General News

Is it possible to build a super-strong lineup for current MLB The Show 26 without spending stubs? Players, have you ever wondered about this? Well, let me tell you directly, it's possible!

Even low-budget or free-to-play players can have a super-strong lineup, covering multiple options including batting lineup, starting rotation, and bullpen. Let's take a look at which player cards are available!

Catchers

Here, we can choose free or low-cost top-tier player cards.

Players can obtain Victor Martinez through Weekend Classic rewards. He's considered one of the top three catchers in the entire game. His market price is only 10-18K MLB 26 stubs, making him extremely cost-effective.

He has two free alternative players. First is Brandon Belt, an ambidextrous player with very solid defense, although his swing is slightly lacking.

Next is Ben Rice, who can fill in as a catcher. He has an excellent swing and good traits, can be obtained for free through events, and performs well even on Legendary difficulty.

First Baseman

The first baseman position also offers top-tier options with near-fast-selling prices.

Eddie Murray can be unlocked for just 4k stubs. He's one of the most popular first basemen among many players. He boasts a .382 batting average in 89 at-bats, with excellent contact and power on both sides. His swing is smooth, and his defense is solid.

Ben Rice can still be considered a free alternative to Eddie Murray, as he can also play first base.

Second Baseman

We can obtain excellent second baseman cards for free through April Spotlight Program.

Kevin McGonigle is one such card obtained for free through Spotlight Program. He has solid contact on both sides, adequate power, an excellent swing, and good traits like Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter.

If your budget allows, then Jimmy Rollins can play second, third, range, and center field. He has good speed and defense, and possesses Breaking Ball Hitter, costing around 45-50K stubs, making him a good choice. He's also a reward from Cityscapes Collection.

Shortstop

The shortstop position has some absolutely free top-tier player cards.

Also from April Spotlight Program, the free card Elly De La Cruz is widely recognized as an excellent player. With speed and fielding mods, he has 88 speed and 95 steal, with outstanding defensive animations. He has excellent contact and power on both sides, a great swing, and traits like Dead Red.

Another free card released this week is Bobby Witt Jr. He has good contact on both sides and his defense is also quite good. He can play shortstop, third base, and even second base. This player's attributes and performance usually far exceed his stats.

Third Baseman

You can directly use Bobby Witt Jr., as he is perfectly capable of playing third base.

Alternative players include Max Muncy, who requires around 20K stubs. Carlos Correa is also an option, but his strike zone is a bit high. Josh Jung is only good on one side, but his unilateral power is amazing: 106 Contact and 112 Clutch.

Left Fielder

Ian Happ is irreplaceable for this position. Obtained for free through Cityscapes Collection, he is arguably one of the strongest cards in the entire game.

He is ambidextrous, with excellent Contact and Power on both sides, and possesses Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter abilities. If you add a speed mod, his speed can reach 99, allowing him to play almost any position infield or outfield. He must be in your lineup.

Center Field

Mike Trout is a free card from April Spotlight Program. He boasts one of the best swings in the game, with an extreme pull-hitting tendency and powerful swing. With speed and fielding mods, he can anchor center field and performs consistently year after year.

Right Field

Kris Bryant comes from Jackie Robinson Day free event. While his left-handed contact is slightly low, this can be improved with mods, and his swing and characteristics are excellent.

Defensively adequate, he can play outfield or third base. For players playing on All-Star or other veteran difficulty levels, the vision attribute has little impact. Overall, this card is incredibly strong.

Starting Pitcher Rotation

Here we can be a little more extravagant, but there are still free and low-cost options available.

First, there's Noah Schultz, who costs approximately 15-17K stubs. He's extremely difficult to deal with on higher difficulties, and opponents have a hard time reading his release point. He can also be obtained for free through events.

Next up is Emerson Hancock, requiring approximately 12-14k stubs. His unusual pitching mechanics and release point make him difficult for opponents to adapt to on lower difficulties.

A free option is Parker Messick. A left-handed pitcher with equally unusual mechanics and a wide variety of pitches, he's quite a headache for opponents.

The most expensive player in this recommendation is Sandy Alcantara, requiring approximately 46k stubs. He performs well on all difficulties. Although slightly expensive, he's well worth it.

Bullpen Pitchers

For bullpen, we mainly focus on unusual release points and speed differences. Most cards are free or very inexpensive.

Although Louis Varland has low stats for right-handed pitchers in nine innings, he has a high nine-innings and strikeout potential against left-handed pitchers. With many ambidextrous hitters in the game, he's quite valuable.

Jolt Darren O'Day is inexpensive and can be obtained for free through Team Affinity. Unfamiliar opponents can easily struggle against him.

Finally, an excellent free player card is Jolt Eric Gagne. A 99mph fastball paired with a 68mph curveball will absolutely devastate your opponent.

These lineups mainly come from various free events and are strong enough to compete against most teams, making them perfect for beginners or players who don't want to spend stubs. Good luck with your game!

Many builds are still under development in Diablo 4 Season 13, yet a few have already demonstrated overwhelming dominance. If you're searching for the strongest endgame build available right now, you'll find Whirlwind Barbarian soaring above all the rest.

This Whirlwind Barbarian has undergone significant changes recently - certain mechanics have been disabled or fixed, which in turn has given rise to even more powerful playstyles. Not only does it retain the ability to speed-clear Tier 125 content, but it also possesses terrifying potential, pushing damage numbers into the trillions.

Core Mechanics

Whirlwind Barbarian is a spin-to-win setup. Even if you're only wearing a Banished Lord's Talisman with mediocre stats and haven't socketed any Strength gems, this build can still easily deliver a staggering 85 trillion damage.

If you have a gem that grants 32% physical damage bonus along with strong Strength affixes, those bonuses alone can double or even triple your output. And without those Diablo 4 items, this build still crushes endgame bosses - it is currently the highest-damage Whirlwind configuration available.

How to Solve the Resource Problem?

The biggest challenge for Whirlwind Barbarian is managing resources; otherwise, you cannot keep spinning continuously. To maintain Fury, you must rely on Tibault's Will. Its core value lies in providing a 50% boost to resource generation while Unstoppable. Once you equip it, you essentially no longer need to look for resource generation affixes elsewhere - you can even fully dedicate your amulet slot to damage-oriented gear, further amplifying your output.

