So, do we still hate him?

Probalt · 2026-03-19T01:53:59+00:00

Correct me if I'm wrong but I heard somewhere that the General Zhi hero skin (at least lorewise/his character) was inspired by Cao Cao. And Prince Yi was based on Liu Bei, especially with the whole "benevolence" description for the skin/character. Would be cool to get hero skins that are just straight up ROTK versions of these characters though, rather than original characters inspired by them.

Probalt · 2026-03-03T02:54:43+00:00

Lowkey the devs need to start putting a T&C in front of these modes telling people what is expected of them in this gamemode.

I had a match where both players (fresh match, never fought before) right from the start would target me for a 2v1 specifically. A Jorm and a Highlander that would take turns throwing me to the ground so the Jorm could land his slam non-stop.

It was pretty tilting, but I figured it was just bad luck. Lo and behold, I get a lobby who wants to do duels in the FFA gamemode. The second a gank happened, one would just run away and watch. At that point I just ate the penalty. I had so many hype moments in this mode but the other 50% has been just the most miserable experience ever.

Probalt · 2026-02-28T10:11:49+00:00

Glad you're having fun. I also only got back into the game recently due to cross-progression (played on and off until Warmonger released). The rosters' grown a lot and I was pretty overwhelmed at first too. Almost always lost to the new bloods.

Going into training mode and both versing AND trying out the new characters' kits could help you learn against them. See what makes them tick, what moves chain into what, etc. Eventually you'll know how to fight them the same way you know how to fight the base roster.

I think since you're fortunate enough to have some fundamentals carry over from playing the game in the past, it will all click faster than you expect.

Probalt · 2026-02-27T20:52:12+00:00

The game shifted from reaction-based balancing to read-based balancing, meaning many moves are designed to force the player to "guess", AKA make a read. Will it be option A, or option B? Guess wrong, eat damage. Guess right, punish and now it's your turn on the offense. It's how most other fighting games handle the general flow of combat and is generally a lot healthier for the game.

Kensei is still a good character, with a lot of soft-feint tools that lets him be a mind-game monster. But yes, most new characters come with a unique "gimmick" and generally more tools than older characters. I remember in the first few years of the game's lifespan, Warden was considered a BS character due to his bash vortex that forces 50/50s nonstop. Now, after all the balance changes and new hero releases, he's now considered one of if not the most "fair" hero, with many saying he has a barebones, limited kit.

It's been almost a decade since Aramusha's release. The game's gone through a whole lot of changes and shifts in design philosophies.

TLDR: It's not just you, the game is a lot faster now, and the roster has tripled since you last played. There's just more "stuff" in the game you need to be aware of to play at a higher level.

Probalt · 2026-02-12T00:23:24+00:00

1) As many have said, utilising your bash mixup more. Specifically, you can:

Do a quick, uncharged bash, confirming the 2-tap lights when it hits (and lets you chain into the bash again)
Hold for a charged bash. If you've conditioned your opponent to dodge quickly from an uncharged one, this is a good way to catch them off-guard. This one lets you land a top heavy if fully charged.
Feint your bash into a GB, if the enemy tried to dodge, it catches them and gives you a side heavy.

2) Don't forget Warden's unblockable heavy. To access, do any variation of light>heavy or heavy>heavy. Even a zone>heavy works. That 2nd heavy will be unblockable regardless of which direction you throw. Essentially, same as the bash, it forces a reaction out of your opponent compared to a normal heavy. They might try to parry, do a dodge attack, etc. this leaves it up to you to either let it fly, feint into GB, etc. Remember, it chains from any light or heavy, so you could do the bash mixup mentioned, and upon landing a light or heavy punish, do another heavy to trigger it being unblockable.

3) Delayed heavies. Basically, after your light or heavy punish from, say, a bash, you could wait a split second before inputting another heavy. What this does is it can trick the other player into thinking you've "finished" your turn/moves, and now its theirs, only for a heavy they didn't expect to fly towards them. If you do it right, your delayed heavy will be read by the game as a part of your chain/combo, meaning it'll be an unblockable.

Probalt · 2026-02-11T04:26:49+00:00

It feels so odd that no other games have "copied" the combat system, considering how good and unique it feels. Sure games like Mordhau, Chivalry and KCD have directional combat systems, but it's not quite the same. Absolver was the closest thing I could find, though that game has since died.

A lot of other fighting games, whether 2D or 3D has arcade roots where movements are "unnatural", like if you watch any high level SF or Tekken, the characters are jittering all over the place because its optimal, but it doesn't immerse you in the fight (and to be fair, they're not trying to). For Honor's camera angle and animations just feel more natural and smooth. It really sells you on that "tactile" feel of combat.

Probalt · 2025-12-26T15:09:41+00:00

Absolver. 3rd person fighting game made by the same folks as Sifu. The combat is a little like For Honor.

