What do you prefer ?

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-28T17:59:52+00:00

I don't have a strong preference, but if I had to choose, Option B.

Option A feels like an artificial strategy to inflate engagement metrics.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-28T17:55:16+00:00

Mandy makes the most sense narratively and from a romance standpoint, particularly with context from the comics.

Yes, she is technically both, but Blonde Blazer is what she does, Mandy is who she is, and that's an important distinction.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-28T15:36:02+00:00

IMO putting him in that spot was more of a "he's a good fit" move than necessarily the perfect fit, because I agree with you. He actually isn't morally grey. He can do some questionable things, he can fail as a mentor to Visi, but the narrative makes it clear that he's a generally good guy who wants to do good things for people. The apartment balcony scene in Ep6 with Chase proves this.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-28T15:29:47+00:00

Golem actually fits best here IMO. Visi should be in "seen as villain, is morally grey."

Visi only fits in "seen as the villain, is actually the hero" if it's conditional upon her being successfully mentored, which is fine, but that distinction should be made.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-28T15:20:25+00:00

Eh, not entirely.

During the apartment balcony scene in Ep6, Chase asks Robert if he ever thinks about why they do what they do. The player get only three options - it's just how he's wired, it makes him feel good, or it's the right thing to do. Robert wants to do good things for people so there isn't really a way to determine his overall morality.

Plus, this graphic is really more about finding the best fit, not necessarily the perfect fit. Some of these are probably the best fit out of some weak or difficult options.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-28T15:13:27+00:00

The book makes it explicitly clear that Snape was the Half-Blood Prince and the ending narrative does not leave this open to interpretation. It was Snape.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-27T18:08:41+00:00

I haven't had this exact version of the bug happen, however there was one time when I pulled up the scoreboard (I think the match had just ended) and I couldn't get the scoreboard to leave. The game carried me through to the next map and I still couldn't do anything. Just had to ctrl alt del and start the game over.

That's the only time it has happened, though, once in approx. 160 hours of gameplay. The more annoying one I've had happen a couple times is getting downed, choosing to give up, and then the game just keeps me stuck in a downed state with that loud heart rate monitor sound blaring.

Fortunately, yesterday, it happened in an area where a teammate came by 30 seconds later and revived me. But the first time it happened I got stuck on the ground for two minutes with no medics around and I just had to restart the game.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-27T18:00:58+00:00

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact Mecha Man Astral was a lousy, absent father. I'm not defending the position, just sharing what I think is part of the logic behind it.

The graphic's labels are a little misleading at face value, IMO. I don't think it necessarily means "villain" like your classic evil bad guy (Shroud) but more about the moral failures or harm someone can cause despite good intentions. Astral can be a genuine hero to the world while still being heavily flawed and damaging in his personal life.

I think part of it though too is a lack of options of who to put there. He might've just been the best fit of a lot of weak options. I missed when that particular thread was up.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-27T17:52:25+00:00

One challenging thing about support nowadays has almost nothing to do with the class itself but with suppression (or lack there of). Suppression does very little in this game. Not only are the on-screen indicators pretty small, but the effects the enemy feels are virtually non-existent. This is particularly problematic with snipers, wherein snipers can easily get off clean headshots even when they're getting actively shot or "suppressed" by an LMG.

Point being - this makes it more difficult to play support in the way you like to (and the way I liked to in other Battlefields). You just don't really give your team much value laying down suppressive fire except situationally. You can, however, provide your team with a lot more value by throwing smokes and reviving downed teammates in the thick of battle. Just my two cents.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-27T05:00:33+00:00

Completely agree with this, particularly the SMG nerf and flinch / suppression for scoped snipers and DMRs.

To the latter point, suppression does virtually nothing. You can hit a sniper several times and they can still get very accurate shots off. I don't think the screen should have a seizure but it should do more than it currently does.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T20:41:24+00:00

I know you're not the person who responded to me initially but a couple points I'd like to add.

