#i love when a game is like here's a cluttered inventory. now figure out what to keep what to sell and what to upgrade

[mod2amaryllis]

does anyone else have a generally disliked "tedious" aspect of gaming they enjoy? mine is inventory management.

#i love when a game is like here's a cluttered inventory. now figure out what to keep what to sell and what to upgrade #m2a

[rinaris-skyrim]

2. Tweaks

I wish I had a better category name for these. These are small changes, some of them atmospheric, some of them just nice to have. They don’t change anything terribly significant about the game, just add some flavor here, an item there, a little immersive utility yonder.

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A Matter of Time

In-game clock widget. Useful for checking to see when shops should be open, checking the phases of the moons if you’re a werewolf, figuring out if it’ll be dark soon. Just a gem. [link]

Aime’s Craftable Lockpicks

WISOTT - What it says on the tin. One iron ingot equals five lockpicks. No more complicated than that. [link]

Alchemist’s Journal

More for roleplaying purposes than anything. A simple book, craftable at a tanning rack, that lists ingredient effects as you discover them. [link]

Atlas Map Markers - Updated

The original Atlas Map Markers is brilliant, adding map markers for most things in Skyrim you might want on your map — the smaller camps, shops, shrines out in the wilderness, interesting spots, landmarks, whatnot. Kryptopyr updated it with an mod configuration menu. You’ll need the original [here], and then install Kryptopyr’s update [here] over it (”merge” option in Mod Organizer).

Better Stealing

A somewhat controversial tweak, one I’m not sure works well for balance, especially given various perk overhauls and other mods that allow multiple ways for you to offload stolen goods. However, I always found it stupid that shopkeepers would preternaturally “know” what was stolen and what wasn’t. This makes it simple: if it’s relatively inexpensive and no one sees you take it, it won’t be marked as “stolen” in your inventory (though the owners might still send some thugs after you after the fact, once they realize it’s missing!). Simple SKSE plugin. [link]

CS Soul Fragments to Soul Gems

Finally a use for all of those “Soul Gem Fragments” you find out in ruins or in random barrels! “Polish” the fragments with a linen rag at a forge, then combine them to make empty soul gems of the size you desire. You can also “smash” soul gems to reforge one large gem into several smaller ones, if you prefer, or combine smaller ones into larger gems. Why was this not in the base game? [link]

Dark Brotherhood for Good Guys

Why do I want this mod for a group that’s all about playing a murdering edgelord? Well, basically, because not all Brotherhood members are edgy dark edgelords, and usually when people want someone murdered, it’s for a reason. This gives you a somewhat different perspective on the Brotherhood and their victims: information, backstories, the philosophy of Sithis as morally neutral chaos instead of pure evil. I tend to play on the good-ish side of things, and I love reading and lore, so I like this. Add to taste. Be sure to merge the base mod with the provided hotfix. [link]

Dragon Wall Wisdom - Readable Dragon Walls

You’re the Dragonborn, right? Learning the dragon language, right? Gifted with an understanding of the dragon tongue and preternatural knowledge, right? Then you should really be able to read these dragon wall inscriptions in the game. This offers funny, quirky, and sometimes just downright mundane translations for these ancient arcane inscriptions. SHBITBG - Should have been in the base game. [link]

EK_RingLimiter

You have ten fingers. Why only one ring? This allows you to wear more — though for balance reasons I recommend sticking with the default of two, or perhaps four. Something something about magical auras interfering if the trinkets are worn too close to one another. ;) [link]

Even Better Quest Objectives

The default in-game journal is rather pathetic. It rarely gives you your motivations, or even a text version of where you’re supposed to go next. I very much miss Morrowind’s journal, where every conversation and relevant tidbit was recorded. This helps. [link]

Farmers Sell Produce

Seriously, again, why wasn’t this in the base game? It’s close to necessary if you’re going to use a needs mod, or something that uses produce to create medicines for diseases. Assuming, of course, you’re not inclined to go rampaging across farmers’ carefully-tended fields. [link]

