General News

WoW Midnight has streamlined the gear system, but the sheer amount of information can still be overwhelming. What are these items for? Where do they come from? And how can you improve them?

To help you understand the best gear setups, let’s break down what changed in WoW Midnight and how to acquire the best gear.

Gear System Simplification

First, Midnight has made some adjustments to the gearing system as part of its streamlining process. They’ve reduced the number of gear qualities from six to five.

• Adventurer
• Veteran
• Champion
• Hero
• Mythic

Each quality of gear can be upgraded within a specific item level range. The final few item levels of one quality overlap with the beginning of the next, which allows for a smoother power transition for players.

However, even if two pieces of gear have the same item level, they can be very different if they are of different qualities. When swapping equipment, it’s generally better to prioritize a higher quality piece over one with a slightly higher item level.

Upgrading Gear

There’s a quest chain in Dornogal that guides you through the upgrade process. Each upgrade requires a certain number of Crests and some WoW Midnight gold. The exact number of Crests needed has changed about three times in recent months, but the important thing to remember is that you can benefit from two types of discounts:

Discount for Already-Achieved Item Levels If you want to upgrade a piece of gear to an item level you’ve already reached on another item, that upgrade will cost zero Crests. For example, if you have a 250 item level Veteran piece but get a new 246 item level Champion piece, upgrading that Champion item to 250 will require no Crests (though the gold cost remains).

Warband Discount Once your main character reaches specific item level thresholds, your entire warband will enjoy a 50% discount on Crests for upgrades. This requires obtaining the corresponding achievements, which are:

• Adventurer of the Dawn: 237 item level
• Veteran of the Dawn: 250 item level
• Champion of the Dawn: 263 item level
• Hero of the Dawn: 276 item level
• Mythic of the Dawn: 285 item level

These achievements are tied to the item level ranges and Crest requirements for each quality. Once your item level hits 237, it means you’ve moved beyond the need for Adventurer Crests, and all your alts will only need half the usual Adventurer Crests to upgrade their Adventurer gear. Therefore, it’s wise to get your main character to these item level milestones first before investing many Crests in your alts.

An even smarter approach is to first push your main to 237 item level to unlock the achievement, then start upgrading your alts’ Adventurer gear. Next, bring your main up to 250 item level before you start upgrading your alts’ Veteran gear. This maximizes your Crest usage, and remember, Crest acquisition has a weekly cap. The number you can earn each week is limited, which in turn limits how many upgrades you can perform.

How to Get Gear?

Regarding gear acquisition, if you’re not considering PvP, there are four main types of PvE content you’ll engage with at max level.

Open World

In the open world, you can participate in World Quests, Pinnacle Events, and World Bosses.

These quests reward Adventurer quality gear, and their item level will dynamically increase with your current equipment. Pinnacle Events reward a Pinnacle Chest containing Veteran quality gear, Crests, and gold.

World Bosses become available at the start of Season 1 and typically reward Champion quality gear from a small loot table. They appear alongside a world quest, so they’re hard to miss.

Prey

• Normal Prey: Rewards Adventurer Gear
• Hard Prey: Rewards Veteran Gear
• Nightmare Prey: Rewards Champion Gear

Each difficulty Prey can yield gear twice per week. Even if you only get two pieces of Adventurer Gear from Normal Prey each week, as long as you complete all Normal Adventures that week, three Veteran-quality options will appear in your Great Vault. Completing Nightmare Prey will upgrade your Great Vault rewards from Champion to Heroic quality.

Delves

Bountiful Delves are marked with a colored icon on the map, and their final chests provide the gear you’re aiming for. To open one, you need a Bountiful Key, which you can get from Great Vault.

Sometimes, from world quests or other content, you’ll find Coffer Key Shards. Collecting 100 of them while inside a Delve will combine them into a Bountiful Key. Shards can even drop within Delves themselves, so the whole system is interconnected.

Maps have a chance to drop randomly. Using one gives you a buff that, on your next Delve, will spawn an additional chest containing a better piece of gear.

Bountiful Delves Rewards:

• Tiers 1-4: Adventurer gear
• Tiers 5-6: Veteran gear
• Tier 7+: Champion gear

Trove Hunter Rewards (from using a Map):

• Tiers 4-5: Veteran gear
• Tiers 6-7: Champion gear
• Tier 8+: Hero quality gear

Great Vault (from any non-Bountiful Delves)

• Tiers 1-4: Veteran gear
• Tiers 5-7: Champion gear
• Tier 8+: Hero gear

Completing the highest difficulty Delves also has a small chance to drop Mythic Upgrade Quests, which can eventually help you transition to the game’s most powerful equipment.

Dungeons

• Heroic Dungeons: Drop Adventurer gear, Vault rewards Veteran gear.
• Mythic 0 Dungeons: Drop Champion gear, Vault rewards Champion gear at max level for that track.
• Mythic+ Dungeons: Levels 2-5 drop Champion gear, Level 6+ drop Hero gear.

Starting from Mythic+ 10, your Great Vault will offer Mythic quality items. However, note that the dungeons themselves never directly drop Mythic quality gear. So, ideally, your goal is to fill your Vault with enough level 10 runs to get access to Mythic items.

Raids

Great Vault rewards for raiding match the quality of gear that drops from the raid itself, and completing raid encounters also drops gear of various qualities.

• Raid Finder (LFR): Veteran gear
• Normal: Champion gear
• Heroic: Hero gear
• Mythic: Mythic gear

Crafted Gear

Crafted gear doesn’t follow the same quality system, but its item level depends on the materials used, specifically Crests. You can use Crests as crafting materials to increase an item’s level, which combines with the crafter’s skill.

Typically, items made with Crests will end up 1-2 item levels below the equivalent quality gear upgraded with the same tier of Crests. The advantage of crafted gear is that you can choose the perfect stats for your spec and sometimes add Embellishments for extra effects.

Season 1 has now begun, and if you’re still figuring out your gear, the information above should help you get equipped quickly.

The new batch of items introduced in Path of Exile's 3.28 league has once again reshaped the game's landscape, building upon existing content and necessitating corresponding adjustments to your offensive and defensive mechanisms.

Among these additions, the new Volatile Vaal Orb has a particularly significant impact on defensive strategies. More importantly, it creates powerful synergies when combined with features introduced in previous leagues, such as Foulborn unique items.

In this guide, we will use Volatile Vaal Orb as our focal point to demonstrate how to craft powerful defensive setups in Mirage League.

Defensive setups in PoE 3.28

In Path of Exile, the defensive setup primarily refers to the strategy of stacking multiple mechanisms to mitigate various types of damage, for instance, by boosting elemental resistances, Spell Suppression, or Armor values, or by incorporating other recovery methods.

Since physical damage can typically only be mitigated by increasing armor or evaded through movement speed, a common core defensive strategy involves finding ways to convert incoming physical damage into other damage types before applying defensive layers against them.

