#Asronomy

[nebuloracle]

Entangled Across Worlds

Hamal’s thoughts tangled with unnamed emotions, each one pulling him in a different direction. This field he found himself in was a momentary sanctuary, where he could escape the suffocating weight on his chest, even if only a little. Here, the worries of Mimi’s cryptic concern, Arcturus’s unannounced intrusions, and the chilling embrace of the mysterious woman in his dreams seemed distant. The insects chirped and sang Hamal into a deep sense of comfort. The chilling breeze wicked away his warmth, but he found solace in the warm topsoil beneath him. This field was the only place where he could pretend to be alone. Deep down, however, he knew solitude was a fleeting luxury. Tonight, throughout the vastness of space, even that would be denied to him. Not even a contented sigh could escape his lips before the voice of her returned.

“I haven't told you my name,” she said with terse apology, her tone clipped yet sincere. Her words brushed against his thoughts like a gentle solar wind over a tiny moon, "You can call me Ascella."

Now, that was a name Hamal was familiar with. He couldn’t remember where he’d heard it, though. He’d much, much rather she leave him alone, however. Hamal had hoped to use the moment of peace to sort out his feelings. This would only be another distraction—but why not?—he chose to humor it. Hamal’s brow clenched, thoughts racing, trying to piece together the identity of the specter that this mysterious voice seemed to be connected to.

“You know, that name rings a bell, actually,” he muttered, more to himself than to her. “If you're really some kind of magical star-girl, then wouldn’t that mean some crazy astronomer dude discovered you the day you were born? I guess you wouldn’t know, being from space and all.”

The two held in silence for a moment. Hamal could feel the moisture of the grass he laid upon. From parts unknown to him, Ascella looked down upon a shimmering blue gem in the heavens, hiding herself from the unfiltered radiance of Sol. Ascella's mind hastened at the mention of a ‘crazy astronomer’ and its potential meaning. The thought of her moving one step closer to her father enticed her. Hamal could serve more purpose than being a person to get along with, but she hesitated to dig deeper. Ascella had learned not to raid someone's thoughts, even if it was easy to do so. There was no guarantee he had the truth in that head of his, and even if he did, getting it could be an irredeemable act in his eyes. Besides, it’s a big planet, to the tiny folk at least. Hamal could have been speaking of anyone.

“You’ve… heard of me?” Ascella asked, her voice quiet but insistent. She had to clarify, “That doesn’t make sense. Please clarify: do you mean Ascella from Sagittarius? Or perhaps one of the Acellus stars from Cancer?”

Hamal shrugged, an awkward gesture she could feel through his thoughts. “I don’t know. Isn’t Ascella the name of that new star? The one that appeared… like twenty years ago?”

Her mind raced, though she kept her tone steady. "Oh, yes," she said, the words tumbling out faster than she intended. "That is my star."

“That’s crazy. So Ascella is the girl I’m talking to, and also a star in space light-years away, and they’re one and the same?”

“That’s correct.”

“How is that even possible? Okay so what does this star in proportion to you? Do you think with a brain or with the star? Does it, like, send data into your head like cosmic wi-fi? How are you not having a huge identity crisis over this?”

“It’s not something I’d bother explaining. I wouldn’t expect you to understand. The perspective of earthbound beings is...”

“Careful, space angel.” Hamal said, his voice breaking the ambient silence. He was grateful no one was around to see him snapping his words at voices in his head. The words came out louder and drier than intended, but he didn’t regret it. His body relaxed once again, but his mind remained sharp, “Earthbound or not, don’t blame me just ‘cause you can’t explain things.”

The thought resonated, a declaration not just to Ascella but to himself. He wasn’t to be trifled with—human or not. He’d spent too long convincing himself he was a normal guy like everyone else, that nothing was wrong with him. He’d all but accepted that both those things weren’t true.

Ascella hesitated, the force of Hamal’s mind hitting hers with the raw intensity of a solar flare. She sifted through the explosion of referential thoughts bombarding her, not invading but catching enough glimpses to feel the weight of who—or rather what—he truly was. The conclusion struck her like a slap to the face. From thousands of miles away, Ascella held her hands over her mouth. “You’re the Hamal of Aries.” She could sense Hamal's sudden vulnerability; a raw, unguarded moment of defenselessness where his deepest truths emerged unfettered. "You're aware," she whispered, more to herself than to him. It wasn’t a question, but a statement of cosmic revelation.

