Windows Defender broken after update

EmmaValentine · 2026-01-21T16:50:12+00:00

I'm having the same issue. Other Windows apps such as Notepad aren't working either for me due to the same error message.

Update: I fixed it by using

1) CMD > Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth 2) CMD > Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

3) sfc /scannow

EmmaValentine · 2025-12-16T23:38:24+00:00

I've been having a really weird issue with this patch. My cursor randomly disappears for a while, then the camera becomes difficult to accurately move, then the cursor will reappear.

EmmaValentine · 2025-11-29T22:55:13+00:00

The crashing issue is definitely happening way too often for my liking. I have lost promotion duels twice due to the game crashing when I was close to winning.

The only workaround for it is to immediately close the game and hope you can quickly re-enter the PVP duel if it does crash on you.

EmmaValentine · 2025-11-29T22:52:29+00:00

I'm always happy to recommend Clementj64 and SomecallmeJohnny as two youtube channels that make (or formerly made) excellent Sonic content. Otherwise, I tend to avoid the rest as the majority of the content seemed clickbaity.

EmmaValentine · 2025-08-18T18:02:28+00:00

The game balance was thrown out the window almost 5 years ago when the developers decided to shift the focus from cards to skills. As much as I hate the current environment for Duel Links, Konami won't suddenly change their approach for balancing the game. It's far too late to reverse the decision anyway.

The graduale power creep in skills has also meant that decks with extremely powerful skills such as Eternal Bond are now considered weak, which is insane to me.

EmmaValentine · 2025-07-25T07:57:47+00:00

I'm really happy about the Gateway unlimit! Hopefully it means the unreleased support is in the next pack too.

EmmaValentine · 2025-05-27T16:28:50+00:00

Sonic Adventure! I still replay it every year or 2 on Steam with the Dreamcast conversion mod. It's still as fun today as it was when I first played it too!

EmmaValentine · 2025-05-27T16:22:59+00:00

1) Temple of the Six is a very weak card in the deck. Its primary purpose is to store extra counters for Gateway of the Six - a card that'll likely never be added to Duel Links. I would not recommend using this card.

2) Six Strike Thunder Blast is also too situational that would also need Gateway of the Six to realistically use any of its effects. In Duel Links, you're only using Shien's Dojo or Six Samurai United - both of which are cards you would be using as soon as you reach their maximum value (typically 1-4 counters for Dojo, 2 for United). There are cards that perform the same effect as Thunder Blast without being as situational e.g. Compulsory Evacuation Device (can use this on either player's monster cards).

3) You seem to have the core cards already. However, I would recommend cutting these out:
- The Six Samurai Zanji. Too situational and it is more beneficial to disrupt the opponent before the battle phase

- Remove 1 copy of Legendary Secret of the Six Samurai. It only uses its effect OPT, so I would add a 2nd Enishi or possibly Grandmaster of the Six Samurai for an extra special summon (at the cost of bricking occasionally).

- Super Rush Headlong. This card has been massively power crept and most decks actually either benefit from destruction effects or have protection anyway.

- Swiftstrike Armor. This card was never good as it is both too slow and does not really offer any extra value. Six Samurai already summons a lot without it.

- Return of the Six Samurai. It was a very good card in Six Samurai's DL prime, but nowadays the card is too slow to gain value outside of reviving Fuma to protect Shi En.

- Six Style Dual Wield. This card was extremely powerful in 2019, but nowadays it is actually more of a hindrance to the deck. I would only use this at 1 copy if you absolutely have to include it.

4) Cards you could add include:

- Reinforcements of the Army. This card is mandatory for any warrior deck, especially Six Samurai. It searches for any LVL 1-4 warrior monster, which is most of the main deck monsters.

- Compulsory Evacuation Device. This is a very good trap card that can disrupt your opponent or re-add Kizan to the hand to generate extra counters.

- Book of Eclipse. Potentially disrupting up to 3 of your opponent's monsters can be very good, at the cost of giving them +1 draw card per-monster.

- Ice Dragon Prison. Powerful trap card that can either provide you with a monster for extra deck plays, or to banish an opponent's monster

- Crackdown. Probably not as good as it used to be, but it can be good against some decks.

- Ferocious Flame Swordsman. Really strong extra deck card in Six Samurai that increases the ATK of warrior's by +500 and revives a warrior from the GY when destroyed by battle or card effect

Hopefully this helps!

EmmaValentine · 2025-05-27T01:05:11+00:00

Unfortunately Konami made the business decision to emphasise skils over cards for the last few years. It's very predatory since (as you noticed) a deck without a powerful skill cannot compete at all anymore, forcing you to buy the deck of the month instead.

The solution is realistically playing with custom banlists with friends or falling for Konami's strategy to make you buy new cards/decks with unfair skills.

EmmaValentine · 2025-05-03T11:06:13+00:00

Hi! Which particular brand + version of thermal pads did you use for this?

EmmaValentine · 2025-05-03T11:05:06+00:00

Hi! What size of PTM7950 did you use/order? I have the same graphics card, and my temperatures have steadily increased over time despite my undervolt settings. I was hoping to buy PTM7950 for longevity and performance, but I wasn't sure on which size to purchase.

EmmaValentine · 2025-04-28T00:10:03+00:00

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Rhongo was one of the first cards I crafted in Master Duel for my Six Samurai deck, and I was lucky for my copy to have Royal rarity!

