Tech
What Strategies And Audio Settings Should You Use To Clearly Hear Footsteps In Call Of Duty?

In FPS games like Call of Duty, what you hear can be more important than what you see, which is why players rely on skills like Ninja, Dead Silence or Covert Sneakers to give themselves more chances of winning.
In general, it is very important to stay silent when playing games, as any player wearing a good headset can hear you a mile away. But this guide will introduce you to Soundwhore, a strategy that players rely heavily on good headphones to pinpoint the location of enemy players.
This requires you to turn up the volume of your headphones, sit quietly, and listen for the slightest scrape of the enemy player’s boots or even the rustle of clothes when the enemy player aims. But at the same time, it is most important that you set the best audio settings for this strategy.
Strategy
Hearing footsteps and accurately determining the location of enemies amid explosions, roars of vehicles and gunfire in any Call of Duty game is a very tricky thing, but that doesn’t mean there is no solution.
First of all, you need to stand still. If you stand still, you won’t confuse your footsteps with others. But please note that this strategy does not work in maps with large open areas, because your standing will attract more enemies.
Also, use silencers on your weapons as much as possible. This will ensure that you can hear everything around you and stay quiet. Be careful to stay away from the mini-map or compass. In addition to this in-game setting, you also need to use gaming headphones as much as possible, because even the cheapest headphones are better than relying on TV or desktop speakers. The noise of the environment will make it more difficult to determine the location of the enemy.
Last but not least, if you are listening to footsteps, don’t be afraid to tell your teammates and ask them to keep quiet. I don’t think any teammate will still make a fuss in this situation unless he doesn’t want to win the battle.
Optimal Audio Settings
After you have some strategies for listening to the sound in Call of Duty series of games, you should learn some optimal audio settings to enhance the usefulness of these strategies. Here are the specific setting values ​​and options.
- Audio Mix: Headphones Bass Boost or Boost High
- Master Volume: 80
- Music Volume: 0
- Dialogue Volume: 60
- Effects Volume: 100
If you often suffer from the high-pitched ringing in your ears when you are hit by flashbangs or stun grenades, you can also turn on REDUCE TINNITUS SOUND option in the advanced settings, which may reduce the impact of this sound on you.
The above audio settings are universal for all devices that can explore Call of Duty, but if you are using PC, you can turn on your headphone boost in the speakers in your taskbar and turn on the loudness equalization setting, which will give you a better gaming experience!
Avowed’s Magic Pistol Is Not Found Until The End Of The Game

Avowed fans know that there are many great pistols in Avowed, and the best of them is Magic Pistol. The best always comes last. As far as we know, players can only find this best pistol in the last area of ​​the game, Galawain’s Tusks. Below, we will give you a detailed understanding of the basics of Magic Pistol and where to find this handy weapon.
Features
Foe-Seeker Passive Bonus
As the best pistol in Avowed, Magic Pisto comes with Foe-Seeker passive bonus. This function allows your bullets to automatically seek and target enemies. This undoubtedly reduces the pressure of perfect aiming and helps you better eliminate enemies. Isn’t this a powerful ability?
Infused Shot Enchantment
In addition, Magic Pisto comes with Infused Shot enchantment, which allows your Power Attacks to deal huge Stun damage. You can choose one of two permanent upgrades to upgrade this enchantment.
- Unstable Shot: Power Shots can also cause moderate Stun damage to surrounding enemies.
- Pistoleer’s Grace: Killing any enemy will increase your reload speed by 50% for 10 seconds.
Location
Now that you know the function of this magical pistol, I think you must be curious about where this pistol can be found. As far as we know, Magic Pisto is located in Ekidan Workshop in Galawain’s Tusks, which means that you can’t get it until the end of the game. But good things are always behind, and Ekidan Workshop is on the far left of Slumbering Fields, which is the last area of ​​the game.
After entering, the player will jump from one place, and then you will find a staircase. Going down the stairs, it is not difficult to find a hidden entrance covered by broken wood. All you need to do is break all the wood and enter a new room to find a treasure chest. Magic Pisto you have been thinking about is placed in the treasure chest.
It’s hard to imagine how cool it is to have such a magical pistol that can automatically aim at the enemy. It can be said that as long as you have this weapon, everyone can be called a sharpshooter. Anyway, play Avowed. Even if Magic Pisto can only be found in the late game, the joy it brings you is unparalleled.
How Does The Network Test Of Elden Ring Nightreign Perform On PS5?

