With Diablo 4's first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, shown at Xbox's Summer Game Fest showcase this week, players are being treated to a few premium goodies right now for preordering. But perhaps more importantly, a much-requested feature has finally arrived: pets.

Let's take a look at how to get your own dog - and I will not be calling it anything other than a "dog" - right now.

How to get the dog pet in Diablo 4

First, head to Kyovashad and make your way to the quest icon shown below to find a dog, speak with the dog, and become friends with the dog:

That's uh, kind of it, actually! There's no grand quest or anything, just a dog standing there waiting for you to come along and guide it out of the frozen streets of Kyovashad. You can equip your new pal by using the Wardrobe, going to the Pets tab, and selecting "Confirm Look." You can also pet the dog by using the "Hello" emote near it. Everybody loves to pet the dog these days.

The other three pets are locked behind a Vessel of Hatred pre-order, including a differently-colored dog and two not-so-big cats. The promise of pets being included in future Season Passes has me unreasonably excited.

Pets have been a pretty fan-requested feature for some time now, since in Diablo 3 they were invaluable for automatically gathering gold and resources as you adventure. They'll do much the same in Diablo 4, saving you just a little bit of extra running around as you slaughter foes.

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Diablo 4's best new endgame addition, The Pit, is a twist on Diablo 3's Greater Rift formula. These procedural, randomized dungeons reward you with the items necessary for masterworking gear, so they're essential if you want to push a build to its limits. You'll just need one thing before you head in: Runeshards.

It takes three Runeshards to enter the Pit at any tier, so stockpiling these should be in the back of your mind while doing other content. They drop from Nightmare Dungeons of tier 46 or higher, Tree of Whispers Caches, Legion Events, and World Bosses. As for farming these, here's my preferred method.

Farming Runeshards in Diablo 4

The quickest way I've found to farm Runeshards is to blitz through the lowest Nightmare Dungeon tier that drops them: tier 46. At the Occultist, you can craft Nightmare Dungeon Sigils of varying levels, which works (almost) perfectly for our farming method.

To get started, simply craft level 41-50 Sigils and save the ones between 46 and 50 while salvaging the rest. As you complete these dungeons, you'll be rewarded with Sigils of similar quality. If you're blasting even higher Nightmare Dungeons, go ahead and do those so you can level you Paragon Glyphs quicker as well.

One tier 46 Nightmare Dungeon nets you the three Runeshards you'll need for a single Pit run. If you get burnt out on dungeons, you can try blasting the Helltide for a bit and completing the Tree of Whispers bounties inside for a cache that will also net you at least three Runeshards. If you alternate these activities while keeping an eye on Legion and World Boss timers, you'll have a stockpile of shards before you know it.

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Crow Country features only a handful of weapons, but about half of them can be easily missed. The flamethrower, a late-game unlockable that relies on gasoline for fuel, is no exception. Let's quickly go over what you'll need to unlock it, 100% spoiler-free.

First, you'll need to be sure you've obtained the Data Disk. This is a mandatory late-game item, so if you haven't found it yet, you don't need to worry about missing out on the flamethrower. Just come back to this guide once you've got your hands on it.

Next, head to the Train Room:

Once inside, access the terminal at the back left of the room by using your Data Disk. You'll be met with a screen that asks you to assign a letter to each of a train's cars. The train on display in the room is your rubric, while the two plaques and buttons will give you clues as to which letter to assign to each car.

The first plaque says the cars it activates are done in the Arabella and Bernadette styles, while the second says its cars display the Arabella and Delilah styles. These are the letters you'll need to punch in the terminal, and the "styles" they refer to are the shapes found on the top of the cars (not their color, as I initially assumed).

The solution to the puzzle is as follows:

And if you want to see exactly how these are determined, here's a quick breakdown of each "style" that appears on the two running trains (C is entered by process of elimination). The trip-up here is that "A" can appear as either a single rectangle or as two rectangles next to each other:

Just punch these in, and one of the cars in the display train will open containing your prize! By this point in the game, you're likely flush with fuel, so get out there and scorch some flesh.

