Author: seo

Destiny 2‘s latest weekly update had good news for fans of the game’s old content. The developer shared some details about the game’s new Rotator system in the This Week at Bungie post . It will reward players who return to old raids or dungeons each week.

The new Rotator system will include seasonal and weekly challenges for players to complete. In the seasonal version, the season’s new raid and dungeon will each grant Pinnacle rewards for all of their encounters. A raid rotator as well as a dungeon-rotator will be included in the system, which grants Pinnacle gear to players upon successful completion.

Weekly rotations, on the other hand, will feature every raid and dungeon that isn’t in the seasonal rotation. This means you can take on almost any challenge you want for these rewards. After completing the last encounter in a raid or dungeon, players will receive a pinnacle drop as part of their weekly rotation.

The new system offers another bonus: farming. The new system will allow raids and other dungeons to no longer lock out Legendary gear once it is available. Players can now rerun encounters multiple times and will be eligible to receive Legendary rewards each time.

The Rotation system is set to come to Destiny 2 as part of season 17, which should start somewhere around May 25.

If you have ever attempted to beat an Elden Ring boss or just accidentally hit yourself trying to play, then you are familiar with the Erdtree. It’s that big, bright tree that derives its power directly from the Elden Ring and stands at the center of Leyndell. Looking at it, it clearly looms over the surrounding mountains and hills. It is, therefore, a very large tree.

But how tall is this really huge Erdtree? We have some estimates thanks to YouTuber Zullie The Witch ,.

With various parts you can explore, it’s clear the thing is, scientifically speaking, fucking massive; as Zullie notes, you can see the tree “dominating” the scenery from every part of the map. But those bits offer up some comparison for how large different portions of the tree are.

The trunk appears to continue for hundreds of meters below the surface, and while it cuts off at the top, there are branches that reach above that point. By their measurements, from the very (underground) base of the Erdtree to the tallest branch point is about 5,048 meters tall — or approximately 16,562 feet.

To put that in perspective, that’s a good chunk of the height of Mount Everest (about 29,000 feet). Alternately, you can think of it as about 15. 3 Eiffel Towers (1,083′ tall, if you measure to the tip) or 3,365 Danny DeVitos (4’10”, according to the internet) stacked on top of each other.

Of course, the actual above-ground height of the tree is a little different, and it sort of depends on where you’re able to stand next to it. That might shave about 1,000 meters (or 2,000 feet or so) off the height by Zullie’s calculations. Even still, we can all agree: big tree.

Bretons, the “Man-Mer” race of The Elder Scrolls lore, have long been a favorite choice among role players looking for a capable magic-user who isn’t an’t elf. But, of the standard races in Bethesda Softworks’ fantasy universe, the Bretons’ homeland of High Rock has been overdue for a closeup. It gets one with The Elder Scrolls Online‘s next major expansion, High Isle, launching June 6.

“This content is perhaps the most easily accessible that we have made to The Elder Scrolls Online in regards to people who are already familiar with this franchise,” Rich Lambert, Zenimax Online Studios’ creative director and MMO creator. Morrowind is very strange and has weird mushrooms and other things. When you look at Blackwood [last June’s big expansion] like, this is a big, giant demon that’s coming in, and if you don’t know who Mehrunes Dagon is, you don’t necessarily know or care.

“But with this, this is kind of your traditional medieval fantasy storytelling,” Lambert added. It’s all about the noble houses, politics and knights. So it’s super accessible and super easy for anybody to get into.”

High Rock (the name of the province; High Isle is a location there) has been a playable space in The Elder Scrolls Online since the MMO debuted in 2014, but it hasn’t been given the full chapter treatment until now. In TESO, the Daggerfall Covenant faction, comprising Orcs, Bretons, and Redguards, controls High Rock, and so missions there advance the lore of that alliance as a whole, rather than the Bretons specifically.

