For whatever reason, the developers seem to have a special preference for Druid class. It has been strong for several seasons, and it is still doing very well in The Pit in Season 7.
When players reach the endgame, powerful monsters make it necessary to have a truly powerful build to make players unstoppable in the endgame and have fun. There are many powerful Druid builds, but the most powerful is Cataclysm Druid Build.
Required Aspects: Stormshifter’s Aspect
Required Uniques: Tempest Roar, Mjölnic Ryng, Airidah’s Inexorable Will
Because Cataclysm is a powerful ultimate damage-dealing skill, the idea of this build is to minimize the cooldown of Cataclysm. Airidah’s Inexorable Will and Stormshifter’s Aspect can both reduce the cooldown of your ultimate skill, so these two items are essential.
If you want to farm gold happily in the endgame, then these items are almost essential.
The basic skill of Druid is Maul, which can enhance Druid’s Spirit. At the same time, you also need to point out Enhanced Maul. It can increase your maximum health percentage. This can increase the tolerance in battle. When you are besieged by a group of enemies, more health can keep you fighting longer.
Pulverize is a core skill. When other skills are on cooldown, using Pulverize allows Druid to continue to deal area damage to the enemy. Maul and Pulverize can work together to not only continue to cause damage to the enemy but also protect Druid to a certain extent.
Debilitating Roa can apply debuffs to surrounding enemies. This skill can not only reduce the damage you receive but also provide a certain degree of assistance in the team.
Earthen Bulwark can provide a barrier for Druid when activated. This barrier can make some damage in a short period. How much can be absorbed depends on Druid’s maximum health? The higher the health, the more it absorbs. At the same time, enhancing this skill can also make Druid unstoppable, which is conducive to Druid getting rid of control and moving to a suitable output position.
Hurricane can continuously deal damage to the surrounding area. You can enhance Hurricane with Enhanced Hurricane and Savage Hurricane. Endless Tempest is a must-have skill because it can extend the duration of Hurricane and Cataclysm.
Occult Gems are new gems in Season 7. Each gem can give the character armor and additional special powers.
Witch Power is the theme of Season 7
Unique Power: Vengeful Spirit
Normal Powers:
Purging Touch and Voice of the Stars can work together to allow your Cataclysm to do more damage.
Mercenaries can provide players with an extra boost, don’t ignore their help in the game. Players can hire two types of mercenaries with Gold.
Main Mercenary:
Varyana, Berserker
Skills: Cleave, Recklessness, Whirlwind, No Escape
Reinforcement:
Raheir, Shieldbearer
Both of these mercenaries can be of great help to Druid when facing a group of enemies
Cataclysm Druid is very powerful. When Druid releases Cataclysm, all enemies will be crushed by the powerful damage. Cataclysm Druid also performs well when facing bosses. But you can’t think that Cataclysm Druid is invincible. You still need to pay attention to the order of skill release. When your health reaches a dangerous value, release defensive skills to recover in time.
In general, the feature of Cataclysm Druid Build is simplicity. When the player completes this build, there is almost no difficulty in operation. Just wait for the cooldown of Cataclysm to end, and then release it. Cataclysm Druid allows players to enjoy invincible fun in The Pit, seasonal quests, and nightmare dungeons.
S-Game recently released a demo video about the boss battle, which aroused the strong interest of all players. Below I will share some information about Phantom Blade Zero with you based on this video.
The conventional offensive means of the game are the light attack and heavy attack of the main weapon. Taking PlayStation controller as an example, the corresponding buttons for light and heavy attacks are the square button and the triangle button. Players can use the combination of light and heavy attacks to perform combos, cause damage, and reduce the enemy’s health.
There are two main defensive means in the game:
L1 defense is divided into continuous defense and perfect defense. Press and hold the L1 button. The character will take a defensive posture and defend against the enemy’s attack at the cost of consuming Sha-Chi. If the protagonist’s Sha-Chi is exhausted, there will be a big stiffness, and he will be unable to move for a short time, allowing the enemy to attack.
In contrast, pressing L1 at the moment before the enemy attacks can achieve perfect defense, which will not only not consume your own Sha-Chi, but will reduce the enemy’s Sha-Chi. If the timing is not accurate and perfect defense is not achieved, a certain amount of Sha-Chi will be consumed. Perfection can be judged by the orange sparks of the weapon collision during defense. If the enemy’s Sha-Chi is exhausted, of course, it will enter a big stiffness, and this is the best time for the protagonist to attack.
The slide dodge of the R1 button is a relatively safe defense method in the game. It does not consume any resources and can handle almost all attacks of the enemy in the game.
Among the many enemy attack methods, there are two special attacks that require extra care, namely red light attack and blue light attack.
