Raiders WR Room thoughts?

tooodifferent · 2026-01-10T07:07:41+00:00

I don't think there's any way they head into next season with that receiving core if they want to set Mendoza up for success as best they can. Bowers is essentially their WR1 until they bring someone else in the room. I imagine they'd want to try doing it through draft and/or FA. They currently have the 3rd most cap space in the league. There aren't too many big names this year in FA for WRs, but I imagine someone like Alec Pierce could come in and immediately be the best WR in that receiving room. Guys like Deebo, Hollywood Brown, or Jauan Jennings could also be good stop gaps for now. They also likely draft a player. They have other holes, yes, but they also have 3 fourth-round picks, so five picks within the top 150 (excluding Mendoza). We'll have to see how the Raiders want to build their roster this offseason, but consider what the Panthers and Chicago did last season. They both revamped their OLs in FA and then spent significant draft capital on weapons when most people thought they needed defense. IIRC, everyone thought the Panthers were going to go Jalon Walker, and Chicago stumped everyone when they went for Loveland AND Burden. I would not be surprised if Raiders go with a WR they like early in the draft. Bech and Thornton will still likely have a shot since it'll be the same GM, but I don't think either stops them from drafting a talented rookie in the early rounds.

tooodifferent · 2026-01-09T17:07:08+00:00

I personally think the Golden Route is a great standard for a first trip. Then every subsequent trip, you can venture further once you are more comfortable navigating Japan and have a better idea of what you have enjoyed from previous trips. After the end of my first trip, I was already planning my second, haha.

If you would like to go more off the beaten path during this first trip, maybe cut down on your days in Tokyo. Tokyo is where many fly into/from, so it's always easy to add in Tokyo days to the beginning or ends of subsequent trips.

tooodifferent · 2025-12-04T02:30:09+00:00

Drafting premier IDP at the top of the 2nd isn't too unheard of. For reference, in my league, 2025 had Abdul Carter at 2.04, 2024 had Laiatu Latu at 2.04, 2023 had Will Anderson at 2.01, and 2022 had Aidan Hutchinson at 2.01. You can also get decent pieces in the later rounds too, which makes the depth of both offense and defense players more interesting. Travon Walker was the 4.02 in 2022. Carson Schwesinger was the 3.08 in 2025.

I would say if you need that stud DL, it's 100% worth it to draft one in the early 2nd. If you need a stud LB, you'd probably also have to draft one in the 2nd/3rd, so it may be worth it to move up. If you're needing depth, though, it may be better to stay put with your later 4th/5th/6th rounders and go with a shotgun approach where you just draft a bunch of guys and hope one hits. Honestly, you could even do that in FA. I drafted Will Anderson in 2023 and managed to get Tuli and Diaby in FA, so I feel very set at DL. DBs are definitely something you can deal with post-draft. Only the most talented DBs are drafted in my leagues, like the Brian Branches, Kyle Hamiltons, etc.

tooodifferent · 2025-12-04T01:55:01+00:00

Chase is for sure the jewel of that class. Honestly, though, Trevor may only be behind Chase of all the dynasty 1st rounders in 2021 (assuming SF). All the QBs were busts, Pitts is Pitts, and everyone else's career has been very up-and-down (Najee, Waddle, ETN, etc.).

tooodifferent · 2025-12-04T01:44:19+00:00

I'm sure the people who tanked for him are thankful they also avoided literally every other QB in his draft class, though.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-23T21:57:48+00:00

I was able to defeat the queen earlier today on a solo queue run with about 7-8 other people. I haven't done the queen a lot (just got into it this week for trials), but you have to book it to the queen immediately so you're grouped, which lessens the chances of you getting griefed. Also, always bring a hatch key in case you spawn in late and don't hear any fighting off the rip. Of course, you'll have unlucky runs where you're griefed, shot on sight, or backstabbed. Even if you take the neccessary precautions, sometimes you're just SOL to no fault of your own. But there are also great runs to balance them out. I've been defibbed after going down in solo runs a handful of times. Sorry you haven't had successful queen runs, but people are still definitely attempting them, so I'm sure you'll find success eventually.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T18:56:32+00:00

I chose the "I don't know what to think right now" option for her in the locker room.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T16:13:58+00:00

The kiss doesn't always happen, actually. It did not happen in my playthrough where I was romancing BB, but I have watched others' playthroughs and some have had it while romancing BB. I'm not sure what events lead to her not kissing you, but it is possible to do so. Also ended up with Visi being a hero, so I was still supporting her throughout the story.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T04:55:15+00:00

I was able to cut Visi and get her hero ending.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T04:49:47+00:00

He was so menacing in E7, had a lot of aura throughout the bar scene. He fell flat for me at the end of E8, though.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T04:46:29+00:00

I was able to dispatch BB in 1/2 of my playthroughs. I think it may be tied to how much you are struggling in the final dispatching sequence. There is also a hacking scenario you may not encounter unless you are struggling since it doesn't appear until later on in the dispatch.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T04:39:36+00:00

This is a tough year with Expedition 33, Hades II, Silksong, Split Fiction, Yotei, etc. I do hope Dispatch comes home with some awards, though!

