Path of Exile co-creator Chris Wilson says developers have tried some pretty funny ways to deal with dataminers. One method was adding fake game files to confuse dataminers, Wilson says he tried this himself while working on Path of Exile. But in the end, he says it was a “pretty wasteful process” because devs were spending time making fake stuff instead of working on the actual game. Still, he admits it was “very good” for trolling. Wilson also explains that completely stopping datamining is extremely difficult. Encryption can help before a game is released, but once players have the game, the files have to be accessible for it to work.

In Path of Exile 2, a single crab enemy has become one of the deadliest monsters in the game, ranking third in total player kills. This is caused by a bug. The crab appears during special events in the current league. If the crab dies while in the middle of an attack and a player is standing very close, the game incorrectly makes it fire a huge number of projectiles almost instantly. The issue is especially serious in Hardcore mode, where a character is permanently lost upon death. The developers have confirmed they know about the problem and are working on a fix.

🇻🇪 He returned to Venezuela after exile and days later, he was detained. Now Javier Oropeza is finally free, and María Corina Machado was there to welcome him back. The former Carora mayor spoke with María Corina by video following his release from Venezuelan custody, turning their call into an emotional reunion after his ordeal. It's clear that there are still tensions surrounding opposition figures in Venezuela. For a man who had only just come home, freedom took on a whole new meaning. Writer: Val

Wise reactivated three bank accounts of HK activist-in-exile Finn Lau after they were suddenly closed citing “internal policies"; new developments arose in several cases of imprisoned human rights defenders; and more in the Weekly Brief: