#because i will get an A in the class if i get an 80% or above

[meglosthegreat]

"It was fun, but it got a little boring by the end" is perhaps the most common review of Veilguard's combat that I've seen. No one seems to have strong opinions about it, overall. As far as things to have beef with this game over, it doesn't even make the shortlist, really. I mean, it was fine.

But hell, I'm not above being petty, especially when it comes to this game. So amidst all the other things wrong with this game, here's my hot take: Bioware doesn't understand RPG combat, and why it's useful in, you know, RPGs, as they ostensibly claim to make.

This didn't start with Veilguard, though Veilguard is obviously the subject of this post. It was apparent since before DAI that they were gravitating towards action combat, and I had a lot of problems with Inquisition's system at the time. But Veilguard took it even further, doubling down on their pivot away from RPG mechanics. And, well, I don't think a proper RPG system could've saved this game. But it could've given the game something it desperately lacks - replayability.

RPGs are long games, are driven by the premise that most players will not follow the exact same path towards the end, and above all, are designed to be played in as many ways as possible. This is why character classes exist; why there are multiple weapons to choose from, and why there are more party members to pick from than can fit in your party at once. This works when you consider the other hallmarks of RPGs: different story paths, dialogue choices, and romance options. Variation outside of combat compliments variation within it, and this makes a good RPG something you can play several times and have a completely different experience each time.

And more than that, the mechanics of an RPG compliment a game that could take anywhere from 80-100 hours to complete. You NEED that level of choice within the game mechanics to get you through that long a game, and Veilguard's problem is that it has the length of an RPG, but the combat system of your average 30-40 hour action game.

Of course, there are excellent action games out there that are also up in the 100-hour range, but what these games do that Veilguard did not, is put the majority of focus on their combat systems. Elden Ring is probably the best example of this, but of course we wouldn't want a Dragon Age that's like Elden Ring, really - Dragon Age needs to have more going for it than just combat. And if you can't build your whole game around its combat system, then you need something that has the longevity to sustain a 100-hour runtime.

Everyone bemoaning the lack of direct companion control is absolutely correct - their lack of damage output and usefulness compared to the player renders them basically meaningless in combat. But what this also does is make any kind of customization of their abilities or their gear next to pointless. Even if you could replay this game and build them differently - which you can't, let's be clear - doing so would not make a single iota of difference in combat.

And Rook themselves - well, consensus is that the game starts to get boring about 40 hours in. That's roughly the place where you've gotten enough skill points to specialize in one thing, and though, sure, you could theoretically refund all your points and try something else, by that time you've gotten enough points to acquire all the skills in the general tree anyway. It doesn't help that the gear system is such that whichever items you happen to get early will probably be the ones you end up sticking with. It definitely doesn't help that the enemies in this game severely lack variation, and once you've fought one dragon, you've fought them all.

You know what would have helped? Giving people multiple ways to approach combat. Giving us enemies that require a different approach. Giving us companions that you can build out in interesting ways. Giving us, in short, a reason to play this game again. Because if you're going to create an 80-100 hour game that has very little else going on mechanically, then the very least you can do is make sure your combat is actually fun for the full 100 hours.

[i-got-poisenality]

MODERN NEWSIES HCS NO ONE ASKED FOR

Sarah Jacobs

she/her

raging lesbian

transferred to the same high school as the rest of the newsies with Davey from a private school

joined the debate team 80% because she’s gay for Katherine(captain of debate team) and wanted to get to know her better and 20% because she likes to argue

raging feminist and will fight terfs because terfs aren’t real feminists

has absolutely beat up people who bully Davey

on a girls rugby team and absolutely kicks ass

besties with Romeo, no i don’t take constructive criticism

Jack Kelly

he/him and bisexual disaster

also beats up people who bully Davey

javid <3333

has been through a bunch of foster homes

head of set design for their schools drama program

paints sets for Medda’s theater outside of school

most of the newsies have him saved as “cOuNtRy BoY 👅” in their contacts because of that vine

drinks way too much coffee and usually can’t sleep

his favorite movie is Indiana Jones and some newsies call him “Indi” as a joke

terrified of spiders, will shriek with more fear than you’ve ever heard at a spider sighting

none of his clothes are free of paint

paints and draws on his clothes on purpose sometimes

senior superlative is gonna be most artistic

Crutchie Morris

he/him or he/they (transmasc)

gay and ace (he’ll fight you if you i infantilize him and so will i)

uses forearm crutches as opposed to one crutch because i thought thatd be easier for him (disabled people correct me if i’m wrong)

currently in a really bad foster home but is gonna get adopted by Miss Medda at some point so he’ll be ok

bad at math but good at english

in choir and has gotten a couple solos

in detention a lot but not as much as Jack or Race

dating Race, crutchtrack forever

insane upper body strength and people are always surprised

Miss Medda helped him get his first binder but he’s very bad about binder safety and forgets to take it off

physically incapable of not petting every animal he comes across and has a job at a local animal shelter

has broken peoples kneecaps with his crutches (no seriously, he sent Morris Delancey to the hospital by whacking him so hard after Morris made a jerk comment)

