#paladi order

[ttec-official]

Meet the main characters!

These are the games main characters, who are part of the tactical team, their backstories include topics such as murder, child abuse and rape, reader discretion is advised.

Hikari Nakamoto

She is the protagonist of the game and leader of the team, she is a paladin and uses light magic, which includes light attacks, healing and support, she fights using a sword and shield, she also constantly tries to get in the way of incoming attacks aimed at her teammates. She wants to defeat the main villain because she wants to bring peace to the kingdom of Paladia. She lives in a temple with her adoptive mother, Miko Nakamoto, who is a priestess, her old parents didn't accept her because she was different, they abused her, barely gave her any food, and abandoned her. Her name means "Light" and "Origin".

Valen Funnier

He's a black knight, he uses dark magic, which consists of dark attacks, life steal and debuffs, and carries swords too big for him. When he was young he gained immortality, and still looks like a child despite being over 100 years old, he has fought in wars. He joined Hikari because he wants to know more about the order of the paladins, who destroyed his hometown.

Mun

She's a dark magician, and uses dark magic, her weapon of choice is a bow. Tessa von Themmis' family has been very proficient in the dark arts for generations, but rumors spread saying they were dangerous, so they stopped practicing magic. She didn't want to waste her life doing nothing, so she tried to retake on her ancestors techniques, her family rejected and disowned her so she changed her name to Mun. And so she joined the team to become strong, help her family and regain her honor. It's pronounced like "Moon".

Iris

She is a thief who fights with a knife. When she was young her mother got killed in front of her, and she was prostituted for a long time, but she learned a lot from the people in those kind of groups, she joined a gang, and at one point got into a fight with the tactical team, Hikari spared her and she joined the team, and formed a special bond with Funnier.

Coral

He (yes, he) is a bard, and fights with a knife, he can sing to support his allies and knows some water and wind magic. Student of a great musician who mysteriously passed away, then he decided to travel to spread his master's music, meet people and have fun. He met the team because Miko, Hikari's mother, hired him to look for her since she had been away from home for a few days, when he met them he grew fond of them and decided to join them in their travels.

Raymoo Kirisame

She is a thief who fights with a pair of katanas, she also knows some electric and fire magic. She used to live and serve in a royal castle with her parents, however her mother passed away due to abuse and excessive work, her father was devastated because of it, and he decided to plot to assassinate the nobility in revenge, and he included Raymoo in it, and taught her how to steal and be stealthy, as well as basic use of a weapon, but Raymoo became rough, selfish and opportunistic because of this, everything went well until she was caught by one of the maids trying to steal something, her father was sentenced to death, and she escaped, but was caught by guards, though a witch passing by took pity of the girl and fought off the guards, though both she and the guards died, then Raymoo wanted to be a witch, even though she knew nothing about magic, she took the witch's hat and left. Years later she met Hikari in a bar while she was looking for the location of the second elemental crystal and Raymoo told her the way, since she had been to many places, Raymoo thought it would be a good opportunity to steal ancient artifacts while having some more help to fight, but when they were spending time together, Raymoo and Hikari ended up falling in love, and Raymoo learned that money wasn't everything that mattered. Her name is a combination of Youhou Project characters Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame

Héctor

He's a paladin, he uses light magic. He was a normal guy with a normal family, he liked anime, games and practicing with replicas of medieval weapons as a hobby. One normal day like any other he felt uneasy and went to sleep, when he woke up he was in a place that he didn't recognize at all, it all seemed really old, a room lighted by candles, in a room made of stone, and his weapons were real. He seemed to have been sucked into a dimensional portal. He had appeared in the same temple Hikari lived in, when Miko found him she made him train to be a paladin, and then she sent him to help Hikari after she left for the second crystal. Though he didn't like how the team–specifically Raymoo–treated him, and he wanted to be a protagonist like in the anime he watched, and they weren't treating him like a protagonist, and that's how his alternate story begins.

[wearepaladin]

Argentas Paladi: in the language of the people of Argent D’Nur, a race of humanoids who fought alongside the Doom Slayer, who was granted the title Argentas Paladi, The Pure Paladin. Not only for being adopted into their order, becoming their greatest champion, but for being their last, purest hope at victory beyond death.

He fulfilled that promise.

[riverthewriter-blog1]

WIP intro post: Angelic

I just realized that I have never actually introduced my wip on here, which means that the only information anyone has on it is cryptic sentences from tag games and excerpts. So, here we go!

Series: These Cursed Gifts- first book of three.

