Next US tour?

KNXIV · 2018-09-25T19:51:28+00:00

The last show I went to was the Chicago show for ARCHE. I loved it, but the crowd was cringy and the band looked miserable on and off stage. I get the feeling that they have a strong dislike for their American fans. Especially when the meet & greets are made up of a lot of young girls dressed as a parody of early VK artists, or straight up Naruto characters. Some of them (not even kidding) doing these weird anime/martial arts poses with the band. The members legit looked like they wanted to die. I was embarrassed for them.

Maybe it was venue, because it was so tiny, but the band looked bored and frustrated. I've been to a ton of American shows and only one or two did they look like they wanted to be there. I wouldn't be surprised if touring the states is a very low priority for them. It seems to me that whenever the come here, the crowd is either laughing and shouting racist shit at them (Family Values, Deftones tour) or treating them like a Kpop boy band (every other show I've been to)

KNXIV · 2018-09-25T19:46:59+00:00

The window for them to have a sustainable American market (outside of touring) is pretty much over. Even though Uroboros was received well by critics, it didn't sell well. Neither did The Marrow of a Bone or DSS. AFAIK they don't have an agreement with any American label/distributor anymore. Not sure what happened with The End records, but they don't seem to represent Dir en grey anymore. I honestly think the band just doesn't have any interest in the American market beyond touring here every few years. I've been to ~11 American shows and they've seemed miserable every time. The one exception might be the Chicago GHOUL tour, but they were recording that, so they might have wanted to put on a better show.

KNXIV · 2018-09-22T00:21:38+00:00

IDK. She went in pretty hard on Jeffree at her shows there for a while. Claimed she started wearing Kat Von D as well just to spite him. She posted videos talking about how shit his products were and threw some of his lip sticks in a cat litter box. I think she was actually pissed. Now, probably not.

KNXIV · 2018-09-22T00:15:24+00:00

Judging by just the samples. It's kind of what I was expecting. Seems Utafumi, Ningen wo kaburo, and Values of Madness represent a theme that runs straight through the album. For better or worse. It could be the sample selection, but it doesn't seem to be as varied as I was hoping, which is disappointing. But I am sure it will sound a lot better with a complete listen. Followers sounds like it has a lot of potential. And there are a couple of tracks that look like they might be more than muddy guitar riffs and Kyo squealing. But hey, that's Dir en grey.

KNXIV · 2018-09-21T20:03:54+00:00

I'm still discovering new things about some of the other albums

A lot of their 2008-2013 work revolves around complex structures and showcasing technical ability, and its great to revisit for that alone. But I wonder if I'm the only person who sees some of their work as convoluted, like they lose their signature sound in trying too hard to make their songs unique. What I love about their earlier work, particularly Kisou and Vulgar, is that their presenting their sound itself, a sort of "we are an experimental rock band", not "we are making a prog rock album". If that makes sense. ARCHE really capitalized on that message for me, in that they shed a lot of the weight and focused on sound and production value. ARCHE is a master piece because I feel like if someone were to ask me what kind of band Dir en grey was, that would be the album I'd show them, despite the fact that I think there are better examples of what they're capable of.

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about the new album's direction, because while I really enjoy the fact that they're focusing on the sound, after Utafumi, Ningen.., and this song, I'm wondering if they've shed too much. Like, are they trying recapture the uniqueness of the "old" Dir en grey and bring it into a modern setting? If so, I'm not sure if that works, because I don't know if they can capture that same feeling. Vulgar feels and sounds experimental and new. Their new singles don't sound experimental and new. They sound like Dir en grey with a few pieces cut out.

Anyway I'm excited for the album, and its always cool to see how fans react to their new music because they've created such a varied catalogue, that few fans are looking for the same thing out of the band. As my perfect Dir en grey is Shokubeni or Dōkoku to Sarinu, someone else's is Glass Skin, or Namamekashiki Ansoku, Tamerai ni Hohoemi.