When I opened Elden Ring Nightreign on PS5 and started the test experience, I was first deeply attracted by its dim background of blue and black. At the same time, the unforgettable background music sounded at this time. Seeing the people falling behind the protagonist, I knew that this journey was still full of challenges.
Exquisite World Design And Strong Sense Of Atmosphere
Elden Ring Nightreign still follows the clever map design and more immersive atmosphere of Elden Ring. It starts in the misty forest with interlaced light and shadow. Looking around, every leaf and every blade of grass are lifelike, enough to see the sincerity of the production team.
Compared with Elden Ring, the newly added dynamic weather system gives me a refreshing experience. In the rain and fog, the forest looks more mysterious and tense, and the enemy seems to be lurking in a corner to give you a fatal blow. The unknown field always inspires me to explore every corner of the forest. Maybe in the next second you will find a story buried deep in the depths and embark on an unforgettable magical journey.
Familiar Combat Experience Brings The Same Fun
The rich classes in Elden Ring are still retained in this work, and the numerous class choices also allow players to experience more fun in one game. When facing strange and unknown monsters, players not only need to react quickly but also need to have a certain strategic thinking. For example, if you choose the Warrior class when creating a character, which is mainly melee combat, the probability of being injured in battle will be greater. At this time, we should consider allocating more Flask of Crimson Tears and reducing the number of Flask of Cerulean Tears.
New Multiplayer Matching
Compared to Elden Ring, the core gameplay of Elden Ring Nightreign is to team up with multiple people to defeat the boss. Players can match teammates through the system to defeat powerful enemies together and explore hidden areas together. In the process of teaming, players can cooperate with each other through voice communication, and orderly cooperation will give the enemy a more fierce attack.
Matching is not limited to PVE, there is also an exciting PVP mode, which brings players a new experience. Fighting with players requires more wisdom and skills.
All in all, Elden Ring Nightreign is a work worth looking forward to. If your hobby is to explore the unknown world and crave fierce battles, then this game will be your best choice.
What Is It Like To Play Astro Bot With A Child?

Some seemingly routine, mundane activities, like what you do every day, will look different when you do them with a child. For example, playing Astro Bot with a child will give you a whole new experience and perspective.
Is Astro Bot Really Easy?
As we all know, Astro Bot is a 3D platform game where players control the title character, a small robot named Astro Bot, by using the DualSense controller. Doesn't it sound simple? Or is it?
Of course, it is more than enough for an adult who is proficient in video games to play Astro Bot. Because in this game, you only need to use four simple verbs, you can run, jump, punch and spin. There are other uncommon actions, such as pulling the rope, but even so, you only use three buttons-Left Stick, X and Square.
However, when you open the game interface with a seven or eight-year-old child, the problem seems to arise. He doesn't control the camera, and you may find yourself struggling with how to manipulate it to accentuate cool shots or just make it flow. It's second nature. Apparently, this game isn't as easy as you think it is.
What's The Difficulty?
As mentioned above, the game requires touch controls. Controlling the camera can seem like a challenge for kids, as well as adults who don't play console games. This wasn't as much of a problem in early 3D games, because, paradoxically, the camera controls were much worse. The game did a lot of the heavy lifting for you, positioning the viewpoint where you needed it or giving you a limited range of choices.
Astro Bot has a similar perspective to Super Mario 64, but instead of turning the camera in set increments like Super Mario 64, it gives the player full control. When playing Astro Bot with a child, the inexperienced kid will only turn the camera when it absolutely needs to. So he'll run into a wall, lose sight of Astro completely, and get stuck. Only then, out of necessity, will he try to turn the camera.
As we know, returning to this full control scheme before 2025 may be difficult, you have to give up some control. If you don't have experience using R3 to frame the view, the old method is easier because it reduces the amount of work your hands have to do.
Playing this seemingly simple game with a child seems to bring some thinking to the game. When you see the world through a child's eyes, it is obvious that there is a new perspective on everything.
Dark Souls 3 Seamless Co-op Mod Launched

