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Where to pre-order The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

It felt like it would never happen. After five years of waiting, and more than a year since its original announcement, we finally have The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s release date. Yep, that’s right, not only do we know when it’s coming, but we also know The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s sequel has a name. I’m just delighted I can stop calling it BotW2. What a nightmare that was.

So, if you’re any fan like we are, then you’re probably going to want The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pre-order details right away, so you can guarantee that Link’s next adventure will be on your doorstep on day one. That’s what we’ve got, with lots of different places to buy it prior to release.

Keep in mind, however, that specific retailers may announce pre-order bonuses in the future. We’ll update this guide as soon as we see them, so it may be worth holding off for a minute to see if there are any extra goodies you can get from pre-ordering. Anyway, once you’re done here, check out our BotW recipe book to get a reminder of what you’ll be cooking on your next adventure.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pre-orders

You can get The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pre-orders from both Best Buy, Base, and Amazon, currently. We’re sure more retailers will get their pre-orders ready soon enough, so check back if you’d rather not give your money to daddy Bezos.

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That’s all The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pre-order information we’ve got for now. If you’re still hooked on the previous game, check out our BotW amiibo, BotW memory locations, and BotW Link guides.

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Coin Master free spins links, tips, and codes September

Wondering how to get Coin Master free spins? You’ve come to the right place. This is an addictive mobile game by design. It combines the thrill of playing slots with the social battling of Clash of Clans to create something that you just can’t put down; in a good way. The problem is, you so often have to put it down if you’re not willing to fork out the cash for regular spins. That’s understandable when as little as 30 spins will set you back £1.99 in the UK or $1.99 in the US.

Fortunately for you though, there are a wide number of means of getting Coin Master free spins, reducing the need for you to spend and increasing the speed at which you can progress throughout this addictive experience. Many of them are easy to pull off too, so you don’t have to worry about going through complicated maneuvres to carry on playing your favourite game.

In this Coin Master blog, we’re going to provide you with all of the ways you can get your hands on a few free spins and a Coin Master bonus here and there. This will allow you to continue playing long after your daily free spins run out, and provide you with the means of getting extra, without the need to spend your hard-earned money on premium spins in the game’s store. We’d also recommend checking out our Coin Master free cards and Coin Master free coins guides to get even more rewards, and our Pet Master free spins guide if you fancy checking out Moon Active’s latest game.

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How can I get Coin Master free spins?

Here are a bunch of tips to help you get even more free spins in Coin Master.

Follow coin master on social media

Each day, Moon Active, Coin Master’s developer, provides a bunch of links that you can follow to get your hands on Coin Master free spins. If you keep on top of this, you can get a steady stream of free stuff for very little effort. You can follow Coin Master on Facebook or Twitter.

Sign up for email gifts

If you sign up for email gifts, you can get yourself a handful of Coin Master free spins every single day just by following a link on your phone. We haven’t encountered any spam from signing up so far either, so it’s a quick and easy method of getting yourself some tasty free spins.

Invite friends

Each time you invite a friend who successfully joins Coin Master through Facebook, you’ll get 40 Coin Master free spins, which is considerable. They don’t even have to actually play the game; they simply have to download it and log in via their Facebook account to get you the free spins. Of course, it’s in both your interests to actually play it, which brings us nicely to our next point.

Request spins as gifts

You can get up to 100 Coin Master free spins per day from friends, though to get to those heights you’ll need 100 active friends who are kind enough to send you a gift each day. Each gift consists of a single free spin.

Unless you’re incredibly popular, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have 100 friends; let alone 100 that will actually deign to play a game with you. We recommend heading on over to the official Reddit community or Facebook communities to try and find people willing to play with you.

Watch video ads

You can get a limited number of Coin Master free spins per day by watching a video ad. Simply scroll to the slot machine and tap on the spin energy button on the bottom right. If it’s not there, you’ve run out of free spins you can get through this method for the day, but if it is, simply tap on it and you’ll watch an ad.

Spin

Ironically, you can actually get a ton of Coin Master free spins by, well, spinning. If you get three spin energy symbols in a row, you’ll get a bunch of free spins. Pick up a chain of them and you can spin for ages before you run out.

Level up your village

Each time you level up your village, you’ll get a bunch of Coin Master free spins. It’s not easy though, as it costs a considerable amount of gold to purchase new buildings and improve them, and you have to purchase every single one of them, including improvements, to level up. That’s going to cost a lot of spins, as it is.

Looking for a new game? Take a look at our Free Fire redeem codes or Anime Adventures codes!

Participate in events

There’s almost always at least one event happening in Coin Master, and it can absolutely shower you with free spins. While viewing the slot machine, look at the top right of the screen. Any virtual buttons that you can see beneath the menu (which is displayed as three lines) are an event. Tap on one and you’ll see what each event involves.

Take advantage of these events and you can get yourself a lot more Coin Master free spins than usual.

Wait

This is an obvious suggestion, but it’s actually worth taking into consideration. You get five free spins every single hour, and you can only hold a maximum of 50 spins at any one time. That means every ten hours you’ll hit the maximum number of spins, and any Coin Master free spins you would have earned after that will cease to exist.

So, we recommend setting a reminder to visit Coin Master every ten hours at least to spend your spins so you are always earning more. You’ll actually end up earning a huge number of extra spins if you’re dedicated, so it’s totally worth doing.

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Coin Master free spin FAQ

Now, we’ll answer a bunch of questions you may have regarding getting Coin Master free spins.

Do Coin Master free spins links expire?

Yes, the daily links that we include at the top of this page expire after three days, which is why we only include those from today and the two days prior.

Can I get 50 Coin Master free spins?

Coin Master 50 spin rewards most commonly appear during in-game events, like those that reward you for raiding or battling other players. There’s also a small chance to get this number from daily links, so bookmark this page and check back often.

Can I get 60 Coin Master free spins?

Yes, though it doesn’t appear to happen often from daily links. We’d recommend playing often and participating in events, and following the social media channels to find out what’s happening soon.

Can I get 70 Coin Master free spins?

We’ve never seen a Coin Master 70 spin reward appear as part of the daily links, but it has been known to appear as part of special events.

To get your hands on this rare reward, we would recommend playing on a daily basis and following the social media channels to get an indication of when the next big event will take place.

Can I get 100 Coin Master free spins?

Yes, though not from the daily links. We’ve seen this number of free spins appear often during in-game events, most notably for those that reward you for raiding and participating in PvP battles.

Play often and follow the social media channels for events to keep an eye out for this.

Can I get 50,000 Coin Master free spins?

Again, 50,000 Coin Master spin rewards don’t seem to appear as part of the daily rewards cycle, but have been known to crop up during events. Follow the socials and play regularly to get the best chance at this reward.

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And that will just about do it for our Coin Master free spins guide. For something a little different, why not take a look at our guide to answers for Wordle today. And if you’re looking for something new to play, check out our best mobile games list.

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Pokémon Go Deoxys – raids, forms, and how to counter

Nintendo originally introduced this legendary in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the DNA Pokémon known as Deoxys is still one of the coolest legendaries in the series, as well as one of the most versatile. With four distinct forms and some absolutely monstrous stats for each of them, you can use Pokémon Go Deoxys however it best suits you.

In our Pokémon Go Deoxys guide, we explain where you can find it, go over the raid schedule, how best to counter and catch one, as well as go through each of its unique forms. It’s a tricky one to beat, so get your team buffed up and ready to go, and make sure you have plenty of pals on your raid team to boot. Grab some ghost and dark-types, then get training.