Hamal stiffened, every nerve in his body going taut. The air felt sharper, colder. There was nothing to fight nearby. And even if he felt like hurting something, deep down, he knew Ascella wasn’t really his enemy. “Don’t,” he said, his voice low, dangerous. His thoughts, jagged and raw, raised walls between them like armor forged from memory and fear. “Don’t poke around where I don’t want you.”

But the truth was already out, shimmering like starlight in the space between them. Neither of them could deny it now: Hamal wasn’t just another human. He was like Ascella, a star walking in mortal form. Hamal was a celestial.

“So… what now?” Hamal finally spoke up, breaking the tense quiet between them.

“I don’t know,” Ascella admitted with a sigh. “I’ve never met another celestial like me before, one with a human parent.”

“Well, I don’t really know any either,” Hamal chuckled humorlessly. “I’ve spent most of my life trying to convince myself that I was just like everyone else.”

“You’re not alone in that feeling,” Ascella said.

Silence hung for far too long. To Hamal, anything would be better than sitting and talking about his problems, so he sharpened his gaze to the sky, raised a finger, and began tracing imaginary lines between constellations. The gesture sent a ripple of anxiety through Ascella.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice trembling despite her effort to sound composed.

"I just got wondering, where’s your star?" Hamal said, his tone casual, oblivious to the weight of his actions. "So now I’m looking for it. I’m no expert, but I used to stargaze a lot with some friends back in high school. I think I can figure out where Cancer is from here if I find Polaris…" That star was aimed really high from his perspective, or so Hamal had guessed.

“Y-you’re what?” Ascella’s chest tightened. She wanted to stop him, to say it didn’t matter. Hamal had made it clear in the past that he wasn't the best candidate for this act of courtship, but the words caught in her throat. Did he even realize? Every shift of his hand felt like a thread pulling tighter around her, tugging at insecurities she couldn't untangle. She feared the vulnerability that would come from Hamal’s actions. He’d just asked her to not dig around, yet now chose to turn around and stare at her star? This made no sense, yet felt as if it checked out. If her father really was crazy, like Hamal may have offhandedly called him, then wouldn’t this align all too well?

"Why are you doing this?" she asked suddenly, her voice sharp. For a moment, Hamal hesitated, lowering his hand slightly. Her question had reached him, tugged at something just beneath his surface. Why was he doing this? Was it just to move the subject away from himself and his problems?

"Because I can," he muttered, side-eyeing the grass.

“That’s… sweet? That’s unlike you. No, forget I said that. Really, you don’t have to do all of this. I’d rather you not.”

“Well too bad,” Hamal says, “Stars are public domain. I’m gonna finger that star if it—let me stop myself right there. This one you?" He pointed to a star at random.

"No!" Her voice barked in his mind. "That’s Betelgeuse! You can't possibly think I'm that old."

Hamal snorted. "Fine. You’re picky for someone who doesn’t want me looking."

Betelgeuse. Now that was a handy clue; it meant Hamal was staring at Orion. Taurus should be somewhere to the right of Orion if that was the case, and above the loose cluster of stars that made up Orion’s club would be Gemini. If he could trace out the twins, he’d find their heads—and Pollux… Cancer wouldn’t be far away. Hamal continued scanning, brushing off Ascella’s protests as he narrowed his search. Ascella swallowed her unease. She couldn’t tell what the right thing to do was anymore. It wouldn’t make her a good friend to force him to stop. But as she let him search, her mother’s words echoed in her mind: “When a human finds your star, they’ve found your soul.”

She could still see Acubens’s glowing form, her voice reverent, speaking of the sacred bond she forged with a human in an instant. “When he found me,” her mother had said, “the entanglement was immediate. His devotion was overwhelming, but we wanted the same thing, and so his convictions called me to him. Through this, I learned what it meant to be a goddess—distant, divine, and irreplaceable." These words lingered in Ascella’s mind, shaping her own conflicting feelings about being found. Could she bear to be understood so intimately, not just for her brilliance but for the shadows within? The idea alone excited her, but its implications were still frightening.

Acubens’s words had been fervent, almost worshipful. To Ascella, they had felt intoxicating yet dissonant. Being discovered wasn’t just an encounter but a claiming—intimate and cosmic. Her mother hadn’t cherished the mortal’s love for its tenderness but for its totality. Ascella had imagined this moment going differently for her. Ascella simply wanted friendship, not love or worship. Hamal wanted… What did Hamal want here? Ascella wanted to find out, but Hamal wasn’t one to talk about his desires. Instead, he’d just hunt them down on his own until they were his. Ascella’s stomach fluttered at the thought. Maybe this really was meant to be.

