Trauma reduced to 20% additional damage (was 25%).
Dungeons and Raids
The Nighthold
Krosus
Searing Brand damage reduced by 15%.
Star Augur Etraeus
Fel Burst, Starburst, and Iceburst damage reduced by 15%.
Gul'dan
Fel Scythe damage reduced by 15%.
Gul'dan's health decreased by 3% on Heroic and Mythic difficulties.
Items
Draught of Souls damage is reduced by 15% for Fury Warriors (was 40%).
Draught of Souls damage is reduced by 20% for Arms Warriors (was 40%).
Corrected an issue where Siege of Orgrimmar Heirlooms appeared to be usable at level 1 after being upgraded.
The Elemental Shaman Embrace of the Living Mountain 2-piece set bonus now has a 10% chance to refund Maelstrom spent on Earth Shock (was a 45% chance).
The Fury Warrior Battlegear of Iron Wrath 4-piece set bonus now provides a 2 second reduction to Battle Cry (was 10 seconds).
Bloodthirst's heal is reduced by 25% in PvP situations.
Professions
The item level of most Legion crafted gear is now 850, and can now be increased up to 900 with Obliterum.
Existing gear below item level 850 will not have its item level changed, and will display "Obliterum: 0/10", but it will be brought up to item level 855 with one application of Obliterum.
Attempting to apply Obliterum to Skullblasters will no longer consume the Obliterum and Blood of Sargeras.
Crates of Bobbers should no longer drop if you already know the toy that they teach.
Tier 20 Tuning, pre-Tomb of Sargeras
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker)
Along with the launch of Patch 7.2.5 we are making tuning adjustments to a number of soon-to-be-available Tier 20 set bonuses. The target is as usual, relative power balance between Tier 20 set bonuses of different classes/specs and with the previous tier's set bonuses.
Note that this is the round of Tier 20 tuning we're doing before Tomb opens, and we may make further adjustments as needed once Tomb opens and we have more live data.
Death Knight - Frost
2pc:Requires 60 Runic Power (up from 40) spent per 1 sec of duration increase to Pillar of Frost.
Druid - Balance
4pc: Total buff duration increased to 20 sec (up from 15 sec).
Druid - Feral
2pc: Rip generates 1 Energy (down from 2) when it deals damage.
4pc: Rip deals 10% (down from 15%) increased damage and lasts 4 sec (down from 8 sec) longer.
Mage - Frost
2pc: Critical strike damage bonus granted reduced to 20% (down from 30%).
Hunter - Marksmanship
4pc: Aimed Shot reduces the cast time and focus cost of your next Aimed Shot by 8% (down from 15%). Buff duration reduced to 6 sec (down from 12 sec).
Monk - Windwalker
2pc: Swapped with 4pc and is now: Rising Sun critical strikes reduce the cooldown of Fists of Fury by 3 sec (up from 2 sec).
4pc: Swapped with 2pc and is now: "When Fists of Fury ends, the critical strike chance of Rising Sun Kick is increased by 65% (up from 50%) for 5 sec."
Paladin - Retribution
2pc: Swapped with 4pc and is now: "Judgment increases Blade of justice damage by 15% for 8 sec."
4pc: Swapped with 2pc and is now: "Blade of Justice generates 1 additional Holy Power."
Priest - Shadow
4pc: Insanity drains 10% slower (down from 15%) while in Voidform. Insanity drains 5% slower (down from 10%) while in Voidform if you have Surrender to Madness talent.
Rogue - Assassination
2pc: Swapped with 4pc and is now: "Garrote costs 25 less Energy and has 12 sec reduced cooldown."
4pc: Swapped with 2pc and is now: "Garrote deals 60% (up from 30%) increased damage."
Rogue - Outlaw
2pc: Free Pistol Shots increase your critical strike chance by 5% (down from 10%) for 8 sec.
4pc: Half-power Adrenaline Rush duration reduced to 8 sec (down from 10 sec).
Shaman - Elemental
2pc: Swapped with the 4pc and is now: "Reduce the cooldown of Fire Elemental by 3 sec (Storm Elemental by 1.5 sec) when Flame Shock periodic damage deals a critical strike. This effect may occur once every 1 sec."
4pc: Swapped with the 2pc and is now: "While Fire Elemental [or Storm Elemental] is active, your Flame Shock deals 40% increased damage over time and always critically strikes."
Warlock - Affliction
2pc: Soul Shards generated from Corruption damage reduced to 0.65+Haste per minute (down from 1.2+Haste per minute).
Warrior - Arms
4pc: Now casts a total of 3 (down from 6) Mortal Strikes during Bladestorm and a total of 2 (down from 4) Mortal Strikes during Ravager.
