A tale of two characters Pt II (from two games no less)

I blame a certain online op-ed website named after every Asian's carbo staple food, namely the RICE Media. At the same time, I also blame a fellow Asian (?) who happened to go by the name of Mayim Bialik. Because of the two of you, I decided to join the "fun" by writing my very own op-ed on the #MeToo hashtag. And when I say "fun", be very sure any sexual atrocity is anything but "fun". Unless you happen to be a bloody mangkuk enjoying grabbing a woman's mangkuk. In this case, you deserve 20 years in jail (minus any charge for contempt of court) after shouting "OH MAK KAU!!!!" in front of the judge and/or jury. It won't matter how attractively dressed your victim is or even whether she's a Malay (hence, the O.M.K). My response to you by then? #NotMyProblem

Note: Yes, I know Ken "#NotMyProblem" Jeong is Korean instead of Chinese. It's like confusing Aragaki "not to be confused with another type of gaki" Yui for Park "why always Park?"Shin-hye.

Add Note: Of course, I won't do my op-ed here. This blog is for gaming, not for roasting any showbiz culture.

404 girlfriend Not Found

After a long time in hiatus where doing my Neverwinter analysis is concerned, it's good to be back. Hopefully, the signori and signoras from 404 Italian Not Found are still around. For the sake of the Italians and Romans, not mine (after all, Kuok Minghui is Asian just like any Jeong, Aragaki, and Park).

The name of the game is 404, the label is 404 Trapper Not Found instead of 404 girlfriends not found. Before I start, let me introduce the one guy who started the GAR. Or more specifically, the word GAR since Guts was the one creating the GAR concept before the G-word was coined.

The Korean law

For quite some time, I noticed something. Whenever the clock strikes beyond 12, the connection would die. Or at least reduced to a catatonic state. I don't know why, but I recently uncovered something interesting due to my inner (Singaporean) cat. Paranoid or not, my life is no stranger to absurdities. From getting punched in the stomach for no apparent cause during my Gan Eng Seng years to unwarranted betrayal during my ITE years, if I can't find the reason why, it means I have the right to call it an absurdity. It could have been worse, though. After all, the willingness to forgive doesn't always translate to the ability to forget. If there's any absurdity yet to happen, it'd be Ms Park (not the one subjected to verbal torture) stating her admiration for me. Now that'd be the greatest absurdity (not to mention as well scores of salty Koreans running after me in the name of taekwondo justice).

A/N: Practically speaking (right now), Neverwinter was lagging really bad last night. I swear my last Prophecy of Madness run was a case of my tactical awareness carrying the entire party. -.-'

A tale of two characters: Archer and Arylos

Both names start off with the same two alphabets. One is certified GAR, (hopefully) the other is also GAR. One is a faker, the other belongs to a class that pretends to be a swordsman (or so the stereotypical ranger would like you to believe in). One has the mind of steel, the other... well, he's supposed to be fashioned after Archer's resolve of steel ever since my sis inspired me to up my (online) tactical awareness via bandwidth gluttony. And ofc it doesn't help that Arylos' looks were based off that of Archer. Role wise, they're either the weapons expert or the brains of RWS Samhain. Most likely both if you're to ask me, though.

Lastly, both are cynical. While I'm not at their level, the cold hard truth about myself is that I still do identify myself with them via a watered down version. That's why I don't trust people unless they can prove it on merit. I won't show it blatantly, but being silent doesn't mean my past was as happy as yours. Then again, I'm willing to trust people either in the name of necessity, face value, or both. Just don't expect me to... well, expect the best out of others. In fact, I can't even do that to myself. 

完全リコール~無償

Yes, I know this sounds like some J-drama starring Aragaki "not to be confused with another type of gaki" Yui. However, the reason why I put up this header has got nothing to do with (the correct) Aragaki-san being the other Kanzaki Nao alongside whoever is to be the other Akiyama Shinichi in a Liar Game spoof. Rather, I actually discovered I got 1 respec token opened up for Arylos. It's either that or Cryptic decided to give me one free of charge.

Either way, I ended up doing a respec. Because one token only works for one loadout, I made a daring decision to use that "free" token instead of opening another one (to set the record straight, I still have two tokens from last year's Simril). The reason why is very simple. I decided to play around with the other loadout by using it for open world PvE without the need to respec. Give me a choice and I rather not spend 116K astral diamonds per loadout.

It's actually very easy due to my ideal headgear officially purchased. The unchanged loadout involved a focus on offensive boons. This loadout was originally for raiding, but I realised I can use to do open world due to the 2K defense it gives whenever not in a party. In other words, I could use that loadout to kill reptiles, goblins, Thayans, etc. That is so long it's not a T-Rex (not to be confused with the Secretary of State also known as Rex.T).

Ultimately, all I need is a 完全リコール on the moveset. Below is the list of the unchanged loadout.
[Note: For the sake of lessening my workload, I decided to be lazy by listing only the melee version of the relevant powers]

Mounts and Insignias

Insignias used: Dominance, Courage, and Refuge

Current update: Uncommon regal insignia of dominance has been replaced by rare regal insignia of dominance.

Sword of Kelemvor

(I'm not joking here even though I'm being pompous)

Stronghold boons: Power (Barracks), Defense (Stables), XP (Barracks)

Sharandar boons: Dark Fey Hunter, Fey Precision, Elven Haste, Elven Ferocity, Elvish Fury

Dread Ring boons: Conjurer's Gambit, Evoker's Thirst, Illusion Shimmer, Enraged Regrowth, Rampaging Madness

Icewind Dale boons: Encroaching Tactics, Appreciation of Warmth, Sleet Skills, Cold Shoulder, Rousing Warmth

Tyranny of Dragons boons: Dragonheart, Dragon's Gaze, Draconic Armorbreaker, Dragon's Revival (rank 2), Dragon's Fury (rank 1)
Elemental Evil: Wave of Force, Earth's Renewal, Searing Aggression, Gale of Retribution
Underdark: Primordial Might, Primordial Focus, Drow Ambush Tactics, Dwarven Footing, Abyssal Strikes
Maze Engine boons: Abyssal Regeneration, Demonic Influence, Demonic Swiftness, Baphomet's Might
PvP: Legion's Valor (basically useless bar running into PvP zone in preparation for any demonic heroic encounter in Icewind Dale)
Storm King's Thunder: Frosty Demeanor, Survival Instincts, Icy Wrath, Vengeful Heat, Chill of Winter (rank 1)
The Cloaked Ascendancy: Aura of Hope (hopefully, this means feedback effect via the cat), Fey Briars, Fiery Frenzy, Planar Vitality
Jungles of Chult: Overgrown (rank 2)

Moveset:
At-will powers: Clear the Ground (main hand artifact weapon power), Aimed Strike
Encounter powers: Plant Growth, Fox's Shift, Rain of Swords
Daily powers: Forest Ghost, Disruptive Shot
Class features: Blade Storm (off hand artifact weapon power), Twin-Blade Storm

How the whole thing works:
It's actually very straightforward. This is a direct case of CC-dps. At the same time, this build is also about using combat advantage to up the dps. The weakness for this build lies in the what-if where I'm dealing with control immune enemies. Thankfully, such enemies are considered the minority. In fact, I doubt they'd appear equally frequent as the control immune ones in Marvel Heroes (not that you'd see such mooks appearing that often in the latter case anyway).

The rule of thumb for deflection should read like "always easier to pull off in open world than raids." This is also why I choose Wilds Medicine as one of my paragon feats. On control resist, this may look dodgy at first. But trust me, you'll need it in Chult. Once you enter Jurrasic Park, it won't be some beautiful Korean Park ambushing you.

Seriously, if you think you'll be getting jumped in the best way ever, you're a moron deserving a roundhouse at the cranium. If you're actually focusing on the Korean bosom, you deserve roundhouse at the cranium plus a stomp. Vegetable or kimchi, choose your preferred brain death.

Getting jumped on is painful, but having protection makes the fight less painful. In particular, the allosaurus is annoying as the Nine Hells even though you're dealing with it mano-a-mano. As for the T-Rex, all I can say is that you're definitely not dealing with Rex.T. That one is a human being, not a Godzilla (to be more accurate, Godzilla in the Chultan context refers to the King of Spines due to its atomic breath).