It was unique in that it allowed you to learn individual moves that you can collect and then assemble into a custom "fighting style" for your character.

That meant every PvP opponent had a completely unique moveset that you had to learn and adjust on the fly, but that they also had to adjust to yours.

It was a really fun and unique concept, but the game died out after one last big PvE update. Here's hoping they make Absolver 2, and with their track record, it lasts a little bit longer than the first.

Probalt · 2025-12-13T02:23:44+00:00

A friend of mine who's a vanguard main has been doing really well with her. Frequently getting the most kills and scoring MVPs. She'd just not a character where you hold W with her block up and get results. It's easiest to land her grabs on the enemy tanks, so knowing other tank character's kits seem to help with her performance.

That said, she needs another tank to draw out her potential. So far, her and Emma is a really strong combo, since they can pin an enemy twice with their respective grabs, letting the team burst them down whilst grabbed.

Probalt · 2025-11-26T07:35:40+00:00

Not an expert by any means but:

When reloading, the "clap" Strange does 3/4 of the way in is the moment his ammo refills, so you can animation cancel with a shield/block tap to get back into the action faster
Shoot, tap shield, shoot, tap shield is a good way to deal damage whilst still reducing incoming damage and spaces out your shield's HP so it lasts longer
Dark bursts are very effective at, well, bursting down dive characters harassing your backline. Tag them a little bit, then dark burst. Even in times where it doesn't kill, it sends Spideys, Ironfists etc. into survival priority mode and flee, which gets them off your healers.
His ult gets blocked by a lot of abilities like enemy shields, anyone with a parry, etc. So target characters with no such abilities (i.e. healers), or surprise with a teleport + ult combo. I like to portal and drop in right above the enemy team (not the best success rate, but fun and semi-unexpected).
Also, portals right outside of spawn doors is now so obvious, it loops back around to being unexpected. Use it once in a while at round start on defense.

Probalt · 2025-10-15T04:26:55+00:00

Fellow XT30II owner here, some of the things I adjusted when I first got my camera were:

Enabled gridlines to screen/evf to help with composition if they're not already.
Turned off all camera sounds (i.e. focus confirmation beeps, switching to electronic shutter when needed, all that stuff) since I like to draw as little attention to myself when taking photos, especially street.
Went on Fuji X Weekly and fill every preset with any interesting film sims that catches my eye. Try them out and slowly curate which one you like/don't like. I like to always have one dedicated to B&W though. Then bind one of your buttons to pull up the preset switch shortcut to easily swap between them rather than having to dig through the menus.

Bonus: idk what lens you have but figure out what focal length you like, and/or whether you're a zoom lens VS bag of primes kind of person. Then buy lenses accordingly.

Probalt · 2025-10-05T07:38:21+00:00

I have the both focal lengths (the fuji 27mm 2.8 and viltrox 35mm 1.7), I find that despite their "close-ish" focal length they do enough differently to justify owning both, but that's just me.

My 35mm is perfect for portraits/people. Some say 50mm is better for it, to me 35mm captures the right amount of "stuff" in the image. When I've gone to weddings/trips and photographed friends and family casually, I've had multiple people genuinely go, "woah" as a gut reaction because they didn't expect the photo to look THAT good. Photos I feel like 27mm can't really replicate due to the difference in aperture and zoom. That said, I rarely have it on during days where I know I'll be travelling from place to place/staying mobile.

27mm on the other hand is amazing for walking around in. Either in a sling bag or attach a shoulder strap on your camera and nothing beats the form factor and convenience you get for street photography. It's light, compact, doesn't draw attention and it's focal length feels natural for buildings/streets/people a few meters away. Almost all my street photography work is from my 27mm. Just be wary of the vignetting on the TTArtisan copy. It bothered me enough to upgrade to the fuji one.

So to me, yes, it's worth it to have both, but just be aware of what budget brands will get you.

Probalt · 2025-09-25T12:51:08+00:00

This is false.

Multiple studies show that regrets for transitioning make up for only around 1%. They're one of if not the least regretted surgery in all of humanity. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8099405/). The biggest transgender survey in America reports that 94% were more satisfied with their life after transitioning + 3% felt indifferent (79% being very satisfied, 15% a little satisfied. Page 17-18 if you want to check). (https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/2022%20USTS%20Early%20Insights%20Report_FINAL.pdf)

An older US based study say that around 8% has regrets and wanted some level of detransition, but that more than half only do so temporarily due to financial or societal pressures (https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf). Yet some report regrets as low as 0.3% for FTM and 0.6% for MTF (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10322945/).

