#both are duel tanks and healers

[constantvariations]

Jaune is the Sakura Haruno of RWBY send tweet

[kc5rings]

Alright, I’m still waiting to see if they stick the landing but at 50% of the way through the story I’m enjoying myself enough to actively shill for Exoprimal

Y’all, the marketing around this game did it SO dirty, it’s wild.

I went into this expecting some pve crumbs in a pvp focused game, I knew and accepted that as I was really just chasing the high of early OW days when I truly loved playing Reinhardt, getting to protect my team and live the Wall power fantasy with Roadblock

What I did not expect, was a PvE mode that evolves in relation to the story you unlock through completing matches. Nor did I expect to actually get invested in said story!

It’s simple (so far) with well trod character tropes for the genre, calm and cool leader, soldier with a chip on her shoulder, eccentric tech expect etc, but all written with the feeling of someone who actually likes this genre of sci-fi and not as an irony poisoned nod and wink to the player. It’s cheesy but earnest, being roughly 1 part Pacific Rim to 1 part Starship Troopers

There’s also just so much more story than I expected, the above image is the story map at roughly 50% complete, each of those blue icons around the outside are clues awarded after a match, data, that corresponds with deeper overarching mysteries represented by the inner rings. Collect enough relevant data, which can be audio logs, text or video, and one of the inner ones unlocks that then has a cutscene to contextualize all the data.

It’s a drip feed story that has me doing my next match to find out what happens instead of only grinding for currency or a suit upgrade. It’s not groundbreaking narrative but the dialogue is snappy and the characters are fun, so I’ve stayed invested

As for the gameplay itself, I’ve been playing for several days and touched pvp maybe 3 times. The first match you play is random (so I got pvp there, and the other two times were scripted moments in the story that took place during a match because again, the gameplay evolves with the story

The first few matches are , frankly, a bit of a cakewalk. Medium hordes of fairly easy to deal with fodder, a few larger threats thrown in. Nothing difficult and the mvp nearly invariably goes to one of the more AoE specialized DPS with supports or more single target focused DPS with not much to chew on

Cut to later missions like the ones I did before work that throw multiple specialized enemy types at you that operate at different ranges and demand everyone do their job or you get overrun. Tanks have to hold back the tide or duel with one large threat, AoE DPS need to keep the numbers on small enemies down, healers work constantly to both heal, damage and debuff while single target DPS need to surgically remove major threats such as one later mob that spawns at a distance and can silence your entire team unless it’s weak spot is hit

Commendation screens shift sharply at this point, being largely supports, tanks or DPS who really excelled. The fights are a damage race at the end of the day, but each class is rewarded strongly for playing their role and selfish play pretty much just gets you dead

There are other modes/challenges that can pop up in a match that I won’t spoil here, but have ended up beating some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a hero shooter period, making each match just a little bit more exciting because you know at any moment things could change dramatically. Going from trying to blitz the challenges in order to beat the team you’re racing to just trying to survive as you hear the words “Carnage Module Online” from the AI running these wargames is always a thrill

It’s not perfect, the pvp is…. There, but nothing to write home about even accounting for my personal exhaustion with pvp. It’s also got the seemingly obligatory battlepass mess, though (so far) it’s only cosmetics. Everything that’s gameplay related (suit upgrades/unlocks) is earned through gameplay, even a fair few of the cosmetics can be bought with match currency so the pass is far from necessary

All of this is just me saying that Capcom barely marketed this game and focused almost entirely on the least interesting aspects of it. So I’m marketing it for them because it’s the team based PvE I’ve been begging for for ages

And you get to Punch Dinosaurs

With Power Armor

Which rules

So consider at least taking a look at the game and join me in some Dino punching and together we can help this game last long enough for Roadblock to get a good skin

[magebutts]

and you know what? i actually hate the combat in this game. forcing players into very limited specializations, only allowing them to access 3 abilities at a time, effectively removing the potions system, actually removing the healer class from both the player and companions and thereby forcing all your companions (with already extremely limited abilities) to multiclass as both support and dps, and also effectively doing away with tanks to protect the squishier classes because every enemy aggros on the player and no one else, bc they dont actually have health systems, and making every class have to fight like the fucking arishok chase duel in da2.

like sure, the actual clicking itself is fun, the dagger and orb are fun. but the combo click attacks are far too numerous, and not at all differentiable, that every player is essentially just spam-clicking and praying they get through combat because tactics just dont fucking exist anymore.

and you know what it makes me think? that they didnt have enough time to develop an actual single-player combat system for this iteration of the game, and had to keep the multi-player combat system from the live-service version of the game.

[charaday5e]

5e24 Full Party Made

I have just made my first four Characters for the new 5R system. Call it 5e Revised, or 5e2024, the rules have twisted the character creation process in a way that makes decisions faster and characters ultimately stronger. Call it power creep if you must, but these new characters are very fun to build and I can't wait to play them.

We have Rad the Fighter Soldier Orc. He has an impressive carrying capacity and several weapons at hand. As a Dueling Style Fighter, he prefers to use a shield and has selected both Battleaxe Topple and Longsword Sap as his Weapon Masteries. With his Adrenaline Rush and Second Wind he gets three bonus actions per short rest. Finally Savage Attacker lets him roll damage twice and take the better result, once per round. An Orc with a 12 Intelligence is a clear sign of 5e2024 and the shape of D&D for the future. Rad is a clear leader and tank. Wisp is a throwback, Rogue Criminal Halfling, he's not just converted from 5e14 but there are versions in 4E and even 3.5. My daring Halfling now has heavy feet but is still lucky and Brave. With his Weapon Masteries in Dagger, he's going to be quite effective at two weapon fighting out of the gate. Expertise in Investigation makes him great at disarming traps and expertise in Stealth makes him great at hiding. Wisp is the scout. Mort was an Eagleheart, Protector Cleric Hermit Dwarf, no longer loves the hills. His hermit lifestyle has made him an expert healer who can both craft scrolls of healing but also brew potions as well. Mort is the healer and also a backup tank. Kane the traveler, Wizard Criminal Human Lucky, not feeling like a war caster or resilient anymore. He must have done some time in the big city to meet Wisp, because those two are thick as thieves. Scribing Scrolls and making all the plans. Kane is an arcanist and utility controller.

The party sets out for adventure, to make a name for themselves, and find their fortune.

My next round of posts will be another quad of characters, who can make a balanced party. Maybe I'll start some solo gameplay with the Band of Lucky, iconic classes with fresh builds for 5e2024.

[raeynbowboi]

Building the Titans as a DnD Party

A typical DnD party is best off being a 5-man band, with roughly five main roles to fill: the Tank, the Blaster (ranged damage), Healer, Stealth, and DPS roles, and the Teen Titans fit this very very nicely. So, I want to approach building the team as a cohesive unit. I’ve tackled building the characters independently, but some fall into a build in relation to other characters’ builds. The challenge here is to build the team to function nicely together as a unit.

ROBIN ( Party Role: Leader, Stealth, melee combatant)

Race: Human Background: Entertainer (Acrobatics, Performance) Classes:    Mastermind Rogue (12)    Battle Master Fighter (7)    Monk (1) Stats:    (SA) STR 11 DEX 20 CON 16 INT 14 WIS 20 CHA 9    (PB) STR 11 DEX 20 CON 16 INT 12 WIS 20 CHA 10 Skills:    Acrobatics    Deception    Investigation    Perception    Performance    Stealth Fighting Style: Dueling Battle Master Maneuvers:    Disarming Attack    Feinting Attack    Maneuvering Attack    Parry    Reposte Tools: Thieves’ Tools, Tinkerer’s Tools

With Robin’s subclasses, he can study an opponent and discern their HP, Level, AC, and any stat compared to his own, allowing Robin to be an expert in deducing the weaknesses of his adversaries. He also has the ability to give himself advantage, allowing Robin to make use of Sneak Attack damage even in a one-on-one fight. Robin’s 1 level in Monk is only there for the AC, and if you feel it’s unnecessary, he can drop it for another level in Fighter and another ASI or feat. This Robin excels at infiltration and finding clues like a classic detective, and with his maneuvering attack can reposition his party around the battlefield, moving injured allies toward Raven for healing, or helping melee fighters close the gap with enemies. Robin’s other maneuvers make him adept at creating openings in his enemies’ combat, such as making mages drop their spellcasting focus. If the DM is willing to rework Commander’s Strike maneuver to not be exclusively for melee attacks, letting Robin tell his party to attack instead of him can allow party members to exploit an enemy’s weaknesses that he can’t bypass himself, which is a good quality for a leader.