Katherine Plumber Pulitzer

she/her and demiromantic sapphic

has two last names because her parents are divorced and her dad wouldn’t let her get rid of his last name so she jus added her mom’s

so much daddy issues

president of the school paper and captain of the debate team

also president of 20 other clubs

in the running for valedictorian alongside Davey and Race

besties with Davey

so many APs and has straight As

very vocal about issues in the system and will not hesitate to write about them

english teachers love her

can write an essay in 20 minutes

very intrigued by Sarah and her argument methods (this just turns into gay feelings once they’re friends)

Albert

aromantic asexual

always in detention

mostly only liked by foods teachers because that’s where he applies himself the most

cooking is one of the few things that actually bring him joy

on the soccer team and dances sometimes

pretty good at math

fell asleep in english while his class was reading Romeo and Juliet because he thought it was dumb

tired and angry

gets in fights pretty regularly

steals stuff from his friends for fun

(if you wanna know any more, please please please send me asks)

[clementimetodie]

.

[jabberwockprince]

apparently it's way easier to plan scenes and plotpoints for a fanfic if i draw them first, so here we are <3 featuring me rambling abt this scene under the cut!!

i was specifically thinking about Haym and Rikki's entire relationship?

especially very early on, right when Rikki is properly assigned as Neon J's apprentice and whatnot. this was meant to be the moment Rikki realizes they're not coping very well with leaving Ban behind in Beachside Archipelago, and how they're actually gravitating towards Haym because of how similar he feels to Ban - yknow. being the same model and all

cause Rikki has some serious issues with needing absolute control over every aspect of their life. and right now, they're stuck with a job they don't exactly care for, trying desperately to suck up to Neon J so he'll actually promote Rikki to a DECENT job designing security bots for Vinyl City, not BABYSITTING 1010

(which isn't even babysitting, moreso than being monitored 24/7 in a localized space where they can't be shady since Neon J doesnt. trust them. at all. for various valid reasons)

so witnessing Haym pull some stupid but well-meaning stunt to force Rikki show off how good they are at fixing and repairing shit makes Rikki go????

A LITTLE FERAL????

BECAUSE THEY UNCONSCIOUSLY PROJECT ALL THEIR UNRESOLVED FEELINGS ABOUT BAN ONTO HAYM

but they only realize this when their body shuts down and cannot act the way they would've wanted, seeing Haym entirely fucking wrecked being very similar to how they found Ban when they first met makes them spiral a little

Haym doesn't even KNOW he's not the original Yellow model, he has his suspicions but is overall kept in the dark. befriending Rikki is something he does entirely out of genuine curiosity, motherfucker has no clue he's in the middle of a 4 year long unresolved break-up between two losers who are constantly pining after each other both romantically and platonically

im thinkingggg Haym might be seeking out Rikki's presence mostly because he's noticed that they treat him slightly different than the others. not necessarily better, just different enough to get him curious. so the need to build an identity away from 1010 as a group/unit and his inherent curiosity just gets him into this mess

[bookwyrminspiration]

im the only person in class today 2 hours one on one language instruction (yippee!) (i'm dead on the floor)

[ye-olde-trojan-horse]

if the marauders survived, they would’ve peaked in the 80’s.

yk what else peaked in the 80’s…

lycra, leg warmers, and aerobics.

my brain is now consumed by the marauders slaying this.

[atissi]

this is a joke. i hated business school.

(conversation with @thesweetestclementine)

[cheriekos]

is anybody else addicted to saying "are we poorly? are we desperately poorly?" or am i the only one to have grown overly attached to saying this random npc's line ten times a day

[allthegothihopgirls]

remember when i said chemistry was going to kill me? i got 5% on my assessment

[cloudcountry]

i think i made a mistake signing up for chemistry next semester. but also. credits so i can graduate faster. Consider.

[alaskan-wallflower]

alright fellas i’m dead i have a 76 in math rn my parents are going to kill me

[silvercaptain24]

This is fine

[talentforlying]

one of these days i'm going to write up all that i've changed from azzarello's bullshit era and the one (1) piece i've kept from milligan (and also changed) and the only thing currently stopping me is that it is going to be so, so inside-baseball incomprehensible. and i almost never want to go reading/screencapping azzarello and milligan to add references but i Want to add references.

canon is goop, just know that we continue to ride the bus down "hellblazer ended at #250 and looks like swiss cheese before that" street.

[lord-luci]

one day i'm going to get a cosplay photo where there isn't hair all up in my face

[buysomecheese]

I'm going insane. Since when do anxiety attack states of being last ALL DAY.

[parabiota]

I got a 90 on my first orgo 2 quiz…. Maybe this semester will be good to me