From: Iamdead7 | #010 That's what I was thinking, Jedi's were either overpowered cause they're jedi or underpowered so that people would play them less.
Either way, you'll have to multiclass to Jedi, dammit!
I wouldn't say underpowered. They're balanced, it's just that they get less skills than most (in a game where skilling is important) and rely on a mechanic that refreshes slowly (FP).
Nah, SAGA Jedi are a little on the weak side, actually. They're really balanced, though people always want to play one. Hell, *I* want to play one myself because it's long overdue. Haven't done one since SAGA launched. :(
Ayuyu posted... From: Sceptilesolarbeam | #088 I laughed that you took Linguist. Makes sense though. Also why this!?
Linguist sounds pretty useful! Maybe not in combat but still!
There's a super cheap item that duplicates the effect and doesn't cost a feat slot, which is precious because you need to get your patch feats and build defining tricks.
But yeah, in that case totally dump CON, feylocks don't care about it. It's a good idea to get 13 DEX instead, too - Dual Implement Spellcaster is a much-needed patch once you get enhancement bonuses to patch your damage.
PS: Incidentally scep, I presume you fixed inherent bonuses to work with DIS, ja?
OK, so I'm kind of at an impasse, guys. I've been unable to decide on what dailies to give Valerian post-switch, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Currently, Val has Boiling Cloud and Swift Panther Rage. The idea between the two is to give him the ability to charge all day erryday, plus use Savage Growl to its full extent by tanking up on defenses enough that attacks will miss outright, plus tack on damage with Boiling Cloud. The issue here is, Boiling Cloud requires marking to deal that autodamage, and it's just 3 damage a turn, hardly anything noteworthy beyond popping minions like they're Pringles. So I've been looking at other options, thinking. Here's the choices at my disposal, as I see it:
-Take Form of the Relentless Panther (level 1 Warden daily, the one Val's used so far), plus Rage of the Crimson Hurricane. His defenses stay stuck at their current values except for Reflex, and he still has to mark his target, but he does stupidly huge damage if he catches enemies with his newfound AoE trick (Thundering Howl), as it works once per target hit and Thundering Howl can hit a bunch, plus it triggers twice if I hit with Wildblood Frenzy, and he can chargespam all day. Oh, and he has a +1 bonus to attack rolls as a consolation prize -Take Form of the Fearsome Ram and Rage of the Crimson Hurricane. This is the full-offense option, making Valerian hyper accurate on a charge (something like four points over his base attack roll. Yeah, really), letting him push people around, and dealing extra damage not contingent on marking. Downside is my defenses ain't that good besides the Bloodiron bonus. -Stick with my current setup. It's mostly defensively oriented (I give everybody a +2 bonus to defenses for hugging me, so if I do go with this it's a good idea to stick with Val, bee tee dubs), so it wins more by attrition than anything else. Granted, having 27 AC is really good at this level and it will keep improving as I get real armor. -Special option: Currently my Warden power is Call Faerie Guardian, which gives me easy marking (to go with Boiling Cloud). If it would be more useful, I could instead take Nature's Abundance or Fey Congress, which create Cover and Concealment in a Close Burst 3 and Burst 1, respectively. The issue about them is that the former munches up a Standard Action to start up (but that IS a lot of cover for us that doesn't work for the enemy), while the latter eats up minor actions. The other downside is that I love the fluff of Call Faerie Guardian, but I might be able to live with the loss. As a note, Nature's Abundance stacks with Boiling Cloud, which kicks our defenses up by a whopping +4 if I put both down.
So, any ideas, gentlemen? I kinda wanna take what will work best with the group, but I'm not sure what that is, as all choices have pros and cons.
EDIT: I should clarify why I'm worrying about this: Valerian's OTHER utility power is Savage Growl. That baby grants me a bonus 1d8 damage for a couple turns, plus it marks. The downside is that it makes the target deal 1d8 damage to ME, too. SInce that's a losing tradeoff but the damage bonus is sweet, I need high defenses. The question is just how high, since I can't count on Vance marking people to take the heat off me.
From: LordoftheMorons | #229 Okay the desktop image certainly looks more androgynous. Kinda like a grimdark Rose!
Autoresponder is the best.
Haven't read Problem Sleuth; how is it compared to Homestuck? I'm somewhat wary about starting to read something that's like 1700 pages long when I've just started up school again, though.
