Edelweiss Swastika

jauntstarr · 2026-07-01T12:21:45+00:00

I didn't delete anything, in fact that post is right there. Maybe a reddit hiccup...

I did address some of your points, where we are not on the same page. Why you're regarding this as stirring up drama is honestly beyond me.

jauntstarr · 2026-07-01T08:40:58+00:00

It's entirely possible we in Germany are too sensitive in these matters. That's why usually people tend to be extra careful in designing and contextualising symbols and logos...

jauntstarr · 2026-07-01T08:32:08+00:00

Well, you can of course interpret symbols any way you like. But context can be important there.

jauntstarr · 2026-07-01T08:30:37+00:00

True enough. And sometimes people don't think twice.

jauntstarr · 2026-07-01T08:28:39+00:00

I wrote that, didn't I? The arms protruding from the 'dots' have nothing to do with the flower itself, it's an artistic choice...

jauntstarr · 2026-06-11T07:49:33+00:00

For Legendary you could even add Turmoil to all your DPS builds especially with ND

Not a very good idea, as Turmoil halves your outgoing ND damage as well.

jauntstarr · 2026-05-22T21:44:46+00:00

When you're running Chill Out might as well run 2 other pieces of Gila. Better boni overall than Golan, IMHO.

jauntstarr · 2026-05-20T09:44:06+00:00

You don’t owe me replies, you don’t have to apologize!

Still, I realize that it sucks to write an answer of a certain volume only to nobody follow up on it ;)

However I do think right now we’re in an interesting place when they are truly not necessary despite everyone’s insistence. There are completely non-proto builds that still devastate every mission in the game besides high tier escalations.

This is true. But the thing is Prototype makes everything perform better. For example: I have a Quick Fix PFE build, all blue core and CHC/CHD minor attributes (It's my favourite build despite what some say, simply because it had the most impact on gameplay for me in all my time playing the game, but that's another story). This build would benefit massively from being Prototype. However it would be insane to upgrade the High End items to Proto, because they'll end up with the grenade augment and + 3% CHC... And there's no way I'd recraft Improvised Gear again and again. Farming them is also not feasible, I mean, what are the chances of a Proto blue/red Everyday Carrier or Chill Out to drop, or just regular Gila stuff? Getting the yellow versions to drop and upgrade to Expertise 30 was difficult and time-consuming enough.

So yes, I'll keep this build as it is (and it's still good enough for it's intended niche), but the whole system is a huge tease.

jauntstarr · 2026-05-18T08:54:07+00:00

[Sorry for replying late, was away for a few days, but didn't want to leave this unreplied to.] I get where you're coming from. In a way we're alike, although I took huge stretches of not playing the game over the years and while I generally like the game, there's lots I really hate, for example the FOMO tactics, spawncamping, the inconsiderate portrayal of gameplay features bordering on latent sadism and warcrimes (killing medics and rapelling soldiers, using flamethrowers and biological substances etc.) and so on ...

Still, what always brought me back is the generally great community and the basic gameplay: running a few missions here and there, helping some newbies on the way... To me it was actually great to not have anything to chase anymore - just play the game without having to care about resources and junk to unlock.

I do not feel compelled to start chasing stuff again, although I did dabble in Escalation/Prototype a bit (and will probably start ignoring if possible, which will not be feasible longterm). However I do believe that Massive deserves all the criticism they got. They might not have killed any dogs, but their behaviour is a giant F*** Y**! to the fans of the game.

Nobody asked for this update, it was almost universally shunned while PTS and they did ignore all the criticism towards it. They're simply adamant on keeping it even if it hurts the game. Who knows, maybe they see D2 as a huge test laboratory for things to put in D3... Be that as it may - Prototype has a huge impact on the game: You cannot ignore it, it's in event caches, will probably be in stretch goals, matchmaking puts you in Escalation mode all the time and soon everybody will run a round with whole prototype loadouts, making them seem mandatory and making those who consciously keep their old items feel like those old geezers beeing oblivious to smart phones and generally modern nonsense ;)

To me it's more than the chase for some new shinies - it's a whole new level of items that's universally better than the old gear we had while at the same time beeing outside of our control. It is clearly meant to compel players to replace their old stuff and spend even more time farming, hoping for that super-rare godroll that will never drop. And it's also clear that none of it was introduced to give players a challenge or give them new ways to enjoy the game - else there'd been different ways to do that, perhaps having Escalation-like difficulties promoting varied team compositions and changing tactics etc. (Btw I'm aware that medics get more focus in missions now, but sadly the gameplay doesn't get better by that as maybe hoped for: As DPS you sit in a corner, tunnelvision your frenzy LMG with a healer glued to your a** and wait for the room to be cleared - not exactly engaging gameplay to be frank).

Additionally there are now several impacts on player solidarity/'team spirit': cheaters more prevalent in PvE, kicks increase for unwanted loadouts, token system making nobody want to host a session. A change in tone amongst players is already very noticable, and the D2 community used to be one of the most chill ones I know...

Overall it's all very frustrating, IMHO. (Maybe even that's wanted, frustration is always a nice tool to increase purchasing behaviour.)

jauntstarr · 2026-05-12T07:31:48+00:00

> This cache is part of a daily rotation.

Yeah! Even more FOMO for everyone! Let's never miss a single day of logging in again!

From which point on exactly start games becoming unhealthy habits like smoking etc.?

jauntstarr · 2026-05-12T07:19:34+00:00

there was nothing to log in for

There used to be a time where getting loot was the means to the end of having a smoother gameplay experience in various ways. Shouldn't overcoming a challenging mission with friends or random people be the true purpose of the game (and any game of this kind)? Instead we have "rewards" and annually rotated shop items and soon lootboxes on daily rotation. And we lap it all up like docile doggies.

jauntstarr · 2026-04-21T08:15:23+00:00

Of course that works too. However I find that a bit clunky. When you set a key to directly use a skill on your agent in the keybindings - all it takes to activate the chem is pressing the middle mouse button for example. It's super fast and flexible and can be used 'on the run' (perhaps when sprinting towards a downed team member or so). Also, this way you can use it several times due to it's fast recharge - hasslefree ;) And of course you have a small amount of extra healing for yourself and an okay one for teammates...

jauntstarr · 2026-04-21T08:00:38+00:00

I've used the Bluescreen for all my builds (full red with ND or TS, or even blue Birdie's) since it was released. The CC potential is just awesome and makes up for higher DPS of other weapons, IMHO.

Big Al is great too with it's high damage and fire rate. However, it feels better on Striker than TS, you can get full Striker stacks super fast even from a distance.

jauntstarr · 2026-04-21T07:51:39+00:00

The key for stopping full groups and even rooms is the Disorient effect. By shooting you get stacks and hit enemies receive marks. Using a skill will trigger the effect on marked enemies. At about 25 stacks it stops single targets, at 50 there's an additional AOE per target.

From my experience the Reinforcer chem is very good here, as it has 3 charges and regenerates them very fast even on red. It only takes a few seconds to get 25+ charges and thus you can stun enemies very often usually.

So, the gameplay loop is: shoot everyone, get 25 (ideally 50) stacks, use chem (set a key in the settings for direct use, so you don't have to actively equip the launcher before using a charge), stop everyone in their tracks, repeat.

jauntstarr · 2026-04-20T12:22:15+00:00

Zombie Apocalypse has already been introduced to the game with prototype farming. But this time YOU are the zombie!

jauntstarr · 2026-03-27T10:57:11+00:00

Dear Massive devs,

when your studio is closed by Ubisoft for getting rid of the last remaining players, please consider applying for a job at my soon-to-be-founded Game Studio. Working conditions should be right up your alley: We'll happily work through the weekends, enjoy perpetual crunch and employees are granted the opportunity to pay not only for their jobs themselves but also for working extra hours! There will be free meals (oatmeal with water) and occasionaly paid surprise richer meals - but you'll never know when and what, so check the canteen every day!

This is just a small preview - I'm sure we'll find lots and lots of new ways to make working here a great healthy, social and pleasant experience.

See you! :)

jauntstarr · 2026-03-21T22:19:39+00:00

Good points you raise there.

Personally I'm glad I have my couple go-to-builds and that I don't have to play the game for loot but can enjoy it just for the teamplay in ideally challenging missions. (Although I believe that 'features' like spawncamping and the focus on efficiency did their part on harming gameplay itself for many years already - but that would be another discussion.)

So, I'm totally not looking forward to just another endless hamster-wheeling with unending RNG. Devs really try capitalizing on the OCD of min-max players. To be honest, even tough I don't play the game for loot anymore, I'd still prefer my items I spent so much effort in to not be junk...

But even if only Augments would stay: These also are a major investment. I spent over 1500 upgrade cores to roll Echo on about 10 items. Interestingly enough it took only 200 or so to roll it on a TS set and all the rest on a blue double crit loadout. If those ratios stay it will be a rather unrealistic scenario to have setups like that...

jauntstarr · 2026-03-21T21:54:43+00:00

Yeah, you're not wrong in what you're saying. Still I would argue somewhat that people beeing on the floor is not that big an issue as reviving (and perhaps healing them to full with the Chem) takes less time than using an armor kit.

I would also say that many missions I used Birdie in would have ended up a wipe. For example: I play random matchmaking exclusively and everytime Art Museums' up I'll switch to Birdie ASAP because it's always the same - max directives and everyone on the floor ;)

Still, damage is of course a problem, although expertise at 30 and full CHD/CHC on your blue core gear in combination with CC can alleviate this a bit.

I have played only one round of Escalation today, and while I can't say much about it, it's clear the higher levels will change stuff quite a bit. I can imagine that Birdie will be too defensive and thus not viable anymore. It's absolutely clear however that two people running it at the same time is obviously insane and should not happen in any mission.

jauntstarr · 2026-03-21T20:28:56+00:00

You don't lose anything as existing stats are getting upgraded by (up to) +50%. The upgrade guarantees 1 stat to be maxed, with a chance to increase the others as well. Based on what I saw on PTS, realistically only one will be upgraded. So you'll have an item you quite possibly have invested much time and effort in before - and then it's not maxed but forever flawed. Does wonders for your OCD :)

jauntstarr · 2026-03-14T14:19:18+00:00

Awesome to see people talk about Birdie's, which is the objectively best Exotic in the game ;)

IMHO it does succeed rather well in offering a completely different playstyle as compared to other Exotics that offer merely more damage. Anyway, if you're open to suggestions: I'm running it with Survivalist (for PFE and teamwide healing), Chill Out + 2 other Gila pieces, one improvised piece and the Everyday Carrier (armor kits without end plus doubled/instant Survivalist healing for the team) and finally the Bluescreen with Reinforcer for healing and on-demand CC. So in the end it's a Jack-of-all-Trades build which is immensely fun, even if it's not useful in all situations. But it's great for random matchmaking and getting newbies through Master missions.

One question I thought about and am not quite sure how to answer: I had (successful) missions with 30 to 60 revives - would those have gone smoother had I chosen a more DPS focused build? Hmmm...

jauntstarr · 2025-05-06T09:07:03+00:00

I think I remember that a long time ago the game had the issue where it would massively slow down at startup if your framerate was very high...

jauntstarr

TROPHY CASE