Last Epoch’s offline mode is an awesome option if you’re sick of fighting with the game’s servers. However, the offline mode does create some additional issues for you depending on how you want to play the game.
In this Last Epoch guide, we’ll walk you through what offline mode is and tell you how to play offline.
What is offline mode in Last Epoch?
Image: Eleventh Hour Games
Offline mode in Last Epoch is exactly what it sounds like: It allows you to play the game without needing to connect to the servers. This is awesome when the game’s servers are experiencing instability (as has been common in the immediate wake of its late February 1.0 release). It’s also a useful tool if you find yourself without internet access for a long period of time.
However, offline mode does limit you in some very serious ways. Most notably, offline mode is a permanent decision you make at character creation. You can’t toggle a character online or offline — an offline character is offline forever. That means you can never use that character to play in groups with others.
How to play Last Epoch offline
Image: Eleventh Hour Games
In terms of activating offline mode, you have two options.
First you can launch the game in offline mode. This is an option you can select when you press “play” on Steam. Playing offline this way means you can bypass the login at the beginning, but you won’t be able to toggle between the two modes without relaunching the game.
The other option is a little more convenient, but requires an internet connection when you first boot up the game. In the character select screen, you’ll see an offline toggle at the top left part of the screen. Simply toggle that switch to “offline” and you’ll see your list of offline characters. If you turn on offline mode this way, you can still use the chat feature in-game to talk to friends — assuming you maintain an internet connection.
Palworld first announced itself to the world two years ago with a reveal trailer that definitely caught people everywhere off-guard. It wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill survival crafting game, it featured the ability to find a wide variety of adorable creatures known simply as Pals and capture them inside, well, ‘Pal Spheres’.
It vigorously rang a bell inside many of our heads alongside echoes of a certain Pokemon jingle, and then blindsided us yet again with both humans and Pals wielding what looked to be actual guns. This cutely animated world with collectible creatures and destructive explosions prompted two questions: What in the world were we witnessing, and how long would it be before Nintendo brought down the gavel to legally erase this eccentric concept from existence?
The so-called “Pokemon with guns” game known as Palworld showed off what looked like an incredibly colorful and fun experience in a world full of giant castles, rolling green hills, crystal blue lakes, and most importantly Pals of every make and color. From the small Lamball to the gigantic Jormuntide, they weren’t just there to look cute and cool, they could be used for all manner of tasks and adventures.
Clips in the initial trailer featured Direhowls pulling wagons of supplies, Mozzarinas harvesting wheat, Pengullets stacked atop each other to haul up lumber for a house, Teafant and Kelpsea watering crops, all of them helping the player’s character build a sanctuary and survive in this mysterious land.
Image Source: Pocketpair
Of course, a factor of that survival comes in the form of…surprisingly realistic artillery. Handguns, rocket launchers, miniguns, you name it. This was perhaps what helped Palworld differ itself just enough from its Pocket Monster cousin, because you certainly never found adolescent-age trainers brandishing a glock in one hand and a Pokeball in the other.
Palworld was the new kid on the block to put a bold new spin on the ‘creature capture’ genre that has long been dominated by, well, one very famous entity. Despite the universal presumption that this new game would get legally shot down before even releasing, people were still genuinely curious about it and seemed to want to try it.
Two years passed with nothing but crickets from Nintendo’s corner, and thus that curiosity from the player community grew dramatically leading up to Palworld’s anticipated release in mid-January. The game leaped up into the top five most wishlisted games on Steam, and that wouldn’t even turn out to be remotely the most impressive statistic.
On January 19th, Palworld rolled out the Early Access welcome mat for everyone for a very modest price of $30 USD, and what transpired would end up rattling the entire industry to its core.
Image Source: Pocketpair
Palworld’s servers, which were well-prepared for a decent enough crowd, instead became absolutely overwhelmed in a matter of minutes by not just thousands, but hundreds of thousands of players. While those going on solo adventures faired better in terms of server stability, those who wanted to embark on one with friends faced bigger challenges.
Multiplayer instances crashed repeatedly, leaving a number of players barely able to play the game at all. Thus began the true test for the team at Pocketpair, who themselves likely underestimated how wild and ambitious Palworld would truly become.
As the hours passed, the player count went higher and higher, with many in Palworld’s blossoming community surprisingly patient and assured that the gameplay experience would smooth out. That faith would pay off in spades, as Pocketpair worked resolutely around the clock to stabilize the server infrastructure and polish several bug issues, providing consistent updates on such via their official Discord.
Not only that, they also marked some truly incredible milestones, first announcing that the game had sold over one million copies in just 8 hours. Palworld’s concurrent player count on Steam peaked at a staggering all-time high of 2.1 million players, surpassing every other game on the platform for a time including the likes of Counter-Strike 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3.
By the end of the month, in just under two weeks, Palworld achieved over 19 million players who have wholeheartedly embraced this astonishingly fun new addition to the creature-capture niche.
Image Source: Pocketpair
With the game now about to be a month old (definitely feels longer than that by now), some players have been taking the time to reflect on the roller coaster experience they’ve had with Palworld thus far. One person going by the name of ‘Unhappy_Panic_1875’ took to Reddit to put a spotlight on how surprisingly different the game turned out to be, at least by comparison to the very first trailer that appeared in 2022.
In fact, all of the screenshots we’ve shared so far are from that trailer. The Early Access version of Palworld we’ve gotten deviated substantially from the original aesthetic, changed the look of some Pals while others we haven’t even seen (yet?), and either did away with certain Pal mechanics entirely or changed/refined them.
Image Source: Pockepair via Twinfinite
For instance, the game’s overall environment changed from a sort of alternate medieval setting with castles and villages everywhere to a diverse island archipelago known as Palpagos, filled with mysterious ruins and very simplistic villages built with wood and metal instead of stonework. Palworld also migrated from Unity to Unreal Engine 4 during development, which opened up new doors for the team to make a more immersive, engaging, and modern experience.
It likely made traversing the entire world map without loading screens (save for dungeons) possible. Pals like Teafant and Mozzarina saw their designs changed (better, honestly), and various crafting mechanics like farming saw impressive upgrades.
Meanwhile, other things noticeably dropped off the development conveyor belt, such as Direhowls pulling carriage carts (seen above), Lamballs being shaved for wool instead of shaking it off in a Ranch pen, flying Pals transporting cages full of smaller Pals, lassoing Pals to capture them, space rocket building (for what??), more advanced syndicate hideouts, fishing with Pals as bait, ship travel, gigantic base locales, and more.
The concept of Pals wielding and manufacturing weapons even got uplifted from its initial, red-hued dystopian vibe to a more lively, action-packed one, with Pals eager to fight alongside you rather than looking more apathetic than Depresso.
Image Source: Pocketpair
It goes without saying that the Palworld we have now is very different than the prototype we saw two years ago, but that obviously didn’t shake anyone’s opinion in the game’s rock-solid community one bit. It soared astronomically past all expectations, broke Steam records left and right, had famous streamers far and wide broadcasting their experiences, and above all, it excelled beyond the scrutiny of its aforementioned moniker as “Pokemon with guns”.
The long-winded discourse of its undeniable similarities to the Pocket Monster universe has since gradually deflated. People know, but frankly, they honestly don’t care. If anything, the game has become a proverbial soap box to give Nintendo a very loud wake-up call about what players actually want.
The next big question is whether some of these differences and changes to the game will emerge in future updates. On top of doubling the current Pal count, we know for certain that Pocketpair wants to integrate more interactive content such as PvP, a Pal battle arena (which was featured in the original trailer), expand Pal trading between players, more new island areas, bosses, and more. They’re also putting serious amounts of money into their server infrastructure, to ensure that no more crash-laden catastrophes happen.
They’re definitely in it for the long haul, and we can’t help but wonder if perhaps other things we saw two years ago will make a comeback. Some things like bizarrely building rocket ships and hauling distressed Pals in cages were definitely left behind with good reason, and with the ability to mount Pals and fast travel to various locales, having Direhowls haul carriages seems pointless. The ability to give them belly rubs however would be an adorable touch.
Image Source: Pocketpair
At this point, Palworld’s future is exceptionally bright, and millions of players are anxiously waiting to continue their adventures with more new content. Whether Nintendo will follow up with any sort of tangible response to its first-ever true competitor remains to be seen, but regardless of what happens, Palworld has made its rousing mark on the gaming world.
It’s outstandingly achieved what other, far larger companies have seldom done, all without battle passes, microtransactions, or bait-and-switch gimmicks. Pocketpair has given us so much for a price that’s frankly too low, but nevertheless, it speaks volumes when a team creates something genuine, with all the heart and soul you could ever ask for.
About the author
Stephanie Watel
Stephanie Watel is a freelance writer for Twinfinite. Stephanie has been with the site for a few months, and in the games media industry for about a year. Stephanie typically covers the latest news and a variety of gaming guides for the site, and loves gardening and being the bird lady of the neighborhood. She has a BA in Writing from Pace University in NY.
We had some enormous gaming releases in 2023. I’m talking the likes of “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” and “Baldur’s Gate 3” — absolute cultural gems that set the gaming world on fire, and we can’t forget “Baldur’s Gate” snatching that coveted game of the year title. It was a well-deserved win, no doubt about it, but now we’re ready to look ahead and find the best new games of 2024.
After a stellar year of new releases, 2024 has big shoes to fill. However, it is already shaping up to be a year packed with potential. And you know what? It’s looking pretty darn exciting already! We’ve got titles like “Skull and Bones” and “Princess Peach: Showtime!” teasing us with promises of epic adventures and thrilling escapades. I don’t know about you, but I’m already clearing my schedule for some serious gaming sessions.
We’re here to guide you through the excitement with our top picks for the most anticipated games of 2024.
Most Anticipated Games of 2024
“Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden”
The masterminds behind “Life Is Strange”, are diving headfirst into uncharted waters once more with their latest creation, “Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden”. Set in the mystical backdrop of the 17th century, this ghostly romance adventure places you in the shoes of a Banisher — a human sage stick of sorts — tasked with dispelling an ominous curse and reuniting with your beloved’s spirit.
Get ready to embark on a hauntingly beautiful journey filled with action, role-playing, and the quest for true love’s eternal connection.
Release date: Feb 13 Platforms: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X
“Skull and Bones”
The long-awaited release of “Skull and Bones” is finally here! After five years of delays, the long-awaited “Skull and Bones” action-adventure game has finally hit the seas. Get ready to command unique ships, forge alliances, and engage in thrilling naval battles. With new challenges every season, the seas await your mayhem. Are you ready to rule the waves?
Release date: Feb 16 Platforms: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X
“Final Fantasy VII Rebirth”
Prepare for the next chapter in Square Enix’s remake trilogy with “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth”! This highly anticipated instalment aims to reimagine the beloved 1997 role-playing classic, both in gameplay and story, following in the footsteps of its predecessor.