It is not difficult to see that the core combat system of the game is centered around Sha-Chi.
Different from the defensive system in Sekiro, Sha-Chi is both a defensive resource and an offensive resource. The player’s Sha-Chi can be used for defense or to launch a heavy attack with the triangle button to perform a combo. The enemy can also defend your combo, but it will reduce the enemy’s Sha-Chi.
In summary, the most basic combat strategy of the game is to use L1 to defend perfectly and use the triangle button to perform a heavy attack at the right time, while guarding against the enemy’s undefended red light attack and using R1 to resolve it. For players with a basic understanding of action games, the basic combat mode can be mastered in about ten minutes.
This main weapon is actually the two weapons held by the protagonist in both hands. The short knife in the left hand is Crimson Viper, which is mainly flexible and maneuverable, mainly used in light attacks; the long sword in the right hand is White Serpent, which has large and long attack movements and is mainly used in heavy attacks.
The biggest feature of White Serpent & Crimson Viper is flexibility and maneuverability, and it can execute enemies from a distance.
In the first stage of the boss battle, the player needs to fight seven enemies at the same time. Obviously, the chief is our main target.
If you only attack the chief, you will find that when his health drops to a certain value, a companion will use silk thread to replenish his health. At this moment, you realize that you also need to reduce the number of enemies on the battlefield as soon as possible, and don’t give the chief a chance to recover.
The snake-shaped long sword White Serpent is swung wide, and the action often rotates in a circle, which is very suitable for dealing with multiple enemies. More importantly, the short knife Crimson Viper can trigger the execution action at a distance without getting close to the body, which is very useful for quickly clearing the field.
This weapon’s combo often has a small stiffness when closing the move, and it can stop at any time. When attacking, you can immediately press the perfect defense when you close your hand, and the attack and defense switch is extremely fast.
The feel of Soft Snake Sword is completely different from that of White Serpent & Crimson Viper. When you first use it, it is just like it looks, soft and weak, with low damage and poor ability to reduce Sha-Chi.
The hidden mechanism of Soft Snake Sword is: after holding down L1 to defend, press the triangle button to initiate a new parry action. If you have resources (the points below the weapon icon), consuming one grid of energy to parry the enemy’s blue light attack perfectly can almost instantly clear the enemy’s Sha-Chi value and derive a new combo move.
This demonstration is one-to-many. In action games, one-to-many is not a well-designed battle scene, or it is not compatible. Friends who often play action games must have a deep understanding: the one-to-many in Ninja Gaiden is very fun, but the one-to-one boss battle is not so refreshing; the one-to-one duel in Sekiro is very exciting, but it is easy to be killed by attacks from all sides when it is one-to-many. One-to-one and one-to-many are not easy to balance.
Just like in action movies, if the villains rush forward, two fists cannot beat four hands. Even if the protagonist has a lot of skills, he will probably lose. If the villains stand aside and watch, it is too fake, and anyone can see that it is acting.
The soldiers can neither rush in all at once and beat the protagonist so that he can’t fight back, nor can they just stand by and watch indifferently. These seven brothers have provided a new solution.
When there are many people on the scene, the seven will frequently set up formations and attack together. This not only resets the battlefield situation and prevents the player from being surrounded for a long time, but also gives the player a good time to cause damage, because this move is easy to resolve and can immediately make a set of heavy damage.
When there are not many people on the scene, his companions will take the initiative to adjust their position, surround the protagonist, and attack in turn. This method seems to surround the player, but because the attack and defense speed of the game is very fast, the enemy’s movement time is completely enough for the player to deal with the enemy in front of him, which actually gives the player time to defeat them one by one.
At the end of the demonstration video, the protagonist uses a giant axe to end the chief. It should be noted here that when this giant axe is activated, the protagonist is not invincible and will stop moving when hurt. The video demonstrator is obviously very familiar with this move, so he confidently uses this move to end the battle.
Phantom Blade Zero will announce its release date this year, and you must be impatient! Let us wait for new news about this game together.
At this stage, many players have entered Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree to explore Scadu Altus, but when you approach Shadow Keep from any angle, a message will appear on your screen: "A Great Rune has broken..."
This event will cause a lot of recent changes to the world around you, especially among Miquella’s followers, so you can go back and see their new dialogue. Talking to them may clarify their intentions after the Great Rune is broken.
The good news is that after you receive this message, you will not be locked out of any story quests unless you continue to move forward and defeat other bosses in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
In the previous basic gameplay, players basically choose to defeat Miquella's followers to obtain their Elden Ring Items, such as equipment and weapons as rewards. After Great Rune breaks, some followers will abandon darkness and join the light, and some will continue to follow. You can choose to keep them or defeat them directly according to your needs.
