#environment ki definition

[neechees]

This isn't supposed to be a gotcha, I'm genuinely asking because my dad keeps using this as an argument when I try to explain land back stuff to him. And I'm hoping you can help give tips on how to explain it to him.

We're European, and as you probably know there's people here who are anti-immigrant / anti-refugee bc they're racist and want it to be only Europeans. My dad thankfully isn't *that* bad, but his argument is "well if indigenous ppl deserve their land back, even despite all the non-natives who moved there bc they had to, then don't the anti-immigrant EU ppl have the right to kick out the immigrants even if they fled to here as refugees?"

It's so gross and i don't blame you if you don't want to engage with it/answer this anon. I just am like trying to figure out how to answer him and of all the progressive issues I explain to my dad this is the one I'm least familiar with. So how do I explain to him why it doesn't really apply to indigenous Europeans?

I can't tell what you mean when you say "Indigenous Europeans", because Indigenous is a racialized and political category of people that have been affected and racialized by colonialism in a specific way, "Indigenous" doesn't just mean "x group of people who originally come from x area". Because you haven't specific a specific Indigenous Nation (for example, Saami), I'm going to assume you just mean that you are White Europeans who are not Indigenous. You'll have to explain that to him as well. This is also important, because I know many racist Europeans will co-opt Indigeneity in order to promote White Supremacist ideas like creating an ethnostate, and what your dad has suggested, is the definition of that. Secondly, tell him (even if you ARE Indigenous,) Indigenous people, as the same with anyone else, being xenophobic and racist towards immigrants is still bad and unacceptable, we don't get a free pass to be bigoted towards different groups of people and use "landback" as an excuse. Landback goes hand in hand with decolonizing, and you can't do that while perpetrating settler-colonial ideology and bigotry.

I don't know how many times we have to say this, but Landback does not inherently have to do with deporting anybody who isn't "Indigenous", and does not have anything to do with trying to create an ethnostate, the core goals of Landback is neither of those things. You have to emphasize this to him.

Landback has to do with sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples because as it is, we're being oppressed by the White governments that are occupying us. We are stripped of multiple rights while in our own homes. What your dad has suggested about White Europeans having the "right" to deport immigrants is already a reality, White Europeans already have privilege and power over immigrants, and many immigrants already ARE being deported and mistreated by those governments. There are race riots targeting immigrants happening in the U.K for goodness sake!

Landback is centered ideas of decolonizing and dismantling White Supremacy: Your dad's presented idea of mass deportation of any person who isn't ehtnically/racially European or is an (immigrant to there) from the country you reside in is based on White Supremacy. The category "immigrant" itself is very racialized, because when White North Americans or Europeans talk about deporting "immigrants" from the country, typically they're talking about Brown and Black people & people who aren't Christian, and I've never heard a White Canadian complain about a White French immigrant and suggest we deport them, or hear a White American complain about deporting the Irish.

As an example, trying to kick everyone else out of Turtle Island (or anywhere) for one thing would be WAAAAY too much of a hassle to even attempt, too expensive, and useless. Plus, if there was a mass exodus (for lack of a better word) of people via planes, vehicles, and ships all at once or even over time, that would have a big negative impact on the environment, which kind of goes against why people want Landback in the first place (to take care of the land and environment, we care about it). It's counterproductive to several of the goals of Landback.

So to recap, deporting any people who are not "Indigenous" or originally from one area is not the goal, your dad has made a false equivalency because 1

that's not what we want in the first place, Landback has nothing inherently to do with deporting anyone who isn't originally from a specific area or creating an ethnostate, and

trying to do it would be useless and going AGAINST the goals and principles of Landback and what is wanted

part of Landback is undoing racism and White Supremacy, and what he's suggested is promoting those things (White Supremacy and racism)

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

Enhypen Dynamics (Ni-Ki's perspective)

Okay, so at first look I am confused lol But that can happen, another one with contradicting cards, let's see what I get once I channel.

Heeseung (Chiron/4 of Wands)- So, Chiron is about healing wounds, and then we got the 4 of wands, a comfortable environment, stability, good vibes, pretty opposite cards here. So, he may feel comfortable sharing his hurt with Heeseung, or he helps him heal his wounds in other ways. There is a sense of comfort when he is around Heeseung. It is like if he is feeling hurt, Heeseung would be a good source of help or need. I don't really think he shares things with him, but Heeseung has ways of making him feel at ease. They just have good vibes when they are around each other.

Jay (Fixed/Queen of Pentacles)-Okay, this one is the easiest to understand, the most straightforward one. Jay is a stable force in his life, he is dependable and reliable. He is giving and very nurturing. It seems he tends to his needs a lot. I just get a reliable and stable force around him. He is definitely always there for him when need be. He can always rely on him. This one makes sense. I like their bond.

Jake (The Sun/Knight of Wands)-Okay, from Ni-Ki's perspective I am now seeing the playfulness that I didn't see in Jake's reading. Ni-ki enjoys Jake's company, they have a lot of fun when they are together. He can be playful and carefree with Jake. It is like he can express himself freely with him. With that Knight of wands, they enjoy doing a lot of things together, they can be adventurous with one another. Trying new things together. They ignite a lot of passion with one another. I just get let's do this, let's do that!

Sunghoon (House 12/8 of Wands)-It seems they are both about growth. Trying to transcend to a new level on their personal journey in life. House 12 is a highly spiritual card, not sure either is, but it is like both can help one another get to a new level in life. With the 8 of wands, they are both on the move. They both try to do a lot of things to expand themselves on a personal level. I don't get much about a dynamic here, but they do push each other to grow as a person.

Sunoo (Venus/9 of Swords)-Honestly the venus card popping out surprises me, but I guess it shouldn't. It seems he's got a lot of love for Sunoo, they both have a lot of love for one another. You know what I see in these cards, the way Ni-ki shows love to Sunoo is by playfully picking on him. I don't know why I get that from the 9 of swords, since that looks like a heavy card, and it can be. It is like he does it to help lift him up, maybe Sunoo does the same. They both worry a lot, and may struggle with sleeping at times, so they may pick on another to lift up the mood and make each other laugh.

Jungwon (Saturn/Temperance)-Okay, this surprised me, why did he give him the Saturn energy? When I see Saturn energy in a dynamic it usually indicates a difficult dynamic, a struggle to build a connection, but I felt these two were close at the moment, and with the temperance card, there seems to be a nice balance with the two, they find peace with one another. Why am I getting Yin and Yang. So, not sure what he means with this Saturn energy, maybe they are just both struggling with things, and that is how they relate, not sure there, pretty sure it will come up in the future about what that means. But it seems there is a nice flow with the two of them with the temperance card.

Okay, that was a bit confusing, but I think I got most of it. Done with all members now, but will return back to this, maybe in October. I'll give the energies a bit of time. I have always found their dynamics interesting when I have done readings in the past and this is no different.

[queen-scribbles]

taris agent story mention trap card activated; I'm REAL curious to know how arkady is feeling about how everything goes on taris? a couple credits for his (preliminary at least) thoughts?

Well, first off, he's extremely wary of Lokin. He clocked how dangerous the Affable Unassuming Old Man is within second, just didn't figure out the "can transform into a rakghoul (almost) at will" part. (But really, who expects something like that?)

He hates Taris as an environment. Arkady is a city boy. He was born and raised on Ziost. Sure there was training for different terrain, but that doesn't mean he enjoys it. xD He does not like trekking through swamps and dodging cityscape debris and mud and predators and this is so much worse than the Dromund Kaas jungles.

He's... a bit of a mess mentally for a bunch of reasons, not the least of which is the brainwashing reveal. I think that hit him even harder than it did Ody and it flipped her world upside down. He tried to blame it on the Sith, but couldn't ignore the reality of even if they asked for it, Keeper(the First) complied. He hates so much that it proves Watcher X right. Oh, my gosh, he's so grumpy about that. But he's still sorting through it all--Imperial Intelligence brainwashed him, Republic SIS found out how to control him using it, he's supposed to infiltrate and destroy this cell but does he really want to do that? These seem like good people, who are doing what they have to to protect their people, and really, how different are they from him?

(and floating in the background of it all is Watcher Two's voice saying high Imperial citizen casualties from the Eradicators are acceptable if it lets them stop Jadus. Even having joined Intelligence more to get away from home than anything it bothers him that she's ready to make that sacrifice so easily. First crack in his resolve.)

Chance is easy to work with; trusts him to do the job and seems to accept he's working on it even with complications. (Arkady spends half of Taris fighting the urge to ask how long Chance as been an agent bc he's way more trusting than any other spy he's met. >.>) Ardun's reaction to/commentary on Ki Sazen is what makes Arkady suspect the man's a Jedi himself; it sounds like way too personal an issue. Does make him smirk a little the Jedi seem to have the same issues as the Sith with rogue members and the like.

All of my agents are what might seem too forgiving of Ardun and Chance using the keyword and even if he's not questioning as much as, say, Jaaide or Ody, Arkady's no exception. In fact, I think he's bothered by it almost the least(might be tied with Ody), bc with his ruthlessly pragmatic streak he would do the same as Ardun without hesitation. (He wouldn't even be sorry; this is a war and protecting your assets comes first) (Besides, there's that slave you inject with what's basically the prototype serum for the Castellan Restraints back on DK, so it'd be massively hypocritical bc he DID do the exact same thing)

Him saving Chance instead of letting him die is the second crack in his loyalty. He should be "eliminating the enemy" and this is literally the perfect cover; he wouldn't even have to do anything, his inaction would be enough. Just let Chance succumb to his wounds. But he doesn't. Bc he's not a bad person, and pragmatically speaking, helping Chance will further ingratiate him with the team.

By the time he actually confronts Ki Sazen, he's pretty thoroughly convinced she's crazy. Also acting like a petulant child who ran away from home bc she didn't get her way. He killed her, bc there's no way Arkady is going to suggest someone join the Sith, and he wouldn't think she has the temperament for spy work so SIS is out too. (Also that line about "You were a savior. Now you're a martyr" is a banger)

I don't think he'd completely sorted through all his thoughts and emotions about his, uh, circumstances by the time he left Taris. He definitely dislikes the Sith even more now(haha can't wait til he romances Lana and has to Rethink Biases), he picked up a new nexu pet who will love him no matter what his decisions, and he's further embedded himself with Kothe's team, which he tells himself is good bc it'll let him do his job better. Not bc he's actually starting to like most of them. >:3

[chhagiya]

Unpopular Opinion time:

(This is my opinion. If you don’t agree with me, I fully understand and I don’t have any problem with that. In the past, I have been harassed because some people disagreed with something that I posted purely as a joke. I respect everyone’s point of view)

Sometimes when people grow up in same sex environment as a child, they tend to be more comfortable with that sex. For example, if someone grew up in girl’s only school, then they tend to be more comfortable around girls rather than guys. When someone grows up in boys only school, they tend to be more comfortable around guys compare to girls. And this is often carried in adulthood.

