At the start of Season 3: Meltdown, Tae Joon “Crypto” Park was added to Apex Legends as the eleventh playable character. Like Season 1’s Octane and Season 2’s Wattson, you’ll need to drop 750 Apex Coins or 12,000 Legend Tokens to unlock him.

In the following guide, we detail all of Crypto’s unique abilities and how to best use them to counter other characters or shore up holes in your own squad’s defenses. If Season 3 is your introduction to Apex Legends, don’t worry–the new character, map, and gameplay changes make the battle royale very welcoming to newcomers. Below, you’ll find the rest of our character guides, giving you all the information you need to get started with the Legend of your choice.

Other Character Guides

• Wraith Guide: Be The Best Interdimensional Skirmisher
• Caustic Guide: Be The Best Toxic Trapper
• Gibraltar Guide: Be The Best Shielded Fortress
• Lifeline Guide: Be The Best Combat Medic
• Mirage Guide: Be The Best Holographic Trickster
• Pathfinder Guide: Be The Best Forward Scout
• Bangalore Guide: Be The Best Professional Soldier
• Bloodhound Guide: Be The Best Technological Tracker
• Octane Guide: Be The Best Adrenaline Junkie
• Wattson Guide: Be The Best Static Defender

Crypto’s General Overview

Crypto is Apex Legends’ second recon character. In this regard, his role on the battlefield is similar to Bloodhound: hunt down and identify enemies. However, unlike Bloodhound, who’s an aggressive tracker that seeks out squads to kill, Crypto places less emphasis on being on the frontline, as he’s better suited at finding enemies while remaining hidden.

Rarely does Crypto excel at spearheading his squad’s offensive. If you want to play as Crypto, you’re typically going to fulfill a support role, aiding your teammates in increasing their kill counts. Unlike most of the other Legends, Crypto does not possess an ability that allows him to easily escape a fight. As such, you need to ensure firefights are already stacked in your squad’s favor before you engage. Once you emerge from hiding and join the fray, you have to commit.

Crypto’s Abilities

Tactical Ability: Surveillance Drone – Deploy an aerial drone that allows you to view the surrounding area from above.

Crypto’s drone has a variety of uses. It can open and close doors, crack open loot bins, and retrieve fallen teammate’s respawn beacons. Point the drone’s camera at any of the Champion Squad banners throughout the arena and it will show you how many squads are in your immediate vicinity. Crypto can only summon one drone at a time, but he’s got an unlimited supply. Once the drone is destroyed, however, there’s a 40-second cooldown before he can summon another one.

Passive Ability: Neurolink – Enemies detected by the Surveillance Drone within 30 meters of your position are marked for you and your teammates to see.

Though you can tag enemies with your drone, marking them with Neurolink is what best helps your squad. Doing so highlights the enemy for your entire team, allowing allies to see targets through walls or smoke.

Ultimate Ability: Drone EMP – Your Surveillance Drone sets off an EMP blast that deals shield damage, slows enemies, and disables traps.

Crypto’s ultimate ability does 50 shield damage–outright destroying white body armor–and slows all enemies with an effect similar to Wattson’s Perimeter Security fences. Like other Legends, Crypto is affected by his own ultimate ability, so make sure you’re not in the blast zone when you activate the Drone EMP. The EMP blast is not limited by terrain, allowing you to use the attack as a bunker buster to hit a team hiding in a building.

Tips To Play As Crypto

Crypto is the only Legend to have his passive and ultimate ability tied to his tactical. This limits what you can do with him–every ability has to be done through your drone. Thus, mastering how to maneuver the drone to dodge enemy shots or weave among obstacles should be your first priority. Once your drone is destroyed you have to wait almost a full minute to use it again, and you won’t have access to any abilities until then. Keep your drone alive, only sacrificing it as a means to distract foes so your squad can retreat.

