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  • Grab an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB for a bargain price, if you’re in the UK

    Grab an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB for a bargain price, if you’re in the UK



    While GPU prices are a bit of a lottery in the US right now, PC gamers in the UK are often enjoying plentiful stock and falling prices. The latest new GPU to get a price drop is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, which is currently going for just £379.99 at Overclockers, saving you £20 on the MSRP, and enabling you to pick up a decent graphics card with plenty of VRAM.

    I recently tested this GPU for my Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti review, and found that in some ways it was an even better buy than the more expensive RTX 5070, thanks to its extra 4GB of VRAM. This Nvidia GPU already offers reasonable value at MSRP, but it’s a really good deal for £379.99, especially for the 16GB version. There’s now competition from the cheaper AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT, of course, but the Nvidia GPU is quicker, and worth the extra money at this price.

    One of the main benefits of this GPU, of course, is its support for the Nvidia DLSS 4 ecosystem, with the latest upscaling tech now featuring in many of the latest games, much more so than AMD’s competing FSR 4 tech, and enables you to vastly improve the frame rates in your games with minimal impact on image quality. In particular, new games such as Doom The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle run great on the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, and you can even get them running at 2,560 x 1,440 as well as 1,920 x 1,080.

    You can also happily max out demanding games such as Cyberpunk 2077 on this GPU, including the full Overdrive ray tracing mode. In my tests, I found you could enable this setting at 1080p, then enable DLSS on the Quality setting (which still looks great with DLSS 4), and it would average 56fps. That’s a solid enough starting point to then enable Nvidia’s new multi frame gen tech, which uses AI to insert extra frames between the ones rendered by your GPU, pushing the average frame rate all the way up to 179fps.

    Best of all, though, is the price of £379.99, which is great value for this GPU with 16GB of memory, buying you a Gainward RTX 5060 Ti Python III card. You just need to click on this link here to take you to the deal.

    If you can’t quite run to that price, you can still buy an AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB for £314.99 from the same retailer. It’s not as fast as the RTX 5060 Ti, but it’s still a big upgrade over the RTX 5060, and a decent GPU for the money. Check out my AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT review to see how the competition copes with our game benchmark suite.

    For more GPU buying advice, check out our guide to the best graphics card, where we run you through all our favorite options right now, as well as our GPU install guide, which takes you through the graphics card upgrade process.

    You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. In addition, we have a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



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  • Ludology 337 How To Be A Final Girl

    Ludology 337 How To Be A Final Girl


    Welcome!

    Welcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the hows and whys of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, as well as discuss game history, game design and game players.

    We post a new Ludology episode every other week. In these episodes, hosts Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim deep-dive into a single topic within game design, often with a well-regarded guest from the game industry. We generally focus on tabletop game design (mainly board games and RPGs), but we often pull in experts from all forms of games, from video games to escape rooms to slot machines.

    On weeks where there is no flagship Ludology episode, we will alternate between two smaller mini-sodes. Erica and Sen are happy to announce that Sarah Shipp of Shippboard Games and Stephanie Campbell of TTRPGKids will be joining us for the next year, providing additional content between our longer episodes.

    Sarah’s segment, Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, is a monthly feature that dives deeper into the other aspects of games beyond the dice and cards we’re all familiar with.

    Stephanie’s segment, TTRPGKids, explores how parents and teachers can use role playing games with children in the home and in the classroom.

    We hope you enjoy the additional content!

    Our History

    We aim for most Ludology episodes to be timeless, so you are welcome to explore our entire catalog. Most of it should age quite well. The podcast was started in 2011 by Geoff Engelstein and Ryan Sturm, with Mike Fitzgerald taking over for Ryan in 2015. Gil and Scott joined the show in 2017 when Mike stepped aside, and Emma joined in 2019 when Geoff ended his tenure as host. Emma left in 2021, and Erica and Sen joined us. Since then, Scott stepped down in 2022 and Gil will be hanging up his mic in 2023, leaving Erica and Sen to carry on this amazing legacy.

    Erica and Sen are working to bring new voices to Ludology and have some great things to announce as gaming expands to include even more people!

    Contact Us 

    Have your own thoughts about our topics? We encourage you to visit us at our guild on Boardgamegeek to get involved in a continuing discussion.

    You can also email us at hello@ludology.net.

    Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.

    If you have questions that you’d like answered on Ludology, let us know by filling out this Google Form; you can also leave an audio question that we can use on the show, if you wish! 