And yet, Hamal, oblivious to the implications, continued his search. Each shift of his hand sent her pulse aflare, pulling her closer to the edge of something terrifyingly profound. From Gemini, it took a bit of guesswork, but he made his way to Cancer. From the middle, Acellus Australis and Acellus Borealis, just like Ascella had mentioned, were not her. In this direction were two of the legs of the crab. Hamal had forgotten their names, but they weren’t very memorable. On the opposite end were Altarf and Acubens, the other two legs on the constellation, which meant this bright star that has no business here was…

Then he stopped. His hand froze midair, and in the span of a heartbeat, their world narrowed to a single point of light. A thought rippled through the connection, unbidden and undeniable. It was his. It was hers. It was theirs together: "Found it."

Ascella gasped. For a moment, she felt their connection snap taut, a thread binding them across the cosmos. It wasn’t just her star he had found. It was her.

The sensation consumed them both, overwhelming every sense as their thoughts mutually eclipsed one another. Their minds brushed against each other, revealing glimpses of their innermost selves. They felt exposed, vulnerable, and exhilarated all at once, connected in a way they’d never felt with anyone before. It was a spinning rush of explosive release, as if the duality of their minds had approached an inescapable threshold, where they could both share in a distinct oneness. It didn’t feel like they needed to hold back anymore. And then, just as suddenly as the connection was established, the sensation evaporated into nothingness, before either of them could get acquainted with each other’s inner souls.

Hamal lowered his arm, blinking as he tried to process what had happened. "What was that?" he asked, his voice quiet, dwarfed by the magnitude of the moment they’d shared.

Ascella struggled for words, her mind spinning. It happened. She didn’t want it to, but that crazy Aries went and stared into her soul anyways. What did it mean for them? She only knew one way to react.

“Unbelievable,” she whispered, masking her turmoil with a teasing lilt. "That was—wow. Did you feel that? Like everything just… clicked for a second? You’re so forward, Hamal! Insisting to stare into my star like that… I don’t know what to say. "

"What?" Hamal blinked at her, uncomprehending. "I was just looking for a star. I didn’t…" He trailed off, unsure how to respond.

But Ascella wasn’t listening. Her thoughts raced between her mother’s warnings and the undeniable thrill of what had just happened. As fear warred with excitement, she forced herself to double down, her tone wavering but light. "You can't deny what we both felt. That was cosmic entanglement, and you’d better take responsibility for it," she said, crossing her arms and projecting what she hoped was mock indignation.

Hamal stared at her like she’d grown a second head. "Take responsibility? For what?"

"We share a special bond now. You’ve found my star. You've graced the purity of my soul with your eyes."

Hamal snorted, shaking his head. "You’re joking, right?"

Ascella bristled. "No. This is serious! My mother said—uh—when a human devotes themselves to finding a celestial’s star, that’s love! It—it has to be! It's cosmic law! You’ve entangled yourself with me."

“Wait, stars have laws? You’re making this up as you go, aren’t you?”

“Okay, maybe I don’t know all the rules, but it felt important, and my parents felt this too. There’s a precedent! Doesn’t that mean something?”

"So you have one example. Does that mean your parents are experts in this?" Hamal asks.

Ascella’s lips parted, but no sound came. The accusation hung in the air, sharp and unyielding. Her gaze faltered, drifting away from the earth as she scavenged her memories once again. The truth was as glaring as the starlight around them: she didn’t know. Not for certain. “I mean…” she started, then faltered. “It’s what my mother told me. And… she wouldn’t just fabricate meaning from something so important.”

Hamal rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna stop you there, before you have an aneurysm—or a solar flare, or something. I wasn’t devoting myself to anything. I thought looking for a star might move things closer to a “see you later.” And anyways, I'm not just some human, now am I? I'm the brightest star in Aries, and you're the brightest in Cancer. Let's not pretend like we have to follow our parents' every word. We'll get along better that way."

Ascella tried to clap back, but words wouldn't manifest out of her feelings. This cut deep, and she had to spend time reflecting on what had just happened between them. Another long silence lingered. Ascella looked up to her mother, and really thought the wisdom she imparted would help her for a moment like this, but Hamal seemed intent on breaking all convention she was taught. She didn't want to stay and take this. She didn't have to. But all that stood at the end of this conversation was a long and lonely stroll through lunar regolith, like most days.

"Fine. If that's how you truly feel," Ascella said, her surgical tone returning, "then you'll receive just what you've wanted. When the full moon reaches its apogee, if you've had enough of your 'space,' do consider reaching out again."

Then, it went silent. Hamal let out a heavy sigh. Her words lingered in his mind, alongside the strange, electric sensation of finding her star—of finding her. He didn’t know what to make of it, and a part of him didn’t want to. It was easier to chalk it up to another one of those bizarre celestial phenomena he wasn’t ready to face head-on. Yet, he couldn’t shake the nagging thought that maybe Ascella had a point, that maybe there was something more to all of this.

From the skies overhead, Hamal could see a shooting star. Its pale blue glow streaked across the sky to the eastern horizon, leaving a long tail that quickly dispersed. Hamal got up to watch it zoom by, fascinated by its beauty. It looked like it was almost headed straight for the moon.

[achromant]

Ranking all GW2 Specializations

by 1) Gameplay and 2) Visual

based on over 15k hours of playtime, supported by badly drawn Elite Spec Icons.

Feel free to make your own version and reblog or @ me. I wanna see your reasoning :3

Explanations, sorted by classes, below:

Elementalist

Base Elementalist: Pretty sturdy gameplay. Features both interesting interactions, as well as great utility. Versatile, and visually okay. Attack animations desperately need cleanup.

Weaver: Elegant gameplay. Flows smoothly during combat and offers great utility. Also has nice defensive options available. Requires experience and thinking ahead to pull off. Visuals are okay, and feel like a great fit for the aesthetic without being too overwhelming. Especially love Weave Self.

Tempest: Really cool playstyle. Requires a similar amount of attention as Weaver, but in a different way. Unmatched breadth of utility within elementalist classes. Could even be a contender for top spot at visuals, but Fire Overload visually drags the whole spec down.

Catalyst: This class has no right to exist. It feels like someone said "Elementalist doesnt deal much damage, let's give it some numbers." and then stopped halfway through. There is no utility, no elegance, no cool interactions with the gameplay. The whole class feels restrictive and clunky to use. If you like the hammer cata playstyle, better play Weaver. If you like nice interactions, play Tempest. Jade Orbs dont feel like a mechanic, but a punishment. Visually boring, horrible UI, aweful animations.

Mesmer

Base Mesmer: Elegant gameplay, but lacks flow in certain edge cases. Kinda wish greatsword was more melee, but with range capabilites. Needs some more fun interactions with its own mechanics.

Chronomancer: Essentially Mes Plus, when compared to Base Mesmer. Great gameplay, fun and flowey. Slightly choppy in some millisecond cases, but still amatzing to play. Visually striking, absolutely mindblowing sound design. Continuum Split could use a more impactful visual design, like a giant illusiory asronomy clock that ticks down.

Mirage: The self contained version of Mesmer. Lacks a bit in support options for allies, but offers elegant gameplay if timed correctly. Visuals are adequately unique, sparkly but still not overwhelming. Does not have the visual Boom that Chrono has, but feels just that more natural.

Virtuoso: What if took anything that that means Mesmer and just. Didnt do that. This class feels not like a Mesmer anymore, mechnically speaking. Lacks support options, and is outshined by Mirage when it comes to PvP gameplay. Also I'm so fucking pissed at the daggers floating constantly above my head. Animations are kinda cool, though a bit overwhelming. Fun Fact: I divined the coming of the Virtuoso in some sketches a while before EoD previewed. Though in my head it was a Guardian Spec, shooting small silvery stars with its Virtue skills. AND it had double Daggers.

Necromancer

Base Necromancer: It fills its role as master of death. Even the base version of Necromancer has impactful gameplay, and both okay utility, damage, and support for allies. Lacks elengance at some points, especially in Shroud. Visually okay, could use more explosions.

Reaper: Death Knight, here i come! Reaper offers amazing visual effects, and both impactful and flowey gamplay. Reaper Shroud has just the right oomph to make it feel like the steamroller it is. Even when playing without quickness during shroud, it feels amazing. The slight sluggishness just adds to the experience. Did you know that when you enter Reaper Shroud, the character grows giant feathery wings that explode within the fraction of a second? So fucking beautiful.

Scourge: As the absolute opposite of Reaper, this spec offers exactly what Reaper lacks: impactful gameplay at range. Though Scourge can absolutely hold its own in melee, this version feels like a true death mage. Only issue i have is that it's yellow. Horrible choice.

