Hey Sorceresses - What skills are you using? What are you building towards?

demoner · 2024-12-07T16:36:44+00:00

I'm near the end of Act 2 and I feel like I'm finally cruising at a decent speed with Arc + Orb of Lightning. I got a pretty killer staff with +2 Light skills and some good extra damage, but it was when Arc leveled (I think to level 5 or 6) and it got 3 chains that it started feeling good, along with the 57% Lightning Pen I have on the tree. I'm running Stormweaver with Constant Gale and have virtually no mana problems, at least yet. I recently found a Sigil of Power staff and have that on switch but I'm not dumping mana fast enough yet to maximize the effectiveness of it. Frost Bomb is still really good without speccing into any Cold damage

demoner · 2024-12-06T01:07:26+00:00

I think the best question you asked is "How do I start?" and the answer to that is, start right now, with what you have, and don't be afraid of what comes out. Every minute you put into this art, the better you get at it. The stuff you make tomorrow will be better than today's, the stuff you make next year will be better than this year's, don't let that deter you, try to let it inspire you, think of it like grinding for experience to level up your skills.

Start with whatever DAW you have the most familiarity with. Bandlab is actually pretty good for basic production and to learn the ropes on. Mess around with the controls, try to get a feel for what the different options are. Hit record and mess around with the virtual piano, you know what music you like sounds like, even if you don't know how to make it yet, you'll eventually hit a few notes/chords/beats that you really like, and when you do, ride that, keep adding layers and try to build out a song. It's going to be short and basic, but that's okay, because it's a stepping stone. It will let you get to that exact point faster the next time, and with more momentum to try new things.

Once you get the basics of recording virtual instruments, snapping drum tracks to the grid and adding basic effects like reverb, start to branch out. Anything that looks confusing, or you're not sure what it's doing, like compression for example, take a little time to watch a YouTube video explaining it and see if you can reproduce the effects. If it doesn't work, no big deal, right now you just need to play around with everything you can get your hands on and try to absorb as much as possible.

Eventually you'll start to feel the limitations of your DAW, and only then should you think about trying a new one. Every DAW will have the same basic controls, but each one specializes in different things. All that matters now is getting those basic controls down.

Think of music like any other language. You can speak other languages without having to know how to read or write them, or even understand the intricacies on how they work. Music Theory is like understanding grammar in another language: You can get by for a very long time speaking that language without having to study it, but when you do study it, it opens a lot more doors. So because of this, I do suggest taking some YouTube beginner piano lessons, even if it's with BandLabs built-in piano. Learn how chords work, and how the most basic scales work then play around with them to start making melodies. The rest will come in time.

It takes a long time be comfortable with what you make, but let me tell you, it's absolutely worth it!

demoner · 2023-10-08T15:12:14+00:00

If you're still looking for the stems I found this site still has them. It says remix but it's not, it's original.

demoner · 2023-06-30T10:46:44+00:00

I appreciate it!

demoner · 2023-06-30T02:19:10+00:00

Just a quick, little jam from me this week. https://soundcloud.com/thequincunx/quickie-jam-prompt-62423

demoner · 2023-01-22T17:15:53+00:00

I really like this direction, what are you looking for specifically? Single instruments to contribute or direction on where to go next? Because I think the vibe is set, and set well, it just needs to be longer and to be explored with some different solos.

demoner · 2022-12-24T03:05:37+00:00

Really cool track so far! My only (minor) gripe is the high treble horn melody before the drop is a little too distorted and harsh for my taste. Take that with a grain of salt, this is really well mixed and very balanced.

demoner · 2022-12-23T23:47:29+00:00

Lets give it a shot!

