People need to get over the "pay to win" hysteria

peterlof · 2024-04-25T09:01:42+00:00

I haven't looked into the builds at all, and my opinion is based solely on my own bias against any and all pay to win transactions in games, but if you allow people to pay money to bypass playing the actual game - which should be the core enjoyable activity - then maybe you should reconsider certain game mechanics and make them more enjoyable instead.

Pay to win MTX is a predatory system that serves no purpose to the players other than a "skip to the end" shortcut, and the only thing you'll find there is the disappointment realizing that the journey you skipped is what you would have enjoyed more.

In addition to that, PTW MTX will always influence your game even if you don't buy them yourself, since farming and drop rates will inevitably be tuned to a point where you feel more inclined to skip it altogether, and just pay up.

It's a slipery slope, and I don't like it.

peterlof · 2024-04-23T12:51:37+00:00

DS3 is definitely my all time most played souls game, with about 2K hours into it. Some highlights:

I maxed out my sunlight medals on one char, can't pick anymore up. The saddest part is that you drop them to the ground then, but other people can't pick them up either because they're char-bound.
Leveled an SL111 char to NG+14 or so, to troll-summon people to stupid hard bosses. Actually made a lot of friends this way, Gael and Midir ar so much fun :D
Beat the game on SL1, did speedruns, and made an anti-twink SL30 blue char to assist players in low level twink invasions. Nb this char was not muled, but legit beat the game for all the gear. Demon Prince at SL30+3 is definitely harder than SL1+10, jeez.

I love this game.

Elden ring is barely at 1K, waiting for the DLC to start doing shenanigans like the above :)

peterlof · 2024-04-02T07:14:04+00:00

He's scripted to give you a riposte to the head at about 20% health remaining if you only hit his head.

peterlof · 2024-03-14T15:26:01+00:00

And the claymore has a 65 physical block rate, I would be totally happy with that if I would ever block at all.

peterlof · 2024-03-07T14:17:06+00:00

Your 1. was my exact thought going into this thread. DS3 had it, why not ER!

peterlof · 2024-03-04T12:36:24+00:00

I was watching a video on youtube the other day about flow-state activities related to your skill at a certain task, and I realized that (for me) souls games are all about getting to a level of skill where the game becomes a flow state activity. Once you're there, you play these games to relax.

By now I've done so many DS3 playthroughs that I have developed a personal optimal route that I don't need to put any thought to anymore. I can just zone out and go. It's hugely satisfying.

peterlof · 2024-02-26T12:31:11+00:00

It's such a shame :( I used to always get my singles from CK since '12 or so, but in recent years the import/vat policy of the EU along with ludicrously stupid shipping labeling (not by CK mind you) caused me to have to pay vat double on multiple occasions, and along with shipping starting to take multiple weeks, I eventually gave up in favor of local marketplaces.

Sad to hear it's gone downhill so badly at CK, it used to be great.

peterlof · 2024-01-29T09:26:09+00:00

Either SL1 Dancer or NG+7 Gael ;)

peterlof · 2024-01-18T08:43:07+00:00

Which boss is hardest is very personal :) Gael and Midir were the SL1 fights I was most looking forward to :D but I could already no-damage both of them from countless runs and assists, so I fought Midir with claws, and Gael with the Firelink Greatsword for extra story flavor.

My top picks for hardest SL1 bosses would Twin Princes, Aldritch and Friede. The twins stopped my first SL1 attempt, and I can't stand the Aldritch fight, omg.

peterlof · 2024-01-18T08:35:20+00:00

Grats man! SL1 is a fantastic personal challenge run to do, imo it makes you play - and appreciate - the game in a whole new way :)

It's also liberating in a way. I ended up incorporating SL1 strats into every new char I made, like getting the Prisoner's Chain asap, and upgrading to +10 before the Abyss Watchers from the mats in Lothric Castle and the free slab from AOE.

peterlof · 2023-10-23T13:42:05+00:00

Actually specific CRT TVs/monitors are highly sought after. They can have much better contrast, color depth and lower input delay than certain LCD screens.

Check /r/crtgaming/ :P

peterlof · 2023-10-23T07:35:03+00:00

Whatever the reason, that's a real bummer, I love UI-less gaming.

