Today I wanted to talk about a totally new type of game that’s gaining a lot of popularity. In late 2018, a totally new type of game called I’m on Observation Duty got released on Steam. Recently, these type of games are exploding on Steam. A spin-off called The Exit 8 gave a totally new spin on the formula. The games are actually a scary spin on the spot the difference style of gameplay. But, what does attract players so much into this formula? Let’s talk about a few titles, and maybe we find an answer to that in this article. Now, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section down below with your thoughts and/or opinions on these games, similar games and/or the content of this article.

Two main gameplay styles

There are actually two major styles in this genre. A lot of streamers call, one style Observation Duty and the other style Exit 8. Both styles have the same core concept. You need to first look at a room and then notice if anything changes or anomalies appear. The way how you deal with these anomalies differs in both styles.

In Observation Duty style games, the idea is mostly always that you are a security guard watching camera’s. You have to flip through camera’s and report the anomalies before there are too much present in the area. In Exit 8 type games, you play through them while walking through the rooms themselves. You have to walk one direction when there is no difference and another direction when there is a difference. The difference is that you have to make a certain amount of correct judgements in a row. One wrong judgement and you are sent back to level 0.

The gameplay is tricky to explain in words and in an article. I wanted to write this article several times, but I was unable to describe it properly. The best way to describe it in my opinion is a non casual spot the difference game.

Ever since, “I am on Observation Duty” and “The Exit 8” hit the scene… A lot of horror game streamers played through them. They gained a lot more popularity. A lot of new titles came out in a rapid pace with different spins on the genre and interesting innovations. I think it will become more clear when I talk about the games I played through or watched my favorite streamers play through.

The Exit 8 – The Platform 8

During the summer of this year, Klamath and I streamed through these two titles. The Exit 8 is one of the earliest games to my knowledge in the 3D style.

The idea is that you are trapped in a looping metro hallway where you have to reach the 8th exit. Travelers are advised to continue walking when nothing out of the ordinary happens. But when suddenly a poster changed or something else changed, you need to turn back.

Like I said in the introduction, when you make one mistake, you start at level 0 again. The first passage through the hallway is always safe. After that, you have to do 8 correct answers in a row. Now, at least 8, since if your 8th run has an anomaly, you need to turn back. You can only win if you have a hallway that has no strange thing, and you are above the 8th hallway.

Something really nice that this game does is, it doesn’t repeat anomalies. When you defeat a certain anomaly, it won’t repeat until you see all of them or reset the game. This makes the game more unpredictable and replayable.

The anomalies in this game range from extremely obvious like suddenly the hallway flooding… But others are sneaky, like a camera that moved location to the other side of the hallway. So, it was a puzzle. Is this room really the same, or did something change. Since you couldn’t go back to check. And there were various details that added to the complexity of the game.

In May of this year, we got the follow-up to this game called The Platform 8. If you thought that was more of the same, think again. This time, you are in the actual metro, and you have to survive 8 carts. The big change is that you can’t fail with an anomaly this time around since the exit door is locked if you need to find the anomaly first.

It’s a change that didn’t sit well with me at first, but I totally understand why. This game is now turned into a more tense game where you have to survive the crazy things that the game throws at you. The game is shorter than The Exit 8, but I’ll say… This game had me spooked and jump several times.

That’s Not My Neighbor

At it’s core, this game is an Observation Duty game. But with a big twist. You are a security guard at the entrance of a building. There are imposters out there, trying to look like your neighbor, and you have to keep them out.

This game tests your reasoning skills and tests you if you can look at all the clues. The best I can describe this game is: a mixture between Papers Please, and I am on Observation Duty. The added layer of difficulty is that you have a lot to keep track of. Who did you let already inside? Who is on the list and for who do you better call their apartment first?

This game is getting frequent updates with more lore and more modes. Each time I see this game being played by the streamers I watch, the new update impresses me. And I totally understand why this game got so big.

There is this extremely catchy song by longestsoloever. The amount of times I played it on repeat is just getting silly. Give it a listen if you like electronic music, but I warn you. It’s an earworm.

Confabulation

Confabulation, noun. Confabulation is a memory error consisting of the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world.

This game does a very interesting take on the actual formula. Instead of explaining the differences and anomalies with unexplained events, in this game it’s caused by a mental illness.

The flow of each play trough of this game is the same. But, the puzzles, the changing objects amongst other things are randomized. It’s up to you to make sure that you avoid you going insane and finding the truth of what happened.

This is an Observation Duty style game, but you can walk around in the area instead of watching at camera feeds. There is an extra layer added with the puzzles that add more information and lore of what happened.

I could talk about it more, but I highly recommend you play this game as blind as possible. The story, scares and impact is that much stronger when you don’t know what’s coming and let yourself be surprised. Watch the candles since they give you amazing hints on where to look next.

ATTA -Spot the Oddities in the Strange Hotel-

What if you have to count the amount of differences in a hallway instead of deciding there is a difference or not? Well, then you describe “ATTA, -Spot the Oddities in the Strange Hotel-“.

This game is an Exit 8 type of game with multiple rooms, where you have to count all the errors in a hallway… While various strange things happen. Like a train suddenly appearing and you have to duck for cover.

The atmosphere this game has, where it leaves you with an open ending that raises more questions than it answers, is the cherry on the cake. It’s a more intense game than your usual games. It may be a short run, but it’s a wild and pleasant ride all the way through.

Hospital 666

The final game I want to talk about today is called Hospital 666. In this game, you try to escape a cursed hospital. The first level has you running down a looping hallway. The second level, has one side room open.

Now, an impressive option that the game gives you is that you can choose if you want anomalies in the hallway or not. So, if you are in the second level, you can choose if you want things in the hallway to change or only focus on the new room.

Something impressive that this game does as well, is when you make a mistake, you can go back to the hallway to see what the mistake was that you made. You still start from the lowest floor of that level, but being able to see what got you is amazing. Since this game has very crazy anomalies but also various very sneaky ones. Like one is that some smiles faces appear on the wall.

In between the levels, there is a boss fight/puzzle that separates the floors from each other. They can be a bit janky, but the developer has updated and optimized the game quite a lot, and it is a lot better. Now, he is currently creating a sequel taking place in a school. And as somebody who works in education, I can’t wait to play through that.

Final thoughts

These games are only a handful of games in the genre. I have given a quick rundown of the games mentioned in this article, but if you are interested, I’m willing to talk more in depth about these titles. My intention with this article is to promote these titles.

Each game listed here is between 5 to €10 and is an amazing ride. These games are short little romps but are bursting to the seams with creativity. I always think, now, I have almost seen everything this genre has to offer. But, then I’m surprised with a new gameplay mechanic or a new setting that changes the atmosphere completely.

So, depending on how well this article does… I might write more of these. If you found amazing titles like this, feel free to send them my way or leave them in the comment section down below. But, for now, I’m going to leave you with my usual outro. Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another one, but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Dead Cells today has received its final major update, The End is Near, after seven years of development.

This will be the 35th update to the game, which has received a number of DLCs to expand gameplay and reference other popular games, from Castlevania to Hollow Knight.

The End is Near expands on the curse mechanic, with three new mobs, three new weapons, and three new mutations.

Read more

Two Legacy of Kain games are being re-released, but for the Evercade retro handheld console.

The Legacy of Kain Collection will include both Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver on one giga cart priced £22.49.

The collection will release next month and will be available to pre-order from 30th August. It's compatible with all Evercade and Super Pocket devices.

Read more

When unveiling the new Pixel 9 series last week, Google revealed that the devices will be the first Android phones to offer its Satellite SOS support. Garmin wasted no time in adopting the upgrade, announcing how its support for the feature will allow more users to raise the alarm in an emergency.

Once available, users who are outside of cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity will be able to use Google’s satellite option to connect with Garmin Response. This round-the-clock service is staffed by professionally trained emergency incident coordinators. It can liaise with a global network of law enforcement agencies to react when an alert to an emergency situation is raised.

Until this point,  Garmin Response required you to have an inReach-enabled device or affiliated Satellite Emergency Notification Device, as well as an active satellite service plan. This move will bring the SOS service to Google Pixel 9 owners, with Garmin planning on extending it to more of the Android ecosystem in the future. It will initially only be available in the US. Garmin also hopes to expand the coverage more globally, although no timeframes have yet been provided.