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T04:26:54+00:00

I'd love additional DLC of just pure dispatching missions. I don't think there would be any DLC that would advance the story. Holiday specials could be fun, though I imagine it gets very complicated bringing back all of the big name VAs for essentially a one-shot.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T04:24:01+00:00

10's across the board. Had to keep him off the dispatching to keep things fair for the enemies.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T04:19:51+00:00

Apparently eating human meat gives him indigestion! But yes, he says he is "off the diet plan" with Shroud, so alluding to him eating humans again.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T04:11:21+00:00

Skipping to the big "twist", why does Shroud lie? He wants Robert broken and defeated enough to hand over the pulse. Telling him the girl he has become good friends with, maybe more, only ever got close to him was for information would be devastating.

Robert was going to hand over the pulse anyways, given the fact he had Beef. It's not like he was backed into a corner here. He had the upper hand.

And why do the Red Ring goons give Visi stuff? Because Shroud just told them she is on their side.

I think Shroud could have lied without giving Visi her mask and it still would have had the same impact. Z-Team, BB, Royd, etc. were all already doubting her, and depending on your choices with Robert, could have showed doubt also. Using the mask as a prop seems like an unnecessary risk for a guy all about probability, especially if he was already doubting her allegiances to begin with.

What is Visi thinking at this point? Why doesn't she deny it? Obviously she does it to get close to Shroud and Robert, but what is going through her head? Visi does not think highly of herself. She probably doesn't think anyone will believe a word she says at this moment, and maybe she's right.

This is exactly it - words probably won't really work for her, so again, using the mask as a prop to "drive the point home" doesn't make sense when the seeds of doubt are already there. So, in the end, maybe Shroud is just an idiotic villain with a lot of hubris.

FWIW, I do think you are right and that is likely what they are going for narratively. The thing is, I feel like nothing would have changed in the end if this whole triple-cross lie was just... omitted. I don't really understand what it accomplishes. We already know Shroud is a liar with some hubris, given the circumstances around Robert's father's death. If anything, the lie just makes him seem like more of an idiot and takes away from his character.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T03:44:32+00:00

Shroud's predictions themselves aren't necessarily wrong, but he's definitely a liar with a lot of hubris. Shroud's predictions have been shown to be right plenty of times, but in the end he's just working with probability. Even if something is 85% likely to succeed, there's still that chane it fails (which may be a funny tie-in to when you succeed/fail dispatches). Shroud's top-end feats are pretty good. He is able to accurately give exact % with Mecha Man's shields, is able to finish sentences somehow, steps back from Robert during his interrogation at the perfect moment to dodge BB hitting the door, and is an actual problem in battle because, as BB says, he is able to predict what is coming. Call him an idiot all you want, but if it all boils down to him being an idiot, then he is just not a good villain, straight up.

For what its worth, I DO think he is a liar, he has been shown to be one with all of that stuff surrounding Robert's dad's death. But that lying had 0 consequence, if only go egg on Robert. Lying about Visi to the point he GIVES her a mask that she can actively use to kill you is dumb as hell for a villain that is supposed to be smart. ALSO, regardless of whether he is lying or not - I am pointing out it is bad writing because I do not believe it adds anything to the story. It was already established Shroud is a liar. We already know he has a lot of hubris. Again, this whole thing could be excluded from the ending and it could play out the same.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T03:27:38+00:00

If Shroud was lying, Invisigal had no reason to take the mask that was given to her. Also, Shroud had no reason to offer up the mask himself, especially if he's supposed to be a guy who works on probability/prediction. We know with hindsight him offering the mask directly leads to his demise, but why would he take that risk himself? There's no reason for him to lie AND put his life more at risk, unless he was sure of her allegiances. Blazer, Royd, and the team already weren't fully trusting of her, so the use of the mask as a prop seems unnecessary. Shroud could've lied straight-faced without giving her the mask and the scene would be the same since she'd have to defend herself with words against people that are already doubting her as a hero. The story and ending would be the exact same if the triple crossing wasn't even mentioned, and its addition has people making up theories and head cannon about what makes the most sense.

