#Aquilifer's Ballade

[smokeybrandreviews]

Saturnalia

I didn’t expect to update on Azur Lane so soon but i kind of had to. There is a rerun Sardegna Empire event and i absolutely had to participate. My current quest is, in fact, the Ruskies but it’s hard to ignore the Italian faction considering they’re kind of my fourth favorite dock, after the KMS, IJN, and SN. I actually cleaned up during the last Itai event a while ago, doubling the amount of ships i had in that dock. Aquilifer's Ballade went a long way to my overall Fleet health, giving me a ton of experience and blueprints to finish out my then developing Kraut dock. Plus, i mean, Roma is a thing and i needed to own her so, you know, in for a penny, in for a pound. I ended up added all six of those Aquilifer’s ships to my dock so there is incentive to continue. So far, i have eighteen of the twenty-five available Sardegna ships and i kind of feel like i should go for the rest? I mean, i missed one of the reruns, Empyreal Tragicomedy, so i don’t know how feasible that would be. But, at the same time, i did roll Pola, Zara, and Littorio on random Banners so, maybe? At the very least, i didn’t let this particular rerun of Daedalian Hymn pass me by.

Not gonna lie, this sh*t was costly. This Banner dipped into my pockets heavy. I did not have the Gacha touch this time around. I am a little perturbed about that but, i mean, i rolled all of the available ships. I was looking to pop Aquila, and kind of only Aquila, but she didn’t drop until, like, three days into the event. I had secured every other ship available at that point; Vittorio Veneto, Libeccio, Maestrale, and multiple Nicoloso da Recco, so i was kind of frustrated. I was down under a hundred Wisdom Cubes, something i never do, but finally, Aquila popped. It was bittersweet because i ran through, like, two hundred Cubes to make this happen. Torricelli and Duca degli Abruzzi were a given due to the fact they’re both basically Point awards but getting to those Banner girls was f*cked up. Like, I'm not mad but i am definitely disappointed. Sh*t taxed my pockets more than chasing literally every Ultra Rare ship i own, and the Itais don’t even have a goddamn UR ship to their name! The f*ck? All that said, Vittorio Veneto's costume, The Flower of La Spezia, is top tier cheesecake, man. Live 2D never looked so good!

It’s nuts to think i spent all those resources and time on the grind, for, at best, a tertiary priority. Right now, my focus is on my Northern Parliament dock because those boats are gorgeous. I love their look, with all of the ice and dragon-like artillery. They have a very Iron Blood feel to them and we all know how much i love my Krauts. That said, not much has changed with my current grind. I mean, i was able to get Chapayev and Sovetskya to level 120, with Avrora bringing up the rear at 119. Every ship in my dock, right now, is fully Limit Broken, and I'm slowly, but steadily, leveling up their skills. It’s been a while since I've had such a tall order to fill. It took, what? Two years or so to max out my KMS dock? I imagine it will take much less time to top off my SN Fleet, however. I mean, they have, like, a third of the Iron Blood ships. I already have nineteen of the twenty-three. Literally only missing the boats from Kronshtadt’s event, Abyssal Refrain, and that has yet to have a rerun so I'm feeling pretty good there. I was able to construct Chkalov and have been on the grind to get her completed but that leaves me at a loss. I've be grinding out Hakuryuu blueprints with every intention of Constructing her next but, now that I have such a strong stake in my Sardegna dock, maybe I should go for Marco Polo? I dunno. Something to ponder, I guess? Also, I'm missing Tashkent for some reason because i have the rest of the ships from her event. It’s whatever, though. She can be my Ruskie version of U-110; The ever illusive ship i missed that may or may not bless my dock through unforeseen circumstances. Wishing well, I'm looking at you!

