The cast of Star Wars: The Last Jedi took the stage for a press conference in Los Angeles this morning, using the opportunity to pay tribute to Carrie Fisher, who passed away last year after finishing filming on this movie.

„I watched TV and film obsessively from such a young age, but [she] stayed with me throughout my formative years,“ said Gwendoline Christie, who plays Captain Phasma in the new Star Wars movies (not to mention Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones).

„She’s really interesting, she’s really smart, she’s really funny, she’s courageous, she’s bold, she doesn’t care what people think, and she isn’t prepared to be told what to do,“ Christie continued. „And she doesn’t look the same as a sort of homogenized presentation of a woman that we had been used to seeing. So what was really instrumental to me, as someone who didn’t feel like they fit in that homogenized view of what a woman was supposed to be, that there was inspiration there–that you could be an individual and celebrate yourself and be successful without giving yourself over, without necessarily making some sort of terrible, huge compromise.“

Laura Dern, who plays Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, said FIsher was „without shame.“

„And that’s what moved me the most about the icon she gave us, but also what she gave us individually and personally, which is to carry who she was so directly, and to be without shame and to share her story and to expect nothing less from any of us,“ Dern said. „And the privilege of watching how [The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson] has so beautifully captured all of that, and her grace, in this amazing, beautiful, pure performance.“

Kelly Marie Tran, who plays Rose Tico–another character new to The Last Jedi–said Fisher was a personal inspiration. „Something about Carrie that I really look up to is something I didn’t realize until recently–just how much courage it takes to truly be yourself when you’re on a public platform,“ Tran said. „She was so unapologetic, and so openly herself, and that is something that I am really trying to do, and it’s hard. And just like Daisy said, and Laura said, and Gwendoline said, I think that she will always be an icon as Leia, but also as Carrie. What an example, and I am so fortunate to have met her, and I think that she will really live on forever.“

Daisy Ridley, who returns as the mysterious Force-wielding Rey, paid a compliment to Carrie Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd, who recently played Winter on American Horror Story Cult. „Carrie’s daughter Billie is, I think, all of those qualities,“ she said.

Ridley discussed the impact of having so many female characters in the new generation of Star Wars films.

„As a girl growing up in London, obviously I knew there was a disparity in films, but I wasn’t so aware of it. Growing up in a liberal household, I was never made to feel any one way,“ Ridley said. „So when I got involved, I knew it was a big deal, but the response was so beyond anything I could have imagined, that it was only afterward that I was like ‚Oh–oh yeah!’“

Dern said she’s excited to play a strong female character who owns her feminine side. „I just want to pay tribute to Rian for being one of the most brilliantly subversive filmmakers I’ve ever been able to bear witness to,“ she said. „In the case of the look of my character, I was moved by the fact that he really wanted her strength to first lead with a very deep femininity. And to see a powerful female character also be feminine is something that moves away from the stereotype that’s sometimes perceived in that strong female characters must be ‚like the boys.’“

On the other hand, Christie was „delighted“ that The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi feature female characters, like Captain Phasma, who don’t adhere to stereotypical feminine ideals.

„I wasn’t cast in [The Force Awakens] yet when I heard about the casting, and I was utterly delighted to see that there was a more representative selection of actors that were going to be in this incredible Star Wars film,“ she said. „You get to see women that are not being strong just because they’re acting like men. They’re doing something else…I’m delighted that something as legendary as Star Wars has decided to be modern and to reflect our society more as it is.“

„I was very excited when I was shown just the basic elements of the [Phasma] costume,“ she said. „I knew we were seeing a character whereby her femininity was not delineated in terms of the shape of her body, in terms of her physical attractiveness–that weird, random group of elements we’re born with in some kind of odd lottery and then we’re judged on in society.“

Tran added that „the girls in this movie kick some butt.“

„Every single one is so good!“ she exclaimed.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters December 15.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 offers a deep combat system with multiple interconnected mechanics. It’s gratifying once you get the hang of it all, but that can be easier said than done. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 throws lots of tutorials at you that are lost once you click past them, with only meager reference material available from merchants after the fact.

To…combat this issue, we’ve compiled a breakdown of combat terminology and mechanics that will hopefully help you master the possibilities available to you early on. Let’s get started.

Blades and Drivers

Your battle party consists of two types of characters, Drivers and Blades. Drivers are traditional characters that you control–though you can only command one out of three in your party, while the rest of your allies are driven by AI, with one notable exception that we’ll get to soon.

Blades are characters that provide powers to Drivers. They determine what weapon and abilities you have access to, and are imbued with a particular element–yet another important detail that we’ll return to when discussing Blade Combos and Chain Attacks.

