Author: Game Infliction

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has issued a new patch for the PC and PlayStation 5 co-op shooter that fixes the Spear after a previous update caused crash problems.

Last week’s update 1.000.402 included a fix for the Spear not targeting several entities (spawners, compound objects, etc). This change was welcomed by fans because, it was hoped, it would finally make the Spear weapon more reliable out on the battlefield.

However, players soon found that the Spear, the very weapon Arrowhead had sought to fix, caused crashes, resulting in a fresh recommendation not to use it. Now, patch 01.000.403 includes a fix for Spear-related crashes. Fingers crossed that’s now the end of the Spear’s tumultuous time in Helldivers 2.

Elsewhere, there are more fixes for a variety of relatively minor problems, and an updated list of issues Arrowhead is working on.

Helldivers 2 is the fastest-selling PlayStation game of all time, having shifted an incredible 12 million copies in just 12 weeks since going on sale earlier this year. Amid the huge revenue Helldivers 2 has generated, Arrowhead itself has suffered a number of crises, including launch server problems and, most recently, a battle with Sony itself over the console maker’s controversial attempt to force Steam players to account link to PlayStation Network.

Arrowhead recently revealed it was in the process of setting the studio up so it could “make more and better stuff” in the long-term. In an introductory post on reddit, new CEO Shams Jorjani, who recently replaced previous Arrowhead CEO and now current Chief Creative Officer Johan Pilestedt, said the studio has had to adjust to the enormous success Helldivers 2 has brought to the company.

Helldivers 2 update 01.000.403 patch notes:

Overview

For this patch, we have made improvements and changes to the following areas:

• Crash fix related to the FAF-14 Spear
• General fixes

General

• Japanese language voice-overs are now available globally on PS5 (also on PC).

Fixes

Crashes

• Fix for crash happening when players with unique hellpod patterns leave during hellpod launch cutscenes
• Crash fix while aiming with the FAF-14 Spear

Misc fixes

• Fixed corrupted text showing “?” for some characters when having Traditional Chinese language selected
• Fix for Plasma Punisher being unable to shoot out of the SH-32 Shield Generator Pack and the FX-12 Shield Generator
• Fixed so the Quasar Cannon has the correct change to its heat when on hot and cold planets
• Fixed issue where Spore Spewer would appear purple on certain planets
• Fixed some cases where pink question marks would appear in missions on various planets
• Fixed Peak Physique armor passive not properly affecting weapon ergonomics
• Fixed issue where available Operations were reset after player reconnected from getting kicked due to inactivity

Known Issues

These are issues that were either introduced by this patch and are being worked on, or are from a previous version and have not yet been fixed.

• Sending friend requests via friend code in game currently does not work
• Players may be unable to be joined or invited to the game
• Players added to the Recent Players list will appear in the middle of the list
• Players may experience delays in Medals and Super Credits payouts
• Enemies that bleed out do not progress Personal Orders and Eradicate missions
• Deployed mines may sometimes become invisible (but remain active)
• Arc weapons sometimes behave inconsistently and sometimes misfire
• Most weapons shoot below the crosshair when aiming down the sights
• Stratagem beam might attach itself to an enemy but will deploy to its original location
• Hand Carts ship module does not reduce Shield Generator Pack’s cooldown
• Superior Packing Methodology ship module does not work
• Bile Titan sometimes does not take damage to the head
• Players may become stuck in the Loadout when joining a game in progress
• Reinforcement may not be available for players who join a game in progress
• Planet liberation reaches 100 % at the end of every Defend mission
• Raise Flag of Super Earth objective does not show a progress bar
• Mission count in the Career tab is being reset to zero after every game restart
• Some weapons’ descriptions are out-of-date and don’t reflect their current design

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Looking to increase the storage capacity of your Nintendo Switch? Amazon currently has a TEAMGROUP GO 1TB Micro SDXC card for only $63.99. For most people, this will be enough space for the entire lifespan of your Switch and at a great price. There’s only one Micro SD card slot in the Switch console so you want to make sure you get the biggest card you can afford.

1TB Micro SDXC Card (Switch Compatible) for $63.99

The Nintendo Switch is an outstanding console, but it doesn’t give you much space to install many games out of the box, especially if you purchase digital games off eShop. The Switch and Switch OLED have 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, respectively, with some of it reserved for the OS. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom uses up 16GB and Breath of the Wild about 13.5GB. If bought digitally, those two games alone would take up all of your internal storage on the OG Switch console. Fortunately, the Switch features a single memory card expansion slot. It supports up to 2TB Micro SDXC cards, but since 2TB Micro SDXC cards don’t exist in the mainsteam market, a 1TB or 1.5TB card is the maximum you can get.

The 1TB TEAMGROUP Micro SDXC card is compatible with virtually any device that accepts the Micro SDXC card standard. That includes the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, any recently released smartphone that supports expandable memory, GoPros, cameras and much more. Despite its low price, the TEAMGROUP is faster than your average Micro SDXC card. It has a U3 A1 rating and boasts transfer speeds of up to 100MB/s read and 50MB/s write. Although TEAMGROUP isn’t as well known of a brand as SanDisk or Samsung, this brand has been around for a while and is a legitimate manufacturer of flash-based storage. This particular model has plenty of good reviews on Amazon.

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The TEAMGROUP PRO PLUS 1TB Micro SDXC card is U3 A2 rated with transfer speeds up to 160MB/s read and 110MB/s write. This extra speed can’t be exploited in a Nintendo Switch, but this is a better Micro SDXC card for mobile electronics that often handle bitrate heavy files like GoPros, smartphones with 4K video recording, DSLR cameras, and PCs with an available Micro SD or SD card slot (an adapter is included).

