Weekly Recap #484 February 11th – Lost Ark Launch, Genshin Impact Welcomes Yae Miko & More!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of February 11, 2022! Transcript follows.

New and familiar faces star in update 2.5 for Genshin Impact, Battlegrounds gets a lot of love in Hearthstone, Rogue Company debuts the first of 4 new maps coming this year, and you can hear the hype train rolling in because Lost Ark is finally here!

What’s good everyone, JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of February 11th, 2022 and

After years of hype and hope, the ARPG style MMO Lost Ark has finally launched in the West! Fully available free to play as of today, February 11th, Lost Ark currently features five classes – Warrior, Martial Artist, Gunner, Mage, and Assassin – each with their own advanced class specializations. The world is large, with seven continents and hundreds of islands, and features solo and group PvE, including dungeons and raids, and PvP content, including deathmatches and 1v1 arenas. It’s been pretty well rated so far so, yeah, make sure you grab it on Steam and check it out.

Heads up Genshin players! Early next week, the next major version update, 2.5, hits the Genshin Impact servers. This update, called “When the Sakura Bloom,” continues to expand the game’s Inazuma story arc, even introducing a new Trounce Domain to challenge weekly for valuable rewards. Of course a new version also means a new character, and this time it’s the 5 Star character Yae Miko, an Electro Catalyst user prepared to offer intense damage on and off field. Raiden Shogun and Kokomi will also be making a rerun in the banners in later weeks. Meanwhile a seasonal event, Three Realms Gateway Offering, will take place until 2.6 launches, so make sure to take place and earn all the rewards you can!

In other news, Legends of Runeterra, Riot’s collectible card game based on the League of Legends universe, has announced its next expansion update, called a Curious Journey. The final part of the Beyond the Bandlewood set, this expansion will introduce 48 new cards, and new champions including  Yuumi and Galio. There are also two new keywords: Attach, which grants a card’s stats and keywords while it’s attached to an ally, and Formidable, which attacks with health instead of power. The update launches next week on February 16th.

Hearthstone fans have a lot to look forward to with the upcoming launch of its next major update next week.  A brand new mini-set of cards — Onyxia’s Lair — will become available, consisting of 35 brand new cards.  As always, you can purchase the entire set, and for the first time, players will have the option to purchase an all golden version of the set. That’s pretty cool. Battlegrounds will also see a big update, including all new heroes, buddies, boards, and finishers for the game mode.  Not to be outdone, Mercenaries will also get a significant upgrade of five new mercs to use.  Finally, the Book of Mercenaries: Bru’kan taps you to defeat the forces plaguing Alterac Valley, rewarding you a Shaman pack should you defeat all eight bosses in this linear adventure.  These updates go live on February 15, so next week will definitely be an exciting time for Hearthstone players!

Also in card game news, the latest season of  GWENT: The Witcher Card Game’s Journey is out now. Acting as a free to play battle pass with a premium tier, this Journey includes over 100 levels and over 80 rewards earnable through weekly quests and Standard, Seasonal, and Draft game modes. Each week of the Journey will also feature a new story chapter. The annual Love Event has also begun and will run until February 22nd, with an exclusive Queen Calanthe leader skin available as a reward.

Neverwinter announced the launch of the new epic adventure for its Dragonbone Vale module today.  Titled Scaleblight Mythal, this update provides players with the new Scaleblight Summit region in addition to the conclusion to the Dragonbone Vale storyline.  You’ll face off against an ancient red dragon in the final Heroic encounter and features tons of all new rewards to earn.  The question is: Can you stop the Cult of the Dragon from turning all of Faerun’s dragons undead?

The February update for Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis launched this week, featuring an increased level cap, new side stories, and much more.  Players can now reach level 40, and several areas have additional ranks to tackle, such as Mt. Magnus, Vanford Laboratory Ruins, and Resol Forest.  In addition to the new Chapter 2 side story, two new concerts are available: Song of War and Song of Mourning.  Attending these concerts will provide a buff to players.  Lastly, beware the invasion of Dark Falz in Central Aelio and join the new 8 player Urgent Quest to take him down!

Meanwhile, Love is in the air in Black Desert Online!  From now until March 9, you can participate in the return of the Valentine’s Day event in the game.  You’ll be able to pick up a variety of log-in rewards, including the Box Full O’Love.  Players can earn up to 10 of these boxes per day which act as raffle tickets for various prizes starting on February 16.  Expect a variety of good rewards should you win these raffles, including weapons, accessories, mounts, and more.  Even if you don’t win anything, you’ll get a Sweet Chocolate that can also be used to exchange for other prizes throughout the event.  In addition, players can look forward to a revamp of the Gyfin Rhasia Temple as a solo hunting zone, allowing you to earn powerful buffs to take down the toughest foes there!

Rogue Company has finally kicked off Season One for Year Two this week, with an update called Neochrome. This update introduces Meltdown, a brand new map set near an arctic volcano, and one of four  new maps coming this year. King of the Hill has also joined ranked modes for those of you looking to compete! Project Saint also continues in improving the game, this time taking a pass at HUD changes and new armor rendering. Don’t forget the new Battle Pass, plus additional bundles and free rewards!

While you’re enjoying the new content in Rogue Company, make sure to give a moment of silence for America’s Army: Proving Grounds, the US Army’s official free to play FPS that has announced its closure after 8 years of online service. With a “mission successful” letter to its players, the team has announced that the game will be sunsetting fully on May 5, 2022. All official servers and stats will be taken offline, but if you have the game,  you’ll still be able to play in offline and privately owned servers. Sounds like the America’s Army team has plans for a new title in the future though, so if you enjoyed this series, keep an eye out.

And finally let’s take a look at this week’s Epic Games Store free game, which is Windbound.  When a warrior named Kara ends up shipwrecked on a mysterious island, it’s up to you to guide her through these strange lands.  Survive by gathering, crafting, and exploring, and defend yourself against fierce beasts, solve puzzles that unlock the island’s lore, and do your best to tame the savage lands. Probably worth the pickup for any survival game fans.

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!