A picture speaks a thousand words, a sequence of pictures speaks more than that (but I finally gave up)

I find it very excruciating in doing screengrabs and upping them in my blog. Perhaps it's down to my tendency to switch off. Then again, I've already given up hope that I was actually born normal. With that being said, there have been rumors of a new class possibly coming out this year. Going by the way Cryptic does things atm, it seems that we will be seeing 3 mods per year instead of the customary 2 mods per year. At the same time, perhaps the devs need to freshen things up with new patron deities and playable races. Below are my preferred options.

Classes: Wild Druid, Harper Bard, Arcane Sorcerer
Races: Gold Dwarf (under the Dwarf race), Gnome (Deep Gnome and Svirfneblin), Wild Elf (under the Elf race)
Patron deities: Mystra (because she's officially back), Finder Wyvernspur (because every bard needs a god), Eilistraee (because she's also officially back)

Because I discovered I enjoy messing around with things yet to be created by others, I decided that Crazy Tenser as a label/tag will be used for my random moments of insane brilliance. Also, it's not my fault that Tenser was crazy enough to research a magic potion for Harkle Harpell.

Note: Because I enjoy the feeling of hiding an ace or two in my hand, I'll only add in the Crazy Tenser tag as a statement of intent.

Add note: I never watched the latest Terminator movie, but I'll have to admit Emilia "it makes romance absolutely IMPOSSIBRU!!!!" Clarke didn't look the part of Sarah Connor. In Game of Thrones, she looks like a monarch. Alongside the Terminator and co, she looked like a sweet girl recently graduated from Trauma Center London. At least Gal "Wonder Gal" Gadot had to serve mandatory military service in the name of defending Israel from Hamas and Hezbollah.

Yep, this face truly makes romance absolutely impossible.
Any association with House Targaryen is deeply regrettable and purely accidental.

So what am I gonna do with this post?

Basically, I'm gonna share a few things concerning my reworked characters.

Because Arylos will always be the hero of Neverwinter no matter what others say, he remains as my main character. And besides, how many hunter ranger users are actually crazy enough to use the combat tree? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one, but I'm also very damn sure that I'm one of the very few sons of a gun choosing this high-risk option.

For Myrreas, I'm currently doing the scoundrel tree for his solo PvE and executioner tree for his raiding game.

As for Cyrea Durothil, I did a Total Recall by opting for divine oracle instead of staying put as an anointed champion. It was a blast and it still is, I'll give myself that. I swear I think like a German Löwe instead of a Singaporean lion.

Arylos: Why you should be using Skirmisher's Gambit in the first place

I'll have to admit Skirmisher's Gambit is deceptively good. This is especially so if you're going stormwarden with Clear the Ground as your staple at-will. In fact, plenty of the hunter ranger encounter powers carries the burst property. Which means bonus critical chance upon execution and hit. So long your artifact weapon set bonus involves above decent damage increment, climbing the dps ladder shouldn't be a problem. I won't say Drizzt Do'Urden would be able to out-dps Wulfgar, but at least you'll see the numbers getting decently high.

Crit happens

(provided you have a vorpal)

In order to make the damage increment count, however, I'll need to get his crit as high as possible. This is where the lack of jailbreak options comes in. The final boons for the Maze Engine campaign has to be the best ones so far alongside the final boons for Dread Ring. For starters, you have Baphomet's Might which has a chance to increase your crit by 2000 upon hit. And to think the devs have to nerf it shortly after the module came out. As for the aforementioned jailbreak tactic, I chose to eschew Displace Fate in favor of Baphomet's Might.

At the same time, I ended focusing on the offensive boons. If there's any boon adding numbers to crit and crit severity, that boon would be my first choice. Problem is, recovery boons are hard to come by with only Elemental Evil and Icewind Dale offering such boons. For Elemental Evil, I ended up choosing crit (Searing Aggression) above recovery (Blazing Resilience) for obvious reasons. The same goes for the final EE boon where I opted for Gale of Retribution (chance to heal up to 2.4K hit points and gain 1000 crit when getting hit) over Wall of Wind (chance to heal up to 2.4K hit points and gain 1000 recovery). For Icewind Dale, it's Sleet Skills (+2% crit severity) over Rapid Thaw (+400 recovery). Between defense and power, I'll always opt power. Between Reliquary Keeper's Strenght and Conjurer's Gambit, however, I chose the latter (any association with Archer is purely coincidental despite Arylos being based off him).

Ultimately, vorpal is absurdly useful when used in conjunction with Skirmisher's Gambit. The crit severity will just escalate like no tomorrow. Period. Alternatively, you can opt for either holy avenger or lightning. The former provides a much needed defensive game without compromising on the choice of gear and boons. For lightning, the cooldown reduction per hit is super useful. It's not just about maximizing your chances to proc Flurry. At the same time, the hunter ranger has the fastest hitting game due to the at-will powers. Not just range, but also melee. Also, Fox's Shift is a multi-hit move combined with invincibility during the moving animation.

If you're out to use vorpal, I strongly recommend Skirmisher's Gambit. Otherwise, you'll need to consider whether a reduction of 10% crit chance in exchange for 50% increased crit severity is truly worth it.

There's only this deep you need to penetrate

(no lewd jokes allowed here, Dany or no Dany)

As for armor penetration, it's a 50-50. For Dread Ring, I needed Illusion Shimmer. More than the trickster rogue, the melee hunter ranger is more reliant on deflection. And besides, 3% armor penetration bonus amounts to only 300 in armor penetration stat (note: unlike other stats, 100 armor penetration is equivalent to 1% damage resistance ignored). This was also the reason why I opted for Draconic Armorbreaker (400 armor penetration=4% damage resistance ignored) since Arylos would always be using the defensive stables guild boon (basically the rule of thumb for 90% of dps builds with the temple lifesteal boon more for exceptional cases).

Why you should be power hungry

That is so long you don't commit arson like a Targaryen tyrant...

For guild boon, it's barracks. In fact, the barracks boon building has to be every guild stronghold's bread-and-butter due to power being that only stat which matters on a universal basis. Come to think of it, I won't be surprised if there are guilds having more than one barracks in order to stack the power game. Unlike Westeros, being power hungry in Faerûn isn't that harmful so long no one worships Cyric.

Also, there's a need to create at least one source of direct boon damage. In other words, Elven Ferocity and Vengeful Heat.

Note: Combat advantage boons are a must for every melee hunter ranger.

Going defensive on defense

(because you don't expect Guts to survive an actual fight with Nosferatu Zodd without defense)

On the defensive end, it's stable for the guild boon. Unlike barracks, no sane guild would build two stables. Every guild stronghold can only hold up to 4 permanent boon buildings. Wasting a plot for another stable is nothing short of stupidity because armor penetration is basically useless once the damage resistance bypass breaks the 70% mark. In fact, any decent armor penetration based dps build should just cap it at 60+% with the rest being invested on power. Even for PvP, 80% damage resistance bypass is good enough, beyond that will just be overkill.

If it's possible to choose deflection, I'll take it. Illusion Shimmer is a classic example of that. Due having the worst dodge game (beyond the fact that dodging won't break the offensive momentum), melee hunter rangers need deflection to stay alive. In fact, this was the reason why I opted for Enraged Regrowth over Shadowtouch. I was focusing so much on the offensive boons that I need to something to fall back on constantly. Coupled with Gale of Retribution, it means a stacking game is quite possible. Also, Wilds Medicine is your only best bet of surviving a fight beyond the need to use Oak Skin. In fact, chances are that you won't survive a mid-damage hit without the latter.

