Fortnite has launched Chapter 2 of its Battle Royale mode, a huge revision that includes new mechanics, a new map, and other refreshes. One big new addition is an upgrade bench, which lets you upgrade weapons using gathered resources.

A player on the Fortnite subreddit noticed the crafting bench, with the ability to upgrade a Common rarity weapon to a Uncommon one in exchange for 50 wood, 50 stone, and 50 metal. That bench appears in Craggy Cliffs, but others appear to be dotted throughout the map and it’s unclear if they always spawn in the same locations.

This signifies a pretty big shift to the in-game economy, since it gives you a more flexible way to get the best loot. That could make players less dependent on random drops, since you can farm for resources more reliably.

The new season of Fortnite is a significant change to the game. Rather than usher in Season 11, the game went down for a while and reemerged as “Chapter 2.” That came alongside an entirely new map with new locations to be discovered, which don’t show up on your in-game map until you visit them for the first time.

Other changes include a revised Battle Pass and aquatic mechanics and activities like swimming and fishing. The fishing mechanic adds yet another way to acquire resources. There may be more changes that are invisible to us so far, though, because the patch notes are no where to be seen yet.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-chapter-2-lets-you-upgrade-your-weapons/1100-6470564/

At a time when we seem to be flooded with battle royale games, it’s been increasingly hard for new ones to find their place. Fortnite remains leaps and bounds ahead of all others in terms of popularity (which just launched a slew of new features in its Chapter 2, Season 1), and Apex Legends stands on solid ground as the premier FPS in this space. However, there seems to be room for games to offer fresh takes on the last-person-standing subgenre, and judging from our time playing the latest build of Spellbreak, developer Proletariat’s magically infused battle royal seems to do just that.

Many elements of Spellbreak may be familiar to you if you’ve spent time with any of the battle royale games out there: you jump into large-scale deathmatches on a big map where everyone has one life and scavenges for good gear, and a ring gradually closes in on a random location, forcing fights between remaining players. But Spellbreak forgoes guns in favor of magic, and it’s this premise that allows the game to be different. (See our gameplay video above where we won a match that came down to the wire.)

You start with a choice between six classes, each of which determine a roster of perks for a certain element-type and a starting magic gauntlet (the game’s weapons). When you drop into a match, though, gauntlets of any element can be found as loot in the field, of which you can equip two simultaneously (one on each arm). Every element of gauntlet offers its own unique basic attack and special cooldown ability. For example, the fire gauntlet allows you to shoot chunky fireballs, and its special attack casts a wide wall of fire in front of you–or the wind gauntlet, which shoots fast, low-damage gusts and has a special that summons a tornado that can trap enemies.

Now take those two elemental gauntlets I described, and think about how they can interact with each other. A devastating combo would be to cast a tornado and light it up with a fireball to turn it into a damage-dealing firestorm. On the flipside, wind attacks can dissipate walls of fire to create a safe opening in your own or get past one from an enemy. There are other secondary effects to consider; the sniper-like frost gauntlet shoots deadly arrows, but when launched from the air, it leaves a trail of ice that players can skate across to traverse even faster. And with a poison gauntlet, you can turn that ice trail into a harmful strip of terrain that deals damage-over-time.

The elements of Spellbreak’s combat are all reactive, no matter who’s casting, and further possibilities open up when you begin coordinating spells with teammates. Combat feels a lot less predictable and more varied than traditional firefights you get from other battle royale games. You have to be measured in combat, though. Both basic magic attacks and jumping great heights cost mana, and this prevents you from simply spamming attacks and hopping or floating around everywhere. While mana regenerates extremely fast, managing the resource in fast-paced battles is the key to playing smart, and a sensible substitute for scavenging and juggling ammo types.

There is one other important piece to the game’s gameplay dynamic, one it has in common with a fellow battle royale. Spellbreak’s runes are non-offensive capabilities that can be extremely helpful for survival and work similarly to tactical abilities or ultimates in Apex Legends. Runes that proved most useful during my demo include the dashing technique that grants temporary invisibility and a howl that detects (and tracks) enemies through walls for a short period. In practice they are very similar to Wraith’s Into the Void run or Bloodhound’s Eye of the Allfather scan from Apex Legends, respectively. The catch is that runes are pickups you have to find while looting rather than predetermined character abilities that are dependent on who you choose. Thus, you never know what you may end up with or what you’ll be up against in each match.

From our brief experience with Spellbreak’s beta build, it seems to be incorporating parts of other battle royale games in smart ways while providing an identity of its own. The objective is the same, but the means for achieving it are much different.

