MMO Weekly Recap #422 Sept 4th – Genshin Impact Launch Date, Path of Exile Heist, LoL Samira & More!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of September 4, 2020! Transcript & timestamps follow.

Path of Exile lets you hire thieves to do your dirty work, Everquest 2 hits players with game update 115, Vigor announced its headed to the PS4 and PS5 and League of Legends latest champion knows its not about the win, it’s about the thrill but mostly about the kill.

Whats up guys! JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of September 4th 2020 and once again we’ve got another pretty packed week of news coming off of Gamescom

Genshin Impact Story Teaser (gamescom 2020): 0:23

If you’ve been itching for a new anime-styled MMORPG that’s free to play, September is set to deliver as Genshin Impact has announced that it will launch on PC, mobile, and PlayStation 4 on September 28th. We haven’t talked about Genshin Impact before here but it’s a beautiful game set in a fantasy world ruled by seven elements and with deep story elements – it even has its own full color manga! It features a full open world, a cast of memorable characters, an elemental combat system, and co-op play. In fact the game’s developer says the game is more about how you want to play, be it single player or with others whenever you want, which is pretty nice. Kinda reminds me of DDO or Path of Exile.

Path of Exile: Heist Reveal: 1:18

Speaking of Path of Exile, this week Grinding Gear has revealed its next major update and league: Heist. This league will be all about hiring thieves, stealing artifacts, and working toward the completion of a Grand Heist. Some shiny new rewards await those who can including Weapon and Armor body enhancements, Heist Trinkets, Relic unique items and more. The whole system looks pretty well thought out, from equipping members of your crew to getting the blueprints to the areas you want to steal from. The update will also include nine new skills and support gems, revamps of curses and steel skills, and over 25 new unique items. Expect it to go live on September 18th on PC and September 23rd on console.

Dual Universe Beta Launch: 2:03

Meanwhile Dual Universe, the sandbox space MMO, is now officially in beta and has dropped its NDA. The beta update includes a brand new beginner’s tutorial, daily rewards, repair units, and more. The whole game is run on a single shard which means there’s no servers – everyone plays in the same universe. And the universe is vast and more importantly, completely controlled by players as everything is voxel based and can be changed including running scripts and programs within the game itself. As a reminder Dual Universe is not buy to play but is a subscription based MMO but it’s priced at $6.99 a month.

Hegemony: Traders from the East expansion: 2:41

And from one voxel universe to another, the Minecraft-based MMO Hegemony has recently revealed its first expansion, Traders from the East, which goes live this Sunday September 6. This features a historical themed event in which players can protect or raid caravans in asymmetrical PvP, plus 21 new quests, new unlockable ranks, the introduction of leatherworking and agility, two new vocations, and much more. It’s really impressive for a free to play MMO run on Minecraft, considering Minecraft is being used as the game engine!

Pixel Worlds: Mining Update: 3:14

I guess there’s room for one more sandbox in the mix – Pixel Worlds has released its Mining Update this week. The key feature is a brand new mining world complete with multiple levels, monsters, and treasures. Pickaxes, gemstones, darkness orbs, and more await those who will venture into this new content. And of course, there’s new quests and achievements as well.

Everquest 2: GU 115: 3:35

Meanwhile EverQuest 2 has launched GU 115 – that’s game update for those of you confused – titled Reignite the Flames. This update opens the gates to the Plane of War, introducing two new raids – Fabled Plane of War and Solusek’s Eye – with 14 new bosses to challenge. Level 120 adventurers can brave this new raid, along with a new Heroic Dungeon, four new adventure quests, and a collection quest. The new Replica of War and Staff of War offer extreme power for those able to imbue them with planar essence.

Destiny 2: Warlock Shadebinder & Titan Behemoth: 4:06

If you remember the awesome Stasis trailer for Destiny 2 from last week’s recap, good news – this week they’ve gone more in depth with a preview of two of their new subclasses. The Warlock’s Shadebinder’s Super, Winter’s Wrath, summons a staff with projectiles that instantly freeze their targets. The staff’s crystal can be detonated to shatter foes and unleash an icy shockwave. Meanwhile the Titan Behemoth was also revealed, and their Super is Glacial Quake, which creates a gauntlet from Stasis that can also issue freezing shockwaves. If you’re waiting to see the Hunter subclass, don’t worry – it will be revealed next week!

Shadow Arena: Sura Preview: 4:43

From one preview to another, Shadow Arena has offered a look at its newest playable hero, Sura of the Six Blades. Sura utilizes his own Katanas along with Kunai, relying on quickdraw techniques and multiple forms to cut his enemies down with precision. There are four basic blade attacks which offer closing and knockbacks, plus a final free form attack which can be used to float, stun, or knock back enemies – if you don’t just want to deal a ton of damage in one blow. Kind of sounds like Jin in The Ghost of Tsushima!