Rain of Swords is all about damage. Just get close, do your Unlimited Blade Works, and wait for them to die from unlimited blade haemorrhage. While this is half a longshot against bosses, I won't be surprised if this is useful against that damn allosaurus. The only problem? Reptiles are known for having high mobility, hence a 50-50 call in nailing one on them. Note, however, that Clear the Ground deals more damage when you're closer to the enemies. The reason why I say enemies instead of enemy is very simple. The AoE is certified imba, the damage is even more so when you use Lightning enchant.

On the daily powers, Forest Ghost is used 70-80% of the time while Disruptive Shot is reserved for the occasional quickling on a double high (i.e. that one Batiri sikeena riding on a dinosaur).

Defensive wise, it's a combo of Josan, Negation, and whatever deflect proc heal triggered. Because deflection game is now easier and much more practical for the combat spec (at least you don't have to be a lone wolf to make the meds count), it means Blade Storm and Twin-Blade Storm as the two no-brainers. Then there's the accumulative power bonus via the Bazubands. Factor in Rousing Warmth and you got yourself one hell of a counter-offensive force de la nature. Also, that is not taking into account the cooldown reduction per hit via Lightning enchant and the relevance it has on the Lucky Blades and Blade Hurricane feats.

Knight of Feywild

Stronghold boons: Power (Barracks), Defense (Stables), Healing Potion (Wizard's Workshop)

Sharandar boons: Dark Fey Warder, Fey Precision, Feywild Fortitude, Elven Ferocity, Elvish Fury

Dread Ring boons: Conjurer's Gambit, Evoker's Thirst, Forbidden Piercing, Enraged Regrowth, Rampaging Madness

Icewind Dale boons: Encroaching Tactics, Appreciation of Warmth, Sleet Skills, Cool Resolve, Rousing Warmth

Tyranny of Dragons boons: Dragonheart, Dragon's Gaze, Draconic Armorbreaker, Dragon's Thirst (rank 1), Dragon's Revival (rank 1), Dragon's Fury (rank 1)
Elemental Evil: Unassailable Tide, Earth's Renewal, Searing Aggression, Gale of Retribution
Underdark: Primordial Vitality, Primordial Focus, Drow Ambush Tactics, Dwarven Footing, Demon Slayer
Maze Engine boons: Abyssal Regeneration, Demonic Influence, Demonic Endurance, Baphomet's Might
PvP: Supply Line (basically useless bar running into PvP zone in preparation for any demonic heroic encounter in Icewind Dale. If you don't see the pattern here, I got nothing to say about your intellect. Or rather the lack thereof)
Storm King's Thunder: Frosty Demeanor, Survival Instincts, Icy Wrath, Vengeful Heat, Chill of Winter (rank 1)
The Cloaked Ascendancy: Aura of Despair, Fey Briars, Fiery Frenzy, Vision of Beyond
Jungles of Chult: Tyrant's Terror (rank 2)

Moveset:
At-will powers: Clear the Ground (main hand artifact weapon power), Aimed Strike
Encounter powers: Plant Growth, Hawkeye, Throw Caution
Daily powers: Forest Ghost, Seismic Shot
Class features: Blade Storm (off hand artifact weapon power), Twin-Blade Storm

How the whole thing works:
I know what you're thinking here. The moveset looks anything but normal. It's an absurd piece of experiment doomed to failure, something that reads like "Germany drafted too many midfielders for Brazil 2014." The best part of the deal? The seemingly absurd turned out to be the reason why Joachim "Der Löwe" Löw won Le Saint Graal de Jules Rimet (not to mention putting a holy total of seven goals past Brazil). While I won't compare myself to this Teutonian genius, I still consider myself as the tactician guy like him. Hey, guess what? My seemingly absurd actually works like Löw's seemingly absurd.

To make this work, however, I need to give myself a decent semblance of insurance due to the absence of Oak Skin. Two things come to mind. The first would be the boons. I went full defense apart from Draconic Armorbreaker. The second would be slotting the Gondhammer. I can't stress enough how bloody useful this thing is. If Thor can summon mass dps with Mjolnir, then Loki would want to swindle a hammer from Gond himself. Like Loki, Arylos is no bruiser. Like Loki, Arylos is a schemer. And schemers are far likelier to die. That is until you realize they can operate behind your back in ways more than just a few.

At the same time, there's a need for speed. This is why I got lucky earlier last night. After some time spent outside Chult, Arylos nailed a Ring of the Hunter +3. What this means is more speed. This build can never have too much speed. Which is why I opted for a Ring of Hunter +2 instead of a Ring of Brutality +4. It's definitely not about the item level. There's definitely a risk of a tradeoff since I'll be risking a drop in dps. 4000 power per 30 secs or so is no laughing matter. However, it must be stated that the combat (hunter) ranger relies on close combat. Which means the feats are all about maxing out this aspect of the gameplay via Battle Crazed and Scything Blades. Too slow into the fray and you'll lose out. While half of myself wanted to try out two epic rings instead of just one, I'm practical enough to understand "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If I want to fix it, there's a risk of breaking it.

You might want to ask this then: What about all the great weapon fighters and other dps builds with higher total item level? You're gonna be shocked at this, but I'm not lying when I say Arylos can out-dps great weapon fighters of a lower total item level and dps clerics of a higher total item level. The rule of thumb in doing a dps-race with a great weapon fighter is this: The son of Beornegar will always win the dps-race against that son of Zaknafein Do'Urden despite having a total item level around 1000 points lower. I've been in the kind of situation where Arylos out-dps'd a great weapon fighter of a lower total item level (i.e. around the 1K range). I've been in the kind of situation where Arylos out-dps'd a dps cleric of higher total item level and even a great weapon fighter of 13K total item level (Arylos' case was basically 12K nearing 13K). And the last case was an alliance dungeon run. There's this instance where Arylos joined the fight late, that was against Lostmauth. Starting from the second last boss (more accurately, it's "second last bosses") to Lostmauth. The damage count shot from zero to six million plus.

Sadly, I got straitjacketed in the process of allocating the heroic feat points. Hence, I couldn't max out Scoundrel Training. It's either 1 point into Predatory Action, Battlewise, Agile Combatant, or Lucky Skirmisher. Predatory Action got my nod of approval. After all, every bit of damage counts for the combat ranger. More specifically a case of even more so. Lucky Skirmisher was never a lucky bet in terms of raiding. In fact, deflect for combat rangers is dodgy at best, outright useless at worst. I just don't like it. Might as well invest in damage dealing. For Battlewise, there's no point in me doing a point. It's either maxed out or nothing. Agile Combatant seems like the best choice, but why would I need that if I'm no trapper? It's not as if I'm a stance-switch Master Trapper using Oak Skin+Deft Strike+Disruptive Shot. I'm sure not every woman is a fan of Kamasutra and the similar stuff, S'porean, foreign talent, or even SPG.

So how in the Nine Hells does this absurdity work? Or even make sense in the first place? Remember the two videos of Archer versus Lancer? The first video portrayed Archer as a faker in a practical sense, a bowman pretending to be a swordsman. The second video mentioned something like "eyes of a hawk." The secret to making an idea seemingly insane into something truly insane is the synergy between Hawkeye and Split the Sky. The rule of thumb is to fire a storm cloud into the sky. Then stance-switch>Hawkeye>have it your way. Coupled with Lightning cooldown reduction and Serpent Weave as vital support, all I need is enough stamina to burn without risking a... well, stamina burn. I got a maxed out Swift Footwork, Demonic Endurance, and Vision of Beyond. With Baphomet's Might to up the crit, there's plenty for Arylos to go about doing what he does best. Namely, being an epically trained scoundrel blessed with a cool resolve.

A scoundrel+heroic spirit=that most epic heroic feat ever.

A tale of two characters Pt I (from two games no less)

Firstly, it is with a heavy heart that I announced my retirement from Tera Online. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game. However, I realised I'm never a normal person when it comes to time management. Which means right now, I can only afford to play two games. Namely, Neverwinter and Marvel Heroes Omega. I know, I know. The two guilds which invited me despite the obvious.

To the guilds Nagas With Attitude and North Korea Best Korea, I really thank you guys (and girls) for noticing me for some funny reason. Even if it is only for the sake of growing your guild, I still appreciate your good gesture. To Nagas With Attitude, may you get more guildies so that you can be a great guild. To North Korea Best Korea, I know you guys enjoy joking and Deadpool from your guild name. I don't know what to say, so I might as well give you something visual in return.

Yes, she's Korean. Just that she's not from North Korea Best Korea.

Puny god(s)?