We absolutely love Pokémon Go over here at PT Towers, so you can often catch plenty of great guides teaching you how to be the best that ever was. Jump in now and read our articles that cover the best Pokémon Go normal Pokémon, Pokémon Go Hoopa, Pokémon Go community day, Pokémon Go promo codes, or why not check out our Pokémon Go sixth anniversary interview with members of the community, including Serebii’s Joe Merrick.

No need to head to space. Our guide to Pokémon Go Deoxys is right here.

Pokémon Go Deoxys

Pokemon Go Deoxys: key art shows the red and blue space Pokemon based on DNA, known as Deoxys

What is Pokémon Go Deoxys?

Known as the DNA Pokémon, Deoxys is a psychic-type Pokémon initially from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and it sits at number 386 in the Pokédex. With an alien-like form and hints of it being from outer space, many believe Deoxys arrived on a meteor. It also has four distinct forms, which are normal, attack, defence, and speed. These each drastically change Deoxys appearance and stats, as it takes on a size and shape that befits its new abilities.

Pokemon Go Deoxys: key art shows the red and blue space Pokemon based on DNA, known as Deoxys

How do I encounter Pokémon Go Deoxys?

Currently, the only way to encounter Deoxys in Pokémon Go is through five-star raids.

Pokémon Go Deoxys raid schedule

All of Deoxys’ four forms are available in five-star Pokémon Go raids from September 1, 2022, through to September 13, 2022.

Pokemon Go Deoxys: key art shows the red and blue space Pokemon based on DNA, known as Deoxys

How to counter and catch Pokémon Go Deoxys

All four forms of Deoxys share the same type, which happens to be psychic. As a result, Deoxys is vulnerable to ghost, dark, and bug Pokémon. Because of this, here are some of the best counters to use in five-star raids. Remember your weaknesses as well, so while Buzzwole looks like a big beefy boy ready for the task, as a fighting-type, it’s at a disadvantage.

  • Mega Gengar
  • Tyranitar
  • Obstagoon
  • Hoopa
  • Darkrai
  • Chandelure
  • Mega Houndoom
  • Weavile
  • Hydreigon
  • Yanmega
  • Mewtwo (Shadow Ball)
  • Genesect
  • Mega Scizor

How do I change Pokémon Go Deoxys form?

Sadly, in Pokémon Go, it’s not possible to change Deoxys’ form like in previous entries. If you want to catch one of the specific forms, you need to find a raid with that form.

Pokemon Go Deoxys: key art shows the red and blue space Pokemon based on DNA, known as Deoxys

How do I get Pokémon Go Deoxys shiny?

In Pokémon Go Deoxys isn’t shiny locked, meaning you can find a shiny version if you’re very lucky. The shiny odds are the same as any other raid – the average rate of a shiny is one in 500. However, if you encounter the featured Pokémon in a raid on a specific raid day, the odds increase to around one in 25. It’s still not ideal (you’d better get saving coins), but it’s a bit easier.

That’s all we have today, and we hope this Pokémon Go Deoxys guide helps you to catch the meteoric mythical ‘mon. If you want to keep up to date, be sure to read our guide to the Pokémon Go events next.

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Temtem starters – what are they, which to choose, and evolutions

Following on from the tradition continued through all nine generations of main series Pokémon games, there are three Temtem starters to choose from in Crema’s monster tamer. It’s the biggest decision that you make through the game, and though you can pick up all three with a bit of smarts, it still matters which you opt for first.

So, we’ve put together this Temtem starters guide, laying out the details on the three main monsters, their evolutionary paths, and some other useful tidbits for your trainer adventure. Like we said earlier, you can pick up all three by the end of your journey, but whichever one you go for will have an impact on how you play the early game, and how you go about party composition.

For more trainer advice, be sure to see if there are any available freebies with our Temtem codes, or bone up on your battle awareness with our Temtem type chart. If you’re yet to jump into this new world of creatures and critters, check out our Temtem review to see if we can convince you to Temtem up.

Which Temtem starter should I choose?

It doesn’t really matter which starter Temtem you choose, as you can easily obtain the two you don’t pick either in the wild or via the Temtem trading house. With the variety of Temtem you can catch to bolster your team, and no real type advantage across all the dojo and story battles, it’s really down to personal preference which of the three you opt for.

High def images of the three Temtem starters Smazee, Houchic, and Crystle, jumping for joy

What are the Temtem starter evolutions?

All three of the Temtem starters have a three-tier evolutionary path, but the amount of training each starter Temtem needs is different for each.

Crystle / Sherald / Tortenite – Crystle first evolves into Sherald after 30 levels of training before transforming into the mighty Tortenite as a final evolution after training Sherald through 21 levels. Tortenite gets the addition of toxic typing to make it a crystal/toxic hybrid, as well as a special attack boost on its previous forms that makes it much more potent in battle.

Smazee / Baboong / Seismunch – Smazee’s evolutionary path turns the melee monkey into Baboong after 29 levels, and finally Seismunch after 23 levels with Baboong. The final evolution Seismunch is another dual type, combining melee and rock for some impressive physical attacks.

Houchic / Tental / Nagaise – Houchic evolves into its second stage, Tental, after 29 levels, before fully evolving into the final stage form and mental/water hybrid Nagaise after another 24 levels of training Tental. Nagaise is by far the most potent special attacker of the fully evolved starter trio, but its low HP makes it a little bit of a glass cannon in tough battles.

All three of the Temtem starters final evolutions on a custom made image

Temtem starter locations

If you’re looking to find the Temtem starters in the wild, we’ve put together a little table to indicate where in the wide world of the Airborne Archipelago you need to look. As you can see, each is a bit of a game of chance to find, with all three starters sharing a 5% catch probability, so you should probably take along a good status effect-inflicting monster

Temtem Location Catch chance
Crystle Mines of Mictlan and Kupeleleza 5% 
Smazee Greenglen Forest (Arbury)  5%
Houchic Meadowdale (Arbury)  5%

There you have it, all you need to know about the Temtem starters. To get your head around another bunch of starter monsters, but for the next big Pokémon adventure, be sure to check out our Pokémon Scarlet & Violet starters guide.

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Ooblets how to eat – fancy a froob?

The incredible and adorable farming sim with a creative creature twist, Ooblets, is now live in its 1.0 incarnation and causing a veritable vegetable storm on the Switch. Well with a game that balances so many different systems, it can actually be a little bit tough to learn how to do the essentials. One thing, in particular, was so tricky that even this writer had to look it up.

With our Ooblets how to eat guide, we explain how to grab your caroot, get a crunch on and regain the energy you so desperately need to get back to farming. With so many different Ooblets to discover, seeds to grow, and a selection of exciting areas to explore, this is one gameplay element you want to master early on before you start really poking around the different nooks and crannies of the land known as Oob.

If you love munching on wheat in a straw hat, or consider a scarecrow one of your mates, you might enjoy many of our other guides on great farming games like Stardew Valley. Check out our guides to Stardew Valley Abigail, Stardew Valley silo, Stardew Valley co-op, and our enormous and incredible Stardew Valley fishing guide.

