Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Starcraft 2 Turns 5 - Celebrate For Aiur!

http://media.blizzard.com/sc2/media/wallpapers/wall061/wall061-2048x1536-standard.jpg

It feels like Starcraft 2 released 5 years ago and because of that, I can't wait to wrap up the trilogy with the upcoming final protoss installment, Legacy of the Void. Blizzard is marking the launch of Starcraft 2 with a free in game portrait drop by simply opening the game from now till August 3rd. So you know, grab that portrait... for Aiur!

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/19831343

Upcoming Patch 2.3.0 Adds New Zone & Horadric Cube

Blizzard is preparing a hefty update to Reaper of Souls and aims to bring back something we all loved from Diablo 2, the Horadric Cube. You can find the new cube, Kanai's Cube in the new zone Blizzard is adding called "Ruins of Sescheron." The new zone was cut from the shipped version of Reaper of Souls and will be added back in the upcoming 2.3.0 update. I am looking forward to checking this out when it ships as one thing that always impressed me about the game is how beautiful and inventive the zones are. It also looks like it features some awesome new monsters as well, which should give high level players something fun to do.

What do you all think of these additions... Read All

Classic PopCop Game Zuma's Revenge Free On Origin

EA is giving away the classic PopCap "frog shoots ball from mouth to match colored balls game" Zuma's Revenge on Origin. If you haven't played any version of Zuma you should pick it up and give it a try. Zuma's Revenge on Origin works on PC & Mac.

Nasty Steam Exploit Causes Some to Lose Their Accounts

I've been following this waiting for some news source I could properly cite before posting it, but there was a Steam exploit that messed with a lot of people, slowly trickling the last week, but coming to a head yesterday. Using a fake password recovery page, nefarious folks could get into your account and change your password, without ever sending you an email. If you had Steam Guard or Steam Mobile Authentication enabled, it would send you the email like it should, and the malicious users wouldn't get access to your account, but they WOULD lock you out of trading on your account for five days. In fact, I have no indication in my email about anyone trying to sign... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/26/2015 at 05:43pm

So they fished people with a fake password page OR there was the fake password recovery page injected into Steam itself?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 07/26/2015 at 05:59pm

Neither. All they needed was the account's username and they could do everything on their end. No user intervention required. Like knowing your steam username, I could generate the fake page on my own computer and get into your account.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 07/26/2015 at 06:04pm

That's the scary thing about it. No clicking on the wrong link, no injections, just someone using code on valve's servers to get into (or trade lock if you had steam guard) your account without you having to fall prey to any typical kind of attack.

But yeah Valve has removed that code.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 07/26/2015 at 06:07pm

I said "fake page" but that really isn't accurate. It was a real page on Valve's servers doing it. Just not one that can generally be publicly accessed.

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/26/2015 at 07:53pm

Wow. That's a really unfortunate error. Hope your account isn't permanently harmed!

Kind of scary as we all have quite a bit of money invested in all our Steam accounts.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 07/26/2015 at 08:21pm

Nah it won't be, but I didn't do any trading anyway so the 5-day ban won't really matter to me. If it was permanently blocked I'd have issues, for sure.

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New Hearthstone Expansion The Grand Tournament Coming Soon!

Blizzard just let us know what big Hearthstone news is and it's a brand new expansion called The Grand Tournament.

"The Grand Tournament bolsters the expanding Hearthstone library with 132 new cards, introducing all-new spells, weapons, and a retinue of Azeroth’s most renowned Champions ready to join your cause. Here’s a taste of what you can expect when you step into this Grand Tournament!"

In the Stream Blizz highlighted 5 new cards that focus on a brand new ability called Inspire that is activated when you use your hero power. I like this new ability and the new cards they have shown off really look to add a huge new dynamic to the game that should be interesting to... Read All

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/22/2015 at 10:17pm

I can't wait for this! I've been saving up my gold for packs since I heard about it.

The new Inspire ability sounds like it's going to really change up the game. Sometimes I go through a game and realize I have hardly used the Hero Power.

