Last year Los Angeles’ Anime Expo was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the organizers shifting focus to a 2021 event. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation’s Ray Chiang has now announced that the event will not go ahead in LA this year either, with the organization planning another “Anime Expo Lite” online event instead, as reported by Anime News Network.
“With the continued uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it is apparent that we will not be able to safely hold a physical show this July for Anime Expo 2021,” the statement by Chiang reads. “Anime Expo Lite will return on July 4th weekend! While we know that nothing can ever fully replicate the magic of in-person events, we recognize that online communities have long been an integral part of Anime Expo’s culture. Anime Expo has been streamed since 2017 and will continue to be part of the experience.”
2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the USA’s largest anime convention, and while there won’t be a physical event to mark the occasion, the SPJA has invited Anime Expo’s fans and past attendees to continue to use the hashtag #AnimeExpo30th to celebrate their memories of the convention throughout the year.
The SPJA hosted an Anime Expo Lite event online last year with over 50 hours of content including panels, interviews, and new announcements from game and anime-related companies including Square Enix, Crunchyroll, Viz Media, and more. The event saw over 500,000 views from virtual attendees spread across more than 70 countries.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Upon completing Outriders‘ prologue, you’ll be able to pick one of four classes. You need to choose carefully–your class is permanent (though you can adjust your character’s appearance whenever you want upon entering Outriders’ first hub area). In the following guide, we break down the benefits and drawbacks of the Devastator, Trickster, Pyromancer, and Technomancer so you can more easily decide which is right for you.
During the Outriders demo, you will be able to unlock the first four abilities of each class, giving you a pretty good idea of how they all play. While all four classes are geared towards fighting out in the open, they differ primarily in playstyle and methods. But each class isn’t entirely a cut-and-dried role; each possesses specializations that allow you to twist them into fulfilling specific squad-based roles.
The Devastator commands gravity, ripping apart the earth around them both as a means of protection and offense. This class excels in the heat of battle and its abilities allow it to take quite a bit of punishment before going down, possessing a 15% boost to maximum health and 30% increase to armor. If you typically play as the tank role in your group of friends, the Devastator is for you.
The Devastator’s first four abilities are Earthquake, Golem, Gravity Leap, and Reflect Bullets. Your two offensive abilities, Earthquake and Gravity Leap, do devastating amounts of damage–the former sends out a linear shockwave while the latter sees you fly into the air to select a target to careen into like a murderous meteor. In both cases, you’re doing a lot of area-of-effect damage and getting right into the thick of things, where the Devastator excels. Abilities such as Golem and Reflect Bullets ensure you’ll survive your consistent charges into battle. Golem pulls up the earth around you to act as a protective shell, while Reflect Bullets allows you to catch projectiles in midair and send them flying back at the fools who tried to shoot you.
Choosing to go with Devastator means you’ll be forgoing long-range weaponry. Devastators excel with shotguns, assault rifles, and light machine guns. Putting points into the Vanquisher skill tree will boost your effectiveness with these firearms. If you prefer to become the ultimate tank that soaks up damage like it’s nothing, invest in the Warden tree. Seismic Shifter is the tree that’s most ideal for those looking to use the Devastator’s abilities more offensively and more often.
As a final note, every close range kill heals the Devastator by 24 percent of their maximum health (meaning you will have a higher chance of dying if you choose to run from a fight than stubbornly pushing towards it), and the class’ unique melee attack sends a shockwave that causes targets to bleed and take damage over time. All in all, the Devastator is a pretty simple and easy class to use, regardless of whether you’re playing through the game on solo or in a team.
Trickster – Rogue Class
If wielding gravity as a weapon isn’t your speed, then perhaps the Trickster and their command of time and space will be more appealing. This fragile but powerful class is Outriders’ take on the traditional rogue role, specializing in hit-and-run tactics. To help alleviate the pain, the Trickster gets a 5% increase to maximum health and 5% damage mitigation to shields. It’s honestly not much–if you go with this class, you’ll have to constantly be on the move and rolling out of the way of attacks. Sitting still for any moment will likely lead to death.
