Why We Need A ‘Moon Ark’ To Store Frozen Seeds, Sperm And Eggs From 6.7 Million Earth Species



Species or planets could be wiped off the face of the Earth any minute—so we need a “Moon Ark” to safely store frozen eggs, sperm, seeds and other DNA matter from all 6.7 million Earth species.

That’s according to students and staff at the University of Arizona, who at the IEEE Aerospace Conference last weekend divulged details of an ambitious “modern global insurance policy” for our planet.

Their daring plan is to build a complex in the Moon’s lava tubes staffed by robots and fuelled by solar panels on the lunar surface.

Why do we need such a thing? Volcanoes, earthquakes, civil war, nuclear war, ice ages, rapid climate change and, yes, unpredictable pandemics—that’s our planet. Calamitous events are never far away and a large number of species could be wiped out in a very short time.

Of course, the human race does already has an insurance policy for these kind of events in the shape of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the so-called “doomsday vault” opened in 2008 inside the Arctic Circle in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway.

It holds over a million “back-ups” of duplicate seed samples to protect against any accidental loss of biodiversity.

But it’s not as safe as we need it to be.

Its “permafrost mountain” home can no longer be relied upon to stay frozen, flooding the entrance in 2017. Svalbard is experiencing rapidly rising temperatures. It’salso built at only 430 ft./130 meters above sea level.

However, the driving force behind the lunar ark isn’t climate change or sea-level rise per se, but the Toba supervolcanic eruption of 75,000 years ago.

The massive eruption, where Lake Toba is now in Sumatra, Indonesia, caused a global volcanic winter lasting up to a decade. “It also caused a 1,000-year cooling period and, according to some, aligns with an estimated drop in human diversity,” said Jekan Thanga, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering in the UArizona College of Engineering and the SpaceTREx Laboratory, who presented the paper. “Earth is naturally a volatile environment.”

Happily, we have a Moon just 238,855 miles/384,400 km from Earth where nothing ever happens. It’s empty and it’s cold. It’s the perfect home for a second “ark” to reduce the risk of biodiversity being lost if a catastrophic event were to annihilate certain species on Earth.

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Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Adds St. Patrick's Day Mode And Store Items This Week



Activision provides a rundown of what's new in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War this week.

Season 2 of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War rolls on this week with more bundles and playlists, including a special one themed around St. Patrick's Day. Activision outlined all of the new details in a blog post and we're rounding up all the key points here, including the arrival of a new St. Patrick's-themed Stockpile mode and weapon, both of which will release in Cold War on Thursday, March 11.

Black Ops Cold War Modes
Black Ops Cold War celebrates St. Patrick's Day with the mode St. Patrick's Stockpile. In this twist on Kill Confirmed/Stockpile, shamrocks drop when a player dies and the other side must collect and deliver them to the "Pot o' Gold" to earn points. Players can deny opponents points by collecting these shamrocks before the enemy grabs them.

St. Patrick's Stockpile goes live at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET on March 11 and runs through March 18. Additionally, Activision will move Face Off from the Featured playlist to quick play this week.

New Store Bundle
The in-game Call of Duty store adds the Tool of War bundle beginning March 11. This bundle comes with the Bunker Buster melee weapon blueprint, the Revolutionary Garcia skin, the Pinch reticle, the Cuban Links watch, along with a new charm and sticker.

Also new in the store this week is the Monetezuma's Curse bundle on March 14. It includes nine items in total with a Mayan theme. These items include the Mayan Malediction SMG (see below), the Aztec Assassin rifle, the Emerald Idol charm, the Dorado Dasher vehicle skin, and the Mask of Madness emblem. It also comes with a new watch, a vehicle horn, and two tier skips for the battle pass.

Additionally, the St. Patrick's Day-themed "Lucky" tracer pack will be available starting March 16. This bundle comes with five themed items, including the Shillelagh LMG, the Wee Lad assault rifle, the Pot O' Gold charm, and the Lucky Frag sticker.

Call of Duty Mobile
Call of Duty Mobile is also getting some love this week, as Activision is unleashing the Season 2 - Day of Reckoning update that adds two more maps and additional weapons, along with a new 3v3 Snipers Only playlist for multiplayer. The game's battle royale mode adds a new vehicle and class, while there will also be more items available in the battle pass to unlock.

Activision's blog post did not contain any updates for Warzone, but we'll report back with any new details should they be announced later. A recent tease involving zombies spreading across Verdansk may have been pointing toward a big in-game event.

In other news, a small patch is available now for Black Ops Cold War that includes some fixes for multiplayer, Zombies, and League Play.

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Nintendo President Wants To Avoid "Nosedive" With Switch, Needs To Keep It Fresh



Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa isn't comfortable, despite the Switch's massive success.

The Nintendo Switch has been a massive success for Nintendo, and it came in the wake of one of the company's biggest failures. Despite these impressive numbers, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa isn't resting, and he said he wants to avoid the big dropoff that most of Nintendo's systems see once they've been out for a few years.

Speaking to Nikkei Business (and translated by Kotaku), Furukawa explained that with the exception of the Switch, Nintendo has seen its business take a "nosedive" when consoles have hit their midlife point. Since the Switch is now four years old, it's seemingly at least at its midlife point, but sales continue to be strong for both games and the hardware.

"Because of this, I myself as well as those within the company do not at all think the current state of affairs will keep going and going," he added.

That's likely why we haven't seen the last Switch hardware revision, either. Had the system not succeeded, like with the Wii U, it would have made sense for Nintendo to be preparing for the Switch's outright successor to launch already. That isn't the case, and we've heard reports of an upgraded Switch with an OLED screen and 4K docked output, instead. The Switch will also need impressive games to keep players engaged, but it's still a mystery when big titles like Bayonetta 3 and the Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel will actually release.

What remains to be seen is if Nintendo's desire to massively innovate will help it in the future. Given the huge appeal of the Switch as a hybrid device, it would be hard to go back to a Nintendo system that couldn't be used as a handheld and a traditional console. Still, if there's one thing Nintendo is good at, it's giving us something we didn't know we wanted until we had it.

