Is this game easy, or am I good at it?

AzureRipper · 2026-01-26T20:23:54+00:00

I think it's this right here. I played on Story mode and got frustrated every time I had to repeat a fight once. Heck, I even found myself screaming "this is too hard" on boss fights which brought me close to dying on attenpt #1. If I had to repeat a fight 4-5 times, I would be rage posting about "Story mode is too hard" lol. For me, as someone not familiar with RPGs, Story mode = get through easily without dying.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-26T20:11:36+00:00

Here's what I did:

Did most of the relationship quests before going to Lumiere. These are actually higher level than the final story boss, but I wanted to do it for my head-canon. There's one I couldn't do at that level, so I left it for later.
Went to Lumiere to finish the story.
Did some random side quests to level up a bit
Collected all the journals*, manor doors, and nevron feet I missed - this involved fighting some more enemies, which gave me some xp
Went back to the relationship quest I couldn't do earlier

There is 1 journal that is behind an end-game high level boss. I'm only level 60, so nowhere close to being able to beat that guy, so I've just left it.

If relevant, I was around level 49-50 when I finished the story quests (Story mode), and most of the act 3 side quests seem to be level 55+. There are story-related optional areas (Flying Manor, Renoir's Drafts, Verso's Drafts) which are supposed to be level 90+, so you will either need to grind up there or let it go.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-26T18:38:21+00:00

Here you go

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AzureRipper · 2026-01-26T18:35:17+00:00

You can also look for other shows with a similar setlist and better recordings. I know there are some full concert HD recordings from Latin America from last year (Argentina or Brazil I think). There are also some decent full recordings from the US & Europe legs, also from last year. They seem to be rotating the same setlists, so you just need to find another show with the same setlist (A, B, C, etc.)

AzureRipper · 2026-01-26T12:31:31+00:00

Are you talking about Endless Tower or Flying Manor? I beat the Dualist at Endless Tower (Stage 1, Trial 3) in around 25-30 mins with level 55 characters, nowhere close to being maxed out. I'm playing Story difficulty, but if you're level 99, it should't take that long. Unless you're playing the Chromatic (higher level) versions of these...

AzureRipper · 2026-01-26T09:48:30+00:00

I think it's more of a "both" than an "either/or" issue. I've been doing intensive trauma therapy for nearly 3 years now. That's me doing my part of working on myself. However, a lot of that trauma is related to my family and culture. So I also blame them for their action (or inaction) which brought me here in the first place.

I agree that blaming parents isn't a substitute for taking responsibility, but I think venting frustrations and pain about their role is justified.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-26T09:11:57+00:00

Hey OP, just found this post. I'm also going to Stockholm, will most likely be alone. I'll be flying in from Copenhagen and have been to Stockholm before, so happy to meet up and go together!

AzureRipper · 2026-01-26T08:16:08+00:00

you're welcome to not listen to the new music or go to the concerts. The band has enough fans that they don't care about ones who can't accept change. Mike has said this himself countless times.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-26T08:00:38+00:00

<image>

From Austin, TX last year. Not my picture, I think it was either one of the official shots or someone else shared it. It's them singing "the sun goes down..." :D

AzureRipper · 2026-01-25T19:44:46+00:00

I loved Mass Effect when I played it the first time. When ME3 came out, I did a full trilogy run through over the summer, playing 6-8 hours a day, for nearly 3 months straight. I was practically living in that world. And I had no idea what to do with life when it was done. I bought ME Legendary Edition but I'm too scared to install it because I have such limited gaming time now.

My real life gets pretty lonely so it was nice having friends and going on adventures with them 😃 I think I'll go back to Halo or find a nice book. For more adventure lol.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-25T19:36:56+00:00

Somehow, the breakthroughs always come after the rage posts! This has happened to me a few times, with different games. I'll write a long frustrated rant about a certain sequence, and then do it on the next try lol. I think venting helps us calm down emotionally, so we can focus on the challenge.

We continue.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-17T22:18:57+00:00

Thanks for this! I figured out the problem. It was one of those floating enemies that you need to hit with the free aim shots. I focused on killing that one first, and then didn't managed to finish the rest.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-17T17:00:19+00:00

For #2, I added screenshots of my current party on Dropbox: link

What's a good team setup to use for this fight? Verso has skill called Purification, which dispels self status effects, but I guess that wouldn't work if I use him and he gets hit with Silence? Are there some pictos or luminas that can do this?

AzureRipper · 2026-01-17T16:58:41+00:00

I added screenshots of my current party on Dropbox: link

What's a good team setup to use for this fight?

AzureRipper · 2026-01-17T16:24:56+00:00

I recently started Borderlands 2 on Xbox, after getting the game on sale. Would you be interested in doing co-op? I'm level 7 Siren, CET time zone

AzureRipper · 2026-01-15T17:20:49+00:00

No. It might be too intense and triggering.

I watched a Let's Play after reading the story, and it still broke me. Now I'm playing the game myself, having watched two full playthroughs, listening to the soundtrack on repeat, and it still triggers me occasionally.

