Apple to close all retail stores outside of China until March 27
Apple CEO Tim Cook in a letter published late Friday detailed the company’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, saying it will close all retail outlets outside of Greater China until March 27.
Source: Deirdre O’Brien via Instagram
Cook in the letter acknowledged the severity of COVID-19, noting Apple “wants to continue to play a role in helping individuals and communities emerge stronger” from the crisis.
The executive said Apple learned a great deal from combating the virus in China, where the company just today reopened its chain of 42 stores, and came away with a set of best practices that will assist it and others in formulating a global response.
“One of those lessons is that the most effective way to minimize risk of the virus’s transmission is to reduce density and maximize social distance,” Cook writes. “As rates of new infections continue to grow in other places, we’re taking additional steps to protect our team members and customers.”
While China’s stores remain open, albeit with reduced operating hours, Apple will close all other outlets around the world to mitigate transmission and spread of the virus. Prior to Cook’s letter, the company on Friday announced store closures across Spain and one U.S. location in Pennsylvania.
Apple’s online storefront, accessible via the web or the official Apple Store app, will be open during the two-week hiatus for brick-and-mortar stores. Customers looking for technical support and repairs are urged to visit support.apple.com, where they can be connected with local Authorized Service Providers or request a product to be mailed in for service.
During the temporary shutdown, all hourly workers are set to receive full pay, Cook said. Further, Apple has updated work policies to accommodate personal or family health circumstances resulting from COVID-19, including recovering from an illness, caring for sick family members, mandatory quarantining, or childcare challenges due to school closures.
As with past global emergencies, Apple is donating funds to the global COVID-19 response. According to Cook, the company’s commitments reached $15 million worldwide, with funds going toward treatment and to “help lessen the economic and community impacts” of the virus. Apple is also matching employee donations on a two-to-one basis to support local, national and international COVID-19 response efforts.
Cook closed the letter by thanking those fighting on the front line, specifically first responders, doctors, nurses, researchers, public health experts and public servants.
“We do not yet know with certainty when the greatest risk will be behind us,” Cook writes. “And yet I have been inspired by the humanity and determination I have seen from all corners of our global community. As President Lincoln said in a time of great adversity: ‘The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.’ That’s always how Apple has chosen to meet big challenges. And it’s how we’ll rise to meet this one, too.”
Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s SVP of Retail and People, issued a short statement on Instagram to announce the coming store closures and thank retail employees.
“I am profoundly grateful to our exceptional team members all around the world who have shown such deep care for our customers and each other during this difficult time,” O’Brien said.
Today’s announcement should come as no surprise, as Apple’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been swift and wide-reaching. Apple Stores in China were initially closed in late January, followed by a complete retail and corporate shutdown in early February. The company this week shuttered all outlets in Italy on the back of a national quarantine, suspended all Today at Apple sessions in the U.S. and instituted strict global policies with hopes of minimizing the spread of the virus.
Most recently, Apple on Friday announced this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference will be held completely online due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 03-14-2020, 08:07 AM - Forum: Windows
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Swiss Re announces a strategic alliance with Microsoft
Swiss Re to create a Digital Market Center using Microsoft’s data analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities to transform how risks are predicted, managed and insured
Microsoft to support Swiss Re in developing go-to-market strategies for new risk management solutions and insurance products based on data insights
The Digital Market Center’s initial focus will be on connected vehicles and mobility, Industry 4.0 and natural catastrophe resilience
Zurich, March 12, 2020 – Swiss Re and Microsoft Corp. announced today a strategic alliance to further advance insurance innovation and extend financial protection to more people globally. The centrepiece of the strategic alliance is the launch of Swiss Re’s Digital Market Center, which will help develop next-generation large-scale tools to transform the way the insurance industry predicts and manages risks, as well as how the industry creates tangible products based on Swiss Re’s risk knowledge.
Swiss Re’s new Digital Market Center will draw on Microsoft’s next-generation Azure cloud technologies, internet of things and artificial intelligence capabilities. The first areas of application are planned to be connected vehicles and mobility, industrial manufacturing (“Industry 4.0”), and natural catastrophe resilience. The Digital Market Center will also develop innovative cyber platforms to measure business risks in a digital environment and enable a new class of risk technology solutions.
