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This Week At Bungie 1/28/2021

Source: https://www.bungie.net/en/News/Article/50040
This week at Bungie, we introduce Seasonal Challenges.
Welcome to the second-to-last TWAB of Season of the Hunt. Many of you have been navigating the secrets of the Harbinger mission, uncovering randomly rolled Hawkmoons and earning the Radiant Accipiter Exotic ship. Content-wise, we’re coming to a close for the Season, and we’re incredibly excited for what’s to come in just a few short weeks. We’ve been covering some upcoming quality of life changes to Destiny 2, like the return of Umbral Engrams, but it’s almost time to take a peek at fresh content.
Season of the [REDACTED] trailer goes live on February 2, 2021.
Before we get there, we have a new feature to cover, Seasonal Challenges, and a round of weapon-focused sandbox changes to walk through. As a warning, this is a pretty large amount of information in a small space. We've joked about "meaty" TWAB's before, but this one may feel a bit overwhelming if you rush through it. Let's take it slow, step by step, and get through it together in one piece.

Introducing: Seasonal Challenges

Over the last year, we’ve been looking at ways in which we can reduce the amount of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) in Destiny 2. We’ve recently made some changes to Seasons and how Seasonal content is available throughout a given year of Destiny 2. This week, we’re looking to bounties and Bright Dust, introducing a new system not only to remove FOMO, but give fresh ways to earn XP and alternate rewards. To walk us through the ins and outs of Seasonal Challenges, we pass the mic to the Development team.
Dev team: During production of Beyond Light, we started looking at the problems of bounty fatigue and FOMO, as well as Seasonal legibility (i.e., “What is in a Season?” and “How to I engage with it when I log in?”). We created a few goals which we believe will improve the experience:
  • Provide a guide to new, returning, and veteran players for what to do today/this week.
  • Guide the player through the Seasonal content, week-over-week.
  • Encourage players to engage with complexities and nuances of the Seasonal activity and rituals.
  • Reduce the penalties on XP and Bright Dust for missing a given week.
To solve these goals, we are introducing a new pursuit type for players – Seasonal Challenges. The Seasonal Challenges live on their own page, are accessed through the Quest Log or Season Pass, and are separated by week.
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Here’s a quick breakdown of how this feature works:
  • Every week, for the first 10 weeks of a Season, between 3 and 10 new Challenges appear automatically for players.
    • Some of the Challenges deal with the Seasonal content.
    • Others push players to complete strikes, Gambit, and the Crucible, or to focus on non-activity focused Destiny rituals, like gaining Power, unlocking Seasonal Artifact mods, or improving guns and armor.
  • These Challenges can only be completed once per account, but once they become available, these Challenges can be completed at any time before the end of the Season, and do not need to be started or picked up from a vendor.
    • As an example, if a player doesn’t play for weeks 2 through 4, they can return on week 5 and have all of those Challenges waiting for them!
  • Completing each Challenge awards XP, contributing to your Season Pass ranks.
    • Other rewards could be Bright Dust, Seasonal currency, or other interesting items!
In moving away from weekly bounties, which were restricted to broad objectives tied to ritual activities, we have taken more leeway with creating some interesting or more difficult Challenges. These may be things you are already doing, or things that test your ability. Some examples include:
  • Defeating Primeval Envoys in Gambit
  • Defeating enemies in Nightfall: The Ordeal with Seasonal weapons
  • Gaining Infamy or Valor ranks
  • Acquiring the ritual weapon and its cosmetic ornaments
  • Winning rounds in Trials of Osiris
  • Completing a Grandmaster Nightfall
Not all the Challenges will require that level of accomplishment, but the harder or longer the Challenge is, the more experience it rewards. Challenges that focus on the Seasonal activity and ritual mostly need the Season Pass to complete, but most of the ritual focused Challenges can be completed without the Season Pass. Overall, roughly 60% of the Seasonal Challenges do not require the Season Pass.
With the changes above, we are removing weekly bounties from the three ritual vendors (Zavala, Shaxx, and Drifter), Banshee-44, and the Seasonal vendor. These vendors will still have daily bounties which reward XP, and the three ritual vendors will still have repeatable bounties for those of you who want to pursue additional XP and Bright Dust.
Lastly – most of the Challenges disappear after the Season they were introduced, and anything that isn’t claimed will be lost. We don’t add any new Challenges after Week 10 – which should give everyone a few weeks to clean up any Challenges they didn’t finish. Any Challenge that rewards unique or Seasonal items (currencies, lore books, Seasonal weapons, etc.) – can be completed as long as the Seasonal activity is in the game, but XP awarded for completing the challenge will only be available during the season it was introduced.
Let’s Talk Bright Dust
Back before Beyond Light launched, we discussed some of the goals around the changes to Bright Dust. As a refresher, we wanted to change the way you earn Bright Dust and move more towards account-specific paths to give players with only one character significantly more Bright Dust than they've been earning over the last year. In Season 13, we’ll be continuing to move toward these goals by adding Bright Dust onto Seasonal Challenges.
Since you no longer have to purchase weekly ritual bounties, each of the strike, Crucible, and Gambit Seasonal Challenges will award between 75 and 300 Bright Dust. We are also introducing an end-of-Season Bright Dust bonus – if you complete (nearly) all of the Seasonal Challenges, we are awarding a single 4,000 Bright Dust pile.
Additionally, each ritual vendor challenge (“Complete 8 bounties”) awards 120 Bright Dust for each character who completes it each week. And because this is prompted by the removal of weekly bounties, the only Seasonal Challenges that will be awarding Bright Dust are the ones that both Season Pass owners and free players can complete. Here’s a quick breakdown of how much Bright Dust you should expect to earn over the course of Season 13.

Seasonal Challenges Bright Dust (All Players)
  • Free Seasonal Activities – 6,000
  • Seasonal Extra – 4,000
  • Total – 10,000 Bright Dust
Season Pass Bright Dust
  • Free Path – 7,500 (All Players)
  • Paid Path – 3,000 (Players who own Season Pass)
  • Total – 10,500 Bright Dust
Weekly Ritual Vendor Challenge Bright Dust (All Players)
  • 120 Bright Dust per ritual vendor, per character, per week
    • 14,040 total if completing all required weekly Challenges over the course of Season 13
Additionally, we still plan to offer weekly and repeatable Bright Dust bounties for Seasonal events, giving you a bit more Bright Dust towards desired rewards.
As a final note, please be sure to claim all Seasonal Challenges that award Bright Dust prior to the end of a Season. Once a Season ends, associated Challenges and their Bright Dust rewards will expire and can no longer be claimed.
It’s always exciting when we bring a new feature online for Destiny 2. We hope that the changes detailed above make it easier to create goals to complete each week. As always, we’re eager to hear your feedback once you start finishing your first Seasonal Challenges, so please sound off with your thoughts!

Back to the Sandbox

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Every Season, we have a collection of changes to the Destiny 2 sandbox to spice things up a bit. This Season, we’re making some targeted changes to weapon archetypes that need some love as well as beginning some preparations for crossplay.
Dev team: In preparation for crossplay, coming later this year, we’re making some changes to the Recoil stat.
Currently, several weapon archetypes have their Recoil reduced by around 40% (dependent on archetype) when using mouse and keyboard. This results in an issue where players on mouse and keyboard are able to largely ignore the stability weapon stat, creating unintended discrepancies in weapon performance between controllers and mouse and keyboard.
The following weapon archetypes will have their mouse and keyboard Recoil adjusted closer to controller (reduced the difference from ~40% to ~20%).
  • Auto Rifle
  • Scout Rifle
  • Pulse Rifle
  • Submachine Gun
  • Hand Cannon
  • Machine Gun
In the case of Pulse Rifle, Submachine Gun, and Machine Gun, we will also be introducing some buffs. In some cases, these weapons will have less Recoil across both Controller and mouse and keyboard input methods compared to what’s in the game today.
  • Submachine Guns are largely outclassed by Auto Rifles at medium range, and by Sidearms at short range, with player feedback often mentioning how hard they are to control. To address this feedback, we’re introducing the following change:
    • Reduced camera movement from firing a Submachine Gun by 24%.
  • Pulse Rifles with the mouse and keyboard changes were kicking a little too much.
    • Reduced camera movement from firing a Pulse Rifle by 7%.
  • Machine Guns with the mouse and keyboard changes were kicking a little too much.
    • Reduced camera movement from firing a Machine Gun by 9.5%.
We will pay close attention to how these changes play out when they go live, and plan to revisit individual archetypes in a future update as needed.
Outside of Recoil adjustments, we will also be tuning a few weapon archetypes in Season 13. Looking through backend data and community feedback, we landed on the following:
Buffs
  • Rocket Launchers have fallen behind other Heavy weapons in most measures of effectiveness, we’re pushing them more into a burst damage role.
    • Increased Rocket Launcher damage by 30%.
    • Exotic Rocket Launchers have been adjusted individually and are affected by this change to different degrees.
    • Paired with the buffs to reserves from last Season, we’re hoping you’ll explode many more things in Season 13!
  • Fusion Rifle usage is very low, and they feel like an unreliable choice in Crucible compared to Shotguns.
    • Increased Fusion Rifle damage falloff start distance based on Range stat. (6% with 0 Range, 16% with 100 Range)
    • Reduced camera movement from firing a Fusion Rifle by 9.5%.
  • Breech Grenade Launcher usage is very low (outside of Mountaintop). We believe part of the reason is that the loop of "hold the trigger to arm, then release to detonate” is challenging to execute, particularly since projectiles can bounce off targets if the trigger is held
    • Breech Grenade Launcher projectiles will now detonate on impact with a character, even if holding the trigger.
Nerfs
  • While Sniper Rifle usage has dropped in Crucible, we’ve observed that it’s hard to challenge someone with a Sniper Rifle – even if you get the first shot on an enemy, they can often respond and win the fight.
    • Increased ADS flinch to Snipers when taking damage from other players
  • Swords are extremely dominant in PvE. At this time, 65% of players are using Swords for the majority of gameplay encounters in Destiny 2. While we are introducing a buff to Rocket Launchers to make them a bit more enticing, we feel that Swords do too much damage compared to other options.
    • Reduced Sword damage by 15%.
Exotic Changes and Bug Fixes
  • Some Exotic weapons lose their buffs when you switch weapons, which is intended. They would also lose their buffs when pulling out your Ghost Shell, which is not intended. Fixed that issue on these weapons:
    • Ace of Spades
    • Tarrabah
    • Hawkmoon
  • Borealis and Hard Light now have a custom (quite short) animation for switching damage type.
  • Duality
    • Increased damage falloff distance by 1.25m (while both firing from the hip and aiming down sights).
    • Reduced maximum buff stacks from 7 to 5, each stack now grants more of a damage bonus, extended buff duration slightly.
  • Sturm will once again reload any equipped Special slot weapon on kill provided the Special weapon's clip isn't full already and there's available reserve ammo.
  • Fixed an issue that was preventing Merciless from increasing its charge rate on non-lethal hits.
Ah, and before we go – we are planning to take a quick tuning pass on Arbalest. This won’t be ready in time for February 9, but we are expecting to have this touched later in Season 13!
Now, we know it can be difficult to understand the scale of buffs and nerfs without having these changes in your hands. Not to mention, there will be some new perks for you to hunt as you start navigating content in Season of the [REDACTED]. As always, we’re excited to see these changes out in the wild on February 9, and will be eager to hear your feedback.

Crimson Days

Each year, we look to February as a time to celebrate bonds of friendship throughout the community. Guardians have come to know this celebration as Crimson Days. It was one of our first “Seasonal” events in Destiny 1, a tradition that we carried to Destiny 2. While there was great enjoyment of Crimson Days, we feel that it’s been missing the mark in terms of quality over the last few years.
As such, we have made the decision to discontinue Crimson Days moving forward. While we’ll miss the event, this move will allow us to maintain focus for alternate Seasonal offerings, ranging from quests to activities and more. We have quite a bit planned for Season of the [REDACTED] and our hope is that we’ve maintained, or even improved, the quality you’ve come to expect from this upcoming release.
Some of you may be asking about the fate of Crimson Doubles, our once-a-year Crimson Days playlist. This mode is currently being shifted to the Destiny Content Vault but may return in the future.
Many thanks to every Guardian who has joined us over the years for this event. Crimson decorations may not be hung in the Tower, but we have no doubts that you’ll continue to form Crimson Bonds over the years to come.

BugTrax

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For those who may be new to the TWAB, welcome to the Player Support Report. This section is dedicated to known issues, active investigations, and pending updates for Destiny 2. Our Player Support team navigates the Help forum daily, collecting info on new issues and dishing out help articles.
This is their report on the most frequently reported issues of the last week.
CRUCIBLE TOKENS AND FRAGMENT QUESTS
Due to the updates to the vendor progression system, Crucible Tokens and Crucible Token Gifts are no longer needed and will be deprecated into Junk that will delete as a full stack starting in Season 13. Additionally, current Stasis Fragment Quests will be deprecated at the end of Season of the Hunt. Players are advised to turn in all Crucible Tokens and Crucible Token Gifts and finish all available Stasis Fragment Quests before Season 13 starts.
KNOWN ISSUES
While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help forum:
  • Stasis abilities can be difficult to distinguish between enemy and friendly for colorblind players.
  • The Double Trouble Triumph is unobtainable.
  • In the Deep Stone Crypt raid, the augment lockout timer occasionally resets during the final encounter against Taniks.
  • During the final fight against the Sanctified Mind in the Garden of Salvation raid, sometimes a shielded tether box can become tethered instead of the correct glowing tether box.
  • Hunter legs clip through the Ten-Grasp Sword Sparrow.
  • In the Last Wish raid, the Shuro Chi puzzle room plates don't work if a Titan bubble or Warlock well are placed on them.
  • The Titan Phenotype Plasticity Helm eye clusters no longer glow red.
  • Weekly and daily elemental kill bounties have stopped rotating off of Void.
  • When overcharging grenades while using the Voidwalker top tree subclass as a Warlock, Super energy stops charging.
For a full list of emergent issues in Destiny 2, players can review our Known Issues article. Players who observe other issues should report them to our #Help forum.

