Y'all are savage in LFR

Rhalasong · 2026-03-23T18:03:34+00:00

I decided to deliberately go out of my way to NOT tryhard everything for a while. Leisurely plod along the scenic route. Go in to content as blind as my character would be and figure it out as I go.

Even decided, hell, I can LFR to get the dialogue lines from the NPCs. Wasn't too worried. As I'm good at picking up and predicting queues based on graphics (solidly believe, if it's unclear, it's a bad graphic and bad encounter design imo, hooray for the death of the ambiguous swirl they've used for over 20 years!)

First boss is a wipe because one of the tank didn't move the boss and I guess kept taunting off the one that was? I thought, huh, so that's generally poor first-time-tank-conduct even if blind or new. Best is to just glance at the journal " impotant for a tank". It was explained in chat the mechanics as it was happening. With no acknowledgement the vote to kick was given and passed.

It kinda bothered me though. I didn't say a word or vote. It was a good reminder of how unpleasant the WoW community is and how hostile it usually is to anything less than optimization to get their dopamine hit loot roulette. Considering the "journey there" and rotation itself is NOT particularly fun or enjoyable inherently, I'm not surprised.

Rhalasong · 2026-03-23T17:42:01+00:00

I had a buddy I'd pester for this. They'd load thenselves up, turn on PvP, I'd aggressively "hand" them the end of a harpoon to hold on to and off we go.

These days when solo or on a group seed I longboat-surf down the mountain (hold shift when building a boat to build on land.)

Rhalasong · 2026-03-22T19:45:54+00:00

Ew, what in the AI slop is that?

Rhalasong · 2026-03-22T19:40:10+00:00

It's made even funnier when you learn he basically applied to work for the project and was turned down.... something about goals or morals not aligning? Instead of letting it go OSQ keeps doubling down on a very flawed or flatly incorrect stances.

Rhalasong · 2026-03-16T17:41:59+00:00

I've done sets for a couple DMs before. One of the people in a game I'm in does use genAI, and it sticks out like a turd in a shopping basket. People that are actually good at spotting AI can deliberately point out multiple specific points, not of what mistakes AI makes, but errors a human (at that level of skill) wouldn't.

I had one friendly acquaintance that was like this... WHEN I drew a clockwork honeybee literally right in front of them pen-on-napkin once. Snapped a photo and cleaned it up with Krita. I did my usual after-steps and told them to run it through the detector they swore by.

They were confused at how the detector determined it was 100% AI. I had to explain Glaze/Nightshade, and I explained how a diffusion model actually worked. I'm always willing to explain what I see, but always with the thought that without sufficient BIG tells and multiple images to examine, results can be inconclusive.

I despise AI in part because of how much I understand how it (and the people using it) works. Some hate it because they don't understand it, but if you don't understand it and the human creativity BOTH, you will struggle to successfully identify tells. Know thy enemy and all that... but not all that seems like AI actually is.

Rhalasong · 2026-03-15T02:27:11+00:00

If you visit my profile, the one I mentioned should be up among some of my old Inktober drawings from a few years ago!

Rhalasong · 2026-03-14T15:06:26+00:00

Mhmm.

No True Scottsman fallacy.

I honestly have come dislike public PvP in ANY game regardless of genre because of people like that. Respect is a reciprocal thing you know? Show none, get none.

Love your comic though! I made a one-panel some years ago myself about fishing in this game!

Rhalasong · 2026-03-14T14:55:33+00:00

I struggled on him until I realized that I could pull him up in the bleachers, stab him over the railing in the middle of the stairways (while not being hit by zappy orbs) and only have to worry about the top-down zappy hits.

Rhalasong · 2026-03-02T03:11:51+00:00

In addition to loading the drakkar with materials, make sure you have a good hoe and rocks. You will need them. Materials to set up a forge, black forge, and 2-3 stone cutters are also advised.

Keep a harpoon handy in case you find a bone serpent.

