Weekly Recap #459 July 16th – Genshin Impact 2.0 Next Week, FFXIV Endwalker Benchmark & More!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of July 16, 2021! Transcript follows.

Genshin Impact gears up for version 2.0 featuring 3 new playable characters, Expect a ton of counter attacks and dodging from the 18th character added to Vindictus, Alliance tournaments are making their way back to EVE Online and even though it felt like not that long ago for some of us Phantasy Star Online 2 is actually celebrating 9 years running!

What’s good everyone, JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of July 16th 2021 and we’re making up a short week last week with a load of news this week…

So if you’re in the market for a new MMORPG, Swords of Legends Online has officially launched in North America and Europe!  Based on a popular series of novels, movies, games, and even a television series, Swords of Legends Online is a remastered version of the popular 2019 release in China.  Play as one of six classes in a world steeped heavily in Chinese legends and mythology and engage in a deep story while battling fierce monsters and more.  As with any good wuxia-inspired title, you’ll also run, jump, and fly your way across the maps, or travel with various mounts you can collect. At the end of the day, unwind on your character’s own personal sky island, or visit a friend instead!  Swords of Legend Online is available via Gameforge’s own client, on Steam, and on Epic Games Store.

Genshin Impact fans, the wait is almost over!  Version 2.0 for the popular open world title is coming on July 20, and with it comes the new major area of Inazuma.  Based loosely on feudal Japan, Inazuma features a variety of distinct landscapes and cultures.  The main story will take you deep into the territory, and of course plenty of side quests also await intrepid explorers.  Did we mention three new playable characters will be launching with this update?  Kamisato Ayaka, Yoimiya, and Sayu will all become available during 2.0’s run.  One sought after feature players have been wanting on is also coming — multi-platform players can now see their progression saved between mobile, console, and PC!  Look forward to improvements to character shading and the Serenitea Pot with the update, too.

While Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is still months away, you can get a small taste of what’s to come with the benchmark tool Square Enix has released. This tool is a great way to ensure your system will be able to run the game properly, and gives a unique, sneak-peek at actual in-game areas and models. As a nice, added bonus, players can also finally see the character creation for the male viera coming with the Endwalker expansion. Better, still, is the ability to save the appearance of any character you create in the benchmark to use when the expansion goes live!  Additionally, the FF14 team has released a roadmap of content until the expansion goes live, with the Make it Rain campaign coming mid-July, the Moonfire Faire in August, along with The Rising later in the month, and a return of the Final Fantasy XV collaboration event in September for anyone who may have missed it the first time.  Final Fantasy: Endwalker is set to launch on November 23, with early access for pre-orders beginning on November 19.

From one big name to another, Warframe remains one of the largest and most popular free-to-play games out there, and with it’s annual TennoCon coming up this weekend, it’s not hard to see why.  You see, developer Digital Extremes has revealed what to expect from this year’s event, and it’s a big one: an interactive preview of the upcoming expansion: The New War.  First revealed at TennoCon in 2018, this highly anticipated expansion promises to be big for a game that’s already massive in scope.  Join them live on July 17th for the gameplay reveal, and you might just be able to snag yourself a Loki Prime drop if you’re lucky.

The updates in World of Warships keep coming in strong, this time with part one of the Dutch Warships.  Tiers IV – IX are available for early access and offer great maneuverability and concealment at the cost of range.  Higher tier ships also boast improved armor from their lower counterparts. Unique to the Dutch, however, is the ability to call in airstrikes against your opponents, which will certainly make up for their lack of range! Also included in this update are two new brawl seasons, and a host of updates, fixes, and changes. The update went live on Wednesday, so feel free to check it out at your leisure.

The Midseason update is live in SMITE,and one could say stranger things have happened.  That’s right, the hit Netflix series has finally made its debut in the game with skins for Scylla, Apollo, Bakasura, and Sylvanus representing Eleven, Hopper, the Demogorgon, and the Mindflayer, respectively. Get the Stranger Things battlepass for all these skins, and more!  If that wasn’t enough, Conquest mode received a huge update, and a ton of item changes and god balancing has also been done.  Now’s a great time to check out all the changes!

When it comes to content updates, Neverwinter is on a roll!  The game has announced its next update, Jewel of the North, which introduces the Bard class to the game.  This multi-talented minstrel uses song and magic alike to inspire his allies and beguile his foes, and isn’t afraid to get into melee to mix things up, too! Jewel of the North is also promising to streamline the leveling process for new players, allowing them to experience all of the Neverwinter content for themselves without delay.  Jewel of the North goes live on July 27, so get those instruments ready!

