Tesla Girl

Been a very damn long time since I've written something on this blog. Per implied by the title, this will be a rojak post of sorts. Basically, I'll be touching a bit on Castle Never (and why you shouldn't be running this bs with a melee dps apart from the great weapon fighter), my view on Mod 10, and first impression on a respec'd Les Trois Beautés.

Correction: I can only afford to write this much for now. No thanks to my brain having the penchant for working abnormally.

Gone in (less than) 60 secs...

Poor Tom "better for him to be Loki" Hiddleswiftone. While it's a hyperbole to say that the Hiddleswift saga lasted less than 60 secs, I'm pretty sure it really sucks to be him. I'm not gonna make any speculations over who's the one drawing first blood, but here's hoping that his current ex won't start doing a follow-up song to her Bad Blood (i.e. First Blood).

To that Tesla girl: I still remember the lesson you've taught me like 3 yrs ago lol

Firstly and foremost, I decided to share a bit on how Cyrea's current (and so far only) CN run. When I say CN, it has got nothing to do with Park "not the 대통령" Shin-hye's rumored Remy LeBeau (Vishanti dammit, I really need to do something substantial for Les Scélérats. Trickster, Priest, and that Eastwood bromance. No intent to plug Hiddleswiftone though since the idea came out long before Hiddleswift. Oh, nearly forgot Le Cajun himself as well).

Suffice to say, the beholder was really damn easy to deal with. Because it's just one undead boss versus the team, Cyrea had no problem doing what she does best: mass heal. Due to the massive AoE heal called Bastion of Health, it's very easy to play a mass AP building game (the only thing I needed to look out for is Magneto's tesla beam. Nothing to do with the Tesla girl fyi).

It's only once we reached the 2nd boss where everything spiraled into the Abyss. Long story short, we had to abort the run. It's not every day I did a Brexit, this was to be one of those few moments. The reason why lies in not enough CC to go around. Someone in my team mentioned not enough dps, but I suspect my team members were out to make fun of me since this wasn't the first time people decided to take me for a ride. It's like "oh we got a genius here. Might as well have a few laughs since he's really that damn good." Tbh, I don't really mind since I can just dismiss it as the classic angmoh humor (then again, years of solitude have somewhat warped my character). I'll be frank here: it could have been worse, it's basically just that once in a blue moon moment. Even my friend Private Ryan Shawcross made fun of me at times. Actually more often.

After the failed run, I decided to ask myself some questions. And together with that, some ideas on Cyrea's character in the event Ed "not Miliband" Greenwood decides that I'm good enough to rub shoulders with the likes of R.A "not rated R" Salvatore, Elaine "enough of your Elaine jokes, Wani" Cunningham, and Paul S. "not the actual apostle Paul" Kemp. Maybe not, maybe yes, hopefully time is on my side.

The first question is this: what if no one does a CC on the adds? Throughout the fight, the mobs were running all over the place at various interval. The poor hunter ranger didn't stand a chance once the mob broke free from the aggro hold. I was forced to multitask as a result since I'd need to keep two key areas in mind instead of just one. I only had Exaltation and Bastion of Health, it's quite hard to aim once you realized your bro had to move all over the place to avoid the aggro. And it didn't help that the tank was stuck at one place instead of following the crowd (word of advice to every tank: the hallmark of a good tank lies in knowing where to move, not when). I suggested a hammer-anvil strategy. I have to admit that this strategy actually worked wonders. Unfortunately, there's not enough CC and mass protection to go around. In other words, I wasn't responsible for the failure.

This comes to mind another question: how effective is Chains of Blazing Light in this scenario. No one was slowing down the mob, I should have considered this option since no one was using Smoke Bomb/Path of Blades (if this wasn't proof of my team seeing for themselves whether I think like Pep or Mourinho, I don't know what else is. We're talking abt the only effective AoE gameplay for a trickster rogue). By my own estimation, spamming this move may easily be the solution to a dearth of CC. The divinity version lasts only for a very short time, but you can afford to multi-cast 3 times in a row. After which, you just pull off an empowered version. In this case, I won't recommend using other encounter powers to build up your divinity. Whatever you do as a devoted cleric in this instance, you can't afford to do a mass heal until after you've spent all 3 stacks of divinity. The mob is nothing less than the fast moving and hard hitting type. The moment around 3-4 of them broke free, your team will never get back together. Period. Ideally, you should do a mass heal only after you consumed all 3 stacks of divinity on that divine straitjacket. I'll be testing this in the future CN run (then again, maybe not. Depends on my team since every CN requires at least a healer, if not both tank and healer). Tentatively, this may be what Cyrea's skill set looks like.

Encounter powers: Chains of Blazing Light; Divine Glow; Bastion of Health

At-will powers: Lance of Faith; Astral Seal

Daily powers: Flame Strike; Hallowed Ground

Class features: Divine Fortune; Anointed Armor

I'm currently hooked in Exaltation for open world PvE because the dual buffing too good to pass up. I tried a combination of Astral Shield and Divine Glow together with this. Once you max out Prestigious Exaltation while choosing the Virtuous path (note that you now can allocate a total of 15 paragon feat points to other skill trees without compromising that one point reserved for the final feat). Kills the mob faster and healing for more, I'm very sure of this. If I decide to use Exaltation for just about any epic run, most likely Divine Glow will be that sacred cow. Ultimately, it's more about Gift of Haste and mass heal than anything else (alternatively, using Divine Glow as a CC substitute for Chains of Blazing Light can be at least equally useful provided your team members can sustain both the CC and aggro holding).

Note: There are times where your encounter powers will enter a few seconds of cooldown during divinity mode. Therefore, it's advisable to have a main divinity move and a secondary one. Either that or you'll need to do what I'd call divinity braking (i.e. revert to normal mode for a few secs before reactivating divinity mode again).

Advice: Better late than never

I'm pretty sure all of us have done stupid things before. There are times where late and never mean the same outcome. Then there's the common saying above. I forgot who's the one telling me not to use Astral Shield during Cyrea's latest attempt to preserve Moradin's honor against mindflayers both (un)dead and alive. Long story short, that person told me to use Break the Spirit and Divine Glow instead. On the first glance, it didn't make any sense since Astral Shield would have given my party some much needed defensive shielding. Afterwards, I asked myself whether it's okay to use Break the Spirit due to its insanely long casting time (however, it must be said that this move can be very efficient in terms of dictating where the undead thoon hulks will headbutt the prison cells). Then I suddenly realized that the problem with Astral Shield lies in the long casting time. Which makes it quite cumbersome due to high mob mobility and the fact that they don't do things rank and file. Then I made a decision. By switching Astral Shield with Exaltation (while keeping the rest untouched), the process became much smoother. Because Divine Glow is instant cast, it's very easy to do a mob wipe no matter whether it's divinity mode or empowered mode. Retaining the usage of Bastion of Health means no compromises were made in the process (i.e. Gift of Haste). With Exaltation (together with a maxed out Prestigious Exaltation feat), keeping everyone alive while maintaining at least a decent dps momentum became a walk in the park.

Then I decided to test run this move set in open PvE. The flow of combat has never felt smoother where this Tesla (Ar-tel-quessir) girl is concerned. Initially, I was worried whether the absence of her holy straitjacket would affect the way she gets things done. A few tries later (against those bald Thayans no less), such fears were effectively banished. Ofc this doesn't address the problem of CC if your team couldn't do it for the party. But it really gives me something to think about.

Cyrea's first move set involved Bastion of Health, Astral Shield, and Chains of Blazing Light. I ended up enduring a bore fest not unlike watching Aston Villa playing football/soccer under Martin "Michael, wa si lin laopeh" O'Neill's stewardship. I don't know which one is worse though. Halfway through the fight, my brain entered screensaver mode for all the obvious reasons. The current move set actually set the pace on faster mode without the kind of Lamborghini accident any rich kid can be famous for. Felt a bit like watching Les Bleus playing their national sport instead of England crashing and burning on the pitch. I don't know how many devoted cleric gamers can do this, but I enjoy baiting the Thayans so that Cyrea can slap them with a Divine Glow (either that or Chains of Blazing Light since it's also counted as Radiant damage over time).

