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Based on my recent testing (non-modded deadfire), it seems that the Imbue Missiles ability, when empowered, can potentially grant many inspirations. That being said, I was using the Kitchen Stove with Wild Barrage on the opening boat scene, but I don't seem to be getting the same level of success with other imbues or other abilities in general of the ranger. Just thought this might be a good thing to add to the list of Least Unstable Coil spells/abilities to use with. EDIT: It may have something to do with the Powder Burns modal and multiple enemies being nearby, I think; the Blast modal for rods also got me 5 inspirations with an empowered Imbue Missiles.

I bought Marvel: Midnight Suns on the Steam sale. The gist of the reviews seemed to be that the turn-based combat is a win, but there's a lot of socializing in the base that drags on. Struggling with loneliness, this sounded like a plus to me. The first 10-15 hours have mostly been good. The characters are well-written and the combat is fun, but the missions are already getting stale. 95% of the battles have been against 3-4 varieties of henchmen, the combat maps are tiny and contain identical environmental items. Normal mode is too easy and harder difficulty levels have to be unlocked, which is dumb. I knew what I was getting into with the social part, but I have to admit that there's a whole lot of it. Every combat mission is bookended by 30-60 minutes of talking to your teammates, taking them on 'dates', improving your base, etc. This increases your relationships and unlocks team attacks. I accept this because I knew what I was getting into and it's done well, but there's also a whole bunch of collectables (crap) to run around and find. You don't strictly have to, and I've been avoiding it, but it unlocks new powers and more junk. Ultimately though, it's the repetitive combat missions that I'm getting tired of, and I did not expect that. The combat system is not the problem and it's still early, so I'm hopeful that the fights will improve.

All the three DLCs for PoE2 are also very good, and I heartily recommend them. If you only want one, do go for Beast of Winter, as it is the best, storywise.

I just bought both DLC for PoE1 and then PoE 2 Great price on Steam with 75% off I am currently playing NWN2 and its expansions so I will play White March and PoE 2 after that

Only the main character can do it because you have to stack resting bonuses to be able to tank Dorudugan. I did a video a long time ago, unfortunately not very good quality, showing my herald tanking Dorudugan. A blood mage/paladin or a forbidden fist/paladin can emulate that too.

In my experience, Killers froze stiff benefits from a higher PL when casting. I've noticed that when I cast killers from a bellower as compared to a troubadour - the odds are higher of the invocation hitting. Is my observation correct? How? I reviewed the PL mega thread - when killers targets will - does it penetrate will?

