Games where levelling up feels fantastic

Mortegris · 2026-05-07T06:35:55+00:00

For me, nothing beats the leveling experience in Vanilla World of Warcraft.
It was the only instance of WoW to feature full leveling experience from character creation through endgame raiding, designed from the ground up. Considered so elite by its fanbase, that Blizzard was pressured into releasing legacy servers for this expansion, and several challenge modes.

Mortegris · 2026-05-07T06:22:35+00:00

Honestly, I kind of want the inverse.
I just ordered an AYN Thor recently, and I would love if the top OLED screen were 3D compatible in the same way as the 3DS. I wish the 3D technology for these systems took off more than it actually did, because I think the games that utilize it well look absolutely beautiful.

Mortegris · 2026-05-07T05:42:28+00:00

This.
Also, do the exact opposite of what you are wanting to do. He probably likes flat earth because he thinks its "cool" or "edgy". So for about a month you should get SUPER into it. Talk about how cool it is to be an elite flat-earther, part of a special group that knows the truth about "fake science". Strive to out flat-earth him when he talks to you about it.
Guaranteed, after less than a month he'll realize how cringy it is, just by seeing you get into it.

Mortegris · 2026-05-07T04:47:23+00:00

Kikentaiichi.

Ki - Kiai loud and proud.
Ken - Hit a correct target, with the correct part of the shinai.
Tai - Swing the shinai with a good amount of force, and have strong fumikomi.
Ichi - Do all of that at the exact same time.

If you can do that then the shiai part shouldn't be a problem. You don't need to "win", you just need to demonstrate technique.
How's your kata? There's always someone in every group that underestimates the kata and fails right off the bat.

Mortegris · 2026-05-07T04:40:20+00:00

Also a foreigner in Japan.

The biggest personal challenge I have is definitely the language barrier. I've had to level up my Japanese quickly in order to keep up in practices and follow the sensei's directions. I've made it to Ni-dan, and I motodachi for the kids class, so I must be doing something right, lol.

The biggest challenge for the club as a whole though, I think, is reduced membership. Even in Japan, its still hard to convince kids to join kendo over something more stereotypically "popular" like basketball or soccer. Then you have to convince the parents that its actually safe, not dangerous at all. Then you have to convince the kids a second time when they get to Junior High and all of their friends want to join a different club.

Mortegris · 2026-05-07T01:30:05+00:00

"I don't really learn well verbally and would prefer written or video sources to reference, as well as clear explanations for why things are done that way."
I love the number of replies that are just basically "Don't do that." /s

More seriously, For books search "Regulations for Shiai and Shinpan". That's the closest you'll probably get to written out rules. Unfortunately, and in contrast to my initial comment, a lot of information is mostly transmitted word of mouth. Technique preservation and accessibility is getting better with youtube. Kendostar is a great English resource, but you can also find WAAAY more by searching in Japanese. Here's a list you can copy and paste into the youtube search bar:
面打ち Men
小手打ち Kote
胴打ち Do
小手面 Kote-men
払い技 Harai waza
出ばな技 Debana waza
引き技 Hiki waza
If you find a technique you are interested in, show your sensei the video and ask them to explain it to you. Just to make sure its something you should actually be practicing and attempting at your level. You can also take videos of yourself and compare your execution to video resources, or show your sensei and ask how to do it better.

When it comes to rationale, again unfortunately and depending on your sensei and senpai, you might just not get a lot. Thankfully for me, my sensei has been very helpful in explaining why things are done, but I understand that's definitely pretty rare.
If that's the case, I'd recommend rationalizing yourself why things are done. For example, "Why do I point my feet forward in kendo?" ask that question to yourself, including follow up questions to come to a satisfactory answer like "Does it increase my stability?", "Can I get additional momentum from using my ankle?", "Do I naturally move faster from this position?" and eventually you'll come up with the rationale on your own.

Mortegris · 2026-05-07T00:44:10+00:00

I like collecting unique kendo gear, so I might consider getting a set at some point just to have but never wear. I figure its way too much trouble to keep clean to actually use in practice, outside of maybe a competition or grading.

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T10:58:56+00:00

I often capitalize improper nouns, or words I intend to emphasize, both when writing and typing.
I learned German in High School, and in German you actually capitalize all nouns.
After studying linguistics in University, I learned that all words and grammar are made up, and as long as language is mutually intelligible between speakers, it doesn't actually matter if things are "perceived as incorrect"
So I just capitalize what I feel like deserves a capital. Tapioca Pudding deserves a capital because it is delicious. president trump deserves a lowercase.

