Specifically for the ones who pre-ordered the game, of course. This means lots of people will be taking a crack at Mortal Kombat 1 for the first time. Here’s a move list for the four playable characters so far: Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Kenshi, Kitana. There’s even a primer video for Li Mei (new to this beta) made by Mortal Kombat pro player Ketchup. We’ll add Johnny Cage later when their move lists are available.

For now, it’s Kombat Time!

Liu Kang

Kenshi

Kitana

Sub-Zero

Li Mei

The game teaches you most of what you need to finish your missions, but here are some tips and tricks that you can check out before playing the game. These are spoiler-free, so we won’t be spoiling any of the story elements. In the meantime, head on over to our full review of the game here.

Don’t Forget To Always Use The Memory Mechanic AKA Quick-Save AKA Save Scumming

It’s an integral mechanic in the game, and while the game already has a feature where it reminds players to use it from time to time, it’s best to quick-save as often as possible. There’s no limit to the Memory saves, so it’s there for you to abuse it. As a tip, try to quick-save every single time you’ve killed an enemy, or just before you’re about to execute a complicated plan. It’s frustrating when you fail to execute a complex plan properly and you’re forced to set it all up again. Remember, it only takes one click to do so in Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew.

You Can Actually Run Through Enemy View Cones If You’re Fast Enough

Yeah, you don’t need to be crouching and sneaking all the time. Sometimes, with a little finesse and good timing, you can run through an enemy’s view cone without alerting them. However, keep an eye on the red colour flowing through the enemy view cones in order to time your runs correctly.

Keep A Lookout For Interactable Objects In The Environment, Which Can Be Easily Missable

It’s easy to ignore or miss out on using or interacting with the environmental objects in the game. Some of them are easily missable, such as rocks or boulders that you can push onto enemies, cannons that can shoot and knock them out, stacks of boxes that can crush your enemies, and more. So, pay attention to what’s available around you.

Try To Use Different Characters On Each Mission

There’s usually nothing stopping you from using your same favourite characters on most missions in the game. However, in order to unlock upgrades faster, change them up and use different characters for each mission. Characters who don’t go on missions gain vigour, so when you do use them later, they add more points to unlock the next upgrade.

These Chests Contain Ammo But Are Easy To Miss, And Guns Can Be Helpful In Emergencies

Guns can really help in many situations, where you can dispatch enemies easily from afar. However, the game doesn’t really tell you that you can actually get more ammo during missions. Just look out for boxes/chests like in the picture above, which contain ammo. This is crucial, since you’ll need to rely on guns a lot more in the more complex missions near the endgame.

Speedrunner Mae, the same one who finished the game in under 10 minutes, made a video guide (under the Sex% Baldur’s Gate 3 speedrun subcategory) that answers the question: how fast can you have sex with someone? With the help of some spells, Mae blitz through the opening areas and spends the night with githyanki fighter Lae’zel.

He used enhanced leap’s jump distance to bypass obstacles, and uses Mage Hands to activate the Nautiloid’s transponder. As soon as he reaches the Ravaged Beach, he jumped all the way to where Lae’zel is being held prisoner by tieflings. After rescuing her, they end up in the Emerald Grove entrance goblin battle, arguably the part that took the speedrun bit the longest. Then once they’re in the grove, Mae went to get a tiefling named Zorru to bow down to their githyanki crush. This gets the githyanki all hot and bothered, leading to her inviting the player character to her camp. Once you smash the long rest button, you proceed with the smashing.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is out right now for PC, with the PS5 version coming out in early September. Stay tuned for our review; you can check out our legendary weapons guide while you’re at it.

The best weapons for your party are usually hidden or at the end of the game’s many tricky puzzles and complicated sidequests. Here’s how you can find them all, along with the solutions that come along with it.

Disclaimer: this list will be updated periodically as we find more new gear in our playthroughs.

The Blood of Lathander

Weapon type: Mace
Lathander’s Blessing: Once per long rest, when your hit points are reduced to zero, you regain 2-12 hitpoints. Allies within nine metres regain 1-6 hit points.
Lathander’s Light: Sheds holy light in a six metre radius. In combat, fiends and undead standing in the light are blinded, unless they pass a constitution save.
Bound Spells: Sunbeam

How To Find: Rosymorn Monastery in the Mountain Pass; check Creche Y’llek and below the region. YOu have to head to the Inquisitor’s chamber and solve a few puzzles along the way. Best for Clerics like Shadowheart, and very useful in the mandatory Shadow-Cursed Lands area.

Mask Of The Shapeshifter

Gear Type: Helmet
Bound Spell: Shapeshift

How To Find: DLC from the Deluxe Edition of the game. Shapeshift can be useful for the early game.

Selune’s Spear of Night

Weapon Type: Spear
Selune’s Blessing: You gain advantage on wisdom saving throws and perception checks.
Darkvision: You can see in the dark up to 12 metres.
Bound Spells: Moonbeam and Moonmote

How To Find: Near the end of Act 2 in the Nightsong quest. You will need to get the Spear of Night in the Silent Library (Druid Grove). To get the upgrade, you need to save Nightsong and Shadowheart. Great for warriors and fighters, especially its Moonbeam power.

Shar’s Spear of Evening

Weapon Type: Spear
Shar’s Blessing: You gain an advantage on saving throws while Lightly or Heavily Obscured. This weapon deals an additional 1d6 to creatures that are similarly obscured.
Blind Immunity: Cannot be blinded.
Bound Spells: Shar’s Darkness

How To Find: You need the Spear of Night in the Silent Library. You get this near the end of Act 2 when you get Shadowheart to kill the Nightsong. A great weapon that has general buffs while you’re in darkness.

Nyrulna

Weapon Type: Trident
Zephyr Connection: This weapon will return to your hand when thrown. You cannot be forced to drop the trident. When thrown, the weapon creates an explosion that deals 3-12 thunder damage in a six-metre blast.
Veil of the Wind: You gain +3 metre bonus to movement speed and jump distance. Equipping this weapon gives you immunity to fall damage.
Nyrulna Glowing: This object shines with a glowing light in a radius of six metres.

