#very lovely combo thank you rng | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

terramythos · 9 months ago

Text

Anyway here's my breakdown of the ffxiv jobs, my opinions on playing each, and the tier rank of how good their story was

TANKS

WARRIOR - warrior is so fucking funny why did they make it able to solo heal itself and the entire party in 90% of the content in the game. Raw Intuition/Bloodwhetting is so broken in dungeons its hilarious. And then they have like 3 additional healing skills on top of that. And they kept buffing it throughout Endwalker. So it is currently the easiest to play, does the most damage (i think...?), and has the best healing of any of the Tank jobs. 2nd fave probably.

Story Tier: C, it's ok, Curious Gorge is a good name. i have like nothing to say about it it's a generic AF story

PALADIN - I used to hate PLD but I think the partial rework they got halfway through Endwalker helped it a lot. It's much less clunky now. Probably still my least favorite Tank though Hallowed Ground is fun and it's pretty close to Gunbreaker for me.

Story Tier: F, this is the worst class storyline in the entire game. It's so stupid. The writing is so bad the writers acknowledge it makes no sense at all and I'm like. Yeah, thanks, I am experiencing this shit. Perhaps write a story that makes sense next time instead of pointing that out.

DARK KNIGHT - Unfortunately this is my favorite Tank 🫡 which is rough since it has the worst survivability out of any of them. But I love how you use MP and the silly number of OGCDs. The Blackest Night is such a fun ability and it's a crime that it's not a baseline skill you get from the start. Why do they have so many DRs that only cover magic damage. I must ask.

Story Tier: S, there's a reason it's the most popular and well regarded class storyline. It's really good, also the only questline I know of that uses the quest log text as part of the narrative. Outside maybe a few of the very late Endwalker quests. And, well... same writer lmao

GUNBREAKER: I think GNB looks cool as fuck and I like that it has 2 DPS rotations. The Gnashing Fang combo is so fun. Superbolide memes are always fun. My main issue with it is a skill issue because I am just constantly misaligning its burst windows.

Story Tier: C. It has some interesting lore but I found it pretty forgettable as a story.

HEALERS

WHITE MAGE: I hated White Mage for a while but something clicked and now I totally get it. I find it fun in dungeons cause you get to Holy spam and stun lock everything. As uh. The healer. That's fun. Once you get Afflatus heals (and then Afflatus Misery) it clicks. It's fun maximizing damage and playing chicken with the tank's HP.

Story Tier: B, you get a lot of lore around the Padjal, and I think the Stormblood story where you find a padjal living in hiding with her mother is pretty good! Also it's not technically the job storyline but there's a WHM side quest to get a unicorn mount? i guess it's technically a CNJ quest but same diff. no one else gets that shit. so that's cool

SCHOLAR: probably my least favorite of the healers... it just feels super clunky. You can tell a bunch of different design philosophies went into it over the years and none of them mesh very well. They've made it so the Fairy Gauge controls literally one spell. Why have the gauge at all? It's also a huge missed opportunity that there's no tie in or interaction with the fae in Shadowbringers. I love the idea of a battle tactician healer but I think it needs a rework.

Story Tier: B+, I liked the characters and its the main way to get backstory and lore on what happened with Nym.

ASTROLOGIAN: While I think AST has a similar issue to SCH (lots of different design philosophies over the years) I find it way more fun to play. I like the card mechanic and how it interacts with the rest of the party. AST is basically the only job that has its own like. Minigame? As part of its rotation. And I know a lot of people don't like the RNG for it but personally I find it fun. I know AST is getting a redesign in Dawntrail so hope it's good.

Story Tier: C? I think? I'll be honest I don't remember it super well but I didn't find anything objectionable about it. And I like the tarot aesthetic and lore and how it's healing based on manipulating luck.

SAGE: I think SGE is tons of fun, I'm not sure if I like it or WHM more. I love all the skills SGE has for preventing damage and the gimmick where your DPS heals someone in the party. Visually the hi-tech laser shooting healer is a lot of fun. IT HAS A GAP CLOSER. The only thing i wish was it wasn't so MP negative and that it did more damage. It's a little sad its DPS output is so low compared to the other healers (even AST when you factor in how it buffs the party). Since SGE is supposed to be a healer that heals through damage it's silly its damage kinda sucks.

Story Tier: A, I loved this storyline. Both the Endwalker job stories are very self contained and interesting. While the twist is pretty obvious it's still an interesting exploration of uh. Scientific ethics. Yeah

PHYSICAL MELEE DPS

MONK: I've probably played MNK the least of the phys melee but I like the whole adaptable combo thing. Not much else to say since I have played it so little. Might bring it back out and try again. It DID have the funniest guide in the Balance discord for a while.

Story Tier: D. I think? I remember thinking it was dumb, lmao. Sorry.

DRAGOON: MAN I wished I liked DRG more. It looks so fucking cool and I like how it interacts with the dragon lore. But I find it very punishing to play. To do good damage you have to align so many different cooldowns... and snapshot your DOT correctly... and screwing one thing up just fucks your DPS output forever. Like AST I believe this is being reworked in Dawntrail so I hope it feels better to play.

Story Tier: C+. I think it starts strong since you get to meet Estinien pre-Heavensward and it melds nicely with that story. But I found it pretty directionless post-HW which is a shame.

NINJA: I remember finding this one fun. I like that there are different combos you do that have varied finishers depending on the situation. I am just... bad at remembering which combo to use to get which finisher, lol. So I haven't played it as much. NIN gets a lot of flavor other jobs don't get with their unique run and jump animations. And you get a Bunny of Shame on your head if you fuck up a combo, which is incredible.

Story Tier: A. The Rogue story is probably the most memorable of the basic class quests. Ninja just has great characters and a fun story. What is with that one guy. Karasu? If you know you know. I also like how the Rogue characters show up later in the Ninja story. That's fun.

SAMURAI: I had a similar experience to WHM here because I initially hated it then really came around once it clicked. SAM seems very complex, it has a ton of buttons and different combos. But it is actually quite intuitive once you figure out the general pattern. And it does INSANE damage. I think it's the highest DPS output in the game? I love building the combos and then doing a huge finisher for a bajillion damage. The guaranteed crits and constant OGCD weaves make me feel unstoppable. I think this is tied with RPR for me.

Story Tier: B+. I found the exiled samurai character and his journey toward redemption very compelling. I won't spoil beyond that. However it does fall apart a little in the second half. Still fun but not as good.

REAPER: I love RPR, the teleportation is a lot of fun, and I love finally unleashing the demon form and going ham on the enemy. The weapons are the coolest looking in the game. Every scythe design hits. I probably played this the most in Endwalker. My main critique is the Death's Design mechanic. I hate having to keep a stupid debuff on the target to do damage. It's like a dot but without the optimized snapshotting. If they want to keep this idea i think it would feel better to change it into something like SGE's Kardia where you apply it to one enemy to do increased damage to it without having to worry about reapplying it. not sure how they would balance this for aoe but that's not my job. But even with that caveat I still really enjoy the job.