The Trickster’s first four abilities are Temporal Blade, Slow Trap, Hunt the Prey, and Twisted Rounds. As the Trickster is all about outmaneuvering enemies, you’ll likely always want Temporal Blade or Slow Trap (or both) equipped. Temporal Blade paralyzes and damages all enemies immediately in front of you, giving you time to roll out of harm’s way and reload. Slow Trap erects a small bubble that slows down all enemies and their projectiles inside it for 10 seconds, allowing you to more easily dodge melee swings and bullets. Hunt the Prey is a great ability for starting a fight or getting out of one, teleporting you behind an enemy and buffing your shields. Twisted Rounds is a straight damage buff, increasing the power of your gun’s bullets until you switch firearms or reload.
Because of how fragile the Trickster is, you’ll always want to be running, rolling, and shooting in quick bursts. This makes weapons like shotguns (especially auto shotguns), pistols, and submachine guns all effective choices. Master of Space is the skill tree you want to get greater use out of these firearms, though Harbinger is also a great choice–this tree will buff your health and survivability, large benefits for the Trickster. However, if you’re confident enough in your dodging skills, then put points into Assassin, a tree which will greatly boost your abilities.
Like the Devastator, the Trickster heals by killing at close range, though it only gets a boost of 20% of its maximum health per kill instead of 25%. To make up the difference, close range kills also grant 12% of your shield. If you’re in trouble and your abilities are on cooldown, remember to melee–the Trickster’s unique close-range attack will temporarily slow down the time of a target, giving you ample chance to escape or reload. The Trickster is also not a very difficult class to master, though its low survivability does mean that it will be much easier to use as part of a team than on your own.
Pyromancer – Spellcaster Class
The Pyromancer commands fire, existing as Outriders’ resident spellcaster. Like the Trickster, the Pyromancer is a fragile class. However, instead of mitigating that disadvantage with speed, it excels in outright firepower. In terms of just dealing damage with abilities, the Pyromancer is at the top of all four classes, getting a 10% boost to ability damage on top of its impressive repertoire of fiery moves.
The first four abilities for the Pyromancer are Heatwave, Feed the Flames, Thermal Bomb, and Overheat. As a mid-range class that doesn’t do very well at long-range and can get easily overwhelmed at close-range, having Heatwave or Feed the Flames (or both) will keep you alive. The first sends out a wave of flame that can push approaching enemies back, while the second pulls enemies in and suffocates them into place. Between the two, you’ll be able to keep targets in that ideal sweet spot where your other abilities can deal the most damage. Thermal Bomb is great–it deals a lot of damage, and if the target is killed within a few seconds, they’ll explode and do tons of damage to everything around them. If you’d rather share the pain, Overheat affects all enemies within a set radius, though it only does minor damage.
The Pyromancer is a bit of an outlier among the four classes. While the other three are all about using specific firearms and then amplifying their combat effectiveness with abilities, the Pyromancer is all about using abilities first and foremost. That said, guns are a good way to mop up stragglers you don’t manage to burn alive–consider using assault rifles and/or sniper rifles. In an ideal scenario, your enemies should never manage to get in close enough that you’d need something like a shotgun. If they ever do, that’s what your sidearm (or fire-based melee attack that burns enemies) is for. That said, you can invest in the Ruler of Ashes skill tree to improve the Pyromancer’s skills with firearms. Scorcher and Tempest may be better trees to invest in though, especially the latter, which includes the skill Phoenix Nestling, allowing you to rise from the dead upon being killed–an excellent boon to have for such a fragile class.
For lack of a better term, choosing to go with the Pyromancer is a slow burn. It’s a weak class at first, but it can quickly grow more powerful over time if you learn how to effectively use its abilities. Whenever the Pyromancer hits an enemy with an ability, the enemy becomes marked. Marks only remain for 15 seconds; if the enemy dies (either by falling victim to you or to an ally) while marked, you’re healed by 24% of your maximum Health. This means you can’t just kill targets to get your health back like the Devastator or Trickster–you need to be strategic and try to only kill enemies after you’ve marked them. This makes the Pyromancer rather tough to use until you’ve unlocked several abilities, especially if you’re playing solo. If you’re willing to endure the learning curve until you unlock more abilities and master the necessary skills for keeping enemies not too close and not too far, it’s a powerful class. But maybe only go for Pyromancer if you’re experienced with shooters or you’re planning to play through Outriders with friends.