    Burning Questions for Ludology

    Burning Question

    Support the Show

    Ludology is made possible through the support and donations of listeners like you.

    We currently have 3 “First Listen” series that will go out to Patrons well in advance of the audio being released to the wider audience.

    • The Memories that Made Us (monthly) – memories about gaming experiences that helped shape the people that bring modern games to life
    • Tales from the Designer Toolbox (monthly) – tips and tricks from industry pros learned from both success and failure
    • Ludology Live – recordings from conventions around the world

    Patrons will also get extra consideration for any giveaways that we might have!

    Become a Ludology Patron

    Become a patron

    You can also make a one-time or monthly donation here. The link will take you to Erica’s account. People who donate in this way will not have access to the Patreon page – sorry!





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  • Ultimate Universal Piece Sword Tier List [SLAYERUPD]

    Ultimate Universal Piece Sword Tier List [SLAYERUPD]


    A Universal Piece character is holding a metal pipe

    Screenshot by The Escapist

    Gotta have the right blade to slash some enemies.

    Image of Aleksandar Perisic

    |

    Published: Jun 5, 2025 06:51 am

    One thing we love about Universal Piece is how the game allows you to progress in a multitude of different ways. Depending on what Fruit you use, you can make the game easier or harder for yourself. The same goes for weapons. If you aren’t big on powerful Fruits, you can always grab a trusty blade and destroy your enemies the old-fashioned way, especially with a good Sword. To help you pick the best blade, we made this Ultimate Universal Piece Sword Tier List.

    Roblox Universal Piece Sword Tier List

    A Tier list of all the swords in Universal Piece
    Image via TierMaker / Remix by The Escapist

    Down below, we’ll cover each sword currently in the game and list how to get them, and tell you a little bit about what we think of them.

    SS-Tier

    Sword Obtainment Info

    Monarch Daggers    		 Can drop from System Breaker Boss (Solo Island; 0,85%)
    Can drop from Red Knight Boss (3%)
    You can also buy it for 2,250 Robux    		 The best set of swords in the game.
    Abilities cover a massive area, so it’s great for PvP and PvE farming.
    Amazing DPS.

    S-Tier

    Sword Obtainment Info

    Hybrid Blade    		 Do the new raid and buy it from Prototype-01
    You can also buy it for 2,050 Robux    		 A well-rounded end-game blade.
    It’s not as good as the Monarch Daggers,
    and it will probably get a buff.

    Dual Sword    		 Drops from Dual Sword Master Boss (Solo Island; 4%)
    You can also buy it for 326 Robux    		 Great DPS, Good range,
    you can almost spam all the abilities
    Great for PvE

    Flash Katana    		 When you have 10,000,000 Bounty you can
    buy it from the Flash Master on Solo Island    		 Does more damage than Dual Swords, but does more DPS
    Fun abilities
    Great for PvE

    A-Tier

    Sword Obtainment Info

    Inverted Spear of Heaven    		 Defeat a player with a Skull
    You can sometimes buy it for 1,326 Robux    		 Great for bosses
    Has a low range, but the DPS is decent
    Not great for PvP

    Smoke Pole    		 Buy from Retired Admiral (Burger Island) for 75x Burgers, 150 Gems, 450,000 Yen A fantastic early game weapon.
    Pretty easy to get, too.
    You can use this until you get a higher tier
    weapons, and it won’t disappoint.

    B-Tier

    Sword Obtainment Info

    Bisento    		 Buy from Bisent Seller (Solo Island) for 15x Joystick, 20,000 Gems, 3,000,000 Yen A good weapon, but you get it much later in the game.
    Does more damage than the Smoke Pole, but the cooldowns aren’t great.

    Dark Blade    		 Buy it for 326 Robux Extremely mediocre, considering you can only get it by swiping.
    Only worth getting if you are just starting out and don’t want to grind.

    Soulcane    		 Buy from Good Zombie (Zombie Island) for 10x Bone, Skeleton Head, 400x Gems It’s not a good weapon, but it can freeze enemies, which is amazing.
    Great if you are in a party.

    C-Tier

    Sword Obtainment Info

    Pipe    		 Buy from Pipe Seller (Burger Island) for 30x Burgers, 150 Gems, 450,000 Yen Low damage, but ok abilities
    A bit better than the starter Katana

    Katana    		 Buy from Katana Master (Starter Island) for 20x Ice Cream, 5,000 Yen Pretty much your starter weapon
    Decent when you consider how early and
    easily you can get it.
    You should still switch to a better weapon ASAP.

