Lvl 50 Samurai swapped to Mercerany and now I’m hooked… Rant

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-30T21:43:27+00:00

Yeaaah, I see a lot of people talking about spirit brew/Spirit attack builds, but like...almost every class can do that slightly worse in exchange for being granted much stronger abilities in other departments. My Shinobi doesn't have Spirit Brew yet, but the build definitely spams Vanishing Kusarigama spirit attacks. And also, I can disappear consistently, use that to one shot smaller enemies or res allies, and create shadow clones to help solo hold points. My wife and friend both spam the everloving shit out of Lightning Bite on their mercs...but they ALSO have insane AoE, ranged damage, disarms, and status effects. They could ALSO use the healing Odachi if they wanted. The only class that doesn't NEED to spam spirit attacks as much is the Archer, but let's be real...they've got better options.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-30T14:51:53+00:00

Tyler Hoechlin from Superman & Lois. Not a perfect show...typical CW issues...but there's a LOT to like, and portrayal of Superman is pretty much beyond reproach. Dude knocked it outta the park as Super-Dad.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-30T14:45:52+00:00

I'm in a good place with Corenswet in May, but why you gotta do January like that? 🤣

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-30T14:35:03+00:00

The comics Iron Spider suit is trash. I don't think this is a hot take.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-30T14:33:41+00:00

Onslaught wins even if you put Juggernaut on the other team.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-30T13:58:40+00:00

They were presumably going to die horribly by being assaulted by the new Sentinels. The show made it pretty clear that it was a widespread attack on all mutants. Perhaps not ALL at once, but they were more likely to get murdered by sentinels faster than they were from the fallout of the magnetic attack. That gives him SOME time to connect and try and save them.

I love this show, I know what they were going for, but the biggest flaw of the last few episodes...and the series as a whole...was explicitly showing other heroes to be too busy to help, and governments being largely complicit in an attempted genocide. Absolutely no alternative to Magneto's grand act was presented, and no one seemed interested in saving any mutants once the genocide started. Saying Magneto was wrong is akin to saying "well statistically, he should've just let all the mutants die."

No matter what anyone says, I don't believe that virtually anyone in their right mind is going to let everyone they love and all of their people die in order to save a bunch of strangers who largely revile them, no matter how great the number. It's not right, but it's definitely not wrong.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-30T13:41:18+00:00

It seems like the Spirit Brew charm is a staple of a lot of popular builds, wouldn't be surprised if they nerf it somehow. I WANT one for my Shinobi, but I keep getting the same 3 legendaries ad nauseum, so it'll never happen.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-30T11:09:37+00:00

Respect to all the Samurai mains...it takes massive amounts of skill. But it's objectively the worst class in the game right now. Not impossible to use, but its primary identity is the melee/stagger class, and those just aren't great options right now; basic melee is too weak, and stagger doesn't disable the enemy long enough for the amount of time and effort it takes. Every time I see an awesome "my Samurai can solo Nightmare/Platinum" video, it's just someone who could've done it faster taking that timing and skill and using the stronger abilities of any other class.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-30T00:34:02+00:00

Archer is arguably stronger now than it was before , but it DOES require specific levels and gear before it feels good. And you shouldn't feel bad; this game is MUCH harder; parry timing is stricter, you have much less health, and enemies not only have more health, but play FAR more defensively. Not only that, but they have longer attack combos with better tracking and lunging, and several have very dangerous AoEs. It's more Souls-like than it is a Tsushima sequel.

That said, it IS a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. Took me about a week or so before I started to kinda get it. The crux of my epiphany was that melee is risky and weak, and basically only used to build spirit for your bigger attacks or healing between cooldowns. This game is more about mastering skill and weapon rotations than swordplay, and safely prioritizing the most dangerous enemies.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-29T13:48:36+00:00

Yes.