Garmin Co-Chief Operating Officer Brad Trenkle gave the following quote in the press release:

“Garmin welcomes the opportunity to expand our proven, premium satellite emergency response coordination services to the Android ecosystem, starting with Google Pixel 9 in the U.S. Each year, Garmin Response supports thousands of SOS activations, likely saving lives in the process. We are looking forward to collaborating with Google to help people connect to emergency services when they need them.”

Google’s Satellite SOS support will be an Android 15 feature, which means it won’t be immediately available on the Pixel 9 handsets but will arrive later in the year. The SOS service will be free to Pixel 9 owners for the first two years.

There's a ton of options to choose from if you're looking to buy a new smartwatch. Some would even say the selection process is a bit daunting if you don't know what you're looking for. But if you're looking for a smartwatch that doesn't break the bank, offers excellent health and fitness tracking, and can last over a month on a single charge the Garmin Instinct Solar is going to be for you.

Tarsier Studios, creators of the first two Little Nightmares games, is back with another creepy adventure — and its “partially disemboweled talking pig” teaser video looks like it set the proper tone. Announced at Gamescom Opening Night, Reanimal takes two children on an adventure across land and sea as they work together to rescue their missing friends on an island filled with horrifying creatures.

The developer helmed the first two Little Nightmares installments before Supermassive Games took over for part III. The new game promises to up the ante with “a more terrifying journey than ever before.”

The horror-adventure game stars a brother and sister in an “unsettling tale” who “go through hell to rescue their missing friends.” The protagonists are described as broken but resilient, facing fragments of their troubled past in the guise of gruesome beasts. It will somehow explore themes of hope and redemption as they navigate the chilling environment.

Tarsier Studios / THQ Nordic

The game lets you play single-player or co-op (local and online). In an illustration of the creators’ understanding of the horror genre, it uses a shared, directed camera “to maximize claustrophobia and tension.”

Reanimal doesn’t yet have a launch date other than “coming soon,” but we know it will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. You can check out the announcement trailer below.

Black Myth: Wukong, considered China’s first true AAA game, has broken Steam’s concurrent players record for a single-player title, passing Cyberpunk 2077 for the single-player record. In addition, it’s now the game with the second-most all-time concurrent players to date (including multiplayer), moving past Palworld. Based on the 16th-century novel Journey to the West, the souls-like action-adventure epic peaked at 2,223,179 players.

Industry analyst Simon Carless of GameDiscoverCo posted on X (Twitter) early on Tuesday an estimate that Black Myth: Wukong’s regional breakdown heavily favored its home country. The agency’s pie graph showed China claiming 88 percent of the game’s players. (In second place was the US at a mere three percent.) Although some interpreted that as potentially showing inflated numbers, the game launched in the middle of the night in the western hemisphere, and Carless’ stats were posted around 5AM ET.

The title’s records come against a backdrop of misogyny and censorship accusations aimed at developer Game Science. Streamers who were granted early access keys were given a (non-legally-binding) document that raised some eyebrows.

Game Science / Sony

The document included a list of banned topics the streamers were to avoid discussing while broadcasting gameplay. The New York Times reported that the off-limits subjects included politics, “feminist propaganda,” COVID-19, China’s gaming industry, and anything else that “instigates negative discourse.” (While streamers were given the list, reviewers weren’t.)

Of course, the COVID mention is easily tied to the nation’s “zero-COVID” restrictions.

As for the “feminist propaganda” restriction for Black Myth: Wukong’s streamers, you can easily draw a straight line from widespread accusations of misogyny from developer Game Science and individuals working there, including some of its cofounders. Among the many instances (summarized in a 2023 IGN story) were Game Science recruitment posters from 2015, one of which implied friends with benefits were an office perk and another featuring a dumbbell with the text (translated) “fatties should fuck off.” (Yikes.) The accusations go on from there.

Game Science / Valve

Game Science has ties to the Chinese government, which is no stranger to accusations of misogyny and censorship. To cite only a few examples, the #MeToo hashtag was censored or blocked on Chinese social platforms during the height of the movement, posts from feminist and LGBTQ+ groups and voices are routinely blocked or deleted on the country’s social media, feminist perspectives are frequently restricted or censored in China’s academic institutions and activists are no strangers to harassment, surveillance or arrests.

Tencent Holdings, a five-percent stakeholder according to The NY Times, has direct ties to Xi’s government. Meanwhile, the game’s publisher, Zhejiang Publishing & Media, is majority-owned by the Zhejiang provincial government. Finally, Hero Games, the company that sent out the streamer keys on Game Science’s behalf, has financial ties to “several state-owned enterprises,” according to The NYT. Hero Games owns around 20 percent of Game Science.

Some streamers supplied with keys (and the attached red tape) decided not to cover the game. “I have never seen anything that shameful in my 15 years doing this job. This is very clearly a document which explains that we must censor ourselves,” the prominent French streamer Benoit Reinier said (translated) in a YouTube video.

In Engadget’s preview of Black Myth: Wukong from earlier this summer (which didn’t include provisions about censored topics like streamers received), Mat Smith found the game visually stunning. We found the demo “elevated by how good the environment looks, the bizarre monster design and the quiet, unsettling soundtrack.” The game is available now on PC and PS5.

If you’ve ever browsed Razer’s selection of gaming peripherals and thought, “You guys really need to step up your RGB game,” HP has just the accessory for you. The company’s newest HyperX microphone, unveiled on Tuesday at Gamescom, has over 100 LEDs for “a stunning visual” with “energetic style,” which sounds about right.

The HyperX QuadCast 2 S is a USB gaming microphone with over 100 aRGB LEDs. The individually customizable lights can display over 16 million color combinations. Why, you ask? To complement your “streams and creations,” according to HP. (Sure, why not!)

If you’re the kind of fuddy-duddy who cares more about audio input than groovy light shows, the QuadCast 2 S has a 32-bit audio resolution and a 192kHz sampling rate. It has a tap-to-mute sensor, four selectable polar patterns and a bundled shock mount / stand combo. When used with the HyperX NGENUITY software (NGENIOUS!), you can customize the LEDs, limiter and 10-band EQ. It also includes AI-based noise reduction.

HP

In addition to the Vegas casino of gaming mics, HP is launching a wireless keyboard that it claims has “the longest battery life on a backlit dual-wireless gaming keyboard” available. The HyperX Alloy Rise 75 offers 80 hours of gameplay with the backlighting on (more RGB!!). Alternatively, you can squeeze out “a staggering 1,500 hours with the backlighting off.” (At least your mic can compensate for the lack of backlighting under those conditions.)

The keyboard supports a 2.4GHz wireless connection or up to three Bluetooth connections. It includes hot-swap key switches, magnetic top plates and badges.

The RGB-tastic HyperX QuadCast 2 S gaming mic will be available in November for $200, while the Alloy Rise 75 keyboard launches in October for $230.

If you’re looking for an iPad that’s more affordable than cutting-edge, Amazon has the 2021 base model for only $199. Although that’s a generation behind the current version, this ninth-generation edition could be great for kids, seniors or those wanting a HomeKit-based smart home hub.

The three-year-old model is still a capable tablet for anyone content with forgoing the latest and greatest hardware. The ninth-gen iPad has a 10.2-inch Retina display and Apple’s old home button-based Touch ID sensor. It runs on the A13 Bionic chip, which has a six-core processor, quad-core GPU and octal-core Neural Engine. This isn’t the model to get if you want screaming-fast speeds, the most eye-popping display or the upcoming Apple Intelligence, but it’s hard to nitpick too much about any of that when you look at the price.

Engadget’s 2021 review found this model to be “a modest update” over the previous version. Nathan Ingraham described it as “a fast, lightweight tablet with a nice display and tons of apps, without having to spend too much.” In our battery test, we found that it outperformed Apple’s 10-hour estimate, lasting about 14 hours of video streaming.

This model runs iPadOS 17 and will support iPadOS 18 when it launches this fall. It isn’t known how many annual updates it will be eligible for after that, but the upcoming 2024 software will still run on two hardware generations behind this model, hinting that it may not be approaching the end of the line just yet.

It’s also well-suited for video chat, and its 12MP ultrawide front-facing camera supports Center Stage. Apple’s machine learning-based feature tracks your and anyone else’s faces in the shot, adjusting the call’s framing accordingly through automatic pans and zooms.

