While I was playing Nintendo’s newly announced OLED Switch earlier this week, the grass quite literally looked greener. I got a chance to try Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Breath of the Wild on the new model while comparing them directly to my original Switch, and the vivid screen it’s named after is an undoubtedly impressive improvement. But while that display and a handful of other welcome tweaks (like a surprisingly excellent new kickstand) certainly made me envious, they also aren’t so drastic as to feel like a vital mid-cycle upgrade you can’t afford to miss.
Unfortunately Nintendo wouldn’t let us take any pictures or recordings of the OLED Switch, but the most obvious difference is, of course, the screen itself. While the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model), as it’s formally called, is essentially the same size as the original (stacked together, it looked maybe a few millimeters longer at most), its slightly larger 7-inch display takes up more of that real estate instead of the black bezel around it. It’s not a massive difference, but it is one that’s clear as day next to the base Switch’s now comparatively thick border.
The strength of the new display (unsurprisingly) becomes even more obvious when turned on, immediately shining bright and clear from pretty much any viewing angle I tried. Honestly, it’s not an exaggeration to liken its vibrance to when the Gameboy Advance SP got an updated model with a far brighter screen, making the original Switch look noticeably dimmer if compared directly. Its colors are richer too, and I’m not kidding when I say Breath of the Wild’s grassy fields looked almost cartoonishly green viewed side-by-side.
The next most exciting feature of the OLED Model (somewhat surprisingly) is actually its improved kickstand. It’s no secret that the base model’s offset kickstand is flimsy and unreliable, but I wasn’t expecting this version’s to provide such a resounding response to the issues of its predecessor. Not only does it stretch all the way across the back of the Switch, its hinges offer a satisfying amount of resistance so that you can easily lean it at nearly any angle and be confident it will stay that way. It’s incredibly sturdy, with the same tactile matte finish as the back of the Switch Lite. If it weren’t for the charging port still being blocked while standing up, I’d say the need for a third-party stand is now all but dead.
The onboard speakers have also been improved somewhat, providing better sound quality when playing without headphones. I’m no audiophile but the difference was certainly noticeable, if not exactly jaw-dropping – Mario Kart’s music didn’t sound as flat, and Zelda’s echoing voice in Breath of the Wild had a bit more depth. Frankly, I rarely use my Switch without headphones, which the OLED Model doesn’t affect at all, but it’s still a nice improvement for those more likely to take advantage of it than me.
The Switch dock has also been tweaked slightly, with many of the sharp edges that gave it a bad wrap for scratching screens near launch now safely rounded over. The USB port on its back compartment (which now sports a fully removable cover) has also been swapped for a LAN port to enable a wired internet connection without the need of a third-party adapter, which I unfortunately didn’t get to test out myself. These largely feel like Nintendo smoothing out rough spots with the original dock’s design rather than system-selling changes, but they are welcome all the same.
Getting all of these improvements (including the expanded 64GB storage) for only $50 more than the base model is a great value, one that seems like a no brainer to me for folks looking to get their first Switch. But for those of us who are already happily playing on a base Switch with no need for another, this relatively small list of additions isn’t quite as convincing – especially when seemingly basic stuff like built-in bluetooth headphone support still hasn’t been added. And if you are someone who primarily plays on a TV, you’d basically just be paying for a marginally better dock and some more storage space as the OLED and kickstand obviously offer no benefits to the HDMI-fed 1080p dock output.
That’s not to short sell how nice the new display is, it’s just to say that the difference between entering the Switch ecosystem and upgrading within it is a tangible one here. The screen may look better than what I have now, but it’s not such a world shattering improvement that my original Switch suddenly looks subpar as a result – and it’s not the long-rumored “Switch Pro”, so games themselves aren’t going to run any better on one model or the other anyway. If there were a way to pay $50 and magically add these new features to my existing Switch I would do it in a heartbeat. But paying a few hundred to reach the slightly greener grass on the other side is less enticing to me personally, as impressive as that grass may be.
Get a look at 9 minutes of Tribes of Midgard gameplay that includes exploration, building, crafting, combat and more. We check out different biomes, fight some bosses, and defend our base alongside our fellow brethren. Tribes of Midgard releases on July 27 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.
With Tribes of Midgard, developer Norsfell says it’s looking to create a new genre within the survival game space. We spent about two hours playing the game and got a sense of Norsfell’s “Surthrival” game for ourselves. Most notably, Tribes of Midgard takes a lot of the ideas of current survival games and streamlines them, making for a more chill experience that still requires you to find materials, craft tools and armor, and upgrade a base, but with a lot fewer things to keep in mind to stay alive–like keeping yourself fed and constructing buildings.
