Tag: pc

Baldur’s Gate 3 classes ranked from futile to fabulous

Our Baldur’s Gate 3 class rank list lays out which classes give you the most tools to use in the popular RPG and which ones fall short.

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Making a Baldur’s Gate 3 classes rank list is a pretty sizeable ask, not because Larian’s hit PC game has too many to choose from – although things get a bit out of control if you take Baldur’s Gate 3’s subclasses into account – but because you can feasibly make any class work well. Your skill choice and the environment play a substantial part in how well a class functions. Even a powerful wizard falls short if you stack them with garbage magic, but the right combos and party compositions mean even a not-exactly-optimized Warlock can excel.

Some roles give you more to play with than others, though, and lend themselves to better combinations with your team members. Druids are great at running over people as a bear, for example, but Sorcerers can rain fire, ice, and lightning down on entire armies. There’s a clear winner here.

Baldur’s Gate 3 romances ranked from steamy to Stupid Sexy Gale

Our Baldur’s Gate 3 romances ranked list examines how every romance option stacks up, even the one-night stands

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A Baldur’s Gate 3 romances ranked list is one of the tougher things to write about Larian’s hit RPG. It’s so easy to miss a key part of someone’s quest, make the wrong choice, or drive everyone away after you accidentally-on-purpose put a refugee caravan to the sword and destroy a sacred grove. What I experience may not be what you end up seeing, especially if you’re unfortunate enough to run into bugs that cut out important scenes. Most of the relationships in Baldur’s Gate 3 are among the best-written in the genre and worth experiencing at least once – even if you have to reload an older save to avoid making other party members angry.

There are quite a few encounter spoilers in this list, so you may want to scroll down to the Halsin section and avoid them.

If you’re looking for more Baldur’s Gate 3, check out our rankings for the best BG3 spells and BG3 classes while you’re here.

Valve announces ‘experimental’ new Steam Deck OLED

Valve announced a new Steam Deck, the Steam Deck OLED model, with better battery and an HDR OLED screen – but no GPU improvements

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Valve announced a new Steam Deck OLED model, featuring a small set of improvements and a big change to the screen – but you might not be able to get one. The Steam Deck OLED will release as an experimental launch first and just in a small number of markets on Nov. 16, 2023. Valve said if the reaction is positive, it will roll out in more markets later on.

You can get a Steam Deck OLED with 512GB SSD storage for $549 or one with 1TB SSD storage for $649. The original Steam Deck model with 512GB of storage goes for $449.99, but Valve is phasing it and the 64GB model out. 

The big thing with the new Steam Deck is the OLED screen, which comes with high-definition refresh (HDR) as well. That alone is a pretty big step above the original Deck’s screen. It’s 0.4 inches bigger and supports up to 90Hz, the latter of which should lend itself to higher, more stable framerates.

It boasts a 1,000 nits rating with HDR on and 600 in standard. Even the standard rating is still 200 nits higher than the original Steam Deck. What that means in normal speak is a much brighter, more vivid display, though the 1200×800 resolution remains unchanged. Your PC games will still look better, but if you’re looking for a more powerful Steam Deck, this isn’t it. You’d probably want to opt for the Asus ROG Ally instead.

The CPU, GPU, and screen size are all the same, though instead of the original Deck’s 6 nm AMD APU, the OLED uses a 7 nm AMD APU. It also features WiFi 6E, which Valve says will allow for nearly triple the download speeds of the original Deck and more stable online play. The fan is bigger in this model, so it should run cooler, and Valve promises the battery life will last between 30 percent and 50 percent longer. 

The original Steam Deck’s battery can last up to two hours or so, depending on how demanding the game you’re playing is, so you’re looking at maybe an extra 30-60 minutes of battery life here.

All Steam Deck accessories work with the OLED mode the Steam Deck OLED comes with an “exclusive opening movie” and virtual keyboard theme.

It looks like pre-orders haven’t opened on the Steam Deck site yet, and Valve didn’t provide a list of countries where it plans to sell the Steam Deck OLED. Like the original handheld PC’s launch, you can sign up for a reservation list should you miss out on orders during the first round.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

The best Baldur’s Gate 3 mods to spice up your adventure

We’ve picked out some of our favorite BG3 mods, from new BG3 classes to races, spells, Minthara, and one for a healthier, happier Scratch

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The best Baldur’s Gate 3 mods add everything from new spells to altered BG3 classes, races from another world, hairstyles, dog armor, and a whole lot more. The BG3 community’s biggest focus, aside from new cosmetic options, is bringing more of Dungeons and Dragons 5e into Larian’s game or expanding on what Larian already implemented, so while some mods change the game completely, most just act as natural complements to the base game experience. 

We’ve picked out some of our favorite BG3 mods below, but bear in mind that, like with any mods, these only work on the game’s PC version. You can’t use them on PS5 or the Xbox version, whenever that one launches.

New Honkai Star Rail character is Dr Ratio, and yes I’m serious

HoYoverse announced the Honkai Star Rail 1.6 characters, including Dr Ratio, a new Imaginary character, and a new Harmony character.

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HoYoverse unveiled the Honkai Star Rail 1.6 characters, and leading the pack is Dr Ratio. That is an entirely serious sentence. Dr Ratio and two other characters will headline the first Star Rail banners of 2024, and silly names aside, they’re actually a pretty interesting bunch.