Swiss Re’s Digital Market Center will offer insurers a broader understanding of risks and their ripple effects on society, governments and economies. For example, powered by Microsoft’s automotive data capabilities, Swiss Re will be able to develop a much deeper analysis of automotive risks such as a car’s safety performance when using the latest driving assistance technologies. By providing data-driven insights from this type of data, Swiss Re can enable insurers to design innovative new motor insurance products, such as pay-as-you-drive covers.
Swiss Re’s work in this area will go beyond new product creation and provide broader risk insights for complex, interconnected systems. For example, risk managers can get a greater understanding of how the loss of a ship’s cargo may impact global supply chains, or how natural catastrophes will impact a government’s key infrastructure investments. Based on these type of data insights, insurers can develop solutions that proactively mitigate losses before they occur.
As part of the strategic alliance, Swiss Re will transform its internal operating platform by modernising and moving it to the Azure cloud. This move will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the core processes by leveraging the most advanced data processing and AI capabilities at scale.
Thierry Léger, CEO Swiss Re Life Capital, said: “Swiss Re’s alliance with Microsoft will help accelerate the digital transformation of the insurance industry, with benefits across all lines of business. By building digital markets and not just isolated products, we aim to transform the way businesses approach the risks they face. The alliance between Swiss Re and Microsoft present an exciting opportunity for the insurance industry.”
Anette Bronder, Swiss Re Group Chief Operating Officer, said: “Digital transformation can only be achieved through strong partnerships. The strategic alliance with Microsoft will greatly advance our ability to make our risk expertise available to our clients. At the same time, we can achieve significant efficiency gains for our own internal platforms and processes. This is an important step for Swiss Re’s evolution as a leading data-enabled risk knowledge company.“
Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations at Microsoft, added: “I am looking forward to seeing how this collaboration enables new pathways for innovation in how insurance solutions are built and managed. By combining Swiss Re’s risk expertise with Microsoft Azure, we have the opportunity to deliver greater peace of mind to people and to enrich their experience with the insurance industry.”
Swiss Re
The Swiss Re Group is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. It anticipates and manages risk – from natural catastrophes to climate change, from ageing populations to cybercrime. The aim of the Swiss Re Group is to enable society to thrive and progress, creating new opportunities and solutions for its clients. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1863, the Swiss Re Group operates through a network of around 80 offices globally. It is organised into three Business Units, each with a distinct strategy and set of objectives contributing to the Group’s overall mission.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
For more information, press only:
Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, rrt@we-worldwide.com
Cautionary note on forward-looking statements Certain statements and illustrations contained herein are forward-looking. These statements (including as to plans, objectives, targets, and trends) and illustrations provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to a historical fact or current fact.
Forward-looking statements typically are identified by words or phrases such as “anticipate”, “assume”, “believe”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “foresee”, “intend”, “may increase”, “may fluctuate” and similar expressions, or by future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “should”, “would” and “could”. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the Group’s actual results of operations, financial condition, solvency ratios, capital or liquidity positions or prospects to be materially different from any future results of operations, financial condition, solvency ratios, capital or liquidity positions or prospects expressed or implied by such statements or cause Swiss Re to not achieve its published targets. Such factors include, among others:
the frequency, severity and development of insured claim events, particularly natural catastrophes, man-made disasters, pandemics, acts of terrorism or acts of war;
mortality, morbidity and longevity experience;
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central bank intervention in the financial markets, trade wars or other protectionist measures relating to international trade arrangements, adverse geopolitical events, domestic political upheavals or other developments that adversely impact global economic conditions;
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the Group’s inability to generate sufficient investment income from its investment portfolio, including as a result of fluctuations in the equity and fixed income markets, the composition of the investment portfolio or otherwise;
changes in legislation and regulation, or the interpretations thereof by regulators and courts, affecting the Group or its ceding companies, including as a result of comprehensive reform or shifts away from multilateral approaches to regulation of global operations;
the lowering or loss of one of the financial strength or other ratings of one or more companies in the Group, and developments adversely affecting its ability to achieve improved ratings;
uncertainties in estimating reserves, including differences between actual claims experience and underwriting and reserving assumptions;
policy renewal and lapse rates;
uncertainties in estimating future claims for purposes of financial reporting, particularly with respect to large natural catastrophes and certain large man-made losses, as significant uncertainties may be involved in estimating losses from such events and preliminary estimates may be subject to change as new information becomes available;
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significant investments, acquisitions or dispositions, and any delays, unforeseen liabilities or other costs, lower-than-expected benefits, impairments, ratings action or other issues experienced in connection with any such transactions;
extraordinary events affecting the Group’s clients and other counterparties, such as bankruptcies, liquidations and other credit-related events;
changing levels of competition;
the effects of business disruption due to terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, natural catastrophes, public health emergencies, hostilities or other events;
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operational factors, including the efficacy of risk management and other internal procedures in anticipating and managing the foregoing risks.