If you want to add accessories for a more laptop-like experience, the ninth-gen iPad is compatible with the first-generation Apple Pencil and Apple Smart Keyboard.

Nathan Ingraham for Engadget

It’s worth keeping in mind that this model uses a Lightning connector rather than the USB-C that Apple has shifted its product lineup toward. It includes a charger in the box, but you may want to consider that if you’ve already chucked all your old Lightning cables. On the other hand, some may consider it a bonus that it still includes Apple’s now-defunct headphone jack.

Alphabet-owned Waymo unveiled its sixth-generation Driver system on Monday with a more efficient sensor setup. Despite having a reduced camera and LiDAR sensor count from the current platform, the self-driving ride’s new setup allegedly maintains safety levels. Once it's ready for public rides, it will coexist with the current-gen lineup.

CNBC reports that the new system is built into Geely Zeekr electric vehicles. Waymo first said it would work with the Chinese EV maker in late 2021. The new platform’s rides are boxier than the current-gen lineup, built on Jaguar I-PACE SUVs. The Zeekr-built sixth-gen fleet is reportedly better for accessibility, including a lower step, higher ceiling and more legroom — with roughly the same overall footprint as the Jaguar-based lineup.

The sixth-gen Waymo Driver reduced its camera count from 29 to 13 and its LiDAR sensors from five to four. Alphabet says they work together with overlapping fields of view and safety-focused redundancies that let it perform better in various weather conditions. The company claims the new platform’s field of view extends up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) in daytime and nighttime and “a range of” weather conditions.

Waymo

Waymo says the new system has a modular aspect, allowing it to “swap out various sensing components to match the specific conditions of each operating environment,” like more stringent sensor cleaning for vehicles in colder cities. CNBC clarified that the cleaning system includes wipers that can clear most dirt and moisture.

The company says the sixth-gen Driver performs reliably even in extreme heat, fog, rain and hail, thanks to “regular road trips to newer cities.” That makes sense, given that its currently approved cities are all in relatively clear and dry climates. (CNBC reports that Waymo tested it in Detroit, Buffalo and NYC.) Currently, Waymo only operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin. After launching in 2018, the company’s fleet serves around 50,000 paid autonomous trips weekly.

Waymo says the new generation already has thousands of miles of real-world driving experience (and “millions more” in simulations). The company expects it to be ready for consumers sooner than previous models — about half the time — thanks to learning from the system’s “shared knowledge” from its previous generations.

Gamescom 2024 is almost here. Exhibitors from over 60 countries will descend on Cologne, Germany, for what is now the industry’s biggest gaming event following E3’s demise. An opening night presentation will kick off the festivities with new game announcements, trailers, footage and other surprises (like the obligatory awkward celebrity cameos). You can watch the showcase right here on Tuesday, August 20.

As usual, industry stalwart Geoff Keighley will host the Opening Night Live festivities, which begin at 2PM ET on Tuesday. E-sports MC Eefje “sjokz” Depoortere will join as co-host.

Keighley has confirmed the showcase will include the following:

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (“a new look” at the game)

• Monster Hunter Wilds (a new trailer)

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (a play-through of the first campaign)

• Marvel Rivals (new heroes and updates)

• Dune Awakening (an “extended look” at gameplay)

• Civilization VII (the gameplay world premiere)

• The next game from Tarsier Studios, creators of Little Nightmares I and II

You can bookmark this page and tune in here to stream the event on August 20 at 2PM ET.

OpenAI said on Friday that it thwarted an Iranian influence campaign that used ChatGPT to generate fake news stories and social posts aimed at Americans. The company said it identified and banned accounts generating content for five websites (in English and Spanish) pretending to be news outlets, spreading “polarizing messages” on issues like the US presidential campaign, LGBTQ+ rights and the war in Gaza.

The operation was identified as “Storm-2035,” part of a series of influence campaigns Microsoft identified last week as “connected with the Iranian government.” In addition to the news posts, it included “a dozen accounts on X and one on Instagram” connected to the operation. OpenAI said the op didn’t appear to have gained any meaningful traction. “The majority of social media posts that we identified received few or no likes, shares, or comments,” the company wrote.

In addition, OpenAI said that on the Brookings Institution’s Breakout Scale, which rates threats, the operation only charted a Category 2 rating (on a scale of one to six). That means it showed “activity on multiple platforms, but no evidence that real people picked up or widely shared their content.”

OpenAI described the operation as creating content for faux conservative and progressive news outlets, targeting opposing viewpoints. Bloomberg said the content suggested Donald Trump was “being censored on social media and was prepared to declare himself king of the US.” Another framed Kamala Harris’ choice of Tim Walz as her running mate as a “calculated choice for unity.”

OpenAI added that the operation also created content about Israel’s presence at the Olympics and (to a lesser degree) Venezuelan politics, the rights of Latin American communities and Scottish Independence. In addition, the campaign peppered the heavy stuff with comments about fashion and beauty, “possibly to appear more authentic or in an attempt to build a following.”

“The operation tried to play both sides but it didn’t look like it got engagement from either,” OpenAI Intelligence and Investigations investigator Ben Nimmo told Bloomberg.

The busted dud of an influence op follows the disclosure earlier this week that Iranian hackers have targeted both Harris’ and Trump’s campaigns. The FBI said informal Trump adviser Roger Stone fell victim to phishing emails. The Iranian hackers then took control of his account and sent messages with phishing links to others. The FBI found no evidence that anyone in the Harris campaign fell for the scheme.

AI-Musement Park and MONDO
Vanilli’s Blockchain Busting Musical Experience “R.U. Cyber.. R.U. Against NFTs?”

Immediate release from: 03/03/2023

“AI-Musement Park comprises a cornucopia of performances / talks / happenings /
documentary & discussion about AI, Intelligences, technocapitalism’s more than
pressing-ongoing urgencies.” -Eleanor Dare, Cambridge University & AI-Musement Park

R.U. Cyber.. R.U. Against NFTs? An original AI-Musement Park, PlayLa.bZ & MONDO 2000
History Project human and machine learning co-creation, taking the perspective of an AI that is
training itself on the R.U. Sirius & MONDO Vanilli ‘I’m Against NFT’s’ song lyrics, exploring a
surreal, mind melting and multi-dimensional 360 world of paradoxes and conflicting rules.

“Mondo Vanilli was originally intended to be a virtual reality band exploding all
assumptions about property and propriety in the 1990s. Today fabrication becomes de
rigueur as the connection to the real is intentionally confused by the banal political
tricksters of power and profitability… while storms pound our all-too-human bodies and
communities. I am thrilled to finally see MONDO Vanilli in it’s appropriate context.
Immersive. Come play in the simulacra one more time” -R.U. Sirius, MONDO 2000

R.U. Cyber.. R.U. Against NFTs? Is a satirical, irreverent block-chain busting commentary on
the propaganda relations fueled ‘Web 3’ hype around non-fungible tokens and the broader
issues that underpin our algorithmically massaged hyper-connected infinite scrolls and trolls
age. Challenging our assumptions about the nature of technology, creativity, and value,
reminding us that the digital world is shaped by powerful forces that determine what is valued
and what is not, and a click is not always for free.

Join Us! On Spring Solstice 2023 For “R.U. Cyber? :// Mondo 2000 History Project Salon”
at MozFest Virtual Plaza & Mozilla Hubs: AI-Musement Park 20th March / 8.30pm EU / GMT

• https://schedule.mozillafestival.org/plaza #Mozfest
• https:/ schedule.mozillafestival.org/session/LSNGRJ-1 #RUCyber
• https:/ www.mondo2000.com/2023/03/02/simcerity-r-u-against-nfts-period-question-mark-or-exclamation-point-join-mondo-vanilli-r-u-sirius-in-vr-on-march-20 #RUAgainstNFTs

About R.U.Sirius & Mondo 2000 #Mondo2000 #RUSirius

R.U. Sirius is an American writer, editor, and media pioneer. Known for being one of key
psychedelic & cyberpunk movement figures. Best known as Mondo 2000 editor-in-chief and at
forefront of 1990s underground cyberculture movement.

About Mozilla Festival #TrustworthyAI #AIMusementPark

Since 2010, MozFest has fueled the movement to ensure the internet benefits humanity, rather
than harms it. This year, your part in the story is critical to our community’s mission: a better,
healthier internet and more Trustworthy AI.