We spent two hours in Tribes of Midgard’s Saga mode, which provides you with objectives as you fight to protect a piece of Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse mythology. Since less emphasis is put on keeping yourself alive and constructing your base, you can spend more time building your character to defend your settlement. Each session sees you leveling up your viking not just by getting new gear, but by unlocking character classes and skill tree upgrades. There’s also an element of randomness thanks to “runes” you can find in the world that give you various perks. By combining the roguelike elements of the runes with your character choices, you can create a new viking in each session who is tailored to your strengths, what your team needs, and what items you’ve already uncovered.
Following the sudden announcement of the Nintendo Switch OLED, there have been many questions from fans about what to make of the new addition to the Switch family. Joining the original Switch and Switch Lite, the new model features a new 7-inch OLED display, enhanced audio, extra internal storage, a new dock with a built-in LAN port. Set for release on October 8, the new OLED model presents a new way for players to engage with the Nintendo Switch.
GameSpot was able to get some limited hands-on time with the upgraded Switch, and we came away with some answers about what to expect with the new console. Along with that, we got to see how bright that new screen is and learned whether or not that $350 price tag is justified for a new version of Nintendo’s hybrid console. In this video, you can hear our thoughts on what it was like getting to experience the new OLED screen and how different of an experience it is to play older games like The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and more on a brighter and smaller screen.
In the four years since its debut, the Nintendo Switch has proven to be a popular and versatile platform that blends handheld and traditional console gaming sensibilities. But with the rumor mill churning out details of something new for the Nintendo Switch, there was an expectation set that we would see a substantially enhanced Switch on the horizon. However, the surprise announcement of the Switch OLED, an upgraded model of the existing device built on the same internal components, wasn’t quite the next step forward fans were expecting.
I recently got a chance to go hands-on with the new Switch OLED to get a feel for the new console and see its upgrades in person, which helped affirm what the Switch OLED is all about. Featuring a new OLED screen (which stands for organic light-emitting diode), improved audio, expanded internal storage, and a revised, glossy docking station with a built-in LAN port, the Switch OLED makes for a solid upgrade over its predecessors–which includes the standard Switch and the Switch Lite.
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But let’s get this out of the way first: Is the Nintendo Switch OLED model a must-buy at $350 USD? Honestly, that all depends on your preferences for the Switch or if you’re a first-time buyer. If you’re expecting the OLED model to have a sweeping set of changes that transform the console into something new, then this upcoming device will disappoint. The experience of using a Switch OLED is essentially one-to-one with what’s out there. Along with no changes to the console’s user interface and infrastructure, it also has peripherals that are interchangeable with the standard Switch model. So if you have Joy-Con controllers that you want to keep or stick with the current docking station with the two USB ports, you can certainly use them with the OLED model.
From my hands-on session–which we unfortunately couldn’t capture on video–it was clear that the OLED model helps bridge the gap between the handheld and docked experiences, amping up the experience of playing the Switch as a handheld. I brought my current launch-era Nintendo Switch and PS Vita (which also features an OLED screen) to make side-by-side comparisons. It was evident that the OLED model is a noticeable improvement compared to both devices.
The original Nintendo Switch uses a 6.2-inch LCD screen, and the Switch Lite has a 5.5-inch LCD screen, while the new model has a 7-inch OLED screen. Compared to the Switch and Switch Lite, the OLED model better displays light and black levels, which presents a more vivid and illuminating picture that looks clear, bright, and stunning in motion. Right from the jump, the new OLED screen is very bright, but not to the point of it being distracting. Playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild–which was set at the opening, leading up to the reveal of the Hyrule landscape–the new display really brought a sense of vibrancy with the contrasting colors when overlooking the vista. When we jumped over to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the game’s 60 fps visuals looked incredibly smooth and sharp on the OLED display of the new model. While people who regularly play in docked modes with solid TV sets aren’t going to be blown away by the OLED model’s visuals, this still makes handheld mode look better than it ever has. It honestly made me interested in seeing how my other favorite games, like Bayonetta 2 or Smash Bros. Ultimate, would look on the new display.
The enhanced audio also adds a lot to the sense of ambiance to the games I played, which also included the Clubhouse Games collection. Compared to the original Switch’s smaller speakers, the enhanced audio speakers on the new model are much larger, improving the audio while playing in handheld mode. It was quite loud at times, which could make the OLED model more viable for when you’re playing the console in public with friends or in solitude.
The OLED model also has other slight improvements and additions that give the console a better-optimized design. The new kickstand on the tablet is far more flexible and is generally an excellent improvement overall from the flimsy original. Furthermore, the SD card slot has been altered, which now appears on a slope to remove and insert cards a bit easier. The OLED model will have two SKUs: one with a black and white color scheme with a white dock and another with the traditional neon blue and red design with a black dock.
