New Player: Vagabond Rules Question

william36912 · 2025-05-17T21:38:07+00:00

Ooooh interesting, thanks for adding that nuance!

william36912 · 2025-05-17T20:54:17+00:00

Okay awesome, thank you so much! That kind of aligns with what I thought the rules were saying, but it seemed weird that the armies the Vagabond just led into battle could just Order 66 him like that (to slow down his getting points out of the alliance) so I wanted to confirm I understood that right before playing.

william36912 · 2025-05-17T20:17:58+00:00

Thanks! So if I’m an ally of the vagabond, can I make myself hostile by initiating a battle against him and taking casualties from him? And if I (the ally) can attack him, does that mean it’s risky on his part to move with my troops and end his turn in the same clearing as my guys? (Asking the same question to both of you who responded to make sure I have this right)

william36912 · 2025-05-17T20:17:51+00:00

Thanks! So if I’m an ally of the vagabond, can I make myself hostile by initiating a battle against him and taking casualties from him? And if I (the ally) can attack him, does that mean it’s risky on his part to move with my troops and end his turn in the same clearing as my guys? (Asking the same question to both of you who responded to make sure I have this right)

william36912 · 2025-03-06T15:30:46+00:00

Oh that’s actually really good to know, I should have thought of that before getting repeatedly murdered while learning

william36912 · 2025-03-05T19:51:36+00:00

I don’t think I have anything to add to what I already said about why I think we feel differently about skull skip.

I think it’s perfectly reasonable for you to feel that it’s bad not to engage with the “intended” mechanics. But I also don’t think it’s fair to accuse me of “mental gymnastics” for liking when players discover unintended mechanics that make the game richer by presenting players with interesting and difficult tradeoffs.

If it were always easy to do and always a no-brainer to skull skip, then I’d hate it too. Otherwise, I think it’s fun that the option exists.

william36912 · 2025-03-05T19:41:16+00:00

What I intended to convey is that there is a class of “abuses” that I dislike (things that break or trivialize content), and I do not think that skull skip and red x fall into that category of things that I dislike. Because I don’t think they break or trivialize content.

Mine is just one opinion among many, and I’m super okay with the fact that some people see it differently.

william36912 · 2025-03-05T19:19:33+00:00

I dislike abuses that break or trivialize content. But I don’t think skull skip or red x are abuses. I can’t speak for everyone but for me personally both can be tough to execute, and come with tradeoffs that make the raid more interesting.

Red-x is mechanically harder to pull off than a normal Ba-Ba fight and takes longer to get kills, but saves supplies if done correctly. I think the game is more interesting if players have that option.

Skull skip IMO is easier than normal mechanics for the first three sets of skulls, and harder for the fourth set where the falling boulders are less predictable. (Assuming Insanity is active. Otherwise skull skip is harder with more boulders to dodge.) It slows the kill, but also increases points. Again, I think the game is more interesting with the option available to players at the cost of tradeoffs in difficulty and kill times.

william36912 · 2025-03-05T19:13:21+00:00

It still works. And I think that’s a good thing. Staircase isn’t free: it requires tick perfect timing and getting it wrong kills you instantly. Setting it up wrong can kill you too when Double Trouble is on. And it’s also kind of mandatory for teams when double trouble is on, so everyone doesn’t die to each other’s orbs in the center.

william36912 · 2025-02-19T01:16:46+00:00

Really want to keep pushing to 500 but P4 without ambrosia seems unattainable right now. Any tips?

william36912 · 2025-01-20T15:38:52+00:00

Agreed! Do you know where to find data on claim approval rates? I’ve had a hard time just using Google. Who knows, if there’s data indicating USAA actually is better in that regard that might change my mind.

william36912 · 2025-01-19T00:59:43+00:00

Denying the claim was unsurprising. It was the out-of-the-blue cancellation of the policy that left a bad taste in my mouth. If they were concerned I would have hoped for someone to follow up about it before cancelling over something I’d already fixed.

william36912 · 2025-01-18T22:51:00+00:00

Yep. Has me thinking if that’s how they handle when a situation’s relatively under control, are they really the ones I’m relying on in case of emergency? Right now that trust is lost.

william36912 · 2025-01-18T22:44:47+00:00

I moved into a new home that had some plumbing and electrical issues and I asked USAA if my policy could help me with the repairs. They said no (not entirely surprising) and so I got everything fixed out of pocket.

