What do you mean it's not political?

It feels weird. Really weird. 8th November is not just that D-day where voters have to choose between Hitler and Stalin (either that or it's bailout day). At the same time, Cryptic decided to out Mod 11 (or rather Mod 10.5 if you like to see things this way) at this very day. Already, there are certain grounds for me to suspect the likes of Prince Andy, St Thomas, and the now departed Akromatik(a) to be liberals. In fact, Ed Greenwood may easily turn out to be a supporter of PETA due to his last name being synonymous with going vegan. Either way, I don't give a damn. So what if they're liberals? At least they recognize my presence due to merit of deed (if this sounds familiar to you, that's because the son of Beornegar would eventually become the leader of the Elk tribe). So what if they might be closet conservatives? Maybe they will vote for McCain instead. Oops, sorry. That last statement is most likely a case of wrong channel.

A/N: Yes, I know that Yankee nuclear bomb being dropped. I don't have to up the link since there's only one other n-bomb and it's from the correct Kim. Either way, I've given up on politics in the same way politics gave up on me. Doesn't stop me from attending forum dialogues amounting to staring at the minister though.

Add A/N: Forgot to add something to this post. A little wonder why I ended remembering Shadowfell during work today.

Before I get started...

Let me just say that my last Tiamat run was a disaster. Normally (I say normally because it has yet to happen), I'll never get frustrated if any outcome of failure is a result of personal failure. It's only when external circumstances conspired against me would I get frustrated. To set the record straight, pretty much 99% of the content is lag-free. The only 1% of the deal? Tiamat. Perhaps it's because unwanted memories a freeze lag are being forgotten at a fast (or at least decent) pace. Perhaps it's because my last couple of Tiamat raids were successful. Either way, the 2nd half of the run was disastrous. It's like Middlesbrough losing to Man Utd 2-0 due to 3 players (from our side) sent off in a span of 5 mins. It's not my fault that that freeze lag was the cause of unnatural death where I'm concerned.

Credit to my guild alliance, they're pretty cool about the failure. In fact, I won't fault one of them saying our dps output was too damn low instead of too damn high. A disastrous 2nd half (at least for yours truly) really sealed it for me though. Throughout that disastrous period, I kept whiffing my Gushing Wound (against any Tiamat's head no less). 2-3 times, the cause of unnatural death was due to falling off the cliff. Again, freeze lag (ok, that's technically a lie. The first fall was due to my vision unable to discern where the cliff edge was. Standing within Hallowed Ground can be fun until this happens). I was actually lucky enough to escape the breathing cannon under such a severe handicap. There's only this much you can do even if you have the kind of tactical awareness like yours truly.

Credit goes to Nasu Kinoko for (accidentally) unlocking my gaming potential.

I was very damned frustrated. There was a clear strategy, so it's not as if the fault lies in my party. I've reached a certain level of technical and tactical excellence without the advantage of MasterCard, so it's not as if the fault lies in my part. It almost felt as if the devs were out to troll me. After all, Jarlaxle pulled off a similar stunt on Drizzt during that fateful duel in the Silent Blade (apparently, Artemis was angry like me, if not most likely worse).

Long story short, I needed to vent my frustration on something else. Not via PvP because there's not much reason for me to do that since mod 6. I had three choices. Namely, Phantasmal Fortress, Dread Spire, and Death Forge. First option was out because the Zulkir of Illusion was too damn easy for me. Not Dread Spire because I've already had a target in mind. Which left Death Forge and its Jawbone. The resultant curbstomping was quite therapeutic so as to speak. I was stance switching like a pro (not that I need to do so once every 30 secs or so like a trapper) and I was executing hits like Kiyomatsu (if you don't know who is Kiyomatsu, then please at least know his main). It was literally a session of curbstomping. Therapeutic, but could have been better. *shrugs*

A/N: Ironically, that failed attempt to take down Tiamat (or Tiamak if you're a Malay) earned me a consolation prize which is better than the ones I've got via a successful raid. Namely something worth more than 300K astral diamonds.