Harbinger: Why does it exist? Ugh, this thing feels so boring. Harbinger would've been a better fit as an Engineer spec. I don't even care about the utility of those damn potions, they lack uniqueness, aesthetic, even the skill icons look like placeholders. What does it have to offer? Well. It gives quickness. Though you could just use a Chronomancer Relic and play another spec. And why am i a black cloud midfight? hello?

Engineer

Base Engineer: The epitome of improvisation. Toolbelt, weird inventions. Explosions, potions, flamethrower. Engineer feels like Elementalist without the magic. There's amazing interaction between skills, great offensive and defensive options. Engineer feels like a hectic class at times, but with some experience it can just be as chill as any other class. Could use some more striking visuals, but still okay.

Holosmith: What if we take an Engi and give it just a smidge of magic? Holosmith feels like an extension of Engineer that pushes it into a slightly different direction. It's just as versatile as the base version, but has even better options for agressive gameplay. Playing a Holo feels elegant and has just the right amount of sparkle and whoom. Still has good interactions with other players, but can easily hold its own. 10/10 design.

Scrapper: Essentially the opposite of Holosmith. What if Engi, but even LESS magic? Though Scrapper can feel a bit sluggish at times, it still has a nice gameplay. Same issue as Base Engi though, it needs more sparkles.

Mechanist: Why put training wheels on something that already has so many levels of gameplay? Mechanist feels like the worst option in any situation. The only saving grace may be the alacrity (which is applied in the most horrifyingly braindead way possible). There's no visual connection between Base Engi and Mechanist, neither in color nor in shape. Why is the mech so that? The gameplay would feel more fluent if you just kidnapped a new player from Queensdale and gave them a gun. Would also be easier to handle than that damn mech.

Thief

Base Thief: There's elegance here, but it's quiet. The visuals underline the subtle beauty of this class. Even a base Thief offers nice utility and okay interactions with other players. The only reason i placed it that low is because how stealth works. A better idea would be to replace it with something like Blur, maybe granting a 50% chance to automatically evade an attack and avoiding being directly targetable in competitive modes.

Daredevil: This is the oomph Thief needed. it feels like it hits hard, but with deadly accuracy. You lose a bit of stealth capabilities, which is a plus in my opinion. Essentially, this is what a monk class in other games would be. It doesn't even need much utility by itself, base Thief already has a bunch. Only issue i have is that i would love it actually using fists to fight, preferably in addition to a staff. Maybe could leave weapons unequipped to swap to an unarmed fighting style? Fun though, great design.

Deadeye: The absolute opposite of Daredevil. This sharpshooter class prefers intelligent positioning rather than quick reactions. It offers great damage and okay support capabilites. Visual effects appear perfect for this class, though the sound design is only okay. Definetely needs a better interface for displaying Malice stacks. And maybe remove the casting time of Deadeye's Mark?

Specter: What if Necromancer, but. Not. Playing Specter feels like playing Core Necro, but with more teleports. Wells are, well. They exist, but only barely. Visual effects are underwhelming, the while class lacks the feeling of impact or elegance that even a base Thief has.

Ranger

Base Ranger: I can see how people like playing ranger, but only through a vaseline treated camera lens. The class itself has okay utility, but lacks in interaction with other players. Though a Ranger's defining feature is the pet, it's also its biggest flaw...

Soulbeast: ... which Soulbeast 100% solves. I will continue to ignore Base Ranger and just pretend that Soulbeast is what Ranger was always supposed to be like. Soulbeasts have the option to just. Not do the whole minion managing thing. Stances feel elegant and unique, and bring fresh air to a moldy base class. Really cool visual effects, though i wish i could turn off the green swirlies while merged.

Druid: I was in Druid Jail for most of my raiding days, so i know what i'm talking about when i say "Urgh." The base mechanic of a Druid is the Astral Avatar, which by itself is probably the best thing Ranger has to offer. It's pretty, it has boom, it's actually useful and elegant. The issue here is swapping in and out of it, which feels clunky and more of a hassle that a reward. To heal with the Avatar, you need people to take damage, so you can heal them, which fills the Avatar, which allows you to. heal. them? Better solution would be to make it similar to Firebrand Tomes so that it still needs energy to use skills, but allows you to spread out your healing a bit.

Untamed: What if Soulbeast, but. Thief. Well, the result is a clunky mess that looks like a swampy lump of bonk. Probably makes a wet smoph when it his a wall. There is no way for me to enjoy this class. The supposed flow of a good Untamed rotation is completely unknown to me, simply because it's so damn ugly. Play Soulbeast.

