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This build was created for a collaboration with @Aestus who runs the Youtube channel Aestus_RPG. Here's the video where we talk about this and other builds. This is build 5 of 5 from that collaboration. ----------------------------------------- This build is mainly meant for inspiration. You don't need to follow it in detail to have fun. If you understand the key features - the basic idea what makes this build special - you can usually deviate from my non-core attribute-, skill-, gear- and ability selection and form the build to your own likings and ideas. I do not try to produce the most powerful uberbuilds (often those are the most boring to play in he long run) but to focus on having fun while playing. Usually that means the build is powerful - but it's not the main focus. If you like to read about my personal requirements for "fun to play" builds, you can jump to a list below this post ----------------------------------------- Stefran Johæn Ængelyn Gærmanoða was born into a minor noble family in the Aedyr Empire, a nation steeped in tradition and the grip of authority. From a young age, he was fascinated by power - both the arcane that flowed through his veins and the rigid laws that governed his homeland. His path was clear when he was taken in by the Steel Garrote, an order of Paladins who serve Woedica, the deity of law, justice, oaths, promises, cold retribution... and molten faces. The Steel Garrotes instilled in Stefran the belief that cruelty, when applied with reason, was a necessary tool for maintaining order. He learned to bind his emotions, becoming an enforcer of the goddess's will. His magic, sustained by the rites of Blood Magic, allowed him to fuel his power through sacrifice but also drawing strength from the pain of others. His arcane prowess grew alongside his martial skill, making him both a deadly warrior and a fearsome wizard. In time, Stefran rose through the ranks, his reputation as a relentless but pragmatic enforcer of Woedica’s law spreading across Aedyr. However, whispers of dissent grew in his branch of the order, and Stefran found himself at the center of a brewing rebellion between faction inside the order. It was then that his faith was tested. Rather than defending his reactionary marshal who also smelled of mouldy floorcloth, he chose to enact Woedica’s justice in his own way and asked for a secondment. Now, a self-styled judge and executioner, Stefran roams the Deadfire Archipelago, seeking to restore justice through the lens of his unyielding law - but also with fairness. His path is paved with broken oaths, and the echo of Woedica's will is still guiding his hand and blade. "I won't cry for you I will just deflect the things you do then I'll drain you too See, when you're gone, I'll still be Bloody Parry" - Stefran while parrying very offensively - edit: dang! Should've used a song of Katy Parry instead... rolled a miss there =================================== The Bloody Parry =================================== Difficulty: PotD -------------------------------------------------------------- Solo: untested -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Arcane Knight - Steel Garrote/Blood Mage -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Human (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Aedyr (or any) - Aristocrat (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (w/o Berath's Blessings, ★=recommendation) MIG: 12 (11 +1 Human) CON: 10 DEX: 10 PER: 14 INT: 15 ★ RES: 17 ★★ (15 + 1 Human +1 Aedyr) -------------------------------------------------------------- the unique icons for all passive abilities are part of the Community Patch mod Abilities | Skills | Proficiencies - (!