Faster Transform - To Werewolf and VampireLord

Just a nice tweak. Again, time is valuable, it’s nice not to have quite such a large window in which I’m being wailed on by enemies, and I like the more monstrous touch. The middle option - only half the vanilla time to transform - is recommended for realism and balance reasons. [link]

Female Vampires Have Fangs

One of the very few purely aesthetic changes here. All vampires should have fangs. (I’m gay. Fangs hot.) [link]

Harvest Overhaul

Find it stupid you only get one flower from that whole patch of mountain flowers? Yeah, me too. This fixes that. [link]

iHUD - Immersive HUD

Neatly stows away the status bars when you don’t need them (when they’re full and you’re not in combat). Also hides the compass, because how does your character preternaturally know there’s this thing that way if they can’t see it? [link]

Immersive Dragons

Just gives dragons a larger wingspan so they can maybe actually lift themselves into the air. Another aesthetics tweak, with the goal of immersion. [link]

Jaxonz Lights Please

Incredibly useful for those using magical lighting. This maps both Candlelight and Magelight to hotkeys, removing the need to constantly switch spells. It also means you can easily toggle Candlelight on and off like a lantern or torch. Works well with mods that affect lighting and darkness, which I do. [link]

Jaxonz Map Markers

The best custom map marker mod I’ve found. Want to keep track of... well, anything? Ore deposits, NPCs, followers, your horse, that little camp... This is it! Uses the game’s built-in quest and quest objective system for map markers. Super easy to use. [link]

Kryptopyr’s Clothing and Clutter Fixes

This maybe should have gone in the “Fixes” post, but it’s... not quite “just” fixes. “Hooded robes” are separated into hoods and robes for mixing and matching, some NPCs clothing is changed to be more lore-friendly, alongside some behind-the-scenes fixes like weight adjustments. Optional, officially. [link]

Kryptopyr’s Weapon and Armor Fixes Remade

This also maybe should have gone in the “Fixes” post, but again, it’s a bit more of an overhaul, adjusting weights of things and armor scaling for consistency. Required for Kryptopyr’s great crafting overhaul, CCOR, so we definitely want this. [link]

Learn Alchemy From Recipes

WISOTT. Reading a recipe “discovers” those ingredient effects for you. Again, why was this not in the original game? [link]

Living Takes Time

I’ll be honest, I deactivate most of the features of this mod, except for “training takes time” and “reading takes time” (and increases speech skill). Crafting takes time just gets onerous, especially in the early game when you need all this gear and your bandoliers and you have needs you need to fill... And blocking the inventory or magic menu during combat is just... no. Still, the mod itself adds some nice functionality, and it can be fully tweaked to taste. If you’re using an alternate spell learning mod, be sure to set the “spell learning” time to zero. [link]

Mortal Enemies - De-Aimbot Your Foes

Once an enemy has started an attack, they’re locked into that direction and attack. This makes you able to dodge or move out of range of the attack, and they can no longer hit you anyways. They move slower when aiming or channeling as well. No instant pivots, and two-handed weapons feel heavier than one-handed ones. All in all, it makes combat feel more realistic, and allows them to miss you if you’re clever. But beware! These changes apply to you, too! [link]

No Psychic Lock Knowledge

WISOTT. You don’t somehow magically know how hard a lock is going to be just by looking at it. You just try to pick it, like... you actually would if you decide to pick a lock. [link]

No Silver at Jorrvaskr

Because a group of warriors whose upper echelons are all werewolves would totally be eating off silver. Not. [link] (in the optional files section)

Non-Exploitable Crossbow Reloading

Allows you to reload crossbows on your own time, by pressing the fire button, before firing again, without messing with your equipped ammunition. Simple and lovely. [link]

People Are Strangers

You don’t somehow magically know the names of people before you talk to them! I personally favor the “race” variant, just because... less generic, and I can usually see if someone is a Wood Elf or an Argonian anyways, but you can adjust the “stranger” label to taste. [link]