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What's a survival horror game without a magnum that you'll never fire a single time because there might be an even bigger, badder boss in the next room? Crow Country has its very own boss-killer, and you can get it about midway through the game.

There's only one prerequisite item: the silver key. If you don't have this yet, then there are actually several prerequisite items, but at the risk of spoiling the experience, you can revisit this guide once you've got your hands on it to get your shiny new gun as soon as possible.

First, head over to the Gift Shop, located just off the main square:

Inside, you'll find several items for sale, each of which you can inspect to check the price. Near the cash register at the back of the shop is a note from Mr. Crow himself, which lists several items he's planning on picking out for his daughter Natalie. By adding the price of these items and entering the result, $19.75, into the register, we'll claim our prize:

1. Haunted Hilltop stuffed toy - $5.50
2. Classic Crow Country rubber doll - $10.00
3. Fairytale Town action figure - $4.25

The items aren't labeled exactly as they appear in the shop, and there are many to choose from, so some deductive reasoning goes a long way in finding the right ones. Once you have your hands on the magnum, all that's left is to find some ammo for it. And that's a puzzle even I've struggled with.

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Today, the Diablo IV team sat down to discuss Season 4, player feedback, and future goals for the ever-changing aRPG.

Loot is the reason for the season

A main talking point during the stream was a focus on lessening time spent "sorting" through loot after a brief outing in, say, a Nightmare Dungeon. Less affixes, more meaningful drops, and a higher potential for customization via the new Tempering and Masterworking systems means far less time spent straining your eyes comparing every pair of pants.

Another change that aims to pare down useless loot drops is more guaranteed sources of item level 925 gear. Obol gambling will provide 925 gear, guaranteed, in World Tier 4 at level 100. Helltides, too, will drop maximum item level gear.

The team is also looking to increase the value of Rare and Magic items beyond salvage fodder, but this will come in a future patch. Right now, Legendaries are the star of the show, but even these are getting their own "jackpot" moments through Greater Affixes (1.5x the highest possible value), which are denoted by unique icons when they drop.

Armor and stat cap balance changes

The devs are aware that, currently, enemies that seem easy as players progress will suddenly begin 1-shotting them as the difficulty ramps up. Things like damage reduction and armor values are overly complex at the moment, and these knobs are being turned:

• In Season 4, the armor physical reduction cap is remaining at 85%, but scaling on the amount required will cap out at level 100 monsters
  • This means an armor value of 9,230 will be enough to reach 85% physical damage reduction against all enemies, no matter the level

• Cooldown Reduction's new cap is 75% (from gear)
• Increased Area Size's new cap is 100%
• Fortify Damage Reduction increased from 10% to 15%

Helltide Reborn

Helltide is getting a major facelift in season 4, with a focus on enemy density and activity variety. These changes are permanent, appear in World Tier 1 through 4, and will also be coming to the Eternal Realm.

• New Threat system: the longer you fight, the more monsters will appear (including the player-favorite Hellworm that spits enemies onto the battlefield)
• New enemies: the Hellborn. These function a lot like the Blood Seekers from Season 2, which mimic players' abilities
• New boss: the Bloodmaiden. This boss can be summoned cooperatively with other players through the "Accursed Ritual," which requires 3 Baneful Hearts that drop from the Helltide

Iron Wolves content details

The Iron Wolves will fight alongside players during Helltides, with Seasonal players having access to a new questline involving the faction. This content isn't as juicy as proper, "seasonal" content, but it's a concession since most of the resources clearly went to balance changes and item reworks.

