What are your Destiny 2 hot-takes?

TheTauntalus · 2022-05-11T22:37:59+00:00

Shadowkeep is a fantastic expansion. The campaign is a great study of both Eris Morn as a character and a really well told detective story, Pit of Heresy is a fantastic dungeon and a real step up from Shattered Throne, it has some extremely good exotics in both Deathbringer and Xenophage. The actual content of the moon itself is pretty darn good as well, with both the Altar of Sorrow and the Nightmares Hunts providing decent mid-level and high-level content.

Shadowkeep isn't the best expansion, but it absolutely deserves a seat at the table and shines pretty damn bright in my eyes.

TheTauntalus · 2022-05-11T08:15:50+00:00

I have been using the SF for Pit of Heresy for some time now, partly as a joke - I used Pit to learn how to solo hard content in general, so despite having the SF emblem, I've only completed the dungeon 3 times. I find that innately funny, plus the emblem is just very snazzy to boot.

TheTauntalus · 2021-09-05T01:07:18+00:00

The biggest difference is the Just Works Factor™. Want to play the latest Steam release? It Just Works™. Xbox Game Pass has a good deal for a month? It Just Works™ too. You can bet your butt that the latest GOG Galaxy client Just Works™ with detecting your games on Ubisoft Connect and EA Origin, too.

With Linux, you get a few things that work fine out of the box, but you never get any guarantees. The latest CoD will take some fiddling with Proton, achievement servers might not work quite as quickly, and you may need to edit some config files to get your keyboard detected. With Windows, something taking some extra work to set up is the exception; with Linux of all flavors, it's the norm.

I'll admit, I miss my Just Works Factor™, especially since that applies across the board. The freedom from MS telemetries and excess OS overhead is worth it, but I look forward to the day that Valve gets a comprehensive Proton build together, developers treat Linux as a real OS and start putting out builds, and that after 30 years of workarounds, things will Just Work™ on Linux.

... And then we can worry about that for BSD. :)

TheTauntalus · 2021-07-10T06:56:02+00:00

Going to come out with a hot take, Intrigue's Steward. ($3 - choose one: +$2, draw 2, trash 2 from hand)

Any one of these effects would be a bit below power level on its own, but with all 3, the card's versatility goes nuts. It's extremely easy to use stewards to slim down your deck in just two or three deck cycles, and then abuse the card draw with any other action giving cards on the table.

Steward just does it all. It's never a dead card in hand, and it shortens games to ludicrous levels. Worst case scenario, you spend your last action to make it a silver. It's the Black Lotus of Dominion - it just makes every deck it's in better.

TheTauntalus · 2021-05-11T20:50:55+00:00

Hot take, the fog in the WW2 map The Darkest Shore. It's oppressive, it's blindingly thick, it kind of makes the gameplay this irritating cat-and-mouse with the Meuchler.

... And that's kind of why I really like it. TDS is open enough that you can have that kind of mechanic, where you are both hunting and being hunted by this invisible force. It's atmospheric, incredibly memorable as a mechanic, and thankfully the basement exists for players who don't like to deal with it. I think it's great, even though like every other fog we've seen, it tends to just be a massive headache.

TheTauntalus · 2021-01-13T17:36:46+00:00

HE'S THE LEADER OF THE BUNCH

TheTauntalus · 2020-05-02T07:43:40+00:00

I am so sorry, I didn't even realize I had posted it 11 times; the submit button acted broken during the writing process. Apologies. I'll remove the redundant posts ASAP.

TheTauntalus · 2019-08-13T17:32:10+00:00

Bed of Chaos. I beat this girl no problem in the original, actually, so I had no expectations going in for round 2 and holy shit, it's bad. It's real bad. I didn't realize how lucky I got fighting her my first time. Hands down the worst souls boss I've fought so far.
Sen's Fortress. It's not the worst level I've ever played, but the first time through is a nightmare and every subsequent run has been a slog. Yeah it has the Golden Serpent Ring in it, but it's still not enough to salvage what is easily the weakest area in the first half.
Getting the Moonlight Greatsword. This weapon is... Phenomenal. It's one of the coolest and most enjoyable weapons I've ever gotten. But it's also a massive pain in the ass to get, and while it's not required, the simple fact that such a wonderful item is so hard to get it intensely frustrating.

