Polygon

Check Cyberpunk 2077’s latest patch for a secret TTRPG surprise

2024-12-19T18:21:42-05:00

In a secret pre-holiday update to Cyberpunk 2077, developer CD Projekt Red added a little tabletop-shaped gift. A spokesperson from Cyberpunk publisher R. Talsorian Games told Polygon that “any person who owns Cyberpunk 2077 and can access their Bonus Content folder can now find Cyberpunk RED: Easy Mode in there, of course for free.”

Without mention, Cyberpunk 2077’s update 2.2 quietly offered up the quick start guide to the tabletop role-playing game. Easy Mode has abridged rules and an introductory mission to onboard new players quickly to using dice pools instead of controllers and keyboards. Players will be able to act as one of five pre-generated characters in the quick start: the charismatic Rockerboy, the lethal Solo, the inventive Tech, the lifesaving Medtech, and the hard-hitting Media. Though the guide includes a brief dive into the history and landscape of Night City, fans of the video game should feel intimately familiar with the prequel world of Cyberpunk RED.

Though the preview was released at Gen Con in 2019, the full version of Cyberpunk RED originally released alongside Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020. The tabletop game is latest edition of the original Cyberpunk 2020 RPG (which was released in 1989). The franchise explores the gritty sci-fi fiction of an end-stage capitalist technofuture where, according to the game’s description, “corporations control the world from their skyscraper fortresses.” Perhaps a little on the nose. Set in 2045, Cyberpunk RED takes place midway between the events of Cyberpunk 2020 and Cyberpunk 2077.

Polygon has confirmed the gift is available to PC users. To check for your copy of the PDF on PC, navigate to “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\music\Cyberpunk 2077 Bonus Content.” Polygon has not been able to verify how to get the PDF on Xbox or PlayStation, though the spokesperson said it “should have been” confirmed for those platforms as well.

If you catch the bug and want more Cyberpunk TTRPGs, the bonus content available on Steam also includes the original Cyberpunk 2020 core rulebook. The full Cyberpunk Red core rulebook is available at R Talsorian Games for $60.

The next World of Warcraft patch is a neon-soaked goblin paradise

2024-12-19T17:27:00-05:00

World of Warcraft is renowned for its expansive set of locations, from barren deserts to lush forests, but some of the most interesting zones are densely inhabited, like Suramar or Tiragarde Sound. The first major patch for The War Within expansion adds another such area with Undermine, the goblin capital and a massive urban center that’s not quite like anything else seen on Azeroth.

On Thursday, Blizzard released a video of Undermine detailing what to expect from the goblin capital. The goblins have been underserved by World of Warcraft; since their introduction all the way back in 2010’s Cataclysm, they’ve mostly served as goofy comic relief for the Horde. The goblin starting zone in Cataclysm is similarly advanced, with cars, highways, and even a personal assistant for the player — but it was destroyed by the emergence of Deathwing.

Some of the goblin collectives in Patch 1.1 (which is cleverly titled Undermined) have been enemies in past patches. Luckily, they’re interested in working with the heroes of Azeroth, and they won’t hold past transgressions against you — so if you’re the kind of player who slaughtered guards in Booty Bay and racked up a terrible reputation with the Blackwater cartel, Baron Revilgaz won’t be hostile towards you.

Undermined includes a car, which you can upgrade by collaborating with the goblin cartels. Blizzard is introducing the D.R.I.V.E. (Dynamic Revolutionary Improvements to Vehicular Experiences) mechanic alongside these goblin cars; they’re much faster than a ground mount — and even a little bit faster than a flying mount in the air. For anyone who wishes World of Warcraft had more drifting, this is the patch for you.

Undermined will also include new Delves (one of which has an alarming amount of Void constructs hidden away), a new Arena, and a new dungeon called Operation Floodgate. Raiders can look forward to the Liberation of Undermine, an eight-boss raid. Here, players finally get to beat up Gallywix, the ultra-capitalist goblin who betrayed his people during the Cataclysm yet somehow managed to fail upward to leading the faction. Gallywix is, true to form, inside a giant mech that has been build to look like his face.

Blizzard hasn’t announced a release date for Undermined quite yet, but it looks like an interesting spin on The War Within’s zones so far. The goblin antics will tie back into the greater plot with Xal’atath, so there will be some interesting mysteries in store.

The best characters in Marvel Rivals season 0

2024-12-19T17:07:16-05:00

There are 33 different characters in Marvel Rivals, but not every hero (or villain) is equal. In the competitive shooter’s season 0, which is called Doom’s Rise and is significantly shorter than a regular season, every character is viable but there are some who are obviously more powerful than the rest.

Below, we’ve compiled a breakdown of the current Marvel Rivals meta by noting the nine best characters (three from each role: duelist, vanguard, and strategist) who are performing very well in season 0. And while the meta will of course continue to shift, with new heroes rising to the top, all of these are great characters you can take into any match once you’ve mastered them in order to increase your chances of winning.

In this Marvel Rivals guide, we’ll walk you through the best characters in Marvel Rivals, tell you what makes each of them so powerful, and how you should (ideally) build your team with them. We’ve also listed out all currently available heroes in a table below.

The best characters in Marvel Rivals season 0 meta

The best characters in Marvel Rivals right now (in alphabetical order) are:

Cloak & Dagger (Strategist)
Doctor Strange (Vanguard)
Iron Fist (Duelist)
Jeff the Land Shark (Strategist)
Mantis (Strategist)
Moon Knight (Duelist)
Thor (Vanguard)
Venom (Vanguard)
Winter Soldier (Duelist)

After testing out each hero in the game, we’ve put together the above list of best heroes based on the power of each character’s kit (their active and passive abilities), their consistency, their ease of use, and their ability to carry a team. There are some other incredible heroes in Marvel Rivals that will likely make it onto this list in the future, but they are currently only really dominating at higher levels, and are therefore higher skill floor heroes that are difficult to recommend unless you’re an incredible shot (such as Hawkeye and Hela).

As far as how these characters fit into a team, let’s take a quick look at the current composition meta in season 0.

The best team comp seems to be that solid 2-2-2 — two of each class — which gives you a nice balance of everything. This allows you to have a beefy main tank like Doctor Strange and an off-tank like Thor, a powerful throughput healer like Jeff the Land Shark paired with a healer that also increases damage like Mantis, and a group damage dealer like Moon Knight paired with an assassin like Iron Fist. The 2-2-2 seems to be the most consistent composition because it offers the broadest coverage in terms of what a team generally needs. And before we get the meta settles with a season 1 balance patch, you need to be prepared for anything. This comp will do it for you.

