New information regarding Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s battle system was revealed during the opening ceremony of the Pokemon World Championships in Washington D.C.–including a new trailer.

Sword and Shield producer, Junichi Masuda, told the attending crowd that the 2020 championship would use Sword and Shield. To drum up even more interest in the upcoming title and next year’s competition, a new trailer revealed some new Pokemon attacks and abilities, as well as some of the new held items trainers can use in battle.

Galarian Weezing’s mystery ability has been revealed as Neutralizing Gas, which has the power to nullify all other abilities on the field, including your teammates. The trailer shows Gastrodon’s Storm Drain and Rotom’s Levitate abilities being negated as examples. Elsewhere, Corviknight’s new ability is called Mirror Armor. This allows the flying Pokemon to reflect any stat lowering effects back at their opponent.

In terms of attacks, the trailer shows Breaking Swipe, a brand new attack that can hit two Pokemon at once, lowering their attack. It’s not known what type of attack this is, but the trailer shows Flygon using it.

The trailer also reveals two new held items. The first of which is Room Service, which lowers the speed of the Pokemon holding it during Trick Room. The other is Jet Pack, a useful item that switches out a Pokemon if its stats are lowered. The trailer shows Duraludon using what looks like Draco Meteor to dismiss Kommo-o.

Lastly, some interesting new information was revealed about Dynamax Pokemon. These gigantic Pokemon can shrug off moves that would otherwise cause flinching, allowing them to attack freely. Their Max Moves, meanwhile, have powerful secondary effects. The electric-type Max Move creates Electric Terrain on the field, the fighting-type effect increases the attack of every Pokemon on your side, the ice-type one cause Hail to fall–damaging Pokemon not of the ice type–and the flying-type Max Move removes walls and other traps.

Pokemon Sword and Shield will launch November 15 for Nintendo Switch.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-sword-and-shield-trailer-reveals-new-attac/1100-6469143/

NHL 20 is less than a month away, and EA Sports has now shared some detailed information on the changes and additions we can expect to see in franchise mode when it launches on September 5 for EA Access subscribers, September 10 for owners of the Deluxe and Ultimate editions, and September 13 for everyone else.

After numerous years of minimal changes, NHL 19 took franchise mode a step further with the implementation of an all-new scouting system that altered the way you evaluated prospects, trade targets, and free agents. NHL 20 builds on this by introducing coaches to franchise mode. New features such as line chemistry, a brand-new conversation system, and new scouting reports, all tie back into the coaching staff of a team and impact how you construct your roster.

At the start of franchise mode, the game will generate a variety of fantasy coaches with their own sets of ratings and roles that revolve around offence, defence, powerplay, penalty kill, teach, and influence, with each one having a direct impact on the team. Offence, defence, powerplay, and penalty kill attributes affect gameplay and game simulations, while teaching can either grow or stunt a player’s development via player potential. Each coach also has a teaching speciality that dictates the type of player they like to teach. Influence, on the other hand, ties into the growth of coaches. If your head coach has high influence, that will help the coaching staff grow faster, with individual coaches accumulating stats that might result in them earning the Jack Adams Trophy during the end of season awards.

Much like players, coaches in NHL 20 also have their own morale which is impacted by team performance, management, coaching staff, and player relationships. Balancing team morale and chemistry amongst both your players and coaches will be key to any success you achieve out on the ice.

Part of the process of hiring new coaches is, of course, interviews. You can interview a coach prior to offering them a contract to get a better gauge of the type of team they’re looking to coach, the market they prefer, and the fan base they gravitate towards. AI teams will also fire and hire coaches throughout the season based on expectations. If a team goes on a long losing streak, a coach might find themselves on the hot seat. Once NHL players retire they can also transition into becoming coaches.

Scheme Fit and line chemistry summarizes how well each player fits on their current line. This is based on the strategies the coach has set for their lineup, the style an individual player like to play, and each player’s preferred position. Chemistry ranges from -5 to +5, and these ratings have an effect in both gameplay and during simulations. Constructing your lines to squeeze the most chemistry out of your setup will be paramount. This also grants you more freedom in how you strategize. Some might want to build a balanced attack, while others will prefer to play their top-tier players as much as possible.

