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I finished building a deck in the backyard. I spent a couple months trying to harvest pallets for wood, but I finally broke down and bought a couple hundred dollars worth of 8-foot pieces. I blew the budget a bit, but still ended up keeping the project around $350.

Hi everyone, I'm doing a Solo run with an SC Trickster build which I will write about a little later (very fun, very versatile and surprisingly powerful). For uber-style, I went with the Whitewitch Mask and the Pale Hide which is a unique armor that, to my great shame, I hadn't thought a lot about or used much before. You probably know this but for those who don't, it turns out it's a really great armor, so I wanted to write a little dedicated post about it. Of course, the 20% Hit to Graze enchant can synergize really well with things like Llengrath's Displaced Image. So can the elemental AR bonus with Pale Elf and various armor buffs. But what really surprised me was the enchant Dread Howl, which gives a per-encounter Frighten ability. Maybe this doesn't look amazingly strong but with a high INT, high ACC character this gives: A gigantic radius around the caster and fast cast, so ideal at the beginning of combat. With good placement you can hit everyone. Relatively long duration (30-35sec easily achievable on Hit, more on Crit). All afflicted enemies suffer -5 Deflection, -10 Will, +15% hostile effect duration, -3 all PL, AND cannot use Hostile abilities (any offensive spell/ability except autoattack) for the whole duration. Per-encounter, can be obtained right after Maje. In fights where enemies pummel you from the start with a barrage of powerful abilities that interrupt, CC, debuff, or do very high damage, this ability can increase the survivability of certain builds, in particular Solo ones, by A LOT! It can give enough breathing room to gain the upper hand and deal with the most dangerous customers before the duration expires. On Upscaled PotD (which is the difficulty I play on), enemies will still be able to hit you hard with autoattacks. But no Arcane Dampener, no Helpless Beast, no Accurate Wounding Shot, no Gouging Strike... for 35 sec! It works really well with this Trickster build, but I think this armor could have even stronger incremental usefulness on other solo/party builds and if you haven't already, I encourage you to try it. Plus, it looks awesome, almost has a little Planescape Torment vibe . Let me know if you have other thoughts about it!

I am commander Shepard and this is my favourite soap on the Citadel.

Something that might interest a few folks around here:

Grey day here on the Prairies. Walk to work was complemented with rain gear and umbrella ... just in case! Looking forward to a Pathfinder 1.0 session this evening!

You can use Dread Howl whenever you want - whether you have focus or not. It's nice to have a long-lasting, 5m-base(!) radius frighten effect which not only prevents enemies from using their attack abilities but also lowers their Will by 10 (costs no focus). I thought is could be nice to cast a huge AoE frighten with high ACC that prepares enemies for other spells against Will. YOu will still have spend no focus after all. I guess if you're a Beguiler that isn't super interesting maybe, but for an Ascendant (who isn't ascended yet) it could be cool to have a cast that doesn't delay your ascension. Anyway I only was looking for a "great AoE + great ACC + long duration" combo and Monk/Cipher was the first that came to mind. Monk/whatever class that has no frighten effect with Willbreaker could also profit nicely from that armor I guess (bc. of Battered Mind/The Mind Makes Real).

I personally would pick Streetfighter if there's a reliable and convenient way to trigger Heating Up (for example a Chanter with upgraded Whisps). The high base dmg of Cobra Strike goes so well with the increased Sneak Attack-, crit- and speed bonuses. Heck, with all the wizard buffs you might as well just Escape right into a mob and get flanked, cobrastrike everybody around with Arterial Stikes and escape elsewhere. Cobra Strike's poison doesn't stack with itself - so it's best to shoot at a lot of different enemies and not focus on a single one (just generally speaking). It's a ranged weapon - so it would work with Driving Flight... (just saying ). You also can't use Persistent Distraction (bit Chillfog etc. is good enough to trigger Deathblows). High INT with Cobra Strike + Toxic Strike is a death sentence if the target is not immune to poison.