Technomancer – Support Class
Technomancers pull together pieces of discarded and broken technology to form powerful gadgets like turrets, rocket launchers, and landmines. As most of their constructs are stationary, Technomancers need to always have a good view of the battlefield so they know where to best place and aim their abilities. This means that Technomancers excel at long-range. This class recovers a portion of its health simply by dealing damage, and the amount of damage it deals with its abilities and long-range firearms is amplified by 15%. If you’re more of a lone wolf that enjoys sniping targets from afar or supporting your teammates from a distance, then the Technomancer is for you.
The Technomancer’s first four abilities are Scrapnel, Cryo Turret, Pain Launcher, and Blighted Rounds. The first three abilities all serve the same purpose: keeping enemies off you while repositioning yourself to a new sniper perch. Scrapnel sees you throw out a proximity mine that deals explosive damage; Cryo Turret places an automated turret that deals damage and freezes enemies in place if they get too close; and Pain Launcher puts down a turret that fires a bunch of missiles in a straight line before falling apart. Similar to the Trickster’s Twisted Rounds, the Technomancer’s Blighted Rounds buff a gun until you switch it out or reload. However, instead of increased damage, Blighted Rounds add a poison buff to your bullets that inflict toxic on a target–toxic will slowly damage an enemy over time and will poison other enemies if they get too close.
Sniper rifles are your friend if you go with the Technomancer. Rely on your abilities (or your icy melee attack) to slow enemies down so that you can create some distance and then murder from afar. High-accuracy assault rifles can be helpful if you want something that shoots a little bit faster for when enemies begin to crowd you, but ideally, careful ability management should ensure it never has to come to that. The Pestilence skill tree will boost your effectiveness with long-range weapons, even decreasing the distance for an attack to count as long-range. If you want to take on a bit more of a summoner role, go with the Tech Shaman tree, which will increase the effectiveness of the turrets you summon to help you fight. And if you’re looking for more of a middle ground between the two, then put points into the Demolisher tree.
The Technomancer is the hardest class to use, primarily because it’s geared more towards supporting other players. When you’re on your own, this puts you at a pretty severe disadvantage, especially within enclosed spaces where it’s more difficult to create room between you and a target. If you plan on going with Technomaner, be prepared to face a tough uphill battle in lots of fights. This, of course, doesn’t apply if you’re playing with a friend. With a partner or two, the Technomancer becomes one of the easier classes to play. While the Devastator or Trickster jump into the thick of things and the Pyromancer controls the flow of the battleground, the Technomancer can pick off stragglers from a distance or utilize its assortment of abilities to quickly aid an overwhelmed teammate. Plus, the Technomancer’s ability to freeze targets comes in clutch during harrowing moments, slowing down enemies long enough to revive downed allies, give teammates time to reload or recharge their abilities, or simply regroup after a failed assault.
A new high-resolution texture pack is coming for Warzone and Modern Warfare players on PS4 Pro, PS5, and Xbox Series X. The texture pack is the third to be made available, and players will receive an automatic prompt asking if they want to download it after the next update.
As reported by VG247, the pack is 8.4GB on PlayStation consoles, and while the size on Xbox Series X hasn’t been reported yet, it’s likely to be similar. With the file size of Warzone and Modern Warfare already incredibly large, players should make sure they have the space to spare before downloading.
File sizes on the recent Call Of Duty games have expanded so much that Activision recently had to warn players that Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Black Ops Cold War would no longer fit all together on a 500GB PS4 with all extra content installed.
The new texture pack “supports the most detailed textures for weapons and Operators,” according to the description on the download page.
The texture pack is just for Modern Warfare and its battle royale spinoff, Warzone–despite the launch of a new season of Warzone based around Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. The new season is running concurrently in both Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, and includes an ongoing “Outbreak” zombie event. Check out the details of the Season 2 update here.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
The live-action Pinocchio remake for Disney+ continues to fill out its cast.
Cynthia Erivo will play the role of the Blue Fairy for the film, per The Wrap. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was also announced as the voice of Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio’s wisecracking companion. Other casting news includes Keegan Michael-Key as Honest John, the swindling fox antagonist, and Lorraine Bracco as Sofia the Seagull, a new character that did not appear in Disney’s 1940 original animated film.
