The stream will feature three development team members outlining the story, new activities and expected rewards. Based on how Act 1 concluded, there may be more clues about the mysterious individual manipulating events on Nessus and causing the Vex to act strange. Saint-14 may also become involved, given the revelations experienced thus far.

Alongside new activities and loot, each Act introduces new Artifact mods and unlocks further ranks in the Battle Pass, so stay tuned for more details. Episode 1: Echoes concludes with Act 3, but two more Episodes – Revenant and Heresy – are in the works. The former features a new potion-crafting system, while the latter returns to the Dreadnaught from The Taken King.

Announced during the developer’s Anime Expo 2024 panel, the modern Sigma Star Saga runs on Limited Run Games’ Carbon Engine. While noting it wasn’t a sequel, the development team said there might be one “down the road.” As with Risky Revolution, the title will be available on a Game Boy Advance cartridge.

First available for the Game Boy Advance in August 2005, Sigma Star Saga is a combination of side-scrolling shoot ’em ups and top-down role-playing gameplay. Players control Allied Earth Federation pilot Ian Recker, working as a double agent in the Krill Empire. There are six planets to explore and over 70 items to customize one’s ship. Stay tuned for more details on the re-release’s changes in the coming months.

As the trailer highlights, Reinhardt is Optimus Prime, Bastion is Bumblebee, and Sojourn is Arcee. Meanwhile, Ramattra is Megatron, Prime’s arch-nemesis (and sometimes ally). Suffice it to say that the animation work is exceptional and some of the best yet from the team at Blizzard.

The collaboration likely features a new limited-time mode and free skin (alongside the usual balance changes), so stay tuned for further details. Unfortunately, the cosmetics featured in the trailer will likely require real money to purchase. If the pricing is similar to the Cowboy Bebop skins, expect to pay $20 each per skin.

In second place was the newly released Nintendo Switch remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, though it’s worth noting that, as always with Nintendo titles in Circana charts, its digital sales are not counted here.

Other new May releases also debuted in the charts, with Homeworld 3 slotting in at No. 14 and F1 24 coming in at No. 18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 followed behind in third place, with Helldivers 2, which remains the best-selling game of the year overall in the US, took the No. 4 slot.

On the hardware front, the PS5 was once again the best-selling console for May in the US in terms of both unit and dollar sales, with the Nintendo Switch taking second place in the former metric, and the Xbox Series X/S in the latter.

May 2024 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games – U.S. (Dollar Sales, Physical and Digital from digital data sharing publishers, excludes add-on content) pic.twitter.com/V751fMRtbl

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) July 8, 2024

Ghost of Tsushima generated a slightly higher consumer spending total across physical and digital game sales than did physical-only sales of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo is not a digital data sharing publisher).

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) July 8, 2024

Other new releases appearing among the top 20 best-sellers of May included Homeworld 3 (14th) and F1 24 (18th).

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) July 8, 2024

PlayStation 5 again led the month’s hardware market in unit and dollar sales. Nintendo Switch once again finished 2nd in unit sales, while Xbox Series ranked 2nd in dollars.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) July 8, 2024

Through each console’s first 43 months in market, PlayStation 5 unit sales lead those of PlayStation 4 by 8%, while Xbox Series trails Xbox One by 13% and remains slightly behind Xbox 360.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) July 8, 2024

Void Fragments

Wandering through the different Battlefields, you may have noticed structures that can’t be damaged through weapon use. These are called Void Fragments, essential for unlocking the Void Fusion Reactors dotting the landscape. The key to activating these is to have a Descendant of the corresponding element. If you find a Fragment is vulnerable to electricity, then you need to use Bunny, while pillars weak to ice necessitate Viessa.

Use an ability to deal damage, and you’ll initiate a series of enemy waves. Upon defeating a wave, continue to attack the Fragment with your ability and fight through the subsequent waves. Once this is complete, you’ll receive Void Shards. One thing to note is that you can continuously farm the same Void Fragment for Shards, which confers XP and Gold alongside a chance to drop Modules.

Void Fusion Reactors

However, you can’t just gather Shards from any Void Fragment. Depending on the Fusion Reactor, you’ll need specific types of Shards. Check the map for the requirements of the Reactor and then look for corresponding Fragments to get the Shards. It helps to have Descendants of varying elements on standby to farm the different elemental Fragments.

Upon activating a Void Fusion Reactor, you must defeat some bosses, which should be easy enough to handle if you meet the level requirement. Doing so will confer rewards like Reactors, weapons and Modules, with the most powerful – Transcendent Modules – having a one percent drop chance. It’s thus worth farming Void Fusion Reactors for the same, and they also provide Gold, XP and Mastery Level XP. Since Mastery Levels will increase inventory slots and mod capacity, the higher levels are worth grinding out.

