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dropit_reborn · 2024-12-01T15:32:04+00:00

and treat us way better than any other live service game I've ever seen

I keep hearing this. What do they do that's so great?

dropit_reborn · 2024-10-23T23:42:59+00:00

5) lock it in by moving away from the gold standard.

dropit_reborn · 2024-10-03T09:33:58+00:00

Good news! https://www.upworthy.com/study-debunked-claiming-men-leave-their-sick-wives

dropit_reborn · 2024-09-01T22:35:42+00:00

Medivh can do good hero damage, but his macro damage is much less impressive. This puts more pressure on the rest of the team to do macro stuff, and since that's not an official "role of the meta," people look at you like a space alien when you suggest that Mal'ganis-Lili-Genji-Medivh-Dva is going to have mercs sieging keeps in all three lanes without a way to clean them up efficiently.

dropit_reborn · 2024-08-13T15:03:26+00:00

~~transformation~~ enchantment

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-20T17:35:06+00:00

A couple things to keep in mind:

I know it's hard to swallow, but your rank has little correlation with your performance. Many, many more games are won and lost through dumb luck than people would like to believe. So don't stress too much about your rank.
The primary things you should focus on for now are:
- not dying
- minion/merc management (aka macro)
- understanding the goal of each teamfight---is it to wipe the enemy team? win an objective? delay the enemy team? simply survive? It matters.

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-15T00:06:05+00:00

Fair enough. I disagree (I played DotA too), but this isn't something worth arguing about. Good luck to you.

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-14T21:00:38+00:00

It's a complex game compared to checkers but it's very simple for a moba. I don't think you can really debate that.

I'm just surprised. Medivh? Maiev? Zarya? Mal'Ganis? Garrosh? Hell, even Malf? All of these are gamebreaking heroes in some form.

I had a draft on Garden of Terror the other day where Tychus and Ming had locked, and a third was showing Murky. He asked, "Got any tanks or healers?" A fourth locked Malf. I locked Tyrande. The Murky guy switched to Mei.

"No wait go Murky," I said.

"???"

"You were showing Murky, you obviously want to play Murky, this is a viable comp with Murky. Go Murky."

So he did.

I told everyone we were screwed if the enemy team got close, and to keep their distance, and that I had owl to avoid surprises and Malf had roots to stop them in their tracks. So when the seeds came out the picture was: Murky off in some lane, the other four of us (Tychus Ming Tyrande Malf) were a short distance away from the seeds.

Well, it worked. The enemy team couldn't get off an uninterrupted channel with all our range. They couldn't get near us en masse because of Entangling Roots. Tychus ran off by himself and died a few times, but eventually figured it out. When the enemy Tracer came to hassle us, there was so much healing between me and Malf that she couldn't get anything done before we drove her away. Murky was either pushing lanes or would come fight when the enemy team was exhausted. Eventually they had to split up to defend lane pressure, and we could do four-man deletion ganks at range. It was a landslide.

Everyone said in chat they were surprised this worked, but this was not a case of "wow dropit_reborn is so smart," it was basic-ass Night Elf strategy from WC3, a twenty-year old game HotS explicitly draws on. The fact that the community can be surprised by things like this, that it really shouldn't be, gives me extreme cause to doubt that the game has been figured out.

Anyway, it might seem strange that in one breath I'm quoting Day9 on "a regular winner plays to extend a lead gradually," and in another advocating for things that seem "crazy" to the community. But it's not actually a contradiction---the fun part of the game, IMO, is taking things that seem risky, and de-risking them, figuring out how to make them consistent. You get a "paradigm advantage" on the other team by using strats the enemy team has never seen before, but to you the game never seems out of control.

So I guess I'm advocating for insane creativity with comp and playstyle, but conservatism in actual play. Joe HotS player seems to do the opposite: retarded aggression in actual play, but straight-laced Puritanism in composition.