How To Find: The wind truly rises with this trident that’s great for fighter and warrior classes. This trident is at the Circus of Last Days near Rivington in Act 3 onward. You need to outwit Akabi the Djinni to win his game of wheel of fortune.

To do this, you need to pickpocket his magic ring and then spin the wheel; it’s what he uses to rig the game. He will then get angry and teleport you into a jungle full of monsters. Find the portal to get out, then you’ll find Nyrulna.

Crimson Mischief

Weapon Type: Shortsword
Prey Upon The Weak: This weapon deals an additional 1-4 piercing damage against targets below 50% HP.
Redvein Savary (Main Hand): When you make an attack with advantage, you deal 7 additional piercing damage.
Crimson Weapon (Off Hand): When you make an attack with your off-hand weapon, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the attack.

How To Get: Defeat Orin in the Temple of Bhaal in the Undercity in Act 3. To gain access to the temple, you need to follow the questline around investigating the murders in the city. One-half of a shortsword and dagger pair; find the other to unleash this weapon’s full potential.

Bloodthirst

Weapon Type: Dagger
Improved Critical: The number you need to roll a Critical Hit while attacking is reduced by 1. This effect can stack.
Exploit Weakness (main hand): Creatures hit with this weapon receive vulnerability to piercing damage.
True Strike Riposte (off hand): When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can retaliate and gain True Strike.
Bound Spells: True Strike

How To Get: Defeat Orin in the Temple of Bhaal in the Undercity in Act 3. This dagger goes great with the Crimson Mischief above.

Viconia’s Walking Fortress

Weapon Type: Shield
Rebuke the Mighty: When a foe hits you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to deal 2-8 force damage and knock it prone unless it succeeds a Dexterity check.
Spellguard: You gain advantage on saving throws against spells. Spell attack rolls against you have disadvantage.
Bound Spells: Reflective Shell and Warding Guard

How To Get: You can get this shield from Viconia (of Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate 2) in the House of Grief in the Lower City during Act 3. If you’re following Shadowheart’s quest, you may have to fight her and the Cult of Shar, so good luck. The shield is pretty darn good and great for Clerics like Shadowheart.

Markoheshkir

Weapon Type: Quarterstaff
Arcane Enhancement: You gain a +1 to Spell Save DC and spell attack rolls.
Arcane Battery: The next spell you cast when this is toggled active doesn’t consume a spell slot.
Bound spells: Kereska’s Favour

How To Get: This spellcasting-focused staff is found in Ramazith’s Tower in the Lower City. If you’re doing the Nightsong quest, you’ll come across this staff. Head to Sorcerous Sundries as part of the quest, then through the portal to the tower where Lorakkan the wizard lives.  Use the “Below” button on the lower floor of the tower to transport to where this is protected by a barrier. Pull the lever and pass an Arcana check to unlock it.

Here’s a quick guide on how to utilize her to the fullest.

ALL ABOUT DOMMY MOMMY

Kafka is an integral part of the Stellaron Hunters, a faction dedicated to countering the efforts of the Interastral Peace Corporation. By using the mystical power of Spirit Whisper, Kafka orchestrated the establishment of Trailblazer, a mechanism designed to assimilate the essence of the Stellaron entity. All we know about her as of now is during her leisure moments, Kafka takes immense pleasure in indulging her passion for retail therapy and meticulously arranging her assortment of coats.

Kafka is dangerous and elusive and the community worships the air she breathes. Her banner has been long awaited by many fans, so let’s get straight to it! The mysterious femme fatale of the Stellaron Hunters specializes in using Damage over Time (DoT) effects and excels in dealing Lightning Damage, perfectly complementing The Nihility. This solidifies her role as a top-notch DPS choice. She truly stands out when teamed up with fellow DoT enthusiasts for some multi-target mayhem. Is she going to be better than Jing Yuan? Well, let’s see.

TALENT BREAKDOWN

Basic ATK : Midnight Tumult: Deals Lightning DMG equal to 50% of Kafka’s ATK to a single enemy.

Skill : Caressing Moonlight: Deals Lightning DMG equal to 80% of Kafka’s ATK to a target enemy and Lightning DMG equal to 30% of Kafka’s ATK to enemies adjacent to it.If the target enemy is currently receiving DoT, all DoTs currently placed on that enemy immediately produce DMG equal to 80% of their original DMG.

Ultimate : Twilight Trill: Deals Lightning DMG to all enemies with a chance of inflicting Shock on them, and causes enemies with the Shock status to immediately take DMG equal to a certain percentage of the original damage received. Shock lasts for several turns. When Shocked, enemies receive Lightning DoT equal to a certain percentage of Kafka’s ATK at the beginning of each turn.

Talent : Gentle but Cruel:After an ally of Kafka’s uses Basic ATK on an enemy, Kafka immediately launches 1 follow-up attack and deals Lightning DMG equal to 60% of her ATK to that enemy, with a base chance of 100% of increasing the DoT inflicted by 15% for 2 turns. This effect can only be triggered 1 time per turn.

Technique : Mercy is not Forgiveness: Immediately attacks the enemy. After entering battle, deals Lightning DMG equal to 50% of Kafka’s ATK to a random enemy. In addition, all enemies have a 100% base chance to become Shocked for 3 turn(s).While Shocked, enemies receive Lightning DoT equal to 50% of Kafka’s ATK at the beginning of each turn.

Traces: 

Torture: When the Ultimate is used, enemy targets will immediately receive DMG from all currently applies DoT sources instead of just receiving DMG immediately from the currently applied Shock State.

Stat Bonus:

1. HP Boost: Max HP increased 6.0%
2. Lightning DMG Boost: Lightning DMG +6.4%

Thorns: The base chance for Ultimate, Technique, or the follow-up attack triggered by the Talent to inflict Shock is increased.

