Score special Halloween-themed bonuses and discounts this week in Grand Theft Online.

Any good looter game worth its, well, loot, needs to have a solid grasp on its inventory system and customization options. Players need to want to keep looking for more loot, while still finding value in what they’ve already acquired. And so crafting that loop has been a core ambition for Counterplay Games, the team behind PS5 launch game Godfall, which is coming to Sony’s next-gen console and PC on November 12. Speaking with IGN, senior technical producer Richard Heyne walked us through the philosophy behind Godfall’s loot, the customization options it offers, and the many ways the developers are hoping to let players look good, feel powerful, and want to keep coming back to play more. Watch the video above for a look at some of Godfall’s customization and UI options, and read on for more on the philosophy and practical application of Counterplay’s work.

The Tinkerer’s Dream

As Heyne and I spoke about all the options Godfall has on hand, he used one phrase that best encapsulates the wide array of options players will have — the Godfall team aimed to make it “The Tinkerer’s Dream.” “We had this idea, we wanted [Godfall] to be the tinkerer's dream. Anybody who loves to get intimate with their loot and put the pieces together and see the numbers and see the impact immediately, that's the kind of game we wanted to create,” Heyne said. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=godfall-loot-variety-valorplate-crafting&captions=true"] And as the team has spent years building that dream, a few of the fundamentals were crystallized early on; namely, that what you acquire should make you look cool. “At a high level, what's exciting about Godfall and the way that we're able to package this progression and this satisfying desire to keep chasing for more was you really have to earn the right to look like a badass,” he said, noting the early character and weapon art really helped the team settle on the look and feel for its expansive loot list. “...Once we had the visual hierarchy established for the weapons, we were able to think about, ‘Would I chase for this weapon for hours just off visual appeal?’ Not thinking about how it functions or how the player's going to experience it beyond visuals, but just this visual alone, would I chase this? Is this something that's that value? Is it worth my time? And once we were able to identify that, that's when it moved over to our design and gameplay programming.” But, as Heyne put it, the team wanted to ensure that its loot “wasn’t all flash with no bang,” and the cosmetic appeal was certainly not the only consideration that went into the game’s loot system. “For us it was all about that satisfaction of how you look in the beginning of Godfall, and how you look at the end. You should be proud of where your character is at the end, and what your arsenal looks like,” Heyne said.

Skill Grid Master

Much of the Counterplay’s general customization and loot philosophy can be seen in the Godfall skill tree design — namely maximum opportunity to tinker and experiment — which you can check out in the video above or the images below. “We really just wanted there to be maximal flexibility with the skill grid. We wanted to avoid choice paralysis, because Godfall combat can be quick, it can be snappy. It's action-packed, and if every two levels you're having to open the UI menu, read each individual skill, decide the best path for you... it wasn't synonymous with what Godfall is, and it would really hinder the player's experience,” he explained. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=godfall-skill-grid-augment-constellations&captions=true"] Though players start from any of the four corner nodes on the skill grid, they can respec their builds instantly and “are never married to your choices” for any Valorplate’s skill tree. Skill points carry over from one Valorplate to the next in a universal system so that players don’t have to worry about grinding for levels with each Valorplate, or feel locked in if you decide to, say, drop plenty of points to level up a certain couple of skills. “You're constantly able to evolve and change the way that you're playing. And then when you land on something you like, you lock it in. And then maybe once you switch Valorplates you try to adjust and go from there,” he continued. Heyne noted that the intent isn’t to have players fill out the entire grid by the end of the campaign, but of course can work toward improving on their build in the post-game. The skill grid is on top of the augment constellation system Counterplay detailed earlier this year, offering yet another way for players to uniquely build out their character builds. But the options don’t stop there.

The Craft of Godfall

Players will be able to outfit their character with different weapon, life stone, ring, charm, amulet, banner, and augment options, all built around a loot searching and inventory system that’s meant to make your hunt always meaningful. While players will have to go to the forge in the Seventh Sanctum, Godfall’s player hub, to upgrade, but Counterplay is hoping to make the process streamlined. As Heyne described it, “We wanted to make sure this wasn't cumbersome that you had to run from point A, to point B, to point C, and you spend an hour in the Sanctum before you actually get to a mission.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=godfall-forge&captions=true"] You will be able to swap out weapons and other equipment mid-mission, but the process at the Sanctum’s forge should be “streamlined” to let you enchant, upgrade, and overall tweak with ease. And speaking of enchanting and upgrading, as you can see in the images below, players will be able to augment their items a couple of ways — think of upgrading as leveling up your weapon while enchanting is boosting it to the next rarity level. Heyne explained this system came from the idea that “If there was a piece of loot that you really liked and you wanted to use for an extended period of time, we wanted to make sure there was some ability to bring that weapon with you throughout the game.” Not that Counterplay is expecting players to stick with a single weapon throughout the entirety of Godfall, but with 125 weapon options and the ability to have two in your loadout at any time, the developers realized players may want to gravitate toward particular favorites. That inventory management also speaks to the ways in which Heyne described Counterplay’s approach of respecting the player’s time at all points. Speaking about the ability to craft other Valorplates offered a good example of the team’s approach to a meaningful loot system in this way. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=godfall-loadout-and-trinket-menus&captions=true"] “We didn't want to force players too heavily to do activities that they didn't enjoy to unlock the content that they want. So to obtain certain crafting materials for certain Valorplates, you'll have to go to the Water realm. There will be crafting ingredients you can only find if you're in the Water realm. But, you can go into the Water realm during your campaign missions. You'll naturally be brought there. You'll be in the Water realm for hunt missions. There will be endgame content that takes place in the Water realm. There will be co-op opportunities in the Water realm,” he said. “So you're not being told, ‘Hey, you have to go do this side mission to unlock Mesa the Valorplate.’ You should be able to probably get enough crafting materials for a handful of those throughout the campaign itself, and then if there are any [items needed for the others]... you should have a list of activities to pick from, be able to choose what you want and to fill out those last pieces of your armory without feeling slowed down.” That philosophy of wanting players to have their time feel respected, and to make the rewards for that time spent meaningful, means Counterplay is hoping to make every aspect of your build valuable. While the studio has showcased or discussed Valorplates, Weapons, augments, and more before, Heyne spoke to Trinkets, a suite of loot players will be able to assign to their character build. “Trinkets should be adding that last final touch. They're unique pieces of loot in the sense that they're not visual the same way that weapons are. You don't see the trinkets that you have equipped... but they have these unique traits that closely tie into the various archetypes that you can explore within Godfall. And the right Trinket put into the right build is really what is supposed to round it out and bring that build together.” And whatever aspects of your character’s build you choose to focus on at any one time, Counterplay is hoping Godfall’s combination of menu management, in-game experimenting, and loot collection all feeds into a satisfying loop that doesn’t hinder players from how they want to fight — and how cool they want to look while doing it. “One of our core philosophies will always be the tinkerer's dream. If there's the appetite for that, for the player to continue experimenting, we want to just make sure that the playground's open and you're ready to play,” Heyne said. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

2K and Gearbox have revealed the final two skill trees coming as part of the Borderlands 3 Designer’s Cut DLC. With new active and passive abilities for Moze and Zane, it means all four Vault Hunters have something new to experiment with. Moze’s skill tree is Mother Bear, and swaps out her stompy mech for a mini-mech called Iron Cub. This smaller mech cannot be piloted, but will run around on its own and maul any enemies it finds until its fuel tank runs dry. While the Iron Cub is smaller than the Iron Bear, it has access to the same weapon hardpoints, so can still be equipped with grenade launchers if you so wish. You’ll probably want to use the Salamander flamethrower, though, as the skill tree provides bonuses for setting enemies on fire. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/01/borderlands-3-moze-character-trailer-the-bffs"] Zane’s new skill tree is called The Professional, which comes with the Active Skill MNTIS Shoulder Cannon. This new gun is a high-tech railgun that can be used as an OTT sniper-rifle. Interestingly, The Professional skill tree has an ability that allows the MNTIS to fire a grappling hook instead of a bullet, which allows you to pull enemies towards you for close-quarter kills. As with Amara and FL4K, the new skill trees have been added to Moze and Zane’s interactive character builders on the Borderlands website, so you can already start planning your new builds ahead of the launch of the Designer’s Cut. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-10-borderlands-dlc-of-all-time&captions=true"] Alongside new skill trees for Moze, Zane, Amara, and FL4K, the Designer’s Cut also features a new Arms Race mode, which Gearbox will show off in full on October 29 at 9am PT on the Borderlands Twitch channel. These skill trees are part of the Designer’s Cut, which releases on November 10, and can be bought individually or as part of Season Pass 2, which also includes the Director’s Cut DLC that will release in Spring 2021. For more Borderlands, check out what you need to know about free next-gen upgrades, a look at the most recent DLC, and our full Borderlands 3 review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

A raft of updates were announced for Hearthstone today, including a brand new mode, a brand new expansion, and a complete overhaul of the game’s progression system. Let’s go through them.