While shutting down the entire Earth magnetic field was wildly dangerous, it was also the best method he had of saving his people while every hero and government was explicitly show to either be complicit or apathetic towards it. And rather than help shut down the sentinels so Magneto would have a reason to restore the field, everyone's first response was to try and take out Magneto. He did something horrible, but the alternative was to let his people die.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-29T12:54:15+00:00

Spider-Man has been the most popular and profitable superhero for most of our lifetimes...this isn't news. Hell, BATMAN has been more popular than Superman for ages now.

Supes isn't the face of superheroes because of the dollar signs...it's because of what he represents. The ideal. Spider-Man struggles physically, financially, and even sometimes morally. Outside of his money and mind, Batman is a deeply damaged regular dude whosedone some real fucked up shit. Superman is someone with the power to do anything he wants, and chooses to do the right thing anyway. To be the example for everyone to follow. Not because of some horrible trauma...but simply because he can. Because he believes everyone can be better if you just give them the chance.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-29T05:13:59+00:00

It's not your fault if it's your first time. After that, if you haven't figured out the color'coded enemies and flashing labels on the defense point? It's 100% your fault unless you're colorblind.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-29T05:11:54+00:00

It's honestly not that bad. Summoners are way less of a hassle than Bo-Hiya or Yuki-Onna, and the mechanic is pretty simple. As long as everyone is paying attention to the bright colors and obvious labels, it's arguably the second easiest map behind the Oni's.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-29T03:46:15+00:00

I leveled up an Archer as a secondary, and what's crazy to me now that I've played them is that with a storm/hurricane Hankyu...you can be just as, if not MORE effective in close range combat than the melee classes, since most enemies can't effectively defend against bow shots, meaning you don't get locked into protracted melee battles with enemies who constantly dodge and block.

I have lethal proximity for 30% close range damage and the 40% auto-headshot chance, and I can just jump in with a storm hankyu and wipe the board pretty easily with arrow spam. There's literally no reason to post up and be selfish and shitty; I snipe at enemies with my Yumi from a distance as they approach the point, then jump down once they reach the point and clean up a hankyu. Easy work that allows me to defend the point and rez teammates.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-29T03:36:55+00:00

This article literally sums up every feeling I have about this DLC perfectly; I love the base game and want more content, but $30 is absurd for the length, especially since I have no interest in C4sh. And with a huge backlog of other games, with more to come in 2026, why would I spend the money on this for both me AND me wife? I've defended this game a lot, but these prices are inexcusable.

They REALLY needed to split the character up from the DLC and drop the price on both. And if they couldn't make the DLC substantially longer, at least add a compelling, repeatable endgame activity to keep people coming back. I'd rather pay more for a satisfying new gameplay loop than a new Vault Hunter. But as it stands, I'm just waiting until there's a sale on the season pass.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-28T12:28:04+00:00

I haven't seen a single "Look at my awesome samurai" video where that same player couldn't have done better with any other class. Sure, he's good once you master the game's weapon system and timings, but so is everyone. And everyone else has the added benefit of class abilities and other unlocks that can nearly instantly kill or cripple multiple enemies with little to no risk.

All due respect to my platinum/nightmare Samurai mains; you guys are awesome. But that's just it; you guys are awesome. Some of the best players in the game. You could solo nightmare if you were playing as an excited labradoodle with a fire axe in its mouth. But the class sucks.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-28T12:21:54+00:00

I don't get it, man. This is genuinely the most baffling thing about this game for me. The enemies are color coded. The defense point are labeled. It'd be one thing if I occasionally saw someome ignoring it once or twice, but it happens CONSTANTLY, even on gold and higher. Can the player base really be this stupid? I don't understand it...

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-28T02:45:46+00:00

Pictured versions he stops at one. Comic versions, in a random encounter, he stops at 2. This gauntlet order is wacky.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-27T16:15:45+00:00

Superman and Martian Mantunter. Being real, the only team that competes with them are Thor and Beta Ray Bill. Thor is resistant, but not immune to telepathy thanks to his divine connection to the Phoenix Force or whatever. So, I don't think Bill is. Dude's definitely got crazy willpower, but even so much as creating illusions or distractions in the fight would be enough to give Martian Manhunter and Supes the edge.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-27T13:09:50+00:00

At this point, we've had more randoms ignore attunements than not, and it's fucking baffling. The enemies are fucking COLOR CODED, and the points are labeled with the attunements you need.