Stat Bonus:

1. HP Boost: HP +4.0%
2. Lightning DMG Boost: Lightning DMG +3.2%
3. ATK Boost: ATK +4.0%

Plunder: When an enemy inflicted with Shock is defeated, Kafka regenerates additional Energy.

Stat Bonus:

1. Lightning DMG Boost: Lightning DMG +4.8%
2. ATK Boost: ATK +6.0%

EIDOLONS, IN CASE YOU LUCKED OUT GETTING MULTIPLE KAFKA COPIES

E1 : Da Capo: When the Talent triggers a follow-up attack, there is a 100% base chance to increase the DoT received by the target by 30% for 2 turns.

E2: Fortississimo:While Kafka is on the field, DoT dealt by all allies increases by 25%.

E3: Capriccio: Skill Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Basic ATK Lv. +1, up to a maximum of Lv. 10.

E4: Recitativo: When an enemy target takes DMG from the Shock status inflicted by Kafka, Kafka additionally regenerates 2 Energy.

E5: Doloroso: Ultimate Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Talent Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15.

E6: Leggiero: The Shock inflicted on the enemy target by the Ultimate, the Technique, or the Talent-triggered follow-up attack has a DMG multiplier increase of 156% and lasts 1 turn longer.

KAFKA’S ASCENSION AND TRACE MATERIALS

ASCENSION MATERALS

• 15 Thief’s Instinct
• 15 Usurper’s Scheme
• 15 Conqueror’s Will
• 65 Shape Shifter’s Lightning Staff
• 308,000 Credits

TRACE MATERIALS

• 15 Obsidian of Dread
• 41 Thief’s Instinct
• 72 Obsidian of Desolation
• 56 Usurper’s Scheme
• 139 Obsidian of Obsession
• 58 Conqueror’s Will
• 12 Regret of Infinite Ochema
• 11 Tracks of Destiny
• 3,000,000 Credits

THE BEST LIGHT CONE FOR KAFKA

Patience Is All You Need is the best Light Cone for Kafka, as it increases her damage against DoT-afflicted enemies and increases her Speed if you manage to trigger her follow-up attacks often enough. This effect that can stack up to three times. This is great as it allows you to go for more of an ATK% Relic instead of Speed Relics. Also this Light Cone has a 100% base chance to inflict Erode on any enemy that doesn’t have this effect yet. Eroded targets are considered Shocked and will receive DoT.

For the poor, aka like me, your best bet is to go for Good Night and Sleep Well, a 4* Light Cone. It takes the crown with its substantial damage boost against debuffed (Shocked) foes. It’s even more effective when paired with other characters dealing damage over time or applying debuffs alongside Kafka on your team.

THE BEST RELICS FOR KAFKA

Kafka is all about offense, so focus on beefing up her damage stats like Attack and Critical Hit Rate on her gear. She’s a bit of a tactical character – it’s much smarter for her to take her turn after her teammates to pile up Damage over Time effects on enemies. You don’t need to prioritize Speed as much for her, which is great.

Band of Sizzling Thunder 4-PC: +10% Lightning Damage, +25% Attack for the wearer for one turn after using their Skill.

You can always go for Musketeer of the Wild Wheat as a substitute if you don’t have this set.

For Ornaments,

Space Sealing Station: +12% Attack, another 12% Attack when wearer’s Speed surpasses 120.

Make sure your Speed hits the 12o mark for this to actually be effective. This will greatly increases her attack power.

Check out her full Companion story here:

With the beta phase winding down, players are all about uncovering the best strategies to ramp up their level status before the game goes prime time. Unlike the earlier Payday series instalments, where levelling up was relatively straightforward, Payday 3 beta spices things up with more complex levelling mechanics, thanks to some notable gameplay enhancements. Sound intriguing? Read on for more!

Moving up the ranks in Payday 3 calls for a mixture of collaborative efforts, stealth manoeuvres, and making wise choices in terms of weaponry. Be prepared, though, as scoring a level gain might require multiple runs across various maps.

Eager to discover the art of levelling up in the Payday 3 beta? We’ve got the lowdown on how the beta’s progression system works and some solid tips to assist you in your endeavour.

Mastering the Level Up Game in Payday 3 Beta

Cracking the code for levelling in Payday 3 beta involves navigating through an assortment of heist maps and challenges. And if you’re up for some dedicated gameplay, the beta’s achievements are there for the taking. But keep in mind, these achievements might be a moving target until the game officially launches.

Your character’s journey forward heavily hinges on your choice of heist maps. Each map brings its own unique flavour, with certain elements switching around during the loading process. Don’t fret, though – a few prime opportunities remain consistent, giving you the perfect chance to coordinate with your fellow heist enthusiasts.

Payday 3 takes a page from the Infamy system for character progression. By successfully executing heists, you’re not just scoring loot – you’re also accumulating Infamy points. And guess what? Accumulating these points opens up a world of rewards: impressive weaponry, diverse armour options, and even valuable skill points.

But wait, there’s a catch. Some players have come across a couple of bugs affecting levelling. One pesky bug messes with your displayed character level after a gaming session, while another bug plays hard to get when it comes to levelling up your weaponry. Thankfully, the diligent folks at the Starbreeze Team are actively working to iron out these kinks. Interestingly enough, a handful of fortunate players have managed to sidestep these issues by giving the game a fresh start.

Navigating the Payday 3 Beta Scene

Ready to dive into the world of the Payday 3 beta? To get in on the action, make your way to either Steam or the Xbox Insider Hub to snag your beta access. Just a quick heads-up, though – as of now, the closed beta door hasn’t swung open for our PlayStation compatriots. Stay tuned for updates!