Platforms: PlayStation 5 Release Date: Feb 29
“Mario vs Donkey Kong”
Similar to the beloved 2004 puzzle-platformer, this remake of “Mario vs. Donkey Kong” will challenge players to overcome obstacles while retrieving Mini-Mario action figures. What’s new? Prepare for an exciting addition: brand-new co-op play!
Release date: Feb 16 Platforms: Nintendo Switch
“Alone In the Dark”
We love a good reboot and THQ Nordic is set to resurrect the campy 1992 survival horror classic “Alone in the Dark” after decades of dormancy. Originally slated for release in October 2023, the game faced delays but is now gearing up for its long-awaited return.
Set to feature performances from the likes of Jodie Comer from “Killing Eve” and David Harbour from “Stranger Things”, this Southern Gothic drama promises to deliver spine-tingling thrills and chills. Get ready for a spooky adventure like no other.
Release date: March 20 Platforms: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X
“Princess Peach: Showtime!”
Step aside, Mario! It’s time for Princess Peach to take the spotlight in her brand-new solo game. In “Princess Peach Showtime!”, Mother Peach faces off against hecklers at the Sparkle Theatre. With magical transformations that unlock new looks and abilities, Princess Peach proves once again why she’s an iconic gaming icon.
Now this is one we’re super excited for. From the creators of “Dead by Daylight”, “The Casting of Frank Stone” is a single-player narrative adventure that promises to unravel the deep lore of “Dead by Daylight” with an unpredictable origin story.
Release date: TBD Platforms: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X
“Avowed”
Obsidian Entertainment, known for hits like “Fallout: New Vegas” and “The Outer Worlds”, is cooking up another RPG masterpiece. Enter Avowed, a high-fantasy, first-person action-adventure game reminiscent of Skyrim. In Avowed, you’ll wield guns, swords, and wands as you battle hordes of creatures on your epic journey. If you’ve ever dreamed of being a badass battle mage, this game is your calling.
Release date: TBD Platforms: Windows PC and Xbox Series X
As part of Microsoft’s “Updates on the Xbox Business” podcast that aired on February 15th, Phil Spencer outlined Xbox’s future exclusivity goals. The exaggerated rumors about Xbox completely abandoning exclusivity have been dispelled. More specifically, Spencer confirms that Starfield and Indiana Jones are not coming to PS5 just yet.
Starfield Still Xbox Exclusive…For Now
The main topic during the start of the Official Xbox Podcast business conversation was four Xbox exclusives going multiplatform. The interviewer asks, “can we say if any of those titles are Starfield or Indiana Jones?” To which Phil Spencer responds, “they are not Starfield or Indiana Jones.”
This means that at least for the next fiscal year or so, Starfield is not coming to other platforms outside the Xbox family. But Spencer doesn’t outright rule out a future where Starfield and Indiana Jones are on PlayStation. Later in the podcast, Spencer says, “I don’t think we should as an industry ever rule out a game going to any other platform.”
What Are the Four Games Going Multiplatform?
What we do know is that four games will lose their Xbox exclusivity and will come to PS5 and potentially Nintendo consoles. These four games aren’t named specifically, but it’s not hard to narrow down the possibilities based on what was said in the Xbox podcast.
Phil Spencer says, “they’re over a year old,” and that “a couple of the games are community-driven games…first iterations of a franchise.”
So, we know these four games are over a year old and at least two of them are live service multiplayer experiences. To narrow it down further, these games are not part of an ongoing franchise. Here are our guesses as to what these four games are based on the above criteria:
Sea of Thieves
Grounded
Pentiment
Hi-Fi Rush
Xbox’s Future
During the Xbox podcast, Phil Spencer clarified that “there’s really no fundamental change to how we think about exclusivity.” But then, goes on to say,
“I do have a fundamental belief that over the next five or ten years exclusive games, games that are exclusive to one piece of hardware, are going to be a smaller and smaller part of the game industry,”
My takeaway from this Xbox business podcast is that Xbox desperately wants to let go of its exclusivity to bring a wider audience to its studio’s games, but at the same time wants to hold out a little longer. They’re dipping their toes in the waters of multi-platform and testing to see how it pans out with a selection of four games to start. Whether we’ll see Starfield and Indiana Jones on PS5 in the next couple of years is anybody’s guess, but Xbox is certainly shifting their tune on exclusivity from their E3 days.
About the author
Matthew Carmosino
Matthew Carmosino is a freelance writer for Twinfinite. He started gaming in the mid-90s where his love for SquareSoft RPGs like Chrono Trigger changed him forever. Matthew has been working in the game industry for two years covering everything from story-rich RPGs to puzzle-platformers.
Listening to piano music on a rainy day is his idea of a really good time, which probably explains his unnatural tolerance for level-grinding.
The meta for the best guns in Modern Warfare 3has developed considerably since launch, and has evolved significantly since the Feb. 7 rollout of Season 2.
From the get-go, there were a plethora of guns to choose from in the latest Call of Duty because every gun from Modern Warfare 2 was also made available, alongside a host of new weapons. We’re not including those as there are far too many to choose from, and for the most part, the new MW3 guns are stronger anyway.
So if you’re looking to dominate MW3 multiplayer in Season 2, look no further than these 10 guns.
Modern Warfare 3 best guns to use in Season 2
The best weapons in Modern Warfare 3 are as follows:
MCW (assault rifle)
Rival-9 (SMG)
WSP Swarm (SMG)
RAM-7 (assault rifle)
BAS-B (battle rifle)
RAM-9 (SMG)
HRM-9 (SMG)
Holger 556 (assault rifle)
XRK Stalker (sniper rifle)
SVA 545 (assault rifle)
Believe it or not, the MCW is still the best gun in Modern Warfare 3 and has been since launch. It’s the most jack-of-all-trades gun you’ll find, as you can kit it out for long-range engagements — which our suggested attachments below are apt for — or to deal with enemies in close quarters if needed.
However, the list has been shaken up a little with the introduction of some new guns and balance changes through Season 1 and Season 2, skyrocketing the Rival-9 (the best SMG in Modern Warfare 3) into second place. The WSP Swarm isn’t far behind it, though, and the RAM-7 is still a solid assault rifle despite its significant recoil.
The BAS-B is by far the best battle rifle and the optimal choice if you want to engage in much longer distance firefights, while the RAM-9 and HRM-9 were seasonal additions that have quickly found their place in the meta. The Holger 556 is still very strong, the XRK Stalker sniper rifle is the best choice for any marksmen or quick-scopers, and the SVA 545 excels thanks to its ability to shoot the first two bullets almost simultaneously.
(As an aside, for anyone returning to this list from Season 1, the AMR9 and Riveter have both been dropped in favor of the Rival-9 and RAM-9, and the HRM-9 has been added to round the list out to a solid 10 entries.)
Let’s go through our updated selections for the best guns in Modern Warfare 3 one-by-one.
1. MCW (assault rifle)
Image: Activision via Polygon
Kicking things off is the MCW, which is unlocked at rank 44. Modern Warfare 3 doesn’t have real weapon names, so the MCW is best known as the ACR from previous installments. Which is all to day, the MCW is a very reliable assault rifle that is fully automatic, with consistent range, recoil, and damage.
Essentially, with the right attachments, the MCW becomes a laser beam. Any of the heavy barrels do the job — we’d recommend the 16.5” MCW Cyclone Long Barrel — along with any vertical grip, though we found the Bruen Pivot to be the best (which requires leveling the SVA 545 to level 12 first). As for the rest of the attachments, an optic is always a good shout for enhanced visibility, alongside any combination of muzzle/stock/rear grip that assist with recoil control and bullet velocity.
For more on how to kit out this weapon, see our dedicated MCW loadout page.
2. Rival-9 (SMG)
Image: Sledgehammer Games/Activision via Polygon
The Rival-9 wasn’t considered to be one of the best guns in MW3 on launch, but it has quickly risen to the top thanks to its fast fire rate. It packs a huge punch when you get up close and personal. As the meta has developed, running and gunning has solidified itself as a very strong style of play, particularly in Season 2.
Bearing that in mind — that you won’t often be engaging with enemies beyond a few meters away — you want to manage the recoil to an extent while also maintaining the weapon handling and mobility. We recommend the Rival Vice Assault Grip in the rear grip attachment slot, along with the Rival IGS-800 Barrel to deal with most of the recoil issues. Make sure you also stick the 9mm High Velocity ammunition on to deal the most damage.
3. WSP Swarm (SMG)
Image: Sledgehammer Games/Activision via Polygon
Next up we have the WSP Swarm, the second SMG on our list of the best guns in Modern Warfare 3. This gun is seriously powerful, but as you’d expect given its machine pistol form, it has a boatload of recoil. This means it suits a very aggressive style of play, and while the Akimbo attachment may be tempting to dual-wield hip-fire these bad boys, we’re going for something a little more reliable.
Your entire aim should be to reduce the recoil while also not hindering the mobility too much, so look for muzzle and/or barrel attachments that strive toward that goal. Much like the RAM-7 below, the WSP Swarm has a very fast rate of fire, so you can’t go wrong with an extended magazine either. You definitely don’t need an optic though, as the iron sights are absolutely fine and, to be honest, you’ll often find yourself hip-firing — if you can reduce the hip fire spread with any attachments, even better.
4. RAM-7 (assault rifle)
Image: Sledgehammer Games/Activision via Polygon
The RAM-7 was introduced in Season 1 and quickly found itself as a mainstay in the meta. It kicks like a mule but deals some serious damage. As such, you don’t want to kit it out for extremely long range, but it is one of the best choices at short to mid range for an assault rifle. A barrel or muzzle attachment that ideally silences the gun and helps with damage at range is key.
Alongside this, we recommend putting on an extended magazine thanks to how quickly the gun fires, then aiming to strike a balance between mobility, handling, and damage for the rest.
Tweak the attachments until you find the exact fit that works for you, or check out our guide to the best RAM-7 loadout in MW3.
5. BAS-B (battle rifle)
Image: Activision via Polygon
All the weapons in this list are fairly similar: fully automatic guns that are best at varying ranges. The BAS-B is no different. The first and only battle rifle on the list, this is the gun you want to switch to if our MCW build above still doesn’t have enough range for you. It doesn’t fire quite as quickly as the MCW, but each bullet packs way more of a punch, and once you have some recoil-managing attachments on there, you can put a longer-range optic on it, such as one of the 2.5x options.
When you’re in the opening levels of using the BAS-B though, we have just a few recommended attachments. The Bruen Venom Long Barrel is a no-brainer thanks to the range it adds, and the 30-round mag — or the 45-round once you unlock it — ensures you can mow down multiple enemies without needing to reload. We’d also recommend the Ravage-20 Heavy Stock, which you unlock once the BAS-B has reached level seven.
For more on how to kit out this weapon, see our dedicated BAS-B loadout page.
6. RAM-9 (SMG)
Image: Sledgehammer Games/Activision via Polygon
The RAM-9 was introduced at the start of Season 2, and is the newest weapon on this list of the best guns in Modern Warfare 3. It’s another SMG with a rapid fire rate, but the recoil can be managed a little better than the Rival-9 above, so this is better suited for slightly longer engagements. The must-use attachments are the ZEHMN35 Compensated Flash Hider muzzle attachment and the HVS 3.4 Pad stock thanks to how they assist with recoil.
