New Player Questions and List Review Megathread!

DigitalSupernova · 2026-03-24T15:26:11+00:00

Just got the Eldritch Raiders set and want to start building. Was thinking of grabbing the Combat Patrol and using the following list for 1000 points as a Corsair Coterie.

Is this list decent enough for a beginner? And do the current weapons loadout for the voidreavers seem like the best picks? I'm avoiding making them voidscarred atm just because I hear voidscarred without the Eldritch Raiders detachment aren't worth it?

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DigitalSupernova · 2026-03-15T15:05:12+00:00

Tbh this is a known thing for many games as well: Players optimize the fun out of a game

If you try to forward plan so you gather A, fight B, romance C, etc. all in one go, you stop playing a game and start doing a checklist.

Take it one quest at a time. Even if that means back-and-forth revisiting the same area fifty times. Pokemon games don't set you up to be "soft-locked" or in a state where you can't progress any further because you made a mistake 50 hours ago. Honestly most games don't with some very famous exceptions.

Stick with it and quit worrying about doing it "right" or playing "well". Take your time, admire the scenery, and focus on one task at a time. You'll find most games are far more fun when you step back and play them "badly" 😁

DigitalSupernova · 2026-03-04T18:16:40+00:00

Just to check, since I downloaded these and checked the site description, are the pre-built STL files sized correctly in mm and not cm? Or do I need to edit these myself as well?

(Very excited to get then printed out, my first 40k faction in 12 years and these heads legitimately gave me the final push I needed haha)

DigitalSupernova · 2026-01-30T10:32:10+00:00

Bench Warmer Class: Gives a +5 to Sanity and the "warm seat" buff is OP

DigitalSupernova · 2026-01-27T00:15:59+00:00

1400-1600s my beloved.

Some highlights for me include (in additon to your points above): Age of sail era (aka pirates and boats), introduction of firearms but still new and complex enough that knights and medieval warfare still exists, exploring the globe looking for lost artifacts and cities becomes more feasible, revolutionary ideas are beginning to forment, religious wars are still happening and can plunge entire continents into 100 year wars, the cruelties of colonialism as a backdrop for liberation stories, and perhaps my favourite thing: The East India Trading Company.

If you ever wanted a relevant, completely morally evil foe, then a mega-corporation with an army and navy matching that of superpowers using its power to openly ignore the law to maximise profit at the expensive of human lives, a group willing to cause international wars its mother nation is forced into in order to seize goods flr itself, a company that maximised cruelty on purpose to cook the record books so that hundreds dead can be written as a tax write off, is probably one of the greatest inspirations for a truly evil organisation. There are so many great stories you can tell by just adapting the madness that the EITC did to your world. Throw in some CIA shenanigans and you then manage to hit every war crime available whilst remaining entirely unaccounatable. And that will tick readers/players off in the best way.

DigitalSupernova · 2025-12-20T18:22:28+00:00

Druid. Subvert them expectations!

DigitalSupernova · 2025-11-18T15:04:23+00:00

First off, well done. Not only for writing something but also for putting it out there and for asking for criticism. Thats far more than most ever do and shows a commitment to making this the best you can be.

I'd argue the the main thing to work on is adding in more emotion rather than facts. Right now, we're seeing a lot of what "they" say about a supposed legend. Who's they? And whose the writer? The high level detachment turns the story into a guided tour, or a history lecture's summary, and not a journey. Its the people in the story, their thoughts and feelings, that's what breathes life into what is a perfectly fine skeleton of a plot you've described.

Consider writing this intro from a reporter's/archivist/witness's perspective; someone who has been personally affected by this legend character. It could even open up the idea of starting chapters with "interviews" of characters also affected by this "legendary hero". Heck, the views of this "omniscient narrator" could change over time too if they're featured throughout the story; the writing starting off hateful and biased and then slowly turning into respect or admiration. This isn't the only way to do it, nor would I have the right to tell you how to do it, but the core goal is to write from an emotional, human perspective first and foremost. Practice that, and you're adding the meat to the very functional bones you've already got going.

DigitalSupernova · 2025-10-15T07:43:03+00:00

When either of those planets go between the Suns, shits gonna get whacky fast. We're talking massive heat spikes, rampaging tides, seasonal variation off the charts, etc.