Beyond defense and deflection, lifesteal is also a must. This is due to Assassin's Covenant, that mount insignia bonus most useful for mid to low tier dps. Thankfully, I don't have to worry much about regeneration because incoming healing tends to be the parallel boon to any lifesteal severity option. Coupled with the fact that I dropped 2 points into Dragon's Revival and I'm pretty much safe here.

As for control resistance, this is something vital. In raid instances, you'll never know when you'll get CC'd. Getting slowed or immobilised, in particular, can be a pain in the neck. Run through epic Temple of the Spider and you'll know what I'm talking about. And no, I'm not interested in getting a drow girlfriend. I value my sanity and life very much, tyvm.

On the stamina end, I threw in 5 feat points into Swift Footwork. This is because a change in gear means choosing Demonic Swiftness (+3% action points gain) over Demonic Endurance (+10% stamina regeneration during combat). In fact, the Sword of Kelemvor loadout here is not exactly known for excessive stamina.

Because Arylos has officially restored his full relic artifact weapon set, what it means is that incoming heal has become the core of his defensive game. This is also exactly why I chose Planar Vitality as the final Cloaked Ascendancy boon for this loadout. There's no point choosing Vision of Beyond due to Skirmisher's Gambit reducing the crit chance. Not to mention as well that as a melee hunter ranger, you're supposed to be stabbing the enemy from behind whenever possible (ironically, I never put a single point into Scoundrel Training due to all 3 points going to Disciple of Dexterity). Aberrant Power and Aberrant Slaughter are out of the picture for two reasons.

1. Aberrant Power requires your character to take hits like a tank.

2. Aberrant Slaughter works like Demon Slayer. Yes, killing those mooks outright can be fun. But that's it. I'm not about play lottery on the basis of 5% success chance. Useful for hdps and tank, but that's all.

For hit points boons, it's all about Feywild Fortitude and Dragonheart. I'd take Glacial Strength for that 3.2K hit points if not for the fact you don't need to kill things personally in order to proc boons like Elvish Fury and Vengeful Heat (and yes, I got both).

Then there is Icy Wrath, which can give you up to 2000 bonus damage. Adding together Enraged Regrowth and Cold Shoulder, of course.

Healing
(because you're not the trolling incarnate known as Deadpool)

This is where Rousing Warmth comes in. The constant incoming heal proc'd by the relic set bonus means one thing. Your chances of triggering bonus damage dealt (up to 3000) is very damn high. Coupled with Wilds Medicine and you're guaranteed a Rousing Warmth more often than you'd like to think. For the melee hunter ranger, this can't be any better. Even without Oak Skin, that is. In fact, this was why the Sword of Kelemvor loadout placed heavy emphasis on incoming heal boons. This is also the main reason why Arylos' dps game has become surprisingly good. Against a hdps build, the difference is around 1 million damage dealt. It may sound like a big gap, but the gap would have been far greater if not for a Rousing Warmth constant proc. In fact, there are moments where the gap is less than a million. Try imagining this with a hdps control wizard or archer hunter ranger.

As such, there's not much need to have Oak Skin beyond this being strictly optional (unless your party doesn't have a healer). In fact, one thing I discovered about Oak Skin is that it tends to disrupt my dps momentum. As any mid-dps build user can (and will) tell you, such a scenario would mean giving the rest more dps. Which is already bad enough given the presence of any hdps character in your party. Of course, this is not to say Oak Skin is useless. If you have either the Fey set or Lifeforged set, Oak Skin can be quite useful. If you have the Aboleth or Mirage set, there's not much point using Oak Skin since these two sets are strictly dps.

Relic set not found

(Error 404)

Relic set is generally the best artifact weapons you can ever get. Unless you're running on an executioner trickster rogue or a healer build, relic set should be the highest end. Even if you're to compare Lifeforged with relic as a hdps great weapon fighter, the dps difference will still be there. Of course, this is not to say Lifeforged should be binned by any build beyond the tank. For hdps great weapon fighters, the 5% increase in defense can mean a great deal due to great weapon fighters being good at only one thing: Getting up close and personal. At the same time, great weapon fighters tend to be rush reliant. Which means unless you can minimize the need to run, relic set will just compromise your dps with increased movement speed and reduced incoming damage as the tradeoff. Something which Lifeforged can quite obviously override at the expense of lower defensive buff.

If you do not have a relic set (and besides, I won't be surprised if it's now harder to farm for the reagents needed), Lifeforged should be the way to go for any melee hunter rangers. Getting 5% defense bonus is like increasing your defense by 2000. Coupled with the fact that the Fortified effect will also add in 10% of your defense to your power and your melee hunter ranger wouldn't be worried about how much damage the mob will score on you. Unless of course, you're actually too dumb not to choose the stable guild boon for defensive purposes. Combined with Brynnyr's Demise/Oak Skin/both, and you're all set to go. The melee hunter ranger is much more survival reliant due to the lowest dodge distance in-game, hence there's a need to up the defense so that the deflection can ensure a decent combat durability.

As for Aboleth and Mirage sets, I consider them as more range friendly due to their pure dps properties. Unlike other dps builds, melee hunter rangers require a delicate balance between damage and defense. You can't go too far into the dps because a low dodge distance means a lower chance to jailbreak in any case of AoE nuking or the aggro breaking free.  At the same time, you can't go too far into the defensive end because you'll definitely end up at the bottom of the dps ladder due to obvious reason. For Fey set, it's more for trappers. Even then, that'd require Oak Skin and stance switching to maximize the usage (read: an increment in damage, outgoing heal, and action point gain).

Lifeforged set bonus can ensure a proper balance being struck. In fact, this is also why some hdps great weapon fighters may prefer Lifeforged to relic. Unlike the relic set, Lifeforged will guarantee you increase in both power and defense. In fact, if we're to go by the power and damage maths, Fortified can easily give better damage than Fey-Touched so long the power increment is above 1200 (i.e. 1200 power=3% damage increment).

Originally, I planned to get Lifeforged because trying to be clever via a Fey set actually cost me that much-needed efficiency. Then I realized my relic set was already halfway through the restoration process. So might as well I don't waste the time and effort taken. Yes, it cost me quite a lot of astral diamonds (most of the reagents can now cost you anywhere from a five figure sum to six in the auction house). But hey, the dps is totally worth it. Even if I still chose Lifeforged, the dps won't be that great. Also, Rousing Warmth.

Edgar Allan PoE (plus why you should/shouldn't be playing this as a SingTel subscriber)

Good grief. A bloody good grief. Recently, I tried my hand in the gaming equivalent of Edgar Allan Poe. Namely, PoE. Simply put, Path of Exile. Yes, I know it's a very lame joke.

How I met your Exile

It's basically an accident waiting to happen. Despite what a certain PRC scholar may imply, I think more like a cat. In other words, it is down to the marriage union of curiosity and whims. I accidentally came across an article listing the top 50 F2P games of the year. Path of Exile happened to be one of them (together with Neverwinter). While Neverwinter got a 7/10 score from Steam (which is a 0.5 score improvement compared to last time round if I recall correctly), Path of Exile got a 9/10. So yeah, Steam got me sold on this one.