And now onto Nov 8th

Very little has been outed so far, but I'm pretty sure the Sea of Moving Ice will be exactly what Mod 10 has been intended for. Namely those who are really that damned good like the Game himself. The only notable change in the mob is looking like a good challenge to me. Already, fighting a trolling mob can be very challenging for a character with T1 gear. This is for Icewind Dale. In this current mod, it's a dps fight against time (that is if you're a dps character). These blue critters would adopt a zerg and surround strategy with the stoners stoning you behind the enemy line (I know it sounds funny. That is until you meet one of those mobs). Not a problem if you're a tank (then again, tanks are now much more open PvE solo friendly). It's about the dps classes that things may get sticky.

The modded trolls now have increased damage upon hitting low HP. What this means is that you'll have to off one of them asap and break out of the circle from there. Mod 11/10.5 has yet to reach Nov 8th, but it doesn't hurt for me to prepare you guys for what lies ahead across uncharted waters. Whatever you do, just don't get yourself between the main force and the stoners.

On the new fishing system, I'm pretty sure there will be fears of grinding. After all, Neverwnter is all about grinding (unless ofc you have MasterCard). In fact, this is my chief concern. Already, the reward system for an otherwise good challenge is crap. The only reason why the relic gear is useful is for Fangbreaker Island (apparently, the chance of getting +4/+5 rings has been lowered quite a lot for either version of Demogorgon. Which left only Castle Never and Fangbreaker Island). Like the black ice gear in mod 3, the newly touted relic gear is nothing more than something with the shelf life of Taylor "gone (swiftly) in 60 secs" Swift's romance. More specifically Hiddleswift gone Hiddlesplit (yes, I know my future girlfriend may easily be a Hiddlestoner. Love your boyfriend=love his sense of humor).

Which now comes to a pair of level 145 (if my guess is correct) relic artifact weapons. The question now is this: Is there still a need for preservation? The timer for any piece of usable relic gear lasts only like 1 hr. Which is stupid. There's no point putting them on on a prolonged basis unless going to Fangbreaker Island is the only thing you'll do. Period. Take my advice, master only 1 character. Fangbreaker Island is the only place where you can get the best rings available in-game. Unlike the Underdark version, the Fangbreaker Island rings boast of actual stat parameters instead of increasing the numbers. If you're to ask me, 1 Underdark ring plus 1 Fangbreaker Island ring should be the way to go. After all, you're most likely guaranteed a +4 ring at the very least (hopefully). Back to the relic artifact weapons. I really hope it stays the same as the current relic gear. Now before you all start setting me on fire like Mr Trump, let me explain. If it's really a case of level 145 artifact weapons, how long do you think will be needed to get them? Unless the devs nerf the difficulty level of the new zone, the less proficient amigos will miss out on the best stuff! Already, grinding for the current artifact gear is a chore (this is not to mention epic Demogorgon being upgraded). The most straightforward way to get a level 140 artifact gear set would still be via the Drowned Shore. Period. So perhaps it's not that bad. However, what if the bonus lies in anti-giant warfare and nothing else? To quote that German Oddrun from The Fantasy Forums: "Yay! We're screwed! -.-'..."

Note: Above logic should only apply if the new relic artifact gear works like the current epic relic gear property wise. If we're looking at something identical with the Underdark system where the artifact gear doesn't give you any bonus against (very) specific enemies, then just skip my rant above.

Then we're coming to the treasure maps. It's quite an interesting concept to be honest. Done properly, plenty of gamers will be flocking to the Sea of Moving Ice like sheep to shepherd. However, this also depends solely on the quality of loot dropped. You can't expect us to play sheeple for the sake of some level 140 gear. I mean let's just face it. Playing the current campaign requires an average item level of 140 even though no requirements have been enforced. The only problem? That'd crash the gear market. The reason why being that the Dragonflight and Lionsmane gear are both at level 140. At the same time, the newly upgraded black ice forge system also allows the gamer to bake level 140 gear (which comes to the relevance of the current elven gear set come this next mod). Then we have the masterwork gear and relic gear, both which are at level 145. Ultimately, the alternative is for the loot to be fixed at level 140. The only catch? Loot dropped can be of any class and bind to account. By doing this, more alternate characters will be able to play Yoomes Bond/Kookules/the (Koryoan) disciple of Arylos in the Cold Run.