During 3.25 league, many methods capable of converting physical damage into other damage types for mitigation purposes were significantly nerfed or even removed entirely.

This change meant that many builds relying on this specific mechanism could no longer achieve 100% physical damage conversion, thereby losing their original competitive edge.

Fortunately, the game soon addressed this issue in the subsequent 3.26 league by introducing the new Prismatic Jewel: Bound by Destiny. The modifiers on this jewel allow it to provide a stat bonus that converts up to 10% of incoming physical damage into elemental damage.

If you felt that this single jewel wasn't enough to fully compensate for the loss, 3.27 league quickly offered a further solution by introducing Foulborn unique items, a mechanism that was subsequently retained and integrated into the core game following the release of 3.28 league.

What is Volatile Vaal Orb?

Building upon the defensive setup mechanics established in previous leagues, Path of Exile introduced Volatile Vaal Orb in 3.28 league.

When this special currency is applied to a piece of gear, there is a 50% chance that the item will be destroyed. If the item survives, however, the orb will re-roll all of its explicit modifiers, offering you a chance to significantly increase the item's overall value.

How to convert damage types?

Before the introduction of Volatile Vaal Orb, achieving 100% conversion of incoming physical damage into elemental damage required the use of specific unique items combined with the implicit modifiers provided by Eldritch affixes.

For instance, Lightning Coil converts 50% of physical damage taken on hit into lightning damage. Notably, its Foulborn variant converts 50% of chaos damage taken into lightning damage instead.

Alternatively, you could equip Dawnbreaker shield to convert up to 20% of physical damage taken into fire damage, thereby raising your total physical damage conversion rate to 70%.

Next, for the helmet slot, you can utilize the crafting bench to unveil a hidden modifier that converts up to 8% of physical damage taken on hit into elemental damage.

Regardless of the specific gear combination you choose, you can further supplement it with Bound by Destiny jewel; however, this jewel only takes effect if you simultaneously have four specific Conqueror-influenced items equipped.

Once you have maximized the affix values of all the aforementioned components to their absolute limits, you will be able to convert 88% of incoming physical damage into other damage types. The remaining 12% can be covered by utilizing Foulborn variants of Breach amulets.

It is worth noting that you should generally avoid letting your damage conversion rate exceed 100%, as doing so would result in the total damage you ultimately take being higher than the raw damage originally dealt by the enemy's hit. However, a slight overflow is generally harmless.

What is the significance of Volatile Vaal Orb's introduction?

While the setup described above is quite effective, it imposes rather strict constraints on the types of builds you can pursue. This is because, in order to achieve the desired defensive outcome, you are forced to lock down multiple gear slots with specific items.

However, the introduction of Volatile Vaal Orb allows you to transcend the standard numerical limits of affixes, either further boosting (or potentially lowering) the values of specific modifiers by a margin of up to 22% relative to their base values.

In practical terms, provided you have a sufficient budget, this means you can achieve 100% physical damage conversion using fewer gear slots. However, given the 50% failure rate associated with the process, you must be prepared to invest a substantial number of orbs.

This is particularly true for items with affixes that possess extremely wide numerical ranges; in such cases, attempting to obtain your ideal values through repeated re-rolls can prove to be an incredibly arduous task.

However, if successful - taking Lightning Coil as an example, the numerical value of its affix converting physical damage to lightning damage can be boosted to a maximum of 61%. This grants you an additional 11% damage conversion rate, a feat simply unattainable through conventional means.

Building upon this foundation, if you proceed to corrupt Dawnbreaker, its efficiency in converting physical damage to fire damage can be raised to 24%. With just these two pieces of gear alone, you can achieve a total physical damage conversion rate of 85%.

In short, the new possibilities introduced by Volatile Vaal Orb significantly enhance the flexibility of your build setup. Not only does it free up your Amulet slot, but it also allows you the freedom to choose a different helmet.

Beyond the strategies we have outlined here, you can also leverage the core mechanics of Volatile Vaal Orb to apply these effects to other gear pieces of your choice, allowing you to craft a truly unique and personalized defensive setup!

Regardless of the season, as you delve deeper into your exploration of Diablo 4, you will encounter a wide variety of bosses. Ranked from easiest to hardest, these include world bosses, lair bosses, and pinnacle bosses.

While Pinnacle Boss, Lilith, is undoubtedly the most dangerous of the bunch, the numerous lair bosses serve as the primary source for core gear. Furthermore, to claim this loot, you must first farm the specific keys required to access the lair bosses.

Each boss possesses its own unique key, which is used to unlock the hoard that appears after the boss is defeated, the very place where all the loot is hidden.

Notably, Season 12 introduces a new lair boss: The Butcher. Based on this addition, we present to you a complete guide to Season 12 lair keys and how to farm them.

Lair boss keys overview

First, it is important to clarify that all lair bosses are categorized into three tiers, from highest to lowest: Exalted, Greater, and Initiate. Of these, Exalted tier currently consists of only one boss: Belial, the Lord of Lies.

Additionally, beyond specific Diablo 4 lair boss keys, all Initiate-tier lair bosses drop Stygian Stones. These items can be used to craft keys for Greater-tier lair bosses (with the exception of Vessel of Hatred boss).

Initiate lair boss keys

This tier comprises a total of five bosses; however, Urivar can only be challenged if you own Vessel of Hatred expansion. The specific keys required for each boss, along with the quantity needed to unlock a single Hoard, are as follows:

• Varshan: 12 Malignant Hearts
• Grigoire: 12 Living Steel
• The Beast in the Ice: 12 Distilled Fear
• Lord Zir: 12 Exquisite Blood
• Urivar: 12 Judicator's Masks

The sources for all Initiate lair boss keys are largely consistent, involving approximately four distinct methods. We will outline each of these methods below.

Tree of Whispers rewards

Once you have completed or skipped the main campaign, you will unlock access to Tree of Whispers. You can then begin earning Grim Favors by completing various World Events across the map.

For every 10 Grim Favors you accumulate, you must return to Tree of Whispers to redeem them. You can receive standard rewards such as gold and XP, and choose to select a specific cache, categorized as Normal, Greater, or Ancestral.

Exploring Undercity of Kurast after submitting Tribute of Titans

Undercity of Kurast is a dungeon exclusive to Vessel of Hatred DLC. Before entering the dungeon, you can submit Tributes to increase combat difficulty and loot quality, or to specify the type of loot you wish to obtain.

Specifically, Tribute of Titans is a tribute designed to boost the drop rate of lair keys as loot within Undercity of Kurast. You can acquire this tribute by defeating lair bosses, obtaining Whisper Caches, or running high-level Pit tiers.

