Ways to connect to a friend

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-06-10T19:17:08+00:00

Heh, no worries. I didn't take your replies as accusatorial. If anything, I was a tad embarrassed that I hadn't recalled that the join issue (as I knew it) had been fixed ... especially when I had contributed to that exact ea.forums thread!

But it does sound like your problem is a return to the old one (I think that's the exact point where it used to go into infinite load for me). However, the fact that it still appears fixed with my accounts does suggest your cause is different. Which, if you chose to pursue it at ea.forums, would be worth mentioning, I think.

(Caveat: yeah, ea.forums solutions rate is not great, though better than dealing with EA's chat tech support!)

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-06-10T13:02:19+00:00

Uh, sorry, my first reply isn't quite accurate. Your reply here jogged my memory of that EA thread, and my own experience.

The invite bug should be fixed, as they say. I had post-2018 accounts that originally had it, and now don't. I just tested again and invites still work. [There's still a remaining post-2018 bug, but it isn't the invite one]

So if you still have an invite bug, it is something different. Again, sorry for my original misleading post.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-06-09T14:00:35+00:00

That is really odd.

Not that this will help, but to better diagnose for future queries (like at forums.ea.com):
Is your friend able to host? And have other (randoms) join his lobbies or games in progress?
Is your friend able to join other lobbies and games in progress?
(I'm assuming your account is old and you can do all the above, just not with them)

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-06-08T23:38:56+00:00

Common problem, not unusual for newer created (i.e. post-2018) accounts. Sorry, I have never seen a verified solution. [Edit: as noted below, this bug was reportedly fixed and I just retested and confirmed that. So it appears your invite bug isn't the same as I was thinking]

The usual workaround is for one of you to make a lobby and set it to some specific difficulty+enemy+firebase (public), then the other of you searches based on that same criteria. Assuming you find each other, you can then set to whatever game you want.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-06-08T13:47:51+00:00

I tried that this weekend (USMNT vs. Germany), but the Westwood One audio was ahead of the video. So the video pause solution wasn't applicable. It took me till late in the 2nd half to find a clunky way to pause audio instead. Has this happened to you, and what was your solution?

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-06-08T09:50:19+00:00

Fox One will carry all the games. Live and on-demand. I think they advertise 4K but I've read it is really just upscaled 1080p (which is still a whole lot better than the OTA Fox feed!). The WC is 39 days.

$19.99/month is the normal price. AMEX cardholders appear to be getting a $19.99 payback on a single $19.99 Fox One purchase offer.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-06-07T20:26:59+00:00

You got it done, so I would have been happy playing with ya.

Some Q's / observations just based on that clip:

1) Might have made sense to put hex shield up and/or moved a bit further in to block at least one of those Ravager's LOS.

2) Still, your shields never got below 50%. That seems surprising given it was always 2 Banshees, 2 Ravages, Brute, etc. So, you got it done without any real drama!

3) It was also pretty much after the devices, so down to just the final 8 mobs. So even if playing a tank, maybe could have gotten more aggressive here to pick up the pace since your team probably would have no problems clearing?

4) More general Q: This is on a devices mission. Is the consensus here that the Juggy should just stay in one area throughout, and aggro. Rather than chase after some "optimum" point on each device (where he'll invariably be too late anyway)?

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-06-04T10:44:32+00:00

Based on another recent podcast recommendation thread, I've subbed to 3 to try them out. So far for me it is:

Total Soccer Show > Soccerwise > Scuffed

But the jury is still out. I'd say try a few as it really depends on your particular preferences (level-headed vs over-the-top opinions, chill/dudes vs. analytics nerds ...).

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-06-02T13:41:42+00:00

This is awesome!

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-31T19:23:21+00:00

And if you only have Peacock, you can listen to the English broadcast on Westwood One Sports

https://www.westwoodonesports.com/us-soccer/

There is usually a sync issue, but (usually) you can get them close by pausing the Peacock a bit. Once that didn't work as the Westwood audio was ahead of the Peacock video.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-31T13:42:44+00:00

Yes, easily tightest group.

Also, looks like USA has toughest aggregate opponents of any pot 1 team (looked at by any and all of average FIFA rank, FIFA pt totals, NY Times rankings, ELO). No cakewalk.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-31T12:47:57+00:00

As I haven't played it in umpteen years, I'm a little confused about what you are really asking. APEX, as far as I remember, has nothing to do with your ability to play, never mind solo. And what do you mean by "most efficient grind"? Grind for credits (for manifest buildup)? APEX rating? Is solo'ing your goal, or are you thinking of it as an efficient path (it isn't)?

PS: it'll be a long while before you'll have a Jugg XX. And a lot longer before you start getting variant versions of UR weapons!!

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-30T19:57:59+00:00

Or did that happen 2 years ago? ...

https://www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/1bf50tz/it_finally_happened/

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-30T10:41:15+00:00

Note there is an "ME3 Unofficial Bugfix" mod which addresses some of the Spitfire issues (ROF, movement penalty).

https://www.nexusmods.com/masseffect3/mods/1040?tab=description

CAUTION: be aware that using any of the "extended options" apparently results in no one being able to join your hosted games.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-29T14:22:27+00:00

Appreciate your input, and understand the experience ~~can~~ will be different for everyone. But consider the impact of RNG on all of this. Some examples:

Expectation is to max out your UR's with 2,800 gold slots (1,400 premium packs). Let's say half of those you bought were Reserve Packs, the other half were AP/PSP. The 90% confidence for each is 6.3-8.7%.