Story Tier: A+. While it doesn't reach the highs of DRK's story it comes close. I love the badass old lady main character. Her hunting a voidsent that possessed her grandfather would be cool enough but making her a Garlean exile in hiding who grudgingly agrees to train you just adds an extra cool factor. I really enjoyed this story. As a bonus theres a lot of incidental dialogue in the post-6.0 Endwalker story if you completed the RPR story because it ties in a lot.

PHYSICAL RANGED DPS

BARD: It's a bit clunky, its got some outdated design elements, it has one of the lowest damage outputs in the game... and i LOVE IT. this was technically the first job I ever played? totally different character like 8 years ago. and i was so so bad. I think i am actually pretty good at current BRD. the animations look cool. i like that it's a class you really need to work for and optimize to eke out that last bit of damage. and boosting everyone else's damage by existing is kinda neat.

Story Tier: B. I'll be real I barely remember this but I do remember it was gay as fuck so immediately gets an extra tier for that.

MACHINIST: MCH is really funny right now because like. It's phys ranged, right. The design behind phys ranged is you have 100% uptime cause you can freely move around and not have to worry about cast timers or melee range or anything. So the trade off is that they do less damage than other classes. Endwalker MCH did not get the memo and does insane damage anyway. My controversial opinion is that it has similar burst DPS to RPR. No i will not elaborate. I'm also bad at doing good damage on MCH which is impressive since it is easy.

Story Tier: B+. Some Ishgard noble's gay son wants to build machines instead of killing dragons the good old fashioned way and has to prove himself to get taken seriously. A tale as old as time. See I haven't done this quest in like years but I still remember it. He is a memorable character. It's just not like. knockout wowza compared to the A tier stories.

DANCER: Dancer is the second easiest DPS job in the game behind SMN. So if i am sleepy it's the one I like playing. You play simon says. you do a lot of damage when you play simon says then do almost no fucking damage otherwise. I think it's the lowest direct damage in the game? for a dps i mean. You have high stakes sexual tension with a DPS of your choice via Dance Partner. I wish other DNC players knew how Dance Partner works. YOU CAN DANCE PARTNER ANOTHER DANCER. THE BUFF STACKS. BUT YOU CANNOT DANCE PARTNER THE SAME PLAYER AS ANOTHER DANCER. THOSE BUFFS DO NOT STACK. ok i'm good. anyway

Story Tier: C. there's some shit about negative emotions and purging them? in theory i think this has some interesting implications with Endwalker lore considering Dynamis and its role in the story. Very similar mechanically to what's going on with the DNC story. but i really don't think the writers made the connection so it's like pure speculation and not the actual story. It's meh. fine i guess. i did like all the flashy dancing sequences.

MAGICAL RANGED DPS

BLACK MAGE: I am so so so so so so so bad at BLM. i pull up the guide. i read the guide. it all makes perfect sense. i go into a dungeon or trial or something. somehow i always get like Zeromus or some shit. and i drop Enochian or something and everything goes to shit and i'm yelling and i'm not even like slide casting or teleporting or anything i just run around crying. then i remember i have like 10 more buttons i haven't been pressing and oh god the dot fell off. people play this? for fun? i admire it. apparently they do a ton of damage if you can play it. could not be me.

Story Tier: B? There's some voidsent and Thirteenth lore. all the black mage characters are Lalafell because it's funny i guess. OH YEAH it has like the one named male Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te NPC in the entire game and he's fun. look at this twink:

sorry i don't have anything to say about BLM i am bad at it

SUMMONER: easiest DPS job in the entire game. they redesigned it for Endwalker so it is practically a new job. i have no idea how it played before. but it is super streamlined. maybe too streamlined? it's another one to play if you want to turn your brain off. i like that at 90 you summon The Actual Primals instead of little representations of them. and i like the way your burst phase switches between Bahamut and Phoenix. it all looks very cool. they should add Leviathan as a summon in Dawntrail.

Story Tier: C.. i don't remember a single thing about this questline except you interact with Y'shtola's half sister. i think you go to Cartenau at some point. idk

RED MAGE: RDM is one of those jobs that looks really complicated when you start then you actually play it and it is just super super easy. that being said i think it's really fun. I like balancing the white and black magic gauges. Dualcast is a great gimmick and it feels cool to lob two big spells in a row at something. Dualcast Verraising a chain of dead players is so fucking funny. it's a shame that the existence of Verraise means RDM does shit damage to compensate for its utility. It and DNC just sit at the bottom with BRD barely scratching ahead of them. i think? i don't remember LOL

Story Tier: A, I really like the story and characters. I like that you have a middle-age world weary catboy (catman) as your mentor. and i like that he canonically trained Alisaie too and you chat a little about that. it's a fun story!

BLUE MAGE: what the fuck is a blue mage

Story Tier: ???

#my posts

61 notes · View notes

seasoning-my-story · 5 months ago

Note

🍐 (pear) 🍊 (Orange) for the HM/SOS ask game!

- seasons-of-turnips

AAAA thank you friend!!!

🍐(Pear) - Favourite rival pairing (Canon or non-canon)?

okay okay A cannon rival pairing first, and then a non-canon because i am weak and cannot help myself lol.

Popuri X Grey from Harvest Moon 64. god i love them, Sweet compassionate cottage core flower wife, and grumpy ex-horse jockey who is immensely devoted to his loved ones omggg. he plants flowers for herrrr at the expense of being teased by everyone, this man is whipped for his wife, love to see it. I am deeply biased because their 64 iterations in particular are my favorite.

I have a lot of non cannon ships for the first Story of Seasons game(honorable mention to KamilxNadi lol), but I am an AngelicaxFritz truther and need to talk about them or i will expload. god like, career woman breadwinner and cringefail malewife, do you see my vision??? but actually both of their heart events frame them as very focused on helping their community, and their dynamic i feel would be cute, Angelica fondly scolding Fritz while patching him up after he fell face first down the town stairs, and Fritz checking in on her and making sure that *someone* is taking care of Angelica because she's certainly not. idk just theyyyyyy

🍊 (Orange) - If you could change one thing in the franchise, what would it be and why?

I am so tired of customizable farms, I am too neurotic for them and my farms all end up looking like a tornado plowed it's way through, i do not want rows and rows of makers please and fucking thank you. I just want a pretty already in place farm for me to upgrade(like tott's farm?? beautiful, just do that every time please).

I also disagree with the notion that the development should move away from being marriage focused and focus on mechanics, when marriage and your relationships have been a "Central" point of the series since it's beginning. obviously mechanics are important, the biggest thing holding back some of my favorite games are the issues with mechanics bloat.

my Ideal game would be a combo of the mechanics/upgrade system(with like some improvments, like not having your tool upgrades be on an rng message board) of Tale of Two Towns and the writing and characters from Trio of Towns.

these are so rambly but thank you for dropping an ask!!

#answered asks #asks #bokujou monogatari #harvest moon #story of seasons #bokumono #seasoning takes #tott #tale of two towns #3ot #trio of towns

3 notes · View notes

chasholidays · 7 years ago

Note

Thanks so much for doing this again, and happy holidays! Timestamp for Superstars In Their Own Private Movie, prompt: Quidditch fantasy draft?

ftr I’m using the American version of football in this because I put negative effort into pretending it takes place in the UK, so sorry for incoherent worldbuilding

Original fic here!