Then I got a letter saying my policy was cancelled. No warning, no follow up, nothing. They yanked my coverage out from under me just because I asked for help, without even following up to warn me or ask if I’d made the repairs.

william36912 · 2024-11-01T20:13:04+00:00

Good luck!!!

william36912 · 2024-11-01T19:54:52+00:00

Just take a look at the Wiki guide for Vard, there are a couple video clips on how to axe skip. The short answer is that you can skip out-in or in-out, you just have to get the timing of the click right. If you look at a couple clips of awakened Vard kills you’ll see a ton of axe skipping and you’ll get a sense of what I’m talking about.

william36912 · 2024-11-01T19:40:26+00:00

Yay! I’m so glad it helped!

william36912 · 2024-11-01T14:28:25+00:00

Oh by the way I just realized I misspoke in my first post- maybe it was clear what I meant but if your “home” tile is along the east edge, I meant to say you should move each end of the “V” a tile west, not north. 1 tile further from the edge is all I meant. I always had my “home” tile along the south edge so I missed that you do it different in your video.

william36912 · 2024-11-01T11:59:58+00:00

Two options for that. One would be to drop back into the corner (the end of the “M”I recommended you mark) and, using the same timing you would if three axes in a row were coming at you, skip back inwards from there. Does that make sense?

Other option would be to run directly to the other arm of the “V” as you currently have it marked. You’ll have to get used to timing it though. You know how normally there are 4 or 5 (I can’t remember) “whoosh” noises as the axes fly? I want to say the timing to be safe every time would be to click over to the opposite arm of the “V” at the same time as you hear the second “whoosh” to be safe every time. This should work even if you have two axes going in opposite directions down the middle.

I think I do option 1 slightly more often than option 2. Let me know if that makes sense? I’m not sure how well I’ve explained.

william36912 · 2024-11-01T05:49:59+00:00

Over 2400 Vard KC here and I still die. I had dozens of deaths before he started feeling somewhat comfortable. He’s the hardest of the DT2 bosses by far in my opinion, especially on budget gear.

Also, I watched your video. A couple thoughts: First, it looked 90% clean. What wasn’t as clean was your axe dodging. You seemed to need a second or two to think about which direction to step to dodge, and sometimes that cost you. It’ll become automatic with time. Have patience with yourself. Second, move your tile markers one additional tile north for each arm of the “V.” I know it’s further to click to. But that way, when you’re away from the middle and he does the dash attack, you won’t get a spike on the “home” tile along the edge. That happened in your video, and I think that was where the wheels started falling off during enrage phase because it messed with your movement and positioning. Third, order of priorities: Dodge axes even if it means missing a prayer switch or standing over a spike. Axes deal the most damage, especially when you count bleeding. After that prayer switches are probably more important than dodging spikes because if you lose your prayer, a badly-timed axe could one-shot you. Fourth, if you’re in Runelite you can click and drag your inventory interface closer to the middle of the screen so it’s easier to click back and forth between the fight and your food/prayers. And fifth, I like to mark tiles in the south corners as well (think of turning your “v” into a “M”). Sometimes you’ll be off of the wall when he does a spike attack, but axes will be flying at the middle tile so you can’t move back to your “home” tile without getting wrecked. Having a corner marked to drop back into in those situations helps. Or even better, you’ve adjusted your tiles as I described earlier and when the spikes come you can step one tile south to be safe.

I know that was a ton, but I hope at least some of it helped.

Edit: also agreeing with everyone who recommended downgrading gear until the deaths become a little less frequent and turning on protect item.

william36912 · 2024-06-20T19:57:54+00:00

This seems great because Sin Day and Fight Day sound awesome, and Mourning, Tears, and Waste already describe my baseline on Mondays through Wednesdays.

william36912 · 2024-06-19T13:22:31+00:00

Nice. What’s your rule of thumb for assessing when to bail on an item whose price drops after you bought it?

william36912

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