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Discover Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred: 3 Warlock Builds That Obliterate Torment 12 & New Paladin Charms Meta
Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred is launching soon, bringing with it a major overhaul to the endgame system.
Every class will receive an entirely new skill tree, while new additions such as Charms and Runes will introduce brand-new power systems.
In the following sections, I will outline the strongest builds for Lord of Hatred expansion's most powerful class - Warlock - as well as the highly anticipated Paladin. I will analyze all available information to the best of my ability and offer reasonable speculation.
Warlock
Warlock is expected to be the most powerful class in the expansion. In the pre-release build, Warlock was the only class capable of clearing Torment 12 difficulty and defeating major bosses such as Baal, making it an excellent choice for farming lucrative loot and Diablo 4 Gold.
Dread Claws Warlock
Dread Claws skill allows Warlock to launch shadowy claws in various directions. Within Warlock's skill tree, there is a passive upgrade that directly doubles the damage output of Dread Claws. Adjacent to this is another skill node; if Dread Claws lands as a first strike or is cast while Warlock is in a Stealth state, its damage receives a massive boost. Stealth, of course, is a tactical advantage at which Warlock excels.
Even more interestingly, Cascading Dread passive causes the skill to launch additional waves of claws with every cast. Through the skill tree alone, the damage of each individual wave can be further increased by 30%. With such high damage multipliers - especially when combined with skills like Litany of Sable - you can significantly amplify the overall damage output of Dread Claws .
However, the effectiveness of this entire strategy hinges on the reliable application of Vulnerable status effect. This is made possible by Profane Sentinel skill, which summons a powerful demon minion that generates a beam of energy capable of applying Vulnerable debuff. Furthermore, a simple upgrade to Profane Sentinel allows Warlock's lower-tier demon minions to apply Vulnerable effect as well.
We anticipate that this specific combination of skills and upgrades will be extremely popular. It is a battle-tested build capable of handling almost every challenge in Lord of Hatred - at the very least, it is guaranteed to clear Torment 12 - and since all the necessary skills are located directly within the skill tree, the leveling process promises to be exceptionally smooth.
Hell Fracture Warlock
Another viable strategy centers on building the character around Hell Fracture skill, which causes the ground to split open and erupt with flames. The effect persists for 15 seconds, and recasting the skill allows you to trigger two explosive detonations. The key highlight of this skill is its synergy with a specific Unique item. Spine of Tathamet can increase the level of Hell Fracture; it also doubles Hell Fracture's damage output and causes the skill to trigger three separate rifts every third cast. By combining this concept with Ritualist Soul Shard, you can unleash overwhelming power. Alternatively, you might opt for a Shard that deals Echoing damage by consuming Hex stacks, or perhaps Scorching Shard, which focuses on stacking Volatility. Your specific choice will ultimately depend on your practical experience during actual gameplay.
Rampage Warlock
Rampage is a skill that summons more powerful demons. The damage it deals has a chance to trigger Eviscerate, inflicting Bleed damage. However, we noticed that the skill tooltip currently displays a weapon damage multiplier approaching 1300%,and this applies to just a single rank of the skill. Clearly, the damage potential of Rampage Warlock could be even higher. While this specific numerical value might not make it into the final release version, we will certainly be keeping a close eye on it.
Elite Eviscerate upgrade grants Rampage a 100% chance to apply Eviscerate to any Elite enemy that has not yet been affected by it. Furthermore, Shockwave upgrade causes every attack performed by Rampage to fire a secondary shockwave forward, thereby providing you with additional opportunities to trigger Abyss effects. However, since summoning these demons consumes a significant amount of Dominance, playing this build effectively requires a certain degree of resource management skill.
So, as of now, we have identified three logically sound Warlock builds; all of them possess immense damage potential and offer distinct playstyles.
Paladin
Next, let's discuss another highly anticipated class: Paladin. This holy juggernaut truly stands in a league of its own, boasting an array of top-tier builds to choose from - such as Blessed Hammer, Oidan, and Arbiter builds, which focuses on maximizing Wing Strike damage output. These builds perform exceptionally well and are widely considered being among the absolute best configurations of the current season.
Among them, Shield of Retribution Paladin stands out as the most dominant. By combining Thorn Pulsing with Shield Throw, this build allows you to reflect incoming damage while applying massive multipliers to your Thorns damage - the power level is simply absurd. Given this overwhelming strength, the development team has, quite naturally, implemented nerfs specifically targeting this build.
Specifically, the unique shield Ward of White Dove has undergone adjustments. This item previously provided a direct boost to shield damage output, with its maximum value reaching as high as 177%. Now, however, its cap has been lowered to 77% - undoubtedly a significant nerf.