Genre: dystopian fantasy

Status: I’m about 3/4 of the way through the first draft

Summary: Anna Nevarro lives in a place called the Haven, where people are separated between Gifted- those blessed with the powers of an angel- and the Ungifted. But the Haven, a sanctuary built after the fall of humanity, is crumbling under the rule of three tyrannical Gifted. Anna, an Ungifted who has stumbled upon a mysterious stone that could be the key to her escape, must partner with an untrustworthy band of rebels called Morning Star in order to save Gifted and Ungifted alike.

Houses of the Gifted:

-REVENOS- blessed with the power of flight as well as speed, agility, enhanced senses, and mental power. In other words, don’t mess with them.

-CHITHELE- children of the elements. Groups include Earth Children, Blood Children, Stone Children, Light Children, and Fire Children, among others. Generally considered the most powerful house.

-WENDERIL- also known as silvertongues. Their voices can charm you into doing whatever they wish. No one trusts them- for good reason.

Setting: post-nuclear war (this is pending, I’m gonna have to do some research) and somewhere in South America

Characters:

-ANNA NEVARRO- 17. Female. Ungifted. Doesn’t want to be here but since there’s nothing else to do she might as well help save the world.

-CORIN PALADIS- 16. Male. Wenderil. Mastered the ability to hide all his emotions behind a mask of sarcasm and terrible puns.

-ZELACOR RIVERIS- 18. Female. Earth Chithele. Generally okay person, terrible friend.

-ENANJEL CASAREZ- 19. Male. Revenos. Looks intimidating but has the heart of a dandelion.

-FINN OLVASAT- 16. Male. Mind Chithele. Hasn’t yet discovered exactly how terrible this world is, and we’re aiming to keep it that way.

-AZINA VERMEULE- 19. Female. A traitor to everyone but her own wishes.

-IYASCAIR- 13.8 billion years old. Entity. Don’t let him in your head.

Tags: wip tags- these cursed gifts, wip: angelic, river writes

          oc tags- oc: anna, oc: corin, oc: zell, oc: nanjel, oc: azina, oc: finn, oc: iyascair

And that’s it, I think! I’ll probably end up posting another one later, going more in-depth about the Gifted and whatnot. For now this should be fine, though. I’m tagging a few people who expressed interest, but if you don’t want to be tagged in anything then just let me know. @clarissalopeswriter @alexiswrote @inkwellprincess

[ganymedesclock]

If Lotor were to learn that Keith is a hybrid, do you think he'll try to persuade Keith into joining him? Of course it won't work but I can't but feel that at some point Lotor is going to play mind games with Keith (or Lance because he's insecure) in order to tear team Voltron apart.

I mean, I know it’s certainly a popular fandom idea that Lotor’s going to try and lure someone away from Voltron, but...

On Lotor’s strategy

Voltron is not really Lotor’s target as much as Voltron, to Lotor, is a potential obstruction and a means to an end. He got up in their face to mess with them in season 3 because he was after the comet, and to have that, he needed to know they had Voltron. The Thayserix stunt in s3e3 was basically Lotor wanting to nail down that odd discrepancy and make sure Voltron actually had a chance of succeeding, before he threw them at the rift.

Ultimately Lotor wanted the comet, and as soon as he got it, he shifted focus away from Voltron. The only reason they still engaged after that in s3e6 is that the team came after Lotor and pressed the attack while Team Lotor was trying to steal the giant teludav component.

And what happens after that? Well, according to Keith in the season 4 trailer: “[Lotor] hasn’t been seen in months, this might be our chance to track him down!”

Lotor’s gotten what he wants from Voltron. From here on out, the only way Lotor’s really going to engage with Our Heroes is trying to get them out of his way- or potentially get something else from them. He is seemingly in the market for a teludav so I wouldn’t rule out an attack on the Castle of Lions to try and steal theirs.

Beyond that, though, I could see Lotor picking at Voltron... but potentially because he’s trying to build allies out of them. In which case he might go underhanded and try to pick them away from the group or encourage one of them to act as a spy, but it’d probably be more likely Lotor would actually just want to genuinely appeal to their good nature. Why?

On the history between the two teams

Because people forget- that little shindig between Keith, Hunk, and Acxa in the weblum is something on Lotor’s radar as much as on the paladins. And while we see Keith recognizing Acxa when they cross weapons in s3e6- Acxa doesn’t have that moment of realization, because she doesn’t need to.

She’s known who Keith was this entire time.

There’s no way Acxa, did-you-just-talk-about-my-prince-in-that-tone Acxa, didn’t pass on her experience in the weblum to Lotor. Lotor’s team operates and intercommunicates very closely. Acxa in particular is often one to talk up and explain things. So either Lotor’s team is already aware of everything from the weblum incident, or they’re missing some details that Acxa didn’t think were important, and will offer as soon as they do seem important.

So what went down in s2e9?

Well...

Keith and Hunk saved Acxa’s life.

