#Fortress Under Siege

[metalshockfinland]

SCANNER + FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE Announce Second Leg of European Co-Headline Tour 2024

SCANNER, the German speed power metal pioneers and the Greek power prog metallers FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE, in the framework of their co-headline European tour Cosmic Envy European Tour 2024, for promoting their new albums “The Cosmic Race” and “Envy“, which were released through ROAR Rock Of Angels Records, are pleased to announce the second leg of the tour in Central Europe during coming…

[rockattitudegr]

Οι Γερμανοί πρωτοπόροι του speed power metal SCANNER και οι Έλληνες power prog metallers FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE στα πλαίσια της κοινής τους Ευρωπαϊκής περιοδείας Cosmic Envy European Tour 2024, για την προώθηση των νέων τους δίσκων “The Cosmic Race” και “Envy”, οι οποίοι κυκλοφόρησαν από την ROAR Rock Of Angels Records, είναι στην ευχάριστη θέση να ανακοινώσουν την Αθηναϊκή τους εμφάνιση στο Κύτταρο την Κυριακή 2 Ιουνίου, 2024. Τη βραδιά θα ανοίξουν οι πολλά υποσχόμενοι, κινούμενοι στο χώρο του classic rock, ROCK N’ ROAD.

[letras2wi]

FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE - "Ride The Thunder" Lyrics

FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE – “Ride The Thunder” ( Lyrics ) Letra ROAR! ROCK OF ANGELS RECORDS FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE – “Ride The Thunder” ( Lyrics ) Check out the lyrics the full song with official video to listen to, Learn to sing this song. available for all countries Song lyrics not found: Submit the lyrics of this song.In the form! letras2.com Lyrics, Letras, Paroles, Deutsche, Letras, Testi,Тексты,…

[hailproject]

Внутренний мир! Inner world!

Осада крепости один из четырех главнейших сюжетов Борхеса.

Самая главная крепость это наше тело. И эта крепость падёт.

Внутри всегда сидят предатели, выдающие себя за друзей. Только лишь стоит задремать охране, они вынесут ключи внешнему врагу.

Патологоанатом вспорет твое брюхо, словно пельмень вилкой, и увидит насколько прекрасен твой внутренний мир!

[themetalgodsmeltdownposts]

(The Metal Gods Meltdown)

[velvet-vox]

🙏😞Please help me I want to provide for my

family's needs in Gaza🇵🇸🍉

Maybe 10€ makes a difference to us.🙏

⭕️Donation link:

https://gofund.me/e8bde1ea

‏EXTREMELY LOW FUNDS! Only 85€ raised of €25,000 goal!!😞

⭕️Pinned post:

https://www.tumblr.com/aboodalqedra/760369398918840320/please-dont-skip

‏I hope they see this so they can see and learn about my campaign. 🙏💔

‏@el-shab-hussein @appsa @nabulsi @irhabiya @90-ghost @sar-soor @mohameddd

[vincess-princess]

vince. i don't think you've realized. you're basically living on hms unwise decisions. you're in unwise: the fic. you're a crab in a bucket and everything you could do to get out of it is very very ill-advised. the last wise thing you could've possibly done was not getting attacked by pirates in the first place. some days you should just stay in bed and let the boat depart without you.

you're so right tho 😭 not a single glimmer of reason in those heads. they are all dumb as fuck and by god they will make it everyone else's problem. not a single thought has ever been thunk on board of this ship. the galley aside, of course

[soon-palestine]

We write this call from our student movement in the Gaza Strip, from the heart of occupied Palestine, from under the brutal Zionist bombing, explosions, and the clutches of the monstrous nightmare of death that lurks around us in every corner, house, and street.

We raise it from prison cells, from beneath the destruction, and from inside the rubble, to send it to our fellow students, our comrades, brothers and sisters, in all the universities, schools and institutes of the world everywhere, & we address the global student movement… that was launched in order to stop the genocidal war that is being engineered and financed by the governments of the United States, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and others… this courageous student movement that was born in the universities as an integral part of our struggle, that expresses the conscience of students and peoples who yearn for justice and freedom.

We in the Gaza Strip look at you with pride and honour, as you are a revolutionary fighting vanguard, and a natural and integral part of our Palestinian liberation movement. You have come in a resounding, honest and clear response against the Israeli massacres and those who finance them, confronting the companies of the Zionist war of genocide and ethnic cleansing that have claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinian students of all ages… including hundreds of struggling Palestinian student cadres, wounded and imprisoned, in addition to our great loss in the martyrdom of our professors and teachers, and the destruction of our universities, institutes and schools.

