The following rewards are unlocked for finding the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time gold skulltulas:

• Collect 10: Adult Wallet (Link can carry 200 Rupees)
• Collect 20: Stone/Shard of Agony (Rumbles/Lights up when secrets are near)
• Collect 30: Giant Wallet (Link can carry 500 Rupees)
• Collect 40: 10 Bombchus
• Collect 50: A piece of heart
• Collect 100: 200 Rupees

Gold Skulltulas can only be found at night, underground or inside dungeons. Some can only be found as young or adult Link. If their token is too far to retrieve, use the Boomerang (as a child) or Hookshot (as an adult) to bring the item to you. Keep this in mind while searching!

Kokiri Forest / Lost
Woods / Sacred Meadow

01 (Young Link, Nighttime) – After finishing the first dungeon, return to Kokiri Forest at night and find the spider on the back of the Know it all Brothers’ house.

02 (Young Link) – Use a Bottle to catch some bugs, then drop the bugs in a patch of dirt near the Item Shop to reveal a napping Skulltula.

03 (Young Link) – Take two lefts in the Lost Woods and drop bugs in the dirt patch.

04 (Young Link) – In the Lost Woods, go right-left-right-left-left. Once again, dump bugs in the patch to reveal a Skulltula. Best to worry about these later in the game when you have all four Bottles.

05 (Adult Link) – Plant a Magic Bean in the same spot as the above Skulltula, then as an adult ride the leaf to find the new Skulltula

06 (Adult Link) – Use the Hookshot to strike a spider hiding on the House of Twins.

07 (Adult Link) – In the Sacred Meadow, climb the ladder and you’ll see a Skulltula hugging the wall. The Hookshot can hit him and collect the token.

Inside the Great Deku
Tree

08 (Young Link) – In the room with the Compass, near a small treasure chest.

09 (Young Link) – After falling down to B1, you’ll see this Skulltula clinging to a fence.

10 (Young Link) – In the same room, hanging on the wall.

11 (Young Link) – Bomb the wall in the room with the Gohma larvae.

Kakariko Village

12 (Young Link, Nighttime) – Roll into the tree near the entrance to shake a Skulltula loose.

13 (Young Link, Nighttime) – Clinging to the House of Skulltula.

14 (Young Link, Nighttime) – Scurrying on the house that’s under construction.

15 (Young Link, Nightime) – Near the house next to the gate that leads to Death Mountin.

16 (Young Link, Nighttime) – On the ladder of the tall lookout post. Use the Fairy Slingshot to kill it, then climb up to grab the token.

17 (Young Link, Nighttime) – In the graveyard, use the Boomerang to strike and kill the Skulltula on the wall.

18 (Young Link, Nighttime) – There’s a dirt patch to the left – use some bugs and acquire the next spider.

19 (Adult Link, Nighttime) – Use the Hookshot (or Longshot) to get up on the rooftops and find a Skulltula skulking around on Impa’s house.

Death Mountain /
Goron City

20 (Young Link) – The entrance to Dodongo’s Cavern contains a patch of dirt. Drop some bugs in, collect the spider. Make sure to also plant a Magic Bean here for a Heart Piece later!

21 (Either) – Notice the odd-looking wall near the beginning of the trail. Bomb it and find the next Skulltula. Strangely, you can climb this wall.

22 (Young Link) – On the top floor of Goron City, find a room full of rocks. Work your way to a crate and roll into it to reveal the spider.

23 (Young Link) – As you enter the Death Mountain Summit (likely after completing the second dungeon), quickly roll into a crate. You’re timed due to the heat, but you should have plenty of wiggle room.

24 (Young Link) – There’s a spot of dirt near the entrance to the Fire Temple. Come back as a child and drop bugs to obtain the Skulltula. This dirt patch also leads to two Heart Pieces by planting a Magic Bean.

25 (Adult Link) – There’s a red rock near the entrance to Goron City. Smash it.

26 (Adult Link) – In the rock-falling area, look for a red rock along the wall. Smash it, find the next Skulltula.

27 (Adult Link) – Behind the stone that held the Spiritual Stone of Fire, the one dangling in the main room. Use the Hookshot to collect it.

Dodongo’s Cavern

28 (Either) In the room with tiny Dodongo babies, bomb a false wall either with your own bomb, or the babies’ explosive demise. Inside is your trophy.

29 (Either) After using a bomb flower to create a staircase, look on some vines near the exit up top.

30 (Either) Once you enter the giant skull, head right and bomb behind an Armos statue.

31 (Either) A small opening above those same bombable stairs where you found #29. Use the Boomerang as a Child or Hookshot as an Adult.

32 (Adult) In the baby Dodongo room (which held #28) notice how Navi will fly off and circle another area. Play the Scarecrow Song (obtained by visiting Lake Hylia in the past, then as an adult) and Pierre will appear as a Hookshot point.

Zora’s River / Domain / Fountain

33 (Child) Roll into the tree near the entrance.

34 (Child, Nighttime) At the waterfall entrance to Zora’s Domain, drop down and find a Skulltula stuck to the ladder.

35 (Adult, Nighttime) Use the Hookshot to tag a Skulltula found on the high walls as you make your way up the river.

36 (Adult, Nighttime) Farther up the river you’ll walk across a wooden bridge. Use the Hookshot (or Longshot) to snag a Skulltula up high.

37 (Adult, Nighttime) Remember the diving game as a child? Return to that spot as an adult and use the Longshot to obtain the next token.

38 (Child) In Zora’s Fountain, roll into the tree near the back of the area.

39 (Child, Nighttime) On the wall near the giant log. Use the Boomerang to snag the token.

40 (Adult, Silver Gauntlets) Lift a heavy stone near the back of the area, enter and obtain the Skulltula below. Have the Lens of Truth handy down there…

Lake Hylia

41 (Child, Nighttime) There’s one scuttling around on an island far out in the lake. It’s the same island where you obtain the Fire Arrows, btw.

42 (Child) In a patch of dirt near the Lakeside Laboratory

43 (Child, Nighttime) Located on the rear side of the Lakeside Laboratory. Wait until you have the Boomerang to retrieve it.

44 (Adult) Atop the massive tree trunk. Use the Longshot to get up top.

45 (Adult) At the bottom of the pool inside the Lakeside Laboratory. Use the Iron Boots to sink down there.

Inside Jabu Jabu’s Belly

46 (Child) After Ruto falls into the hole, look for a Skulltula on the far wall. Use the Boomerang to hit it.

47 (Child) After clearing the green tentacle, fall into its hole and find yourself back in the same room as #46. There’s another Skulltula in here.

48 (Child) On the second floor, in a room with stingers.

49 (Child) On a vine wall in the room before the boss battle with Barinade.

Gerudo Valley

50 (Child, Nighttime) Look to the right as you walk across a small wooden bridge. The Skulltula is nestled in a square hole.

51 (Child) Float down the canyon with a Cucco and plant bugs in a patch of dirt.

52 (Future, Nighttime) Behind the tent across the broken bridge.

53 (Future, Nighttime) Under a stone formation near the tent.

Forest Temple

54 (Adult) In the first room, climb the vine wall and find a Skulltula up here near the Small Key.

55 (Adult) In the main room with four torches, on the wall near the door in the back.

56 (Adult) On the wall in the upper right room. Use the Hookshot/Longshot to pull yourself up there.

57 (Adult) In the right side of the courtyard (upper left room), find one on a ledge.

58 (Adult) In the rotating room before the battle with Phantom Ganon. Spin the room until you reveal the chamber with the Skulltula.

Fire Temple

59 (Adult) In the room with boulders rolling in several directions. Bomb the false wall on the north side.

60 (Adult) Near the entrance to the room containing the Megaton Hammer.

61 (Adult) Play the Song of Time to remove one of those blue blocks on the first floor. Find the spider behind it.

62 (Adult) A room with spinning tiles and a Like Like. It’s on the wall, in plain sight.

63 (Adult) Use the Scarecrow Song and Longshot to obtain a tricky one hanging out on the fourth floor.

Ice Cavern

64 (Adult) In the room with the Blue Fire and Compass. Look for it on the wall.

65 (Adult) In the room with the huge spinning blade, behind ice. You’ll need the Longshot.

66 (Adult) The sliding-box puzzle room contains a Skulltula on the wall.

Water Temple

67 (Adult) On the wall in the room with the moving platforms. Requires Longshot.

