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grailfinders · 3 years ago

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Fate and Phantasms #157

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making Emiya Alter! No, not that one, the one they gave a really dumb nickname to.

Anyway, Demiya is a Vengeance Paladin to take down anyone who would threaten humanity (and protect himself from mind control nonsense) as well as a Hexblade Warlock to project whatever blades he might need straight into enemies. I know he made the deal with Alaya, but it made him good with swords, so it’s probably fine.

Check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Next up: Man’s worst nightmare

Race and Background

Despite your arguments to the contrary, you’re still a Human, giving you +1 Strength and +1 Dexterity. You also get proficiency in Insight to be a better investigator, and the Fighting Initiate feat, because paladins don’t get the Archery fighting style normally. This gives you +2 on ranged weapon attacks.

What was it that turned you to the path of Alterness? Whatever it was, it made you a Haunted One, giving you proficiency with Investigation and Arcana, as well as a healthy hatred for anything Kiara-based.

Ability Scores

You’re good with guns and small swords, plus you fight shirtless, so make sure your Dexterity is as high as possible. Second is going to be Charisma. You’re a pretty scary guy, we need it for multiclassing,and it’ll help you shoot good later. Your Wisdom is also pretty good, thanks to your built-in mental protection. You’re too affected by your Alterfication to get affected by anything else. Your Strength isn’t that bad, you do use melee weapons too at times and we also need it for multiclassing, but your Constitution is rather low. Kintsugi is very pretty, but it’s not a great way to build a person. Finally, we’re dumping Intelligence. It’s less that you’re dumb, more that you just absolutely don’t care about stuff enough to get scholarly on most subjects.

Class Levels

1. Paladin 1: Paladins get better hit dice and the martial weapons we need for that Fighting Initiate we got, so we’re kinda stuck starting there. First level paladins get proficiency with Wisdom and Charisma saves, as well as two paladin skills. Intimidation is pretty self-explanatory, but you also get Athletics. Look, you’ve got pretty good abs, they had to come from somewhere.

You also get a Divine Sense, letting you sense threats to humanity nearby, and Lay on Hands for a bit of free healthcare for you or whoever else you touch. You get 5 hp of healing per paladin level per long rest, and you can use 5 points from that amount to heal a poison or disease.

Yeah, first level isn’t particularly in-character, but it’ll get better later.

2. Paladin 2: Second level paladins get another Fighting Style, so grab Close Quarters Shooter from the underdark UA for sick melee ranged attacks. This negates the disadvantage caused by making a ranged attack near hostiles, your ranged attacks ignore all but full cover, and you get another +1 to ranged attack rolls.

You also learn how to cast an prepare Spells using your Charisma. You can either use your new spell slots for, y’know, spells, or for a Divine Smite to add on extra radiant damage to a melee attack. Ranged attacks in melee range don’t count, sadly.

As far as prepared spells go, Detect Evil and Good can help hunt down baddies, ditto with Protection from Evil and Good.

3. Paladin 3: At third level, you can at long last devote yourself to Vengeance!, giving you the spells Bane to trip up foes and Hunter’s Mark to stick some serious damage onto your enemies over time. You also get Channel Divinity once per short rest that you can use in two ways.

Abjure Enemy spends an action to force a wisdom save (DC 8+charisma mod+proficiency) or one creature is frightened for up to a minute or until it takes damage. While frightened, it can’t move. On a success, the creature’s speed is halved for a minute or until it takes damage.

Alternatively, you can swear a Vow of Enmity as a bonus action, giving you advantage on attacks against a nearby creature for a minute or until it hits 0 hp.

You also get Divine Health, making you immune to disease. Like half your body is gold, it’s not like sniffles are a big concern at this point.

4. Paladin 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to grab the Crossbow Expert feat. There’s a lot of overlap with Close Range Shooter, but you can now attack multiple times per turn with a crossbow, and you can use your bonus action to attack with a hand crossbow if you attack with a one-handed weapon with your main action. Unfortunately, that’s the one kind of crossbow that won’t work with warlocks, but for now it’s fine.

5. Paladin 5: Fifth level paladins get an Extra Attack, letting you attack twice per turn anyway! Making great use of feat you just got.

You also learn second level spells! Your freebies are Hold Person and Misty Step. Admittedly neither are really in character for you, but if you want to power game Hold Person gives you guaranteed critical hits on the held person, which is super busted when combined with your smites. Food for thought.

Otherwise you can use Magic Weapon and other smites to make normal swords into fancy magic swords.

6. Warlock 1: Bouncing over to warlock for a bit puts you in a pact with an even fancier magic weapon: a Hexblade. You might not have a soul any more, but you do have a Hexblade’s Curse, which you can put on one unlucky bastard as a bonus action once per short rest. The target’s cursed for 1 minute, during which: You add your proficiency to damage against the target, crit on 19s, and you gain HP equal to your warlock level+your charisma modifier when they die.

You also become a Hex Warrior, turning one non-two handed weapon into a charisma based weapon instead of dexterity or strength. You can also use this on any kind of weapon made with your pact weapon feature later.

