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The best teams in NBA 2K22

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Hitting the court with your favorite team in NBA 2K22 is what the iconic basketball sim is all about. There’s nothing like controlling your hometown heroes as they hit the hardwood. But your go-to team might not be the most fun to play with if they’re at the bottom of the league like the Detroit Pistons or Houston Rockets. We’re not saying you should abandon your favorites — just give some of the best teams in NBA 2K22 a run here or there.

These are the top-rated teams in NBA 2K22 divided up by conference. Is your favorite team on the list? Will these teams live up to their launch-day rating as the season gets going? Let’s take a look at the best teams in NBA 2K22 right now.

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Eastern conference

Brooklyn Nets

James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets in NBA 2K22.
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The Brooklyn Nets might’ve underperformed in the playoffs last season due to injuries, but they’re coming for the championship this year and it’ll be tough to stop them. With a trio of offensive superstars in James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving taking the floor, the Nets have so many ways to drop buckets of points night in and night out. The supporting cast on this team is nothing to shake your head at either. This is a great team to play is if you want to go all-out on offense — it doesn’t matter how many points the other team has if you have more, right?

Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo in NBA2K22.
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Coming off an NBA championship, the Milwaukee Bucks are looking to repeat this season. NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo leads this squad backed by scoring machines Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. Add vet big men Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis down low and you’ve got, well, a championship-caliber squad. The Bucks are a great all-around team and are a great choice if you want to dominate all aspects of the game. Prove to the world that the Bucks are still on top.

Atlanta Hawks

Trae Young in NBA 2K22.
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The Atlanta Hawks are led by All-Star shooting specialist Trey Young. If you love playing the point guard position and scoring, you and the Hawks will be the perfect fit. Clint Capela and John Collins man the low-post for the Hawks, meaning plenty of offensive rebounds that can get back into the hands of you dominate shooters.

Boston Celtics

Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics.
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The Boston Celtics were plagued by injuries and COVID protocols last season, but this is supposed to be the year their young core of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have real superstar seasons. Rob Williams mans the paint and is always set for some killer alley-oops, while the addition of Dennis Schröder this off-season gives the team much-needed guard power. The Celtics are a great all-around team and fit pretty much any playstyle.

Philadelphia 76ers

Joel Embiid of the 76ers in NBA 2K22.
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Even though the future of Ben Simmons is still up the air, the 76ers are still a force to be reckoned with in the East. Big man Joel Embiid has been in the MVP conversation for the past few years and makes the 76ers the best team to play with if you want a dominant presence in the paint.

Western conference

Los Angeles Lakers

Lebron James in NBA 2K22.
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It seems unfair, but the Los Angeles Lakers keep getting better and better. The superstar duo of Lebron James and Anthony Davis added point guard Russel Westbrook to the team this summer, so there are three players in the starting line-up that are major offensive threats. Throw in DeAndre Jordan, Carmelo Anthony, and Rajon Rondo, all former stars in their own right, and you’ve got a team full of vets that can beat you in so many ways. If you want to play as a team where any player can dominate, the Lakers are the team for you.

Los Angeles Clippers

Kawhi Leonard in NBA 2K22.
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The Los Angeles Clippers may be chronic underachievers in the real world, but their roster is an absolute killer on 2K22. Both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard can score from anywhere on the court and are tough match-ups for any other team. And if your opponent is honed in on those two starts, Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris Sr. are always good with the hot hand in stretches. As an elite team, the Clippers are another team that’s great for all-around play.

Phoenix Suns

Devin Booker in NBA 2K22.
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The Phoenix Suns fell in the NBA finals this past year, but the playoff run has definitely lit a fire in star shooting guard Devin Booker. Booker can hit shot after shot after shot with ease, making the Suns a great choice if you want to run plays for shots behind the arc. Chris Paul is getting up there in years on the court but is still one of the best point guards in the league. Deandre Anyton is a beast in the paint and is good for some low-post scoring and elite rebounding. The rest of the roster has no serious specialists but is filled with great all-around players.

Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokić in NBA 2K22.
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Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic might not be the most exciting player to take control of in 2K22, but he’s one of the best. The big man can hit shots from anywhere on the court, is an elite rebounder, and knows how to lock up opponents down low. He’s also the best big passer in the league, so full-court outlet passes on fast breaks will be your bread and butter. The rest of the team is filled up with 3-point and scoring specialists — Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon are all players who can drop buckets from all over.

Golden State Warriors

Klay Thompson in NBA 2K22.
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If you’re counting out the Golden State Warriors as one of the top teams in the NBA just because they haven’t been in contender conversations for a minute, you aren’t paying attention. Superstar Steph Curry had one of his best scoring seasons on record last year, and now sharpshooter Klay Thompson is coming off an injury and ready to roll. Draymond Green isn’t exciting, but he’s good for a bucket and can lockdown anyone on the court. Andrew Wiggins can be a little streaky but is a great scoring option when the star players are being targeted. The Warriors are a blast to play with and the 3-point scoring capabilities of the stars can swing a game in your favor in just a couple of possessions.

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Sam Hill
Sam Hill
Gaming Guides Editor
Sam Hill is a journalist and the gaming guides editor at Digital Trends. He's also written tech guides for Input and has…
The best item recipes in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Believe it or not, your Arisen in Dragon's Dogma 2 is very skilled at crafting. We're not talking about building structures, tools, or weapons, but item crafting. By combining specific pairs of ingredients in your inventory, you can produce some extremely potent consumables. As you will discover for yourself on your first long trip across the land, there are a ton of materials to discover, leading to hundreds or thousands of possible combinations. Knowing what items are best saved to make something special can save you from having to scour the world looking for more or struggling without it. Here are the best recipes that not even the best pawns will tell you about.
Best item recipes

Salburious Drought
This green liquid will be your most common healing item in Dragon's Dogma 2 and also the item you will probably craft first. It probably has the most possible combinations of ingredients to make and will always be a more effective way to get the most healing out of any individual ingredients. If you have a Greenwarish and combine it with almost any fruit, you can whip this tonic up.
Detoxifying Decoction
Status effects are no joke in Dragon's Dogma 2. If you get poisoned, it isn't going away until you cure it or rest at an in or camp. And that's if you have enough healing items to keep yourself alive long enough to make it there. Detoxifying Decoctions will cure what ails you and keep you adventuring instead of scrambling to get back to town. An easy way to make it is by combining Pitywort and Syrupwort leaves.
Exquisite Dried Spud
Stamina regenerates naturally, so you may not think an item that replenishes it would be all that important. Ask yourself that when you're clinging to the back of a Griffen 100 feet above the ground and your grip is slipping. Pop an Exquisite Dried Spud to keep climbing or running in those touchy moments. Just smash two Ripened Princess Harspuds together to make it.
Mighty Robrant
For a more flavorful and alternative healing item, the Mighty Robrant will be able to take you from close to death to full HP for the majority of the game. This is a second-level item made by first crafting a Fruit Robrant and then combining that with Cinnamon Bark.
Miracle Robrant
The ultimate consumable that you can make is the Miracle Robrant. This will heal a massive amount of HP and refill your stamina all in one. These take a bit more work to get, so save them for emergencies. Make one with any Fine Robrant and a Saurian's Tail.
Bunch of Flowers
Finally, make a nice gift for someone with a Bunch of Flowers to earn some favor. You can give gifts to almost any important character in the game, and while not all will like flowers, a good deal will, and they're free to make. We craft ours out of Sunbloom and Noonblooms, but most flower combinations will do the job.

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The best vocations in Dragon’s Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2 key art featuring a knight with a fiery hole in their chest.