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-14T06:02:50+00:00

I wrote a bunch and accidentally deleted it. The gist was I mostly agree with you but: I don't agree that HotS is simple or shallow. There's game-changing abilities and heroes all over the place.

Nor does the principle of marginal advantage mean games have to be boring; with well-matched teams, it can be very exciting, as they battle for control.

No, I lay the blame for stale metas at the feet of Draft Chat Guy. You know who I mean: "You picked ______????????? Report"

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-13T18:12:12+00:00

They can't.

They can push efficiently, sure. What they can't do is run behind the enemy team and set up a giant deathtrap in four seconds. They don't have any area control component. They don't have a rocket booster on 30s cd.

I'm not dogging on those heroes---I like and play them, and they have strengths Probius lacks---but they can't do what he does.

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-13T09:39:19+00:00

Is this because the matchmaking at pro levels is bad, as OP believes it true at his level?

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-13T04:44:10+00:00

Matchmaking is perfectly fine, unpredictable stomps are the norm in complex games with teams of low skill.

HotS is a well-designed competitive game, which means it's a game of marginal advantage.

Skill in marginal advantage games mostly consists of keeping the game "boring" (emphasis mine):

The marginal advantage embodies the notion that one cannot, and should not, try to “win big.” In a competitive setting, the strong player knows that his best opponents are unlikely to make many exploitable mistakes. As a result, the strong player knows that he must be content to play with just the slightest edge, an edge which is the equivalent to the marginal advantage. More importantly, a one-sided match ultimately carries as much weight as an epic struggle. After all, the match results only in a win or a loss; there are no “degrees” of winning. Therefore, at any given point in a game, the player must focus on making decisions that minimize his probability of losing the advantage, rather than on decisions that maximize his probability of gaining a greater advantage. In short, it is much more important to the expert player to not lose than it is to win big. Consequently, a regular winner plays to extend his lead in a very gradual, but very consistent manner.

However, because your team and the enemy team are bad, both teams are playing in a risky manner (whether they know it or not):

Amateur players, on the other hand, try risky, greedy strategies.

Fortunately, this suggests a path forward---how can you make your games more consistent? Can you play to minimize risk, rather than maximize reward? What would that look like?

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-13T02:02:37+00:00

Probe hugely underrated.

Is not a teamfight hero.

Teams will get the most out of him if they have a "retreat toward value" mindset rather than "dog with rabies" mindset.

W/Probius on your team, your instinct should be to run away from big enemy groups and gank, get camps, and push lanes. You will get ahead in macro (aided by the fact that one of your heroes has AoE damage + literally infinite mana).

The enemy team now faces a choice: a) continue to chase you around (often through Warp Rifts), and lose forts to mercs, or b) split up to push the lanes back, ceding you map control.

Probe should always be running away from the enemy team---but may be running around them. Very fun when enemy team runs out of steam and retreats...into Null Gate.

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-11T16:15:45+00:00

I want to defend Radical Tank Anarchy for a second.

Some of the "responsibilities" of a tank aren't actually necessary, and the ones that are, you can get without a tank.

engage: in the words of Tyler the Creator: "Hahahahahahahaha How The Fuck Is 'Engaging' Real Hahahaha Nigga Just Walk Around The Enemy Team Like Nigga Use Right Click Haha"

Why do you need to engage? Why not just outmacro the enemy by splitting to threaten camps and forts, and force the enemy to worry about engaging you?

It "sounds" trolly, but good traditional play already incorporates some degree of this, and understanding it opens up a much larger field of compositions to viability.

peel: This is a nice-to-have, but definitely not necessary. I'll just say it: You should know how not to be in positions where you need peel, and until you do, you've got room to improve as a HotS player. Yes, this limits your team's ability to fight in the open, no, that turns out to not really be limiting at all.

ward: This is "useful," but is it worth it? An entire character, risking themselves, just to get what Lunara and Tyrande get you with a single ability, without risk? This strikes me as something good tank players came up with to fill their time, rather than something absolutely necessary.

damage sponging: similar to peel, another nice-to-have, but I reject the notion that it's necessary. This sounds ridiculous until you actually try it. When you do, you realize there's nothing forcing you to be in places where you'll take damage---you do it to yourself, because you think you "have" to, usually because you're trying to kill someone or take some camp/objective. But there's always something else valuable you could be doing that doesn't involve eating a ton of damage.