Finally, I have calmed down unlike a genius called Bruce Banner. Well, hopefully at least. The Harvey Weinstein grabstein has really brought out the worst in people so far. From uncovered scandals to whether we should be intelligent enough to ask why first, one can only be forgiven for either being too optimistic or outright naive (note: This is not a jab towards those suffering, wounded, and grieving, but rather to the lords and ladies living in their castles). As for having a sex offenders list, it doesn't seem to do anything for law and order (plus justice) bar the square root of sod all.

While I don't belong to the optimistic type, I'm afraid I might have fallen into the self-righteous type. Or maybe it's just that I was too zealous to be a 正義の味方. After all, look where being an ally of justice has gotten a boy/man.

Note: Interestingly enough, Mayim Bialik's Big Explosion made me do a Google search for teh lolz. Guess what I discovered?

IMDb ranking:

1. Big Bang Theory (8.3/10)

2. Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (8.1/10)

3. Deadpool (8/10)

Popular ranking:

1. Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (95% approval rate)

2. Deadpool (92% approval rate)

3. Big Bang Theory (91% approval rate)

Conclusion: Perhaps it's not that bad after all, that not everyone is incapable of understanding the contradiction of humanity. The Man of Steel was right. Mayhap proper balance can be restored after all.

New tags (and it has got nothing to do with #grabstein or #prayforsomalia)

Because I won't be gaming beyond Neverwinter and Marvel Heroes Omega, I might as well start a new label or few. However, I won't be taking down the so-called dead labels. Maybe I'm too lazy to do that, who knows? This post will be the first of many. Or few depending on my time management.

A tale of two characters: Emiya Shirou and Kurt Wagner

I'm pretty sure it's now official. Hopefully, that is. The Marvel Shirou is my main. Simply put, I ended up preferring Nightcrawler to the rest. While I'm perfectly capable of adapting my style to other characters ranging from Black Panther (dps-summon build with S.H.I.E.L.D Agent team-up) to Gambit (melee-range hybrid with Magik team-up), my vote still goes to Kurt Wagner (melee dps with Dr Strange team-up).

Why I likened Nightcrawler to the idealistic Emiya is very simple. Both of them are not dumb, yet they are idealistic. Like how Shirou's ideal is borrowed from Emiya Kiritsugu post-Fuyuki fire, Nightcrawler is now the default heir to Charles Xavier's dream post-Phoenix Five. Perhaps that's why I identify myself with Kurt and Shirou. Despite a brutal reality defined by the fickle nature of humanity, there's still a large part of myself wanting to do good at the risk of self-injury. In this sense, the three of us are allies of justice.

For quite some time after I've resumed playing the game which got me into MMO gaming, I opted for a two-build approach. After all, the second power build is given free of charge. If I don't use, no one will use for me. Then it will be wasted, right? Then I realized the folly of the Singaporean mindset. Why so kiasu if you can be more efficient by focusing on just one build? It's not as if I play PvP (note: The reason why I don't PvP is due to my negative experiences with people not so dissimilar to Kurt's past). Below is my power list, choice of gear, and whatever whatnots.

Left click: Swashbuckler Slash

Right click: Bamf!

A: Bamf Bomb

S; Righteous Frenzy

D: X-Slash

F; Run Through

G; Brimstone Blitz

H: Scarlet Witch flourish paint

U: Rain of Bamf! (current rank: 11)

Talents: Surprise Attack, Ausweichen, Infernal Brimstone, Obscuring Brimstone, Carried Momentum

Artifacts: Spider-Clone Serum, Cosmically Enhanced Targeting System, Kirigi's Tetsubishi, Mayhem Demonblood (physical damage)
Blessings: Hela, Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral

Medallion: Grim Reaper (lvl 63 cosmic)

Uru-forged item: Uru-forged War Plate
Runeword: Allfather's Fury

Relic: Lemuria

Legendary BiS: Gungnir (lvl 80)

Slot 1-5: Excalibur's Saber, The White Cloak of Paradise, Black Gloves of the Priesthood, Fairy Tale Swashbuckler's Boots, Great White Shark
Runes: Alternate Reality Runes for all five slots (+60 damage for slot 1 and 5, +200 defense for slot 2-4)

Ring: Bloodstone Demonband (melee, +1 Fighting, brutal strike, brutal damage)

Catalyst: A.RM.O.R version Speed Genetic Mutation (+3 Speed; dodge bonus as crafted affix)

