#when the other tank classes are NOT unkillable I don’t think so really…

[fisherrprince]

i am bewildered by the lack of nerfs to WAR though like wh— why. why not. you are so powerful there’s a joke abt how you can solo anything. you’re going to develop a meta, warrior. warrior please sit back down you’re scaring me

[crystalelemental]

Unit Viability Speculation - Teatime Lillie

Alright, we have four new units to discuss the potential viability of, and we'll go in chronological order.  So Teatime Lillie, dropping in two days!  I'm excited about it.

Lillie's a Ghost-type supporter, coming in with some very good effects.  One-gauge spam with 30% flinch rate and aggravation is great, but getting to buff the team's crit rate on every attack with it is just...something else.  It's like NY!Sabrina but consistent.  The downside is that this is notably a bit slower than taking Crit Squad on her trainer move.  The upside is, she has Crit Squad on her trainer move.  She also has All Ramped Up, which means her trainer move can give +6 special attack and +2 crit, with Lillie providing an extra point of crit on her next attack, setting up for max offenses for a special attacker in three actions, with a good flinch rate behind it as well.  This is...really good.

She also packs X Sp Def All, which is pretty nice for general survival.   She doesn't have a way to buff defense for the team, so she's not an all-arounder, but what she does have is Potion and double MPR.  So the healing goes for days.  This is, bar nothing, the best healing combination the game has to offer, but somehow Lillie one-ups even that.  She gets Team Fist Bump 1, which gives only a 20% chance to restore team's HP when she attacks.  Not huge, but nice.  But she also got Team Triage Tank 9.  You know that thing, where SS Blue is considered immortal in part because of his combination of Fist Bump and Triage Tank that only work 30% of the time?  Yeah, Lillie got one of those effects 100% of the time, copied the other, and got gradual healing and Potion.  While not as gradual a buildup to capping most stats, and not able to provide Safety Net for an Endure effect on the team, Lillie is in that same class of unkillable, at least as far as I'm concerned.

The last oddity is trainer move.   We...do not know what that "random effect" is.  It's field effects, yeah, but which ones?  Most speculation is that it will be shields and maybe move gauge acceleration.  This would be the best outcome.   Reflect, Light Screen, Crit Shield, Condition Shield, and Stat Reduction Shield and gauge acceleration all have tremendous benefits, and a split between those six would be great.  Stat Reduction would likely be the least valuable in most cases, but in others it's a godsend.  But because we don't know the full range, it...might be any field effect.  Meaning weather.  Terrains.  Possibly all Zones, making her technically the first Zone setter for all missing types.  But this feels unlikely, so we'll see what's included.

Now you may be thinking damn, Lillie must be unstoppable, and that's...technically true, but functionally inaccurate.  There is one big consideration for any unit with this many cool traits all locked in the same place, and that's energy constraints.  Lillie cannot take all of this at once, and must prioritize certain effects.  If she takes Double Potion, she's likely giving up the Master Healer effects, Revent Boost, Aggravation, and MPR on X Sp Def All.  Or you can be ridiculous and drop All Ramped Up, which is a terrible idea.  Dropping Crit Squad is an option for longer Gauntlet fights were you want to prioritize Master Healer Potions, but frankly I think Master Healer is less than necessary on her.  She heals every time she takes a hit, and applies Gradual Healing with her trainer move.  She's not hurting for healing, and neither are her teammates.  In fact I think there's a legitimate argument for dropping one of the Potion MPRs, taking Aggravation and Static Cling, and calling it good. That said, 2/5 loses both of her buffing options, which makes her a lot more limited.  But she gets her MPR on trainer move, one of her Potion MPRs, and X Sp Def MPR as well.  Sadly, she can't quite reach Interference Immunity, so instead she gets Static Cling and Master Healer.  Which, all things considered, still pretty good.  3/5 makes her buff much faster, but for slower matches she's still getting the job done 2/5.

As far as teammates go, anyone that's good with Kimono Jasmine is good with her.  If you need special attack and crit, you're in luck.   Fantina, Agatha, and Shauntal come to mind instantly, as they all match the Ghost-type theme skill and appreciate the special attack and crit.   Outside of those, we have Siebold and Gardenia as gridded commons, Erika&Vileplume as a tech striker with their new EX, Karen, Ethan, and Lisia as general pool options, and even major PokeFair options like Lance or Diantha who love the support she brings.  She's got a wide array, and that's just for offense.  Defensively, she's one of the best stall core members you could possibly ask for.

