Month: August 2019

Here’s where to go to land at both the hero’s mansion and the abandoned villain’s lair.

The normal secret battle stars we’ve grown accustomed to are gone, as Epic tries to figure out what it wants to do with the confusing new battle pass system. This week however if you search between a basement film camera, snowy stone head, and gold big rig you will be able to claim an extra battle star as a reward. Here’s where to go.

PAX West kicks off this Friday, and with it, developers CD Projekt Red have confirmed that new Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay will debut on the same day.

Cyberpunk 2077’s gameplay livestream is set to air on August 30. You can catch the livestream here, or on Cyberpunk 2077’s official Mixer and Twitch channels.

Cyberpunk 2077 Stream Start Time

• 11 AM PT
• 1 PM CST
• 2 PM ET
• 7 PM BST

GPU manufacturer Nvidia recently dropped a teaser video on Twitter, showcasing the scope of Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City. CD Projekt Red gave a private look at some Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay at E3 2019, which was supposed to be made public during PAX West but will now be streamed from Warsaw at an unspecified time. There are no specifics on what will be shown during the livestream, but the developers did confirm that the stream will feature a 15-minute edit of the demo shown privately at Gamescom and interviews “from the studio for additional information.”

In other Cyberpunk 2077 news, the upcoming action-RPG has dropped binary male/female options in favor of inclusivity. “You know, we really want to make a video game that’s really inclusive,” senior concept artist Marthe Jonkers told Metro. “Of course, if you tackle certain subjects then you will expect people to have an opinion about it and we respect that. And it’s good that people give us feedback.”

Cyberpunk 2077 is expected to launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on April 16, 2020. The game is also scheduled to release for Google Stadia in 2020.

Pokemon Masters is a broad collection of famous trainers from throughout the Pokemon series–representing both the games and anime. Much of the collection aspect is a traditional mobile gacha-style game, where you trade in-game currency for a randomized spin that will earn you a Sync Pair–one Trainer and their partner Pokemon. But if you have your eye on one Sync Pair in particular, that’s where Scout Points come in.

Scout Points are earned by Scouting, otherwise known as purchasing new Sync Pairs. If you obtain the maximum number of Scout Points within a given time period, you get to choose any Sync Pair that is currently available through Scouting. It’s the sure bet to get the 5-Star team you’ve had your eye on.

However, it doesn’t come cheap or easily. The Scout Point Max, which you have to reach to get your pick of the litter, is set at 400 Points. You earn 3 Scout Points for each standard Sync Pair Scout you use (300 Paid or Unpaid Gems apiece), and 1 Scout Point for each Daily Discount you buy (100 Paid Gems). To earn 400 Points, you would need to purchase 134 standard scouts, or almost that many with a few Daily scouts mixed in.

Also be aware, the launch period offers a special bundle, exclusive to Paid Gems, with a guaranteed 5-Star Sync Pair in the bunch. This bundle does not grant any Scout Points.

134 standard scouts at 300 Gems apiece would cost you slightly more than 40,000 Gems, the in-game currency. Even the highest level of in-app purchases is 9,800 Gems for $80. Suffice to say, you would have to spend quite a bit of real-world money to earn enough Scout Points all at once.

To add another layer of complexity, Scout Points reset at the end of each Sync Pair Scout Event. The launch event ends on September 3, roughly a week after launch. Future event resets may last longer.

Earning so many Gems in a single week seems unrealistic, and buying your way in is prohibitively expensive. But while Scout Points expire, Gems don’t. If you really want one Sync Pair in particular, you may need to exercise a good deal of patience and gather Gems over the course of several weeks–and then blow them all at once to earn your Scout Points.

In the meantime, if you’d like to focus your energy on the team you already have, read up on how Evolutions and Mega Evolutions work in Pokemon Masters.

Pokemon Masters has officially released, giving you a brand-new Pokemon experience to play on the go. Though Masters shares several similarities with previous Pokemon games, it does a lot differently too. One such difference is in how Pokemon can evolve. If you’re having trouble, we’ve outlined the process below.

First things first: not every sync pair you recruit features a Pokemon that can evolve. The Pikachu that you start with cannot be evolved into a Raichu, for example. As far as we can tell, there’s no definitive rule for discerning which Pokemon partners can evolve in Masters, though we have noticed that the only Pokemon that can evolve are the ones found in their first-stage form. If you recruit a sync pair with a Pokemon that’s already in its second-stage evolution, it doesn’t seem capable of reaching its third (provided it has one).

Android Authority has compiled all of the sync pairs with Pokemon that we know can evolve in Masters, which are listed below. There’s a chance that more sync pairs feature Pokemon that can be evolved, but we’ll need more time with the game to be sure. Evolving Pokemon can be a lengthy process.

Sync Pairs With Pokemon That Can Evolve In Pokemon Masters

• Barry and Piplup (evolves into Prinplup and then Empoleon)
• Kris and Totodile (evolves into Croconaw and then Feraligatr)
• Lyra and Chikorita (evolves into Bayleef and Meganium)
• Pryce and Seel (evolves into Dewgong)
• Rosa and Snivy (evolves into Servine and then Serperior)
• Viola and Surskit (evolves into Masquerain)

Now, how you evolve these Pokemon is vastly different from previous games. You don’t need to worry about environmental factors, time of day, or evolutionary stones, though the traditional system of leveling up is a part of the process.

First, you need to level up the sync pair of the Pokemon you want to evolve to at least level 30. Once you reach level 30, you’ll unlock a special battle you’ll need to complete for the Pokemon to evolve. You can’t attempt that battle until you fulfill one more requirement, though–acquiring five Evolution Shards, which can currently only be bought in Tricia’s Shop. The first time you buy five Shards, they’ll cost 1,000 coins–Masters’ in-game currency that you can either earn or buy with microtransactions–but that number exponentially grows more expensive so make sure you focus on evolving the Pokemon you want. With the Shards and your sync pair in tow, you’ll be able to attempt the battle. Each of these special fights is unique for each sync pair. The only commonality between each one is that they are extremely difficult, so leveling up beyond the level 30 minimum requirement may be a good idea.

Once you win, the Pokemon within the sync pair will evolve, maintaining its previous level but acquiring more powerful stats. Don’t worry too much about losing, as you can retry the battle as many times as you want. For Pokemon that have a third-stage evolution, you’ll need to repeat the process–albeit reaching level 45 this time around. The Evolution Stones for reaching third-stage are far more expensive than the Shards too. They begin at 5,000 coins and eventually climb to 300,000. The unique battle you have to fight is a lot more challenging too. Tackling it at the level 45 minimum is not advised.

Despite this ordeal to make a Pokemon evolve in Masters, the reward is worth it. Evolutions cause Pokemon to learn new, more powerful Sync Moves which can make the most difficult battles in the game much, much easier. In some cases, these Sync Moves result in the Pokemon undergoing a Mega Evolution. Android Authority has a list of the Pokemon we know can Mega Evolve too.

Pokemon That Can Mega Evolve In Pokemon Masters

• Agatha and Mega Gengar
• Blue and Mega Pidgeot
• Bugsy and Mega Beedrill
• Karen and Mega Houndoom
• Korrina and Mega Lucario
• Noland and Mega Pinsir

Pokemon Masters is available for iOS and Android devices.