We’ve had new skins and a new class, so how about a whole new character?  Vindictus has launched its 18th character, Tessa!  This rapier wielding bounty hunter used to be an actress but now spends her life hunting criminals in an effort to catch the mysterious phantom thief.  Tessa specializes in fast attacks, and can reduce her opponent’s defenses to allow for maximum damage.  Expect a ton of dodging and counterattacks from this skillful duelist.  To celebrate her launch, any player who gets Tessa to level 10 will receive a special outfit for her, absolutely free.  This accompanies the level up campaign currently running perfectly, as players will also receive increased growth for their characters!

Speaking of new, Endless Night has arrived in Blade and Soul.  Warlock players have something to celebrate as their third class option, the Reaver, is now available to play!  In addition to a free reinforcement pack for Reavers in the Hongmoon store, players can also look forward to multiple limited time events going on right now.  Hoard and Gourd has you entering the Kaebi village to break different colored gourds to collect various items to empower your character.  Use tickets you receive from these gourds to also participate in the Summer of Enchantment treasure draw for your chance to earn tons of additional prizes.  Last, but certainly not least, access the Hongmoon store during this period for a free Level 60 Character Boost voucher, perfect for making a new Warlock should you want to jump right in to the Reaver!

Next up Ashes of Creation, the widely anticipated upcoming MMORPG, has launched into its initial alpha stage this week.  The testing will run from now until August 13, inviting interested players to help test a number of systems, including server stability, character creation, combat and progression, and economic functions.   Every piece of feedback received will go straight to the developers, they promise, with changes being made at community suggestion as necessary and needed.  If you ever wanted to get in on the ground floor of an MMO and had any interest in Ashes of Creation, now would be the best time to have your voice heard!

Even though we’ve only had the game for just over a year, Phantasy Star Online 2 actually celebrates its 9th anniversary!  Head on in game to receive points from daily logins and tasks to collect points which can be redeemed for limited time rewards. These tasks will also frequently change to ensure you’re not just completing the same objectives repeatedly.  Just in time for the anniversary events too is the release of the first elemental weapon series: Glissen.  Every class has their own specialized version of these weapons, which deal lightning elemental damage to your opponents. Seasonal enemies for the anniversary event will all be weak to lightning, so this will be a great way to see the power of exploiting those weaknesses!  Lastly, if you have some artistic talent, you may want to consider joining the Item Design, Stamp Drawing, or Screenshot Submission contests. Winners of these contests will earn exclusive items in game, and will have their item or stamp featured in PSO2 itself!  The 9th anniversary events will run until August 4.

In other news, Alliance tournaments are making their way back to EVE Online, the first official tournament in the game since 2019.  This popular 10v10 format hosts 32 teams battling it out to be the top Alliance in all of EVE, so you know the competition is going to be fresh.  Several changes have been made since the last Alliance tournament in 2018, including updates to flagships to ensure diversity, hull limitations to allow for a more varied team composition, and a mercenary rule to allow established groups who don’t actually play under an official alliance. Sign ups for the tournament begin on July 19, so look forward to more information in the coming weeks.

Prepare to face off in the Sentinels of Light event for Legends of Runeterra!  Log in to the game to declare allegiance to the Sentinels of Light or the Ruination and receive exclusive cards for your forces.  Battle against your opponents to bring your side closer to domination by completing requests.  Each side has their own battle pass to complete, with exclusive rewards based on your choice.  The event is live now in Legends of Runeterra, so claim your side and lead them to victory!

This is the week of brand new updates, it seems, since the Stardust update is now live in Mabinogi!  From today, players can unlock new Stardust skills by collecting materials from a brand new NPC named Melwyn.  Five new Stardust skills await, complete with supporting effects, too.  New dungeons have also been released as a part of this update.  TailTeann Shadow missions will let you encounter the “Let them Fight” and “All-out War” content, while Tara Shadow missions have you tackling “Sniper War” or “Shadow Realm Champion.”  You’ll also have a chance to obtain spectacular enchant scrolls by completing these four missions by opening the chest at the end of them.  Additional intermediate dungeons will also be unlocked with the purchase of an intermediate dungeon pass, providing access to intermediate versions of the Math, Rabbie, and Barri dungeons.  These dungeons will also reward players enchant scrolls once you’ve completed them successfully.
Finally we’ve got another double freebie on the Epic Games Store! First up is Obduction, a sci-fi puzzle adventure from the creators of Myst. It’s a beautiful, weird world to explore and pretty well rated. Also up for grabs is Offworld Trading Company, an economic RTS set on a colonized Mars with both a single player campaign and multiplayer options. This is just the base game but all the DLC is available on Epic just in case you fall in love with the 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!