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i-identify-tanks-in-posts · 1 month

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Okay. So, last night I was scrolling through my news feed and I came across an article with one of the most dogshit takes I've ever had the misery of reading with my own two eyes.

The article in question? From 'The National Interest', "The M60 Patton could never be built today."

So, come with me as we absolutely rip the fuck out of this dogshit article. (Now is your chance to read it.)

So, first, let me say, that I don't dislike the m60. It's a venerable tank, extremely capable for its time, and the fact that it still sees some use more than 60 years after it's creation says a great deal as to its capabilities.

However, I take great issue with some of this article's claims.

First, the idea that the M60 was some revolutionary miracle tank, developed out of the blue, and rushed to the field before it was ready. To be frank, that's a bold-faced lie. The M60 is the result of a long lineage of medium tanks and MBTs, stretching back to the final days of ww2. A fairly common piece of cold-war tank trivia is that the M60 was never formally called the "Patton", it just looked so much like the m48 "Patton", that the tankers never saw fit to call it anything different. (Below is a comparison of the vehicles: from the front, the tanks can be distinguished by the m48s concave frontal armor, while the m60 has a flat wedge.)

M60:

M48:

The m48, itself, was a development of the m46, which was itself an upgrade of the m26 Pershing, the American medium tank used in the last days of the European theater. So, the idea that the m60 was flawed because of its "revolutionary design" not being given time to be tested is, quite frankly, horseshit.

Next up on the chopping block is the claims that the M60 is still in use by nations today. The article states that, throughout the Middle East, you can find nations that use the m60 and its modernization still today, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. However, you'll notice that none of these nations are exactly military powerhouses, with Egypt not having won a war that wasn't against starving partisan rebels since the British packed up their shit and went home, and Saudi Arabia quickly transferring to the M1, and offloading as many of their Pattons on other nations as quickly as they can manage. And let's be honest, when's the last time you even thought about the Iranian military?

Next, I'm going to directly quote this line, because it's peak comedy. "in 1991, the United States Marine Corps, one of the most innovative branches in the US military, deployed the M60 in battle against Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Army." Ah, yes, the Marine Corps, famous for it's innovation and openness to change...

The Marines wouldn't know innovation if it grabbed the crayon out of their mouths. They hate change more than H.P. Lovecraft hated penguins and Irish people. So to come out and say that something is amazing because the Marines are still using it instead of a newer thing? It's peak comedy.

Then, the author goes into his highly-political diatribe about how, because the m60 was so "rushed" and "untested", it's head-and-shoulders above any US defense project since, because it still sees some use by tin-pot dictators, outdated militias, and the Marines in Iraq. However, what he fails to mention is that the m60 was the ultimate result of the 2nd generation of MBT technology, building on a lineage of tanks going back to 1945. The idea that the m60 is special in any way other than being the culmination of a generation or armored vehicle technology is ludicrous, and I sincerely hope that not too many are suckered in by this ex-congressional staffer's bullshit.

#tanks #us tanks #military

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anarcoqueer1994 · 1 year

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Dustin does not expect to see Steve sitting on his couch, shirtless, covered in blood and shaking when he got home from Hellfire. He was supposed to be spending the night at Mike's with the other guys but he forgot his bag, so he was going to stop home and grab it, Eddie waiting outside, offering to drop him off. He wasn't expecting Hopper, in uniform talking to his mother. He wasn't expecting Joyce Byers to be sitting next to the almost canatonic Steve, fussing over him, wrapping bandages over large gashes on his arm and shoulder. There were bruises everywhere, arms, stomach, face.

No one noticed him yet. And he was freaking out. He needed to tell Eddie, he needed to understand what was happening. Most of all, he needed Steve to be okay. Steve looked different. These weren't battle wounds from the upside down or Russians. This was something worse.

Without thinking, he runs back out the door to Eddie’s car, everyone but Steve looking up as the door slammed shut. Eddie immediately saw the panic in Dustin's face. He gets out of the car.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Eddie asks

"It's Steve...." and for the first time since Eddie knew Dustin, it looked like this was to much for him. Unfortunately, Eddie wasn't much help, panic filling him at the sound of his boyfriend's name being spoken like that. Steve can’t be hurt, Steve was supposed to be waiting for him at his trailer."What do you mean? Dustin...What is happening?"

They came home unexpectedly. Steve was just stopping by his seldom lived in home to grab some clothes and a few VHS tapes he wanted to show Eddie. But they came home. His father called him into the kitchen. He looked angry. His mother sat silently by, not even looking at him.

"Had a conversation with Mr. Hagan. He said Tommy told him you were hanging out with that murderer, Eddie Munson." His dad says.

"He's not a murderer and he's my friend." Steve says plainly, hoping they don't know more.

"Cut the bullshit, Steven. Tommy saw you two kissing behind the movie theater like a couple of faggots." Mr Harrington says sternly, the cruel word leaving his lips.

"Tommy doesn't know what he's talking about." Steve tries to brush him off.

Suddenly Mr Harrington is on his feet grabbing Steve’s shoulder hard enough to bruise. From this distance Steve can smell the alcohol on his father’s breath. "I don’t like liars, Steven. " he crushes his grip further into Steve’s shoulder making Steve wince at the pain. "You are to stopping seeing Eddie. Even you deserve better than trash like that. And no son of mine will be a faggot."

The toxic words hurt Steve more than his father’s grip. "No? Then I'm not your son. Eddie is a better person than you will ever be and I fucking love him." He spits.

With that Steve is on the floor, when he tries to get back up his father pushes him back down landing painful punches through out his body, the trauma leaving bruises and open wounds. He grabbed a beer bottle from near by when Steve tried to fight back, busting it over his head and digging the jagged end of the bottle into his shoulder. When Mr Harrington finally stands up, he lands one more painful kick to Steve's stomach. "Get out! Get the fuck out here now. You are going to fucking die you know? All you fags eventually die of AIDs. Good riddance And don't take the car, it's in my name." His mother sat quietly doing nothing.

Steve can barely make out what his dad said, just knowing he had to leave. He struggles to get himself up, limping painfully to the door, holding his torso. He is vaguely aware of the blood trailing down his body.

He makes it outside. He doesn’t have a plan on where to go. He just starts walking, but eventually 3 blocks later walking gets hard, and he collapses cradling his stomach. He throws up, it's too much. But then a car drove by, headlights hitting him. It's Claudia.

"Oh my God, Steve!" She says getting out of the car. He can't even respond. He lets her usher him into her car, taking him back to her house. He knows she calls the ambulance(and the Sherriff, Hopper.) She asks him what happened but he can't talk. Everything is too much.

Joyce shows up with Hopper, delicately pulling him into a hug. He doesn't fight it. He is aware Claudia is talking to Hopper, aware of Joyce, but he just wants to die. This wasn't supposed a burden. He wasn't supposed to make this there problem.

But he hurts. His body is on fire. And the thoughts of his parents finally confirming what he already knew, that they do not love him, is destroying him. His father thinks he'll die of AIDS.

A thought crosses his mind. Oh no, he was supposed to meet Eddie. Eddie is going to worry. He tries to speak but finds that no words come out. Then he hears the door slam but he can't acknowledge it. Moments later he loses consciousness.

As Dustin stands at Eddie’s car trying to explain what he saw, they both see an ambulance pull up. Thier worry gets worse, both instinctively follow the paramedics inside. There they see it. Steve unconscious on the couch, Claudia, Joyce and even Hopper panicking. They all watch helplessly as Steve is loaded on a bed and rushed out of the house.

They all crowd into Claudia's car except Hoper, giving them a police escort to avoid the lights. It's a long night of waiting in the ER, as doctors try to stabilize blood loss and the concussion. The waiting room gets fuller as Dustin and Eddie get ahold of thier friends. Around 4am, the doctor comes out, says he's stable but sleeping. Tells them they could go home. Of course, none if them do.

When the hospital tries to say that it's family only for staying over, Hopper flashes his badge. All of them crowd into a tiny hospital room.

Steve wakes up around 8am. His head is killing him and the rest of his body doesn't feel much better. He's bandaged up covering the wounds from the glass. He feels tight bandages against what he is sure is broken ribs. Memories from last night flash into his head, guilt and shame flooding in.

He feels a weight against him. He turns his head gently to see Eddie laying next to him in the small hospital bed. Eddie is careful to lay against but not aggravate any of Steve's wounds. He carefully looks around, and he wants to cry, not sure out of happiness or guilt.

