Baldur’s Gate 3 continues to evolve. The hit fantasy RPG received its much-anticipated and sprawling Patch 3 update today, which brings Mac support, a Magic Mirror feature to redesign your player character’s appearance, and an overwhelming number of bug fixes and tweaks.

Larian Studios’ patch notes are always a pleasure to read, and the ones for Patch 3 are no exception. They also include spoilers though, so new players beware. The development team is still promising new features and epilogue scenes in the future, but in the meantime there’s plenty to chew on for both PC and PlayStation 5 players.

On Sony’s console, for example, Baldur’s Gate 3 now matches colors more closely between the spells you’re using onscreen and how the PS5 controller lights up in your hand. Neat! More importantly, Larian says it’s improved optimization and performance, including when it comes to framerate. It’s still aiming to hit a solid 60fps in performance mode, but 30fps should be more consistent across every area in the game in quality mode.

One noteable change in the gameplay itself revolves around NPC reactions. One change reads, “NPCs will no longer run away from anything but the [REDACTED] to improve interactivity and flow.” Druids and Necromancers on the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit are rejoicing, since it means they can now summon their minions without frightening away everyone in town.

Other modifications are much more escoteric. “Fixed Shadowheart looking like she’s either in pain or about to sneeze in the background of a dialogue with Thulla,” reads another part of the patch notes. In case you’re wondering what the hell that refers to, fans quickly found an exact screenshot of the expression.

Some changes weren’t even part of player feedback. “Nobody asked for this, but we made the ceremorphosis scene on the nautiloid more horrifying,” reads one note. “These patch notes are massive, they fix so much, add so much, and even then add shit like this, just cause,” a fan wrote in the comments on Reddit. “Studio is incredible.”

Here’s the full list of Patch 3 changes in Baldur’s Gate 3 if you’ve got the time to read a small novella:

HIGHLIGHTS

• Baldur’s Gate 3 is now fully supported on Mac!
• A Magic Mirror that lets you change your appearance is now available at camp!

Combat

• Cazador now cannot turn into or remain in his Mist Form if in magical sunlight, such as that created by the Daylight spell.
• Fixed Ansur’s Stormheart Nova blasting right through the ice shields you can hide behind.
• Grym suddenly got eerily smart and was avoiding the Crucible in the Adamantine Forge. With a nervous laugh, we dumbed him back down a little.
• Fixed Level 4 or higher Divine Smite allowing you to add Divine Smite as a reaction, allowing for two Divine Smites in 1 attack.
• Fixed the Divine Smite damage increasing over the cap of 5d8.
• Made several improvements to the Poltergeist enemy: they are now revealed on being attacked or hit with Radiant Spirit Guardians; they will not turn Invisible again if they are still in a character’s See Invisibility aura; in Balanced and Explorer Mode, they have disadvantage on Dexterity Saving Throws when Invisible; the range of their attacks has been reduced; and they won’t try to keep distance from the player in combat so that they are easier to find.
• Fixed the Sneak Attack damage bonus not increasing to 6d6 at Level 11.
• Fixed a case where multiple Smokepowder Arrows could be used for free while the Extra Attack feature was active.

PS5

• The colours on the PS5 controller will now match elemental damage types more closely.

Performance

• Improved performance in the Lower City. More to come!

Art

• Made dye colours more intense and more visible on some armours. This will only affect newly dyed items.
• Dragonborn characters can now select any of the barbarian piercings.
• Fixed Shadowheart going blonde when equipping a hat.
• Improved the reflection in the Spectator’s eye in the Underdark.
• Fixed face tattoos disappearing when zooming out.