Havoc Discussions - 7.2.5 Mechanics and Feel
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker)
Thank you for all the feedback, and apologies for the delayed response.
We agree that there are moments of frustration with the live version of Demon Blades, and are continuing to look into how to address them, but also think that a smooth resource income is not the best solution.
For Havoc, we wanted to create a style of play that used fewer core abilities in favor of having deeper gameplay in other areas (e.g. a higher reliance on movement and battlefield awareness, and higher variation in resource generation). Part of what makes Demon's Bite, a spammable resource generator, work for Havoc is that its interaction with Chaos Strike is not static. You need to monitor how much Fury it generates, and react with Chaos Strike when appropriate.
We tried out having Demon Blades at 100% on the PTR mostly as a quality of life change, and to reduce the periods of time where players running Demon Blades found themselves unable to use any abilities. However, in practice, that change took an already simplified rotation and made it almost completely predictable. Though effective, it made the spec very dull to play. Reacting to your Fury bar is a core aspect of Havoc gameplay, and we don't want to lose that gameplay with Demon Blades.
All that said, we still agree that the current version of Demon Blades is not perfect, and we will continue to iterate. The version we tried on the 7.2.5 PTR was just not the right direction for Havoc.
This is now live - Gul'dan's health has been reduced by 3% on Heroic and Mythic difficulties. Additionally, the damage of Gul'dan's Fel Scythe, Krosus' Searing Brand, and several of Star Augur's abilities has been reduced by 15%.
Upcoming Artifact Knowledge Research Hotfix
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We're currently working on a hotfix intended to significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to reach the Artifact Knowledge cap of 40, in order to allow returning players to catch up more quickly.
Specifically, this hotfix will reduce the time it takes to research ranks of Artifact Knowledge between 26 and 40 to approximately 4 hours each. We hope to make this retroactive to any work orders already in progress when the hotfix is applied. Once these changes are live, a returning player should be able to reach the maximum level of Artifact Knowledge in only a few days.
This hotfix will require extensive testing, but our goal is to apply it within the next day or so.
World Boss - Ana-Mouz Be sure to kill Ana-Mouz in Suramar for chance at item level 860 items and a Fel Relic.
Legendary Upgrade - Stabilized Titan Essence Consumed on Use Stabilized Titan Essence will be consumed on use, just as the previous version was. Keep in mind that you can't start on upgrades until next week.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker)
Hi! This item is practically identical to the one that upgraded a legendary from 910 to 940. It is definitely consumed on use.
Mists of Pandaria Timewalking Mists of Pandaria timewalking is back! It offers rewards such as Yu'lei, Daughter of Jade
Visit Mistweaver Xia to purchase timewalking rewards while the event is live
Reputation tokens (50 x Timewarped Badge) for the Mists of Pandaria factions are also for sale, including friendship items for the Valley of the Four Winds.
Brawl - Packed House The Packed House brawl is now available!
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Up to 30 players clash in this packed Arena match
Crafted Item Scaling
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker)
Crafted items seem to be scaling to 900 ilvl instead of 885 like the patch notes say - intended? Correct. We'll have a complete hotfixes update later today with new hotfixes such as this one.
Legion PvP Season 4 Begins!
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Legion PvP season 4 is here, and the Arenas and Battlegrounds await the clash and clamor of weaponry and magic once more.
Season 3 Rewards Reminder If you participated in Season 3, please keep the following in mind to ensure you receive the rewards that you're due:
Refrain from transferring your character(s) to another realm or faction until after Legion Season 3 rewards have been distributed.
Legion Season 3 titles and mounts will be awarded approximately two weeks after the season ends.
Faction-Based Rewards Don't forget—end-of-season rewards are based on your faction. If you transfer your character to the other faction, you must have 50 wins after your transfer to receive the reward. Please note that you must have 150 wins for Gladiator and Cruel Gladiator.
The Arenas and Battlegrounds await!
Artifact Power Reward Changes The official notes were updated with some additional artifact power changes.
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Legion Raid bosses now have a new Artifact Power item that drops 100% of the time, once per week, on all difficulties except Raid Finder. Bosses in the newest Raid drop more Artifact Power than older Raids.
On Raid Finder difficulty, bosses no longer drop Artifact Power items. Artifact Power is now rewarded once per week at the completion of each Raid Finder wing.
Order Hall Mission Bonus Reputation Rewards Scuuuu on Reddit noticed that missions now reward Greater tokens, such as Greater Tribute of the Broken Isles, that award 1500 reputation. Nightfallen and Legionfall award 750.
The Deaths of Chromie Scenario Chromie needs your help to stop her death! In this solo scenario, you will defeat eight different attacks on Chromie throughout time before it is too late. Head to Khadgar in Dalaran to get started.