Moreover, beyond its unique effect, some of the other affixes on Tibault's Will can be rerolled, allowing you to obtain a version with better stats. You can add some Armor or maximum Life to shore up your survivability.

There are two main ways to trigger its effect:

• Use Iron Skin upgraded with Unstoppable enhancement.
• Combine Igni and Jah runes to cast Teleport every 3.5 seconds and become Unstoppable.

The key to execution is this: after you start spinning, trigger Unstoppable effect, then immediately cast Rallying Cry, and only then begin using Whirlwind. Remember - do not start spinning before casting that first Rallying Cry.

Once you're spinning, as long as you keep Unstoppable effect active through Teleport, running, or using Iron Skin, and cast an upgraded Rallying Cry roughly every four seconds, your Fury will flow like a perpetual motion machine.

Whirlwind Barbarian Gear

Endgame Setup

• Helm: Heir of Perdition (Igni+Ceh)
• Chest Armor: Heavenly Strength (Bac+Que)
• Gloves: Gohr's Devastating Grips
• Pants: Tibault's Will
• Boots: Anger Management
• Amulet: Banished Lord's Talisman
• Ring 1: Channeling
• Ring 2: Ring of Starless Skies
• Two-Handed Mace: Tidal
• Sword: Ramaladni's Magnum Opus
• Polearm: Limitless Rage
• Sword: Crushing

Charms:

• Legendary Horadric Seal
• Berú of Sescheron's Fury
• Fer of Sescheron's Fury
• Linta of Sescheron's Fury
• Mlor of Sescheron's Fury
• Phoba of Sescheron's Fury
• Crown of Lucion

This setup is designed for players who don't care about The Pit's tier levels and just want to experience content efficiently. It allows you to one-shot bosses, save massive amounts of time, and aside from certain unavoidable one-shot mechanics, you will almost never die.

The Pit Setup

• Mythic Unique Helm: Heir of Perdition (Igni+Ceh)
• Chest Armor: Heavenly Strength (Bac+Gar)
• Gloves: Gohr's Devastating Grips
• Pants: Juggernaut's
• Boots: Battle Fervor's
• Amulet: Melted Heart of Selig
• Ring: Channeling
• Unique Ring: Ring of Starless Skies
• Two-Handed Mace: Tidal
• Sword: Ramaladni's Magnum Opus
• Polearm: Limitless Rage
• Sword: Crushing

Charms:

• Legendary Horadric Seal
• Berú of the Crucible
• Fer of the Crucible
• Linta of the Crucible
• Mlor of the Crucible
• Phoba of the Crucible
• Banished Lord's Talisman

If you aim to challenge 125 or even 130 The Pit, refer to this gear setup. You'll need to swap in Melted Heart of Selig - this piece dramatically improves your survivability and is the key to pushing higher tiers.

Banished Lord's Talisman is the core damage source for this build. It lets you easily stack Overpower layers through kills, and using its mechanics, you can push the damage cap to 12 stacks, granting a massive 216% damage multiplier.

Gohr's Devastating Grips is a must-have for every Whirlwind build - it boosts Whirlwind damage and comes with built-in grouping ability, making it especially useful for farming.

Tibault's Will provides damage multipliers and remarkable Fury generation, serving as the foundation for this high-resource-consumption playstyle.

Ramaladni's Magnum Opus allows you to scale damage by stacking Fury, delivering a direct damage increase.

Among Mythic items, the one truly worth acquiring is Ring of Starless Skies. The enormous Critical Strike Chance it provides greatly relieves the crit pressure on your other gear.

Affixes

You'll want to max out your Critical Strike Chance. After accounting for your Paragon board and Axe Expertise, you need to reach 90% Critical Strike Chance while in town. If you fall short, look for Critical Strike Chance affixes on your weapons.

For your rings and amulet, the tempering affixes must be Lucky Hit: Chance to Restore Primary Resource. Having both of these affixes is what allows you to maintain infinite Fury consistently during boss fights.

Whirlwind Barbarian Skills

How you allocate your skill points directly impacts your damage. Below is the skill configuration for this build - pay close attention to each key upgrade choice.

• Whirlwind: Core skill, max it out.
• Double Swing: The skill with the highest damage bonus, max it out.
• Fury: Investing one point grants an extra 40% damage bonus.
• Iron Skin: The shield from Iron Skin is very practical, and more importantly, the Juggernaut upgrade provides Unstoppable effect.
• War Cry: Provides substantial damage bonus, and Mighty Roar upgrade grants 4 seconds of Berserking.
• Rallying Cry: Choose the Booming upgrade to improve resource recovery speed.
• Challenging Shout: Provides damage reduction and a damage bonus against single-target bosses.
• Call of the Ancients: Its cooldown is half that of Wrath of the Berserker, yet its duration is twice as long. It grants a direct 20% damage bonus, with an additional 7% for each Ancient still present.

That covers the essentials of Whirlwind Barbarian. While its playstyle remains similar to previous iterations, the damage has reached an entirely different level. If your character is a Barbarian, this build will let you have an absolute blast.

Just yesterday, the launch window for ARC Raiders Expedition 3, which had been extended by nearly a week, finally came to a close! Did you successfully meet your damage output goals and unlock all the permanent rewards?

In any case, a new round of adventure has begun. With Speranza reset once again, you must start from scratch to earn coins and gear, while simultaneously gathering materials for Expedition 4 preparation phase.

Below, we'll provide an overview of Expedition 4, along with highlights of the latest weekly trials that kick off alongside it.

Expedition 4 schedule

First off, Expedition 3 launch window concluded on May 11, 2026, at 07:00 UTC, immediately followed by the commencement of the preparation phase for the fourth expedition.

Subsequently, the launch window for Expedition 4 is expected to open around June 22. This means you have approximately a month and a half to complete your material gathering.

As for how long Expedition 4 launch window will remain open, it is currently difficult to say. The standard duration is one week; however, due to changes made to the reward acquisition requirements during Expedition 3, that window was extended to two weeks.

Some speculate that this extension was necessary because the changes were announced too close to the actual opening date of Expedition 3 window, thereby necessitating that players be granted additional time.

However, if the majority of players feel, now that Expedition 3 has concluded, that a single week is insufficient to deal 100,000 points of damage, then Expedition 4 window may very well extend beyond one week as well.