=important, r=recommended) 00. Garrote (a) + Faith and Conviction (a) + Blood Sacrifice (a) 01. Lay on Hands (r) + Concelhaut's Parasitic Staff (r) | Great Sword + Quarterstaff 02. Flames of Devotion (r) | +1 Athletics (->2), +1 Religion (->2) 03. Deep Faith (r)| +1 Athletics (->3), +1 Metaphysics (->2) 04. Zealous Aura + Infuse with Vital Essence | +1 Athletics (->4), +1 Religion (->3) | Medium Shield 05. Divine Purpose | +1 Athletics (->5), +1 Metaphysics (->3) 06. Sworn Enemy (r) | +1 Arcana (->3), +1 Intimidate (->3) 07. Sworn Rival + Concelhaut's Corrosive Siphon (r) | +1 Arcana (->4), +1 Religion (->4) 08. Eternal Devotion (r) | +1 Athletics (->6), +1 Metaphysics (->4) | Club 09. Glorious Beacon | +1 Arcana (->5 ), +1 Intimidate (->4) 10. Exalted Edurance (r) + Essential Phantom | +1 Arcana (->6), +1 Survival (->1) 11. Clear Head | +1 Arcana (->7), +1 Religion (->5) 12. Spell Shaping | +1 Arcana (->8), +1 Survival (->2) | Sword 13. Inspired Beacon + Two-Handed Style | +1 Arcana (->9), +1 Metaphysics (->5) 14. Rapid Casting | +1 Arcana (->10), +1 Intimidate (->5) 15. Iron Gut | +1 Arcana (->11), +1 Survival (->3) 16. Virtuous Triumph (r) + Minoletta's Precisely Piercing Burst | +1 Arcana (->12), +1 Religion (->6) | Large Shield 17. Mental Fortress | +1 Arcana (->13), +1 Metaphysics (->6) 18. Hands of Light | +1 Arcana (->14), +1 Intimidate (->6) 19. Sacred Immilation (r) + Wall of Draining (!) | +1 Arcana (->15), +1 Survival (->4) 20. Bear's Fortitude | +1 Arcana (->16), +1 Religion (->7) | Pike --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (!=important, r=recommended) Weapon Set 1: Whispers of the Endless Paths (! - +Offensive Parry!, +Run Through, +Legendary) Weapon Set 2: Shattered Vengeance (+Superb, +Blessed Defiance - Woedica theme) or Gladiator Sword (+Sharpened Blade, +Superb) & Nerian's Ward (+Legendary, +Father's Masterwork - it's cool and it's from Aedyr...) Head: Cowl of the Piercing Gaze (r - Woedica theme), later Mask of the Weyc (r - +50 deflection+Wall of Draining) Back: Cloak of Greater Deflection (!), later The Magnificient Escape Cape (r - +50 deflection+Wall of Draining) Neck: Token of Faith Grimoires: Weathered Grimoire (auto), Zandethu's Dragon-Scaled Grimoire (r) - and whatever fits your desired spell selection Armor: Gipon Prudensco (r - +No Fool I, +Paranoid) or Nomad's Brigandine (+Tactical Withdrawal, +Head of the Column, +Leg.) or Casita Samelia's Legacy (+high Intimidate skill, +Ardent, +Leg.) Waist: Sash of Judgment (r - Woedica theme) or Physiker's Belt Hands: Woedica's Strangling Grasp (r - I mean... of course), later Bracers of Greater Deflection Rings: Entonia Signet (r), Ring of Focused Flame (r) Boots: Boots of the Stone Pet: Eviee or Misty --------------------------------------------------------------- What is this build about: you combine healing (e.g. from Lay on Hands and Concelhaut's Corrosive Siphon) and the life-draining weapon hits of a Steel Garrote with the Blood Sacrifice of the Blood Mage. Using Blood Sacrifice to gain spell uses will hurt you, but hitting enemies with a weapon will heal you at the same time. Usually you would have to actively attack with a weapon in order to drain health - which doesn’t let you cast during that time obviously. So your action economy would suck. But when you do it the follwowing way your action economy will rock. before getting the signature weapon and key piece of this build, the great sword Whisers of the Endless Paths (which can be optained early), you can use Concelhaut's Parasitic Staff in the very early game. Its health draining feature stacks with the Steel Garrote's passive 15%, giving you plenty of health back from every decent attack. Also the quarterstaff's modal gives you +20 melee defelction which is big in the early game, making you already more durable. by using Offensive Parry - an enchantment of Whispers of the Endless Paths - you will attack enemies who miss you in melee (100% of misses get parried and lead to a counterattack). That attack is instant (no animation, no recovery, just damage numbers pop up) and will daze(!) enemies - which unlocks the Steel Garrote’s life drain immediately. So basically you parry enemies which gives you health WHILE you cast your wizard spells. If you need more spells you use Blood Sacrifice which damages you. But your parries will heal you back up. you need lots of (melee) deflection for this so it’s natural you will be great at tanking - even though you are not meant to be the main tank (you can be later in the game with a few items though. Your defense, obtained via self buffs and passives and items, will be the staple of your build. at some point you want to have lots of bonus deflection items: Bracers and Cloak of Greater Deflection, Entonia Signet Ring, an armor with deflection bonus (I prefer Gipon Prudensco, but Casita Samelia’s Legacy and Nomad’s Brigandine work, too) you welcome melee enemies attacking you instead of fearing them - and you will shower them with whatever spells you like best and which your party needs later you use Wall of Draining to prolong not only your self buffs but also some special items’ effects: Escape Cape’s Escape (+50 deflection) or Mask of the Weyc’s Arcane-Veil-like deflection bonus (+50 deflection) which stack with each other and some of your wizard buffs, giving you insanely high deflection values for a very long time. It can also prolog your Lay on Hands, giving you endless healing. Other benefical effects that can be extended with the Wall of Draining are for example Courageous (Hands of Light), Aware (Eldritch Aim) and also stuff like Avenging Storm from scrolls(!). Avenging Storm + Offensive Parry + Combuting Wounds is an awesome combination. You can also extend the effects of potions of course. at the same time you can be a good healer for allies, too - as any Paladin can be use Inspired Beacon, Sworn Rival and Eternal Devotion to boost your spell and parry damage (for example M’s Piercing Sigil is great with +40% and +20% dmg bonuses as well as a +10% burning lash). If you use Sworn Rival multiple times and then kill the enemies you get all the Zeal for Sworn Enemy back and with a little luck some Zeal on top because of Virtuous Triumph (50% +1 Zeal on kill) Sacred Immolation, paired with "passive" health draining and prolonged healing effects is a nice non-spell-fueled and suddenly risk-free source of damage later in the game, too basically a tank who can heal and deal (AoE) damage, debuff, CC potentially unlimited times you can pick up your own Grimoire collection. There are so many grimoires in the game, so you don't need to pick many wizard spells at level-up. I made do with the starting grimoire, some others in between and the unique Zandethu's Draconic Fury because I liked the unique PL7-spell for this build - but you can def. pick something different and be successful, too. Issues: your reliance on self buffs makes you vulnerable against effects that strip you of those buffs. Arcane Dampeners can screw you up. So a high Will defense is good to have. Whispers of the Endless Paths + Offensive Parry etc. is great against mobs - but not against ranged units and casters. It also doesn’t help much against bosses or single tough foes. In those cases it’s often better to switch to a weapon & shield, just tank for your party and use some cool spells. You are still a full Arcane Knight. Steel Garrote Paladins are cruel and rational - so you need to be a bit of an a*hole at times in order to gain the max benefit from your Faith and Devotion passive. Why is it fun? Arcane Knights are really good right out of the box already - because of their defensive synergies. This draining+sacrifice combo on top improves the action economy and lets you cast more often, unbothered by attackers Blood Mage lets you have unlimited spell uses as long as you pay with health. It’s just very convenient to regain spells and health without having to do much: almost no "downtime". parrying enemies while casting them to pieces is just badass, especially with that giant sword sometimes it can be fun to play a somewhat cruel or even evil guy - although you don’t have to be THAT evil as a Steel Garrote. There are several items in the game that are connected to Woedica which you can use (see item seletion) and that's really nice touch and cool imo Hope you enjoy! Cheers!

Russia throwing a tantrum so often nowadays that this isn't even worth talking about by now. Besides, inofficially we're probably at war already anyways. Considering all the sabotage and assassination attempts by russia.

Against 2 (or few, or spread out) foes, it must be emphasize how crazy WotW + dual "classic" blunderbusses into Resonant touch can be. Each WotW "bounce targets" virtually adds 120 base raw damages. I know this pales in comparison to what dual mortars can achieve (esp. with a Pull of Eora buddy, this is PoE2 equivalent of what Starcraft 2 players called Archon toilet). But it adds a layer of robustness to the build. Dual normal blunderbuss + Stunning Surge is also nut vs single target. Remiember that Stunning Surge also gives you (undocumented) 2 Wounds when it crits. Also WotW comes with a natural undocumented +4 PEN bonus and +16 accuracy which increases a bit with PL beyond 9, so lowish blunderbuss PEN isn't even an issue.