All his frineds were there...his family, asleep. Joyce and Hopper were crowded onto a hospital pull out cot. Robin took the chair near his bed, Nancy on the floor with her head in her lap. Claudia sleeps in a chair in the corner. The kids, Dustin, Max, Lucas, Mike, Will, El, and even Erica were sleeping against the wall on the floor. Jonathan and Argyle were even there, sleeping against the other wall.

His movements must have been enough to wake Eddie, who admittedly could barely sleep anyways. When he sees Steve is up, he whispers "Thank God..."

This is enough for Steve to look at him. Yellow and brown bruises staining his beautiful features, and Eddie, afraid to touch him, carefully puts his hand against Steve's cheek. "Baby..." He whimpers, on the edge of tears " I am so glad you are awake. I was so fucking scared, Stevie."

Steve tries to flash a smile but it falters when he sees the fear in Eddie's eyes. "I'm sorry...I didn't want to worry you."

"Oh sweetheart" Eddie coos, heartbroken that Steve is apologizing. "You have nothing to say sorry for. That bastard who did will be fucking sorry though." Eddie’s voice goes uncharacteristically dark, hatred boiling up for who ever did this.

"No Eds..." He whispers. "He isn't worth it.. "

"Who was it?" Eddie asks, fully intending on going after them.

"My dad..." He says softly. "And if you go after him, " his voice starts to shake "He's got the money to lock you up a long time....and then I'll lose you too. " A stray tear rolls down his face, causing Eddie to pull him in gently, whispering "Okay baby...I won't....you won't lose me."

Robin is the next to wake up, hearing Steve and Eddie talking. She immediately stands up, walking closer to the bed, waking up Nancy. "Steve..." her voice sounds hoarce, like she was actually crying.

Steve looks at her, and smiles "In the flesh..."

And just like that, she is ducking down hugging Steve. "You had me so worried, dingus." Steve wraps his arms as tight as he can given the circumstances, not wanting to let go.

After they finally pull apart, Nancy is squeezing his hand saying. "I'm so glad you are okay..."

One by one they all wake up, relief covering their faces seen Steve awake. Claudia immediately offers her home, knowing about the Harringtons and taking an educated guess on what happened, suspicions confirmed when Steve has to give his statement to Hopper.

Dustin's eyes were blood shot when he woke up, obviously having cried. He see came up to Steve, smiling but a little tear still in his eyes, seeing Steve like this. Steve flashes him a smile "Going soft on me, Henderson." He jokes.

"Shut up." He laughs before leaning down and hugging Steve. "I am so glad you are alive. Who else is going to drive me around?" He laughs but hugs Steve like his life depended on it.

The other teenagers all hug Steve, so happy he is alive. Everytime Steve tries to apologize for making them worry, they brush them off.

Over the next week, Steve stays at the hospital to recover. They all pop in to visit, with Robin, Eddie and Dustin practically living there. Unfortunately, due to money and lawyers, his dad is going to get away with it.

But it's okay, he has his real family. He comes home to Claudia's house, guest bedroom set up for him. Eddie and Robin are there everyday helping him recover. Eddie even spends the night, just holding him, drowning away the nightmares he has replaying that night.

But overall he's happy. He has people that love him, he has "parents" that love him. He does not need Mr. and Mrs. Harrington. He has all the love he needs right here.

#stranger things #steve harrington #Eddie munson #steddie #dustin henderson #robin buckley #the party #claudia henderson #found family #steve harrington has bad parents

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xxsycamore · 1 year

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𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐢⁉️

↬ 💢 The residents get back at Dazai for the prank he pulled on them last April Fools' Day... or at least they try?

Dazai Osamu x MC ; featuring also Theo, Vincent, Isaac, Comte, Leonardo, Sebastian, Napoleon, Jean, Shakespeare, Mozart, Arthur • rating: G • tags: Pranks; Humor; Crack; Cursed ending • wordcount: 1, 498 • masterlist

a/n: It's Dazai's and Clavis' favorite day of the year! Special thanks to @aquagirl1978 and to everyone else who shared their prank ideas! Enjoy!

read last year's fic here! - DOOR BROKEN - USE OTHER DOOR

"Can't we just go have dinner like normal people already?!"