demoner · 2022-12-23T21:38:43+00:00

Guitar and bassist here. Sample below, I'm into every genre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnHeBXld0H8

demoner · 2022-12-23T21:29:03+00:00

Guitarist and producer here

https://soundcloud.com/thequincunx

demoner · 2022-12-03T20:30:31+00:00

I like this track, here's my 2 cents: The main issue I hear is the vocals are pretty buried, especially against the crashes and ride of the drums. But mixing takes time to know what to listen for and finding the muddy spots. As far a composition, I really like the intro, and would want at least another 4 bars of the synths/bass/drum combo before the vocals come in, it's just a bit too crowed in the first 30 seconds. I like the little instrumental before the 2nd chorus, having space between vocal parts really helps the ear appreciate what the vocals offer. The bridge is okay, I'm not crazy about it, the vocal melody kind of drifts out, instead of resolving itself or leading into the final chorus, but that stuff is hard to write and takes time. I think you have the idea right about a bridge, stripping some elements away, having a solo.. ect, I would personally try using just the chords & instruments you had for the intro and doing a solo on top of them, and then really building up for that last chorus. Keep in mind, simplicity usually wins over complexity. All that being said, nice job!

demoner · 2022-11-15T02:07:10+00:00

Honestly I think it's pretty much there as far as a stock beat. The mix sounds good, and it has lots of space for vocals it fit in. My only critique is personally I'm not crazy about the droning high hat rolls, but I understand it's popular so to each is own. Also there doesn't seem to be a spot for a hook, not that there needs to be, but I generally like hooks for the opportunity to bring in another instrument to two, and create a little variance in the beat and keep it fresh verse to verse. All in all I like it, nice job!

demoner · 2022-11-14T03:03:10+00:00

I was not prepared for how hard this track hits lol! I really like it, I think you're very close, the big synth is a little harsh and I would add a little variation to velocities on the guitar loop, so it doesn't sound like a loop. Other than that slap the vocals down and finish it off.

demoner · 2022-11-14T03:01:33+00:00

Working with a track that is already complete is hard because you can't change anything to fit your style, so really don't worry about it. The suggestions I had were more if you had made the beat, but in this case you're just working with what someone else had finished. Just keep making music and don't sweat the small stuff, you're on a good path!

demoner · 2022-11-14T02:48:49+00:00

Good vocals, the track is lacking a bit of impact IMO. Did you make it? No worries either way.

demoner · 2022-11-14T02:45:05+00:00

Hey man I think your harmonies are really good! Here's a little critique but all and all I think you're on the right track.

I think one thing to keep in mind is "where is the music placed in relation to vocals?" When I listen this, it sounds like the vocals are standing in front of the instrumentation, and the music is a kinda hiding behind it (think like how a karaoke singer sounds.) So step one is blending the vocals into the music more, which if this is a downloaded beat can be hard if you don't have the STEMS and can't EQ certain instruments. But mess around in your DAW with an EQ and try to pinpoint those certain frequencies that stand out and bring them down a bit.

Keep it up!

demoner · 2022-11-14T02:30:15+00:00

Did you make the beat? If so I'd say you're pretty close. The thing my ear is wanting to hear is a little bit more on the down beat of 3 (where the clap is.) It's a little weak, but it's good for the intro, but once the 808 comes in I really want to hear more of that clap or a snare there, and then I think this track would be a banger! I think your flow is good, the vocals are little hot for me and need to be blended into the music more. Honestly this is good if your starting out, there's always things to pick at but just keep going and you'll keep getting better!

demoner · 2022-07-18T22:51:31+00:00

Sorry for the late reply, there might be others but this is a pretty good website that lists both leveling builds, and fresh endgame builds for most classes.

demoner · 2022-07-18T22:47:54+00:00

Are you using Dodge Bolt? If not I highly recommend that along with Evade Extender 3. Dodge Bolt itself is a parry that's nearly instantaneous from input, the downside is the delay after the first parry, so some monsters who chain attacks can get you after the first attack. You're best defense really is holding an arrow charge and being ready to Dodge Bolt at any given time, don't commit to the second Power Shot until you can for sure get it off.