P.S: I suddenly realized that Cyrea purchased a respec token without my knowledge. I don't know whether it's via the Savras tokens or le zen, but I'm very sure I never purchase one. Because once I do, I'd just straight away do a respec, no questions asked.

Add P.S: In case you've yet to know the basics, Chains of Blazing Light isn't foolproof. Divine Glow, on the other hand, is.

A dummy guide on how to steal the Storm King's Thunder

Originally, this post was supposed to be part of the previous one. Due to my desire to up something after a period of MIA, I decided to do the split. Next up after this post, my first impression on a newly respec'd Kariss Locras (i.e. a hellbringer temptress).

First impression so far on Mod 10

First impression as in I've yet to play much when it comes to stealing the Storm King's thunder. Let's talk abt the frames per sec issue. I'm pretty sure there are those wondering "why so lag?" for a legit reason. It's basically the same logic with running Dread Ring and Icewind Dale. Unlike the other two campaign zones, you can see it from a hundred leagues that the graphics for the Mod 10 zones is of a far better quality (and I say zones b/c I'm assuming the other two zones are the same so far). However, this also comes into the question of the lag. Somehow or another, I just felt that the increase in frames per sec actually contributed to the kind of lag capable of killing your character. Quite literally that is.

Before that I enter the details, allow Le Jeu d'Singapour just give you some advice if you've yet to run this current mod.

Forget abt the order of campaign in Sword Coast Chronicles (seriously, the order can't be trusted in the same way you cannot trust any entertainment media whenever they start screaming "OMG!!! PARK SHIN-HYE'S NEW BOYFRIEND!!!!"). You'd do well to trust my words because there are truly some of the fights outright hard. If you're a hardcore gamer, then you're most likely fine. If not, it's highly recommended that you're properly geared with tier 2.5 gear. In other words, make sure your average item level doesn't drop below 140 (albeit there's still substantial value behind a lvl 137 elven body armor so long you select the correct one. Case in point: my chosen one).

The matter of fact is that Icewind Dale is the most accurate barometer to whether you can survive Bryn Shander and beyond. Any quest involving ice trolls should be a good measure of standard on whether you can cut the mustard upon arriving at Bryn Shander. Suffice to say, the terrain is outright crazy. I've only been to Bryn Shander and Lonelywood, but I've seen (and fought) enough to understand the tricky part in taking on mobs and bosses on uneven ground.

How to fight like the Game

Firstly, some of the mobs are easier to kill while not so much for others. Upon arriving at Bryn Shander with Xuna, a shocking sight greets Arylos (then again, Korey's wächter is certified shock-proof). Bryn Shander is in shambles and someone has just unleashed the Ring of Winter in the same way Kim "김정삼?" Jong-un decided to unleash the latest model of Pyongyang's hydrogen bomb. The only catch?  The whole of 대한민국 never ended up like Bryn Shander.

The first taste of action lies in killing critters to free the stranded merchants and recovering lost supplies from the barbaric Tribe of the Bear. After which, the action will shift to the gates of Bryn Shander where repelling the enemy is the only thing to be done. Despite being a heroic encounter, Siege of Bryn Shander is easily a one man's game.

There are two main mob types, namely those on two legs and those going on fours. Dealing with the Reghedmen is no different from dealing with the standard mage and fighters mob combination. In this sense, it's just another Icewind Pass (since you don't see them in Dwarven Valley).. If you happen to fight any mob without a shaman, you can just start killing the nearest target (depending on your class, you'll need to look out for any beast handler first. Either way, both the shaman and beast handler will always stay at the back). Before starting this latest campaign, it's strongly recommended that you should first familiarise yourself with the enemies in Icewind Dale since they're practically the same thing.

The Reghed mob:

As I've said, either you'll end up fighting a mob with a shaman behind or a pure physical damage type. Sometimes, you'll end up having to fight a mob with a beast handler behind. Ask me and I'll say the so-called shaman mob has to be the hardest variation out of the possible three. This is due to her super armour buff applied on her men. Compared to a mob of Tony Starks, the ghost bear and icy minefield are nothing. This is not to say that these two means of fighting a battle are useless. Rather, the ghost bear is basically useless without the mob while the minefield is only deadly upon the super armour status being applied (read: easier to take them on). As such, you'll need to take down the female president of the mob asap before taking out the rest. However, the mob will always protect the sole lady of the party like a bunch of barbaric gentlemen. In other words, you'll have to think on your feet. The moment you're able to nail the shaman, you'll have to focus all your firepower on her. If you're unable to, please grow a brain and do crowd clearing.

Either you're able to snipe their VIP by separating the main force from the shaman or you'll have to move around in order to get a clear shot at their female president. For most of the classes, this shouldn't be a problem. For the guardian fighters and oathbound paladins, it's extremely important that you'll need to CC them before closing onto the shaman since they're not the so-called tactical D class (i.e. dodge or dash, take your pick). The moment you're able to knock/stun/daze a clear path through, aim for the president. If you're using control wizard, Imprisonment and Steal Time can be really useful. Without either two, you'll need to find another way to mass CC. Icy Terrain and Shard of Endless Avalanche come to mind. If you're using scourge warlock, just kite and do a bloody one shot fatality (a tactical alternative apart from using the death ray on the shaman is doing a one-shot nuke as a form of kiting since necrotic damage is super effective against just about any living thing. Generally speaking ofc since the Thayans are living things as well).

If you happen to fight the so-called bread and butter mob type, then you can just decimate them from the front to behind (unless you're a glass cannon build. Which means taking out the tomahawk throwers first. Easier said than done since you'll need to CC the frontline first. iirc every class do have its own CC arsenal, just that it depends on the number of options).

Against the beast handler, it can be quite easy or difficult. If you're a hdps build, it means you'll be racing against time since a call for reinforcement means you're most likely screwed. If you're either a tank or a counter-offensive dps (read: any dps build sacrificing high-end damage for defensive insurance) then you're more likely to survive in the event someone let the dogs out.

(note: beast handlers are recognisable by their dogs. In fact, they're the only dog trainers killable in-game).

The critter mob:

The remorhaz is very easy to kill. Just take out one at a time. So long you can deal damage fast enough, their breath won't burn you badly (any heroic encounters involving this critter type, however, is a different issue altogether). As for the yeti, look out for the red aura (think only the abominable yeti can do so, but I may be wrong). The other sources of WMD (i.e. the hairdryer cannon and Lamborghini charge) are basically easy to avoid/guard. The trickiest part lies in mobility as they will just start charging around like a Lamborghini driver in GTA. Chances are that you can't hit more than one at a time, so either focus on a specific target (if you're a ranged dps) or try taking down the nearest one (if you're a melee dps or tank). When it comes to bears, you'll most likely meet either a solo bear or a couple of them. There's no point burning your stamina since they're pretty hard hitters than fast hitters. Unless they're getting too close for comfort, try not to dodge/dash. Once any bear does a power-up punch (for the lack of better description), you'll most likely need to get away (unless you're very sure you won't die as a result). If you're using a ranged dps/hdps build, be on constant lookout for that bear punch. The fact that any bear mob will stick close together means you'll have a high chance of nailing a WMD on them. As for the dire polar bears, they're just normal bears high on steroids.