68 (Adult) In the tunnel with all the whirlpools, along the left wall.

69 (Adult) In the main chamber, use the Longshot to tag one accessible from the second floor.

70 (Adult) In the main chamber, on the first floor. Bomb a fake wall when the water is at its lowest point.

71 (Adult) Behind a waterfall near Morpha’s lair.

Bottom of the
Well

72 (Child) In the room with the Like Like, along the back of the dungeon.

73 (Child) The center room contains two locked doors. One contains this Skulltula…

74 (Child) … and the other contains this one. Use the Lens of Truth to safely navigate the rooms.

Shadow Temple

75 (Adult) In the room with invisible blades.

76 (Adult) In the room with dropping spikes.

77 (Adult) There’s a flaming skull statue in B3. Toss a bomb inside and find the Skulltula behind its remains.

78 (Adult) In a cage near the boat. Use the Scarecrow Song and the Longshot.

79 (Adult) In the room with three spinning skulls, after the boat ride.

Gerudo Fortress

80 (Adult, Nighttime) Above the eastern wall.

81 (Adult, Nighttime) In the archery area, behind one of the poles.

Desert Colossus /
Haunted Wasteland area

82 (Adult) When you find the Phantom Guide in the Haunted Wasteland, look inside the nearby structure.

83 (Adult, Nighttime) In a tree near the dried-up oasis. If he’s not there, play the Song of Storms and see if that make him appear.

84 (Child) A dirt patch near the Spirit Temple, eh? Drop some bugs in there.

85 (Adult, Nighttime) Now, as an adult, ride the floating plant and hop off as it passes a platform with another Skulltula.

Spirit Temple

86 (Child) On the fence in the room with all the flying Keese.

87 (Child) On the climbable wall that leads from 1F to 2F. Can’t miss it.

88 (Child) In the hallway before your battle with the Iron Knuckle.

89 (Adult) Play the Song of Time to make a blue block disappear in the room with the rolling boulders.

90 (Adult) Play the Scarecrow Song in the giant statue room. Use the Longshot to pull yourself over and claim the token.

Hyrule Castle /
Market area

91 (Child) Inside the guard house near the market.

92 (Child) Play the Song of Storms near the tree where you found Malon.

93 (Child) Roll into the tree as you enter the castle grounds.

94 (Adult) On an arch after Hyrule Castle becomes Ganon’s Castle.

Lon Lon Ranch

95 (Child) Roll into a tree near the ranch gate.

96 (Child, Nighttime) Behind the corral.

97 (Child, Nighttime) Near the tall silo where you found the Heart Piece.

98 (Child, Nighttime) Tucked in a window of the ranch house.

Hyrule Field

99 (Either) Bomb a tree between Hyrule Castle and Kakariko Village. Enter the hole and use either the Boomerang or Hookshot.

100 (Either) Place a bomb inside a circle of rocks near the entrance to Gerudo Valley. Burn the webs inside with Fire Arrows or Din’s Fire and claim the final Skulltula.

The post The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time gold skulltulas locations appeared first on Game News.

You should treat these Fallout New Vegas character builds as starting points for your adventure, and feel emboldened to tweak them as you gravitate towards different weapons and fighting styles. For example, you might want to use the Energy Weapons build as the baseline for a Sharpshooter-style experience, swapping out the electric guns for more conventional ballistic weapons as you go. Same goes for the Perks we’ve selected for each of these Fallout New Vegas character builds, you should switch and swap these out to dial in even more possibilities out of your character. 

Whether you’re returning for another adventure or coming in for your first (it is one of the best games on Xbox Game Pass, after all) keep scrolling for our pick of the best Fallout: New Vegas character builds to help get you started.

Melee Warrior build

A melee character is definitely a heck of a challenge in the Fallout games. Many of the enemies are stronger and more dangerous in melee than you are, so it’s a risk every time you get near them; also, Deathclaws. The hard part to a melee character is that you must wear light armor if you wish to close in on enemies fast enough that their guns won’t tear you to shreds but when forced into a heads up battle against multiple foes with guns light armor won’t help you too much.

Playing this character can be somewhat difficult if you’re not good at the game. You’re going to need to use strong weapons, target enemies vital points and then slice away at them. Since VATs only allows you to target the enemy in general you’ll need to do things manually. Aim for enemy limbs or their head when slicing away so as to hamper their ability to fight back. When fighting other melee opponents be sure to use VATs since those attacks are unblockable and be sure to block often.

• Strength: 7 
• Perception: 4 
• Endurance: 6 
• Charisma: 5 
• Intelligence: 6 
• Agility: 5 
• Luck: 7

Tagged Skills

• Melee Weapons
• Sneak
• Medicine

Traits

• Heavy Handed 
• Kamikaze

Perks

• Hunter Swift Learner 
• Black Widow / Lady Killer 
• Cherchez la Femme / Confirmed Bachelor 
• Travel Light (if using Light Armor) 
• Entomologist 
• Bloody Mess 
• Living Anatomy 
• Stonewall 
• Super Slam 
• Finesse 
• Fast Metabolism 
• Piercing Strike 
• Silent Running 
• Unstoppable Force 
• Ninja Slayer

How to play a melee build

With this build we’re doing our best to do as much damage to enemies as quickly as possible. Most of the Perks we’re taking are giving us damage bonuses against particular types of enemies: Hunter and Entomologist will grant you damage bonuses on animals, notably against Geckos and Cazadors. Perks like Black Widow / Lady Killer and Cherchez la Femme / Confirmed Bachelor as well as Bloody Mess and Living Anatomy will get you up a very nice damage bonus against all humanoids.

The rest of the perks will grant you bonuses to damage or help you with penetrating enemy Damage Thresholds. Travel Light and Silent Running will make getting the jump on enemies a whole lot easier. When paired up with Heavy Hitter and Kamikaze you can easily get the jump on an enemy, hit them for a Sneak Attack critical and then use VATs to murder the crap out of them before they can fight back.

Partners

Since you’ll be in melee, Rex is somewhat redundant so you’ll want Ed-E instead. As for your humanoid companion, Boone is one of the best; his incredible sniper abilities will compliment you well. However going with Arcade Gannon will grant you extra healing from all sources (always helpful) and Raul the Ghoul will ensure that you spend less time worrying about equipment maintenance. Choose wisely.

Close-combat build

For when using a melee weapon is just too safe there’s also the obligatory hand to hand combat route. The thing that makes unarmed combat so tricky is the fact that when using your bare hands you don’t do much damage at all. Getting your hands on Spiked Knuckles will set you down the path to actually dealing appreciable damage with your attacks. It’s very important that you upgrade to a better weapon as soon as possible.

It’s actually a good deal more important to play things sneaky with this build than it is with the melee build. With the melee build you can actually deal some rather impressive damage with the right weapons. But it takes a good long while into the game to get weapons that deal enough damage to be helpful to an unarmed build. Sneak up on enemies to put the hurt on them, especially once you start unlocking the special unarmed attacks (unlocked at skill ranking 25 and 50).

• Strength: 7 
• Perception: 4 
• Endurance: 6 Charisma: 5 
• Intelligence: 5 
• Agility: 5 
• Luck: 8

Tagged Skills

• Unarmed 
• Medicine 
• Sneak

Traits

• Heavy Handed 
• Good Natured

Perks

• Hunter 
• Swift Learner 
• Black Widow / Lady Killer 
• Cherchez la Femme / Confirmed Bachelor 
• Travel Light (if using Light Armor) 
• Entomologist 
• Bloody Mess 
• Living Anatomy 
• Stonewall 
• Super Slam 
• Finesse 
• Fast Metabolism 
• Piercing Strike 
• Silent Running 
• Unstoppable Force 
• Paralyzing Palm 
• Ninja Slayer

How to play close-combat build

While increasing the three Tagged Skills, especially Unarmed and Sneak, you will also want to increase Speech. There are a few areas where you can talk your way out of fighting entirely which is very helpful during any unarmed playthrough. Much like the melee build we have mostly focused on taking the perks that will enable us to deal more damage with our hand-to-hand attacks to kill enemies before they deal too much damage.

To maximize the effectiveness of this build you will absolutely want to complete a few side quests and associate with a few followers in particular. Ranger Andy in Novac can be talked into teaching you a NCR Ranger power move that is very helpful, if you give your follower Veronica a dress of any sort she will teach you a counter attack, complete the side quest: Aba Daba Honeymoon to learn a nasty Khan trick, and if you’re siding with them, Lucius of Ceasar’s Legion can teach you another nasty attack.