This guide will detail what changes will happen after Great Rune is broken, and may contain spoilers, so players who have not yet dabbled in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC should be aware.
While exploring the southern shores, you will come across a cave that was sealed by Miquella and is very hidden. After Great Rune breaks, the seal is broken. Once you enter this cave, you will continue St. Trina and Thiollier’s questlines.
Thiollier was acquainted with St.Trina before, and he was willing to sacrifice everything to see her one last time. You can tell Thiollier where St.Trina is, and he will be very grateful. But there, he will become a little poisoned and wish to fall into an eternal sleep as soon as possible, just to be with her voice forever.
You can also tell him what St.Trina said, which will make him crazy and hysterically tell you that he is the chosen one, not you. After you anger him, Thiollier will attack you outside Site of Lost Grace. In the end, you will find Thiollier dead next to St. Trina, ending his life in regret.
Very little is known about Freyja, as she has just appeared in Shadow Keep. She seems to be trying to find something here and is very regretful that she didn’t have the chance to let Ansbach teach her knowledge.
After talking to her in front of the Belurat Tower Settlement, you’ll later explore the Shadow Keep’s Specimen Storehouse, where you’ll find Ansbach on the First Floor and Freyja on the Seventh Floor. If you talk to Ansbach first, then talk to Freyja, and then talk to Ansbach again about Freyja’s problems, Ansbach will give you a letter - Freyja’s letter.
If you give this letter to Freyja, she will appear in Enir-Ilim as an antagonist, and you’ll get her equipment and Freyja’s great sword. If you don’t give the letter to Freyja, she won’t appear in Enir-Ilim. We’re not sure yet if Freyja will appear as your ally in Enir-Ilim.
Hornsent had a terrible impression of Marika and her descendants from the beginning, but he became one of Miquella’s followers. After Great Rune Break, Hornsent will tell you that it was because they were cursed by Miquella’s spell.
But now, without the influence of the spell, Hornsent still believes in Miquella very much. His desire for revenge has also emerged, and his next goal is to become an Impaler Messmer.
Needle Knight Leda is like Hornsent, but she feels that Miquella’s enchantment has failed, and she is still very loyal to Miquella. However, she is not sure about the others. This makes her think about whether those people are still worthy of her sword. There will be three options here:
If you suggest that she choose Thiollier, she will think he is not a threat. But if you suggest that she choose neither nor Hornsent, she will follow him instead, because he may defeat Miquella in the later stage.
Regardless of which one you let her choose, when you further explore Shadow Keep, you will find Needle Knight Leda and Hornsent’s Summon Signs together. Now it’s your choice - help one of them.
Some players have a fear of choice and don’t want to help her make a choice, then you can choose to defeat her directly to get her armor and sword. But if you choose to help her eliminate one of them, she will give you two talismans.
Moore is a relatively abnormal person. He said that he did not feel Miquella’s light, and he was sad about Leda’s recent actions. You will also make a choice here to help him:
If you really don’t know and choose the third option, Moore will think that you have no choice and will continue to ask you. So you can only choose between the first and second options. The final result of your choice is currently invisible, and it will only be known at the end of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
After learning about the behavior of Miquella's followers after Great Rune breaks, do you have more confidence in defeating them? I hope you can have fun in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC and create your own legend!
To celebrate your hard work, Zeal of Zenithar Event is back. This time, you’ll earn a new outfit and weapon style by completing daily event quests and earning special parcels.
Here you can find out how to complete daily quests during Zeal of Zenithar event and what rewards you can earn, plus this guide will walk you through all the ways you can save during the event.
Zeal of Zenithar event returns on June 20 at 10am EDT and runs until July 2 at 10am EDT. Until then, you can enjoy massive ESO Gold savings and even earn coffers.
This event brings a 75% reduction in Wayshrine Travel costs, a 50% reduction in Vendor Repair gold costs, and a 10% reduction in Global Vendor prices. These Vendors include merchants who sell items for gold (including Golden and Luxury Vendors, but not Guild Traders), Alliance Points Vendors, Tel Var General Merchants, and even Houses that can be obtained by spending gold.
In addition, Crafting Inspiration gains have also been increased by 100%, so this is a good time to upgrade Crafting Tree. At the same time, this event also provides 3 Event Tickets per day when you complete daily quests, for a total of 39.
However, in order to unlock the daily quests, you need to complete this Introductory Quest first, so get it for free from Crown Store, then go to Belkarth, Craglorn, and complete Unrefusable Offer.
If you don’t know how to find these locations, then a good way to help you get there quickly is to use the portal in any Impresario Tent.
