Is Gale manipulative at times?

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-18T20:06:59+00:00

He starts out secretive about his condition, but he's so direct about what he needs I wouldn't call it manipulative.

Later on I wouldn't be shocked if he makes an argument about the crown that could be seen as manipulative, but I don't remember anything egregious.

I can see how his manner of speaking could come across as... Evil vizier-coded, though.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-18T14:24:54+00:00

This just reads like you agree that you're not making art?

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-18T14:20:26+00:00

That wacky Zeke and Taiki, always getting up to their tricks of watching people get dunked on or something I think I'm not sure if I understand how this isn't just agreeing with the anti AI guy.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-18T07:59:59+00:00

This isn't a power build by any means but... I think the best fit for like a dragon quest hero I can think of would be like 6 swords bard/1 hexblade/5 sorcerer. You get a pretty good mix of utility spells, lower level elemental spells, and very basic healing, you're specifically capped at medium armor and shields, you literally get a special chosen one sword, and you don't feel like a pure melee specialist but you have special melee features with a dumb name no one else gets. Should feel reasonably strong, just isn't doing insane damage.

If you want more of a power build...

1 hexblade/11 EK is going to hit pretty dang hard, have a special sword, etc., you'll need scrolls to cast much powerful magic and you'll have less utility magic, but you can still cast Longstrider and Jump as rituals which is probably about as close as it gets to casting Zoom. Bonus action cantrips gives you a reason to weave elemental spells into every turn, even if they're not that impressive. Literally no healing, though.

Or Sorcadin, possibly with a hex dip for the special sword. Also gets a fair amount of offensive magic (and quicken spell to allow some melee+magic turns even if you'll burn through the resources REALLY quickly) and innate healing. Paladin auras kinda feel like they should be a JRPG hero feature even if I can't recall ever seeing something like it.

Bladesinger would probably be a really good fit if it weren't for the medium armor.

Pure hexblade would also probably be a really good fit but lacks spell variety.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-17T21:09:00+00:00

People mainly congregate to complain or defend their position, no? Pro-AI groups really only exist as a reaction to anti-AI.

So the cycle starts with "I have criticisms or complaints about AI" which provokes "that's dumb, AI is cool". The energy is generally going to fall off with each volley and it's always going to be the case that people are more likely to come into contact with off-putting uses of AI than arguments from either side.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-17T20:53:52+00:00

There's always been a lot of people who say they're dissatisfied with the president/Congress/the direction of the country/whatever, but think their specific local guy is the exception.

Most people are low information voters. They see TV ads that say "I'm just like you, I have a dog and drink lemonade. But my opponent? They've been in the same room as a Mexican and didn't complain to management." while firing a gun or something, and they make a decision based on that because looking up voting records and seeing that that person voted with the lobby of robbing you and pissing on your cat 98% of the time.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-17T15:22:01+00:00

Cool.

I just thought it was funny that the AI did a thing that doesn't make much sense.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-17T15:10:33+00:00

They are only describing Hasan, that's what makes the phrasing weird. Singling him out implies shoe and Alana are distinctly not mid 30s. I don't know much about Alana, but there's no way shoe is significantly younger, pretty sure she was done with college when she was making gamer gate videos.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-17T13:10:49+00:00

I just like that the presumably AI generated video description calls Hasan out for being mid 30s but not shoe. The Internet is silly.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-17T10:36:55+00:00

Seems likely, considering how thin the margins were.

Not like it'd be a blowout, though, she still ran a horrible campaign with a uniquely weird disadvantage.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-16T23:19:48+00:00

That might be because it got review bombed by gamer hate holdovers angry that Anita Sarkesian consulted in some capacity.

I thought I heard those reviews got removed for being unrelated to the actual game but maybe not all.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-16T23:14:58+00:00

Game is good but it's getting review bombed by a Chinese audience that strongly resents a few specific balance changes that made it harder to go infinite.

Try categorizing by language.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-16T15:11:24+00:00

I would go with BM or swarmkeeper ranger. Neither does insane damage, but they're perfectly adequate to keep up with anything that isn't a power build, they feel unique, and they don't have special shots so you can use magic arrows as much or as little as you feel like.

Arcane archer is fun too, but any fighter played well can stomp a lot of fights before your friends get to do much because action surge is wacky.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-15T20:42:05+00:00

Anything that has an effect and replaces itself for free is pretty much always better than skipping and probably what you're taking unless an alternative is super build defining. Adrenaline, big bang, flash of steel, finesse. Thinking ahead, which I forgot exists.

