For those who have watched the hit AppleTV+ show Severance and thought, "macrodata refinement sure looks fun," you're in luck. A new in-browser macrodata refinement "game" lets you refine mysterious numbers just like the characters in the show do, and you, too, have no idea what it's for or why you are doing it.The game can be played in your browser over at lumon-industries.com, transforming your computer or phone into an official Lumon MDR workstation. Just like in the show, certain groups of numbers will start to stand out, allowing you to drag your mouse cursor over them. This collects the numbers and sorts them into various bins (unlike in the show, the game does this part automatically). It's all extremely simple. Numbers get big. Scary even. Then you just highlight them and profit. Praise Kier! Once you get the hang of it, you do go into a bit of a flow state like the characters in the show do, as groups of numbers start to rapidly grow larger and practically beg for refinement. A percentage bar at the top of the screen shows you how close you are to "completing" the game. At 75%, the screen transforms into a dance party hosted by Lumon severed floor supervisor Mr. Milchick.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Marvel has permeated every corner of pop culture at this point, and as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow, video game adaptations are catching up. From Sony's Spider-Man series to the recent hit Marvel Rivals, the brand has been staking a claim for itself in the gaming industry. The Marvel name has reached an enormous audience, and there are no signs of slowing down.

Marvel SNAPs Sanctum Showdown event introduced three new cards, including Uncle Bena character many see as more of a meme than a game-changer. As expected, he isnt a must-have, and like most recent free cards, hes just a decent addition to your collection. Still, we decided to put Marvel SNAPs Uncle Ben to the test and built a standard destroy deck where he fits surprisingly well. Heres how you can try it out for yourself.

Ah, video games. Theyve come a long way from the pixelated pastures of Pong to the immersive worlds of The Witcher and Red Dead Redemption. But while the final product gets all the love and adoration, the real hero often goes unnoticed. No, its not the caffeine-fueled programmers or the sleep-deprived designers. Its pre-productionthe crucial first step in video game development that sets the stage for everything to come. Buckle up, dear reader, as we begin to understand why Pre-Production

The list of weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds run the gamut from oversized sword to oversized hammer all the way to oversized axe.There are 14 weapon types to choose from, each with their own distinctive play style, benefits, and drawbacks.The weapon you choose to wield in Monster Hunter Wilds determines the range of your attacks, your role in a party, and even how much time youll have to spend crafting materials and ammo. But each weapon has its own set of moves and idiosyncrasies that make it really hard to just pick up a new one.Our Monster Hunter Wilds guide covers all weapons in the game, along with descriptions of their appeal and the challenges of playing them. See the table of contents below to navigate to a specific weapon, or if youre looking for more tailored recommendations, read our guides on the best weapons for beginners and best weapon combos.Monster Hunter Wilds weapons listHeres all weapon types in Monster Hunter Wilds, which each one linking out to a dedicated section on their appeal and challenges.Great swordSword and shieldHammerLong swordLanceGunlanceDual bladesSwitch axeCharge bladeInsect glaiveHunting hornBowLight bowgunHeavy bowgunGreat swordAppeal: The sword is big! When big sword do damage, numbers also big! The game plan for a great sword user is to get in position, charge up a massive slash for huge damage, and repeat. Youre an offensive powerhouse, and you are using one of the few weapons that can send a monster reeling with a single hit. And you still have access to solid defensive options if you get caught in a bad situation.Challenges: Positioning is the greatest challenge with the great sword. Your movement speed with the weapon drawn is absolutely glacial, and the long wind-up and recovery for each attack means youll also be prone to whiffing unless you plant your feet in precisely the right place.Sword and shieldAppeal: The sword and shield is all about versatility. It deals slashing and blunt damage, has strong defense, great mobility and, unlike the other weapons, you can use items without sheathing it. Besides that, it just feels great to use.Challenges: A sword and shields biggest challenge is its limited range. Youll need to be right up on a monster to get your work done, which means youll also need to be on point with your blocks and dodges.HammerAppeal: The appeal of playing hammer is the incredible simplicity of purpose. You are here to bonk the monster on the head over and over again. Hammers deal KO damage on headshots, and enough KO damage knocks the monster over so your team can absolutely whale on em. Like the great sword, youll be charging your attacks for maximum effect, but unlike the great sword, you are free to run, and even dodge while you power up.Challenges: Positioning matters! To get the desired effect, youre going to need to be in the monsters face, which is a dangerous place to be. Without strong defensive options, youll need to learn attack patterns and use hit and run tactics.Long swordAppeal: The long sword is all about embodying the anime swordsman fantasy. You build a spirit meter to increase damage, and then cash out with a huge finisher. Its a versatile weapon with good range, great mobility, and several very cool looking defensive options.Challenges: The challenge is timing them! Those defensive options are all counters, which means they only negate damage if youtrigger them perfectly in time with an incoming attack. A long sword also poses social challenges. Your