Cable guy, Deadpool, and teleportation

Okay, so just yesterday, I experimented with another character in Marvel Heroes. He's none other than the Cable guy.

Erm... not this cable guy pls...

This is the correct Cable guy minus his bro

Cable: From 1 to 10

First impression

Firstly, I find hero testing free of charge can be an effective way of eternal splinters farming. With the Cable guy alone, I managed to farm around half a hundred. In fact, it seems that an effective area dps game can result in a higher yield. While testing Gambit before spending 400 splinters, there were moments where 2-3 splinters dropped after one-shotting the mob. For Deadpool, it's pretty much the same case. Ditto for Cable as well this time round. Of course, it may be that drop chances for eternal splinters are now upped. Then again, neither Nightcrawler, Black Panther, or Invisible Woman was able to farm this much individually.

My first impression on Cable was that he's someone synonymous with a heavy tank. When I say heavy tank, I'm not referring to the likes of Colossus, Hulk, and Cain Marko. I'm actually referring to heavily armoured vehicles complete with a turret. Why I made this daring assumption is very simple. In the real deal done by Marvel, Cable is an extremely resilient mutant. At the same time, being a time traveller means seeing plenty of stuff that is pretty grim indeed. I still remember the X-Men cartoon when I was 12. The impression I got was definitely not the real deal (then again, the cartoon was more for kids than the fans).

As it turned out, Cable in the game actually plays like how one might expect Nathan Summers to fight in the original comics. Imagine Frank Castle plus the Man of Steel. When you have 33% damage resist at level 10, it has to mean something since Cable is a range-melee hybrid like Gambit.

I only got Phase Magnum, Quick Bodyslide, Plasma Submachine Guns, Psimitar Sweep, Vortex Grenade, Mind Bullets and Viper Beam since we're talking about a max level cap of 10. Because I tend to bind the powers to 4 keys instead of the maximum 6, my style tends to work around an effective one-two more than anything else (apparently, this was mainly due to me getting too used to the Neverwinter power tray UI). After messing around here and there like Deadpool, I basically did a 3 key binding (mainly because I'm too used in binding signature moves to S key while ultimate moves are reserved for the H key).

Left click: Phase Magnum

Right click: Quick Bodyslide

A: Plasma Submachine Guns

D: Vortex Grenade

F: Psimitar Sweep

For the infinity points, I invested them into Reality and Time, two things commonly associated with the Cable guy himself (being a telepath, however, makes the Mind tree also 100% relevant). For Reality, I focused on increasing the Energy rating. For Time, it's all about movement speed and right click cooldown. Then I did a Total Recall where the focus is now on Mind and Reality. The reason why being one of the skills capable of proc'ing mental damage. Perfectly Cable if I say so myself.

The thing with Cable is that he has some big hitting moves which would eat away his Spirit in no time. Which is why some of his passive skills involve converting non-basic moves into basic moves. Currently, my eternal splinters stand at 350+. Which means if I want to get the Cable guy, I only need 40+ more. If there's anything I've done decently well while using Cable, it'd be my status as a frag king. The reason why I use this term is very simple: Vortex Grenade>Phase Magnum>rinse and repeat. Well, not exactly that, but this is a very effective anti-boss tactic. I tried that against the likes of Gorgon and Taskmaster, bosses who always pull off that annoying dash spam. In fact, this tactic can be absurdly effective against mobs despite Phase Magnum being a single line range attack. Either I pull off Phase Submachine Guns to crowd clear or I just do things Cable anti-boss way. Trust me, the fragging approach works like hell.

Which now comes to knowing better why the people at Gazillion have to place certain restrictions in the form of the passive power/traits tree. Imagine using Invisible Woman without such a restriction. Every Stormy Sue would become a Mary Sue in the form of Storm of Spheres spamming. I kid you not, SoS is one of, if not the most effective AoE damaging move in Stormy Sue's arsenal. Ultimately (no pun intended to Marvel fans), it's only a question of extent rather than aye or nay when it comes imposing this restraining device on every character so as to speak.

Verdict-The Cable guy is surprisingly easy to use for range character. Traditionally, I'd always have trouble using such characters in this game due to left clicking having a chance of the toon moving instead of shooting. His incredibly high defensive game ensures an insane dps game for solo running. When it comes to group running or instances like Midtown, Hightown, and Industrial City, a tactical approach may work better. Unlike Gambit, it's actually possible to create a melee/psimitar Cable with your only option of ranged warfare coming from basic attack left clicking. Personally, I'd still recommend using the frag and destroy strategy. The best part of this deal? You can actually implement the fragging part into your psimitar Cable.

Deadpool: From 1 to 10

First impression

It feels absolutely surreal doing this part right now. The reason why? Someone died. No, I'm not kidding you and I'll never find another person's death funny despite my tendency to crack dark jokes concerning my own imminent end. For the lack of a better response to a tragedy, let me continue on-topic here.

Left click: Big Bang Bang Bang

Right click: Quick Bodyslide by One

A: Flesh Wound

D: Awesome Lunge of Death

F: Real Armor Buster

For some weird reason, Koreans have a weakness for Deadpool. Despite being a traditional Asian nation well known for grappling with Western values (something which we Singaporeans should understand so well), it seems that not even the salty Koreans from the south are free from Wade Willy Wonka Wilson's trolling.

Invisible Woman: You're a bad influence, Wade. Let's get you an etiquette class.

Like his bro, Deadpool has the ability to go defensive mode after executing a melee move. In this sense, using a lunging attack is the most straightforward way to proc this effect (for Cable, it's the psimitar dash). Unlike Cable, however, Deadpool has a better melee game. This is due to Flesh Wound being a more-than-capable melee combo move in terms of racking up hits. At the same time, this move also grants bonus deflect per hit. Although Deadpool is far less a tank than Cable, it must be stated that Wade Willy Wonka Wilson is all about pure dps unlike Cable, who is definitely much more versatile.

Big Bang Bang Bang is an anomaly in the sense that I'm not exactly a fan of single target range basic attacks. However, Deadpool's version of (the Korean) Bang got me absolutely sold. For some funny reason, holding down left click, be it from afar or point blank, gave me some sort of grim mirth. Firstly, it's exactly what Wade Willy Wonka Wilson would do anyway. Secondly, it feels so much like classic Deadpool in the most simplistic way that... well, the imagery in my head ended up being that of dark humor in courtesy of the man in red (and black). In fact, there was this one moment where Wade Willy Wonka Wilson traded fire with an arsonist despite standing in the middle of a fiery puddle. At that point of time, an inkling of the real Deadpool reacting to this while shooting made me laugh like a sick juvenile bastard Wade Willy Wonka Wilson truly is.

For Awesome Lunge of Death, there's nothing much for me to say apart from the fact that it's the most effective way to play Deadpool tactically. Just zip by and open fire. If you're close enough, just use your BFF pairing of Muramasa and Masamune.

Real Armor Buster has to be the greatest lol I've ever had in using Deadpool till level 10. Imagine Wade Willy Wonka Wilson's reaction before opening fire. The impact was nothing short of a shotgun one-shot fatality. I don't know about you, but everything about Deadpool's gameplay till level 10 just screams "DEADPOOL!" in a certain... well, for the lack of a better way to describe it, artistic sense.