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Valve Ceases Artifact Development, Makes It Free-To-Play Instead



Valve cited issues like player base growth as reasons while Artifact development will no longer continue.

Valve has decided to cease development on its Dota 2-based card game Artifact and its revamp, Artifact 2.0, citing issues with growing the player base necessary to justify the development.

In a Steam blog post, Valve wrote that while it's proud of the work it managed to accomplish on Artifact's reboot, the studio wasn't satisfied with the size of the game's current player base.

"It's now been about a year and a half since the current Artifact team began work on a reboot in earnest," Valve wrote. "While we're reasonably satisfied we accomplished most of our game-side goals, we haven't managed to get the active player numbers to a level that justifies further development at this time."

Valve went on to say that instead of deactivating the servers, both games will remain as they are--they will just go to a free-to-play model. Valve noted that Artifact 2.0, now called Artifact Foundry as part of this free-to-play transition, remains "an unfinished product." According to Valve, "the core gameplay is all there" and all that's missing in the game is polish and art. Both games will stay playable for the foreseeable future, but Valve won't release any future updates.

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Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Update Balances Zombies' Outbreak Mode



The patch notes also detail what you can expect of Rapid Fire Moshpit and Dead Ops Arcade: First Person.

Another update is available for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and developer Treyarch has released the full patch notes. The update is currently live--it's primarily geared towards implementing bug fixes and objective tuning to Zombies. But it also includes some details on the cult favorite Dead Ops Arcade mode, and specifically its first-person version.

The update focuses on Zombies' new Outbreak mode, which is an open-world, co-op variation of Call of Duty's traditional Zombies. Instead of fighting off hordes of zombies in a series of rounds, Outbreak tasks a team of players with accomplishing a series of objectives in any order they wish across a vast open space that's filled with zombies.

Also in the patch notes, Treyarch details what players can expect in Rapid Fire Moshpit and Dead Ops Arcade: First Person, both of which are scheduled to go live in Black Ops Cold War on March 4. Rapid Fire Moshpit is a playlist composed of Team Deathmatch, Domination, Kill Confirmed, and Hardpoint but only on the game's smallest maps. Dead Ops Arcade: First Person remakes Dead Ops Arcade 3--it's just now played in first-person.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War March 2 Update Patch Notes
Multiplayer
Modes
Combined Arms
Adjusted Zone Capture time in Combined Arms Assault.
Zombies
Outbreak
Stability
Added various stability fixes for issues with Objectives, Jump Pads, Krasny Soldat, and the Dragon Relic.
Fixed a crash that could occur when killing a Megaton HVT during the Elimination Objective.
Gameplay
The Eliminate Objective no longer removes additional enemies between HVT jumps to better balance difficulty with other Outbreak Objectives.
Addressed an issue with zombies pausing or pathing incorrectly to the Holdout Objective.
Addressed an issue where the Krasny Soldat's flamethrower attack would not deal damage under certain circumstances.
Addressed an issue where the flashlight would stay on after spectating during the Holdout Objective.
Perks
Addressed an issue where Tombstone Soda could cause the player to fall out of the gameplay space in Golova, Alpine, and Ruka.
Support
Addressed an issue where the Chopper Gunner could fly out of the gameplay space after multiple uses.
Weapons
Addressed an issue where Ray Gun splash damage could break all Armor if the player had Jugger-Nog Tiers III, IV, and V.
Field Upgrades
Addressed an issue where Healing Aura incorrectly gained the benefit of Quick Revive's Tier IV ability.

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Rainbow Six Siege Update Brings Fuze Back To Test Server, Implements Bug Fix For Flores



You can once again get your teammates mad at you for "accidently" killing the hostage.

Ubisoft has released a new patch for Rainbow Six Siege, which adds Fuze back to the PC test server, after the character was temporarily removed for a crashing bug. The patch also implements several bug fixes.

Fuze was removed from all Siege playlists (except for Custom) via an update on February 26. Picking the operator was causing an issue that would make Siege crash. The bug attached to the operator is now supposedly fixed, though Ubisoft is keeping him on the test server for now. The company hasn't given a timeline for when Fuze will rejoin the full game on all platforms.

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Netflix's The Division Video Game Adaptation Movie Adds Rawson Marshall Thurber As Director



The feature adaptation of the popular video game franchise doesn't yet have a release date.

Director Rawson Marshall Thurber (Skyscraper, Red Notice) will be helming Netflix's upcoming feature adaptation of Tom Clancy's The Division, a popular video game franchise. News of Thurber stepping in to direct comes via Deadline. He will be taking over for David Leitch (Deadpool 2), who had to leave the project due to scheduling conflicts with the currently filming thriller Bullet Train.

According to Ubisoft, the movie "is set in the near future, where a virus is spread via paper money on Black Friday, decimating the city of New York… a group of civilians, trained to operate in catastrophic times, are activated to save who and what remains." Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far from Home, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time) and Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, Molly's Game) will co-star, but it's not yet known what roles they'll be playing or how they might relate to the original game.

The Division is just one small part of what seems could be a turning tide for video game movie adaptations gaining respect and viability for Hollywood. A recent The Ringer article has broken down how films like Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog proved the formula can work, which in turn led to many studios snapping up adaptation deals.

What we're starting seeing now is those deals starting to bear fruit. For example, the recent Mortal Kombat movie trailer was the most-watched red-band promo of all time, clocking more than 166 million views in its first week. Other, similar adaptations, like HBO's The Last of Us, demonstrates that prestige television may also be within gaming's grasp--or reach, anyway--as well.

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Zack Snyder Explains Why Joker Is In His Justice League Movie



Why is Joker in Batman's Knightmare? Justice League director Zack Snyder explains.

One of the most surprising revelations about Zack Snyder's director's cut of Justice League is that the film will feature the return of the Joker, as portrayed by Jared Leto--who reprises his role from the Suicide Squad movie. For those wondering how this came about, Snyder gave some context during IGN's Fan Fest.