The one alternative team composition that we’ve seen do well is the 1-3-2 comp, with just one tank, three damage-dealers, and two healers. This forces you to dedicate a healer almost entirely to your one tank to keep them alive, but gives you the flexibility of a bonus damage dealer to deal with a problem player on the other team, like a sneaky Scarlet Witch or a sniping Hawkeye. This team composition does rely heavily on the duelists to capitalize on opportunities quickly, and will likely fall off at higher ranks when teams are coordinated enough to just burn the one tank down as quickly as possible, giving them a lot of room to navigate objectives.

Below, we’ve broken down what makes each of the nine best heroes in the game so good.

Cloak & Dagger (Strategist)

Cloak & Dagger are two very simple heroes in one, making them more complex to play than either Jeff or Mantis. However, Cloak & Dagger’s abilities — when woven together — can create a very powerful storm of healing and damage, which can be difficult to overcome for most enemies.

What makes Cloak & Dagger a stellar support, however, isn’t even their ultimate ability, but Cloak’s Dark Teleportation ability, which makes allies briefly invisible and untargetable. This single ability can negate ultimates like Jeff’s It’s Jeff! or even Scarlet Witch’s Reality Erasure. Even better, it requires nothing from Cloak’s allies other than to be close to him, so it’s a potentially game-saving ability that you can pull off without any voice chat or coordination.

Doctor Strange (Vanguard)

Doctor Strange is a tank who seems weak on an initial look, but is actually extremely powerful in the right hands. Where Thor and Venom allow you to drag your team to victory by killing squishier characters, Doctor Strange is able to lead the team where he wants them to go with his powerful shield and massive stun ultimate.

But the real power of Doctor Strange — especially when you’re playing with friends over voice — is the Pentagram of Farallah portal. This thing allows your entire team to move to another area of the map in seconds, allowing for a powerful flank. You can even shoot powerful attacks like Iron Man’s ultimate through the portal and onto an unsuspecting team below.

Doctor Strange is a very high-skill tank, but if you know how to play him, you can lead your team to victory without much effort.

Iron Fist (Duelist)

Iron Fist is a damage-dealing machine, specifically very good at diving into the backlines of enemy teams and wiping squishy duelists and strategists off the map. This is usually due to his Yat Jee Chung Kuen enhanced melee attacks, which deal extremely high damage in a short amount of time.

His triple jump, kick, and wall-run abilities also make him very difficult to escape for most characters, and impossible to catch for most vanguards.

Jeff the Land Shark (Strategist)

In season 0, Jeff the Land Shark is the best character in Marvel Rivals, largely due to his ease of play. His Joyful Splash healing waters have unlimited range and can heal multiple characters at once if they’re stacked up, making Jeff one of the most efficient healers out there. His Aqua Burst primary attack also does very high damage for a strategist, making him difficult to take on solo if you can’t get the drop on him.

But the reason most people hate playing against Jeff — and what makes a Jeff with good map knowledge so dangerous — is his It’s Jeff! ultimate, which sees the shark swallow everyone in a small area. Jeff can then safely spit out his allies before carrying everyone from the enemy team off a cliff. This is a potentially game-winning ultimate that is very difficult for you and your teammates to counter or escape.

Mantis (Strategist)

Mantis is a potent healer in Marvel Rivals, capable of enabling both herself and her allies to deal high amounts of damage. Her kit is relatively straightforward, as she uses healing orbs to either heal allies or significantly boost ally damage. But those two abilities — paired with her powerful stun — give you incredible tools to work through almost any situation.

On top of her raw healing throughout and damage capabilities, Mantis’ ult essentially makes your allies invulnerable with how powerful its healing is, and the bonus health it brings can help counter many other powerful ultimate abilities if timed correctly.

Moon Knight (Duelist)

Moon Knight’s sheer ability to deal damage in a large group of heroes makes him extremely potent in the current meta. A well-thrown Ankh paired with an accurate Moon Blade and some Crescent Darts can eliminate entire teams of low-health characters in seconds. Moon Knight users who are able to hide their Ankh’s in unpredictable or difficult-to-reach spots can create a kill box that is very difficult to avoid for strategists, and can make incoming damage unpredictable.

Moon Knight’s Hand of Khonshu ult also charges very quickly, does a ton of damage, and can be difficult to escape for slow-moving characters.

Thor (Vanguard)

Thor is an absolute powerhouse of a tank, capable of soloing squishy targets in seconds while using his Awakening Rune ability. But Thor is a lot more than just his awakened state, and all of his abilities can generate team wins very regularly if you know what you’re doing.

All of his tools make him significantly more complex than a tank like Venom, so not every Thor on your team means a free win. But a Thor on a rampage is capable of diving into a team, eliminating strategists, and diving back to their allies without even getting close to going down.

Venom (Vanguard)

Venom gets the award for simple but powerful. Just by being in the fray, he’s a massive threat, and learning the timing on his Symbiotic Resilience ability — which gives him a massive bonus health shield based on his missing health — takes very little practice to master.

Beyond just being easy to get online, Venom has a decently high skill ceiling with his swing and ground pound, and he’s capable of acting as both frontline tank and surprise backline assassin depending on what you need in the moment.

Winter Soldier (Duelist)

Winter Solider has a lot of things going for him, which makes him both difficult to master, and extremely powerful. His primary attack deals so much damage that it can kill several low-health strategists and DPS in two shots. His hook ability also makes him great for surprise eliminating characters like Adam Warlock or Mantis.

But what really makes Winter Soldier scary is his Kraken Impact ultimate, which not only enables a powerful execute that can make all heroes easier to take down, but resets on each kill. An effective Winter Soldier can chain ultimate after ultimate until the entire team is eliminated, allowing you to clean up the objective and win the match.

All characters list in Marvel Rivals

Below is the full roster of 33 Marvel Rivals heroes as of season 0.