Make sure you equip an underbarrel grip of some description too — our recommendation is the SL Skeletal Vertical Grip — and we found a rear grip also does the job, ideally the Retort 90 Grip Tape. The iron sights are usable here, but if you’d rather equip an optical sight for better visibility, any red dot sight will work.
For more explanation on these attachment choices and details on the best class to use with this SMG, check out our dedicated RAM-9 loadout guide.
7. HRM-9 (SMG)
Image: Sledgehammer Games/Activision via Polygon
The final SMG on the list, the HRM-9 with our build is actually very strong at a slightly further distance than you’d expect most SMGs to be effective. With that in mind, the Sonic Suppressor S muzzle attachment is a godsend as it buffs the bullet velocity, damage range, and it makes you undetectable by radar when firing.
It does mean the recoil control takes a minor hit though, so you want to use other attachments that help bring that back up. Any underbarrel grip geared towards that will do the job — our choice is the VX Pineapple — along with a rear grip and stock attachment. We’d recommend an optical sight here too, though a basic one like the Slimline Pro or Slate Reflector is good enough.
Our full HRM-9 loadout guide has more details on how to best utilize this SMG and the attachments to kit it out with.
8. Holger 556 (assault rifle)
Image: Sledgehammer Games/Activision via Polygon
Next up, we have the Holger 556, which is unlocked at level 37. Now, to be frank, there’s not a whole lot special about the Holger; it’s a reliable, fully automatic assault rifle that isn’t quite as good as the MCW or RAM-7. However, if you remember (and loved) the G36C from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, this is very reminiscent of that.
As always, you’ll want to focus on recoil management and damage output when kitting out the Holger. Find barrel, muzzle, and underbarrel attachments that assist with that, then stick your optic of choice on and you’ll be good to go. It has a higher base damage but slower fire rate than both the MCW and SVA, so bear that in mind when finding the best attachments.
9. XRK Stalker (sniper rifle)
Image: Sledgehammer Games/Activision via Polygon
With its introduction in Season 1, the XRK Stalker took the crown from the Katt-AMR to be the best sniper rifle in Modern Warfare 3, and that’s thanks to its impressive damage and mobility, making it the prime choice for those quick-scopers among you. This is a position it’s held through the launch of Season 2.
Your goal needs to be to improve the ADS speed, re-chambering speed, and sprint to fire speed so you can pull up your gun and one-shot enemies with ease. To this end, we’d recommend having the No Stock stock attachment, alongside the Light Bolt and FT Match Grip. You should also equip an optic that isn’t quite so zoomed in as the default, as you’re unlikely to be sniping at range.
The SVA 545 is the first assault rifle you’ll unlock in the game, so while you’re grinding for the MCW and AMR9, it’s the one you want to be using. As soon as you unlock create-a-class you can equip it, and it comes with one very interesting perk: the first shot fires two bullets, almost simultaneously. This isn’t just the first shot of the magazine though; if you tap fire, you can ensure every shot is a twofer. It’s not overpowered or anything, but it is a nifty trick if you can get the hang of it.
As is always the case with assault rifles, you’ll want to manage the recoil on this, so we recommend an underbarrel grip such as the VX Pineapple, a barrel attachment that can improve the range and damage, and other attachments that support recoil management. It’s one of the only guns in the game with decent iron sights though, so you don’t need to stick an optic on it.
Chargers are big, nasty bugs in Helldivers 2, and you’ll need to take out multiple of them if you want to complete some Personal Orders (as of this writing, it’s “Strain Culling”) and pick up extra Medals.
In this Helldivers 2 guide, we’ll tell you where to find Chargers and give you some bonus tips on how to deal with them.
Where to find Chargers in Helldivers 2
Image: Arrowhead Game Studios
Chargers aren’t the first “mini-boss” style enemy you’ll encounter in Helldivers 2, but they’re the first that should really scare you. They have loads of armor, are very fast once they charge, and even their weak spot can take a ton of punishment. But we’ll get to how to kill them later; first, you need to actually find a Charger.
Chargers only seem to appear in missions that are rated Medium difficulty or above (meaning you’ll have to work your way up through the difficulties by clearing easier missions first). However, even on Medium you’ll only really find Chargers in missions that ask you to specifically kill Chargers. And while that can be useful, none of the Chargers I killed on the Medium difficulty counted for “Strain Culling.” That could have something to do with the server issues at the time of this writing, but your best bet regardless is to play on the difficulty above Medium: Challenging.
Starting on Challenging difficulty, Chargers will just show up in nests or when you’re trying to complete an objective. They seem to spawn more frequently when you’re in a group (which can be difficult given the aforementioned server issues). Just keep playing missions on Challenging and hunting down nests. You should find all the Chargers you need in just a handful of missions.
How to kill a Charger in Helldivers 2
Image: Arrowhead Game Studios
So, you’ve found some Chargers, but now you have to actually deal with them. I won’t lie to you, until you and your squad have a handle on how Helldivers 2 really works, a Charger is probably going to kill one or two of you unless you’re very well-equipped or extremely careful.
But that actually leads us to one of our first big tips for Chargers or any big enemies: Drop directly on them. Yes, that’s right, you can drop your respawn pod on top of a bug and they’ll explode. It’s not worth the revive if you can kill the Charger another way, but if you’re already pulling in a reinforcement, do your best to squish the Charger on your way in. It’s a pretty fast way to end any fight.
Now you’re not going to squish a Charger every time you kill one, so it’s important to have other tactics. First, you can just shoot it in its big, glowing ass. The Charger is heavily armored at the front, but its back is exposed. Shred it with a turret or your own personal heavy machine gun. You can, of course, just use your primary assault rifle or pistol, but on Challenging and above, it’s going to take a long time if you do that.
You can also destroy the Charger’s armor with something like the Recoilless Rifle. Now this is a great option if you can consistently get two to three shots onto the same spot on the bug, as the Recoilless Rifle and other armor-piercing weapons seem to be better at punching a hole through armor and finishing the job that way than raw damage against already exposed weak points.
Your best bet for Chargers, however, is to simply blow them to hell with Stratagems before they even get the chance to see you. They’re big — big enough that you can spot them in their nest before they spot you. And, until they’re threatened, they move pretty slow. You and your group can use this to your advantage by dropping Orbital Strikes, Eagle Strafing Runs, and all other kinds of Stratagems on top of the Charger. If you can score a direct hit, you’ll probably kill it before it even gets the chance to chase you.
GTA Online runs on money. That’s why there are no cheats for it in the game. (There are, however, cheats in GTA V proper.)
Everything you want to do in GTA Online costs money — basically, everything from a high-end car to the real estate you need to start a new type of event is going to cost you just shy of GTA$2,000,000.
Our guide on how to make money in GTA Online will tell you everything you need to know to get rich quick in Los Santos. Well, quick-ish.
Be patient
The answer to the question “how do you make money in GTA Online?” is slowly. What you do to earn cash is really a question of how much time and effort you want to put in. More time and effort means more money.
Image: Rockstar Games
Very few things you can do are going to earn you millions of GTA$ per hour (or even day) — especially if you’re playing solo. Saving up enough for that new car, submarine, or business is going to be a big time investment.
How to make a little money fast in GTA Online
These activities aren’t going to change your life, but they’ll be enough to refill your ammo or buy some health-replenishing snacks.
Steal a car and sell it at a Los Santos Customs. You’ll only make a few thousand GTA$ and you can only do it a few times a day, but it’s a quick and easy way to make a little cash.
Participate in events around Los Santos. Things like races will earn you up to about GTA$5,000 each for 10 minutes of effort.
Rob a store. Head into any store and point a gun at the cashier, and you’ll walk away with a couple thousand GTA$ (and a wanted level or two).
Watch for weekly 2x and 3x events
Each week, certain events and activities pay out double or even triple GTA$. You can check our weekly guide to see what this week’s are. Depending on the week, you might even get free money just for logging in — like this week’s GTA$188,888 for Lunar New Year.
How to make money in GTA Online every day
Image: Rockstar Games
Beyond the big things (below), you can also get yourself a steady income just by doing certain things every day. Things like:
Spin the wheel at the Diamond Casino. You’ve got about a 20% chance of winning between GTA$20,000 and 50,000. You’ve also got a chance to win a car that changes weekly.
Empty the safes of your legitimate businesses. Your businesses like the bar in your motorcycle club clubhouse or salvage yard will earn some cash every day and store it in the safe. You’ll have to visit each one to pick it up, though.
Find G’s cache. Gerald will drop a package that will earn you roughly GTA$20,000 in cache cash each day. The location changes, though, so you’ll have to do some driving to find it.
Clear stash houses. Each day, you’ll also find one stash house somewhere in Los Santos that you can clear of enemies for Gerard. Once you find the combination and open the safe, you just have to flee the scene. You’ll be rewarded with a little GTA$ and, just as importantly, you’ll get supplies for one of your businesses.
Buy businesses and facilities to unlock new ways to make money
Most activities that make you money in GTA Online require you to own a specific kind of business or facility and the cost of entry to just about all of them is between GTA$1,000,000 and 2,000,000.
Image: Rockstar Games
But, just remember, each time you buy a new piece of real estate or new business, you unlock another way to make money. And keep an eye on the weekly updates — each week a property (or type of property) goes on sale for 30% off.
Agencies unlock Security Contracts and Payphone Hits
Your apartment gets you access to heists (which is where you’ll make the most money)
Auto shops unlock Auto Shop Services, Contracts, and Exotic Exports
Bunkers (or facilities) unlock the Gunrunning business
Clubhouses unlock MC Contracts and MC Work (and a bar)
Hangars unlock the Air Freight Cargo business
Nightclubs allow you to store additional good from other businesses and make money on their own
Offices unlock Special Cargo, Vehicle Cargo, Special Vehicle missions
Salvage yards unlock Salvage Yard Robberies and the Tow Truck Service
The best activities for a lot of money in GTA Online
With the right properties and a good crew (or a lucky roll of the rando pool), you can make a lot of money pretty quickly in GTA Online by focusing on the best paying events.
Heists are multi-step events that will take you about an hour to complete, give or take. They’re also the best payout you’ll get in the game, with rewards ranging from GTA$100,000 to 4,000,000.
Salvage Yard Roberies work a lot like heists, but they’re doable with only one person. They’ll earn you GTA$200,000 to 300,000 for about an hour of work.
A player can find tons of cute or capable Pals on a tour through Palworld’s Palpagos Islands, but in order to fill out their Paldeck, they’ll need to dabble with breeding. Breeding is a surprisingly deep part of Palworld, and it’s quickly become a rabbit hole — or a Caprity hole, if you will — for my group on our shared server.
Once I got past the original hook of “What if survival game, but Pokémon?” in Palworld, I was surprised to find that I was still engaged. I’m on a server with my friends, and we all handle different roles. I pump up my carry weight and bring Pals who could help haul, and I’m constantly loading up with tons of ore to smelt into valuable ingots. My buddies Jake and Matt pitch in, too; Jake is a forward scout, whereas Matt runs what we politely call “Pal Resources.”