The key areas in which the Switch OLED sees improvements are focused on the handheld experience. While the handheld mode is convenient, it also offers less than perfect conditions for experiencing certain games compared to playing it docked. While I often prefer to play Switch games in the handheld mode, there are times where I do play games in the TV mode, which allows me to get a better sense of a game’s visuals and performance. Unfortunately, the significant improvement here being the OLED screen means the main benefit of the new model will be lost when playing in docked mode
While people who regularly play in docked modes with solid TV sets aren’t going to be blown away by the OLED model’s visuals, this still makes handheld mode look better than it ever has.
While it was disappointing to have it confirmed that the Switch OLED wouldn’t offer much for players who prefer docked mode, I still came away from my brief hands-on with the new model largely feeling relieved, left with the impression that the OLED model offers the best Switch handheld experience available. While most people may feel inclined to compare the OLED unit with the standard Switch model, the newer device does have more in common with the Switch Lite when it comes to having a more developed focus on handheld mode. Whether you decide the Switch, the Switch Lite, or the Switch OLED is right for you is ultimately up to what your preferences are and what you would want to get out of the console.
The new improvements that the OLED model offers for the Nintendo Switch punctuate what makes the handheld console such a fantastic device. The upcoming version follows a familiar Nintendo tradition of producing improved models for existing platforms, much like the Game Boy Advance SP and the New 3DS XL. The Switch OLED is a clear improvement upon the current iterations of the console, elevating the platform’s strengths for portability and flexibility. With that said, is it a necessary upgrade for those who are already comfortable with their Switch? Not necessarily. But I cannot deny that I was impressed with the subtle changes and improved presentation that the OLED model offered.
Given the discourse surrounding its reveal, the Nintendo Switch OLED presents a question to consumers–which prompts one to think about their value with the current Nintendo Switch. The new OLED model for the Switch is not the true successor for the console, and that’s OK. Despite being comfortable with my current console, I can still see myself making the jump for this new and improved model because of how well its new presentation works. The improved handheld experience does present an enticing offer to trade up to a new model, but I won’t feel too much of a hit with FOMO if I ultimately decide not to.
With all that said, go buy Metroid Dread when it releases alongside the new Nintendo Switch OLED. Please.
The survival genre is great at creating intense moments when everything starts to go wrong. Your character is trying not to starve, desperate to build shelter, fighting off deadly creatures–all while hoping to create better tools that can allow for stronger defenses and greater exploration. But what’s often striking about survival games is how time-consuming all that gathering and crafting can be and how hard all the different requirements can be to keep straight. Enter Tribes of Midgard, which looks to take the basics of survival games and streamlines them into something that captures similar feelings, but decreases the density of stuff to keep in mind in order to reach them.
Developer Norsfell describes what it’s trying to do with Tribes as “creating a new genre” in the survival space. After getting a chance to play a few hours of the game, our translation of that mission statement is that Tribes is a version of survival where the busywork is toned down in favor of teamwork. You can play Tribes of Midgard with as many as nine other people, and while there are some of the usual survival elements–you start with nothing but a loincloth and your fists and have to make your way in a hostile environment–those aspects exist more to encourage you and your buddies to work together, without getting bogged down in spending a long time cutting down trees or mining metals.
“As a smaller developer, if you want to really shine, you’re not going to shine by making another FPS that’s very standard compared to other FPS,” Norsfell founder and CEO Julian Maroda said in an interview with GameSpot. “You have to find your own, maybe not niche, but at least find your own space, come with some new design, new elements to really attract the attention of publishers, the public, you name it.
“And that was really the starting point of Tribes–we were super fans of survival games, but at the same time, we could see that survival games weren’t as widely appealing to a large part of the audience. And the reason being that, as a human, we really understand the concept of survival, it’s in our genes, almost hopping into a survival game. But if you’re not familiar with the genre, it’s very harsh, and you usually die within the first 10 minutes. You’re hungry, you’re thirsty, you’re overburdened, you have all these things, like, ‘What the hell is happening to me.’ We wanted to take that genre and say, ‘How can we make that more inviting?’ How can we make it, instead of having to care about your own individual survival and maintaining all of these gauges, how can we move that to more of a cooperative experience and really make sure that there is just one gauge you need to maintain?”
The gauge Maroda is referring to is the Yggdrasil seed. Every time you jump into a session of Tribes of Midgard, your ultimate goal is to protect the seed, which is really more of a tree growing at the center of a small settlement. Unlike other survival games, you don’t build a base at the start of the game–it already exists, but your job is to maintain and defend it.
You do that by gathering resources from around the world to craft new gear tools, armor, and weapons, but even that process is quick and easy. Gather a few branches and flint and you can make a lumber axe or a pickaxe. Once you have those, every tree you chop down or iron ore deposit you mine is cleared in a single swing. Norsfell doesn’t want to bog you down on the mining or chopping in Tribes; your base can be upgraded through extra work to make it more formidable and useful, but you don’t have to spend time poring over where to place walls and structures.