Get stuck in, here’s our Ooblets how to eat guide

Ooblets how to eat

Ooblets how to eat: a screenshot from Ooblets shows the pocket inventory

We know, it sounds like it should be simple, but a lot of people have had troubled. A lot of Ooblets is about planting seeds and growing food which sits in your inventory, or if you have some gleamies burning a hole in your pocket you could maybe buy a bunglebee bun in town. Well if you have some food in your pocket that you’re desperate to eat, here is how to get your munch on.

Ooblets how to eat: a screenshot from Ooblets shows the menu icon with the word consume

  • Press X to open your pockets
  • When hovering over any consumable food press Y to open up the options dropdown menu.
  • The option to ‘consume’ should be visible
  • Press consume to snack on any food you have in your pockets.

Ooblets how to cook food

Ooblets how to eat: a screenshot from the game Ooblets shows the contents of a fridge

Once you have progressed so far in Ooblets you will unlock your first farm, and inside is a piece of equipment called the old hot plate. Here you can put together a few basic recipes from ingredients you have either foraged from Badgetown or seeds you have planted and grown.

For instance, to make the delicious hop dob, you will need a caroot and some muz flour. To find more recipes you can find glowing gold items all around the world, which are randomly assigned forageable items that can occasionally be a recipe piece. If you gather four recipe pieces in your inventory, you are given the option to combine them and create one random recipe.

Other than that, you can use the wishies you collect from regular gameplay and collecting badges, and spend them on select recipes at the wishing well in the middle of Badgetown.

We hope this guide helped, or at the very least perhaps it made you hungry. If you’re done here and want to find another great way to relax, then be sure to click the link and check out our guide to the best Switch casual games next.

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Best VPN for iPad in 2022 – have some juice with your tablet

The best VPN for iPad can do many things for you. First and foremost, it can protect your internet privacy. Why should your internet service provider (ISP) know you’ve been Googling “How to get a fork out of my nose”? But it’s not just about privacy, oh no, there is actually quite a long list of benefits.

The best VPN for iPad can also potentially boost your internet speeds, block annoying adverts, and maybe even help make the best iPad games even better. You may find that you get faster download times and less lag (if you’re playing online). Of course, being able to access the servers of other regions also means that you will be able to access content from your home country even when you’re travelling abroad as well. They can pretty much enhance your whole internet experience.

At this point, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Cool, so which one is the best? You haven’t mentioned a specific brand and that’s infuriating.” Well, our informed choice is ExpressVPN (for reasons we’ll get into below), but we understand that it won’t be for everyone, so we’ve picked out four other best VPN services too, each with their own unique strengths.

These are our picks for the best VPN on iPad:

It goes without saying that every one of the VPN service providers mentioned offers a dedicated app for Apple devices.

Best VPN for iPad - ExpressVPN. Image shows the business's logo.

1. The best VPN for iPad

We recommend ExpressVPN for anyone who’s after an iPad VPN. With more than 3,000 servers in 94 countries around the world (including Japan), there are a huge number of regions for you to connect through, which will come in handy for gaming, streaming, and anything else you might like to do on your iPad.

Want to play an online game, but there’s nobody online? By switching VPN server, you might also be able to switch server in-game, potentially giving you access to players who are ready to game. On top of that, it’s also compatible with most streaming services, and with a kill switch in place, your privacy will be maintained if it drops even for a second.

ExpressVPN features
Locations 3,000+ servers in 94 countries
Services unblocked Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, YouTube
Free trial length No free trial
Money-back guarantee 30 days
Simultaneous connections 5
Router support Yes

Best VPN for iPad - NordVPN. Image shows the business's logo.

2. The fastest VPN for iPad

No doubt, you will have heard of NordVPN before, and part of the reason that it’s been able to achieve such widespread popularity is that it offers a genuinely fantastic service. Indeed, with download speeds of 65.79Mbit/s, it’s also the fastest VPN.

With over 5,000 servers in more than 60 countries around the world, you’ve got plenty of options, and even if one of them goes down (let’s say, for a fraction of a second) then the kill switch kicks in and severs the connection so that none of your private data leaks out into the gaping maw of your ISP. By using the WireGuard protocol, it is even able to encrypt your data much more quickly than many competitors.

Download NordVPN on iPhone.

Download NordVPN on Android.

NordVPN features
Locations 5,308 servers in 60 countries
Services unblocked Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, YouTube
Free trial length No free trial
Money-back guarantee 30 days
Simultaneous connections 6
Router support Yes

Best VPN for iPad - Ivacy VPN. Image show's the business's logo.

3. The most private VPN for iPad

If privacy is your number one reason for getting a VPN, then you can’t go wrong with Ivacy VPN. Part of what makes this provider so impressive is the fact that it uses military grade encryption, meaning that your searches for “Richard Thomas without a shirt on” will be just as private as the messages in the government’s “Nuclear Missile Launch Codes & Bants” WhatsApp group chat.

In addition to the 256-bit encryption, it also boasts a similar number of servers to NordVPN, except that it managed to span more than 100 countries. Ivacy VPN may not be quite as well known as some of its competitors, but it’s been around since 2006, so you know you’re putting the safety of your internet data into the hands of a well-established business. All of this combines to make it the most private VPN services, and it’s also a pretty cheap VPN, so it has that going for it as well.

Ivacy VPN features
Locations 5,700+ servers in over 100 countries
Services unblocked  BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix
Free trial No – $0.99 seven day trial instead
Money-back guarantee 30 days
Simultaneous connections 10
Router support Yes

Best VPN for iPad - Tunnelbear. Image shows the business's logo, which has a bear coming out of a pipe.

4. The best free VPN for iPad

Do you worry that you can’t afford a VPN? Then maybe you should give TunnelBear a go, because you can use it without spending a penny. Obviously, you’re not going to have the most comprehensive VPN service without paying, but TunnelBear does still have more than 2,000 servers located in 49 countries.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you use the free TunnelBear plan, then you will be limited to 500MB of data per month. It might not sound like much, but if you just want to make sure that certain sensitive activities remain private, or that you remain safe when using public wi-fi, then this should be absolutely fine.

TunnelBear features
Locations over 2,600 servers in 49 countries
Services unblocked None
Free trial length Has a free version that can be used indefinitely, but limited to 500MB of data per month
Money-back guarantee None, refunds assessed on a case by case basis
Simultaneous connections 5
Router support No

Best VPN for iPad - Cyberghost. Image shows the company logo.

5. The best VPN for streaming on iPad

Next up, we have this friendly spectre. CyberGhost is a great choice for anybody who does a lot of streaming on their iPad. With over 7,400 servers across more than 90 countries and compatibility with most major streaming platforms, it’s easily the best VPN for streaming on iPad.

You’ll have plenty of time to decide whether or not this platform is right for you, too, because it gives customers a 45-day money-back guarantee. If at any time during that period you decide that it’s not worth the money, then you can just cancel your subscription and get that money back without a fuss. On top of that, there’s also a one-day VPN free trial that you can use, so there’s plenty of time to make sure it’s right for you before you commit.

CyberGhost features
Locations 7,400+ servers in 91+ countries
Services unblocked Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, Prime
Free trial length Card-free for 1 day
Money-back guarantee 45 days
Simultaneous connections 7
Router support Yes

We hope that this has been a helpful point of reference for you. We put this list together by carefully considering the unique strengths and weaknesses of major VPN providers, then weighing them against the needs of iPad users. We believe ExpressVPN is the best one, but we understand that under different circumstances, each of these could be considered best.

If you still need more guidance, take a peep at our guides on the best VPN for iPhone, the best mobile VPNs and the best VPN apps where you’ll find further insights and recommendations.