Defeating world bosses

As the most fundamental type of boss in Diablo 4, world bosses do not spawn at fixed locations; instead, they appear randomly across Sanctuary at specific time intervals. The world bosses you may currently encounter include:

• Ashava, the Pestilent
• Avarice, the Gold Cursed
• Wandering Death, Death Given Life

Each world boss carries a Grand Cache, which, in addition to lair keys, may contain Legendary and Unique items. However, if you fail to defeat the boss, it will escape, taking the cache with it!

Mercenary Bartering

This system allows you to trade with Bartering Vendor, Fayira, to acquire various items; the special currency required for these transactions is Pale Marks.

To unlock this vendor, you must reach friendship level 5 with any one of the four mercenaries. Subsequently, raising each individual mercenary's Friendship Level to 8 will unlock their full range of trade options.

If you wish to prioritize unlocking the trading channel for lair keys, you should focus on increasing your friendship level with Subo. However, please note that Mercenary Bartering feature is accessible only to owners of Vessel of Hatred DLC.

Related: Diablo 4 Season 12 Deep Dive: Farming Strategies That Dominate Early and Late Game

Greater lair boss keys

With the exception of The Butcher (introduced in Season 12), the other three Greater lair boss keys are obtained by defeating specific Initiate Bosses:

• Duriel: 3 Shards of Agony - Varshan and Grigoire
• Andariel: 3 Pincushioned Dolls - The Beast in the Ice and Lord Zir
• Harbinger of Hatred: 3 Abhorrent Hearts - Urivar

The Butcher - Pound of Flesh

Lair bosses of any tier have a chance to drop this key upon defeat; additionally, the general methods for exploring Undercity of Kurast (as described above) also apply. Furthermore, you can acquire Pounds of Flesh by completing Bloodied Activities.

Bloodied Activities is a gameplay feature exclusive to Season 12. It requires you to first acquire Bloodied Sigils from other endgame world activities, and then use them to transform standard activities into their Bloodied variants for completion.

Notably, Bloodied Sigils invariably carry Relentless Butcher affix; this guarantees that you will encounter The Butcher during the subsequent engagement.

Exalted lair boss keys

Opening Belial's Hoard requires two Betrayer's Husks. These lair keys can be obtained either as drops from Mini Belial encounter or as rewards from the current season's reputation system.

Mini Belial has a low probability of appearing randomly after you have defeated other lair bosses; therefore, you should aim to complete as many lair boss battles as possible to maximize your chances.

The above covers all the information you need to know regarding the acquisition of every lair boss key in Season 12. While gathering a sufficient supply of every key type can be a challenging task, if you take it one step at a time, you are bound to succeed!

Another Tuesday has come and gone, which means ARC Raiders has released a new patch to further optimize the game, but don't get your hopes up just yet! Flashpoint hasn't started yet; you'll likely have to wait another week or two for that.

Nevertheless, Patch 1.20.0, released on March 17th, is still well worth your attention. Not only does it introduce a new outfit, but it also addresses the long-standing controversy surrounding Il Toro weapon, while, as usual, delivering a host of bug fixes.

Below, we'll give you a comprehensive rundown of everything included in Patch 1.20.0, ensuring you enjoy the best possible ARC Raiders experience, at least for this week.

New cosmetics

This week's new cosmetic additions include Rawhide Outfit and two new hairstyles; you can acquire these items by using Raiders Tokens in the in-game store.

As with previous releases, these new cosmetic items continue Rust Belt aesthetic, a post-apocalyptic, wasteland-style theme. While they may not be flashy or extravagant, they align perfectly with the game's narrative backdrop and combat requirements.

However, cosmetics generally offer no tangible combat advantage, unless, of course, you happen to be wearing an outfit that provides a visual camouflage benefit.

Therefore, if you're running low on tokens, or if you'd prefer to save them for future items that might interest you more, there's no need to rush into any store trades just yet.

Il Toro balance adjustments

Il Toro is a pump-action shotgun available in the game. Despite being classified as merely an Uncommon (green-tier) weapon, it packs a serious punch and has become a favorite among many players.

To be honest, however, the disconnect between its rarity tier and its actual power level often creates inconsistencies within the game's item and crafting systems, which is why so many players have been calling for adjustments to Il Toro for some time now.

Patch 1.20.0 focuses primarily on Il Toro's DPS and its effectiveness in medium-to-long-range engagements, specifically when paired with Choke-type weapon mods.

Building upon this, the development team has also refined the internal tier-balancing of Il Toro itself. The goal here is to make lower-tier versions slightly less versatile, thereby ensuring that the benefits of upgrading the weapon feel more distinct and impactful.

As for the overall reduction in Il Toro's power level, the primary changes involve a decrease in its rate of fire and an increase in its reload time.

Specifically, the damage per pellet has been reduced from 7.5 to 7, the base rate of fire has been lowered from 43 to 38, and the base bullet spread has been widened from 4.5 to 6.

This means that the rhythm of pumping the action and firing the next shot will feel slightly slower, while the bullet spread cone has become wider, theoretically resulting in a decrease in your shooting accuracy.

If you engage opponents at extremely close range during combat, the difference resulting from this change might not be particularly noticeable.

However, at standard engagement distances, or even at the outer limits of close-range combat, the bullet spread is indeed significantly wider.

Furthermore, the weapon's total reload time is expected to increase from 4.3 seconds to 5.7 seconds. Specifically, the initial cycle time for a single-shell reload has been extended from 0.88 seconds to a full 1 second, meaning your base reload time is ultimately expected to increase by roughly one and a half seconds.

If you manage to successfully down a few players, you might not find yourself in too much trouble despite these weapon changes.

However, if an opponent launches a fierce counter-attack and you are forced to consume an extra second completing a reload, the situation will certainly become rather precarious.

Historically, Il Toro has been a versatile weapon in all close-quarters engagements and was once a core piece of gear within the dominant PvP meta of ARC Raiders.

If you are a player who prefers PvE gameplay, these changes may be of little consequence to you; however, within PvP sphere, this update certainly signals a potential shift in the landscape of future meta strategies.

While this may result in a diminished PvP experience for you in the short term, it promises to have a profound and positive impact on the future development of ARC Raiders, particularly regarding the balance of its weapon systems.

How to obtain Il Toro?

You may find it as a drop during raids, or you can use 15,000 coins to exchange for a Tier 1 Il Toro at Tian Wen's shop. Of course, our top recommendation is to buy ARC Raiders blueprints, then gather the following materials to craft the weapon at Gunsmith 1 workshop:

• 5x Mechanical Components
• 6x Simple Gun Parts

Il Toro can be upgraded to a maximum of Level 4. Below is a list of all required upgrade materials (all upgrades are performed at Gunsmith 1 workshop):

Il Toro II:

• 1x Il Toro I
• 3x Mechanical Components
• 1x Simple Gun Parts

Il Toro III:

• 1x Il Toro II
• 4x Mechanical Components
• 1x Heavy Gun Parts

Il Toro IV:

• 1x Il Toro III
• 4x Mechanical Components
• 1x Heavy Gun Parts

Other bug fixes

If you happen to be hoarding coins, one of this week's bug fixes brings some decidedly bad news for you: the number of coins received from selling Energy Clips has been reduced from 1,000 to 200.

