#but ive gotten so used to the combat in the other games that this feels less good

[malwarechips]

man i wanna beat arti's campaign so bad bcz i love her so much but i am . so fucking bad at any kind of combat in rw i kinda just . avoid things . so ive never really gotten good at fighting . so i get into a scuffle with like one (1) scav and immediately Die

[foxstens]

ah. suddenly i’m not enjoying ac2 as much as i thought i would

[suzubi-0]

ive been consumed in elden ring lately, my first souls-like. technically ive played ds3 but i didnt get much farther than the first boss. that was years ago and i feel what stopped me from continuing was my inability to cope with losing souls if i died twice in a row, and not being able to wrap my head around the combat system fully.

im about 70 hours into elden ring now, notable bosses beaten in the order i slayed them(that i can remember off the top of my head): godrick the grafted, tree sentinel, glintstone dragon(lvl~30), the twin abductor virgins(lvl~35), red wolf of radagon, dragonkin soldier, leonine misbegotten, magma wyrm makar, rennala, royal knight loretta, ancestor spirit, godskin noble, elemer of the briar, fully grown fallingstar beast, and just before i got off today, i beat godfrOy the grafted at the golden lineage evergaol(lvl~72)

the first day i played, i slammed my head against tree sentinel until i was nothing but bitter and quit for a few weeks. upon coming back, i ignored tree sentinel and bum rushed my way to pick up the Greatsword(the one thats a replica of Guts sword in the golden age(shoutout to my man Guts from Berserk(RIP Kentaro Miura))), which after dumping 31 points into strength, i use exclusively. i explored and played up to godrick the grafted, and went back to settle my rivalry with tree sentinel. similarly i spend about a day butting heads with the glintstone dragon, and then with the twin abductor virgins after my partner told me itd be a good idea to take the elevator in the cuckoo church all the way to the bottom. smh. my next rival was godskin noble. i slammed my head into him for way too long gave up cleared all of the weeping penninsula looking for low level smithing stones - my lack of them held my greatsword back despite my abundance of higher level ones. came back for godskin, failed, realized i never finished the academy and beat rennala, then proceded to the caria manor cuz idk rennala was a caria and i just learned ranni was her daughter and ranni seems cool! then finally bested godskin!! godeater serpents stage 2 was a bit much, so i went to explore the altus plateau.

my overall go-to build is greatsword, armor thats light enough that i dont fat roll, Lhutel the headless, and electrify armament.

i feel like from the start i knew that i wanted to approach this game with a playstyle of maxing out my damage even if i get oneshot. legit i spammed strength to 31 so i could wield the greatsword, then endurance so i wouldnt fatroll, then some faith to cast bloodflame blade (which ive more recently replaced with elctrify armament), then dumped everything into strength. ive just gotten to 50 strength rn but still have whatever amount of vigor i started with(i wanna say 12-15). now that ive hit a softcap for strength, i think ill start putting points into vigor. anyways other than stats, if i die over and over, thats fine. ill learn my opponents movesets, how to dodge them, and to exploit their openings. i feel thats this is the most cathartic experience for the run where i finally overcome the obstacles. ive been struggling against. having a rival, being presented with a challenge and conquering it. rather than like being tanky, investing in making the game forgive my errors, drawings out to be longer which makes it so if i die, restarting takes longer and is more of a slog. just my preference! thats how i feel, you others can feel differently ofc!

when i started playing, i wasnt good at playing the game this way, and was upset by tree sentinel, but when i cooled off and came back to the game, i was able to endure it and start becoming acquanted with the games mechanics and details more intimately. only after beating godskin, do i feel excited by bosses whipping out new moves and killing me-rather than upset, as i have more to learn. and once i learn it, ive earned another way to display my expertise over them. when i started, the goal was to beat hard bosses, but as ive learned how to implement and properly enjoy my playstyle of choice, the goal has become to acquire and display mastery, and reveling in the respective struggle and catharsis.

[transparencyboo]

Brave Fencer Musashi (1998) was never released here in Europe, but somehow a pirated copy found its way to me as a kid. My dad had at some point gotten my PS1 modded with some kind of multi-X chip and sometimes brought home curiosities burnt onto discs. We didn't have a lot of them, but I remember some very fondly because of how elusive these copies felt without a box or even official cover art to speak of. Only the distinct allure of titles in black sharpie graced the discs, making them feel strangely mystical in a way. One of these games was Brave Fencer Musashi.

I was the only kid that knew about this game. Of course I didn't know that it was never released here at the time, but it sure felt like a special game that only I was privy to. I suppose this was partly why I went back to it over and over again, despite not knowing much English at all. I did not even understand how to save. I basically replayed the opening several times and just basked in everything that snippet of the game had to give me. It was fantastic, amazing even. It had such an impact on me that to this day I still remember the opening cutscenes and set pieces more vividly than most other games I played at the time. I hum the music of the first level sometimes. Lines of dialogue burned into my mind, even though my Swedish kid brain didn't grasp most of it.

Over 20 years later, I finally finished it.

It's interesting to go back to a game that was made almost mythical in my mind as a kid, one that has stuck with me even though I never really played through it. There was a risk that experiencing it for real would somehow taint that perfect imagination of it, but I think it was worth it in the end. Brave Fencer Musashi might not be as fantastical to me as a grown adult with understanding of English and a vast knowledge of video games, but I still appreciate it for what it ended up being. It's a simple platforming action game with light RPG mechanics, stunning graphics and some silly humour sprinkled in. It's certainly not ground breaking by any means, but I'd say it still sticks out as a solid little gem on the platform despite that. I was most definitely entertained throughout my 16 hours of playing, enough so that I collected all the splangos as well as all the bobbins – and that's more than I can say for most games. I even maxed out my stats, and it didn't even take that long. That's the mark of a pretty good game right there.