Flow and Scripting

• Fixed a bug where companions temporarily leaving the party (e.g. being sent to prison) would forget their partnership history and act unusually cold towards you.
• Fixed a bug letting you trade with Cazador while he begs for mercy.
• Improved the Astarion romance flow if you agreed to spend a night with him before going to camp by disabling some less important camp moments.
• Fixed some dialogue options only showing up once when talking to Withers.
• Fixed a blocker where if you knock Orin’s Slayer form into the chasm, you can’t get her Netherstone.
• Fixed an issue causing Dammon to enter combat and die at Last Light, preventing Karlach’s story from progressing.
• Added a journal step for when the tieflings leave the Emerald Grove. The Forging of the Heart quest will also close if Dammon is no longer available in the region.
• Fixed the game thinking you’re dating Gale instead of Karlach in one of the dialogues with Karlach.
• You now need higher approval for Shadowheart to confess her Shar worship to you.
• Myshka the cat will now follow you around if told to, even if you don’t have Speak with Animals.
• Halsin, Jaheira, and Minthara will no longer be able to undergo Volo’s icepick lobotomy. It’s just not their kind of pastime.
• Fixed not being able to cut Vanra out of the hag by interacting with her Knocked Out body if all of her mushrooms are destroyed.
• Lae’zel will no longer tag along (whether dead or alive) after you slit her throat when she ambushes you at night.
• Fixed a bug allowing you to yoink the Orphic Hammer right out of the so-called Impervious Sphere in the House of Hope if someone else in your party is in an interactive dialogue with the sphere.
• Fixed a flow issue in Shadowheart’s endgame romance dialogue to make sure Karlach appears alone in Avernus if Shadowheart says she’ll meet her there at a later point in time.
• Fixed Karlach’s journal mistakenly saying you arrived in the Shadow-Cursed Lands when you arrive at the Rosymorn Monastery Trail.
• Wyll should now acknowledge Karlach approaching him for the first time more consistently.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Shadowheart swimming scene to not play for some players.
• The Narrator no longer thinks you’re a mind flayer when you’re not.
• Fixed companions talking about killing Gortash after meeting Orin even if the former is already dead.
• Fixed issues with Astarion discussing topics that are no longer relevant.
• Reworked the interaction between Nere and Minthara:The ‘Travel to Moonrise Towers’ quest no longer sends you to Minthara after saving Nere – he has a lyre of his own now. He gifts it to you if you saved him from the cave-in. This lyre can now be used to call for the drider through the Shadow-Cursed Lands, like Minthara’s lyre does. Both lyres have new descriptions.Nere no longer mentions Minthara in his Speak with Dead.You can ask Minthara for a safe passage to Moonrise if you’d heard about it. She will ask to raid the Emerald Grove first. If this happens, Nere can be asked about Minthara and then Minthara can be asked about Nere.The journals for ‘Travel to Moonrise Towers’ and ‘Follow the Convoy’ were updated accordingly.Saving Nere no longer creates a danger zone if the duergar was killed before clearing the cave-in.
• During your date with Karlach, Tender Henk will no longer walk away to reveal another Tender Henk standing behind him. Staring.

Gameplay

• The following spells will now correctly break the Sanctuary condition: Call Lightning, Evard’s Black Tentacles, Polymorph, Hunger of Hadar, Fear, Ice Storm, Flesh to Stone, Divine Intervention, Hypnotic Pattern, Slow, Stinking Cloud, Banishment, Glyph of Warding.
• Level Up will now queue all characters who can be levelled up so you don’t have to click on them individually.
• Fixed some corpses never showing the ‘(empty)‘ tag after you loot them.
• Fixed not being able to use some reactions while in disguise.
• Cazador’s staff, Woe, now correctly unlocks the Blight spell when equipped.
• Fixed several magic items and Volo’s Ersatz Eye losing their power after you are killed and revived.
• Fixed the Spell Sniper feat not working on attack spells.
• The Spell Sniper feat will now correctly reduce the Critical Hit threshold by 1.
• Fixed the Idol of Silvanus buff disappearing after Long Rest.
• NPCs will no longer run away from anything but the Dark Urge Slayer form to improve interactivity and flow.
• Mummies raised through Create Undead can now Jump to follow you around better.
• The Everburn Blade now correctly sets explosive surfaces and explosive objects alight when hit.
• The Misty Escape feat will no longer break concentration.
• Reading shop signs will no longer be considered a crime.
• The Cutting Words reaction is now set to Ask by default.
• Summoned zombies and skeletons will no longer be able to pick up loot and disappear with it when dismissed.
• The Azer summon’s Overheat ability is now available on its hotbar when summoned.
• The Nimblefinger Gloves now correctly apply their Dexterity bonus to gnomes, halflings, and dwarves.
• Fixed an Animate Dead exploit allowing you to summon 2 skeletons from the same corpse.
• Optimised how the game handles object selection on controller.
• Fixed Sovereign Spaw being able to resurrect hirelings with Animating Spores. We taught him to not use this on player characters anymore.