Lastly, the zones. Or rather, zone. The difference between the two lies in plural noun vs singular noun. Then again, I'm convinced that all you people are more intelligent than Matou Shinji.

Enough of the digressing. Let's get this over and done with. One thing I'm suspecting about this next mod lies in the possibility that we'll only get 1 zone. One big ocean with plenty of icebergs, one big map with plenty of places to run. Assuming that the conclusion to Storm King's Thunder lies in the Sea of Moving Ice, it means there's not much for the devs to work on when it comes to individual zones. Which basically makes the boating fun.

Just watch out for the dragon turtle below. Not every dragon goes by the surname Lee.

A dummy's guide to kill a Demogorgon (intelligent people excluded)

Before the server shut down for a 3 hr maintenance earlier on, I decided to use my sole lesser demonic key. The only catch? I never used it. Why? Because I was running normal Demogorgon and I was one of the very few intelligent bastards running around trying to keep things in order.

Before that...

It seems that server non-response may have been... well, compromised. Not so much on the frequency, but rather where you'll end up next. In the past, seeing that message in red means you're really screwed. The next time you logged in, you're most likely dead. The reason why is that the AI will keep hitting you while in stasis. Which is not fair at all. If you get yourself into a stasis for the correct reason, there's no need to complain. If it's for the wrong reason, then you'll have every right to make noise.

Another problem previously was that you'd have to redo any lair quest. Say for example I'm in the middle of whacking the real Zulkir of Illusion in his Phantasmal Fortress. Server non-response>have to relog>end up at the lair entrance. For the woefully idiotic, it means I'd have to redo the whole damn quest all over again. Period.

While the server non-response problem is still alive, at least your quest(s) won't hit reset mode. So long you're in the process of killing stuff (so as to speak), the server non-response won't affect your journey beyond the need to relog.

Case in point: Cyrea Durothil was done in by a server non-response last night during a Demonic Slaughter heroic encounter. Initial fears of restarting proved to be unfounded. Despite having to relog when that nefarious nalfeshnee was nearing death, the heroic encounter was deemed as successfully completed.

As for any potential unwanted death in the name of unnecessary stasis, I've yet to get any. Be noted though: You may still get screwed if you get that red message in the middle of a private instance run.

Note: So far so good, I've yet to experience a server non-response during a dungeon/skirmish run.

And now onto the titular topic...

I find it quite hilarious. Someone once mentioned a bunch of "Jews". Guess what? My party also got an Einstein. The only catch? I never truly professed to be one (if I've ever done so, it's down to jest). That fellow was like "ty and crap dps". If we never had a bunch of Einsteins running about in phase 1, I doubt he/she would have said that. I don't profess to be a top tier dps (in fact, my boons are focused on defense and critical), but at least I tried my best taking down the boss. I knew what I was doing (read: doing a super mass hemorrhage via a Gushing Wound-Aimed Strike one-two), I chose to take the risk by triggering the soulforged effect despite knowing that there's a 50-50 chance of failure.

With insults finally done, let me just say that you can never get a gold ranking unless you get a gold for all three phases.

The thing with the gigantic goristro this time round lies in an upgrade in defense and HP. Which means it's now harder to kill it without baiting it into a golden pit (more specifically impossible). As every Neverwinner may know by now, the devs will always review the difficulty of specific aspects of the content every now and then. And that includes Demogorgon, both normal and epic. Unless you manage to get gold for phase 1, you're gonna have a tough time dealing with that minotaur.