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Thanks to everyone that made it out to our drink up last night at the Golden Gopher, I really enjoyed seeing old faces and new friends. It's so funny to see a new person try the Destructoid helmet for the first time. Special thanks to the guys from Enthusiast Gaming for co-hosting and Paul from 213 Hospitality. It was a night to remember!
My favorite stories of the night: One guy who wanted to personally thank Chris Carter for covering his Nintendo fan game that got super shut down by The Man, and the kid from Russia who pressed his aunt to score him an E3 ticket and despite not having the means he drank goat's blood and murdered a family of baby kittens to get here. I admire that sort of tenacity in people. It's just a video game convention, sure but for many of us it's always been about going to where we feel that we belong. Another guy said "I can't believe how nice everyone is here!". I love that. There's never any shortage of buena gente.
We're hoping to host another one this year at PAX West, hope to see you there!
After a couple years of killing it, Sony finally had an off year. That's not to say its E3 2017 presentation was bad. It might even have been better than Microsoft's. But the bulk of Sony's show included new looks at big announcements from Sony's show last year (God of War 4, Days Gone, Spider-Man) and PSX (Uncharted: Lost Legacy) and earlier (Detroit: Become Human), all of which are welcomed, but aren't mad exciting.
The (new) Shadow of the Colossus remaster would've been cooler if the game didn't already have a PS3 remaster, while Monster Hunter: World was a good reveal, but would've been a real feather in Sony's hat if weren't also coming to Xbox One (and PC, later).
It was ok. It was a tight hour. Just nothing explosive. Mama said there'd be presentations like this.
When Metroid Prime 4 was announced earlier today during the Nintendo E3 Spotlight, I naturally assumed it was Retro Studios' big project it has allegedly been working on since the launch of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Turns out I was wrong.
IGN confirmed that during a group interview, Nintendo's Bill Trinen announced the developer is not working on the game. Instead, it's being handled by a "talented new team" under the supervision of longtime producer Kensuke Tanabe.
Hopefully, we'll get a good look at Metroid Prime 4 sometime before the new year because the excitement from that announcement teaser has already subsided in me. Also, there are two days left in this bad boy. That's plenty of time for Nintendo to show us exactly what Retro has been up to these past few years.
Today at E3 2017, GungHo Online Entertainment CEO Kazuki Morishita spoke with Destructoid about the company's upcoming title for the Nintendo Switch. According to Morishita, the game will be an "action game for all ages with a lighter, comical tone."
Morishita could not compare the unannounced game to anything on the market right now, and confirmed it would be a new IP. "No direct comparison exists," Morishita said. "It's a gameplay style that has not been seen before." The game will feature both a multiplayer and single-player component.
Mystery GungHo Switch Game (not the official branding) did not start as a Switch title, having been kicked around for about "4-5 years" before coming to life in its current incarnation.
Start saving up for an impromptu trip to Tokyo. On July 14th Bandai-Namco is opening Japan's largest virtual reality arcade ever, located near the red light district in Shinjuku. They're building new attractions on top of their sold-out VR Zone experiments, which we previewed last year where I almost saved a kitty cat from a skyscraper and then we both plummeted to our death. They're doing Mario Kart this year! Video below.
The new VR cabinet games include Dragon Ball VR “Master the Kamehameha”, Evangelion VR “The Throne of Souls”, Ghost in the Shell Arise: Stealth Hounds and (sic) MARIO KART ARCADE GP VR. There's also a restaurant on location and the company hired a projection mapping specialist NAKED (great name) to make the place look super futuristic and magical. The other Project i-Can games will also be there, so you can easily drop $100 and spend a very dizzy afternoon. The arcade primarily uses Vive headsets with custom camera rigs and Bandai-Namco's arcade cabinetry know-how. Their other games like Hanechari (winged bike) and Dinosaur Jungle Run of Despair also look like irresistible.
The metroidvania genre brings to mind quite a few things: wide exploration, backtracking, and a hearty level of difficulty. But what you don't imagine is that someone could mix it with a completely different style of gameplay. Before playing Yoku's Island Express, I never realized how much the pinball and platforming genres had in common.
Like how the marriage of peanut butter and chocolate changed lives for the better, the strange and miraculous fusion of pinball and metroidvania styles has the potential to do the same.
You've probably never heard of the game studio Lienzo or their new game Mulaka, but once you see the trailer you'll likely keep it on your radar. If I had to describe it to someone in an elevator I might say that Journey and Colosse had a gorgeous low-poly baby. You play as a warlock that, through gifts of the demi-gods, gains the powers of animals and other spirits to grow stronger. Your mission is to convince the mighty heavenly Gods that the human race isn't total dog shit worth flushing. I would hate do have that job. Have you met the people that work at the DMV? After raising some cash on Kickstarter they're now wrapping up development.