[Bird Noises Intensify]

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It’s been fun watching Hawkmoon clips and montages throughout the Season. With recently introduced random rolls, players have been pushing the limits of this Exotic, taking on 1v1 encounters in the Crucible that they may have otherwise avoided. This week, our top pick not only got a sweet roll on perks, but a killer roll on audio, too!
Movie of the Week: Ting Ting Ting Ting
Video Link
Movie of the Week: Deep Stone Lullaby Violin/Piano Cover
Video Link
Movie of the Week: …That’s a lot of Hawkmoon
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As always, if you'd like to submit your creation to be featured in a future TWAB, make sure to create a post on the Community Creations portal of Bungie.net.

Credit Where It’s Due

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Every day, we take a moment to scroll through various social media apps to take a look at community artwork. We’re always awestruck by the talents that many of you possess, and eager to share your works with a wider audience.
Here’s a quick roundup of some sweet art, and direct links to their authors. Give them a follow if you want to see more of their stuff!
Art of the Week: Art Sharing
destiny art share!!! spread the positivity, doesn't matter how frequently you do art or how many pieces you've made - post your favorites!! #Destiny2Art #DestinyArtShare pic.twitter.com/bq6hHJrCLD
— 🥀alex🥀🏳️‍🌈 (@miyagiie) January 25, 2021
Art of the Week: Eris
나는야 내일부터 월급쟁이 #냙서 pic.twitter.com/MI6Y6Gi1LY
— 🧅김냘본™🍺 (@NyarNyarbon) January 17, 2021
Cheers, and make sure to tag your content with some form of #Destiny2Art so we can find you easily!
That’s it for this week, folks. Season of the [REDACTED] is almost here. We’ll have some patch previews to cover in the TWAB next week, so stop by if you’re interested!
If this gets 7 likes we'll add a new LZ on Europa next Season.
— Destiny 2 (@DestinyTheGame) January 27, 2021
We’ll see you again next week, bright and early on Tuesday morning.
Cheers,
dmg04
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[Mobile Gaming] How the Nyan Cat led to the death knell for a popular mobile game- the downfall of RWBY Amity Arena.

Note: Many of the links are to the Amity Arena Library, a website devoted to the game which includes tracking the history of it through patchnotes and a running history of what cards entered and left the meta. Their website was a valuable resource for this post.
Mobile gaming has taken off like a wildfire since the advent of the smartphone boosted the average processing power a phone could carry. Initially it took the form of crossing over older, more easily runnable games onto the mobile market to... mixed success, but in recent years we've seen both the West and East use mobile gaming to replace the old fashioned movie tie in game. It's easily accessable, has a much wider reach than consoles or PC, you can take it on the go and standards are inherently lower for mobile games than they are a full 60 dollar game.
Since the 2010s, mobile gaming has shifted to what's called the "Freemium" module. The game itself is free to download and start playing, but is insideously designed with obnoxious paywalls or artificial limiters put in place to limit how much you can play each day. If the game is part of a pre-existing franchise, additional money can be made through a premium currency or a chance to obtain high-powered units by rolling a slot machine random chance mechanic. And thus, gacha gaming was born. This sub has had several threads in the past on high profile gacha games, such as the monolithic Fate Grand/Order, Pokemon Go or Genshin Impact. One of the more popular things to roll for in gachas as a consequence is wallpapers for your homescreen, especially for high-grade units as they're usually animated to move a little bit on the homescreen. Today we're looking a low to mid-tier gacha game that rose and fell with the advent of one catgirl. Let's talk RWBY.
RWBY is an online web anime made by Rooster Teeth focusing on four prospective monster hunters who get embroiled in a world-spanning shadow war. It's of debatable quality in matters of animation, combat, voice acting, story, worldbuilding, romance, and it's kind of a little racist if I'm being honest, but one of the major positives of RWBY is that the series tends to have good character design. Series creator Monty Oum set in the guidelines for the show while making it that most if not every design should be made to be cosplay friendly, hence why most of the outfits have things most costume designers haven't heard of like... pockets. And Rooster Teeth, above all else, likes making money. So they know people like RWBY's character designs, enough so that in 2017 plans were made to release a gacha game themed around RWBY called Amity Arena, which would be developed by Korean company NHN Entertainment.
Amity Arena is a PvP tower defense game. Each player controls two turrets and a tower and has three minutes to use units themed from the show to destroy the other player's structures. Whoever took out more wins, destroying a tower is an instant victory. When the game launched, it had three tiers for units- Common (generally held for mooks or low-tier characters in the show), Rare (roughly protagonist-level or elite mooks go here) and Epic (High tier characters usually with an active ability that did lots of damage or stopped enemies in their tracks). The game launched in October 2018 to generally positive reviews from both mobile game players and RWBY fans alike. Fans were happy to get a lot of new official art for the characters in the game and the base gameplay loop was fun. Criticism at the time was largely themed around the lack of content besides PVP matches and some issues with the meta but overall, the launch went well. Each month, the developers would add new units, including popular characters like Neopolitian, Cinder Fall, Zwei the dog, and more.
But everything changed with February 20th 2019, which introduced Neon Katt, the titular catgirl (RWBY characters are themed around fairytales, except for Neon, who is themed around Nyan Cat, and her partner Flynt Coal, who is themed off a potentially racist joke made by Rooster Teeth).
Neon is a character from RWBY Volume 3 who's part of a team that RWBY face during a tournament arc. Her partner, Flynt Coal, was part of the game at launch, and Neon would join him a few months later. Neon in the show is a cocky fighter who taunts the heroes and zips around on rollarskates, which in-game is represented by Neon skating towards the nearest enemy structure to her and hitting it, while all units within a radius of Neon are taunted and provoked into attacking her above all other targets unless they-selves are coded to hit structures. On its own, not a bad idea for a unit, but Neon came with four big caveats:
From the word go, Neon is an unpopular unit; she's clearly overbalanced and elements such as the Disco Bear glitch have players thinking she'll have to get knocked down in a nerf- she'll either be made slower, more expensive, or able to die pre-hitting a structure, right?
Neon doesn't show up in the next patch. Instead, before she's fixed, an entire new class of units called Legendaries are introduced, and this is where the game goes full gacha. Legendaries were meant to represent the highest tier characters in the game, the ones who were either the most popular characters or the highest-tier fighters in the show. Or in some cases, the popular ships such as combo cards for White Rose (Ruby/Weiss), Bumblebee (Blake/Yang) and Flower Power (Ren/Nora). Legendaries, representing their value, were impossibly rare and had an infinitely small chance of actually appearing (The most reliable method was to buy the premium chests and hope you'd roll a Legendary, which often cost tons of money), and if you did get one, there was no way to guess which Legendary you'd actually get. Some such as White Rose and Adam were high tier units, others like Hazel or Checkmate were... kinda broken at launch. The playerbase isn't happy at this, especially as free to play players are left out in the cold and reliant on the game giving them high tier units effectively out of pity.
Neon would get a small nerf in the April patch which lessened her taunt range and killed the Disco Bear meta, but her invincibility would be left untouched, even as players submitted feedback regarding how to make it more efficient. The official Amity Arena discord has a weekly feedback section on Tuesdays where players could submit up to four suggestions on how to nerf/buff units and general requests for quality of life such as "Can this character get a new skin from this part of the show," or "Can we have an option to lower music volume that's not just muting all music?" (they never did add that second request) Neon would then remain in this state until the November patch, despite constant weekly requests for a Neon rework, and all it would do is make Neon functionally mortal, in that she had a flat shield bar of 20 that would be lowered by one for each attack before the next hit would kill her. Neon could now die... but your chances of actually doing enough damage to stop her were slim, and regardless, you were now at a serious Aura defecit.
It took seven months for this one unit to get a substantial nerf, all while the game added new units every week and the number of units being affected by patches each month began to gradually sink. To round up some of the major issues people had with Amity that developed throughout 2019 alongside Neon's general existance making life hell:
Unfortunately, the Novemember patch did little to stop the problems with Neon, and a new problem would rear its head for Christmas: Jinn. This unit embodied many of the problems players had: She was a Legendary so it would be hard for free players to get her, and only added to the sheer number of Legendaries that were out there. She was another structure card, and she was horrifically broken. Stopping time for seven seconds in an area around any friendly units, Jinn broke the game overnight, with players horrified at how little playtesting she'd clearly had. Most chip units now couldn't damage structures as Jinn simply could stop time and freeze the turret for the duration of the attack. And to make matters worse? She cost two Aura, meaning it was very easy to cycle a deck and start Jinn spamming.
And yet at two aura she was still one of the only cost-efficient Neon counters... until they patched her to be worth three Aura instead. Talking of the feline menace, January saw Neon get a HP nerf that set her shield at 14. Finally, Neon could be realistically be taken out, still at an Aura defecit but at least it can be countered and now they just have to raise her Aura- why are you buffing her game?
Less than a month later, Neon got, of all things, a buff. Her HP shield was set at 20, and her attacks now did double damage. This is around the point where a lot of players begin to suspect the developers aren't listening to feedback and more long-term players dip out or drop the game. Neon got touched one more time in April, which slowed her down (which itself was a problem as Neon's lessened speed on spawn simply made her better at generating aggro), she dealt 10% less damage and made it somewhat easier to hit her enough to kill her, but a new problem was on the horizon. Because Neon was now no longer the game's White Whale for patches.
Meet the White Fang Gunner Barracks. Added in September 2019, the Barracks fell under many player's radar simply because they were horrifically undertuned. Their gimmick was that every few seconds, a White Fang Gunner would spawn, with three spawning on death. In April, as Neon got her last appearance in the patches, the Barracks got a huge buff and became the centerpiece of the meta; they now spawned two Gunners, which made them immensely valuable for just five Aura. You could overwhelm many anti-swarm units before they had a chance, and shred your way through turrets.
The Barracks would then go six months before this overtuning was rectified, barring one nerf in August that lowered their health to try and stem the tide of units. To sum up every other thing that went wrong during the year meta-wise:
As OctobeNovember comes in, the players are getting more and more furious. The weekly feedback includes a near constant demand for an acknowledgement from the developers given how often it feels like the feedback is being ignored. The social media team get caught several times hyping up how the coming patch would address player concerns, only for said patch to lack those units. The meta has been locked down to the Xiong Family, Flynt, Launcher Nora, Spider-Mines and the hell-cat herself in Neon. Everyone runs at least one of these, people run meta decks not because they want to, but because it's the only way to have a chance of victory.
And then in December, things implode. The patch for the month was set to launch on December 10th with the monthly event missions. But when the clock rolls around, the event missions (which usually take about two weeks to do if you're doing as many as you can a day)... has a six day timer. And the update doesn't come out. The art team doesn't release new unit art. The shop has no special timed bundles. There's no patch notes. And then the Twitter team who've been hard carrying the game through... actually talking to the players and acknowledging the grievances they have... admitted that they don't know what's going on either. The best guess is that the devs have come down with Covid, but no statements to confirm or deny this leave it as guesswork. The timer eventually got reset and people could do the event, but then on Christmas itself, another issue.
Ruby has appeared in the plaza on Halloween (her canonical birthday) and Christmas, and if you go talk to her you get free stuff. But on Christmas people, people discovered that Ruby was talking as if you'd already talked to her. Because they hadn't updated Ruby yet for 2020. She still thought it was 2019 so if you'd talked to her then for goodies, she had none now. They patched it eventually but a lot of people didn't see this fix before the timer ran out to get the free stuff.
Some have resorted to memes to cope with the fact that the game just seems to have died out of the blue. Others have been trying to desperately rally the players and find a way to save it. Some resorted to friendly mockery of the whales who'd spent thousands on a game that seems to be dying (seriously though gacha games need to curb this shit but they won't because whales are godsends for their bank balances).
If the game doesn't get an update in January then two months without new content will mark the end, and the already significant playercount drops will only increase. And it's hard to say if any one thing could have turned Amity Arena's fate around beyond just "Have a better balancing team who can respond better to feedback." Neon began the time of death, but by the time December rolled around the meta was in a horrifically toxic place where if you wanted to make any progession, you had to get down and dirty with the pigs. The team just constantly failed to balance problem units outside of their emergency hotfixes of Jinn, and more often then not they went after units and buffed or nerfed them at random going off playcounts to determine what needed fixing instead of the actual written feedback they were getting. It's clear from the references to the show and some of the attempts to reach out to the community that at least one person in the team genuinely wanted to make the good appealing to RWBY fans, but somewhere during the game's lifespan, they lost their way. Less focus needed to be put on how to milk the players, and instead focusing on making a game sustainable and enjoyable enough to warrant the cosmetics and emotes. The game's failure ultimately isn't on the playerbase. It's on the people who were actually making the game who chose to slack off because they thought it acceptable to do so.
Thanks for reading.
EDIT: HOT OFF THE PRESSES, I JUMPED THE GUN
Had I waited one more day, my story would have had a far more sudden ending, as the game just announced its shutdown for January.
RIP.
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Outriders - FAQ

Hey guys. So as we are slowly edging closer to release and the demo, in my boredom I've decided to create a simple FAQ as I find myself answering a lot of the same questions.
Some of these answers are lifted directly from PCF, some are just info I'm aware of myself. I will try to keep it updated with any questions asked in the comments.
Included are General questions, Demo info, Gameplay info, QOL info, and Crossplay/Multiplayer info.
EDIT: All updated now, if I have missed anything obvious I'll update this when I'm made aware.. thearcan feel free to do with this thread as you see fit
 

GENERAL

 

- When will Outriders be released?