Here is a longer version of my suggestion that was posted on the Grounded Discord (that received 35+ likes ^-^) [https://discord.com/channels/675491639804035089/786708112978477076/1181007520924446762] with additional ideas included: More items to craft or acquire using O.R.C. Receivers and/or more things to do with them: **Tiered Reward System:** - Collect enough O.R.C. Receivers to unlock rewards depending on how many O.R.C. receivers you collect (5, 10, 25, 50 etc., can be redeemed by an NPC such as BURG.L or new scientist mentioned below) - "One of the scientists that helped freed you, in order to hide from Ominent, is now in the backyard ready to help you (along with teaming up with Dr. Tully) by trading in your saved up O.R.C. Receivers to them." **O.R.C. Enhanced ZIP.R:** (Could work along with others' zipline upgrade ideas that suggest 2 aphids) - Trade in(?) for an upgraded zipline using O.R.C. Receivers - Aphids appear with O.R.C. Receiver on their head (default red lights changed to blue or green to show alliance) - Greatly Increase Zipline speed - Allows for transporting resources upward as well **Lil O.R.C. Receiver Helmet:** - Used in taming larger pets? - Or just cosmetic. Or both. - Different color lights? (Default red, or blue/green to show alliance) **O.R.C. Receiver Arrows:** - O.R.C. Homing Arrows: Can automatically redirect arrows to the closest enemy to your crosshair (Or: Every consecutive Homing Arrow will automatically redirect to the target you last did damage to?) - O.R.C. EMP Arrows: Inflict static shock damage - O.R.C. Mind Control Arrows: Temporarily cause a certain creature to fight on your side (default red lights changed to blue or green to show alliance) **O.R.C. Receiver Trinket:** - Automatically give arrows a slight "homing" ability (such as Homing Arrow suggestion) Or: - Small % chance to "mark" certain creatures to temporarily fight on your side when using any O.R.C. Receiver crafted arrows (default red lights changed to blue or green to show alliance) **O.R.C. Receiver Bomb:** - Inflict AoE shock damage Or: - Will automatically "mark" certain creatures within the blast's AoE range to temporarily fight on your side (default red lights changed to blue or green to show alliance) **O.R.C. Mantis Boss:** - Self explainatory - Late to End-Game - Fits lore and story progression/timeline (Broodmother -> Haze Canister -> Infected; Mantis -> Schmector Experiments -> O.R.C. Technology) **O.R.C. Armor:** - Crafted from "the broken down materials of multiple O.R.C Receivers" (description when trading in?) Or: - Crafted from a large amount of O.R.C. Receivers - Other pieces can be acquired from possibly a new "O.R.C. Mantis" boss - Full set bonus: When an enemy is hit, small % chance to "mark" certain nearby creatures to temporarily fight on your side (toggle the hat on them? Default red lights changed to blue or green to show alliance) Note: When it comes to all Mind Control features (small % chance to "mark") ideas mentioned above, an alternative can be to spawn random small creatures nearby the enemy and have them "seemingly" been mind controlled (have the blue/green O.R.C. Receiver helmet to show) Reasoning: Just fun ideas for late to end-game tech usage, courtesy of Dr. Wendell Tully's expertise on reverse-engineering his adversaries devices.

Okay some more of what I watched over my holidaze - Pieces - Christopher George plays what may be the least effective cop in slasher film history as a maniac chainsaws his way through college. He is aided by a former Tennis Pro turned police woman (Lynda Day), a student (Ian Sera), a Professor (Jack Taylor), the groundskeeper (a glowering Paul Smith), and the Dean (Edmund Purdom) - any of who could be the killer (last seen as a kid who killed his mom). Very giallo (with all the weird logic those films display at times) and in its way and a lot of fun. Plus random Bruce Le cameo. Miami Connection - A band that are also martial arts experts runs afoul of drug dealers who have ninjas on their side in Orlando because one of the band members is dating the sister of one of the drug dealers. A lot of fun, with some catchy music. Alien Outlaw - Aliens attack a small town just as shooting expert Jesse Jamison comes to town with her trick shooting show. Lots of things get shot, and possibly one of the best escapes in cinema for a heavily overweight comedy relief character. The Maltese Falcon - The stuff dreams are made of; the new restoration did a lot of good for sound and image Casablanca - Also a very good restoration. And a good film. Always felt like Henried was all wrong for Lazlo - his portrayal doesn't fit the idea of a character whose led a canny cat-and-mouse chase with the Germans through WWII Europe; instead it feels like his character is one scene away from doing a Sydney Carton with jutting jaw if given half-a-chance. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance - intersplices the origin of the title character's fall from second/execution for the Shogun with a forward story of the now-a-sword-for-hire Ogami Ittō taking money to further his planned vengeance on the clan that framed him in the eyes of the Shogun. This leads to a bloody conflict with a group of Ronin who are waiting to perform their own assassination in a hot springs town where they terrorize all who are there. Nice 70s samurai action film; always thought Wakayama Tomisaburō was a great pick for the role; he's expressive when he needs to be, stoic when he needs to be, meancing when he needs to be, and plays the father role well to boot. American Graffiti - 4 high school graduates have a final night on Modesto before they go their separate ways. Its an interesting exercise in characters as plot, since there really isn't a formal structure, but a structure that weaves the characters through the night into a satisfying film. People Under the Stairs - skipped it when it came out, but over the years heard so much about it I had to give it a shot. Man marketing really let this film down at the time of its release. Its not the film I remember being sold, and its overall a very solid horror film. I can't help but feel the film got edited heavily though (Bill Cobbs, for example, just disappears from the film at the end, with no explanation). Love Brides of the Blood Mummy - a good example of what a lot people accuse Eurohorror of being - pointless cruelty and a rapey plot. Nice costumes is about the best I can say, they felt like they could have come from a higher budgeted film. On the plus side, I have a new answer to "what's the worst mummy film you've seen". Get Crazy - Daniel Stern puts on a rock-n-roll new years eve show for his boss, while an evil Ed Begely, Jr. tries to take over the beloved venue to build a Trump-esque tower on its land. A surreal comedy that is one half 'lets put on a show' and one half actual concert footage. A lot better than a film made to be a Mel Brook's The Producers style tax break flop should be. Underworld / Transmutations - An artist who used to be a fixer for a criminal is brought in to search for his ex-girlfriend who has been kidnapped by sewer dwelling mutants created by a mad scientist. Its a fun film; certainly compromised by producers. Still it has a lot of ideas that the film's writer, Clive Barker, would go to flesh out to better effect in later stories and movies. The director of this would collaborate on the stronger, but still flawed, Rawhead Rex with Barker a few years later. Sky Pirates - just after WWII, an Australian air force pilot is tasked to bring some US military personnel, a scientist and a mysteries part of a stone tablet to America with a stop at Easter Island. After things go south, the pilot and the scientist's daughter are locked in a race with evil US military types to get their hands on the completed tablet and the ultimate weapon it contains. Very much an Australian entry into he Indiana Clones series of films, its probably stronger in the first 2/3 than the last 1/3, but worth a watch. Magnificent Warriors - Michelle Yeoh is a pilot with a way with a whip, gun and martial arts. Recruited through her grandfather to rescue the leader of a Tibetan city during the second series of Japanese invasions into various Asian countries in the 1930s, complications abound when a thief steals the identification of her contact in the city. Great comedic martial arts stunts and good straight action up to the final fight. While not as grim as some martial arts films can be, the final fight takes a serious turn that somewhat drains the high energy and fun that had been established to that point. Not as Indiana Clone as I'd been told (its more High Road to China adjacent, really, lol) it is a fun film.