    D-Tier

    Sword Obtainment Info

    Dual Katana    		 Buy from Bone Collector (Zombie Island) for 15x Bone, 200 Gems, 750,000 Yen Just bad in every way
    Low damage, bad abilities
    Don’t bother with this one
    (at least until it gets a buff)

    There you have it. All swords currently in Universal Piece, ranked accordingly. Have fun swinging those blades, and if you haven’t already, check out our Universal Piece codes for some cool in-game freebies.

    The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy



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  • New Cyberpunk 2077 update officially coming soon, as CDPR confirms version 2.3

    New Cyberpunk 2077 update officially coming soon, as CDPR confirms version 2.3


    Cyberpunk 2077 first came out almost five years ago. Its launch was notoriously rocky, with severe technical issues plaguing the game and interfering with its players’ ability to enjoy one of the most highly anticipated RPGs in years. To its credit, creator CD Projekt Red (CDPR) has continued working on the game, issuing a number of patches, including an overhaul timed to launch alongside the fantastic Phantom Liberty expansion. Even now, while working on new projects like the upcoming Witcher 4, CDPR is still plugging away at Cyberpunk 2077, with news coming today that the studio’s preparing another update to go live in the near future.

    Cyberpunk 2077 is a sprawling RPG, so there’s always more to refine and possibilities to add new details into its open world. This seems to be the reason for its makers to issue another patch, which came as a surprise reveal during a CDPR stream earlier today focused on discussing the launch of the game’s Nintendo Switch 2 port.

    In it, members of CDPR were asked about the possibility of DLC and announced that a new update was on the horizon, with more details on what it will include set to be detailed later this month. Associate Game Director Paweł Sasko posted on X/Twitter that the patch is something “we have been cooking for you in secret for a bit” while Global Community Director Marcin Momot added, in his own post, that “we’ll start spilling the beans” on the patch when it nears launch.

    YouTube Thumbnail

    Cyberpunk 2077’s version 2.3 patch is set to launch on Thursday June 26, 2025.

    While you’re waiting, check out the best Cyberpunk 2077 mods to get the most out of the game, or take a look at our picks for the best cyberpunk games on PC for other options.

    You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



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  • Sony wheels out Ghost of Yotei just to tease a dedicated State of Play for it in July

    Sony wheels out Ghost of Yotei just to tease a dedicated State of Play for it in July


    When we first got confirmation of this week’s State of Play, Sony’s official description provided little to go on. PlayStation’s first-party output is quite slim this year, but some of us expected the company’s biggest game in 2025 – Ghost of Yotei – to make some sort of appearance.

    After all, for a game coming out this October, we’ve seen very little gameplay to get us excited about its big release this fall.

    The good news is that Ghost of Yotei, did, indeed show up during the State of Play showcase. It was so brief, however, you may have missed it. Developer Sucker Punch treated us to a small teaser that left everyone wanting more.

    And more certainly is on the way, because the point of that teaser was to announce a special State of Play presentation dedicated entirely to the Ghost of Tsushima sequel. Sadly, we’ll have to wait until sometime in July for that.

    The July showcase will offer an extended look at Yotei’s “evolved” gameplay mechanics, exploration, combat and more, according to the PlayStation Blog. Hopefully that episode is scheduled for early July, rather than later in the month.

    Watch on YouTube

    Ghost of Yotei arrives October 2 on PS5, and no doubt two or so years later on PC.



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  • Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 17

    Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 17


    Welcome!

    Welcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the hows and whys of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, as well as discuss game history, game design and game players.

    We post a new Ludology episode every other week. In these episodes, hosts Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim deep-dive into a single topic within game design, often with a well-regarded guest from the game industry. We generally focus on tabletop game design (mainly board games and RPGs), but we often pull in experts from all forms of games, from video games to escape rooms to slot machines.

    On weeks where there is no flagship Ludology episode, we will alternate between two smaller mini-sodes. Erica and Sen are happy to announce that Sarah Shipp of Shippboard Games and Stephanie Campbell of TTRPGKids will be joining us for the next year, providing additional content between our longer episodes.

    Sarah’s segment, Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, is a monthly feature that dives deeper into the other aspects of games beyond the dice and cards we’re all familiar with.

    Stephanie’s segment, TTRPGKids, explores how parents and teachers can use role playing games with children in the home and in the classroom.

    We hope you enjoy the additional content!