This item serves as ammunition for energy weapons; however, if you don't use them frequently, selling them off is a viable option.

While 1,000 coins wasn't exactly a massive sum to begin with, a previous design oversight made it far too easy to mass-produce Energy Clips through crafting.

This allowed players to stockpile and sell them in a way that disrupted the game's internal economic balance, hence the need for a fix.

Other fixes included in Patch 1.20.0 are as follows:

• Fixed an issue where residual sound effects from ARC enemies Comet and Fireball would continue to play even after the enemies had been eliminated.
• Fixed an issue in Dam Controlled Access Zone where players could potentially be squeezed through walls and become stuck.
• Fixed an issue in Spaceport map where collision detection was missing in the area near the eastern elevators and beneath the piping.

Finally, it is worth noting an additional issue that has recently surfaced: due to the anti-cheat system occasionally misidentifying certain input commands, players utilizing accessibility peripherals may face accidental bans.

If you happen to encounter this unfortunate situation, please be sure to submit an appeal request immediately. The development team will review your case and unban your account, ensuring you can resume playing the game without interruption.

That wraps up everything we have to share with you in this update. The new March update is also just around the corner. Stay tuned and get ready!

Crackling Energy Sorcerer was a massive favorite back in Diablo 4 Season 11. A quick look at the Sorcerer leaderboards in The Pit showed countless players mastering this build, and in Season 12, it remains one of the most dominant forces in the entire game. Its power rivals that of any top-tier setup, including Paladin.

This build offers incredible clear speed, making it a top-tier choice for fast farming. More importantly, it handles the increased difficulty introduced in Season 12 with ease. Its greatest strength lies in its phenomenal single-target damage. In short, it excels in every scenario and is a blast to play.

How Crackling Energy Sorcerer Works?

Esadora's Overflowing Cameo

This entire playstyle is built around one key item: Esadora's Overflowing Cameo. A Sorcerer has multiple ways to generate Crackling Energy, such as through the skill Ball Lightning or the passive Static Discharge. These energy orbs appear on the ground when monsters are defeated or when certain skills trigger.

Upon picking up Crackling Energy, you gain stacks, and your character becomes wreathed in arcs of lightning that automatically strike nearby foes.

When you reach maximum stacks while wearing Esadora's Overflowing Cameo, a cascade occurs, rapidly unleashing all stored energy. At this moment, every lightning arc focuses on the single closest target, delivering a continuous barrage of strikes ten times faster than normal.

This is the secret behind the build's incredible single-target damage. During boss encounters, you will witness their health bar vanish as you effectively channel all your area-of-effect power onto them.

As for groups, your clear speed is determined by how quickly you can chain through individual monsters. However, with constant Teleports to reposition, the efficiency is surprisingly fast in endgame, whether you're leveling or farming Diablo 4 gold.

How to Scale Your Damage?

The damage of Crackling Energy is boosted by global damage modifiers and specific bonuses to Lightning damage. However, the most significant and impactful way to scale it is by stacking skill ranks.

The discharge from Esadora's Overflowing Cameo benefits exponentially from your skill ranks. Therefore, the core of this build is to maximize this stat as much as possible.

Vex Rune

A previous bug prevented Vex Rune's bonus to skill ranks from applying to amulets, but this has now been fixed. Utilizing it to boost your skills effectively grants a massive 180% multiplicative damage increase, making the build even more formidable.

Core Skills

This build features three Core skills on its action bar simultaneously: Charge Bolts, Chain Lightning, and Ball Lightning. This strategy allows affixes on your weapon, offhand, and gloves that grant ranks to Core skills to benefit all three simultaneously, maximizing the return.

All Add Skills Level Affixes

When you have affixes that boost all skills, this multiplier applies to a wide range of abilities—the three Core skills plus various passives—making it incredibly potent. Ultimately, your total skill ranks can easily reach around 100, which translates to a 10 to 12-fold multiplier for Esadora's Overflowing Cameo's discharge.

Crackling Energy Sorcerer Skills

The following skills should be placed on your action bar:

• Teleport
• Chain Lightning
• Ball Lightning
• Charge Bolts
• Unstable Currents
• Lightning Spear

Beyond the action bar, skills like Familiar also require some of your skill points, as it can be triggered by your Ultimate, Unstable Currents. Other skills such as Ice Armor and Flame Shield are utilized through their enchantment effects.

Your primary method of dealing damage is to cast Ball Lightning frequently. Your Ultimate ability, Unstable Currents, randomly triggers various lightning skills, including Charge Bolts.

Charge Bolts serves as a vital AoE skill. When triggered, it fans out, dealing widespread damage and helping you rapidly clear packs of lesser monsters.

Lightning Spear contributes additional damage and, crucially, applies Vulnerable to all monsters it hits. Combined with Aspect of Shredding Blades, it deals even more damage to vulnerable enemies.

Crackling Energy Sorcerer Gear

While Esadora's Overflowing Cameo is absolutely essential for Crackling Energy Sorcerer, several other items can be swapped based on availability. Here are some of the key Uniques you'll aim for before acquiring Mythic items:

• Esadora's Overflowing Cameo
• Temerity
• Godslayer Crown
• Orsivane
• Raiment of the Infinite
• Galvanic Azurite
• Esu's Heirloom

Although the build doesn't carry active defensive skills on its bar, your character is far from fragile.

Orsivane is a core weapon for this setup. Besides granting ranks to Core skills, its unique property provides a significant damage reduction bonus as long as you have no defensive skills on your bar.

You can place defensive skills in your enchantment slots to gain their benefits for free.

• Ice Armor: Using a healing potion automatically grants a robust barrier.
• Flame Shield: Taking fatal damage or dropping to critically low health automatically triggers Flame Shield, protecting you from harm.

Temerity, the unique pants, allows you to generate a barrier simply by dealing damage. Given the high attack frequency from Crackling Energy, Lightning Spear, and your Ultimate, this barrier is almost constantly active, greatly enhancing your survivability. Any hit that isn't strong enough to eliminate you in one blow is quickly absorbed by this barrier.

Mobility

In addition to Teleport on your skill bar, you can socket a Jah Rune to gain a second Teleport charge, further boosting your movement speed through maps.

If you want to push speed to its absolute limit, you can swap to The Oculus. Its effect resets Teleport's cooldown whenever you strike an enemy with it, enabling a chain of endless teleports to instantly traverse entire zones. You can keep The Oculus in your inventory and equip it specifically for situations demanding maximum speed.

Crackling Energy Sorcerer is an incredibly versatile build and is exceptionally well-suited for tackling the challenging bosses introduced in Diablo 4 Season 12. If you enjoyed it in Season 11, you'll find it remains a powerhouse in Season 12, made even stronger by the fix to Vex Rune interaction.