A cacophony of ten people shushing Isaac fills the mansion's foyer. As if gathered to watch a play at the theater, all residents concentrate their gazes on the…big doors of the entrance. Which is not the most interesting thing to watch, next to maybe watching paint dry, but Isaac keeps those thoughts to himself, not wanting to be scolded again.

Theo is seated down at the second step of the stairs, hammer in hand. He was the most enthusiastic one about putting their plan into action, having worked the hardest to made it true. Meaning, he nailed up half of the mansion's windows, leaving the other half to the others. Which included having to prevent some from moving Mozart's piano to block the piano room's floor-length windows, just because it's easier that way.

The plan? It's simple. After last year's broken door fiasco, it's time to get back at Dazai.

Last April 1st, a certain mischievous purple haired writer (and his partner in crime, MC, that noone is mad at, because, well, she is MC. They suspect she was bribed somehow) decided it would be fun if he put a sign DOOR BROKEN - USE OTHER DOOR on each and every entrance of the mansion, thus making ten men resort to climbing up through the window in order to get inside - and in the process, having them commit the most infamous Dazai crime there is, becoming no different than him.

This time, the tables have turned.

"The tables… oh, messieurs, how about I bring the dining table here, in the foyer? I'd hate to make you wait for your meals."

Unlike Isaac, Sebastian is not aggressively shushed by the rest of the people in the room. But much like them, his desire to watch the historical event of master Dazai entering through the door (diary at the ready - what diary? Noone sees a diary. There's no diary) wins the battle against his reasonable thinking process. They have to put a hand on his shoulder and comfort him that it's ok, and the table can remain where it, is in the dining room.

Theo fidgets with the hammer, as if preparing to swing it with full strength at the door, the moment it opens.

At some point, MC rushes in from the kitchen along with Vincent, holding out large bowls of popcorn to the others.

"What if he got kidnapped?" MC munches worriedly on her popcorn, staring at the door.

"Nah, what is he, an otome game protagonist? He's fine."

Theo nods, agreeing with Arthur. It's truly heartwarming to see them bonding in their shared hate for Dazai. In moments like those, it seems like Theo hates Dazai even more than he hates Shakespeare - who is by the way also invited to witness the spectacle, and Theo is not at his throat, which is quite something.

MC shakes her head, their questionable dynamics are not what's important right now.

"You're all too cruel… what if he never returns home again?"

…

"What if he never returns home again?" she repeats.

…

"You hate him THAT much?!"

MC sighs, shoving more popcorn in her mouth. She thinks of the good times spend with Dazai… well, they're not many, but…

***

Another hour passes by, seeing the residents playing card games sprawled at the top of the stairs. Leonardo is napping nearby in Comte's lap, the latter reading a book. He even bought his coquettish little binoculars he uses when at the opera, just to witness better the moment when his naughty child enters the mansion. Sebastian is wiping the stairs' railing, the squeaking sound of the rag being the only background noise in the foyer.

Isaac hugs his legs, leaning against the nearby wall, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Do you remember when Dazai brought a living chicken into the mansion?"

"Man, that was some good soup."

"Monsieur Napoleon, I'm sorry to inform you but that chicken never got cooked."

"What, you lied?"

"I had to teach him a lesson. Who knows what animal he would've returned with, next time."

"You have a point. But hey, what about that one time when he swapped everyone's pets from their rooms? I think he was just trying to cheer us up."

"Theo ended up traumatized by finding a cat on his bed." Arthur reminds sharply.

Theo grips the hammer in one hand, continuing to hold his cards in the other.

"Well, yes… but it's the thought that matters, no?"

"Once he sneaked up in the university and gave all my students apples, so I ended up having my whole desk buried in apples…"

Isaac scratches the back of his neck, hiding the hint of nostalgia that came with the memory. The gesture was a little sweet despite everything, but still, he won't forgive the writer for doing that!

"He stole my eyepatch once."

Everyone goes quiet. The unspeakable.

"Seems like he's done something bad to all of us, huh…"

"That's why he deserves to be publicly embarrassed by entering through the door. Get your minds right."

