Pop Culture – Syndication Server

Someone unlocked all of Final Fantasy XIV’s achievements after 10 years

One player earned all of Final Fantasy XIV’s achievements 10 years after the MMO game launched, and it’s a pretty impressive feat

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One player earned all of Final Fantasy XIV’s achievements 10 years after the MMO game launched, and it’s a pretty impressive feat. For one thing, unlocking some of FF XIV’s achievements takes hundreds of hours of completing tasks several times before you reach a certain point.

For another, there’s 2,751 achievements in total (thanks, GamesRadar).

The player completed their last achievement on the Garuda server in Japan in August 2023, though the news didn’t make it out until someone posted it on Reddit. It’ll be a fleeting victory, though. Square Enix adds new achievements with every major update, including FF XIV 6.5, which launched in early October 2023, and probably a whole lot more when the new Dawntrail expansion launches in summer 2024.

These range from simple things, such as completing a seasonal event, to complex endeavors that require time and a great deal of patience. One achievement rewards you for clearing certain difficult dungeons on your own. Another requires you to slay 5,000 S-rank marks in FF XIV’s hunts, and still another makes you get every Relic weapon – one for each class. These unlock in phases as you repeat quests and tasks multiple times.

The most complicated one, however, is the Levequest achievement. Levequests reward players with experience and were, in the game’s beginning, a decent way to level up before Square Enix made that process easier. Each settlement has its own set of Levequests, and you could complete three every day. It takes seven years to do them all.

As for what’s left to do, one Redditer actually pointed out the player still has two more mounts to get through Extreme Trials – yet another challenging activity – that aren’t tied to achievements. The grind continues.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Niantic announces a Pokemon GO and Detective Pikachu event

The next Pokemon GO event is a crossover with Detective Pikachu, celebrating the launch of the Nintendo 3DS game’s sequel on Switch

The next Pokemon GO event is a crossover with Detective Pikachu, celebrating the launch of the Nintendo 3DS game’s sequel on Switch. The Detective Pikachu and Pokemon GO event runs from Oct. 5, 2023, through Oct. 9, 2023, and gives you a chance to encounter Pikachu in their sleuth’s hat and more.

Hat-wearing Pikachu who evolve actually keep their headgear and turn into hat-wearing Raichu.

There’s also Slowpoke with a cute lil’ hat that’s far too small for them, Bronzor, Alolan Exeggutor, Growlithe, and Chimecho, all of which have a chance to show up in their Shiny forms. Failinks, Bellossom, Xatu, and Ducklett will also turn up more often, but not as Shinies.

You have one chance per day of encountering Pikachu with a detective hat while you’re taking snapshots. Completing themed research tasks will also earn you one encounter with a hat-wearing Pikachu, so you should walk away from the event with at least one rodent sporting a deerstalker.

Detective Pikachu-themed field research tasks put you on the same path as Sudowoodo and Snivy, both of which may be Shiny, and Rowlett, which won’t be, and you get double XP for spinning PokeStops while the event lasts.

If you want to splash out some real-world cash, you can pick up a Detective Pikachu-inspired pose for your avatar from the in-game shop.

Meanwhile, Detective Pikachu 2 launches on Oct. 6, 2023, for Nintendo Switch and follows Tim and his coffee-drinking, hard-boiled Pikapal as they track down Tim’s father and unravel a tangled web of dark secrets in Rhyme City.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

KFC gave this Zelda Tears of the Kingdom player a $10k chicken trophy

One Zelda Tears of the Kingdom player completed a speedrun Kentucky Fried Chicken created and got a chicken trophy worth $10,000

One Zelda Tears of the Kingdom player completed a speedrun that Kentucky Fried Chicken created and got a chicken trophy worth roughly $10,000. KFC ran the competition around the world in partnership with Speedrun Espanol and called it The Recipe Run, a nod to the speedrun’s requirements and the restaurant chain’s “secret recipe” motif (thanks, VGC).

The goal was to see who could cook a fried drumstick the fastest, though there were a few stipulations to keep things interesting. Players had to prove they started the run empty-handed, with no clothes, no ingredients – nothing. The next step was traveling to Goron City and speaking with Gomo, a Goron chef who Zelda fans dubbed the Colonel Sanders of Hyrule as soon as they laid eyes on him.

After that, they were set loose in the open-world game to find 11 herbs, oil, and a drumstick for the recipe. The 11 herbs bit was literally just a bit, since you can only use five ingredients in a given recipe, and the only thing contestants were able to purchase was the oil. You can’t actually find or create oil in the wilds of Hyrule. They were free to fast travel using any active waypoints or get around with Zonai devices, but glitches and other unorthodox methods weren’t allowed.

Dozens of influencers and speedrunners took part, scouring the land for Hyrule Herbs, Spicy Peppers, Armouranth, and unsuspecting birds, but French speedrunner Kreuss ended up setting the record in 1:07:80. For their fast fowl work, they earned a golden drumstick trophy valued at nearly $10,000, while other contestants won free KFC food.

Whether the Recipe Run becomes a permanent fixture of the Tears of the Kingdom speedrun scene remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the current fastest record for finishing the entire game is quite a bit shorter, clocking in at 43 minutes. Not that speed is everything. One player recently beat the entire game without ever leaving the Sky Islands until the final battle.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Donna Kelce completes perfect Sunday by reuniting with Taylor Swift after watching son Jason in Philly

It’s Donna Kelce’s world, and we’re just living in it.

Donna Kelce is living her best life, and that was definitely the case on Sunday afternoon. Momma Kelce started October right, taking in the game in Philadelphia as son Jason and the Eagles faced the Washington Commanders. Despite needing overtime, the Eagles stayed unbeaten on the season at 4-0 in a narrow 34-31 victory.