Verdict-Initially, I planned to get Cable first. After going through this, I changed my mind. Deadpool should be quite straightforward. In fact, he's most likely one of, if not the easiest character to master. The learning curve shouldn't be an issue, but tactically speaking, I can't say the same. He doesn't have Gambit's level of one-shot dps both in terms of area powers and sheer damage (however, this logic is only applicable should Gambit be able to utilize his kinetic gauge). Unlike Nightcrawler, he doesn't have an effective hit-and-run game where the damage can just hit a massive burst (read: Teleport+Bamf Bomb=the reason why Japan lost WW2). Yet, Wade Willy Wonka Wilson shouldn't be seen as a serious choice for serious gamers. He's basically every casual gamer's dream alt where having fun is all that matters. For this reason alone, I think I want to have a Deadpool asap.

Note: Cable's hero synergy involves a total of 4% crit hit chance bonus. That one nearly scored him a victory over Wade Willy Wonka Wilson.

Nightcrawler: From 1 to 60 (and beyond)

I'll have to be brutally frank with myself here. Kurt will most likely become my main with Remy and Wade being my alts. My gaming style involves momentum and tactical movement (whatever the latter term means anyway). Which means Nightcrawler fits my style to a tee. At the same time, I actually identified myself the most with Nightcrawler more than any other Marvel characters. Yes, I do admit having a weakness for girls, women, and ladies. In this sense, I'm like Gambit. Yes, I do admit having a history of struggling with mental/emotional instability. In this sense, I'm like Deadpool. In terms of being (somewhat) a cynic, I do identify myself with Cable. Yet, there are more just a thing which I have in common with the son of Mystique and Azazel.

Like Kurt, I have suffered from social isolation since young. In fact, I have to spend near 20 years of being a social outcast so as to speak. To be honest, not even my family are able to cross over to my side in the same way I'm unable to do the same. Like Kurt, I don't belong to a society others have learnt to take for granted. In fact, Magneto's lengthy preaching to Kurt summed things up just nicely for me. Imagine my future girlfriend's BFF (at Hamburg) asking her questions like these below.

How can your boyfriend forgive those who hurt him, those who trampled upon him?

They laughed at him, physically and verbally bullied him. Some of them betrayed him and one of them called him pus.

They called him annoying, yet they never lifted a finger to help him.

He was punched once in the stomach and character assassinated in a hypocritical way.

His knuckles were stepped upon, no one wanted to be his friend.

How can he forgive these people who trampled upon him?

However, it must be stated that Magneto's questions were filled vitriol and brimming with disbelief (not to mention ire as well). Never mind whether Marvel will make him Scarlet Witch's boyfriend (after all, Wanda's relationship with Vision was officially over while Kurt's romance with Jimaine Szardos was tragically short-lived). Even though I don't identify myself with Nightcrawler's Roman Catholic faith, I do identify myself with him in terms of a common past, living in the same present, and facing an identical, if not at least a similar future.

Note: Skillset 1 is for non-boss duelling. Skillset 2 is for boss duelling and instances involving compulsory team matching/forming. Please note that in every stage, chances are that the final boss would be fighting you either one on one or with minimal adds.

Skillset 1

Left click: Sneak Attack

Right click: Bamf!

A: Righteous Frenzy

S: Brimstone Blitz

D: Bamf Bomb

F: X-Slash

H: Rain of Bamf!

Traits and Talents

The Incredible Nightcrawler; Enguarde!

Surprise Attack; Ausweichen; Infernal Brimstone; Obscuring Brimstone; Carried Momentum

This is mostly focused on crowd clearing. Hence, it's more important to deal as much damage as possible. Initially, I tried Shadowmeld instead of Ausweichen. It works decently well, just that Ausweichen works better. I just did a Google out of curiosity. Apparently, Ausweichen has got nothing to do with any person with Wei in the middle of his/her name. Basically, it means dodge.

Ryan: So did you manage to clear up that misunderstanding caused by your own stupidity?

Me: Yeah. Thankfully, Stevia knew that's just a prank I pulled on Wei Ling

Ryan: Damn, I think you really pulled off an Ausweichen in the form of an understanding girlfriend.

Above skit should be seen as 100% fictional. In the event where fiction becomes more real than non-fiction, I'm pretty sure my future girlfriend would have understood what kind of person I am. To quote Jean Grey here: "Kurt, have you and Logan gotten into trouble again?"

Long story short, Ausweichen provides an easy outlet for added dps. The most important part isn't about the dodge bonus. In fact, it makes more sense to focus on defense rather than dodging for Nightcrawler if we're talking about the blessings (read: just opt for Blessing of Volstagg). I personally find dodging quite... well, dodgy for characters like Kurt. If it's Remy or even Wade Willy Wonka Wilson, they can survive decently on a dodge based build since one is primarily a range-hybrid while the other is too hard (and awesome for that matter) to kill.

As for the so-called Brimstone BFF synergy, it gives plenty of offensive options. In the free-for-all patrol instances, consistent usage of Obscuring Brimstone can speed up any boss fight (this is especially important once you hit the Industrial City with a super BAMF! instead of just a bang). In solo running, this can be used as a last resort reversal. Infernal Brimstone, however, is truly the bomb here. While there's not much point doing a multi-porting with this one, pairing it with some painful combos is a fun thing to do. Which is why there's an X-Slash on standby.

Bamf Bomb, as I've implied via real life history, is extremely lethal. Without stealth or invisible status, it can already deal tons of damage. With either, it's an A-bomb that won't give the mob time to use their F-bomb. The AoE is also damn big, which makes Bamf Bomb the perfect B-bomb to rival the A-bomb (A/N: Because I understand only too well how depraved the human mind can be, let me just stress home the fact that neither bomb has got anything to do with attractive girls in your workplace).

For Sneak Attack, because the damage bonus will persist for 10 secs, using it to link from a Bamf Bomb is something 100% doable. If you can't even perform such a simple one-two combo, you're better off watching YouTube videos of Running Man instead.

Note: Infernal Brimstone, in particular, presents an unpredictable aspect to Kurt's gameplay where a stealth B-Bomb-Sneak Attack combo can be a one-shot alternative to persistent X-Slash. This approach is particularly effective against bosses with high mobility.

Skillset 2

Left click: Swashbuckler Slash

Right click: Bamf!

A: Righteous Frenzy

S: Brimstone Blitz

D: Bamf Bomb

F: Death Blow

H: Rain of Bamf!

Traits and Talents

The Incredible Nightcrawler; Enguarde!

Surprise Attack; Shadowmeld; Element of Surprise; Tireless Teleporter; Crescendo of Steel

This is more of sword build. The difference between a sword build and bare-knuckle teleporting build lies in the nature of the damage. The latter is more about consistent dps while the former is more about lower dps in exchange for large bursts of damage. Because this build is also for final boss fights, survival is of utmost importance. For Nightcrawler, Shadowmeld alone won't compromise the dps. At least not much by my hope. Another jailbreak option would be Tireless Teleporter where the onus lies in a full heal. In this sense, Tireless Teleporter should only be seen as a last resort jailbreak. However, Brimstone Blitz will only give you 5 seconds of invulnerability. In other words, some of the attacks can just one-shot you to fatality's end so long the 5 seconds rule expire. Thankfully, it's possible to cancel the signature attack after the invincible window hit its expiry date. Some of the bosses which can one-shot you include Living Laser and Juggernaut with Man Ape and Rhino being the possible ones as well. Incidentally, I really hate fighting Electro due to his constant AoE electrocution bs.