"But Theo! We're too cruel to him! He might truly never return home, and then all those memories…"

A couple of heavy sighs resonate through the spacious room. If there is something holding the ability to soothe Theo's temper, it has to be Vincent - and those words are a little too hard to gulp down.

Theo turns the hammer in his grip, its claws facing forward. He gets up on his feet.

"Okay, okay, fine. Let's get those windows open and go have dinner or something. I have better things to do anyway."

Then, suddenly, the entrance door opens.

Everyone turns their attention to the place, Comte grabs his fancy little binoculars, Theo turns the hammer the other way around (with no real intentions of throwing it, hopefully).

A man clad in a tuxedo suit walks in, his polished shoes producing few thuds against the glossy flooring as he casually enters and then turns to close the door behind him, as if it's the most natural thing in the world. Wait, it IS the most natural thing in the world.

"D-Dazai? Is that you?"

Dazai turns in the direction of the voice, hand moving to slip inside his hakama out of habit, and when not finding it there, he opts for crossing his arms in front of his chest instead.

"MC? Oh, everyone else is here too? Is something the matter?"

"Why the hell are you dressed like that, you clown?! And why are you walking through the door as if it's nothing? Where's the look of defeat on your face?!"

"My, my, Theodorus! Why, where should I enter the mansion from, if not the door? Where do you enter from, Theodorus?"

"Did he just say his full name?!"

"Do you find something strange about me calling him by his full name, Isaac?"

"ISAAC? WASN'T I APPLE-KUN TO YOU? WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT?"

"Apple-kun? Do you prefer I call you that, instead? Because you love apples that much?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

"He clearly hit his head somewhere. Maybe if we hit him again he'll go back to normal."

"No, no, gentlemen! I haven't hit my head anywhere! I'm simply a changed man since today. I wanted to surprise you all by entering through the door tonight, thinking that sadly noone would be around to witness… but look at you all lined up to see me! What an honor!"

"He even combed back his bangs… is this really our Dazai?"

Arthur blinks, then points a finger at Dazai. "Chap, you're telling us that we didn't have to spend all day nailing up the windows?!"

"You've done…that? What other mischief have you been up to, since I was gone? Tsk, tsk."

Arthur is about to have an aneurysm. And he's not alone.

"Let's just go eat."

"Yeah."

The foyer that was full of people just a second ago is now all empty save for Dazai and MC, the former still not quite getting what is happening - or rather, pretending to be confused, while secretly feeling so satisfied with himself he could rip his suit apart and start running around. He hasn't had that much fun in awhile. But he won't break character so soon.

And the latter, standing there out of genuine confusion with whatever just happened; but also…

"I'm glad you're okay, Dazai-kun."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

MC hugs Dazai, not really feeling it necessary to answer his question.

"This suit looks good on you too…"

Alternative cursed ending:

"My! I should wear it more often, then."

***

"You've done…that? What other mischief have you been up to since I was gone? Tsk, tsk."

Dazai shakes his head in pretended disappointment, but then suddenly gasps.

"So, all windows are unable to be opened right now?"

"That's right."

…

"It would be VERY bad if someone were to fart right now."

"NO"

Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @ale-teodora @kimi00twin @otomelady @privilegedpancake @g-kleran @pumpumnnnp @thesirenwashere @ravenarld @kimmy-banana @devonares @animeworldsposts @randomanimatedhusbandoseeker @galaxyprison @sadshaxk @starshards26 @pro-cat-stination @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @keen19thcenturygoatsstudent @lordsister @ikemen-banshou @themysticalbeing @canaria-blackwell @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @coornn @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning @aquagirl1978 @ikemenlover24 @violettduchess @mcofthemansion @joy-the-reader @katriniac @ikemen-writer @tele86 Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!

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cerastes · 9 months

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Hello mr.Dreamer sir, I've defeated Mouthpiece and now I'm going after Playwright. I was wodering if you had any suggestions before I start bashing my head against this particular wall. Regardless I hope you're having a good day!

Hey, congrats on the Mouthpiece clear!