Partners

Ally with Boone and Ed-E as quickly as possible and stick with them. Get Boone some good weapons and armor and he will keep you covered from a range when a fight breaks out, weakening or killing enemies for you. While Gannon can help keep you healed, you’ll reallyneedBoone’s extra damage dealing talents here.

Sniper build

To be frank, a sniper is probably one of the easiest ways to play through Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas. You will rely heavily on VATs for the earlier portion of the game, but with the right guns this can be incredibly deadly. Later on, when you have a good sniper rifle, you can use that to take shots on the enemies from far away without needing to use VATs quite as much. VATs is a death sentence for your enemies by level 12 – 14, since the repeated, very accurate, headshots will kill most foes in no time.

With this build you’ll find that it’s very important to carry around a few separate weapons. A Sniper Rifle helps with extreme range shots although these wear down easily, so using them for close encounters is a bad idea. Cowboy Repeaters are very strong, fire quickly and are all around a great weapon to carry for mid to long range encounters. Lastly if you’d like to keep a holdout weapon like a Silenced Pistol / SMG or an overly powerful sidearm like a Hunting Revolver, then do so for close range combat.

• Strength: 4 
• Perception: 7 
• Endurance: 4 
• Charisma: 5 
• Intelligence: 6 
• Agility: 7 
• Luck: 7

Tagged Skills

• Guns 
• Sneak 
• Lockpick

Traits

• Kamikaze 
• Trigger Discipline

Perks

• Rapid Reload 
• Friend of the Night 
• Travel Light 
• Bloody Mess
• Commando 
• Living Anatomy 
• Finesse 
• Sniper 
• Silent Running 
• Robotics Expert (can be helpful for dealing with problematic robots) 
• Better Criticals 
• Action Boy / Girl 
• Grim Reaper’s Sprint Concentrated Fire 
• Nerves of Steel

How to play sniper build

Where the previous builds focused on increasing your damage against every type of enemy in the game, this build instead focuses on making each shot as deadly as possible. By sneaking up on foes for a close range series of VATs headshots you can take down even the toughest of enemies in rather short order. Early on this build is somewhat weaker because of this, but as the game progresses they slowly begin to utterly dominate combat until most enemies pose little to no threat.

One of the things to note about sneak heavy builds like this one is that when you’re out in the wilderness it’s hard to sneak around and move in any sort of timely manner. Even with Silent Running you’re still moving rather slowly. As such it’s best to keep Ed-E around so he warns you of any enemies before they even notice you allowing you time to enter sneak mode to go after them or avoid them. With this character type your equipment becomes incredibly important.

Partners

Since you’ve got the long ranged combat covered, you have a few options. Bringing Rex is better for helping you in combat but Ed-E’s increased sensors will help you know when enemies are around. The same goes for your human companions: bringing a melee fighter like Veronica or Lily is probably best for helping you with actual combat but by picking a ranged fighter, like Boone, enemies can be cut down long before they get anywhere near you. Pick whatever suits your fighting style, so if you bring Rex then it’s best to bring Veronica or Lily and let Boone compliment Ed-E.

Tank build

Since you’re almost always going to be burdened down with lots of weapons and equipment, this guy is going to need to be tough but still able to use his guns. He’ll require a good deal of strength, endurance and perception to be able to function properly. First and foremost you’re going to need to aim for the best weapons and armor that you can possibly get your hands on.

When creating the character decide what sort of guns you’re going to use. If you want to use mini-guns and machine guns take Guns, but if you want to use flamers and gatling lasers take Energy Weapon. Your ultimate goal is to get your hands on some Brotherhood Power Armor and the biggest, loudest weapon you can get your hands on.

• Strength: 7 
• Perception: 7 
• Endurance: 6 
• Charisma: 4 
• Intelligence: 7 
• Agility: 4 
• Luck: 5

Tagged Skills

• Guns or Energy Weapons 
• Explosives 
• Repair

Traits

• Fast Shot (if planning on using mini-guns)

Perks

• Rapid Reload 
• Educated 
• Hand Loader / Vigilant Recycler 
• Demolition Expert (up to three times) 
• Rad Resistance 
• Scrounger 
• Strong Back 
• Hit the Deck (if using explosives regularly) 
• Pyromaniac (if you’re planning on using fire weapons) 
• Splash Damage (if using explosives regularly) 
• Jury Rigging Tag! Science (if using energy weapons) 
• Meltdown (if using energy weapons) 
• Solar Powered Laser Commander (if using energy weapons) 
• Spray and Pray 
• Rad Absorption

How to play a tank build

Your perk progression here is heavily dependant upon how you’re going to play the game. If you are planning on using lasers then you’ll find Vigilant Recycler, Tag! Science, Meltdown and Laser Commander to be the most helpful. If you’re going to put a lot of effort into using Explosives, then take Hit the Deck and Splash Damage to tear through enemy offensives. But you’ll have to be careful because you will be prone to running out of ammo if you aren’t making good use of multiple skills. For example you can use Guns and Explosives (Rocket Launchers and Grenade Launchers) or abuse the crap out of a variety of Energy Weapons (even Flamers).

Even if you’re not planning on using too many explosives you’ll still want to put a good bit into the Explosives skill. Dealing with melee enemies will be made much easier indoors by using frag mines to line a path. This will prevent enemies from rushing you or in the least leave them entirely crippled by the time they reach you. Sneaking around with a Stealth Boy and laying down some mines can do amazing things.

Since you’re going to have to load up on weapons and armor you’ll want to do your best to minimize whatever else you’re carrying. By eliminating the need to carry Rad items you can sell these to fund your bullet addictions, Solar Powered will let you heal naturally while hiking through the Wasteland, Scrounger will net you lots of spare ammo you can sell for money / other ammunition and Strong Back helps you carry everything.

Partners

While you would normally want to have some close combat allies to back you up here it’s an incredibly bad idea here. This build can tear your followers to pieces if they aren’t careful. Instead, take Ed-E as well as a ranged human companion. While you will be vulnerable to enemies who rush you, like Nightkin, most enemies will be shredded by the fusillade of bullets they will face in coming at you.

Laser Gunner build

The Laser Gunner is probably one of the most powerful attackers in the game. A talented Energy Weapon user will absolutely shred through enemies, dealing more damage than a close range shotgun blast at extreme ranges with the right weapons. Plus it seems to have a fairly easy job of blowing through armor which will help you deal with the heavily armored troops that are running around in the late game.

With this in mind your primary focus is going to be on hitting enemies and hitting them in the vitals. Enemies die rather easily to laser weapons so you don’t have to put too much work into killing enemies just so long as you can actually hit them. Early on it’s in your best interest to stay close to enemies and bean them with shots to their limbs. Take out the legs of melee enemies while trying to injure the arms of ranged attackers to disarm them. Later on though you can just aim for enemies heads and absolutely decimate foes.

• Strength: 4 
• Perception: 7 
• Endurance: 5 
• Charisma: 6 
• Intelligence: 6 
• Agility: 6 
• Luck: 6

Tagged Skills

• Energy Weapons 
• Science 
• Barter or Repair (whatever you prefer to use to repair your weapons)

Traits

• Good Natured 
• Kamikaze

Perks

• Rapid Reload 
• Comprehension (to aid in ammunition crafting) 
• Vigilant Recycler 
• Commando 
• Scrounger 
• Finesse
• Jury Rigging 
• Meltdown 
• Better Criticals 
• Sniper 
• Robotics Expert 
• Action Boy / Girl 
• Grim Reaper’s Sprint 
• Laser Commander 
• Nerves of Steel

How to play Laser Gunner build

Pretty much the entire purpose of the perks for this character build are basically taken around two basic ideas: keeping your equipment at top functionality and inflicting lots of damage with your lasers. Vigilant Recycler and Scrounger will keep your ammo supplies fairly high while Jury Rigging will help keep your guns in top functionality. Most of the other perks that you’re taking will help you slaughter your enemies with devastating VATs attacks that will blow through enemy defenses.

In many ways this build works quite functionally like the Sniper build does with the main exception of this being a good deal more devastating. You’ll have a pretty easy time beaning enemies in the face with your laser blasts and they won’t survive too many of those as you get more and more deadly perks. If you can get your hands on a Gauss Rifle and pair it up with these perks then most enemies will be blown away easily, while the corona effect of Meltdown helps you kill off other enemies.