I really like the environments, the simple platforming combat, the toys of all the characters that you can collect and the goofs and gags that the rather conventional story presented to me. I liked that all the characters are named after food and drinks, and I think it's brilliant that one of them is inexplicably just called Jon and has a dog named Leno. It has tons of secrets to find and collect and pretty much everything feels rewarding and fun to do. It's good is what I am saying.

I will say though that the shogi puzzle could've used another pass through the localization (if you know you know), and the fact that they put a memorization rhythm game right at the very end almost made me quit playing. The only reason I got through that segment was because Kiki helped me with her extremely powerful short term memory. I am good at 3D platforming and actions shenanigans, but memorizing long strings of patterns that are also sensitive to rhythm just makes my brain shut off. I am glad that that character got danced to death by the end of that segment, because she certainly deserved it – Mickey Mouse looking shit.

Anyway, Brave Fencer Musashi is a pretty good platforming action game that reminds me quite a bit about Monster World IV, which might coincidently be the best game ever made, so that's a big A+ in my book. My childhood memories have finally been redeemed and can now rest in peace.

Next up from the pirated Playstation collection that stuck in the depths of my kid brain - Team Losi RC Racer

[kingzephy]

Man. I just keep thinking about Dead Souls and how much I fucking love it. Im just gonna ramble about it under the cut

Im not finished w it yet im almost finished but. Its so criminally underrated and it sucks that it hasnt gotten a proper good localization or port that isnt janky and laggy. I dont regret buying or playing it in the slightest.

Yeah its absolutely got some issues and I could talk about them for a long time, but it scratches this itch for me that I just cant explain well. I love it. I love cheesy campy media thats so bad its good which is honestly a big reason why i like it. It doesnt take itself too seriously at all. In a way it almost reminds me of some games I grew up playing, like re4 and house of the dead in a sense. Its really nothing like those games but you know what I mean

I actually dont mind the controls too much (though to be fair I had to switch to the type b control scheme and that feels better to me). Not being able to do the auto aim and walk at the same time doesnt bother me as much as i thought it was going to but it’s probably cuz im used to that from re4. Thankfully theres multiple aiming modes which makes up for that and you can walk around with the strafe aiming which is actually mostly accurate and feels good to use

Some of the weapons like Majima’s shotgun or Ryuji’s gatling gun especially are really satisfying. Even if theres a few enemies in particular that drive me insane (the monkey boys and especially the molotov cocktail zombies are so annoying they are the bane of my existence) overall i dont have too many issues w the combat aside from. Heat snipes being difficult to trigger sometimes, the auto aim can be a little glitchy every now and then, and occasionally getting overwhelmed by hoards of zombies but thankfully theres good weapons and attacks for that. I like that they included shit like chainsaws and flamethrowers

I love all the characterization they squeeze in for Majima and Ryuji especially, Its always great getting to play as Majima of course and I kinda think hes at his best in this game in some ways for several reasons, despite the weird localization. Hes just out there living his best life and I love that for him. Its good getting to see him like. Actually kinda happy for once. Its always nice getting to see him interact with characters like Akiyama. AND it was good getting to see more Akiyama and Hana together ofc

I really love the hostess conversations and the nonchalant and casual banter, I eat that shit right up. So much interesting dialog. I really enjoy the substories quite a bit, some of them more than others but i love how they poke fun at certain tropes. Theres a few real stand out ones. The main story is enjoyable and funny in a ridiculous way, even if the pacing can be weird and the plot is objectively not done well but I love it anyway for its cheesy edginess. Theres a few scenes that have really stuck with me. I think its funny how a lot of the citizens are in denial or are straight up just unaware of the outbreak and act like life goes on like normal which is something that I think. Aged well. Given the current state of the world rn

As a fan of other survival horror games its fun seeing the very obvious references to other games and such (L4D, RE, etc). I like getting to see Kamurocho in a state of complete disarray, I think the idea of separating the unaffected areas and the quarantine zones is smart and a cool idea so theres not constant zombies everywhere, the game gives you a bit of reprieve (even if it means theres some backtracking and taking the long way around things sometimes). I like how the zones move and change over time as the story progresses and more areas get infected.

Anyway. I dont really care if a piece of media is objectively good as long as Im personally having a good time and having fun w it and I can definitely say Ive had fun. If I wasnt a yakuza fan I can tell you for a fact I would not like this game but. I dunno. I am not immune to its charm. If youre a big yakuza fan and you haven’t played it I recommend at least checking it out on an emulator or something

[cleansingreflections]

okay im going to talk about tower of fantasy a little more so i can distract myself basically heres the things that i wanted to talk about:

- you can spar with other players. i got my ass obliterated by @sankakuen so bad. 10/10

- the gacha doesnt make you want to rip your hair out, its actually pleasant? its not as purposefully confusing as many other gachas, the rates and your pull history are both easily accessible so thats points for me. also your pity count doesnt reset??? after you get an SSR???? bonkers

- the gameplay is super fun and switching weapons mid combat is really good

- i keep trying to double jump to deploy a wind glider and left clicking mid air to plunge. need to work on that

- mounts are super fun, the jetpack and the bike are both 10/10

- the main problem i have is the server situation, the fact that theres like 50 servers and your data doesnt save across the servers so you can only play with people in the server that youre in. which would be fine if there werent 50 servers

- the story is p cool and interesting, but dialogue is still buggy as hell, at points you feel like they released the game too early?

