose access to many skills you’ve become accustomed to. (One exception: Saeko is best switched to an Idol ASAP.) With most of Chapter 6 being a long series of fights, Chapter 7 is a better time to start playing around a little bit more, especially if you recruit Eri into your group through the business management minigame. You’ll also have more funds for buying weapons, which are unique for each class.
It’s also significantly easier to get job levels and skills towards the end of the game, as you’ll have access to the Battle Arena starting in Chapter 12. Each of the fights in the Battle Arena rewards a substantial amount of job experience, and you can gain job levels very quickly there from even the lower-level fights. (You’ll also want to grind levels and earn gear there to aid in Chapter 12’s extremely rude boss fight.)
Unique Character Jobs
Freelancer
Freelancer
Default/Exclusive class of Kasuga Ichiban
Freelancer is the job that attempts to carry over the raw, bare-knuckle fighting of the previous Yakuza games directly into Like a Dragon. It’s also the job that Kasuga starts with and has access to for the entire game. And it is quite good at offense, as the attacks hit hard and can give bonus effects like stun. The critical damage rate for this class and its skills is also quite formidable.
However, one big issue with this class (and quite a few classes we’ll cover) is a lack of options. There are no support abilities beyond self-buffs, and all attacks are based on blunt force damage, which numerous enemies have resistance to. Compared to the Hero class Kasuga gets shortly afterwards, which is about as well-rounded as a skillset can get, Freelancer feels very restrictive. Yes, the hits feel satisfying, but the visceral pleasure of beating the snot out of someone gets dampened when they don’t take full damage from what you’re dishing out.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: It’s a solid offensive class, but extremely limited. It pales in comparison to the Hero class in terms of combat versatility.
Hero
Hero
Exclusive class of Kasuga Ichiban, unlocks during Chapter 4
Hero is the jack-of-all-trades class you’d expect from an RPG protagonist. It’s got damage dealing, a little bit of support, and a little bit of healing and revival to make for a very versatile Kasuga. These skills’ potency will also be boosted as Kasuga raises his various parameters like charisma and passion, making them even better as the game progresses. Perhaps the only downside is that the Hero’s damage typing lacks variety: it’s all physical blunt force damage, which several enemies have resistance to. If you bring in a couple of offensive character skills from other classes, you can help make up for this. Ultimately, Hero will be Kasuga’s best option for the endgame challenges.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Hero offers almost everything you’d want a job to provide. What it doesn’t do, you can learn in other jobs and carry over.
Homeless Guy
Homeless Guy
Exclusive class of Nanba
This is essentially the equivalent of a magic-using class in more traditional RPGs. Nanba is the Homeless Guy class acts as the token magician–a pyromancer, to be exact, since many of his attack spells will turn him into a human blowtorch. He’s also got a good range of debuffs and healing spells to complement his fire-wielding, making him a great all-around offensive magic and support character.
Unfortunately, the usual drawbacks of magic users apply: his physical attack power isn’t too good, and defense can be a serious problem. While he has a few non-elemental magic skills, his stronger attacks being fire-based means that he won’t be quite as effective against foes with fire resistance. As a whole, however, this class is great, and it can be even better with carryover skills from jobs like Musician and Fortuneteller.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: An excellent magic-using job. Its weaknesses are easily compensated for by carrying over skills from elsewhere.
Detective
Detective
Default/Exclusive class of Adachi
Ex-cop Adachi’s specialty is riling opponents up and locking them down. He has several skills which can cause enraged status, making enemies unable to do anything other than target him with normal attacks. This way, he can act as a tank, taking the hits and smacking enemies down with additional blunt-damage skills that can cause status afflictions like stun if Adachi’s HP is high. It’s a solid enough tank-y class.
However, once Adachi gets access to the Enforcer job and some good gear for it, Detective pales in comparison. Fortunately, the Character Skills from Detective work extremely well when carried over to Enforcer, so there’s some value in spending time with this class… mostly because switching to Enforcer right away can be pretty tough.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Detective will carry you a decent way into the game. You’re going to want to swap out eventually, though.
Hitman
Hitman
Default/Exclusive class of Joon-gi
Hitman is Joon-gi’s starting class, and it’s a doozy. It’s built around doing lots of damage in lots of ways very quickly. One of the biggest upsides is that you have access to both blunt and rare (and rarely resisted) gun/piercing damage through skills, making a Hitman Joon-gi extremely adaptable to a lot of different combat situations. Some of his skills can also add status ailments, but the success rate is pretty low, so you’ll mostly be focused on outputting damage rather than inflicting status. Also, while most of the skills at early job levels are single-target, he’ll earn an amazing multi-target piercing attack in Heavenly Shot at job level 16, making Joon-gi one of the best mob-clearers in the game.