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You can easily share materials with your teammates by dropping them into a community war chest, and crafting automatically draws from the common fund. Upgrades like gates you can close or archer watchtowers are built with a combination of crafting materials and souls, a currency you earn mostly from killing enemies. You’ll also spend souls on upgrading different NPCs in your settlement, like an armorer, weapon smith, and trapper, who you’ll use to create new gear. Anyone can contribute their materials and souls to any upgrade, making it easy to work together as a team to power up your settlement.
That streamlined, team-focused approach to the survival side of the game puts a lot more of the focus on exploration and combat, and in those regards, the game draws from other genres, such as roguelikes and Diablo-like action-RPGs. Every night, your settlement and its Yggdrasil seed are attacked by monsters called Helthings, which are bent on destroying the tree. Your only real survival focus, apart from not getting killed by enemies yourself, is in keeping the tree healthy. Every so often, bigger boss-like giants appear on the map, lumbering toward your village. These huge enemies can take a long time to defeat, so it’s important to figure out where they are, hunt them down, and attack them long before they reach your settlement. It might take you two or three fights to kill a giant, and you still have to defend the settlement in the meantime, as well. Fast-travel points around the map make it easy to get back on defense quickly, so while you’re putting some focus on survival aspects of crafting better gear, you’re always just a few minutes from another essential fight.
“We wanted to take that genre and say, ‘How can we make that more inviting?'”
Combat is also relatively simple. Depending on your weapon, you have a standard attack like swinging your sword or firing an arrow, and as you fight, you build up a mana gauge that lets you execute a weapon-specific magical attack that might hit enemies in a specific area or deal more damage. If you’re carrying a shield, you can block with it to defend yourself, and there’s a dodge roll to get you out of danger. But for the most part, combat is pretty light and loose, with an emphasis on the kind of weapon you’re using and how it best synergizes with the rest of your group.
The roguelike elements of Tribes of Midgard seem like what will make for its most interesting gameplay moments. Because the survival portion of the game is streamlined, you can spend your time not constructing a settlement, but building your character. Tribes is populated by “runes,” equippable items that give your character various perks, and as you survive, you’ll level up, earning points called “blessings” to sink into a character class tree. You can choose your character class and perks on every run, so what runes you find can help determine the best character to play for that particular situation. You determine your character class in-game during each run, rather than building a single character that you take into multiple game sessions, so you can use the roguelike elements to play into your strategic thinking as you create your character.
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“So those runes, once you have them on, you then start thinking about the class you want to play,” Maroda said. “We have one [rune] that, once you block a hit with your shield, it creates an explosion blast. Well, you better play either Guardian or Sentinel because those classes are more centered around tanking and defense and shielding. So you can say, ‘I have this and this and I can combine them.’ Like something that happened to me recently, having this plus a rune that makes it so that I regained HP when I am idle–I was just standing with my shield deployed, taking hits, and then blasting people whenever they would hit me and at the same time regaining health. And then I can use the Sentinel class to throw my shield and then just play around with that mechanic.”
Even progression between sessions is kept pretty simple, though. While your classes and character aren’t persistent, the crafting recipes you unlock along the way are, Maroda said. You’ll also earn a meta currency called golden horns on each run, specifically for killing giants. You can dip out of a session any time (even if your friends are still playing, in fact; Tribes of Midgard’s difficulty scales based on how many people are in the world and adjusts to the changing player count) and take your horns with you. The next time you jump into a session, you can spend your horns to buy new runes, giving you a quicker start. Other progression elements come from doing things like clearing challenges and leveling up your character, which provides you items like crafting starter packs that give you gear at the beginning of a session. Those packs aren’t consumable; instead, what gear you bring to the start of a session can also factor into your long-term strategy and make getting into the meat of Tribes of Midgard a little easier.
We played a few hours of Saga mode, one of two that will be available at launch–the other is Survival, which is a more straightforward “stay alive as long as you can” approach to the game. The Saga mode provides you with objectives to work toward, like repairing a bridge and exploring areas of the world, and eventually seems to culminate in a boss fight. It’s not a narrative mode, though, Maroda said.
“We are never going to make Tribes that kind of narrative game with a ton of dialogue. That is not what we’re trying to achieve,” he explained. “We love adding a lot of lore and context to the game–almost every weapon is inspired by a tale. The descriptions are very lighthearted and play on some references. Same with pretty much the whole concept of the game, which is just playing around with Norse mythology because it’s so rich, it’s so vast, and it’s not so well-known.”
“We prefer to do it just like the way Norse mythology was carried over, which is a very oral tradition. And we much prefer creating the tools and ingredients that players can then take part in and say, okay, well, I jumped in this world and I did this Saga quest and I fought this creature. And then I did this and this happened to me. We much prefer players to share those kinds of experiences because, at the end of the day, that is kind of its oral tradition.”