Completing this quest is not difficult. First, Amminus Varo wants Baked Apples, and he asks us to collect wood at a location marked on the map. Then we just need to find and return Zenithar’s Blessed Awl.
After that we need to talk to Amminus Varo again, make an offering to Zenithar and complete Unrefusable Offer. After completing this Introductory Quest, you will unlock the daily repeatable quest: Honest Toil.
If you are confused about any part of the quest, then you can find a cook selling Baked Apples Recipe next to the supply station. In addition, there is a basket of apples on the ground next to Zenithars statue, and the piece of Maple can be found across the stream opposite the quest giver. If you can’t defeat the enemy guarding it, you can sneak up behind him and get the basket without fighting.
You can then access the daily quests in the same area. Honest Toil will give you 3 quests to choose from, but you only need to complete 1 of them to turn the quest in to Fasaria and get your Event Tickets.
The first time you complete this daily quest each day, you will receive a Gold Box in addition to the 3 Event Tickets. If you complete Honest Toil multiple times on the same day, you will receive a Purple Box on subsequent completions. This is the only way to get Boxes and Tickets every day!
I must remind you that this Introductory Quest will also appear as a daily quest for characters who have completed it before, but completing it will not reward Gold Boxes or Tickets.
Both Boxes contain most of the same items, but Gold Boxes are more likely to contain more valuable rewards.
In addition to this, you can only get one Gold Road Dragoon Outfit Style Page per day, and each box after that has a chance to drop Style Pages from the past Zeal of Zenithar event.
To get more boxes, you may want to try a few ways:
First, we have to think of Daily Writs. Unfortunately, Zenithar is not as lucrative for crafters as it used to be, as now each account can only get one box per day from a crafting writ. Even Master Writs are limited to 7 boxes per day per account, one per crafting discipline.
Solo players and thieves can participate in Dishonest Work such as Pickpocketing or opening Thieves Trove and Safeboxes for a chance to get boxes. There is no daily limit on these drops, but be careful of bounties and guards.
Guildmates who team up can get one box each time they defeat an unlimited number of World Bosses or complete an unlimited number of World Events such as Dolmens. Note that you must be in the same region to get these boxes.
Partyed guildmates also have a chance to get parcels at the end of each round of conquering Group Arenas or each Cycle of Infinite Archive, with parcels guaranteed in the last few rounds. If you’re not in any player guild and you want to make it easier to farm these boxes, now is a good time to look for a guild.
So, what can you do with Event Tickets during an event? This is your first chance this year to get all 3 fragments from Impresario to complete Master of Schemes Personality. And her assistant, Philius Dormier, has fragments for Deadlands Scorcher and Scales of Akatosh Skin.
In short, take advantage of this event to get those unique items you’ve been coveting, like the new Merryvine Estate or Reserve Materials. Also, like I mentioned before, Golden and Luxury Vendors will have some great deals during this event, so enjoy them!
Fallout 76 has been plagued by controversy since its release in 2018. In this new season, Season 17, it not only proved its enduring popularity but also turned the tables and gained its “belated” love.
Although Fallout 76 has a large gamer community, a large part of the reason is that Amazon’s Fallout TV series has brought the game back to the public’s attention.
When Fallout 76 was first released, it was full of errors. For example, when pre-ordering, featuring promotional canvas bags were replaced by broken nylon counterparts, and the game style was contrary to the previous spirit. There were all kinds of dramatic things.
As expected, the gameplay was also criticized a lot. Bethesda was very sorry for this and silently endured the disappointment expressed by players. Fortunately, Fallout 76 is slowly getting rid of the embarrassment of its release and continues to deliver new content to players - expanding the game map, adding events, etc. Although it has not won everyone’s heart yet, it has been working hard.
From the dramatic beginning to the current slow victory, Fallout 76 can be said to have turned the situation around. Previously, it received criticism from the most loyal RPG purists, but Bethesda directly added interactive NPCs to the game, introduced more armor and weapons to increase its own RPG mechanism, and so far, it has been constantly adding fresh blood to the game.
As of now, Fallout 76 is roughly halfway through Bethesda’s five-year ongoing development plan announced in 2022, so besides all the latest updates for the game, there’s still more content to come for at least the next few years.
When new players first dip their toes into Fallout video games, it’s easy to see why Fallout 76 is the first game to go to for most people. Not only is it currently the top of the list of Fallout games, but it’s also the unique single-player, narrative-led open-world adventure that Fallout 76 offers.
That’s not to say that Fallout 76 doesn’t make the most of what it has - the upcoming Season 17 will introduce a new Scout theme and come with a range of camping-themed cosmetics. These Fallout 76 Items still uphold the humorous nature of Fallout. Season 17 is a testament to the game’s longevity and its true redemption in the eyes of fans, which is particularly impressive considering that many expected the game to die soon after its release.