This build was created for a collaboration with @Aestus who runs the Youtube channel Aestus_RPG. Here's the video where we talk about this and other builds. This is build 4 of 5 from that collaboration. ----------------------------------------- This build is mainly meant for inspiration. You don't need to follow it in detail to have fun. If you understand the key features - the basic idea what makes this build special - you can usually deviate from my non-core attribute-, skill-, gear- and ability selection and form the build to your own likings and ideas. I do not try to produce the most powerful uberbuilds (often those are the most boring to play in he long run) but to focus on having fun while playing. Usually that means the build is powerful - but it's not the main focus. If you like to read about my personal requirements for "fun to play" builds, you can jump to a list below this post ----------------------------------------- ahira of the Opalescent Dais (or just "Pod" for friends) hails from the vast Ixamitl Plains, where the endless savanna meets the sky, the winds carry both whispers of the past and the promise of the future and the goats drop... droppings. Raised among the Nalpazca monks, Pahira was drawn to their unconventional practices: their mastery of body, mind and corny jokes through the use of rare herbs and potent elixirs. Where others saw addiction, Pahira saw clarity. Her years in the Nalpazca order taught her to harness the latent power within her body and soul, but she sought more than simple balance. Combining ancient martial techniques with alchemical enhancement and explosive ordnance, Zahira became a deadly force. Her training with blunderbusses and hand mortars allowed her to rain destruction across the battlefield with thunderous precision, stopping enemies in their tracks. With these abilities she moves like the wind, delivering stunning and detonating shots to entire groups of foes before they can even comprehend her presence. Now a wanderer, Pahira follows the call of adventure, seeking new knowledge, better flintlocks, ancient secrets and the perfect substance to push her abilities even further. "Boom! Here comes the Boom! Ready or not, here comes the girl from the plains Boom! Here comes the Boom! How you like your scattered brains?" - Pod hovering cross-legged in the air while tuning in for the... boom - =================================== The Mortar Monk =================================== Difficulty: PotD -------------------------------------------------------------- Solo: untested -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Nalpazca (or vanilla, Helwalker)* -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Human (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Ixamitl Plains (or any) - Scholar (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (w/o Berath's Blessings, ★=recommendation): MIG: 15 (14 +1 Human) CON: 08 DEX: 15 PER: 17 ★ INT: 18 ★★ RES: 05 (3 +1 Human +1 Ixamitl Plains) -------------------------------------------------------------- * with usage of the blunderbuss modal "Powder Burns" even a Forbidden Fist variant would be viable the unique icons for all passive abilities are part of the Community Patch mod Abilities | Skills | Proficiencies - (!=important, r=recommended) 01. Swift Strikes (r) | Blunderbuss (!) + Scepter 02. Arms Bearer | +1 Alchemy (->3), +1 Insight (->3) 03. Dance of Death (r) + Two-Weapon Style (!) | +1 Alchemy (->4), +1 Survival (->1) 04. Long Stride | +1 Alchemy (->5), +1 Survival (->2) | Pistol 05. Stunning Blow (!) + Lightning Strikes (r) | +1 Alchemy (->6), +1 Survival (->3) 06. Combat Focus | +1 Alchemy (->7), +1 Metaphysics (->4) 07. Duality of Mortal Presence (! INT) + Enduring Dance (r) | +1 Alchemy (->8), +1 Insight (->4) 08. Thunderous Blows | +1 Alchemy (->9), +1 Survival (->4) | Whatever 09. Stunning Surge (!) + The Long Pain (r) | +1 Alchemy (->10 ), +1 Metaphysics (->5) 10. Uncanny Luck | +1 Alchemy (->11), +1 Insight (->5) 11. Turning Wheel (r) + Improved Critical | +1 Alchemy (->12), +1 Survival (->5) 12. Rooting Pain | +1 Alchemy (-> 13), +1 Metaphyics (->6) | Whatever 13. The Dichotomous Soul (r) + Accurate Empower | +1 Alchemy (->14), +1 Insight (->6) 14. Penetrating Empower | +1 Alchemy (->15), +1 Survival (->6) 15. The Pain Persists | +1 Alchemy (->16), +1 Metaphysics (->7) 16. Resonant Touch (!) + The Razor's Edge (r) | +1 Alchemy (->17), +1 Insight (->7) | Whatever 17. Great Soul | +1 Alchemy (->18), +1 Survival (->7) 18. Lasting Empower | +1 Alchemy (->19), +1 Metaphysics (->8) 19. Whispers of the Wind (!) + Prestige (r) | +1 Alchemy (->20), +1 Insight (->8) 20. Empowered Strikes | +1 Alchemy (->21), +1 Survival (->8) | Whatever --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (!=important, r=recommended) Weapon Set 1: Hand Mortar (! - +Blinding Smoke, +Legendary) + Fire in the Hole (! - +Chain Shot, +Legendary) Weapon Set 2: Kitchen Stove (r - +Thunderous Report, +Frantic Reload) + Xefa's Empirical Explication (r - +Inexplicable Mass, Open Choke*) *Open Choke's reduces range doesn't matter if you use the blunderbuss in the offhand and use Full Attacks like Stunning Surge: only the range of the main hand matters then. It also doesn't matter for Whispers of the Wind Head: Heaven's Cacophony (r - more INT = bigger AoE) Back: Ajamuut's Stalking Cloak (! - stuns all enemies during Whisper of the Wind) Neck: Charm of Bones (r + mopre INT = bigger AoE Armor: Aloth's Armor (! +Legendary - 15% bigger AoE size) Waist: The Amazing and Truly Incredible Instant Potion Belt (profit from free potions + extremely high Alchemy) Hands: Mortification Bindings (r - more Mortification points for Lightning Strikes and Dance of Death) Rings: Ring of the Marksman (r), Ring of Overseeing (r - 10% bigger AoE) Boots: Boots of Speed Pet: Loki (r - 15% bigger AoE size) --------------------------------------------------------------- What is this build about: combine the high INT-bonus (+AoE size, +durations) of the Monk with the AoE of Hand Mortar and Fire in the Hole (Serafen’s blunderbusses), giving you huge coverage. You want the biggest AoE possible (within reason - also include items like Aloth’s armor and Ring of Overseeing and Loki as pet which will stack on top of the INT-induced AoE improvement) mortars are blunderbusses which can use Powder Burns: add another AoE attack Stunning Surge refunds your Mortification cost (and gives 2 wounds, too!*) when it critically hits. Two mortar shots with huge AoE have a very high chance for a crit (if you hit enoug foes) - so you can use that ability very often without paying for it most of times. If you add Fire in the Hole's enchantment Chain Shot, which adds a projectile jump which includes tha AoE your chance will be even higher. It is an extremely potent disable/CC effect: AoE stun with a very long duration - because the base duration is also boosted by the Monk’s INT later you can combine the AoE of mortars with the (kind of) AoE of the Power-Level-9 ability "Whispers of the Wind": you will turn invisible, jump from enemy to enemy and fire three (five with Poweder Burns) AoE explosions at each of them (often jumping back to enemies multiple times depending on the amount of jumps you can do, which depends on your Power Level) combine that with Ajamuut’s Stalking Cloak: it stuns enemies if you are stealthed or invisible. Whispers of the Wind does make you invisible during its execution. All enemies that get hit will get stunned automatically add Resonant Touch to this already very potent mix: doing an 5*AoE*AoE attack multiple times (Hand Mortar AoE + Fire in the Hole AoE + jump AoE + 2* Powder Burns) leads to a very high number of weapon hits. On top of that the Hand Mortar has the enchantment "Blinding Smoke", a cone attack which causes a mild CC effect. But it counts as proper weapon attack and will cause Resonant Touch to add a raw damage stack. This means a TON of attack rolls will happen against each enemy which all can add a Resonant Touch. If your enemies are not yet dead from Whispers of the Wind, they will be after you use Resonant Touch to turn the stacks into raw damage. With enough enemies, usually nobody survives it’s fireworks and explosion all the time at that point - and it’s spectacular you can use vanilla Monk, Xoti (not ideal but works), Helwalker or Nalpazca. With Powder Burns even Forbidden Fist would work. I opted for Nalpazca because this is a ranged Monk and is not supposed to get attacked much - so it might lack wound generation. You do not wait long after a Whispers of the Wind attack to be able to trigger Resonant Touch so you need fast wound generation even while invisible. Nalpascas can add their drug-induced wound generation to Dance of Death’s wounds, making it easy to have enough wounds for WotW and Resonant