When it comes to recruiting new players, you’ll be able to use a new scouting report to find and evaluate potential fits for your team. There are two new Amateur Scouting Reports and two new Pro Reports. The latter is the best way to determine if a player fits your coaches’ scheme and where they fit in the lineup. A player with a lower overall rating might fit your scheme better than a higher rated player who doesn’t, boosting your line’s chemistry or tanking it. Scheme Fit is also valuable information on Amateur Scouting Reports, while NHL ETA will give you a good idea of when a prospect may be ready to compete in the NHL. Draft day interviews also tie into this, letting you interview prospects prior to the draft to unveil extra scouting information.

Finally, a new Trade Finder allows you to make trades faster without having to go back-and-forth with trade proposals between teams. You can now select any assets you wish to trade and will receive offers for them, while picking players from other teams will let you see their asking price.

Other changes can be seen below:

• PTS/G Trade Value Mod – This gives players trade value boost or penalties based on how they are performing during the year. Players playing well can be traded for more value in trades and vice versa (goalies use SV%).
• PTS/G Salary Mod – Performance based Salaries; Players who do exceptionally well will ask for a lot more money. In some sims players reaching 100+ points and asks for 10 million dollars, in other sims the same player has sub 1.00 PPTS/G and asks for ~8 million. This should also fix the issue where players who are in the minors and ask for 2M+ without ever playing in the NHL.
• Teams will now put bad contracts on the trade block to free up cap space if an RFA (Restricted Free Agent) player wants a contract extension and they don’t have cap space.
• Goalies are now worth less than skaters in regards to trade value and we have improved goalie signing and trading logic in Free Agency.
• Players with 1 year left on their deals will have less value as the season goes on. So at the Trade Deadline, players with 1 year left will be worth less than full value and at the NHL Draft, these players will be worth significantly less.
• Players with bad value can be traded with addition of sweeteners to a trade. Increased the Bad Contract Mod so players with bad contracts require a lot to be added so a team will accept the trade.
• Added exception contracts to the game. So players in the QMJHL, WHL and OHL don’t count towards the 50 man contract limit.
• Added a Trade Alert popup that stops the sim if someone in the league makes a big trade.
• Added a Sim Engine scoring Setting; increases scoring or decreases scoring based on the setting (High, Med, Low). The default is set to medium.
• Wingers are now worth less than centers and defensemen in regards to trade value.
• We decreased Scout efficiency so now you won’t have full info on all the draft-eligible at the end of the year. This should stop users from stacking Elite players in the NHL Draft.
• Tuned Down the number of Elite and Franchise potential goalies in the draft.
• Tuned the distribution of medium grade prospects so they are a little more hit and miss.
• Added Scout Recommendations to the View Draft Class Screen.
• Tuned the trade blocks of CPU teams wants/gives.
• Added original placements to the Draft Lottery popup.
• Added an ‘Add contract year’ setting for Expansion Custom Rosters flow.
• Added ‘Auto-Owner mode’ setting which takes care of arena maintenance.

NHL 20 launches September 13.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nhl-20-all-the-details-on-franchise-mode/1100-6469139/

Diablo 3 might be more than seven years old at this point, but Blizzard continues to support the action RPG by frequently adding new updates and seasonal events that keep the game feeling fresh. After recently sharing the company’s plans for the future of Diablo 3, we’re now getting our first taste of those plans as season 18 kicks off on August 23.

The new season introduces the Season of the Triune, “a call-back to an ancient cult forged over three millennia ago by the Prime Evils of the Burning Hells,” the press release states. These Prime Evils sought to tilt the odds of the Eternal Conflict in their favor by masquerading as three benevolent deities to infiltrate the hearts of men. Though they were ultimately defeated by Uldyssian during the Sin War, “the remnants of the Cult of the Triune still operate today as the more well-known Coven, whom continue the work of Adria and Magdha even after their deaths.”

