#//Save ults for major Break effects

[dutybcrne]

Fucken CRACKED the code on how to defeat that fucken Bug for Ratio and Hound hubby's mats, and now it is SMOOTH fucken sailing

[raaindropps]

SENDING THIS ASK HERE CUZ I THINK u might have a higher chance of seeing it on ur main? but idk

Anyway idk if uve decided to pull for luocha yet or not but i wanna give my two cents (1/2)

LUOCHA:

pros : he's SP positive and basically won't need to skill ever unless its an emergency, he can dispell buffs from enemies, and he has a cleanse so he can get rid of pesky debuffs from allies. Also, you only need to focus on ATK% on Luocha and speed if you want him to generate as much skill points as possible, tank stats like HP and DEF are great too, and you won't need much Effect Res on him because he has a trace that can increase his chances of resisting Crowd Control debuffs, his heals are massive and incredibly comfortable to run any team with him

cons : Gallagher exists now, and he's kind of a budget Luocha option who also provides some utility in his debuff from ult and enhanced basic atk (break dmg increase and atk% reduction for enemies specifically), Luocha doesn't provide any dmg increasing buffs for the team unless you have his E1 or his S1 LC that can give 12 spd for one turn but imo its not that great. Luocha's heals are plenty but as with all healers (barring Luochas E2 that can shield), they don't really help to prevent HP loss or stuff like a boss one shotting ur team, they restore HP and help so u can survive for longer rather than block the dmg from coming

Overall : he's a powerful solo sustain , and I'd recommend him especially with an SP negative dps like Dan Heng IL, Seele, Qingque etc etc. and also HP draining DPS like Jingliu and Blade. Overall a very comfy healer, but I don't recommend going for him if you want to use Gallagher because they provide nearly the same value just Gallagher has less healing as in HP wise but he basically does a similar thing of once u ult with him when allies attack they can get their hp restored too

OOOH TY TY good points for both... for me a major reason I want him is he can heal w/o it being his turn and w/o an ultimate, but I think if I just get gud I can reduce the amount that I actually need to do that. Also besides Lynx who is wayyy underbuilt Natasha is my only healer. Fu xuan is a good sustain but I actually like Nat more in that department lol. Iirc he can also cleanse debuffs like Nat? which is INSANELY helpful

U make a good point with Gallagher... In general I jist need more healers of different elements. I think I may pull for him on one acct abd save for Boothill on the other? But its hard to decide which one .... On one hand my America acct has wayy more characters and benefits more from a good healer rn, but having Luocha on my Asia acct would help SOOO much w/ some of the bosses I struggled with (COUGH. PHANTYLIA. COUGH.). Well I have a lot of time to decide since his banner only just started ^.^ ill save for now and decide l8r

[hanbeihood]

Meat, Candy, & some Horror movies!

This is a bit of a continuation on my “A take” post.

Plan and simple: Ult!Dirk gives me major vibes of John Kramer & Co. from the Saw series, and Alt!Calliope gives me those of the Facility and ultimately the Organization from The Cabin in the Woods.

Now, what do I mean by this? Surely I’m not equating the Prince to Jigsaw and the Muse to the employees of the Organization, right? No, I’m not, not entirely. What I do mean is that the 2 timelines hit very similar beats to those of certain aspects of the movies based on how the Prince and Muse engage in storytelling. (This is quite long by my standards.)

Meat: In the Saw series we see Kramer and various apprentices/followers “help people appreciate their lives” by actively putting them into traps. There is little choice for the victims if they wish to survive but to “play a game”. Those who fail or refuse the game are then dead meat unless a “Deus Ex Machina” saves the day. In the Prince’s way of storytelling, he actively puts people into scenarios via his abilities of an Ultimate Prince of Heart. That is to say, he is a Destroyer of Souls that has become more, a Destroyer of Agency, a Puppet-master. Very few are able to resist his influence, his game. Those few are likely able to do so because of conflicting Classpect relations with his own. A Defender to his Destroyer; a Mind to his Heart. For the ones bent to his influence, they do things the way /he/ thinks they ought to be done. The thing about the Saw series is that it has so many sequels; some would say too many and that the series could have ended years ago. However, it persisted regardless of what audiences/ critics think because the turn-out is always good enough to justify the next one. Meat offers substance to a diet; one can survive on it as long the diet is balanced well. (Just substitute “meat” for “protein” or w/e if you feel the need to tell me you don’t eat meat.) Even if you get bored of having meat at every meal like how there used to be a Saw movie ready for consecutive Halloween seasons from 2004-2010 then taking a break until 2017 with another in the works for 2020, you can still have snacks or movies of other genres that provide just as much satisfaction. This timeline is /intended/ to be the main course regardless of how we feel about it. If we wanted to, we could liken it to a structure found in anime of the 80s & 90s. (My 1st thought is Space Pirate Captain Harlock; I wonder why!)

Candy: In The Cabin in the Woods, we see the workers at the Facility subtly lead a group of unaware characters to the titular cabin where they will then alter the behaviors and mentalities of the characters by passively allowing certain substances and choices by the characters take effect in order to have things set up in a specific way for their overall goal. This goal is ultimately “good” for the entire world despite the methods that are taken to achieve it. The methods are necessary, resulting in purposeful cliches, archetypes, and OOC scenarios being reacted to IC by victims who /are/ still in their own selves. In the Muse’s way of storytelling, she passively has things happen out of our (the audience’s) view, and we then get to see characters react to their own actions, choices, etc regardless of how OOC they may be. Certain things she illustrates don’t make any sense based on what we know about the characters, their mannerisms, and so on. Taking in the truths and seeing the characters essentially “yes and” them is akin to telling someone a scene about themselves when the script makes it clear these aren’t things they would’ve done at all, at least not in the way presented. The Cabin in the Woods has no sequels as of yet. There is talk of one potentially, but based on the movie itself, a follow-up would likely be a prequel or take place at the same time as the first movie just in a different setting. The movie was highly popular and is a fun possible explanation as to why so many old horror movies have certain tropes in common. Candy just tastes good. Most offer no nutritional value in the long run, but we continue to eat them anyway. Candy is a nice snack between meals after a long day. Holidays like Halloween and Easter provide us with so much candy that can be savored over the course of the year or eaten within a short period of time to the point of feeling sick. This is similar to TCitW being a treat that viewers can go back to. They might not get anything new out of it unless they truly pay attention to each detail. Maybe they’ll even add their own interpretations/ flavor into the mix to see it through a new lens. This timeline is /intended/ to be a small treat for the audience despite how much it will satiate us. If we wanted to, we could draw parallels between it and classic soap operas. (It’s almost as if the Muse is drawn to over-the-top drama!)

tl;dr The Prince & Muse are narrating in ways that they think would make for an enjoyable story regardless of the compatibility of scenes and the characters they’ve put in those scene.

[zedrin-maybe]

Overwatch Tank Guide

Here's another little Overwatch guide, this time for the tanks.

Because if I get one more team thinking Roadhog can solo tank, I'm gonna scream.