What are the requirements for Expedition 4 preparation phase?

In this regard, the fourth expedition is no different from its predecessors: you are required to gather and submit specific materials across five distinct stages.

Only upon fulfilling these requirements will you be granted access to the launch window. Below are all the stages and their requirements:

The materials required in the early stages are easy to find and come from abundant sources, including scavenging, trading with NPCs, or waiting for Scrappy units to spawn, as is the case with Metal Parts.

However, as you progress to the higher stages, obtaining materials becomes increasingly difficult; you must scavenge dangerous locations or eliminate specific ARC units. For instance, Leaper Pulse Units are dropped only after defeating Leapers.

Although Stage 5 does not specify exact materials, completing it quickly requires exploring high-value maps, which also entails facing greater dangers. Proceed with extreme caution.

What should you do now?

The start of a new expedition means that your inventory, workshop, and other assets have all been reset to zero; you must begin collecting and upgrading from scratch.

To complete the material collection for Expedition 4 rapidly, you need reliable gear. The most critical prerequisite for acquiring such gear is upgrading the various stations within your workshop, as this enables you to utilize ARC Raiders blueprints to craft advanced equipment.

Therefore, your immediate priority should be upgrading your workshop and striving to acquire weapons with greater lethality.

You can then use this superior gear to collect expedition materials while fully enjoying the exciting new content introduced in Riven Tides update.

It is worth noting that following the conclusion of Expedition 3 window, a bug emerged wherein players failed to receive their skill point rewards.

This issue clearly has a severe impact on the subsequent gameplay experience, and we hope the development team addresses and resolves it as soon as possible.

May 11-17 weekly trials

Although ARC Raiders does not feature an explicit season structure, players have adopted the convention of using expeditions as milestones to informally delineate seasons.

This practice is most clearly reflected in the weekly trials. With this in mind, the launch of Expedition 4 marks the beginning of Season 4 weekly trials. This week constitutes the first round of the season and the 28th weekly trial since the game's initial launch.

The five trial missions featured this week are:

• Damage ARC enemies on the beaches
• Damage Vaporizers
• Damage Fireflies
• Search Raider Caches
• Search ARC Probes, Couriers, and Assessors

Damage ARC enemies on the beaches

This mission must be completed on Riven Tides map, as it is the only location featuring beaches. If possible, be sure to equip Snitch Scanners to improve your efficiency in locating enemies.

Damage Vaporizers

These ARC units appear more frequently following the spawn of a Close Scrutiny event. Additionally, Buried City map serves as an ideal battleground for eliminating Vaporizers, as it features numerous concealed areas where you can utilize the terrain for cover.

Damage Fireflies

This mission can be completed on any map or during any event; however, Riven Tides and Buried City maps are highly recommended. It is worth noting that the appearance of Fireflies is often accompanied by Wasps and Hornets.

Search Raider Caches

To complete this trial mission, simply roam around the map and locate Raider Caches by listening for their distinct ticking sounds. However, to achieve a three-star rating, you will need to collect at least 7 to 8 caches.

Search ARC Probes, Couriers, and Assessors

Much like the previous task, this mission simply requires you to explore the map. However, you may encounter other players or attract hostile ARC units while doing so, so remain prepared for combat at all times.

That concludes our overview of this week's content. We hope you have a smooth start following the reset and return to peak performance in no time! Good luck!

In WoW TBC Classic Anniversary Phase 2 update, Expertise is a new attribute that replaces the previous weapon skill. It's interesting, but players often wonder whether or not to stack Expertise. This is a frequent topic of discussion in the community. So let's explain Expertise in detail.

What is Expertise?

Although it replaces the previous weapon skill, Expertise and its mechanics are completely different.

Expertise only reduces the chance of enemies dodging your attacks. When your Expertise reaches the dodging cap, all your attacks and skills will not be dodged by monsters, thus avoiding zero damage. Typically, against level 73 boss monsters, you need 6.5% Expertise to completely remove dodging.

Many people overestimate Expertise because they miss the importance of the old weapon skill, but in reality, Expertise isn't that crucial for Fury Warriors, and it's not even worth maxing out.

Why do Fury Warriors need far less Expertise than two-handed classes?

Arms Warriors wield the two-handed sword Twinblade of the Phoenix, dealing extremely high damage per hit. After each auto-attack, they must insert a Slam to gain rage. The entire rotation is heavily reliant on every hit.

If an attack is dodged, not only is there a significant loss of damage, but there's also a several-second wait before the next attack, resulting in a complete rage drain and a collapse in damage output.

While Retribution Paladins also use two-handed weapons, the problem is more complex. They rely on Seal Twist mechanic, which is highly luck-dependent. If a hard-won extra attack is dodged, it's a waste of luck, resulting in a huge loss.

In contrast, Fury Warriors dual-wield two fast one-handed weapons, resulting in a high attack frequency and stable rage gain. Even if a main-hand or off-hand attack is dodged, the other weapon will immediately follow, preventing prolonged periods without damage or rage drain.

Therefore, the loss from a single dodge is far less for Fury Warriors than for two-handed classes, which is why Expertise is only ranked in the middle of Fury Warrior attribute priorities.

Talents and Race Provide Expertise

There are two sources of Expertise that are often overlooked by players.

One is Warrior's universal talent, Weapon Mastery. This talent directly grants a 2% dodge reduction, lowering the actual Expertise cap needed by Fury Warriors and Arms Warriors from 6.5% to 4.5%.

The second is racial traits. Humans gain +5 Expertise when using swords or hammers, approximately 1.25% dodge reduction. Orcs also gain +5 when using axes.

For example, a Human Fury Warrior dual-wielding swords gains a total of 3.25% dodge reduction from the talent's 2% and the racial 1.25%. This means they only need to obtain an additional 1.25% Expertise from equipment to reach the 4.5% cap, which is negligible.

Without racial advantages, only an additional 2.5% is needed. If you don't even allocate any talent points, you'd need to stack 6.5% Expertise, but that's practically impossible for most players.

Many players are unaware of this calculation and blindly stack Expertise, wasting a lot of WoW TBC Classic Anniversary gold.