Frankly I think she's great.  She's Kimono Jasmine, but trading in offensive debuffs and Safety Net for enough healing to become effectively immortal.  That said, I do kinda like Kimono Jasmine a bit better, just for the compression of effects.  Two turns is capped special defense and crit, and +4 special attack.  Three turns is +5 special attack and gradual healing.  She's just much faster acting than Lillie will be, and the debuff to special defense is aces.  But I'd be lying if I said Lillie wasn't a damn strong contender for second place in the seasonal rankings.

[sword-dad-fukuzawa]

Analyzing Shin Soukoku’s Fighting Style: Atsushi

Alright, this is going to be a three-parter: Atsushi, Akutagawa, and then what happens when they fight together. I was contemplating doing one for Soukoku, but then I realized that Dazai isn’t actually a frontline fighter. If he had a class, he’d be command or support. Shin Soukoku is unique among the three duos in that both members are frontline fighters. 

So, Atsushi! He’s actually quite capable when he isn’t using BBtM, though certainly not on Kunikida or Chuuya’s level, simply because he has really good instincts. We see in the very beginning of the show when he accompanies Ranpo. Ranpo shoves him towards the criminal and Atsushi is clearly taken off guard, but he manages to get behind him, move his arm so the gun he’s firing discharges into the air, and slam him to the ground then pin him. This kid is untrained and obviously malnourished and he took down a trained police officer like nobody’s business. I remember reading that scene and wondering when the hell Atsushi took a level in badass. 

This segues into the next bit: Atsushi’s main advantage in combat is his ridiculous speed. He’s so fast by the Rats arc that he couldn’t be seen by the human eye. That’s stupid fast, especially in an enclosed space. Google says the human eye can process an image at 13 milliseconds. And it’s not just his legs, either. Previously in that arc, he caught a bullet in his mouth fired at point-blank range. Because this is BSD, you can’t really do the math in a way that makes sense, but google says the fastest bullets travel at 1,800 mph. He doesn’t even have much of a warning other than Kunikida’s yell, but he catches it anyway. His reaction time and physical speed are his greatest assets. 

However, because BBtM is OP as fuck, he also has advanced regeneration acting as an automatic defense. I cannot tell you the number of times this kid gets himself stabbed and shot but he got up seconds later. Not to mention how his leg got ripped off and he regenerated in a matter of seconds (just long enough for Akutagawa to gloat). Atsushi is virtually unkillable at this point with his healing factor only really beaten by Yosano’s, if in sheer magnitude. Besides, he has a leg (heh) up there, too, because BBtM heals minor wounds as well. 

There’s one exception to the above, though, and that’s the fight with the Guild and Kouyou where Atsushi gets knocked out. This seems to be the only way to beat Atsushi--to knock him out, and this happens again onboard the Moby Dick during the boss fight with Fitz. If Akutagawa hadn’t yelled “JINKOOOO” and reeled him back in, he probably would have just kept falling. This actually only happens, I suspect, because of his control. Atsushi passed out when his leg was ripped off and the tiger took over, almost mauling our favorite emo boy. For some reason, this stops happening as BSD progresses. I’m going to chalk it up to Atsushi’s increased control meaning he keeps the tiger at bay even asleep. 

Atsushi, being never trained in the art of badassery, fights mainly with tiger-boosted punches. His only attack is a sucker-punch and...a barrage of sucker punches. No, seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him throw a kick. However, despite the lack of versatility, Atsushi punches hard enough to literally shatter Rashoumon. By the Rat arc, he’s expanded his repertoire to...slashing. With his awesome claws.

Here’s the thing about BBtM that isn’t clearly explained. Akutagawa says something like the tiger’s claws have the power to rip through the very fabric of an ability, and that’s how they defeat Fyodor’s creepy earthbender at the end of the Rat arc. I’m pretty sure that’s how Atsushi broke through Rashoumon as well. He also pulls similar shit in Dead Apple, breaking abilities with the sheer badassery of BBtM. It’s not actually defined (yet) so all I’ll say is, if Atsushi tries hard enough, he can slice and dice ability constructs. Most notably Rashoumon, though I suspect he would be able to do the same thing to Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. 