First up: there's essentially two kinds of tanks: main tanks and off tanks. Some characters can be both, some can only be one. A main tank is a tank that's meant to block or absorb damage first, and their primary goal are tanky things like crowd control and blocking. An off tank is more meant to pull the enemy out of position, and provide a mixture of damage and defenses, and just provide a bit of HP to your overall health pool. Most comps want two tanks for this reason (usually one main and one off, though this can vary), but some can get away with just one.

Winston: Winston was the star of competitive play for a while, which revolved around dive. Dive is still effective, but even outside of that Winston can play as an enforcer-like character, jumping to allies when an enemy tries to move on them. His bubble is brittle and is meant to give you just a brief moment of respite--don't place it at chokes, use it to interrupt initiations or buy you precious seconds. When played more as an enforcer, in poor situations he can solo tank, such as if your entire time is running highly mobile DPS and no one wants to switch to someone that pairs better with Rein. In spite of his flimsy barrier, he actually qualifies as a main tank in dive

Winston doesn't tank by shielding, but rather by making himself seem like a threat so your DPS can do their jobs. His ult should be used as a bait and switch. One strategy can be: don't over-commit to a fight and hint that you have it ready: pretend to run away instead, and pop it on them when you've made them over extend. (And of course it also is a great emergency button.)

Winston is a good choice when the composition is focused on mobility, such as in dive, as well as a great counter to Symmetra, Genji, and Widowmaker. He works best if your comp doesn't depend on having a clear front line.

Good with: Dive comps, countering snipers / symmetra, comps that don't need a clear front line Likes: Naturally mobile teams, pouncing on squishy targets that get separated from their pack, making the enemy team turn around Pairs well with: Zarya, DVa, Genji, Lucio

Reinhardt: Reinhardt is the classic tank. The biggest tip with him: remember your shield is more important than getting a pick off. You need to be ready to advance forward and trust your team will be behind you. Don't drop your shield for a firestrike unless you know your team will be fine, and don't charge in to an entire pack of enemies. Your charge isn't on short enough of a cooldown to act as both an initation AND an escape tool. You're the epitome of a main tank. Your team's job is to follow you, so make sure they're with you and advance. Use your ult when barriers won't block it and try to secure kills--this creates an opening where you actually CAN dive in, and remember it goes under carts. While your hammer is strong, make sure you have a few DPS to help as well as it won't be enough to wipe every target you hit. Just don't let your shield fully break, it'll take longer to recharge. Reinhardt is a great tank when you need a defined front line on your team (such as if your team includes units like Junkrat, Roadhog, Soldier, Bastion, or McCree). His shield also can block some elements like Roadhog's hook.

Good with: ranged comps, tightly packed comps, low mobility comps. Always a safe pick Likes: Mobility buffs, ranged allies to cover Pairs well with: Zarya, Roadhog, Soldier 76

Roadhog: Roadhog is an offtank and is the most DPS oriented tank. He can no longer can 1-shot combo a majority of the cast, but he's still excellent with the right teammates. Orisa's HALT can be combined with his hook for almost guaranteed grabs, and with an ounce of additional fire from a single other ally, you can destroy almost any target you grab. His self healing provides damage resistance and makes him one of the most effective duelists in the game as well. His lack of shields means he absolute should NOT be your primary tank.

His ult does high damage and absolutely shreds barriers, so he can act as a solid barrier buster if you need.

Roadhog is an excellent choice if your damage output isn't high enough, but you only have one primary tank (sometimes he can work with 2 other tanks. Triple tank is still possible to run.) When able to fight, he blocks dive attempts and breaks barriers. Just don't try to pick him as your only tank, you'll make your team sad.

Good with: Bulky comps, comps with more reliance on self healing, deathball-like comps Likes: Mobility, high heals per second (like Moira), upsetting nemy's position, countering dive Pairs well with: Orisa, Zarya, Moira, Lucio

DVa: DVa is a fairly aggressive tank who, like Roadhog, errs a bit into DPS, though not as much. Her change to her defense matrix, and addition of more ranged power has given her a little bit of shield busting ability, and allows her to dive much like Winston does. She is an off tank and a dive tank, and can also act as a bit of an enforcer for clutch defense matrixes on your squishier allies, if you use it sparingly. However, as its duration is so short, she's better suited as a secondary tank in most cases.

Her ult can act as an emergency button, but is also effective if the enemy has a lot of defenses that need to be cleared.

DVa is a good choice when you need to bust specific defenses, or when you need to counter burst damage or aerial units like Pharah, but is best selected if the role of main tank is already fulfilled in some way.

Good with: dive, anti air, when you need plays that rely on ults to push through Likes: skirmishing Pharah, Solider, Tracer, Moira, fighting spam / burst damage tactics, countering snipers / projectile ults (McCree, Soldier) Pairs well with: Winston, Zarya (don't DM when barriered!), Lucio

Zarya: Zarya theoretically can act as a main tank but she often plays as secondary, using her bubbles to amp up the shielding the main tank can provide. When charged up her damage is insane. For this reason she's good against comps that recklessly throw out damage, granting her free charge. Her ult is one of the strongest in the game, and takes a long time to charge. Unless the enemy has something at their dispersal to negate it, it often guarantees several frags, especially when paired with an offensive allied ult (like Junkrat's. Just don't use tactical visor--that's better saved for when the enemy actually has mobility).

Zarya is a good choice if you need a second tank, if the enemy's tactic is suppressive fire (free charge for you!), or if you need a main tank but you don't have a composition that'd favor a barrier like Rein or Orisa. She absolutely needs to be able to see her allies in the fight however--if you're at the front line and your allies are shooting over your shoulder, it becomes much more difficult to maintain your charge.

Good with: Deathball comps, dive comps, closer ranged comps (both with and against) Likes: Fighting against spam, setting up ults for allies Pairs well with: Winston, Reinhardt, squishies that need to get in and get out

Orisa: Orisa has become popular with the advent of Moira, and following her barrier buff. She has the longest range of the tanks and can operate much like a turret. Her damage output is fairly respectable.

The barrier buff has managed to make her into a main tank. She also has great synergy with quite a few other heros: a Torbjorn or Bastion work nicely with Orisa, while Roadhog (and any other unit with a skillshot projectile, like helix rockets) can time their skillshots with HALT for guaranteed hits.

Her ult ups your entire team's damage, but this is particularly effective for smashing through barriers as well. Try to pair it with another ally's ult, like a tactical visor. While she's not always an explicit answer to a specific threat, she’s an attractive option if your team would synergize well with her.

Good with: stationary defenses, ranged oriented comps, comps with a clearly defined front line Likes: Maps with pits, helping counter dive Pairs well with: Torbjorn, Bastion, Roadhog and other allies with skillshots

[cannedmagnificence]

A tip for every Overwatch hero

This list is mainly just a bunch of tips I learned over time that I wish I had known about when I first started playing. Odds are you will probably already know about these if you main certain characters or if you've been playing a while.