- its very straightforward? got nothing else to add to that one but ive gotten used to the game easily

- they fucking put keith silverstein in this one too

[musicallisto]

👒 + matthias helvar (of course 😭) i like playing video games (im playing that new game stray rn!), i get super loud/talkative around my best friends, i also get drained from said hyperactivity So quickly, my main hobby rn is staying up till 3 am for absolutely no reason whatsoever. my favorite color is pink and ive liked the smell of gasoline since i was a wee lad. um. cancer sun, intp (used to be an infp!!!!), i have gotten chaotic evil on the alignment test 4 times and have accepted thats what i am (i am a gremlin at heart 😽) anyways bye ily clara 🫶🏼

no way you're playing stray!! that game is so cute i want it so bad but it's expensive😭

some headcanons about your dynamic with matthias:

okay but a tangent on modern!matthias for two seconds: VIDEO GAME NIGHTS!

he would not get the concept at first. like, at all. he's probably seen enough violence in his life to not want to take pleasure in a game where you have to kill people.

"but they're fake guards, helvar. it's all make believe." "and? what if they have families?" "they're lines of code-" "what if they have code families??"

so you decide to show him a harmless game like stray and he's not convinced either.

"why in the three hells would i want to play as a cat?" "uhm, you've never wanted to be a cat? do nothing all day and just be an inconvenience? i mean, yeah, thats kinda what you do already" and homeboy is OFFENDED--

but then you tell him, "think of it this way. are you not curious about what trassel does all day? how he sees the world? what it is to be him? that's the power of video games. it's the best way to put yourself into somebody else's shoes."

and even though he still grumbles that it's literally So Pointless, he gets it a bit better with the trassel example.

which by the way! Trassel loves you. So much. You spoil him rotten and give him treats and belly rubs and matthias at first tried to insist he's like, a combat isenulf!! and not some vulgar dog!! but you look him dead in the eye for like 3 seconds and he gives in. he literally spoils him rotten and gives him belly rubs on the daily what is he even ON about

evenings at the crow club!!! delirious. so much fun. drinking games GALORE. he's cocky enough after one pint to challenge you to a drinking game and boy, do you not like to back down from a challenge. you coerce jesper into playing too, but jesper is a lightweight compared to the two of you + you're so keen on outdrinking matthias that you'll stop at nothing, not even cheating, to always be the one giving out the shots.

so jesper has to back away, and he does in mild terror, like O.o houston we might have a problem on our hands

but it leads to careless nights, stumbling drunk to your temporary home in ketterdam, leaning on each other for support and talking one another's ear off (you both get So. Talkative. when night falls and you've had too much to drink, it IS literally funny).

perhaps that's how the first "i love you" is blurted out, in the dead of night, the words forgotten in the morning by both parties, but the feeling remaining just as strong...

[mejomonster]

So far about halfway through ff7 rebirth. My biggest thoughts so far are:

While i get that FF7 Remake was trying to do something unique. And because of its choices it make Remake and Rebirth SEQUELS to the original ff7. The actual design of the game I really dislike, specifically how many hours long tine wasting dungeon areas there are. The plot changes? Fine. I know everyone just wanted a remaster, me included cause I just wanted pretty normal ps1 ff8 or ff9 or better proportion models with voices so Id hear cloud say mosey and ride a dolphin. I think making these new ones sequels does give them the freedom to say "well since its not the original plot, but a sequel, if you dont like changes then your original ff7 is still the original plot in the first timeline." And i honestly think it gave them the excuse to say Ever Crisis phone game is the actual ff7 original remaster (except its not, because its in installments, its too linited hardware wise to do the regular mini games, and its a lose lose for anyone who wanted just a plain remaster with voices... i guess theres always mods).

But anyway. The bulk of ff7 Remake is mostly like the ff7 original, just a sequel so its got a few wild changes pretty common to the ff7 expanded universe like Crisis Cores addition of Angeal and Genesis. The only sucky part of it to me is it felt like it needed to be a 20 hour game, not a 40 hour one. I did not need to be in midgar that long. More importantly the dungeons felt bloated. I think they were trying to prove they needed multiple games so they made Midgar too long, or thought ppl would be mad if it was a 20 hour game. I qouldnt have been mad. But because it does have bloated dungeon segments i may never play it again. Its redeeming feature is the chapter select at the end, so i can redo certain parts i liked and skip a ton of annoying time wasting chunks.

Is ff7 remake worth playing? Sure. Especially if you liked or played Crisis Core or Dirge of Cerberus and are used to the ff7 sequels kind of flavor. And if you loved ff7 original, it is cool seeing some moments re-realized and some expanded on in nice ways. But if you dont like feeling time wasted, it may irk you at some points. If pacing is as big a deal to you as it is for me, this may be a grating issue.

