Weekly Recap #481 January 14th – PUBG Goes F2P, Elyon Gets Archer Class & More!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of January 14, 2022! Transcript follows.

PUBG decides its probably a good idea and try and compete with other Battle Royale games, The new Archer class in Elyon can be such an energy drain, Warframe’s Prime Resurgence event is coming to an end soon and the latest duelist in Valorant looks to be shockingly painful… kinda like the joke I just made.

What’s good everyone, JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of January 14th, 2022 and the game companies are still waking up from their holiday slumber, so got another short and sweet one for ya, let’s get started

If you’re looking for a new free to play game to try, you’re in luck as Crystal Clash, a 2v2 lane battle game from independent studio Crunchy Leaf Games, has just launched free to play on Steam. Based off the previously published Rise of Legions, Crystal Clash has been redesigned with a focus on 2v2 and co-op. The game mixes MOBA, tower defense, and deck building elements for short, quick, and intense battles, and it promises to leave all cards in game available through in-game currencies, so that there is no pay to win element.

Speaking of free to play, here’s some exciting news – Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, AKA PUBG, is now free to play! That’s right, the classic battleground experience has moved into a free to play model, where anyone can now play with a basic account. For a one-time purchase of $13 though, you can get a special premium account, Battlegrounds Plus, which unlocks a few features including Medals, Ranked Mode, and custom matches. If you already purchased PUBG in the past then you get Battlegrounds Plus automatically. If you haven’t though this is a great time to check out what the game is all about.

In other news, Neverwinter’s newest update, Dragonbone Vale, is now available on PC! This module harkens the return of Valindra Shadowmantle, the game’s well known antagonist, in the new Dragonbone Vale adventure zone and campaign. The update also introduces new grappling hook mechanics, available only in the new area, a new faction reputation system, and a new 10-player trial. PlayStation and Xbox players, look forward to the update landing on February 8th!

Elyon’s kicking off 2022 with a massive new update, featuring the Archer class. The Archer is a ranged class that rains down arrows on its enemies, capable of draining their energy. The update also adds the Mysterious Rune Equipment and new equipment enhancement features, as well as takes a major class balancing pass on all classes. Make sure to check out the full patch notes linked below, as well as to check out all the ongoing events!

Meanwhile, Aura Kingdom is also leading off 2022 with a new update, Valleys of Ice Hearts. This update includes a level cap increase to 125, but don’t worry if you’re behind – the required experience to level between 116 to 120 has also been reduced. With this, players can also unlock Class Master Certificates which grants powerful new buffs. Also in the update are the new areas Snow Crystal Plains and Deep Hidden Valley; four new dungeons; a new invasion event, and more.

Switching gears, Riot’s fast paced tactical shooter Valorant has begun Episode 4, Act 1. This update introduces the new duelist, Neon, who uses bio-electricity to deliver shocking pain to her opponents, as well as increase her speed and temporarily block line of sight to her enemies. Of course, the start of a new season also means a fresh competitive queue, which now requires account level 20 to play, plus a brand new battle pass worth of rewards to earn.

Warframe wants to remind players that the Prime Resurgence event is coming to an end in just a few weeks, on January 25th. If you missed coverage of this earlier, the Prime Resurgence event is  an “unvaulting” of previously released and retired Prime Warframes and gear, some of which will be available for the first time on the Nintendo Switch. The Primes include Mag, Nova, Limbo, Trinity, Mesa, Hydroid, Volt, Loki, Vauban, Ash, Oberon, Nekros, Saryn, Valkyr, Ember, Frost, Rhino, and Nyx. These last two weeks are a “Last Chance” to grab any of these Warframes so make sure you get the ones you want before the event ends!

And finally let’s take a look at our free game this week on the Epics Games Store. This week it’s Galactic Civilizations III, a massive and in-depth 4X space strategy game from Stardock Entertainment. This is a really well loved game that’s become a classic in the space simulation and 4X genre, so if you enjoy getting deep into space exploration, colonization, and warfare, you’ll want to grab this for free. Just the base game is included, but if you find yourself in love with the game you can always pick up the DLC on the store later.

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!