Your Vocation defines your role in combat in Dragon's Dogma 2. Everything from your skills to what weapons and armor you can use is tied to this class. You will pick from just a handful at the beginning of the game, but can easily change Vocations later on, as well as unlock more than twice as many new options than what you start with. It can take a while to really get a feel for a Vocation and how it performs in combat, as well as to look through all of its skills and augments, before knowing if it's worth sticking with to level up. Personal preference will play a part to some degree, but these Vocations have the most potential to make you the strongest Arisen in history.
The best vocations in Dragon's Dogma 2

You can pick from 4 Vocations at the start of Dragon's Dogma 2, but will end up with a total of 10 by the end of the game if you unlock them all. New Vocations are unlocked by completing quests, but they are almost unmissable. Four Vocations -- the Magick Archer, Mystic Spearhand, Trickster, and Warfarer -- can only be used by your character and not any Pawns.
Warfarer
There's very little downside to being a jack-of-all-trades in Dragon's Dogma 2, which is exactly what the Warfarer is. This is the only Vocation that can use any weapon in the game AND learn any skill from other Vocations. This is the only Vocation that really lets you build whatever class you want and gives you the ability to adapt to any situation you find yourself in. The main downside to this class is it has the lowest base stats, but that is a small price to pay for how versatile you can be.
Mystic Spearhand
Hybrid Vocations are all quite powerful, but we put the Mystic Spearhand at the top of the heap. This class turns you into a fighter that can take advantage of magic to output crazy damage. The two almost overpowered abilities you get here are the ability to slow enemies for a short time and to create a magical mimic that doubles all your actions. It is great for both crowd control and large single targets, but takes a while to unlock and lacks some range.
Warrior
If you're going to be a straight-up melee fighter, you might as well hit with the biggest weapon you can, right? The Warrior swings swords large enough to make Guts blush and is a full-on tank. You won't be doing anything fancy with this vocation beyond charging up and swinging as hard as possible. The obvious drawback is any flying or ranged enemy will counter you, so bring some Pawns in those classes to cover your bases.
Sorcerer
For those who fancy themselves a pure mage, stick to the Sorcerer over the actual Mage vocation. While the Mage is more focused on healing, it is the Sorcerer who gets the best offensive spells you will want to be casting. If you have a second Sorcerer with you, you can even sync up and decrease your casting time. If not, you will need some tanks to take aggro while you deal with some slightly long casting times and low total health.
Thief
As far as the starting Vocations go, the Thief is the one we find the most fun and viable for the entire game. This is a light and speedy build focused on critical hits and being able to climb and hang on to large beasts. Once on, you have a number of great skills to stagger and knock down an enemy so the rest of your squad to gang up on it. Just don't get hit because you're one of the squishier Vocations.

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The best ship modules in Helldivers 2
A scene from Helldiver 2's opening cutscene.

While the majority of your success lies in which weapons and armor you carry when facing off against the Terminids and Automatons on various missions in Helldivers 2, you shouldn't overlook what your ship can do to support you. Besides just naming your destroyer, there's far more you can do to customize it with modules. Whereas weapons and Boosters will impact you and your squad on a more constant basis, ship modules come in clutch when you need to bring out the big guns, aka Stratagems. These power weapons are already enough to turn the tide of a tough fight, but when you add in the right ship modules, you'll be cooking bugs for breakfast.
The best ship modules in Helldivers 2
Ship modules are purchased on your ship via the Ship Management Terminal. There are 18 in total, split between the Patriotic Administration Center, Orbital Cannon, Hangar Ship, Bridge Ship, and Engineer Bay categories. They are unlocked by spending samples you can collect during missions.
Donation Access License

Look, sometimes you can't argue with simplicity, and the Donation Access License is about as basic as they come. This mod gives any support weapons you call in more ammo by default, granting you more time blasting and less time waiting to call in your next one. It is a versatile mod as well since it can be applied to multiple Strategems. It applies to things like the Laser Cannon, Grenade Launcher, Railgun, Flamethrower, and more.
Liquid-Ventilated Cockpit

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