Finally, you get Pact Magic, which is pretty similar to your old magic except it recharges on short rests instead of long ones. While the spell slots don’t blend like other multiclassing builds, you can use warlock slots to cast paladin spells and vice versa.

Speaking of warlock spells, you get Eldritch Blast to summon gunfire and Sword Burst to summon swords right into people. You also get Cause Fear because that’s most people’s natural reaction to you and Expeditious Retreat to stay in archery range. Just because you can fight in melee range doesn’t mean you should.

7. Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations. Like usual, we’re saving one for level three, but you still get Armor of Shadows now for free Mage Armor on yourself. Now you can finally rip your shirt off and make Kintoki jealous!

You also learn Comprehend Languages. Alaya probably wouldn’t drop you off in someplace without giving you the language to get around, right? Right?

8. Warlock 3: Your pact boon, as you can probably guess, is the Pact of the Blade, letting you summon pretty much any melee weapon you could want as an action. It also counts as magic for overcoming resistance, making the Magic Weapon thing from earlier pointless.

That invocation we were saving becomes Improved Pact Weapon, which expands your pact weapon choices to pretty much any ranged weapon you could want and it gives any weapon you make +1 to attacks and damage.

Honestly there aren’t that many second level spells that I think really fit Emiya as a warlock, but Blur is nice. If you’re going to be nameless, you might as well be faceless too, I guess.

9. Paladin 6: Going back to paladin for a bit lets you create an Aura of Protection, adding your charisma modifier to any save you or allies within 10′ of you make. It’s not an enormous buff, but a +2 is a +2, take what you get.

10. Paladin 7: Seventh level vengeance paladins are Relentless Avengers. When you hit a creature with an attack of opportunity, you can move half your speed as part of the reaction an ignore opportunity attacks. Like a lot of paladin goodies, this doesn’t pair well with your guns, but you do have swords as well.

11. Paladin 8: Another ASI at last! Bump up your Charisma for better saves and spells.

12. Warlock 4: Use this ASI to become Tough for an extra 24 HP now and another 2 each level. If you want to get in close, you’d better be able to take a hit. Also, you’re part gold. Sure it’s a soft metal, but it’s still a metal. That’s worth a few HP.

You also learn True Strike because I’m really hoping you’re aiming those things, and Shadow Blade for yet another sword you can summon.

13. Warlock 5: Fifth level warlocks get another invocation and a third level spell. Spirit Shroud makes all your swords a little bit sharper, dealing extra damage to and slowing down creatures in a 10′ radius. You also get Eldritch Smite, which burns through warlock slots to deal extra force damage, and can be used with ranged weapons.

14. Paladin 9: Ninth level paladins also get third level spells, like Haste which adds to your AC, bumps up your speed, and gives you and extra action for the duration. When the spell ends you have to take a turn to chill, but it’s totally worth it. You also get Protection from Energy, which... I mean if someone’s throwing around acid arrows, yeah go for it. Otherwise you can get more smites and Elemental Weapon for more fancy weapons.

15. Paladin 10: Tenth level paladins get an Aura of Courage, preventing allies in it from being frightened. I’d be more worried about charms, but honestly your wisdom save is pretty good at this point.

16. Paladin 11: Your Improved Divine Smite means you can add radiant damage to melee attacks even when you have no spell slots to burn; unfortunately that’s still just melee attacks, not ranged attacks.

17. Paladin 12: At seventeenth level you can finally use this ASI to bump your Charisma up past the point where your dexterity started, meaning your attaks finally get a bit more accurate thanks to being a Hex Warrior. This also bumps up your spell effectiveness and all your saves.

18. Paladin 13: Thirteenth level paladins get fourth level spells, like Banishment and Dimension Door. You also get access to yet another new smite for yet another new sword.

19. Paladin 14: Your last mainline paladin goodie is a Cleansing Touch, spending an action to end a spell affecting yourself or a willing creature charisma mod times per long rest. You’d think this anti-Kiara protection is coming late, but to be honest you probably should be level 20 to take on a Beast of Humanity.

20. Paladin 15: Your capstone level makes you a Soul of Vengeance, letting you make opportunity attacks on a creature affected by your Vow of Enmity if they try to attack anyone. Again, this only affects melee attacks.

Pros:

Mixing your Hexblade’s Curse and Vow of Enmity together means you’re really good at dealing crits with basically four times the odds of critical attacks each attack compared to your regular fighter. This is especially good for a character that can double smite like you can, dealing serious burst damage easily.

You also deal consistent damage with a +14 to hit and several different ways to stick more damage onto your attacks, like the afforementioned curse, Hunter’s Mark, or Spirit Shroud.

Thanks to your warlock slots recharging on short rests, you can go ham on smites a bit more than most people could, making your Unlimited Lost Works available to you more than other paladins.

Cons:

You’re a paladin specializing in ranged attacks. Admittedly the only things really making you a ranged fighter are your fighting styles, which can easily be changed, but if you’re playing to character you’ll find it a bit harder to use your paladin features.

Another reason staying at range is a good idea is your Concentration saves are really bad, with a total of +0 and no way to improve them.

Starting as a paladin but then adding in hexblade later means you have something of an awkward beginning, with your first couple ASIs not really contributing much to your character, with those first few mostly making up for your weaknesses rather than playing to your strengths.