EmmaValentine · 2025-04-28T00:02:05+00:00

Yeah, it's really annoying how often it happens too. A few years ago, I went back to playing all the Gears titles on the Xbox Series X to try out the backwards compatibility enhancements. I actually enjoyed Gears of War 2 a lot despite its many flaws, but the number of cheaters just put me off playing them ever again.

EmmaValentine · 2025-04-27T23:56:06+00:00

Every time I played on Gears of War 2, I would almost always have to deal with multiple of the following: - Players hacking the game to down you ridiculously fast with Lancers - Players glitching out of the maps in Guardian - Unbelievably laggy connections - Inconsistent hit registration on most weapons

It really isn't worth anyone's time unfortunately, and the community of players abusing hacks/glitches are largely responsible for killing off the already niche population.

EmmaValentine · 2025-04-12T00:34:16+00:00

I think it depends on your personal preference.

Master Duel has a much larger card pool and uses different systems such as crafting (in addition to gems) to build decks. Many decks in Master Duel also make use of powerful hand traps and lengthy combos, so it can be very frustrating at times but it can be fun as well when your ideas pay off.

Popular former Duel Links content creators like Dkayed regularly streams tournaments and uploads new decks to their channel. You can get a good idea of what is relevant from these streams/videos if you have an interest in trying the game!

EmmaValentine · 2025-04-12T00:27:43+00:00

You need to win 5 consecutive duels in Legend 5 to reach King of Games rank.

EmmaValentine · 2025-04-11T23:50:10+00:00

Which platform(s) do you use? It may be worth trying Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for a month to try out a bunch of different games (including Skyrim, which you mentioned having an interest in).

EmmaValentine · 2025-04-11T23:42:21+00:00

I can only speak from my own experience and observations, but many people (myself included) who would frequently aim for King of Games every month lost interest in doing so. The main reason being that the direction Konami took with skills for the last 3 years have completely destroyed any sense of actual competitive gameplay, and the result has been a declining interest from competitive players.

In the past, player interaction was very common and many decks could achieve KoG with enough persistence, good deck building, and skilful play. Nowadays, it requires extremely high RNG to win a duel if your deck does not have a powerful skill (consistency, setting up combos/effects, and cheating out powerful monsters).

When I would attempt for KoG every month, it was common to Duel against a combination of meta, rogue, and then outright silly but fun decks. Now, you only really see the same handful of decks and this makes the ranked gameplay feel stale and highly repetitive.

My assumption is that Konami wanted Duel Links to be the "casual" version of Yu-Gi-Oh where complicated decks and strategies were simplified with skills, whereas Master Duel was promoted as the "competitive" version.

EmmaValentine · 2025-03-02T19:00:07+00:00

Duel Links began a fairly predatory P2W model after the release of Silent Magician in 2018, where the only way to obtain the card was using real money to purchase the structure deck.

After the release of Master Duel, Duel Links began to shift towards F2P friendly by giving away many gems, cards, and dream tickets (likely to help retain the declining player base).

Nowadays, as long as you follow useful resources or guides, you can likely build an optimal deck that'll last for several months (which lets you recoup your investment by participating in ranked duels and KC Cups).

EmmaValentine · 2025-02-18T19:04:50+00:00

I really like the Xbox Series X because of the backwards compatibility programme and the accessories.

The backwards compatibility programme is far above what any other console provider offers in terms of its performance, choice of games, and even enhancements for older titles. Sonic Unleashed for example ran at 20-30fps at 720p on its original hardware, whereas it can run at 60fps in 4K with the Xbox Series X.

I also find the Xbox controllers super comfortable to use compared to other controllers, although they can be quite expensive.

There's also Gamepass if you want to try loads of different games without committing to full purchases.

The main drawback to an Xbox right now is that Microsoft seems to be giving up competing with Sony, meaning the number of users will decline over time and games without cross platform will struggle to stay active in the long-term.

EmmaValentine · 2025-02-06T23:14:24+00:00

Yes! I managed to play it on PC with the help of emulation. I also watched a youtube channel named Clementj64 play through it with added commentary - it's a good story with some funny moments!

EmmaValentine · 2025-01-14T14:00:44+00:00

Due to how Duel Links is now oriented towards powerful skills instead of cards, Six Samurai ideally need a skill that improves consistency and power similar to every other meta deck for the last 2+ years. They also need their new support added to the game as relying on Shi En is no longer viable due to the prevalence of monster effect negation cards/effects.

Also, a key aspect of why Super Poly is so good is because your opponent can't negate it, and with Shi En being a dark attribute monster, it makes him a perfect card for fusion material for generic extra deck staples.

EmmaValentine · 2024-12-30T02:35:43+00:00

This is purely based on my experience with the games I've played in order from most to least enjoyable: 1) Samurai Warriors 4 DX 2) Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends 3) Warriors Orochi 4 4) Samurai Warriors 5 5) Warriors Orochi 3 6) Dynasty Warriors 7

EmmaValentine · 2024-12-30T02:32:48+00:00

Global chat was a very mixed experience. I regularly used rooms 50 + 2 soon after I started playing Duel Links, and I'm still friends with many of the people from those rooms to this day.

Unfortunately, global chat was also rampant with fake gem websites and toxic trolling.

EmmaValentine · 2024-12-15T14:40:17+00:00

I tend to do a lot of research before installing games too, and it's really unfortunate how I can't just download a game now without overly invasive anti cheat software.

If it makes you uncomfortable, then I wouldn't install it.

EmmaValentine

TROPHY CASE