About PlayLa.bZ CIC #PlayLabZ #SpatialCadetZ

Co-founded by PsychFi, FreekMinds & Squire Studios we’re a next generation multipotentiality
multi-award-winning, multi-dimensional motion arts experience design laboratory, developing
DIY changemaking createch immersive experiences & software applications for social good
storycraft. Supporters & Friends: Mozilla Festival, Jisc: Digifest, Beyond Games, Tate Modern,
Furtherfield, Boomtown Festival, Sci-Fi-London, Ravensbourne University London, UAL, East
London Dance, NESTA, Modern Panic, ArtFutura, Kimatica, National Gallery X, Kings College
London, Looking Glass Factory, SubPac, Ecologi, The JUMP, BOM Labs, Mondo 2000

PR Contact: James E. Marks, Tel: 07921 523438 @: jem@playla.bz Twitter: @GoGenieMo

The post Turn On, Tune In, Boot Up! For MozFest 2023: appeared first on Mondo 2000.

The post Gimme Helter MONDO Vanilli 1994 – Video 2023 appeared first on Mondo 2000.

A technical paper titled “GoFetch: Breaking Constant-Time Cryptographic Implementations Using Data Memory-Dependent Prefetchers” was presented at the August 2024 USENIX Security Symposium by researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California Berkeley, University of Washington, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Abstract:

“Microarchitectural side-channel attacks have shaken the foundations of modern processor design. The cornerstone defense against these attacks has been to ensure that security-critical programs do not use secret-dependent data as addresses. Put simply: do not pass secrets as addresses to, e.g., data memory instructions. Yet, the discovery of data memory-dependent prefetchers (DMPs)—which turn program data into addresses directly from within the memory system—calls into question whether this approach will continue to remain secure.

This paper shows that the security threat from DMPs is significantly worse than previously thought and demonstrates the first end-to-end attacks on security-critical software using the Apple m-series DMP. Undergirding our attacks is a new understanding of how DMPs behave which shows, among other things, that the Apple DMP will activate on behalf of any victim program and attempt to “leak” any cached data that resembles a pointer. From this understanding, we design a new type of chosen-input attack that uses the DMP to perform end-to-end key extraction on popular constant-time implementations of classical (OpenSSL Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange, Go RSA decryption) and post-quantum cryptography (CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium).”

Find the technical paper here. Published August 2024.

Chen, Boru, Yingchen Wang, Pradyumna Shome, Christopher W. Fletcher, David Kohlbrenner, Riccardo Paccagnella, and Daniel Genkin. “GoFetch: Breaking constant-time cryptographic implementations using data memory-dependent prefetchers.” In Proc. USENIX Secur. Symp, pp. 1-21. 2024.

Further Reading
Chip Security Now Depends On Widening Supply Chain
How tighter HW-SW integration and increasing government involvement are changing the security landscape for chips and systems.

The post Data Memory-Dependent Prefetchers Pose SW Security Threat By Breaking Cryptographic Implementations appeared first on Semiconductor Engineering.

Developer Coffee Stained has announced Goat Simulator Remastered. Announced through a trailer, the remaster is coming ten years after the 2014 release of the original Goat Simulator. Check out the trailer for Goat Simulator Remastered below.

While featuring familiar gameplay, Goat Simulator Remastered will also include upgraded visuals, especially in its lighting, as well as 7 DLCs—GoatVille, Goat City Bay, Goat MMO, Goat Z, PAYDAY, Waste of Space, and Buck to School.

The developer has also revealed in the trailer’s description that many of the fan-favourite bugs from the original game will be returning in Goat Simulator Remastered, this time around as “intentional features”.

Goat Simulator Remastered puts players in control of rambunctious goat Pilgor. Players are then essentially let loose in a physics sandbox where they can destroy things to their heart’s content. Among other things, players are able to jump, kick, and lick various objects throughout the levels. The remastered release of the game will also be bringing back mutators for added replayability.

Goat Simulator Remastered doesn’t yet have a solid release date. It is slated for release in 2024 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

I’m going to honestly admit that whenever I would see Mika and the Witch’s Mountain, I’d think of it as the Kiki’s Delivery Service game. I mean, it’s a young girl who is an apprentice witch riding around on her broom to help her community by delivery packages. Chibig and Nukefist even included an anime-style opening. The good news is that it is exactly what it appears to be, though some broom-riding mechanics and deliveries can be a little frustrating. 

Mika is heading to the Stellar Lighthouse to train under Miss Olagari, just as her mother did. However, upon getting there, her new teacher boots her off the side of the highest peak on the island’s mountain. She tells her she can’t really begin until she gets back up to the Stellar Lighthouse. Upon landing, Mika breaks her broom. She starts working for Greff, who runs the local delivery business, as a courier to pay for repairs, connecting to the island and its mysteries in the process. 

While Mika is a witch, Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is pretty much entirely a flying sim about making deliveries, recreating the whole Kiki’s Delivery Service experience. You’ll be tasked with completing the deliveries on your Delivery Card, some of which won’t come up until you kick off a chain of events by taking or making the first drop-off in the line. Most delivery items have a certain number of hearts representing their health and restrictions like you can’t get them wet or damage them. (If you mess up, you can hold X to reset the package and retry.) Occasionally, there may be a timer asking you to complete a delivery in a certain amount of time. 

Since your early brooms aren’t great, you’ll often need to rely on certain outside elements to aid in your deliveries. These can involve wind currents, which lift you up or provide a burst of speed to get along a straight pass. Former ruin parts can also help you trigger additional wind-generating portals or elements to reach even greater heights. However, depending on how fragile your package may be, these could also work against you and send you careening into obstacles, ruining the item.

Not to mention there are also optional deliveries. For example, you may find an item like a kite or ocarina lying around, indicated by sparkles in a section. Picking these up only gives you a hint as to who the owner is. Meaning you need to have an idea of who the residents are to ensure those things get back to the rightful owners.

In general, Mika and the Witch’s Mountain works much better than I expected. Flying simulators are a bit finicky sometimes, especially when they don’t involve planes. Mika definitely feels like a witch just finding her footing. This means that the brooms themselves don’t always feel very precise! There was one early Greff delivery that involved taking an already damaged item to a certain place I’d only visited once before on the opposite side of the island, and it took me about seven tries to actually get it there safely. The further you get in the game, the more fiddly it can feel like some items are, so there are definitely a few times when I wished the brooms and controls were a bit more exact.

But really, aside from that, only one thing kept me from feeling like Chibig and Nukefist nailed what they were trying to accomplish with Mika and the Witch’s Mountain. I really wish there was a way to “pin” objectives on the map. Sometimes, characters move around! They’ll be in different spots than they were before. When you check the delivery card, you’ll also only get a general area of where things are. I get what the developers were trying to accomplish. It really does feel like I’m an apprentice witch checking a map, often repeatedly, to make sure I’m headed to the right spot. But when I started really relying on different airstreams or relics to get places or trying to use those elements to proceed, I started to wish I could see a little on-screen indicator to at least remind me I was headed in the correct direction.

That said, everything else about Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is handled quite well. The script is charming. Even characters you don’t spend a lot of time getting to know initially leave a big impression. The developers did a great job of getting us to root for Mika! The layout of the island is conducive to exploring, especially when you start to memorize which wind currents will be most helpful. The designs for everything are also very vibrant and engaging. Also, the few stressful and timed deliveries aside, it can be shockingly low-key! I also like that while this is definitely designed to feel like Kiki's Delivery Service, Mika is a very different sort of witch and protagonist and the game involves other types of themes.

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain really does do a good job of giving us a Kiki’s Delivery Service sort of game, and it’s often quite relaxing too! Mika’s a fun protagonist, and the island is this vibrant setting filled with big personalities and life. Sometimes the broomstick-riding can feel a bit fiddly, but it’s genuinely a delightful simulation about being a courier witch.

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain will come to the Nintendo Switch and PC on August 21, 2024. 

The post Review: Mika and the Witch’s Mountain Channels Kiki’s Delivery Service appeared first on Siliconera.

Enlarge / Screenshot from Putin's squad video on bringing Starliner's astronauts home. (credit: Putin's Squads Z Soc Sprav)

One of the odder propaganda phenomena in Russia, of late, is seemingly spontaneous groups of elderly Russian pensioners gathering outdoors and espousing some random bit of agitprop.