The Stat Disadvantages of Expertise Gear

In Phase 1, Expertise gear like Shapeshifter's Signet, while providing Expertise rating, sacrificed significant Attack Power and Critical Strike chance. Even without reaching Expertise cap, sacrificing Expertise gear could still result in higher DPS.

While in Phase 2, some seemingly excellent Expertise gear appeared, such as Belt of One-Hundred Deaths. However, the strength of this type of gear lies primarily in its Lady Vashj origin and superior stats, not in the inherent power of Expertise itself.

Unless you're seeking ultimate peace of mind, don't sacrifice any Attack Power, Critical Strike chance, or Armor Penetration for Expertise.

Prioritization of Expertise by Class

In The Burning Crusade (TBC), the need for Expertise varies drastically across classes. Fury Warriors should be ranked last. The specific priorities, from highest to lowest, are:

• Highest Priority: Protection Warriors and Feral Druid Tanks. Tanks not only desperately need to remove dodge, but also need to stack high Expertise to remove Parry from their targets, as Parry resets the boss's auto-attack timer, potentially causing tank to die instantly. Tank's target is around 15% Expertise.
• Second Highest Priority: Arms Warriors, Retribution Paladins, and Enhancement Shamans. These classes either rely on the burst damage of two-handed weapons or on proc-based skills, making dodge very costly.
• Lowest Priority: Fury Warriors. As mentioned earlier, fast dual-wielding and high-frequency attacks minimize the impact of dodging.

Therefore, in guilds or raids, Fury Warriors should proactively give high Expertise gear like Belt of One-Hundred Deaths to the aforementioned classes, prioritizing traditional set pieces and pure DPS items. This approach improves overall team performance without sacrificing much of your own DPS.

Based on all the above analysis, we can draw a clear conclusion: In TBC Anniversary Phase 2, Fury Warrior players should not blindly trust Expertise stat.

It is neither the highest priority damage stat nor a core defensive stat that must be maxed out. Also, avoid choosing purely Expertise-focused, low-quality gear. Actual DPS output is the true measure of success.

That concludes the explanation of Expertise. Hopefully, this will clear up any confusion players may have regarding Expertise in TBC Anniversary Phase 2!

Selected by the community through a vote, the two 4-star Gold stickers for Monopoly GO's third Golden Blitz of Monopoly Ever After album have been decided, and the event is about to kick off.

With Monopoly Ever After album ending next month and only around three weeks left, have you managed to complete the full sticker collection? If not, taking part in the third Golden Blitz will be a huge help.

Date

Looking at patterns from past Monopoly GO albums, an 8-week album usually features between 6 and 10 rounds of Golden Blitz. Monopoly Ever After album has already confirmed its first two rounds, so this season may see anywhere from 7 to 9 Golden Blitz events.

The album runs until June 3, and we are only just entering its mid-phase now. The developers typically speed up the frequency of Golden Blitz in the latter half. The dates for Golden Blitz events held so far are:

• May 1–2, 2026: Hook's Hook (Set 13) and Fox Ferry (Set 17)
• May 7–8, 2026: Jabberwock (Set 14) and Enchanted Forest (Set 15)

Should the developers run eight Golden Blitz events in total, the third one is projected to fall on May 13–14, based on the remaining schedule.

The Chosen Gold Stickers

The gold stickers included in this vote drew immense attention from players; over 100,000 votes were cast from start to finish, and the first round was extremely tight:

• Set 19 Hightail It!: 28,597 votes (28%)
• Set 20 Home Improvements: 28,574 votes (28%)
• Set 21 Feeling Snoozy: 28,574 votes (28%)
• Set 21 The Bears Return: 15,208 votes (15%)

As you can see, the top three were remarkably close. Hightail It! was a mere 23 votes ahead of the other two, and Home Improvements ended up in a dead tie with Feeling Snoozy. Because there is no precedent for a Golden Blitz featuring three Gold stickers, the developers had to launch a second round of voting:

• Set 20 Home Improvements: 12,057 votes (49%)
• Set 21 Feeling Snoozy: 13,255 votes (51%)

The second round remained just as close, with Feeling Snoozy ultimately claiming victory by a slim margin. As a result, the two Gold stickers chosen for the third Golden Blitz are Monopoly Go Hightail It! (Set 19) and Feeling Snoozy (Set 21).

How Golden Blitz Works?

Golden Blitz is a flash Gold-sticker trading event that appears roughly halfway through each sticker season. The number of events varies depending on the length of the season, and each one lasts about a day - if you log in regularly, you are unlikely to miss it.

This flash event allows you to trade two specific Gold stickers. Under normal circumstances, outside of a Golden Blitz, no Gold stickers can be exchanged at all. The drop rate for Gold stickers in packs is very low, which means many players may have already gathered all the standard stickers through trading, only to find themselves stuck and unable to complete the album because they are missing just one or two Gold stickers.

Throughout a season, Golden Blitz events make roughly half of all Gold stickers available. If every player can secure the gold stickers they need through these events, the difficulty of finishing the entire collection is essentially cut in half.

How to Find a Trading Partner?

The biggest challenge in a Golden Blitz is, quite simply, finding other players willing to trade with you. If you have spare Hightail It! or Feeling Snoozy stickers, you will find a partner effortlessly. Just let it be known in a busy Monopoly GO community that you are open to Gold-for-Gold trades, and plenty of players will send you trade requests.

If you don't have any Gold stickers to offer, finding a partner can be a little trickier - but far from impossible. Some whale players are remarkably generous and will trade with those who have none. If they aren't on your friend list, you will still need to ask around in the community to see which whales still have tradable Gold stickers.

If you are a whale yourself, holding multiple tradable Gold stickers, you might feel no need to trade. But that would be a mistake. The trading window lasts only a single day. Miss it, and those extra Gold stickers will simply end up useless in your collection. By trading them away, however, not only can you obtain standard stickers to start working on a second or even third set, but you also earn Stars - which can be redeemed for sticker packs in Star Vault, including the highly valuable Swap Pack.

During a Golden Blitz, you are limited to 5 Gold-sticker trades, and a trade slot is only consumed once the trade is fully completed. This limit applies whether you are looking for Gold stickers or trying to trade away your extras.

Those are the dates and details for the third Golden Blitz of Monopoly Ever After album. No matter what kind of player you are, we hope you find a successful trade!

