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Save a horse, ride a Chocobo in new ‘Assassin’s Creed Origins’ update

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Assassin's Creed Origins
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Earlier this year, Final Fantasy XV was injected with a surprising dose of Assassin’s Creed Origins with the launch of the “Assassin’s Festival,” a limited time event that altered the town of Lestalium and gave FFXV protagonist Noctis the assassin garb and the moves to go along with it. Now it appears the Ubisoft/Square Enix crossover will be repaid with Chocobos zipping into Assassin’s Creed Origins this month.

Chocobo
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The teaser image of the Final Fantasy creature’s feather tail appeared in Ubisoft’s post outlining changes coming to Origins in December. The not-so-subtle tease came alongside the description, “A new surprise quest!” Judging by the saddle, it would appear that, as in Final Fantasy, the Bayek will be able to ride Chocobos in this new quest. Considering it was described as a quest, there may be more Final Fantasy content involved than just Chocobos.

The Chocobo sighting was the most tantalizing bit of content in the post, but if swapping your horse for an adorable Chocobo doesn’t intrigue you, there’s more to look forward to.

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Another new quest dubbed “Here Comes a New Challenger” will usher in Horde mode for the first time in the series. Bayek will take on waves of enemies in the Cyrene Arena. Ubisoft recommended for users to be at least level 32 before entering the arena.

To further the challenge, a new difficulty level will be added to Origins as well. Nightmare difficulty will make enemies “more resilient to damages and more dangerous.”

Perhaps the most significant gameplay tweak coming into the fold will be the ability to scale enemies. While it will be optional, turning scaling on will ensure that you will always have equally matched enemies. Part of the issue with Origins‘ level system was that circling back to earlier portions of the game no longer provided challenging combat opportunities.

Additionally, the last of the three challenging gods, the goddess Sekhmet, will prove to be the most difficult battle yet. If you didn’t have a chance to beat the two previous Trials of the Gods opponents, Anubis and Sobek, you will still have the opportunity to fight the trio.

All of those exciting updates will be free, but two new items packs will be available for purchase throughout December as well. On December 12, the Gladiator Items pack launches, featuring three special weapons, including Hercules’ sword, armor, and a new shield.  And on December 26, the Wacky Items pack includes four weapons and a mount. Expect these weapons to be a bit bizarre, although they weren’t described in detail.

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Steven Petite
Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: all piano sheet music locations and rewards
Cloud playing the piano in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

While there's no shortage of ways to distract yourself while playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, one of the most unexpected minigames is the surprisingly deep piano system. In most of the major hub towns you encounter across the expansive world, Cloud can find a piano to sit down at and tickle the keys. You're free to play any song you want in free play, but you can turn this system into a full-on rhythm game, almost like Guitar Hero, by collecting sheet music of some of the game's most iconic tracks. There's even an NPC near each piano who will reward you if you get a high enough rank on each song. Cloud may not be the most expressive in his words, but he can sure play the piano with heart. Here is where you can find all the sheet music and what rewards await if you can master them.
Where to find all sheet music

Sheet music, thankfully, isn't hidden away in chests or has to be purchased for crazy amounts of Gil, but a few do have some hidden requirements. Each new composition is found on a piano in the world and is free to snag once you sit down. Even if you don't feel like playing right then and there, make sure you always at least grab the music to add to your collection so you don't have to backtrack later and get it. There are eight in total to find, and some will only come later in the story, but none are missable once you open up fast travel back to previous areas. This is the natural order you can collect them.
On Our Way
Our first piece of music can be picked up once you hit Chapter 4. During this section, go to the Crow's Nest town in the Junon region, which you can only enter by doing the "When Words Won't Do" side quest. Once you complete this quest and can freely enter the town, hit up the bar and grab this tune.
Tifa's Theme
After a rather exciting cruise to Costa del Sol in Chapter 6, you can add this piece to your collection by making a quick stop at the fancy Royal Crown Hotel.
Barret's Theme
Not much further into the game in Chapter 7 you will visit Barret's old hometown of Corel. The Rock Bottom Bar is waiting with his song.
Cinco de Chocobo
Chapter 9 takes you through the town of Gongaga. Even a town way out in the forest has a piano, which means yet another song to snag.
Two Legs? Nothin' to it
One chapter later, in Chapter 10, you need to do a little exploring in Cosmo Canyon to find your way to the piano, but the icon on your map won't lead you astray.
Aerith's Theme
Perhaps the most iconic song in the entire game, if not the franchise, is hidden behind a completely optional side quest. Once you reach Chapter 11, return to Nibelheim and do the "White-Haired Angel" side quest. It may seem totally irrelevant, but the quest ends with you playing and collecting this song.
Let the Battles Begin!
Once you prove your skills and get an A rank or better on all prior songs, you will get this new one as a reward from the NPC Dorian next to all pianos.
One-Winged Angel
We're not sure if fighting Sephiroth or getting this song is harder. If you want to play this terrifying arrangement, you need to donate all 88 Treasure Trove items to Johnny. This more or less requires you to 100% the entire game
All song rewards
For every song you A rank, Dorian will give you a prize when you talk to him. Here's everything you can get:

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How long is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?
Cloud and his friends overlook a scenic field.

By expanding the Midgar section of Final Fantasy 7 into an entire game, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth finally takes us beyond the walls into the world beyond. This much larger swath of land to explore begs the question of just how big this game will be. Between all the open-world tasks, sidequests, and minigames awaiting in the Gold Saucer, could this game really be a 100-hour experience as was claimed? What if you just tried to focus on the main story to see what has or hasn't changed? We've played through the entirety of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth and can give you a good idea of just how long it will take you to reach this chapter's conclusion.

Note: We will not be spoiling any story details, but will list how many chapters there are.
How long is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?

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The best ways to farm Gil in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Cait Sith dances in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Some say it's the Lifestream that makes the world go round in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, but we all know the real answer is Gil. Cloud may be on a quest to save the world from Sephiroth, but he's still a merc who wants to get paid for his efforts. Plus, there are a ton of expensive items to gather up on your journey, such as Materia, Accessories, Armor, and Queen's Blood cards. You'll need some very deep pockets if you want to buy everything that catches your eye, but Gil isn't the easiest thing to come by. We've done all the odd jobs and activities around Gaia to give you the best ways to grind for Gil in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.
Best ways to farm Gil
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth introduces a ton of new activities, minigames, and quests that didn't exist in Remake. That means there are a lot more ways to earn Gil than ever before, but also a lot that are a waste of time compared to others.
Get your steps in

Even when you get yourself a Chocobo to ride around on, there's no getting around how much running you will be doing. Whether it's in one of the dungeons or towns where you can't take your mount, part of a quest that keeps you on foot, or if you just like exploring the old-fashioned way, Cloud will be getting more than his fair share of steps in. So why not get paid for your efforts? The Pedometer Pin is an accessory that automatically pays you 1 Gil for every 100 steps taken. Now, that doesn't sound like a lot, but that number will build up fast when running around. Plus, it's free money you'd otherwise be leaving on the table. The best part is you don't need to sacrifice a valuable accessory slot on Cloud, or even anyone in your active party, to get the benefits. So long as the person who has it equipped is available to be in your party, not necessarily currently in it, you reap the rewards.
Sword for hire
Sidequests pay well in Rebirth for the most part. There aren't a ton of them compared to most open world games, so they all tend to be worth your while in one way or another. Visit every new town's notice board and snag all the requests whenever possible. You won't know exactly what reward you're going to get until it's said and done, but you should expect at least a couple thousand Gil for your efforts in most cases.
Get crafty

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