From a Western perspective, these are obviously staged and hilarious to behold. For example, last year a very earnest-looking group of elderly women and a few men urged Russia to "take back Alaska" in an attempt to preserve the United States from fascism. One of the women in the video also advocated for a military alliance with Mexico, saying, "In order to effectively fight fascism, we must establish military relations with Mexico to prevent the fascism from spreading further. We must form a military alliance with Mexico."

There are entire Telegram channels devoted to these "Putin's squads" videos, and you can find them on YouTube as well. It is not clear whether these "man on the street" videos are having any impact on Russian opinion, but evidently someone in the Kremlin believes they are helping to shape domestic opinions.

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Enlarge / The two spacecraft for NASA's ESCAPADE mission at Rocket Lab's factory in Long Beach, California. (credit: Rocket Lab)

Two NASA spacecraft built by Rocket Lab are on the road from California to Florida this weekend to begin preparations for launch on Blue Origin's first New Glenn rocket.

These two science probes must launch between late September and mid-October to take advantage of a planetary alignment between Earth and Mars that only happens once every 26 months. NASA tapped Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space company, to launch the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission with a $20 million contract.

Last November, the space agency confirmed the $79 million ESCAPADE mission will launch on the inaugural flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. With this piece of information, the opaque schedule for Blue Origin's long-delayed first New Glenn mission suddenly became more clear.

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Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

Companies are often caught between wanting to cut emissions but also grow profits. But for airlines, these two different imperatives actually align. Cutting carbon emissions means burning less fuel and spending less money buying fuel. This is why Lufthansa has been copying a trick from the animal kingdom: applying a special film that mimics sharkskin to parts of its aircraft.

When it comes to decarbonization, reducing the emissions of air travel is both a high priority and something of a difficult task. Globally, air traffic accounts for about 2.5 percent of carbon emissions, but since those emissions are emitted at altitude, studies have found that the warming effect may be almost twice as large.

The problem is that it's extremely difficult to rival the volumetric energy density of jet fuel, which contains almost 50 times as many megajoules per liter than alternatives like hydrogen, ethanol, or lithium-ion batteries. That's less of a problem for ground or sea transportation, where weight and volume is less important, but it's a real stumbling block for switching jet airliners to a different fuel source.

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One of the best roguelikes on PC is getting a farewell of sorts this week. Twitchy slashfest Dead Cells received its final major update, introducing new enemies, fresh weapons, and a few mutations. Unfortunately, all this new stuff is very cursed. In other words, it all toys with the game's "curse" status effect, a hex that causes you to be killed if you take even a single hit. You'll probably die a few times as a result of this update, which in some ways is a fitting finalé for this fast-paced jar smasher of a game. You can see the new features in the trailer below.

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One of the best roguelikes on PC is getting a farewell of sorts this week. Twitchy slashfest Dead Cells received its final major update, introducing new enemies, fresh weapons, and a few mutations. Unfortunately, all this new stuff is very cursed. In other words, it all toys with the game's "curse" status effect, a hex that causes you to be killed if you take even a single hit. You'll probably die a few times as a result of this update, which in some ways is a fitting finalé for this fast-paced jar smasher of a game. You can see the new features in the trailer below.

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Karen Fukuhara, best known for her starring role as the silent assassin Kimiko in Amazon Prime superhero series The Boys, isn’t just a great actor. She’s also a talented voiceover artist (she’s provided voices for The Boy and the Heron, Callisto Protocol, Pokemon Concierge, and Star Wars: Visions) and an accomplished…

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WoW has multiple classes for players to choose from and a lot of them come with the healer specialization. Some of them are easy to use while others are a bit hard.

If you are new to the game and would like to start as a healer then choosing a class that is easy-to-play is essential if you want to perform your role well. Healers have gone through a lot of changes throughout the history of the game and will probably do so in the future as well.

But in this guide, I will show you the best healer classes that are currently the easiest to use.

Best Healer Classes For New Players in The War Within

Out of all the healer classes in the game, there are 4 right now that a new player can easily get into. Although playing as them is easy, fully mastering them on the other hand will definitely take time and effort.

Holy Priest

The Holy Priest is a ranged healer with a reactive style of play which suits new players very well. This class is pretty good in providing single target healing with okay group healing capabilities. Has a good amount of spells so mastering them will take some time but overall this spec is very easy to play.

Restoration Shaman

One of the best healing specs to play in the first season of The War Within is Restoration Shaman. And due to the recent changes and significant reduction of the button bloat, it has become quite beginner friendly.

Restoration Shaman is also a ranged healer with good AOE healing abilities and an exception toolkit which is pretty flexible. The abilities have short cooldowns so you will have to be aware of your mana utilization. If the Holy Priest is not your style then you can not go wrong with the Restoration Shaman.

Holy Paladin

As a Holy Paladin, you build up your Holy Power through Judgment or Crusader Strike. Then spend that Holy Power to use various types of healing abilities which excel at spot and single target healing. Lacks in healing allies that are spread far due to heavy reliance on Light of Dawn ability for AOE healing. However, this spec has good damage reduction abilities.

The Holy Paladin relies on a melee style of gameplay so it is a bit harder to use compared to the two specs mentioned above. If you have no problems using a melee healer then this is a good option as well.

Mistweaver Monk

Out of all the specs I mentioned, Mistweaver Monk is the hardest. It is a little harder to play than Holy Paladin. But it is still relatively easier to play when compared to some other healing specs in the game.

Mistweaver Monk is also a melee based healer with exceptional burst AOE healing capability. Depending on what you need, Mistweaver Monk can excel in both, group and tank healing. The trickiest part for new players with this spec is going to be mana management.

These 4 healing classes are the easiest to use for newcomers and you can choose whichever appeals to you the most without any worry. One more thing that can help you out immensely are addons. Check our list for the top 10 addons for The War Within.

The post WoW The War Within: Best & Easy-To-Play Healer Classes For New Players appeared first on Games Fuze.

The War Within expansion pack of WoW is right around the corner and you might be wondering which addons will work well with it. If so, then you are in the right place.

Addons make the game easier and more fun to play but there are way too many addons out there. Selecting which ones to install can easily baffle a player. To help you out with that, I will give you a list of top 10 addons that you must have.

Top 10 Addons For The War Within

Addons are useful but if you install a lot of them, it can slow down your game or even result in bugging your game entirely. Ten is the sweet spot and you will not require any other addons than the ones mentioned below.

Leatrix Plus

Leatrix Plus allows you to change your interface to suit your needs and it also comes with a lot of cool automation features. The automation features in particular are very time saving.

Such as automatically selling all the junk you have when you interact with a vendor or getting your gear automatically repaired when it is possible. Other than that, there’s also a faster loot option which you should enable as well to save even more time.

BtWQuests

BtWQuests simply put is a quest journal that neatly shows all the quests of different campaigns in the game, both current and future ones.

It shows how different quests are linked with each other and what you need to complete in order to progress in a questline. You can also see what rewards you will get for completing quests in advance. And all of this is packed in an easy to use interface.

Dialogue UI

If you are not a fan of the default quest interface then Dialogue UI is a simple fix for that. It gives it a cleaner look with two modes, light and dark. With it, you can easily accept a quest by pressing Spacebar or decline it with the “Esc” key.

Leveling Guide Restedxp

If you want to level up faster then Leveling Guide Restedxp is the addon for you. It has different ways of leveling up and you can choose whatever you prefer.

Since it is developed by some of the best players of WoW, you will be guaranteed to level up in a very fast manner. On top of that, it has a plethora of other options such as marking enemies or items you need, automatically skipping cutscenes and accepting new quests, etc.

OmniCD

OmniCD is a lightweight addon which can be used to track the cooldown of any spell in the game. You can also track the cooldowns of your party members which is pretty helpful in raids. You can tell what skills your party members used and act accordingly.

Details!

One of the most widely used addons in WoW is Details!. It provides a comprehensive breakdown of all the damage you deal. Such as what ability did the most damage, what mob was the damage done to, which buffs helped out with it, you get the picture. And all of this can be tracked in real time with customizable bars.

But damage done is not the only thing that can be tracked with this addon, you can also track other stuff such as, damage taken, healing done, mana restored and a whole lot more!