In Philly, Donna was joined by actor Kevin Miles — better known to the public as Jake from State Farm — in the stands as she donned her oldest son’s jersey.

MORE: Taylor Swift joined by Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and more as Chiefs-Jets turns into star-studded affair.

After that game wrapped, she headed to East Rutherford, New Jersey, to see her youngest, Travis, and the Kansas City Chiefs take on the New York Jets. Thankfully, Donna was able to reunite with 12-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift after the duo hung out in KC last week.

Of course, Momma Kelce swapped out a Jason jersey for the Travis one.

🫶 What a day for @dkelce1 pic.twitter.com/98q4tnDEKu

— New Heights (@newheightshow) October 2, 2023

Just the sweetest moment and the best day for Donna.

Taylor Swift joined by Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and more as Chiefs-Jets turns into star-studded affair

The stars were out in East Rutherford on Sunday night.

Not many people had probably circled the October 1 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets once Aaron Rodgers got injured in the first game of the season. But everything changed once dating rumors involving Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and mega pop star Taylor Swift emerged.

MORE: The 6 wildest stats that show Taylor Swift’s immediate impact on the NFL.

Swift attended the Chiefs game in Kansas City last weekend, sitting in a suite with Kelce’s mother, Donna.

Once word spread that the 12-time Grammy winner would make the trip to the Meadowlands, the hype grew once again. This weekend, however, Swift wasn’t the only star in attendance.

Twitter reacts to Cowboys’ disrespectful, unneccessary, but fun fake XP

The Dallas Cowboys probably could’ve saved the trickery for a bigger situation, but sometimes it feels good just to feel good. Midway through the second quarter, the Cowboys found themselves up 16-3 after a defensive strip sack, scoop and score. The …

For whatever reason, perhaps they saw something in film study, the Patriots sent the house to try and block the extra point. Only Dallas holder, punter Bryan Anger was ready for it. Anger never placed the ball on the turf after the snap, stood up and found defensive lineman Chauncey Golston wide open on his way to the end zone. Social media of course loved it all, including the fact this happened against a Bill Belichick team.

The 10 coziest fall movies and TV shows to watch this Halloween season

Snuggle up this Halloween season and watch these classics!

There’s nothing like fall and Halloween season. Sandwiched between the sweltering summer months and the dreary winter months, autumn is generally considered to be the best season of the year and for good reason.

Between the comfortable weather, gorgeous views, and overall vibes, fall is the most cozy season of the year by far. And you know what makes it even cozier? The abundance of autumn and Halloween related movies and shows that are out there! Sure, some folks may love their horror and slasher movies, but me? Give me a warm mug of apple cider and a comfy fall movie to relax with.

With spooky season now in full swing, these are the top 10 coziest fall movies and shows you should watch this Halloween.

Honkai Star Rail 1.4 banners and version update overview

The Honkai Star Rail 1.4 banners include a Seele rerun and two new 5-star characters, with a fresh 4-star character as well

The Honkai Star Rail 1.4 update is coming up fast, and developer HoYoverse announced everything we can expect in the free-to-play game’s latest refresh, including new characters and the first 5-star rerun. Version 1.4 takes us back to Jarilo-VI to solve a problem between the people of Belobog and the IPC and introduces a new video game to play in the video game. Silver Wolf would be pleased.

Elsewhere, you can look forward to two new areas, including a weapons testing ground that seems to be the home of a new event.

New Balance’s new “Mooz” collaboration with Aminé is one of its most fun drops yet

The Amine 610 has so many fun details. Check them out on the latest episode of Special Delivery

New Balance’s 610 has been one of its most popular models for 2023 so far and there have been a number of collaborations that have solid.

But these Aminé joints? Man, these are so much fun.

I’m not normally a fan of patent leather on my sneakers — especially on trail running shoes that are supposed to come with a bit of functionality in them. But the rapper-turned-sneaker designer did his thing with these.

From the reflective panels to the speed lace to the snow globe with a jewel in it, everything about the sneaker just feels so creative. We were able to get these joints for an unboxing on Special Delivery and had so much fun with it.

Tap in to see all of the details.

New Sims 4 pack finally lets you be a master chef

A new Sims 4 pack is out now, and it brings some extensive changes to how cooking works in the life-sim game

A new Sims 4 pack is out now, and it brings some extensive changes to how cooking works in the life-sim game, including the option to set up your own food street stall. The Home Chef Hustle stuff pack adds new appliances, clothes, and cupcake cooking options, along with better filters to find your recipes more easily, the latter of which is also included in a free base game update.

There’s a bunch of new pizza recipes inspired by Italian favorites, some extra bread recipes, a waffle maker, and new cooking skills, but the change I’m most interested in is what you can do with all this. The Home Chef pack lets you set up a food stall on any lot and sell your creations to neighbors and strangers, so you improve your relationships and get paid for it. It’s a win-win.

You don’t even have to load your pockets with dishes before heading out. Some of the new appliances – the countertop pizza oven and waffle maker, for example – make it easy to cook what you need on site.

Cooking always felt like a chore to me before, an unfortunate necessity that I’d spend the least amount of time and money on, thanks in no small part to the nightmare of actually finding the recipe you wanted. Shaking up the available dishes, adding new filters, and letting you easily earn money from it makes taking that time out in the kitchen a bit more appealing. Maybe now, my Sim can eat something other then scrambled eggs for every meal.

Speaking of variation, the Home Chef pack adds new clothing and kitchen-appropriate hairstyles to pick from as well.

The Home Chef Hustle stuff pack is out now on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC for $9.99.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF