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MMO Weekly Recap #434 Dec 4th – Warframe, Heroes of the Storm, Genshin Impact, Gloria Victis & More!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of December 4, 2020! Transcript follows.


Players check out the Cambion Drift in the latest Warframe update, Genshin Impact shows off two new characters, it looks like the legendary meme Hogger is headed to Heroes of the Storm and whats up with Chuck Norris in World of Tanks?

What’s good everyone, JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of December 4th 2020 welcome back from the holiday week break, we’ve got a bigger recap for you this week and…

Starting us off is some interesting news in that Rockstar Games decided to make Red Dead Online available as a standalone game on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Originally an optional multiplayer mode for Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online can now be played independently for those who want to get into the heists, battles, and story of the wild west with friends without purchasing the full game. Right now it’s only $5 but that price will only last until February 21st, when it goes up to $20. And if you’re lucky enough to have scored one of the new next-gen consoles, Rockstar has reassured that the game will work thanks to the backwards compatibility. Kindof a cool way to introduce players into the game, seems like they’re hoping it works like GTA.

Next up in the news Gloria Victis has announced that it’s finally rolling from alpha to beta – though it’s still in early access for now. This self-funded open world medieval MMO has been in early access since 2016, so it’s great to see it moving forward with a new phase of optimization, bug fixes, and quality of life changes based on community feedback. If you’ve been looking for something realistic and indie, you might want to keep an eye on the game or even just pick it up, give it a shot – its in early access and it’s only $20 on Steam.

In other news, Warframe has pushed a new update recently to PC called Deimos Arcana. This update sends players to the Cambion Drift to encounter a new Necramech, the Bonewidow, designed to be tanky with lots of armor and health. The update also added three new Isolation Vault bounties, new species of fish and creatures to collect, new Augment mods, new weapons, and a little bit more.

He’s been a meme since World of Warcraft’s beta – and now Hogger is headed to Heroes of the Storm! The MOBA’s latest playable hero is now available to play. Hogger fills the Bruiser role, and has a rage mechanic that shortens his cooldowns whenever he takes or deals damage. His kit includes AoE damage, stuns, and a slow. This gnoll should be great at rushing into fights and taking out unsuspecting opponents, for those who love to just dish the damage.

Albion Online has launched its Season 11 patch this week, bringing some big changes for players. New in this patch are the 20 versus 20 Crystal League battles, which feature six tiers, from the beginner’s level that’s knockdown only to higher levels with full loot and other battle rewards. There’s also an increase to fame from world bosses and elite mobs in raid zones, other combat balance changes, changes to the smart cluster queue, and more.

Final Fantasy 14 has announced that its next major update, Patch 5.4, is landing on December 8th. This highly anticipated update is pretty huge, adding new quests, a new trial, dungeon, and raid, and that’s just the start. The patch also adds more ocean fishing routes, updates to the Triple Triad mini-game, the final restoration stage for Ishgard, new battlegrounds and resistance gear, an increase of the level cap for blue mages, and many more quality of life updates. Whew! Remember that Final Fantasy 14 is now on an extended free trial up to level 60 and it includes the first expansion, so check out the links below if you want to see everything new.

This week Genshin Impact got a minor update as a new character banner rolls out, featuring two new characters: Zhongli and Xinyan. Zhongli is a five star character with the Geo element, and the second polearm user to be added in the game. Xinyan’s a four star Fire character that uses a claymore, with a rockabilly vibe. Alongside these two character there is a new character story available that focuses on Zhongli, plus a gliding challenge event that lasts until December 14th.

Also in the news recently Rocket League has announced that on December 9th, it will kick off Season 2. Lasting until March 31st, this new season of Rocket League has a musical theme and introduces player anthems that go off each time you score a goal, make a save, or earn MVP honors. There’s also new challenges and competitive tournament rewards. Of course, there’s also a seasonal pass that features over 70 tiers of items with some free and some paid with a premium purchase.

Also kicking off a new season is Fortnite, which has rolled into Chapter 2 Season 5 this week. Fortnite is going full multiverse as even the Mandalorian is getting wrapped up in the storyline. This season features new hunting grounds including the crystalline sands beneath the zero point, new quests and bounties to take on, and of course new weapons including the Dragon’s Breath shotgun. We can barely keep these crossovers straight so make sure you check in the game yourself to see what’s new.

Armored Warfare is getting in the winter holiday spirit with their free month long event, Breath of Winter. Each day during December players can complete one daily objective to either destroy five vehicles in PvE or one vehicle in PvP to earn rewards. The month’s reward list includes gold and platinum loot crates, battle coin boosters, premium time, snow animal decals, the Japanese Winter camouflage, the Frozen Wastelander player avatar, and the Winter Warrior skin.

What do World of Tanks and Chuck Norris have in common? Yeah we’re not really sure either, but Wargaming has announced its upcoming Holiday Ops event, and the teaser trailer features the Snow Maidens, a cat stuck in a Christmas tree, and the legendary Chuck Norris. Maybe Chuck is going to become a commander that can carry your team – literally? Either way I guess we keep an eye on this one.

Meanwhile World of Warships is pushing out its update 0.9.11 which features its first batch of winter holiday themed goodies. Players can grab 12 free random bundles in the armory until December 22nd and crack open festive containers for bonus loot. There’s also new ongoing combat mission groups to earn winter trophies, which grant bonus rewards like the New Year camouflage. The update features a few more technical changes too, like opening brawls to all players, and launching new American battleships out of early access.

Finally let’s wrap up with this week’s free game on the Epic Games Store – which is Cave Story Plus! This is an updated retro style platformer with Mega-man vibes and while it’s been out for a long time, it’s just debuted on the Epic Games store and is definitely worth picking up if you enjoy this kind of game.

But with that said, 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!

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