Archangel Tyrael

Microsoft has revealed a new Xbox 360 bundle for racing fans that comes with a copy of Forza 4. The console itself is a standard black slim with a 250GB hard drive inside it, and comes with the game a Wireless Racing Wheel. Priced at $299 - the standard price of a 250GB machine - you're essentially getting the game and wheel free (as seen on the pictured packaging). The "limited edition" bundle will hit "participating retailers" in mid-June. The offer comes as the 360 logs its 16th consecutive month as best-selling console in the States.

Amazon has launched their instant streaming app on the Xbox 360 today. PS3 owners have been enjoying the video app since April. Beginning today, May 29, Amazon Prime users will be able to stream over 17,000 videos instantly. Prime and regular Amazon users will be able to purchase from a library of 12,000 movies and TV episodes. The Xbox 360 version of the Amazon app does have Kinect funtionality. Yes, you'll be able to yell commands like "Xbox Play" and "Xbox Stop" at your TV. The Amazon app is only available for Xbox Live Gold accounts. For more information, check outAmazon.

Oh yeah Diablo 3 dlc would be cool. I hope they release more information on the new gen consoles. There is obviously one in the making and they can't deny that. Also, i want to see if there's any trailer, art or more musical pieces from Halo 4 in E3.

Very nice interview once again Drizzy.

Hello and welcome to 343i community forums.

Very cool signature.

Welcome back John!!!!!!! Also welcome to the team Drizzy get comfortable with your new role. I see great things to come from both of you guys. Keep up the good work you do and make everyone here proud, satisfied and happy with your new roles. Also, isn't their one position open still, for art department to help out theorix a bit? Egypt is doing a trial run to become staff isn't he? Anyways enjoy your roles as staff!

Hello and welcome to 343i community forums.

I voted for Forrest.

Welcome to the team Drizzy.

Hmm, might be. Not sure what to make of it, but as adam posted skins it very could well be.

Yeah this is a guy i was quoting. It was a pretty good read and decided to post it here. Yes i agree with you, loot is awesome as achievements and memories.

As gamers we love loot. Love it. We see something drop from an enemy encounter, and we rush up to it, eager to get our grubby, battle-scarred hands on it. It doesn’t matter if we play alone, with friends, frenemies or clans, we just can’t get enough of the good stuff after battling. Have you ever thought about why we’re so loot obsessed? If you take a step back and think about it, what we’re getting excited about is a collection of pixels on a screen, and often the actual content of the loot is close to worthless in terms of the game itself. So why do we get so excited when we see it? The typical set up in a loot-heavy game is a generous reward system – you get loot for nearly every encounter (so it’s a plentiful resource), but you only get the good stuff every so often. Rare loot is a precious, wonderful find, and the schedule by which you’ll get it is set in such a way that you’ll always think it’s possible – so you’ll continue to keep fighting, keep going, and keep trying for the good stuff. It’s rare, but not so rare that you feel hopeless and give up. If this sounds a bit like the way casinos run, you’re correct. Payout schedules on slot machines are adjusted to the same principle – the house wants you to keep playing, so they’ll throw you a bone every so often. And sometimes – just sometimes, that bone has some serious meat on it. What’s going on here is operant conditioning, by way of positive reinforcement. Good old BF Skinner coined the term (and noted its forms) back in the 50s when he was doing behavioral experiments on rodents, which, like it or not, applies scarily well to the human world. “In Positive Reinforcement a particular behavior is strengthened by the consequence of experiencing a positive condition. For example: A hungry rat presses a bar in its cage and receives food. The food is a positive condition for the hungry rat. The rat presses the bar again, and again receives food. The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is strengthened by the consequence of receiving food.” What’s most important to note is the frequency in which you are rewarded (aka, how often loot drops) for your successful baddie-slaying. This is technically called a reinforcement schedule, and game designers typically use a variable ratio schedule, for the highest addiction factor. Ever feel like a rat in a maze? Well, when you play Diablo, Borderlands, or basically any MMO, you basically are. At least it’s a very attractive, fun maze. Plus, you always have the excuse that you’re just acting according to behavior codes that are hard-wired into your brain. It’s human nature! The idea of good game “flow” is fairly simple. Optimal flow exists in the zen-perfect state between boredom (where a player’s tasks are too easy for their skills, or simply not interesting enough) and stress (where the tasks are too hard for a player’s skill level). The best games present long, satisfying flow states that keep players happily engaged – challenged but not frustrated, and eager to keep going. So the rat in the maze – or the player – who is having a blast performing challenging (but not too challenging) tasks, and being rewarded for his/her performance on a variable ratio schedule is swimming happily in a blissful flow state. A recent Gamasutra piece explains the idea of flow in games: “While in these states, people experience: Extreme focus on a task. A sense of active control. Merging of action and awareness. Loss of self-awareness. Distortion of the experience of time. The experience of the task being the only necessary justification for continuing it.” If that doesn’t describe a skilled Diablo player in full glory, I don’t know what is. Collecting is a natural instinct that tends to run especially strong in gamers. Think about how many games revolve around collecting items, objects, powers, doo-dads or, yes – loot! If it’s true that “he who has the most toys, wins”; then players who prefer loot-heavy games have a leg up on the rest of society. Deep down, the desire to have more stuff (and collect more loot) is almost primal. The ability to successfully things (like food and firewood) meant the difference between life and death to our ancestors, so hording instincts are hardwired into all of our brains. That goes doubly so for cool stuff, and loot is specifically designed to be attractive to us – it gives us gameplay perks and bragging rights, plus it usually looks cool. Now, if only we could add loot mechanics to real life... Danielle Riendeau is a freelance writer, digital media professor, and nonprofit web ninja from Boston.

