Before we get into the blog, we wanted to share the results of last week's poll. Arc Warden was the front-runner right out of the gate – his lead seemed insurmountable. Slow and steady, though, Nyx started to creep up. Then, right before were going to close the poll, he almost overtook the front spot. In the end it was close enough that we figured why not add both!

Now on to the shop!

Feedback about the shop has been a bit more scattered compared to other parts of the game and the suggestions have ranged far, from tiny tweaks to a huge Dota-scale item shop with item recipes. We've found we also have a mixed mind about the shop. We liked some parts and had other parts we thought needed improvement. There are some side effects of the original implementation that pushed optimal item-deck building into a narrow space.

It's a topic that we think would be good to delve into together. Let's break down what we did and didn't like, the goals we should have for the new version, and talk about the design trying to accomplish those goals. Remember to email us at ArtifactBetaFeedback@Valvesoftware.com to contribute to the discussion.

What we didn't like:

• Players often felt compelled to stuff their decks with cheap items with the intent to buy them out so they had more control over the selection they saw.
  
• It was easy to jump to top-tier items, limiting how cool those items could be.
  
• Consumables could have a huge impact, but you could be unlucky with your selection.
  
• Some of the items felt too important (Blink Dagger, Town Portal Scroll, etc.)
  
• The wacky item prices required more math than needed.
  
• Three different slot types caused confusion for new players.
  
• It felt weird when the shop opened with no good options for the player.
  
• The "hold" option wasn't well utilized.

What we did like:

• Building up powerful heroes feels great.
  
• The flow of adding abilities to your hero over the course of the game, ending with an exciting final board state without starting off overwhelming.
  
• It was fun when players were able to adapt to their situation and make creative use of an item in the secret shop.
  
• You could evaluate what to purchase fairly quickly.

The shop is one of the last things we've worked on, so it might see some dramatic changes still. The details of the implementation may be completely different in the end, but our goals should remain the same.

Goals for the new version:

• We'd like you to have better access to your items compared to the original game.
  
• Items, in general, should have their cost reflect when they are useful in the game. Early items should help build small advantages and late game items should help close the game out.
  
• We'd like to keep the ability to find a random item that could help you out.
  
• No class of items, early or late, should be too powerful as to skew the selection one way or another.
  
• Less math.
  
• Required tools (Town Portal Scrolls) shouldn't be available based on luck.

In the current implementation we've normalized item costs to 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30. If they seem too expensive it's due to the faster rate that gold is earned now. Items are grouped based on their tier and the shop is populated to have one or more items at each tier, plus your item deck. All slots in the shop follow the same rules for how the item for sale there is selected.



At the first shopping phase you have access to the 10-cost item tier plus a few other options. If you have some extra money, and don't like the items presented, you can re-roll for 2 gold. If you are a little light on cash you can choose to skip shopping and earn a little extra gold. The gold earned this way starts at 3 and increases by 1 each time you upgrade the shop. Finally you can upgrade the shop for 5 gold. This upgrade cost goes down to 3 then to 1 in subsequent turns and resets to 5 when you upgrade. When you upgrade the shop the next tier of items is added to the pool and you get a free re-roll.

Most consumables, including Town Portal Scrolls, have been removed from the game completely. You now get a similar item, the Blink Scroll, the first time you bring each enemy tower to half health. Blink Scrolls work like a Blink Dagger but are consumed on use (each let you move a hero to a slot in an adjacent lane).

Let's take a look at some of the new items from the first three tiers.



Force Staff

• Displace is one of the few "random" effects we've added to the game. It pushes a unit randomly left or right 1 slot, but can only push into an unoccupied slot.
  
• Since you can displace enemy units as well as your own, you can often work out favorable match-ups with a little creativity.
  
• A few of our favorites are pushing a unit with a strong aura towards one of the edges of a lane, sliding any strong tower attacker into slot 1, or just pushing a blocker out of the way so you can smash a tower.

Necronomicon

• With its strong health buff this item can keep a fragile hero in lane for a long time.
  
• Demonic Archers are a great way to build up a creep imbalance in a lane. Only one is needed to start the ball rolling.
  
• Left unchecked, a lane full of Demonic Archers will make deploying heroes into a lane a painful experience.

Root Boots

• The 20-gold item tier has several items that immediately change the texture of a lane, either by making strong localized effects, or providing a large stat boost.
  
• Root Boots are great for deploying into a hero with mobility and exchanging favorably.
  
• Decay effects ignore armor, so they are great at cleaning out a lane clogged by armor buffed creeps.
  
