Who is Beatrix in Battleborn? She’s obsessively hygenic, and a Jennerit, but what can she do? Let’s find out!
Monthly Archives: January 2017
Ankama – Kingz – Big cats in the arena
The Lion’s dead, and we need a new King of the Jungle! That’s the goal in Kingz!
World of Tanks PC – Sandbox: Next Phase
It’s almost time for the next Sandbox test for World of Tanks on PC! Ready for it? I know you are.
Closers Trailer [Korean]
Ready for more promotional trailers for Closers, from Nexon? Of course you are!
Path of Exile: Xbox One Announcement Trailer
That’s right! Path of Exile‘s coming to Xbox One this year! Get hyped!
For Honor – Valkyrie Trailer
They bring the dead to the glorious afterlife; they’re the Valkyrie, and they’re in For Honor.
SMITE – New Skin for Terra – Spriggan
Another new skin for SMITE for the Celtic event: Spriggan Terra!
Torment: Tides of Numenera – A New Take On Combat
You don’t have to fight everything in Torment: Tides of Numenera, but we want to show you what it’s going to be like when you feel the need to kill!
SMITE Patch 4.1: Favorite Things
So, the SMITE Patch Notes 4.1 took approximately a million years to get through. The actual time was something like three hours. And there are simply so many things to go over, that I think DizzyPW actually went insane trying to put it together. So I sat down this morning and really thought about what a few of my favorite things are, and why that is. Some of them won’t be your favorites, but that’s why they’re mine! There are some runners up on this list, though, like the “recolor” skins! It’s a great way to get skins you aren’t good enough/weren’t playing enough/didn’t have enough friends to get. There’s only one on that list I think I don’t have, and that’s the Agni skin, but I wanted it so bad. . . but most of my friends already play SMITE, so I can’t get it. Alas! All of the skins honestly, should be on this list, like the interesting Animu Doge skin for Skadi. She’s so grimdark and serious all the time, not counting her Skiing skin, but it’s sure going to be a top seller. They’re going to make so much damn money on it.
- Vamana: FINALLY. The days of the creepy Satan-baby, Vamana are done. I’m so. . . so glad. That’s the reason I never played him, I thought he looked absolutely effing stupid. He was nightmare fuel given digital flesh. I hope the other skins will get remade for him too, though I think Lil Mana will look kind of weird. Maybe he’ll look like Pitbull, or Eminem. Now that would be hilarious. It’s not a remake, just a visual rework. He needed it. Thank you, Hirez.
- Rituals/Chalices: There’s not much to spend gold on in the late game. Now, I’ll grant you, I feel like this is more for people who are actually winning. . . Because in Conquest, when you’re behind, you’re probably going to be more concerned about one more item so you can survive, rather than the 10 second AOE damage buff from Frenzied Ritual. But I do think they’re very cool, and could very well be game changers for teams that are behind. If someone has the gold, and willing to get one, it could definitely help. Until the entire other team, the one who is winning, all teleport in to their Janus, and they obliterate you. . . But it’s a very cool idea, and teamwork can make some hilariously grand plays with them. The refillable potions in Chalices are pretty lovely too. My favorite one is pretty much the Oracle one, that I hope everyone buys so more people are warding. . .
- Items: Jesus Bloody Christ there are so many new items/updated items! I have a few favorites though, but they’re mostly from the view of a Support/Guardian main. Watcher’s Gift update is phenomenal, and has stats/use that I actually want, instead of being an item that I feel like I have to get. Book of the Dead, anyone? A magical lifesteal item that can give you a life shield? Yes. Bloody. Please. This is such a great item, and it’ll be added to many of my casters in the near future. The Celestial Legion helm changes are wonderful too. Now it gives 20 prot/magical defenses for 5 seconds to anyone who is healed by you by an ability heal. So you can’t just use the new Meditate and chortle. Healers can actually build something tanky without feeling like they’re losing out.
- Balance: Come on, no Ares buffs? You guys are slackin’. My favorite God deserves to be the best God, and that’s just how it works. Was it really necessary to take away Erlang Shen’s cripple? I’m not so sure about that, but it definitely happened. I’m kind of glad Guan Yu took some nerfing too, because even if I enjoy him, I’m willing to admit his healing was absolutely ludicrous. He just couldn’t be killed! Nor could anyone with him. Lots of Gods got balanced and for the most part, I’m pretty happy with them. I know my opinion doesn’t matter much, but I’m still happy about them. Like the bigger cooldown on Khepri’s ult. So many people were “nerfed”, and sometimes that’s just going to happen. So getting a bunch of them done at once? Not such a bad idea. But I’m on to you guys. You better make Ares competitive [re: Broken]!
What do you guys think? Ready for Season 4? Liking the new jungle stuff, new items, balance changes? Anything you don’t like? Let us know!
SMITE Season 4 Patch Notes Stream Recap + Gallery
Hirez Studios has just revealed plans for SMITE Season 4 in a massive 2.5 hour livestream! Here’s our quick (as quick as it’s possible to be) recap of the changes along with images of all the new incoming skins!

Skin, Cosmetic Notes, and UI:
1. Skadi’s New Doge Skin has a voicepack featuring both Skadi and Doge. It’s ridiculous.
2. Vulcan’s new army themed skin features a truly legendary voice pack. It’s amazing.
3. Rare skins getting recolor versions in an upcoming chest. Be mad.
4. Number of Gods to Rank X will gain you rewards including global emotes and recall effects. Free of Charge.
5. Stars appear around your god loading screen when earning worshippers beyond Rank X. One player will currently unlock 40 stars when this goes live (assumed to be insane number).
6. T-Screen is back but without the graphs. Combat log instead.
7. Swarm Sentry Ah Muzen Cab skin concept art teased.
Season 4 Ranked Notes
Season split into 3 splits. Spring, Summer, and Fall (just like pro-league). Matches Season Ticket.
Goal: Get people back into ranked. Ranked MMR values are hard reset for start of season 4. Soft resets at the splits. Want you to advance to your MMR division quickly. Gold 1 starting cap no longer in place. “Couple divisions below, not a couple of tiers.” Hit 100 TP, you automatically move to the next rank. Extra TP will carry over. You have a few chances to prevent demotion. In draft, time is shared with teammates. If you pick/ban with extra time, the time carries over to the next player.
Pause Vote has been added. Soon as team approves of pause, the game will pause for 1 minute. You only get 1 pause per game per team. Can vote to unpause early if you’re ready.
Masters is now the highest rank without cap. Grand Masters still exists but only features the top 25 players of the World! Rewards will be the same, but the top 25 get additional rewards including Gem Rewards.
Low population servers may roll over into another region to fill low queue times.
Season Ticket 2017 – Ticket counts for the full year despite the splits. Rewards are split specific. Can unlock something immediately for buying the ticket.
Worshiper Booster – Can activate as gift to boost team worshipper gain (x2 boost)! Only earned by events for now.
Nevercake Announcer Pack

New Clash Map Arrives – new jungle boss has a targeted strike, a poison ground AOE spray

Balance Changes Conquest –
1. New Start
2. Game Starts at 1:30
3. Minions Spawn at 0:00
4. Entire Jungle Spawns at 0:30
What it means: Instead of just invade, there are many new dynamic choices to how a competitive team might start. Key is to get to lane as early as possible and then decide what to do from there.
Kill Bounty Changes Incoming
Minion/Jungle Changes
Exp/Gold rates around the map have changed. Minion waves give slightly less experience while jungle gives more. Hope to remove importance of mid-lane with changes.
Cyclops Rogue – New Buff (Purple Buff) – Provides Protection Reduction Debuff Aura
Elder Elemental Added – Contestable Experience Camp and About as Difficult to Kill as a Cyclops Camp. Still Despawn when Fire Giant Spawns.
Oracle Harpies – If you kill both of them, you drop an uncounterable ward at the gold fury. Harder to kill than mid-harpies.

Portal Demon – Gold Fury level difficulty. Summons portal on map that leads from your base to the portal. Spawns at 10 minutes. Respawn timer at 5. Gold for whole team. Play tests have seen it used often as a comeback mechanic.
Gold Fury – Starting gold boosted to 190. Base Health reduced but health per minute increased.
Consumable Updates
Ritual – New Consumable item that is like a super strong relic. Only usable after level 10. One use per purchase. 750 gold item.
Flickering Ritual – Combat Blink 55 units.
Rallying Ritual – Teleport to God after 4 second channel (can be interrupted and ritual is lost).
Revealing Ritual – Entire team gains vision of all enemy gods on map, as well as enemy wards within 70 units of the user for five seconds.
Frenzy Ritual – Frenzy but gives attack speed (20%) and damage output (25%) for 10 seconds.