• 18 tiers of rewards, designed to push player power by providing high-stat loot
• Cosmetics including a new mount banner and mount trophy earned by completing the Iron Wolves reputation track
• New seasonal powerup: the Profane Mindcage. For the next 60 seconds, Helltide monster level increases by 10 and increases the amount of Abberant Cinders dropped

Changes based on PTR feedback

• No more fail chances on item Masterworking
• Bad luck protection applies to Baneful Hearts in the Helltide, so they drop more often
• Blood Maiden rewards increased, with more rewards if you contributed in the summoning
• The Pit's difficulty increased: Masterworking materials moved up 10 tiers each, monster health and damage increased
• Nightmare Dungeons and the Pit both drop increasing numbers of Murmuring Obols past level 46 and level 1, respectively
• Murmuring Obols cap increased to 2,500
• Glyph experienced granted by Nightmare Dungeons boosted by 25%
• Boss materials will drop randomly throughout the world as well as from their normal sources
• Ladder bosses have a small chance to drop Uber Uniques

Q&A

These are abbreviated (not quoted) from the Q&A segment of the stream:

• What does this mean for Season Powers in the future?
  • Season 4 is focused on changing major aspects of the game so killing monsters feels good. Seasons are for changing what the developers think is most important for the health of the game. "Big ideas" for the future, you will see powers again.

• Different beam color for items with Greater Affixes?
  • Being considered, but the special star icons feel adequate for now.

• Are Season 4 changes coming to Eternal?
  • Yes, everything besides the Iron Wolves rewards will be coming to the Eternal Realm.

• After itemization, what's the next big system you're looking to change?
  • Players are looking for endgame at level 100, and there are more opportunities for building on the endgame framework.

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Diablo 4's fourth season got a hearty month-long delay, owing to the fact that it's spring-boarding a complete overhaul to the game's itemization, crafting systems, and endgame. Plenty of folks, myself included, are more than a little excited for a new start to Blizzard's powerhouse IP, but we're stuck waiting until May 14. So rather than sit on our clicking hands, I have a few suggestions to help pass the time:

Grim Dawn

Grim Dawn is my absolute favoritest-favorite action RPG. Not only is it an absolute beast in terms of its content (if you cop the expansions on one of the game's regular sales, you're looking at 100+ hours of content at least), it's unmatched in class fantasy and build customization.

Sure, it's not the flashiest action RPG in the world, but its gruff, high contrast aesthetic is a bit reminiscent of the gold-box RPG glory days, isn't it? The oversaturated hue of the spell effects mixed with the pitch black shadows gives it some real character.

Grim Dawn is a fair bit more complex than Diablo, but not nearly the impenetrable fortress that is Path of Exile. Think of it as sitting somewhere in the middle-complexity sweet spot that games like Last Epoch occupy. You can blitz through the campaign on the breezy Normal difficulty or crank things up a few notches and see if your build can stand up to Ultimate.

If you're worried about this game's age meaning it isn't receiving updates or content, you may be pleasantly surprised to hear that that's decidedly not the case. The latest mega-patch, 1.2, saw a whole slew of changes, including difficulty scaling, loot tables, and the addition of an evade button. There's even a whole new expansion on its way, and a second game in early development. So, if you're looking for something with a little grit, it's never too late to become a fan of Grim Dawn.

V Rising

V Rising is, unlike Grim Dawn, markedly not old. In fact, it's not even fully released yet. 1.0 is hitting just a bit shy of Diablo 4's new season, on May 8, but you can explore plenty of the game's content right now in Early Access.

The elevator pitch for V Rising probably went something like, "What if Diablo, survival crafting games like Valheim, and old-school MMO's got thrown in a blender?" You'll hunt down treacherous bosses and collect bear asses both, all in service to your ever-growing castle. The game has the same sticky mechanics that all the great survival games do: you'll craft increasingly impressive and useful tools using workbenches, but you'll only find the blueprints after defeating some of the world's many, many big-bads.