Insignia: Insignia of Piotr Rasputin (lvl 66 cosmic; defense and anti-boss damage)

Pet: Mr Hammond's Cat (damage reduction from ranged attacks, spirit regain when hitting with basic power, physical damage bonus, bonus base defense and base damage when getting hit, +3 Fighting)

Infinity system: Soul, Time, Reality

Hero synergy: Black Panther, Black Widow, Cable, Daredevil, Deadpool, Gambit, Hawkeye, Invisible Woman, Nightcrawler, Storm

How he fights

To put it in the simplest way, my Nightcrawler is all about constant aggression with a big hitting move as the starter.  In this case, it's Bamf Bomb plus stealth. Right now, I'm more used to using Bamf Bomb as the lone starter. However, that's because I'm too used to doing it more than anything else. To maximize the Bamf Bomb impact, it's recommended to throw in a Righteous Frenzy first (assuming this is also about its BFF called Infernal Brimstone). And ofc it doesn't help that I'm not under any pressure to make things easier for myself (read: I'm still running the terminals at either normal or heroic difficulty).

On the flip side, however, pulling off a Bamf Bomb first means I'm always/almost guaranteed to strike faster for the second hit due to this move's fast recovery. This is where my Infernal Righteous Frenzy comes into the picture. On normal to heroic mode, this is doable. On cosmic difficulty... well, I'm sure that's another story.

On the gear, Nightcrawler can do incredible things like the incredible Nightcrawler he truly is. But that's provided he got every unique gear that is... well, unique to him. I tried out the Red Muramasa Blade on him. Suffice to say, I didn't like how you need a probability less than 10% to make things count. Unlike the (S'porean) Toto Tan, I don't throw the dice on the lottery. It's not that I'm too honest for that, just that I'm too pragmatic for this kind of thing. Coupled with the fact that plenty of Nightcrawler's defensive game revolves around bamfing here and there, there's even less of a decent reason for me to say Red Muramasa Blade can be his slot 1 BiS. More likely a slot 1 BS, which is quite a massive shame. My plan for Les Scélérats actually involved Nightcrawler and the only thing which can take Wolverine down (basically a statement in Logan's own words).

It's not just the Red Muramasa Blade. Unlike most (if not other) heroes, Kurt's bamfing can only be truly effective with the relevant gear. So far so good, I've yet to see any universal unique slot 1-5 which can be a decent alternative to what is exclusive to the fuzzy blue elf. So if you're one who enjoys doing a mix-and-match like a Korean, Nightcrawler's not the one for you (I still do think he's the one for Wanda ever since they brought in Nocturne while ending the Vision deal). And yes, it can be very frustrating since the drop rate for hero-specific unique gear is significantly lower than that of universal unique gear (and I'm still waiting for that Storm achievement in getting all her unique stuff). However, using Excalibur as your legendary BiS may present the possibility to circumvent the gear restriction (note that I only say "may" and not "definitely" for a good reason).

On the choice of relic, Lemuria is surprisingly useful. Initially used because I've yet to discover (Relic of) Subterranea, The heal-on-hit property provides a decent cushion. I won't compare it with Subterranea since defense always/mostly counts more than heal-on-hit for scrapper heroes. In fact, the only reason for me not to go Subterranea was Gambit. I had to make a decision due to Gambit's mediocre defensive game (which is why using a melee focused Cajun would most likely involve some major risk-taking unless you can dump 150 infinity points into defense increment under the Space gem category). It's not that hard. Interestingly enough, it seems that Lemurians are more Asian in the same way Atlanteans are more... well, white. I suddenly feel like uploading a few pics. I blame the Lemurians for that.

Because my Nightcrawler is more of teleportation build (i.e. Ausweichen and Carried Momentum), the intuitive approach should be to use his training sticks instead of his sword. But because using the sword makes him look cooler (in my mind), I opted for Excalibur's Saber. What this means is that I'll need to create a balance between Kurt the shinobi and Kurt the pirat (no, it's not a typo. You are really seeing the German word for pirate). To be honest, it's not that hard thanks to a combination of Run Through and his Surprise Attack. That combination basically solved half of my challenge like how using Thomas "Der Ninja" Müller actually solved half of Joachim "Der Löwe" Löw's challenge during World Cup 2014. There's no point for me to do Reflexive Parry because I don't do a triple flourish. I'll have to say, though, that with correct planning, a pure sword build can wreck diabolical damage on the opponent, be it boss, non-boss, or your BFF playing against you in PvP. I've never tried that, but the numbers actually indicated the potential. Shadowmeld gives you better insurance, but I've gone beyond the safety-first approach which defined my gaming style for so long. Only Ausweichen is left. And given my instinctive tendency to right click spam (something which I'm starting to learn not to via using Gambit, Cable, and Hawkeye), that's the only choice that matters.