#fgo #Fate Grand Order #Emiya Alter #D&D 5e #DND #Warlock #Paladin

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lovefuturisticmgtow · 5 years ago

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Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019

The MIX, or the Media Indie Change to make use of its Sunday identify, is all the time one of the highlights of E3 week.

Yes, most people go to E3 for the blockbusters. They delight in the pageantry and the swag, and the bragging rights of enjoying something first. And that’s nice, don’t misunderstand, but after a couple of days of chaos and queueing, it’s good to go someplace somewhat totally different, like Devolver Digital’s parking zone jamboree, or the MIX.

Sadly this yr, the MIX wasn’t immune from queues. After a 20-minute delay in opening, adopted by an interminably sluggish check-in course of (and inexplicable use of just one elevator in a building with 12 of the issues), we didn’t make it upstairs till 7.57 PM. That’s three entire minutes before the “press-only” hour ended, and the doorways opened to every different business customer. Oh properly.

The change in venue modified the event considerably, too. There was enough room to circulate without tripping over energy cables for one factor. Gone too was the specter of by chance falling right into a rooftop swimming pool. There was even an entire section devoted to the Kinda Funny Video games Showcase, including an area for broadcast recording. (You’re all determined to make us really feel previous as we walk around taking notes with pen and paper, aren’t you?)

It wasn’t all for the better. The self-service beer kegs have been gone, as an alternative replaced by a drinks token every. Not that less free-flowing drink is essentially a nasty thing at occasions, however when the venue’s personal bar prices over 20 dollars for 2 drinks, and also you’re there for a number of hours? It makes for some fascinating expense claims. (“YOU PAID HOW MUCH FOR TWO DIET COKES?!”)

But fortunately, crucial component of the MIX – the games, and the fantastic individuals who make them – was unchanged. Probably the greatest bits of this job is with the ability to spend time speaking to creators and developers, and making an attempt out weird new things.

Listed here are a few of our favourites from the MIX at E3 2019.

Autumn’s End

Autumn’s Finish’s visuals are arresting. Watching over somebody’s shoulder, we’re first introduced to Amber, the protagonist in Autumn’s End, as she falls down a flight of stairs. It’s a cheery and charming animation – mixed with bold, virtually papercut-looking artwork – that may’t assist however put a smile in your face.

Later, once we get to take management of Amber (and having also fallen down the stairs) we get to take pleasure in a few of the trivia of her level and click on adventure. We take photographs. We chat with family and friends. We poke round in nooks and crannies. It’s all so nice, with greater than a touch of Night time within the Woods about it. Imagine Mae just earlier than she leaves for school, not the melancholy, somewhat misplaced woman who comes back, and you’ll be in the fitting place for Autumn’s End.

Simply as we’re leaving, the individual manning the bench tells us they’re Sundae Month, the group behind Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, and we’re much more enthused by Autumn’s Finish. We inform them that they could need to lead with that info in future.

Embr

The elevator pitch for Embr is one thing else. Delivered at machine-gun velocity, it’s each the advertisement for, and phrases and circumstances of, working for Embr as a gig financial system firefighter. You realize these caveats on the finish of a radio business, the place they attempt to read out all of the horrible things which may happen when you buy their product or service, but too shortly for you to absolutely comprehend them? That’s the pitch for Embr in a nutshell, and it’s hilarious.

Here’s a clip of the pitch being delivered at EGX Rezzed:

Thankfully the sport can also be a whole lot of enjoyable to play – although we are terrible at it – nevertheless it’s OK. Nicely, it’s OK for Embr, because: “Embr LLC accepts no duty for damage, dismemberment, or demise ensuing from fires, explosions, electrocution, pure fuel, dehydration, nut allergic reactions, or concussive drive.” Identical to the actual gig financial system, it’s a dystopian nightmare wrapped up in an almost-reasonable-sounding job supply.

Additionally, as we’re leaving, the one that delivered the gross sales pitch tells us they’re from Muse Games, the workforce behind lovable arcade preventing recreation, Hamsterdam. What is with individuals not telling us who they’re or what else they’ve labored on?

Knights and Bikes

Knights and Bikes, however, wants no introduction. Principally, every thing we stated in our preview of the sport from 2017 nonetheless stands, nevertheless it feels extra polished and cohesive than before. Sadly Rex and Moo weren’t round to talk to on this occasion, as we’d really wish to know when Knights and Bikes is scheduled for release, however every thing is shaping up quite properly.

Kunai

Kunai is known as after an historic Japanese device, considered designed as a kind of trowel, however typically used as a weapon in Manga. It consists of a pointed blade hooked up to a deal with with a loop in it; this means it can be swung, thrown, or hooked up to a rope and used as a grapple.

Enjoying as Tabby – a ninja pc fused with the soul of an historic warrior, because it goes – you’ll wield swords, weapons, and more on this action-adventure. However it’s the titular Kunai that convey probably the most excitement and verticality to the sport, dual-wielding them as both weapon and grappling hook, to traverse the setting like a CRT-headed Spider-Man.