The fact that Fallout 76 has made it to Season 17 is also a testament to the game’s longevity and its high status in the hearts of players. Especially when many people predicted it would die soon after its release. It survived for a long time.
Fallout 76’s ratings have actually been in free fall since its release, which reflects the current lack of interest in actual content among players and the fact that few games have succeeded in this form. Fortunately, Fallout 76’s ratings on various platforms are gradually rising. For example, the reviews on Steam are mostly positive.
I have just listed many efforts that Fallout 76 is making for its own nirvana. Although it has failed in the past, it also has a group of very loyal players. When Fallout 76 became the target of public criticism, they also felt confused, not knowing what to do next, and even not knowing whether their Fallout journey would end suddenly.
Fortunately, Fallout 76 Season 17 gave them a reassurance, allowing them to reunite from the previous scattered sand. Many loyal players said that Season 17 is more like a reward for their long-term persistence, and they are looking forward to what more fantastic or novel content Bethesda will bring them in the future.
Although I have just seen a lot of fresh changes in Fallout 76 Season 17, there are still a few players who think that there are some problems with Dangerous Pastimes in Season 17.
Dangerous Pastimes takes place in Thunder Mountain substation TM-03 in the newly released Skyline Valley region. This activity requires players to repair a very large lightning harvester - mainly relying on players to kill enemies to provide electricity, and finally players have to fight Hermit Crab boss.
This activity looks very challenging, but it is actually very boring. Mainly because the probability of enemies spawning in this place is very low, so that some players stand there doing nothing after the short harvester repair phase.
What makes it even more difficult for players to accept is that the rewards for this activity are also very small, and they can only get three Treasury Notes. Even if these enemies will drop some new crafting plans and unique weapons, players still feel that it is not proportional to the time cost they have spent.
Many players are waiting for Bethesda to come up with a suitable solution - the best solution is to adjust the enemy spawn rates and rewards of the activity.
Like those players, I am also looking forward to more vibrant content in Fallout 76 in the future. I wish you a happy exploration on Season 17!
Elden Ring features a variety of items that can be crafted by you, and some of them provide very useful benefits to the player.
As you progress through the game, you’ll discover that Elden Ring unlocks cookbooks that allow you to craft certain “food items” that can be used to increase certain abilities of your character. These collectibles unlock at least one recipe, and sometimes more.
These cookbooks are scattered throughout the game, and some even refer to specific locations. This guide will cover how to find the seven Missionary’s Cookbooks, and what they do.
The first Missionary’s Cookbook is easy to find. You just need to go to Church of Elleh in Limgrave. There, a merchant named Kalé will sell the recipe for 1000 Elden Ring Runes.
Another thing you need to know is that after making Missionary’s Cookbook 1, you can unlock Holy Water Pot and Roped Holy Water Pot. These two items will play a big role in your future exploration and combat.
The path to the second Missionary’s Cookbook is a little more complicated than the previous one. You will first meet an NPC named Patches in Murkwater Cave. He will sell you Missionary’s Cookbook 2 for 800 Elden Ring Runes.
According to the “tradition” in the game, he will attack you. But you need to be careful not to kill him in the first meeting, because he will appear in the later game and drop more items, such as Patches Bell Bearing and Bull-Goat Set.
Similarly, after successfully crafting Missionary’s Cookbook 2, Scriptstone, Grace Mimic, and Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot will be unlocked.
The third Missionary’s Cookbook is found on a corpse in the Smoldering Church, which is located on the northern border between Limgrave and Caelid. This is easier if you know where to find Summonwater Village, which is just northeast of it.
Once you enter the church, you will see two corpses to the right of the site of grace, each with a glowing Elden Ring Item, one of which is Missionary’s Cookbook 3.
Once you have Missionary’s Cookbook 3, you can unlock Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot, which is very useful in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
The fourth Missionary’s Cookbook is in Minor Erdtree Church outside of Leyndell in Altus Plateau. If you look in this area at the semicircular wall surrounding the city, you’ll find the church just outside the southwest end of the wall.
When you enter the church, look carefully on the ground to the right of site of grace. You’ll see a large jar, and Missionary’s Cookbook 4 is to the left of it.
Missionary’s Cookbook 4 has more unlockable recipes than the others, including Holy Grease, Drawstring Holy Grease, Haligbone Arrow, Haligbone Arrow Fletched, and Haligbone Bolt. So Missionary’s Cookbook 4 is also called the most valuable cookbook by players.
