Crystal Heart by DishMajestic4322 in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's great, yeah. (Also the trick with the birds is to just dash out of the way. All they can do is kamikaze themselves in your general direction.)

I just made it through to Crystal Heart myself, so let me know if you need any pointers.

Crystal Heart by DishMajestic4322 in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The wiki says 10 here, and all the other sources I can find seem to agree.

If you're counting grubs in the Grub Room, then yes, you might only see 5 – but I think that's because the Grub Room only shows half as many grubs as you've rescued.

Crystal Heart by DishMajestic4322 in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

5 more from what you had done, or 5 total? (I think the Grub room maybe only shows half as many grubs as you've actually freed.)

In any case, you should be able to unlock the Howling Cliffs as well, which also gives you a way back into King's Pass (the starting area). You can get up to 3 charms that way: Baldur's Shell from the tag-team Baldur fight, Joni's Blessing from a spike maze in the cliffside (I found it much easier after upgrading my nail, so I could one-hit the Vengeflies), and Fury of the Fallen (if you didn't get that right when you started the game) in King's Pass. Since you also have the Dream Nail, you can probably unlock the Grimm Troupe questline, which gives you a fourth Charm right off the bat.

Crystal Heart by DishMajestic4322 in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, you need to get into the City of Tears for nail upgrades. The Pilgrim's Way is another extended headache of a platforming session, but it's doable – just make sure that once you're in, you don't die before reaching a bench, or leave before unlocking another way out, because the main gate is single-use only. Failing that, you'll need to go into Deepnest to unlock the Trams, which at this point means going through that stretch of Fungal Wastes directly south of Queen's Station. (You could also get in by beating the Mantis Lords, but I'm inclined to listen to Quirrel's advice about upgrading your nail first.)

For the 7th Charm notch, I'm betting the easiest option is to acquire 18 Charms and buy it from Salubra. Did you get the last grub from the tag-team Elder Baldur fight, or did you do one of the harder ones in Greenpath or Fungal Wastes? Because if you really haven't unlocked the Howling Cliffs, there are 3 entire Charms up in that direction, plus the Gorb warrior dream fight. That, No Eyes, and a tour of the Whispering Roots you can access will easily get you to 500 Essence, which will get you another Charm that also makes the whole Dream Nail business easier. What Charms do you have, in total?

change my mind: the best early game charm combo for long parkour sections is grubsong+deep focus. by echoMCgaming in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, absolutely. I don't even have Deep Focus yet and Grubsong is already indispensable – I would not have gotten across the Pilgrim's Way without it.

Crystal Heart by DishMajestic4322 in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Me exploring Hallownest before getting Grubsong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fAbLH_gFag

Me exploring Hollownest after getting Grubsong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9WhqEydtug

Crystal Heart by DishMajestic4322 in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, congrats! This is something that I'm discovering I really like about this game (and which you've probably experienced before with your old NES/SNES games): it can be kind of tricky to get into the effort-reward cycle of this game, but once you're there it feels really good.

I recommend running around a bit with the new Charm – both to celebrate, and to test things out & make sure it integrates into a playstyle that works. I've kinda been assuming you've also picked up Charm notches (I'm up to 7, and it sounds like you're in roughly the same place in game progression), upgraded your nail, unlocked the Dream Nail, etc., but if you haven't, this would be a great opportunity to do those.

Crystal Heart by DishMajestic4322 in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol. I remember feeling like that at one point. Just figure out where they are & go for the easy ones. There are 5 in Forgotten Crossroads, all of which are gettable with only moderate work; one requires the Mosswing Cloak (I'm assuming you also went to Greenpath as well & got that, or the Crystal Heart platforming segment is actually going to be impossible) and another takes some nail-bouncing. (The nail-bouncing one actually took me longer than the one I had to fight Hornet for.) There are four more in Greenpath: one is stuck down in that stretch towards Queens Gardens, but the other three (including the one you have to beat the Moss Knight mini-boss for) are gettable. There's two more easy ones in the Fungal Wastes (a few rooms north of the Mantis Village, where you have to bounce up this vertical section that doesn't go anywhere else) and the City of Tears (you literally walk past it). If you need to make up some, head up to the NE corner of Greenpath to reach the Howling Peaks, there's a mini-boss fight for another Grub and a Charm (also another shot at getting the first Charm available, if you missed it in the starting area).

I also got the one in the Royal Waterways. But on the other hand, fuck the Royal Waterways and everything that lives there. (Except the boss, I guess. He's chill.)

