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The weekly Trials in ARC Raiders grade your performance based on your mission completion rate. This serves not only as a means to earn rewards but also introduces a leaderboard system, adding an extra layer of competitive challenge and excitement to the game.

This week's ARC Raiders Trials run from May 18th through May 24th. The mission roster for this cycle has a distinct exploratory feel to it, featuring several brand-new objectives you may have never encountered before.However, be aware that if you have previously participated in Expedition missions, this may increase the difficulty of the current Trials, making the subsequent challenges even more formidable.

From luck-dependent locker scavenging to high-risk supply runs in PvP zones, these missions offer a blend of entertainment and unpredictability. Let's dive into the details of these missions and discover the best strategies for completing them!

Search Lockers

First up is Search Lockers mission. This is a rather interesting objective; while there is a clear cap on your completion progress, RNG also plays a significant role in how efficiently you can finish it. We can only hope that ARC Raiders system actually populates the map with a generous number of searchable lockers, rather than scattering them sparsely across the zone.

Specific map conditions - such as Night Raid - can be incredibly beneficial for completing this mission. The primary reason is that these special modes typically come with loot bonuses. Although we currently lack explicit Double Loot modifiers, you will distinctly notice an increased spawn rate for ARC Raiders Items within the area during Night Raid or similar special map conditions.

So, which specific ARC Raiders maps should you visit for your search? I personally recommend heading to Buried City. The mission difficulty there is relatively low, making for a comparatively relaxed experience. Not only is the difficulty in Buried City moderate, but the map itself is also quite expansive, making it an ideal location for scavenging.

You can choose to visit Library or Hospital; both locations are situated in the lower section of the map. Additionally, Research Center - located right next to City Hall - also features a high concentration of lockers.

Damage Rocketeers

Next, let's discuss Damage Rocketeers' mission. This objective can indeed be quite difficult, yet it also has the potential to be incredibly simple. As long as you ensure you're equipped with powerful weapons - such as Hullcracker or Jupiter - or even just utilize Wolfpack, you can effortlessly sweep through the area, easily eliminating Rocketeers and completing the mission with flying colors.

If you head to Blue Gate map in ARC Raiders, you will find that the spawn rate of Rocketeers - both within the gate area and its immediate surroundings - increases significantly. You can head directly there to complete these elimination missions. However, be sure to proceed with extreme caution, as the enemies in that area are exceptionally aggressive.

Search Containers In Medical Research Wing

You now need to head to Stella Montis. This is a rather contentious map - one that most players may have never even set foot in - as it is widely known to be the designated PvP zone within ARC Raiders. You are required to venture into Medical Research Wing to search for supply containers. This step will be quite tricky, as Medical Research Wing is almost certainly the single most intense PvP hotspot on the entire Stella Montis map.

Personally, I really dislike the fact that ARC Raiders places these types of missions in this specific location; nevertheless, I hope you all manage to overcome the challenges and successfully complete the objective. Whether you are a PvP player or a PvE player, this mission is going to be a tough nut to crack.

Damage Leapers

Next up, let's take a look at Damage Leapers mission. The spawn behavior of Leapers - a specific type of enemy - is notoriously inconsistent across many ARC Raiders maps; their numbers and locations often seem to shift unpredictably. Speaking from personal experience, however, on Bluegate map, you can be almost guaranteed to encounter two to three Leapers during every single enemy spawn wave.

Spaceport is another ideal location for completing this mission, as the enemy spawn points there are concentrated within a small, enclosed area. With the right execution, you should be able to complete this task quite smoothly, perhaps even consistently taking down two to three Leapers with every new spawn wave.

Destroy Pops

Finally, we come to Destroy Pop's mission. For this objective, I strongly recommend heading to Riven Tides map in ARC Raiders - specifically, to the hotel area located there. This spot is teeming with Pops. Furthermore, situated right next to Extraction Points - directly south of the hotel - is a specific room dedicated to spawning both Pops and Fireballs. You can venture deep into this room, where you will find the space absolutely packed wall-to-wall with Pops.

In fact, no matter which corner of Riven Tides map you are roaming, Pops are consistently the easiest targets to spot and appear in the largest numbers of any enemy type. So, enjoy this mission! It should be a lot of fun to see just how high you can push your final kill counts and scores during this process.