Maroda also said the game will continue to expand over time with free seasonal content. That’ll include more Sagas, which will remain available for players to dig into over and over, or return to after new content has been released. Norsfell is also looking to expand on game mechanics over time,. While there are some light building mechanics in Tribes for making ramps and bridges to get around the world, you won’t be constructing bases–but that’s one example of an area of the game that Norsfell is looking to expand on later, Maroda said.
“We much prefer players to share those kinds of experiences because, at the end of the day, that is kind of its oral tradition.”
In general, Tribes of Midgard’s easygoing approach to survival is pretty refreshing. It’s nice to whack a tree down in one hit, share in the burden of upgrades with teammates, and focus on exploring the game’s procedurally generated world. It hits the marks of being a more approachable entry point into the genre that Maroda said Norsfell is going for. The question long-term will be how well the roguelike approach to upgrades and the larger focus on combat will carry the game forward–because often for survival games, half the appeal is in climbing technology trees, constructing bases, and bending the world to your will. But with a lot of ongoing free content releases planned, Tribes of Midgard seems like it has a lot of potential to give players interested in the survival genre an access point that captures what’s fun about adventuring in harsh worlds, without the kind of brutality and time investment that can sometimes make staying alive feel like a slog.
Look for Tribes of Midgard on PlayStation 4, PS5, and PC on July 27.
Bungie apparently had a lot more planned for Halo: Combat Evolved than what was eventually shipped out with Xbox consoles back in November of 2001. The franchise’s co-creator, Marcus Lehto, posted a video on Twitter showing off some of the game’s unreleased weapons and more.
According to the tweet, the weapons would have been used solely by the Covenant and are only present in a PC build of Halo: Combat Evolved from 2000. If they made it into the game, the Covenant would have had access to a concussion gun, excavator, particle beam rifle, and even a microwave gun. Other Covenant-exclusive weapons are still present in the game, including the Energy Sword and Fuel Rod Cannon.
In action, these unreleased weapons seem pretty impressive, with the microwave gun glowing a bright yellow, and the concussion gun firing off like a shotgun. However, the guns were never finished, with some missing sound effects entirely or using placeholders.
I found these Covenant weapon prototypes in my old 2000 Halo PC build that you might like. c concussion gun c excavator c particle beam rifle c microwave gun I like the meter cooldown on the concussion gun. The microwave gun would have been hilarious.#Halopic.twitter.com/qGQO0XFn3R
Along with cut weapons, a couple of vehicles that never made it into Halo: Combat Evolved are shown in the video, including a stealth tank. The tank, which appears early in the video, is squat and seemingly painted camouflage. According to Lehto, it had to be cut “before we started dev for Xbox.” Before moving to Xbox, Halo: Combat Evolved was going to be an RTS, then a third-person shooter for PC and Mac.
These weapons from the early days of Halo are much more sci-fi than the guns coming in Halo Infinite, which stay pretty grounded in reality. In the upcoming game, players can look forward to riot shotguns and assault rifles, with the oddity here or there. The Mangler for instance is one new weapon being added in Halo Infinite that fires kinetic projectiles instead of measly bullets. If you want to get your hands on Halo Infinite’s weaponry early, be sure to sign up for Halo Insider, which grants eligibility for a spot in the game’s beta.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is a delightful little RPG adventure with a cheerfully simplistic demeanor that belies its true nature. As a spin-off of Capcom’s popular Monster Hunter series, it retains much of the nuance and complexity that the main games are best known for, reinterpreting it with approachable, easy-to-understand turn-based combat with a strategic edge. Below, we outline some essential tips to ensure you’re always on the right foot in this creature-collecting adventure.
Scavenge, Scavenge, Scavenge
MHS2 wouldn’t be a Monster Hunter game if you didn’t have to forage constantly. Many of the game’s systems are driven by the resources you gather, often requiring specific components to craft many of the essential items you need to survive, such as potions, armor, and weapons.
You never want to be short on supply of anything in MHS2, so make sure to scour every nook and cranny for anything you can pick up. That means herbs, honey, ore, stones, bugs, spider webs–literally anything that isn’t bolted to the ground and you can put into your pocket.
It’s also crucial you develop this habit, as many of the game’s subquests require you to turn in copious amounts of items you obtain from the environment. You don’t want to be without the substantial XP rewards these subquests typically offer, so do not hesitate to be as the wild melynx wandering the treacherous wilds, collecting all the junk forever and ever.
Accept Every Subquest And Consider When To Turn Them In
Speaking of subquests, you’ll typically want to accept every single one available from the quest board before embarking out into the world. Many have conditions tied to slaying specific monsters, so it’s best to have those active if you intend to spend a lot of time outside the village.