Today, we call on you, from the midst of massacres and siege, to a new revolutionary phase of comprehensive escalation. We call on you to raise the pace and ceiling of your struggle and your honorable stances, quantitatively and qualitatively, against the institutions, corporations, and governments that participate in the slaughter of our children, our students, and our people.. In Rafah, Jabalia, Khan Younis, and the entire Gaza Strip, and against the settler gangs, armies of Zionist killers, that commit their crimes in camps, cities and villages in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. We call on you to besiege the White House in Washington, and to surround Western colonial governments and Zionist embassies, and the corporations that finance the Zionist entity and arm its criminal army with all kinds of bombs and means of death and destruction. These criminal colonial symbols represent the forces that support “Israel” to kill us – with your tax money and the money spent at complicit corporations, to destroy our homes, our society, and our future.

Therefore, we call on you to blockade them until the American Zionist aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip stops. At the same time, we renew our call to the teaching, academic, and union bodies in universities, as well as cultural, academic, and scientific figures, to advocate for and support student movements until they achieve their goals. Today we turn to high school students all over the world to participate widely in the struggles and activities of the university student movement, organizing demonstrations, and organizing educational days about the Palestinian struggle for liberation and return.

Secondary schools constitute a strong fortress and a great support for university students everywhere. Once again, we send special greetings to our brothers and sisters, the students of Palestine in the diaspora.

We greet our comrades and colleagues in Students for Justice in Palestine, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Palestine Action, and the academic boycott and divestment campaigns, and we salute everyone who participated and participates in student encampments. The duty and responsibility of Palestinian students in the Gaza Strip and all of occupied Palestine is steadfastness, commitment, resistance, unity, and alignment with the resistance and the people… …until the U.S. – Zionist aggression stops and the occupation is defeated and removed from our land — all our land, from the river to the sea.

Long live the struggle of Palestine’s students for return and liberation.

Long live international solidarity. And together we will be victorious!

Secretariat of Palestinian Student Frameworks – Gaza Strip

(available in AR original, EN, ES, FR, NL, DE)

https://samidoun.net/2024/05/a-call-from-the-palestinian-student-movement-in-gaza-time-for-revolutionary-escalation-of-the-global-intifada/

[headspace-hotel]

dwarf fortress update

Elven ambushes came synchronized with goblin sieges several different times now.

The second time this happened, I fended off the attackers pretty successfully considering the level of fun we were dealing with, only about 15-20 dwarves lost (from a fortress of 310 citizens)

However, the fun didn't end there.

Basically, most of the dwarven children in my fortress are really traumatized and miserable. I think part of the reason for this is that dwarven women assigned to squads sometimes have babies and for the first year mothers carry their babies with them everywhere they go, including into battle. Which means that the dwarf babies witness dozens of sentient creatures being butchered in front of them, which exacts a toll on their psyches.

(I did not fully figure this out until one of my dwarf soldiers fell into a pond during a raid and drowned to death along with her baby, which made me so sad that I reverted the save.)

Dwarf children, since they don't have specialized jobs or training, are also more psychologically vulnerable having fewer sources of happiness.

Dwarven child brawl.

One of my depressed and miserable dwarves decided to start a fist fight in the tavern next to my hospital, which happens regularly, but this time my hospital was full of injured dwarves, and many dwarves were entering and leaving carrying cloth, thread, soap and the like. Somehow, the synchrony of multiple mental health crises formed a violent alchemy which exploded into a huge brawl, spilling over into the hospital.

Useful activities in the hospital, like surgery and treating wounds, ground completely to a halt as dwarves were fighting on top of the operating tables and attacking the surgeons and doctors. Having just gotten finished with fighting invaders, the soldiers receiving treatment were all still armed, which meant that upon joining the brawl, their attacks were almost immediately lethal to unarmored civilians. This caused the loved ones of the slain to become enraged and begin fighting.

Soon brawls were happening all throughout the fortress. The situation rapidly spiraled, because whenever someone got injured, they were summarily brought to the hospital, where the most intense violence was occurring.

Eventually fighting spilled over into an outdoor area, near the large pasture where I was keeping most of my animals. All hell broke loose. Dogs, horses, donkeys, bears, jaguars, leopards, badgers, dingoes, llamas, sheep and everything else started attacking dwarves and each other in terror and rage, and dwarves responded by attacking the animals. The brawl now consumed basically the entire fortress. The hospitals were totally overwhelmed: every bed and every tile of the floors was filled up with wounded dwarves stacked on top of dead bodies. No one could treat wounds or retrieve dead bodies.

The brawl killed at least fifty of my citizens—the population dropped to around 240. I had to cancel every single work order in the fortress to make dwarves craft coffins. Things were just starting to get under control when ANOTHER elf ambush happened, and another 20 of my dwarves were killed. Part of this was because my militias hadn't been actively training at the time, and since they weren't wearing armor when the call to arms went out, a bunch of them decided to go into battle stark fucking naked.

The dwarven misery situation was completely untenable so at this point I began working on something I called dwarven mental health boot camp.

Basically I set up a bunch of workshops, designated the most miserable dwarves as the masters of those workshops, and assigned work orders for them to craft large amounts of random crap. This seemed to keep them too occupied to start fights, and also caused them to develop skills and feel satisfaction from work, occasionally even producing a masterwork.