Character	Role	Description
Adam Warlock	Strategist	A healer who specializes in reviving himself and allies with his powerful ultimate.
Black Panther	Duelist	A diving duelist able to assassinate squishy characters with ranged spear attacks and melee claws.
Black Widow	Duelist	A sniper character who’s able to scope in and deal with squishy characters in the backline.
Bruce Banner (Hulk)	Vanguard	A transforming tank who’s able to leverage massive health bars and multiple lives to stay in the battle.
Captain America	Vanguard	A dueling tank who’s able to go toe-to-toe with some duelists and strategists, making him an effective assassin who can also defend his allies.
Cloak & Dagger	Strategist	A duel support who’s able to swap between a damage-dealing character and a pure healer mid-battle.
Doctor Strange	Vanguard	A shield-first tank, who’s able to protect allies and carry them around the map quickly via portals.
Groot	Vanguard	A wall-focused tank, able to build massive barriers that protect himself and his allies.
Hawkeye	Duelist	A sniper with the capability to one-shot squishy heroes with well-placed arrows.
Hela	Duelist	A long-range precision character whose able to quickly destroy foes with knives to the head and explosives from the air.
Iron Fist	Duelist	A diving assassin whose able to quickly push his way behind tanks and eliminate duelists and strategists in seconds.
Iron Man	Duelist	An aerial damage dealer able to rain down explosive shots and powerful lasers on unsuspecting enemies.
Jeff the Land Shark	Strategist	A healer whose able to give allies health and movement speed boosts while swallowing enemies whole.
Loki	Strategist	A trickster healer who’s able to dish out decent damage while being very difficult to track down.
Luna Snow	Strategist	A popstar healer who’s able to freeze enemies, and both heal and damage boost allies with her powerful ultimate.
Magik	Duelist	A melee duelist who uses portals to slide in and out of the enemy backline and assassinate squishy characters.
Magneto	Vanguard	A powerful tank that uses shields to block damage, which he can then redirect at his enemies.
Mantis	Strategist	A support that is able to heal allies as well as boost their damage for long periods of time.
Moon Knight	Duelist	A damage dealer that specializes in area of effect attacks, and is able to ricochet boomerangs between enemies.
Namor	Duelist	A pet-focused duelist whose able to throw out octopuses to do his bidding and take down powerful enemies from afar.
Peni Parker	Vanguard	A defensive tank who’s able to lock down an area with mines and healing webs.
Psylocke	Duelist	A swift duelist whose able to use her ranged attacks to deal damage from afar, while also dashing into the backline.
Rocket Raccoon	Strategist	A gadget-focused support who can deal decent damage and has the power to resurrect allies.
Scarlet Witch	Duelist	An up-close duelist whose able to drain the life from enemies before disintegrating them with her one-shot ultimate.
Spider-Man	Duelist	A mobile duelist who’s able to weave in and out of the enemy team, getting quick kills before retreating to safety.
Squirrel Girl	Duelist	An area-damage focused duelist, who’s able to launch explosive nuts into the enemy team and rack up big damage.
Star-Lord	Duelist	A mobile duelist who’s able to fly around the battlefield dealing consistent damage with his duel pistols.
Storm	Duelist	A damage dealer who brings some support-like bonuses to her team and is able to fly around the battlefield at will.
The Punisher	Duelist	A more traditional shooter character who’s able to use his powerful arsenal of weapons to take enemies down.
Thor	Vanguard	A high-damage tank who’s able to weave his abilities together to quickly kill enemies while keeping himself alive.
Venom	Vanguard	A highly mobile tank who’s able to dive into the enemy backline and live to get back to his team.
Winter Soldier	Duelist	A high-damage character who’s able to use his ultimate multiple times in a row to secure kill after kill.
Wolverine	Duelist	A tank-busting duelist who’s able to survive for long periods of time and shred the health of bigger targets.

For more Marvel Rivals guides, here’s a list of all known codes, all Team-Up abilities, all maps and modes, and a look at the game’s roadmap.

D&D’s most famous adventures (and some hidden gems) are on sale right now

2024-12-19T17:19:28-05:00

If you’re looking for the next campaign to run for your Dungeons & Dragons campaign, look no further. Whether you play online or in person, the DM’s Guild is having their annual winter sale, marking down the cost of some of the most iconic D&D 5e settings and adventures — alongside some of the online marketplace’s best fan-made third party content. And with DM’s Guild’s sibling site Roll20, you can start playing your new adventure in the virtual tabletop (or its subsequent Discord integration) right away.

Among the titles are some of D&D’s most popular settings in their fifth edition form. The Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron and Eberron: Rising from the Last War bring Keith Baker war-torn continent of Khorvaire to a new generation of players more than twenty years after its debut. Explore the gothic horror land of Ravenloft and face off against one of D&D’s most legendary villains with Curse of Strahd. Face down the horrors of the Forgotten Realms in the pulp-noir Tomb of Annihilation and battle the five-headed Tiamat in Tyranny of Dragons.

The sale also includes supplemental books for players and dungeon masters alike, like Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide, and Monsters of the Multiverse. Dungeon masters can also find a collection of adventures in anthologies like Candlkeep Mysteries, Tales from the Yawning Portal, and Keys from the Golden Vault.

While the average sale price of the official Wizards of the Coast titles runs anywhere from $15-$25 dollars, the third party content hosted on DM’s Guild is just as good (if a little less content) for a fraction of the price. Made with the official System Reference Document and special permission from the D&D publisher, all third party content on the DM’s guild can be set within the canonical multiverse of Dungeons & Dragons — but they get to have a little fun with it in a way official supplements can’t. Among my favorite of these fan-made designs are Dohwar Heist, a Spelljammer Dungeoncraft adventure about a cartel of penguins, and Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese, a short adventure that drops players into the chaos of Waterdeep’s inaugural Cheese Competition.

The DM’s Guild sale runs until Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025.

Palworld Technology tree Pal equip unlock list

2024-12-19T16:21:02-05:00

In Palworld, you’ll need to unlock new recipes for furniture, crafting benches, Pal equipment, weapons, armor — practically everything — via the Technology tab in the menu. This serves as a skill tree, in a way.

There’s a bunch of stuff that will appear as question marks in your Technology tab until you catch a specific Pal. Based on our experience, you have to catch or hatch the Pal — you can’t have a friend give you one — to get these to appear. Some of the Pals required for specific technology have to be bred, like Frostallion Noct.

Palworld Pal equip Technology unlock list

Starting at level six, you’ll be able to unlock a new Pal equip every level. Most levels have one or two unlocks, but as you get up there, some levels will have three.

Below, we list out all the Pal equips that unlock per level, so you can make those pesky question marks go away.