flashier combos have a big area of effect, and catching a fellow hunter can interrupt their attacks. So stick to the monsters tail and watch your reach.LanceAppeal: The lance is all about dealing steady, consistent damage from behind solid defenses. Your shield means you can stand your ground by blocking, rather than evading. You also have access to a few super satisfying, timing-based counterattacks. Its combos arent as flashy as some weapons, but theres something really nice about just poking away.Challenges: Movement can be a bit tricky with the lance. Instead of dodge rolls, you have little hops. To stay in position, youll need to get familiar with your special movement options.GunlanceAppeal: Its lance, but with gun! A gunlance has more complex and explosive combos than the lance that use a magazine of reloadable shells. Combined with its heavy shield, it makes you feel like a tank that doesnt have to retreat.Challenges: A gunlance has the same mobility challenges as the lance, but lacks its simple counterattacks. The shells the gunlance fires pull from an unlimited stock, but reloading your magazine adds a bit to your mental stack during combat.Dual bladesAppeal: Dual blades are all about mobility and aggression. Youve got one of the fastest move speeds and attacks with low startup and recovery. Using your demon mode, you get stronger evasive options and even higher damage output.Challenges: For something that looks like an all-out berserker build, dual blades require a surprising amount of careful meter management and a well-managed meter is essential to your survival. You only have access to your good evasion tools in your powered up states.Switch axeAppeal: The switch axe is a transforming weapon with splashy combos and big elemental damage output. In the very mobile axe mode, you use chops to fill up your sword meter, and then switch into sword mode for bigger damage and huge finisher attacks.Challenges: The switch axe has limited defensive options. Both the axe and sword mode have parries with their own specific timing requirements, and theres no simple block option. Youll also need to stay on top of meter management to make the best use of sword mode when you want it.Charge bladeAppeal: The charge blade is a Swiss Army sword. The basic loop is using its sword and shield mode to build stocks of energy, and then switching into axe mode to dispense that elemental energy into a monsters face. Charge blades have everything: solid blocks, timing-based counters, good mobility, and crazy damage output.Challenges: That great power comes at the cost of great micromanagement and it will take a while for you to get your head around the way your weapon gains and spends resources. Your sword charge gets converted into phials. Phials can be spent with axe attacks or be used to temporarily buff your shield. Your buffed shield makes axe attacks more powerful, and can also temporarily buff your sword. And then theres the special mode that turns it into a buzzsaw. Its a lot, but its also fun.Insect glaiveAppeal: An insect glaive is the most acrobatic weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds. It allows you to attack the monster from angles no other weapon can. Even on the ground, its got great movement speed and quick attacks. It also comes with a free bug friend. The insect is a battle companion that harvests ability enhancing essences from different parts of the monsters body.Challenges: Insect Glaive might be the highest micro weapon class, simply because youre fighting and managing resources while also commanding a pet. Insect glaive also lacks blocks or parries, so youll have to rely on movement and evasion to avoid damage.Hunting hornAppeal: A hunting horn is a big, weird musical hammer. Each attack in a combo adds a specific note to your staff. Depending on the combination of notes you load up, you can play different songs that buff your teammates with all sorts of helpful bonuses. Everyone loves a hunting horn player.Challenges: This is one of the more esoteric weapons. Getting the most out of your abilities will sometimes require a series of timed inputs, and if youre just getting used to hunting, playing a rhythm game at the same time might be a lot to ask.BowAppeal: The bow is a nimble, close-to-mid-range projectile weapon that preserves some of the physicality of the combo-based melee weapons. Youve got great mobility, a flashy dodge that recharges your stamina, and some really cool piercing attacks that tear down the length of a monster.Challenges: The bow is a rare exception to Monster Hunter Wilds stamina rules. Every attack with the bow eats up a chunk of stamina, so youll have to make sure you dont go too hard.Light bowgunAppeal: The light bowgun is a mid-range projectile weapon that can deliver steady damage and status effects from a safe distance. Its got decent mobility, with a dodge that lets you quickly reposition after firing. Its even got support options you can shoot out mines that will heal or buff your teammates.Challenges: The light bowgun doesnt have any counters or blocks, so evasion is up to you. It also has a bit more upkeep than the other weapons weve talked about. The special ammo rounds the bowgun fires are consumable, so you need to keep crafting or buying more.Heavy bowgunAppeal: The heavy bowgun is a heftier version of the light version. Its got a bit more range, damage, and a higher fire rate. It also comes with some solid defensive options. You can do an automatic guard by simply standing still, get a stronger guard with timed inputs, and even perform an explosive parry when in ignition mode.Challenges: The upsides come at the cost of decreased mobility. You will not be getting around quickly while using this thing. It also comes with all the same ammo upkeep responsibilities of its lighter cousin.Our Monster Hunter Wilds guides can outline your progress with our main story walkthrough and monster list ahead of reaching High Rank, help you settle on an armament with our best weapon explainer, uncover ores, bones, and monster tails.