I think Moon Jo is like that too. He grew up in an environment where there were mostly guys. We don’t know much about his childhood. We just know he grew up in an orphanage where Eom Bok Soon was director. So I’m guessing it was a catholic orphanage ( given Eom Bok Soon appears to be closely related to church). Catholic orphanages( especially in the 90s or so) often used to be very strict and most likely not co-Ed. If that is the case, then he probably didn’t have that much exposure to women or girls other than Eom Bok Soon. She was a mother figure to Moon Jo and she tortured him. So obviously that scarred him. It’s very likely that he didn’t have a loving childhood or maternal love for that matter. And his friends, roommates or classmates would have been all boys. So it’s likely that for these reasons, he is more comfortable around guys compared to women. I don’t think it’s his sexuality. It’s just the way he grew up.

Moon Jo is 100% attracted to Jung Woo, there’s no denying that. But I don’t think he is exclusively or strictly gay. Straight, Gay, Bi… these labels mean a person is in general attracted to opposite and/or same sex. Straight people are in general attracted to opposite sex, Gay people are attracted in general to same sex and Bi people are attracted in general to both sexes. Moon Jo is none of these. Seo Moon Jo is annoyed by most people in general. Jung Woo is an exception. I don’t think he was that attracted to Ki Hyuk. Moon Jo and Ki Hyuk were more like Boss and Boss’s right hand man rather than lovers. Other than Jung Woo, he finds most people to be uninteresting, boring and/or annoying. So in my opinion, none of the usual labels are applicable for him.

I think, Moon Jo’s attraction doesn’t depend on a person’s gender or sex at all. If he is emotionally and psychologically attracted to someone, he will be attracted to that person. If his mind is attracted, his body would follow. In my opinion, if Yoon Jung Woo was a woman with same mindset, same personality, same instincts and same madness, Moon Jo would still be attracted to that person. If Jung Woo was an alien from a different planet, he would still be attracted to him. I believe the terms for that are Demisexual or Sapiosexual ( I often joke he’s Jungwoosexual). I don’t want to label Moon Jo in any way, he’s too complex to put a definition on him. But if I had to define his sexuality to some extent, I would say, in a broad sense, he’s Demisexual or Sapiosexual.

[bengiyo]

Our Dating Sim Eps 3 & 4 Stray Thoughts

Last week, this show got off to a great start. I really like seeing so many teams tackling second chance romance in BL this year.

We met Lee Wan last week, who confessed his feelings to his best friend, Shin Ki Tae, right before he was taken away by his aunt at the end of high school. Ki Tae was surprised, and so Lee Wan took this as a rejection. We learned that both of them spent the next seven years desperately pining after each other. Ki Tae managed to locate Lee Wan again, and has conspired to get him to work with his game development company.

This show is hitting the notes I think Individual Circumstances wanted, and I am here for it. It's one of the shows I'm most invested in right now.

Episode 3

The Jamie actress looks a little like Gigie.

I'm liking to slow play from Shin Ki Tae.

Episode 3: Your SNS

Feels like Shin Ki Tae wasn't keen on Theo getting so friendly with Lee Wan.

Letting us know that Shin Ki Tae yearned makes all of this so much more fun, because we can see the doublespeak about the game's options.

This company seems like a decent environment overall. Respect for folks' opinions. Earnest praise.

Oh ho! Of course Eddy (Ki Tae) recommended Ian (Lee Wan)!

This is fantastic. I loved the rooftop scene. I wouldn't say they cleared the air, but I'm glad Lee Wan knows that Ki Tae has been encouraging him for years, and clearly still values him (and even hinted at his own crush). I'm also glad Ki Tae pointed out that because Lee Wan ran away, he's respecting that choice. Big fan of Ki Tae being adamant that he doesn't want Lee Wan running away again.

These game sequences at the end that reflect their high school experience are so lovely.

Episode 4

Damn, did he really block Ki Tae? Valid, but damn.

Episode 4: A Sudden Fly Ball and Confession

Big fan of Eddy flirting.

Baby is a messy eater, my beloved. Also, Eddy getting himself flustered is adorable.

We return to their old school and it's suffused with green. Again, @respectthepetty wins because all I see is Ki Tae everywhere and how Lee Wan is swallowed by it.

Oh, this is definitely a date.

Kinda losing it over them treading a line as they have this confession.

"Were you doing well? Without me?" Going feral. It's such a loaded line. It's saying that he hasn't been doing well without him.

MY GOODNESS!! I am in love with this show!!!!! It completely understands its short run time and what it needs to get done. There's even tactical use of BL tropes and familiar settings. I also love the dynamic between the leads.

All I can say is THIS SHOW HAS EVERYTHING!!

[parabelllvm]

Whenever I think about Brodi, I just think of a sorcerer with concerningly high strength and charisma stats. Like I know I say that Brodi's muscle definition is in part due to constant strain ( because it is ), the other part is definitely due to them.... staying in shape where possible. Because Brodi does use their arms and legs for combat and has just elected to resort to physical combat. Ive also speculated that they do use some form of martial art to fight ( which is why they prefer unarmed combat ) so their hands are rated E for everyone.

The only reason I don't call them a monk with 4+ flavors is because their very being is inherently magical and though they store magic, they don't generate it. They draw it from the environment--so much so that they give off pressure when they're using magic because of how much they can take for themselves. The concept of ki/chi does exist and they're familiar with it, but it's like... a different battery--one that they're not configured for, you know? Their focus has always been on the arcane, the intricacies of the soul, and how the two interact, so I feel like...monk isn't quite right? Maybe monk flavored but not quite right in terms of what they actually are able to do.

[mahiiimahiiii]

Could I get a matchup?

I'm a 5ft tall straight woman with freckles (like a lot) (I'm pale as heck and I don't tan I just burn and then get freckles) , green eyes, medium length shaggy dyed black hair with bangs (naturally brown). Short and chubby with an hourglass figure.

I am a Sagittarius (tho I don't really belive in that sort of stuff) and have a mediator personality on the Briggs scale.

I love to bake, sew, crochet, draw, etc... Basically anything where I get to create something. I love seeing an idea come to life. I'm constantly making things and I like to fidget with anything I get my hands on (meaning I have a habit of breaking stuff) (often)

Baking and cooking in particular because I like to give things to people and it's a lot less weird to randomly gift cookies or a meal instead of a plushie.

I also keep freshwater aquariums and love the process of building tanks and decorating them. I especially love shrimp because they are adorable. And plecos.... I love my babys

I also keep insects and a gecko. I love them all. I make little hats for my gecko because he tolerates me too much..

Can I include pictures.... I'm including pictures

The first one is my favorite ugly boy, Groot. Second is Carlos who hates my face. Leo is the gecko, he is precious. Domino is the Betta. And ki-ki is my one eyed old woman.

I constantly crave affection (but will never admit to that) I really love cuddling, and am definitely touch starved but anyone who knows that has figured it out themselves. Because for some reason my brain thinks I don't deserve any of it. I really want to just be held one day. big strong man.... Or just a man really

Thanks ahead of time... Sorry if this is too long.

hello!!! i love your menagerie, please give your cat a kiss on her head please. plecos are adorable i do love their mustaches. i also love your geckos hat, he is looking rather dashing!

for you it feels slightly obvious that Halsin would be the best choice. (don't think i didn't see that last part /lh)

your menagerie already speaks for itself! he would most certainly be at home in that environment!

the scent that i'm getting is jasmine and monoi oil, there's a song called "forever" by the little dippers, and that's the vibe i'm getting. very sweet and dreamy!

Halsin is a very affectionate guy, he would all but melt away all needs for any other touch as well. (get onto hugging people!! it helps manage stress!!!)

for food i feel like a nice salmon with lemon and herbs du provance. salty, refreshing, and a yummy spring and summer meal. (if this makes sense my brain makes weird connectionsss)

i think for y'all it would be a craft date, this could mean going to a fabric or wool store. or sitting in a shopping cart in a home depot while he looks for silly home renovation things to do.

i feel like it could also be a lot of parallel play with soft music, doing your own thing together.

overall this sounds really cozy.

hope you enjoyed!

[wisteriafield]

Finished my revisit through Nioh 1 before going back to the sequel

First of all, jesus tumblr has changed a lot since I last used it.

Streams can be found here but its roughly 17 and a half hours worth, and thats leaving out many of the side missions

preliminary thoughts will be written below about missions, bosses, and some misc thoughts

There are 20 missions in the base game, including the Prologue and Epilogue, and while one mission is just a cutscene, I’m reminded of my girlfriend saying to me that she’s gonna laugh if Nioh 2 had 20 missions because it really just dresses the game up in 3 different PS2 action games in a dark souls rpg trenchcoat (which is correct).

Any Sub-Missions mentioned are because they have a unique map that isn’t reused in Nioh 2 that is worth mentioning.

Prologue: The Man With the Guardian Spirit

The framing device of the narrative means the actual game starts in London before we head out to Japan. Because William has not technically studied kenjutsu via convenient booklet yet, this means that we’re locked in Mid Stance the entire mission, can’t ki pulse, and gain no amrita, meaning that much of the encounters and mission pace are worthless, as we’re missing 80% of the meat of the game. Just run past everything. The only thing interesting about it is that it contrasts in environment with the whole of the upcoming game’s areas. You get to hear Timothy Watson (Urianger FFXIV: Heavensward-onward) as a disembodied voice (later revealed to be John Dee). You get to hear some hamfisted final thoughts of corpses that barely tie into tutorials for them (prisoners getting tortured saying they’re getting kicked while they’re down being a tutorial for Final Blows is my favorite of them).

A little note is that is because these aren’t Japanese shrines, William uses a different emote when praying at them rather than clasping his hands, a neat little detail. Dying in the Tower of London has a different death message, font ("This Life Has Ended" vs "You Died"), and different loading screens and music.

William is made an Irishman compared to his historical counterpart so Team Ninja could give him a spirit from Celtic Mythology as his partner and justification for immortality (a Merrow named Saorise). She’s cute and speaks entirely in Gaelic.

Boss: Derrick the Executioner

He’s mostly just an axe revenant but bigger. Even when he transforms its like a cross between an Amrita Fiend (that being just a slightly upgraded Yoki). And then you beat him with a cutscene.

But now our Merrow wife was stolen!

KYUSHU REGION

Mission 1: Isle of Demons

One of the biggest criticism of the game amongst its peers is the overuse of villages, forests, and caves. While caves are definitely overused, I personally like villages and forests, and you get a couple of different types of the latter in particular even in this game.

Now the game gives a proper tutorial, although the UI for selecting your loadout is a bit dry, it does give a bit of a description of what to expect from the weapon, which the sequel doesn’t really do.

Right away, the proper opening mission gives us an insight into one of the main ways this game’s level design differs from Dark Souls, in that there are multiple routes that converge to a point that can cater to different levels of strength at a time when you play them and discretion, the shorter path of most resistance and the more sensible route for the first time player, but with the way the NG+ system works in this game, your next rodeo you’ll be prepared to handle it.