Rawmen

We already talked about Rawmen in our piece on the silly physics games that stole the show at E3 2019, however based mostly on the reaction of everyone who saw it on the MIX, it’s going to be extremely popular. Half Splatoon, half Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater, Rawmen is a disgusting nude multiplayer melee that absolutely wouldn’t get a great meals security inspection score.

It’s gross, however in a very, actually fun approach.

Roboco

Roboco is a recreation designed with schooling in mind, however with the potential for a lot more than that. Ostensibly a educating recreation about physics and programming – you construct a robot out of a set of elements, then feed it some rudimentary instructions to complete a activity – the result of Roboco is usually extra enjoyable than the lesson discovered on the best way, as terrible, awful, no good robots go on a rampage making an attempt to carry out mundane duties.

Simple tasks that you simply in all probability wouldn’t belief a DIY robot with, like looking after infants, for example. It’s principally the video game equivalent of this YouTube video:

And if that’s not going to make Roboco a hit, we don’t know what’s.

Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer was an odd recreation to play in amongst the clamour of the MIX, with drinks (reluctantly, expensively) flowing, a DJ spinning tunes, and every different individual bumping into you with a digital camera rig the dimensions of a small hatchback. It was an oasis of calm, in the midst of an occasion we already thought-about an oasis of calm. (Relatively talking, when compared to the rest of E3.)

However from its temporary displaying during one of the indie segments of the Xbox press convention, Spiritfarer was already making waves. Then we popped on some headphones, minimize ourselves off from the remainder of the world, and we understood why: Spiritfarer is magical.

Enjoying the position of Stella, the ferry master to the deceased – often known as a spiritfarer – it’s a mixture of RPG and delicate administration sim. Stella should acquire the souls of the just lately departed, construct them houses upon her boat, and remedy their remaining earthly considerations to allow them to cross over to the opposite aspect. It’s lovely, poignant, and serene.

Oh, and you may pet Stella’s cat, Daffodil, and even give it cuddles, so it’s officially the greatest recreation of all time. We don’t make the principles.

Tremendous Crush Okay.O.

Super Crush Okay.O. is a vision in neon, a trendy brawler that sees you struggle to rescue your cat. (And in addition save the world from an evil AI, but frankly, that’s secondary to that cat thing.) Super Crush Okay.O. is fluid to play and looks beautiful in motion, while there’s an actual tactile really feel to the control and your character’s highly effective transfer set. Every part in this one is simply so satisfying.

Also, one other indie recreation, one other last-minute “you might also know us from…” This time it’s Vertex Pop, the workforce behind the sensible Sleek Explosion Machine and We Are Doomed. You already know when a well known writer starts writing in a new style, they usually use a nom de plume to see if the e-book is profitable on its own merits and never on the back of their identify? Felt a bit like that on the MIX this yr, although we suspect no one was doing it on function.

Completely Dependable Supply Service

Identical to Rawmen, we already waxed lyrical about how much fun we had enjoying Completely Dependable Supply Service on the MIX. (No, we’re not shortening it to TRDS. That’s a terrible acronym. Go on. Say it out loud. You’ll see.)

In an E3 that featured Rawmen, Fall Guys, Embr, Heave Ho, that recreation we played with the interchangeable 3D-printed ship controls, and so much more fun stuff apart from, Totally Reliable Supply Service was in all probability the second most enjoyable and the second funniest recreation we performed all week. What was the funniest, you ask? Shenmue III. Although we’re not totally positive it was alleged to be humorous. If we’re basing it purely on games that have been purported to make us giggle, Totally Reliable Supply Service wins the crown.

The Wild at Coronary heart

We did a double-take once we walked previous the stand for The Wild at Heart. At first look, we thought it was a second stall for Knights and Bikes, and didn’t really pay it a lot consideration. Once we walked previous a second time and, seeing it in motion, we realised The Wild at Coronary heart was a totally totally different recreation – albeit with an identical art type, all flat, fantastical environments and grinning, cheeky baby protagonists – so we had to see what this one is all about.

Enjoying as a toddler misplaced in a mysterious, magical realm, it’s essential to progress via The Wild at Heart by amassing a set of friendly creatures, often known as Spritelings. You possibly can send them off to do your bidding – every part from amassing assets and building bridges, to clearing areas and preventing monsters – for an intriguing mix of Zelda-like adventure and real-time strategy. Bizarre, positive, but undoubtedly one to observe.

The post Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019 appeared first on Spouting-Tech.

#Discovery #E3 2019 #Features #tech #The MIX

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wildehorroruniverse · 5 years ago

Text

Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019

The MIX, or the Media Indie Change to make use of its Sunday identify, is all the time one of the highlights of E3 week.

Listed here are a few of our favourites from the MIX at E3 2019.

Autumn’s End

Embr

Here’s a clip of the pitch being delivered at EGX Rezzed:

Knights and Bikes

Kunai

Rawmen

It’s gross, however in a very, actually fun approach.

Roboco

Simple tasks that you simply in all probability wouldn’t belief a DIY robot with, like looking after infants, for example. It’s principally the video game equivalent of this YouTube video:

And if that’s not going to make Roboco a hit, we don’t know what’s.

Spiritfarer

Oh, and you may pet Stella’s cat, Daffodil, and even give it cuddles, so it’s officially the greatest recreation of all time. We don’t make the principles.