Hey gang, After another break from Deadfire (you all keep pulling me back in) I've decided to try out builds and playstyles I haven't touched yet. For my next run, this means playing as a Spellblade, Rogue subclassed as Assassin or Debonair, and a weapon that's not mortars or Citzal's Spirit Lance. I've never used Nannasin's Cobra Strike, either, so why not mix the spaghetti into the ice cream? I have a few hangups and considerations with this plan, so I'd appreciate any feedback or help streamlining it. (I'm playing on a modded difficulty: PoTD spawns and pure upscaling through DeadlyDeadfire with Veteran bonuses to enemies. Also running the Community Patch and Deadfire Polishing (Toxic Strike costs 2 Guile and Smoke Veil 1; Keywords are better distributed).) The basic idea is to have the character sneak behind enemy lines when applicable, buff up during in-combat stealth (IwVE, DAoM, Spirit Shield, Nannasin's), summon a twin snake (Essential Phantom), and lay down Rogue DoTs (Deep Wounds, Gouging Strike, Toxic Strike, Cobra Strike) on enemy casters and gunners - maybe toss in a couple Wizard niceties (Tattered Veils, Miasma, Expose Vulnerabilities, Combusting Wounds, and such) as the situation demands. I'm set on generic Wizard (burnt out on Blood Mage and I'd like to Empower a Toxic Strike here and there) but I'm torn on the Rogue subclass. I find generic Rogue boring and I've used Streetfigher and Trickster to death at this point so that leaves Debonaire and Assassin. Debonaire has an aesthetic and RP quality I'd like for the character (a duplicitous court mage or puckish hedge wizard; playing a Deceptive, Clever, high-Bluff "snake charmer" sounds fun), and I like the idea of using Essential Phantom to negate Cowardice: as if the character is uncomfortable when away from their image. I'd have to rely on a Cipher or Chanter for Charms for better action economy (not a huge deal since I nearly always have a Beguiler or Herald in the party). Losing engagement seems irrelevant since Nannasin is a quasi-reach weapon and this character shouldn't stick to one target for very long. It's gimmicky (and backwards), but Toxic/Gouging Strike followed by Roguish Charm to control an empowered minion with an expiration date seems fun. This one is busy, and as thelee said in their mega gamefaqs guide, Debonaire is a "win more" option; it's easy to see that conceptually. However, my gut is telling me Assassin would be a better choice mechanically. Like Debonaire, I'm kinda iffy on how this will play with action economy considering Nannasin's is a slow weapon and might be clunky to use with Smoke Veil or Arkemyr's Brilliant Departure: in that vein, I'm also concerned about maintaining Guile. The sneaky bonuses seem more in line with combat, but not that spicy "Oh! Ho Ho Ho!" RP. For starting stuff, I think I'd go: Race Likely Human or Wood Elf. Suppose Death Godlike would be fun (does their bonus to Near Death enemies affect active DoTs?) but passing up on Helm of the Deep Grotto or Helm of The White Void is a hard sell. Hearth Orlan would work well with the Phantom summon, but, eh, burnt out on Orlans, too. Attributes (including BB bonuses and Culture) MIG: 15 CON: 10 DEX: 15 PER: 18 INT: 18 RES: 10 (I don't like min-maxing so I'll keep CON and RES at 8+2 BB) Culture: Aedyr Background: Aristocrat Active Skills: High Stealth, some Athletics, two points Mechanics for Party Assist, maybe a bit of Alchemy Passive Skills: Bluff, History or Streetwise General questions: Do all DoTs stack? Can I apply all four of the aforementioned effects to one enemy? Poison items aren't so hot but I'd like to try something different with this build. Are there any types that stand out? Will the Rogue DoTs stack with them? With Community Patch Keywords, Spirit of Decay now works with Toxic Strike - not sure if Nannasin's is affected. Would it be worth it? I could also use stuff like Death Ring or Noxious Burst, which are included in the Snakeskin Grimoire. The Community Patch changed Backstab so it deals a flat Raw damage - guessing this would be worth it in the grand scheme of things, but with all the DoTs, enemies should already be dead. Also a bit concerned that Ninnasin's will add recovery since it's a two-weapon summon. Obviously Nannasin's is going to be trash against pierce-immune and poison-immune enemies (as if Risen Wizards weren't annoying enough) so I'll need backup weapons. Any suggestions? Battle Axes seem they would be alright for an additional DoT, but I'd rather a caster use Magran's Favor and this build will take Two-Weapon style for Nannasin so the two-handers are out. Are there any other gear recommendations? I'm guessing the typical Rogue setups (Miscreant's Leathers, Helm of the White Void, Chameleon's Touch) would work out. I've never tried stuff like Assassin's Slippers or the Skaen robe. Admittedly, I'm not very creative when it comes to equipment setups. Thanks for reading. As I said earlier, I've never played with assassination mechanics in Deadfire or as a Spellblade. Looking forward to switching things up.