Touch at most times. *thanks @Elric Galad for reminding me about that additonal awesomeness Issues: the mortars are not working well against singular tough foes. For those you need to switch to normal blunderbusses (which works great with Stunning Surge and Resonant Touch again). normal blunderbusses do pierce damage only - so you need another alternative against immune/resistant (single) foes. Luckily the Long Pain is a great alternative. Summon your ranged fists for single enemies who are resistant to pierce damage or even vulnerable to crush damage. rel. squishy for a Monk - have an escape plan to fell from melee enemies who cannot get stopped by a stun. you cannot make use of all the good melee stuff a Monk usually offers is best if you can amass a lot of enemies in one space. It’s not suited for parties who like to spread out and scatter all enemies. powder burns in combination with los RES leads to a long distracted debuff. If you don't want that don't use Powder Burns. Also best to turn off when allies are near sine Poweder Burns does friendly fire. Whispers of the Windand the mortars themselves do not. you have to use drug in fights, else your wound generation will be bad. Luckily drugs last a long time with high Alchemy and if you are a thorough collector you will have no problem finding and buying enough drugs for every encounter. If you are still unsure, pick Helwalker or vanilla Monk. Empower works not well with Whispers of the Wind: you will get additonal jumps bc. of the higher Power Level, but all the Empower passives, including Empowered Strikes, will not work for the actual jumps. So it's a bit wasted here. Instead I use Empower with its great passives (including Empowered Strikes) with Stunning Surge: very high duration of stun, guaranteed crits even against the most defensive enemies, overpenetration guaranteed. It's a great way to start a fight, giving you and the party plenty of time to set things up while the enemies are stunning for a long time. After taking Empowered Strikes one could retrain out of Penetrating and Accurate Empower and use some other abilities such as the defensive passives or whatever seems helpful. I believe Turnung Wheel doesn't add a burnung lash ro ranged weapons without using the Community Patch with the Community Patch Blinding Smoke will no longer trigger Avenging Storm. However, you can remove that nerf from the mod easily. with the Community Patch the number of stacks from Resonant Touch on an enemy is capped (I believe 25?). It's still plenty and o problem if you "relase" the stacks frequently enough (deal the raw damage). You can remove this nerf as easily as the one above. Why is it fun? it is impactful even early in the game. You will get Stunning Surge rel. early (the beauty of single class). You don’t need Whispers of the Wind to have fun and have a great impact - although Whispers of the Wind is the ultimate goal. it’s the most spectacular thing to unleash in battle - both visually and in terms of sound - especially if you combine it with Avenging Storm (see Heaven’s Cacophony helm) in tough encounters it’s outright OP once you get Whispers of the Wind - but it somehow doesn’t get old. if you pick the right voice you will hear a LOT of hysterical laughter - because you will cause countless crits. I had Konstanten with me and he also does laugh a lot. I had a constant smile on my face because of MC and Konstanten laughing so hard all the time profits a lot from teamwork: if the party can help to set up the enemies perfectly (lure with spells, pull together, good engagement tank) you can end many encounters with one or two uses of WotW and Resonant Touch. It’s a bit like a game inside the game: how do I lure/collect as many enemies as possible in a spot for WotW in order to explode them all in one go? A good tank who holds enemies is great, a Wizard with Pull of Eora is great, a Priest with Call of Rymrgand and so on. Works extremely well with an Arcane Archer’s Imbue:Eora and Web (see Pindown Poet build). it promotes great party teamwork and that is fun for me, too. Hope you enjoy! Cheers! --- PS: some gifs I made when testing this build initially: Whispers of the Wind: WotW + Avenging Storm: Empowered WotW: Another Avenging Storm/WotW test:

If I recall Ukraine did threaten Iran if they sent missiles. Although that might have been a Poland-esque threat that the US would do something.