CoD Black Ops 7 Season 3 Reloaded went live on April 30th, bringing with it a wealth of new content, enough to keep you engaged until the next season arrives, including a crossover event featuring RoboCop.

The event itself doesn't introduce a unique new game mode, it features both free and premium reward tracks. You can unlock new items within these tracks by earning XP through playing standard BO7 modes.

Within the free track, the most coveted, and undoubtedly the most difficult to obtain, reward is the ultimate prize: the special energy weapon known as Siren. In this guide, we'll focus on introducing this gear to help you decide whether it's worth the effort to unlock it.

How to unlock Siren?

RoboCop event runs until May 28th. During this period, you must earn at least 460,000 XP by participating in any Black Ops 7 game mode to unlock Siren.

While there is a possibility the weapon might be added to the armory later on, it's not guaranteed.

Furthermore, unlocking it via the armory would still require completing a significant number of challenges, so you're better off securing it directly before RoboCop event concludes!

To earn the necessary XP as quickly as possible, you'll need to be sufficiently familiar with at least one game mode to efficiently eliminate enemies. However, the faster option is to buy CoD Black Ops 7 Bot Lobbies from IGGM!

Combat difficulty is significantly lower in bot lobbies, and we guarantee a safe and stable gaming environment. This allows you to clear out enemies with far less effort than usual, letting you quickly redeem Siren once your XP totals are tallied!

Siren overview

In short, Siren is a charge-based weapon that fires slow-moving but extremely high-damage projectiles capable of piercing through enemies.

It is particularly well-suited for taking down hordes of enemies in Zombies mode. Additionally, you can charge up the weapon to increase the projectile's flight speed.

Projectile effects

Once a Siren projectile strikes an enemy, especially a single target, it results in an instant kill, thanks to its massive single-shot damage output of 100 points.

Furthermore, the specific hit location is completely irrelevant; as long as the projectile makes contact with an enemy in any way, it results in an immediate one-shot kill.

Most importantly, the projectiles are capable of piercing through enemies. This means it is entirely possible to achieve multi-kills with a single shot, as the projectile suffers absolutely no damage drop-off when passing through any target.

However, while Siren's projectiles do not suffer damage degradation when penetrating enemies, they will instantly shatter and vanish the moment they strike any non-enemy surface, such as various forms of cover.

More importantly, due to the sheer size of the projectiles themselves, their hitboxes are correspondingly massive; consequently, they are highly prone to colliding with cover.

That said, the weapon also boasts a high margin for error: even if a shot appears to have missed an enemy, it may still register as a hit.

Fire rate analysis

The weapon's actual fire rate is a mere 32 rounds per minute. In the context of CoD: Black Ops 7, this is considered quite sluggish, effectively precluding the possibility of rapid-fire bursts.

Precisely for this reason, if you miss a shot while engaging an enemy with Siren, you will find it extremely difficult to land a follow-up shot, unless you can leverage the interval between shots to reposition yourself strategically and regain the tactical advantage.

As for projectile velocity, if you merely tap the trigger to fire as quickly as possible, you will notice that the weapon features no pre-fire delay.

However, adopting this firing method causes the projectile velocity to plummet to its absolute minimum, a mere 12.7 meters per second.

Unless you are engaging at extremely close range, or simply relying on sheer luck, it is virtually impossible to land a hit on a target with a projectile traveling at such a glacial pace.

Consequently, we highly recommend utilizing the weapon's charge-shot mechanic. When fully charged, the projectile velocity reaches 38 meters per second.

While this still isn't exactly fast, it is undeniably a vast improvement over firing without a charge, thereby significantly boosting your chances of hitting the target.

Frustratingly, the game provides no explicit visual indicator to display your charge progress; you must rely solely on subtle changes in audio cues to gauge when the charge is complete. Typically, a full charge takes approximately 3 seconds to build up.

By default, Siren's projectiles possess a lifetime of 6 seconds, after which they will automatically self-destruct, even if they have yet to strike any object.

This mechanism imposes a strict limit on the maximum distance a Siren projectile can travel before self-destructing, a limitation that becomes particularly pronounced when you forgo the charge-shot mechanic. When fired without a charge, the weapon's effective maximum range is capped at a mere 76 meters.

Exclusive attachment

MFS Deflection Core is the exclusive magazine attachment for Siren, it can be available after unlocking Siren Prestige Level 1. Its effects include providing additional ammunition, increasing projectile velocity, and enabling bullets to ricochet.

While the first two enhancements take effect, they simultaneously cause a further reduction in the weapon's fire rate. Fortunately, the overall projectile muzzle velocity is boosted, particularly when fully charged.

However, a tricky drawback is that equipping this attachment reduces the projectile's flight duration, thereby further limiting its effective range; the bullets can travel a maximum distance of only 48 meters.

As for the ricochet mechanic, it means that Siren's projectiles will bounce off a target's body after making contact. Although this eliminates the weapon's ability to pierce through targets, the ricochet mechanism still allows you to land consecutive hits on multiple players.

Furthermore, the projectiles suffer no damage drop-off during the ricochet process. In other words, no matter how many times a bullet bounces before striking an enemy, it retains the ability to achieve a one-shot kill.

Therefore, if you are engaging in combat within a small, enclosed environment and utilize the weapon's charge-up mechanic, you can undoubtedly achieve excellent results in actual gameplay.

Pairing with Gung-Ho Perk

Beyond its exclusive attachment, if you wish to further boost Siren's combat effectiveness, it is highly recommended that you equip Gung-Ho perk. This perk allows you to fully charge your weapon while maintaining a sprinting state.

Consequently, if you need to open fire with Siren immediately during a firefight, you simply need to release the trigger to instantly launch a projectile at extremely high velocity, thereby significantly increasing your chances of hitting the target.

Compared to playing with Siren without this perk, this strategy enables you to adopt a much more proactive and aggressive stance on the battlefield, ensuring you aren't hindered by the weapon's otherwise sluggish response time.

Is Siren worth it?

If you are unable to unlock the specific attachment mentioned above, you may find that acquiring and using Siren feels somewhat unrewarding. However, when utilized in the right scenarios and with the proper technique, Siren delivers solid performance in actual combat.

The above covers everything you need to know about obtaining and using Siren in BO7. With just over two weeks remaining in RoboCop event, if this weapon appeals to you, now is the time to put in the effort to unlock it!