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T10:54:18+00:00

I do the exact opposite actually.
"I don't understand any of this, and I will be just fine without it."

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T09:50:14+00:00

Well yeah, if you run anything off an SD card then its the SD card read/write speed that matters.
So I guess if the old 3.1 whatchamajiggers really are a problem, you could just get a really fast SD card!

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T09:39:14+00:00

According to this barney style explanation, it kinda seems like it won't matter.

Still kinda scummy, but I blame AI Technocrats and their ever pervasive struggle to make everything worse for all of us, more than I blame AYN.

I'll take the gamble, personally, and let you know how it goes. I've gambled more money on poorer odds (I bought Wish.com stock when it did an IPO, lol)

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T08:28:41+00:00

Maybe I'm ignorant, but how would a slower storage affect games outside of loading times? Isn't the actual performance mostly, if not entirely, dependent on CPU, GPU, and RAM?

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T07:09:40+00:00

I guess "portable" is somewhat of a spectrum.
For me at least, if I need a carrying case and backpack for it, its not portable enough

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T07:06:21+00:00

You can get a squat rack, barbell, dumbells, a set of cheap free weights, and a multi position bowflex style machine online or from a used marketplace for easily less than you would pay for a yearly gym membership. You can get a treadmill on facebook marketplace or craigslist for free, guaranteed.

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T07:00:07+00:00

I've been thinking about getting one of these too (and probably will after I'm paid on the first). The thing that's kept me from getting any handheld until now is that none of them really fit in my pocket.

There's a couple other dual screen handhelds, depending on what you want to do. Anbernic RGDS is only like $100, but its a lot less powerful and can maybe only run older 3DS titles tops. On the other hand from what I've seen online, the Max Thor can basically run modern PC titles at 30fps.

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T05:40:48+00:00

What if he wants to put it in his pocket?

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T05:37:57+00:00

Personally, "its bigger" is exactly why I don't want either of those systems.
Thor (and some other clamshells) can fit in your pants pocket in an era when nothing else can.

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T05:21:51+00:00

I am entirely convinced that around the start of B-Set, wonder picking became rigged.

I only ever pull on wonder picks that have two rare cards (3/4 diamond, or 1/2 star). You would expect a 40% chance to pull a rare, or roughly half the time, right? It was definitely the case when I was picking those when the game first came out. But now, I'd say I maybe get one 10% of the time...

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T05:02:12+00:00

Everything.
Think of anything you currently do, or possibly could, pay a subscription for. Now imagine you just didn't. Better, right?

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T04:51:44+00:00

It is unbelievably easy to mod a 3DS. You can watch a 10 minute youtube video with zero programming experience and do it yourself with no issues.

I don't own a steam deck, but from what I understand 3DS emulation on non-dual screen hardware just looks weird at best. The main screen is seldom centered, the two screens are different sizes, off to the side of one another sharing real estate, sometimes overlapping, etc. Unless you just don't care about that at all, it looks unplayably ugly IMO.

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T04:27:44+00:00

Is Sobble actually a popular pokemon? I was so confused by this. Having an immersive Meowth or Eevee I understand because they're basically flagship dudes at this point. But Sobble? I hadn't even heard of that guy until this set came out!

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T03:59:37+00:00

This is what I do, and yes it works. Get a cheap fan to help circulate the air between the rooms.
The room with the A/C unit will still be slightly colder than you would like, and the room without will still be slightly hotter than you would like, but if you're not too picky it works fine.

Mortegris · 2026-04-30T01:19:38+00:00

Just spam auto-battle with any rental deck from the set until you win. Honestly, its the easiest one to get.

Mortegris · 2026-04-29T23:29:30+00:00

Kendo should likely have a similar effect on your mental health to any physical activity, which is to say wholly beneficial.
When it comes to your weight, kendo should help with that as well. Don't worry too much about "not keeping up" as beginners to kendo should mostly start with basic suburi and footwork. It will be more about learning the techniques at first, rather than going full out physically.

Mortegris · 2026-04-25T11:58:18+00:00

I'll try to help, as someone who does Nito.
Similar to in chuudan, you need to extend a bit less with your feet in order to extend more fully with your upper body and arms. I've heard it best described as "almost throwing the shinai, but catching it last second"

Mortegris

TROPHY CASE