Level	Unlock 1	Unlock 2	Unlock 3
6	Rushoar Saddle	Foxspark’s Harness	–
7	Melpaca Saddle	Celaray’s Gloves	–
8	Jolthog’s Gloves	Daedream’s Necklace	–
9	Direhowl’s Saddled Harness	Killamari’s Gloves	–
10	Surfent Saddle	–	–
11	Lifmunk’s Submachine Gun	Jolthog Cryst’s Gloves	–
12	Tanzee’s Assault Rifle	Eikthyrdeer Saddle	–
13	Grintale Saddle	Chillet Saddle	–
14	Sweepa Saddle	Univolt Saddle	–
15	Nitewing Saddle	–	–
16	Arsox Saddle	–	–
17	Pengullet’s Rocket Launcher	Flopie’s Necklace	–
18	Tocotoco’s Gloves	–	–
19	Dinossom Saddle	Digtoise’s Headband	–
20	Broncherry Saddle	Hangyu’s Gloves	–
21	Vanwyrm Saddle	Elphidran Saddle	–
22	Kingpaca Saddle	Dazzi’s Necklace	Dazemu Saddle
23	Maraith Saddle	Galeclaw’s Gloves	–
24	Surfent Terra Saddle	Mossanda’s Grenade Launcher	Azurobe Saddle
25	Mossanda Lux’s Grenade Launcher	Eikthyrdeer Terra Saddle	–
26	Fenglope Saddle	Rayhound Saddle	–
27	Broncherry Aqua Saddle	–	–
28	Elphidran Aqua Saddle	Mammorest Saddle	–
29	Dinossom Lux Saddle	Reindrix Saddle	–
30	Kitsun Saddle	Pyrin Saddle	–
31	Reptyro Saddle	Hangyu Cryst’s Glove	–
32	Blazehowl Saddle	–	–
33	Helzephyr Saddle	Pyrin Noct Saddle	–
34	Beakon Saddle	–	–
35	Blazehowl Noct Saddle	–	–
36	Quivern Saddle	–	–
37	Ragnahawk Saddle	Reptyro Cryst Saddle	–
38	Blazamut Saddle	Faleris Saddle	–
39	Jormuntide Saddle	–	–
40	Suzaku Saddle	Grizzbolt’s Minigun	–
41	Vanwyrm Cryst Saddle	–	–
42	Kingpaca Cryst Saddle	–	–
43	Suzaku Aqua Saddle	Jormuntide Ignis Saddle	Yakumo Saddle
44	Relaxaurus’s Missle Launcher	Wumpo Saddle	–
45	Wumpo Botan Saddle	Mammorest Cryst Saddle	Chillet Ignis Saddle
46	Relaxaurus Lux’s Missle Launcher	Shroomer Saddle	–
47	Astegon Saddle	Shadowbeak Saddle	Shroomer Noct Saddle
48	Frostallion Saddle	Frostallion Noct Saddle	–
49	Paladius Saddle	Necromus Saddle	Quivern Botan Saddle
50	Jetragon’s Missle Launcher	–	–
51	Xenogard Saddle	–	–
52	Helzephr Lux Saddle	–	–
53	Selyne Saddle	–	–
55	Blazamut Ryu Saddle	–	–

For more Palworld guides, we’ve got you covered. If you’re just starting out, we’ve got a beginner’s guide, a list of all Pals, and a type chart. We also have explainers on breeding, eggs, and a rundown of how multiplayer works.

On the hunt for resources? Check out our guides on how to get ore, coal, polymer, leather, sulfur, wheat seeds, pure quartz, Ancient Technology Points, and ancient civilization parts. For advanced players, consult our lists of all tower boss locations, all passive skills, all flying mounts, and the best base locations.

Palworld passive skills list

2024-12-19T16:21:38-05:00

As you find Pals in Palworld, you’ll notice that they may have passive skills, which buff or debuff them, depending on the skill. Palworld experts will want to make the best use of these skills, so knowing what to look for is important.

Below, we explain how passive skills work in Palworld and list all passive skills we know of.

How do passive skills work in Palworld?

Each Pal you catch will have random passive skills that can reduce incoming damage, boost stats, or do the exact opposite. Ideally, you want to use Pals who have positive passive skills and avoid ones with negative skills.

Pals that you breed will potentially pass down their skills as well, so you can combine Pals will powerful skills to create a super baby Pal.

The only exception to the above is that lucky Pals (those giant, sparkling ones you may see around) will always have the “lucky” passive skill, and caught legendary Pals will always have the “legend” passive skill.

All passive skills in Palworld

Below we list all of the passive skills we know of, with help from the Palworld Wiki.

Tier	Name	Effect
3	Artisan	Work speed +50%
3	Burly Body	Defense +20%
3	Celestial Emperor	20% increase to normal attack damage
3	Diet Lover	Decrease in hunger is less likely by 15%
3	Divine Dragon	20% increase in dragon attack damage
3	Earth Emperor	20% increase to earth attack damage
3	Eternal Flame	30% increase to fire attack damage, 30% increase to lightning attack damage
3	Ferocious	Attack +20%
3	Flame Emperor	20% increase to fire attack damage
3	Ice Emperor	20% increase to ice attack damage
3	Infinite Stamina	Max Stamina +50%
3	Legend	Attack +20%, defense +20%, movement speed +15%
3	Logging Foreman	25% increase to player logging efficiency
3	Lord of Lightning	20% increase to lightning attack damage
3	Lord of the Sea	20% increase to water attack damage
3	Lord of the Underworld	20% increase to dark attack damage
3	Lucky	Work speed +15%, attack +15%
3	Mine Foreman	25% increase to player mining efficiency
3	Motivational Leader	25% increase to player speed
3	Noble	Sale price +5%
3	Philanthropist	When assigned to a breeding farm, breeding speed is increased by 100%
3	Serenity	Active skill cooldown reduction 30%, attack +10%
3	Siren of the Void	30% increase to dark attack damage, 30% increase to ice attack damage
3	Spirit Emperor	20% increase to grass attack damage
3	Stronghold Strategist	10% increase to player defense
3	Swift	30% increase to movement speed
3	Vanguard	10% increase to player attack
3	Workaholic	Sanity drops 15% slower
2	Musclehead	Attack +30%, work speed -50%
2	Runner	20% increase to movement speed
1	Serious	Work speed +20%
1	Abnormal	10% decreased to incoming neutral damage
1	Aggressive	Attack +10%, defense -10%
1	Blood of the Dragon	10% increase to dragon attack damage
1	Botanical Barrier	10% decrease to incoming grass damage
1	Brave	Attack +10%
1	Capacitor	10% increase to lightning attack damage
1	Cheery	10% decrease to incoming dark damage
1	Coldblooded	10% increase to ice attack damage
1	Conceited	Work Speed +10%, defense -10%
1	Dainty Eater	10% decrease to satiety depletion
1	Dragonkiller	10% decrease to incoming dragon damage
1	Earthquake Resistant	10% decrease to incoming ground damage
1	Fine Furs	Sale price +3%
1	Fit as a Fiddle	Max stamina +25%
1	Fragrant Foliage	10% increase to grass attack damage
1	Hard Skin	Defense +10%
1	Heated Body	10% decrease to incoming ice damage
1	Hooligan	Attack +15%, work speed -10%
1	Hydromaniac	10% increase to water attack damage
1	Insulated Body	10% decrease to incoming lightning damage
1	Masochist	Defense +15%, attack -15%
1	Nimble	10% increase to movement speed
1	Nocturnal	Does not sleep and continues to work even at night.
1	Otherworldly Cells	Attack +10%, fire damage reduction 15%, lightning damage reduction 15%
1	Positive Thinker	Sanity drops 10% slower
1	Power of Gaia	10% increase to earth attack damage
1	Pyromaniac	10% increase to fire attack damage
1	Sadist	Attack +15%, defense -15%
1	Suntan Lover	10% decrease to incoming fire damage
1	Veil of Darkness	10% increase to dark attack damage
1	Waterproof	10% decrease to incoming water damage
1	Work Slave	Work Speed +30%, Attack -30%
1	Zen Mind	10% increase to neutral attack damage
-3	Brittle	Defense -20%
-3	Pacifist	Attack -20%
-3	Slacker	Work speed -30%
-2	Bottomless Stomach	Satiety drops 15% faster
-2	Destructive	Sanity drops 15% faster
-1	Clumsy	Work speed -10%
-1	Coward	Attack -10%
-1	Downtrodden	Defense -10%
-1	Easygoing	Active skill cooldown extension -15%
-1	Glutton	Satiety drops 10% faster
-1	Mercy Hit	Pacifist, will not reduce the target’s health below 1
-1	Shabby	Sale price -10%
-1	Sickly	Max stamina -25%
-1	Unstable	Sanity drops 10% faster

All Palworld Pals, types, and skills in the Paldeck

2024-12-19T16:21:46-05:00

Palworld features more than 100 creatures, titularly dubbed “Pals.” You can treat your Pals with love, or you can put them to work in a factory — and even butcher them. With this many Pals in one game, it can be hard to tell which ones are worth keeping or employing your base.