- Ana: If you have a second healer, you can usually just throw your grenades at the tanks when they’re critical. The other healer will focus on them and your grenade will boost the healing they do. This frees you up to heal the others (if the other healer is Mercy, this also keeps her from rushing into battle to heal allies).

- Bastion: Your panic-button is the transform button. The moment you get hit, shift to recon mode and get to a safe place to heal. Enemies won’t ease up on you until you’re dead so it’s best to just get out of the line of fire. Along with this, always always always transform and move when you hear: A Discord Orb, Hacking, or Mei’s blaster.

- D. Va: Use your shields to shut down team-killing ults. If you hear Soldier, McCree, Reaper, or Pharah ult, try to fly toward them immediately and put up your shields. You’ll either soak up the majority of the damage or (in the case of McCree and Soldier) you may completely negate the ult. If you don’t have shields ready, you can use your mech to absorb the damage; often all you need to do is break the enemy’s line of sight.

- Doomfist: One of the key things keeping you alive is your mobility. Due to his fast abilities and chaotic movements, Doomfist is one of the hardest characters to actually hit. You can use this to your advantage to keep enemies distracted at key moments. If your team is ready to attack with coordinated ultimates, or if the enemy team is likely sitting on some defensive ults, you can help out by playing a distraction. Corner Mercy and keep her from noticing her teammates dying, or jump into a crowd and attack them wildly, encouraging them to group up and possibly preventing them from noticing your team’s movements.

- Genji: Use your ultimate wisely, the moment you begin to ult you become a prime target. And sometimes it is best to waste a fraction the time using your deflect ability so that you can stay alive through the entire ult.

- Hanzo: Learn to wall climb like a pro. On defense, your best bet is to find a very hard to reach place and snipe from there, it makes you much harder to kill from any distance. When attacking, you don’t have a panic-button, so should things go poorly and you need to escape quickly, climbing a wall is almost always the safest way out.

- Junkrat: You have a panic-button. When everything goes terribly and you’re stuck in a life or death situation, throw your mine and pull the trigger immediately. This will send you flying and away from the enemy. This can also be used to fling back an enemy you know will kill you if they get close (Roadhog, Reaper, etc.). However, keep in mind that this is not a true panic-button, and will rarely actually make you safe; use the extra moments to deal damage and eliminate whoever is gunning you down.

- Lució: You can use your knockback ability to play bodyguard for your teammates. If your tank is on critical health or another healer is being targeted, you can rush the enemy (briefly) and send them flying. It may not be much, but sometimes that small window can save lives.

-McCree: Your ult can be used defensively, although only with careful planning. Similarly to D. Va’s self destruct, you can use your ult to keep enemies from approaching a contested point, or force enemies to scatter from a payload. Just be sure that you are hard to find or well guarded beforehand, or you won’t last long.

- Mei: Utilize your ice wall to separate enemy healers from their team. When a huge push comes your way, sometimes it’s best to allow one or two people through (preferably tanks) before putting up an ice wall to block the rest of the team. This allows your team to eliminate the few who got through, and prevents the enemy healer from saving them.

- Mercy: Keep an eye on the kill feed, and make a mental note of which one of your teammates is getting the most kills. When things start getting hectic, try to find them and damage boost them. If they don’t turn the tide, they’ll at least kill anyone who comes after you. (DON’T forgo healing your team while doing this!)

- Orisa: Your shield is a lifesaver, but sometimes it’s someone else who needs it most. Keep a sharp eye on your healers at all times, and when an enemy ult threatens to kill half the team, try to deploy your shield close to a healer. Orisa’s Fortify ability can usually keep her standing, and the healer you save with your shield will happily heal the damage.

- Pharah: If the enemy team has a sniper or a skilled Soldier or McCree, you need to fly erratically to make it harder for them to hit you. An easy way of doing this is to turn your hover jets off and on while you fly, going from a slow fall to a fast fall, and back to a slow fall. You won’t stay in the air as long, but it will help you stay alive.

- Reaper: You are scary. Literally. If your team is struggling or getting hit hard, you can briefly attack prime targets (enemy tanks or team killers) to scare them off. Due to the amount of damage you dish out, most people will back off after one or two shotgun blasts. Don’t go for kills, just try to let the enemy know you’re there, and you’re angry.

- Reinhardt: On maps with a hard choke point (King’s Row, Anubis, Eichenwalde, Dorado) the enemy will often form a wall, making it hard to get anywhere near the objective. Use your charge to break through the wall and take out a key enemy (a healer, Bastion, or Mei). It’s almost guaranteed that you will die shortly after, but your team can then capitalize on the mayhem and prevent the enemy from holding the choke point. This is best done early in the match when a failed attempt is manageable.

- Roadhog: Run people down. Honestly. Roadhog excels at one-on-one fights, and his self-heal allows him to undo any damage incurred. Characters who have low health and are unable to do large amounts of damage quickly are prime targets! Ana, Lucio, Hanzo, and Winston are easy kills when cornered. Keep a close eye on your health while doing it, but more often than not Roadhog can simply do more damage in a short period of time. That being said, keep in mind some heroes can do huge damage when cornered, and you should make sure to NEVER fight them solo (Zenyatta, McCree, Reaper, and Torbjörn for example).

- Soldier 76: Remember to sprint! When most Soldiers get low on health, they drop the Bionic Field to heal themselves. However, this doesn't effectively work as a panic-button, as the healing is slow and won't save you if you're still under fire. Practice sprinting to cover in times of stress. When your health goes critical, you can dodge out of the fight and find a safe place to heal up.

- Sombra: Hack as many health packs as you can as close to the enemy as you can manage. Hacked health packs remain hacked for a surprisingly long time, and taking out the enemy’s secondary healing source can cripple them to make it easier for your team to push. And when your team is making a move, they have ample healing wherever they turn.

- Symmetra: If you have your teleporter up and a large amount of your team has died, announce your Ultimate’s status. This will tell your team how many charges the teleporter has left, and can ensure that tanks and healers (the all important Mercy) go through first.

- Torbjörn: Find a spot on the map that all your teammates walk past after they die; usually somewhere between the spawn and the objective. Throw down any armor you make there. This will armor up your team on their way to the fight, ensuring that they have boosted health BEFORE they start fighting. If you only have one or two packs, put them just off the path so they’re visible but people won’t just walk through them, this way tanks and offensive heroes can leave the packs for the healers to use.

- Tracer: If your team is ready to make a big push, and lots of ultimates are ready, take a deep breath and get ready for chaos. Just before your team starts heading in, dash around/into the enemy team and start targeting key people. Keep dashing until you can’t anymore, and rewind afterwards. The goal is to distract the enemy and give them a SINGLE target to focus on. This will help group them together and keep them busy while your team moves in for the real fight. (Note: it takes a decent amount of practice to stay alive for long while doing this)

- Widowmaker: Two words: Tunnel, Vision. One of the most challenging aspects of playing a sniper is how easy it is to get lost in your scope. Skilled and clever players know that a sniping Widowmaker can only see a portion of the battlefield; and they use that to line up killshots of their own. Try to position yourself above the battle so that enemies have to be in sight to spot you. Learning maps thoroughly can help cover your blindspots and allow you to use your Venom Mine as an effective alarm for flankers.

