General News

May Lightning Collections currently offers one of the highest value reward pools this season, with free Jacob Misiorowski and affordable Konnor Griffin.

However, there is more than one path to completing this collection, with different options varying significantly in terms of time and Stubs costs.

This article will analyze the practical value of each card in May Lightning Collections and provide a strategy for the fastest acquisition of free cards, allowing you to achieve the most cost-effective lineup with the fewest Stubs.

Card Value Analysis

Evaluating each card in May Lightning Collections requires considering three dimensions: positional competition intensity, left-handed hitting balance, and defensive stats.

High Price Trap

Fernando Tatis Jr. is expensive but underperforms compared to free or mid-price alternatives. Fernando Tatis Jr. lacks switch-hitting attributes, resulting in low contact stats against right-handed pitchers, while the vast majority of high-ranking pitchers in the game are right-handed.

In contrast, Konnor Griffin, also in the collection, offers 115/103 two-sided contact, 99 speed, and versatility, all at a significantly lower cost. Therefore, investing resources in Fernando Tatis Jr. is not a rational choice.

Mid-Priced Useful Card

Besides Jacob Misiorowski, Konnor Griffin is the second recommended target. His speed, base stealing ability, and versatility make him a versatile player in MLB 26 lineup, and his price is stable.

Cody Bellinger offers balanced contact stats across the board. Combined with Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter traits, he becomes a reliable corner outfielder after Parallel. Other cards like Travis d'Arnaud are not recommended to obtain unless you're aiming to complete a collection bonus.

Free Top-Tier Card

Jacob Misiorowski is the only top-tier pitcher in this collection that can be obtained without any MLB The Show 26 Stubs. Players can consistently acquire this card by completing Moments and missions in Spotlight.

His left-handed H/9 is extremely high, effectively countering the numerous switch-hitting players prevalent in MLB 26. His outlier is positioned on Fastball and Slider, and his pitching mechanics are similar to John Donaldson but lack a Sinker, thus avoiding the weakness of being frequently attacked. It is recommended to allocate Parallel points to K/9 to further amplify his pressure.

Acquisition Path

May Lightning Collections offers up to 7 free packs, obtained through a combination of Spotlight missions, player unlocks, and collection bonuses. Below is a detailed guide on how to efficiently acquire these 7 free packs and recommended mission-farming methods.

Progression-Based Packs

The first 5 packs are obtained from Spotlight page by accumulating stars by completing Moments or missions. Each pack typically requires only about 50 stars to unlock.

The 6th pack is triggered after unlocking Cody Bellinger by completing a mission to gain 500 player experience points. This step is essentially an "unlocking reward," not a separate objective farming process.

The 7th card pack comes from Retro May collection progress reward and requires no additional battle action.

XP Farming

Unlocking the 6th card pack depends on player experience missions, therefore, it requires quickly farming XP through high-efficiency game modes. Among all modes in MLB The Show 26, Play vs CPU is the most stable and controllable method.

Missions usually require accumulating player experience. The most efficient way is to enter single-player mode, select Play vs. CPU, and set the difficulty to Legend or GOAT.

At these two difficulties, the computer pitcher's ball rate is extremely high, but most pitches in the strike zone land in the center, making it easier to hit home runs than on All-Star difficulty.

The specific steps are as follows:

1. Position the target player as the first batter.
2. After the first at-bat, intentionally strike out or complete a defensive inning, then leave the game.
3. Repeat the cycle.

Of course, if you need to complete multiple missions simultaneously, you can position all three mission players as the first three batters.

Alternatives to Mini Seasons

For players who don't want to quit frequently, Mini Seasons mode in MLB 26 is an option. Set the difficulty to Beginner or Rookie, and each match can be completed in its entirety, accumulating mission progress and earning season reward packs.

Although each match is longer, other team missions can be completed simultaneously. It's recommended to use Mini Seasons as your primary farming method, only using a quick quit loop when you need to push for the final few experience points.

Resource Reallocation Strategy

Following this guide, players can maximize reward value and Stubs efficiency in under 2 hours. Among the seven free cards, you might get high-value cards like Byron Buxton or Pete Alonso.

These cards typically sell for between 50,000 and 100,000 MLB The Show 26 Stubs on the market, but their actual competitive value isn't significantly higher than less expensive alternatives. The correct approach is to sell them immediately.

After opening the pack, go to the community market and search for the current lowest selling price of Byron Buxton and Pete Alonso. List them at a price slightly lower than the current price by 1% to 2% to expedite the sale. Once you have Stubs, immediately get the two lowest-priced collectible cards.

The remaining Stubs can be used to acquire Konnor Griffin or saved for your next collection. The price of one Byron Buxton is enough to cover the cost of three to four low-priced cards.

Don't use the high-priced cards you get yourself. While Byron Buxton's defense is fast, his contact stats are severely lacking against difficult pitchers; while Pete Alonso has high power, he is slow and unable to defend key positions. Using them to generate liquidity and then acquiring more useful cards is a better resource reallocation.

Focusing on acquiring the free Jacob Misiorowski and affordable Konnor Griffin from MLB The Show 26, selling the high-priced, non-useful cards, and using CPU's high-difficulty two-inning loop to grind experience points, you can complete all the free rewards within two hours, which is the optimal solution in terms of time and resources.

The second special event for The Simpsons album in Monopoly Go has arrived. You can once again earn new cosmetics, but the real challenge lies in how you will gather enough points before the event ends.

Simpsons Drop is an unassuming special event that offers quite decent rewards, but many players tend to fall into misunderstandings during the event and fail to maximize their benefits. Let us take a look at what rewards you can get and what strategies you can use.

Date

Monopoly Go Simpsons Drop event lasts only two days, which means you do not have much time to collect Peg-E tokens either. The event runs as follows:

• Start: June 7, 2026, at 4:00 PM ET
• End: June 9, 2026, at 1:00 PM ET

Simpsons Drop Rewards

The rewards in this Simpsons Drop event are mostly cosmetics. You will need roughly 27,000 points to unlock all rewards across both pages.

Page One Rewards

Page Two Rewards

The reward interface consists of two pages. Only after you have completed all the reward milestones on the first page will the second page automatically unlock.