From what Clarke can tell, disappointment with the interaction of the wizarding world and the Muggle world is about 90% of Raven and Monty’s life motivation. Which does make sense, admittedly. Clarke was kind of disappointed with things that were lacking in the Muggle world, when she started interacting with it, and it’s probably even worse for Muggleborns. After all, they have all these stories about magic and wizards and dragons, but they don’t think those things are real. Clarke always knew Muggles existed, and always assumed that if she wanted to learn about them, she could just find a book.

Honestly, she doesn’t know why previous generations of wizards are so uninformed about Muggles. It really doesn’t make any sense.

Regardless, Raven and Monty are Muggleborns who want wizard stuff to live up to all their expectations, which is why they create Fantasy Quidditch League.

“Don’t we already play Quidditch?” Bellamy asks. “Why do we need to fantasize about it too?”

“Aren’t you a Muggleborn?” Jasper shoots back. “Don’t you know about fantasy football?”

“I don’t know about any Muggle sports,” he says. “It’s confusing enough that I know about Quidditch. Which one is football? The one where they kick the ball?”

“No, the other one, where they throw the ball,” says Raven.

“Sometimes they kick it!” says Monty. “I think. Honestly, I don’t actually know sports, but I do know that fantasy football is a huge letdown for one reason: it’s not actually fantasy.”

“If that was supposed to clear stuff up, it didn’t,” says Bellamy.

“Okay,” says Monty, “imagine me. I’m this dorky little kid who reads all the time and loves nerd stuff.”

“Why do we have to imagine that?” Raven asks. “That’s literally still you.”

Monty ignores her. “And I hear about this thing called fantasy football and I think it’s the coolest thing in the world. I assume it’s a video game where you get to play football as various fantasy races, but no. It’s just this thing where people make up their own football teams and pretend they’re playing against each other.”

“And that’s bad,” says Clarke, frowning.

“It’s not nearly as awesome. Which is why fantasy Quidditch is going to be that awesome. We’re going to make this happen.”

“We still don’t know what we’re making happen,” Clarke reminds him, and Raven grins.

“Wizard video games. That needs to start being a thing. And we’re starting with making Monty’s fantasy Quidditch dreams come true.”

“Isn’t Quidditch already a fantasy?” Bellamy asks. He’s very attached to this point. “We’re on broomsticks. We’re wizards. Sounds like a fantasy to me.”

“Nonhuman magical creatures can’t play, though,” says Raven.

“Which is bullshit,” says Jasper. He’s been surprisingly quiet about this; it really must be Monty’s pet project. But he’s dating a veela right now and has feelings on nonhuman issues.

“So the idea is that you’re creating a team and then playing it in a league,” says Monty, ignoring him. “Either you do it as a single player versus the AI or there’s a multiplayer mode where your team goes up against other teams.”

“But what do you actually do?” asks Clarke.

“First, you draft. That’s putting together the team. It works slightly differently depending on if you’re doing single- or multiplayer. Which do you want me to explain first?”

Clarke already has a headache, but everyone else except Bellamy looks engaged. So she puts her head on his shoulder, and he kisses her hair. “Whatever you think is best. I’ll catch up.”

“It’s a lot easier to play, don’t worry. Basically, I have a roster of three-hundred named, pre-generated characters. Ten races, with thirty characters of each race.”

“Okay, by race,” says Bellamy. “What are we talking here? Giants? Goblins? Leprechauns?”

“We decided to make our own,” says Raven.

“Yeah, I wanted races to have their own pros and cons,” says Monty. “That’s how it works in Dungeons and Dragons, which was kind of my inspiration. Like, elves are nimble, so they get a bonus to their dexterity. But that works partially because those other races aren’t real. I don’t want a game where if a giant plays it they’re offended because they automatically have a penalty to intelligence or something. So we came up with ten fantasy races that have various advantages and disadvantages. Like—“ He pulls a character up on the TV. “This is a Mora. They have eyes on the sides of their head, like grazing animals do, which gives them a great field of vision. But they tend to be slower and clumsier. There’s one Mora who��s very light and quick, and she’d make a great seeker, but most of them work better in other positions.”

“So you get options for your team,” Bellamy prompts, before Monty gets too carried away with individual pros and cons.

“Yeah, the basic single-player mode gives you a random selection of eighty characters, and you play in an eight-team league. There’s a random draft order so you won’t always get the first pick you want, but your players do level up as you play, and they retain that. So if you keep picking some really crappy player, they’ll improve. Some of them have hidden unlocks. Like this guy,” he says, pulling up a different character. “He’s basically Magikarp.”

“That doesn’t clarify anything for some of us,” Clarke reminds him.

“It’s a Pokémon. It’s awful, but if you play with it enough, it turns into a really good Pokémon. If you play with this guy he’ll get very slightly better every game until the twentieth, and then he gets awesome. And he keeps that upgrade, and you can recruit the improved version next time.”

“And that only works when the player has him on their team, right?” Miller asks, and Clarke shoots him a dirty look. As Monty’s boyfriend, he’s more up on the terminology than she is, and he really likes video games, whereas Clarke still has no idea how they work. Like wizard chess, but digital is the extent of her understanding. But as another pureblood, Clarke feels as if he should be as in the dark as she is.

“Yeah, only experience gained on the PC team counts, but that means if you keep picking, say, Neesa Lynta,” he says, pulling up yet another character, “then as she gets better, the AI will be more inclined to take her from you in future drafts, because she’s better than characters you haven’t built up.”

“Okay,” Bellamy says, with a tone that means he’s taking over the situation. “This is really cool, Monty, but–I’m still not sure what we’re actually doing here. I’m not getting any more information out of what you’re saying. This is basically my limit.”

“For a Muggleborn you’re really bad with video games,” Clarke teases, and he grins.

“Aren’t you supposed to be into that, Slytherin?”

“Yeah, bad at video games is a known Slytherin kink. But he’s right,” she adds, to Monty. “What did you want us to do, exactly?”

“You need to be my test group. Everyone else I know knows too much about video games. I want to see how you guys do with the tutorial.”

“Then shouldn’t you have sent us into it blind?” Bellamy asks. “Instead of giving us the whole spiel?”

“Did anything I said make the game make more sense to you, or are you more confused than before?” Monty asks, not unreasonably.

There’s obviously no good answer to that, so Bellamy just straightens up, disentangling himself from Clarke. “Okay, so–tell us what to do.”

Monty grins. “Who wants the controller?”

They agree that Bellamy can take point on the actual selections, and Clarke settles against his side so she can advise.

And, she has to admit, Monty did a pretty good job with the whole thing. The tutorial takes it slow, giving them a small, pre-made team so they can learn the controls, and then adding in each of the different character types with a short explanation of what their advantages and disadvantages are.

“How does it know when someone catches the snitch?” she asks Monty, as Bellamy tries to use a combo to score a goal. He can control one beater or chaser at a time, while the computer controls the rest of the team, but he doesn’t have the option of being the seeker or the keeper.

