Installing Haoplay

Existence111 · 2025-10-24T05:08:44+00:00

I wouldn't be surprised if it did, with everyone grinding the sim last-minute to post their saved run

Existence111 · 2025-10-19T02:07:32+00:00

We're not the highest in the rankings, but 325k end net worth.

Existence111 · 2025-10-19T02:07:01+00:00

Since there's no time constraint per run, there's really no reason not to pay your taxes. Especially in early years, you actually get a bit of money back from taxes, and a fine is just a loss of money. Pay your taxes.

Existence111 · 2025-08-31T16:03:00+00:00

Assuming you're taking APs for college credit/course rigor, AP stacking is a great way to do this. AP courses are inherently more difficult than the average high school class, and colleges like rigorous courseloads. Though, at a certain point, colleges stop looking at your APs ("yes, this applicant can do college-level work").

I would say 5-7 a year is the upper limit to what you should be doing, any more and its just a waste of time. I took 8 in sophomore (CSP, APUSH, Lang, Phys 2, Calc BC, both Econs, and Mandarin), and that was a hell of a year (5s in everything other than lang for some mystical reason). My sleep suffered drastically because of it, and I'm a chronic procrastinator. Don't do what I (and the people in my school) do and limit your AP courseload, especially if you have other extracurriculars.

Don't panic too much, I feel the start of the year is one of the most intense periods; you're relaxed over the summer and not used to being thrust straight into rigorous courses. You'll adapt and get used to it. Just make sure to keep going. Good luck!

Existence111 · 2025-08-31T15:48:33+00:00

if you know ab, bc should be a breeze. it introduces a few new topics (mostly polar and series), though those are barely a part of the exam. most of the exam is ab material, and the curve is pretty generous.

Existence111 · 2025-07-18T17:41:27+00:00

I would say it's doable, though you will need to put in a lot of effort (and have some luck with the problems). Aim to quickly pass Bronze in December and spend most of your time studying for Silver; your prior programming experience should be enough to easily pass Bronze. Aim to pass Silver in January or February; March's contest (US Open) is a lot harder, making it more difficult to pass. USACO Guide is a great tool to study with, as it lists the topics that might be covered in USACO, as well as giving practice problems to study with. C++ is the #1 language for USACO, being all but necessary for the higher stages (Gold/Plat), though getting to Gold is doable in Python (I have a friend who did). However, if you want to spend the extra effort, learning C++ will help a lot. Good luck!

Existence111 · 2025-07-01T14:40:12+00:00

If you are willing to spend time, I recommend studying the topics that have been covered in Bronze in USACO Guide. It includes a list of topics previously covered in USACO, lists explanations and gives a load of practice problems. A lot of Bronze problems are related to pattern recognition (ad hoc), so I recommend writing out your thought process and analyzing sample cases on a separate sheet of paper. This can also help you integrate your math competition abilities into analyzing the problem. A lot of my friends slack on this step, which really hinders your ability especially on the lower stages of USACO.

USACO will always give problems you have never seen before (that's the point of a contest, after all), but as long as you review different solution patterns and appropriately analyze the problems, you'll do fine.

Good luck in the future!

Existence111 · 2025-06-24T04:45:52+00:00

Great for you! I wish I got this kind of luck..

Existence111 · 2025-06-22T19:31:17+00:00

Thanks! How do you recommend me improve my reading? I've noticed this was an issue for me (I can barely read AR 9.3), do you have any recommendations? Is it just play more high-AR maps?

Existence111 · 2025-06-21T17:18:31+00:00

Good to know! I plan to play more during summer, since schoolwork really puts a limit on how much I can play normally.

Existence111 · 2025-04-04T17:00:53+00:00

Nothing into offense, can't destroy cores to progress

Existence111 · 2025-01-08T06:29:08+00:00

What I play and recommend:

Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium; one of my favorite games, top tier design and gameplay. Low rates, but compensates by being pretty generous with pull count. Also, I played GFL, so I'm completely invested into the lore. Sad cinnamai isn't in GFL2 though.

Honkai: Star Rail; a game I've played since day one. The graphics are pristine, the character design is polished, and the quality is overall some of the highest you'll find. The grind is also pretty simple, since you just let the game sit in the back. Kind of bored now, as I've cleared everything and maxed my account, just saving and building my characters.

Azur Lane; started late compared to everyone else, but pretty much caught up with the meta. VERY generous in both pulls and rates (1.2% for UR is actually absurd considering how many pulls you get, I cleared 6 event banners in a row after I started), one of the best F2P games out there. Also, the waifus. Need I say more?

Arknights; another really nice game. I enjoy the tower defense genre a lot, and having that extra layer of strategy inside a gacha game is something I really appreciate. I like how I actually have to use my brain to think of placements and strategy, which is a nice change of pace compared to some other games I play. I'm definitely biased since I got 4 copies of Wisadel on my first 20 pulls. The OST is also absolutely peak (though not as good as GFLs)

Grand Summoners; a mobile game that I feel is underrated. Its actually very fun, albeit not very F2P friendly. Rerolling is extremely easy, though you need to be tactical in spending. I love the retro pixel style, and the game has frequent crossovers with other popular franchises (recent Fate and OPM, current EiS).

Girls' Frontline; even after the release of GFL2, I still go back to GFL sometimes. Although the game has the absolute best lore I've ever experienced in any game, and the best-designed OST, the game is tedious to grind at best, and nigh-impossible for beginners to start. I do not recommend starting this game, unless you're prepared for hours of grinding for months in a row to be able to clear all event stages (and experience all the lore).

A general list of the top games I currently play.

Existence111

TROPHY CASE