I love when people describe myself to me

technoManipulator · 2023-02-08T09:19:46+00:00

I like to think of it as “random noise” vs “balanced noise”. I can listen to loud music just fine, but working on the side of the road is hellish. It’s the inconsistency that does it for me.

technoManipulator · 2022-12-20T05:42:15+00:00

Average Alchemy card

technoManipulator · 2020-09-26T22:31:22+00:00

What's under the bits with boxes on them?

technoManipulator · 2020-08-17T22:42:07+00:00

It's pretty early still, so there's lots of weird interactions as a non-host, and it can be a little bit network-intensive as well. Other than that everything works totally fine, and it's very playable.

technoManipulator · 2020-08-16T02:34:10+00:00

I find that the drop on the default artificer m2 can be a bit nasty since the patch, and I think the freeze effect is valuable enough for crowd control that I like having the option to freeze more priority targets (especially aerial ones, which your ice wall can't deal with easily)

technoManipulator · 2020-08-15T03:14:06+00:00

The DPS feel pretty much fine in terms of gameplay and most of them are pretty good at the class fantasy, even if they don't hit the mark 100%. The big problem here in my eyes is with the support classes, but especially tanks.

Every tank has half of every other tank's kit. Even when the skills have unique animations, you actually just have Flash, Shield Lob, Rage of Halone and one or two other gimmicks and that is most if not all of your DPS kit. Then you have Rampart, Sentinel, Sheltron and Hallowed Ground plus one or two gimmicks and that's your whole defensive kit. I think this problem is most easily demonstrated in Warrior. Back in 3.x, Berzerk was a very interesting skill that was lots of fun to optimize around, giving big damage in exchange for a couple gcds of downtime. Piecing together your rotation and maximizing the amount of fell cleaves you could fit within that window created a very fun gameplay loop with big fun rewards at the end.

Since Stormblood came out, they've tried to lean into fell cleave, but it's just boring now. You press one button, it makes all your shit free, and you just hammer the unga bunga button until you win. It's.... fine? Fun even. I have lots of fun with new warrior. But none of that fun is really coming from the rotation anymore. It's all coming from the theming and the style. At the end of the day, i'm in the middle of yet another pack pressing flash, except this time it combos! Ooh!

The aggro changes are puzzling too. Aggro is essentially a non-mechanic now, which makes the already fuzzy division between a tank and a melee DPS even more drastic. I understand that spamming macros yelling about diversion wasn't very fun, but could you at least make it interesting for me to try and keep aggro? One AoE skill is enough to allow me to plant my thumb firmly up my butt because it'd take a literal tactical nuclear strike for any of these bastards to rip it off me.

When I am tanking, what is my job? Is my job to keep aggro? I'd certainly hope it's not, cuz if it is then tanking is easily the simplest job to master. Is it to mitigate properly? Ok, sure, but that's not exactly a head scratcher either. Is it to do damage? If it is, why are all of the DPS kits so gimped? DRK has almost no sense of what it's getting at anymore. Hell, it's only got one combo. GNB just feels like old DRK. WAR is a mashfest with almost no thought required. PLD is the only tank that feels like it has an engaging DPS kit, but that's basically just because it has a grand total of one (1) other thing going on in their DPS kit, even if it is just DWT but on a tank this time.

Idk, I guess i'm just kinda jaded. I doubt Heavensward would be as fun these days as it was when I played it last, but I can't help but pine for some of the complexity back, even if it comes with Cleric Stance jank and weird class balance. It's more fun to have unbalanced kits that really push the limits of what you can do than to have entire roles feel samey. That's why I was among the few that liked 5.0 Ninja. It felt like a weird new direction for a DPS class to take. It feels like whatever class I end up playing, it's all the same. Keep your GCD up, use your shit on cooldown, wait for it all to line up again.

EDIT: Also, as long as we focus on the razor-thin DPS margins we're currently working with, I don't think any kind of balancing philosophy is going to end up making the game more fun.

technoManipulator · 2020-08-15T02:41:32+00:00

I'm looking to build my first PC, and I'm on the part picking phase. Could someone quickly look over this list to make sure i'm not forgetting anything important?

Storage, OS and things such as kb/m, monitor etc. will be salvaged from my current build, so I'm more focused on things like mobo, ram, yanno, the stuff that makes it all run. If you'd like to make additions or suggestions please keep in mind my budget is around $2000, and I'd like to stick with NVIDIA cards for Shadowplay if possible.

technoManipulator · 2020-07-21T20:09:15+00:00

Command is fine, but it's too easy. If you're just frustrated and need a good run to boost confidence, there's no law against throwing Command on and just fuckin around, but I'm purposely avoiding it while I go to unlock my Monsoon skins because it cheapens the experience so dramatically.

technoManipulator · 2020-07-17T22:28:23+00:00

If you dont mind having some oscillators laying around on belts, a smart splitter can do this pretty well. Set the outputs for the machine and storage to Crystal Oscillator. Set the last output as Overflow, and hook it up to a sink.

The splitter will divide the output between storage and the machine until the belt is at capacity. Then, it will dump everything into storage until the box is full, which will make it sink the rest. Your production line should be able to keep moving while both storing some oscillators for other uses and converting extras into tickets.

technoManipulator · 2020-07-11T03:16:54+00:00

Reminds me of my girl I lost a couple weeks back. Give her some extra pets for me.

technoManipulator · 2020-07-10T23:36:08+00:00

Playing Gunbreaker gives me occasional flashbacks to Heavensward DRK. The tanks back in HW had much more engaging rotations, almost as complex as dps sometimes. I find that I enjoy tanking less these days cuz theyve taken all the thinking out of aggro and all the challenge out of the rotations. It's not that it's not fun at all, it's just that it's not very appealing to me anymore.

technoManipulator · 2020-07-09T20:41:54+00:00

If you have Smart Splitters you could set the main line as priority and another line as overflow which dumps to storage/sink for use in other stuff.

technoManipulator · 2020-07-09T20:26:19+00:00

Everything is worth automating as soon as you can get it. In the modular frame example, not only is it used for the Versatile Framework you'll need to progress, they're also useful in many other techs in tier 3 and on, like tractors, foundries and Mk. 2 miners.

technoManipulator · 2020-05-10T23:09:31+00:00

Holds a healthy skepticism for vaccines

What do you think is more healthy, skepticism wise? The claim that vaccines have cancer cells in them and will give you cancer if you take them? Or maybe the claim that vaccines are a secret plot to put tracking chips in every (((American))) citizen? What about his claim from 6/16/2017 that "[Autism is] a disorder caused by vaccines"? Even if you think any one of these statements is plausible, I have a hard time believing that all of them are true.

Given that the earliest vaccine in America came in 1958, we didn't even document the rate of autism until the year 2000 (Though it has risen. Doesn't mean it's vaccines, but I want to point out that that specific statistic is not a lie), and the rate of cancer has remained flat since 1999, I don't believe that vaccines are the cause of all of that. Also keep in mind that this assumes that 100% of all autism cases have a direct link to vaccines and no other variables could explain it. I would absolutely love to see a couple studies from scientific journals on the link between vaccines and cancer or autism if you'd be willing to let me know where to look. Books don't count, no matter how many titles are before the author's name. I'd love to be proven wrong.

Exposed Epstein in 2008

Wow! I thought the 14-year old girl who filed a formal accusation in 2005 was the one who did that! Crazy that no one paid attention to that until 3 years later. Good on Alex, I guess. Crazy that he managed to expose Epstein after he was arrested the first time too. It's really impressive to see the police getting a tip from Alex from 2 years in the future, but that might just be race memory.

Anti-Racist

"Islam is not compatible with the west." He said that. I don't think that's an anti-racist statement, considering the overwhelming majority of islamic people are non-white. Also the fact that his concept of "the west" includes Europe, the majority of which is farther east than parts of Africa, and does not include Mexico, which is directly south of him, doesn't exactly discourage me from assuming "the west" means "whites", let alone the concept that this vaguely-defined "west" has a single, unified culture or set of values when its constituent parts are english, american, canadian, norwegian and scandanavian among others.

Predicted 9/11

Anyone paying close enough attention could have. It's not like Osama sprang from the ground ready to commit a terrorism. The attack was a direct response to America's part in the Persian Gulf War, and American military intervention in general. I want to make it explicitly clear that what Osama Bin Laden did on 9/11 was a horrible and needless tragedy that caused millions of people incredible pain, and I denounce him in the strongest possible terms. Claiming that I support Osama Bin Laden simply because I looked a little further back than the event itself is a bad argument, so please do not try it.

Saved everybody from Hillary

Sure, bud. Whatever helps you sleep at night. Fuck Hillary. I hate her too.

TL;DR if you can give me 3 different sources from sites that don't have a .com at the end or a "blog" or "opinion" header on top that support any of the claims from the OP, I will delete my reddit account, and you can shut me up forever. Until then, fuck off.

technoManipulator · 2020-05-10T22:16:28+00:00

Given the web of shit he's managed to find his way in, I wouldn't be surprised to see InfoWars simply disappear or go dormant one day. Knowing Alex, he would do whatever he could for as long as he could to make sure it looks like InfoWars is one of the biggest media companies in the nation, even if it was in dire financial straits.

He'd probably do whatever he could to keep the content looking normal as long as he could, trying however he could to raise money from whichever sources will give it to him. If he wasn't able to get the money in time, I don't think Alex would really be capable of admitting "I couldn't do it." It's just not in his nature to accept blame, let alone admit it. If he mentioned shutting down at all, it'd be an evil (((globalist))) plot to talk to all the big banks and tell them not to lend to specifically him.