[smokeybrand]

Saturnalia

I didn’t expect to update on Azur Lane so soon but i kind of had to. There is a rerun Sardegna Empire event and i absolutely had to participate. My current quest is, in fact, the Ruskies but it’s hard to ignore the Italian faction considering they’re kind of my fourth favorite dock, after the KMS, IJN, and SN. I actually cleaned up during the last Itai event a while ago, doubling the amount of ships i had in that dock. Aquilifer's Ballade went a long way to my overall Fleet health, giving me a ton of experience and blueprints to finish out my then developing Kraut dock. Plus, i mean, Roma is a thing and i needed to own her so, you know, in for a penny, in for a pound. I ended up added all six of those Aquilifer’s ships to my dock so there is incentive to continue. So far, i have eighteen of the twenty-five available Sardegna ships and i kind of feel like i should go for the rest? I mean, i missed one of the reruns, Empyreal Tragicomedy, so i don’t know how feasible that would be. But, at the same time, i did roll Pola, Zara, and Littorio on random Banners so, maybe? At the very least, i didn’t let this particular rerun of Daedalian Hymn pass me by.

Not gonna lie, this sh*t was costly. This Banner dipped into my pockets heavy. I did not have the Gacha touch this time around. I am a little perturbed about that but, i mean, i rolled all of the available ships. I was looking to pop Aquila, and kind of only Aquila, but she didn’t drop until, like, three days into the event. I had secured every other ship available at that point; Vittorio Veneto, Libeccio, Maestrale, and multiple Nicoloso da Recco, so i was kind of frustrated. I was down under a hundred Wisdom Cubes, something i never do, but finally, Aquila popped. It was bittersweet because i ran through, like, two hundred Cubes to make this happen. Torricelli and Duca degli Abruzzi were a given due to the fact they’re both basically Point awards but getting to those Banner girls was f*cked up. Like, I'm not mad but i am definitely disappointed. Sh*t taxed my pockets more than chasing literally every Ultra Rare ship i own, and the Itais don’t even have a goddamn UR ship to their name! The f*ck? All that said, Vittorio Veneto's costume, The Flower of La Spezia, is top tier cheesecake, man. Live 2D never looked so good!

It’s nuts to think i spent all those resources and time on the grind, for, at best, a tertiary priority. Right now, my focus is on my Northern Parliament dock because those boats are gorgeous. I love their look, with all of the ice and dragon-like artillery. They have a very Iron Blood feel to them and we all know how much i love my Krauts. That said, not much has changed with my current grind. I mean, i was able to get Chapayev and Sovetskya to level 120, with Avrora bringing up the rear at 119. Every ship in my dock, right now, is fully Limit Broken, and I'm slowly, but steadily, leveling up their skills. It’s been a while since I've had such a tall order to fill. It took, what? Two years or so to max out my KMS dock? I imagine it will take much less time to top off my SN Fleet, however. I mean, they have, like, a third of the Iron Blood ships. I already have nineteen of the twenty-three. Literally only missing the boats from Kronshtadt’s event, Abyssal Refrain, and that has yet to have a rerun so I'm feeling pretty good there. I was able to construct Chkalov and have been on the grind to get her completed but that leaves me at a loss. I've be grinding out Hakuryuu blueprints with every intention of Constructing her next but, now that I have such a strong stake in my Sardegna dock, maybe I should go for Marco Polo? I dunno. Something to ponder, I guess? Also, I'm missing Tashkent for some reason because i have the rest of the ships from her event. It’s whatever, though. She can be my Ruskie version of U-110; The ever illusive ship i missed that may or may not bless my dock through unforeseen circumstances. Wishing well, I'm looking at you!

[justiceb68]

[arcticshefox]

For the record, I'm still only making three pulls a day, I cant afford my usual five-pulls.

I am convinced that the game is apologising for stealing my life-savings during Dreamwaker's Butterfly.

