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Tokyo Game Show 2019 is now in full swing. A number of games are being shown at the event and among them is Death Stranding. Over the course of the show game director Hideo Kojima will appear on three streams to showcase gameplay from Death Stranding. The first provided more insight into more of Death Stranding’s open-world gameplay, which involves navigating mountainous terrains to deliver goods and even sneaking through bases, which will be a welcome treat for fans of Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid titles. The second Death Stranding demo, meanwhile, focused on the safe house; a private area of sorts where players will spend time between missions.
As shown in the demo, in this area you don’t actually play as Norman Reedus’s character, Sam Porter Bridges. Instead, you play as a “soul” that commands his actions. The player has free reign over the camera and Sam will react to your movements. During the presentation, Kojima compared it to a Bishojo Game, where it’s about interacting with the character on screen. In the demo Sam was pointing at where he wants to go, such as the shower because he was covered in dirt or the storage area where weapons are kept, where he can stock up and inspect his tools.
Since Sam is basically at home in the safe house and you can observe him with less pressure of being set upon by the strange things that occupy the world outside. Opportunists who try and swing the camera around to look at Norman’s Reedus, when the chance arises, will find that he covers his bits up. Keep trying to look at his junk and eventually he’ll lose his cool and punch you, which results in the lens of the camera cracking.
As the soul influencing Sam’s action, you can get him to shower. Given that it’s a Kojima Production game, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that the act of taking a shower has some unexpected gameplay implications too. The biological fluid collected from your showers is converted into a crystal which can then be used to power weapons. This process also happens outside of the shower–it seems Death Stranding takes place in a world where effectively using your pee, poop, sweat, and blood is important to survival.
Another interesting element of Death Stranding shown during the demo was Sam’s interaction with the enigmatic Bridge Baby, also known as a BB. The child is shown mimicking what Sam does, so when he taps on the glass, BB does the same. But then BB gets a bit too into it and escalates to smashing its head against the glass, eventually breaking through–but it turns out to be a daydream.
Death Stranding will also let players return to the game world after the credits roll and help out fellow players by leaving things that will guide them on their journey. As shown in the first gameplay demo, players will be able to rate these.
There are a number of other small things revealed in the demo, such as the ability to wear sunglasses and customize aspects of your character. One such thing you can customize is your backpack, which you can add additional pouches or batteries to. Players will have to physically place them and use limited space efficiently. It’s reminiscent of the inventory from Resident Evil 4. You can also change the color of the backpack, if you’re into that sort of the thing.
Eventually, Sam points at the table and directs your attention there. On the table are a number of items, including a jar with some sort of bug in there, which Sam eats. There’s also a pretty rad-looking pair of sunglasses, which Sam puts on and models, before giving a thumbs up to the camera. A hat with the Bridges logo can also be found on the table, and the colors of the glasses and hat can be tweaked.
On a nearby wall is a holographic map of the world, where players can look at main missions, read important mail–which sometimes feature mission hints, requests, or general correspondence. There’s a data archive that contains important documents that will fill the player in on the world and story.
Much later in the game demo, we’re shown a scene from the viewpoint of a BB, who is seeing Mads Mikkelsen’s character drinking wine. He talks to the BB and then toasts it, before taking a sip of the wine–it’s a bit weird and out of place, but it’s Death Stranding, so to be expected. A quick cut later and we’re back in the open-world, customizing voice clips that alert Sam to key information, selecting music, and
There are a number of cool little touches in the location which you can see for yourself in the video. These include a music player, drinkable beer, singing with characters in other dimensions, and a mirror that takes pictures of you when you pose and make funny faces, among other things.
Make sure to watch the first presentation too, if you haven’t already. It’s around an hour of Death Stranding gameplay and showed off a boss battle, bike travel, and more.
Borderlands 3 includes four Vault Hunters to choose from–FL4K the beastmaster, Zane the operative, Moze the gunner, and Amara the Siren. If hunting the bandits of Pandora with a trusty pet by your side sounds like your ideal playstyle, then look no further than FL4K. Below, we’ve detailed the pros and cons of this character’s three skill trees so you know which abilities to unlock.
FL4K is the lone wolf among Borderlands 3’s Vault Hunters, with his skill trees combining perks from Borderlands‘ Mordecai and Borderlands 2‘s Zer0 to focus on long-ranged combat and self-sustainability. If you’re going to play Borderlands 3 on your own, you’ll probably have the easiest time with FL4K as all three skill trees contribute to solo play. Plus, who needs real friends when you can rely on the aid of your in-game monkey, dog, and spider companions, amiright?
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You’ll notice a few Zer0-inspired skills in FL4K’s Stalker tree, the one that’s specifically tied to his monkey-like Jabber companion. The action skill associated to Stalker is Fade Away, which allows FL4K to temporarily turn invisible.