I also designated a bunch of tiny areas nearby as secondary shrines to all of the major gods (giving them gold floors to make them at least sort of decent). I put a ton of these tiny shrines everywhere so it was impossible to not walk past them semi-regularly.

All of this was in an area connected to my best tavern and the library as well as two areas of high quality bedrooms.

As another measure, I ordered my militias to station next to the waterfall on a rotating schedule

I have tried referencing the wiki, but it seems to me like the wiki is mostly wrong about the most effective ways to help dwarves' happiness and lower stress.

Statues, no matter how high quality, seem to have little or no effect, at least not more than any other piece of furniture.

Military training can produce good thoughts but seems to range from marginally positive to moderately negative—it takes forever for military drills to produce even a slight increase in military skill (without actual fighting experience they will take years in-game to get past 'adequate' on anything) and while training most dwarves seem to constantly think about how bored and lonely they are because they're not doing other stuff.

I have legitimately no idea how to meet the "acquire object" need. I know i've had dwarves fulfill it from picking up flasks, but seriously, I have hundreds of random pieces of jewelry lying around. I'm constantly making and erasing a rotating carousel of finished good stockpiles in the hopes they will "acquire object" while hauling, but I haven't seen evidence in the dwarves' thoughts of anything good happening from picking up anything except a brand new clothing item. A few of my dwarves do have jewelry but most don't.

Having separate bedrooms is a must, but the game doesn't seem to care if the bedrooms are just beds and cabinets spaced at equal distances apart in the same huge room.

No matter how desensitized the dwarves are to dead bodies, seeing a dead body seems to contribute to stressing them out. I suspect "didn't feel anything" isn't actually neutral per se, especially since "didn't feel anything" appears in the thoughts of especially miserable dwarves about things that would ordinarily cause happiness or upset.

Dwarves have thoughts about seeing dead bodies even in the absence of a clear source of the thoughts (they will have the thought "didn't feel anything about seeing X's dead body" even if there is no dead body or body part nearby that i can see). I don't know if I'm just missing the body parts in an incredibly crowded stockpile or what. I have a weird suspicion that seeing the clothes of deceased individuals might be causing it.

burying dwarves in tombs is huge because their relatives will all get extremely negative thoughts if the body decomposes without being in a tomb

rain ptsd is absolutely a thing though

[felassan]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard | High-Level Combat Parts 1-4 writeup

This post also contains transcriptions of the text that was in the video.

This was a four-part video series which has also been edited into a single standalone video for convenience. The video features an elven Warrior Rook from the Grey Warden background and who has taken the Champion spec.

Story/plot, flavor stuff, and other cool stuff

The footage in the new gameplay video was edited to avoid major spoilers, but there is still new story information in there.

Weisshaupt Fortress, the headquarters of the Grey Warden order located in the Anderfels, is under attack and under siege from the Blighted elven god Ghilan'nain, her Archdemon, and darkspawn. The darkspawn are following Ghilan'nain's orders. Rook and the Veilguard must stop her. They set off to find their allies in Weisshaupt and soon meet resistance from the darkspawn. Lots of sacs of Blight corruption are growing on the buildings that make up the fortress. Blight sacs (or something that looks like them. the lil parachute things) fall on the fortress too like missiles. Ghil's face watches the siege from the stormy sky.

This quest is called "The Siege of Weisshaupt". The fact that Weisshaupt would come under attack from the weird darkspawn and a dragon in DA:TV actually first emerged as a detail during a leak a few years ago. Stages and objectives in this questline include "Get to the War Room (Move along the wall)", "Find the dragon trap (Move along the wall)", "Find the dragon trap (Defeat the darkspawn)" and "Get to the Library (Defeat the darkspawn)". I'd guess that said dragon trap in this instance is for Ghil's Archdemon, though it makes sense why the Wardens would even have such a thing as a dragon trap seeing as the Archdemons, when they rise, are in dragon form. Could it be anything like the setup that had confined Ataashi in Trespasser? Also, lore says that Weisshaupt is home to an extensive library.

As this is high-level combat gameplay, the implication could potentially be that this storybeat occurs during the mid-to-late game?

It seems that at times certain companions are required to be taken along on certain quests (iirc this was previously reported in an article somewhere too). For example, Davrin is required during The Siege of Weisshaupt, as it is a Grey Warden quest and he is the Grey Warden companion.

I think Warden Rook's surname is Thorne (Grey Warden symbol in the image). The Rook in the video has the first name "Esha".

Solas' Lyrium dagger isn't only a story thing/magic maguffin artifact that can tear the Veil. When Rook gets it, it appears to have a function/use in gameplay as well. Rook can attach 3 runes to it in different slots. These runes have various functions and effects e.g. Scorch.

The companions are described like this:

Bellara - "Veil Jumper"

Davrin - "Grey Warden"

Emmrich - "Mourn Watcher"

Harding - "Inquisition Agent" (Agent of the remnants?)