First up, the doctor. He’s part of the Intelligentsia Guild, the same broad body of knowledge-seeking beings that Herta belongs to, and like Herta, he has a blunt way of getting his point across. 

“The most annoying thing about idiocy is that you can’t explain it to an idiot,” is the quote HoYoverse introduced him with. Unlike Herta, however, he believes everyone can and should learn and better themselves. 

On the practical side, Dr Ratio follows the Hunt path and has Imaginary as his element, the first combination of that kind that we’ve seen since the free-to-play game launched in April 2023. Your choices for serious Imaginary damage as of the 1.4 update include Welt, who specializes in status effects, and Imbibitor Lunae, who sucks up all your skill points. A single-target damage dealer who isn’t skill point negative is a pretty attractive prospect.

Next on the 5-star side is Ruan Mei, who follows the Harmony path – Star Rail speak for support – and has ice as her element, and she’s even more intriguing. Ruan Mei collaborated with Screwllum and Herta on the Simulated Universe and is known for her “terrifying perseverance.” Star Rail only has four Harmony characters right now, but their support skills create a range of new opportunities for how you can build your team.

Finally is Xuyei, a 4-star Quantum character who follows the Destruction path and spends her time hunting down criminals. When she isn’t wrapping ne’erdowells in chains, Xuyei enjoys a bit of quiet embroidery. Quantum and Destruction are another new combination, but better still is the fact that Xuyei is a 4-star character. Arlan is the only 4-star Destruction character at the moment, and he’s, well, there’s a reason he’s not a top pick on our Star Rail tier list.

Honkai Star Rail 1.6 should launch sometime early in January 2024.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Xbox Game Pass games for November 2023

The Xbox Game Pass games for November 2023 include a new Yakuza game, some creative RPGs, and a meditative indie game about climbing

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Microsoft announced the Xbox Game Pass games for November 2024, and there’s quite a lot headed to Xbox’s subscription service in the month’s first half. A new Yakuza game, some inventive RPGs, and a handful of cozy farm games are just a few of the games headed to PC and console. There’s a handful of games leaving as well, including Coffee Talk, so make sure to set aside some time to get through them before it’s too late, if you can.

Alan Wake 2 DLC roadmap and expansions

Remedy has some big Alan Wake 2 DLC in the works, including two hefty expansions for the horror game planned for a 2024 release.

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Alan Wake 2 might have only recently launched on PC and console, but Remedy already has big plans for Alan Wake 2 DLC, including two full expansions. Sorry Alan, old buddy, your nightmare ain’t over yet. Both expansions for the survival horror game are planned for sometime in 2024, after the update that brings a new campaign to the game in New Game+ mode. You can either buy each expansion separately when they launch or get the whole package with the Alan Wake 2 deluxe edition.

Remedy announced two expansions so far, which is in keeping with their approach to the first Alan Wake and Control. More may be in the works for later, but for now, this is all the Alan Wake 2 DLC we know about.

13 horror games on Game Pass that you have to play

We’ve rounded up 13 of the best horror games on Game Pass for Xbox and PC, whether you’re allergic to scares or need something terrifying

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Your selection of horror games on Game Pass includes nearly every possible subgenre. You’ve got first-person thrillers, multiplayer games, roguelike scares, lighthearted humor, and some so frightening that you’ll think twice before looking into a mirror again. Best of all, since they’re on Game Pass for Xbox and PC, you can try them on either platform without fear of getting in too far over your head.

We’ve rounded up over a dozen of the best horror games on Game Pass for Xbox and PC to try, whether you’re allergic to scares or need something downright terrifying.

Xbox Partner Preview recap: Alan Wake 2, cozy dungeon crawlers, and more

Here’s every Xbox Partner showcase announcement, including a new Alan Wake 2 trailer and a first look at Metal Gear Solid 3 remake gameplay

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The first Xbox Partner Showcase popped up out of the blue and went just as fast. Xbox’s take on the Nintendo Direct format showcased roughly a half hour of reveals and new trailers for indie games and blockbuster AAA projects alike, including Dungeons of Hinterbeg and Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta. While there wasn’t a whole lot of actual new information, we did get some pretty big reveals for a few games, most of which are set to launch in the next six months or so.

Yakuza meets Animal Crossing in new Infinite Wealth trailer

Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth includes a robust life-sim mode that looks an awful lot like Animal Crossing, because of course it does

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Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth includes a robust life-sim mode that looks an awful lot like Animal Crossing because of course it does. Sega showed off the new mode, called Dondoko Island mode, during Xbox’s Partner Showcase, and it features some pretty in-depth elements, including island customization, relationship networks, and beating up ruffians with baseball bats. It’s still a LAD game, after all.

Dondoko Island is home to literally tons of trash dumped illegally off the coast of Honolulu, but Ichiban sees its real potential as a resort island. His resort island. He sets to work restoring the island’s natural beauty with his friends, turning the trash into actual treasure and decorating the shores and clearings with it. You can craft items, fish, catch bugs, and even make friends with the tourists who stop to admire the island as you improve it, and you get to keep your clothes, too.

You can decorate their homes, a la Happy Home Designer, learn their routines and what makes them happy, and build new amenities and recreational facilities to make sure everyone walks away with a small. Almost everyone. Ichiban occasionally runs up against some malcontents determined to cause trouble, but a few quick swings of the baseball bat is enough to send them packing.

Dondoko Island launches as a side mode in Infinite Wealth in Jan. 26, 2024, for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, and PC via Steam and Windows.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF