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/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]
[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
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| 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)
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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)
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.
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.
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.
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