They join a cast led by Tom Hanks as Gepetto and Luke Evans as The Coachman. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth will voice Pinocchio.
Director Robert Zemeckis, who worked with Hanks on films like Forrest Gump and Cast Away, is helming the project. Production is set to begin this month and the film will debut on Disney Plus. No release date has been announced yet.
Gordon-Levitt is known for his roles in The Dark Knight Rises, Inception and Looper. Last year, he starred in The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Project Power. Erivo starred in Bad Times at the El Royale and Widows. More recently, she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in 2019’s Harriet.
Pinocchio is just one of several live-action remakes that Disney is planning for both theatrical and streaming releases. Emma Stone stars in Cruella, an origin story for the 101 Dalmations villain, which is set to hit theaters on May 28. Other upcoming projects include a follow-up to The Lion King directed by Barry Jenkins and a Beauty and the Beast prequel series. Disney unveiled many live-action reimaginings during the company’s Investor Day last December.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.
Nintendo is allegedly set to reveal a new model of the Nintendo Switch with a bigger Samsung OLED display later this year that will be able to output 4K ultra-high definition graphics when in docked mode.
As reported by Bloomberg, Nintendo is planning to unveil this new model in hopes that the “larger touchscreen can prop up demand in time for the holidays.”
Samsung Display Co. will start mass production of 7-inch, 720p-resolution OLED panels as early as June 2021 with an “initial monthly target of under a million units.” These displays would then be sent to assemblers in July.
For reference, the current Nintendo Switch model features a 6.2-inch, 720p-resolution screen. This new screen would look as if you extended the current Switch’s screen that replaced most of the black bezel around it.
“The OLED panel will consume less battery, offer higher contrast and possibly faster response time when compared to the Switch’s current liquid-crystal display,” said Yoshio Tamura, co-founder of display consultancy DSCC.
The report also claims that Nintendo has decided to go with rigid OLED panels for this new model, a “cheaper but less flexible alternative to the type commonly used for high-end smartphones.”
IGN asked several industry analysts about their predictions on when and if we’d see a new Switch in 2021 or beyond, and the responses are range from no Switch pro this year to one possible coming before the year ends.
Guilty Gear Strive developer Arc System Works has announced plans to delay the launch of the next game in the series to June 11, 2021. This was announced shortly after the completion of the playable beta on PlayStation consoles, which allowed players to face off in multiplayer matches with a select number of playable fighters.
This is the second time that Guilty Gear Strive has been delayed. Originally planned for a late 2020 release, the developers delayed the game to April 9, 2021 in light of the added challenge of game development during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the developer’s statement, it was made clear that more work was needed in order to get the game to where it needed to be for its full launch.
“Since we have received valuable feedback after the recent Open Beta Test, we would like to make the most of this opportunity to provide the best game possible,” says the statement. “We need extra time to polish some aspects of the game, such as the online lobbies and the server’s stability.”
The response to the open beta was generally positive. However, a common topic of criticism was the approach to online lobbies, which made getting matches going a bit of a difficulty for players. According to the statement, Arc System works will be taking in this feedback to put some more work into it.
Recently, Arc System Works revealed the final character for Guilty Gear Strive’s launch lineup of 15 fighters, which sees the return of the time-traveling witch I-No. For more on Guilty Gear Strive, be sure to check back in with GameSpot for more updates on the state of the game.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Guilty Gear Strive has been delayed until June 11, pushing it two months further back from its previous April 9 date.
ArcSystemWorks made the announcement Wednesday evening, citing feedback from the fighting game’s recent open beta test. ArcSystemWorks says they will use the extra two months to focus on improving online lobbies and server stability.
“We believe it best to use the extra time to improve the game’s quality and provide a better experience to all our players. Thank you for your patience and understanding,” ArcSystemWorks said.
Guilty Gear Strive, ArcSystem’s eagerly anticipated next installment in the popular anime-style fighting game series, has already received a relatively positive reception from the fighting game community. FGC members like Justin Wong and Jiyuna have praised the open beta’s netcode, saying it’s allowed for matches with international opponents with little to no lag.