The fifth Missionary’s Cookbook can be obtained in two ways. Obtaining it from Siofra Aqueduct is one option. The specific location of Siofra Aqueduct is in the area in front of Valiant Gargoyle & Valiant Gargoyle Twinblade. This building has two marble domes and a Crucible Knight patrolling back and forth.
Remember! This cookbook is in the room on the west side. Don’t go to the wrong place. Another easier way is to start directly from Ancestral Woods site of grace, look for some small blocks surrounded by several enemies chanting, cross them and find several Spirit Jellyfish. Follow Spirit Jellyfish to Siofra Aqueduct.
Missionary’s Cookbook 5 can only unlock one Sacred Order Pot, although it is small, it is still a good item.
This sixth Missionary’s Cookbook is located in Volcano Manor, which is considered very difficult to access by players. Specifically, follow the path behind Temple of Eligy, climb some rocks, and you will encounter an Abductor Virgin. You can ignore her for now, but you need to go through a stone window next to her.
Once you enter, you will find that the floor is very broken - one side is directly empty. You need to go to the far side of the broken floor carefully and find a ladder to descend slowly. Don’t jump down! After you get to the ground, you can continue to walk down until you see a cell. You can enter and find Missionary’s Cookbook 6 without a key.
Missionary’s Cookbook 6 can unlock a Holyproof Dried Liver, which can enhance the removal effect of holy damage for a period.
The final Missionary’s Cookbook is obtained from Hermit Merchant in Mountaintops of Giants. This merchant is located on a stone shelf above Ancient Snow Valley Ruins’ site of grace. However, finding him is not a straightforward task.
You need to go northeast from the county and then follow the bridge on the map. Remember to check the map at all times to make sure you are not taking the wrong path. Missionary’s Cookbook 7 is also very expensive - 7500 Elden Ring Runes.
Missionary’s Cookbook 7 can help you unlock Rejuvenating Boluses, which, as the name suggests, can help you relieve Death Blight accumulation and remove Death Blight currently applied to the player.
These 7 Missionary’s Cookbooks each have their own advantages. Which one do you prefer? We look forward to meeting you in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
Not long ago, Square Enix announced that new FFXIV expansion Dawntrail will be officially released on July 2. The most exciting thing about the entire update is that this fifth expansion will continue the story of Warrior of Light and his allies.
And it will continue Light and Darkness saga that happened in Endwalker story. In addition, a new map will be expanded - an area with pre-Hispanic civilizations in Americas.
In order to explore these new areas, players need some new jobs. These jobs are not only new places to invest experience points, but also bring a breath of fresh air in terms of gameplay.
To explore these new areas, Final Fantasy XIV has added two new jobs. Viper is a dual-wield melee DPS, while Pictomancer is a ranged magic DPS.
As mentioned before, Viper is a melee DPS Job added in Dawntrail expansion. Viper starts at level 80 and has no connection to any other existing jobs. If you want to unlock it in Dawntrail expansion, you need to have at least one Disciple of War or Magic Job at level 80 and complete the starting quest associated with it.
This quest will be given by Ul’dah, and you need to devote yourself to it to get Viper Job. Viper mainly uses two blades, which can also be combined with the hilt to become a longer weapon. Each weapon can be given unique abilities by the player, and switching between these two combat states is very important for the new job’s game rotation.
Speaking of the equipment required for Viper, this job requires the use of Final Fantasy XIV Items in Scouting category, which is currently a category for Rogue / Ninja Jobs.
Therefore, Viper should choose leather clothing to ensure his agility and speed, rather than heavy steel armor plaques. Viper’s Dexterity attribute determines that it has a lot of damage output in combat and is the core of every build.
However, since it is a melee DPS, Viper will also rely on other important attributes, such as Critical Hit, Skill Speed, and Direct Hit. In terms of accessories, Viper also needs some items in Aiming category.
In addition to the above special aspects, Viper has a special mechanism - it can enhance strength through regular game rotation and release it all as damage to the enemy. This mechanism is shown in the previously released trailer as a blue flame aura.
Viper will become the second dual-wield melee DPS job in FFXIV, and can be selected by players as a melee DPS job together with Rogue/Ninja.
As opposed to the melee approach offered by Viper, Pictomancer Job offers players a Ranged Magical DPS Job. Pictomancer was introduced as Relm in Final Fantasy VI, but has not appeared in any of the core games since.
Like Viper, Pictomancer has no prerequisite jobs, and is easily unlocked if you have at least one Disciple of War or Magic Job at level 80. Its starting quest is in Gridania instead of Viper’s Ul’dah.
Krile, a long-time ally of Warrior of Light, has become a Pictomancer, which may allow her to participate in battles in upcoming content.