How to Play Simpsons Drop?

Simpsons Drop is essentially a prize drop game. You release Peg-E Tokens from the top, and they bounce off a series of pegs before falling into different slots at the bottom, and the bottom slots usually reward you with cash rewards. Your total gain is determined by how many tokens you drop and where they land. The gameplay is very similar to that of Pachinko.

In addition to the milestone rewards from Simpsons Drop itself, you can also earn regular rewards while playing, such as dice, cash, and Monopoly Go stickers. You can choose which side to start from based on the specific rewards on offer.

How to Get Peg-E Tokens?

To take part in Simpsons Drop, you need to use Peg-E Tokens. The main sources of these tokens include:

• Tournaments and Banner Events: The milestone rewards in these two activities include hundreds of Peg-E tokens. You will need to earn points in those events to unlock these rewards.
• Free Gift: The main game interface offers a free gift pack at regular intervals (it refreshes every eight hours). However, it does not provide many Peg-E tokens.
• Quick Wins: These are rewards for completing simple daily tasks. During Monopoly Go Simpsons Drop event, Quick Wins will award Peg-E tokens.
• Simpsons Drop: Simpsons Drop event itself sometimes offers token rewards as well, but you must hit them within the mini game.

How to Earn Points?

You may prefer to aim for bumpers first in order to get more dice. In fact, cash also plays an important role in Simpsons Drop mode.

Every Peg-E token drop gives you a fixed 4 points. On top of that, you can convert a certain amount of cash rewards into points. You can find a ball that falls only into a cash slot and barely touches any bumper, then record the cash you get. Watch how many points your point bar increases by. This method lets you work out an approximate conversion rate between cash and points in Simpsons Drop.

If that conversion rate is high enough, you should stop focusing on bumpers and instead aim for the jackpot slot at the very bottom center. The jackpot gives you a large amount of cash, and after conversion into points, that amount is usually far greater than what bumpers can provide.

If this condition is met, your goal should be to have your tokens land in the high-amount slots (especially the jackpot area) as often as possible, rather than triggering bumpers repeatedly in exchange for dice. While dice are useful, in Simpsons Drop mode cash is directly turned into a large number of points, which might actually allow you to save dice.

Simpsons Drop Strategy

Multiplier Selection

It is recommended that you use a 30x or 100x multiplier for each drop. But be cautious with the 100x multiplier: if a drop goes badly, your losses will be greatly magnified. The 30x multiplier is a safer and still efficient choice.

Adjust Your Drop Position

Do not always drop from the same position. Instead, you should flexibly choose the left or right drop location based on the current rewards shown on the bumpers.

For example, if the left bumper shows a token reward and the right bumper shows a dice reward, and you need dice more at that moment, then you should drop from the left side. Do the opposite when you need tokens instead. By changing the side from which you start your drop, you control the approximate path of the token, thus increasing your chance of hitting the target reward area.

Save Your Tokens

Hold onto your Peg-E tokens and use them in a concentrated manner on the last day of the event. This is a strategy adopted by many skilled players.

During the event, the reward lineup may be adjusted midway. By waiting until the final day, you can see the final and best reward configuration. You can then decide on your drop strategy accordingly, avoiding wasting tokens on poor early rewards.

On the first day of the event, you should only complete basic token collection without making any drops. Then, on the last day, examine the reward page, confirm your targets, and only then go all out.

These are the main rewards and strategies for Monopoly Go Simpsons Drop event from June 7 to June 9. We hope you successfully obtain all the milestone rewards.

Raiders, have you heard? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ are releasing in the second half of this year. On one hand, there's a game with a large fan base; on the other hand, there's a game that's only scheduled for two major updates a year. And the next update will coincide with the release of DMZ. Can ARC Raiders withstand the pressure and retain its players?

Yes, you might have realized that if ARC Raiders doesn't release a decent update this October, a significant number of players may switch to the more innovative DMZ.

However, we still believe that DMZ won't be the end of ARC Raiders. ARC Raiders' game quality is solid, providing players with a unique experience, and its development team has established itself as an innovator in the shooter genre.

We cannot deny that DMZ will indeed bring tremendous competitive pressure to ARC Raiders, especially since ARC Raiders has announced that it will only have two major updates per year. Players would naturally prefer to try a shooting game that offers a fresher experience.

The Dilemma of ARC Raiders

In fact, the decision to only have two major updates per year is ARC Raiders' most fatal problem.

Even without DMZ, this decision could directly lead to a significant loss of long-term player motivation.

On the one hand, players who have always craved a constant stream of new content, new weapons, and sufficiently challenging ARC Raiders blueprints will feel demotivated.

On the other hand, as the game progresses, most players will gradually complete the collection of rare blueprints and the main in-game missions. After that, the sense of accomplishment players derive from ARC Raiders will plummet.

Once most players have reached the endgame, the motivation for PvP will also wane, and people will collectively begin searching for the next enticing goal.

While the development team has its reasons for not updating as frequently as Fortnite, if the next update this year isn't innovative enough for players, then ARC Raiders will truly face the risk of a precipitous drop in player numbers.

DMZ's Competitive Advantages

Frankly, DMZ, backed by Modern Warfare 4, boasts a massive user base and substantial development investment.

DMZ mode, originally introduced in Modern Warfare 2, was essentially a half-finished test version. While it had the basic framework of an extraction shooter, the development team didn't invest enough time and resources in polishing its operation; it was more like a blind imitation of popular extraction shooters.

However, we can clearly say that DMZ, soon to be released in Modern Warfare 4, is a complete version. And the development team has invested more time and effort in perfecting it than before.

Even those not die-hard Call of Duty players have admitted to feeling a strong interest in DMZ after seeing its concept and trailers.

Therefore, DMZ's core advantage lies in Call of Duty's massive player base, stable update schedule, and abundant financial and marketing resources. Once they're determined to make a good escape-shooter game, they can really attract a large number of casual or hardcore players who originally belonged to ARC Raiders in a short period of time.

Changing Player Psychology and Market Environment

The decline in player numbers experienced by ARC Raiders is not so much related to the quality of the game itself, but rather an inevitable result of the current gaming market environment.