For Death Blow, it's all about using Element of Surprise and Crescendo of Steel. This is a deadly combo especially if the sword combo meter hit max. In fact, this complements perfectly well the Blessing of Hela, something which I already have on Nightcrawler. At the same time, Death Blow damage actually scales according to the amount of the target's missing HP, so the potential to deal a one-shot damage is quite high. Which is also why I eschewed Sneak Attack in favor of Swashbuckler Slash. The onus of this build lies in meter building. At the same time, using Death Blow while the meter has yet to hit max would amount to quite a hefty damage, so you don't really have to wait for the combo meter to hit max mode (also, dealing Death Blow once the meter hit max would result in increased cooldown since it's a flourish move).

Note: Inspiration for this build comes from Kurt Darkholme, who was actually an alternate version of Kurt Wagner in Age of Apocalypse. Not surprising to see how a different reality can warp even the kindest soul, though.

Add note: My choice of infinity powers hinges on two trees. Namely, Soul and Space. Because I find it quite fun to base my infinity power tree on how I'd envision the respective characters, I actually decided to base my planning on striking a balance between gameplay and canon. For Soul, it's because of a prior episode where he had to host the Soulsword. That plus the fact that he's always a technical fighter rather than one relying on force and aggression. For Space, that's because of how I interpreted the concept of dimension. In Kurt's case, it's the Brimstone Dimension. This was also the reason why I based Gambit's infinity tree on Soul (due to how he honed his fighting capability plus Apocalypse messing him up) and Reality (because the tooltip blatantly linked this tree with the law of physics. And that includes kinetic energy).

P.S: To round things off, I decided to go Google for some Nightcrawler CP artworks.

Credit: Emily369

Credit: Twynsunz

Credit: Lana125

Pretty sure this one is official. I mean the art itself.

Add P.S: Just a question which I sometimes ask myself. Is it possible for one to do an image search on FB without the relevant person's name being tagged? If so, it means my cover might have been officially blown at the courtesy of the entire CT-MRI.

A gazillion thanks to Gazillion (not to mention as well my little nation of Singapore)

For the first time in my personal history as a gamer, I actually forgot to do my daily invocation for Neverwinter. More specifically last Saturday. The reason why being that I was too busy doing two things.

1. Finishing the story mode for Stormy Susan.
2. Having a go at trying Wonka Wilson and Remy LeBlanc.

This post will be very brief as I'll need to do a Total Recall on my sleeping habits so as to speak.

Something learnt against MODOK

If there's anything worthy to know when it comes to quest progression, it'd be doing the quests in accordance. Supposedly you're to kill the boss last, doing so before the other requirements were met means you'd be stuck in a limbo. In other words, you won't be able to complete the quest. To make things even worse, there's no quest abandon option. Worst of all, you'll need to finish the relevant quests in the relevant order to progress. However, there's a trick to the whole thing.

Because instances for the story quests are meant to stay active only on a fixed timing basis, the instance would always automatically reset at a certain time. Once the instance resets, you can just go on and finish it. Basically, that's how my Stormy Susan did when MODOK went belly up (interestingly enough, the Brits have a colourful way of saying this. I'm not going to tell you what that slang is even though the Lees are not the only ones who know the British language).

Now that all my three characters have finished their first run of the story mode, it's now progressing to round 2.

Something learnt against Sauron

Welcome to the Savage Land where dinos, insects, and aliens exist. Not to mention as well hunky cavemen and sexy cavewomen. Just now, I ran through Sauron's cave. Apparently, that place is where you'll get your third artefact so as to speak. To be honest, that pendant was "meh" unless your character is someone like Nightcrawler. And... well, that's it.

Actually, come to think of it, I need to start running Dino Land on heroic mode. I swear that thing will be damn useful for Nightcrawler. That is unless the artefacts you get in the story mode doesn't come back in heroic difficulty.

New system, new way of doing things

My beloved Middlesbrough isn't the only thing to herald a clean slate. Despite being defeated by Wolves in our opener, I've seen enough to suggest that Gary "the Welsh" Monk didn't come up with his best XI until the last 25 minutes or so. Given that we're able to give Nuno "El Spirito" Espírito Santo a decent run for his GBP/Euro despite fielding our second best XI (read: Apparently, our Welsh Monk didn't know exactly his best XI until Adam "not the boyfriend of Eve Hewson" Forshaw came off the bench. No, I'm not telling a lie. I'm very good in spotting the seemingly minor details which proved to be worth so much more.

Onto Gazillion. They also did the same thing. In a weird twist of events, they managed to rope in Cryptic to help them do the game developing. This was especially evident in the sense that the gameplay was totally overhauled so as to speak. You no longer have to dump skill points. Levelling up merely unlocks the so-called passive skills listed at the right side of the power table if we're talking about the other aspect of ARPG apart from the stats. This calls for planning and knowing which powers to cut adrift (read: some, if not most, passive skills tend to involve more than one power).

The infinity system is quite dodgy. For me, at least and for now. Personally, I'd just focus on the stats. The ones involving bonus alternate damage (e.g. you're a physical dps, your damage has a chance of dealing energy damage), these I left them out. Either way, it's better for you to focus on two, if not three, gems. For me, I left out everything on the list apart from the ones enhancing the stats. A dumb decision mayhaps?

Funnily enough, it seems that the people at Gazillion might actually be Democrats/liberals after all. Last time I checked, none of the Purifiers actually croaked "humanity first" when any of them... well, croaked. This time, that croaking statement is there. Not that I really care about Clinton and Trump anyway. Yes, I have my damning opinions on politics (note that I never mention politicians for a reason). But that's it.

A big thank you to Singapore (and why we're like the southern Yanks)

My relationship with my nation is a bit weird, to say the least. On one hand, I never got anything from the education system apart from being that closet Jew. On the other hand, however, I know there are good things in my nation which I've learnt to appreciate. Things which cannot be found anywhere else. If I had been born in other countries, I might have jumped off the building. Don't laugh. I still remember what happened to Amanda Todd. That could have been me. At the same time, recent events (okay, not so recent since it's been going on for years) actually suggested that as a Christian, I'm blessed to live in Singapore where Christians don't have to be worried about getting sued till their pants drop. For those who have a problem with Singapore's legal system, I can never start a debate due to my conscience. But it's also because of this conscience of mine that I must point out the positive obvious.

So why is it that we're like the southern Americans? After all, they're called rednecks (ironically, one doesn't simply call Jennifer "the most famous hot Jen now" Lawrence a redneck despite her hometown being from the U.S south). Of course, we really need to look at ourselves in the mirror before laughing at these uneducated angmohs.

The thing is this: In terms of keeping faith with a moralistic society deemed too rustic, we're no different from the American South. In terms of being more comfortable in a closely knitted community, we're much more of a southern American. Not unto their extent, but you get the drift. Like them, we're always running the risk of being called stupid despite having a much better public education system. After all, there's a reason why the BFF duo of Bill "there's always more than one Mr Bill" Gates and the now deceased Steve "doubt he chugged Steveweisers with Mr Bill" Jobs didn't hail from Singapore.

So why am I making this off-the-cuff statement?

WL: Tell me one thing your Gambit can do that my Colossus can't.