His main weakness is that he seems incapable of dodging or blocking attacks, even though he’s quite good at acrobatics when you watch the Dead Apple boss fight. Instead of avoiding hits, he tanks them. Referencing his fight against Akutagawa on the cargo ship, he lets himself get stabbed over and over and over again. But because BBtM, all this does is delay a few seconds. Which, to be honest, he needs to work on. If his greatest advantage is his speed and he lets himself get stunned every few seconds, he’s not using it well. 

So, in summary! 

Advantages: as a close-range tank, Atsushi’s biggest assets are his ridiculous speed, his surprisingly good instincts and reaction time, and his OP regeneration ability. His weird, almost nullification secondary quality is good in a pinch as well. 

Weaknesses: he’s untrained. Entirely. Yeah, he’s learning from Kunikida by the time the anime drops off and the manga picks up, but this kid is a brawler at heart. He’s not good at strategic thinking and instead charges in to “hit whatever’s moving until it stops”. While his instincts compensate somewhat, like when he uses his tail to stop himself from falling, they can’t compensate entirely. 

To beat Atsushi, keep hitting him to stall for time because you cannot outrun this man, and knock him out for best results. Also, a clever enough strategy will put him out of commission, if the Hunting Dogs/Decay of Angels arc in the manga is any indication. 

Akutagawa analysis forthcoming.

[aion-rsa]

Resident Evil Village: Why Ethan Winters is the Worst RE Protagonist

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE spoilers.

I walked away from Resident Evil Village with mixed feelings about the whole thing, but the one aspect of the long-awaited sequel I had no mixed feelings about was leading man Ethan Winters and his status as the absolute worst.

While there have been other unlikable Resident Evil protagonists, Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village‘s Ethan Winters is on another level. Unlike other RE heroes that were hindered by a combination of bad voice acting, bad writing, and questionable lore, Ethan Winters’ brings all of those unfortunate elements to the table and adds a couple of “qualities” that puts him cleanly in contention for the “honor” of being not just the worst protagonist in RE history but in all major video games.

Before you call that harsh, consider just a few of the many ways that Ethan Winters is the most insufferable part of two otherwise good games.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Ethan Winters is a Terrible Husband

This is honestly a bit lower on the list of Ethan Winters’ character sins, but it has to be pointed out that Ethan Winters comes across as a pretty bad partner.

First off, there’s a world in which Ethan doesn’t even save Mia in Resident Evil 7 and instead chooses to give the serum to Zoe Baker: a girl he’s known for about a couple of hours. In that same ending, Mia still sacrifices herself for Ethan despite the fact that Ethan didn’t save her. Capcom wisely decided to abandon that ending pretty much entirely, but it’s telling that the writers created a character who could conceivably leave his wife to die when he’s able to easily save her.

Mind you, the version of Ethan we see in Village who did decide to save Mia is only slightly better than the one who abandoned her. The biggest problem here is actually the revelation that Mia is really Mother Miranda and seemingly has been for at least a little while. This use of the body switch trope always makes partners look bad (how do you not notice the supposed love of your life has been replaced?), but it takes a very dark turn in this instance when Mia is shot by Blue Umbrella operatives and Ethan barely reacts to his wife’s brutal murder.

Yes, it turns out it was actually Mother Miranda that was shot, but before Ethan knows that, he is seemingly able to process much of his grief with an “Oh God!” and an exasperated “Why?” After that, Ethan barely even talks about Mia. Sure, his daughter was just kidnapped, but this guy can’t shed a tear or do anything to indicate that he needs more than a minute to process this whole thing? Even if it was Mother Miranda who scolds Ethan in one of the game’s early cutscenes for not caring enough about their relationship, I’m starting to think she was right. No wonder she has to keep so much wine around the house.

Ethan Winters’ Quips Could Make an ’80s Action Hero Shake Their Head in Shame

I feel like I could spend several articles talking about Ethan’s awful one-liners and quips, but there’s one specific moment I have to talk about that really highlights the extent of this problem.