“Programming,” says Raven. “There’s a base time range for when the snitch can be found, which goes from five to twenty minutes. It’s impossible to find the snitch right away, no matter how good your seeker is, because no one wants to feel like they lost to the RNG before they got a chance to do anything. After that, it’s basically chance. Using the seeker’s stats, advantages, and disadvantages, it spits out a time when they’ll catch the snitch. Whichever team’s seeker has the lower time gets it.”

“You must have put so much work into this,” she murmurs. “It’s amazing.”

Raven grins. “And you haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”

“That’s because Bellamy sucks at this game,” says Miller, and Bellamy scowls.

“Fuck you, it’s a tutorial. I’m learning, dickface.”

“Learn faster, I want to play.”

It is an in-depth tutorial, aimed not only at teaching the basics of this game, but of gaming in general, but Bellamy makes it through, finally getting to a small draft, picking his team, and beating the computer with them.

“So, now we’re at the good part,” says Monty. “Pick multiplayer and we can do a tournament.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” he admits, holding out the controller. “There are four of you, me and Clarke can watch.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Monty wheedles.

“But then someone else can’t play. We’re good. I’ll just heckle.”

It’s probably for the best; Monty, Raven, Miller, and Jasper take the controls, and Clarke settles into Bellamy’s lap, his arms around her. It’s the kind of thing she thinks Muggles do a lot, gathering around a television to play games and talk trash, and Clarke can admit she understands the appeal. There’s something warm and companionable about it.

“Hey, we’ve got Bellamy in the draft!” Jasper crows.

Bellamy shifts a little under her, curious. “What?”

“Some of the characters are not very subtle parodies of real Quidditch players,” says Raven, moving her cursor over to find the character in question. “All the Argonauts are in here, and a few others too. Just for fun.”

“Wait, you named him Buzzayou Bloke?” Clarke asks. “Really?”

“I think it’s got a nice ring to it,” says Monty. “Nate’s Jathan Pounder, if it makes you feel better.”

“What about me?”

“Clank Manticore,” says Raven.

“I’ll take it. Is there any way you can make it so all of us are in the draft? Because that would be way more fun.”

“Turns out hacking programs is a lot easier when you made them and you’re a witch,” says Raven, with a flick of her wand. About a dozen of the character portraits flicker out, replaced by vaguely familiar faces. “Okay, I’m definitely taking Emori, she’s a great seeker.”

Monty’s next. “I’m taking Jathan Pounder, because I’m a good boyfriend.”

“I’m taking Buzzayou,” says Miller. “I think he’s going to be a great seeker.”

“I programmed him, and he’s not,” Raven shoots back.

“I’ll take Clank, so Clarke doesn’t feel left out.”

“Thanks,” she says, and Jasper blows her a kiss.

The teams are pretty universally horrible. There’s an unofficial rule that no real Quidditch player can be in their actual position, so Raven’s justification for picking Emori falls apart pretty quickly. Clank ends up a keeper, which is both her and Clank’s worst position, while Miller puts Buzzayou as his seeker, as promised. Their teams–Jasper’s Hogwarts Hogwashers and Miller’s Flying Losers–end up as the first match, so Monty and Raven set aside their controllers and settle in to watch with Clarke and Bellamy.

“This is the grudge match, right?” Monty asks. “Infamous rivals Buzzayou Bloke and Clank Manticore, finally going head to head. May the best player win.”

“That’s how it’s supposed to work,” Raven says. “But since every player is assigned to a shitty role–”

“That just means our innate skills will come out,” Jasper says. “I’ve been playing video games for longer than Miller, but he’s a very promising rookie. This is all going to come down to skill.”

“Oh my god, you’re going to commentate this game, aren’t you,” says Raven, flat.

“I figured Monty would do it, he doesn’t have to play.”

“Yeah, I’ve got this. Come on, Raven,” he adds, grinning. “It’s not Quidditch without commentary.”

“And this is his dream,” Clarke adds. She nudges him. “Is it as awesome as you wanted it to be?”

“It really is. You think it’s going to take off? Can wizards get into fantasy Quidditch?”

Right on cue, Miller has one of his characters lob some sort of acid spit at Jasper’s keeper, blinding him, and Jasper swears revenge.

Clarke shakes her head, smiling. “Honestly? Yeah. I think it’s going to be a hit. I’ve got next round,” she adds, settling back against Bellamy.

It really is the perfect way to spend an afternoon; people are going to love it.

#liminal-lady

52 notes · View notes

4etheria · 7 years ago

Note

hey! i love your blog! quick question, i'm interested in getting into an mmo, but not sure which one to try -- i'm torn between, wow. ffxiv, and bdo. which would you recommend? :) thanks!

Hello and thank you!! That is a tough one! This may end up being a long post information so I am going to just cut right here --

Black DesertI have only played a tiny bit of bdo before it was released in NA. I personally didn’t like it very soon after playing due to the amount of time you need to grind and the amount of rng you need for everything. Someone is one of my Discords gave an honest review about the game that you can see here. I am also not a fan of games where you can advance yourself through the cash shop. The combat sort of reminds me of a fighting game with combos; so if you’re into that then you might like it (another thing i personally didn’t care much for)! Just because it’s not something I like, doesn’t mean you wouldn’t like it! The graphics are beautiful, the character customization is great (aside from being gender locked), there seems to be a lot of things the game offers sandbox wise (crafting, gathering, housing, ect [all stuff that I never tried so I can’t say anything about]). A lot of people like it regardless but would I personally recommend it? Not really as I do not like to grind excessively long for things, rely too much on rng, and I don’t like games that you can advance through the cash shop. If you don’t mind those things then try it out anyways! They offer a 7 day free trial! The game is also b2p with a cash shop if that is more your style!

FFXIVI have played my fair share of ffxiv and got to experience a lot of what the game offers. I personally love the game. The environment is beautiful, the graphics are great, its very social, the story is wonderful with lots of dialog and voiced cut scenes, the classes are nice, ect. The character creation is okay. There is not much variation and the only sliders you get are height, tail, and/or muscles. You are probably gonna see people who look similar to yours or other people’s character. Either way, the glamours (outfits) you can make can make you feel a little more unique! The combat is kinda slow compared to other games; and by slow I mean you have to wait ~about~ 2 second intervals between skills so it gives you a fair amount of time in between skills. One main problem I have is that there is a lag time/ping issue still (I have not tried a vpn but I live a couple of hours away from the NA data center). What I am mainly talking about is, you may think you have moved out of the telegraph and are safe (you SEE your character move out and your character is physically out of the telegraph on your screen) but you still will get hit because you didn’t move the moment you saw the telegraph on the floor. They offer a lot of crafting classes with some gathering classes to keep you busy. You can just play one character and use that character to play all the classes and crafters/gatherers (you just switch weapons once you’ve unlocked them!) I think it is a very new-to-mmorpg friendly game. There is a lot of story to do for new players, lots of pve things (I don’t like their pvp), and even roleplay if you’re into that. One main issue I currently have with ffxiv, is that there is not a lot to do once you get end game. Sure you can farm mounts/lvl alt classes/roleplay, but besides farming savage and extreme raids (if you’re into that), it feels kinda lacking? They just haven’t added enough stuff yet and luckily 4.2 will add some more stuff to do! I would recommend ffxiv!! They also offer a free trial just by signing up and logging on. They changed it to be free up to lvl 20 so you don’t feel rushed! :)