LH: Left click Royal Flush.

Not every Marvel character is known for being a southerner just like not every famous person is known for being a Singaporean. Two of the most notable names in the southerner list would be Gambit and Rogue (incidentally, the two are most likely the only couple every fan would hate to see it end). While it'd be good to experiment with Rogue, the latest addition to my character roster is Le Diable Blanc himself.

Replay value added?

One of the greatest strength of Marvel Heroes since release is a high level of replayability. This has got nothing to do with the gameplay content, but rather the fact that it's relatively easy to get any hero of your choice (although Deadpool would cost you 600 eternal splinters instead of the standard 400). My personal suggestion would be to get one team mate (apart from the default S.H.I.E.L.D agent) for like 400 eternal splinters (200 for at least Groot and Dr Strange if I remember correctly). Beyond that, you can just try to get the hero of your choice or rng. The thing about farming eternal splinters for new heroes lies in the active hero synergy. This is quite obviously an indicator of which hero/heroes you'd end up maining. My suggestion is to main no more than 2 heroes, 3 at the most. This is due to the way hero synergy works. Not every hero has the correct synergy option for your main. Period. Which is also why I may end up maining Gambit and Nightcrawler instead of Black Panther and Invisible Woman (to set the record straight, I'm gonna stick my guns on Kurt sending Thanos running with this). Since this game doesn't require you to master any character of your choice like some, if not most, of the MMO in the industry, it should be relatively easy for you to hit the minimum quota of 10 active heroes in your roster.

For now, I'll need to finish Chapter 10 for Black Panther and Invisible Woman. I've done so for Kurt Bavaria and Remy Le Diable Blanc. Suffice to say, using med kits in the first part has never been more fun. Quite literally.

There's something about Remy

Not to be confused with the movie which made Cameron Diaz famous (if not more famous), there are indeed certain things about Remy Le Diable Blanc.

Unlike most, if not the rest, of the X-Men, Remy wasn't so much of a character seeking a refuge as we all define it. The focal theme about X-Men (and to a major extent, the Avengers if we're referring to Civil War) lies in conflict. Conflict not between two types of people, but rather the fact that conflict is part and parcel of the homo sapiens DNA. It doesn't matter whether it's homo sapiens superior or homo sapiens inferior. Thing is, conflict brings out either the best or worst in every one of us. It brings out the worst in people like William Stryker and Magneto. At the same time, it brings out the best in others like Nightcrawler and a playable Max Eisenhardt. In Magik's own words, Magneto is now one of the good guys together with Cain Marko. Just don't ask me whether the prospect of Kurt being Magneto's potential son-in-law was the reason why despite that lengthy preaching.

So what is Gambit after all the while, if not a refuge alone? He's a man on a mission, the very mission of redemption. Whenever we do something stupid, sorry is the first word coming out from us. When we end up doing something catastrophic, chances are that we'd attempt a jailbreak than to confront our sins/mistakes. Gambit, despite being more of a side character compared to others like Wolverine and Cyclops, is quite unique in this sense. He sought redemption after making a horrible mistake in siding with the Marauders in their fight against the Morlocks. As a result, a young girl named Marrow would become one of his only two shots at redemption (the other being Rogue herself after the events caused by Apocalypse himself). Just don't ask me whether anybody involved in the K-drama Doctor Crush is actually a closet fanboy/girl of the ragin' Cajun himself. I won't be surprised, however, if redemption for Gambit would also involve killing a sinister old man named... well, Mr Sinister.

Secondly, Gambit is a tragic character. Abandoned since birth, the song below might have accidentally summed up what he's supposed to be had Jean-Luc LeBeau not interfered.

Seriously, is it my fault that I tend to identify myself with characters like Gambit and Guts instead of any character in the Ah Boys To Men movies?

Long story short, he got screwed by an accident of his own (DNA) making. Of course, this also meant that had Julien Boudreaux not acted like some elite moron, none of this would have happened. Ironically, Remy LeBeau as the Gambit whom we have all grown to admire wouldn't be born as well. In fact, I won't be surprised if the stigma of his past also means a rift between him and the rest of the X-Men including Rogue. Like Gambit, I have to live with my own stigma as well.

Thirdly, Gambit is a ladies' man in every sense of the word. If there's any notable chink in his armour so as to speak, it'd be ladies like Park "why always Park?" Shin-hye, Emilia "it makes romance absolutely IMPOSSIBRU!!!!" Clarke, and random lasses in that workplace known as SGH. In this sense, I do identify myself with Remy. However, being a ladies' man also means being a gentleman. Despite the incessant flirting which he's always capable (and guilty) of, his decisions made concerning Bella Donna Boudreaux means that he can also be a man responsible for his own actions and decisions. In fact, by refusing her plea to follow him into exile, Remy effectively prevented her from leading a life that might only pile more misery on her. At the same time, there are moments where he's also emotionally fragile. After all, Gambit is meant to be a tragic character with elements of fatalism in his life. In this sense, I'm like him. I mean the part about being emotionally fragile, not the latter part. Come to think of it, it seems that his relationship with Rogue was also a product of emotional frailty. Albeit on a mutual basis.

So why am I doing this half-baked intro? The reason is very simple. Initially, I intended to save up 600 eternal splinters to get this guy below.

But because Gambit is more of a challenge than Deadpool, I decided to spend 400 eternal splinters on him first.

Left click Royal Flush

Remember the skit between LH and WL? This is something which I made up by myself (never mind the question of whether there are girls with the respective initials). One of the major challenges I have in using Gambit is managing the dps. In other words, the best defensive measure is always about using the best offensive measure.

Firstly and foremost, have a decent health recovery per hit game. Either that or health recovery per kill. Plenty of Gambit's gear is defensive in nature, but tbh I don't have much faith in him surviving a fight of attrition. What this means is very simple: Either you focus on ranged dps or switching between ranged and melee attacks. The former is the easiest way out, but it won't bring out the best in Gambit. The latter is the best way out, but definitely not the easiest.

Because I tend to be a tactical gamer more than the technical type, I ended up trying left click Royal Flush. Suffice to say, something I did in the name of tinkering ended up becoming something so much more. Despite the skit between LH and WL being 100% fictional, LH recommending a left click Royal Flush game is anything but fictional. Because left click tends to cater to the human instinct to spam, it also means a non-basic move with zero cooldown can be deceptively deadly. At the same time, it's also fast to come out. Compared to Bo Strike and Wild Card (which are basic powers), Royal Flush is meant for mob wiping. Dueling wise, Bo Strike or Wild Card is a better option (something which works insanely well against Dr Doom). Of course, I can easily use the left click Royal Flush approach against Doom. Just that it won't be that effective. Which now comes to the question of your second move set. By default, you'll have two of those. After dooming Dr Doom to defeat, I'm convinced that it's actually better to create one skill set for general play and one skill set for duelling rather than one skill set for open PvE and the other for instances involving one whole party.

Also, after accessing to some of Gambit's unique gear, I realised that unlike my other 3 characters, Gambit tends to work best with the character-specific ones. This is due to his unique gear catering to his general gameplay more than anything else. Basically, that means I won't be unbinding Nate Grey's Psionic Armour from Kurt. Out of my current four active characters, Gambit is that one fellow who can maximise every hero synergy available so far due to an effective range dps and his insanely high damage. Again, left click Royal Flush.