Point the Way

Roads actually have more signposts to direct people to the smaller towns as well as the large cities, and have them at more junctions. Signs also point the right way. Especially helpful along some of the more windy roads. No need to puzzle things out on your map quite so much. [link]

Realistic Capacity

Without a bag, you can only carry as much as you can feasibly wear, really. It’s that simple. This mod dynamically adjusts your capacity and allows for the armor you’re wearing and a few different weapons, e.g. a bow, a one-handed weapon, a shield, a knife or two, making those effectively weightless, and assume pockets for some meager supplies, but aside from that — backpacks and bags are mandatory. Makes things harder for a packrat like me, but it does make me think. [link]

Realistic Humanoid Movement Speed

This one takes a bit of the sting out of Realistic Capacity. Movement speed is adjusted to feel more realistic overall — you walk faster, jog more slowly (when sneaking, too), and don’t sprint like a gazelle. Take the optional horse speed modifier file to also add more value to horses: they walk and gallop faster as well now, in addition to their other benefits. [link]

Realistic Nights

Wondering why torches and night eye were even added to the game? Annoyed at how, well, bright the nights are? Put an end to that! Darker nights make light sources actually useful, and provides a good reason for sneaky types to actually consider the day/night cycle. Light adjusted based on the moons, snow reflecting night, and various other factors for an even better experience. [link]

Run For Your Lives

NPCs who are not guards or warriors run inside and hide from both dragons and vampire attacks. Like anyone with any sense of self-preservation would. I mean, I guess Nords don’t exactly revere self-preservation, but... this just seems more sensible to me, especially if we’re talking little old ladies armed with a steel dagger. [link]

SCRR - Skyrim Coin Replacer Redux

“Modern” Septims have no business deep in ancient Nordic burial mounds or Dwemer ruins. The Stormcloaks aren’t too ecstatic about Imperial money, either, and are creating their own silver currency, though gold is gold. Now silver Haralds are found in barrows, and ebony Dumacs in Dwemer ruins. All can be be melted down to ingots of their respective metals, or traded with merchants for “regular” currency. This adds massively to immersion, not to mention offering a supply of useful materials for smithing. [link]

Sleep Tight

Simple change that makes NPCs change into robes or clothes for sleeping, instead of going to bed in that hard iron armor (though for balance reasons, and modesty, people still wear chest armor). Accordingly, they’ll also take more damage if you can catch them unawares. [link]

Take Notes - Journal of the Dragonborn

I love this. I love this so so much. The ability to write a custom journal from in the game, and export it if I want to, adds so much to roleplaying. It means I can create a proper backstory, examine character motivations, process events of the game through my character’s lens, and record it all for myself later. Just, magnificent. Get it. You won’t regret it. [link]

The Choice is Yours - Fewer Forced Quests - Improved Dialogue Options

WISOTT. Just talking to someone doesn’t automatically add a quest to your inventory. You can turn an offer down or defer an errand until later. Some things a character just wouldn’t want to do. Now that’s not cluttering up your journal. Again, SHBITBG - should have been in the base game. [link]

Timing is Everything - Quest Delay and Timing Control

This allows you to space out the steps of the main quest as seems realistic (e.g. NPCs taking some time for research), as well as control when (at which level) various quests will start. There are also a few other tweaks to be found, such as Meridia’s Beacon not responding to vampires, werewolves randomly attacking, and Thalmor ignoring you unless certain quest conditions are fulfilled, instead of attack squads simply triggering at a certain level. [link]

TK Dodge

Gives you the ability to quickly sideroll and dodge a blow. Makes light armors a lot more viable in close combat, and plays nicely with Mortal Enemies. [link]

Trade and Barter

A fantastic mod that adjusts prices, merchant gold, and other parameters around trading based on race, faction alliance, personal relationships, location, and more. Highly customizable, highly compatible, brilliant. [link]

TravelMounts

You need to have a horse in order to be able to fast travel. Offers more of a reason to drop that 1000 gold, and this small tweak makes it feel much more immersive (after all, a rider can outrun and avoid many things someone on foot can’t). [link]