In fact, your score in any phase will have an immense bearing on how the next phase will turn out. When Underdark first came out, it's actually possible for the party to get an overall gold ranking via 1 silver and 2 gold. Not this time round. Unless the silver ranking is really damn close to the gold threshold, you're not gonna get an overall gold score this way. While this nearly-rule applies to the skirmishes, it may not be the case for Demogorgon.

Tip for dummies 1: Open only the purple portals

Even at this point of time, there are still people who don't understand how important this rule is. The moment any joker starts opening a green/blue portal, you can kiss goodbye to your gold medal. If we're talking about first timers, then I can cut them some slack. And we should as well. Otherwise... well, a fellow member of my guild alliance actually said that expecting gamers to be intelligent is a case of misplaced expectations. Willy was definitely right on this one.

Note: Above rule applies for both normal and epic.

Tip for dummies 2: Goristro is secretly a Singaporean

No offense to my fellow S'poreans because we all can never forget Sun Xu. No offense to the Hindus as well because we all know where the phrase "sacred cow" comes from. I swear that fellow has upgraded himself/itself. Higher defense and more HP, it's now harder to kill. Personal experience, however, seemed to indicate that nothing changed much. Maybe a higher frequency of paranoid delusions spawning, but that's most likely it (then again, these unreal holograms form the bulk of challenge in any epic Demogorgon run). Definitely, you'll need to do more in baiting it to headbutt the golden pits.

The problem with tanking that animal lies in the what-if scenario where the headbutt will go straight into a black pit instead of a golden one. If this happens, good luck. If in normal mode, you're most likely not gonna get gold. If epic... well, epic good luck to you. The most straightforward way is to know which direction to taunt once the red arrow pops up. To do so means having 2 tanks instead of 1. One tank to constant aggro grab, the other to direct where the headbutt should be going. An interesting tactic lies having 1-2 ranged dps as tactical markers just behind the tank in charge of main aggro grab. The moment they start moving upon the red arrow showing, it means where they're going indicates where the headbutt should go. This is particularly useful in epic Demogorgon due to the hologram spawning.

Note: I've yet to try this out because Arylos is my main, not Bhaasmond Taran. However, it must also be stated that the proof of quality in any strategy lies in using it.

Tips for dummies 3: Only epic Demogorgon needs to apply

This time round, the epic version of Demogorgon has gotten very annoying. The normal version is still quite easy to kill (only that it's harder to get an overall gold). The problem the devs were facing not so long ago is that epic difficulty is looking not-so-epic right now. There's a need to raise the bar and they really did so. However, Neverwinter (like so many MMOs, WoW or no WoW) is extremely reliant on sound strategy and efficient tactics. Not so much in normal difficulty, but sometimes in epic mode. Demogorgon happens to be one of the elite few.

The difference between normal and epic phase 3 lies in the Death Star.

I know part of the language sounds like a Teutonic knight errant who happened to graduate from some ah-beng ah-lian school (never mind whether it's Gan Eng Seng or It's The End). If my future girlfriend's BFF sees this, let's hope she;doesn't understand German. Ah well, at least Der Diktator never died until the climatic end.

Let's talk about Demogorgon's epic laser beams. Unlike phase 2 where it's relatively easy to get away (so long that minotaur is close enough to the sanity wells nearer to the entrance), the current upgraded version entails a double fatality shot. What it means is very simple: You get shot once=you get shot twice. To those with no means of auto-rez, it's no big deal. All you need is a costume in red.

Wonder if my future girlfriend likes the color red...

