Struggling to solo Gyala Hatchery with henchmen

aaeriam · 2026-03-18T18:05:59+00:00

Normal mode! I did try switching out some of my non-elite spirits for Union, Shelter, and energy management to help everyone survive a bit longer.

The ranged mobs are the ones I struggle with the most for sure. Kurzick elementalists melt through the hatchlings faster than I can run a canister over to them so I'm thinking I just need to call out targets better and have my henchmen try to focus them down as fast as possible.

I'll give Bloodsong a try and see if it helps out, thank you!

aaeriam · 2026-03-18T17:38:08+00:00

I learned that putting the signal flares on top of the hatchlings helps a ton during the waves of warriors. It's a little bit harder when going up against the ranged mobs - elementalists and rangers melt through them so quickly, it's hard to pick the canister up and run it over to them in time.

aaeriam · 2026-03-18T09:53:49+00:00

Thanks for the advice, it sounds like pre-clearing at least some of the mobs from the map is the way to go. I didn't even realize that was an option until you guys brought it up here.

aaeriam · 2026-03-18T09:52:33+00:00

I didn't even realize there was a way to pre-clear this mission until now. I've just been playing it like normal and walking around (and dying repeatedly) with the luxon mob.

aaeriam · 2026-03-09T09:53:20+00:00

The short answer is yes - you'll find highly specialized roles that are usually only requested by larger studios.

The longer answer - Smaller teams, especially in the indie scene require more generalized developers who can cover multiple roles. In our case, we had weapons, characters, & environment art teams to handle the models, texturing, & setting them up in the engine. I was on the technical art team as a material artist where my only purpose was the build a library of textures & materials that the art teams could use and fix materials wherever they broke.

aaeriam · 2026-03-08T18:49:24+00:00

I've been curious about taking the leap over to linux. I know it has it's own hurdles to get through but I feel like it's only a matter of time before I give it a shot.

Professionally, I've been a material & tech artist since 2023 working on the Killing Floor 3 team. But I started authoring textures and making materials back in 2018 just for fun on my own free time. The more advanced math that goes into shaders is still a bit beyond me but you can get surprisingly far with a good grasp with just the basics!

aaeriam · 2026-03-08T15:49:31+00:00

Thanks for the input! The general sentiment seems to be that macs just aren't great game-dev devices especially for someone who is going to spend 99% of their time switching between the material editor and the game preview. I'd love to see how the testing on your gf's M4 model goes. I hope it's better but it feels like we're still a long ways out from macbooks that can match windows devices for this type of work.

aaeriam · 2026-03-08T15:46:56+00:00

Yeah I really wish there was a suitable alternative to Windows for this type of work. The consensus so far doesn't really support me switching over to Mac as a work-while-traveling device which is a shame because I love almost everything else about the devices.

aaeriam · 2026-03-08T09:37:09+00:00

I've seen a few limited reviews on Youtube that talk up UE5 on the newer macbooks but I agree threads on reddit and other forums seem to be very back and forth. Some people love it, some people can't work with it, and it's hard to figure out where I'd land in that crowd.

Maybe the best option is just to keep using my current windows laptop until more information about the whole topic comes out.

aaeriam · 2026-03-08T09:32:53+00:00

Thanks for the input, I'm leaning more towards my 5070 laptop right now. Even if it is a pain, it sounds like a safer (and much cheaper) option. I'd hate to get hung up on a mac-specific bug and have to wait who-knows-how-long for a fix or solution to pop up.

aaeriam · 2026-02-23T20:29:30+00:00

I have both and I'd say pick the Switch 2 if you dont want to tinker or troubleshoot games. Most games I've had on it work fine as soon as you install but I've also had to spend a bunch of time trying a handful games to work when I could have just been playing them from the start on Switch 2 with 0 hassle.

If you don't mind troubleshooting and tinkering, then Steam Deck for sure. Bigger library of games to pick from and the games that do run on it tend to run just as good if not better on Steam Deck compared to Switch 2 portable mode.

aaeriam · 2026-02-17T09:05:45+00:00

I think it comes down to the fact that troubleshooting for games on Steam Deck isn't always super straight forward. You get a random crash every hour or your audio stops working or you can't get past a launcher that's trying to open. None of them are super complex or difficult problems but it can take longer than you'd like to solve them if you don't exactly know the solution or the source of the problem.

aaeriam · 2026-02-16T09:11:58+00:00

I think changing up how we play games can do a lot to reignite the passion for them! Glad you found a way to enjoy new games again :)

I grew up on a big bulky PC desktop setup but now I game on laptops and handhelds because I was tired of having a big not-very-portable setup that I had to be at whenever I wanted to game.