In that regard, this is a well designed mission to start with. There are few avenues where you will be ambushed with any level of actual threat. There are a few yokai, but mostly dwellers and any yokai realm enemies are Yoki. You’ll mostly contend with humans who have no super armor on their attacks, so its just a matter of picking your fights and watching your ki using ki pulses. You’ll occasionally run into a ranged enemy from a high perch, but not the kind that lure you into a fight before they engage you (which the game loves to try and goad you into later on).

The village fringes are easy to navigate, and upon seeing the slope leading to the larger building atop a hill guarded by multiple enemies, a player will likely be spurned toward the forest to go around and sneak along the edge of the cliff, before getting to the main village and then to the coast on the other side where the boss awaits.

Boss: Onryoki

Starter boss that is emblematic of a lot of the lackluster concept of many Nioh 1 bosses. Slow, but easy to circle around so it’ll constantly be using its back attacks (which are always meaty spin attacks), the active frames being annoying to work around because enemy damage is absurd that it’ll probably kill you. The boss becomes much more bearable once the chains break at a certain HP%.

They overuse this boss way too much.

We now have access to Novice Ninjutsu, which finaly allows us to backstab unaware enemies, among other things.

Mission 2: Deep in the Shadows

Here we get the much-loathed caves. They introduce a few new enemies (Ninja Yoki, One-eyed Oni, Large Skeletons). Enemies do a lot of ki damage and there’s a dearth of footing, so players will probably fall to their death a lot of they’re not getting ki broken and killed after unless you’re a spacing god like me with Yoki lol.

Boss: Hino Enma

When people talk about preferring Nioh 1, they usually mention this boss as this super hard wall that speaks of the game’s difficulty (and for that type of gamer, means they think the game is better). In reality she largely just has basic attacks that do a lot of ki damage that have a lot of active frames that make her annoying, on top of her paralysis shouts. The most interesting thing is that she hits you with an umbrella sometimes, but her gimmick is the paralysis.

I just activated Living Weapon and beat her up, LW is so silly. She’s not hard, just annoyingly simple.

Afterwards we meet Okatsu, who will be conspicuously absent in the DLCs and sequel likely due to not being able to use Emi Takei’s likeness. She seems like a surrogate for the modern viewer’s values commenting on the insanity of honor-based warrior culture and the amount of death it brings.

Both of the Sub-Missions that take place here involve the Heshikiri Hasebe being lost, come on, man.

Mission 3: The Spirit Stone Slumbers

I’m actually pretty fond of the surface level of Dazaifu Temple. Thankfully the water is only knee high so its not lethal. It’s relatively level but gets players more familiar with ambushes.

Boss: Nue

Thunderbolts do an annoyingly high amount of damage, some come out a bit unfairly quick (particularly when recovering from ki break). As always, any boss that specializes in lightning damage will be annoying because shock status is the worst and slows you down. Trying to hit the the stomach when glowing to ki break it instantly is rather inconsistent.

After beating the Nue we go to the underground section, which i hated a lot more because it was so repetitive I got lost and ran in circles a bit, and the stone sentinels are tedious to fight in the early game due to their high damage and slow vulnerability. There’s a good reason they didn’t bring this enemy back for the sequel. They’re like lesser umi-bozu if they actually had the potential to kill you on their own.

Ginchiyo Tachibana joins us for the last hallway of the mission. She has unique animations posing with her hand by her sword and while moving too, but I don’t believe she has any unique attacks like her husband. You can run back to a previous section to bathe in a hot spring and she’ll be appaled at your lack of manners.

Boss: Muneshige Tachibana (sus)

Kelley’s attempt at pretending to be Japanese, but lacks the capacity for lightning the real deal does (thank god). Still, you can parry most of his attacks except the Tiger Sprint (running Iai), and Quadrisect (Sword’s LW skill but he can do it without LW). This is mostly a fight about watching out for not getting ki broken.

We then get access to Novice Onmyo and Novice Martial Arts, and, if one really wanted to tear their hair out, a proper duel with the real deal, as Muneshige is brutal for a duel mission this early in the game (no wonder Nioh 2 waited till the 3rd region to give duel missions).

CHUGOKU REGION

This is largely a filler region, as William is stalled by the appearance of an Umi-bozu damaging the Liefde preventing him from traveling inland.

Mission 4: The Silver Mine Writhes

This is the closest equivalent to a swamp level, but its also a boring cave level. There are fans that vacuum miasma clouds so you can destroy the rocks generating them.

Boss: Great Centipede

A big Nothing Boss, activate LW and cut it into chunks. I feel like this boss might give trypophobics a bad time.

Mission 5: The Ocean Roars Again

I don’t know how to describe it, but this stage has a lot of Otogi vibes to it, which is funny considering Otogi was a pre-Souls From Software game. The stage is likely to invite a lot of watery deaths in the way of its broken wooden floors blending under the water surface. This is when players need to start considering one way drops in order to reach more parts of the area, as well as having to keep watch for Nurikabe to access blocked areas, rather than their existence just getting a way around an area or encounter.

Here’s a stage where they introduce benefits for full exploration in easing the boss fight. Lighting the 3 main bonfires will automatically kill the adds when they enter boss fight, and can be used after to buff your weapon with fire so you don’t need to use your own buff on it.

The place is likely to wear out its welcome very quickly.

Boss: Umi-bozu

I don’t think you’ll find a single person who likes this boss, and for good reason. Aside from the other valid reasons people hate fighting its lesser ilk, not having fire damage makes this fight unbearably slow. Thankfully, Nioh glues you to floor edges when attacking unlike Dark Souls, but moving closer when the boss is at the edge of the arena will result is slipping between the ground and it, falling into the water. And many of its attacks are large, and painfully slowly telegraphed attacks that do tons of damage, which is a source of frustration on its own. Thankfully, due to the nature of the fight and its arena, it is never seen outside of this mission.

We now have access to Adept Martial Arts, Ninjutsu, and Onmyo.

Sub-Mission: Bridge of Bone

A series of enemy gauntlets taking place on a pretty banged up set of bridges. It’s a rather generic environment, but scenic nonetheless given this is a game about samurai, so bridge fights are good. Maybe it was simply too generic after all and that’s why it didn’t reappear in the sequel. A later sub mission has William fight the revenant of Benkei, recreating his famous fight with Yoshitsune. In higher difficulties, Yoshitsune himself is represented by a Raven Tengu accompanying Benkei. The bridge missions were popular for dropping your revenants for other players to get copies of your gear from you, so it made a nice backdrop to fight them in.

KINKI REGION

Mission 6: Spider Nest Castle

If you didn’t hate spiders for dropping on you over loot, you will now, and you will learn to look up at this point. The place is pretty disgusting to look at overall, and unlike usual yokai realm spawned monsters, the giant spiders that jump out of the glowing amrita nests count as an attack when they land, its pretty sudden to, so try not to get spooked by it. I got pretty tired of having to check all the eggs for tiny spiders since their web attack slows you down so much and also does way too much ki damage.

It’s another mission that rewards exploration, as every Hiragumo Teapot Fragment found will remove a plate of leg armor from the boss. The lower caves being just a spider nest was annoying for all the spiders hiding on the ceilings and the parts of the map worth seeing aren’t really used when they bring the location back in Nioh 2 for side missions and the Underworld.

I never actually found Fragment V... as evidenced by my lack of trophy for collecting all the pieces

Boss: Joro-gumo

The boss itself is pretty standard in having a one-two swipe combo, and then an aoe attack when she curls her legs into herself and tries to spin her thorax into you. It just gets even easier when you can hit any of her legs instead of just her front or back.

Mission 7: Falling Snow

Between this mission and the historical Honnoji mission featured in Nioh 2, it was interesting how much of the architecture remained intact, and how removing the ice blockage makes it a different level that is familiar nonetheless, as certain buildings and features are recognizable landmarks in the two missions. The main gimmick is how the lingering regrets of the boss power ice formations in your way that you have to destroy in order to be able to damage the former. Likewise, in the Honnoji mission in Nioh 2, rather than swinging your weapon at the ice butterflies, you merely touch your hand to them, which speaks to the difference in relationship between the boss in question and the player character in 2 vs William who is an outsider to it all.

Ranmaru Mori is encountered as a NPC Revenant with unique dialogue, although he uses Dual Swords instead of Sword in 2, nor is encountering him an obtuse affair involving a specifically looted Devotional Helm.

Overall, I’m a fan of this stage, it helps that nothing in this game happens in the winter until the DLCs due to the much shorter timeframe of the main story, so its the only time you encounter snow.

Boss: Yuki-onna

This is the first boss I felt had any sort of style, especially with her introduction (I’ve said the way characters are introduced in the impression they leave is a specialty Team Ninja really refines in the sequel). Though her attacks are only marginally more interesting, and more likely will give you a hard time with water damage going through your guard. I’ve found her AoE attack is much harder to dodge and is much larger than most, which will also nearly kill you too, it feels a bit too much even for this game. Oh and she starts the first game’s trend of having half-screen dashing grabs, and it only gets worse from there. She's tough but for all the wrong reasons that would make a satisfying challenge.

Mission 8: The Demon of Mount Hiei

It’s a gloomy, rainy stage, again, like “The Spirit Stone Slumbers.” However, I must confess once again I do have a weakspot for the atmosphere it provides. The paths are largely linear, but the main gimmick is that there are a few strong enemies that regenerate health around giant amrita formations that need to be destroyed to kill them. Damage in bursts like an Iai Quickdraw are ideal here. There are some caves but you’ll be weaving between caves and mountain slopes so it doesn’t get as repetitive.

There’s also another Nue here, as a reference to the mythical feat of Minamoto no Yorimasa slaying a Nue on Mt. Hiei.

Boss: White Tiger (Byakko)

Our funny cat gets owned! I hate this boss largely for how jumpy he is and how many hits his AoE spin is, given how much ki damage it does, trying to block it will result in getting ki broken and then killed.

Sub-Mission: The Disappearing Ranjatai

This map is used for quick missions due to it being a tightly packed square, there are a couple of different ways they arrange objectives here. You can count on them not taking too long which is good. Nioh 2 Sub-Missions are a bit more varied in setup (meanwhile the bathhouse map in this game has them use the same “get 3 keys to spell I-RO-HA” twice. In the same region.) I would’ve liked to see them use this map in 2 over the freaking “dilapidated shrine with underground cave” they use more like in “A Request From Ginchiyo” even in 2.

Mission 9: The Iga Escape

TOKAI REGION

Because this area is so far removed from the rest of the locations in both games, locations simply cannot be reused as a result. You dont really travel as far over the course of nioh 2s story (not having a ship will do that).

If you have a terrible sense of direction this place will probably throw you for a loop. If you end up running around in a circle, Hanzo is scripted to appear to give you a hint, which is probably expected since this is the first time encountering ninja trick doors based on the circular floor marks. Not only that, but there are many trick doors and some are one-way trips. The place feels more like a playground but it’ll definitely be more lethal than one. The brief outdoor segment is probably the part I like most.

Aside from there, there’s a section where you enter a dead end and slash a wall scroll and suddenly the entire room is upside when you step out, which is still pretty impressive to me now. This is another mission that I like save for the fact that there’s just a gratuitous room full of spiders, the same one tha flips upside down.