Pal Resources is the name for our breeding camp. Now that we have the ability to build ranches and bake delicious cakes, Matt is off to the races. It’s entirely possible to just casually dabble in breeding, but we are now entirely engrossed by the process. There are three main reasons to breed. The first is that by combining two seemingly unrelated Pals, a third Pal can be born. If you want to fill out your Paldeck and be a proper collector, breeding is essentially mandatory.
But while creating new Pals was a fun trick, what really snagged us was perfecting our existing roster. For instance, the Relaxaurus is an adorable dope of a dinosaur — but with the power of Pal Resources, we were able to create an electric variant who keeps our infrastructure running. Breeding can create new elemental types of existing Pals.
Image: Pocketpair
Sometimes, this offers utility. Sometimes, it’s just nice to have a little bit of variety in my life. Why roll around with one bouncy, cuddly Kingpaca like an absolute fool when I can have two Kingpacas, one of which is an Ice type?
Matt also discovered that you can breed two of the same Pals together, and their traits will pass down to their offspring. This is the third, and arguably the most potent, reason to get into breeding. Sometimes, the process doesn’t work out — nobody needs a pyromaniac Pal running around endangering the whole base. But if you have a diet-loving, burly-bodied workaholic Pal — boy howdy, you don’t even need to get on the platform and cruelly command your Pals to get to work.
Our bases are now staffed by a set of Pals, all several generations deep into breeding, who tend to our every need. Have a large work order to complete? Don’t even bother; Anubis will run over and finish that for you in seconds. Hungry? Why not go into the fridge, chilled by a tiny hedgehog, and grab yourself 500 omelets? Such a bounty is nothing to us.
Pal breeding reminds me of the Chao Gardens from Sonic Adventure 2, which served as a place to bring and hatch eggs, and then raise the ensuing Chao. What is meant to be a side thing has now become a full game in and of itself, where we dutifully bake cakes and cart massive eggs to and fro, all in the service of building our empire on the Palpagos Islands. As for the Pals that don’t make the cut — don’t worry about it. We’ve found a big, open field where they can run, and play, and definitely don’t get put into the Goodbye Tube to get turned into meat sluice to strengthen our A-team. That simply doesn’t happen! It’s fine.
Palworld has inarguably become one of the most fascinatingly astounding successes in the gaming industry, toppling all expectations and scrutinies a hundred times over with 19 million Pal adventurers and counting, all in less than a month.
It’s broken multiple Steam records and captured headlines with its staggering concurrent player counts, and of course, all of that is thanks to the tireless work of the team at Pocketpair. Having come a long way since the yesteryears of Craftopia, they’ve done everything in their power to ensure that Palworld’s experience is as enjoyable, shamelessly addicting, and streamlined as possible for everyone.
That’s come in the form of multiple hefty patches that have helped remedy several issues the game initially faced after release, particularly with server stability, which was understandably buckling under very unexpected pressure. However, thanks to its incredibly swift financial success, Pocketpair was able to implement the necessary infrastructure fixes in impressively short order.
Not long after, it was publicly disclosed by Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe that the actual server costs just for February would be just shy of $500,000 USD, all to ensure that the Palworld servers never “degrade” or go down at any point whatsoever. That unflinching dedication has put a shiny Penking feather in their cap, and proved that they’re in this for the long haul.
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
As their work continues, players on the game’s official Discord and beyond have continued to express what they hope to see going forward, and one particular, unresolved issue that keeps popping up in conversations is the inability to recover misthrown Pal Spheres.
As discussed recently by Reddit user ‘Rikashey’, one of the most frustrating things that continues to bother players everywhere is whenever you hurl a Pal Sphere at a wild Pal with the intent to capture it and it decides to dodge right as you throw it, it effectively sends that Sphere to the digital trash can forever. It feels less painful with regular blue Pal Spheres that become nearly useless anyway later in the game, not to mention you can buy them in bulk from any Wandering Merchant or find them lying on the ground just about everywhere.
However, when it comes to the higher tier spheres, essentially from Giga all the way up to Legendary, each botched throw feels like a proverbial punch in the gut. That lost sphere is also lost effort in gathering the resources for things like Refined Ingots, Paldium, and Cement, which take considerable time to craft before even getting to craft the spheres themselves. Furthermore, that’s still not even accounting for the crafted ammo and other items you use to weaken the Pal itself for capture.
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
Say you only have five Ultra Spheres on hand to go and pursue a Pal in one of the higher level areas like Mount Obsidian or the Land of Absolute Zero. You make the trek there, whether it’s by flying in bursts or teleporting if you’re lucky, and soon enough you find your target.
You catch its attention with a bullet or a grenade perhaps, and it immediately starts bombarding you with attacks. You’re forced to dodge roll to and fro, and after pouring more than enough artillery in to better your odds, you make the fateful throw. The Pal zips to the side unexpectedly, you lose one Ultra Sphere.
In a panic, you immediately toss another and it bounces off, another gone. That leaves you with just three spheres to seal the deal. It breaks free of two of them, and you’re left wondering if it was even worth it as you throw your last chance. Either you luck out or you sulk away empty-handed, forced to go all the way back to your base to make more.
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
Sometimes it’s not even that type of scenario. Perhaps you just want to summon a Pal you already have from your party, and in a classic derp moment you fumble the wrong button and toss a Hyper or Ultra Sphere instead. Even when it was not meant to be used, down the drain it goes at the cost of your hubris.
It’s undeniable that many of us have faced this never-ending toil, and it begs the question of how viable it would be to be able to recover at least some Pal Spheres tossed in error. Have them tumble to the ground nearby, and remain interactable for a certain period of time before they disappear. That could even provide a unique twist to the challenge of capturing a high-level Pal, giving you another chance in the moment where you might have been left with none.
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
Even in the event of still losing out to an overly stubborn Pal, you would have at least had the opportunity to flex your maneuverability skills, and it would make the battle feel even more dramatic and well-earned. Most importantly, being able to recover those meticulously crafted Pal Spheres would help stretch them out at least somewhat further, reducing the amount of time you otherwise have to spend recouping your stores at the assembly line.
Best of all, in those terrible moments where a sphere tumbles out of your inventory by accident while you’re trying to do something else, you could go hastily retrieve it and salvage the embarrassment. Sorry but that fickle, last-second ‘Cancel’ button just isn’t enough.
So Pocketpair, as you continue making this game even more amazing than it already is, please throw us this one…bone. Let us keep our spheres a modicum of our dignity, at least so our Pals don’t mutiny over having to craft more objects of ethical-ish imprisonment and burn down our bases while we sleep.
About the author
Stephanie Watel
Stephanie Watel is a freelance writer for Twinfinite. Stephanie has been with the site for a few months, and in the games media industry for about a year. Stephanie typically covers the latest news and a variety of gaming guides for the site, and loves gardening and being the bird lady of the neighborhood. She has a BA in Writing from Pace University in NY.
Penacony is the third area you’ll visit in Honkai: Star Rail, and with it comes new treasure and puzzles to complete on the new planet. With over 100 new things to find, it can be a lot to scour out all at once.
A lot of the places in Penacony will only unlock once you’ve completed a certain part of the main Trailblaze Missions or have completed certain puzzles. Because of that, we recommend hunting all the treasure once you finish the story.
Most maps have loot hidden around and this loot expands beyond just treasure chests. When you open the map, you’ll notice a chest icon in the top left corner with numbers next to it. This indicates how many of the different types of loot you’ve found. However, this counter only lists treasure that isn’t locked behind puzzles or formidable foes (the powerful monsters that guard chests) and Warp Trotters.
Note that our maps are based off of beta content, so things may be different in the live version. We’re also missing a handful of chests that may be locked behind content that we didn’t get to in the beta. We’ll update this guide as soon as we can if there are any specific changes.
How Penacony treasure chests work
Opening chests and solving puzzles around Penacony will reward you with Clock Credits, which you can turn in to level up the Clockie statue in the center of Golden Hour. Leveling up the statue nets you rewards like Stellar Jade and other goodies.
There are lots of new puzzle types to Penacony, including block-sliding mirror puzzles and literal puzzles (with pieces you have to fit in to make an image). Most notably, there’s a new type of collectable found under the treasure chest drop down when you look at maps: “Lordly Trashcans.” These garbage pails will ask you a question, and if you answer correctly, they’ll give you a reward. If you answer wrong, they’ll engage you in battle — and you’ll still get the same reward after, so don’t worry about answering wrong.
Penacony also has quite a few maps where you’ll be walking on walls and the map there is 3D. While it’s obviously tough for us to convey information on where to find each chest, Warp Trotter, or Lordly Trashcan in these spaces, we did our best to indicate where the chests are located using circles to indicate which platform the object is on.
The Reverie (Reality) treasure chest locations
The Reverie (Reality) F1
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
The Reverie (Reality) F2
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
The Reverie (Reality) F3
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
The first door from the left opens when you do the quest “Cosmic Star.” The second door from the left requires you to do the quest “The Trees as Peace” to open.
Golden Hour treasure chest locations
Golden Hour F1
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
Golden Hour F2
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
Golden Hour F3
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
Dream’s Edge treasure chest locations
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
A Child’s Dream treasure chest locations
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
The Reverie (Dreamscape) treasure chest locations
We were only able to find 24 out of 29 treasure chests, even with Topaz and Numby sniffing them out. It’s possible that we missed some or that a room is locked by a quest or future content, but we’ll update this guide when we find the rest of them.
The Reverie (Dreamscape) F1
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
The Reverie (Dreamscape) F2
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
The Reverie (Dreamscape) F3
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse
If you’re looking for more chests and loot in Honkai: Star Rail, you can check out our complete maps of the Herta Space Station, the Xianzhou Luofu, and Jarilo-VI, too.
NPC companions are one of The Elder Scrolls Online’s best additions over the years. These helpful AI-controlled pals all feature unique dialogue, voiceovers, and quests. However, not every companion is made equal. Here are The Elder Scrolls Online companions, ranked.
6. Mirri Elendis
Image Source: Zenimax Online Studios
Mirri was actually my first companion when I chose to start playing ESO again. Unfortunately, I had no idea she was one of the least capable companions. As a Dark Elf Nightblade, Mirri excels at dealing magical damage and even has a powerful execute that can be used on enemies under 25%. She also has a pretty interesting ultimate that makes an enemy take 20% more damage for 3 seconds before she deals massive damage to them. Sadly, there isn’t much else in her kit that lets her do more, or be more than a damage dealer.
For example, her ‘Soul Thief’ skill line has three different skills that grants heals, but they either only heal her or you, don’t heal enough, or have too long of a cooldown without any kind of built-in activation if you or her go below 75% HP like many other companion healing skills have. This usually results in her healing you and then dying herself. Which isn’t made any better when her ‘Living Shade’ skills fail to effectively keep her alive compared to other companions that can summon shields with better damage mitigation.
