Loot box rates will be disclosed in all Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo games from now on.
After entering my credit card info, I opened up my loot box in hopes of getting a cool, new skin for my character. After the shimmering box finally opens, a bunch of junk falls out. I then repeat the process 10 more times as my checking account dwindles and dwindles.
If this sounds familiar, you’re probably not a fan of loot boxes either.
Luckily, it seems like Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony have gotten that memo. Starting in 2020, every game published on a Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony console has to disclose its loot box drop rates. Now, players can at least see their actual chances of scoring decent loot before entering their credit card information.
Also, several video game publishers have agreed to disclose their loot box drop rates in all of their games regardless of the publisher. These include:
Activision Blizzard
Bandai Namco
Bethesda
Bungie
EA
Take-Two Interactive
Ubisoft
Warner Bros.
Wizards of the Coast
This has all been a part of a new initiative from the Entertainment Software Association and the Federal Trade Commission.
Back in the day, unlockables were obtained by, well, unlocking them through in-game challenges. Also, if they came out after the game’s release, you would just purchase them as DLC without having to jump through any hoops. However, it seems that nowadays,Sur the name of the game is loot boxes. Game developers have realized that instead of doing the extra work of making in-game challenges, they could make more money by making players purchase loot box after loot box.
A loot box is a relatively new mechanic in games where players spend real-world money on boxes that have the potential to give them rare items. Although there were loot-box-like features in games in the mid-2000s, the loot boxes we know today have mainly been inspired by Overwatch.
Loot boxes always drop some loot, but most of what you’ll get is junk. It’s a lot like if buying a pack of trading cards.
What are the real dangers?
Since we first saw them enter the world of gaming, loot boxes have left a bit of a sour taste in our mouth. The potential to get cool gear in our favorite games is great, but dishing out real-world money for a chance to get the better loot came has come off as gambling.
The Game Theorists also created a video discussing the science behind why buying loot boxes is so addictive. Basically, every time we invest more time and money into buying loot boxes, our brains are telling us that it would be a bigger loss to stop buying them rather than keep going. This is quite similar to what most gambling addicts suffer through.
Wrapping up
Regardless of whether you think loot boxes are good or bad for the gaming industry, the fact remains that knowing the rates of which rare items are dropped will be nice. If we see that we have a 1 in 10,000 chance to get a new skin in a $3 loot box, it’s going to be a pretty easy decision to give it a pass.
From Overwatch to the MCU, these staffs put most other weapons to shame!
Oh, yeah. There’s gonna be a lot of Gandalf.
Grab your wizard hat, double-edged straight sword, and haversack of rations, because we’re going on an adventure!
If you were like us as a kid, after reading a good fantasy novel or watching a particularly exciting movie, you went outside and played with sticks. You imagined they had the power to shoot flames, summon shields, or turn people into frogs.
Why? Because magical staffs are awesome! Whether they channel a user’s inherent energy, like Gandalf’s staff, or possess wild magic of their own, like Wabbajack, each of these iconic scepters contain the stuff of dreams, nightmares, and more.
So, let’s talk about the…
Top 10 Magical Staffs in Pop Culture
10. Jafar’s staff
Ew. Creep.
Before Jafar takes over Agrabah, fights Aladdin, and turns into a wildly powerful genie of darkness, his staff is nothing short of memorable. The moment he dials in on Jasmine’s father, the Sultan, with those jeweled snake eyes and turns a once-proud man into his personal flying monkey, there’s no forgetting his staff!
Seriously. If you saw a costume-less person on Halloween holding a snake scepter, we’re willing to bet you’d think: “Huh, where’s the rest of their Jafar getup?” Trust us, it’s true.
But let’s ask the real questions here: does Jafar use his own magic? Does the staff have power itself? Is he a magician because he found the staff, like Aladdin found the lamp? Is Jafar, at heart, just another street rat dreaming of becoming a prince, who took a wrong turn toward the dark side? Is his mother named Martha?
If you haven’t seen “Rise of the Guardians,” we recommend it!
Jack Frost, the main character, teams up with Earth’s guardians, the Avengers! Wait, no, he joins holiday heroes like Santa, the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Sandman. Together, they battle Pitch, the veritable lord of nightmares.
But forget all that for now. Look at Jack’s staff!
