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revserrayyu · 1 month

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2.1 Penacony thoughts [part4]

**BOSS FIGHT SPOILERS** Going to be rambling about the battle itself and the two cut-scenes that follow right after, but not quite the whole story’s ending yet. That will be the next post. If by any chance you haven’t beaten the boss yet and are still gazing upon this post then I urge you to come back later because I would never wanna ruin the experience for you.

I’m glad Himeko questioned the number of murders because I also sat there for a good minute wondering who the third death might’ve been, only to realize how stupid I was upon clicking forward to hear Aventurine’s response.

I still wish his hat & glasses were part of his usual attire. I’m glad he pulls the hat out of nowhere whenever he launches his follow up attack, but the glasses would’ve been real snazzy if he permanently wore them. It was nice seeing us wield the lance instead of the bat for once too.

So, the fight itself.. was a bit irritating, mostly due to the gambling. I believe I tried a total of four times until I beat him. The first three attempts I simply switched around different team members, using those who could easily score big against his dice and win those gambles. His first phase went fine no matter which team setup I had. It was that second phase that kept knocking me out, mainly because my healer and support units could never manage to roll higher or on par with Aventurine’s number seeing how they could only attack a single target at a time. It also didn’t help that I had no ice or physical characters properly leveled up to assist Serval in weakness breaking.. until I remembered destruction Trailblazer existed. So, after struggling with different teams for a good hour, I decided to do some relic farming (which basically resulted in me taking the first gold pieces I could get) while also getting materials to level up traces and a random light cone because I have literally not switched back to this path since we first acquired the flaming lance. Half hour later and my destruction Trailblazer was ready to come out of retirement with a hasty, last minute build.

Of course the stats are not the greatest thing in the world (all relics, traces and lc not even maxed out) and I wasn’t confident that I would do any better than my previous attempts against Aventurine, where the lowest I managed to bring him down to in his second phase was about 60% before biting the dust. After activating a pair of consumables and fighting through the first phase as usual, I would like to think everything was going rather smoothly with how well I was keeping everyone alive at least.

The team wide gambles during the second phase went as well as I imagined; Serval and Stelle would manage to score high with their AoE while Huohuo and Bronya would typically suffer and take a hit. They might’ve tied once or twice but the odds were certainly not in my favor whenever those two would roll the dice. By some strange stroke of luck though, I finally managed to beat the fancy gambler! Thank god too because if this team failed, I would’ve been all out of ideas.

The following cutscene is good and I wish I had taken more screenshots but I was caught up in enjoying it. Aventurine’s really out here acting like a Meowth using Pay Day twenty times in a row.

I do feel bad for Acheron, walking a path she doesn’t even want to tread on and endlessly looking for someone. Haven’t a clue on who she might’ve been talking to though.

Himeko and Welt protecting the kids like the good parents they are! We’re certainly going to have some crazy stories for Dan Heng once we return to the Express. Dude is probably just chilling in the archives, maybe having some snacks with Pom-Pom while we’re over here fighting for our lives.

Another moment where I was so invested in watching Acheron that the idea of screenshots left my mind completely, but ohhh boy, the extent of her power is grand indeed. It’s a bit similar to what was shown in her character trailer but seeing her ultimate like this in game is truly an experience.

Big fan of the brief moment where she’s shown to sheath her sword again..

..and the way it goes from the monochrome world to reality and it starts raining hard is so very nice. Can’t help but think back to what Aventurine’s sister said about rain though at this time.

Finally getting that confirmation of her path even though it was no secret to us.

I really hope so because the longer we linger here the more worried for Aventurine I become.

This gives me little hope that Robin might be alive? If whomever is behind this just wanted to cover up the truth about Penacony and its recent happenings, then simply taking away their ability to speak should be effective enough. Death seems a bit too extreme but perhaps that was merely an accident. Or at least I hope so. I want her alive if you couldn’t tell.

So Aventurine had this all planned out? Putting himself and Acheron on opposing sides so she would have to draw her blade against him, all to nullify that strange Harmony magic that Sunday placed upon him? This man is out here playing 3d chess.

And like a fool I feel for his bluff about wanting to make our stellaron explode. But if his stone is broken, does that mean he never planned to make it out of this fight alive in the first place? I know his future was grim due to the conditions Sunday placed upon him, regardless if Aventurine managed to solve Robin’s case or not, but I still don’t like the sound of this!

Yes, please, wake up pretty boy. In reality and alive, preferably. Also, I wonder how much longer we’ll need to wait until we can finally get an explanation behind the red text. I have my guesses, but wish to know for sure.

Both of them asking and giving such real answers.. ahh. Life and death truly are such frightening things.

I would like to know the meaning behind your words, ma’am. Why must you do this? Are you even aware of it? What if I uno reverse card you and give you anxiety instead huh??

I’m thankful Acheron reminded him of Ratio’s parting gift and that Aventurine still held onto it even now, but with how this whole scene ends.. I can’t be certain if our gambler decided to use it or not.

Oooohhh my heart.. here comes the pain.

I’m sorry sir, but you can’t just give us these real handsome and gentle smiles and seemingly disappear into a void afterwards?? I don’t wanna accept this!

AVENTURINE!! You better be walking your pretty boy butt back into reality somehow, I swear! If you’re still choosing to end yourself despite Acheron’s words and Ratio’s help I will SOB!

I seriously do not like the sound of this.. I know Aventurine hasn’t had the best kind of life by any means, but as poetic as this all sounds, I want the dice to keep rolling!