One thing was certain in my session; Spellbreak delivers that particular thrill of battle royale, fighting to be the last player, or squad, alive. And once you adjust to the basics of its combat, you can then open yourself up to the nuances of its system of magic. What I felt, however, was less pressure to conceal myself or rely on cover. Of course, it’s never a good idea to hang out like a sitting duck, but you’re not as vulnerable as other battle royales when you’re out in the open by nature of the ability to bob and weave through the air and the projectile style of spellcasting. Spellbreak feels less like a game of cat-and-mouse since magic spells emphasize positioning and proper timing more than having pure precise aim. I felt free to engage in open skirmishes and it’s a relief in a genre that has relied on a sense of foreboding to heighten its stakes.

Nearly all other battle royales have revolved around guns–having the right one for the situation or straight up dead-eye aim. But Spellbreak’s magic-based elements and their reactive nature to one another offers a new way to think about combat in the crowded genre full of lookalikes. From our brief experience with Spellbreak’s beta build, it seems to be incorporating parts of other battle royale games in smart ways while providing an identity of its own. The objective is the same, but the means for achieving it are much different. Spellbreak is currently in closed beta for PC, and you can sign up for a chance to jump in.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/spellbreak-brings-a-magic-touch-to-a-fortnite-like/1100-6470559/

Fight or Fright is now live in Apex Legends. The Season 3: Meltdown limited-time event adds a Halloween spin to the battle royale game, temporarily providing spooky cosmetics to unlock and a brand-new mode to play. Fight or Fright will last until November 5.

The headliner of Fight or Fright is its Shadowfall mode. The new mode sees you drop solo onto a nightmare-themed Kings Canyon. You then must scavenge for weapons and armor and hunt down the other players. If you die, you drop from the sky again–only this time as a member of the Shadow Squad, a group of shade-like individuals with enhanced speed and melee attacks. You can win at Shadowfall in two different ways: either survive until the dropship arrives and escape, or join the Shadow Squad and kill all of the remaining survivors.

Fight or Fright introduces several additional in-game challenges for you to do in Shadowfall that are listed alongside your traditional dailies and weeklies to complete on Season 3’s new map, World’s Edge. Completing these Fight or Fright challenges allows you to earn Halloween-themed cosmetic items and special Apex Packs. These packs, which you can also buy, each contain at least one of the special two dozen epic and legendary rewards tied to Fight or Fright–including Halloween costumes for most of the Legends. Unlocking all of the Apex Pack rewards will net you Lifeline’s heirloom.

Though it’s difficult to tell, Fight or Fright may present the first in-game appearance for Revenant–the supposed twelfth playable character for Apex Legends. First seen in Season 3: Meltdown’s launch trailer, Revenant has since been revealed in further detail via a leaked screenshot alongside new character Crypto, and then officially teased in a tweet by Respawn level designer Alex Graner. The death-loving announcer for Shadowfall appears to be Revenant, especially since his appearance in Fight or Fright’s trailer looks very similar to his leaked assets.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/apex-legends-halloween-fight-or-fright-event-is-li/1100-6470538/

After a cataclysmic world event accompanied by a total game blackout, Fortnite: Battle Royale as we know it has changed. Rather than the start of Season 11, the leaks have proven to be correct, and what we instead now have is Fortnite: Chapter 2, Season 1. It’s not quite like you remember in some key ways, though, starting with a brand-new, more water-centric map.

The old map has ostensibly been destroyed, replaced by a new island with 13 new locations. The new named locations don’t reveal themselves on your in-game map until you visit them for the first time. There are also new “landmark” locations that are like smaller versions of named locations, and aren’t identified on the map.

The new map is much more aquatic, with rivers and lakes dotting the landscape. You have new tools at your disposal to make use of these mechanics, like swimming, motorboats, and fishing. Fishing requires you to first find a fishing pole but then allows you to acquire items, weapons, and ammo from bodies of water–just be careful, because while you can move, fishing leaves you defenseless. Other additions include the ability to carry fallen teammates or revive them with a bandage bazooka.

This event marks the beginning of Fortnite Chapter 2, signaling occasional bigger changes than the already large-scale seasonal changeovers. A trailer for Chapter 2 also teased new skins, which are live now. Naturally this all comes along with a new Battle Pass, emotes, and other goodies to collect. Check out our wrap-up of the changes in the new chapter to catch up before you drop in.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-chapter-2s-new-map-revealed/1100-6470557/