Pictomancer will be equipped with Casting category, which can be shared with Black Mage, Summoner, and Red Mage, and even Limited Job Blue Mage. When using Pictomancer, the key attribute that players invest in is Intelligence, because this can determine the power of its spells.
Another important attribute is Spell Speed, which can help you reduce the time it takes to cast spells. Pictomancer’s main offensive skill is to fight by painting various things, whether it is monsters, weapons, or even landscapes. Different paintings will produce uncommon abilities.
Besides attacking opponents, Pictomancer can also enhance your teammates and improve their abilities. It is a bit like a hybrid of a traditional DPS and a support unit. For example, Pictomancer cannot have the offensive firepower like Black Mage, nor can it directly heal itself like Sage, but it can help these two characters in battle.
And according to reliable sources, Pictomancer cannot directly revive itself like Red Mages.
Although Viper and Pictomancer will be the focus of Dawntrail expansion pack, the existing jobs will also undergo certain changes. Basically, every non-limited job currently available will undergo more or fewer changes, mainly determined by the job, rather than the role they play.
First up are tanks, with each job in this category getting a bit more of a bonus to their 30% damage reduction abilities. There are also some job-specific changes, with Paladins seeing a new move added before Blade of Faith combo, and second and third executions of Atonement being replaced with new moves with their own unique animations.
Dark Knights will probably be less flustered, as a big change to this job is that Living Shadow will no longer require a Blood Gauge. Among tanks, Gunbreakers will probably get the biggest change - with a whole new set of moves and combos.
Melee DPS Jobs are likely to transform, the power of Second Wind will be increased - Feint will be extended to 15 seconds, and the entire rotation of Monks will be changed to allow for different combinations of effects.
The goal is to allow players to spend less time looking at buffs and debuffs to complete their rotations. Dragoons, who were very popular in FFXIV, will get a complete overhaul, with the most effective being improved positioning.
In addition to the two new jobs mentioned above, Dawntrail expansion will also add more new content, such as the female form of Hrothgar race and the long-awaited graphic update.
Although FFXIV’s Light and Darkness saga has ended, its future is still full of exciting content. Looking forward to seeing you in the world outside of Eorzea in July!
The much-anticipated Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is officially released on June 21st. Are you ready for the new challenges that await us?
With a ton of new content coming, it can be overwhelming, especially for players who haven’t played in years. What’s more, players who have managed to play DLC say it’s a challenging experience.
So, I’m going to share my 16 most important preparation tips or things you should do so that you can save time, avoid a lot of trouble, and be ready for the most anticipated DLC. The primary goal of this guide is to point you in the right direction or give you a general idea of what you should focus on. Let’s get straight into it.
Now let’s start with the first tip on the list, which is to prepare some Lost Ashes of War. This is important because we will be getting new Ashes of War in DLC area, and it would be great if you are prepared with a lot of Lost Ashes of War because you never know which new Ashes of War you need to copy, especially if your build revolves around dual wielding.
When you need to copy Ashes of War, you will already be prepared, so you will save a lot of time and keep your DLC experience intact.
Most of the time, Whetblades help define the build and make it stronger. Speaking of character build diversity, Whetblades often define our build by granting us Weapon Affinity and even providing diversity. It unlocks the maximum potential of a weapon or greatly changes its use in combat by adding different types of scaling.
Must-have Whetblades, such as Iron Whetblade or Glintstone Whetblade. Of course, other Whetblades are great too, so make sure to get them all.
Next up is the next tip, which is to get the best Spirit Ashes and upgrade them to the maximum. Now, we don’t necessarily need to use Spirit Ashes because it will mess up bosses and mess up their target system, but beginners, especially newbies entering a similar soul space for the first time, may need the help of Spirit Ashes.
Since we are talking about upgrading Spirit Ashes, it is wise to pile up its upgrade materials, such as Ghost and Grave Glovewort, especially Great Glovewort. We will never know if DLC will provide new Spirit Ashes, so you better prepare in advance.
The next tip is very basic. Make sure you have a Lamp or a Torch in your gear. I know what you are thinking, this tip is boring, but in hindsight, it can provide you with a lot of help when exploring dark areas, and even save your life.
Shadow of the Erdtree will provide new intricate Legacy Dungeons and more caves or underground areas. Therefore, make sure you have a light source.
In addition to Lamp, my personal favorite is Ghostflame Torch, because it provides white light. Of course, any type of Torch will do.
The easiest way to get Torch in Elden Ring is to get it from Merchant Kale who resides in Church of Elleh. Torch sells for 200 Elden Ring Runes. From there, you can equip and use Torch as often as you want.
Straight on to the next tip, which is to get as many Crystal Tears as possible. Crystal Tears, after popping Flask of Wondrous Physick, will give your build a limited but insane buff that can almost turn the tide of a battle.