Tremendous Crush Okay.O.

Completely Dependable Supply Service

The Wild at Coronary heart

The post Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019 appeared first on Spouting-Tech.

#Discovery #E3 2019 #Features #tech #The MIX

0 notes

7niichan-stuff-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019

The MIX, or the Media Indie Change to make use of its Sunday identify, is all the time one of the highlights of E3 week.

Listed here are a few of our favourites from the MIX at E3 2019.

Autumn’s End

Embr

Here’s a clip of the pitch being delivered at EGX Rezzed:

Knights and Bikes

Kunai

Rawmen

It’s gross, however in a very, actually fun approach.

Roboco

Simple tasks that you simply in all probability wouldn’t belief a DIY robot with, like looking after infants, for example. It’s principally the video game equivalent of this YouTube video:

And if that’s not going to make Roboco a hit, we don’t know what’s.

Spiritfarer

Oh, and you may pet Stella’s cat, Daffodil, and even give it cuddles, so it’s officially the greatest recreation of all time. We don’t make the principles.

Tremendous Crush Okay.O.

Completely Dependable Supply Service

The Wild at Coronary heart

The post Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019 appeared first on Spouting-Tech.

#Discovery #E3 2019 #Features #tech #The MIX

0 notes

ask-accord · 5 years ago

Text

Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019

The MIX, or the Media Indie Change to make use of its Sunday identify, is all the time one of the highlights of E3 week.

Listed here are a few of our favourites from the MIX at E3 2019.

Autumn’s End

Embr

Here’s a clip of the pitch being delivered at EGX Rezzed:

Knights and Bikes

Kunai

Rawmen

It’s gross, however in a very, actually fun approach.

Roboco

Simple tasks that you simply in all probability wouldn’t belief a DIY robot with, like looking after infants, for example. It’s principally the video game equivalent of this YouTube video:

And if that’s not going to make Roboco a hit, we don’t know what’s.

Spiritfarer

Oh, and you may pet Stella’s cat, Daffodil, and even give it cuddles, so it’s officially the greatest recreation of all time. We don’t make the principles.

Tremendous Crush Okay.O.

Completely Dependable Supply Service

The Wild at Coronary heart

The post Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019 appeared first on Spouting-Tech.

#Discovery #E3 2019 #Features #tech #The MIX

0 notes

varianappreciationuniverse · 5 years ago

Text

Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019

The MIX, or the Media Indie Change to make use of its Sunday identify, is all the time one of the highlights of E3 week.

Listed here are a few of our favourites from the MIX at E3 2019.

Autumn’s End

Embr

Here’s a clip of the pitch being delivered at EGX Rezzed:

Knights and Bikes

Kunai

Rawmen

It’s gross, however in a very, actually fun approach.

Roboco

Simple tasks that you simply in all probability wouldn’t belief a DIY robot with, like looking after infants, for example. It’s principally the video game equivalent of this YouTube video:

And if that’s not going to make Roboco a hit, we don’t know what’s.

Spiritfarer

Oh, and you may pet Stella’s cat, Daffodil, and even give it cuddles, so it’s officially the greatest recreation of all time. We don’t make the principles.

Tremendous Crush Okay.O.

Completely Dependable Supply Service

The Wild at Coronary heart

The post Pick of the MIX: Our 10 favourite games from the MIX at E3 2019 appeared first on Spouting-Tech.

#Discovery #E3 2019 #Features #tech #The MIX

0 notes

xb-squaredx · 7 years ago

Text

Doom (Switch) Review: Rip and tear on the go

In most video games, you’re stuck in a room with monsters. In DOOM they’re stuck in a room with you. The DOOM franchise is one I’ve never been all that familiar with, one I’ve known by reputation more than anything else. With the release of 2016’s reboot/reimagining however, I was pretty intrigued. After years of cover-based affairs with only two weapons available at once, a faster, aggressive affair seemed refreshing, and when it was announced that the Switch would be getting a port, it seemed like the right time to join in. Just how well does the port hold up though? Only one way to find out.

Right off the bat, you’ll notice that to get the game running on Switch, certain sacrifices had to be made. The resolution and textures are noticeably downgraded compared to the other console and PC ports, and the game runs at a somewhat inconsistent 30 FPS. I’m not a graphics snob, but I’ll admit a good portion of this game looks…muddy. I’m not usually one to complain about a game absolutely needing 60 FPS either, and 30 would be fine…if it could be stable. When the hordes of demons get large enough the game begins to chug a bit. Thankfully, enemies can die off just as fast as they appear, so the drops don’t last too long…but it can still be a little disorientating and take you out of the experience for a bit. I’ve heard that harder difficulties pack in more enemies, which might result in a worse experience, but I’m not entirely sure how it all works. Honestly, DOOM is difficult enough as it is and I wasn’t ready to dip my toes into deeper waters even after beating the game.

While no doubt bringing some old-school difficulty to the table, even for someone like me who barely touches shooters in general, let-alone first-person games, I did take to DOOM fairly quickly. Everything is fluid and fast, the carnage brutally satisfying and overall the feel of the game is very well done. It was mentioned that care was taken to make sure the port kept the feel of the other versions and I think they largely succeeded here. While I would have loved to at least try out motion controlled aiming, I can understand them not prioritizing it in developing the port.

