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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/03/22 in all areas
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As for what kind of compromise deal we could expect both sides to accept, I do believe Zelenskiy will accept two things Putin wants: foreswearing NATO membership, and redrawing Ukraine's borders to give the Crimea and at least parts of Donetsk and Luhansk to Russia (as that will actually make Ukraine a more politically stable and socially unified state). He may also be willing to accept some language on Ukraine not deploying certain types of arms, though that "list" (as Lavrov puts it) would have to be very short. But the real question is what will Putin be willing to give Ukraine in return? And no, simply saying "we give the Ukrainians back the rest of their country" is not going to cut it at all. The Russians will have to agree to legally binding language, affirmed by a UNSC resolution, accepting Ukraine's sovereignty and borders. They will have to pay reparations, not only for this war but also for the territory (and everything on that territory) that they take from Ukraine. And they will have to accept that other than NATO, Ukraine is free to pursue membership in any grouping it wishes. The EU today accepted Ukraine's application for membership, and even suggested that an accelerated timetable could be considered. Russia will have to accept that Ukraine will join the West, and will not be in Russia's orbit ever again.2 points
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So after 1000+ hours in this game and futilely trying to trigger Xoti/Maia romance by raising their relationship with one another across many, man runs... I finally made it happen. It is insanely unintuitive and difficult to pull off, and last I checked there is no explanation on the internet for how to do this. The steps are: 1. Get Maia and Xoti to mutually like each other (at least +1 relationship mutually) 2. Get Eder and Xoti to like each other 3. Xoti will initiate a conversation with you where she talks about romancing Eder. If you fulfill the first condition, you can now suggest that she romance Maia instead. Caution, this is hidden behind a dialogue option to suggest to Xoti to not romance Eder, and if you miss it, Xoti/Maia romance does not happen. One tricky part is to not get 3 to happen before 1 happens (and 3 happens quite quickly after you fulfill 2), and the other tricky part is to get 2 to happen at all. Basically Eder does not have a lot of lines tagged as jokes. I've found it absolutely necessary to bring Eder and Xoti on two occasions: 1. While speaking with Serafen before going to Fort Deadlight, propose a head on assault. Serafen will joke about it being suicide, and Eder will chip in with his own joke. 2. While visiting Fort Deadlight, have both Eder and Xoti in the party when talking with Syri the Siren with Serafen in tow. Comment that Serafen made his bed, and now has to lie in it, rather than lying on his behalf. Eder will chip in with another joke. AFAIK these are both mandatory for triggering step 2, otherwise it is near impossible to get Xoti to have +1 relationship with Eder. You then need to kick Eder out of the party ASAP (there are a few random conversations which will cause Xoti to hit the +1 threshold with Eder, and you don't want 3 triggering prematurely), go get Maia, and get Xoti and Maia to like each other. Careful where you bring Xoti, as she does not like Maia lying. Anyhow I've attached screenshots of the beginning of the romance and a conversation that seems to confirm it, as I've never seen it on any previous playthrough.1 point
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That's pretty much every open world game I ever tried. Dragon Age: Inquisition's Hinterlands was already too large.1 point
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I like to put my wheel of pain right on the edge of a cliff. It gives my captives recruits a new perspective on things.1 point
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Even if they're curtailed and Putin can dance with them, their displeasure is still more relevant than the UN declaration, which is pretty much inconsequential in real terms.1 point
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I was a bit concerned that the Elden Ring open world would not engage me. Breath of the Wild was also a bit too barren for my tastes. I like to have some cities and people in my worlds. I almost gave up on Conan Exiles early because of this too. In Conan, almost everyone is trying to kill you, so even though there are communities all over the map, they aren't welcoming. But then I got my head around the fact that a sharp rap over the head and a bit of time on the wheel of pain can make anyone a friendly npc.1 point
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Berserker: The White witch mask is what I used for my helwalker:Berserker it pops a terror effect when he gets bloodied. Yes scripts know health level AND the pause setting works as well; e.g. you can set pause on near death. Streetfighter/Napasca Monk: Not only was this the fastest attack speed I've ever gotten, but making everyone drop and puke with Pukestabber was hilarious (not much use with the sword though). You just need to micro very good on fights with arcane dampener. Newer gear might even make it better with some tweaks (e.g. contender's armor) but I haven't tested anything recently I've found "the best" use of WOTEP is the offensive parry on a high deflection character. I think a fighter MC would make the best use of the weapon. I'd at least think about a Devoted:Helwalker so you can pump intel and might high w/ the wounds. Devoted lets you take armored grace and you will have flagent's and charge for movement. Fanatics are probably my favorite melee class still though. Berserker Pally with DOC chest and you can lay down the hurt while staying alive. If you go howler make sure you either stay away from berserker or you have a way to keep from being confused (Like DOC BP)1 point