During combat, you can swap between your active Driver’s equipped Blades (either two or three, depending on the in-game chapter.) This can’t be done freely at any time, however; Blades have accompanying meters that fill automatically over time. Unlike Drivers, Blades do not have a health bar and cannot be damaged by enemies.

Party Gauge

In the top-left corner of the screen is the Party Gauge. This fills up as you damage enemies and execute advanced attacks. Divided into three sections, you can spend one portion of the meter at a time to revive a fallen ally. You can also use up the entire meter (only when it’s full) to execute a Chain Attack. For more info on Chain Attacks, scroll further down the page.

Basic Attacks

When you’re close enough to an enemy, Drivers will auto-attack. Proximity is the only requirement to trigger this action. Auto-attacking will fill meters surrounding ability icons that represent various Arts.

Arts

When an Art meter fills up from auto-attacks, you can execute it. Arts can be direct attacks, defensive moves, or healing spells, and each typically comes with a secondary condition attached to it, say, toppling an enemy (more on that in a minute) or spawning healing potions upon impact.

The Arts you have access to are dictated by the weapon of the Blade you’re currently cooperating with. That means different Blades will offer the same selection of Arts if they are assigned the same weapon, which are predetermined and static. Each Blade offers four Arts, but you can only equip three at a time.

Cancels

Similar to fighting games, you can stop one action to begin another (with an added advantage) in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Put simply, the moment after landing a blow on an enemy, you can initiate an Art with a bonus effect if your timing is on point.

Specials

Specials are like Arts, but deal more damage and are little more involved, asking you to engage with quick time events mid-animation. Specials come in four levels. Levels one through three are made available by cancelling an auto-attack into an Art, which fills up a meter surrounding the Special icon. Level four Specials are earned after filling up the meter enough to reach level three, and then by standing close enough to your active Blade on the battlefield for a few seconds. Specials tie into the element of the Blade in question, and will generate a meter above the enemy’s health bar that will slowly deplete in roughly 20-30 seconds.

As mentioned, you can’t fully direct all of your party members, but you can heed the call from fellow Drivers when they are ready to activate a Special. Why would they wait for your command? I’m glad you asked!

Blade Combos

After you or one of your allies activates a Special, a chart will pop up on the top-right corner of the UI illustrating a number of options for you to consider as you prepare to execute your next Special. These options are represented by elements, and if you activate a Special with the appropriate element before the meter generated by the previously cast Special runs out, you can create a Blade Combo. Complete three steps within the provided options, and you will not only deal lots of damage, but also seal away one of your opponent’s abilities. The final Special of a Blade Combo will also leave an orb surrounding the enemy, based on that Special’s specific element. These orbs/seals serve an additional purpose as well.

Chain Attacks

When you’ve got a full Party Gauge, you can press the + button to initiate a Chain Attack, which is an opportunity for each character in your party to deal a strong attack with an equipped Blade of your choice. These deal a lot of damage, but if you have previously executed Blade Combos (on the same enemy that you’re targeting with your Chain Attack) you can do far more.

Remember the orb/seal generated by a Blade Combo? Chain Attacking with elements opposite of any orbs that may be attached to an enemy can burst the orb, which not only inflicts a lot morie damage, but also extends your Chain Attack for another round.

These are the basic concepts of Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s combat system, but when you factor in various types of equipment, abilities, and mechanics unique to specific characters, things get even trickier. If you’ve got any questions, or any advanced tips to share with other players, throw them in the comments below!

The big screen reboot of the classic cartoon and toy line Masters of the Universe has been in development for many years, but it now seems to be closer to actually happening. Following the announcement of a release date earlier this year, it has been reported that a director may have been found.

According to The Wrap, David S. Goyer is in talks to helm the movie. Goyer is mostly known as a writer, having worked on the scripts for a variety of films for DC, including Man of Steel, The Dark Knight, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As a director, he previously helmed Blade: Trinity and the horror movie The Unborn.

Goyer was already involved with writing the Masters of the Universe reboot, so it is not surprising that he might also take on directing duties. The last director to be associated with the movie was Terminator: Salvation director McG, but he has since left the project. In August 2015, it was reported that Thor writer Christopher Yost was working on the script, but it is unknown what stage this reached. The film is currently scheduled for a 2019 release.

Mattel launched the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1982, creating a mythology about the conflict between good and evil on the planet of Eternia. A cartoon based on the property, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ran for two years, in addition to a comic book series, a spinoff animation called She-Ra: Princess of Power, and a number of video games.

In 1987, Cannon Films produced a live-action movie version, starring Dolph Lundgren as muscle-bound hero He-Man. By that point, however, the popularity of Masters of the Universe was in decline, and the toys were discontinued the following year. Subsequent attempts to revive the franchise included a new toy line and a short-lived second animated series in the early 2000s.