it's not just about making his active abilities faster, it's about making him entirely more responsive. if you're not playing RTWP it doesn't matter. but in RTWP, a medium-armor slow-weapon 1h will take 5.3s to recover (assuming +35% medium armor, eder's starting 11 dex). If you're 1.5s into recovering during which you get brought to near death, you have to wait another 3.8s before you can do anything else, like Second Wind or potions or whatever. A medium-armor Eder using magran's blessing and 2w style will take 3.1s (+35% medium armor, -30% dual wielding, -15% two weapon style, eder's starting 11 dex) with either slow weapon or shield. In the same scenario, if you're 1.5s into recovering when something happens, you now only have to wait 1.6s to do anything else. That is a massive improvement in reactivity, and you'll readily notice it in hard fights - the second eder might do a little less damage, but you'll be able to respond quicker to changing circumstances (for me it mostly means needing to use a second wind or drink a healing potion). the situation is more extreme when interrupts are involved. when interrupted, you end up having to recover for 2s. if you get interrupted multiple times, then that stacks. the only upper limit to this is your recovery time. the first eder can easily become extremely sluggish in a fight where interrupts are involved. extremely common with rogue-type enemies, who also like to dual-wield; a successful dual-wielded crippling strike will knock the first eder's recover back 4s. the second eder can only ever be knocked back at most by 3.1s, a significant improvement in interrupt resiliency. i.e., if both eders had 1.5s left before their next action (again, maybe a queued Second Wind to heal) and got hit by a dual-wielded rogue's interrupt, the first eder would reset completely to 5.3s recovery, whereas the second eder would get back to 3.1s; you only lost 1.6s versus losing almost the full 4s. on especially harder potd fights you can definitely be in a situation where the first eder barely gets to do anything at all before getting knocked out. general responsiveness is a huge win. edit: this is also why reloading ranged weapons are very good, even though they come with significant downsides compared to bows and implements. being able to do anything else in the middle of reloading versus having to wait for a recovery period is an extremely huge advantage in a complex fight.

if you're indecisive, troubadour is the all-around better choice IMO. i have a lot of fun with bellower but it comes with limitations that you need to work with/around, whereas troubadour is a good all-purpose chanter.