When it comes to ripping demons apart, there are tons of weapons to choose from the get the job done. Two trusty shot guns, a chain gun to dump ammo into hardier foes, or destroy anything in your path with a blast from the Gauss Cannon; each weapon has a use and encounters are usually designed in such a way to have you chew through just enough ammo to have you constantly switch between each weapon. While some feel a tad underdeveloped, the weapon balance felt fine-tuned enough to make every weapon a joy to shoot with (barring the starter pistol that’s kinda…supposed to suck).

New to the game is the Glory Kill system. When enemies take enough damage, perform a melee attack to get a visceral finishing move that will have enemies drop health and ammo. It’s really cathartic to finally pull one of these off on problematic enemies like Hell Knights, or getting your hands on an annoying Imp that won’t stop running away. Watching their heads pop right off with a strong left hook, or beating them to death with their own arm never gets old. Release your inner sociopath with Glory Kills! The iconic Chainsaw and BFG weapons also return with some changes, making them like get-out-of-jail-free-cards. The chainsaw can take out any non-boss enemy instantly, but requires special fuel to run and taking out bigger enemies requires more fuel. In response, enemies drop far more ammo from a chainsaw kill for all weapons. The BFG, acquired a ways into the game, can wipe out an entire room of enemies with one shot if you’re good enough, but it’s ammo is also limited.

DOOM requires you to be aggressive and be able to respond to situations as quickly as you can. With no cover systems or regenerating health to fall back on, and health packs scattered around levels, often times if you’re low on health you simply have to run into the fray. It’s quite…exhilarating to be facing some tough enemies, be low on health, and break away to snap an imp’s neck and get a top off before returning to the battle, certainly something I’ve never felt in another shooter. DOOM really gets the blood pumping. The excellent soundtrack by Mick Gordon brings that blood to a boil with heavy metal tracks that at times apparently runs a chainsaw through a synth, just for some added flavor. The audio design in general is good, the otherworldly growls and roars of enemies fitting their demonic appearance, and things only get worse when you descend into the pits of Hell yourself.

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There is a story to DOOM for those curious and there’s a surprising amount of lore associated with the setup to the game. Set in the far future, Earth is facing an energy crisis so severe, the proposal to siphon off energy from the depths of Hell is considered a good idea. Naturally, it all goes wrong and it’s up to a lone space marine to take the demons down. Called the “Doom Slayer” by the demonic hordes themselves, you get an idea that the player is almost some mythological figure and once unleashed, even devils cry. The beautiful thing about DOOM’s story is that the Doom Slayer doesn’t really care about it at all. A running joke throughout the story is the soldier actively avoiding hearing out anyone attempting to explain what’s going on; he’s here to kill demons and that’s all he needs to know. Bethesda and id Software knew that gameplay was supposed to take center stage for DOOM but I’m glad they took the time to lay out some world-building on the side.

In-between plowing through the denizens of Hell, players can explore levels for any given number of secrets. Some collectibles, upgrades for your suit and weapons, as well as some fun nods to the original DOOM game. Levels are fairly complex affairs and things are hidden well, so I spent plenty of time combing through levels looking for things I missed. There are hidden trials players can find and complete to earn special relics that give passive effects, which are challenging and surprisingly addictive. Add to that, each level has special combat challenges that award points that can be spent to level up your weapons; killing enemies in a particular way, or encouraging players to find some of the hidden secrets, things like that. Overall, the game has excellent replayability. It also has multiplayer but…I have no interest in it at all. I’m glad it’s there, but no way am I getting wrecked by people that play shooters more than me in a game that’s already pretty intense.

I’ve already mentioned some issues the Switch port has, which are pretty understandable considering the sheer technological achievement that went into making this port. That it’s playable at all is a testament to Panic Button’s skills in porting to Switch. Sadly…there are still some more issues. I encountered two bugs throughout my time with the game that really scared me off of completing the game for a bit. The first and by-far the most frequent was all sound cutting out at random intervals. I’d be able to get it back if I reset to the last checkpoint but depending on when that checkpoint was, I’d at times have to play through areas in almost dead silence just to trigger a new autosave. Considering the game’s music and audio design is a plus here, that’s a pretty bad bug to run into almost every time I booted the game up. The other one only happened once, but was nearly playthrough-ending. In menus, up and down would no longer register on either the control stick or d-pad, meaning no upgrading weapons or even choosing to save and quit after beating a level. I was forced to do a hard reset of the Switch itself and it never popped up again, but the fear that it would always plagued me.

While DOOM is a fantastic game in its own right, filled with content and extremely satisfying combat, the visual downgrades combined with the bugs really have me holding off on recommending the Switch port. If patches are implemented that at least squash the bugs in it as of the time of writing, then I might change my mind, but when you’re already sacrificing so much just to bring it on the go, I don’t think it was really worth it. I’m glad to have played DOOM and I want to see more quality third-party titles on Switch, so it’s just a little disappointing that it didn’t quite work out this time.

