Classical News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

The amount of time I've spent sitting in a van would drive most people to madness, but it was made bearable by the glow of Nintendo's handheld consoles. Recently, however, I've found myself reaching for my Steam Deck more than my Switch, and I'm not the only one.

With past console generations falling to the wayside as the industry progresses, there's sad news for longtime Xbox supporters coming on July 29, albeit with a silver lining. With the current console generation heading into its fourth year (or, in the case of the Switch, its seventh), support for past consoles, devices, and services is beginning to dwindle as companies shift their focus towards newer releases. Unfortunately, this means that some functions of older consoles are inevitably facing discontinued service, rendering players no longer able to use online services on those consoles.

Cataclysm Classic brings with it tabards for nearly every Faction on launch, allowing players to earn Reputation with a chosen Faction in every Level 85 Dungeon they complete. With a choice in leveling zones and the tabards that come with them, players can target certain Reputations based on the rewards they want to receive before Raids release.

Blizzard has released a remastered version of the original Cataclysm expansion trailer! Check out this 4K-enhanced version of the trailer before Cataclysm Classic goes live on Monday, May 20th at 3:00 pm PDT. Cataclysm Classic Phase 1 Overview Cataclysm Classic Raids Overview

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

May 20 has a brand new collection of to solve and some players may get a quick win with these category choices. Knowing a little about many different things is a great way to score wins in this particular word-matching game. Having knowledge about different topics and hobbies can make the difference between a struggling loss, and a victorious win.

In the recent Cataclysm Classic Launch Notes, Blizzard stated that Chaos Orbs will be Bind on Pickup at the launch of Cataclysm Classic, even though they were Bind on Equip during the Beta testing period. Since Chaos Orbs are primarily used in high-level crafting, this change will likely allow crafted BoEs to maintain their value at the beginning of the expansion.

As we inch closer to the autumn launch of Sonic X Shadow Generations, an icon for the game has been added to Steam's database. This gives us a look at another piece of official art made for the Generations remaster - but it's going down a whole lot worse than what we got during the game's reveal.

In the recent Cataclysm Classic Launch Notes, Blizzard stated that 2v2 and 5v5 Arenas would no longer be eligible brackets for players to earn Gladiator titles or rewards. Unlike the original release of Cataclysm, it appears that players will only be able to earn the Gladiator status by competing in 3v3 Arenas.

Connections is the latest puzzle game from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Earlier this month, beloved World of Warcraft speedrunner and Vanilla WoW World Record holder Joana, also known as FuriousPaul, passed away. The community has expressed its condolences in posts and comments all over social media over the last two weeks, remembering Joana's incredible achievements and his massive influence on the World of Warcraft community as a whole.

Blizzard has published Cataclysm Classic launch notes, clarifying parts of the expansion launch which differ from original launch a decade ago. Of particular note is:

After today's Cataclysm Classic update, players have begun discovering a pet that was thought to only be available once players reached Archaeology level 525.

In the recent Cataclysm Classic Launch Notes, Blizzard has confirmed that the weekly cap for Valor has been raised to 1600. For reference, the weekly Valor cap in Cataclysm's original release was 1000, but due to the increased content cadence of Cataclysm Classic, the weekly Valor and Conquest caps will be raised by roughly 60%.

Blizzard has conducted several PvP Damage Reduction tests and players were curious if a solution was reached on final values. WoW Classic Senior Game Producer, Josh Greenfield has stated that the Damage Reduction Aura from the most recent Season of Discovery PvP Test will likely be the final values.

Blizzard has released a Developer Update for Season of Discovery. Since the Classic team is working on both Season of Discovery and Cataclysm Classic, Phase 3 of Season of Discovery will last longer than previous Phases. In addition, Blizzard is planning on releasing a PTR for Season of Discovery Phase 4, which will include Level 60 templated characters.

Blizzard has put together a new video that recaps all of the events and patches of the original release of Cataclysm! This video also provides a preview of what players should expect from Cataclysm Classic's release on May 20th! Cataclysm Classic Phase 1 Overview Cataclysm Classic Raids Overview

This week in WoW, Mists of Pandaria Remix has gone live in all regions, Cataclysm Classic begins on May 20th, Dragonflight players can purchase a Murloc onesie, and there's a new Twitch drop for the Eye of the Legion!

Catch up on all the latest World of Warcraft news from the last week—relive epic adventures with an all-new event—WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria, jump into the next content update to Classic—Cataclysm, outfit your collection with a new bundle deal—the Mrlgrl Pack, and more!

Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Burning Crusade Classic, Season of Discovery, and WoW Classic. Some of the hotfixes below take effect the moment they were implemented, while others may require scheduled realm restarts to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. This list will be updated as additional hotfixes are applied.