Despite misgivings about trusting a galra blatantly working for the empire, Keith makes it very clear, within Acxa’s earshot, that they need to help her if nothing else just because she’s a living person and nobody deserves to be left for dead in a weblum. Keith is at times tense and hostile towards her, and harsh when she turns out to ultimately rob him, but it still stands, important takeaways that Acxa, and Lotor, would get from this:

Voltron is honorable. If nothing else they can be trusted to stick to their own creeds and said creeds are about helping people.

Voltron’s Red Paladin some amount of galra heritage, not normally visible. (they also know his name’s Keith because Acxa heard Hunk greet him by that name)

Reinforced by their collaboration with the Blade of Marmora, Voltron does not really have reflexive hard feelings towards the galra as a species.

On Lotor’s personality

Another thing to consider here is that Lotor is not immediately going to hear Keith is half-galra and start tapping his fingertips together because smells like opportunity.

There is a reason Lotor has surrounded himself with, and placed in powerful positions, people who are mixed race galra. This seems, way more than utility or pragmatism, actual genuine empathy, for their situation.

Lotor likes the generals. He works with them because he enjoys their company, is comfortable around them, and agrees with how they think. We see him happy to give them tasks they’ll enjoy, we see him talking to them fondly, and casually in a way that his ultimately facetious presentation to the main empire was not. And it also stands that overwhelmingly, Lotor spends a lot of time with the generals when he basically ignores most of the main fleet.

In s3e6, him chewing the generals out even fairly lightly by the standards of this show is a big deal because we virtually never see it happen. Furthermore, it’s an unusual situation because we virtually never see Lotor away from the generals in the first place to have that kind of distance.

My point is- these people are Lotor’s friends and the reason why Lotor spends so much time thinking about mixed race galra and their situation is because he has strong personal feelings about this. This is the uniting thread between him and his four closest friends and it’s pretty clear at least part of his utter disdain for “the old way”- Zarkon’s way of operating- is that in many ways that’s something that would want to destroy the only friendships Lotor really has.

Lotor seemingly “passes” as a full-blooded galra- the empire doesn’t know he’s of mixed race himself. But his generals are looked down upon as second-class citizens, and he’s considered improperly close to his subordinates. Racism and classism are not set up in Lotor’s favor.

So Lotor isn’t going to see Keith’s heritage as an opportunity to screw him over. He’s certainly not that desperate for leverage on Voltron that he’d bite his tongue and do something he’s opposed to. His team has so far been able to stay mostly ahead of Voltron. We might see Lotor twisting the knife a lot more if he’s cornered and scared as implied by the season 4 trailer, but I still doubt that he’d go for Keith’s heritage.

Not just because harping on people’s fear or distrust of the galra is Lotor shooting himself in the foot since he’s trying to establish his own foothold in the hearts of the universe’s populace and he’s also half-galra.

But hearing Keith’s got galra heritage and internalized self-loathing is going to actually pluck Lotor’s heartstrings and his response actually might be more of a danger to the team because it might, actually, be fairly heartfelt.

Because the thing about Lotor I keep coming back to is- Lotor, in many regards, is a shade of gray, not really one thing or another but a harmonious blending of allegedly stark and disparate components. We see this in his aesthetic, his strategy, almost everything he does. Fluidity and adaptability- and carving out his own niche in between alleged opposites.

And one of those alleged opposites is that Lotor actually is an empathetic person, and a manipulative one. He’ll lie, but he’ll never be completely facetious. In practice we see that a lot of what he said in his big speech to the empire, he legitimately means and will push even when it doesn’t serve him.

He basically told the empire what he planned to do with new planets, and, that’s the exact content of his recruitment spiel to Puig. He wasn’t there to put the Puigians back in chains, he was there to offer them a seat at the table, and even though he came in very aggressively, and used them to further his own ends... you know what we don’t see? Any implication whatsoever that Lotor went back and hurt the Puigians besides using Narti to control their leader- and Narti definitely didn’t stay there.

So that’s the thing. If Lotor really wants to talk Voltron around- which he might or might not, depending on his situation? He’s not just going to spew whatever they want to hear. That’s not Lotor’s style.

No, I definitely wouldn’t be surprised if Lotor plays on things, with a clear agenda, but also, with a heartfelt angle to it.

Keith’s heritage is one thing, but more importantly Keith’s yearning to relate to people on his heritage was what slipped out interacting with Acxa. Acxa was just a stranger, just some unknown galra, but Keith really wanted that to work out. He wanted them to be friends. He wanted to be able to trust Acxa. Because at that point, Keith was feeling very much like an alien in his friend group.

You don’t think entirely outside of practical pursuits and getting a leg up on Voltron, that’s gonna resonate with Lotor who seems to have built all of his close associates out of people who haven’t really been able to fit where they were? Where, again- Lotor’s whole thing is carving out a niche for yourself in a world that says you have to be one thing or another when you’re not really completely either?