Another handy pro tip is putting your lowest-level monsties into your party before turning in your completed subquests. Always take a moment to check if you have any on reserve you want to level up, or if you have some eggs you know will hatch a new kind of monster you’ll want to make a mainstay to your lineup. Consider getting those into your party first, as subquest XP rewards can be an easy way to power level weaker, newborn monsties.
Fight Every Monster Type You See
After slaying a monster, you’re rewarded with a handful of parts from them. These are just as essential as natural resources, so you’ll want to frequently kill various monster types to ensure a steady pool of parts you can use for crafting and upgrading weapons and armor.
It’s also imperative to make it second nature to fight every new monster type you encounter in the world, not simply for the sake of satisfying your own curiosity, but because defeating a new monster type will typically unlock its associated weapon or armor set to craft from the Smithy. Even small monsters yield important ancillary parts needed to create weapons and armor sets, emphasizing the importance of never passing up a fight against a fresh new foe.
Always Have Multiple Weapons/Armor Sets On-Hand
The reason why it’s crucial to have as many resources as possible is because of how essential crafting and upgrading new weapons and armor sets is to the loop of MHS2. Like mainline Monster Hunter games, keeping a varied arsenal of weapons and armor is crucial for survival. Each has its own unique skills that either enhance your character’s physical properties or give them special attacks, so you’ll want to have several on-hand for the various situations where their strengths can be best utilized.
Above all, you’ll want to prioritize expanding your weapon arsenal–something the game naturally introduces early on with attack type efficiency against monsters, which relates to the three weapon properties: slash, blunt, and pierce. You’ll start the game with the great sword (slash) and hammer (blunt), but once you spend more time exploring what the Smithy can craft, you’ll want to expand your efficiency by acquiring more weapons, such as the sword & shield (slash), bow (pierce), hunting horn (blunt), and gunlance (pierce).
The bow or gunlance will fill your pierce blindspot, so jump on either of those first. On the other hand, the hunting horn can be a solid alternative to the hammer that focuses on healing/buffs, while the sword & shield is just a more defensive version of the great sword that can mitigate some of the power of devastating attacks.
It’s not necessary to dump all your money and resources into crafting every weapon type, but as long as you have weapons covering the slash, pierce, and blunt categories, you should be golden. The nitty-gritty in-between that you choose to emphasize, such as elemental properties and equipment skills, is primarily up to your preference. You’ll want to follow the same strategy with armor–though crafting sets tends to come at a higher monetary and resource cost. If you’re short on cash and parts, we recommend investing in all-arounder sets that enhance your HP, defense, or attack.
Regardless, try to maintain a “jack-of-all-trades” approach, and you should be ready for most encounters.
Be Mindful Of When To Upgrade Weapons And Armor
On the other hand, try to be smart about when you acquire certain weapons and armor sets. The upgrade cap for every weapon and armor set is level three.
If you notice a particular weapon or armor set’s max stats isn’t cutting it against a tough monster, it might be better to invest in stock with higher base stats to balance yourself against the current difficulty curve better. For instance, if an existing set you own maxes out its upgrade path at a defense of 38 when there’s another set available with a base defense of 36, it’s best to craft that more powerful set instead of upgrading your current one. This same principle also applies to weapons.
Always be mindful of how your current equipment’s statistics stack up to the latest stock. With every new monster type you kill, available equipment changes, so make it a habit to check up on the effectiveness of your current loadout frequently. While it generally pays to be prepared for a wide range of circumstances in MHS2, negligence toward best leveraging your resources with the equipment available will only spell doom (and wasted money).
Utilize The Prayer Pot
As you explore MHS2’s village hubs, you’ll notice an altar called a Prayer Pot. This is a handy utility you can use to give yourself passive bonuses while you’re out in the field. There are two options when you interact with one: Pray and Offer Charm. When you pray, you get a temporary minor experience boost, but the best bonuses come from offering charms.
As you loot treasure and complete subquests, you’ll find charms that activate when you offer them to the Prayer Pot. They also last for a limited time but provide valuable bonuses, such as larger XP boosts, rare drop chance increases, reduced Smithy and Market prices, and more. There’s typically a charm that’ll enhance any activity you’re looking to complete in MHS2, so be sure to offer one up to the Prayer Pot ahead of time.
Try to Sneak Up on Monsters for Rear Attacks
Like many recent RPGs, enemies are visible on the world map for you to initiate battle encounters. While you might be inclined to jump straight into a fight, it’s usually best to approach monsters from the rear. This is because initiating an encounter directly behind a monster’s field of vision will start the fight with a Rear Attack, giving you a free turn to lay into a monster without them being able to retaliate.