Not content with simply making the best third party controller for the Nintendo Switch (and other systems), 8bitdo has announced a few new products to aide gamers in their quest for an actual d-pad on Nintendo's portable console.
Along with revamped versions of their SNES style pads comes a fucking rad looking arcade stick and a pair of Bluetooth speakers (with optional aux input) fashioned with Nintendo d-pads on them.
While Sony had made an announcement about "PlayLink" last night, they didn't share any of the details about the program. I wondered if it was some kind of push into the mobile market for Sony, but the reality is different. PlayLink refers to a new initiative to make games more social, citing Until Dawn as inspiration. Through PlayLink, you and a few friends will use your smart devices to control a variety of different games.
In the introduction video to Hidden Agenda, one of the few games that is heading to the service, Will Doyle (director for Hidden Angeda) mentions that Sony noticed how people were playing Until Dawn on streaming sites and wanted to better integrate viewer feedback into a playthrough. Instead of simply asking an audience to makes choices for you, PlayLink will allow multiple people to use their smart devices to sort of direct the action.
Housemarque (Super Stardust, Resogun) is continuing its trend of throwing as many colorful projectiles as possible at players with a new shooter, Matterfall. The 2D action platformer pits you as a Crysis-cosplayer in a futuristic robo-scifi world under siege by all kinds of mechanical monstrosities.
I got to go hands on with the game at E3 and, after a bit of learning curve, was enjoying how frenetic things got. You run left, right, jump and double jump your way through the environment per genre standards, but also have a dash (which also goes upward for a triple jump). The dash doubles as a way to phase through blue objects in the game, including platforms you activate with your gun. On the other hand, ruby red matter will mess up. Outland connections abound.
Shooting is mapped to the right stick and you can -- and will have to -- shoot in all directions while keeping on the move, because Matterfall throws a lot of bullets your way. You can also dash through enemies to temporarily freeze them. Aside from the standard gun, you unlock new weapons, like a meaty grenade launch and some wild homing bullets, all of which should prove invaluable given how busy things got just in the early levels.
In a boss fight against a giant wasp-looking thing called the "Autonomous Hunter-Killer" whole sheets of projectiles were wiping across the screen at a given time, while zero gravity segments have your character free-floating around obstacles, shooting all the while. Matterfall is the kind of game Housemarque is good at making and should be worth a look when it comes to PS4 on August 15.
I ended up really liking Uncharted 4: A Thief's End because of its story. The wild action setpieces were well paced and there were plenty of smaller, quieter moments that resonated. Everything felt in service to a story about people and their relationships, the same threads that underpin classics like Indiana Jones.
When Sony announced the standalone, Chloe-led Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, the trailer seemed a bit different from Uncharted 4.
But between last night's trailer and the 15 minutes of uninterrupted gameplay I saw in a meeting on the E3 showfloor, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy actually looks a lot like its predecessor. Chloe and Nadine still use the grappling hook that added a new wrinkle to A Thief's End's platforming. At one point the floors breaks away under Chloe and she goes careening down a mud hill with an "Oh shiiit," which I hope is her "Crap! Crap! Crap!"
Even the giant armored vehicle with a mounted heavy gun that menaces Drake in the last game almost like Friday the 13th's Jason is back. There was a lengthy shootout deep in India's the Western Ghats mountains where one of those trucks managed to find enough traction in the rubble of ancient civilization to keep busting through walls like the Kool-Aid mad trying to fuck up Chloe and Nadine's day.
Actually the presentation peaks with the pair, after escaping briefly combat in an aqueduct, getting roughed up by that truck when busts through another wall. In a cutscene, the truck door opens and the game's bespectacled villain, Asav, exits to reclaim an artifact Nadine and Chloe knicked and deliver a menacing monologue about war and sacrifice.
The demo ended with a quick cut to black after he points a gun at Chloe's head, presumably about to kill her, though that feels a bit dramatically inert given that she's the main character. A Thief's End did add enough to the gunplay and its pacing that The Lost Legacy will probably be fun enough to play, but it's going to be Naughty Dog's story that puts it over the top if anything. We'll find out in August.
Knack 2 feels like a fever dream. I missed the initial reports and I missed the Knack 2 announcement. I did notice it become something of a meme online. "Knack 2" people yelled, excitedly, a self-contained joke that might have already morphed into genuine affection for Sony's latest attempt at a mascot platformer. It only ramped up leading up to E3. The Knack 2 tweets poured in. I didn't know it was already real.