One of the more common criticisms out of Strive’s beta was the game’s lobby system, a confusing social space wherein players must first find other players, whip out a sword signaling their willingness to fight, and then essentially hope the other player doesn’t back out. In short, many players saw it as more obtuse than even what’s come before in previous ArcSystems games, like Dragon Ball FighterZ.
Guilty Gear Strive was also previously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing it out of a 2020 release date. If you’re eager for more 2D/3D fighting goodness, here’s 25 minutes of high-level gameplay from the Strive beta.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN, and his heart is still blazing.
Nintendo will reportedly reveal a new version of its Switch that features a bigger OLED display created by Samsung and will output at 4K when docked and connected to a TV. The model, according to Bloomberg, will be unveiled this year and Samsung will begin mass production of the new seven-inch screen “as early as June.”
The OLED display panel will output at 720p resolution, according to Bloomberg, which cites people familiar with plans. Nintendo is said to be working to maintain interest around the Switch, as well as continue to sell software competitively against Xbox and PlayStation.
Reports of a more powerful version of the Switch have been floating around for some time now. In January a dataminer noted that a firmware update issued by Nintendo references an upgraded Switch console codenamed Aula. This ugpraded model allegedly uses the Mariko (Tegra X1+) SoC chip that was implemented with the Switch Lite and updated 2019 regular model Switches. Additionally, the firmware mentioned support for a Realtek chip, which has been advertised as a “4K UHD multimedia SoC.”
The same dataminer noted that it’s likely the new Switch’s display will not be a higher resolution when in handheld mode, and that the 4K chip may be located in the dock instead of the tablet itself. Bloomberg’s reports indicates this could be the case too.
The Switch is now in its fifth year and been a huge success for Nintendo. Sales of the handheld/home console hybrid reached over 68 million units sold as of September 2020.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
The Swamp is likely the third biome you’ll explore as you work your way through Valheim, and it’s significantly more deadly than the forests and meadows you’ve spent time in before. There’s a lot to find and a lot to avoid in the Swamp, and if you’re not prepared, you can find yourself struggling to stay alive and get the resources you need back to safety. We’re here to lay out everything you need to know about the Swamp, from what to expect from its enemies, to the things you’ll need to pilfer in order to continue your advancement through Valheim.
You’ll spend a lot of time in the Meadows and Black Forest biomes in Valheim’s early game, but the Swamp biome is a little tougher to track down. You’ll find this area along the coasts of various islands, usually attached to Black Forest. On your map, it’ll appear a mottled brown and black, indicating the flooded land; from a distance, you’ll know the Swamp biome by its bare, gnarled trees and the glowing green Guck resource stuck to many of them.
Swamp Resources
There are a few key later-game items to find in swamps that make them worth exploring, though they can be extremely dangerous to navigate if you’re unprepared. The enemies there drop a number of useful items you’ll need for late-game consumables, including mead and foods such as Sausage. Venturing into the Swamp is also where you get Iron, the next material you need to upgrade your armor, weapons, and equipment.
Here’s what you can find in the Swamp biome:
Iron – Found in Sunken Crypts
Entrails – Dropped by Draugrs; used to make Sausage
Bloodbags – Dropped by Leeches; used in Frost Resistance Mead
Ooze – Dropped by Blobs; used for making poison arrows and Ooze Bombs
Guck – Found in green pods attached to trees
Ancient Wood – Found by chopping down Ancient Trees
Iron Chains – Found in Sunken Crypts and dropped by Wraiths; used for Forge upgrades and in Wolf Armor
Surtling Cores – Dropped by Surtlings; used to make Kilns, Smelters, and Portals
Thistles – Found growing throughout Swamps; used to make mead and Sausage
Withered Bones – Used to summon Bonemass
Swamp Enemies
The swamps are home to some dangerous creatures, most notably because a bunch of them can inflict you with poison, which can do devastating damage over time. Here’s what you’ll face in the Swamp biome.
Skeletons
Like in the other biomes, skeletons have either swords and shields or bows. They’re not especially strong in the Swamp, but their arrows can be a pain when you’re battling other enemies.