(I sure hope there's some cards that have an Inspire that heal the Hero for my Warlock deck!)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/23/2015 at 12:22am

Yeah, that would be great. Have you thought about the 50 packs for $50 bucks+card back? That's about the price of a full game.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/23/2015 at 01:56am

I'm not going to buy any cards. I really like that everything is available with game-earned gold (other than Hero skins, but that doesn't affect gameplay)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/23/2015 at 02:53pm

Yeah, I appreciate the free part too. But on the other hand maybe I should toss them some money? Just my luck I'd drop the money and is get all the new set commons ONLY.

JaBo wrote on 07/23/2015 at 04:02pm

Glad you post and decipher the news lol. I just played a game and would be oblivious to new things if not for checking here and occasionally seeing news feed when I play from work PC.

This is a huge long awaited change:

Arena Reward Update

[i]Beginning with the launch of The Grand Tournament, the Arena will no longer award players only Goblins vs Gnomes card packs. Instead, players will have a chance to receive a Grand Tournament card pack, Goblins vs Gnomes card pack, or a Classic card pack whenever a pack is awarded.[/i]

I don't get what they mean by "chance" though. Is it random? Normally, I'd say they mean a chance to win any at all and it may imply you choose when you win, because you have a chance of not getting a pack at all, but you always win at least one pack from arena... so you don't have a chance of losing, so maybe it's a random pack now? IDK!

As far as $50 for 50 packs and card back... hmm maybe.

I actually just paid $10 for the new hunter skin. I've never really liked Rexxar and Alleria Windrunner is cool. I tried making an elves themed deck, but it sucked lol... I did end up making a killer hunter deck though (I actually made 4 versions before I got to one that worked well) and I got to rank 9 with her. So, having the new skin allowed me to enjoy playing hunter for some reason lol.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/23/2015 at 05:10pm

Check this news drop today. Want a better hero power? http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19819221/the-grand-tournament-hero-powers-7-23-2015

JaBo wrote on 07/23/2015 at 08:37pm

Hmm, I might run that. Getting harder and harder to narrow down the 30 cards for a deck!

JaBo wrote on 07/23/2015 at 08:39pm

Also, that Frost Giant is awesome! I already spam my priest heal until T6 or so and then still use it quite often... eventually he'll just be a free 8/8 (like the others have potential to be (molten giant and mountain giant etc)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/24/2015 at 03:22am

Someone reviewed a few of the new cards and I thought it was worth sharing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTrgyIaLnhk

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/24/2015 at 02:58pm

I haven't watched Jon's youtube link yet, but here's a photo album of the new cards they've announced so far:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.943363625706406.1073741875.498467596862680&type=3

JaBo wrote on 07/24/2015 at 05:20pm

Interesting cards spoiled so far. I should probably start saving my dust, I just had 1600 before spending 600 on some hunter cards.

https://www.facebook.com/Hearthstone/photos/a.943363625706406.1073741875.498467596862680/943364512372984/?type=3&theater

I like that one though. I'm really excited for getting different packs in arena though as I play a lot of arena and am sick of the GvG packs.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/24/2015 at 10:17pm

Blizzard has a site up listing all the new revealed cards. You can also vote on the next card to be shown.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/expansions-adventures/the-grand-tournament/

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/30/2015 at 02:34am

They dropped a few more cards to this point.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/expansions-adventures/the-grand-tournament/cards

The two bane cards are interesting. Not sure how much i'd use them or the Coliseum Manager. In fact, how is the Coliseum Manager something anyone would use?

JaBo wrote on 07/30/2015 at 03:54pm

Wow, Darkbane is insanely good! As far as the Coliseum Manager... I think it's an odd ability. A 2/5 for 3 isn't terrible, 7 stats for 3 mana and it has an awkward ability. Not all abilities are good ones, like Injured Blademaster has battlecry deal 4 dmg to itself. SO I guess this Manager is part negative ability on him, can't use hero power without returning him to hand, but it's also something interesting as you can return him to hand to recast him back at full life later if need be.

He's certainly not appealing and as a rare? ugg

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/31/2015 at 04:11am

I wish I had two Injured Blademasters. He's a 4/3 for 3 that can be healed and as such I bring him out early game in my Shaman deck. So if he is paired with a healing Totem or the card that heals and taunts for 0, it's a very cheap and effective card.

http://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Injured_Blademaster

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/05/2015 at 06:08pm

New rare cards and JOUSTING:

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19817948/the-grand-tournament-at-gamescom-8-5-2015

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/05/2015 at 06:26pm

Wow, that jousting mechanic is interesting. I wonder how much that will be played? Will people be stacking their decks with higher-cost cards and slow playing more to take advantage of it?