STARFIRE (Party Roles: Blaster, Tank, Talker)

Race: Protector Aasimar Background: Soldier (Athletics, Intimidation) Class:    Phoenix Sorcerer (20) Stats:    (SA) STR: 14, DEX: 12, CON: 18, INT: 10, WIS: 9, CHA: 20    (PB) STR: 14, DEX: 12, CON: 18, INT: 8, WIS: 10, CHA: 20 Skills:    Arcana    Athletics    Intimidation    Persuasion Feats:    Elemental Adept (Fire) Metamagic:    Empowered Spell    Heightened Spell    Quickened Spell    Twinned Spell

Between the boys who are all mostly melee combatants and Raven who is more of a support role, Starfire is the long-range magical powerhouse whose spell list is exclusively Fire and Radiant damaging spells. While Starfire lacks the superhuman strength she really should have, I figured her alien endurance was more valuable, as it made her able to get up and keep fighting harder. While I did in earnest consider a build where she’s an aasimar Brute Fighter or Zealot Barbarian (both of which would prioritize her super strength) while reducing her starbolts to the Firebolt cantrips she’d pick up with magic initiate, when it comes to party composition, the party already has Cyborg who tends to use physical combat more often than Starfire, despite her being stronger than him, as well as Robin and Beast Boy who are also close-range fighters. The party is better aided by her making use of immense magical power.

BEAST BOY (Party Roles: Utility, Wildcard)

Race: Longtooth Shifter Background: Folk Hero (Animal Handling, Survival) Class: Circle of the Moon Druid (20) Stats:    (SA) STR: 18, DEX: 20, CON: 12, INT: 8, WIS: 13, CHA: 14    (PB) STR: 18, DEX: 20, CON: 10, INT: 8, WIS: 14, CHA: 14  Skills:    Animal Handling    Nature    Perception    Survival

This one’s pretty straightforward. We need to turn into animals, a druid is the only way to do that. If you want to channel your Beast Within, feel free to do a 16/4 split and add some Barbarian levels with the Path of the Beast, but for standard Beast Boy, focus on wildshaping into the highest CR monsters that you can.

RAVEN ( Party Roles: Healer, Magic Utility, Diplomat)

Race: Asmodeus Tiefling (Variant: Winged Bloodline Tiefling) Background: Far Traveler (Insight, Perception) Classes:    Theurgy Wizard (Knowledge Domain) (19)    Rogue (1) STATS    (SA) STR: 8, DEX: 13, CON: 16, INT: 20, WIS: 16, CHA: 10    (PB) STR: 8, DEX: 14, CON: 16, INT: 20, WIS: 16, CHA: 10 Skills:    Arcana    History    Insight    Medicine    Perception    Religion

While the single level in rogue is not mandatory, it gives Raven the ability to have Expertise in two skills, letting her super charge her Insight and Perception. As Raven is an empath who can sense people’s emotions, read people like an open book, and even sense how many people are in a city on the other side of a bay, Raven’s extrasensory powers should be extremely impressive. So despite Raven not being much of a people person, her ability to sense emotions makes her invaluable as a negotiator and lie detector for her party, as well as scouting for lost children and fugitives. With her Wizard levels, Raven can have a truly staggering amount of spells, including abjuration shields, telekinetic spells to move objects, psionic blasts, messing with the senses or emotions of other creatures, and bypassing environmental hazards. With this extensive list of abilities, Raven becomes a veritable swiss army knife of dealing with problems. Between healing, defensive, offensive, and utility spells, Raven becomes insanely adaptable. While Psychic Soul Sorcerer and Fiend Warlock could work for Raven, those are CHA casters which steps on Starfire’s toes as a Sorcerer. So, Theurgy is the best way for Raven to be a healer, and makes her an INT caster. Knowledge not only gives her extra expertise skills, but it fits her character as the wise scholar of the party. Asmodeus, the Greater Deity of the Nine Hells, has Knowledge as one of his domains, allowing Raven to pray to him while fitting her character. Arcana is another good option, as it adds to her Wizard spell list and helps her break spell effects on her party, but at the loss of her extra expertise. Life Domain can also work if you’re leaning toward White Raven and making her a dedicated healer. Making Raven a Winged Bloodline Tiefling gives her the ability to fly endlessly, a good answer for her floating in the show, but not all DMs will allow it. Her WIS score can be lower, I used 16 to super charge her Insight and Perception checks, but if concentration and health matters more, she can easily get by with a WIS score of 14 or even 12.

CYBORG (Party Roles: Tank, DPS, Blaster)

Race: Variant Human (PB: +1 CON, +1 INT) (SA: +1 STR, +1 CON) Background: Athlete (Athletics, Acrobatics) Classes:    Brute Fighter (16)    Artillerist Artificer (4) Stats:    (SA) STR: 20, DEX: 11, CON: 20, INT: 18, WIS: 8, CHA: 12    (PB) STR: 20, DEX: 10, CON: 20, INT: 18, WIS: 8, CHA: 10 Skills:    Acrobatics    Athletics    Intimidation    Investigation    Perception Fighting Style: Unarmed Combat Feats:    Heavy Armor Mastery (V. Human) (+1 STR) Items:    Molten Bronze Skin (Plate)    Force Ballista (Tiny)

Some may cry foul that Cyborg is neither a Warforged nor a 100% Artificer, but Cyborg was born Human, that is is his racial identity. And with the Molten Bronze Skin from Theros, the metal can coat Cyborg’s skin so skin-tight that it can’t be removed, like having metal skin, making it a perfect parallel to Cyborg’s lore and character. While Starfire is physically the strongest Titan, she doesn’t tend to prefer physical combat, opting mostly for ranged combat with her starbolts, opening a spot on the team for the heavy-hitting melee combatant, where Cyborg comes in clutch. Between multiple attacks per round, and being able to fire his Force Ballista every bonus action, Cyborg walks away with about the same number of attacks per turn as a full level 20 Fighter as early as level 14. As a Brute, he’ll also add to the damage he deals with each punch, making Cyborg a serious bringer of pain. If your DM hates UA though, Champion works fine for him, it just doesn’t deal as much damage.

This party composition makes the Teen Titans extremely well-balanced, as every member of the party has a primary role, but also cover a wide variety of skills, play styles, and abilities. They’re diverse enough to be able to handle most anything as a unit, and can handle just about anything thrown at them in combat. There may be some shortcomings like that many creatures resist Starfire’s Fire magic, but her Elemental Adept can help with that, and her other party members can make up for her shortcomings in such fights.

[queen-scribbles]

Evony endgame headcanons, since @haledamage went and gave me that nudge :P

----

First off, Everybody Lives. None of them are unscathed, whether the damage be physical or emotion/mental (or all of the above), but they all survive.

Evony had all of the potentially Jedi crew members as Jedi, but when it comes to skill focus, she and Mical are the healers, Bao Dur’s the tank(Guardian ftw), Atton, Visas, and Mira are damage. (She usually ran with Bao and either Atton or Visas)

SO. They crash on Malachor V, Ebon Hawk gets stuck. It’s pretty rough, to the point most of them get tossed out and it’s only bc they’re Jedi that they survive the landing, but they’re scattered. 

Mira’s alone, faces off with Hanharr, manages to beat him(and kill him) but he fucks her up pretty bad in the process this time. She’s rattled + her newish Jedi senses are overwhelmed by the amount of evil on Malachor V; Hanharr is just Wookiee shaped rage at this point, so it’s a pretty brutal fight. Her right arm and side are all clawed up, couple broken bones and dislocated shoulder. After beating Hanharr she goes looking for the Hawk bc she knows she can’t help fight Kreia in her condition.

Atton, Visas, and Mical attempt the face off with Kreia; she blinds Visas before Force-choking her into unconsciousness  and throws Mical into a pillar(breaks a bunch of bones + knocks him cold), Atton runs away... and straight into Sion.

Partially bc I’m contrary and partially bc he just winds up built really well as a Jedi in my game, Atton kicks Sion’s ass. (even when I don’t have invulnerability turned on) Some of the taunting gets under his skin, but not enough to lose control or the fight.

He goes looking for Evony, they all but run into each other as she’s stumbling out after her duel with Kreia(nearly attack each other bc both are so antsy). She’s exhausted but largely unhurt, he’s strangely quiet and sober but won’t elaborate about why. They find Visas and Mical, he’s still unconscious and she’s still Force-blind(which equals blind blind for her bc Miraluka). Evony heals Mical some, but he’s still unconscious and she doesn’t know what to do to help Visas. They make their way out of the academy with Mical slung over Atton’s shoulders (Atton’s not thrilled about this, but not grousing nearly as much as Evony would have expected) and Visas holding on to Evony’s arm. (Evony is low-key stressing about where Bao Dur is by this point. She can barely feel him in the Force, and it’s not enough to tell where)

By the time they find the Ebon Hawk, it’s fallen from where it got stuck and slid halfway into a crevice. Mira’s on the boarding ramp, semi-conscious and bleeding out, with her good arm wrapped around one of the supports so she doesn’t fall off if it slides again.