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Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter build

Tower of Fantasy’s Cocoritter is an out-and-out cutie, both in design and personality. This sweet gal wants nothing more than to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all those around her, and, though her naivety may be a little worrisome, her determination is completely admirable.

In this Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter build guide, we go into detail about her powerful healing staff, Absolute Zero, including its skills and attacks, advancement bonuses, upgrade materials, and more. We also take a closer look at Cocoritter herself, including her banner, favourite gifts, voice actor, awakening, and more. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get healing and shaking.

For more builds just like this one, check out our Tower of Fantasy King, Tower of Fantasy Frigg, Tower of Fantasy Meryl, and Tower of Fantasy Huma guides. We’ve also got a handy Tower of Fantasy tier list, along with all new Tower of Fantasy codes, with plenty of goodies up for grabs.

Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter

Who is Tower of Fantasy’s Cocoritter?

Cocoritter is a kind and caring girl, whose unconditional trust in everyone can be a concern to those around her. Her sweet, innocent disposition goes hand in hand with her great determination to help others with her healing talents.

Cocoritter is an SSR Simulacra who wields a frost staff called Absolute Zero, capable of healing herself and allies.

Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter with an ice cream in Navia

What is Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter’s banner?

Cocoritter and her weapon, Absolute Zero, is one of the SSR Simulacra always available on all weapon banners. This means you can pull her on the Weapons Galore black and gold nucleus banners, or on the limited banner if you don’t pull the featured weapon.

To find out more about drop rates and currencies, as well as current, upcoming, and ongoing banners, check out our Tower of Fantasy banners guide.

What’s the best Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter build?

Cocoritter is first and foremost a healer. Her weapon, Absolute Zero, has a kit focused on healing and supporting both you and your allies, resulting in her being recognised as the strongest pure healer in both solo and multiplayer gameplay. She also doesn’t require advancement in order to unlock her powerful healing skills, though getting her to rank one provides you with a super helpful passive healing skill.

At three stars, Cocoritter also gets the sanctuary skill, which removes debuffs and increases the shatter rate and attack of herself and her allies, which is a great asset to any team.

Aside from her amazing support skills, Cocoritter has a brilliant weapon charge rate, helping you unleash your discharge skills more frequently, She can also apply frost damage over time, slows, and can control enemies with her combos, making her a wonderful unity for support and utility.

What are Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter’s weapon stats?

Here, we list all the main stats for Cocoritter’s weapon, Absolute Zero. These are the weapon’s base stats before you level it up or equip it with any matrices.

The shatter ranking dictates how quickly Absolute Zero can break enemy shields, whereas the charge rate shows how quickly the weapon gains charge.

  • CS: 272
  • Shatter: 4.00 (B)
  • Charge: 12.50 (S)
  • Attack: 15
  • Resistance: 17
  • HP: 1,165
  • Type: ice shell – when your weapon is fully charged, it freezes the target for two seconds and leaves them frostbitten for six seconds. If you break the ice shell, it causes additional damage equal to a set percentage of attack. While frostbitten, the target’s weapon charge rate is reduced

Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter on the Simulacra select page

What are Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter’s attacks and skills?

Here are each of Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter’s skills and attacks. Note that this is based on Absolute Zero’s level one stats, which increase as you level up the weapon.

Normal attacks

Skill Effect
Normal attack While on the ground, swing the staff to attack five times in a row.
First attack: deal damage equal to 54.4% of ATK +3
Second attack: deal damage equal to 40.8% of ATK +2
Third attack: deal damage equal to 65.6% of ATK +3
Fourth attack: deal damage equal to 89.7% of ATK +5
Fifth attack: deal damage equal to 158.4% of ATK +8
Soaring barrage (jump attack) While airborne or after jumping, tap normal attack to attack five times in a row.
First Attack: deal damage equal to 70.5% of ATK +4
Second attack: deal damage equal to 50.8% of ATK +3
Third attack: deal damage equal to 55.1% of ATK +3
Fourth attack: deal damage equal to 99.1% of ATK +5
Fifth attack: deal damage equal to 103.2% of ATK +5
Moonfall (jump, hold attack) Tap and hold the normal attack while airborne to trigger moonfall. Upon landing, deal damage once every 0.2 seconds, for a total of 123.8% of ATK +7 damage
Focused assault (attack, hold attack)  After the third normal attack, hold the normal attack button to trigger branch attacks, consuming 300 points of endurance. Pull in enemies in front of you, suspending them and dealing damage equal to 34.9% of ATK +2 every 0.3 seconds (up to four times). With the second attack, deal damage equal to 40.4% of ATK +2 at the target location and to nearby enemies every 0.3 seconds

Dodge attacks

Skill Effect
Surge (perfect dodge, attack) Tap normal attack during the short perfect dodge window (tap an arrow button before dodging) to trigger surge. Each weave of energy deals damage equal to 45.9% of ATK +2 to targets. Also grants 75 weapon charge points upon use
Tesseract (dodge, attack) Tap normal attack during the short period after dodging to trigger an evasive blast, firing an orb forward that deals damage equal to 66.4% of ATK +3 to targets in its path every 0.3 seconds (up to five times). Grants 75 weapon charge points upon use

Skill

Skill Effect Cooldown
Sanctuary Create a healing zone that moves around with you, healing yourself and nearby allies for 95% of attack +5 once every 0.5 seconds for six seconds 60 seconds

Discharge skill

Skill Effect
Swift deliverance When your weapon is fully charged or Phantasia is triggered, switching to this weapon cleanses you or all debuffs, then continues to remove debuffs and heal you and your allies for 118.8% of attack +6 HP for seven seconds

Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter three star skin splash art in the snow

Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter advancement

You can advance Tower of Fantasy weapons by using their corresponding fusion cores, which you get by collecting more than one copy of a character. After you get your first copy of Cocoritter and her Absolute Zero staff, you can purchase another copy through the Commissary’s weapon store for 120 black gold. Alternatively, you can get a duplicate of Cocoritter by pulling on the banner, but, of course, this is entirely up to RNG.

Advancing your weapons by spending fusion cores and gold unlocks special bonuses. Here are all of the bonuses you gain from unlocking each of Cocoritter’s advancement stars.

  • One star: after dodging, summon a healing bee that follows you around and heals the ally with the lowest percentage of HP within 15 metres. Heal for 25% of attack and restore 50 weapon charge points each time. Lasts for 25 seconds, the cooldown is 25 seconds
  • Two stars: increases the weapon’s base HP growth by 16%
  • Three stars: using your skill or discharge skill removes debuffs from targets. You can use this while being affected by control effects. It also increases shatter and damage dealt for all teammates within range by 20%, and grants them immunity to control effects and shatter
  • Four stars: increases the weapon’s base HP growth by 32%
  • Five stars: increases healing effect by 15%, plus an additional 20% when you’re healing targets with less than 60% HP
  • Six stars: Whenever you summon a healing bee, or a healing bee disappears from battle, heal all allies for 100% of your attack. All allies within ten metres of the healing bee also gain 15% boost to all damage and healing (cannot stack)

What’s the best Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter matrix set?

All Simulacra have their own dedicated matrix set, and Cocoritter is no different. Hers is a brilliant set for increasing your healing and buffing both your and your allies’ attack. However, as it’s an SSR set, it can be a little tricky to get your hands on. Luckily, SR Pepper’s matrices are also a great choice, and you can get the entire set by completing chapter seven of your wanderer’s adventure book.