Today's players find it difficult to maintain long-term attention on the same game because there are too many flashy games to choose from, and people always tend to chase the latest and most popular content.

ARC Raiders didn't opt ​​for the frenetic update pace of Fortnite, which inevitably prevented it from maintaining the same level of player enthusiasm. However, this does not mean that ARC Raiders will decline, but rather that it will gain a healthier, but smaller, loyal player base.

However, DMZ happens to be the newest and hottest competitor, able to leverage CoD's brand power and marketing tactics to attract a large number of undecided players.

Key Influencing Factors for the Future

Although the situation facing ARC Raiders is currently quite severe, there is still some room for maneuver.

If ARC Raiders development team can deliver a truly significant content evolution in their major October update, rather than just minor tweaks, then ARC Raiders can still maintain its footing. It would be even better if they could leverage the competitive pressure from DMZ to drive their own innovation.

However, since what we've seen so far is only the concept and trailers for DMZ, we must remain clear-headed. Call of Duty has a history of disconnect between marketing and actual gameplay.

Their trailers are indeed stunning, but once Modern Warfare 4 DMZ are actually released, they may fall into the trap of poor hit detection, overly cartoonish skins, and childish design.

Therefore, DMZ won't necessarily cause ARC Raiders to decline. We'll have to wait for DMZ's final release to see if it actually maintains the tension and tactical depth that extraction shooters should have, or if it will simply become another fast-paced, imitative game.

ARC Raiders won't be completely destroyed by DMZ, but the development team must take this strong competitive signal seriously. Hopefully, ARC Raiders can deliver more solid innovation under pressure!

Since the launch of Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0, the game has been well-received by players thanks to its rich mechanics and effective endgame changes; however, a steady stream of bugs has accompanied this release.

While most bugs simply disrupt the gameplay experience, some create specific exploits that allow players to game the system and earn more loot than intended. Although this might seem appealing, such exploits can severely destabilize the game's economy.

A bug of this nature recently appeared in Path of Exile 2, though fortunately, the developers quickly deployed a hotfix. Here is a breakdown of the situation.

What exactly was the bug?

Fate of the Vaal league, introduced during Patch 0.4.0, brought Atziri's Temple mechanic to the game. This feature was retained as part of the core game following the launch of Patch 0.5.0, allowing players to continue earning rewards through it.

The mechanic had frequently encountered issues during Patch 0.4.0, prompting ongoing fixes from the development team. In this latest instance, players discovered a specific exploit that enabled them to amass large amounts of currency in a short period.

At first glance, this might seem like a golden opportunity to stockpile the currency. However, anyone familiar with ARPGs knows that such bugs can eventually cause the game's economy to collapse, making even basic items difficult to obtain.

Fortunately, perhaps due to the recent spate of bugs, the development team quickly identified the issue and immediately implemented a fix. You can now experience Atziri's Temple normally (provided no other issues arise).

However, if you run into trouble while exploring the temple itself and need currency to upgrade your gear and characters, we highly recommend checking out IGGM safe and cheap PoE 2 currency for sale!

How does Atziri's Temple work?

Upon reaching Act 3, you will randomly encounter scattered Vaal Beacons within the corrupted areas of various zones. Enemies will spawn around these beacons; defeating them charges the beacon, allowing you to activate it.

Once you activate six beacons, a portal to Atziri's Temple (also known as Lira Vaal Temple) will appear nearby, granting you access to a temple run.

The temple features a grid-like layout similar to a chessboard; you can customize your own farming strategy by placing rooms and paths, though you must ensure a route exists to the chamber housing the ultimate boss, Queen Atziri.

As you progress through the temple, you will encounter various enemies. Beyond serving as map nodes, the rooms act as modifiers that provide special effects, such as buffing enemies or increasing loot yields.

These enemies also drop Atziri's Temple Medallions. Different types of medallions serve different purposes: some upgrade rooms, while others prevent rooms from becoming corrupted and rendered useless.

Each room can be upgraded up to twice by meeting specific connectivity requirements. However, to maintain game balance, the benefits begin to diminish if the layout contains more than four rooms of the same type.

Additionally, to unlock Atziri's Chamber, you must encounter and defeat Architect boss to obtain Royal Access Chamber and place it along your route.

Despite being plagued by bugs since its launch, Atziri's Temple has remained popular with players due to the combination of its complexity and high rewards. It has undergone further adjustments since being integrated into the core game mechanics.

Atziri's Temple in Patch 0.5.0

In addition to the standard mechanics mentioned above, Atziri's Temple now features a dedicated Atlas passive skill tree. This allows you to further enrich the gameplay and rewards by unlocking various combinations of nodes.

To earn the points needed to unlock these nodes, you can start from the designated point in City of Lira Vaal and locate Energised Crystals within the city; these grant you usable points.

Furthermore, Vaal Beacons, previously scattered randomly, can now be guaranteed to appear on the map by using the corresponding Temple Precursor Tablets. This feature is ideal if you prefer the temple content over Runes of Aldur mechanic.

To help you reach the final boss and clear the temple more quickly, the number of placeable rooms has been increased. Additionally, unlocking specific nodes on the passive tree allows rooms to be upgraded up to level 4.

These are the core gameplay changes; Patch 0.5.0 also includes various other detailed optimizations for Atziri's Temple. That is precisely why this feature remains highly popular, even with the new league mechanics in place.

Why did the development team fix the bug so quickly?

In fact, during previous leagues, the economy was often destabilized to the point where the player experience was ruined. Complaints would inevitably surface toward the end of a league, yet the developers would either fail to respond or react far too late.

This time, however, PoE 2 development team took immediate action the moment the bug appeared, releasing an emergency hotfix to reduce the rewards from Atziri's Temple. While you might be pleased by this, you may also be wondering why the response was so swift.

We speculate that, as a new core mechanic, Atziri's Temple likely underwent systematic optimization prior to the launch of Patch 0.5.0, making it easier to fix than a brand-new system.

Furthermore, Return of the Ancients is likely the final major patch before the official launch of Path of Exile 2 Version 1.0. Failure to resolve issues early on could lead to a collapse later down the line, jeopardizing the game's release schedule and damaging its reputation among the player base.

