RTS
CK3 Schemes and Hooks: 95% Potential, Spymaster Play
How CK3 schemes, hooks and secrets interlock: Potential caps at 95%, five breaches kill a plot, and blackmail turns secrets into leverage.
Paradox Development Studio Impact: 8/10
INTEL ARCHIVE // PAGE 13 OF 23
All Intel — page 13
MMO
Client-Server vs P2P: How MMOs Keep Thousands in Sync
How client-server, peer-to-peer, and hybrid MMO architectures keep thousands of players in sync, and what each model costs in cheat exposure and lag.
Various Impact: 8/10
RTS
Company of Heroes 3 Update 2.2.5: 16 Buffs, 25 Nerfs
Company of Heroes 3 Update 2.2.5: 16 buffs, 25 nerfs, heavier automatic-weapon cover penalties, and a meta pushed toward deliberate positioning.
Relic Entertainment Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
DDR5-6000 CL30 vs 8000: Gear Ratio Decides
DDR5-6000 CL30 vs DDR5-8000: why the memory controller's gear ratio decides which kit wins in games on AM5 and Intel Arrow Lake.
Various Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
DirectStorage in 2026: Engines, Games, and Load Tests
Which PC games actually use DirectStorage in 2026, what the load tests show, and why bolting it on late can cost frame rate instead of saving time.
Microsoft Impact: 8/10
MMO
ESO Cyrodiil PvP: Rallying Cry vs Plaguebreak Sets
Which Cyrodiil five-piece sets win in ESO Gold Road PvP: Rallying Cry, Daedric Trickery, and the Plaguebreak bomb combo, and what each asks of you.
Zenimax Online Studios Impact: 8/10
MMO
ESO Gold Road Scribing: Grimoire, Scripts, Skill Builds
Gold Road's Scribing system lets you assemble a custom skill from a Grimoire and three Scripts, opening eleven new abilities to per-character customization.
Zenimax Online Studios Impact: 8/10
MMO
ESO Scribing Glossary: Signature, Affix and Ink Costs
How ESO's Scribing system builds a skill from a Grimoire plus Focus, Signature, and Affix scripts, and what each Ink cost actually buys you.
Zenimax Online Studios Impact: 8/10
RTS
Europa Universalis V: Fate of the Phoenix and Patch 1.2
The first post-launch Immersion Pack for Europa Universalis V focuses on Byzantine Empire content, releasing alongside the free Patch 1.2 Echinades update.
Paradox Tinto Impact: 8/10
RTS
Europa Universalis V Advances vs EU4 Monarch Points
How Europa Universalis V replaces EU4's monarch point mana with a research-driven Advances system tied to literacy, clergy satisfaction, and institutions.
Paradox Tinto Impact: 8/10
RTS
EU5 Trade Nodes vs Dynamic Markets: Capacity and Access
Why EU5's dynamic markets replace EU4's static trade nodes, and the build order that turns Trade Capacity, access, and Advantage into profit.
Paradox Tinto Impact: 8/10
MMO
FFXIV Patches 7.1 and 7.2: What Changed for Raiders
Dawntrail's 7.1 and 7.2 patches adjusted the raid gearing path, refreshed the tomestone economy, and rebalanced nearly every job.
Square Enix Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
Frame Generation's Hidden Latency and the Reflex Offset
Single and multi-frame generation technologies add display latency—here's why 1% lows look smoother but feel worse, and how NVIDIA Reflex offset compensates.
Various Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
DLSS 4.5, FSR 4 and XeSS 3: 2026 GPU Glossary
A reference glossary of every upscaler, frame technology, and display standard a 2026 GPU buyer will encounter—from XeSS and DLSS to PSSR and VRR.