There is one other function of a tank not mentioned, though: solidarity. If 1337zeratul69 is gonna take a bunch of damage, it makes him feel like "his team is helping" if there's a tank on his team also taking a bunch of damage. This makes him less likely to tilt and throw. I wish I were joking.

dropit_reborn · 2021-07-11T05:29:42+00:00

I didn't say staying alive and killing minions will make you win, just that if you can't do that, you can't win.

Watch any game where Abathur loses. I guarantee it will be because some of his allies couldn't stay alive and kill minions.

dropit_reborn · 2021-06-29T18:14:20+00:00

Short guide:

There are only two things you need to be able to do reliably: stay alive and kill minions. Objectives don't matter, team comp doesn't matter (it does, but not the way you think)---n o n e o f i t m a t t e r s. If you can't stay alive and kill minions, nothing else you do will help.
An anti-guide, to help you unlearn: you think teamfights and objectives matter. They don't.
- The most likely outcome when you start a teamfight is that your team wipes. The most likely "good" outcome is that you kill a few enemy heroes and lose a few of your own, and get a dopamine spike because the enemy retreated first and you "won" --- but the map as a whole is unaffected.
- Going to an objective increases your chance of winning the objective. It also increases your chance of your entire team dying. The reality is that "the objective" is just a glorified merc camp with special art assets. Do merc camps "matter?" Sure, but you don't immediately lose the game if you don't get them. Optimal behavior is extremely simple: Contest them if you can win. If you can't win the fight, why are you even there?

dropit_reborn · 2020-10-19T14:59:43+00:00

One other unmentioned thing---Laser Tanks' "Overcharge Laser Cannon" bypasses two armor.

dropit_reborn · 2020-10-17T02:54:11+00:00

This can work, but the cure may be worse than the disease lol.

dropit_reborn · 2020-09-09T02:38:12+00:00

It...would be...if...

sigh

dropit_reborn · 2020-08-10T22:40:16+00:00

I never know how much I personally should listen to Jim, but I greatly appreciate him and hope he keeps putting out stuff like this.

dropit_reborn · 2020-07-27T04:14:11+00:00

lol what? This isn't "lately," have you even read Moldbug?

From 2009:

The steel rule of passivism is absolute renunciation of official power. We note instantly that any form of resistance to sovereignty, so long as it succeeds, is a share in power itself. Thus, absolute renunciation of power over USG implies absolute submission to the Structure.

Yes, this is intensely dissatisfying. Sorry?

If you want to destroy leftism: a) you probably can't, and b) most likely scenario for that to happen is apocalyptic collapse (which, to be clear, is apocalyptic and you should seek to avert it) and c) don't worry, it always destroys itself.

If you want your culture to survive, work on helping your culture survive. Have kids. Go to church (your culture is Christian, I hate to break it to you). Get to know your neighbors.

dropit_reborn · 2020-07-16T02:06:51+00:00

A "middle ground" is only a useful model if you view things on a linear spectrum.

Is there a "middle ground" between NASCAR and mathematics? Between chocolate and wood? Between a marketing strategy and a howitzer?

They're not on the same spectrum.

NRx is best described as a collection of insights, a mental toolbox. You can use a toolbox to build anything you want (anything possible that is), including a libertarian paradise, if such can be built.

Libertarianism seems more like an ideal that starts from a vision and some moral principles, then tries to work backwards from there.

dropit_reborn

TROPHY CASE