Zomgfruitbunnies

Looks fine, honestly. Just somewhat concerned about how they're going to handle the timeline considering the trailer shows story bits from the Slaughter of Cintra to the origins of Yennefer. That's a substantial amount of time there. Also, which Geralt they're going to go for, because book Geralt is super fucking dry and a lot of the story works out the way it does due to him being like that.

@seikenfreak: @snakelinksonic: Oh, I'm not in any particular hurry to hit level cap or anything. People have said the story is fairly good so I do want to see as much of it as possible. It's just the quest design being notably archaic in certain instances getting in the way of enjoyment. If I'm going to be sent across zones to talk to someone, at least toss in some things to be done along the way. Going back and forth between cities and areas only to click on npcs for conversation just feels bad. People give WoW a lot of flak these days for one reason or another, but it knows how to tell stories through its quests and manages the flow extraordinarily well.

I'll be back home in Vancouver come next week for about a month, so naturally more hours to dedicated to some games. The internet here in Shanghai is great for domestic sites and stuff, but it's choppy at best when connecting to NA and EU. We'll see how far I get juggling three MMOs and working at weird hours at the same time.

:D

@snakelinksonic: That... sounds rough. Not being able to get an accurate feel for the combat until level 50 seems like a bummer.

You're totally right about the main quest thing. I progressed it some more last night and more quests started opening up in places I've already been to. And dungeons sure give a lot of EXP.

I was reading a topic on the FFXIV subreddit yesterday and it seems the general consensus regarding ARR questing is that it sucks ass. From HW onward it's supposed to get a lot better. The thing I current find the most annoying is the sheer amount of running around between different steps of the same quest. Even with teleport it still feels like a chore.

Looking to make a character on Ultros, but it's always congested :/

Hey, duders.

Downloaded the trial and gave this a shot over the weekend. Made it to 21 on a Gladiator and have some questions:

1) Maybe BDO has spoiled me at this point when it comes to combat, but FFXIV feels really slow in this regard. Does the pace ever pick up? I have, like, 5 abilities and they are ALL ON THE GCD. The class abilities are there but I hardly use 'em outside of instances.

2) Questing is super dull. Every 5 levels I get a guild quest that sends me on a mission that's mildly engaging. The rest of the time I'm not sure what to do. Running around in a level appropriate zone sometimes gets me some quests, but most of the time I'm doing bounty quests (whatever they're called in-game) or FATEs. Honestly super lost.

3) The map design is awful. At least, in the handful of zones I've been in so far. Is this just a FF/JRPG thing? Does it get better later on?

Sorry if this comes across really negative, but I'm finding it really hard to get into this. I did, however, discover the Golden Saucer and ended up playing mahjong in-game for most of Sunday, lol.

Would be cool, but given that this is Dota we're talking about, highly unlikely. Also, time zone differences this year means we're looking at something like 4 in the morning. I was looking forward to attending this year since it's in Shanghai, but couldn't get any tickets.

@sombre: I would be for a Soul Eater remake only if Omigawa Chiaki deliberately brings back her terrible voice acting as Maka.

I'm surprised that people are surprised about Dany's turn this week. If Missandei's last word isn't a huge enough flag, I don't know what is. Considering how every major story beat is essentially circular, there is zero chance Dany does not go down the same path as her dad. Given what we've seen this week, I'm pretty comfortable making some bold(?) predictions about new week:

Who gets the Iron Throne: Gendry. Yes, fucking Gendry. We've almost come full circle on this major plot point. We started with a Baratheon king, we will end with a Baratheon king. And there are no more legitimate successors left other than motherfucking Gendry. Why do you think all of the sudden he got so much screen time? Yeah.

What happens to Dany and Jon: Dany dies. Killed by someone closest to her. Kill by Jon. Another full circle. Dany and Jon are eachother's antithesis. Someone who desperately wants to rule but is inadequate versus someone who is more capable but actively avoids the throne despite being constantly thrust into positions of power. Jon returns to the North and finally gets out of this game of thrones he never wanted to be part of.

The last dragon: probably falls into some body of water like his other siblings. The dragons are born in fire, so the water symbolism is apt. If this whole thing is to wrap up neatly, dragons cannot exist because they are a huge influence on the power balance of the continent.

The North and Sansa: this is probably my most "out there" prediction - Sansa marries Gendry. Like, who else is left at this point? Also the best way to consolidate an alliance. Arya, some will say, but that's not happening because I suspect the Jaqen stuff is not completely done.

Tyrion, Grey Worm, and the lot: All going to die. Maybe except Davos. I suppose maybe Grey Worm survives, but unlikely. No fucking way Tyrion makes it out of this alive. There's still some stuff left on Essos so I'd wager we'll that next week.

When the season started, I would have never made these precitions, but it certainly seems to be where we're heading right now.

Still haven't had time to really dig into the new season, but did watch an episode of Sarazanmai and WTF. Then I looked up the credits and saw Ikuhara's name and it all made sense.

Also watched some Kimetsu no Yaiba. Solid stuff, will keep tabs.

Lovely episode in a lot of ways, but also some weird shots and bugs that really stood out. Despite the way the ending makes me think this isn't quite over, it's probably over because they likely don't have the budget for another one of these battles plus the unresolved matter with Cersei. Atmosphere is just super, super great. Many of the deaths could have been executed better.

Looking forward to next week.

Does the Epic store work in Hong Kong at all? Living and working in China for almost ten years now, will be in Hong Kong for a few days later this week, so if it's functional there maybe I'll give this thing a whirl.