Steeper learning curve (plus why you should/shouldn't be playing this as a SingTel subscriber)

My first impression on the game is that it has a steep learning curve compared to the other two games I've played before (namely, Marvel Heroes and Neverwinter). Firstly, be mentally prepared to spend like 2-3 days finishing a quest if you're a casual gamer. The reason why being that navigation in PoE is anything but idiot proof. In fact, the interface can be seen as anti-idiot proof (then again, you can just hop onto the wiki here).

When we talk about navigation, there's no map for you (well, you can press tab, but that will only highlight the areas covered). You have to run around killing stuff (or getting yourself killed for that matter) if you want to truly appreciate the game. In certain stages, there is a waypoint. However, you'll need to find it to unlock that waypoint. At the same time, please remember to left click once you stand on top of it. That thing won't activate itself like some auto-sensor mechanism. Once you unlock the waypoint, you'll be able to instant-teleport from the respective stage to Lioneye's Watch (apparently, I'm still stuck at Act 1). Otherwise, you'll need to use a portal scroll.

Note: Above section was done earlier than today. Apparently, I'm now at Forest Encampment.

On the Singtel part, it depends on your choice. If there's anything I've found out, it'd be that Singtel is good for casual browsing, not so good for online gaming. In Neverwinter, you can get away with lag so as to speak. This is due to any lag resulting in a delay in the animation being executed. For PoE, lag means your moves won't come out. Period. I suspect this has got something to do with the quality of the instance servers where the presence of lag is concerned. The issue may lie in data processing where the difference between Neverwinter and PoE is that of delay versus a literal non-response.

Note: Come to think of it, I have to thank SingTel for honing my tactical senses via the fact that you'll need at least a Starhub connection to game online without lag death.

Masters Everywhere!

It's quite hilarious when I invented the title above. Period.

If there's anything I've learnt, it'd be not to log off after taking on a Master's mission when they first popped up. If you decide to take the mission, please finish it. Period. This is to ensure that Master would appear in the respective town. So far so good, I've unlocked Elreon, Tora, and Catarina in order of appearance. Hopefully, I can unlock Vorici once Faustean reaches Sarn. I've gotten Elreon at level 3 with Catarina at level 2. Once Tora reaches level 2 as well, it means the Library hideout won't feel so boring. That plus Purity of Elements. Period.

Note: Hopefully, I can up a post on my current experience with Masters so far.

Zerg and anti-zerg

The trademark of any mob in this game is the process of zerging. This can get quite sticky in stages like Prison (for Act I) and... well, basically any stage in Act II. Therefore, it's only right to devise an anti-zerging strategy (especially so if you're a Shadow since the key stats are Intelligence and Dexterity, neither giving you an increment in Life). Anti-zerging can be broadly classified into three categories.

Cat I:

This involves the synergy of aggro-grab and smash, something which tanks and off tanks are known to do in any MMO. There are three types of Warcry skills: Abyssal Cry, Enduring Cry, and Rallying Cry. Basically, this is the aggro-grabbing part. As for the smashing part, go for skills like Molten Strike, Blade Flurry, and Molten Shell. As for support gems, go for Melee Splash.

Examples of beneficiaries from Cat I: Marauders (basically any one of them), dps-based Templars (preferably with Abyssal Cry and plenty of direct damage skills), and Strength-based Duelists (only with sufficient Armour rating)

Cat II:

This involves a core AoE move and a high damage attack. While this can be very tank-friendly, it's more suited for damage dealing builds relying on evasion more oft than not. The AoE aspect is there to soften up the mob, after which the high damage attack will be responsible for taking them out. The former aspect is quite straightforward, the latter aspect requires a one-two synergy between the default attack and a staple direct attack skill. For support gems, go for the added damage types.

Examples of beneficiaries from Cat II: Marauders (mainly for the Str-Dex build), Witches (basically any of them), Rangers (same as their gender BFF), Duelists (same as their gender opposite paramours), and Dexterity-based Shadows (because the best offence is their best defence)

Cat III:

No, this doesn't involve Hong Kong. Rather, Cat III is all about pure anti-zerging. By that, I mean each and every single move (apart from default attack) being 100% AoE-centric. Not only that, Cat III is all about pure AoE direct damage. Also, Melee Splash.

Examples of beneficiaries from Cat III: Basically every manner of Shadow and Witches choosing the dps route.

Oriath and Wraeclast+Catalans and Germans=Tinkering

Have to say the progression was a case of hitting the slow burner. The map system is done in such a way that you'll need to cover ground. Not every inch of it per se, but the map system is done in such a way that it will only register the parts of terrain which you've been to. Interestingly, it seems that levelling up in Act I may be far easier (and faster) compared to levelling up in Act II and onward. At this point of time, levelling up has slowed down. In Act I, I actually hit like around 20 levels. In Act II, the pace slowed down to more than half (i.e. around 8 levels up). In other words, it's very likely that Act I is meant to get the players used to the overall difficulty in Normal mode. Which now comes to an interesting question: Should the monster level denote anything significant?

Firstly, it must be stated that the monster level should be seen as the median standard. You don't expect to fight a level 12 Brutus in Act I: Prison Break just because the prison zone has a monster level of 12. Secondly, the monster level is more likely an indication of challenge directed towards the hardcore gamers. In other words, do not assume your current zone is reserved for casual gamers of X level just because the monster level is of the same value. Because I'm very sure it's not.

Gameplay in Path of Exile is all about two things: Resistance and passive skills. The former is more towards the gear while the latter is about Life and damage. My personal recommendation would be selecting your choice of gear based on resistance as the first priority. As for the passive skill tree, try to get Power whenever possible (this is due to plenty of zerging in the game). Otherwise, either you focus on Intelligence (only for Witches) or Dexterity (Shadows and Duelists). Another thing of note is slowing down. If you think elemental attacks are bad... well, you're actually right. Try fighting the squid queen and Shelob. The former wasn't that bad (unless you're dumb enough to ditch the movement buff flask), the latter means you'll have to be luckier than Frodo Baggins because not even that fat Sam can save you from absolute death once she webs you (again, this is proof that you need that movement buff flask).

Act I is very important both plot-wise and gameplay-wise. Plot-wise because I won't be surprised if the likes of Tarkleigh, Bestel, and that oh-so-beautiful Nessa will appear in the next mod where Oriath will do its own downfall of Rome. Gameplay wise because you only have this much of a time to get used to the zerging and unique boss fights. Act II is where the actual battle starts, so please make sure you have your fighting style down pat. Or at least knowing what you should be doing. If there's anything outstanding about this game, it'd be that planning your character build is far less a hassle than MMO cynics otherwise thought. You only need to know three things: The manner of your dps (pure Power, Power-Dex, or pure spell spam), which stats you want to focus on, and whether you prefer a single stat build or dual stat build.

Once you know what you want in terms of stats, the hard part comes. That is dealing with the fights. In order to do so correctly, you'll need to decide whether you want to be a brave idiot (read: stand and fight build) or an intelligent coward (read: hit and run build). At the same time, there are moments where infinite respawn happens. This is particularly true in any boss fights where reinforcements will arrive in fixed intervals after you got rid of the current wave. What this means is that an effective mob clearing approach is a must where asap becomes the magic word.

On the move set, you need to decide clearly what to use and when. At the same time, know your staple move and bread-butter approach. The former means pulling off your first move, the latter indicating what to do 7 times out of 10. Using default attack as the bread-butter may be recommended in early game, but it may not be that effective in mid or late game (more specifically, using default attack in this manner for mid or late game should never be recommended for Rangers. Duelists, and Shadows due to a piss poor defensive game which depends mostly on the Evasion rate).

