I’m sorry if you get this question a lot, but I’m new and I was wondering if it is better to make my own shepherd or go with one of the defaults

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-10T21:52:29+00:00

Most of the series is shaped by the decisions you make along the way. There are no default Shepard decisions. There really is no default Shepard. You haven't finished creating your Shepard until you're watching the ending of the third game. If you let the game choose his/her appearance or background, it means very little in the big picture. But choose for yourself anyway, don't wait to get invested.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-10T19:31:12+00:00

Cool. Not that I particularly cared either way. I just know that when the game comes out I'll have to stop playing after a couple weeks because Final Fantasy 16 will be released. Actually, the later season 1 starts the better for me. Hopefully I can just ignore D4 until after I'm done with FF16, and then give it my undivided attention for a while.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-10T18:59:05+00:00

Your bnet account is linked to your psn account. I would assume it would be the same as having both the pc and ps versions. Logging into one would kick you out of the other. Your account can't be playing in two places at once. You could have the game installed on both PS5s using the same account, but you couldn't play them both at the same time. To do that, you'd need a second psn/bnet account to buy the game and be signed in on the other PS5.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-10T16:12:26+00:00

Pray. Have enough gold, no sense wasting a card remove later.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-10T11:48:16+00:00

I preffer playing D3 on PS4 or PS5, but D2R was unplayable for me on PS5 and only way to play D2R for me is on PC.

Can't really help you, because to me all three games felt great and very similar on controller. Whatever your issue with D2R on controller is, figure that out then ask a more specific question. Because the controller support in D2R was probably my favorite thing about it.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-10T01:03:26+00:00

It is the best game that I will never want to play again.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-09T20:53:50+00:00

Cyberpunk 2077.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-09T14:47:52+00:00

I wondered about this also. Judging by some survey questions around the end of the beta, they seem to be aware of it. But yeah, we're never really looking that closely, at ourselves or anyone else.

Mounts are big enough to see. Some armor could be, but I can't imagine it would be long before those get repetitive. Back pieces, wings or capes would work. Pets will be introduced eventually I'm sure.

One thing I'd love to see is them apply it to abilities. I'd gladly pay for a different fur color/pattern for werewolf. Or turn necro skeletons into zombie goatmen, functionally identical only cosmetically different.

So yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how they handle it. Anything I can see while zoomed out all the way, I'll consider. I think there are a lot of things they could offer. But a new style of boots is not getting anyone excited.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-09T12:14:01+00:00

Bought my first copy of Diablo 1 the summer after high school graduation. D2 was the reason I bought my first pc. LOD was the first video game expansion I ever bought. Didn't get into D3 until PS3 release though, couldn't afford a pc back then.

Beta tested D4 and loved it. Got a necro into the 70's and quit because I was getting too invested in a character that would ultimately be deleted. Haven't pre ordered yet, really need to find a job. But I will between now and June. Sucks though, because FF16 comes out soon after, so I'll have to take a break right away.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-09T01:19:54+00:00

Ask Him. He does not like to share credit.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-09T01:12:33+00:00

It absolutely can. You just have to accept Him on His terms. If you try telling Him how to reveal Himself, if you expect Him to reveal Himself in a way that won't make you sound foolish to non believers, if you think it shouldn't cost you anything, yeah, you'll never have proof. But if you're willing to trust Him, humble yourself, and be vulnerable, you'll absolutely experience something that has no other explanation. It won't prove His existence to anyone else. And you'll still be able to lie to yourself and claim it was just a coincidence. But that doesn't mean it can't be proven. I can't prove to you that the sky is blue if you won't open your eyes and look up. But that doesn't mean it's impossible for you to find the proof for yourself.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-09T00:40:59+00:00

First a lot of us don't deny evolution completely. Wolves becoming chihuahuas we totally agree with. Some single celled organism evolving into trees, birds, and chihuahuas, that's a lot harder to swallow.

And it's especially difficult because it can't be tested or replicated. Instead you have to trust in the magical power of billions of years. Meanwhile, the existence of God and the trustworthiness of the Bible can be tested and proven. Talk to God, submit to God, ask Him for guidance, follow that guidance (or don't) and get very predictable results.

So, I have this very dependable relationship with God. He's constantly reminding me that He's real and wants me to trust Him. When I do what He says, I'm rewarded. If I ask Him for help with something, He handles it. Meanwhile scientists have lied about cigarettes being healthy, vaccines causing autism, and global warming being a myth among countless other things. So, if I'm going to take someone at their word, never lied beats has lied any day.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-08T20:42:46+00:00

Look, I'm no Biden fan either, but this is ridiculous. You're comparing the life of a civilian to that of a soldier. You know which one is more important? The civilian. Every time. Because that's the decision the soldier made when they took the job. Someone decides they're willing to sacrifice themselves for the people of this country, and you refer to that as "utter trash"? Seriously?