These factors are not exhaustive. The Group operates in a continually changing environment and new risks emerge continually. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Swiss Re undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Coronavirus Isolation Is Causing A Spike In Online Gaming Traffic In Italy
We’re all more than aware of the havoc being caused by the coronavirus outbreak – E3 is the latest major gaming event to be cancelled as a result – but the spread is naturally causing unique situations depending on your location.
Italy is one of a number of countries which has decided to close its schools in an attempt to prevent further spreading of the virus. With kids being left to occupy themselves at home, a sudden surge in internet traffic has been reported with a new boost in online gaming serving as one of the main contributors.
A Bloomberg report notes that Telecom Italia, a major Italian telecommunications company, has seen the amount of data passing through its network surge by more than two-thirds in the past two weeks. Games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty have been highlighted in the report, as their vast number of players are using more bandwidth than working adults’ business programs and conference calls.
“We reported an increase of more than 70% of Internet traffic over our landline network, with a big contribution from online gaming such as Fortnite,” says Telecom Italia CEO Luigi Gubitosi.
Reportedly, traffic from games like the ones mentioned above can spike even higher on days when updates are pushed live as keen players all jump online to download the latest content at the same time.
Of course, the popularity of online games like Fortnite may well grow further as more and more people are forced to stay at home. Pokémon GO developer Niantic has actually introduced new updates to allow players to enjoy the game from home, rather than having to go out and about.
Review: Dead Or School – Mutant-Slaying With A Sense Of Style
Dead or School is a game full of obvious jank: likely the product of a tiny team of three working on a very tight, crowdfunded budget to realise a very – perhaps overly – ambitious creative vision. It’s questionably optimised, particularly in handheld mode, where it chugs quite a bit. Its 2D sprites appear obviously paper-thin when the camera shifts to a slight angle. Its pre-rendered cutscenes look considerably worse than the in-game polygonal backdrops, which already look a bit dated. And its huge (albeit lovely-looking) interface occasionally covers up the action.
Yet somehow, there’s some real magic at work here; the core appeal of the game is such that all of these issues simply cease to matter after just a few minutes because you’ll be having too good a time to notice. What we have here is a wonderfully enjoyable 2D side-scroller that deserves a lot more attention than it’s probably going to get. It’s such a fundamentally satisfying, good-natured experience that has clearly been put together with such love it’s hard to be mad about anything it could do a little bit better.
Dead or School is a post-apocalyptic tale, developed as a speculative side-story to director and artist Mokusei Zaijuu’s self-published sci-fi manga Machine Doll Nanami-chan. More than seventy years have passed since a war between humanity and mutants – a conflict which drove mankind underground and left the mutants to roam unchecked on the surface. The people have, for the most part, accepted their lot up until now – at least partly due to the fact that no-one seems to be able to remember the details of the war or where the mutants came from – but the third generation of subterranean humans are restless.
Protagonist Hisako is one of these third-generation underground residents and is fascinated by the forbidden world above. She learns that there were once places called “schools” on the surface, and that young people could gather, learn and play together there. Irresistibly drawn to this symbol of hope, Hisako wishes to do what she can to take back the surface and build a school where she and her friends can live in happiness. Her grandmother, recognising a fire in Hisako’s eyes that she hasn’t seen in anyone else for a very long time, gives the youngster her old school uniform, and encourages her to gather some allies, arm herself and do her best to realise her dream. Because what does humanity have to lose at this point?
The premise might initially seem ridiculous, but it’s actually the catalyst for an interesting, very sincere narrative that uses its lively, naïve protagonist to deliver a message of hope in a bleak world. And, as Hisako starts to uncover the truth behind the war – as well as the true motivations of several groups of humans that have formed beneath the ground – things build to a surprisingly epic climax with some intriguing twists.