However, that’s not all. A Reconstructed Device will also become available after clearing the Void Fusion Reactor. It allows for opening Amorphous Materials – similar to Void Relics from Warframe, they have a chance of providing specific rewards (including materials to research new Descendants). If you’re not a fan of the Void Intercept Missions or want a break from them, then Void Fusion Reactors are an alternative. Just make sure you’re at a point in the game where Amorphous Materials are dropping on the regular to take full advantage of this.

Encrypted Vaults

Something else to watch out for on the Battlefield is an Encrypted Vault. Opening them is essential since they’re required for completing missions and obtaining Negative Ion Particles for crafting. First, ensure you have a Code Analyzer – the Regular version is used to open them in Normal difficulty fields. The Precision version is necessary for Vaults on Hard difficulty fields.

Next, watch out for the little holographic bits on the ground. Initiate a scan, and a sound will play. Follow it and keep scanning until it gets louder and leads you to the Vault. Upon consuming a Code Analyzer, you must complete a timed-button press mini-game. If you fail, the Code Analyzer is consumed, and you’ll need another. The Regular versions are easy enough to procure, dropping from just about any Normal mission, but be careful when using higher rarity Analyzers.

Leveling Resistances

If Path of Exile and many other action RPGs have taught anything, it’s that the resistance stats aren’t to be underestimated. The same goes for The First Descendant, especially if you play a less tanky character like Bunny or Viessa. Equip Modules like Heat Release, Perfect Antivenom, Antifreeze Solution and Insulate Conductor to become immune to their corresponding status effects. Polygenic Antibody will also raise all attribute resistances by +60, so it’s worth equipping. Level them as you progress the story, lest you’re at the mercy of bosses chunking your shields and HP with elemental attacks.

Avoid “Recommended Modules”

This is more of something that you can and should ignore. On the surface, it sounds like a nice quality-of-life feature – why bother modding each weapon, when you can click the Recommended Modules button? As anyone who’s played Warframe will tell you, the game isn’t great at equipping the desired Modules on a weapon or Descendant. Furthermore, as you progress and receive better Modules, there may be specific elemental damage types or builds you want to lean into. Manually equipping and optimizing these will always be preferable in the long run.

Filter as Junk

If there’s one thing The First Descendant gives you a lot of, it’s loot, but there’s a finite amount of inventory space. Since you’ll pick up everything, it’s easy to run out. Fortunately, the Filter as Junk function comes out. Available in your equipment screen for Reactors, weapons and External Components, it allows for segregating loot based on rarity, weapon level and Unique Abilities. You’ll still pick up items meeting the criteria, but the filter will mark them as junk. You can thus open your equipment screen and hold down the button to Dismantle Junk, which clears them out quickly. While there’s still some inventory management required, it cuts down on the busywork significantly.

When to Dismantle (and Not Dismantle) Weapons

Aside from items denoted in the junk filter, you may be tempted to dismantle a weapon simply because you don’t like it. Maybe your build doesn’t benefit from it, or it’s just a weapon type that you never use. Perhaps a better option is available. Either way, try hanging on to and consuming it to level up other weapons instead at the Workbench. You’ll need a Phase Exchanger, crafted from materials obtained by dismantling weapons, with Ultimate Weapons requiring the higher-level Precision Phase Exchanger. The best method is to hang on to the higher-level and rarity loot while marking the less desirable items as junk to dismantle for materials. If you’re unsure whether to dismantle or keep a weapon, especially if it has a good roll, store it – you can adjust it later with an Adjustment Control Axis.

The Access Menu

It’s been said before, but the Access menu is probably the most valuable tool in The First Descendant. From here, you can discover where every item, crafting material, weapon, Amorphous Material, etc. drops from. Even better, selecting Acquisition Info will bring up a list of missions where you can farm said items (if they’re unlocked, of course). It’s incredible, especially since you can track bigger projects like Descendants and their requirements.

Crafting Thunder Cage

Another thing that bears repeating is to craft Thunder Cage. You’ll obtain the materials for researching it while playing through the story, but must go to the Research lab to begin the process. As tempting as it can be to ignore, it’s a worthwhile detour since this can become your first Ultimate Weapon (and it takes four hours of real-time to research, so it’s best to get it out of the way before continuing to play). Its Unique Ability is also ideal for clearing out multiple enemies with electric damage, which is great in horde-like activities.