While the class makes good use of Joon-gi’s high agility, it does little to offset his low defense, making him a bit of a glass cannon unless you have gear to bulk him up. Low MP is also an issue in a class that’s so skill-dependant, though accessories can help remedy that a bit. If he’s really in trouble during combat, one option is the unique Banshee Bayonet skill, which makes him untargetable until his next turn–though that applies to both enemies and allies. Overall, Hitman is an excellent offensive class that works well in almost every party configuration and situation.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Really fast and versatile beatdowns that are effective against a wide variety of foes. Highly recommended.
Gangster
Default/Exclusive class of Zhao
Do you like punching? Do you like stabbing? Well, with the Gangster class, you get to do both! Zhao’s an offensive monster as a Gangster, wielding both bashing blunt martial arts skills and slashing sword skills, including his standard attack. The damage is big, and with some skills, you can apply additional effects like defense down and bleeding, which is a nice bonus. With access to two attack types (some with debuffs attached) and high pure damage output, Gangster is perhaps the game’s most formidable attack class.
However, if you’re looking for anything more than pure offense, you definitely aren’t going to find it in this class. With no support or recovery skills, Zhao will be reliant entirely on items for healing and buffing options. Of course, you can take a bit of time to build some other jobs and carry the skills over to give him more options… or just add a larger variety of damage sources.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Offense, offense, and only offense. Be prepared to carry over some skills if you want anything besides damage dealing.
Barmaid
Barmaid
Default/Exclusive class of Saeko
Barmaid might just be the most mediocre default job in the game. It’s got a decent mix of single-target offensive skills and self-buffs, and several of the attacks also have various debuffs or status ailments attached. However, a severe lack of multi-target attacks and damage variety really hurts, as does the inability to provide support to anyone except herself. It’s not the worst job, but it’s really hard to justify using this over many better women-only classes. Early-game Saeko is better off as an Idol for support, and late-game Saeko can get better offensive character skills from jobs like Night Queen and Gambler, making the Barmaid feel mostly irrelevant.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Not a particularly noteworthy job. Saeko won’t be hurt much if you switch out of it right away.
Clerk
Clerk
Default/Exclusive class of Eri
Eri is the game’s only optional party member, and she comes into the party with this job in tow. But despite her demure appearance, the swift-acting Clerk is capable of a lot of serious pain. Eri wields office work implements as weapons of mass destruction, including deadly boxcutters that deal slash-type damage with normal attacks. Her skills offer a bit more attack variety, with both blunt and slashing techniques at her disposal, almost all of which can cause various status afflictions. Even better, her Rolling Kick skill gets extra damage on enemies with status ailments.
Much like Zhao’s default class, however, Clerk is heavy on the offense and light on most everything else. It comes with a self-recovery skill, but that’s about it. And aside from Thumbtack Scatter–which is quite good–the job lacks AOE attacks. But when she’s hitting fast and hard with damaging attacks and very potent status afflictions, these aren’t as big of issues as they might sound.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Excellent damage and debuff potential. Make every day secretary’s day!
Male-Only Jobs
Breaker
Breaker is similar to the Hitman class in that it’s built around doing lots of damage very quickly. It is indeed quite fun to smash enemies with a barrage of funky-fresh dance moves! Some skills have a random chance to grant self-buffs in addition to dealing damage, which is nice. The final two skills, Essence of Rolling Mixer and Essence of Breakdance Delight, do excellent double duty as attack skills that remove status ailments and restore party HP.
The big issue with Breaker, however, is a severe lack of variety. What makes Hitman so good is the ability to use different damage types depending on the situation. In contrast, all of the Breaker’s attacks deal blunt damage, meaning that if you’re up against enemies who resist that kind of damage, the Breaker’s effectiveness is severely hampered. Low defense also puts a character at risk if the enemy lands a few lucky hits. The two character skills you can learn, Atlas Hold and Double Hatchet, can carry over well into other classes due to their self-buff capabilities, but beyond that, it’s hard to recommend staying as a Breaker for extended periods of time… unless you know that forthcoming encounters will be solved primarily by punches and kicks to the face.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: This class would be fantastic if you had access to more than one type of damage. As it is, it’s good but not amazing.
Foreman
Foreman
As you might expect from a job that wields a giant wrecking hammer, Foreman is a class with great offense. You’ll learn a bunch of hammer-based attack skills that target both single enemies and groups, along with a handful of fire-based magic explosive attacks. It’s a solid class in terms of defense, too: levelling the job will give you boosts to both HP to absorb hits and MP to use all of your skull-crushing skills. (You also get an extra 30% bullet/pierce resistance as a nice little bonus, though this damage is much less common for enemies to use than slash damage.)