And that wraps up the main mission list for the current ARC Raiders Trials. To be honest, I don't particularly recommend most of these missions, nor do I think you'll necessarily find them enjoyable yourself. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Stella Montis; as for Search Lockers mission, we're still not sure just how high of a score is actually possible to achieve. So, we'll just have to wait and see exactly how this week's Trials unfold.

If you want to maximize your chances of earning promotion rewards, it's best to schedule your ARC Raiders Trials runs for later in the week. This is because the hardcore players tend to flood the main matchmaking pool right now. Therefore, if you'd rather avoid getting matched against these players on the same map on the leaderboard, I strongly suggest you hold off for a bit and start your runs a little later.

In Diablo II Resurrected Season 14 Ladder environment, Warlock class received several key adjustments.

The most profound impact came from the rework of Bind Demon mechanic: demons that previously provided free Conviction for Fire builds can no longer grant this effect. This directly altered the immunity capabilities of various builds during the progression phase.

Based on these changes, and combined with the new Sunder Charms drop mechanic in Season 14, the following is a ranking of Warlock specializations' usability from progression to the first Enigma Runeword.

Top Progression Choice

Abyss build underwent a significant mechanic change in Season 14, becoming the only build consistently ranked S-tier for progression.

This build revolves around Miasma Chains and Abyss abilities, dealing magic damage.

In Diablo II Resurrected, magic-immune monsters are extremely rare, appearing only in Unraveller of Sewers (Act III) and certain areas of Act V. Therefore, dealing with immunity is almost unnecessary during the initial progression.

This means Abyss build is completely unaffected by the removal of Conviction and can smoothly progress to Hell difficulty without relying on Infinity Runeword or Sunder Charm.

Season 14 introduced two major enhancements to Miasma Chains. First, the skill casting delay was removed, allowing players to quickly unleash multiple chains in succession. Second, the chain jump limit was increased to 10, with each jump generating an independent cloud of damage over time.

This allows Abyss build to quickly spread its damage across dense monster areas, while Blade Warp skill no longer interrupts chains, achieving new heights in mobility and damage output.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Items requirements are extremely low. During the early game, a Spirit (sword), any Grimoires, and either Stealth Runeword or Authority Runeword armor are sufficient to easily clear Hell difficulty.

Powerful but Limited

Fire build remains top-tier in damage output, but its effectiveness has dropped to A-tier because of changes in immunity mechanics.

Fire skills are extremely efficient for clearing maps on Normal and Nightmare difficulties, especially in the early game. However, in Hell difficulty, Act I through Act V is filled with fire-immune monsters, and almost all monsters in Act IV are fire-immune.

Previously, players could obtain free Convictions by binding demons to break immunity, but Season 14 fixed this bug, and demons no longer provide the old aura. During the early game, players can only rely on Infinity Runewords or the newly dropped Fire Sunder Charm to deal with fire-immune monsters, both of which require some accumulation.

Because of the inability to use shields, the traditional Spirit (sword) + Spirit (shield) or Spirit (sword) + Insight (shield) combinations are no longer viable; the off-hand must be equipped with Grimoires. While Grimoires can craft Rhyme Runewords, the user can no longer wield Insight Runewords.

However, mercenaries can still equip Insight Runeword polearms to provide Meditation aura, thus resolving the sustainability issue. The real obstacle in progression lies in dealing with fire-immune monsters.

Overall assessment: Fire build remains one of the fastest density-clearing specializations once fully developed, but it is hampered by immunity walls during the early progression phase, hence its A-tier ranking.

Performance Is Average

Tier B builds include Echoing Strike and Blood Boil, each with its own weaknesses or uncertainties.

Echoing Strike

This build received a structural nerf in Season 14.

Weapon damage bonus has been reverted from 75% to 90%, but the damage bonus has changed from multiplicative to additive, resulting in a significant decrease in late-game burst damage. Additionally, Echoing Strike is no longer guaranteed to hit, requiring additional investment in attack accuracy.

While retaining Diablo 2 Resurrected Items options other than Insight Runeword and Spirit Runeword, the loss of Conviction and Blessed Aim has caused its overall early-game strength to drop from its former top tier. The current damage values remain uncertain, hence, a B-tier rating.

Blood Boil

This skill affects summoned creatures, with a mechanism similar to Corpse Explosion 2.0. Season 14 fixed damage synergy not working and expanded the skill's effective radius.

However, its damage synergy percentage has been reduced from 30% to 20%, and it still heavily relies on the summoned creature creating the first corpse.

Blood Boil build requires Bind Demon's summons, but the summoning system itself is weak. Therefore, this build is more suitable as a support or mid-game transition option, ranking only B-tier in the early game.

Poor Performance

D-tier builds include Bind Demon (pure summoning) and Mirrored Blades, both lacking competitiveness in the early game.

Bind Demon

Pure summoning Warlock received some mechanic fixes in Season 14, but the core issues remain unresolved. Summons now have individual health caps, binding success rate is no longer linear but diminishing, and damage synergies have been reduced.

Testing shows that summons alone cannot efficiently clear the field; other skills must be relied upon to supplement damage. Compared to Necromancer's Skeleton army or Druid's Bear Wolf, Warlock summoning system has neither numerical advantage nor individual strength, resulting in low early game efficiency.

Mirrored Blades

This build received almost no substantial buffs in Season 14. The update only includes interface fixes such as attack accuracy display and controller re-firing, as well as a correction to the first projectile damage of ranged weapons.

The core damage mechanics remain unchanged and are negatively affected by general limitations. It consistently underperformed in testing and is not worthwhile for early game progression.

Diablo II Resurrected Season 14 Warlock early game progression rankings show a clear tiered structure. Within this tier, Abyss build, as the only S-tier specialization, offers the smoothest start to the season for early game players.

Dune: Awakening is about to shut down some servers and migrate players to the still-operating servers, which is indeed a significant undertaking.Dune: Awakening's official explanation is quite clear: all servers marked for closure will officially cease operation on May 26th. This decision was actually foreshadowed and is logically sound.

I believe the official team over-built the servers in terms of capacity and anticipated player numbers, and the actual popularity hasn't fully met initial expectations. While specific data is unavailable, it's clear that the current server capacity of Dune: Awakening far exceeds its actual population capacity.

Therefore, this adjustment is aimed at more effectively controlling server size and increasing player interaction density, which is perfectly reasonable from a business perspective. The official team has also released a fairly detailed migration guide, instructing players on how to transfer from the closure servers to the still-operating ones. However, this guide omits some details, which I will supplement here to help players avoid potential problems.

Migration Tools

First, you must ensure you have a Base Reconstruction Tool. This tool can be found in the survival fabricator of Dune: Awakening base. In the building tools section, you'll find Base Reconstruction Tool, Vertical Staking Unit, Staking Unit, and Solido Replicator - these are the tools you'll need to build, expand, or replicate your base.

The primary item we'll use is Base Reconstruction Tool, which is used to preserve and restore buildings, achieving long-term storage through miniaturization. When you use this tool on your base, it destroys the base you're viewing, along with all information, all stored items, every lamp, every rug, every decoration on the wall, and even items in your storage box. It stores them all in this weapon so you can transfer them to another server.

Then, when you use it again, it will place your base in the exact same location on the new Dune: Awakening server, or somewhere else if you prefer. Everything in your base will be transferred, except for vehicles.

Vehicles

The next step is to process our vehicles and store them in the base's warehouse. If you leave your vehicle unattended, it will simply fall to the ground when you rebuild your base and cannot be duplicated. Therefore, it's best to store it in a storage box.

I suggest assigning a fixed location to your Dune: Awakening vehicle, placing a box in front of it, taking out your welding torch, disassembling it, and putting all the parts into the box. This way, when you reach your destination and find a suitable place to rebuild your base, you won't have to search for parts everywhere, and the storage box containing the vehicle parts will be conveniently located where you need them.

Note that you need to put the fuel cell in the box every time you disassemble a vehicle, because it will run out of fuel after assembly, so you need to ensure you have a fuel cell on hand. If you have a transport vehicle or a container, the container counts as a vehicle in Dune: Awakening. Therefore, you also need to disassemble and crate the container.

