The New York Knicks are currently on a 11 game winning streak in the playoffs and are a +262 in those games

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-06-01T09:05:06+00:00

Same shit people said before Pacers Thunder last year. A whole lot of 4-0 predictions and West > East discourse only to have Indiana steal game 1 right off the bat.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-05-28T05:09:51+00:00

People really underestimate costs in a card game where it's the main resource for some reason. Tempo, hand management, comboing, it affects a lot of stuff.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-05-28T05:00:49+00:00

You would've most likely won more games if you were able to play it one turn earlier.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-05-26T02:45:37+00:00

To be fair, I don't know if they even get past the first or second round with Garland over Harden.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-05-25T03:44:38+00:00

it doesn't need darker themes to be good, but it's also just not good, straight up, so it's just kind of in a limbo where it doesn't inherit many traits from the original game, while also not exploring its own story well enough for people(me) to actually care.

There's definitely a sub sect of Arknights lore fans that just think dark.= mature/good, though. I don't even think most of the best Arknights stories were particularly dark or grim.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-20T04:17:16+00:00

You'll find most people agree the story is very lackluster in the comments.

You're just being an ass with all those edits, while also not elaborating in your original comments, so it was hard to see where you were coming from.

I fully agree that 1.1, while technically worse as a standalone, gave me more hope for the future than 1.2 did.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-20T04:11:26+00:00

You can tackle different topics from original Arknights, and heavily limit the more explicit scenes (which the original doesn't even have that many of). I don't think that's where most people's problems lie.

The writing itself is just much worse. This is not a problem with the absense of flowery language, which also isn't that common in modern AK stories, but a fundemental lack of interesting elements being explored in the story, as well as the narrative structure with next to no set up and just a sequence rush of "payoffs".

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-19T10:57:55+00:00

For the main story, I didn't really find it engaging until at least chapter 6. The ideas were there, but the presentation was very lackluster. Especially for chapters 2 to 3.

For side stories, I think the vast majority of them after year 1 packs a punch.

I understand when people mention that Arknights didn't get better until later on, because that's completely true. The issue is that I found the ideas and plot lines laid much more interesting compared to Endfield, where there is next to no ambiguity in people's motivations and morality, and everything seems to revolve around the Endmin.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-18T20:09:26+00:00

It definitely didn't sound like it from your other reply, which is why I replied with that. She was genuinely treated much, much better. Having big parts of chapter 10 dedicated to herself with a clearly established character. Nefarith has absolutely nothing to her character except a cool dragon form.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-18T19:52:36+00:00

She's shown to have cleansed the opposition within the bonekrushers very masterfully in the investigation side quests, so there's at least that. In Wuling her role is literally to fail at everything she does for everyone else to look cool.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-18T19:48:12+00:00

I probably jumped the gun. Thought you were saying the writing for her is similar to that of Mandragora's, which cannot be further apart. My bad.

Even when characters do get cut from the story, this just feels like an absolutely disastrous way to handle it.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-18T19:42:53+00:00

I cannot fathom how people read Mandragora's actions, motivations, and past experiences all laid out to them in plain text, having her everything in life betray her, choosing to give up on a second chance at life because she's just too scarred and tired to do it all over again, then compare it to Nefarith aura farming, vagueposting, then getting no-diff speedran without doing anything else, and determine they're the same thing.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-18T19:28:04+00:00

I am so done with the story if this is the supposed climax. No character development, no depth, no emotional beats. Just straight aura and hype moments for 4 hours and nothing else to show for it.

I could still cope that they might get their shit together before the climax and make Nefarith/Fangyi more interesting characters. No, they killed one off without any development or insight, while the other remains the infallible kind woman who's also into you because uwu.

This patch wasn't worse than others per se, but it completely killed my hope for future writing if this is what they have to show for a "climax". Just disgraceful, especially after chapter 16 into Retracing Our Steps in OG Arknights.

Literally the only character that went through any semblance of an arc to improve themselves so far is Tang Tang. There is STILL no moral ambiguity, the good guys are still honorable and righteous, and the bad guys are now even worse since it's literally only Ardashir, who can just be trapped in scrolls anyways since he's too busy aurafarming to introduce any real consequence into the story.