Pals have different elemental types and work skills, making it so no two Pals are exactly alike. One may appear similar, but it may be better at completing a certain task over another.

In our Palworld guide, we’ve collated base information on all Pals in Palworld. Our guide provides the basic information you’ll need about every Pal, including their Paldeck number, work skills, and elements. And if you’re curious about which ones to prioritize, see our list of the best Pals to keep you at your base.

Palworld Pals list

Palworld charts Pals in the Paldeck menu. We’ve organized the Pals in the table below by their Paldeck number. Below is a list of all Pals in Palworld, along with information about the type and “work suitability” base skills for those Pals.

#	Name	Element	Work skills
1	Lamball	Neutral	Handiwork 1, Transporting 1, Farming 1
2	Cattiva	Neutral	Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Mining 1, Transporting 1
3	Chikipi	Neutral	Gathering 1, Farming 1 (eggs)
4	Lifmunk	Grass	Planting 1, Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Lumbering 1, Medicine Production 1
5	Foxparks	Fire	Kindling 1
6	Fuack	Water	Watering 1, Handiwork 1, Transporting 1
7	Sparkit	Electric	Generating Electricity 1, Handiwork 1, Transporting 1
8	Tanzee	Grass	Planting 1, Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Lumbering 1, Transporting 1
9	Rooby	Fire	Kindling 1
10	Pengullet	Water/Ice	Watering 1, Handiwork 1, Cooling 1, Transporting 1
11	Penking	Water/Ice	Watering 2, Handiwork 2, Mining 2, Cooling 2, Transporting 2
12	Jolthog	Electric	Generating Electricity 1
12B	Jolthog Cryst	Ice	Cooling 1
13	Gumoss	Grass/Ground	Planting 1
14	Vixy	Neutral	Gathering 1, Farming 1 (Pal spheres, arrows, gold)
15	Hoocrates	Dark	Gathering 1
16	Teafant	Water	Watering 1
17	Depresso	Dark	Handiwork 1, Mining 1, Transporting 1
18	Cremis	Neutral	Gathering 1, Farming 1 (wool)
19	Daedream	Dark	Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Transporting 1
20	Rushoar	Ground	Mining 1
21	Nox	Dark	Gathering 1
22	Fuddler	Ground	Handiwork 1, Mining 1, Transporting 1
23	Killamari	Dark	Gathering 1, Transporting 2
24	Mau	Dark	Farming 1 (gold)
24B	Mau Cryst	Ice	Cooling 1, Farming 1 (gold)
25	Celaray	Water	Watering 1, Transporting 1
26	Direhowl	Neutral	Gathering 1
27	Tocotoco	Neutral	Gathering 1
28	Flopie	Grass	Planting 1, Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Medicine Production 1, Transporting 1
29	Mozzarina	Neutral	Farming 1 (milk)
30	Bristla	Grass	Planting 1, Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Medicine Production 2, Transporting 1
31	Gobfin	Water	Watering 1, Handiwork 1, Transporting 1
31B	Gobfin Ignis	Fire	Kindling 2, Handiwork 1, Transporting 1
32	Hangyu	Ground	Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Transporting 2
32B	Hangyu Cryst	Ice	Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Cooling 1
33	Mossanda	Grass	Planting 2, Handiwork 2, Lumbering 2, Transporting 3
33B	Mossanda Lux	Electric	Generating Electricity 2, Handiwork 2, Lumbering 2, Transporting 3
34	Woolipop	Neutral	Farming 1 (cotton candy)
35	Caprity	Grass	Planting 2, Farming 1 (red berries)
36	Melpaca	Neutral	Farming 1 (wool)
37	Eikthyrdeer	Neutral	Lumbering 2
37B	Eikthyrdeer Terra	Ground	Lumbering 2
38	Nitewing	Neutral	Gathering 2
39	Ribbuny	Neutral	Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Transporting 1
40	Incineram	Fire/Dark	Kindling 1, Handiwork 2, Mining 1, Transporting 2
40B	Inceneram Noct	Dark	Handiwork 2, Mining 1, Transporting 2
41	Cinnamoth	Grass	Planting 2, Medicine Production 1
42	Arsox	Fire	Kindling 2, Lumbering 1
43	Dumud	Ground	Watering 1, Mining 2, Transporting 1, Farming 1 (high-quality Pal oil)
44	Cawgnito	Dark	Lumbering 1
45	Leezpunk	Dark	Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Transporting 1
45B	Leezpunk Ignis	Fire	Kindling 1, Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Transporting 1
46	Loupmoon	Dark	Handiwork 2
47	Galeclaw	Neutral	Gathering 2
48	Robinquill	Grass	Planting 1, Handiwork 2, Lumbering 1, Medicine Production 1, Transporting 2, Gathering 2
48B	Robinquill Terra	Grass/Ground	Handiwork 2, Lumbering 1, Medicine Production 1, Transporting 2, Gathering 2
49	Gorirat	Neutral	Handiwork 1, Lumbering 2, Transporting 3
49B	Gorirat Terra	Ground	Handiwork 1, Mining 2, Transporting 3
50	Beegarde	Grass	Planting 1, Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Lumbering 1, Medicine Production 1, Transporting 2, Farming 1 (honey)
51	Elizabee	Grass	Planting 2, Handiwork 2, Gathering 2, Lumbering 1, Medicine Production 2
52	Grintale	Neutral	Gathering 2
53	Swee	Ice	Gathering 1, Cooling 1
54	Sweepa	Ice	Gathering 2, Cooling 2
55	Chillet	Ice/Dragon	Gathering 1, Cooling 1
56B	Chillet Ignis	Fire/Dragon	Gathering 1, Kindling 2
56	Univolt	Electric	Generating Electricity 2, Lumbering 1
57	Foxcicle	Ice	Cooling 1
58	Pyrin	Fire	Kindling 2, Lumbering 1
58B	Pyrin Noct	Fire/Dark	Kindling 2, Lumbering 1
59	Reindrix	Ice	Lumbering 2, Cooling 2
60	Rayhound	Electric	Generating Electricity 2
61	Kitsun	Fire	Kindling 2
62	Dazzi	Electric	Generating Electricity 1, Handiwork 1, Transporting 1