If we were to categorize all the gameplay modes in MLB the Show 26, the most common division would be online and offline modes. These two modes are not interoperable due to different network requirements, resulting in differences in gameplay details.

The offline mode is generally more user-friendly, especially in terms of hitting, as it avoids the inconvenience of network latency and overly strong real opponents.

However, for truly thrilling virtual baseball competition, online modes like Diamond Dynasty Ranked Seasons or Battle Royale are undoubtedly the best choice!

To help you smoothly experience the online mode and win rewards in the finally officially launched MLB 26, we will provide the most comprehensive virtual online hitting techniques.

Basic info you should know

In baseball, hitting is also called batting. The corresponding hitter in a game refers to facing the opposing pitcher and using a bat to hit the ball to score for your team.

In the virtual game MLB 26, if you're playing as a batter, you need to use player Plate Coverage Indicator (PCI) to match your swing landing point. Key elements include PCI placement and timing of the hit.

While every position on the field is important, the hitter is indeed the primary scorer, and hitting is considered the most difficult baseball move.

A common misconception about improving hitting ability is that it's about improving reaction time. This is indeed important in real games, but in a game controlled by a controller, batting strategy and practice are key.

Adjusting settings

All the actions you make as a player in MLB the Show 26 are based on your controller settings. Therefore, the more reasonable your background settings, the better your actual hitting experience and performance will be.

Besides the final fine-tuning based on personal preference, the first thing to do among all the general best settings is to modify your Hitting Interface settings.

Zone is used most frequently, and PCI Sensitivity determines PCI movement speed. While a higher PCI Sensitivity value results in faster reaction times, excessive sensitivity can be overwhelming for beginners.

Next, you'll need to adjust Camera Settings. We recommend selecting Strike Zone and Strike Zone High for a closer look at the impact point. This allows for a clearer observation of the ball's trajectory, enabling you to react promptly if the pitch deviates from the strike zone.

However, if you are an experienced MLB player, you can experiment with different camera angles based on MLB 26 variations to find a setting that suits you best.

Pre-adjusting PCI position

PCI stands for Plate Coverage Indicator. It visually represents the potential impact zone - the area where the hitter is most likely to effectively strike the ball.

Therefore, we suggest adjusting PCI position before pitching, based on your prediction of the pitcher's intended area, rather than leaving it centered in the strike zone by default.

This is because in online games, most of your opponents are likely to habitually throw specific pitches into predictable, specific areas.

For example, if an opposing pitcher attempts a jam ball, and your PCI starting position is on the top edge or inside the strike zone, you can simply move your thumb quickly to react.

This not only improves your speed in dealing with common pitching spots but also gives you enough room to adjust when the ball deviates from your expected trajectory, preventing you from missing scoring opportunities due to frantic action.

Mastering common pitching strategies

As a hitter, you'll mostly be facing the opposing pitcher. While there are many strong online players, many actually play by following certain patterns.

Common pitching patterns include throwing fastballs when you're leading or using breaking balls to induce an early swing and cause an error.

If you don't encounter these patterns in the game, you can observe your opponents' pitching habits in the first few innings. This allows you to anticipate the ball's landing point and type in the second half of the game, effectively suppressing the opponent's scoring.

Stay patient

The reason some hitters fall into the breaking ball traps we mentioned is that they lack patience and blindly swing without analyzing the pitch.

To become a top hitter, you should remain patient, calmly handle the first half of the game, forcing the opposing pitcher to panic due to deep counts and throw mistake pitches.

Practice actively

The achievements of any baseball star are inseparable from hard work, and the same applies to playing the game in MLB the Show 26!

Because online games are more difficult and unpredictable, we recommend choosing high difficulty levels for practice. This way, as you improve through practice, you'll find most opponents are insignificant.

Furthermore, if you want to conduct targeted batting practice, choose pitchers with extremely fastballs as preset opponents. No real person could be as good as them!

Don't give up too early

Sometimes you might lose confidence in online games due to setbacks like multiple strikeouts, and then approach the rest of the game negatively. This is a big mistake.

Unless you're really unlucky and get matched with an opponent far stronger than you, a temporary slump doesn't mean anything. Instead, you should actively adjust your strategy, be more focused than the previous inning, capitalize on your opponent's mistakes, and turn the tide.

That concludes our introduction to hitting techniques. With the official launch of MLB the Show 26, more players are joining the game, so go and compete with them!

Although this year has seen the release of many excellent games, such as Resident Evil Requiem and Crimson Desert, the gaming community has already tacitly agreed that the true king of the year will be GTA 6, launching on November 19th.

Many players have been waiting for over a decade, and the stellar performance of Red Dead Redemption 2 has solidified their belief that Grand Theft Auto 6 will push graphical fidelity to another level. However, this brings up another question: what kind of hardware will it require?

Will GTA 6 Be Delayed Again?

Official financial reports have confirmed that GTA 6 will arrive in Fall 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Looking at the studio's past release patterns - Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26, 2018, and GTA 5 on September 17, 2013 - November 2026 shapes up to be the most likely launch window. It seems a delay is unlikely.

But PC gamers will need more patience. The publisher of GTA has a long-standing strategy of launching on consoles first before porting to PC. The PC version of GTA 5 arrived nearly a year and a half after the console versions, and Red Dead Redemption 2 had a one-year gap. Following this pattern, the PC version of GTA VI might not meet PC players until late 2027 or even 2028.

Due to past chip shortages, neither PlayStation nor Xbox have immediate plans for next-generation consoles. This gives us at least one optimistic takeaway: if your current setup isn't inferior to a PS5, you likely won't need to upgrade your hardware just yet.

Predicting GTA 6 Hardware Requirements

Currently, official hasn't released any official information regarding the specifications for GTA 6. The various requirement lists circulating online are all predictions from players and media.

Nevertheless, almost everyone assumes Grand Theft Auto 6 will be a massive game with correspondingly high demands. 16GB of RAM might be the baseline, but for a superior experience, especially with 4K and ray tracing, 32GB is considered necessary by many forecasters.

Regarding the game's size, some community leaks have suggested it could be a staggering 500GB. This might be an exaggeration, but a conservative estimate would place the install size well over 150GB, potentially reaching 200GB or more.

Consequently, a Solid State Drive (SSD) will be non-negotiable, as traditional hard drives won't be able to keep up with the data streaming demands of an open world.

If you're willing to wait for the PC release, here are the predicted specifications you might use as a guideline for future upgrades.

