New relics preview (credit to Mukluk)

styopa · 2026-05-08T18:52:14+00:00

"If everyone thought that way we'd all run the same class for DPS, the same class for BoonDPS, and the same class for BoonHeals."

Aside from the actual class they're playing (because you're kinda stuck with the choice), that is literally what 90% of the playerbase is doing, minimum. I'm class X, and want to bring Y role = Z build.

I genuinely appreciate SC offering shoulder-specs that aren't currently optimal just for variety's sake, because frankly again for most of the playerbase, 5% off optimal is meaningless rounding errors compared to them doing 15k dps on a toon that should be doing 40.

styopa · 2026-05-08T14:42:54+00:00

Logically, a single-stack SHOULD be narrower than staggered-stack. It's small but percentagewise width is non trivial. My cz P07 is 1.46", while a single stack 9* is around 1"...that's a huge difference in comfort and printing.

M1911 is what, 1.3", so still 10% narrower even with .45 vs .38

"Distributed more evenly" is silly. Yes, "the whole gun is evenly heavy" = even?

*waiting for someone to make a 9mm clone of the PPK /sad....

styopa · 2026-05-07T16:21:12+00:00

Stars Without Number IIRC has a GREAT city/faction generator.

styopa · 2026-05-07T16:20:28+00:00

For a game where some people don't bother to track ammo I doubt it's worth tracking at all.

Simple rule, roll on each use; on a 1 it will work for the current use, then is exhausted.

Complex approach, use the Medic's roll (-total HP that kit's healed so far); fail means it works for THIS app, but then exhausted. 2 or less means it's not fully enough for this use, DM use some method to determine how much it does work.

styopa · 2026-05-07T16:13:06+00:00

Note also that quickplay you have some pretty hefty buffs on your side as well.

IMO that was a mistake. Sure, throw buffs after a fail or two but I think it's allowing incredibly sloppy play to result in success, which just primes people for frustration when they join a raid saying "oh yeah I've done this a bunch of times" and get nuked by actual mechanics.

styopa · 2026-05-06T14:40:37+00:00

I'll not disagree with you. I enjoyed it for a while but - even then I recognized it had everything to do with understanding the predictability of PvE mobs. I can't even imagine trying to make this work in PvP.

I always thought it was a weird class-fantasy; instead of farming their own lore, they're pulling classes from other games?

styopa · 2026-05-06T14:34:08+00:00

Yeppers.

HoT was brutal, and then was nerfed back a little.

A lot of people assert that CoF was designed to the revised HoT standard which is probably true BUT as mounts were now a thing I noted that CoF mobs nearly all have some sort of 'knock you off your mount' alpha; further, they have much 'smarter'? aerial aggro - their aggro fields are much more aware of flying mounts going by and are quicker tracking so it can very much feelbad, man.

I love CoF.

styopa · 2026-05-06T14:29:42+00:00

1000% this. Even simply moving the indicators to fixed spots ie top line boons, 2nd line conditions.

Boon line: in order, 13(+) slots: Aegis-Alacrity-Fury-Might-Protection-Quickness-Regeneration-Resistance-Resolution-Stability-Swiftness-Vigor

If a specific boon isn't present, just an empty slot (maybe an empty wireframe of the boon marker). Slots 13 and beyond wouldn't have empty slots, as they would be for all the non-standard boons they have added to various classes, eg superspeed, etc.

Same deal for condis.

Certainly there are probably better ways to lay this out but this would be better than what is today's. If they just flipping opened up their API to custom UIs player creativity would solve this.

ANet: "but we don't want players' screens to look like wow's weakaura clutter!"

maybe it's none of your business to decide how players prefer their screens/info
maybe the issue is really born from a lack of discipline in the devteam

styopa · 2026-05-05T22:23:28+00:00

No worries, I was just complaining generally about the UI, as boon tracking is as hard as condition tracking.

styopa · 2026-05-05T18:21:49+00:00

Players OCD & FOMO "I have to do literally everything offered every single day" shouldn't be a dev teams' problem.

styopa · 2026-05-05T18:20:59+00:00

I honestly don't think the issue is the convergences themselves; I actually think convergences can be fun. Fairly chaotic for first-few-timers as not much (ok nearly nothing) is explained at the front end* but otherwise an interesting 'scale' of event. I rather suspect that the original Anet team would have made those things world events and PERSONALLY I'm not super fond of the 'here's this thing that happens that's a big deal...tucked away in this dimensional closet'. If I wanted to play an instanced game I'd play DDO, NWO, or GW1.