WoWI have played WoW longer than I have any other game. I really enjoy it! Their lore is absolutely amazing, the pve is wonderful, the pvp is the best out of any mmorpg I have played (most balanced, most fair, most fun imo), lots and lots of things to do to keep you busy, ect. Yes, the graphics at the lower lvls is still very outdated and their character creation is really crap, but they have continued to update the graphics per expansion (and it looks very pretty!). A few problems I have is that the races are class locked (though you would probably only see Blood Elf on Horde if it wasn’t lol), character creation is bad, and sides make servers very unbalanced (I prefer to be able to play with everyone on my server & they are making some changes to world pvp in Battle for Azeroth to kinda help with this). Other than that, the game offers a lot to do. You can solo farm past expansion mounts, craft, gather, farm transmog (outfits), arena, battlegrounds, raid, dungeons, roleplay on a rp server, collect pets and do pet battles, ect! The game, in my opinion, isn’t as social as ffxiv is but you can still find a guild to join and make friends! The servers are shared so you can play with anyone on any server (even different regions of the game)! All you have to do is add them to your party. The combat is extremely smooth and not clunky or slow at all. It’s a really great game and there is a reason why such an old game is still the top played for mmorpgs. I would recommend WoW as well!! They also offer a play for free up to lvl 20! I would not judge the game too hard in the beginning at the lower lvls. Everything gets better, including graphics!

tl;dr - I would recommend ffxiv and wow out of the three!

#other #ask #roseplayer

3 notes · View notes

barbosaasouza · 6 years ago

Text

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Card Analysis Lab (Part 5)

Card reveals have begun for Hearthstone's next big expansion. The Boomsday Project will dive deep into science and technology, as part of the next set for the Year of the Raven.

This expansion features the new keyword Magnetic, new Omega Projects, and Legendary Spells. And as is the case with each new Hearthstone expansion, Shacknews is stepping into the lab to analyze each of the Boomsday Project's new cards. Before we get started, here's everything you might have missed:

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project - The Dr. Boom, Mad Genius Design Interview Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project - Analyzing Dr. Boom, Mad Genius

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Analysis Lab (Part 1) Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Analysis Lab (Part 2) Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Analysis Lab (Part 3) Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Analysis Lab (Part 4)

And now, let's continue with the next batch of cards.

(4) Juicy Psychmelon Type: Spell Class: Druid Rarity: Epic Draw a 7, 8, 9, and 10-Cost minion from your deck. Source: QiGe on Douyu

Analysis: Over the last few days, it's become apparent that the Druid is going to be the big winner of this expansion. This is another tool that's going to help Druids get their game-winning combos ready, as they pluck out their high-value minions off a 4-Cost spell.

The Juicy Psychmelon is going to be especially killer in Wild, where Druids can use it to pulled out the necessary Exodia pieces for their OTK combo. Those include the 9-Cost Aviana or 9-Cost Malygos, the 10-Cost Kun the Forgotten King, and the 8-Cost Gloop Sprayer. The Druids are coming to take over and this is just another tool that's going to help them do it.

(5) Power Word: Replicate Type: Spell Class: Priest Rarity: Epic Choose a friendly minion. Summon a 5/5 copy of it. Source: G2 Esports' RDU on YouTube

Analysis: Priests love their 5/5 copies. This is a slightly cheaper iteration of Shadow Essence, but with much less RNG involved. It'll be a big help to Quest Priests that want to create sturdy versions of their Deathrattle minions or create 5/5 copies of Legendaries with nasty effects.

Power Word: Replicate will particularly find a good home in Wild, where it'll fit in nicely with the Big Priest archetype. Played alongside cards like Eternal Servitude, this spell could get downright nasty.

(3) Augmented Elekk (3/4) Type: Minion - Beast Class: Neutral Rarity: Epic Whenever you shuffle a card into a deck, shuffle in an extra copy. Source: RegisKillbin on YouTube

Analysis: This is a fascinating effect that could go a long way towards preventing fatigue in certain decks. Warriors running Dead Man's Hand may be particularly intrigued by this card, as it keeps them in the game for the long haul.

But let's face it, the real winner here is going to be the Rogue player, especially adopters of the new Pogo-Hopper minion. Playing Augmented Elekk alongside Lab Recruiter ensures that these rabbits will multiply like... er... rabbits! Look for Augmented Elekk to make the Miracle Rogue deck more dangerous than it already is.

(3) Necrium Blade (3/2) Type: Weapon Class: Rogue Rarity: Rare Deathrattle: Trigger the Deathrattle of a random friendly minion. Source: GeekCulture on YouTube

Analysis: The Rogue just got its own Fiery War Axe and it's pretty strong, with the ability to set off Deathrattles after it's been used up. That could come in very handy in Arena, where players might be running minions like Violet Wurm.

As for the constructed player... well... let's table this for the moment. Trust me, we'll revist the Necrium Blade shortly.

(4) Thunderhead (3/5) Type: Minion - Elemental Class: Shaman Rarity: Epic After you play a card with Overload, summon two 1/1 Sparks with Rush. Source: XiYou on Douyu

Analysis: Here's the Shaman picking up its own personal Violet Teacher, but one with a more intriguing effect. This will craft two 1/1s off of any spell with Overload and give them the ability to Rush an enemy minion right away. This could help in the control game by maybe picking off any stragglers off a Lightning Storm. Or it could help set the table for a game-ending Bloodlust.

Even Shaman players may want to give this guy a look, especially since they'll be running cards like Zap! and generating new spells with Hagatha the Witch. Flametongue Totem should also give those 1/1s an extra kick.

(4) Storm Chaser (3/4) Type: Minion - Elemental Class: Shaman Rarity: Rare Battlecry: Draw a spell from your deck that costs (5) or more. Source: Poly on YouTube

Analysis: The Storm Chaser has some wild value, even if Hearthstone is reaching a place where 4-Mana for a 3/4 body is getting expensive. The Shaman player doesn't pack many good spells that cost over 5 mana, but it sure does pack a nice Volcano.

So yes, this card should pretty much just read "Draw a Volcano from your deck." It's a toss-up as to whether it'll see play in constructed, but in Arena, where Volcanos are both plentiful and a hot commodity, Storm Chaser will become a must-have.

(4) Replicating Menace (3/1) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Neutral Rarity: Rare Magnetic. Deathrattle: Summon three 1/1 Microbots. Source: Tesdey on Twitch

Analysis: In a world with few Magnetic Mechs, this is on the lower end of the totem pole. The world wasn't asking for a more-expensive Eggnapper.