Username: Archangel Tyrael Country: United States of America Keyword: 343 Industries

Want to learn how to craft the best weapons and armor in Diablo 3? Not sure what the fuss is about and why you'd want to get into the crafting system of Blizzard's epic horror masterpiece? Well lucky you, we're here to help you not only understand how the Diablo 3 crafting system works, but how to best take advantage of it in-game. First thing's first: To say you'll be crafting items in Diablo 3 is a bit of a fallacy. Instead, you as the Hero will return Magic, Rare, or Legendary gear that you want stripped down to its components to one of two Artisans. You'll meet one of these Artisans, Haedrig the Blacksmith in Act I. The other Artisan, Covetous Shen the Jeweler, will be met in Act II. Apparently only Shen wears his personality type on his sleeve, while Haedrig remains a mystery -a sexy, bearded mystery. As you adventure through the lands of Sanctuary, you'll come across plenty of special items. As opposed to the mundane items with standard values of damage and protection, special items will grant your Hero bonuses to stats, damage, Life, and other attributes. These bad boys come in three flavors: Magic, Rare, and Legendary, each more powerful (and harder to find) than the last. They're also associated with differing colors. Remember them, because it'll be super important later: Magic: Blue Rare: Yellow Legendary: Orange If you should pick up some spare Magic, Rare, or Legendary items that your Hero won't be using, you can bring them back to Haedrig. He'll disassemble the item and strip it to its individual components. You can then use these to craft even more powerful items, provided he has the required training and blueprints or plans. Shen meanwhile can combine lesser gems into more powerful ones that can be socketed into certain items. Diablo 3 Guide: Know Your Loot Now that we know who and what we're looking for, let's take a look to see how it all comes together. While Shen can combine any gems found during your playthrough, Haedrig requires your items to be broken down. Each difficulty of Diablo 3 will grant you new components that Haedrig will use. The list is quite small, so let's take a look at them, by difficulty. Normal: Subtle Essence is gained by salvaging Magic quality items on Normal difficulty, while a Fallen Tooth is gained by salvaging Rare quality items on Normal difficulty. Nightmare: Shimmering Essence is gained by salvaging Magic quality items on Nightmare difficulty, while a Lizard Eye is gained by salvaging Rare quality items on Nightmare difficulty. Hell: Wishful Essence is gained by salvaging Magic quality items on Hell difficulty, while an Encrusted Hoof is gained by salvaging Rare quality items on Hell difficulty. Inferno: Exquisite Essence is gained by salvaging Magic quality items on Inferno difficulty, while an Iridescent Tear is gained by salvaging Rare quality items on Inferno difficulty. You can also gain the ability to salvage Legendary quality items on Inferno difficulty, which results in gaining Fiery Brimstone. Remember that only Haedrig needs these components, so it would be wise to focus on training his skill during your first playthrough. His level of training will be shared across all characters tied to your Battle.net account, so you can get some pretty wicked gear even at low levels when playing an alt. Speaking of levels: Each Artisan starts as a Level 1 Apprentice, but they can be raised to a Level 10 Exalted with the proper training. In order to raise your Artisan from one level to the next, you'll need to bring them components and gold. Eventually however, they'll require pages or tomes to progress. These are dropped by creatures in the world, and can be quite rare. A Page of Blacksmithing and a Page of Jewelcrafting will only drop on Nightmare difficulty, while a Tome of Blacksmithing and a Tome of Jewelcrafting will only drop on Hell difficulty. The ultimate training resource, the Tome of Secrets, is one of the few exclusive Inferno drops. You can also find plenty of plans for both Haedrig and Shen as loot drops in the world of Sanctuary. Diablo 3 Guide: In-Depth Look at Different Playstyles So here's the real kicker: How does crafting work in Diablo 3? What's the step-by-step how to craft instructions? Start by bringing your Artisan some proper materials. Open up their respective creation tabs and look through their recipes to find one you like. Let's start with one of the most basic, Haedrig's Apprentice Leather Cuffs. These cost 2 Subtle Essence and 320 gold. To gain the necessary Subtle Essence, sacrifice two Magic quality items to Haedrig. Hit Craft. Be aware though that when you hit Craft, Haedrig will create the cuffs, with random properties attached. Yes, like so much of Diablo 3, crafted stats are random. You can't interrupt the process or choose what you'd like, even at Exalted rank. It's a gamble, but when it pays off, Haedrig and Shen can create gear more powerful than even some of the rarest drops in Diablo 3. Shen meanwhile will take three gems of a like size and kind and combine them into one gem of the next highest quality cut. So for example, three Chipped Rubies become one Flawed Ruby, and three Flawed Rubies become one normal Ruby. Shen can also remove gems you currently have socketed into your gear for a fee. Thankfully, this returns both your item and the gem intact to your inventory. Remember, both Haedrig and Shen need practice to become Exalted Artisans, and even at the highest levels, they won't have access to every recipe. You'll still need to have a strong Hero to adventure out into the world to find them plans, pages, and tomes.