Just a few weeks ago, Yui, the creator of the seamless mods for Elden Ring and Armored Core 6, announced that he would be making a seamless mod for Dark Souls 3. Now that the beta version of the mod has been released on NexusMods, the mod is basically in a usable state.
Players who have experienced the seamlessness of Elden Ring know what this mod feels like. This mod will remove many of the restricted areas of the map that cannot be connected online, and truly allow players to stay in co-op throughout.
Seamless Co-op Mod
The seamless co-op mod allows you to play through the entire game of Dark Souls 3 with your friends, without any restrictions. This means that from the tutorial to the final boss, you can play it co-operatively. For many fans, this is really a dream.
The key to this mod is that if a player dies, they will respawn at the last bonfire they were in, and it will be the same world without interruption. And defeating bosses and clearing areas will not send co-op players home.
All fog walls or barriers that usually restrict multiplayer areas have disappeared, all NPC dialogue and discussion activities are synchronized, and when a player rests at a campfire, the entire world state of everyone is reset. In addition, game progress events completed in online games will also advance the game progress in your own world.
The mod supports up to 6 players, which means you can connect with up to 5 friends. The mod also completely remodels the peer-to-peer connection system of “Dark Souls 3” using Steam’s newer network API. Therefore, players can expect a more stable and powerful multiplayer experience.
Will Players Be Banned For Using This Mod?
FromSoftware strictly restricts players from using mods. If a player uses a mod while online, it won’t take long for your account to be restricted from logging in, or you will be thrown into a special server where you will be with other cheating players.
But this mod will not get players’ accounts banned. It will generate a separate archive and does not use Dark Souls 3’s server, so players using this mod will not be thrown into a cheating server from FromSoftware.
If you want to switch back to the normal server, just start the game normally from Steam. If you are worried, delete this mod completely and thoroughly after you and your friends have finished the game.
Not Perfect
As mentioned above, this mod is not perfect yet and still has bugs. Currently, some players have encountered a bug. After being killed by Judge of Ashes Gundyr, the boss that the player needs to face after rebirth becomes Champion Gundyr. In addition, there are still some bugs, big and small, waiting for the author to fix.
Valve May Release A Standalone VR Headset In 2025

Valve’s standalone headset, codenamed “Deckard”, has long been rumored, and speculation has continued since data miners first discovered relevant information in January 2021. Recently, the whistleblower and data miner “Gabe Follower” once again broke the news that Deckard will be released before the end of 2025 and priced at $1,200.
Gabe Follower posted on his X platform: “Multiple sources have confirmed that Valve plans to release a new standalone wireless VR headset (codenamed Deckard) by the end of 2025. The current price of the complete package is $1,200.”
Gabe Follower also revealed that Valve will release “finished” games or demos specifically for Deckard.
Notably, Gabe Follower pointed out that the $1,200 price “will be sold at a loss” and speculated that Deckard will use the same SteamOS as Steam Deck handheld, but adapted for VR.
Gabe Follower claimed that “one of the core features is to play flat games already on Steam Deck on VR big screen, without the need for a PC.” He also said that closed-door demos may begin soon.
Gabe Follower has accurately leaked multiple Valve projects in the past, including information about Counter-Strike, Half-Life and Valve’s upcoming PC shooting MOBA game Deadlock, but still recommends treating this news with caution.
Even if this leak is not inside information, Valve is clearly preparing XR-related products. Leaked 3D models hidden in the November 2024 SteamVR update appear to show a new VR motion controller called “Roy”.
Roy controller is different from the standard VR motion controller layout and seems to provide a more traditional gamepad-style button layout, which will enable a 1:1 input experience between flat games (in a virtual environment) and Steam Deck.
Persistent rumors claim that Deckard may include PC VR wireless streaming capabilities, eye tracking, and perspective AR capabilities, which may make it a competitor to Meta Quest and/or Apple Vision Pro.
This is not the first time Valve has tried gaming peripherals. Valve released the Valve Index in 2019, which was the best VR headset on the market at the time and priced at $999. The headset was bundled with Half-Life Alyx, but sales were poor. Valve’s Deckard may be able to bring new surprises to the gaming industry, but how many players will really buy it is unknown.
You Might Have A New Way To Kill Orin In Baldur’s Gate 3!