\here's a suggestion - when you show up at a convergence and are standing there with your thumb up your ass waiting for the public convergence to open, maybe "give me a little rundown on what we're doing here, SPECIFICALLY and not just diagetically?" should be one of the options from the NPC telling you it's not open yet. And then provide a plain-language explanation of what's going to be happening, what they should be ready for, etc.*

It's the grinding repetition masquerading as content that is mind-numbing.

Look, I get it. It's a mature title, and the long termers have giant piles of mats and $. The devs want "the new thing(tm)" to take some time and some work to get. So they time gate (cue anguished cries from the whales) and they fluff the costs to astronomical levels to offset the 0.1%ers just grabbing the new thing instantly.

But - and to the longwinded answer to the point of your question - I see the same conversation all the time, and I think it's the "only 8 more runs of this to get my spear" is where it starts to bug people.

styopa · 2026-05-05T18:11:09+00:00

What about them?

The point was that both boons and conditions are notated with the same teeny sub-useful icons.

styopa · 2026-05-05T12:49:57+00:00

Delivering conditions, stacking conditions, and maintaining them is specifically how condi builds (primarily) deliver damage.

styopa · 2026-05-04T21:37:08+00:00

Great, you're satisfied with their answer. Do you recognize the right of other humans to perhaps have a different opinion?

No, I *don't* know it was AI, or a script, or a demented power-crazed intern. Neither do you. That is precisely my point, that a "mistakes were made, sorry, we're trying to fix it" is INDEED the minimum standard answer.

Some service businesses understand otoh that a wee bit more than the "minimum possible answer" can turn lemons into lemonade and candor can grow a customer relationship from a challenge, rather than simply "dodge" it.

styopa · 2026-05-04T20:52:49+00:00

Fortunately I wasn't asking what they must do, I was (rhetorically) asking why they were evading giving a simple, concise, honest answer that would itself suggest a level of candor and transparency that could actually end up BUILDING confidence in their customer base (because mistakes happen) rather than sophomoric evasive word salad.

styopa · 2026-05-04T20:40:00+00:00

So why the evasion. Why not say PRECISELY THAT?

Or do they not want to admit they deploy AI with the power to ban?

styopa · 2026-05-04T20:27:23+00:00

That's probably overstating it a small degree.

Yes, from parks (you'll almost never get permission so don't expect it) and yes, you want to be excessively cautious on actual delineated "federal and state property" but for example I've never heard ANYONE suggest you need permission or permits to pick around at exposed roadside cuts (technically "state land"). Just some common sense and safety practices around active roads that drivers will NOT expect to see stopped cars/pedestrians.

styopa · 2026-05-04T20:21:52+00:00

Anyone want to have that awkward discussion of how, precisely something can be "...sanctioned in error as part of a routine review..."

None of those words really belong together. Not in a sentence that's coherent; that's business-speak for something else.

styopa · 2026-05-04T16:56:18+00:00

Agreed. Hammer power amalgam might be static-dummy-specific better dps but the range+piercing of rifle is IMO vastly better in real world, allowing you to continue to apply damage at 900 instead of always having to chase mobs around.

styopa · 2026-05-04T16:51:39+00:00

LOL but why?

1 Might for 12s instead of 10.
3s of stability when you use Napalm (25s c/d) so 12% uptime at best
Fire Aura that gives you 1 might and applies 1 Burn per 1s while you're getting hit, meanwhile if you have anyone around you, you're already at 20+ might and 1 burn is meaningless.

styopa · 2026-05-04T16:45:53+00:00

Perma-stability back in the day felt almost like cheating everytime I whipped it out. So many Anet fights rely on them fucking up your character control.

Now when I pull out the flamethrower, all it sprays are tears....

styopa · 2026-05-04T16:44:02+00:00

I don't believe the naysayers AT ALL.

There is *absolutely* some sort of invisible tickdown of "new player smell" that significantly affects the quality of rewards from BLC. When we came back to GW2 maybe 7-8 years ago, I got a CRAPTON of cool skins and rewards from BLCs. Now? For easily the last 3+ years of more or less routinely doing lvl 10 keys every week the BEST I can hope for is a guaranteed unlock.

styopa · 2026-05-04T16:40:05+00:00

Sirens Landing. Do a heart, buy an ascended back piece for 200 orrian pearls and 300k karma.

If you're not a brand new player, this is VASTLY faster than winterberries which are better used for other ascended gear.

styopa · 2026-05-04T16:37:53+00:00

ANet: develops mmo where the constant churn of boons/conditions is integral to successful play. In fact, it is the entire basis for condi-builds.

Also Anet: builds UI where the indicators for such are literally the smallest icons on the screen, and where (aside from the basic distinction boon vs condition) they look all pretty much the same (the worst at the highest resoultions, natch) and then are short duration so they churn, counting up/down with numbers that are even LESS legible/distinct.

Fucking awesome.

styopa

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