The moveset is what got me sold apart from the passive skill tree. The customising factor is verily good. The passive skill tree is all about ease of usage (read: you only need to use this much of your brain to get things done right), the moveset is more testing on your actual intelligence. You can create all sorts of crazy builds, believe it or not. In other words, the only difference between a genius and a muppet lies in whether it works or not. In this sense, Path of Exile can be seen as quite anti-Singaporean. Don't believe me? Take my dare, think like a Singaporean when playing this game. The fact that you have an effective Marauder means sod all if my Shadow is tactically better than your Karui. After all, Pep is never a Singaporean botak in the same way Joachim is never a Singaporean Löwe. And let's not talk about the fact that Conte being a Singaporean tactical genius means a prolonged stay at the IMH.

Some issues with the game (because I suddenly feel like being Steve Jobs)

There are two main things I have a problem with. Namely, a gross lack of inventory space and the half-baked mapping system.

The former means you'll have to use portal scrolls more often than not. While portal scrolls do drop quite frequently, using them just because you need to offload a few stuff is nothing short of disruptive. Gaming experience hinges heavily on momentum. Tactically speaking, it's nothing. But the process of gaming is never just about the mind. It's also about the heart. Imagine feeling bummed just because you're on the roll and you have to use a portal scroll for an unwanted timeout. And let's not get me started on what happens if you slot in a Rampage Leaguestone ("I'm making a killing and now I need to do a port!!!!!").

If the former feels like a trifling, I can understand. The way the mapping system works means you're definitely screwed if you have to stop playing the game for the day without finding the exit. It's virtually a case of ground zero. There are those who don't mind this since they want to be the Wraeclast's Next Top Guts or Oriath's Next Top Kratos. Then there are those who only want the whole damn navigation over and done with (in particular, I'm born an idiot when it comes to navigation and getting disoriented). There's a reason why I am still wasting time running about in my bid to exit the Northern Forest stage.

At the same time, this game can be quite challenging on two fronts. First, it's the difficulty level. Secondly, you'll need to devote a certain amount of time to excel unlike the more casual friendly stuff like Neverwinter. In fact, I won't be surprised if Path of Exile requires around 2-3 hrs of daily gaming time for any given character to excel beyond Normal mode (okay, maybe only Merciless mode. Depends on how good a gamer you are, I guess). Depending on your gaming schedule, this may mean a great deal. And this is not to mention any end game content will involve enemies 12 levels above the maximum character level cap (read: their level 82 is higher than your level 70). On the flip side, however, it also means you won't have anything to do once you break the level 82 glass ceiling. *shrugs*

My advice to anyone interested in taking on this monster of a game is very simple. While the game won't force you to play a raiding party, this option helps a lot if you're not one to burn the midnight oil just to take down a boss in a stage where your level is higher than the monster level. However, it must be stated that if you want to join a guild (not necessary if you're only out to do the occasional party raid), please be mentally prepared to devote a certain amount of time to learn and game on a consistent basis (in particularly, joining a guild helps a megaton lot when it comes to doing any end game raids).

Immediate plans

I won't be ditching Neverwinter. After all, I've devoted too much time and resources to it for me to hand in a transfer request from Manchester United to Borussia Dortmund (so as to speak). As of now, I need to devote more gaming time in this context due to the double refinement event coming up two weeks later or so. I really need to rejig my gear where Arylos is concerned (read: maxing out a Greater Twined Rope of Dexterity and getting a mystic DC sigil). In fact, my HR main is far from end game level. For the time being, I'll need to allocate my gaming time in such a way that I don't have to burn the midnight oil for dumb reasons. Thankfully, Path of Exile doesn't require a daily grind to make things count (read: number of quests apart from the map fights aren't that a lot to start with).

List of Path of Exile characters (because I got nothing better to do)

List of protagonists:

Faustean

(aka the Night Wolf)

Zig

(aka Lancer of the Songs)

Katoi

(aka the Lost)

Sigmurgen

(aka The Saint)

 Jayne Hyen

(aka Jayne Doe)

Mortana

(aka the Living Curse)

Guinieve

(aka the Noble One)

Possibility of romance:

Who would have imagined such a day? The day where the line between fear and love first blurred, the day where Nessa made a leashed dog out of a wolf untamable. Tarkleigh could only give her his blessings. More than anyone else, he understood respect where the Night Wolf is concerned.

http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Nessa

She detested him, she knew the manner of his birth. The dashing duelist could say all he want when it come to disowning his lineage. No semblance of self-justification would ever sate her anger towards the manner of Tolman's death. Yet, there seemed to be something in him. Something which reminded her of a love so cruelly robbed days ago.

http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Clarissa

Others could see the anger in a beast, she saw a purity in a soul. It was both pristine and crimson red, full of primal rage and surreal calm.

http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Yeena

He hated those exiles. They were the reason why so much grief and many a tragedy happened to his tribe. He saw his betrothed raped and enslaved by Oak, her lovely figure never to be seen again. His father was burnt alive by Alira while that dastardly Kraityn plundered whatever little his kin has gleaned. As for that witch... she reminded him of the woman he loved. Foul sorcery afoot surely.

http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Greust

Hope it doesn't sound repetitive

Technically, we got less than 24 hrs away from mod 11. In reality, we're more than 24 hrs away due to maintenance and update. Below is basically a miscellaneous post where part of what is written was actually done a few days ago (or even a week).

The Back of a Man (for Cyrea and Kariss)

I'm someone who always enjoys leaving the best for the last. It's a personal habit of mine. Basically, The Back of a Man still has two more parts to go. Namely, that of Cyrea and Kariss. The format of this particular series of posts goes like gameplay first, then the story. I don't plan to reverse this decision. Hence, it may take me some time to finish the final two. Even though my country as a city is synonymous with a Löwe. I think like a German Löwe. In other words, I've devised two new builds respectively for them. So much for being the most important belles femmes in the life of the Königsmörder (okay, that's technically not true. There's still a Koryoan girl named Korey. Not the living one inspired by her, but rather the deceased one inspired by a scandal).

http://konigsmorder.blogspot.com/2016/11/what-do-you-mean-its-not-political-pt.html

http://konigsmorder.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-back-of-man-aka-nothing-to-do-with.html

http://konigsmorder.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-back-of-man-plus-my-ancestor.html

Special mention

Long time never played Dragonflight

Last night, I decided to have a go at the Dragonflight event. Basically, this is the best thing to happen when it comes to the guild alliance system. Which says a lot. While I never got the chance to hit the red and blue, I got the opportunity to have a go at the green and black.

In other words, this part is only on the green and black ones.

Let me just say that after the fight, my first impression was that the devs really upped the stakes. The AoE attack has increased in terms of spam frequency. Those who have done the Dragonflight event before would know there are two types of AoE minefields. The first is direct one-shot damage when it comes to fire and lightning (note that the red dragon's AoE fire pit also has a damage over time variation). The second type is damage over time. This is for acid and poison.

Against the green dragon, the damage over time aspect has been upped. Not in terms of the AoE attack, but rather a terrain full of gas. If this sounds like ISIS doing a Chem Ali against the Kurds, it means you've hit the mark. To survive that fight, you really need a Greater Scroll of Protection from Dragons (if you're a dps) or normal Scroll of Protection from Dragons (if you're a tank). As for the overload slots, I personally prefer Mark of the Dragon Slayer on a 2 slot basis instead of 1 Mark of the Dragon Slayer and 1 Mark of the Dragon Ward. If you're doing a hdps build, however, far better it is for you to go greater scroll and 2 dragon ward marks.