By day, you'll likely be cooped up in your castle, rearranging furniture, stocking the furnace with ore, that sort of thing. But come nightfall, when the sun's rays won't cremate you, you'll be pushing further and further into the wilds, collecting resources and slaying foes.

If you've got a knack for building houses in The Sims or seeing how big you can make your Minecraft fortress, V Rising has a fantastic base-building system that's sure to satiate your lust for interior design. If you also enjoy skill-shotting folks in MOBAs, the game so happens to use WASD movement such that its combat plays like a frenetic mix of League of Legends and Lost Ark. It'll take some getting used to, but this weird combination of cozy homebuilding and action is surprisingly harmonious.

No Rest for the Wicked

And at last, we have Moon Studio's (makers of Ori) very left-field foray into the action RPG space: No Rest for the Wicked. I was embarrassingly excited for this game, which launched last Thursday, April 18 into Early Access.

My recommendation of No Rest for the Wicked comes with two caveats: first, you'll need a pretty juicy rig to run it. With a "recommended" GPU equivalent to an RTX 3070, it isn't particularly optimized in these early days. Second, it barely qualifies as an "action RPG" in the traditional, Diablo-esque sense of the phrase. Its combat is slow, methodical, and heavy.

Those caveats out of the way, what's here is very good so far. The first act of the game is available to play, which should run you anywhere from 10 to 15 hours depending on your propensity for exploration and upgrading the capital city of Sacrament using resources found along your journey.

One of the more progressive features of No Rest for the Wicked is its ever-changing landscapes that are a joy to revisit. Starter zones level up alongside your progress through the campaign, and trekking back through previously explored lands may reveal new enemies, bosses, and loot. Loot rarity has had the script flipped a bit too - "common" items are the most customizable, while higher rarities may come with hefty drawbacks in exchange for their affixed bonuses.

It's early days for the game, but after two quick and beefy hotfixes (which went live over the weekend, no less), I think it's worth keeping an eye on at the very least. Jumping in early is always a bit of a leap of faith, but I haven't regretted a moment spent with the game.

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No Rest for the Wicked, Moon Studio's new action RPG, is a little less Diablo than many players (myself included) were expecting. This dissonance between expectation and reality, no matter the quality of the game, is a surefire recipe for friction.

A glance at the user reviews, currently sitting at a 65% "Mixed" rating on Steam, tells a story of... well, mostly performance issues. But if you look a little closer, complaints of a low stamina economy, plodding enemy encounters, and a high early-game difficulty start to peek through the usual Early Access culprits.

No Rest for the Wicked Combat Tips

Having completed the campaign portion of the Early Access content currently on offer ("Act 1" of what will be the full game), I feel well-versed in its weird blend of Dark Souls meets Diablo. And by "blend," I basically mean 100% of the combat stylings of Dark Souls, and 100% of the camera angle from Diablo.

If you, like me, expected to be able to eventually delete even a handful of enemies at once after finding some gear, you're sorely mistaken. Here are some quick tips sure to dispel the illusion that this is a "typical" dungeon-crawling action RPG.

Slow it down

If you find yourself relatively exhausted after each enemy encounter, this is by design. Every fight is a bit of an ordeal, since you're only going to be fighting upwards of five or six enemies total between rest points. Taking on more than one foe at once is a recipe for disaster, but if you do find yourself outnumbered, try to separate enemies by rushing down ranged units. More crucially: take your time. Trying to rush through fights is a guaranteed way to walk away poorer in resources than you ought to.

Spend your Focus, use your Runes

Your focus meter, indicated by the yellow-orange meter by your health and stamina gauge, is spent using Runes. Runes are essentially spells that attach to your weapons, and every weapon comes equipped with at least one. These are very powerful abilities, and can quickly turn the tide of a fight. There are even some Runes, available for purchase a little later on from Eleanor in Sacrament, that heal you on use. If you also have an aversion to resource-farming, these are a lifesaver when you run low on food.