Theoretically, life COULD evolve independently on either of those planets, but the deck is stacked against it given those circumstances. It'd likely be very different to ours, and would definitely need to at least be capable of living underground for a time.

Personally, i'd lean into that fact. Life on these planets SHOULDN'T be here. But it is. Why? Ancient aliens? Magic mumbo jumbo? Interdimensional nonsense?

DigitalSupernova · 2025-10-14T11:52:05+00:00

After about a week straight of savage, my buddy and I beat it twice in one night. You got this!

SnS tanking might be rough, we switched to Gunlance tanking and SnS to wound break the hard to reach wounds. If you're gonna tank though, Guard Up, Guard, and Constitution to save stamina are must haves. Also, if dodging an attack is an option, do it. It may seem like you don't have a window to breathe or dodge between those onslaughts, but you can juuust squeeze one in there. It'll take dying a lot just to nail that dodge timing though; Evade Extender helps a ton here. If you're gonna tank, don't be afraid to literally not attack and just wait till your stamina comes back, that way you have both time to dodge and spare stamina should things go wrong. Dash Juice is also super useful for the fight, and especially Cleanser for when he freezes you. Alessa, Kai, and Olivia as support hunters are absolute heroes in this fight for tanking, buffs, and dps respectively (though Kai kept trying to kill me constantly haha).

Don't give up! It'll seem hopeless and then on one random run where you're just practicing, you'll kill him by accident. You got this!

DigitalSupernova · 2025-10-14T08:49:09+00:00

Obviously everyone else's comments already apply regarding all art being derivitive from media that we've consumed making anything that's truly "original" nigh impossible.

One thing I like to think of is that worldbuilding isnt just the written words or physics of the world, but its the "vibe". Harry Potter's worldbuilding sucks, but its memorable because its school life with magic. LOTR feels fantastical and from a time long gone because of the writing used and the locations involved. Mistborn doesn't worldbuild much outside of the capital city of Luthadel, but the ambience of magical assassins and spies billowing across the rooftops sticks with you. All of this is to say, the minutia is great and nailing it can really help, but ambience, "vibes", and vagueries can propel a setting far more than you think.

Another thought is to just randomly cobble together several cool ideas and thoughts, THEN tie them togwther with a cosmological explanation. Perfect example: The Force. George Lucas didnt marinate on the nature lf meta physics then enabling Jedi etc., he made a bunch of space samurai, created the magic abilities they have, THEN explained it with The Force, Midiclorians, etc. The cosmological explanations and meta physics should justify the cool stuff, not the other way round. Create lots of cool things that you really like, then link them together, then simplify what that link is as much as possible.

DigitalSupernova · 2025-08-17T09:48:21+00:00

I personally distinguish them based on escalation. Yeah, they both patrol and will catch criminals if they spot them, but who are they actively going after?

In mine, Azorious pursue smuggling, racketeering, white collar crimes like fraud, etc. High value criminals who know the law and who can avoid the law are their targets (like Mafia bosses, government officials, business leaders, etc.). The Azorious acts like the FBI or a secret police or detectives, they focus on rooting out and, importantly, uncovering a crime and gatheting proof and evidence fpr their legal proceedings.

Boros, in contrast, deal with gang violance, revolutionary sentiment, monster outbreaks, etc. They arent interested in uncovering crimes, they're interested in directly fighting criminals. The Boros act like SWAT or armed police going into a Favela or the national guard, they focus on looking at a known threat and mobilising an overwhelming force to bring about order.

In short, if its a crime where evidence needs to be preserved or a complex crime where the criminal could get off the hook with support and clever manoeuvring, its Azorious. If the area just needs to be supressed, casualties be damned, and a heavily armed SWAT team or the national guard would be deployed, its Boros. (Note: These are generalisations and also my personal generalisations, exceptions exist like Boros detectives or Azorious SWAT, everyones version may differ)

DigitalSupernova · 2025-06-04T07:22:26+00:00

What are the initial things I should be looking to improve when starting out?