Ff7 Rebirth though? Im about halfway through and i love it. I get why this chunk took until ps5 to come out. I dont like that it took so long sure. But i get the GOAL they had with this game, and they met the goal. I see everything the gane team learned from making kingdom hearts active combat, from open world in ff15 and kingdom hearts, in perfecting active combat with a slowdown to select actions (kh never slows down). I see an open world vastly busy and realistic sized while small enough it feels comparable to other great open world playstation games, levels/cities being 1-2 hours long like typical worlds/levels/cities in other games. So in short: Rebirth is NOT bloated. Its paced MUCH better. Its the best attempt ive seen square enix do of open world (but naybe ff16 is better as i need to play that too). The chocobos, boat, airplane, climbing, grappling hook, all do aa much as the ff7 ps1 in terms of FULL open world exploration, except the world is way richer now and its as fluid as modern games (like ghost of tsushima, tomb raider, kh3) to explore. Knowing how much SE struggled to develop jumping or open world basic lol, this is eons more than theyve ever been able to do before. And Rebirth doesnt fucking glitch! I played Fallout 4 open world and would save in fear constabtly cause i could get stuck walking in the ground or risking trying to climb a hill. In Rebirth ive went right into all kinds of weird terrain with cloud and many vehicles and havent gotten stuck OR glitched once. The whole game hasnt glitched once. It plays phenomenal. So the whole combat system is great, modern while still having more turn based action control than Kingdom Hearts and ability to control each party member uniquely, its open world is well paced and rich and fun and easy to maneuver, AND the game kept and increased the mini games! And the side missions are all integrated into building party member relationships so even boring missions have some nice relationship building moments at least. Meaning you can do side stuff you like, skip others. The game is very fast paced if you stick to main story. And its fun to sink into the world and side stories if u go off playing around. Rebirth feels like a phenomenal execution so far of what they really WANTED a final fantasy 7 redone to be like. Its clear during Remake they didnt know how to do full open world yet (or just wanted to pad with dungeons so much it felt so closed and forced often, i just HATE Remakes pacing tbh). In Rebirth it feels great. Its fun just exploring the world i remember from ps1 tbh. To drive in the desert, fly by cosmo canyon on the chocobo, boat into the ocean and fuck around.

[junietuesday]

so far in bg3 ive beaten the goblin camp and am holding off on doing the tiefling party until i get more affection. (im TOO indecisive and aroallo and polyam for this what do you MEAN i cant just sleep w any of the characters i want without having to get into their full on romance routes. dont tell me every single one of these characters wants that deep emotional connection or w/e like come on 😭) and i have id say. more than half the companions now? so recording my thoughts. normally i make little posts while i game but bg3 is so addicting i couldnt even open tumblr to talk abt it. i played it for almost 12 hours i think today (with breaks in between but STILL). which is why this is so long im rambling abt everything since i started the game

i feel like me and shadowheart have a good thing going rn if she were more physically my type i think id be certain on romancing her. im attached to her we’ve been together since the start of the game (i didnt find any of the other companions until after i went to the druid grove and had made it to the goblin camp LMAO i didnt realize they were all just right there). shes very pragmatic but i also notice she approves occasionally when im nice. i like her <3 we’re besties we’re a Team

i found astarion second and. yeah i get why hes tumblr’s favorite. hes an evil flirty fruity vampire. he has white hair and pronouns. that bloodsucking scene might as well have just been a sex scene. i enjoy him in my party (actually hes my fav character to play as, i love dashing around and stabbing and vampire biting people. i originally thought id have him as kind of a spellcaster but i even paid to respec him to have more mobility spells/traits. also hes my go-to for picking locks and disarming traps, w items and keeping him fed ive gotten him up to +7 sleight of hand, it was 9 before but i think i might have accidentally removed a bonus when respeccing him lmao. hes like the most useful of my party outside of combat. anyway) and im a lesbian but im literally torn on whether or not i should accept his proposition at the tiefling party bc hes just so entertaining. i might full on romance him in another save. but the thing w him is that im a monsterfucker sure (karlach 💞) but i dont like his moral compass it makes conversations w him so difficult to navigate it stresses me out. like im playing a self-insert and kind of just choosing the options i choose right. but he probably thinks all my dialogue options are too soft and weak and wishy-washy💔 like sorry i dont think idolizing absolute power is a good thing bro. even if i get why hed be obsessed w power after 200 years of utterly lacking any. doesnt mean i have to agree w his cynicism

on that topic thats why im utterly enamored w karlach💗💗 i love her. like of all the romancable characters i genuinely would enjoy dating her. if it werent for my emotional attachment to shadowheart after being w her so long itd be a no brainer. like at the beginning i just wanted her in my party bc shes a hot buff demon lady. but shes such a joy??? her zest for even the little things in life like her dialogue w shadowheart abt nature. her just cheerfully dancing in camp. shes boisterous and passionate and enthusiastic. also shes the only one of the characters i like who approves when i go out of my way to help people and when i brainwashed this monster into cannibalizing its pack (fucked up but i didnt wanna fight the whole horde And it) shadowheart and astarion approved but she Disapproved, and idk it just feels like a breath of fresh air to see someone who’s more openly just held on to goodness after everything shes gone through, after shadowheart’s and astarion’s disregard for other people. i need to find her a mechanic to fix her engine but i dont think i can go to the tiefling camp without triggering the party scene so. 💔

i dont really like gale tbh. i mean i dont Not like him he was fine to have in my party but as soon as karlach came along it was an easy choice to kick him out. his storyline is interesting from what ive seen but i feel like. im just not charmed by him lol. i failed a roll while he was trying to teach me magic in this probably romantic scene but he just cut it off there and i didnt bother savescumming to reroll. i also have met wyll but yeah hes fine. kind of the goody type from what ive seen and hes nice enough im also just not charmed. truly i think its just that im a lesbian but i find these two boring in comparison to the three above. ive also found halsin and hes abt to join my party but i made my character a druid already so hes kinda redundant😭 i googled it and hes the only one whos down w polyamory which is so sad bc i can see why people who like men find him hot but i dont, why couldnt any of the three companions i actually like let me date multiple people 😭😭 sadness. i wish it was like sdv where you can date everyone w no consequences as long you exclude one person. i dont like any of the guys except astarion please bg3😭😭😭

[aloev3rathings]

im thinking of random toh headcanons ive got floating around in my head:

1. i feel like this is pretty much fanon all across the board for the most part, but luz “weak nerd arms” noceda grew more physically active post-boiling isles but the difference isn’t really noticed until she’s in the human realm again and oh hey! that nerd from gym class? luz has got endurance in spades; she’s a regular at free running now. and she’s gotten an offer from the cheer squad to join once she returns but she turns them down. she and hunter go running in the park on the weekends bc luz is now a flexible speed demon and hunter’s kind of glad she can keep up with him.