Partners 

With this build it’s quite easy to completely recommend Rex as your back up with this build. He will close to melee range and tear enemies up while you take shots at them from a distance. As for your human companion you can either take Cass along, since she can do melee reasonably well but also shoot if you don’t want her in melee, or Lily since she can tear through enemies like a hot knife through butter.

Non-violent build

Every now and again it’s fun to just want play a character that is about as non-violent as possible. Oh sure, it might not have the charm of finishing every battle with a slo-mo decapitation due to a shotgun blast to the face, but there’s something special about conning people out of their money or seducing everything on two legs. If you really want to experience all of the dialogue in the game this is the build for you.

Just remember that some of the dialogue trees will require certain skills at particular levels. So if you want to convince someone to hand over some explosives you’ll have to have a fairly high Explosives rating to talk them into it. As such it may be to your advantage to play through the game once, beating down all enemies in your path, and taking note of what skills you require in each conversation. Then simply raise up your stats to meet the requirements for each conversation and talk your way through life.

• Strength: 4 
• Perception: 5 
• Endurance: 4 
• Charisma: 9 
• Intelligence: 9 
• Agility: 5 
• Luck: 5

Tagged Skills

• Speech 
• Barter 
• Survival

Traits

• Good Natured 
• Four Eyes

Perks

• Intense Training +1 INT 
• Educated 
• Black Widow / Lady Killer 
• Cherchez La Femme / Confirmed Bachelor 
• Terrifying Presence 
• Animal Friend (Rank 2) 
• Tag! (Weapon skill of choice) 
• Comprehension 

How to play non-violent build

The main purpose of this build is to enable you to use basically every single dialogue option you can during the course of the game. If you can seduce someone into siding with you, use your speech to convince someone to pay you more caps and Terrifying Presence will let you intimidate your way through many encounters. Last but not least Animal Friend at Rank 2 will make the animals in the Wasteland take your side, acting as body shields against Deathclaws or Raiders.

For the rest of your perks it’s in your best interest to fixate completely on perks that will boost up the weapon skill of your choice. Consult the other various builds here to find out what perks can help you with each weapon type and then just focus entirely on that. It’s very possible to make, for example, a chatty negotiator who picks up some Brotherhood Power Armor and a Super Sledge when it comes time to bash in some faces.

Partners

Boone, Veronica.

Stealth build

A build like this has one purpose and one purpose alone: to get into places nobody wanted you to get. Stealing things, sneaking up on enemies for criticals or just using your stealth to assassinate the crap out of your enemies are just secondary to getting where you’re not supposed to be. It’s actually possible with a talented enough build to get into enemy compounds, complete your objective and then get out without killing any enemies.

When it comes to actually fighting enemies you’ve got a few options. If you choose to go melee you can sneak up on enemies and chop at a vulnerable spot, like their legs. With guns you can just shoot them in the back of the head with a silenced weapon to take them out quickly. But really if you’re going sneaky you might as well enjoy it – get your hands on as many explosive munitions as you can. Set mines in the path of enemies, plop ticking explosives into an enemy’s pocket and just generally blow them to pieces.

• Strength: 4 
• Perception: 7 
• Endurance: 4 
• Charisma: 5 
• Intelligence: 7 
• Agility: 7 (+1 from Small Frame) 
• Luck: 7

Tagged Skills

• Sneak 
• Science 
• Speech

Traits

• Small Frame 
• Good Natured

Perks

• Friend of the Night 
• Travel Light 
• Demolition Expert 
• The Professional 
• Gunslinger 
• Quick Draw 
• Finesse 
• Night Person 
• Hit the Deck 
• Robotics Expert 
• Silent Running 
• Splash Damage 
• Light Step 
• Tag! Guns or Energy Weapons
• Laser Commander (if using Energy Weapons) 
• Infiltrator

How to play Stealth Build

Taking a look at this build you can clearly see one of the primary purposes of the perks: making you an absolute beast at night. Friend of the Night makes it easier for you to see during the nighttime hours which are when you should be actively moving around the Wasteland or dungeons. Night Person will help you with this as well by making it easier for you to detect enemies and shoot them from a good distance or sneak past them.

Other than that you’re basically focusing on making sure you character excels at using his small gun to destroy enemies. Sneaking up on enemies with the Silenced Sub-Machine Gun can do wonderful things especially if you’re capable of landing critical hits with any reliability. That and making sure that using your explosives will utterly devastate every enemy you hit, notably when you’re using mines.

Travel Light and Silent Running will make it much easier for you to get around the world. Since you’ll be wearing light armor most of the time anyways Travel Light will help you move around rapidly. When Travel Light is paired up with Silent Running this will allow you to move around rapidly while making no sound which makes it easier to get past enemies without having to even bother fighting them.

Partners 

Since you’ll be rolling solo so much in order to stay hidden, a character with a passive ability outside of combat like Arcade or Raul works well.

Hardcore build

This is a build meant to ease the burden of playing on Hardcore mode. There is an achievement / trophy wrapped up in completing it so this should help out. Note that you don’t need a build particularly suited to playing on Hardcore difficulty, you just need to play a bit smarter, but this will make it a whole lot less painful.

The main point of this build is to make you mostly dependant on yourself. With a high Survival you can hunt animals and turn them into better food at campsites which removes your need to carry quite as much food. Pick between Guns and Energy Weapons as your primary source of offense as melee combat is a bit too dangerous. Lastly you’ll want Barter so that when you bring all those animal skins and looted equipment back to town you can buy enough stuff to resupply for another trip into the Wasteland.

• Strength: 5 
• Perception: 5 
• Endurance: 6 
• Charisma: 5 
• Intelligence: 7 
• Agility: 6 
• Luck: 5

Tagged Skills

• Survival 
• Guns / Energy Weapons 
• Barter

Traits

• Good Natured 
• Trigger Discipline

Perks

• Hunter 
• Educated 
• Hand Loader 
• Lead Belly 
• Gunslinger or Commando (as your weapon choice) 
• Pack Rat 
• Rad Resistance 
• Scrounger 
• Strong Back 
• Animal Friend (Should take 2 Ranks) 
• Adamantium Skeleton 
• Jury Rigging 
• Tag! (Repair) 
• Solar Powered 
• Spray and Pray

How to play in Hardcore mode

This is probably one of the most fun character types to play as you really feel like you’re living the life of a Mojave Wastelander. Each Perk fills a particular niche: Hunter makes it easier to get food by killing enemies, Educated gives extra skill points and so on. The most important ones are probably Pack Rat and Strong Back as these let you carry extra weight. Also having Adamantium Skeleton makes it so that you need less limb recovery. Lastly once you have Solar Powered you will need less healing items during the day.

Since ammunition has weight in Hardcore mode you’ll want to approach this in a more intelligent manner. Break down as much of your ammunition as you like into its components and sell everything else. Only ever keep one or two types of ammunition on you for very particular weapons. Carrying .308 and .357 rounds for a Hunting / Sniper Rifle and a Cowboy Repeater isn’t a bad idea.

For this reason going with Energy Weapons is almost suggested more than regular guns. Since there are only three or so types of ammunition for energy weapons you can carry two or three different guns but only need to worry about a few different types of ammo.

Regardless of how you do it, it’s suggested that you keep each weapon stocked with a different type of ammo. So keep your rapid fire weapons stocked with basic ammo, your sniper weapon stocked with Hollow Points if going for head shots or armor penetrators / Max Charge if going for body shots and keep your close range weapons stocked with armor penetrators / Overcharge. This allows you to change guns to suit each situation you end up in while also automatically equipping the ammo that best helps in said situation.

Ultimate starting build

This one is called the “ultimate” starting build because it gives you a whole hell of a lot of benefits early on in the game. Very few of the other builds are going to be as well rounded as this one due to how the game works. If you’re not exactly excited about playing with these stats / tagged skills then all you have to do is re-spec your character when you go to leave Goodsprings as these three skills are basically designed to let you fully complete all of the missions in Goodsprings before moving on.

The main point of this build is that with the super high Intelligence. This will give you a lot of skill points to distribute for the first few levels you can gain during the prologue part of the game. If you level up twice you can gain 30 skill points before leaving the first town so you can raise up three skills rather significantly or just boost a whole bunch of others. Taking Swift Learner speeds this up immensely and allows you to more or less max out your character in rather short order.