As revealed in a trailer for Justice League, Joker appears in Batman's Knightmare vision of a post-apocalyptic world that was first seen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. How that fits into this movie and whether it's actually a version of the future or merely a dream remains to be seen, though it could have something to do with the cliffhanger that will end the Snyder Cut. Regardless, that setting was too tempting for Snyder to not include Joker.

"You'd always wanted [Joker] to be in the Knightmare reality," he explained. "And so it was a great opportunity. And when I talked to Jared and he was interested in doing it, I just felt like, 'Okay, this feels like a thing. I can't pass up.'"

As for Joker's new look in the film, Snyder elaborated on the makeover. "What inspired the look was, you know, the sort of post-apocalyptic world that I'm a huge fan," he said. What's more, this version of Joker--and the Knightmare sequence as a whole--could have eventually fed into future movies.

"The idea was that as the movies progressed, the next movie--if there ever was one and it doesn't seem like there ever will be--but if there was, it would exist primarily in that world with them trying to set it right," he explained. "We played around with a lot of different things. I did a bunch of drawings and we pulled a bunch of different costumes and tried a bunch of different looks. Jared had a bunch of great ideas and we all kind of mashed that together and sort of settled on this cool version of Joker."

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When Does Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Season 2 Start?



Here's when you'll be able to enjoy the new Season 2 content for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Season 2 will launch on all platforms on February 25 at 12 AM ET, or 9 PM PT on February 24. However, the content varies a little bit based on the game you're playing. It introduces new multiplayer modes and maps, new weapons, and new zombie-themed challenges across both games. Read on more for about what Season 2 has in store, including a link to the patch notes where you can find a full breakdown.

In the case of Call of Duty: Warzone, there's a rolling update happening on February 24 between 9 PM PT and 11 PM PT. The Outbreak content will last until March 5, so you won't want to wait to try it out.

For Black Ops Cold War, updates are also rolling out to prepare for the full Season 2 launch, and you can gain immediate access to the new Death Machine scorestreak reward as well as other minor cosmetic additions.

What's In Season 2?
You can check out a full breakdown of the Season 2 update, including the patch notes. Along with the addition of the Apocalypse map, Gun Game, new featured playlists, Death Machine, and Outbreak, the update also makes several changes to League Play and other quality-of-life changes across nearly every aspect of both games. Even Dead Ops Arcade 3 got some love with changes to events and a number of gameplay fixes.

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Valheim Iron Guide: How To Find Scrap Iron And Make Iron Gear



You need to get to specific places to find Iron in Valheim, which requires you to take down a boss and find the right items. Here's what you need.

While all resources in Valheim take an investment of time and effort to uncover and use, Iron is particularly tough to come by. You'll get to it about halfway through your quest through the game, but unlike Copper and Tin, which you'll use to make Bronze for weapons and armor, Iron isn't available to mine at first. Instead, you can only find Iron in specific places in the Swamp biome, and it's impossible to unlock those locations without taking down the boss of the Black Forest, The Elder.

Here's everything you need to know to harvest Iron, including where you can get it, what you need to do to earn it, and what you can turn it into once you have it.

What To Do First
Before you're ready to start harvesting and using Iron, you need to make some serious strides through the Meadows and Black Forest biomes. Iron is located in the Swamp biome, which is home to some tough customers in Valheim's mid-game. The Swamps have enemies that wield poison, like Blobs, plus tougher combatants such as Draugrs who can make quick work of you with their bows if you're not paying attention.

To hang in the Swamp, you're going to want to invest in Bronze armor. Once you've defeated Eikthyr, Valheim's Meadows boss, you'll gain the Hard Antler, which you can turn into a pickaxe. Use that to mine Tin (found near water) and Copper (found in the Black Forest), which you can combine at a Forge to make Bronze. Combined with leather, you can make Bronze clothing that will offer a lot more protection than the Leather and Troll armor you've probably been wearing. You'll also want to invest in Bronze weapons and a Finewood bow.

Once you've got better gear, start searching for Swamps. These dark areas border the ocean and are marked by sparse trees and muddy areas that are tough to traverse. You don't just want any Swamps, though--you're searching for dungeon structures in the Swamp called Sunken Crypts. You won't be able to enter these right away, but mark them on your map because they're your focus when you go hunting for Iron.

Defeat The Elder
Once you've got Bronze armor and a better bow, you're ready to take on your second target in Valheim: the Elder, the Black Forest boss. You'll need to locate its altar by interacting with rune tablets, which are usually located in underground Burial Chambers or near destroyed stone towers. Check out our full guide to killing the Elder for tips and strategies.

Destroying the Elder gets you a Swamp Key, which you'll need to actually locate the Iron that's hidden in any Swamp area. The Swamp Key can open the aforementioned Sunken Crypts, the only places where you can find Iron at this point in the game. You'll also need the key to find and take down Bonemass, the Swamp biome boss and the next target on your hitlist.

Explore The Sunken Crypts
Hopefully you've marked some Sunken Crypt locations by now and can put your Swamp Key to work. Crypts are similar to Burial Chambers in that they sometimes contain enemies--in this case, Draugrs--so be careful as you open doors or clear pathways. Try to take out Draugrs from a distance if you see them whenever possible, since you don't want to get stuck in a tight location where it's tough to escape from trouble. Crypts are also fairly flooded, which can make it difficult to get around in the midst of a fight.

You'll find Scrap Iron in two locations within Sunken Crypts--first, in the various chests that are scattered through these dungeons, and second, in Muddy Scrap Piles. The latter are big black piles of goo in Sunken Crypts, usually blocking doorways. You can smash through them with your pickaxe, although you'll find that the Hard Antler Pickaxe will require fairly regular repairs as you go.

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The Simpsons Replaces Dr. Hibbert's Voice Actor



The Simpsons follows up on a promise to change up character casting.