Evony panics, just a little, seeing how badly Mira’s hurt. She passes Visas over to Atton and pours pretty much everything she has into saving Mira. (Atton dumps Mical in the medbay and settles Visas in one of the dormitories before he goes looking through the ship for the extent of the damage etc) It’s as she gets Mira stable that Atton pops back into view and tells her she might not want to drain herself completely. She catches his meaning, largely bc Bao Dur’s presence is just barely a flicker in the Force, like a candle in a storm, well before he drops the sarcasm to elaborate.

Bao Dur was the only one not thrown off the ship when they crashed, he got caught/trapped by an explosion in the engine room. It shorted out his cybernetic arm, lots of burns and lacerations(there’s a few on his back that leave nasty scars even with Force healing + bacta treatment), broken ribs, etc 

He’s basically dying, like Mira was, and Evony just empties herself(for the third time) to put all she has and then some into healing him bc she. cannot. lose him. She can’t heal everything, but at least she gets him to point of conscious. Even if she almost passes out herself from the effort.

Mical and Mira are both still unconscious in the medbay, Visas is functionally blind(it takes a very long time to figure out what Kreia did, precisely, and undo it), Bao Dur’s barely able to move, so Evony and Atton do what they can to patch up the Ebon Hawk enough they (hopefully) can mange to limp somewhere civilized for real repairs and decide what to do from there. 

(go after Revan, obviously, but how they go about that still needs at least an outline)

Cue Evony being extremely relieved she still has all her friends, but especially, ESPECIALLY Bao Dur.

There may be some stuff I forgot, since it has been two years-ish since my last time through the game, but there ya go.

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 7: The Hardest Choice

Chapter 6: The Path Is Yours

We rush into the battlefield from the future vision prologue and find Xander and Ryoma dueling. Xander, after making sure Corrin is okay, announces that Nohr is invading Hoshido to show off their strength. He points out that ending things quickly will prevent unnecessary bloodshed, which is a fair point. But, you know what else would prevent unnecessary bloodshed? Not invading Hoshido.

The two families argue over ownership of Corrin and she is forced to choose a side. Stand with her genetic family and fight to defend Hoshido from violent invaders, or stand with her adoptive family and invade a neighboring country, slaughtering countless civilians in the process. Or play the DLC route. Or go play Super Smash Bros.

And I mean, is this even a choice? Nohr is evil. Like, insanely evil. Ten minutes ago they blew up a marketplace and killed dozens of children. They’re invading Hoshido for shits and giggles and we’re supposed to side with them? Corrin’s supposed to be a good person, why the fuck would she ever join Nohr’s army?

And it’s not like Corrin has any love for Nohr as a country. She spent fifteen years in prison, she doesn’t know the people. Hell, she hates how Nohr looks and feels. Garon murdered her parents, kidnapped her, held her captive, and tried to murder her. Twice.

There is only one reason to join Nohr: love for Xander, Camila, Leo, and Elise. And that’s a relatable reason, standing by your family even if they’re evil. But, it feels cowardly to kill innocent people just because you don’t want to fight your family.

No, not cowardly. Evil. This is a choice between good and evil, with both sides holding up signs saying which they are. And that’s part of the problem with this game. Nohr is so ridiculously evil and Hoshido is so ridiculously good. At this point, we have seen no justification for any evil Nohr does. They’re evil for the point of evil. And even when Hoshido does shady things, like kidnapping Azura or having a mind control barrier, the game glosses over it to avoid having the good guys be morally grey. And let’s be honest, it’s kinda infuriating that Intelligent Systems, a Japanese company, made a game where the most explicitly Japanese kingdom in the franchise is pure good and the European kingdom is cartoonishly evil.

This game tries to paint this as a choice between two families, and that doesn’t work. Painting it as a choice between two families lessens the impact of siding with Nohr to protect your family. Plus, again, the Hoshidans are strangers. Hoshido is not Corrin’s home and the Hoshidan royals are not her family. The only one who was given enough screen time to feel like family was Mikoto, and she’s dead. Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but I really don’t give a shit about Corrin’s blood. I’m not choosing Birthright because I want Corrin to claim her Birthright, I’m choosing it because Nohr is cartoonishly evil.

And here’s the kicker, the ultimate reason to choose Hoshido: Garon tried to murder Corrin. Twice. First with Hans at the bridge, then again with the bomb at the plaza. Choosing Nohr is suicidally stupid. I know Corrin’s naive, but this is just idiotic.

And Corrin doesn’t even bring this up. She doesn’t shout to Xander, “Hans attempted to murder me as we were fleeing the Bottomless Canyon, apparently working under orders from King Garon. I do not feel safe returning to Nohr.”

No, she doesn’t explain jack shit. She lets Xander think she’s betraying him, when in reality she’s just doing the right thing. Corrin is an imbecile and it makes this game painfully dumb.

Birthright Chapter 6: In The White Light

We chose Hoshido. Right away, the chapter title screen changes, going from the mix of white lilies and black roses from earlier chapters to just white lilies. The text boxes also get a new blueish tint. Corrin tells Xander to withdraw his troops and that she’s siding with Hoshido.

Xander says that Corrin must be brainwashed. He reveals that he’s known all along that Garon kidnapped Corrin as a child. Something that he kept from Corrin, because he’s a great older brother. He tells Corrin that they are family, regardless of blood, and that Garon will forgive her. The first one of those is true, but the other is laughable. Has he ever met Garon?

Corrin tells Xander about Garon blowing up the plaza, killing dozens of innocent people, and endangering her life. Corrin calls Garon evil and Xander, apparently ignoring the whole mass murder thing, gets pissed. Corrin asks him to join her and Xander attacks her. Prick.

Side note, the music in this scene is fantastic. It reminds me of the Midmire theme from Awakening and really feels hopeless. Xander beats the shit out of Corrin and Ryoma runs in to save her. The two princes duel, and the battle begins. Also, Jakob shows up.

Ryoma, Hinoka, and Tamuki join Corrin as the two families battle. Interestingly, those three are listed as being part of a different army on the bottom screen, implying that they won’t be around after this battle.

Ryoma

The crown prince of Hoshido. A swordmaster with impeccable strength, skill, and speed. His personal skill, Bushido, makes him fight better when supported by low level units, fitting his honorable Samurai aesthetic. His armor looks cool, but he has crazy, Raditz length hair and this weird horned crown that I dislike. He carries this cool lightning katana called Ranjito. Personality wise, he seems a bit dull. He’s a loyal, protective prince, but at first glance there isn’t much more there.

Hinoka

Corrin’s older sister and a Sky Knight. Her personal skill buffs damage of nearby allies. I kinda like her tomboy haircut and lack of a ridiculously big bust, she looks more like a normal person than most Fates characters. She seems really protective of Corrin and her homeland. Also, I kinda hate her voice.

Takumi

Corrin’s brother, an archer. Who is a prick. A massive prick. He has a massive attack stat for an archer and wields a custom bow that shoots arrows made of light. His design isn’t too interesting, aside from the ponytail that looks weird because it’s cut off by the edge of the screen in his portrait. Personality wise, Takumi is a prick. He’s the best written character in the game, from what I remember. But he’s still a prick.

Also, I suppose I should discuss the Nohrian royals now, because by the time I play Fates my perception will be clouded by the events of Birthright.

Xander

The honorable prince of Nohr. Our protector turned enemy. A Paladin reminiscent of Camus, Selena, and Mustafa from past games, willing to stand by his country even if it is evil. Stat wise, Xander is an absolute tank. His personal skill is called Chivalry, a parallel to Ryoma’s Bushido. It boosts him when fighting enemies with full health. I love Xander’s design, the black and purple with an ascot that makes him look both intimidating and regal, the small black cwon, and that face. He looks like a man tormented by his own actions. I love Xander’s personality, this honorable man who, when forced to choose between his family and his morals, chose the former. He’s actually a good parallel to Corrin, now that I think about it. That said, he is a bit dumb, and trying to kill Corrin was a dick move.

Camila

Ugh. Camila. She’s a new class called Malig Knight, basically a Wyvern Rider with magic abilities. Her personal skill boosts the damage done by allies. Her design...sigh...her design is very, very, very fanservicey, with massive titties and exposed cleavage. Camila is a fanservice character, which is a trend in Fire Emblem that I’m not fond of. Personality wise she’s...creepily obsessed with Corrin, to the point of being kinda incestuous. Ugh. Camila was this game’s breakout character and that’s really disappointing, because she’s probably the worst of the royals in my opinion.