What this means in gameplay terms is that players will benefit from the Power of the Triune buff throughout the duration of season 18. This effect periodically summons circles around the battlefield that provide one of three randomized buffs:

• Triune of Love (Power): Players in the circle receive a 100% damage bonus while active
• Triune of Determination (Resource Reduction): Players in the circle receive a 50% discount on resources spent while active
• Triune of Creation (Cooldown Reduction): While standing in an active circle, any skills currently on cooldown come off of cooldown more quickly

Blizzard says it wanted to try something different in season 18 by providing a tangible change to gameplay from the moment you begin your journey. The Power of the Triune buff alters gameplay from level 1 to level 70 and beyond, incentivizing you to move around the battlefield in order to leverage these powerful boosts.

As far as cosmetic rewards go, after re-introducing previous seasonal rewards in season 17, Blizzard is bringing back awards that were originally available in season 6 for season 18. “In addition to the Chest and Gloves slots of the exclusive Conqueror Set, players will be able to earn a series of portrait frames bedecked with the mysterious beauty of Blood Shards. A ghastly All Hallow’s pennant will also be available, allowing you to proudly proclaim your love for all things grim and creepy.”

For Season Journey rewards, the latest update will let you earn an additional stash tab by finishing the Conqueror tier, up to a maximum of five:

• Guardian of Sanctuary: Finish a level 70 Nephalem Rift on Torment XIII within five minutes
• Gem of My Life: Level three Legendary Gems to level 55
• All I Do IS Win: Complete two Conquests this Season
• Disarm You: Kill Rakanoth at level 70 in under 15 seconds on Torment XIII difficulty
• Money Ain’t A Thang: Slay Greed on Torment XIII difficulty
• Take U There: Reach Greater Rift level 60 Solo
• Power Amplification: Use Kanai’s Cube to augment an Ancient Legendary item with a level 50+ gem
• Cubic Reconfiguration: Use Kanai’s Cube to reforge a Legendary item

Seasonal Conquests, meanwhile, add a host of new challenges for you to test your mettle against. “Push your way to Greater Rift level 75 to complete Divinity/Lionhearted. On a Good Day/I Can’t Stop guides you to get your Legendary Gem grind on; level three Legendary Gems to 65 to complete this challenge! For the speedy, Speed Demon/Need for Speed requires the fastest nephalem to complete a Nephalem Rift at level 70 on Torment X or higher in under two minutes. For Curses!/Stars Align, pick any Cursed Chest event that requires killing monsters and defeat over 350 or more at level 70 on Torment X or higher. For the fiercest demon slayers, Boss Mode/World’s Apart is a speed challenge where you’ll need to eliminate the following bosses at level 70 and Torment X in under twenty minutes:

• The Skeleton King
• The Butcher
• Zoltun Kulle
• Ghom
• Cydaea
• Rakanoth
• Diablo
• Adria
• Queen Araneae
• Maghda
• Belial
• Siegebreaker Assault Beast
• Azmodan
• Izual
• Urzael
• Malthael”

Last but not least, Haedrig’s Gift class set rewards have rotated once more. “Completing Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the Season Journey will reward you with three of Haedrig’s Gifts. Each Gift contains a few pieces from one of your Class Sets. Players can only unlock one Class Set in this manner per Season across Hardcore and Non-Hardcore, so choose wisely!” Whichever set you receive will depend on the class of character you’re playing as when you open Haedrig’s Gift, so you’ll need open all three with the same character to collect a full set.

Below are the full patch notes for the latest update, Patch 2.6.6.:

Note: All changes apply to all versions of Diablo III, including PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC unless otherwise indicated.

