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Had a couple of things left over from the weekend, from some peppers to tomatoes and a bit of pork as well as various forms of dried noodles. Turned everything into a pasta thingy. Guess Italians would cry foul, but it tasted good. The hot peppers failed to give it the kick I expected it to have, but that's a minor detail - one can always add dried hot peppers later.

Hi! In short: no. There are a few edge cases and build ideas where it might be good (pairing Shared Nightmares with an AoE weapon such as Whispers of the Endless Paths and using Reaping Knives on party members to be able to spam Soul Annihilation all the time) - but in general a multiclass is just better over the course of the game. The gist of it is that SA damage scales with all kinds of damage bonuses. That's what makes the Rogue a popular choice. Forst of all the Rogue makes it easier to harvest focus because the weapon dps is high - and then secondly the Rogue's damage bonuses apply to the SA dmg itself, improving it quite a bit. Soulblade/Streetfighter has the highest damage potential. Soulblade/Trickster is a great mix of offense and defense. Soulblade/Fighter can harvest a lot focus immediately with Clear Out. Especially when using Whispers of the Endless Paths. Soulblade/Monk is nice in combination with Tuotilo's Palm and the Sun & Moon Flail. The flail's double head dumps the SA-raw-damage with the first flail head and already regains focus with the second flail head. This can lead to a situation where you can gain enough focus per flail head to spam SA without pause. It's a primary attack so the bashing shield won't even be used for bashing, but the dual wielding speed bonus will still apply. And at the same time the shield grants amazing defensive bonuses for a monk. The INT and MIG bonus (when Helwalker) are great for Cipher spells, too. But when you really want to focus on SA I'd say the Soulblade/Rogue combo is better. Tuotilo's Palm + Sun & Moon also works very well with a Soulblade/Trickster btw. Another very good combination is Soulblade/Bloodmage. The synergies aren't very clear at first, but SA works very well with all AoE weapons. The Bloodmage has Citzal's Spirit Lance - and the means to raise his INT (Infuse with Vital Essence) for bigger weapon AoE. Also the Wall of Draining lets him keep all his buffs for a long, long time (includes Soulblade's +10 max focus on kill). I personally also like Barbarian/Soulblade because the high attack speed from Frenzy and Bloodlust and the overall decent damage bonuses (Blooded, One Stands Alone, higher MIG during Frenzy) leads to good SA damage. Then later the combination of being able to kill quickly with SA & triggering Blood Thirst is quite satisfying. Human Berserker/Soulblade can reach bloodied status quickly which triggers Blooded and Fighting Spirit. But it is also risky. If you use an AoE weapon (Whispers otEP, Spirit Lance) INT is crucial. Else not as important as it usually is with ciphers - if you want to concentrate on soul annihilation. Still: stuff like Borrowoed Instincts lasts a lot longer if you have hig INT. If it lasts longer you have to cast it less often. And that gives you more focus to dump into SA. Might is not very important if you are multiclassing with Rogue since the dmg bonuses from the Rogue class are high enough that the bonus from MIG feels rel. small in comparison. If you pick non-Helwalker Monk or Bloodmage it's a more important source for dmg bonus for SA imo. If you go for Soulblade/Rogue it can be nice to have some cheap way to applying afflictions for a rel. long time in an AoE. Like Phantom Foes. Lvl-1 Shred powers such as Mind Wave and Antipathetic Field are supercheap (5 focus) for a Soulblade. It can be more impactful to use Mind Wave/Antip. Field against a group of enemies for 5 focus than to spend at least 10 focus on a single enemy with SA (and do potential tremendous overkill -> wasting focus). Might well be. Didn't try both myself on a Soulblade so I cannot really recommend anything here, sorry.

Yeah, I actually enjoyed Starfield. The setting and story were more engaging for me than Skyrim or Fallout 4. I played through it 1 and a half times. It's far from perfect. The scale and procedural generated stuff is problematic. But I'd argue that a lot of people went in with unrealistic expectations and were surprised when they weren't met. It's still just a video game. It also sold extremely well, so all this talk about it being a flop is overstated. Bethesda is nowhere near being in trouble as a developer. Heck, it sounds like the Fallout TV show managed to even turn their biggest recent flop, Fallout 76, into a modest success.