63	Lunaris	Neutral	Handiwork 3, Gathering 1, Transporting 1
64	Dinossom	Grass/Dragon	Planting 2, Lumbering 2
64B	Dinossom Lux	Electric/Dragon	Generating Electricity 2, Lumbering 2
65	Surfent	Water	Watering 2
65B	Surfent Terra	Ground	Gathering 1
66	Maraith	Dark	Gathering 2, Mining 1
67	Digtoise	Ground	Mining 3
68	Tombat	Dark	Gathering 2, Mining 2, Transporting 2
69	Lovander	Neutral	Handiwork 2, Mining 1, Medicine Production 2, Transporting 2
70	Flambelle	Fire	Kindling 1, Handiwork 1, Transporting 1, Farming 1 (flame organs)
71	Vanwyrm	Fire/Dark	Kindling 1, Transporting 3
71B	Vanwyrm Cryst	Ice/Dark	Cooling 2, Transporting 3
72	Bushi	Fire	Kindling 2, Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Lumbering 3, Transporting 2
72B	Bushi Noct	Fire/Dark	Kindling 2, Handiwork 1, Gathering 1, Lumbering 3, Transporting 2
73	Beakon	Electric	Generating Electricity 2, Gathering 1, Transporting 3
74	Ragnahawk	Fire	Kindling 3, Transporting 3
75	Katress	Dark	Handiwork 2, Medicine Production 2, Transporting 2
75B	Katress Ignis	Dark/Fire	Kindling 2, Handiwork 2, Medicine Production 2, Transporting 2
76	Wixen	Fire	Kindling 2, Handiwork 3, Transporting 2
76B	Wixen Noct	Fire/Dark	Kindling 2, Handiwork 3, Transporting 2
77	Verdash	Grass	Planting 2, Handiwork 3, Gathering 3, Lumbering 2, Transporting 2
78	Vaelet	Grass	Planting 2, Handiwork 2, Gathering 3, Medicine Production 3, Transporting 1
79	Sibelyx	Ice	Medicine Production 2, Cooling 2, Farming 1 (high quality cloth)
80	Elphidran	Dragon	Lumbering 2
80B	Elphidran Aqua	Dragon/Water	Watering 3, Lumbering 2
81	Kelpsea	Water	Watering 1, Farming 1 (Pal fluids)
81B	Kelpsea Ignis	Fire	Kindling 1, Farming 1 (flame organs)
82	Azurobe	Water/Dragon	Watering 3
83	Cryolinx	Ice	Handiwork 1, Lumbering 2, Cooling 3
84	Blazehowl	Fire	Kindling 3, Lumbering 2
84B	Blazehowl Noct	Fire/Dark	Kindling 3, Lumbering 2
85	Relaxaurus	Dragon/Water	Watering 2, Transporting 1
85B	Relaxaurus Lux	Dragon/Electric	Generating Electricity 3, Transporting 1
86	Broncherry	Grass	Planting 3
86B	Broncherry Aqua	Grass/Water	Watering 3
87	Petallia	Grass	Planting 3, Handiwork 2, Gathering 2, Medicine Production 2, Transporting 1
88	Reptyro	Fire/Ground	Kindling 3, Mining 3
88B	Reptyro Cryst	Ice/Ground	Mining 3, Cooling 3
89	Kingpaca	Neutral	Gathering 1
89B	Kingpaca Cryst	Ice	Gathering 1, Cooling 3
90	Mammorest	Grass	Planting 2, Lumbering 2, Mining 2
90B	Mammorest Cryst	Ice	Lumbering 2, Mining 2, Cooling 2
91	Wumpo	Ice	Handiwork 2, Lumbering 3, Cooling 2, Transporting 4
91B	Wumpo Botan	Grass	Planting 1, Handiwork 2, Lumbering 3, Transporting 4
92	Warsect	Grass/Ground	Planting 1, Handiwork 1, Lumbering 3, Transporting 3
92B	Warsect Terra	Ground	Handiwork 1, Mining 3, Transporting 3
93	Fenglope	Neutral	Lumbering 2
94	Felbat	Dark	Medicine Production 3
95	Quivern	Dragon	Handiwork 1, Gathering 2, Mining 3, Transporting 3
95B	Quivern Botan	Dragon/Grass	Handiwork 1, Gathering 2, Mining 2, Planting 2, Transporting 3
96	Blazamut	Fire	Kindling 3, Mining 4
96B	Blazamut Ryu	Dragon/Fire	Kindling 3, Mining 4
97	Helzephyr	Dark	Transporting 3
97B	Helzephr Lux	Dark/Electric	Generating Electricity 3, Transporting 3
98	Astegon	Dragon/Dark	Handiwork 1, Mining 4
99	Menasting	Dark/Ground	Lumbering 2, Mining 3
99B	Menasting Terra	Ground	Lumbering 2, Mining 3
100	Anubis	Ground	Handiwork 4, Mining 3, Transporting 2
101	Jormuntide	Dragon/Water	Watering 4
101B	Jormuntide Ignis	Dragon/Fire	Kindling 4
102	Suzaku	Fire	Kindling 3
102B	Suzaku Aqua	Water	Watering 3
103	Grizzbolt	Electric	Generating Electricity 3, Handiwork 2, Lumbering 2, Transporting 3
104	Lyleen	Grass	Planting 4, Handiwork 3, Gathering 2, Medicine Production 3
105B	Lyleen Noct	Dark	Handiwork 3, Gathering 2, Medicine Production 3
105	Faleris	Fire	Kindling 3, Transporting 3
106	Orserk	Dragon/Electric	Generating Electricity 4, Handiwork 3, Transporting 3
107	Shadowbeak	Dark	Gathering 1
108	Paladius	Neutral	Lumbering 2, Mining 2
109	Necromus	Dark	Lumbering 2, Mining 2
110	Frostallion	Ice	Cooling 4
110B	Frostallion Noct	Dark	Gathering 4
111	Jetragon	Dragon	Gathering 3
112	Bellanoir	Dark	Handiwork 2, Medicine Production 4, Transporting 2
112B	Bellanoir Libero	Dark	Handiwork 2, Medicine Production 4, Transporting 2
113	Selyne	Dark/Neutral	Handiwork 3, Medicine Production 3, Transporting 3
114	Croajiro	Water	Gathering 1, Handiwork 1, Transporting 1, Watering 1
115	Lullu	Grass	Gathering 1, Handiwork 2, Medicine Production 2, Planting 2
116	Shroomer	Grass	Gathering 2, Lumbering 2, Handiwork 1, Planting 2
116B	Shroomer Noct	Grass/Dark	Gathering 2, Lumbering 2, Handiwork 1, Planting 2
117	Kikit	Ground	Mining 1
118	Sootseer	Dark/Fire	Gathering 1, Kindling 3, Handiwork 2, Mining 2, Farming 1
119	Prixter	Dark/Ground	Gathering 1, Lumbering 3, Medicine Production 1
120	Knocklem	Ground	Gathering 3, Mining 3, Transporting 4
121	Yakumo	Neutral	Gathering 2
122	Dogen	Neutral	Gathering 2, Lumbering 2, Handiwork 3, Medicine Production 1, Transporting 2
123	Dazemu	Ground	Gathering 2
124	Mimog	Neutral	Gathering 1
125	Xenovader	Dark	Lumbering 2, Transporting 2
126	Xenogard	Dragon	Mining 3