The Simpsons announced last summer that the show was in for a casting shakeup, as white actors would no longer be voicing characters of color on the show, including characters like Apu, Carl, and Dr. Hibbert. The new Dr. Julius Hibbert has been cast, according to Deadline; Kevin Michael Richardson will play the character moving forward, replacing actor Harry Shearer for the role. He'll take over the role starting with the episode scheduled to air on Sunday, February 28, 2021.

Richardson is a veteran voice actor with over 30 years and over 500 credits to his name. He's voiced characters in the DC and Marvel universes, as well as Star Wars, Transformers, Mortal Kombat, Family Guy, and many others. He also has 76 episodes of the Simpsons under his belt, going back as far as 2009.

Actor Harry Shearer began voicing Dr. Hibbert when he debuted over 30 years ago, and also plays--and will continue to play--other primary characters including Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, and Mr. Burns. Shearer's last episode voicing Hibbert aired last night, February 21.

Representation in the casting of voice actors, especially on the Simpsons, began receiving more attention at least as far back as 2017, with the release of the documentary "The Problem with Apu." Though creator Matt Groening was initially dismissive of the criticism--the Simpsons even stoked the flames of the controversy with an episode poking fun at it in 2018--the movement began to pick up steam. Since then, white actors have stepped away from playing characters of color in animated shows from Family Guy's Cleveland Brown to characters on more recent shows, like Big Mouth character Missy.

On the Simpsons in particular, Hank Azaria has already stepped down from voicing Indian character Apu, though Fox has not yet announced new casting for the role. Another Azaria-voiced character, Carl, is now voiced by Alex Désert. Azaria also continues to voice characters like Moe, Chief Wiggam, and Super Nintendo Chalmers.

Actor Harry Shearer voiced dissent last August, stating that "the job of the actor is to play someone who they're not," but added that "people from all backgrounds should be represented in the writing and producing ends of the business so they help decide what stories to tell and with what knowledge. The job is playing someone I'm not."

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WoW Is Finally Letting You Ride A Huge Tree And It Looks Amazing



The Wandering Ancient mount is coming to WoW in the Chains of Domination update; we spoke to Blizzard to learn more about it.

World of Warcraft's new Chains of Domination update for the Shadowlands expansion is adding a brand-new mount that is a giant ancient tree that you can ride and stomp around on. Finally. It's probably my most-anticipated part of the update (I am only joking a little).

At BlizzConline, I spoke with WoW principle game designer Jeremy Feasel about this mount, including how it came about, why it's so unique, and how it connects to the wider lore.

Blizzard launched a player survey some time ago asking fans what they would like to see from a new mount, allowing them to vote to determine what it would be. The idea was to work closely with the community in a new way to help players feel a greater sense of connection to Azeroth and the Warcraft universe. Some of the other options in the survey included a giant book you could ride, a kitty cat made of jelly, a caterpillar, and a creepy spider.

The Wandering Ancient was the most popular choice by far, Feasel said. "By a wide margin, everywhere, riding a giant walking tree won," he said.

Fans of The Lord of the Rings are likely familiar with big walking trees with the Ents, but the Ancients are also a central part of the Warcraft lore and Night Elves specifically.

"There's this mythology of riding on top of a giant tree," Feasel said about the portrayal of giant walking trees in media like The Lord of the Rings. "But also, Night Elves have this long and extensive lore about ancient protectors and ... it goes all the way back to Warcraft 3. I feel like there is a sect of the player base that has always wanted to ride one of those things. They finally got their way."

The Wandering Ancient is among WoW's largest-ever mounts, and as such, Feasel said players can expect it to feel very unique in that respect. "This is the mount for stomping across the landscape," he said.

The Wandering Ancient is also unique in that it will change colors with the seasons--check out the animated GIF above to see that in action. Additionally, its special ability shakes the tree and different color leaves will drop off depending on the season. Feasel teased that the Wander Ancient mount will also feature some "unique extra little things" to be announced later.

One of these surprises may have already been revealed. If you look closely, you'll notice that one of the mount ideas that didn't get enough votes--the caterpillar--actually has a home on top of Wandering Ancient mount. The bug is positioned in a place that looks like he's controlling the mount, which is a nice touch.

As part of BlizzConline, the studio released an in-depth video for the Wandering Ancient in which developers across disciplines talk about how they brought the mount to the game from the very beginning to the final model. It's an impressive video and it really showcases how special and unique the mount is. Check out the video here : pgslot

New Overwatch 2 Maps, Mechanics, Abilities Revealed



Blizzard has talked at length about some of the big additions coming to Overwatch 2.

Blizzard has shown off an Overwatch 2 behind-the-scenes featurette and, as part of that, given fans a glimpse at new additions and improvements being made for the sequel. During the flurry of BlizzConline 2021 announcements, Blizzard showed a behind-the-scenes featurette video for Overwatch 2, which revealed new details about the game's locations, playable heroes, and enemies.

In the presentation, we get our first look at two locations in the upcoming multiplayer-focused hero shooter: Rome and New York City. The former will be the setting for one of the maps for Push mode, one of the new additions in Overwatch 2. The Overwatch version of Rome was described as being created to reflect a romanticized notion of the location, especially through its architecture. It features the colosseum and the grand hills as a backdrop. New York, meanwhile, was described as being "authentic" but with an Overwatch spin. It has pizza places and small shops that evoke the Village. "It feels like something you haven't seen in other games before because it is uniquely Overwatch," a dev said.

Unlike its predecessor, Overwatch 2 will have both permanent PvP and PvE modes. In PvE, you'll fight computer-controlled enemies, and the new featurette reveals what some of them will look like, such as Null Sector's Stalker and Breacher. The featurette also provides more context for how progression, story and hero missions, and hero customization will work in Overwatch 2's PvE. In this mode, you'll have the flexibility to customize abilities to tweak them to your liking.

Changes To PvP
On the subject of Overwatch 2's PvP, Blizzard said it was upgrading how combat will feel, to the point that the experience should feel like a pretty big departure from what's it's like to currently play in Overwatch. Weapon feel was particularly focused on, with animation and sounds updated to better focus on enhancing the way that combat looks, sounds, and feels.

