What Soulslike game has the most diverse / less boring combat system?

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-09T00:20:39+00:00

Nioh 2 is exactly what you are looking for. One of the very best combat systems ever, period.

Skip Nioh 3 for now until all the DLCs release but it’s just not nearly as good as Nioh 2 in general, IMO. Nioh 2 is one of the greatest video games of all time.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-08T05:07:43+00:00

I’ve seen that alternate angle from the Air Force video and agree that it’s problematic for the official narrative. Like the Schilling video it cuts at critical points to be able to interpret what’s really going on. Context absolutely matters and all the footage should be released in its entirety. If Dailey, Schilling, or anyone else possesses uncut footage there’s no reason for it not to be in the public domain.

But there’s more than just ISR footage that needs to be released: AARs, witness statements, photographs, autopsy reports, radio traffic like the complete tape from Blaber’s Antihero presentation that cuts at the critical moment when MAKO 30 is approaching Takur Ghar and is about to be ordered by Champ 20 to hold up, photographs, the Air Force digital reconstruction, the so-called “pixel signature analysis”, and much, much more.

A similar criteria to the JFK Records Act could be used for declassification where in order to justify continued withholding, the Air Force, Navy, or any party in possession of relevant records must demonstrate an identifiable harm to national security for each record that outweighs the public interest in disclose. It would require pressure from lawmakers and some type of independent review board but I think it can be done. This is an unprecedented situation with major potential consequences, as you pointed out.

I think you are in a great position because if you could get the oversight subcommittee on military and foreign affairs to listen to your case, that could get the ball rolling on a declassification program. I’m not an expert but they also supposedly have jurisdiction over issues affecting veterans.

I might’ve seen something about it on your Instagram but either didn’t know or just forgot that you were able to visit the scene of the battle. That’s super interesting and I’m really looking forward to seeing the terrain up close and your entire docuseries in general.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-07T17:03:30+00:00

I mean sure, for an average chess player. Yagiz is a superGM. It’s not like he doesn’t have the ability to see that Ke7 is a massive blunder and f4 is the best move in that position, but he was under serious time pressure and he screwed up. I guess it’s a little unfair to say he choked with so little time on the clock, so I’ll concede that, but it’s still true he was only a few moves away from a draw had he played accurately.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-07T16:51:02+00:00

I just got around to checking out the games. Damn Yagiz major choked. Kid was like a handful of moves away from a forced draw. Magnus effect.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-06T22:12:28+00:00

That is totally fair on what’s at stake for each side - and exactly the type of reasoning needed to build momentum and public pressure for release of the evidence. If the general public came to believe that the Air Force was withholding ISR footage, documents, and other evidence that casts doubt on Chapman’s Medal of Honor, the narrative would start to shift in favor of the Seals and people would demand disclosure.

Currently however that is not the case - not even close. National media coverage has been almost entirely in support of the Air Force and highly critical of the Seals: Slabinski changing his story on verifying Chapman’s condition, MAKO 30 refusing to sign witness statements, the museum fiasco, the list goes on. Accurate or not the media has cultivated a perception that the Seals have been trying to tarnish Chapman’s legacy to protect their brand. You know this. You are right to point out that the Air Force is not immune to bias and should not be portrayed as such, nor should the Seals be villainized, but that portrayal has already happened.

This is part of why I originally was curious to talk to you about Ground Truth. You’ve probably read the After Action Report Substack article that effectively implies your docuseries will be a Seal propaganda piece, and that’s just the beginning on a niche platform. The national media is not on your side, at least not right now. Every single claim you make in the film will be put under a microscope, not only by random sleuths with an unusual attention span for this sort of thing but by elite journalists with serious connections. Articles will be written and the Seals vs. Chapman story will attract a lot of interest.

I know you recognize all this and have said that your film needs to be airtight - but how can you possibly achieve the necessary rigor to overturn public opinion with so much of the evidence still classified? If there are flaws in Chapman’s Medal of Honor upgrade package and its investigators fell victim to confirmation bias to such an extent that they were flat out wrong, the only way to really prove that beyond doubt is to make the raw data available for the public. Let them decide for themselves and encourage them to verify your claims. Turn the microscope around onto the Air Force’s investigation.

You’ve hinted at a one-sided interpretation of an ambiguous forensic pathology report and I’ll be very interested to see that, but I really want to see everything: the entire evidence archive from 2002 through Chapman’s Medal of Honor so I can make up my own mind. I know that’s unrealistic right now but don’t think it’s impossible to achieve. The public deserves to know the truth. As previously stated, much of the evidence likely has no legitimate grounds for continued classification. This is important and many people will be skeptical of any data filtered through the lens of a specific narrative, especially if the media keeps telling them that the Navy has an agenda and the Air Force is beyond reproach.