No doubt Aventurine assumed that he would be cut off from obtaining outside help at some point during this scheme, so leaving behind pieces of his stone to convey a message about whether or not his companions can proceed was clever.. but still upsets me because I really don’t wanna accept a “death” from him. I wonder how Topaz truly feels about this, like is it fine because his actions were towards the mission or is there any genuine concern? I know their phone call back during Belobog was a bit rough between them but at least Topaz spoke relatively highly of him when we saw her in the reality hotel.

So this is the achievement I read about last time with its connection to the “Sibyl, What Do You Want?” achievement.. and after witnessing everything that happened, it hurts even more.

Aaahh, my poor man. He deserved better and I truly hope he can return. This upsets me more than Firefly’s “death.” And speaking of which.. I got the whole ending to chat about next hm?

(originally written on 3/29)

#honkai star rail #aventurine #acheron #gameplay #revsposts

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scotianostra · 8 months

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The Scottish golfer Tommy Armour was born on September 24th 1896 in Edinburgh.

Tommy, the son of a baker went to Stewart Melville School or Fetes, depending on what source you believe, before studying at The University of Edinburgh, on the outbreak of the first world war he enlisted in the Black Watch and quickly progressed through the ranks from private to Staff Major in the tank corps.

Major Armour lost his sight after a mustard gas explosion while serving with the Tank Corps in France. During his convalescence, the sight slowly returned in his right eye and he began playing more golf as part of his recuperation.

With metal plates inserted in his head and left arm, Tommy recovered to win the French Amateur tournament in 1920. He then moved to America and turned professional in 1925, soon earning himself the nickname ‘The Silver Scot’.

Just two years later he won the US Open and followed it with a triumph in the Western Open in 1929, his score of 273 the lowest recorded in championship play up to that time. Two more majors followed – the PGA Championship in 1930 and The Open in 1931 – and Tommy also won the Canadian Open three times.

He is also credited with two more distinctions, popularising the term ‘the yips’ and shooting a 23 on a par-five at the Shawnee Open in 1927 – still the highest score on one hole in PGA history.

Tommy retired from full-time golf in 1935 but carried on teaching the game and making the odd competition appearance. With Herb Graffis he later co-wrote How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time, at one point the biggest-selling golf book ever.

Tommy died in Larchmont, New York, in 1968. Eight years later, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

#scotland #scottish #history #sporting history #soldier #golfer #champion

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bearterritory · 22 hours

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#5 Bears End NCAA's in 7th Place

Tatematsu, Fouillet Earn Top-20 Finishes

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Playing through windy conditions on the final day of the NCAA Regional, the California women's golf team moved up the leaderboard for the second straight round, ending in seventh place with a pair of top-20 individual finishes.

Senior Rina Tatematsu (73-74-71 – 218) made the Golden Bears' biggest climb of the day, jumping up 12 spots to earn a team-best 13th-place finish. She was one of just three golfers to shoot under par on Wednesday at Spanish Trail Country Club, tying for the round's second-lowest score with a 1-under-par 71. Tatematsu had a team-best five birdies on the day, while her 2-under tournament total on par 3s led the entire field.

Constance Fouillet (76-68-76 – 220) finished 4-over both for the day and the tournament, ending her first NCAA Regional in 18th place. She caps her stellar debut season with a 72.7 scoring average, breaking the program's previous freshman scoring record of 73.6 set by Katherine Zhu in 2018-19.

After missing the first round due to illness, sophomore Adora Liu (70-73) bounced back to post the team's second-lowest score in two straight rounds. Her 1-over 73 in round three was good for the seventh-best individual score.

Senior Cristina Ochoa (75-77-75 – 227) closed out her final regional in 41st place with a 3-over 75 and sophomore Olivia Lee (80-76-77 – 233) carded a 5-over 77.

Despite starting the day 11 strokes out of fifth place, the Bears remained confident knowing that they had saved their best score for the last round in seven of their previous eight tournaments. They finished six strokes shy of matching fifth-place Florida State (+14), which advanced to the NCAA Championships alongside UCLA (+12), Baylor (+8), Purdue (+4) and first-place Arkansas (E).

This was also the 23rd and final regional for Nancy McDaniel, who has served as Cal's founding head coach for the past 29 seasons. McDaniel – who recently announced that she will be retiring following the season – leaves behind an immense legacy that includes two Pac-10/12 and West Regional Coach of the Year awards, two Pac-10 championships, five top-five showings at NCAA Regionals, one NCAA Regional win, and three top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships.

"It's a unique day. You don't ever get this day until today, so you can't practice it," McDaniel said. "When you're in regionals, you're just thinking about regionals. But when you have former players texting you, and you see some really special alums show up in person, you understand the relationships that you've created together and the impact they've had on you. That's what it's all about."

In McDaniel's final season at the helm, the Bears tied or broke six program records, most of which were achieved during a blistering stretch in the fall when they won three straight competitions for the first time ever.

Since setting four program records at the Molly Invitational in September, the Bears have continued to make this a season to remember. They defeated No. 1 Stanford 4-3 in the Big Match and came from behind to win the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in October, sealing the program's run of victories. To just miss the championships by six strokes and place 7th out of 72 teams is a respectable accomplishment by any measure.

"I'm competitive. Cal is competitive. This is another step in the direction that we're striving towards," McDaniel said. "We know where we want to be. I'm going to support, help, and be in the background to see Cal golf go to that next level. I want them to have that."

#Go Bears!#UC Berkeley #Roll on you Bears #Cal sports #This Is Bear Territory #Go Bears #California athletics

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magiamemoriareview · 8 months

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Mysterious Dinner Table

Obtainability: This is a personal memoria for Mitsuru Inami. It is obtainable through completing the third episode of her Magical Girl Story and through the Support Gacha.