01 April 2021

- What Platforms will Outriders release on?

Outriders will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC (Steam & Epic). Outriders will be released on Stadia at a later date.

- What kind of game is Outriders?

Outriders is a 1 to 3 player, drop-in-drop-out co-op, third-person-perspective shooter set in an original dark and desperate sci-fi universe.

- Where can I watch the Outriders reveal trailer?

Right here. This is also on their official channel with plenty more in depth info on the game.

- Is there an official discord?

Yes here

- Is Outriders a Free-to-Play game?

No. Outriders will only require a one-off purchase of the game.

- Is Outriders a Games-As-A-Service?

No - Outriders will be a complete experience out of the box.

- Will Outriders feature Micro-transactions?

No. However the pre order bonus will be able to be purchased separately afaik.

- Will Outriders support Smart Delivery on Xbox? Will we get a free upgrade to PlayStation 5?

Yes. Anyone who purchases the game for Xbox One or PlayStation 4, will get a free upgrade to Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 respectively.

- Will Outriders support Cross-Play?

Yes. Outriders will Fully support cross-play, meaning you will be able to explore Enoch with any of your friends on any other platform. You can play Outriders from start to finish with your friends regardless of what system they own.

- Will there be DLC?

At this time we don't know, if the game does well, hopefully we will see more of Enoch.

- Will my PC be able to handle Outriders?

See here

- Why was the game delayed?

See the official response here
 

DEMO

 

- When does the Demo release?

25th February 2021

- What will the demo include?

Final details have not been announced yet. But we know it will be the first few hours of the game.

- Will my demo progress carry over to the full game?

Yes - but there will be progress caps in place. At this moment in time we know there will be a level cap, world tier cap and story progress will be capped.

- Will the demo feature crossplay?

Yes
 

GAMEPLAY

 

- Can I play all classes?

Yes, you should have 6 character slots available.

- Will I have to replay the story for each class?

Yes, as far as we know.

- Does each class have multiple skills/powers?

Yes each class has 8 skills total. Only 3 can be equipped at one time.

- Why can we only play in groups of 3?

PCF found that groups of 3 hit the sweet spot for balancing, optimisation and visibility, especially with some much going on in battle.

- How does difficulty scaling work?

The game utilises a world tier system. There are a total of 15 World tiers. In essence the more you kill, the longer you survive, the higher the world tier you unlock. Each world tier increases difficulty, but also your rewards. This can be adjusted up (to the max you have unlocked) and down at any point.

- How does endgame work?

Endgame consists of 14 expeditions, all fresh content. In essence, get to the end as fast as you can on the highest difficulty you can for the most rewards. See more here

- What if I miss a loot drop?

There is an auto loot feature in game.

- Why don't enemies drop loot in expeditions?

They do. It all just goes to the chest at the end. See clarification here

- Does that mean if I fail an expedition I don't get any loot?

No, as per the previous linked comment, you still get this loot even if you fail.

- Can I transfer loot to another character?

Yes, there is a stash system.

- How does crating and mods work?

See Here Approx 16 mins in.

- Is there an in game achievement system?

The game will feature accolade system which is something in between achievements and battle pass. It will reward you for doing actions you would normally do in gameplay with small cosmetic rewards so if you need extra motivation to repeat few side quests and spend more time in the game here it is. The system will give only cosmetic rewards and there is no way to buy your progress, it is also completely optional but completionists can have nice fun with it.

- How do armour stats work?

See an official breakdown here

- What weapons can we use?

From what we have seen you have Pistol side arms, and equip 2 primary weapons. So far we have seen Assault rifles, LMG's, Shotguns, Sub Machine guns and a variety of rifles including Snipers.

- Can I play the whole game solo?

Yes, the number of enemies etc scale depending on how many people are in your party. Expeditions are designed for 3 players, but should still be doable solo. See clarification here

- Is there PVP?

No.
 

QUALITY OF LIFE

 

- Will there be in game comms?

No - at this time there is no in built chat or ping system. See further explanation as to why this is here

- Will there be loadouts?

No, not at this time.

- Will there be a transmog system?

No, not at this time.

- Are there colourblind settings?

Yes, I believe so.

- What are the next gen upgrades for Xbox Series X and PS5?

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but we can expect some optimisation benefits etc. Suggestions that we should know for certain by the release of the demo.

- Do I have to be online to play?

Unless something has changed recently, I believe you have to be online to play.

- Is there a mass dismantle system in game?

Yes

- Is there an item protection system in game, such as item locking?

No.

- Will players be able to mod/hack their saves etc?

Alls saves are server side, so this shouldn't be theoretically possible.
 

CROSSPLAY/MULTIPLAYER

 

- Can I turn crossplay off?

Yes

- Is there a social hub?

There are hubs in game. However they will only be accessed by yourself and those within your matchmaking party.

-How does joining a friend work?

The game operates on a host based system. You join and play in the hosts world. Host migration systems should be in place if the host dc's. You can join any friend at any point once the prologue is complete.

- How does scaling work when I join a friend?

As you are in the hosts game, you play at the level and world tier setting they are at. So you will either feel OP or under geared if you join low/high level friends retrospectively. See more here

- How does loot work in a friends game?

Loot is instance based for each player. Loot drops depending on enemy level, which is in turn based on world tier. So if you are joining friends playing on substantially lower or higher world tiers. Loot drops in essence won't be much use to you.

- How will I invite cross play friends?

They have said they will utilise a friend code system.

- Is there a cross save system?

Only between similar systems - eg Xbox one to Xbox series x, or PS4 to PS5. You will not be able to cross save between platforms, eg from Xbox to PC, or Xbox to PS.
submitted by b4rn5ey to outriders [link] [comments]

[NAFA][Poly] All about NAFA for prospective students! (mainly SOAD stuff)

Hi there! NAFA grad from COVID batch here! I previously wrote tips to not waste time at NAFA. Currently studying in NUS. If you're looking for post O levels/ITE options, look no further! 4 years ago, I attended NAFA's open house after receiving my O level results and back then I was as clueless as the many DMs I've received asking about NAFA ;) . So I'm making this post to clear those doubts!
Edit: Added academic calendar to general curriculum and important degree update

Content

Things to note before entering NAFA
  1. What is NAFA and who is it for
  2. Available Courses
  3. When and how to apply
  4. Application Timeline
  5. Financial Aid
During your study
  1. Useful Acronyms
  2. Life at NAFA
  3. Understanding NAFA's SOAD Standard
  4. General curriculum
  5. Electives
  6. Using workshops/Loaning of equipment
  7. Internship
  8. Overseas Immersion/School Exchange Programme
  9. CCA
Post-Diploma
  1. Furthering studies at NAFA
  2. Furthering studies at a local university
  3. Finding Work
​

Things to note before entering NAFA

[1] What is NAFA and who is it for?
NAFA, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts is Singapore's pioneering art school. It is a private arts institution. It provides diploma studies with a study duration of 3 years just like poly. The special thing about NAFA is that it provides 1-year degree programmes which any student (usually from relevant diploma courses) can pick up.
Well, we always say 'art is subjective', it is a freedom of expression. The school is really open to anyone (and that is on the account that you have a portfolio or passed the test). Literally, you can have aunties and uncles as your classmates! You also have people doing art because it's fun but in all seriousness do not sign up if that's what you think. I'd like to think of NAFA as a school that guides you in the beginning and later on they just kind of let everyone be independent learners. Anybody can say that NAFA teaches you the foundation but they do not intend to fully teach you long term or up to a professional level. The school is excellent for people who have existing art skills (you've won SYF, art awards, distinction in art before you were even 17 years old) and wish to be a local artist. It is also great for people who are passionate and have some sort of basic skill or are/have developing skills already (that's me!) however this group should avoid Fine Arts. You can also be passionate and start on a blank slate but be prepared to work doubly hard for the grades. The school is not competitive, it depends on talent to stand out.
Do not come if you are doing for the sake of the diploma because the difficulty of NAFA's diploma is no joking matter. Dropping out is common in every course and you do not wish to contribute to that. That is also the whole point of NAFA charging exorbitant school fees so that you don't run away. Many people actually bet their future on NAFA because they couldn't go to poly/uni course of their choice and it ends up being wasted because it's not what they wanted! You may have heard people of saying that the school's standard is trash but the truth is, it's not the school's problem 100% of the time.
For students looking to enter NAFA Foundation Programme, it's still new and dodgy. I strongly advise you guys to take O levels and head to Poly instead if you still wish to pursue further education at local universities. I personally find no point in skipping a year and getting L1R4>25 with an O level cert where you might've passed math seems to be a more lucrative choice to use for entering NAFA. The only benefit you're getting from the programme is a debt $$$.
Entry requirements:
O Level: L1R4 equal or less than 25 points excluding English (can use CCA points)
ITE: Full-time Higher Nitec or Nitec
Other Local/International Admission Requirements
Important note:
NAFA diplomas do not equate with polytechnic diplomas.
NAFA being the oldest art school does not mean that it is the best place to go instead of Laselle.
​
[2] Available Courses
One misconception is that NAFA has double diploma programmes for 3D Design. I'd like to announce that it is false. The school is not capable of teaching 2 types of diploma at a time but rather mash it up. So if you intend to take my course for example Diploma in Design (Landscape and Architecture), it is usually the 1st word that is mainly taught which is 'Landscape'.
​
List of courses:
School of Art and Design
3D Design
Design & media
Fine Art
Fashion Studies
School of Arts Management, Dance and Theatre
Arts Management
Dance
Music
Theatre
​
[3] When and how to apply?
Once you received your results is usually the time applications are open. Local and international students have until March to apply. It varies annually. More here ->How to apply
Method of Application: Online portfolio submission or physical admission test
Neither is better than the other. You method depends on whether you can show what you have within a given deadline.
​
Online Portfolio Submission
Minimum 10 images, various mediums allowed and a short writeup of 100 words.
1.Make the portfolio for the course that you want
To make them pick you directly for the course, make it look like you are built for the course.
2. Have a variety of work
Fine Arts doesn't only consist of drawings, it can also include some sort of sculpture or performance work. Same goes for the other departments. Click here for what each course requires. If you wish to showcase a single type of work because you are unable to show more, it can make your portfolio look okay/bad compared to other people.
3. A passionate statement
Only 100 words. Tbh I wrote what I wished to do after my diploma (plans have since changed and it was an odd statement lol). I don't suggest writing about your contribution to the sch because as long as you're a student you're contributing. Make it short and simple.
​
In case anyone is wondering, my application portfolio was mediocre, showing 11 images consisting of sketches/paintings/photos. If you have a god-tier portfolio because you have that artistic talent, there's a good chance to achieve a 1st-year full-coverage scholarship once you step into NAFA. You can submit whenever you want but my estimated deadline was 2 weeks after applying at the open house which waived my application fees ($70 better treat yourself Haidilao).
​
Admission Test (if someone has taken the test feel free to provide more info)
The test dates are staggered once per month from January-March. Held in groups. Consists of a drawing test and write-up.
I only know that the drawing test isn't difficult. People who took the test do not intend to submit a portfolio as it's quick and efficient. Nothing much to add on.
Important note:
If you are writing a 2nd choice as a safety net please be cautious. I do not recommend as you may get the 2nd choice instead if the slots for your 1st choice becomes full. They will just shift you to the 2nd choice and that's where the 'appeal' part comes.
Choose to submit a portfolio if you can commit to the deadline, it usually gives you an upper hand over admission test applicants because you're showcasing more.
​
[4] Application Timeline (I only know O levels if anyone can kindly tell me I'll update)
O levels:
January
Receive results > submit JAE > apply for NAFA
February
Wait for JAE AND NAFA results > receive JAE results 1st > receive NAFA results 2nd
You’ll receive NAFA results before poly starts unless you apply late. I applied during Jan on the day of the open house and got my results mid-end Feb. March is the last month to receive results.
​
[5] Financial Aid
NAFA Financial Aid
Now, we all know private school isn't cheap and many passionate young souls I've met depend heavily on financial aid like I do. If you're a Singaporean with a tight family income, the bursary is attainable for you. It covers half of the annual school fee. Can only be taken once for each year of study. If you are able to claim the bursary for all your years, you’d pay a total of $7050.
For those who are hoping to start at NAFA but is at a really tight end, you need perfect grades in art and portfolio to be considered a scholarship/merit in your first year. You'll need testimonials and pass the interview. If you ain’t good in art, pass this opportunity however you can work for scholarship/merit during your diploma years. I’d score close to the 4.0 (3.8X) in Year 1 in order to get a scholarship to cover my Year 2 fees.
Other options are the 0% interest study loan by DBS. You can make use of your PSEA which you can also use your sibling account to cover your own sch fees.
Last option but not really one is the student assistantship scheme should you already be a student of NAFA. The pay is peanuts, I would not recommend but it's nice to have a one-liner in your resume that you did some work for the school :).
There are NAFA students with a possibly far worse situation than yours but they are extremely talented and hardworking to end up not paying a single cent. NAFA is really expensive so if you do intend to work to cover the fees, take care of your grades as well. It is not impossible to do so. I chose to not work as I was in a hectic design course and needed to maintain my grade for university.
​
Next, you would need to understand how the system works.