Truly Absorb Dragon Souls

For every dragon you kill and dragon soul you absorb, you get just that little bit stronger, gain a little more magicka, health, stamina, movement speed, carry weight, shout cooldown, armor, and magic resist. Set the amount gained for each dragon soul on install; I recommend medium to low values for each gain, just to offer longevity. [link]

Understandable Draugrs

In the vein of “Dragon Wall Wisdom,” you can now understand the draugr when they yell at you in a fight. Just adds the English translation in parentheses to the end of the subtitled Dragon language dialogue. Now your Dragonborn will be able to understand what’s being constantly shouted at them, even if it isn’t anything particularly nice or uplifting. [link]

Wearable Lanterns

No need to constantly toggle between a torch and a shield, or fight blind in a dark ruin. Just hook a lantern to your belt, that can easily be toggled on and off (and also automatically put out when you sneak, if you’re That Sort™). Incredibly nifty and useful. [link]

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...I’m sure I’ll be adding to this later. I’m sure, honestly. Maybe with an “optional tweaks” post, too, that are very much a preference thing. Or, y’know, just reblog myself. That might actually be the best option.

#rinari's modlist #tweaks

[tipsycad147]

Collecting out-of-print Tarot decks

by Michelle Gruben

Every Tarot collector wants that one deck. The 1980s deck that you first learned to read with (and haven’t seen since). The indie Kickstarter deck you should have bought when you had the chance. The deck that everyone raves about that’s long overdue for a reprint.

As a lifelong collector (and occasional dealer) of Tarot, I know the agony of searching for those elusive decks. I’ve written this guide to help you round up the stragglers on your list. With a little sleuthing, patience, and (moderately) deep pockets, anyone can build the Tarot collection of their dreams. This article is geared toward those who buy Tarot decks for reading and study, rather than purely for collectible value. But if you happen to make money buying and selling Tarot, more power to you!

First, it’s helpful to understand why Tarot decks go out of print in the first place. Every time a Tarot deck is created, the publisher—whether it’s the artist or a publishing company—has to make a very risky bet. They have to settle on an initial print run, or the number of copies that will be produced. The publisher uses a current budget and past sales figures to arrive at this number, but it’s not an exact science.

If the number is too low, the deck will sell out quickly, disappointing customers. If the number is too high, the publisher could be stuck with unsold copies of the deck for years, tying up cash that could have gone to other projects. Print runs vary from 500 or fewer copies from indie artists, up to tens of thousands of copies from major publishers.

Most Tarot decks never see a second print run after the initial printing sells out. However, if the deck becomes extremely popular, the publisher may opt to put a new edition. Some titles are translated into other languages, and appear in multiple sizes and formats. A classic deck may even get an anniversary edition to mark a major milestone. Not all reprints are created equal, though. Sometimes, the print quality improves and errors are corrected in the new edition. Other times, the deck suffers from flimsy paper stock, “off” colors, and skimpy packaging.

Intellectual property issues can delay or block a re-issue. The Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley went missing for several years. The hiatus was due to a legal dispute between the Ordo Templi Orientis, which claims the rights to the artwork, and U.S. Games Systems, Inc., which has a contract to publish the deck. Eventually, a new edition made it to the market—but not before dealers went crazy hawking the out-of-print decks on eBay.

I’ll be the first to admit it: Finding rare and out-of-print decks isn’t easy. There are thousands of different Tarot decks, most from small print runs, and no centralized resources for collectors. In addition, serious Tarot fans tend to hold on to their decks for a long time—like, until death.

Your Tarot wish list

If you’re serious about filling out a Tarot collection, the first step is to make a wish list. Patience is a virtue when hunting for Tarot, so the list will help you focused during those long stretches of no luck. Write down the name, publisher, and any other particulars—like edition or language—for your desired decks. You can also arrange the wish list by priority (“Decks I Would Sell My Firstborn For” down to “Decks I Might Buy If the Price Is Right”).

Once your collection reaches a certain size, you’ll also want to keep an inventory of decks you already own. I don’t wish for anyone to be hovering around a stinky flea market trying to remember if they already have Motherpeace.