As you explore Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll inevitably encounter Orin the Red, one of the most formidable foes in the game, even more difficult to defeat than Netherbrain in Honour Mode. This is because of its combination of unstoppable stacks, powerful boons, and abilities like Power Word: Kill and Bhaal’s Edict, which makes her difficult to defeat unless you’re in the strongest possible party.
But now, there’s an easier way to defeat Orin the Red without having to see her terrifying Slayer form, by disguising yourself as Orin’s clone and then killing her. If you face this encounter, follow this guide to defeat this powerful enemy and claim the final loot.
Steps
First, you’ll need to defeat Orin in Rivington by casting a high-damage ability on her while she’s disguised as Lens the Journalist and using non-lethal attacks. Make sure you hit it for a few hundred times, so that you don’t trigger the dialogue with Orin. Then Orin’s undisguised form will appear, and after the previous operation, even if you hit this enemy’s health to 1, it will not trigger the dialogue response.
Afterwards, Orin will appear in the party camp disguised as an orphan named Yenna, but this also requires some triggering conditions: first, the entire camp is infiltrated by Orin, and Lae’zel, Halsin, Minthara and Gale are all away from the camp. This mechanism theoretically works for all replaced characters, but you need to lock the target in advance, otherwise you may accidentally hurt your teammates.
When you use an Illithid Power called Ability Drain, the character replaced by Orin will appear with a red mist effect, which can be used to identify the disguised person. If you want to kill this disguised Orin with one blow, you may need to set up some explosives or use some very powerful attacks, which will at least ensure that you deal with many damage to it.
Once you defeat the pretender, you will receive a notification that Orin has been defeated, but oddly, you won’t find her body in the camp. This requires you to go to Bhaal’s Temple, where you’ll see a pile of blood clots where Orin usually stands, including one of her Netherstones, which will require you to defeat some of her followers, but this will be much easier than fighting Orin.
Although Orin’s shapeshifting ability is threatening, you can use some strategies to resolve it cleverly. For example, you can completely avoid defeating Yenna, the disguise of Orin, before entering Bhaal’s Temple, and instead knock her unconscious but not fatally, so that you and Orin will be forced to fight you as Yenna in the final battle, which will put the entire battle under your control.
In addition, you can also release area skills such as fireballs or acid sprays to cause splash damage to the positions of your bound teammates, which will bypass the invincibility mechanism that Orin has when she becomes Yenna and directly causes more damage to her. When you use this kind of operation repeatedly, you will find that the entire battle has not entered a very difficult stage.
The above are some strategies and specific methods for you to defeat the very powerful Orin in Baldur’s Gate 3 at this stage successfully. In general, you can rely on these strategies and skills to help you complete the combat tasks in the game, but you must first enhance the character’s damage ability and defense ability, which is the most important. I wish you a happy game!
Do Players Really Have So Much Time To Play Games?