In this tree, try putting points into Self-Repairing System early so you can regenerate your health and cut out the cost of health packs. You want to invest five points into this tree and get to the second tier as quickly as possible to unlock the Guerillas in the Mist perk, which allows FL4K to attack multiple times during Fade Away instead of just once. Eager to Impress–which lowers the cool down time on FL4K’s action skill whenever they or their pet kill someone–is also a good second tier ability to have.
Things start getting really good at the third tier. Lick the Wounds allows your pet to revive you, Not My Circus has your pet draw enemy fire after you use Fade Away, and your Jabber evolves into a Beefcake–making it a lot stronger. At this point, it might be worth investing in FL4K’s other trees, but you should certainly come back to this tree in the late game. Hidden Machine is great once you have a powerful sniper rifle or assault rifle with a long-range scope. The ability increases FL4K’s attack damage against enemies that haven’t noticed them–a phenomenal skill to pair with the Hunter tree’s Ambush Predator skill.
Hunter
Speaking of the Hunter tree, this is the one you want to invest points into if Mordecai was your favorite Vault Hunter back in the day. This tree is all about getting critical hits, as well as increasing the power of FL4K’s spider-like Spiderant companion and the character’s Rakk Attack–an action skill that’s basically an elemental version of Mordecai’s Bloodwing action skill. If you invest in this tree, start looting and buying Jakobs guns. Soon you’ll be one-shotting foes before your teammates even have a chance to notice that there are enemies to kill.
Right off the bat, you want to invest in Interplanetary Stalker, which increases the damage FL4K does after every enemy they kill. Leave No Trace–which has a chance of adding a bullet back into FL4K’s gun whenever they score a critical hit–is a pretty good choice too, especially if you’re carrying a Jakobs shotgun or sniper rifle as both are typically single-shot weapons. With Leave No Trace, you’ll get a chance to sometimes fire off two shots instead of one, making it easier to get the kill and activate Interplanetary Stalker’s effects.
In the second tier, start putting all your points into Ambush Predator, an ability that makes FL4K stronger the further they are from enemies. Once you do, and once you secure a Jakobs gun with a decent scope, FL4K becomes a sharpshooter of no equal on the battlefield. The remaining perks in this tree are mostly devoted to upgrading your Spiderant, which eventually evolves first into a fire-breathing Scorcher and then a corrosive-splashing Countess. As a side note, if you invest in this tree, you’ll be far richer than all your friends as the fourth tier ability The Most Dangerous Game nets FL4K a generous cash reward for killing badass level foes. Considering you’ll be a sniping god at this point, you’ll probably be able to down most badass enemies before your friends can even reach them.
Master
FL4K’s Master tree is probably the one you want to invest in if you really just don’t want to be a sniper. The Master tree doesn’t have the sneaking potential of the Stalker tree nor the critical hit damage power-up of the Hunter tree. Instead, the Master tree focus on FL4K’s pet, increasing the power of what they can do so they can protect FL4K as they fight side by side at mid- to close-range. The pet associated to this tree is the dog-like Skag and the action skill is Gamma Burst, an ability that teleports FL4K’s pet to a location through a radiative portal that mutates the pet into a more powerful form.
Considering how much this tree focuses on FL4K’s pet, start putting points into the skills that will ensure they can be the most help to you. In the first tier, Ferocity (which increases your pet’s attack power) and Go For The Eyes (which makes your pet’s first attack a critical hit) are your best choices. From there you’ll reach the second tier of the tree and, honestly, from this point on almost every skill just makes your pet stronger and stronger. You can’t go wrong with where you invest. You basically just want to keep putting points into the tree until you reach the final tier and can unlock Dominance, a skill that allows FL4K to take control of enemies with a melee attack.
Like Amara’s Mystical Assault tree, FL4K’s Master tree is probably the last one you want to invest in or at least the one you want to save until after you’ve left Pandora. FL4K’s pets are actually pretty durable and deadly early on, so increasing their health and attack power isn’t an immediate priority. You will at some point, especially for the challenging endgame, but increasing FL4K’s own abilities should be your priority first, and that’s easier to do in the other two trees. If you’re not a fan of long-range combat, then this is probably the tree you want to focus on. But at the same time, if you’re so against sniping, then why are you playing as FL4K in the first place?
Borderlands 3 lets you play as one of four distinct Vault Hunters–Zane the operative, Moze the gunner, Amara the Siren, and FL4K the beastmaster. If sneaking around and teleporting throughout the battlefield as Zane is how you want to play, then read our guide below. It includes the pros and cons of the character’s three distinct skill trees so you can craft the ideal build.