Hello and welcome to 343i community forums.

Our guide to Monster Traits will get you primed and ready for action for when you inevitably encounter one of these special monsters. It's pretty much a guarantee you'll run into some less than savory characters -- most of which, the beasts roaming the landscape. However, a select few of these monsters are special -- not meaning their mothers love them very much, but they have special traits that you'd do well to know about before you tangle with them. Diablo Guide: Your Guide of Guides What are monsters with special traits? You will often run into monsters roaming the land that can be classified Champion, Rare, and minion monsters. They're also known as non-Normal enemies. Usually they'll spawn with affixes (modifying terms you can see underneath their health bar) -- just like with the item system, that refers to their special traits. Each trait is different and imbues unique abilities upon the monster and the damage it may deal. Monsters you'll encounter with traits listed at level 14 or higher will come with more than one trait. Arcane Enchanted Minimum Monster Level: 31 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: Arcane Resistant To: Arcane Monsters with this trait are able to summon purple Arcane energy beams that rotate around the Hero, appearing and re-appearing every few seconds. If you walk through the beam or touch the monster, you'll take Arcane damage. Avenger Minimum Monster Level: 51 Monsters Appearing On: Champions Damage Type: Standard Resistant To: None Only Champion monster types will spawn with the Avenger trait. If a Champion touting this ability appears, it can imbue all other Champions in the area with the same type of powers it spawned with, increasing movement and attack speed and damage inflicted until the foe is felled. This effect may be stacked up to three times. Desecrator Minimum Monster Level: 22 Monsters Appearing On: Rare, Champion Damage Type: Physical Resistant To: None The Desecrator trait allows monsters imbued with it to summon strange, burning voids directly beneath the Hero. It inflicts periodic damage to any other Hero in range. The voids remain locked in place and will disappear after a predetermined amount of time. You may escape a zone by leaving the area. Minions that travel with Desecrators cannot create their own void zones. Electrified Minimum Monster Level: 26 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: Lightning Resistant To: Lightning Any monster with the Electrified trait is given the gift of Lightning resistance and additional Lightning damage, as well as a Lightning-based combat ability. When you damage any Electrified foe, it will send charged bolts of Lightning into erratic directions to cause Lightning damage. Electrified minions will also inherit the trait, and may also utilize the same bolts. Extra Health Minimum Monster Level: 31 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None Monsters with Extra Health receive extra HP, which is awared to Champion, Rare, and Minion monsters. They'll also start with 150% of what their normal health margin would be, making them formidable opponents. Diablo Guide: Quick Tips For Leveling and Gold Fast Minimum Monster Level: 31 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None Monsters with the Fast trait receive speed bonuses: running speed is increased by 40%, attack speed is increased by 20%, and spell-casting speed is increased by 10%. However, they receive no additional resistances and do no additional damage. Fire Chains Minimum Monster Level: 31 Monsters Appearing On: Champions only Damage Type: Standard Resistant To: None This trait sends a fiery chain between Champion monsters all carrying the Fire Chains affix term. Touch or get near the chain and you will suffer Fire damage. Frozen Minimum Monster Level: 22 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: Cold Resistant To: Cold Monsters with the Frozen trait can inflict massive amounts of Cold damage, and have a strong resistance to Cold attacks. If they can land a hit on you, they can inflict a slowing status, during which the Hero will turn blue and movement speed is reduced by 50%. Once Frozen monsters are defeated, they explode, sending damaging shards of ice to any Hero within the area at the time. Frozen monsters also possess two special abilities: Icy Touch and Frost Nova. Health Link Minimum Monster Level: 51 Monsters Appearing On: Champion packs only Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None Health Link is unique only to Champion monsters, and only activates if more than one Champion is in the area. This ability will reduce the amount of damage taken by Champions who link their HP to other Champions in the area. This Strength in Numbers ability makes it tougher to clear out Linked Champions, because when one monster takes damage, it's divided among the other Champions also Linked together. Horde Minimum Monster Level: 31 Monsters Appearing On: Rare only Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None The Horde trait will only spawn with Rare monsters and increases the number