League of Legends: Samira Champion Trailer: 5:12
League of Legends: PsyOps 2020: 5:35

Riot’s keeping things fresh in League of Legends with a new champion reveal trailer for Samira, the Desert Rose. Samira is a versatile champion who can improve their style grade by chaining non-repeating abilities and basic attacks with guns and swords. Her abilities include an enemy missile clear, a closing rush with bonus attack speed, and a lifestealing wild shot. Expect her in 10.19. Not only that, the PsyOps event has begun, bringing with it the return of One For All and some cyberpunk themed skins.

Hearthstone: Forbidden Library Event: 5:43

Also announcing a new event this week is Hearthstone, which is preparing for its Forbidden Library event. Set to run between September 8th and September 29th, this three week event will include new Scholomance heroes, a new Book of Heroes, and the return of the Heroic Brawliseum. There will also be limited time bundles including packs from previous expansions. And finally as a permanent bonus, you’ll be able to join battlegrounds with a full group of eight players now in a private match – though ranked will still require teams of four or less.

Vigor: PlayStation & Switch Release Dates: 6:12
Vigor: Season 5 teaser: 6:36

Switching gears, Vigor has also resurfaced in the news this week. First off, the team announced at Gamescom its release dates for other consoles – yes it’s finally no longer an Xbox One exclusive. Switch players can count on a September 23rd release, while PlayStation 4 will get it on November 25th. And, while there’s no final date, you can expect to see it on PlayStation 5 as well. Vigor has also released a short teaser for the upcoming Season 5, Renegades, featuring the gunslingers of Sawmill. We’ll have more info about that soon, I’m sure!

Crossout Black Wings Update: 6:46

In other news, Crossout has launched its Black Wings update and event, which lasts until September 17th. This features a special mission, the Raven’s Path, which grants a special currency just for the event. They can be exchanged at a new temporary workbench for a variety of things including a new small caliber cannon, a defense module, and a variety of other weapons and cosmetics. There’s also two new relic weapons, one of which is a Tesla emitter! If Mad Max is your vibe make sure to check out the latest update.

War Thunder: Raining Fire: 7:16

Meanwhile War Thunder is raining fire with its latest update. This update introduces over 30 new machines, from Jaguar jet fighters to the Chi – Ha Long Gun. There are also four new aircraft missions, naval missions for the Aleutian Islands, and a new aircraft location too. And of course there’s a wealth of various changes, bug fixes, and balance tweaks too so make sure you read the patch notes in full before you head into battle.

Travian: Shadow Empires: 7:41

And it’s time to wish a sweet sixteen to Travian: Legends this month, and as has become tradition, the game is celebrating its anniversary with an Annual Special. Called Shadow Empires, this feature set allows players to choose from one of five factions after selecting their tribe, and these factions will battle collectively together for control of a historic European map. This introduces not only whole new combinations of factions and tribes, but also introduces a brand new map and strategy to the game. Not bad for a game that’s sixteen years old.

Razer Naga Pro: 8:12

Wrapping up the news, I wanted to mention something a little different from the norm, Razer one of the leaders in gaming laptops and peripherals launched the latest version of their Naga series gaming mice, the Naga Pro. This monster has 3 swappable side plates, a 2 button side plate ideal for FPS games, 6 button side plate for battle royale games or Mobas and a 12 button option for MMOs. It’s a lot like the Naga trinity if you’re familiar, just, you know, upgraded and wireless. I mention this where I otherwise wouldn’t because Razer was awesome enough to send us one to check out, and oh man it’s no joke! Be on the look out for my in depth look and overview here once I get some time with it.

Epic Free Games: 8:53

Steam Free to Play: 9:10

Finally let’s wrap up with our weekend deals. Epic Game Store only has one free game for you this week, whats up with that? It’s called Into the Breach, which is from the creator of FTL. It’s a procedural rogue-like turn based strategy game with a dark sci fi setting, totally worth grabbing. Meanwhile Steam’s got two games to play for free this weekend only, this weekend only – Warhammer Underworlds Online, which is a dice and card game, and SoundSelf A Technodelic, which is a voice-powered trance like thing that you can also play in VR. There you have it! Good luck!

Either way guys, that’s about it for all the major news and announcements for this week. Be sure to stay safe, and keep your families healthy! Like always you can find more information on the news topics, linked in the description below, feel free to discuss the news or even more news in the comments below and don’t forget to like, subscribe, wash your hands a bunch, hit that little bell icon to get notifications and of course share this video! But until next time guys that’s going to be it for me… I’m JamesBl0nde… see ya out there gamers!