Yeah its a fun kids film - the narrative weakness probably won't be an issue when seen as a kid (I have vague memories of showing this to my niece and her enjoying it). Production was a big mess and the way they divided narrative to the US producers and director and animation to the Japanese director and animators was probably always going to set it up to struggle narratively. The descriptions of the original Bradbury script seem wrongheaded (admittedly I haven't read all the Nemo strips, but it doesn't sound like a Nemo idea - essentially the antagonist would be Nemo's opposite, Omen) and because the US production had say on the story, Miyazaki's story ideas (some of which were good, some a bit of a headscratcher) were pretty much DOA, which frustrated him immensely. Gary Kurtz agreed to produce it, but production dragged out so long he got tied up with other projects which slowed things down until he left. Eventually they used ideas from Chris Columbus' script for the story even though Bradbury get a story credit.

Yeah, I thought Little Nemo was pretty good...a little weaker with narrative and characters than you'd probably prefer for such a big and well-animated title, but it's basically an attempt to be a Disney movie, and if someone watched it as a child, I could definitely see it being a very lovely (albeit maybe confusing) trip down nostalgia lane. Didn't know all the surrounding story about it though - thanks for that. I do remember Miyazaki famously saying it was the worst experience he ever had making a film, but in all fairness, it sounded a bit like developmental hell along with there being way too many cooks in the kitchen while trying to collaborate across the ocean and through a language barrier - none of which would be trivial now, much less then. I thought I'd actually written about watching Little Nemo last summer, but it appears I did not. Whoops, wouldn't be the first time.

Watched LITTLE NEMO: ADVENTURES IN SLUMBERLAND. Don't think I've seen it since it first came out. Its a fun collection of vignettes that loosely follow a story about how Nemo has to learn responsibility after allowing the Nightmare King to take over Slumberland due to following his own worst impulses. Animation varies, but is generally high quality - you can tell that producer Yutaka Fujoka was really trying to create a Japanese animated film with animation as fluid as Disney. May not hold up as a great narrative, but I can see why it has developed a cult following. Its also a fascinating behind the scenes story, though. Its failure led to the retirement of Fujioka who'd founded Tokyo Movie Shinsha and invested in the startup of Madhouse. A veritable whose who worked on it (including Hayao Miyazaki, Isao takahata, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnson, Yoshifumi Kondō, Yasuo Ōtsuka, Brad Bird, Kazuhide Tomonaga, John Lasseter, Jerry Rees, Osamu Dezaki, Moebius, Ray Bradbury, Chris Columbus, John Canemaker, Richard Outten, Gary Kurtz, William Hurtz, Masami Hata, Ken Anderson, Leo Salkin, Brian Froud, the Sherman Brothers); several ideas Miyazaki pitched were used in later Ghibli films and the relationships made during its long production (going back to 1975 when Fujioka began seeking the rights from Winsor McKay's family) led to Japanese animation companies partnering with US companies to make animation for the US market that by the late 80s and 90s had become a regular site on US TV. And you get great anecdotes like Thomas or Johnson (two of Disney's famed 'nine old men' looking at drawings from Miyazaki and saying "what are they expecting us to teach you?" As a side note, as a comic strip buff, I remember seeing Capcom's Little Nemo: The Dream Master platformer in 1990 (which I bought because how many Capcom platformers based on turn of the century comic strips were we going to get) and wondering how that happened (since the movie wouldn't come out in the US for 2 more years).

There are some mods for the issues. I followed this tutorial and it's working quite smooth (see video comment for the mod list): Had one crash so far, and occasionally the sound doesn't work -- the sound issue is noticeable already on the main menu, though, and rebooting the game will fix it. So generally, so far, pretty good experience. They are also updating extremely fast. At this pace, I guess, maybe in a few weeks or early next year, the game is probably going to run super fine without needing any mods.