Single Effect: Charge Draw

MLB Effect: Charge Draw

Effect Definitions:

Charge Draw will replace that turns’ current discs with Charge discs.

TLDR: "Mysterious Dinner Table" is an important part of Mitsuru Inami's kit. If you have the character and plan on using her during Ranked, it will be worth it to invest in and max-awaken this personal memoria.

Review: This memoria is an important part of Mitsuru's kit, but first we need to talk about Mitsuru herself in order to talk about why this memo is good.

Mitsuru Inami is good for ranked mirrors and little else. Her stats are terrible-- she has very little ATK with most of the bulk of her stats being in HP and DEF. Her magia and doppel purposely deal very little damage and put her on par with the amount of damage that Sudachi will deal (aka, nearly next to nothing). Her magia and doppel themselves will give Attack Down, Accele MP Gain Down, MP Gain Down, MP Damage, Negate Status Ailments (for your team) and then HP Restore for your team-- all things that aren't useful in regular PVE.

But where is stuff like this useful? Ranked.

Her dealing very little damage makes her ideal in Ranked, because it means that you use her magia repeatedly without killing your opponents, ideal for racking up points to get a high score. Her charge conservation connect means that you won't lose your charge bonus if worse comes to worse and you're forced to use noncharge discs. Her magia will prevent the enemy from gaining MP so that they can't use a magia, and it will heal your team-- and having high team HP is another way to score points.

So, how does the personal fit in? Generally you aren't going to be using personals in mirrors, right? Well, as mentioned above, you want to have a high charge combo for your ranked mirrors points. Usually this means you'll want a team with a charge draw character so that you can easily draw the needed discs-- maybe even two characters with charge draw. That way both characters can charge draw and even puella connect with each other as needed.

Some characters, like Kaoru Maki, Swimsuit Madoka, Sae Kirino, and Tanabata Yachiyo will have charge draw as part of their Spirit Enhancement active. This makes them easy staples for Ranked Mirrors.

However, Mitsuru Inami instead has a Spirit Enhancement active of "Magia Damage Down, Magia Damage Down Further, and MP Gain Down" which is arguably just as if not more important than a charge draw. Why is this? Why not have her personal and SE active swap places?

This is because turn one is the most important time for that kind of Spirit Enhancement active to be used. You don't want to wait for turn two to use MP Gain Down, you want to use that shit ASAP.

Additionally, you aren't typically going to use Mitsuru Inami by herself as the sole charge unit. You're probably going to field her with another girl who has charge draw, as mentioned above.

That character will be able to charge draw right away if you need her to, so having two readily available charge draws on turn one isn't going to be necessary.

Lastly, Mitsuru Inami's Spirit Enhancement includes a turn one Skill Quicken. That means that you'll be able to use her personal memoria (or any other memoria with a low enough cooldown) by turn two.

Lastly, the stats on this memoria are low but actually play into Mitsuru Inami's kit well. With her passive MP Gain Up when damaged, you're going to want her to be taking hits-- and that means you probably want her to have a lower DEF than your other girls, as the Mirrors AI will prioritize units with the lowest defense to attack. By using memoria like this, you can keep Mitsuru's DEF low to help encourage her to take the hits needed to earn a Magia, but her high HP also means that she probably won't die to any of the attacks.

Overall she's a smartly made niche character who is very good at one specific mode in the game to the exclusion of any other, and her personal memoria is an excellent continuation of her kit.

You'll want to max awaken the memoria if you get it.

#Magia Record #Mitsuru Inami Wants to Be Normal #Personal Memoria #Charge Draw #Mitsuru Inami #Charge Draw Active

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ageless-aislynn · 5 months

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I've decided to temporarily put my "Play all of Halo Reach on Legendary in under 3 hours achievement quest" on hold because... Well, because I'm absolutely getting my faaaaace melted off on "ONI Sword Base" which is one of my fav missions to play but not when I have to do it quickly and with a crap-ton of people shooting at me. 👀 I think I'll get it eventually but MAN was that an attitude adjustment for me when I tried it last night, lol! Par time is 10 minutes, I made it in a little over 25. And I'm pretty sure Six's hair was smoldering and her Mjolnir half melted off. There may have also have been whimpering. That was probably me, not her, though. 😩😉

MY WORD.

I also tried "The Package" because that was the last one I did for the par score achievement. Par time is 20 minutes.

It took me 48 and change. And I died. A LOT.

Note: This isn't ONI Sword Base or The Package, this is from Winter Contingency, which I can now run consistently under 14 minutes on Legendary, where the par time is 15. *proud* I'm hoping to get into the 12 minute range eventually. 🤞😣🤞 The game keeps your lowest time for each level and once you've got the total for all 9 missions under 3 hours, the achievement will pop.

But! The good news is that I've used this time to write today and "15 Minutes" ch 7 is about 1/3rd done!

Here's hoping I'll have something to post for that before long! 🤞😣🤞

#writing #reference #writing reference #this is my game tag #legendary melted my face off mannnnnn #GOLLY GEE #😂😉#ais is writing #ageless aislynn #halo reach #halo: reach

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the-empress-7 · 2 years

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Not sure if anyone else here follows golf, but can we talk about the fact that Rory McIlroy was markled just at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews? He had a commanding lead, and then after TB's book was released, Cameron Smith caught fire and ended up winning the Open with the lowest score EVER recorded in its history. He shot a 64! Rory had been leading. The markle curse comes for them all.

Was the only one who picked up the sub-text in that revelation? That she may have hooked up with Rory while she was still with Corey?