Alright, so, The Playwright:

Playwright needs two distinct Encounters to unlock in a run, and his fight takes place in the Sixth Floor. This means that, in addition to preparing for Playwright, you must also gear up to fight either Phantom or the Big Sad Lock. When it comes to Mouthpiece, the Phantom -> Mouthpiece routing is the most obvious one since Big Sad Lock requires burning through Encounters to trigger, and is diametrically the opposite fight to Mouthpiece's (fully static vs. the single most dynamic boss in Arknights). For Playwright, you'll still want Phantom -> Playwright, simply because burning through Encounters is wasteful when those could be Battle picks, BUT the thing is, set-ups for BSL actually work very well against Playwright, so BSL -> Playwright is actually pretty viable, if such a routing suits your fancy.

Now, let's go over what Playwright and his map, New Chapter, demands of you:

As you can see, this map is quite large and 'honest': What I mean by honest is that it makes no secret as to what the boss' route will be, if you simply look at where the arrows lead: Playwright will spawn from the upper left, reappear on the upper right after taking the staircase, and finally, he will appear on the lower left, where he will then start walking towards the Objective. Otherwise, we have no paratroopers, and all units come from where you expect them to come from, based on enemy spawns.

Now, let's talk about the fight itself: New Chapter is very heavy on incoming damage. This is in start contrast with the other IS2 bosses, which pace themselves into "enemy burst" phases that only occur if you don't manage the enemies before they become an issue, such as the Scarlet Singer carousel to the right of the Phantom fight. New Chapter continuously sends copious amounts of Arts Damage your way the whole way through: Winterwisp Blood Shamans, Winterwisp Blood Magisters, Originiutant Alphas, and Playwright himself all are heavy Arts enemies. So, a good bulk-to-dps ratio is essential, because if you only have bulk, you'll not be able to actually kill in time, and you'll leak enemies because you'll simply not have enough Block to contain the continuous stream of enemies, and if you only have damage, you will buckle sooner rather than later due to Playwright's constant bombardments and enemies that explode into sizable Arts damage when they die. The lower right spawn only produces Theater Golems (four of them) so don't fall for it: Just one or two units can handle the Golems (remember, Theater Golems are actually pretty fragile!), the rest of your team should focus on the main lane.

So, with the context laid bare on the table, let's talk about the guest of honor: The Playwright.

The Playwright has global range and will attack with a Cross AoE once every four seconds. Meaning, his regular attack hits the main target and all adjacent (not diagonal) allies. His Skills include:

A map-wide attack that hits every single unit in the map, creating a Cross AoE Arts explosion on them after a short delay. This hits with 80% of The Playwright's ATK. Playwright uses this 10 second after spawning, and will use it every 20 seconds after the first cast.

The Playwright will target the latest deployed Operator with a debuff that permanently halves their Attack Speed and that also deals Damage Over Time equals to 4% of their Max HP as Arts damage. Operators with this effect that are retreated will have their redeployment time increased by 50% and the tile they were using will become unavailable for the rest of the fight (think of FrostNova's black ice). He will use this every 20 seconds, and if the latest unit is already afflicted by this, he will instead target the one deployed before that one, and so on. He cannot use this on Summons like Mon3tr, Thunderers, etc.

And arguably his strongest ability: Enrage. When Playwright's HP falls under 50%, Playwright enters Enrage, engulfing himself in blue fires and getting the following effects: All of his damage +50%. Double DEF (total: baseline 2000 DEF). RES increased by 80% (total: 90 RES), and he will combo his skills shortly after entering enrage, with the map-wide attack shortly followed by his debuff. His cooldown for both abilities becomes 15 seconds instead of 20 seconds as well.

He is also unblockable and like the other end bosses, will take 30 Lives if he makes it to the Objective.

His baseline stats, before any IS modifiers, are: 80000 HP, 800 ATK, 1000 DEF and 50 RES.

Between his global range, map-wide skills, and immense bulk, Playwright is an ever present threat for as long as he's alive.

Now with all of this in mind, let's talk about solutions:

Arts mitigation, such as Nightingale, are immensely powerful in this map, since all relevant damage is Arts.

AoE Healers, like AoE Medics and Bards, help a lot with the constant damage and global attacks as well.

You want tough laneholders with DPS capability to hold lanes and also kill in time before you start leaking enemies. Centuriors, Dollkeepers, Juggernauts, the works. You also want heavy duty Ranged damage to help them, ideally, damage type doesn't matter.