If you’re looking for an R-rank option, you should go with the Functional Dash set to nab a small frost damage boost. Check out our Tower of Fantasy matrices guide for more info.

ToF matrix set Rarity Effect
Cocoritter SSR Two equipped: increases healing capability and healing received by 10%/12%/14%/16%
Four equipped: when you or your teammates are healed, increases attack by 12.5%/15%/17.5%/20% for six seconds. Only the highest level’s effect is applied when obtained repeatedly
Pepper SR Three equipped: increases speed of obtaining weapon charge by 10%/12.5%/15%
Functional dash R Three equipped: increases damage dealt by frost weapons by 6%

A close-up of Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter's face

What are Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter’s upgrade materials?

When upgrading Cocoritter, you need icecore and heart of winter elemental ores, acidproof glazes, and nanofiber frames. You can get boxes containing acidproof glaze and booster frames as rewards from Dimensional Trials, Interstellar Exploration, Omnium Beacons, and the weapon store. You can find icecore while out exploring, or by using elemental ore boxes. For more help locating materials, check out our Tower of Fantasy map guide.

What are the best Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter team comps?

To be a strong healer, you realistically need two healer-type weapons on your team to reap the rewards of the benediction buff. As such, we recommend pairing Cocoritter with Tower of Fantasy’s Zero for a more defensive build, or Tower of Fantasy’s Nemesis for and offensive approach. Alternatively, you could pair her with both Zero and Nemesis for a well-sustained PVP lineup that can help you out-survive your opponent with ease.

Another strong PVP team sees Cocoritter paired with Nemesis and Tower of Fantasy’s Meryl – a lineup that is currently considered meta. Meryl offers amazing damage, shield breaking, and crowd control resist, Nemesis dishes out ranged damage and heals, while Cocoritter ensures your health stays in top shape, charges your other weapons, and offers some crowd control and freeze options.

Alternatively, for a good general-purpose team, you can put Cocoritter and Zero with Tower of Fantasy’s Shiro, who can help slow enemies and shred their shields from a distance.

What are the best Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter gifts?

When picking out gifts for Cocoritter, keep in mind that she loves toys, decorations, and rare items. For more information, head over to our Tower of Fantasy gift guide.

What are Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter’s awakening rewards?

Giving Cocoritter gifts raises her awakening progress. When reaching certain awakening milestones, you earn recollection rewards. Here are each of Cocoritter’s.

Keep in mind that you can use a Simulacra’s trait without taking on their appearance by toggling the ‘use Simulacra trait’ button in the Simulacra selection screen.

Awakening points Recollection reward
200 Cocoritter avatar
600 Log: Memories
1,200 Cocoritter: Assistance trait – when Cocoritter uses a support weapon, increases incoming and outgoing healing by 20%
2,000 Log: Obsessions
3,000  Log: Companionship
4,000  Cocoritter: Trust trait – when Cocoritter uses a support weapon, increases outgoing and incoming healing by 20%. Additionally, when Cocoritter uses a support-type weapon’s discharge skill or weapon skill, it increases nearby allies’ ATK by 15% for five seconds

Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter on Navia's Cetus Island

Who is Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter’s voice actor?

Cocoritter’s English voice actor is Lexi Fontaine, who has previously voiced Jean from Time Traveler Luke, Serena from Super Mecha Champions, Little Leela from Final Fantasy Brave Exvius: War of the Visions, and many more.

Cocoritter’s Japanese voice actor is Kito Akari, who you may recognise as Genshin Impact’s Barbara, Maria Valkyrie from Valkyries Elysium, Aiba from AI: The Comnium Files, Elsje from Rune Factory 5, Nesuko Kamado from Demon Slayer, and many other roles.

That’s it for our Tower of Fantasy Cocoritter build guide. Be sure to check out our Tower of Fantasy characters guide to get familiar with the rest of the Simulacra, or head over to our list of the best games like Genshin Impact for a fresh adventure.

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Tower of Fantasy Huma build

Aesperia can be a pretty scary place, with heaps of baddies always ready to sink an arrow into your butt or a poison fang in your neck. Luckily, Tower of Fantasy’s Huma is here to soak up some of that damage with her hefty, powerful shield – then dish out some damage of her own when she transforms that shield into a massive axe!

Impressive, right? Well, if you want to get Tower of Fantasy’s Huma on your side, then you’re in the right place. In this guide we take a look at her banner, best build, team comps, matrices, and more, as well as laying out all of the attacks and skills you can unleash with the help of her awesome Molten Shield V2 weapon.

To see how Huma ranks, check out our Tower of Fantasy tier list and Tower of Fantasy weapons guides. We’ve also got build guides for a heap of other characters, including Tower of Fantasy’s Crow, Tower of Fantasy’s Zero, Tower of Fantasy’s Nemesis, and more. Or, for an extra couple of goodies to grab, head over to our list of all new Tower of Fantasy codes.

Tower of Fantasy Huma

Who is Tower of Fantasy’s Huma?

Huma is a young woman, currently under the medical care of Hykros after contracting a rare disease that made her develop superhuman strength. She lost all memory of her past, as well as her former personality. As such, the sum of her knowledge about the world since waking up is limited to Hykros, with everything beyond that bringing her anxiety. However, despite being quite an introvert, nothing can stop her when she puts her mind to something.

Huma is an SSR Simulacra who wields Molten Shield V2, a defence type weapon that deals flame damage.

Tower of Fantasy Huma splash art

What is Tower of Fantasy Huma’s banner?

Huma, along with her Molten Shield V2 weapon, is one of the SSR Simulacra always available on all weapon banners. This means you can pull her on the Weapons Galore black and gold nucleus banners, or on the limited banner if you don’t pull the featured weapon.

To find out more about drop rates and currencies, as well as current, upcoming, and ongoing banners, check out our Tower of Fantasy banners guide.

What’s the best Tower of Fantasy Huma build?

Huma is a powerful Simulacra whose weapon, Molten Shield V2, is fit for both defence and offence. It switches between the high impact axe form and the super tanky shield form, allowing you to both protect and attack with great efficiency. She’s easily the best at filling the traditional tank role out of all the Tower of Fantasy characters we’ve seen so far, and her advancement only amplifies her damage, making her a true force to be reckoned with.

What are Tower of Fantasy Huma’s weapon stats?

Here, we list all the main stats for Huma’s weapon, Molten Shield V2. These are the weapon’s base stats before you level it up or equip it with any matrices.

The shatter ranking dictates how quickly Molten Shield V2 can break enemy shields, whereas the charge rate shows how quickly the weapon gains charge.

  • CS: 272
  • Shatter: 10.00 (A)
  • Charge: 10.00 (A)
  • Attack: 14
  • Resistance: 9
  • HP: 1165
  • Type: Flame – when your weapon is fully charged, your next attack sets the target on fire for eight seconds, causing ongoing damage equal to a set percentage of attack every second. Ignited targets receive reduced efficacy from healing

Tower of Fantasy Huma looking out over the sea in Warren

What are Tower of Fantasy Huma’s attacks and skills?