My build revolves around Katanas, especially Moonveil. So in my case, utilizing Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear to further increase my magic damage, paired with Stonebarb Cracked Tear for more Stance Damage, would be beneficial.
There are a lot of good Crystal Tears in the game, such as Greenburst Crystal Tear that increases Stamina Recovery, and many more.
The next tip on the list is, of course, to maximize your Talisman Slots. You can get Talisman Pouch by defeating key bosses in the game, or by getting one when you first encounter Enia in Roundtable Hold.
Without four Talisman Slots, your combat performance will be severely compromised, so make sure you unlock all of them before DLC.
Straight on to the next tip, which is to optimize your Item Farming Setup. DLC will offer 100 weapons, and we don’t know how much time it will take to farm these secret weapons from enemies, but there are many ways to optimize your farming setup.
The first is to equip Mimic Crystal Tear Headgear, which increases your Arcane Stat by 8. The higher your Arcane Stat, the higher your Item Discovery. The higher your Item Discovery, the more likely you are to get a drop when trying to farm a weapon.
In my farming setup, I also equipped Silver Scarab to further improve my Item Discovery, and paired it with a bunch of Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot.
The next tip on the list is to fully upgrade both of your Flasks using Golden Seeds and Sacred Tears. By using both, you will increase their charges and potency. The stronger their effects, the more charges you have, meaning more room for mistakes in combat. The fewer times you stumble, the faster you progress in general.
Tip nine is to prepare runes for general use. Of course, in a DLC, we don’t know how many new weapons and items will be available for sale, or even how many weapons will be upgraded, not to mention that weapon upgrades require a lot of runes, so stockpiling Elden Ring Runes isn’t a bad idea.
The next tip ties into the rune farming tip I just mentioned, and you’ll need to upgrade your character to around Rune Level 150.
While there are no set requirements when playing DLC, like in the base game, players can make their experience harder or easier by keeping an eye on their Rune Level.
But in the recent Elden Ring event, players managed to experience DLC, and they got a level 150 character at the start. This gives us a rough idea of the recommended starting level, so it would be wise to stack the runes and use it later when upgrading your character.
The next tip I’m going to give you is to get all Somber Smithing and Ghost-Glovewort Bell Bearings in the game. I highly recommend tracking down the aforementioned Bell Bearings because they give you an unlimited amount of upgrade materials as long as you have the runes. So you can always access them in case you need them while traversing DLC areas.
While Somber and Regular Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones cannot be directly obtained from any shop, it’s a good idea to have some ready in case we need to maximize our DLC weapons.
Remember that we will have 100 new weapons, so we’ll need a lot of these weapon upgrade materials. Although the materials mentioned are quite rare, you can still get a lot of them every time you play.
Now for the next tip, if you are one of the many players who left after playing through the game once or twice two years ago, then you have most likely missed a lot of content.
Since DLC is coming out and you will be playing it anyway, now is the time to play what you missed, such as hidden bosses, NPC quests, or playing with different weapon types or character builds. This way you can get your bearings while waiting for DLC, and when it comes out, you will be firing on all cylinders and in good shape.
Now for the next tip, which is to optimize your build. It is worth mentioning that any good build will play in DLC, which has been proven recently.
That being said, I still strongly recommend picking one or two builds that you like the most or that you find yourself liking, and have at least one or two maxed out weapons for each build, so that you are flexible for the challenges that DLC will bring.
Coming up next is the next tip, which is to save your Walking Mausoleum chance and not copy any Remembrances before DLC comes out.
We have confirmation that we will have new Sets of Remembrances in DLC, so it is wise to save your chances. However, if you have already used your chances, it is not the end of the world. The more chances we have, the faster we will get the new items that DLC Remembrances offer.
For this next tip, it is highly recommended to stock up on Larval Tears in case you need respect while playing DLC.
The new weapon may interest you, so respecting your character and building around it can be fun. However, if you don’t have Larval Tears, you will need to get Larval Tears elsewhere in order to respect, which can be very frustrating.
The last tip is also one of the most important, which is to prepare your access to DLC area. In order to access DLC area, you need to defeat Radahn first, for reasons that are currently unknown and will be determined in DLC.
After defeating Radahn, you need to defeat Mohg in Mohgwyn Palace. You can enter Mohgwyn Dynasty or Palace by completing Varre Questline or visiting the teleporter in Consecrated Snowfield. After defeating Mogh in Palace, interact with Miquella’s Arm and you will be teleported to Land of Shadow.
All in all, in my opinion, these are important tips to help you prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree. If I missed an important tip, please share it. How is your preparation for DLC going? See you in the game!