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grailfinders · 2 years

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Fate and Phantasms Viewer's Choice #4: Chalchiuhtlicue (Caster of Calamity)

(art by @vanillachaldea, commissioned by @hasquetzdoneanythingwrong)

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're getting a little bit self-indulgent (selves-indulgent?) by building a fanservant that appears on the award-winning fate fanblogs @hasspartacusdoneanythingwrong & @hasquetzdoneanythingwrong, Chalchiuhtlicue! She was one of the twenty-ish options in our Viewer's Choice list, and she got lucky. On top of being an OC she's also a headmate of ours, so this one's gonna feel a bit weird. We'll also give her some time to talk about the build as we go.

Just to get y'all caught up on the lore: The Mexica split the world's history into five eras, each run by their own god taking a turn as the sun: Quetzalcoatl was the second sun, our current sun is Huitzilopochtli, and the fourth sun was Chalchiuhtlicue. Despite being a goddess of earthly water, she was doing a great job as the sun for about 600 years until Tezcatlipoca rolled up and claimed her love for humanity was fake. Her tears flooded the earth, bringing an end to the fourth world.

So she's gonna be an Ancients Paladin to get some godly force behind her forks, plus we're checking out the new (at time of writing) UA to make her a Circle of the Primeval Druid to both get her the power needed to flood the earth and give her a Deinocheirus companion on par with Quetz's Quetzalcoatlus.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here! Also there's a rough idea of her actual skills and whatnot in FGO over here.

Race and Background

Calamity is a goddess, and that would usually mean Aasimar, but she's an elemental goddess so we're going Water Genasi instead. On the plus side, Mordenkainen gave us a lot of cool new options there. As a lineage, Water Genasi can choose their ability score improvements, and can even split them into +1 bonuses between three ability scores. Our most useful options are Strength, Wisdom, and Charisma, so pick those. They can also choose between a small and medium size, but to no-ones surprise we're picking the normal size here. They can also use Darkvision to see in dim light like bright light and darkness like dim light up to 60' away. They have a Swimming Speed equal to their walking speed, and are Amphibious so they can breathe underwater. On top of all that, they have Acid Resistance and can heed the Call to the Wave to cast Acid Splash at will. They can also cast leveled spells once per long rest for free or by using spell slots- Create and Destroy Water at level 3, and Water Walk at level 5.

Wizards of the Coast still has woefully few options for their god players, but Acolyte will have to do in the meantime. This gives her/me proficiency in Insight and Religion. Shame you didn't have that before the world ended. Well that's why I have it now.

Ability Scores

Wisdom is really useful, so make that option 1. You can't live a couple million years without learning a thing or two. Our second highest stat is Strength. Calamity is a caster, but she's a caster form the same pantheon as Quetz, so she's not scrawny. The third highest stat is Charisma. A god should be majestic, or at the very least terrifying. This means the build's Constitution can't be that high, though it is passable at the very least. We're also making Dexterity pretty low, but Chalchiuhtlicue's literally named after her armor, so it's not that big a deal. That means our lowest score is.. Intelligence. Care to explain? We needed some way to explain in-build how Tezcatlipoca could fool you and low wisdom clearly wasn't an option? So you gave me the same intelligence score as Kijo Koyo, who can't even speak half the time. You're lucky we have a build to explain.

Class Levels

1. Paladin 1: I wish we could start as a druid for their skills, but if we want heavy armor we have to start as a paladin. You also get extra HP, so that's nice. As it stands, we get proficiency in Wisdom and Charisma saving throws, as well as Intimidation and Medicine. Fun fact: Calamity is also a god of childbirth, so it's a good thing you know how to midwife. I still can't believe that's a verb.

To help with the midwifing, you can Lay on Hands as an action, using a pool of HP equal to five times your paladin level per day. These points can also heal diseases and poisons by spending five of those points.

You can also use a Divine Sense as an action to sense celestials, fiends, and undead within 60 feet of you. You work with most of those guys, so it makes sense that you can recognize them.

2. Druid 1: Bumpin over to druid teaches you some Druidic, it's a language all druids know, so now you have more in common with Koyo than just your int score. You literally made up that score why are you- never mind. You can speak it, or write it down to create hidden messages. Speakers of druidic can pick up on those messages instantly, while other creatures need a perception check to even see them, and they still need magic to understand what they say.

You can also cast and prepare Spells using your Wisdom. For cantrips, pick up Druidcraft to tell the weather and Shape Water to control the shape of water. For leveled spells, Cure Wounds is a mild blessing, but always appreciated. Fog Cloud and Ice Knife are the closest we get to water spells at level one, but we can pick up Goodberry for a good harvest.

Chalchiuhtlicue's also a god of the harvest, which makes perfect sense when you think about it. Crops need water, duh. Kinda makes me wonder why Poseidon didn't get in on this racket, maybe he'd've won Athens over.

That's because Poseidon is a coward, and he stays downstream where he belongs.

Noted. One last thing to mention: Druids technically can't use metal weapons or armor, which would normally put a crimp in anyone trying to run one with good armor and weapons. Thankfully, the Mexica don't use metal in their weapons or armor. Obsidian your sword and jade your skirt and you should be set! Hopefully.

3. Druid 2: Second level druids can Wild Shape. It's wordy and we're not really using it, so I'll be brief: transform into animals 2x a short rest. Change your Strength, Dex, Con, and HP, keep everything else. Can't swim or fly yet, and your limited to CR 1/4.

