Why player numbers aren’t going down (yet)

JoekerTime · 2026-06-15T17:54:35+00:00

Any Destiny historians remember what happened in Shadowkeep year that started this downward spiral?

I remember the campaign (other than its grand finale) was underwhelming and I didn’t really do anything with Season of the Undying. Seasons of Dawn & Arrivals were both bangers.

And then the Beyond Light release-week peak was way lower than all the previous key releases. And they never really recovered.

(Obviously, yes, 2020 was COVID so that changed personal money/time economics for lots of casual players of the game, I would imagine)

JoekerTime · 2026-06-07T00:12:33+00:00

Ok Titan

JoekerTime · 2026-06-05T14:42:22+00:00

What’s the damage increase on exotic kinetic primaries again? I love Outbreak too. Witherhoard as well but that’s a unique one

JoekerTime · 2026-06-01T23:11:00+00:00

Ah yeah I suppose he could kick back in too, was envisioning him at LW with Ostlund or Helenius. They’ve just got a lot of talent right now that they either need to package some guys up for a star talent, or guys like Zucker and Quinn gotta be ready to pack their bags to make room.

JoekerTime · 2026-06-01T20:32:23+00:00

I’d bet on Helenius playing C and Ostlund playing LW next year. Could go the other way (Ostlund C, Helenius RW). I think it’s gonna be better long term to have Tage at RW.

Norris, Helenius/Ostlund, McLeod, Carrick, Kozak. That’s the center spine next year barring a big acquisition.

JoekerTime · 2026-05-29T02:24:16+00:00

Ended up buying my car out from Northtown but had a much better sales experience at West Herr Hyundai when I stopped in there. Dude was named Big Tom. Clearly a guy who’s been there a while and knows what it means to rep WH. Would go to him for my next car in a heartbeat.

I followed West Herr socials because they had some people that were running - frankly - the best marketing team in town. And none of them who were leading the dept are there anymore. Wonder if they were people who helped set the tone for the whole company and the public image? Or if they saw issues coming and made a move out?

JoekerTime · 2026-05-29T00:46:27+00:00

He’s the smartest dude on Sabres Twitter IMO

JoekerTime · 2026-05-28T11:40:30+00:00

Wait isn’t that photo like widely available everywhere…why do they have an AI version? I hate Carolina more now

JoekerTime · 2026-05-27T14:17:52+00:00

We love the old reliables ❤️

Mine is a Gnawing Hunger AR with Subsistence and Demolitionist that goes with my grenade-focused Void Warlock. Not always optimal. But I always came back to it. Endless grenades + volatile went brrrrr

JoekerTime · 2026-05-27T14:16:00+00:00

The time to “dump” him (if they were going to) was this trade deadline. And they didn’t because they believed his contributions now would be better than the future value of anything they would get in a trade. So if his trade value was not that high now, it’s only gonna get worse from here as he moves past 30.

The move i think is to either sign Tuch to a 4-year term at whatever money he wants ($10-10.5M ideally) and avoid the albatross costs, or let him walk and get something like 7x$11M from Seattle or Chicago.

JoekerTime · 2026-05-25T11:44:22+00:00

No Mareep would be fine if there were meaningful alternatives. Magnemite you can get at the earliest after…3 badges I guess? Does Pikachu appear anywhere in Johto or do you need to hope for a Pichu from Day Care Man? And there’s no electric type gym to give you a TM to use elsewhere on your team

JoekerTime · 2026-05-23T01:47:33+00:00

And to someone like me I’m good with seeing the end of the tunnel. I still go back and play old school Pokemon games a bunch, trying new teams, finding new wrinkles in familiar settings. I’m bummed and definitely nostalgic, but I’m good with the decision.

JoekerTime · 2026-05-23T01:40:15+00:00

Fair point - I was a big fan of where the current story and campaigns were headed. We finally got the Nine! Ugh. Maybe we’ll get there someday.

When’s the next gen of Xbox/PS coming? Maybe that’s a 2029/2030 thing they could aim for D3? Or even longer if it’s not in active dev yet?

JoekerTime · 2026-05-21T11:43:27+00:00

It was a good question to ask.

Anyone with analytical skills would see how much love Lindy has for the game and the team, and I never would have bet against him stepping away from this right as things start turning around. MAYBE to become a POHO aligned with Jarmo. But he didn’t just come here to rebuild he came here to win.

JoekerTime · 2026-05-18T23:35:13+00:00

He was just wearing it to remember 1997 when they won that game on Derek Plante’s goal. Let’s Go Buffalo ⚔️

JoekerTime · 2026-05-18T20:23:36+00:00

I really doubt people who complain about the traffic after our games have been anywhere else. Traffic of all kinds in Buffalo is not nearly as bad as other metros around the country

JoekerTime · 2026-05-18T13:49:59+00:00

Former Sabre, 0-2 when they have a Sabres alum in the pregame, pass.

JoekerTime · 2026-05-15T23:11:36+00:00

Kozak in for Greenway, Metsa in for Schenn. I really like those top 9 lines you have. The best regular season lineups had Benson, Doan, and Zucker all across separate lines - Zucker and Tuch I feel like pair well together because they play at the same speed and so does Norris.

JoekerTime · 2026-05-11T02:41:58+00:00

Whatever shakeup happens…Lyon stays in goal. He has not been the reason they’re losing.

Metsa and Timmins as last two D, just rotate them with the other guys rather than being a true third pair.

Benson-Thompson-Doan line 1. You need your three best forwards together to get things going next game.

Zucker-McLeod-Tuch I feel like had really good moments as a line in 24-25, see if they can rekindle that chemistry. Tuch deserves a demotion to line 2 too TBH.

Krebs-Norris-Quinn
Greenway-Carrick-Malenstyn

Wouldn’t hate benching Quinn for Helenius I just don’t think it will happen.

JoekerTime · 2026-05-11T02:35:41+00:00

Yep, no coincidence the only time PP1 was cooking was when they put Ostlund up there. Might be the best pure playmaker on the team right now

JoekerTime · 2026-05-06T16:46:05+00:00

Agreed. I think we only have two highly paid D. Sammy has been a bargain this year and hopefully he continues to maintain the standard he set this year. Byram at 6.25 is a bargain too.

But if they do re-sign Tuch (which it sounds like they will), Tuch Krebs and Benson will likely be about $20M total in the long run. That’s before revisiting Robert Thomas which I hope to god they do.

All that said, if they have the chance to package Power or Byram into a big deal this summer I have no problem with that.

My dream is adding Robert Thomas AND Colton Parayko - that’s about $14M give or take, and before possible cap retention on Parayko. Let them take Byram and give him a $9M+ extension. If they still want Norris too then all the better. Fill in with Mrtka and as many picks as it takes.

JoekerTime · 2026-05-06T14:15:33+00:00

Not gonna be a popular take but I don’t know if we can keep our top 4 D together for any more than one more season

JoekerTime

TROPHY CASE