The updates released for ARC Raiders between January and April have done more than just enrich the game with new gameplay modes; they also include refinements to core mechanics to ensure they strike a balance between accessibility and logical consistency.

Unfortunately, a feature you may have previously hoped for, the ability to retain your workshop crafting station levels after an Expedition, has not yet been implemented. For now, you must still gather materials and upgrade your stations from scratch following each reset.

Of course, the workshop hasn't remained entirely static over these past few months.

Based on the adjustments made so far, we'll introduce everything you need to know about upgrading stations and other workshop-specific mechanics like Scrappy, following the release of Riven Tides update.

What is the workshop?

ARC Raiders is set in a world overrun by ARC invaders; consequently, all raids take place on the dangerous surface, while more routine interactions occur within the underground sanctuary known as Speranza.

You can think of Speranza as your in-game base of operations. The workshop serves as one of its primary functions, specifically for crafting, while other activities available in Speranza include customizing your character's appearance, trading with NPCs, and more.

As for the workshop itself, it comprises seven distinct stations. Each station requires specific materials for upgrades and offers a unique selection of items available for crafting.

As you upgrade your stations, you gain the ability to craft more advanced gear; however, crafting these high-tier items typically requires a corresponding blueprint.

Blueprints are an integral part of the workshop system: once consumed, a blueprint is added to the specific station associated with that item, allowing you to craft the item thereafter simply by supplying the other necessary materials.

Blueprints are typically acquired by scavenging during expeditions, ideally by looting high-value containers found during special in-game events.

However, if you find yourself unable to locate a specific item, getting ARC Raiders items for sale on IGGM offers a much faster alternative.

It is also worth mentioning Scrappy. This rooster is technically your pet within Speranza, but since he lives in the workshop, he is often regarded as an honorary part of the facility itself.

Whenever you head out for combat, provided your expedition lasts longer than one minute, Scrappy will generate Assorted Seeds and other random resources for you.

The longer your expedition lasts, and the higher Scrappy's level, the greater the quantity of items he will generate.

How to upgrade workshop stations?

The seven stations are: Workbench, Gunsmith, Gear Bench, Medical Lab, Explosives Station, Utility Station, and Refiner. With the exception of Workbench, each of these stations can be upgraded to a maximum level of 3.

Many of the materials required for crafting and station upgrades can be obtained through scavenging during expeditions. And specific materials tend to appear more frequently when looting certain designated zones.

Furthermore, some materials drop specifically after defeating ARC enemies, such as Pop Trigger or Rocketeer Driver. There are also some materials that can only be obtained through crafting.

If you are a dedicated player, gathering these materials shouldn't be too difficult for you at this stage. However, a more efficient farming strategy is to set aside dedicated blocks of time to complete all the upgrade requirements for a specific station in a single round.

By doing so, you can immediately utilize that station to craft some decent gear, thereby boosting your character's power and allowing you to complete upgrades for your other stations even faster.

How to utilize Scrappy?

Scrappy can be upgraded to a maximum of Level 5. At each level, it generates an increasing amount of materials based on the duration of your raids. The specific time thresholds are 1, 6, and 15 minutes.

Below are the upgrade requirements (Level 1 Fledgling is the default tier and requires no materials):

• Level 2 Forager: 1x Dog Collar
• Level 3 Scavenger: 3x Lemon, 3x Apricot
• Level 4 Treasure Hunter: 6x Prickly Pear, 6x Olives, 1x Cat Bed
• Level 5 Master Hoarder: 12x Mushroom, 12x Apricot, 3x Very Comfortable Pillow

Previously, with the exception of seeds, the types of materials generated by Scrappy were entirely random.

However, following Flashpoint update, you can now feed Scrappy specific items to increase the probability of it generating particular types of materials; furthermore, the items generated may be of higher value.

Currently, the items that can be used as feed include: olives, fruit mix, mushroom, agave, apricot, lemon, and prickly pear.

New content from Riven Tides update

This update introduced four new items to the game: Powered Descender, Crash Mat, White Flag, and Dockmaster's Detector.

Of these, the first three can be obtained through crafting; specifically, only the first two require a separate blueprint to unlock. Their respective workshop requirements are as follows:

• Powered Descender: Utility Station 3
• Crash Mat: Utility Station 1
• White Flag: Medical Lab 1

The importance of workshop

Only by consistently upgrading the various functions of your workshop can you accelerate the process of farming high-tier blueprints and crafting more powerful gear.

In turn, this allows you to advance your game progression; otherwise, you risk missing out on exciting combat encounters due to a lack of adequate gear.

Will the workshop get more changes in the future?

As a fundamental yet uncomplicated game feature, the workshop is unlikely to undergo a drastic overhaul, nor is such a change necessary. The only plausible possibility is that a certain level of progress might be retained following an expedition.

Admittedly, having to go through the workshop upgrade process after every expedition can indeed feel a bit tedious.

However, precisely because this process is not particularly difficult, allowing players to retain their station levels would strip the reset mechanic of much of its intended significance.

That covers everything you need to know about utilizing and upgrading the workshop in ARC Raiders at this stage. We hope this information proves helpful to your gaming experience!

Monopoly Go has become a global phenomenon, but behind this game lie several game mechanics that have left many players deeply dissatisfied. Common complaints include issues with game fairness, progression, and what players perceive as a pay-to-win model.

This article will analyze in detail why these mechanics are so frustrating and explore practical ways to alleviate this frustration without abandoning the game.

Reasons for Player Frustration

Dice Management and Progression Challenges

Limited dice supply means players often find the hourly dice replenishment insufficient to sustain the game, making it difficult to complete daily rewards and events without spending money. Even 10 dice per hour isn't enough to maintain daily rewards.

As player levels increase, upgrading properties becomes extremely costly, requiring an exceptionally large number of dice. If you're a high level, upgrading properties is incredibly expensive. Some players say, "I don't even have dice anymore, how am I supposed to upgrade? I hate this practice of including upgrade costs in daily rewards."

Furthermore, other activities in Monopoly Go often require a large number of dice rolls, so once you run out of rolls, your progress becomes extremely slow.

Perceived Rigging and Lack of Transparency

Many players believe that dice rolls and event outcomes are not truly random, but rather pre-programmed to induce spending. The most frustrating experience is repeatedly landing on specific tiles, such as the railroad tile, to trigger an event, only to land anywhere else.