Just like any Dungeons & Dragons title, you need to form up a party so that you don’t have to go at the adventure alone. Baldur’s Gate 3 has 10 known permanent companions who can join you, possibly even more as the game just launched this week. Here’s the list:

• Shadowheart (High Half-Elf Cleric of Trickery)
• Lae’zel (Githyanki Fighter)
• Gale (Human Wizard)
• Astarion (High Elf Rogue)
• Wyll (Human Warlock of a Fiend Patron)
• Karlach (Zariel Tiefling Barbarian)
• Halsin (Wood Elf Druid)
• Minthara (Drow Paladin)
• Minsc (Human Ranger)
• Jaheira (Half-Elf Druid)

Here’s how you can recruit them:

Shadowheart

The gothic human Cleric who wields a mean blunt weapon/shield combo and can heal your team in a pinch. She’s a great starter character to have in your party, especially if it’s your first time playing a CRPG of this magnitude.

How To Find: You can rescue her while you’re on the Nautiloid mindflayer ship at the start of the game. She’s trapped in the glass casing; you just have to go to the next room and find an item that fits inside the console panel next to her. After the crash landing sequence, she’ll be laying unconscious by the beach;you can recruit her from there on out.

If you didn’t come across her in this instance, you’ll instead find her at the furthest Eastern point of the beach after the ship crashlanded; it’s by the entrance to the Dank Crypt.

Lae’zel

Short-tempered Githyanki. She’s a Fighter, meaning she can tank and deal big damage with any weapon she has while carrying Heavy Armor.

How To Find: You’ll encounter her pretty early on in the Nautiloid as part of the game’s onboarding process. After the ship crashes and you’re separated, you can find her at North of the Roadside Cliffs Waypoint (an example of a fast travel point in Baldur’s Gate 3). If you have met Gale, you can find her within the vicinity. She will be captured by two Tiefling hunters; you can deceive them into running away, and then let her out of her cage by destroying the weak floor panel of the trap she’s in.

Gale

Human Wizard who can learn spells off of scrolls. He’s better in the rear when fighting since he has a lot of spells at his disposal, but can’t take a hit. You may need to feed him magical items every now and then as part of his companion quest. As such, he’s great for people starting out in the game who need a well-balanced party.

How To Find: Gale is first found directly at the Roadside Cliffs Waypoint to the North of the Crashed Nautiloid. He is stuck inside the portal. Help him out to join the team proper. If you happen to be The Dark Urge, you can pick certain options that will yield violent effects in this scene.

Astarion

A High-Elf Rogue who is good at being a thief and lockpicking/sneak attacking. Deals great damage if he hits and runs anything on the field. He’s also a vampire; for plot reasons he can walk in sunlight and walk into houses uninvited.

How To Find: Astarion is first discovered to the West of the Crashed Nautiloid. After some fairly fraught dialogue, he’ll join your team. He’s honestly hard to miss.

Wyll

A Human Warlock who has some fancy sword moves but has better spellcasting powers. He’s a Hell-powered Warlock with utility and control casting kind of spells. If you need a flexible party member who can melee and cast ranged spells/buffing spells, he’s your guy in your party.

How To Find: Wyll is close to the main entrance of the Druid’s Grove, training Tiefling kids how to fight. Talk to him to recruit him; you’ll also open up a quest to find another potential party member named Karlach.

Keep in mind: if you side with the goblins in the game’s first major questline at the Goblin’s Camp, he will leave your party.

Karlach

A Zariel Tiefling Barbarian. She packs a punch and can attract foes’ attention with her taunting and Barbarian skills.

How To Find: Karlach is at the end of the Risen Road, East of the tollhouse. It’s best you take Wyll’s quest to find Karlach as it’ll narrow down the location in Risen Road. You’ll have to cut through the Blighted Village to get to this point, then deal with some gnolls along the way.

Halsin

A Wood Elf Druid who can shapeshift into a bear. Good as both a melee character and a ranged spellcaster too.

How To Find: He is found imprisoned in the Worg Pens in the Goblin’s Camp. He will temporarily join you in the eventual fight in this section, and then will task you to kill all the Goblin Leaders in the camp. Only then he’ll head back to the Druid’s Grove, and then join you as a permanent party member.

Keep in mind: if you side with the Goblins, he will be hostile to you.

Minthara

A Drow Paladin. Quite a dedicated zealot. One of the leaders of the Goblin Camp main quest.

How To Find: She is found in the Shattered Sanctum at the end of the Goblin Camp. You’ll have to convince her that you’re game in joining her raiding party in destroying the Druid Grove.

This also means that Wyll will leave your party and Halsin won’t join, since you’ve joined the side of “evil”.

Jaheira

Elf Druid from the past Baldur’s Gate games.

How To Find: TBA

Minsc

Human Ranger with a hamster for a pet. Strives for justice. Also from past Baldur’s Gate games.

You can find the competitive mode in the Battle Stadium via the in-game menu. You will be matched against other players at a similar rank level to you, with your rank progressing up or down based on your performance. The most common choice of the game mode is the double battle mode, with the usual team of six Pokémon being brought in and four being brought in to battle with you. You and your opponent’s teams will be revealed to each other, but not the four that you end up choosing.

Note: Each ranked Series has different rules and ban lists, so make sure to keep track of them via official posts.

You can play with a rental team if your own Pokémon aren’t strong enough, with a lot of professional players and content creators having codes to use for their teams for rent. However, if you want full control over the team that you use and the Pokémon you own, then you would need to prepare your own team. While this may seem daunting at first, once the process is broken down, it is way easier than you think!

Catch The Pokémon You Need

The metagame for each series will feature specific moves, must-have Pokémon or powerful strategies to use in competitive play. While many guides list the most powerful ones, you can also make teams based on Pokémon or moves that you like. Generally, the focus of a good team should be creating synergy around a specific Pokémon or a specific strategy between your team that allows for different outcomes throughout the battle.