Although some players find the recent flurry of bugs and fixes a bit of a hassle, preferring to wait a while before diving into Patch 0.5.0, the general sentiment regarding the game's future remains optimistic.

That covers everything for now. If you previously steered clear of Atziri's Temple out of concern that the effort wouldn't be worth the reward, now is the time to jump back in! Have fun!

Good news! CoD: Black Ops 7 officially launched on June 4th, along with a new Battle Pass. However, the bad news is that Season 4 will only last three weeks, as the developers are focusing on preparing for Reloaded update, which will launch mid-season, although this update itself will only last four weeks.

This Battle Pass is spearheaded by Leon Rook, a key guild weapon against JSOC's dominance. The basic pass costs 1,100 CP. The bundle version costs 2,400 CP and includes a 20-level jump bonus.

BlackCell version of Battle Pass costs $30 and includes Catalyst character, a Mastercraft blueprint, and variant content unlockable through challenges.

Completing the entire Battle Pass will also reward players with Rook's Devastator Ultra Skin.

Therefore, players need to be prepared and complete all Battle Pass rewards within the limited time to avoid missing the deadline. Next, follow this guide to explore the most worthwhile high-value rewards in Battle Pass and how to efficiently and quickly acquire them.

New Weapons

CoD: Black Ops 7 Season 4 added six weapons, two of which are included in Battle Pass rewards: KRS-7.62 and CBRS-3. As free weapons, both KRS-7.62 and CBRS-3 have their own unique characteristics and are both very powerful, making them rewards you should definitely obtain.

KRS-7.62

KRS-7.62 is a semi-automatic marksman rifle, precise and with extremely high damage. At max level, it has 38 levels. Its advantage lies in providing a longer effective range than submachine guns and assault rifles, without the cumbersome aiming and bolt-action burden of bolt-action sniper rifles.

It's no exaggeration to say that its damage output allows for a stable two-shot kill on an unarmored enemy at 25 meters. This gives KRS-7.62 a significant advantage in close to medium-range firefights. 

Its exclusive top-tier attachment - 15-inch MFS Incursion barrel - significantly enhances its penetration damage, bullet velocity, and visual recoil stability, key to further boosting its dominance.

This gun's strength is directly tied to individual marksmanship. If you can consistently hit headshots, its performance will far surpass similar weapons. For players aiming for the ultimate skill ceiling, it could very well be one of the key weapons to change the meta this season.

CBRS-3

CBRS-3 is a fully automatic submachine gun, positioned as an all-around primary weapon in CoD: Black Ops 7. It boasts a massive 60-round base magazine capacity, which can be further expanded through upgrades, providing players with exceptional sustained combat capability.

Moreover, its core value lies in the perfect combination of safety and mobility. In fast-paced firefights, you don't need to reload frequently, meaning you can focus more on the battle. Its exclusive attachment, MFS Carousel quick-reload magazine, significantly improves its reload speed and handling.

The official description states that CBRS-3 excels in range and recoil control, making its mid-range performance superior to most existing submachine guns.

Acquisition Strategy

These two guns are located on pages three and six of CoD: Black Ops 7 Battle Pass, respectively, which is relatively early in the game. This means you can unlock pages and claim rewards using Tokens after unlocking Battle Pass.

If you are using BlackCell version of Battle Pass, you can directly use Page Unlock privileges to jump to page three or six, eliminating the need to unlock pages sequentially using Tokens.

If you are using the regular version of Battle Pass, you can farm points and skeletons by killing bots in Resurgence mode or by playing high-round saves in Moshpit or Zombies mode to farm zombies and earn Tokens, which can also quickly unlock the pages containing KRS-7.62 and CBRS-3.

As for pages 12 and 15, their unique cosmetic weapon blueprints are also available. KRS-7.62 HVT blueprint offers players a better starting configuration and a Season 4 exclusive paint job, while CBRS-3 HVT blueprint is specifically tailored for it, optimizing its aiming speed and mobility at close to mid-range.

After unlocking these two weapons, truly mastering their full potential requires extensive practical training, which also serves to upgrade the weapons. If you don't want to participate in intense and dangerous PvP battles without familiarizing yourself with the weapons and risk losing your preparation, you can train in CoD Black Ops 7 Bot Lobbies.

Therefore, for players with similar needs but seeking speed and efficiency, we recommend to buy CoD Black Ops 7 Bot Lobbies from IGGM.com. Delivery is extremely fast, and the rooms are absolutely secure, allowing you to safely experiment with different playstyles and tactics.

Catalyst Collection - BlackCell Exclusive Rewards

When discussing high-value rewards in Battle Pass of CoD: Black Ops 7 Season 4, Catalyst Collection is a must-mention. Unlike KRS-7.62 and CBRS-3, it's a BlackCell exclusive reward list containing 14 premium assets.

Catalyst Collection is arguably the core theme asset pack of Season 4, inspired by bio-engineering and viral modifications. Characters and weapons emanate a menacing green bio-toxic smoke and unique glowing effects. Rewards are divided into four categories:

1. Catalyst Special Forces and VariantsS

• Catalyst (Basic): A chemical warfare expert belonging to The Guild, wearing a gas mask and bio-tactical armor, surrounded by a green bio-toxic mist vapor effect. Available immediately upon getting BlackCell Battle Pass on Instant Unlock page.
• Flux and Thorn Variants: Unlocked for free by completing the season-exclusive In-game Challenges. These two variants feature changes to the bio-armor's visual details and the mask's glowing color.
• Additional BlackCell Collaboration Special Forces Variants: The collection also includes several BlackCell customization skins for regular Battle Pass characters.

2. Master Weapon Blueprints

• Tox Nova: A top-tier Master weapon crafted specifically for Core weapons, featuring a unique inspection animation, green bio-toxin tracer rounds, and dissolving death effects. It's also an instant unlock reward obtained upon acquiring BlackCell.
• Two Challenge Variants: Tox Axis and Tox Pyro: Players can upgrade the weapon's toxin effects and visual color scheme to two different limited-edition forms simply by equipping the weapon and completing designated high-difficulty kill challenges in CoD: Black Ops 7 matches, without additional payment.