Twitch streamer Perri Karyal has taken down two major Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree bosses using a hands free ‘mind control’ virtual controller, which decodes electrical information fed directly from her brain in real time.

Prior to Shadow of the Erdtree’s release, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki was quoted as saying that the challenge posed by the DLC “really pushed the envelope in terms of what we think can be withstood by the player”. True to his word, the days following Shadow of the Erdtree’s June 21 launch have seen many players take to social media to lament that the new content is simply too hard, while others complained of performance issues, leading to a ‘mixed’ review on Steam.

However, its fearsome difficulty hasn’t stopped Karyal from attempting to take on the DLC using a very unconventional method of controlling her tarnished, which also proves that 90 percent of a FromSoftware boss fight plays out between the ears.

Thought I’d post a clip of what mental controls I use and how I get around

Getting to the boss is often harder than the boss😅#shadowoftheerdtree #EldenRing pic.twitter.com/RmetlwJb8h

— Perri (@perrikaryal) June 23, 2024

Karyal made headlines last year after beating Elden Ring’s base game content while using an electroencephalography (EEG) brain monitoring headset to control specific in-game actions such as attacking, and rolling. EEG technology is ordinarily used by physicians as a diagnostic tool. However, after encountering the brain-scanning headwear while studying for a masters degree in psychology she became curious as to whether the technology could be adapted to control video games as part of a virtual controller.

To that end Karyal was able to use some fancy coding to train the software that came with her commercial EEG headset to recognize patterns in her brain’s electrical activity that were brought about when she imagined a particular object, action, or emotion. Each pattern was then assigned to an input on a virtual controller, which allowed Karyal to execute actions with her mind by imagining things during gameplay. For example, by imagining herself pushing a cube forward she could execute a roll, or alternatively she could imagine a plate spinning to make her tarnished perform an attack, or simply make herself angry to heal.

WE DID IT

Shadow of the Erdtree, first boss, COMPLETED with mind control, and ZERO HANDS

I can’t believe it. This was the hardest thing ever. We’ve come SO FAR! Let’s gooooooo pic.twitter.com/INrwrgOH0Y

— Perri (@perrikaryal) June 22, 2024

WE DID IT AGAIN

Shadow of the Erdtree, SECOND boss, Renalla, DEFEATED with mind control, and ZERO HANDS. Absolutely INSANE

Let’s gooooooooooo

If you have any questions, look at the full VOD below – I do set-up, training, and troubleshooting all LIVE pic.twitter.com/H0UpxUj8hz

— Perri (@perrikaryal) June 23, 2024

During the 2023 Elden Ring runthrough Karyal had still been beholden to a physical Xbox controller to dictate the movement of her tarnished warrier. However, for Shadow of the Erdtree, the streamer opted to attempt a completely hands-free run, by using eye-tracking software to track the movement of her head to control her character’s movement, and voice prompts to trigger more nuanced actions, including saying “I choose you” to summon a spirit ash. Navigating to bosses also required a completely different command setup to the one used during the climactic fights themselves, adding another layer of mental gymnastics to the process.

Impressively, Karyal has already managed to use her mind-control approach to take down two challenging early DLC bosses in the Divine Beast Dancing Lion, and Rellana, the Twin Moon Knight. Of course this isn’t the first time that FromSoftware fans have employed a non-traditional controller to shame Elden Ring bosses. Just last year Twitch streamer MissMikkaa managed to beat two Malenias simultaneously in two separate instances of the game while using a Dance Pad and a PS5 DualSense. Another FromSoftware challenge runner by the name Dr. Decomposing was also able to complete a no-damage run while using a modified electric saxophone as a controller.

Be sure to check out IGN’s interactive map and comprehensive guide for all the tips, tricks, and walkthroughs that you need to get the most out of your time in the Land of Shadow, or read up on how modders are already finding ways to make the game easier on PC.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

Good news, From Software fans: Future Press is set to release Bloodborne Complete Guide: 25th Anniversary Edition on September 30. You can preorder it now at Amazon for $59.99. This officially licensed guide is a hefty tome, ringing in at 736 full-color pages. It gets into the nitty gritty, covering the main game of Bloodborne, plus The Old Hunters expansion. It also has lots of behind-the-scenes info we’ll dive into below.

Preorder Bloodborne Complete Guide 25th Anniversary Edition

The Bloodborne Complete Guide has all the resources you need to get the very most out of the game. It reveals all the secrets and hidden areas for you to fully explore Yarnham. It’s an excellent resource for all the items, weapons, and characters found in the game. It also dives deep into the game’s lore, much of which you might have missed in previous play-throughs.

Plus, it contains a good deal of bonus material. There’s a new, exclusive interview with Bloodborne creator Hidetaka Miyazaki. It includes a 20-page concept artwork gallery, and a dedicated Lore Index to help you tell your Vilebloods from your Scourge Beasts.

If you’re doing the math to figure out just how long ago Bloodborne came out (it was released in 2015 as a PS4 exclusive), you’re not losing your mind. The 25th anniversary in the book’s title is how long Future Press has been printing books.

Our critic gave Bloodborne a 9.1 in the review, and the game was a runner up for IGN’s Game of the Year 2015.

This isn’t Future Press’s first rodeo giving such thorough coverage to From Software’s games. The publisher released the beautiful Official Strategy Guides for Elden Ring (Vol.1 & Vol. 2), which are currently down to $44.99 at Amazon. It also released an incredibly popular Dark Souls Trilogy guide.

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Threads.