Lucanis - "Antivan Crow"

Neve - "Shadow Dragon"

Taash - "Lord of Fortune"

We see additional descriptions for some of them:

Davrin - "Sword-and-board monster hunter commands a griffon"

Lucanis - "Swift and precise assassin with a demonic aura"

Emmrich - "Nevarran professor of death summons spirits"

Harding - "Potion-slinging scout's arrows shock and shred"

(I love these lil descriptions btw, the way they're written is like poetry)

Along with his demonic aura, Lucanis (called "The Demon" per TN) has an ability called Abominate. Implications.. intriguing :D

Lucanis' abilities tend towards crowd control. Davrin can call Assan to attack in battle. He flies down like a meteor or comet and it's so cool. :)

The video includes a bit of flavor text for Grey Wardens from an ability description and a specialization description:

Ultimate Ability [of Grey Warden Rook, presumably] – Warden’s Fire Unleash a barrage of strikes with the burning strength that resides within every Grey Warden. [this does fire damage] Specialization – Champion The pinnacle of Grey Warden combat prowess. The Champion is a born leader who rallies their allies, turns their fervor into flame, and wields a shield as a deadly weapon.

(^ The fire damage and fire motif contained in the above makes sense as darkspawn are vulnerable to elemental fire damage. also, I think when Rook uses Warden's Fire, they blow a horn 'Gondor calls for aid' style, which is super cool.)

The video includes new lore in the form of item descriptions for various gear pieces. Each item appears to be associated with one of the factions, as it has that faction's sigil on its info box.

These guys are darkspawn ghouls. One type is called a Greater Ghoul. (Does that imply the existence of "Lesser Ghouls" or just "Ghouls"?) These are melee mobs. Another darkspawn enemy type is Greater Hurlock Spiker. Those are ranged mobs that throw the spikes from their backs. There are also regular Greater Hurlocks (I think those are these guys) and Greater Hurlock Blighters. The Blighters seem to have sacs of red Blight corruption on their backs, and you can see them throwing globs of this around, thereby spreading the Blight like their name suggests. it seems like these globs explode after impact like grenades or bombs. of course, all darkspawn spread Blight, but that's like an evolution of spreading.

The video features new music.

Enemies can be Sparta-kicked off ledges. Throw your shield like Captain America! (or at least its energy-shadow thing) This Rook has an ability called Titan Stomp.

Lucanis sometimes leaps around in a dramatic burst of crow feathers, kinda flying (it feels like) down from above like a bird of prey.

Thoughts, speculation

Gameplay looks super cool and fun oh shit!

If the plotbeats described above (Ghil, Archdemon, Weisshaupt siege etc) aren't considered by BioWare to be "major spoilers", it makes me wonder about the plotbeats and twists they aren't revealing that would be. yknow?

If Ghilan'nain has an Archdemon, might Elgar'nan also? We've seen different concept art pieces and scenes with two dragons in them, and we have long speculated about a 'Double Blight' of some kind. Two Elven Gods have risen; handily, prior to DA:TV beginning, two Old Gods/Archdemons remained (Razikale and Lusacan). In DA:TV teaser murals and art pieces, the concentric circles motif still had the two 'lit' hemispheres around the outside. If they both have one, which Old God is paired with which Evanuris? BUT. Saying that. alternate theory. how do we even know that her Archdemon is a real Archdemon? Corypheus in DA:I used red lyrium to transform a High dragon into an imitation of an archdemon, his red lyrium dragon. Thedosians initially presumed that this was a real Archdemon. if Cory can do it, why not Ghil and Elgar'nan? Ghil at least has clearly been messing with red lyrium given the red lyrium darkspawn.

I hope we get to visit Weisshaupt at some point before the siege takes place, I'd like to see it as it was and explore it a bit before that happens. 🥺 Weisshaupt in the game looks so like previous concept arts we saw of it (one, two), it's so cool to see all the art pieces come to game-life as assets in-game. also I love all the lil griffon assets around Weisshaupt, like the sleepy statue. and could this scene be the Weisshaupt War Room?

On Ghil's face in the storm: on DA Day 2023 BioWare said:

"To the far west, three Grey Wardens patrol the Anderfels. Tremors have been causing disturbances of late. Their cause is unknown. Upon the distant horizon, a storm of ominous intent brews and darkens the skies."

they were being literal ig about the storm of ominous intent darkening the skies! and then I guess the storm in this concept art of Weisshaupt is the Ghilstorm.

Why would Ghil attack Weisshaupt with darkspawn? I'm sure there's more to it underneath the surface, but from what we know so far, the elven gods are "corrupt"/"Blighted" and are "hellbent on Blighting the world". and if you want to spread a Blight, it makes sense that you would target.. the HQ of the world's main and only defense against the Blight. it's also not a surprise that she is doing so (I don't mean this in a disparaging way. I just mean 'stories put out clues and foreshadowing for the next plotbeats, and if you were following the clues as intended' etc) - we knew that the Anderfels had been experiencing unknown tremors lately and that a storm of ominous intent was brewing there. also, the new darkspawn are mutated and in TN the Wardens discovered in Hormak that Ghil had/has twelve (now eleven) secret underground monster pools in the Deep Roads that mutate darkspawn. lyrium was also involved in that instance, albeit yellow-green.

