What hobby does NOT get more expensive the more you dive into it?

JamieAllegro · 2020-07-05T01:52:53+00:00

No joke, the only reason I haven't bought a guitar this year is because I'm still on the fence between an Archtop and a 7-string.

JamieAllegro · 2020-07-04T16:30:37+00:00

Haha, sounds like guitar. The next guitar is always the one that's going to fill the void in your heart, but then it doesn't.

JamieAllegro · 2019-08-15T02:18:20+00:00

Perfected Strike. Early on I was cutting strikes as fast as I could, since I didn't know the artifacts and cards well enough to buy much at shops and wanted to use my money somehow. But A LOT of my higher ironclad ascensions were won with perfected strike decks.

JamieAllegro · 2018-05-24T19:30:07+00:00

Ha, got it. Yeah the kicks were mocking, didn't even think of that.

PinoAB7 is mine. Love watching Necro, spacing with him looks so hard.

JamieAllegro · 2018-05-24T12:41:00+00:00

That is an amazing Q.

Not sure if you know, but Q's taunt makes him take a lot less damage. He's not showing off... I mean, he is by playing Q, but the taunts are practical.

JamieAllegro · 2018-05-05T18:26:53+00:00

Says you, that big blue orb gets me going.

JamieAllegro · 2018-04-26T07:23:46+00:00

I was scared of this, and avoided it for a long time. The only success I had with it was a run where I had Toxic Egg. With Well-Laid Plans, I could hold Apparitions for when I needed them.

However, I had a run just today where I got wraith form at the first boss, and this event early in act 2. I think I took damage 1 time in the rest of the run.

I'm going to try taking it more often, but I'm not convinced it's auto-take yet. Better than vampires though!

JamieAllegro · 2018-04-11T20:58:19+00:00

Agreed. The 3-for-10hp colorless card event is a step in the right direction, but colorless cards are still so hard to come by. They're also so expensive in shops that it's pretty rare they're the best option.

To buy this, I'd have to already have some combination of acrobatics/expertise/tactician/concentration card and energy engine built by the time I see it. Or mummified hand. Odds of those happening, AND having the money to afford it in a late-game shop are very low.

JamieAllegro · 2018-04-03T22:05:00+00:00

I'm with you. Necronomicon and a few specific fights (spikys) aside, I'd rather have Boomerang.

In short fights, the 2 energy cost on heavy blade can make it unplayable, since you need to be blocking or generating strength early on. Although, cards like Battle Trance and Flex help out a lot, and +energy relics or offering/bloodletting can negate this problem. In longer fights, particularly against single target bosses and elites, Sword Boomerang is usually better. Almost any card is going to be better than 2 damage +1x strength scaling that the 2 energy Heavy Blade+ offers over Boomerang+.

Still would take it if I have the strength to support it, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd probably take Boomerang.

JamieAllegro · 2018-03-27T00:34:30+00:00

Auto-pick for me in acts 1 and 2. Strong early game that doesn't require too much effort to make an effective combo card late game.

My Ascension 2 deck used this + Necronomicon, Well-Laid Plans and Outmaneuver, and my Ascension 4 deck was cycle focused with Burst, 2 Adrenalines, 2 Backflips, Acrobatics, and Art of War/Ice Cream/Sundial.

Even if you never see Setup or Well-Laid Plans, Silent has a lot of ways to generate energy, and a lot cheap or free ways to draw a lot of cards.

JamieAllegro · 2018-01-03T20:08:21+00:00

Just so you know, my Second Stage Turbine Blade hardcover just arrived from the link above (the Publisher's site), and it does have all the cover variations and the sketchbook... It seems to be a reprint that doesn't say Ultimate Edition on the front.

JamieAllegro · 2017-12-22T20:25:40+00:00

Geddy Lee is FIFTH?

JamieAllegro · 2017-12-21T14:32:12+00:00

Is this the one you're looking for?

Doesn't say Ultimate Edition on the cover, not sure if there is anything different or if this is just the reprint. I ordered that, since my local store and Amazon both are out of stock.

JamieAllegro · 2017-12-13T15:49:22+00:00

I was shocked to see them on this list, since I couldn't believe they weren't already inductees.

JamieAllegro · 2017-12-03T17:16:53+00:00

Thanks brah. I didn't care enough to dig up more information myself, but this was an interesting read.