The black dragon is the hardest Dragonflight fight I've ever done. If you think the blue dragon was hard, wait till you see the ghosts coming out from the black one. Unlike the Valindra version, this ghost legion won't be contented bumming around. If you think dodging Valindra's ghost legion is tough (more notably the second wave), then you better not try doing in the black dragon. You can defy my words, but not every player can roll a successful 20 on Will save.

Being forced to risk an outright fatality is worse than getting killed by a random grenade, I'm pretty sure of that.

A foolproof way to search and destroy?

Against the red and green, the onus is to get in and deal damage. In this sense, the fight won't be that time-consuming (albeit red is the easiest due to the lack of Chem Ali's genius in the terrain). However, it must also be stated that the placement of AoE minefields has changed significantly. In the past, you won't get yourself in the kind of situation where the AoE minefields are everywhere. This time round, your dps toon can't just rush headlong in hope of taking minimal damage. At most, only a great weapon fighter would have a chance of survival due to high HP and the second best AC in-game with guardian fighter and oathbound paladin sharing the top spot. While I'm still waiting to take on the red, this is definitely the case with the green. You can try taking out the empowerers whenever they spawn, that's not gonna prevent minefield being planted all over the place. In fact, there's a decent chance of the AoE circle sharing the same space with any empowerer.

A spike in difficulty level means taking out the empowerers is even more important (and to think this tactical aspect was already important enough last time round). In other words, you'll never know where/when the AoE circle will overlap with the empowerer's position. Best way to take them out with minimal risk will be to focus the artillery (quite literally) on the empowerers. Expecting a melee dps to get them first is a bit like being a woman named Tan Toh Toh. Yes, there's a 50-50 chance of that happening, but it should be down to the melee dps to engage the dragon together with the tank. The ranged dps should be serving two roles at a time. Namely, dps support against the dragon and taking down the empowerers. The empowerers will always spawn at the edge of the battlefield, hence making it easier for the ranged dps to nail them down instead of the melee dps.

However, it must also be stated that there would be moments where the empowerers are out of firing range. This is the only moment where the melee dps should chip in (most likely the great weapon fighter due to the ability to run like a black lightning bolt named Usain "the Jamaican lightning" Bolt). Unless ofc all your control wizards have the Brisk Transport feat at 5 feat points maxed (note: hugely recommended by yours truly since mobility tends to be every control wizard's BFF more oft than not, drow girl or no drow girl).

Ideally, it's better for all the ranged dps to gather within one-half of the battlefield nearer to the edge when the fight starts. This is to ensure you can attack the empowerers immediately once they spawn due to the tell-tale sign called white column.

Note: Not along the edge, mind you. After all, your ranged dps BFFs still need to cover ground asap if there's a need to kill that empowerer furthest away from any of them.

If we're talking about the need to move about, just look out for the red circles before deciding for yourself (Note: Dodging gives you brief invincibility post-animation, so please use it sparingly since the risk of Deus Ex Stamina is very real. Those who have played through Portobello's dungeon will know what I'm talking about).

Against the black and blue, one of the most common advice you'd hear is "no pets allowed unless it's a cat." In other words, only augment companions should stay summoned. This is to ensure your companion doesn't break the tank's aggro hold. The nature of their AoE game is done in such a way that if the tank fails, the raid also fails. The job of the tank lies preventing an AoE nuke, one way or another (hence, further cementing Knight's Valor as that must-have encounter power together with Into the Fray). Period. This is especially important against the blue dragon since one blast of lightning can pretty much kill off all your dps members. At the same time, healers are a must in any Dragonflight raid. Without one, there's no way your party can take down a green, let alone blue and black. It's still possible to take down the red without a healer though if I say so myself. After all, you don't have to worry about Chem Ali's gas.

Yet, the hardest part is never about taking down the empowerers or reducing the dragon's HP to 10% (after which 90% of the raiding group has to engage the others yet to be fought). Due to the insane nature of the AoE attack placement, navigating through the red zone will decide whether you succeed or fail. More oft than not, every red zone will cluster together. For the control wizard, this is a problem because one wrong dodge can cost you a life. This is not so bad for a scourge warlock since dashing is all about knowing where to hit the brakes instead of when. For the hunter ranger, the low dodge distance works to this class' favor since a short range dodge won't shift the player from one red zone to another. At least most of the time, that is. For a control wizard, the window of error is very big. This is due to a relatively low chance of getting yourself in between the red zones instead of getting yourself inside. It's virtually a game of chance unless you're really damn good in gauging the distance from one red zone to one safe zone. Something which I doubt even an Ivy League grad would be capable of. Which now comes to the only aspect of dodge which can jailbreak any CW from a certain death: post-dodge invulnerability.

Above part was written far earlier...

Just that I was too shagged out to see it out until the end. After all, my sleep pattern mirrors that of a Tesla guy (just don't ask me whether it's only right for a Tesla guy to get a Tesla girl as his girlfriend).

Note: If you're a melee dps, just stick it into the beast at point blank range. Unless ofc your party tank is a moron.

There's Something About Demogorgon

It may sound like a parody of that movie which made Cameron "not a ditz" Diaz famous, but let me assure you that it's not. Firstly, Jim "the cable guy, but not this cable guy" Carrey may have done it first.

Secondly, I'm referring to a demon lord, not some Hollywood angel good enough to be a VS angel.

Yesterday, I did a normal Demogorgon run with Korey (complete with that Princess Leia outfit because I got nothing better to do when the last Simril event decided to give every gamer this for free). Her posture looks a bit hunched, but I'm actually quite okay with it. After all...

Enough about courtesan wear, boobs, and this. I'm going to talk about how easy normal Demogorgon has gotten.

One of the most notable stuff the devs have enhanced in the game lies in the upping the difficulty level. Depending on the total item level, this may not be noticeable in zones like Dread Ring and Sharandar. Once you enter zones like Icewind Pass, Well of Dragons, Bryn Shander, and Sea of Moving Ice, that's where the difference is more significant (apparently, this means Neverwinter is still about gear quality 90% of the time).

Originally, I only wanted Korey to slay a demon lord. Therefore, I wasn't expecting a gold score. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the raid instance resulted in a bronze score (something which is impossible 99% of the time since Demogorgon raids are known to be very straightforward if you can just open the purple portals ONLY).

As it turned out, everybody was opening the nearest portal. It was quite frustrating to see people not listening to instructions. There are times where criticism is legit. Then there are moments where people would just shift the blame to somewhere else. In normal Demogorgon, all you need to get gold is an intelligent tank. Okay, that may be an overstatement. But still, an intelligent tank will go a long way. Otherwise, there's no point having the healer as the smartest fellow in the war room.

By the time we finished phase 1, the verdict read GOLD. It was at this point of time that I decided to mess about. The thing with getting that goristro to ram the golden hole is this: Your ranged dps members have to line up around any of the correct holes instead of the wrong hole (read: ramming into a black hole means the goristro will regain HP instead of losing HP). As it turned out, I was guilty of taking potshot after potshot from the blue zone right in front of the lair entrance. It's not something done via a conscious decision. It was just me horsing around minus the Gangnam Style.

Hey, guess what? We hit gold once more despite that bs excuse of a cow hitting the correct hole no more than twice or thrice.

Ultimately, we got gold as well in phase 3. Which means we got gold without playing like a bunch of Koreans.