Until next time,

-B

#xb-squaredx #blog #DOOM #DOOM 2016 #nintendo switch #doomguy #ripandtear #demons #hell knights #FPS #video game

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grailfinders · 4 years ago

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Fate and Phantasms #103: Thomas Edison

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making the king of inventions, the Presi-King of the US of A, and the man who turned every president of the United States into his underwear, Thomas Edison! This inventor’s one cool cat, with a World Faith Domination that can alter the hearts and minds of a nation while also shutting down any other illusions that might be affecting them. You also make robots sometimes. You also, of course, get plenty of that good ol’ American DC current!

Check out the Presi-king’s build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Next up: What’s that thing you shout when you jump off stuff again?

Race and Background

The good Presi-king’s a cat, but he’s a lot chunkier than most of the ones we’ve built so far. Fortunately, WotC have us covered with the Leonin. We’re also using Tasha’s variant race rules to mix up the ability score bonuses. Being a Leonin gives Eddy boy +2 Constitution and +1 Intelligence. He also gets Darkvision, Claws for additional unarmed damage, Hunter’s Instincts, giving him proficiency in Athletics, and a Daunting Roar, using a bonus action to force a wisdom save (DC 8 plus your constitution modifier plus your proficiency bonus) against nearby creatures, frightening them if they fail, once per short rest.

He’s also a Guild Artisan, for Insight and Persuasion proficiency. The sciences aren’t big in the Forgotten Realms, but he’s good enough at building things to get by.

Ability Scores

Put your highest ability into Intelligence. The king of inventors is smart, pretty simple. After that is Charisma, you can put on a good show when you have to. Follow this up with Dexterity, then Constitution. You’re a nerd, but you’ve got a fancy outfit on that helps a bit. This does mean your Strength is a little low, but we’ll get ways to fix that later. We’re dumping Wisdom though. History has proven that direct current just isn’t as good as alternating current in most instances. Also you’re happy to waste tons of resources on your schemes as long as they don’t come from America, which is pretty unwise.

Class Levels

1. Artificer 1: No points for guessing this one. First level artificers have proficiency with Constitution and Intelligence saves, as well as Arcana (which is the closest thing to science in D&D) and Investigation. You also get Magical Tinkering, which adds minor effects to small items, and Intelligence based Spells.

Speaking of spells, you get first level spells now, plus some cantrips. You can technically use all of them, but you have to prepare them beforehand. With a limited amount of prep, you have to pick and choose what you focus on. For cantrips, Lightning Lure adds a little spark to your life, and Dancing Lights puts on a show when necessary. You can also prepare spells like Grease, Alarm, and Snare as your first inventions. You can also learn Identify to investigate other items you come across, and turn them into your own with some improvements.

2. Artificer 2: Speaking of improvements, second level artificers can actually do that with Infuse Item. After working on an item over your long rest, you can add an infusion to it that lasts until you die or you infuse more than your limit. At level two, you can make an Armor of Magical Strength, which will give you a limited use muscle body. When you make a strength check or save you can use one of six charges to add your intelligence modifier to the roll. You can also spend a charge to avoid falling prone. An Enhanced Weapon might also be a good fit for your fighters, adding 1 to all attack and damage rolls. Sending Stones are more Bell’s thing, but he’s not here, so he won’t mind. Finally, you can also make a Homunculus Servant for the start of your mighty robot army.

3. Artificer 3: We’ll continue to build your army by becoming a Battle Smith, gaining you extra spells like Heroism and Shield to inspire and protect your meatshields. You’re also Battle Ready, allowing you to use martial weapons (that’ll come in handy later) and use your intelligence instead of strength when attacking with magic weapons.

You can also build a Steel Defender, though sadly only one. It’s a medium construct that can make melee attacks, heal itself and other constructs, though only if you spend your bonus action each turn commanding it to do so. It’s built-in hardware only has melee attacks, but building a gun shouldn’t be too complicated for you.

You can also build The Right Tool for the Job over a short rest, magically creating a set of artisan’s tools.

4. Artificer 4: Now that we have martial weapons proficiency, use this Ability Score Increase to get the Fighting Initiate feat for a new fighting style. The Unarmed Fighting style will add even more oomph to your punches than before. I’d argue that magicking up some gloves with tinkering would count them as magic weapons, but that’s something to argue with your DM over. You’ll be good either way by the end of the build, but that would get your there much faster.

5. Wizard 1: Speaking of complicated, here’s a billion extra spells. Wizards get a whole new list that’s kept in their spellbook and use Intelligence to cast. You also gain an Arcane Recovery, letting you recover spell slots on a short rest with a total level equal to half your wizard level rounded up.

For cantrips, Light and Prestidigitation will help you put on a show, and Mending can repair your Steel Defender for free. You can also make a horror movie to Cause Fear, use Color Spray to blind people with science, Magic Missile for caster balls, Unseen Servant for another robot buddy, Silent Image for classic films, and Protection from Evil and Good for the anti-mysticism effects.

(We know Unseen Servant doesn’t have an actual visible body, but it’s a straight downgrade from RAW, so it’s an easy sell for your DM.)

6. Wizard 2: You make movies, and the closest thing we can get in D&D would be Illusions. As an Illusion Savant, it costs you half as much gold to copy illusion spells. You also get an Improved Minor Illusion that can create sound and images at the same time.