JaBo wrote on 08/06/2015 at 04:15pm

Super excited for ladder rewards! I am one that likes my golden cards so this is just so great! I made rank 7 last month, so it looks like I would have gotten 2-3 golden cards, a rare or epic one even. I love this addition!

Jousting is fine, my fav deck is already a slow control priest deck with 6-9 drop minions, so if there's any good jousters for me, it should be a good fit.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/06/2015 at 10:45pm

Wut? Wow, Aviana is the new card to get.

http://4d663a369f9f03c3c61e-870e77779efd63f7bd6c2ee08d8cfae6.r2.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/2-J41jdJ8_kk.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/06/2015 at 10:58pm

JaBo wrote on 08/06/2015 at 11:50pm

It's an awkward card. Ideally you'd want to be at 10 mana, play her and then play Ysera or Ragnorak for 1. But anything that requires OTHER cards to be good, usually doesn't work out well in the end. She's a 5/5 for 9. I don't think she'll be too big. Maybe a druid would mess around with her, just load up hand, wait til enough mana and innervates and then play her and 4-5 other 8-10 drops.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/07/2015 at 12:04am

That's exactly what I was thinking, playing her as a druid. Or you could knock down her cost with Emperor Thaurissan. Perhaps there are also new Inspire cards which might lessen mana costs as well.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/07/2015 at 05:53am

True But turn two (if she survives) that might be crazy. I agree though, 9 mana and a 5/5 but I imagine she will be used in some fun decks to start anyway.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/19/2015 at 03:13pm

Grand Tournament will be coming out August 24th! New brawl to test out some new cards comes out in an hour!

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19843162/the-grand-tournament-arrives-august-24-8-19-2015

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/19/2015 at 05:21pm

Just played half a Tavern Brawl with the new Inspire mechanic. It was a lot of fun! (had to do work stuff so I had to concede though)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/19/2015 at 05:41pm

"had to do work stuff so I had to concede though"

Boooooo.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/19/2015 at 07:14pm

Seriously.

Played a few times during lunch. I'm not a big fan of the new Hunter cards, or the joust mechanic, but I've still only played a handful of the new cards. Looking forward to opening my 20-something packs when the cards are officially released!

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Terraria open beta for Linux/OSX launches with 1.3.0.7

The open beta for Linux and OSX is (almost) ready to go! Steam hasn't quite caught up, it seems some people are still having trouble installing it, but it's there.

For full info: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/terraria-1-3-0-7-mac-linux-open-beta.27418/

And to report bugs or provide feedback: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?social-forums/official-terraria-mac-linux-open-beta-testing-feedback-group.690/

Star Wars: KotOR II updated with new features, Mac, Linux

http://bestgamewallpapers.com/files/kotor-2-sith-lords/darth-nihilus.jpg

In a MASSIVE update today, Aspyr has brought Knights of the Old Republic II to Mac and Linux, along with giving all versions a slew of features. It will support Steam Cloud, Achievements, and Steam Workshop mods, and the Restored Content mod will be available day 1; It comes with native widescreen support in resolutions up to 5k; and the big one... CONTROLLER SUPPORT. The keyboard/mouse controls really turned me off of these games, so it's good to see controller support, and from what I've heard the Restored Content mod makes the game infinitely better.

The game is 25% off in celebration of the new stuff.

Info here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/208580/

Tips & Strategies for New Hearthstone Players

Recently I've been seeing more people starting out in Hearthstone and wanted to write up some tips and starting ideas that helped me out. The in-game tutorials are good but they don't give you a direction or help you make choices about how to spend your time and gold. As you read this you might have something you have that helped you, drop it in the comments. This post is for new players to Hearthstone or people that are thinking about jumping in.