[smokeybrandreviews]

Sadistic Charisma

Finished constructing Prinz Rupprecht last week and i am pretty happy with myself. It didn’t take near as long to complete her than it did the other Priority ships i have in my dock and, thanks to the brand new Research Queue, i was able to stack enough Rupprecht Blueprints to get a decent start. The second i finished building, i was able to boost her DEV level to eleven. Obviously, i got her in my main fleet for the grind. I need to get the youngest Prinz to that level cap as soon as possible because, as she is now, i am a little disappointed by her stats. At four stars, Rupprecht has an A rank in FP. That’s solid for a Battleship, which Rupprecht is, but it’s a little disappointing considering we just came off Priority Four and the KMS ships there were mad overpowered. Obviously, Aegir is a Decisive so she’s already a whole ass problem but even August was something special. Not only was she one of those elusive KMS Carriers, but her AVI, the thing Carriers are known for, is rank S! Both Iron Blood ships in the previous Priority, both have S rank abilities that aren’t HP and that sh*t is wild to me.

I understand that Rupprecht isn’t a Decisive but if August can get an S in something offensive, why can’t she? Now, i am far from properly completing Rupprecht’s development so this might change in time. Her overall level, after about two days of grinding and a few dozen EXP packs, has her at eighty-eight. Obviously, her overall stats will increase as she closes the gap on that cap and you better believe Rupprecht is the next one up when it comes to breaking that one-twenty soft ceiling. While that level grind is arduous and still in process, I ave gotten her affection to max and put a ring on that today, actually. That boost in stats has gone a long way to making Rupprecht one of my better Main line ships and she still has a ways to go in terms of DEV level. I am okay with this progress. Plus, I even maxed out both of her available skills. Even though i still have such a long way to go and that she isn’t as powerful as i would like right now, i am still very pleased i have Rupprecht in my fleet. She is an investment, for sure, but one i am more than willing to put in the time. Plus, come on? She’s f*cking adorable!

In other news, i am loving this new update for very, very, selfish reasons. I do alright during events, rolled a Joffre on that last French banner, but the Shinano rerun was pretty good to me, too. I actually rolled two of her in the gacha but, more surprising, i was able to net myself a Shangri-la! Interesting enough, she was my other choice in the last Wishing Well. The other was Zeppy, for obvious reasons, so after i rolled the chibi Graf, i bailed. I didn’t want to waste anymore cubes. During the rerun, since i had already beaten it the first time, i had a ton of those Gacha vouchers so i figured I'd use them all. I think i started with twelve or something and, on my sixth roll with them, i landed another Shinano and then, immediately after that, Shangri-la. And not a single Wisdom Cube wasted in the process! With the update a few days ago, several new ships hit the Pool once again and i figured, you know, i got a couple of Cubes I'm willing to burn, let’s see if the gods are still kind? They were. Generous, even. It took more Cubes than i would have liked, around sixty, i think, but i netted myself Alabama, Aylwin, several f*cking Stephen Potters, and Baltimore! As you all know, i am an Iron Blood main so i don’t really give two sh*ts about the other Fleets. Eagle Union is probably the third most complete i have (kind of on accident) and, while i am more or less indifferent to everyone else, i do have a soft spot for them Yanks as i am one in real life.

Honestly, if Prinz Eugen would have been an Eagle Union ship, i would probably be maining them but my darling is a Kraut, so i am all about that schnitzel. That said, I'd be lying if i denied my adoration for Alabama and Baltimore. I’m a sucker for a dark skinned woman so ‘Bama fits right in with my South Dakota and Minneapolis. I’m a little bummed that i am still missing Massachusetts but we’ll see how that goes. In regards to Baltimore, i remember, way back before i decided to focus exclusive on KMS ships seriously, rolling on all the banners in an orgy of mild whaling, i made a run at Baltimore during her event and failed miserably. I did roll Intrepid, Cooper, and Bremerton, though, so adding Baltimore now, feels like a win, even if it’s substantially late. Still missing Reno but like Massachusetts, i imagine I'll have another shot eventually. Probably in a Wishing Well situation or something.