Draugrs
These zombie-like fighters are tougher than skeletons and can do a lot more damage. Parrying them can make them easier to take down, but beware of the ones with bows especially, because they can do a lot of damage and be tough to avoid.
Blobs
These green masses of goo can be unpredictable as they jump toward you. They’re also more willing to go underwater than most enemies. Blobs don’t hit very hard but if you get close to them, they’ll release a poisonous cloud, so try to keep your distance from them and take them out with your bow. Higher-level red blobs will split into two smaller green ones when killed.
Leeches
Watch out for these big black monsters in the waterways of the swamp. They’re not especially dangerous because they can’t leave the water, but if they get you while you’re too close, you’ll be poisoned. Leeches can also wreak havoc on your boats and sink rafts pretty easily, so stay clear of them. Since they can’t get out of the water, though, you can nail them with arrows pretty easily and collect the very useful Bloodbags they drop.
Wraiths
Wraiths are ghostly flying enemies, and they can be a real pain. They move very quickly as they cross land, making it tough to get away from them. If you can put some distance on them or spot them before they spot you, they’re fairly easy to drop with a bow and have no ranged attacks, however. If not, try to quickly melee them before they can do too much damage, as they hit hard when they’re up close.
How To Find Iron In Swamps
Look for Sunken Crypts in Swamps and make note of their locations, because they’re full of useful resources–Scrap Iron most of all.
The most important resource in the swamps is Scrap Iron, which you can use to make the next tier of gear after Bronze. You can’t just mine Iron out of the ground, however–you have to go to specific places in the swamps to find it and cut it from certain nodes. To get to those nodes, you need a particular item: the Swamp Key.
How To Get The Swamp Key And What It’s For
Scattered throughout the Swamp biomes are black dungeon entrances called Sunken Crypts. Like Burial Chambers in the Black Forest and Meadow biomes, these are underground areas where you’ll find chests, resources, and enemies. Sunken Crypts are the only places you can get Scrap Iron, but you can’t just walk into them like you can Burial Chambers, because Sunken Crypts are locked with iron gates. Opening those gates requires a Swamp Key.
To get the Swamp Key, you need to defeat The Elder, the boss of the Black Forest biome. It’s an especially hard boss to take down, but like everything in Valheim, summoning and defeating the Elder is an involved process. Check out our complete guide to beating the Elder for more details.
Once you’ve killed it, the boss will drop several Swamp Keys. you only need one, however, and you’ll be able to use it repeatedly to open any Sunken Crypts you come across.
How To Get Iron From Sunken Crypts
The Swamp Key will get you into the Sunken Crypts, but that’s only half the battle. You’ll still need to mine Scrap Iron. You’ll find it in the Muddy Scrap Pile nodes scattered throughout Sunken Crypts–these are usually big black piles of sludge that block doorways. Because they’ll be in your way a lot, they’re impossible to miss.
You’ll need a Bronze Pickaxe to mine Muddy Scrap Piles. Make sure you make the upgraded tool before you bother delving into Sunken Crypts, because you won’t get far without one. It’s also a good idea to take other players with you on your Sunken Crypt jaunts to help with any enemies you might encounter and to lug Iron out of the dungeon. Note also that you can’t teleport with Scrap Iron in your inventory, so if you’re at a distance from your base, you’ll likely want to bring a boat to take it back to where you can smelt it into Iron. Both Karves and Longships have storage bins in their decks, so you can dump some Scrap Iron on your boat and head back for another run, provided your pickaxe isn’t broken.
How To Find And Summon Bonemass
The boss of the Swamp biome is Bonemass, a giant blob that holds the Wishbone, a key item you need to continue venturing up Valheim’s tech tree. In order to kill Bonemass, you have to find it. Like the Elder, you’ll need to locate a rune stone that will mark Bonemass’s location on your map. You can find those rune stones hidden in Sunken Crypts, and if you’re already hunting for Scrap Iron, it’s likely you’ll identify Bonemass’s location along the way.
Once Bonemass’s location is marked on your map, you can summon the boss and take it down. The location marked on your map is a big skull-faced pit; if you sacrifice 10 Withering Bones there, you’ll draw the boss out for battle. You can find Withering Bones inside Sunken Crypts as well, either in Muddy Scrap Piles or in chests.