Ghil's attack on Weisshaupt also explains why in the Thedas Calls teaser trailer, it sounded like Weisshaupt was under attack and under imminent threat. (Ctrl+F "Weisshaupt" in this post for more on that). For example, the line "Grey Wardens don’t hide in our castle. I won’t ask good soldiers to turn tail and run." - this sounds like a dialogue line spoken by a senior Warden specifically during the Seige of Weisshaupt.

It also explains why in this Thedas Calls shot of Weisshaupt, Weisshaupt looks afflicted by red lyrium, there's a dark ominous storm vibe, and things look ruined/threatened. and it explains screenshots and scenes like this and why in the character reveal trailer Davrin was fighting red lyrium darkspawn in a Blighted dark area with griffon assets. (read the "Davrin" section here for more)

"They set off to find their allies in Weisshaupt and soon meet resistance from the darkspawn" - could this be Evka and Antoine? :)

I don't think we see any or many Wardens around in the sections of this quest that we see in this video. I definitely saw at least one dead one. what has befallen them? I hope some of them are surviving somewhere inside the fortress ;-; and where is the First Warden in all this? also, this must be awful for Davrin to see :< A Grey Warden witnessing the attack of your order's heart.

Fighting a darkspawn siege on the walls and roof of a famous fortress is giving me Battle of Denerim, Fort Drakon-DA:O-style vibes and memories. it's perfect :)

With Lucanis' demonic aura and Abominate ability, it's probably time to revisit the idea that there's something inchresting/spirit-demonny going on there. I'm curious to see the take on it this time around and how it differs to e.g. Wynne, Anders.

I love the way hair and capes flip around and move in battle!

^ Ghil's Archdemon, or "Archdemon"? At this point it also looks like.. sacs of Blighted corruption (or something) are falling from the sky down onto Weisshaupt/being launched at Weisshaupt by the darkspawn/Ghil as part of the seige!! jesus!!

Some random other posts of things like stuff I noticed: Davrin and Lucanis height comparison (who knows if it's to scale on that screen though), Summon Baby Button, Davrin and Lucanis icons, Lucanis' smirk, Davrin picture compilation, Emmrich and Harding on the party screen, darkspawn advance, useable trebuchet/dead Warden/giant ominous tube, aeries?/griffon lamp/+2 Heartwood

Item description lore

Each item appears to be associated with a faction, as it has that faction's sigil on its info box. For example, the Golden Casque helm is a Lord of Fortune item.

GEAR WIELDED BY ROOK "Golden Casque – rare heavy helm – [Lords of Fortune] Tall and plumed, this fine helmet is the color of gold – but much harder to dent. The Iron Cast – rare heavy armor – [Mourn Watch] This armor’s vividly sculpted musculature is a testament to Nevarra’s unrivalled knowledge of anatomy. Necropolis Defender – rare targe [a targe is a type of shield historically used by Scottish Highlanders] – [Mourn Watch] The elite guards who stand watch at the gates of the Grand Necropolis use these shields to guard against both the living and the dead. Spellbound Longsword – rare longsword – [Shadow Dragons] This enchanted longsword is bound with burning magic. Andraste’s Will – unique ring – [Shadow Dragons] Andraste was tied to a stake and burned while her earthly husband turned his armies aside and did nothing, for his heart had been devoured. Amaranthine Loop – uncommon ring – [Antivan Crows] Favored by Crows, the uniform rows of stones add balance and precision to every blow. Also some elegance. Heart of Andraste – uncommon amulet – [Lords of Fortune] A charm given to newly anointed Fathers of the Imperial Chantry, the cracked stone serves as a reminder of Andraste’s mortal heart." Rook was also wielding a big hammer and wearing a belt, the icon did not pass over their infoboxes during the video. GEAR WIELDED BY DAVRIN "Blight Killer – rare longsword – [Grey Wardens] An intimidating, one-of-a-kind sword cut from solid obsidian. It is perfectly balanced. Reforged Bulwark – uncommon heater (shield) – [Grey Wardens] Reclaimed from the ruins of an old Warden stronghold, this shield honors the sacrifices of Wardens past while defending their future." Davrin was also wielding his iconic/default armor and what looked like a dagger or shortsword. The icon did not pass over their infoboxes during the video.