The Foreman’s biggest drawback, however, is that it’s quite slow. Not just in terms of raw stats either: many of the best skills, like Master Hammer, take an extra turn before they activate, meaning that there’s plenty of time for the enemies to react or interrupt. Still, when the attacks land, they hurt a lot. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you want to chance playing the waiting game, especially when other classes can deal a good amount of damage without having to charge up.
Also, take note: You’ll want to switch Kasuga to this class at least once, even if you never plan on using it for him. You get an exploration skill, Demolish, which will allow you to break down certain walls. If you plan on exploring the optional underground dungeon, this skill is mandatory.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Not a bad class, but difficult to use in certain situations. Patience and foresight are a must if you want the Foreman to be effective.
Musician
Musician
The Musician’s a weird one. It’s kind of a support class, but also kind of an attack class. Its gameplan revolves around raising “Voltage,” which can be randomly gained after executing certain skills, and then using other skills that get damage boosts based on how much Voltage you have. It’s a fun idea, and who doesn’t love the idea of singing your way to victory through buff-granting tunes? But re-read that sentence above–you randomly gain Voltage. With most skills, it’s not guaranteed, and the only skill where it is guaranteed is a counter technique that requires a different random factor to work. If you want to use the Musician to its fullest, you’ll be stuck using a bunch of standard skills, some you might not need, and crossing your fingers that you get that voltage boost. (There’s also another gimmicky skill, Album Drop, that increases in power not through voltage, but through how many members of the active party are Musicians. It’s quite unlikely you’ll want more than one.)
However, it may be worth spending time as a Musician simply for the character skills, both of which are very good. Endless Desire gives the entire party a health-regeneration buff, while Be my Shelter is a skill that restores MP–a valuable rarity.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Fun, but really gimmicky. There are better options for both damage and support.
Host
Host
Host is a unique hybrid physical/magic class that does a lot of different things. You’ve got pure blunt damage in the form of techniques like Birthday Bash. You’ve got elemental, status-afflicting skills like Sparkling Splash (which can cause drunkenness and cold), and Rose Stinger (a fire-based skill that can cause charm). And then you’ve got several skills that can steal items from the enemy, if you feel like trying to nab some rare goodies. Top it all off with an MP restore on your regular attacks and you’ve got a good job that covers several bases. The champagne bottles the Host can equip also come with elemental or status-afflicting properties, too, leading to even more strategic possibilities.
Of course, the “jack-of-several-trades” nature means that there isn’t really one area the Host excels in, but in terms of sheer utility, it’s a fine job to have. Perhaps its biggest downside is that the two Character Skills–Ice Bucket and Secret Cocktail–are kind of mediocre in comparison to what other classes give. It’s also worth noting that some Host skills overlap with similar techniques Kasuga learns from the business management minigame and gaining levels, making the class a bit less valuable for him compared to other characters.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Host might not be the best job for every situation, but it’s rarely a bad one. A solid complement to many party configurations.
Bodyguard
Bodyguard
Let’s be upfront: this job is bad. However, it can dish out a lot of damage–skills and normal attacks are slash damage, which can add the bleed status condition to enemies. The bodyguard also has high-damage skills that inflict lots of pain on foes at the cost of the user’s own HP.
But the bodyguard has issues–lots of them. Much like how the Freelancer’s and Breaker’s attacks are entirely blunt, all of the bodyguard’s techniques are slashing damage, which reduces their effectiveness if you’re facing a resistant foe. Bleed is a decent gradual-damage status effect, but it doesn’t restrict a foe’s actions like other, better status ailments do, and the need to live on the edge with low HP and MP to get the most out of certain techniques is a severe demerit that’s also rather luck-dependent. (The low-HP-based attack, Diehard Skewer, also damages you as a side effect, making using it even riskier!) You’ll need lots of support skill users to back up this high-maintenance, high-risk job, and ultimately it’s just not worth the stress.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: A job that looks and sounds cooler than it actually is. You can skip this one.
Enforcer
Enforcer
The fact that this class carries a gigantic shield and wears riot gear should clue you in that Enforcers are built for defense. As this job’s level grows, the characters in it will receive considerable buffs to health and defense, though they will lag behind in other areas like speed and dexterity. Speed isn’t the point here, however–the Enforcer exists to soak up damage and strike back with some potent attacks, including the extremely useful (and painful) electric-based Paralysis Prongs. Transfer Shield comes in handy in battles where you want to protect a certain character, as the defense debuffs the Enforcer will get from using the skill are offset by their stat boosts. Adachi in particular is a perfect fit for the Enforcer class: his base stats are naturally tank-y, and he can carry over Detective skills that further help draw aggro onto him and leave enemies stunned.