Then I found myself at a Sony event a couple hours before their E3 presentation. I ambled around the room with a small plate: a tiny hot dog in a pretzel bun and covered in jalapenos, fries but made out of mushrooms, some other fried dough filled with molten mac and cheese. I saw a TV set up. Above it a sign read "Knack 2." It's 2017 and jokes are real.
There were two levels playable for Knack 2. One focused on combat. Watching a golem made out of seven thousand fidget spinners punching shirtless humans wielding sticks like Donatello is funny, I have to admit.
In a gladiatorial arena, a woman chides Knack, "All you know is three punches and a kick." She explains the "relic energy" that binds him together and suggests he focus it. He learns how to do an Inspector Gadget extendo-arm punch. He's like pointy Dhalsim. He beats up more Knack-like creatures with bright green eyes. They look like Bionicle.
The second level is more platforming heavy, as the Johnny Quest-knock off kid, scientist, and burly uncle quest into the forest in search of magic science. There's drop-in, drop-out co-op (a blue Knack monster emerges from the red one's body; he phases back in and disappears during cutscenes). It's fine.
The enemy animation has some cute idiosyncrasies if you look closely, but a lot of the things I punched were tiny. The one wrinkle to the otherwise standard platform jumping was sometimes having to shed some of Knack's bulk to become little Knack in order to walk along a narrow ledge or lip in the environment. Mitigating the frustration of co-op platforming, a single button press will teleport either player right behind the other.
Maybe the story, which I didn't get much of, is worthwhile this time around. Maybe more move unlocks will make the combat more exciting. I was able to parry an arrow with a well-time block, but it didn't feel necessary. It's probably a good game to play with your youngest children, but I'm still surprised Sony is even making a new Knack.
Forza Motorsport has hit that sports game level of iteration. Things like Madden and FIFA were excellent many many years ago; now it's all about inching ever-closer to perfection. The seventh installment of Forza Motorsport is right there, now focused mostly on nailing the smaller details that might hold it back.
That's what the hardcore racing community wants from Forza Motorsport at this point -- to make it feel more like real racing. That has always been the simulation-heavy Motorsport's angle. Horizon's tasked with sucking in the more casual fan.
Developer Turn 10 has a very important addition to Forza Motorsport 7 for Windows 10 PC players. In an E3 behind closed doors appointment, we were told that this new game will support all fan-requested racing wheels on the market. If you have a favorite wheel, it sounds like it'll work with Forza Motorsport 7.
Creative director Bill Giese made it seem as if Xbox One players will have comparable racing wheel support, but the specifics of that were left hanging. Even if the compatibility is impressive, it's tough to imagine that it'll be as open as on PC. It should be robust, regardless.
Giese went so far as to suggest that players could actually race with most USB devices, if they wanted to put themselves through that. He mentioned that Turn 10 had a day recently where employees brought in whatever gaming peripherals they had at their homes. You could rip around the track with a Guitar Hero controller if you wanted; Giese did this and says that he may not have won, but at least he looked the most stylish.
Supplementing the racing wheel support is a new viewing mode that's wheel-less. For those players who have their car's steering wheel is right in front of them, this view is to keep them from seeing it twice. It's another one of those little touches. Again, this is about getting as close to real racing for a lot of people. Turn 10's getting there, steady as she goes.
Microsoft's announcement that Minecraft would be getting unified servers for almost every version was huge for fans of the game. It means that there is no longer going to be separate eco-systems and that friends could enjoy the game regardless of their platform of choice. It's a similar story to what developer Psyonix has done for Rocket League, allowing PC, Xbox One and Switch players to all play together while PS4 users are left in the dust (although they can play with PC users on separate servers).
One would imagine that Sony would want cross-network functionality on PS4, since people buying games for their system is a priority. Apparently, that isn't the case. In an interview with Eurogamer, Sony's global head of sales and marketing, Jim Ryan, gave a pretty silly answer with regards as to why Sony isn't allowing more flexibility with PSN.
"We've got to be mindful of our responsibility to our install base. Minecraft - the demographic playing that, you know as well as I do, it's all ages but it's also very young. We have a contract with the people who go online with us, that we look after them and they are within the PlayStation curated universe," Jim stated. "Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it's something we have to think about very carefully."
That certainly is a load of nonsense, especially when Nintendo (a company built on a family friendly image) is allowing the game to interact with other platforms. Ryan continued to give some generic PR language to defend the decision, but did end up saying, "It's certainly not a profound philosophical stance we have against this. We've done it in the past. We're always open to conversations with any developer or publisher who wants to talk about it."
I guess that means if someone is willing to pony up enough cash, Sony will open the flood gates for other platforms. Regardless of what the true answer is, it seems we won't be having a unification of online games with Sony anytime soon. I guess when you're selling 60 million consoles, you don't need to care about anyone else.
