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Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
6 best teams for Pure Fiction mode in Honkai Star Rail 3.4
Image via miHoYo The 3.4 Pure Fiction mode in Honkai Star Rail is all about speed, synergy, and stacking DoTs. With 'Surging Grit' mechanics rewarding high-frequency damage and DoT stacking, you need carefully crafted squads to crush waves, shred bosses, and farm those 800 Stellar Jades with ease. Here's a crisp breakdown of the best teams for each Pure Fiction node in version 3.4. What's the 3.4 Pure Fiction Gimmick? DoT is king: You stack Grit by dealing DoT. At 100 Grit, you trigger Surging Grit, massively boosting your team's damage potential. Buffs to focus on: Exposition (Ignore 20% RES, DoT stacking = more DoT damage) Misplacement (DoT = more stacks = more enemy damage taken) Intertextuality (Boosts Skill DMG + extra if Wind Shear is active) E1S1 Blade x Hyacine & E0S1 Phainon Sustainless | Pure Fiction Floor 4 3 Stars Honkai: Star Rail 3.4 Best Node 1 Teams (Three Act Structure IV) 1. Acheron | Jiaoqiu | Black Swan | Hyacine Core Idea : Pure DoT domination. Acheron rapidly builds up Grit with ult spam. Jiaoqiu and Black Swan apply AoE debuffs. Hyacine supports uptime and damage. Buff to use : Misplacement 2. Castorice | Ruan Mei | Tribbie | Trailblazer (Remembrance) Core Idea : Castorice as the Quantum hypercarry. With high enemy Quantum weakness, Castorice shines. Ruan and Tribbie buff skill damage. Trailblazer slows enemies and gives more turns. Buff to use : Intertextuality 3. Aglaea | Sunday | Robin | Gallagher Core Idea : Speed-tuned Lightning nuke. Aglaea + Sunday loop her turns. Robin gives ATK and energy boosts. Gallagher heals and debuffs. Buff to use : Misplacement or Intertextuality Best Node 2 Teams 1. Kafka | Black Swan | Ruan Mei | Huohuo Core Idea : Dual DoT storm. Kafka triggers DoT reactions; Black Swan stacks debuffs. Ruan boosts all skill/DoT damage. Huohuo sustains and buffs. Buff to use : Exposition 2. Phainon | Sunday | Bronya | Sparkle Core Idea : Physical hypercarry rush. Phainon self-heals and nukes. Bronya and Sunday advance his actions. Sparkle or Tingyun maintain energy. Buff to use : Misplacement 3. Saber | Sunday | Tribbie | Robin Core Idea: Free-to-play friendly wind-clear team. Saber takes advantage of Wind Shear synergy. Sunday lets her loop faster. Tribbie and Robin increase offensive pressure. Buff to use : Intertextuality NEW Pure Fiction 4 | E0S1 Phainon Sustainless & E0S1 Castorice True DMG | Honkai Star Rail 3.4 Final Tips Before You Jump In Always adjust your buffs to match your team's playstyle . DoT teams need Exposition or Misplacement , while skill-based burst teams benefit from Intertextuality . Speed tuning is key. Especially with Sunday, Bronya, and Tribbie in play—ensure your carries act immediately after support for max damage uptime. Don't hesitate to mix and match replacements like Gallagher, Luocha, or Sparkle if your roster isn't fully stacked. Honkai Star Rail 3.4 Pure Fiction is all about DoT stacking and smart buff usage. Make sure to tailor your team around elemental weaknesses, stack Grit efficiently, and don't underestimate support speed tuning. Whether you're running Acheron to shred stacks or abusing Aglaea's multi-turn rampage, these teams are your best bet for a clean 800-Jade sweep. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Hypebeast
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
Maurizio Cattelan Can't Keep a Banana on the Wall
Summary It was only a matter of time before someone took another Cattelan's infamous banana artwork 'The Comedian' has once again been consumed and this time at the Centre Pompidou-Metz in eastern France. The fruit, taped to a wall as part of the museum's current exhibitionEndless Sunday, was swiftly devoured by a visitor over the weekend. Security responded quickly. Within minutes, the banana was replaced, business as usual. Artnet reported: 'In a characteristically tongue-and-cheek retort, the Italian artist-provocateur said he was disappointed the banana muncher did not also consume the work's skin and tape. The museum-goer, Cattelan noted, had clearly 'confused the fruit for the work of art' and hadn't gone far enough.' Since its debut at Art Basel Miami in 2019, 'The Comedian' has sparked debate, confusion and no shortage of social media engagement. Originally sold for up to $150,000 USD with a certificate of authenticity, the piece has since been eaten multiple times from a viral act by artist David Datuna in Miami to a hungry student at Seoul's Leeum Museum in 2023. Despite the drama, institutions remain unfazed. The banana, after all, comes with clear replacement instructions. According to the Pompidou-Metz, the work will continue to hang until the exhibition ends in 2027. Centre Pompidou-Metz1 Parv. des Droits de l'HommeCS 90490, 57000Metz, France
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
This boy's room is hiding five differences that most adults miss completely – how many can you spot?