The basic outline of a good competitive Pokémon team surrounds the core of your team, which means the specific Pokémon that have Synergy together. Usually, a team has a “3-3 Core” or a “2-2-2 Core”, referring to the 2 or 3 pairs of Pokémon that synergize well with each other. Usually, you should try to mix in different kinds of Pokémon as well, to make sure that you have a well-balanced team against different matchups. A 3-3 core has 2 base cores, with each core having at least 3 Pokémon that synergize with each other. While they can synergize with the other 3 in your team, generally you want to focus on the main 3 in each pair, with maybe one synergizing with both teams to finish your 4th pick.

A 2-2-2 core, on the other hand, as the name implies, has three pairs within the core, usually making it both easier to build and easier to pilot as it’s more point-and-shoot. This makes it a very easy choice for offensive and fast builds, but sometimes it can lack complexity or long-term strategies. For a more detailed guide on team building, this guide by game8 is a great resource.

Grinding/Levelling Up

EXP grinding can be a very daunting process, but there are a couple of ways to streamline the process to make the grind way less painful. A required tool that will help is the use of the EXP Share, which gives all Pokémon in your team EXP even if they didn’t participate in the battle. This means while you grind with one Pokémon, your other Pokémon are also receiving EXP, making the process way more efficient. There are a few methods to gaining EXP to grind your acquired Pokémon to a good enough level for competitive ranked. Another tool that you should use is the Lucky Egg, which you can obtain by completing your sixth Gym Badge, gifted to you by Jacq. A Lucky Egg can be given to a Pokémon to boost the amount of EXP gained via battles, which makes the process of levelling, especially in the lower levels, much faster and way more efficient.

Tera Raid battles are one of the best ways to level up your Pokémon quickly, including by gaining some EXP Candy and Rare Candy along with the EXP you gain through the battles themselves. You can find Tera Raid Battles by looking on the Paldea map, indicated by the coloured stars showing elemental symbols on them, or you can search for one online via the Poke Portal. The way to get the most EXP and the best rewards is by aiming to complete higher star-rated battles, where you should aim for 6-star or 7-star battles.

However, you will need to complete the post-game story to take part in these high star-rated Tera Raids, so it is recommended to finish the full game experience before grinding this method to its maximum potential. Even without those high-star-rated Tera Raids, you can find rare and powerful Pokémon throughout these raids, with a specific schedule that can be found here. The EXP Candies/Rare Candies are the simplest way to level a Pokémon, but they are most recommended for the higher level Pokémon in your team, as they will require more time to level up normally at a later stage. The ideal way to grind would be to use the Tera Raids to get your Pokémon to a certain level before using the EXP Candies and Rare Candies to boost them even further.

Another method that you can use is mercilessly hunting down Chansey. You can do this by going to North Province (Area Three) and eating a Ham Sandwich in order to increase the normal-type encounters that you can receive. To make the Ham Sandwich, you need Ham, Pickles, Mayonnaise and Mustard. From there, just mow down all the poor Chansey that you can find within the 30-minute period where your sandwich is active to rapidly level up your Pokémon team.

Team Optimisation

Held Items are an extremely important part of setting up and optimising your team. An easy way to obtain these items is by going to Delibird Presents, most of them can be found in Mesagoza, Levincia and Cascarrafa. While different items can be bought in different locations, most are likely to be found in the Mesagoza shop. While this topic is too complex for this guide, you can find a good resource for the best Held Items for competitive Scarlet and Violet by Game8 here.

The most complicated aspects of optimising a competitive Pokémon team are the IV, EV and Nature statistics. These are different statistics that require multiple methods to train and develop, such as through various NPCs, locations, and items. For more information on how to train these statistics, you can read this guide by DualShockers. Once you become familiar with this process, it will become much easier to train other Pokémon in the future.

Practice Makes Perfect

The final part of the process is to practice with your team, strategize what you have planned, and adjust your setup or team if needed. Practice makes perfect with anything and everything, and that applies to Pokémon, so take the time to learn the ins and outs of your team and the way that they play.

While competitive Pokémon is quite random at the end of the day, there are plenty of factors and techniques to mitigate or minimise the randomness of the gameplay, giving you an advantage in battle. Here are some links to guides on important strategies that you should employ during battle, such as switching and ability usage.

At the end of the day, experience is the best teacher, so don’t forget to go out there and have some fun while you’re at it!

Today, I’m going to tell you about all the different types we have, including the secret ones and how to unlock them! It’s useful to do a little bit of research before you choose your class, as it makes a big difference in the builds you want to make. Or you could just go crazy and do it all on a whim. Either way, I’ve got you covered.

When you start your game, you will start out without a class. They’ll hand you some basic generic gear, and this will help you complete the introduction of the game. Once done, you will meet someone called Wallace and after interacting with him, you will get to decide which Archetype you’d like to start your current save with. Once that’s done, you can skin the prologue/tutorial every time you create a new character just like its first game.

Starting Archetypes

You will have access only to 4 classes, 5 if you have the DLC. These are the starting classes that will be offered to you:

Challenger

The Challenger in Remnant 2 is like a successor to the Scrapper from the first game. They excel in close combat and have high survivability, making them perfect for the tank role in a party. Since they focus on close combat, they don’t rely heavily on accuracy, making weapons with lower accuracy a good fit for this class. Beginners or those new to the Souls-like genre may find the Challenger the easiest class to play due to its durability and ability to withstand damage before going down. However, it might feel punishing for newer players at higher difficulties.

Starting Weapons:

The starting weapons for the Handler are the AS-10 Bulldog, Silverback Model 500, and the Iron Greatsword.

Challenger Perks:

1. Die Hard: When receiving fatal damage, the Challenger becomes invulnerable for five seconds and regenerates 100% of their max health. This ability has a cooldown of ten minutes.
2. Close Quarters: Gain up to 40% ranged and melee damage to enemies within seven meters, with a slight reduction in damage up to 13 meters. Critical chance is also increased by up to 10% within the same range, with damage scaling based on the Challenger’s level.
3. Intimidating Presence: After using a Challenger Skill, enemies within ten meters deal 10% less damage for 15 seconds, with an additional 2.5% damage reduction per affected enemy (up to 10% max).
4. Powerlifter: Reduces the additional stamina cost increase for each weight bracket and stamina regen delay by 50%.
5. Face of Danger: Using a Relic within 10 meters of an enemy grants two stacks of Bulwark and 10% increased damage for ten seconds.