And I come back to, Lotor isn’t always straitlaced, morally, but he seems to at least respect the same ideals Voltron does. In the sense that he actually, scornfully, kind of calls them out on Puig- if the Puigians are in open revolt against the empire, where exactly is their protection that this coalition is supposed to grant them? Lotor and his team are highly skilled but it does say some worrying things for your defenses if a four-man strike team can retake an entire planet in a day.

Lotor is a fan of teamwork. He’s a fan of solidarity. He wants to appeal to people genuinely and positively, and not just string them along. He sure as hell will, if he needs to, if that’s furthering a goal, but the cutthroat tactics come out either with people Lotor specifically distrusts (like Throk) or people who’ve already spit on the hand of friendship, and even then, Lotor’s got a hell of a lot more restraint than Zarkon’s ever shown.

So I’d say, I wouldn’t even say for sure if Lotor potentially trying to appeal to Keith is necessarily going to be a bad thing! Hell, we might actually see a situation where two of the generals bail out one of the paladins as a kind of- “there, we’re even for the whole weblum thing.”

It’s possible that Lotor might actually warm up to the paladins because he can trust them to have basic standards for potential enemies, like Acxa- and one of the things Lotor has the greatest disdain for is the empire’s whole attitude of “anything besides unmitigated aggression is for cowards and weaklings.”

There’s a reason, even though it would be ‘unpopular’ to his audience, Lotor made a big show of sparing Throk when in Lotor’s personal assessment Throk was too dangerous to keep around.

There’s a reason Lotor showed off his ability to keep ahead of people scheming against him but ultimately spared that person.

There’s a reason Throk’s ultimate fate is delivered at the hands of Haggar, acting on the vicious, cruel, victory-or-death attitude that Lotor’s already condemned.

Because Lotor knows that doesn’t work- that’s why he uses it to cover his own tracks, because the empire’s not going to listen to Throk. And for himself, when he’s running the show- Lotor would just as soon be completely rid of it.

Even when Lotor’s acting cruelly, his contempt for that aggression shines through. He smirks when Throk is taken out because the empire’s bellicose policies are once again nailing them in their coffin and protecting him. After all, amnesia in this setting has been rather porous. It’s very likely if Haggar hadn’t murdered Throk for his inability to cough up an immediate answer, he eventually would have remembered who attacked the base- or set out to figure out who did.

What this means going forward

Ultimately I doubt it’s going to be this simple. Lotor has a lot of things about Voltron he can respect, and a lot of things about Keith’s situation he can empathize with, but, he’s also between a rock and a hard place.

Everything about the season 4 trailer suggests things are going to go south for Lotor. We see a lot of tense faces out of him, his nervous insistence of “My father’s on his deathbed and I am in control.”

At a glance, that sounds like villainous gloating. But the thing is, Lotor doesn’t say those lines when he’s comfortable and confident and actually sitting on an advantage.

When Lotor’s got an advantage, he’s breezy, cheerful, informal. When he’s talking stiffly about superiority... well, we mostly saw it when he was confronting Haggar in s3e5. “I am the leader!”

That’s defensive snapping because Lotor feels cornered. And that line about “I am in control” sounds very similar to the way he talks to Haggar- that is to say, it suggests, ironically, that Lotor is feeling anything but in control.

And Keith’s comment that Lotor hasn’t been seen in months is another worrying nod to how Lotor’s feeling. Because Lotor is someone who retreats, and withdraws, when he doesn’t like his odds. If he doesn’t like a fight, he’ll try to avoid showing up for it.

If Lotor’s hiding, he’s tense.

What all of this means to me is? Personally, I think Lotor has some respect for Voltron at this point. Practically they agree more on morals than Lotor does with his father (see, the utter contempt Lotor reacts with when Haggar compares him to Zarkon).

But at the same time... Lotor is also pragmatic, and, as mentioned, he isn’t really afraid to push the boundaries of his own values if he’s scared and endangered. So I don’t think Lotor would want to, for example, maliciously exploit Keith’s desire for recognition against him... that doesn’t mean he necessarily wouldn’t, depending on what else is chasing him.

Lotor’s not like Zarkon. His desires aren’t necessarily completely irreconcilable with Voltron’s survival or even victory. But a powerful motivator for Lotor is pretty clearly that he’s terrified of Zarkon and Haggar actually closing their grip on him again. And he cares about the generals as well- who have publicly thrown their lot in with him. Who, as very obvious minorities who are very strongly looked down on within the empire, are going to be in a lot of danger if he gets publicly cornered as a traitor.

