Starting very soon, Genshin Impact players can head to Liyue Harbor to participate in one of the big new Lantern Festival events, Theater Mechanicus. That's a fancy word for a tower defense mode! Players are not able to use their weapons in this, but there are a ton of different towers to set up, build, and even co-op with other players in order to take on hordes of foes.

If you're not familiar with Genshin Impact, it's a big open world game where you can climb mountains, battle monsters, level up, and explore. There's a huge feature and mechanics set that is similar to most major MMORPGs, but in a framework that's perfect for the single player experience. The most controversial aspect of Genshin Impact is its implementation of the gacha system where players can pay real money to roll on characters. Learn more about gacha and all things Genshin in our starting guide here.

To get things started, seek out Ruijin in the northern section of Liyue Harbor. Players interested in the tower defense game mode can unlock all kinds of different perks as they play through a variety of levels, so the experience should stay fresh through its duration. You can play the mode until February 28, so there's plenty of time to earn achievements and awards. For Theater Mechanicus, you can team up with one other player to fend off the invasion. 

There are a multitude of cool towers to experiment with during the wave-based defense of Theater Mechanicus. Check out the chart below for a rundown of some of the powers at your disposal. You can upgrade towers and also augment your experience with Mystic Arts that have overarching benefits and effects on the battle. While you won't be able to chop down enemies with your weapons or abilities, one interesting aspect that I'm sure players will have fun tinkering with is applying elemental effects to foes with skills, so this could become a subtle way to take advantage of the various towers available.

Your efforts at Theater Mechanicus pay off in Peace Talismans. What do you do with the Peace Talismans? Well, you turn them in for other things of course! The most important item of interest will cost you 1,000 Peace Talismans, a 4-star character from the Liyue region. This is an excellent time to pick up a "free" character that would normally force you to make banner rolls, either adding a new character to your roster or, if you're a longtime player, taking someone's constellation level to the next tier.

You can find out more details on the new game mode on the official Genshin Impact website here. Are you playing Genshin Impact? Are you excited to try out the new tower defense mode? Let us know in the comments!

The 2021 Pokémon World Championships have been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. The Pokémon Company made the tough call today stating “the safety and well-being of our competitors, organizers, employees, local communities, and partners continues to be our top priority and is the primary consideration with every decision we make.” This marks the second year straight that the event has been postponed after the 2020 Championships were called off for the same concerns. The event will resume in London in 2022. 

The company made the decision after “careful review and pursuant to guidance set forth by local, regional, and national health authorities, as well as the World Health Organization, Public Health England, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention”. According to Polygon, players who were invited to compete this year will instead be invited to next year’s event. The competition would have pitted the world’s best players to battle across the Pokmeon Trading Card Game, Pokémon Sword and Shield, as well as Pokken Tournament DX. 

The Pokémon Company also reiterated that all sanctioned Play! Pokémon events, such as League Challenge, League Cup, Premier Challenge, and Midseason Showdown, will remain suspended until further notice. 

Despite vaccines being out in the wild, we’ve still got a ways to go before we’re out of the woods yet in terms of the pandemic. Even still, their availability will make it interesting to see which companies feel bold enough to attempt to resume business as usual. The ESA has already announced that E3 2021 will stick to an all-digital format while PAX ambitiously plans to resume in-person conventions by June.  

Pokémon is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and while this is a (necessary) bummer, fans still have plenty to look forward to. New Pokémon Snap is scheduled to launch April 30 while a Katy Perry-fronted musical celebration will keep the party going throughout the year.

[Source: Polygon]