The Enforcer has one huge drawback, however. Weapons for this class are extremely hard to come by, as most shops in the game don’t stock shields, and the basic starting shield is… not great. Until you find or craft a better shield, the Enforcer’s damage output is going to be lacking, making it hard to recommend switching into this class immediately. Nobody wants a tank that can’t fire back.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Enforcer is a superb tank job worth exploring. Provided you’ve got the weapons and time to make it shine, of course.
Chef
Chef
The chef excels at two things: sharp implements and fire, with a peppering of blunt damage to top it all off. That’s a pretty nice mix of damage! Add in some extra agility and magic boosts, and you have a solid hybrid offense class that can whip up a good helping of hurting. The bleeding and burning status effects many of these skills can cause are a nice little side dish, too!
The only downside? This class is strictly offense-based, with nary a support or healing skill to be found, so you’ll either be reliant on items for healing or need to carry over skills from elsewhere. Also, since Nanba has access to many fire skills in his Homeless Guy class, this class may be of slightly less benefit to him. (Though the boosts to magic power are quite nice.)
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: Slice, dice, tenderize, and toast. A very good offensive job with a nice ability mix.
Fortuneteller
Fortuneteller
Fortuneteller is the dedicated support class for male characters, and it’s pretty mediocre. It’s got a decent enough mix of skills that buff allies and inflict bad status on enemies. However, the two character skills you can learn from the Fortuneteller class are particularly good: Soul Tether revives a KO’ed party, and Fulminating Forecast is a very strong AOE lighting magic skill.
However, there are a lot of classes in YLAD that have support, debuff, and status-inflicting skills, and a lot of them come with higher damage output or a more versatile toolkit. The Idol job in particular outclasses Fortuneteller in every way, having great healing skills, bad-status-causing strikes, and buff and debuff abilities. Consider learning the job for the character skills, but leave the support to the dancing girls.
TWO SENTENCE SUMMARY: A lot of classes have support skills, so Fortuneteller winds up feeling unnecessary a lot of the time. The character skills are really good, though!
Women-Only Jobs
Idol
Idol
If you want a ray of sunshine in the dark dregs of battle, you’re going to want an Idol in your party. Idols do three things extremely well: they give attack buffs, they heal the party’s HP and status ailments, and they stick particularly potent status ailments on enemies. For example, charm is among Like a Dragon’s best status afflictions for crowd control, since it prevents an enemy from doing anything until it wears off–and one of the Idol’s starting skills is Smash Step, an attack that can inflict Charm. After a few levels, you’ll get a skill called Magical Song that heals the whole party for a huge chunk of HP, which is practically essential for some of the harder fights.
Gear for the Idol is easily available, and some of it grants higher odds of status ailment affliction–be sure to make good use of that. Top things off with the ability to recover MP with normal attacks and you’ve got a class that’s on top of the world. Sure, you have somewhat lower HP and defense, but that’s not too hard to compensate for. Besides, it’s not like enemies can hit you when you’ve got them wrapped around your pinky with charm, right?
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: The best support class, bar none. Idols will make your combat experience much happier.
Hostess
Hey, it’s the female version of the Host job, and that job’s good… so this should be good, right? Sadly, Hostess does not have quite the mostest. Gone are many of the fire skills and item thievery techniques, replaced with some decent slash skills and support boosts. Many of the Hostess’s attacks have status afflictions and debuffs built in, which is also a nice benefit.
One big drawback is that most of the Hostess’s skills are single-target, making it extremely bad at crowd control in a game where the vast majority of encounters involve large crowds. The support skills are nice, but if it’s strong support you want, you really should go for the Idol instead. The hostess’s skill variety is useful earlier in the game, but the further you get, the less appealing the class becomes.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: It’s like the Host class, but not as good. Decent, but nothing too special, and its deficiencies become more prominent the further into the game you get.
Night Queen
Night Queen
Night Queen is a job that’s all about laying down some physical pain while potentially winning the enemy’s heart in the process. A Night Queen has access to a variety of single-and multi-target blunt-force strikes with the potential for additional damage effects like brainwash, KO, and burn. Literally every single one of her strikes has a possible status ailment attached to it, making her into a highly offensive mistress.
So what’s the problem? Being an attack-focused class isn’t necessarily bad, but the Night Queen’s focus is limited compared to what other women-only classes have to offer. Both the Clerk and the Dealer can inflict a good amount of damage while having access to either multiple kinds of attacks and/or the potential for additional damage. Brainwash is great, when it works… which is never as often as you’d like it to. Still, the two character skills–Somersault Leg and Candle Rush–are excellent AOE attacks, and it’s worth exploring this class if you want more multi-target options for Saeko and Eri. Night Queen isn’t terrible on its own, but it’s hard to advocate for in the face of more versatile options.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: If you like causing pain, this job’s for you. The character skills that carryover are great as well.
