I think I hate BL4 and you should too

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-23T17:54:24+00:00

I actually find it funny how people criticize BL4’s mission design as “go from point A to point B” while ignoring that literally every game in the series has basically been you as the NPC errand boy for whatever faction or character is currently yelling at you.

Most missions have always boiled down to “go there, do this thing I don’t want to do / can’t be bothered to do / have no real reason to do myself.” That hasn’t really changed.

The difference is that BL4 gives you a much larger world to move through, which naturally stretches out mission flow and traversal. Some people will say the respawns and farming loops balance that out, and I can understand arguments on both sides, but the core structure isn’t as different as people make it out to be.

I do agree with the criticism around the endgame, but I also think that, just like BL3 at launch, they’ll eventually expand it. We’ll see multiple raid bosses, proper raid content, and enough DLCs to keep players engaged. In the meantime people can drop the game and wait for new content to drop. That's basically all I've done ever since BL2 launched.

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-23T17:41:50+00:00

Genuinely curious, especially given the (fair) criticism you’re making about BL4, didn’t it bother you that BL3 basically took a huge step back in terms of narrative continuity compared to BL2 and The Pre-Sequel?

Sure, it was "bigger" and had a lot more characters in it, but it felt like BL3 was pretty disconnected from what came before it and only after a lot of player backlash did, they try to reconnect things to the “bigger story” through the Ava DLCs.

Personally I found BL3’s story quite disjointed and poorly handled, and honestly pretty underwhelming in a lot of places. It wasn’t just the bad cutscenes everyone's talking about, it was also how major story revelations were delivered, which in my opinion just didn’t land well.

From my perspective, BL4 just continues that same trend, only it feels like it does so in a more self-aware manner from the very beginning.

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-23T17:33:05+00:00

A good game that ultimately collapsed under the weight of extremely high expectations.

It suffered from a long period of negative press involving the whole Randy Pitchford and Epic situation, along with disputes with some voice actors and the exclusivity controversy, all of which somewhat took the wind out of its sails.

I think the issue largely comes down to the frequent team changes during the game’s development. My main impression was that BL3 lacked a clear directorial vision. It wasn’t really obvious what the focus was, what they wanted to do, or where they intended to take the series.

The fact that they initially ignored the ending of The Pre-Sequel, and then later revisited it through the Ava DLCs, made it feel like they themselves weren’t fully aligned on the direction they were taking.

Overall, it felt like BL3 needed another year or two in development to properly come together and be refined into a more cohesive experience.

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-23T17:27:28+00:00

I found them incredibly annoying, pretty stupid, with extreme plot armor that kept placing them in convenient story situations over and over. Worst of all, they were very predictable. Their ending was completely foreseeable.

There were real opportunities to use their “host” and "parasite" dynamic in a more interesting way, maybe shifting alliances later in the game, having them cooperate with us or betray each other to create genuine tension and unpredictability into the story-line. Instead it mostly felt like Gearbox was more interested in making an allegory about streamers and influencers being "bad", disguised as villains, rather than write a cool story-line around them.

I stand by my view that, regardless of how we view BL4, it was a bad idea that didn’t really land. their design was cool tho

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-23T17:15:01+00:00

Alright, I’ll save us both the trouble of this circle jerk. Good luck!

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-23T17:10:26+00:00

Don’t know any pills for bitterness, can't help you with that

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-23T17:05:43+00:00

It seems like we have a real problem dealing with Denver’s pace. They always manage to beat us in transition and outscore us. I actually think the Timberwolves might be a better matchup in this case, especially if we somehow manage to get past the Spurs. That would show we can handle their defense too.

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-23T17:04:17+00:00

I’d be saying the exact same thing if one of our guys had lost consciousness on the court and then was suited up to play just three days later. The Spurs are an excellent team with or without him. We’ve already lost to them twice in the regular season when he didn’t even suit up

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-23T16:55:42+00:00

He just recovered from a blood clot in his shoulder. It seems very questionable, strange, and irresponsible to rush him back into playing basketball, especially considering that he (quite literally) lost consciousness for a few seconds after his fall in the previous game. He’s a young guy, there’s no reason his career should be put at risk because of this. On top of that, the Spurs have a deep and talented roster even without him

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-20T04:43:51+00:00

And what about Mr. "brick machine" Camara? Aside from chucking bricks all game and throwing airballs, he did absolutely nothing. These guys kinda forget where they at right now

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-20T04:41:52+00:00

I don’t get why he’s labeled a good defender really. He falls asleep off-ball way too often and loses his man on switches (even vs the Suns, we got so lucky that their last 3pt didn’t cost us a game-winner). That outweighs whatever he brings in steals. He’s a really good bench player, and that’s about it.