There is only one thing to be aware of – many perks ask for 6’s or 7’s in particular SPECIAL traits. You can use the Intense Training perk to meet these requirements but this should be done sparingly. Instead it’s heavily suggested you find all of the snow globes, trade them in to Mr. House and use that money to purchase Implants at the New Vegas Medical Center for about 4,000 caps a piece. If you still don’t meet the requirements to take a perk then you can consider taking Intense Training.

• Strength: 5 
• Perception: 5 
• Endurance: 5 
• Charisma: 5 
• Intelligence: 10 
• Agility: 5 
• Luck: 5

Tagged Skills

• Speech 
• Barter 
• Explosives

Traits

• Good Natured 
• Wild Wasteland

Perks

There are no real set perks for this build. Instead you should look at the perks for the type of character you want to play and use those as a suggested list. So if you wanted to play a sniper you would take from that list or if you wanted to play a more talkative type you would take from the Wasteland Negotiator build. As your SPECIAL stats aren’t as important as your skill levels you can basically play whatever character you want with this starting build with no difficulty. This goes double for your partners – take the ones that compliment your skill build.

The only real suggestions are Retention, Comprehension and Educated. By taking these two perks you will be able to make very good use of the skill books in the game, allowing them to last for a good, long time and making them incredibly powerful. Using these will allow you to fill in any gaps in your skills as well as making you very powerful in and out of combat.

Also you might want to consider taking Nerd Rage if you’re planning on making a melee character as that skill is ridiculously powerful. This and a few other changes can make for some very powerful melee character. Take Nerd Rage, Chemist and Chem Resistant and then go into melee with some Buffout, Med-X and Psycho when your health is below 50% and just watch as you tear through enemies with your nerd monster.

Fallout: New Vegas Super Review | Companion Character Guide | Snow Globe Guide

While there is no new Fallout game on the near horizon – what with Bethesda busy working on Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6 – you could try jumping into Fallout 76, the ever-evolving MMO for PC and console. 

The post Fallout New Vegas character builds appeared first on Game News.

LIGHT SPOILER WARNING: In order to give you an idea of whether or not each faction is worth joining, we’ve listed the rewards for completing each faction’s main questline. These rewards may contain very light spoilers, depending on how much you read into them. Also note that you can be a member of all factions simultaneously without any conflict, with the exception being the Imperials and Stormcloaks where you will have to pick a side.

Skyrim cheats (opens in new tab) | Best Skyrim mods (opens in new tab) | How to install Skyrim mods (opens in new tab) | Best Skyrim companions (opens in new tab) | Skyrim armor (opens in new tab) | Skyrim perks (opens in new tab) | Skyrim enchanting guide (opens in new tab) | Skyrim alchemy guide (opens in new tab) | Skyrim hidden chest locations (opens in new tab) | Skyrim hidden quest locations (opens in new tab) | Skyrim Black Books guide (opens in new tab) | Skyrim Daedric Quest guide (opens in new tab)

The Companions

Location
The Companions have set up shop in Jorrvaskr, the large hall found in the eastern part of Whiterun.

How to join
The Companions will probably be the first faction you discover. On your way to Whiterun you’ll encounter a few warriors fighting a giant. If you speak to one of these warriors after the fight, they’ll tell you about the Companions and suggest you speak to Kodlak Whitemane in Whiterun. Once you do that, you’ll be given the “Take Up Arms” quest. Engage Vilkas in a training exercise behind Jorrvaskr, making sure to use a physical weapon (or a bound weapon), because Vilkas won’t accept magic. Finish up this quest and the Achievement/Trophy will pop, signifying your initiation.

Benefits
Once you’ve joined the Companions, you’ll have access to trainers who can help you level up in most of the warrior skills (archery, one-handed, two-handed, smithing, heavy armor, and block) in exchange for gold. You’ll also find some decent warrior-related equipment as you complete the main and side quests. Another important benefit is the eventual introduction to werewolves, and access to a sub-faction of the Companions called “The Circle” (see section below for details). As a member, you’ll gain the power to turn into a werewolf yourself.

By joining this faction you’ll earn the “Take Up Arms” Achievement/Trophy.

Rewards
You’ll get a fairly powerful two-handed axe called Wuuthrad during the final main quest, provided you remember to grab it after you put in the hands of the statue. The damage output will scale up depending on the level and skill you are at when you obtain it. This axe is especially powerful against elves and can be enchanted. Finishing the main questline will also allow you to marry several of the Companions, if you wish.

The Circle

Location
The Underforge, a secret cave accessible through a secret entrance in the rocks near Jarrvaskr. You cannot enter the Underforge before taking on the quest involving it.

Benefits
You’ll be able to transform into a werewolf once per day using a power listed as “Beastform.” In werewolf form you have more health, more stamina, more speed, greater strength, and can roar to make enemies flee. In exchange, you cannot loot, use spells, use items, or talk to anyone. You’ll also be attacked or feared by anyone who sees you (beware of silver), but any crimes you commit will not count against you once you’ve changed back. However, be careful not to be seen while transforming, as that does count as a serious crime. You can stay in wolf form for at least two and a half minutes – longer if you feed on corpses. Finally, once you join the circle you no longer get any benefit from being well rested.

By joining this faction you’ll earn the “Blood Oath” Achievement/Trophy.

How to join
The Circle is a sub-faction of the Companions. Once you’ve joined the Companions, continue through the main questline until you get to “The Silver Hand.” During this quest you will transform into a werewolf if you choose to do so. After your night on the town as a beast, talk to Aela and the achievement/trophy will pop.

Rewards
The ability to transform into a kick-ass werewolf once per day. What more could you want?

The College of Winterhold

Location
You can access the college from Winterhold, which can be found at the northeastern corner of Skyrim. You’ll eventually come across this location during the main storyline, but mage builds looking to level up quickly will want to make the journey early on in the game.

How to join
At the north end of Winterhold, there are some stone steps leading to the college. A Dunmer named Faralda will be there at first to greet you and block your path. Talk to her and tell her you want to join the college. She’ll then ask you to perform a magic spell to prove your worth. If at this point you don’t have any spells, she’ll sell you one for 30 gold. You can even convince her to accept you based on your shout. Once you’ve done what she asks, you’ll have access to the college and the Achievement/Trophy will pop.

Benefits
Joining the college will give you access to full range of trainers in all the different types of magic. This is extremely beneficial once you have the gold to afford it. These trainers also sell spell books, either right off the bat or after certain faction-related quests. The main and side quests associated with the college will take you to areas where you can find some spell books and skill books, and the loot found is often mage-centric apparel or staffs.

By joining this faction you’ll earn the “Gatekeeper” Achievement/Trophy.

Rewards
The reward for completing the main questline is the key to the Arch-Mage’s headquarters and the valuable Arch-Mage’s Robes. These robes increase your magicka by 50 points, reduce the cost of all spells by 15%, and boosts your magicka regeneration rate by 100%. This combined with the Morokei mask (which you can get during the Staff of Magnus quests and which also boosts your magicka regeneration rate by 100%) makes the rest of the game significantly easier for magic users. Finally, you’ll receive a permanent 10% discount when dealing with any vendors inside the college.

The Dark Brotherhood

Location
The entrance to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary is a black door in the southwest corner of Skyrim, just west of Falkreath. Unless you’ve completed the steps below, however, you won’t be able to open it.

Benefits
Unlike some of the other factions, joining the Dark Brotherhood won’t give you access to many trainers. You’ll only be able to level up your Light Armor with Nazir and your Alchemy with Babette. However, immediately upon joining you’ll be given the fantastic Shrouded Armor set:

Shrouded Armor: 32 defense, increases poison resistance by 50%
Shrouded Boots: 9 defense, silences your movements
Shrouded Cowl: 14 defense, 20% boost to bow damage
Shrouded Gloves: 9 defense, doubles backstab damage

Carrying out the assassinations quietly will naturally increase many of your skills, though it requires you to have some skill already. Also, the Dark Brotherhood quests are usually just plain fun.

By joining this faction you’ll earn the “With Friends Like These” Achievement/Trophy.

How to join
There are several ways to get started with the Dark Brotherhood using only information heard from NPCs. You can speak to any innkeeper or bartender and ask for rumors or gossip. You can find Maul in Riften and persuade/intimidate/bribe him for info. You can go directly to Windhelm (your goal) and look for Idesa Sadri on the streets. The objective is to hear about a young boy named Aventus Aretino.