of minions that appear with a Rare monster -- up to three extras. It's actually a hidden trait that you will not be able to discern with a glance -- the Rare Horder monster will not spawn with the "Horde" affix listed. Illusionist Minimum Monster Level: 26 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None Monsters with the Illusionist trait come armed with the ability (Polymorph) to create two additional clones of itself when damaged, with the same amount of HP as the original monster. These clones cannot clone themselves, and you get no loot or XP for destroying them. Illusionists gain no extra resistances or damages from this ability. Invulnerable Minions Minimum Monster Level: 51 Monsters Appearing On: Rare only Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None You will only find Invulnerable Minions with Rare monsters above level 51. These Rare monsters come equipped with minions that are indestructible until the spawning monster is destroyed. Only by doing this can you wipe all the additional minions out. You can still affect them with status changes, so it's prudent to use slowing or incapacitive magic to do so. Invulnerable Minions Rare monsters' health pools are also increased by a whopping 50%. Jailer Minimum Monster Level: 8 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None Monsters with the Jailer ability can temporarily immobilize any Hero in a makeshift, conjured prison for a short time. You've got a 25% chance that the Jailer may immobilize you. You may still use Dashing Strike to move, but it will not free you from the trap. Spirit Walk will free you entirely. Knockback Minimum Monster Level: 0 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: Standard Resistant To: None Any monster with the Knockback trait can possibly add a "knockback" blow to any melee hit they deliver. Any Champion or Rare monster, as well as their minions, can be spawned with this trait. If hit with Knockback, you'll take normal damage and be sent flying backward. Missile Dampening Minimum Monster Level: 8 Monsters Appearing On: Rare only Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None Only Rare monsters receive this ability, which creates a red sphere around the imbued monster. Any type of projectile that enters the field is then slowed by 50%. Once a projectile leaves the field, it speeds up again. Rare monster minions do not receive the same ability. Molten Minimum Monster Level: 8 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: Fire Resistant To: Fire As the name Molten implies, any monster with the Molten trait gains Fire resistance and Fire damage to any of their normal attacks, as well as Fire-based abilities: Flame Trail and Explosion. As they move, a string of lava pools are left in their wake. Once destroyed, they will explode in a brilliant rush of fire. Only Champion or Rare monsters at level 8 and above can spawn with the Molten trait. Mortar Minimum Monster Level: 22 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: Physical Resistant To: None Monsters given the Mortar trait attain the special ability of Grenades, which allows them to launch quick firebombs at the Hero every cycle of 4 to 5 seconds, which will in turn deal Physical damage. These fiery projectiles will not cease until the monster with the Mortar trait is killed. Nightmarish Minimum Monster Level: 0 Monsters Appearing On: Rare only Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None Nightmarish monsters are imbued with the element of Fear, which can quite unfortunately send your chosen warrior running for his mother out of pure terror, should you suffer an attack. Plagued Minimum Monster Level: 14 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: Poison Resistant To: Poison Plagued monsters deal damage that is Poison-based, usually delivered via melee strikes. It's clearly visible by the green haze and green slime that marks the Poison attack when the monster is able to land a blow. Plagued monsters also receive Poison resistance and three Poison attacks, including a poisonous gas that deals intermittent damage, and a poisonous punch. Shielding Minimum Monster Level: 22 Monsters Appearing On: Rares and minions Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None Shielding gives Rare monsters as well as their own minions invulnerability to every form of damage, for a very short period of time. Diablo Guide: How To Kill Diablo Teleporter Minimum Monster Level: 0 Monsters Appearing On: All Damage Type: N/A Resistant To: None Monsters with the Teleporter trait can flit from one area of battle to another to escape danger and hastily return for a counterattack -- also known as Dematerialization. It awards no extra damage or resistance, but can give the monsters a unique edge in battle. There are many varying abilities each monster can spawn with, each different from the last. Be sure to equip yourself with our guide to make sure you know what you're up against. Which traits have given you the most trouble so far and how have you dealt with them?

Yeah was a very good idea we came up with. Hope you like it and enjoy it. Thanks.