Additionally, some changes have occurred within the skill tree. Thorns and Thistles node appears to have been either removed or weakened. This node previously offered a passive effect that provided an additional bonus to Thorns damage.
It is entirely reasonable for the development team to nerf overpowered builds; their goal is to encourage Paladin players to experiment with and experience a wider variety of build playstyles. Nevertheless, Paladin still possesses immense potential for constructing top-tier builds - particularly when tackling high-difficulty endgame content such as The Pit. So, what constitutes the most optimal overall choice at this moment?
The answer lies in Paladin's ability - via the newly introduced Charms system - to activate an incredibly potent set bonus. For any build utilizing Disciple skills, assembling Light's Epiphany set allows you to instantly trigger all of your Ultimates simultaneously the moment you activate Arbiter form.
This synergistic effect yields yet another benefit: for the duration of Arbiter form, the damage dealt by all Disciple skills receives a massive boost of up to 500%. This occurs because the system classifies Ultimates you triggered as falling under Disciple skills category.
Consequently, when constructing many of the game's top-tier builds, one should fully leverage this core mechanic.
Paladin's premier build remains Blessed Hammer. You can designate Blessed Hammer as a Disciple skill to activate the aforementioned set bonus, while supplementing it with other utility skills similarly designated as Disciple skills. For instance, designating Condemn and Falling Star as Disciple skills allows you to further empower them via Familiar Auras and Consecration. Subsequently, by selecting Disciple as your core passive skill, you can maximize your damage output by maintaining Arbiter form for as long as possible.
From a technical standpoint, there is indeed one related nerf affecting Blessed Hammer builds. This concerns the unique ring, Argent Fail. It previously allowed your core skills to deal an additional 40% to 60% damage, thereby significantly amplifying the potency of your Hammer skills. However, this bonus has now been reduced to a range of 5% to 15 - undoubtedly a significant nerf.
In exchange, however, you gain access to an incredibly powerful set of Charms that can boost the damage of your Disciple skills by up to 500%. This means your Blessed Hammer skill receives a massive buff, largely offsetting the negative impact of the aforementioned nerf.
With its brand-new skill trees, Charm and Rune systems, and more, Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred brings unprecedented depth and possibilities to class builds. Warlock is, of course, your top choice. As for Paladin - despite having undergone nerfs - new Charm system introduces entirely fresh gameplay mechanics, ensuring it remains firmly entrenched among the ranks of top-tier builds.
…Monopoly Go Boost Events April 24 (Eastern Time): Rent Frenzy, High Roller, Sticker Boom, Wheel Boost - Full Schedule & Strategies
As we all know, Monopoly Go activates Boost Events at specific times each day to increase your Dice roll payout. So what boost events are coming up on April 24th (Eastern Time)?
According to the latest official information, the upcoming Boost Events are Rent Frenzy, High Roller, Sticker Boom, and Wheel Boost. The earliest start time is 10:00 AM, and the latest is 8:00 PM.
Boost Events only need to start within their designated time, but their duration is very short. Except for Color Wheel Boost, which lasts 20 minutes, the other three events only last 10 minutes.
Therefore, you need to familiarize yourself with the gameplay of these four events and how to maximize their benefits.
Rent Frenzy
Rent Frenzy starts at 10:00 AM and lasts for ten minutes. Each time it activates, multiple rent targets will appear on the board - the squares with other players' portraits.
Each time you pass over or land on one of these targets, the other player has to pay. The income depends on the upgrades to your properties; the higher the building's level, the higher the rent collected per instance.
This is the core reward of the event. With more rent collection points on the board, each trigger brings a stable cash income. However, it won't appear as a reward in track races or Tournaments; it will only appear as a Boost Event, so you need to wait for it to appear.
Implementation Strategy
Pre-planning: Don't wait until the event starts to upgrade! The rent amount is directly determined by the level of your buildings.
Even if a low-level building triggers 100 times, the income may not be as high as a few times with a high-level building. Therefore, before the event starts, prioritize filling your high-value buildings (especially landmarks) to their maximum level.
Precise positioning: It's not recommended to keep 10x or 100x on throughout the event, as the risk is too high. The golden rule is to increase the multiplier when you are only a few steps away from the rent collection target (player portrait); and immediately switch back to x1 when you are surrounded by safe tiles or opponent's buildings.
Triple Bonus: If Rent Frenzy and High Roller happen to coincide on a given day, then taking advantage of this time to use the high multiplier of High Roller to target Rent Frenzy can yield substantial profits per roll. If possible, you can also do this during Prize Drop or Peg-E to triple your rent collection earnings.