Leo

Leo’s a Dark Knight with a personal skill called Pragmatic that boosts damage against already injured foes. I like how his armor looks; the collar is a bit much, but it’s kinda charming. Also, he looks like he’s Xander’s brother, which is something that they forgot to do with the rest of the royals. Personality wise, he seems to be the only character in this family that isn’t a gigantic moron, which is refreshing. The trick with faking Kaze and Rinkah’s deaths was nefarious, but kind, which is a trait I like in a character.

Elise

The other moe healer little sister, now on horseback. Her personal skill reduces damage done to nearby allies. Design wise, she looks adorable. So adorable that she should not be a soldier and should not have children. I do like the pigtails, although it is weird that they’re both purple and blonde. She’s a bit more forceful in her personality than Sakura, which is good. She’s cute but not boring.

The battle, if you can even call it that, was basically just a quick fight between Ryoma and Xander. After the Nohrians retreat without saying anything, Corrin swears to stand with Hoshido, even though it's the hardest choice she’s ever made. Even though, as we’ve discussed, it isn’t a hard choice at all.

Also, the intro plays again. Nothing is different this time, but it does play again. After that pointless interruption, Lilith shows up again. Remember Lilith? She was important a few chapters ago. And then wasn’t mentioned again until this moment. Lilith takes us into the Astral Plane, introducing us to a new mechanic: My Castle. Which we will get into, next time.

[vultures-and-scavengers]

faded

she has no great power. she’s not a duelist. she has no talent for telekinesis. she is good at hiding and she is good at listening and she is good dreaming things that will happen or things that could happen but these are not the talents of a knight. she is seven years old and she already knows no master will pick her. she is a pebble among gems. she is fodder for the agricorps.

she is eight years old and when she fails her gathering no one is surprised. her sister, a bright shining star, is the first to succeed. it is the day their sisterhood changes. the jedi order demands something different from them both. it will pull them apart.

she is eight and a half and she is training at night in the training rooms in desperation that she could be a knight. she knows she can be a knight, she knows it in her bones that it is a path she could walk. she knows there’s others, too, but she wants so bad to walk the path of the knight. she is eight and a half and she knows there is a jedi who has been watching her sneak to the training room each night.

she is nine and she has been bundled into a shuttle with the jedi who watched her: master xua distombe. master distombe has told her that she needs to finish her gathering. miyala argues, says she has failed it already, but master distombe shakes her head. that was not the right gathering for you, little one. you are no knight.

she is ten and she is a padawan and for the first time in her life she is good at something. the shadow masters show her and three other initiates the skills a shadow uses: stealth, shadowstriding, and force tracking. they indulgently tell younglings how to do it, so miyala focuses on where she wants to be (17 meters away, next to master xua) and then shes there. the room goes silent. the masters exchange looks. master xua looks defiantly proud.

she is 13 and she knows her connection to the force isn’t normal. she is very very good at shadow skills. she can barely manage anything else. once she had been able to lift things. it had been a struggle, but she had been capable. now she has no power beyond shadow striding, enhancing her sense, listening, and invisibility. but she no longer resents the knights. what good are their dueling skills if they cannot sense her right behind them? she needs only one hit.

she is 24. she is alone in the cockpit with a traumatized healer in the cargo bay and an arc trooper in a bacta tank. she dreams every night of a world without order 66. she dreams of worlds where there was no jedi order, and thus no sith order. she dreams of all the other paths they could have walked.

she despairs.

[mathemagiks]

PRIMAL WoL OC CHALLENGE || Orrin Lyuhe

Trial Name: The Bamboo Moor

Boss Name: Mazu

Quest Overview:  There is a myth in Othard that, should you ever find yourself in peril out at sea, you can call out to the goddess Mazu and she will race across the waves to come to your aid. Naturally, being from the region, Orrin has cried to the goddess for salvation when your boat threatened to capsize. Unfortunately for you, in his panic he has forgotten about the massive quantity of aether crystals you just stole from one of the beast tribes, and had been currently ferrying across the sea. Using Orrin’s body as a vessel, Mazu has taken form and seen your ship out of stormy waters. While you are now safe from the raging sea, you now instead face the resulting threat of a primal, who will not only bleed the land’s aether dry but is currently taking over the body of your paladin companion. It falls to you and your moored adventurer comrades to defeat Mazu (and hopefully bring Orrin back), but it doesn’t seem the goddess is taking kindly to her favor being repaid with steel… 

Battle Music: The Gods Duel (Phase 1) || Jianghu Dream (Phase 2)

Appearance: While Mazu is traditionally depicted as female, she is currently being channeled through Orrin, and thus has assumed a male form. Aside from growing in size, Orrin’s armor has also become more ornate, with long trailing tails and ribbons that constantly wave and flow as if he were underwater. Cì Tóng becomes so long it’s nearly a greatsword, and Orrin gains a shield modeled after an ornate mirror. His eyes are completely hidden by the shine of his glasses, and trying to angle yourself so that you can see behind them only results in a blinding light. When Mazu speaks, Orrin’s voice takes on an unnatural, echoing quality. 

Start of Battle Quote: "You call me for help, and you repay the favor with steel? Have mortals become so ungrateful?”

Battle Overview: Similar to Susano, Mazu!Orrin is fought in two stages, with a DPS Check in between them. He’s a bit of a nightmare to deal with, considering his high defense and crazy health pool, but well coordinated attacks and reactions can smash through his defenses and grant moments of opportunity. The majority of this fight involves a lot of AoE dodging and countering.

First phase: “You wish to trade steel? Then have at me!”

Mazu’s first phase sees the boss with a buff active that raises defense significantly [Buff: Mirror Shield]. Being a goddess of the sea, Mazu uses Orrin to channel waves to knock the party around the arena [Away with the Tide], similar to Seiryu’s fight. Mazu also has a few AoEs that target two of the four DPS and causes AoE bursts that trail after them for three hits, with the last one leaving an AoE puddle on the arena. These should be dragged away from the party, for stepping in the puddle left behind causes Drowning (pulls players into the floor for a KO if not exited in time).

There is also a cast [Undertow] where Mazu!Orrin raises his shield and plants an AoE in a cone in front of him. Should players not get out of it in time, it draws anyone trapped in it towards Orrin’s shield, only for him to knock them back once more for significant damage. Arm’s Length/Surecast cannot prevent this draw-in or knockback.

Unlike most primals, Orrin has one interruptible cast [Arms Up] that, when interrupted, grants a five second debuff [Moment of Opportunity] that causes him to take more damage. Should this cast not be interrupted, he instead gains a ten second buff [Steel Armor] that raises his defenses.

DPS Check: "Your steel will not reach me!”

At about 70% health remaining, Mazu raises the shield and begins channeling energy into the sword, shown in a meter counting from 1 to 100. During this time, the party needs to hammer on the shield, with the tanks pulling away tethered squalls and gales to keep the DPS from being knocked backwards. 

Once the shield breaks, Mazu will take whatever power is in the meter and unleash a raid-wide attack by bringing the now powered Cì Tóng down on the party’s heads [Capsize]. Healers and tanks should both heal/mitigate through this phase in order to guarantee party survival. At 100%, this is an instant wipe.

Entering Second Phase: “Your persistence is admirable, but I will not fall so easily!”

Now without a shield, Mazu!Orrin’s defenses go down significantly; to make up for his, his attacks will hit harder, with Cì Tóng now a two-handed greatsword instead of a one handed weapon [Buff: Jade Blade]. His cleaves [Fury of the Storm] and tankbusters [Comber] become much stronger in this phase, and healers need to take care that their tanks remain topped off. He also has a new cast [Tall-Blossom’s Thorn] that swings Cì Tóng in a circle around him, requiring players to stand out of his range. Being hit with this cast causes Bleeding.

Should the fight drag on long enough, Mazu!Orrin will cast an enrage [Deaf to our Cries]. It has a twenty second cast time, and should the party not bring him down, it will be an instant wipe.

Party Losing to Primal Quote: “Now who will you call for help?”

Primal’s Defeated Quote: “All the people I saved, and I could not save myself...”

As Mazu’s aether dissipates, Orrin returns to normal, and he crumples to the ground in a still heap.