During your study

[1] Useful Acronyms
SOAD: School of Art and Design (Department)
SOAMDT: School of Arts Management, Dance and Theatre
SOM: School of Music
D&M: Design and Media
FA: Fine Arts
3DD: 3D Design
FS: Fashion Studies
FYP: Final Year Project (used in almost every SOAD course lol)
OIP: Overseas Immersion Programme
​
[2] Life at NAFA
So you wish to know how life is like at NAFA? First thing, don't expect the same amount of glitz and glamour that exists in polys. It's much quieter where you won't even hear a mouse die.
Because entry to the school is quite easy, the population regularly consists of graduated ITE students (can’t make it to poly/NAFA is the last golden ticket) alongside many international students. O level cert holders are like a small 10% or less. So if you’re young, prepare to take care of the older lot and expect to carry lazy people.
You have to be very committed to the course and can’t skip class. More than 3 times and they start deducting marks. The workload is heavy and even if it comes in small numbers, it is intense. The number of student to lecturer ratio is not a big difference but later on, consultation times may not suffice. Facilities are sufficient unless you’re in a design course. There are CCAs in the sch but not all courses got time for it. Staying in school late is a common culture. Fine Arts students after class just camp in their respective studios and design students would camp till closing 11 pm at the computer lab waiting for renders to finish. Every student will experience staying late and you can say its #lifeatnafa.
The culture here is not as toxic and dramatic as poly but more towards weird because we’re creative artsy-fartsy people. It’s easy to get along with course mates but there’s a chance for things to get somehow cranky along the way. Could be you or your classmate. Everyone is pretty open and wild. There’s a lack of competitiveness which is both good and bad.
There won't be a course that goes without presentations. That's the point of producing works ain't it, to show it off to the audience. Group work to individual work ratio is about 3:6 so if you worry about bad groupmates, don't worry I've faced them too and it can't be helped ;). Carrying other people during group work is also common. NAFA does stand for lazy people what to do. Your complaints hold no power. (Arguably, many students want the school to make entry to the courses more difficult as there seem to be too many bums to handle)
If you're mentally depressed or anything the school does try to help but no legit support system other than the ECG counsellor (which I find it practically useless). Now, the school deals with this quite often so they don't give a damn about your life. Ownself take care ownself is the usual term.
​
School events anyone can participate:
Open House (1-day Sentosa fun time with other Open House ambassador)
Orientation (has a 1-night camp! Recommend)
NAFA Fun Day
Overseas Immersion Programme (1-3 weeks long, Asian countries. Recommend but need $)
Student Assistantship Programme (1 year-long contract. Peanut pay)
​
The list of programmes here may not seem much but you can add it in your portfolio (except Fun Day). There may be volunteer work available within some courses itself. Do try to be active
And that's about it. Nothing special just expensive and less fun.
​
[3] Understanding NAFA's SOAD Standard
Take a look at what past graduates have produced within their 3 years as a student. Only you can judge whether the school is great or the right fit for your goals (in being able to attain this particular level of skill for XXX course once you graduate for example). The best standard can be found under the best graduate tab.
2020 The Grad Expectations
Graduation Showcase
​
[4] General Curriculum
Academic Calendar
The 1st semester of your study begins at the start of August and usually ends late November or early December depending on the type of assessment received. The 2nd semester begins in January till May. The span of 1 semester is always around 4 months with a 1-week break in between. We don't really have any sort of term 1/2 thing like poly and is much compressed, so breaks are less. However, you do get compensated with a 3-month vacation between years so that's fair.
​
*Applicable to SOAD only
Year 1
1st Semester: Foundation Study (not the same as NAFA Foundation programme for N level)
+ Basic art and design theory
+General Education
2nd Semester: Course Foundation
+ General Education
+ Basic course theory
(+ Electives)
​
Year 2
1st Semester: 2nd Set of Course Foundation
+ Intermediate theory
+ 1st project
+ Basic report/essay writing
(+ Electives)
2nd Semester: Last set of Course Foundation
+ Another set of projects
(+ Electives)
​
Year 3
1st Semester: Internship/School project (wouldn't want to get this)
2nd Semester: Final Year project (practically on your own)
+ Report/Essay writing
+ Research and development
(+ Electives, not recommended to do during this semester)
​
It’s clearly not much different from poly, slightly worse at certain points. Weekly school hours per week will increase each semester e.g year 1 sem 1 is 18hrs a week for classes, next semester you may get an additional 2-4 hrs increase of class time. The longest time I had for class each week was 24hrs, pretty sure the same goes for any SOAD course. Do expect late-night classes. It is inevitable because most lecturers are teaching part-time so do bear with them.
Important note:
For a lighter schedule, do electives early as that's one of the simplest things to do.
The difference in timetable won't affect application to university.
​
[5] Electives
1 common mistake students commit is not reading the student handbook (from studentnet)/contract on the number of credits required for graduation. They end up finishing their electives during Year 3 Semester 2 which is the time one should focus on their FYP. Start doing your electives once you’re in Year 1 Semester 2. Good planning consists of not stuffing your modules until it’s way past 24hrs/week (also known as overloading). You’re required to do cross-disciplinary modules 2-6 credits worth (meaning not related to your course, if you’re from D&M you have to do either FA/3DD/FS) and course-related electives worth 2-6 credits. Days before module registration, plan out the electives you want to do based on your given timetable and then rush to pick on the day of the module registration with no hesitation to secure your placement. You may have to do an elective that is unfamiliar to you.
My sample plan:
Year 1 sem 1: Can’t choose yet
Year 1 sem 2: Photography (Highly recommend, popular as well but must have time and skill + a friend who's free who be your model). 2 credits
Year 1 sem 2 special term (aka holiday): OIP to Hangzhou. China Academy of Arts for 3 weeks. Considered cross-disciplinary to FA. 3 weeks long. 4 credits
Year 2 sem 1: Intro to Rapid prototyping from 3DD (laser cut/3D print) (didn’t really learn how to use the machine as there are technical officers and I messed up at the end but still passed, great elective for embarrassing yourself if you’re a 3DD student who frequents the workshop ;) ). 2 credits
Year 2 sem 2 - onwards: No more electives can focus on FYP
Important note:
Plan well so you accumulate just nice 120 credits for graduation. No point in exceeding the total credits as you have to pay extra for it. If you miss a few credits for graduation, you will be retained for another semester to finish.
Cheat tip: if you go on the OIP to China only, you instantly get cross-disciplinary credits.
​
[6] Using Workshops/Loaning of equipment
​
[7] Internships
Usually done in Year 3 Semester 1, this is one of the key semesters every student should complete for it plays a very important role in your portfolio for finding a job post-graduation. The school has a reputable network, however for courses like Fine Art and illustration the intern positions may be limited because Singapore is not very welcoming for such talents. There are top companies who are willing to hire NAFA students on the basis that they have good grades and a juicy portfolio. So if you want the best, you got to be the best.
​
[8] Overseas Immersion/School Exchange Programmes
Slots for OIP is limited (especially the ones to China), requires an interview. I think the max for some trips were 35-40 people at most. There are subsidies available and coverage varies.
​
Places NAFA has flown to:
*Xiamen (3 weeks)
*Hangzhou, China Academy of Arts (3 weeks)
*Beijing, Beijing Technology University (3 weeks)
Bangkok (1 week?)
Korea (might've stopped)
Japan (might've stopped)
​
*Special programme during Year 1 Semester 2 vacation only
I forgot the cost but I've personally have flown to Hangzhou. Best experience ever despite getting a C. Crazy stuff happened at one of the finest Arts school in China :)
Important note:
If you miss the chance to fly, fret not, NAFA's degree programme is a collaboration with a foreign university and they will open an exchange programme for 1 month (that is if COVID doesn't persist). Not sure about the cost though.
​
[9] CCA (The price list is not updated as of 2020)
List of currently available CCAs:
  1. Muay Thai ( $63 10 sessions)
  2. Yoga (basic: $50 12 sessions, intermediate: $42 10 sessions)
  3. Entrepreneurship club
  4. Urban runners club
  5. Volunteer club
Short story: Long ago, I actually joined the photography club only to end up leaving before they even started anything because everybody was too busy to meet up and thus disbanded.
During my time, Muay Thai is the most popular followed by Yoga. Do check out NAFA OSC account on IG to find out what they do. Looks like they added Korean language class too hmm
​

Post-Diploma

[1] Furthering Studies at NAFA
NAFA Degree courses for Arts Management and Music
Update (thanks to the comment below): NAFA is going to change its programmes and collaboration starting from AY2021/2022. The new degree courses are collaborating with UAL (University of Arts, London) and it’s changing from one year course to two-year course which includes 5-7 weeks of going to the colleges in London. All the courses are affected except for Arts Management and Music.
Students with A Level certificates, as well as those without relevant diplomas will be allowed to enrol into NAFA’s degree programmes.
The stuff I wrote may not apply anymore but I will still leave it here as a reference for NAFA's 1-year degree. The degree website is empty for now.
​
How do you determine if taking NAFA degree is worth it and why should you take or not take the NAFA degree? There’s always a mixed bag of opinions over the degree. Personally, I’m not a fan of it but I won’t be biased and input the pros and cons that can better aid in one’s decision.
​
PROS
1.Existing CGPA from diploma is Low
Finding a job with the private diploma cert and low grades can affect your career progression. Make up for the mistakes that were done during the diploma study and try to do well for the degree.
2. High CGPA, expecting a scholarship (or free ride) for the degree course
If you easily meet these 3 criteria (1) Singapore's local unis are too expensive for your taste, (2) you might be older than 21 years old and need to work ASAP, (3) "broke" but did quite well during your diploma and has an excellent portfolio to show, taking the degree might not be such a bad option. In some instances, the 1-year degree + years of work experience can allow one to take up a master degree at local uni if the pre-requisites are met.
3. Changing career path (still art-related)
It's possible to change paths from design to fine arts. However, for a degree that lasts only for 1 year, it is impossible to acquire a decent knowledge at a degree level compared to the diploma stage in my opinion. Usually, the people who apply for the design degree e.g Spatial Design, have prior knowledge from the related course of study either from NAFA or other polys. 1 year is not enough but never said that it’s impossible and has been done over the years.
4. Increase in starting salary
Nobody says this when asked why they want to take the degree but I'm sure they want an increase in starting salary. If you have a fear of starting out with low pay and want to bump it up by sacrificing a short amount of time and money, go for it.
​
CONS
1.Not a legit degree
This isn’t a biased answer but an honest one. NAFA's degree is not a professional degree. 1-year won't be enough to acquire a lot of knowledge. There are no internships and full training of Softwares/techniques whatsoever. It's basically aimed at NAFA/poly students who have an existing skillset and internship experience during their diploma studies or international students with similar qualifications. I'm not discouraging anyone who wishes to take the degree because some companies do take in students and if they're lucky, they can work for them after graduation.
2. Not 100% applicable for postgraduate studies in Singapore
The local universities may not kindly cater to all NAFA degrees. A number of students after getting a NAFA degree would choose to study overseas to pursue a masters. If getting NAFA's degree is a mean of broadening your studying experience by going overseas, why not? One real-life example that I've heard of works is landscape and architecture diploma + Spatial Design degree + 3 years of work experience at a good company + an excellent portfolio which eventually led this person to enter NUS Masters in Landscape Architecture. Spatial Design has a chance for relevant postgraduate courses although this may not be the same for the other NAFA degrees.
3. Not worth if you are a Singaporean
The cost of NAFA's degree is considered affordable for an international student and it was practically built for them. If a Singaporean were to study at local uni for 3/4 years including subsidies + tuition grant for a design degree, it'd still be cheaper than a NAFA degree. Plus an actual degree from the public unis is still considered much valuable.
​
If you stand for better higher educational standards after staying there for 3 years, I say work hard and flee.
​
[2] Furthering studies at a local university
It’s not impossible. It was already allowed a million years ago. It just a matter of effort you put during your diploma years. The current standard at NAFA has dwindled where only less than 10 NAFA grads emerge victoriously so don't be surprised knowing that NAFA barely has high flyers, the school doesn't even push for it. Even my juniors don't know my degree existed 1 year ago...
2 things to note:
  1. NAFA diploma is not allowed entry into many courses that are irrelevant from the diploma unless the GPA is high. The usual entry requirements are GPA 3.5-4.0 also dependent on the 10th percentile, juicy portfolio and testimonial (I didn't need it FYI)
  2. Chances are higher for relevant degrees although any degree will definitely have entry requirements to meet. Some degrees require O level pass in elementary/additional math (they say they don't check anymore after 2019 but I don't want to play out my chances). I know of students who were optimistic about their GPA but they did not read the instructions beforehand.
You will be fighting with the best from poly, JC and beyond. Do your best to represent yourself as a student from NAFA and you'll find a way to stand out from the crowd.
A warning note to future/existing international NAFA students: I know most of y’all only started living in Singapore just before the beginning of the diploma. I don’t know whether your international qualifications can equate with O levels so consider your future plans in Singapore carefully. My dear international classmates weren’t called up for uni interview (GPA already wasn’t helping, no offence) and the super stringent admission criteria crippled their hopes. Many have remained in NAFA to do the 1-year degree or have returned to their home country. I cannot answer for employment rates. If neither one is the option you want to end up with, do take note.
​
[3] Finding Work
COVID really struck a lot of people hard. I can count the number of my coursemate who is employed with my 10 fingers or less. The full-time employment rate is terrible, believe it or not. The school hides it like the fine print in the student contract. Here in the Graduate Employment Survey, you can see the ending choices of NAFA graduates.
I really can't tell the success rate of one finding a job even based on IG stories itself. I see quite a number of freelancer or people doing other things. Who will remain in the same industry? The top 10% in the cohort but even the best have struggled or are still struggling to find a job. NAFA students are not only fighting among themselves, there are poly students with similarly named courses out there too with a proper educational lineup that a NAFA diploma can't compare with.
A portfolio is usually the passport for finding work and the past 3 years of study is meant to fill it up. Don't waste time being a stubborn student especially when you will be spending a lot of money to study. The best way to make yourself look hire-able is to definitely have good grades and a portfolio. Can't emphasise anything else other than that to convince the company to hire you.
​