Psst. Ubisoft just released a new game. (It has Rayman and NFTs)

2024-12-19T16:03:54-05:00

Game File is a thrice-weekly newsletter about the culture and business of video games, written by longtime gaming reporter Stephen Totilo (Kotaku, Axios, MTV News, The New York Times). Subscribe here for scoops, interviews and regular updates about gaming with the author’s nearly 8-year-old twins.

You wouldn’t know it from Ubisoft’s Twitter/X feed, their Instagram nor their official company news page, where they may have forgotten to mention it, but the publisher of Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six Siege released a new game this week.

It’s called Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E. It’s a top-down multiplayer shooter for PCs, and it’s a spin-off of a spin-off of a spin-off of Far Cry 3.

It even guest stars Ubisoft mascot Rayman.

The likely reason Ubisoft has been so mum is that it’s a Web 3 game, meaning CLTG.A.M.E. uses cryptocurrency and blockchain, those buzz technologies about digital ownership from three years ago.

This isn’t Ubisoft’s first time around the blockchain, but their past Web 3 gaming efforts went a way that’d make you hesitant to talk about the new ones.

Back in 2021, when blockchain gaming was a magnet for millions of dollars of investment into the video game industry, Ubisoft was calling the tech “an evolution of real-life possibilities in digital spaces.” Digital ownership would be transformative, they said. Couldn’t people already buy things in games? Not the really real way the blockchain would enable it, they and other proponents said.

Fans panned Ubisoft’s early crypto gaming foray. In late 2021, the company started offering Web 3 guns and armor in its open-world shooter Ghost Recon Breakpoint, so players could sell those items to other players via the blockchain (which they barely did).

No big deal. Ubisoft was merely “in research mode” for Web 3, company CEO Yves Guillemot would say in September 2022.

It was easy to scoff, but it wasn’t absurd to give them some benefit of the doubt. The open-minded optimist who was familiar with Ubisoft’s past had reason to expect Ubisoft could make something better, maybe even figure this Web 3 gaming thing out.

In the past, when Ubisoft went into research mode involving odd, new tech, they produced some quality games. Ubisoft’s early zeal for the weird Wii U back in the day resulted in a (no snark) smartly-designed game about fighting zombies while managing your backpack on a second screen. They chased the trend of virtual reality gaming and generated a multiplayer game about piloting Star Trek spaceships. They hopped onto the bandwagon of toys-to-life-you-know-like-Skylanders and produced a nifty sci-fi game that, on Switch, doubled as a terrific new Star Fox adventure.

What might Ubisoft cook up for Web 3 gaming, with ample time put into research mode?

I discovered the answer after spending an hour jumping through the hoops needed to play my second* Web 3 game of 2024 (Disclosure: My first entailed a fully sufficient minute or two with the crypto-powered revival of Flappy Bird).

Enter Captain Laserhawk (for $25.63)

Ubisoft’s Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E. crypto game is, unfortunately, the most basic top-down shooter imaginable.

You are a contestant in a futuristic battle arena. Most kills wins.

Use WASD to move. Move the targeting crosshairs with the mouse. Left click to shoot. Right click to rush-and-stun opponents. Deathmatch and team deathmatch modes available. There’s a weapon/gear/emote locker and a battle pass.

That’s about it, though it’s technically in early access.

I’m not sure many people are playing, because, after three matches yesterday, I became the world’s 10th highest-ranking Captain Laserhawk player–out of a leaderboard showing 78 names (it’s showing 19th of 94 now).

What about the Web 3 parts? Where’s Rayman?

You need an NFT to play – for now, at least. I learned this through Ubisoft’s parallel universe of Captain Laserhawk promotion, which involves a dedicated Twitter feed and some posts on Medium.

On December 11, Ubisoft began offering 10,000 Niji Warrior NFTs. I think I’m a Niji Warrior in this game. The NFT looks like a virtual ID card. Initially, you could grab one of these cards for free (minus Web 3 transaction fees).

Then, between December 16 and 20th, people who own a Niji Warrior NFT ID card can access a virtual photo booth on the official Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E. website (which, naturally, is edenonline.ubisoft.com) and use that to “reveal” the card.

I confess that I missed the free NFT offer. So I had to buy one from the marketplace. I did so this week when I snagged the cheapest one available for .0055 ETH, which Google told me would not break my spending budget. I had never purchased anything crypto-related before, so I got to discover the joys of setting up my very own crypto wallet and then using a plain old Visa card to buy the NFT (total charge: $25.63).

None of this was intuitive, and I don’t get the idea that the Captain Laserhawk experience is designed for people like me who’ve never dipped a toe into crypto nor desired to.

The game’s website informs potential players they need to be 18, live in a part of the world where the game isn’t forbidden. The requirement to connect with a crypto wallet assumes you know what that means and which wallet is worth using. Any failure to set up the wallet, buy the NFT and link everything correctly blocks Captain Laserhawk from loading.

Back to the virtual photo booth part of this: You take your NFT and then reveal it, which means customizing it with a cartoon headshot (based on some selections of favorite aesthetics). You enter a gender, an age and, for some reason, your favorite pro wrestler (options include the real wrestler Kenny Omega and the slightly-not-real “Diamond Dallas Pey’J”).

All these steps introduce scarcity, since the backdrop of any Web 3 project is that it will produce rare things for users to buy and sell. We’re already working from a base of 10,000 user ID Niji Warrior IDs, which are limited at two per account. The photo booth ID process is available for just five days, after which Niji Warrior ID cards are customized randomly rather than by player choice.

The push here is to get in early and set up something in a way that would make it stand out in the marketplace. Once you start playing, according to one of the game’s Medium posts, your progress in the game will further alter the card, potentially making it even more special:

Moreover, your Niji Warrior NFT is dynamic — it evolves by capturing your in-game accomplishments, growing in uniqueness and value, and showcasing your dedication and skill.

The allure of this, as best I can tell, is that playing the fairly simple game and excelling it will result in a rarer Niji Warrior NFT which other people might want to buy because… I’m not sure why, honestly.