Dealer
Dealer
If Bodyguard is a job that sounds cooler than it actually is, Dealer is the opposite. The in-game description sounds like the worst kind of random, gimmicky nonsense that would make it more of a liability than anything. But in actuality, the Dealer is pretty great. In this class, you’ll have access to attack skills that cover all three types of physical damage, but with a bit of a twist: there’s almost always some element of randomness to them. Whether it’s the possibility of boosted damage (Card Sharp) or an AOE piercing attack with randomly selected targets (Darts Airstrike), there’s always an unknown variable involved. Lucky Dice and Unlucky Dice will raise and lower random party member and enemy stats, respectively, adding some support potency to this job as well.
However, what makes the Dealer good is that even when the cards aren’t great, you still inflict a decent amount of pain. There are no self-harming drawbacks like the Bodyguard, nor do you have to spend precious turns trying to build a gauge like the Musician. When the chips are down, the Dealer has a strong potential to pull off an upset.
TWO-SENTENCE SUMMARY: It’s gimmicky, but more often it’s an effective job with variety. Surprisingly versatile, too!
The PlayStation 5 may come with a 825 GB SSD, but that doesn’t mean you can use it all. In fact, there’s only 667 GB of precious storage for your games. Given that some AAA titles regularly clock in over 100 GB (we’re looking at you, Call of Duty), and PlayStation 5 games can’t be moved onto an external hard drive, let alone be played from one, that’s going to fill up fast.
SSD storage is coming for the PlayStation 5 eventually, but it’s not available at launch, so in this video, we give you our top tips to save space on your console. From specific Trophy settings to turn off to game prioritization to, crucially, ensuring that you’re putting your PlayStation 4 games on a USB hard drive, there are many things you can do to get the most out of your PlayStation 5’s internal storage.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has a few endings to its single-player campaign mode. Players are given the option to save the world by preventing a nuclear war, or teaming up with Perseus to commence the launch and deter the Americans to a dead end. Throughout the story, you’re given many options to progress the way you want. But when it comes to this final mission, a lot more is at stake and your actions are a matter of life or death. Here’s how your options break down.
After some mental interrogation, your character Bell wakes up and finds themselves with Adler and the American team. You’re strapped to a chair and given one choice: Tell Adler the truth about Perseus’ location and help prevent a nuclear catastrophe, or lie to him, divert the American team to another location, and help Perseus vaporize all of Europe. If you tell Adler the truth, you get the canonical ending where you, Mason, Woods, and Adler head to the Solovetsky islands and stop the launch from happening. Perseus escapes but America wins this fight and saves all of Europe.
Lying to Adler sends you to the Duga array in the Ukraine- a distraction for Perseus to start the launch with no Americans in his way. If you unlocked the secret door in Hudson’s base prior to this mission, you also have a chance to not only turn your back on the US team, but plan an ambush that leads to the deaths of Woods, Mason, Kim and Adler by your own hands. Once the US team is killed, you and the mysterious man (who turns out NOT to be Perseus) launch the nukes and blame the United States. Be on the lookout for GameSpot’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War coverage with its upcoming review and guides to both multiplayer and zombies mode.
After months of anticipation, Sony’s PS5 is finally out now. Although it’s only just now getting into the hands of eager fans, we’ve had the chance to interface with the console for quite some time. In our testing, we began to consider what Sony could do to further improve its next-generation console, whether it be through firmware updates or future hardware iterations.
Below we detail our biggest wishes for PS5 after using the console for a few weeks and what we think would help the PS5 shine even brighter than it already does. As a note, this article is focused more on the console from a feature-set or quality-of-life standpoint, so don’t expect any wishes about specific game franchises coming back.
After you’re done reading, be sure to jump into the comments to share your biggest wishes for the console moving forward. If you’re still on the fence about buying one, read our PS5 review. And if you’re looking to get a PS5, be sure to check out our PS5 buying guide, where we offer the latest updates on which retailers have the console back in stock.
Add Folder Organization
When you first open up your PS5 library, it’s quite the sight to behold with all your game icons laid out in such a tidy manner. But while it’s nice to view your collection in this way, you may find yourself wanting to organize it further into sections based on your preferences. Unfortunately, PS5 currently doesn’t have any folder options you can use to customize or manage how your games are laid out. It’s an odd look for PS5, seeing as it’s something the PS4 can already do. Here’s to hoping we’ll get folders, or maybe something even more useful!
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PlayStation 5 Video Review
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We don’t want this to become a list of features that Xbox Series X/S but PS5 doesn’t. That said, we feel that Quick Resume–which allows you to bounce between multiple games without having to boot each one from scratch–is something that would be cool to see Sony implement into the PS5. How feasible that is to do from a technical standpoint is unclear, and the feature is certainly more of a luxury than a necessity. But we still feel passionately that PS5 could benefit from such functionality in the future, particularly if it can address some of our gripes with how it works on Series X/S.