Being my first though, she’ll always have a special place in my heart. Especially since her companion ability gave chests a 30% chance to have additional loot found in hidden compartments. This always made exploring with her a bit more fun at the very least, even if she’d end up on the floor far too often.
5. Bastian Hallix
Image Source: Zenimax Online Studios
Bastian is one of the original companions from the Blackwood chapter and is an Imperial Dragonknight. As such, his kit is a good mix of offensive abilities, damage reduction with shields, and a smattering of healing. You would think that such a balanced mix would make him the ideal companion. Unfortunately, because he doesn’t excel at damage, healing, or tanking, he isn’t really good at any one of those playstyles even when focused build-wise.
Bastian’s ‘Ardent Warrior’ skill line does decent damage and can set enemies off balance, but that’s about it. Meanwhile, his ‘Radiating Heart’ skill line can grant you and him some shields while increasing healing done, but when the other healing ability only lets him heal you or himself, that kind of buff feels a little flat. At least he can increase the damage of your light and heavy attacks by 15% for 8 seconds, but that’s all that skill does. He can just feel rudderless sometimes.
His ‘Draconic Armor’ skill line doesn’t fare much better either when one move allows him to immobilize enemies but the other lets him pull enemies to them but only when they can move. There just isn’t any synergy there. At least his ‘Drake’s Blood’ ability is a pretty decent self-heal as long as you build him for max HP.
4. Ember
Image Source: Zenimax Online Studios
At the #4 spot comes Ember, a Khajiit Sorcerer from the High Isle Chapter. As a companion, Ember excels at dealing damage in large chunks using executes. She can protect herself and heal herself some, but she is not the best for any kind of support. The reason for this is because of her ‘Playful Schemer’ skill line having heals that heal either her or you. While her damage shield spell protects you and her on top of healing some, it is simply not enough.
Then there is her ‘Mischievous Caster’ skill line. The skills in this line allow Ember to stun an enemy for 3 seconds, immobilize enemies in an area while healing herself over 8 seconds, and the last skill does slight damage over time while reducing her damage taken by 20%. Beyond her powerful damaging skills in the ‘Lightning Caller’ skill lines, her defensive and healing skills don’t elevate her beyond the #4 spot. Still, her consistent damage allows her to live up to the title of battlemage.
At least her companion perk gives you a chance to find hidden wallets that contain extra gold when you go pick-pocketing.
3. Sharp-as-Night
Image Source: Zenimax Online Studios
Hailing from the same chapter as Azandar, the Argonian companion, Sharp-as-Night is the other Necrom companion. Like Azandar, Sharp operates as one of ESO’s latest classes, a Warden, and is quite capable of healing and damage because of that. When it comes to combat and damage, Sharp is viable with a variety of AoE attacks and a long-range spell that sets enemies off balance. Additionally, his Ultimate is a powerful execute that stuns enemies for 3 seconds while dealing 150% of its already impressive damage to enemies under 25% HP.
As far as heals goes, Sharp-as-Night is very proficient at casting area of effect heals whenever someone is below 75% HP. He even has a healing spell that restores health whenever group members use light attacks, which is perfect for builds that weaves in light attacks between abilities. Beyond Sharp’s heals, his defensive spells aren’t as useful since they don’t grant barriers of any kind and instead focus on increasing resistances, immobilizing enemies with ice, and healing only himself.
If Sharp had better group or even self-protective abilities, or a bear companion (since he’s a Warden) he would surely be higher on the list. But even with what he has, he can still be quite fun to explore with, especially if you like to fish.
2. Azandar Al-Cybaides
Image Source: Zenimax Online Studios
Azandar is one of ESO’s newest companions from the Necrom Chapter. He’s a Redguard Arcanist that uses some of that class’ best abilities to deal damage, buff enemies damage taken, and heal. His ‘Quill Knight’ skill line is effective at taunting enemies, fearing them, and dealing damage from a summoned damage shield. While his ‘Revitalizing Researcher’ skill line is highly effective at, again, creating a damage shield for themselves and you while the other skills allow for healing multiple targets and granting recovery.
Finally, his ‘Scholar of Apocrypha’ skill line is what you’ll be interested in if you want some damage. But more importantly, this skill line features two skills that act as amazing buffs and debuffs. ‘Fate Omen’s Inspiration’ charges your and his weapons, applying ‘Minor Berserk’ that increases damage done by 5% for 8 seconds. While the other skill ‘Tendrils of the Colorless Sea’ deals AoE damage and applies ‘Minor Vulnerability’ that makes enemies take 5% more damage.
Azandar’s Ultimate does considerable area of effect damage and stuns enemies for 3 seconds. That on top of causing them to take 10% more damage for 4 seconds, it is easy to see how Azandar can be fantastic all-around support.
1. Isobel Veloise
Image Source: Zenimax Online Studios
Isobel is a Breton and Templar from the High Isle Chapter that will tank and support you like no other. However, where Isobel shines (and the reason she’s in the #1 spot) is her damage mitigation and healing abilities. One of her most effective defensive ‘Brilliant Shield’ abilities is ‘Solar Ward’, where she reduces her damage taken by 20% and gets a shield worth 12.5% of her max health for 6 seconds on a 7.8 second cooldown.
Meanwhile, all three of her healing abilities either heal on low cooldowns, deal damage while healing, or both. All while being area of effect heals for herself, you, or other teammates nearby. Isobel also does some amazing damage over time while boosting the damage of your next light or heavy attack. Her execute ability, used on low health enemies, does massive amounts of damage too. Additionally, her damaging abilities go beyond just being limited to a single target.
Finally, Isobel’s companion perk ability grants a chance to find packs containing extra loot after beating a world boss. This companion’s heavy armor also helps make her the perfect support tank. It’s these facts that make Isobel a companion that can do it all.
At the end of the day, any one of these companions could be worth using depending on how they synergize with your chosen class and build. Besides, if you’re like me, you’ll eventually level all of them anyway just to discover their story and interesting dialogue bits.
About the author
Ali Taha
Whether its new releases, or a new Destiny 2 season, Ali will flex his gaming and freelancer skills to cover them extensively. He started off writing features for Game Rant but found a better home here on Twinfinite. While Ali waits for the next Monster Hunter title, he enjoys publishing his progression fantasy novels as an indie author.
It’s no secret by now that Palworld has become one of the most fascinatingly unexpected phenomenons in modern gaming.
Its devoted player base, which in less than two weeks has now grown to a staggering 19 million players and counting, has been embarking on an exciting (and very addicting) survival adventure across the strange world of Palpagos, collecting every Pal there is to find and building bases to suit every need.
A huge factor that has helped make Palworld‘s experience all the more enjoyable is the tireless efforts of the team at Pocketpair, who have been releasing patches for the game virtually non-stop since release day. They’ve definitely done a lot to help smooth over various aspects of Palworld’s gameplay, from addressing crash issues to bringing much-needed server stability, and of course refinements to Pal behavior, particularly those crafting and hauling at bases. I think many of us can relate to the bemused aggravation of our base Pals getting stuck in every imaginable spot and glitching in ways that look like they’re literally losing their minds, or ‘sanity’ if you will.
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
Though as many of us know by now, when it comes to patches for any considerably big game, there’s often a tradeoff of some kind where one problem gets fixed and subsequently a new one appears. Sometimes it’s something annoying that can throw a wrench in your character’s routine, other times it’s something so unexpectedly hilarious that it only adds to the game’s charm.
That turned out to be the case with Palworld’s latest patch (1.4.0), which was released just a couple of days ago and provided a long list of eagerly welcomed improvements that were noted on their official Discord server. The biggest section pertained to various fixes for ‘Base Issues’, and while the decreased range and speed of fire spread on wooden structures undoubtedly stood out as a huge relief for many players (especially beginners), the biggest comical relief came as more of a surprise.
Several issues with base Pal behavior were addressed, but thanks to a bewildered player that saw fit to share their experience on Reddit, it seems a new one has now popped up. Going by the name ‘ashrensnow’, they posted a picture of what looked to be a Blazamut sleeping on their character’s bed rather than on a designated Pal bed. The nerve.
Image Source: ashrensnow via Reddit
‘Pathing issues’ are a problem that’s been ongoing in Palworld, as players have gotten exceptionally creative with their base construction skills, but often they have to adapt their designs because Pals of all sizes have issues navigating certain things like stairs, doorways, and many versions of multi-tiered structures with production points built in them. Keeping things relatively simple is the common solution to get Pals to behave and stay on task, but even then, sometimes they still take matters into their own hands…or paws.
Whether this happened to be a one-time fluke or an actual newfound bug, we’re not exactly sure yet, but it certainly is nonetheless entertaining. Thankfully, sleeping (ironically) isn’t imperative to your character’s survival in Palworld; as long as you at least have a pile of berries to endlessly munch on day and night, you’re set.
However, in light of this discovery, we can only imagine those who happen to have a Lovander or two at their base are going to be watching their sleeping quarters vigilantly, for better or worse.
About the author
Stephanie Watel
Stephanie Watel is a freelance writer for Twinfinite. Stephanie has been with the site for a few months, and in the games media industry for about a year. Stephanie typically covers the latest news and a variety of gaming guides for the site, and loves gardening and being the bird lady of the neighborhood. She has a BA in Writing from Pace University in NY.
Classroom questions and answers are a staple of Persona games, and that remains true with Persona 3 Reload.
While Reload is a remake of the beloved Persona 3 from the early 2000s, it features a completely new slate of classroom questions from the original game. Answering questions correctly in Persona 3 Reload will increase your Charm Social Stat as you impress your fellow classmates with your knowledge.
In this in-progress Persona 3 Reload guide, we’ll walk you through classroom questions and answers for each month.
Note: This guide features all classroom and exam answers through June 1 in Persona 3 Reload — about 15 hours into the game, depending on how you spend your time. We’ll add additional months of questions and exams soon.
April classroom answers in Persona 3Reload
There are three classroom questions for you to answer in April. There are no exams in April.
4/8
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
Q: Among these phrases, “a rain of flowers,” “mystical mirage,” and “vivid carp streamers,” which one symbolizes summer?
A: Vivid Carp Streamers
4/18
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
Q: The places where people dumped their waste in the Jomon period — what are they called nowadays?
A: Middens
4/27
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
Q: Leader [protagonist], do you know which one’s not an algebraic spiral or whatever?
A: A
May classroom answers in Persona 3 Reload
There are three classroom questions for you to answer in May. May also holds the first big exams — Midterms — which run May 18 to 23. Make sure to increase your Academics score to two before the 18th.
5/6
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
Q: What do you call the device that helps generate electric power for the train?
A: A pantograph
5/13
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
Q: Do you know Leon Foucault? He’s a French physicist who performed experiments regarding the rotation of the Earth. Which tool did he use in his experiments?
A: The pendulum
5/15
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
Q: What’s the other name for “May sickness” — the more casual one?