FOUND yourself twiddling your thumbs this rainy Sunday? We have just the thing to keep you and your brain busy. This tricky new brainteaser is challenging players to spot the five subtle differences hidden in this boy's bedroom. 2 Think you've got superhero vision? Try spotting all five differences between the two scenes in 15 seconds or less. According to its creators most adults will miss the differences completely but can you complete the challenge? Commenting on the brain teaser, Tony Gilbert from said:'Need a quick break to recharge your superpowers? 'This fast-paced challenge is a fun way to test your attention to detail, perfectly timed with the excitement around the new Superman movie.' 'Whether you're winding down after a long day, entertaining young aspiring heroes, or just love a good visual puzzle, this brain teaser is a light-hearted way to lift your spirits.' Missed a detail faster than a speeding bullet? No worries, solutions are available to help you spot any of the five differences you might have overlooked. Certain brainteasers and optical illusions, particularly those that involve patterns or sequences, can help strengthen both short-term and long-term memory. By working through puzzles on a regular basis, you will actively engage the brain's memory systems and directly improve your future attempts at visual challenges. Many brainteasers, like this one, require challengers thinking outside the box. This improves creative problem-solving skills by encouraging the brain to come up with innovative solutions. Everyone can see the footballs in this Euros brainteaser but are you in the 1% of fans who can find the 3 mistakes? It also translates to real-life situations where you might need to approach challenges in new and inventive ways. If you're after another brainteaser to challenge yourself, try this one - as apparently only those with a high IQ are able to find the heart hidden among the spring flowers. Or you can have a go at figuring out the hidden message in this band's cover art that has confused fans for years. Lastly, puzzle fanatics have been left scratching their heads trying to find the lost feather in just 12 seconds. 2
WIRED
3 days ago
- Automotive
- WIRED
Listening to Dolby Atmos Music in a Cadillac for Two Weeks Ruined Stereo for Me
After two weeks of listening to Dolby Atmos Music in Cadillac's fancy electric SUV, I never want to go back to two-channel audio. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. It's fair to say that no five people crammed into a compact SUV have been more blissfully enthralled on a country drive than my wife's family and I on one particular mid-summer Sunday. It wasn't just the silky smooth performance of the Cadillac Optiq, or even its incredible 19-speaker AKG sound system, but an x-factor pushing our driving experience beyond the sum of their parts: Dolby Atmos Music. If you haven't heard it in a vehicle like this, you might think I'm joking. Everyone has probably had some experience with Dolby Atmos for movies and TV shows, maybe with a soundbar or in a high-end theater. It uses 'object based' surround sound to place effects like a helicopter or a buzzing bee as 'sound objects' that move virtually anywhere within a three-dimensional space. Atmos Music lets producers move instruments in 3D, with virtually no limit to where or how they're placed. It's an exciting format, but it's been severely limited by access: It's basically only been accessible in headphones like the AirPods Max until recently. With car-based Dolby Atmos and the silence of modern EVs, we finally might be seeing a real audiophile evolution. Dolby Atmos Music Is Awesome Real audio nerds know how good it can be. My first real Atmos Music experience was at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. There in a backroom of the lavish Wynn Casino, I got a taste of the format's true potential, courtesy of a carousel of high-end Focal towers and height speakers. From Prince to Elton John, I was engulfed in my favorite tunes like never before. It was glorious. That's also when I realized that it's music—not movies or TV—that has the potential to fully unlock the power of the format. While Atmos for film can be thrilling, especially in a multi-speaker theater, it's constricted by the need to put dialog front and center. With the freedom to place and move dozens of instruments all around you, Atmos Music goes further, giving producers and musicians a new creative outlet with possibilities that go beyond anything before it. Have you ever noticed how the soundtrack to a movie sounds particularly good in a theater? That's often because of a multi-channel upmix. It's not just listeners who like the new format. In the last five years, Atmos Music has spread through the music industry like wildfire. Creatives from all corners have sung its praises, from Abbey Road Studio's Giles Martin (son of George Martin) to Finneas of Billy Eilish fame. At the launch event for the Atmos Music–ready Sonos Era 300 (9/10, WIRED Recommends), Martin said alongside a panel of industry leaders that nearly all new pop music is mixed in Atmos. Dolby claims 1,200 Atmos-ready studios in 50-plus countries, with 93 of 2024's Billboard Top 100 songs mixed in the format, while services like Amazon Music, Tidal, and Apple Music have made streaming increasingly available. Atmos Music to the