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Diablo 4: Launch Day, PC Specs and Everything to Know About the Darker Dungeon Crawler

Here’s what you should know about the newest entry in the Diablo series.

Diablo 4, the latest installment of the popular dungeon crawler, launched on Tuesday, and according to developer Blizzard Entertainment, it’s already the company’s fastest-selling game. 

Diablo 4 puts players back into the bleak world of Sanctuary, where forces from heaven and hell manipulate humans to do their bidding. The Mother of Sanctuary, Lilith, has returned and intends to spread her evil across the world. It’s up to the players to take on her forces and stop her before it’s too late. 

When did Diablo 4 come out? 

The game came on Tuesday, June 6. Those who preordered the Deluxe or Ultimate edition of the game had early access to the game starting on  June 1. 

What systems will Diablo 4 be available on?

Diablo 4 will be released on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S for $70. 

Buy Diablo 4 $70 at GameStop

Buy Diablo 4 Buy Diablo 4

What are the PC requirements for Diablo 4?

The minimum requirements are:

  • Operating system: 64-bit Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD FX-8350
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R9 280
  • Storage: Solid-state drive with 90GB available space

Publisher Blizzard recommends the following specs:

  • Operating system: 64-bit Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K or AMD R3-1300X
  • Memory: 16GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 470
  • Storage: SSD with 90GB available space

What classes are available in Diablo 4?

There are five classes available in Diablo 4: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Druid and Necromancer. 

What’s the story in Diablo 4? 

Diablo 4 is the newest entry in the legendary dungeon-crawling action RPG. Players will fight against the horde of monsters controlled by Lilith, the daughter of Mephisto, one of the Great Evils, and called the «mother» of Sanctuary, the world in which the Diablo series takes place.

Will Diablo 4 have microtransactions? 

Yes it will, although Blizzard says they will only be used for cosmetic purposes.

Are there plans for a Diablo 4 expansions? 

Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson said in an interview with Kinda Funny Games from last week that his team is working on two expansions for the game. He didn’t provide a timeframe on when the first expansion would be released. 

How is it? 

Diablo 4 is bigger and darker than previous games, which is a much-needed upgrade to its dungeon-crawler formula. 

Sanctuary is split into large regions that are then divided into smaller zones. Zones generally have open areas filled with monsters, as well as different towns and encampments where players can interact with merchants or find side quests. 

Quests in the game are abundant and will send you to the far reaches of Sanctuary. Some will require killing a number of enemies in the wild, while others are focused on taking down bosses found in dungeons. 

Dungeons are scattered throughout the regions, some of which take a few minutes to clear, while others may take up to 15 minutes or more. There are also landmarks to discover and overworld events that will send waves of gruesome enemies your way. 

Diablo 4 isn’t just bigger, it also has a far darker feel than previous games in the series. Time and time again, I was creeped out by the events unfolding in the game. Blizzard pushed the envelope in villainy by introducing Lilith, who entices individuals to let their inner demon out and do horrible things. The visuals in Diablo 4 help elevate the darker tone with cinematic sequences zooming in on the characters to give a close-up view of the horror rather than the distant viewpoint used throughout the game. 

As remarkable as Diablo 4 is, the review build I experienced did have some issues that could frustrate players. I used the Necromancer during my time playing. It was great to have a gang of skeletons at my beck and call, but they tended to attack targets that posed no harm, like a destructible wall, while ignoring the boss I was fighting. Targeting itself can be a little cumbersome, especially from a distance, as auto-targeting doesn’t always pick the ideal enemy to attack. Some of my minions would also just stand there instead of attacking, but this was a rare occurrence. 

Arguably the most frustrating aspect of playing the game was the lack of a basic attack button. For some reason, Blizzard felt it would be better to have players use a skill as the default attack. This means if I have a fancy sword or a giant scythe — I am playing a Necromancer after all — the default attack would be whatever initial skill I picked, instead of me swinging my weapon that I have equipped. It made having a cool weapon somewhat useless, which is almost sacrilegious for a game like Diablo, where the ultimate goal is to have the best-equipped character. 

Diablo 4 does many things right to elevate the series. It offers a lot of content to keep players occupied for long periods of time, but it doesn’t do so without meaning. The game also returns to the dark tone of the original game but amplifies it for the modern audience.

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Google Rolls Out Latest AI Model, Gemini 3.1 Pro

Starting Thursday, Gemini 3.1 Pro can be accessed via the AI app, NotebookLM and more.

Google took the wraps off its latest AI model, Gemini 3.1 Pro, on Thursday, calling it a «step forward in core reasoning.» The software giant says its latest model is smarter and more capable for complex problem-solving. 

Google shared a series of bookmarks and examples of the latest model’s capabilities, and is rolling out Gemini 3.1 to a series of products for consumers, enterprise and developers.  

The overall AI model landscape seems to change weekly. Google’s release comes just a few days after Anthropic dropped the latest version of Claude, Sonnet 4.6, which can operate a computer at a human baseline level. 

Benchmarks of Gemini 3.1

Google shared some details about AI model benchmarks for Gemini 3.1 Pro. 

The announcement blog post highlights that the Gemini 3.1 Pro benchmark for the ARC-AGI-2 test for solving abstract reasoning puzzles sits at 77.1%. This is noticeably higher than Gemini 3 Pro’s 31.1% score for the same test. 

The ARC-AGI-2 benchmark is one of multiple improvements coming from Gemini 3.1 Pro, Google says.

3.1 Pro enhancements

With better benchmarks nearly across the board, Google highlighted some of the ways that translate in general use: 

Code-based animations: The latest Gemini model can easily create animated SVG images that are scalable without quality loss and ready to be added to websites with a text prompt. 

Creative coding: Gemini 3.1 Pro generated an entire website based on a character from Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights, if she were a landscape photographer showing off her portfolio. 

Interactive design: 3.1 Pro was used to create a 3D interactive starling murmuration that allows the flock to be controlled in an assortment of ways, all while a soundscape is generated that changes with the movement of the birds.

Availability

As of Thursday, Gemini 3.1 Pro is rolling out in the Gemini app for those with the AI Pro or Ultra plans. NotebookLM users subscribed to one of those plans will also be able to take advantage of the new model. 

Both developers and enterprises can also access the new model via the Gemini API through a range of products, including AI Studio, Gemini Enterprise, Antigravity and Android Studio.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 20 #719

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Feb. 20, No. 719.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a bit tricky. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: True grit

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: You might find this in a wood shop.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

  • SAND, CART, SCAR, SCAT, PAPER, HAVE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

  • COARSE, HARSH, SCRATCHY, ROUGH, PRICKLY, ABRASIVE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SANDPAPER. To find it, start with the S that’s the farthest-left letter on the very top row, and wind down.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 20, #515

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 20, No. 515.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features a category all about my favorite football team. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: We’ll be right back…

Green group hint: Run for the roses.

Blue group hint: Skol!

Purple group hint: 

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Break in the action.

Green group: Bets in horse racing.

Blue group: QBs drafted by Vikings in first round.

Purple group: Race ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is break in the action. The four answers are intermission, pause, suspension and timeout.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is bets in horse racing. The four answers are exacta, place, show and win.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is QBs drafted by Vikings in first round. The four answers are Bridgewater, Culpepper, McCarthy and Ponder.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is race ____. The four answers are bib, car, course and walking.

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