Store PS5 Games On External Storage
Okay, one more thing that Xbox has: Gosh darn it, the option to store PS5 games on external storage sure would be nice! As is, there’s not a lot of wiggle room on the internal drive, and with game install sizes being pretty massive these days, it can fill up pretty quickly. Letting you install PS5 games on an external would be an enormous help for people who have to worry about slow internet speeds and data caps. And luckily, it does seem like Sony has heard people’s pleas, and is looking to address this issue in a future update.
Make Older PlayStation Games Available On PSN
In the months leading up to launch, Sony said it didn’t have time to make the PS5 backwards compatible with PS3, PS2, and PS1 games, and it was a total bummer. While PS4’s library is outstanding, it still feels like a missed opportunity for the company not to include older PlayStation generations in its backwards compatibility list. That said, running older-generation PlayStation software on new hardware is no easy task when we’re talking about Sony getting its oldest games to run on PS5 just by inserting the discs alone. Who knows if Sony will commit to adding such a capability to the console in future models.
For some reason, the PS5 library menu defaults icons for cross-gen games to the PS4 versions.
But if we inevitably can’t play old PlayStation games that way until a new console version arrives, then we’re hoping that Sony will re-release some of its most highly-regarded classics on PSN via emulation, much like what it did on PS4 with its “PS2 Classics” series. Heck, it’s possible to run those PS2-on-PS4 games on PS5 via backward compatibility, and you can even access a decent catalog of PS2 and PS3 games using PS Now. If you’re really looking to play old games on PS5, there are a few ways to do so–it’s just a bit scattered.
So, our biggest wish in all this talk about playing old PlayStation games on PS5 is for Sony to unify its approach to making previous-gen games available to play. Perhaps new classic games from PS1 to PS3 can be sold on PSN under a new banner. Or better yet, maybe all these games get clumped into Sony’s PlayStation Plus Collection. Whatever the company chooses to do, all we want to do is play its older games on its latest platform.
An Easier Way To Access Your Trophy List
Given the relatively seamless all-in-one interface allowed by the PS5’s Control Center, it’s a bit disappointing that there’s no easier way to check the Trophy list for the game being played. As it stands, you can’t seem to quickly pull up the list for the game like on the PS4. You can only access it by going to the Trophy menu directly.
It’s also far too tedious to sift through the Trophies, as Sony decided to give each Trophy a flashier design than the basic list on the PS4. It certainly makes you feel like a champion when you earn one, but it’s a chore to look through the whole list.
Fix PlayStation 5 Games Defaulting To PS4 Versions
On PS5, if you’ve got a game like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales that’s available on both PS5 and PS4, you can choose which version you want to download. However, the PS5 often defaults to downloading PS4 versions of cross-generation games when they appear in your library. When you highlight a cross-gen game in the Library tab, it’s typically the PS4 version, and not the PS5 version, at first glance–although the difference isn’t made visually clear. To get to the next-gen version, you actually have to hit the button with the three dots that appear when you select a game to pull up a menu where you can choose between and download each version.
It’s easy to forget, but PS4 did have PS2 games you could play via emulation.
We’re hoping that Sony patches this up because this interface issue persists even after you download the proper PS5 versions. Repeatedly during pre-release testing, we had PS5 apps that we’d already played switch their icons back over to PS4 versions on the home screen, which prompted the menu to start a download of the PS4 version every time we selected it, rather than just start playing the PS5 version.
Honestly, it seems like this issue might be tied to how some games get automatic updates, but again, if you’re moving quickly through the UI, you can start a download accidentally that’ll instantly need to delete. And if you have both versions of a game installed, it’s very easy to start the wrong one and not realize it, which has become increasingly frustrating the more we’ve had it happen. For more about our thoughts and frustrations around this UI issue, check out our feature detailing our experiences.
If you grew up in the 1990s, you might have fond memories of the Disney Afternoon programming block, which included classic Disney cartoons like Ducktales, Talespin, Gargoyles, and–most importantly–Darkwing Duck. Now, Disney’s vigilante superhero is coming back on Disney+, according to a report from Variety.
A reboot of the animated series is in early development and, while a writer has not been found, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, and Alex McAtee will produce. Rogen and Goldberg are also developing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles CG-animated feature.
Darkwing Duck debuted in 1991, with 91 episodes airing across three seasons. Most of us Elder Millennials remember Darkwing Duck from the aforementioned syndicated Disney Afternoon animation block.
The premise of the show was a parody of vigilante heroes like The Shadow and Batman; Darkwing had all kinds of gadgets and villains that would’ve fit in fine in the Golden and Silver ages of comic books. Darkwing frequently dropped phrases like “I am the terror that flaps in the night,” reminiscent of catch phrases like “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” and “I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman!” The show frequently lampooned pop culture, even spending an entire episode on a detailed Twin Peaks parody.