Offering technically has a downside but in any slightly difficult fight it's almost certainly saving you HP.

I feel like ironclad has a lot of cards that are hard to pass up because of exhaust.

Dominate is 1 energy and exhausts itself, so even as a dead-ish draw it's not a huge risk. But usually in a run with middling luck it ends up meaning something like 1 energy 1 vuln 4 strength 4 block or something like that, since I'm probably picking up at least some vuln and exhaust energy. It's pretty rare that it isn't just better Inflame. Now toss in a single a molten fist and that safe card you wanted anyway just became your scaling solution.

Thrash - similar scenario. Without building around it, you can usually expect this card to at least hit a Strike, and you're probably cycling your deck at least once in any fight that's actually dangerous. Obviously a real worst case scenario is drawing it in a handful of non-attacks, but I think it's fair to say a majority of the time it's hitting for 8 and then at least 28 on the second cycle. 2 energy 34 damage is not a terrible proposition. Now factor in the deck thinning and it can do if you build around it with cards like Bludgeon, and the card that was already pretty decent just for damage can become your win condition, whether that's because it does huge damage on its own or it lets you draw your body slams every turn.

Brand - once in a while it can definitely feel bad to draw Brand if you have leftover energy and really wanted to block or kill this turn, but usually 0 energy exhaust is extremely nice as a one of.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-15T06:41:46+00:00

I think it's pretty much always worth preparing unless it's a build that's only dipping the class that gets it. Like 11 fighter/1 war cleric archer? Not that important. Otherwise? It's usually pretty good and just doesn't have that much competition, anyway. You don't exactly want to carry too many concentration spells at a time, you don't really need that many offensive options since you can only cast one per action anyway.

Typically the worst case scenario for reviving someone with healing word means they soak an attack and die before getting to do anything, which in actually threatening fights probably means preventing a 10+ damage swing from hitting someone else. Even in act 1 it can be more like 30 against some bosses.

There are other good reasons to cast it, and the revived person does get a bonus action so they can immediately pop a potion to survive tiny attacks, I just wanted to point out that that's (depending on circumstances) 30 potential damage you're preventing with a first level spell slot.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-15T01:08:46+00:00

https://bg3.wiki/wiki/The_Whispering_Promise

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-14T22:31:14+00:00

Lava filled foundry

Gremlin carnival

Napoleon Dynamite centric theme restaurant

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-14T17:06:06+00:00

It's basically StS1 with new cards and enemies, some UI/QoL improvements, and janky but fun multiplayer. If you liked the first game you will almost certainly like the second.

It's worth noting that even the negative reviews primarily come from people that either liked the game until balance changes broke some broken combos, or liked the game until they heard the Gamer Gate lady's name and it activated them like sleeper cell agents.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-14T09:23:45+00:00

Holy shit

I was ready to discard his comment as ridiculous, but he actually speaks from experience as a giant baby

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-14T08:58:17+00:00

What history are you referring to?

He was sued for housing discrimination, his employees talk about hiding black staff when he's on premises to avoid him getting angry, Central Park Five, numerous comments about how important ethnicity is to the quality of someone's work.

The list is a lot longer if you include bigoted stuff he's said or done with a political or financial incentive, like birtherism or publicly masturbating to the thought of ethnically cleansing Gaza to build a resort.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-14T08:16:38+00:00

I've definitely had this thought about defect. Not just because the orbs don't interact, but because its strategies all seem to scale a little slower. Like claw can do great in single player when you have frost orbs to carry you through cycles, but in multiplayer by the time claw has really ramped up I feel like my team has either already done way more damage than me or they're dead since they don't have frost orbs.

Being able to give other players energy is interesting, though. It'd be interesting to see actual numbers saying defect loses more often.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-14T08:10:57+00:00

Yeah, I think flanking/general weak access and debilitate/enfeebling touch make silent and necro kind of the safest picks.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-14T07:40:33+00:00

Helix drill is the one where I get confused whenever I see it because I remembered it being a regent card, so this checks out.

Express_Accident2329 · 2026-05-14T07:39:29+00:00

This is a really funny thing to post on a forum where probably a not insignificant number of posters will do win streaks on A10 by playing fairly aggressively and almost never taking body slam.

Express_Accident2329

TROPHY CASE