Which medallion to use?

Living Laser is the most straightforward option. Problem is, binding Royal Flush to left click means making this option 100% unusable. Kirigi medallion can be a deceptively good choice for Gambit as it adds some much-needed attack speed and melee damage. If you can get an Elektra medallion either on a higher item level basis alone or on a cosmic rank plus higher item level, then just go for it. It synergises absurdly well with Sleight of Hand (the dps version, not the one at the top) and there are also plenty of good stuff Gambit can benefit from compared to most of the medallions available. You might want to experiment around, but for me personally, it's Elektra Natchios ( the last name is not to be confused with nachos, which is a type of cheese). As for Kirigi, I think I'll save it for Deadpool once I reach 600 eternal splinters. Either that or Taskmaster medallion. I got plenty of useful junk stashed in my Starktech Armory and Supply Hoard (i.e. S.T.A.S.H).

After Royal Flush, what's next?

Trick Card is absurdly good to use even without that passive skill granting it 3 charges and 25% damage bonus per hit. Upon hit, it gives an auto stunner. With kinetic energy bonus, it can blow up an entire lab. One of the most notable changes to the AI mob lies in their ability to curse Because comics are not G.R.R "the trolling Tolkien" Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire in terms of content, Gazillion has to play according to the rules as well. Why I mentioned the swearing is very simple. Imagine angmohs from Hydra and A.I.M using symbols instead of words after Gambit blew up canisters of volatile substances. Imagine aliens and demons using some sort of gibberish instead of proper English after Gambit sticks a super charged Trick Card into their leader. Imagine Asian ninjas from the Hand and Admiral Nodope (seriously, a Japanese named no dope?) screaming "このやろう!!!!!" after Gambit dealt them the best hand ever. Why is it that I'm cursed with a warped sense of humour?

For melee, it's officially a staple one-two of Bo Vault and Grand Slam. The main reason being one of the passive skills grant an auto execution of House of Cards. This is for the former. As for the latter, it resets the cooldown for Bo Vault to zero. This combo would always be wasted against low-level mobs, but insanely effective in high-level mob clearing. The equation is very simple: Bo Vault>Grand Slam>dodge>what LH said about left click (note that Gambit's dodge automatically hit any enemy within range with stun plus damage). In fact, there's this passive skill giving your melee attacks more damage upon your kinetic gauge emptied by ranged attacks and vice versa. See where this is going so long you can alternate effectively between range and melee on a one-two basis?

Calling a spade a... spade?

Ace of Spades, that move which you'll need to make certain decisions. The most straightforward call would be Ace of Clubs since it will auto brutal hit (not to mention 3 charges available upon proc). However, that'd involve one more slot for my power tray. I may really opt for it, though. For now, it's Ace of Hearts. For Ace of Diamonds, I won't recommend it unless you're out to create a melee Gambit. For some funny reason, the execution speed was quite dodgy, something which I noticed about Batter Up as well. Ah well, maybe I'm really someone more comfortable with quick-firing hits like how the current German national football/soccer team is playing its counteroffensive approach under Joachim "Der Löwe" Löw.

One thing about Ace of Hearts lies in whether it will hit the same target should 52 Pickup be used in a duel. My guess is that... well, it would still strike at the target's very heart.

52 Pickup

Despite Gambit being a Romeo (not to be confused with the Original Sanders done by William Shakespeare or the Asian ones) in every sense of the word, 52 Pickup has got nothing to do with picking up 52 local Singaporean girls. This is an effective move when it comes to duelling, but basically as tricky as Loki when it comes to dealing with any target with high mobility since it's 100% possible for any target to move beyond the screen (visually speaking ofc since only Deadpool has the right to break the fourth wall). Equally tricky like the trickster god himself would be the scenario where various visual effects overlap. That's my main complaint if there's any about this game. The overlapping makes aiming difficult, even nigh impossible at times. Beyond my pet peeve, my pet tactic in pulling this off involves only one single move: Trick Card. The moment I can stun the target, it's au revoir, mon' ami.

A better love story than Twilight?

Above two-panel has got nothing to do with Gambit and Rogue. More specifically, this is me having my own Deadpool moment. Now onto Cherie. Suffice to say, the resultant destruction was quite high-end given Gambit's insane crit rate. Visuals wise, the tooltip can be quite misleading. Going by the tooltip alone, it's only natural to assume the power looks really lame. Once I pulled it off, what greeted me was an impressive show of 5th November. Or at least it's a better look than I otherwise expected.

Choice of gear

Unless you manage to get a pure set of Gambit specific unique gear, my suggestion is to focus on 3 things. Namely, crit hit, brutal hit, and brutal damage. However, crit damage can be used as a viable alternative to brutal damage (something extremely effective if you opted for Gungnir as your Legendary choice). Because Gambit's gear does have a high chance of getting defensive stats, half of the time at least it's all about deflection and max health. If you're out to create a melee build (something doable, but not necessarily recommended), try opting for defence and health recovery per hit with the offensive focus being on crit hit and brutal hit. If you're out to create a range build or a range-melee hybrid, then go with my suggestion. If I say so myself, that is.

Immediate goals: 600 eternal splinters for #respawnlol remains the top of my priority. However, I may have a go at test-driving the Cable guy before that.

Not this Cable guy...


"Sometimes the ends justify the means, no matter the cost to your soul."
-Nathan Summers aka the correct Cable guy-

P.S: What's with Asians and dope? Apart from a Japanese Nodope, there's Dopinder Singh.

Add P.S: Apparently, something might have gone wrong with a name that sounds like "no dope" unless he's intended to be a Japanese Nodope. The racially correct version should go like Notobe. Now that sounds much more Japanese. Not to mention authentically Japanese as well.

Wonder how the portrayal of Dopinder Singh would compare to what happened previously.

Park, boobs, and sons of a gun (read: Neverwinter and Tera combined)

It's been totally crazy since 25th July. I really need to take a break. The problem with my gaming habit isn't due to addiction; otherwise, my sanity wouldn't have survived 14 working days sans my PC.

What this post is all about

When I mentioned Park and boobs, I'm referring to Chult and the fact that I ended up being a hypocrite. When I mentioned sons of a gun, I'm referring to the fact that the name of my slayer main (for Tera) is intended as a pun on the phrase "son of a gun."

Also, Arylos remains a certified bastard in terms of character just like this Emiya below.

Important note: Quite obviously, no offence is intended to any and every salty Korean from the south. The only reason why I pulled off the unthinkable act of hypocrisy is due to this. Already, I think I know who is the one person liking my posts till now, that I'm very sure she's not gonna like this post due to jealousy. My guess is that she's no (salty) Korean from the south.

Part I: Sonorff Argun and Sevea Layne

It's quite hilarious in a twisted sense. Despite what I may have implied here, I ended up creating a high elf sorceress (read: female high elf sorcerer toon). While I'm having half a mind to create a (male) high elf warrior, I wouldn't want to repeat the dumb mistake where I ended up creating 4 redundant toons apart from my currently active 3 in Neverwinter. I blame Elleon and those Koreans at Bluehole studio.

Note: Apparently, you can only create two characters per account unless there's a way to buy extra slots with real money.

Sonorff Argun-Impression so far

Using a slayer can be quite tricky. Plenty has been stated about this class having high mobility and high burst damage. The problem is, using a slayer is different from understanding a slayer based on words alone.