Thank you for sharing your experience with the game, especially considering that you have played other FromSoft titles. I would like to start with explicitly stating that this is my personal opinion, based on the abilities and experience, and this is the hill I shall defend. I strongly disagree on Dark Souls II - it had very tight and responsive controls, so the avatar was acting as expected. I was dodging in the correct direction, facing the targeted enemy unless sprinting, and not getting stunned from every slap. It was as good as it could be. I am also fairly certain that the target lock was not breaking from me moving the mouse slightly (there were dedicated keys to switch between targets), but I have not checked. Regarding the prosthetics, the shinobi MC is like a witcher - you must correctly identify the foe and use the proper tools to overcome it. If you try to deflect everything directly, that would be miserable, with the purple necromancers (S-something Warriors) being the best example. Not impossible, but more similar to the DS SL1 challenge run. Finding creative ways to avoid open combat is the most fun and enjoyable part of the game for me. A ninja is not a samurai/knight, but a rogue who uses tools and wits to avoid direct confrontations. Genichiro had roughly the same moveset in his lightning phase, but with 2 lightning attacks with reasonably long wind ups that were not possible to deflect (as far as I know, have not tried). In his archer samurai guy phase, it was possible to walk away from his combos, let him finish, then close in and start hitting after he’s done. Or, with deflections, hitting until he parries, parry twice, then hitting twice again, mostly worked - it was interrupting some of his attacks, while the combos, as mentioned, were possible to avoid after he committed to them (ironically, occasionally, I was ending up behind him when trying to Mikiri counter). Though, the Perilous attacks seemed chosen oddly - Genichiro usually was using only 1 type throughout the battle. The Guardian, on the other hand, was tracking much better and had poise, so his attacks were harder to interrupt. The animations, while beautiful, also made it harder to read. He was not the first boss with hidden marks at that point (Genichiro and Lady Butterfly were similar, but their subsequent phases did not change the movesets significantly), but he had the longest phase transition window. Which was the perfect opportunity to have a drink, eat a Pacifying Agent, and apply a box of Divine Confetti. If Miyazaki did not want us to use consumables, why did he give us the time? --- Today’s progress. I have cleared most of the Senpou Temple and obtained the Mortal Blade, meaning that I can go and meet the zombie Guardian again. I spent quite some time on the Folding Screen quartet, because I forgot how to get them into specific rooms. I did manage to chase the hearing monkey successfully (the idea was to get him into the waterfall room, I assume), but not the sighted monkey (as intended, the monkey got stuck in the dark room). Robert’s father went down fine, though not on the first attempt - I kept throwing him into columns instead of the windows. I am somewhat annoyed that the fire and poison did not kill him, but whatever works. I suppose, storywise, he was trying to find a cure for his son’s illness? I cannot quite recall the requirements for the not-bad endings, beyond not facing the Divine Dragon before fulfilling them, so there is quite some time to figure it out or to look up the guides if the former fails. I think there was something with the Divine Child of Rejuvenation, so I kept asking for rice and feeding the old ladies on the cliffs, and the quest line seems to have progressed. Then the Divine Heir told that I was eating the rice incorrectly. Clearly, he was wrong - what is the point of rice if it is not crunchy? On another note, I find it deeply ironic that if Genichiro did not kidnap the Divine Heir, a large chunk of Ashina forces would not have died to the MC’s blade. Including, but not limited to, Gyoubu who was defending the gates, the Chained Ogre, the Blazing Bull, and a pack of feathered ninjas. If I am not mistaken, the “Great Unifier”’s forces invade later on and quite successfully. --- Lunacid. It is a more old-school dungeon crawler. After avoiding the foes for 2 areas, I decided to face them. Which brought some more levels and I learnt to charge my attacks. I can’t say that clicking things to death while walking back is the most engaging experience I’ve ever had, but it is fine. The music and location design are great. There are also quite a few secret doors (the ? symbol appears in the corner when one is in front of you), so I am trying to look at the walls while running. The goal, if I understand correctly, is to kill the Moon Beast and return to the surface. Though, considering that the only person from the surface who was shown directly chops off your arm (which then levitates), while the locals are quite friendly, returning seems less reasonable. The only negative I can point out at the moment is the lack of quick saving, with the checkpoints being placed quite far from each other. Otherwise, the game is quite enjoyable. --- On another note, if anyone would like to team up for writing for the Community Blog, it would be great. Also, if anyone would like to accept 2 Game Pass keys, that would be welcome too.

Seriously? No one's brought this up today?! https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-says-west-will-be-fighting-directly-with-russia-if-it-lets-kyiv-use-long-2024-09-12/

Indeed. And also pierce immune foes are not a big problem because you can summon the Long Pain - which is actually very good, too. Yes! And oops - I even forgot to mention that wound generation in the build. Unfortunately Stunning Surge is where the aforementioned Long Pain falls a bit short. But still great to have as a crush dmg backup (that doesn't need a separate weapon set). Örm... yeah (pretenting as if I knew these numbers)! <insert DiCaprio_even_better_meme.gif/>

Yeah well... if you add Avenging Storm my game will stutter a bit indeed. But I mean I have an i7 from 2016 or so... At least it doesn't crash.

Are you sure 100% about that?