Part 1

Text notes in this part:

"Combat Part 1: Prepare For Battle This is an introduction to high-level combat. Footage has been edited for brevity and to avoid major spoilers. Weisshaupt Fortress is under attack from Ghilan’nain and her Archdemon. Rook and the Veilguard must stop her. Let’s get your warrior ready for battle. Abilities & Runes -  Assign abilities and an ultimate attack before jumping into battle. - Equip runes to enhance your power set and access unique abilities when activated. - Choose runes that boost a Warrior’s damage and help with crowd control. Skill Tree - Each combat class has an array of specializations to choose from. - Your Rook has chosen the Champion branch, which favors strong defensive skills. - Utilizing passive abilities like Heavy Armor Mastery will help boost defense if you are equipped with all heavy armor. - You’re going to be battling darkspawn, who are vulnerable to fire. Fiery Resolve will grant us “Flaming Weapons” for a duration when we parry an enemy attack. - We’ll be doing a deep dive on progression systems in the future. Inventory - For this build, you’ll want a full set of heavy armor to activate our Heavy Armor Mastery passive. - Rook is primarily using a Sword & Shield since it allows you to be more defensive. - If you prefer a more aggressive playstyle, two-handed weapons deal more damage, but have fewer defensive options. - The Spellbound Longsword deals high Stagger and can trigger powerful takedowns. - We’ll cover Stagger in Part of this series. - Rook has a fire-based, darkspawn-killer build. - This ring grants a bonus to the max number of burning stacks, which results in more damage over time. - This is just one type of build. Other examples include customizing to emphasize your Shield Toss or Takedowns. - Personalize yours to fit your preferred playstyle. - Selected companions can aid Rook by equipping complementary gear and passives. - This is a Grey Warden mission, so you should bring Davrin into battle with you. [Character selection screen] - In addition to Davrin, you decide to take Lucanis into battle based on his crowd control abilities."

This is what the character screen looks like. There are 'pages' for Map, Character, Companions, Skills and Library. (Library is for the codexes basically).

Gear-wise Rook can equip two different weapons (in this case they have a sword+shield and also a hammer in the 2h slot), helmet, an armor, and what looks like 1 belt/accessory, 1 necklace/accessory and 2 rings. Helmet has a 'hide helmet' toggle. Additionally, the Lyrium dagger has slots for 3 runes. There are also slots at the bottom for 3 abilities and 1 Ultimate Attack (I think). I think the Ultimate ability is based on Rook's background.

There looks like there's 3 different types of things we gather, plus another submenu if you press triangle to see the resources (heartwood etc). The one on the right looks like gold/coin. I wonder what the other two are?

This is what the equivalent pane for Davrin looks like in the Companions menu. Companions have less customizable gear slots than Rook.

This looks like the relationship meter. In this save, Davrin seems to be at relationship level 4 with Rook, a stage which is called "Comrade in Arms".

This is what the 'choose your team'/'gather your party' screen looks like. The companions' cards are these art pieces. At this point in this save, Neve is the only one with the Veilguard sigil above her card. Michael Gamble tweeted that this means "she is a hero of the Veilguard." [source] Maybe this means that her 'loyalty mission', or this game's equivalent thereof, has been completed so that Neve has been able to fully commit to the Veilguard?

Part 2

Text notes in this part:

“Combat Part 2: The Basics Now that Rook, Davrin & Lucanis have the right gear and skills, the team sets off to find their allies. Soon, they are met with resistance by the darkspawn, blighted creatures following Ghilan’nain’s orders. Assess The Battlefield - First, learn the enemy types to strategically exploit their weaknesses. Darkspawn are vulnerable to fire. - You will also see that they are resistant to Necrosis. - Enemies have a multitude of damage vulnerabilities and resistances. - Abilities which exploit weaknesses have a green outline. - Rook encounters a swarm of darkspawn ghouls who favor overwhelming melee. - The ghouls are joined by Hurlock spikers, ranged combatants who are also vulnerable to fire. - Time a Shield Block to parry an incoming attack, which provides an opportunity for a high-damage counterattack. - With this successful parry, the Fiery Resolve passive skill activates Flaming Weapons. Melee attacks will now do fire damage instead of physical. - Use the Kick ability to deal massive damage and knock enemies off ledges. - Shield Throw is an effective ranged attack that can destroy obstacles and quickly close the gap between you and an enemy. - Health pots are available throughout the world. Grab them to prepare for what’s ahead. - Use the Ability Wheel to pause the action, cast abilities, and direct your companions. - Some enemies have tougher additional protection that needs to be removed. A yellow bar indicates Armor Barrier. - Armor is resistant to most attacks. Heavy attacks are the most effective against it. - Here, the darkspawn horde begins to overwhelm. - You can cast Spectral Bulwark, which damages enemies who land melee hits. - This allows you to fearlessly get into the thick of battle. - Enemies have a lavender stagger bar that builds when you land hits. - While an enemy is Staggered, they take bonus damage, and you can deliver a powerful takedown."

