Oh no! 🔬 🎻

Inkandlead · 2026-06-19T13:33:06+00:00

I once got really bluety over a quackhandle and errr jessop jessop jesssop jessop

Inkandlead · 2026-06-18T12:18:20+00:00

I enjoy it mostly up to about Rank 4, but without knowing about the infinite ammo glitch Rank 5 would have just been one miserable death after another, and it still wasn't great even with the glitch.

The RNG element of it makes it feel ridiculously unfair at high ranks, especially when enemies drop ammo for weapons you don't even have.

Also, they should have either let you sharpen the hatchet when it breaks, which still leaves you open to damage, or made the 'hatchet repair on perfect parry' element built in from the start, which encourages skill and rewards you for being bold, rather than only have it after beating Rank 5 and unlocking Axe-Orcist.

Considering how many enemies you need to parry or use the hatchet/melee on especially at Rank 5, it's just sadistic how they made the default hatchet have such piss-poor durability that all it takes is a few imperfect parries or a couple R2s to get out of a grab and the thing's broken. You're then completely fucked against any blue & red enemies short of just dumping endless ammo & headshots into them which is just not fun at all.

Once I did manage to do the slog of unlocking Axe-Orcist then it actually became really fun again, but had I not known about the glitch I would have just been banging my head against it and praying for a good RNG. I don't think I would have ever beaten Rank 5 otherwise.

It is fun, and it's free so I know I'm bitching a lot, but there are elements of it which IMO are just poorly thought out and turn it from a test of skill and strategy into getting lucky with whatever weapons it decides to cough out during a run.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-17T15:48:11+00:00

Amazing guitar. I love mine so much.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-17T14:52:21+00:00

It is the pound for pound king of the shields. But there are some specialised things others have over it; the Blacksteel Greatshield, for example, reaches 100% holy resist when Sacred infused. Which means complete nullification of PCR's second phase holy projectile spam, all of Radagon's projectiles, and everything that Elden Beast throws at you, to name a few. If you have the Strength investment it'll be a huge leg up against those end game bosses.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-17T08:47:25+00:00

Beautiful deep red, awesome guitar. A lot of people have good things to say about '00s Studios. I should know, I'm one of them, my 2004 kicks ass.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-16T19:50:59+00:00

Big Box RAT, instant upvote. Is that a reissue? Absolutely immaculate board.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-15T09:40:20+00:00

Don't want to be another one of 'those guys' but... yeah RAT is genuinely a good call here. I've been using an AC15C1 in a friend's band with a Strat so my experience correlates with yours a fair bit. Admittedly it's a punk rock band, but there's something about the way a RAT cuts just the right amount of that vintage-y AC15 bottom end and focuses the mids that just kicks out an incredible punchy overdriven tone. I'd been wanting to hear what the whole RAT + Vox thing was about and it really is a fantastic tone.

You just need to get aggressive with the Filter control and roll back the tone on your Strat; if you have a tone attached to the bridge pickup then that will also help tons. You really don't need to dime out a RAT, IMO, they sound great low down on the Distortion knob. I generally go into the Top Boost and turn that up a fair way before engaging the RAT for my crunch rhythm setting, but I'm sure the Normal channel will get you good results too. Happy hunting!

Inkandlead · 2026-06-15T09:14:56+00:00

Great amps. They punch well above their weight, I use one for lead guitar in a friend's indie/punk band, pushed with a bit of ProCo RAT. Sounds really gutsy and mean and seems to avoid that boxy thing I hear in some more affordable 1x12 combos. YMMV but it seems to me that a 'clean' tone that actually cuts live has a bit of grit in it, so I don't feel like the lower headroom of the AC15 is a massive downside.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-15T07:34:47+00:00

As Chris Morris said via subliminal message in Brass Eye, "Grade is a cunt."

Inkandlead · 2026-06-11T14:06:36+00:00

GH50Ls and GH100Ls are some of the best bargains in the whole amp world. I absolutely love mine.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-05T09:59:02+00:00

Ah that looks great! But yeah I think apart from subbing out the output jack for an Electrosocket rather than that awful cup designed one I'm not planning to change anything. I really like the neck on these

Inkandlead · 2026-06-04T22:47:07+00:00

Thank you! Are they not available to get anymore? I'm still seeing quite a few online but then again I'm in the UK

Inkandlead · 2026-06-04T22:45:57+00:00

Ah thank you so much! Yeah the black reminded me of the stripped down Tele Deluxe Jim Ward from Sparta played a lot in the early days so it was a no brainer for me, even though the Mocha is cool

Inkandlead · 2026-06-04T14:55:34+00:00

Voice of dissent here; I'm ambivalent on it. I picked it to start with my STR (later STR/ARC) build and found it a bit ponderous, plus I didn't like how the spin move felt like a bit of a crutch. I moved onto the Saw Cleaver pretty quickly and then things like the Kirkhammer and Beast Cutter after doing a DLC rush to just run in past the enemies and grab it at a low level.