If you can, you want to kill Playwright as soon as possible. With good DP generation, like a Flagbearer or two, you can actually set up a spawncamp burst on the upper left, where Playwright spawns. Pozyomka and Schwarz are popular choices, having hefty Physical damage and being specialized ranged Physical assassins. Moreover, Playwright is vulnerable to Hand of Choker! Meaning, the moment they get get him to 30% HP, they will instantly kill him. Regardless of the method you go with, you want to kill Playwright as soon as possible.

You have to save your Skills/burst for Enrage. Playwright becomes immensely bulky during Enrage, with a baseline of 2000 DEF and 90 RES. Arts damage, thus, is not good against him, and you'll want to rely on Physical or True instead. For Nearl the Radiant Knight users specifically: You can't True Damage Playwright with her, because he is unblockable, and blocking is her True Damage conditional! Bring S2!

And the most important thing: Do diagonal set-ups. Don't put units next to each other, or your formation WILL explode, due to Playwright's entire kit relying on Cross AoEs. Mind your deployment order as well, because you will need to have a sturdy unit take his autoattacks, and you don't want your important units to be afflicted with half Attack Speed. For this reason, Vanguards help a lot with this fight, giving you the freedom to set-up fast and however you want.

The main thing with Playwright is that he's makes you juggle a lot of plates, but once you understand what each plate entails, he's not too hard, assuming you prepared accordingly. If you kill him very fast, then the map just becomes a heavy-damage but otherwise very manageable map. If you neglect him, he'll really make your life hell by whittling you down little by little, initially, and then, whittling you down REALLY fast. Don't let him do that. Obliterate that catboy immediately. No mercy for the French and their Arts damage.

#ghiou alter #arknights #integrated strategies #playwright arknights #dreamknights

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shuttershocky · 4 months

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hey can you give general is2 tips? i have no clue what im doing wrong but i can never get my team/artifacts built enough to clear basically any boss with confidence. not only are floors 1-2 just way too short to get much of anything, i have to either go for every encounter node possible to try getting another boss to fight and risk being too broke to beat said boss, or do battle nodes only and just fight phantom again. how people manage a meme apsd run is beyond me, much less a normal run.

Sure thing!

Raise your 3 stars - While this holds true for the base game already, the value of a 3 star massively rises once you play IS, as they cost 0 Hope while still being strong enough to take on most IS stages. A strong 3 star like Kroos will allow you to still make good use of Sniper vouchers without spending any Hope, which lets you save up to use for a targeted 6 star you want for your run.

Secure ranged damage, then a healer, then a tank - IS2's maps bring out the gimmicks gradually as you go up in floors. You want ranged damage first because drones will start appearing in the second floor (and ranged physical damage just being OP in IS2) then a healer because of poison maps (and the possibility of getting Floor 3 Unicycle boss), then a tank (for possible unicycle boss, possible Sarkaz Lancer pinball, Theater Golems, surprise Floor 5 level Gopnik, etc). Remember that in IS, offclassing units get to shine because of voucher RNG. Lack a healer but got a Caster voucher? Nightmare's S1 can heal. Need a Caster but only got a Medic voucher? Hibiscus the Purifier and Folinic do Arts damage. Thorns is the king of IS2 because his generalist design gives him a bit of everything IS2 wants, being ranged damage dealer who sits on ground tiles, can block, and even heal himself.

Floor 6 Boss Encounter nodes are super RNG - One thing IS3 has over IS2 is that Boss Encounter nodes are way more common in IS3. While fighting Big Sad Lock is a fairly common Encounter node, fighting the Mouthpiece or Playwright is super RNG heavy when it comes to getting their Encounters. When going for these bosses, you'll need to build a cheap but versatile team right away to give you more opportunities to go for Encounter nodes over Battle nodes. There's really no way around this.

Learn the broken combos - IS2 isn't limited to meme ASPD runs. Certain Operator-Collectible combos are run-winning levels of broken. Passenger with Hand of Diffusion is the most famous example, but also the book that gives Guards +1 SP per attack is super busted on Bibeak (who can stun almost all enemies barring the Floor 5/ Floor 6 bosses), and any Spinach-type relics with a minor ASPD boosts can let the likes of Pallas or Hellagur completely solo Big Sad Lock.

#Arknights

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