- Winston: Your barrier works both ways! By throwing your barrier down on top of an enemy or an enemy ult, you can prevent the damage from leaving the bubble, and potentially save your team. If a self-destructing D.Va or an ulting Reaper catches your team off guard, you can place your barrier on top of them, and contain the chaos. With quick reflexes and a bit of planning, this can be paired with Winston’s jump jets to drop a lid on enemy attacks and jump back to safety!

- Zarya: Much like Roadhog, Zarya excels at running people down. However she is less restrained when it comes to picking a target. If your gun has a decent charge (~25%), then don’t be afraid to chase down healers attempting to retreat or flankers ready to ult. Do some damage to get their attention, and deploy your shield the moment they turn to fight. They’ll power you up while you close the distance to finish them.

- Zenyatta: Use your ultimate. Many Zenyatta players will save Transcendence to counter another ult, but doing so can often lead to your team dropping one by one instead of all at once. If your team is making a coordinated push for the objective, try to stay safe(ish) and the moment you see multiple teammates on critical health (especially the tank), jump in and ult. The enemy team will often have equally low health at that point, so a full-heal can be just as good as a Resurrection. That being said, Reaper is arguably the one exception to the rule. If you feel the enemy Reaper is ready to ult, do your best to wait for it. Watch the ceiling!

[ubercharge]

some more misc tips (that you may very well have heard of before) because i’ve been playing a fuckton of comp. again, i’ve played everywhere from upper gold to mid diamond. if you’re a GM reading this, i can’t help you

something i’ve found that helps ground me in a teamfight when playing ana (especially if my stupid cold hands get shaky) is reminding myself to make every shot count. she doesn’t fire too quickly, but this has been helpful in helping me land shots on teammates (sometimes on enemies), as i play her unscoped most of the time.

another important tip particularly for heroes like ana and mccree is not to constantly reload in a fight. i’m terrible with this because i got very used to autoreloading in tf2, but maining a hero like ana, you really have to put your ammo to better use. especially with ana being a healer, the time spent reloading can mean the difference between life/death for a teammate.

know how your abilities work and how/when they work well. for example, the angles to launch a d.va ult and from where to launch it (around a corner at approx. 45 degree angle is pretty effective). the arc and range of biobomb. cooldowns. genji’s dash resetting upon kills and when ulting. the range of reaper’s ult (which reaches UP a pretty high distance, too). etc.

be mindful of launching projectiles around a d.va. this is coming from a d.va main. i eat grav. surges and dragonstrikes for fucking breakfast.

don’t be afraid to ask your teammates to switch with you. if you feel you’re not doing well in your role, switch heroes or ask to switch roles. (e.g., ’i don’t think i’m doing very well as tank, would anyone mind switching with me?’)

don’t be afraid to switch heroes. be mindful of your ult %; you probably want to use it before switching if it’s high.

the above tip imo applies even more for DPSes. e.g., if you start out as genji/tracer and are instantly hard countered by an enemy winston, it’s probably good to switch sooner than later.

if the enemy tracer/genji/winston/pharah/d.va is good at picking you off as mercy, it’s probably good to switch sooner than later. if they’re gunning for the mercy pick (as they should be), be mindful of that. being dead when you need to rez sucks, because if you get picked off that’s the enemy’s cue to make their ult plays to start wiping your team (which is why you want that luci/zen ult)

hit tab often to check on the enemy team. take note of when they switch heroes.

know when to retreat. this is crucial. it’s better to back up (or throw yourself off a cliff) and not feed enemy ult % when you’ve decisively lost a teamfight.

don’t trickle. going in as a full team is more effective than going in solo and dying immediately because 1. you feed enemy ult % and 2. your team has to wait for your spawn again

please for the love of fucking god pay attention to the group up commands. be mindful of where your teammates are, where they’re going, what they’re doing.

don’t stand still unless you’re 100% certain you’re safe (e.g., just outside of spawn) and the enemies are far away from you. this sounds like it should be common sense but people get picked off for this shit because they stood still on the cart, assuming they were safe, when the enemy sniper was watching from afar

seriously if you’re waiting for your team/healer be aware of what’s going on around you and who could be around you/looking at you don’t get fucking sniped!!!

try to keep track of enemy ults, whose ult was just used, which ults your team has, which ults your team just used, which ults your team is charging/will be ready soon, etc. ults can be the deciding factors in teamfights and i fully realized this at like 3am one match, thinking about how much math is involved in this.

also try to keep track of what combos both teams can do.

as a combo of the two above: if the enemy team just decimated you with a graviton blade and your mercy rezzed, can they follow up with a hammer down/barrage? did they just use their other ults? does your team have a sound barrier/trans to combat it? what other ults can you use to combat them? etc etc.

do not expend more ults than needed. if you can get it done without ulting, do it. if you win the teamfight and don’t need to ult for the cleanup, don’t ult. save it for the next fight.

keep an eye on the time and the objective

get on the objective

remember that the cart needs people on it or it won’t fucking move forward

YOU HAVE TO BE PRETTY CLOSE TO THE CART TO PUSH IT

TOUCH THE CART

GET ON THE CART

3 people on the cart will make it move the fastest. if you’re on 3rd/4th round payload constant overtime, stay on the fucking cart because the overtime meter will run down QUICK if you get off.

positioning is key. three of the major factors in overwatch are aim, positioning (which i think goes with general game awareness), and mental state/morale/etc.

(to cont. the above) most important for mercy but applies to a lesser extent for luci/zen: if you find yourself getting picked often in teamfights, especially if you have ult, ask yourself if you should be somewhere else.

you know that video ‘what 200 hrs on mercy looks like’? the way that they avoided the reaper ult on numbani? think like that.

to give a recent example, i was playing lucio on eichenwalde attack. the zen was sitting still on the cart, which was midway across the bridge. i booped him off into the river. the mercy was crouching behind the cart/by the wall, maybe hoping nobody would see here (even though i was right there??). two hits of m1, eight headshots and she’s dead. this was play of the match.

if you can, record your games so you can rewatch them and ask yourself what you could’ve done differently. maybe another position would’ve been smarter, or the use of a certain ability, not ulting or using ult at a certain time. switching to a certain hero, whatever.

familiarize yourself with the maps and hp placements, especially if you play characters like lucio (wallride - know the boundaries and whatnot of the walls and surfaces you can get on) or flankers.

understand the advantage of high ground and when you can take it. for example, pushing hanamura point b usually means going for the balcony (top right). from there, you get a good view of the point and quite a bit of the castle interior. it’s great for mccree ults. if your team can get balcony, it’s an easy cleanup of the enemy team then a drop to the point. high ground makes it easier for you to hit enemies below while making it harder for them to hit you, you can just back up to avoid shots, etc.

please join team voice chat if you’re playing comp (and are not deaf, in which case i understand why you’re not joining). you don’t have to talk; just listening to teammates’ calls can be helpful. it’s good to know when genji’s behind you, if you should focus a certain enemy, if an enemy is low hp, which way to push, etc.

if someone in comms/chat is being shitty, then that’s your cue to mute them.

the in-game commands are useful. let your team know your ult %, if you need healing, where to group, etc. especially important if your team has ult combos, particularly zarya.

say hello to me in pregame or i’m solo rezzing/boosting the hanzo with 10% weapon accuracy

know when to take a break/stop playing! get yourself some water and snacks. sometimes you just need to pull away for the night and call it quits. chill in qp/arcade if you want, watch some netflix, scroll through your dash. you can always try again tomorrow.

have fun :)

[gryffnwing-blog]

Commander Challenge: Budget, yeah, budget.