Working out the best weapon for beginners to start with in Monster Hunter Wilds can be daunting when there are 14 weapon types to choose from.While the game asks you a couple of questions early on to recommend weapons based on your preferred playstyle, these do not factor in their ease of use but can help you narrow down the selection pretty quickly.In this Monster Hunter Wilds guide, weve selected the five best weapon types that beginners should consider starting with, as well as our thoughts on what you should be looking for in a starting weapon. Then, once youve have decided, you can then focus on the best combo with a secondary weapon.What makes for a good weapon for new players?What makes a good beginners weapon will, of course, depend on what playstyle youre comfortable with, but youre ideally looking for something that can output decent damage and combos with simple inputs, which doesnt require a lot of preparation or memorization to achieve results that also make you look good.For players who want to play more cautiously, weve also included weapons that also allow you to guard or fight from range to avoid getting direct hits from monsters.Ultimately, youll find each weapon has its own unique depth thats also been further refined in Monster Hunter Wilds, but for beginner weapons weve opted for choices that you can get a lot out of even if you do not make use of all of its possibilities. For example, while the Insect Glaive is designed to allow for easy aerial attacks, its kinsect mechanics make it more complex, so we have not included it in this list of weapons for beginners.Remember, if you can to experiment with a new weapon in a safe environment, seek out the training area in the camp.Monster Hunter Wilds best weapon for beginnersWhat follows are our picks for the five best weapons to start experimenting with in Monster Hunter Wilds:Sword and ShieldProsQuick attack movementsYou can guard with a shield (including perfect guard)Some items can be used while weapon is drawnConsNot the most exciting of the weapons rosterWith such a variety of weapons to choose from, the Sword and Shield can feel like the most boring traditional choice, but it remains the most versatile and beginner-friendly, while still providing a lot of depth in its moveset and combos for more experienced players.Most importantly, its shield can be used offensively and defensively, and if you can time a perfect guard, it also allows you to follow up with a counter slash. By holding guard, you can also consume potions without having to sheathe your sword like you do with other weapons.For the early hours of the game, if youre looking for just raw damage without worrying about affinity or elemental bonuses, its worth upgrading the Hope Sword in the Expedition Tree, which has a longer sharpness durability even if its attack power isnt as high as other comparable weapons, and is also quicker to sharpen due to having the speed sharpening skill. The materials required are also just from farming ores from mining spots rather than from hunting specific monsters.Dual BladesProsFast and cool-looking combosEasy to activate demon mode for higher damageSwift side-stepping evasion in demon modeConsLow raw damageDemon mode drains stamina even when not attackingThe closest youll get to playing Monster Hunter Wilds like a button-mashing hack-and-slash action game is with the Dual Blades. Combos are fast, fluid and simple to execute but stylish, all the more so when you perform a focus attack on a monster wound. Speed, however, means that actual raw damage is low, though you can land more hits chipping away at a monster compared to a slower weapon that might swing and miss.You can also increase their power by activating demon mode with R2/RT, which also lets you perform evasive sidesteps while continuing your attack flow instead of rolling to dodge. Be warned that demon mode gradually drains your stamina even if youre not attacking so be sure to activate it only when youre definitely going to keep up the offensive.For the early hours of the game, consider forging Dual Hatchets I from the Ore Tree, which only requires ores from mining spots. Its base damage is comparably high and also includes the Power Prolonger skill, which will benefit demon mode. Once youve hunted Ajarakan, you can then forge Ajara Twin Edges I, which has the Power Prolonger skill at Level 2 and also deals bonus blast elemental damage.Light BowgunProsRanged attacks with rapid fire optionGood evasive mobilityCan use while riding SeikretConsLow damageAmmo prep can be complexThe Light Bowgun is the easiest of the three ranged weapons to use, dealing mid-ranged burst-fire shots that can also be switched to a rapid fire mode to