The story is what provides the incentive to progress in Dead or School, but it’s the gameplay where it shines the brightest. What we have here is a huge side-scrolling 2D platformer with tight controls, weighty combat, lots of loot, and some seriously varied challenges of skill, intellect and dexterity.
Hisako is equipped with three weapons: a melee implement, a gun and an explosive launcher. Within each of these categories are numerous variations that handle differently to one another. In the melee category, for example, a fencing sword delivers rapid attacks to quickly chip down an enemy’s health, while a war hammer delivers a huge burst of damage one monstrous swing at a time.
There’s no one “correct” weapon loadout; you’re free to make decisions according to your preferred playstyle and the loot you’ve acquired. Weapons can also be modded in various ways to boost their statistics or add additional abilities to them. There’s a lot of customisation on offer here – though as always with games of this type you’re a little at the mercy of dear old RNGesus.
Enemy types are drip-fed throughout the duration of the campaign, so you’re always seeing new foes whenever you enter a new area. And the sheer variety in enemy types and attack patterns — not to mention the huge bosses – means that all three weapon categories are useful, so you’d better get comfortable with all of them.
There’s also an excellent dodge-roll mechanic, which both provides generous invincibility frames for negating attacks as well as a Bayonetta-style “slow time” mechanic if you scoot out of the way at just the right moment. Watch your stamina bar, though; this is not a game where you can just hammer the attack and dodge buttons and hope for the best.
Dead or School is mostly structured in “encounters”. While making your way from one save point to the next, you’ll run into situations where you’ll have to clear out several waves of enemies before you can proceed. These waves are predefined, so if you find yourself struggling, you can learn them and prepare accordingly before trying again. Until you reach the next save point, you’ll have to clear this encounter every time as you pass; once you’ve made it through, however, the encounter becomes optional and can be bypassed if you wish.
Progression through the game is, in this way, actually rather more linear than the open-looking maps might suggest – though there are numerous branches from the critical path that allow you to acquire optional collectable “souvenirs” and rescue trapped refugees. These are inevitably concealed beyond a self-contained challenge of some description, and many of these segments provide some of the most interesting set pieces in the game.
Deep beneath Tokyo’s “electric town” Akihabara, for example, you’ll find yourself shooting lightbulbs to reveal a path forward into the darkness; elsewhere you’ll be chased up a crumbling building by ever-advancing buzzsaws, invited to play an arcade machine that has somehow survived the war or even provided an opportunity to perform a guitar solo with a friendly mutant.
Meanwhile, the main path through the game takes you through a wide variety of environments, providing Hisako’s journey with a great sense of scale and context. In one stage, you’ll be making your way through the claustrophobic tunnels of the sewers; in another, you’ll be battling through the streets on the surface as chaos unfolds in the background. There’s always something new and exciting to see as you progress, and it’s this as much as the story that keeps you pushing ever onwards through Hisako’s perpetually satisfying adventure in the hope that one day, she will finally get to school.
Conclusion
For some, the technical jank may be enough to put them off engaging with Dead or School fully. That’d be a real shame, though; allow yourself to get wrapped up in the narrative, the mechanics, the piles of loot, the beautifully designed stages and the game’s wonderful sense of style, and there’s something truly special to enjoy here; an honest-to-goodness hidden gem if ever there was one.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 03-14-2020, 08:07 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Division 2, Far Cry, Assassin's Creed, And More Get Major Xbox One Discounts
Earlier this week, Microsoft kicked off its new set of weekly Xbox One deals, offering discounts on a bunch of great games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Hitman 2, and Borderlands 3 Deluxe Edition. While you still have time to grab those deals, a new sale, dubbed the Triple Threat Sale, has popped up on the Xbox Store. For the next six days you can save on the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry franchises as well as games falling under the Tom Clancy umbrella.
The Division 2's Warlords of New York expansion released earlier this month, and right now you can grab the Warlords of New York Edition--which includes the base game and the $30 expansion--for $40.19 (was $60). The Ultimate Edition, which also includes the Year 1 Pass, all DLC released to date, and an Ultimate Pack filled with weapons and armor to use in-game, is down to $60 (was $80).