For those with any means of auto-rez, be careful. While I don't know whether using a scroll of life would circumvent the death ray effect, what I do know is that soulforged armor won't bail you out like what the EU has done so far for the Greeks, Romans, and Iberians. You'd just waste your get-out-of-jail-for-free card. If you're a tank, it's only natural for you to run a straight line down to the other end like what a certain Steven used to do in his prime (not this Steven, but the other Steven).. I assure you that death is never an option because it never will be (unless you're dumb enough to run the fight on a rank 5 dark enchantment for every utility slot). For the dps and healers, the tricky part lies in following the leader. People tend to make fun of us S'poreans because of our lemming mentality. No. A big fat no. A bloody Dr No. Don't follow the leader in the same direction. Grow some brains, I assure you that being persecuted like a Jew (like yours truly in the past) won't be on cards. See the blue zones at the edge? Yes, that's your intended sanity wells. Just do a detour. The reason why being that your movement will always suffer a consistent debuff status, if not on a stacking basis. What this means is that everyone will be moving slower than usual. At the same time, the damaging effect (very literally) of the terrain will open you up for a Demogorgon Super Tentacle Slap across the face. Once you get it, you're pretty much deadpool.

What you should do is to run along the edge, so that the sanity wells can minimize whatever damaging debuff caused by a hostile terrain. Listen to me, I know it works. I tried it after realizing what the devs have done to the difficulty level. Like your favorite Korean dramas, it's tried and tested. Not to mention successful as well.

Whatever you do, do not try engaging Demogorgon in the middle. The moment his Death Star starts aiming left, right, and center, you're a dead man walking. And I don't mean this type of dead man walking below.

Unlike the normal version, the epic Death Star rays will cause a severe movement slowdown. Therefore, it's imperative to have a sanity well less than like... maybe 10-20 ft away. At the same time, it also seems that fleeing into a sanity well just 1-2 seconds before Demogorgon fires his assault rifle merely means the trigger will be pulled. To make things worse, the sanity well will go "poof" upon you getting shot this way. In other words, no way out where  a second death is concerned.

Conclusion

Epic Demogorgon isn't really that hard per se. The difficulty is more about whether you're able to get an overall gold score. At the same time, it also seems that finishing off an epic Demogorgon would have a high chance to drop any +1 ring. Which really sucks (to set the record straight, I've yet to get anything beyond a +2 ring ever since the devs opted for an upgrade). At the same time, using a solo-heal strategy no longer works wonders like last time round if you're gunning for gold. It's highly recommended to have a devoted cleric capable of doing mass heal and Hallowed Ground at any possible moment. Just don't ask me when Cyrea will be ready for this one. She's yet to finish her Dread Ring campaign.

P.S: Kymil Nimesin is still alive apparently. Because he's an elitist traitor, I'm pretty sure Arylos will try to do something about this living problem. After all, he's Cyrea's lover despite House Durothil still remaining as a house of elitist jerks. If only I can be given the right (from Ed "not Miliband" Greenwood himself) to justify Lolth's (far greater) role in the grand scheme of things. *shrugs*

Add P.S: Elaith Craulnober should have buried a knife between Kymil's shoulder blades, with style or no style.

Risk taking gone right...

Just now, I realized that the world is never fair. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. It's like taking a life to save another. It really sucks. The worst thing about condoning rape is not just about the victim suffering. Do you think the rapist would care if an innocent life is murdered as a result? Do you think he would care about the value of an unborn life? Making lemonade out of lemons? Don't talk as if you've been through it, that's my message to all you moral crusaders no different from a bloodthirsty Saracen.

The Japs better do humanity a favor by not filing a copyright claim to YouTube.
Also, this vid lasts nearly an hour. Period.

Okay, rant over

Recently, I decided to play around with the moveset where Sheallyn Melarn is concerned. Initially, I opted for Shield based strategy (read: spell mastery). The good thing is that she'd most likely survive 9 tries out of 10. The downside is not enough dps to go around. The control wizard is basically all abt control and destroy. More specifically the thaumaturgy spec (oppressor spec is all abt CC while renegade is basically a dps-buff tree. Which sorta explains why it's so easy for a renegade to out-dps a thaum spec).

While I have no issues with surviving, getting pecked down in the damage/body count ranking kept taunting me like how Cyric would have tried goading Kelemvor over his previous failure. Ultimately, I was like "screw it, let's try a Jeff Hardy". One thing worthy of note is that I decided having an uncommon Rimefire Golem companion isn't good enough. For 20K+ astral diamonds, I bought a rare Rimefire Golem. Considering the crappy level 30 ability (lifesteal? You're kidding me, bro!), 20K+ seemed reasonable to me. After all, Iceflame only has one job. And that is tanking without a tennis racquet.

