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It is the best game ever, so get it. If you play on Civilized, the combat is pretty forgiving. Enemies are basically level locked, so as you level it will be easier to dominate areas that might have been hard early on. Also on Civilized, death is not too serious and is actually an easy way to get back home quickly if you have travelled too far. The only time you really need to use strategy is when you fight bosses, and you don't need to rush those. You can even go into admin mode and change the combat settings if you are having trouble. I've done that with a couple bosses. It's a pretty flexible game when you are playing single player or co-op. You can basically adjust the setting to any play style you want.

"How long until Ubisoft fires 2/3 of their staff and has AI make all the copy paste activities on their maps? Would we even notice a difference?" always has been

Wartales has sure added a lot since I played back in Early Access. The fact that you can set up pitons and climb mountains is a pretty interesting mechanic. My band is pretty strong at level 5-6, and we have one lucky wolf named Fang who has surprisingly survived from the early game. I've buried a lot of animals, so this pup is clearly lucky. I think it might be better than Battle Brothers. It definitely is much deeper. It might not have the same replayability, mostly because of a more set narrative, but it does give you a lot of interesting options on how to construct your warband and still creates some great storylines amongst the team.

Pretty much, she will be "good enough" almost regardless what you pick, but with right picks she can reload faster, has +40ish accuracy from marked + flanked + stalkers link + marksman + survival of the fittest, and +85ish % damage from sneak attack + deathblows (+65 more from crits + overpen). When I built her like this in the past she did more damage than the rest of my party. Just script her to target whatever Ishiza is attacking (and maybe marked prey on > 90% health once per 30s or whatever) since you can't script ishiza. Then you position ishiza to create flanks and maia auto targets these enemies. Geomancers are cool, though if you have aloth in the party it's kind of wizard heavy

Story is probably too strong a word for M&B, but there is a backstory to the factions. That being said, Bannerlord does have a bit more of a narrative path that you can follow, and it gives you a family at the start. Ballers Gate is now the official name.

Wait, there's a chronology and a story to the M&B games? I've always just played them as a sandbox, I didn't realize there was any lore. Anyway, for years I've been meaning to replay Morrowind. I've been keeping an occasional eye on the OpenMW project and they're currently in the release candidate phase of version 0.48; they're on RC9 at the moment. OpenMW has been at the point where Morrowind is fully playable and basically feature complete with the original game for a while now, 0.48 introduces post processing effects to spiffy up the visuals a bit. Once 0.48 is fully released I'm going back to Vvardenfell.

Oh that was probably autocorrect or my dumb brain. I was also talking about wartales. Ballers gate was definitely autocorrect

Perhaps, perhaps not - I liked Durance, too. What's really off though is your timing. ...

@Achilles like:

...got two more tats yesterday that finishes off me left arm sleeve...first tats I's got in o'er 4 years...middle aged an' still gettin' ink; not the sharpest axe on the rack... ...WHO LUVS YA, BABY!!...

First if he likes Swedish food, it is just more evidence that he is unhinged. Now, his views are not his views. As a Fox News employee, he was a mouthpiece for the billionaire class, like the rest of Fox News. The media landscape does not need a made up, astroturfed "side" for things to be balanced. There are not two sides to every issue. Sometimes issues are more complex than that, and the brainless reduction of discussions to stupid talking points helps no one. Fox news is actively and intentionally destroying the social fabric. It is not needed anywhere.

Holy thread necro batman!

More data mining. Android companion looks to be limited to the Through the Ashes sequel and is an Int-based Bard. There's also reference to "shards", which look to be limited to the DLC. Archetypes continue to be more sp00ky with cannibal Barbarians, daemon Shamans (Owlbrew original), hag Bloodragers, dual-cursed Oracle, heretical Clerics, and a geomancer Sorcerer (owlbrew Original). Handful of new spells as well.

I'm a big fan of Robert Howard and the whole Conan world, so I'm probably biased. That being said, it is the best game I have ever played.

The ultimate irony " Moscow’s chosen theme of “effective multilateralism through the defense of the principles of the U.N. Charter” Lets create own borders not recognized by anyone and invade Ukraine but we support the principles of the UN charter

At the UNSC: https://www.voanews.com/a/accusations-divisions-overshadow-russian-led-security-council-meeting/7064265.html

Seems like a decent trade except for that escalator that gives GB another 1st rounder is Rodgers plays 65% of the snaps. I thought NY was trying to get some compensation if Rodgers walks away next year, but I didnt see anything about that.

