Category Archives: gaming

FFXI Congestion Measures Coming to Bahamut World

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Square Enix is addressing congestion issues in another Final Fantasy MMORPG server. This time, measures are being implemented to ease traffic on the Bahamut World in Final Fantasy XI (FFXI), aiming to provide a better experience for players and distribute the population more evenly across servers.

Producer and Director Yoji Fujito announced that starting October 9, 2025, three key measures will be put into effect to help manage population density and demand on the Bahamut World.

Two of the major steps involve limiting access to this server to prevent further congestion. Players who do not already have characters on the Bahamut World will no longer be able to create new characters there. Additionally, the Character World Transfer Service will be disabled for moves to the Bahamut World—meaning existing characters cannot be transferred to that server.

To encourage players to start or continue playing on other Worlds, Square Enix will also halt the Vanadiel Adventurer Recruitment Program promotion on Bahamut. This promotion previously rewarded players with items such as Copper AMAN Vouchers, the Guild Beret, and the Sprout Beret when recruiting friends to play via Gold World Passes.

The Bahamut World is now the second FFXI World to face such congestion measures, following Asura. The Asura server was the first to experience these initiatives after a population boom negatively impacted player experience earlier in 2025. Square Enix announced the congestion-related restrictions on Asura back in July 2025, and Yoji Fujito confirmed that the server still faces issues and remains under these limits.

Currently, FFXI features 23 Worlds — individual servers where players can create or transfer characters. Asura is the newest server and was the first to reach capacity in 2025, while Bahamut is one of the oldest still actively operating.

Final Fantasy XI remains available for PC players, and the upcoming congestion mitigation efforts on Bahamut will officially begin on October 9, 2025. These steps demonstrate Square Enix’s commitment to maintaining a smooth and enjoyable gameplay environment for all FFXI adventurers.
https://www.siliconera.com/ffxi-congestion-measures-coming-to-bahamut-world/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ffxi-congestion-measures-coming-to-bahamut-world

Where to get the Wombo Combo Legendary Assault Rifle drop in Borderlands 4

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There is no shortage of amazing Legendary Assault Rifles in Borderlands 4, but only the Wombo Combo also shoots elemental grenades alongside its spray of bullets. Unlike some of the other top-tier Legendaries in the game, it’s also easy to find the boss that drops the Wombo Combo. Here’s where and how to get it.

## How to Get the Wombo Combo Legendary Assault Rifle in Borderlands 4

The Wombo Combo is a possible drop from any of the bosses in the Rippa Roadbirds trio, located at the Saw’s Clench Ripper Drill site. You can find this site in north-central Carcadia Burn, the northwestern region of Kairos. The location is easy to reach, and once you’ve unlocked the Judgements Lapse Order Silo fast travel point, returning to the drill takes around a minute.

### Meet the Rippa Roadbirds Trio

The Rippa Roadbirds consist of three bosses:

– **Baby Grunt** – uses a Cryo shield
– **Gruntabulous Vork** – uses a Pyro shield
– **Lil Grunt** – uses a Shock shield

The Wombo Combo can drop from any of these Grunt bosses upon defeat. However, the challenge lies in defeating them. The Roadbirds tend to float above the arena, dropping bombs and other floating hazards while you’re also being attacked by trash mobs.

### Tips for Defeating the Rippa Roadbirds

With a proper build, none of their elemental shields are particularly difficult to break. However, getting caught by multiple bombs can quickly send you into Fight for Your Life mode. Patience and good positioning are key to overcoming these aerial threats.

### Farming the Wombo Combo

Farming the Rippa Roadbirds is pretty straightforward, but getting back to the Moxxi’s Big Encore slot machine quickly after each fight can be a hassle. The fastest route to the machine is to jump up and over the debris pile to the right of the drop-down into the arena. Here’s how:

1. Hop onto the sphere on the ground.
2. Jump onto the nearby rocks.
3. Finally, leap onto the pipes that lead over the rocks to the slot machine.

Once you master this path, you can restart the Rippa Roadbirds fight within 15 to 20 seconds. Although it’s a bit tedious, this method significantly speeds up farming.

### Chance and Additional Notes

In my experience, the Wombo Combo dropped twice in relatively short order while farming these bosses. Additionally, the Rippa Roadbirds are excellent for fast character leveling, so spending a couple of hours grinding them not only improves your stats but could also net you a few Legendary items.

One last thing to note: the Wombo Combo occasionally appears for sale at Maurice’s Black Market vending machine. With so many Legendaries in Borderlands 4, availability can be a crapshoot, but it’s worth checking the machine weekly—you might get lucky!