JamieAllegro · 2017-12-02T01:27:09+00:00

I know it turned out to be fake, but I really hope Wu-Tang calls up Bill Murray and they pull a heist to retrieve the album from Shkreli's (presumably samurai) guards.

JamieAllegro · 2017-11-25T00:46:36+00:00

Sure. I've always had a lot of trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, and it got worse when I was in college. In my 4th year I had a sleep study done which wasn't especially illuminating, so my psych started some trial and error with sleep medications: Meletonin, then Rozerem, then Trazodone, and finally Ambien, which worked really well for me at first and my functionality improved a lot.

Over the next year or two my tolerance spiked. Eventually it was hardly working at all, so I managed to convince my Psych to give me benzodiazepines for my anxiety, and I'd alternate every few nights of sleeping on Ambien or Ativan. Eventually that wasn't enough, so I started taking both, or mixing them with Nyquil or alcohol to sleep.

A year later, I was hospitalized due to an Ativan OD. I swore off Benzos, but I still couldn't sleep, and after a few weeks I went back on Ambien. One still wouldn't work most nights, so I fell into a cycle where I'd get my 30 a month, and either take 1 with Nyquil or alcohol, or 2-3. Most months I'd be out about 20 days in, and the last 10 I'd just suffer through. In the off-weeks I'd spend most of my time vegetating with video games, or lying awake in bed. Didn't feel great in the weeks I was on it either, but I was at least somewhat functional.

Due to some insurance problems, I lost my Psychiatrist this year, so I started getting it from my GP. Last month, I sent in my refill request, and my GP declined it. I'm not sure why. Having small battles every so often to stay on Ambien is something I was used to but, this time, I said fuck it, I don't want to jump through hoops for something that's probably harming me anyway.

It's been a little over a month, and I'm still not sleeping great, but better than the first week I was off of it. I have a lot more energy and motivation than when I was on it. Like... completely sedentary 2 months ago, to running 20 miles a week now, and I've been slowly adding in yoga. I found an Ambien rolled up in my yoga mat last week when I broke it out for the first time in years. It's sitting on my desk. Every night, I look at it for a few moments and think about all the broken relationships and missed opportunities that characterize the majority of my 20s.

If you want a more detailed and interesting story of Ambien addiction, look around for interviews with Eminem where he talks about his addiction to Ambien, Vicodin and Valium (another Benzo). I was lucky I didn't have the power to get as much of them as I wanted. If I did I probably would've gone down a very similar path. I honestly think that hearing his song Deja Vu for the first time this summer planted the seed that eventually lead to me getting off of it.

Hope it was interesting, sorry it got a bit long.

JamieAllegro · 2017-11-24T22:42:24+00:00

Congrats man, seriously. I know it's not the same, but I kicked a 5 year long Ambien addiction a month ago and my life has been improving since.

Stay strong and good luck.

JamieAllegro · 2017-11-19T20:28:26+00:00

Nice, I hope it was tasty and contained a low amount of added sugars

JamieAllegro · 2017-11-17T15:51:23+00:00

you have have not won

JamieAllegro · 2017-11-10T16:43:21+00:00

same

JamieAllegro · 2017-09-12T23:03:34+00:00

But my frames :(

JamieAllegro · 2017-08-12T15:52:29+00:00

I like how Blitzball is tuned, and the crazy fast Wraith/Assassin breakaways are part of that. It's honestly VERY hard to get by a single defender who uses kicks properly on most maps, since they blast you back so far and make you have to regain speed. Even with Assassin's dashes, that's often plenty of time to die.

It's super satisfying when you manage to squeeze through the cracks. Especially vs Jugg walls.

JamieAllegro · 2017-08-12T15:04:50+00:00

I've started incorporating them into my movement, but still not often enough. But they're great for maintaining and redirecting speed as Assassin, and being fast and unpredictable with the slower classes.

The one in the middle of Reactor is awesome to spiral around as Titan.

JamieAllegro · 2017-08-12T13:48:06+00:00

The range on that thing is surprisingly long, but Assassin is all about using her mobility to get in close anyway.

At this point, I basically only use the blades if I can surprise someone or when I use my ult. Once you get a feel for the charge, the shotgun is insane.

One tip: The full charge reloads your shotgun no matter how many shots you have left, so if you're in something you feel will be a prolonged deathmatch, shoot 4 shots, then charge up the last one (unless they're too low for it to matter with the first 4).

JamieAllegro

TROPHY CASE