For some reason I though there was a movie for it. I must have mixed it up with the OVA. At this point I don't remember which one I liked more. Maybe I dare to rewatch it.

I would agree with you. My good feelings on it are probably only nostalgia glasses as it's one of the first anime I ever watched. Kind of in the same basket as Vampire Hunter D. I think there is even a series for RoLW... yep, just checked. I kind of remember even at the time it being lesser than the movie.

I like Italian food as much as the next guy but the way they treat certain things as immutable (NO CREAM!!!!.....except when making vodka sauce) is ridiculous. For the most part I subscribe to the "who gives a ****ing ****" when it comes to food and I have much better things to do than get big mad about making leftovers into a pasta sauce like leftovers into rice, soup, etc. hasn't been a part of cooking forever. Anyways I had a lot of coffee and a protein shake as the KP cutting project has begun.

Oh yeah, the Russians are firing indiscriminately. Their low civilian casualty toll is because they are just terrible at hitting the civilians they're deliberately and maliciously aiming at. Sadly, the Israelis are even more terrible at missing the civilians they're precisely and humanely trying to avoid hitting during their humanitarian mission to give Palestinians an extended overseas holiday (or funeral). Which is funny because while Bruce is just trolling you do see people trying to say exactly that (minus the deliberate mickey taking aspects) and wondering why people think they're disingenuous shills.

Didn't Russia already escalate conflict by striking with over 100 missiles against Ukraine's powerplants yesterday? As it was one of the their largest strikes and its timing also isn't coincidental or promising de-escalation anytime soon.

Hi, it would be useful to know what your tank looks like, but in general a resistance or even immunity to PER afflictions would be helpful: immuities Effigy's Husk (robe armor) Captain's banquet (food) Slippery Mind (Rogue ability) resistances Defiant Apparel (hat) Blinky (pet) Ring of Mule's Wit (ring) Eder's Saint's War Armor (scale armor) Clear Head (Paladin ability) They Shielded... (Chanter phrase) Svef (drug) If your tank is part Forgotton Fist you do not want any resistances though! They mess up the wound mechanic of the Forbidden Fist. And/or having really high Will defense. That would mean high INT+RES and other stuff like for example Casita Samelia's Legacy etc. Blinding Smoke doesn't have great base accuracy so you can can prevent a lot of hits/grazes with high Will. I personally often use a Swashbuckler tank (usually Edér) with Slippery Mind - so it's not a real issue for me because it gets cleared as soon as he hits 50% health. If you have a Troubadour who's in chant-range of the tank then the Disoriented/Distracted affliction can be reduced every 3 secs with a chant (again: bad when tank is a Forbidden Fist). If your tank is part Streetfighter I would only use a resistance and pray to get Distracted as often as possible - and not pick Slippery Mind. The Blinding Smoke cone originates from the shooter. If you postion yourself carefully enough you can avoid hitting your tank. Of course this won't be possible anymore when using Whispers of the Wind with the tank in the midst of it all. But since the enemy usually isn't in the position to fight anymore it doesn't matter if the tank gets distracted or not. In general my main tank is most important at the beginning of the fight to "collect" enemies and engage them. Once the rest of the party unleashes their full CC potential it's not that important whether the tank catches an affliction or not. Most enemies will not be able to attack the tank with their full potential. So I just live with it.

I tried Children's Capitalism Simulator. You wake up in a magical land, covered in darkness (the land, and I guess you because you are in the land). You then start helping people and saving the place with the power of friendship. One of the first people you save is the richest person in the world. From then on, whenever you try to save someone else, you end up needing to do menial work for the rich person, seeing how they have a monopoly on pretty much everything. The game is a continuous series of exploitation by the 1% hoping that through it you will be able to help the rest. Add the in app purchases and it is pure capitalism in every sense.

Eyo, thanks so much for the really detailed advice!! Gonna stick with a ranged cipher for sure, I started a run just to get a feel between ranged vs melee, and even if I'm using a pike for the range, I'm definitely more comfy with a bow lmao.