Warrior

Base Warrior: Hello, yes, it's the bonk class. Love it, have it, it still bonks. What looks like a braindead brick only people with a real life play, is actually an ornate pattern of golden filligree. A base Warrior offers elegant and flowy gameplay at a minumum of effort, and can with some experience still weave itself through the flow of battle. Wish it had more fun interactions with allies, aside from Shout skills. Could go great with Wells.

Berserker: Warrior, but with more bonk. There's exactly two issues i have with this spec. One, its visual effects feel lopsided. Needs more boom toward the target, and less burning man on myself. Two, it lacks utility. However, any rotation that's done on Berserker flows perfectly, it feels fast paced and has absolutely perfect sound design. Executing a perfect Axe/Axe feels like playing a rythm game in the way it bonks.

Spellbreaker: Less bonk, more tshink. Spellbreaker feels like someone took the best about a Thief and put it on a Warrior. The playstyle between Daggers and Full Counter feels elegant and smooth, but requires good reaction. Spellbreaker shines versus players rather than against monsters, which is probably the only issue i have with this spec. Beautiful shiny glitter sparkle capacity though.

Bladesworn: Okay, it says on the tin that it contains Flow, but no. Bladesworn trades movement for maximum bonk. Could use more elegance in its skills, but it makes up for it with great bursts, so much that you can almost feel pixels being cut. The absolute worst about this spec, and the reason why it's not in the legendary tier for me, is that damn Gunsaber. It either needs to be broader for more bonk (with a powerful downward strike as Dragon Trigger), or about 50% longer for ultimate tshink (with a ligering silver sparkly line where the blade sliced your pixels), you know what i mean? As is, the class feels like the definition of blue balls.

Guardian

Base Guardian: The first time I solo'd Twilight Arbor's Aetherblade Path was on a base guardian, some time before HoT. I used a mace and a shield and just slowly pummeled my foes to death. Base Guardian has the feeling of a true paladin class, with just the right amount of sparkle and utility. Only reason it's not way higher on my tier list is that it cant do much on its own.

Dragonhunter: Such a beatifully executed class! There are aesthetic parts that make Dragonhunter feel like a holy warrior, but without the support capabilites of a true paladin class. That's a good thing, by the way. Its playstyle feels unique, at most comparable to a Warrior, but just barely so. Dragonhunter has some small group support, but shines with utility and bonk. If it wasnt for the Traps' visual effects, i wouldnt even care for those (excep Dragon's Maw, like wow). The whole class is perfect. Would've been higher on the list if the rotations felt just a bit smoother.

Firebrand: This one is a more support oriented Guardian. It overflows with utility and support skills. Factually speaking one of my favorite classes. Speaking from a balancing standpoint, it can do way too much at once with its Tome skills. There's elegance in this class, mostly due to it being filled with skills to the point it overflows. Visually, amazing work, same goes for the sound design.

Willbender: A movement based version of Guardian. Willbender feels like it tries to be a monk class, but somehow misses still. There's something lacking from the whole design. You could probably slap this spec onto any other class and it would still work. Together with base Guardian skills, it's fun to play though. Still a balancing horror, for the same reason as Firebrand: It can do way too much for a single class. Aesthetically i find it absolutely revolting. I get that the Virtues are supposed to be movement skills, but they feel choppy to use and leave red-blue scorch marks on the ground. These weird trails look like an accident and are outshined by most other base Guardian skills. All over, a meh rating.

Revenant

Base Revenant: I am regularly confused when i see this spec's icon. There is absolutely no reason to play a base Revenant. There's not much reason for me to play Rev anyway, but hey. What i love about it are the Legends. What i hate about it. also Legends. There's utility and versatility, but both are locked behind Legends, which makes the whole class feel rigid and choppy. I am a fan of the energy mechanic though, and the visuals are also kinda pretty. Could use more sparkles though, maybe more in the Necromancer direction.

Herald: Since Rev came out with HoT, it released with its elite spec from the start. And to this day, Herald is the actual Base Rev to me. It sparkes, it bonks. It feels fine to play, not under- or overwhelmingly so, but just. pretty okay.

Renegade: This one feels like a base Rev (not Herald, in this case). It had the advantage of using a shortbow when it released, but since SotO it lost its usefulness to me somewhat. The Renegade Legend's skills are fun; somehow like Well skills, but visually more striking. The rest of the spec is only meh.

Vindicator: Another one with more bonk! Equip a Stamina Sigil and go stomping! Vindicator feels fun to play, has nice visual effects and great sound design. Similar to Reaper, you can really feel the bonk. Absolutely hate the double Legend thing though, it feels choppy and sluggish to use, similar to playing Elementalist while affected by Chill. I would love Vindicator on another class, like Warrior for example. But since it's a Rev. It's a No.