You also get Tenser’s Floating Disk for a carrier robot, and Find Familiar for yet another non-combat drone. For those of you playing along at home, you can now have a familiar, a defender, a homunculus, and either a servant or floating disk with concentration. You’re not exactly a military powerhouse yet, but you’re getting there.

7. Artificer 5: Fifth level artificers get an Extra Attack each attack action, as well as second level spells. Your specialties are Branding Smite and Warding Bond, but you can also make Magic Mouths to leave behind recordings, and use See Invisibility to look past others’ illusions.

8. Artificer 6: Sixth level artificers have Tool Expertise, doubling your tool proficiencies. You can also make another infusion at once, and learn two more to fill that slot. A Spell-Refueling Ring is great for casters pulling an all-nighter, and Gloves of Thievery aren’t really in character, but they’re an excuse to use Battle Ready with your unarmed attacks.

9. Artificer 7: Every once in a while you have a Flash of Genius. Normally this would lead to some country that isn’t America getting ransacked for natural resources, but in D&D it means you can react to add your intelligence modifier to any saving throw or check done within 30 feet of you. This can be used a number of times per long rest equal to your intelligence modifier.

10. Wizard 3: Third level wizards get second level spells. You specifically get Dragon’s Breath and Enhance Ability to improve your robots’ combat capabilities. (I mean, breathing fire would improve anything’s combat capabilities, but using it on your robots is in character.)

11. Wizard 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Intelligence for better... well, everything. You also get the Friends cantrip and Suggestion spell to help bury that busybody Tesla with your social connections, and Flock of Familiars for, you guessed it, more robots.

12. Wizard 5: Fifth level wizards get third level spells, like Dispel Magic and Remove Curse for more anti-mysticism tech.

13. Wizard 6: Sixth level illusionists can make Malleable Illusions, allowing you to change what an illusion spell you’ve cast is depicting as an action. You can also cast Major Image now, and Lightning Bolt will bolster your lagging electrical toolkit.

14. Artificer 8: Eighth level artificers get another ASI and not much else, but it does mean your Intelligence is now maxed out for the strongest spells and most flashes of genius possible.

15. Artificer 9: Your Arcane Jolt can deal extra damage or heal people when you hit a creature with your own magical weapons or your steel defender. When you’re as busy as you are, fitting as much into a single action as possible is paramount.

You also get third level spells again, specializing in an Aura of Vitality and the ability to Conjure Barrage. You can also create a Tiny Servant for yet another construct, or use Protection from Energy and Elemental Weapon to add even more electricity into your party’s life.

16. Artificer 10: Tenth level artificers are Magic Item Adepts, letting you attune for four magic items at once, and crafting common and uncommon magic items are much faster and cheaper.

You can also cast Guidance now, because why not, and learn two more invocations. Helm of Awareness gives you more situational awareness, and Gauntlets of Ogre Strength gives you punches that don’t require technicalities to deal damage.

17. Artificer 11: Eleventh level artificers can make Spell Storing Items, storing magical effects in weapons and focii. The spell has to be on the artificer list, 2nd level or lower, and take one action to cast.

18. Artificer 12: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity for a better AC. Your armor’s pretty good, but you should help it where you can.

19. Artificer 13: After five levels, you finally bump up to fourth level spells, with the specialty spells Aura of Purity and Fire Shield. You can also Fabricate items out of nothing, and your robot army finally gets more power with Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound and Summon Construct. (Like Unseen Servant, the Faithful Hound shouldn’t be visible, but again, an easy sell to your DM.)

20. Artificer 14: Your capstone level makes you a Magic Item Savant, giving you yet another attunement slot, and the ability to ignore class and race requirements when using magic items.

You also get Mage Hand for another kind of drone, and two new infusions. Amulet of Health will make you a bit tougher, and Gem of Seeing will help you see through enemy illusions for one final bit of anti-mystic technology.

Pros:

With proper flavoring, your robot army can be super useful, despite the small number of them that can directly attack creatures. Use familiars to revive fallen teammates or even turn macguffins into Tiny Servants at a distance, TS up your fighter’s crossbow so it’ll reload itself, or use unseen servants as stealth bombers. The world is your toolbox.

You’re also good at destroying other magic, with magic items to help see through illusions and invisibility and spells like Dispel Magic and Remove Curse to tear up mysticism affecting your party and your path forward.

Your spells and artifacts are powerful, but there’s something to be said for just being able to punch people. Maybe your DM wants to take you down a peg by tearing up all your robots, only to get the shock of their life when you’re still able to hold your own.

Cons:

While you can survive without your infusions, you’re still tied to your gear in the long run, with infusions providing you the toughness necessary to get into melee range to begin with, and your spellbook holding a sizeable chunk of what you can cast at any given time.

You also have low wisdom, so without your gear you might have a hard time seeing through illusions.

Despite your impressive physique and robot army, most of your gear is suited for indirect combat at best. You can punch and shoot lightning if you have to, but getting other people to be the muscle is still going to be your plan A.

#Fate Grand Order #FGO #D&D 5e #Thomas Edison #fate and phantasms

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