Mamoulian War

Goal nr. 2/2025 achieved. January 26, 23:00 – After spending a lot of time with Mortal Kombat, fighting King’s Pets and farming Dragon Scales, I have finally finished New Game+ of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on my PS4. This time, I have encountered Aldia as well, and after winning the fight, I have left the throne for an ending, which I have never seen before. I made this playthrough my personal challenge to defeat every boss in the game without the help of summons. Most of the bosses were fine, including Fume Knight, for which I had to train a little bit my muscle memory, and Gank Squad, which I have postponed until the very end of DLC. But all three of King’s Pets have been major pain in the ass. Lud and Zallen almost made me quit the challenge. Thankfully I got an advice on Obsidian Forums to use Dark Infused Rapier with Dark Weapon buff, which helped me to finally win this encounter as well. I am still missing three more spells for last two trophies, and few items to 100% the game, not counting the PvP exclusive rewards and invisible rings. For that, I will need one more fast run through the base game, and I should have another Platinum Trophy .

Yeah I know that, that’s why I regret it now I have spent a lot of EUR on EUIV content on Steam already, and it is impossible to transfer the license between the shops. Paradox also does not offer any kind of discount for owners of EUIV on Steam for GOG so Rebuying the content again feels a little bit like ripoff now. We’ll see how I would feel about that in year or two.

That’s pretty much the way, how ot works for me. Which means, the only games, which I have on Steam is Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Counter-Strike, Half-Life 2 and half of Europa Universalis IV (which I regret now, but it seemed Paradox will never release this on on GOG).

Well there is one thing, that they always forget to mention when speaking about inflation not affecting game prices. The move from physical to digital. Even if some games are still released physically, the content of the box today is empty. When the games cost 40 EUR, they gave you tons of paper content like manuals maps etc. And all of this cost a lot of money, which they cut to appease shareholders If I want to have the same content in the box as I had in 2000’s, I have to pay 120EUR + today. Which pretty much covers much more than the inflation

Tales of series maybe? Tales of Arise is not the most recent, but pretty nice. You start as male Alphen, but after a short while a female joins party and the game story is then centered around both of them equally. The setting is fantasy with a little bit of modern era touch to it.

Oh yeah, someone pointed me to these “puns” on its Steam page as well. Had pretty hefty laughs, that some company proud to market their software to “core audience” in a way, that would probably sparked massive cancel campaign against them few years ago It is getting even more hillarious, when looking back at the Netherrealm Studio lecturing their “core audience” after the first reactions to Mortal Kombat 1 cast premiere in trailers I bet NRS and WB are still wondering why MK1 player numbers are still lower than half decade old MK11

"Hey, what are you looking at? Up here!" - Capcom, 2025.

Game of the Century comming soon!

No need for me. The only two new games scheduled for 2025/6 which are of interest to me, is Awoved and the Outer Worlds. And for that my 16GB 6900XT (to which I’ve upgraded after 8 yearsof playing on GT760) is more than enough. For everything else, there is always GOG

Had pretty nice day today at Dark Souls 2. The fight, which I was most afraid of (Gank Squad) has been victorious on my first try (solo). I have not anticipated that at all, so I had not prepared for anything else to fight against . So after few minutes I have decided to go for Darklurker as well. To my surprise, I was able to defeat him on a second try Another big surprise for me Soo I have decided to go solo against Burnt Ivory King as well Of course this was much bigger obstacle, but still in the end, I had like 5 or 6 tries to win the fight Out of them, I was able to get to the boss fight only three time, and as this was my first ever solo encounter against him, I had to learn his moves as well. Compared to anything before, he was not very difficult so on third try, I already knew how to avoid most of his moves. Aaaand even though I have messed up the last attempt as well, I was still able to find openings to heal up and finish him off So, now every single boss I have ever encountered in DS2, has been defeated solo. The worst one will be for me forever Lud and Zala duo at the Frigid Outskirts, which almost caused me to quit the DLC altogether. YAY... No just to finish the NG+ and go through few more fights to get all of the items and then last three spells for Platinum Trophy EDIT: just one more useless info, I had some time in previous sessions to grind for all of required Loyce Souls to get two more Armour Sets and one more Weapon, which have been locked behind the "paywall". 50 loyce souls and a victory over the Burnt Ivory King were needed to get them.

Don't forget to buy the second expansion/DLC as well https://store.steampowered.com/app/2604510/Underrail_Heavy_Duty/

Goal nr. 1/2025 January 6, 13:45 – First game finished in 2025 has become, to my surprise, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate on PS4. I got new arcade stick from a sale, so I have tried to complete all Tutorials, which are prerequisite for the two hardest trophies in the game, that I was still missing. The finger coordination with old man’s reflexes was even more challenging for me than in Souls games, but I have somehow managed to overcome all of them . Despite excellent new arcade stick, it took me 3 hours and 45 minutes to beat them all. The hardest of the challenges for me was to perform successfully Raiden’s 14-hit Combo, where I had to connect two punches with amplified special move, teleport and another two punches connected into his signature “flying dart” attack in 5 seconds, which took me 16 minutes to learn . Completion of all the tutorials also unlocked rare Scorpion and Sub-Zero equipment, Shao Kahn as a match announcer and Ultra Rare Elder God Platinum Trophy for the game, which is currently held only by 0.3% of the players of the game .