Level Up Sub Modules

Sub Modules alter your Descendant’s charged melee attack, turning it into something like Shock Punch or Tonfas. As rudimentary as the melee combat can feel, it’s worth leveling up those Sub Modules. They’ll increase your overall mod capacity, which means more space to equip other essential Modules.

Opinions aside, however, there’s no denying that Nexon’s free-to-play shooter has many issues, ranging from irritating to frustrating, that it needs to sort out and fix immediately. Let’s take a look at ten such things here.

Matchmaking in Hard Mode

As you properly dive into the end game, Hard mode becomes available for many activities. Infiltration Operations, for example, have more modifiers to up the difficulty, and you can tack on some more for an increased Kill Score (which raises the chance of certain rewards). The same goes for Special Operations and Void Intercepts, the latter required to open different Amorphous Materials. In theory, it’s not a terrible way to repurpose a lot of existing content. The problem is the lack of matchmaking, making things much more challenging than they need to be and effectively handicapping solo players, especially since you must redo segments like bosses if you die before they’re slain (that too with limited lives).

Looking for Group

The only option then is to play with friends, but what if (no offense) you don’t have any, or at least any online at the time? Why isn’t there a Looking for Group tool? Even Bungie eventually smartened up and added the Fireteam Finder, allowing players to create listings in-game and seek out others to help them in group activities. Your options in The First Descendant include going to Albion HQ and messaging random players (like many were wont to do in Destiny 1). Maybe they’ll join you for the activity in question. Maybe they’ll immediately leave and flame you for the unwanted invites – roll the dice and find out. If Nexon is deadset on no matchmaking for its Hard mode content, then an in-game LFG tool is the least it could offer.

Kicking AFK Players

I feel like I’m in a time machine, reading some of the complaints for this game since they mirror many of the issues that Destiny 1 had at launch. That includes the lack of options to kick AFK players. Say you’re on a mission, whether it’s a Void Intercept or a particularly difficult Infiltration Operation. The assistance of your team is paramount, but you get that one player who idles around and does nothing. You can’t kick them, and the game itself lacks anything to detect their AFK behavior, so you can do nothing but watch as they leech off of hard work and reap the rewards. It’s 2024 – the fact that this is still something that happens in a looter shooter is baffling.

Drop Rates

There are mixed opinions about drop rates currently. Some feel that the best items and materials should be rare and that’s fair. Others think that abysmally low drop rates that run in the single digits are just straight-up unfun and that’s also fair. Considering how many rewards are tied to a low drop rate, I’m inclined to agree – some more guaranteed sources would be ideal.

Also, raise the drop rates or implement methods like a knockout system in harder activities where players have an escalating chance to receive the rarest item with each completion. Maybe there’s some concern that players will run out of things to grind for, but the bigger issue is grinding for hours and not getting what they want, potentially causing them to leave and not return. It’s happened before in other loot games and it can absolutely happen here.

Encrypted Vaults

The concept of Encrypted Vaults isn’t bad – find some holographic doodads, ping them and follow the sounds to find the Vault, “???”, profit. It’s the third step where the problems begin and seemingly never end. First, you need a Code Analyzer to open it. Next, you need to complete a timed-button press mini-game. Miss the inputs within the given time, thus failing to open it, and the Vault won’t open.

Also, your Code Analyzer is consumed. Better get another one (and hopefully it wasn’t a Precision Code Analyzer, which is rarer). The more annoying thing is that even if you successfully hit the many inputs, you don’t slightly extend the time (and the timing is iffy). I get it – Nexon wanted to rip off the lockpicking mini-game from Warframe. Unfortunately, it’s one of the few copied mechanics that feels significantly worse than its inspiration.

Caliber Purchase Issues

Caliber is the premium currency, meaning have to pay real money for it. Used for directly purchasing Descendants, accelerating research and whatnot, it’s pretty important. If players aren’t receiving Caliber after purchasing it, that’s a big problem, yet somehow it’s occurred a couple of times within the first few days of launch. Perhaps it will be resolved sooner rather than later, but regardless of how you or I feel about the monetization, there’s nothing worse than paying for something in a game and not getting it.

Consumable Paint Jobs

Speaking of terrible monetization, why the heck are paint jobs consumable? Why do players only get one use out of paint colors and then have to spend the cash for more? Has Nexon not learned from Destiny 2, which received backlash for this at launch? Warframe has you pay for entire sets of color palettes, but they have unlimited uses. It’s one thing to sell Ultimate Descendants at absurd prices to skip the grind, but shaking down players for paint? Absurd.