UI

• Your selected trade mode (trade or barter) is now saved to your player profile.
• Added an option to the Default Online Settings to let you automatically listen in when another party member enters a dialogue in multiplayer.
• Clarified whether something is a Resistance, a Vulnerability, or an Immunity in the Examine window.
• Added a notification for when another player in your party is trading.
• Fixed spells being interrupted by climbing, allowing you to attack twice after climbing down from a crate.
• Updated the Character Sheet on controller to place active Conditions above the list of Notable Features.

Level Design

• Fixed some small holes in Act I that weren’t letting tiny characters through them.

Writing

• Added a dialogue option to the first in-person dialogue with the Dream Visitor to avoid only having two antagonistic choices.
• Rewrote some spell and action descriptions that were too vague.

Audio

• Fixed Raphael’s boss fight music sometimes being incomplete or missing.
• Fixed some VO not playing in dialogues on PS5 split-screen.
• Fixed audio cutting out with 3D Audio enabled on PS5.
• Optimised audio in merged split-screen cinematics.

Cinematics

• Improved contact when petting Ketheric’s good girl, Squire.
• Added some lovely blood spurts when Volo carries out his expert operation.
• Fixed Wyll’s horns clipping into Karlach’s face during an Act II romance scene.
• Fixed missing music on the Wyll path of Karlach’s endgame scene in Avernus.
• Placed a nice purple picnic blanket in a romantic scene with Gale and fixed a camera spin if you choose to prefer to spend your time with him on a bed.
• Fixed Shadowheart looking like she’s either in pain or about to sneeze in the background of a dialogue with Thulla.
• Added some missing Boo squeaks.
• Reworked the intro of the scene when you approach the altar at the Temple of Bhaal and fixed some bugs.
• Updated cameras, facial expressions and head directions to better suit the tone in dialogue with Shadowheart.
• Fixed some pops and camera issues when you start dating Lae’zel, including Lae’zel’s body flying elsewhere and then back again mid-dialogue.
• Boo will now be framed in the shot as intended when you talk to Jaheira after recruiting Minsc.
• Fixed Scratch floating in the air while you pet him by the posthouse in Rivington.

CRASHES AND BLOCKERS

• Fixed a crash when listening in on conversations in multiplayer.
• Fixed a crash when loading a savegame made during an Active Roll in dialogue.
• Fixed a crash when previewing wall spells.
• Fixed a crash when walking away from a triggered trap.
• Fixed a crash when switching between controller and keyboard and mouse while

EA Sports FC 24, the latest soccer game in the series previously known as FIFA, has only been out for a little over a week and its loot box antics are already causing some fans to lose it in frustration. The Elite Season Opener Pack costs $30 and went live during the game’s paid “early access” period, jumpstarting the franchise’s annual pay-to-win race earlier than usual.