Hi, and welcome! Melee or ranged? I personally would recommend ranged if it's your first run. It does a little less potential damage (=focus generation) but doesn't need to move as much to reach enemies, doesn't need to be very sturdy and is most often inherently better positioned for casting spells. Ciphers don't have their own attack abilities (like for example Rogues have) so they use auto-attacks almost exclusively (except if they pick up something like Envenomed Strike or Runner's Wounding Shot - which I wouldn't recommend). So you are pretty free in the choice if weapon. Some weapons do very good dps but achieve this with a raw damage-over-time lash (see the hunting bow Persistence). Those DoT lashes (as all[!] DoT damage) do NOT generate focus for you so you can leave them for party members who don't have to bother with focus. Non-DoT elemental or physical lashes (burn, freeze, shock, corrode, pierce, crush, slash) can be found in weapons, too. They are multiplicative damage bonuses which makes them very potent. And they also generate focus! Because of this a Cipher should use a weapon with a lash. You can find some who already have one or you can enchant your weapon with an elemental lash. A Chanter with the phrase "Aefyllath Ues Mith Fyr" will add a burning lash to the Cipher's weapon attacks. This means additional focus, too. So I would recommend to bring a Chanter. Since a Chanter can also pair that phrase with the "Sure Handed Ila" phrase (speeds up ranged weapons basically) that's another reason to bring a Chanter (for a ranged Cipher). Official companion Kana Rua is fine. A Priest is very helpful for every party, so bring one. Concentrate on accuracy buffs (Blessing, Devotions for the Faithful). Also pick Inspiring Radiance! Its accuracy buff stacks with everything. Official Companion Durance is fine. Also Durance isn't bad with an arquebus (pick the Priest of Magran talent "Inspired Flame" (+10 acc with arquebus) and Weapon Focus Soldier to get to fighter-levels of accuracy. It also profits a lot from Kana's Sure-Handed Ila. I also pick the Gunner talent for Durance often. This all makes him a decent shooter for the times when his spell slots are empty or when you want to spare spells. Ciphers often target the Will and Fortitude defenses of enemies with their spells. A Wizard has some awesome spells for lowering both (see for example Miasma of Dull-Mindedness, Ryngrim's spells and so so on). So a Wizard can help. The official companion Aloth is fine. Having a dedicated tank is helpful, too. You want to bind as many enemies as possible to that tank so they don't swarm your backline. The official companion Edér (Fighter) can fill that role well. So you already have 1. Cipher (mc), 2. Edér (Fighter), 3. Aloth (Wizard), 4. Durance (Priest) and 5. Kana (Chanter). For the 6. spot you are totally free imo. You could use the official companion Hiravias (Druid) or Pallegina (Paladin) or Sagani (Ranger). The potentially most powerful (in the long run) of those is Hiravias. But all of them work well. Paladins can use a marking weapon (Blade of the Endless Paths, Spectacular Septum, St. Garam's Spark etc.) + Coordinated Attacks (paladin passive ability) to boost a single ally's accuracy by +20 points (fully stackable with everything). That could be your Cipher. Having +20 acc for your Cipher can be a very good thing. Ciphers usually shine in fights against many weaker enemies but struggle in boss fights - because bosses are hard to hit and have thick armor. Both lowers the damage you do considerably. Low damage means low focus. Low focus means your Cipher stinks. To prevent that high accuracy is the key. So I would recommend Pallegina as "marking Paladin" - or even better a custom adventurer, a Darcozzi Paladin with Inspiring Liberation. He/she can combine marking weapon, Coordinated Attacks and Inspiring Liberation to a +30 all-stackable accuracy bonus for your Cipher. But Pallegina also works fine and you will have a companion quest and proper banter. I personally would make the paladin an offtank and give the Spectacular Septum (pollaxe) first and later pick up the Blade of the Endless Paths (estoc) and keep the pollaxe as backup for pierce-resistant or -immune foes. However: Coordinated Attacks + Marking require the Paladin and Cipher to attack the same target AND be nearest to each other. This can be a challenge for a melee paladin + ranged cipher. If the cipher isn't nearest to the paladin but another party member and that party member also attacks the same target he/she will get the accuracy instead. To prevent this the paladin could be a ranged one and use a pistol (see St. Garam's Spark) and just stand side by side to the cipher and shoot at the same enemies (and also profit from the chanter's sure handed Ila speedup). I would then make Kana an offtank. Now the Cipher: the best overall performance would be with the war bow "the Rain of Godagh Field" - but it comes rather late. Fortunately there's another good war bow named Borresaine earlier in the game that you could use in the meantime. But reloading weapons are also not bad. They don't have as high dps on paper, but against bosses they provide more penetrating power which makes them viable in those encounters that are usually hardest for ciphers. You decide which you like best on "vibes". Both paths are viable and good. I wouldn't recommend blunderbusses though because they don't work well against bosses and have trouble to perform well with lashes against mid- to high armored foes in general. They are awesome against weak foes, but that's not an area where the Cipher needs improvement. One Eyed Molina's Spike Flinger (soulbound arbalest) might be a great option after the latest patch because it got fixed and is now very strong once fully leveled. And you can get it super early if you saved some coin. Attributes: MIG:+ CON:ø DEX:++ PER:+ INT:++ RES:- Important talents are Weapon Focus (which fits your main weapon of choice), Marksman, Gunner (only if reloading weapon such as arbalest,crossbow or firearms), Draining Whip. Go with light or no armor. I personally value mind control (confuse, charm, dominate) over all else. It's much more impactful than the damaging cipher spells for example. Exceptions are Disintegrate and Amplified Wave, both are amazing. Disintegrate vs. bosses and Amplified Wave against everything. Besides that Borrowed Instincts is great as well as Defensive Mindweb. If you use the marking Paladin from above then Tactical Meld is also very interesting! It will give you an additional all-stackable accuracy on top of the Paladin's +20 (or +30 if Darcozzi) from Marking. +40 in total (or+50). This makes landing crits against any enemy (even dragons etc.) supereasy. Watch out: mind controlled enemies (charmed, dominated) usually don't generate focus if you attack them with your weapon. Let them do their thing and pick another target instead if you can. Cheers!

