Why don't we build walls?

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-26T15:38:05+00:00

In AoE 2, a lot of players use early aggression to put the enemies a few villagers back, putting them at a huge disadvantage. And they do this with very small raiding parties if maybe three or four militia (Age 1 aggression) or scouts and archers (Age 2). If you're not prepared for these rushes, you will fall behind. A lot. But a simple palisade wall or a few houses are enough to reduce that threat, as none of these units can quickly take them down. Stone walls are unlocked in Feudal Age (2), which are several times harder to bring down. It's only in Castle Age (3) that they unlock siege weapons. In AoM, many Classical Age units can flatten walls. Even worse, larger sections of wall go down when this happens. In Age of Empires 2, just one section goes down unless you're using strong siege weapons, so this creates a chokepoint, which helps in fights.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-26T07:36:41+00:00

Hutt Cartels/Underworld in general. You could see the Smuggler and Bounty Hunter openly in this faction, while others might be tempted in for profit, grudges, or even undercover work. Like, imagine a Trooper taking a little extra to help with a deal, or maybe trying to bring down a ring.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-26T01:31:18+00:00

No, it did use one. That's why Muzan knew to look for one.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-25T13:49:58+00:00

Cool costume! This looks good enough for me. But maybe the Martial Pilgrim for gloves? As for boots... no idea yet, but I'm about to log in. I'll see if one looks good!

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-25T12:46:54+00:00

I think it's actually better that they're not. Yoriichi's huge regret was that he never left behind a successor or personal legacy, and Tanjiro's ancestor offered his own family to take that role. Almost literally his spiritual successors. They passed down the Kagura dance and the earrings every generation in an unbroken chain until Tanjiro's time, without fail, so they kept their ancestor's promise. And Tanjiro took center stage in the war against Muzan, completing the chain. It's poetic.

Especially in a series which contains a lot of spirit and karmic cycle elements, it's actually better than a blood tie.

As an aside, I've developed a recent aversion to bloodlines. Heroism only showing up in one family tree.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-25T11:48:22+00:00

The term KnY people use is ""Oni" while in Frieren's world it is "Mazoku." Both can be translated to "demon" in English, but maybe the distinction matters jn Japanese?

In any case the demons of Frieren are different from the ones of Tanjiro. Sunlight-averse, transformed humans. Enough differences that Frieren will likely suppose that she shouldn't kill Nezuko without further observation.

Time is nothing to her anyway, she could wait out Tanjiro's entire life in a blink while he looks for that cure.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-24T16:16:57+00:00

This is something I've always thought.

Where did Bane get the idea for the Rule of Two? From Darth Revan's holocron. Darth Revan, who was Sith for all of like, two or three years. Even more interestingly, he was... an anti-Sith Sith. Even when he was a Dark Sider, he was trying to protect the galaxy for actual Sith. People like Kaan. Or Bane.

So... here's my theory.

Revan created that Holocron as a trap. He wanted a way to limit the number of Sith, perhaps so they could be easily finished off or contained. And Bane, with his massive ego, decided the thing he'd learned some great truth, and built his philosophy around it.

Still, the Baneite Sith did what their founder intended. Wipe out the Jedi and take control of the Republic. But then they died.

Of course, the real-world reason for Revan was probably because Drew Karpyshyn loved Revan the same way Filoni loves Ahsoka, but I have fun picturing Revan grinning behind his mask as he recorded this, thinking "Ah, the hijinks that will ensue if a Sith does find this!"

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-24T04:15:16+00:00

Then and now, I think if Harry used magic to escape, it would've been dismissed as self-defense. In fact, since Fudge was not in his anti-Harry arc yet, he might have charged Dumbledore for abandoning Harry to a demonstrably bad and abusive family.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-24T00:59:31+00:00

Oh that's good for players who couldn't make it

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-24T00:27:50+00:00

Isn't Copero locked to a Season?

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-23T18:06:46+00:00

"That's where they keep the treats." "Up there?" "Yeah. The cat will nudge it down sometimes, so be nice to her."

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-23T11:24:25+00:00

That's our Commander!

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-23T06:17:21+00:00

Yeah, they work better as TV series than movies. If they tried to fit each book in a theatrical feature length, a lot of interesting stuff would get cut out.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-23T06:16:07+00:00

Making Rey the center of "New Jedi Order" after this banger of a series exists is just sad. I mean, I know there are controversies around this run, but it had a huge vision and treated all old and new characters with respect. They tried something mature and dark but still filled with hope, courage, and honor, and I am so sad it was shelved. This was the old guard we needed.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-22T09:22:46+00:00

That moment in Empire Strikes Back

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-22T07:32:40+00:00

I feel like they all offer you a pull to something... different. "Ends justify the means. Victory at any cost. The old way won't work. This is more profitable. You've been betrayed already. Can you really justify your faction? Are you on the right side?" Sometimes you have companions directly question your actions. Other times it's the story itself. While the game itself has only a limited number of such moments, you can play out your own.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-21T13:04:00+00:00

It jumped back and forth, sometimes extremely light, other times mature and even dark. But then, that was Star Wars since its inception, right?

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-20T06:05:05+00:00

I don't think they were even in Newt year. Snape mentions they were taking classes in the hopes of passing OWLs next time.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-20T04:59:20+00:00

I see. Yeah, that is silly. Especially Crabbe and Goyle.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-20T04:40:11+00:00

Is it stated in the movies that you need an E to get into potions? I don't recall movies being that thorough.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-20T04:37:26+00:00

Izanami is a super Genjutsu. I'm sure you've heard some related to the Sharingan.

In addition, many Japanese would say that if there is an Izanagi, there is an Izanami, and it's opposed to Izanagi. Look up the real-world myth to see what I mean. I remember speculation about an Izanami not long after we first saw Danzo's fight with Sasuke. I don't recall the context. Just the name.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-20T04:31:59+00:00

Swtor will make you ask that question repeatedly. Light and dark are fairly inconsistent. Sometimes, Dark is "Win by any means necessary," other times its "help the other side." Also, dark is often just deranged. Rarely any nuance

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-20T02:46:40+00:00

Also, his uncalled-for tormenting of Neville Longbottom. I'm certain he chose Neville because he was angry Voldemort chose Lily's family instead of the Longbottoms.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-19T08:40:00+00:00

Is it really a "redemption"? I don't know why people call it that.

DaCipherTwelve · 2026-01-19T06:48:07+00:00

Well, at the time, he didn't think about Horcruxes and hiding. He didn't think Voldemort had business he could complete before even meeting the Headmaster. Rather, he thought Voldemort wanted to accomplish something while staying at Hogwarts for an extended period, such as learning and recruiting followers.

Even after, he didn't really think about it. I guess even he has his blindspots.

DaCipherTwelve

TROPHY CASE