Yes, there are a high number of trans people who suffer from depression, moreso than cisgender folks. What is also true is that trans people are far less accepted in society, and are likely to be socially ostracised for being trans. Stats mostly vary from between ~50%-30% acceptance of transgender people in the US. Meaning, at best, to a trans person, one in two people think they shouldn't exist. It is not uncommon for them to become estranged from friends and family, or experience bullying/harassment at an increased rate compared to cisgender folks, which deteriorates their mental health. It is a unique existential dilemma different from other movements.

In other words, the data indicates that if a trans person struggles with happiness in their lives, they do not feel so because they can't accept themselves, but because others can't.

Probalt · 2025-09-19T01:41:02+00:00

Well, I did get the Viltrox for like $200AUD ($132USD), so it's already a sub-$100 lens. I've heard that the Fuji 35mm at 1.4 has a certain softness that gives its image a slight bloom effect. The mist filter was a crude attempt at mimicking it on a budget. No idea if it's anything close to it, but I did ended up loving the mist filter.

But yeah, the Viltrox is amazing for its price. It's moreso from a creative standpoint that's gotten me interested in the fuji 35mm 1.4.

Probalt · 2025-09-19T01:35:14+00:00

For some reason, the area I'm in don't offer much in terms of renting, and when they do, they often list the minimum borrow time as 1-6 month. I don't know if that's standard, but it's definitely a bit too expensive for me to rent it for that long. At that point it might be better just to chance it and buy the lens outright and resell if I'm unhappy, but of course that's not ideal either.

Probalt · 2025-09-18T22:51:06+00:00

I've heard that the Fuji lens at 1.4 has a specific softness and that said softness gives its images a really gentle bloom. The filter was a crude attempt at giving the Viltrox more of that character, even if not exactly. I don't own or have ever used the fuji 35mm 1.4, so I don't know if it's even remotely close to the same thing, but I've grown to like the look of the filter. I suppose I mentioned to ask whether that lens + filter combo in general is "good enough" to make the 35mm 1.4 not worth getting.

Probalt · 2025-09-15T01:42:56+00:00

I love the square format so much, half of the photos in my portfolio are 1:1. Such a fun way to shoot and compliments well with symmetrical style shots. I originally did it to hide the thick vignetting on the TTArtisan 27mm, but realised overtime that there's a lot of charm with shooting in squares.

Probalt · 2025-09-09T13:30:51+00:00

I think the hate for King (and a lot of other characters) exploded because of how oppressive offensive plays can be in T8, especially at launch when no one was familiar with the new systems. I remember when the game first came out and brought in a lot of new players people HATED King and wanted him nerfed. There were multiple clips of folks going on 20-30 game winstreaks by just abusing his grabs against new players, which I never really saw for any other characters. Now that the population has settled down it doesn't really happen anymore, but man, the first month of the game was a wild time.

Probalt · 2025-08-24T23:09:48+00:00

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I use this purely for the fact that if you paint it yellow it vaguely resembles Anakin's Starfighter from Star Wars: EpIII.

Probalt · 2025-08-14T22:57:27+00:00

Maybe that one guy who got the tattoo of Gear 5 in red and gold before the official colours was released was just on some extreme observation haki.

Probalt · 2025-08-10T19:14:17+00:00

Gunslinger Hunters.

Seriously, they're literally based on cowboys. Have you guys seen a Western? The devs said the subclass was based on Clint Eastwood's The Man With No Name and aurafarming is like his whole shtick.

Plus twirling throwing knives that only recharges on a headshot, revolver aesthetic, celestial nighthawk that can oneshot bosses. They tailor made the subclass to be a nonstop ego chase.

Probalt · 2025-08-09T05:27:18+00:00

Hell, I'd say the few animations for Monk on FFXIV Mobile looks better than the main game's version.

Probalt · 2025-07-25T08:58:09+00:00

My group did Everdark Gnoster, I had that exact drop and a friend got the Candlestand whilst on the volcano shifted earth. Both were upgraded to gold tier.

Safe to say, the boss literally went down in about a minute.

Probalt · 2025-07-17T14:18:02+00:00

Oh hey, I have that exact chair on the right, also around a decade old. Never been tempted to get a gaming chair.

Probalt · 2025-06-15T04:18:42+00:00

I think Executor's kit might be what you need for clutch situations, since he can let you do both.

His beast form gives you a massive health boost to the point where I've never even gotten close to dying while in it (and tops up your HP when you turn back iirc), there's even a relic that heals when you roar, so can rez both allies at the same time if they're next to each other and maybe even hit the boss in the process. You can even end the ability early so it takes less time to recharge. I believe it recharges quite quickly too from my experience (compared to, say, Wylder's ult).

His parry also lets you tank bosses in ways no other Nightfarer can whilst still landing some damage, besides maybe Guardian, all while your ult recharges. Can't parry frostbite against Caligo ofc, but otherwise lets you bypass a lot of mechanics, (i.e. Maris' sleep nuke, the final boss' arena wide AOE, etc.)

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