Ready to start chipping away at that wish list? Here's four places to look for rare Tarot and oracle decks:

1. Check online marketplaces.

eBay, Amazon, and AbeBooks are the most popular venues for used Tarot decks. Searching online listings is the fastest—but probably also the most expensive—way to get your hands on a long-lost deck. The three sites listed above have the largest selection of vintage Tarot. Generally speaking, used book lots and estate sales put Tarot decks in the hands of dealers, who pass them on to collectors. Search terms like “vintage,” “original” or “OOP” will show you the current haul of collectible decks.

Browsing these three sites is a good way to find out what a particular deck is worth—or at least, what dealers want it to be worth. I’ve seen mass-market decks that originally retailed for about $20 offered for $300 or more. And that’s without the deck being particularly rare or sought-after. Some dealers buy up all the current Tarot titles they can, just hoping that the publisher will sell out and the value of the deck will shoot up.

Don’t be discouraged if you find your coveted deck listed at an insane price. Remember, the value of something is only what someone else will pay. It’s often the case that the seller has no idea what the item is worth. They do know they have only one available, and they’re simply trying to get the best price from some eager collector. The seller may come down if no one bites, or if similar listings pop up. They will certainly come down if the deck is reprinted. If you’re willing to wait, it’s entirely possible that you might find the same title somewhere else for much less.

Try setting up alerts so you can be notified when your wish list items show up in listings. Large marketplace like eBay and Amazon usually support this function. Of course, if the deck you want is truly rare and at the top of your list, you may wish to snap it up as soon as you get a chance.

Online Tarot collecting is not without its risks. Read the listing carefully, and be sure to ask any questions before checkout. Because Amazon requires an ISBN number for listings (but doesn’t keep a complete catalog of ISBNs for out-of-print titles), sellers sometimes list old Tarot items under the wrong ISBN. It’s very disappointing to get the wrong edition (or worse, a book when you were expecting a deck.)

Also, don’t assume that people selling used Tarot decks on major sites know anything about Tarot. Some may be specialists, but some are liquidators who deal in all types of books and other items. Right now on eBay, there are decks with missing cards, decks described incorrectly, and newer editions passed off as vintage. Beware of “as is” listings and sellers who don’t describe the item thoroughly with words and photos. A reputable seller should at least be able to verify that all the cards are there and provide you with the publishing info from the box or booklet.

2. Scrounge around (in person).

Your second option is poking around in cluttered rooms that smell like books. (Poor you!)

Not a lot of metaphysical shops carry used Tarot decks. Part of the reason may be superstition, or clients' worry about the energy of previous owners clinging to the deck. But the bigger reason is probably the hassle. Every used deck has to be checked for condition and completeness. Most of the decks published in the 1980s and beyond just don’t have that much value, other than sentiment. As a shop owner, I can attest that the profit margin on new decks is small enough, and the margin on run-of-the-mill used decks is miserable. But it’s worth checking if your local occult store sells or trades vintage decks.

The next stop for scrounging will be the used book stores in your area. Because of pilferage, decks are usually kept behind glass or the front counter, so you may have to ask for them. Tarot can also show up at such unlikely places as estate sales, rummage sales, auctions, and library sales. Workers at these things don’t always know where to place the decks, so I check the New Age section, the games section, and the rare book shelf. (Unfortunately, the general public seems to think Tarot decks are worth a lot more than they are. Don’t be shy about setting them straight with a cash offer.)

When you run across vintage Tarot decks at a reasonable price, buy them all! Honestly, do it. Whether the decks are on your list or not, they’re really neat to rifle through and they don’t take up much room. They could be a useful bargaining chip when you meet with other collectors. (See #4, below.)

Magickal folks, you can use visualization and intuition to make a hard-to-find Tarot deck come to you. Put your intention out there, then go where your hunches and whims lead you. If you have access to a favorite image from the deck, print it out and put it with your collection. Or you can simply visualize yourself reading the deck or holding it in your hands. Then follow your nose and keep your eyes peeled for your new deck.

