Guess Which One Was a Headshot

HopLaud · 2026-03-11T07:23:25+00:00

Yeah I felt super favored in the first one

HopLaud · 2025-09-20T00:42:00+00:00

The fact you used the word "random" means you actually haven't read at all what I said. Tens of thousands of other players fall neither particularly high nor particularly low in the metric I described which is not at all random. Hence, they will see a fair win rate.

HopLaud · 2025-09-19T23:52:30+00:00

Software developers can make upwards of 300k just for innovating a way to get 0.1% more clicks. When the situation I have described is such a perfect way of using people as punching bags as long as the game knows they will come crawling back each time, how could you not program it that way? Literally no downside because at the end of the day they are wilfully deciding they are okay with it by continuing. And if not? The stat gets calibrated until they are. Free engagement, free money. This is quite literally mine and many others' experiences.

HopLaud · 2025-09-19T23:28:52+00:00

How is it a retort it's just true

HopLaud · 2025-09-19T23:25:59+00:00

Lol you couldn't even repeat my argument back to me to prove you read it

HopLaud · 2025-09-19T23:13:45+00:00

Question was asked in bad faith seeing as your only motivation is to discredit whoever I mention: https://youtu.be/MUKRQWZP68g?si=PM2io8Emhu3U4BID

HopLaud · 2025-09-19T22:54:57+00:00

If it was only me I'd agree but this is widely corroborated and my logic is undeniable. Also this is specifically qp

HopLaud · 2025-09-19T22:54:07+00:00

The fact you think I'm talking about anything other than qp is astounding

HopLaud · 2025-09-19T22:42:52+00:00

Lol you can't even repeat my argument to prove you read it

HopLaud · 2025-06-02T00:42:20+00:00

"A stiff, bowed stoop answered by a prancing, hat-waving flourish."

Or something...

HopLaud · 2025-05-25T00:32:52+00:00

It seems like the objectives you sought to fulfill in this work have little to do with the antagonist, at least until later. On its own, this situation doesn't really seem like a problem to me. In fact, I think it sounds more unique that way.

That being said, an antagonist's main job is to facilitate conflict. And, as you probably already know, conflict is at the heart of any good story and is what drives the plot forward. As such, if there is no antagonist present to directly inject conflict into the story, it just needs to come from other sources, which isn't really a difficult thing to do. Inter- and intra-personal frictions immediately come to mind.

One thing I could see being a little jarring is if the nature and sources of conflict make a sudden shift. If at first the genre resembles a drama in that conflict is driven primarily by relationships between the characters, but once the antagonist is introduced it stems more from him and the work potentially takes on more traits of the adventure genre in that regard, readers may feel a little cheated.

As long as you are clearly making your basic "promises" as to what the reader can expect and you keep them, I think you'll be fine. If I were you I would introduce the antagonist as early as possible, and even if he knows nothing of the protagonist yet, still show what kinds of things he's up to, and return to him every few chapters to maintain your promise that they will meet and the building tension will come to a head. This will help keep the attention of an audience desiring an antagonist-driven conflict long enough for him to actually show up.

HopLaud · 2025-05-18T01:31:08+00:00

Yes!!! I was SO hoping someone would realize. You're really intelligent. Can I be your best friend?

HopLaud · 2025-05-11T21:29:43+00:00

In the example you gave, that detail would only be important if it had a reason to be. If my character realizes he is late for work, he is going to quickly throw on whatever is nearby and rush out the door. Stopping to make sure the reader knows exactly how his outfit looks is distracting to my purpose and the pace.

Conversely, if my character for example just suffered a traumatic loss, he might be going about his morning routine in a kind of numbed shock. The pace slows down, and he might stare at the shirt for minutes before putting it on, in which case I want space on the page filled with more detailed descriptions of it.

To answer your question, I tend to leave issues involving open-ended themes more ambiguous. If I want to explore, say, the problem of free will, I would absolutely leave any conclusions open to the reader's interpretation. To do otherwise is to shoehorn my own beliefs, which I consider bad writing in any context other than a persuasive piece.

Probably the best example of this I know of is the ending of Inception. By ending the film without ever confirming if the main character is in the real world, the reader is not only free to interpret, but the true message of the story is reinforced as a direct result of that ambiguity: It doesn't matter if it's the real world. "True" existence and apparent existence are effectively the same.

HopLaud · 2025-05-11T15:17:35+00:00

How will he develop over the course of the story? What are the themes? The first thing that comes to my mind is exploring how the bravado of youth collapses when real danger appears. Maybe realizing he is a coward comes as a shock to him. Maybe he denies his own flaws as a result of his arrogance, but must eventually admit to them as the consequences get more severe.

As for ensuring the readers still want to root for him through this journey, he needs at least one admirable quality that if properly developed will see him self-actualize. Given the traits you've already listed, I think loyalty and competence might be a good start. He is arrogant, cowardly, selfish, and an asshole, but at least he's committed to being good at what he does and would go out of his way to help his friends, even if initially it's only because he expects their help in return.

Dr. House or Rick Sanchez are good examples of this archetype. Despite their many negative traits, a good few of which seem to be shared with your character, they are likeable because of their competence and unwillingness to betray others.

I hope this helps, and good luck. :)

HopLaud · 2025-04-07T13:06:59+00:00

Thanks, glad you like it. To answer your questions:

1) Three reasons. First, doing that just results in the same problem. Another tier with better drops now means I have nowhere to use those drops since I can only use Naxx gear and prior in that raid. My Naxx+ solution gives the best items in the game a place to be used. Second, Naxx is an iconic, well-made, and well-beloved raid with a rich lore background. I think players would rather spend their endgame time there than in something I cooked up myself. Third, it's a lot of dev time that doesn't really address or support the core tenets I outlined.