If push comes to shove and the empire starts putting pressure on Lotor he’s going to feel a lot less sporting towards Voltron. And that might drive him to go further into nasty, ruthless tactics in order to get results- because he can’t afford to lose. His cozy little strike team with the generals is a nice arrangement but, like Voltron itself... they don’t have any dead weight to toss off.

[mechagalaxy]

Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184: Weapon: BURNSAW

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184) Weapon review

Todays (N-Flamer) Weapon: BURNSAW

As the time got closer to the `45 war, it seemed prudent to get an idea of what opponents might field against us. While intelligence gathering always is more of an art coupled to luck than an exact science, over the years one gets more or less familiar with most of the hardware.

However, there is always some new inventions popping up, or perhaps someone discovers a cache of half-forgotten items and have a small amount of them for sale.

To get a glimpse of the potential game changers a trip to the Paladious Arms, my favorite shop when it comes to Mechs and lethal enhancements for them was in order.

The shop was pretty deserted in the early morning, and the staffer who met me smilingly invited me up to a private viewing room. Soon a hearty breakfast arrived on a tray, and beside it was a stack of brochures for the limited offers they still had in stock. The first weapon to be scrutinized was an entry level Flamer named

Burnsaw

…….Speed: 102 …..Damage: 35 2X Damage: 4% ...…….Burn: 3% Cost: ..Ferrite: 350 Bioptics: 350 ..Niodes: 15 Piloting licence required: 8

Not especially fast, but for the licence needed to purchase it there is a solid Punch. A small multiple and a smaller chance of setting an opponent ablaze round the weapon off. For those who have higher licences, the following N-Flamer is the

Red Plasma

...Speed: 105 Damage: 27 …..Burn: 6% Cost: ..Ferrite: 285 Bioptics: 133 ..Niodes: 17 Piloting licence required: 19

A bit faster, although the Punch is a fifth weaker. No multiple here, but the odds of burning an oponent is twice as good. For those having even higher licences, the next N- Flamer is the

Assault Plasma

...Speed: 102 Damage: 43 …..Burn: 10% Cost: ..Ferrite: 435 Bioptics: 203 ..Niodes: 26 Piloting licence required: 29

Same speed, and the Punch is a fifth higher here. No multiples here either, but the odds of setting an opponent alight is more than three times as good.

Taking these flamers to the fire range and recording the effect of 100 blasts from each in the standard 50/50 hit probability maze yielded these numbers:

……....Burnsaw: 1820 (and 1-in-33 odds of Burn)

…..Red Plasma: 1350 (and 2-in-33 odds of Burn)

Assault Plasma: 2150 (and 3-in-33 odds of Burn)

For those who have an high enough licence to buy all of them, the question might be whether one want the speed of the Red Plasma or the damage of the Assault Plasma. For those Whos licence is lower, the Burnsaw seem a decent buy.

Should you buy one? Unless you have access to better weapons, yes.

Did I buy one? No. I can get better weapons.

[mechagalaxy]

Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184: Weapon: PHOTON BEAST

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184) Weapon review

Todays (N-Laser) Weapon: PHOTON BEAST

At the Paladious Arms, my prefered shop for all purchases Mech related, the loading of the latest order was underway.

The staff had brought in some more refreshment, spicy tea and cucumber sandwiches this time. Discretly placed under the tea saucer was another brochure detailing the latest Limited offer.

I put the tea aside and started leafing through the brochure. It described one of the workhorses I still use to good effect. I am talking about the N-Laser known as the

Photon Beast

…….Speed: 103 …..Damage: 121 3X Damage: 12% ......…..Slow: (4) Cost: ..Ferrite: 1950 Bioptics: 1200 ..Niodes: 46 Piloting licence required: 71

Decent speed for a Laser buyable at the same time one can buy a Jadoon. The Punch is solid, and it have both a hefty multiple and some Slow. But as always before you sign the dotted line, take a look at the competing weaponery. In this case the previous N-Laser is the

Rage Pulsar

...Speed: 102 Damage: 95 ..Crit-Kill: 18% Cost: ..Ferrite: 1650 Bioptics: 1000 ..Niodes: 53 Piloting licence required: 64

A bit slower and the Punch is a fifth weaker. It have neither multiple nor Slow. But it do have an exellent chance of making a one shot kill. The following N-Laser is the

Archfiend

...Speed: 102 Damage: 105 ..Crit-Kill: 19% Cost: ..Ferrite: 2000 Bioptics: 1200 ..Niodes: 56 Piloting licence required: 73

Also a hair slower. The Punch is weaker here as well, and we see no Slow or multiple here either. What we see is the highest odds of a one shot kill so far made.