• Root Boots are a great way to stop late-game lane hopping shenanigans.

Don't forget to send us your feedback!

Yesterday we concluded our Screenshot Competition! While we're looking through your entries in order to select the winners, we'd like to showcase some cool submissions one more time before announcing the results. Check them out below!

We're starting this week by publishing an interview with Shaun Brown, one of our concept artists whose works you're all familiar with. Shaun created art for divination cards, the Atlas of Worlds and other in-game content. In this interview Shaun not only told us about his work at GGG and the process behind creating concept art, but also has shared several pieces of his artwork. Enjoy!

Hi Shaun, thanks for participating in the interview! Please tell us a little about yourself and what you do at GGG?
Well I'm a bit of a hermit and I spend most of my time doing art or art-related stuff. I also like learning new skills like juggling, archery and learning how to drive in VR. So I'm a very goal-oriented person.

Here's a list of what I do at GGG:

• Monsters
  
• Weapons
  
• Bosses
  
• Portals
  
• MTX
  
• Uniques
  
• Characters
  
• Pets
  
• Symbols (like Magic Effects)
  
• Graphical illustrations (Divination Cards, Atlas Map etc)
  
• Sketch random ideas to Erik

How did you get started as a concept artist?
It had been my dream for many years to become a concept artist. I've always loved to draw monsters and come up with imaginative ideas since I was a kid so it felt like I was born for this job. It also took many years of practice, learning, failing and hard work! And I'll always be on that path of learning.

How did you come to work at Grinding Gear Games?
I started working at GGG in 2014. A good friend of mine was working for GGG and told me there was a job opening that I should apply for. There was a test but I don't remember it being too hard! That was the first concept art I did for GGG.



The community is most familiar with your artwork that appears on Divination Cards. What is this process like?
Once the game designers have confirmed the design with the client, I would read and look at the images in the description of the card and usually an image will pop up in my mind. Most of the time, I'll sketch the image exactly as I saw or I'll edit what I see to make it better. I guess it's like seeing the future and drawing it down (lol).

Then it's a matter of linework and colouring.

Which Divination Cards did you enjoy working on the most?
Hard to say. There are so many of them now! I do enjoy the ones that have hidden messages or symbols in the illustrations, like in The Union where you can see the date of the wedding.



Behind the scenes, you've created a lot of concepts and illustrations for microtransactions, monsters and game areas. Which of these presents the most challenges or limitations?
Well I can think of some that haven't come out yet, but the one that comes to mind is the stained-glass windows. There was quite a bit of information to simplify into a flat image so it can be readable in-game too.

A lot of thought went into them to help express what was happening with the characters - like the higher the character, the better off they were (and vice versa), and the use of contrasting shapes, colours etc.

You can see that when Sin's power grows, the symbol at the top is eclipsed except for panel 5 which is when the mother and son are planning to get rid of Sin, and he is not fully in power - that's why there are gold horn shapes pointing at him too.



How much of a personal spin do you get to put on your work for GGG?
Depends on the task, sometimes it can be a lot when I intuitively generate ideas that will work in the game. But there are constraints when it comes to the mechanics of the game (things like the number of joints and how they move etc).

It's quite fun to problem solve and play around with ideas to get around these limitations.

Are there any cool concepts you created that didn't make it to the game?
Sometimes that happens but they often end up in the game later on.

Is there an area of concept art that you find the most enjoyable or interesting?
That would be portals! It's fun to try to reinvent how a doorway can open up. It pushes you to think outside the box.

Do you have any hobbies outside of art?
Yeah I'm trying to get away from computer screens and get outside! I like mountain biking and kayak fishing when the weather is good, but it's been hard to do this year since the pandemic. I've been getting into reading psychology books about dream interpretation and just got into archery too.

Do you dabble in any other art mediums than digital?
Just pens and pencils on paper. I would like to get into oil painting, water colours and clay sculpting but I don't really have the time. Maybe later down the track or when I retire.

Which artists have inspired you the most?
There's too many of them and I keep finding more every month! Here's the Top 10 artists that inspired the most, that I can think of off the top of my head:

• John Singer Sargent
  
• Anders Zorn
  
• Alphonse Mucha
  
• Andrew Loomis
  
• Iain Mccaig
  
• H. R. Giger
  
• Takehiko Inoue
  
• Yoji Shinkawa
  
• Kim Jung Gi
  
• Jason Hong

What kind of work did you do prior to working here?
I was a struggling freelance artist doing concept art and illustrations for small businesses and got commissioned to do personal projects. Some of the things I did were illustrations for board games and card games, and a book cover.