For Infernal Brimstone, the vulnerability debuff and additional damage are too good for me to pass up. I don't do triple flourish (or even double flourish for that matter), so Element of Surprise is pointless for me. Even more so for Crimson Sabres since that one is for sword build.

The fourth row is where the tricky part comes since unlike the rest of my characters (apart from Black Panther), Nightcrawler has a higher tendency to do his signature move. Tireless Teleporter is an effective bailout (that is unless your invulnerability hit the expiry date and Juggernaut happened to run you down). Everywhere at Once enables you to use Brimstone Blitz as much as possible (an effective, if not the most effective synergy with Ausweichen). Then there is Obscuring Brimstone. That became my choice for three reasons.

1. I use Surprise Attack
2. I use Run Through
3. I can still create an effective synergy with Ausweichen via right click, just that the damage potential from this talent alone would be lower. Or perhaps even much lower, who knows?

Carried Momentum is a no-brainer at this point of time. I'm more of a multi-porter, so Crescendo of Steel and Sabre Blitz don't cut the German mustard for me.

A bit of additional info on Kurt's sword. Firstly, I'm more of a stats guy when it comes to the damage dealing. This is also why I prefer a stat based BiS setup for slot 1-5. Unless left without an alternative, I always make sure the vital stats are increased as much as possible (no, I don't mean the three sizes of a woman when I said vital stats). At the same time, the sword only works if your Nightcrawler relies on fast hitting slashes since you'll need to proc the defensive debuff on the enemy as much as possible. Which is why X-Slash is more of an offensive staple for me while Swashbuckling Slash is there to replenish spirit in case the blue gauge is nearing zero. At the same time, Excalibur's Saber can give Nightcrawler a better defensive game via the bamf, so this is definitely whatever tradeoff is something I can live with.

On the runes, there's a reason why you should be farming the A.R.M.O.R drives whenever possible. The alternate reality rune is definitely a better alternative (pardon the pun) to the standard rune enchantments. Ofc this isn't a hard and fast rule. There are certain rune enchantments giving you the kind of stat buff which alternate reality runes cannot give you. Most notably dodge (Serpent rune) and critical hit (Tyr). This is also why the rune drop rng for either a Tyr or Jörmungandr (i.e. Serpent) is very low albeit these two are not the only runes with a very low drop rate. Case in point: I got myself a Jörmungandr recently, but I can't remember when was the last time I got one despite having a photographic memory. I'm still trying to see what I can use for that snake glyph, though. It's too rare a drop, I don't want to waste it just like that.

As for the Bloodstone Demonband, I really got lucky since the stats generated for that thing can be as random as Trump's temperament. The stats rolled were too good to pass up. And they're still too good to be replaced.

Incidentally, my Nightcrawler has a higher Speed than Fighting (although both have broken the 30 ceiling mark). Which is quite funny since it's only natural for gamers to focus more on Fighting (read: that one gives you critical hit multiplier). I don't really mind that. In fact, having a higher Speed than Fighting actually suits Nightcrawler's style (apparently, the official stats grid from Marvel revealed a higher Speed rating as well). Speed gives you damage reduction against area attacks. Because I tend to bamf here, there, and sometimes everywhere, the only way for this aspect of Speed to work is when the game is lagging and I happened to be somewhere in the middle of an AoE attack zone (that is so long it's not Juggernaut himself). Either that or the bamf stacks reaches zero first (something which doesn't happen much due to 150 points spent on the Time gem). The other aspect of Speed lies in dodge multiplier. That's where the fun part comes. Ausweichen gives you 2% dodge chance increase (not to be confused with dodge chance multiplier) per proc. Coupled with the 2% base damage increase as well and I don't have to worry too much about whether I should stand and fight or keep running around. At the same time, Ausweichen can give a maximum of 20% increase for dodge and damage (2% x 10 stacks). Not that I'd need that much, but at least a few stacks help.