2. hunter definitely gets into gaming. not just board games but mmorpgs and turn based games and all sorts. does he get into CoD? yes and no, bc on one hand, battling it out with a team with no lethalness involved helps burn out a lot of his anxiety that springs him into fight mode, but he can’t do mics bc his team mates are annoying and rude and will not take the match seriously like he does. he likes leisurely decision based games, like nitw and oxenfree, bc one, exploration and two, lore. the boy loves mysteries so he gets super into video game lore, im talking YouTube essays talking about themes and Easter eggs and pop culture.

3. willow tends to keep her insecurities close to her chest. she likes being the voice of reason and dependable for her friends bc she’s no longer considered useless “half-a-witch” willow, but she’ll avoid talking about her own emotions if she can. she’d rather put her energy towards something more constructive like her gardening and working out, and while her friends do their best to make sure she’s included in any and all bonding activities, willow will internalize. she will speak with Gus about it on occasion, and she feels only a little bit distant from Luz now since she and Amity are dating and she’s understanding, so inevitably she reveals bits and pieces with hunter. as a result, they spar whenever she has to deal with bouts of frustration. it’s shameless how they flirt.

4. since the day of unity and upon their inevitable return to the boiling isles, Gus wants to use his illusion talents in a more self-defensive manner? generally it’s used more for distraction and evasion, but when he starts working out with willow and hunter, combined with input from amity whose magic is mainly combat based, he becomes more flexible with how he uses his illusions.

5. on top of combat, Gus spends his time building his knowledge of the human realm, which goes without saying, but he partners with Eda on selling her human realm products now that they know what things actually are and what they’re used for. human realm technology becomes pretty popular in the demon realm bc of Gus.

6. amity and her father finally get closer. it’s really slow-going, but with her mother out of the picture they’ve gotten a chance to experiment with abominations with honest-to-titan creativity, and not just creating abominations for combat. as a result, they start trying to use abomination clay for more practical every day applications like construction and travel, but also abominations to explore areas of the isles that are too dangerous for normal witches to access.

7. Gus and Matt still help protect the looking glass ruins, and they’ve grown closer in their friendship. Gus is still leagues beyond Matt in terms of illusion magic, but Matt inspires creativity in mischief, so they become a prank trickster duo that rivals the Blight twins. and since Gus loves to express himself creatively, they end up reinvigorating Hexside’s long dead theater program. they are the most beloved theater kids in the entire school.

8. hunter and willow dance around each other for a good year and a half after the day of unity. their friends have a betting pool going on. Hunter fell first, but Willow spent a good while trying to figure out exactly why she’s so attached to this boy. when it finally hits her she adamantly refuses to talk about it, and they are the friends everyone thinks is already dating. Luz is in agony. Amity is amused. Gus is amused. all parties involved in the bet are just eating popcorn.

9. and I only just realized this like a week ago when I was rewatching the first season with my friend, and it’s not really a headcanon but more of an interpretation I guess BUT. but of course, magic is a gift from the isles, which is the Titan. and who was with Luz when she first discovered the light glyph? King. Luz was chosen not because she was destined; she was chosen bc she wanted to love and protect her friends and family. King chose her, didn’t even realize it, because of who she is as a person. because she loves him and he loves her and this realization MAKES ME SO EMOTIONAL TO THINK ABOUT. THE POWER OF CHOSEN/FOUND FAMILY IDC IF THIS DOESNT MAKE PERFECT SENSE IT DOES IN MY HEART.

[maid-of-the-golden-deer]

im near what i presume is the tail end of the story and ive gotten married so im gonna do a quick comparison of rf4 (specifically special) to rf5 in my experience

graphics:

rf4s runs SOO much better than rf5, which is to be expected bc its a 3ds game running on considerably better hardware lol. rf5 has an extremely pretty look, so the hiccups dont bother me, and the fact there theres only loading screens from going in and out of houses/dungeons is supremely nice

artstyle:

i like that rf5's characters dont look quite AS baby as rf4. like i know that cutesy artstyle is a series staple but most of rf5's cast ud clock as an adult from the jump, which i like lol. i do think a lot of rf4's area designs Pop a little more tho

characters:

rf4 easily has a better in-game sense of COMMUNITY. like it feels like characters care about people who arent you or their immediate family. rf5 lacks that feeling in many ways. however i like a lot of rf5's cast more? i think its the event structure where its easier to get to know everyone, as well as some tweaked things (like EVERYONE gets some plot moments) that do this. this bits definitely totally subjective tho

gameplay:

i mean its rune factory for 90% of it is identical with small tweak svabshs. i will say the combat in rf4 is a little more finicky bc of the camera pov, but i love the combos u naturally learn, it makes fighting fun even if you dont have anything fancy equipped. the weapons/farm tools bag also feels smoother to me to use. in terms of the social gameplay, besides the easier sub events, i do think rf4 has the edge a little (besides letting u get extra kids). i LOVE that getting married was easy, but also it like. idk too easy isnt quite right, but bc all the romance events are TOTALLY seperate from other charcters events and the story it felt rlly disconnected

overall:

rune factory/story of seasons are games which just new coats of paint and tweaks so in the end its like, different strokes for different folks. i think ill com back to rf5 more bc its a slightly smoother experience, frame rate hiccups aside lol, but i love em both

[literaphobe]

Two questions:

1. What do you feel about CorpsexSykunno ship?

I feel like it's MarkiplierxJacksepticeye all over again, starts out innocent and turns uncomfortable.