Normal attacks

Skill Effect
Normal attack While on the ground, swing the shield axe to attack four times in a row.
Shield form
First attack: deal damage equal to 77.7% of attack +4 and knock the target back a short distance
Second attack: deal damage equal to 56.9% of attack +3 and knock the target back a short distance
Third attack: deal damage equal to 62.8% of attack +3 and knock the target back a short distance
Fourth attack: deal damage equal to 184% of attack +10 and launch the target into the air
Axe form
First attack: deal damage equal to 135.2% of attack +7 and knock the target back a short distance
Second attack: deal damage equal to 79.4% of attack +4 and knock the target back a short distance
Third attack: deal damage equal to 119.9% of attack +6 and knock the target back a short distance
Fourth attack: seal damage equal to 221.3% of attack +12 and knock the target back
Aerial strike (jump attack) While airborne or after jumping once, attack three times in a row.
Shield form
First attack: deal damage equal to 75.9% of attack +4
Second attack: deal damage equal to 80.2% of attack +4
Third attack: deal damage equal to 103% of attack +5
Axe form
First attack: deal damage equal to 118.6% of attack +6
Second attack: deal damage equal to 91.1% of attack +5
Third attack: deal damage equal to 277.9% of attack +15
Anticipation (hold attack)

Shield form: while on the ground, tap and hold normal attack to enter shield form (release to exit) for three seconds, during which you’re unable to move, and all damage taken is reduced by 50%. While in shield form, releasing the normal attack button after taking damage or after holding the button for three seconds, unleash fire crash, dealing damage equal to 167.3% of attack +9 and inflicting a one-second stun effect on the target

Axe form: smash the target, dealing damage equal to 122.2% of attack +6 and suspending the target

Valor (jump hold attack) Tap and hold normal attack while airborne (or tap when you’ve selected a target), or tap normal attack while climbing, jumping backward, or using the jetpack to trigger air branch attacks.
Shield form: while falling, deal damage equal to 12.5% of attack +1 each hit. Upon landing, deal damage equal to 89.2% of attack +5 and suspend the target
Axe form: while falling, deal damage equal to 12.5% of attack +1 each hit. Upon landing, deal damage equal to 128.3% of attack +7 and suspend the target
The higher the altitude when triggering the attack, the greater the damage dealt, up to 600% damage.

Dodge attacks

Skill Effect
Erupt Tap normal attack during the short period after dodging to trigger a dodge attack.
Shield form: unleash a flaming shield, dealing damage equal to 55.8% of attack +3 and knocking back targets. In addition, trigger an explosion that deals damage equal to 55.8% of attack +3, stun targets for 0.5 seconds, and reduce incoming healing effects on targets by 30% for ten seconds
Axe form: swing an axe to deal damage equal to 226.3% of attack +12, and reduce incoming healing effects on targets by 30% for ten seconds

Skill

Skill Effect Cooldown
Fission Shield conversion: switch from shield form to axe form and smash the ground, dealing damage equal to 373.8% of attack +20 and strongly suspending the target. Also leave a large flame zone for five seconds that burns the target, dealing continuous damage equal to 233.6% of attack +12
Axe conversion: switch from axe form to shield form and slam it to the ground, dealing damage equal to 309.5% of attack +16 to the target and knocking them back. Prevent the target from switching weapons for five seconds
45 seconds. Shield conversion and axe conversion share the same cooldown.

Discharge skill

Skill Effect
Seething rage When weapon charge is full or you trigger Phantasia, switch to this weapon to cleanse yourself of all debuffs and unleash a flame shockwave, dealing damage equal to 352% of attack +19. Also taunt enemies for five seconds, during which you gain 15% damage reduction and scatter shield-shaped objects based on the number of targets taunted. These objects last 20 seconds and provide ten seconds of 5% damage reduction (stackable), and restore dodge by one.

Tower of Fantasy Huma three-star skin splash art

Tower of Fantasy Huma advancement

You can advance Tower of Fantasy weapons by using their corresponding fusion cores, which you get by collecting more than one copy of a character. After you get your first copy of Huma and her Molten Shield V2, you can purchase another copy through the Commissary’s weapon store for 120 black gold. Alternatively, you can get a duplicate of Huma by pulling on the banner, but, of course, this is entirely up to RNG.

Advancing your weapons by spending fusion cores and gold unlocks special bonuses. Here are all of the bonuses you gain from unlocking each of Huma’s advancement stars.

  • One star: gain a stack of strong shield upon casting Huma’s discharge, or when using a dodge skill or branch skill while in shield form. Each stack of strong shield grants 10% damage reduction for 15 seconds and stacks up to three times. Switching to axe form converts all strong shield stacks to sharp axe stacks, each of which increases damage by 15% for 15 seconds. Switching to a different weapon cancels this effect.
  • Two stars: increase the weapon’s base HP growth by 16%
  • Three stars: while in shield form, branch/dodge attacks deal additional damage to targets equal to 4% of the user’s current HP
  • Four stars: increase the current weapon’s base attack growth by 32%.
  • Five stars: after switching to shield axe, immediately gain 30% incoming damage reduction that diminishes by 10% every three seconds, down to a minimum of 10%. Switching weapons cancels this effect. Cooldown is 30 seconds.
  • Six stars: enhances both shield conversion and axe conversion. Shield conversion enhancement: increases damage dealt by 60% and expands the radius of the flame zone by 30%. Axe conversion enhancement: no longer shares its cooldown with shield conversion. For the next five seconds after you use this skill, all damage received turns into HP (up to a maximum of 15% of your Max HP)

Tower of Fantasy Huma stood in Banges Shelter, with a floating island in the distance

What’s the best Tower of Fantasy Huma matrix set?

As with all SR and SSR Simulacra, Huma has her own matrix set designed around her kit. This is a perfect choice, as it boosts Huma’s damage and takes advantage of her DoT application. Alternatively, you can mix two of King’s set with two of Shiro’s set to maximise Huma’s shield shatter and damage benefits.

Of course, Huma, King, and Shiro’s sets are all SSR, meaning they can be difficult to farm. If you’re looking for a more affordable SR option, Sobek’s Swamp Shadow is a great choice, as it increases Molten Shield V2’s damage output and attack range. Or, if you want an R-rank set to get you by while you wait for something better, go with Self-explosive for its flame damage boost.

Find out more about different matrix sets, where to get them, and how to upgrade them in our Tower of Fantasy matrices guide.

ToF matrix set Effect
Huma Two equipped: hitting targets with dodge skills inflicts bleed, dealing damage equal to 15%/19%/22.5%/26% of attack every second for five seconds
Four equipped: reduces attack of all targets within eight metres that are taking damage over time by 10%/12%/13%/15%. Only the highest level’s effect is applied when obtained repeatedly
King Two equipped: when a target is shattered, gain a 8%/10%/12%/14% damage boost for 25 seconds. Only the highest level’s effect is applied when obtained repeatedly
Four equipped: when there are more than two enemies around, hits restore HP equal to 14%/18%/22%/26% of damage dealt upon attacking. The maximum HP restored every 0.5 seconds must not exceed 36%/42%/48%/54% of attack
Shiro Two equipped: increases both damage and shatter to targets with more than 50% HP by 15%/19%/22.5%/26%
Four equipped: upon entering battle, gain a 20%/25%/30%/35% damage boost for 35 seconds. Resets five seconds after exiting battle
Sobek Three equipped: increases damage dealt by 6%/7.5%/9% for each enemy nearby. Up to three stacks
Self-explosive Three equipped: increases damage dealt by flame weapons by 6%

What are Tower of Fantasy Huma’s upgrade materials?

