Not the Tenser?

Harkle Harpell: "Superheroism. You heard of Tenser?"

Robillard: "Yes, Tenser. Crazy Tenser... NOT THE TENSER!!!!!"

Moments later...

Harkle Harpell: "Not the Tenser?"

Robillard: "Not the Tenser..."

~from that most famous bromance done by R.A "not R21" Salvatore.

Total Recall

I decided to change the nature of the Crazy Tenser label. The reason why being that I'm more at home with inane humor rather than being that stereotypical PC S'porean. Period. Also, Tenser is definitely crazy. Crazy enough to inspire an equally crazy Harkle. Ironically, the Harpells are most likely of the chaotic alignment while Tenser is (most likely) lawful good.

Before I start my superheroism...

I'll most likely start my first post under the revamped Neverwinter Six label. The reason why being that I prefer focusing my creative writing on A Requiem from Winter Past. Basically, the content under this section will be conceptual short stories not unlike the anthologies format. Despite the nature of this label, chances are that I'll start on stories involving other characters. In fact, there may be times where some of them will read like fanfiction sans the lack of quality and class (i.e. the chief reason why J.K "not j/k" Rowling would have balked at the prospect of Emma "Duchess of Megawatts" Watson dating a real life Elaith Craulnober). As for me, the only risk I'll take is an inaccurate take on the existent characters. iirc I don't think like a normal geek. There's stuff which I've read personally. Then there are the rest where the love affair is all about the series wiki (e.g. most notably that work of creativity banned by S'pore and another one yet to be banned).

Note: Unlike the typical S'porean, my heroes don't comprise of characters like 梁婆婆 and 方老师. It's not that I belong to a younger generation since I was born in 1982. Rather, I was inclined to think like an angmoh in terms of ideal heroism due to a history of being a closet Jew from primary school all the way till ITE Dover.

Add note: Of course, this is not to say I utterly abhorred the typical heroic hero. I do have my own favorites in this aspect (e.g. the correct son of Zaknafein Do' Urden). Also, will I be given a chance to work with the Far Far East?

Don't understand Japanese? No problemo!

A bit on my personal thoughts on the next mod...

I'm pretty sure the Sea of Moving Ice would have concluded the current arc involving the human half of the Companions. Whether Wulfgar and Catti-brie will travel to Gauntlgrym or Drizzt and co going the other way to Icewind Dale remains to be seen. Given the final cinematic after you offed Baphomet for the first time, however, I won't be surprised if the Cult of Elemental Evil will stage an eventual comeback (together with Vizeran DeVir). Also, it seems that Vanifer may have assumed total control over the four elemental cults.

So what might/should we expect from the next module? After all, Cryptic has a habit of releasing 2 mods on an annual basis. Firstly, additional content will be much welcomed. This time round, it's far more possible. The thing with Neverwinter now is that a bottleneck may have been reached when it comes to epic instances. Epic dungeons wise, we already have more than enough. Which basically gives the developers no excuses whatsoever when it comes to bringing back the remaining standard dungeons. When it comes to skirmishes, however, I prefer to get one additional skirmish on a T2 basis. A skirmish instance requiring a min total item lvl of 2000 is what we need challenge wise. Not to mention an additional source of T2 epic seals as well (alternatively, this can be done in the same format as the Underdark skirmishes instead of something like Shores of Tuern and Kessell's Retreat).