There really is no need to take these Lasers to the firing range. Everyone can see the Photon Beast will outscore both of the two others by a considerable margin. The higher speed and the slow effect is icing on the cake. However. As both of the two other Lasers are top Crit-Killers, the Photon Beast comes in last. Not because it is a bad buy, but because the two other are fantastic.

Should you buy one? No. Not unless you are at limit on the two others.

Did I buy one? No

[mechagalaxy]

Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184: Weapon: TENDERIZER

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184) Weapon review

Todays (N-Missile Weapon): TENDERIZER

As Star League was preparing for the final onslaught against the self-styled Pirate King, all Commanders were given various tasks. Mine was to assure we had enough ammo and spare parts.

To fulfill that duty, a trip to a weapon store was neccesarry, and as usual I chose the Paladious Arms as my supplier.

The lines outside was pretty long, but the doorman recognized me and let me in through the VIP entrance. Once inside the properitor greeted me warmly and led me to an upstair viewing room. A stein of beer was brought in, and as the properitor went to make sure the order could be filled, I looked at one of the brochures he had left behind. It was one of those Limited offers, where only a few score weapons were avialiable. This time it was a Missile system by the name of

Tenderizer

…….Speed: 99 …..Damage: 35 2X Damage: 4% ……….Fork: 15% Cost: ..Ferrite: 365 Bioptics: 270 ..Niodes: 15 Piloting licence required: 8

For a weapon buyable while the piloting licence is still in the single digit stage, this is an awesome weapon. The speed is quite high for a Missile, the Punch is quite heavy and it have both a (small) multiple and a 1-in-7 odds of hitting a second target as well. But as always, cast a glance at the regular launchers as well before you sign the dotted line. In this case at the same time as you can buy the Tenderizer, you might instead elect to purchase the

Air Shock

...Speed: 95 Damage: 13 ...Splash: 8% Cost: ..Ferrite: 120 Bioptics: 120 ..Niodes: 7 Piloting licence required: 8

Slower, and much weaker Punch. No multiple or Fork, but some odds of Splash. The following N-Missile is the

Adv. Fury Rack

...Speed: 91 Damage: 18 …...Fork: 60% Cost: ..Ferrite: 225 Bioptics: 105 ..Niodes: 10 Piloting licence required: 15

Even slower, and the Punch is barely half. No multiple here either, but the Fork odds are 3-in-5. Looking further ahead we spot the

Black Rain

...Speed: 92 Damage: 31 …...Fork: 60% Cost: ..Ferrite: 375 Bioptics: 175 ..Niodes: 20 Piloting licence required: 25

Also slower, and the Punch is a bit lower. While it have no multiple, the odds of Forking is 3-in-5 here as well. Looking still further we find the

Stratos Spray

...Speed: 93 Damage: 40 …...Fork: 60% Cost: ..Ferrite: 510 Bioptics: 238 ..Niodes: 25 Piloting licence required: 34

A bit slower, but it have a better Punch. No multiple here either, but it also have 3-in-5 odds of achieving a Fork.

Taking all of these launchers to the firing range and letting loose 100 salvoes from each in our standard 50/50 hit probability maze gives these results:

...….Air Shock: 650 (+52 Splash) …...Tenderizer: 1820 (+273 Fork) Adv.Fury Rack: 900 (+540 Fork) …..Black Rain: 1550 (+930 Fork) .Stratos Spray: 2000 (+1200 Fork)

Even when we compare toward the Stratos Spray, the direct damage of the Tenderizer is almost as good. Add in the speed advantage and one can be excused for thinking it is the best system.

Should you buy one? Absolutely, at least if the piloting licence is below 15.

Did I buy one? No, I have access to more potent missiles.

[mechagalaxy]

Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184: Weapon: VULCAN PHASER

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184) Weapon review

Todays (N-Laser) Weapon: VULCAN PHASER

At the Paladious Arms, my trusty supplier of all things Mech related, my order was almost filled, and the supply trucks was just minutes away from from driving out,

I had been given a good cigar, and was idly leafing through some brochures. One of them caught my eye, and I smiled in rememberance. Perhaps not the fanciest weapon ever made, but it still does yeoman duty in my raid formation where the purpose is to get a one shot kill against some of those 6-digit armor monsterities one might encounter. But look for yourself, and see if you also fall for the

Vulcan Phaser

….Speed: 99 .Damage: 66 Precision: 3 ...Crit-Kill: 7% Cost: ..Ferrite: 777 Bioptics: 555 ..Niodes: 31 Piloting licence required: 35

It is a bit slow for a Laser, but the damage is the best you can find until your licence is in the mid 40s. Add in a decent internal guidance and a 1-in-14 odds of a mission kill and it looks pretty good. But as always, take a look at the competing systems. Here the previous N-Laser is the

Injection Beam

…….Speed: 100 …..Damage: 37 3X Damage: 12% Cost: ..Ferrite: 345 Bioptics: 161 ..Niodes: 20 Piloting licence required: 23

A bit faster, but the Punch is just over half the strenght. No guidance or crit here, but a solid multiple. The following N-Laser is the

Duboce

…….Speed: 101 …..Damage: 52 3X Damage: 18% Cost: ..Ferrite: 492 Bioptics: 100 ..Niodes: 36 Piloting licence required: 41

Another little bit faster, but the Punch is still inferior. No Crit or guidance here either, but a good multiple.