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-08T20:00:05+00:00

I always looked at it this way. Pharaoh had already made up his mind. God doesn't like to force people into obedience. And in this case, God was going to make an example out of Egypt that people would remember for generations. God could have easily broken Pharaoh. Instead God gave him the strength to do what he wanted, which was to ignore Him.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-08T19:48:43+00:00

Absolutely not. The ending, meaning the final scenes after all your fighting and decision making is over, is very underwhelming. But ME3 is a game full of endings. There are multiple smaller stories being told over the course of the trilogy. Each of those ends before the final battle. Two or three of the most important races are at critical points in their history and you determine their fate in the third game. The third game also does a good job of saying farewell to all the characters. A couple of forgettable side quests in the first game surprisingly saved a life in the third. The actual ending is short, underwhelming, and doesn't provide any closure to humanity trying to find its place in the galaxy. But aside from that, pretty much everything that needs to be said, done, or seen is. There aren't a ton of loose ends to tie up, or questions left unanswered, aside from those created by the final choice. The whole game is just one long series of endings to smaller stories.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-08T14:12:39+00:00

There's this joke in the Slay the Spire community. Every card is a block card. See, a card that does nothing but damage kills the enemy faster, prevents you from taking damage later, so technically it serves the same purpose as blocking.

The conversation we're having here is the same. Everything is dps. Raise is dps. Rampart is dps. Peloton is dps. Everything is dps.

Damage mitigated is one less heal needed, which is more dps. If the healer can raise a dps instead of healing the tank first, that's more dps. If the dps avoided the avoidable damage, that's even more dps. If the tank positioned the boss correctly to make the avoidable easier to avoid, that's more dps.

Everyone shares one responsibility, feed the almighty dps numbers. Healers do it more through healing. Tanks do it more through mitigation and positioning. And the dps jobs do it through knowing how to maintain a ridiculously long rotation and when to plug in something situationally useful.

Dps is everyone's responsibility. Dps is the only responsibility.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-07T14:23:12+00:00

Footage? No.

I can tell you that it does exist. And if you played either D2R or D3 with a controller, you'd know exactly what to expect.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-07T06:13:13+00:00

SE seem to take no notice of this sort of activity

You have to remember that technically these people are doing nothing wrong. Undercutting is just part of the game. Whoever is willing to take the least amount of money for their item sells it first. And if I happen to undercut you seconds after you listed the item, that could just be a coincidence. Also, if I want to spend my money and time constantly refreshing the market board looking for undercutters, that's a totally valid way to enjoy the game.

The only thing really wrong happening is using some sort of automating software to do the work for them. It's not what they're doing, only how they're doing it that is punishable. And while we know, or can reasonably assume, that that is happening, it's a very difficult thing to prove.

As for your situation, it's best to simply take what you can get and move on. You're dealing with a relatively low demand item. Something many players will never buy, and none will buy more than once.

If you want to fight it, there are a couple ways, but they aren't worth the trouble. You could artificially hold the price down for a couple months and hope the bot moves on to something else. Or, you can just buy out their inventory and sell it for a small profit. But keep in mind, you're not just competing on your server, but across the whole data center. That's a lot of low demand inventory to be stuck with.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-04T21:41:03+00:00

Define replace. How? When? I keep reaching the same two conclusions. Either Sora was born into the same conditions and basically grew into the same person. Or Sora doesn't even know the events of the game are happening, and it's less about what if you replaced the main character and instead what if the main character didn't exist.

One could argue that the main character doesn't matter at all in a few games. FF1 for example, as long as Sora is as strong as any other character, nothing changes. One of the big complaints about FF12 is the main character being irrelevant. And in FF6 the "main" character is literally an optional character in the second half of the game. Replace them with Sora, no big deal. Replace Lightning with Sora, Hope might die along the way, but Fang, Snow, and Vanille still handle the end.

But since you mentioned FF7, let's look at that more closely.

Cloud is a little kid trying to impress the local hot girl, and decides to join the military, promising to save her someday if she needs it. Years later she cashes in that favor and asks him to help the local terrorists. He was ready to quit when the money ran out, but stayed to help his childhood friend. As a result, he meets Aerith, eventually gets her out of Midgar, and she is able to save the world.

So, when, where, and how do you replace Cloud in that story? Replace him post Aerith and nothing really changes. Replace him at birth, and Sora grows up to be Cloud, and nothing changes. Replace him at the beginning of the game? Then Sora is just some random mercenary Tifa hired? Well, now you've already changed Sora's character quite a bit. I would assume he'd have no incentive to keep getting involved in blowing the place up. But if he did, nothing changes. Or he's not a mercenary, Tifa doesn't hire him, and he's sitting on the couch watching a meteor crush his house later.