Hearthstone Duels

First up, the new mode is called Hearthstone Duels and it takes the build-as-you-go deckbuilding gameplay that has been so popular across many of Hearthstone’s Solo Adventures of recent years and lets you take on other players. If you’ve played Dungeon Run, Monster Hunt, Rumble Run, The Dalaran Heist or Tombs of Terror, you’d have some idea of the format, but a key difference here is that Duels is structured like Arena, so players are striving for 12 wins, while three losses ends the run. At the start of a run, players choose a hero, each of which has a bespoke hero power, and then builds their own starter deck of 15 cards to take into the run. These cards can be anything from the current legal pool for the mode, but instead of the usual limit of one copy of each legendary and two copies of each card of other rarities, Duels only allows one copy of each card, regardless of rarity. With each win, players can choose between different options to add cards to their decks, and – as anyone who has played the Solo Adventures would expect – powerful treasures will also be a fixture of the mode, allowing players to make truly over-the-top plays. With each season, the heroes, hero powers, treasures and card pool will change. The debut season’s theme is Wizard Duels, so the ten heroes are pulled from the Scholomance Academy expansion. And in terms of the cards players can use, Season 1 will include the Basic and Classic sets, as well as Scholomance Academy, Curse of Naxxramas and One Night in Karazhan. Duels will be a free game mode, although there will also be a Heroic Duels option for 150 gold or a Tavern ticket, with rewards based on how well you perform. The Duels beta officially launches on November 17, but there will be ample opportunities to play it before then. Players who pre-purchase a Madness at the Darkmoon Faire bundle (yes, that’s the next expansion – we’ll get to it in a sec) will get early access to Duels. How early? It’s running right now. And once November 12 rolls around, early access will open up for everyone. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hearthstone-duels-screenshots&captions=true"]

Old Gods, New Tricks

The Hearthstone team also announced the game’s next expansion, and it’s a doozy. Welcome to Madness at the Darkmoon Faire, so named because The Old Gods have chosen WoW’s iconic Darkmoon Faire as the site of their return. Yes, all four Old Gods are back as new legendary cards, and are packing game-swinging power. Not only that, but the set will also include four Old God Artifacts – powerful spells inspired by the original Old God card designs from Whispers of the Old Gods. Across its 135 new cards, Madness at the Darkmoon Faire will also play host to a new keyword – Corrupt. Cards with Corrupt can be upgraded in hand by first playing a card of a greater cost than the corruptible card. In a neat touch, the corrupted card then gets a new, twisted version of its original artwork. This feels like a thoughtful new mechanic that should make for interesting deckbuilding, not to mention plenty of decisions within matches. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=madness-at-the-darkmoon-faire-announcement-cards&captions=true"] Madness at the Darkmoon Faire (MDF) will launch on November 17 (or Nov 18 in ANZ), but there are two pre-purchase options available now. The first bundle is $39.99 USD ($53.95 AUD) and contains 45 Madness at the Darkmoon Faire card packs, one random MDF legendary card, the N’Zoth card back and early access to Hearthstone Duels. The Mega Bundle, meanwhile, costs $79.99 USD ($109.95 AUD) and includes 80 Madness at the Darkmoon Faire card packs, five golden MDF card packs, one random golden MDF legendary card, the playable N’Zoth Warlock Hero, the N’Zoth card back, Battleground perks and early access to Hearthstone Duels. [caption id="attachment_2428183" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The new game board.[/caption]