The slayer is indeed all about mobility. However, this is also a class not suited for gamers who only know how to smash (like Hulk) or clobberin' it (like the Thing). This is a class for smart people. You don't have to be Justin Wong, Daigo, or Kiyomatsu to master this class. But you really have to be that damn smart.

Which now comes to the offensive game. Unlike warriors, valkyries, and berserkers, slayers are only good at one thing: Pure damage and destruction. In Terra, hit and run requires more tactical awareness than using a sorcerer. As a slayer, you'll have to know when to keep hitting and when to bail. The slayer's attacking speed is mediocre at best, outright abysmal most likely. The basic 4 hit combo is slow to come out per execution. At the same time, taking on a large monster also means your slayer can't afford to run about too many times. So far, the only attacks that come out decently fast would be Stunning Backhand, Leaping Strike, and Distant Blade. For Leaping Strike, it can be quite dodgy at times due to the need to time your hit properly. Stunning Backhand has officially become my staple (since my gaming style actually favours a fast hitting approach). Distant Blade is my number one option when it comes to raiding while it's more for knock-down follow-up in solo play. However, Leaping Strike can be very useful when used from a successful Retaliate. In particular, Retaliate has a chance of knocking down opponents in a single sweep instead of just hitting back.

For mob clearing, I'm now using Whirlwind. This move comes out very slowly, but the AoE and damage are certified high end. One single swipe can cover pretty much the entire mob. Against trash mobs, this move can take care of things asap. Already, there were moments where one single Whirlwind can take down 2-3 standard Lok minions.

Tenacity has to be my other staple move. Because MP is always important to a slayer (after all, it's all about killing them before they kill you), using this in the middle of any fight can set up some nice combos. In particular, chaining a Knockdown Strike from Tenacity can be deceptively effective.

As a slayer, you'll need to master the art of Combo Attack. The hits are slow to come out, but each hit can replenish your MP for free. As for Evasive Roll, you really need it. The slayer relies on positioning to survive and high one-shot damage to prevail. Against large enemies, however, this approach can be problematic as such opponents tend to spam AoE. In other words, Evasive Roll has its cooldown.

When it comes to Headlong Rush, I normally don't chain it to Knockdown Strike. Rather, I use it for two purposes.

1. To jailbreak immediately when the enemy is having the upper hand in dps momentum. This mostly happens in fighting large enemies and bosses.

2. To set up a Stunning Backhand due to its relatively fast execution speed. This combo really works due to a combination of stun and fast hitting. Works every single time, this I swear and guarantee.

Skill set for solo play: Combo Attack, Evasive Roll, Distant Blade, Stunning Backhand, Whirlwind, Headlong Rush, Tenacity, Retaliate

Sevea Layne-Impression so far

I'm really having fun with her right now. And by that, I mean gameplay. Initially, I was forced to mess around her moveset quite a while. The moment Arcane Pulse got unlocked, that's where things started becoming interesting. This move can be quite slow to come out since it's a charge move, but you can do some wonderful things from the fully charged version. In fact, a fully charged Arcane Pulse can easily kill any non-large target. I tried that before more than once, it really worked. When linked with Frost Sphere, it can either kill anything outright or weaken the target enough to take it down via a third attack.

My chaining game is very simple. Arcane Pulse>Frost Sphere>Lightning Strike>left click for Fireball spam. However, this is mainly for single target damage. For AoE, it's Painblast and Fireball left click spam. However, I may create a Painblast-Meteor Strike combo since I've just unlocked it in my last session.

On the point blank end, I'm currently sticking with Painful Trap. It's very easy to use. All I did is to cast this one, then open fire. Because the trap lasts for 10 seconds, either it would trigger and one-shot or it'd just be wasted because your range dps is too damn high. A very useful contingency, though, if I say so myself. Due to Lightning Trap being unlocked, however, it also means I may use this in place of Painful Trap since CC is more important for sorcerers in open PvE.

When it comes to dodging, the sorcerer has much going for him/her. Apart from springing Glacial Retreat as a counteroffensive jailbreak, Backstep is the most basic defensive move. Teleport Jaunt can be very effective when it comes to offensive dodging. Problem is, that move most likely has a cooldown longer than Backstep. In this sense, the slayer's dodge is much better offensively compared to a sorcerer's teleport/backstep game. Conversely speaking, this means the sorcerer has a very good defensive dodge game.

Also, one more thing: Flame Pillar isn't worth your time. Or at least it doesn't worth mine. The range is too near and it's a bit slow to come out. You can try chaining it from a Lightning Trap, though. Pretty sure it will work.

Note: The interesting part about using a sorcerer lies in the freedom to create your own combos instead of them being fixed. Not that other classes have this restriction, but rather it seems that at least the slayer can only do this much in mix and match.

Skill set for solo play: Fireball, Backstep, Arcane Pulse, Painblast, Teleport Jaunt, Lightning Trap (for now), Mana Infusion, Retaliate

Against large enemies and raiding-Sonorff Argun

For Sonorff Argun, dealing with the former can be a challenge. This is because while the slayer has superior dps, it doesn't have the one-shot potential you'd see otherwise in a sorcerer. At the same time, there's no decent CC game to be discovered here. Large enemies tend to have higher resistance to stun and knockdown, two things which can swing any fight to any player's favour. Couple with that a high damage game and superior defence, your slayer would most likely have a tough fight. Using battle solution goes a long in solving this, so don't be stingy. For me, I'd always spam Distant Blade once the chance comes. This is even better if you can score a knockdown. This is due to the hits coming out quite fast (basically, Stunning Backhand is like only 1-2 secs faster). It's quite effective in chipping off the HP on a consistent basis. Which is what a slayer should be doing solo against any enemy twice or thrice the size.

At the same time, such enemies would guarantee you an AoE attack once every few seconds. Because the slayer is a light armor class, you can't afford to stand and fight like a tank. Unless you're out to trial and error (something which would earn you a "Merc with a Mouth" achievement), better not do this. Ultimately, chances are that you'll still get hit. Once that moment comes, either you'll get slowed down or knocked down. Not so bad if it's the latter since knockdown attacks don't really deal much damage (that plus the follow up attacks as well). If it's the former, then you're in trouble since slayer relies heavily on mobility and positioning. In fact, there are times where getting slowed down also means you'll be getting damage over time as well. Which is why I always have Headlong Rush on standby plus healing potion. In fact, this is the reason why you should be slotting in hardy crystals more than any other defensive ones. Also, Tenacity doesn't make a slayer slow-proof. That's the most important part. If the offensive momentum isn't to your advantage, don't dive in straightaway post-jailbreak. Preferably, make sure your HP is back to full gauge.

For raiding, every party would love to have a slayer. This is due to slayers getting less aggro in any party. This is important because it allows the slayer to maximize the dps without worrying about getting hit. There's still a need to jailbreak, but at least the chances of that happening are lower. In fact, a slayer can deal insane damage via attacking from behind. Perhaps more than any other dps class, the slayer tends to profit from the party tank (the other class being sorcerer).

For raiding, I only made one change. Heart Thrust instead of Whirlwind. This is due to the potential damage it can deal against bosses. On the AoE end, I can easily pull off a Stunning Backhand to create multi-target CC.