However, do try to be careful because monsters can also sneak up on you to initiate a Rear Attack phase. If you’re opening a chest, for example, a nearby monster can quickly rush you from behind. To avoid these situations, make sure the coast is clear before interacting with anything in the environment. It’s a monster-eat-monster hunter world out there, so try not to get jumped.
Be Mindful Of Your Party’s Turn Actions
MHS2’s combat system doesn’t have you managing many actions aside from your own and occasionally your monstie. Combat is generally quite reactive, forcing you to adapt to an opponent’s attack patterns on the fly. While you can quickly shift your strategy against an enemy monster at a moment’s notice, your monstie and battle buddies will frequently follow the beat of their own drums–sometimes in favor of the party, other times not so much.
While you can’t do anything to prevent battle buddies from using an attack that will cause the enemy to overpower them, you can at least adjust your monstie’s attack via the monsties menu. If they don’t have an ability that’ll properly counter the enemy’s upcoming attack, or if they lack the kinship energy to use the right move, try switching them out with a monstie with the correct attacks instead. There’s no need to take a senseless hit, after all.
There are a few exceptions when you want to go with the flow of your party. For instance, when you’re a bit worse for wear, your battle buddy will typically want to heal you. Pay attention to when they’re about to do so–not only to save yourself from double-healing but also to optimize your strategy further so that you can continue to pile on the damage against an enemy.
Being mindful of your party’s turn actions can also help you use the powerful Double Attack maneuver repeatedly and more effectively. Obviously, you can Double Attack with your monstie when you both use the same attack type against an enemy when they’re focusing their attention on you or your monstie. But you can also do the same with your battle buddy’s monstie if the enemy’s gaze is on them instead. Always pay attention to your party’s turn actions in this way, as the more opportunities you have to Double Attack, the better.
Don’t Forget To Sell Your Trade-In Items
Your time spent gathering resources and winning battles will accumulate what’s known as Trade-in Items, which are meant to be sold at either the Smithy or Market. If you’re not one to sell your stuff too frequently, you might miss this option altogether. Be sure to jump into the sell menu often to offload any Trade-In Items you’ve got for a quick buck.
Make Frequent Visits To Melynx Inc.
In the opening hours of MHS2, you’re introduced to Melynx Inc., an industrious businessmelynx that sells all sorts of items you can’t get anywhere else. However, he only accepts bottle caps as currency, so you’ll need to raid a few dungeons called Everdens to earn enough to purchase what he has in stock.
There are quite a few helpful commodities to be purchased from Melynx Inc. The most useful of them all are the various Stable Upgrades, which increase the number of monsties you can keep in storage. However, he also stocks unique weapons, armor sets, crafting recipes, and talismans you can’t get anywhere else, or at least not until later in the game. Be sure to check with Melynx Inc. often throughout your adventure, as he’s bound to have something that’ll be of use to you.
You Don’t Need To Stick With The First Egg You Pick Up
When you reach the end of a Monster Den, you get the opportunity to pick up a monster egg. The egg you get is randomly pulled from a set of monsters that are known to be native to the area you’re exploring. However, something to note when you’re picking up an egg is that you have the option to discard the one you’ve picked up to grab another one. You’ll typically want to do this if you’ve acquired an egg for a monster you already have.
This is an especially critical practice when you’re in Rare Monster Dens, which are dens with gold-colored entrances that yield higher-quality monster eggs. When you switch out eggs at the nest, you’re typically guaranteed a high-quality egg every time. So if you’re looking for a particular monster egg, be sure to utilize this to increase your chances of nabbing it.
Be careful, though, because doing this too many times can sometimes yield consequences depending on the circumstances. For example, if you’re at an abandoned nest or one with a sleeping monster, discarding eggs too many times may summon or reawaken the nest’s monster. Fortunately, being jumped by a monster while you’re holding an egg doesn’t harm you, so long as you come out of the encounter alive.
Note The Color And Pattern Of Monster Eggs Before Hatching Them
To help you better identify monster eggs, try to take note of the color and pattern of the egg before hatching it. Whether you write down details about the design or capture a screenshot, do whatever you need to start improving your ability to identify eggs. It becomes paramount the further you get into the game, as the need to acquire more monsties for the Rite of Channeling increases (more on that later).
Don’t Be Afraid To Get Creative With Rite of Channeling
When you first unlock the Rite of Channeling, it can seem a bit intimidating. This complex system has you splicing monstie genes into other monsties to enhance their power and capability.
To explain: an individual monstie’s genes are laid out on a 3×3 grid. Some nodes are active with combat skills or passive abilities, while others open with even more combat skills or passive abilities when that monstie achieves a certain level. Some nodes can’t be accessed unless you feed a monstie a stimulant, a special item you can purchase from Melynx Inc.; these unlocked nodes will appear as open slots that you can freely insert a gene into. If you slot the same type of gene three times in a row, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, that monstie will receive a bingo bonus that further enhances their power. On the other hand, overlapping a gene with the same gene will increase its effectiveness.