If you've missed out on some Assassin's Creed games, now's your chance to stock up for less. The most recent entries in the franchise, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Assassin's Creed Origins, are on sale for $15 each (were $60). Odyssey's Season Pass, which includes two well-regarded expansions and Assassin's Creed III Remastered, is 50% off at $20. Alternatively, you can grab Odyssey's Gold Edition for $25 (was $100) and get the base game and season pass as a bundle. The Assassin's Creed Triple Pack--containing Black Flag, Unity, and Syndicate--is $29.69 (was $90). Going even further back, The Ezio Collection--Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood, Revelations--is just $12 (was $40).
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 03-14-2020, 01:04 AM - Forum: Windows
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Microsoft announces change to its board of directors
REDMOND, Wash. — March 13, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Co-Founder and Technology Advisor Bill Gates stepped down from the company’s Board of Directors to dedicate more time to his philanthropic priorities including global health, development, education, and his increasing engagement in tackling climate change. He will continue to serve as Technology Advisor to CEO Satya Nadella and other leaders in the company.
On June 27, 2008, Gates transitioned out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He served as Microsoft’s chairman of the board until February 4, 2014.
“It’s been a tremendous honor and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years. Bill founded our company with a belief in the democratizing force of software and a passion to solve society’s most pressing challenges. And Microsoft and the world are better for it. The board has benefited from Bill’s leadership and vision. And Microsoft will continue to benefit from Bill’s ongoing technical passion and advice to drive our products and services forward. I am grateful for Bill’s friendship and look forward to continuing to work alongside him to realize our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
“On behalf of our shareholders and the Board, I want to express my deep appreciation to Bill for all his contributions to Microsoft. As a member of the Board, he challenged us to think big and then think even bigger. He leaves an enduring legacy of curiosity and insight that serves as an inspiration for us all,” said John W. Thompson, Microsoft independent board chair.
With Gates’ departure, the Board will consist of 12 members, including John W. Thompson, Microsoft independent chair; Reid Hoffman, partner at Greylock Partners; Hugh Johnston, vice chairman and chief financial officer of PepsiCo; Teri L. List-Stoll, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Gap, Inc.; Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft; Sandra E. Peterson, operating partner, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; Penny Pritzker, founder and chairman, PSP Partners; Charles W. Scharf, chief executive officer and president of Wells Fargo & Co.; Arne Sorenson, president and CEO, Marriott International Inc.; John W. Stanton, chairman of Trilogy Equity Partners; Emma Walmsley, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK); and Padmasree Warrior, founder, CEO and president, Fable Group Inc.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
For more information, press only: Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, rrt@we-worldwide.com
Dragon: Marked For Death Is Receiving A “Massive Update” On 21st April
The side-scrolling action-RPG Dragon: Marked for Death by Inti Creates was definitely an interesting concept, but the game itself didn’t live up to expectations. Since its release early last year, it’s been patched a few times over, and soon it’ll be bumped up to Version 3.0.0.
According to the Inti Creates Twitter account this “massive update” will be released next month on 21st April, and will include the new characters – Oracle and Bandit. You can see these characters in action and listen to their Japanese voice cast in the trailer below:
We’ve also got some community patch notes, that have been gathered from the recent live stream (thanks for the tip, Ardisan):
Version 3.0.0 RELEASE DATE APRIL 21
– Bandit and Oracle will be added to the game – Empress, Warrior, Shinobi and Witch will get new abilities – Light Sword, Greatsword and Orb weapon types will be added to the game – Character level cap increased to 100 – Quest level cap increased to 110
*Player Character new infos * Oracle – 4 Japanese voices to choose from Yui Ogura, Tomita Miyu, Saori Hayami, Yui Horie – Oracle is free for everyone who owns the game regardless of whether physical or digital – Players have to meet a certain requirement to unlock her – We don’t know the requirement yet – As long as you have already met the requirement, you should be able to play her – Oracle can be built for both physical and magic dps role – Oracle can be played as a primary support role -magic only has homing and 1 power up