Boss: Giant Toad

Mostly whatever, but rather obnoxious with the jump slam being awkward to dodge through due to combination of camera obscuring and long active frames (are you getting the pattern here). It is funny seeing Masanari’s father alive in Nioh 2 and he indeed has the same spear after all though. Don’t stand behind him either because his turning attack is also multihit, same shit as White Tiger.

We now have access to Veteran Martial Arts, Ninjutsu, and Onmyo (though you’ll need a decent amount of proficiency in a single weapon, 300k).

Mission 10: Memories of Death Lilies

Really beautiful environment that is sadly obscured by fog, which is part of the problem in-universe. It really shines when you get to the shrine parts, combined with the waterfalls and lycoris flowers surrounding the place. Layout is rather linear, but given how confusing the previous mission was, I daresay it’s welcome.

Boss: Ogress

Kinda like Mergo’s Wet Nurse but even easier because she tends to just have a blind spot right under her face lol. She cries tears that grow lycoris that turn into yokai realm, but its not really a big deal. Really pretty arena though.

Mission 11: The Weight of the World

This one is just a one-time cutscene so William gets a little more motivation and trying to fit some kind of character development (not that its really necessary). This does however mark the point that William starts getting involved in the actual war by consequence of his search, as up to this point we’ve been working around the actual battles fought. It’s greatly contrasted with Nioh 2.

Mission 12: The Defiled Castle

We start this mission crawling through shit, so you better have regen talismans or you’ll have a terrible time trying to use your elixirs. This mission has crystal formations that are mind controlling Tokugawa soldiers, which will incapacitate everyone connected to it (as shown on your compass). While you can kill the soldiers in self defense, and there’s no reward for sparing them, it feels nice to, they’ll thank you as the disappear (which is just them retreating).

Boss: Tadakatsu Honda

This guy tends to be a major asshole about using a high speed thrust that will probably oneshot you or something close to it every time he dodges. Just destroy the 3 crystal formations in the arena and try not to get owned.

You can also skip him entirely by giving the necessary amount of shit balls to a random guy before. It’s... odd.

The following region has some branching paths but it’s also the first time you’re climbing up a castle, it can get a bit disorienting where to go, and more of the same mind control crystals, with getting outnumbered being an easy occurance with the cramped rooms. Having Suppa and Catwalking helps a lot.

Boss: Okatsu

She has an annoying habit of constantly dodging, and her dodges go way farther than anyone else. She can do lunging thrusts off walls and technically gets a kind of air dash to do that when she uses her variation of Living Weapon. Ki breaking her is likely not going to happen due to Nioh 1 AI prioritizing dodging at low ki and her special dodges being that way.

I feel like parts of her attacks were reused for Fist weapons in Nioh 2.

SEKIGAHARA REGION

Mission 13: Immortal Flame

One of my favorite missions in terms of layout. There are multiple approaches throughout the stage and they converge and split again there aren’t really any redundant shortcuts either (which is something the game can be guilty of sometimes, even in 2). All of the fire is kind of an eyesore but the castle itself is beautiful, at least, if you think about it before it was attacked. The stage is just the one i think of the most among nioh 1 maps when it comes to the difference in nioh’s level design vs dark souls.

This stage introduces Amrita Fiends that have spikes to throw, but if you know how to strike the horn they’re not any harder than sword Yoki.

Boss: Magoichi Saika

I actually entered this fight unprepared, due to the room where his objective looks like it might be is just another room, the actual boss room is right above that, so I don’t remember if there’s a shrine nearby there. I guess in a way that’s how he “ambushes” you.

As far as human bosses go, he’s definitely one of the most unique due to how he fights with Yatagarasu instead of just having a Living Weapon mode, even then, his fighting with a musket and swinging his sword more like a cane necessitates a much different moveset. He does have an annoying habit of shooting point blank without even rolling in 1 though.

He also has an easy weakness to shuriken when he’s flying, and human bosses in 1 don’t recover quickly from attacks that ground them like in 2 so you get a free Final Blow.

Mystic Art unlock missions are now available for Weapons, you’ll need 500k proficiency for each type.

Mission 14: Sekigahara

The first section is pretty standard, but brief. While it is foggy, this is actually historically true as well and what contributed to a large amount of tension in the decisive battle between the Western and Eastern armies.

Boss: Otani Yoshitsugu

Rather unique in that he has traits of a youkai boss and human boss both. You can clearly see how his attacks are inspired by Dual Sword skills but not exactly the same, which is more fun that just being exactly the same.

However, he’s a lot easier than I remember.

With Tokugawa soldiers’ morale increased, they rush into the field, going with them will remind you that this game is not Samurai Warriors and you will be shot to death with little glory while trying to clash swords with that other guy.

The two main routes, then, are running upstream or hiding in the abandoned village buildings on the lower end of the map.

Boss: Sakon Shima

RIP Keiji Fujiwara, but this guy is a real dick to fight, as expected of an enemy with a lightning Guardian Spirit. His special attack involves launching you off the ground which makes it impossible to avoid the followup. It’s pretty sudden too, and it’ll oneshot.

Unfortunately, they patched all of the Guardian Spirit skills that can launch enemies like Mizuchi or Daiba-washi to do the same to him.

He comes back in a Sub-Mission in the 3rd DLC with his straw hat as “Mysterious Samurai” but with Mitsunari’s Izuna Guardian Spirit.

Mission 15: The Source of Evil

Sekigahara but Fucked Up(TM), now instead of predominantly human enemies its all yokai. You need to talk to Tenkai to get the purifying stakes for the red amrita crystals, which create permanent yokai realm zones (possibly even more intense in their effects) and act as Biwa Boku-boku that will automatically summon any revenants inside the red zones when approached. When purified, there are now zones that give a lot of buffs relating to the Amrita Gauge, allowing frequent use of Living Weapon.

Oh, and the boss will occasionally try to blast you. This gets pretty annoying. The layout isn’t really anything special overall.

Boss: Gasha-Dokuro

My first attempt, something happened and the boss became misaligned when knocked down and I couldn’t hit its face, that was weird and bothersome because I wasn’t sure what to do.

Not terribly difficult, but not fun either despite having more uses of LW from the purified auras (if you did do that). Break the feet one each and have a go at its face, if you have to break the hands things get even more tedious. Sometimes its hands will come from offscreen and oneshot you while youre focused on the feet, yaaaayyy.

OMI REGION

Mission 16: A Defiled Holy Mountain

Also a contender for one of the best maps in the game, in terms of design and atmosphere. It has a very Jade Cocoon-esque quality to it. The mountains can get tiresome to look at but the forest parths and general greenery really do contribute to the concept of Mt. Ibuki being a source of purity. There’s many different winding paths, and you find many officers on the run being cutdown by bandits. This is the first time (and one of the few times in general) that you see NPC graves appearing in real time immediately after someone is killed. You even do that to another person yourself, with the message “Cut down by William” as the cause of death.

Boss: Mitsunari Ishida

He has some stylish attacks but he’s wrapped up in such an annoying package. Also the first boss that has a tendency to activate LW as soon as you knock him out of it, which is a continuing trend. Of note are his two grabs which are pretty fast, one using his Guardian Spirit Izuna (which does an Izuna Drop), the other being a leaping rush that is bound to get someone.

He also has an attack that charges up and then slashes all around him with wind waves, but it’s not really apparently what direction to expect which slashes which make it an utter annoyance considering guarding it will get you blustered by wind damage, and then rocks will fall from the roof after too.

Mystic Art unlock missions are now available for Ninjutsu and Onmyo. You can finally remove cast animations from buffs. You should be leveling both Dexterity and Magic so the 20 stat requirement to do these shouldn’t matter.

Mission 17: The Samurai from Sawayama

What an utterly confusing stage, it’s far too easy to get lost in here, especially if you fall through the trapdoors and end up in the spider filled corpse pits. Easily my most loathed stage. The stage is entirely indoors and its not particularly interesting to look at either.

Boss: Obsidian Samurai (Yasuke)

The good thing is that this boss is very enjoyable, moreso being able to spar with him more easily in Nioh 2. An oddly high amount of his attacks are susceptible to being parried though. He relies less on form and will often just punch or kick you raw in between strikes and overall has a great “give and take” pace, despite not having a fantastical concept to design attacks around, just that he’s got a big axe and tachi, and a mean haymaker.

Mission 18: The Demon King Revealed

Right off the bat we’re assisted by Hanzo and Okatsu, so you can tell the game isn’t going to pull any punches. Painfully so, Nioh 1 didn’t really quite figure out how to balance encounters with NPC allies very well, especially in the rare occasions you get two. You’ll often fight 3 powerful yokai at once who will steamroll your allies and turning into a well greased deathball makes it hard for you to get into as well. There’s at least 3 instances of this, and there are multiple waves of it in each too.

Upon approaching the castle proper after being separated from your allies, on my very first playthrough I was taking in the sight that I didn’t notice the path crumbling and fell to my death, but thankfully, they just put me and my grave at the head end of the approach that I was supposed to run to.

Once we get to Azuchi Castle proper, it turns into a mega man-esque boss rush of 4 earlier yokai bosses, Onryoki, Hino Enma, Nue, and Joro-gumo. Given you have a chance to refresh resources between each fight, it’s not particularly difficult, and there’s no real justification for it either, so it was really just put in to pad the stage, the elevator just automatically activates once that’s cleared.

Boss: Nobunaga Oda

The entire game was building up to this moment, but Nobunaga himself doesn’t really want to be here, so he fights in a somewhat familiar way, taking bits from Mitsunari and Muneshige, while using Tengen Kujaku’s 3 different elemental forms by cycling through a LW with each, giving him different capabilities in each.

He likes to float around a lot at high speed too, which is a bit annoying as he has two different post game fights in which he features as one of the bosses fought alongside another. Despite being feared and being rather powerful in-universe, you can parry him in some ways all the same.

You won’t get a proper boss fight with him alone though, as his fight will end before depleting his HP.

Boss: Kelley

Immediately after, we fight Kelley. Who, surprise, has a dashing grab attack! He’s also one of the only bosses that really has a counter attack, and an annoying one that he likes to spam a lot. He also likes to teleport around to make you chase him. He’s not supposed to have a lot of HP as the tradeoff I guess?

Boss: Yamata-no-Orochi

And then after Kelley he immediately invokes the Yamata-no-Orochi. Thankfully, dying here does not make you repeat Kelley. The one saving grace of this fight is that it’s impossible to fall off the castle during it, so you mostly just need to focusing on reading the snakehead’s attacks. Their breath attacks don’t have a great telegraph, so they’ll probably damage through guard.

Fight one head, then two, and then the last of them show up and open the arena up. By goading them into breaking the amrita structures, they overload and collapse, getting an easy kill on one of them. Once there’s only one head left, the last one will power up, but it’s not that much different. It’s a pretty tedious fight overall, and would probably have made for a more epic boss in a regular RPG rather than an action game. This is something that is greatly rectified with the sequel’s choice of final boss.