The winter wolves are the most problematic.ones in the critter stable. I may have said something about their knockdown and freezing breath here. In case I never mentioned it, the winter wolves are basically the most dangerous critters you'll get to fight (at least for me since I've yet to do the running man for Cold Run). The problem doesn't lie in damage as power is nothing without control (Street Fighter Zero/Alpha 2 and Rose's victory quote, anyone?). Yes, you'll lose a large part of your HP if you get gimped by even a normal bear punch, that's why we have the potion of grand healing (which makes surviving Icewind Dale far easier since iceforge.elixir has gone officially obsolete post mod 5). You'll really have to dodge out of the breathing cannon if you want to survive this fight. The reason why being that the winter wolves are masters of the surprise attack. The knockdown stun bs is something you'll find hard to avoid. The startup is minimal, which means your window for error can be quite large. The only practical way is to dodge out of the breathing cannon in order to avoid a stunlock scenario. Either you try attacking them from anywhere but the front or you'll need to hold Shift. If you're a great weapon fighter, please don't take stupid risks by pinning hope on your unstoppable status since it gives you control immunity instead of outright jailbreak. iirc the chances of AoE overlapping is very high whenever you're dealing with any mob comprising of winter wolves. Ultimately, either you'll have to aggro grab or move around constantly.

Trolling the goblins:

Plus the ice trolls as well. Ice trolls only know how to do one thing: mindless zerging. Basically, this means either you're a tank  or you'll be in a race to out-dps or be dps'd to death. The more dangerous variation of the standard troll zerging lies in having one or two of them stoning you from a distance. At the same time, the trolls can cover ground quite fast for the lumbering brute type. The moment you hearing the stoning sound, it means you'll need to get yourself near the stoners. The tricky part? There's not much distance separating the stoners from the bashers. In particular, fighting any troll mob with a shaman can be a real nightmare since the DoT circle can kill you quite easily unless you have an effective defensive/counteroffensive game. Unless you have a good AoE game, you'll definitely need to first take down the biggest troll in the mob (quite literally).

Note: In particular, the troll bosses in Lonelywood can be quite problematic for any ranged class build since the only safe zone lies either beyond a massive AoE or point blank melee range.

As for the goblins, they won't do a zerg. Rather, they'll just attack you from every direction possible with one tank and a few archers. For a tank, this can be very easy since all you need to do is taunt and aggro grab near the archers. If you're a dps (apart from being a GWF), it means you'll need dodge/shift behind the archers asap. The frost goblins are very damn good in escalating the dps, so you're virtually racing against time. At the same time, you'll need an effective AoE dps (unless you happen to enjoy spamming UNSTOPPABRU!!!!!!). This is a glass cannon mob, so an effective AoE CC is a must.

Note: Wolf riders can be quite problematic as you'll need to look out for the instant AoE cast. The moment you can't kill the mob fast enough, you're most likely screwed since you'll be forced to choose between a minefield and the mob dps.

Terrain:

Both Bryn Shander and Lonelywood rely on high ground. Unfortunately, it also means you're more likely to fight the enemies with your backside facing the slope. The visual obstruction is also a challenge. For Bryn Shander, it's the blizzard which serves only to exacerbate the countless frozen statues of real living things. For Lonelywood, it's a case of two different outdoor terrains (this excludes the flat terrain which includes the Sapphire Pavilion of Siloso beach minus beautiful local girls clad in their bikini).

There are two aspects of difficult terrain for both Bryn Shander and Lonelywood. Lonelywood is about greenery and tundra in one single map. The greenery half will pose forth visual obstruction sans the blizzard while the tundra half is all about slowing down your mobility despite the ground being the parallel to Pep "no, not you Pep" Guardiola.

Note: There are also patches of rocky ground where your mobility will be severely tested.

For Bryn Shander, the terrain is more problematic as it's either a case of tundra complete with the blizzard or fighting the critters within the city walls while minding Madame Tussauds' newfound creativity. The former case isn't that bad unless the game is on lag. The latter is where the problem comes. Out there in the unnatural cold, at least you'll have more than enough space to move around albeit at a slower pace. In other words, you can easily outmanoeuvre the opposition. Inside the four walls of Bryn Shander, you're able to move around in normal speed. However, the presence of multiple statues will impede you big time. Against yetis, this isn't a problem. Against winter wolves, that's where the challenge comes since these white mutts enjoy staying around the statues so that they can breathe straight into your face (reminds me of the old school Clorets advertisements when I was just a wee lad).

Daily boss kill:

In both zones (and most likely Cold Run as well), you'll have a chance of getting sidequests in exchange for volninblod. For Lonelywood, it's a case of drop rate (not unlike how you get the Hammerstone Queen sidequest in Dwarven Valley) than knowing which targets to kill. For Bryn Shander, it's either you nail the target or you don't. The boss fights can be quite challenging at first, but they're not much of a problem once you understand the art (not to mention as well the necessity) of moving around (fighting Fangstorm, in particular, relies heavily on your positioning since you'll be literally fighting among frozen people).

For me, the Returned has to be hardest. This is due to the high chances of having to deal with winter wolves as collateral aggro (read: even Bryn Shander is never safe from hungry critters fighting like angry critters). Avoiding his cannon is a piece of cake, what truly makes the fight challenging lies in the chances of getting an AoE overlapping slap. I've yet to put myself into the line of multiple cannon fire, but I've been through the situation where a random wolf just gave me a knockdown stun. After which this abomination before the sight of Kelemvor just proceeded to swing his weapon freely like some fellow on a gun rampage. Taking 1-2 swings of his sword would mean the kind of one-shot fatality capable of giving Kitana that feeling below the belt. Trust me when I say Kelemvor revived Arylos via Soulforged armour.

Against the abominable yeti boss in the Bryn Shander epicentre, it's all about moving either backwards or forward. Yes, you'll be able to move sideways. But not enough to offset any terrain disadvantage. Again, winter wolves decide to say hi. And with that, the abominable yeti's identical BFF as well.

Next: My view on whether the latest gear should be worth your time and effort. That plus my overall verdict on this current mod as well.

My first person view on the combat tree

Today, my young adult fellowship will be having an interesting topic. Namely the impact of technology on the human mentality (if you don't know what it means, it means with great power comes great responsibility). I find it quite interesting that this topic will be all the more important given the impact of Pokémon GO. I'm already questioning whether it's truly fine to have a place of religious worship as a PokeStops and Gyms. Call me a prude, but I'm not amused at all by the notion of my church opening up for people playing some F2P game app created by the Japanese.

Ok, that's only technically true at best because Nintendo is a bit like Capcom. You got Capcom Japan and Capcom America. Same logic for that company which gave us multi-cultural plumbers, some King Kong spoofs, and some guy made famous by a girl.

Because I only have around half an hour to go before taking public transport, let me just give a brief analysis on the latest module and what to expect from combat hunter rangers.

Note: Above statement was actually written during Sat. I don't have to spell out which day this post is upped.

Verdict on rangers like this guy

For too long, Cryptic had shafted the combat tree. If you think archery got a harsh treatment, at least it started from mod 6. For the combat tree, it's been a downhill ride ever since Caer-Konig decided to hand the limelight back to the Cult of the Dragon. Ironically, mod 6 was the reason behind trappers being the vogue rangers post-mod 5 till mod 9.

I have to say that anemar did a really good job in balancing the hunter rangers. I won't say the combat spec will out-dps the great weapon fighters and trickster rogues, but the gap has been narrowed (if not totally closed altogether). I spent 2 respec token trying to see how the reworked melee HR would turn out. Suffice to say, we won't be seeing a trapper's monopoly this time round. [I've yet to mess around with Korey (since I've got no plans to change her archery path) or Kariss (since I've spent too much time trying to complete Icewind Dale with Myrreas so far).]

Note: Procrastination is a wonderful thing, reverse procrastination is even better. At this point of time, I alrdy respec both Korey and Kariss.

One thing I've realized is that Blade Hurricane is now far harder to proc unlike other final paragon feats. There's a logical reason behind this. Due to a massive buff to the combat feats, anemar was right to ditch the original 4 hit execution. Despite having only a 10% increment to Piercing Blades, the synergy stack with Lucky Blades, Fluid Hunter, Battlecrazed, and the Endless Assault heroic feat should be nothing to laugh about. In other words, you'll need to go straight for the jugular by executing 2 at-wills after your first encounter power. No matter how you look at it, Flurry effect got nerfed (and this is not to mention the likelihood of a 60 sec cooldown).