—

Good luck hunting down your Wombo Combo and adding this unique Legendary Assault Rifle to your arsenal!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146170/where-to-get-the-wombo-combo-legendary-assault-rifle-drop-in-borderlands-4

Evening Reading – September 29, 2025

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Good evening, Shacknews! It’s nighttime, which means it’s time for Evening Reading. Let’s officially close out our day of posting with a quick roundup of the latest stories and highlights from around the web.

—

### In Case You Missed It at Shacknews:

– **Hades 2 Review:** The ‘House’ always wins.
– **LEGO Party! Review:** A new kind of venue for family fun.
– **Ghost of Yotei Review:** May she who sets out on the path for vengeance dig six graves.
– **Shack Chat:** What was your favorite announcement from TGS 2025?
– **Nintendo Singapore Established:** A move to grow business in Southeast Asia.
– **What is a Leveraged Buyout?** What this means for Electronic Arts (EA) going forward.
– **Teemo Joins the 2XKO Roster:** Exciting roster news for competitive gaming fans.
– **Hearthstone: Across the Timeways:** Hits the Rewind button this November.
– **Silent Hill f:** Sold a million units in just one day!
– **EA Confirms $55 Billion Sale:** Deal involving Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Silver Lake & Affinity Partners.

—

### Other Stuff From The Internet!!!

– **Your Daily Dose of Sudoku:** Nothing but lines, but plenty of fun to sharpen your mind.
– **Destiny 2 Players Are Dropping Off:** Players have had enough of the game—and some have had enough of the player base. Speaking of which, popular content creator Datto is taking a break. The Destiny 2 community can be extremely toxic at times.
– **Conspiracy Theories Are a Slippery Slope:** Sure, it’s fun to laugh about Bigfoot, but it’s a bit unsettling when someone you know believes the Earth is flat. This was quite a clickable title!
– **South Park Is Fantastic:** I need to rewatch the whole series—such a classic!
– **Legal Time!** I’d definitely recommend you pay attention to the legal stuff.
– **Mountain Climbing Seems Too Much To Me:** Too much risk, too much danger. Maybe not for everyone.
– **Check Out These Old School PC Games:** Bring back the big boxes and that nostalgic feeling!
– **SF2 Cheats Against the Player?!** I did not know this—what a wild discovery!

—

There you have it, Shacknews, your Evening Reading for tonight. If you enjoyed today’s roundup, please consider subscribing to **Shacknews Mercury** to support our site for as little as $1/month.

Don’t have a dollar? No worries! You don’t need one to check out **Shackmaps**. We’ve got a brilliant **Silksong** map to help you uncover every millimeter of that game.

Thanks for reading and have a great night!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146159/evening-reading-september-29-2025

Evening Reading – September 29, 2025

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Good evening, Shacknews! It’s nighttime, which means it’s time for Evening Reading. Let’s officially close out our day of posting with a look at everything new and noteworthy.

—

### In Case You Missed It at Shacknews:

– **Hades 2 Review:** The ‘House’ always wins
– **LEGO Party! Review:** A new kind of venue
– **Ghost of Yotei Review:** May she who sets out on the path for vengeance dig six graves
– **Shack Chat:** What was your favorite announcement from TGS 2025?
– **Nintendo Singapore Established:** Growing business in Southeast Asia
– **What is a Leveraged Buyout and What Does it Mean for Electronic Arts (EA) Going Forward?**
– **Teemo Joins the 2XKO Roster**
– **Hearthstone: Across the Timeways:** Hits the Rewind button in November
– **Silent Hill f:** Sold a million units in one day
– **EA Confirms $55 Billion Sale to Saudi Arabia PIF, Silver Lake & Affinity Partners**

—

### And Now, Other Stuff From The Internet!

– **Your Daily Dose of Sudoku:** Nothing but lines today.
– **Destiny 2 Players Are Dropping Off:** Players have had enough of the game, and some have had enough of the player. Speaking of which, Datto is taking a break. The Destiny 2 community can be extremely toxic.
– **Conspiracy Theories Are a Slippery Slope:** It can be fun to laugh about Bigfoot, but then you look up at someone you know who believes the Earth is flat. This was quite a clickable title!
– **South Park Is Fantastic:** I need to rewatch the whole series.
– **Legal Time!** I’d definitely recommend you [insert recommended action].
– **Mountain Climbing Seems Too Much to Me:** Too much risk, too much danger.
– **Check Out These Old School PC Games:** Bring back big boxes!
– **SF2 Cheats Against the Player?!** I did not know this.