Boss Design

A new hotfix is available and nerfed Eterllick the Tracker’s use of shield skills per phase. That’s good. Bosses like Devourer still don’t scale well for four players, leading to endless frustration. That one boss in that story mission can easily chunk down your health with fire damage, even if you have Fire Resist Modules. Then there’s the Dead Bride with her annoying immunity phases, especially if your teammates don’t prioritize breaking her parts. Ordinarily, a challenging boss would be nice, but this isn’t a Souls-like. There are plenty in The First Descendant that need a few balance passes to reduce their more annoying characteristics.

HUD Customization

If you’ve seen any gameplay, especially on consoles, the heads-up display can get a little…busy. Between displaying objectives, items you’re tracking, the map, your abilities and so on, there can be some clutter. While the HUD can be turned off for a more immersive experience, it would be nice to remove some information for a cleaner appearance. Add a dynamic option as well, turning the HUD invisible after some time for good measure.

Melee Combat

Aside from the absolute lack of melee weapons, melee combat just lacks punch overall. Whether you’re initiating a grapple strike, using a charged or uncharged melee or abilities like Sharen’s electric slash, they all lack impact. The first order of business is to revamp the system to be less clunky, then add some greatswords, lances and whatnot into the mix. Turn them into heavy ammo weapons if necessary, but they’re a must.

As per a report by TrueTrophies, based on a data pool of over 3.1 million active PSN accounts, across the month of June, on PS5 and PS4, Bloodborne saw a 57 percent increase in its player count. Narrowing it down further, in the final week of the month, following Shadow of the Erdtree’s launch, Bloodborne’s player count saw an 11 percent increase, making it the 65th most-played PlayStation title that week.

Whether we’ll ever get a Bloodborne sequel, remake, or even a remaster at some point in the future is anyone’s best guess, but the many fans of FromSoftware’s 2015 masterpiece certainly know how to make their love for the game known. Here’s hoping Sony takes note, at the very least.

As per a tech analysis published by Digital Foundry, results are somewhat mixed. Beyond Good and Evil 20th Anniversary Edition does tend to run at 4K and 60 FPS in its resolution on PS5 and Xbox Series X for most of the time, though there are some instances where its frame rate drips noticeably- and, due to its usage of a double-buffer style v-sync, drops all the way to 30 FPS, making it that much more jarring.

The report goes on to state that the performance mode on offer, which drops the resolution down to 1440p, does see far fewer frame rate drops, but doesn’t manage to eliminate them entirely, which means it’s not a flawless upgrade from a technical perspective. On Xbox Series S, interestingly enough, the game game only runs at 1440p and 60 FPS and still suffers from occasional but drastic frame rate dips, with no 30 FPS option being present.

Beyond Good and Evil 20th Anniversary Edition is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Read our review of the remaster through here.

One of the many major additions with this update will be Eiger Nordwand, a track that fans will remember from several past iterations of the franchise, from Gran Turismo 5 and 6 to even Gran Turismo HD and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. After being cut from the roster in PS4’s Gran Turismo Sport, the track is now returning.

Along with it, GT7’s next update will also bring six new cars, an update for the game’s physics model, new Michelin tires, a new wheel brand, and continued track compatibility for GT Sophy. Check out the trailer below for a glimpse at everything that’s coming to the game.

Gran Turismo 7 is available on PS5 and PS4. The update launches on July 25.

How to Farm Gold and Various Crafting Materials

The first and most obvious place to earn some Gold is the Kingston Albion Resource Defense mission from Special Operations. It’s already a great place to level up your Descendants and weapon proficiency while doling out a decent 19,000 Gold as a potential reward for clearing the first seven waves.

However, you can do far better in the late game. After clearing the main quest, set the World Difficulty to Hard and go to Rockfall in the Sterile Land. Look for the first Battlefield Mission near the spawn point, which involves ambushing and exterminating enemies.

With a decent Bunny build and Thunder Cage, you can tear through the spawning waves before they even have a chance to react. You can get thousands of Gold on top of the 12,000 earned from completing the mission, which takes less than a minute. It’s also great for great Kuiper Shards used to upgrade Modules.

Some materials are easy to come by, like those obtained from dismantling weapons and Reactors. However, the rarer stuff, used for higher-level weapons and Descendants, can take longer. Sometimes, you need to go to an Infiltration Operation to get it; other times, it’s within an Amorphous Material, which must be opened.

The best way to farm everything is to use the Access Info menu. Open your map and navigate to the tab (right next to the Journal). It has information on all of the materials and items in the game, plus where to get them. Select the item in question and then the components, if any. Go to Acquisition Info to bring up a list of missions you can do to get them, provided they’re already unlocked.