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My main gripe with Elden Ring is that they took away moves, from a fighting game, in order to make weapon arts customizable. It's the next evolution of Dark Souls, and I'm missing a minimum of two moves, the kick and the second weapon art, for those weapons who had two. They gave me the iconic Uchi Katana as a starting weapon. and it's not the uchi katana.. what gives. Everything is not as good. When there is too much real-estate you also stop caring about exploration. It's basically Skyrim with no cities.1 point
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Honestly, I just hope if they do something like this, they at least put a headstone in there for me.1 point
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V6. It's my daily driver now, and having it on ice with to much power won't help that much.1 point
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Yes you are right. And that's also why I have this feeling that Shoigu is just putting on the appearance of Russian hyper-nationalism to ingratiate himself with Putin. Lavrov is a true believer. But Shoigu I'm not so sure, and hope if ever the need arises he will rise to the occasion and take the necessary actions against Putin.1 point
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He wanted Ukraine to agree to not join NATO or any alliances (which could include the EU) and not have any military relationships (such as training or advisory) with any other country, to be completely demilitarized, to be "denazified" which I interpret as removing/sidelining anyone in Ukraine that Putin doesn't like, to give complete autonomy to the entire areas of Donetsk and Luhansk (which goes far beyond the Minsk Agreement), and to accept and never bring up again the issue of Crimea. Effectively a Ukrainian surrender to Putin that turns it into a vassel state of Russia, just like the status of Belarus right now, where eventually Ukraine (like Belarus) would be absorbed into Russia throught eh so-called "Union State" mechanism. What Ukraine and Zelenskiy have earned by proving themselves against Putin in this war is the right to be able to sit down with the Russians as equals in any negotioants about the future of Ukraine. And Lavrov seems to have now accepted this, in principle. That's the huge thing Ukraine has gained from the war. Recall that pre-war, Putin categorically refused to even talk to Zelenskiy, and insisted that any discussions about Ukraine would happen with the major Western powers and NOT Ukraine itself. What he wanted was another Munich, where just like Czechoslovakia's fate was determined by others without the Czechs themselves having any say, so too here the Ukrainians would not have any say in determining their future. That's why Biden repeatedly went out of his way to emphasize that the US would never accept any decisions being made about Ukraine without the involvement of the Ukrainians themselves.1 point
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https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1184370/view/3133947359549597063 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1184370/view/3133947359546707294 pathfinder wotr dlc are out now1 point
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PoE's Edér was a Rogue in the first iterations of the game. They had to change it to Fighter because playtesting showed that player characters who weren't sturdy needed a tanky party member as soon as possible. So - in a way - Edér being a mix of Rogue and Fighter in Deadfire is the most "canony" version you can do.1 point
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It's not so bad, I think. The assymetry between your party and foe is not as big as, for example, in JRPG. On one extremity of the spectrum, you have Kith encounters (and psuedo-Kiths, often class-based vessels or wilders) where foes are extremely dangerous and not so resistant (a bit like you), and on other extremity Megabosses. I think the main different is how much reliant you are on healing. That's why Mercy and Kindness is so much above the curve for your party (and is going to be nerfed next BPM version). For Finishing Blow itself, I have 3 options : - Buffing the 2 guiles ability (that would buff foe using it, but probably not to tremendous proportion). My issue is I have no "benchmark" for 2-ressource pure damage abilities. So the foes using it would be a bit more dangerous, but not to extreme proportion. I'm not sure about which parameter should be changed. Note that eliminating blow is a mediocre upgrade for a 2-ressources ability in this case (Eliminating Blow causes a Tier 1 Shaken Affliction - description mentions Frightened and is misleading ; I will correct it anyway). - Setting the ability to 1 guile but nerfing its effect. Something like +10 Acc, +25% damages, +1% damage per health loss, +2% damages per health loss for devastating blow (Skaen's Priest should get Devastating Blow then). This is easier