Making Progress

Last but by no means least, the team has also announced the biggest overhaul to Hearthstone’s progression system ever, and it’s coming on November 12. The change includes an achievements system, a central Reward Track, a quest revamp and an updated profile page. Let’s run through these. Achievements have been requested since the very beginning of Hearthstone and they’re finally coming! The system will include a broad set of stats across every game mode, will let you chase in-game accomplishments by class, and will even let you easily keep track of your card collection and ranked milestones. Another huge change is the shift to an experience-based reward system. Yes, with each new expansion, players will be able to earn experience by completing quests, unlocking specific achievements and simply playing the game, and in doing so make their way through a 50-level Reward Track. Along the way you’ll be given gold, card packs, cards and cosmetics. And hitting level 50 will earn players one of ten all-new hero skins. Purchasing a Tavern Pass can also add bonus earnable items to the Reward Track, including XP boosts and extra cosmetics. As mentioned, completing quests now rewards players with XP to push them along their Reward Track. There will, however, be even more quests to complete, with daily quests being joined by all-new weekly quests. You’ll get three at the start of each week, and like daily quests, one weekly quest can be re-rolled each day. Lastly, as of November 12 each player will now have an in-game profile page with lifetime stats for their accounts. Nice. You can see the official announcement post here and catch the announcement VODs on Hearthstone's YouTube channel here. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hearthstones-new-progression-system-reward-track&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Cam Shea is based in Sydney and is still in love with Breath of the Wild. He's on Twitter.

Ghostrunner is running onto next-gen consoles in 2021. The official Ghostrunner Twitter account announced today that owners of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game will receive a free upgrade to next-gen versions of the game. Those upgrades will come in 2021 when the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game are released.

Owners of the @PlayStation 4 & @Xbox One versions of Ghostrunner will receive a free upgrade to the next generation versions when they release in 2021!

Pre-Order Now https://t.co/GlPZoMjsna#BeGhostrunner#PS5 #XboxSeriesX pic.twitter.com/49yTJDz55d — Ghostrunner (@GhostrunnerGame) October 22, 2020

As you can see in the tweet above, there isn't any elaboration as to when players can expect to receive this next-gen upgrade or when people can purchase the PS5 and Series X versions of the game. You might notice the asterisk note at the bottom of the picture in the tweet above. It reads, "buy the digital version of Ghostrunner for PS4 or Xbox One and download the PS5 or Xbox Series X version at no extra cost when it launches in 2021." If you're wondering why there's no mention of physical version upgrades, it's because Ghostrunner is digital-only. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/06/ghostrunner-cinematic-trailer"] Developed by One More Level and Slipgate Ironworks, Ghostrunner is a cyberpunk parkour game set in a neon-drenched metropolis where you basically play as a ninja wielding katanas. If that sounds cool, you can pre-order the game on PS4 as a PlayStation Plus subscriber or on PC to get a 20% discount. There's a 10% pre-order discount on Xbox One. Ghostrunner will be released on October 27, 2020. If you haven't seen Ghostrunner's ninja in action, check out the official reveal trailer and then watch this gameplay of a new story level available in the game's demo. Watch the Ghostrunner developers react to some incredible demo speedruns after that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Update: The first image of Tom Holland as Nathan Drake has been released, and he looks exactly how you'd expect. Posted by Holland himself to Instagram and Twitter, the photograph shows him in a tan-coloured shirt and cargo pants, a get-up that's practically identical to his in-game counterpart. "It’s nice to meet you, I’m Nate," Holland wrote in the post's caption.