High Isle, Lambert said, pivots on the Three Banners War, which is the factional conflict underpinning TESO; in the expansion, a peace summit at High Isle brings the noble Society of the Steadfast and the chaotic Ascendant Order to the table, and players must uncover the true motives of both sides as they wind through the expansion’s main story arc.

Lambert acknowledged that the Arthurian legends, and their aesthetic as traditionally presented, informs a lot of the set design and activities in High Isle. Bretons are, in fact, an analog for Britons, even though they’re half-elf. (In Elder Scrolls lore, “Breton” comes from a dead language and means “half.”)

” We wanted [the setting] feel like a resort more than any other,” Lambert stated. “To the team, when I was going through [the backstory] I said, ‘This is where nobility goes, this is where money goes, this is Las Vegas meets the Roman times.’ How can we make this as pristine and as beautiful as possible? And the team just jumped in on that and started digging into it.”

Asked for his favorite, can’t-miss location that Elder Scrolls fans should be sure to visit in High Isle, Lambert mentioned one of the expansion’s two new NPC followers, Ember, a Khajit street-survivor with a talent for magic. Lambert stated that Ember, a Khajit street-survivor with a talent for magic, is’such a cool character and story. “I think players are going to enjoy the heck out of her and that objective.”

Grid View

The other unlockable companion is Isobel Velois, a Breton knight. She’s not a straight lift of Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, but if that’s how players relate to her role within High Isle, Lambert sounded fine with it. Lambert stated that she could play one of these roles. She and her family are knights. Her objective is to see right and wrong, and do the right thing for everyone. She’s not, kind of, your stuffy, pompous, ‘I’m a knight, therefore, you know, worship the ground I walk on.’ She’s got her own traits and flaws and whatnot.”

In terms of gameplay, a notable new feature is Tales of Tribute, a tavern game that evolves as a deck-building diversion to play against NPCs and human players. Tales of Tribute will allow players to unlock decks and cards as well as chart advancement with the help of leaderboards.

Image: Zenimax Online Studios/Bethesda Softworks

Considering that High Rock and High Isle are so much undiscovered country for an Elder Scrolls video game — other than Online, its last appearance as an explorable video game world was 1996’s The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall — Lambert agreed that this expansion effectively put him in charge of a huge chunk of canon for the series, which turned 28 on March 25.

“But one of the things that we have established over the years is this sense of trust; [Bethesda Game Studios] trusts us with the IP — we’ve been working on this game since, you know, for me it’s been 2007, but it’s been live since 2014,” Lambert said. “And we treat the IP with respect. They are very close to us, whenever we do anything. And they’ve given us carte blanche to do whatever we want with High Isle. It’s great.”

Overwatch 2‘s first new hero, Sojourn, will bring a railgun, Canadian representation, and the game’s first playable Black woman hero to the game. On Thursday, Blizzard Entertainment gave Overwatch fans their first real taste of what else Sojourn will bring to the game, highlighting how she’ll add to the still-growing roster of Overwatch 2.

Sojourn arrives at the fight with more than a quick-firing railgun. She also has a rocket-powered sliding maneuver that will allow her to be agile and difficult to hit during fights. The Disruptor Shot is also her weapon of choice — Sojourn can be seen using that shot along with her boost-powered slide jump to terrorize a bunch of enemies in the gameplay teaser video above. Finally, we see her Ult in action: Sojourn’s Overclock ability keeps her railgun charged, and charged shots will pierce through multiple enemies.

Here’s the official breakdown of Sojourn’s ability kit in Overwatch 2:

Rail Gun
Primary Fire: Rapid-firing projectiles that generate energy on impact
Secondary Fire: High-impact shot that consumes stored energy

Power Slide
Ground slide that can cancel into a high jump

Disruptor Shot
Launch an energy shot that slow and deals damage to enemies within it

Ultimate: Overclock
Railgun energy auto-charges for a short duration and charged shots pierce enemies

Blizzard published a deep dive video into Sojourn’s history on Wednesday. It reveals how Vivian Chase (a Canadian member of special forces) came to join, leave, and re-join. the heroes of Overwatch. But for a more in-depth look at the character and her creation, read The Verge’s exclusive interview with Blizzard on Sojourn.