There’s a scene in the back half of Village that sees Ethan sneak through a mine in search of a flask containing part of his daughter. Against all odds, Ethan is able to retrieve the flask without drawing the attention of the creature guarding it, Moreau. However, Ethan (who, it must be said again, is the absolute worst) cannot resist taunting Moreau instead of just walking away. He then stays a little while longer to make fun of Moreau seemingly because he’s the first of the house leaders who he feels he is able to bully.

Ethan, why are you like this? Why would you possibly alert this thing to your presence when you’ve just been gifted an easy way out, and why would you exploit what appears to be a moment of weakness for this creature just to get a couple of insults and bad jokes in? For that matter, why do you constantly feel the need to chime in with some kind of quip or line that seemingly confirms you’re just good-looking enough to have never been told that you’re not funny?

It’s great that Moreau uses this moment to tell Ethan “You’re stupid! You talk too much,” but the fact that the game’s writers were seemingly aware of this problem makes it all the more baffling that they chose to have their games star this very stupid man who does, in fact, talk way too much in the moments he shouldn’t be talking at all.

Ethan Winters Has Never Been the Everyman He is Supposed to Be

When I first started playing Resident Evil 7, I gave the game the benefit of the doubt regarding some of Ethan Winters’ character and personality flaws. After all, he was supposed to be the player surrogate and something of an everyman who is just as confused by this situation as we are.

However, if Ethan really was ever supposed to be an everyman, he’s a pretty bad one. It’s easy enough to buy into the idea that Ethan is just some poor guy in a bad situation at first, but between his terrible quips, world-class bad decision making, and apparent inability to form a believable human connection with the few actual humans in his life, Ethan is less of an everyman and more of the random dorm roommate you got stuck with in college. The best thing you can say about him is that you’ve both got to find a way to get through this together.

Throughout Resident Evil, we also watch as Ethan alternates between struggling to understand things that we as the player have already figured out and not caring about obviously impressive moments. There are essentially vampires and other nearly mythological creatures in every corner of Resident Evil Village, and Ethan hardly ever conveys even a moment of surprise in response to anything he sees. There’s even a scene towards the end of the game when Ethan falls into an underground area only to find that Chris is already there and has apparently built a homemade tank. Does Ethan ask for an explanation about any of this or express any notable interest in these incredible coincidences/circumstances? No, he does not. It’s like the “cool guys don’t look at explosions” trope, but the explosions are the plot and the cool guy is Ethan Winters.

Seemingly realizing that Ethan wasn’t working as an everyman, Capcom decided to turn him into more of an action hero in Resident Evil Village. Unfortunately for everyone, that only made things worse…

Ethan Winters’ Powers Somehow Make Him an Even More Boring Character

Let’s get right into it: it doesn’t make any sense that Ethan Winters is able to defeat most of the threats he faces in Resident Evil Village, and the game’s attempts at making those moments make sense only make the character worse.

While Village tells us that Chris trained Ethan and Mia to some degree after the events of Resident Evil 7, there’s no amount of training you could possibly receive that would explain why the bullets from a shotgun you found in a shed are able to topple impossible creatures. Granted, that’s more of a game design problem than it is a personal issue with Ethan, but at some point, the fact that Ethan goes from “barely defending himself” to “defeating an entire village of monstrosities” with very little believable or enjoyable explanation between those moments ultimately becomes yet another reason to not like him.

Village later tries to explain Ethan’s regenerative abilities and impossible durability with a variation of the “dead the whole time” storytelling cliche, but that just makes matters worse. While “dead guy” is a pretty apt description of Ethan’s warmth as a human being, Ethan being just south of unkillable doesn’t make him any more interesting: it makes him a s****y Wolverine who hopes his powers will make up for his lack of personality. In reality, it just makes it more upsetting that it’s so hard to get rid of Ethan Winters.

Ethan Winters’ evolution from bewildered average guy to monster slayer could have been interesting. Just look at Gordon Freeman from Half-Life or the character Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from Buffy and Angel. Instead, the more we got to know Ethan, the more we wish we didn’t. It’s rare to have a protagonist that so effectively drags down the considerable quality of everything around him, but that’s just the kind of guy that Ethan is.