Divine rarity gear is now unlocked. Saorise is finally returned to us! She specializes in boosting Amrita Gauge gain, but only physically summoning her with Moment Talismans (retranslated to Fleeting Talismans in 2) or Guardian Spirit Talismans.

Roll credits. But there’s stll something we have to do...

Epilogue: The Queen’s Eyes

Back to the Tower of London, we essentially run the reverse path that we did to escape, which was oddly confusing due to the placement of the two staircases looking similar. Instead of running back to the cells, we find the underground alchemy lab, seeing yokai being cultivated in amrita tanks, and up ahead...

Boss: Kelley Clones

In-game prestige points label this encounter as a boss fight despite lack of boss health bars, but everyone is inclined to agree, as you are essentially fighting 3 (naked) Kelleys at once, and things will get hairy very quickly if you’re not on top of it. You can eliminate the first one crashing out of the tank, but two at once is still an endeavor so it’s best to just leave it to LW, like many things in this game.

Boss: Hundred Eyes

John Dee turns his lab into an arena with dinosaur bones hanging around or something. There’s a lot of Amrita. The boss is rather unconventional in that he doesn’t have as many physical attacks (and bosses don’t have that many different attacks in this game in general). It instead turns into something like bullet hell lite, with many eye drones shooting lasers at you that inflict confusion directly rather than relying on inflicting two elemental debuffs at once. The drones fill a lot of amrita gauge when destroyed so the fight leans into using a lot of LW. He can kill you easily, but the fight isn’t difficult either

POST-GAME MISSIONS

Sub Mission: A Meeting on the Other Shore, The Return of the Gourd

Nioh 1s idea of endgame challenges is throwing 2-3 bosses that were clearly not designed to be fought together and make you figure it out (the answer is always LW). Sometimes preceded by an enemy gauntlet you have to clear each attempt too. Its bad. Really bad.

Key examples are fighting Yuki-onna and Nobunaga together, a gauntlet followed by Obsidian Samurai and Nobunaga, fighting Tadakatsu Honda and Muneshige Tachibana, Hanzo amd Okatsu, a gauntlet of ninjas before fighting Hanzo and Giant Toad, the spear and sword dojo masters. Even the mission that lets you duel Yoshitsugu and Mitsunari will have the latter spawn in if you take too long (and on higher difficulties he comes with an asshole shooting cannons at you).

If that sounds overkill, you would be right. Not only that, but the vital "Yasakani Magatama" accessory that reduces set requirements by 1 is the only guaranteed way to get it by doing Return of the Gourd on NG+

DRAGON OF THE NORTH (DLC1)

This being Team Ninjas first go at releasing DLC there was a rather infamous difficulty spike due to disconnect between them expecting players to have been continually powering themselves up while waiting for dlc to drop which leaves a late player lacking that intermittent time.

As a result, I took a bit of time offstream to find pieces to finish the Dragon Ninja set (which technically wasnt available until dlc3, but nevertheless was necessary, and i was sick of using warrior of the west armor). When completing 7 pieces, True Dragon Sword is activated, reflecting in the swords model having the magatama inserted in thr hilt with a light glow, just like in the xbox ninja gaiden games.

Mission 19: Yokai Country

Its a beautiful snowy forest that gives way to gentle streams, leading to a deep valley and a small village hidden within. It is awfully reminiscent of the good parts of DS3s Road of Sacrifices. Its a much needed change of scenery.

DLC introduces new enemy types the game really needs but uses them often as a result. Red Kappa are combat versions of their green normal types that have paralysis instead of water on their claws. Makes it easier for them to fist your anus. Namahage are a snowier and less predictable foe but equivalent to Yoki. Rokurokubi are slow but powerful foes that rarely can be pulled away from a spot, making you come to them. They are noticably more healthy in nioh 2. You often have to weave in and out because they will often do their aoe grab. Nioh 2 rokurokubi emit yokai mist even before they are revealed compared to the original game.

Boss: Date Shigezane

His deformation makes for more interesting attacks, as a centipede for an arm makes him toss blades lodged inside it or swing in different ways whether he holds his odachi in his human hand or yokai hand. However, this dlc has a nasty pattern of making bosses that swing incredibly fast with high ki damage that will often just kill you before you realize what happened. So once again a cool boss concept is ruined by the execution.

Mission 20: The One-Eyed Dragon’s Castle

As noted in the stages loading screen, Aoba Castle is notable for lacking a castle keep, so the confusing floorplans of Edo, Hifumi, and Sawayama Castle are removed. There are many murder holes for Date musketeers to fire at you from, which is the main stage gimmick. Thankfully they are large enough for you to shoot back at them. Progressing inward the level opens up and encourages you to explore at the urging of Nekomata foreshadowing how there are 3 towers that seem to cover each other...

Boss: Shigenaga Katakura

The boss himself is largely just an axe revenant that uses ninjutsu traps. The main gimmick is that his introduction is not a cutscene, and can be interrupted with him calling you out for it, but you get a trophy for letting him introduce himself. He will then order any men you werent thorough in cleaning out to open fire on you from all directions. If you kill a cannon Yoki in each tower they will permanently despawn.

Afterwards is a brief but beautiful garden trip before we get to a real doozy.

Boss: Masamune Date

A scenic moonlight drop in an arena noted to be similar to Kyoto's Kiyomizudera. You wont have time to enjoy it because Masamune will rip you a new one instantly, with a fast and subtle full screen grab, a large elemental aoe or tons of area denial depending on which guardian spirit hes using. He alternates between using LW between both, so youll have little time to rest, and often shoots flurries of sword beams at you. Rather than giving him many different attacks, they're reflective of the players moves but much faster and shooting sword beams everywhere, its quite disappointing for a man whose clan name would later be defined by his excessive flair.

Mission 21: Spirit Stone Huntress

Picking up immediately from the previous boss arena, this mission is literally only a boss fight, but the balcony is a popular place for people to leave revenants.

Boss: Maria

She has some of the standard combos you would expect from her rapier style, but her being from Spain with a rapier means that you get different kinds of attacks to deal with, so at least she has that over the other bosses in this dlc. She also uses alchemy for spell effects and a mimicry of living weapon, and loves to dash around to create a sense of a frantic pace, though it can vary whether the effect succeeded or not, i personally enjoy the fight but the damage scaling with higher difficulties kills the intended pace which makes it more frustrating, which is a recurring issue with the original game.

Sub-Mission: A Gilded Deception

A exploration mission about fighting revenants of fujitive Minamoto warriors. A brief section of this map is cleverly reused in Nioh 2s The Tengu's Disciple DLC.

DEFIANT HONOR (DLC2)

Due to the emphasis of Yukimura Sanada's refusal to use amrita, the only new enemy type are Ninken, ninja dogs, which are every bit as troublesome as it sounds.

Mission 22: The Siege of Osaka (Winter)

The Winter siege is never covered in Samurai Warriors, so the impenetrability of the Sanadamaru is never really covered. Most of the stage is running from cover to trenches from horrendous waves of flaming arrows and later on cannons that force you to stay on the move as they destroy your cover. Somehow you find a village that hasnt been leveled by the war. This is one of the weaker stages of the dlcs.

Boss: Sasuke Sarutobi

This was the only boss I had attempted to fight on Way of the Strong (NG+) rather than the default difficulty because i had worried I was doing too much damage, so this fight was particularly frustrating and caused me to revert difficulty after.

Sasuke has guns in his tonfas that you can get yourself. Once again, he has a very fast full screen grab with very little telegraph in terms of both startup and lack of exaggerated motion. One is like the lion combo from Naruto and the other just has him dempsey roll you lmao. He has frustratingly good tracking for his combos lengths and high speed and is a rather large pain in the ass rather than enjoyable because of how his speed is expressed in the fight.

Mission 23: Scion of Virtue

Starts in some rather bland caves underneath the Sanadamaru, you encounter 9 of the 10 Sanada Braves (due to Sasuke being the only proper boss fight). Each of them are slightly more skilled than the average revenant but vulnerable in all the same ways as them, if they arent setting up a trap or ambush involving snipers or something. The area itself is a rather tightly packed circle with a raised outer rampart that often has gunners and dense enemy layouts requiring careful engagement.

Boss: Yukimura Sanada

Yukimura reveals that not only does he fight with his own Qilin guardian spirit, he also inherited his father in law's, Janomecho. Qilin gives him familiar LW spear attacks and allows him to use his pistol (literally the only character in the duology that has one, I wish they made it a new ranged weapon type in 2) letting him charge it for explosive shots like devil may cry.

When he uses Janomecho, he floats off the ground like Yoshitsugu and gains a new moveset. Both of these are really cool but he has an annoying tendency to use his large diving aoe thats hard to dodge in Janomecho instead of his interesting attacks, but he's otherwise one of the better bosses in the original game overall.

Sub-Mission: Ganryu

If you finished the Dual Sword mystic art challenge, Yoshiteru Ashikaga gives you a mission to rescue a younger Takezo Shinmen, better known as Musashi Miyamoto back in Sekigahara, its something of a historical myth that he was present there, though highly unlikely. Clearing that will allow a special duel mission here, complete with a unique beach thats unused elsewhere.

Boss: Kojiro Sasaki

Although he is susceptible to reversals and parries like many human enemies, he mixes up a lot of the odachi moveset to create something unique thats still quite enjoyable to fight, and for being a hidden optional boss that is largely a remixed odachi warrior being one of my favorite bosses in this game that says a lot. Unfortunately Shinichiro Miki only voices Yukimura and doesnt voice a Kojiro for a 3rd time.

Many of his moves became available for odachi in the sequel, barring ones based on the LW moves.

BLOODSHED’S END (DLC3)

Mission 24: The Sanada’s Resolve

Half a year has passed, and the ceasefire required Osaka Castle fill its moats and decommission the Sanadamaru, when war breaks out again, the new fortifications are set on a mountain slope, with cannons taking shots. Its a very cramped and dense level, and certain cannons can be baited into destroying their own towers and revealing some extra places. You can also activate some cannons on your own.

The 9 Sanada Braves return but this time they are killed for good here, each with their own parting words and a grave immediately spawning at their feet by Williams hands where you can summom them and kill them again lol. These are the last human enemies youll fight in the main story. Its a pretty straightforward stage but nothing damning about it so its enjoyable.

Boss: Yukimura Sanada, Sasuke Sarutobi

That's right, its a rematch with Yukimura! But this time theres less room and when he gets down to 30%, Sasuke jumps in to assist, turning this fight into a sheer dps race (if you didnt get the memo, that means use LW) to prevent the situation from becoming unwinnable.

Mission 25: Resentment Unleashed

Introducing the last new enemy type, the Magatsu Warrior, a glass cannon elite enemy type that has 4 arms that is best fought by trying to break its extra amrita arms between its flurry of strikes. Its main weakness is lack of tracking, so it is mostly checking to see if players can keep their cool and not panic backwards dodging.

This stage is mostly a series of gauntlets fighting almost exclusively elite type yokai like cannon and ninja yoki with the magatsu warriors, fighting alongside Masamune and Shigezane Date (who has been purified of the centipede deformations). With the boss of the stage blasting you from out of reach.