I wouldn't expect to see much of this guy anywhere. In Arena, it gets outpaced by aforementioned Eggnapper, while its Magnetic properties don't give it that much more of a boost in constructed. A Dr. Boom deck might get some use out of it as a Discover effect, since both the 3/1 body and the 1/1 leftovers get Rush, but that should be the only instance where Replicating Menace pops up.

(6) Security Rover (2/5) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Warrior Rarity: Rare Whenever this minion takes damage, summon a 2/3 Mech with Taunt. Source: Thijs on YouTube

Analysis: Security Rover looks nice on paper, but it's hard to take it seriously when you consider it as a poor man's Hogger, Doom of Elwynn. I'm just saying, going from 6/6 stats to a 2/5 body is a big step down for just a single Mana Crystal.

But it's the Mech synergy that's going to make this, right? Thijs does point out in this video that this will play nicely with Magnetic mechs, potentially upgrading those paltry 2/5 stats. Combining this with Beryllium Nullifier on the next turn sounds particularly sweet. Just make sure Security Rover makes it through the next turn. It's highly vulnerable to removal. Or against a Priest player, it could be open to effects from minions like Cabal Shadow Priest.

(10) Mecha'thun (10/10) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Neutral Rarity: Legendary Deathrattle: If you have no cards in your deck, hand, and battlefield, destroy the enemy hero. Source: IGN

Analysis: You can't keep an Old God down forever. And leave it to mad science to bring one of them back in a crazy new way.

Mecha'thun is the latest in cutting-edge Exodia technology. It's a literal last-ditch effort, one that only triggers when the player has absolutely nothing left in hand or in play. But as one would imagine, there are ways to make this happen.

Mage players have ways to run through their decks quickly, thanks to Aluneth, but they really don't have a solid way to trigger this Deathrattle. Warrior players can use a combination of any Whirlwind effect and Execute, but no reliable way to run through the deck quickly. Priest players have handy removal spells, like Shadow Word: Death, but because Mecha'thun is a full 10 mana, the Priest has to be careful that Mecha'thun isn't removed too early or that it isn't Silenced between the time it's played and the time they can play Shadow Word: Death.

There's the Druid, which could have some legs. The Druid can run through the deck fast, thanks to ramp spells, Nourish, and Ultimate Infestation. They could quickly finish with Mecha'thun, Innervate, and Naturalize. The trouble with this strategy is that Skulking Geist brings it to a screeching halt.

Then there's the Rogue player. Hey, remember I said we'd bring up Necrium Blade again? Well, here it is! It is entirely possible to play Necrium Blade on Turn 3 and leave it equipped until Myra's Unstable Element is ready on Turn 5. With the Rogue's deck exhausted, Mecha'thun can get deployed after all other cards have been played and Necrium Blade can activate the Deathrattle right away. The problem with this strategy is that Mecha'thun is a Turn 10 drop at the earliest, so the Rogue player needs to stall until it's ready. But if they have enough control tools at the ready, the Mecha'thun Rogue deck could be one that gains a lot of steam in the new meta.

(5) Necrium Vial Type: Spell Class: Rogue Rarity: Epic Trigger a friendly minion's Deathrattle twice. Source: Kimmy on Huya

Anaylsis: After waxing poetic about the potential of the Mecha'thun Rogue, it's really hard to go from that to this. Sure, activating Deathrattles twice can be cool. The trouble is that the Standard Rogue doesn't have many strong Deathrattle cards to make the most of this effect. That could change between now and the expansion's release, but for now, it doesn't quite work.

The Wild Rogue, on the other hand, should have plenty of cards this can work with. Jade Rogues, in particular, should waste no time using the Necrium Vial to get as many Jades rolling as possible, triggering the Jade Swarmer or Aya Blackpaw. The Jade Rogue's numbers could quickly get out of control with this weapon at the ready.

(7) Dreampetal Florist (4/4) Type: Minion Class: Druid Rarity: Epic At the end of your turn, reduce the Cost of a random minion in your hand by (7). Source: Hearthstone Express

Analysis: This just isn't fair.

So because the Malygos Druid clearly doesn't have enough tools to obliterate the opponent in a single turn, how about a minion that can discount into a 2-COST MALYGOS? Getting double Malygoses onto the board by pairing it with Faceless Manipulator, Ixlid, Fungal Lord, or whatever else has never been easier. And with Malygos coming down on the super cheap, it means those Swipe and Moonfire spells become a lot more affordable and painful.

I don't even want to talk about what this does in Wild, because holy smokes!

(1) The Soularium Type: Spell Class: Warlock Rarity: Legendary Draw 3 cards. At the end of your turn, discard them. Source: Yahoo Esports Taiwan

Analysis: This is a fascinating spell for the Warlock player, because it fits in quite a few decks. The obvious one is the Quest Warlock, which needs to get online as quickly as possible, in order to work. Between this and Cataclysm, it should be fairly simple to fill the Quest requirements. Wild Warlocks should get even better use out of this, since then can use Malchezaar's Imp to either play what they draw or discard those cards and use the Imp's effect to draw new ones.

Zoolock should also benefit greatly from this spell, especially in the later turns. Since zoo players usually pack in cheaper minions and spells, they'd theoretically be able to use this spell and then play whatever they draw on the same turn before they're discarded. Overall, The Soularium is a strong spell and one that'll find a home in multiple Warlock decks.

That's all for now! Keep an eye on Shacknews over the next few weeks for more card breakdowns for The Boomsday Project, leading all the way up to the expansion's release on August 7.

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Card Analysis Lab (Part 5) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