    Our History

    We aim for most Ludology episodes to be timeless, so you are welcome to explore our entire catalog. Most of it should age quite well. The podcast was started in 2011 by Geoff Engelstein and Ryan Sturm, with Mike Fitzgerald taking over for Ryan in 2015. Gil and Scott joined the show in 2017 when Mike stepped aside, and Emma joined in 2019 when Geoff ended his tenure as host. Emma left in 2021, and Erica and Sen joined us. Since then, Scott stepped down in 2022 and Gil will be hanging up his mic in 2023, leaving Erica and Sen to carry on this amazing legacy.

    Erica and Sen are working to bring new voices to Ludology and have some great things to announce as gaming expands to include even more people!

    Contact Us 

    Have your own thoughts about our topics? We encourage you to visit us at our guild on Boardgamegeek to get involved in a continuing discussion.

    You can also email us at hello@ludology.net.

    Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.

    If you have questions that you’d like answered on Ludology, let us know by filling out this Google Form; you can also leave an audio question that we can use on the show, if you wish! 

    Burning Questions for Ludology

    Burning Question

    Support the Show

    Ludology is made possible through the support and donations of listeners like you.

    We currently have 3 “First Listen” series that will go out to Patrons well in advance of the audio being released to the wider audience.

    • The Memories that Made Us (monthly) – memories about gaming experiences that helped shape the people that bring modern games to life
    • Tales from the Designer Toolbox (monthly) – tips and tricks from industry pros learned from both success and failure
    • Ludology Live – recordings from conventions around the world

    Patrons will also get extra consideration for any giveaways that we might have!

    Become a Ludology Patron

    Become a patron

    You can also make a one-time or monthly donation here. The link will take you to Erica’s account. People who donate in this way will not have access to the Patreon page – sorry!





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  • Complete Etheria Restart Tier List & Reroll Guide [RELEASE]

    Complete Etheria Restart Tier List & Reroll Guide [RELEASE]


    When talking about the best characters in Etheria Restart you have to consider all the different roles and game modes. I’ll be ranking characters based on how useful they are in a team composition per role for all game modes with PVE and PVP combined. Here’s my ultimate Etheria Restart tier list with the best DPS, Debuff, Support and Sustain rankings.

    Etheria Restart Damage Tier List

    best damage characters in etheria restart tier list
    Image by The Escapist

    When it comes to the best DPS in Etheria Restart you want the ones that will either specialize in single target or AOE or have a balance of both. For PVP I generally prefer burst damage to take out key targets as fast as possible but sustain damage comes in just as useful for Thresholds and Union Bosses. Speaking of which you can clear story and general PVE with anyone so I’ll be focusing on how useful and powerful characters are in both Story and also Thresholds, Union Bosses, and PVP. Note that SSS-Tier doesn’t deal the most damage they are just the most useful DPS characters to have in a team comp. Below you’ll find my rankings for each character for both PVP and PVE.

    SSS-Tier DPS

    S-Tier DPS

    Character Ranking Reason

    Khloros    		 • Khloros deals the most raw sustained damage in Etheria Restart
    • He struggles with providing team utility but that’s not his role
    • His amazing DPS and Debuffs is what you want him for
    • Just don’t bring him to DokiDoki since you need more burst there

    Diting    		 • Diting deals the most single target burst damage from my tests
    • Include him in a team that can set him up to burst down key targets
    • You can pull off some crazy plays in PVP

    Fangus    		 • Sania is queen of DoTs but Fangus is a close second
    • Great sustained damage
    • Brings lots of utility to the team with Delays and Follow-Ups
    • Not the best for DokiDoki like Khloros because you need more burst and AOE

    Xiada    		 • Some of the best if not the best AOE sustained damage dealer in the game
    • Best for Doki Doki and all game modes that favor AOE damage
    • Not the best for Terrormaton

    A-Tier DPS

    Character Ranking Reason

    Rilmocha    		 • Rilmocha is the best character for DokiDoki and Terrormaton as well as one of the best PVP characters
    • Her combination of CC, Delays, and burst damage is incredibly useful for controlling the enemy
    • Just don’t bring her to Aurora, she’s useless there

    Victor    		 • Now Victor is a huge tank and quite hard to kill
    • Best of all he gets more damage the lower his HP is and his Shields keep him alive
    • Best for Terrormaton but he’s generally useful anywhere

    Rin (The Unbowed)    		 • Great sustained single and AOE damage
    • Overall a useful DPS with good Delay abilities
    • Not the best on Terrormaton