So disclaimer. Normally i used to say that we would never count the price of the Commander, or basic lands. (This was something that I thought people had when looking at these articles.) I normally just looked at the budget for the deck. Well, I never took notice, but Tappedout puts the price of the commander in the overall price....we’ve been low on numerous occasions... “You’re an idiot!” Yes voice, yes I am. So fun fact, our budget for this deck was $50. The price for the Commander, an Uncommon Commander, well, she’s $12.10.  We came in under budget at $47.03.

She’s expensive! “Because she’s worth it.” Yes, yes she is.

“Ok, so what’s the gimmick this time?” Gimmick? “Yeah, you had us be an ‘assassin’, a ‘dreamer’. What now?” Hm, well, a peasant. “You can’t be serious!” But I am. You, with your meager budget, are up against kings.Your goal, to take down these tyrants. Show them that power does not come from wealth, or upbringing, but acquired through patience and skill. “Uhh....” Our commander is a single target fog. We can do that to save ourselves, or gain favor with one of the Royal’s. Get either the control player, or the mid-range player on your side. Use their pity, and take out the aggro players. Our goal is to take down Kings and Queens, and sometimes you use their help to get it. Majority of the deck is about resetting the field, or taking out problems one step at a time. Field resets;  False Prophet, Aetherspouts, Balancing act, Devastation Tide, Merciless Eviction, all do one thing. Reset the field. False Prophet can sometimes stop players from attacking you, or casting one sided board wipes. Balancing Act  makes them clean up their board, and for the blue player, discard their hand. “We run a Planeswalker? That doesn’t seem budget.” Well, he’s actually under $5, and if we get him early game, he can lock down a mana dork, or some other problematic early game creature, gaining life and drawing a card is amazing. If we get his ult off, we can win games. All of our enchantments play on combat, or locking out our opponent. Fight or Flight allows us to lessen the damage that can be dealt to us or others. Frozen Aether on the board shuts down combos, and lessens the impact of big hasty beaters. Now we have a pseudo win-con in mill, and have Sphinx’s tutelage and Mind’s Dilation, now early game we can get some steam going, and if we’re against a mono-colored deck, we can sing praise. “Why is Telepathy in the deck?” To cause paranoia among the players. You’re letting the control player know what to counter, the aggro player know that they're going to get countered. The combo player is now the main target. You’re safe, secure, and quiet. That’s how you win. If you can play a turn one or two Telepathy, you can laugh and sit back. “What do our creatures do?” We’re low on creatures, at 20. For us, it can be game breaking, but since we play so many board wipes, and “balancing cards”, we don’t lose out on much. Many of our creatures bounce other creatures/ Planeswalkers, etc. The rest  locks up the board, or makes the opponent lose a card. In the case of Notion thief, we tie down the control and combo player. Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim is in the deck, to be a wall, and be a sac outlet for Merieke.

Always player her when you can protect her. We have some counter magic, and some protection. Take the threats during combat, and sac to Ayli. Rinse, repeat. “How do we win?” Stay quiet, get political favors, and know that it’s an uphill battle. We’re a budget deck. So we lack some consistency with draw power and counter magic. We’re like a group hug deck, except we don’t get a single person gas. We just shield them. When they see that double rainbow, remind them that it was you who showed them. We can win off of the other players squabbling and perhaps off of mill.  “If you had a bigger budget, what would you add?” Land base could be fixed. I’d add a Maze of Ith, for more political fun. From there I’d and in a Jace Beleren. We could add things like Blue Sun’s Zenith, Elspeth, Sun’s Champion. If we’re talking higher budget. Supreme Verdict and Wrath of God are needed. The deck would become more of a “Draw and go” style of play, but to keep it like this, add Maze, fix the land base, add in a few walkers and some better fog effects. As always, thanks for reading. This weeks poll is Vampire Generals Here, so vote for your favorite one!  If you liked the article, please like and share. It helps my confidence, and lets me know there are people actually reading it.  If you have any questions, comments, thoughts, comment. I try to get back within 24 hours, or just note me about it.  Thank you all for reading, and your continued support. As always, I’ll see you in the next article. Gryffnwing~

[exeggcute]

zenyatta ults: a guide

so, zenyatta’s ultimate: transcendence. it lasts for six seconds, and heals all allies within a ten-meter radius at a rate of 300 hp per second as long as they are in his line of sight. zenyatta himself becomes invincible and his speed doubles, but he can’t use any of his regular abilities or shoot any orbs--you’re locked into transcendence for the full six seconds. however, any harmony or discord orbs you placed prior to using your ult will still remain active. 

you’re invincible, but you can still fall off the map (which I learned the hard way) and you’re still affected by knockback from whole hog/primal rage/barrage/etc. zarya’s graviton surge can still suck you in while you’re transcending and you’ll remain trapped just like usual. he heals nearby allies for 300 points per second, but your teammates can still be killed if the damage is greater than that: tracer’s pulse bomb is an instant 400 damage, and d.va’s self-destruct is roughly 900 or so, so the 300 per second is not enough to save your teammates (although you can certainly save yourself). however, a transcending zenyatta functions like an environmental object in that he can break line of sight attacks--meaning that, while he can’t out-heal d.va’s ult, he can use his body as a shield to break line of sight between your teammate and the exploding mech. so, you can cower behind a friendly ulting zenyatta as if he were a wall/payload/reinhard shield. 

zenyatta can also panic ult to get himself out of a fight when he’s cornered, but I strongly recommend against this unless your death is going to have a major impact on the team (e.g., if you’re defending the first point on volskaya and your team would be down a hero while you’re walking all the way back, and the enemy is positioned around you about to strike). even then, you really should not panic ult. you can distinguish a good zenyatta from a bad zenyatta because a bad zenyatta will transcend as soon as you pressure him even a little bit, thus wasting his ult. if you know for a fact that the enemy zenyatta has his ult and you want to squeeze it out of him (like, if your mei is ready to lay down a blizzard and you don’t want the enemy zen coming in and negating it), get some of your teammates to corner him. if you can get him to panic, and if he’s not a very good zenyatta, he might use his ult right then and there, leaving the rest of his team defenseless later on when they really need it.