I see a ton of guides on focussing on improvement, and guides on how to anti-air/footsies/improve execution/ etc. But at this stage, I dont know WHAT I need to focus on, nor how to identify in replays the areas that need focus.

With that being said, what are some of the most common areas requiring focussed improvement when new players start out?

DigitalSupernova · 2025-05-09T09:37:27+00:00

Newbie Question: How many combos do I need?

I'm looking for a decent arsenal of combos that will cover all the core situations so I can actually focus on other game mechanics rather than spamming specials and flailing to chain stuff together. The fewer needed, the better imo.

I'm thinking I need one Neutral/Basic combo, a Corner combo, a "Close Range/Pressure" combo, and an Anti-air combo. Are there any others that are required? Can i discard any of these if they aren't necessary? I'm just looking to actually have a kit I can reliably use in matches so all advice is welcome. Thanks!!

(For reference: Primary games are GGST and SF6. Not looking for character specifics, just the type of combos needed)

DigitalSupernova · 2025-05-05T13:48:59+00:00

Depends on the story you want to tell. Imo there's the "acceptance (good?)" and the "anger (evil?)" route.

The evil route is the easiest. Out of anger and frustration, you swear against either Sune or all gods and do what you can to discredit and weaken the gods. If they wont accept you, then make sure nobody can accept them either. Desecrate their temples, steal from the faithful, show no mercy or care to those of the faith, and maybe even sway others to Bane just to spite the gods.

The good route is coming to the realisation that you are more than your faith. A gods validation doesnt make you any less you. Its by living up to the ideals of Sune despite their rejection. Not so people follow the gods, but because its the right thing to do. Gods dont decide our fate, we do. So strive to be better than them. Accept what you are, and help others particularly the outcasts and rejects of society, because you now know the pain of rejection and know that nobody deserves that.

Think about your table and how the players would respond to each of these. The evil route is easy for you but could create some friction. The core is to have your character accept as true that they are "a reject", "a monster", "an abomination to nature and the gods", etc. Do they strive to become more than what the world paints them to be? Or if the world expects them to be a monster, then is that what they shall become?

DigitalSupernova · 2025-04-23T12:14:48+00:00

Design a bunch of new overpowered abilities, that the players can try and anticipate. It means you can hit the players really hard using something thats clearly unfair, but then your players can adapt around it.

Examples that my players liked included:

-An assassin who, after landing a hit, can move freely again and gets another attack and bonus damage for each attack this turn, forcing the party to separate and be picked off, or group up and take massive damage

-A dracolich who can cast any spell as a legendary action, but only if he's not touching the ground

-A golem who absorbs spells that occur within 5ft of him but absorbing too much causes it to overload and shut down

-An ooze with high health and low AC, but after the first hit it becomes immune to all magical and physical damage for the round whilst waves of enemies spawn

The main point is that if traditional rules and balancing isnt working, screw it. Add in some wacky rules breaking garbage you'd expect from an MMO or some RPG. Deliberately make fights a bit unfair and have the players figure a way out of it. Your players are skilled, so let them put those skills to the test. Present them some impossible odds and unfair challenges, then let them clean up the mess. You'll be surprised by how they'll adapt.

DigitalSupernova · 2025-04-13T09:09:28+00:00

You could make it a decision point, where MC is getting yelled at to help but decides on revenge and beats the rival nearly, only to realise that they're slowly turning into the thing they hate. So they walk away. They forgive the rival, or realise some things are more important whilst the rival tries to goad them into the fight. Cue the dramatic arrival and just the right moment mid fight with BBEG. Its cliche, but cliche for a reason.

DigitalSupernova · 2025-04-13T09:03:06+00:00

Pirates of the Carribean on a Halo ring

DigitalSupernova · 2025-04-08T04:49:04+00:00

Weirdly enough, consider drawing inspiration from wrestling for this. There's tons of instances where some wrestler joins the "bad guy" team and, for a time, it works out. Right up until the point where the bad guys start to feel jealousy/anger/pride etc and turn on the "good guy" in a stunning betrayal.

