Here's what the PC Gamer community chatted about on the forums this week
Opinions on battle passes, a Risk of Rain 2 giveaway, and the July community showcase.
This week on the PC Gamer forums: our community managers give a shout out last month's special contributors, a Risk of Rain 2 giveaway, opinions on battle passes, and dubious ways we have defeated bosses.
Last week we had the lovely Wonderbelly Games take over the forums for the studio spotlight. The team chatted to the community about their bouncy dungeon crawler Roundguard and even let forum members create their own levels. You can read all about the team over in the Studio Spotlight section.
In other forum news, it's the start of a new month which means that our year-long campaign with charity SpecialEffect has reset. Every month since May, the forum gives away an EPOS | SENNHEISER GSP 370 headset to a community member who completes the steps in the thread. If you want to learn more, head on over to the giveaway's page and check out how to enter.
Here's what went on the forum this week:
Risk of Rain 2 giveaway
The action-roguelike Risk of Rain 2 will be out on August 11 and to celebrate our community team is giving away 30 copies to randomly-selected users on the forums. It's super easy to enter, all you have to do is sign up to the PCG forums, leave a comment on the giveaway thread about theta you're most looking forward to in Risk of Rain 2, and then complete the giveaway widget.
The thing I'm most looking forward to is the multiplayer. Getting pulverised to smithereens is always more fun with friends, and Risk of Rain 2 has four-player co-op and works through Steam Remote Play.
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
July's Community Showcase
Every month, the omnipresent overseers of the PCG forums—aka the community managers—pick a selection of the very best threads to highlight. It's a great round-up of the discussion you might have missed and congratulates the members for their participation on the forums. Head on over to the thread to check out the selection.
We're really happy to shine a spotlight on cool discussions you may have missed! As always a huge thank you to everyone who makes these forums a great place to hang out - you're all amazing.—Mknott
Here's a link to the showcase.
Do you buy battle passes?
Battle passes and season passes have become commonplace for gaming, and our midweek question asks the community what they think about the monetization strategy. Do you buy battle passes? Do you think they're value for money or a waste? Let us know in the comments.
Season Passes/Battle Passes are blended with Destiny which is the only game I've bought into and completed over the last couple years. I think they are a good idea, it certainly is a way to keep people engaged with a particular game. Personally, the Destiny Season passes have been hit and miss, some seasons have good looking gear and weapons, others not so much, this also depends on how Bungie has changed the mechanics of the game as each season comes about.—DXCHASE
I have never bought a battle pass. Despite not being interested in the content in the main, I still try to vote with my wallet on things I want to see more of in games. I got burnt on loot boxes on CSGO (bought around 30 keys for crates at £2 per key - with about 2 good skins being acquired) and so that helps with self discipline on these thing
Have you defeated a boss by exploiting a bug or a cheesy strat?
We've all been there. A boss just happens to glitch into a wall and get stuck leaving you to hit them to death, or maybe you've accidentally found a ledge perfect for spamming range attacks? If you've ever defeated a boss by exploiting a bug or just completley cheesed your way through, let us know with a comment. No shame here, we all know that if there's an opening you should take it.
For Skyrim, this is basically my go-to. Pretty much any enemy can be defeated by getting it stuck somewhere and then shooting it until it's dead. I recently started a new game and stumbled into a dungeon that had a Draugr Wight Lord at the end that summoned a Draugr Deathlord. I eventually defeated it by backtracking to a door that could only be opened with a lever and which was made of metal bars I could shoot through.—Pifanjr
Top threads this week
What was the first video game you remember playing?
Can real-time strategy come back from the brink of death?
Your favourite building/management games
What RPG did you FINALLY find time to play?
Rachel had been bouncing around different gaming websites as a freelancer and staff writer for three years before settling at PC Gamer back in 2019. She mainly writes reviews, previews, and features, but on rare occasions will switch it up with news and guides. When she's not taking hundreds of screenshots of the latest indie darling, you can find her nurturing her parsnip empire in Stardew Valley and planning an axolotl uprising in Minecraft. She loves 'stop and smell the roses' games—her proudest gaming moment being the one time she kept her virtual potted plants alive for over a year.