Very good. Not quite as amazing as Homestuck, but it has a comparatively quicker start and a ridiculously good ending. If somebody spoils you on it they have no heart, because it's a beautiful thing.
From: Some_Character | #219 Of course Jake is completely pimpin' so it could be true.
Never in doubt.
From: tereziWright | #218 TT: I think Dirk is probably going to make some sort of formal romantic overture toward Jake today.
And so it begins.
Of course he could be bull****ing and that's why he blocks his logs from Dirk.
TG: id think id rather pull a dirk and propess my UNDYING FEELINGS FOR HER omgomgomg TT: Wait, you have feelings for Jane? TG: no you dingnut TG: was joak TG: OMFG
And a thousand shippers wept.
Nah, go back and look at Dirk's convo with Jane. There's something in there. A couple lines sound like they're taken out of a romance.
From: WarThaNemesis2 | #038 Wait, what/where is a theme and how is it different from a background? >_>
It's a background that gives you a bonus power at level 1, and for some themes, features at levels 5 and 10. You can find them in Dragon 399 onwards, Neverwinter Campaign Setting, Heroes of the Feywild, and Dark Sun Campaign Setting.
Name: Dream Fortress EP Cost: 10 EP Target: Personal MP Cost: None Effect: You can construct a Dream Fortress, provided you have the materials necessary for it. You can summon your Dreamself, or Dreambubble-Self, to your position, and may act through him. Your Dream(Bubble)self is capable of flight and can be injured, though not permanently, and nothing can affect you while controlling it. Losing your dream(bubble)self may have negative consequences. Description: Sometimes, a situation is too dangerous, complicated, or bull**** to deal with it. For those times, you've got your dream fortress.
Name: Ecto Shaping, Least EP Cost: 9 EP Target: Self MP Cost: 20% Max HP (Special) Effect: You add one trait to your weapon or outfit, that the GM must supervise. You may increase a bonus by up to 4 points, or add a special ability of comparable worth. Your HP pool is permanently reduced until you unravel the Ecto Shaping, at which point you are healed by an amount equal to the HP cost. Description: Opening a very small-scale portal to a dreambubble, you procure yourself some dream material from it. It's icky, but it seems to work really well with your gear. Warning: May have unintended side effects, such as paranoia, weakness, nausea, or hearing voices.
Name: Dream Trap EP Cost: 13 EP Target: Self MP Cost: None Effect: The first time during your turn you perform an attack, you have a 10% chance of triggering a contingency set by your Dream(bubble)self. If the Trap activates, you may perform a free Context Action. Description: Nobody expects a sleepwalking dreamer to ease the road for himself down the line using flashes of insight. Suckers.
Name: Big Sleep EP Cost: 6 EP Target: Self MP Cost: None Effect: If you cannot take your turn for any reason, you recover 10% of your MP or HP. Description: No need to worry about that big monster about to eat you. You'll get out of this jam, but right now, sleep comes first!
Name: Ecto Bolt EP Cost: 3 EP Target: Single MP Cost: 5 MP Effect: 1.0*MAG + RES Down 4 (2 turns). Description: Drawing from the material of Dream Bubbles, launch a blast of concentrated Dream Essence at an enemy. The most basic attack of a Hero of Dreams.
Name: Rude Awakening EP Cost: 6 EP Target: Single MP Cost: 50% Max MP Effect: One dead ally is revived with 1 HP and may act immediately. You can only use this ability on a target that died on the previous or current turn. Description: In one way and out the other, you catch a falled ally and bring him back to the fray.
Name: Dead Eyes EP Cost: 8 EP Target: Single MP Cost: 50 Max MP MP Effect: Roll a d100+STR-20, opposed by d100+RES for your target. If you beat the roll, the target is Stunned (2 turns). Description: Giving your enemy a taste of what is to come frightens him. Granted, it's a taste of what is to come for you and your comrades if you fail, but it seems to work nicely nonetheless.
Name: Probing Sequence EP Cost: 3 EP Target: Single + Self MP Cost: 10 HP + 10% Max HP Effect: 1.0*STR and you may take another action. If the action is not a Sequence, you pay an additional casting cost equal to 40% of your Max HP. You may not use this ability more than once per turn. Description: All dreams follow certain patterns. First, they start with exploration...