—

There you have it, Shacknews — your Evening Reading for tonight.

Please consider subscribing to Shacknews Mercury to support our site for as little as $1/month. Don’t have a dollar? You don’t need one to check out Shackmaps. We’ve got a brilliant Silksong map to help you uncover every millimeter of that game.

Thanks for reading, and have a great night!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146159/evening-reading-september-29-2025

Evening Reading – September 29, 2025

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Good evening, Shacknews! It’s nighttime, which means it’s time for Evening Reading. Let’s officially close out our day of posting with a look at everything Shacknews has featured today.

—

### In Case You Missed It at Shacknews:

– **Hades 2 Review:** The ‘House’ always wins.
– **LEGO Party! Review:** A new kind of venue.
– **Ghost of Yotei Review:** May she who sets out on the path for vengeance dig six graves.
– **Shack Chat:** What was your favorite announcement from TGS 2025?
– **Nintendo Singapore Established:** A move to grow business in Southeast Asia.
– **What Is a Leveraged Buyout?** And what it means for Electronic Arts (EA) going forward.
– **Teemo Joins the 2XKO Roster.**
– **Hearthstone: Across the Timeways:** Hits the Rewind button in November.
– **Silent Hill f:** Sold a million units in one day.
– **EA Confirms $55 Billion Sale:** To Saudi Arabia PIF, Silver Lake & Affinity Partners.

—

### And Now… Other Stuff From The Internet!

– **Your Daily Dose of Sudoku:** Nothing but lines.
– **Destiny 2 Players Are Dropping Off:** Players have had enough of the game, and some have had enough of the player. Speaking of which, Datto is taking a break. The Destiny 2 community can be extremely toxic.
– **Conspiracy Theories Are a Slippery Slope:** It can be fun to laugh about Bigfoot, but then you look up at someone you know who believes the Earth is flat. This was quite a clickable title.
– **South Park is Fantastic:** I need to rewatch the whole series.
– **Legal Time!** I’d definitely recommend you…
– **Mountain Climbing Seems Too Much to Me:** Too much risk, too much danger.
– **Check Out These Old School PC Games:** Bring back big boxes!
– **SF2 Cheats Against the Player?!** I did not know this.

—

There you have it, Shacknews—your Evening Reading for tonight.

Please consider subscribing to **Shacknews Mercury** to support our site for as little as $1/month. Don’t have a dollar? You don’t need one to check out **Shackmaps**. We’ve got a brilliant **Silksong map** to help you uncover every millimeter of that game.

Thanks for reading, and have a great night!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146159/evening-reading-september-29-2025

Hearthstone: Across the Timeways hits the Rewind button in November

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Whenever there are time-based shenanigans in Azeroth, it’s a safe bet that Chromie will be there. The Bronze Dragon has been tasked with protecting Azeroth’s timeline from any miscreants trying to mess with it.

The latest threat is the fearsome Murozond, which means Chromie will need to assemble a team for the next Hearthstone expansion, titled *Across the Timeways*. This expansion will see Chromie gathering 11 heroes from across Azeroth’s history—and its future.

These 11 heroes represent each of Hearthstone’s classes, coming together to stop Murozond from converging all timelines into the end of all life. Each hero carries the new **Fabled** keyword, which means they’ll add additional cards to your deck. These cards are designed to synergize with one another, allowing players to gradually build strong on-board effects.

Alongside Fabled, there’s a second new keyword introduced in this expansion: **Rewind**. Rewind is linked to various random effects and lets players re-roll if the outcome isn’t favorable.

Starting today, three Rewind cards are available to all Hearthstone players. One exciting example is the 8-Cost **Mister Clocksworth**, which summons two random Legendaries and allows you to Rewind up to three times.

Be on the lookout for other time-themed cards in *Across the Timeways*, such as the Demon Hunter’s **Timeway Warden**, which can imprison enemy minions for 10,000 turns, or the Warlock’s **Divergence** spells, which split a minion in-hand into two.

Stay tuned and prepare to dive into the twists and turns of time like never before!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146153/hearthstone-across-the-timeways-release-date

Evening Reading – September 26, 2025

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Hello, Shacknews readers!

Once again, I am away—this time in Atlanta for MagicCon. Let’s wrap up the week with another round of news, memes, and entertainment in this Friday edition of *Evening Reading*.