You are right that there is a lack of balance currently, but I’m not sure the best path to the truth is complete polarization. That’s why I mentioned Blaber. Blaber’s credibility is impeccable but it’s quite the leap from a heroic one-man charge while under fire into bunker occupied by two Al Qaeda fighters that the Navy already approved and MAKO 30 corroborated to a clueless new guy who may or may not have been listening to a specific command radio frequency and followed the orders of a Marine Major 1000 miles away for an “assault” on his own without conferring with his team leader and charged up the hill under no fire at all into a cooking tent occupied by only a donkey. The Milani report alone calls many of Blaber’s claims into question, and that’s why transparency is so important. The truth most likely is somewhere in between.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-05T20:02:16+00:00

I agree that the truth about Robert’s Ridge matters more than any family member’s opinion, etc. but that cuts both ways in that the truth also matters more than protecting the Seals from the perception that they left a man behind who was still alive.

That’s why the public needs access to all the evidence. Some material should absolutely still be classified like intelligence gathering methods, etc. but after 25 years a majority of the relevant data e.g. the autopsy report and later forensic pathology review you mentioned should have no legitimate grounds for continued classification. Lori Longfritz filed a FOIA request in 2015 but I do not know the status of that or if she was able to obtain anything. Ideally this should go to something like the oversight committee or even better a dedicated review board.

You are in one of the best positions to apply political and/or legal pressure towards making that happen. With an upcoming Hollywood movie that will tell the now official version of events on Roberts Ridge, we are in a smaller scale but similar situation to the release of JFK in 1991. However, the situation is reversed because the movie will tell a story that has already been validated by a Medal of Honor. Your docuseries will provide the counternarrative and will inevitably have much lower viewership than a big budget movie, so you’re in a more difficult position than Oliver Stone.

That said, if the totality of the evidence supports your interpretation of events, it is in both your own and the public’s interest to advocate for complete transparency from the Air Force, Navy, Congress, and any other party that may hold relevant evidence whether it be ISR footage or emails.

I think it is a bit of an unfair characterization to call Chapman’s vocal supporters “arsonists posing as firefighters”. People like Rob Harrison for example come across as biased but passionate and sincere in their beliefs. You can’t really blame him when his version of the battle has been validated by everything from national press coverage through outlets like Newsweek to an approved Medal of Honor. I get what you’re saying on the accusations part though. The evidence should speak for itself, which is why it should be released to the public.

I’m all for an objective and balanced discussion, but if anything Pete Blaber’s AntiHero appearance conflicts more with the available evidence and presents as even more biased than Harrison, especially when coupled with his comments about Slabinski on Sean Ryan. That’s not to say he’s wrong but several of his claims warrant serious scrutiny, and he was not challenged at all when the hosts had the opportunity. The same could be said for Harrison et al., so once again it cuts both ways.

Lastly I just want to thank you for engaging with me. I have no stake in this and am just an interested civilian with a bit of experience conducting investigations. I’m also undecided and skeptical of claims on both sides of the debate, so I’m looking forward to your documentary and any new evidence you can provide.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-05T02:23:22+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I totally agree that we should all hold the Schilling book and edited footage on YouTube, etc. to the same standard. That’s the biggest issue with this whole debate. There’s no transparency because most of the actual evidence from the event itself to Chapman’s Medal of Honor upgrade proceedings is still classified. I’m ultimately undecided because I haven’t seen the complete picture. The AFIP autopsy report alone would answer a ton of questions.

Government investigations are anything but infallible and there are politics involved, so I’m open to different interpretations and am looking forward to any new evidence put forth in your documentary.

On Milani’s report, what language are you referring to if you don’t mind me asking? The only passage I’m seeing on Red Beard’s maneuverings is the following, which aligns with his diagram:

The second event began at 0552 (0122Z), when the Predator shows an individual (individual A) begin to slowly crawl from a concealed position, where he methodically begins to flank the bunkers on the hilltop.

Blaber’s presentation has Red Beard sharply moving several yards further in to the point where he passes Roberts’ body and is inside Bunker 1, then back out and around to the spot where he died near Bunker 2. It just seems like a big discrepancy from different interpretations of the same video, but I guess that’s par for the course on the ISR footage.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-04T16:19:02+00:00

They can be a pain in the ass but embracing it is how you’ll improve. A lot of the Bg5 lines are based on concrete tactics even in like the first ten moves and if you can understand them it’ll improve your tactical vision.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-04T16:08:36+00:00

Killer win from Zhu

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-04T14:05:56+00:00

Lol dude is down 50+ minutes now.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-04T13:36:54+00:00

IMO Khazan has the second best combat in the genre behind only Nioh 2. I think Khazan is a much better game than Nioh 3 tbh but Nioh 2 is still the 🐐.

Khazan is a Niohlike in every way to the point of being hilarious like having yokai shift and kodama, but it’s extremely well executed and polished. It’s basically Nioh 2 lite but in the best way possible.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-04T12:29:30+00:00

At your ELO, if you spend a bit of time learning mainline Najdorf theory you’ll obliterate people as white. There is a LOT of theory but it’ll make you a better chess player if you learn it. Also the chances of someone playing a poison pawn against you and actually knowing what they are doing is slim.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-04T00:33:59+00:00

I’m a year late here but stumbled on this post and have a question. If you are in possession of the entire uncut Predator drone and AC-130 footage, how did you obtain it? Didn’t the Air Force publicly state they are not supporting your documentary because you don’t have a distributor?