fire multiple shots, which consumes the rapid fire gauge. A chaser shot can also be fired after a regular shot that packs more power and helps restore the rapid fire gauge if it hits.As a more mobile weapon, the Light Bowgun doesnt require charging up to fire and you can also move while aiming, with the ability to sidestep to evade attacks. Its also possible to use while riding on your Seikret, albeit with some limitations, with just one firing mode while you cannot sprint at the same time. Its normal ammo is however quite weak compared to other weapons, while the many other ammo types you can change to can also require more prep beforehand, making it a little more complex if you want it to be more effective.If you want to avoid the ammo systems complexity starting off, then consider forging and upgrading the Hunters Rifle in the Bone Tree, using bone materials found from bonepiles. Your spread ammo starts at Level 2 while the weapon includes the opening shot skill that reduces reloading time, before later adding attack boost.If you want to be able to use ammo that inflicts status effects, then the Hope Rifle in the Expedition Tree lets you use poison ammo while the Chain Blitz from the Ore Tree lets you use paralysis ammo.Great SwordProsPowerful single-hit damageCharge up for even more devastating damageCan guard against and offset monster attacksConsKnowledge of timing and positioning requiredThe Great Sword is by far the most iconic weapon in the Monster Hunter series, and usually the default weapon seen on the key art or first gameplay footage for a new instalment. Its high raw attack power makes a single hit more powerful than the attacks of the other weapons in this list combined. In a sense then, its quite easy for beginners to use as you can just run and charge up a single attack, then back away before looking for another opening, whereas other weapons may need to stay on the offensive for longer to get close to the equivalent damage.It can also be used to guard against attacks, and its one of the weapons that can offset monster attacks, a new devastating counter in Monster Hunter Wilds. While the inputs are technically easy to use, its complexity comes from actually being knowledgeable on the monsters movements, as timing and positioning is key to successfully landing attacks.For increased raw damage, you can continue upgrading the starting Hope Blade or the Quematrice Espada in the Quematrice Tree, which doesnt just have the same base attack value, but 5% affinity with bonus fire damage, while its punishing draw skill means youll also gain an attack bonus using draw attacks.Long SwordProsSwift and flashy combosPower increases with end of spirit combosMore moves unlocked with spirit gaugeConsNo defensive movesAs popular and iconic as the Great Sword, but more agile, the Long Sword is just as easy to pick up and play with, and its core mechanic isnt actually that tricky to master. Essentially, using regular attacks builds up a bar called the spirit gauge, which allows you to use slashing spirit blade attacks with R2/RT.When the gauge is full, youll be able to swing a long combo sequence, but if the final hit connects with your target, it automatically levels up the spirit gauge, changing the color. When the gauge is red, its at max level, enhancing both regular and spirit blade attacks with some more flourish while also allowing for more devastating combos at the cost of the gauge level.While many of the Long Swords moves are very flashy, it does also require some mastery so that your swings dont just miss. It also lacks any defensive abilities so you do have to commit to the animations and either rely on being able to roll or dive out of the way afterwards, or just get knocked back.There isnt a specific recommendation of Long Sword, though early on you can focus on upgrading the Hopes Edge in the Expedition Tree, but once youve hunted the Doshaguma, you can forge the Dosha Fatecleaver I, which has a higher base attack at the expense of -5% affinity while increasing your defense by 20, making up for the weapons lack of defensive maneuvers.Our Monster Hunter Wilds guides can outline your progress with our main story walkthrough and monster list ahead of reaching High Rank, help you settle on an armament with our weapons list, uncover ores, bones, and monster tails.

Has Pokemon given in to the evils of gatcha gaming? Is gatcha gaming evil? What is gatcha gaming?Continue reading on UX Collective

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The iPhone 16e is finally out, but compared to the iPhone 14 it replaces there are a few missing key features though when it comes to MagSafe, Apple seems to think you didnt want it in the first place.