The post Resident Evil Village: Why Ethan Winters is the Worst RE Protagonist appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2SAA0jD

[rainbow-cobra-blog]

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 - Release

There's an Ideal way to play Star Wars Battlefront 2's 40-player Galactic Assault mode. I haven't mastered it, but it is about maximizing the point value of every life and spending these points in the perfect way at the ideal time. "Man, I want more things to unlock Yoda" is something someone could say on TV to signify they're a gamer. I have said that multiple times. I am a mockery. However, I do enjoy it. I do need those points. If the effort's narrative were improved and the development system not so irritating, I might have liked Battlefront 2.

I am Mostly speaking about Battle Points, which are earned and spent mid-match to spawn as X-wings, AT-STs, leap troopers, Wookiees, and all sorts of other Star Wars combatants, including heroes and villains such as Yoda, Rey, and Kylo Ren. Your primary goal in any multiplayer mode isn't your team's objective, whether that is blowing up a giant transportation tank at Theed or stealing an AT-AT on Endor. It is earning those things so you can do some real harm.

When I have too few things to spawn as anything trendy, the race Playing as a regular trooper feels like being an extra in the movies, as you're likely to get smushed by walkers and also have your courage cauterized by lightsabers close to the conclusion of a match. It's fun to be a part of the spectacle, but the next time Darth Maul murders you that the pleasure wears off. Conversely, once I have spent things to spawn as a particular droid or a man on a speeder bike or Rey herself, my entire life becomes precious, and I become attentive--personalities are dominant, but not unkillable.

Every small Killstreak: more points! Every goal play: more things! I'm excited, sometimes frustrated, as I work to make a strong character, and then I get there, and I feel like a god who only found out he is mortal and so is extremely pissed off about it--scared to perish, but eager to crush stuff.Most of my time is invested as a regular trooper, however, and the primary shooting is more enjoyable in the effort, where the attention is all on spectacle (since it certainly wasn't about the narrative). There, many enemies are weak enough to kill in 1 headshot, while in multiplayer shields can take a beating, so making most kills feel nostalgic: my shot occurred to connect with someone whose shields were already at 20 percent. Along with the map layout, though beautiful, can result in some dull struggles. In the confined spaces most maps finally push both groups into-- room to defend, like the Mos Eisley Cantina--it's a lot of reckless charges and grenade spamming, or piling up on walls and playing peek-a-boo.

Every class has three special abilities, which Change in utility and fun. The Officer course can drop an auto-turret, but it is a puny small machine which makes very little difference--it feels pointless. The whistling sound impact loop that plays while it is equipped is sound adrenaline, and its lethality makes it much more entertaining than the stock blasters.

The most peculiar thing about the Battle Points mill is its impact on teamwork. Building a cautious approach as a squad isn't a reasonable thing to do in Battlefront like it is in the Rising Storm and Battlefield series. It is a race for points, and also in a race that you operate, usually directly in the objective (a jog that takes too long on many Galactic Assault maps) to lob a grenade and attempt to score some frantic kills before dying. From the Starfighter Assault area dogfighting manner, I find that players also tend to focus on player eliminations before objectives, which include fleets of AI controlled ships to assault and mines to ruin.

DICE creates an Effort to fix this: when you respawn, you are automatically placed into a squad, and playing near your squadmates makes you double Battle Points. But usually, my squadmates break off and do their things anyhow, or perish too quickly to help. They're hungry for those points, but it is a personal pursuit. I'm annoyed when someone catches an Ion Cannon before I could to burst the MTT on Theed because playing the goal earns points, and these points should've been mine. It doesn't make for cohesive groups.

Unlocking Luke

You will find even more points, known as Credits, a non-cash currency you Earn by playing matches and attaining milestones--the better you represent, the more Credits you receive.

Star Cards are a Largely dull method to produce your classes, ships, ground vehicles, and heroes more powerful (I'll refer to all these things as 'classes' from here on to make it simpler). They're like Call of Duty's perks, except you can equip three in a time each class so long as you have sufficiently leveled up that category, and lots of them are direct buffs. More wellness. Abilities recharge quicker. Increased primary weapon harm.