Role passives are a big new gameplay addition--these are passive attributes based on class. Tanks, for instance, will have resistance to knockback. Tanks, as a whole, will undergo a big shift. The class will now be toe-to-toe brawlers instead of characters that stand back and protect. For example, Reinhardt will be able to use two Firestrikes, steer his charge, and cancel it.

Sojourn, a new hero coming for Overwatch 2, was also briefly shown. She, according to Blizzard, was built around the railgun, a classic weapon in the first-person shooter.

Hero Missions
One big new feature for Overwatch 2 is Hero Missions, which are co-op, PvE experiences where players can level up heroes and progress their development. In Hero Missions, players will be asked to do things like gather resources to keep them safe, while enemy units are trying to take you out.

According to Blizzard, it is aiming to make hundreds of hero missions with a variety of enemy units, bosses, and new spaces that will be added to existing maps. King's Row, for example, now has a gate that opens and lets players move into a new area. This also means the payload can take new routes.

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Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword Will Come To Switch This July



Like Ocarina of Time HD and The Wind Waker HD, this remaster will have quality-of-life improvements.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is coming to Switch, as announced during Nintendo's February Direct. This HD remaster improves upon the original 2011 game for Wii and 2016 Wii U port.

Though the title for this port is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, the visuals for the game don't seem to have gotten a significant upgrade. Instead, this remaster implements some welcome quality-of-life improvements.

For instance, the Switch version makes use of the Joy-Con controllers for smoother motion controls. And for those who don't want or can't use motion controls, Skyward Sword HD implements an option to play with a button-only control scheme.

And speaking of Joy-Con controllers, Nintendo announced a new version of the Switch's controllers. These Joy-Con controllers are themed after The Legend of Zelda, with one stylized like the Master Sword and the other like the Hylian Shield.

Nintendo did have more Zelda news to share, but it was, amusingly, just that there was no news to share. The sequel to Breath of the Wild is still being worked on, but Nintendo has no further details to share at this time.

Until then, we'll have to be content with Skyward Sword HD, which will launch for Nintendo Switch on July 16. Preorders are now live.

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We Regret To Inform You That The Pokemon Happy Meals Are Pretty Cool



I'm so, so sorry.

McDonald's has started a new promotion, this time featuring the timeless, enduring property for kids and weird adults alike, Pokemon. And as one such weird adult, I sincerely regret to inform you that the included "toys" are actually pretty cool. Do with this knowledge what you will.

We first started to hear scuttlebutt about the Pokemon Happy Meals in January, with leaked word that it would involve a series of paper-based "toys" instead of the plastic figurines of past promotions. Ha! How cheap, I thought, remembering such Happy Meal royalty as the Halloween dress-up McNuggets and Changeables, which were basically Transformers if Optimus Prime had disguised himself as a milkshake. Even the Pikachu with glowy red cheeks was up there as a pretty sweet collectible! Who needs cheap paper crap?

I do, apparently.

That's because the paper-based toys are actually pretty neat, on the whole. The toy package comes contained in a little cardboard sleeve with an activity and an accessory like stickers or a paper picture frame. These are perfectly reasonable little goodies, but the centerpiece of the sets are the Pokemon card packs. These are well-made, usable Pokemon cards, and each pack contains three standard cards alongside one holo card.

I don't actually play the Pokemon Trading Card Game, but I do have an itch for collecting regardless. Just ask my piles of unused Star Wars CCG cards, or my actual still-preserved collection of pogs, or the fact that I'm the resident Hearthstone player on staff. So a set of collectible trading cards commemorating a series I've loved since childhood is fiendish.

What's worse, these clever bastards made them all starters, one of the most memorable elements in Pokemon canon. All 25 standard cards are themed after the 25 starter Pokemon across the entire series history (24 + Pikachu from Pokemon Yellow), along with holo versions of each for a total of 50 in all. You may not have ever gotten around to finishing the Elite Four in Pokemon X and Y, but you'll remember picking Fennekin until the day you die. Because of this, every pack is a nostalgia trip.

When you purchase two Happy Meals for your two children or your one adult self, you may end up with duplicates from the top of the toy pile (or whatever, I've never been backstage at a McDonald's). This is fine for keeping your children from fighting over the better toy, but not ideal if they wanted to play together with some variety. Or if you, just hypothetically, as the adult grabbing some Happy Meals during his lunch break, wanted to get two different things.

With randomized card packs this isn't much of a problem. The pack contents aren't predetermined, and two packs don't appear to have the exact same assortment of cards. So unless you're trying to catch 'em all like some kind of maniac, the chances of duplicates are relatively low.

Even the Happy Meal box is cute, with a little Pikachu design that sports pop-out ears so you can make it look 3D.

Don't mistake me, I'm not saying the Happy Meals are worth driving from town to town, or buying 100 at a time, or paying exorbitant fees from eBay scalpers. They're just cute, fun collectibles, and a nice trip down memory lane for longtime Pokemon fans. If you happen to live near a McDonald's and have an appetite for a cheeseburger with apple slices and a tiny thimble of soda, give it a try.

Just stay the hell away from mine.

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Bungie Says It's Done Expanding The Cosmodrome In Destiny 2



Players are a bit miffed the legacy location won't be returned completely in Destiny 2.

We've seen about all we will of the Cosmodrome in Destiny 2, according to Bungie. Though the Destiny 1 location is now a bigger part of the game, thanks to additions with the Beyond Light expansion and the Season of the Chosen, the developer isn't going to add back all the parts that appeared in the original game.

Bungie clarified the situation with the Cosmodrome in its latest This Week at Bungie post, in which it said that the two Cosmodrome Strikes it added with the Season of the Chosen, Fallen S.A.B.R.E. and The Devils' Lair, are the last Cosmodrome additions it plans to make.

That's at odds with what Bungie previously said about the Cosmodrome when it announced plans to bring the location back for Destiny 2. Back during the summer when Bungie made the announcement, the developer said the Cosmodrome would eventually be made roughly the same as it was in the first year of Destiny 1. Players have been wondering when the rest of the Cosmodrome would get added into the game and Bungie hasn't had much of an answer for them.