Skill set for raiding: Combo Attack, Evasive Roll, Distant Blade, Stunning Backhand, Heart Thrust, Headlong Rush, Tenacity, Retaliate

Against large enemies and raiding-Sevea Layne
It's insanely easy to take on a large enemy. Because such enemies come alone instead of 2-3 of them, a high damage combo starter goes a long way to make the fight short. For this reason, Arcane Pulse again is a must. Any resultant combo won't kill that thing outright, but at least an effective CC hit can kill it asap with minimal risk involved.

When it comes to raiding, Arcane Pulse can be very tricky to land. This is due to two factors involved.
1. Charging time.
2. The event where the boss has high mobility or able to dash from one end to another.

However, the same logic of efficiency applies if you know when to land it instead of where. Raiding with a sorcerer is very straightforward. Just pull off a fast-cast combo against mobs with Arcane Pulse combo reserved for the big ones low on mobility.

Also, doing a teleport and laying down Painful Trap can be both fun and efficient. During my first raid with Sevea, that's exactly what I did on the boss.

Skill set for solo play: Fireball, Backstep, Arcane Pulse, Painblast, Teleport Jaunt, Painful Trap (for now), Mana Infusion, Retaliate

(Chultan) Park and a daring move

Currently, I'm reinstalling Marvel Heroes after three years in absence. In other words, the trio of Nightcrawler, Black Panther, and Invisible Woman is back!!!!

My longer term goal is to unlock that son of a gun named Deadpool. In the short run, however, I'll need to do a Total Recall on the move set. In particularly Nightcrawler (since I've always intended him to be my main since day 1).

Sadly, this also means I'll have to swear off Path of Exile since this is a game more for hardcore gamers or casual gamers playing only one game out of many. Now back to Chultan Park.

When the mod was first released, the same old thing happened. Namely, too many people flooding the new campaign zone servers. As a result, the game was lagging like crazy. Fast forward to now and it seems things have gotten better. So what should you be expecting in the new zone?

1. Repetitive quests looping on an infinite basis. The thing with daily quests is that they would repeat themselves like a broken record. Therefore, it's not really advisable to try maxing out the weekly quota asap. Unless you're out to torture yourself via grinding. Interestingly enough, this does not affect the weeklies.

2. Getting jumped by dinosaurs. The small ones are nothing more than an inconvenience. For the bigger ones, they can either knock you down (if you're fighting them) or stun you en route (if you're trying to outrun the aggro via mount speed).

3. The fact that any T-Rex prowling nearby won't chase after you unless you're crazy enough to start a fight with it.

I'll be going through the various enemies in the zone and what they can (and will) do to you.

Dinosaurs

This category of monsters tends to jump on you and knock you down. The bigger they are, the more likely this would happen. For the mob version, there are three variations. The small ones rely more on pure dps. The medium ones and large ones basically fight in the same modus operandi with the only difference being their stats. For the solo version, we have the Allosaurus and T-Rex. The former can be very hard to take down while solo'ing, but possible (I actually did that before with Arylos). As for the latter case, do not try solo'ing it unless you happen to be a great weapon fighter.

Even then, it took this guy like 6 mins to conclude the fight.

Taking down any dino mob isn't that harrowing as what others made it out to be. Their mobility is ridiculously high end with an insanely fast movement being their way of fighting (or hunting for that matter). However, they tend to take the most damage out of every mob type in Chult. If you're a dps build, you'll need to slow them down (or better still, immobilise them).  If you're not high on CC, then you better start planning a decent AoE dps strategy. Without the speed, they're just there for the taking. Be prepared for a back and forth fight, though. Dinosaurs tend to deal the most damage. Ironically, the high-end mobility and speed are the reasons why it's quite impossible to kill a T-Rex solo. Unlike the other critters in Chult, dinos are quite likely the one thing capable of doing in a solo tank. Below image is the reason why.

How I fight them as Arylos: The first few rounds are all about dodging. If possible at all, I'd like to evade them. Failure to do so means game on. Normally, you'll get stunned long enough for the mob to take you down. That's not the end of your world, though. Just don't stay there like a moron. A decent control resistance game is definitely a must. Try to get your control resistance to like at least 5% since prone status is known to be harder to recover. Then again, you'd most likely need around twice that amount. Once the fight starts, it's all about constant hit and dodge rather than just hit and run. This applies for both the raptor and their bigger cousins. For their smallest bros, it's trading hits and damage. The allosaurus is the most annoying because it's the second toughest non-boss enemy. In fact, I won't be surprised if it's more resilient than some of the rare hunts available in the jungle. That thing fights like a T-Rex, just that it's possible to solo it without being a great weapon fighter. Tough, yes. Impossible, no. What works for you against the raptors and all their bros will definitely work for you against it. Just don't try to solo a T-Rex unless you're a great weapon fighter who knows how to use UNSTOPPABRU!!!!!

Big cats

I rarely fought them. Apparently, any big cat mob would involve pouncing and knockdowns. If you know how to deal with crag cats and dread hounds, you should be somewhat familiar with any big cat mob in Chult. I've fought two types of cat mobs so far (if I remember correctly, I've also fought a tiger once). The first is the lion mob. This mob doesn't play the pouncing game, but the male lion has that stun roar. Against any lion mob, you really have to take down the male. In any case, there's only one male lion in any lion mob. The other big cat is the smilodon. Smilodons are harder to kill, but they only appear in pairs (if I recall correctly, lion mobs consist of one male and two females). Unlike dealing with lions, dealing smilodons require taking one cat out asap. Once you manage to do that, you're on the easy path to winning. The thing is, smilodons can take plenty of damage before dropping a tooth or two. At the same time, smilodons don't roar. They pounce. Try imagining crag cats high on steroids. That's basically what smilodons are all about. Interestingly enough, a rare smilodon opponent actually deals less damage than a mid tier dino mob. Not that any dino mob has a higher defensive game, of course.

How I fight them as Arylos: Same as the dinos, just that I don't need to dodge more than hald of the fight. Against a lion mob, I always try to take out the male first. As for smilodons, they're actually harder to fight due to their increased toughness. Still not a problem so long your focus doesn't get lost in its own Bermuda Triangle. And no, I'm not interested to know what will happen if one damn cat managed to pounce on me. At least I'm pretty sure my future girlfriend doesn't keep a smilodon.

Undead

If possible at all, try to take out the deathlock wight first. It doesn't take that dead woman long to summon, heal, or buff. More often than not, however, the battle wight will get to you first. In this scenario, don't try to get the deathlock wight first. Rather, try clearing a way through if you're more of a single target dps. Otherwise, use AoE attacks so that you can clear as many undead critters as possible. In particularly, skeletons are very easy to kill. At the same time, it's very common to see a lesser bone golem or two in their midst. That's the most problematic part because bone golems tend to spam knockdown once every few seconds. If you have a Ring of Vanishing Presence at least on a +3 (or preferably +4), however, then that changes the rules.

How I fight them as Arylos: They always stay their ground. The archers will stay their ground, the battle wights will stay their ground. The deathlock wights will stay their ground, the bone golems... well, they also stay their ground. Of course, this is not to say they always remain static in every sense of the word. Just that they pretty much move about in circles. The direct approach works. You fight the nearest thing in front of you, but you'll also need one way or another to target their Lady Stoneheart at the same time as well. You don't need a Longclaw to do them in, only the icy mind and fiery guts of Jon Snow himself.