A: May Blues
May Midterms
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
Midterms start on Monday, May 18, and run for six full days of school, ending on Saturday the 24th. Once your exams start, you’ll have no free time after school or in the evenings. You’ll answer questions and the game will automatically skip to the next day.
You don’t have to actively answer questions on May 18 or May 23; how your character performs on those days seems to be based entirely on your Academics stat. If you have an Academics stat of at least two and answer all the below questions correctly, you’ll finish your midterm in the top 10 of your class and get some bonus Charm points, plus stat boost cards for your Personas as a reward.
All of the below questions are reframed versions of questions you’ve already answered in April and May. Nonetheless, we’ve listed them all out here for your convenience — and because the rewordings can be a little tricky.
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
5/19 Q: What is the other common expression used to describe “May sickness?”
5/19 A: May Blues
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
5/20 Q: Which of the following did Leon Foucault use in his experiment on the rotation of the Earth?
5/20 A: A pendulum
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
5/21 Q: Which of the following is generated by a pantograph?
5/21 A: Electricity
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
5/22 Q: During which historical period were middens most commonly used?
5/22 A: Jomon
More classroom answers for Persona 3 Reload are on their way!
Baldur’s Gate 3 is an incredible role-playing game experience, a gift for RPG fans and a wonderful introduction to the genre for newcomers. It’s got everything a good RPG needs: memorable characters, exciting, strategic battles, and a textured world to get lost in as your party goes questing across the map. It’s a showcase for just how good RPGs are when they really connect, and fortunately for us, there’s plenty more where that came from.
So, in the event that Baldur’s Gate 3 has inspired you to explore the genre further, here’s a list of games that similarly nail the RPG experience in ways that will leave you itching to get back to the character you’ve created — provided, of course, you didn’t immediately roll a new one to take into Baldur’s Gate 3 all over again.
If your favorite parts of Baldur’s Gate 3 were the turn-based combat, the character interactions, and the branching narratives, then Fire Emblem: Three Houses might scratch that itch. The actual gameplay itself doesn’t have a lot of story-defining choices, since you pick a set path in the first moments of the game. But that choice does grant three completely different ways the game can play out (and a fourth secret one), as well as variations in which characters come along with you and survive till the end. There’s also a lot of options for character interaction built into the game mechanics. Not only do you, the player, build a rapport with the characters, it’s literally part of the game to pair characters off in different interactions so they can build their bonds outside the battlefield and support each other while in combat. And yes, that means romances. So. Many. Romances. —Petrana Radulovic
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Image: Larian Studios
Where to play: Windows PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Larian Studios’ previous game is a natural next step for Baldur’s Gate 3 fans, as it’s about as close as you can possibly get to “more of the same” without waiting for a sequel. There’ll be some adjustment — as it’s not a D&D adaptation, the rules are different and combat here has a different set of quirks you’ll have to learn to navigate — but the transition is surprisingly seamless. Most importantly, Original Sin 2 has what Baldur’s Gate 3 nails in spades: a rock-solid focus on character and permissive design that encourages you to come up with oddball solutions and surrounds you with a cast of characters you’ll think of fondly. Shoutout to the homie, The Red Prince. —Joshua Rivera
Pillars of Eternity
Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Paradox Interactive
Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
One of the first big attempts at a throwback to the Baldur’s Gate franchise is still one of the best. Pillars of Eternity tells a sprawling tale with a great hook — children are suddenly being born without souls — as a mystery meant to draw you into its strange fantasy world and characters. A little more old-school in its design, but with the option to crank down the difficulty if story is why you’re here, Pillars of Eternity’s biggest strength is in its elegant narrative, in which the answer posed by every quest intersects with at least two other equally interesting quests. It’s easy to lose an evening navigating the game’s tangled web of short stories, but what a tremendously satisfying way to get lost. —JR
If there’s one thing I enjoy more than Pillars of Eternity, it’s Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. Whereas the first game took place in an atmospheric if derivative take on a classic fantasy continent, Deadfire puts you in control of a customizable ship on the high seas. Along with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Spiritfarer, and the recent Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Deadfire is proof that archipelagos make for perfect video game worlds: As you build your party of travelers, you’ll encounter vastly different factions, cultures, and ways of life, both linked and separated by the waves between them. Exploring the world of Deadfire feels at once like a singular journey and a collection of potent short stories, all connected by vivid writing and myriad chances to role-play. —Mike Mahardy
Wasteland 3
Image: inXile Entertainment
Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
If you can stomach the hyper-goofiness of its post-apocalyptic storytelling, Wasteland 3 stands among the best that the CRPG genre has to offer. Its script and character writing leave a lot to be desired, but in terms of structure, Wasteland 3 is as open as they come: You pursue three major quest lines across a ruined Colorado, all the while building up your headquarters and recruiting a massive party of survivors. If inventory management and improving your team composition are your favorite aspects of CRPGs, Wasteland 3 is a dream. And while there are compelling story beats strewn throughout, it’s the mechanics and systems that make inXile’s 2020 release sing. —Mike Mahardy
After a dozen or so hours investing in your party in Baldur’s Gate 3, they start to feel like superheroes. Battles hinge on incredible (and very fun) stunts that can excite the storyteller in you narrating the whole fight. Marvel’s Midnight Suns is entirely built around that feeling, a strategy game where winning a battle largely depends on you figuring out the most dramatic move possible every turn. It’s also got a character creator for your original protagonist and lots of fun RPG-style conversations between said fights too, so the social butterflies among us won’t feel left out. Just don’t come looking for romance, which unfortunately is not part of the experience. —JR
Planescape: Torment
Image: Black Isle Studios/Interplay Productions
Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Going back to the original Baldur’s Gate games is a very different experience from Baldur’s Gate 3, as they come from an entirely different era in game design that may or may not speak to you in the same way. In spite of its similarity to those older games, Planescape: Torment, a sister title to the OG Baldur’s Gate games, is worth giving a shot. In it you play The Nameless One, a man with no memories in search of his identity and the reason he can’t seem to die. Taking place in Dungeons & Dragons’ Planescape setting — a sort of interdimensional halfway point in the multiverse, where anything could be a door to Someplace Else — Planescape: Torment is among the most bizarre, existential, and contemplative RPGs ever made. It’s a game where combat barely matters (seriously, just play on easy and put all your stats in Wisdom and Charisma), but deciding who The Nameless One becomes as he learns more about himself is everything. —JR
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Image: InXile Entertainment
Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Maybe you tried Planescape: Torment and found it too clunky. Or maybe you loved it and want more. In the way that Pillars of Eternity was a spiritual successor to the original Baldur’s Gate games, Torment: Tides of Numenera is a new attempt to recapture the magic of Planescape: Torment with more modern sensibilities. In this game, you play as the Last Castoff, a sort of rejected avatar for a being known as the Changing God, who has achieved immortality by hopscotching across bodies like yours. What’s up with that? What else has this Changing God done, and who else have they left in their wake? Tides of Numenera retains the focus of its inspiration, emphasizing role-play over combat, using the mystery of an immortal being and an indelible science fantasy setting to probe at troubled characters and ask big, sweeping questions about fate and existence. —JR
Dragon Age (all of ’em)
Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts
Where to play: Windows, Mac (for earlier entries), PlayStation 4 (Dragon Age: Inquisition), PlayStation 3, Xbox One(Dragon Age: Inquisition), Xbox 360
For over a decade, the RPG void left between Baldur’s Gate 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 was filled by Dragon Age. Beginning with 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins, the Dragon Age games mixed dark fantasy with bright, snappy characters to create one of the most beloved fantasy RPGs in recent memory. Each game has a slightly different flavor — Origins is the closest to the “classic” RPG feel, where combat strategy is just as important as role-playing through an epic plot, while Dragon Age 2 focuses more on straightforward action and smaller character drama, and Dragon Age: Inquisition splits the difference with the most modern design of the three. Play all or one, in any order you choose. Each has its strengths, and all of them have at least one character destined to become your favorite. —JR
If you appreciate how a game will throw your best-laid plans out the window with one failed dice roll, then Disco Elysium is the obvious follow-up to Baldur’s Gate 3. Not only do your choices have the same level of impact, but both games embrace creative problem solving in the way only a good role-playing game can. Disco Elysium lets you talk your way out of (but usually into) trouble in some mind-bending ways. Although it’s a more modern setting than Baldur’s Gate 3, both games relish their moments of bleakness. Paladin-type role-players may struggle with the inner demons of Disco Elysium’s amnesiac main character, but he’s the hero for those who revel in messy choices. —Chelsea Stark
Shadowrun: Dragonfall
Image: Harebrained Schemes
Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
Yeah, fantasy is cool and all, but what if you want a Baldur’s Gate 3-style adventure in a sick Blade Runner-ass setting? Shadowrun: Dragonfall is your answer. A relatively short and self-contained RPG set in Shadowrun’s totally rad, magic-but-also-cyberpunk universe, you play as a shadowrunner (a mercenary, but cooler) hired to join a crew for one big score. It goes sideways of course, and once you escape the chaos, there’s only one question on your mind: Who set you up and why? Perfect for anyone who wants to trade swords and spells for guns and cyberdecks (and also spells). What’s more, if you love it, there are two more games widely available (and optimized for consoles): Shadowrun Returns and Shadowrun: Hong Kong. —JR
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Image: BioWare/LucasArts
Where to play: Windows, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
Another big appeal of RPGs is getting the chance to traipse around a very familiar setting and seeing what trouble you can get into. In Baldur’s Gate 3, that’s the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons. But let’s say you wanted to do that in Star Wars — lucky for you, there’s Knights of the Old Republic. Made by BioWare, the folks behind Dragon Age, KOTOR (that’s what the cool kids call it) is set thousands of years before the prequel trilogy, at a time when both the Jedi and Sith were numerous and at war. This setting gives KOTOR a flavor that’s impossible to find in modern Star Wars, as one of the premier RPG developers was given free reign to define its own corner of the universe and infuse it with all the charm of its acclaimed role-playing games — and a killer mystery to boot. —JR
A glider is essential for getting around Enshrouded’s Embervale, a sprawling realm that usually demands a lot of walking. While there are a few fast travel points — called Ancient Spires — due to their spire-iness, they make perfect places to jump off of with a glider and explore new corners of the world.
Our Enshrouded guide will explain how to craft the glider, and run down what you need to craft the two improved versions: the advanced glider and the extraordinary glider.
How to craft the glider in Enshrouded
Image: Keen Games via Polygon
Your first glider can be made pretty early in your game. You’ll need:
8 Shroud wood. Shroud wood is, get this, wood you find in the Shroud. Not just any wood is Shroud wood, though. You’ll need to find a tree that is fully in the Shroud and chop it down with an axe. The Shroud wood that drops will look different from normal wood — it’s grayer and more twisted.
2 animal fur. The goats and the wolves you encounter on the surface drop these.
2 string. String can be manually crafted (no workbench necessary) from 2 plant fiber that you pick up just about anywhere.
2 Shroud spores. The human-like Fell that populate the Shroud (and spawn outside of your Flame Altar’s influence at night) will drop Shroud spores when you kill them.
Once you’ve gathered the materials, head to your workbench to craft the glider.
