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Thank you, sir. I'm ok. They mostly hit military targets but yeah, it was scary. It's over now. Let's hope it stays this way.

I just hope @Katphood is okay

Was watching some videos re: Trump/stripping naturalized US citizenship etc. I am a naturalized US citizen, since I was adopted in early 1971. I think they altered some laws 20-30 years ago where adoptees can be US citizens without actual naturalization process, but only applies to those adopted post-early 1980's, with certain requirements etc, or something. I don't know details on that. Anyway, while watching it occurred to me I should go doublecheck all my adoption/citizen paperwork/records, because moving a few years ago is chaotic + my memory/organization gets worse every year. Looked in file cabinet, closets, looked in some boxes (still packed re: moving homes), couldn't find them, started to panic. Then remember the "mom" box. I had put them in there. Phew. New safer place for those again. Hopefully, since I'm almost invisible to everyone but the DMV/taxman (haha), as long as I don't try to become a drug kingpin or accrue 1000 parking tickets in a few months, Trump won't notice me.* *Not really worried about my personal status/self, mind. Not what he's (currently) chasing after. But it's Trump - and things are crazy. I think I won't leave the US for vacation/anything for a while. Trump might not let me back in.

I jumped on my bike and kept going until I ran out of road and had to circle back. Before and after I ran out of city. + an obligatory instagram shot of the cold beer i thought i deserved for my troubles.

Yesterday, while leaving CostCo and putting our stuff in our car: ---A woman nearly as tall as hubby and about our age approaches, says "don't worry I don't want money" then looks mostly at hubby and proceeds to say she has a bad back plus still recovering from recent surgery or something - could we help her get a giant watermelon/other heavy items out of her cart and into her car. ---I said "Sure, I'll do it" -- and pointed at hubby -- "He has a bad back too." and walked over to her car. --Watermelon was maybe 15+ pounds but easy. Stuff like that is hard on hubby/others because bending/pulling up out of an extra tall/deep cart is stressful - she kept asking if I was sure/was I ok etc - remember I'm super short and not 20 anymore either etc - I made the usual "I'm the strong one now" jokes. ---She and hubby then had a long convo re: backs, surgery/options/doctors as I unloaded our own full cart into our car. It was all rather amusing, from my point of view. Plus hubby was pleased to find someone else in near the same position as him to bounce off of.

Im 180 hours into WoRT and Im busy with all the final quests and choices before I complete the last quest at Threshold As I have mentioned in previous posts this game is one of my favourite party based RPG of all time Its impossible to list everything I love about this game but in summary deep and complex main narrative with a myriad of different choices around what Mystic Path to take and how that influences dialogue options engaging and worthwhile companion side-quests, the best in any RPG I have ever played. I ended up finally Romancing Arueshalae and accepting Camellias murderous nature ....no ones perfect very complex character and class customization combat is the best part of the game with all different strategies I love the Crusader management and mini-battles. Its a nice break from the normal RPG progression lots to explore and many side-quests the length of the game, I appreciate how long it is What an RPG, I wish we had a commitment for Pathfinder 3 from Owlcat

It's not an epiphany, though. The clip is years old. So that's what he said years before the second election of Donald Trump. Which means it is just evidence that Rogan is a truly reprehensible human being.

One thing I know that should stir up Guard Dog's heart and finally break through his paradoxically pathetic yet practically impervious shell of "both sides are the same"...the assassin even shot and killed the dog, a darling golden retriever. Find me any evidence of anyone but right-wing scum, be it this creep or cops or ghoulish governors of South Dakota, deliberately going out of their way to kill dogs in this day and age. Even their king hates dogs: doesn't that tell you both sides are, in fact, not the same?