    B-Tier DPS

    Character Ranking Reason

    Tsutomu    		 • One of the best things about Tsutomu is that he can Dispel effects by stealing buffs with Vanishing Shade
    • He can also disable buffs and heals on enemies so use him for utility
    • This weird mix of utility and lower than average DPS makes him bad for PVP and Aurora

    Oboro    		 • Has pretty mid damage so she’s not the best for DPS
    • She shines in comboing DoTs, Debuffs, and Delays
    • Don’t bring her to PVPs but she’s pretty good for Aurora and Union Bosses

    C-Tier DPS

    Character Ranking Reason

    Andrew (Odd)    		 • Bad DPS but can Debuff okay
    • I would skip

    Andrew (Reason)    		 • More useful than Andrew Odd because the Reason version can Taunt

    D-Tier DPS

    Character Ranking Reason

    Sybil    		 • The worst DPS character in Etheria Restart in terms of numbers
    • Can reduce enemy Defence

    Etheria Restart Support Tier List

    best support characters in etheria restart tier list
    Image by The Escapist

    The best support in Etheria Restart is a title shared by Freya, Lily, and DokiDoki. They offer the best debuff cleansing and ally buffing. Beyontin is close since she can revive. Keep in mind that this list is mostly for Thresholds, Union Bosses, and PVP. Of course you can’t go wrong with this for general PVE farming but that’s the easiest mode in the game anyway.

    SSS-Tier Support

    Character Ranking Reason

    Freya    		 • One of the best supports in Etheria Restart
    • Can auto cleanse debuffs with Dreamwave and boost your Defence crazy high
    • Bring her everywhere except Aurora, she’s not the most useful there

    Lily    		 • The best support in Etheria Restart overall for all Thresholds, Union Bosses, and even PVP
    • Drastically boosts your Turn Meter and Speed
    • Shadow Trick boosts critical damage as well for more DPS
    • Can follow up with Hat Trick which has Assist

    DokiDoki    		 • Can buff up your team’s damage and speed to crazy numbers
    • The second-best support in Etheria Restart in my opinion after
    • Can even cleanse debuffs

    Beyontin    		 • Can revive your team, period, SSS-Tier
    • She also buffs your attack and crit damage which is amazing
    • The only reason I prefer Lily or DokiDoki is because I would rather keep my team alive than count on the revive
    • That said, revives are really great to have as backup if you’re tackling harder content like Aurora or Terrormaton

    S-Tier Support

    Character Ranking Reason

    Tsukiyo Mi    		 • Tsukiyo Mi is an all around great support but her abilities aren’t as powerful support wise as SSS Tier
    • However, her Silence is broken for PVP and she’s probably one of the strongest PVP Supports in Etheria Restart because of that

    Chiaki (The Echo)    		 • For everything but Aurora Chiaki’s Ave Maria immunity to Turn Meter reduction and steal effects is amazing
    • She can also cleanse debuffs
    • Not the most useful on Aurora so swap her out

    A-Tier Support

    Character Ranking Reason

    Turandot    		 • Has some decent damage and ATK and DEF buffs
    • Mainly she’s good because of her ACC+ skill Severing Blade which is amazing when upgraded
    • Bad on DokiDoki so bring a better support

    Yang    		 • A decent support with the ATK and CRIT buff for allies but you want him for the Cleanse as well
    • Also a pretty good off-DPS since he can buff his own CRIT
    • Bad on Terrormaton so bring a stronger support

    B-Tier Support

    Character Ranking Reason

    Dorothy (The Wisher)    		 • Has some good damage buffs and also applies Life Leech to allies
    • Really useful on everything except DokiDoki

    No. 41    		 • The opposite of Dorothy because she prevents enemy healing
    • Really strong on DokiDoki

    C-Tier Support

    Character Ranking Reason

    Cachi    		 • Can delay enemies with Justice Beam
    • You want him for the Stun through Heroic Strike as his strongest ability but it’s not that good except for PVP where’s it’s really strong

    Etheria Restart Debuff Tier List

    best debuff characters in etheria restart tier list
    Image by The Escapist

    The best Debuff characters in Etheria Restart are usually masters of a single debuff style whether it’s Delays or damage increases for your team like Heinrich. Plus, they can offer another form of utility or off-DPS. In general, the bad Debuff characters try to do many things but aren’t useful in either so look for AOE Debuffers or damage increase Debuffers in SSS and S-Tiers.