If you want to upgrade Tower of Fantasy Huma’s weapon, Molten Shield V2, you need the following items. Check out our Tower of Fantasy map guide for more help finding them.

Rank Level Gold Materials
One Ten 400 Two firecore
Two 20 800 Two firecore
Three 30 1,200 Three firecore, one acidproof glaze I
Four 40 1,600 Three firecore, one acidproof glaze I, three nanofiber frame I
Five 50 2,000 Four firecore, four acidproof glaze I, four nanofiber frame I
Six 60 2,400 Six firecore, six acidproof glaze I, six nanofiber frame I 
Seven 70 2,800 Eight firecore, eight acidproof glaze I, eight nanofiber frame I
Eight 80 3,200 11 firecore, 11 acidproof glaze I, 11 nanofiber frame I
Nine 90 3,600 Five heart of lava, five acidproof glaze II, five nanofiber frame II

Tower of Fantasy Huma holding her shield on the Simulacra select page

What are the best Tower of Fantasy Huma team comps?

Huma is a great tank character that benefits from the fortitude weapon resonance effect. As such, teaming Molten Shield V2 up with Tower of Fantasy Meryl’s Rosy Edge is a great move. In this lineup, Huma’s weapon offers shields and tankiness, while Meryl’s shatters enemy shields and offers some great damage and CC resist through her spin attack.

For the third slot, you can bring Tower of Fantasy King’s Scythe of the Crow, which deals heaps of damage, offers even more shield breaking potential, and has a quicker hit rate than the other weapons, giving you a bit more mobility and flexibility when needed.

Alternatively, you can replace King with Tower of Fantasy’s Nemesis for amazing utility, with her brilliant healing, electrodes, and impressive volt damage output. She offers great self-sustain, and, when combined with Huma, and Meryl, is brilliant in PVP play.

What are the best Tower of Fantasy Huma gifts?

When scouting gifts for Huma, remember that her favourite tags are everyday items, games, and decorations. We’ve listed all his favourite gifts below, along with their rarity, the number of awakening points they give, and where to get them from. Head over to our Tower of Fantasy gifts guide to find out more.

Gift Rarity Awakening points given How to obtain
Angela ornament Purple 80 Special gift box
3D Hykros puzzle Purple 60 Special gift box
Aida comic Purple 60 Special gift box
Limited Peanut figurine Purple 60 Special gift box
Music box Purple 60 Special gift box
New game console Purple 60 Special gift box
Snow globe Purple 60 Special gift box
Chess set Blue 30 Fine gift box
Coloring book Blue 30 Fine gift box
New Kalka ornament Blue 30 Fine gift box
Perfume bottle Blue 30 Fine gift box
Tailor-made suit Blue 30 Fine gift box
Tartarus ornament Blue 30 Fine gift box
Vitamin pack Blue 30 Fine gift box
Custom poker deck Green 15 Small gift box or from the item vendor in Banges
Flower bouquet Green 15 Small gift box or from the item vendor in Banges
Mini potted plant Green 15 Small gift box or from the item vendor in Banges
Nice picture frame Green 15 Small gift box or from the item vendor in Banges
Wool scarf Green 15 Small gift box or from the item vendor in Banges

Tower of Fantasy Huma looking at the camera in Banges Shelter

What are Tower of Fantasy Huma’s awakening rewards?

Giving Huma gifts earns you awakening points. When you hit certain awakening progress milestones, you also unlock recollection rewards. Here are all of Tower of Fantasy Huma’s awakening rewards. Keep in mind that you can use a Simulacra’s unlocked trait without taking on their appearance by toggling the ‘use Simulacra trait’ switch underneath them in the Simulacra selection page.

Awakening points Recollection reward
200 Huma avatar
600 Log: Acquaintance
1,200 Huma: Fortitude trait – each time Huma receives damage, gain one fortitude mark. Gain an additional fortitude mark if it’s flame damage. You can gain up to one stack per one second, and a maximum of 12 stacks in total. Upon using a weapon skill, use all fortitude marks and gain a HP shield equal to the number of marks x0.4% of HP for 12 seconds. If you use fortitude marks when the effect is stacked up to the maximum, you gain a shield equal to the number of marks x0.6% HP.
2,000 Log: Echo
3,000  Log: Sympathy
4,000  Huma: Iron Screen trait – each time Huma receives damage, gain one fortitude mark. Gain an additional fortitude mark if it’s flame damage. You can gain up to one stack per one second, and a maximum of 12 stacks in total. Upon using a weapon skill, use all fortitude marks and gain a HP shield equal to the number of marks x0.6% of HP for 12 seconds. If you use fortitude marks when the effect is stacked up to the maximum, you gain a shield equal to the number of marks x0.9% HP.

Who is Tower of Fantasy Huma’s voice actor?

Huma’s English voice actor is Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who you may recognise as the voice of Tails from Sonic, Monica von Ochs and Kronya from Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, or one of her many other roles including a multitude of characters from Naruto, Danny Phantom, and What’s New Scooby Doo.

Huma’s Japanese voice actor is Rie Takahashi, who has voiced many iconic characters including Genshin Impact’s Hu Tao, Megumin from Konosuba, Emilia from Princess Connect, Hikari from Pokémon Masters, and many more.

That’s it for our Tower of Fantasy Huma build. If you want to take her to do some sightseeing, check out our Tower of Fantasy scenic points guide. Or, for a fresh world of adventure, head over to our list of the best games like Genshin Impact.

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American marketers wanted to give Pikachu boobs

Yes, you read the headline correctly. With Pokémon’s 25-year-plus history, there are always little tidbits coming out about how the franchise propelled itself to success across the world, and one of the most recent gleamings we’ve gotten from the history of the series is that, apparently, American marketers wanted to give Pikachu boobs.

Fortunately, we never had to see Pikachu boobs, but we can take a guess at what it might have looked like from listening to Tsunekazu Ishihara’s words when speaking to Alex Pappademas for The Big Hit Show podcast. He described the American redesign as “something like a tiger with huge breasts”, adding that “it looked like a character from the musical Cats”.

I’m pretty sure your own imagination has run wild with what little information we’ve given, so be glad to know that that’s as much as the president of the Pokémon Company was willing to share on this occasion. We hate to think what Mr Ishihara would think about the thicc Pikachu that’s been doing the rounds in recent months, but at least it doesn’t look like something out of the mind of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

A heavy-chested Pikachu redesign isn’t the only bit of fresh information we managed to take from episode 3 of The Big Hit Show. It turns out that the same marketing team responsible for trying to pin the booby on the Pikachu came up with over six sets of alternative names and translations when naming the first 151 Pokémon. However, with what we know their imaginations were capable of, it’s probably for the best these never saw the light of day. 

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There you have it, all you need to know about the time that a bunch of marketing specialists tried to give Pikachu boobs. For more bare-chested Nintendo-related news stories, check out the latest on Bayonetta 3’s NSFW naive angel mode.

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How Xenoblade sidesteps open-world fatigue

When a new Assassin’s Creed comes out, a lot of people use the phrase ‘open-world fatigue’ to express their exhaustion at what they feel is an endless stream of dull and massive spaces with very little to do other than the same old chores they’ve been doing for years.

I get this. The special open worlds we’ve been given recently require a certain level of dedication in the first place, and the boring ones are just brain wallpaper. For the former, Red Dead Redemption 2 or Breath of the Wild are good examples of open worlds that seem to reinvigorate the genre in their own unique ways. For the brain wallpaper, I put forward anything formulaic by Ubisoft.

