Diablo 4’s (sometimes) solo play

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  • You’ll see other players in towns and the open world even when playing alone
  • Only interested in Diablo 4’s story? You’ll be completely fine playing solo
  • Some end game content might be tricky by yourself but is also achievable for most players

Diablo 4 is a damn fine game played solo. I’ve played over 50 hours (right up to World Tier 3) and not once have I felt like I couldn’t do a piece of content. Its story, side missions, and most end game content can be done by yourself provided you’re willing to put a little effort into your build. But there are a few exceptions.

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Perpetual haze (The Division 2 screenshots)

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It’s been months since I’ve played The Division 2 but it still stands as one of my favorite third-person shooters ever. The game is also stunning and I remember having a blast diving into the in-game photography.

You’ll eventually find yourself in a gameplay loop of repetition but The Division 2’s atmosphere and detailed setting make it so much easier to digest. The shots below (click for full resolution) really highlight the oppressive humidity you’ll find in the fictionalized Washington DC.

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Easy fix for SteelSeries mouse blinking red

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I’ve had my SteelSeries Rival 110 mouse for about 4 years now. It’s a budget model but it’s served me well. The only problem is that I noticed the RGB functionality became wonky after moving from a gaming laptop to a desktop. It was no longer the showing off the green I was using for years and instead was slowly blinking red.

The fix?

I knew that it couldn’t be the battery failing because…well…it’s a wired mouse. And then I remembered that I originally had to download SteelSeries software to set up the color I wanted. This turned out to be the solution. These days the software is called SteelSeries GG and in addition to device customization (CPI, RGB, mapping, etc.), there’s also aim training and audio enhancements available.

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PC Gaming: is 60 Hz the same thing as 60 FPS?

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Getting right to the difference between refresh rates and frame rate…

60 Hz and 60 FPS (frames per second) are interrelated, but not the same thing. 60 Hz refers to the refresh rate of your display while 60 FPS is the number of frames per second rendered by your PC or console.

To put it another way, the frame rate determines how fluid any particular game is while the refresh rate of your monitor (or TV) will dictate how smooth a game will appear.

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Halo Infinite finally hits its stride with Season 4: Infection

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For as much hype as Halo Infinite generated on release, 343 has been in a state of perpetual catch up since. I couldn’t believe the way the development team had nailed it – mixing the old with the new – to bring the best Halo game since the Bungie years. And this is what hurt the most. Halo Infinite was (and is) an incredible game, but its lack of content has always been a reminder of ruined potential.

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Forza Motorsport’s career mode looks matured (if a little sterile)

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You’re either someone who lives for shaving off milliseconds on lap times in racer’s like Forza Motorsport, or you’re bored to tears by the thought of playing anything that approaches a simulator. It seems like most people fall into the second category these days, and Microsoft definitely read the room with their recent Xbox Showcase.

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Have an Nvidia card? Try this to fix Diablo 4’s screen tearing

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Diablo 4’s performance has been absolutely maddening at times (especially as someone who just got a really good prebuilt). I’ve gotten huge FPS drops that just don’t make sense, and equally puzzling bouts of screen tearing. If you’re here, then you’re probably interested in the latter. The potential fix for this (if you have an Nvidia card) is pretty simple.

You’ve probably already tried turning on VSync within the game itself. And if you’re like me, the screen tearing persisted (for reference I’m using a Sony X800D TV). Instead, open up the Nvidia Control Panel and enable VSync on a system level.

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PC gaming basics: can 1080p monitors display 4K?

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The gist of it:

  • 1080p monitors and TVs can’t display a 4K resolution outright
  • Supersampling can be toggled on PC render at 4K resolution, and ultimately provide a much cleaner image on your 1080p display
  • Supersampling will automatically be done on consoles like the Xbox Series X|S and PS5

Considering monitors and TVs last well over 5 years in most cases, it’s likely that you’ll get a new console or upgrade your PC well before your display dies out. What happens when your new PC can display resolutions up to 4K while you’re still playing on a 1080p monitor?

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Fortnite: do you unlock unredeemed items when the battle pass expires?

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fortnite chapter 4 season 3

The short of it is…

  • Yes, your unused battle pass stars will automatically be used to redeem eligible unlocks when the current season’s battle pass expires.

This is something I just confirmed myself since I was wondering if all of my unused battle pass stars would go to waste (I had quite a few available to use). Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2 just ended while Fortnite Wilds has rolled in to take its place.

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Diablo 4 feels like a live service game 2 years into its future

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For all of the time I put into the launch of the original Destiny, it was beyond barren in terms of content. It was a damn good time, but most of that was in the excitement of something new from Bungie other than Halo. Playing with friends also tends to polish mediocre experiences.

I went through the same cycle with Destiny 2, and watched as Anthem crashed and burned a couple years later. That era during the launch of the original Destiny feels like the real start of the live service boom, and since then new types of experiences that demand all of your attention have been popping up every month it seems. But it’s really the normalizing of that type of release strategy that stings the most these days – rushing a game to market only to fix things up after the fact.

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