Since then, Darkwing has lived on in comic books and has appeared in the ongoing Ducktales reboot airing on Disney XD, which features actors like David Tennant, Danny Pudi, and Ben Schwartz in major roles. Voice actor Chris Diamantopoulos voiced the character on Ducktales, but there’s no word yet whether he’ll reprise his role here or even if the two shows will cross over like they did back in the Disney Afternoon days.
If you’re as jazzed about the Darkwing Duck reboot as we are, check out some of our galleries of your favorite cartoons.
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Working through the story campaign of Beyond Light, Destiny 2‘s latest expansion, will earn you the new Stasis ability–a power that lets you slow and freeze enemies to take them out of the fight and deal massive damage. To get the most out of the new abilities, though, you’ll need Aspects, equippable mods that give your Stasis subclass new abilities.
Your first Aspect comes from a quest late in the Beyond Light campaign, and you’ll need to hunt down collectibles called Entropic Shards to complete it. We’ve run down everything you need to do and to know in order to unlock your first Stasis Aspect, while also detailing the locations of every Entropic Shard currently found on Europa.
Unlock Stasis Aspects By Getting The Aspect Of Control Quest
First, work your way through the Beyond Light campaign. Defeat Eramis and continue on the Exo Stranger’s Born in Darkness quests until you’ve fully unlocked the Stasis subclass and its three grenades. There are a lot of parts to this, so it’ll take a bit.
Unlock The Salvation’s Grip Exotic Grenade Launcher
You’ll need Salvation’s Grip in order to gain the power to destroy Entropic Shards.
After defeating Eramis, you’ll unlock a new Exotic quest you can get from the Drifter in the Tower, called The Stasis Prototype. It’ll send you on a lengthy quest to steal the Fallen’s Stasis weapon technology. Check out our full Salvation’s Grip guide to find out how to get the gun–you’ll need it to complete the next step.
Entropic Shard Locations
After you finish with Born in Darkness and The Stasis Prototype, you’ll get a quest line called Aspect of Control. Your objective here is to destroy five Entropic Shards around Europa. These are smaller versions of the big diamond-shaped Cruxes of Darkness you’ve been communing with throughout the campaign. The only way to destroy them is using Salvation’s Grip, so make sure you bring it along.
The Entropic Shards are found in various places around Europa and are usually hidden. There are nine total Entropic Shards, but only eight are currently available in the world. Destroying them unlocks Triumphs and lore book entries, and counts toward earning the Beyond Light Triumph seal. Here’s where to find each shard.
Entropic Shard 1: Cadmus Ridge
Head to the west side of Cadmus Ridge, near the entrance to Bray Exoscience, to find your first shard. It’s snuggled up next to an ice shelf; look for a series of antennae on a platform above you in the middle of a small gap. The Entropic Shard is nearby, around a corner.
Your first Shard is out in the open, but snug in a corner and so easy to miss.Check the west corner of Cadmus Ridge, but at the lowest elevation you can get to.
Entropic Shard 2: Concealed Void
Next, go to Asterion Abyss and enter the Concealed Void Lost Sector there. Fight your way through the entire Lost Sector to the boss room, a bronze-colored Vex structure filled with Fallen. When it’s clear, look up in the center of the room to see the Entropic Shard floating high above you.
Look up in the boss room of the Concealed Void Lost Sector to find the Shard.You’ll need to go through the entire Lost Sector this time.
Entropic Shard 3: Asterion Abyss
Right outside the entrance of Concealed Void, you’ll find a blocky Vex structure. Climb on top of it–you can find an ice shelf that grants easy access on the east side. Head around to the west side to find the Shard, which is against one of the walls.
Approach the Vex structure from the east side to find an easy way up, then walk around to the west side to find the Shard.You’ll need to climb up above the entrance of Concealed Void, from the outside on the east, to find this Shard.
Entropic Shard 4: Bunker E15
Now head up to the Eventide Ruins area and enter the Bunker E15 Lost Sector, located roughly in the center of the region. Fight through the area until you get to a room with a big glass window that you’ll pass before you enter it. Inside are a whole bunch of Vex, along with three Vex cages with Braytech Security Frames locked inside. Eventually, a Vex Cyclops will spawn–that’s how you know you’re in the right place. From the spot where the Cyclops spawns, turn around and look back toward the entrance to the room, then up and into the corner. It’s tough to spot, but the Entropic Shard is nestled in the scaffolding of the ceiling.
When you hit the Vex Cyclops, check the corner of the room to find the Shard behind some scaffolding.You don’t need to get quite to the boss room of E15 to find this Shard.