Side-note time: I love formulaic Ubisoft games. Assassin’s Creed is great fun (I’ve literally hundred-percented four games in the series for some reason). But we’ve been playing similar enough variations on their formula since at least 2011, if not earlier. Brain wallpaper is good sometimes! Sometimes you just need to chill out and do some virtual murder and y’know what? That’s okay.

Red Dead Redemption 2 goes about open worlds in an incredibly luxurious, almost romantic way, while Breath of the Wild goes about it in a mathematical way, like an abacus-laden desk-haver, like it pushes its glasses up with the bottom of its pen while writing out formulas to do with triangles.

A screenshot from Xenoblade Chronicles showing a large grassy outcrop over a big block of flat stone in the distance, on a large grassy plain with trees on it.

The romance of RDR2 comes from its beauty and simplicity. This space has to feel very real, so there are two main things Rockstar has to do. First up is the obvious bit: graphics. The graphics in RDR2 will still be impressive in a decade, because there’s wonderful attention to detail in everything, making this space feel ripe to homestead in. (There’s also a side-thought about how characters’ feet interact with surfaces that I could get into, but probably best I don’t).

Second is making living things feel real. Animals may not have to talk, but animating them and making them interact with the player and the world properly probably takes unholy amounts of time. Then humans have the issue of facial expressions and dialogue lines that properly match up to the player’s actions in the world. How do you make an NPC react properly when the player blows themself up with dynamite, falls off a train bridge, and loses their hat in a waterfall? I’d probably make them say “oh lordy”, but that’s just me.

A screenshot from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 showing a glowing blue outcrop in the distance behind some tall pine trees.

Well whatever, making a world like RDR2’s takes a long time. Same for Breath of the Wild. When I was talking about triangles earlier I wasn’t just being annoying. As summarised by Robert Yang, when people first played BotW they weren’t enjoying it, either feeling over-guided to their destination or too lost when exploring. Crafting this open-world took trial and error on Nintendo’s part.

They started implementing triangles. If you see a triangle it blocks your view. You can either go around it or get on top of it to see what’s next. What if when you went around it there were enemies to fight, or when you got to the top there was a little collectable? Oh, and by the time you get a better look at what’s behind it, what if there were seven new things to look at, whether it’s a glowing shrine, a strangely-shaped mountain, or just a cool-looking patch of snow? Read that summary above as it’s better than I can do, but either way, doing that stuff takes time.

A screenshot from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 showing floating island with paths stretching between them in a cloudy sky.

But you know what clearly takes less time? Making Xenoblade games. We have had two new Xenoblade games since BotW came out and zero new Zelda games. Xenoblade has also offered two chunky bits of DLC that feel like standalone games and suck up around 30 hours each. So, is Monolith Soft’s dev cycle just as slick and formulaic as Ubisoft’s?

Well, by the looks of it, yeah. These spaces don’t really do much in terms of interacting with the player or convincing them that they’re real spaces. They have icons and destinations. They have objects littered on the ground to collect. They don’t go for the luxuriousness of a Red Dead or the fine-tuned magic of a Breath of the Wild. They’re kinda just big spaces to hang out in.

Noah and Mio playing their flutes. Noah is a man with black hair in a ponytail, and a black military outfit. Mio is a woman with cat ears and white hair in a bob, wearing a white and orange military dress.

So, why am I not tired of them? Well, I do like their bonkers stories, but that can’t be all there is, right? Otherwise, I’d prefer 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim for letting me just experience a bonkers story (or I’d just watch the tele). Well, the combat’s pretty good too, but that’s true of a lot of games that suffer from dull open worlds. I know a lot of people don’t like it, but shooting a gun in Cyberpunk 2077 feels good.

Nope, I think the true magic trick of Xenoblade is that everything is just bloody massive. You look one way and there’s a big gorilla, another way and there’s a giant grassy plain that takes a decade to cross, another and there’s some tall thing that you want to be on top of. This isn’t the same as BotW–most treats are telegraphed rather than suggested. Instead, it’s just pretty darn cool.

A shot from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 showing the silhoetted hilt of a giant sword poking up behind a massive cliff with waterfalls flowing off it.

I wasn’t cool enough to boot up the original Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii. I only played it after I played Xenoblade Chronicles 2. But I imagine the main hook for people getting into that game was the scale of it all (as well as the excellent music but let’s ignore that for now because it doesn’t help me make my point).

Just the feeling of insignificance that a giant creature a million levels higher than you gives to the player is something uniquely old-fashioned. When Xenoblade Chronicles 2 came out, people complained that you could get ruined by a level 81 Territorial Rotbart in the opening area, which I understand, but the fact that the game did it at all is weird and exciting.

A screenshot from Xenoblade Chronicles showing a giant city in the sky, ufo shapes surrounding it with one large tower in the middle

This sense of scale has been utilised elsewhere, most notably by Team Ico. Shadow of the Colossus is an excellent example of scale offering a feeling of insignificance, making the player feel like they’re fighting against unbelievable odds. I think Monster Hunter does this really well too; when you first get trampled by a Rathalos and the big beast just stumbles to the ground, that’s pretty terrifying, hilarious, and magical.

Xenoblade’s art direction, particularly in the second mainline game, helps the loud bigness of everything come across. Colours are big and bright, monsters are uniquely shaped, and everything has a general sense of wonder. Just the conceits of these spaces–the backs of giant titans, the body of a massive mech–are enough to spark the imagination.

A shot from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 showing a lighthouse sticking out an island in a clam sea, with a massive patch of land in the distance with strange stony outcroppings spiking from it.

Side-note round two: I think this is why some Assassin’s Creed games can get their hooks in me more than others. Renaissance Italy is objectively cooler than the American Revolution. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is cool because I want to go to Greece. Digital historical tourism is the key here, but it only works if you’re actually interested in the place.

One thing this helps with is making Xenoblade’s interiors feel even more special than they already are. The spaces they construct for these games are just so excellently big and detailed, offering winding paths up and down and in and out. Everything leads back to where it ought to. Everything is as big as it should be when looked at from the outside. It’s beautiful.

A screenshot from Xenoblade Chronicles showing glowing fungus-like plants in a cave, everything glowing strange colours.

The beauty of the music helps too, of course, but it also lines up with the series’ philosophy of bigness. How often does Assassin’s Creed just have a spiky guitar solo come in the middle of grand choral chants or driving strings? They should do it. It just makes everything more fun, especially when you’re going to be stuck there for dozens of hours.

Yasunori Mitsuda’s work on the Chrono series is legendary, and it brings a similarly hefty stamp to mark all the Xeno games, too. There isn’t any shyness in the loudness that Xenoblade brings, whether it’s aural or visual, which helps everything feel special. It may be some sort of style-over-substance mind trick, but it works on me.

Noah, far away on a cliff edge, silhouetted by the setting sun, in a screenshot from Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

So, how does Xenoblade sidestep open-world fatigue? By being big, loud, and confident to create a world that makes the player feel insignificant and special at the same time. It doesn’t have the beauty of a Red Dead, nor the mathematical mind of a Breath of the Wild, but it has my heart in spite of that.

To see our thoughts on the latest entry, check out our Xenoblade Chronicles 3 review. For more, take a look at our Xenoblade Chronicles 3 characters, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 heroes, and Xenoblade Chronicles timeline guide for more.