High Roller
High Roller starts at 11:00 AM EST on the 24th and lasts for ten minutes. During its activation, your dice multiplier cap will increase from the usual x100 to x1,000 - meaning a single roll can consume up to 1,000 Monopoly Go Dice, with profits multiplied by x1000. This isn't free power; indiscriminate use can quickly deplete your accumulated dice.
Before using, you can clarify your goals. There are three strategies to choose from: combine with Fairytale Shut Down for high multiplier gains, focus on late-game sticker sets (Sets 22-23) to create a resource cycle, and maximize your reward cap through Fairytale Heist.
Implementation Strategy
- Only increase the multiplier when there is a railroad within 6, 7, or 8 squares.
- Only advance safely when dead board zones drop to x1 or x5, accurately estimating the landing point from a distance.
- Manual dice rolling is strongly recommended. Observe the board layout before each move.
- Prepare enough dice ,at least 2,000 or more.before activating High Roller to avoid being forced out of the game due to insufficient reserves.
- Stop immediately after obtaining high multipliers to prevent subsequent losses from wiping out existing gains.
- Adhere to the principle of holding onto x1 dead board zones and switching to high multipliers before railroads.
Sticker Boom
Sticker Boom starts at 1 PM and lasts for ten minutes. Once activated, any sticker pack you open in Monopoly Go will grant you extra stickers and a higher chance of drawing rare stickers. This event doesn't directly give you stickers; instead, it amplifies the benefits of your existing sticker packs.
Orange and pink sticker packs offer the biggest boost during Sticker Boom, with an increase of 67%, while other sticker packs offer 50%.
Implementation Strategy
Pre-emotive Pack Accumulation: This includes all unopened sticker packs, the 700-star Vault, 250-star/500-star Vaults, Enchanted Storybooks, and weekly Quick Wins purple packs.
Precise Activation: When Sticker Boom is activated, prioritize opening the 700-star Vault, swap packs, and Enchanted Storybooks, and open all accumulated sticker packs in the order of purple → blue → pink → orange → green. If it overlaps with Wheel Boost, spin the wheel to earn more sticker packs before opening them.
Event End: Immediately participate in Golden Blitz sticker trade and prioritize completing Sets 22-23 of Ever After Album to create a positive cycle with the next Sticker Boom triggered by it.
Wheel Boost
Wheel Boost starts at 8 PM and lasts for 20 minutes.Spinning twice during Boost grants two chances to approach it, significantly increasing your chances of obtaining high-value sticker packs.
Implementation Strategy
- Pre-lock Color Group: Before Wheel Boost begins, prioritize upgrading at least one or two color groups to hotels and keeping them ready to trigger, while also accumulating sufficient cash.
- Intensive Push: After activating Wheel Boost at 8 PM, use medium multipliers to intensively land on hotel tiles. Each trigger grants two consecutive Wheel spins. At this time, Sticker Boom is active all day, granting 50% more stickers across all sticker packs;
- Stacked Boosts: Combined with the additional boost cycle triggered by late-game sticker sets in Monopoly Go Ever After Album (such as Sets 22-23), and the increased rewards from Aladdin Racers main story progression.
A single event can achieve multiple stacks of Color Wheel Boost + Sticker Boom + Season Missions + Main Stony Point, resulting in significantly higher efficiency than usual.
By combining the four Boost Events and following the strategy above, you won't be overwhelmed even if they are activated simultaneously.
…ARC Raiders: How to Damage Queen and Matriarch? | Best Weapons, Locations, and Strategy Guide
In ARC Raiders, Queen and Matriarch are the most frequently encountered units in boss battles, both massive mechs that require your serious attention. They are often the targets of weekly challenges, requiring you to damage or defeat them.
Defeating them will reward you with many rare materials and equipment. This is why everyone is eager to complete Queen and Matriarch damage quests. However, dealing high damage or defeating Queen and Matriarch is not an easy task.
First, you need to understand the maps and conditions where they appear. Second, you need to know which weapons are best suited for dealing high damage to them, and what strategies you and your teammates need? These questions must be clear before you begin.
This guide will provide solutions to these problems, helping you to damage Queen and Matriarch.
Basic Information
Queen
Queen appears during Harvester event on Acerra Spaceport and Dam Battlegrounds. She has a high threat level and approximately 22,000 health. She has a unique mechanic: surrounding smaller monsters will lock onto and share the damage you deal to Queen, so you must eliminate these smaller ARC units before attacking.
