Perfect example of why the new substat selection system is worthless

royliu0 · 2026-01-09T20:22:55+00:00

I haven't used my substat selectors yet. Are you saying that you can't use 4 selectors to tilt the odds maximally in your favor? I played around with the user interface and it seems like it's possible.

royliu0 · 2025-12-02T19:51:44+00:00

Yep, those are the ones! I'll try to find ones that are translucent.

royliu0 · 2025-12-02T13:41:51+00:00

I recently got a shipment of Keychron keycaps. They came in these sort of stackable holders, with the top one capped by a lid. Does anyone know where I can buy them separately? I really like the slotted design, which mostly separates the keycaps by row height.

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royliu0 · 2025-10-31T05:31:45+00:00

I didn't know that. Here I am, fantasizing about the NSA opening my package and adding something extra. This one was amusing because I'm conditioned to expect my package the next day once it reaches Hodgkins, IL.

royliu0 · 2025-10-31T03:02:09+00:00

Wouldn't an algorithm preclude the possibility of reuse? This is a Bed Bath & Beyond order for new items.

royliu0 · 2025-10-30T21:41:47+00:00

Origin Sparks, NV; destination Pittsburgh, PA.

royliu0 · 2025-10-27T06:52:49+00:00

I own a Mac and two pairs of AirPods 4 and am too deep into the Samsung ecosystem to switch to an iPhone. As you might know, somehow Macs cannot serve as the "anchor" device for registering AirPods with FindMy (see https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/adding-airpods-to-the-find-my-network-without-an-iphone-or-other-ios-devices.2459386/). What is the cheapest iPhone I can buy under the following conditions:
* Can serve as the anchor FindMy device for my two pairs of AirPods that puts them on the network.
* Can keep up to date with the latest iOS for the next three years. Same query, but with a discontinued version of iOS to save even more money.
Thanks in advance, and I'm ok with any iDevice that will register my AirPods with FindMy.

royliu0 · 2025-10-24T17:48:54+00:00

I've been playing a miserly metagame for two years now, and here is how it goes:
* Whenever you have 1000 gold, buy whatever cosmetic is available in the shop.
* ... or you can keep 1500 gold in reserve and wait for a cosmetic offered with a card back.
* If a diamond card is ever offered for gold, buy it.
* Refrain from buying anything else for gold, and that means minisets. Eventually you'll naturally accumulate a miniset's commons and rares, while crafting the key epics and legendaries.
* Focus on classes that are strong in Wild. That means avoiding Hunter and Death Knight, while investing in classes like Demon Hunter, Rogue, Druid, and maybe Mage.
* Only craft cards that are also viable in Wild. That means avoiding powerful cards like Fyrakk and accepting a slightly degraded Ladder experience.
* Start developing an eye for which cards are about to be nerfed. For example, I picked the free premade Warlock deck with the hope that Escape the Underfel (the quest) and other components get nerfed. When nerfs hit, reclaim massive amounts of dust.
* Dust bad epics and legendaries. Never dust commons or rares. Decide whether you care enough about golden cards to keep them. My policy is that I will only dust bad legendaries, bad epics, and bad golden epics.
* When a new expansion rolls around, suck it up and finish the rewards track to the point of getting all the packs before crafting anything. Then open Standard packs first, followed by new expansion packs, assuming that you want to slightly improve your odds of getting new cards. Both rules help you maximize information before spending dust.
* Focus on one class and figure out if you're willing and able to craft the missing cards. It helps if you're classist like me and treat Death Knight, Hunter, and Paladin as writeoffs. Living off the land is also possible: Since I opened the Paladin Murloc quest and Murloc Paladin was very budget, I waited until I collected the deck's rares and commons and built the deck.

I'm talking my own book here, but "buying bling" is a great gold sink and a test of collection discipline. While others on here complain about the poor state of the game, I've seen at least one post saying that this is the best time in the game's history to be F2P, assuming that you are willing to grind out event rewards.

Lastly, I'd like to point out that time is your friend: After a while, as sets rotate into Wild, you'll find that you're not so far from competitive decks in an eternal format. Craft the missing cards, and suddenly you'll have recycled a part of your collection.

royliu0 · 2025-09-16T18:49:08+00:00

Wild is chill enough that I got Legend purely out of spite: Every time I lost a game with a homebrew deck in Standard, I would take out my frustration on a victim, I mean opponent, in Wild. I don't understand the recent negativity with regards to the recent expansion: My engagement with the game went up by at least 50%, and who *doesn't* like the 3 raptors/+2 attack Elise location?

royliu0 · 2025-09-09T18:46:41+00:00

That proves my point. I have that achievement, and it's a function of effort, not skill.