At the tail end of their Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions stream, Nintendo showed off two new amiibo -- the Koopa Troopa and Goomba, that will presumably launch alongside of the game. As usual no details were given, but the existing Boo amiibo will also work.
Given the huge minion angle that the "plus" portion of the game entails (with a new battle system to boot) I can see these being innocuous little power-ups.
I can get used to all of these great announcements rolling out all day from Nintendo.
Direct from the Treehouse stream, the Big N showcased Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions for the 3DS. It's It's a remake of the turn-based Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, which was released in 2003 on the GBA, but with new content -- hence, the "plus."
This was rumored roughly a month ago but that leak did not account for the Bowser's Minions portion, which has a new hero "Captain Goomba," a brand new battle system, and an extended story that involves rescuing Bowser.
If you've ever played Forza Horizon, then Need for Speed Payback will seem very familiar. They're both open-world driving games set in the desert, they both feature a stunt chain system that doles out experience based on how well you do for how long, and both games have derelict old cars hidden around the world that you can fix up. None of those aspects are exclusive to Horizon, but they work in concert to make Payback a recognizable experience.
But the glue that holds Payback together is the game's sense of flair – something Horizon had in spades. Whereas Horizon was set in and around a neon-tinted Coachella-esque music festival, Payback follows three car-based criminals as they take down a group of worse criminals, who also do a lot of car stuff.
So if Forza Horizon is the video game equivalent of this Pepsi commercial, Payback is a full-length Fast and Furious game.
This is just too much. Yet another amiibo reveal just happened on the Nintendo E3 Treehouse show -- two more figures for Fire Emblem Warriors.
As you can probably tell it's Chrom and Tiki, which will both interface with the upcoming Koei Tecmo/Nintendo production. No direct details were confirmed, but the figures themselves were shown during the stream.
Not keeping count? That's 11 new amiibo confirmed today. Need a full up to date checklist for all things amiibo? We have you covered.
Update: Added new 10% off coupon which makes ALL the deals at GMG significantly better, including Shadow of War for 28% off. We've replaced deals from other retailers such as DLGamer and GamersGate now that GMG pricing blows them out of the water.
Took the right kool-aid this morning and bought into the E3 Hype? For PC gamers looking for E3 announced games with a pre-order discount, you won't be disappointed. While publishers are still clamping down on pre-order deals compared to years past - there are some a few notable hot deals out there while the buzz is at its peak.
Perhaps the best example is Total War: Warhammer II at GamesPlanet. The game received a new trailer and a September 28 release date at E3 and is now available at various retailer, including Steam Store for $59.99.
Thanks to favorable currency conversion rate, you can pick up the Steam key at GamesPlanet for £37.99 (5% off the full £39.99 list price in the UK) - this translates to about $48 in USD, a solid 20% discount with accompanied pre-order bonuses. We've broken the deals below down by retailer and ordered by release date. If you spot a dead deal, let us know and we'll update accordingly.
GMG also has a horde of E3 announced games with the various degree of incentive from as little as 12% off to the usual 20% off discount. On top of this, there is a voucher code to enter in at checkout where you can stack an additional 10% off the instant savings. These discounts are fairly decent for early pre-orders and in some cases are the only discounts available for those titles on PC (e.g., you won't find a deal on The Fractured But Whole anywhere else legitimate as of writing).
No expiration date exist for the deals above if you're not the type to play Day One - we'd suggest sitting back to wait for bigger price cut months after release (and of course when reviews are in).
Game deals from Dealzon. Sales help support Destructoid.
Nintendo had more new games than you'd expect, eh? Kirby, Yoshi, Metroid -- most of Nintendo's big names seem like they'll have a Switch title not long after the console releases. Didn't really expect that much fire out of a 30-minute video.
It looks like most of that new stuff already has listings on Amazon, too. So, anyone who wants to reserve a spot in line for things like Metroid Prime 4, here's an opportunity to do so. You do you, friend.
In all we got confirmation of nine amiibo (four for Breath of the Wild, three for Mario Odyssey, and now, two for Metroid: Samus Returns). One is a "squishy" amiibo of the titular creature, and another is based on Samus' Metroid 2 pose. Nintendo declined to comment on the functionality, but said that the OG Samus and Zero Suit Samus figures would work too.
All of this is capped by a special edition, featuring a 25-track OST and a reversible cover. Yowza! They're actually doing something Metroid related that isn't a throwaway spinoff.
Nintendo wasn't kidding when it said it had more "surprises" after their big Spotlight presentation. In addition to three new amiibo, they also showed off Metroid: Samus Returns, a remake of the second Game Boy Metroid game. Now we know why they were so pissed at the fan remake AM2R.