3. Contact the artist or publisher.

Through the wonders of the information age, it’s now possible to get in touch with nearly any (living) artist or author. It’s a long shot, but it just might yield up a Tarot deck or at least a hot tip.

Try sending a message to the deck creator through their website or Facebook page. Tell ‘em how much you love the deck, and how disappointed you are that you missed the limited edition, or gave away your personal copy, or lost it after revel fire that one night, or whatever. Then ask them if they know any way that the deck can be obtained.

Sometimes, artists will have a limited number of copies that they keep for family and friends. They may be willing to sell you one. Perhaps there’s been a second printing that you didn’t know about. Could be a bookstore in Winnipeg has some old stock. Maybe they’ll tell you about a new deck they’re working on that’s so awesome, you’ll cross the old one off your list.

Reaching out to artists that inspire you is usually very gratifying, even if it doesn’t land you a deck. Artists need love! For out-of-print titles stuck in purgatory, your message will at least demonstrate some interest, and possibly nudge them toward another print run.

I’m shy, so I’ll admit that this is not my favorite strategy of the bunch. Several years ago, I was desperate to get my hands on the rare-ish Alchemical Tarot by Robert Place. I got a large tattoo from the deck on my leg, and the plan was to send him a pic and ask if he had a deck to sell me. But I chickened out! I (Fortunately, it was later reprinted.)

Nowadays, I chat with lots of deck creators, and I’ve found them to be a great resource for finding those rare decks and special extras. Many creators are collectors, also. They’re often the first to know when a re-issue or new release is forthcoming. Re-issues always drive down the price of out-of-print decks, so this is useful intel whether you buy or sell Tarot.

4. Connect with other collectors.

Other Tarot collectors make wonderful fishing buddies. Whether you meet them online or in person, connecting with Tarot community will yield a wealth of information. They can help you set up trades, find new leads, evaluate purchases, and identify your decks. The only danger here is that your wish list will grow and grow!

If you have decks in your collection that you no longer want, other collectors will be happy to take them off your hands. Bring a handful of old decks to Tarot classes and spiritual book swaps, and they may find a happy new home. A Tarot meetup I used to attend had a monthly “Show and Tell” that very often turned into “Show and Sell.”

For many years, the leading online Tarot swap community has been on the Aecletic Tarot forums (registration required for most features). They are generally fair and knowledgeable folks. You can post buy/sell requests or show off your collection! Remember, the only thing better than finding a much-longed-for deck is helping someone else to do the same.

Happy collecting!

https://www.groveandgrotto.com/blogs/articles/collecting-out-of-print-tarot-decks

[murasaki-murasame]

I wasn’t initially going to summon on this banner since the idea of a Nefaria alt didn’t interest me much, but then we found out that she’s a flame wand, AND Gala Elly got put on rate-up, who I’ve been waiting like nine goddamn months for another chance to get, so at that point I figured that this banner was more tempting to me than the idea of the anniversary gala giving us, like, Gala Zena or whatever, lol.

Also I may as well use this as an excuse to talk about the upcoming changes to crafting and storage that we’re getting for the anniversary.

Even after summoning for Gala Thor like two weeks ago, I managed to get back up to around 270 summons going into this gala, and this is what I got from spending like 230 of that, lol.

Dupes:

-Sakuya and Long Long [I already had MUB copies of both of them so now they’re just sitting in my inventory as extras. I could sell them, but I know we’re getting updates to how dragons get upgraded soon so I want to hold onto them]

-Liger [I think he’s at 3UB now]

-Andromeda x2 [yes I got two copies of her, lol. Now she’s at 2UB]

-Summer Celliera [why do I keep getting so many summer units from galas, lol]

-I might have gotten another dupe adventurer but I can’t remember

And anyway the new stuff I got was:

-Gala Elly x2 [!!!!!! I’ve waited so long for ths, and now I dunno if I’ll even actually use her, lol. But I’m glad I got her. I probably should have stopped after getting the first copy of her after like 150 summons, but I wanted the Nefaria alt]