RareScanner

RareScanner is an addon that detects rare NPCs, treasure or events nearby you. It shows this through a button on the screen which gives more information if you click on it.

Other than that, it also adds markers on your world map for all the rare NPCs, treasures and events. And clicking on those markers reveals further information about them. It is also capable of showing spawn locations of entities that you want to track.

BigWigs

If you have trouble fighting bosses in the game then the BigWigs addon can help you out with that. It gives you information on various encounters in the form of alert messages, sounds, or even timers so you can avoid or deal with them before they happen. You will know in advance what moves a boss is going to use and in what amount of time.

WeakAuras

WeakAuras is a pretty famous addon that can be used to show or track pretty much everything you could want in the game. What makes it even better is that you can import other players’ custom profiles and use it without having to come up with your own.

There are a lot of different profiles available out there for various purposes. The best place to get them is from Wago.io.

BetterBags

BetterBags is a replacement addon for the default bag system of WoW. It is far better than the original because of its clean look with multiple categories. You can easily search for an item by using its search bar. And if you want, you can also create custom categories.

And these were all the top 10 addons that you should definitely try out! On a different note, if you are a beginner and want to dabble as a healer then check out our guide on which healer classes are the easiest to use.

The post WoW: Top 10 Addons For The War Within appeared first on Games Fuze.

The War Within which is the upcoming expansion pack of WoW will feature 8 Treasures for Tailoring that you can find and get. It is possible they can add more treasures later on but at launch, there will be 8.

If you know where to look then these treasures are an easy way of getting some Knowledge Points and Artisan’s Acuity. The Artisan’s Acuity in particular is very useful in this expansion. It will be used in crafting, buying recipes, etc.

In this guide, I will provide the locations of all 8 Tailoring Treasures and the waypoints which you can use with the TomTom addon.

All Treasures for Tailoring in The War Within

Consuming a single treasure gives you 3 Knowledge Points of Tailoring and 15 Artisan’s Acuity. So, getting all the 8 treasures will result in a total amount of 24 Knowledge Points and 120 Artisan’s Acuity.

Earthen Tape Measure

The Earthen Tape Measure is located on the Isle of Dorn in Khaz Algar, Azeroth. You will find it near Boulder Springs. The waypoint for it is “/way Isle of Dorn 56.17, 60.97 Earthen Tape Measure“.

Upon getting to the location, collect the treasure from the counter of General Goods NPC.

Dornogal Seam Ripper

The Dornogal Seam Ripper is found in Dornogal which is located on the Isle of Dorn in Khaz Algar. It is located above the Stoneshaper’s Atrium. You can set a waypoint for it like this “/way Isle of Dorn 61.54, 18.65 Dornogal Seam Ripper“.

Once you get there, go inside the building. You will find the treasure on top of a table between two beds at the end of the room.

Runed Earthen Pins

To get the Runed Earthen Pins, go to The Ringing Deeps located in Khaz Algar. You will find the treasure in the area above The Waterworks. Waypoint for this is “/way The Ringing Deeps 48.87, 32.88 Runed Earthen Pins“.

Once you get to the location, make your way inside the Inn. And then go to the room located to the right of the Innkeeper NPC.

After that, head inside the door directly in front of you on the other side of the room.

Once you do that, go inside the room on your right.

You will find the treasure on the shelf at the bottom.

Earthen Stitcher’s Snips

Earthen Stitcher’s Snips is also located in The Ringing Deeps in Khaz Algar. Go to the enemy territory near Taelloch. Waypoint for this is “/way The Ringing Deeps 64.21, 60.31 Earthen Stitcher’s Snips“.

You will find the treasure on top of a table under an open structure. Since this is an enemy territory, you will be attacked by mobs when you try to get it.

Royal Outfitter’s Protractor

You can get the Royal Outfitter’s Protractor from Hallowfall in Khaz Algar. It is located close to the Veneration Grounds. Set a waypoint for it like this “/way Hallowfall 40.13, 68.10 Royal Outfitter’s Protractor“.

Once you reach the location, go inside the building and you will find the treasure sitting atop some boxes to the left.

Arathi Rotary Cutter

The Arathi Rotary Cutter is located in the same general area as the treasure mentioned above in Hallowfall near Tenir’s Ascent. This is the waypoint “/way Hallowfall 49.29, 62.29 Arathi Rotary Cutter“.

The treasure will be lying on top of a table out in the open.

Nerubian Quilt

For the Nerubian Quilt, go to the Azj-Kahet in Khaz Algar. It is found in The Weaver’s Lair. This is the waypoint for it “/way Azj-Kahet 53.26, 53.02 Nerubian Quilt“.

You will get the treasure from opening the chest located inside the building which is located there.

Nurubian’s Pincushion

Nurubian’s Pincushion is located inside the City of Threads in Khaz Algar. You will find it in Umbral Bazaar. And the waypoint is “/way Azj-Kahet 50.25, 16.69 Nerubian’s Pincushion“.

You will find the treasure on top of the counter of Tailoring Supplies NPC.

Those were the locations of all 8 Tailoring Treasure which will be available on launch of The War Within. If you happen to be new to the game then our class picking guide will help you choose a class that’s perfect for you!

The post WoW The War Within: All Tailoring Treasures appeared first on Games Fuze.

If you simply want to choose the strongest class for your main in WoW: The War Within, you have 5 different classes that are generally considered the best right now.

This is all based on what we know from the beta for The War Within and previews, of course. There are a lot of massive balance changes coming, not to mention the new Hero Talent mechanic!

But, let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? Let’s now take a look at the 5 best classes you should main in WoW: The War Within.

Top 5 Best Classes To Main in WoW: The War Within

Evoker

The Dracthyr continue to dominate the meta with their exclusive Evoker class, which is easily one of the best classes in WoW: The War Within. They provide the most utility out of all classes with their Augmentation spec, while also being fantastic Healers with the Preservation spec.

Augmentation overall is possibly the single most useful Class Spec in the entire game right now. It allows the Evoker to provide insane buffs to every other role. More damage for DPS, more survivability for Tanks, and more Mana for Healers… what more could you possibly want from a single class? Besides, the Evoker is also quite capable of dishing out solid damage on its own on top of that.

Preservation, while not quite as game-changing as Augmentation, does make the Evoker into a top-tier Healer. It’s a very unique Healer spec as well, due to its slower pace: you’ll rely on charging up spells to provide massive healing in bursts. These powerful healing spells also have a large AoE, making it easy to keep your entire party topped up no matter how hectic things get.

Simply put, Evoker might be the singular best class in the game currently!

Death Knight

As you might have heard from anyone playing The War Within’s beta, Death Knight is easily one of the best classes in the game currently. Whether you go for the DPS specs (Frost, Unholy) or the Tank spec (Blood), this class has earned its spot at the top of the meta.

All their Hero Talents are pretty great as well and work extremely well with the Death Knight’s innate strengths. This is very important, considering that Hero Talents is a new mechanic in The War Within and some classes weren’t as lucky as Death Knights.

Death Knight is a class with a lot of potential builds and playstyles, as well. You can play as a vampiric Tank who relies on dealing damage to boost their health and strength or you can choose to summon demonic forces to aid you in battle, for example. No matter what, you’ll have some of the best survivability and damage output in The War Within!

Mage

If you’re all about spellcasting, Mage is your best bet for a spellcasting DPS. All 3 of its specs are DPS-focused, and all 3 of them are currently extremely strong. This ensures that the class has long-lasting power and shouldn’t have to worry about any upcoming balance changes, making it an easy pick for one of the best classes in WoW: The War Within.

Similar to the Death Knights, Mages were also blessed with 3 strong sets of Hero Talents as well. These further bolster the Mage’s innate strengths. As you might notice from this list, this is a common trend for all of the best classes in The War Within! These Hero Talents are extremely important.

The only real downside for Mages is that you really do need to master them. Their overwhelming DPS potential comes at the cost of low survivability. However, you’ll easily dominate all your foes if you can overcome these skill issues. Good Mage players are always guaranteed a spot for Raids due to their insane damage output.

Warrior

Say what you will about how straightforward the Warrior class is to play, you can’t deny that it brings results. This class is all about Melee DPS with the Arms and Fury specs, but the Protection spec can also turn them into a top-tier Tank. Just like with the other best classes in The War Within, all of the specs are viable and extremely strong.