3. Exclusive Dynamic Camo Tracks for Biohazard Weapons

Catalyst Collection includes five dynamic weapon camouflages and one Mastery Camo. Mastery Camo can be unlocked by completing five categories of challenges. All of these camouflages can be applied to weapons.

4. Exclusive Personalization Attachments

• Execution Animation: Banged Up
• Smart Attachment: Chronovainn Gun Screen, which records your kill streaks and match data in real time.

It's important to note that because of CoD: Black Ops 7's permanent discontinuation mechanism, all items in Catalyst Collection will become unavailable after Season 4 and cannot be obtained again. Therefore, if there are any collectible items, unlock BlackCell and collect tokens as soon as possible.

Acquisition Strategies

To quickly unlock items in BlackCell, you first need to acquire many Tokens. For different items, you can follow these strategies for collection:

• Flux and Tox Axis Blueprints: Accumulate 5,000 Skulls through kills in any mode.
• Thorn and Tox Pyro Blueprints: Accumulate 40 Triple Skulls through multi-kills, quick kills, and triple kills.

Tox Carnage Blueprint and Hemlock Dark Ops skin are the most difficult to obtain, requiring specific conditions to be met in a single mode:

• Endgame: Eliminate 150 enemies in Zone 4 or higher without taking damage.
• Multiplayer: Achieve 5 consecutive headshots without dying.
• Zombies: Quickly kill 2 elite zombies in a row.
• Warzone: Achieve 5 consecutive headshots without dying (Normal mode, not valid in Casual mode).

In short, whether you're a hardcore player seeking exclusive BlackCell skins and dynamic camouflage, or a casual player hoping to acquire the powerful KRS-7.62 and CBRS-3 weapons for free through Battle Pass, CoD: Black Ops 7 Season 4 Battle Pass offers a wealth of rewards.

All players should choose Battle Pass version that best suits their BlackCell preferences and season progress plans to efficiently claim all rewards within the remaining season.

Nearly a month has passed since the release of Phase 2 for WoW TBC Classic Anniversary, and while top-tier players have mostly reached BIS gear, many casual players are still struggling through raids and dungeons.

In WoW TBC Classic Anniversary, the progression gap between different player groups has actually become quite large. The root of this divide does not originate from Phase 2 alone; in fact, the trend was already present during Phase 1, and Phase 2 has only widened it further.

Phase 2 Raids

BCC Anniversary Phase 2 raids launched in a nerfed state, which lowered the requirements for positioning, ability usage, and even gear. Along with several new speed-running techniques, some players claim that Phase 2 raids are extremely easy. Nevertheless, a significant number of players have still not managed to complete them.

The efficiency of clearing all raids has not been as high as expected either. Only truly hardcore groups can compress the run time to around ninety minutes, while nearly fifty percent of players cannot finish all the instances in a single night.

These players typically take on Serpentshrine Cavern one evening and The Eye the next. That means each character requires two raid nights per week. If you maintain two characters, you will spend nearly half of your week - or even more - engaged in raids. For busier players, it might take two full weeks to complete all the raids.

Multiple Characters

Having multiple characters is precisely where the gap originates. The most hardcore players can manage several characters at once and clear instances with remarkable efficiency. Once one character obtains the best loot, they immediately switch to another character, develop it as a main, and rapidly pull ahead of others in terms of gear.

All hardcore players are doing this. Their raid groups do not need an entire evening to finish Serpentshrine Cavern or The Eye. They complete their tasks extremely quickly and then move on to the next raids. This advantage began accumulating in Phase 1. A casual player might only reach, by week three or four, the progression that hardcore players had already achieved in week one.

If you also want to develop an alt account, you can participate in IGGM's WoW 60 Game Time giveway on Discord. You have the opportunity to get two months for free to develop your character.

Trash Mob

Trash mob mechanics are another major culprit. These mobs block your path and waste your time, and they are threatening in their own right.

In the past, you could clear trash in seconds, as in Karazhan. Now, however, you need extensive explanation and coordination. Once a mistake causes a wipe, players repeatedly drop out of the group.

For ordinary raid teams, this makes boss encounters like Kael'thas Sunstrider extremely difficult. No player wants to reclear trash after a wipe, and the group will almost certainly disband as a result. If players choose to leave, they might not have time to rejoin the raid until the following week, which severely slows down their progress.

Split Runs

Hardcore guilds encounter none of these problems. They clear instances with great ease and have highly optimized rosters. But that does not mean faster clearing teams are necessarily more skilled. Hardcore guilds are accumulating far more gear than anyone else through split runs.

The world's fastest guilds are conducting four or five different split runs. In doing so, they secure more and more gear for their core members. Assuming Black Temple or Sunwell Plateau opens in an unnerfed state, these guilds will enjoy a massive item level advantage over everyone else.

Consumable Costs

The gap also appears in consumable costs. When your guild wipes repeatedly, each wipe consumes more consumables. Everyone uses food buffs, elixirs, and flasks. These expenses add up significantly. Essentially, each raid attempt takes hundreds of WoW TBC Classic Anniversary gold. As soon as something goes wrong, people immediately leave the group.

Moreover, the most hardcore players never have anyone leave their groups. Therefore, they do not need to replace members during an instance. That is precisely why ordinary raids take so long.

Loot Systems

The soft reserve run system fails to keep players around. There is no mechanism binding players to a soft reserve group. They have no incentive to stay; once the item they want does not drop - or does drop - they leave immediately.

In contrast, other loot team such as GDKP, you will never see people leaving. Most players may dislike GDKP, but the current pickup group environment is unnecessarily harsh. If you are currently in a TBC guild, the experience can be quite good. If you are in a pug, however, you are likely facing a 7-hour raid ordeal.

Casual players are forced to do all sorts of things, such as constantly recruiting in trade chat to fill their groups, only to spend an entire evening without defeating a single boss. Meanwhile, other groups keep pulling ahead. They have split runs, and when they merge everyone back into the main team, they will be ten item levels above the average player.

WoW TBC Classic Anniversary has performed reasonably well up through Phase 2, but the official team clearly needs to offer more support to casual players. Otherwise, those players may fall so far behind in progression that they choose to quit.

