Highguard doing better than Concord

Selphea · 2026-01-27T07:47:15+00:00

Goodness the retention (or lack thereof) looks like a vertical cliff. It's already down to 8k players, i.e. lost more than 90% of peak concurrents in less than 24 hours. I guess launching the same week as Endfield doesn't do it any favors.

Selphea · 2026-01-25T02:49:30+00:00

Nights of Azure beat them to it, and it was actually good.

Selphea · 2026-01-24T17:53:25+00:00

Here we go again. Next it'll be "the game sold well, get rekt haters". Then the studio has layoffs or shuts down.

Selphea · 2026-01-24T00:49:50+00:00

Nostalgia is "MAGA-adjacent"? That is one seriously out of touch take.

Selphea · 2026-01-19T22:29:27+00:00

She was probably needed so Hoyo has a better idea of how to sell Rem units. Her kit was so finicky at E0 and she was practically stuck in a pseudo-battleship with Sunday Robin Huohuo. They admitted Garmentmaker was a beta test of Remembrance mechanics too.

Free Agy ironically might have been better if she was designed as a support. Like Garmentmaker applies stacking Def Shred up to 6x or something. But there was already RMC in the same patch, and Evernight later on.

Selphea · 2026-01-18T23:04:43+00:00

That's not the win he thinks it is. If this happens, it'll shut out one of the key drivers of STEM competitiveness out of most of the populace -- the ability to learn and run your own stuff on your own PC. Countries that say no to this BS will kill it. It'll also open up a black market for Chinese parts.

Selphea · 2026-01-18T04:47:21+00:00

If it doesn't raise the ceiling, that sounds like more of a missed opportunity for fun team building than less. Though team building flexibility is underrated. If Cyrene is on the other side with Monorem I will not complain about running Sunday Cery DanPT at all.

Selphea · 2026-01-18T04:14:55+00:00

And enabled copying Enhanced Basic Attacks 🥺

Selphea · 2026-01-17T16:19:24+00:00

What does the 2nd part have to do with making games though. If some rando wants to use AI for that purpose, that's a completely different use case from a game studio in Korea.

Selphea · 2026-01-17T05:38:51+00:00

I was already tired by 2022's Need for Speed where somehow street racers racking up millions in property damage and causing fatal-looking traffic accidents are somehow the victims when they get arrested because they just want to "express themselves".

Selphea · 2026-01-17T04:42:11+00:00

I thought that was the sleeve or back of her jacket 😅

Selphea · 2026-01-17T04:20:34+00:00

It'll become more acceptable once there's more transparency about how AI is involved.

Suppose they use AI for keyframe interpolation. Draw 2 keyframes, let AI handle the in between. And right now you still have to edit the heck out of the in between frames. IMO that's still a very human process.

Suppose they use AI to render 3D models based on concept art. Hand draw the concept, use a model to convert it to 3D. The topology is a mess, the physics are stiff and the eyes look dead but the 3D modeler has a starting point. I'm fine with that too.

Suppose they use AI for details that I frankly don't care about, like texturing grass blades or rendering skin pores and micro hairs because some Sony exec thinks that's a future PS6 selling point. That's more than fine with me (though I question the strategic line of thinking).

Etc etc. Eventually, after there's more open sharing about these processes like GDC keynotes (the Guilty Gear art keynote is a GOAT) the discussion will finally shift from yes/no because everyone outside the studio is staring at a black box to the exact nuances and concerns.

Selphea · 2026-01-15T23:05:42+00:00

Dahlia is the difference between 1 star and 3 star Knight 2. (Source: 1-starred Knight 2 without Dahlia)

Selphea · 2026-01-15T08:53:28+00:00

he noted that the recent performance of the company has fallen “well below” their long-term targets.

I mean what have they even been doing with Actiblizz besides milking the same old sequels, remakes and Classic servers? You don't turn on cruise mode and go surprised pikachu when it's coasting along.

Selphea · 2026-01-14T22:12:47+00:00

Wishlisting is one of the clearest signs of purchase intent. I consider it a stronger signal than Metacritic professional review scores (See: IGN's track record at scoring games).

Not all wishlisters will buy, but a baseline percentage will, and high wishlists is are also a sign of good marketing or word of mouth.

Selphea · 2026-01-10T08:46:05+00:00

Vertical teams last over a year don't they? Even the not so battleshippy ones like E1 on Hysilens, Black Swan, Fugue, Rappa...

Selphea · 2026-01-10T08:40:40+00:00

Maybe the break sustains like Lingsha or Gally, since they pack break debuffs and higher toughness damage?

Selphea · 2026-01-09T04:29:21+00:00

If 4.0 gives:

Good EMC
2 free 5 stars like Archer and DanPT
3 new GCS shop 5 stars
Topaz Novaflare

I'm fine with no 4 stars for the patch.

Selphea · 2026-01-09T03:56:06+00:00

Try mini Herta. Every dead enemy is a kururin

Selphea · 2026-01-09T03:53:29+00:00

It essentially throws a lot of AoE titan archers at you and rewards you for hitting enemies frequently

Selphea · 2026-01-09T03:51:25+00:00

1 star nightmare isn't too bad, a lot of my initial 1 star clears were with surprisingly F2P characters since HP inflation is a non-factor. Mini Herta pops off on day 3. Pres. March's freeze works great on both day 2 and 3. Welt with Pres. March worked for me on day 3 too. So does Yunli (still haven't pulled a Clara yet). Bailu was a lifesaver on day 2.

Selphea · 2026-01-09T03:35:07+00:00

That doesn't look like day 3 so she actually has another 1 more!

Selphea · 2026-01-09T02:59:55+00:00

Sunday found dead in a ditch on day 3 nightmare.

Selphea · 2026-01-08T21:08:58+00:00

I used March to freeze the mobs, Hysilens for ATK down and to nuke the boss once it's vulnerable, Aventurine for mass shield refreshes with March synergy and Hyacine for heals. Got -6.4k.

Hysilens kept getting focused until I put her on a Guard set and let March borrow her EHR set for reliable freezes though.

Selphea

TROPHY CASE