Part 3

Text notes in this part:

“Combat Part 3: Buffs, Debuffs, & Crowd Control You’ve mastered your core abilities. Now it’s time to face down a variety of enemies, all at once. Spacing Strategy - This Rook is a Warrior, specializing in the Champion branch, which favors a defensive style of fighting. - Warriors are front-line fighters capable of devastating, up-close attacks. - Rook and their companions can also deploy different tools, such as area-of-effect attacks to uniquely manage various enemies. Buffs & Debuffs - Additionally, activate companion buffs and debuffs to apply status effects. - One example of a buff is Lucanis’ Adrenaline Rush ability which enhances Rook’s damage stats. - Davrin has Heroic Strike, which applies the overwhelmed debuff. This causes the target to take additional Stagger. Crowd Control - This build activates the Shield Volley Passive, which ricochets your shield 3 times if you hit it with a heavy attack. - Rook is getting attacked on all sides, so you command Lucanis to use Abominate to knock enemies down. Fighting At A Distance - Use abilities, like Davrin’s Death From Above, to deal damage from afar. - Or use your Grappling Spear to pull them close.”

Part 4

Text notes in this part:

“Combat Part 4: Primers, Detonators, & Ultimates As your fight progresses, use primers, detonators, and ultimates with strategic timing to turn the tide of battle. Primers & Detonators - Rook can create incredibly damaging combo detonations with the help of their companions. - Assess the situation, and determine which primers and detonators work best against each enemy type. - Command Davrin to Taunt to gather nearby enemies. - Activate the Crystallize rune to freeze the gathered group in place. - Lucanis can use Eviscerate to detonate the combo and strike the whole group. Ultimate Attacks - As the battle progresses, Rook can unleash a destructive ultimate attack. - Now that you’ve mastered these combat strategies and tactics, let’s see them all in action."

Abilities, passives etc

For these I focused mostly on the move’s name + its description. In some cases there's sort of two as there's the one from the Ability Wheel and the one from the Skill Tree.

ROOK Driving Kick – Focus all your strength and determination into one mighty kick. / Deals a very high amount of Stagger. Grappling Spear – Harpoon your targets with a strong throw and drag them in for a closer encounter. / Pulls your target towards you. Press [button] or [button] to perform a follow-up attack Spectral Bulwark – Hone your guard and protect yourself from enemies foolish enough to attack. Enemies who hit you with a melee attack take damage and very high […]. / While active, enemies who hit you with a melee attack take damage and very high Stagger. [Ultimate] Warden’s Fire – Unleash a barrage of strikes with the burning strength that resides within every Grey Warden. Applies Burning to enemies [Specialization] Champion – The pinnacle of Grey Warden combat prowess. The Champion is a born leader who rallies their allies, turns their fervor into flame, and wields a shield as a deadly weapon. [Greater Passive] Heavy Armor Mastery - +Defense while wearing a heavy helm and armor. You are now less likely to be disrupted when getting hit. [Greater Passive] Fiery Resolve – Gain Flaming Weapons on Perfect Defense. Flaming Weapons lasts 50% longer. Titan Stomp – Deals very high Stagger to nearby enemies. LUCANIS Adrenaline Rush – Grants enhanced damage Abominate – Deals high Barrier damage and applies Knocked down to enemies in the area Eviscerate – At half health of less, this deals bonus damage, increasing in effectiveness the closer the target is to death DAVRIN Death From Above – Deals high Stagger [summons Assan to attack] Heroic Strike – Deals high Stagger Battle Cry – Applies Taunted to enemies in the area

There were also names and info popups of different runes, e.g. Mend.

[source]

[metalshockfinland]

FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE Release Video for 'Spartacus', to Kick Off Mini Tour

Photo Credit: Fotis Benardo Just before the kick-off their ENVY TOUR for promoting their new album “Envy” Fortress Under SIege offering a new video clip for their song “Spartacus” captured during their performance at Midalidare Rock In The Wine Valey, on July 2, 2023, supporting HELLOWEEN, EPICA and BATTLE BEAST. ENVY Mini Tour 2023 Thursday 23/11/2023, Sofia (BG) – Live & Loud Club FB Event:…

[rockattitudegr]

Οι Γερμανοί πρωτοπόροι του speed power metal SCANNER και οι Έλληνες power prog metallers FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE στα πλαίσια της κοινής τους Ευρωπαϊκής περιοδείας Cosmic Envy European Tour 2024, για την προώθηση των νέων τους δίσκων “The Cosmic Race” και “Envy”, οι οποίοι κυκλοφόρησαν από την ROAR Rock Of Angels Records, είναι στην ευχάριστη θέση να ανακοινώσουν την εμφάνιση τους στo SKYLAND στην Λάρισα την Τρίτη 4 Ιουνίου, 2024. Μαζί τους οι Heavy Metallers Dreamrites.