you can ult offensively help your team cap a point: stick behind your teammates while they get to work (and maybe use some ultimates) and when the enemy team bears down on you and your teammates start taking damage, ult. this gives your teammates six seconds to go apeshit on the other team with little to no consequences. with any luck, that’s enough time for your teammates to get some picks and start taking the objective. I don’t usually do this a whole lot, but in the right situation it can give your team an extra edge.

you can ult neutrally if, say, you have two tanks who are both critical and right next to each other, even if you’re not engaged in a fight. zenyatta gets his ult pretty fast so there’s no need to be stingy with it. once again, I don’t usually use my ult this way, but it can be useful if you need to heal up several critical teammates at once. 

you can ult defensively to negate an enemy ult, and this is by far my favorite means of using transcendence. like I said earlier, you heal your teammates 300 points per second, easily countering anything that does less damage than that.

ultimates you can NOT counter with transcendence include: tracer’s pulse bomb, d.va’s self destruct (unless you use your body as a shield like I explained earlier), junkrat’s rip-tire (depending on how close you are to the explosion; it’ll save teammates from splash damage, but not the full 600 damage right at the center of the tire’s radius), and pharah’s barrage (although you can under certain circumstances; much like the rip-tire, it’ll help teammates who are caught in splash damage, but not ones who are directly taking rockets to the face). I actually have no idea if you can use transcendence to counter an enemy mccree’s deadeye, but I get the feeling it wouldn’t work.

however, there are many, many (normally devastating) ults you can counter.

genji’s dragonblade does 120 damage per hit, and if we do a little bit of math, we find that that’s less than the 300 healing per second zenyatta does. so when I hear an enemy genji ulting, I’ll often pop a transcendence and ride his ass through his whole ult, effectively making all of his hits absolutely useless. this is really really fun but the enemy genji will definitely remember this and resent you, so watch out for later revenge.

reaper’s death blossom does less than 300 damage per second, so if an enemy reaper is ulting, I’ll ult right on top of him so that any allies who are caught in the death blossom radius are instantly healed by transcendence. 

soldier’s tactical visor does far less than 300 damage per second, but it’s slightly trickier to negate, because you have to stick close to your teammates rather than just tailing him like genji or reaper. the enemy soldier could be halfway across the map and still hitting your teammates, so you have to predict which teammates are in his crosshairs at any given moment and move to them accordingly. it’s not actually that hard, though, because soldier’s tactical visor usually takes a few seconds to kill a target, often giving you enough time to float over to a critical teammate.

bastion’s rockets in tank mode do, like, 250 damage per hit or something. so you can definitely out-heal his damage, but you have to be fast and (once again) predict where he’s going to hit rather than following his actual positioning. 

hanzo’s dragonstrike is difficult to counter, usually because by the time you realize what’s happening, you’re already dead. but if you manage to transcend before getting taken out, you can definitely save anyone else in the dragons’ path.

mei’s blizzard starts out by slowing you down, so if you’re trapped in a blizzard as zenyatta, you have a very small window here to pop your ult before you get frozen completely. you won’t get frozen while transcending, but your teammates still will--however, your transcendence will negate the actual damage from the blizzard. you can easily keep everyone alive, but they’ll still be frozen.

I don’t know the numbers on torbjorn’s molten core, but you can definitely ult to save any teammates taking damage from a level three turret. 

reinhardt’s earthshatter can’t stun you while you’re transcending, but it’ll still stun your teammates--but once again, like the blizzard scenario, you can easily keep your teammates alive through the process, they’ll just be lying on the floor moaning for a few seconds. of course, if you get stunned before you manage to ult, you’ll be incapacitated just like anyone else. 

roadhog’s whole hog and winston’s primal rage are weird to counter, because they don’t deal a tremendous amount of damage, but they still knock you back while you’re transcending. I don’t usually have a problem countering winston, but roadhog can be difficult because he’ll push you too far away from your teammates to save them, unless they get pushed in the same direction with you. your mileage may vary here.

zarya’s graviton sucks in anyone nearby, and deals a small amount of damage per second to anyone caught within it. the damage from the graviton alone will almost never kill anyone, but the enemy team is 100% going to capitalize upon this opportunity and just starting shooting the shit out of you, if not comboing ults entirely. you can transcend even if you’re caught in the graviton surge (if you’re quick enough), although you won’t be able to escape its pull. however, at this point in my overwatch career, when an enemy zarya uses her ult I’ll actually go out of my way to use transcendence and purposely walk into the graviton (if I’m not already sucked into it) to save anyone caught in there. you may or may not be able to negate any combos here, but the same rules still apply as before: so you’ll save your team from a graviton/death blossom combo, but not from a graviton/pulse bomb combo.

[dragon-of-sapphire]

Amateur Zenyatta advice

I figured since I main as Zenyatta a lot I could give some advice on how he plays and how he can be played. Please keep in mind I’ve only had the game for little more than two weeks since this has been posted and I’m no pro, these are just observations. I’m going to try and break this down into parts to make it easier; Also this is on a console not PC.

1. Zenyatta’s Design

Zenyatta is an off healer type, though he can heal it’s not his primary design focus. He is more of a focus fire character.

Focus fire is useful to you and your team only if you can Discord your targets and call them out.

Focus fire is most effective when you have a view of the battlefield and can see what is going on, so hanging back behind your team where you are safest is ideal.

With 150 shielding as the majority of your health, you don’t need to worry too much about your damage taken unless you are wide out in the open. Stick close to either walls and corners or your Reinhart, Winston or Zaria in that order.

Flankers will be one of the many banes of your existence you can’t outrun them ever, I’ve yet to figure out how to deal with them except for having someone else do it.

He’s hard to play but easy to master. Once you know how to play as him, it gets fairly simple figuring out how to play him.

Basically

You tell people who to attack, be sure to let them now they are now easier to kill.

Stay back so you can see your whole team.

Walls and tanks are your friends (Sort of, I’ll get to that in a bit)

Watch out for flankers.

2. Orb of Discord

This is Zenyatta’s most useful active ability. Always discord targets, if you haven’t discorded someone on the enemy team you’re not utilizing the reason why Zen is awesome.

Discord increases damage taken by your opponents, not just from you but everyone on your team. It’s very useful against Tanks if you can get your team to focus fire on them. It will take less time to remove them from play than without it.

Discord can track opponents for up to three seconds outside your line of sight. This is extra useful if you can discord a sniper, as you can then reliably return fire on them every time they take a peek out of cover, and let your team know exactly where they are. (Provided they remain discorded)

Call out your Discorded targets, I cannot emphasize this enough! A team attacking a key target to wipe them out is just awesome! A hard to hit Pharah is still an easier to kill Pharah, you just need a lucky shot.

In short

Discord all the problematic characters on the enemy team, tell your friends to kill them.

Feel the joy when you snipe a sniper because they didn’t realize you discorded them.

When you don’t have a specific target that needs killing, spam the discord button until you discord something.

3. Orb of Harmony

This is why Zenyatta is valuable to his team (in their opinion) but is somewhat a less useful ability than Discord. You can heal a single character faster than Lucio, but he could out heal you with the entire team so long as he has line of sight.