Name: Brave Sequence EP Cost: 6 EP Target: Single MP Cost: 18 HP + 10% Max HP Effect: 1.5*STR, and if you used Probing Sequence before during this turn, the casting cost is instead 12 HP only. You may take another action. If the action is not a Sequence, you pay an additional casting cost equal to 50% of your Max HP. You may not use this ability more than once per turn. Description: ...Then they continue with glorious adventuring...
Name: Wise Sequence EP Cost: 7 EP Target: Single MP Cost: 10 MP Effect: 1.75*MAG, and if you used Probing Sequence before during this turn, this attack gains Siphoning 50%. You may take another action. If the action is not a Sequence, you pay an additional casting cost equal to 50% of your Max HP. You may not use this ability more than once per turn. Description: ...Or enlightening epiphanies...
It's Undertaker at Wrestlemania VS a Rocky that previously lost to the undertaker, THEN had a training montage.
The Doctor was originally the referee, but he appeared in his Tardis and won't come out, so The Host helps in refereeing.
Then all of a sudden, Rand al'Thor and Aizen burst into the scene, Rand switching between Darth and Jesus forms as needed, and likewise with Butterfly and Sword Aizen.
GameFAQs Urza, Flash, and Battler appear out of nowhere and do ridiculous feats with the Michael Bay Man and RST Ganon.
Laharl, Zetta, and Dio Brando are watching.
Yukari Yakumo is having a tea party with Nagato, Haruhi, Phoenix, Morrigan and Dark Schneider for some reason, instead of watching the fight.
Outside, TTGL, GaoGaigar, Ideon, Anti-Spiral, Godzilla, and Zearth duke it out.
From: GenesisTwilight | #014 If I want to try an online D&D game again, several things will need to happen:
-Use maptools or gametable. Even out of combat, it makes things A LOT better. Just look at the LP Shados linked to to see why -Things need to happen a lot faster. It took 4 or 5 hours to do something that happened in Anagram's campaign that could have been done in 1 or 2 in real life. This can be fixed by... -Use Skype. Talking is faster, easier, and more convenient than typing. Of course you still use chat for things like messages to individual people and dice macros, but other than that, talking is just so much easier. -No backseat gamers trying to control how the entire party is built. -A start time that isn't right before 90% of people eat dinner.
From: catastrophy15 | #116 I'm thinking of posting my abilities up here in the topic and having you guys determine if they are appropriate for use or not, do you guys mind?
Personal ones? No reason not to.
From: SemiFinal vs Belarus | #118 thanks again, boner.
but yeah, there's tons of fun combinations i'm depressed we won't have. thief of time, knight of faith, host of void, prince of space, etc, etc.
Funnily enough, we did get one I was hoping for, the Heir of Revolution. So that's something.
PS: Pity we couldn't get the Jack of Hearts though :(
From: catastrophy15 | #111 Okay but I'm still waiting for the invite into the blastgroup
Yeah, I'll get 'round to it soonish, sorry. Have had tons of stuff on my plate lately!
And on an unrelated note guys, it's a pity we haven't seen a Jack, Foe, Agent, Rogue, or Thief with a Time element (in spite of how I've softblocked it to prevent headaches). I'm almost tempted to provide renames for specific combos of class and element, purely off of the fact that the idea of an Assassin of Time sounds really ballin'. Stuff like Knight in Shining Armor for our favorite wrestler, Supreme Detective for Aron, Shadowman for the Agent, or Oneiromancer for our latest Medium entrant.
From: catastrophy15 | #109 Really!? IThen that isn't my title well then? Well since I don't comprehend how to use AIM fully I can't use the dice decision style so I'm leaving it to you guys or I'm going to use playing cards to determine my title.
Until you enter the game and then the Medium you won't have a title. You also do not pick the title, others do. Titles aren't mandatory powers in the style of a D&D class - they are perks. Boosts. Your character is more defined by his own talents than by his Title, and that is why others determine it.
From: catastrophy15 | #106 Just looked at my character listing and realized that I am the Blade of Time and my dream self resides in Derse!! This is Awesome!!!!!!!!! My abilities that I had made up were already well suited for a Blade character and I was hoping for it or the Seeker title I still need to adjust them a little bit for it to be accurate though. So I have to make non-offensive abilities except for the Bladeskills, so I can just make a set of special HP and/or MP cost abilities to use while attacking for those, right?