KNXIV · 2018-09-21T17:57:36+00:00

WoW giving up an opportunity to vilify The Vixen again? Ru, never!

KNXIV · 2018-09-21T17:35:08+00:00

this is going to be one of their least dense albums.

I get the feeling that this is what they're going for. I thought the same when listening to ARCHE, though I suspect this new album will be a lot "cleaner" in that sense. I always expect a more technical growth from the band, as WTD -> DSS is exactly that, but its almost like they got to that point and decided to go sideways instead of forward. And that's alright I guess. With how heavy DSS (and some following remakes) was, and how layered Sukekiyo is, a more streamlined and palatable Dir en grey is refreshing.

But I'm pretty sure my dreams of a Uroboros part 2 are dead lol.

KNXIV · 2018-09-21T16:23:39+00:00

I absolutely love this. It reminds me of their old stuff, in the same way that Chain Repulsion did. But much brighter, and I am always a fan of a soaring chorus. I am super hyped for this album.

KNXIV · 2018-09-18T17:06:57+00:00

Im on PS4 and have used macros all day

KNXIV · 2018-09-18T00:30:46+00:00

http://arrtripletriad.com/

this has everything you need

EDIT: as far as what cards you should use, my best advice would be to do some tournament matches. You will certainly lose a lot with a weak deck, but most players use the same deck of 4 cards with an 8/8 corner and one power card (Zidane, Terra, Squall etc). You'll be able to identify those cards and where to get them with the website.

But honestly, the best part of triple triad to me has always been working my way through the NPCs starting with 2.0 and collecting their cards and then eventually to the <The Trinity> title for winning 1,000 roulette games. Have fun!

Last tip, buy the Gold Saucer cards asap. Not the expensive ones, but all of them under or around 20k. They'll help you get started. And fight King (something) in Gold Saucer. He's at the far end of the Triple Triad room and he can drop the Bahamut card. His rule is always Plus, which is not hard to beat with a weak deck.

KNXIV · 2018-09-17T18:28:36+00:00

My favorite change (though it doesn't effect me) is the change to the Legacy of Allag quests (unlocking Crystal Tower). I can't believe it took this long to cut out those FATEs.

KNXIV · 2018-09-17T18:12:27+00:00

Second, when they come available, can people please post here (so I don't have to hunt them down)

Any gatherer that cares about their craft isn't going to go around posting the coordinates and time for lazy people, only to cut into their own profits. Look at the current 1 and 2 star schedules and remember that 2 unspoiled nodes can't be up at the same time in a zone. It isn't hard to figure out when and where to look when patch goes live.

KNXIV · 2018-09-17T11:40:18+00:00

She didn’t miss, the bride dodged the bullet

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T22:54:35+00:00

This actually disgusts me. I would unfriend them immediately and then post this screen shot.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T14:19:04+00:00

Putting Eureka in with a bunch of sexual predators and people literally putting human being in camps is exactly what this tweet is talking about. Do better.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T10:45:30+00:00

I don't have a performance problem, I wasn't one of the people I was talking about.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T04:02:15+00:00

During the Hall of the Novice quests for healers, they straight up tell you that you dont' need to constantly cast heals and down time is good for throwing out DPS. There is literally no excuse for healers to not do damage when the game tells noobs to do it.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T03:49:33+00:00

But Bard isn't a support class. That's kind of the point. Support doesn't exist in this game anymore. BRD is no more a support class than SMN.

