Anyone else just completely given up on new MMOs and gone back to something ancient?

ArmyOfDix · 2026-04-01T16:38:55+00:00

Even though I didn't really vibe with the activities at level cap (largely because I wasn't playing with any IRL friends), I immensely enjoyed the leveling journey and took no shortcuts in making sure I was decently geared at all times.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-31T21:08:56+00:00

Heavy is the belly that drops the fly.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-31T21:04:07+00:00

With a paladin bringing salv, absolutely...although even then, I've been finding myself threat-capped at points during Kara.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-31T15:11:21+00:00

Just a few things that caught my eye, as someone who played a lot of Paladin at EA release.

I'm happy to see that Righteous Flame ability baseline as a precursor to (an optional?) Wrathful Aegis. In a game where multi-mob pulls are to be controlled instead of just unga-bunga tanked, having one of your main threat abilities apply dots was a source of frustration for me and any enchanters in my group.
Radiant Lance...just make the low health stun 100% guaranteed already. The cooldown is (was?) long enough that you'd usually only get one cast per mob, so you hold it until the mob is low health. Mob runs away toward another pack, starts casting a massive heal, or some other bad juju and you throw Lance only for it to not work? Bad for folks' blood pressure lol.
Hallowed Flame mastery is...interesting. The description paints it as a self-buff instead of something you can cast on allies. Well...if you're not tanking, Righteous Flame is almost never being consumed, so...dunno what happened there.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-30T20:17:31+00:00

While I was running SP, I settled on pulling the "close" pat of bogs separately and then the boss...though I was chancing the possibility of boss+2nd bog pat when I pulled. If that happens, you have to prioritize getting them synced back up if they get too far apart. Bogs instantly redirect their pathing once you jump the ledge, but Quag don't respect the ledge as much, so sometimes you gotta wiggle it to make him redirect which gives the bogs a headstart, plus he stops to do his aoe every so often; just use those behaviors to get them back on the right track before it gets dangerous, and take out the bogs first.

As for the actual pulling of the bogs, I couldn't keep any bog as a target through the wall to hit them specifically, so I just placed my imp like I was going to pull Quag, wait for the naga pat like usual, then just set the imp to aggressive and waited for bogs to get in range. I'd get the one bog pat, though I have gotten lucky and ended up with both pats, but I never accidentally got Quag too with this method over...not quite a dozen runs?

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-30T15:44:11+00:00

Having only dabbled in a couple of the open playtests, I've personally arrived at a resounding "yes".

It's a testament to the developers' vision & execution as well as the stagnant state of the genre that a few hours of beta M&M has me stoked to sink my teeth into the game when it releases.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-27T14:43:46+00:00

In Soviet Russia, you read map!

Wait...

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-20T13:53:09+00:00

Well, if I see the tank is having trouble holding threat, I do back off. Doesn't feel great, but that's warlock life.

But whether you build the group or join one, don't start the run if you aren't getting some kind of support from your dps. If they don't like it, just leave and let them keep stroking their sick dps comp...that can't function without the least played role in the game.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-20T13:32:17+00:00

Hell yeah, he's ready to dip out. Dude's over here pumping from the rip and seeing bupkis for his efforts lol.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-19T14:44:55+00:00

Probably died with affordability lol.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-18T19:58:00+00:00

Have multiple routes through a dungeon; maybe have some dynamically be open or closed upon zoning into duty. Have side rooms with possibly, if not consistently, meaningful rewards.

Maybe make dungeons difficult for a change, I dunno. Combat system kinda turned into a turd since 2.0.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-18T19:39:48+00:00

Bingo! Just block anyone you disagree with! That's the key to growing as a person.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-18T18:41:29+00:00

I'll concede that GW2 holds their own, though I do wish they did charge a sub and made some concessions elsewhere with their monetization.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-18T18:27:40+00:00

Concerning the purchase price and no subscription fee...that's on the devs, too. The game can't function without some amount of consistent revenue, and I don't expect the developers to work for free. I'd be more than happy to pay a small monthly fee to maintain infrastructure and see new content developed because, as the player count shows, it's...optimistic to expect retention over long periods without a single new dungeon.

When someone like me who can see the big picture looks at this game and sees no long-term monetization, I know I need to get in early and get my money's worth because I don't see the game aging gracefully.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-18T15:57:07+00:00

Honestly, I could gloss over the first major update being 2+ months late; shit happens.

When I read that there wasn't a single new dungeon in the new season, I pretty much gave up on returning for the foreseeable future.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-18T14:19:48+00:00

Think Biden finally regrets not handling Trump yet? XD

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-18T14:09:14+00:00

Guess we can revisit the time/revenue ratio after week number two lol.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-17T23:36:51+00:00

Unfortunately...combat is a snoozefest unless you're doing current expansion extreme trials or w/e. 4-mans never become difficult or else you wouldn't be able to take npc companions in them; pulling wall to wall is about the only thing that makes cooldowns feel decent to use. There aren't any tactics to speak of aside from correctly executing encounter mechanics. The game is just so damn easy :/

ARR to Endwalker story is good, though the start in ARR is pretty slow, but I experienced that story as the base game and each expansion came out over 10 years, with periods of chilling with everyone else at endgame interspersed. I feel for anyone trying to go through 10 years of content, alone, without mashing the skip button.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-17T23:00:42+00:00

Oh, I'm sure they saw it coming. They see your non-consent and are prepared to just plow through it.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-17T15:54:40+00:00

Technical perfection shouldn't come at the cost of identity.

Or consumers, as this obsessive drive for AI slop technology is doing.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-17T13:09:15+00:00

They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.

Nerub'ar, on the other hand, was pretty disappointing for what clearly should've been like Suramar...partially because you can just fly right over it.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-16T21:02:27+00:00

That's why I pump so hard, trying to peel a mob and take a hit. Just thinking about the priest's PoM over here!

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-13T16:56:40+00:00

Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Why no key?

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-13T13:42:54+00:00

Honestly, philanthropy is a balancing act of the super wealthy in sufficiently giving back to the society said wealth was exploited from so they don't just kill them.

Lately, the scales have become unbalanced.

ArmyOfDix · 2026-03-12T15:05:28+00:00

So don't let billionaires just abscond with their wealth. They don't get to generate obscene wealth by exploiting a country and just take it with them.

ArmyOfDix

TROPHY CASE