EA Sports FC 24 came out on September 22 for players subscribed to EA Play Pro or who purchased the $100 Ultimate Edition. As IGN reports, the Elite Season Opener Pack (285,000 FUT coins or 3,000 FC points) went up for sale shortly after, even before the game became available to everyone else starting on September 29. The pack promised 45 Rare Gold non-tradable players rated 80 or higher, but that includes “loan” cards, and many fans who decided to splurge on it have mostly gotten sub-90 players or duplicates of ones they already owned.

“I’m going to be honest right now to you boys please miss this pack,” FIFA content creator Swarmzy said in a video posted on TikTok. “I don’t even know what to say about this pack boys, just like, look at it man, it’s just awful man…Jesus Christ man I can’t believe it.”

FIFA’s most popular mode by far is Ultimate Team. It sees players grind or pay to unlock packs of pro player cards they can then use to create an all-star roster with which to compete against one another in competitive online multiplayer. It’s an economy driven by gambling mechanics that keeps players coming back each year to buy the newest annual release in the series and also lines publisher Electronic Arts’ pockets with revenue from microtransactions.

EA Sports FC 24 is no different, though the timing and price of the Elite Season Opener Pack has some players feeling like the company is turning the screws even more aggressively than normal. Players who don’t opt to spend the money will potentially be at a big disadvantage as they embark on their latest Ultimate Team campaign, while those who do may end up regretting it as well, given how stacked against them the odds are. The probability of unlocking a Gold 90+ player is just 5.6 percent, and some fans have spent $30 on the pack and not received any.

Some fans are joking that the pack is so outrageous it’s an intelligence test to see who actually buys it. While content creators with money to burn can be seen opening them just for the adrenaline rush and clout, some are arguing that the average value of the cards players are getting is barely half the cost of the FUT coins (earned by playing the game) that are required to buy the pack in the first place. The 3,000 paid FC point cost of the pack is also 200 more than the 2,800 points players can buy for $25, forcing them to dip into another $5 purchase to meet the required amount.

Nonsense like this hasn’t necessarily hurt FIFA’s popularity in the past, and EA Sports FC 24’s review scores, both from critics and users, are basically the same as the last game’s. But it’s always a good reminder that the best way to play the hit soccer game is just to grind for players you like and not worry too much about actually fielding a team that can dominate the leaderboards.

Buy EA Sports FC 24: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

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Balance Adjustments

Weapon Units

EXPLOSIVE THROWER “DF-ET-09 TAI-YANG-SHOU”: increased Effective Range/Total Rounds, decreased Reload Time

LINEAR RIFLE “LR-036 CURTIS”: decreased Recoil/Charge Time

LINEAR RIFLE “LR-037 HARRIS”: increased Chg. Attack Power/Cooling, decreased Charge Time

SHOTGUN “SG-026 HALDEMAN”: decreased Direct Hit Adjustment

SHOTGUN “SG-027 ZIMMERMAN”: decreased Attack Power/Impact/Accumulative Impact/Direct Hit Adjustment

HANDGUN “HG-003 COQUILLETT”: increased Total Rounds

HANDGUN “HG-004 DUCKETT”: increased Total Rounds

BURST HANDGUN “MA-E-211 SAMPU”: increased Total Rounds

NEEDLE GUN “EL-PW-00 VIENTO”: increased Total Rounds

BAZOOKA “DF-BA-06 XUAN-GE”: increased Projectile Speed, decreased Reload Time

BAZOOKA “MAJESTIC”: increased Projectile Speed, decreased Reload Time

BAZOOKA “LITTLE GEM”: increased Projectile Speed, decreased Reload Time

DETONATING BAZOOKA “44-141 JVLN ALPHA”: increased Projectile Speed, decreased Reload Time

GRENADE “DF-GR-07 GOU-CHEN”: increased Total Rounds/Projectile Speed, decreased Reload Time. Rounds now explode upon reaching their Effective Range, even if they don’t make contact

GRENADE “DIZZY”: increased Total Rounds/Projectile Speed, decreased Reload Time. Effective Range also adjusted. Rounds now explode upon reaching their Effective Range, even if they don’t make contact