Suffice to say, the gamble seemed to have paid off. Currently, this is what Sheallyn's moveset looks like:

Encounter powers: Chill Strike [spell mastery], Sudden Storm, Icy Terrain (switching to Conduit of Ice in party instances), Shard of the Endless Avalanche.

At-will: Magic Missile, Storm Pillar

Daily: Maelstrom of Chaos (subject to possible changes due to Oppressive Force being too damn good), Ice Dagger.

Class features: Eye of the Storm, Chilling Presence

Credit goes to my guild leader Vrae for telling me to go for CP. While Storm Spell can deal extensive damage upon proc, it's only a case of 30% chance per critical hit (which is most likely why SS and EotS are certified BFFs). CP deals damage on a more consistent basis unlike SS where it's more of a probability game. Of course this is not to say EotS and CP goes well together like a pair of BFFs by default. You'll need to have an effective ice damage game (something which the CW has in plenty) and an effective alternative (i.e. fire, lightning, and arcane). The latter factor is particularly important for thaum spec. Which is what Sheallyn truly is.

While there's nothing wrong in slotting Shield in either a normal or spell mastery encounter slot, such a choice can be seen as detrimental to the thaumaturgy players. Because CW doesn't have an effective AoE game, you'll have to hold the mob into a cluster before letting fly (as always, the devoted cleric has the best AoE game followed by the hunter ranger). If you're using oppressor then Shield may be useful due to lower dps and better CC. If you're going renegade, then most likely you'll really need that due to Reaper's Touch being your staple dps.

Thaumaturgy relies a lot on actual attacks to make the dps count. In other words, it's the stereotypical wizard (possibly Elminster Aumar and Gromph Baenre as famous examples). It's not a CC tree because there's basically nothing for you to choose from. In terms of dps, it works differently from the renegade tree (more of a dps leader build).

With a blue Iceflame lumbering about (together with 3 *insert gear here* of the Loyal Defender), there's not much for Sheallyn to worry about. Even with a leader companion, it's not a thaum spec's role to play out a prolonged fight. Period.

Note: Lightning enchantment can be absurdly effective due to the chaining effect. Just make sure you get it at greater rank at least.

Add note: Maelstrom of Chaos has been quite a controversial daily power, it seems. Some think it's nothing next to crap, others find it decent. Then there are those who believed this to be a very underappreciated move. Long cast time, but you get control immunity and take less damage as the SOP. Despite having one of, if not the longest casting time in-game, MoC is absurdly effective as a jailbreak tactic. The hard part lies in aiming. Which actually says a lot on why plenty (?) of people call this a crap move. That plus a small AoE compared to other AoE daily powers. If you want to use it, please use it as a jailbreak tactic up close and personal. There's no way you can aim it at the enemy furthest away from you if the rest of the mob decide to close in.

P.S: Getting very late right now. More specifically 2 am now. Will be going onto Arylos and Cyrea next. That plus I now know how to fix that damn non-server lag bs.

Biopsy gone wrong...

This week, I realized that a certain room in the DDR dept has been closed off. Basically, it's used for breast biopsy. Because I know there will be those too ignorant to see any sense, I'm not about to explain in depth what is a breast biopsy. However, I can try simplifying the ramification should you decide to act smart like a certain Heather Chua. You enter (the room), SPF comes out (from Cantonment).

Note: While I'm very sure my beautiful legal housebreaker is a radiographer, I'm also equally sure she doesn't belong to the relevant dept of the DDR.

Bryn Shander knee-deep in brine?

There's a problem with Mod 10. From Bryn Shander to Lonelywood, from Lonelywood to the Cold Run, something doesn't seem right. Players are now getting very damn salty. It's like some angry CEO from S.A.L.T Entertainment out to hire Drew & Napier to sue yours truly just because I decided to use Park "not the 대통령" Shin-hye as the real-life blueprint for Korey (from the Neverwinter Six) and Alestrial Eliaden (of A Requiem from Winter Past fame).