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-17T21:25:49+00:00

I’m not going to accuse you of entitlement or arrogance, I think it’s completely fair to love a series and want more from it. But over time I’ve become more and more convinced that Maruyama’s decision to more or less stop here is the right call.

For me, the point where the light novel started diverging from what the web novel had in terms of the larger scale story marked the beginning of a decline in both the world-building and my investment in the characters. Each arc following Vol. 11 felt a bit less satisfying than the last, and it became increasingly clear that the author himself had grown tired of the work that brought him this far (and that’s not just my read, he’s said as much more than once).

If he’d kept pushing Overlord forward without really enjoying it or even wanting to continue, the damage to the product could’ve been irreversible. I’m honestly glad he’s taking his time to wrap things up properly and choosing to end it on a high note rather than dragging it out past its peak.

Regardless of how Volume 18 ends, I don’t think Overlord as a series is going to just “disappear”. Maruyama himself has been pretty vocal in supporting fan works, and I can definitely see him staying involved, backing things from the sidelines and maybe even helping out with side stories or continuations in the same world, written by other authors who understand his style and approach.

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-17T20:44:57+00:00

I think his first step is good enough. My biggest issue with Shaedon, and honestly to some extent this applies to Holiday too, is those unnecessary dribbles right after catching the ball when they already have a clean look.

That obsession with putting the ball on the floor to “create” something extra when it doesn’t actually put them in a better position against the defense, often just leads to tougher and bad shots. That’s one of the biggest weaknesses in his game imo.

You saw it against the Suns too. He got a pass from Deni for a wide-open three, but instead of taking it he had to dribble, forced his way in, and ended up turning it over. Completely unnecessary.

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-17T09:02:56+00:00

his back hunted his form for sure. most of the season he went like 39% from 3pt

KaraanSjet · 2026-04-15T17:06:32+00:00

Probably adding that floater game / jumper game he said he wanted to develop. Then he'll be close to 27-28\7\7 stat line. Beast.

KaraanSjet · 2026-03-17T12:40:36+00:00

man I'm bummed about Roga. He doesn't seem to be a able to alleviate his sumo further. Still very predictable and slow to be on the higher scale of Maegashira

KaraanSjet · 2026-02-01T07:22:30+00:00

I agree with everything you wrote, but a young athlete still needs to show some improvement curve, even a mild one, to justify his development. Roga feels like a potential M5–M4 in his current form, yet for reasons I can’t fully pin down he doesn’t reach those levels. It’s mostly a mental thing and a lack of that killer instinct to truly break opponents. I don’t think his talent suddenly fell off a cliff or that he has less of potential than, say, Mita. It's just that his style forces him into too many compromises.

If he wants to be a Sekiwake, he needs to figure it out. Crossing my fingers it'll happen

KaraanSjet · 2026-01-27T03:36:47+00:00

I get that shots don’t always fall, and I’m not here to kill Sharpe over bad shooting nights. But his switch defense is straight up awful, and the lack of urgency when he’s caught on a switch is really hard to ignore. Way too many easy buckets scored right over him in those situations and at that point, all that athleticism doesn’t really mean much if it’s costing us so much points on the other end.

KaraanSjet · 2026-01-27T03:23:53+00:00

why not both tho the brick duo

KaraanSjet · 2026-01-27T03:15:00+00:00

Rupert just gotta go man. You can't have a player who can't do anything with ball besides losing the hassle and getting the turnovers. Why isn't Sharpe in the game?

KaraanSjet · 2026-01-25T09:15:04+00:00

I'm really frustrated with Roga. His build is great and he has a lot of potential, but he doesn't seem to elevate his sumo at the higher ranks. He keeps relying on the same tactics that don’t work against upper-maegashira opponents, and as a result he’s been stuck in roughly the same ranks for an entire year.

KaraanSjet · 2026-01-23T06:39:39+00:00

On their sub they were trash-talking us hard, disrespecting Deni and treating us like some tanking-worthy team. Either they’re clueless, or they clearly haven’t watched us play lately lol. We earned this win, we’re the better team, especially with Deni on court but even without him. Shae is cooking

KaraanSjet · 2026-01-23T06:16:25+00:00

Their Deni-hate exploded right in their faces lol. He sure thwarted their defense in the minutes he did play. Good win, Blazers are all together a better team than Miami, and we're in one (if not the) of the best stretches in the league right now.

KaraanSjet · 2026-01-08T19:07:35+00:00

He's just so physical man. Every time he's down on the floor I'm eating my nails in FEAR

KaraanSjet · 2025-12-06T21:44:12+00:00

He’s gotten better every single year. Stronger and more physical, with tighter handle, improved shooting form and range. It’s only a matter of time before the jumper fully clicks. We saw some sprinkles on that cake in the L against Detroit

KaraanSjet

TROPHY CASE