Though his abilities would suggest a long-range approach, Crypto is actually at his best in mid-range combat. Equipping a mid-range scope on the G7-Scout, R-301, Peacekeeper, or new Charge Rifle gives Crypto the ability to deal damage quickly from a slight distance. When a battle starts, you’re best bet is to find cover and send your drone skyward. Be careful, as Crypto can’t move while using his drone. Put your drone behind the attacking squad so they’re sandwiched between it and you. That way, if they want to destroy it, they’ll have to turn their back on you. Exit the drone, leave your hiding spot, and begin your attack. Even if the enemy hides behind cover, you and your squad will still be able to see them thanks to Neurolink. As you continue to shoot the opposition, your squadmates should rush to overwhelm the enemy.

If Drone EMP is ready to go, all the better. Follow the strategy above but use the ability as you’re exiting drone view and beginning your assault. The enemy team will then have to turn their backs on you to shoot down the drone and stop the EMP, or they’ll have to respond to your attack and take shield damage and be too stunned to run away. Either way, the odds will turn in your favor. You may want to save your EMP if the match is almost over, though. Given its ability to disable traps, Crypto can ruin an entire team’s defense in the final circle–disabling Caustic’s Nox Gas Traps and Wattson’s Perimeter Security and Interception Pylon. Plus the enemy team will take shield damage and be stunned.

When your allies are down, let your drone do the heavy lifting for you–especially if your teammate’s banner is outside the safe zone. The drone takes no damage from being outside the zone, allowing you to safely pick up your teammate’s respawn banner.

How To Mitigate Crypto’s Weaknesses

Because of how dependent Crypto is on his drone, his main weakness is actually just going up against someone who’s a good shot. The drone has one HP, so any attack from any gun, grenade, or ability will destroy it. You can’t really be sneaky with the drone either. Not only does it make a ton of noise, but enemies are alerted to when Neurolink has marked them. However, there are a few things you can do to hide your drone and make it more difficult to destroy.

Bangalore, Caustic, Lifeline, and Gibraltar can all hide the drone with their abilities. Bangalore’s Smoke Launcher and Caustic’s Nox Gas Traps create a smokescreen that hides the drone if you’re in an enclosed space, and positioning your drone behind a Lifeline’s Combat Medic shield gives you just enough time to mark enemies before the forcefield goes down. Even after the drone has been destroyed, Neurolink lasts a few seconds, giving you time to emerge from cover and fire on the enemy. Gibraltar’s Dome Shield provides a longer solution of the same strategy.

The Legend that best counters Crypto is Bloodhound, as the technological tracker can sniff out the hacker’s hiding spot while he’s piloting the drone and unaware of his surroundings. There’s no way to directly counter this yourself. You’ll just have to trust your team to watch your back. If you don’t, we suggest exiting your drone view the second you spot a Bloodhound, unless you’re very confident that you’ll get the drop on them before they get the drop on you.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/apex-legends-crypto-guide-tips-for-season-3s-new-c/1100-6470325/

There is, to put it mildly, a lot of new stuff going on in Destiny 2. The launch of Shadowkeep and Season of the Undying has brought a significant amount of changes and new content. As you advance through the season pass’s premium rewards, you’ll earn a new type of currency called Vex Mind Components. Ikora is said to accept them, but visiting her at the Tower doesn’t offer any option to trade them in. Here’s what we know about these new items so far.

Provided you’ve purchased Shadowkeep (and thus have access to the Season of the Undying’s premium track of battle pass rewards), reaching season rank 12 will earn you 25 Vex Mind Components. These are stored in the Consumables area of your inventory, and they’ll have to sit there for the time being. The description states, “Rare synthoneural components, essential in Vex Gate Network communication and navigation. Offer this to Ikora in exchange for Vex weapon artifacts.”

Chatting with Ikora will yield a familiar sight: She doesn’t have anything in her inventory. But that’s likely to change this coming Saturday, October 5, when the major event of Season of the Undying–the Vex Offensive–begins. (The new raid, Garden of Salvation, also launches that day.)