Bandit – 4 Japanese voices to choose from (at least 1 eng voice?) Kaji Yuki, Daisuke Kishio, Kenta tanaka, Daiki Yamashita – To unlock Bandit, you need to complete the DLC quest story-line – And also meet a second requirement – Dragon Claw hitstuns the target – Dragon Claw only has a DP cost on startup, extra continuous grapple has no cost for upkeep – “Bandit’s power depends on how you build him” – thunder bandit’s dragon dash has i-frame but somersault portion has no i-frame -magic relic max number increases for the element same as the contract -poison bandit’s poison magic relic boost more then other contracts -thunder bandit’s thunder magic relic can be used multiple times in the air
Empress – The Empress’s new movement depends on wearing Light sword – Using the new Light Sword, after you do the basic aerial attack (spinning slash) and the Dragon Sword in the air, it initiates an even stronger, longer Dragon Sword – Using Dragon Shot in the air to increase airtime allows you to maintain the stronger Dragon Sword – Using DP, you can do a piercing dash stab with invincibility frames – After the rapid stab attack, the piercing dash stab has less startup lag (animation cancelling)
Warrior – If you do a normal ground combo as Warrior using a Greatsword it’ll do an upwards swing, but if you do a air slash afterwards, it’ll slam down the enemy – “War cry” increases Berserk bonus and shockwave of charge atk – The War cry boost depends on contract – For Wind Warrior it’s about 2.1x ish – Wind Warrior’s smash width has increased and moves forward a bit
Shinobi – Giant Shuriken is similar to Shield Boomerang (surrounds the Shinobi defensively damaging nearby monsters); if locked on, it becomes homing – Dragon Meteor is a powerful downward kick – The longer you extend your aerial combo, the more damage Dragon Meteor does – Elemental Contract determines the length of the combo you need to do to deal max damage, and also the max damage value itself
Witch – Witch’s Orb gives her a Regen spell, Cure spell (remove status effects) and a Buff spell (increase specific stats) – If you upgrade Cure, it becomes a Bizarre Bone buff (less time then 30sec? )
*Drops & Weapon Upgrade System * – You can start upgrading weapons from the Weapon Store/General Store using the Enhance Cubes that drop from monsters – From +0 you can upgrade to +1, +1 to +2, +2 to +3 – However, the upgrade cost is massive – “We’re not improving the drop rates, but we’ll make it easier in another way” – “Not all weapons can be upgraded.” – Only weapons below Lv.70 can be upgraded from +2 to +3 – “The drop rates for normal chests have been improved somewhat” – You can appraise items individually; skip the Gacha animation by pressing + – To work around deviation of equipment drops such as duplicate Kunai and Shuriken, you can bring multiples of weapons of the same rarity (stars) along with materials and money to the Black Market and exchange them for their counterpart (i.e you can trade a bunch of Shuriken for a Kunai of the same tier)
*Training Stage * solo only – There will be a new training stage quest – When you pick that quest, you can fight specific bosses – In the beginning you can only fight certain bosses and low quest level – Defeating bosses in their own quests will unlock them in the training room – If the boss doesn’t exist at Q.Lv50, it won’t show up in the Q.Lv50 training room – The bosses aren’t exactly the same, but they should be similar enough to their original variations – You don’t consume your items if you use them in training – You won’t get any drops, exp or gold from the training room
*Miscellaneous * – Sandbag/dummy added to the town (dmg, hit!#s, dps rates) – Standing/idle animations for all characters when talking – Backgrounds will have more details – Quest info layout changed so that more information is on the right – ability to skip new gold, exp gain animation by pressing + – The new coins have bronze and silver (gold?) variants – We’ll have three save files instead of the two currently (new characters should be playable on the new files if any saves reached the requirements) – Gold reward from quests will be increased up to 20x for certain quests – Patch is still in development so things are being adjusted as we speak – If you fail a quest, the items you used won’t be consumed (same as abandoning quests currently)
Will you be returning to Dragon: Marked for Death to try out this new update? Comment below.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 03-14-2020, 01:04 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Best-Selling Games And Console Of February 2020 Revealed (US)
The NPD Group has revealed the best-selling games of February 2020, which comprises physical games and a limited amount of digital data. In addition to recent heavy-hitters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Grand Theft Auto 5 continues to chart more than six years after its initial launch.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was followed by NBA 2K20 and Grand Theft Auto 5 in February, with Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and The Division 2 rounding out the top five. Ring Fit Adventure was also in the top 10, which could come in handy for those looking to stay away from a public gym during the coronavirus outbreak.
Interestingly, there was not a single February 2020 game included on the top 20 list. It was a relatively slow month that saw the launch of a few games like Dreams and Darksiders Genesis, but they launched later in the month.
