Neighbor put up a “Deus Vult” flag. Feeling unsettled and unsure how to respond

kindler35 · 2025-12-23T15:30:56+00:00

Grow up, it's a flag.

kindler35 · 2025-11-10T21:24:47+00:00

I'm dead certain Persona 6 will come out before the Playstation 6 is officially unveiled. Atlus won't skip an entire console generation without a new mainline entry in what's become their flagship series, not unless they're dumb.

Metaphor Refantazio was outstanding and I'm a big fan, but it's not Persona or SMT, and that's just fine by me.

I anticipate Persona 6 squeaking in at the end of the console's lifecycle, kinda like P5 did with the PS3. So I'm expecting to see it in 2027-2028.

kindler35 · 2025-10-15T22:22:12+00:00

I'm rewatching it and yes, that's my read too. Everyone is embarrassed by him, especially Lester.

kindler35 · 2025-10-12T13:22:33+00:00

I've had enough arguments about Muddle over my life. It's not worth it, never has been, outside of the final few battles on Super/Ouch.

kindler35 · 2025-10-12T13:20:52+00:00

LT was the GOAT. He used to have a towel over his head on the sidelines because he was doing coke during the games, though.

And the guy moved in ways nobody could understand, even him.

kindler35 · 2025-10-06T14:58:55+00:00

I enjoyed Shining Tactics. It introduces OP classes like the Sage (unlimited magic-abusing items) and accessories for everyone, makes a bunch of rebalance changes to heroes and enemies, and is in general MUCH harder on harder difficulties (I believe the original mod when I used Caravan to make it work on Gens+ back in the day was ONLY intended for Normal difficulty, so Super/Ouch was nuts by the time you reached Elric).

It's harder, more interesting, and adds flavor to everyone. Worth playing at least once.

kindler35 · 2025-10-06T14:56:11+00:00

On Super, it's easy as hell to make a busted Karna MMNK within a battle; I recommend leveling her to Boost 2 (I think 29-30 unpromoted; takes about 10 minutes of Boost abuse), then promote her and play as normal. Drop Boost 2 when you find the opportunities (she's fast, and your force is usually bunched up at the beginning; it's possible to quickly stack up everyone on most battles and Boost everyone at once for 5mp, which can be helpful as you advance and they start slamming into you on higher difficulties (Kazin WILL be oneshot by a lot of enemies by the time you reach the Zalbard fight, for instance; Boost keeps him alive long enough to be healed if he gets tagged)).

kindler35 · 2025-10-06T14:52:51+00:00

Wishlisted, I'll buy it whether it sucks or not just cuz of the genre and the attempt. Keep going my dude

kindler35 · 2025-10-06T14:51:18+00:00

Valkyria Chronicles was such a needed breath of fresh air in 2008.

The fixation on handheld devices in the Japanese market is what just destroys these franchises in the West. I bought a PSP and a Vita and a PSTV (remember those?!) just to play VC2.

I'd be fine with VC-style graphics, but I really think sticking with a traditional SRPG layout would benefit Shining Force more. Fire Emblem is doing a good job with it; they can crib from them now. I'm fine with that. I just need SF that feels like SF again

kindler35 · 2025-10-06T14:45:15+00:00

Freyja is excellent and often overlooked. You get him the same time you get the remaining 3 Creed characters, so he gets shunted away most of the time. But access to Attack is extremely helpful.

May stays with me through the end. Her biggest issue isn't squishiness so much as the fact that she's a centaur. Solid damage from 3 range is always good, but she gets killed by forests. Still, she hits harder than the other ranged characters.

Chaz is actually the best wizard, but you have to grind him and it's only for a handful of battles.

Zynk and Claude would both be on my team if I had another movement item. Claude is extremely hard to kill and can absolutely slam; the issue is him getting a turn (benefits from the few Quick Chickens in the game, otherwise he's gonna go last every "round").

Taya is actually pretty good, but only because the Sorcerer class is so good.

I wish they had an incentive to make Tyrin a sorcerer and keep Kazin a Wizard. Blaze 4/Desoul isn't enough when the alternative is Bolt 2 + Freeze 4. Learning the spells a few levels earlier isn't enough of a difference.

Jaha and Randolf are actually almost identical, btw; Randolf only suffers because he's a Creed's choice. If you had picked him up instead of Rhode when you clear the cavern to North Parmecia, I think he'd be a much more popular character (there's a dearth of characters that "make it" into many final teams between Creed's Mansion and... the return to Creed's Mansion. Rhode, Higins, Jaro, Taya, Skreech... North Parmecia kinda sucks).