However, this is not to say that this change will affect your Drizzt. Because encounter powers always deal a higher damage than at-will powers, having a maxed out Endless Assault is not really a bad thing (more specifically a good thing). My recommendation is either you have at least two AoE encounter damage moves or two fast hitting at-will moves (for an effective Flurry constant proc game. And yes, you can also opt for using just a specific fast hitting at-will move as a viable alternative).

At this point of time, there's still no predictability in Arylos' rediscovered paragon tree. Right now, I'm messing around with a few combinations. Plant Growth is officially my staple encounter with Oak Skin being that effective means of living out a certain iconic song. Tricky part lies in the one in between the two keys. Right now, I'm messing around with a double restraining order with Hindering Strike as my chosen one. However, I find that Gushing Wound has been massively upgraded (3K+ to 4K+ in damage plus mass hemorrhage). At the same time, Fox's Shift also offers a potentially better return when it comes to the DDR (read: not Dept of Diagnostic Radiology, but rather Dept of Dps Rampage) due to Blade Storm being my selected artifact class feature (quite literally a multi-hitting move plus an excuse to do that occasional stance jump). Tbh, Hindering Strike is good in a sense that it offers much needed defensive security (note: CC is your BFF apart from whoever the person doing a Neoprint with you while in secondary school. Don't believe me, try asking Genj. I mean the CC, not the Neoprint). Ofc Fox's Shift is a more effective means of balancing dps and CC, but I need to mess around a bit with this combination to see whether I'm comfy with it. Like Joachim "Der Löwe" Löw, I don't stick with a fixed formula for success. Like the Teutonic Löwe, I prefer a fast hitting game.

Then again, RoboK(l)op(p) is also another German who thinks like a Teutonic cavalry commander...
Just don't ask me whether Hamburg will have someone like those two...

Another issue I realized is that Sigil of the Hunter isn't that useful anymore. In order to pull it off, you'll need an effective line of sight and precise manual aiming. This can be very troublesome if the game is lagging.

(Either because your sis is running something like this or something's srsly wrong with the frames per sec. Or maybe even something innocuous like your dad using the vacuum cleaner and that the resultant sound vibration ended up disrupting the wifi signal. Might as well I start trying to find out whether Joseph "not a Stalin" Schooling is truly an angmoh like Stalin. *shrugs*)

Hence, I decided to switch my active artifact to Lantern of Revelation. Believe it or not, the effect is far better on the first impression basis. This is due to foes affected by the burn taking 16% more damage on mystic status for like 6 secs (note: just upgraded this beautiful beast to legendary status, no intention whatsoever to promote Emma "Duchess of Megawatts" Watson's latest[?] Disney flick). I'll be experimenting more on this come Arylos' next Bryn Shander run. And speaking of running the roost in Bryn Shander...*

*I may have settled down on a fixed moveset. For now, at least.

There's a change in plan...

Originally, I decided to use 1 character per day with Arylos taking up my weekend. However, things didn;t work out that well because I suspect myself to be a case of OCDP. At the same time, I tend to lose myself once getting 100% focused. It's a bit like battling alcoholism, but not really that bad. I've survived more than 14 days' worth of no computer (that includes mobile devices as well) and I've got no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Therefore I decided to do a six quest management. In other words, I'll try to use only 2 characters in a day. Because Arylos is my main, therefore the community will see him regularly. As for the alternate characters, I'll only choose one to play per week. For Arylos, it's most likely 6 quests at most. For that other alt, it's most likely half that number (i.e. most likely 3). Hopefully I can discipline myself before my future girlfriend does that for me. *shrugs*

Final verdict

The combat tree is now officially buffed. Blade Hurricane got nerfed, but it's because the rest of the feats have been upgraded quite significantly. I won't say the combat tree can out-dps the likes of GWF and TR, but the consistent dps game has been properly addressed (something which the combat tree has always been abt, be it in the right or wrong way).

Which means the role of the combat HR in any given party is to maintain the dps momentum (unless ofc you choose to eschew Scything Blade. Which is a dumb idea if you're to ask me). Last time round, the damage dept wasn't good enough to perform such a role. This was mainly due to poor melee at-will damage (which resulted in the synergy between Piercing Blades and Scything Blade average at best) and a less than average critical dps (no crit stat feats available plus the aforementioned synergy problem). At the same time, there's more focus on the defensive aspect last time round (i.e. mostly based on deflection and lifesteal). As for the dodge distance, the combat HR wouldn't be able to jailbreak like a TR upon getting ganked by any mob while the deflection stat was always beneath that of the TR (read: TR is the only class with a 75% deflection severity together with the highest base deflection). Which is why more focus was done on the defensive end last time round.

Unlike the great weapon fighter, you can't choose to be a tank. And this is not to mention that the GWF has a better dps sustaining game (which is why the destroyer spec is so imba). Unlike the trickster rogue, your CC potential is nowhere near a scoundrel's level (read: stunlock unless you use Crushing Roots. Even then, CR is more of a trapper/archery thing). And this is not to mention that dexterity is the TR's primary stat, in which it affects critical chance (which is why the executioner spec is still so scary since it plays damage stacking).

Unlike the control wizard and scourge warlock, your damage game is 99%, if not 100% physical (read: it's a no brainer that physical damage is basically a Jack of all trades, the master of none.when compared to non-physical damage). Radiant damage (for devoted clerics and oathbound paladins), in particular, is most likely foolproof.

When it comes to dps, the archery tree is the only HR paragon path that is strictly hdps (and it still is). However, it can't keep up with a CW thaumaturge or SW fury spec (thaum spec is all abt consistent dps increment while the fury tree is more towards a one-shot game). So where does this leave the combat HR?

The relevance between the melee HR and sustaining the party's dps game lies in the AoE game. The HR does have the 2nd best AoE reach after the DC. This is the one area any GWF will lose out. Last time round, the dps didn't do justice to this understated strength of the HR. However, the archery tree is considered more of a single target hdps unlike the combat tree and trapper HR. In other words, the combat HR is all abt playing dps support more than anything else (unless your team got a tank, but no other melee dps). I won't say the combat tree would outstrip a destroyer GWF or an executioner TR in the damage dept, but most likely this paragon tree is now able to match the other paragon paths when it comes to melee damage. All in all, I'm liking what I'm seeing (and playing) now. This time round, using a melee HR is nothing like what I've done prior to switching Arylos to a trapper spec.

So yeah, I doubt I'll do an Arnie unless the devs decide to do it first.

45 mins to go...

...before Cryptic's maintenance live feed on Twitch. Figured that I might as well spend my 45 mins in a... well, constructive manner. Hopefully.

Firstly and foremost, let me say a big thank you to anemar. To those who think he/she is my friend, you're wrong. If he/she is my friend, I'd have told you his/her gender. Rather, anemar was one of the developers at Cryptic who recently left in search of greener pastures. I firmly believe anemar will be fondly missed by the community. After all, anemar did do a bang up job so far in communicating with the fanbase and fixing whatever needing a fix. As a result, we got a general gameplay patch list the size of Russia (for the woefully uninformed including my fellow S'poreans as well, Russia is actually the largest country in the world).

Good news(?) for all the aggro monkeys...

I really like what I'm seeing in the patch. This time round, Kariss Locras will have a decent defensive game (in other words, the post-Mod 5 tweaks were no different from the annual Halloween party in Sentosa when it comes to solo PvE). There are some radical changes here, a couple of which will contribute greatly to the fury spec. Out of the 3 paragon skill trees, only seduction offers a decent defensive game (read: good enough to survive the first couple of mob onslaught). Once the patch hit home, I may end up doing a free respec so that Kariss will become a seductive hellbringer (read: I still got problems trying to reconcile her character with her choice of a fury spec).