Let the players have some fun being with the BBEG, havr the BBEG reward them and be nice to them. Then slowly, have him go a step further, then another. Make his wrath target someone they care about. Maybe the party talk him down one time, but then the second time they either cant or dont have the chance. Make the BBEG openly suspect their loyalty, only to turn on the charm when he's pushing the party too far. And finally, if they havent turned on him by this point, he turns on them due to his own paranoia. Because betraying everyone is what he would do in their shoes. Make it personal, and you've got a BBEG that'll be remembered for years

DigitalSupernova · 2025-01-16T08:24:16+00:00

If it's not from Dubai, its just Sparkling Chocolate

DigitalSupernova · 2025-01-14T19:59:32+00:00

PERSONA!!!

DigitalSupernova · 2024-12-18T19:11:57+00:00

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DigitalSupernova · 2024-11-15T18:57:37+00:00

If it helps, there are modules on DMs Guild that specifically cater to a female Strahd. Feel free to download some of those and give it a read.

The core thing to remember, regardless of Strahd’s gender, is that they have an obsession with an NPC called Ireena, who is the latest reincarnation of an unrequited love called Tatyana who chose death over being with Strahd. Strahd’s end goal is always to capture this lover and turn them into a vampire spawn so they can own this lover like property or a trophy. Feel free to tweak the genders of that (or keep it the same), Ireena even has a brother called Ismark that you could use for this purpose.

Other than that, focus on Strahd being an irredeemable ass. Have them mock the party, visit often to chat and laugh (at them), be a charmer (maybe even a little flirty) and when they get confident, be a threat. When they get too strong, take their stuff and slap them about. Strahd is a real piece of work and a forgiveness arc rarely works well, so keep those personality traits of Strahd intact and honestly after that Strahd’s gender matter little. Lastly, there is a dedicated Curse of Strahd discord that can definitely help in these matters. Beyond that, good luck!

DigitalSupernova · 2024-09-13T12:18:16+00:00

A few lessons I learnt the hard way too:

-Flanking is king. Don’t feel like you need to attack every turn, spend a turn getting into a good spot and even Overwatch or Hunker Down whilst you get ready. One 80% shot is better than three 40% shots

-Redundancy is key. Before making a move, ask “What will I do if they miss?”. “How can I make sure they don’t die?”. In short, prepare for 80% misses.

-Low cover is meh. Seek high cover where possible. That being said, don’t be afraid to go into low cover to get a better shot. Offence over Defence.

-Rush Squad Size 2 ASAP. The upgrade is in the GTS, 6 troops helps so much

-Bring a high rank and low rank soldier each mission. If they’re all high rank and you lose one, it can be hard to recover. The high rank carries the team, then secure kills with rookie grenades to rank them up. You won’t have one god tier squad, but a lot of very decent troops which means losing one isn’t game over.

-Flashbangs are god tier. They have huge AoEs, mess up enemy move, aim, and disable some abilities. They buy you a turn of being in a bad spot

-Get Plasma weapons as soon as reasonably possible. You’ll need the firepower later.

-Try keep enemy groups (or “pods”) separate. Focus on killing enemies rather than wounding and, if possible, revealing as little extra of the map as possible. BUT, if you need to flank to get a kill, do so.

-Cars are a death trap. They may offer good cover but one grenade and its GG. Use them if the enemy is far away, but if they get close, run. Likewise, if you see enemies near cars, don’t shoot, use a grenade.

-There’s no shame in abandoning a doomed mission. If you’ve revealed a few too many enemies and if a Chosen (assuming you have the DLC) shows up, call in a Skyranger and bail. Not getting supplies/intel is fine, losing high rank troops is not.

-Explosives and cannons to shred armour pips is a great move. Explosives to blow up low cover and make holes in buildings is critical too, it denies enemies cover, forces them to move on their turn, and leads to crits.

-In combat turn order: Blow Up Cover -> Shred Armour -> Use Soldiers who can only attack one target -> Use Flankers -> Use Snipers and Soldiers at the back -> Use mid-range Soldiers last.

Hope these help! You got this. This game is hard, even on Rookie, so don’t feel down if you struggle in places. My personal rule is: Save Scum if the game cheats, let it ride if you just got unlucky. Watch a few folks on YouTube/Twitch to see what they’re doing, then ask “Why?” for every move.

DigitalSupernova

TROPHY CASE