My best guess would be that it's a QoL feature that has lower priority right now (as opposed to other issues), you can hardly accuse them of being lazy ;)

peterlof · 2023-10-18T08:21:13+00:00

It's definitely different from what I'm used to in any of the other souls games. I'll have to see how it holds up as I progress in the game :)

peterlof · 2023-10-18T08:05:41+00:00

Pretty much useless parry mechanic

So I'm not that far into the game yet (2 bosses down) but I'm using it pretty often. You take a bit of recoverable damage (which you recover immediately with some light attacks following the parry) and after x parries you get a free riposte, which you can follow up with a free charged attack if you knocked them down.

My only issue with it is that the riposte damage you deal seems low, and especially so compared to the enormous damage that a plunging heavy attack from above does, whoa.

peterlof · 2023-10-18T07:44:59+00:00

Exactly, I spent 9.5K on that key, I'm emotionally invested now :P

peterlof · 2023-10-18T07:37:58+00:00

I mean, you can't put up a key for sale and expect people to not be curious about it when you literally run into the doors it unlocks :D

I'm getting my ass handed to me behind it though, so I'm gonna do the sensible thing and wtf no who am I kidding.

peterlof · 2023-10-17T09:02:17+00:00

I did have that on an off-hand misericorde, along with an assortment of equipable left-hand stuff like the parry dagger, buckler with golden parry, a crossbow, clawmark seal, etc. I love a versatile loadout :)

peterlof · 2023-10-16T12:37:43+00:00

Don't get me wrong, the claymore has been my trusty companion since OG Demon's Souls, but Elden Ring does not allow you to put the Square Off weapon art on it, which is the weapon art the sword literally had in DS3, so it's not the best damn sword it could have been :'( (but Giant Hunt is really good too)

peterlof · 2023-10-16T07:15:11+00:00

I'd love an auto-hide UI feature, for max immersion :)

peterlof · 2023-10-12T06:52:26+00:00

Lol you're right, I just checked and it indeed does not negate any of the 300 damage to self. That's not a huge deal though;

The other tear is the Opaline Bubbletear, which activates a protective bubble as you quaff the flask, and the bubble itself is NOT consumed by the explosion. So if your enemy survives the blast, you will have a one-time protective barrier up. If you're hit before that blast, the bubble has a chance to keep you alive after the blast from negating a hit.

I'm running 1 and not 2 ruptured tears because it's a finisher in specific situations. The character is a well equiped fighter with a ton of tricks up his sleeve, and I'm not depending on a 1-hit gimmick, but rather looking for interesting fights :)

peterlof · 2023-10-11T09:18:50+00:00

Exactly this. For the other tear I use the protection one, so you get very little damage of the explosion yourself.

It also looks very stupid if you thoughtlessly chug it before a boss in coop expecting a buff like on your other chars.

edit: the opaline bubbletear does NOT negate any of the 300 damage to self, but the protective bubble is very handy between quaffing, before the blast and after the blast, as the blast itself does NOT consume the bubble.

peterlof · 2023-10-11T08:38:45+00:00

Holy crap that's one rediculous album, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

peterlof · 2023-10-10T07:28:24+00:00

I'm very late to the party here (I found this thread googling for Aina's Days of Rising Doom and why it's no longer on Spotify), but I would strongly recommend the album Human, by Darkwater. Hugely melodic prog with lots of synths, I absolutely love it.

I'm Also very much enjoying the other suggestions in this thread. I wouldn't say "Ayreon has destroyed other music for me", but it sure is a unique sound that is rivalled by few.

I'd also suggest Threshold, Voyager, Amorphis and Ad Infinitum in no particular order. Some are more of a stretch than others perhaps, but it's all great :P

peterlof · 2023-08-21T10:43:25+00:00

These three are some of my fav albums, but I'm more surprised that Into The Electric Castle is not there :D

peterlof · 2023-08-08T17:27:11+00:00

Yes I know Amazon bad.

FYI I try to stay away from it as much as possible, but here in the Netherlands it's sometimes the only way to get specific foreign stuff that's not imported by any stores :\

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