If you go the DPS route, you’ll be dishing out millions of damage with fairly simple skill rotations that are easy to manage. If you choose to be a Tank, your ability to take damage will be second only to Paladins and you also don’t rely too much on Healers. Either way, you’ll be a key asset to any party you’re in!

There are very few downsides to the Warrior currently, and this is definitely the best class for anyone who likes straightforward Melee DPS. If we had to come up with a weakness, you could say that their simplicity means they have very low build variety and they don’t provide much utility to parties. But if that’s no issue for you, Warrior has basically no downsides.

Shaman

A bit of a surprise, the Shaman class has been climbing the ranks of best classes in WoW: The War Within as we approach the full launch. It has received a lot of fantastic buffs and reworks during the beta, making it into a meta favorite.

It has the potential to Tank no matter its spec as well as provide high DPS with the Elemental or Enchantment specs. What’s more, it can also turn into a top-tier healer with the Restoration spec. That said, the DPS specs seem to be earning the most favor right now simply due to how strong they are currently.

Another thing that makes the Shaman shine is their ability to lay out totems across the battlefield. These totems provide excellent utility to the party, be it by providing Crowd Control, healing, or even deflecting enemy attacks. The new Totemic Hero Talent tree also makes these totems stronger and easier to use, making Shaman shine brighter than ever!

But well, that was the last class on our list of the top 5 best classes to main in WoW: The War Within. If you want a more general and less meta-focused look at all the classes, check out our class picking guide for The War Within.

The post The 5 BEST Classes YOU Should MAIN In The War Within – WoW appeared first on Games Fuze.

The War Within expansion for World of Warcraft (WoW) is set to release on August 26th, so you should use the upcoming days to prepare for it.

It’s important to make sure your character is properly ready to take on the new expansion. You should clean your bags of junk and get useful consumables ahead of time, for example. Minimize having to waste time on release instead of playing the new content.

In this guide, we’ll give you tips on how to do just that. We’ll tell you how to make sure that you can be ready to fully enjoy The War Within the exact second it becomes available!

How to Prepare for WoW: The War Within

Clean Out Your Bags

If there’s one thing you’ll need once WoW: The War Within releases, it’s Gold. What you won’t need is junk items cluttering your bags and making resource gathering needlessly cumbersome. So, it’s a good idea to kill two birds with one stone: start selling all your unnecessary items in the Auction House right now.

This is doubly true if you played through the Dragonflight expansion, as the items from that expansion seem to be selling quite well currently. Either way, we also recommend taking out any useless items you have in your Warband Bank and selling them too. You want as much free space for new items as possible! Make sure to do this on all of your characters, as well.

Get Useful Items

Got rid of all the junk and earned some Gold already? Use that Gold to get any consumables that you’ll need for leveling. Remember, The War Within will raise the Level Cap in WoW to 80 upon release, so you should prepare to level up.

The main items to get are stat-raising Flasks, such as the Phial of Tepid Versatility, for example. This is especially true if you start replacing your gear with new loot from The War Within and get unfavorable stats. Use the boosting Flasks to temporarily increase any stats you need as you keep Leveling, it’ll make the whole process faster.

Make sure you get items that aid mobility, as well. Sure, Skyriding will be the main way to travel in The War Within, but it’s not always available. For those instances, you’ll want to have items like the Goblin Glider Kit and Gunshoes. We also highly recommend Light-Step Hoofplates, as they make your mount faster. You know how it is: the faster you can get around, the more efficiently you’ll be completing quests and leveling up.

For more help with leveling, check out our leveling tips for WoW: The War Within.

Clean the Quest Log

If you still have unfinished quests leading up to the release of WoW: The War Within, you might want to prepare by getting rid of them. Complete any quests you actually want to do and have the time for, but remember that the expansion’s launch is quickly approaching!

As for any quests you don’t want to bother with or simply don’t have the time for… abandon them all. Empty out your quest log so that you can fill it exclusively with quests from The War Within later. It’ll make it much easier to track your progress in the expansion. Besides, you can always return to do the quests you abandoned later.

Take Part in the Radiant Echoes Event

The War Within’s pre-patch event is currently ongoing, called “Radiant Echoes.” This event started on July 30th and will last until August 26th, ending as soon as The War Within releases.

This event is mainly meant for catching up with any alts that you didn’t play much during Dragonflight. Nonetheless, it’s worth doing even if that doesn’t apply to you. It grants loads of Veteran ILvl 480 gear, the “This Takes Me Back” Feat of Strength, the “Band of Radiant Echoes” Heirloom Ring, a couple of Warband-bound bags, and even some battle pets and mounts. Don’t miss out on these goodies, go do the event while you can.

Optimize Your Game Settings

If you’ve been playing World of Warcraft for a while, you should know what to expect once The War Within releases. The floodgates will open and lots of players new and old will start rushing into the game, causing massive lag spikes and other performance issues.

There’s not much you can do about the masses of players jumping into the game, but you can try to minimize its effects on your client’s performance. Disable add-ons you don’t really need and lower your graphics settings as much as possible. It’s better to make sure that the game runs well during the expansion’s launch, even if you’re gaming in potato mode for a bit!

Log Out at Dalaran

Once you feel you’re done and don’t need to prepare anymore for the release of WoW: The War Within, just go to Dalaran and log out there. Dalaran is the starting point for The War Within, based on the information we know from the beta and various previews. Having your character parked there will make getting into the expansion much quicker!

Additionally, we do recommend logging into all of your characters after The War Within releases and the Level Cap is raised to 80. Just log in and log out if you don’t want to play with these characters so that they start getting the Rested bonus.

Other than that, though, follow all our steps and you will be all set to play The War Within expansion for WoW on release. It’s only a few days away now, it’s right around the corner!

The post WoW: How to PREPARE for The War Within Release appeared first on Games Fuze.

The War Within is raising the level cap in World of Warcraft (WoW)to Level 80, so we have our best leveling tips ready to make the process less of a chore.

There are a lot of tried-and-true classics for leveling that still work, such as making sure you get the Rested bonus. However, some neat new mechanics make leveling easier in this expansion, such as the Warband Mentor system.

In this guide, we’ll give you our best leveling tips for WoW: The War Within so that you can get that Level 80 cap in no time flat!

Best Leveling Tips | WoW: The War Within

Make Sure to Have Helpful Items

We’ve covered this before in our guide on how to prepare for the release of The War Within, but it’s worth repeating here. Once you have amassed a decent amount of Gold, you need to get items that’ll make the leveling process less of a pain.

The main items to get are stat-raising Flasks, such as the Phial of Tepid Versatility, for example. This is especially true if you start replacing your gear with new loot from The War Within and get unfavorable stats. Use the boosting Flasks to temporarily increase any stats you need as you keep Leveling, it’ll make the whole process faster.

Make sure you get items that aid mobility, as well. Sure, Skyriding is the main way to travel in The War Within, but it’s not always available. For those instances, you’ll want to have items like the Goblin Glider Kit and Gunshoes. We also highly recommend Light-Step Hoofplates, as they make your mount faster. You know how it is: the faster you can get around, the more efficiently you’ll be completing quests and leveling up.

Get Rested

As a last quick tip before we dive further into this guide, make sure to get the Rested buff if you wish to maximize your XP gains. You just have to hang out with your character at inns or any city to start accumulating Rest, which will multiply your XP gain.

This also works for logged-off characters, so we recommend logging in and out of your alts and leaving them at inns or cities. Start accumulating Rest on them while you play with your main so that leveling is quicker later.

Look For Campaign Quests & Focus on Them

One noticeable change with the release of The War Within in WoW is that the quest icons on the map have been changed. Most notably, the Campaign quests now have a shield-shaped icon with an exclamation mark as shown above.

Campaign Quests are the main source of XP, as well. You’ll want to focus on doing these first of all while you’re still leveling, so familiarize yourself with the new quest icons so you can track them easily.

Do World Quests & Bonus Objectives

Completing the main Campaign for The War Within will also unlock World Quests and Events across the map. You don’t actually need to reach Level 80 to access these! You’ll also unlock Adventure Mode which gives your other characters more freedom and the Earthen Allied Race Quests.

Most importantly for Leveling here is that World Quests can give you a massive boost of XP upon completion. Simply put, you should focus on doing these if you want to level up efficiently.