General

• A pet has been added that will be available for players who pre-purchase Warcraft III: Reforged Spoils of War Edition (PC Only)

Seasons

• The buff for Season 18, the Season of the Triune, has been added
  • Triune’s Will: All abilities have a chance when hitting an enemy to spawn a circle that gives a power. Only one circle can be active at a time.
    • Triune of Love (Power): Players in the circle receive a 100% damage bonus while active
    • Triune of Determination (Resource Reduction): Players in the circle receive a 50% discount on resources spent while active
    • Triune of Creation (Cooldown Reduction): While standing in an active circle, any skills currently on cooldown come off of cooldown more quickly
  • Developer Comment: The last couple of Seasonal buffs have been focused primarily on end-game content. We wanted to try something different this Season with a buff that was more beneficial to players regardless of where they might be in their Season Journey. Triune’s Will can come into play as early as level 1 and continue to make an impact on your game experience from the beginning to the end of the Season, and we’re looking forward to seeing how players leverage this ever-changing boost throughout their adventures!
  • Developer Comment: In addition, we received feedback from players during the PTR about colorblind accessibility. We’ve changed one of the blue-tinted circles to a darker, green earth tone that should stand out a lot more for affected players. We greatly appreciate your feedback!

Items

• Developer Note: There are additional specific notes below, but broadly for 2.6.6, we wanted to introduce a handful of new item powers targeted at two audiences: (1) certain classes with long-standing requests for balance/quality of life adjustments and (2) the broader player base for experimenting with Kanai’s Cube. This means fewer class-specific new additions, but more additions that everyone has an opportunity to play with. We also experimented with making some of the craftable sets from Haedrig more appealing for fresh level 70’s or players looking to maximize their farming runs. We hope to see some interesting new theorycrafting and tactics out of 2.6.6 and can’t wait to see what the community does with this new loot!
• Updated Item Notes: There are a number of notes below clarifying the intention of certain item functionalities. In a couple cases, such as with Flavor of Time, the item wasn’t behaving properly during PTR per our intentions (which has been fixed). For others, we just wanted to provide more clarity about exactly how these items behave.
• Flavor of Time
  • New Legendary Power: Pylon effects last twice as long.
  • Note: Only wearers of this item gain this effect. This is intended.
• The Executioner
  • New Legendary Power: Attacks will slay enemies with less than (5-10%) health.
  • Note: This item’s power does not work on followers. This is intended.
• Stone Gauntlets
  • New Legendary Power: Getting attacked will slowly turn you to stone… (You gain 50% more armor, but your movement speed is reduced by 15% and attack speed is reduced by 20%. This effect stacks up to 5 times)
  • PTR Update: This item now displays a buff icon and has a clearer in-game description. Thank you for the feedback!
  • Note: Immunity to control-impairing effects can work against the reduced attack and movement speed penalties. This is intended.
• Echoing Fury
  • New Legendary Power: Slaying enemies engulfs the wielder into a Frenzy. (Killing enemies increases your attack speed by 15% and movement speed by 5%. This effect stacks up to 5 times)
  • PTR Update: This item’s power now works on kill assists and pet kills. Thank you for the feedback!
• Squirt’s Necklace
  • New Legendary Power: While not taking damage, your damage is increased by up to 100% and damage taken is increased by up to 50%.
  • PTR Update: This item now displays a buff icon. Thank you for the feedback!
• Messerschmidt’s Reaver
  • New Legendary Power: Reduce the remaining cooldown of one of your skills by 1 second when you slay an enemy.
  • PTR Update: This item’s power now works on kill assists and pet kills. Thank you for the feedback!
• Mortick’s Brace
  • New Legendary Item: Wrath of the Berserker gains the effect of every rune.
  • Developer’s Note: If you played during the Patch 2.2.0 PTR, you’ll recognize this as an item that was later removed from the game before it went to live servers. At the time, Mortick’s Brace gave too much power for a single item slot. However, the power curve of Diablo III has changed significantly since then and we’re comfortable with bringing it back.
  • Developer’s Note: We’re not done with Barbarians, either. However, this is a change that required less testing and could be easily added to 2.6.6, so rather than waiting for a larger batch of changes, we saw no reason to hold this one back.
• Spite
  • Note: This item can be crafted from the Blacksmith and is not a normal loot drop
  • New Legendary Power: Non-cleaving Gargantuans gain the cleave and chilling effects of the Humongoid rune.
• Legacy of Dreams
  • New Legendary Gem:
    • While you have no set bonuses equipped, every Legendary item you have equipped increases your damage dealt by 3.75% and reduces your damage taken by 2%. (Max level 99)
    • Rank 25: This bonus is doubled for Ancient items.
  • Developer’s Note: The end game opened up significantly with Season 17’s Legacy of Nightmare’s buff (and the community was clear about how much these new options were appreciated), but wanted to make this addition a more permanent fixture in a more streamlined way than simply making it baseline. This Legendary Gem should open that path up even further and at more opportunities than just late game Greater Rift pushing.
• Crafted Sets
  • Note: The following sets have been significantly revised from their existing level 70 counterparts. Items crafted prior to 2.6.6 will continue to exist in their old forms but will not be updated after the patch. In addition, after the patch, the old recipes will no longer be available to craft and all players will need to re-acquire these recipes by finding the plans again through Horadric Caches or by killing Odious Collectors.
  • Sage’s Journey
    • A Belt has been added to this set.
    • Haedrig the Blacksmith now automatically learns how to forge this set at Rank 12.
  • Captain Crimson’s Trimmings
    • (2) Set Bonus
      • Regenerates 6000 Life per Second
      • Reduces cooldown of all skills by10% 20%.
      • Now also reduces Resource Costs by 20%
    • (3) Set Bonus
      • Set bonuses have been replaced
        • Damage dealt is increased by your total percentage of Cooldown Reduction
        • Damage taken is reduced by your total percentage of Resource Cost Reduction
  • Aughild’s Authority
    • (2) Set Bonus
      • Set bonuses have been replaced
        • Reduces damage taken by 15%
        • Increases damage dealt by 30%
    • (3) Set Bonus
      • Reduces damage from elites by 15% 30%
      • Increases damage against elites by 15% 30%
  • Cain’s Destiny
    • (2) Set Bonus
      • Attack Speed increased by 8%
      • +50% Experience. (5.0% at level 70) (Moved from (3) Set Bonus)
    • (3) Set Bonus
      • When a Greater Rift Keystone drops, there is a 25% chance for an extra one to drop.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an error that occurred when reporting a player via a friend request
• Fixed an error that occurred when saving an existing Friend Note without making changes