Vecna Eve of Ruin is the latest module from the classic tabletop RPG that pits players against one of the game’s oldest enemies. Eve of Ruin celebrates DnD’s 50th anniversary with its most ambitious adventure yet. Set to span the multiverse and encounter heroes and villains from previous adventures, there's plenty to learn before starting this module.

Connections is the latest puzzle game from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Cataclysm Classic brings with it many new things, including new Heirloom gear! Players who are part of a Guild can now purchase Cloak and Helm Heirlooms once they've reached the appropriate Guild Reputation. These new Heirlooms also come with an experience bonus, with Cloaks increasing experience gained by 5%, and Helms by 10%. While much of the content in Cataclysm Classic will mirror its original release, there have been several changes to Guild Perks.

Blizzard has announced that a Cataclysm Launch Test will happen today, May 17, on the Wrath Classic PTR. At 2 PM PDT (5 PM EST, 11 PM CEST), the PTR will open its doors to all players wanting to help Blizzard stress-testing their servers for the launch of Cata Classic! Cata Classic Phase 1 Overview Cata Classic Pre-Patch Overview

Blizzard has released a hotfix for Cataclysm Classic, which fixes the issue of Ancient Hysteria, the Corehound pet effect, not correctly resetting after boss fights! Cata Classic Phase 1 Overview Cata Classic Pre-Patch Overview

The newest collection of are here and we've got any help you might need if you're struggling to solve it for yourself. There are a few misdirections in today's groupings, as well as some very clever additions that could quickly waste away your attempts.

Ubisoft has revealed that Assassin's Creed Shadows will once again return to its series roots, but also feature modern mechanics.

Speculation surrounding a new game from Toys for Bob is currently doing the rounds after the team updated its website to a singular shot of its Crash Bandicoot-inspired logo of a purple Tiki mask. The studio, which went independent earlier this year, is best known for its work creating Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, which brought back the first three PS1 classics on PS4.

Psygnosis’s iconic PS1 flight combat game G-Police is the latest classic to get ported to PS5 and PS4 as part of Sony’s PS Plus Premium emulation efforts from 21st May. The title, originally released all the way back in 1997, sees you commandeering a VTOL in a futuristic, Blade Runner-inspired futuristic environment. While it largely received mixed reviews upon release, it’s stood the test of time as one the more memorable first-party titles deployed for Sony’s inaugural console.

Sony has today revealed the list of PS5, PS4, and Classic games landing on PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium for the month of May 2024. Available to download and play from Tuesday, 21st May 2024, the full list of games is as follows:

A prominent game leaker has revealed that Nintendo is developing a new unannounced game. The codename of the title is Banquet, and it is presumed to be a game for the Nintendo Switch 2. Just as important, while the game itself was not teased, the developers tasked with making it have teamed up to work on a key franchise in the past:

Devolver has been going strong for 15 years now and has established a reputation for publishing high-quality indie games from around the world across a wide range of genres. From the early days of Serious Sam and Hotline Miami, to more recent hits like Cult of the Lamb and Inscryption, the publisher has a track record of allowing small, creative teams to flourish.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

PlayStation Plus is reportedly about to gain a classic game and it may just signal that a whole new selection of games could soon be added to the subscription service. One of the biggest benefits of users signing up to PS Plus Extra is that they gain access to a library of «essential» titles that were beloved on their original systems. While not every game is given an opportunity to return and bask in nostalgic adoration, it's always refreshing to see underrated gems appearing on the service for new generations.

In a recent interview with WoW Classic developers Clayton Stone and Linny Cooke, Crix covered a wide variety of topics related to Cataclysm Classic; including faster gear progression, Class tuning, and even Archeology «Bad Luck Protection». This interview also briefly covered a couple of questions about Season of Discovery and Mists of Pandaria! Check out the entire interview on YouTube, or read our write-up of the highlights below. Crix's Interview with Clayton Stone and Linny Cooke

Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Burning Crusade Classic, Season of Discovery, and WoW Classic. Some of the hotfixes below take effect the moment they were implemented, while others may require scheduled realm restarts to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. This list will be updated as additional hotfixes are applied.

Cataclysm Classic™ launches worldwide on May 20 at 3:00 pm PDT.  Explore new zones, dungeons, and raids, engage in PvP combat, and discover the mysteries of the Darkmoon Faire. With the launch of Cataclysm Classic, the adventure begins anew. Are you ready to face the challenges that await?

While here in the US the Nintendo Switch Online service got three new Mario games this week (yes, Alleyway is a Mario game), the update for Japan included a bonus classic you may not have heard of. Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (officially translated as The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls) was a Japanese Game Boy release, co-developed by the familiar tag-team of Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems, responsible for much of the Game Boy’s lineup. And while The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls may not be a household name, if you’re a fan of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (and who isn’t?) you should take the time to play it.

