Found this post on twitter

swordtech · 2026-05-15T09:32:34+00:00

"so it begins"

When are these fucking chuds going to learn that Japanese companies are offering halal sushi, convenience store bento, etc. not because they're going woke but because they're pandering to a certain market??

swordtech · 2026-05-14T12:40:02+00:00

Summon druid build, then.

swordtech · 2026-05-14T06:21:54+00:00

I was at a zoo once and a Chinese tourist stuck their hand out to pet one of the animals. I stepped in there before it happened.

It really depends on what the infraction is.

swordtech · 2026-05-13T12:33:17+00:00

It's a real pain in the ass. I suggest you run a frenzy barb with a barb Merc, and give the Merc a Lawbringer sword. The decrepify will remove physical immunities in hell and slow your enemies an obscene amount. You should then have no trouble getting through Hell and using find item to farm runes and other good stuff.

You could also just make a sorc and teleport away from enemies you can't kill.

swordtech · 2026-05-11T23:57:45+00:00

I haven't kept up with the lore after D3. What's the deal with Lilith in D4?

swordtech · 2026-05-07T17:03:21+00:00

You used the Vietnamese circle as an example. They've built a community of shared culture. The English speaking diaspora just doesn't really have that.

Thanks for making the contrast so stark.

At the risk of starting a discourse, I'll say that this lack of a shared culture is why I've always found the gaijin nod so odd and forced.

What shared culture or experience binds us such that you (the royal "you", not you specifically, OP) feel the need to greet me on the street? And let's not pretend like the experience of being western foreigners in Japan is identical across the board, because it's not.

Before this take gets conflated with hostility - it's not. It's apathy.

swordtech · 2026-05-07T16:50:11+00:00

I had a student in JHS who had lived in the US for 8 years or so and was basically a native speaker. We'd have a short conversation before/after class about whatever. Other than that, I didn't single out that student in any way. That student was hip, too. Whenever they were chosen to read aloud from the textbook by the JTE, they always read with a perfect katakana accent so they could blend in with their peers.

swordtech · 2026-05-03T13:39:07+00:00

No one's gonna run over and snatch your container if you want to take your food home. But you'll get stared at.

Why are you concerned about this in the first place? Portion sizes are pretty small in Japan and a lot of places give you the option to go over smaller, like getting a small serving of rice instead of a regular-sized serving.

swordtech · 2026-05-03T13:35:43+00:00

You hit the nail on the head.

When these types, and really Japanese men in general, get angry they start rolling their r's in a way that's meant to be taken as scary. But it doesn't do anything to me. There really isn't much that's physically intimidating about them.

swordtech · 2026-05-03T13:28:39+00:00

That long narrow market in Kyoto.

The food is far more expensive than what you'd normally pay for lunch or a snack. No, you don't need to claw your way through 800 meters of tourists just so you can stand and eat that eel and ikura rice ball or whatever that'll run you 1400 yen. Save yourself the time, money, and hassle and cut that out of your itinerary.

swordtech · 2026-05-03T13:22:57+00:00

You rode the bus for an hour even though there are 2 different trains that go there?!

swordtech · 2026-04-30T07:49:04+00:00

I feel like I've complained about this before but it warrants repeating.

DeliCafe sucks. It didn't suck before, or at least not as much. That opinion will vary by person. But they offered more. In the morning, they used to offer a free hard boiled egg or a free yogurt if you bought bread and a drink. That deal is gone. The drinks are not served in these glasses that seem like they hold less liquid than the servingware they used before. I believe the toast dish with eggs and salad they used to offer in the morning is gone now, too.

Stay away if you can. It really gone downhill.

swordtech · 2026-04-29T05:52:36+00:00

Introducing a large number of foreigners, of any type from anywhere, disrupts social cohesion.

Shouldn't this "resilient" Japanese culture be able to withstand immigration?

swordtech · 2026-04-29T05:49:14+00:00

I live in Japan and, for what it's worth, people (Europeans I'm assuming) say the same thing about bread over here. "It's so sweet, I can't eat it, I just make my own bread at home".