As for epic trials, I don't mind getting one so long it's not the kind of end-game stuff amounting to something like Assault on Svardborg where the min requirement is so bloody insane on a normal lvl. Which now comes to the motivation behind playing a new epic trial. Personally, I don't mind getting new gear. Realistically, however, the current end-game gear is so absurdly high in item lvl and maintenance. The former means a bottleneck for the gear lvl dept, the latter basically a case of why nothing good will result from a new gear system (unless it's a case of upgrading ala Mod 6 black ice forge. Oh wait, they alrdy did that in this mod lol!). At the same time, the current artifact weapons are so absurdly high-end and hard to restore (hello, 40 ninja turtle shells in total?). Trying to bust a normal Svardborg may not be a tough ask for seasoned gamers, but it will forever represent end-game content for the majority who are still climbing up the gear score ladder (like it or not, this game is forever about item level). Unless Cryptic decides to hold more 2 x refinement points event (like maybe once every 2-3 months), not many people are gonna try busting the end game content. Period (another alternative is to improve the drop rate of ninja turtle shells via that ninja turtle BHE).

Also, the maximum level of gear dropped in Fangbreaker Island and epic Svardborg is nothing to shout about. The rings dropped are of lvl 140 or 145, something which makes busting Castle Never a far more pragmatic choice. Yes, you can get some of the epic relic armor via Fangbreaker Island, but that'd make the prospect of busting normal Svardborg look stupid. Unless the devs decide to include epic relic armor drops in normal Svardborg, I'm afraid only 10% of the gamers will want to try that one (which is an absurdity by itself since Fangbreaker Island requires a min total item lvl of 3100 compared to normal Svardborg which requires min total item lvl of 2800. Add to that a common min requirement of 28% Everfrost resistance and we know where this is going). Yes, you can bypass the restrictions via private instance queueing. Whether any guild/alliance is willing to stick its neck out is another question altogether. You don't expect things to work like my beloved Middlesbrough Football Club where we may have developed a habit of making punters/bookmakers lose money this season (I don't know about good karma for Leicester City, but I don't believe in such a thing on a universal basis).

No matter how you see it, the end-game content has hit a bottleneck. Epic instances below the end-game belt are the same as well. As for normal skirmishes, it's only a matter of time before the same thing happens. Critics tend to say Cryptic has a habit of digging a grave for itself, but whether Kelemvor will forsake them to death is not a given. History has a funny way of forcing victories out of the unlikeliest circumstances. And I'm not referring to my beloved team in red (i.e. Boro, not the current S'porean national misfiring squad). During the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu's forces routed Zhang Han's army despite being the latter's inferior. Years later, Han Xin replicated that feat against Long Ju during the Battle of Wei River. It's not a question of strategy for Cryptic, but rather a matter of tactics (if you don't know the difference between strategy and tactics, please look up on your favorite online dictionary. Don't make a fool out of yourself just because you know a bit of English, S'porean or no S'porean).

Note: This is the best chance for Cryptic to fulfill whatever belated promise to bring back the rest of standard dungeons (i.e. Lair of the Mad Dragon, Throne of Idris, Spellplague Caverns, and The Dread Vault). Whether this will signal the return of Fardelver's Crypt and Dwarf King Crypt remains to be seen. Then again, these two short epic dungeons (read: the only speedrun bait you'll ever want) is the sole reason why Gauntlgrym PvP is so popular. Or rather, used to be.

And now for the conclusion of this post... namely Tenser is gonna get crazy lol!

Before I start, I need to clarify something. I admit I've gotten super emo over our 2 pts dropped. Don't get me wrong, we deserved to win unlike S'pore vs Indonesia. Two penalty decisions went against our way, the latter being a justified call (don't ask me whether Marten "fights like a marten, running like the Roon" De Roon was on an acid trip when he decided to trip a player in blue). As for the first penalty, it's a toss up between getting illegally slapped by another player in blue or doing a needless kichew. I like Calum "a lord chambers or the real Chambers?" Chambers, but his occasional tendency to go into pieces against a fast and physical firing squad is really worrying. Don't believe me, try imagining this once we get to play Liverpool at home.

P.S: I'll do a write-up asap in My Girlfriend Born in 1986.

Credit goes to Edinson "Le Cavalerie des Princes" Cavani for being more badass than Arjen "is he Robin?" Robben just because Aaron "neither a Gordon nor Alf" Ramsey isn't a Teuton.