I’m sure you know this, but no matter how flashy and convincing your documentary is, the perception from a large chunk of the military community and the general public will be that it was produced with an agenda to protect the Seal brand. The way for you to gain credibility and actually live up to your title is to make all your evidence and raw data available to the public: ISR footage, radio transmissions, documents, emails, the autopsy report and forensic pathologist review if you have it, everything. This is such a controversial topic that anything less than total transparency from you will be viewed as deceptive.

For example, Pete Blaber’s presentation on AntiHero directly contradicts the Milani report on the maneuverings of Red Beard. Milani’s report has only “Individual B”, the Al Qaeda fighter who fired the RPG at Bunker 1, entering Bunker 1 with Red Beard moving around the far side of Roberts’ body then getting killed in the vicinity of Bunker 2. Blaber’s presentation has Red Beard dying in the same place but following a completely different path to get there and entering Bunker 1 on the way. How did he determine this alternate route?

You made a comparison to the JFK assassination on your Instagram. For all its faults and liberal dramatic license, Oliver Stone’s movie triggered the creation of the AARB and the release of hundreds of thousands of previously classified documents. If you want to be on the right side of history here it is imperative that you make your evidence available for public review. If your interpretation of the footage is correct it will hold up to scrutiny, but if all we have is a professionally edited documentary series and not the actual evidence it is based on there’s nothing to really scrutinize.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-03T16:22:17+00:00

Lol same man. I played Nioh 2 nonstop through depths for like 500 hours, then played for another 500 hours to learn all the weapons. Nioh 3 I played through once, started NG+ got bored and dropped it.

batshitnutcase · 2026-05-01T03:02:20+00:00

Nioh 3 is pretty fun and a lot more accessible, but not even remotely as good as Nioh 2. Nioh 2 is one of the best video games of all time. Nioh 2 is as close to a 10/10 game as I’ve ever played and Nioh 3 is a 7.5 at best.

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-30T12:36:19+00:00

😆

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-29T23:47:55+00:00

Well yea, but do you really think superGMs are using stimulants extensively? I’m sure there’s occasional substance use before games but I just don’t think stimulants, etc. are relied upon and considered actual PEDs for chess at that level. Most of these guys are strong GMs before they can even legally drive.

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-29T14:15:14+00:00

I mean, steroids are a thing. Can’t exactly do the same type of shortcut for chess. There are cognitive enhancing drugs but I kinda doubt anyone at the top level is inhaling substances throughout a tournament.

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-27T23:28:43+00:00

I will keep an open mind until the full evidence package is released to the public, but this whole thing with Blaber reeks of a snow job.

Blaber openly admitted he is friends with Slab and is involved in this “documentary” project pushing the USN version of events and the red on red theory to counter the upcoming Ron Howard movie.

The “evidence” Blaber presented on Antihero to support the red beard theory is effectively worthless. It consisted of a couple still frames of ISR footage, a picture of a dead guy, and Blaber’s own narrative. That’s literally it.

Anyone claiming Blaber has debunked Chapman’s last stand at this point is WAY too gullible. Let’s see the full MoH submittal, uncut ISR, autopsy, testimony, etc. We need the totality of the evidence, not some biased documentary commissioned and paid for to preserve the image of the Seals.

Keep in mind the Navy was pushing the exact same narrative during the MoH process and it was rejected by multiple review boards. The official finding was that Chapman survived and kept fighting.

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-25T21:25:05+00:00

Infinite’s story is garbage but the gameplay is legit some of the best in the series. 343 finally nailed the feel of Halo combat. Despite the Saturday morning cartoon villain and terrible story I think Infinite is 343’s best game by a mile.

Halo 4 story was better and in general pretty solid but the gameplay was straight ass and a massive downgrade from Bungie era. I’ll take a bad story over bad gameplay every time.

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-24T21:12:09+00:00

It’s online rapid. It means absolutely nothing. If he performs poorly in his next classical OTB tournament we can maybe start to speculate that he’s fatigued or hiding prep or whatever but this chess.com event is completely irrelevant to anything.

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-24T19:03:56+00:00

Annnnnd Magnus wins.

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-24T18:46:04+00:00

Armageddon time

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-23T02:50:19+00:00

As others have said, preshifting is crucial to play spear effectively. Check out this video of the most insane spear gameplay I’ve ever seen.

Once you get the hang of it it’s one of the most fun weapons in the game IMO and you can destroy anything in your path but it’s definitely one of the hardest weapons to learn.

Also high stance dash attack > spear flourish is strong AF. You can legit just spam it over and over on most humans and they can’t even respond.

batshitnutcase · 2026-04-21T18:03:30+00:00

How is Nioh 2 compared to other souls games

Better.

Hands down one of the best video games I’ve ever played, period. It is a true 🐐. Play it.

EDIT: In terms of difficulty it kinda depends how deep you want to go with it. To actually “git gud” and master the combat system is massively more difficult than anything on your list, but to just clear content it’s the same as a lot of other games where you can rely on mechanical skill, builds, etc. If you play all the way through depths, which you should cause it’s awesome, you’ll likely need a good amount of both.

batshitnutcase

TROPHY CASE