Optimistic Prediction

Minimum Requirements:

• CPU: Intel i5-10400 / AMD R5 3600
• GPU: Nvidia GTX 1660 / AMD RX 5700
• RAM: 16GB
• Storage: 150GB SSD

Recommended Requirements

• CPU: Intel i7-10700
• GPU: Nvidia RTX 3060
• RAM: 16-32GB
• Storage: 150GB SSD

Comprehensive Prediction

Minimum Requirements

• CPU: Intel i7-8700K / AMD R7 3700X
• GPU: Nvidia RTX 3060 / AMD RX 6600XT
• RAM: 16GB
• Storage: 150-200GB SSD

Recommended Requirements

• CPU: Intel i9-10900K / AMD R5 5900X
• GPU: Nvidia RTX 3080 / AMD RX 6800XT
• RAM: 32GB
• Storage: 200GB+ SSD

Why Such High Requirements?

GTA 6 is taking another leap forward in world-building. The beautiful buildings you see in the world won't just be empty shells; you'll be able to actively enter and explore them - and perhaps even rob them!

Leaked information from 2022 mentioned the game could feature up to 157 enterable buildings, which was already a massive number.

Further rumors suggest this figure could be as high as 400, or even exceed 700 enterable stores and interior spaces. While this seems incredible, considering Red Dead Redemption 2 had around 200 enterable buildings, it's not entirely far-fetched for a next-gen titan like GTA 6 to have two to three times that amount.

In previous installments, many buildings were only accessible during specific missions and permanently closed afterward. The primary reason for this was performance limitations. For instance, GTA 5, launched on PS3 with only 256MB of RAM, simply couldn't load the entire map alongside numerous complex interiors simultaneously. With PS5 boasting 16GB of RAM, this might no longer be a bottleneck.

Additionally, the trailer shows that interiors can be seen behind the glass windows of many buildings. But are these actual, explorable interiors, or a 3D visual illusion created using techniques like Parallax Interiors? 

While such techniques will likely be used, the studio also holds a patent for Interior Generation. This technology could automatically generate matching room interiors based on the building's type, its neighborhood, and narrative purpose. If this patent is utilized, the richness and variety of interiors in Grand Theft Auto VI could be on an entirely different level.

Should You Upgrade Your Rig?

If you absolutely need to play GTA 6 at launch, you'll need to check if you own one of the two consoles. You have four options: the standard PS5, Xbox Series S, PS5 Pro, and Xbox Series X.

You don't need to worry about GTA 6‘s performance on these systems. Official will optimize the game to the best of their ability, even if it means pushing these consoles to their absolute limits.

Comparing the four, PlayStation consoles generally have a slight edge over Xbox counterparts. However, if you're on a tighter budget, Xbox Series X (or S) will still deliver a smooth gameplay experience.

If you're a PC gamer planning to build a new machine specifically for GTA 6, now might not be the ideal time. Components like SSDs and GPUs are currently seeing price hikes. By the time GTA 6 arrives on PC, their value will likely have normalized.

Ultimately, GTA 6 might just showcase what the next generation of gaming truly looks like. Preparing your system for it could also ensure you're ready to enjoy other upcoming titles that push technological boundaries.

Provided the current album theme aligns appropriately, Monopoly Go occasionally launches temporary crossover events. For instance, with the current Posh Pets Album in full swing, Sanrio series, famous for its adorable animal characters, creates a perfect thematic synergy!

On March 10 and March 15, 2026, Monopoly Go hosted Hello Kitty Partners and Hello Kitty Prize Drop events, respectively. Now, just as the latter is drawing to a close on March 17, a brand-new event, Hello Kitty Treasures, is set to go live!

So, how long will this digging event last, and what rewards can you earn if you give it your all? We're here to tell you everything you need to know.

Hello Kitty Treasures release date

This event kicks off on March 17, 2026, at 10:00 AM PST, and runs until 1:00 PM on March 22. This gives you at least five full days to participate, a window that conveniently includes the better part of a weekend!

How does the event work?

While the ultimate grand prizes may vary depending on the specific event theme, the core mechanics of every treasure digging event remain largely the same.

As a special solo event within the game, treasure digging requires you to use special pickaxe tokens to excavate squares within a grid. By unearthing hidden treasures, you complete levels and earn rewards.

The event consists of multiple levels; for each level, the game provides a general outline indicating where the required treasures might be located within the grid.

Each time you consume a token to click on a square: if you uncover a piece of a treasure, the square will reveal a treasure fragment; if you don't find anything, the square will simply remain empty.

Successfully unearthing all the designated treasures within the current level allows you to advance to the next.

As you progress through the levels, the rewards become increasingly generous; the final grand prize for this event includes a massive haul of dice, a Wild Sticker, and a brand-new board token!

How to earn pickaxe tokens?

As the essential currency required to advance in Hello Kitty Treasures, these tokens are awarded as prizes during most of Monopoly Go's standard daily activities. All you have to do is participate in as many of these activities as possible!

Additionally, to help you get started right away, the game provides you with 4 free tokens to kick things off. Once the event concludes, any remaining tokens you have left over will be automatically converted into dice at a 1-to-3 ratio.

Daily events

Every day, Monopoly Go launches new banner events or tournaments. During Hello Kitty Treasures event, the milestone rewards for these daily activities will include pickaxe tokens.

To earn these rewards, you must spend dice rolls to advance across the game board, earning points by playing mini-games or landing on specific tiles to unlock further milestones.

The daily events currently confirmed to offer pickaxe tokens this week are the tournament on March 17th and Trinket Trove event. Be sure to participate before they end!

Daily Quick Wins tasks

Every morning, the game refreshes with three randomized Quick Wins tasks. Completing each task grants you three small rewards. During Hello Kitty Treasures event, one of these three rewards will be pickaxe tokens.

The full list of tasks and rewards for March 17th is as follows:

• Pass Go 2 times: 15 Free Dice Rolls, 3 Peg-E Tokens, 4 Pickaxe Tokens
• Complete 2 Shut Downs: Cash, 5 Peg-E Tokens, 4 Pickaxe Tokens
• Land on Community Chest 1 time: 20 Free Dice Rolls, 7 Peg-E Tokens, 4 Pickaxe Tokens

If you successfully complete all Quick Wins tasks every day throughout the week, you will also unlock an extra grand prize on Sunday. Since Hello Kitty Treasures happens to conclude this coming Sunday, we hope you didn't miss out on the tasks from March 16th!

Claiming store gifts

Every eight hours, the in-game Monopoly Go store refreshes with a gift; occasionally, pickaxe tokens may appear as one of these gifts.

However, please note that these gifts do not stack. This means that even if you wait 24 hours between visits, you will only be able to claim one gift rather than three. To avoid missing out, it is best to claim your gifts as soon as they become available.

Playing the event itself

Pickaxe tokens are also included among the rewards for certain stages within Hello Kitty Treasures event itself; simply successfully clear a stage to unlock them.

What rewards can you earn?