I love Guardian Ape - I think it's make or break Sekiro boss. I find his timings to be very satisfying to parry. He is not predictable, but there is a nice rhythm to his dance. 2nd phase is a kind of FromSoftware cruelty that I really appreciate. Not so much Guardian Ape redux, though it makes sense for story reason. I find it too tedious to be fun, though I think the power scaling doesn't make it as hard as it seems at first.

What makes builds fun for me? they are powerful/impactful (enough) - there's no fun if your character feels like a millstone around the party’s neck they don’t need late game gear to function - although getting late game gear to improve them can be a motivation. But having to wait forever in order to make your character click for the last hour of the game can be frustrating you don’t have to wait for late game abilities for them to be fun to play ad impactful (same as above) - although having the goal of reaching a great high lvl ability can add to the fun and motivation. Even at lvl 20 (if you have DLCs installed) there's still a good amount of game left to enjoy the highest lvl abilities they don’t need a lot of repetitive setups in every fight - that's not as much of a problem if that’s easy to script though (although I personally don't like to use the AI with my MC) but for example: if you need to manually switch several grimoires at the beginnig of the fight the fun will not last and you will stop doing that quickly. If your character's performance relies on that switching you most likely won't feel okay with this character No overpowered 1-trick ponies (at least not too early in the game). It’s okay if that happens in the late game, but it ruins the playthrough if you can win every fight with the same trick and the same character - while the rest of the party is only there to watch (looking at you, Grave-Calling Berserker/Beckoner) Good reactivity - it gets frustrating if the character plays like a slowpoke but would profit a lot from being more reactive. This can also mean using a reloading weapon is better than using a recovery weapon (reloading can be stopped for other actions, recovery cannot) fits the party - best if it fits a lot of party compositions and doesn't need a party build around it. But sometimes that can be fun, too. Anyway: it's no fun to use a build which mechanics don't blend into the others' not too much micromanagement - but also not too little. For companions low micro can be great - for my MC I like to (reasonably) micromanage and use active abilites manually. this leads to plenty (or even unlimited) resources. I personally like it if resources can be refilled somehow or costs can get refunded. Can also mean the resources are fixed but there are great abilities that aren't too expensive general versatility - being good at/useful for more than one single thing craftiness/creativity of the build (something to be proud of when a build idea does indeed work) out-of the ordinary/original (there's not much exitement when taking a well-trodden path) good character story (at least in my head) so it’s not a blank slate. An emotional connection does help a lot. And no - the silly stuff I write at the top of my build posts are not the stories I use. thematically coherent and somewhat believable stylish/cool/badass good/entertaining sound effects (surprisingly important!) good vfx (without crashing the game or destroying the performance)

BG3 back in the Steam top 3 top sellers. KCD II being close to the top ten also, despite being half a year away still. If a properly scaled and smoothly produced Bloodlines 2 were around, it could have completed a trilogy of possible big budget RPG incline. But you know... Meanwhile, Veilguard is somewhere sandwiched in between Roboquest and Tavern Manager Simulator. And Avowed, well... that doesn't have the brand recognition, being based in that universe of that pirate CRPG noboy's played but me. That's but Steam but hear me out. I wonder if analysts are gonna realize that these action-adventure-RPG type of power fantasies may all compete for roughly the same audience. After all, every other action/adventure type of game has been incorporating RPG elements since forever. Upgrading, looting and leveling has proven to be quite addictive, after all. And even Brian Bloody Fargo has been on record of saying that Red Dead Redemption 2 had been his favourite RPG of the past a thousand years or so. And Veilguard doesn't even seem to sport much in terms of dialogue options and expression (certainly not in what was shown). Unlike Avowed, it's a Dragon Age game though, so that's something. Else, if it wouldn't be, I'd take the guess this would turn limited heads. Both Avowed and Veilguard draw finite buzz outside of their respective fanbases as is. Due to the lack of major marketing effort else, a German podcast run by a former Gamestar editor even speculated that EA may have internally downgraded Veilguard. In the sense of: "Better not blow any more major money on this, or else we may never recoup / make a good chunk of profit." The game wasn't even present at Gamescom, after all. I'm sure it'll do reasonably. Avowed I'm not so sure yet. Both look pretty "mid" to me so far (really liked Pentiment, but obviously completely different type of project). Still, KCD II. Already released to positive reviews (so heavily inspired by MImimi, they promoted it themselves on their social media).

As usual, regime change.