Multiple players have tested this using flight mode and other techniques, and the evidence strongly suggests that the results of dice rolls, the final outcome of bank robberies, and even jailbreak attempts are pre-programmed the moment you press the button; the animation effects are merely gimmicks.

This is what frustrates many players the most. What should be random is actually scouted and pre-programmed to give you the results they want. Some players even suspect that Monopoly Go's leaderboards are filled with AI, artificially creating a competitive atmosphere that makes it harder for real players to win.

Sticker Endless Duplicates

Obtaining new stickers, especially gold stickers, is frustrating for many players. They complain that repeatedly getting the same stickers over long periods diminishes the enjoyment of the game. Collecting stickers should be fun, but the mechanics turn it into a gambling-like pursuit.

You open dozens of sticker packs and always get the same 1-star sticker. Gold stickers are extremely rare, yet essential for completing an album and usually untradeable at other stages.

According to reports, over 90% of gold stickers never appear in any trading activity. You might be just one gold sticker away from completing an entire album. As an album nears its end, the game doesn't automatically give you that sticker unless you get Wild Stickers.

Completing an album rewards a huge dice bonus, such as 15,000 dice. But for many players, this moment will never arrive. This means that without spending money, it's difficult to maintain interest in Monopoly Go, and the overall enjoyment gradually diminishes over time.

Practical Ways to Reduce Frustration

While you can't change the system, you can change how you interact with it. Here are some tips that, while they won't make you a top player overnight, can reduce your daily frustration.

Change Your Game Mindset

Once you realize that frustration is a product of the game's design, you'll stop blaming yourself. You're not unlucky, nor are you playing badly. You're simply interacting with a machine designed to extract money and attention. Shift your focus from winning to enjoying small moments of happiness in life, such as completing a thrilling heist, finishing daily quests, or collecting a new sticker. Don't burden yourself so much with Monopoly Go.

Join Active Trading Communities

The official in-game trading system isn't perfect. You can exchange stickers in the player community, trading duplicates for missing ones. Be proactive and generous. Don't ask for stickers of the same star rating when gifting them. In a friendly community, people will reciprocate when you need rare cards.

If you still can't find the sticker you want in the community, you can buy Monopoly Go Stickers from IGGM.com provides the fastest and safest way to access the game.

Know When to Walk Away

In any game, the most effective strategy is to take a break. If you find yourself checking the game every 30 minutes, feeling anxious about your shield or event ranking, or spending money you didn't intend to spend, take a short break and give yourself some breathing room.

Monopoly Go isn't a game in the traditional sense; there's no ultimate victory. Even if you collect all the stickers today, you might unlock a new album tomorrow with brand new stickers.

Therefore, true victory comes from playing the game the way you want, using it as a way to pass the time, not as a source of achievement. If frustration outweighs enjoyment, then this game might not be for you.

This article analyzes and offers solutions to some recent issues with Monopoly Go. Hopefully, it helps you adjust your mindset and allows the game to bring you more enjoyment than frustration.

Guys, we now know more about Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0, but is it really as much as you think? With so much talk about the dazzling update, what are the highlights and shortcomings we should pay attention to? Let's find out.

Amazing Improvements

Two Convenient Features

Patch 0.5.0 includes a built-in build planning system, allowing players to directly mark equipment slots, preset skill tree paths, and plan when to acquire skill gems in the character panel, eliminating the need to frequently consult external documentation or third-party tools.

Simultaneously, a built-in price lookup tool replaces some third-party plugins, allowing players to price items directly in-game, ensuring price competitiveness in trades.

Both of these improvements significantly reduce the frequency with which players need to leave the game, truly focusing on the player experience and improving game smoothness - definitely a highlight.

Challenge System Launch

A series of challenge missions have been added to the game, rewarding players with a very cool armor set upon completion. This challenge not only encourages players to try gameplay styles they wouldn't normally encounter, but also provides a clear long-term goal for each league, further enhancing the game's replayability.

Endgame Content Completely Overhauled

As most players know, the endgame content in Patch 0.5.0 has been almost entirely reworked, adding a story-driven league mechanic and a static points of interest system.

Each league mechanic, such as Ritual and Breach, now has its own independent storyline, new NPCs, and new items. Static points of interest are now clearly marked on the map; progressing just four nodes from the center will lead to the first tower, unlocking a large dungeon castle rising from the ground.

Atlas skill tree introduces multi-choice nodes, requiring players to weigh whether to buff themselves or strengthen the boss for additional PoE 2 currency rewards. The three Atlas masters, Doryani, Jado, and Hilda, will each offer different gameplay options, such as extra resurrections or replacing rare monsters with map bosses. 

In addition, the map search function not only highlights target nodes but also allows direct jumps, and the contrast clarity is far superior to the earlier skill tree search.

Campaign Guidance Optimization

After completing the ritual at Hunting Grounds, a swarm of locusts will fly from the ritual point towards Freythorn, a subtle environmental cue that subtly guides the player's path. This guidance method will be further expanded in Act 5 and Act 6.

Sometimes players need these subtle optimizations to make PoE even more enjoyable.

Two New Ascendancy Classes

Martial Artist ascendancy in Monk grants a set of custom gloves and a new active channeling skill; Spirit Walker ascendancy in Huntress allows the taming of beast-type bosses. Meanwhile, there are indications that interacting with the new NPC Chayula may unlock a hidden ascendancy.

Highlights Worth Noting

Runes of Aldur League

The new league Runes of Aldur brings expanded expedition mechanics and a Uniques upgrade system. This league allows players to travel to the southern islands and introduces a complex crafting system.

One key feature is the ability to upgrade lower-tier Unique items to higher-tier ones, resolving the long-standing issue of many Uniques being unusable because of low base stats.

A Plethora of New Unique Gear

This update adds Heavy Belt Mageblood and spears like Ordained. It also includes a hammer that converts all fire damage to cold damage and alters skill visuals, and the classic Brutus' Lead Sprinkler makes a comeback.

Furthermore, the game adds over 20 new active skills that are usable across weapons.

Endgame Maps and New Bosses

Over 30 brand-new endgame map layouts have been added, boasting stunning visuals. Several new pinnacle bosses have also been added, and judging from the trailer clips, these boss battles appear to be extremely challenging.