In addition to the ultimate grand prize, you will receive a selection of rewards for every Hello Kitty Treasures stage you successfully complete. The higher the stage level, the more substantial the rewards. The details are as follows:

Level 1-10

• Level 1: 4x4 Board; 50 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 2: 6x4 Board; Cash Reward
• Level 3: 6x5 Board; 75 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 4: 5x5 Board; 100-300 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 5: 5x5 Board; Green Sticker Pack
• Level 6: 6x4 Board; Cash Reward, 4 Pickaxe Tokens
• Level 7: 6x6 Board; 100 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 8: 6x7 Board; 100-400 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 9: 5x4 Board; Yellow Sticker Pack
• Level 10: 6x4 Board; Cash Reward, 5 Pickaxe Tokens

Level 11-20

• Level 11: 7x7 Board; 200 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 12: 6x6 Board; 100-500 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 13: 6x4 Board; Cash Reward
• Level 14: 5x6 Board; 150 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 15: 5x5 Board; Cash Reward
• Level 16: 7x7 Board; 300-700 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 17: 7x7 Board; Cash Reward, 7 Pickaxe Tokens
• Level 18: 6x6 Board; 200 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 19: 4x7 Board; Pink Sticker Pack
• Level 20: 6x6 Board; 100-400 Free Dice Rolls

Level 21-30

• Level 21: 4x7 Board; Cash Reward
• Level 22: 6x6 Board; 150 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 23: 6x4 Board; Cash Reward
• Level 24: 7x7 Board; 300-700 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 25: 7x7 Board; 500 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 26: 6x4 Board; Cash Reward
• Level 27: 5x4 Board; Pink Sticker Pack
• Level 28: 7x7 Board; 100-500 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 29: 7x4 Board; 200 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 30: 7x5 Board; Blue Sticker Pack

Levels 31-40

• Level 31: 6x6 Board; Cash Reward
• Level 32: 7x7 Board; Purple Sticker Pack
• Level 33: 6x6 Board; Cinnamoroll Heart Board Token
• Level 34: 5x5 Board; 300 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 35: 7x7 Board; Cash Reward
• Level 36: 6x6 Board; 300-700 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 37: 7x4 Board; 250 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 38: 4x5 Board; 100-300 Free Dice Rolls
• Level 39: 6x4 Board; Cash Reward
• Level 40: 7x7 Board; 2,000 Free Dice Rolls, Wild Sticker

Among these rewards, Cinnamoroll Heart Board Token, much like the event's Hello Kitty theme, comes from the adorable Sanrio universe. If you're a fan, this is something you definitely won't want to miss!

That covers everything you need to know to participate in Hello Kitty Treasures event. Remember to join immediately once the event begins to avoid running into the predicament of not having enough tokens!

While the valiant Helldivers have nearly annihilated 97% of the enemy forces during Major Order, it's somewhat disheartening that High Command has deemed the operation a failure. However, the next wave of enemy offensives is imminent.

On March 17, Helldivers 2 Entrenched Division Warbond will be deployed, providing weaponry for the next brutal confrontation. These tools of war have an old-school, vintage aesthetic; you might think they drew inspiration from World War II designs, but their origins may stretch back even further. Let's examine the historical prototypes that inspired these arms and equipment.

Armor Sets

• CPG-48 Sapper
• CPH-26 Commander

Both of these armor sets consist of olive drab fabric, knee-high military combat boots, and leather gloves. The style of these uniforms is influenced by the attire of British soldiers during World War I. Of course, there are some key distinctions.

CPG-48 Sapper features a metal breastplate and knee guards, but its most iconic element is the wide-brimmed helmet. Its prototype is Brodie helmet issued to British infantry units. Nicknamed the tin hat, washbasin, or bathtub for its resemblance to a small pot worn on the head, this helmet is a signature piece. Beyond increased explosive damage resistance, this armor also provides additional grenade slots.

CPH-26 Commander lacks the metallic armor plates of Sapper variant, as it is a light armor set. Its helmet appears to be modeled on the trench caps, or gore blimey caps, often worn by British officers during First World War.

CPH-26 Commander grants the wearer enhanced resistance to explosions and gas, along with reduced sidearm recoil. This may reference the first large-scale German chlorine gas attack near Ypres in 1915, which poisoned 15,000 Allied soldiers, making gas protection a critical consideration for frontline troops thereafter.

SMG/FLAM-34 Stoker

SMG/FLAM-34 Stoker is equipped with an underbarrel flamethrower that you can switch to and use at any time.

This is a weapon with a very rugged firing mechanism; it has few direct prototypes and seems more like a novel creation assembled from various inspirations. However, the flamethrower itself was also first used in combat by German forces at Verdun in 1915.

P-69 Veto

P-69 Veto is a sidearm that fires jet-assisted rounds. Even with limited knowledge of firearms, one can instantly recognize its prototype: the famous Mauser C96.

Production of Mauser C96 began as early as 1896. During World War I, due to shortages of the standard-issue Luger P08 pistol, German military urgently procured approximately 137,000 Mauser C96s. By the outbreak of World War II, over 1.1 million Mausers had been manufactured and deployed across battlefields worldwide.

CQC-73 Entrenchment Tool

Previously only available as a pickup item on the map, CQC-73 Entrenchment Tool is now officially an unlockable piece of equipment. It can be used to dig trenches or serve as a melee weapon to decisively crush the skulls of democracy's enemies.

The shovel's role as a melee weapon stems from World War I, where rifles fitted with bayonets proved too long and cumbersome for close-quarters trench warfare. The entrenching tool, valued for its durability and versatility in both digging fortifications and striking enemies, became one of the most popular cold weapons of trench combat.

G-13 Giga Grenade

G-13 Giga Grenade consists of three hand grenades bundled together. This type of improvised grenade, first used by German forces during World War I, was created by wiring several stick grenades (Stielhandgranate) together to inflict greater damage on vehicles and fortifications.

G-13 Giga Grenade is heavy, so it can't be thrown very far, but one can expect it to be tremendously powerful upon detonation. At least in the preview, it appears capable of destroying enemy tank units—something Helldivers are sure to appreciate.

AGM-17 Gas Mortar Sentry (Stratagem)

AGM-17 Gas Mortar Sentry excels at crowd control, as it can disorient large groups of enemies while inflicting sustained damage. This stratagem is a direct reference to innovations from WWI.

Following Second Battle of Ypres on April 22, 1915, chemical warfare escalated rapidly. In February 1916, French forces deployed artillery shells containing phosgene; by July 1917, German forces used mustard gas shells. Both sides sought to project chemical agents onto enemy positions via artillery. While the intensity of WWI may not have reached the levels of WWII, the brutality witnessed on the battlefields was arguably even more profound.

B/Flam-80 Cremator (Stratagem)

B/Flam-80 Cremator is fed by a backpack supply, requiring no reloading. Based on the preview, it appears not only to ignite enemies but also to impede their movement.