Few weeks ago, I have finally uploaded all bossfights for DS2:SotFS. Using summons on as many bosses as possible, because I have never tried that out before. I have also slowly started to upload my personal NG+ Solo challenge for all bosses (few still need to be defeated yet, but 41 bosses uploads will take a while ).

Martyn Brown, the co-founder of Team17.

We can see how Chinese companies care about Western rules with TikTok

Seems like Disney’s Balls are firmly grabbed by their Chinese overlords. You are not even allowed to type Winnie the Pooh into the chat of their Marvel Rival game. Not to mention if you are born in 1989, your out of luck too, you can’t type that year as well

I have the same issue with all open world and roguelike games

Fourth GOG giveaway during this winter sale. https://www.gog.com/en/game/vambrace_cold_soul

List of my gaming goals achieved in 2024 11 games – 2 GOG games and 9 PS4 games (I was hoping the Dark Souls 2 Platinum will be there as well, but Lud and Zallen decided otherwise ) 1 - January 29, 23:00 – My first finished game of 2024 has become Dark Souls: Remastered on PS4. I have reached the Dark Lord ending after almost 80 hours and 292 deaths, which I have accumulated, while trying to get every item in game, and fulfill all prerequisites for Platinum Trophy. And due to the personal challenge, I have also cleared the all DLC areas and bosses, which are not needed for it. At the end I had to finish Gwyn, Lord of Cinder in 1 on 1 fight, as I have failed Solaire's quest due to visit of Lost Izalith sooner, than required. This is the first time, that I have finished Soulsborne game with melee character build. The side-effect was, that I have died much less to trash mobs, but most of the boss fights were much more challenging. 2 - February 25, 21:30 – New Game + of Dark Souls: Remastered on PS4 has been completed :). The second ending was of course To Link the Fire, which gave me another trophy in my Platinum run. During this run, the goal was all miracles trophy, and all missing weapon ascension trophies, with the exception of Knight's one, for which I need to defeat Sif one more time, and then run all the way to Anor Londo blacksmith. During NG+, I have found out, that this game started to feel much easier with melee character than with the sorcerer one. The only exception was Kalameet, which was destroying me for almost 3 hours and almost always around 10-20% HP mark. I am just happy, that I have learned how to control my rage, as few years ago, I would be most likely in need of a new controller . 3 - February 28, 21:15 – I have completed very fast run for the last Trophy in New Game +2 of Dark Souls: Remastered on my PS4. Approximately three hours to clear my way to both Bells of Awakening, defeat Sif and another run to Anor Londo blacksmith. There I have ascended last two boss weapons from Sif’s and Gwyn’s souls, and with that, I have unlocked the Knight’s Honor and The Dark Soul Platinum Trophy. 4 - March 23, 16:00 – I met the criteria for the first ending in my first GOG playthrough of Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG. I had a “genius” idea of trying out a comfy coffin on display at Concord Station Terminal. I have to say, it was really comfortable and I have enjoyed the quietness inside. Unfortunately, it was completely soundproof, so soon, I was transported to local crematorium, but at least, I got an achievement for it . 5 - March 23, 23:45 – It did not took long, and I had a chance to see the second “ending” in Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG from GOG. It was much easier to spot than the first one, so the only reason, why I have went for it, was my curiosity, if there will be achievement for this demise as well. And there was . I have exploded in the elevator, while trying to get out of the Dome . 6 - August 29, 19:00 – I have finished my first Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin playthrough on my PS4. This time, including all DLCs. In contrast to vanilla version of the game, you need also to clear the DLCs, to fulfill all criteria for Platinum Trophy. Unfortunately I have messed up the ending, as I have forgotten, that I need to defeat Vendrick before defeating Nashandra, and I have forgotten to backup my save . It took me almost 100 hours and 294 deaths. Almost the same as Dark Souls Remastered . The DLCs have been as much challenging, as I have anticipated, with few terrible areas like Iron Passage, which won my personal Worst Area Design Contest in all of the games, I have ever finished . 7 - September 28, 22:30 – I took a small break from DS2:SotFS NG+ and played through the original story of Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate on PS4. This unlocked Frost and two arenas. It took me about 4 and half hours and if I remember it correctly, I enjoyed the Story Mode more than in Mortal Kombat X and 2011. I will need to replay three chapters where you had to pick the fighter, and the last fight to see all the content and finish it on 100%. 8 - October 1, 19:15 – After I spent way to much time fighting in Towers of Time to unlock Klassic MKII Skarlet skin, I have took today a more chilling approach to my PS4 version of Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate and replayed last three chapters needed for completing the Story Mode on 100%. 9 - October 5, 15:30 – I have decided to relax a little bit with Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate on my PS4 again, and started the Aftermath story added to the game as a DLC. It started immediately after the events of the original story and brought back to life few old characters. It was 2 hours shorter than the original story and this time, you are also playing as members of the evil entourage. At the grand finale I have picked Liu Kang’s ending. 10 - October 26, 11:45 – More of Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate on my PS4. I have decided to finally finish the last missing branch to get 100% in the Aftermath story mode and finished the story as evil Shang Tsung. 11 - December 3, 11:45 – And again more of Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate on PS4. Today, I have finished all of the Klassic Towers for canon and non-canon endings of every playable character.