Zane has the ability to sacrifice using grenades to equip two action skills at once. If you choose to do this, you’ll likely end up weaker in the early game. But don’t worry, Zane possesses plenty of excellent first and second tier abilities across all three of his trees, so you’ll have plenty to work with until you hit the mid-game and probably want to invest in two action skills and skill trees. We advise focusing a bit more on his Double Agent and Under Cover trees. Once you reach Eden-6, combat gets much harder and–without much in the way of survivability–Zane’s going to need those later tier skills, such as the self revive skill Old-U, to boost his defense and chances of surviving.
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Zane’s Doubled Agent tree is tied to his Digi-Clone action skill, which summons a holographic decoy that distracts and shoots at enemies and can also switch places with Zane. If you’re going to play Borderlands 3 solo, this is one of the two trees you should invest in, as you can evolve Digi-Clone to take the brunt of most of the damage you take as well as rely on the second pair of hands for the bullet-sponge boss battles.
The first tier ability Synchronicity is a good early investment, increasing Zane’s gun damage for every action skill active. With one skill on, that’s pretty good. With two, it’s phenomenal. Once you hit second tier, nearly every skill in the Doubled Agent tree is worth investing in. Boom, Enhance is the one exception. Some notable standouts are Quick Breather (Zane’s shield immediately begins recharging when he swaps with his decoy), Old-U (Zane can get an instant second wind by swapping with his decoy), and Dopplebanger (the Digi-Clone can be recalled early in an explosion that deals massive splash damage).
The utility of the Digi-Clone ability cannot be undersold, as it’s probably Zane’s most useful action skill. You’ll want to equip Digi-Clone and invest heavily into Doubled Agent if you decide to play as Zane. Think Borderlands 2‘s Zer0, but less ninja and more secret agent.
Hitman
Though helpful early on in Borderlands 3’s campaign, Zane’s Hitman tree offers less worthwhile returns the further you invest in it. You shouldn’t focus on this tree alone, especially if you’re playing through the campaign solo. That said, the Hitman tree–which is tied to Zane’s drone-summoning SNTNL action skill–does have a few useful perks, so it’s worth putting a few points into it. Maybe just invest in this tree early and then leave its more advanced abilities for when you’re going into the endgame content.
In the first tier, put points into both the Violent Speed and Violent Momentum abilities. The first increases Zane’s movement speed after an action skill use, while the second increases gun damage the faster he’s moving. If you’re looking for more skills to put points into, then you can put some into second tier Cool Hand to increase reload speed whenever you kill an enemy. When paired with Violent Speed and Violent Momentum, it makes Zane a speed demon with a Jakobs revolver or bolt action rifle.
After that, however, the Hitman tree loses most of its luster. The remaining skills are tied to increasing the effectiveness of Zane’s SNTNL drone, but none of them are exceptionally good. They’re not nearly as good as the late-game skills found in the Doubled Agent tree and when you do hit the latter half of the campaign, you’re going to want the perks found in the Under Cover skill tree a lot more. Like, a lot more.
Under Cover
The Under Cover tree contains most of Zane’s defensive skills. None of them are terribly important early on but grow exponentially in effectiveness the further you progress the campaign. Remember how we said in the Doubled Agent section that there are two skill trees you want to invest in if you’re playing with Zane solo? Well, this is the other one. Under Cover is tied to Zane’s final action skill, Barrier, which erects a force field that can be picked up for additional defense while on the move or left on the ground to amplify all outgoing shots with increased attack power.
Early on, put points into Adrenaline to increase action skill cooldown so you can throw out your shield more often (as well as your Digi-Clone or SNTNL drone if you have those equipped). Hearty Stock increases Zane’s maximum shield capacity and Ready For Action ensures his shield recharges faster. The Under Cover tree doesn’t truly come into its own until the third tier though, when Nanites Or Some Shite provides health regeneration, increases reload speed, and supplies a faster shield recharge rate while near the Barrier. You also get All-Rounder, which changes the Barrier into a dome for protection from all sides.
That’s most of what you need out of the tree. From there, start focusing points on the Doubled Agent tree and increasing the effectiveness of the Digi-Clone with it’s more advanced perks. Together, the Digi-Clone and Barrier ability allow Zane to keep teleporting around the battlefield and dealing damage from all sides, relying on his force field to recover and increase his combat prowess. If you find yourself with excessive skill points, then go ahead and work towards a few of the late-game Under Cover abilities. Deterrence Field causes Zane’s Barrier to shock enemies and Distributed Denial applies Zane’s shield effects to the Barrier. If you have a nova or spike shield, then Distributed Denial can be paired with Deterrence Field to turn Zane’s Barrier into an offensive tool. And remember, you can pick up said offensive tool and run at the enemies if they don’t come to you.