On the brutal hit and damage end, that's the reason why I use one Blessing of Hela and one Blessing of Hogun. In fact, this was the chief reason why I chose the Grim Reaper cosmic medallion. For the sake of having a better defense without spending on the Space gem, I opted for Volstagg and Fandral. In fact, I was purposely doing the so-called sidekick theme for my choice of blessings (after all, Kurt will always be the second fiddle to Logan even though Wolverine is now in either heaven or hell). Apart from Hela, the rest are part of the Warriors Three. Or rather, the whole of Warriors Three.

As for my choices in artifacts, Spider-Clone Serum is effectively anti-boss. Basically, anything anti-boss will synergize nicely with Allfather's Fury (which is my choice of runeword enchantment for an otherwise defensive Uru-forged War plate). As for Cosmically Enhanced Targeting System, I don't have to tell you what that thing does for Nightcrawler beyond an effective synergy with the Excalibur's Saber debuff. Kirigi's Tetsubishi suits my Nightcrawler's moveset since 90% of the dps is effectively area based. As for Mayhem Demonblood, it's a good thing Nightcrawler is a physical dps instead of someone like Cable where melee counts for nothing in terms of physical damage. And let's not forget the +2 Speed and +2 Fighting proc.

For the insignia, the Siberian strongman is a no-brainer. Even though he was more of a pointless comic relief CGI in the Deadpool movie, there's no doubting the Siberian strongman being a loyal stalwart to the X cause. This is the easiest insignia to use for melee dps, you're always guaranteed an increase in defense and melee damage upon hit. Also, please don't underestimate the difference of 3 levels for the cosmic catalyst (and most likely the cosmic medallion as well). It means a lot especially if you're to run just about anything cosmic level.

On the Infinity gems, Soul and Time are a pair of no-brainers. One deals with Fighting, the other deals with Speed. I just dumped 150 into the stats increment for each gem tree. It's really that simple. Having the Relic of Lemuria means I don't have to worry about putting points into the health-on-hit for the Soul gem. In fact, an effective bamfing game means you only need to dump the points into that one area that matters most. Namely, Fighting. For the Time gem, There's no point wasting the points (again, pardon the pun) on anything beyond increasing Speed. It's actually the same logic with the Soul gem tree. Reality is my third choice for practical purposes. On one hand, I need to add more muscle to Brimstone Blitz and Rain of Bamf! due to any boss fight and crowd clearing involving mini-bosses. On the other hand, having a single digit for Energy means freeing up more infinity points.

On the hero synergy, I know my choices may raise a few eyebrows. To set the record straight, I now have 11 heroes on my roster. The only one missing in the hero synergy list is Psylocke. I know it looks more pragmatic to use her hero synergy rather than choosing Gambit. Firstly, her hero synergy deals with physical damage and mental damage. On the first glance, that makes her a more practical choice. However, I need Gambit to alleviate the spirit usage since I'm always using X-Slash a lot. For Invisible Woman, the +2% deflect multiplier can be quite handy since every bit of defensive work counts (that is so long the dps doesn't get compromised). If I am to choose Psylocke, it means either I have to take down Gambit or Invisible Woman. The good thing about Invisible Woman lies in the 2% energy damage increase. On the first glance, it is useless. In reality, opting for energy damage in the Reality gem tree means having an easier time allocating the infinity points. I don't have to worry how many points I have to dump for the mental damage in the Soul gem tree. It's actually that simple. That plus machinery is vulnerable to energy damage.

Lastly, let me touch on the Gungnir BiS. I tend to favor a crit build and it's not just Nightcrawler and Marvel Heroes Omega. Long story short, Gungnir gives me what I want for Nightcrawler's dps game. Having a critical hit chance of 40+% means I'm guaranteed a brutal strike every now and then. And that's not taking into account the Odinrage status at rank 5.

P.S: A good alternative for crit builds is Savage Axe of Ares. The raw damage is somewhere up there, but you won't crit it as much as you'd like to. This one is for Nightcrawlers with a lower crit hit affix and a higher damage affix while Gungnir is quite the other way round. Just don't ask me which one is better. I deal with circumstances, not numbers.