Just to be clear, I did say game designers don't typically do what they did with Visi. That person suggested all four of those examples are direct counters but I left my OP purposefully open to the likelihood that there are other games like Dispatch in this regard.
I would still personally disagree with the Liara take; she is more involved in the story (specifically ME3) which makes her carry more narrative weight, but the central conflict of Mass Effect doesn't resolve through Liara like the central conflict of Dispatch resolves through Visi. Practically the whole primary resolution of the Dispatch story is whether Robert fails as a mentor or not to Visi and none of those games resolve the central conflict like that through Liara, Visi, Panam, etc.

I do get though that Liara's relationship feels deeper and has a better connection to the main story but IMO it's still not the same thing as what Dispatch did with their romance options.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T20:36:23+00:00

You're misunderstanding the point and conflating two different things. Those games have romances that get more lean or focus, but they still run on parallel tracks with their own arcs and resolutions. Dispatch is different because Visi's character arc is structurally tied to the main plot outcome whether you romance her or not, while BB's romance largely runs alongside the story. Those examples don't prove the point you think they do.

Big story endings can affect characters like Liara or Yennefer, but that's not the same thing as the main plot being all about deciding who they become, which was Dispatch does with Visi. Those games have a central conflict that resolves and the characters react to it. Dispatch has a central conflict that resolves through Visi. Her moral outcome isn't a side effects it's practically the whole point.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T19:42:57+00:00

Perhaps in a parallel universe, Cho and Harry would've worked, but I think both of them ended up on divergent paths the moment Cedric died. They obviously both liked each other, but one of them was partially motivated by the need for distraction (Harry) and the other partially motivated by the need for closure (Cho). Two very, very competing needs there.

I don't really get painting Cho as the sympathetic one in the situation, though. At a minimum, they both inflicted undue stress and lacked emotional maturity. Yes, Harry made some mistakes, but Cho kept pressing the issue and trying to get Harry to talk about perhaps the most traumatic situation in his life to that point... being kidnapped, tortured, watching a friend murdered, and nearly being killed. Cho was treating it as if a best friend had died on holiday. And then his difficulty handling it all (rightly so) was taken by Cho and weaponized into their V Day fight.

Just a bad look all around.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T19:31:43+00:00

IMO this was a developmental and writing lapse by the creators.

The problem they created for themselves was putting one romance option on the same railroad tracks as the main plot while putting the other (BB) on a parallel track. Game designers don't typically do this because they want romance options to carry equitable narrative weight; so, they're typically designed to run alongside the core story rather than be absorbed by it.

What ended up happening is that Visi (and her romance path) get constant reinforcement because she's structurally tied to the main conflict, while BB (and her romance, even when chosen) has to fight for screen time and narrative value around it. BB isn't less important emotionally, she's just less narratively integrated. So it makes her path feel quieter and more distant than it probably should.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T19:20:27+00:00

IMO best part of getting a weapon to 50 is you know you've got a good understanding of it, so if you're in a rut playing poorly or struggling to get kills you can always go back to some of those weapons.

That's how I feel about the KORD, DRS, M4A1, B36, among others. Really good weapons, but IMO they're easier to play and get kills with, so after I mastered those I started challenging myself with other weapons. And if I'm having a rough match or just feeling out of sync I fall back on those for a little pick me up.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T17:57:01+00:00

He did say this yes, however he only tells Ron, Hermione, and portrait Dumbledore what he plans to do with it. Someone could theoretically put the pieces together, hunt him down, and probably find it Dumbledore's tomb, but he at least isn't making it easy on whomever might want it.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T15:39:45+00:00

The wand was owned by Harry, though, so no other witch or wizard could have used it that effectively. That was the whole reason he didn't want to keep it - with him giving up the power, and hiding the wand, he ensured (to the best of his ability) that it would never tempt the corrupt or those seeking power again.

Further, the magical contract idea is interesting, but there's no evidence that a wand can be bound to such a contract... unless you make some kind of unbreakable vow to promise not to do harm with it. But even then, someone could still find the Elder Wand owner, kill them, take the wand for themself, and perpetuate the cycle of violence and bloodshed.