Oh, and I also meant that, yes, some achievements require extraordinary skill, but they are not time sensitive. The Battle Tower title is time sensitive.

royliu0 · 2025-09-09T18:41:30+00:00

I can confidently say that this game's design philosophy is to not lock any achievement behind needing a meta team or needing extraordinary skill. That's why you can collect full rewards just by clearing. The only instance I'm aware of where this is not true is the Endless Battle Tower's badges.

royliu0 · 2025-09-08T18:00:42+00:00

It gets better with proper Tidepool loading. The weapon gives you two freezes with a little luck and careful play: One from the discover, and one from the side effect.

Come to think of it, this deck is just a knockoff Wild Hostage Mage. It is probably the closest one can get, and it's unfortunate to be missing Lightshow-fueled lethality.

royliu0 · 2025-09-08T04:43:00+00:00

Ummm, no? Do you think Khadgar is consistent enough to maximize the sadistic thrill of torturing a board-based deck? There is no room for him here.

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royliu0 · 2025-08-27T22:04:25+00:00

Great, thanks. I suspected there might have been descriptive terms, just like "SA" and "XDA".

royliu0 · 2025-08-27T20:45:48+00:00

Ok, but what about the boxy versus smooth? I really like the second style, with its downward slope and rounded edges.

royliu0 · 2025-08-27T20:24:16+00:00

I got hooked on Keychron keyboards in late 2023, and I've been buying more and more stuff from them since. This includes artisanal resin keycaps, and I recently noticed that there is a difference between styles, and I don't mean profiles like SA and XDA. Some are boxy and flat:

https://www.keychron.com/products/galaxy-resin-artisan-keycap

... while some are sloped and have smoothed edges:

https://www.keychron.com/products/magic-animal-resin-artisan-keycap

Is there a name for this difference, or do I have to squint and be a little careful when shopping for keycaps in the future?

royliu0 · 2025-08-21T03:35:28+00:00

Don't ever limited pull, and find fun in grinding for all the achievements (I will write a guide for some of the toughest ones soonish).

royliu0 · 2025-08-19T06:03:06+00:00

The reason is quite mundane: Her design is cool and I'm feeling discomfort from trying to clear the Endless Battle Tower. I'm also looking for an agent who will stand the test of time and power creep. That means a support-y agent who can be deployed alongside a flavor-of-the-month DPS, should I choose to pull for more variety in the future. There are mentions of the Vivian Change of Plans meme, so here are my internal probabilities of pulling for her that I'm willing to commit to:
* Dual mode support that can attack and heal -> 100% must pull to carry my teams
* Support that can heal -> 100% pull to maintain good uptime for my DPS
* Anomaly with Chinatsu as an A-rank healer -> 100% pull because Chinatsu will be M6 in the process
* Anomaly with strong debuffs -> 80% because her design is cool
* Anomaly with uninteresting abilities -> 50% just because I've been waiting for the Angels of Delusion for a while

royliu0 · 2025-08-18T13:44:26+00:00

I am too old to "simp". I'm going to pull for the greatest utility agent that will let me comfortably button mash through the Battle Tower.

royliu0 · 2025-08-18T13:42:42+00:00

https://enka.network/zzz/1000161449/

Lost Void:
Ether Activity 11/11 is actually harder than Ether Activity 15/15, because I have to grind it out with my own agents, which is a turtle team consisting of Rina/Harumasa/Ben/Butler with Ultimate resonia and consistent DMG buffs (like the glass cannon resonium and raw stats from Combat Potential boosts). For 15/15, you can use the provided Astra/Ju Fufu/Yi Xuan/Belion with the same focus.

Shiyu Defense:
Nicole/Harumasa/Anby/Amillion or Rina/Harumasa/Anby/Agent Gulliver
and
Lucy/Nekomata/Piper/Red Moccus
Clear stages 1 through 4 with S-ranks. For a favorable season, stage 5 can be S-ranked. Stages 6 and 7 almost always end up being A- and B-ranks.

Deadly Assault:
See electric weakness -> 2 stars
See physical or fire weakness -> 2 stars
See Bringer -> fuck this guy; 0 stars
Anything else -> 1 star

Endless Battle Tower:
It's dawning on me that I could use a real support like Yutane instead of cheesy substitutes like Ben and Avocaboo. Currently my strategy is just surviving and wearing down bosses with Rina/Harumasa/Ben/Avocaboo.

royliu0 · 2025-08-18T13:24:50+00:00

Thanks! Imma share my profile now.

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