0 notes

lostsolsdestinyblog · 6 years ago

Text

A realistic and implementable compromise on static weapons

October 14, 2017

I put up a post with what I felt were doable solutions to making endgame better the other day and it was really cool to see the support it got, but also how many people were willing to add their thoughts and opinion on them. Two of the things that stood out the most are that people really love Xur and there is a very passionate divide on static weapons. On that second topic, after many discussions with other Guardians, I have been thinking about a way to kind of have the best of both worlds and improve the game with out breaking it. We all know how fickle RNG was in D1. Some were blessed by RNGesus and others never got the drops they endlessly grinded for. We also know how absolutely Bungie were unable to balance around all the myriad of weapons and rolls. I got to talk Destiny with the DTR Podcast crew last night and Reythos made the point of having to carry multiples of every good weapon in D1 trying to find the best and it resonated with me because at the end of D1 I had 5 Hopscotch Pilgrams on me that were all slighly different that I'd rotate through trying to find the best one. I don't miss that. I'm going to say right now that I do like static rolls over what we had for most of D1. The exception would be HoW which to me was the absolute best balanced era of D1 and the reason was re-rolling. Literally any weapon could be good enough to compete with because we could build them exactly how we wanted. It might have taken a lot of attempts, but everyone was able to have a weapon loadout that fit how they wanted to play. In all other eras of the game we were completely beholden to RNG and most of us never had sets of weapons we loved with the perk combos we wanted. D2 looked to simplify things for many reasons. First and foremost was most likely to make the game easier to balance, but I also think the static weapons were part of a larger movement to make the game as accessible as possible to everyone and not just those who grind endless hours playing. To this end I think we've all seen that they took things too far and in doing so unwittingly neutered their own endgame to where they've had to mea culpa on it and ask for our feedback. I know there are a lot of players who feel that one of the answers is to bring back RNG weapon rolls, but I disagree. I don't want the dumpster fire that was D1 weapon balancing back and maybe the solution was too conservative, but there was a legitimate problem that needed correcting. So the question then is how do we fix it. What I think would work is the best of what D2 has done and the best of what d1 did combined. To that end I think that weapon rolls should remain static but the fix is in the mod system. Currently we can add mods to our weapons to add +5 power level to kinetics and +5 elemental power to energy weapons and while it's nice to be able to change elements at will, it's kind of a false front on customization. What I would like to see is a second mod slot added to legendary weapon and with those give us the ability to apply mods like 3rd Eye, Explosive Rounds, Stability, Range, enemy highlighting, custom scopes, etc. It keeps in place the system where everyone have access to the exact same weapons and it gives everyone equal access to setting up those weapons as to how they like to play the game and to me that should be the absolute first tenet of weapons in this game. I don't think it needs to be a huge number of possible customization either and can vary a bit by weapon type, but I think the game needs something to let us take the weapons we love and make them a little more how we'd like them to be. Then there are raid/trials weapons and how to make them stand out without braking balance and while I initially thought maybe yet another mod slot, I think that is pushing it too far, but again they need something to stand out as true high level endgame rewards. I don't know what the answer is here, but weapons like Chaos Dogma, Funky Steel Medula etc in D1 and the raid Sword and Rocket Launcher in Leviathan manage to stand out and feel special. Another thought is maybe allowing raid weapons to be switchable between multiple RoF archetypes. I think that D2 has done a lot right with weapons and I think there are a lot more great weapons in this game than people realize (my Iron Banner kinetic is the blue Cuboid Aru). I see diversity in play (though a definite leaning towards ARs) but if I'm on my Titan or Warlock, I don't think it benefits the game to feel like you have to equip MIDA to use 3rd Eye, etc. Anyway, just one idea on how it could be improved. Interested to hear other solutions that go beyond leave it or go back to D1's systems. Thank you.

#destinytruthcast #bungie #destiny #destiny 2 #lost sols

0 notes

barbosaasouza · 6 years ago

Text

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Card Analysis Lab (Part 4)

Card reveals have begun for Hearthstone's next big expansion. The Boomsday Project will dive deep into science and technology, as part of the next set for the Year of the Raven.

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project - The Dr. Boom, Mad Genius Design Interview Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project - Analyzing Dr. Boom, Mad Genius

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Analysis Lab (Part 1) Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Analysis Lab (Part 2) Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Analysis Lab (Part 3)

And now, let's continue with the next batch of cards.

(1) Eternium Rover (1/3) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Warrior Rarity: Common Whenever this minion takes damage, gain 2 Armor. Source: WalkTone on YouTube

Analysis: Whoa! The Warrior has racked up some fine Turn 1 plays. The Witchwood provided the Town Crier and now the Boomsday Project is offering up this guy. The Eternium Rover comes with fine 1/3 stats, which is pretty ideal for a 1-Mana drop. But the fact that it can offer up a minimum of 2 Armor is pretty great for Warrior players competing against aggro decks.

Eternium Rover will fit in great with Dr. Boom mech decks, but it'll also work just find as a standalone in either constructred or Arena decks. A major thumbs up for what's sure to become a Warrior mainstay.

(6) Mechanical Whelp (2/2) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Neutral Rarity: Rare Deathrattle: Summon a 7/7 Mechanical Dragon. Source: Heige

Analysis: There's a lot of risk to playing Mechanical Whelp, with weak 2/2 stats coming on a 6-Mana play. The meaty 7/7 is sitting behind a Deathrattle, which is a big gamble given how many decks are running tech Silence plays. The risk is even greater in Wild, where Priests are itching to get their hands on this guy with Potion of Madness.

But there's one deck that'll minimize, if not outright remove, all of those risks. That, of course, is the Dr. Boom deck. Playing Dr. Boom, Mad Genius gives all Mech minions Rush, which not only gives the 2/2 Mechanical Whelp Rush, but also gives the ensuing 7/7 Mechanical Dragon Rush. That can come in very handy, especially in the late game. Dr. Boom Warrior decks should at least consider giving this guy a trial run.

(2) Fireworks Tech (2/1) Type: Minion Class: Hunter Rarity: Rare Battlecry: Give a friendly Mech +1/+1. If it has Deathrattle, trigger it. Source: Leeroy Jenkins on Twitch

Analysis: Here's another attempt to make the Mech Hunter a thing. It's certainly not the worst idea in the world. With Spider Bomb potentially lurking on Turn 3, it's an extra minion removal, which will go nicely in most Midrange Hunter decks.

Wild Hunters will fall in love with the Fireworks Tech immediately, given its instant ability to activate minions like Piloted Shredder. It's still hard to picture any Wild Hunter crafting a deck purely on Mechs, but the Fireworks Tech is a decent tool that should help those decks along.

(6) Eureka! Type: Spell Class: Shaman Rarity: Rare Summon a copy of a random minion from your hand. Source: flurry1989 on YouTube

Analysis: This is an expensive proposition for the Shaman. And without a Battlecry attached to this summon, it's hard to see a reason why Eureka! would work for the Shaman player. It wouldn't fit into any current Standard archetype, especially the Shudderwock deck.

Wild players might get a little more use out of this, but not by too much. The deck I can see getting the most use out of this spell is the Burst Shaman, which can call upon a Malygos copy and go nuts with burst spells. Even then, it'll need at least one Emperor Thaurissan turn to truly maximize its effectiveness. Outside of that, I can't imagine Eureka! sees too much play.

(9) The Boomship Type: Spell Class: Warrior Rarity: Legendary Summon 3 random minions from your hand. Give them Rush. Source: BestMarmotte on YouTube

Analysis: The Boomship takes some setting up to make work to its maximum potential. The most helpful thing about this spell is that it takes minions from your hand, which means it's a controllable sort of RNG.

But ignore the Rush keyword for a second and keep in mind that Rush does not override Charge. That means it's possible to bring out some big bad Charge minions and go straight for the face. Get your Charged Devilsaurs and your Grommash Hellscream (with Inner Rage) ready, because this could potentially be a OTK combo in the works. Stay tuned, because The Boomship may not look great on paper, but it could end up being far more powerful than anyone expects.

(6) Missile Launcher (4/4) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Neutral Rarity: Rare Magnetic: At the end of your turn, deal 1 damage to all other characters. Source: 3D Juegos

Analysis: Behold! It's Diet Baron Geddon!

So what can anyone do with Diet Baron Geddon, which deals half the damage with half the calories? Well, it's possible to play this with Zilliax, so that the end-of-turn effect does some big-time healing. The Rogue player may want to pay some special attention, because they can use the Plague Scientist Combo effect to give the Missile Launcher a Poisonous effect that would clear the board. That's not a scenario I'd expect to see often, but it's one that's possible.