The area of (dis)contention lies in the new level 145 gear. Namely the epic relic gear. Let me get the bad and ugly out of the way first. I hate this retarded decision. Not what I've said about me getting sued, but rather the absurdity behind getting a set of level 145 gear cursed with a shelf life of Taylor "gone (swiftly) in 60 secs" Swift's BGR (read: Boy Girl Relationship, not whatever RGB color model). Quite obviously, the relic gear is only worth it in the sense that you can't run the FBI without them (FBI as in Fangbreaker Island, not the feds who are now trying to figure out whether Cyric's dogma is that power at work). I really hate it. The devs better do something to modify the relic gear, so that at least we'll be comfortable with stashing our relic gear like that guy in Jay "not Mr Chow" Chou's latest MV.

And yes, I know my beautiful legal housebreaker is a Chouder, tyvm.

You don't have to be Heather Chua to be called badass...

Yes, I know I've said so before. The difficulty level in the new campaign zones is now a notch higher. The enemy AI is most likely the same as Icewind Dale, but the terrain needs to be tamed. From the snowy terrain to within the confines of Bryn Shander, from the forest in Lonelywood (most likely preserved by the patron deity of Drizzt and his Cat) to taking down the troll(ing) mob instigated by the frost giants. Arylos has yet to hit Cold Run like how Yoomes Bond made his long-awaited comeback, but there are certain things meant to be learnt if you're daring enough to take on a few of Thrym's chosen ones while at Lonelywood.

1. Runes. Just don't step onto any of them. They're like the minefields surrounding the city of Fallujah. I've yet to do so, but I'm not interested to know the impact.

2. Getting stoned to death. This is Faerûn, not the world of Harry Pothead and the philosophers stoned. (hopefully, imam Zul won't see this post).

3. I can't say about Cold Run, but the frost giants in Lonelywood come as a couple. Doesn't matter if it's two men, two women, or one of each. Point is, we're talking about making war, not love.

4. The beastmaster. I really hate that fellow at times. Whatever you do, don't try to get yourself cornered. Unless you belong to the class of Lancer.

Links: [1] [2] [3] [4]

Note: Ironically, you'll see Cat's ex in Lonelywood instead of her current beau since Drizzt needs to recuperate after his super badass feat of taking down two demon lords. As for Orcus, we still have Arylos.

Inspired by Arylos' ex (?)

It's been a long time since I've heard James "not Sharp" Blunt. Then I heard his famous song earlier this morning on radio.

Scarily(?) enough, the angmohs from Singapore's ex-boss seemed to see him as their ideal dirge singer last time round.

While I'm not willing to disclose my stance on whether Sheallyn and Arylos do have a thing for each other, tweaking with her moveset gave me some food for thought when it comes to whether I should be more daring. No one should say I must emulate Pep "El Genio" Guardiola, but at least I may be able to emulate Eddie "the once and future knight" Howe.

Thankfully, I've laid the groundwork for Arylos boons-wise upon doing a free respec (i.e. from trapper to combat spec). It's like the late Willie Maddren setting the groundwork for Bruce "the Incredible Hulk 1986" Rioch. As a result of this (and a recent gear tweak), I may have found a way to bypass the need for Oak Skin. More on that in a future post of mine (note: I've yet to test the current build for epic Demogorgon and Temple of Tiamat).

Dealing with Orcus

I now hate this fellow. I really do. The thing with certain epic dungeons/trials is the fact that some of them are strategically favorable to the melee dps while others are more towards range-friendly. Tiamat belongs to the former, Castle Never belongs to the latter.

The first time I ran CN with Arylos, I never knew this. As a result, Orcus swung his mega weapon and Arylos got pwned. And it doesn't help that my team was known as the PPP (read: the Pew Pew Party of the AkaHoshi guild, not the People's Power Party of Singapore).