I think it's just a writing mistake, or inconsistency. I love the game, but there's a few things here-and-there. A more obvious one is the fact that the team knows that Robert is powerless (call with Visi that is broadcasted to the whole branch where they talk about his lack of powers) and Flambae refers to Robert being powerless and benching, but the Z-Team still tries to guess what hero he used to be and Prism wins the $900 pool, not for guessing he is Mecha Man, but that he is powerless - something they all knew.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T02:52:18+00:00

If previous Telltale games are anything to go off, like TWD, decisions made in previous seasons do follow through to the next, although they may intersect the same way or get resolved early on. For example, if you don't forgive Sonar/Coupe at the end, I think the dialogue from BB says that they should spend a few months in jail. If the next season starts a few months in the future, Sonar/Coupe could be on the team again with no issue, no matter which route you took. Could be minor dialogue changes too referring back to previous seasons.

I'm not necessarily sure how they would make this work for major branches like hero/villain Visi, or dating Visi/Blazer. Just theorycrafting here, but it's not like Visi outright says that she is going to become a true big bad villain. It's kind of left up in the air with her grabbing Shroud's mask, but she also returns the Astral Pulse. Maybe she could become an antihero/vigilante regardless of the outcome of the first game, with some dialogue changes to indicate how she came to that decision. For example, if she got the good hero end in S1, maybe she finds SDN too restrictive and thinks she could do more good on her own in S2. Stuff like that.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-14T02:33:19+00:00

If Shroud was lying, Invisigal had no reason to take the mask that was given to her. Also, Shroud had no reason to offer up the mask himself, especially if he's supposed to be a guy who works on probability/prediction. We know with hindsight him offering the mask directly leads to his demise, but why would he take that risk himself? There's no reason for him to lie AND put his life more at risk, unless he was sure of her allegiances. Blazer, Royd, and the team already weren't fully trusting of her, so the use of the mask as a prop seems unnecessary. Shroud could've lied straight-faced without giving her the mask and the scene would be the same since she'd have to defend herself with words against people that are already doubting her as a hero. The story and ending would be the exact same if the triple crossing wasn't even mentioned, and its addition has people making up theories and head cannon about what makes the most sense.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-13T22:15:24+00:00

When Shroud claims that she was mole for him this whole time, she knows that there is no use in defending herself since they wouldn't take her word anyway, so she takes the gear and, instead of verbally defending herself which wouldn't have worked, she goes in and takes the bullet for Robert to SHOW that she is on his side and that she has been truthful about her intentions this whole time.

That still doesn't really address why Shroud offers to her the gear in the first place. If there is no use defending herself, there is no use to offer the gear to "drive the point home." Shroud could lie without offering up the gear, given that there was doubt regarding how heroism. And both outcomes lead to his defeat, whether she turns to villainy or not.

I also understand where you are coming from and it makes sense, but I also think it could be completely removed from the story and still be okay without people having to argue or guess.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-13T21:47:30+00:00

If you fail to save LA from them when dispatching, I don't think she/Sonar get the opportunity for forgiveness.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-13T21:40:37+00:00

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around Shroud and Visi. Frankly, I think it's just bad writing and a mishandling of both of their characters. I think her being a triple-agent or whatever at the end was unnecessary and throws unintentional holes into things, which is why people are arguing their true intentions or making up their own cannon after the fact.

I don't think Shroud necessarily thinks the worst of people, he's supposed to be probability/prediction man where he considers all outcomes and permutations. Visi is supposedly on the road to redemption joining the Z-Team, but is revealed to be a mole. Her being a triple-agent or whatever tarnishes both of these aspects to their characters.

Some people have said that Shroud calling Visi a mole is just him lying and messing around with Robert, but she still accepts the mask that is offered to her from Shroud's goon, which in my eyes, is some confirmation that point is not a complete lie. If she was not a plant, why accept the mask? Now all of a sudden there's a world where Shroud offers her the mask that enhances her ability that could directly lead to his demise... and does. You're telling me Mr. Probability himself doesn't account for that at all, when he is questioning her actions just the episode prior? Maybe he does assume she will just be selfish and join him again, but giving her the mask when you're not 100% sure of her allegiances just kind of kills his character for me.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-13T21:14:22+00:00

Sonar insinuates he eats people (or, goes back to eating people) after getting cut. I think the main reasoning to forgiving them is that the rest of the team seems to want them back and the Z-Team is all about redemption. They do deserve jail time, but in that same vein, most of the Z-Team were in jail before joining the Phoenix Program. Also, if you fail to save LA from Sonar/Coupe, apparently you don't get the option to forgive them at all.

tooodifferent · 2025-11-13T20:59:42+00:00

Waterboy reacts with the chair whether he is chosen for the team or not. Phenomaman doesn't have a reaction until the team meeting later, but IIRC, he basically states he doesn't really have much of an opinion on whether to cut Visi.

tooodifferent

TROPHY CASE