GRENADE “IRIDIUM”: increased Total Rounds/Projectile Speed, decreased Reload Time. Reduced sway caused by accumulated Recoil. Effective Range also adjusted. Rounds now explode upon reaching their Effective Range, even if they don’t make contact

PLASMA RIFLE “IA-C01W1: NEBULA”: decreased Chg. Attack Power/Chg. Impact/Chg. Accum. Impact, increased Charge Time

SIEGE HAND MISSILE “WS-5000 APERITIF”: increased Reload Time, decreased Guidance

GRENADE CANNON “EARSHOT”: decreased Reload Time. Rounds now explode upon reaching their Effective Range, even if they don’t make contact

GRENADE CANNON ”SONGBIRDS”: decreased Attack Power/Impact/Accumulative Impact. Rounds now explode upon reaching their Effective Range, even if they don’t make contact

STUN NEEDLE LAUNCHER “VE-60SNA”: decreased Impact/Accumulative Impact/Direct Hit Adjustment/Attack Power on consecutive attacks

LASER CANNON “VP-60LCS”: increased Total Rounds

DIFFUSE LASER CANNON “VP-60LCD”: increased Total Rounds

PULSE SHIELD LAUNCHER “EULE/60D”: increased Total Rounds/Pulse Shield Durability, decreased Weight/EN Load

LIGHT WAVE CANNON “IA-C01W3: AURORA”: decreased EN Load. Energy Firearm Spec now applies to this weapon

DUAL MISSILE “BML-G1/P31DUO-02”: increased Attack Power/Impact/Accumulative Impact/Guidance/Projectile Speed

DUAL MISSILE “BML-G1/P32DUO-03”: increased Attack Power/Impact/Accumulative Impact/Guidance/Projectile Speed

DUAL MISSILE “BML-G2/P08DUO-03”: increased Attack Power/Impact/Accumulative Impact/Guidance/Projectile Speed

ACTIVE HOMING MISSILE “BML-G3/P04ACT-01”: increased Guidance/Homing Lock Time/Projectile Speed

ACTIVE HOMING MISSILE “BML-G3/P05ACT-02”: increased Guidance/Homing Lock Time/Projectile Speed

NEEDLE MISSILE “EL-PW-01 TRUENO”: decreased Guidance. Projectiles now follow a stable trajectory

CORAL MISSILE “IB-C03W3: NGI 006”: decreased Chg. Attack Power/Chg. Impact/Chg. Accum. Impact/Direct Hit Adjustment

LASER ORBIT “45-091 ORBT”: increased Attack Power/Direct Hit Adjustment/Ideal Range/Effective Range/Projectile Speed

LASER TURRET “VP-60LT”: increased Projectile Speed/Laser Turret Attack Frequency

Frame Parts

HEAD “AH-J-124 BASHO”: increased System Recovery

HEAD “HD-011 MELANDER”: increased Attitude Stability/System Recovery

HEAD “HD-033M VERRILL”: increased System Recovery

HEAD “HD-012 MELANDER C3”: increased Attitude Stability/System Recovery

HEAD “DF-HD-08 TIAN-QIANG”: increased Attitude Stability/System Recovery

HEAD “VP-44S”: increased Attitude Stability/System Recovery

HEAD “VP-44D”: decreased Attitude Stability

HEAD “VE-44A”: increased Attitude Stability/System Recovery

HEAD “HC-2000 FINDER EYE”: increased System Recovery

HEAD “HC-2000/BC SHADE EYE”: increased System Recovery

HEAD “HC-3000 WRECKER”: increased System Recovery

HEAD “HS-5000 APPETIZER”: increased Attitude Stability/System Recovery

HEAD “EL-TH-10 FIRMEZA”: increased System Recovery

HEAD “EL-PH-00 ALBA”: increased System Recovery

HEAD “20-081 MIND ALPHA”: increased Attitude Stability/System Recovery

HEAD “20-082 MIND BETA”: decreased System Recovery

HEAD “IB-C03H: HAL 826”: increased Attitude Stability

CORE “NACHTREIHER/40E”: increased Attitude Stability/Generator Output Adj.