Skill set used (plus gear)

Firstly and foremost, I gave Korey a Ring of Brutality +3 and a Ring of Fortress +3. The reason why being that I need some kind of insurance, hence the latter choice. The trickiest part in creating a hdps build is never about the offensive. The dps part should be very straightforward. Either you opt for a crit based build or a build based on armor penetration. The difficult part lies in the defensive. Without a good defense/AC, deflection is useless (even for a trickster rogue where deflect severity goes as high as 75%, you'll still need a good defense to make that 75% count). Too much focus on the defense, however, and your dps will be compromised.

While I can't say Korey is a hdps build atm (something which every archery spec should strive for fyi), the need for hdps is still there. In other words, gear and standard artifacts used is of utmost importance. Firstly, I decided to do away with her Greater Cloak of the Seldarine. Yes, the AC bonus is nice. But it's not gonna do much since we're not talking abt melee builds like the destroyer great weapon fighter or executioner trickster rogue. And even if we're talking about melee dps, it's far better to use an offensive neck slot item instead of something which gives you AC (incredibly enough, Myrreas is using a Seldarine set instead of something offensive. This was despite me respec'ing him into an executioner. I'll try to explain this further somewhere down the road).

Secondly, I decided to do away with her Ring of Sieging +4 and Ring of Sudden Deflect +4. Instead, I opted for the current brutality-fortress combination. It worked surprisingly well so far with an Amulet of Valindra's Favor and Greater Twined Rope of Dexterity. The former gives Korey some much-needed recovery while the latter serves to play up the crit dps plus armor penetration (not to mention as well that Amulet of Valindra's Favor also gives crit). One of the challenges being faced when I decided to give Korey a total recall (no 3-boob jokes here please) was the armor penetration. The reason why anema god-modded the archery tree was down to not enough dps to go around. Without a good dps, your archer is as good as nothing. This time round, the crit aspect has been buffed. Big time. However, nothing much was done about power and armor penetration unless we're talking about feat proc'ing (Unflinching Aim is an exception, hence it being possibly the most imba feat available in the archery tree).

Note: In case you're wondering why Ring of Fortress, that's because no archer HR worth his/her salt would ever move constantly in any given raid instance.

In PvP and open PvE, your archer will have to dodge spam due to a low dodge distance (more specifically the lowest dodge distance). This is why Swift Footwork and Ghostwalker should be every archer's defensive bread and butter. During party instances, however, dodging would take a back seat. This includes fighting Demogorgon.

Because the whole stand-and-shoot aspect is so important during any party instance (minus PvP ofc), positioning becomes the crucial key. In fact, playing the hunter ranger means you'll have to be smarter than the rest so as to speak. It doesn't matter which paragon tree you choose. Either you'll live or die by tactical awareness or you'll succeed or fail by tactical awareness. Even for the combat tree or a melee based trapper, you can't escape from this (read: moves like Marauder's Rush and Pathfinder's Action should only be used to decide which enemy to target first).

Ambush tactics

This is where Ambush comes in. I don't know how many gamers choose the pathfinder HR, but Ambush is definitely an absurdly good move to have if you're going archery tree. So long the enemy doesn't close in, you're safe. What it means is that you can spam Ambush with impunity so long your tank is doing a proper job (something which requires the brain more than technique). Coupled with every offensive feat offered by the archery tree, you can just spam Aimed Shot to your heart's content. Planning an archery HR build is always straightforward. Pump all your points into the dps feats (apart from Stormcaller's Arrow/Quarry depending on your move set) and you're ready to go. And this is not to mention you'll most likely still have 5-10 feat points as surplus (assuming that you have also maxed out Keen Eye and Ghostwalker).

And yeah, please don't forget Stillness of the Forest. The synergy between this feat and Ambush is absurdly effective. Any at-will attack made via Ambush is counted as encounter power damage. This is because Ambush counts as both a damage dealer and damage modifier. Which means you can proc Predator this way.

Ambush; Aimed Shot; full AP; Ambush; kill a cow with Seismic Shot...
Wait... why am I sounding so British?

Current move set for Korey

At-will:

Rapid Shot, Aimed Shot

Encounter:

Cordon of Arrows, Thorn Ward, Constricting Arrow (for solo PvE)/Ambush (for party instances and Maze Engine boss fights like that damn balor).

Daily:

Disruptive Shot, Seismic Shot

Class features:

Aspect of the Falcon, Aspect of the Lone Wolf

A few things of note here.

Firstly, there's actually a way for you to execute Aimed Shot flawlessly (in open PvE) without the need of a defender comp or moves like Forest Ghost and Ambush. Because Disruptive Shot only costs you 25% action points, it can easily be used as a primary daily power. The start up animation may be a bit long, but not long enough to screw up any fight. What this means is that against any target in general, you can just daze the enemy in order to pull off Aimed Shot afterward. Don't laugh. I've tried it before and I can guarantee you that this simple 2 hit combo really works. It's down to how fast you can click the mouse button.

Secondly, Aspect of the Lone Wolf is pretty much a 50-50. This is because for any ranged hdps build, it's better to opt for the defense guild boon. This is extremely important in circumstances where mass nuking is 100% possible (most notably Castle Never). For any hdps build (not just the archer HR), damage taken has to be kept at the minimum in order to deal damage at the maximum.

If your defensive guild boon comes from the stables, an effective way to offset a lack of lifesteal will be all the lifesteal boons available elsewhere (plus dark enchantments at least on rank 7). Dragon's Greed, Primordial Regenesis, and Evoker's Thirst will give you 1% lifesteal chance each. Which means 3% lifesteal chance. Coupled with a rank 1 Dragon's Thirst alone and you'll get 6% lifesteal chance. Because the archer HR's crit level is too damn high, it's possible to use 4 major lifesteal reinforcement kits on your gear. Which adds up to 7.5% lifesteal chance. Assuming you opt for Dragon's Fury as one of your Tyranny of Dragons boons, it should mean either 2 points for Fury or 2 points for Thirst. For the lifesteal stat to work properly for any dps build, there has to be a minimal mark of 7% by my estimation (unless you're a renegade control wizard). Also, lifesteal can be a life saver in the event where you got hit by an AoE nuke (the ninja turtle boss in Fangbreaker doesn't count because the damage of its nukes is too damn high).

Currently, the problem I'm facing for Korey lies the final Dread Ring boon. Should I go pure hdps by choosing Rampaging Madness or should I opt for better survival chances via Endless Consumption?

Note: Because Thorn Ward deals periodic damage now instead of damage resistance debuff, pulling off this move means having a far better chance of proc'ing lifesteal since your archer HR will be dealing direct damage as well. Let's say Korey's lifesteal chance is only 6%. By executing Thorn Ward, the lifesteal chance is effectively doubled for the duration of the ward effect.

Add note: Jack Nicholson is indeed a Johnny Delzoun instead of some Johnny 외국인 like this one below.

I blame Gianna for this fried chicken meme above...

Worst pre-maintenance lag ever?

I could have completed Sheallyn Melarn's Dread Ring campaign before the 6 hr maintenance. Sadly, the customary pre-maintenance lag was terribly bad. Not only did it cause two demonic heroic encounter failures, I was forced to respawn against the Knight Commander boss in the Dread Spire lair. If you still don't know by now, please be noted that running Neverwinter with a laggy connection (Korean shows or no Korean shows) can cause outright fatality for any dps build. Even if you have Archer's mind of steel and Emiya Kiritsugu's tactical genius, there's still a 50-50 chance of respawning like another tactical genius named Deadpool.