The newest are here and the May 17 answers got us our second loss in a row. It's a sad day at when two days go by without a win. Luckily, our loss is your gain and we've got all the inside information you need to score a win. One of the best things to do when playing a game of is to utilize the Shuffle button.

Blizzard has released a Hotfix for Cataclysm Classic, which schedules the Darkmoon Faire Island to be available on May 26th, and fixes several Class-related issues.

Blizzard has released a blog post about the Battle for Tol Barad, giving an overview of the content and stating that Baradin Hold will go live sometime after the start of PvP Season 9. Take a look at all the content this battleground will bring in Cataclysm Classic! Tol Barad Overview

An island off the coast of the Eastern Kingdoms, Tol Barad is a historic land sought-after by the leaders of the Horde and the Alliance. Its strategic, isolated location makes it an ideal stronghold from which to conduct military strikes. In World of Warcraft®: Cataclysm Classic™, a battle will be waged to seize control of this prized territory. Should you triumph, unique rewards await you. 

Want a casual game that you can play while you chat with your friends? Love classical tabletop or board games and are tired of debating which games you and your friends are going to play? Discord has you covered.

If you somehow haven’t played the 2018 open-world classic Red Dead Redemption 2 yet and you have a PlayStation Plus subscription, we have good news. PlayStation announced in a blog post Wednesday that the game will be available for free for the Plus program’s Extra and Premium tiers.

Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Burning Crusade Classic, Season of Discovery, and WoW Classic. Some of the hotfixes below take effect the moment they were implemented, while others may require scheduled realm restarts to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. This list will be updated as additional hotfixes are applied.

“Mglrmglmglmgl mmgr a new mmmurlok transmog for mmmm mrrrggk n uuua!”

From now until May 27, 2024, immerse your collection in swampy fun with a new bundle deal—the Mrlgrl Pack.

With Cataclysm Classic's release fast approaching, players across all regions are setting themselves up for the smoothest possible leveling experience once the expansion goes live. We've put together a list of some of the things that you can do during the pre-patch to get yourself ready while waiting for Cataclysm Classic to release!

Nintendo’s latest additions to the Nintendo Switch Online lineup of Game Boy games is led by Super Mario Land, the 1989 platformer made exclusively for the company’s handheld system. Super Mario Land is joined by two other Game Boy launch titles now available for Nintendo Switch Online, and they’re both Mario games too.

Today, we are looking at the DPS rankings during the week of May 7th for Cataclysm Classic Pre-Patch in Icecrown Citadel. For this analysis, we will use data provided by Warcraft Logs Icecrown Citadel statistics. Warcraft Logs' Icecrown Citadel Statistics

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

A GTA 5 player has found a new side mission in the single-player mode, a discovery that has remained hidden for years. While GTA 5's open world was initially considered Rockstar Games' most immersive experience, it was later surpassed by Red Dead Redemption 2. With the anticipated release of GTA 6, which has a trailer available below, Red Dead Redemption 2 may soon see its position overtaken.

The latest round of hotfixes to hit the Cataclysm Classic servers are here, with a number of small bug fixes, including the end of the «forever green» Drain Life — with that being said, there are a couple gameplay changes to Mages and Shamans, with Ignite now correctly not being triggered by Living Bomb critical strikes and Flametongue Totem no longer stacking with other Spell Power buffs.

Cataclysm Classic raid testing begins today on the Cata Beta, and Blizzard is looking for feedback! Players will be able to test the initial three raids, Throne of the Four Winds, Blackwing Descent, and The Bastion of Twilight. Battle.net Forum Feedback Thread

We've datamined spells related to a new Fishing Tournament in the War Within — the Mereldar Fishing Derby! It's been a while since the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza from Classic. Mereldar Fishing Derby indicates that the event will take place on Saturdays and players can earn Derby Commendations and prizes. We've also datamined the The Derby Dash achievement which requires places to turn in «the quest» within a Time Limit.

Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns this August, and while the new trailer is short on story, it’s long on one undersung aspect of Tolkien’s world: epic fantasy monsters.

Developer Daniel Benito has just rolled out his latest brain teaser PiKuBo on Android. This new puzzler promises to keep players like you entertained with its unique spin on the classic nonogram puzzle. The developer is known for his previous tile puzzle game Kanji Swipe.

Portals, flight masters, and flying mounts make up some of the most efficient ways to navigate any portion of World of Warcraft, and Cataclysm Classic is no different. The release of the pre-patch brings with it new ways to navigate the old world on the wings of our trusted flying mounts. Getting Around Azeroth in Cataclysm Classic With the Flight Master's License, players will be able to fly in both the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor in the pre-patch.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

One of Super Mario 64’s few remaining mysteries has been solved, thanks to a player who figured out how to open a previously “unopenable” door from the 1996 Nintendo 64 classic. We can thank a nearly four-hour YouTube video that exhaustively detailed how invisible walls work in Super Mario 64, and the tenacity of the game’s community for the new discovery.

