Weekly Recap #416 July 24th – Rogue Company Begins Beta, PSO2 New Genesis Revealed, and More!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of July 24, 2020! Transcript and timestamps follow.

Hi Rez shows off its brand new third person team shooter, Riot games is celebrating the Spirit Blossom Festival in both League of Legends and Legends of Runeterra, Vindictus shows off its latest playable character and it looks like Phantasy Star Online 2 is getting a graphics overhaul with New Genesis.

Whats up guys! JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of July 24th 2020.
Rogue Company Launch Trailer: 0:22
And starting out the news this week Hi Rez and First Watch Games have officially kicked off the closed beta for Rogue Company on all platforms – that’s PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch. Thankfully the game supports cross-play and cross-save from the start so you’re really free to play on whatever platform best suits your needs. This third person team shooter is kicking it off hot with a brand new playable character, Glitch, and the new Strikeout game mode. While Rogue Company is free to play, right now closed beta is only accessible through early access packs or beta key giveaways so make sure to check social media to unlock your way to play. I happen to get access through Nvidia giveaways, so you might check that route if you’re looking to try it out.

V4 Launch Trailer: 1:11
Also launched this past week is the global version of Nexon’s cross-platform MMORPG called V4. Available on mobile and PC with crossplay, V4 features real time combat and a player versus player versus enemy system in an open world. The game features six classes, dozens of customization options, and a player-driven marketplace. Grand opening events are ongoing and the game is free so it might be worth checking out.

SMITE: Tsukuyomi Teaser: 1:37

Back over to Hi-Rez,  SMITE has revealed its next upcoming god, Tsukuyomi. Brother to Amaterasu and Susano, this Japanese god of the Moon is designed to be like a lunar ninja, filling the Assassin role. With a focus on attack range and boosting his basic attacks,  Tsukuyomi will be able to poke and assist from a distance more often before sweeping in to tackle his opponents and bring them down.

Conqueror’s Blade Season IV: Blood of the Empire: 2:01

In other news, Conqueror’s Blade has kicked off its fourth Season, Blood of the Empire. This update features the armies of the Anadolou Empire, based on historic Turkish forces. The free season update includes the new field battle map, By Land and Sea, a new emote system, and four new units: janissaries, azaps, sildahars, and siphahis. And of course, there’s also a new Battle Pass for this season, featuring new exclusive cosmetics, from new hero attire to 11 new weapon skins.

Final Fantasy XIV Patch 5.3: 2:34

Final Fantasy XIV has revealed the new cinematic trailer for its upcoming major patch 5.3, Reflections in Crystal. Set to release on August 11th , this patch sees the continuation of the main story line, a new YoRHa Alliance Raid, a new dungeon, a new trial, and new beast tribe quests. It also marks a major shift in older content, as the game’s original vanilla content has been reworked and streamlined. Not only that they’re also expanding the free trial to go all the way up to level 60 and include the game’s first expansion, Heavensward.

SWTOR Now On Steam: 3:06

We haven’t had any major news from Star Wars: The Old Republic in a while, but this week EA brought the sci-fi MMO onto Steam. The Steam version of the game does include cross-save and cross-play, so you can freely choose between Steam or the direct launcher. The Steam version also comes with many Steam community features – trading cards, emotes, and backgrounds to earn through playtime, plus upcoming achievements that will be available both through Steam and in game directly. EA is no doubt hoping to bring some fresh blood to SWTOR since the game is almost nine years old now.

League of Legends & Legends of Runeterra: Spirit Blossom Festival: 3:38

Next up Riot Games is celebrating the Spirit Blossom Festival not only in League of Legends, but also Legends of Runeterra! This limited event which runs until late August will work differently in both games, but feature similar themes. In League of Legends, not only will players welcome the permanent champion Lillia, they can take part in special token missions and milestone missions, if you have the event pass. There are five new champion skins plus other themed cosmetics to unlock as well.

In Legends of Runeterra, players can complete quests  to earn petals, which can be exchanged for a bunch of other cosmetic rewards and shards – only nine of these are available for free but there’s an additional nineteen if you buy the event pass. There’s some really gorgeous looking rewards in both games so make sure to check it out.

Vindictus: Lethor Now Available: 4:22

Vindictus is still going strong as it releases its sixteenth playable character this week. Lethor uses martial arts and auras to empower her attacks and unleash a flurry of blows on enemies with skills such as Tiger Claw, Dragon Fang, and Aura Burst Rampage. She’s excellent at chaining a combo of punches and utilizes two pieces of exclusive equipment: the Crest Master and the Black Gale. To celebrate Vindictus is hosting some level up events for the next few weeks so now’s a great time to try out the game or come back to it.

Temtem: Kisiwa Island Update: 4:54

And pokemon style MMO Temtem has also launched a new update this week, called Kisiwa Island. This new area means new Tems to tame, new techniques and traits, and much more. The update also includes a redesigned and improved chat feature, and new Clubs feature which will let you join a clan of up to fifty other players to connect socially in game – though there will be more Clubs content in the future. The level cap will also be increased, which means some existing Tems will be able to unlock their final evolution! Downside to this is that the game’s base price has increased slightly to reflect the addition of the new content, but if you have been looking for a Pokemon style MMO you can’t go wrong here.

Dual Universe New Avatar Reveal: 5:39

Novaquark is back in the news with a preview of the new character model for its sci-fi sandbox MMO, Dual Universe. This is a sleek redesign of the original meant to feel both functional and appealing. The update that brings this new character model also brings new character animations, including the introduction of emotes. Dual Universe is currently in testing and will launch into beta on August 27.

Black Desert Console: Hashashin Trailer: 6:02

Meanwhile, Black Desert on console has released a timed exclusive of the newest class: Hashashin. A desert warrior, the Hashashin can manipulate sandstorms and launch a flurry of melee attacks on their enemies. To celebrate Black Desert is hosting some events including a login rewards giveaway worth $130, additional rewards for those who level the new class to 60, and boosted skill experience and drop rate for those who interact with scattered sandstorms. The class will come to PC at a later date. That said, Black Desert is also hosting a special event right now where you can earn the base game for free if you reach level 50 within two weeks – make sure to check their official site for details.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis Announced: 6:43

And surprising everyone watching the Xbox event on Thursday, SEGA announced Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis with an epic new trailer. This update will feature an improved game system and graphics engine – really it looks like a complete engine overhaul of the game and it looks really slick! Not only that but SEGA has indicated that it will be bringing this update globally, hinting that everyone might get this update at the same time. No idea when this is going live other than sometime in 2021 but it looks amazing.

That about wraps up the news, but Epic games delivers again with a killer summer sale going on that started yesterday on the 23rd and lasts until august 6th. Pretty decent sale prices on games like Borderlands 3, Control and Saints Row the Third, but we also have two free while you can get them titles in Tacoma, a space station mystery adventure game with multiple paths and outcomes and Next Up Hero, which seems like a fun hack n slash dungeon crawler with bright visuals. These games are yours to keep if you get around to clicking that get button between know and this time next week.

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!