Not really falling for propaganda to be skeptical of things in war. Should be some footage of DPRK troops in Ukraine by now, certainly won't trust Ukrainian announcements. Not sure the DPRK troops are the sole reason, we don't know the full calculation the US is doing, people assume Ukraine should be above all and hate on them though, heh. In terms of missiles, was following some Ukrainians on social media estimating they have 20 left and need to use 6 per target (I guess Russian AD works somewhat).

The forum has been seriously wigging out for me like the last fifteen minutes - don't know how an earlier version of that post got re-posted like ten minutes after the first. I reported it for deletion. There's a 1995 movie, but it's not made by Madhouse and I don't think it has too much resemblance or relevance to the 1990 OVA, at least from what I can tell at a glance. And to my surprise, I apparently already tried the 3-episode 1996 OVA...which I rated even lower at 4.5/10. Whoops. I rather liked Vampire Hunter D - the original, that is. Bloodlust was...more hit and miss for me. Should probably re-watch the original to solidify my feelings about it at some point, though.

Oh no, Bartimaeus got sucked into the Black Lodge and now there is a doppelganger.

Ran across this trailer and started digging a bit. Looks like it could be fun (i.e. no guarantee it's any good, but at least it looks interesting). Basically a Japanese Fallout game set in 80's USA in a world where Japan successfully took over America Yes, full of 80's retro

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1184370/view/6564653885911203913 Looks like it's going to bring a spellbook (merge?) and have a few abilities that focus on breath, I'm guessing it's variable depending on which path taken. No idea if it will be Shifter compatible, imo would be pretty glaring that the mythic path built around shape-shifting doesn't work well with the class built around it. "Improvement and Rebalance"