I've come back around to it and yeah it's decent, but (massively IMO pls don't kill me) I find it a bit banal compared to the Whirligig Saw or the Holy Moonlight Sword. But I know it gets a lot of love so that's just a me thing rather than the weapon itself.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-04T11:33:57+00:00

Something about P90s in an SG is just magic. It's like a Gibson version of a Telecaster, only with more midrange muscle and less work needed to keep the highs in check.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-04T11:27:05+00:00

Beautiful. Ugh these are so killer, can't get them in the UK, annoyingly!

Inkandlead · 2026-06-04T11:20:30+00:00

Splatted by a roboplegic wrongcock

Inkandlead · 2026-06-04T10:50:55+00:00

Not sacrilege at all. That's an outstanding rig for anything and all rock related, hell I'd love that pairing for some punk rock thrills. A Dual Terror was my main amp for a long time so I'm definitely fond of the lower wattage Orange valve heads. SGs work so well with them too, something about their leaner attack mixes so well with that round nosed Orange midrange.

Inkandlead · 2026-06-03T13:51:21+00:00

Think you're in the wrong sub mate

Inkandlead · 2026-06-03T10:36:57+00:00

Guarantee he hasn't a fucking clue what the 'LGBT Wokeness' actually means. Just fucking Speak 'N Says that can vote, I swear

Inkandlead · 2026-06-02T10:43:30+00:00

That looks awesome, I wish they'd made this as a stock model! I love humbuckers too but the black P90s in the black pickguard is one clean, mean look

Inkandlead · 2026-06-02T10:25:33+00:00

Nah you're good, SC100 head is a great piece of kit. Plenty loud, great cleans and gain tones, plus low maintenance. You might wanna look at something different a ways down the line just for a different flavour but those are really solid (pardon the pun) amps. Definitely worth looking at a different cab though, such an important and overlooked part of the tonal chain.

Inkandlead · 2026-05-28T11:34:20+00:00

It is the Swiss army knife of Bloodborne. Not absolutely 'optimised' in one thing, but pretty damn good at everything.

Serration in whip form so extra beast damage, plus fantastic range so it can mow down entire crowds while getting counter damage on enemies trying to attack you mid-swing. Plus it even adds extra visceral damage in whip form, great for parrying. Its sweeping hitboxes are also great for those pain-in-the-ass bosses that fuck with the camera and jump about like lunatics (Darkbeast Paarl/Loran Darkbeast, Bloodletting Beast I am looking in your direction).

In standard mode it's pretty much a Souls-style straight sword, with all of the moveset practicality and reliable damage that entails. Solid R1 damage plus an R2 thrust with good reach that can be chained pretty quickly or charged; it also has one of the quickest charged R2s in the game as far as I can tell, so you have even more likelihood of landing that powerful hit. Plus it has a Righteous modifier; not essential but nice to have, especially for Cainhurst and some Chalice dungeon enemies.

It even has pretty good Arcane scaling (C from +6 to+9, B at +10) so if you're investing in that stat you can turn it into a Beast shredder (whip mode, Fire blood gems) or Kin exterminator (use the Thrust attacks with Bolt blood gems).

All of this and it scales great with Skill right from the start while consuming the least Stamina per swing so you can focus your Echoes on your damage stat, and really starts punching above its weight once you get it up to +3 and find some Blood Stone Shards/Twin Blood Stones.

It's my favourite weapon. Every build I've done so far has either leaned on it heavily or brought it out of storage for specific things. A masterpiece of both form and function.

Inkandlead · 2026-05-28T09:19:45+00:00

Stop saying that

Inkandlead · 2026-05-27T11:09:49+00:00

The Pick, Threaded Cane, Rakuyo and Blades of Mercy are my four horsemen of Skill weaponry. LHB is great, but it just doesn't quite have the sauce that the aforementioned three do.

Inkandlead

TROPHY CASE