Your primary healing targets are your Tanks, HOWEVER, you will want to heal your fellow support characters and DPS characters more. This is because your tanks can take damage, they are tanks and that is what they are supposed to do.

You should be helping your team out damage the other team, this means constantly healing the DPS characters and your other healers so they don’t die.

Simply meaning you should be healing mostly in this order, DPS, healers and Tanks, but your highest concerns are first the Tanks, then healers and lastly DPS characters.

You need line of sight to heal your party, this will also make walls the BANE of your existence. Even more so because Zenyatta cannot rush in on his own to help the team unless he wastes an Ult.

Do not sacrifice yourself to heal someone, doubly so if they rushed in without protection, triply so if they spam the healing message, YOU are the more valuable team member as you can help keep someone else from dying.

To put it simply

Heal your fighters often, but prioritize the tanks if they need your help, except when they are being suicidal.

Support the other supports.

Screw you walls!

3. Orbs of Destruction

This is Zenyatta’s standard attack, it can be charged for high damage rapid fire, but that’s not easy to pull off. Best used for ambushing in my experience and that’s not something Zenyatta should do if he can help it.

Learn to lead your targets, Zenyatta shoots mild cannonballs but they are not that fast. Try to predict where your target will be and aim there instead.

4. Transcendence

Easily one of the Hardest ults to charge, the fastest way to charge it is to heal while dealing your own damage. Considering that you want to stay away from close combat and fully healed team members can’t help you with charging it, you’ll need to pay better attention to the entire battle.

It’s one of the most powerful ults for the entire game it can save your team from everything that does damage over time, even other Ults like Reaper’s Death Blossom or Hanzo���s Dragon Strike.

It cannot protect Team members from burst damage or Insta-kills, like D.Va’s self-destruct or McCree’s High Noon.

Zen is both faster and invulnerable to damage when using it, but he can be knocked around and even off the map.

It’s good to use if you’re about to die but it feels like a waste if you’re not protecting other people as well.

In conclusion

Maintain your party’s health, look for any and all yellow silhouettes and Harmony Orb them.

Do some damage, lots of it, Discord helps.

If it’s not High Noon and does not go BOOM!, then Zen can protect you from Doom!

If anyone at all found this useful, I’m glad I was able to help! May the Iris embrace you!

[juicethejuice]

Centrifugal vs Masticating Juicers: What You NEED To Know

For both beginner juicers and experienced alike, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of juicers on the market. Also, there is A LOT of misinformation online about juicers and about which type is the best of them all.

It’s a lot to get your head around.

We’re here to try to dispel the myths regarding the various different models on the market, and although there are many types of juicer out there, the two most popular BY FAR are centrifugal and masticating juicers.

We’ll be looking at centrifugal vs masticating juicers today and which one is the best for your needs and your budget. The thing to note here is that you will read a lot online about the two different styles, but they are extremely different in almost every way.

You also need to note that you can 100% get juice from both. A lot of people will say things like “you need a masticating juicer to get high-quality juice” or “why spend the extra money when a centrifugal juicer” and these are usually by people with a rather militant attitude to either. You won’t find that here!

So let’s dive in, and start with centrifugal juicers.

Centrifugal Juicers

These guys are the more widespread of the juicers on the market today. They’re the ‘budget friendly’ juicers that you see on TV and on the net. These guys usually go for between $40-$250 on the market, but anything under the $100 range are generally of a very poor quality and will not give you a good experience.

Some centrifugal juicers are A LOT more expensive, but if you’re really on a budget and just want to make juice that suffices for the short term, these guys are for you.

How Do Centrifugal Juicers Work?

Essentially, they chop fruit and vegetables with a blending, flat blade (or numerous blades), which spin at very high speeds to separate pulp from the actual juice itself. The usual speeds these blades would do would be about 3k – 16k RPMs (reps per minute).

It makes juice through sheer power alone. It is quite similar to how washing machines get rid of the water by speeding up the spin towards the conclusion of the wash.

In addition to this power, a lot of the better models will have a pulp remover, which is a seperate compartment that ejects the pulp. This is a good feature on centrifugal models as it relieves you of the annoyance of having to stop the juicing to remove the excess pulp. Particularly handy if you are juicing a lot or for a large amount of people.

Advantages of Centrifugal Juicers

They’re very common throughout any major department store or online and are easy to access.

They’re budget friendly.

They typically have large chutes, meaning you can sometimes juice an entire fruit or vegetable in one motion.

They’re very user friendly

You can get the juice fast, due to the power and speed through which it extracts the juice

Disadvantages of Centrifugal Juicers

They don’t juice leafy vegetables well, and this includes wheatgrass

They are noisy as hell!

They can produce a foamy juice

The pulp contains a lot of the goodness of the juice, and you will yield less juice than a masticating model

Needs to be consumed rather soon afterward due to rapid oxidation of the juice

The speed causes oxidation which destroys some of the enzymes

Masticating Juicers

These are also known as slow juicers, or single-gear juicers. They essentially ‘masticate’ (this means to chew or grind powerfully) the fruit and vegetables that are fed to it.

This tears open the food’s cells and shreds it into a juicer. It does this whilst retaining the majority of the enzymes and deep-seated nutrients. It will make a lot of the pulp juice also, which centrifugal juicers simply can’t do. You end up with a more vibrant and nutrient rich juice.

It is much much slower than centrifugal juicers, with an output of about 80-120RPM.  The means that it slowly chews the fruit and veg without oxidation to the nutrients. It preserves enzymes and you are drinking the closest version of the fruit in it’s natural form.

The dominant brands in masticating juicers are Omega and Breville but there are many more.

Advantages of Masticating Juicers

It is nice and quiet

You get exceptional quality juices from it

There will be very little foam

The juice from a masticating juicer can be stored for 24 hours, much longer than a centrifugal juicer’s output

It is perfect for juicing soft and leafy veg, and is GREAT for juicing wheatgrass

The low-speed means very little oxidation, which preserves nutrients and enzymes

Disadvantages of Masticating Juicers

They are more expensive than centrifugal juicers

They are heavy and therefore less portable. If you need a portable model, get one with a handle

They juice slower

Centrifugal vs Masticating Juicers: Which Is For You?

There is only one instance where I would say get a centrifugal juicer over a masticating juicer, and that is if you are just starting to juice, and are not sure if you will continue beyond a very small timespan.

You can pick up a good, cheap, easy-to-use juicer online at Amazon (they usually have the best deals) and you will be quite happy.

There are two pretty good models (the Breville BJE200XL and the Hamilton Beach 67601A) that will give you a moderate quality of juice and are under $100.

These guys are THE ONLY TWO centrifugal juicers under the $100 mark that we are comfortable recommending. Usually the quality of juicers under $100 is extremely suspect, and although these guys certainly aren’t the cream of the crop, they will get a lot of what you need if you are on a low budget.

If you intend on lasting longer than a month or so, get yourself a masticating juicer, as you’ll soon see that it makes WAY more sense to do so.