Lud and Zallen have been defeated. The 2H Dark Infused Rapier with Leo Ring, Ring of Blades+2, Ring of Steel Protection+2, Soldier's Ring+2, Havel's Chest+5 and Feet+5, Sanctum Knight Helm+5, Black Witch Staff, Rose Shield and Dark Weapon Buff with Sacred Oath Buff (which probably did not work due to the Shield Buff ) (This made exactly 49.9% encumbrance) did the magic trick. Had to use 1 Repair Powder in the final fight, but the damage was insane. Only R2 two handed attack with BKH has matched out the damage output of this combo, but it was less likely to hit and eat much more stamina. Which in the end was my end. With this combo, I was able to defeat the first Cat almost on every try, so I had much more attempts with second Cat today, which helped me to defeat him. Thanks again for your advice, without it, I would probably still be bitching about this encounter (more than 5 hours of attempts and another 5 more of farming stuff in 4 days, to be able to get the winning gear for this encounter). For my old hands and reflexes, it was definitely the hardest solo boss fight in Dark Souls 2. We'll see about the Gank Squad

I am close to giving up. Spent two more hours at the cats. The Heide Lance with Sunlight Blade and Oath something buff and Leo Ring is doing 800+ damage on a single hit. Despite that, it is not enough for me to finish off the first cat, before the second obliterates me. And If I am able to finish it off, I get the worst of RNG again, and the second cat finishes me off with first few hits… sighs I will probably try your Rapier Advice tomorrow as I do not see myself being able to win this fight in non-cheesy way For today, I just have enough of bad luck.

Thanks a lot for a very detailed advice. Much appreciated. I have heard similar “rumors” about rapiers, and it looked to OP for me to enjoy the game in my playstyle, so I have chosen at the beginning the Lance/Spear combo (currently using Lightning Heide Lance with Sunlight Spear), with few exceptions where I am using Lightning Defenders Sword. If I will hit this wall for to long, I will definitelly do it, as you recommend, just to overcome this hell of a boss. And probably, I will still need this on Gank Squad as well. Yesterday, I have finaly got into last phase of the fight, when the second “cat” buffed itself with Berserk. Unfortunately, the RNG in this phase was completely against me. Not a single spell cast during it’s duration, to take a breath, so it ended up with me smashing Estus in a panic mode and subsequent one-hit defeat by the cat The best attempt so far was with the Fire Infused Black Knight Halberd. Had to use three Repair powders, but it worked. Especially, when I was able to land both hits of the two handed strong attack. Speaking of Leo Ring. Does it work only on thrust weapons or on all weapons during the counter attack? Extra damage on the strong attack would be good. Currently I am experimenting with two options. Back to Lighning Heide Lance or keeping the BK Halberd. Rings should be Ring of Blades+2, Chloranty Ring+2, Ring of the Soldier+2, and Ring of Steel Protection+2. I was using for the fights the Lighning/Fire Cluth Rings from DLCs, but I have found out just yesterday, that they lower your defence by 80 points. So if Leo Ring would work on the BK Halberd as well, I might change the Protection Ring to it. For Heide Lance ot would definitely work, but the handling of lances seems to me a little bit more delicate, than the BKH. (BKH Strong Attack is slashing attack, which eats a lot of durability, but if I land both hits of a single button press, I deal 1400 damage with Fire Buff and Fire Cluth Ring).

I think hit my skill wall in DS2. King’s Pets at Frigid Highlands, or whatever is the name of the frozen gauntlet, are currently eluding me. I had a lot of issues with Aava and now, there are two of them. Out of 20 or so atrempts, I have managed to make finishing blow on one of them only three times And then I always made some stupid mistake… Trying to find a weapon which hits harder and has fire infusion from the get go. I have three choices, but not sure which pick yet. Charred Loice Great Sword, Black Knight Great Sword or Black Knight Halberd. I have 40 STR and 30 DEX.

Point and click adventure from Dark Eye setting up for grabs on GOG. https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_dark_eye_chains_of_satinav

First confirmed capture of “never deployed” DPRK soldier into Europe has been reported. Including picture. https://bsky.app/profile/specialkhersoncat.bsky.social/post/3leblo456ps27