to balance because Accurate Wounding Shot is my benchmark for 1-ressource damage effect. And because this would be strictly superior to Crippling Strike as a damage ability (except vs higher AR). So the foes using it could spam it more, but the spike would be lower, so more manageable for player in a certain way. Note that eliminating blow is a good upgrade in this case (Tier 1 affliction 2.5m radius AoE but not to main target is okay for a 1-ressource ability upgrade). Or adding a new effect : This idea has been discussed above. This was close from my initial idea The issue is that Near-Death destroy effect outright kills (not just knockdown) party members. That would be a big issue vs said foes. EDIT : now I have a doubt. Is it also true when "gibs" are disabled ? EDIT : instead of "destroy" vs Near Death, it could also be extreme damages vs Near Death, so foes would only knock you unconscious. Still looking for other ideas. Leaving apart Eliminating Blow, the ability would be easier to tweak if it had an effect distinct from damages. Another issue is that SC Rogue already has a super good pure damage ability with Gambit... Having a distinct effect would be better to avoid this overlap (although limited to SC and Finishing Blow-line is still useful when low on Guile... but 2 Guiles is a big cost then) Something to consider is that Dual Wield Full attacks are very good when accumulative damages modifier are stacked. The -58% from the inversed -35% damages becomes additive with +300-400ish % damages, so you're essentially getting twice single handed weapon damages as base damages.1 point
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It is possible, for example, that Putin's inner circle will lose morale and intervene in some capacity. I agree that this is not a probable scenario, at least not now, but it is also not impossible. So saying that "There is no prospect" is going a bit too far, in my view.1 point
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A minor point but interesting nonetheless: Shoigu is not an ethnic Russian. One look at his personal palace will bring this fact home to anyone with eyes to see. This somehow appears to parallel the confusing fact that the recent immigration crisis has given voice to some very strong anti-immigrant people in my country, and it's fascinating to note that many of these people do NOT represent the ethnic majority of my country, i.e. they are the equivalents of immigrants themselves. Some material for psychologists right here.1 point
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Welcome back! I wouldn't mind a Mustang myself, but a 67 one1 point
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But root cause is not oil price pike, but than big investment banks are allowed to do massive gambles with funds they don't own1 point
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Not quite. Putin was demanding a lot more, not only from the Ukrainians (effectively the Ukrainians being a vassel state just like Belarus) but also those demands of NATO. And then furthermore, his demands were things he wanted without anything he would be giving the Ukrainians (other than "allowing" them to exist). What I wrote about as things I could see Zelenskiy accepting were all based on Putin accepting certain other things. Those things were never there in any of the pre-war dicussions. So no, this is a fundamentally different outcome from anything pre-war, and is based on precisely the view that Putin no longer can dictate anything unilaterally vis-a-vis Ukraine.1 point
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I finished Chimera squad. Got it for free (thx Oner) so totally worth it for me. It is fast, furious and simple and the plot is light enought to not distract. It has some cool features, like each squadmate is unique with own skills, and the battles are generally quick.1 point
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Nope, not lucky enough to date the hot insane ones... just the insane manipulators Although I did end up recently purchasing myself a 2014 mustang to have fun in. It's amazing how many people look at it and say "I wish I could have one" even though it's not badly priced.1 point
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https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60582327?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=621fa3f40ce87e491a0edcce%26Ukrainian negotiators depart for Belarus%2C Russia claims%262022-03-02T17%3A14%3A45.396Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:651d15cc-d0ce-460e-88ed-573d7946aaeb&pinned_post_asset_id=621fa3f40ce87e491a0edcce&pinned_post_type=share "Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier on Wednesday that Moscow remains committed to the "demilitarisation" of Ukraine and added there should be a list of specified weapons that can never be deployed on Ukrainian territory. But he said that Vladimir Putin's regime recognised the Ukrainian people's right to chose their own leader and that Russia accepts Volodymyr Zelensky as the legitimate president.:" Sort of a bit of a walk back.1 point
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Hard to believe it but it seems like Ukraine is really winning this. Even Lavrov is now starting to back away a bit. Interesting1 point
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Considering that most oil producers don't produce oil even with half of their capacity, it doesn't take that long to increase oil production. Europe buys oil from Russia because they sold it cheap compared to others1 point