In the event where your connection is screwed (Korean shows or no Korean shows), your best bet in jailbreaking lies in at-will power spam. Therefore, it's highly recommended that you bind a fast hitting AoE at-will to your left mouse click (Chilling Cloud is an exception to this rule because the chill stacking and AoE third hit makes it an effective counter guardian against lag. Not that Archer was successful against Dark Sakura and her BFF Servants, though).

On the demonic HE, do not try doing Demonic Closure if your game is lagging. Chances are, the balor will just rip apart the poor Harper wizard(s). I'm not joking. I've been through more than one Demonic Closure failure due to this. As for Demonic Slaughter, lag isn't an issue so long you have enough BFFs to deal the dps. As for Demonic Overload, I think tonight was the first time failure should be attributed to lag. Period. Which is why this has to be the worst pre-maintenance lag ever.

Note: Because Cryptic decided to give me a consolation prize, Shea's second try yielded her a Greater Mark of Power. If you've played the DR lairs long enough, you'll know Greater Mark of Power actually has a lower drop rate than Greater Mark of Union. Greater Mark of Stability is still the hardest to drop, though.

Wow, I've written this much?

The reason why is very simple. This post is a compilation of all that I've written while under screen saver mode. Because my sleeping habit is similar to that of a Telsa guy named Nikola, my mental focus is hitting a roller coaster atm. However, I feel there's a need to address this.

So what exactly went wrong in the land of dragons, emperors, and socialist capitalism? Let me just say, firstly and foremost, that it's very likely China doesn't enjoy the kind of player stability otherwise seen in the international and Russian servers. We're talking about the server launching N ages after the beta launch in 2013. Yes, the gameplay system is top notch. However, it must be stated that the term "global market" can be very misleading at times. Let me highlight a couple of examples.

1. http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/where-is-the-audience-for-local-english-films

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rainfall

What we're seeing here is a conflict between an international audience and the local audience. Operation Rainfall is a case of people assuming the worst while the former case is all about the worst being real. When it comes to this type of divide, there will always be factors specific to the situation. Say for example A Requiem From Winter Past by yours truly becomes a global phenomenon. From the New York Times Best Sellers list to being a Hugo Awards nominee. Does that mean ARFWP will be equally popular with my fellow Singaporeans? As a Singaporean myself, I'm under no illusion that the local audience prefers rooting for characters who are anything but morally flawed. Perhaps that's why unlike the haters of Julie "the girl with the dragon tattoo" Tan's character, I actually like... well, Julie's character (you don't expect yours truly to say "I like Julie."). In other words, I won't be surprised if the popularity of ARFWP will be inferior to works like Ah Boys to Men and Money Not Enough. It's not about quality. It's about the audience. [note: If you think Dong Zihuai is evil, you ain't seen nothing yet. Aeravor as the protagonist is a killer, whoremonger, and sociopathic bastard rolled into one.]

If you're feeling confused after reading all this, don't worry. Let me summarize it for you: It's a divide between the international audience and the PRC market (have to use PRC because my passport belongs to Singapore).

So no, the game is not going to crash. Neverwinter will still be ongoing until Luskan manages to annex it.

A few thoughts on The Cloaked Ascendancy

Firstly and foremost, I don't understand the relationship between the Far Realm and the Spellplague. Yes, the latter ended up opening portals for the former. To associate both together, however, is like Ed "not Woodward" Greenwood saying the Weave and Far Realm are linked. So how did the Order of the Many-Starred Cloak end up so far away in the cosmology? If I can answer this question, it means I'll most likely move to the U.S in a matter of weeks, if not months at most.

One challenge Cryptic will be facing is creating new aspects of the gameplay. The problem with the gear system is that it has hit a bottleneck. With stuff like vivified relic gear and masterwork gear, it means the devs can never do another mod 6. Unlike the gear system before Elemental Evil was released, the current gear system is more deeply tied to the various campaigns. More specifically the Underdark and Storm King's Thunder gear (note: The black ice gear is effectively redundant since Icewind Dale is now for players with higher level gear).

It will be interesting to see if the devs will up the character level cap or improve the overflow XP reward. As for the gear, it's far better for them to expand the vivify aspect rather than adding new stuff. After all, there's no point in making the Underdark and Storm King's Thunder gear obsolete (not to mention destroying the masterwork market since they're still going at 1-2 million in the AH).

P.S: Won't be surprised if you can purchase the things needed for artifact weapons restoration via voninblod. At least that will make a campaign exclusive currency more useful.

Add P.S: If there's anything to go by from the increase in difficulty level, it may possibly point to a future direction. In fact, difficulty level review has already been there since mod 7. Just that the devs upped their game further in mod 10.5.

The big 3 (plus any possible divine intervention)

Well, it's been quite a surreal few days or so. Once you've reached the end of this post, you'll definitely notice three prominent names. Namely, Mordenkainen, Bigby, and Tenser. Likewise, I came across three prominent "news", stuff which is good enough to make me feel like a bastard named Jon Snow. Okay, more specifically two out of the three. Firstly, let's talk about the real news here. Apparently, the temporary immigration ban has gotten people up in arms with arguments coming from both ends (and yes, I've read through some of them. From both ends, no less). At the same time, this CNBC article may easily be telling us that all the cynics may have been trumped by President Trump (note that I use the word "may have been", NOT have been for an obvious reason). I don't know about you, but I know my English. If you think the next four years will be unpredictable when it comes to U.S politics, then you're right. Just make sure you pass your English. To set the record straight, my command of the language is quite decent despite...

1. Singaporeans (note: not every one of them) being known as strugglers in bilingualism.
2. My standard of English stopping at GCE O-Level standard.

To be brutally frank, I'm going to view the next four years in a manner similar to Emiya Kiritsugu.

Emiya Kiritsugu won't give a damn to whether America will become great again or go to hell like Jason Voorhees. I'm not that extreme, but I prefer to retain the calm defining both me and the correct Emiya.

If what CNBC is showing is real news, then the next two "news" are... well, "news". Now my advice to every Singaporean girl is the same as my advice to every woman. If you want to be a lady, please do not emulate Cersei (I'm pretty sure a character like Brienne of Tarth would resonate more with my super mignonne legal housebreaker though).

As for my advice to every Singaporean guy (including myself) is the same as my advice to every man (including myself). If you want to be a bastard, please be like Jon Snow. If you want to be like Ramsay Bolton, then please understand that there's no difference between one bastard given a legal status and a bastard like him below.

"The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die."

~Eddard "Ned" Stark

Some inspirations on Souls of Faerûn

Unlike my last post here, the inspiration has got nothing to do with the late Michael Bolton. After all, why would I want to emulate Jeremy "my next top job is to troll Jeremy Corbyn" Clarkson? Rather, it's down to a few vids on an arcade card simulation game recently unleashed.

Knowing Sega and the Japanese in general, I'm very sure a copyright claim will be coming very soon. Don't believe me, go ask Angry Joe what happened between him and Capcom Japan regarding the Street Fighter 5 farce. Also, the last vid below was absolutely nuts. I know enough to understand why I'm saying this.

Okay, enough bs here. I'm now rambling like Harkle Harpell

So far so good, very little has been said on mod 11 so far apart from two pretenders having a go at each other (a triple threat match if it's really true that Arlon Bladeshaper is also a son [read: descendant] of Nasher Alagondar). Which now comes to the interesting part: Will we see a fourth contender for the Crown of Neverwinter via Myrreas of my Neverwinter Six? Well, I never said anything.