Alternatively, you can circumvent all of that by simply heading directly to the Aretino residence in Windhelm. Pick the lock on the front door, enter the house, and find Aventus upstairs. He’ll give you the “Innocence Lost” quest. After you’ve completed it, find a bed to sleep in, and you’ll be awoken by a member of the Dark Brotherhood.

After you’ve completed her task, exit the shack and head towards the sanctuary, which will now be marked on the southwest corner of your map. Approach the Black Door found at that location and answer it’s riddle with “Silence, my brother.” Once inside, speak to Astrid. After doing so, an Achievement/Trophy should pop, signifying your entry into the Dark Brotherhood.

Note: If all else fails, the Dark Brotherhood will seek you out after you’ve killed enough innocent people.

Rewards
At the end of the second to last main quest, you can obtain (legitimately) The Blade of Woe, a powerful dagger that absorbs 10 points of health with each hit. The damage output will scale up depending on the level and skill you are at when you obtain it. You’ll also net 20,000 gold for finishing the main questline, which is nothing to scoff at, especially early on in the game.

The Thieves Guild

Location
The Ragged Flagon tavern located under Riften, a city in the southeastern corner of Skyrim. Look for a gate underneath the central plaza of the city to find the entrance to the Ratway, which leads to the tavern.

Benefits
Once you’ve joined the Thieves Guild, you’ll have access to trainers who can help you level up in most of the thiefy skills (pickpocket, lockpicking, sneak, and archery) in exchange for gold. You’ll also obtain several weapons and armors throughout the quests that buff thief skills like sneaking, lockpicking etc. If you have a stealth build, you should seek out the Thieves Guild as soon as possible to claim these rewards, which make the rest of the game much easier.

By joining this faction you’ll earn the “Taking Care of Business” Achievement/Trophy.

How to join
Go to Riften, located in the southeast corner of Skyrim, and look for Brynjolf. Talk to him and start the “A Chance Agreement” quest. Complete this little quest (make sure to save throughout, since it involves sneaking and pickpocketing) then head through the Ratway under the city to reach the Ragged Flagon. Talk to Byrnjolf inside the tavern and complete “Taking Care of Business” to join the guild and pop the Achievement/Trophy.

Rewards
When you become Guild Master, Brynjolf will give you the Amulet of Articulation, which grants you instant success at any persuasion attempt and increases speechcraft depending on the level you are at when you receive it. Tonila will give you the Guild Master’s Armor set:

Guild Master’s Armor: 38 defense, +50 carry weight
Guild Master’s Boots: 11 defense, increases pickpocket success by 35%
Guild Master’s Gloves: 11 defense, improves lockpicking by 35%
Guild Master’s Hood: 16 armor, improves prices by 20%

You’ll also have access to three different Nightingale roles at the very end of the main questline, which you can change as you please after each day. Here are the roles, each of which grants a special power:

Agent of Subterfuge: Casts frenzy on any single enemy regardless of their level
Agent of Strife: Absorbs 100 health from an enemy
Agent of Shadow: You can turn invisible for two minutes

Finally, as guildmaster, all fences that you’ve discovered (NPCs that will buy stolen goods from you) increase their buying allowance from 1000 gold per day to 4000.

Imperial Army and the Stormcloaks

The Imperials and the Stormcloaks are in the middle of a massive civil war, a fact you’ll discover almost immediately upon starting Skyrim. Choosing a side can be a tough decision, but rest assured you’ll earn the same Achievements regardless of which faction you join. There’s also no real item advantage to either side, so don’t worry about missing out on some incredible sword or jewelry. As a matter of fact, the weapons and armor you receive as quest rewards are usually leveled, which means their stats scale to match whatever your current level is at the moment of collection.

That just leaves story as the determining factor. Are you the type who loves decimating rebel scum? Or do you prefer toppling your rulers because you think you know better? If you’re dying to see both outcomes, create a save file just before you make a decision, then load and try joining the other side.

Once you’ve joined either faction you’ll earn the “Taking Sides” Achievement/Trophy.

Stormcloaks

You can join up by visiting the headquarters in Windhelm, found in eastern edge of Skyrim. After you complete the “Joining the Stormcloaks” mission, you’ll have the opportunity to recite an oath to Galmar. Doing so cements your decision to join the Stormcloaks, so if you’re having second thoughts, now is your chance to back out.

Imperial Army

You can join up by visiting the headquarters in Solitude, found in the northwest corner of Skyrim. After you complete the first quest labeled “Joining the Legion,” you’ll have the chance to recite the Imperial oath to Tullius. Doing so cements your decision to join the Imperials, so if you’re having second thoughts, now is your chance to back out.

Bard’s College

The Bard’s College is just east of Solitude, which can be found in the northwestern corner of Skyrim. This is a minor faction, but well worth your time. After completing the first quest called “Tending the Flames,” you will receive upon completion of each subsequent quest an instant +1 to six of your skills. For example, after completing “Finn’s Lute,” Finn will give you +1 in Light Armor, Sneak, Pickpocket, Lockpicking, Alchemy, and Speech. There are two additional quests that cover the remaining skills.

The Blades

The Blades can be found in Sky Haven Temple. Unfortunately, you cannot reach this location until after you complete the main story quest called “Alduin’s Wall.” Once you meet Delphine, you can bring any follower to her and she’ll “recruit” them. These recruits will still be your followers, but they will now live in Sky Haven Temple and be able to equip the powerful Blades armor and weapons.

If you bring three followers for recruiting into the Blades, Esbern will start marking on your map the locations of dragons, one at a time. Once you’ve killed the dragon, return to Esbern and he’ll mark another. If he won’t give up the next one, wait at least three days and try again.

The Greybeards

The Greybeards reside in High Hrothgar, found on the tallest mountain in Skyrim. You’ll eventually get here if you follow the main questline of the game, but if you want to go early, look for the massive set of stairs leading up the mountain that start in Ivarstead.

Provided you’ve completed the main story quest called “The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller,” you can talk to Arngeir and ask him to mark a location on your map of a single undiscovered Word Wall. You can repeat this after each discovery until all the walls have been found. If he won’t give up the next one, wait at least three days then try again.

The post The best Skyrim Factions and Guilds to join appeared first on Game News.

All you need to get the best Mortal Shell weapons is to find the altar with a book on it at the beginning of the three dungeons, then interact with it. After a small and somewhat creepy cutscene, you’ll be able to fight against Hadern, who you probably remember from the tutorial. If you can best him, then you’ll unlock the weapon he is using. All you need to do then is pick it up from the statue next to the book, and you can even make the weapons stronger by finding specific items and using them at an anvil.

The Best Weapons in Mortal Shell

There’s good news and bad news here. There’s not really one best Mortal Shell weapon that’s better than any of the others. Instead, each one offers up different strengths and weaknesses. There will, however, definitely be one weapon that you favor above the others, and that’s why it’s so important that you try and unlock them all as soon as you can so you can find ‘the one’.

When you do, you can pour all of your resources into that one weapon and will really help you out as you get to some of the tougher fights. We’ve given you a description of each of the four (and a half) weapons down below, so you can read about them and find out which one is for you. 

1. Hallowed Blade

The Hallowed Blade is the first weapon you’ll come across in Mortal Shell. You pick it up from the statue inside of the tutorial. These statues are the ones that will hold the weapons you unlock until you’ve equipped them once. The blade itself is a pretty decent weapon. It has good striking speed and damage, which makes it quite powerful when you’re going up against some of the smaller enemies. However, due to its balanced nature, it’s unlikely to be your favorite weapon. 

It has two special attacks, as do all the weapons, and you have to find the upgrades to unlock them. The first upgrade, the Mechanical Spike, can be found in a chest in the Grisha cave in front of Fallgrim Tower. This makes a giant spike come out of the bottom of your sword which you then ram into an enemy for massive damage. 

The second upgrade is the Molten Spike, which has the same general attack but also inflicts burning. This can only be found once you’ve caused The Mist to descend by beating one of the bosses. You can find it within a Frog Chest in the big camp within a valley in Fallgrim. 

2. Smoldering Mace

The Smoldering Mace is a long weapon that uses wide swings to take out enemies. You can unlock it by beating Hadern at the beginning of the Temple Grounds area. It’s a little slow on the wind-up, but the striking speed itself is actually quite good. It’s an excellent choice if you’re fighting against groups of enemies, and it only gets better when you unlock the special attacks. 