As the World Cup approaches, fans unable to attend in person, or simply wanting to play the matches themselves, are turning their attention to FC 26 to experience the magic of the tournament through a virtual football game.

Following the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup, players could continue to experience the World Cup Mode in FIFA 23. However, the situation has changed this time due to licensing issues.

Here, we explore the relationship between the World Cup and FC 26, as well as the best ways to experience the tournament's atmosphere within the game.

Can you play World Cup Mode in FC 26?

While people still colloquially refer to the game as FIFA 26, the series actually lost the official FIFA license after FIFA 23; its official branding now carries EA Sports FC prefix. Consequently, no specific license was sought for the World Cup in FC 26.

As a result, you won't find a dedicated World Cup Mode in the game. However, to provide a similar experience, FUT 26 has introduced The World's Game Update. You can think of this as an unofficial, yet content-rich, alternative to the traditional World Cup Mode.

What does The World's Game Update include?

Released on June 4, this update introduces a new tournament mode and adds World Cup-themed content to core modes like Ultimate Team and Career Mode. Additionally, Season 8: Festival of Football has launched alongside it.

The World's Game Mode

This mode serves as a new, indirect iteration of the classic World Cup Mode, specifically taking the form of a special tournament.

Thanks to licensing agreements with select teams, you can take control of your favorite squads in this limited-time tournament and lead them to victory.

There are currently 48 playable teams confirmed, with the tournament progressing through group stages, knockout rounds, and the final stages.

Ultimate Team updates

While not an official virtual World Cup game, The World's Game Update will roll out five promos in Ultimate Team throughout the tournament period.

These promos will introduce new player cards and allow you to upgrade them based on the real-world World Cup schedule. Path to Glory Team 1 promotion is currently live.

You can buy FC 26 coins on IGGM and then decide whether to trade cards directly on the transfer market or redeem packs for random draws.

Additionally, by logging into the game and entering Ultimate Team between June 5 and July 24, you can claim a 93 OVR Festival of Football ICON Pelé as a free reward.

Furthermore, until July 19, you can progressively apply additional Evolution effects to this player item through daily gameplay. Completing all Evolutions will boost OVR to 96 and significantly enhance the card's attributes.

While playing various modes within Ultimate Team, you can now earn extra tokens to redeem for rewards, with a maximum of 1,000 tokens earnable per week.

Another new feature, Journey of Nations, will periodically release five continental objectives one by one; completing each unlocks an ICON player, and finishing the entire set grants an additional JoN Diego Maradona:

• North America (June 4, 2026): Hugo Sánchez
• Asia & Oceania (June 12, 2026): Saeed Al-Owairan
• Africa (June 19, 2026): Jay-Jay Okocha
• South America (June 26, 2026): Carlos Alberto
• Europe - Friday (July 3, 2026): Gerd Müller

Career Mode updates

In this mode, you can build a glorious career as either a team manager or a player.

Building on this foundation, The World's Game Update introduces international men's tournaments to the mode, following the same basic rules as The World's Game Mode.

You can now add an available national team to manage when starting a Career Mode save and progress by completing specific objectives. You can also experience new ICONs and Heroes added as part of Festival of Football event.

Other changes

In addition to the World Cup-themed content, the simultaneous launch of Season 8 brings routine updates to FUT 26, including internal adjustments to the club system and AI optimizations.

Furthermore, starting June 19, a new batch of players will be added to the game as Greats of the Game versions, with their base items arriving after June 26.

Does The World's Game Update have any shortcomings?

Due to the lack of an official FIFA license, The World's Game Update misses out on many official elements found in a dedicated World Cup mode; furthermore, some teams are forced to use fictional players, which somewhat detracts from the overall experience.

Consequently, if you are looking for an experience that faithfully recreates the real-life World Cup, The World's Game might fall short; however, when combined with other game modes, it still offers a wealth of playable content.

In short, while a dedicated World Cup mode does not appear in EA FC 26 in the strict sense, The World's Game Update indirectly makes up for this absence. If you're interested, give it a try now!

In Diablo 4 Season 14, Mythic items have undergone a significant rework. They are no longer limited to a handful of fixed pieces; instead, all Ancestral Unique items now have a chance to become Mythic items. Meanwhile, some older Mythic items will see their effects adjusted or even completely reworked.

Melted Heart of Selig, a Mythic item that has long been a core component of Barbarian, has been significantly nerfed. Barbarians have also received other direct and indirect nerfs in Season 14, so let's examine the impact of these changes on Barbarian class.

Barbarian Nerfs

Melted Heart of Selig

Melted Heart of Selig was primarily used by Barbarians, even though other classes could theoretically become unkillable with it. The reason Barbarians could maximize its value lies in the class's ability to amplify damage output efficiently.

According to the official patch notes, the development team fixed an issue where Barbarians could gain infinite Fury and become invincible when building around Melted Heart of Selig in a specific way. In Season 14, achieving true invincibility with Melted Heart of Selig is no longer possible. Although PTR patch notes, the practical effect is a significant nerf.

Heir of Perdition

Heir of Perdition has also undergone adjustments. The older version provided an 80x damage multiplier, whereas the new version reduces that to 15x. However, the new version retains the critical strike chance affix. This means that if you keep an older Heir of Perdition or Ring of Starless Skies, your actual damage output might be higher, because in Season 14 most builds struggle to reach 100% critical strike chance.

Endurant Faith

The second nerf concerns Endurant Faith. Previously, it offered substantial damage reduction whenever you took damage exceeding 30% of your maximum life. Unkillable Barbarians often kept their life pool very low, causing nearly every attack to trigger this damage reduction and spread the damage over the following four seconds. Now, this effect has been cut in half, so Barbarians in Diablo 4 Season 14 will clearly feel increased pressure on their survivability.

Aspect of Limitless Rage

Barbarians, as the most dominant class in previous seasons - especially Whirlwind build - have received a more direct blow. In Season 14, this build will hardly be viable. The core reason is that the values on Aspect of Limitless Rage have been drastically lowered:

The old version granted 1% to 1.5% increased damage per point of Fury generated. When placed on a two-handed weapon (doubling the effect), that reached 3% per point. This bonus lasted four seconds. The new version, however, grants up to 0.22% increased damage per point of Fury generated, capping at 300 or 350 Fury. The duration remains four seconds. With a two-handed weapon, the actual value is about 0.4% per point. A drop from 3% to 0.4% is undoubtedly a steep nerf.