—

### In Case You Missed It at Shacknews:

– **Kirby the Spinoff Super Star**
– **Borderlands 4 developers talk about the challenges of evolving the series**
– **Electronic Arts (EA) is reportedly nearing a $50 billion deal to go private in a leveraged buyout**
– **Magic: The Gathering’s 2026 sets feature Marvel Super Heroes, The Hobbit & Star Trek**

—

### Your Weekly Reminder

Be sure to check out **Shackmaps**, our growing collection of interactive video game maps designed to enhance your gameplay experience!

**Introducing Shackmaps**
Free interactive video game maps are now available. We recently added **Hollow Knight: Silksong** to the collection!

—

### It’s the Weekend — Time to Play!

Take some time this weekend to find yourself a game and dive in!

**Weekend Console Download Deals for Sept. 26:**
Enjoy the Tokyo Game Show sales happening right now.

**Weekend PC Download Deals for Sept. 26:**
Don’t miss the free Steam weekends for *Rematch* and *Diablo 4.*

—

### Around the Gaming Horn

Here’s some rapid-fire news to wrap up your week:

– See how combat will look in the upcoming **Yakuza Kiwami 3.**
– **Mega Lucario** and **Mega Charizard X** are coming to *Pokémon UNITE.*
– Some new StarCraft-themed skins are coming to *Diablo 4.*
– *Possessor(s)* now has an official release date.
– Check out the Secret Lair Magic: The Gathering drops, including a special collaboration with PlayStation.

—

### Other Stuff From The Internet!!!

**Today in Bubbletron:**
Be sure to play Bubbletron today!

**Load Management:**
Bleacher Report’s new animated sports show dives into some hot topics.

—

### Movie News: Unfriended

*THE SOCIAL NETWORK 2* is officially titled **THE SOCIAL RECKONING.**

– Jeremy Strong will star as Mark Zuckerberg, replacing Jesse Eisenberg.
– Also starring Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison, and Bill Burr.
– Hits theaters on October 9, 2026.

> “We’re not lucky enough, either in this movie or in real life, to have this end with Mark Zuckerberg paying for his crimes.”
> — DiscussingFilm (@discussingfilm.net), September 26, 2025, 1:57 PM

—

### Nothing but the Hotfix

Games Done Quick (GDQ) heard you like monkeys. Hotfix shows air every week, and you can catch them all on the Games Done Quick Twitch account.

—

### This Week in Shaqnews

Shaq got the moves!!
*Dancin’ Shaq — IT’S STILL REAL TO ME, DAMMIT!*

![Shaq Dancing Image]

— Meidas Charise Lee (@chariselee.bsky.social), September 25, 2025, 10:45 PM

CMLL’s best battled it out in this special tie-in with *Pokemon Legends: Z-A.*

—

### Tonight in Video Game Music

If you’ve played *Hades 2*, you’ve probably reached the second boss—they’re very musical! Let’s listen to Ro Panuganti and Allison Martin cover one of their songs.

—

That’s it for this week’s *Evening Reading*! Have a great weekend, and happy gaming!

— Shacknews
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146130/evening-reading-september-26-2025

Evening Reading – September 26, 2025

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Hello, Shacknews fans!

Once again, I am away—this time in Atlanta for MagicCon. Let’s wrap up the week with another round of news, memes, and entertainment in this Friday edition of *Evening Reading*.

—

### In Case You Missed It at Shacknews:

– **Kirby the Spinoff Super Star**
– **Borderlands 4 Developers Talk About the Challenges of Evolving the Series**
– **Electronic Arts (EA) Reportedly Nearing a $50 Billion Deal to Go Private in Leveraged Buyout**
– **Magic: The Gathering’s 2026 Sets Feature Marvel Super Heroes, The Hobbit & Star Trek**

—

### Your Weekly Reminder: Check Out Shackmaps!

Don’t forget to explore Shackmaps, our growing collection of video game maps designed to enhance your gameplay experience!

– **Introducing Shackmaps: Free Interactive Video Game Maps**
– We now have *Hollow Knight: Silksong*!

And, because it’s the weekend, go find yourself something fun to play!

—

### Weekend Download Deals – Sept. 26

**Console Deals:** Tokyo Game Show sales are live!

**PC Deals:** Free Steam weekends for *Rematch* and *Diablo 4*.

—

### Around the Gaming Horn

Here’s some rapid-fire news to wrap up your week:

– Get a first look at combat in the upcoming *Yakuza Kiwami 3*.
– Mega Lucario and Mega Charizard X are coming to *Pokemon UNITE*.
– New StarCraft-themed skins are coming to *Diablo 4*.
– *Possessor(s)* now has a confirmed release date.
– Check out the latest Secret Lair Magic: The Gathering drops, including a special collaboration with PlayStation.