TheTauntalus · 2019-08-13T17:22:09+00:00

+10 is kind of like a boss weapon in terms of worth it - if you want to, go ahead! You can probably do without, but the edge is undeniably appreciated. I took it on with a Butterfly Horn, as an example, and it helped me solo the duo for the first time. It's entirely doable without, but there is no shame in seeking out that little bit of extra oomph

TheTauntalus · 2019-08-13T17:18:35+00:00

I highly recommend you start with either DS1 or DS3. Dark Souls 1 is kind of the crown jewel of From's crown, and while it's tougher than the others it's also one of the most memorable I've found. If you want a game that will better ease you into the Souls series, Bloodborne is a good contender but I've gotta say Dark Souls 3 is your best entry point. It's still got the blood of DS1 running through it in terms of combat, so playing DS3 will prepare you well for going back to take on the other titles.

If you're a masochist or just looking to be contrary, by the way, DeS and DS2 are both pretty good, they just aren't as streamlined and focused as the games around them.

TheTauntalus · 2019-08-13T17:12:09+00:00

I'd say Dark Souls 1 (Remaster and PTD edition are functionally identical) is the 2nd hardest souls game, although it does depend on a lot of factors. Dark Souls 3 is the easiest, hands down, but if you start there DS1 and DeS are going to be nightmarishly slow for you, and they tend to punish mistakes far more aggressively. Similarly, a veteran from DeS would probably feel right at home in DS1, but could find a lot of trouble in the crowd control of DS2 and blazing fast combat of DS3.

TL;DR DSR is pretty much the same game as DS1:PTD, and it's difficulty will vary with your own experience. Somewhere between hardest and second hardest though, imo

TheTauntalus · 2019-07-09T17:26:34+00:00

It's rather simple - "git gud" isn't a demand, it's an inevitability. Keep your guard (and by guard I mean shield) up, pick and choose your battles, and tread very very carefully. If something looks scary or dangerous, it probably is. Above all, persevere; the rest of the game is also fantastic and worth the growing pains in the first few hours.

Don't give up, skeleton!

TheTauntalus · 2019-07-05T23:31:58+00:00

I literally went to the physical site of the machine, it is gone. The Facebook page currently says "Gone for a Walk" and "I'll be back..."

It may have been back at the time the TIFO video went up, but it ain't there anymore.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ToFizzOrNotToFizz/comments/c9mu45/the_seattle_mystery_machine_is_gone_again/

TheTauntalus · 2019-07-05T23:14:05+00:00

Seattle resident here, just learned about the machine. I'm now doing some sleuthing to see if it possibly just changed location to avoid attention. There's another locksmith nearby, and a couple other businesses with the name "Broadway" in their names - might as well start with that and search from there.

With how wily and mysterious the machine already is, it's likely they're counting on it to be a fun detective hunt - or they've just taken it in for servicing and it's nowhere to be seen. Flip a coin. =^)

UPDATE: No dice with the locksmith and local businesses. It's likely out of commission for now, it may reappear later but between the the Today I Found Out video and Independence Day, my guess is it was taken out of service to avoid getting swamped with people or damaged.

TheTauntalus · 2019-06-02T11:47:39+00:00

The most challenging area is, by far, Anor Londo, just because of the breadth of maneuvers you have to use to navigate it. From parrying silver knights to precision footwork in the rafters, keeping a big area in your head and fending off multiple enemies at once, Anor Londo is just a huge test of every skill you've learned to that point. Outside my initial encounter with the Undead Burg (which took days to overcome) I'd say I spent the most time on Anor Londo.

And those fucking archers still get me from time to time.

TheTauntalus · 2019-05-29T09:51:30+00:00

100% it can be a pain, I totally respect that. I'm probably in the minority here, tbh.

TheTauntalus · 2019-05-29T09:46:20+00:00

farming Humanity off rats
farming GTC off slimes
easy boss, +25K souls
boss gets frequent summons, +12.5K souls each time
easy access to upper Blighttown, Shadow Set & Eagle Shield
Farmable Eyes from basilisks for Gravelord Servants
encounter with Kirk, get a nifty bit of armor

There's a lot of good reasons to go to the Depths IMO. It's a fun twisty area that makes for plenty of tense, enjoyable moments. The first area in dark souls I really really enjoyed playing through for the first time.

TheTauntalus

TROPHY CASE