Aspect of Glynn's Anvil

Aspect of Glynn's Anvil has also been adjusted in Season 14. It now increases a Barbarian's maximum Resolve stacks by 2, with each stack providing 4% damage reduction, up to a maximum of 40%. This means that no matter how many Resolve stacks you accumulate, the damage reduction cap is 40%. For comparison, other defensive aspects can directly offer 40% damage reduction without requiring additional investment. Thus, Aspect of Glynn's Anvil is no longer competitive in Season 14.

Global Gear Adjustments

Diablo 4 Season 14 will allow players to turn all of their gear pieces into Mythic quality. This means every affix can roll perfectly. For example, Ugly Bastard Helm or Tuskhelm of Joritz the Mighty can retain their original damage multipliers while also gaining additional affixes such as maximum Fury or Fury generation. To some extent, this can compensate for Barbarian's losses from nerfs.

It is worth noting that since Heir of Perdition has lost its critical strike chance affix while older versions still retain it, legacy gear from the previous season may end up being more powerful than equivalent gear from the new season. Players are advised not to salvage any strong legacy items, especially those with critical strike affixes.

New Mythic items no longer have fixed affixes. For instance, the new Melted Heart of Selig does not always come with critical strike damage. Acquiring both critical strike chance and the correct conversion effects will require significant investment, which will widen the gap between hardcore and casual players. The development team has also hinted at further nerfs to come.

If you want to stockpile some old Mythic items before Season 14 arrives, you can participate in IGGM Lair Bosses Keys and Gems Giveaway on Discord. Farming Lair Bosses remains one of the best ways to obtain Mythic items in Season 13.

Can Barbarians Still Be Played in Season 14?

Barbarians are currently performing very well in PTR 3.1, which may surprise some. Although this class has been a primary target for nerfs in Season 14, the developers have only adjusted the most game-breaking aspects. Other builds, such as Minion Barbarian, remain largely unaffected. This keeps Barbarian one of the most powerful choices; indeed, many skilled players in PTR are still able to clear nearly Tier 140.

Are Season 13 Builds Viable?

Using the nerfed Melted Heart of Selig, it is still possible to clear The Pit at Tier 100, but doing so is quite difficult. The character takes noticeably more damage, and survivability drops significantly - especially against high-burst monsters. For average players, Tier 100 may be the limit.

By increasing damage output and sacrificing some defense, one might push the ceiling slightly higher. However, overall, this build is no longer easy.

Is Unkillable Barbarian Still Playable?

On Torment 12 difficulty, this build remains viable. With extensive gear adjustments and Masterworking, it can work. However, in higher tiers of The Pit, forcing this build is not recommended; returning to a conventional Barbarian build is far more effective instead.

The core gameplay of the new season revolves around crafting. Familiarizing yourself with the gear crafting system in advance will help you better adapt to the changes and close the gap with top-tier players.

Even though Melted Heart of Selig and its related builds have been comprehensively nerfed, Barbarian as a whole remains strong. Even without considering the top-tier builds, there are still plenty of excellent options. Of course, which builds will truly stand out in the end remains to be seen, pending further adjustments.

Players, in Diablo 4 Season 14 PTR 3.1, have you ever played a particularly powerful Druid build? If not, then you definitely can't miss this easy-to-use Landslide Druid. Through a collaboration between The Basilisk and Locran's Talisman, Landslide Druid build successfully addresses the long-standing weakness of this class in Critical Strike Chance!

While Necromancer and Barbarian also have their own strong builds in Season 14 PTR, Landslide Druid can clear level 128 using only basic Diablo 4 items. Its overall potential far surpasses popular builds like Shred Druid, and it's poised to become one of the core gameplay styles of Season 14 Druid.

Core Strategy for Landslide Druid Build

The core contradiction in Landslide Druid build on PTR lies in the fact that while Locran's Talisman provides a high independent multiplier damage of 80, it directly reduces Critical Strike Chance by 50%. 

However, Druid's Critical Strike Damage source is inherently unstable, so you must compensate for this deficiency through other means.

The solution in Landslide Druid build is to introduce The Basilisk, a unique staff item. It not only provides 115% Critical Strike Chance but also comes with 2x independent multiplier damage.

More importantly, when combined with Mlor of the Old Mountain set bonus, every time an Earth Skill hits an enemy, Petrify is automatically triggered, ensuring the full Critical Strike Chance effect of The Basilisk is maintained throughout the entire build.

This way, players only need to stack approximately 40% Critical Strike Chance on their gear, and then combine it with Might of the Ursine to completely solve the problem of insufficient Critical Strike Chance.

Key Gear Combinations

This Landslide Druid build revolves around several high-intensity independent multipliers.

Might of the Ursine Unique Ring will provide you with a 17% independent damage increase, and Grizzly Rage has a built-in 2x multiplier, so the two multiplied together can create an almost super high increase.

Additionally, players can use Mythic Seal and Might of the Den Mother Set, which will grant approximately 120% independent damage increase and considerable damage reduction to cope with the survival pressures of Diablo 4 Season 14.

Signet of Pelghain, combined with The Basilisk's high critical strike chance, frequently triggers the freeze effect, further strengthening the control chain and keeping non-unstoppable enemies under control for almost the entire duration.

Currently, there are free giveaways for Diablo 4 items on IGGM Discord, which might help you create a more powerful Landslide Druid build!

Skill Rotation and Resource Management

Because Vulnerable effect remains a pain point for Druid, we will continue to use Lightning Storm to apply Vulnerable to monsters in Landslide Druid build.

In this situation, players must use dual swords to alleviate resource problems, while continuously triggering Unstoppable through runes to achieve stable resource generation.

Specific skill configurations include: Landslide as the core damage dealer, Stone Burst providing approximately 30% armor (it's recommended to change the movement speed cost reduction to extending the cast duration to maintain armor), and Earthen Bulwark for triggering Unstoppable and resource regeneration.