According to the blog post, the developer decided that instead of reworking more of the Cosmodrome, it would be better to focus on developing new areas and locations for players to visit.

"As we approached Beyond Light’s launch, it became clear to us that we had a choice to make: After returning all three of its original strikes, do we invest more time and resources in bringing Cosmodrome to D1 parity or do we switch our focus to building new experiences for Year 4 and beyond?" Bungie wrote. "Given that we believed we had achieved our original goals and knowing the community and team’s desire for new content, we chose the latter option. But, when we made that decision, we failed to properly update your expectations for how far the Cosmodrome experience was going to be extended and that was a mistake. So, to clear things up: With the Devil’s Lair and Fallen S.A.B.E.R. strikes returning, we don’t have any active plans to add more to the Cosmodrome than what is there will be focusing on new updates overall."

There is still more Destiny 1 content coming back to Destiny 2, though. Bungie also previously announced that the Vault of Glass, the original game's first raid, will be added to Destiny 2, albeit in a reworked form. We still don't know exactly when that will happen, though--Bungie has said the Vault is coming "this year," but that's as specific as the developer has gotten.

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Firebase Z Easter Egg Guide - Black Ops Cold War Zombies



How to turn on the power and activate the Pack-A-Punch machine in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's new Zombies map, Firebase Z.

Firebase Z is the newest map in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's Zombies mode. Both the map and the Easter egg quest are now live. We're still getting through the Easter egg ourselves, so below are the steps we've done so far. Below we also outline some essential tasks you can get started on learning in the new Firebase Z map, including how to turn on the power and how to activate the Pack-A-Punch machine.

Here's everything you need to know about the Firebase Z Easter egg, including a new way to unlock the RAI K-84 Firebase Z Wonder Weapon. We'll update this guide as soon as we know more.

Part 1: How to turn on the power
When you first drop into the map, your first objective is to talk to Ravenov. Follow the waypoint and you'll find him shacked up in a corner area of the courtyard. Chat with Ravenov and he'll tell you about the Pack-A-Punch machine, eventually directing you to a teleporter that'll take you to Omega Base.

How to get to the teleporter

To get to the teleporter, you need to open up a door leading to an Equipment Storage area with stairs that'll take you to the roof. Shoot up some zombies until you've collected 1,250 points and then cash those in to get the door open. Follow the waypoint up and you'll hear some more radio chatter from Doctor Peck discussing turning the power on. But you can just ignore that and hop in to arrive at Omega Base.

How to activate the Aether Reactors
Once you arrive at Omega Base, your mission is to activate all three Aether Reactors at a total cost of 1,500 points--500 each.

Aether Reactor locations
Reactor One - Military Command
Reactor Two - Mission Control
Reactor Three - Data Center
Each Aether Reactor is marked with waypoints on the map, so head to whichever one you and your crew want to start with first. Know that each area will be locked with some gates, so grind away at the spawning zombies until you have enough points to open the way to them all.

Activating an Aether Reactor is simple. Approach it and fork over the points needed to turn it on. Once you've done that, your next job is to defend the Collector points found in the immediate vicinity from a few waves of zombies. If you're having trouble keeping track of which collector is being attacked, look out for when each one's respective "Protect" waypoints flash red, which indicates when they're being damaged. Unload on the invading undead long enough and eventually the Collectors will charge fully, thus activating the Aether Reactor.

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Even Super Mario 64 Has Ray Tracing Now



This version of Mario 64 requires a GTX 3090 to run.

If you've ever wanted to play a 1996 game with 2021 visual effects, I've got good news for you. As picked up by Nintendo Life, the Super Mario 64 PC port that Nintendo tried to shut down last year is still going strong, and one modder is working on a version of the game with ray-traced reflections and lighting effects.

The video is a couple months old, though it's still the most recent update on the ray-traced Mario 64 project. The modder is named Darío Samo, and the video shows Super Mario 64 running on an RTX 3090. As Darío points out in the video title, it's a $1500 GPU being used to run a 25-year-old game.

While the YouTube video showcases Wet-Dry world in its shallow-water mode, with some lighting effects provided by electricity-covered Amps and fire-spewing Keronpa Balls, Darío has also shared videos of other levels on Twitter. The most recent update shows the red-and-blue fire lanterns of the castle's basement, while an earlier video shows some of the complex shadows in Dire Dire Docks' red coin area.

The PC port caught the attention of Nintendo's lawyers last year when it launched, with the company taking steps to remove both videos of the unofficial port and the accompanying download links. Thankfully, it seems to have survived despite the DMCA crackdown.

In September last year, Nintendo re-released Super Mario 64 along with Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy as part of Super Mario 3D All-Stars for the Switch. All-Stars is designed to be a limited-edition game celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Mario franchise, with new copies no longer available to buy after March 31, 2021.

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HBO Max's The Bridge Is A Reality Show About Building A Bridge



At least they don't have to build them out of toothpicks and glue.

There's a big pile of money over there, and all you have to do is walk over to it--the twist is that there are 300 meters of water between you and the money, and you have to walk. That's the premise of The Bridge, the new reality show heading for HBO Max next week, as explained in the first trailer.

Narrated by James McAvoy (Split, X-Men: First Class), The Bridge is described as a "social experiment bringing together 12 strangers from all over the United Kingdom." There's a prize of €100.000 waiting on an island 300 meters away. Competitors will receive a few basic tools and some supplies, but otherwise are on their own and must reach the island within 21 days. The contestants have to work together, but only one contestant can walk away with the money.

The show is based off a Spanish show called El Puente--literally "The Bridge"--which ran for two seasons in Spain. We've seen countless reality shows come and go, but there's a case for absurd reality shows from other countries doing well here in the west. Survivor began life in the late '90s in Sweden as Expedition Robinson before heading over here and turning into a monstrous success. The Masked Singer made its way from South Korea to find big ratings in the United States, too. The Bridge isn't quite American, with McAvoy narrating and UK contestants competing, but if it hits the right audience, you can bet we'll see The Bridge: America before too long.