Challenger Skills:

1. War Stomp: Creates a high-impact tremor that deals 210 damage and stagger in a forward cone up to 7.5 meters. It deals damage in all directions at point-blank range.
2. Juggernaut: Enters a nearly unstoppable state, gaining Bulwark level 3, 15% increased movement and melee speed, and 50% increased melee damage. Stagger damage is reduced by one. This state lasts 25 seconds.
3. Rampage: Enters a heightened state of battle, increasing fire rate by 15%, reload speed by 20%, and movement speed by 10%. Dealing high damage to enemies grants stacks of Rage, increasing ranged damage by 5% per stack. Upon reaching 10 stacks, the Challenger goes Berserk, reloading their current firearm and doubling Rampage effects for 20 seconds.

How to Unlock the Challenger Class:

Players need to craft the Steel Enswell Engram. To craft this, players will first need to obtain the Old Metal Tool which can be bought from Reggie for 1500 Scraps.

Gunslinger

The Gunslinger is a firearms expert in Remnant 2 with perks that enhance their weapon effectiveness. They excel at dealing damage, conserving ammo, and firing rapidly. It is also a mid-range DPS class.

Starting Weapons:

The Gunslinger begins with three weapons: the Wrangler 1860 Long Gun, The Western Classic Handgun, and the Scrap Hatchet. These options are all powerful and complement the Gunslinger’s skills. For a starting mod, consider using Healing Shot to have some healing ability, which can be beneficial early on.

Gunslinger Perks:

1. Loaded: Activating any Gunslinger skill instantly reloads both weapons and provides infinite reserve ammo for 15 seconds.
2. Swift Shot: Gain 15% fire rate, 25% ranged damage, and 5% critical chance for all firearms.
3. Posse Up: Ammo pickups grant 30% additional ammo per player, distributed equally among teammates, and cause ammo boxes to drop extra ammo on the ground.
4. Quick Hands: Firearms gain 10% reload speed, doubled if the magazine is empty.
5. Sleight of Hand: Using a relic reloads the equipped firearm and increases ranged damage by 15% for 10 seconds.

Gunslinger Skills:

1. Quick Draw: Fires up to 6 rounds from the hip, spreading evenly among enemies within 25 meters. Holding the button allows manual aiming for precise control.
2. Sidewinder: Calls upon the Desert Sidewinder snake’s power, increasing ADS movement and draw/swap speed by 50% for 20 seconds, automatically reloading the incoming firearm upon weapon cycling.
3. Bulletstorm: Unleashes the full power and speed of the Gunslinger. Traditional firearms become fully automatic, and bows/crossbows gain increased projectile speed and critical chance. Fire rate increases by 20%, reload speed by 50%, all lasting for 20 seconds.

How to Unlock the Gunslinger Class:

Gunslinger is unlocked early  by pre-ordering any of the three pre-order versions of Remnant 2 in any of the available systems. For all the other players, it is obtained through getting the Worn Cylinder first. The Worn Cylinder can be obtained, after completing the second world, by asking Mudtooth about his stories multiple times.

You will need to craft the Iron Cylinder Engram, with the Worn Cylinder.

The Secret Archetypes

Alchemist

The Alchemist is a support character focused on providing buffs and utilities to their allies. They excel at enhancing their team’s effectiveness and offering protective abilities through vials and consumables.

Starting Weapons:

The starting weapons for the Alchemist are the Wrangler 1860, Bone Chopper and the Double Barrel.

Alchemist Perks:

• Spirited – Alchemist can have 1 additional Concoction buff activated.
• Liquid Courage – Gain 2.5% increase to all damage.
• Panacea – Curative effects apply to all allies within 15 meters and grant 15 additional resistance.
• Gold To Lead – Picking up Scrap has a 15% chance to also award ammo to the Alchemist.
• Experimentalist – Using a Relic applies a random buff on the Alchemist for 30 seconds.

Alchemist Skills:

• Vial: Stone Mist – Creates a mysterious vapor cloud which lasts ten seconds and applies Stoneskin. Stoneskin reduces incoming damage by 25%, greatly increases Blight buildup decay rate, reduces stagger by 1, and makes the target immune to status effects. Lasts 15 seconds. Press the button to slam the vial on the ground, creating the effect at the Alchemist’s feet. Hold and release to aim and throw the vial causing the same effect where it lands.
• Vial: Frenzy Dust – Creates a mysterious vapor cloud that lasts ten seconds and applies Frenzied. Frenzied increases fire rate, reload speed, and melee speed by 20%, and movement speed by 15%. Lasts 15 seconds. Press the button to slam the vial on the ground, creating the effect at the Alchemist’s feet. Hold and release to aim and throw the vial causing the same effect where it lands.
• Vial: Elixir of Life – Creates a mysterious vapor cloud that lasts ten seconds and applies Living Will. Living Will grants 5 health regeneration per second, and automatically protects against fatal damage while active. Can revive downed players if it heals them to full when downed. Press the button to slam the vial on the ground, creating the effect at the Alchemist’s feet. Hold and release to aim and throw the vial causing the same effect where it lands.

How to Unlock the Alchemist Class:

Players will have to craft the Philosopher’s Stone Engram. To do this, they will have to obtain the Philosopher’s Stone first and that can be obtained by defeating the Manticora in the Manticora from the Drain Event in Losomn.

In the Losomn area, be cautious of drains in the water. When you stand too close to one, a Manticora will drag you away to its lair, filled with bones. Soon, you wake up and you’ll face an attack from the Bone Collector.