Once the Vex Offensive begins, you’ll presumably be able to hand in the Vex Mind Components as part of the new activity. We don’t know all the details at this point, but we’ll report back with details on exactly what these items get you and how it all works. Presumably you’ll be able to earn Vex Mind Components in other ways, but you’ll earn more as you work your way up the premium battle pass: It rewards you with 25 components at ranks 12, 32, 52, 72, and 92.

In the meantime, you can scope out some of the spots on the moon where the new activity may take place. In several areas around the map, you can see a diamond icon with a Vex symbol inside of it. These are designated warpgate hot spots known as Vex Invasion Zones, and the description states, “Sol Divisive Vex incursions are targeting this area and could strike at any time. Guardians are advised to remain on high alert while attempting to travel to or through this location.”

While we wait for this to begin, there’s plenty to do in the meantime once you finish Shadowkeep’s relatively short campaign. That includes tracking down dead Ghosts and completing Essence quests.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-2-what-are-vex-mind-components-in-shadowke/1100-6470321/

As you progress through Destiny 2‘s new Shadowkeep expansion, you’ll eventually happen upon a new item called a Lost Ghost Trace. It’ll tell you to speak with Eris Morn on the moon, and doing so will open up a new series of treasure hunts, of sorts, as you search for dead Ghosts.

There are at least eight dead Ghosts to locate, but they work differently than those in Destiny 1, which you could discover on your own. Shadowkeep’s dead Ghosts involve acquiring a Lost Ghost Trace and then cashing it in with Eris for a quest to find a Ghost in a specific location on the moon. That in turns rewards you with a new lore book and Phantasmal Fragments.

Below, you’ll find a list of all of the dead Ghosts we know about, their listed locations, and–where possible–details on exactly where to find them. We’ll continue to update this as we locate more. As you hunt for them, just know they have a slight glowing effect to help you track them down, but you won’t receive any objective markers as you do with the items you hunt down for the Lectern of Enchantment’s Essence quests.

Echo of the Great Disaster — Archer’s Line

Spawn at Sanctuary and head to the left, toward Archer’s Line. Follow the path to the left when it branches, and you should then see it branch again just in front of a crashed truck. Follow it to the right a short ways until you see a jump. Stop there and turn right to face the large fissure in the ground. Just to the right, you should see a lower ledge. Jump down there and move forward to another lower ledge with a crashed truck and other wreckage. You’ll find the dead Ghost nearby.

Archer’s Line dead Ghost location

First Crota Team’s Fallen — World’s Grave

World’s Grave is located within the underground caverns on the moon. You can make your way there by traveling through the Hellmouth.

Adonna’s Quest — Shrine of Oryx

The Shrine of Oryx is accessed through Archer’s Line. Spawn at Sanctuary and go to Archer’s Line, then make your way to the building straight ahead and to the right. Pass through it and follow a path down and into the Hive structure. Proceed through it and you’ll get to the Shrine of Oryx.

The Greatest Sacrifice — Gatehouse

The Gatehouse is a location you’ll find by traveling through the Hellmouth. In the northern section of the area, you’ll find a hole in the side of the top of a structure. Head in there and then turn down the stairs, and follow the path forward to enter the Gatehouse.

Together Forever — Circle of Bones

Make your way to the Gatehouse (as described above), then turn right to proceed through a set of tunnels and rooms. You’ll come into an area with platforms hanging over a giant chasm; just jump to the left and proceed into the next set of tunnels to enter the Circle of Bones.

A True Believer — Summoning Pits

When you enter the Circle of Bones (see above), take the path to the left. Take a doorway to the left and proceed through this hallway, and you’ll find a closed door you can open.

Dark Dreams — Lunar Battlegrounds

The Lunar Battlegrounds are accessed by traveling from Sorror’s Harbor toward the southeast. Spawn at the Sorrow’s Harbor landing zone and head toward the southeastern exit, which takes you across a bridge. Keep moving forward to reach the Lunar Battlegrounds

A Futile Search — Anchor of Light

This is a named location on the map. Spawn at Sanctuary, hop on your sparrow, and follow the path to the right to get there.