For the strategy games fans here, I just came across these two games, both supposedly scheduled for release in 2024. They both look quite good to me. Millennia may have already been shared here, but Ara is definitely new to me. What do you guys thing?

Yeah, that's, one of those cheesy, sentimental Rom-Com for a season types. If you're just wanting witty british comedy, that's a bit of a different focus. You might want to try Death At A Funeral, Hot Fuzz, Four Weddings and a Funeral leans into the Rom-Com side of things, Chalet Girl is an obscure one that's got some wit behind the rom-com as well. Or, really go old school and look up Kind Hearts and Coronets

Thank you so much! I am so grateful for the many years of knowledge you have provided! I am trying to do a Loremaster/Blood Mage/and I am unsure if I should go Troub or Bellower. I like Bellower, but I am realizing that troub might be better. I am aware that the empowered is removed with Blood mage. I am just trying to decide between Bellower and Troub. I like big shouts, but I like rapid casting the energized invo, as well as the bouncing healing one. Just don’t know what to do lol.

It's kind of crazy how dull exploration can be in Starfield. I mean, we're talking about Bethesda, exploration has been this company's bread and butter for decades. Plus, you have a freakin' jetpack. A Bethesda game with a jetpack? That sounds like a slam dunk in terms of exploration. And yet, here were are. According to Bethesda, they have things coming down the pipe that supposedly will address peoples' complaints about travel and exploration. What form said things coming down the pipe will take and whether they will actually happen is a mystery. Remember, this is a company that has time and again relied on modders to fix their broken games in the past. I don't know what they can do to make the planets less dull, given that the vast majority of them are procedurally generated, but at the very least they need to ungimp the jetpack. You can do that to some degree with skills and crafting, but at best you can make the jetpack less $#!+, you can't make it good. It doesn't have nearly enough forward thrust. On a planet with low enough gravity you can use the jetpack to essentially sprint forever, regaining stamina while in midair, but it doesn't make you move from point a to point b any faster, except that you don't have to stop sprinting. Either give the jetpack enough horizontal thrust that it significantly speeds up your travel or give us a vehicle to traverse these boring ass planet, and one that doesn't require a loading screen to get in and out of. Even the jetpack in Elex, which is lame, is better than the jetpack in Starfield.

Yes, your observation is correct. Power Levels improve the accuracy: +1 per added Power Level. If you cast Killers with a Bellower - and let's say get +5 PL from his current phrase count - you'll have +5 accuracy. Your attack roll (d100 + accuracy - enemy's will defense) will determine the quality of the hit (miss, graze, hit or crit). It has nothing to do with penetration though. That's only a thing when dealing damage (vs. armor) is involved. Your Killers invocation will also have longer duration because of the added power levels by the way.

Happy 2024 ya scalawags.

postscript: If it wasn't for hubby's back (or if I was single) I'd probably eventually just find one of my old "Junker" cars used somewhere. Like the '74 Toyota Corolla 2-dr coupe. Or this orange '77 corolla hatchback. No fancy AI/computer chips/cameras/screens etc. I weirdly miss them. Although I don't miss their ability (or lack thereof) to pick up speed going up hills. Simpler times.

Oops. I'm in the dancing rooms of YT again. Irish dance routines to modern music, loved it. Also, double-checked - they're actual older/younger brother, not greenscreened.

That's not true... A paladin multi classed with troubadour, blood mage or forbidden fist can tank Dorudugan without any external help. Interrupts can be avoided with Rekvu's helmet. And of course any character under BDD can tank anything. Any troubadour MC equipped with Rekvu's Cloak, Upright Captain Belt and Arcane interrupter can solo Dorudugan just by himself using Brisk Recitation and Many Lives... Monk MC can do the same, with a little more micro, using the Dichotomus Soul instead.