Overwatch 2 will go into closed beta testing on April 26 on Windows PC. Blizzard Entertainment revealed in March that the company was “decoupling” Overwatch 2‘s PvE and PvP elements in an effort to get the sequel to 2016’s Overwatch out sooner. Overwatch 2 will bring with it new heroes, multiple hero reworks, new maps, a new gameplay mode called Push, and a new ping system.

In November, Blizzard Entertainment announced it was “planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV than originally envisaged,” hinting that the two titles, both announced in 2019, could slip to 2023. But with Overwatch 2 soon entering beta, it’s possible Overwatch fans could get their sequel — at least the multiplayer PvP component of it — this year instead. Blizzard has not communicated any kind of release date for Overwatch 2.

Publisher Activision Blizzard said in November it was giving the Overwatch team “extra time to complete production and continue growing their creative resources to support the titles after launch,” acknowledging turmoil and turnover at Blizzard as contributing to the game’s longer-than-expected development.

I stopped attending church two years ago after Katrina.

For one reason, my mom had problems with the Catholic Church’s stance on divorce — my parents had divorced when I was six, civilly, respectfully, and to the benefit of all parties involved — and that slowly caused our habitual attendance at mass to wane. In the middle of all that is involved in rebuilding a home after a disaster, including fighting insurance companies and finding contractors to make rentable temporary homes for two kids, Catechism classes became less important. The storm itself was not the only reason, but the reality of the aftermath contributed. So I stopped going.

For a while, religion was not something I missed. Actually, it was something I found myself grateful for. Its pitfalls, its misdeeds and its followers were all obvious to me. How could anyone trust anything so blindly, despite the failures surrounding it? That faith was beyond my comprehension.

Image: Geography of Robots/Raw Fury

Norco, the point-and-click adventure game based on the New Orleans suburb of the same name, is a mystifying experience. The writing of the book is beautiful and inspiring, sparking a creative fire within you. You begin as Kay, returning home after the death of your mother Catherine. With all your usual doubts and resentments, you left home for the mundane reasons. Your inner monologue will overlay the landscapes and memories of your childhood as you write your backstory. You remember the years you were gone, including the war you stumbled into. While recounting a story about hiding in a freightliner, you are given three dialogue options: “I prayed.”; “I slept.”; “I forget.”

I was presented with the following options two times: one when I played the demo, and another when I started the full game. Although I wasn’t religious, each time I selected “I prayed”. It was a reflex, with no doubt, and no desire to try another path.

Stepping into Kay’s childhood home, you quickly begin sifting through the lives that have been left frozen in time. In your old bedroom you find books, posters, and mementos, including a stuffed monkey that you can choose whether or not to take with you going forward. You will also find laundry from your mother, her medications and tapes with her warbled thoughts. Million is the escapee android that your mother took years ago. Million can be found in the back yard, leaning on the pickup truck. Million tells you your brother Blake has disappeared — this is the beginning of your quest to unravel the past, present and future for your family as well as the entire town.

Norco‘s pixel art is vibrant and kaleidoscopic, like the stained glass in a cathedral. The first act focuses on the landscape of Norco, from its refineries, to its swampy terrain, to its battered, suburban architecture. As you explore the Greater New Orleans region, the second act takes place beyond Norco. It switches between Kay and Catherine’s viewpoints. To find the Promenade Mall, a group of zealots is camping out in your area with relevant information, you will need to look for clues at City Hall and concerts. The third act, however, is even more amazing. You set out to search for your brother and you end up in the marshes. Along the way you meet a huge bird covered in mud whose eyes were stolen. Norco also provides some really solid comic relief, from launching a cat through the ceiling to a lengthy story about a guy shitting himself.