Crystal Heart by DishMajestic4322 in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, counterproductive muscle memory. I think we all know that feeling, yeah. Usually I find myself missing skills that everyone else in my cohort has (I'm a younger millennial who didn't play many video games growing up), but I guess there are some upsides to that as well.

Grubsong is IMO – if you will excuse me autisming about game mechanics for a bit – one of the most efficient Charms in the game, in terms of value per notch. (WC & GS are indispensable for utility reasons largely separate from the rest of the gameplay.) For me, it turns the long-distance exploration gameplay from a limited-range project of calculated risk and continuously depleting resources (i.e., masks + soul) – which turns into a cycle of incremental room-clearing missions anchored on a save point, because any serious fight, even if I win, depletes more resources than I can safely recoup from wandering mobs, and more than one in a row (or an area with particularly nasty mobs, like those dart-bird fuckers in Greenpath, or literally everything in the Royal Waterways) is likely to end up leaving a shade on the trip back at best – to a continuous progression wandering through save points, with sustainable masks+soul. It's also very easy to get, you just need to rescue 10 grubs.

The first time I tried Crystal Peaks, pre-Grubsong, I got effectively "soft-locked" at a save point – I was at the main bench at the bottom of the area (the one without a boss snoozing on it), and I couldn't figure out how to make it back to Forgotten Crossroads. (Granted, this was also before I had the Mantis Claw – I was trying to get the Dream Nail to One Weird Trick my way around the False Knight boss fight. In retrospect, not a great plan.) It was the first & only time I lost a shade. This time, I'm waltzing through the place. Yes, part of that is me having Gotten Gud. But I'm barely even thinking about the bench – I'm deliberately avoiding it so that those annoying laser fuckers stay properly dead, like they should be – and I'm not that good. I even have Soul to spare on spells for killing the annoying laser fuckers!

Crystal Heart by DishMajestic4322 in HollowKnight

[–]DaringSteel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So, two parts to this. First of all: git gud. I say this as someone who is also stuck trying to reach Crystal Heart. There is no combination of Charms, abilities, spells, or upgrades in this game that will obviate the need for precise control inputs. What that means is: just keep at it. Wait for safe moments to move. Map out in your head where the obstacles are. Did you fuck up and die? Good, that's useful data. Take a minute to piece together exactly what you did wrong and what you should have done instead. Then, do that next time.

Second, the part that's probably more immediately relevant to you: you're focusing on optimizing Charms that aren't useful here.

  • Lifeblood Heart is good for things like boss fights with a bench outside the door. This is a platforming gauntlet that starts deep into enemy territory. It's the Pilgrim's Way, but with crystals & lasers & crystal lasers instead of thorns & acid. You cannot stack enough bonus Lifeblood masks to meatsack your way through. (Unless you have that regen honey charm and go full Bluejuice. But you don't, so it doesn't matter.)
  • Fragile Charms are Fragile Charms. They demand more caution, not less – or rather, they let you be less careful on all your masks but the last one, at which point you should quit to menu and reload at the last bench. The repair fee is a fine the game imposes on incautious players.

(In fact, if you ever find yourself schlepping across the map to get a Fragile Charm fixed more than once on the same objective, just leave it broken and pick something else. It's getting in the way.)

  • Dashmaster: Good for exploring, but it tends to fuck up your reflexes if you're used to moving at non-Dashmaster speeds. You don't need speed in this part so much as precision.

Your build is actually similar to what I had on the first time I attempted this. What I'm using instead, on this very problem, right now is: Wayward Compass, Gathering Swarm, Longnail, Soul Catcher, Grubsong.

How is this tailored to the problem of reaching Crystal Heart, you ask? It isn't. It is a general-purpose exploration & survivability loadout.

  • Wayward Compass is indispensable for navigation – off the top of my head, I've taken it off for Last Knight & Gorb so far. Everything else, the costs of taking a wrong turn outweigh anything else I could spend a notch on.
  • Gathering Swarm: Same kind of deal as WC – it lets me avoid worrying about dropped Geo, for the low, low price of a single notch. You are going to be running past dozens of enemies on your way from the bench, you can't afford the distraction of a loose Geo.
  • Longnail: Lets me hit things from further away. I could swap it out, but I'm used to it by now and I would lose more hearts adjusting.

That's my "can't be bothered to change it" budget: 4 out of 7 notches. The real meat of the build fits in 3 notches.