From: SemiFinal vs Belarus | #098 He's not, but everyone else thinks he is. My understanding is if he introduces himself as "Kelvan Jaksen," we'll hear "Befind Befind," and the same is true for any other instance of us encountering his nomenclature.
From: Accel ACE | #337 Mordekainen's right? Meh. Book's full of universally overpowered crap but yeah wow, that's pretty awesome too.
Yeah, I ike the Punishing Weapon more than the Learning one because if you focus an opponent for more than three turns, it's straight up better and keeps getting more awesome as you go.
Punishing Weapon Level 8+ Common After you strike your foe with this weapon, your enemy appears mote vulnerable as its will to stand up to you drains away. Lvi 8 +2 3,400 gp Lvi 23 +5 425,000 gp Lvi 13 +3 17,000 gp Lvi 28 +6 2,125,000 gp Lvi 18 +4 85,000 gp Weapon: Any Enhancement Bonus: Attack rolls and damage rolls Critical: +1 d6 damage per plus Property The first time each round you hit an enemy with this weapon, you can choose to inflict a wound on the enemy. You gain a cumulative power bonus to damage rolls against the enemy for each of these wounds that you have inflicted on it. Each wound contributes half the weapon's enhancement bonus to the power bonus. The wounds end on the enemy when you hit another enemy with the weapon or at the end of the encounter.
So basically, Learning except you don't lose the bonus on a miss and it takes one turn to wind up. It DOES scale with level though.
From: Accel ACE | #334 ...in what way does a Frost Weapon +2 add three damage no questions asked? Feats excluded and looking purely at what the weapon adds by itself, a learning weapon on a class that's going to be swinging repeatedly is either going to be providing lots of bonus damage or giving bonuses to hit on the swings that actually matter. (Miss with a minor action attack? Then your big standard has a hit bonus?)
Dragonshard options, which are open at that level. In one more level, Gloves of Frost add an extra +2, too. Sure, the Learning weapon is self sufficient, but at that point isn't a Punishing Weapon better? From turn 2 onwards it's equal or better to the Learning Weapon and cheaper to boot.
What's so strong about it? At that level a frost weapon is on the cusp of providing a +3 to damage no questions asked. The bonus for learning also only works on missing, which is kinda bad.
From: Phase | #130 Biolizard28 posted... You're putting words in my mouth.
There's nothing AD Kennen can do that AP can't except
- Deal better AD damage. (There are better options than Kennen) - Deal better damage with W's passive (Once every five attacks)
You pick AD Kennen when you really want to play Kennen but already have a top and a mid. It's functional, but that doesn't mean it's optimal.
I haven't watched IEM (since I doubted anything interesting would happen), but from what I can gather, M5 won because of extremely aggressive counter-jungling.
If that's the case, I can immediately tell you you are looking at the problem in the wrong way. The question you shouldn't be asking is "is AD Kennen better or worse than AP Kennen?", it's "what do I sacrifice by having AD Kennen instead of a conventional AD carry? Is there a way to overcome that disadvantage? What do I gain from having AD Kennen instead of a conventional carry? Is there a way to exploit that advantage?"
If you take that in the context of counter-jungling things like "map control", "strong early and mid game", and "gank-resistance" start popping out.
And of course, the whole 'CC usually unavailable to AD carries, of industrial-grade strength, plus super strong base values for abilities'. That's what Bio isn't getting, too - what you give up for Kennen are Vayne, Graves and Trist's steroids. The issue is, characters like Ashe and Caitlyn function without steroids themselves. So, you don't really give up much.
From: LamdaMax | #131 I've seen comparisons that make Kennen look pretty appealing as an AD carry. -Kennen W at max rank deals +80% AD every 5 attacks (in magic damage) while Caitlyn's headshot for example deals +50% every 6 at max level. -Supposedly Kennen's Q serves as an autoattack reset for some reason, which no other AD carry besides Sivir has. -Better escape than any other carry besides perhaps Tristana -Better base attack speed than every carry (tied with teemo if you count him). Keep in mind that AS increases are percents of the base, so differences in base AS end up being multiplicative. Also good natural AS per level. -And, of course, stuns all over the place.
Ashe can reset with W, IIRC, and Corki might be able to reset with R. But yeah, Kennen is very good if you can avoid exploding when doing AD.