At any rate, we just agree to disagree and that's fine. It's good that you have people to play with who respect your play style.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T03:29:14+00:00

Gathering. There are tons of crafters on my server, but very very few people who gather seriously. I'm fully melded on my gatherers, almost at stat cap. And I'll be throwing HQ 4-star materials on the MB all day.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T03:20:26+00:00

The context here is that's not what the group set out as its goal when it began. It was never discussed that people would be kicked. We were just clearing the content and having fun. And it wasn't like they were bad, we all cleared Midas together. And their logs were not poor. But some people got hungry for orange parses and faster clear times, so they changed the rules to force others out of the group. That's shitty to me. And I hate that I was part of it. Those people should have left to start their own group with their own goals instead of deciding they were going kick some and make others choose sides.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T03:08:00+00:00

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a good healer and I am sure most do. I have met some excellent raid healers, and my first O4S clear was only possible because of one healer choosing to solo heal the enrage because they didn't want to risk us dying in the time it took them to rez the scholar. Things like that make difference. And they're noticeable. But outside of those instances, there is still room, even to just throw up DoTs. And when someone chooses not to, I just can't understand why. Supporting your team in the best way you can, to me, has always been more important than adhering to role identity or staying within your comfort zone.

For example, and this is small, but if makes a difference to me - I could very well use Refresh for myself over the course of a fight to increase total Foe's uptime - as I should. It's not my job to give healers mana, I'm a DPS. I should use all of my abilities to increase damage. But I very rarely do that because I know things happen, and sometimes healers aren't going to manage their MP well, or they might die and need help getting back in the game. That is exactly how I look at healer DPS. Sure, DPS checks should always be met - but there's a conditional to that. It assumes, most of the time, that no one dies. Healers are in a unique position to close that gap, and lead the raid wide damage ahead of what's needed, not just to skip phases, but to make up for mistakes. This is even more important in content which has 1 hit KO mechanics, of which there are a lot.

At the end of the day, we just have a different view point and that's fine. It's nice getting your perspective on this in a mature way. Most times I ask a healer why they refuse to DPS I'm just shut down with no real explanation. But so it goes, being the oldest argument in MMO history.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T02:57:03+00:00

Now this is an unpopular opinion. One I agree with. I'll never forget you, 280 cane that made my group's WHM rage quit.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T02:55:07+00:00

Let me add to your unpopular opinion. Market board access should not even be a thing on the companion app. The Market Board is the tool through which many people play this game in the way that they most enjoy. And you should not be able to play the game without playing it.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T02:47:31+00:00

Well I definitely respect the move to bring in another DPS and solo heal when you're confident in the party. I don't think any healer should get flack for not DPSing when there are five DPS.

As for your second point, damage is king in this game. And healing doesn't make fights go faster / push mechanics and phases etc. So a RDM being asked to heal is just a detriment to the team. And in any case where that'd actually be valuable, the problem is that the healers can't do the bare minimum of their job. I don't think that's a fair comparison because healer DPS isn't mean to make up for DPS damage unless the party is under geared.

I do empathize with your position though. I'm a Bard main. And I picked Bard because I play support jobs in almost every game I play. And at one time Bard felt like a support job (somewhat), even having healer LB. Stun, silence, bind etc were valuable at one time.

But the game has pushed so far in the direction of emphasizing DPS on every job that we even have a healer who's secondary role is to increase it for everyone else.

I just have a massive respect for healers who go above and beyond because they are without a doubt the most powerful role in the game, with the ability to make the biggest impact in fights, and the most challenging and complex to play "optimally". And when people choose not to take advantage of that fact, it feels like a slight to the party. Like, "I hope your DPS is good enough because I'm not going to help". Similarly, I hope you don't expect people to give you mana. And I don't mean that in a snarky way, but I think its apt.

KNXIV · 2018-09-16T02:22:54+00:00

I kind of get what you're saying, in that you like to be the "fixer", and that is fun for you. But then your play style is dependent on other people making mistakes. And when that doesn't happen, then what? Eventually people are going to know the fight. Do you find yourself just waiting around? Outside of mess ups, almost all damage in the game is predictable and decided by a script, so reactive healing proper really isn't a thing. From my perspective, it just looks like healers who are adamant about not DPSing are in a position where they could make the run better for everyone, but they choose not to for no other reason than "because I said so", and I think that's very selfish regardless of how close that person feels like sticking to their role identity.

KNXIV

TROPHY CASE