Kingdom Come Deliverance soap must be specially designed for use when you're bathing while still wearing clothes, if the game's any guide.

Saber is making Painkiller. Yeah, soap. According to the guy from KC:Deliverance medieval doesn't smell all that bad. According to the Koch community person it's pronounced scotch... It i painful. I can't listen to her ask another helpless dev: "What are the benefits of having us as your publisher?" (best answer from the Scar Above (sexy looking game) Dev: "Not wanting to downplay the financial benefits, but the benefit it hanging out with you guys" )

Sorry @BruceVC, I very strictly stay away from any and all political discussions anywhere online, and especially so on highly charged topics. It is a very sad reality today that far too many people are incapable of or outright do not want to have civil discourse with anyone who even mildly disagrees with them. Also, what email?

Haha nice tongue-twister. Since we're talking about silly Deadfire jokes: The other day I fought Onadere the Syren and her posse of creatures. Ishiza really did a number on those Earth Blights, he nailed a couple of them pretty good. I guess I killed two stones with one bird...

That's fair but on the other hand, with an Assassin the toon could be called Nannassassin and be super cute. OK sorry, I will see myself out. BTW Cobra Strike being ranged, my point about Ring the Bell probably won't work... and Pierce the Bell isn't as good.

You should also aim for the Spider Silk Robe and its +2 Poison PL, I think it helps Nannasin's (?). Attacking with Poison attacks is annoying with several enemies but the ones that can be hit will be completely destroyed. A very strong back up weapon could be Monastic Unarmed Training. With the high base damage and the PEN, it's bonkers on a melee Rogue. All your DoTs are great, I would also recommend Ring the Bell which is very very strong and more frontloaded than Toxic Strike (useful for enemies with big health pool - and not immune to Poison ). In practice, all those DoTs will often be overkill, especially if you target squishies primarily. You are going to completely destroy them in a couple full attacks anyway. But the initial application of the DoT will still help. Actually you could also mix and match with Devastating Blow.

For an assassin spellblade, you'll mainly want the spells that can be cast from stealth, like fireball, Shadowflame, the precisely piercing burst spell, etc. and also some CC to add afflictions for sneak attack deathblows, etc. You probably will not need many the buff spells, and can rely on grimoires when you need them. For starter spells, I'd recommend chillfog which is always great, as well as Arkemyr's Dazzling Lights, since dazed is a really powerful debuff. You probably won't need Eldritch Aim much, but it might be good to have access to it in a grimoire at least. Keep in mind that the duration will get better as your PLs increase.