Oh nice, that was much shorter than the first time! The reason we're not using Wild Shape is because those two uses per short rest can also be used to fuel the Primeval circles' ability: Primeval Companion! Its full stat block is in the character sheet, but in short, you can create a creature and choose its physical appearance. Like a steel defender, it only moves and attacks if you spend your bonus action to command it, or you are downed. You can only have one companion at a time, but each one lasts until it is destroyed, so they're a good investment.

At this point she/I am also a Keeper of Old, gaining proficiency in History checks and adding a d4 to all checks as well. Living for millions of years has its perks!

4. Druid 3: Third level druids learn second level spells. Enhance Ability and Lesser Restoration are useful blessings. The first spell gives a creature advantage on one kind of save, as well as some other benefits. If you choose Strength, their carrying capacity doubles. Dexterity prevents fall damage from 20' or less. Constitution adds an extra 2d6 temporary HP. Whatever effect you pick, it lasts for up to an hour.

5. Druid 4: At fourth level druids get a Wild Shape Improvement, increasing the CR limit of their beast shapes to 1/2 and allowing you to pick creatures with a swimming speed. (Technically your beast shapes already had one thanks to the Water Genasi's racial ability, but now you can swim without getting into an argument with your DM.)

Your jade skirt also gets a little bit tougher to cut through thanks to the Heavy Armor Master feat, rounding out our Strength and reducing nonmagical slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning damage by 3. Plus you can use Guidance to be a little better than everyone else, adding a d4 to your next ability check. And yes, this stacks with Keeper of Old.

6. Paladin 2: Heading back to paladin doubles down on that jade armor with the Defense fighting style for an additional +1 AC while wearing armor. We also gain a second Spell list which is prepared and cast using Charisma. There aren't that many spells we'd need from this list though- Bless offers the benefits of Guidance over a minute, while Command will help you impose your will on mortals. To ensure a healthy harvest, make sure to pick up Purify Food and Drink.

The best use for spell slots at this point might just be Divine Smite, spending spell slots to add extra damage to melee attacks. This only adds radiant damage to attacks, but the damage is appreciated nonetheless.

7. Paladin 3: At third level this Calamity takes their oath, and the Oath of the Ancients is an appropriate choice, given their companion. Now you can Channel Divinity once per short rest in one of two ways. Nature's Wrath forces a strength or dexterity save on a target, restraining them if they fail, and lasting until they succeed on a save. Turn the Faithless forces fiends and fey to run away for up to a minute, a reveals their true form for the duration they're turned. The flavor text for Nature's Wrath suggests vines entangling a creature, but muddy soil is a great way to hold someone in place as well.

Ensnaring Strike has a similar effect, though it deals piercing damage which complicates re-flavoring it. We can always Speak with Animals though. What are you, Aquaman?

If you'd rather not use either Channel Divinity, you can use it to Harness Divine Power once a day, spending the use of Channel Divinity to regain a low-level spell slot.

Finally, you have Divine Health, giving you immunity to disease. But just in game. Wear a fucking mask, please.

8. Paladin 4: This level is simple, bump up your Charisma for stronger paladin saves and for another feature later on.

9. Druid 5: Third level druids get fifth level spells, finally giving us a boost in elemental power. You can turn your fork into an Elemental Weapon to add 1d4 cold damage to your attacks, as well as a +1 bonus to attack rolls. For larger bursts of water, Tidal Wave creates a 30' wide wall of water that crashes down on anything inside of it, dealing bludgeoning damage before spreading out and dampening fires in the area. For a longer-lived wave, Wall of Water creates a defensive barrier that gives disadvantage on ranged attacks through the wall, as well as halving fire damage. If hit by cold damage, the wall freezes, and can be broken apart.

10. Druid 6: As a sixth level primeval druid, her/my Primeval Companion becomes a Prehistoric Conduit. That means you can cast spells from the space of the Companion if they have a range other than self. Additionally, the Companion now has advantage on all saving throws caused by magic; if they fail the save they'll only take half damage, and if they succeed they take no damage instead. That's right, this 30' tall duck is now more agile than a monk! Don't ask me how that works out.

11. Paladin 5: As a fifth level paladin, we gain an Extra Attack each action for two strikes per turn. We also gain second level spells. Moonbeam and Misty Step are useful, but the only blessing we want more than a divine smite is Aid, giving a few creatures additional HP for several hours.

12. Paladin 6: Sixth level paladins get their strongest blessing yet, an Aura of Protection. Friendly creatures within 10 feet of us now gain a +3 bonus to all saving throws. That duck just isn't gonna get hit by anything, huh?

13. Druid 7: Seventh level druids get fourth level spells! Once again, there's actually quite a few we like here. Grab Conjure Minor Elementals to throw some living currents at people, or use Control Water to properly flood the place. One non-water spell we need from here is Guardian of Nature, which turns you into a primal beast for up to a minute. While transformed you get that scaly look from the profile pic, plus your speed increases by 10', your darkvision distance doubles, you make all strength-based attacks with advantage, and you deal extra force damage on a hit. Force damage could be anything! It could even be cold damage! If you can't figure out why permanent advantage on a paladin is huge, I can't help you.

14. Druid 8: Eighth level druids get another Wild Shape Improvement, so we can transform into beasts of CR 1 or lower that can fly. We also gain another Ability Score Improvement, so we can improve our Wisdom for stronger spells.

15. Druid 9: Speaking of, fifth level spells give us even more options, such as Cone of Cold and Conjure Elemental. We should also pick up Mass Cure Wounds while we're here to keep our followers healthy.

16. Druid 10: Tenth level druids get another cantrip, and there aren't any more watery ones so let's go out like your husband did with Create Bonfire. You also form a Titanic Bond with your PC, making it Large and giving it a swimming speed so it can keep up with you no matter the terrain. Also, once a turn after hitting a creature with an attack or spell you can force a wisdom save, frightening them if they fail. Turns out a walking apocalypse is scary, who'd've guessed?