-Incognito Nefaria [it took nearly all of my stash but I finally got her. I know she’s not even a limited unit and I could just dream summon her later, but I don’t regret chasing her now. Especially since she seems designed for these kinds of wave-based events, and I’m already having fun using her for it]

-Summer Mikoto [Like I said, I just keep getting summer units for some reason. I felt kinda bad about skipping his banner when he came out, and he was actually my main dream summon candidate before this, so I’m really happy I got him. This also makes up for me getting spooked by a Summer Cleo dupe in the last gala, lol]

-Horus [I have like four or five different MUB 5-star flame dragons so I’m never actually gonna use him, but he’s nice to have. I hope they make more attack rate dragons like him for other elements]

-Hastur [the less said about this dude, the better]

I could have just stopped after getting Gala Elly [especially since I’d already pulled Horus and Summer Mikoto by that point], but I really like Incognito Nefaria as a unit, so I’m glad I got her. I also read OG Nefaria and Nadine’s adventurer stories recently to prepare for this event, and it made me really like both of them, so there’s that. I’m really glad I managed to get Nadine a while ago even after skipping her banner, since now I can use her and Nefaria in my flame team together. I honestly think that if I didn’t have Nadine already I might not have been as compelled to chase Nefaria here, so I guess that’s a bit of a double-edged sword, but I’m happy about how it turned out, lol.

At the moment I’m also running Naveed and Verica in my flame team with them, since I saw someone point out that you can now make a full flame team with PoC characters, and I just think that’s neat. And they actually work really well together for an event like this.

I feel kinda bad about more or less benching my Xania, but I hadn’t used her in ages after she started to fall out of the meta, so there’s that. Wands are one of my favourite weapon types, though, and I’ve been waiting for a new good flame wand for ages, so that also made me excited about Nefaria. I know Student Maribelle’s actually pretty good now for various reasons, but I don’t like her as much, lol.

I do appreciate that she and Nefaria aren’t actually as identical as they seemed at first glance. I mean, they’re still really similar in a lot of ways, but I think S-Maribelle works better in single-enemy boss fights, while Nefaria is designed more for wave-based content.

Nefaria’s also just a surprisingly neat character in terms of how she plays, specifically because she’s designed for wave-based content. Both of her skills feel really unique in how they function, and it feels like you really have to think about your positioning and movement in order to maximize her damage, with how her S1 creates a zone that sucks in enemies, and her S2 locks her into a super long casting animation and makes her move really slowly until you successfully set it off.

Her getting stuck in a nearly six second long casting animation for her S2 that also makes her move super slowly is kinda annoying, but I like that it forces you to be careful about when you do it so that you don’t get knocked out of the animation before it ends. And honestly I just think it’s really cool that she does a full-on spell chant, and you see a magic circle slowly expand under her as she charges up her big nuke spell. It’s extremely satisfying, lol. Especially since even with a 0UB Agito wand, I can easily hit like 500k+ damage with it by using it on a big crowd, so that’s just really cool.

It’s also really convenient that if your S2 gets canceled, you can immediately start it again after you recover, so you don’t have to charge it up again. It makes it feel a lot less punishing when you get hit during the animation, but it’s still enough of an issue that you’re motivated to avoid having it happen. Also, even though her skills are really powerful, their SP costs are pretty low [almost identical to Xania’s, for reference]. It also makes it easy to get into a pattern of using your S1 twice before you use your S2, which is enough to make sure your S2 is energized since you get three energy stacks from each S1. 

All in all, I just think she has a really cool kit that all fits together with itself really nicely, and it’s super satisfying to use her in wave-based events like this. In spite of her new modern-day outfit, she actually feels like a fairly old-school caster type of character, with big crowd-control skills and long, dramatic spell chants and magic circles and stuff, which I really love.

Sadly I think she’s probably kinda bad for stuff like Volk and maybe even HMS, but I really like using her.