Chalices – A health, mana, and wards version. 300 gold each. Each has 3 stacks, and refreshes when you return to base. No resell mechanic.
1. Chalice of Healing – Health 250 over 25 seconds, per use.
2. Chalice of Wards – Normal wards, place up to 2 wards.
3. Chalice of Mana – Mana over 25 seconds, per use.
Potions of Might – Duration increased to 5m.
Relic Changes
Relics are now upgradable but cost gold. Must be done at base. You still get your relic for free at level 1 and level 10. Removed: Frenzy and Scout
Aegis Amulet – Upgrade decreases from 160 to 130s.
Blink Amulet – Upgrade decreases cooldown.
Cursed Ankh – Previously known as curse. No longer slows, but healing reduction duration increased to 10s. Upgrade reduces healing from 50% to 65% and duration from 10s to 15s.
Hand of the Gods – Cooldown reduced by 30s if you kill a jungle mob with it. Deals no damage to jungle bosses (portal demon included). Upgrade allows you to stun all enemy gods in range.
Heavenly Wings – Cleanses slow upon activation but doesn’t provide immunity to further slows. Upgrade makes allies immune to auto attack slow.
Magic Shell – Base Protections reduced from 45 to 30. Damage Mitigation from 15% down to 5%. Upgrades to 45 Prot and 10% damage mitigation.
Meditation Cloak – Same as now. Upgraded gives allies 45 MP5 and 15 HP5 for 30s.
Phantom Veil – New Visual FX and Audio. Removes Basic Attack Slow Immunity. Now Applies 40% CC reduction and immunity to knockups to allies affected by it. Upgrade increases duration from 5s to 10s.
Purification Beads – Same as was. Upgrade reduces cooldown from 160s to 130s.
Shield of Thorns – Damage Reflect increased from 40% to 50%. Can be upgraded for 5s duration to 8s duration and cooldown reduction from 120s to 100s.
Sundering Spear – Updated audio cue. Protection and Attack Speed Debuffs removed, now increases damage taken by target by 30% for 5s. Can be upgraded for damage increase from 40+14 per level to 60+20 per level and cooldown decrease from 120s to 100s.
Teleport Glyph – Cooldown increased to 200s. Upgrade reduces cooldown from 200s-160s.
Horrific Emblem – Item slows gods within 55 units by 40% and reduces their attack speed by 25% for 5s. Cooldown 150s. Upgrade decreases cooldown to 120s.
Bracer of Undoing – When you take damage, it stores the damage for 3 seconds, then you can reverse said damage. Resets ability cooldown from 3s from all abilities and restores 50% health and mana lost in last 3s. Upgrade increase recent damage window from 3s to 5s. Healing can be countered by anti-healing.
Item Updates
Penetration added to more items to increase diversity of builds. New auras for support players and new utility options.
Starter Changes
Bumba’s Mask – Significant changes. Removes gold splitting, cost reduced (500 gold, you can get two starter items!), but increased damage. MP5 removed. Added 50 health and mana. True damage on basic attacks and increased ability bonus damage on jungle camps. 4 more gold and 25 mana bonus per jungle camp kill.
Death’s Toll – Losses power but increased health and passive heal.
Rangda’s Mask – Aggressive cousin of Bumba’s. Rewards aggressive ganking and roaming. +5MP5. Passive – each time you get an assist, you gain a stack. 2 for kill. At 8 stacks this item provides 7% movement speed, 10% cooldown reduction. At 16 stacks, provides 15 penetration, 10% movement speed, 15% cooldown.
Sands of Time – Starter Item for mages and guardians. Mana and cooldown focused starter item. 1 additional MP5 per 10% of your missing mana. 10% cooldown. +20 magic power. 5 MP5.
Bluestone Pendant – New Passive – Buffs all abilities after stacks are consumed for 3s instead of only one ability. But MP5 removed.
Vampiric Shroud – Added 4% magical lifesteal
Watchers Gift – Passive increased health restoration from 7-12 and mana to 7-10. Gold for assists from 4 to 5. 5 HP5 removed. Added 5 physical and magical protection.
Magical Items
Arching Goal is to buff magical lifesteal. Hard to see in itemized list but goal is for making it relevant. No longer will be bought only for their passives.
Physical Items
Penetration cost primarily going up this season. Defensive combo items seem cheaper but strong items have had their stats reduced slightly as well. Ramp up defense faster but perhaps lower late game.