It is inspired by a weapon system first introduced by German forces in 1915. The initial version was the large flamethrower (Grossflammenwerfer), requiring a two-man crew and used primarily in defensive roles. It was eventually succeeded by smaller, man-portable versions (Kleinflammenwerfer). B/Flam-80 Cremator clearly draws inspiration from the larger variant, offering an extended burning range.

Diplomatic Handshake (Emote)

Entrenched Division Warbond's influence from World War I extends beyond this.The new emote, Diplomatic Handshake, is not a random gesture conjured by High Command; it is based on Christmas Truce of 1914, or All Together Now statue commemorating it.

On Christmas Day 1914, British and German soldiers along various sections of Western Front spontaneously declared a ceasefire. They laid down their arms, crossed No Man's Land, celebrated the holiday together, and even organized football matches. It stands as one of the most remarkable moments of peace amidst the brutality of First World War.

Entrenched Division Warbond carries significant commemorative weight, but it may also serve as a hint that the coming battles will be as grueling as those of World War I. Helldivers, set aside your differences, aim your weapons at the true enemies of Super Earth.

In ARC Raiders, the start of a new week signifies the opportunity to kick off your weekly loot-gathering journey by tackling the latest set of trials. Beginning your week with these objective-driven missions provides a clear structure and focus for your gaming sessions.

Since Expedition 3 has only recently begun in the game, these seemingly simple trials actually represent your safest and most reliable method right now for acquiring essential basic materials.

In this guide, we will walk you through everything included in Week 20 trials, which went live on March 16th, and provide the perfect strategies for completing each one.

Week 20 trials overview

As with previous weeks, this week's trials consist of five specific objectives. These tasks typically involve transporting designated cargo or dealing damage to specific types of ARC enemies.

None of Week 20 trials are particularly difficult; however, if you wish to maximize your rewards and potentially acquire rare ARC Raiders blueprints that are hard to come by otherwise, you will need to earn at least 4,000 points within a single mission.

Get hit by lightning

To be honest, when you first see this trial objective, your immediate reaction will probably be, You've got to be kidding me! After all, getting struck by lightning in the game results in your character taking damage.

Nevertheless, whether the developers were running low on ideas or simply wanted to test your self-healing capabilities, you must complete this challenge if you don't want to miss out on the rewards.

To do so, you must first wait for an Electromagnetic Storm event to spawn on any given map, as this is the only event that causes lightning to appear in the surrounding environment.

Since these map events are time-limited, and you certainly don't want to waste time standing around doing nothing, you need to master the patterns of the lightning's appearance and descent. Your goal is to get struck as many times as possible within the short duration of the event.

If lightning is about to strike a specific spot on the map, a glowing blue circle will appear on the ground at that location. Simply keep a close watch; if you step into the circle ahead of time and wait for the lightning to descend, you will successfully get struck.

Of course, to earn enough points to maximize your trial rewards, you will need to get struck multiple times. Therefore, be sure to bring plenty of healing supplies so you can continuously heal yourself while getting zapped, it makes for a truly comical scene!

Damage Hornets

This type of objective has appeared in previous weekly trials as well. While Hornets are not considered the most difficult type of ARC enemy to deal with, getting hit by their stun rounds will leave you stunned for a few seconds and will also reduce your shields.

Therefore, the key to taking down Hornets lies in dodging their stun grenades while simultaneously destroying any of the thrusters located on their bodies to destabilize them.

Another tricky aspect is that Hornets invariably appear alongside swarms of Wasps, which serve to provide them with a certain degree of protection. However, Wasps appear to be significantly easier to eliminate, so there is no need to worry about them.

Damage flying ARC enemies inside Spaceport walls

This trial strictly confines the mission area to the zone marked by boundary lines within Spaceport map; you must eliminate a sufficient number of flying ARC enemies within this specific area to earn trial points.

Do not worry that the reduced operational area will prevent enemies from spawning frequently; to ensure you can successfully complete the objective, the game will significantly increase the spawn rate of flying ARCs during specific time intervals.

ARC Raiders features a wide variety of flying PvE enemy types. In addition to Hornets and Wasps mentioned in the second trial, the following units are also present:

• Snitch
• Spotter
• Fireflys
• Rocketeers

Among these, Firefly was a new addition introduced in Shrouded Sky update released in February. Once it detects you, it will attack using a flamethrower; you can inflict damage by shooting at its thrusters while simultaneously utilizing cover to dodge its attacks.

Of all the flying ARC enemies, Rocketeer is the largest and presents the greatest challenge to eliminate; consequently, taking down a single Rocketeer yields the highest number of trial points. However, you should not overlook opportunities to eliminate the other enemy types as well.

Also Read: ARC Raiders Shrouded Sky Update: Increased Difficulty, Key Room Controversies, and Player Demands for Balance Changes

Damage Bombardiers

This particular ARC enemy is far more dangerous than any of the flying bots mentioned above. It is a massive, heavily armored unit capable of launching devastating long-range mortar fire to inflict catastrophic damage to you.

To make matters even trickier, every Bombardier is flanked by two Spotters. These Spotters not only act as bodyguards but also mark your location, thereby facilitating Bombardier's attacks.

Therefore, we recommend prioritizing the elimination of Spotters first, a tactic that also helps prevent other nearby players from detecting your position. However, be aware that Spotters will eventually respawn.

Consequently, immediately after eliminating Spotters, you must aim for Bombardier's weak points to take it down as quickly as possible: destroy the yellow knee joints to cripple its mobility, and then destroy the rear-mounted cylinders to completely disable its propulsion system.

Common spawn locations for this enemy include:

• Dam Battlegrounds: Primary Facility (Night Raid)
• Buried City: Parking Garage, Marano Park, North of Plaza Rosa
• Spaceport: East of Vehicle Maintenance, The Trench
• Blue Gate: Raider's Refuge, Checkpoint, Traffic Tunnel

In addition to serving as a trial objective, Bombardiers may drop the following materials upon death; you can use these, along with any blueprints you've acquired, to craft additional weapons:

• ARC Powercell
• ARC Alloy
• Mechanical Components
• Advanced ARC Powercell
• ARC Flex Rubber
• ARC Motion Core
• Launcher Ammo
• Bombardier Cell

Deliver carriables

This mission requires you to locate crates and transport them to Field Depots within the current map, or to find batteries and deliver them to Substations.

Theoretically, crates can be found in every map except Stella Montis; however, you may prefer to complete this task in a map where you are more familiar with the terrain.

Although the mission itself does not strictly require combat, carrying a crate will significantly reduce your movement speed and generate noise, which may attract ARC or other players.

Therefore, if possible, it is recommended that you team up with one or two friends to complete this mission, taking turns to cover one another.

If other players approach, simply letting them know that you are currently working on a mission may be enough to convince them to leave you be.

The information above covers everything you need to know to complete all the trials for ARC Raiders Week 20. You can choose to start immediately, or wait to complete them during off-peak hours on the weekend - just be sure not to forget!