It’s nice to meet you, I’m Nate. #uncharted pic.twitter.com/v79Mvy26iH

— Tom Holland (@TomHolland1996) October 22, 2020

Original story: The first images from the Uncharted movie have been released, giving us a first look at not just some props, but also TWO Nathan Drakes. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=uncharted-movie-first-images&captions=true"] The images, published by Naughty Dog on the studio's Twitter account, show Nathan Drake's original voice actor, Nolan North, talking to live-action Nathan Drake, Tom Holland. The photograph was taken when North was visiting the set of the video game adaptation. Additionally, Naughty Dog also posted another two images: an artifact slotted into a dusty wood-and-metal surface almost like a key, and a book featuring an image of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. The tweet is accompanied by a quote from Magellan: "Meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown." We know that the film will be a prequel to the Uncharted series of video games, with a young Nate Drake accompanied by a young Victor Sullivan (played by Mark Wahlberg). Perhaps we'll see them investigating the travels and discoveries of Magellan, the first circumnavigation of the Earth during his Spanish expedition to the East Indies between 1519 and 1522. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/15/uncharted-movie-finally-begins-shooting-updated"] For more on the Uncharted movie, see our stories on how Sully may not be rocking his signature 'tache, and Tom Holland's claim that the film has a solution to the video game movie problem. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Netflix has released the official trailer for its new animated World War II epic, called The Liberator, which premieres on the streamer on Veterans Day, November 11, 2020. Here's how Netflix describes the upcoming four-episode historical drama: "(The Liberator) tells the riveting true story of the bloodiest and most dramatic march to victory of the Second World War: the battlefield odyssey of maverick U.S. Army officer Felix Sparks and his infantry unit as they fought for over five hundred days to liberate Europe." IGN can exclusively reveal the new trailer in the video below or at the top of the page: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/22/netflixs-the-liberator-exclusive-official-trailer-2020"] The Liberator's unique animation is called "Enhanced Hybrid Animation," which is a new patent-pending technology that uses a combination of CGI and live-action performances. The series is based on the book “The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey” by Alex Kershaw and created for television by Jeb Stuart (Die Hard, The Fugitive). IGN spoke to Stuart (via email) about why the use of animation was important for The Liberator's production. “Trioscope's hybrid animation allowed us to tell a massive W.W.2 drama on a scale we could only dream about in live-action," Stuart said, adding, "without sacrificing any of the story’s emotional nuances.” Be sure to check out all four parts of The Liberator when it premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, November 11, 2020. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflixs-the-liberator-gallery&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light - the first Fire Emblem game from 1990 - will be released on the Nintendo Switch on December 4, 2020, and will be fully localized for the first time. This Fire Emblem game, that was released only in Japan on the Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom), told a story that featured the "heroic exploits of Prince Marth," and began a franchise that has spawned 20 games, spin-offs, and remakes, most recently with Fire Emblem: Three Houses for the Nintendo Switch. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light will be available on the Nintendo eShop for $5.99 and will only be available to purchase until the end of the franchise's 30th anniversary on March 31, 2021. Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario Bros. 35 will also only be available, at least in their current forms, until that date as well. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/22/fire-emblem-shadow-dragon-the-blade-of-light-english-version-announcement-trailer"] There will also be a Fire Emblem 30th Anniversary Edition that will be available for $49.99 and will include "a nostalgic, stylized physical NES box and a replica NES Game Pak art piece with a protective sleeve that transports owners to the era of the original game’s release." There will also be a 222-page Legacy of Archanea deluxe hardbound art book, download code, NES instruction manual (also localized!), a fold-out world map, and a Mini Nintendo Power retro collectible. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light will have its first English language localization on Switch, and will also have rewind, fast-forward, and save states to help players along their journey. Throughout the adventure, players will be able to control dozens of characters with unique attributes and will help Marth acquire the sacred Falchion sword on his quest to restore peace to the Kingdom of Archanea. This particular adventure was remade for the Nintendo DS in 2008 as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In our review, we said "Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon doesn't offer a revolutionary experience, but it is a highly polished and well-balanced example of strategy gaming. Nintendo did a nice job making sure it kept the challenge the series is known for while at the same time providing a friendlier experience for newcomers. The series superfans may be disappointed at the lack of new features, but this is still one of the strongest turn-based strategy experiences on the DS." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-fire-emblem-review-ever&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Sony has revealed that Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix, Spotify, Twitch, and YouTube will all be available on PS5 on its launch day of November 12, 2020. Announced on PlayStation.Blog, the PS5 will also be getting additional streaming apps in the future like Amazon Prime Video, MyCanal, Hulu, Peacock, and more. Some of these apps also have an integrated experience with PS5, including being able to play Spotify in the background while you play a game, watching or livestreaming on Twitch, and broadcasting and sharing gameplay moments from YouTube. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/16/ps5s-ui-the-5-biggest-gamechangers"] Furthermore, these apps, as was shown in the PS5's UI reveal, will have a dedicated media entertainment space next to the Game home screen. There will also be no need to download the entertainment apps through the PS Store as they will now all be contained in the Media space. This will allow for switching quickly between Game and Media spaces and PS5's new Control Center will also make controlling your music even easier with the ability to switch between channels, skip, and pause whatever you may be playing. The PS5's Media Remote will also be available with the launch of the console, and will let users power on the PS5, quickly navigate media, adjust volume and power settings on compatible TVs, and will feature dedicated launch buttons for Disney+, Netflix, Spotify and YouTube. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.