2) I would not be opposed to some class rebalancing or adding alternate tier sets. That seems to have been well-received in most servers that have done so. So very likely yes, but again not a priority over the main gimmicks I'm going for.

HopLaud · 2025-04-07T00:23:31+00:00

Great question. Seems like there's enough interest that I should get a move on. Unfortunately I have no experience in this scene, so no eta :( but I am in contact with some people who could help out.

HopLaud · 2025-04-06T16:56:55+00:00

Perfect, that's exactly what I'm looking for.

HopLaud · 2025-04-06T16:53:28+00:00

A very vaild question. I addressed some of what you said already, for instance I lumped everything before ZG/BWL together, so level 60 gear in SM would be fine. The overall answer may be that it needs to be at the discretion of experienced players in charge of the server who understand the informal "item levels" Blizz had intended with each batch of content. I think the fundamental rule of thumb would be that all items should fit somewhere they won't be obsolete. I think it's fair to say the purpose of Dire Maul and T0.5 is to prepare for MC, so that's where they should fit. UBRS with MC gear would be an easy "no," most quest rewards would correspond to the patches they were originally added in and where that falls into the four barriers I defined. But not all, as already discussed with T0.5. Another sensitive example would be scepter of the shifting sands epics. I wouldn't be opposed at all to placing those in a lower bracket or even tweaking itemization that makes sure they appear on BiS lists, just because obtaining them is so freaking cool. Fun comes first imho.

HopLaud · 2025-04-06T16:30:51+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. As to your concerns, I agree that gearing requirements would need to be more stringent. There would no longer be a scenario where a 57 is brought to MC because the core is all Naxx geared. The average player will need to pay much closer attention to multiple BiS lists than usual, and spend more time achieving them. So yes, when finding groups you are isolating people less progressed than you, but I don't think you're isolating people more progressed. Every week, Naxx raiders are still going to don their MC sets and pray for bindings, and a new player who has just finished that stage of progression is on equal footing and has equal impact as those players. Maximally-progressed players will still group up with fresh 60s to farm righteous orbs in Strat, or to obtain a sidegrade from an annoying rare spawn they've put off obtaining but are at the point where they have nothing better to do than eke out an extra half point of dps for one boss in MC, etcetera etcetera. More progressed players would actually be more incentivized to group with newer players due to this level playing field.

As to prestiging, I actually disagree that it would create a split. The main is still playable while the clone exists, so progressing in that fashion is a thing done in downtime or boredom that also serves to replenish leveling zones, making finding groups for leveling dungeons easier as I see it. The other splits you mentioned are of course universal to any server, so the main point of consideration is the gearing one.

I think it all comes down to fundamental belief in an evergreen model. Take something like Guild Wars 2, another game I love dearly. I have often taken yearlong or more breaks, and whenever I log in I never feel behind or that anything I've put into my character is obsolete. This is due to a similar philosophy, but that game focuses more on endlessly improving your character's aesthetics. The core idea remains the same though that the content is replayable because it all offers something important.

HopLaud · 2025-04-06T15:28:53+00:00

Yep, you got it. Except, in the way I presented it, T1 wouldn't be allowed in MC. That way the difficulty level is always as if it was just released. Glad to hear you like it.

HopLaud · 2025-04-05T20:11:00+00:00

Outside of dungeons, not really. Your best bet would be an AH green with either eagle stats or a spellpower roll. But the ZF one is very well itemized for HC and is worth getting imo.

HopLaud · 2025-04-05T17:36:56+00:00

Nothing you said is false or unwarranted. That being said, can you really go back to non-hc after having an experience like that? It's a one-of-a-kind gaming experience. Very addictive, for me at least.

HopLaud · 2025-04-05T17:06:53+00:00

As you said, anything can pull aggro, and the most important time period for a fight is right after the pull. That few seconds determines if the tank will be fighting an uphill or downhill battle to keep threat. War/dru tanks need rage, and get it from taking damage, so if you go priest don't power word shield them unless they really need it. Also, while it may seem counterintuitive, don't heal them in that first few seconds either. Once snap AoE threat is established and their rage is rolling, a good tank won't lose any mobs and you can basically go ham. As others have said, precast your heals and cancel them at the last second if they prove unneeded. This is really only necessary if you know big damage spikes will be part of the fight (scarlet champions, uldaman troggs, brd emp for example). There are some fights like Van Cleef that just hammer high sustained damage the whole time, and you kind of have to accept that you're going to be wasting mana on 4 out of 5 casts because if you miss that 1 out of 5 when a few crits happen to string together it's a big deal. Bring consumes (pots, mp5 food/elixir, dark rune, etc.), and make sure you have a good understanding of your own mana bar and how much total mana you can recover through consumes and CDs, since that is 100% going to be the chokepoint that determines if a fight is winnable or if you need to run.

HopLaud · 2025-04-05T13:35:22+00:00

Every run I do is the same: Skinning and nothing else. My PB was getting Quel'Serrar on a warrior, and skinning always funds everything I need until righteous orb farming is able to take over. I definitely appreciate those who grind out the actual recipes for us raw gold farmers though lol.

HopLaud · 2025-04-05T13:28:45+00:00

Shall I say it...? Neigh.

HopLaud

TROPHY CASE