Finished Vampyr. It is mostly fine, though, there are issues. In Chapter 5 (out of 6), I found a police officer, but was unable to report the previously-met serial killer, gang leaders, the child abuser, or the poisoner. The only way to anyhow prevent them from causing harm to random people was to lethally bite them, which would result in a worse ending. From what I've read (haven't tried myself), killing or not killing civilians is the only way of interaction with them - quests do give XP, but the NPC's state does not seem to change, while, for example, if the serial killer is killed, his mother adopts the homeless orphan. Additionally, as mentioned, slaughtering the nameless vampire hunters was perfectly fine and did not affect the endings or the MC's appearance (again, haven't tried myself, but the more civilians are eaten, the redder the MC's eyes become). In terms of combat, while most of the regular opponents were possible to interrupt with normal attacks (thus, just hitting them until the stamina ran out was a viable strategy), it only partially worked with the bosses, though the later ones resisted the interruptions with normal attacks (the abilities mostly worked). The targeting was somehow odd - sometimes, the opponents could glide several meters forward while also changing directions mid-swing, sometimes, the attacks worked like they would in Dark Souls. On a positive note, I quite liked the second form of the final boss, easy may it be, - the boss was impossible to bite (so, no healing in combat) or interrupt, but the boss' damage was low and attacks clearly telegraphed, so it was defeated on the first attempt (the first stage took several, because I counted on being able to stagger the boss and did not notice how much damage the stacking poison clouds were doing). The ending was funny, partially, because the information told by the NPCs was presented in a diary found 2 minutes before the dialogue. I also found the best sword (by accidentally seeing it mentioned on the forums and having the collectible required to solve the puzzle leading to it) and water for the plant at the MC's office (that one I almost missed). I did not rest after the Chapter 5 boss battle, because I was worried that the districts' condition might worsen and did not have enough XP to level up. Another thing I noticed is that one of the Irish NPCs was using the American date format for his diary, mm/dd/yy, instead of dd/mm/yy. Overall, while Vampyr was not anyhow close to VtMB, it was playable. Considering that I still have the manual saves created via Windows Explorer, I might try to see what happens if more people are bitten.

forgive us for going slight necro, but we recent watched our favorite spaghetti western and it reminded us o' this post. not sergio leone, but we enjoy pretty much everything about the great silence. we always watch this film in december for the silliest o' reasons: the snow. HAA! Good Fun!

ROFL A Bethesda game nominated for innovative gameplay

A salty staff that summons salt spikes to damage enemy's

Hello, I was thinking maybe be integrated in a future update a centipede boss where it would come out of the ground and where you would have to move to avoid the areas from where it would come out. I really liked the fight against the assistant manager because we had to move, jump, squat ! I’d like another "movement" boss fight.

So Sam the robot is now a headless, floating human. Am I the only one with this glitch? He’s wearing Nyoka’s original green outfit. His arms stick straight out from his body and he kinda just glides everywhere with feet a few inches above ground and no head. Because he doesn’t have his arm-gun thing, yellow acid just kind of shoots out of him like he’s p!$$ing on people. He’s a fully functional companion. Not sure how this happened. I’m on Eridanos and it’s been a while since I took him anywhere. I’m also pretty sure I sold Nyoka’s armor a long time ago. I’d add pics and videos but they‘re too large. Anyone know how?

same issue here pal, does anyone know how to fix it?

Fungal Amalgamation It is a being entirely comprised of the Infection, every phase it adds bug parts to itself to gain extra attacks from those bugs. Ants would add an acid attack, Beetles would add the rock throw, Bees or Dust Mites would have pollen or dust. Beating it would give the "Fungal Infusion" mutation, increasing defense of armors made from the bugs it uses to gain attacks. (Ant armor, Bee armor, added Beetle armor?)