From whatever little info I've gleaned so far, it seems that the scourge warlock may have been buffed in a less-than-typical manner. The versatility is def there. Ironically, it's not so much of the Dept of Dps Radiation (something and the only thing this aggro monkey class is known for). Rather, the availability of defensive options is the key. The versatility lies in the strategy rather than tactics (i.e. strategy is all about planning the situation, tactics are all about playing with the situation). The presence of defensive upgrading lies mainly in the reworked Infernal Spheres and Blades of the Vanquished Army where the former confers damage resistance while the latter gives you a whopping total of 25% deflection chance. Ask for my opinion, however, and I'll say no to BotVA unless your warlock has a good defensive game boons-wise (read: deflection is a modifier stat instead of a core stat). Infernal Spheres, however, is different ball game. It's basically a game of this. Ultimately, the only way to make either/both means work lies in Warding Curse. This class feature is the most direct way to prevent your warlock from dying instead of having enemies dying. In other words, it's all abt defensive synergy rather than just a one-shot fix.

Interestingly, the warlock gamers seemed to have a different opinion. Quite the opposite tbh. They said the class got nerfed. If so, then it's most likely down to the reworking of Tyrannical Curse. Either that or I'm not seeing enough information here. Ofc there's this question of curse expend instead of curse synergy. If it's true that 90% of the original curse expend has been replaced with curse synergy by time you guys (and gals) see this post, then surely it's a massive nerf on the one-shot dps. If there's any trade-off as a result, it will be a sustainable dps game instead of one-shot nuking. Which would go a long way in explaining why the warlocks believe that the aggro monkeys are currently devolving instead of evolving. So much for evolution and Darwinism. *shrugs*

Kariss Locras' (ideal) theme

Blame the Koreans?

It may have become semi-official now. The hunter ranger class has gotten an upgrade. A massive upgrade no less. In fact, I'm pretty sure detractors (i.e. those who have been whining abt great weapon fighters and guardian fighters) will start crying foul due to what they'll eventually see (read: the Korean logic). As a hunter ranger from Mod 4 unto now, does Arylos give a two hoots' damn about this or that? The answer is an obvious no. After all, the concept of conflict between outcome and process do have its legit moments.

With that being said, the new changes are anything but a form of persona non grata. In Prince Andy's own words, awesome. I don't know whether my future girlfriend does have a habit of using this word, but awesome is basically what I'd use to describe the changes. There's virtually zero nerfing to be seen here. Only a reworked system where we may easily end up seeing great weapon fighters like this one below.

Not to mention combat hunter rangers as well for reasons quite the opposite...

One of the greatest reasons (if not the greatest) why hunter rangers were so used to griping like a bunch of Singaporeans is due to a legit concern of every other class out-dps'ing them left, right, and centre. If even a guardian fighter can out-dps your hdps archer, it means serious business afoot. And trust me when I say it's true that guardian fighters do have a decent probability of doing just that (hilariously enough, even a devoted cleric can out-dps Kariss despite her being a fur(r)y spec. >.<).

Ofc I could have made a switch in terms of my choice of main (in fact, I'm far more of a trickster rogue than a hunter ranger, gameplay style wise). Fortunately (albeit belatedly as well), I chose to emulate a true blue talent (disclaimer: there is nothing of note when it comes to whether there's a relationship of inspiration between the real Suárez and the real Arylos).

The changes in the archery tree lie in the feats more than anything else. Granted certain moves got tweaked (Aspect of the Falcon, in particular, will surely make Korey into the Jeanne d'Arc of all things artillery), but the gamechanger stops at the feats rather than the encounter powers. A lot will be said on whether Aimed Shot has officially become the new face of drastic evolution as a form of gaming science, but the feats will remain as the mainstay of the archery tree.

A bit on the Aimed Shot here. I'll have to admit that plenty of archers will want to use this. However, the tricky part lies in having only two at-will slots. For the stormwardens, it's easily a no-brainer as all they need to do is slotting an Aimed Shot plus a quick-firing at-will. It's only when you're a pathfinder where things will get interesting. The oft understated strength of the HR lies in a fast at-will offensive game. Which is why having two slow firing at-wills would have defeated the purpose of playing one. It's either Aimed Shot or Hunter's Teamwork, I can assure you of that. Do not underestimate the impact behind such a dilemma. As I've said, the main player in the improved archer HR lies in the feats. In other words, it's up to the gamer to decide whether the Quarry feat is still worth the 5 pts (read: feats synergy has always been the mainstay behind every build). And this is not to mention the potential dps catastrophe caused by a Quarry+Hunter's Teamwork+Carefule Attack+same target. It's doable, trust me. I'm the one creating Korey as both a playable character and part of the Neverwinter Six saga for crying out loud!

Which now comes to the trapper. Basically, not much has been changed. The only notable change lies in the cooldown aspect where Swiftness of the Fox and Forestbond is concerned. More specifically the buggy multi-cooldown effect (which wasn't intended in the first place, I'm sure of that). As for the multi-proc of Biting Snares, I'm pretty sure it means sustaining the effect via rapid stance switch (read: using two grasping roots attacks in one go). In other words, there's nothing much being fixed for the trapper apart from buggy issues in every sense of the word.

Combat spec is where the greatest changes may be seen. During Mod 4, my combat Arylos wasn't doing anything of note. This is mostly due to the HR being underpowered since the end of Mod 3 (not to mention trickster rogues and control wizards being hideously broken unless you happen to be someone using either class). In Mod 6, the new feats only served to further shaft this paragon tree which made the likes of Aragorn and Drizzt Do'Urden so famously badass. Definitely not awesome, man.

The greatest complaint I've seen in the official forums lies the lack of muscle for the at-wills. If the archery tree was underpowered mostly due to a broken feat system (since the at-will damage is quite decent albeit Aimed Shot was unplayable in a negative sense), then the combat tree has suffered from a chronic case of at-will anaemia. While nothing has changed for Careful Attack (that one doesn't need to be fixed anyway), the combo damage for Rapid Strike (and Rapid Shot for that matter as well) has been upped. The biggest change, however, lies in Clear the Ground. The base damage got upped, overall combo damage also got upped. Given the 3rd hit is a so-called "double burst" attack (read: CtG is considered a burst attack), it merely further upped the overall damage to an epic level (hopefully, that is) once you hit home the crit.

Lucky Blades now confer bonus damage for encounter powers upon proc (which is a killer given the synergy with the Endless Assault heroic feat). Battlecrazed now gives you bonus damage on top of bonus deflection. Scything Blade now gives you a base 5% damage increment apart from the original per-every-enemy modifier. Due to potential repercussions resulting from such a deadly dps combination, it's only a no brainer that Piercing Blades got a minimal boost (from 40% to 50% piercing damage). In fact, this was also the reason why the original plan to create a 4 hit Blade Hurricane sequence was scrapped.

All in all, a dps monster in the making. Which now comes to the main drawback. Under the previous system, it's possible to utilize a decent lifesteal game even if you don't have a decent base lifesteal stat. This is due to a combination of Bloodletting (+5% base lifesteal chance on max level) and Battlecrazed (+15% lifesteal chance in total on max level). That gives you a whopping 20% lifesteal chance. Plus Wilds Medicine in the fray and the survival aspect is plain crazy. This time round, no such luxury. Battlecrazed now confers bonus in damage and deflection per hit, not lifesteal. In short, you won't have the best of both worlds in the same way you can never date two beautiful radiographers instead of just one. I'm perfectly fine with it though. I mean the gameplay, not the beautiful radiographers.

As for Blade Hurricane, it got buffed. Due to too much badassery in other aspects, however, the 2 secs rule may not work that well in the event where you're out to pull off an Aimed Strike. Still better than last time round, but the total number of hits doable will be severely limited. By my own estimation, you can only pull off 2 at-wills under this kind of situation compared to any other at-will powers combination (where you may have a decent chance of pulling off 6 attacks instead of just 4). On the flip side though, you can now proc BH via just about any melee encounter power. Which means non-damage melee buffs like Oak Skin are now officially legit.