    SSS-Tier Debuff

    S-Tier Debuff

    A-Tier Debuff

    Character Ranking Reason

    Celince    		 • Celince might deserve higher placement but I just haven’t played her that much during the testing phases
    • She’s a weird mix of DoTs but not as good as Obol and debuffs but there might be better Debuffers
    • She can Silence well so I used her a lot for PVP

    Cachi (The Guard)    		 • Cachi is an all-rounder that’s pretty good for all game modes
    • He debuffs CRIT rate and also SPD with Brave Charge being an amazing Delay skill
    • I love his AOE DEF buff the most so he might be a better Support than Debuff
    • Steadfast Dreamer also blocks debuffs and delays on allies

    Lilith    		 • My favorite A-Tier debuff character (Not as strong as S-Tiers in most situations) due to a crazy mix of debuffs and damage procs
    • Lilith can also Stun with two skills
    • Not to mention Courteous Gesture has a chance to gain 1 extra turn

    B-Tier Debuff

    Character Ranking Reason

    Kazami Kazuyo    		 • Not as powerful of a Debuff character as the higher ups but she can Dispel buffs from enemies which is really good for Aurora and Terrormaton
    • Debuffs SPD and increases ally SPD

    RC-77    		 • RC-77 is a decent mix of Stuns and Debuffs
    • Complete Overwrite is why he’s in B-Tier and not lower since that skill reduces DEF and ATK and can stun
    • He also debuffs Turn Meter with Anomalous Onslaught

    C-Tier Debuff

    Character Ranking Reason

    Asshu    		 • Such a weird mix of SPD debuffs, damage over time effects, and Silence
    • I prefer Debuffs who specialize in one or two things and Asshu is all over the place and master of none

    D-Tier Debuff

    Character Ranking Reason

    Vice    		 • Built to Taunt and then sustain through Strike and Heal by applying debuffs
    • It’s not the strongest playstyle with real Debuff utility
    • He tries to heal allies with Strike and Heal but he’ll usually not be full HP to reliably heal

    Etheria Restart Healer/Sustain Tier List

    best sustain characters in etheria restart tier list
    Image by The Escapist

    The best sustain/healer characters in Etheria Restart are in SSS and S-Tier like Lingluo’s heals or Valerian’s buffs, CC, and the death-protection. The rest are either not as powerful or excel in specific situations. Let’s dive into them all.

    SSS-Tier Healer/Sustain

    Character Ranking Reason

    Helkid    		 • Helkid is an amazing off-DPS unit with great survivability skills
    • Keeping Shourd Barrier active to boost other skills is the key to his playstyle
    • Can Stun and debuff ATK

    Lingluo    		 • Lingluo is the best healer in Etheria Restart
    • Bring her to sustain your team and cleanse debuffs
    • A must-have on all game modes except Terromaton

    Valerian    		 • Valerian sustains your team through minor heals, immunity to damage, and shields
    • Really strong on all game modes and a great alternative to Lingluo
    • She also has decent crowd control with Slumber

    S-Tier Healer/Sustain

    Character Ranking Reason

    Mia    		 • A bunch of heals and shields that you cannot go wrong with
    • That said, you want Mia for her debuff cleanse Cascade
    • You don’t need her on Aurora but she’s strong everywhere else

    Sania    		 • Extremely flexibile since you can either heal well or revive if you need to with Forest Heart but the skill then has a higher cooldown
    • She also has mechanics with Twine Dance to keep her Turn Meter up so that you can act before bad stuff happens
    • You don’t need revives on Aurora but bring her everywhere else

    A-Tier Healer/Sustain

    Character Ranking Reason

    Chiaki    		 • Has pretty good heals
    • Her specialty is reducing DMG taken with Origami Guardians so she’s good on all modes except DokiDoki Threshold

    B-Tier Healer/Sustain

    Character Ranking Reason

    Dorothy    		 • Great single and full team healing
    • Has a full cleanse for a single target
    • Chiaki is a little bit strongest because she can reduce damage as well as heal but Dorothy has better healing on average

    Rin    		 • Rin switches out heals for team shields
    • Her playstyle is about taunting enemies and shielding allies while reducing the damage they take via DEF buffs
    • This is pretty good on Terrormaton, Union Bosses, and Aurora but isn’t anything special on DokiDoki
    • I prefer healers for my sustain so Rin isn’t the strongest choice

    Etheria Restart Reroll Guide

    Here’s our quick Codes and Etheria Restart reroll guide:

    • No guest accounts in Etheria Restart so you’ll have to make a new email account per reroll attempt.
    • Finish the Prologue by using the Skip button to bypass all the cutscene story videos.
    • After Prologue you’ll get Lian from a forced pull (Lian is a really good DPS carry).
    • Then, do the Main Story until you finish Chapter 1 to unlock the Mail feature.
    • Once you finish Stage 1, 2, and 3 you’ll do 10 tutorial pulls on the Standard banner.
    • Then, you’ll be able to get rewards from mail, achivements, etc as well as use our Etheria Restart codes and reroll again if needed.