Survivor has been off the air since its 40th season ended in May 2020; fans of people arguing in the woods are likely hungry for new reality shows to chew on. All six episodes of The Bridge premiere on HBO Max on Thursday, February 11.

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Animal Crossing Turnips Guide: Buy, Sell, And Store Turnips



How to make a profit buying and selling turnips, how to store turnips, and how long until turnips spoil.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has an interesting economy, to say the least. Selling fruit, bugs, fish, and various random items to make a quick bell will get you by for a bit, but you'll need to get better income sources as your house payments start to balloon and you have to make larger infrastructure improvements around town. You'll need to make use of the game's stock market--which it cheekily calls the "stalk market"--in order to make enough money for this. New Horizons' huge success means we're sure to see plenty of special events in 2021, and you'll need the bells to buy goodies at these events. Look no further than turnips!

Named for the turnips you're buying and selling, the stalk market is a finicky thing that takes practice and commitment. But you can stand to make major profits if you keep an eye on Timmy and Tommy's prices and know when to sell. We've rounded up everything you need to know about Animal Crossing's turnip trade, from how to buy turnips to the types of stalk market patterns you should look out for and our best tips. They aren't the only way to earn a lot of bells, but they are one of the most consistent if you do it every week. Eventually, you'll hit the jackpot!

For more financial tips, check out our guide to making money in New Horizons. The game continues to get even more options for making cash over time. As Halloween has passed, we should seen more seasonal goodies coming to the game, as well. Most are limited-time items, so you'll need to remember to get them before they're gone. The possibilities are nearly endless. People are even making their own takes on classic characters for costumes. With the cash you receive from your turnips, you can join them.

How To Buy And Store Turnips
Turnips in Animal Crossing operate on a weekly cycle. Each Sunday after you've unlocked Nook's Cranny, an adorable boar named Daisy Mae will visit your town and sell turnips from 5 AM to 12 PM. She sells them in bundles of 10 for a varying price each week--somewhere between 90 and 110 bells per turnip. There's no limit to how many you can buy before she leaves so long as you have the bells, and we recommend buying regardless of her price, though buying low is obviously preferable.

All the turnips you buy will spoil the following Sunday and become worthless, so in order to make any money, you'll need to sell the week's turnips sometime before Saturday evening. In the meantime, you don't have to keep turnips in your pockets; while you can't store them in your home storage, you can drop them on the floor in your home or outside. Keep in mind that any visitors can pick up the turnips you leave outside, so if you don't have space in your house, make sure you fence in the turnips so they don't get stolen!

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Respawn Would Love To Do Something Like Apex Legends Season 5's PvE Quest Again



In 2021, Apex Legends will get new content that will transform it into something beyond just a multiplayer-focused battle royale game.

Apex Legends may be getting something like a campaign in Year 3. Respawn's battle royale game came close to having something like that with Quest, which initially was a collection of PvE missions in Season 5 before transitioning to comics in Season 6. However, that transition wasn't a part of Apex Legends' original roadmap, and Respawn is "not done" with expanding on its interactive storytelling in the battle royale.

"We've got many developers here that would have loved to continue doing something like [Season 5's Quest]," Apex Legends game director Chad Grenier told me as we discussed the battle royale's transformative second year. "The problem is, well we did the Quest and then we had a lockdown."

The COVID-19 lockdowns transitioned Respawn into a working from home structure, which forced the studio to rethink how to expand on Apex Legends in Seasons 6 and 7. New content became an issue of priority, and it was decided that the priority of Quest was to deliver on story, not story-focused missions. As such, the mode transitioned into comics--something easier to program into a game than a brand-new campaign. But Respawn hasn't given up on including interactive storytelling in its battle royale.

"A lot of those people [who worked on Season 5's Quest] have moved on to work on things for future seasons, to tell a story and bring some new, cool things to the game," Grenier said. "So, we're not done doing things like that. We're always innovating and trying to push things forward. And we've got a lot of people on the team that loved doing things like that. So, yeah--I think you'll be surprised with future stuff coming out."

Whatever it is, we're likely to see it sometime in 2021, so during Seasons 9, 10, or 11. In a blog post, Grenier wrote that "later this year, [Respawn] will launch new ways to play the game that take us beyond battle royale," which suggests Apex Legends won't just be a multiplayer-focused battle royale game by the time Year 3 ends. Perhaps Quest will be rebooted and once again become a PvE campaign. We'll just have to wait and see. For now, at least, Season 8 continues the trend of telling Quest's story through comics.

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Chadwick Boseman Earns Four SAG Award Nominations



The awards ceremony will be broadcast on April 4.
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Chadwick Boseman has posthumously made SAG Award nomination history by receiving a total of four nominations on Thursday. No other actor has earned that many in a single year in the movie categories.

Boseman actually has the further distinction of competing against himself in the outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture category--which the actor is up for both as Stormin' Norman in Spike Lee's Netflix jungle thriller Da 5 Bloods and also Levee in Netflix's blues pioneer biopic Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Following Boseman's death in August from colon cancer, Ma Rainey's release on Netflix in December meant it was the actor's final film.

Additionally, Boseman was nominated as Levee for the outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role category. He was again nominated for Stormin' Norman in the outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role.

Boseman's fame took on a noticeably more potent trajectory following his performance as the titular hero in 2018's Black Panther. The actor's death had cast some doubts on that Marvel franchise's future, but some overdue clarity has come about recently with the announcements that Black Panther 2 will not have a digitally recreated Boseman, his role will not be recast, and the intriguing related news that a Black Panther spin-off is in the works at Disney+.

The SAG Awards will be simulcast on April 4, 2021 on TNT and TBS at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT.

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PS5's Destruction AllStars Voice Chat Is A Problem, And The Studio Is Working On It



Tired of listening random people on the internet loudly chewing on junk food in Destruction AllStars? Here's how you can disable the game's teamspeak.