The first one, unlocked by using the Foundry Stone, unleashes an AoE attack that deals excellent damage and also sets enemies on fire. You can find this item inside a tomb that can be found right after the second room in the Temple Grounds. 

The second ability is unlocked by using the Awakened Stone. This ability sets the mace on fire and causes every strike to inflict burning on whatever the mace hits. You can find it in the Monument of Ash, in a tomb on the bridge that leads to the Sanctum of fire. 

3. Martyr’s Blade

The Martyr’s Blade is the slowest of all of the weapons. However, it also deals the most damage per strike, and it has a very long reach to boot. It’s good against nearly everything you’ll come up against but only if you can master the timing of it. You can unlock it by beating Hadern at the beginning of the Abandoned Chamber. 

The first upgrade is the Petrified Winterglass, which causes the blade to be coated in ice and gives your strikes the ability to freeze enemies.  You can find it through a hole on the right-hand side of the third room of the Abandoned Chamber on top of a tomb.  

The second upgrade comes from using the Radiant Winterglass. This gives you the ability to unleash a massive AoE attack that freezes enemies for a little bit. You can find it in the Enshrined Sanctum just after the Enslaved Grisha fight. Cross the bridge there and head down and then explore the back end of the room to find it. 

4. Hammer and Chisel

You can get the Hammer and CHisel by defeating Hadern in the Eternal Narthex. It’s the fastest weapon by far, but also does the least damage. However, it can also inflict poison on enemies, which makes it a good choice if you like to take fights slowly. It’s much better against single targets but offsets this when you unlock the first ability. 

The first ability is gained via the Perfumed Censer. This ability lets you spin forwards and shoot out nails to attack the surrounding area. It’s an excellent ability for clearing a cluster of enemies. You can find this censer in the left-hand area of Eternal Narthex behind a torch guarded by one of the ranged enemies. 

The second ability lets you smash the chisel at far away enemies and deals absurd damage. You unlock it by using the Foul Censer which you find within the Shifting Archives. Just before the boss is a hidden teleporter among the tablets, take the teleporter to pick up this item. 

5. Ballistazooka

The final weapon is probably the showiest of all. It’s not a main weapon, but one that you can wield as long as you have ammo. To unlock the Ballistazooka, you need to buy the Tools from Vlas at Fallgrim Tower for 8,000 Tar. 

Once you’ve done that, you can head to the anvil where it rests on the first floor of Fallgrim Tower and fix it. From then on, you can use it as long as you have Large Bolts. These can be purchased from Vlas for 800 Tar, but they also occasionally drop from some enemies. 

The weapon itself is a ranged one, and it’s a great choice for picking off troublesome foes without risking your own health. It’s a bit slow though, so be prepared for that wind-up. 

The post The best Mortal Shell weapons and the locations to find them appeared first on Game News.

finally_made_it_to_high_hrothgar from r/skyrim

Sadly, fate had other plans for Nordique. Not one to wallow in shock or disappointment, our hero quickly descended Hrothgar and wound up in a bar in Whiterun (opens in new tab) with “a nice fellow named Sam.” It was at this point I was lucky enough to flag him down for a brief chat about his latest adventures and his big realization. 

GamesRadar: It’s been a few days since we’ve heard from you! What have you been up to? 

Nordique Arrow-knee: I’ve been trying to make heads or tails out of what happened. One second I was having a drinking contest with Sam and the next thing I remember is waking up on the other side of Skyrim. Until I figure out what damage I caused I thought it best to remain silent on the matter.

GR: I see. It sounds like that’ll make a memorable story once you can put it all together. 

It’s my understanding you reached a big realization shortly before meeting with Sam. How have the events at Hrothgar affected your plans and ambitions for the future?

NA: Ah yes, the 7,000 steps and High Hrothgar… truth be told I had no idea what I’d do if I were the Dragonborn of legend, so in a way I was relieved that I wasn’t, as my adventuring days were long behind me and I’ve since followed in the footsteps of my father and my forefathers by becoming a guard.

GR: The city is lucky to have you. By the by, were you aware that your efforts were acknowledged by a higher power of sorts?

To the Reddit user currently roleplaying in Skyrim as a Whiterun Guard: we see you.Thank you for your hard work, Nordique Arrow-Knee. You may not be Dragonborn, but you do not need to capture Dragon souls to be able to capture our hearts. pic.twitter.com/bwoa4WjIFbAugust 4, 2021

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NA: Yes, it was brought to my attention and I’ve been quite ecstatic since I saw. It makes me wonder if I’ve achieved CHIM (opens in new tab) like that Vivec fellow.

GR: I can’t think of anyone more deserving. Tell me Nordique, what wisdom have you gained in your multi-year journey that you’ll carry into your new post as a guard?

NA: I’ve learned many things, but arguably one of the more important is that Skyrim may belong to the Nords, but it’s the people (be it Man, Mer or Beastfolk) that make it what it is.

GR: Wise words, to be sure. To close, can I ask what you would say to guards or even aspiring heroes who are wondering if they might be Dragonborn?

NA: Invest in some good knee protection otherwise you’ll be joining the guard sooner than you’d like. 

Skyrim players continue to do cool stuff: meet the VR enthusiast who spent $15,000 to make the game as immersive as possible.

The post Meet the Skyrim fan who finally reached High Hrothgar after role-playing a guard for years appeared first on Game News.

As catalogued by Reddit (opens in new tab), the official Guerilla Jobs Twitter account (opens in new tab) recently posted about a job listing for a Senior AI Programmer “who can make a difference in the design and implementation of the systems that make our NPCs come to life”, using the #PS5 hashtag alongside the link to the vacancy. 

[Screenshot] Guerrilla Games tweeted out a job post with the #PS5 hashtag before deleting and re-tweeting anew, suggesting again that Horizon 2 will be a next-gen only game from r/PS5

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PS5 specs (opens in new tab) – what’s inside the next-generation PlayStation console?

The Tweet no longer exists, but the remaining screenshots of the post do indeed suggest that Guerrilla is hard at work on a potentially exclusive title for Sony’s next-gen console, which is slated to launch later this year, provided there’s no PS5 delay (opens in new tab) brought about by current lockdown measures around the globe. 

Previous clues have indeed provided further evidence that a sequel to Guerrilla’s 2017 open world hit is in the works, with older job listings (opens in new tab) even suggest Horizon Zero Dawn 2 could include more online or multiplayer elements alongside its story-based campaign. 

While it’s anyone’s guess as to how far along development of the project is, the latest rumours imply that PlayStation isn’t far off from unveiling more details about the PS5 (opens in new tab), including the upcoming slate of PS5 launch games (opens in new tab). Could Horizon Zero Dawn 2 be one of them? Not long till we find out now…

For more, check out more upcoming PS4 games (opens in new tab) for 2019 and beyond, or watch our latest episode of Dialogue Options below. 

The post Guerrilla Games used the PS5 hashtag in a job listing tweet, then deleted it appeared first on Game News.

In response to the latest Xbox Series X specs news (opens in new tab) for Microsoft’s next-gen console, The Witcher 3 (opens in new tab) studio stated in a tweet that “gamers should never be forced to purchase the same game twice or pay for upgrades.” 

Thus the upcoming sci-fi RPG will be playable on Xbox Series X as a free “upgrade” for those who already own Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox One, “when available”. 

Gamers should never be forced to purchase the same game twice or pay for upgrades. Owners of #Cyberpunk2077 for Xbox One will receive the Xbox Series X upgrade for free when available. https://t.co/nfkfFLj85wFebruary 24, 2020

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Xbox Series X: 10 things we learned from the latest Phil Spencer reveal post (opens in new tab)

What’s less clear is whether this “upgrade” is simply the backwards compatible version of Cyberpunk 2077 on current gen consoles, or a fully fledged next-gen port developed specifically for the Xbox Series X and its direct competitor, the PS5 (opens in new tab). 

CDPR has already stated that Cyberpunk 2077 won’t be available (opens in new tab) on either of those upcoming consoles when they launch this Holiday, and when contacted by GamesRadar, the studio explained it had nothing more to share at this time. 

Meanwhile, Microsoft has confirmed that “four generations” of Xbox games will be compatible with the Xbox Series X, with its Smart Delivery technology ensuring that “you only have to purchase a title once in order to play the best available version for whichever Xbox console they choose to play on.” 