This brings me to the current event, Aquilifer's Ballade. I enjoy the ships in the Sardegna fleet but I'm not breaking my neck to collect them. Like, I don't plan to make a run at the banner at all this time around, mostly because I'm in it for the shop. This is the first Event since the PR5 ships have been released and I need me them Blueprints, man. There's thirty of those b*tches just waiting to be plucked and I am on it! I spent most of my time at work today, running through the first part of the event maps, tallying up, like, three thousand of those little Expo Commemorative Coins. Please believe I blew that entire load on those Blueprints. Anything for my darling Rupprecht. Also picked up Taihou's new costume, Sweet Time After School, because of course I would. I absolutely adore Taihou, she's easily my favorite Sakura ship, so it goes without saying that I would snatch up a brand new, live 2D ,outfit for her. At needs to be said is that I picked up Roma's extra outfit, White Heron of Darkest Night, because I f*cking rolled Roma on the first try! I cannot express how this was a throwaway attempt, ten Wisdom Cubes just to see what would happen, and it landed the only ship I wanted in the entire event! Didn't I say I do alright during events? All in all, the last few weeks of my Azur Lane journey have been pretty pleasing. Now, if only Manjuu would stop f*cking around and give my my goddamn Orthant rerun!

[smokeybrandreviews]

That's Amore

I have to say, i am genuinely enjoyed the f*ck out of that past Sardegna event. I alluded to this in my last Azur Lane post but Aquilifer's Ballade has been very kind to the development of my Prinz Rupprecht. I’ve been on this PR grind for about three weeks now and I've made some solid ass progress. My Rupprecht is at the maximum level of 125, Oathed the f*ck up, and is sitting pretty at DEV level 24. Obviously, grinding those Blueprints has been a whole ass chore but that’s here this event really put a dent in my labor. I switched up the daily experience mining of the stage eleven maps and decided to run at the Event maps instead. I figured why not? Two birds with one stone, you know? EXP and some Blueprints. I was able to eat all of those up fairly early on, add them to the total, and jump my Rupprecht from DEV level eleven to twenty-four. The new Seasonal Cruise helped a lot with that, too, but this event was really kind to me.

Speaking of, i ended up rolling all of the banner ships on accident. Literally wasn’t trying to do that. One of the Daily Reward requirements was to construct three ships and the weekly one is to construct ten. So, i did that. Rolled for the Week in one day for the Cruise reward, just accumulating points and coins, and netting multiples of these Itai ships. Roma was the first. She popped the first day of the event for me. That was a surprise because, of all the ships introduced, Roma was the only one i actually “wanted.” I’m an Iron Blood main so i don’t really care about the other docks too much. Roma, alone was a boon to me because my Sardegna Empire fleet was pretty anemic. Not anymore. Over the course of the week trying to mash out those Blueprints, i was able to net the rest of those ships. Bolzano popped the same day as Roma, much to my chagrin, and i figured, whatever? That’s two accidental boats. Cool. Two days later, i get Alfredo Oriani. That’s three of the Banner Ships. I continue on my Coin grind, paying no real mind to the many multiples of these Boats getting popped. Understand, i don’t care about this event at all. I got Roma on the first day. I was good.

These other ships are just bonus to me at this point. I kept at it for Oil and Blueprints in the shop, rolling, like four more Romas, a handful of Alfredos, and, i kid you not, eight goddamn Bolzanos. This carries on until last Wednesday. I was rolling the required three ships and f*cking Leonardo da Vinci pops! That's the last new Itai ship available in the Summon Pool and I'm just sitting here like, “Thanks?” Now i face a dilemma; Do i grind out to get Giuseppe Garibaldi? I had depleted the shop of the available PR5 Blueprints and was basically done with the Event Map but now the completionist in me is starting to act up. The hard part was done. The Gacha gods had blessed me once more. I was about six thousand of those Coins away from the last ship. I groaned to myself and finished the set. I bought Giuseppe on the penultimate day of the Event and feel pretty okay about it. My Rupprecht is almost perfect and i netted a bunch of Itai boats that will go along way to not only strengthening my Sardegna Empire dock, but goes toward Developing the only other PR5 ship i want, Chkalov. Not a bad haul for a passive interest in an Event because it’s not my goddamn Orthant rerun!