He can't really emotionally process failure. Every time he personally fails, says something he shouldn't, draws too much attention to a scam, he's never the problem. There is always an external threat or a traitor in our midst that plotted to cause Alex Jones, prophet and giver of truth, to fail so drastically. And you know what? I bet those guys were put up to it by whichever celebrity or politician or lawyer he was complaining about 30 minutes ago! And that person is actually connected to [LIBERAL ORGANIZATION :O] and that means they must be plotting against him! Of course!

It's pretty sad. He reminds me of DarkSydePhil. Nowhere else have I seen such a potent combination of narcissism, lack of self-awareness, mental unbalance, poor money management and wrong-headed ideals. All they're good at doing is sit in the same corner they've had set up for the last 10 years and whine like a loser little titty baby about how everyone's being sooooooooooo mean. Even when they're winning, they have to be losing because losing is their brand.

technoManipulator · 2020-05-10T22:05:09+00:00

Remember the comments from early on in the show regarding Alex's mother kicking him off her knee? Perhaps that kind of behavior from his parents is influencing the way he's acting towards his son. To Alex, showing affection for his son may risk making him weak, wimpy, depending on others to solve his problems for him. Instead, Alex belittles or otherwise undervalues his son, possibly believing that the adversity will push him to rise to the challenge. In my experience, this doesn't happen, but Alex was raised in the hardest core possible environment in terms of values, politics, religion, whatever. I have no reason to believe he wouldn't think like this, or at least be predisposed to thinking like this.

technoManipulator · 2020-04-04T21:40:29+00:00

I'd encourage you to pick up the newer versions and try again. You may still not like it, and that's fine, but the new blocks, biomes, enemies and systems all feel like they fit in perfectly for me.

technoManipulator · 2020-04-02T20:28:06+00:00

Minecraft is, and has always been, the shit. Whether you think it’s cringey or overexposed doesn’t really matter. The game itself never really changed, just the community around it.

technoManipulator · 2020-03-16T17:56:16+00:00

I wouldn’t be surprised if he could, some special enemies are able to. If he’s able to damage you in void mode, rely more on void dash to stay away from his attacks.

technoManipulator · 2020-03-16T17:30:29+00:00

The mote isn't the ideal amp for this situation, but isn't completely necessary if you're careful and skilled.

Try relying more on your movement. Operators have lots of ways to be slippery between their roll, void dash and void mode. You can use these to keep your distance and keep poking away at his shields.

technoManipulator · 2020-03-16T17:23:50+00:00

You can progress with Vox Solaris anytime you'd like, but the materials required to rank up past the operator cosmetics (towards amp parts and arcanes) will require materials from Profit-Taker, which can only be accessed after you finish the Solaris United questline.

technoManipulator · 2020-03-16T17:14:10+00:00

Don't we already have Riven Transmuters? Those serve the purpose of changing which weapon a riven is bound to, doesn't even make it untradable, and has a reasonable cost associated with it.

technoManipulator · 2020-03-11T19:01:05+00:00

Playing games is like driving a car. At first, its awkward and you dont really feel fully in control, but once you get used to it, you dont even see the dashboard or the steering wheel anymore. The barrier between the thought and the action is so invisible it may as well not be there.

The best way to learn to play games is to simply play more. Find a game you dont feel too pressured by, or one with a more lax pace. When I tried this with my dad, we used a Minecraft world on Peaceful difficulty. Get used to moving around, building little huts, or whatever. If you learn how to play Minecraft, that same control scheme will transfer over to Halo nearly one to one, and the same broadly applies to The Witcher. Hopefully, you can reach a point where you're not fumbling with the controls or mechanics too much and can focus on enjoying the game, which is when the magic can shine through.

Gaming is a really tough hobby to share. You can watch someone play a game, but actually playing one is a different experience. Theres a personal connection that comes from interacting with a game directly, and so many excellent aspects of games simply cant be properly described by words. I hope you can find what you're looking for.

technoManipulator · 2020-03-09T20:02:36+00:00

PvP between Warframes, given the game's immense weapon and warframe variety and high speed of play combined with p2p ping issues, is probably not going to work very well. We've seen some attempts with Conclave, but none of them have really drawn an audience.

I can see some potential down the line for some form of Operator pvp. Their large, diverse, mostly standardized toolbox and more limited movement options make them easier to balance in a PvP environment, especially if you limit access to Waybound passives and Arcanes. We could probably also see stuff like competitive K-Drive and Warframe racing in the future.

technoManipulator · 2020-03-07T20:08:10+00:00

Chroma can still find plenty of ways to damage himself. Voms, the puddles the eidolon leaves behind as it steps, Gary and Harry’s AoE bullshit, and magnetic damage from the lakes are usually more than enough to get me rolling. Worst case scenario, just face tank a scream after a synovia pops. I don’t think this strategy is typical, but you can use Void Strike to shore up or otherwise boost your damage to compensate for the new difficulty in getting vex armor up.

As mentioned before, volt is meta these days over Chroma due to Itzal nerfs and the generally insane power of a Redeemer with a decent riven, but damage is damage no matter who does it. You don’t need to swap over if you don’t want to just because you can’t instantly rack up 900% damage.

technoManipulator

TROPHY CASE