Conclusion, Expansion based:

EoD specs generally feel the worst of the bunch. booooring. There's no EoD spec in the game that i can really enjoy playing.

HoT specs feel bonky, but slower. On par actually with the whole maguuma jungle (except Pocket Raptors. wtf was anet thinking there)

PoF specs feel less bonk, but more elegant. Also matches the Crystal Desert (except Hydras. THOSE feel more HoT than PoF)

Elementalist is my favorite overall, followed by Mesmer, Engineer, Guardian and Necromancer in that order. Revenant and Ranger can dissolve into brown slidge for all that i care.

[lindahall]

Nevil Maskelyne – Scientist of the Day

Nevil Maskelyne, an English astronomer and cleric, was born Oct. 5, 1732, in London.  

read more...

[mysticstronomy]

HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY!!

Blog# 149

Wednesday, December 15th, 2021

Welcome back,

Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, mythological, cosmological, calendrical, and astrological beliefs and practices of prehistory: vestiges of these are still found in astrology, a discipline long interwoven with public and governmental astronomy. Ancient astronomers were able to differentiate between stars and planets, as stars remain relatively fixed over the centuries while planets will move an appreciable amount during a comparatively short time.

We have very little in the form of recorded information on early man's impression of the heavens, mostly some drawings of eclipses, comets, supernovae such as the Pueblo Petrograph (see below). However, early man was clearly frightened/overwhelmed by the sky. One of the earliest recorded astronomical observations is the Nebra sky disk from northern Europe dating approximately 1,600 BC. This 30 cm bronze disk depicts the Sun, a lunar crescent and stars.

The disk is probably a religious symbol as well as a crude astronomical instrument or calendar. In the Western hemisphere, similar understanding of basic stellar and planetary behavior was developing. For example, Native American culture around the same time were leaving rock drawings, or petroglyphs, of astronomical phenomenon. The clearest example is found below, a petroglyph which depicts the 1,006 AD supernova that resulted in the Crab Nebula.

The first documented records of systematic astronomical observations date back to the Assyro-Babylonians around 1000 BCE. From this cradle of civilisation in Mesopotamia – in the southern part of present-day Iraq – astronomers had built up knowledge of the celestial bodies and recorded their periodic motions.

Originally published on abyss.uoregon.edu

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, December 18th, 2021)

“WHAT ARE PRIMORDAIL BLACK HOLES??”

[jmonterol]

NGC 2403

Hoy presentamos una galaxia cercana, a sólo 8 millones de AL. De hecho, es una de las más cercanas fuera del Grupo Local, al que pertenecen Andrómeda (M31), la galaxia del Triángulo (M33), la Vía Láctea y muchas otras más pequeñas galaxias satélites.

NGC 2403 se encuentra en la constelación de Camelopardalis y, si se amplia la imagen, podemos llegar a ver puntos brillantes en ella que corresponden a regiones de intensa formación estelar. Claro que si quieres ver los detalles tienes que ir a la página del Hubble, porque mi telescopio no lo es precisamente.

Mide unos 70000 AL de diámetro y forma parte del grupo de galaxias M81, los vecinos del Grupo Local. Por supuesto, las estrellas que se ven en primer plano pertenecen a nuestra galaxia.

Refractor TS Photoline 72 mm a f6. Cámara imx 294.

Procesado con Risingsky y Startools.

[zodiacsignsdotcom]

SIGNS AS SUPER HEROES

Aries: Ant Man

Leo: Black Panther

Libra: Hawkeye

Capricorn: Doctor Strange

Cancer: Superman

Pisces: Dare Devil

Scorpio: Spider Man

Sagittarius: Captain America

Taurus: Thor

Gemini: X-men

Aquarius: Batman

Virgo: Aquaman

[tomreich85]

What Science Means (And Doesn't Mean) to Me

What Science Means (And Doesn’t Mean) to Me

One of the most important characteristics of #science Is that it’s self-correcting. If a hypothesis is tested and the results aren’t expected, the hypothesis is reworked taking into account the new results and tested again. Experimental results are carefully recorded and these further observations again compared to the hypothesis’s predicted results. It’simple elegance through critical thought.…

[knowledgeistreasure]

Hubble astronomers assemble wide view of the evolving universe.

Astronomers have put together the largest and most comprehensive "history book" of galaxies into one single image, using 16 years' worth of observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope...