In that regard, its a bit of a pain.

Boss: Onmoraki

The biggest whatever boss ever. Itll most likely just be spinning around from you being behind it all the time and hardly has any unique traits.

Mission 26: The Last Samurai

This stage is a bit more linear than i remember. But the large chunk of it is fighting elite yokai. There are amrita formations that continually spawn elite enemies while also recovering damage dealt to it quickly, so in order to avoid getting overwhelmed any encounter with these is best dealt with LW, as usual. The amrita roots that encircle the castle feel a bit like hair, or perhaps tails...

There are ghost encounters of Yoshitsugu Otani and Mitsunari Ishida on two separate floors.

Boss: Hideyori Toyotomi

On my very first playthrough, i mostly wrote him off as a joke because i killed him quickly without much trouble, but hes actually quite an impressive fighter for being a coddled child (and also an amrita homunculus). On higher difficulties he no doubt becomes the same issues as many other bosses, since he also loves to shoot sword beams. He switches between a single and dual sword style and at low hp, changes classification to yokai, which also makes him immune to counters (you can still parry him with backwave though, odd). Hes got a surprising amount of flair and is at least a little impressive to watch, though more of an annoyance to fight if you dont push momentum on him.

Afterwards, Yukimura joins you with all of his boss capabilities as you fight one last gauntlet of yokai and revenants while Yukimura expresses his regrets, passing Janomecho to you.

Boss: Nine-Tails

Because youre aided by Yukimura, this fight is not particularly challenging. Using the whole fox shape also doesnt make many of her attacks very interesting. Unfortunately I just dont have much to say about her despite being the final boss of the dlc storyline.

Sub-Mission: A Warrior of Keen Judgment

While not a unique map, I enjoy this sub mission in particular due to it being a remix of the first regions "A Request From Ginchiyo" but with her husband Muneshige now. He is just as strong as he was, and after the battle of Sekigahara, he is now allied with the Tokugawa rather than at odds. Like the earlier mission, the objective is found in one of 3 random marked chests. With each one thats empty, he speaks more about his relationships, and sweetly reminisces about his late wife and fighting alongside her.

Sub-Mission: The Master Ninja

After completing The Last Samurai, we get a mysterious message from the Hayabusa clan. This was a huge surprise, as Ninja Gaiden was the last thing expected in this game at the time.

The arena of choice is evocative of the grass plain seen in the intro of the very first Ninja Gaiden on NES.

Boss: Jin Hayabusa

Jin is a completely different beast from any human fought before. His skills are taken straight out of Ninja Gaiden while having nothing in common in anything else in the game. His Dragon Sword is blindingly fast, high damage and ki damage, including the infamous Flying Swallow that was notoriously overpowered in the original xbox release. He has actual Ninpo which is better than Onmyo despite being a different school, and throws shuriken much faster and damaging than yours ever will. If he switches to Kusarigama though then his moveset is closer to the player's. Presumably because the only weapon similar is the Vigoorian Flails but theres no gama on those.

Despite this, the nostalgia factor makes this one of the most enjoyable fights for me, as it is expressly a matter of overcoming someone who is undoubtedly more overpowered than you.

His boss theme reuses Genshins Theme from Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and has a unique mission clear tune.

MISC THOUGHTS

Found 146/225 Kodama without Kodama Sensor.

Due to the lack of enemy variety in this game, when they introduce a new enemy type they tend to really wear it out fast by making every yokai realm enemy that new one.

Some regular soldiers and ninja have Odachi and Tonfa in the base game missions on the normal difficulty, I don’t know if this is affected by me having the DLC or not because I don’t remember if there were still Odachi and Tonfa enemies even before I bought the DLCs.

Most shrines nearest to bosses still require a bit of running to get to the boss unlike 2 where most of them are free of enemies on the way.

There’s at least 3 different maps that are some flavor of “underground onmyoji shrine.”

Grabs are inconsistent in whether they get the grey smoke to indicate its a grab, and there’s no specific SFX to indicate one like in 2.

Ki consumption differences in A rank Agility vs B rank is a lot more noticable in this game, and mastering ki pulse flux is much more important in this game when yokai skills in nioh 2 allow for ki recovery while attacking. When you have Agility A suddenly you can attack much more.

Much of the game has to be balanced around the sheer power of Living Weapon, to its detriment.

Boss HP bars do not display ki, which really threw me for a loop even though ki damage isn’t as important in Nioh 1, especially with human enemies prioritizing avoiding getting ki broken and backpedaling a lot more when they’re at risk.

While a chunky LW bar is harder to get, it is surprisingly easy to charge up the amrita gauge between uses.

Casting spells and buffs is unbearably slow but being able to cast buffs with no animation was a bit much. The duration of spells is also annoyingly much shorter than I remember. Cycling through the item shortcuts in one direction is also more annoying than I remember.

Weapon movesets feel barebones now even with LW compared to the skills added in the sequel.

I feel the first dlc had the best level design, but more of the worst bosses. The 2nd dlc was kind of a slump out of all of them but Yukimura is the best boss among the dlcs. The 3rd was pretty average in a lot of respects but had a nice surprise with Jin Hayabusa.

While some levels really suck, a good number of them still feel good to play, and the overall gameplay is fine, just that the bosses by large were lacking and numbers really lacked proper balancing.

Looking forward to revisiting Nioh 2 from a fresh save before the release of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty!

[ramayantika]

So I was talking to ashu aur meine baaton baaton mein bola ki jab researcher type kuch bannke I would like to open up some research based organization something for women where they all can work as well as create an healthy environment regarding women menstrual cycle and a safe space for new mothers.

And then he asked me this for eg: there are 6 women. 2 are on maternal leave and 3 women are on period leave. Now if something urgent strikes up what will you do. He said this question is something men will definitely ask.

And look I still have a long way to go but this has been something in my mind. I have wanted to do something for women so they can work as much as they want in an environment in sync with their menstrual cycles and hormones and not just work in endless pain and fatigue and then hear someone say pmsing or yaar periods ka bahana degi and shit.

But can't we really do this? I am a woman I would know better than a man about how menstrual cycle and the hormonal changes work why can't we create such healthy and safe spaces for women and new mothers too later on without judging them. At least an environment where women can be vocal about periods while working so that when she rests for a few hours we can work around something or at least just let not make those jokes around it.

Fuck it I kinda got annoyed at his question but yeah his question was legit because men would definitely ask this but I would hate to work in such areas where me taking an extra minute for bleeding would be seen as timepass and all.

And if mankind has created so many inventions that were deemed impossible, a workspace that empowers women and helps them to work in sync with their health is easier than that like come on.

[kasarawolf]

Capsule Corp Drone, (CC Drone) aka “Little Birdie” / “Birdie Bot.” / “Birdie.”

- The nickname comes from the phrase, “a little birdie told me.” A tool used by Time Patrollers, this little machine records and reports footage to Graders/Instructors. Footage from a BB can be broadcasted live and is often used to stream footage onto overhead displays during tournaments.

They were originally produced to be electronic pets for children and families by the Capsule Corporation. The built in camera feature was supposed to be used to record precious memories or to be used as security cameras within a home while the owners were asleep. However, there was a fault in their programming, where they would throw themselves into danger, (They need to get that perfect photo of the perp breaking into the home!) often being destroyed in the process during the testing phase. Instead of scrapping the project or modifying their code, the little drones were sold to Conton City to be used by Patrollers during Missions, where danger lurks around every corner. The perfect environment for a Birdie to thrive.

- They come with two modes, Photo Mode and Video Mode.

- Not mandatory to take on Patrolling Missions, but it does make filling paper work a hell of a lot easier!

- In Sleep Mode, all wings retract back in, making it look a lot like an egg. The Charging Station is called the “Nest.” Much larger charging stations can be purchased for multiple Birdie Bot’s to charge in at the same time.

- White is the default coloring for all Birdie Bots. Can be customized with your own skins and stickers. (if you own one. You can not modify a rented BB.) The lens can also be interchanged for different colors. The default lens is dark pink.

- When it’s about to start recording, a two note chirp will sound from the BB. (Sounds a lot like a bird chirp, hence the nickname) They do not make sounds during recording, as it could ruin the footage they are capturing.

- The wings on a BB can get squeaky, making it even sound more like a bird. Be sure to keep your Birdie Bot in top condition with regular maintenance!

- Often used during tournaments to get close up shots in fights. Sometimes they get a little too close.

- The two lights on the front can be used to light up a dark room. Works as a camera flash for photos.

- Not unusual for someone to own many of BB’s, due to their self-destructive natures.

- Are quite cheap to purchase, due to how often they break.

- Takes and records photo’s in High Definition.

- Birdie Bots are dare devils and have no fear.

- When purchased or rented out, they come in a capsule.

- Birdie Bot’s have built in speakers, showing at one time, they may have been able to communicate with their owners. However, it seems that this feature was discontinued, after most BB’s were so committed to their directive, they decided to stay silent.

- Possibly non sentient. It is unknown if they have personalities as Birdie Bots have short life expectancies, due to getting in the crosshairs of a ki blast quite often.

- Self destructive. Will do anything to get the perfect shot, even if it means their inevitable termination. (Based on Xenoverse 2’s “Photo Mode.”)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There they arreee~!

Birdie Bots!

These little guys are some bots that I have in my story~ They don't play a big role. They mostly exist to flesh out the world more :)

Any updates to their info will most likely only be added on my Xenoverse 2 FANON GUIDEBOOK!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kjxf8S4iMDSy3I7jFmRx67gFOH-fTUge/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=114030828749834453258&rtpof=true&sd=true

[dragon-ball-meta]

Decided not to be anon. Your blog is like the only non-art blog I follow for DB stuff. Consistent good takes, good summary of whatever happenings, and justice for hated characters.

How full of a roster do you think Tenkaichi 4 is going to have? I know it was good about having most of everyone. I was hoping for Chi Chi in FighterZ but I don't expect more DLC. Sad that almost all the women have to fight as a combo (21 being the only solo).

Well, thank you. I'm not gonna lie though, I... actually hope they drastically shrink the roster from BT3. One of the biggest issues with that game was how the roster got so bloated. They tried to include almost every character, right down to random Freeza soldiers, to the point that half the moves in the game just weren't unique anymore. They'd be the exact same animations with different names. (Or in the case of characters who couldn't use ki/energy, they'd show the sprite rushing to intercept as opposed to teleporting.) That's something I'd like to see avoided. I want a healthy roster made up of characters throughout all series. Some OG DB representation would be especially great. Given how reluctant Bamco seems to be to greenlight that though, Idk. But give us a strong core, and flesh them out. Give us more unique move sets with better (and original) animations. But given this is a game series known for trying to shove in as many characters as possible, I fear that may not be pushback they're willing to risk. I'd also love to see them utilize the next-gen features of the new consoles and do more with destructible environments and terrain deformation. That's a feature we could definitely use more of in a game based on a series like this.

[badedramay]

Sorry imma couple of days late! Breakdown of the Kim and Daood scenes for this week please?