(Also I think real people shipping is gross in general)

2. Dream smp makes me so nervous, not necessarily because of any of the members but due to (1) the history of online teams dominated (and lead) by male influencers, (2) minecraft youtube's general history of exploiting fans. I feel like it's going to end badly. You seem to be enjoying it tho, and it's definitely up my alley, should I get into it?

1. Corpse and Sykkuno are not comfortable being shipped! Neither of them are okay with being shipped with ANY of their friends in general, so like, don’t do it, or if u do like. i guess just don’t say anything about it? it’s really not hard to just enjoy their friendship. like it’s an endearing friendship n there’s nothing wrong w liking it. but. nothing more u know. plus both of them have made it clear on several occasions that they’re both straight and my gaydar agrees JFKDKDK like they’re just. Friends. Who care about each other :)

I definitely think it’s not like the markiplier x jacksepticeye situation, because for one u have jack himself telling people not to ship etc etc and also BECAUSE of that u have people actively policing any form of shipping. it’s honestly gotten to the point where it’s annoying but i genuinely don’t think it’s that big a problem, plus the rising popularity of the amigops puts less pressure on one-on-one corpse + sykkuno interactions, since people now wanna see all four of them play games together n not just corpse n sykkuno!

2. I get why Dream SMP would make u nervous. An interesting thing I realized when I started finding out more about people on that server is that there’s marginally more poc on it than I previously thought and also A LOTTTTT more lgbt+ people than i previously thought. Like genuinely why are so many of u so gay. And like that affects the stories being told obviously. Like. I don’t think it’s perfect n I don’t follow EVERY person on the SMP, just like i obviously don’t know everything about every minecraft YouTuber like fkdkdkdk i would say the only people i watch are dream, george, quackity (and even then i haven’t seen most of quackity’s YouTube videos) and like I’ve seen a couple of tommyinnit’s videos Fjdjdjdj and sapnap obviously but he has like 10 videos and i watch Karl’s streams if certain people are on it. yeah i think that’s about it like i do like the feral boys (dream george karl quackity sapnap) and i have seen maybe one or two skeppy videos

Anyway I get ur concerns about online circles dominated by male influencers too. but quite frankly compared to past circles ive seen its genuinely not that bad and also. In terms of holding them accountable, I think mcyttwt makes VERY sure of that (which honestly has devolved into a problem. because privileged haters will dig up stuff on creators that either a. has been addressed properly or b. is just. several years old and i don’t like how minorities are being weaponized. also i cannot stress how little i care that some minecraft YouTuber said the r slur 10 years ago when they literally never do it now. like. i worry so much because so many of these stans who think they’re ‘educating’ are just wearing themselves out n burning themselves out. so many of them are minors too)

but like. the people i am kept up w definitely do take responsibility and accountability. like dream especially gets accused of stuff that’s either fake/not him or something that’s just like out of this world (e.g. accused of queerbaiting. w george. interestingly no one ever accuses george directly of doing this) and no matter what he like addresses it properly and accordingly. like looking at his journey as a creator over the past year he’s grown a LOT and changed so much and matured a lot and i think like. looking at how much he’s blowing up and how much more of a following he’ll gain. I feel much better that it’s him who has this following as compared to. Certain people. And like. It’s upsetting to see how a lot of people have this impression of him that’s objectively false? Due to all the fake stuff that gets spread by haters (most often white for some reason???)? Because genuinely he’s not the creator we need to be so worried about?

Anyway in terms of getting into mcyts in the dream smp. I knew who Dream was because he’s played among us w the amigops a lot n they all like him because he’s just a good natured amicable person. I vaguely knew who george was because of dnf n also people putting his stupid face on my tl all the time. I thought he was pretty n hated that I thought that. I don’t care anymore tho. Like what’s wrong w looking at pretty people. I deserve it. Anyway! I got into their videos through GEORGE first, funnily. I think Minecraft, But I’m Not Colorblind Anymore was the first one I watched and it’s very very good. It’s endearing because it’s George trying out colorblind glasses for the first time n he’s nervous but Dream is there with him to make him feel more comfortable. And also Dream is so happy n emotional (he talks about tearing up at the thought of George being able to see colors properly) and their friendship is just very endearing. The video starts w george taking a colorblind test and we find out he has protan colorblindness (severity: STRONG which makes them crack jokes about how George is SO strong 😤)

anyway these losers. Decide to test the colorblind glasses on colors in MINECRAFT because of course that’s the whole video and it’s really heartwarming to see George learn how colors look like again n Dream just being excited about it the whole time n then George taking the colorblind test again at the end but with the glasses on... n then u go on to watch more george videos but it’s the ANIMAL CHALLENGES. like George Speedruns Minecraft But His Friend Is (Insert Animal, This Animal Is Always Dream) and like...... yeah so I watched a bunch of George’s videos n I went onto dream’s channel out of curiosity

And i was like. What the fuck. These videos are so WEIRDLY named. What the fuck is Finale, Finale Rematch, Grand Finale???? But dream has adhd too and in hindsight I absolutely would’ve titled the videos in a similarly confusing way. Anyway dreams manhunt videos are...... a work of art. I swear to god like even if u don’t know jackshit about minecraft they are very entertaining and weirdly impressive.

