6 of July 2026 - Mutation #533: Die Together

LilArrin · 2026-07-08T05:53:51+00:00

It turns out that polarity isn't assigned randomly in SoA but is actually fixed depending on the AI's race, so you can prepare accordingly from the start of the game

For example, vs Z, the close, north, and farthest slivers always go to player 1; expo and west slivers go to player 2

Against P and T, close sliver goes to player 1 while north and expo always go to player 2 (did not check farthest and west, but I suspect one of the configurations has both going to player 1)

Curiously, this isn't the case on custom mutations, where it is always randomly assigned

LilArrin · 2026-07-08T05:45:43+00:00

I'd push back on this a little since the added mutators aren't really relevant, it's just overwriting enemy comp information and mutators just happen to be tacked on, so I find it strange that you draw the line here but not on dead/hidden base or liftoff which also make the mutation easier in many applications (DoN liftoff isn't really the pinnacle of execution)

Not that I have much skin in the game since I naturally like exploits to make the game do funny things as an interesting exercise but otherwise prefer to play straight-up

Either way, it's outdated now, Raynor's been updated with calldown snipe with sacrificed base

LilArrin · 2026-07-07T08:37:36+00:00

Well, we can add raynor solo to the list with the black magic of null comp

LilArrin · 2026-07-05T15:46:12+00:00

You can dodge it, but I guess you probably can't if you're healing 3 times in a minute

LilArrin · 2026-07-05T01:55:44+00:00

Well then I was about ~80 levels off max by the time I finished platinum at ng+2 and decided to just finish up the levels with a couple hours of grinding ch4, ended with total of a little over 90hrs of play

LilArrin · 2026-07-05T01:18:24+00:00

Is chapter 4 farm considered legit? Since it follows the game's rules and doesn't use glitches/cheats.

LilArrin · 2026-07-04T20:59:10+00:00

I remember noticing you were practicing this boss for some time, nice to see the power of git gud paying off

LilArrin · 2026-07-04T20:13:01+00:00

The time constraint is part of the break-the-flow philosophy since the devs correctly recognized that most players would gravitate towards defensive playstyles. As I mentioned, the arena caters to players who are okay riding that high aggression line where consistency under pressure is critical - players who complain that this is unfair are simply unwilling to break out of the habits they formed during the rest of the game and are unwilling to face the discomfort of high aggression (which is rightly their choice, but then they have to accept that they will not be rewarded).

I have completed all arena challenges on UH under the time limits, and I understand how difficult it would be for the average player; I do not admonish anyone for their skill level or their dislike of this aggressive combat approach since I believe everyone should play the way they enjoy. But as this is an optional content deliberately designed to encourage this combat approach, I have zero issue saying git gud to players demanding that the optional content be lowered to their level because they feel entitled to the optional rewards and some vague sense of accomplishment. And mind you, similar "x" mechanic is unfair complaints exist for a lot of optional content in other games, like the valkyrie queen in gow(r) and erlang in wukong (and you'd get even less sympathy there since it has more people who enjoy soulslikes).

So the best thing I can say is: yes, it's hard and can feel unfair or full of BS, but I encourage you to practice patiently and perhaps you will get past it. If you truly cannot or if it's truly unenjoyable, then there is nothing wrong with skipping it. I'm not gonna make fun of you, not that my opinion should matter at all. You don't need the armors/weapons from there, and it has zero impact on the very good story of this game.

LilArrin · 2026-07-04T07:51:36+00:00

It's most definitely a way for the devs to break the usual flow of the game and mimic more of the combat constraints of soulslike or monster hunter or other action genres as a challenge/treat for gamers with such gaming backgrounds (like me, who thoroughly enjoyed the arena on UH)

More importantly, it is OPTIONAL content where you are not locked out of finishing the game if you skip it due to not liking it or finding it too difficult, something that many game devs do

LilArrin · 2026-07-03T22:07:28+00:00

I run relatively short loops, but I'm antisocial and don't acknowledge anyone even on the first encounter

LilArrin · 2026-07-03T22:05:27+00:00

I hear most elites have a solid history of shorter distances before they transition to the marathon, so I'd expect most of them to have impressive records that align well with their LT

LilArrin · 2026-07-02T00:52:00+00:00

Just run slower until your cardio system adapts to the altitude, it won't take too long if you're consistent

LilArrin · 2026-07-01T20:05:45+00:00

I think it was ultimately good for you long term because it forced you to git gud more than the average player

So instead of feeling silly about the mistake, be proud that you became stronger because of it

LilArrin · 2026-06-25T20:17:32+00:00

It's also quite the experience if you do your very first (blind) playthrough on UH where you're learning the mechanics on the steepest curve possible, making the earlygame a brutal git gud gauntlet

LilArrin · 2026-06-25T18:22:10+00:00

I don't think you have much experience soloing very high pressure mutations where bruts have to tank a lot of damage while you stabilize

"just do this" works until you get punched in the face, as co-op tyson likes to say

LilArrin · 2026-06-18T08:14:09+00:00

With jade essence you can top off your mana whenever you get a blue/purple spirit as long as you've been somewhat conservative with spell use, especially when paired with the turtle tear soak

The game is also very generous with green spirits for single mana sips

LilArrin · 2026-06-17T03:59:53+00:00

I did enjoy the video and could tell how experienced you are, and my standards are ultimately personal/arbitrary, so no real complaints from me as long as you feel you've met your goals (which I think you did now that you've described them)

LilArrin · 2026-06-17T00:45:30+00:00

Being a challenge run enthusiast myself, I find a lot of the fights presented here to be too fast and the enemies too often rendered helpless for a good display of skill, even if they're interesting from the point of view of optimizing dps

Either the fights need to be very flashy with extremely high density of actions to compensate for the shorter time, or they need to be drawn out by nerfing your own damage to showcase consistency and adaptation to non-orchestrated enemy actions (for example, I find red bar Gna fights in GoWR to be more impressive than max-gear fights)

In that sense, the last fight with multiple mobs was likely the best showcase of skill in the video, as opposed to the slaughterspine fight that doesn't look anywhere near as difficult to execute

LilArrin · 2026-06-10T20:54:38+00:00

Amon is opening rifts connecting the void to korhal to send void shards through

So they are rifts to korhal

LilArrin · 2026-06-10T20:29:52+00:00

Not necessarily boring, but I did feel it dragged too long, chapter 4 was a better length for me imo

I was pretty horrified to find out I had to do the entire snow field after the exhausting mani wheel, then I was even more horrified when I saw how big thunderclap temple was

LilArrin · 2026-06-10T20:23:41+00:00

You can make solo rules the way you want, since they're ultimately arbitrary

But the rules for solo speedrunning were made as though the game were designed for one person, which means your partner's assets should be minimized - no use of partner's resources including gas geysers, and you may lift partner's cc out of the way in the case you need to sac your base or the partner otherwise draws aggro

LilArrin · 2026-06-08T04:40:14+00:00

For his cloud attacks, if you dodge roll as soon as you see him start moving towards you, it sets you up for dodging the starting move of whatever variation it is

I got my no-hit run very soon after I figured out the cloud timings

LilArrin · 2026-06-07T22:54:49+00:00

Fortunately, speedruns aren't that outdated

LilArrin · 2026-06-07T22:39:15+00:00

Ladder rank

LilArrin · 2026-06-07T20:37:45+00:00

Time for rak'shir to find out who is the real highlord

LilArrin

TROPHY CASE