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Got promoted to Dollar Tree DevOps. Basically I do shoddy work of people earning 50% more than me1 point
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Telegraph - Japanese armour gifted to the Royal Family survives 400 years thanks to Britain's damp weather1 point
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Its been a couple of years now but I keep coming back to POE and POE2 Deadfire. I especially enjoy Deadfire and I'm perplexed as to why it wasn't more popular. Eora is a brilliantly fleshed out world with a very real and believable level of story charater and depth. The main plot is subdued and subtle like a good film rather than the typical over the top epic where you are the centre of the universe. While you can smash your way through the main story fairly quickly, the world itself gives great sense of scale, everytime I play it I find some extra lil thing that I missed the previous play through, or interacts differently because of history choices or disposition. Its remarkably rewarding. I like the story book style scripted interactions they create a narritive feel. I also like the ship combat, its fun, simple but fun. Its also different and something that I haven't seen in a iso RPG before. I think its great and for those that don't it has the option to bypass it, so you're not even forced to partake in it if you don't want to. As a principi pirate though I go around raiding every merchant I can find. People hate on it and I just don't get why. Yeah it could have been something more complex or compelling but its a side game not the main event and does that role well. Deadfire stands out in particular because its not the typical fantasy tropes. High fantasy suffers from a lord of the rings obsession. Tolkien was great but the fantasy genre has been so tied up in re-creating it that games are almost an insufferable collection of tired cliches at this point. Deadfire's setting is refreshing. I wish there were more fantasy games set in an age of exploration type world. (Greedfall is another that comes to mind). I get there are some pitfalls with this setting as a lot of the inequalities in the world were born out of the age of colonialism. How is this any different though from the slavery, exploitation and religious oppression of the dark ages where most high fantasy is set. When done well it creates a compelling and conflicted world that Eora has captured beautifully. The factions are all very believable. The idea of a mobile stronghold in the form of your ship is great too and I just wish there were more uncharted islands to find, explore and name. I'd love to see POE 3 but given how POE2 was recieved it probably won't happen and that really bums me out because frankly pillars of eternity 1 and 2 are the best RPG games I've played since BG1, 2 and IWD. I just wanted to post up a thanks for an awesome game and say don't give up on it because I'd love to see more isometric adventures set in the world of Eora.1 point
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I did my pre-DLC WotR playthrough already, I may come back to it for the DLC but for the most part I'm going to wait until all DLC drops and (community) patches make the game relatively stable. I've got three characters planned with mythics (Angel, Lich, and Demon) for when that happens. I'm torn between Azata (again) and Trickster for the main. Azata was strong mechanically but it felt that most of its content was in the form of Aivu interjections, while I saw a ton of Trickster options and being a reality bending **** sounds right up my alley. Decisions, decisions.0 points
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Looks like I will not be playing Wrath of the Righteous this weekend. Prior to 1.1.7, I had on and off problems with Steam's cloud syncing where Steam would not properly upload savegames - and only with Wrath of the Righteous. I got into a habit of manually uploading them to my Google Drive just in case. Except today, of course, because it's been working for a month now. Steam immediately started patching the game when I quit earlier today, and guess what's not synced? Hard spoiler!0 points
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I guess one could mod out the VFX of the spell so you wouldn't have any issues anymore.0 points
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"Slightly" may be too optimistic.0 points
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National Geographic - Climate Change worse than expected, says new UN report0 points
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2032 will actually be slightly warmer.0 points
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Basically, The lass manipulated the crap out of me. It's the sort of thing where I wrote it off as "normal" because I didn't have any frame of reference. Basically it got to a point that if I wanted to do anything without her, she'd find a reason to pitch a fit about it and summon me back. She also would find reasons to change jobs about every 4 months, while also constantly justifying why we needed to get different services that cost a pile (out of my pocket, not hers). Ultimately I sat her down to say "I'm not enjoying this" and after I shot down her first response of "I don't do that" she declared, "If that's how you feel, I'm out" and took off. There's a lot more to it, including therapy, and a steady stream of lies, but it be what it be.0 points