Make another joke about my husband and I'll make sure you don't forget again.

17. Druid 11: Moving right along! Sixth level spells! Those are good. Pick up Investiture of Ice to make the area around you swampy difficult terrain, as well as giving you immunity to cold damage and resistance to fire. As an action you can blast out water in a 15' cone to deal cold damage, making whatever you hit too slippery to move more than half its speed next turn if they fail their constitution save. Also, pick up Heroes' Feast for a guaranteed great harvest and Druid Grove for a little home away from home. For 24 hours you can create several protective effects in a 30-90 foot cube of outdoor space. There's a lot of options so we won't mention them all here, but if you cast it in the same place every day for a year it becomes permanent.

18. Druid 12: Use your last ASI to pick up the Tough feat for an extra 36 HP now and 2 more every time you level up from here. Again, just because you're a caster doesn't mean you're squishy.

19. Druid 13: Frankly, I don't think theRE'S any spells we'd wanT frOm the seventh level list. Realistically, just upcast eleMental weapon or smites.

20. Druid 14: With our final level, another option appears to spend our higher level spell slots on, when we become a Scourge of the Ancients. As part of the bonus action used to command the primeval companion, you can also spend a spell slot for several benefits, all lasting an hour. The creature becomes Huge if there's enough space and gains 10 times the spell slot's level in temporary HP. (Amazingly, this actually downplays the size of the Deinocheirus. Huge is only 15' tall, while the real thing was almost 30.) The companion also deals 1d8 plus the spell slot's level in extra damage on an attack, and their speed increases by 5 times the spell slot's level.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Your dino buddy is extremely powerful against magic, and is probably large enough to get full cover behind. Including your aura, your companion has a save with at least a +4 bonus in all three of the most common saves, as well as advantage with those saves and evasion to prevent damage from those attacks anyway. This is one dinosaur the meteors can't kill.

You're also skilled at supporting the rest of your party as well, without sacrificing self-sufficiency. While you can deal plenty of damage with smites and the like, you can also heal and bolster the party just as well.

This build is also quite good at shutting down movement in a way that only you can move through easily, flooding the arena to give yourself easy pickings against whatever you're hunting.

Cons:

Technically we've only got heavy armor and solid weapons through a loophole. Rules as written there's no way to get heavy armor without breaking some kind of druid law. TBF if you showed me real-life examples of jade armor of w/e I'd at least give you a some kind of homebrewed set of armor, but don't expect this to work in adventurer's league.

The Deinocheirus is strong against magic, not physical attacks. I'm told 19 AC is good, but only having 80 HP is not. At least we can make more. Also its damage sucks balls at high levels. Don't use this as an extra fighter.

Despite getting so much magic, we don't have any in-character ways to deal with flying enemies. Anything that can stay above sea-level will definitely be a problem for this build.

#fgo #fate grand order #D&D 5e #DND #Chalchiuhtlicue #paladin #druid

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h-worksrambles · 2 years

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The two versions of Sonic Unleashed are so interesting to me because I honestly can’t decide which one I like more.

The HD Unleashed on Xbox 360 and PS3 always struck me as having some of the highest highs in the Sonic series but also some of the lowest lows. It looks gorgeous, especially for the time it came out and the art direction does a splendid job selling the vibe of an adventure round the world. It has some of the most spectacle heavy, fast paced levels of all the Boost games. It’s also probably the hardest Boost game which is probably why it tends to score better with die hard Sonic fans who are more patient and looking for a challenge, than it does with newbies or general audience who come to it with no idea what to expect, get their butts kicked three levels in and bounce off. When everything clicks, it looks and feels amazing. And when you couple that with the gorgeous cutscenes, possible one of the best OSTs in the entire franchise and a simple but surprisingly wholesome story, it makes for a really fun and sprawling adventure.

On the other hand, while it’s exhilarating at its best, at its worst this game makes me want to put my head through a wall. The biggest offender is obviously medal collection. Making the player grind to a halt to pick up mandatory collectibles is just aggravating. It’s not so bad in the night stages where taking your time is encouraged, but in the day stages it’s insufferable. I find it always spikes around Adabat/Jungle Joyride where you get the 6th Chaos Emerald. No matter how diligent I am on any given replay, I always find myself having to stop and backtrack for medals here. Which adds insult to injury because I don’t even like Jungle Joyride. It encapsulates a lot of the worst traits of Unleashed’s levels. Specifically, they’re are often too long, especially the later night levels. I’m less encouraged to practice them to work up to a S Rank because one slip up means restating and doing several minutes of progress again. The day stages are shorter of course but levels like Jungle Joyride Act 1 are still longer than anything in Colours or Generations, which makes replaying for S Ranks a real chore. And I personally don’t think the level design is on par with Generations. There’s a lot more cheap deaths you don’t see coming and the controls (especially the drift) are much looser. I put a lot down to this being the first Boost game (unless you count Rush). So Unleashed is very experimental in figuring out what works. And not all of it does.

And your reward for all of this is the worst final level and final boss of the mainline series (at least in my opinion). HD Unleashed is pretty great for a lot of its runtime but you have to put up with some real BS to get there and it really falls off near the end. A lot of the minute issues worsen near the endgame and all the worst levels are packed together there too. Whenever I replay HD Unleashed, I’m always super into it at the start but by the time I reach the final levels, I just kind of want it to be over.