Because of the significant reduction in Resolve stacks in Season 14, the popular Roar of Resolve from Season 13 can be abandoned in favor of prioritizing resilience stacking.

Furthermore, Flickerstep may be discontinued in this build because its Lucky Hit is too low to reset Lightning Storm's cooldown. An alternative is to use nodes with Aspect of Anger Management to maintain a 2.1x multiplier.

Paragon Board and Defense Mechanisms

Recommended Paragon Board nodes for players include Survival Instincts, Dominate, and Spirit. Next, we can select Earth and Sky and Earthen Devastation, then Constricting Tendrils and Outmatch, and finally Headhunter and Heightened Malice.

If the pressure to survive is too great, you can abandon Heightened Malice and switch to Werebear form of a resilient node.

On the defensive front, due to the monsters' continuous petrification from Mlor of the Old Mountain set and the freeze effect from Signet of Pelghain, Crowd Control Duration attribute becomes particularly important. This maximizes the uptime of petrification and freeze, significantly reducing damage taken.

Build Strength Assessment

This Landslide Druid build can clear level 128 even with very basic gear. Compared to other classes, while Necromancer and Barbarian also have strong builds, Landslide Druid is still at a respectable level in the current PTR.

In contrast, while Shred Druid build can utilize Lightning Storm for double counting, its overall multiplier is far inferior to that of Landslide Druid build.

It's also worth noting that Season 14 PTR environment differs significantly from the live servers, and Mythic gear is extremely difficult to obtain in the new season. It remains to be seen whether the development team will revert some of the changes.

In summary, this combination of The Basilisk, Locran's Talisman, and Mlor of the Old Mountain sets brings a new path to Landslide Druid build that combines high Critical Strike Chance, high independent multiplier, and stable control. Its strength can be initially verified in Diablo 4 Season 14 PTR.

If these mechanisms are not further weakened in Season 14, Landslide Druid is very likely to become a truly powerful, mythical combination in Season 14.

As NBA Finals heat up, details about NBA 2K27 are gradually coming to light. Although the game's release is still about three months away, information regarding its launch date, cover athlete, and available platforms has already been leaked.

The leaked information was originally scheduled to be officially announced on NBA 2K27 website on June 9, which lends it a high degree of credibility. Let's take a closer look at what has emerged.

NBA 2K27 Release Date

The leak originated on social media platform X, where a source claimed that NBA 2K27 will officially launch on September 4, 2026, and attached financial documents as supporting evidence. NBA 2K series has followed a relatively consistent promotional cadence for years. If September 4 is indeed the official release date, we can make reasonable projections about key milestones.

Given the remarkable success of Early Access in terms of sales and community satisfaction, this model is likely to return. Early access is expected to open on August 28.

Information about the new City and Seasons is typically revealed one week before the official launch - that is, during the week of Early Access (around the week of August 24).

MyCAREER and MyNBA content, along with creator invitational playtests, are usually scheduled for the week before Early Access, specifically the week of August 17.

As for major game modes like MyTEAM and The W - especially MyTEAM - their details are anticipated to be unveiled as early as the week of August 10.

It is worth noting that these are merely projections based on past patterns. The leaked press release was originally set for June 9, 2026, which is about a month earlier than last year's official announcement on July 9. This could mean that the official news cycle for NBA 2K27 will start earlier than in previous years, and the game may very well bring a host of entirely new content.

Cover Athlete

As many expected, the cover athlete for NBA 2K27 will be Victor Wembanyama, the cornerstone of San Antonio Spurs.

While some commentators joked that it might be a fake cover created by the leaker, the authenticity of the news has been confirmed by multiple sources. Wimbledon himself is also referred to as GOAT by fans on social media.

If the leak is true, this will be the second consecutive year that an international player has served as the cover ambassador for NBA 2K series. The previous cover featured star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Luka Doncic, who played for Dallas Mavericks before joining the Lakers, was also on the cover.

Given his strong chances of winning Finals and his massive impact across the league, the development team's choice of Wembanyama as the cover athlete is arguably one of the least surprising decisions ever.

NBA 2K27 Platforms

The leaked information also mentions the platforms for NBA 2K27: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam), and Nintendo Switch 2. These are all current-generation platforms. Older consoles such as PS4 and Xbox One are not mentioned, which may suggest that NBA 2K27 will not support those devices.

If players still own older consoles like PS4 or Xbox One, they may not be able to play NBA 2K27. For those players, this will certainly be an adjustment.

This is not necessarily bad news, as it signals that NBA 2K series is becoming a pure current-generation exclusive for the first time. Dropping support for older hardware means the development team can focus all its energy on current-generation platforms, which could lead to substantial improvements in gameplay, new features, and more.

What Does NBA 2K27 Need?

The community is generally optimistic about this upcoming title. Many hope to see innovation in game modes - for example, a redesigned King of the Court mode, more ways to earn NBA 2K27 MT or rewards, and the introduction of creative new ways to play.

But none of these is the most important thing. NBA 2K27 needs to make anti-cheat its highest priority. GTA 6 is already set for a November release. The development team has only a short window to make a significant impact.

In NBA 2K26, cheating has evolved into a serious problem. Some players use auto-contest devices, auto-steals, various scripts, and macros to gain an advantage, yet NBA 2K26 has been unable to detect these cheaters at all.

Without strict anti-cheat measures, the game will fail to retain casual players, top-tier competitors, and content creators before GTA 6 arrives. If frustration drives them away, NBA 2K27 will lose its vitality.

Furthermore, given that NBA 2K27 is less than three months away (counting from the time of the leak), a very practical piece of advice is to stop putting any extra money into MyTEAM mode of NBA 2K26 right now. No matter how strong a player's lineup is, the content update cycle for that game has less than two months left, so continuing to invest is unnecessary.

Although Victor Wembanyama as the cover athlete is exciting, the real core highlight of NBA 2K27 is that it has completely broken free from the constraints of older generation consoles. This opens up entirely new possibilities for the game engine, physics, and mode innovation. However, the second half of this year is packed with many exciting game releases, which poses no small challenge for NBA 2K27.