Fed up being "held hostage" re: needles/hospital. Looked on Amazon again, there are options now. Last time I looked (months ago) there was nothing, maybe covid had people stocking up or something. The brand the hospital gives me (and some others I looked at) apparently cannot ship to California, but some could (no clue why the difference). Nothing ventured, nothing gained and even if there's an occasional defective syringe out of the 100/box, at least you have some/more than hospital wants to dole out (or if the hospital messes up their refill records....). I mean, c'mon, what if there's a sci-fi apoc. and hospitals are gone? I need at least 1 year of syringes in my doomsday bunker just in case. After that stored insulin would be rare/not-viable - but I'd want the chance to live for that extra year, darnit!

More like Dark Souls mixed with Shadow of Colossus. I hope they won't kill the horse.

Maybe SC Ranger with Whirling Strikes, since you can use it with Melee & Ranged pair (and the Ranged Weapon will even been able to proc Driving Flight for each initial target) Scordeo's Edge will hit first and will build accuracy for Melee and Ranged weapons quickly with multiple hits. You will even have a decent chance to proc Blade Cascade. Scordeo's Trophy may hit twice per initial Target due to Driving Flight. With the right upgrade, it will add -10% Recovery with melee weapon per Hit. That means that after the initial Whirling Strikes, your attack speed and accuracy will be high even if you don't proc Blade Cascade. With Ranger perks and following Scordeo's Edge Hit, your accuracy will be even higher. This is an ideal setup for chain Interrupting on Crit from Stunning Shot. Not to mention the bleeding effect from Whirling Strikes will add up some noticeable damages. But Scordeo's Edge and one of the Mortar might be overall better for this setup. Anyway you can still switch when facing a really dense crowd.

It has a fair amount of gaps. The lumber is nothing fancy and created a lot of natural space, since it didn't fit perfectly.

This was also my concern. Kinda raises a yellow flag when someone high up quits mid development. Same things happened at CDPR and look how that turned out.

Is it over? I quit when she asked the poor Encased dev how living in Russia affects the perspective on game development compared to western countries (the norm of perspectives and gold standard of how people should develop games apparently).

Yeah, I was mostly but not entirely annoyed by that first episode, and then the ending hit and I was like, "...Okay, I guess I'll have to watch a second episode to see where it's going at some point." Still haven't gotten around to that yet, but I will eventually.

https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Koch_Gastronom_Kuechenchef Scroll down and click the play button

"Why did you decide to make King's Bounty 2 an rpg turn based tactics game like the original King's Bounty? Is it because if you didn't it would no longer be a King's Bounty game?" Dev: "I don't need to answer that question you already did. King's Bounty is a turn based tactical combat game with strong rpg elements. It isn't an rpg that happens to be turned based. Then it would be high fantasy Mass Effect. But it isn't, it is King's Bounty."

It _means_ cook, but the pronunciation rhymes with epoch.

I completely forgot E3 was on. Sounds like someone's got marketing written all over him. Shepard Soap - You'll bang, OK ?

Ok, I finally got around to watching Invincible. Never heard of/read the comic etc. The first episode went like this: "Kinda bored ... haha kinda funny ... kinda bored ... kinda funny ... sigh/bored ... HOLY COW WTF?!" Overall the whole series: 75% slightly bored (especially a couple subplots), 25% of holy cow. For my burnt-out tv and superhero mentality these days ... not too bad, show, not too bad. At least it's mostly memorable.

Basic news out of the Koch Media stream so far: Koch Media decided that Koch Media isn't a sexy label, so they now will publish games under the label Prime Matter. New Pain Killer announced. Kingdom Come Deliverance brings out a physical version of the dice game that is played in the game. They also are going to sell Kingdom Come Deliverance soap. Dolmen is described as a Lovecraft meets Giger hardcore RPG soulslike. (I think in obsidian forum talk that translates at: a game @Mamoulian Warwill play, enjoy though not being all that good at) Koch couldn't teach their community person to pronounce the company name. King's Bounty 2 release 24. August.

i've never ever paid much attention to dread howl before because that hit to graze was so juicy, so it's good to hear that it is much better than i expected; namely - large aoe, long duration, and per encounter. will have to give it a try next time.