Masses Despite industry interest, widespread consumer adoption of Dolby Atmos music remains elusive. Even as a professional audio reviewer who's tested dozens of Dolby Atmos soundbars and speakers, my Atmos Music experience is limited, with nothing coming close to that 2020 listening session in my testing room yet. That is, until Dolby came knocking again at CES 2025, showcasing the fruits of its latest Atmos Music frontier: a Cadillac Optiq loaded to the gills with speakers, and Amazon Music at the helm. We all are riding around in portable sound domes several days a week, confined to stereo music like Luddites, never knowing what we're missing. Has Dolby finally found the perfect delivery system to actualize Atmos Music's true potential? Two weeks of cruising with Atmos Music as my soundtrack left me with no doubt that not only does Dolby have something special here, but also that a car, particularly an electric car, is the ultimate vehicle (literally and figuratively) to deliver it. Carmakers worldwide seem to be in on the secret: Dolby cites over 130 Atmos-ready models already available. Object-ive Listening Like dialog in cinematic Atmos mixes, Atmos Music's one unspoken rule is that a song's lead vocals need to (mostly) remain at the center of the mix. From there, almost nothing is off limits. During my time with the Cadillac's fantastic AKG system, I experienced just about every instrumental mixing style you could imagine, and each had something to offer. Effects-laden tracks are easy targets for the more intrepid Atmos mixers. Pink Floyd's 'On the Run' from Dark Side of the Moon is a prime example, with the song's echoed footsteps bouncing around the car's interior, laser effects strafing from front to back, and voices popping out from the top left speaker or rolling overhead and back. 'Money,' from the same 2023 remaster, makes a similar meal out of cinematic effects with cash register dings, clicks, and bells at the intro. Soon, though, it was the rest of the instruments that made the biggest impact, as the multiple guitar solos and tones were brought forth with even more flair and efficacy. The further I moved through playlists and artists, the deeper engrossed I became with more grounded recordings, showcasing Atmos Music's elemental ability to separate instruments with precision and clarity. Add in the smooth electric ride and you've got a fully mobile audiophile experience. And that's a word I don't use lightly. Iconic Fleetwood Mac tunes like 'Rhiannon' and 'The Chain' further solidified the notion that blending siloed instruments across the car's bounty of speakers to become a more engaging spherical whole is Atmos Music's best talent. My favorite track of the review, Snarky Puppy's 'Trinity,' was the ultimate example, as the song's mix of swirling bass, rich and buzzy woodwinds, soaring guitars, and punchy percussion raised my arm hairs and nearly caused my wife and me to miss an appointment. My family had a blast trying different seats, each one offering a slightly different version of each tune. Newer pop tunes like Lady Gaga's 'Abracadabra' or the Weeknd's 'Too Late' were similarly potent examples, mixed in Atmos from the get-go. Prince's classic 'When Doves Cry' provided a stunning blend of immersion and audiophile clarity. The final synth track bouncing between speakers throughout the car pushed toward gimmicky, but never crossed over. Then there were the mixes that completely changed a classic. I nearly wore out REM's Automatic for the People on release, yet 'Drive' in Atmos Music was a wholly new experience. Putting the acoustic guitar in the upper left, in this case in one small speaker above my seat, seemed too bold at first, but as the mix built around it with the vocals at center, it was another goosebump raiser. Similarly, the brushed snare drum in Neil Young's 'Harvest Moon' created a totally new vibe as the other instruments rallied around it. Not everything pops with such dramatics, and there were some tracks where something was lost (or rather gained) in translation. Reverb was one element that mixers occasionally seemed unsure how to handle in some older tracks. The snare in Elton John's 'Mellow' from Honky Château feels oddly out of place, with extra verb that clearly wasn't meant to be isolated. As with any mix, it all comes down to choices, and not all are equal. Still, pretty much everything I listened to sounded as good or, more often, better when spread across the Optiq's system. Speaking of said system, you may be wondering whether any good stereo track would sound this good over a sound system as excellent as the Optiq's. After bouncing back and forth, I can unequivocally say no. While stereo tracks can sound very good, none had the same clarity, punch, or immersion of their Dolby Atmos counterparts. Not once did I mistake a random stereo track for Atmos. The closest was Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight,' which impressively expanded in space as the drums entered. By comparison, Peter Gabriel's stereo 'Sledgehammer' sounded rather flat. (Sorry, O.G. Genesis fans, I was just as surprised.) It can't be overstated how crucial a component the blank sonic canvas provided by the Optiq EV's whisper-quiet interior is. You've got to goose the volume to really feel the full Atmos Music effect, and a loud car with a burbling engine just