It is shaped like an avant-garde shepherd’s crook and made of either a gnarled branch or a bunch of brown paper towels wrapped around PVC pipe. This staff creates ice and cold when used by Jack Frost. Generally, he just brings winter to Earth, but when children are in danger of Pitch’s nightmare-scape, he’ll essentially become Frozone from “The Incredibles.”
We’re pretty sure Jack Frost’s staff isn’t the source of his true power, because he became a guardian after saving his brother from ice. THEN he gained frost magic, so it was inside him all along! Isn’t that nice?
8. Mercy’s Staff (Caduceus)
Source: ZaziNombies Lego Creations
In the picture above, the cosplay staff was made entirely of Legos.
Now, about the staff: anyone who’s played Overwatch knows the importance of healers. No healer is better known than the techno-angelic Mercy, who uses her staff to heal teammates while they fight. We aren’t exaggerating when we say a good medic makes the difference between life and death, victory and defeat.
Wouldn’t it be great if your teammates didn’t also verbally abuse you while playing healer? That would be awesome.
If so, you’ve probably seen the Sailor Moon girls. And if you’ve seen the Sailor Moon girls, you’ve probably seen their awesome staffs!
Each one of the Sailors has their own staff, but Sailor Moon herself wields the Moon Stick. The Moon Stick allows Sailor Moon’s alter ego to transform into Sailor Moon. It also allows her to launch attacks such as the Moon Healing Escalation Attack.
If you haven’t seen “Sailor Moon,” do yourself a favor and check it out on Crunchyroll.
Never forget, in the original animated film, this staff performed some of the most exciting and versatile feats of magical power ever to be seen in a Disney movie.
5. Shazam’s Staff
The recent release of Shazam contained what we believe to be a seriously underrated staff! Simply by touching it and saying the wizard “Shazam”s name, orphan Billy Batson turns into a superhero!
While the staff doesn’t actually produce ice, control minds, or open portals like you’d expect from something on this list, it’s still awesome. We believe the ability to turn anyone into a super-strong, lightning-powered hero who can fly gives it a firm bid for Number 5, at least.
Few character introductions hold a candle to that of Gandalf the White. He appears in a flash of glory and uses pure magical energy to swat aside Legolas’s arrow and Gimli’s ax. When the radiance dies down, you see him fully, in new duds holding a beautiful white staff.
It’s his final form: the original convoluted staff became a shiny, pale piece of artistically intertwined branches. When put to its full use, Gandalf can personally ward off an entire flock of Nazgul.
Even when used without magic, it still can knock orcs over the head with ease. This staff does a whole lot, and looks good doing it! It’s equally as awesome in the old EA “Return of the King” game.
3. Loki’s “Sceptre”
C’mon, people. It’s Marvel.
The scepter was first seen in “The Avengers,” and came back in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” where it helped create Vision. It also helped give Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver their powers.
The staff shoots blue bolts of energy. It uses the power of the Mind Stone. It can control people with just a touch. The pointy end can skewer agents named Coulson. The blunt end can briefly bonk Captain America in the head before he shouts “not today” and spin-kicks you in your shiny, helmeted head.
Alright, that got silly but you got the point: it’s awesome!
Although you might not be able to wield Thor’s hammer, Loki’s scepter can be just the tool you need to plan your own alien invasion.
There may never be another game like Skyrim. Our fingers are crossed so hard for Elder Scrolls 6, we can’t even tell you.
In Skyrim, there were many staffs. Dragon priest staffs shot elemental energy, Magelight staffs performed great alteration spells. Conjuration staffs like the Sanguine Rose brought Dremoras from the planes of Oblivion. Yet, despite all of that…
No. Other. Staff. Can. Turn. Someone. Into. A. Sweet Roll.
Wabbajack is the Daedric artifact of Sheogorath, the Daedric prince of madness. When using it on an enemy or an NPC or chicken that looked at you funny, it will have a completely random effect on them.
Maybe it will turn them into a bunny who scampers off in fear. Maybe it will make them explode in a blur of lightning. The Wabbajack essentially throws its target into a lottery where anything can happen to it.
It will forever live on in our hearts as one of the most wildly, delightfully unpredictable weapons in video game history.
Though frankly, every line that comes out of Gandalf’s mouth sounds a little mystic and exciting, in no small part thanks to the acting prowess of Ian McKellan.
According to the novels, generally, Gandalf uses it to channel his own magic. In the movie, this can be seen when he illuminates the Mines of Moria and fights the Balrog. In the books, we particularly enjoyed when the fellowship was stuck in a tree and Gandalf pretty much burned the forest down to ensure their escape. That was intense!