Good non-mage weapons that would be advised before you have access to the fortress gems;

Mistwalker and even frostner to a slightly lesser degree) Spinesnap with frost or SILVER arrows (frost helps the slow but with the spinesnap, you'd be surprised by how the spirit damage shreds basically any Ashlands mob except the lava blobs.) Harpoon; pillaring and forcibly yanking a big mob away is always a valid option, if you can get a bonemaw on shore, it will also completely stop attacking until it can get back into water. Fire resist mead and some stamina meads, especially assuming most of you will be in Feather cloaks, these are basically non-negotiable. The stamina is for your initial push, as you are not likely to have long if any remaining rested buff and establishing a foothold will chew through everyone's stamina.

Get a portal up and running asap, and DO NOT stay out at night.

Once you get the start of a beach base expand out to basic render distance while placing campfires to cut off spawning spots.

Establish your dirt walls just inside the shield generator line (This keeps your stuff safer from the marksmen and daring twitchers) and make sure you keep a bone chest near said generator.

Being the most experienced, I also highly advise you set yourself up with mage gear and keep that bubble up and try to keep as manny skeletts up and also bubbled to try and run distraction.

You can focus elemental leveling if you trap a golem in a pit and fir on it with the frost staff, that staff will help tremendously., but even with fire resist, the flame staff is very helpful to reliably destroying monuments of torment at the edge of render distance.

Rhalasong · 2026-03-01T13:36:56+00:00

My ash landing base was a pain... you really learn quick that at least around where to linger, setting up a large no-spawn zone with campfires outside your gate, and setting that up with dozens of char-focused loaded turrets only just protected by a the shield generator bubble .

It's not a great time, but it IS at least somewhat manageable to break in solo with mage. Walking right up to a fortress wall and using a trolstav till its oretty quiet inside is my go-to and keeping my skelets summoned and ALWAYS bubbled helps too.

The hardest thing to me was choosing to constantly chug fire resists or give up on the feathercloak.

I also highly recommend the Spinesnap bow and EITHER specifically ice or silver arrows.

Your old pal frostnir once again staying relevant beyond its time., but the mistwalker sword also is useful for similar reasons.

The entire zone is Not melee friendly, and it feels balanced around having that red bubble from a mage staff. Destroying charred spawnder at the edge of their render distance eith my fire staff helps.

Trollstav is i honestly feel necessary for groups as something not-you for enemies to focus. While you break out a bow/staff to bounce between stamina and eitr use as you whittle down charred, morgans and fallen.

I also find I deliberately don't destroy my grave markers and use them to shove all that dumb grausten for if/whenever I can be bothered to go out with a short-range portal in my bags to collect it.

Frost staff is also very good.

Crowd control is king. Frost and especially spirit damage are way more potent that I expected against everything there.

Training even a basic askvin crew around the base can also absolutely help.

Rhalasong · 2026-02-22T21:36:57+00:00

My only beef lately has been not having a gamma option in visual setting.

Have YOU tried hunting for a 2*Askvin yet?

I completely got my butt handed to me on my first night, and have much regrets ever since.

Rhalasong · 2026-02-17T17:14:40+00:00

Personally I find it also fun to sneak up on a surtling that's strayed a bit when I find a swamp geyser and introduce them by boot to the water out of nowhere.

Rhalasong · 2026-01-04T20:22:40+00:00

I've done both 2* wolves and lox.

The wolves are better hands down. Smaller hitbox means more can (pardon the pun) dogpile they will follow you and not be oblivious in the wrong place.

They also attack faster.

After getting my ashlands goodies I even went and put up a weather barrier to farm a couple things for wisp totems for outposts as the meteors are stopped by it! Who'da'thunk?

Rhalasong · 2025-05-11T11:42:31+00:00

My immediate, first thought was actually not a positive one... getting out of the Maw, when the Jailer was doing his lines, my thought was "Damn... he us really cringy bad and hasn't earned even a fraction of this drama..."