    If you’re wondering what characters to roll for on which banner check out our Tier Lists above. In general, for LD good options are Lily for Support and Heinrich for Debuffing. For RGB, Tiamat is good for Sustain/DPS and Xiada for AOE damage with Rosa being excellent at burst. Check out the tier lists for more details.

    That’s it for our complete Etheria Restart tier list and guide for DPS, Support, Debuff and Sustain characters. Don’t forget to check out our Etheria Restart codes so that you can grab free goodies.

    The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy



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  • Ludology 338 America’s Top Model(er)

    Ludology 338 America’s Top Model(er)


    Welcome!

    Welcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the hows and whys of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, as well as discuss game history, game design and game players.

    We post a new Ludology episode every other week. In these episodes, hosts Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim deep-dive into a single topic within game design, often with a well-regarded guest from the game industry. We generally focus on tabletop game design (mainly board games and RPGs), but we often pull in experts from all forms of games, from video games to escape rooms to slot machines.

    On weeks where there is no flagship Ludology episode, we will alternate between two smaller mini-sodes. Erica and Sen are happy to announce that Sarah Shipp of Shippboard Games and Stephanie Campbell of TTRPGKids will be joining us for the next year, providing additional content between our longer episodes.

    Sarah’s segment, Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, is a monthly feature that dives deeper into the other aspects of games beyond the dice and cards we’re all familiar with.

    Stephanie’s segment, TTRPGKids, explores how parents and teachers can use role playing games with children in the home and in the classroom.

    We hope you enjoy the additional content!

    Our History

    We aim for most Ludology episodes to be timeless, so you are welcome to explore our entire catalog. Most of it should age quite well. The podcast was started in 2011 by Geoff Engelstein and Ryan Sturm, with Mike Fitzgerald taking over for Ryan in 2015. Gil and Scott joined the show in 2017 when Mike stepped aside, and Emma joined in 2019 when Geoff ended his tenure as host. Emma left in 2021, and Erica and Sen joined us. Since then, Scott stepped down in 2022 and Gil will be hanging up his mic in 2023, leaving Erica and Sen to carry on this amazing legacy.

    Erica and Sen are working to bring new voices to Ludology and have some great things to announce as gaming expands to include even more people!

    Contact Us 

    Have your own thoughts about our topics? We encourage you to visit us at our guild on Boardgamegeek to get involved in a continuing discussion.

    You can also email us at hello@ludology.net.

    Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.

    If you have questions that you’d like answered on Ludology, let us know by filling out this Google Form; you can also leave an audio question that we can use on the show, if you wish! 

    Burning Questions for Ludology

    Burning Question

    Support the Show

    Ludology is made possible through the support and donations of listeners like you.

    We currently have 3 “First Listen” series that will go out to Patrons well in advance of the audio being released to the wider audience.

    • The Memories that Made Us (monthly) – memories about gaming experiences that helped shape the people that bring modern games to life
    • Tales from the Designer Toolbox (monthly) – tips and tricks from industry pros learned from both success and failure
    • Ludology Live – recordings from conventions around the world

    Patrons will also get extra consideration for any giveaways that we might have!

    Become a Ludology Patron

    Become a patron

    You can also make a one-time or monthly donation here. The link will take you to Erica’s account. People who donate in this way will not have access to the Patreon page – sorry!





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  • Undertale spinoff Deltarune soars on Steam as Chapters 3 and 4 finally arrive

    Undertale spinoff Deltarune soars on Steam as Chapters 3 and 4 finally arrive


    One of the most surprising, out-of-nowhere indie hits of the 2010s was undoubtedly Undertale, but its episodic spinoff, Deltarune, is just as highly regarded and beloved. Developer Toby Fox already released the first two episodes of Deltarune in 2018 and 2021, but the wait for Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 has been a long one. Now though, they’re both here as part of the complete and ‘final’ version Deltarune. While it was always going to be a momentous occasion for the pixel art RPG, I’m completely blown away by just how high it’s flying on Steam right now, rising above recent behemoths like Elden Ring Nightreign on the platform’s best sellers list.