And then there’s the Wii/PS2 version. Getting it out of the way, the worst part of this is how cut down it feels compared to the HD version. It naturally looks worse. Empire City and Savannah Citadel are cut for no real reason. And the charming huh words are replaced with these ugly point and click maps that look like something out of a smartphone game. It’s naturally very stripped down and lacks a lot of the flavour…

And yet, some of those cuts are actually good? Medals being optional rewards that get you extra lives and other bonuses is so much more palatable than making them progression gates. Plus, they’re now rewards for good ranks rather than forcing you to stop and look for them so they encourage you to actually get better at the game. I also think the daytime levels actually fix some of the problems in the HD counterpart. Assuming you play with a GameCube/Classic Controller to circumvent the annoying motion controls, then the drift feels much tighter, the homing attack and boost aren’t mapped to same button anymore, and, hot take here, but the level design is actually better in some ways than the HD version. Less cheap deaths and bottomless pits you can’t see coming because the camera’s zoomed in too close.The length is also closer to Generations. Not so short that you’re done in a minute but also not so long that replaying for S ranks is a chore.

The Werehog levels are definitely worse of due to a downgraded combat system that robs them of any depth the HD version might have had, but between having less annoying QTEs, and being split into shorter, but more numerous acts, (which again, makes S rank replays more manageable), there’s still some pros even here. Plus, the EXP system is much less grindy here. Maxing out the Werehog is so much less tedious.

I still admittedly don’t care for the Secret Rings esque missions, but I’ll take them over the Hot Dog Challenges or the unfair optional acts and DLC levels in the HD version. Couple that with a final level and boss fight that isn’t awful this time, and the fact that the fun story and cutscenes are still intact, and Unwiished is..actually pretty great. It’s definitely missing a lot of the HD version’s charm and that game is still certainly more complete. But when you remove a lot of the bloat from that version it’s a lot easier to enjoy the best parts of Unleashed.

I guess I just wanted to ruminate on my feelings on the two versions of Unleashed because I have a complicated relationship with the game. Like I said, to me, of all the Boost games it’s always been the one with the highest highs and the lowest lows. I don’t go back to it as much as Colours or Generations even though there are parts I think eclipse either of those two games. I always liked it, but it was never one of my absolute favourites, so while I was really happy to see it gain more of a following in recent years, I wasn’t exactly stanning the game myself, especially when the praise tends to revolve almost entirely around the HD version, where as I think both versions have their pros and cons. The Wii version fixes a lot of the problems I have with the HD one, but it also lacks a lot of the flavour and many of the cuts feel like a step too far. They definitely complement each other and I’d recommend both to series’ fans, but it all serves to make them very interesting titles to reflect on.

#sonic unleashed #sonic the hedgehog #general thoughts

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kendalynnjackson · 24 days

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Children and America’s Literacy Crisis

A Pew Research Center study found that nearly one out of four adult Americans goes at least 12 months without reading a book. The average American reads 12.6 books per year, down from 15.6 in 2016. Fewer adults than ever before are reading more than 10 books annually, with the decline most notable among college graduates.

The lack of reading among American adults can be connected to the national literacy crisis: More than 20 percent of the country is illiterate, while roughly 54 percent of adults have a literacy level on par with a sixth-grade student or lower. A Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies study found that Americans trailed Japan, Canada, Australia, Finland, and several additional countries in reading, as well as math and problem-solving.

The literacy crisis can be seen in the nation’s children as well. A study from the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance found that only 33 percent of American students read at a proficient level. The organization has monitored child literacy for over 40 years, and while math scores have notably risen, reading scores have stagnated or decreased.

The importance of supporting literacy and instilling a love of reading in children from an early age cannot be overstated. Children who cannot read proficiently, or who struggle to read at all, are more likely to fail classes and accrue more absences. Students with low literacy are also more likely to act out in class, along with other behaviors that make it difficult for students to graduate on time, if at all. Adults who do not complete their high school education face a myriad of challenges, including a lower annual salary and a greater likelihood of various health risks.

One of the most simple and effective ways to help children improve literacy and develop a positive relationship with reading is to read with them at bedtime. Changing reading from an arduous task associated with school into a fun bonding experience makes all the difference for some children. Similarly, older family members can model good reading behavior, and improve their own literacy and vocabulary, by reading regularly.

Additional tips include providing children with access to libraries and library cards, remembering to bring reading materials on family vacations, and encouraging all types of reading, including magazines and comic books. It can also be helpful to read what children are reading and make further recommendations. A few of the most popular children’s books of all time include Where the Wild Things Are, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Hobbit, and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.

On a national scale, lawmakers can look to states like Massachusetts, the national leader in child literacy, to help improve states with inferior child literacy levels, such as California, the state with the lowest literacy rate among adults. Individuals can contribute to many philanthropic organizations providing literacy services to children and adults throughout the nation, including Save the Children and programs managed by the Division of Adult Education and Literacy, part of the Department of Education.

#Kendalynn Jackson

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mzxgameing · 1 month

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Scottie Scheffler Makes History

Secures Unprecedented Players Championship Defense as Wyndham Clark's Vital Putt Misses

Wyndham Clark believed his ball had found the cup. TPC Sawgrass shared the sentiment, as did spectators, as they watched the ball roll tantalizingly close to the hole. Yet, despite some of it appearing to be in, fate had a different outcome. The crucial birdie putt, which would have forced a playoff with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, agonizingly lipped out, sealing Scheffler's status as the first-ever back-to-back winner of The Players Championship.

Scheffler staged a remarkable comeback on Sunday, erasing a five-stroke deficit to successfully defend his title by the narrowest of margins in Florida. He navigated the Stadium Course with a scintillating eight-under 64, a performance that matched the lowest round of the tournament, securing victory by a single stroke with a total score of 20-under par.