Tagged by: @clearsundays​ (I know I should have done Ehn since he’s my WoL but I already had an idea for Orrin w h o o p s)

Tagging: YOU. I don’t know who all got tagged yet. Please steal this from me

[kaaras-adaar-a]

4, 8, 14, 41, 54

101 DRAGON AGE QUESTIONS

4. What was your first Warden (gender/class/race/personality)?

I’ve only ever made one Warden, I played as female Mahariel, who was a duel weapons rogue, and I absolutely love her. For Lyna, she was thrust into a human world she really didn’t know much about, and to be honest... didn’t much care about, either. She of course underwent the ritual because her clan handed her over and because, ultimately, she did not wish to die either. But she never really learned to care much about human affairs. That doesn’t mean she didn’t do the right things mostly, but she can seem indifferent towards humans and their problems. The way they’ve treated her people has definitely left her a little salty at times (and with reason), and she is still strongly Dalish and holds her culture dearly. She romanced Zevran and underwent the ritual with Morrigan and Alistair so she didn’t have to die. After all, she wasn’t saved just to die by an Archdemon (in her eyes). She said ‘fuck that.’. 

8. Preferred class overall?

Definitely mage. Rogue is a close second, though. If I can wield magic in a game, I am far more inclined to choose mage/warlock or whatever magic user there is. It’s just something I greatly enjoy. I’m also a healer when it comes most roles, I enjoy supporting a team rather than be a tank. But damn do I love the mage moves in DA, that staff flip, heck yes. 

14. Favourite DA:O party combo?

Honestly, I really need to replay DA:O (but man so many of those missions were so draining). My go-to team was Zevran and Alistair, and then the third person changed between Wynn, Dog, Shale and Morrigan. 

41. Who did you romance in your first playthrough for each game?

Zevran, Fenris and Iron Bull. 

54 Fluffiest headcanon ever?

Can I cheat and just say a happy ending? lol. Honestly, I have loads of headcanons for many of my muses, I couldn’t possibly choose one to be the fluffiest other than getting the happy ending they deserve. Spending the rest of their lives happily by their lover’s side. I think Kaaras is my most fleshed out muse, and the idea of him and Bull eventually getting married, just loving and supporting each other so much is a really happy place for me. They both just... deserve so much love, and I want nothing more than happiness for them. <3 

[save-the-spiral]

InkWizTober Day Two: Mindless + Potions

Hi y’all! It’s still the second my time, so welcome to day two of Inktober! Decided to do an OC fic, about my character Emrys! Sort of a companion to this, so maybe read that before? Warnings for magical substance abuse, pain, self destructive tendencies, and one mention of suicide.

(link to prompt lists) (link to inktober tag)

Emrys grimaced, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom and panting. Nightmares were awful, but the frantic unconscious movement would strain muscles that would never properly heal. Groaning, he splayed a hand against the thick rope-like scar on his bare chest, mentally preparing to get out of bed.

He glanced at the clock in his room. Four AM wasn’t that early of a wake up time for him. Emrys groaned again as he got up. One hand was rubbing lightly at his chest, trying to get that tight, painful sensation to stop, and the other was clutching desperately against the headboard of his bed.

The wind chimes on his balcony moved faintly, the crystals gleaming faintly in the moonlight. The October breeze was chilling, but Emrys never bothered to wear shirts to bed anyway. Even if he did get cold, he would never admit it, his pride as an ice wizard overtaking common sense.

He stumbled into his bathroom, hands automatically going to the medicine cabinet. The empty bottles of pain potions took a moment to recognize, before he sighed and closed it again, coming face to face with his reflection as the cabinet closed.

The boy in the mirror looked almost gaunt, a childish caricature. The smears of purple fingerpaint under the eyes, the deep empty black of the eyes, the messy impossible hair.

Emrys brushed his shaking fingers through his blue hair, staring back at that boy, and not quite recognizing him. With a shake of his head, he turned around and left, putting on his slippers for the walk downstairs.

Tiredly making his descent Emrys skipped the creaky third step of the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Pulling out ingredients and a cauldron were automatic tasks. The tools were all bright silver and the cauldron was a deep black, onyx embedded into the rigid handles. 

It was a gift from his father when he and Mari got their little cottage. It saw far more use than his father probably ever anticipated.

Emrys knew the recipe of the health potion by heart now, and couldn’t tell anyone how long it took because he typically brewed it in times like this, middle of the night affairs spent in exhausted trances. He stared down into the indigo mixture as he stirred like it had the answers to his problems, though he knew it certainly didn’t. 

Three years of taking potions to stop the pain, to get some sleep, to get through a damn day of school without getting distracted or short of breath. Chronic conditions weren’t meant to exist in the magical worlds. If a wizard didn’t get it all magically fixed immediately, they tended to not survive severe injury. 

Unfortunately for Emrys, he did survive. A twinge of pain at the repeated stirring motion reminded him, the aggravated injury making him clench his teeth.

The potion was now a bright violet, almost the proper shade. Emrys crushed lavender under a silver blade and dropped it into the cauldron, watching the potion lighten slowly. 

With a relieved sigh, Emrys blew on the flames under the cauldron, drawing on his inner magic to kill the fire. Standing back up, he stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders. He’d just have to wait for it to cool now.

“You could’ve told me.”

Emrys startled, before turning around to look at his sister, Mari. 

She stood there in a green tank top and black sweatpants, leaning against the kitchen’s doorway. She was staring him down in a way that made Emrys very sure that he messed up.

“Tell you what?” Emrys asked, tone flat. He was too tired to act angry or guilty.

“Don’t play stupid, you’re bad at it.” Mari walked across the kitchen and began looking through cupboards, grabbing ingredients. “You’ve been having nightmares. You’ve been taking potions, and not telling me- and I’m your fucking healer, I’m supposed to know that shit- and you’ve been sleeping maybe four hours a night.”

At Emrys’ confused look Mari snorted. “You’re not nearly as stealthy as you think you are, Emmy.”

Emrys sat down at the kitchen table, his chair turned to look out from the table. “It’s my business.”

Mari pulled a carton of eggs out of the fridge and whirled around to look at him. “What the hell does that mean? I think it’s my business if your health is so shitty you fall asleep in the library and almost collapse in a practice duel- yes, Jen told me, they were really worried.” 

Emrys frowned. “I can take care of-”

“No, Emrys!” Mari left the eggs on the counter and approached him, and Emrys noticed her eyes were full with tears. “No you can’t! You’re not okay! And I’m worried, Irisi’s worried, your friends are worried! You need to stop and relax for once, because you’re working yourself into the fucking ground and I’m not going to sit here and let you fucking kill yourself like this!” 

Emrys tried to speak, to say something biting and cruel enough that Mari would leave him alone, only to let out a strangled, hiccup-y sob. 

Mari pulled him into her arms, and they both sank onto the freezing tile floor. Emrys couldn’t remember the last time he cried- it must’ve been when he was still in Mooshu, years ago. 

Mari was crying now too. “Please-” She kept stuttering, before pulling back to look him in the eyes. “Please, let me take care of you. I can’t lose the brother I just got back.” 

Emrys nodded, before embracing her desperately, melting into her and letting her support him.

[tacticsroom]

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (Unit Review)

Available at 4-5★

Lvl 40 Stats (Flaw/Neutral/Asset)

HP:  35/39/42

Atk: 30/33/36

Spd: 27/30/33

Def: 19/22/25

Res: 30/33/36

Neutral BST: 156

Max Dragonflowers: 5

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Skills

Weapon: Gravity+ (300 SP)

Mt: 10. Rng: 2. After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts status on target and foes within 1 space of target restricting movement to 1 space through their next actions.

Staff. Can be inherited. Can be refined.

Assist: Martyr+ (300 SP)

Rng: 1. Restores HP = damage dealt to unit +50% of Atk. (Minimum of 7 HP.) Restores HP to unit = half damage dealt to unit. 

Can be inherited.

Special: Miracle (200 SP)

CD: 5. If unit's HP > 1 and foe would reduce unit's HP to 0, unit survives with 1 HP.

Can be inherited.

A: AR-D Spd/Res 3 (240 SP)

If defending in Aether Raids, grants Spd/Res+X during combat. (Calculates X based on number of your defensive structures: ≥5 structures grants +10; 4 grants +7; 3 grants +4; ≤2 grants +1. Destroyed defensive structures are not counted.) 

Can be inherited.

B: None.

C: Odd Res Wave 3 (240 SP)

At start of odd-numbered turns, grants Res+6 to unit and adjacent allies for 1 turn. (Bonus granted to unit even if no allies are adjacent.) 

Can be inherited. 

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Analysis

Despite being a unit released in 2019 and receiving extra BST, Mercedes is a very underwhelming healer with an awkward statline and lack of a PRF staff, making several other infantry healers outclass her right from her introduction. Her offenses leave a lot to be desired, 33 Atk and 30 Spd is awful in today’s standards, even for healers. Being an infantry unit also means she lacks the mobility of a flying or cavalry healer, but it also means she gets access to infantry exclusive support skills like Infantry Pulse or Infantry Rush.

