Weekly Recap #414 July 10th – Legends of Aria Launches, Dual Universe Beta Coming, & More!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of July 10, 2020! Transcript and timestamps follow.

Brawlhalla and League of Legends both get a new champion, Legends of Aria hits the launch button, World of Tanks celebrates its 10th anniversary with ranked battles, and it seems like Warframe just upped the enemy difficulty a hundred levels or so.

Whats up guys! JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of July 10th 2020. 

Dual Universe: Beta Date & Subscription Model Announced: 0:19

Kicking us off this week, Novaquark has announced the beta date, launch window, and subscription model for their upcoming sci-fi sandbox MMO, Dual Universe. The beta is set to begin on August 27th, and will include an NDA drop for those who have been (and will be) testing the game. Alpha players will get into the beta for free. The game plans to launch in 2021, with a subscription model that begins at $6.99 US per month with additional options for those who want to save in the long term. If you want in before the beta starts, make sure to hurry up as they say the alpha packs will not be available much longer.

Legends of Aria: The Frozen Tundra Launch Trailer: 1:06

And this week marks the launch of Legends of Aria, after a very rocky development. Previously known as Shards Online, Legends of Aria was designed as a sandbox MMO in which players could run their own universes – shards – but has since changed focus to be a more complete MMORPG experience. The game still harkens back to the days of Ultima Online – a top down, third person RPG with full loot PvP – but now features a more limited citizenship model where subscribers can claim a plot of land to build on. Legends of Aria also launches with a new update that introduces the Frozen Tundra area, with new artifacts, enemies, and more. The game is free to play though and still plans on continuing its development, so don’t hesitate to check it out if you have an itch for something new.

Brawlhalla Trailer: Jaeyun The Sellsword: 1:57

Meanwhile Brawlhalla is back in the news, but this time with a new original character: Jaeyun, the Sellsword. This new legend is not only the 50th permanent legend added to the game, but also brings a new weapon type: Greatsword. The Greatsword features a Bridge stance and a Closer stance, designed to help players close in and combo their opponents. There’s of course the usual assortment of balance changes and new cosmetics and season rewards too for dedicated players.

The Cycle Season 3: Stormchasers Launch Trailer: 2:25

In other news, the Free to play quest shooter The Cycle has begun its third season, Stormchasers. One of the key additions in this update is Prospect Station, a new hub which lets players talk to faction leaders and plan their play, complete with a new UI and the new Quick Menu. Players can also find the Mag-Train contract in all game modes, a recall recharge battery, and the new Krypto currency that replaces raw materials for crafting.

World of Tanks: New Ranked Battles 2020–2021 Season: 2:56

World of Tanks is continuing its celebration of its 10th anniversary with the kick-off of Ranked Battles, reworked with a simpler progression system, bonus battles, and daily league missions. The first of three seasons will begin this coming Monday July 13th. The rewards available will include credits, bonds, gold, 2D styles for Tier ten vehicles, and an exclusive tier nine American heavy tank.

World of Warships Update 0.9.6: German Carriers in Early Access: 3:21

Wargaming hasn’t forgotten World of Warships either, showcasing this week three new German Carriers available now in early access. These carriers are low in ship health, but have a high cruising speed and long-range secondary guns, and are packing aircraft with AP rockets, swift torpedoes, and armor penetrating bombs. Warships has also redesigned the Modules tab, now called the Equipment tab, making it easier to manage all customizations on your ship.

Warframe: The Steel Path (Available Now on PC): 3:49

Meanwhile Warframe has just released an update on PC, adding the new Steel Path to challenge all Tenno. This challenge is available once you’ve completed the Star Chart, and once accepted, it increases the level of all enemies across the Star Chart by 100 – now that’s a serious difficulty jump! Challenging these missions will grant more rewards, from resources, mastery, resources alltogether, and mods. As you reclaim these nodes you’ll also earn emotes, trophies, and other resources that you can exchange for the exclusive new Bishamo armor.

Legends of Runeterra: Lab A.R.A.M. Mode Trailer: 4:26

Next up,. Legends of Runeterra is continuing to push on after its launch with the first experimental lab mode – A.R.A.M., a nod to the League of Legends All Random, All Mid mode. In this mode both you and your opponent are given a choice from a random selection of champions, which will then determine and generate a deck for you. It’s all about chaos. As a lab mode ARAM won’t stay around forever so players can look forward to a different experimental mode in the next major patch.

League of Legends: Lillia Champion Teaser: 4:58

In other Riot games news, League of Legends is finally ready to unveil a new champion: Lillia! This shy fawn adores dreams, and is designed to master the jungle, where her ability to put enemies to sleep will be a huge help for her teammates. And while we’ll see more of her soon, League is also showcasing its new Arcanist 2020 skins, and its Conqueror Nautilus skin, the latter of which will have its proceeds split between the Spring Split winners.

Trove: Delves Console Release Trailer: 5:28

If you’re a console gamer you might be happy to know that Trove has finally gotten the Delves update on console. The delves update introduces procedurally generated cave worlds that players can explore. If you can get deep enough within the time limit, you can face off against challenging bosses to claim loot. Delves are designed as eight player experiences but you can also try private and challenge delves to play and compete with others.

Epic Free Games: 5:54

And finally let’s wrap up things with Epic’s free games this week – yes, multiple games hit us in mid-July as you can now grab Killing Floor 2, Lifeless Planet Premier Edition, and The Escapists 2 for free! Remember to grab them by the 16th so you always have them in your game library.

But with that being 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!