wouldn't hit the same, especially given how they tend to mess with the low end. Having Amazon Music locked and loaded in the dash put loads of tracks at our fingertips, while Cadillac's fabulous Super Cruise hands-off driving system provided a breezy way to fall into the music, making every drive a unique moment. Challenges Remain While the Optiq is a marvel when it comes to stunning Atmos Music delivery, like the speaker setup I witnessed at the Wynn, it's also a barrier to entry. I talked about classic rock for a reason: Not everyone can afford a new Cadillac (certainly not me). Taht said, Dolby says 25-plus carmakers have announced plans or are already in the Atmos Music mix, from Mercedes-Benz to Hyundai Genesis. Most are costly at present, as with any new technology. There are some more affordable ways to get a semblance of my Optiq experience, including a few soundbars and stand-alone speakers that let you stream Atmos Music directly, like the Sonos Arc Ultra (9/10, WIRED recommends) and Sonos Era 300. But even as Atmos Music has expanded to over 20-plus streaming services (Spotify is a notable holdout), getting it to the throng of Dolby Atmos soundbars can be harder than you might expect. AirPlay added Atmos streaming to the HomePod last year, but third-party support has fizzled. Amazon's Echo Studio Atmos speaker was discontinued. Dolby says some devices have added casting, but the company wasn't able to provide numbers or models. It takes time for an ecosystem like Atmos Music to gather steam. There are always hurdles as new software and hardware options expand. What was most striking about the Optiq is how easy it made it to access, helping me go from casual listener to definite Atmos Music fiend. Here's hoping Atmos Music continues to trickle down. The music is ready, the medium is primed, now let's get it to the people.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
65% growth in visa-easy destination bookings, Bali and Dubai top choices: OYO report, ETHospitalityWorld
Global hospitality technology company OYO released its International Summer Holidays Travelopedia 2025, revealing the defining trends shaping how Indians are traveling overseas this summer. The report highlights 65 percent YOY growth in visa-easy destination bookings by Indian travelelrs in H1 2025 underscoring a shift in preferences driven by relaxed visa policies, enhanced air connectivity, and a growing appetite for premium experiences. Some of the most popular destinations on this list include Dubai, Bali, and Bangkok, among others. Dubai tops the charts, Bali emerges as honeymoon hotspot Dubai has emerged as the leading international destination for Indian families, registering a record 3X year-on-year growth in bookings, fueled by five-year multiple-entry visa for Indian nationals that mostly include family travelers and budget business travelers. Bali, meanwhile, has seen a surge in bookings from couples and honeymooners, reflecting its status as a romantic getaway of choice. Advt Advt Indian travellers are increasingly opting for premium and mid-premium accommodations, with OYO's Sunday and Palette brands becoming top preferences. In H1 2025 alone, OYO added 13 new premium properties across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, strengthening its premium footprint in these high-demand markets. The report reveals that Sunday Mega Hotel at Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai and Super OYO Townhouse Hotel Gunung Sahari in Jakarta, Indonesia are the most booked properties in this stay duration: Indian travellers favour 5–7-day trips for Southeast Asia and 3-5 days for the middle east, making the most of long weekends and holidays, while long-haul destinations in Europe and the US see stays of 10–15 preferences: Proximity to beaches, nightlife, and easy access to cultural attractions are the most sought-after features among OYO's Indian and Dubai are emerging as popular choices in visa easy countries for destination weddings according to the booking patterns recorded by OYO Total Holidays-OYO's dedicated platform for providing complete travel solutions. These destinations offer bespoke event facilities and scenic locales, making it convenient for guests. Additionally, digital nomads are choosing Indonesia and Malaysia for affordable living, reliable connectivity, and vibrant coworking on the development, Ankit Tandon, global CBO and CEO, OYO Vacation Homes, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Latin America, OYO said "Our premium property expansion program includes both hotels and serviced apartments, designed to meet the needs of business and leisure travellers alike. In the UAE, we have a network of over 400 premium apartments in Abu Dhabi and 350+ in Dubai, catering primarily to professionals seeking long-term stays. At the same time, we are rapidly growing our portfolio of premium hotels across leading tourist destinations in Asia, including Dubai, Bali, Bangkok, Pattaya, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Jeddah, Riyadh, Angeles, and many others." By , ETHospitalityWorld Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals. Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox. All about ETHospitalityWorld industry right on your smartphone! Download the ETHospitalityWorld App and get the Realtime updates and Save your favourite articles.