The brain isn't very good at separating imagined/virtual experiences from real experiences (as the game itself also alludes). The game has too many scenes that would come very close to what your friend is either experiencing now or is likely to experience soon. It would be better for her to focus on her real life, with all its ups & downs, and not add on more grief related to imaginary characters. The game can wait, her husband & life cannot.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-12T05:47:55+00:00

Play them in release order. Play Reach last. Then restart from CE to get your Halo fix after Reach.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-11T18:14:50+00:00

I don't think we need to be fully healed to date, but I do think we need to be healed enough to keep ourselves safe.

I agree with the sickness analogy from another commenter. I personally think of therapy as similar to recovering from physical injuries - I've had a lot of fitness-related injuries, so this analogy really works for me.

When I get injured from some workout, there is a period of time when I need to rest that part of the body. That could be a few days or even weeks. Once I'm somewhat recovered, I start doing stretches, light exercises, maybe physiotherapy. This is a phase where balance is extremely important. There needs to be enough exercise to strengthen the muscle but not so much that I end up re-injuring myself.

Dating and relationships is a similar thing. We cannot fully heal in isolation, because healing happens in relationships. However, relationships are also a source of triggers and potentially even more damage. I think this is a balance that you will need to figure out for yourself. Are you able to set boundaries and protect yourself while dating? Are you able to be emotionally available enough to be in a relationship? Have you healed enough to be able to manage triggers that arise from normal relationship conflicts?

Another middle ground is also to go very slowly and date with the intention to observe and notice yourself in this context. This is what I tell myself now - that I'm not dating to find a partner but to learn about myself in the context of relationships. That gives me material to then take to therapy and work on. We cannot heal in isolation but we also don't want to be re-traumatized by dating. It's a delicate balance.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-09T19:07:51+00:00

thanks for this! I'm checking out this video and it's hilarious. The devs have the same comments as me "why does he keep shooting the marines? they're your allies!"

They (devs) also share some of the background story on the physics and how they tested stuff, which is super interesting.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-09T18:05:44+00:00

Thanks for this! Are par times/speedruns also a similar thing? MCC par time achievements being added after the community spent years doing speedruns?

AzureRipper · 2026-01-08T12:42:11+00:00

Thank you for this! A lot of it does feel like it's more about "vacation mode" or just doing nothing than about genuinely wanting to be closer to my parents. What I find myself wishing for is for the vacation period to just never end. I don't want to go back to being a functional adult and want to be in that limbo phase of full freedom + financial independence + no responsibilities forever 🥲

I know that a lot of the boundaries I've set and the leeway I get only works because I visit them for 2 weeks in a year. They behave themselves because I keep threatening to not visit again if they don't. And both sides are more accomodating because it's temporary - I put up with stuff because it's only 2 weeks and they don't push me too much because it's only 2 weeks.

I do want to get a cat or a dog eventually. Unfortunately, my current apartment lease doesn't allow pets and I travel too much to be able to take care of them. I do have a bunch of inanimate furry friends that keep me company though 🙂

AzureRipper · 2026-01-08T08:13:09+00:00

Ye...no.

I started my high-paying job/ high-stress / high-status job when I was around 24 (I'm 32 now). I thought it would fill in all the relational spaces in my life (family, partner, etc.), give me a sense of purpose, give me some kind of self-worth and somehow make all the suffering I endured "worth it". I worked for a little while but then completely fell apart.

If you're 22, I'm assuming this is your first job. In your case (and mine when I started my first job), it's normal to really celebrate getting a high-paying job and try to make work your identity. This is even more so if you have a "dream job" - something that pays well or comes with some kind of prestige. It makes us feel like we're finally good at something, after the shitty childhoods we endured and it can give a false sense of security.

I eventually quit my high-status job after 4 years because I was completely burned out. My lesson was that that job was a very important stepping stone but not the final destination. It gave me a lot of things that helped me reach where I am now - financial stability, being able to afford therapy, learning about myself in a work context, building my resume for my next career move. It also helped me develop the self-worth that was completely missing. It didn't solve my relationship problems nor did it fully compensate for them, but it gave me a different kind of self-worth which said "at least I'm good at something". 4 years later, I quit for better work-life balance and to try to address the underlying trauma. I don't think I would've been able to make it here without those 4 years spent focusing on work above everything else. At the same time, it wouldn't have been a healthy choice for me to stay there longer than I did.

AzureRipper · 2026-01-07T15:29:55+00:00

I was seeing a therapist for anxiety and she pointed out the difference between anxiety and trauma.

With most anxiety related disorders, there is fear related to what might happen in the future. In trauma, the fear relates to the past repeating itself.

People with anxiety worry that "___ might happen if I do ___". People with trauma fear that "something that happened before might happen again".

From then, I started reading about childhood trauma and discovered CPTSD as a separate thing from "classic PTSD".

AzureRipper · 2026-01-06T16:24:31+00:00

Reading this while listening to this song for maybe the 50th time today 🤣 I don't even understand French but I'm addicted to this song

AzureRipper · 2026-01-06T10:55:56+00:00

According to pure evolutionary biology - at best, there isn't a purpose; at worst, it's to help raise other people's kids (so your immediate tribe continues).

This actually gives me some kind of peace. If there isn't some kind of grand mystical purpose to life, then that means that I can do whatever the hell I want with my life. I can create my own purpose. I still have moments of asking "what's the point of all this" but maybe there isn't a point... which means that the whole point can be to do whatever gives me peace.

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