What about shooting at enemies from stealth first? Then it shouldn't be too bad if the first reload doesn't profit from Heating Up - because stealth has it's own -85% recovery/reload bonus. Completely different approach: the most painless way for me to make my Streetfighter Swashbuckler work very reliably was to turn him into a tank with a large shield (like I did Edér many times before) and "escape" into the middle of an enemy mob in order to get flanked - for real. And then I just let him hack away, always heated up until only a few enemies are left and there was no flanking anymore. But at that point the fight is usually won anyway. That way I could make good use of: Escape and Charge (mobility is useful in order to get the best position for tanking and getting flanked - especially useful since you can move while the large shield modal is up) Coordinated Positioning (never used this before - but in this case it can be great to place yourself between crowded enemies perfectly so you actually get flanked properly - sometimes there's no free space to Escape to... and then Escape doesn't work reliably and your character might get ramdomly placed in some stupid spot) Mob Stance (even faster attacks and cleaves on kill - with the help of some engagement slots, see Hold the Line, shield and some other gear) Armored Grace (obviously) heal-on-kill pet (the damage output is good, that leads to kills which leads to cleaves which lead to more damage and kills which leads to a lot of healing procs for you) Entonia Signet Ring (getting engaged by enemies raises your defenses, perfect) Riposte (lots of missed melee attacks against you due to high deflection even when flanked - can trigger cleaves, too) Deep Wounds (nice in combo with Riposte and Cleave imo) Persistent Distraction (unlocking Deathblows on every engaged enemy automatically, also reducing their accuracy) Adept Evasion (in combo with a large shield modal AoE spells don't bother me anymore) Refreshing Defense (of course this works very well with such a setup) Unbending (if he punishment is too much you can still keep going easily) Fighting Spirit + On the Edge (increase dmg output even more before eventually getting healed) Slippery Mind (won't remove real flanking but will take away all PER/INT/RES afflictions once you are On the Edge - it's super useful imo) Pernicious Cloud (it's friendly fire so normally I wouldn't ever use it - but since you're surrounded by foes anyway...) Into the Fray (nice to pull some enemies near so they can flank you instead of bothering your allies) and so on. It worked out really well - while the tankyness was good enough to be the main tank of the party, the damage output was still very impressive. No comparison to the Edér Swashbuckling tankyness I'm more used to - in terms of the offense I mean. The increased Sneak Attack damage (+50%) combined with the short recovery, Ripostes and Cleaves leads to great dps while occupying a lot of enemies - even though it's "only" weapon & large shield and no dual wielding or two handed stuff. There wasn't even the need for the Rogue's strikes abilities. All in all I think this was much easier to play and less fuss than what is usually done with Streetfighters to make them unlock their passive "easily". I find all that blunderbuss firing and switching in order to milk that Heating Up passive turns into tedium quickly. But maybe that's just me. I used a Streetfighter/Devoted with the Galdiator Sword + Bronlar's Phalanx by the way for some Roman Gladiator vibes (also I wanted to stack the +1 PEN of the sword with the +2 from the Devoted and never bother to switch weapon sets - Iazy ;)). But I think the Fighter subclass doesn't matter that much. With a Black Jacket you can be more versatile (and even switch from weapon & shield to a more offensive setup if the situation is right or directly turn off the large shield modal), with an Unbroken you get more AR (but worse Reflex - but that's already very high due to the large shield) and better disengagment attacks, the Devoted grants more dmg with your one chosen weapon because of the PEN and slightly incrased crit dmg... but that's all not really crucial for this direct "getting flanked" approach I think.

Heh. Well it is the 50th anniversary of the movie Jaws, so the whole "I'm never going into the sea again" thing makes sense.

I should have years ago started convincing people to leave reviews on games "Melkathi suggested I should buy this game - so I did." Just to make devs wonder "Melkathi, melkathi who tf is melkathi?" and maybe even do a Smokie cover. Though we aren't at the 24 year mark yet, so you are spared. Oh, I don't know why he's posting, or how off topic this is gonna go, I guess he's got his reasons, but I just don't want to know Imagine getting spammed for 24 years by melkathi

Yes, he's looking into how to strip naturalized citizenship from people; the DOJ has made that a priority. You know, rather than go after actual criminals like the people DJT's pardoned. Anyway, Musk can afford to live anywhere. I'm sure he'll find a new home and invest his billions there instead.

Project Zomboid is a sandbox survival game without story. So keep that in mind. BG3 - you will need at least 130 hours of free time for this one. Cyberpunk 2077 - more casual shooter-y than rpg, imo. Fo4 - belongs into the trash.