Existing Issues

No New Classes or Swords

While two new ascendancy classes were added, players expecting a duelist class and swords were disappointed, and these players have indicated they will not return to the game in this update.

Too Many Socketables

The development team originally claimed that the socketables system was intended to replace the overly complex Crafting Bench, lowering the barrier to entry for new players.

However, the actual game added hundreds, even thousands, of socketables with different functions, each relying on drops and farming, and disappearing once embedded. This made the system more complex than the original Crafting Bench.

Also Read: Path of Exile 2 0.5.0 Return of the Ancients may be the Biggest Update Ever | Endgame Rework Finally Arrives

Unclear Balance Adjustments

Specific patch notes won't be released until May 21st, and we currently know very little about the balance adjustments that will be made.

The official Q&A stated that the gap between top-tier and average players is reasonable, for example, a boss fight taking 119 seconds versus 8 seconds. But is this 15-fold difference really acceptable? Hopefully, the final balance adjustments will narrow this gap.

Overall Complexity Out of Control

The overall complexity of PoE 2 Patch 0.5.0 has far exceeded expectations, posing a significant challenge for newcomers.

Although the game is still in early testing, its sheer number of systems, interaction methods, and the diversity of character progression paths are already extremely complex, potentially surpassing PoE 1.

If the in-game guidance isn't clear enough, many players will probably feel extremely lost after reaching the endgame.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Patch 0.5.0 should be the last major update in the early access phase of PoE 2. While there are no new classes, overall it's something to look forward to!

With the release of MLB The Show 26, outfield player ratings have undergone new changes.

Today, I'm bringing you a brand-new tier list of outfield players, covering dozens of active outfielders, ranging from S-tier to C-tier. This list contains some subjective elements and is for reference only.

Hopefully, this ranking will help you better build your team or find your next goal. Below is the complete ranking.

S-Tier

The main outfielders rated S-tier in MLB The Show 26 are:

• 1. Albert Pujols
• 2. Ian Happ
• 3. Mickey Mantle
• 4. Mike Trout
• 5. Carlos Beltran

Albert Pujols

Among S-tier players in MLB The Show 26, Albert Pujols is arguably the most consistent mainstay - his batting face is textbook accurate, making him suitable for both left and right outfield - hence, he is highly praised by almost all online player reviews. His Speed is around 70, Reaction around 80, and Arm Strength around 80. While not a top-tier defender, he's very solid.

Ian Happ

You might be surprised to see Ian Happ ranked S, but this all-around player has the ability to achieve that. He's a true jack-of-all-trades, capable of playing multiple positions, and he won't falter no matter where you put him.

Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle has an amazing reputation as a powerful center fielder. His speed is incredibly high at 94, and his Arm Strength is overwhelmingly good. While his Swing isn't the best in the world, it's certainly not a liability, making him a true all-around player.

Mike Trout

Mike Trout is widely considered the strongest active world-class baseball player in the world, and he's one of the most coveted ultimate cards in MLB The Show 26. This card is currently the strongest outfielder, but his defensive weaknesses are amplified in center field, so you're best suited to placing him in either left or right field.

If you want this top-tier outfielder, you'll need to spend a lot of Stubs. If you lack Stubs, you can directly buy MLB The Show 26 Stubs from IGGM; we offer the fairest prices and fastest service.

Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran's speed makes him almost impossible for opponents to bypass in MLB The Show 26, making him a truly deserving S-tier outfielder. His only weakness is his right-handed pitching power of only 68, which slightly diminishes his hitting ability. However, you can obtain this S-tier player for free by completing in-game missions, so what more can we ask for?

A-Tier

A-tier players in MLB The Show 26 are typically players who are very strong in one area but have certain weaknesses. They include:

• 1. Kris Bryant
• 2. Cody Bellinger
• 3. Christian Yelich
• 4. Bryan Reynolds
• 5. Ken Griffey Jr.

Kris Bryant

Kris Bryant is considered by many players to be the epitome of a "golden balanced outfielder" - his swing is smooth and silky, and his passes are reassuring. However, his reaction time is occasionally slow, so it's not recommended to place him in center field, but he can be placed in the corner.

Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger was previously a candidate for S-tier in MLB. In MLB The Show 26, although he was relegated to A-tier due to a decline in speed, he remains a representative of offensive outfielders.

Christian Yelich

Christian Yelich's batting statistics are undeniable, but not every player likes his feel and hidden stats. Those who love him adore him, while those who dislike him hate him.

Bryan Reynolds

Bryan Reynolds is rated A-tier primarily because he is the only A-tier outfielder in MLB The Show 26 who can play both left and right field. Although his stats aren't as outstanding as other outfielders, his versatility is his biggest advantage.

Ken Griffey Jr.

This player is highly controversial: his speed is only around 75, he's not particularly good at defense, but his swing is excellent. Most importantly, his price is incredibly high; you'd need to spend around $250,000 MLB The Show 26 Stubs to acquire him. Therefore, he's classified as A-level player.

B and C-level players

MLB The Show 26's B and C-level players are playable, but either have obvious flaws or require specific conditions to perform well. Therefore, only a brief list is provided here:

• 1. Mookie Betts
• 2. Don Baylor
• 3. Mickey Moniak
• 4. Aaron Judge
• 5. Curtis Granderson

Mookie Betts

Mookie Betts has decent hitting ability, but his defensive stats are laughable: slow speed, sluggish jump, and poor passing power. However, if you like his hitting, you can still use him.

Don Baylor

Don Baylor has good speed, balanced hitting stats against both left and right pitchers, and his defense isn't the worst, making him a versatile player.

Mickey Moniak

Mickey Moniak's stats are good except for his 75-78 batting average against left-handed pitchers. Most importantly, his card is free to obtain.

Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge's strength is his power hitting ability, but his batting average in MLB The Show 26 is low. In other words, while he has great power, his ability to hit is questionable.

Curtis Granderson

Curtis Granderson is very strong against right-handed pitchers, but becomes easy prey against left-handed pitchers. Therefore, you can only place him in a fixed position.

The above is a ranking of the outfielders in MLB The Show 26. The rankings within the same tier are not in any particular order. Again, this ranking has some subjective factors and is for reference only. Hope this helps.