Explorer

The Explorer is a skilled specialist who excels at finding valuable items and providing crucial team utilities. They can spawn extra items and rare drops when defeating tough enemies. With various abilities, the Explorer enhances loot-finding, boosts team damage, uncovers hidden treasures, and improves movement speed for all allies. Their valuable support and keen eye for treasure make them an indispensable asset on any adventure. To put it simply, if you are a Loot Globin, this is the class you want to go for.

Starting Weapons:

The starting weapons for the Explorer are the Ford’s Scattergun, Hero’s Sword and the Repeater Pistol.

Explorer perks:

• Lucky – Grants a 10% chance to spawn additional items and rarer drops when defeating stronger enemies.
• Scavenger – Pickups increase all damage dealt by 0.5% per stack for 15s. Additional stacks increase duration, up to 60 seconds. Maximum of five stacks.
• Metal Detector – Increase ammo, currency, and metal drop rate chance for entire party by 10%.
• Prospector – Relic Fragments discovered by Explorer drop at a higher quality.
• Self Discovery – Using a Relic instantly fills Scavenger stacks and prevents stack decay for 15 seconds.

Explorer skills:

• Plainswalker – Increases movement speed by 20% and reduces stamina cost by 80% for all allies. Lasts 30 seconds.
• Gold Digger – Dig into the ground to spring a fountain which grants a random buff. Fountains last 45 seconds and their buffs last 15 seconds. Fountains can grant either: 10% increased damage, 15% damage reduction, 1.5 health regeneration per second, or Haste.
• Fortune Hunter – Increases the Explorer’s treasure sense to reveal special items within 40 meters for all allies. Lasts 60 seconds.

How to Unlock the Explorer Class:

Players will have to craft the Golden Compass Engram. They will first have to obtain the Broken Compass which is obtained by defeating Annhilation at the end of the main story in Root Earth.

Summoner

The Summoner excels at commanding minions to fight for them. They can make their minions stronger, sacrifice them to boost their own attacks, and benefit from healing auras when minions expire. Using relics also enhances their minions’ health and damage. With different minion types at their disposal, like Root Hollow, Flyer, and Reaver, the Summoner wields a powerful set of abilities.

Starting Weapons:

The starting weapons for the Explorer are the Crossbow, Rebellion Spear and the MP60-R.

Summoner perks:

• Dominator – +17.5% skill and mod damage when a minion is active; sacrifice gives +15% damage for 30 seconds or until another minion is summoned.
• Residue – Minions that die/expire leave an aura that heals 2.5% max HP per second; lasts 30 seconds.
• Outrage – Sacrifice grants +3% lifesteal for each minion that’s sacrificed; lasts 10 seconds.
• Incite – Using a relic grants minions +5% max HP per second and +15% damage; lasts 30 seconds.

Summoner skills:

• Hollow – Costs 15% of max HP; max of two Root Hollow minions.
• Flyer – Costs 10% of max HP; max of two Root Flyer minions.
• Reaver – Costs 35% of max HP; max of one Root Reaver minion.

How to Unlock the Summoner Class:

In Yaesha, you’ll find a Bloodmoon Altar highlighted in blue on your map. Interact with it to exchange Bloodmoon Essence and Scrap for items, including the Faded Grimoire. Collect Bloodmoon Essence from pink wisps floating around Yaesha. Head back to Ward 13, talk to Wallace, and purchase the Summoner Class to equip it as your primary or secondary class.

Engineer

The Engineer in Remnant 2 is a heavy weaponry expert who can carry and deploy powerful armaments in turret mode. Their unique abilities, like Fortify Metalworker and Magnetic Field, empower them to boost heavy weapons, increase skill damage, and provide damage reduction to allies. As players progress, their heavy weapon skills and armor effectiveness greatly improve. Get ready to be a heavy-hitting powerhouse!

Starting Weapons:

The starting weapons for the Engineer are the Pulse Rifle,  Atom Smasher and the Rupture Canon.

Engineer perks:

• Prime Perk: Holding the skill button will overclock a carried or deployed heavy weapon. Overclocking grants Infinite Ammo, increased fire rate, and a 25% damage increase for 15 seconds.
• Metalworker: Increases skill damage by 5%.
• Magnetic Field: Heavy weapons grant 15% damage reduction to all allies within 2.5m.
• Heavy Mobility – Movement speed while carrying a heavy weapon is increased by 35%.
• Surplus: Using a relic refills 15% of heavy weapon ammo. Bonus is doubled when heavy weapon is stowed.

Engineer skills:

• Heavy Vulcan – Deploys a Vulcan Cannon Turret which lasts until its ammo is exhausted. Turrest that can aim will prioritize targets that the player aims at. Press the skill again to enable autonomous targeting. Hold the button to deploy the Heavy Carry Mode. If the Engineer Prime is available, it will overclock the weapon already in hand or on the battlefield. Double press the button to reclaim the weapon, returning 75% of its remaining ammo.
• Flamethrower – Deploys a Flamethrower Turret which lasts until its ammo is exhausted. Turrets that can aim will prioritize targets that the player aims at. Press the skill again to enable autonomous targeting. Hold the button to deploy Heavy Carry Mode. If the Engineer Prime is available, it will overclock the weapon already in hand or on the battlefield. Double press the button to reclaim the weapon, returning 75% of its remaining ammo.
• Impact Cannon – Deploys an Impact Cannon Turret which lasts until its ammo is exhausted. Turrest that can aim will prioritize targets that the player aims at. Press the skill again to enable autonomous targeting. Hold the button to deploy the Heavy Carry Mode. If the Engineer Prime is available, it will overclock the weapon already in hand or on the battlefield. Double press the button to reclaim the weapon, returning 75% of its remaining ammo.

How to Unlock the Engineer Class:

The item you need is the Alien Device, but finding it can be tricky. In the second major area of N’Erud, you must run into deadly fog, where you’ll find an alien corpse. It holds a special armor set and the Alien Device you seek. The fog causes your character to feel sick, so you must act fast.

To make it easier, unlock the Explorer archetype (by beating the main story) and level it up to level 10. The Treasure Hunter ability will highlight nearby loot, including the alien corpse/device.