Yay. My Pillars 1 run is done. ... Time to start a new Deadfire run

Still Arcanum... The dungeons here are really bad, they make even Owlcat's look almost lovingly handcrafted pieces of tunnel crawling art. But yeah, one does not simply play Arcanum for the combats. It's for the setting, the concepts (both in systems and world design) and that unique soundtrack, though it gets a bit repetitive due to its lack in tracks.

James Bond to be directed by Denis Villeneuve I'm sure this will be a must see for @Bartimaeus

Speaking for myself .... because outside of game forums, I am extremely asocial?

That should be fairly easy to understand. He posts policy, updates, and actionable items there along with his usual slop so people have to pay attention.

I've hit level 35 in Dune. That seems like a lot, but I still feel like I suck a bit. I soloed a research station today and died about 5 times. But now I have a shield generator and I think that might help. Or it might make me worm food. Who knows? Anyways, my base is gorgeous and I have a nice little terrarium with Muad'ib in it.

Simon & Garfunkle classic

Tainted Grail - after trying to "clean up side quests" for a bit, got impatient/bored (100-ish hrs) and just did the plot end thing. ---I found and got to have another convo with that chicken, in another Act. Game does stuff like this - find or go back and chat with npc's later, they may have something to say. Which is cool. ---I'm pretty sure there was a Hellraiser and Aliens reference/homage re: a couple mini-quests. ---I was level 75. I wiped the floor (bosses included) by level 50. I was not purposely grinding. The only way not to be 50+ by endgame is to not do a lot of sidequests or a lot of exploring. And there are TONS of sidequests, although many could easily be missed. This probably adds to replayability for many tho. ---Act3 is definitely the smallest. I still liked exploring it, but its main focus is to sorta barrel you to the Final Bit. That said, you could still spend a fair bit of time doing all the back and forth for factions. Or you could take the "bah humbug" way like I did and after exploring, ignore all that for another straightforward choice. Again, thanks, devs. ---Act3's multiple small faction areas were even worse in design than Act2's main town. I mean they make sense/are cool looking, but constantly going and returning to NPC's was a PITA chr. pathing/running wise. ---that first big patch added a "continue" option, so you could go back and try to grind the other 825,000 chr. levels if you wish. Why anyone would want to, I don't know. Act1 -- grade A Act2 - slower to get going but a solid grade B all told Act3 - grade C+, mostly for size and feeling a bit rushed/less dense/fullfilling A lot more RPG than Diablo, not as RPG as the best Baldur Gates (whichever one you think is that).

Also - pretty much what I hear in my head every time I try to watch/read any news lately. Just saying.

Migas à Alentejana

Apparently the anti-woke thing to do is boast about going to work today. Again, the Internet is a mistake.

I was trying very hard this evening in a discussion not to get dragged into a political argument. Then the other guy said "I can tell you this with certainty. I saw proof on 4chan." I went home to take painkillers after that.

It always did feel a bit revolting.

Disagree since we collectively ended slavery as a nation and I think that it is important that everyone can take ownership of that. It's not a very well known holiday to be sure but it's definitely for everyone. Cinco de Mayo is bigger in the US than in Mexico but it's a celebration of the Mexican Army over France so that really makes no sense... but I'll take any extra days off.

the cern facility is only a bit more excessive than our current setup... not to mention the vulgar oversized outdoor grill on our back patio, a weber charcoal grill, smoker, multiple air fryers (one toaster-style and two basket,) microwave oven, instapot, rice cooker, this and one of these... none o' which makes us near as good a cook as were our grandmother who cooked 99% on a circa 1957 basic 4-burner kenmore gas range. avocado color. HA! Good Fun! ps we got a bunch o' other additional cooking appliances, but they mostly sit in the pantry unused... as well as prep stuff like blenders, food processors and the stand mixer we almost never use 'cause we hardly ever bake.