    Undertale is a cherished indie game thanks to its visuals, soundtrack, and choice-influenced story. However, being worked on even before Undertale came out was Deltarune, a spinoff that takes a lot of the same gameplay formula (and even some of Undertale’s characters) and transplants them into a “parallel” narrative and world.

    Fox has been chipping away at Deltarune since 2012, but so far only two episodes have seen the light of day. The developer promised that Chapter 3 and 4 would arrive at the same time – bundled together with 1 and 2 – in the future, and after 13 years of work, that day has finally arrived.

    YouTube Thumbnail

    Deltarune’s complete collection of Chapters 1-4 is now available on Steam, and fans of Fox’s work have flocked to it in their droves. At the time of writing, just over 133,000 people are currently playing Deltarune on Steam, and that number could rise by the end of today. Right now, more people are checking out the new chapters than are playing huge hits like Marvel Rivals, Apex Legends, and Helldivers 2.

    It’s also shot straight to the top of Steam’s top-sellers charts, sitting above the likes of recent megahit Elden Ring Nightreign and the imminent Dune Awakening.

    Deltarune: A graph showing Steam player count statistics for Deltarune

    While Chapters 1 through 4 are available in the new release of Deltarune, Fox has already pledged that a fifth chapter will arrive as a free DLC for anyone that owns the game. If you want to try before you buy, a free demo will let you play the previously released first two chapters. You can grab Deltarune or download the demo right here.

    For more, check out our lists of the best RPGs and best story games.

    You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



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  • Beach Day Preview – One Board Family

    Beach Day Preview – One Board Family


    For many people, the beach is the epidemy of rest and relaxation. The sun, sand, and ocean waves can wash away the stress of our everyday life. I’m not in that group of people. Sand and myself are mortal enemies that have been in a battle since my teenage years. Thankfully, games like Beach Day from CakePie Games exist so I don’t have to actually be on a beach to enjoy this atmosphere.

    Beach Day is a tile placement game for 1 to 5 players that’s illustrated by Ammon Anderson (Gnome Hollow) and designed by Brennan Smith and Josh Bowman. This small box game brings all the joy of the beach as you chase victory points and stay away from pesky sand.

    Beach Day tableau

    Fun in the Sun

    Each player is adding cards to their own beach tableau on their turn, chasing five global goals and their own unique goal. You’ll receive two crab cards at the start of the game, discarding one and keeping the other. This is a personal scoring goal that is unique to just you.

    Everyone starts with a single tile 2×2 card that is marked with a sea turtle in one of the corners. This sea turtle is important and can never be covered by another card.

    Beach Day draw pile

    On your turn, you can take two cards from the top of the draw pile, placing one and discarding the other to one of the two discard piles. OR, you can take and place one of the top cards on either of the discard piles. In adding a new card to your beach, you can place it adjacent to another card or overlap another previously placed card. Overlapping is generous in this game since you can cover one or more of the four squares on a card. You can never place a card diagonally adjacent or tuck a card under another previously placed card.

    Beach Activities

    On the cards in Beach Day, you’ll find beachballs, sand castles, pools of water, shells, sand dollars, and even trash. Each item on the beach has a different method of scoring based on the goal cards that were chosen at the start of the game. Beachball halves need to be paired with another half in order to be scored. Sea shells score the most when grouped in contiguous paths.

    Beach Day shell scoring

    Don’t forget about your crab card! That secret scoring criteria can be helpful in outscoring your opponent. Players will watch how each beach is being built at the table. In many of our games, the score has been tight and competitive which is exactly how we like our games.

    Since the goal cards in the game are double-sided, players can pick their favorite scoring cards each and every game. Once you get a couple games under your belt, you’ll start to enjoy some goals more than others. The game gives you the agency to just pick your favorites and run with it.

    Beach Day scoring

    After the draw pile is empty, players score based on the goal cards and crab card that each player has. The highest score wins.

    Final Thoughts

    Like a day at the beach, Beach Day is a relaxing and breezy time at the game table. The small box makes this a great game to throw into a bag or to play over a meal. It’s easy to understand how everything is scored and the placement rules are straight-forward.

    Beach Day crab objective

    Beach Day is a filler game that is going to check a lot of boxes for anyone looking for a quick game that you can take on the go. The gameplay and theme absolutely go hand-in-hand with this release.

    Beach Day is being funded through Kickstarter starting in June from CakePie Games. Check out the campaign today.

    A prototype of the game was provided for this coverage. Components and rules covered in this preview are not finalized. Read more about our preview policies at One Board Family.



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