With the release of, the classic psychological horror experience is back with new side stories featuring Sayori, Natsuki, Yuri, and, of course, Monika. While there is plenty of new content to explore, one thing that remains true for the Literature Club is that players will need to pick their words wisely to win over their dream girl's heart.

offers up plenty of new details in its take on the classic story, but there's one huge debate surrounding the original game that draws back from answering. Anything laid out in the new games doesn't necessarily override the classic canon, as it can more or less be viewed as an interpretation of a different timeline. It's still intended to be canon in its own right, however, and everything is supposedly going to link back up with the sequel film when the trilogy concludes.

Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Burning Crusade Classic, Season of Discovery, and WoW Classic. Some of the hotfixes below take effect the moment they were implemented, while others may require scheduled realm restarts to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. This list will be updated as additional hotfixes are applied.

Cataclysm Classic™ provides seven new zones to explore, nine new dungeons, and more beginning May 20 at 3:00 pm PDT globally. May 28 also introduces the start of a new PvP Season, followed by the opening of three raid dungeons on May 30 at 3:00 pm PDT globally. Take a journey into the shattered lands and plumb the depths of what this classic experience has to offer.

In 2022, fans of the 1990s adventure series Monkey Island finally got another game with Return to Monkey Island, which notably marked creator Ron Gilbert's first time directing a Monkey Island project in 30 years. Now, it looks like Gilbert has another project up his sleeve that's due out just two (or maybe three) years later.

Blizzard has released a blog post unveiling Cata Classic zones, dungeons, and the release date of PvP Season 9! Players will be able to begin the new season starting May 28. Cataclysm Classic also features a delayed Raid Opening launch, which will take place on May 30th instead of directly on launch.

Archaeology — the source of mounts, BoA weapons & armor, and even the Recipe: Vial of the Sands, has been added to the game in Cataclysm Classic! Players can already start leveling this new profession in the currently available zones to prepare for the expansion's release. Introduction to Archaeology Leveling Archaeology Archaeology Quests and Rewards For players who are new to the profession, or those who are familiar with some of the quality-of-life changes that have been added over the years, we've put together a set of guides going over how Archaeology works, how to best level this new profession, and a full list of the rewards that you can expect to find! It's also worth noting that players are able to find epic rewards via Archaeology, despite being unable to equip them until Level 85 — this includes rewards like Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Hello! Welcome to the 326th edition of the WoW Economy Weekly Wrap-up! This week we take a look at Inscription in The War Within Alpha. We also have Cataclysm Classic and tools for levelling professions and things to focus on when you have limited time. On top of that, we have a discussion over transmog vs. twink items and making the most of Alchemy profits in Season of Discovery! My name is Samadan and I'll be your guide through the World of Gold Making!

Wrestling is a huge part of Mercedes Varnado’s career, having gained notoriety as Sasha Banks for the WWE before crossing over as Mercedes Moné for the AEW. But her fans may not realize she is also a huge Sailor Moon fan. The professional wrestler, who recently jumped to acting for The Mandalorian, has a deep appreciation of the classic magical girl fantasy anime based on Naoko Takeuchi’s 1992 manga. Fans of both wrestling and anime know she donned a Sailor Moon-inspired outfit during the 2022 Royal Rumble. So it’s no surprise that she’s openly campaigned to play Sailor Jupiter in a live-action adaptation of Sailor Moon, if that ever happens.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Cataclysm shakes up players' ability to bring their allies back to life. More classes can battle ress, and hybrid classes can resurrect their whole group or raid with a single spell cast.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Bungie’s 1994 Classic Marathon is now free to download from Steam, thanks to the fan development team Aleph One Developers. Marathon released all the way back in 1994, an early compatriot to Doom that was a Mac exclusive before spreading to PC with its sequel. It had a story focused on AI, time travel, and aliens, which laid the influential groundwork for Bungie’s Halo series.

Mini consoles have been in vogue since Nintendo kicked off the trend in 2016 by releasing the NES mini. A scale replica of the original console loaded with classic games. Nintendo has followed up with a mini SNES since then, and other developers, including Sega, have followed in Nintendo's footsteps. While there are still a lot of consoles yet to be shrunk down to size, what you likely didn't expect is for a Dance Dance Revolution arcade machine to get a mini version you can play at home, but here we are.

Blizzard has released a Hotfix for Cataclysm Classic that corrects Blood Queen Lana’thel's Vampiric Bite, fixes various quests, and provides some Class updates.

Blizzard has corrected the Paladin's Seal of Righteousness on Classic Era and Hardcore realms, removing the chance for this Seal to Critically Strike.

Blizzard has confirmed that Heirlooms will remain capped at level 80 in Cataclysm Classic until after the first raid is released. Once the first raid opens, Heirlooms will be adjusted to scale up to level 85.