Character Preparation

Next, we'll discuss the preparations you need to make for your character transfer, a point not mentioned by official Dune: Awakening documentation. Before setting off, maximize your backpack space; this is fundamental to all preparations. The more capacity your backpack has, the greater your margin for error. If you forget something, as long as you have enough space, you can disassemble larger items into basic materials to carry, minimizing loss.

Regarding supplies, make sure to bring enough water and fuel cells. Water is the bare minimum for survival, while fuel determines your mobility during relocation. You might encounter situations where your pre-selected location is occupied on the new Dune: Awakening server, requiring you to fly again to find a new landing spot. A long-distance flight with a reconnaissance ornithopter consumes two and a half large fuel cells; insufficient fuel will severely slow down your reconnaissance and relocation pace.

As for equipment, repair your weapons and damaged armor before shrinking your base. Once shrunk, the repair station in Dune: Awakening will no longer be usable. Ensure your equipment is in good working order so you won't run out of durability even if your journey is forced to be extended.

Finally, don't forget to bring a few essential emergency items. While the radiation suit might not be needed, it's space-saving and can prevent accidental entry into Dune: Awakening radiation zone during flight. Additionally, medical supplies, spare slings, and energy packs are recommended to be carried. Once all vehicles have been dismantled, necessities have been collected, and survival gear such as water bottles has been checked, you can officially begin shrinking the base.

Start Transfer

Next, click Backup Base. Dune: Awakening system will display a confirmation prompt: Are you sure you want to perform this operation? Select Yes. After completing this step, we need to switch to another server. Make sure you have your spare tools with you, then press Esc key to open the menu and navigate left to Character Transfer option.

Note that only items in your inventory will be retained during the transfer; Dune Awakening Solari in your Bank will also be preserved. Your character and exchange list will be deleted, and you will lose all items left on the original server.

Additionally, in Dune: Awakening, you can only transfer with a transfer token. Tokens automatically regenerate over time, so you cannot frequently switch servers. Typically, server transfer tokens are valid for 7 days. Since the official team has minimized the number of servers, you can obtain one token per day, which is very helpful for the next crucial step.

We need to find a new Dune: Awakening server. Clicking the transfer button will start the process, and the system will take you back to the main menu. Next, you need to decide where you want to go. This is one of the trickiest parts of the entire process.

It's difficult to predict what the new server will be like; the only way is to experience it for yourself. I recommend prioritizing Dune server with the lowest latency. Awakening servers are provided to ensure the best gaming experience.

After selecting a new Dune: Awakening world and landing, you can use the backup tools to choose a vehicle and head directly to your previous base location. If you're lucky, you'll find it empty, which makes things much easier. Run over, take out the base rebuild tool, aim it at the target location, and try placing the base. If the position is misaligned, press X key to restore it, and the tool will accurately place the base back in its original position.

After setting up your base, familiarize yourself with the local environment. Pay attention to Dune: Awakening chat channel and observe how people communicate and whether they are friendly. If someone asks for help and others are willing to respond, this is usually a good sign; conversely, if the discussion is hostile or even terrible, you know this might not be a good place to stay.

Don't rush to dismantle your base yet. After 24 hours, you can repeat this process, choosing a different Dune: Awakening world to see if it's more suitable. The most hard part of the entire process is finding a truly suitable home.

Dune: Awakening and server migrations offer a fresh start on these dunes. You might encounter a more active community, or you might discover an area never before explored. It's always good to be prepared.

The initial release of World of Warcraft Midnight patch 12.0.5 resulted in a poor player experience because of numerous bugs, prompting Blizzard to respond and address the issue. They publicly acknowledged that patch 12.0.5 did not meet their quality standards and apologized to players. They promised to learn from this incident and improve future communication methods.

Subsequently, several hotfixes were implemented for WoW Midnight, including class changes, system updates, and bug fixes. Unlike large patches requiring server downtime, like patch 12.0.5, hotfixes are deployed directly on the server side and take effect immediately without requiring any downloads.

They are primarily used for quickly fixing urgent bugs, correcting incorrect items or quests, and fine-tuning overly powerful or weak class specializations. Issues that rely on local client data may not be resolved with hotfixes and will require subsequent client patch updates.

Recently, the official team released another hotfix for some game content. This hotfix is one of the largest adjustments since patch 12.0.5 went live, and it includes a lot of changes. This article will explain the specific content of this World of Warcraft Midnight hotfix. Let's take a look at what the official team has adjusted.