CORE “IA-C01C: EPHEMERA”: decreased AP/Anti-Energy Defense/Anti-Explosive Defense/Attitude Stability

ARMS “AA-J-123 BASHO”: decreased Anti-Kinetic Defense/Anti-Explosive Defense

ARMS “AA-J-123/RC JAILBREAK”: decreased Anti-Kinetic Defense/Anti-Explosive Defense

ARMS “AR-011 MELANDER”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “AR-012 MELANDER C3”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “DF-AR-08 TIAN-QIANG”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “DF-AR-09 TIAN-LAO”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “VP-46S”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “VP-46D”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “NACHTREIHER/46E”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “VE-46A”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “AC-2000 TOOL ARM”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “AS-5000 SALAD”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “EL-TA-10 FIRMEZA”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “EL-PA-00 ALBA”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “04-101 MIND ALPHA”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “IA-C01A: EPHEMERA”: increased Recoil Control

ARMS “IB-C03A: HAL 826”: increased Recoil Control

BIPEDAL “AL-J-121 BASHO”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “AL-J-121/RC JAILBREAK”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “LG-011 MELANDER”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “LG-012 MELANDER C3”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “DF-LG-08 TIAN-QIANG”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “VP-422”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “VE-42A”: increased AP/Attitude Stability/Jump Distanc

BIPEDAL “2C-2000 CRAWLER”: increased Attitude Stability/Load Limit/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “2C-3000 WRECKER”: increased AP/Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “2S-5000 DESSERT”: increased AP/Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “EL-TL-10 FIRMEZA”: increased Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “EL-PL-00 ALBA”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “06-041 MIND ALPHA”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “IA-C01L: EPHEMERA”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

BIPEDAL “IB-C03L: HAL 826”: increased Attitude Stability/Jump Distance

REVERSE JOINT “KASUAR/42Z”: increased Attitude Stability

REVERSE JOINT “06-042 MIND BETA”: increased Attitude Stability

REVERSE JOINT “RC-2000 SPRING CHICKEN”: increased Attitude Stability

TETRAPOD “LG-033M VERRILL”: decreased AP

TETRAPOD “VP-424”: decreased AP

TANK “EL-TL-11 FORTALEZA”: decreased Anti-Kinetic Defense/Anti-Energy Defense/Anti-Explosive Defense/Attitude Stability

Inner Parts

BOOSTER “AB-J-137 KIKAKU”: increased Upward Thrust

BOOSTER “BST-G1/P10”: increased Upward Thrust

BOOSTER “BST-G2/P04”: increased Upward Thrust

BOOSTER “BST-G2/P06SPD”: increased Upward Thrust

BOOSTER “ALULA/21E”: increased Upward Thrust

BOOSTER “FLUEGEL/21Z”: increased Upward Thrust

BOOSTER “BC-0600 12345”: increased Upward Thrust

BOOSTER “BC-0400 MULE”: increased Upward Thrust

BOOSTER “IA-C01B: GILLS”: increased Upward Thrust

BOOSTER “IB-C03B: NGI 001”: increased Upward Thrust

FCS “FCS-G2/P05”: decreased Close-Range Assist

FCS “FC-006 ABBOT”: decreased Close-Range Assist

FCS “FC-008 TALBOT”: decreased Close-Range Assist

GENERATOR “AG-J-098 JOSO”: increased EN Capacity/Supply Recovery/Energy Firearm Spec

GENERATOR “AG-E-013 YABA”: increased EN Capacity/Supply Recovery/Energy Firearm Spec