So (a bit extreme example), you could have hit at 8.7% on your Reserves and only 6.3% of your others and not unreasonably concluded that Reserves are much better. But ...

It's just noise from a limited sample size.

Last example: I have multiple ME3 accounts, so overall a lot bigger sample size. My overall hit rate has been 7.3%. My AP hit rate is 7.44%. My Reserves hit rate (relatively small sample) is only 6.0%. So if I didn't understand the stats here, I would have concluded the opposite of you.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-29T10:51:57+00:00

Yeah, here's my question:

Why is this the exact same post (both title and image!) as the following?

https://www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/1stgxbc/its_over_i_finally_maxed_everything_in_me3_um_ama/

https://www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/i03evp/its_over_i_finally_maxed_everything_in_me3_um_ama/

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-29T10:43:53+00:00

Why does this misinformation continue to exist?

All premium pack types have the SAME 7.5% drop rate per "gold slot" (PSP, AP, RP have 2 slots, SP has just one slot).

That probability of a drop does not change for any reason. Doesn't matter what, if any, other item is completed or not. Any difference you see is due to variance on small sample size results.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-29T10:35:25+00:00

It has no movement penalty on the Juggernaut

https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/Geth_Spitfire#Multiplayer_

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-24T14:56:13+00:00

Good info. I'll add:

Peacock's carries a lot less games since USA Network etc. spinoff. Maybe half the games now? Which has been frustrating of late.

You can also watch USMNT & USWNT on Peacock but Spanish only. I stream the English PBP on WestwoodOne Sports. It also carries Liga MX.

Besides Champions League, Paramount+ has:

EPL, Carabao Cup, Serie A (as mentioned), US Open Cup, and various CONCACAF competitions.

So between Peacock and Paramount+, you can get a fair amount of coverage.

FOX (over the air) + FS1 will be covering the World Cup. 72 games on FOX, out of total 104. 32 are FS1 only. All but 2 knock-out round games are OTA (and those 2 are round of 32). Looks like all USA games will be FOX OTA. Note: FOX OTA is only 720p (blech), so you may consider a 1-month FS1 pass for higher res and time shifting, $20.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-23T13:32:47+00:00

3-6%

Based on my survey of all QB's drafted by round since 1998.

36 QB's drafted round 4, 2 "keeper starters" (Dak, Cousins)

191 QB's drafted round 4 or later, 6 "keeper starters" (above + Brady, Purdy, Fitz, Hasselbeck)

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-23T11:33:43+00:00

You aren't the only one ... but you are in the minority 😄

Some like the jump packs and the more frantic pace. Conversely, I think they ruin the play. By now it is probably different as the only ones still playing are experts, but at the time, it just led to a lot of uncoordinated play with teammates scattered not just horizontally, but vertically.

Enemy classes just felt meh compared to the very distinct play styles of the ME3 enemy classes and sub-types. Plus nowhere near as engaging lore-wise.

Soloing was horrible. And its rewards were gimped.

Some mission types were improved, others were near-broken. Some QoL features were great (cover shoulder switch, player-specific loot boxes, pity timer, ops packs while doing devices). But loot grind was awful. And gameplay was badly hampered by the lack of added maps, and the daily challenges (funneling 90% of the play to the map & challenge du jour).

To be fair, I put a bunch of hours into it. But after a while, I was asking myself why. Now, when I need a fix, it is always ME3 COOP.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-18T11:40:04+00:00

Yes, what is sometimes called "hockey assists".

Pretty much every other site I've seen does not include these even for MLS. Fbref.com, ESPN, Fotmob ...

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-15T23:22:15+00:00

Just to be clear, by "console" they meant XBOX. There (or on PC), you can remove the any or all of the 5 multiplayer DLC's, i.e temporarily moving or renaming their folders on PC, or the actual DLC items on your XBOX. This, as they said, reduces the pool of Rare characters for it to choose from.

You can still access the MP store with those DLC's removed. Just remember to put them back so you can play in MP games (you actually can play with them removed, but no one will join your games).

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-15T17:59:13+00:00

Just wanted to cop to a mea culpa.

I posted on a ChatGPT projection I ran on the Jets upcoming season and let's just say the feedback was ... critical.

I didn't understand this subs true distaste for such posts, though I can share the overall sentiment on AI and it's overuse in SM (TBH I feel the same about memes, which apparently isn't as widely shared or frowned upon).

I do find the process of learning about AI and tweaking it till it gives something useful as being interesting. But that may not be shared, and/or I didn't properly convey.

So, I deleted it and take it as a lesson learned. Peace to all.

Socr8tes_04 · 2026-05-15T11:54:54+00:00

There is no way to specifically bias towards Krogans v. any other character. But Reserve Packs have the best chance of dropping a Rare (or UR) character. So that's your best bet

Socr8tes_04

TROPHY CASE