Developed with MercurySteam (and with Yoshio Sakamoto overseeing the project), it'll feature 360 degree aiming, a 3D art style (not pixel art), and a melee counter system. Special Metroid: Samus Returns powers were shown -- one of which is a scan pulse that reveals hidden areas. Players can also pin portions of the map using the 3DS' bottom screen.
Metroid: Samus Returns will arrive on 3DS on September 15, 2017.
Nintendo may have stolen the show with Mario Odyssey, but that doesn't mean his rival isn't still looking impressive. Well, I mean, mostly impressive, since these new videos for Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces seem to show off more of the side kicks you'll be using in-game rather than Sonic, himself.
Did Nintendo do it, along with Ubisoft? Did it 'co-win' (not that it's necessarily possible) E3? We'll see when the poll dust settles later today and we report back tomorrow with our findings.
In the meantime, I'm leaning toward giving it to the former. Sure some of it was teasing, but we got confirmation of Metroid Prime 4 and a core Pokemon console RPG, as well as some kick ass videos. I'm pretty much sold on Mario Odyssey as of today.
Still, we didn't really get anything massive outside of Beyond Good & Evil 2, and all around this E3 we didn't get very many new IPs. So maybe Ubisoft takes the crown since they technically had something new? I can't decide!
Revealed by way of the Treehouse stream after their E3 Spotlight, the game's producer stated that by tapping them to the Switch they'll grant "costumes and an assist function," but declined to comment further.
In all that makes for seven (nine) (eleven) amiibo (nope, 13 and counting!) confirmed today at E3. Need a full up to date checklist for all things amiibo? We have you covered.
Nintendo showed off more concrete footage of Super Mario Odyssey and it looks stellar. Not only is there a friggin T-rex in the game, but Mario can apparently control different creatures by throwing his hat at them. You can become one of those weirdly tall humans from the initial trailer.
The title of the game comes from the ship Mario will use to explore different regions. Dubbed the "Odyssey," Mario will be traveling all over the world in an effort to thwart Bowser's nefarious schemes (one of which looks like forcing Peach to marry him).
A new set of four amiibo characters from Zelda: Breath of the Wild have been announced and they're also compatible with the upcoming new DLC for the game. The new Breath of the Wild amiibo are based off of Daruk, Mipha, Revali, and Urbosa.
Their exact in-game function and release date aren't revealed yet as of this writing, but the first DLC's release date of June 30 and the second DLC coming out in Holiday 2017 might give us some idea of when they'll hit the shelves and quickly disappear.
Yoshi isn't made of yarn like in Woolly World for his next appearance, but the areas still have that diorama look, as if they were built out of found materials.
It looks like the next Yoshi game will feature two-player cooperative play, and although it's a 2D platformer, it allows players to view the plane from either side, concealing and revealing certain areas depending on which perspective is used.
There isn't a full title out there for it yet, but it's set to release some time in 2018.
We finally got a first look at Breath of the Wild's DLC. The first pack, The Masters Trials is coming June 30, while the second pack, The Champions Ballad, is dated for Holiday 2017. They are only available if you buy the Expansion Pass; they can not be purchased individually.
One of the core game's biggest issues was a lack of characterization, only getting snippets of these characters in the form of flashbacks. Hopefully the Champions Ballad will provide some more depth to them.
Still sitting with a "later this year" release, Fire Emblem Warriors doesn't have a whole lot to prove.
The world fell in love with Hyrule Warriors from the joint efforts of Koei Tecmo and Nintendo, and I fully expect the same level of care with this universe. In the meantime you can watch some new footage from the game's story mode, which debuted with Nintendo's E3 Spotlight today.
Next to nothing was even shown about the game, but Metroid Prime 4 will be coming to Nintendo Switch at some point in time. Whether or not Retro Studios is working on it remains to be seen, but at least Nintendo hasn't forgotten about Samus! METROID LIVES!!!!
As if the heavens have finally opened and Arceus has answered our prayers, The Pokemon Company's Tsunekazu Ishiara has confirmed that they are making a "Core RPG Pokemon title" for the Nintendo Switch. No news of a release date just yet, but the reveal from the Nintendo E3 stream mentions "next year", which is 2018.
This is a confirmation of the recent job listing for a "Globally popular RPG" from Game Freak, the developers of Pokemon. The job listings are for until May 2018 so take that as a clue of the release window for this new title.
[Update:Rocket League is scheduled to release during the holiday season this year. It will contain all of the arenas and modes that currently exist and feature cross-platform multiplayer to get into games with everybody else. For Switch-exclusive stuff, it'll have local wireless multiplayer for groups with several Switches, Mario and Luigi hat car toppers, and some exclusive cars that weren't shown.]