Sorry I meant post, not email I understand your view on not debating certain topics, their are also some topics I dont debate

Yeah, more of a consultancy thing. I doubt the game will have much actual text by him.

I'm expecting GRRM influence to be minimal, almost a marketing thing. He's doing the backstory but not the in game story. He probably jotted it down in a week and passed it on to From Software, then went back to [not] finishing his ASOIAF series.

Just got back from the vet with Sunny. Her bloodwork is off again. Have to increase the medicine dosage. But she still acting healthy and happy and has a great appetite so makes me happy. She took a long drink of water and is now crashed out on her bed by the window. I think she’s got the right idea. I’m going to stretch out on the couch with a book.

Having a well known fantasy author attached to a vidya game project is no guarantee it will be good or successful (see also: Amalur, Kingdoms of).

I'm trying Solasta since it's on Game Pass and the project is interesting in few points. Mechanics are very well implemented with a lot of versatility in encounters and I didn't encounter any big bugs which is refreshing. What is a novelty and somewhat a milestone in RPG games is that it's fully voiced and responsive to each character and yet you create your whole party. So it's possible to make a game that doesn't rely on set protagonist or mute main character and also gives freedom in creating a character or a party of characters.

https://www.gamebanshee.com/reviews/125085-solasta-crown-of-the-magister-review.html Here is a good review from GameBanshee, its mostly positive

Elaborate? My advice would be to just 'play' it and then get back with questions as you progress. It's not a typical RPG with a clearly defined plot, party, and predictable romp setup, though it is heavy on weapon styles and character stats which define the character. I don't find the series difficult the way most gamers do, but more structured around obstacles in enemy attack patterns that you have to plan for and overcome, which feels natural to me rather than just defining it as "hard", though some areas of the game can be a real pain in the neck! (Blighttown, anyone?). The plot is not clearly defined in the game, there is nobody explaining in depth what is going on in the world in a coherent manner, you have to actually check the item descriptions in the game piece it together yourself, though even then there's still holes that I think is done intentionally to leave it up to the players imagination to do the rest. Elden Ring looks to be a cross between Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel expansion with a more open world approach like Witcher 3 and Skyrim, to better elaborate from my former simple analysis.

BBC - Mount Recyclemore

Some things that come to mind, though I have no clue how would those apply to Elden Ring: 1) Third person deliberate combat, brutally punishing button mashing. 2) Checkpoint based save system, with resource management element, and where death is part of the core gameplay loop, rather then failure state. 3) action RPG combat system - stats and weapons modify the gameplay experience, with various possible builds. 4) Lack of handholding, and relative freedom of exploration (even though games tend to have intended progression paths, and frankly that one is dodgy - Dark Souls1 early levels had clear metroidvania inspirations, but this design was dropped as game progressed, and sequels (and various souls-like) tend to stick to a more rigid structures) 5) Being Softworks games I have also some expectations when it comes to the tone - dark fantasy, massive, hulking creepy monsters, tough bossfights. EDIT: Here is a nice list from Mark Brown's video on the genre, though I feel some of the points might be difficult to understand without knowing what he is referring to. In past years, most "soulslike" were following formula pretty closely - Softworks own Sekiro ditched or change quite a few core designs from what I heard - making it more of a souls-like action game, then action RPG.

Seems like Xbox is going to have a major presence at E3. According to rumors Obsidian will show something from not only Avowed (which apparently is in very good shape production-wise) but also another unannounced game (with speculation being on whether this will be TOW2 or something else). And Bethesda is rumored to be ready to show Starfield.

The two things I'd love to see in Xbox conference are Eric Fenstermaker stepping in and announcing he is the director and lead narrative designer for this game, and an in-engine trailer. But a man can only dream...

Wouldn't classify Maia's romance as 'hot.' She seemed more enthusiastic about oppressing the local yokels and talking about her pets than getting busy with the protagonist.