I Do not enjoy it, and I doubt I will no matter how much EA tweaks that the speed I get Credits or the expense of unlocking heroes such as Luke Skywalker. I don't want to quit matches to visit the 'career' page to gradually redeem Credits for each small milestone. I don't want to fight somebody whose TIE-fighter is numerically more potent than my ship.

A number of the Star Cards are trade-offs--exchange your sanity for a missile That locks on to vehicles, for example--and I don't have an issue with those. I also don't mind that new firearms and attachments require earning kills with a class, although it sure takes a long time. But I don't wish to poke through a hundred menu displays (not an exaggeration) equipping little upgrades which make my weapons cooldown quicker, and I do not wish to fight a participant who has.

It is a system that instills doubt, and They probably did, but how do I know their updated Star Cards weren't the difference maker? Did I mention you can update them? Sometimes you'll get Crafting Parts in loot boxes that can be used to make specific Star Cards you need, and upgrade current ones to make them stronger. It's too much.

When the premium currency was still accessible (microtransactions were temporarily eliminated On November 16), I did not feel much pressure to buy anything, because I earned those orbits I don't want at a good enough pace (I could unlock Luke when I need) and, frankly, I probably wasn't really becoming crushed because I'd like fewer Star Cards than more-skilled competitions. However, my difficulty isn't only that gamers could purchase electricity, though that's frustrating. It is that, to facilitate micro-transactions, development is slow, over-complicated, and unfun. I am skeptical that it will get more interesting and less problematic before the premium currency comes back unless it is overhauled and the returning micro-transactions use only for makeup.

The Effort

Outside of multiplayer and all that progression nonsense, the Four-to-five hour campaign is a pretty good time. The story is bland but well-acted and there are some amusing lines and entertaining cameos.

You primarily play as There is one special smash cut meant to demonstrate that Versio made a moral decision which I thought was a bug at first, because of how little persuasive she needed. It feels like a comic book that was drawn before it had been composed. Every other page includes an exquisitely-inked conflict we have to reach, so in between a few speech bubbles are full of to explain why our personalities are involved in it.

After a few missions, the characters all do precisely what they say They are going to do, and all agree with each other all the time. Their significant choices are made whimsically, and they mostly grow off-screen as we leap between the galaxy's famed battles. The dialogue itself can be amusing and smart, but the larger story is inconsistent as if large chunks were cut--except in one specific mission that slows down things.

Utilizing The Force using a lightsaber is suitably simple, and I awakened how it made me worry more about defeating a military with style than perishing. As a fanatic of this galaxy, it wouldn't make sense for a Stormtrooper to even scratch me, and there is a fun game to trying to create my playthrough canon, mixing up cool skills the way I think the character would. Holding down the perfect mouse button to auto-parry the same blaster fire I'd been hiding from in the preceding mission feels badass.

In assignments without space magical, However, Battlefront 2 is not too hard. In the singleplayer and multiplayer, the speedy fighter ships are trying to maneuver but get close enough, and my primary weapon will soft-lock on an enemy--so that I feel skilled at dogfighting. However, I'm not likely to do it with no targeting computer.

On the floor, I'm neither pinned to cover nor allowed to run around where I want. Just a couple of enemy types are spongy, and the remainder often goes flying through the air using a single grenade or headshot, which makes for proper-looking Star Wars battles. It strikes a pleasure balance between fragility and power, letting me perform with enough bravado to experiment, but not too much that I do not need to eye my shield meter and retreat to cover when sprinkled.

The major annoyance is that the checkpointed saves, particularly in the distance. Slightly too slow at destroying all the bombers because you moved off to explore before the prompt showed up? Do the entire segment over. Did a great job with the bombers but accidentally trimmed some debris? Start over. And as there's no ammo to discover on the ground--firearms generate heat which must be dissipated--there's disappointingly little to research the main route. In the first assignment's light stealth section, for example, corridors I was not supposed to return only led to closed doors.

I've encountered a few bugs, as well. The most Egregious was when I defended my grounded boat from endless waves of Enemies for many minutes--I wasn't counting--before realizing something Must be erroneous. A ramp was designed to fall a couple of moments in so that I could escape. At Least it occurred on the next attempt.