Various Impact: 7/10
HARDWARE
GPU Supply Tightens: Entry-Level Nvidia Cards Worst Hit
PC Partner warns GPU supply will tighten significantly in the second half of the year, especially for entry-level cards
PC Partner Impact: 8/10
MMO
Guild Wars 2: Weaver vs Holosmith Raid DPS Rotations
Power Weaver averages 43,650 DPS against Power Holosmith's 41,200 in raids — how the attunement and heat rotations differ, and which fits your group.
ArenaNet Impact: 8/10
MMO
Guild Wars 2 Janthir Syntri: Two-Titan Farm Loop
Janthir Syntri's flagship meta splits the map between two titans that must die together, then restarts every two hours for a repeatable gold loop.
ArenaNet Impact: 8/10
RTS
HOI4 2026 Country Pack: Romania and Focus Trees
A look at the upcoming Romania-focused DLC, the focus trees already added in 2026, and what gaps remain for future country packs.
Paradox Interactive Impact: 8/10
RTS
HOI4 Division Templates: Combat Width and Stat Math
HOI4's Division Designer explained: organization averages while attack sums, armor and piercing use a highest-plus-average formula, and width is a sum.
Paradox Development Studio Impact: 8/10
RTS
HOI4 Naval and Air: Detection, Task Forces, Carriers
A guide to how Hearts of Iron IV handles naval task forces, air missions, detection, and the links between land, sea, and air combat.
Paradox Development Studio Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
End-to-End Input Lag: Monitor Outweighs Mouse Polling
The eight-stage chain from mouse click to photon, with measured latency for the mouse, engine, GPU, and panel — and which upgrades stop paying off.
Various Impact: 7/10
MMO
Lost Ark 2026: Tier 4, Kazeros Raids and Skill Codes
Lost Ark's 2026 endgame runs on Tier 4 and the Kazeros Raid ladder — the gear path, the Guardianknight class, Skill Codes, and where honing was removed.
Smilegate / Amazon Games Impact: 8/10
MMO
Lost Ark Tier 4 Honing: 1525 to 1680 Gold Roadmap
A practical overview of Lost Ark's current honing breakpoints, material sources, and the gold loop after the 2025-2026 progression revamps.
Smilegate / Amazon Games Impact: 8/10
MMO
Lost Ark Tier 4 Content Map: Kurzan Front to Aegir
A location-by-item-level map of Lost Ark's Tier 4 endgame activities, from North Kurzan entry to the Kazeros Raid acts.
Smilegate / Amazon Games Impact: 8/10
RTS
Manor Lords Roadmap: Pathfinding Next, Combat Unconfirmed
Manor Lords' roadmap explained: Update 5 is live, a pathfinding rework is next, rural traditions follow, and the trade rework stays on hold.
Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse Impact: 8/10
MMO
MMO Glossary: Aggro, CC, GCD and Raid Shorthand
What aggro, CC, GCD and BiS actually mean in raid callouts — the combat and culture shorthand that carries across WoW, FFXIV and Guild Wars 2.
Various Impact: 8/10
MMO
Pantheon Rise of the Fallen: Pull and Crowd Control
Pulling is front-end crowd control in Pantheon: how the quaternity's tank, enchanter, cleric and monk split linked mobs before the pull-and-park loop.
Visionary Realms Impact: 8/10
MMO
Pantheon Tanks: Dire Lord, Warrior, and Paladin Threat
Dire Lord holds single-target hate, Warrior splits it, Paladin owns AoE: how each tank's resource model changes the tank-healer loop.
Visionary Realms Impact: 7/10
HARDWARE
ARPG Endgame 1% Lows: Path of Exile 2 and Last Epoch
Why a juiced Path of Exile 2 or Last Epoch map lives or dies on 1% lows: a 1% low of 25 FPS means one frame in a hundred takes 40 ms.
Various Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
Grand Strategy and RTS Builds: X3D Cache and DDR5-6000
Grand strategy and RTS games stall on L3 cache, not the GPU — why a 2026 build should spend on an X3D CPU and DDR5-6000 CL30 memory first.
Various Impact: 8/10