Destruction AllStars is Sony's first PS5 exclusive of 2021, and having just been released online as a free game with a valid PS Plus subscription, the experience has been smooth sailing, except for one aggravating detail: the game's decision to enable teamspeak by default through the PS5 DualSense controller.

Without a headset, that turns the peripheral into an input device that regularly shrieks at you from a variety of sources. These range from gung-ho drivers to screaming children, users who don't realize that nobody wants to listen to their Spotify soundtrack in the background and people whose junk food habits make for some of the grossest sound effects ever transmitted through a microphone.

While Destruction AllStars has no option for turning this online chatter off in its own menus, you can save your eardrums from distress with two other methods on your PS5. The quickest route towards a handy mute is to wait for voice chat to start in the game lobby, then press the PS Home Button, and finally on the Activity card press Square to mute the voice chat. Of course, this goes both ways as you don't want to be an audio irritation yourself. You can temporarily mute your own microphone by pressing the button beneath the PlayStation icon, at which point the PS5 will inform you that you have toggled the option.

This was also the advice given by developer Lucid Games, which noted that it's aware of the issues and working on a more solution. It didn't give any indication of when this fix might come, or how it will address the problem.

For a more permanent option, navigate to the Settings menu, make your way down to the "Sound" menu, and then select the "Microphone" option. Select the option "Microphone status when logged in" and you'll be able to make your microphone mute on default whenever you switch your PS5 console on.

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Pokemon Go Team Rocket Celebration Begins Tomorrow, Adds New Shadow Pokemon



Pokemon Go is following the Johto Celebration with a Team Go Rocket-themed event that runs from February 2-7.

Pokemon Go is following its recent Johto Celebration with a Team Rocket-themed event. The Team Go Rocket Celebration kicks off tomorrow, February 2, and it features new Shadow Pokemon to catch, special Team Go Rocket-themed Research tasks to complete, and other in-game bonuses.

The event begins at 10 AM local time and runs until 8 PM local time on February 7. Throughout the event, the following Pokemon will be appearing more frequently in the wild than usual:

Golbat
Koffing
Ariados
Qwilfish
Sneasel
Houndour
Nuzleaf
Stunky
Skorupi
Venipede
In addition, a variety of new Pokemon will be hatching from the recently added Team Go Rocket eggs. These Pokemon will be available even after the event ends:

Qwilfish
Larvitar
Corphish
Absol
Skorupi
Sandile
Scraggy
Pawniard
Deino

Beyond that, Team Go Rocket grunts you encounter will have new teams of Shadow Pokemon. Some new monsters will also be available in Shadow form for the first time, including Swinub, Nosepass, Aron, Spheal, Lileep, and Anorith. You'll also receive a new Team Go Rocket gift sticker for defeating one of the team leaders during the event, and there will be new event-exclusive Field Research and Timed Research tasks to complete.

Finally, eggs that you place in Incubators during the event will hatch at half the distance they normally require, and certain Pokemon like Nidoqueen, Alolan Grimer, and Alolan Meowth will be appearing in Raids. You can read more details about the Team Go Rocket Celebration on the official Pokemon Go website.

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GI Joe Hero Snake Eyes Arrives In Fortnite



The hero was teased in a radio transmission posted on the game's official Twitter.

Update: Epic Games officially confirmed Snake Eyes for Fortnite on January 30. The character's set is available in the item shop, sporting a katana, tactical suit, mask, and weapon holster. You can even pre-order a Fortnite-style action figure of the character now.

As The Game Awards pointed out, you can actually see a Snake Eyes figure in the background of a video featuring Epic Games' Donald Mustard. He truly is a master of stealth.

It looks like Snake Eyes--the legendary ninja from the GI Joe franchise--is set to be the next guest character in Fortnite. The game's official Twitter teased his appearance with a short radio transmission, and while it didn't mention his name outright, it's pretty clear he's who is being discussed.

The video is captioned "Ninja Master," and it mentions "lasers and explosions" as well as a target who is joined by several friends. That would make sense considering the GI Joe franchise's wide roster, but a ninja who has friends isn't exactly clear evidence.

However, the transmission ends with the phrase "Knowing is half the battle." This is a slogan from GI Joe, all but guaranteeing that Snake Eyes will be making an appearance soon.

But why Snake Eyes over one of the franchise's other characters? This year we are getting an origin story film about the character called Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins. It stars Henry Golding in the title role, and it will also include Samara Weaving and The Raid action star Iko Uwais. The film is currently scheduled to release in October, and Fortnite is certainly good at building hype.

Alongside (presumably) Snake Eyes, this Fortnite season has also included the Predator, Sarah Connor from the Terminator franchise, and the Mandalorian, among other characters. Its "worlds collide" theme has made it perfect for just about anyone to get invited.

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Pokemon Sword And Shield's Next Raid Event Asks Players To Beat Up Cramorant



If players can cumulatively defeat 1 million Cramorant during the event, everyone will receive a variety of valuable items in the Switch Pokemon games.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are kicking off a new Max Raid Battle event next week. The event begins at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET on February 3 and asks players to defeat Cramorant, with different rewards available depending on how many of the Pokemon are beaten.

Serebii reports that level 100 Cramorant will be appearing during the event. If players manage to defeat 1 million of these, everyone will receive a Gold Bottle Cap, three regular Bottle Caps, and three Pearl Strings as a reward. The Bottle Caps can be exchanged to Hyper Train a Pokemon at the Battle Tower, while the Pearl Strings can be sold at shops for a lot of money.

Besides Cramorant, Serebii reports that Quagsire, Golurk, Flygon, and Indeedee will also be appearing in Max Raid dens throughout the event. Additional details will be announced soon.

This isn't the first cooperative Max Raid event Pokemon Sword and Shield have held. Last year, the games challenged players to team up and defeat level 100 Zeraora. As a reward for successfully hitting that goal, The Pokemon Company distributed a Shiny Zeraora to all players. A previous Max Raid event also asked players to team up and defeat level 100 Mewtwo.

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