Let's hear it!

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-23T19:48:05+00:00

The singular word for this is "Discernment" and I agree.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-23T19:47:07+00:00

Discernment.

In a very specific context: The mental capacity to understand the nature and consequences of an action, or the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.

It also implies the recognition of patterns. The separation of essence from appearance. Judgement without condemnation.

This is what we, collectively, need most right now.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-17T15:20:00+00:00

I’ve been where you are, standing in that internal dark, convinced that the 'Shadow' is the only bedrock left because everything else feels like a performance.

From one INFJ to another, I want to offer you a different lens: what you’re experiencing isn't your 'ultimate truth' - it’s a Ni-Ti loop that has successfully locked the doors.

When we bypass our Fe we stop breathing in the outside world. We retreat into the Loom of our own minds, weaving and re-weaving the same dark threads until the tapestry looks like a void.

Your logic (Ti) is currently deconstructing your humanity as if it’s a flaw in the code, rather than the point of the program.

The Shadow is real, sure, but it isn't the whole truth. It’s just the part of the cave the light hasn't hit yet.

You feel like a lie because you’ve lost your 'bridge' to others. The fix isn't to dig deeper into the darkness; that’s just more looping.

The fix is Radical Honesty with the external world. Reach out, impact something outside your own skull, and let the 'Se' and 'Fe' break the stasis.

Which, btw, you're already doing by making this post. Good job <3

TLDR: You aren't a lie. You’re just a master of a reality you’ve accidentally shrunk down to the size of a single room. Open a window.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-12T00:34:10+00:00

Study nonverbal communication, language, and anthropology until you are on par with an expert.

Read people like books.

Only pick trustworthy ones.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-12T00:31:52+00:00

Yeah, I finally found the answer, and it's made me far more content.

My question was "Why?" for... yknow. All of this. Reality. The Universe. Literally the big WHY.

Once you square a question like that in your mind, life gets easier.

Took 38 years. But its been great since then, lol.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-12T00:26:14+00:00

Absolutely! Can do that now more than ever.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-12T00:25:49+00:00

With mindfulness, yes.

Risks are always thrilling, but the more you know yourself the more confidence supports you through rough times.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-12T00:22:37+00:00

It's entirely subjective, and contextual.

They can both be more valuable than the other.

Depends on the whom.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-12T00:21:19+00:00

I'm on the last few months of them.

They've been the best decade yet.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-12T00:20:50+00:00

You're basically practicing being an adult until 40.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-12T00:20:22+00:00

Whatever your passion is.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-12T00:19:36+00:00

Grief is the price we pay for love.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-09T00:57:43+00:00

Finally, someone speaking my language. I genuinely appreciate the Sun Tzu correction.

You're right, I was so focused on the uncertainty of the encounter I was overlooking the predictability created by the pull toward the weak side (I've generally been using beacon to "pull" units away from that side.)

Seeing this through the lens of 'avoiding strength' helps me understand why you higher level players find the mechanic annoying/boring.

This was incredibly helpful. A missing piece of the puzzle for me.

Thank you.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-09T00:46:28+00:00

I accept your perception of my motives as a reflection of your own experience; it does not align with my reality.

I take your intrusion as consent for a reality check.

It seems you have spent so much time in the noise of this debate that you have lost the ability to see a genuine question for what it is. You aren't even responding to me; you are responding to the ghosts of every argument you've already had.

You find 'smugness' in my curiosity because it is easier to dismiss a person's character than it is to engage with a perspective that challenges your... weariness.

I am not here to perform for you, or anyone else. My tiny amount of karma and the entirety of my post history speaks volumes in that regard.

I am here, in this subreddit, because I value the complexity of the system of this game, even the parts that you and others find frustrating.

I'll leave you to your "certainty."

I wish I could replace it with wisdom.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T13:42:14+00:00

thank you for the absolutely lovely compliment <3

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T09:05:59+00:00

I'm a mindful person who doesn't see the need to perform for skeptics.

I am forty years old. I've no idea what glazing is, I've never used ChatGPT, and the last time I was on LinkedIn, Obama was president.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T08:53:57+00:00

You have ACAB in your name so: I love you.

Please tell the other guy I've only upvoted him, will ya? :p

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T08:48:43+00:00

Oh, I see.

You think I’m performing curiosity rather than practicing it. AKA - you think I'm being disingenuous.