Similarly, you’ll see various Bonus Objectives pop up across the map, like the example above. These are another type of World Quest and they grant massive amounts of XP when completed. Make sure that you do these whenever they are available.

Plan Out Your Side Quests

Thanks to the release of The War Within in WoW, Renown and Reputation are now Warband-bound, which makes leveling alts easier. You no longer need to complete all of the Side Quests with all of your characters. Instead, spread them out across your various characters so that they can all gain XP from completing them.

You should complete the entirety of a Covenant’s questline with a single character, however. For example, doing all quests for the Council of Dornogal on your main and all quests for the Hallowfall Arathi on an alt. That’s just to ensure that you get to see the full questline.

Anyway, the main takeaway here is that you can spread out Side Quests across characters to make it easier to level up alts. Doing so won’t punish you by making you miss out on Renown and Reputation rewards this time around!

Dive Into Delves & Dungeons

Delves are one of the first new mechanics you encounter in The War Within. They’re short instanced adventures you can complete either solo or with others, and they are a fantastic source of XP. More Delves become available as you progress through the expansion’s Campaign, and we highly recommend doing them.

Similarly, you should also complete Dungeons as part of leveling. Frankly, it’s unlikely that you’ll reach Level 80 without completing at least a few of them. Worry not, you can easily complete all of the dungeons in The War Within by using the Follower Dungeons and playing with NPCs.

Don’t Ignore Professions

Professions are, as always, part of our best leveling tips for WoW and this is still true in The War Within. Using your Profession provides a nice amount of bonus XP to your character, which is especially true for Gathering Professions this time around.

If you want to min-max your leveling, you should pick Herbalism and Mining as your Professions. You’ll encounter many gathering nodes as you play through The War Within’s campaign and explore the new content and each single gathering node will reward you with some XP.

Alternatively, all Crafting Professions can get a lot of bonus XP whenever they craft one of the new items for the first time. However, this bonus XP seems to have a cap and should only be about 2 levels worth of XP, similar to how it worked in Dragonflight. Nothing to scoff at, though!

Alts Have It Easier

Another important part of the leveling process in The War Within is the Warband Mentor system. Anytime you get one of your characters to Level 80 they will be marked as a Warband Mentor, which makes all other characters in your Warband earn 5% more XP from all sources. That means it’s a good idea to focus on leveling up your main to 80 before you even start playing with your alts.

This catch-up mechanic is aided by things like the Adventure Mode we mentioned previously, which allows alts to do areas in any order. What’s more, your alts can skip the introductory part of the campaign if you’ve already progressed far enough with another character! Just talk to Thrall at Magni’s Encampment and choose to skip until you reach Dornogal.

But well, that’s the last on the list of our best leveling tips for WoW: The War Within. You should now know everything you need to make the leveling process smoother and hit that new Level 80 cap ASAP!

The post WoW: Best Leveling Tips For The War Within appeared first on Games Fuze.

WoW: The War Within is right around the corner, so we’re sure there are lots of new and returning players eager to dive into it.

Of course, World of Warcraft is pretty challenging to get into, all things considered. It’s been around for like 2 decades now, so there’s a massive number of complex systems and content to learn about. Whether you’re new or returning, there’s a lot to learn about to get into the new expansion!

In this guide, we’ll talk about the most important things you should know about so that you can start to dive into WoW and The War Within more easily.

New / Returning Players Guide | WoW: The War Within

Class Specialization & Hero Talents

Classes in WoW currently have one class-wide Talent tree, but you can also choose from 1 of 3 different Specializations that provide an additional Talent tree. These two Talent trees define your character’s role and playstyle. On top of that, The War Within is also adding a third tree known as the Hero Talent tree. It’s the smaller tree shown in the middle.

These Hero Talents are based on various key characters from WoW lore and every Specialization gets to pick 1 tree out of 2. Essentially, they’re the cherry on top to expand your class. Maxing them out requires 10 Hero Talent points, which you’ll get naturally as you level up to the new Level Cap of 80. You can max out the Hero Talent tree with no worries!

Picking the right Class is important since they all play differently, so check out our class-picking guide for The War Within if you want to know what to expect from each one.

The Warband System

One of the biggest changes coming to WoW with The War Within is the Warband sytem.

To simplify things, a “Warband” refers to all of your characters collectively. That means your main and any alts you’ve created are all your Warband. All characters will able to access features like the Warband Bank, which is a loot stash shared between all your characters. Your Warband also shares certain Feats of Strength (Achievements) and other account-wide progression systems.

Most notably, The War Within is making it so that your Renown and Reputation are shared by your Warband. Renown and Reputation are a progression system tied to completing the quests for various factions across the expansion, and their rewards will now be shared amongst all your characters. For the most part, that means you no longer need to complete all side quests with all your characters!

In short, the Warband system is an account-wide progression system that makes it easier for you to maintain multiple characters.

Dungeon Difficulties

Dungeons in WoW: The War Within currently come in 3 basic difficulties. From easiest to hardest, they are: Normal, Heroic, and Mythic. These basic difficulties each scale up the Dungeon’s enemies to make them tougher, but they also give you much better loot.

You can queue up for Normal and Heroic Dungeons from anywhere by using the Dungeon Finder tool. Just press the “I” key to bring it up. Mythic dungeons require you to make groups yourself and manually go to the dungeon, however.

You can also clear certain dungeons as Follower Dungeons. These will let you select NPCs to fill your party instead of players, but they work the same as regular dungeons otherwise.

Aside from those basic difficulties, there’s also Mythic+ which is exclusively for endgame content. To enter these Dungeons, at least one player in your party must have a Mythic Keystone. You can get Mythic Keystones by completing regular Mythic dungeons, participating in Mythic+ Dungeons led by others, or purchasing them from Keystone Vendors in cities.

Mythic+ Dungeons rotate every season, but there are always 8 different ones to choose from. They are much more challenging than standard Dungeons, so be well-prepared! These dungeons require you to beat all the bosses and enough trash mobs within a time limit, so you’ll need to be efficient. Completing these dungeons will give you and your allies high-end loot.

Understanding Item Level & Item Upgrades

Besides your character’s level, you also have to pay attention to your gear’s Item Level (referred to as ILvl or ilvl). Whether you’re a new or returning player, ILvl can seem confusing in WoW: The War Within but it’s relatively simple.

An item’s ILvl is simply telling you how strong that item’s stats are. The higher the stats, the higher the ILvl will be. You can use it to quickly tell how good an item is at a glance when compared to other items. At the same time, the average ILvl of all your equipped gear will define your character’s ILvl. Having higher ILvl is required to be able to tackle higher-difficulty Dungeons and Raids!

Some items can also be upgraded using Valorstones and Harbinger Crests. These are special currencies you get from pretty much everything. That means completing Quests of any type, Dungeons, Raids, etc. Of course, harder content will reward more of both types of currencies, but you’ll get them constantly by just playing the game.

If you’ve played the previous expansion, Dragonflight, these currencies are identical to Flightstones and Awakened Crests. They simply renamed them.

To see if an item is upgradeable, just check its description. Upgradeable items will have a text like “Upgrade Level”. This is followed by how many times it’s been upgraded and the maximum number of upgrades possible. You can visit any Item Upgrade NPC in the various cities across the game to upgrade your items. Just bring enough Valorstones and Harbinger Crests and upgrade to increase an item’s level!

Returning Players: Understand the Level Squish

One big oddity that returning players will notice in WoW: The War Within is that their level is now different than it used to be. That’s because the Shadowlands expansion introduced a “level squish”, reducing the Level Cap from 120 back to 60.

While it was a controversial change, it was done to make numbers more manageable and speed up the leveling process going forward. However, it does mean that your old characters will no longer be at the max level if you had reached it pre-Shadowlands!

What’s more, the release of The War Within will raise the Level Cap further to Level 80. If you want to get up to speed by reaching the level cap, check out our best leveling tips for WoW: The War Within!

Nonetheless, that brings us to the end of our WoW: The War Within guide for new and returning players. We hope this helps you dive into the game and its latest expansion a bit more easily, but there’s still a lot more to see and learn in this incredibly deep game.

If you’re already playing WoW, make sure to check out our guide on how to best prepare for The War Within’s release as well.

The post WoW The War Within: New / Returning Players Guide appeared first on Games Fuze.

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