It's been some time since I played (before the Sorcery update), but different aspects of gameplay have separate difficulty settings (combat, crafting, etc.) and in single-player mode can be configured before starting the game (would recommend to disable degradation for buildings). Also, there are NPC followers* (they are random and do not have quests or personalities), which can make combat easier or be nice decorations at the base. Though, dying while they are following you might result in their loss. Overall, unless you go into the late-game dungeons and face the bosses unprepared (the preparations include decent equipment and the followers loaded with healing items or food), it should be fine. There is a main story line (to remove the bracelet and regain freedom), some environmental storytelling, and lore. *They were possible to recruit by rescuing in the Siptah expansion, but I think they had to be captured in the main game. Pets have to be kidnapped when young in both, though.

Encased. Exploring the Magellan Station. It is divided into 7+ floors and can be traversed mostly freely. Some general design decisions are becoming slightly unpleasant - XP can be gained from looting and depends on the quality of the loot, while the loot itself is random, hte action of looting does not increase fatigue, and there are a lot of containers (including flower pots and trash bins), thus if looting is skipped, so is the XP, which might make the following encounters more difficult. Also, there are some odd parts in the writing and slight mismatches with NPC descriptions (e.g. an NPC described having "sun-bleached" hair has curly black hair on the portrait). The quests are reasonably interesting so far, some are straightforward, some include light puzzles. Though the Journal updates are inconsistent - if a clue was obtained before the quest, it is not saved in the Journal and has to be repeated, which might not be possible. The party is able to knock out a group of a similar size reliably - everyone has a non-lethal combat ability.

Tuotilo's Palm has the same penetration and accuracy as your fists, just lower damage. Once enchanted it offers also great defense and either better accuracy or damage with fists. The lantern is good for just one thing - the chance to restore mortification - which for me is a trap because the dps gains for having Swift Strikes available (maybe) longer are inferior to Tuotilo's Palm gains. The best way to benefit from the lantern is to keep it in the second slot and when an enemy is near death switch to it and let Xoti deal the finishing blow (if you really need mortification).

By the way, the arrest of the journalist Evan Gershkovich makes the current Russia look even worse than any of the previous ones, in terms of what is tolerated. There is, of course, the remote possibility that he is guilty of what he's accused of, but that looks very unlikely. What is happening is that Russia is becoming more totalitarian than it ever was. And that's scary. Journalists and diplomats have been treated much better before.

Yeah, Taleworlds liked doing those "standalone expansion" things that used to be more common back in the day. I don't mind that at all really, if you've got a good functioning engine, may as well make the most of it by releasing new content with minimal technical improvement, instead of discarding it after one game. In this case it also makes more sense than a traditional expansion because I don't think there's much reason for most normal players to go back to the original Mount and Blade after Warband.

Still chugging my way through Mass Effect 1 (from the legendary edition). Driving around in the MAKO still feels like a chore, the side missions you have to do there being a bit "samey". Find merc/criminal/warlord base and kill goons, scan some object and do the mind numbingly boring mini game (luckily I have a small stock pile of omni gel now, so I can auto solve the more tedious ones). I've only played ME1 once before, so I don't remember all the little side stories, which I guess is a plus. Exploring the Citadel was fun as was all the politicking and lobbying going on in various circles there. Combat is still the most fun in any of the 3 games IMHO. Probably helped by being a slightly less linear corridor shooter. Two things I miss in the first game though... Garrus polishing his big cannon 24/7 and my fish tank

Just to eliminate confusion, I was talking about Wartales. Warband is the new Mount and Blade game. Which is actually really good too. What times we live in!

Warband is good. I haven't played in a while, I remember getting to a point where I was unable to make enough money to cross any borders, and kinda gave up. I should give it another shot. I like non fantasy or low fantasy games. It was a big turn off for pathfinder. If there are fantasy elements I like them to be introduced slowly. Pathfinder was like here are some demons and people that turn into dragons. Same with ballers gate 3. Fricken squid people was almost enough to make me quit right away.

You might consider using her fist in the main hand and her lantern/small shield in her off hand. While this isn't optimal in terms of DPS, the lantern shield gives her greater survivability and the threshing aura is great for a party if you max her religion skill.

a true glutton for punishment

I recall a lot of discussion here from people playing Conan: Exiles. I am thinking about getting this game just for its exploration and base-building aspects. So, if I were to set the combat-related things to the easiest settings, how difficult is the combat? Will it still be frustratingly difficult for someone who doesn't do well with action games where you need to tee up combat sequences and maneuvers and such?

The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland today in Foreign Affairs, and with which I completely agree: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/free-world-must-stay-course-ukraine

of course

Of courses not. If anything it would be because they are too strong Compared to other classes. Or too strong when rest spamming (but I will add per rest charges to other classes instead). I only intend to nerf about 3 spells that cause other balance issues. Could have been great but modfing PoE1 is difficult, so I prefer to limit my intentions to tweaking a couple of numbers. For the reason mentionned above I would rather go with a simple scaling mechanics. Your idea wouldn't alter Deep wound though, since it would trigger from the weapon attack itself (not the raw bonus), but Deep Wounds damages don't depend on inflicted damages in PoE1.