Mercedes’ skill set doesn’t help her case either: she does not bring any new or rare staff like Flash+; her A skill is useless on literally any mode that isn’t Aether Raids, and even there she is far from the best hero to use in defense, and while Odd Res Wave helps her boost her decent Res, she prefers other support C skills or even other Wave skills.

Despite all of this, Mercedes can still find herself useful thanks to the powerful combination of Wrathful Pain and Dazzling Staff, a set that is impossible for a healer to be bad at. Mercedes also has a decent Res stat sitting at 33, which with enough investment, can allow Mercedes to use Ploys or serve as a Res tank, but its better for her to stay true to her title and stay devoted to supporting others.

Mercedes prefers an asset/boon in Atk and Res, while she prefers a flaw/bane in HP and Def (keep in mind that HP is a superflaw/bane, meaning she will lose 4 points of HP rather than 3).

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Similar Units

Brady: Daunting Priest (41/33/32/23/28)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (-2/+0/-2/-1/+5)

Lucius: The Light (37/32/30/13/35)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (+2/+1/+0/+9/-2)

Mikoto: Caring Mother (38/35/32/20/26)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (+1/-2/-2/+2/+7)

Sakura: Loving Priestess (36/28/30/24/30)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (+3/+2/+0/-2/+3)

Serra: Outspoken Cleric (33/31/30/21/33)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (+6/+2/+0/-2/+0)

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Builds

Budget

While Mercedes comes with a very lacking skill set, due to nature of being a healer she doesn’t need much inheritance to fill her role. It is prefered to refine Gravity with Dazzling Staff rather than Wrathful since Mercedes’ Atk is nothing to write home about, so it’s better for her to support her team via inflicting negative status on her foes while not fearing enemy counterattacks. 

Replacing AR-D Spd/Res is extremely recommended, since she won’t  benefit from it at all outside of Aether Raids. Due to healer’s limited A skill options, even moreso in a budget set, she is better off with a simple stat boosting skill like Atk +3 or Res +3. Her B slot can vary, it can be Wings of Mercy on a tight budget, or maybe a Chill skill or Live to Serve. Since its a low investment set. Odd Res Wave can be kept because it boosts Mercedes’ decent Res a bit, and with a seal like Even Def Wave, she can also support her allies when alternating turns.

Mercedes’ sacred seals options are: Atk +3, Atk/Res 2, Atk/Res Bond, Renewal, Live to Serve, Chill Atk and Chill Spd.

Savage Blow Pain+

Even with all of her downsides, Mercedes does have a saving grace: the Savage Blow Pain Build, that is impossible for any healer to be bad at since having an Atk or a Spd stat doesn’t matter for this build to work. With Pain and double Savage Blow, Mercedes deals 10 true damage to her foe and 24 to any foes around them. Add the infamous Dazzling Staff to be extra annoying.

With some investment, Mercedes can actually become a powerful offensive staff unit, but it requires an asset/boon in either Atk or Spd, and another A skill like Atk/Spd Bond or Atk/Spd Solo; the former was given for free on Tempest Trial unit Louise: Eternal Devotion, while the later is still locked to 5 star exclusive units.

Ranged Tank

Mercedes does have a decent Atk and Res stats, and with some investment and an asset/flaw on either of them, she can fill the role of a Magic tank or even a general Ranged tank.

The first set is more on the budget side and focuses on Mercedes’ Atk and Res, boosting them with a double Atk/Res Bond so she can get +10 Atk/Res when adjacent to an ally, but Atk/Res Solo can work as well. Dull Ranged is there so Mercedes won’t have to fear Bladetome mages who would ORKO her otherwise. Odd Res Wave can be kept to further boost her Res, but it can be replaced by an Atk Wave skill.

The second set is a rather expensive one, requiring 2 5 star exclusive units and probably a preferable asset/boon. This build also turns Mercedes in a mixed ranged tank, being able to tank mages easily and also withstand attacks from daggers and bows, though far less reliable. With Distant Defense 4 and the Distant Defense sacred seal, Mercedes gets +14 Def/Res when in combat agains a ranged unit on top of neutralizing enemy buffs, meaning she can be a little though for them to kill even if they double her. Null-C Disrupt is for her to be able to retaliate against other healers, who will most likely deal no damage against her at all. 

Arena Support

Thanks to Colorless Duel Infantry, infantry healers can now be used in the higher tiers of Arena. Mercedes’ low Atk actually benefits her a lot here since she will likely deal very little damage to her foes and thus is not prone to stealing kills from the bonus unit. And for all of the Mercedes fans out there who wish to use her as a support unit, she has a wide range of staves to choose from, but most of them come from seasonal units, so these builds are rather expensive.

The first one makes use of the Ovoid Staff to passively heal her allies every turn, and even she can heal the non-bonus unit that was damaged tanking something so they don’t die. Dual Savage Blow is used as chip damage to help the bonus unit secure kills, and Chill Atk is there for general support.

The second build makes Mercedes a Def/Res buffer with the Toasty Skewer, which grants her allies within 2 spaces +3 Def/Res during combat, which, combined with 2 Drives on her C slot and Sacred Seal, can turn Mercedes into either an Omni-Drive unit like Marth, or grant +6 Def/Res to her allies when they are in combat. Both of these options are equally great for support, but its up to personal preference and the team’s needs. 

[legionofthedawn]

The Legion of the Dawn’s Fourth Anniversary!

The time has come! For four long years, the Legion of the Dawn has been fighting evil throughout the world, from Stormwind to Strom, from the Broken Isles to the Swamps of Kalimdor, and even to the very gates of Hell. For four years we have grown, from a small and devout order to a large and capable force that can take the fight anywhere it needs going! For four years, we’ve grown to make lifelong friends and allies. Four long years of a history I wouldn’t trade for anything. On April the 20th, we celebrate the fourth anniversary of the Legion of the Dawn!

Our first anniversary was held on the Argent Tournament grounds, but since then for our second, we’ve moved to a much brighter town- Hearthglen! We’ll be using the main courtyard for the opening ceremony, and general areas around the town for events and celebrations. There’s space galore, all of it befitting the bright history of the Dawn!

When

The Anniversary will start at 4 server, April the 20th, which falls upon a saturday this year. It will likely continue until 7 server or later, though the closing ceremony will be held after all the tournaments and contests are over!

What to look forward to!

PVP TOURNAMENT: To test steel and strength! Battle is no stranger to the Dawn, and it’s soldiers are oft used to sparring amongst themselves. Join in, and decide if you may be a true champion of the Dawn!

Rules: A duel bracket system will be used to determine the winner, decided upon by duels in the world. No tanks or healer classes will be allowed- only DPS classes! Cooldowns that are unusable in rated content are NOT permitted! Prizes will go to 1st and 2nd, as well as the winner of the losers bracket in third!

1st Place Prize: 10,000 gold, golden emblem of the wings of the Dawn, custom blade forged by the Highlord. Title “Champion of the Morning Light.”

2nd Place Prize. 5,000 gold, silver emblem of the wings of the Dawn, custom shield forged by the Highlord. Title “Knight of the Morning Light.”

3rd Place Prize: 2,000 gold, Bronze emblem of the wings of the Dawn, ring forged by the Highlord. Title “Warrior of the Morning Light.”

Supervisor for the PVP tournament:  Highlord Raseri

Jousting Tournament: The Knights of the Dawn take great pride in their skill upon horseback, and their deadliness with a lance! The Lord Cavalier of the Dawn will demonstrate such a thing by pitting the Riders against each other- can you defeat a Knight of the Dawn in a joust?

Rules: Riders will be granted a steed from the stables of the Dawn(In proxy, just use any horse model. Only horses will be accepted.) They will take up positions across a field from their challenger, and upon the call of the supervisor, will ride towards each other. In raid, each will make a /roll 20 at the other.

The Higher roll will strike a blow against the lower roll, counting up his score

First to three wins.

If a knight rolls a 1, he is dehorsed, and immediately loses.

If a knight rolls a 20, he dehorses his opponent, and immediately wins.

1st place Prize:10,000 gold, golden emblem of the Dawn, Custom forged lance from the Lord Cavalier. Title “Champion of the Golden Horse.”

2nd place Prize. 5,000 gold, silver emblem of the Dawn, custom forged helm from the Lord Cavalier. Title “Champion of the Silver Horse.”

3rd place Prize: 2,000 gold, bronze emblem of the Dawn, custom forged ring. Title “Champion of the Bronze Horse”

Supervisor for the Jousting Tournament: Lord Godwyn the Radiant.

Archery Tournament: No less important is the ability to strike at an opponent from a distance! The archers and riflemen of the Dawn are trained heavily to strike with pinpoint accuracy at those who would do evil.