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His triumph at the 50th edition of the PGA Tour's flagship event earned the 25-year-old a winner's share of $4.5 million from the $25 million prize purse. This marked his eighth victory on the PGA Tour and his second triumph in just days, following his dominant performance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational the previous week. Scheffler's consecutive wins further solidify his position as a dominant force in men's golf, especially with his unprecedented defense of golf's esteemed 'fifth major'.

Reflecting on his achievement, Scheffler expressed gratitude, acknowledging the rarity of the opportunity. "It's tough enough to win one Players, so to have it back-to-back is extremely special. Really thankful," he shared with reporters, encapsulating the significance of his historic feat.

Clark expressed his disbelief, stating, "I don't know how that putt doesn't go in." It marked a painful conclusion to what had been yet another impressive week for the reigning US Open champion and world No. 5. Despite his stellar performance, Clark was compelled to settle for a tied second-place finish, alongside compatriots Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele.

As they approached the final tee, all three players found themselves in need of a birdie to force a playoff. While Brian Harman, the reigning Open champion, and Xander Schauffele, ranked sixth in the world, managed to position themselves within a few feet of potentially extending the tournament, Clark's fate was decided by mere millimeters.

From a distance exceeding 16 feet, the 30-year-old meticulously executed his birdie attempt. Yet, despite appearing to be on target, the ball defied expectations, leaving Clark in a state of disbelief. Moments later, he resigned to tapping in for par, a stark reminder of the fine margins that separate triumph from disappointment in the world of professional golf.

CREDIT CNN

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gertlushgaming · 4 months

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nGolf Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

For this nGolf Review, we attempt to become a professional, you have to collect all stars on each stage and accomplish the lowest amount of hits. Study the layout of the map, take as many attempts as you need, and obtain the title of champion!

nGolf Review Pros:

- Decent graphics. - 221MB download size. - Supports playing with the joycons and controllers. - Crazy golf gameplay. - Simply line up the arrow and power then press go. - The hole has a slight magnetic pull to help aid putting. - No loading between holes. - End of world event scorecard. - Handy restart level or platform menu option. - Very bright and colorful game world. - Easy to get into. - The par score is shown on each hole. - Earn stars on each hole by collecting them en route to the hole. - Fast-paced. - Each world has a progress completion percentage based on stars earned. - You can replay levels. - Eight worlds to unlock and play. - Upbeat soundtrack. - Arcade presentation. nGolf Review Cons: - Cannot rebind controls. - Little replay value mostly because you get nothing for 100 percent completion of a course. - No unlocks. - Doesn't have online leaderboards. - Cannot move the camera so at times it can be hard to make obstacles out. - The aiming bar clashes with the courses making it hard to see and use. Related Post: ARK: Survival Ascended Review (PlayStation 5) nGolf: Official website. Developer: RedDeerGames Publisher: RedDeerGames Store Links - Nintendo Read the full article

#Indie #Nindies #NintendoSwitch

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thecustomerexperienceexperts · 4 months

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The Essential Services Commission raises the bar with ongoing CX benchmarking

The ESC Water Performance Report for 2021-22 showed a small improvement in the overall average score for customer experience in the Victorian Regional Water sector compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, the overall average score remained stable for the Victorian Metropolitan Water sector, suggesting that customers continued to receive a similar level of customer service as previous years, despite the uncertainty and change due to the pandemic.

However, the longer-term trend reflects that stability and complacency is causing stagnation in overall scoring, said CSBA managing director, Paul van Veenendaal, commending the ESC for its commitment to improve customer experience using ongoing CX benchmarking to provide insights.

The ESC annual report includes the analysis of all of Victoria’s water businesses against key service measures, such as customer bills, household water use and customer experience. As part of the report, ESC commissioned CSBA to independently benchmark the call centre performance of Victorian water businesses over a 12-month period.

The value of CX benchmarking

“Measuring the customer’s experience gives you clarity on where you stand from the customer’s perspective,” explained van Veenendaal. “It helps each water business identify specific areas for improvement. At the same time, you can compare your performance against your peers and with other sectors.”

“The ESC is a role model for industry regulators. It has taken the leadership to make customer experience benchmarking central in driving continuous improvement for all 15 water businesses in Victoria,” he said.

The power of CX insights

The latest report shows that while customer service scores have remained consistent for the last three years, there is considerable opportunity to uplift the level of customer service from good to best for Victorian Water retailers.

Ease continued to be the lowest scoring index for all retailers at 36%, compared to Success at 70% and Sentiment at 64%, indicating a need for retailers to be proactive at being transparent to keep customers informed. There is also a need to increase “ownership” in helping customers feel that they are being helped by a person with knowledge and skills.

Barwon water continued to be the best performing retailer with an overall score of 73% compared to the sector’s average overall score of 57%. While GWM Water had the greatest overall score improvement, increasing its ranking from sixth to second.

The Victorian Water sector performed on par with the Australian Water sector and Utilities. However, when compared to top performers, showed clear room for improvement.

ESC and CSBA partnership

Since 2009, CSBA has worked with ESC to measure call centre performance using 30 unique criteria in the key areas of Ease (the effort the customer must expend to accomplish their goals), Sentiment (how the interaction makes the customer feel) and Success (the degree to which the customer is able to accomplish their goals).

This partnership will strengthen and evolve as we continue to reflect best practice in navigating the fast-changing customer experience landscape.

Read the ESC Water Performance report.

For more information on working with CSBA on CX Benchmarking, email [email protected]

#cx benchmaking #customerexperience

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