Basically in Minecraft Manhunt: Dream has to beat the game, but his friends are there trying to kill him. If they kill him even ONCE, they win n the video ends. He’s allowed to kill them repeatedly though. Manhunt started with one hunter (George, to one’s surprise), then two hunters (Sapnap and George), three (Sapnap, George, BadBoyHalo), and now four (Sapnap, George, BadBoyHalo, Antfrost). The next stage is possibly 5 hunters but idk who is the fifth yet. Anyway the thing that’s so entertaining about minecraft manhunt is:

1) Dream’s Parkour & PVP skills, which he developed and trained over such a short period of time n got REALLY good, it’s satisfying to watch him do risky maneuvers n succeed, the ways he’ll jump from a high place but clutch w either water, blocks, horses, boats, scaffolding, etc, to escape from the hunters

2) Dream’s TRAPS, like he actually does research for possible plans n traps he could do to counter the hunters, since there’s so many of them and only one of him, and he can’t just fight them in combat exclusively, since he’ll lose eventually if he gets ganged up on. I won’t spoil any of his traps, but they’re very good and also very dramatic. It’s amazing

3) The banter and taunting!! The lies and tricks!! They’re all really close so it’s easy for them to crack jokes during a lull where neither party is engaged in a fight, they’re all on the same VC so they can potentially say stuff to trick each other, or they can hear the other team say stuff that gives them an edge

4) The editing. Like the pacing is incredible, and all the bgm used is SO good at setting the atmosphere n making things more tense n exciting etc. like “dream’s manhunt music” is honestly a meme at this point but he actually unironically uses it and it unironically makes the videos better. Also dream edits all the manhunt videos by himself!! he doesn’t hire editors to do it for him or anything

idk what else to say but yeah I watch most of dream n george’s YouTube videos and they’re in most of each other’s videos and I like their dynamic a lot!! Especially since they still have not met in real life but already know they want to like live together (forever, according to George), and it like reminds me of the friendships I have because most of my close friendships have been made online. And like. They remind me that online friendships aren’t actually inferior. That’s it :) sorry this is so long

[thecaffeinebookwarrior]

My Top Tips for Sticking to That Damn WIP

Anonymous asked: 

Hey so I have this thing were I get an idea for a story and then put a bunch of effort into it and develop the world and characters a lot then I kinda just get distracted by a new idea and the other work gets abandoned. It freaking sucks that all these stories ive put so much effort into just kinda ... disappear. If you know anyway to combat this I'd really appreciate it.

First and foremost, take comfort in the fact that this is a ridiculously common issue. One of the most frequent complaints I hear from fellow writers is that they can’t stay focused on a single idea, and keep getting distracted. 

Am I a stranger to this? No, I am not. But I’ve gotten pretty good on self-managing my writing habits and sanctioning off distractions, so I figured it was time to make a post outlining my tips!

1. Set achievable goals, and keep them as best as you’re able.

The biggest culprit when it comes to incomplete or abandoned projects as a writer is a lack of habit-building. You don’t necessarily need to write every day -- there’s a whole slew of reasons why that isn’t doable for some people -- but in order to build the habits you need, you need to set goals you can keep. 

Maybe it’s an hour a day, maybe it’s an hour a week. Maybe it’s a page a day. There are no rules. But set a goal you can keep, and keep at it till it becomes second nature. 

You can set multiple goals for multiple projects, but I find that it’s best to focus on one project at a time. I’m about to explain why. 

2. Realize that planning a project is almost always more appealing than doing the project.

Daydreaming, worldbuilding, and even plotting are dope as hell. You get to soar over the sprawling landscape of your fictional world, and it feels limitless. Actually writing can feel like transferring that landscape onto a piece of paper using only a spoon. 

The reason why you’re stuck in a world-building and planning rut is because PLANNING a project is almost always more exciting than DOING the project. Doing a project is where expectations and reality crash like twin freight trains. It’s hard, especially when you’re getting started. That’s why so many people have fifty projects planned, and few to none underway. 

Learn to anticipate this! If it’s harder to actually start writing than it is to plan it, that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re doing something right. 

And on that note...

3. Come up with a game plan to avoid distractions. 

Once you’re in the WIP trenches, your other projects and ideas will suddenly look a lot more appealing to you. “I should have started that other project. Why didn’t I?” you may lament. Of course, if you had started That Other Project, you’d be wishing you started work on your current project. 

Why? Well, as I mentioned before, planning projects is almost always more fun than doing projects. (At least to start with. There’s an unmatchable exhilaration that comes from watching your work finally start to take form, but I’ll get to that later.) 

Once again, ANTICIPATE THIS! And come up with doable ways to document your other ideas so you can work on them later, without walking away from your current project. 

Which brings me to my next point:

4. Keep at least one notebook for your other ideas. 

And preferably at least one word document for each, so you can jot down ideas for each new project as you come up with them. I’ve gone back to SO many project ideas after completing the first draft of another, and one of the best ways to ensure you can do so is to document them as they come up.

Some authors will take a day off from their current WIP to plot out each new idea as it comes up, but personally, that’s never been my style. However, it’s important to experiment and figure out a method of documentation that works for you. 

Remember: you’re not abandoning these ideas. You’re squirreling them away for future use! 

5. Recognize when you need to take a break from a project (or drop it completely.) 

Ultimately, and despite evidence to the contrary, writing is supposed to bring you joy. There are few experiences more exhilarating than finally watching a story take shape, or writing a sentence that you’re really proud of, or walking home from the coffee shop and daydreaming about your next scene. 

