Pokemon TCG Pocket continues to be ridiculously popular, but in the early days of the game there are only a limited number of ways to engage with other players. Trading still hasn't been released yet, and battling only has one regular format that lets you start a match with a friend, or a random player. So in order to spice things up, the community is coming up with its own workarounds, including a brand new battle format that's been very well-received so far: NOEX.

"NOEX" is a battle format with one simple rule: no EX Pokemon allowed. EX Pokemon, if you're unfamiliar, are ultra-powerful monsters that are very difficult to defeat, but which award two points upon destruction as opposed to just one. Due to their sheer power, most good meta decks in Pocket are built around at least one EX card, and the end result is that you tend to run into a lot of the same decks over and over when you engage in random battles. For the last month or so, for instance, I've been playing a deck that revolves around Pikachu EX, and have been fighting a lot of Mewtwo EX, Charizard EX, and Starmie EX.

But in NOEX, all those cards are banned, which forces players to build decks around other Pokemon for some interesting combos. For this article, I engaged in a couple of NOEX battles myself. In one match I faced a Butterfree/Dugtrio stall deck that I'd never seen before that decimated my army of Nidoran, and in another I barely scraped out a win against a wacky Dragonite/Weezing combo thanks to a lucky final draw. It's a fun format if you want to shake things up a bit.

Unfortunately, NOEX exists on an honor system. There's no way to officially create your own battle formats in Pocket just yet, so players have created this by word-of-mouth. If you want to join a NOEX battle, simply select "Private Match" under battles, and use "NOEX" as the password. But you're essentially on your honor to use a deck with no EX Pokemon, as there's nothing in the system to stop you. Some players are already complaining about opponents bringing EX Pokemon to a NOEX fight and ruining their fun - an unfortunate hazard of a community-created format.

That said, it sounds like NOEX is otherwise going pretty well. Community members are praising it on Reddit, and while my personal experience is limited, the speed with which I was able to get into matches with others who were respecting the format indicates this might have legs. It also sounds like some players are suggesting other types of formats that can be done in the same way, such as only allowing a single EX card per deck, or no decks considered by the community to be "S-tier."

Hopefully, it won't be long before we start to see new features creep in that will hopefully eliminate the need for the community to invent stuff to do. We've already learned that there's a "major update" coming in the near future that will include trading, and new booster packs on the way will hopefully spice up the meta a bit as well. Given how wildly popular TCG Pocket is, the updates can't come fast enough.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Hasbro has announced that, following the success of Baldur's Gate 3, yet another Dungeons & Dragons game is in production.

CEO Chris Cocks told Bloomberg that a fifth D&D game is in development but didn't share what it's about, its genre, or the studio making it. It does appear to be in active production, however, as Cocks noted in the same interview that its G.I. Joe game is currently in pre-production.

While D&D has long spawned video game adaptations, the mainstream success captured by Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 has seemingly set Hasbro and direct owner Wizards of the Coast into overdrive.

Alongside this mysterious game mentioned by Cocks, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance developer Invoke Studios is also working on a triple-A game based on the beloved role-playing game universe, plus there's a D&D survival RPG life simulator from the Disney Dreamlight Valley developer.

Virtual reality fans can also look forward to a D&D game too, as Resolution Games, the developer behind tabletop RPG simulator Demeo, is working on a game set in Faerûn too. This isn't confirmed to be a recreation of the core D&D experience in a virtual setting but almost certainly is. And there's a co-op D&D game codenamed Project Baxter in the works at Payday developer Starbreeze.

Baldur's Gate 3 arrived in July 2023 and became the surprise hit of the year, with players obsessing over its seemingly infinite number of playstyles and story outcomes. It was incredibly successful commercially, pulling in $90 million for Hasbro, and is, remarkably, more popular this year than last.

In our 10/10 review, IGN said: "With crunchy, tactical RPG combat, a memorable story with complex characters, highly polished cinematic presentation, and a world that always rewards exploration and creativity, Baldur's Gate 3 is the new high-water mark for CRPGs."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 developer Saber Interactive has confirmed its commitment to the game’s modding scene, but will block mods from being used in public servers.

Space Marine 2 has a thriving modding scene that makes a significant number of improvements and changes to the record-breaking third-person melee / shooter hybrid. IGN has reported on Space Marine 2’s modding scene already, shining a light on everything from customization to a fix for one of the game’s biggest problems.

Remarkably, the changes Space Marine 2 mods make to the Space Marines themselves, whether they’re a purely aesthetic customization not normally possible or certain classes using weapons and equipment they’re not supposed to, can be seen online by other players in public PvE sessions. While Space Marine 2 uses dedicated servers, a lot of the game elements are client-side controlled. So if you’re playing with random players, there’s a chance you might see things like Bulwarks wielding Thunder Hammers.

Space Marine 2 publisher Focus Entertainment had confirmed to IGN that it had no problem whatsoever with PvE modding, but now, in a message to modders, game director Dmitriy Grigorenko has announced changes that impact how Space Marine 2 mods work.

Grigorenko said Saber had found that a “non-negligible” amount of recent server stability issues were related to mods, and pointed out that instability impacts even those users who don’t have mods installed. Saber has also received user reports that their save files were corrupted after playing alongside players with mods.

So, with the release of Space Marine 2’s next big update in December, mods will be blocked from public online sessions. That means that you will no longer be able to enter a public game if you have mods installed, Grigorenko warned.

Mods will still be allowed in private Operations lobbies, however (Space Marine 2 includes three-player co-op missions as part of Operations mode). “We will continue to provide all necessary server infrastructure so you can play online with your friends with mods,” Grigorenko promised. “Once we add custom Eternal War lobbies, mods will work for them as well.”

Saber will also help Space Marine 2 modders out by providing an easy entry point to its backend for games with mods installed, “so modders won’t have to spend time hacking the game executable after each patch.” “If we somehow break this pipeline for mods by accident in the future, we’ll fix it,” Grigorenko vowed.

And here’s the big one: Saber will release “some” of its tools to modders so they can develop mods with greater ease.

Tom, aka Warhammer Workshop, creator of the popular Astartes Overhaul mod for Space Marine 2, hailed the news, saying official modding tools means no more reverse-engineering. “With official tools on the way, we’re entering a new golden age of modding,” he said.

“By moving mods to private and custom lobbies, public servers will stay smooth while modded games get the infrastructure they deserve,” Tom said. “Mods are now a supported part of Space Marine 2, ensuring our creativity continues to enhance the game for years to come.”

However, Tom acknowledged some Space Marine 2 players and modders might feel disappointed that mods won’t work in public lobbies anymore. “But let’s be honest,” he countered, “the other alternative was mods getting shut down completely. Instead, Saber has embraced our community and creativity. This is a huge win for everyone!”

In September, Saber Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits told IGN how the breakout success of Space Marine 2 had “changed everything” for the company. Eagle-eyed fans have spotted the Space Marine chapter now all-but confirmed to get a cosmetic pack after the Dark Angels, too.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.