Taking these beauties to the firing range and letting each of them send 100 beams downrange in our 50/50 targeting environment netted these results:

Injection Beam: 2294

Vulcan Phaser: 3498 (+ a 1-in-14 crit)

......…..Duboce: 3536

Here the question is what you are looking for. If it is straight up damage and speed Duboce is the winner. If you are willing to spend a few milliseconds more on each shot to maybe land a telling blow the Vulcan Phaser is the winner.

Should you buy one? Unless you have access to better weapons, Yes

Did I buy one? No, the Niode account was empty.

[mechagalaxy]

Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184:Weapon: HORNET`S NEST

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184) Weapon review

Todays (N-Missile) Weapon: HORNET`S NEST

The war was going tolerably well for us, and I was sent to purchase additional ammo. As always when such purchases are to be made the Paladious Arms, my prefered outlet for Mechs, accessories and such, were visited.

While the order was loaded onto the delivery trucks, I was led to one of the viewing rooms. Some hearty soup and cold tomato juice was brought in, and the customary brochures was there as well.

One of the limited offers caught my eye. An old favorite of mine, still in use in many of my lighter formations because it tend to deliver the needed results. I am talking about one of the better N-Missiles, namely the

Hornet`s Nest

….Speed: 100 .Damage: 57 Precision: 4 …Splash: 6% Cost: ..Ferrite: 465 Bioptics: 350 ..Niodes: 26 Piloting licence required: 21

You wont find a faster missile before you are allowed the Gladius Rockets when your licence reaches the mid 60s. The damage is the highest of any weapon system one can get before the licence gets updated into the 40s. It also have a good guidance system and a bit of splash to inconvinience the prime targets closest linemates. There are other Missiles out there as well, and you might cast a glance at them. The previous N-Missile is the

Adv. Fury Rack

...Speed: 91 Damage: 18 …...Fork: 60% Cost: ..Ferrite: 225 Bioptics: 105 ..Niodes: 10 Piloting licence required: 15

Quite a bit slower and the punch is less than a third. The 3-in-5 odds of a Fork is its best selling point. The following N-Missile is the

Black Rain

...Speed: 92 Damage: 31 …...Fork: 60% Cost: ..Ferrite: 375 Bioptics: 175 ..Niodes: 20 Piloting licence required: 25

Also much slower. The punch is not much more than half, and again we see a 3-in-5 odds of a Fork.

Taking these launchers to the firing range and letting them launch 100 salvos each in our standard 50/50 hit environment yields these results:

Adv. Fury Rack: 900 (+ 540 Fork)

..Hornet`s Nest: 3078 (+ 185 Splash)

…...Black Rain: 1550 (+ 930 Fork)

The results are clear. The damage and the speed advantage makes the Hornet`s Nest the undisputed winner in this shootout.

Should you buy one? Unless you have Access to faster Missiles, Yes, and why not get a fivepack.

Did I buy one? No. Out of Niodes for the moment

[vcloudbreaker]

I don't disagree with most of this at all, and my post suffered from severe truncating about every order because honestly I could go on about most the orders each for the length of a wiki page article. (I edited the post to add info something like a dozen times)

As someone who spends 90% of their time playing Horde though, I get the suspicion you play primarily an Alliance character, and haven't seen some of both the more recent Blood Knight and Lightforged actions in the same light the Horde players have gotten to see them thanks to things like different versions of quest stories and which side of the battlefield you're standing on. Regardless of whether I'm correct in that assumption, I feel the need to cover some of those in-game actions- as I often feel that many warcraft players simply ignore all the flavor text happening around them.

The new "faction assaults" include a Lightforged defense of the region of Drustvar against a Horde assault. Horde players encounter Army of the Light Draenei who call them heretics and evil, among other things, and react to Horde actions on the battlefield in ways that culminate in a rather obvious show that the Lightforged have come to see the Horde as the enemies of the Light and therefore part of THE enemy they seek to defeat.

Their current leader, Turalyon, also expresses the opinion that the Horde stands against the Light itself, during the battle for the Arathi Highlands.