Image: Geography of Robots/Raw Fury

The pixel style also captures the comfort and majesty of a Louisiana sunset, its blockiness mirroring the density of humid, summer air. My obsession with sunrises and sunsets is well-known. I have hundreds of pictures, each depicting a unique staining of the sky. The special ones are the ones I cherish, as well as the people who were there with me. I also remember those times when it was oppressive and held me close. Today, my friends will text me, You seein’ this shit? and I’ll reply, Yeah man, can you believe it? With each new pixel scene that passes my computer screen in Norco, I want to text my friends, You seein’ this shit? searching for someone able to reply, Yeah man, can you believe it?

Norco blends a myriad of genres to tell its story, from cyberpunk, to mystery, to Southern Gothic. This appreciation of the environment permeates all aspects of the game. Technology is destroying the area. These technologies include those that are part of our everyday lives, such as smartphones and oil refineries, but also ones that don’t exist in our daily life, such as corrupted cloud services where characters can upload memories. Norco‘s framing as a mystery allows you to piece together how these technologies came to destroy your hometown.

While the game is mostly a straightforward point-and-click narrative, several of its side stories deviate on a mechanical level. One such side story takes place at a puppet show beneath the highway overpass. It is about an alligator who lost his child to a shrimper. You are asked by the shrimper to kill him and find the shrimper. You navigate a swamp from an overhead perspective, on a map born of flickering light. Once you find the shrimper, he asks you to kill the alligator instead. You make a choice.

Image: Geography of Robots/Raw Fury

I love point-and click games for both the agency that they offer and the agency that they withhold. But, I love the lessons I get about myself through them. What do you do in the worst or best version of your life? What should I do? What do I say? Is my love for my brother greater than my anger at his actions? Tomorrow, will that be different?

In Norco, I can be a different version of myself — more virtuous, or at least, someone inching toward it. I can apologize for my absence. My family and I can reduce the distance. An eco-terrorist can join me and allow me to break into an oil refinery that is ravaging my community.

I chose to kill the shrimper. The screen was covered in blood as I shot the shrimper. I returned to the alligator and told it that I had completed my mission. But the alligator laughed at me, and decided to eat me anyway. No matter what my intentions, I was forced to make a choice.

As you fall further into the underworld of Norco, what you’re asked to believe in becomes more extreme. When confronted with the possibility of an angel, you are given two reaction choices: “There’s no such thing” or “What if you’re wrong?” I chose “There’s no such thing.” The other character counters, “When the freightliner sped down the highway, did you not pray? The clarifying light that eliminates doubt is not something you are unfamiliar with.

I froze, embarrassed how quickly I’d forgotten. I had prayed — twice.

Image: Geography of Robots/Raw Fury

I have a growing desire to be religious as I get older. It’s nice to think of something greater than myself, something that can quell my endless questioning. I have friends who take their religion seriously, and I’m envious of that ritual and solace. But as I journeyed through Norco, I realized that while I lack religion, I have ample faith. I have chosen to stay in Louisiana, despite all the evidence stacked against it. Despite rising living costs and the tourist economy’s job boom, I chose to stay. Norco is part of a stretch of land with air so polluted it’s referred to as “Cancer Alley“; still, lawmakers push to make Louisiana a “sanctuary state” for fossil fuels. I stay. Each hurricane season grows longer and more intense, so I remain. I remember sitting on my porch after Hurricane Ida and marveling at the beauty of every sunset. The Louisiana sky was never in doubt.

Norco ends on a visceral note that will speak to Louisiana’s staunch hangers-on, but also to anyone seeking a beautiful, oppressive, and ultimately hopeful story. My reaction to the past and future was overwhelming. As I heaved and sobbed over my computer screen, I thought once again about faith — the kind it takes to stay here. If you don’t understand that faith, Norco may very well convince you.

Norco was released on March 24 on Windows PC and Mac. The game was reviewed on PC using a pre-release download code provided by Raw Fury. Vox Media is an affiliate partner. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.