With weak 4/4 stats, the Missile Launcher shouldn't see much action in a constructed deck, but there's a good chance you'll see it in a Dr. Boom effect, most likely as a Discover effect off the Big Red Button.

(4) Academic Espionage Type: Spell Class: Rogue Rarity: Epic Shuffle 10 cards from your opponent's class into your deck. They cost (1). Source: Ben Brode Trump on YouTube

Analysis: YIKES! Did the Miracle Rogue seriously need more tools?

Yes, there's very little downside to giving Academic Espionage a run in your Miracle Rogue deck. It'll shuffle 10 cards from the opposition's class into the player's deck, which means that minions and weapons can help feed Combo effects or help buff up Edwin VanCleef. But the 1-Mana spells can not only trigger Gadgetzan Auctioneer, but they might be handy cards in themselves. Imagine picking up a 1-Mana Pyroblast or Mind Control.

This is going to be a very dangerous card in the hands of a Miracle Rogue and is sure to make Tess Greymane a lot more entertaining. You will see a lot of this card in the new meta, both in constructed and in Arena.

(2) Crystalsmith Kangor (1/2) Type: Minion Class: Paladin Rarity: Legendary Divine Shield, Lifesteal: Your healing is doubled. Source: Sol on Panda.tv

Analysis: This is a 2-Cost Paladin minion, but it's not one that should really be played on Turn 2, given the potential of its effect.

It didn't take much time for long-time Paladin players to start imagining pairing Crystalsmith Kangor with Lay on Hands, which would then heal for 16 Health while drawing three cards. Wild players can also get the same healing amount for less, thanks to Antique Healbot.

Don't look to play Kangor in the early turns, because he's clearly meant to be a lifesaver when on the brink of defeat. Save him for a desperation situation and then let your favorite healing spell/minion rip.

(4) Cosmic Anomaly (4/3) Type: Minion - Elemental Class: Mage Rarity: Common Spell Damage +2 Source: Mineski

Analysis: Cosmic Anomaly is a bigger, badder version of the old Evolved Kobold. The exact same 4-Mana cost will get an upgraded 4/3 stat line for the same Spell Damage +2 effect, which is pretty awesome. But then again, nobody's looking to use a Spell Damage +2 minion as a body. They just want to attack the face.

But certain things have changed in Standard since the Evolved Kobold's heyday. For one thing, Freeze Mage has gone by the wayside with Ice Lance in the Hall of Fame and other burst spells also going to Wild. But Elemental Mages can certainly make use of the Cosmic Anomaly as a Discover effect from Servant of Kalimos, especially if they have Leyline Manipulator at the ready. Get some Archmage Antonidas Fireballs ready and let the fireworks commence.

Wild players, go nuts. Feel free to use this guy with the standard Freeze Mage and get your best OTK combos ready.

(1) Shooting Star Type: Spell Class: Mage Rarity: Common Deal 1 damage to a minion and the minions next to it. Source: Mineski

Anaylsis: There's not much to get excited about here. It's Arcane Explosion for half the cost, but with roughly half the range. Don't expect to see this in many Mage decks, either in constructed or Arena. It'll also be on the lower-end of Discover effects from cards like Ruby Spellstone or Primordial Glyph.

Worse yet, the card text doesn't specify that it's for enemy minions. So if it shows up off something like Deck of Wonders, there's a chance it'll backfire. Yuck!

(6) Zerek, Master Cloner (5/5) Type: Minion Class: Priest Rarity: Legendary Deathrattle: If you've cast any spells on this minion, resummon it. Source: Jacob0 on YouTube

Analysis: This new Priest Legendary has the potential for some shenanigans, because it's basically a zombie for as long as the Priest players casts spells on it. The most obvious one is Power Word: Shield, but think a little farther outside the box.

How about using something like Unidentified Elixir on this, which could even give it the bonus effect that pops it right back to your hand if it dies? Or how about using Vivid Nightmare, which would summon another copy of it? The Wild player has even more options, like Velen's Chosen and Power Word: Glory.

Having a 5/5 sticking around on the board can be immensely useful and can help exhaust the opposing player's removal resources before bringing out the really big guns at the end of the game. Zerek can be a pest and a good diversion for the Priest player.

(5) Shrink Ray Type: Spell Class: Paladin Rarity: Rare Set the Attack and Health of all minions to 1. Source: Gamespot

Analysis: It's Humility crossed with Equality and spread out across all friendly and enemy minions. This is Shrink Ray and it could be... pretty okay.

Shrink Ray is most likely to see play in Odd Paladin decks, where 1/1 Silver Hand Recruits are running wild. On a board full of Silver Hand Recruits, it's possible to bring everyone down a 1/1 with Shrink Ray and then follow it up by buffing those Silver Hand Recruits to 3/3 Taunts with Level Up! to ensure friendly minions are sitting pretty. Shrink Ray is also the closest the Odd Pally will get to having Equality available to them, so just for that reason, it's a helpful tool.

Aside from that, it's an unorthodox spell that would only see play if the opposing side of the board has gotten out of hand. Shrink Ray has its uses, but I wouldn't expect it to be any Paladin player's first choice.

(1) Voltaic Burst Type: Spell Class: Shaman Rarity: Rare Summon two 1/1 Sparks with Rush. Overload (1) Source: Yen-Yu Chuang on Facebook

Analysis: Unless a Shaman is facing down an opposing board filled with small minions, like Odd Paladin, it's tough to picture Voltaic Burst being of much use. Getting hit by two 1/1 minions with Rush is like getting kicked in the shin by a really weak guy. However, this does have a few limited uses. Think about using the Sparks to trade into other minions to trigger a different minion's effect, like Cult Master or Witch's Cauldron. Clever Shudderwock decks might even use that Cult Master combo to help draw some quick cards.

The other main instance where players will see this card is if it's generated by Hagatha the Witch. It won't do much damage, but Voltaic Burst has a modicum of potential as a utility play.

(5) Myra Rotspring (4/2) Type: Minion Class: Rogue Rarity: Legendary Battlecry: Discover a Deathrattle minion. Also gain its Deathrattle. Source: Alliestrasza on YouTube

Analysis: Myra Rotspring has the potential to be a very good card. There are plenty of useful Deathrattle minions out there, with Alliestrasza pointing out that Myra can be combined with Deranged Doctor for a big-time heal. Other strong Deathrattle effects include Plated Beetle and Bone Drake, with the bonus being that the selected minion also gets added to your deck. On the one hand, that's a good value play.

The downside is that with so many Deathrattle minions out there, there's just as big a chance that this play becomes a dud. Imagine ending up with Carnivorous Cube (which would then summon nothing!) or Rattling Rascal. At that point, it's just a 4/2 minion, which isn't too great for its 5-Mana cost.

There is a wild card question here, though, and that's... what happens if this gets the Sherazin, Corpse Flower effect? Does Myra go dormant upon death and can then be revived as a 4/2 by playing four cards? Something to think about.

That's all for now! Keep an eye on Shacknews over the next few weeks for more card breakdowns for The Boomsday Project, leading all the way up to the expansion's release on August 7.

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Card Analysis Lab (Part 4) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

1 note · View note