Why Should You Pay More For a Masticating Juicer?

It is a double-edged reason: nutrition and taste

Nutrition

99% of people who buy a juicer are doing so to nourish their bodies with minerals, enzymes and all that other good stuff that lots of fruit and vegetables provide it with. We all know that juicing is good for your health. With a masticating juicer, you are guaranteed to be locking in the entire array of nutrients into the juice, and not become overly oxidated.

Taste

The juices you get from a masticating juicer are a lot more vibrant, full and tasteful. You really get the full goodness of flavor and texture from a juice from one of these machines.

Yes, we know that they are more expensive initially, but they will eventually save you an awful lot of money. Week to week, it will be cheaper. You need less veg and fruit to fill up a juice, as it really gets the most out of the ingredients. They honestly extract about 2 or 3 times as much juice and centrifugal juicers.

Also, a centrifugal juicer’s motor is a lot more likely to die earlier than a masticating juicers motor. The high speed, high tension functionality of the centrifugal machine means that it can burn out quickly. They usually only have 1 year guarantees also, whereas you get a much bigger warranty with a masticating juicer.

Slow vs Fast: Why Slow and Steady Wins The Race

The centrifugal system is one of brute force. Slash and pulp the ingredients as fast as possible, as loud as possible, and with as much force as possible.

The speed of the motor has a big impact on oxidation. Deterioration of enzymes and nutrients occur when they are exposed to oxygen. Think of an apple after you bite it and leave it. It gets kinda crumby and brown right? That’s the oxidation process.

Masticating juicers slow down the oxidation process by preserving the enzymes in the food. The juice will ultimately taste better (and more natural) and the slow motor is exceptionally powerful.

Gotta Get Those Leafy Greens

Eat your greens ~ spinach, broccoli, curly lettuce and asparagus. Healthy eating.

The best part of juicing for me is that I can get a lot of leafy greens into me. I usually am not much of a fan of them on their own, or as part of a meal, but when I can ‘mask’ them with a kiwi, apple or orange, they become a lot more palatable to me, and I know I’m filling myself up with good stuff.

If you want to get the most healthful juices, you’re going to need plenty of leafy greens. Simple as that.

Masticating juicers are the only suitable type of juicer that can deal with leafy greens effectively. We’re talking about wheatgrass, lettuce, broccoli, kale, spinach etc. Even the very best centrifugal juicer won’t be able to deal with this. They will simply shred the leaves through speed and force, with very little juice extraction coming from the vegetables themselves. Pointless, really.

Choosing The Right Juicer

A lot of this will be a personal decision. For example, if you have a young family and like to juice in the morning, a priority would be a quieter juicer. If you want your juice to last longer – ie: juice in the morning but leave half for that evening, then you will want a masticating model so that the juice lasts longer.

If you are always in a rushing the morning, then a fast juicer with machine-washable parts is what you’ll be looking for…

If you have decided to go for the longer term investment and get a masticating juicer, we have reviews of our favourite three on this site:

  Breville BJS600XL Fountain Crush Masticating Slow Juicer

This vertical masticating juicer is one of the finest slow juicers on the planet! It’s a serious machine, and is the ‘brother’ machine to the Omega VRT350.

It is made from ultem, which is 8 times stronger than the usual plastic that most slow juicers employ.

Cuts the power when it’s overworked, which stops it breaking and voiding your warranty.

Click Here to Read the Full Breville BJS600XL Fountain Crush Masticating Slow Juicer Review

New Generation Juicer by SKG

This model is one of the sturdiest and most solid juicers going, weighing in at a heft 16lbs.

It’s incredibly powerful, with a 240W motor. It also masticates slower than most other.

There will be an extremely small amount of oxidation, more enzyme and nutrient retention, which ultimately leads to a more natural and flavorful juice.

It has a brilliant clogging resistance feature in the fact that it has a nice wide chute.

Click Here to Read the Full New Generation Juicer by SKG Review

J8004 Nutrition Center Commercial Masticating Juicer By Omega

This is an Omega, which means it is the cream of the crop. These guys are usually incredibly expensive, but the pricing on the J8004 is wonderful!

This machine isn’t just a juicer. It can mince and grind food. It can make soymilk, food for babies, almond milk etc. It has a number of nozzles for different functions, and we just can’t get over how great this makes it.

The cleanup process of this Omega J8004 is so easy and painless.

Click Here to Read the Full J8004 Nutrition Center Commercial Masticating Juicer By Omega Review

Take Your Kitchen Into Account

This is something that a lot of people do not do. Your kitchen counter is not an endless space – you need to prioritize where things go. Measure how much space you have for a juicer on your counter top and this will inform you as to what you can and can’t get in a juicer.

I’ve heard it from so many people who buy a juicer for it to arrive WAY bigger than what they were expecting. Don’t get yourself in that mess. A small bit of preparation goes a long way and will help you pick the right juicer first time around.

More Juice, Dry Pulp

One of the main things about centrifugal juicers is that you need get a lot of really wet pulp. There is lots and lots of juice tied to them, and so you need a lot more ingredients to get juice, and lots goes to waste.

If you’re waste conscious in any way, centrifugal juicers won’t sit very well with you. It’s estimated that masticating juicers will give you approximately 18-25% more juice than its centrifugal counterpart.

Masticating machines produce a dryer pulp, as they suck a lot more juice per fruit or vegetable. You really do get every last drop when using a high quality masticating juicer.

That means less purchasing in the supermarket, and more money in your pocket. Yeah, it’s a small amount, but it all adds up and you will find that a masticating juicer will pay for itself before too long.

We’ve said it before, but if you plan on juicing long-term, then there really is no argument against buying a slow juicer. The best slow juicers are the ones with long warranties and always look at the amazon reviews – they tell a lot.

Why Do You Have a Juicer? For Taste or Health?

If you want to make delicious fruit smoothies with lots of berries, strawberries, apples etc, then you can get away with this with a centrifugal machine. It is important to be wary, however, of the amount of sugar that you are ingesting with all of those fruits. Too much sugar, even from natural sources like fruit, isn’t a good idea health-wise.

Many people juice so that they can get more of the green stuff into them, ‘masking’ the sometimes bland taste behind something a bit more palatable. If you want my favourite juice, I get a green apple, a kiwi and LOADS AND LOADS of spinach. I throw them into the masticater, and voila! I have filled myself up with spinach and it taste delicious with the apple and kiwi in with it! This is the kind of thing that is really only possible with a masticating juicer, as a centrifugal one will simply shred the spinach without creating much juice from the green leaves at all.

Conclusion: It’s Up To You

Of course at the end of the day, the decision is completely up to you. We have tried to give you a detailed resource on whether you are interested in space, longevity, health and budget in order for you to pick the machine that is right for you.

The question of centrifugal vs masticating juicers will not end soon. It’s a question of budget, convenience and health.

We have a pretty detailed article on the top masticating juicers on the market today. Check it out using the button below.

Happy Juicing!

Click Here to Read the Best Masticating Juicers Article

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