Second time round, my team got a tank. I thought I could have a decent pop at Orcus with impunity. Wrong. Again, Orcus got me again with his mega weapon.

So what did I learn as a result?

1. It's possible for a tank to get himself killed against Orcus.

2. I shouldn't have emulated Heather Chua. It's like friending Matou Shinji on FB instead of Emiya Shirou. A dumb call on a major hindsight.

One of my guildies once asked this interesting question: How do I create a guardian fighter build capable of tanking Orcus?

My view on the GF is that this is a so-called risk class. Unlike the oathbound paladin which you can pretty much spam Sanctuary (that is so long you're fast enough to pull it off since there's a brief startup animation), the GF relies more on external sources of healing (and buffing). With a good (read: decent) healer, a GF can last the distance. Just make sure of a few things.

1. Into the Fray. It's so spammable, it should be your BFF every day, not just today.

2. Dump every single damn boon point into defense>recovery>critical in this order. This is due to the GF in this current mod being more of a choice class (read: either half-dps or pure tank).

3. If you want to do a tactician spec, go iron vanguard. Swordmaster is suicide unless you're going conqueror.

4. Don't be a coward, be a knight. Knight's Challenge and Knight's Valor should be your BFFs against single boss fights (or if you're good/crazy enough, then every boss fight).

5. SOS. I'm not talking abt Save Our Souls or even sos cili roti john. I'm talking abt Supremacy of Steel.

If you're a melee dps like Arylos and Myrreas, it's not really the end of the world. However...

1. You must have a healer (preferably a virtuous devoted cleric like Cyrea Durothil).

2. You must have a tank.

3. Pls read my tips below.

If you're using trickster rogue, it's arguably easier due to equal ease in using melee and ranged dps. Even though pretty much 70% of the moves are melee so as to speak, usage of ranged powers won't really affect your damage game (read: Cloud of Steel).

If you're using great weapon fighter (either instigator or destroyer spec), just run once the monster turns to face you.

If you're using a melee hunter ranger like Arylos, just fight smart. You'll be on a constant tactical backfoot. If your tank can hold Orcus without dying, good. It means you can do what you always do best. If the tank dies, just fall back on your longbow for the rest of the fight. Be smart, don't be like Heather Chua. He's just like that arrogant and useless elitist Archibotak.

Seems that YouTube was forced to take down the English sub ver of Kiritusugu's fight against Archibotak. Little wonder why Angry Joe had a problem with the Japs last time round. Go YouTube search if you dunno what I'm talking abt. Also, Arylos and Kiritsugu think alike in the same way awesome minds think alike.

Unlike the great weapon fighter, you can't whack an Orcus once he turns around to face you. The great weapon fighter can just dash away (even for a TR, the dodge fps should be good enough to jailbreak). As for the HR, the dodge fps will NOT be good enough to jailbreak. In addition, the mega weapon swing is most likely made of anti-dodge material. In other words, you'll still get that one shot fatality even if Orcus' thing hit you the middle of the dodge/dash animation. In other words, just run away. If there's a tank, just pull Orcus' attention back to where it rightfully belongs. Period.

Let's see...

There seemed to be some unwanted consequences behind taking down the Gateway. While the game is now running smoothly (or at least far better), the whole damn thing does have the tendency to freeze upon the game starting up. It takes like 5 mins or so for my character to start moving around. Which is frustrating. To make things worse, server non-response is fast becoming a common fixture no different from certain individuals asking me "when are you getting a girlfriend?"

If there's no server non-response, I'm very sure there would be a Matrix moment where everything just froze on the spot like how those Thayan red wizards/illusionists pull off their mass area freeze. No, make that far worse. At least you'll know you're still able to move. Thankfully, I've developed the ability to make decisions under adversity. I'll have to thank my sister for streaming shows like this one below on her mobile devices daily.

And speaking of decision making while in a literal bind...

P.S: Incidentally, 諏訪部 順一 is still my ideal CV for Arylos. Coincidence? Think not lol.

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.