(heylo..I hope all is well at your end!)

It was a decent episode. not a LOT of KimDawood content but enough to know where they stand in this relationship. Dawood, bless that fool, said and didn't say a lot of words just to mean that he was jealous of Kim's relationship with Zulfi xD am I wrong to interpret this as jealousy? the man saw Kim, his would be wife, ditch her own mehendi ceremony to personally go invite Zulfi for her wedding. then he had to witness Kim fully disregard his "warning" to not step out of the house without being escorted by him. THEN he had to bear Kim defending Zulfi and being a-okay about Zulfi's financial condition and thus, again dismissing Dawood's so-called valid concern that Zulfi took her out for lunch at a sub-standard place. like...Kim has done more with/for Zulfi than she has done with/for Dawood and I can't imagine a desi mard like Dawood being okay with it. i am not saying he thinks there's anything illicit going on between the two but c'mon..Dawood most definitely IS jealous/insecure of Kim's proximity with Zulfi.

I really don't think Dawood won any rounds in this episode. Kim was throwing one bomb after another in the car ride afterwards. gotta say i LOVED how Maya acted in the scene. the insult Kim felt at being treated like an object by these two men..the rage she was feeling in that moment and trying her best to not let it get the best of her..the way her eyes were sparkling with tears but she didn't let them escape..it was just all so wonderfully portrayed and captured. Kim YET AGAIN exposed Dawood's hypocrisy that he is only concerned with imposing his decisions on his wife but doesn't spare the same energies on his father or brother because he KNOWS he has no control over them. no son can overrule his father's decisions. working elder brothers don't always have the energy to deal with unruly younger brothers beyond reprimanding them occasionally (but not investing any time to make sure the reprimands bear a positive change). but with Kim he keeps bringing up the "you're my wife" reminder because that, in his head, gives him a higher "authority" over her that he has seen happen all around him all his life. the whole "mard ki aurat pe bartari" logic that gets legitimized when a man and woman get married to each other. Kim, love of my life, firmly reminds him that his superiority BS won't work on her because she doesn't depend on him for security that she'd have no choice but to give in to his whims and demands as most of the women in marriages do.

I was thinking this other day and idk if I tweeted or posted about it but..Kim in her marriage with Dawood is a very clear example of how much patriarchy as a concept works solely on the oppression of women. you give women a decent amount of power and autonomy and a LOTTTT if not all of patriarchal concepts get shattered. Kim is not like Razia or Iqbal or Suraiya. her identity is not constantly tied or and defined by the relationship she shares with any men. her "liberal" way of living has given her the chance to own her agency. which is why she can stay mad at her father. which is why she can firmly make conditions of how she wants her marriage with Dawood to be. which is why she's the only one who can question Dada's rulings. because she isn't scared that offending any of these men will have an irreparable impact on HER life. Kim never crosses the boundary of respect or decency when she questions. she doesn't have to. she's just so highly secure in her life as just being KIM that she knows that if her justified questions fall on deaf ears and this environment she's living in becomes too suffocating for her..she can easily walk out and no one will have any power or authority over her to stop her. the thing is Kim is, so far, CHOOSING to stay here because there's still something here holding here. be it her growing feelings for Dawood or the companionship she's finding in Suraiya, Iqbal, and Zulfi. that's the mark of a relationship's beauty I feel. that a person, who has the choice to leave, CHOOSES to stay. not because they HAVE to but because they WANT to. i feel Kim, ultimately, would WANT to stay back. but for that to happen Dawood still has a LONG way to go.

Dawood is getting influenced by Kim at least enough for him to take the first step of standing up to Dada. yeah it's a weak step cuz his obedience (which is a flaw of his let's be real) doesn't allow him to counter-argue with Dada. Kim kardeti argue. but Dawood was silenced when Dada gave a very weak reasoning about why Suraiya wouldn't object to the marriage and why there's not even a NEED to ask for her marzi. "main uska Wali hoon..kuch gair-sharai' kaam nahin horaha". Again..patriarchy empowered through women's oppression. cuz the religion very STRICTLY says that the consent lies SOLELY on the individual in matters related to marriage. a no IS a no and no wali has the power to veto it.

the preview for next week is a little scary ngl. Kim has her heart in the right place but she doesn't have patience to deal with things without blowing up a few buildings along the way. although i must say TWICE In this episode she shielded Suraiya from unwanted interrogation so Kim is also learning the art of navigating complex situations. she's still a beginner though so she has a long way to go to perfect it xD i am happy that Suraiya's issue is out and there's no dragging it. also, I feel it's gonna be Dawood who'll ultimately take a step for his sister and fight for her right. and maybe that will be the catalyst for Kim truly falling for him. oh she KNOWS she's attracted to him and she isn't entirely unhappy with him but Dawood's tendency to stay silent in matters that demand him to speak up make Kim not really respect him. she's always lowkey mad at him for not refusing to the marriage when he KNEW he didn't like her. she's now highkey mad that he's not fighting for her sister's right to marry the guy of her choice. if the show truly intends to show via Dawood&Kim's relationship of how these two people from two completely different worlds can come together and learn from each other to make lay foundation of a whole new world where both their previous worlds can peacefully coexist..NOW is the best time to show that.

P.S - how freakin' glorious was Kim being all "ab main itni achi bhi nahin hoon ke apki har baat manun." to Razia xD the way I laughed! i love love LOVEEE whenever Maya does these cheeky scenes. there's this innocence in her sass that's never badtameez. gaaah Kim has really become my top3 fav Maya Ali characters and the show isn't over yet! nazar na lag jaye bass!!

[pathfinderunlocked]

Snowclops - CR9 Giant

An arctic-dwelling cyclops with some cold magic and ki powers.

Artwork is in-game art from Nioh 2, copyright Team Ninja.

Snowclops are, as the name implies, cold-elemental cyclops that live in arctic regions and can control ice and snow.  Their demeanor and culture is similar to that of typical cyclopes, but they are more isolated and do not seek out strife unless outsiders encroach on their land.  Many snowclops tribes claim vast swathes of land as their own, however, which belonged to ancient snowclops empires millennia ago.  A group of snowclops numbering as small as fifty might claim a 100-mile stretch of lifeless tundra as their imperial territory.  Their small numbers prevent them from effectively defending this land, though they still try.

Although designed to function as a mini-boss on its own, you could definitely use a snowclops (or several) as a normal enemy or a boss minion in a higher level adventure.

Snowclops - CR 9

A single huge eye stares from the forehead of this nine-foot-tall giant, whose skin is scarred with ritual patterns and encrusted with ice. Below this sole orb, steamy breath and a hanging tongue emerge from its gaping mouth.

XP 6,400 N Large humanoid (cold, giant) Init +3 Senses low-light vision, see invisibility; Perception +23

DEFENSE

AC 22, touch 8, flat-footed 22 (-1 Dex, +12 natural, +2 shield, -1 size) hp 110 (13d8+52) Fort +12; Ref +5; Will +7 Defensive Abilities cold healing, ferocity, frost-encrusted arms Immune cold Weaknesses vulnerable to fire

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. Melee flurry of blows unarmed strike +14/+14/+9 (2d8+6 plus 1d6 cold and ice-blasting strike and icy fists) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks arctic zephyr blow, ice-blasting strike, icy fists

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +7)     Constant—see invisibility     3/day—snowball     1/day—wall of ice

STATISTICS

Str 22, Dex 8, Con 19, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 8 Base Atk +9; CMB +16; CMD 25 Feats Alertness, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Improved Unarmed Strike, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack Skills Climb +13, Survival +5, Perception +23, Sense Motive +3; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception Languages Cyclops, Giant SQ icewalking, trackless step

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Arctic Zephyr Blow (Su) In place of an attack, when making a full-attack or using the attack action, a snowclops can disrupt the wind and create a sharp blast of air, as if using the spell gust of wind (caster level 8).

Cold Healing (Ex) While in an area that is below freezing, a snowclops has fast healing 10.  This is suppressed for 1 round any time it takes fire damage.

Ice-Blasting Strike (Su) Four times per day, when a snowclops performs an unarmed strike against a target standing on the ground, it can create a blast of ice that coats a 5-foot square of ground under the target with ice.  The number of uses per day is Constitution-based.

A creature can walk within or through the area of ice at half its normal speed with a successful DC 10 Acrobatics check.  Failure by 4 or less means the creature can’t move that round (and must succeed at a Reflex save or fall); failure by 5 or more means it falls (see the Acrobatics skill).  Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to attempt this check.

A 5-foot square of ice has hardness 0 and 3 hit points.  The ice is an instantaneous effect, but persists as non-magical ice.  Under temperate conditions, the ice lasts 1 minute per level.  In tropical environments, it might last only half as long.  In cold environments where ice and snow persist without melting, it could last indefinitely.

Icewalking (Ex) A snowclops suffers no penalty to speed or on Acrobatics, Climb, or Stealth checks in snowy or icy terrain or weather conditions, and can move across icy or slippery terrain without penalty.

Icy Fists (Su) A snowclops’s unarmed strikes deal damage as an 8th level monk; they deal 2d8 base damage plus 1d6 additional cold damage, and count as magic, cold iron, and silver for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.  A snowclops’s unarmed strike is treated as both a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.

A snowclops gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat.

Flash of Insight (Su) Once per day as an immediate action, a snowclops can peer into an occluded visual spectrum of possible futures, gaining insight that allows it to select the exact result of one die roll before the roll is made.  This effect can alter an action taken by the snowclops only, and cannot be applied to the rolls of others.

Flurry of Blows (Ex) When a snowclops performs a full-attack action using unarmed strikes, it can make one additional attack at its highest attack bonus.  This additional attack stacks with the bonus attacks from haste and other similar effects, but not with two-weapon fighting.

Frost-Encrusted Arms (Ex) While both of a snowclops’s hands are free, it gains a +2 shield bonus to AC.  This is already included in its statistics.  If only one of its hands is free, it instead gains only a +1 shield bonus to AC.

Trackless Step (Ex) While in snow or icy terrain, a snowclops leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. It may choose to leave a trail if so desired.

[kaur-13]

The Guru, His Sikh and Sikhi 💕 -

Ameture POV.

We don't know when the World was created and exactly when humans were created and how they evolved.

Ages passed, from the stone age to the current technological era, we have come a long way.

And along this way we have not only changed the environment around us but also inside us.

The world now is fast and unfortunately more furious. We have more time now than ever, as everything is mechanised and AI based. But again unfortunately our free time goes in vices rather than virtues, in electronic media rather than meditation and in boasting our human ego rather than remembering our creator. Also more time leads to more thoughts, more questions on life, living, the world and ourselves.

This is where my Guru comes and guides me.

There is one Creator Waheguru, who is all knower, forever gracious and immensely kind.. To save the World from drowning in its own vices, he Sent Guru Nanak Dev Ji Sahib in Kalyug to enlighten the World for the coming eras.

First in 10 physical forms then in the form of eternal Shabad Guru.

Sikhi - learning to live, the will to learn to live till the last breath, as even your last breath can save your soul from dying.