Rite of Channeling isn’t required to contend with the challenges that MHS2’s story throws at you, but it can be a fun diversion to pour time into in order to min-max your monsties. Part of the appeal comes from simply getting creative with it and not worrying too much about the consequences. With this form of gene splicing, you can imbue monsties with certain attacks or elemental abilities they wouldn’t naturally have otherwise. You can even defy a monstie’s natural skill affinity by giving them access to every type in the game, or maybe you want to enhance the strengths that monstie already has. The sky’s the limit when it comes to Rite of Channeling, so don’t hesitate to have fun and see how things turn out. After all, you can always get more monsties.
The Solstice of Heroes is well underway in Destiny 2, bringing a bunch of new armor pieces and cosmetics for players to chase. The objectives will take you through a bunch of activities in the game, so you’re going to want to stock up
Xur returns to the solar system every weekend in Destiny 2, starting with the daily reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET each Friday. Xur’s inventory also changes each week, so it’s worth revisiting him on the weekends for new weapons and rolls on Exotic armor. You can visit him any time between his arrival Friday and the weekly reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET the following Tuesday when Xur departs the solar system. We’ll update this post as soon as Xur shows up in the solar system on Friday.
Each week, Xur offers one Exotic weapon and three pieces of Exotic armor: one for each character class. The inventory is random, as are the stat rolls you can expect on each of his armor offerings, so if you’re looking to fill out your collection or if you’re hoping for better versions of Exotics you already have, it’s worth visiting him. Xur also brings an Exotic Engram, which is guaranteed to drop something you don’t already have, if there are Exotics missing from your collection on that particular character–but that doesn’t include Exotics you have to earn through activities, including the new Exotic armors added each season, which can only be claimed from Legendary or Master Lost Sectors.
The toughest challenge in Destiny 2 is back this weekend. The Trials of Osiris are back, offering you the chance at some of the best weapons in the game–but only if you’re willing to take on some of the game’s most difficult PvP battles.
We’ll update this post after the daily reset on Friday, June 9, once we know exactly which map you’ll face and what rewards you can earn.
The Trials of Osiris takes place every weekend, running from Friday to Tuesday. When taking part in the PvP event, your goal is to and win as many matches as possible before you suffer three total losses. You’ll need to recruit a fireteam of three, as there’s no matchmaking in Trials. Once you take three losses in the mode, you’ll be forced to reset your Trials run, or Passage, and try again. However, the more wins you earn, the more loot you’ll rack up. Rewards drop rack up as you earn a certain number of victories, so minimizing your losses is key to grabbing new gear. But the best rewards in the event come when you go on a winning streak of seven matches in a row–a “Flawless” run.
While your hope is to hit a flawless run in Trials, the requirement of avoiding losses makes the mode extremely tough. Most players may never achieve a flawless run. But the event isn’t just for the very best players in the game–you’ll still earn Trials rewards, some of the best weapons available, just by playing matches, win or lose. The End Game bounty from Saint-14 awards each week’s three-win reward just for participating.
If you can manage to go Flawless, you’ll visit the Lighthouse and earn exclusive rewards. Opening the chest in the Lighthouse now gets you an “Adept” weapon, which has extra stat boosts you can’t get almost anywhere else. Visit Saint-14 to pick up a Trials Passage and bounties to get started, but remember that you have to spend any Trials tokens you earn for wins with Saint-14 before the weekly reset on Tuesday, July 13. These tokens expire at the end of the weekend you earned them, so get your rewards while you can.
Hunter’s Arena: Legends arrives on PS4 and PS5 next month, and it will be free for PS Plus subscribers. As revealed during Sony’s latest State of Play presentation, PS Plus members will be able to download the fantasy battle royale game at no charge from August 3 to September 6.
Hunter’s Arena: Legends is a 30-player, combat-based battle royale game set in ancient Asia. You play as a hunter who must use swordplay and martial arts to hunt down demons and rival hunters. The game features two types of battle royale modes: solo and trios. The former is described as a 30-player free-for-all, while the latter lets you team up with two other players to take down demons together.
Unlike many other battle royale games, Hunter’s Arena: Legends is focused on precise hand-to-hand combat. You’ll outfit your hunter with different melee weapons like swords and scythes and need to deliver counters and combos at the right moment to best your foe. The game features 17 different hunters to choose from, each of whom has a distinct play style.
That wasn’t all we saw during Sony’s latest State of Play. The publisher also revealed Moss: Book II, a sequel to the popular PSVR game, as well as Arcadegeddon from Friday the 13th developer IllFonic. We also got better looks at Death’s Stranding: Director’s Cut and Arkane’s upcoming PS5 shooter, Deathloop.
