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Star Wars: The Old Republic will address balance and ranked PvP for update 3.1
Star Wars: The Old Republic is launching update 3.1 in about a month, and the developers are using this patch to address some standing issues. The patch also kicks off the game's fourth ranked play season, which is scheduled to last about three months. This season will be used as the basis for some new ranked play adjustments, such as implementing a "floor" rating for picking up the lowest-tier season rewards in Season 5. The season's titles will also be class-specific based on forum feedback. Designers are also looking into balancing classes, starting with the Darkness Assassin and the Kinetic Combat Shadow, addressing issues with survivability and damage in the class. If you've been feeling squishier or less resilient or noticed oddities with abilities, you can take part in the thread yourself. Early versions of these changes have already been rolled out to the test servers for the coming update. [Thanks to Mikey Moo for the tip!]
Hearthstone December ranked play card back
Hearthstone's December ranked play season has begun, and like every season, brings with it a new card back. In celebration of the impending Goblins vs Gnomes, this month's card back is gnome themed -- actually somewhat disappointing for those who wanted a Winter Veil card. As always, you need only reach rank 20 to earn this card back. A simple task, given you can't lose rank until you've surpassed 20.
Titanfall update gets cooperative, adds ranked play
The next major update for Titanfall will land tomorrow on Xbox One and PC, Respawn announced today. The patch is the "biggest update ever," according to the developer's blog, which revealed the inclusion of new modes in the update. For starters, Titanfall players will have a new "Frontier Defense" cooperative multiplayer mode in which teams of four stand their ground against waves of AI enemies, getting assistance from stationary turrets and loadout crates. The other major addition is ranked play, which will be in beta through the end of the month. Respawn's dedicated discussion on its ranked play system for Titanfall notes that players will receive "Rank Chips," which act as "expensive pedometers" that measure players' prowess in the game. Players will have the ability to turn off their Rank Chips as well, so ranked play in Titanfall won't boil down to a separate set of maps or playlists. The update will introduce a multitude of other fixes and improvements, such as the ability to go full-screen with the mini-map, a "sudden death" addition to Capture the Flag mode and seven new Titan insignias. [Image: EA Games]
Hearthstone announces its sixth season and a new card back
Are you ready for the sixth season of competitive Hearthstone play? Because it's live right now, complete with a new card back for players to show off. This season offers a nautical look with the Pirate back available through September. Players who have hit at least Rank 20 or higher in ranked play mode will be awarded the card back at the end of the month. As in previous months, success in ranked play will earn you bonuses toward the next season, but even if you start at or above Rank 20 this season you'll need to play at least one ranked match to earn the new card back. Fortunately, you have plenty of time to do just that if you want your deck to tell opponents that they'd better buckle their swashes.
Season three Hearthstone card back announced
Hearthstone's third official Ranked Play Season kicked off this morning and the accompanying unique card back has since been announced. The rainbow themed card back had been shown off before, but it was unknown what exactly would be required to unlock it. All you'll need to do to obtain it is make rank 20, similar to both the Pandaria and Black Temple themed card motifs. If you haven't made the grind to rank 20 before, it's not too hard. You just need to win a few games, especially because it's possible to gain a double-star-win-streaks after winning three straight ranked games. Conversely, it's actually impossible to lose stars up to rank 20. If you earned enough stars last season to start below rank 20, you'll still need to log in and play at least one match in order to secure the rainbow card back.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Don't be afraid of LoL; just do it!
Everyone who plays League of Legends has bad games every now and then. Everyone has bad community experiences, too. I think it's rare to have a game where everything just feels exciting and positive and wonderful all the way through. LoL is really not well-designed for that. However, it's fear of loss, of playing poorly, and of dealing with jerks that keeps us from actually enjoying the game. Those things are real, but if you let those things get you down, you'll never give yourself a chance to improve.
Hearthstone expansion details and Season 3 reminder
Hearthpwn recently translated an interview with Hearthstone Executive Producer Hamilton Chu originally published on Chinese website nga.178.com. Hearthstone's future is being discussed with the addition of new premium content. Game content and features They're working on new heroes like Varian instead of Garrosh for warrior decks. New card backs are also being considered and these are separate from the ones that are to be awarded during ranked season play (with even more rewards to be planned for the ranked ladder season). New game boards are also going to be added. There is no plan to adjust the length of seasons yet although the team is watching it carefully. For the time being, Hearthstone will consist strictly of Warcraft themed elements. Anything not Warcraft related won't be added. The game will eventually feature achievements. Adventure modes will have new quests, new game stages, and add an additional 10 to 20 new cards. Expected release date will be some time after the game is official released on the PC and iPad. Even though Hearthstone isn't out yet, the developers are looking ahead and planning the first expansion which will likely contain 100 to 200 new cards. Chu confirmed that Death Knights and Monk classes are not being worked on. 2v2 mode and observer modes are not actively being worked on (although observer mode is on the to-do list).