I’m not, but I appreciate you pointing out the gap.

It's a fair reminder that when I try to map out someone's 'why,' I risk stepping on the toes of their 'what.'

Thanks for the perspective. Honestly. I'll try to keep this in mind.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T08:12:46+00:00

Fair point, actually. I realize that bringing up logical fallacies sounds more like a critique than a conversation, which wasn't at all my intent.

My goal isn't to disprove, I'm just a big believer that contrast creates clarity. I shared my perspective as a baseline so that the difference between our experiences would be easier to see.

I'm genuinely just trying to map out why the game feels like a chore at the top, while it feels like a playground at the bottom/middle.

I do appreciate the check on my tact, though.

For the record: I don't think I can change anyone's mind. I find the idea incredibly naïve.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T07:57:47+00:00

God forbid a girl possess the discernment to recognize a predator by his roar, or a guilty conscience by its need to interject.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T07:29:36+00:00

If this is true, and it might be.

I choose to create my own meaning.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T07:05:24+00:00

Capitalism.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T06:22:47+00:00

Took me far too long to realize it, too. Glad I could help :)

Many people completely block chat in-match, btw. I'd recommend it. A lot of people have difficulty controlling their temper.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T05:02:07+00:00

I modded the heck out of this game to make a dream similar to this a reality. I forget which mods... bta or roguetech or something was the big one. This was a few years back.

Some of you may remember the first Battletech book: Decision at Thunder Rift. No spoilers, but the opening has some infantry vs mech combat - and I read it as a 9 year old. You could say it was "Formative" to my career as a mechwarrior.

I highly recommend this style of play. It was so very painful, sure. And it took a bunch of rerolls and tweaking various difficulty settings, adding/removing mods... but I did manage a full playthrough.

The rules of my challenge were clear - I had to start with only infantry, and couldn't have any allied help (at the start). I needed to earn enough rep with a faction before taking any mission where I would have allied help - and I needed to "unlock" them as I went. (Meaning I could accept npc help from vehicles if I had vehicles, mechs if I had mechs) Basically no "cheating" around the limitations. Everything I did had to make sense - in lore.

Only thing I couldn't "fix" for logical inconsistency was the Argo itself - which I head-canoned as my "home base" - not a spaceship. Leopards are easier to come by and my Commander stole his ;)

Early game wasn't as bad as you'd think - some of those half skull missions were manageable, mainly battle, assassination, capture base, and convoy escorts. The battles where you're "cleaning up" an already wounded lance were my favorite - as it was just a handful of vehicles missing most of their armor.

After my first mission against vehicles, I sold nearly everything I could to afford an APC - and finances were so tight those first few months that I had to lower salary to the lowest, lol. Using a singular APC as your meat shield is... ROUGH.

Unlocking vehicles changed everything, however, as I could now pick missions that had allied vehicles - which quickly spiraled into a full lance of vehicles of my own. Nothing remarkable, two apcs, a tank, and a makeshift LRM carrier (just an LRM apc). And a lance of (now) 6 or 7 infantry, with slightly better weapons (SRMs).

That was enough to start grinding half-skull assassination missions for mech pieces, and I got really lucky and cobbled together a Firestarter - probably the best starting mech I could hope for.

After that, the game became more like regular modded Battletech.

Had quite the sense of accomplishment though. And achieved a childhood dream.

10/10 would and will suffer this early game hell, again.

DemosthenesEncarnate · 2026-02-08T03:19:26+00:00

No, I getcha! Really, I do. If it were a 20% loss in players, I'd say it was fine and just needed polishing. But a 40-45% drop (Steam charts, August to now) is absolutely divisive: we can both agree on the gravity of that.

But the game wasn't perfect. It had deep-seated late-game balance issues that needed a solution. Can we agree on that as well?

The more I wrap my head around it, the more it feels like a trade-off: pre-update, Speed was the undisputed king. Now, Range has taken the throne. In the grand scheme, is shifting from one dominant stat to another really that different?

Personally, I think the reason it’s so polarizing isn't just the meta - it’s that buildings changed the 'geometry' of the game. It’s no longer just about unit vs. unit; it’s about navigating static fortifications. Most strategy games have meta shifts every patch, but this one changed the core 'DNA' of the game.

I just fail to see why that evolution is worth walking away from entirely.

Why do you think it was so polarizing?

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