Wrapping it up

NAFA is one of the schools that provides a unique and alternative route away from the usual poly lifestyle. I had some crazy times in there be it social life or workload. It isn't a bad school (I quote 5/10) but if you can work for what you love, you'll do just fine.
The Open House is open and I suggest for those interested to take a look. A whole bunch of admission guides are up for talks.
NAFA Virtual Open House
If you guys have any questions, comment down below so others can read or if you're shy, drop me a DM but I may be busy to reply. Thanks for dropping by!
submitted by Ackeryl to SGExams [link] [comments]

My Top 10 Switch Games - Year 3

As of today, it has now been 3 full years since I’ve gotten my Switch. So, like the past 2 years, I wanted to post my top 10 games I played throughout the last year with some quick little reviews on why I enjoyed them. To avoid confusion this list is not a list of my top 10 games of 2020, it is a top 10 of the games I have played in the last year. Some of the games this year surprised the hell out of me, and others were extremely welcome due to old memories. Each game here I include my playtime (according to the Switch, anyways) and my completion percentage. Since it was asked a lot in the comments last year, I will be including a link to a Google Docs sheet that includes a link to a duplicate version of my sheet (with some things unimportant to anyone but me removed or edited) that I use to track completion percentages as well as information on how to use the sheet.
Currently playing: -
Backlog: Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection, BioShock: The Collection, DOOM 64, Hollow Knight, Trials of Mana, Ys Origin
Games from this year that didn’t make the top 10:
· DOOM II (5+ hours, 100.00%)
· DOOM (1993) (5+ hours, 100.00%)
· Assassin’s Creed III Remastered (25+ hours, 39.78%)
· DOOM 3 (10+ hours, 75.00%)
· Darksiders Genesis (15+ hours, 63.60%)
· Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition (45+ hours, 85.75%)
· Super Mario 3D All-Stars (50+ hours, 84.59%)
· Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition (90+ hours, 92.38%)
10) Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (40+ hours, 94.95%)
Yea, yea. Look at those thicc thighs! Now that that’s out of the way… I really enjoyed my time with Ryza. The alchemy system is what got me interested in the game, gathering materials to fuse together into more powerful items. As you learn more about the system and get access to better items everything begins to make more sense. You might find yourself just slotting things in at first, but eventually once you gain a better understanding you can figure out exactly what the system is getting you to do. Crafting endgame items with crazy stats and really showing off your skills as an alchemist is extremely fulfilling and from what I can tell the series has really improved on itself from past iterations. The story of Ryza is fairly grounded and tame for the most part, but it does still have some “save the world” aspect towards the end. You play as Ryza who wants to adventure with her friends and learn alchemy and… that’s pretty much the main focus for the first half or more. It was kind of a nice break and really helped it to stand out a bit more in my mind. The main point of the story really is just Ryza wanting to adventure after being stuck on a lonely, plain little island for her whole life. Once she is exposed to alchemy, she makes it her mission to improve her alchemy skills. The combat is an ATB system which was my biggest holdback of the game going in but in reality it was very quick and simple to get into and really didn’t require a lot of work to figure out. The one thing is that if you do not keep up on your alchemy skills you will struggle in battles. Constantly looking for ways to improve your gear is very important and you can easily find yourself running at a wall if you ignore it for long periods of time. It is definitely an interesting game to play and I really recommend looking into it for those of you interested in JRPGs. With the sequel coming out in just a month, and it being the first time in the series’ history (from what I know) that a protagonist has returned for a sequel, it is the perfect time to hop in.
9) Astral Chain (40+ hours, 84.20%)
I expected this game to be on par with or worse than Bayonetta 2. Then I actually played it and, well, I loved it significantly more. This game features a rating system very similar to the Bayonetta series, but the system is also significantly more lenient. Instead of judging you on how perfectly you can complete a level (not being hit, time, not using items, etc.) you are judged on how well you use your resources. You get bonuses for using different techniques, weapons, and legions. At first I still got low scores and did overall poorly, however because the rating system was so much more lenient and focused more on how well you are using the combat system it was a really good way to learn what was the best way to go about combat. This led to later files getting better scores and really making the whole game feel even more entertaining. The story is pretty straight forward; you’re a cop who ends up working for a branch of cops that use legions, basically enemies turned into allies, that are attached to a chain and fight against those same enemies. These legions are controlled alongside yourself, which seems a lot more daunting than it really is. While I am by no means a pro at the game, I do think it was fairly easy to get used to controlling multiple characters even with all the action going on. As far as weak points, there was only one major thing that bothered me and it was the same as Dragon Quest XI. I don’t like this game’s use of a silent protagonist. I felt that it robbed a lot of story moments of any impact because your character feels completely disconnected from a plot that they are supposed to be at the center of. Your character even has a voice actor, but they are only used when you are playing as the other gender. It wasn’t something that drastically impacts the game for me, but it still bothered me enough to mention. Overall, the rest of the game is a lot of fun and works really well. The whole thing is like its own anime and it even has an anime-style intro sequence, which by the way the music is top notch. Which is pretty important if you’re going to have an action game that you’ll want music to hype you up.. So if you’d like to play Anime Cops vs Cyber Demons ft. Litterbugs, then this is the game for you.
8) Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (10+ hours, 98.58%)
It had been a long time since I played a Metroidvania, so this game was a welcome return for me. The movement available to you from the start is fairly limited, but you keep picking up skills over time until eventually it becomes incredibly smooth to dash around the world. The story is mostly told through a couple of momentary scenes, so there aren’t a lot of cutscenes besides the opening. I believe despite how brief the story is, the story of Kuro and the opening act are both amazing moments in not just this game but out of all games I have played. The soundtrack is beautiful and I found myself just hanging around to listen to it a few times. On top of all these elements, it also runs beautifully and never gave me a single problem. I may not have been a professional at the game, I believe I ended my playthrough with just under 500 deaths, but I never became frustrated with it. Besides completing the areas, you don’t have too much to focus on for collectibles. All you really have is life containers, energy containers, and spirit containers. Life and energy containers obviously improve your life and your energy, but spirit containers is used to build up your spirit gauge and act as skill points. These skill points can be used to unlock movement options like dashing and triple jumps as well as power boosts. It’s a fun system and I’m glad that there isn’t as much to really need to worry about while you’re exploring. The game is a constant rush to get better and improve your movement. It was a pure experience the entire way through. The entire game just radiates charm and despite it being a short game I feel like it will stick with me for a long time.
7) Ori and the Will of the Wisps (15+ hours, 96.46%)
This game was an absolute gem to play… mostly. There were some minor bugs involving moving between areas if I went through too fast or falling through the ground once or twice, and I did need to redo about an hour of work because of a glitch once, but besides that the game played beautifully. Movement in this game felt so much more rewarding much earlier than the original because most of the tools are unlocked early. This lets you get more practice in earlier instead of having things feel like they didn’t get a lot of time. I also like how things like Dash were actually built into the level design because it wasn’t attached to the skill tree this time. With more tools to use and design levels around, it made the game feel a lot more interesting to play around with. Speaking of levels, the world is amazing. The levels are all much more expansive and the world itself feels more natural. With extra movement options, the ability to move from one part of the map to another feels significantly quicker as well. The music in the game is just as incredible as the original, so no complaints there as well. It also includes more content through things like side quests, races, and projects to clean up a base camp of sorts. The story is more involved this time instead of being relegated mostly to a handful of cutscenes, although once you get past the first dungeon of the game it isn’t all that present. The basic premise is that Ori gets stuck in a new area and has to help remove the dark influence. I don’t think Shriek is as compelling of a character as Kuro, but that’s mostly because I really enjoyed Kuro’s role in the story. Combat is the big change from the original compared to everything else. Combat in the Blind Forest was basically relegated to telling Sein to fire at enemies and was more of an afterthought that an actual use. This is reflected in the fact that there are no boss fights in the original, only escape sequences. While Will of the Wisps does still have a handful of escape sequences, there are also boss fights. You have access to multiple weapons if you choose to unlock them, but your main weapon will be a sword. You can find Spirit Shards to equip to power up various aspects or grant different abilities like triple jump. Overall, it was a very nice improvement over the original and I think that if you enjoyed the Blind Forest at all then it is definitely worth buying this game.
6) Animal Crossing: New Horizons (370+ hours, 92.10%)
Here’s the game that I, like many others, always had one question in mind whenever I heard people talk about it. “What do you even do?”. I spent a majority of my time in the early days in a completionist mindset for the game which I think is why I was mostly burned out on it for a month or two once I had gotten the K.K. Slider concert for the first time. However, once I went into this game and started really working on the layout of my island I got legitimately interested. When things were no longer a checklist or a set of chores, it was just fun. While I look online at all the amazing islands that people have made and I can’t even dream of coming close to them, I’m proud of my little island. I decided to not do any terraforming (with a couple of small exceptions like cutting out a few squares for stairs or pushing a waterfall back by 1 so it was visible behind a bridge). By doing this it really feels like I’ve turned a barren island into a home. This game definitely isn’t for everyone though. The question of “What do you really do?” is a very real question, and something you need to figure out if you would enjoy essentially doing things with no reward except making a new home for yourself. You also need to accept that you can’t really play this in the same way as other games, as I learned when I was trying to just do everything. This game works best in short bursts or by having a preset goal in mind of what you want to accomplish in that play session. While Animal Crossing doesn’t really have a story, character development, or even that amazing of a soundtrack (which is still good and works extremely well for the game but is not extremely memorable) like most of my other favorite games as of late it is definitely a game I have found myself going back to continuously. The only thing I wish is that the villagers had more personality. I look at past games in the series and see the villagers I have on my island with distinct personalities that really make them into their own characters. With 8 personality types that give each villager the same set of lines, and 10 available houses for them, you’re going to end up with repeats and it really kills the immersion when you talk to 2 villagers in a row and hear the same thing. Besides that, I really enjoy the decoration aspect of things, especially some of the more natural areas of my island where I really got a forest-y feel out of it. I really enjoy watching things come together. When you wind up with a finished (or at least mostly finished) island and can walk through and look at all the progress you’ve made you really get a sense of accomplishment.
5) Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (55+ hours, 85.58%)
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is my favorite spinoff franchise by a landslide. Taking the world of Pokemon and inserting it into a roguelike genre with a story and characters beyond anything across the mainline games combined. Unfortunately, based on critic scores and sales throughout the years, most Pokemon fans don’t share that sentiment. That being said, PMD is also much more difficult in comparison to the mainline games, especially in the postgame, which may be what pushes most people away. The main story of PMD involves you, a human, becoming a Pokemon and losing your memory. You form a rescue team with another Pokemon (you determine both your Pokemon and your partner in the beginning, with a personality test determining yours unless you want to choose it yourself) and aim to figure out what happened to make you transform while also helping Pokemon across the world. The story can get extremely dark for a Pokemon game and it is really good at keeping you wanting to see more. The postgame in PMD games is typically some of the best that I have come across. If you go through everything, the postgame can be just as long as the main story with much more challenging encounters. The gameplay revolves around taking missions and going into randomly-generated dungeons in order to rescue stranded Pokemon. Being a roguelike, you move tile by tile and your enemies only move when you do. It works well for the turn-based combat that Pokemon uses. I believe there is still a demo on the eshop that goes through the first couple of dungeons, so I definitely recommend trying the game out. I’m desperately hoping that we get to see more of the PMD franchise on Switch, with my personal hope being a new game and maybe even later on a remake of the Explorers games.
4) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition (140+ hours, 86.76%)