Queen's weaknesses are concentrated in her leg joints and head core. Defeating Queen primarily drops Queen Cores and various rare materials.
Matriarch
Matriarch only appears after meeting specific North Line ARC upgrade conditions. It typically appears in the later stages of ARC Raiders raids, posing an extremely high threat level with significantly more health than Queen. Its unique mechanic is an invincibility shield, which periodically grants it complete immunity to damage; during this time, you must cease fire and wait for the shield to disappear.
Matriarch's weak point is located in its large red core at the center of its body, making it extremely difficult to defeat. Successfully defeating Matriarch primarily yields Matriarch Cores and valuable rewards such as advanced blueprints.
Recommended Equipment
Weapons
Anvil
Anvil is a single-action pistol that uses heavy ammunition and is currently considered a top-tier all-around weapon in ARC Raiders. Anvil has strong armor penetration capabilities, making it highly effective against Matriarch's high-shield defenses.
You can obtain ARC Raiders Anvil Blueprint by completing main story missions, or find it in Red-outlined zones on maps like Medical Research and Robotic Sandbox.
Map buffs such as Electromagnetic Storm also increase the drop rate, so it's recommended to prioritize these maps. Higher-risk maps have a higher probability of dropping high-level ARC Raiders Items.
Torrent A
Torrente is a rare light machine gun that uses medium ammunition. Its core role is close-range suppression, especially effective against dense swarms of ARC drones in PvE.
Shields
Light Shield
Light Shield is a lightweight basic shield designed entirely around mobility. Its key advantage is that it doesn't reduce movement speed, allowing you to maintain maximum mobility for evasion and kiting.
Medium Shield
Medium Shield is designed to strike a balance between movement speed and defensive capabilities. Compared to Light Shield, it offers stronger protection, but at the cost of a slight movement speed penalty - reducing movement speed by 5%.
Before attempting to equip Medium Shield, you need to craft a strong Augment compatible with either Tactical MK.1 or Combat MK.1 using Lance. Most early ARC Raider Augments were only compatible with Light Shield, so you'll need to unlock the correct Augment before using Medium Shield.
Other Equipment
- Deadlines: Detonates after 6 seconds, dealing 1000 area damage, making it an efficient tool for pinpoint elimination.
- Raider Hatch Key: This key allows for silent extraction from Raider hatches on the map, without triggering alarms or attracting ARC attention, and without waiting.
- Photoelectric Cloak: Grants brief invisibility, allowing you to evade ARC detection systems and enemies.
- Snap Hook: Launching a hook allows for rapid movement and climbing, greatly enhancing mobility during operations.
In addition to ARC Raiders Items mentioned above, you'll also need to carry some medkits for emergencies.
Combat Strategy
Map selection isn't crucial when challenging Queen or Matriarch, as they are virtually everywhere. Another key piece of gear is Hullcracker, used to destroy the comet before it self-destructs, allowing you to obtain the Ignition from its core.
Since matchmaking can easily place you into already started matches (the boss may have already been defeated), a matchmaking tip is to watch the matchmaking timer at the bottom of the screen: once 45 seconds have elapsed, cancel the queue and re-match.
Repeat this process to ensure you get into a full game. If you wait longer than 45 seconds (approximately 50-60 seconds), the system will pull you into an ongoing match. Queen or Matriarch has often already fallen.
When a Matriarch takes damage in combat, it will summon a large number of ARC units, including Rocketeers, Bashes, Leapers, and Bombardiers, as well as Fireballs, Ticks, Wasps, and Hornets. This is the perfect time to use your equipped items.
Use the grappling hook when Matriarch is stationary or moving slowly. After successfully hooking it, its central core may be protected by armor. In this case, you must first use a Torent A to penetrate the armor before placing Deadlines. It is recommended to place two traps at a time; theoretically, three can be placed, but the margin for error is extremely low, and any misoperation can lead to failure.
Evacuation and Safety Precautions
After placing traps, you must quickly move away. Always maintain a safe distance of at least 10 meters from Deadlines. Being within 10 meters will result in being knocked down, potentially losing all equipment, and being forced to return to base. When jumping down from Matriarch's head, observe its direction of movement and jump in the opposite direction; otherwise, you will be stuck on its head and fail.
Upon landing, you'll typically experience a brief stagger and dizziness. During this time, Matriarch's legs move rapidly, making you easily knocked down. Therefore, immediately regain your footing and return to a safe area. After recovering health, repeat the above process - grappling hook, armor break, place Deadlines, and retreat.
Okay, that's how to easily deal high damage to Queen and Matriarch in ARC Raiders. I've verified it; the risk is extremely low. I hope this helps you.