Happy Juneteenth, unless they arrest you for the Wokeness now

I wonder if Gromnir would consider visiting the large hadron collider some day… bringing a steak

ya it makes logical sense in a way I suppose. But if a monk could shoot his fists from range why couldn't he use stunning blows from range? Don't think it was overpowered compared to what any of the casters can do. It is sad it doesn't work now though. I'm sure long pain is still sorta strong in its own way, but this makes it way less fun to play with and use. Goodnight sweet witch doctor prince. A flight of angels sing thee to thy rest, etc.

Is the Brynlod bounty the one with Illusionists in the backline casting Caedebald's Blackbow? I do this bounty on max level. Position your party between the ruined tower and the river. That way when you start the fight the whole enemy group comes nicely together and everybody, including the illusionists, is easily within range. Afterwards unleash your aoe and your crowd control, delete the illusionists and the rest should be fine.

I dont know if you going to open a separate thread for Grounded 2, but I not I'll put my idea here. I think I would be really cool to make and armor like the ant lion armor, but for the cold. Like for the icecream cart? Because it is so cold, you need this armor to stay warm

DoT damage doesn't show in the records. Plague of Insects etc. are super annoying when they hit you - but that's mostly because they bypass your DR and eat away your health pool while you cannot do much about it. They are not as effective against the enemy thouh imo because they take quite some time to make a difference - unless you have additional means of disabling large groups for a longer time and can afford the slow (but sure) death by raw DoT. The number one spell surely is Relentless Storm. It has good AoE size, hits foes only and combines a pulsing stun with shock damage. Overbearing Wave is excellent, too. Its stun lasts quite a long time and the damage is good, too. It causes friendly fire though - so you have to be careful. Talon's Reach and Nature's Mark are good because they are fast casts. Returning Storm is only working on a single foe, but it is still nice to have periodic stun + shock dmg proc. Especially while using Spiritshift it will add to your melee dmg against a single enemy. Venombloom and Wicked Briars are great in combination with a Wizard's Combusting Wounds.

Happy Father's Day

Arcanum. Never actually finished it. This time, I might -- with a Necromancer Elf that made a pact with the devil. And is as beloved throughout Arcanum (or most of it) as hemorrhoids. PS: I don't want to crap on The Outer Worlds too much. It's not a "crap game". Still: How do you go from this to The Outer Worlds, where perks as exciting and game changing as "+10% to damage" or "+5lbs to carry weight" rule? I have a few suspicious. But still, it's one thing to try to make something more accessible, widespread industry process and no. 1 priority since ca. 2001. It's another to turn it into something as bland and vanilla as frozen burger patties sold en masse at Walmart.

Give your tank: Ilfan Byrngar's Solace shield (+50 Defenses while Stunned; +50 Defenses while Prone) or Ring of Thorns (+50 Defenses while Stunned; +50 Defenses while Prone) Boots of Stability (+30 Defenses against Prone attacks) Belt of the Stelgaer (-33% Prone duration) Potion of Llengrath's Displaced Image Priest needs to cast Prayer Against Fear, Prayer Against Imprisonment (Adragans), Prayer Against Treachery (Adragans). Paladin has Sworn Enemy. It increases accuracy by 15. So put Sworn Enemy on Adra dragon and cast Scroll of Paralysis. If you have Lore 8 on your paladin. Ciphers have two great buffs for your tank, Pain Block and Going Between. Also Mental Binding and Tactical Meld are handy. Scrolls of Valor, Defense, Protection, Revival are great. The Adra dragon is very slow. You can easily outrun the dragon and deal with all the other enemies. Especially Adragans need to go asap. Adra dragon's Wing Slam and Dragon Breath have very large aoe cone. Your whole party needs accuracy buffs.

I pruned some duplicate posts. I hope that's fine.

I am a huge fan of this idea, definitely consider this, I think incorporating more aspects for traversal and just blending the landscape seamlessly could be very effective in a map that is 3x larger than grounded 1. Environmental/ecological features that assist the player in reaching destinations quicker but also look beautiful in the topography of the park is a welcome change for sure!!