[arcticshefox]

Me, accepting that I don't have the cubes to seriously pull on this event construction and deciding to only pull as necessary for dailies:

RN Roma, apparently: :)

[arcticshefox]

Ajdgfjhenerhsbdb!!!??? Hi?? Welcome home - oh my God. I pulled to clear the daily/event mission, I didn't think I'd pull her, what the fuck.

Where was this luck when I was throwing away my life-savings for Shinano?? >:(

[smokeybrand]

That's Amore

I have to say, i am genuinely enjoyed the f*ck out of that past Sardegna event. I alluded to this in my last Azur Lane post but Aquilifer's Ballade has been very kind to the development of my Prinz Rupprecht. I’ve been on this PR grind for about three weeks now and I've made some solid ass progress. My Rupprecht is at the maximum level of 125, Oathed the f*ck up, and is sitting pretty at DEV level 24. Obviously, grinding those Blueprints has been a whole ass chore but that’s here this event really put a dent in my labor. I switched up the daily experience mining of the stage eleven maps and decided to run at the Event maps instead. I figured why not? Two birds with one stone, you know? EXP and some Blueprints. I was able to eat all of those up fairly early on, add them to the total, and jump my Rupprecht from DEV level eleven to twenty-four. The new Seasonal Cruise helped a lot with that, too, but this event was really kind to me.

Speaking of, i ended up rolling all of the banner ships on accident. Literally wasn’t trying to do that. One of the Daily Reward requirements was to construct three ships and the weekly one is to construct ten. So, i did that. Rolled for the Week in one day for the Cruise reward, just accumulating points and coins, and netting multiples of these Itai ships. Roma was the first. She popped the first day of the event for me. That was a surprise because, of all the ships introduced, Roma was the only one i actually “wanted.” I’m an Iron Blood main so i don’t really care about the other docks too much. Roma, alone was a boon to me because my Sardegna Empire fleet was pretty anemic. Not anymore. Over the course of the week trying to mash out those Blueprints, i was able to net the rest of those ships. Bolzano popped the same day as Roma, much to my chagrin, and i figured, whatever? That’s two accidental boats. Cool. Two days later, i get Alfredo Oriani. That’s three of the Banner Ships. I continue on my Coin grind, paying no real mind to the many multiples of these Boats getting popped. Understand, i don’t care about this event at all. I got Roma on the first day. I was good.

These other ships are just bonus to me at this point. I kept at it for Oil and Blueprints in the shop, rolling, like four more Romas, a handful of Alfredos, and, i kid you not, eight goddamn Bolzanos. This carries on until last Wednesday. I was rolling the required three ships and f*cking Leonardo da Vinci pops! That's the last new Itai ship available in the Summon Pool and I'm just sitting here like, “Thanks?” Now i face a dilemma; Do i grind out to get Giuseppe Garibaldi? I had depleted the shop of the available PR5 Blueprints and was basically done with the Event Map but now the completionist in me is starting to act up. The hard part was done. The Gacha gods had blessed me once more. I was about six thousand of those Coins away from the last ship. I groaned to myself and finished the set. I bought Giuseppe on the penultimate day of the Event and feel pretty okay about it. My Rupprecht is almost perfect and i netted a bunch of Itai boats that will go along way to not only strengthening my Sardegna Empire dock, but goes toward Developing the only other PR5 ship i want, Chkalov. Not a bad haul for a passive interest in an Event because it’s not my goddamn Orthant rerun!

[arcticshefox]

I've been playing a lot of Enstars recently - because gacha games have me in a chokehold, apparently - and I've really been managing my time poorly between it and Azur Lane. I've gotten, like... nothing really done in either game's active events.

Intersecting Motorshow ends tomorrow and I'm barely on Day 20, so I should probably shift focus to Enstars, but I definitely need to pick up the pace for Aquilifer's Ballade. I have a lot of time, sure, but again, my time management has been awful.

... Today's Azur Lane pulls were dry, by the way. But there isn't much I can do, after Dreamwaker's Butterfly took all my cubes and spat in my face.

Gacha is pain, existence is suffering.