…Discover the Secrets of Riven Tides: Arc Raiders' Biggest Map & Largest Enemy Yet Revealed
Recently, Arc Raiders has revealed some content from Riven Tides update. According to the original roadmap, we'll see a new map, new map conditions, new enemies, and a new expedition window this April. So when will we officially see it?
The developer has announced that the game update will be released on April 28th. This developer tends to release update content at the end of the month. Update notes detailing new features and changes will likely be published a few days prior.
So what exactly will Riven Tides update include? If you're interested, check out this guide; it has everything you need.
New Map
The new map for Arc Raiders Riven Tides is expected to be a terrain interwoven with sand dunes, cliffs, and city ruins, located in the lower left corner of Rust Belt, below Buried City. It will introduce a vast coastal biome, bringing players a completely new experience.
The new map is the most anticipated content of this update and is also the first coastal map. According to the official concept art, the abandoned ruins resemble flowers blooming on the sea, captivating the viewer; scattered boulders on the battlefield seem like relics from ancient times.
It's also worth noting that the new map's architecture is highly vertical, facilitating player movement using ziplines and grappling hooks, consistent with common player movement habits. Imagine quickly navigating a beach filled with ancient ruins using ziplines and grappling hooks, and sniping enemies.
Furthermore, the new map appears to include not only underground areas but also water highways. Many players speculate that Riven Tides is adding water-related gameplay, perhaps even water-based combat facilities. We can only wonder: will falling into the water result in instant death, or is swimming possible?
New Large ARC Threat
A major highlight of this update is the addition of a new large ARC threat, reportedly the largest ARC enemy to date.
While there's no official confirmation yet, player community speculation suggests two possibilities for the new ARC enemy: The Emperor. Based on in-game storylines, it appears as a sinister pawn, gradually approaching The Blue Gate. Or perhaps it's Bishop, which appeared in the pre-release video. It's a giant spider-legged robot and should be a powerful enemy, but it has never officially joined the game, perhaps because it's too powerful. But we may soon be facing it.
This Large ARC Threat is not only new, but also unknown. Some players have complained on forums that they are already very familiar with and even bored with the existing ARC enemies. No worries, the new ARC enemy will bring a completely new gameplay experience. Therefore, you'll need to prepare powerful ARC Raiders Items to fight them.
While many players are eagerly awaiting more information, the developers seem to intend to announce it at the last minute, which is consistent with their usual practice. Let's wait and see!
New Map Condition
Embark revealed that a brand new map condition will be introduced, but did not elaborate on its name or gameplay. Perhaps we'll have to wait until the last minute to find out.
Players have begun speculating about the new map condition, suggesting it might be related to the map's features, such as the coastal geography and climate, or even new water-based gameplay.
The coastal setting inevitably brings to mind humid weather and sudden typhoons… Perhaps players will experience a random slowing of movement and jump speed due to the weather? Or perhaps their actions will be disrupted by randomly occurring typhoons? Or maybe they'll suffer random poisoning effects?
Or, due to the complexity of the ruins, the new map condition might randomly obstruct the player's view or block some roads?
Just like in Shrouded Sky, where players faced random hurricanes, powerful and unpredictable hurricanes were once considered the most terrifying condition, affecting not only movement speed and jump distance but also reducing visibility.
Since there's never been a coastal map before, we can only speculate about its specifics from various angles, but regardless, the new map condition will undoubtedly bring more fun and challenge to players.
Expedition 3 Window
Expedition 3 Window is coming soon. Similar to Expedition 2, it will still allow players to reset their characters, acquire in-game ARC Raiders Items and buffs, obtain new Raider Cosmetics, provide additional stash space, new cosmetics, and more. However, the ability to exchange stash value and gold for skill points has been removed.
Furthermore, there is a significant change: players will gain five additional skill points by dealing damage during the five-day Expedition Window. In previous Expedition windows, players could only obtain additional skill points through Stash Value and Coins after the expedition ended.
Expedition 3 Window will provide a great opportunity for players who want to try out other characters or enhance their existing ones. It's worth noting that this expedition will still require you to deliver certain materials to NPCs to advance the expedition, so please prepare the necessary ARC Raiders Items before it begins.
The above summarizes the main content of the upcoming Riven Tides update, sparking heated discussions among players. Some believe the update will further expand the game's player base, while others worry that the new content won't meet their expectations.
However, almost all players are closely watching April 28th update and eagerly awaiting more information from the developers. What are your thoughts or expectations for the new content? Or is there anything you don't understand? Please let us know!
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