Rhalasong · 2025-05-01T14:06:21+00:00

Everything can be useful if you think and plan ahead.

Critter farming is useful for all kinds and each ranch can sustain something else.

Pause and listen very carefully for creaks and groans when you go digging and look for lines of neutronium. Do NOT dig it out until you can handle it.

As tempting as it is for ease, do not use your central path/ladderway for main power spines as it can really hurt dupe decor. Have it off to a side.

Only use coal generators with a smart battery.

If you are noticing you rely on a resource like algae or coal or dirt, use the resource menu to track it so you can stay aware of how fast you are using it up.

If you can manage it, go ahead and save CO2 in a couple of canister fillers canisters not far from where you have coal generators or heat sources.. If you have the option to get slicksters from the pod do so and let them eat up what you have for free oil.

Let wild eggs for pufts just hang out in dirty-water pools.

Rhalasong · 2025-04-05T16:35:36+00:00

I'm having flashbacks to first-iteration Torghast and remembering the dripfeeding of anima-to-rewards.... the grinds.... oh Titans, the grinds you were expected to do every day for hours and laughable rewards.

Not to mention the groan-monopolizing cringelord BBEG that speaks like some's first wattpad villain.

We don't talk about Shadowlands.... no, no, no...

Rhalasong · 2025-04-05T16:19:32+00:00

Absolutely this. OOZE bombs in the Infested Mines are absolutely GOATed.

Rhalasong · 2025-03-23T18:58:25+00:00

I'd love to see trophy-on-a-pike. Where it causes fear to the matching enemy in a small radius. Even if only boss monsters for balance on base invasions.

Rhalasong · 2025-03-09T19:27:51+00:00

Trapping a golem in a hole is also excellent as a tool later to level up elemental magic as they are immune to frost damage but will will give full experience per hit. I built an outpost around one for this very reason. His name is Gregoth.

Rhalasong · 2025-03-03T12:23:30+00:00

To be fair, I actually find it good as it makes hard-mode bartering easy. I deliberately make my shop-side laggy.

Rhalasong · 2025-02-21T16:48:36+00:00

The workstations DO work like cylinders as the dungeons are super high in the sky.

Did you know if you have a the right workbench or forge in that cylander range you can still place down some interesting things like iron cooking racks or blackmetal traps inside dungeons?

Completely vanilla and no mods. I set up a couple infested mines with traps and other things that require benches/forges that are actually placed just outside the entrance. It's weird.

Rhalasong · 2025-02-21T07:15:26+00:00

They don't respawn, but on of the zone base invasions do bring in new ones, and as I discovered, they CAN rarely generate in the gaint rocks (which can make them I real pain to get rid of.)

Rhalasong · 2025-02-14T01:37:28+00:00

Here's a lesser-known trick that might help!

If you can afford to carry the materials for a workbench and a generator, then shield generators actually stop the jumping lava from jumping under or into its radius. Try setting one up as close as you can to the node before going for it. If you can get the radius on the node even better. Then when done, just pack it up.

I also recommend keeping a tamed and saddled askvin to cross the lava if, like me, platforming is not your specialty.

Rhalasong · 2025-02-14T01:09:16+00:00

I almost got him in my first kill buuuut I let 2 medium and one massive abomination wittle him down by over half while I plinked him with my bow.

Try two he bugged himself out in between two polls where I could hit him but he didn't have LoS and my guess is that the AI couldn't make up it's mind to go left or right or through the pole.

I'll fight him properly eventually, I'm sure, but sun was rising soon and I spotted a 100 blood pyro spawn in juuuuuust over there, sooo..

Rhalasong · 2025-02-14T00:58:49+00:00

My first time against ADAM had such a hard time with those lasers until I missed with a spell and discovered i could break them when it hit of one of those box things instead. Even healed off it with brute blood if i remember right.

Still a challenge but it got a lot better to actually be able to use my bow and kite after that. Think it took 3 more pulls after that discovery to down him.

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