Witcher 3 definitely gets the “Most Improved” award in terms of my initial thoughts of a game compared to the end. Due to the praise that Witcher 3 always got, I decided to give it a shot. Right from the beginning, it was overall pretty mixed. Combat especially took me a little bit to get used to, with the initial fight against the Griffin taking a lot to pull off. However, once I left White Orchard and got to Velen (and by extension began to understand the combat more thoroughly) the doubt slowly started disappearing. One of the things that I, and of course many others, found best about playing Witcher were the side quests. Side quests are typically very standard. “Save my cat”. “Kill 5 of that monster”. The side quests in Witcher 3 are much more fleshed out and multiple times I found myself having to stop and think about my decisions in them. Without going too much into spoilers, one of my favorite decisions I had to make for a quest came with handling the aftermath of a slaughtered village, leaving behind a lone child, and how you handle those responsible. While some decisions might seem simple to make based on your own moral compass, I always strived to make the decisions I believed Geralt would make. It’s the first time that I can say a game really made me stop and make myself into the character. Putting the “role play” into RPG. While Witcher has its fair few “Kill that monster” quests (a specific type of quest, Contracts), these are more acceptable since even these have story built around them and usually involve some level of investigation and build-up. You’re not going to have to go hunt down 10 Nekkers and then come back to some generic villager conversation. While the side quests are an amazing part of the game, they don’t completely overshadow the main story. You’re hunting down Ciri, your adopted daughter, and so you have to go to various locations throughout the world to follow leads on where she has been recently. Each of these areas have their own stories that explode out in a hundred different directions and lead to tons of time to spend in each area. Between side quests and exploration, I didn’t complete the story until 105+ hours into the game. I probably could have finished it sooner, but the side quests and the world around was way too interesting to just skip over. However there is still the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions to go through which add even more playtime. Both of these stories are really well done and deal with some amazing character moments and decisions. The characters are always an important part to get right in a story this large, and they are done excellently. Some of the standouts from my playthrough are Yennefer, the Baron, Gaunter O’Dimm, and Regis. They all play their roles in the story without feeling like just some key to get from point A to point B. While you’re in the mind of Geralt, you really start to get an understanding of them. Who they are, what they might do, what they like. Your conversations will always highlight which choice will continue you along the story, but skipping over the other dialogue options leaves you missing out on the world that has been crafted. Overall, the game definitely deserves the praise it gets. The beginning is slow, and the combat/movement can be a bit clunky and unintuitive, but the world on display is something I can’t ignore when it comes to being an amazing game.
3) AI: The Somnium Files (30+ hours, 100.00%)
Where to even begin with this game? This is by far the strangest game I’ve ever played… but I love it for that. In this game you are a detective, Kaname Date, who is investigating a series of murders where the victim has their left eye removed. Date has an AI companion in his eyeball named Aiba, who by the way has probably made her way into my top 10 game characters of all time. The game is a visual novel for most of the gameplay. You will visit various sites and look around the room and examine the background looking for things as well as asking questions of people around you. In the case of background items these will not always be related to the case and a lot of the time it is just humor, but I still recommend checking everything just because it is a lot of fun to hear the character interactions. The humor in the game is pretty sexual for the earlier parts but that tends to get toned down further into the different routes. The other part of the gameplay is very different in structure. Date is not a normal detective, he is instead part of a secret division called ABIS which goes into dreams, called Somnium, in order to find out more about a case. When you are in a Somnium you can move around freely, however there is a 6-minute time limit. When you are moving this time limit will continue as normal, but it will slow down drastically when you do not move. You examine various items in order to progress through the puzzle and get to the end to figure out where you’re going. Sometimes these Somnium will have a branching path that will send you down a different route in the game. There are 5 different routes to complete, and you will want to complete them all otherwise the game is ridiculously short and you basically don’t even get any answers to what is going on. It is really easy to go back and complete other routes however. You have access to a flowchart that you can select various sections and go to an individual section of a day or just play through the area as a whole. So you are able to just select a Somnium with a branching path and go from there. These routes all have the same basic concepts but small changes and focuses on different characters will lead you to a different end and give you new details about the case overall. Every time you think you have come up with a conclusion about what is going on the game throws another wrench until just at the end where it starts giving you the final pieces of the puzzle and you just start throwing them together in your head and watch it unfold. The final ending of the game is one of the few games I can say has actually gotten tears out of me and it was an amazing experience all around. I definitely recommend looking into the game as it was a lot of fun to play through and the constant twists and turns of the story are an amazing experience.
2) Fire Emblem: Three Houses (245+ hours, 97.39%)
Let me just say that when I finally got this game for Christmas last year, I didn’t put it down until I had finished it. I fell in love with the characters and teaching them to become ruthless killing machines. The different experiences and points of view that you could take on different paths was amazing, finding small details in one path that add connections to other paths. While my first and favorite path will always be the Black Eagle route, the other routes all add various details that you can’t get through just one story. To understand everything going on in the game, you need to play it all. No one path contains all the information in the game, and by playing through them all you gain a deeper understanding for character motivations and how the world is. The combat was simple enough for beginners to the strategy genre but also allows for more difficult experiences with things like Maddening (not my type of playstyle). The Divine Pulse mechanic, giving you the ability to rewind to a specific action in the battle in order to undo a mistake and/or death, is a crutch that I mostly relied on early in the game before eventually outgrowing it and learning how to handle the battlefield better with more strategy and better units in subsequent playthroughs. While I originally played on Casual Mode, I switched to Classic for my other playthroughs and found myself thrilled by the challenge that permadeath provided. By the end of my Classic playthroughs I had always managed to keep my characters safe, never losing a single one (Divine Pulse excluded). There’s something so much more thrilling about the battles when the game is less about who you can sacrifice and more about how to safely fight your way through. On top of the combat, I of course have to talk about the music. Another one of my favorite soundtracks (I feel like I’m saying that about just about every JRPG I play) and one I’m always happy to hear come on in my playlist. It's amazing to me that I was so worried about my interest in the game and that a franchise I had brushed off in the past would overtake Breath of the Wild in my favorite Switch games. While this game is fantastic and would have absolutely stolen the show if I had played it for last year… because I waited it unfortunately had to place after a game that I knew straight from the reveal would be in my top 2 Switch games, top 2 games period at that, of all time.
1) Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (280+ hours, 99.40%)
This is going to be a long one, but it’s the #1 spot so I don’t really care. This first paragraph is going to be more rambly backstory than anything else, so if you don’t care about my life story feel free to skip ahead. Far and away my favorite game of the year, which is unfortunate because Three Houses would have also won in a landslide if I had played it last year when it released instead. I talked about it a little bit in my first yearly top 10 list with Xenoblade 2, but my history with Xenoblade is something I find interesting. I watched chuggaaconroy’s LP of Xenoblade as it was coming out back in 2014-2015. Despite enjoying the hell out of what I was seeing, eagerly waiting for 5pm to roll around for the next video directly from Episode 1 (something that despite enjoying chuggaaconroy before, during, and since his Xenoblade LP I was never and have never been as attached to one game), I never bought the game. At the time I was pretty much solely playing Zelda, Mario, Pokemon, Metroid, and Smash for games with the occasional random game in the mix. I had the game in my hands a couple times over the years but never followed through with it. Simple reasons like not wanting to pull out a Wii or just not wanting to pull the trigger on JRPGs. The release of Xenoblade 2 on Switch is one of the things that made me want my Switch (with the double punch of Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon at E3 2017 being the nail in the coffin). I knew I wanted to broaden my horizons on game genres and franchises, so why not start with the sequel to a game I desperately wanted to play? Obviously, I fell in love with Xenoblade 2 and it kickstarted my love for JRPGs in general. Alongside the build-up to Xenoblade 2, I couldn’t stop wondering what it would be like to get an HD remake or remaster of the original. Fixing the only flaw that it had in the eyes of many people. Every single Direct throughout 2018 and 2019 I kept waiting for that magical announcement. I put “Xenoblade HD” on every single Direct Bingo card despite never actually expecting it. So of course when that September 2019 Direct rolled around, with plenty of evidence in the weeks before that something was happening from MonolithSoft, my hype was at an all-time high… and the reveal had me in tears.
Xenoblade Chronicles is an amazing game, an amazing franchise, built around story, characters, combat, and large, open(ish?) worlds to explore. The original game on the Wii is exceptional in every category except for graphics, which the Definitive Edition has drastically improved. The characters are able to emote in ways that they could only attempt before and it gives a lot more depth to various cutscenes throughout the game. As far as the various categories, the game is just as amazing as I remembered it. The characters all fall into your typical stereotypes, but they are not defined by their stereotypes. They are all people and you are able to connect to them because of it. Characters like Reyn may fall into the childhood friend/brawn-before-brains stereotypes, but he also has plenty of moments where it is clear he is more than that. While some of the characters may not carry the same level of significance throughout the story or into the final chapters, they are all great characters. This is where the idea of European accents for Xenoblade 2 came from, as the original is full of them. If anyone played Xenoblade 2 and was put off by the dub, please give this dub a shot. Characters like Shulk bring chills with their delivery in scenes and I honestly believe that even if you absolutely hated every other voice actor in the game that Adam Howden’s work as Shulk still makes the dub the best way to experience it. The story is amazing with constant twists and turns and is something that I wish everyone would experience once in their lives. At roughly 50-70 hours long it is also plenty long enough with enough content to stretch you easily over the 100 hour mark if you choose to. The game has an action combat system based around various things depending on the character. Characters like Shulk combine an offensive and supportive role by positioning himself around enemies to gain additional effects on his Arts while also healing and defending the rest of the party. Reyn is your typical aggro-drawing tank character to let Shulk get in some big hits without drawing attention to himself. Others are based on summoning elementals to buff the party’s stats and dealing heavy damage. The party all have their unique playstyles that can lead to you finding your favorite out of them no matter how you like to play. Make sure to switch your party around and experiment with the other members, don’t just stick with the first 3. Another thing that MonolithSoft is amazing at; the world is beautiful. There are plenty of different environments including lush fields, dark caves, murky-turned-breathtaking swamps, and icy mountains. Moving around on the surface of the Bionis makes you really feel small. Of course the world isn’t the same if you don’t have the music to back it up, and Xenoblade’s soundtrack is nearly unrivaled (in my opinion). With a huge amount of tracks for various emotions and types of scenes, it’s a soundtrack that I have been listening to for about 5 or 6 years now.
In the end, Xenoblade DE is still only my #2 favorite game on Switch. Still beaten out by Xenoblade 2. There are a couple of reasons for that. I believe the one reason that beats them all out is that Xenoblade 2 will always be the game that introduced me to an entire genre, to my favorite genre, and likely what convinced me that broadening my horizons for games was a good idea in general. However I do also prefer the characters of Xenoblade 2 and find them to boost the game up just enough. While I also prefer the story of XC1 to XC2, I do not believe XC2 to be a weak story like so many others believe. Xenoblade DE is a game that I can’t stop recommending to anyone who listens. My friends across Discord and real life know that I don’t shut up about it, to the point that I’ve been successful in luring multiple people in and getting them hooked. If you’re a fan of amazing stories, characters, soundtracks, and breathtaking views, do yourself a favor and buy this game. It’s an experience unlike any other.
15. Ori and the Will of the Wisps (15+ hours, 96.46%)
14. Octopath Traveler (200+ hours, 100.00%)
13. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (370+ hours, 92.10%)
12. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (55+ hours, 85.58%)
11. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (125+ hours, 95.87%)
10. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition (140+ hours, 86.76%)
9. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (45+ hours, 90.37%)
8. Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition (135+ hours, 88.34%)
7. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country (55+ hours, 100.00%)
6. AI: The Somnium Files (30+ hours, 100.00%)
5. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (240+ hours, 98.85%)
4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (235+ hours, 93.43%)
3. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (245+ hours, 97.23%)
2. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (280+ hours, 99.40%)
1. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (935+ hours, 99.86%)
So there is my list for this year! I’d love to know what games you all played this year and what your favorites were. I think it’s a lot of fun to find out what games people enjoyed even if they didn’t release this year since maybe I find a new game to play out of it!
submitted by PrehistoricPKMN to NintendoSwitch [link] [comments]