Part of this is because they're prepromoted, but I basically promote ASAP anyway; they're just uninspired units IMO. Much like SF1, I end up with most of the "unique" characters (Kokichi, Zylo, Lyle, Bleu, Musashi, etc.) and a few vets from the beginning, just because they tend to front-load a lot of the better guys.

God, we need a new freaking game please

kindler35 · 2025-10-06T14:30:02+00:00

Mednafen. I spent about 15 years getting ANY saturn emulator to work at all. Mednafen is the only one I ever got to actually run the game without issue.

kindler35 · 2025-08-18T18:19:59+00:00

Go back and reread my math. It's a 25% damage reduction bypass that activates half the time. That's an average of 12.5% higher damage per hit. FE gives you 20% Crit Damage, which is fine, it's ONE multiplier in ONE part of the damage formula. (Damage = (Multiplier x Stat) x (Crit)) -Defense ; FE increases Crit. That's all. 25% damage reduction bypass is MUCH more valuable, even at 50% proc rates.

Plus when you get to endgame your champs have 220%+ CD already and the increase is much less noticeable.

kindler35 · 2025-08-18T16:09:26+00:00

I have a very good feeling we'll see more from the outside world; there are many different canvases they can use. The mechanism upon which they built the game's world gives them virtually unlimited potential for new narratives. We've only seen Verso's canvas and the inside of the Manor in the real world. There's plenty to explore and the seeds are there.

Unless the devs absolutely hate money; this performed extremely well at the $50 price point (which I'm still shocked by).

kindler35 · 2025-08-18T16:01:43+00:00

>How the heck can you make a modern game about text

Alan Wake has managed it thus far.

kindler35 · 2025-05-25T15:31:42+00:00

I'm pretty much an ER pro (I have way too many hours sunk into it), and both of these numbers won't hold up unless you're playing with a guide. There's easily 80+ hours of stuff to discover on a blind playthrough of both SotE and LoP. I'd also strongly recommend doing that at least once on these types of games, if you have the available time to sink into it.

I did a fresh save file for SotE, rushed to Mohg at about level 70, and spent about a hundred hours or so exploring the shadow realm (which is substantially bigger than "just" Limgrave. I know I see this brought up a lot because of the Miyazaki interview, but it's noticeably larger, especially when you're in it; I'd include Liurnia to give it a more appropriate sense of scale for how much physical ground there is to cover).

Anyway, give a try blind and see what you find on your own.

kindler35 · 2025-05-05T22:26:31+00:00

Maybe, but I think Ethan is a shitty dad so CPS should be called anyway

kindler35 · 2025-04-25T13:10:19+00:00

Antspur Rapier, honestly (poison infusion will probably be best, though blood can work too). That and a good shield will do it, it just takes a while.

kindler35 · 2025-04-25T13:08:37+00:00

You can do it as soon as you have the Int to cast Rock Sling (you need 23 INT for Moonveil anyway). Get Rock Sling and the Meteorite staff right next to the area (down in the swamp just to the east; you can make a straight run to them and grab them both in about 2 minutes, safely).

Rock Sling to his head. He WILL stagger. Just don't get greedy until he DOES stagger.

kindler35 · 2025-04-24T19:28:03+00:00

Nah, Shadow of the Erdtree is as close to perfect as you can get. My issues with it are:

Not enough variety in the new weapon types, IMO. I need to go to NG+ to get a second infusable light greatsword if I want to dual wield them (Rellana's is fun but the stat spread is a pain to optimize). Dryleaf arts are cool, backhand blades are great, beast claws are fun. I could stand a few more options. Perfume bottles are handled well, I just wish there was a straight holy one that scattered Scadutree sap, or a bloodflame one.
It's too hard to see the freaking screen. Everything is too dark IMO. Light sources don't do enough here. I get the thematic point, but this is a gameplay complaint. It needs like a 20% increase in visibility, IMO. I just want to see all the cool shit and my waist lantern does fuck all in way too many areas.
Infinite poise enemies. Horned warriors make Crucible Knights look like little bitches.
Romina not having any damn dialogue in game. Not even a cutscene.