The Lightforged (and all Draenei) were and ARE ultimately devoted to the prophesied last battle against the forces of the Void- despite the Army of Light being assembled to stand against the Legion. The Lightforged, led first by the militant Prime Naaru X'era, have particularly devoted themselves to rejection of all things that do not abide in the Light. They are crusaders in every sense we can understand them, in all but name, and must justify their actions to themselves as lending towards a favorable outcome of that last war against the Shadow. We have seen X'era imprison or try to force her power on even their own allies who don't want to comply to this standard and ultimately be herself destroyed for it.

--

Blood Knight lore is all in a jumble and in need of some low-level story updating to clarify several things, but if you observe Liadrin and her forces from the beginnings of the Warlords of Draenor expansion onward, you'll see their in-game lines often give their praise and faith to the Light. Liadrin in particular expresses utter conviction that the Light is on her Order's side and that their enemies stand in defiance of that blessing. She will paint those enemies (like the Iron Horde) in an deplorable light and say such things as "We should wipe them off the face of the map."

She, like Turalyon, expresses multiple times during the battle for Arathi that the opposition (in her case, The ALLIANCE) will fall before the might of the Light.

They're also not purely a branch of the military anymore, as Liadrin happily pledges her entire order to the cause of the Silver Hand during the Legion expansion.

The Blood Knights are becoming or have become a "holy" order, but they bring their past as an order and a hardened people to table, resulting in a group ready to lend its strength to the cause of the Horde and their people's survival.

--

Warcraft has a Holy Light dilemma. Each side now hosts faithful priests and paladins who both need to serve the Light and spend a great deal of time killing eachother. (It also yes possesses "paladins" who don't view the Light and Shadow and right and wrong and the source of their power the same way that the holy orders do)

Light use also requires an individual of the greatest faith or will to be channeled in the first place.

The result is an often poorly-executed story of how holy soldiers can work together one moment- the Blood Knights and Draenei forces in particular- and turn around and slaughter one another the next.

Fanaticism is almost necessary to keep these priests and paladins moving in the face of the atrocities their enemies, their own allies, and even they sometimes commit or are party to.

I play World of Warcraft and I know a Paladin who runs into "evil" strongholds like its Hotline Miami. Is his actions just?

I don’t understand the reference enough to know whether to object or not:

[mechagalaxy]

DUALBEAM TACTICAL

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184 Weapon review

Todays (N-Laser) weapon: DUALBEAM TACTICAL

After a mediocre placement in the latest KOTM Iwanted to drown my sorrows. Unfortunately my pockets were empty and I hate drinking on credit. Problem is, suddenly you have been at places you dont remember, and the bills when they reach you can have become astronomical.

There was one avenue open to me. By taking a trip to my favorite dealer in lethal enhancements for Mechs, the Paladious Arms, I would surely get some beverage.

At the entrance there was a line waiting to get inside and have a look at the newest release. The doorman waved me to the front of the line, and the properitor escorted me to a viewing room and brought me a snifter of Cognac and the brochure for the latest limited offer they had gotten. Namely the

Dualbeam Tactical

…….Speed: 103 ….Damage: 144 2x Damage: 28% ...…….Fork: 30% Cost: ..Ferrite: 2400 Bioptics: 1900 .Niodes: 59 Piloting licence required: 122

Not a bad weapon as Lasers go. Multiples and Fork should help reduce the opponents lineup. On the other hand, while powerful, it isnt the fastest laser on the market. Here as always, one should perhaps look at what else might be purchased. The previous N-Laser is the

Blue Dragon

...Speed: 104 Damage: 125 ..Crit-Kill: 19% Cost: ..Ferrite: 2100 Bioptics: 2100 ..Niodes: 58 Piloting licence required: 107

One seventh lower base damage, and neither multiples nor multitargeting. On the other hand, a mite faster and one of the highest odds of Crit-Kill of any weapons. As far as I can remember only surpassed by the Guardians sword. And the following N-Laser is the

Hammerhead

........Speed: 104 .....Damage: 135 3x Damage: 25% ...........Fork: 35% Cost: ..Ferrite: 2800 Bioptics: 1900 ..Niodes: 59 Piloting licence required: 126

The base damage is 7% lower, while the speed is a fraction higher. Both the multiple and the Fork is superior.

A quick tour to the testing range seem in order. Firing 100 shots at 50/50 base odds to hit, the unmodified total damage should be around:

Blue Dragon: 6250 (and about a 1-in-5 odds of a crit)

>>Dualbeam Tactical: 9216 (+2765 Fork Damage)

>>Hammerhead : 10 125 (+ 3544 Fork damage)

All three are good weapons, but the Dualbeam Tactical comes last in my mind. It is the slowest of the three, and deals less damage than the Hammerhead and it doesnt have the powerful one-shot-kill of the Blue Dragon.

Should you buy one? No, at least not before you have stocked up on the two others.

Did I buy one? No