Overall item changes are extremely overwhelming and worth reading into on your own in the official patch notes. Suffice it to say, everything you knew about SMITE builds is about to be turned on its head!
God Changes
Aprhodite Buff – Base health increased and back-off scaling up.
Apollo – So Beautiful damage reduction removed. Across the sky cooldown increased at all ranks to 110s.
Bakasura Buff – Regurgitate slow increased. Slow duration 4s instead of only being applied to area of activation. Cone Attack Duration from 5s to 6s.
Chang’e Buff – Jade Rabbit Speed buffed to 3.5x Player’s Speed. Moonlight Waltz Set-up now instant. Moonflower Dance heal scaling decreased but damage scaling increased.
Chronos Nerf – Base Movement Speed increased by 5. Accelerate no longer provides immunity to basic attack movement penalty. Cooldown decreased by 2s.
Erlang Shen Minor Nerf – Pin no longer cripples
Freya Nerf – Valyrie’s Discretion base damage reduced at starting levels.
Guan Yu – Conviction base healing reduced as well as boosted healing. Warrior’s Will mana cost reduced, slow reduced, and boosted slow reduced. Cavalry Charge base damage increased at all ranks.
Hel Buff (if played well) – Base Health increased by 35.
1. Decay/Restoration passes through hit targets and explodes at max range or upon hitting a wall. Light Stance no longer deals damage or hits enemies. If Hel successfully lands healing stance, it heals her as well.
2. Repulse/Inspire – Light Stance heals smaller amounts per 1s.
3. Switch Stances – MP5 now applies to both stances and decreased at all levels. Light Stance now provides additional magic and physical protections.
Hercules Buff –
1. Strength from Pain (new) Hercules gains 5 physical power + 1 multiplied by your level, stacking up to three times and lasting 5s.
2. Earthbreaker mana cost decreased slightly at all levels.
3. Mitigate Wounds (new) Instant heal plus heal over time. Herc gains bonus magic and physical protections for the duration as well! Mana cost now 60 at all ranks.
Hun Bats – Overhead Smash scaling buffed. Somersault slow decreased.
Jing Wei NERF – Health Scaling nerfed. Movement speed reduced 5 seconds. Rapid Reincarnation duration reduced by 1s. Agility no longer provides basic attack movement penalty. Mana cost reduced scaling from 75 down to 55.
Khepri – Solar Flare base damage increased. Scarab’s Blessing cooldown increased by 20s.
Medusa Buff – Lacerate increased base damage and healing reduction to 50% at all ranks. Petrify damage increased on turned away targets to 75% of total.
Ne Zha Buff – Increased cooldown on universal ring toss. Flaming spear cooldown reduced scaling to end-game. Armillary Sash Cooldown reduced to 14s at all ranks.
Nike Nerf – To Victory bonus power reduced by 2% at all ranks. Rend physical power scaling reduced. Sentinel of Zeus power nerfed.
Nu Wa – Clay Soldiers now deal magic damage.
Ra – Solar blessing base healing decreased. Magicl power scaling per tick decreased. Now provides mag and phys protections to allies inside of ability.
Rama Nerf – Rolling Assault 11s cooldown at all ranks.
Serqet Buff – Catalyst health chunk boosted 5% for 2 and 3 poisons.
Skadi Buff – Base Movement speed boosted. Rune of the Hunt basic attack damage reduced at all levels. Permafrost movement speed boosted from 25% to 40%.
Sol – Disparate fatalis effect removed. Movement speed increased on the ability.
Sun Wukong Buff – Undefeated Body health threshold upped. No longer grants critical strike chance. Now provides 10 physical power per level + 2 physical power. Somersault Cloud damage buffed.
Susano Buff – Wind Siphon scaling increased by 25% to 60%. Typhoon deals more bonus damage the longer it charges, maxing out at 100 damage at all ranks.
Sylvanus – Verdant Growth provides protection reductions on enemy gods for 5s. Wisps base healing reduced, magic power scaling reduced.
Terra Nerf – Force of Nature base damage increased at later levels. Monolith base healing reduced per tick. Terra’s Blessing decreased base healing at late game.
Thoth Buff? – Evade and Punish stuns enemies at all ranks. Glyph of Pain increased ally basic attack damage scaling bonus. Ultimate base damage and scaling reduced.
January 31st intended date patch 4.1 goes live on public server.