That basic glider doesn’t have the best glide ratio — you lose a lot of elevation for the distance you fly forward — but it will revolutionize how you get around.
That first glider is also going to last you a while — at least until you start making linen.
How to craft the advanced glider in Enshrouded
A lot of things need to happen before you can craft the next glider — the improved glider. You’ll need to find the Hunter and the Carpenter, and you’ll need to find the Hunter’s Hand Spindle.
The Hunter and the Carpenter can be found in their respective Ancient Vaults. You’ll find them as part of “Hunter Becomes The Hunted” and “Carpentry Assistance” quests. You’ll be tasked with finding the Hunter’s hand spindle in the Revelwood for the aptly named “The Hunter’s Hand Spindle” quest.
Image: Keen Games via Polygon
Once the Carpenter, Hunter, and hand spindle are all in place, you’ll be able to craft the improved glider at the Carpenter with:
6 Shroud wood.
4 linen. Linen is made at the Hunter’s hand spindle and requires 2 flax for each 1 linen. Flax is a purple flower that you’ll find around the Revelwood biome in the north.
4 string.
8 Shroud sack. Around the Revelwood biome, you’ll also find spitting plants. You’ll get poison sacks from the regular, purple and orange ones. Inside the Shroud, you’ll find similar plants that glow blue and drop Shroud sacks when killed.
How to craft the extraordinary glider in Enshrouded
Just like crafting the advanced glider, there’s a lot of work you’ll need to do before you can craft the extraordinary glider.
The Hunter will ask you to retrieve a tanning station from the Nomad Highlands to the east as part of her “In Need Of A Tanning Station” quest.
You’ll have to have gotten the Blacksmith’s crucible as part of “Crucible Needed For A Smelter” and be able to make copper bars.
The Carpenter will need a table saw from the “Table Saw For The Carpenter” quest that takes you to Thornhold to the northeast.
You’ll need to get the both the Alchemist’s mortar for “The Alchemist’s Mortar” (if you haven’t yet) and the black cauldron he requests for “A Black Cauldron For The Alchemist.” You’ll find his mortar in Lone Thistle north-northeast of the Ancient Spire — Springlands fast travel tower. The black cauldron takes a lot more work (and more fighting) to find in Rattlebleak far to the northeast.
Image: Keen Games via Polygon
When you return to the Alchemist with the black cauldron, you can craft an alchemy station (20 fired brick, 6 wood planks, 10 nails, 3 wood logs, 5 copper bars,and 1 black cauldron).
4 Shroud wood.
2 leather. Leather can be made at the Hunter’s tanning station from 10 dried fur, 20 salt, and 2 ammonia glands. For ammonia glands, you’ll have to head into the Shroud in the Nomad Highlands to the northeast of your starting point. You’re looking for the red walking mushrooms. Those creatures(?) drop ammonia glands when you kill them.
2 linen.
4 alchemical base. Alchemical base can be made at the alchemy station from 1 Shroud liquid, 1 mycelium, 1 water, and 1 Shroud Spore.
Once you (finally — it’s going to take you a long time) have everything in place, head to the Carpenter to craft the advanced glider.
How to equip the glider
Image: Keen Games via Polygon
Once you craft any of the gliders, you have to equip it before you can use the wing suit. Head to the Character menu. The fourth slot down on the left is for your glider. Open it and select the best glider you’ve crafted.
Catching Pokémoncan be exhausting these days. At time of publication, there are more than 1,000 different species of the fictional monsters. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet don’t contain the full National Pokédex, but the base game has 400 Pokémon and hundreds more when you count additional monsters added in the DLC. Even when trying to complete the reduced Pokédex, the process of collecting creatures can be a slog. Now, playing Palworld, I can breathe a sigh of relief. For the first time in a long time, it feels I can finally “catch ’em all,” with under 150 Pals in the game.
Palworldis a hit game from Japanese indie studio Pocketpair. Before it came out, many described it as “Pokémon with guns.” Now that the developer has released it in early access, it’s clear that the game goes well beyond just Pokémon influences. It has climbing and exploration reminiscent ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and mechanics common to survival games. However, one way that it is like Pokémon is its incorporation of creatures called Pals. As you explore its world, you can catch the cartoony monsters and register them to a digital encyclopedia called a Paldeck, similar to the Pokédex.
My Paldeck contains 111 Pals (although there are alternate forms and might be more). Just from a numerical standpoint, that’s way fewer than Pokémon. There’s no need to robotically cycle through hundreds of battles to fill up the Pokédex like in a modern Pokémon game. On top of that, there are no “version exclusives” in Palworld. Every copy of the game contains every Pal, so it’s actually possible to find and catch every single monster without needing another player or setting up trades outside the game.
If you do have friends who are playing, well, that’s helpful to the collecting process, too. While Pokémon does have multiplayer functionality, the online co-op in Palworld better supports playing the entirely of the game with friends from start to finish. Features like guilds allow you to group up with friends and share Pals easily on your settlement. These Pals won’t be registered as “caught” in your Paldeck, but it allows you to see more Pals and get an idea of which Pals you need to catch.
Image: Pocketpair
Catching all the Pokémonobviously isn’t impossible — loads of people do it — and I get why it appeals to certain players. The repetitive nature of catching Pokémonafter Pokémoncan almost be relaxing, but it’s a massive time commitment. You have to fight and catch each and every one of them,and some require unique rituals to evolve them. For others, you might need to trade to get version exclusives and train Pokémonto prepare for challenging fights to catch stronger monsters. In the recent Scarlet and Violet DLC, you even have to grind in-game points to unlock the appearances of certain Pokémon in the wild.
Don’t get me wrong — Palworld still contains its fair share of monster-catching grind. Depending on how common each creature is, you might catch up to 10 copies of each just to grind out the needed experience points to unlock items. You likely won’t just speed through collecting the Paldeck in a sitting or two. Barriers to exploration like your level or what kinds of Pal spheres you use will guide your overall journey. But so far, I have enjoyed the slow, meandering process of gradually exploring and discovering the Pals one by one to fill up my Paldeck in its entirety. At this rate, I might just catch ’em all.
Pocketpair’s Palworld is certainly a successful mashup of many different design decisions. Some Arc, some Rust, lots of creature catching Pokemon, but even with all those well-working pieces, the world and exploration itself could be stronger on its own. So, here’s 10 ways Pocketpair could improve Palworld’s sense of exploration.
More Types of Rare Pals
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
It was a really good call for Pocketpair to launch Palworld with over 100 Pals that also includes legendary Pals. They also deserve some brownie points for having an equivalent to shiny Pokemon with larger lucky Pals. However, while it feels great to find and capture these special glowing Pals, Palworld is the perfect kind of game to introduce even more varied kinds of Pals. Especially when Pal evolution isn’t much of a thing.
Filling the open world with other kinds of lucky Pals that might have different color schemes beyond just being large and that also come with special intrinsic properties seems like a win/win for better exploration.
Wandering NPC Pal Trainers
This is probably one of the most requested features that players want as it harkens back to the old days of Pokemon battles. All where exploring the world would let you encounter NPCs with bits of interesting dialogue and creature team compositions that could cause anxious tension depending on your own team’s lineup. In Palworld, this kind of feature is missing from its open world and really only exists when fighting against the five gym leaders in their towers.
By adding wandering NPC Pal trainers, Palworld exploration could be much more engaging.
New Weather Types That Influence Pals
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
While Palworld’s day and night cycle is appreciated, there is a distinct lack of weather effects like rain, snow, fog, and others that we, as humans, have come to expect from real life regularly. Knowing that Unreal Engine 5 is more than capable of producing these effects has given me the idea that Pals in the wild could change when weather happens.
For example, it would be neat if during the rain, fire type Pals become easier to catch and fight, while water types are harder to deal with or move faster and attack faster. Bonus points if these weathers are localized to different islands in Palworld’s open world.
Evolving Human Settlements
Image Source: Pocketpair via North_Shore_Problem
As you explore Palworld, you may find small human settlements that are either home to a few humans and some merchants, or small camps of enemy human factions. These small human camps in particular allow you to fight the humans and rescue the Pal that they have captured. That said, how much fun would it be for these faction’s camps to slowly increase in size, complexity, and difficulty?
Much like how you and your friends increase your own base, these humans could do the same with theirs, and when you finally raid them, they could have multiple Pals needing rescue or rarer/stronger Pals based on how advanced their camp is.
Alternate/Changing World Bosses
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
Aside from the few main bosses in Palworld, the open world bosses in Palworld are thankfully varied and plentiful thanks to them being bigger, stronger versions of normal Pals. It was also a nice touch for Pocketpair to let us catch said bosses. So that got me thinking. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to allow for alternate open world bosses based on time of day or weather? Maybe during the night, Chillet and Penking decide to change places.
Alternatively, maybe at night, a Pal boss like Katress could have a color change with added perks and properties. A change like this would only add variety and agency to players from my point of view, because time of day and even weather would be more meaningful other than “Oh, it’s dark now.”
Floating Islands with Difficult Content
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
An interesting idea for a kind of extra difficult end game content could come in the form of randomly generated floating islands. These sky islands could slowly float above the open world and be reachable by flying pals (or by gliding from tall places). Inside of them could be special temporary, and quite high leveled, Pals, bosses, and even dungeons.
Then, say, after 24 in-game hours, these floating islands would have traveled from one side of the map and disappear. To then be replaced by another new island with its own random encounters. Such a system could help bolster the endgame experience with more engaging difficult encounters that require certain flying Pals.
Rabid Pals that Eat Other Pals and Gain Power
As you play Palworld, you may come across some Pals naturally fighting other Pals, and that can be exciting to witness as you decide whether to just watch or engage and catch both parties. What would be neat is if there were rare spinoff events of this kind of natural interaction where the Pal that wins the fight continues to seek out and fight other Pals. By beating and consuming its opponents, the winning Pal could level, become stronger, gain abilities, perks, and even potentially change color.
As this continues over time, an icon could be added on the map where this cannibalistic Pal becomes a pseudo boss that you can catch. Allowing you to reap the rewards from owning a Pal who’s gained new strength from its rage-induced battles.
Dynamic Trading Routes Between NPC Settlements
Image Source: Pocketpair via Twinfinite
The human NPC settlements that I mentioned earlier could be overhauled with some new features that would make sense for Palworld’s world. It makes sense to me to allow for these settlements to ship and trade resources between one another by a caravan system. Pocketpair would likely have to add some more advanced pathing to make this a thing, but such a new feature could create new emergent gameplay that would let players attack or defend these caravans with appropriate repercussions and rewards.
Seeing these trading routes attacked by enemy human factions and groups of wild Pals could help make Palworld’s open world and exploration feel more alive.
Aggressive Gym Leaders that Seek Revenge
Palworld features some fairly interesting boss trainer encounters via towers across the landscape. However, once beaten, there isn’t too much to interact with. So how wild would it be if these trainers decided to occasionally seek you out and your base(s) one you’ve beaten them? Much like how groups of wild Pals and enemy human factions attack your base periodically, these vengeful gym leader bosses could do something similar.
