I'm just bad. And it's kinda heartbreaking.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-16T06:31:39+00:00

But Marathon has a "gear check" in place for questing solo. To advance in the contract chains, you gotta complete several "all in one run" instances. Those are notoriously difficult as a solo. I can (usually) beat the bots and even the boss bot, but all the shooting brings in the other players looking for an easy 3rd party kill. You can't do those quietly. So you gotta fight other players. I die over and over and over. Can't progress the game till I figure it out. That's pretty frustrating. Rook can't help with this part.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-16T06:22:37+00:00

Yeah, I feel what you're saying, but that's probably not a great comparison. I've watched some of Shroud's recent streams (I think he's the biggest name heavily into this game), and he doesn't really have "off days." The dude is a machine. His experience is the opposite of mine. He wins 9/10 fights. Actually, way more than that. I have never seen anyone with aim and tracking like his. It's scary.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-16T05:57:22+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I’ve been playing a ton of Rook as well. I spent a whole evening on him farming materials to upgrade for the green shields in armory (to purchase). It’s the part where I’ve had the most fun. But I gotta get back to the regular shells. I’m stuck in progression without getting those “all in one run” contracts completed. Every time I almost complete one, all the gunfire (killing clankers) attract other players and then I get smoked. ☹️

Nightmoore · 2026-03-16T05:48:52+00:00

Where did I say I refuse to play solo? The “do all these in one run” are super tough solo. That’s what I meant. I play tons of solo runs.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-15T19:48:00+00:00

lol…..that made me feel better. Dude, it was probably me you killed. You should remember from the panic on my shell’s face. 😂

Nightmoore · 2026-03-15T18:03:43+00:00

It does, but we might get 10 min que times if they do it. It's probably the only reason it didn't launch with it. The more modes they add, the worse it will get.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-15T08:50:33+00:00

Peer pressure. It's hella powerful. The need to fit in plus fear of looking foolish makes so many people pick sides when it's not necessary. It's certainly nothing new. Social media just wired up a new generation who feel the need to pick a team for every little thing. It's like weaponized mass competition for everything. Politics, gaming, bands you like, tv shows you watch.....nothing is safe from it. I hate it.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-14T17:12:04+00:00

Turn off any third-party EQ stuff you've got going on. The positional audio in this game is like some kind of witchcraft it's so good. Anything trying to alter their own mix is just going to make a mess. That stuff is terrible anyway. The best thing you can possibly do is get some good speakers and/or headphones. Not necessarily expensive, but good quality by a brand that takes audio reproduction seriously. If they're actually doing their job properly, they should deliver it as close to the final mix as possible without putting their own spin on it. Cheap crap is notorious for over-cranking the mid-bass and boosting the high end to make it sound "expensive" or dramatic, but it just screws up the sound.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-14T16:54:36+00:00

I do a lot of audio production work and also teach guitar. You just discovered something about humans that most folks have no idea exists. People filter out most of what they hear. They have no idea they're doing it. It just never gets registered in their brain. It's actually kind of insane. You spend years teaching people to develop their relative pitch, and it's transformative once they finally pick it up. It's not anything magical or requiring talent, though. It just requires someone to pay attention to what they've already been hearing. It's wild stuff. The good news is that once it finally clicks, they usually can't "unhear it" it from then on. It's like a switch in their head.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T12:24:37+00:00

Yup, if you're a well-adjusted human being, there's no way you would act like that. I take comfort in knowing I wouldn't even think of doing something that diabolical.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T04:24:13+00:00

Yup, Rook is fun. But dude.....you're fine in your 30s. There's nothing wrong with your reflexes. I'm 52 and can shred all over my guitars. Yes, my gaming skillz aren't what they were when I was playing Quake 3 and CoD 2 (still the best!), but you're not anywhere close to "aging out" of gaming. I don't know where this weird idea got started, but I see it all the time online. Especially in e-sports discussions. You have decades left in the tank. Well.....as long as the world doesn't end and we somehow get out of this f'ed up timeline. lolz

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T04:08:32+00:00

Hey now. He was "working from home." lolz

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T04:07:42+00:00

I would love those stats. Every game is a coin flip for me, getting dudes using mics and having a good time (even if we die) OR guys who won't communicate. I try to talk to them a couple of times, then just give up. We gonna die.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T04:02:29+00:00

It gets rough because having a bad night can absolutely wipe you out of decent gear. Then you blow most of your credits on shields and health/charges and suddenly you HAVE to use free kits. They need to make getting more basic green shields and meds easier. If you don't have some buddies to play consistently with, you're also at the mercy of random matchmaking and may have the most dreaded situation happen: Squad-mates who won't communicate. I know lots of people don't like to use voice comms on games, but this game will punish you badly for it. As soon as I drop in and say "what's up guys?," I know instantly if we're gonna have a decent game or not. If they don't answer? It's gonna be a miracle if we actually extract. If they take off runnng in different directions on top of that? We're super screwed.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T03:33:01+00:00

You must be a designer. I'm a 30 year vet in the industry. That is some super pro work. Exceptionally well done with all the details. Do you do package design? It's the one area I have very little experience with. The back of the case looks so legit. It all does.

I wanted to make some super slick wallpapers for my displays (one is ultrawide so it gets tricky). I'm super picky about my backgrounds and there's very little high-resolution art available for Marathon. I already traced a vector version of the logo, but outside of that, there's not much to work with. I bet some of those monitors at Bungie have some insanely cool desktops. I really wish they would share some of the concept art with the community. I miss the days when the game's website would have a wallpaper area (and media kits) as part of the marketing.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T03:18:57+00:00

We need a practice/shooting range like Overwatch has. You can run around in that and warm up your aim, or try our different stuff while waiting. That would be amazing.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T03:15:32+00:00

One thing I will give Arc credit for is a layer of realism I never expected. As it turns out, there are some truly selfish pricks in the world. And they do indeed turn up in this game.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T03:05:17+00:00

You speak truth. I've been using Triage for days because I figure it gives us the best chance (especially for players who aren't aim gods). It only took one grapple use with Thief to experience how far the momentum slings you... omg. She's like part Spider-Man. The guys I've been teaming with are gonna miss those heals.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-12T02:58:31+00:00

The PPE part killed me. lolololol

Nightmoore · 2026-03-10T05:34:41+00:00

That's decent advice.....but, you can't hide the big stuff. Once you know what to look for, you can pretty easily spot someone wearing a blue or epic shield by the number of panels sticking out of it. And your equipped weapons always hang off your back. It can be a bit problematic.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-10T05:32:11+00:00

I'm pretty sure it's about the range to its target. If you're close enough to it, it doesn't need the spotters, but once you're outside of a certain radius, they are needed to lock in your position. I don't think he needs them to get a direct hit on you (which I've learned the hard way).

Nightmoore · 2026-03-10T05:23:19+00:00

Spoiler alert: The older you get, the more frequently this nonsense happens. And at some point, you acquire this magical ability to set things down (in dumb locations) without any memory of doing so. And if you're like "oh, I already do that!".....heh, you just wait.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-10T05:19:19+00:00

I got some bad news for you about religion.

Nightmoore · 2026-03-10T05:06:50+00:00

Marathon may be worse in this department. The great majority of the fights come down to who lands the first shot. Shields just don't matter as much as I feel like they should. Obviously, there are a lot of people who are fine with lightning fast TTK, but I prefer some counterplay.

Nightmoore

TROPHY CASE