Level Stamina (at least a little)

Stamina got a little bit of a buff in a recent hotfix, but it can still feel scarce in the early game. Since rolling is your most valuable tool for avoiding damage, be sure to put at least 2 or 3 extra points in Stamina so you can keep up with the relentless attacks of speedier foes. Remember: rolling or dodging grants invincibility frames, which means you'll be invulnerable for the duration.

If all else fails, make some room

Distance between yourself and the enemy has perhaps the highest impact on the flow of a battle. Some enemies have massive, far-reaching weapons with high recovery times. Some unleash flurries of short-ranged attacks in the blink of an eye. In both these scenarios, simply backing out of reach can create the perfect opportunity for a counter-attack. Because you can sprint at any time, in any direction, running literal circles around foes is a more than viable option in the heat of battle. Remember: sprinting into an attack is faster than swinging from a standstill. Use this to punish!

If nothing else, just don't try to play No Rest for the Wicked like Diablo. Of course, I can't stop you, but you don't want to end up like those poor souls in the Steam reviews, do you?

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Helldivers 2's newest Warbond, 'Democratic Detonation,' has been out for about a week now - long enough to unlock the major goodies and put them through their paces. After spending time with each of the passes weapons, I'm here to adjudicate. Here are the winners, and losers, of this explosive Warbond.

The Great

R-36 Eruptor

This gun, this marvelous gun, is essentially a primary-slot Autocannon. If you're even tangentially interested in Helldivers 2, you've already heard a chorus of praise for this explosive sniper rifle, which is capable of clearing hordes of foes in a single shot (my record is a whopping six kills with a single trigger-pull). Not only that, it can also close bug holes and destroy fabricators. No grenades? No problem! The only downside to the Eruptor is being swarmed - its explosive damage is mighty, but indiscriminate. Shoot a foe that's in your face, and it'll take you with it.

The Good

CB-9 Exploding Crossbow

Compared to the Eruptor, this crossbow may seem underwhelming at first blush. It doesn't have the utility of the Eruptor, being unable to close bug holes or destroy Automaton fabricators, but don't be fooled - its much higher fire rate means it specializes more in clearing riff-raff than the lumbering bolt action above. Though it can't take down heavier foes like Devastators with as much ease, being able to spam bolts with deceptively huge explosion radii works wonders when clearing hordes of lesser foes.

GP-31 Grenade Pistol

Even when I'm rocking my favorite armor passive, the Engineering Kit, and have access to six grenades, I'm always running low for one reason or another. If you ever find yourself running an explosion deficit, try this pocket-rocket sidearm for a quick fix. It doesn't hold a ton of grenades (10 maximum), but used in conjunction with your own supply means you'll have a hard time running out. And if you're feeling extra bold, you can even use non-explosive grenades like Stun grenades and rely on the GP-31 to destroy enemy spawn points.

The Bad

BR-14 Adjudicator

The Adjudicator has received the exact inverse reaction of the Eruptor. No one seems to understand what this weapon wants to be. This not-quite-DMR, not-quite-assault-rifle has shockingly low damage per round, a recoil-heavy full auto setting, and a pitiful ammo capacity. Sure, it's medium armor penetrating, but in the time you can take down a Hive Guard or Devastator with this wet noodle of a gun, someone on your team using a gun that actually works will have done the job thrice over. Just horrible.

G-123 Thermite

Oh Thermite grenade, I had such high hopes for you. I chucked one of these onto the faceplate of a Hulk excitedly, thinking that the grenade designed to shred through armor would, you know, do that. Then it fizzled out, so I threw another. And another. And finally I shot the thing with a recoilless rifle and finished the job.

The G-123 Thermite doesn't seem to penetrate heavy armor or do enough damage to the enemy underneath to be worth taking over other grenades. If it filled this one, very specific niche of being able to handle heavy units, I'd say it were perfectly balanced (I mean, you're giving up your grenades to do so). But since it can't even do that, it's best avoided for now.

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