Jesus Take The Wheel - Hitting Legend with Burgle Rogue

Hey all! I’m Kay and I’ve been a burgle rogue aficionado since Witchwood. Being home for the holidays this month has finally given me the time to push to legend for the first time ever with this Wild homebrew Cutlass deck. I think this deck has the chops to hit high legend if a better player with more time was able to pilot it. I had a lot of fun playing this list and got to learn it fairly well. I would love to see more Burgle Rogues in Hearthstone, and am writing this guide to hopefully inspire some of you to give it a whirl.
While I play on mobile without a deck tracker, here is my proof of Legend.
The Deck:
Margaret Thatcher
Class: Rogue
Format: Wild
# 2x (1) Deadly Poison
# 2x (1) Dragon's Hoard
# 1x (1) Patches the Pirate
# 2x (1) Secret Passage
# 2x (1) Swashburglar
# 2x (1) Wand Thief
# 2x (2) Cavern Shinyfinder
# 2x (2) Clever Disguise
# 2x (2) Sap
# 1x (2) Swindle
# 2x (2) Underbelly Fence
# 1x (3) Beneath the Grounds
# 2x (4) Spectral Cutlass
# 2x (4) Tinker's Sharpsword Oil
# 2x (4) Vendetta
# 2x (5) Cutting Class
# 1x (6) Vanish
AAEBAYO6AgTEAZsUkbwC590DDcsDzQOvEJK2AuXRAurzAvuaA/6aA62oA7euA6rLA6TRA/fUAwA=
Why is a burgle rogue deck called Margret Thatcher?
My first Burgle Rogue deck ever was named “I will steal your shit.” Then I listened to Robin WIlliams last standup album, and it included this bit about the Falklands War. “I will sink your shit” sounded similar to “I will steal your shit” and thus Margret Thatcher has been the name of all of my burgle rogue decks since.
It makes sense in my head, I promise.
Why Cutlass Rogue?
I love playing Burgle Rogue and finally decided to put my time towards making a truly viable list and hitting legend. Playing Burgle Rogue gives you three paths. You can play it with the quest, which simply delays your demise against aggro decks (Rogue lacks both taunts and ways to heal) and doesn’t put combo or control decks on any kind of timer. If there were a hardcore midrange meta for some reason, the quest might be worth a look. But until then it’s on the back burner. Another tack you can take is a deck I affectionately refer to as Cheese Rogue. Put your normal burgles, Academic Espionage, Tess Graymane, both Yoggs, and anything that helps you not die, and you have a deck that will either pull out glorious wins out of nothing or draw three Totemic Mights in a row and sputter. The other problem is that when you run an Tesspionage based list, you’re totally punting aggro matchups. While a phenomenally fun deck, Tesspionage Rogue suffers from the simple problem of being very bad (it’s hovering around a 30% winrate on HSReplay) which makes it a poor choice to actually win games with.
Cutlass Rogue instead plays more like Kingsbane Rogue on mushrooms. You’re still trying to build an enormous weapon with lifesteal that lets you outheal aggro and chip decks as well as put slow decks on a clock with heavy damage every turn, but instead of doing it with normal cards, we do it by thieving random things from other classes.
How We Win:
By getting a Spectral Cutlass with 6+ Attack and using burgled cards to disrupt our opponent’s gameplan and pump up our weapon’s durability. Occasionally, we also pull off wins with hilariously bullshit burgle synergies.
Our ideal line of early play is something along the lines of:
T1: Swashburglar (and Patches)
T2: Cavern Shinyfinder or Underbelly Fence
T3: Shinyfinder or Fence with a 1 mana burgle card, or just coin Cutlass
T4: Cutlass or a barrage of burgling
T5: Deadly Poison and Tinker’s Sharpsword Oil
T6+: Imagination and RNG!
Strengths and Weaknesses of This List:
This deck outputs ridiculous amounts of healing. Once your weapon is at ten plus attack, you will eventually escape the range of any deck trying to burn you down. The weapon also gives us decent single-target board control, essentially allowing us to take out any must-kill minion while still gaining health. Fence and Vendetta give us efficient small removal. Value is easy to find despite the low curve of the deck, with burgles adding lots of stuff to your hand and Secret Passage and Cutting Class allowing you to find more cards whenever you’d like. Sap is a phenomenal card against the meta right now and will singlehandedly win you games.
This deck heavily struggles to clear wide boards. Occasionally your burgles will help you out a bit here, but the Odd Paladins and Even Shamans of the world will simply build another one and another one and another one until you can’t clear it. Weapon hate cards also give us fits, including Zephyrs the Great who is the single biggest reason that you’ll rage at your screen. It’s also a fairly draw-dependant deck. You need your weapon, your buffs, and your burgles. If you don’t find one of these, you will lose the game. I found myself doing okay on this front (thank God for Secret Passage) but sometimes both Shinyfinders and both Cutlasses will be the bottom four cards of your deck and you will lose.
Card Choices:
Weapon Package:
(2x) Deadly Poison
(2x) Cavern Shinyfinder
(2x) Spectral Cutlass
(2x) Tinker’s Sharpsword Oil
(2x) Cutting Class
The two Shinyfinders (and to a lesser extent Secret Passage) help us hit our win condition of Cutlass as soon as possible. Once we have a cutlass equipped, Deadly Poison and Tinker’s Sharpsword Oil give the weapon enough attack to kill any threat, put our opponent on a clock, and restore massive amounts of health at the same time. Because we’re aiming to equip a big weapon every game, Cutting Class is nearly always a 0 mana draw 2 in the mid to late game which is obviously phenomenal.
Burgle Package:
(2x) Dragon’s Hoard
(1x) Patches the Pirate
(2x) Swashburglar
(2x) Wand Thief
(2x) Clever Disguise
(2x) Underbelly Fence
(2x) Vendetta
Swashburglar is the only one mana burgle card with a body in the game. It thus gives us a free card that activates our synergies while also contesting the board on turn one. The inclusion of Patches thins the deck and allows us to play on even footing early with even board-centric aggro decks. An important note is if you’re against another rogue (I saw very few during my climb) Swashburglar will take a random rogue card, which won’t activate your Underbelly Fence or Vendetta, nor will it add durability to your cutlass.
I originally included only one Wand Thief but it turns out Mage has some very good tools for our purposes. The wide variety of AOE effects, card draw, and freezes were nice, but the strongest part of Wand Thief is that Mage has so much shit that costs 0, 1, or 2 mana. While burgling Flamestrike is fun and can be the correct choice in some matchups, most of the time I’ll find that I’d much rather have a Freezing Potion that I can squeeze on top of other cards than a big spell that will take up my whole turn. While Mage does have some dud spells (Glacial Mysteries anyone?), the discover aspect means that you can almost always find something that will serve your purposes. This deck generally wants spells over minions because spells tend to have initiative and we rarely need to build a board to win the game. All of these aspects raised Wand Thief from a fringe inclusion to one of the strongest cards in the deck. Beware of picking Brain Freeze or Potion of Illusion as dual-class cards will NOT activate your burgle synergies or add durability to your Cutlass.
Dragon’s Hoard was another card that I didn’t originally include two of. In fact, I didn’t have it at all in the deck’s first iteration. On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense. Hoard doesn’t help fight for board and gives us a minion not a spell. And not only a minion which might not have initiative, but legendary minions tend to be more expensive than average. So what was I thinking? Turns out legendary minions are powerful enough to justify the card. From Inara Stormcrash to Archmage Antonidas to Lucentbark, Dragon’s Hoard can simply win you the game off of one highroll. Just like with Wand Thief, there are plenty of terrible legendaries, but the discover aspect tends to offer at least one decent choice. Also, the card is damn fun and slamming down a King Krush for lethal as a rogue will never get old.
Clever Disguise is simply a volume burgle. You need enough cards from other classes to pump your Cutlass up with enough durability to kill your opponent, and Disguise gets you two of them for two mana. I don’t love this card but it’s sheer efficiency makes it impossible to drop.
Along with Cutlass, we use shockingly efficient removal tools Vendetta and Underbelly Fence as our burgle payoffs. Against board-centric decks like aggro druid, and decks with must-remove threats like Big Priest, these cards make a load of difference. Vendetta being zero mana nearly always gives it more flexibility as a combo activator for Wand Thief and Tinker’s. Fence is also a phenomenal play with Tinker’s - the six attack Rush minion will clear midgame threats while allowing your buffed weapon to swing face.
Other Stuff:
(2x) Secret Passage
(2x) Sap
(1x) Swindle
(1x) Beneath The Grounds
(1x) Vanish
Secret Passage is broken and should be in every rogue deck ever. In a draw-centric deck like this, it’s even better. Can't find Cutlass? Secret Passage got you. Don’t have weapon buffs? Secret Passage got you. Don’t have enough burgles? Secret Passage got you. Need Vanish immediately? Secret Passage has motherfucking got you.
Sap is our carry against Big Priest and any other deck that cheats out massive threats. Not killing the Blood of Ghuun, Walking Fountain, or Voidlord means that it can’t be rezzed and your opponent has to play it when they reach the appropriate turn. By which point, we hope that they’re dead. Sap also makes us one of the few classes that can deal with an early Edwin.
Swindle is a true 30th card. When I cut Fan of Knives (More on that below) I needed one more card to fill the deck, and Swindle felt like a generic good rogue card that would make my draws marginally more consistent.
Beneath The Grounds is my middle finger to highlander decks, especially Zephyrs the Great who gets his own section later. If you’re against a Reno Warlock or Machine Gun Priest, having this card will likely win you the game. If you aren’t, it’s probably a dead card unless you’re floating three mana for some reason. It says something about the Wild meta that I felt like this was a very worthy tradeoff and seriously considering putting two in.
Vanish is a last hail mary against a deck that does manage to build a board against you. It pulls its weight especially against Big Priest, Evolve Shaman, and any kind of Deathrattle deck that tries to build an impenetrable board. But it also costs six mana, which makes it a very expensive and very dead card a lot of the time. I’ve had one copy since the beginning and it feels like the perfect number. A thing to note is that Vanish can bounce your own cards too - make sure to play your Swashburglars and Wand Thieves before Vanishing if you have hand space and mana to do so. Another point to remember is that if your opponent has more minions than they have hand space, Vanish will return the cards to your opponent’s hand in the order they were played. When your opponent hits ten cards, any remaining minions will be destroyed and their deathrattles WILL be activated. This is especially important for Scrapyard Colossus and Voidlord, who deathrattle into more taunts which block your weapon swing into the face of your opponent. Either destroy the original bodies so Vanish kills the deathrattle spawns or kill enough minions played before that the deathrattle taunts are safely returned to your opponent’s hand.
Didn’t Make The Cut:
I included two copies of Fan of Knives once I realized how terribly I was doing against Aggro Druid and Odd Paladin. For a while, they felt decent. A boardwide ping is nice, and Fan also cycles itself so it doesn’t even take up a valuable card slot. But then I realized two things about these decks. Odd Paladin has infinite minion generation potential with their hero power. Killing a board of 1/1’s might delay their buffs a turn, but doesn’t run them out of board refills because they can generate dudes without using cards. And aggro druid would either have a board buffed out of Fan range by turn three (and I would be dead) or they would run out of steam and awkwardly flop. In neither case was Fan drastically changing the game, even if it felt nice to kill a board of dudes. So out the door they went. Replaced with BTG because I was facing Reno Priest every game and Swindle because it just seemed good.
It really hurt to cut Tess Graymane. She’s one of the most fun cards ever printed and slamming down waves of burgled shit never gets old. But as I transitioned to a spell-centric burgle deck, her random nature became more and more annoying. When Tess is slamming 8/8’s and 12/12’s, she’s phenomenal. When she Ice Lances your face, Fireballs herself, and gives your opponent’s minion a Blessing of Authority, she’s much less useful. Her cost of 8 mana simply made her far too expensive for the minimal number of times she was remotely useful.
One thing I was consistently wanting in this deck was more weapon buffs. I experimented with Goblin Auto-Barber and Vulpera Toxinblade but neither ended up making the cut. Auto-Barber was too minimal a buff to feel particularly useful, and Toxinblade’s temporary status made her not worth the slot. This deck doesn’t exactly run minion threats, so Toxinblade was always eating my opponent’s removal and never really surviving more than a turn, which she needed to in order to be a strong inclusion.
Of the other Burgle options, Hallucination and Blink Fox are the other ones that are even vaguely worth running. Hallucination would be a reasonable choice to experiment more with (potentially two over the Dragon’s Hoards) but I found them underwhelming due to the sheer number of dud or synergy-dependant cards in many classes. Oftentimes, I would have only one decent pick off a Hallucination with an expensive spell and an understated minion taking up the other two discover options. Blink Fox was too expensive for a Swashburglar effect and a 3/3 on turn 3 doesn’t cut it as a body in Wild. Both also suffer from the Swashburglar problem of being utterly cucked against Rogues.
I also briefly considered replacing Beneath the Grounds with Bad Luck Albatross in order to mess Big Priest up. However, I wasn’t having a huge Big Priest problem, and the only way to kill Albatross in the deck is with Vendetta, which is often better used to kill the minions the priest is cheating.
The Zeph Rules
Zephyrs The Great is a phenomenally powerful card and a staple in two of the best decks in Wild - Reno Priest and Renolock. It also utterly destroys this deck by generating an Acidic Swamp Ooze on command to send your weapon to an ignominious and oozy demise. While there’s no denying that Zeph really sucks for this deck, there’s a couple of things we can try.
Tactic 1: The Great Zeph Bait.
If you’re able to draw into both cutlasses fairly early (not an uncommon occurrence), you can go for this strategy. Play a cutlass, drop a Tinker’s or a Deadly Poison, and potentially play a Burgled card or two. If I’m trying to force Zeph specifically, I will usually follow this by skipping my next swing. Essentially, you’re trying to make your weapon look as threatening as possible without committing many resources to it. When your opponent plays Zeph and subsequently Ooze, you can play your second Cutlass and fearlessly toss all of your buffs on it. If you go for the Great Zeph Bait, make sure to kill both minions before developing your second weapon, as a fair number of Reno decks run either bounce or copy effects. If they’re simply able to add another ooze to their hand and save it for your second weapon, you will be sad.
Tactic 2: Make Zeph Whiff.