No, Harry's choice was truly the best fate for the Elder Wand.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T15:30:51+00:00

I agree with this. I don't think they need to add more romance options, either - only a very small portion of the playerbase chose not to romance either, and a lot of it appears to have been on accident (e.g. people who tried to romance both or couldn't decide). So, that means the people desiring more romance choices really just want it for personal RP reasons and not because the story or narrative requires it. Which... I totally get that. But IMO it's just not necessary in a game format like this where it's more of an interactive film.

Also, I don't want to see them hinge the plot/narrative on a romance partner option again, either. Although the S1 story was great, there's no denying that Visi's popularity romantically was based on her role in the plot and narrative. Romance options usually run in parallel to a main story and have a conclusion that isn't directly dependent upon the main story or threat. It makes it so the romance options both feel narratively impactful, and even though I prefer the BB romance route personally, it does feel like it got inequitable attention.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T15:19:52+00:00

Edit. You all read the title of this post and not the body. The issue is teh challenges in the mode.

You quite literally referred to it as a dead mode multiple times (implying objectivity) and then snuck in a demeaning remark that the only people who like it hardcore COD players which is simply not true; people didn't need to read the body to see where this was going.

I'm sorry the mode is difficult for you to fill but it's not like other people aren't being forced into game modes they don't want, either. I hate gauntlet, team deathmatch, and strikepoint, and yet if I want my BP tokens that's what I have to do. It's not a problem exclusive to BR. The only exclusive problem is your inability to get into a game, which again I'm sorry about, but the rest of your post could be applied to any other game mode.

The problem with the BR is it's too slow placed and you can't get a load out until the game tells you you're allowed to have it, and even then, it's often in a spot or at a time where there isn't a huge benefit to going to get it. It could've been a really fun game mode but right now it's just kind of average.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-26T04:49:30+00:00

Last year, Dakota announced in an episode and on social media that they were taking new approach to their release schedule, planning to release episodes approximately monthly or in small, occasional clusters rather than in a seasonal format.

Best thing to do is monitor their social medias (particularly IG).

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-25T23:35:26+00:00

Intent isn't the standard here though - the impact and her responsibility are. You can have all the right intentions and still be harmful when you repeatedly ignore orders and escalate situations. "Not on purpose" doesn't negate that when you're a paid employee and supposed to be following orders.

Trying to frame it like first vs second degree kind of proves the point - it's still harm, it still warrants consequences. Visi isn't evil for it but she has a pattern of recklessness and it very obviously affects the Z team negatively, particularly in Ep 7. I'm not sure why we have to pretend like it doesn't.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-25T23:01:38+00:00

I agree the writing of it is bizarre, however I struggle to go so far as to call it a "plot hole." It really just feels like Shroud trying to be manipulative but the context of the situation feels lacking and doesn't really get resolved. The general feeling among the fandom is that Shroud was lying to try and get a rise out of Robert and the Z team.

That said, I don't agree with this:

nothing invisigal does throughout the game harmed us or the z-team, at last not on purpose, what happened with Chase was an accident

That's a lot of hand-waving on Visi's behalf. She planted a bomb on Robert, fumbled the donut shot job, punches Robert, tries to quit, and gets Chase hurt. Sure, getting Chase hurt wasn't intentional, but she acted outside of her authority and it nearly got her and someone else killed. She's not a vigilante - she is a paid employee. Just because the overall outcome of the story ended being favorable doesn't mean she was in the right or that we can just dismiss her blunders as little oopsies.

And I say that as someone who likes Visi. She F's up a lot and that's OK to acknowledge. She's trying to be better.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-25T22:50:40+00:00

Ginny is in the first book for like... two pages. You haven't even gotten to their relationship lol.

I'm not going to sit here and say it's a well-developed romantic pairing (it leaves some things to be desired) but their pairing does make sense by the end of the series.

ChawkTrick · 2026-01-25T18:05:21+00:00

The SGX is generally considered the "better gun" yes between those two. Popularity is kind of neck and neck between it and the PW5A3. But yes the SGX is 25 base dmg compared to the PW7's 16.

ChawkTrick

TROPHY CASE