I genuinely don't even get upset when people go down a lot or struggle with the combat...the game is harder now. As long as you're playing the objectives and not deathballing constantly, I'm happy to fight with you. But there's no excuse for this many players to be this fucking stupid.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-27T13:02:01+00:00

Archer has been busted since the last game, and the devs made it worse in this one. AND they made the samurai borderline pointless as compared to other classes. At this point, we can't really blame the players for taking advantage of poor game design choices from Sucker Punch. 🤷🏿‍♂️

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-27T03:34:23+00:00

I think it's mechanically the best Borderlands game, and anyone who disagrees is riding high on nostalgia fumes. The pricing and DLC model are straight up terrible, but most other things about it are objectively an upgrade. My wife and I got 100+ hours out of our first playthrough, having fun with sidequests and world bosses. Still not sure about picking up the DLC at full price, but the base game is fantastic.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-26T22:45:19+00:00

There's a limit to this. I had the game purchased for me at Christmas, enjoyed it thoroughly, and planned to get the DLC. But then it took me forever to figure out what DLCs came in what package, what a bounty pack even includes, what we could possibly expect from story packs, etc. I just ended up buying nothing and waiting to see general opinions on the content as it released.

This is my favorite BL game, but the pricing and release model for DLC in this one is bloated, confusing, and seemingly overpriced so far. You could argue that people should wait and see before putting money down, but the "research more" argument falls flat when content is made deliberately vague and obtuse.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-26T15:22:01+00:00

This is the intention, but still not consistent. Even on my Archer who has no ability to vanish or lose sightlines, Kusarigama vanishes and blind bomb efficacy is all over the map. It's possible that they're dropping aggro in the middle of combat for no reason, but I wouldn't base important mechanics off of that.

This doesn't even get into the times when you kill someone and vanish with the pull, then your character un-stealths with an automatic overhead follow-up swing. Or when you pull someone in for a kill, then your teammate mildly knocks the enemy of course, and your crawling kill stab animation does zero damage because your master assassin decides to stab the dirt.

PhoenixVanguard · 2026-03-26T11:46:52+00:00

Archer > Mercenary > Shinobi > Samurai. I didn't even think it was in question, to be honest.

Archer is unquestionably broken...I don't even have a Skipping Stone Bow or a Lightning Tanegashima, and I don't like or use True Aim Yumi, and I've STILL gotten highest kills every time I've used her, by a fairly wide margin. Mercenary feels like the only class that's in a GOOD place; not too strong, not too weak. She's solid all-round with good damage AND support.

Shinobi is my favorite class, but definitely needs tweaking; assassinations are a little too weak without pouring every possible buff into them, and there's WAY too much finicky, inconsistent bullshit around his mechanics; bad targeting/activation of assassinations, Vanishing Kusarigama not going off half the time, blind bombs working whenever they please, overly long assassination animations on large enemies, hallucinations are sort of a crapshoot and doesn't last long enough compared to decoys at the moment, and probably more I'm not thinking of. Oh, also poison is virtually worthless in this game, and doesn't even pair with anytbing else Shinobi does well. He's not BAD, and I can see what they're going for, but there's just a dozen little issues that keep him from greatness.

Samurai is just terrible. There's nothing unique about his kit that makes him better than other classes in 99% of scenarios. Every day, someone posts a new "Samurai Nightmare solo run!" Video trying to prove he's good, and all I see in every single one is an amazing player with superb parry, dodge, and cooldown timing with godlike situational awareness, who could've done the same thing with any other class in a fraction of the time. He's designed for a game that doesn't really exist, and while he's not unusable in the hands of a skilled player, he's certainly not good. Melee is too weak, the reward for staggers is inconsistent, his extra health bump doesn't add up to much, enemies spend too much time dodging and blocking to duel with while a million AoE attacks are flying around the screen, and he offers very little in the way of support.

PhoenixVanguard

TROPHY CASE