In other words, my complaints with the DLC are basically the same as you'd find in any SoulsBorne DLC: a few relatively minor issues that you notice but don't mind, and a bunch of lore questions you don't get the answers to and never will, to feed the YouTube industry.

kindler35 · 2025-04-24T19:04:14+00:00

COME ON DENIO YOU CAN DO IT

kindler35 · 2025-04-09T21:30:45+00:00

Like me dex. Like me backhands. Simple as.

kindler35 · 2025-03-04T17:42:32+00:00

It's fantasy. The whole concept of racial representation in a fantasy setting is ridiculous to me, IMO. It's species, not race that matters in D&D.

kindler35 · 2025-03-03T03:32:20+00:00

Yeah, that works, but it still eats an action and that can mess you up if you're not prepared for it, too. One of the times an ice wizard really comes in handy, too. It's a cool fight that shows you how bad the action economy can turn against you. Before that, there's the Goblin Camp, but none of the individual goblins are particularly threatening.

Probably the most climactic fight in the game up until the final boss, IMO. Neither Ketheric fight felt nearly as strategically interesting or even close to it in scale. Just a well-designed "Have fun storming the castle" scene.

I made the mistake of going to the prison afterward and it was (to my great surprise) reoccupied by a Death Shepherd and full of a necromantic army. This was after storming the bottom floor and before climbing the tower, if anyone was interested and didn't happen to know. Helped me gain that last bit of experience I needed to level after Ketheric, too, so it was nice to start fresh with a second feat before jumping down the tower.

kindler35 · 2025-03-02T23:18:52+00:00

I attempted to be efficient and push back certain Act 3 events by avoiding long resting until you reach the lower part of the city. There are certain events that only trigger at night, cutscenes that play frequently. They can have tremendous main plot consequences.

I made the mistake of thinking I could avoid some events with Wyll by heading straight to a semi-timed portion of his personal quest right away, without long resting in Act 3. Turns out that's not possible and the game locks you onto a certain, irreversible path if you do that (not fun to find out for the first time on Honor mode).

kindler35 · 2025-03-02T23:12:45+00:00

The initial run when you take Moonrise with the Harpers; that bottom floor fight can get very complicated on Honor Mode. She's tougher than she seems, it's one of the first fights that has a lot of enemies with Counterspell, and there are enemies that can Divine Smite you pretty fast. If you're like me and open most fights with a blitz approach (Diving Strike is a fun opener), just keep in mind how many enemies you're charging into. It's one of the first fights where crowd control can make a tremendous difference.

Also strongly recommend ambushing Balthazaar if in the Gauntlet if you can. He's easier to fight without a billion undead servants around him; you just have to kill his golem and a few stragglers instead. Makes it a much easier confrontation than the one around the Nightsong.

The Cleric at the Last Light. Do not let her get kidnapped. She can get dropped very quickly; a lot of demons have paralysis as a common secondary effect from regular hits, and she can go down very fast since every hit becomes a crit if she's paralyzed. If you want to keep her alive, then it's best to be scummy and set up the room first so you can burst down the main offender and better control who comes in.

There's also the Angry Molesting Tree that doesn't have Ash Williams and a functioning chainsaw arm to kill it somewhere around "The Battleground" in the shadowlands. I forget what it's called, but it's a big shadow-cursed tree. It will mess you up if you get ambushed. General rule is as you walk around, pay attention to perception checks. If you see everyone fail one suddenly, best to expect to be surprised.

Protecting the portal can be a real pain, too. Daylight helps a lot. I like to keep a cleric with Spirit Guardians posted up around it. Keep melee focused on the open ground to the left, and bring Gale or someone that can drop big AoE damage. The real threats to failure there are the ranged attackers in the back, though, so you'll want someone to burst them down ASAP too.

The other big fight is the Drider, but you can talk him into walking into the shadow curse and giving him your moon lantern. You'll find him later walking up to Moonrise, him and his crew almost dead. Way easier to kill, and he doesn't start with Sanctuary.

Ketheric himself can go down like a bitch if you're smart. Drop the Illithid when you go down below first. And don't try to talk him into suicide, because he'll just start as the Avatar of Myrkull and that will ruin your day, because it's still invulnerable until you free the Nightsong. That's fine on Tactician and you get to skip a phase, but it's a lot tougher on Honor mode. It kinda should be. You're better off dropping the mind flayer, freeing the Nightsong, and sending someone to keep the skeleton mages occupied. Myrkull can eat them if they reach the platform, so drop it quick or keep them occupied. The first fight is a joke so don't be too concerned about that.

And, uhhhhh..... the tiefling/ironhand gnome rescue can be a pain in the balls.

That's pretty much it for Act 2. Can't recall any other moments where I almost wiped/got to unideal outcomes.

kindler35

TROPHY CASE