Korey's (ideal) theme

Conclusion

Due to negative feedback from the warlocks, I may need some time to decide whether Kariss' eventual gameplay will suit my style (read: I'm more of a Mourinho than Pep even though I do enjoy tinkering like Joachim "Der Löwe" Löw). As for Korey, no point for me to do wholesale changes since it's my intention to make her as the Jeanne d'Arc of all things artillery. For Arylos, however, I'm now verily tempted to use a free respec. After all, melee was my first love when I first started out in this game. Does that make him any less of an Edward of Woodstock? Well, once a Black Prince, forever the Black Prince.

Arylos' (ideal) theme

Total Recall?

Don't we all love Arnold "will he be back?" Schwarzenegger? With the prospect of Donald "yes, I know Jews are (technically) Asians just like the Chinese and Japanese" Trump becoming *gasp!* the new president of United States (provided he manage to win over the blokes and lassies of Texas since Ted "not the talking bear" Cruz doesn't like him and we all know Texas is massive political goldmine for every Republican), perhaps Arnie will really be back. Until then, I may end up doing this prior to my birthday month of November.

Com spec anyone?

With the advent of Mod 10, many questions will be asked at the expense of the trapper hunter ranger spec. We all know that most likely nothing will be touched for this particular paragon tree. As for archery and combat, what is it that we may expect? Firstly and foremost, let me just say that I may really revert Arylos back to the combat tree (after all, Mod 10 will most likely give me 3 free respec tokens. 1 for Kariss, 1 for Arylos, and 1 for Korey). Tbh, the main reason why I chose trapper in the first place was due to a sense of frustration that the com spec wasn't dealing enough damage to be deemed useful. For a trapper, it's more straightforward as I knew I was actually doing something. After all, I still can spend 7 Savras tokens in the event things go terribly pear shaped like a butt job gone terribly wrong.

Expectations

Basically, I'm expecting a massive buff in 99% of the hunter ranger's gameplay with the remaining 1% staying untouched (okay, that's technically a lie since I actually expect Swiftness of the Fox to be slightly nerfed together with Deft Strike as there needs to be some slight balancing done. After all, nerfing is basically a simple case of plus and minus sum). Firstly, I don't expect the cooldown aspect to be improved. If what the devs said was right, then all they need is to buff the damage output of encounters and at-wills (however, it seems that the only buff Aimed Shot will be having is a non-interruptible startup). As for the buffs, it seems that Fox's Cunning will be the only thing left untouched (Longstrider's Shot has its damage increased by a whopping 45%. Which means more value for damage no matter whether it's within or beyond the 30 ft range).

As for the class features, I don't expect any major changes. The most straightforward part mainly lies in damage and (to a lesser extent) the buffing. When it comes to CC and class features, the last thing the devs ever want to see is a repeat of pre-Mod 4 great weapon fighter (not to mention this current mod as well).

On the DDR side (read: NOT the Dept of Diagnostic Radiology, but rather Dept of Damage Revolution), I firmly believe that the devs will do two things:

1. To up the damage output for the ranged attacks.

2. To further up the damage output for the melee attacks so that the overall dps game between the melee spec and archery tree will be effectively narrowed.

The trickiest part, quite obviously, lies in making the combat ranger usable in team tactics. To do so, it's pointless to up the dps stakes since only a moron will expect a com spec to out-dps an archery spec. This comes to the survival aspect where the ranger would be more than able to hold his/her own ground. Apart from any great weapon fighter build, the combat hunter ranger should be your next best bet in the off tank dept.

Things to note (if you want to respec into a com spec)

Forget abt the dps side. The rest will win you hands down (even with a big nerf on the GWF's buffing game, you'll most likely get out-dps'ed anyway). Your role is to support the rest doing the melee damage with you. Any increment in damage merely means your team has a better chance of finishing a fight. You'll most likely need two things, if not at least either.

1. An effective mass buff game

2. An effective CC game

In the event of scenario 2, it means you'll have a higher chance to proc a Blade Hurricane. Come Mod 10, you'll effectively be given 4 at-will attacks for free (whether this will translate into 4 targets getting marked by Careful Attack remains to be seen albeit I truly doubt the devs will want to broke the game). The choice should be quite straightforward. Slot in Aimed Strike and Clear the Ground (if you're a stormwarden) or Split Strike and Rapid Strike (if you're a pathfinder).

For the former, it's all abt creating an effective balance between AoE dps and single target DoT. Aimed Strike will proc twice per hit, which means adding that much desired 2 stacks of bleeding to any one target. Clear the Ground is a burst attack. Which means you'll have a higher chance to deal critical damage per attack (read: effectively twice the normal chance so as to speak).

For the latter, it's a straightforward balance between single target dps and AoE dps. Rapid Strike may stay as the most damaging at-will (since it's non-burst) while blast damage most likely means a higher crit severity (i.e. Split Strike).

Another thing to note is that very few people actually uses Rain of Arrows/Swords so far. The reason why lies in a high chance of whiffing the attack. For Rain of Arrows, it's not so bad so long you launch it after Constricting Shot or Binding Arrow. Rain of Swords is more problematic as the only way for you to nail it cleanly is to do so at close melee range. The damage for RoS is quite astounding given that it actually gives 150% bleeding damage on top of a base 5K damage. Again, the problem lies in the 50-50 call in terms of nailing that decisive moment. This may seem a pittance of annoyance at first. That is until you realize that the lag in Icewind Dale is anything but sane.

In the event where you'll want to respec into a combat spec, please remember to have an effective means of holding the mob before contemplating whether to use RoS as your staple dps tactic (in other words, Plant Growth). At the same time, adopt an effective DoT game up close and personal as well.

If you're not into DoT, then you may want to try other options. Namely, whether the combat tree is suited for you. I'm not saying that DoT is the only way for you play a melee ranger. Rather, this is likely the most straightforward route in creating a standard dps melee ranger (alternatively, you can try Fox's Shift as the starter for RoS. However, the so-called landing point of this encounter move has gone totally random. Which means you may need to move a bit instead of doing a hit confirm like Umehara Daigo. Not that it's にんむインポシブル in this context quite obviously).

Assuming that I'll be doing an Arnie...

(not that I'll score a date with Emilia "You Before Me" Clarke anyway...)

...I may really end up doing a build with RoS as my dps staple. Tymora has a funny way of one-upping her wicked sister. They say the Nine Hells have no fury like a goddess scorned, I'm referring to Arylos spurning Beshaba's offer to be her consort. As a gamer in Neverwinter, I'm used to having a Rank E in luck (basically, that makes me both/either Archer and/or Lancer). In other words, all the good loot goes to others instead of me. Nevertheless, I'm still running around gimping opponents 99% of the time with the remaining 1% being defeat (note that I don't do PvP because of my traumatic past in dealing with people).

Currently, my active class feature bonus in my artifact weapon is Crushing Roots. Basically, it gives Arylos a 15% control bonus. Prior to rolling my much-wanted choice, I got myself a Blade Storm. Which means I can easily use 5K astral diamonds to do a switch. Because I'll most likely get a free respec anyway, I don't really need that 15% control bonus. The reason being that the devs have fixed Skirmisher's Gambit nicely. Even with 1 pt dumped into that paragon feat, it means I'd end up having 10% bonus in crit severity at the cost of 2% crit chance. Since I'm pretty much of a crit player (hence my cat named Crytt), it means I only need to decide where the remaining 4 points will go. At the same time, I'm more of a tactical gamer than the simple run-and-gun type. Therefore, I won't be surprised at myself if I end up dumping 5 feat points into Keen Eye and Stormcaller's Arrow for the archery tree. Because I'm using Lostmauth set atm (not to mention I'm not gonna barter it in the long run at least), it also means I don't need Lucky Blades at all. Which means I'll most likely dump the 4 points into Serpent Weave or Bloodletting. I'm still a regen gamer rather than doing lifesteal, so a synergy of Aspect of the Lone Wolf with Survivor's Gift and Wilds Medicine may suit me better with Oak Skin thrown into the fray as well. At the same time, my recovery stat is quite okay for me. At least I got no problem with a 4K+ recovery score (that's basically given the fact my choice of Dragonflight arms slot is recovery and crit). In other words, a grand total of 19% to 20% lifesteal on a base value basis is more of a bonus to me.