Nintendo's E3 2017 presentation just started, and in its opening sizzle reel it already dropped a tease on everybody's favorite soccer-in-cars game, Rocket League. Yep, it's coming to Nintendo Switch.
It's kind of a brilliant way to keep it relevant over the years. It debuted on PC and PS4 in 2015, came to Xbox One in 2016, and now looks to be hitting Switch in 2017. Personally, I can't wait to get my Rocket League on in handheld mode while TV plays in the background. The short matches are perfect for it. I'm just hoping the online functionality is up to snuff.
Nintendo announced a new Kirby game at their E3 showcase, simply titled "Kirby." Quite a surprise after so many fancy spin-offs and subtitles. Overall not much was shown beyond what looks like you're typical Kirby including Whispy Woods. It is scheduled for a 2018 release on Nintendo Switch.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 made a showing today at E3 in video form.
It was a pretty hefty trailer filed with cinematics and gameplay of exploration/battle sequences, as well as a showcase of the English voice cast. It's confirmed for a "holiday 2018," window, whereas previously it was set for the third or fourth quarter.
Here it is, the finale. Now we just have to, you know, actually do E3. But Nintendo's Spotlight signals the end of all the preliminary festivities. In mere hours, we'll be running from appointment to appointment across the slightly-more-packed show floor.
What's Nintendo going to accomplish in its half-hour presentation? It has games to talk about (Splatoon 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Fire Emblem Warriors), but none of them are bigger than Super Mario Odyssey. Expect Mario's New Donk City escapades to get a big chunk of the attention. But, a SNES Classic announcement would steal the show.
Afterward, there will be a Nintendo Treehouse to break down some of what we just saw. Actually, Nintendo's running those kind of adjacent to E3, with one taking place every morning of the convention.
But, for now, we're just concerned with the mostly (if not entirely) pre-recorded Spotlight. Let's find out how the Switch is shaping up for the holiday season, approximately one year from its release. Did E3 save the best for last? Weigh in down in the comments section.
Last night at E3 with their conference, Sony kind of did the same limping strategy that Bethesda did -- make hundreds of people walk into a theater to watch a presentation on stage that didn't actually take advantage of the stage in any form.
I get the "it's just games" angle, but when so many of them were already known, shown before the conference, or just drizzled in with no explanation (wouldn't it have been cool if the folks from Supermassive went on stage and explained that Inpatient was in the same universe as the "critically acclaimed" Until Dawn?), it ended up feeling flat.
Well, this morning Sony broke the ice by saying that they've sold through "more than 60.4 million units worldwide as of June 11, a number I assumed they would share during E3 as they approached 60 million shipped late last month. They're also stating that the PlayStation ecosystem has 70 million monthly active users, and that their PlayStation Plus conversion rate is 24.6 million paid subscribers.
That's all good news, and Sony has rocked it this year with tons of great exclusives, but I really expected more at E3. Maybe next year?
It's no secret that the once on-top Mega Man producer (and father of the character, not creator) has been struggling with the studio he founded in 2010, Comcept. Mighty No. 9 failed to meet basically anyone's expectations, so much so that some speedrunners are even running it "ironically," because they want to see how much they can break the game. ReCore didn't fare much better as the game still technically isn't even complete and was panned, Red Ash is a complete mess, and Kaio: King of Pirates lost publisher Marvelous $3.8 million dollars. It hasn't been a good past few years.
But that's all changed as Level-5 has acquired the studio, which is now known as Level-5 Comcept. It's a subsidiary that will evidently work together with its parent company and not be given straight marching orders. According to Inafune there were talks about joining hands as early as 2013, mostly because of his love for Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino. Their first project is a mobile game called Dragon Colonies, which is set for 2018. The new studio is comprised of roughly 15 people in Osaka, but they want to add more bodies eventually.
At this point it's safe to say that Red Ash will see the light of day, and perhaps many more Comcept projects to come. But now instead of blowing through a Kickstarter budget, they'll have to answer to Level-5. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can come up with -- so long as they're basically not a mobile studio now.
With a few big companies winding down their presence, the ESA is winding up their attendance numbers with public entry. But unlike (the bigger) Tokyo Game Show that has press and public days they're tossing 15,000 people into the fray to make up for a 3.5% less in attendance from 2015 to 2016. Let's see how it goes!
But enough raw numbers talk, here's what you came for -- the conference times. We'll update them as they change and bring you the news as it comes closer to E3.
Death Knight - Frost
Druid - Balance
Mage - Frost
Hunter - Marksmanship
Monk - Windwalker
Paladin - Retribution
Priest - Shadow
Rogue - Assassination
Shaman - Elemental
Warlock - Affliction
Warrior - Arms
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