First thing is to keep in mind that you are new to the game and will lose a bunch until you figure out the games mechanics. It's OK, you don't know everything and you don't lose anything in game when you don't win a match. I... Read All Recently I've been seeing more people starting out in Hearthstone and wanted to write up some tips and starting ideas that helped me out. The in-game tutorials are good but they don't give you a direction or help you make choices about how to spend your time and gold. As you read this you might have something you have that helped you, drop it in the comments. This post is for new players to Hearthstone or people that are thinking about jumping in.

First thing is to keep in mind that you are new to the game and will lose a bunch until you figure out the games mechanics. It's OK, you don't know everything and you don't lose anything in game when you don't win a match. I am also writing this from the perspective of someone that wants to play the game without spending money, to date I haven't and that has worked out well to this point.

Start out by playing all the heroes in Single Player mode and unlock them all to achieve all the basic cards. Don't build a deck, just play as the starting heroes and unlock all the cards in Single Player against the computer. Over time you will understand the basic flow of the game and by the time you level all the heroes you should be able to beat the computer most of the time.

As you continue to unlock the basic cards in Single Player all the gold you acquire should be spent on card packs. You might not know if you pull anything good yet(one my first packs got me a Harrison Jones) but adding more cards to your game is important and you might pull something great.

When you are done unlocking all the basic cards start playing with people online in unranked matches. When I got to this point I didn't even have a deck built yet. I didn't win much but I started to understand how real people played VS a computer. At this point you should be favoring a few classes over the others, stick to a couple and focus on learning them well.

When you get tired of losing and understand your focused classes better, build a deck. Hearthstone has a great deck builder so just use that and then play with the deck you build. Based on how the matches go drop cards that don't work and replace them with cards you like. As you play against people you will see them do some cool stuff with cards you might have. Would that strategy work for you? If you see something someone does you like, steal it and make it your own.

Every week play Tavern Brawl to at least win a match and get the free pack. Tavern Brawl is fun but the free pack each week is incredible, get it.

Once you get some decks you like start saving in game gold up to unlock the first Hearthstone adventure, Naxxramas. Hearthstone adventures are great in that if you beat the adventure bosses you are assured certain cards. Naxxramas has some epically amazing cards you NEED to have for your decks. Sludge Belcher, Haunted Creeper, Maexxena & Kel'Thuzad are all incredible and will make your decks stronger. Each Naxxrama wing costs 700 gold to unlock so it will take you some doing to accomplish but the cards are well worth it.

Understand how to reroll your daily quests to get the most gold possible. I outlined the steps I learned in a post here http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2508/heartstone-roundup-the-grim-patron-is-good-gold-stats

Once you feel ready, each month you should play ranked matches and get to level 20. It's not too hard and if you do it you unlock a monthly unique card back for doing it. Personally I use the standard card back but it's nice to have options and it's something else to do in game.

Understand all the in game basic quests because doing them rewards you with a ton of gold. http://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/1ua5c9/hearthstone_for_beginners_guide_and_resource/

If you are losing with a particular deck consider what cards you don't use and think about replacing them. Does your deck not have a good starting temp? Maybe you need more cards that cost less. Are you getting slammed by big creatures you can't match? Maybe you need more cards to help you later in the game.

Be comfortable with experimentation. If you have an idea, build a deck and try it out. Playing against a computer is a good way to see if a deck has a minimum viability and playing against people is even better. Don't be afraid to try something new but it's also OK to have a mainstay deck you can't help but come back to.

If I forgot something let me know in the comments and i'll update this guide over time accordingly.

Far Cry 3 - An Open World Dark Shootageddon

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2Kbn8Q3PABI/maxresdefault.jpg

Last year in June I picked up the Far Cry franchise pack for about $15. I had picked up Far Cry 2 on PS3 from a discount bin a few years earlier and really enjoyed that and decided that picking up the original Far Cry, Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3 + all DLC & Far Cry Blood Dragon for $15 was a good idea. I recently completed Far Cry 3(yeah yeah, I took my time) and wanted to talk a bit about my experience with the game.

Largely I enjoyed the game and if you are looking for a fun open world shooter with tons of stuff to do, you need to pickup Far Cry 3. One nice thing about getting it now on PC is the rock bottom price and the fact that it comes with all the DLC out of the... Read All Last year in June I picked up the Far Cry franchise pack for about $15. I had picked up Far Cry 2 on PS3 from a discount bin a few years earlier and really enjoyed that and decided that picking up the original Far Cry, Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3 + all DLC & Far Cry Blood Dragon for $15 was a good idea. I recently completed Far Cry 3(yeah yeah, I took my time) and wanted to talk a bit about my experience with the game.