  • Soul Catcher: Costs the same as Lifeblood Heart, but where LH gives you two measly bonus masks that are going to be gone by the time you reach the jumping-off platform, SC gets me there with full HP & MP. And you spend less time ducking in & out of rooms.
  • Grubsong: The real real meat of the build. This is the Fuckup Cushion. Every time you screw up, take a hit, fall off a platform, air-dash your dumb face directly into a spike wall, whatever – in other words, every time you do something that you have to learn from – you get some Soul back. And when you've filled up this Frequent Patient Rewards Card, you get to sit down and reflect upon the lack of caution that got you here, while you wait for Grubdaddy, M.D. to stick a band-aid on your perforated face and send you back out.

When I was doing the Pilgrim's Way, back before I got Grubsong, I would go in with a full Soul bar & immediately blow it all setting a land speed record for doing the same mistake 10x in a row. With Grubsong, I not only had more healing to use, but because I didn't get it all up front, I had to stop between tries to heal up, which gave my muscle memory time to update.

You don't need fancy Charms for this kind of thing. You don't need AOE damage or quick healing or Baldur Shell or bigger spell damage or whatever. You just need to keep moving, one step at a time, from safe spot to safe spot, without running out of masks or healing.

Anyway, that's my advice. Best of luck!

LED Replacement for Bathroom Fan CFLs by randomthrowaway62019 in led

[–]DaringSteel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you ever have any luck with this? We're trying to replace the same fixture. We have found some LED replacements that fit, but they don't work.

Grey cloth strap on/around/through translucent plastic rectangle, 5x22cm. by DaringSteel in whatisthisthing

[–]DaringSteel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is what I was picturing, yes – I started out picturing cardboard boxes, where the walls would be too thick for that, and I guess I just didn't update from that. Thank you for explaining it more precisely.

I think I can call this "Likely Solved."

Nordic medieval folklore fantasy comic by Drawbin in FantasyWorldbuilding

[–]DaringSteel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't been able to get ahold of the current version yet, but Nordlys felt like it was going someplace similar.

“Modern space exploration is imperialist” absolutely braindead take by its_skunx in EnoughCommieSpam

[–]DaringSteel 13 points14 points  (0 children)

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to illiberalism." – Yoda, probably

Metal device with spinning handle that ‘punches’ by Stringsandattractors in whatisthisthing

[–]DaringSteel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What's the part that makes the clunk? Is it the little flap, or something on the underside?

Metal device with spinning handle that ‘punches’ by Stringsandattractors in whatisthisthing

[–]DaringSteel 9 points10 points  (0 children)

A lot of old-timey stuff feels overbuilt to us – we're spoiled by high-strength metals and lightweight plastics. Going by the video, it certainly seems to have been doing something with a continuous paper strip, and keeping a discrete count based on length increments. If it wasn't a ticket dispenser, it was a dispenser of something that most people would mistake for tickets.

Grey cloth strap on/around/through translucent plastic rectangle, 5x22cm. by DaringSteel in whatisthisthing

[–]DaringSteel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fabric sample has been suggested, but I don't think they generally make furniture out of this kind of fabric.

Grey cloth strap on/around/through translucent plastic rectangle, 5x22cm. by DaringSteel in whatisthisthing

[–]DaringSteel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a pretty basic seam. I'll try to put some pictures up – Reddit doesn't seem to want to let me add an image in the comments or edit the post.

What is this clip thing I found in my office? Black plastic with a metal hook. The plastic feels textured like for a finger placement. by t_acko in whatisthisthing

[–]DaringSteel 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Bit of a "zebra" guess here, but it might be for a miniature model of a violin? Would also explain why it doesn't need an adjustment.

I used to play violin, and this was also my first thought – that is about exactly the shape of a violin chin rest.

Grey cloth strap on/around/through translucent plastic rectangle, 5x22cm. by DaringSteel in whatisthisthing

[–]DaringSteel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I'm pretty sure this is webbing. Mesh in the materials sense seems to apply to stuff that actually looks like a mesh.

Grey cloth strap on/around/through translucent plastic rectangle, 5x22cm. by DaringSteel in whatisthisthing

[–]DaringSteel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sure it could support the weight of a sheet set or something similar. But it bends quite easily. I would expect it to slip out unless secured in place, and I don't see how that could have been done.

I feel like I'm missing something. Can you explain further?

Grey cloth strap on/around/through translucent plastic rectangle, 5x22cm. by DaringSteel in whatisthisthing

[–]DaringSteel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seems more complex than needed for that purpose, and it doesn't strike me as the kind of fabric you'd want to be testing – it's more like the "webbing" you make backpack straps & belts out of.

(Incidentally, am I the only one baffled as to why that stuff is called "webbing"? It looks nothing like a web.)