As for boons, I'll most likely do a few major changes. Firstly, I'm not gonna dump my boon pts into armor penetration. This is due to the presence of Piercing Blades where ignoring the enemy's damage resistance to a certain extent is an offer too good to pass up (note that both this feat and Scything Blades will be buffed in the next mod come 16th Aug 2016). Below is most likely how I'll prioritize my boons in descending order.

1. Defense, HP, Stamina, Combat Advantage

2. Critical and Regeneration

3. Deflection and Power

5. Recovery

6. Lifesteal and Armor Penetration

Above list may not be exhaustive in terms of what all the in-game boons can offer, but you get the drift.

The reason why I decide to go for a more defensive option lies in the nature of my gear. Pretty much 99% of the gear stats are offensive oriented (think the only notable defensive slot comes from the Elven Ward Ring worn by my cat Crytt).

Control bonus or dps?

I doubt I'll be spoilt for choice here. Assuming that I'll choose Blade Storm over Crushing Roots, what this means is that my new choice of Tyranny of Dragons 4th boon will be Dragon's Grip. While Dragon's Fury is nice (it confers you 5% crit severity bonus), CC still remains the mainstay of Arylos' (or just about any HR build) defensive game. If I choose to stick with my current guns though, it means Dragon's Fury. Being a melee spec should mean that you'd have a decent, if not superior, defensive game for a melee dps build. With or without control bonus amounting to 15%.

At the same time, Blade Storm is capped at 25% chance to proc with 5% damage bonus per rank up (think it should be like that, will need to check back again though). In other words, not every aspect of the melee ranger was brutally shafted. Just those which truly matters at the end of the day.

Note: Apparently, you'll be able to proc Blade Storm with Plant Growth come Mod 10. 

Universal language

Don't we all love universal language? As early as my ITE days, I knew exactly what that means. At this point of time, I'm actually referring to the New Jersey salute (just don't ask me how Chris "the Governator of New Jersey" Christie would react to such a culture). In the current context though, I'm referring to whether I should have a change in epic armor enchantment. Because I'm more comfortable in using a one-size-fits-all approach, I find that Soulforged won't be good enough to bail me out. It's too much of a lottery in a sense that there's a 50-50 chance of things going terribly wrong (read: getting the sledgehammer after you auto-revive). This will be very problematic once I slot in that same enchantment for Kariss and Sheallyn in particular. Hence, I upped my Soulforged in the auction house. I've checked the pricing. Assuming I can fetch around 700K worth of astral diamonds in this way, I can easily do a buyout  for a Negation of the same rank with a profit of 100K. Yes, there will be no auto-revive, but something needs to give. As for Lightning, Holy Avenger, and Lifedrinker, I'm currently fine with them.

Possible skill set

At-will:

Clear the Ground/Electric Shot; Aimed Strike/Aimed Shot

Encounter:

Plant Growth/Cordon of Arrows; Rain of Swords/Rain of Arrows; Oak Skin/Binding Arrow

Daily:

Forest Ghost; Cold Steel Hurricane

Class:

Aspect of the Lone Wolf; Blade Storm/Crushing Roots

A/N: I may substitute RoS with Gushing Wound for team tactics. This is to give me more tactical options in the event where I need to disengage and/or play support behind the forward line. At the same time, I'll definitely replace Oak Skin with Throw Caution for the same reason as well. Hence my decision to don Negation instead of Soulforged. I really need to know when to use TC instead of just spamming it against random mobs.

P.S: Increment of the HR dodge frames may seem like good news to all. That is until you realize something most likely has to give. I call it the stamina meter.

Hmmm...

Around 24 hrs ago, I saw something which triggered the Fa Zheng in me. Thankfully, I realized that not every leader in such orientation camps is considered "that lawless Indian chief" in the same way not every American is an idiot. Plenty, maybe. But all? I doubt so. Either way, it's up to the relevant authorities to ensure the universities in my country don't come from India. If I've offended any Indians, I apologize. Blame the Dalits, not me.

To those who don't follow the rules set by the majority...

Let me just encourage you not to be an idiot. The problem with democracy is that there's a risk of having too many morons populating your surroundings. Outstanding individuals like Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and Fa Zheng were known as outcasts in this sense. I myself had a history of being one. People called me siao, but they didn't know Vincent van Gogh and H.P Lovecraft were also siao. It wasn't until years later that I discovered my love for writing. It wasn't until a few more years later that I realized it's possible to be the first G.R.R Martin of Singapore. At this point of time, I've already done half of my rewrite for Requiem of Winter Past. No hard feat since I only had to alter the wording and such. Hopefully, this will be the start instead of another case of procrastination.

If you still think you're worthless just because it's the majority and you don't belong to them, then I've got a few vids for ya to cheer you up.

Below vid is strictly for NUS only...


Enough about being special, let's move on

Come Aug 16 of 2016, Storm King's Thunder will be officially outed. While there's nothing much being stated so far (apart from the customary posts from the devs), there's pretty much enough reason to believe a 2.5K TIL dungeon will be full of AoE smackdown.

Firstly, let's speculate how many giants will appear.

By my own estimation, fire giants won't be featured here. Bryn Shander is part of Icewind Dale and they're anything but natives there. In the freak event where you get to fight them at Fangbreaker Island, please note a few things.

1. They have the ability to pull you back and stun the Nine Hells out of you. Given that certain moves are being highly spammable by the AI, this has to be a major problem.

2. They have the ability to create multiple minefields which will erupt beneath you. Once you get hit, either it's a one-shot fatality or you'll most likely go down prone.

3. I won't be surprised if they retained the defensive minefield move. Once you get hit by that, you're most definitely dead.

My advice in dealing with them is very simple. Play Caverns of Karrundax more. If not, try hunting fire giants in the Fiery Pit. At least do something to familiarize yourself with their tactics. If you can get Halamvir the Smith quest from the Builder at your guild stronghold, even better.

Now onto the hill giants. Previously, Moven the Slothful was a cakewalk. All I need to do is to stun-lock him. While I do not know whether the absence of a Feytouched enchantment will nullify this tacitc, it must be stated that his knockdown attacks will create a state of invincibility. You can try trading hits with him, but he'll win at the end of the day (i.e. he'll most likely take damag per normal, just that he'll knock you down all the same).

Next up, the reghedmen. Otherwise known as the barbarians you ended up fighting in Mod 3, should it be surprising that they might ally themselves with the giants? It's been a long time since I played Icewind Dale though, so I'll need to refresh my memory. One thing I'm pretty sure though is this: those damn shamans.

Critters wise, there are yetis and winter wolves to contend with. The yetis are reasonably easy to deal with so long they don't bring other BFFs along as well (read: even critters in Faerûn understands multiculturalism like my nation). Which is something Fangbreaker Island will definitely do (i.e. they will never walk alone). The winter wolves can be very annoying at a higher level (i.e. at Icewind Dale). The problem doesn't lie so much in their breathing cannon (albeit getting frozen really sucks once the mob proceeds to ganks you), but rather that occasional fast hitting bite which will interrupt you 100% of the time (i.e. add this bs to the breathing cannon). As if this is not enough, you'll also be given a Stone Cold Stunner. A couple of yetis may be nothing, but add a few winter wolves into the mix and you'll be in for a power trip.

Then we have other giants. In Spinward Rise, you'd most likely have dealt with cloud giants. Like the fire giants, they have a high tendency to create all sorts of minefields with the only difference being the damage type. Instead of being a cowboy, they decided to throw rocks like a bunch of civilized cavemen. More than their fiery brethren, the cloud giants actually enjoy doing the minefield spam (last time I checked, they ended up creating 1 minefield per minute or so. Utterly absurd).