Rules: Participants will be provided a contest bow or rifle, depending on their comfort with either. There will be three targets, placed an appropriate distance away from the contestant, each increasing in distance. Participants will receive points based upon their accuracy with the targets. Further away targets grant increased points.

Short Target

Above a 5: Outer hit, 1 Point

Above an 8: Middle hit, 2 points

Above a 10: Bullseye, 3 points

Middle Target

Above a 9: Outer Hit, 4 points

Above an 11: Middle hit, 5 points

Above a 13: Bullseye, 6 points

Far Target

Above a 14: Outer Hit, 7 points

Above a 16: Middle hit, 8 points

20: Bullseye, 12 points

At the end of the event, scores will be tallied up and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place archers will be announced.

1st place Prize: 10,000 gold,golden emblem of the wings of the Dawn,  Crafted Elven bow from the inquisitor Iferhi Frostwind. Title “Eyes of the Eagle.”

2nd Place Prize: 5,000 gold, silver emblem of the wings of the Dawn, crafted archery glove from the inquisitor Iferhi frostwind. Title “The Sunlight Arrow.”

3rd place prize: 2,000 gold, bronze emblem of the wings of the Dawn, crafted ring from the inquisitor Maritza Sommerfield. Title: “Archer of the Dawn.”

Supervisor for the Archery Tournament: High Inquisitor Anegorn Faroak

ADDITIONAL THINGS WE ARE LOOKING FOR.

Catering! Can’t have a celebration on an empty stomach! Anyone that is willing to provide both food and drinks can contact us.

Music! Wouldn’t be much of a celebration without musical accompaniment! Are you a band? A solo act? Message us and get to playing!

Speeches for the opening ceremony! Do you have a story about the Dawn? Interaction with a member? Or just something you want to say? Let me know and we’ll add your speech to the opening ceremony! Keep them short, please, and have them prepared. No objectionable content.

Any other ideas are welcome!

Closing Notes

This is an open event! If you’re interested, please come! No one is barred or excluded! Please, stay respectful, however.

If you need further information, just contact us on our tumblr, or ingame at an officer(Raseri, Sint, Anegorn, Blazeralw)

I can also be reached on Discord at EvilSpaceEmperor#0910 or on btag at Spaceemperor#1939

Look forward to seeing you there!

[rollingpoffin]

Find & vote Heroes

I've seen a LOT of confusion regarding the 2nd anniversary event, especially when it comes to choosing units. So I thought that a little analysis of "top" heroes could help casual players that don't exactly know about every skill in the game.

(Legendaries and seasonals will be mostly considered over normal heroes because of their limited availability)

RED UNITS

As always red results as the stacked color, with tons of good units to consider

L!Marth

PRO: Exalted Falchion and his B skill (Binding shield) makes him one of the best dragon slayers around, besides his general stats are really solid. The combination between Falchion and his special, if used correctly, can make for a really buffed team (in this regard L!Azura is a wonderfull ally).

CON: His fodder potential is not the best having only Atk/Spd bond and Infantry flash. Can be treaky to use properly, especially for newcomers.

L!Hríd

PRO: A cavalry tank that hits like a truck. With an astounding 37ATK (not counting the possible superboon) and 39DEF Hrid sure knows how to deal with physical units. His only real problem resides in the nonexistent speed, but the combination of his B (Freezing seal) and weapon should make up for it, preventing the enemy from double and granting Hrid a follow-up instead. If considered for fodding Distant Counter is sure a nice thing to have.

CON: Like Marth before him, requires specific conditions (debuffed enemies in this case) to work properly.

H!Myrrh

PRO: In a meta of dragons and armors Myrrh is one of the best. Stellar ATK/DEF and good RES/HP makes her a versatile unit, being useful in both player and enemy phase. Thanks to his weapon and natural B (Vengeful fighter) she is almost guaranteed to make a follow-up on both phases on top of a reduced cool down.

CON: As good as Myrrh present herself, fodder is limited to armored units so if you're not a fan there is little use here.

Tibarn

PRO: As our first 3 movement flier along the other beasts, he is considered a reliable powerhouse on player phase thanks to the unique Sturdy impact and high ATK. Being a flier unit and beast, he can benefit from the buffs of both classes. Regarding fodder Even atk wave is a versatile skill only shared with H!Kagero.

CON: His horrible RES makes him an easy target for any mages (especially the ever common Reinhard). As a normal unit Tibarn is present in every banner, even if not featured as focus.

L!Eirika

Another sword cavalry. Eirika is by no means a bad unit, but her weapon requirement can be difficult to archieve sometimes, making her more of a fodder heaven between Atk/Spd solo and Odd wafe def.

Honorable mention

Winter Tharja

GREEN UNITS

L!Hector (or any Hector, really)

Hector is one of those units that are good, no matter the version. High stats, armored status and optimal fodder (Distant counter, Vengeful Fighter) makes him someone that everyone should be happy to pull.

Surtr

PRO: By now Surtr is considered one of the strongest units in the game thanks to the combination of his stellar bulkiness, Steady Stance and Sinmara. Having an almost unkillable tank that deals 20HP of passive dmg at the start of every turn (the only requirement is having foes within 2 spaces) sounds like fun, if you're the one using him.

CON: his fodder potential is basically null, with even Steady stance 4 requiring at least Steady stance 1 unlocked due to inheritance limitations. (See Tibarn for availability)

Honorable mention

Lewin

BLUE UNITS

L!Azura

PRO: Azura is by a large margin the best dancer in the game. Her high mobility paired up with the special effect of Prayer Wheel, her signature empowered version of sing (+1 mov to infantry and fliyng units) and a prior buff can bring the refreshed unit to a whopping +6/7 in ATK/SPD/DEF/RES. B Duel flying can make her relevant even in aether raids and arena.

CON: The only real problem with Azura is that if you already have her, then pulling another is pratically useless. Dancers are known to be out of the Boon/Bane loop considering that you'll use them to refresh 80% of the time. Her fodding isn't good as well.

L!Tiki

PRO: Her role is very similar to Myrrh, differences being her blue color and unique C (With everyone!) that grants DEF/RES +5 to unit and adjacent units. Tiki comes with a complete skill package and can be used effectively without any investment, having innate DC and possibility to proc her special every turn thanks to Fierce breath and Bold fighter.

CON: Same with Myrrh, but this time Fierce breath can be inherited even by Infantry units.

Nailah

All around a very solid unit, the real strenght of Nailah resides is her kit. Distant counter and Glare are wonderful skills, plus her B (Null-C Disrupt) represent an answer to dazzling staff users (Veronica and Genny just to make an example), negating the prevention of counterattacks.

Honorable mention

Ophelia

COLORLESS UNITS

L!Robin

PRO: Robin comes as 1 of the only 2 colorless dragon this game has to offer. Her A skill (Dragonskin) counts as a superior version of the Iote shield, not only negating effective dmg from archers but also granting DEF/RES +4 during enemy phase. She is one of the best enemy phase centered fliers and, even if a bit situational, Res smoke is still a great skill to have.

CON: Due to the changes in the meta Robin has fallen a little in utility compared to some months ago.

Duma

PRO: Our other colorless dragon. Right now, Duma might be the best unit to have in Aether Raids. Upheaval deals 7dmg to all foes at the start of turn 1 and, if he's deployed in a defence team during Anima seasons, destroys offensive structues within the same column as him. This synergies well with his weapon, giving Duma a whole ATK/RES+6 and no follow up for the enemy. His stats are not something to laugh at with the 3rd ATK(40) in all game and a good mixed bulkiness. Def/Res solo and Bold fighter are optimal fodder.

CON: Duma is really good, but if someone is not fond of Aether Raids they might find his unique skill and Mythical effect rather useless.

H!Mia

Witchy wand is a unique weapon, having the power to reset enemies special cooldowns. Adding to the already high mobility of Mia as an healer, she can run the Dazzling/Wrathful combo.

Honorable mentions

Brave Veronica (I would have put her between the other units, but she's already a free pull)

Winter Eirika

H!Jakob

Loki

Hope this list will help at least 1 confused person to choose units not because everyone is saying soo, but because he's interested in them.

(Ps: english is not my native language, if there are any grammatical horrors just tell me so that I can improve!)

[tony-montana-shit]

Jeff Kaplan The Matchmaker

A/N: Hey guys! So @requestfairy and @moonschild09 know whats up with this but basically the whole first part is true but with me and a guy I met playing Overwatch but he asked if I’d be down for online dating within like 10 minutes of knowing each other so as soon as we finished playing together I blocked him but then I thought “Wow imagine if this happened but with Jungkook” So here you go! Also I made Jungkook wait longer cause he’s not a creep. Also Jeff kaplan is the developer for Overwatch and I thought matchmaker would be a cute playing on putting people in a game being called Matchmaking so uwu.