Thayans

For some funny reason, you get to see Rath Modar's BFFs chilling in Chult. Granted they're most likely after the magical artefacts hidden in the temple ruins, but seeing them was still surprising. They tend to gather around one fixed area. Whenever you undertook the quest given by one of the NPCs at Camp Vengeance where you'll need to consecrate dead bodies and fighting the undead along the way, you'd surely notice them. There's not much separating the Thayans in Chult and those in the Dread Ring. Quite obviously, however, they're Dread Ring mobs high on steroids. It's still very easy to take them out since their modus operandi is pretty much the same as their Dread Ring BFFs.

How I fight them as Arylos: It's the same thing as fighting their inferior BFFs at Dread Ring. However, the terrain in Chult is mostly one patch of ground surrounded by four walls. Figuratively speaking, ofc. Simply put, I just target the wizards. If the servitors want a fight as well, it's a fight they will get. Just not on their terms. The close quarter terrain is a dual-edged sword for the red wizards. It gives them a far better chance of nailing you, but it also gives you the same advantage as well. Live by violence, die by violence. This is in Thayan speak fyi.

Batiri

They're quite likely the most annoying critters ever. Imagine quicklings high on weed. That's how bad they are. Less quick, but more brutal. There will be moments where getting swarmed by a mob can easily wipe out half your HP bar. Given that only mid and high tier dinos can do that, it really says something. At the same time, it's very easy to attract aggro. The reason why being that they can only be found in one area. Namely, Yellyark. One whole patch of land filled with those annoying little bastards. Fighting those batshit crazy batiris requires either an effective CC game and/or constant dodging so as to speak. This is for those with high stamina and guts. If you're a tank, however, that makes the fight far easier. Also, a recent event may have suggested fiction being the equivalent of reality.

How I fight them as Arylos: I just dodge as the first move. Instead of the whole dodge>dodge>dodge>hit>dodge>rinse and repeat sequence, I utilise a dodge>hit>hit>hit>dodge>rinse and repeat. In other words, I only need to dodge fast enough, NOT fast enough plus plenty of times. A big damage encounter is required, though. Which is where Plant Growth comes in. Hawkeye also helps a super great deal. Not just against them, but also pretty much the whole of Chultan Park. The initial wave will come faster than quicklings, however. Just that after the first wave of gang assault, the batiri mafia would have spent their speed adrenaline. The dino riders are the most problematic idiots, I have to say. They actually move faster than the standard cavalry in other zones. Annoying critters one and all.

Yuan-Ti
There's a difference between annoying critters and annoying bastards. The former points to the batiri, the latter refers to the yuan-ti. It's like comparing a rapist with a terrorist. Both are bad, but one is worse than the other in terms of destructive nature. Not that one should say a mudslide is a good thing compared to Chernobyl anyway. There are two types of yuan-ti enemies. Those that look like a human being and those which look slightly better than a human centipede. The former is very easy to deal with. You can just stand and fight without being a great weapon fighter. You'd still win anyway. The bad part about fighting a yuan-ti mob lies in those fellas whose fathers (or mothers for that matter) is quite literally... well, a snake. Just don't ask me about the details. I even doubt Ed "not Woodward" Greenwood would entertain such a damning question.

How I fight them as Arylos: Why I hate the serpentine half of any yuan-ti mob is very simple. Out of all the existent mobs in Chult, they're pretty much below the batiri and dinos, but also higher than the rest. I'm not talking about Darwinism, but rather the dps. There's a good reason why I call these things bastards. Nothing to do with Jon Snow, but rather they're the closest thing to another Snow called Ramsay. Evading their AoE bs is a pain in the neck (quite literally since I do have a high chance of getting a sore neck after intensive gaming rather than just extensive gaming). I have to close in, but they can easily pull off an AoE eruption out of nowhere. The yuan-ti is a race high on CC. And their CC is nothing to laugh at. There will always be one snake in charge of incapacitating you and his other snake BFF in charge of the damage. The shockwave bs can easily wipe around 2/3 of my HP bar in one go. The shadowy hand only deals moderate damage, but it comes with prone status (again, control resistance is your key to surviving Chult). The fear and charm approach is the worst part of the deal. The former will automatically drive you to the nearest mob while the latter will draw you towards the caster. The former will ensure you'll have to deal with two mobs at the price of one, the latter will ensure some big damage moves coming out from his own bros (since every yuan-ti sprite is male). Annoyance aside, I do find yuan-ti mobs to be quite a challenge. Pretty much up there with the dinos in the same way I'd pretty much rank Park "why always Park?" Shin-hye and Emilia "it makes romance absolutely IMPOSSIBRU! Just ask the men" Clarke as amongst the top beauties. Wait, this statement sounds so weird...

Fighting in Chult

Firstly, my suggestion is to do only 2-4 quests at Camp Vengeance plus maybe 1-2 patrol quests from the merchant prince on a daily basis. This is because grinding in Chult can be mentally exhausting. On one hand, you wouldn't want to force yourself. On the other hand, a run through the jungles of Chult can be very taxing on the eye (which in turn leads to fatigue). You don't have to force yourself to wipe the max weekly quota by end of the week unless you're crazy like me. There are only 4 quests available at Camp Vengeance with the sequence going like a cycle (read: undead quest>templar quest>scout quest>relic retrieval quest>rinse and repeat). Also, it's gonna take more than one rank's worth of campaign progress to have a shot at buying the campaign gear (in particular, the rings are basically the best ones I've ever seen and I'm not talking about astral diamonds).

One thing which I realised, however, is that unless you've yet to progress on the campaign, you may not understand fully why there are so many people doing lfg requests for King of Spines. Apparently, the drop rate for decent loot is quite low. In fact, someone assumed I've started a KoS just because I mentioned that heroic encounter being left alone despite 20 players in the same instance. I tried answering that fellow, but he logged off immediately after making the assumption. For the sake of that person (unless that he was merely a troublemaker going by the name of Sigmund Schadenfreude), let me just say that apart from the one at Camp Vengeance, pretty much the rest of heroic encounters are hunts. And that includes the damn KoS. Now that I've said it, no one should be given the excuse of "I don't know."

In Chult, one must also understand basic etiquette. You don't call your teacher "son/daughter of a whore" because you're no Rodrigo "Hot Rod" Duterte. Likewise, please learn some manners and don't pull any aggro towards some poor fellow fighting the current mob. There will be moments where you can't think properly while escaping, I'll admit that. But that doesn't give other people an excuse not to call you a... well, son/daughter of a whore. I need to say this out for a reason. If I can be a victim, it means anyone can be a victim. The terrain in Chult is already difficult enough. The moment you get trapped by the mob, you can't get out unless you place everything on the line like Wulfgar or Drizzt Do'Urden. I admit I'm actually good enough to survive two yuan-ti mobs. To deal with three of those is either foolhardiness or a case of some German named Sigmund Schadenfreude.

And lastly, please let me point out that the terrain in Chult is mostly a case of narrow paths and dino ambush aplenty. The moment you hear something funny coming out from the bushes, it means you'll have to brace yourself. In combat, it's the quality of movement (read: how smart you are) rather than quantity (read: how many times you have to dodge) that matters the most. Although there would be certain areas offering a decent patch of flat ground, such a scenario can only be seen in Yellyark and the entrance area to any temple ruins.