PTR-Specific Bug Fixes

• Squirt’s Necklace
  • Fixed an issue where the damage taken increase was not reaching the 50% cap
• Captain Crimson’s Trimmings
  • Fixed an issue where the bonus provided by this class set was subject to snapshotting

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-season-18-starts-next-week-here-are-all-t/1100-6469137/

Shantae 5 is now officially named Shantae and the Seven Sirens. WayForward has revealed some new details about the next Shantae game, and dropped some screens to give fans a taste of the upcoming game’s gorgeous visuals. The fifth game in the long-running series was announced back in March, but little information has been available until now.

The game has been unveiled on Wayforward’s website. It will send Shantae and her friends to a tropical island, where they’ll meet several other half-genies. Of course, things won’t go smoothly, and the eponymous half-genie will find herself tussling with numerous enemies. Some first-look screenshots are below.

The game promises to feature all new dance abilities and Fusion Magic, as well as a nonlinear world to explore. There will also be a collectible card system, which will let players change Shantae’s abilities. The game will support 4K resolution on systems that can handle it, and will feature numerous minigames, hidden secrets, and “gorgeously animated TV-style cutscenes.”

Shantae and the Seven Sirens is coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Apple Arcade, and a release date has not been announced yet – it’s not clear whether it will release in 2019 or not. The last game in the series was 2016’s Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. In his 8/10 review, Jason D’Aprile called the game “a delightful experience”.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/shantae-5-is-now-shantae-and-the-seven-sirens-here/1100-6469135/