—

### Other Stuff From The Internet!!!

**Today in Bubbletron:** Be sure to play *Bubbletron* today!

**Load Management:** Bleacher Report’s new animated sports show dives into some hot topics.

—

### Unfriended: THE SOCIAL NETWORK 2

The sequel is officially titled **THE SOCIAL RECKONING.** Jeremy Strong will star as Mark Zuckerberg, replacing Jesse Eisenberg. The cast also features Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison, and Bill Burr.

The movie hits theaters on **October 9, 2026**.

![THE SOCIAL RECKONING](#)
*DiscussingFilm (@discussingfilm.net), September 26, 2025, at 1:57 PM*
_”We’re not lucky enough, either in this movie or in real life, to have this end with Mark Zuckerberg paying for his crimes.”_

—

### Nothing but the Hotfix

Games Done Quick heard you like monkeys! GDQ’s Hotfix shows air every week and you can catch them all at the Games Done Quick Twitch account.

—

### This Week in Shaqnews

Shaq’s got the moves!!

![Dancin’ Shaq](#)
*Meidas Charise Lee (@chariselee.bsky.social), September 25, 2025, at 10:45 PM*
_”Dancin’ Shaq. IT’S STILL REAL TO ME, DAMMIT!”_

—

### CMLL’s Best Battled It Out in a Special Tie-In With Pokemon Legends: Z-A.

—

### Tonight in Video Game Music

If you’ve played *Hades 2*, you’ve probably reached the second boss. They’re very musical, so let’s listen to Ro Panuganti and Allison Martin cover one of their songs.

—

That’s it for this week’s Evening Reading. Enjoy your weekend, and happy gaming!

—Your Shacknews Team
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146130/evening-reading-september-26-2025

Hades 2 controls & PC keybindings

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It’s time to fight against the powers that be in *Hades 2*. The controls and keybindings for the sequel are much the same as they were in the original, but the addition of charged moves adds a new layer of spice and strategy.

Before you dive in, make sure to check out the button inputs so you don’t spend too long in the early game learning the ropes.

## Hades 2 Controls & Keybindings

There aren’t a lot of controls and keybindings in *Hades 2*, but there is a lot of depth to how you use them. Most of the time, a quick button press will do the trick, but when things get tough, the omega charged moves will change the course of battle.

### Action Controls

| Action | Xbox | PS5 | PC |
|———-|———–|———–|————-|
| Attack | X | Square | Left Click |
| Dash | A | Cross | Spacebar |
| Cast | B | Circle | Q |
| Special | Y | Triangle | Right Click |
| Hex | RT | R2 | F |
| Interact | RB | R1 | E |
| Movement | Left Thumbstick | Left Thumbstick | WASD |

Mastering these controls will help you survive the challenging battles ahead. Get ready to delve into the underworld and unleash the full potential of your arsenal!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146103/hades-2-controls-pc-keybindings

This Week in Switch 2 – Pokemon Legends Z-A hands-on preview, Silksong review & Daft Punk x Fortnite

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We are back with the latest episode of **This Week in Switch 2**, featuring a lively discussion on a variety of gaming topics. In this episode, we dive into TJ’s *Hollow Knight: Silksong* review, Donovan’s hands-on preview of *Pokemon Legends: Z-A*, Fortnite’s recent Daft Punk event, Nintendo Music’s latest additions, and the news of another Xbox price increase.

Be sure to check out TJ’s detailed *Hollow Knight: Silksong* review and Donovan’s insightful *Pokemon Legends: Z-A* preview articles for a closer look at these exciting titles.

**This Week in Switch 2** is our new weekly format that allows all Shacknews staff members to share their opinions on the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, games, and operating system. Instead of rushing to publish reviews-in-progress, we are taking our time with both the Nintendo Switch 2 and *Mario Kart World* to provide you with thorough and useful review content.

With this series, we keep you updated by sharing our latest impressions of the console as we continue our review work. Plus, we’ve expanded the availability of the show by releasing the podcast in audio format on your favorite platforms.

You can now catch **This Week in Switch 2** on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music/Audible, Player FM, Podchaser, and Apple Podcasts. Keep an eye out for new episodes and enjoy listening on the go!

We’ll be back next week with another episode, so stay tuned by following our [This Week in Switch 2 topic page](#).

Have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover in the next episode? Let us know in the Shacknews Chatty comment thread below!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146072/twis-2-podcast-episode-18-pokemon-silksong