elby

I definitely have been bitten as well. What a great game--and I don't really see the pay to win trappings yet. Maybe I'm just naïve, but they're not massive advantages. Not that that makes it right, but I still feel comfortable playing for now.

I'm ElbyBrick in game and my trainer #6KM6X16

My mains are Eldegoss, Venusaur, and Charizard. I prefer playing support, but am planning on branching out since looking at some tier lists and seeing Charizard and Venusaur's terrible rankings (which I don't agree with). In ranked, as support, I'll also come in 3rd, 4th, or 5th. As non-support, I'm usually 2nd or 1st, but I doubt ranked is too competitive yet.

I'm on the East Cost, so EST.

Great Class 2 as well.

I'm looking to win, but mostly have fun!

@reap3r160: Yeah, the people who are responsible and everyone in the hierarchy above them need to face an independent criminal investigation. Someone or some people need to go to prison. Until this starts happening, this type of garbage will continue to run rampant in this and every other industry.

@bmccann42: Hey, you're on the front line combating abuse like this, so as long as you're remaining vigilant and working toward the right goals, you have a lot more power than the rest of us to fix these types of situations. I appreciate you for that and thank you for whatever pressure you've already applied.

And I essentially forgot all about the Hong Kong/Blizzard stuff until you mentioned it despite that being a cause I also care about. This is why we need much more than a negative public opinion to punish companies for their loosey goosey stance on human rights.

Ugh, this is all disgusting. It's been since Overwatch that I've given Activision/Blizzard any of my money and I'm not sure what else I can do to show my displeasure directly to them because being angry about it on Twitter or in public really doesn't do any good and just causes more negativity.

Has anyone ever written to a government representative stating that you're angry about the abuse in this industry and want it to end? I don't live in California, so anyone I ostensibly have the ear of is outside of the area where they could have much of an effect on Activision, buuut I suppose I could write to the Californian representatives anyway.

Or it's likely also happening in my area (depressingly). I think I will try this.

@wollywoo: It feels like the scope of Skyrim is rarely approached by other studios, so I'm glad to hear that we've had enough releases in the ten years since Skyrim that people are no longer satisfied with that world. I've been playing it recently in VR (which I would not recommend given how many hours it took me to get it working), and the world is incredibly detailed to a level that I did not appreciate playing it on a screen. If Breath of the Wild or Red Dead Redemption 2 has people expecting that Bethesda focus on the systems in their next games, I cannot imagine the "living" worlds we'll see in the future. Very exciting!

@nicksmi56: "Too slow" may be coming from someone who's pretty picky. The techradar article I read is someone saying it's 20% slower than a SATA SSD or going back to 2015 speeds... I don't have a PS5, so I can't speak to how game-changing these new speeds are, but I've definitely noticed diminishing returns in load times for PC gaming since getting my first SSD around 2015.

Sounds like typical "PC master race" BS to me. They're noticeably longer loads, but unless I'm comparing them outright, I doubt I'd take any offense at them.

@nicksmi56: The Index has been very difficult to get. I was on a waitlist for over three months last year to get one. There were extenuating circumstances, but those circumstances (chip shortage, included) will extend well into next year and beyond. If you have the means, and you think you'll want one, get your name on the list sooner rather than later. It's only $5.

They won't discontinue it after the initial sale or anything, though, so if you want to take a wait and see approach, you totally can.

@retris: I don't remember hearing that, but I haven't been the best listener over the last year and a half for various reasons. It would be awesome if true!

I hate to add fuel to the fire, especially since it seems like it's dying down here, but I haven't seen the possibility of non-compete clauses and employment contracts factoring in to others' speculation. It's likely Red Ventures bought Giant Bomb and worked out with Jeff that he'd be contractually obligated to stick around. I could see them thinking that without Jeff, there is no point in owning Giant Bomb. This may be similar with Jeff Bakalar and CNET, but they also worked it out that he'd transfer over.

Similarly, I think the simplest explanation for this whole exodus from Giant Bomb is exactly what Vinny, Brad, and Alex said it is: they were tired of answering to a corporate overlord. Since they were not contractually obligated to stay like the Jeffs likely were, and since so many of their friends were having great success on Patreon, they figured they'd be their own bosses again and left.

Again, purely speculation, but this scenario explains why there's no ill-will between the staff and former staff, but also why they don't really full-throatily endorse each other. Bottom line, I like all these people a whole lot, I wish them all success, and I am so excited to see where both groups go in the future! I also hope that they'll come together again some time after the newness wears off and we can get some ultimate collaborations.

@quasiconundrum: I'm with you. Over the last year, I lost most of my interest in Giant Bomb, and I felt like I was moving on. Over the last month, however, I feel it's been rekindled. I like the remaining staff, I like Danny guesting so often, and I have the utmost faith in the Jeffs to come up with a great new concept for the site.

I will never not miss Vinny, Alex, and Brad, but I will never not miss Austin, Abby, and Dan, too. I will always cherish the past, but the future looks promising.