Also, I do really like her new outfit, and how well she fits with Nadine. It’s just really cute. Not to mention her having a shareable skill where she takes a selfie with her, lol. This recent trend of characters getting shareable skills with really cute or funny animations that you can see other characters do if you equip the shared skill on them is really great. Apparently if you use that shared skill on Nadine, it changes it so that the animation has Incognito Nefaria show up to take a selfie with her, which is a cute touch.

And even though I hope they make some new maps for these events soon, I really like how they’re using these defense/onslaught events to focus on existing gacha characters and flesh out their stories while also showing how they interact with unrelated characters.

I do feel kinda bad about how Nadine got her own whole story connected to an OG 5-star, and a whole new event based around it just a few months after she got introduced, while Linnea had to go back to her home planet or something, lol. At least she gets to hang out with Laranoa and Linus in Wyrmprint Land [tm].

Anyway, all that aside, we also recently got a glimpse of what the upcoming weapon/crafting/inventory system overhaul is gonna entail, since they had to make a separate alert in advance about how it’s going to impact microtransaction stuff, and how they’re gonna reimburse people for that.

Basically it sounds like weapons and wyrmprints are gonna get changed so that we can only have one copy of each one, but through some sort of upgrading process we’ll be able to equip one weapon/wyrmprint on multiple people in the same team. Which sounds like a really convenient change that’ll remove so much clutter from my inventory. It’ll also make it a lot easier to use multiple characters of the same weapon type on a team together, since usually the hassle of dealing with how they use similar weapons and wyrmprints just makes me never want to bother. I dunno how often I’ll actually use units like this together after this update, but it should be convenient for characters who have the same weapon type but different roles [like how Gala Elly and Tobias are buff units with weapon types mostly used for DPS units, or how Heinwald is a hybrid DPS/healer while Grace is a dedicated defense/shield buff unit].

It also sounds like they’re going to straight up remove some weapons and wyrmprints from the game to go with this change, which probably at least refers to the 2-star ones that nobody uses for anything. If we can only hold one copy of them at a time, they’d be even more useless as experience fodder than they are now, so there wouldn’t really be any reason to keep them around other than as weapon skins. I’m still hoping they also remove some of the really niche and useless void weapons, though, and just keep them as optional weapon skins.

My main worry about this system is that we don’t know exactly what the process of upgrading a weapon or wyrmprint to let you equip it to multiple characters will be like, and how many resources it might take. Considering how many solo team comps involve using multiple copies of stuff like Odd Sparrows or punisher prints, veteran players should be able to do those upgrades pretty much immediately so they can get back to normal.

There’s also the whole topic of how facility events want you to get a full team of event prints as soon as possible to make the grind easier, so that’s another example of why it hopefully won’t be a very expensive system. And on that note, I guess they’ll be fundamentally changing how we obtain prints, especially from stuff like facility events. But we’ll see how it goes.

It’ll at least be interesting to see if the new system leads to us using more or less eldwater than we currently do on prints. 

I also have a feeling that since we’ll only be able to have one copy of each weapon and wyrmprint after this, and since they seem to be removing the storage limit on them, they’re probably also going to completely remove the ability to dismantle weapons [and maybe to sell wyrmprints], since you won’t have to worry about things like cleaning out your inventory anymore. They did also mention recently that one big problem with the crafting system was how dismantling has always been a huge pain, so I could see them just removing it, lol. The current main endgame weapons can’t be dismantled already anyway, so it wouldn’t change much, and it’d at least remove the possibility of accidentally selling or dismantling something you didn’t want to.

Either way, this seems like a way more drastic change than I expected it to be [even if it’s more of a quality of life type of thing], and now I can see why it’s been in the works for so long, lol. I’m really happy that they’re willing to make these sorts of updates to make the whole UI as streamlined and convenient as possible, though.

I’ve been trying to get into Granblue Fantasy for months now, but one of the main things that keeps me from ever getting really into it is just how godawful the entire UI of that game is, especially when it comes to inventory management. I know some people get bored with constant quality of life updates, but it’s so much better than the alternative, lol.

#murasaki rambles #dragalia lost #I probably shouldn't have chased her so hard but I think y'all can tell how much I like the new Nefaria alt lol