On the new artifact weapons set, it's good to see the casual gamers are not being left out of the loop. The thing with Storm King's Thunder and Sea of Moving Ice is this: We're talking about gameplay reserved for hardcore gamers. In other words, zones like Cold Run and the titular Sea of Moving Ice is NOT for idiots who can't plan a decent character build to save their own rears.

Note: Above image is NOT photoshopped. Damn you Zuckerberg for corrupting kids on FB. :P
Add note: I misspelled the name of Malakut's BFF. Shouldn't be Wlly, but rather (Mad/Massive/Tricky/Shiny) Willy.

By my own estimation, the new version of Spellplague Caverns is gonna have a minimum total item level of 2000. Basically the same standard for every T2 epic dungeons (Fangbreaker Island doesn't count as T2 level for obvious reasons. More on Jarl Storvald and his VP Drufi later on).

Quite obviously, it's gonna be reworked in the same manner as Castle Never.

I'll be back (?)

Will the likes of Idris and Chartilifax make a comeback like the Terminator and Sarah Conner? I don't know. While we know the Spellplague Caverns are back, nothing has been said about that brain with tentacles. Let alone Idris and Chartilifax. I do hope the normal versions will be back though. I'm not asking for much, the current epic dungeons setup is good enough.

Level of difficulty

Perhaps the most intriguing question lies in the challenge level. On one hand, it should be safe to assume The Cloaked Ascendancy as a module deemed moron-proof. On the other hand, however, the devs have been working their socks off modifying the difficulty level every now and then. You don't expect the River District to be like Sharandar or Dread Ring where it's now very easy to kill stuff with both eyes closed (at least for the old timers, that is). However, it's absurd to expect the kind of difficulty level you get in Icewind Dale and beyond. Quite obviously, striking a balance between easy and too easy was the name of the game for the devs. After all, the new Ascended Weapons set is now set at level 165. And this is not to mention that it's surely better than the Twisted Weapons set.

Any use for twisted ichor (plus some other stuff) come Feb 21?

I'll have to say yes. This is provided that the new artifact weapon set is bind on pickup. If it's bind to account, then there's no point running epic Demogorgon beyond trying to get your ideal +5 rings (which are still 100% relevant to the gameplay as far as I know). So what does this mean?

1. The elemental artifact weapon sets should get cheaper in the auction house. Far cheaper if I say so myself. Currently, the main hand weapon can go like 100K astral diamonds while the off-hand weapon can go like 70K or so. It won't hit a sudden plummet, but I won't be surprised if you can get a complete set for around 60K to 80K or so.

2. Strictly speaking, only the Golden Dragon set from mod 5 (or was it mod 4?) is considered obsolete. Cryptic will most likely be doing a gradual progression in terms of getting the highest end artifact weapons. In fact, they have been doing it since mod 6. So yeah, the current artifact weapons won't disappear like Nightcrawler in the streets of Bavaria.

3. Use your current set to feed your Ascended Weapons set once you restore the whole damn thing. Quite obviously a no-brainer.

4. Again, it's back to what I've said on balancing the difficulty level. In fact, point 4 will be Cryptic's make-or-break factor for this mod.

5. Additional usage for twisted ichor? Dunno.

6. Will we see a drop in pricing for unified elements? The good thing about unified elements is that one can fetch you plenty of astral diamonds. Currently, it's going at 30K in the auction house per pop. Hopefully not. That will shaft gamers like me who spent an excruciating period bargaining with the RNG for the last recipe of the alchemy profession. In fact, such a move may easily make the alchemy profession redundant. Period.

7. Assuming the pricing of unified elements stays in the same range (not to mention the dragon egg as well), it means the devs will need to reduce the amount of other crafting ingredients required. Either that or we won't be seeing a change in pricing for the elemental artifact weapons in the auction house.

8. Alternatives, this may instead mean a spike in pricing for the major armor reinforcement kits (they're actually good for upping the total item level in case you want to take on giants on the epic scale).

9. There's a 3rd alternative. Namely being used to restore the new artifact weapon set. Actually, this may easily be the likeliest way to go. Won't be surprised if the ingredients needed to restore them read like unified elements and dragon egg.

10. Don't be surprised if you'll need certain masterwork ingredients in the name of artifact restoration.

11. If point 9 and 10 are for real, then we really have to keep our fingers crossed for the Ascended Weapons set to be bind on account instead of bind on pickup.

Back to the north

With the introduction of the new artifact weapon set, what should we expect from Jarl Storvald and his VP Drufi? The problem with the upcoming mod lies in the danger of Fangbreaker Island and Svardborg being redundant. The problem with Storm King's Thunder and Sea of Moving Ice has never been down to the challenge level. I'll be the first one to say I really like how the developers maximize the usage of terrain and AoE overlap to the gamer's disadvantage. In particular, the weekly Bryn Shander fight can be either challenging or a pain in the neck (depends on whether you're good enough a player). Your mobility is effectively screwed because you're fighting on a narrow path where your enemies happen to be one big ass yeti and its equally big ass BFF. As if 'tis not enough, you have to deal with winter wolves and random moments of power-up buffing (read: Once the yeti turns red, the wolves will no longer be white). It's back against the wall. Not so much if you're a tank (unless you're so hopelessly dumb, you shouldn't even be tanking the aggro in a T1 dungeon). But if you're a dps (especially the melee type), then this fight will most likely be the best evidence of your skill (or the lack thereof depending on the fight ofc).

After gushing so much about the challenge level, what's the problem? The reason is very simple. Great fight, crap loot. Period. The whole thing is basically another Icewind Dale where the challenge level doesn't measure up to the reward. Not every gamer approaches the fight with the Messi mentality. Period.

While I don't expect things to change much in the open PvE end, I really hope the best set of RNG will be reserved for Fangbreaker Island and both versions of Svardborg. By that, I mean higher chances of getting unbound rare or epic companions. In fact,  I don't mind the devs giving a higher drop chance for stuff like Brynnyr's Demise and  Zulkir's Dreadnought where the stats alone are worth the luck (note: The good thing about Brynnyr's Demise is never about the base stats since they're absolutely crap. It's getting either 2000 bonus defense or 2000 bonus power which seals the deal for every melee dps build). In fact, why not give the gamers extra rough astral diamonds as well when it comes to epic Svardborg? After all, that one is supposed to be the hardest raid ever with a minimum item level requirement of 3.2K (plus the stupid 28% Everfrost resistance bs).

Note: Apparently, the devs intended the Ascended Weapons set to be the second to the current Relic Weapons set. Same item level, but the difference lies in how powerful the set bonus is. They actually did this concept before via the elemental weapon sets in mod 9.

P.S: Any bets on divine intervention coming from Mystra? After all, this meme below best explains the underlying elements at work.

Hey, I got a new idea for a new playset!
Will J.Morningstar pay me for my idea? :P
Note: Not to be confused with another Morningstar.
Add note: Maybe we can get a future mod involving Kelemvor, Mystra, and Cyric in the plot. Who knows?
Final note: Just don't ask me whether my super mignonne legal housebreaker and her BFFs will play out their Fiasco.

Not the Tenser?

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

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

Moments later...

Harkle Harpell: "Not the Tenser?"

Robillard: "Not the Tenser..."

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

Total Recall

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

Before I start my superheroism...

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

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

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

Don't understand Japanese? No problemo!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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