If you’re able to fight off these invading gym leader bosses, maybe you could catch the Pal that they are using and those Pals could have special properties that you can’t get anywhere else.
Dynamic Pal-Protected Zones
Palworld’s expansive and eventually more dynamic open world could also benefit from utilizing the crime system a bit more. Pocketpair could accomplish this by introducing small, but dynamic, zones where friendly human factions guard the pals of that area. If you decide to fight and capture pals in these protected zones then that would be a crime and the humans would fight back.
One reason you might want to do this though, is that the Pals in this area may have a higher chance of being rare or lucky. Or there could be other special Pal spawns that normally don’t happen in that location.
Ultimately, these 10 suggestions would bolster Palworld’s open world and exploration by making the world feel more alive thanks to further mechanics, discoverable emergent gameplay opportunities, and more varied and difficult content.
About the author
Ali Taha
Whether its new releases, or a new Destiny 2 season, Ali will flex his gaming and freelancer skills to cover them extensively. He started off writing features for Game Rant but found a better home here on Twinfinite. While Ali waits for the next Monster Hunter title, he enjoys publishing his progression fantasy novels as an indie author.
Terry Pratchett is one of our favorite fantasy authors here at Polygon thanks to his immensely popular work on Good Omens, and the Discworld saga. If you’d like to engage with some of the best comic fantasy works ever penned, we recommend checking out the Humble Discworld bundle before the offer expires on Feb. 1.
There are plenty of other awesome deals to check out, like a big sale to let you expand your collection of Switch games without spending as much. We’ve also found some impressive deals for desktop gaming, too, including an awesome headset and ultrawide gaming monitor, each of which are on sale for their lowest prices ever.
In addition to sharing our favorite deals from the worlds of gaming and entertainment, we’ve also included the best-selling products that have made a recent appearance on our site.
The best entertainment deals this week
The Humble Discworld book bundle collects 38 works by comic-fantasy author Terry Pratchett for just $18, and is still available through Feb. 1. While a Kobo.com account is necessary to access these purchases, this deal remains a fantastic way to add the popular saga to your collection while benefitting Room to Read, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting literacy in historically low-income communities.
Image: Penguin UK
If the recent reveal trailer ofIndiana Jones and the Great Circle has got you in the mood to revisit the adventures of the iron-fisted archeologist, you can currently find Steelbook box set of three classic Indiana Jones films and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on sale at Best Buy for $76.99 (was $104.99).
Despite the conveniences of streaming and other digital media, the Polygon staff will always defend the ownership and preservation of physical media. If you share this notion, and you’re in the market for a new 4K Blu-ray player, you’ll want to check out the current sale at Walmart which discounts the Panasonic DP-UB150-K to $149.99 (was $199.99). There are plenty of other models that offer a more robust suite of features, but the UB150 is an excellent choice for playing 4K Blu-ray discs, 1080p Blu-rays, and DVDs.
The top-selling stuff on Polygon this week
The best gaming deals this week
QVC might not be your first stop when shopping for new titles, but new customers should stroll through, as you have the opportunity to save $20 on any purchase of $40 or more by using the code NEWJANUARY at checkout. This deal is happening through Jan. 31, and it’s redeemable for new releases like Tekken 8, as well as 2023 greats like Super Mario Bros. Wonder, or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Looking for more game deals? Nintendo and other retailers are offering excellent discounts on a variety of Switch titles. You can save on an impressive collection of essential games for the Nintendo handheld, like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, New Pokémon Snap, Splatoon 3, and more. We’ve highlighted some of our favorites below, but you can head over our coverage of the sale for a bigger list of titles.
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro is a feature-rich gaming headset that’s compatible with a variety of platforms, including PlayStation, PC, Switch, and mobile devices. It’s currently discounted to $219.99 (usually $329.99) at Woot, which is its lowest price yet. In addition to superb sound quality, this comfortable gaming headset features a detachable boom mic, swappable battery with a charging station, and active noise cancellation.
The LG 45GR65DC-B is a 45-inch curved monitor with some impressive specifications for the price. It recently went down in price to $549.99 at Amazon, the lowest price we could find for the gaming panel that’s usually $699.99. Sporting a maximum resolution of 5,120 x 1,440 with a 1ms response time, 200 Hz refresh rate, and AMD FreeSync compatibility, this QHD monitor is worth checking out if you’re in the market for a very wide gaming display.
There’s a lot about Enshrouded that’s just part of the survival crafting genre of games — crafting and workbenches and cooking, for example — that makes it feel familiar. But there’s also enough different and unique about it that the mere act of diving in can be really intimidating and confusing.
Our Enshrouded beginner’s guide will give you tips from our 50 (or so) hours with the game to help you get started exploring Embervale.
Enshrouded is a survival crafting game through and through
If you’re familiar with the genre, you already know nearly all of the beats to Enshrouded. That’s not meant to be disparaging — it’s not the old derivative vs. homage distinction. Enshrouded just hews to the genre in ways that make it familiar.
You pick up materials to make workbenches to make new items to make new workbenches to make better items, lather, rinse, and repeat. Enshrouded has its own takes on the genre and mixes in some elements from other genres as well, but the basics are there. Basics like…
Pick up one of everything to unlock new recipes
You’ll start your journey as the (a?) Flameborn with a few recipes for things like torches and a simple axe. The first way you’ll unlock new recipes is to just find new resources. Pick up (at least) one of everything you find — the first time you place these new items in your inventory, you’ll unlock new recipes.
The other way you learn new recipes (and progress the game) is by finding other survivors.
Progression in Enshrouded is tied to survivors and their quests
You’re not alone in your journey through Embervale. There are other survivors — five of them — who will aid you. In the story, these are other Flameborn (like you) who you have to journey around and wake from their magical slumber. Waking them up means traveling to their Ancient Vault, doing some light dungeoneering, and then summoning them to your base.
Functionally, these other survivors are a lot like quest-giving workbenches. Finding the Blacksmith, for example, allows you to start working with metal. The Hunter unlocks furs. The same goes for the Farmer, Alchemist, and Carpenter.
Image: Keen Games
As you add survivors to your base, they’ll all come up with new quests for you. The Blacksmith needs a crucible. The Hunter needs her hand spindle. The Alchemist needs his mortar. The Farmer needs her kettle.
Their quests aren’t just busywork, though. They’re how you progress through the game. They’ll unlock new technologies and materials for you, add new workbenches, and send you out into the world to explore new locations and new biomes.
Getting to those places means walking across Enshrouded’s giant map, and that means…
You’re going to walk a lot in Enshrouded
Yes, Enshrouded has some very cool traversal tools like the wing suit-like glider and a grappling hook. Your opportunities to use those, though, are going to be fairly limited. Instead, you’ll be doing most of your exploration on foot.
When you’re on one of these hikes, stick to the roads as much as you can. First, it’s just easier to see where you’re going and it’s less likely you’ll run straight off a cliff. But, more importantly, being on a road makes your stamina drain more slowly — the “on the road” condition means your stamina drains 90% as fast.
The other reason you’ll be walking so much is…
There aren’t many fast travel points
For as vast as the world of Embervale is, there aren’t many fast travel options. There are only five permanent ones, in fact. There’s the Cinder Vault where you begin the game, and then an Ancient Spire in each of the four biomes — the Springlands, the Low Meadows, the Revelwood, and the Nomad Highlands.
You can also fast travel to any Flame Altar — basically the starting point for a base — you’ve built. You start off able to build two of them, but can increase that number eventually with upgrades to the Flame Altar, but early on it means that you can have a base and an outpost and that’s it. You can always destroy a Flame Altar and build a new one elsewhere after hiking there (see above).
Flame Altars are cheap to build — they only require 5 stones that you can find just lying around on the ground. And that means you can make your own (temporary) fast travel network.
The only place you can’t build a Flame Altar is in the eponymous Shroud. Speaking of which…
Treat the Shroud like another biome
The Shroud is, as the game says, a “ruinous fog.” You’ll usually find it in the low-lying areas of the map, but it pops up in random locations as well. Entering the Shroud means you become Enshrouded (hey!) and a timer starts counting down. When the timer runs out, you die.
Image: Keen Games
And that all makes the Shroud seem worse than it actually is. Sure, there are (slightly) nastier enemies there and your time there has a limit, but it’s not an instant death sentence. In fact, there’s a lot of useful stuff that you’ll only find inside the Shroud — like Shroud wood and torn cloth.
With a little time and not too much work, you’ll increase the timer up to nearly 10 minutes. And that means you can treat the Shroud like just another biome. Respect the timer, but don’t avoid going there out of fear.
When you’re not traipsing through the Shroud or marching off on a quest for one of the other survivors, you’ll need a home base. Which brings us to Enshrouded’s best feature…
Spend some time on your base
There’s just something super satisfying about Enshrouded’s building mechanics. There are a ton of pieces to assemble in a variety of sizes. Play around with the shapes and how they fit together. Building up (and out) your base is just as satisfying as the exploration and combat.
Palworld is now available in Early Access on Steam and in Game Preview mode on Xbox. The “Pokémon-with-guns” game is also playable on Valve’s Steam Deck, where I’ve been playing since Palworld launched.
Yes, Palworld is officially “Playable” on Steam Deck, which in Valve’s definition means that the game is “functional on Steam Deck, but might require some extra effort to interact with or configure.” Valve also warns some in-game text may be small and hard to read on the Steam Deck screen, and that users will need to adjust some graphics settings themselves.
Palworld on Steam Deck plays just like its bigger PC sibling — it’s a fully functional, open-world survival game with dozens of off-brand Pokémon pals in the palms of your hands. There’s no gameplay element the Steam Deck version lacks compared to the other versions, but it can also be a bit clumsy, and frequently feels slightly broken. I’ve had some difficulty using the Steam Deck’s gamepad controls to move through the game’s menus; some button presses simply don’t register consistently, and I’ve been befuddled by how to navigate certain menus. And Valve’s warning’s about tiny in-game text should be heeded. Palworld’s interface is built for much larger screens, and some button icons are difficult to discern.
Graphically, the game defaults to low settings, which delivers between 25-35 fps refresh rates. Tweaking those settings further will offer better performance without much sacrifice in visual quality. Palworld will look OK and run slightly better, generally at a 30 fps frame rate (which you can lock) with the following settings, with the Steam Deck’s native 1200 x 800 resolution:
VSync — off
Motion Blur — off
Max FPS — 30
Anti-aliasing — TSR (or TAA)
View Distance — low
Grass — medium
Shadows — medium
Effects Quality — medium
Texture Quality — medium
Manually setting all those graphics options to “low” will get you up to an inconsistent 40-50 fps, but the sheer ugliness of those visuals may not be worth the trade-off. A mostly solid 30 fps will likely serve your needs better.
Palworld obviously still needs a lot of work to be fully “Verified” on Steam Deck, particularly around various UI elements and improved game pad control support. But it’s more than playable for now, and worth trying out on your Steam Deck if you have one.
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