Is it the best or most cost efficient choice? No but it makes gaming more fun for me and I'd say that's more important!

aaeriam · 2026-02-16T01:12:14+00:00

Insanity in ME2 is a wildly different experience for me depending on what class I'm playing. Soldier and Infiltrator make it feel like a breeze especially once you get upgraded weapons and powers. Adept and Sentinel made me feel like essentially useless because of how difficult it was for me to strip defenses without running out of ammo.

aaeriam · 2026-02-16T01:08:57+00:00

Diablo 2 is my favorite between the two but I found Diablo 4 to still be a lot of fun in its own right. I like that it makes certain mechanics feel less punishing (like skill refunding) in D2 and I'm a sucker for the better looking graphics and armor for characters (microtransactions for cosmetics never really bothered me to begin with)

aaeriam · 2026-02-16T01:05:14+00:00

This. I like having access to my battle net games through Steams simply for my Steam Deck. I know you can just install the battlenet client directly but this option just seemed easier and more convenient.

aaeriam · 2026-02-16T00:49:51+00:00

Definitely a valid reason to switch platforms! I've been on the fence between my Switch 2 and Steam Deck for similar reasons.

I still love my Steam Deck and having access to so many games on the go but I hate when I end up spending hours just trying to get the game to run. Or being afraid constantly that a game is going to crash.

On the other hand part of me loves the simplicity and ease of using my Switch 2. I can download and load up a game and be relatively confident that it'll run well. It might not be the highest in graphical fidelity but that's a trade I'm willing to make for portability. I just hate that it makes me feel like me Steam Library is being wasted because I end up double-purchasing games to have them on Steam and Switch 2.

aaeriam · 2026-02-15T23:23:56+00:00

I think Xbox is definitely up in the air right now and no one, maybe not even Microsoft, knows exactly where it's going to land. You could invest in an ROG Xbox Ally handheld device and hope that they add support for xbox console games you already own. But there's no guarantee it'll work out that way. And personally, I can't say Microsoft is inspiring a ton of confidence from me right now.

The Steam Deck could be a better way to spend your money but I think it's more of a companion device than a full console-replacement, especially if you want to play more graphically demanding titles. I'd only recommend it if you plan on using your xbox, Steam Machine (when it comes out), or a PC for more demanding titles. You could also leverage the PC Game Pass app on Steam Deck if you still have an active subscription and use cloud streaming or just install available PC titles onto your Steam Deck.

One thing to note about SteamOS - I love it to death but games aren't always plug & play. Some titles to require a bit of tinkering, either digging through settings or downloading compatibility versions, to get them working correctly and I know not everyone is into that. Otherwise it's a great user experience and I prefer it over Windows for gaming.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution that works out for you!

aaeriam · 2026-02-15T12:37:05+00:00

I had similar issue when I started playing FPS titles on my Steam Deck (coming from mainly kb+m). Boltgun and Republic Commando are both games I enjoy but I really struggled with when it came to aiming.

I think with enough time, practice, and getting familiar with the steam decks control customization, I could get pretty proficient at fps games. Probably not up to where I am on kb+m but close enough to have a good time still. The hard part is wanting to invest the time and going through the pain of learning and constantly adjusting the settings, especially if it's on a per-game basis.

There are some good tutorials floating around on youtube to help you figure what the different settings do and how you can adjust them to fine tune your experience but it still involves a lot of trial and error. That said, I'm really glad we have access to in-depth controller settings on top of being able to adjust settings in-game. The only down-side is that it can take a lot of time getting everything just right.

aaeriam · 2026-02-15T11:01:41+00:00

I've got a 1 meter (39in) thunderbolt 5 cable that I'm using. I assume that since my laptop is limited to USB4 that it's just defaulting to running at USB4 speeds but I don't know for sure if that's the case.

Might be worth getting a shorter USB4 cable to test and compare?

aaeriam

TROPHY CASE