According to Clawsomegamer, a recent study shows that 40% of PC players play less than 5 hours a week, while console players play slightly more than PC players. In addition, 39% of console players play 10 hours a week.
Players Don’t Spend Much Time Playing Games
Key points of the study:
- Two-thirds of PC and console players play less than 10 hours a week.
- 36% of console players play less than 5 hours a week.
- 40% of PC players play less than 5 hours a week.
This study raises an important question: Are games too long now? Is this the reason why players play less? Is the game too long?
The study believes that many modern 3A games are too long for players with daily jobs. The data also supports this view, showing that most players (especially PC and console players) play less than 10 hours a week, and a considerable number of them even play less than 5 hours.
This means that 100-hour RPGs, sprawling open-world games, and bloated online service models are no longer viable for most players.
The problem isn’t just that games are too long, but that people generally believe that games have to be big to be worth the money. The report notes that the average length of games is increasing year after year, but not all players are able to complete these lengthy games. Trophy and achievement data also confirm this: as game time increases, completion rates decrease, and players are less likely to buy sequels.
Games Need To Change
Some recent games, such as Avowed, have begun offering players the choice of a 15-hour lightweight narrative experience or a 40-hour cinematic adventure, which may be one solution.
If more games adopt this model, it may narrow the gap between time-poor players and those who prefer longer experiences.
Another revelation is that the game industry should rethink its obsession with game length. Instead of extending game time with resource-consuming filler content, it is better to sell shorter, more compact experiences. For older gamers who have jobs, families, and other responsibilities, their time is not so flexible.
In addition, games should also focus on cultivating their own players. Each generation of players has its own game. Mario, Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, League of Legends, Fortnite... Players will not and cannot play your game all the time. Instead of filling the game with redundant and complicated content, it is better to focus on how to attract new players. Just adding to old games will only result in players who want to play not having time to play, and players who have time not wanting to play.
George RR Martin Said Elden Ring Movie May Be Released

As the game of the year of 2022, Elden Ring deserves the title. Players will never forget the experience of exploring this land full of mystery, danger, and violence. Players need to understand what happened in this land while repairing Elden Ring.
As the creator of the background of the game Elden Ring, George RR Martin said in a recent interview that the movie of Elden Ring is likely to be released. He admitted that he was involved in the planning of the film, but the adaptation of the film into a game encountered great obstacles.
As the creator of Soul series, from Demon’s Soul to Dark Soul, from Bloodborne to Sekiro, the background of the game has always been controlled by Hidetaka Miyazaki. Elden Ring is the only time that Hidetaka Miyazaki did not create the story, but invited George RR Martin to create the background of the game. Some players questioned that Martin’s role in the creation of Elden Ring was minimal. Insignificant. They just wanted Martin’s name to make more headlines before the release and attract ordinary players.
But Martin definitely contributed to the background design of the game. The story of Elden Ring often contains incest and great characters, which is exactly the same as the chaotic background of Elden Ring. Even as a player, when I think of the relationship between Radagon, Marika, Godfrey, and Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, I feel a mess, which is undoubtedly Martin’s handwriting.
But whether this movie can be released is still a question mark. Elden Ring inherits the obscure narrative of Soul series as always. Many players are often confused after playing the game and don’t know what happened. How to convert this type of game into a movie and put it on the big screen is undoubtedly a challenge. Instead of compressing the grand background of Elden Ring into a few hours of movie, it may be a wiser choice to put Bloodborne on the big screen.
On the other hand, Martin is still writing the sixth part, The Winds of Winter. The fifth part, A Dance with Dragons, was published 14 years ago. Martin did not reveal when he would finish the sixth part. But he joked that he might not be able to finish it until the day he died.
As far as Martin’s procrastination is concerned, he probably doesn’t have the energy to adapt Elden Ring. Therefore, the release of Elden Ring is still a long way off. Instead of waiting for the release of Elden Ring movie, it’s better to ask Miyazaki if he has prepared his next work.