Spec Adjustments

Blood Death Knight

To make damage absorption during skill cooldowns more stable, the official team has improved the stability and duration of Dance of Midnight, base health, and Death Strike healing effects.

• Dancing Rune Weapon - Parry chance increased from 20% to 25%.
• Blood Fortification - Stamina bonus increased from 35% to 40%.
• Improved Death Strike - Healing bonus increased from 5% to 15%.
• Dance of Midnight - Duration increased from 6 seconds to 8 seconds, trigger chance increased from 10% to 12.5%.

Unholy Death Knight

Following WoW Midnight hotfix, the cooldowns of Death and Decay can now be tracked in Cooldown Manager.

Vengeance Demon Hunter

This specialization has relatively weak base defense but good cooldown times. The developers have increased its core health, damage reduction, and armor.

• Demonic Wards - All damage taken reduced by 8% to 12%.
• Thick Skin - Stamina bonus increased from 50% to 55%.
• Fel Blood - Effect increased by 20%.
• Void Reaver - Frailty damage reduction increased from 4% to 5%.

Guardian Druid

Previous changes to Elune's Chosen made it too powerful. This adjustment brings its damage back to a more balanced level. While still higher than other tanks, it won't be excessively high.

• Thrash - Direct damage reduced by 25%.
• Elune's Favored - Healing increased from 25% of Arcane damage dealt to 15%.

Read More: Blizzard Just Did Unthinkable to Tanks in WoW Midnight Patch 12.0.7

Protection Paladin

The official changes include improved base survivability and effective health through passive effects, while also enhancing the duration and strength of active defensive skills.

• Blessing of Dusk - Maximum damage reduction increased from 10% to 20% (based on missing health).
• Sanctified Plates - Stamina bonus increased from 5%/10% to 7%/15%.
• Ardent Defender - Duration increased from 8 seconds to 12 seconds, Damage reduction increased from 20% to 30%.
• Sentinel - Duration increased from 16 seconds to 20 seconds.

Protection Warrior

This specialization has strong physical damage reduction but weak magic and damage over time resistance. These changes improve magic defense and the duration of Ignore Pain.

• Fight Through Flames - Magic damage reduction increased from 4% to 6%.
• Phalanx - Enemy damage dealt to you increased from 5% to 8%.
• Ignore Pain - Effect increased by 8%.

Marksmanship Hunter

The official fix addresses the issue where Downpour incorrectly consumed Nature's Swiftness and Ancestral Swiftness.

Prey System Updates

The weekly Preferential Killing limit has been removed. After reaching level 10 in Prey Journey Season 1, players can now perform unlimited custom hunts; however, gear and WoW Midnight Gold will be reduced after the first hunt each week.

Hunter's Momentum effect has been removed from Hard and Nightmare mode animal hunting quests.

The prey hunting progress gained from completing World Quests, defeating Ambushes, delivering Ripostes, and interacting with Remnants of Anguish has been increased.

The spawn rate of Coalescing Anguish in the outdoor world has been significantly increased.

PvP Mode Changes

Rank gains from completing 2v2, 3v3, and solo random matchmaking matches in WoW Midnight have been significantly increased. This adjustment aims to significantly improve player progress as the season progresses, thereby promoting a healthier ranked ladder. The official team confirmed that it will continue to monitor level distribution and make adjustments as necessary.

Other Content

• Sunkiller Sanctum - Light spores will no longer interrupt channeling spells.
• Abyss Anglers - Depth Grease no longer requires Reinforced Joints upgrade.
• Void Assaults - Increased progress gained from certain Void Assault steps.
• Dundun's Bountiful Travels - Fixed an issue that teleported players to the wrong location.
• Ascendant Voidcore - Fixed an issue where weapons and trinkets crafted before WoW Midnight patch 12.0.5 could not use Ascendant Voidcore.

This concludes the article regarding World of Warcraft Midnight hotfixes. Since patch 12.0.5, multiple fixes have been implemented. It is hoped that the game developers will focus on the game itself, rather than hastily addressing issues and then using hotfixes to compensate for problems. It is hoped that Blizzard will learn from this experience, reflect seriously, and be responsible to players.