GENERATOR “AG-T-005 HOKUSHI”: increased EN Capacity/Energy Firearm Spec

Expansion

EXPANSION “PULSE PROTECTION”: increased Resilience

EXPANSION “TERMINAL ARMOR”: increased Duration

• Adjusted Attitude Recovery rate according to Total Weight. ACS Strain now dissipates much faster on lighter ACs, and slightly slower on heavier ACs
• Adjusted various Boost Speed rates according to Total Weight
• Decreased top speed during Assault Boost for heavier ACs
• Decreased Boost Kick attack range for Tetrapod legs
• Increased EN Consumption while hovering with Tetrapod legs
• Decreased Impact reduction effect during Assault Boost
• Decreased Impact/Accumulative Impact dealt when colliding with enemies during Assault Boost
• Decreased Impact/Accumulative Impact dealt by Boost Kick from all leg types except Reverse Joint
• Adjusted damage dealt by certain weapons when attacking the pulse shield deployed from PULSE SHIELD LAUNCHER “EULE/60D”

Bug fixes

• Fixed a bug with CORAL OSCILLATOR “IB-C03W2: WLT 101” where charged attacks would have stronger tracking than intended when using Tetrapod legs
• Fixed a bug where the attack warning marker would not display for an enemy AC firing DETONATING MISSILE “45-091 JVLN BETA” equipped to the left back slot
• Fixed a bug where the attack warning sound would not play correctly for an enemy firing GRENADE “IRIDIUM”
• Fixed a bug where charged attacks from LIGHT WAVE BLADE “IA-C01W2: MOONLIGHT” and CORAL OSCILLATOR “IA-C01W7: ML-REDSHIFT” would clip through certain structures/objects
• Fixed a bug where reloading with a full magazine would cause certain weapons to fire unintentionally
• Other bug fixes

Overwatch 2’s newest season is now live and suitably spooky, featuring demons, monsters, Diablo characters, and nipple rings on a hamster. Wait, what?

Launched on October 10, Overwatch 2’s season seven is predictably Halloween-themed, with many of the free-to-play shooter’s characters getting creepy new costumes and skins. And a big part of this new season is the inclusion of Diablo IV-themed cosmetics, including a pretty sick-looking (but very pricey) Lillith skin for Moira. Another one of these Diablo-themed skins turns Wrecking Ball—the hamster in the giant mech—into the demon Azomodan, complete with jiggle physics and nipple rings.

…Sorry, I got distracted by the GIF. Look at those rings bounce. I have many questions. Why did Blizzard take the time to make sure they shake and jiggle so much? In fact, why did Blizzard give a hamster nipple rings?

Also, looking online, it appears only female hamsters have nipples, and they have more than two. Now, I’m not here to say Hammond can’t be himself and buck gender norms. But I will point out that Hammond the hamster is, according to Overwatch lore, 16 years old. I guess, admittedly, that’s pretty dang old for a hamster, but it seems too young for nipple ring bouncing. These are questions I didn’t want to ask, or think about. Thanks a lot, Blizzard.

Kotaku has contacted Blizzard about the nipple rings.

Reaction to the nipple rings online has been mostly confusion. “They put nipples on the hamster and then put piercings in those nipples,” said one Reddit user. “There’s so many timelines where they didn’t have to do any of that, but I live in this one.”

Another user added, “Blizzard Art Department y’all are not right for this.” But, in a perfect example of how anything can be erotic to someone, yet another person simply replied: “God that’s kinky and I love it.”

Ultimately, it’s weird and a bit offputting to see nipple rings on a hamster. But perhaps that’s the point of the new skin. It is recreating a demon, one with nipple rings. Maybe Blizzard artists wanted to evoke feelings of confusion and pain when people looked at this Hammond skin. So who am I to judge--wait a minute. What happened to his fur? Wait, is he naked and also sporting nipple rings with jiggle physics? Nevermind. I condemn this.

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