Zephyrs is a phenomenal card, but his inability to understand card text can be his downfall. While he understands that Spectral Cutlass is a big weapon, he doesn’t realize that it can gain infinite durability. He doesn’t generally seem to value Lifesteal as highly as he should either. He also can’t look at decks, so he doesn’t realize that our only win condition is to buff the weapon. My point is that while Zeph is strong, he doesn’t value killing Spectral Cutlass nearly as highly as he should (a priority above all else except avoiding direct lethal). But because Zeph is still a discover and offers three cards, it isn’t easy to get him to not offer weapon hate at all. Essentially, you have get Zeph to value three other things more highly than destroying your weapon. If you can do this, he will not offer Ooze, even when a cutlass is active on your side. Many opponents don’t recognize these whiff factors, and won’t take measures to maximize their likelihood of hitting an Ooze (like playing Zeph with exactly two mana remaining).
There are a few things you can do to maximize your chances of Zeph whiffing. These tips are roughly in order of effectiveness.
  1. Keep your weapon as small as possible, both in Attack and Durability. Decreases the likelihood that Zeph will value weapon removal.
  2. Build a board of minions. Increases the likelihood that Zeph will value AoE spells.
  3. Play a Secret or two. Increases the likelihood that Zeph will offer Flare.
  4. Play one large/must-kill minion. Increases the likelihood that Zeph will value removal.
  5. Lower your opponent’s health. Increases the likelihood that Zeph will value healing.
  6. Keep your opponent low on cards. Increases the likelihood that Zeph will offer draw. Careful about doing this if your weapon durability is more than one at 7+ mana as Zeph is more likely to offer Harrison Jones.
  7. Niche cases. Keep an eye out for any conditions in the game that synergize perfectly with a basic/classic card that Zeph can offer. For example, if your opponent has a 1/10 minion, keep it alive as Zeph is more likely to offer Inner Fire. If they have three murlocs, Zeph is more likely to offer Coldlight Seer.
If you can create a game state where Zeph simply doesn’t offer ooze, you will be treated to a beautiful sight. Sex is great and all but a baffled opponent slowly mousing over each discover option before emoting and conceding is arguably the best feeling in the world.
Tactic 3: Fuck it.
Go balls to the wall and play like they don’t have Zeph. Throw all of your buffs on the weapon and come to terms with the fact that if they have him, you will lose. I will sometimes opt for this strategy if any of the following conditions are met.
  1. At least two Beneath the Grounds Ambushes are still in the deck.
  2. I have tried to bait Zeph and my opponent didn’t play him.
  3. My opponent has played Lorekeeper Polkelt.
  4. My opponent has very few cards or is topdecking.
  5. If I don’t commit to the weapon now, I will definitely lose.
Zephyrs The Great is going to lose you a fair amount of games. But if you can pull off any of these strategies, you might sneak by him with some wins.
Matchups:
Odd Demon Hunter:
This deck is weird. The best builds seem to be made up of a glut of the best-statted one-cost minions, Stiltsteppers, Acrobatics, Leeroy, and Baku. Our early game generally lines up well against these minions, and Odd DH generally lacks the burst to power through our healing once Cutlass gets to a threatening size. However, if we don’t draw into our early answers or fail to burgle fairly well, Odd DH is a phenomenally consistent deck and will always run us over if they get any room to do so. Even matchup.
Soul DH:
This deck seemed to be mostly piloted by standard players trying to climb in Wild. The burst of a Soul DH that hits all of its pieces can be impressive. But these combos often come online late enough that our cutlass is healing us for 8+ health every turn. Find something to deal with a full Soulciologist board, look to burgle taunts and freezes to stop the huge attacks from going face, and you’re cruising. Favored matchup.
Aggro Druid:
By cutting Fan of Knives I was essentially conceding the matchup if the Druid drew well. This has held true - if Aggro Druid has an explosive opener, you will lose the game. If they don’t, the deck is fairly easy to run out of resources. Voracious Readers can refill once or twice, but if I’m not dead by turn four I can frequently use removals efficiently and prevent them from ever building a threatening board. A card that deserves special mention is Bloodsail Corsair. If you’re careless against Aggro Druid and leave your weapon at one durability, a well-timed Corsair can snipe it and lose you the game on the spot. Unfavored matchup.
Combo/Maly Druid:
They can’t really do anything about us loading our weapon up and killing them. I only faced a couple of druids that weren’t aggressive and none of them put up much of a fight. Favored matchup, not much to say here.
Hunter:
I think I faced fewer than five hunters my entire climb, and they were all hyper aggro or janky deathrattle decks. We can generally prevent aggro Hunter from building a board, and their hero powers, Kill Commands, and such generally aren’t enough burst to beat through our healing. Deathrattle Hunter with plenty of taunts could potentially be a problem but it’s rezzes are much slower than Big Priest and it gets arguably even more destroyed by a well-timed Sap or Vanish. It’s a good idea to play around Zephyrs in this matchup until you know you’re not facing a Reno Hunter. I honestly didn’t find enough hunters to even say what might be favorable or not. Poor Rexxar.
Quest Mage:
Quest Mage is an annoying matchup for one reason and one reason only. They can generate a lot of freezes, which keep us from swinging our weapon for a turn. The amount of Freezing Potions, Ice Lances, and Frostbolts that seem to come out of Evocation, Magic Trick, and Mana Cyclone makes me want to tear my hair out. Our healing is rarely relevant against the OTK potential this deck brings. Otherwise, save Vendetta or another removal for your opponent’s Flamewankers and bring them down to low health as quickly as possible. Quick note on this matchup - Hitting your opponent in the face for lethal damage while they have Ice Block active will NOT heal you for any health. This interaction is consistent with other Lifesteal effects but still annoying and you will sometimes have to choose between setting off Ice Block and healing for 12. Even matchup.
Secret Mage:
I think before this expansion, Secret Mage would’ve been a much worse matchup for us. The switch to Rigged Faire Game as a main draw engine has a serious downside against a deck that is able to hit your face with an infinite weapon every turn. I won a significant amount of games by chipping away at my opponent every turn and denying them the all-important three cards. Play around Counterspell and Explosive Runes whenever possible as most decks run two copies and cheat them early. If we can get our weapon big enough, or run them out of face damage, we can safely heal out of the deck’s damage range. However, a Secret Mage firing on all cylinders is one of the best decks in the game and will win with a combination of well-statted minions, free secrets, and burn. Slightly unfavorable matchup.
Odd Paladin:
We struggle the most against decks that can build wide boards without committing many resources. Odd Pally is the unquestioned king of this strategy and thus tailor-made to bork us. I was able to win against this deck a couple of times when they filled up their board with 1/1’s and had no way to buff them, which was funny but not a particularly consistent win-con. Play around Oh My Yogg and Never Surrender, try to burgle AoEs, and accept that this is probably a 20-80 matchup or worse for us. Very heavily unfavored, and the bogeyman of climbing ladder with this deck.
Not Odd Paladin:
I ran into a couple of Even Paladins here and there which seemed like Odd Pally but slightly worse, a few Pure Paladins which got defeated by timely saps, and a single Mech Paladin who blew me out on turn four. They were so drowned out by the sea of Odd Pally however that I can’t write about them in extreme detail.
Reno Priest:
Beneath The Grounds carries another matchup. If they are able to get Raza and Anduin online, your main priority becomes keeping Anduin’s health below half to ward off Spawn of Shadows burst turns. As long as you can do that, we can mostly heal through their turns of chip damage with the hero power and eventually beat them down. Developing any minions we can will help with this plan because the low-health Anduin will be forced to waste hero powers clearing the minions, buying us more time. Favored matchup.
Big Priest:
Sometimes when you’re playing against Big Priest, they cheat out a Vargoth and a Blood of Ghuun on turn 4 and you just lose. Sometimes, they do nothing for nine turns and you win. It’s the matches in between these extremes that we focus on. Keep your Saps and plan your Vanish turn wisely. Most Big Priests nowadays don’t run Obsidian Statue, but place the highest priority on sapping it if they do. The combination of lifesteal and taunt means that we essentially lose the game if it ends up in the rez pool. Even or slightly favored matchup.
Rogues:
I faced a hodgepodge of Rogue decks, none of which really felt like a complete list. Combo-style rogues lack taunts and healing and get subsequently demolished by our weapon before they can do anything interesting. Kingsbane Rogue does what we do, but slower and without Lifesteal on every turn. VS says Odd Rogue is a decent deck, but I only saw one on my climb which wasn’t able to do enough damage to burst through the Cutlass healing. Mill Rogue is cute but terrible. I also ran into another Burgle Rogue but he was playing a version with Blink Foxes and Hallucinations which performs very poorly against other rogues. Favored matchup against the entire class I suppose?
Even Shaman:
I barely faced any of these on my climb, but I think I lost every time I did. We can’t really clean up their wide and efficient boards, and Sea Giant and Thing From Below aren’t bothered by Sap. Unfavored matchup.
Big Shaman:
Sap is phenomenal in this matchup. Like any Big deck, there will be some games where you don’t draw what you need and get blown out on turn four. But much more often, you’ll find games where the deck puts out a big threat, it gets sapped, and they sputter for a couple turns while you make a giant weapon and start whacking them. Try to avoid playing minions in the mid-late game while pushing for lethal because Walking Fountain or Tidal Wave will allow them to find critical heals. Favored matchup.
Aggro Warlock (Pain/Zoo/Discolock):
We like this matchup because if your opponents lower their health total quickly enough, we can often start to threaten lethal with our weapon as soon as turn six. Our cheap and flexible removal generally lets us get priority targets like Darkglare, Malchezar’s Imp and Tiny Knight of Evil off the field before they kill us. Discolock doesn’t have the consistent board floods of the decks that really fuck us and Fence and Vendetta line up well against their threats. But at the end of the day, they are an aggro deck and will win if we whiff our draws at all. I faced few Pain and Zoolocks, but Discolock was one of my favorite matchups to play with this list and I felt like it was at worst even and potentially even slightly us-favored.
Cubelock:
A problem matchup. We simply aren’t able to kill waves of big demons. Vanish and Sap let us delay the threats but once we run out of stalling power Voidlord very effectively prevents us from swinging our weapon to face. Fortunately, Cubelock has an abysmal matchup against Priest and has thus fallen a bit out of the meta. I only saw a few on my climb, but if they start cheating Voidlords before we have them to sub-15 health, we are in huge trouble. Slightly unfavored matchup.
Renolock:
We stan Beneath The Grounds. Renolocks will generally play defensively and take damage fairly freely in the early game. Generally don’t play BTG on turn three because renolocks draw so much that they’re fairly likely to hit at least two ambushes if you give them enough time. If I have it in hand, I’ll hold it until I start buffing my weapon or until they’re sub fifteen health and might be feeling pressured enough to use Reno. If you don’t find BTG, follow the Zeph Rules and pray to God that you draw it quickly. Tickatus is rarely particularly relevant because if they find the time to corrupt and play it multiple times the game was lost a long time ago. Renolock will often have big taunt Demons also, but they come in more manageable waves than Cubelock. With BTG, this is a favored matchup.
Odd/Control Warrior:
This matchup is pretty simple. Make your weapon as big as possible as quickly as possible in order to chip through their armor. If they run weapon hate and are able to draw it, you will lose. If they don’t, you will eventually win - they don’t have much to stop you smacking them for 10+ damage every turn. I only ran into three of these decks on my climb and got Stickyfingered twice, so my gut says that it’s unfavorable.
Pirate Warrior:
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Pirate Warrior simply feels weaker than other aggro decks and its lack of boardwide buffs makes its minions much less threatening. Their highrolls are as scary as ever, but kill Ship’s Cannon and Skybarge on sight and be wary of burst coming in the form of Leeroy or Kragg, and the healing from your built-up weapon will generally outpace their damage. Their biggest strength (efficient trading with minion boards) isn’t particularly relevant against us. Slightly favored - one of our best aggro matchups. Beware of Bloodsail Corsair!
My Favorite Wins:
Playing a deck that runs on adding random cards to your hand will occasionally lead to hilarious victories with cards your opponent never expected to need to play around. There were too many to write about, but here were some highlights.
  1. I played a Hunter and hit a terrible Dragon’s Hoard on turn one where my best option was a Knuckles. I reluctantly picked it and it sat in my hand until later in the game, where I pulled Houndmasters off both of my Swashburglars. Three houndmaster buffs (one got returned to my hand via Freezing Trap) and a Tinker’s Sharpsword Oil later, I beat my opponent into submission with an unkillable 12/13 Knuckles. I find it possible that it’s the only time Knuckles has actually won someone a game.
  2. I found a Cloning Device off of a Clever Disguise and yoinked my Shaman opponent’s Shudderwock, followed by two Dragon’s Hoards that gave me Dinotamer Brann and a second Shudderwock. I waited until my deck was low enough that no duplicates remained, and played Brann, Shudderwock, second Shudderwock, and thwacked him with four large stompy dinos over three turns.
  3. I burgled a Totem Goliath off Swashburglar, Totemic Might off Clever Disguise, and a Grand Totem Eys’or from Dragon’s Hoard. My poor Shaman opponent was beaten to death by a rogue’s board of basic totems.
  4. While playing a Big Priest I got a Lucentbark off Dragon’s Hoard and a Seance and Power Word: Replicate off Clever Disguise. Turns out three 4/8 taunts that resurrect every turn will win you the game, even against Big Priest with a full rez pool.
  5. A Pirate Warrior wrested board from me, beat me to two health with two cards in hand and one durability on my weapon, and began emoting aggressively. Fortunately, one of those two cards was an Inara Stormcrash which allowed me to deal 26 damage (and kill him) on turn 8.
This deck is by far the most fun I’ve ever had playing Hearthstone, and this list is viable at Legend ranks. I encourage everyone to give it a try. Thanks for making it to the end and please comment with questions!
Happy thieving!
submitted by FinancialWizard77 to CompetitiveHS [link] [comments]

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The Best Free Online Slots - House of Fun - YouTube

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