Captain Laserhawk also has a battle pass or schedule of unlockable virtual rewards that are doled out as you earn experience points and rack up wins. Some of the rewards can be turned into NFTs, too. I unlocked a “Happy 2025” emote that I can turn into an NFT. Anyone want to buy it?

A perusal of the Captain Laserhawk menus and marketplace suggests some interest in the game but no gold rush. A Marcus Holloway (Watch Dogs 2!) alternate outfit for your character is obtainable today for 6750 virtual coins. Five out of 600 of them have been claimed.

Some of the battle pass’ unlockable emotes, gun skins and outfits (such as a Santa Claus suit), can be minted into NFTs and sold to other players; so it’s not pay-to-win, but it can be pay-to-look-special.

As for Rayman: He’s the announcer for the game’s deathmatches. Players can also grab a “legendary” Rayman profile pic for 7500 virtual coins and then attach it to their Niji Warrior NFT (9 of these have been claimed out of a supply of 425).

There’s also a free side-scrolling runner game starring Rayman that you can play on Captain Laserhawk’s website while your card is in the process of being revealed.

Underwhelming, so far

When I first stumbled across this whole Captain Laserhawk project a couple of months ago, I was intrigued about what Ubisoft might do.

I am skeptical of Web 3 games, but I hoped that the company that made a Wii U zombie backpack adventure and a Star Trek VR game might have a good idea in them for this tech. Otherwise, why bother?

In the scant official descriptions I’d found of Captain Laserhawk, Ubisoft didn’t brag about any gameplay innovation, but they did talk about players shaping the narrative of the game, of having choices in its direction. They also promoted player governance, the idea that users will shape the future of the game.

The project’s description on the official website, and, buzzwords aside, sounded a bit interesting…

The G.A.M.E. is a transmedia gaming adventure where the community drives the narrative through innovative governance.

Players step into the role of a citizen in the dystopian world of Eden – the totalitarian successor to the US. By overcoming challenges across various channels inside and outside the game, players can raise their citizen score and increase their power to shape the narrative.

As the story unfolds, the entire community will have the opportunity to influence the plot and participate in key decision-making moments.

Almost none of that is evident in the early access game that is playable now. The results, so far, are underwhelming.

As with other Web 3 games I’ve seen, Captain Laserhawk’s development seems to have focused more on the Web 3 ecosystem without necessarily finding a gameplay hook to make people want to play out of fascination with the game itself.

I had hoped Ubisoft could do better. The company has bigger issues to resolve, but, so far, Web 3 research mode is not panning out.

More from Game File:

GTA Online update for the week of December 19

2024-12-19T16:04:50-05:00

The weekly GTA Online update for Dec. 19, 2024, is live with reward events, discounts, prizes, and plenty of festive activities for the holidays.

Our GTA Online weekly update guide will tell you everything happening in Los Santos this week.

GTA Online special events

It’s Christmastime in Los Santos, and you’ll be seeing snow around the town. Logging in anytime before January 1 will earn you:

Festive Penguin Onesie
Gold Reindeer Pendant
Gold Star Fitted Jacket and Pants
Firework Launcher with 20 Rockets
Snowball Launcher
Full Snacks, Armor, and Ammo

Also keep an eye out for the Happy Holidays Hauler around town. It will be dropping GTA$, RP, snack and ammo refills. It also guarantees that you’ll pick up either the eCola Festive Sweater or the Sprunk Festive Sweater with each pickup.

Meanwhile, several holiday events are returning to GTA Online, and each offers special rewards.

Complete the Yeti Hunt to receive the Yeti Outfit
Take out The Gooch to receive The Gooch Outfit
Destroy all 25 Snowmen in yards around Los Santos to receive The Snowman Outfit
Complete the Weazel Plaza Shootout to claim the WM 29 Pistol and the Season’s Greetings Pistol Mk II Skin

What are the 3x GTA$ events in GTA Online this week?

Taking part in the Entourage (Festive Remix) adversary mode in Legion Square this week will earn you 3x GTA$ and RP. Completing Entourage (Festive Remix) once will also earn you the Snowman Finish for the Combat Pistol. If you can win Entourage five times, you’ll pick up the Skull Santa Finish for the Special Carbine. And if you win Entourage as Santa, you’ll get the Santa’s Helper Finish for the Heavy Sniper.

Winning any two adversary modes (including Entourage) this week will complete the Weekly Challenge and earn you another GTA$ 100,000.

What are the 2x GTA$ events in GTA Online this week?

If you’ve set up a Garment Factory, you’ll earn 2x GTA$ passive income from it.

Doing Dispatch Work for Vincent, like Health Code Violations and Obstruction of Justice missions, will also earn you 2x GTA$.

And finally, Pizza Delivery missions are also rewarding 2x GTA$ until January 1.

What vehicles are for sale in GTA Online this week?

What’s in Premium Deluxe Motorsports Showroom this week?

Head to Simeon’s Premium Deluxe Motorsports showroom for:

Übermacht Revolter (40% off)
Vapid Clique in limited-time Merry Cliquemas livery
Vysser Neo
Dewbauchee JB 700 (30% off)
Albany Alpha

What’s in the Luxury Autos Showroom in GTA Online this week?

At Luxury Autos over in Rockford Hills, you can pick up the following:

Bravado Banshee GTS
Dinka Jester RR Widebody

What’s the Lucky Wheel prize car in GTA Online this week?

At the Diamond Casino, spin the wheel for a chance to win the Western Powersurge motorcycle.

What are the Salvage Yard Robbery targets in GTA Online this week?

If you’ve set up a Salvage Yard to make money, you’ll be looking for:

Lampadati Cinquemila
Pfister Comet Safari
Vapid Clique

Which properties are discounted in GTA Online this week?

There are no discounted properties this week.

What is the Gun Van selling in GTA Online this week?

Track down the Gun Van this week to pick up:

El Strickler military rifle (free with GTA+)
Battle rifle (30% off)
Stun gun (40% off with GTA+)
Railgun (50% off with GTA+)
Candy Cane (free)
Heavy sniper
Assault SMG
Tear gas
Molotovs
Proximity mines

And if you’re playing the main game, don’t miss our list of GTA 5 cheats.

The Steam Winter Sale includes some of 2024’s best games

2024-12-19T16:36:19-05:00

Steam’s Winter Sale has arrived just in time for the holidays, discounting many of 2024’s best games by up to 50%.

The Steam Winter Sale runs through Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. You can find deals on games like Helldivers 2, Balatro, Hades 2, and other awesome titles for your Windows PC or Steam Deck that you may have overlooked this year. Every one of the games below landed somewhere on Polygon’s list of the best games of 2024, and if the game isn’t discounted to its lowest price yet, it’s pretty darn close.

For example, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is on sale for $38.99 (was $69.99), while Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 is discounted to $44.99 (was $59.99). You can even pick up one of my personal faves, Tactical Breach Wizards, for $15.99 (was $19.99).