Aside from Loki’s sceptre, this can be considered the most popular and widely known staff in pop culture. Gandalf the White’s never captured the universal charm and simplistic beauty of this one, with its white crystal held in the twisted branches.
Conclusion
Eat your heart out, swords.
These staffs go to show that your typical weapon might not be the most effective. Though you shouldn’t bring a knife to a gun fight, bringing a staff to a Nazgul fight might be in your best interest.
If we missed anything you wanted to see, let us know about it in the comment section below.
How do you alienate a legion of fans? This is how.
Blizzard’s announcement of the mobile game Diablo Immortal has set the internet aflame. This video shows the reaction to the game’s announcement at BlizzCon 2018:
The game’s cinematic and gameplay trailers have both received hundreds of thousands of dislikes on YouTube, as shown below.
Why is Blizzard, a historically beloved company with a famously passionate fanbase, facing the brunt of the biggest video game outrage in recent memory? There are a few factors that we’ll attempt to break down.
The BlizzCon Reveal
For those unaware, BlizzCon is an annual conference held in Anaheim, California that’s a celebration of all things Blizzard. The con is a major event, complete with game reveals, cosplay, Q&A sessions with developers, and even concerts. Tickets to the event are very expensive, so the audience is made up of the most hardcore Blizzard fans.
Blizzard had hinted at the appearance of some sort of Diablo news at this year’s BlizzCon, leaving many fans of the acclaimed series to believe that the highly-anticipated Diablo 4 would be announced.
Once the game was onstage to be a mobile game, fans were furious. The developers were met with boos after answering a few questions, as seen in the video above. The fact that fans (who paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars to attend) booed loudly displays the huge distaste for Diablo Immortal within the hardcore Blizzard fanbase. To an outsider, it may be confusing to see such intense outrage directed towards a new game in the Diablo series, even a mobile game, since the fans have been requesting a new game for years. Basically, the core Blizzard demographic and mobile gamers don’t overlap at all.
Note: Apparently, Blizzard planned to announce that Diablo 4 was in development after the reveal of Diablo Immortal, but they decided not to.
Hardcore Blizzard fans are not mobile gamers
Pictured: A screenshot of the mobile version of Heartstone, Blizzard’s only real successful foray into mobile gaming
For its entire existence, Blizzard has been a company that has focused on the PC gaming market. Its most popular games, including World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, Starcraft, and Hearthstone, are played either exclusively or most commonly on PC. Diablo itself is a franchise that is most commonly linked with PC gaming and mouse + keyboard controls. Blizzard fans are apparently not at all psyched to play Diablo on a small phone/tablet screen with touchscreen controls. Since mobile gaming is a much more casual market than PC, some fans feel that Blizzard is ignoring its loyal core fanbase in favor of a wider, more casual audience.
Blizzard itself isn’t developing Diablo Immortal. Development is instead being handled by Chinese company NetEase, who has developed poorly received MMO’s like Crusaders of Light and Endless of God. Fans were quick to point out the similarities between Diablo Immortal’s UI and Crusaders of Light’s, leading many to speculate that the game was simply a reskin of CoL. Blizzard has denied this, saying that Diablo Immortal is a brand new game being built from the ground up.
In an interview with Kotaku, they acknowledged the UI similarities and said: “I want to assure you that Diablo Immortal is purpose-built from the ground up. In the East, that control method is becoming ubiquitous, and it’s becoming ubiquitous because it’s very natural, and it feels great. Less so in the West, but we’re now starting to see some games that are bringing that mechanic to the West. So it’s us taking inspiration from some of the work they’ve done already.”
Grindy, loot-heavy MMO’s like Crusaders of Light are extremely popular in Asia, but their popularity is lukewarm in the West. It remains to be seen if Diablo Immortal will take inspiration from these games, but fans are not optimistic.
There’s also the issue of monetization. While Blizzard hasn’t announced how it plans to monetize Diablo Immortal, mobile games are notorious for bleeding the player dry with microtransactions. One of the biggest reasons Crusaders of Light was panned in the West was because of its rampant microtransactions and pay-to-win structure, leaving fans worried that Diablo Immortal will follow in its footsteps.
What do you think about Diablo Immortal? Is the controversy deserved? Or are fans overreacting? Leave us a comment!