Misplaced Trust — Hellmouth

Hellmouth is another named location on the map. From Sanctuary, follow the path to your right, move straight through Anchor of Light, and you’ll hit the Hellmouth. Alternatively, start at Sorrow’s Harbor and take the southwest exit near the landing zone.

How To Get Lost Ghost Traces

Lost Ghost Traces appear to be random drops from activities on the moon, and you’ll need one in your inventory to even see the dead Ghost quests offered by Eris. We’ve found them through various means, including the chest spawned by killing a barrier champion on the moon and completing the Scarlet Keep Strike and Nightmare Hunts.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-2-dead-ghost-location-guide-for-shadowkeep/1100-6470319/

Not long after Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint went live for early access users, Ubisoft has confirmed that many of the game’s time-saver microtransactions have been removed due to a company “error.” It seems the removal is only temporary, though.

PCGamesN reached out to Ubisoft regarding the many time-savers available in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, including attachments, cosmetics, and more. The developer-publisher said “[the inclusion of] some Time-Savers items (skill point bundles, XP boosters, [and] parts bundles for advanced weapon upgrades) was not our intention and was an error on our behalf.” Ubisoft announced that these time-savers are no longer part of the game.

However, it looks like they will return at a later date. Ubisoft clarified that while these time-savers were “designed as an optional way for players arriving later to the game (post-launch) to catch up with those who have been playing for longer, [they] have since been removed from our store for now.” There’s no confirmation on how or when they will return.

As found in a thread on Ghost Recon: Breakpoint’s official subreddit, many of the time-savers include weapons, skill point packs, vehicles, body armor, and others, all purchasable with the game’s premium currency, Ghost Coins. One picture displays the Ghost Coins exchange rates, with 600 coins going for approximately $5 USD all the way up to 12,000 coins running an estimated $80 USD.

Though time-savers have temporarily been removed, Ubisoft insisted they were not “designed to grant any advantage over players choosing not to use them.” Further, Ghost War seems to be unaffected by time-savers. Ubisoft said that the mode has been “carefully balanced to ensure that no matter your experience as a player, no one has a critical advantage based on their progression.” The company also confirmed that gear level is “disabled in PvP,” with caps put in place to “lower the max values of stats coming from gear” and weapons having PvP-specific damage.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint officially launches for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 4. We shared some early review impressions of Ghost Recon: Breakpointm saying it “feels like a hodgepodge of other Ubisoft titles that has thus far struggled to establish its own identity” six hours in.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/controversial-ghost-recon-breakpoint-microtransact/1100-6470316/

A Pokemon Go Safari Zone event is now underway in New Taipei City, Taiwan, and to celebrate, Niantic is making a new Shiny Pokemon available worldwide. Right now, players around the globe have their first chance to encounter a Shiny Oddish in the hit Pokemon mobile game.

The arrival of Shiny Oddish means this is also your chance to get Shiny versions of its evolved forms: Gloom, Vileplume, and Bellossom. These, however, won’t appear in the wild, so if you’re hoping to add them to your collection, you’ll need to be lucky enough to catch a Shiny Oddish and then evolve it.

There will be increased Oddish spawns throughout the weekend to coincide with the Safari Zone event, making this your best chance to find a Shiny variant. Players at the venue, meanwhile, will encounter increased spawns of Heracross, Unown, and other rare Pokemon.

That isn’t the only event underway in Pokemon Go right now. Niantic is also bringing the Stardust Blast event back. Until October 10, you’ll receive twice the normal amount of Stardust for catching Pokemon, hatching eggs, and battling Team Rocket. You’ll also receive 2,000 Stardust for participating in Raids. Meanwhile, October’s Community Day takes place next Saturday, October 12.

In other Pokemon Go news, Niantic recently revealed three new members of Team Rocket who’ll presumably be making an appearance in the game soon. All three are featured on Pokemon Go’s new loading screen alongside Team Rocket boss Giovanni. The Legendary Giratina is also back in Raid Battles until October 17.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-go-adds-a-new-shiny-pokemon/1100-6470313/