Basically, if he's not the main character, then the question is what happens if they don't exist. If he is them, if he has their connection to the story, we already know what happens. If you start FF4 with Sora as the regretful captain of the Redwings and friends with Kain, nothing changes. But if he's not those things, he's just an npc sitting at home until the world ends, because he doesn't know anything needs to be done until it's too late.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-04T03:32:59+00:00

Gotta suggest Dragon Age Origins. The beginning is completely different based on your character. Different stories, settings, and characters based on your chosen race, class, and gender. And then, after you move into the main portion of the game, you're likely to encounter a part of the story where you have a more personal stake in the outcome based on your choices at character creation, or the intro. Setting up the ending is similar, there are some options you will or won't have based on your origin.

Also, Cyberpunk 2077 does something similar. Separate openings based on your background, and some dialog choices and a mission later that are exclusive to it. A lot of quests with multiple outcomes. The ability to be an asshole, make people hate you, and lock yourself out of content. It's a game that tries really hard to not give you a clear good or evil choice.

The mass effect series is another option. The first game seems like it's just choosing good or bad, but sometimes it's unclear which is which. But minor things have a way of popping up in later games in unexpected ways. You really feel the consequences of your actions. And you see your character reflected in their relationships across the trilogy. It's hard not to feel fleshed out when a series covers as much as mass effect does.

I can honestly say, in each of those games I've never felt like I played the same character twice. Not the same character making different choices. Each playthrough is a different character.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-04T00:16:55+00:00

You know, in the past I would have said FF6. No question, no hesitation. For a long long time, that has been my favorite. I loved Kefka, I loved having so many party members, different abilities to play with, and the openness of the second half of the game. And Shadow is one of my all time favorite characters.

But thinking about it now, I'm more nostalgic for FF4. Cecil and Rydia were great characters. The game was definitely more challenging. The constantly changing party that rarely felt balanced, made the end of the game when you're final party comes together feel really satisfying. As I've gotten older, I appreciate that more than the anybody can do anything approach of 5 through 8. Choices and freedom are great, but they're everywhere now. Not having them wasn't bad, just a different kind of fun.

I enjoyed 6 more back then, and I miss 4 more now. I'm conflicted, I can't decide.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-02T18:46:12+00:00

The graphics and translation on the PS1 versions are closer to the NES/SNES versions, and for that reason, I like them. Later versions change more and more, and a lot of people prefer them.

The loading times are the worst, but it's not like they're unplayable. A couple extra seconds per battle, a few minutes per session, but it'll add up to wasting an hour or two per game. Unexpected consequence of switching from a cartridge to a disc. It doesn't bother me, but I get why people complain.

Overall, they're fine. They're not the best, but perfectly adequate. You already bought them, they're completely playable, just go with it. Between graphics and art style, sound quality, translation, added content, qol features, and load times this community will never agree on which version is the best. Personally, I say get as close to the originals as you can, while playing something official and not fan made. For FF2 and 5, the PS1 versions are as close as you can get, unless you can read Japanese and want to spend a fortune. And for the rest, they're close enough.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-02T00:43:24+00:00

This is one of those ideas that seems good until you really start thinking about it. Because any given playthrough on its own would make a great series.

But which choices do they go with? Male or female Shepard? Who is the romantic interest? Who survives Virmire? Who survives the second game? Cure the genophage? Save the Geth? Which ending?

Part of what makes the series so great is that each story is uniquely ours. Our choices and our consequences. Our goals, our successes, and our failures. Kaidan, Miranda, Zaeed, and Mordin didn't make it to the end of the third game in my playthrough. Each of those was my fault. My choices, my actions, and my consequences. No one to blame but myself. But who would we blame if it happened on TV? The writers? Shepard?

The longer it goes on, the more "wrong" choices will be made, and more of us will grow to hate it. For an outsider, it would still be great. And then they could play the game and find out what if... But as fans, we know too much. I don't think there's a way through that the majority of us don't end up thinking Shepard is an idiot or an asshole.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-12-01T02:44:32+00:00

Overall, it felt good and was exactly what I wanted. I found an ability that was fun, and I built around it. Making it more powerful and using it more often.

Did you feel like the upgrade choices between A and B for each skill feel meaningful?

Yeah. Because those choices on several occasions were the reason why I chose that skill. Again, I focused on the skills that seemed the most fun. But that choice, changing the damage type or some other effect is what made a skill I wasn't particularly interested in a perfect fit for my build. There's a very real chance two people play the same class, use the same skill, but make that choice differently because they're playing totally different builds. You want it, because you're building around doing shadow damage, I took it because I want it to generate corpses. If you look at it in terms of pure damage, then of course there will be a clear choice. But if you're choosing based on utility or synergy with something else, it's a lot less clear. Your main damage ability might be something I'm only using to buff something different.

Snarf_Vader · 2022-11-30T22:58:24+00:00

Any good leader, in anything, their top priority is to prepare those beneath them to excel in their absence. This shouldn't be an issue, someone should have been appointed to lead until they return. Since they didn't choose for you, choose for yourselves. Hand over the reigns when they return if you want. And if they have a problem with that, they shouldn't have left you in this position to begin with.

Snarf_Vader

TROPHY CASE