As life's creator is the best teacher to teach us how to live this life gifted by him, he Sent Dhur Ki Bani through our Guru Sahiban to teach us, enlighten us and make our life meaningful, truthful and beautiful.

Without the right Guru or with a false Guru, one is bound to go in the wrong direction which he may not realise immediately but will definitely repent later in life or afterlife.

Importance of Guru is highlighted in the first salok itself.

"Pavan Guru"

Guru is someone you can't live without. Someone who is always there, always gracious, synonymous with life, breath of the soul.

For a Sikh, his Waheguru and Guru is everything.. teacher, father, mother, friend, the love of his life, his life, his saviour from the dark age of kalyug.

Most of us face different phases and difficult phases in life. For me, my biggest vice being my overthinking, in the difficult phases or even otherwise, I have so many questions about life, its significance, importance, etc. but these kinds of difficult phases make us realise the reality of life and sometimes these small difficulties, teach us great life lessons. In these moments we feel lost, sad, anxious and in these difficult moments we seek guidance, confidants, direction to move ahead, support and love.

In such times I feel grateful to the almighty to make me a Sikh of my Guru, as when no one is there, he is always there for me, in the form of Shabad Guru, his presence, his remembrance, his teachings always vibrate in my mind.

I am not a good disciple, but he is the greatest Guru in this World and so I am immensely thankful, blessed and grateful to be his and loved by him.

The world is an ocean of poison and there is an even greater ocean of my sins. Blessed am I to have a Guru who is never going to stop teaching me to swim and even if I sink, he'll take me across with his love ❤️

' oh Daya krna nhi chhad-da

Tu Bharosa krna na chhodi'

[rentnhope]

6 Bike Rental Options in Chandigarh beautiful Countryside for Rural Exploration

The city of Chandigarh is adorned with lush gardens, and its carefully designed urban layout may be the first thing that springs to mind when you think of the city. But there is a picturesque and little-known countryside just outside the well-kept walls of the city. For those wishing to get back in touch with nature, the rural areas surrounding Chandigarh offer a picture-perfect getaway, complete with tranquil villages and vast mustard fields. Riding a bike is the ideal way to take in this breathtaking area. This blog post will provide six places that you can’t miss and that will enable you to explore Chandigarh's gorgeous countryside and make the most of an exciting day trip. 

1. Leisure Valley to Patiala Ki Rao

A beautiful rural route that leads all the way to Patiala Ki Rao begins at Leisure Valley, one of Chandigarh's most famous green areas. However, not many people are aware of this. Thanks to its winding route through thick vegetation, calm stream, and expansive views of the surrounding countryside, this ride is a favorite among nature lovers. It is a treat for bird enthusiasts because you can see a variety of bird species along the road. This is an essential path to take if you want to see Chandigarh's natural beauty outside of its big parks. Commence your rural journey with ease, as there are numerous possibilities for bike rental in Chandigarh close to Leisure Valley. 

 2. Sukhna Lake to Kaimbwala Village

One wouldn't anticipate finding rural tranquility only a short bike ride away from Sukhna Lake, one of Chandigarh's most visited locations, where you would start your journey. However, as you ride into Kaimbwala Village, the scenery progressively shifts from urban to rural, providing a distinctive combination of both. Kaimbwala is a charming village with modest fields and mud dwellings that provides an insight into traditional Punjabi life. Because of its relative ease, the journey is ideal for families and casual riders. To ensure a hassle-free experience, book your Chandigarh bike rental near Sukhna Lake in advance. 

3. Naya Gaon to Kansal Forest

The journey from Naya Gaon to Kansal Forest is ideal for those looking for a little excitement. The route leads directly into the heart of Kansal Forest, a protected area renowned for its abundant biodiversity, from Naya Gaon, a tiny village outside of Chandigarh. There are a few steep rises on the somewhat difficult track, but the work is definitely worth it. Numerous animals can be found in the forest, and if you're lucky, you might even see a leopard or some deer. This path is perfect for the adventurous spirit because of the thrill of the ride paired with the peace of Kansal Forest. Before you go, make sure you have your bike rental in Chandigarh.

4. Rock Garden to Nepli Reserve Forest

Beyond the walls of Chandigarh's Rock Garden lies a tranquil landscape just waiting to be discovered. It's a remarkable artistic achievement. You may ride to Nepli Reserve Forest, a hidden treasure that provides isolation unlike anything else, from the Rock Garden. The route winds through wide fields and tiny villages before entering the reserve forest's thick greenery, making for a serene ride. For those who want to spend some peaceful time in nature and escape the bustle of the city, this is the ideal path. Pick up a Chandigarh bike rental close to the Rock Garden to get started on your ride, and get ready for a peaceful day of discovery. 

5. Sector 42 to Sarangpur Village

While Chandigarh's Sector 42 is well-known for its contemporary conveniences and vibrant environment, Sarangpur Village, where time seems to stand still, is only a short bike ride away. Well-paved roads take you from the city into the heart of traditional Punjab, making the shift from urban to rural areas easy. Sarangpur is a quintessential Punjabi village, replete with colorful fields, amiable residents, and the irresistible aroma of freshly made chapatis cooking on clay stoves. Since the trip is flat and easy, riders of all ability levels can enjoy it.  There are a number of Chandigarh bike rental businesses that have a range of bikes to choose from. 

6. Chandigarh to Morni Hills

The ultimate countryside adventure for experienced cyclists looking for a challenge is cycling from Chandigarh to Morni Hills. Views of the surrounding landscape are breathtaking from Morni Hills, the lone hill station in Haryana. Although the path is challenging due to its high heels and tight turns, the rewards are great. Ascending the hill, you'll discover quaint villages, terraced fields, and lush green woodlands. Both the cool breeze and the wide-open views at the top make this excursion truly unforgettable. This route is quite demanding, so choose a reliable bike rental in Chandigarh that rents out bikes suitable for lengthy rides and hills. 

Conclusion

The rural areas around Chandigarh provide a wide variety of scenery, from tranquil villages to thick woods and undulating hills. Biking through these areas gives you a unique perspective on rural life in Punjab and Haryana in addition to allowing you to appreciate the natural beauty of the area. It's never been easier to arrange your rural excursion with so many bike rental in Chandigarh options available. Whether you're an avid rider searching for a strenuous path or a casual cyclist wanting a serene ride, Chandigarh's stunning landscape has plenty to offer everyone. Therefore, the next time you're in Chandigarh, get on a bike and go exploring to find the undiscovered treasures that are located just outside the city limits.

[vadzoseo]

Enhance Your Android Retail Kiosk with These Top USB Camera Models

In the dynamic world of retail, providing an engaging and seamless customer experience is paramount. One way to achieve this is by integrating advanced technologies into your retail kiosks. A crucial component for this integration is the USB camera. USB cameras offer a range of benefits for Android retail kiosks, from enhancing security to improving customer interaction. In this article, we'll explore some of the top USB camera models that can elevate your retail kiosk experience.

Why USB Cameras are Essential for Android Retail Kiosks

Before diving into specific models, it's important to understand why USB cameras are vital for your Android retail kiosks. USB cameras provide high-quality video and image capture capabilities, making them perfect for various applications such as customer identification, product demonstration, and interactive experiences. Moreover, they are typically easy to install and compatible with a wide range of devices, making them a versatile choice for any retail environment.

Top USB Camera Models for Android Retail Kiosks

1. Logitech C920 HD Pro

The Logitech C920 HD Pro is a popular choice for many retail applications due to its exceptional image quality and ease of use. This USB camera offers full HD 1080p video recording and clear stereo audio, making it ideal for interactive kiosks where high-quality video communication is essential.

Key Features:

Full HD 1080p video recording

Dual microphones for clear stereo audio

Automatic low-light correction

Wide 78-degree field of view

The Logitech C920 HD Pro is perfect for retail kiosks that require high-definition video for customer interactions and product showcases.

2. Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000

For those looking for a budget-friendly yet reliable option, the Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 is an excellent choice. This USB camera provides 720p HD video and a flexible mounting system, making it suitable for various kiosk setups.

Key Features:

720p HD video recording

TrueColor technology for bright and colorful video

Universal attachment base

Noise-reducing microphone

The Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 is ideal for retail kiosks that need an affordable solution without compromising on video quality.

3. AUSDOM 1080P HD Webcam

The AUSDOM 1080P HD Webcam is another top contender in the realm of USB cameras for retail kiosks. Known for its excellent image quality and ease of integration, this camera is a great choice for enhancing customer engagement.

Key Features:

Full HD 1080p video recording

Built-in noise-canceling microphone

90-degree wide-angle lens

Plug-and-play setup

With its wide-angle lens and high-definition video, the AUSDOM 1080P HD Webcam is perfect for capturing more detailed views, making it ideal for product demonstrations and interactive displays.

4. Razer Kiyo

The Razer Kiyo stands out with its built-in ring light, making it an excellent choice for kiosks located in areas with varying lighting conditions. This USB camera provides professional-grade video quality and is specifically designed for streaming and recording.

Key Features:

Full HD 1080p video recording

Adjustable ring light for optimal lighting

Compact and portable design

Fast and accurate autofocus

The Razer Kiyo's built-in ring light ensures that your videos are well-lit, making it ideal for kiosks that need to maintain consistent video quality regardless of ambient lighting.

5. NexiGo N60 USB Computer Camera

The NexiGo N60 USB Computer Camera is a versatile and cost-effective option that offers high-definition video and a built-in privacy cover. This camera is particularly useful for retail kiosks where privacy and security are of utmost importance.

Key Features:

Full HD 1080p video recording

Built-in privacy cover

110-degree wide-angle lens

Plug-and-play setup

The NexiGo N60's privacy cover ensures that your camera is protected when not in use, adding an extra layer of security for your retail kiosk.

Enhancing Your Retail Kiosk Experience

Integrating a high-quality USB camera into your Android retail kiosk can significantly enhance the overall customer experience. Here are a few ways to utilize these cameras effectively:

Customer Interaction

USB cameras enable face-to-face communication between customers and virtual assistants, providing a personal touch to the shopping experience. This is especially useful for customer service kiosks where real-time support can be provided.

Product Demonstrations

With high-definition video capabilities, USB cameras can be used to showcase products in detail. This allows customers to get a closer look at the features and benefits of products, aiding in their decision-making process.

Security

USB cameras play a crucial role in ensuring the security of your retail kiosk. They can be used for monitoring and recording activities around the kiosk, deterring potential theft and ensuring the safety of both the customers and the kiosk itself.

Data Collection

By capturing customer interactions and behaviors, USB cameras can provide valuable data that can be analyzed to improve the retail experience. This data can help in understanding customer preferences, optimizing product placement, and enhancing overall kiosk performance.

Conclusion

Choosing the right USB camera for your Android retail kiosk is essential for delivering a superior customer experience. Whether you prioritize video quality, lighting, security, or budget, there's a USB camera model that fits your needs. By integrating one of these top USB camera models, you can elevate the functionality and appeal of your retail kiosks, ultimately driving customer satisfaction and sales.

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