...went ta the oldest grandkid's first Spring Hockey practice today fer the "traveling team"...li'l bugger's first year playin' goalie an' not only did he make the team but he's gonna be the Starter...jus' like Papa was when I was a wee lad...costin' me a small fortune cuz I said when he was 4 that we'd pay fer hockey an' now that he's 8 I's already regrettin' me big yap...Grandkid's be still better, though; feed 'em full o' sugar an' send 'em back fer theys mother ta deal with...revenge be sweet!!... ...WHO LUVS YA, BABY!!...

Allegedly being the key word, yeah. Apparently everything shown last year was scheduled for release within the next twelve months, but Starfield at least has slipped back to September. Really hoping it does come soon though. There's not a lot on my radar right now, but Silksong definitely is. As for Avowed, if there is still no news at this years Meh-3, then I'm pushing it back to 2025 in my mind and finding something else to be excited about for a bit. I don't expect Starfield to have any real degree of depth as it widens its play space to ridiculous levels, but it might at least tide me over for a few months with it's various systems if it actually lands in September... Baldur's Gate 3 lands around the end of August too, and that's my online co-op game covered for a nice long while.

Souls aren't drawn to you because you're the Herald of Berath, they're drawn to you because you're a Watcher: There was absolutely a conflict with Xoti's motivations. She started out with the intention to keep them from the Beyond, she just couldn't bear the burden. It was weird you couldn't tell her you wouldn't stand for it.

A few points of clarification: * "Crafting" is one skill, but the crafting system uses multiple skills. I.e., the crafting system does not rely on the existence of the Crafting skill. * Other than reaching the edge of a map to access the world map, there is no fast-travel in PE. That said, we will likely avoid the IWD-style 5-level dungeons without semi-regular shortcuts back to the surface (N.B.: this does not mean Skyrim-style loops). * Most items do take up space in personal inventories! The party Stash is unlimited, but the Pack (made of personal inventories) is not. Crafting items (and quest items) always go into (and come out of) the Stash. We are doing this specifically to address common complaints about crafting items cluttering the inventory. Since crafting is typically done at camps or other non-combat locations, allowing the items to come out of the Stash doesn't seem to create any problems. As I posted on SA, Crafting (the skill) and its associated subsystems (like durability) were the elements I felt least confident about in our skill system. I strongly believe that choices within an array should give the player reasonably balanced benefits. Because certain fundamental skills (like Stealth) can clearly benefit from multiple party members taking them and can contribute to party effectiveness in combat, I believe that other skills should do the same in their own way -- enough to make all of them appealing choices on multiple party members. This also has the benefit of making the uses of skills much higher-frequency than the individual uses that depend on designer content (e.g. unlocking doors or gaining a dialogue/quest option). As an example, Medicine in its various Fallout forms contributes to the efficacy of stimpaks. There are many other places were Medicine can be used in quests and dialogue, but it has high-frequency use with stimpaks (in or between combats). It's a benefit that can apply to any character who has the skill, even if a character with a higher rating in a party may be "the guy" to perform the high-difficulty actions. With all of the skills other than Crafting (specifically), those high-frequency benefits/uses were easy to come by. Crafting presented some difficulties and, as I wrote previously, I was concerned about the lack of systemic drains in the economy. Many people have mentioned a lot of potential uses for wealth. Most of them are great ideas and ones that we plan to use, but the vast majority of them are not systemic, rather content-dependent or scripted instances (e.g. bribes). However, it is clear from discussions here and elsewhere that the long-term balance of the economy is not a concern for most players who voiced their opinions -- and almost certainly not in the endgame. Based on discussions on the forums and conversations I had with people on the team, we will be doing the following: * Removing durability as a mechanic on items. * Removing the Crafting skill (specifically). The crafting system and its associated mechanics will remain, as-is. Ultimately, solving skill imbalance and endgame wealth abundance problems is not worth what players perceive as uninteresting and unenjoyable gameplay. I can still solve the skill imbalance problems by removing the problem skill. As for endgame wealth abundance, we will continue to create places for you to use wealth in the economy: unique items, the stronghold, optional quest/dialogue gates, etc. Ultimately, if those options go unused, I'll have to trust that the majority of players won't be significantly troubled by an excess of wealth in the late game. Thanks for all of your feedback.

Harry Belafonte

Released in 2010, I know time flies but still.

I just realized I missed a real opportunity by not doing this for my previous joke:

This is newsworthy: For the first time in 2 years my GOG Galaxy client managed to update itself and did not force me to download the new version from scratch. Are the GOG people learning to code? Only time will tell.

I should have got a Playstation

With our luck, we'll get an RTS in the Arcanum setting Edit: J/k, but I do think the big wigs are going to look at profitability of settings cross referenced with game types