Once you locate it, grab everything quickly, even if you die, the items will stay in your inventory. Take them to Wallace in Ward 13 to unlock the class.

Invader

The Invader is a sneaky specialist who loves tricks and misdirection. They use decoys to distract enemies and stay elusive on the battlefield. With enhanced damage, reduced threat, and temporary invincibility, they play with space-time to gain an advantage in combat. Get ready to confuse and conquer!

Starting Weapons:

The starting weapons for the Invader are the Blackmaw AR-47, Steel Katana and the Tech 22.

Invader perks:

• Prime Perk: Shadow – Casting a skill leaves a decoy that draws enemy fire, lasting for three seconds; you deal 5% more damage to enemies that are not targeting you.
• Damage Perk: Shark – Sprinting for one second or evading adds one stack of Momentum, increasing ranged and melee damage by 0.7% for 15 seconds; maximum of five stacks.
• Team Perk: Loophole – Ally ranged and melee damage against enemies distracted by your decoys grants 5% damage as lifesteal.
• Utility Perk: Circumvent – Reduces the stamina cost of evade and combat slide by 10%.
• Relic Perk: Override – Using a Relic reduces your threat generation by 25% for 10 seconds. While Override is active, your next evade leaves behind a decoy that lasts for four seconds.

Invader skills:

• Void Cloak – Automatically does a perfect dodge on incoming direct damage for 60 seconds; each auto evade reduces this timer by 33-100% based on the damage absorbed; spawns a decoy for three seconds.
• Wormhole – Teleports your character; your next melee or ranged attack deals 300% damage. Holding the skill button allows you to highlight a location, or appear behind an enemy if that’s your target.
• Reboot – Creates a “backup” of your current health, stamina, Relic charges, ammo, and status effects, which are stored for 30 seconds. While the backup is active, you gain 15% movement speed and 10% damage reduction. If you press the skill button once more, you regain the state from your backup, while spawning a decoy that lasts three seconds.

How to Unlock the Invader Class:

There’s quite a few things to do to unlock this class. So I would highly recommend going into Adventure mode to this. Head to Losomn, then:

1. Find the Morrow Sanatorium area in Morrow Parish. Complete a quest for three stone dolls and a key to unlock a prison cell. You’ll receive the Nightweaver Stone Doll as a reward.
2. Proceed to the Tormented Asylum and use the Nightweaver Stone Doll on a cobweb-filled cell to unlock the Dreamcatcher weapon.
3. Continue to the Root Earth area, specifically the cargo ship checkpoint. There, you’ll spot a strange living plinth in a large empty room. Use the Dreamcatcher on it to get the Walker’s Dream item.
4. Now, activate the Walker’s Dream. It’ll lead you to a secret area with a hidden boss named Bane. Defeat Bane to obtain the Wooden Stake.
5. Finally, bring the Wooden Stake to Wallace in Ward 13, and voila! You’ll unlock the Invader class and become the master of elusiveness and misdirection.

Double Dragon Gaiden can be really tough, especially when you get to the later Missions where enemies are powered up to kingdom come. Here are some tips to help you get ahead.

Double Dragon Gaiden Combat Guide

Know your main characters

Here’s a breakdown of all the starter characters in Double Dragon Gaiden.

Billy Lee: Fast and fights with fast kicks. His Super Moves are a flying vertical knee that deals big damage, a dive kick that knocks down (do this super after a double jump), and the trademark Lee Brothers spin kick. He’s best if you’re just starting out in DD Gaiden.

Jimmy Lee: Slower than Billy but faster than Uncle Matin. Fights with his fists and hands. Has slightly slower attacks, but hits harder than Billy. His double jump ground pound can clear the room, but doesn’t give Special KO bonuses. His Super Moves are a multi-hit punch attack that hits forward, an anti-air uppercut, and a grab move that works on airborne foes.

Marian: The zoner of the group. Has low hit points but makes it up with long-range gunfire that keeps her away from enemies while she deals damage from afar. Her Super Moves include a rocket launcher (delayed startup but big blast radius that doesn’t hurt allies), her mine trap that detonates and pulls enemies within range, and a single-target long-reaching command grab. You can abuse her rocket launcher provided you get powerups that help keep your Super Meter stocked up.

Uncle Matin: The heavy fighter of the group. He has few combos, but he deals big damage and any enemy he knocks down with his normal combo ender and run attack can knock other enemies within range. He’s slow, but the run cancel method just makes him more mobile. His Super Moves include a running riot shield charge, a command grab that slams and deals area-of-effect damage, and an air grab. His riot shield charge super can be abusaeble if you can gain Super Meter via power-ups at the end of each level.

Run cancel after attacking. Always.

In Double Dragon Gaiden, each of the four main characters (and bonus ones you can unlock with Tokens) have a run button (Right Bumper on Xbox controller) and a run attack. Not only does this give you momentum in movement and allows you to do a run attack that usually knocks down enemies, but you can cancel any ground attack you do from a run. In order to make it far in a Double Dragon Gaiden playthrough, you will need to master the art of canceling any action into a run.

Just keep in mind that once you stop running, there will be a “brake” recovery period that lasts a second or less. Just make sure you stop at somewhere safe without enemies, because you can get counterattacked easily.

Tokens > Cash

When possible in a single playthrough, do try to amass as many tokens as possible. Tokens not only unlock collectibles like sweet DD music and lovely concept artwork, but also unlock additional characters you can use for future playthroughs.

Sub-bosses cost 10 Tokens, while Main Bosses (Lady Okada, Willy, Duke, Anubis) cost 25 Tokens. The ??? character costs 50 Tokens and is the most powerful of the lot.

However, if you rather unlock a good character earlier after a few runs, you should unlock the following characters first: Chin (fast rushdown character), Linda (long-ranged whip Supers), and Abobo (heavy bruiser with best AoE super with armour). 

Double Dragon Gaiden Walkthrough