Tainted Grail: oh, forgot to mention, the dev's said they have plans for mod capability/tools in a few weeks/a month or something. How useful/extensive or what form this will take is unknown. But it peaked my interest a bit. they're also looking into a NG+, and extra content updating with a focus on Act3 maybe in August. So if they hold to this roadmap of updates, it's likely to improve the game a fair bit. I might replay it then to see. EDIT: to be clear, I still enjoyed the game quite a lot. It just kind of runs out of steam/started to feel too repetitive by Act3. And far too easy (over-leveling content).

Did you cast summon?!

I hope you also plan to play it. It is my favourite PoE content.

You're welcome. I know you're probably going for a more self-sufficient way of activating heating up on your Streetfighter by multiclassing with a Black Jacket and using a blunderbuss, but may I suggest an alternative, party-dependent setup for a Streetfighter? It still relies upon using a blunderbuss, but instead of equipping a blunderbuss directly on your Streetfighter and using the Powder Burns modal, you equip Serafen's Hand Mortar on another party member and take its Blinding Smoke upgrade. Blinding Smoke adds a Disorienting effect to its auto-attacks which fires out in a cone and affects allies and enemies alike. By merely positioning your Streetfighter in between your Hand Mortar-user and enemies, you can reliably keep Heating Up activated on your Streetfighter. The Blinding Smoke attack also targets Will and works on grazes which is very beneficial for a Streetfighter that would want to keep their other defenses like Deflection high in order to counteract the Flanked status that comes with Disoriented. Another nice facet about the Blinding Smoke effect is that it is an attack that does no damage so it won't take away charges of spells like Mirrored Image. You would still wanted to deal with the fact that Disoriented is a nastier T2 Perception Affliction that adds on a 50% recovery penalty which is counter-synergistic to the Streetfighter's recovery bonus. Luckily, a very easy way to deal with this is to upgrade Eder's starting Saints War Armor which gives Perception Resistance and will downgrade Disoriented to a more manageable Distracted perception affliction. These two pieces of gear are available fairly early, though it may take you some time to gather the necessary materials to upgrade them. You'd also be stuck with using Hand Mortar on another party member to enable your Streetfighter's bonus, but I find that a party member with high-ish Intellect can reliably keep the duration of Blinding Smoke active on the Streetfighter while alternating between attacks with another, dual-wielded weapon, like Fire in the Hole to pair with it, or firing off the occasional spell -- a dual mortar setup is pretty nice setup for a lot of builds so you don't exactly have to twist my arm for me to want use it, personally. Granted, another downside is the opportunity cost of not being able to take the alternative Point Blank shot enchantment on Hand Mortar for the extra damage. Yet another issue that you'd have to overcome is protecting your other frontliners besides the Streetfighter who are standing in front of the Hand Mortar-user so that they don't suffer Blinding Smoke's effects. Fortunately, the Captain's Banquet food bonus can give you Perception Immunity, but be prepared to shuck quite a lot of oysters depending on the number of front-line party members you have. I know this may all seem like a chore, but it's honestly my favorite, relatively painless way of getting a Streetfighter to work, especially when I want the Streetfighter to be able to use weapons other than a blunderbuss with Powder Burns. This party setup would also free you up to multiclass your Streetfighter with something else besides a Black Jacket, since you seem a little disappointed by needing to dedicate several slots for blunderbusses to do the Powder Burns swap and the lack of being able to use your Fighter side's Disciplined Barrage. Instead, you can multiclass your Streetfighter with another class that has higher, non-Perception Inspiration accuracy buffs and defenses to counteract the Flanked and Distracted status. Cipher is a nice option, for example, for the Borrowed Instinct's big boost of accuracy and defenses. Paladin is another good option for the accuracy or armor aura, the accuracy bonus while using Flames of Devotion, and the Clear Head passive ability which gives you Perception Resistance, allowing you to then use a different armor than the Saint's War Armor. It also sounds like you're leaning more towards the Black Jacket side in your original Streetfighter / Black Jacket post. I have some suggestions on Black Jackets too if you'd like.

Fort Irwin to be renamed Fort Hitler

Finally put some ca$h into purchasing The White March, my final piece of the puzzle. (Bought both PoE 1+2 immediately upon release each.) A choice made for capitalism by capitalism.