Entropic Shard 5: Eventide Ruins
Head east from the Bunker E15 entrance, toward the exit of the path that carries you from Eventide Ruins to Asterion Abyss. Look for a building with a red cube structure on top and a sphere beside that. Approach from the south and look under the mangled steel frames to find a Shard hidden underneath–it’s another tough one to spot.
Look for mangled former buildings near the edge of the area. The Shard is hidden by all that debris.Your Shard is hidden by debris on the east side of Eventide Ruins, near the path to Asterion Abyss.
Entropic Shard 6: Riis-Reborn Approach
Head north toward Riis-Reborn and make your way through the city. You’ll go up a gravity lift to enter the area. Eventually, you’ll come to a room with two exits, one going left and one to the right. The right door is the one you want, and you should remember it being sealed with Stasis if you already opened it. Just beyond is another gravity lift. At the top, look underneath the scaffold walkway with the stairs to find the Shard.
Right after the second gravity lift in Riis-Reborn, hop over the walkway and check beneath it at the foot of the stairs to find the Shard.
Entropic Shard 7: Kell’s Rising
Keep following the path from the second gravity lift and you’ll soon come to another hallway with two paths–a door on the right and a corner that takes you to the left and more teleporters. Take the right doorway to enter Kell’s Rising, the main part of the city. You’ll have come through here during parts of the campaign, including the final mission to unlock Salvation’s Grip. You’ll have to keep moving through the city until you hit the point where you start to climb up on the rooftops. Continue forward, and you’ll eventually run out of places to go, stopping on a large open landing where you previously fought a Fallen spider tank. With your back to where you just came from, jump up onto the rooftop on the right side of the arena and check under the small staircase there to get your shard.
Take the right door at this fork to reach Kell’s Rising. To the left is Technocrat’s Iron.When you reach the end of the rooftops, jump up on the building on the right side.The Shard is under the stairs on the final rooftop.
Entropic Shard 8: Technocrat’s Iron
It’s a long walk to get the final shard. Head back through Kell’s Rising to that fork where you took the right door, and instead, follow the hallway around to the left. That’ll teleport you into Technocrat’s Iron, the factory you previously attacked and sabotaged during the campaign. Keep moving through the area, past the section with the railway tracks, until you hit the large dead-end arena at the end. This is a big boss room where you fought a huge Fallen brig, and you’ll know it by the four pillars standing around the center. As you enter, look up at the pillar closest you on the right. The last Shard hovers just beside it.
Look up at the pillar on the right as you enter to spot the Shard nearby
Return To The Exo Stranger
Once you have at least five Entropic Shards destroyed, return to the Stranger in the Beyond to finish the Aspect of Control quest. She’ll reward you with a Stasis Aspect; you’ll also unlock bounties from her that will earn you Stasis Fragments, which you can slot in with your Aspect for additional subclass changes and benefits.
You can earn two Fragments each week, so make sure to clear those quests and return to the Stranger frequently to give yourself all the Stasis power and options you can get.
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The first new update since the release of Destiny 2‘s Beyond Light expansion is here, and it’s a relatively minor one. While we’ve seen some serious issues cropping up, hotfix 3.0.0.2 resolves a variety of problems, including one that led to a gun being disabled.
Part of the big 3.0 update included changing fire rates on many weapons, and this update adjusts the Rose hand cannon (the one tied to the Exotic hand cannon Lumina) to have its intended 140 RPM firing rate. It had previously been set to 150 RPM, leading to the gun being temporarily disabled. Meanwhile, the Exotic grenade launcher Witherhoard remains disabled following this update.
For Xbox One and Series X/S players, the update addresses a crash when interacting with the Vault at the Tower, so you should have no need to fear diving into your library of items. Across all platforms, there are also unspecified backend changes related to stability.
In the new Exotic Archive, Heir Apparent has been removed from the Monument to Lost Lights. Additionally, a problem where the emblems that come with the Collectors Edition has been fixed, and that should now be properly granted and show up in Collections as intended.
You can read the full patch notes below for the update–which is out now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, and Stadia–or check out our guide on where to find Xur for his first trip of the Beyond Light era, and then check out our Beyond Light early review impressions for our thoughts on the new DLC expansion so far.
DESTINY 2 HOTFIX 3.0.0.2
GENERAL
Service Stability
Resolved an issue where Destiny 2 could crash when players interacted with the Vault in the Tower on Xbox consoles.
Implementing backend changes to improve Destiny 2 service stability.
Rewards
Adjusted Rose’s fire rate from 150 RPM to its intended 140 RPM.
Players may once again equip this legendary hand cannon.
Heir Apparent has been removed from the Monument to Lost Lights – Exotic Archive.
Resolved an issue where Collectors Edition emblems were not being granted or appearing in collections properly.