At Icewind Dale, you'd most likely have dealt with frost giants. Rushdown and knockdown, this is basically their ability in a nutshell.

At the end of the day, the toughest part about Fangbreaker Island may not be the insane level of the AI (albeit this will definitely be factored in). Rather, it's the combination of the mob. Lest we forget, giants are most likely immune to CC (or at least most of them anyway).

Let's come to this guy below...

It's no longer a secret that Arylos is inspired by Archer on a level more than just one. Looks wise, I decided to try making him look like the correct Emiya. Capability-wise, it's actually provoked by my sis whenever she started streaming this show on her laptop.

Funnily enough, it also gave me some inspiration on Korey's supernatural side. Needless to say, she's now running around with her artillery plus augmentation. Kuok Mingsi, you should be proud of your brother.

As for the alter ego of Kuok Mingsi's brother, I don't think much needs to be said.

Below are the screen captures of Arylos

Above two images are Arylos in default garb.

These two images are Arylos in the wild noble costume

Initially, I intended Arylos to be a looker. After all, who wouldn't want his/her alter-ego to be good looking? After using that free appearance change token (not so) recently, I realized I should have gone for a more rugged (and as a result less handsome) look. In the character creation template, there's this option for a rugged look. Come to think of it, the rugged look should have been done since day 1.

As for the hair, the powers that be dictated that wood elves do not spot grayish hair during their youth. Arylos, however, should be seen as young by elven standards. Because I'm afflicted with OCDP, I decided to find a reason behind this. Hopefully not this manner of reason though.

Formal description

Bearing the visage of a hawk and the soul of a wolf, Arylos is considered average looking by elven standards. He has grayish hair and amber eyes, features never associated with the Or-tel-quessir. At the same time, his complexion is fairer than his kindred, something which never went unnoticed by those who know him.

Always aloof, Arylos nevertheless is capable of showing respect should the occasion call for it. In combat, he has displayed both sides of the same coin. Namely the mind of a shrewd tactician and the fury of a fighter pursuing death at every turn.

Ladies in his life

Think I might have done this before, but meh. They say there's always a woman behind every successful man. While this may be true for plenty of heroes, it shouldn't be said the same for Arylos. After all, he's no Drizzt Do'Urden. Below is a recap.

Korey

Not to be confused with that other Korey in my current Neverwinter PC roster, Korey had (note the usage of the tense) always been the only woman capable of portraying the other side of Arylos. Since the incident involving a cult devoted to Shar (i.e. a lifechanging moment for Arylos where his only family member died to protect him), Korey was always there for Arry (i.e her nickname for Arylos). Ever uncomfortable in expressing himself (most likely due to trauma and a blatant lack of emotions), Korey was constantly a source of both challenge and solace for someone no different an orphan.
From that point of time onwards, I believe we all can guess what happened verily soon.

The finer details:
One problem in dishing out revenge against those who did you wrong lies in killing the wrong people on top of killing the correct ones. If you're out to deal with a mob instead of a 3 man gang, it's even more problematic. One thing which the Jang Ja-yeon scandal had taught me is the fact that justice is a form of parallel to humanity. There are times where it's incomplete (e.g. the West Memphis Three). There are times where it may have come more than a little too late (e.g. Jang Ja-yeon). Yes, justice is a must like how human beings are needed to define humanity. In the same manner, justice is flawed in a helpless way like us human beings. For Arylos, what is the definition of justice? It must be stated that as both a god and a judge, Kelemvor chooses to distance himself from the emotions defining us all. Does that mean Kelemvor has literally become just Kelemvor instead of the Kelemvor Lyonsbane from the past? While I'm still in no man's land in deciding whether Arylos should be classified under chaotic good or neutral good (definitely he's no lawful good because he doesn't think like a conventional S'porean), it must be stated that Arylos is intended to be that very coin called Kelemvor. On one side, we have Kelemvor the immortal judge. On the other end, we have Kelemvor Lyonsbane. In the sense of inner conflict, one can even say Kelemvor, Arylos, and Archer are the same concept (i.e. warring against their own sense of humanity). Dare we hope for this by the way?

A/N: To further justify my point that justice in this world is like humanity utterly flawed, I give you this.

Bellyn
She's basically a random creation in the sense that I could easily create another manner of plot-line. Originally, she didn't figure in my plans because I tend to be a helmsman rather than an architect. While I pride myself in terms of understanding strategy, there are times where I see myself as more of a tactician (read: my looks may remind others of Zhang Liang, but my brain works more like Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, Fa Zheng, or Chen Ping). In a story telling sense, you can say that I think less like J.R.R Tolkien and more like G.R.R Martin. However, I'm not interestes in creating so-called an ad-hoc character for sake of ad-hoc purposes. Of course there will be moments where things will hit a give and take. Unless I can help it, that is.

The finer details:
The problem Bellyn had to face is the same challenge every counsellor is facing in reality. Namely changing the other fellow for the better. One thing I've felt very strongly about is the dire consequences caused by counsellors and therapists in the event where they're unable to communicate with those who really need help. There are times where committing suicide has got nothing to do with the lack of help. Rather, it may easily be due to a lack in the quality of help (read: either ineptitude or just plainly can't be bothered). Whenever people talk about quality control, what is exactly quality control? Is it only in the SGH where I'm working at right now? Is it only in the DDR section of SGH where the technicians have to ensure nothing will screw up for the CT-MRI hardware? Or perhaps to understand quality control, all we need to do is to truly know basic English. Whether Bellyn was able to reform Arylos in the name of love, I leave the verdict to you all (and hopefully Ed "not Miliband" Greenwood as well).

Purk
Same as Bellyn, but perhaps having a more profound impact. The conceiving of Purk as a character was during a random "daydreaming session" where my brain started wandering like that of Vincent van Gogh and H.P Lovecraft. The trickiest part initially concerning Arylos wasn't so much on his personality (trust me when I say I'm very damn good in this aspect of stort telling). Instead, it's all about justifying who his real father is.

The finer details:
When it comes to this trope, the greatest challenge is never about how/where/when the cold hard truth is revealed. Rather, it may easily be a question of justifying it. Case in point: we tend to take for granted that Darth Vader was indeed Luke Skywalker's father without taking into serious consideration on how it actually happened. When I first devised Purk as a character, the first name coming to mind has never been Park "not the president" Shin-hye (let alone the real 대통령). Instead, Purk is quintessentially a female version of Puck. If you do not know who is Puck, please go read some Shakespearean works. Yes, William Shakespeare was known to be a jerk at times (i.e. works like King Lear and Hamlet). However, there were times when he's actually in a far better mood (i.e. works like The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, and Much Ado About Nothing). Puck, as a character, belongs to A Midsummer Night's Dream. The story actually belongs to the latter case of Shakespearean creativity. There are two directions which Purk may be going in terms of her racial identity. The first is a pixie, the other that of an aranea. While Purk is intended to be a fey, it must also be stated that the aranea reside in the Feywild as well. Due to the complicated factors surrounding Arylos' birth, identity, and perhaps even a certain hidden power (hopefully I won't have to do this), it's actually quite logical to throw an aranea into the mix. I still remember a female doctor in the SGH (disclaimer: not that I know her in any way or form). One thing which caught my attention was the fact that she's the first (so far that is) female doctor to do herself a gothic look. However, it must also be stated that she chose a deep red lipstick colour instead of something much darker (after all, she's a doctor above everything else during work). Due to her petite build, however, her freedom of choice also made look quite a bit like Rachel Alucard of the BlazBlue series (read: a gothic loli despite not being truly one). This may be where I'll be taking Purk in terms of looks at the very least. Unless of course I choose not to use the aranea idea on her.

A/N: In order to prevent myself from kenna buah by my future girlfriend's family members and BFFs, let me say that personal creativity shouldn't be seen as something quite literally personal.

Above song is merely an expression of Arylos' tactical mastery. That's all. Period.