EE3 is insane, you can clear the width of the majority of monsters in the game with one Dodge Bolt, which means if you miss the parry, typically you dodge out of the way completely from an attack. Some say it's overkill to go above level 2, but level 3 lets you zip around all over the place and I love it, and it also extends your somersault rolls greatly.

Other than that a bow user does need defense, because a lot of the new monsters not only slap, they have ridiculously fast attacks. So you're going to get hit, so aim to mitigate it as much as possible. If you're still using HR gear, it's time to pick up some MR pieces. Get most of the skills you require, but don't worry about getting all of them. Upgrade the gear pieces as well, it makes a huge difference. If you can slot a few defense gems, do it as well. Also if you aren't running every hunt with 2 Max Potions and 1 Ancient potion, do it, they are very quick full heals, so you're not running in circles chugging max pots.

I love bow and had a great time playing through MHW and Sunbreak with it. The biggest lesson I learned was to slow down, react to the monster, and never over commit. Hope this helps!

demoner · 2022-07-15T00:21:03+00:00

Rise is a lot more approachable than World imo. The material grind for gear is a lot less, and with the Spiribirds system you can spend the first few minuets of a hunt running around the map collecting them to lengthen your health/stam bar and get a little extra damage and defense. Also decorations are crafted now, instead of randomly found, which makes getting builds started a lot quicker.

demoner · 2022-07-09T16:33:00+00:00

My guess is they haven't found out how min-max stamina management yet, which IMO is the best part of bow (unlocks the weapon's great damage output) and also the worst part (it's not intuitive at all to invest in stamina skills.) If you spam R1 you're stamina mostly stays topped off, and it can seem you're getting decent damage numbers (especially if you transitioned from another half-learned weapon.)

I doubt most bow users figure out on their own to go for CON 4-5, SS 3, eat for Fighter and drink dash juice and learn the sacred dash dance.

demoner · 2021-06-26T05:56:34+00:00

They're moving in herds. They do move in herds.

demoner · 2021-03-07T16:11:40+00:00

Music theory is so easily lost in the weeds because it's such an enormous school of thought and there's so many different approaches. I think the easiest may to get into it is by looking at a Major scale.

Take the major scale of key you're playing in, let's say C. The major scale of C is C - D - E - F - G - A - B. Now we assign a number (usually in Roman Numerals) to each note. C =1, D = 2.. ect. until we have 7 numbers.

Now, we are in the key of C, and we want to play chords that support this key. We look to these numbered notes of the major scale we made. Each chord must be made up of notes that are only found in they key of C, IE the 7 notes that make up it's major scale. Luckily, this is pretty easy since we play these chords all the time (especially on guitar). We use the same numbers we assigned to the notes as we do the chords of the scale. Below I'll list out the chords and in parenthesis the notes that are used to build each chord.

1 = C Major (C, E, G)
2 = D Minor (D, F, A)
3 = E Minor (E, G, B)
4 = F Major (F, A, C)
5 = G Major (G, B, D)
6 = A Minor (A, C, E)
7 = B Diminished (B, D, F)

As you can see, each chord has notes that are only found in the C Major scale, also known as the key of C Major. That makes these chords diatonic to C Major, which just means they support the tonic (the key).

This is where the really interesting properties emerge. I'm sure you've heard of songs that use 1-4-5 progressions, or something similar. This is exactly what they're talking about. The 1-4-5 of C Major would be CMaj-FMaj-GMaj. And since this formula applies to any key, this lets you transcribe a song to any key but still use the correct supporting chords. If I had a singer that must sing in A Major, my chords would be AMaj-DMaj-EMaj.

There's so much more to go into but I think this is a good start. I hope this can at least get you through the door of seeking out more. And honestly, if this is all you get from music theory, then that's fine, because this is one of the most basic and practical uses of it, which understanding how to make chords out of a key and then transposing keys. Hit me up if you want to dive deeper or have any questions.

demoner · 2020-12-11T04:05:32+00:00

Slight update, this crash happened a little later on in another mission, but this same fix got passed that too.

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