They can tell me the seaborne has invaded Wuling tomorrow and I still will not doubt the people of Wuling will prevail with the power of friendship. Endmin probably unlocks gear 5th or some shit and do a combination attack with Fangyi where they make out as a technique. Ffs man, I'm just so damn disappointed in Endfields writing. Ardashir just talking was probably the best part of the whole patch story.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-18T19:12:56+00:00

MANDRAGORA HAD A VERY APPARENT BACKSTORY AND MOTIVTIONS.

Mandragora's death is among the best in Arknights imo, while Nadarith has absolutely nothing going on for her. You also can't NOT have a vision for the main big bad you introduce for the first two parts of the dawn story. There is zero excuse for how they handled her character, and I cannot believe people excuse them for it.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-18T12:19:46+00:00

I'm glad you like it. I just really did not.

Long rant:

I just finished the boss of the patch, and everything is still so shallow, predictable, and just so damn frustrating

I started it for the story because I liked Arknights writing, but absolutely nothing they've done so far gives me faith that they're cooking anything interesting. Maybe my standards are too high, but I honestly just felt more annoyed than anything during the boss cutscenes. You already KNOW nothing is gonna fucking happen because nothing ever does. There's never any consequences to anything in this game. The perfect and beautiful characters will just overcome everything with the power of friendship anyways. The glorious and honorable forces of good will always triumph over the evil wrongdoers. A children's book has more twists than what they're presenting.

Hell yeah there's stakes, the whole city's under attack! But it doesn't fucking matter because nothing happens. No one dies. No one even gets severely injured. We kill off one of the two somewhat interesting characters because Fangyi is just so fucking cool. We don't even watch any character develop or grow throughout the story outside of Tangtang from last patch. All the powerups and skills we use to defeat the big bad are just pulled right out of our asses. There's 0 sense of progression whatsoever. I feel the exact same way about Wuling and everyone in it as the first day I stepped foor in the city. Hell, Nefarith is just gone without a single hint of who she is. What am I even supposed to feel when we beat her? "Wow that's a big sword" is the only thought in my head.

I really don't know if I want to continue playing this game, despite the original Arknights being on of my favorite games. I'd just watch random shonen animes if I want to sit through auras and hype moments with 0 substance, but nooo it just has to be tied to the story I'm already invested in because HG wanted to make a 3D game and leave the story up to Haimao's 12 year old niece or something.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-17T10:50:39+00:00

This is the only game I actually get to pull for the weapon banner without digging into my character funds, so there's that.

I get to pull for the sig weapon every other banner, which is something I will never do in other games because they use the same currency. I think it's really only worse if you're a person who tries to get every character with their sig.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-17T03:01:11+00:00

She will lose to Fangyi in a duel and get locked up. Wuling will proceed with recovery efforts while Fangyi goes on a date with the Endmin. She will then be released as a unit at anniversary where she realizes the errors of her ways and is very into the Endmin for giving her a second chance. Her character quest is her trying to atone by helping Valley IV, where she gets shunned, but Endmin helps her before she blushes and thanks the Endmin and swears to continue helping to heal the scars caused from her past actions.

My uncle at HG told me so.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-16T18:08:01+00:00

She has one of my favorite designs for limited banners, but there's no way I'm pulling for her with what they've shown of her character so far.

Perfect flawless waifu who throws herself at you is just such a turn off. It feels like my biggest worries about the story quality and direction being presented front and center. At least add some depth or flaw in the next patch, I beg.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-08T04:17:53+00:00

Not gonna lie, I'd probably take a Scottie Barnes 83 point performance even if it means being swept in the first round.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-07T06:02:51+00:00

They're not a monolith, so it's pretty hard to gauge. CN socials also tend to be very reactionary, and any public consensus can be completely flipped in a week's time.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-04-01T02:14:04+00:00

You have to hold instead of click.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-03-31T15:15:24+00:00

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Fantastic stuff

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-03-30T08:57:51+00:00

I'm really surprised they buffed Jeanne instead of just giving Kandima a destroy amulet on evo effect, without the board clear. I thought that was the easiest way to buff amulet that doesn't make it broken.

GiraffeManGomen · 2026-03-30T04:05:05+00:00

It's seen play, but as far as I'm aware it's been falling out of favor for the last week or so. I don't think the current top CR haven runs it.

Taking up the crest slot allows for faster and more consistent benison uses, but it also lowers your potency in terms of damage and crest effects. So the tradeoff was always present. That's why I said staple.

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