[scienceatlas]

How Do Galaxies Die? This Is How The “Head Of Death” Of A Galaxy Was Observed!

How Do Galaxies Die? This Is How The “Head Of Death” Of A Galaxy Was Observed!

In a new paper published on Nature Astronomy, an international team of researchers introduces us to the ID2299 Galaxy. This space entity is forming stars 550 times faster than the Milky Way. But this galaxy is also losing gas at a speed that has not been encountered before. Every year, it sends 10,000 Sun-equivalent stars into intergalactic space. This loss means that 46 percent of all cold gas…

[lookwhereyagoing]

Should we really be watching the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction? Sounds like planetary voyeurism to me.

[dreaming-about-space]

[wayti-blog]

Electrical Star & Planet Birth – Cosmic Z-pinch in Action

[natskies1]

Glimpse from the recently conducted Astro Survival Camp at Natskies Observatory Panchgani.

Next Astro Survival Camp is coming up on the 28th of December 2019.

Book now:

https://insider.in/astro-survival-camp-by-natskies-de…/event

[limodroid]

Read the full post by clicking on the link, or by reading this post:

We - sorry, Humans - wear clothes not just because we have parts that are “socially inappropriate” to be seen in public, but also for protection. Here in Australia, if we didn’t wear clothes we would be incredibly sunburnt. In england or northern europe, we’d be extremely cold.

Earth is often considered to be a “perfect” world that is perfect for humans. The reality is very different. The same would be true for most worlds.

There are approximately 40 billion “habitable” worlds (by human standards) in the Milky Way alone (this can be calculated by the famous Drake equation). However, many of these would not be at the perfect distance from their parent star that every part of the planet’s surface is at the same temperature. Some places would be cold, some would be hot. The life on these planets would therefore have different clothing styles (thin or thick) based on where on their planet they inhabited (this is, of course assuming that they have taken over their entire planet, something that humans only managed quite recently without dying).

Even on Earth, which is ruled by “intelligent” life, we still need clothes to be comfortable, and a lot of the time to survive. We humans love our creature comforts, and it is entirely likely that aliens would to. So even if they could survive without clothes, it probably wouldn’t be very comfortable.

Another thing that is important to remember is the day/night cycle of different planets. Apart from planets orbiting red-dwarf stars (m-type, a good example would be the Gliese 581 system) or habitable moons, every habitable planet will rotate as it orbits its parent star (those that don’t, for example Mercury (kinda), our moon (not that it’s habitable) and Gliese 581-d are referred to as “tidally locked”, where they have only 1 side facing their parent star or planet as they orbit. This would present more problems that I will explain below). This ensues that the rotating planet will have day/night cycles, where half the time it is warm, and half the time it is cold (binary systems may affect this statement, but it is a very rare case where you have a planet orbiting 2 stars at once, and for 2 stars to affect the day/night cycle they would have to be incredibly close together). So it is likely that the aliens would need clothes just based on this day/night cycle.

On tidally locked heavenly bodies, one side always faces the parent body (so they effectively rotate once every orbit). This means that one is in perpetual darkness and one is in constant light. There is a sliver on each side of the planet that is called the “terminator” which is between these two phases, which to the best of our understanding is likely to be the place where life would first develop on a world of this type. Intelligent species would likely want to conquer/colonize the rest of their world (possibly due to spacing problems, as the terminator is very, very small) and therefore would need some sort of “armour” or “protection” against the environment. Clothes win again!

Now clothes are unlikely to function the same way for aliens that they would for humans. They are unlikely to have shirts with 4 holes (just had to do a quick count there…:)). However, they are likely to need clothes, and it is possible that as these intelligent species become more of a social species they may develop rules about clothes. And what body parts they have to cover. So anyone hoping for an intergalactic nudist colony can forget it.

-Liam

[garudabluffs]

Black_Hole_in_the_universe

Astronomy 7/2/20

Listen 47:45  https://www.wamc.org/programs/vox-pop                    

Vox Pop veteran Bob Berman is joined by Valerie Rapson of The Dudley Observatory for this astronomy edition of the show. WAMC's Ray Graf hosts.

29:56--> 32:14 eye-opener!

[tomreich85]

This Is What I've Been Thinking

This Is What I’ve Been Thinking

Like so many people, I have always had more than passing interest in science. And like many people, I have a lack of math skills that would have allowed me to pursue a career in science. While earning my Journalism degree at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, I had to fight long and hard to get my below B grade for the two math courses I needed to complete my education. English and my…