[suzannahnatters]

PSA: Sieges Are Awesome

so I just watched ANOTHER TV show where the characters could have simply barricaded themselves inside a VERY cosy and defensible fortress instead of heading outside to get killed/maimed/captured by the baddies

I call this Television Abhors a Siege and it is EVERYWHERE and I hate it

I HATE IT

yes, I know the writers look at each other and say, well, if our characters retreat to their stronghold then how will we fulfill our Swords Go Clang quotient for this episode?

this is only because the writers lack both imagination and education

you see, I've been reading medieval military history in exhaustive detail now for 8 years and SIEGES ARE AWESOME, both tactically and dramatically!

tactically, sieges make sense, because there is no way to thwart an enemy and buy time like HIDING SAFELY BEHIND A STONE WALL. the only time you would not do this is when a) you have a realistic chance of pulling off a surprise attack (the TV characters are never smart enough to do this) AND b) there is no realistic hope of circumstances altering to favour you in the near future (the TV characters never consider this either).

also historically speaking, whenever people looked at each other and said "this siege has no realistic hope of success" they did not march out to throw themselves on the enemy's swords: they negotiated and usually with great success (the TV characters never consider this either). but let's say you're in one of the VAST MAJORITY of situations where a siege DOES make sense and only the most unhinged mental gymnastics would justify leaving your fortifications to fight (see: the majority of TV shows and movies that deal with this scenario)? does this mean that your characters must sit inside their walls twiddling their thumbs?

pfft don't be silly

sieges are totally dramatic!

it's not about LEAVING your fortifications to fight, it's about USING your fortifications to fight.

your baddies could try everything to get in and there might be fighting over a gate, a breach, or a tunnel/mine?

your characters might sally out under cover of night to destroy the enemy or their weapons?

one of your characters might escape the fortress in a desperate journey to find help?

your characters might turn out to have a traitor or saboteur in the group?

there might be injured people who need urgent attention, or supply shortages?

a FRICKING METEOR might fall out of the sky onto the heads of your enemies, sending them running and allowing you the opportunity to regain the initiative? (and if you think this couldn't possibly have happened, something very close to this literally happened at Antioch in 1098 during the First Crusade)

anyway this is just to say that I am begging you all to reconsider the dramatic potential of the noble siege. for one thing, it makes the characters look like total imbeciles if you ignore it. and for another, sieges are AWESOME. eta: I learned all this doing the study for WATCHERS OF OUTREMER, my historical fantasy epic of the medieval crusader states! Book 4, A CONSPIRACY OF PROPHETS, puts my own magical spin on the 1098 siege of Antioch ;)

[ghostofreach117]

Something you mentioned at one point was the idea that the Southeastern Mondstadters are viewed with some suspicion as they were mainly descended from Snezhnayaians who fled to escape the Fatui.

In game lore, Diluc is mentioned to be involved with an intelligence network within Snezhnaya that are thoroughly anti-Tsaritsa/Fatui.

I think it could be interesting for the idea that these southeastern Mondstadters might on occasion go back to Snezhnaya, but with the sole purpose to screw with the Fatui organization (think WWII style Polish/Yugoslav partisans)

In other words… Diluc leading these Mondstadter Hajdúk/Partisan raids, against the Fatui (all done without the KoF knowing)

Thoughts?

Every time you come into my ask box you write the coolest most insane ideas I fw you SO heavy you are amazing

They are the peak of screwing with the fatui (excluding the fact that a lot of these are headcannons)

Time to yap😈

Diluc

Diluc is the forefront of every operation, his invaluable knowledge of how the Fatui operate is often what separates a failed mission from a successful one. However, he himself cannot involve himself too directly (as much as he would relish in doing so) lest he poke the sleeping bear that is already breathing down his country’s neck and bring the Snezhnayan military to the front gates of Mondstadt. So he opts for a more subtle approach. Wearing and tearing down the Fatui by offering arms to those who oppose them (often the citizens they govern), sabotaging their supply shipments, and disrupting their political processes.

Yelan

Yelan works in the shadows, forcefully poking and prodding at the innards of Snezhnayan political and military power in order to extract the pure, unfiltered truth. She reports to the Tianquan, who shares the information with whoever she pleases. However, Yelan also reports to the network, sharing only the details that are needed for whatever vocation that is transpiring to go well.

Sangonomiya Kokomi

One may not expect the high priestess of Watatsumi Island to be associated with such a scandalous affair, but Kokomi is well versed in the art of destruction from the inside out. She is the core strategist for all operations involving force, and is no stranger to civic warfare. She disguises all identities under layers of waterlogged evidence, leaving only the Fatui scrambling to find a culprit. Her web of red herrings always lead to the wrong target, and the Fatui find themselves drowning in a sea of could-bes and could-nots.

Wriothesley

Remarkably, The Duke uses a much more supportive strategy than one would think. Those who are under siege for providing information or resisting Fatui oppression can find sanctuary within the Fortress of Meropride. Wriothesley provides jeopardized informants with protection (and even a new identity, if needed) under the guise of taking them in as a prisoner. There, they are safeguarded from prying eyes and guileful assassins while they take the time to be forgotten by society. If needed, he will personally allocate guards to chaperone them to another safe house closer to (or farther from!) their home.

Yap session DONE!!!!

I think Mongolians in Liyue have a similar history to southern mondstadters

[themetalgodsmeltdownposts]

(The Metal Gods Meltdown)