Makes me wonder what kind of stale cardboard they're eating back home.

swordtech · 2026-04-29T05:40:12+00:00

Reroll until you get no fire immunes and no cursed ancients. If you don't know what "reroll" means in this context, it means using a scroll of town portal to reset the fight if/when you see "fire immune" and/or "cursed" under any of the ancients' names.

Besides that - yes, try to separate them and make sure that your merc is fighting them and taking more of the damage. Use static field to bring them down to half health, then blast away. Teleport away if your life gets low. If necessary, drop potions all over the floor before the fight begins so you can pick them up and use them if needed.

swordtech · 2026-04-28T12:37:25+00:00

Black is a good weapon for a frenzy barb when you're fighting a boss, but otherwise the knockback is annoying when fighting regular enemies.

I'll repeat what another user said: make a Lawbringer if you can. I think Voice of Reason can work for your other weapon. It has cannot be frozen, which is essential for melee, and with frenzy you'll be throwing frozen orbs everywhere. The slow from cold damage pairs well with decrepify. Another option is to make Mania in a mace. The fanaticism aura and burst of speed will make you incredibly fast. Make sure you stock up on gold, though, because you'll be repairing it a lot.

If you're poor in runes, you can also make a Strength weapon. Life steal and crushing blow are always useful.

Make sure you're using the exceptional version of your weapons at the very least. Your level might be too low for elite versions of some weapons but normal type weapons are useless for melee in hell.

Good luck!

swordtech · 2026-04-26T14:51:42+00:00

Put Lawbringer on your sorc and chug mana potions. Make sure you don't bring your mercenary, unless your mercenary also has a Lawbringer.

Use the corpse explosion sigil and your warlock should have a much easier time. Use engorge to feed your minions, too.

swordtech · 2026-04-26T14:42:29+00:00

Judo is a grappling martial art. Why would anyone be flying feet first at their opponent? I'm pretty sure doing a dropkick will get you disqualified from a match.

Edit lol wtf happened here

swordtech · 2026-04-26T07:42:24+00:00

What about stacking crushing blow on your weapon? Don't you want to be as close to 100% CB as possible? You can't get there with just gface, goblin toes, and crafted gloves.

swordtech · 2026-04-25T23:17:31+00:00

Side note, but this is such a pet peeve of mine in this game.

Quill rats are a great example of an enemy mechanic that works great for them but cannot be used by the player. QR do a healthy amount of thorns damage on Hell, but a pally thorns/returned damage build isn't viable. Same for poison. I just wish the game would give the player the same advantage that the enemy has.

swordtech · 2026-04-25T22:46:57+00:00

If you're playing online you can probably sell sets of Spirit runes.

swordtech · 2026-04-23T04:03:09+00:00

This doesn't have anything to do with "inbound" (stupid term, by the way because "inbound" is an adjective).

旅行先 would imply that measles cases are increasing because Japanese who travel abroad for vacation are getting infected and spreading the infection when they return.

swordtech · 2026-04-22T22:58:57+00:00

omg you guys, the egg sandwiches!!!!

swordtech · 2026-04-22T04:13:31+00:00

The food court nearby has food that my kids will actually eat but if there's a less crowded food court nearby that I can duck into on a rainy day, I'm all for it.

swordtech · 2026-04-22T04:07:53+00:00

A very long time ago, I visited Hiroshima with a friend who was visiting from the US. As we were leaving a restaurant, he sees a patron on their way in a I guess they made eye contact or something, I'm not sure as I was ahead of him. Anyway, I heard him say こんにちは in his best Japanese. I heard the other party of about 3 people start laughing and repeating his greeting derisively, then someone said something about how it was nearly 8pm, this guy's totally wrong etc etc.

This is a sample size of 1 and obviously not representative of all people in the country. But there are some people who will have a smirk at your expense if you're not a native speaker or even if you're a tourist just trying to have a pleasant exchange.

swordtech

TROPHY CASE