Largely I enjoyed the game and if you are looking for a fun open world shooter with tons of stuff to do, you need to pickup Far Cry 3. One nice thing about getting it now on PC is the rock bottom price and the fact that it comes with all the DLC out of the gate. That said, I had a rough start with Far Cry 3 and you can read about that below.

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2130/great-rpg-shooter-cliched-narrative

I stand behind my first experience with the game and note that I think my reaction was somewhat intended by the designers. I didn't realize it at the time but Far Cry 3 is an interesting game that mixes in satire and a meta story that puts a light on gamers and gaming culture that really didn't work on me to start. I thought the game was simply rolling with tired "white man saves the natives" tropes because it would sell to it's primarily white gamer dude audience. Whereas I am sure the game did well with white guys because the main character was a white guy if you pay attention to what is happening Far Cry 3 writes a compelling story about a protagonist that actually changes over the course of the game. Often we play shooters that have us do things that have absolutely no lasting world or character impact. Far Cry 3 differs in that your actions change how the characters you are trying to save feel about you. You actions also change the world you inhabit in very interesting ways.

The core gameplay is fun when you are not thinking too much about what you are being led to do. I sort of look at Far Cry 3 as Skyrim with guns but that's not a perfect analogy. You need to explore new areas to reach your objectives and to do that you need to unlock cell towers and bases. This can get tedious but since the game took me a year to complete, I didn't feel that as much as someone that may have played it straight through. The gun unlock and upgrade system is fun and I enjoyed sinking skill points into my character and see him progress.

Overall I had fun playing Far Cry 3 but when the ending credits rolled I didn't feel like I had accomplished much. By the end of the game your friends and family seem to be fearful of you and what I accomplished I didn't really enjoy doing. I kind of wish there was the "leave the Island and call the authorities" button but if you did that, many of your friends and family would have died. That said, Far Cry 3 has you reflect on your actions so does it make sense morally to kill thousands of people to save 5 or 6? If this were real life then i'd say hell no but then again, it's just a video game so it doesn't matter. Far Cry 3 is a solid shooter Island romp that might leave you a bit uneasy with what you are led to do but it has more life than the protagonists soul by the end of the game.

Fallout 4 Gameplay - Walk Around The Beautiful Wasteland

Some new Fallout 4 gameplay surfaced and it looks great. Is anyone else going to pick this up in November when it launches? The footage is a mixture of scenes we already saw at E3 and some new stuff featuring power armor. Spoiler alert, you get into power armor as if it were some kind of mech robo-suit.

Todd Howard has been talking to press lately and I found this Telegraph article interesting on the games voice acting.

"A lot of games have voiced characters, but what they don’t want to give up is all the dialogue options. So for us a lot of it was logistical. The voice actors have been recording for 2 years, they’ve each done over 13,000 lines of dialogue. So to be... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/18/2015 at 06:01pm

I'm not sure if there is any doubt that many of us will jump on that upon release. That said, I thought it was coming out in November, not September.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/18/2015 at 06:13pm

November is what I thought too.

I might have to put my PC through some rigorous training to prepare for it but damn it, I will play it!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/18/2015 at 06:54pm

I'll update the post, thanks!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/18/2015 at 07:20pm

Sorry I didn't click the link at first, but there it does say, "November release."

Do we have system requirements yet?

If any of you are upgrading your PC, let me know what you're thinking about getting and where. I usually shop at NewEgg.com for computer parts.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/18/2015 at 07:24pm

When I first found out about Fallout 4 and saw it in action, I thought, "Deathclaws are going to be even scarier now that they're in HD!" In the video, it seems the character had a bit of a long battle with one even wearing that full suit of powered body armor.

Also, as I watching this video, I was thinking about what sets this series apart from FPS games. Wondering why I'm interested in it instead of FPS games. I guess the answer to that is the RPG and adventure elements to it, but now it's also crafting.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/18/2015 at 09:56pm

Yeah it isn't an FPS, it's an RPG at heart that has some first person shooting elements.

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