Gameforge and HEX Entertainment are today releasing the third set for the digital TCG HEX: Shards of Fate. The new content introduced by Armies of Myth includes 250 additional cards, amongst which there are 18 legendaries. This time around the focus lies on the Vennen, Elf, Coyotle and Necrotic races, which appear alongside 20 new heroes providing players with additional variety and new tactical options.
One’s good, three’s better
On top of the new cards, Armies of Myth will introduce three new card abilities opening up new strategic depth and offering players more tactical options: Prophecy, Shift and Allegiance.
The new ability Prophecy allows players to embellish cards still in their decks with bonuses; Shift, on the other hand, can transfer one card’s powers to another. Finally Allegiance gives players bonuses as long as they have played or are holding cards of a specific race.

Be the bane of thine enemy
Armies of Myth also sees the unveiling of a new card type: banes. These cards allow players to now sabotage their enemy’s decks. Should the enemy draw a card of this type, a negative effect results which many inflict huge damage and possibly herald your opponent’s defeat.

Let the games begin
For PvP players, the update also offers a new tournament mode and, for the first time, the ability to play asynchronously. It will also be possible to conduct tournaments with an unlimited number of players. To ensure the new tournaments can be conducted properly, qualifying rounds will be used to select up to sixteen finalists who will then go on to play in a final bout to determine the winner.

Sweet chest o’ mine
The swirling waters of Kismet’s Well have a special surprise in store, since players are now able to open the chests which they previously received from booster packs. Depending on the set which a chest came from, there is a specific loot table containing 120 different items, including so-called Stardust. This item is used to unlock a card’s extended art. The more unusual the card, the more powerful the Stardust needs to be. The cost of this Stardust varies depending on the rarity between 1,000 and 25,000 gold.

Just in case – optional extra security
The security of HEX accounts is important. Not all passwords are well thought out or sufficiently long. However, extra protection is now on hand in the form of Google Authenticator. For players who want that added security for their accounts, this optional extra has been implemented in the update and can be activated at any time.

Activision has announced that the Call of Duty: Black Ops III Multiplayer Beta, initially announced for PlayStation 4, will also be open to Xbox One and PC Users.

The beta for PlayStation 4 begins August 19, while PC and Xbox One users can play from August 26 through August 30.  Find out more here.

Piranha Games announced that the global server expansion for the popular online game, MechWarrior Online is complete with servers now online for greater Europe out of Strassbourg. Ping lag for players has been reduced in some areas by more than 75% with the average ping time reduced by 50%, a whopping margin for InnerSphere pilots who reside outside North America. Servers in the Oceanic part of the world are scheduled to be online early next month.

European pilots in MechWarrior Online make up almost 40 percent of the active players worldwide, with the slight majority of those pilots residing in Germany. According to the most recent statistics, data shows that European pilots overall earn more XP and C-Bills than U.S. players and have a better win/loss and kill/death ratio. However, Americans lead Mech ownership by a whopping 2:1 ratio. Of the dozens of Mechs available for purchase in-game, both North American and European territories prefer Inner Sphere Mechs to Clan Mechs, with the European territories boasting a ratio of 72% Inner Sphere Mechs to 28% Clan Mechs.

The expansion of the server center was completed in just over two months by the dedicated team at Vancouver-based Piranha Games tasked with implementing the global, state-of-the-art network. MechWarrior Online is currently entering in its final phase of feature implementation, which includes tightening the competition for its core fan base on a global level by implementing the new server locations.

“The MechWarrior Online community has always been competitive by nature given the fundamentals of the MechWarrior gameplay, and now that we’ve added European servers a huge portion of our player base that lives in that region can experience MechWarrior Online at the highest competitive level,” said Russ Bullock, president of developer and publisher of Piranha Games.

Carbine Studios is excited to share the latest WildStar deep dive, this time focusing on Class Stat Refactoring for the game’s upcoming free-to-play transition. In an effort to make player stats more rewarding and intuitive, Carbine is improving the overall clarity and consistency of stats in WildStar to make sure they feel balanced and fun. The result is a new and improved stats system that’s easier to pick up and understand for new players, while offering more control and specialization options for veteran players. Some of the key changes made include:

• Re-hauling primary stats and a deep expansion of secondary stats
• Adjustments to how players influence stat power through Runes
• Rebalancing of all stats to make their powers work cohesively within the new system
• Re-adjusting the power curve and adjustment of levels

Lead combat designer Steven Engle goes into greater detail about the big player stat changes coming to the game in this blog post: http://www.wildstar-online.com/en/news/2015-07-22-deep-dive-combat-stat-revamp. Once the free-to-play update goes live, there will be a total of six core stats that serve a clear purpose. Secondary stats will also be available for experienced players to explore and utilize, ultimately leading to even more customization and control over individual playstyles than ever before.

More details in the coming weeks will be revealed about other major changes coming to WildStar’s free-to-play update, so stay tuned!