From: Gwindor | #128 The analysis on LoL general forums was that m5 picked teams that didn't need mana, which gave them the advantage. Is that accurate?
Bull****. I posted an analysis of the two games they won that came down to three bullet points. I can link you to them if you're curious.
From: Biolizard28 | #127 You're putting words in my mouth.
There's nothing AD Kennen can do that AP can't except
- Deal better AD damage. (There are better options than Kennen) - Deal better damage with W's passive (Once every five attacks)
You pick AD Kennen when you really want to play Kennen but already have a top and a mid. It's functional, but that doesn't mean it's optimal.
Or you want an AD character that wins lanes for free and has considerable teamfight CC...which no other AD carry has, incidentally. Ashe doesn't have it because it's initiation CC, and lol at everybody else except Vayne with her short stun.
From: Biolizard28 | #123 No disrespect to M5 intended, but their opponents all played like their brains are on cruise control.
M5 wins games by f***ing over as many of the enemy players as possible.
Jungler? Constant creep and buff jacking Solo top? Give your solo top a buff and make that lane an uphill battle. Mid? Blue donations because Lee Sin and Shyvana can afford it.
Nobody but TSM even entertained the idea about warding their own jungle. In the final game, top lane Shyvana stole golems five times with no opposition from Rain Man and red, I don't know, two or three times.
I'm not saying I could do better. God no. I'd sooner rage quit than deal with my s*** being stolen so often.
The take away from this tournament is basically that if you treat jungling like a farmfest and not something to get aggressive or forge a proper defense over, you deserve to get your s*** kicked in by teams like M5.
PS: People crying for Shyvana nerfs should step it up. PSS: AD Kennen is a joke gone too far.
AD Kennen is insanely legit, because Kennen has brutal antipersonnel defenses and bullies you out of lane for free with level 3 W. He's still better as mage, but has the stats to be a legit carry, with his free poke, massive stuns, and great AS.
For those who missed it, the ESL Kiev tournament has concluded. All the best teams in the world showed up to kick ass, but a new challenger stepped in and DEVASTATED the competition. Team Moscow 5 (M5) yielded only a single game in the whole tournament, losing the second game in the Grand FInals to Team SoloMid, curbstomping literally every single time. Among other things, they played Mordekaiser mid, AD Kennen, and Shyvana both top and in the jungler. Their solotop, Darien, proved himself an unbelievably dominant force by, of all things, AFKpushing then going to farm enemy jungle. It worked. They shut down everybody, and won themselves a very well-deserved crown, as well as showing themselves to be the team to beat. Not bad for the new kids on the block, eh?
From: Some_Character | #082 Weird that a raging thunderstorm would be the ideal condition for a game.
I've literally never lost power to a storm in a decade, but I've lost it to overwhelming heat causing everybody to turn up the air conditioners and overload the grid. Gimme the storm any day.
Myth 2 Opening Theme - Dark, moody, and *brilliant*.
Siege of Madrigal - The classic Myth theme, and in fact the signature of Bungie Games. So heartbreaking, they used it to say goodbye to the fans when they made Halo Reach.
There's more, but that's a start. I heartily encourage you to check out the links from the second link - they range from dark war marches to dark ambient and are absolutely magnificent.
Keep your eyes peeled and your asses in the chat guys. If the storm of the century hits tomorrow as promised, we're playing. This goes double for Lucian, Snowy, and...bah, it goes double for the whole crew, let's be honest.
From: dethfdddddh | #011 KanzarisKelshen posted... From: dethfdddddh | #003 Raskolnikov Beowulf Ivan Karamazov Gregor Samsa
i really wouldn't turn to shounen anime for great protagonists Samsa just plain doesn't fit in that list. Like, at all. An ineffectual protagonist is the opposite of a good one!
Samsa's sense that he's a burden on his family really speaks to modern man, whose value largely depends on his economic productivity.
Raskolnikov's not exactly Mr. competent either. Ivan spent most of the novel in a moral crisis and failed to save Dmitri from his indictment. Even Beowulf died against the dragon!
You're really limiting yourself if you don't think ineffectual characters can be good protagonists.
It speaks to the mediocre man, maybe. There's a difference between a protagonist with flaws, failings, and losses, and a protagonist who achieves nothing of note in any way. Gregor is a very stilted character, really, and that works against him. The Metamorphosis is still a very good work, but not because of its protagonist.