How To Beat Bonemass
Bonemass is strong against most physical damage types, but Blunt weapons like the Iron Mace can do a lot of damage. To keep your distance, though, use Frost arrows.
Bonemass is a tough boss because it’s highly mobile, constantly pursuing nearby players. It also hits hard and can inflict poison in a number of ways, most notably with a giant area-of-effect attack where it belches poisonous goo all over the battlefield. What’s more, Bonemass triggers rain during the fight, which gives your character the wet effect and thus reduces your ability to regain Health and Stamina.
Ahead of the fight, it’s a good idea to craft Poison Resistance Mead, which shields you from Bonemass’s poison effects for 10 minutes. You’ll need a Cauldron, where you can craft Poison Resistance Mead Base from 10 Honey, 5 Thistles, 1 Neck tail and 10 Coal, and a Fermenter, which will turn the base into mead after a long wait.
Bonemass has three attacks: a wide swipe of its arms, which can do massive damage and has hits a wide area in front of the boss; a puke move that covers the area around the boss in poison; and a move in which the boss throws a glob off its own body, which will spawn random swamp enemies to attack you. With Poison Resistance Mead, you can withstand Bonemass’s poisonous puke, but the swipe attack and blob throw are both still very dangerous. Keep an eye out for extra enemies that might spawn from the throw or are wandering the swamps, because they can mess up your fight against the boss in a hurry if you don’t see them coming.
Blunt weapons have the greatest effect against Bonemass, so if you’ve got the resources for it, an Iron Mace is a good bet. Using melee weapons will put you in close proximity to Bonemass, though, and the boss does massive damage with its swipe attacks; you should absolutely block those with a shield, but even if you do, you’ll probably get punished for it. If you’re going to melee Bonemass, try to hit it from behind while another player distracts it, or catch it during certain animations, like when it winds up to throw its blobs or as it gets ready to spew poison, if you’re already immune. Your dodge roll can get you out of trouble when you’re in close, so keep that in mind.
A more effective strategy, however, might be to hit Bonemass with a ton of Frost Arrows. While the boss is pretty resistant to the piercing damage, which is what arrows inflict, the Frost effect is separate from piercing, and Bonemass will take the full brunt of the elemental damage. Using arrows allows you to stay well back from the boss and avoid poison and physical damage, which can make the fight a whole lot easier. That said, Frost Arrows are tough to come by, because you’ll need to venture into the Mountain biome to mine Obsidian and to gather Frost Glands from Drakes. Check out our Wolf Armor guide for some tips about how to survive the mountains before you’re able to make Silver armor to withstand the cold.
Beat Bonemass and you’ll get a trophy you can sacrifice at the altar where you first started in Valheim to get Bonemass’s Forsaken Power, which gives you increased resistance against physical damage for five minutes when activated. You’ll also get the Wishbone, which is essential for locating Silver and other hidden treasures buried beneath the ground.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Zack Snyder’s Justice League‘s four-hour runtime is intimidating, but Snyder has split the film into six parts, breaking the story up a bit. The director announced the first two chapter titles for the film last weekend, but has now revealed the other four ahead of the film’s March 18 debut on HBO Max.
The six chapters are as follows:
Don’t Count On It, Batman
The Age of Heroes
Beloved Mother, Beloved Son
“Change Machine”
All the King’s Horses
Something Darker
This can look a little confusing at first thanks to the complex history of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Snyder was in the process of directing Justice League when he had to step away due to a family tragedy. Warner Bros. handed the film off to Joss Whedon, who finished and released the film to negative reviews from critics and moviegoers alike.
Fans of Snyder’s previous DC superhero films, Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, began to call for Warner Bros. to release a version that they believed already existed that reflected Snyder’s vision, using the hashtag #releasethesnydercut. Eventually Warner Bros. would greenlight the film as an HBO Max exclusive four-part miniseries with a $20 million budget for reshoots.
The Justice League miniseries’ budget would eventually balloon to a reported $70 million, and it returned to becoming a single film. The official Snyder Cut Twitter account addressed fan confusion about a four-part show that became a film with six parts, clarifying that it is “Six parts. One Film.”
Zack Snyder’s Justice League will release on HBO Max on March 18.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