Donations to my Ko-Fi help a ton and any little bit is greatly appreciated! You can find the link in my bio!

A, D, Mouse 1, D, Crouch, A, A, Mouse 1, A, Crouch, D, D, Mouse 1, A, Crouch. Your Fingers started to cramp slightly, eyes laser focused on your screen. You were determined to win this Widowmaker battle, you and the enemy Widow had been going back and forth killing each other, overtime is about to hit, your tanks and healers are already on second point. You only need one more tick to capture the point and win the game, this will probably be the last team fight and you need to to get this guy, if he wins this 1v1 he’ll definitely kill your Ana and being down a dps and main healer will make you lose the game. Dink! You hit a headshot, not fully changed but he has to be sweating a little now. You grapple to the high ground and scope in while in the are, flicking to the Widow and hitting that final headshot! Now you’re able to focus on the rest of his team, taking out their Zenyatta while your Reinhardt kills the last enemy on point, quickly capturing the point after and winning the game. The chat fills with “gg” when a notification pops up on your screen. “Jk97 sent you a friend request” You hit accept, sure that the Widow just wants to whisper “nice Widow” to you, something that’s happened before.

“You played really well! Those Widow duels were on point!”

“Thanks! You were great too! Kept me on my toes haha”

“Do you wanna queue together? I’ll even let you Widow haha”

“Sure!”

It’s been a couple weeks since you first started playing with Jk, anytime you were both on you’d duo queue and you’ve went on a few winning streaks! You added each other on Discord not too long after first meeting, but since then your voice calls have been getting longer and longer, especially when you’re not playing together, staying up late on the phone, watching Netflix together or just talking about your day. You knew you when done for when you started getting butterflies with every notification, hoping it would be Jungkook. Your phone buzzes and your hand shoots out to grab it.

“Hey, so I know I’m being a pussi boi by sending this as a text but I was too nervous to say it out loud. I really like you. I’m so glad we got put in that game together, we’ve gotten so close and I love being your friend, I really do! But I’d love to be your boyfriend even more”

You’re face lights up, you’re cheeks hurt from how hard you’re smiling and you can’t click the start call button fast enough.

[ihavealavalamp]

ALL OF THEM. NOW

1. A favorite character you have played. - YOU CAN NOT POSSIBLY THINK THAT I DONT LOVE ALL MY CHARACTERS EQUALLY I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH YOU CANT MAKE ME CHOOSE

2. Your favorite character that someone else has played. - r.....ruby...... and all your characters honestly.. also monty played by jaye in daga boys will always have a special place in my heart cause hes just a Ride of a character, chas played by nick is my fucking Friend, and i could keep going honestly i love everyones characters so much you dont understand

3. Your favorite side quest. - i think a lot about the werewolf shenanigans in aurum. i’ll never forget it. 

4. Your current campaign. - im in so many fuckign campaigns rn please god dont make me list them

5. Favorite NPC. - sheila.... all of huli’s friends in flying plague, literally every npc in best intentions (emphasis on astarielle and marlon who make me think a Lot), everyone in story of the stars, and Uhhhh cat does a Real good depiction of ellar in the murder HDSDHS

6. Favorite death (monster, player character, NPC, etc). - i wasnt even fuckin There but the death of elaris. i think abt that a lot. also poetry killing bear was Top Ten Anime Moments

7. Your favorite downtime activity. - depends on the character! most times i cant really think of much though hgfhgf

8. Your favorite fight/encounter. - the poetry vs bear duel was Iconic, and every encounter in best intentions is so fuckin Good cause milo makes some real terrifying monsters like jesus CHRIST.. also in daga boys when walter and the gang were escaping Lich Court. iconic.

9. Your favorite thing about D&D. - i like that it keeps me social and interacting with friends! i have problems with isolating myself but planning d&d stuff keeps me from doing that frequently Thank God.. also i love roleplaying and having a character that grows and interacts with others! i also really love some good ol combat.. i honestly love pretty much every aspect of d&d im very easy to please

10. Your favorite enemy and the enemy you hate the most. - i dont know if i have a favorite! i think lots are real good! but enemy i hate the most has gotta be those fuckin magical huge centipedes milo sent after us in best intentions. FUCK those things.

11. How often do you play and how often would you ideally like to play? - i play pretty frequently! im in a Lot of campaigns rn so im able to play things pretty much whenever i have the time to do so. 

12. Your in game inside jokes/memes/catchphrases and where they came from. - “you really pulled the nose on that one” is Iconic, it was from the first session of daga boys in which a trap activated by pulling the nose of a statue just. kept going off. like they kept pulling the nose Knowing it’d go off. and god i could write so many more but it would make this way too long GDHJDS

13. Introduce your current party. - im in so fucking many campaigns!!!!! but the last two i played i guess.... in best intentions dmed by milo we’ve got gwen the life domain cleric and delwyn the berserker barbarian played by simone and kiara! theyre two dwarf wives on their honeymoon and they got caught up in this ghfhgf,, and my character is silbryn! the fiend warlock we all know and love! and marlon, the dmpc who is generally cryptic and kinda terrifying sometimes but i love him anyways. and then in story of the stars, dmed by krissie! it’s a warrior cats campaign because we’re VALID and the party is orchidpaw played by cat who is aiming for being the leader but has a tenancy to be a bit loudspoken, and my character, songpaw, who is the medicine cat apprentice who tries to be mature but his short temper can get the best of him sometimes. and simone plays bo, a big ol mom cat! i love them.

14. Introduce any other parties you have played in or DM-ed. - TOO MANY I CAN NOT

15. Do you have snacks during game times? - when we’re playing online i dont bc i dont want to make Crunching Noises, but in irl sessions i just eat whatever’s there if anything is there. ya know. im so tired.

16. Do you play online or in person? Which do you prefer? - both! i prefer irl greatly though... im a very Expressive person and my characters are like 75% facial expressions and body language gfhfghgf

17. What are some house rules that your group has? - i can not actually think of any rn ghfghfg

18. Does your party keep any pets? - ya!! lots of familiars.. u know how it be

19. Do you or your party have any dice superstitions? - hfghf i know some people i play with do, but i personally do not!

20. How did you get into D&D? How long have you been playing? - my friends were playing it cause theyre a bunch of NERDS. and it’s been like two years now i think! i started near the end of highschool!

21. Have you ever regretted something your character has done? - CONSTANTLY MY CHARACTERS ARE SUCH DUMBASSES BUT I GOTTA BE IN CHARACTER!

22. What color was your first dragon? - first dragon we took down was a young green dragon in daga boys!

23. Do you use premade modules or original campaigns? - original campaigns, mostly! i do play in a curse of strahd and a ravnica campaign though!

24. How much planning/preparation do you do for a game? - I HAVE TO DO SO MUCH AS A DM otherwise i will Fall Apart. as for pcs, i jsut go in blind and do what my character would do in that moment HJDSKJD

For DMs

25. What have your players done that you never could have planned for? - mainly not acknowledge certain things that are important hgfhgf but other than that ive been lucky to have players that dont really do things that throw me off too much

26. What was your favorite scene to write and show your characters. - the marley scene in weltschmerz i am still SO HAPPY with that... also in underground orchestra when iris explored ellar’s house.... Classic.

27. Do you allow homebrew content? - yeah!! as long as the player runs it by me first then im usually good with pretty much anything as long as it isnt game breaking gfhgfh

28. How often do you use NPCs in a party? - very often i like to Talk and i usually have quite a few reoccurring npcs that either stick with the party or are consistent in their appearances gfhgf (velki in weltz, ellar in uo, ivory in harbingers)

29. Do you prefer RP heavy sessions or combat sessions? - I LIKE BOTH.... im a simple man

30. Are your players diplomatic or murder hobos? - i have good players in both my campaigns!! but i guess it depends!

For Players

31. What is your favorite class? Favorite race? - i LOVE ME SOME CHARISMA CASTERS.... warlocks, sorcerers, and bards are just Fun babey!!! and tieflings, aasimars, and aarakocra are Fun and friends

32. What role do you like to play the most? (Tank/healer/etc?) - im almost Always a caster ghfhgf... glass cannon babey

33. How do you write your backstory, or do you even write a backstory? - it always takes me a While to fully flesh out a backstory, but usually listening to music is what gives me ideas and inspiration for it!

34. Do you tend pick weapons/spells for being useful or for flavor? - flavor, usually! i try to pick things that would be in character for the one im playing!

35. How much roleplay do you like to do? - lots...... im a simple man

there you go, thanks ya fuckin heathen