Do you have any advice for people who are looking to become professional concept artists get into the industry?
Post your artwork on a site or a blog to show your growth and dedication. Learn from your mistakes because you're going to make a lot of them - and try not to repeat them! Keep at it if it's what you really want because you never know when an opportunity will arise out of the blue.

You've also done a lot of concept art work on Path of Exile bosses and monsters for the third act of Path of Exile 2. What are you most looking forward to the community seeing?
There is a boss I worked on last year. All I can say is that he has a big flat ornament on his head, has no feet, there are snakes coming out of his back like wings and there's a man standing inside his stomach. Sometimes it's hard to know how good things will look when they're in the game, but I'm hoping it turns out well.

Two fan-favorites collide to kick off the Modes of May in Rocket League! Check out a different Limited Time Mode featured each weekend throughout the month! First up: Dropshot Rumble!

Just like the name suggests, the two Extra Modes have collided for the action of Dropshot enhanced by the zany power-ups from Rumble. Enjoy the Limited Time Mode all weekend long! The mode is live now and will be playable until Monday, May 4 at 9 a.m. PDT (4 p.m. UTC).

Like other Limited Time Modes, each mode will be Unranked and found in a separate tab in the Play Online menu. They will also grant the same amount of XP as all other Online Playlists, so you'll still Tier Up your Rocket Pass 6 level as usual. Good luck out there!

The most difficult decisions test even the strongest of wills, but his will has never wavered, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. He is Corvus, The Magistrate's Blade. He is the son of Karne, the powerful leader of the Magistrate, but it is by his own merit that he has earned the absolute loyalty of his men and instilled fear in his enemies.

A charismatic leader and brilliant tactician, Corvus will stop at nothing to see his goals realized: a peace to surpass that of the Golden Age, under the Magistrate's rule. With the near-limitless energy of the Abyss, bent to his iron will, and those soldiers still loyal to his vision of peace, he is doing what no other is capable of. By his own strength, the Resistance will fall, and peace will be forged for the Realm's citizens, with or without their cooperation.

For a complete breakdown of Corvus, his abilities, and more visit our Corvus Champion page[www.paladins.com]!

Pyre-Lord Magnus Corvus: 800 Crystals


Exemplar Corvus - Recolor: 200 Crystals or 60,000 Gold


Abyssal Acolyte Corvus - Recolor: Season Pass 2019 - 2020


Golden Corvus Mastery Skin


Draconic Fighter Viktor: Battle Pass Instant Unlock


Scalebane Strix: Battle Pass Level 10


Draconic Enforcer Khan: Battle Pass Level 30


Solfire Furia: Battle Pass Level 50


Hunter's Bane Vikor: Battle Pass Level 70


Dragonsbane Strix: Battle Pass Level 90


Ironscale Khan: Battle Pass Level 100


Dragonslayer Furia: Battle Pass Level 120


Golden Grohk Mastery Skin


CLICK HERE[www.paladins.com] to read the full Update Notes for our Darkness & Dragons Update!

Surrounded by flowers and sharp blades, the new Champion's Hideout represents Daresso's Arena from Act Four. Enhance the atmosphere of this hideout by adding the glorious Arcane Throne Decoration and Black Statues. A couple of Gold Lions or Fire Lions would also fit the gladiator's theme just right. Watch the video of the Champion's Hideout below or press M in game to get yours.

This weekend we're also discounting every type of Stash Tab, including the Delve Tab, Unique Collection Tab, Fragment Tab, Map Tab, Premium Stash Tab Bundles, Premium Quad Stash Tab, Essence Tab, Divination Tab, Currency Tab and Guild Stash Tabs (PC only)! Press M in game to view the full selection of discounted stash tabs.

The sale runs all weekend and ends at May 04, 2020 9:00 PM (PDT)

By the way, the 2nd and 3rd day of Method Rush Race Season[www.method.gg] start at 9am PDT on May 2nd and May 3rd respectively. The event features 11 separate boss rushes where players have to start at level 1 and fight their way through to the selected boss. The winners will share the cash prize pool of $4,200. Casting will be done by RaizQT and Octavian live on http://www.twitch.tv/Method.

Have a great weekend, Exiles!

: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page [url=https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/1089350/announcements/detail/2191508256547328331]here[/url].

Add some serious length to your squad with the latest Prime Series packs. Headlined by Galaxy Opal Lamar Odom & Danny Granger at the wing, and a Pink Diamond version of the Giant himself Gheorghe Muresan.

Available now through May 8.