We’ll keep you update if we hear anything more but, for now, here’s how to pre-order Cyberpunk 2077 (opens in new tab) to guarantee your launch day copy on PC, PS4, and/or Xbox One.  

For more, check out more upcoming PS4 games (opens in new tab) for 2020 and beyond, or watch our latest episode of Dialogue Options below. 

The post Cyberpunk 2077 Xbox Series X version free to Xbox One owners of the game “when available” appeared first on Game News.

This version of Professor Oak sports long hair, funky sunglasses, and an accompanying goatee to complete his, uh, “look”, and is here to help you navigate all of Pokemon Home’s new features, including the ability to transfer Pokemon caught from previous games into Pokemon Sword and Shield (opens in new tab).

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New Pokemon Home details confirm more trade and transfer features (opens in new tab)

Some have suggested that the appearance of Grand Oak is developer Niantic’s way of communicating that the game exists in an entirely separate universe (opens in new tab) to the rest of the Pokemon games; sort of like a meta-dimension ruled by an all-seeing, all-knowing deity… one who just happens to enjoy wearing neon green arrow-shades. 

Grand Oak introduces himself as “the great Pokemon researcher” in Pokemon Home, but that’s all we really know about him so far. And while Professor Oak’s own cousin, Samson, did appear in Pokemon Sun and Moon (opens in new tab), it’s unclear how Grand Oak is related to either of these famed Poke-academics, or if he even bears any relation at all. 

It’s likely that future updates to Pokemon Home, and indeed the release of more Pokemon sequels, will reveal more about this mysterious figure but, right now, he’s basically a walking amalgam of the crazy uncle that ruins your family’s Christmas dinner each and every year. 

For more, here’s everything you need to know about Pokemon Home Premium pricing (opens in new tab), or watch our latest episode of Dialogue Options below.  

The post Pokemon Home launches with a new Professor Oak, and Pokefans are freaking out appeared first on Game News.

Officially announcing the news on Twitter (opens in new tab), Rockstar confirmed that players simply need to log in to the Rockstar Games Launcher, pre-purchase Red Dead Redemption 2, and hit “Pre-Load” to begin downloading the game’s data onto their PC. 

On top of that, Rockstar has also released a new trailer that showcases the graphical improvements of the PC version, which you can check out here. 

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11 Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC ideas that would make the west even wilder (opens in new tab)

The game, which released on PS4 and Xbox One this time last year, will take up around 110GB on your desktop, and the full Red Dead Redemption 2 PC requirements can be found here to check whether your rig will be able to run it in the first place. 

Though the sequel is available via other storefronts, including Steam and the Epic Games Store, Rockstar hasn’t confirmed when and whether preloading will be available outside of its own online platform too. In the meantime, check out the port’s full trailer here to find out exactly how far Rockstar has pushed the game’s horsepower for the new platform. 

If you do pre-order Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC, you’ll also be able to pick two free Rockstar titles to download in addition, with the selection including Grand Theft Auto 3, Bully: Scholarship Edition, L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition, and Max Payne 3: The Complete Edition. 

For more, check out these Red Dead Redemption 2 cheats (opens in new tab) to prepare for the impending wave of mods for the game’s PC port, or watch the video below for our latest episode of Dialogue Options.

The post You can preload Red Dead Redemption 2 PC right now on the Rockstar Games Launcher appeared first on Game News.

Focus on the right skills

First of all, it’s important to recognize the entire breadth of skills in the game. While it’s easy to commit to one-handed swordsmanship or Destruction magic, it’s essential that you remember the likes of Sneak, Alchemy, and Lockpicking. A lot of these skills can be levelled passively, so you’ll likely net some nice experience by simply playing the game. However, sometimes you need to consciously level these utility skills if you’re trying to level up fast overall.

This is because each skill has its own level value, which contributes to your overall character level. Every skill can be levelled to 100, at which point you can choose to make it “Legendary,” which resets it to 15 and gives you all the skill points you invested in perks back. For every individual skill level you gain, you’ll get overall levelling experience. It’s easy to dismiss your character’s level as relatively unimportant, given that perks are only tied to individual skill levels, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

Every character level you gain will net you a skill point and an increase to either Health, Stamina, or Magicka. Because of this, grinding utility skills can give you five skill points and 50 points of health in no time. Even if you don’t touch any combat skills, this automatically turns you into a far more formidable foe. It’s kind of like indirect combat levelling, because you’re getting stat buffs and extra perks, without gaining specific combat knowledge.

Some skills are far better than others when it comes to power-levelling like this. While a lot of levelling boils down to carrying out actions at the right time, you can exploit the experience system by repeatedly casting spells, or staying in a crouched position while you make your way through a dungeon. For example, Muffle is an Illusion spell you can get early in the game that quietens your footsteps. While this is useful in many situations, particularly if you’re wearing heavy armour and need to sneak around, you can also just continuously cast this while walking through a town. It’s not necessary and likely won’t have any effect at all, but you’ll gain tons of Illusion experience, which means netting a rake of skill points and stat boosts. 

Smithing & Enchanting can provide a lot of experience points

Smithing/Enchanting is another combination well worth investing in. If you buy leather strips and iron ingots, you’ll be able to craft iron daggers at a blacksmith’s forge. Iron daggers aren’t worth much, so you’ll be operating at a loss initially, but if you’ve got a good amount of soul gems you can enchant them and drastically increase their worth. The best way to get these is to buy a plethora of empty soul gems at an alchemist’s and fill them using a weapon with a soul trap enchantment, which allows you to claim the souls of the foes you kill.

Once you’ve got lots of filled gems, you can bring any piece of weaponry or armour to an enchanting table and assign it magical properties. Return to the blacksmith’s, sell off your magical daggers, and fill up on strips and ingots all over again. You’ll have 100 Enchanting and 100 Smithing before you know it, and your Speech should get a nice boost too from all the trading. As a nice byproduct, you’ll also be able to don some powerful, enchanted armour and wield magical weapons, so you’ll have a much easier time grinding combat skills from here on out too.

Fight high level enemies

Once you’ve got decent gear and a deep pool of health and stamina, you’ll want to start grappling with high-HP enemies to get the most bang for your buck. Dragons are obviously a good foe to farm, as they’ve got a massive amount a health. You can find them at all the overlooks dotted across Skyrim, usually guarding a Word of Power and a Master Chest. However, dragons also spawn randomly across the entire map, to the extent that you’ll likely encounter lots of them just wandering through the wilderness.

When it comes to combat, you’ll want to be targeting individual skills to level up. There’s no point in wailing on a giant with a two-handed warhammer and whipping out a barrage of fiery Destruction magic at the end. Dual-cast spells, use a greatsword, soak up damage with an enchanted shield – you can train whatever skill you want once you’re committed to that particular skill. The best way to level up fast is to level up smart, and juggling combat styles will net you versatility in the long run, but will fill your quest to become the fabled Dragonborn with unnecessary tedium in the moment. 

Although all of the above tactics work wonders for power-levelling, perhaps the most important thing to remember is the necessity of exploration. If you’re only following the main quest, you’ll become under-levelled pretty quickly. As a result, you’ll spend your time guzzling health potions just to make it through the first area of a dungeon. To level up fast, you need to do side quests, faction storylines, and just wander into random caves from time to time. Sure, there might be a group of vampires in there waiting to ambush you, but they’ll give you experience you wouldn’t get otherwise. It’s very easy to play a streamlined Skyrim, so you often need to remember just how wild and wonderful its world is. Also, if you spent a while casting Muffle and selling enchanted Iron daggers, you’ll be kitted out in armour fit for a king. No matter where you go, you’ll be able to take on all kinds of beasties and creepy crawlies with brandished steel. That’s the fastest way to level up combat skills in Skyrim: to be so well-equipped that even the most devastating foes can’t take you on.

Skyrim cheats (opens in new tab) | Best Skyrim mods (opens in new tab) | How to install Skyrim mods (opens in new tab) | Best Skyrim companions (opens in new tab) | Skyrim armor (opens in new tab) | Skyrim perks (opens in new tab) | Skyrim enchanting guide (opens in new tab) | Skyrim alchemy guide (opens in new tab) | Skyrim hidden chest locations (opens in new tab) | Skyrim hidden quest locations (opens in new tab) | Skyrim Black Books guide (opens in new tab) | Skyrim Daedric Quest guide (opens in new tab)

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