If, after a reasonable allotment of time, you find that your current WIP isn’t bringing you joy, there’s no shame in taking a break from it. Give it some distance for, say, a week or two, and then see if you feel compelled to return. If you feel little or no inclination to return, it might be time to explore other ideas.

Ultimately, writing is a relationship, between the author and their creation. As with all kinds of relationships, there are healthy ones, and there are unhealthy ones. If your current project is making you miserable, then keep exploring till you find one that makes you happy. Each “abandoned” project is not a lost cause, because it has taught you something new. 

I hope this helps, and happy writing! <3

[bookwyrminspiration]

Do you think that anyone is going to die in Book 9? We haven't had a death in a while from the "good guys." (I believe the last one was Forkle 1) The only people I can think of could die would be Dex, Linh, (Maybe that explains the short POV), or maybe Amy. idk, I feel like Sophie is gonna have a hard time in the next book, with the way that the last book left off. But, Shannon might not have time, so I have no idea.

[Image: Screenshot of an anonymous ask. In all caps, it reads: "Sandor will most definitely die at the end of the series I don't want him too but ive been going thru the books and there is so much evidence it will happen." End description.]

I hope you two don't mind me combining these asks, they're just so similar and my thoughts cover both of them!! Because Sandor dying is one of the one's I feel is most plausible in the coming books, rather than talking about it in two different places it's easier to mesh both your asks!

The last death we had was, you're right, Mr. Forkle in Lodestar, but that was in book five and we're coming up on nine, so it's been a considerable length of time. It doesn't feel like we can keep going at this rate and have everyone consistently come out alive at the end of the day. You know all those kids games like Pie Face and Don't Break the Ice? it's like that. the longer things go on, the more the anxiety build because with each passing turn, the game gets more risky and you have a lower chance of escaping unharmed. In the same way, we've been moving along without incident through the series and we're just waiting for everything to blow up in our faces.

First, I'll discuss a few of the characters the first ask brought up! Dex is an interesting one; I could see there being an aspect of "he could only cheat death once" in reference to the time he was presumed dead. I think his death, based on how he's incorporated into the story right now, would serve as a way to make Sophie feel guilty and responsible because she wasn't paying enough attention to him. I don't think it would be a satisfying conclusion to his story, though. There's an element in writing when a character dies, generally you want it to be because it's an appropriate ending to that characters journey and story, a culmination of their triumphs and losses and their past. We had this in a sense with the first Forkle because all his accomplishments had led to a meeting with the leaders of the world alongside Sophie, and he had gone down protecting someone else and the future, and while part of that was for its impact on Sophie is does make enough sense with his character to be satisfying. I don't think we're quite there with Dex yet, so maybe it would take more of an approach of those sudden deaths that are meant to show that life isn't a story, that sometimes people die for no reason and you can't do anything about it. But enough about Dex, onto Linh!

Same as Sandor, who I'll talk about later, I think Linh might be more plausible as far as going down protecting her friends. We've seen in Neverseen and Nightfall that she has no problem going past some of her physical limits to ensure the safety of others, so I could see a scene where things are getting intense but she just keeps pushing herself further and further past the edge, just promising herself she'll hold on a little longer, just a little longer for her friends because they're counting on her. I think it'd be the kind of death where no one realizes what's happening to her until it's too late and she's given all she can give. Everyone would be so caught up in the fighting and just trying to survive that they wouldn't realize until a few moments later that no one can find Linh, that she hasn't said a word. I don't think she'd give any sort of final words goodbye, she'd just show her love for the people she surrounded herself with through her actions.

Amy I'm personally a little iffy on, just because we've already had so much drama with Sophie's human family that it might feel like "seriously?? you can't give them a break?" Sophie had to loose her human family, endure them being taken and tortured, then loose them again. Adding Amy's death on top of all that seems a little too close to older events to have the dramatic effect Shannon would want. There's also the matter of her being very disconnected from the elven world and all the drama, so there'd need to be a lot more connection back to her in the next book for this to be something more plausible. But! not completely off the table!

that's not to say all of these are completely improbably and can't happen at all, just that I think there might be some better options for deaths that would have a better effect on the story! But I do like all your suggestions and there's a lot I could talk about for each of them individually!!

So now, onto Sandor. Personally, he's one of the characters I can see dying the most believably. and the reason the second ask found "so much evidence it will happen" is likely because Shannon has literally admitted to planning to kill him off in every book since he's been introduced! I don't remember where exactly she said this, but I do know she shared this lovely bit of information a year or two ago. So not only have there been plans to kill him, there have been hints of those plans throughout the series.

some of my reasoning: he's a bodyguard; his line of work is literally in physical combat and protection, opening him up to a lot more opportunity for injury and disaster. I mean, he's already fallen off a cliff, and that was when he wasn't as emotionally invested in Sophie as he is now. On top of that, both Sophie and the fandom have gotten attached to him--he's been here even longer than Tam and Linh. So it would have that emotional impact and guilt from Sophie that Shannon would want to show us, same as it would have with Dex. The difference here for me, though, is that Sandor's death would be a better ending to his story than Dex's would (not that it was a bad suggestion! there's just a lot to it). In the same way I suggest Linh die protecting her friends, I think Sandor would die protecting Sophie. I simply have trouble imagining there's a more believable way for him to die.

He's been protecting her and getting hurt in her place for so long, I think it would be fitting for him to be doing the same thing he always does, but this time it's just...a little too much. A little too late. A little too bad. I think he'd be the kind to have a few final words instead of Linh, to thank Sophie for his time with her and to remind her that it isn't her fault. The little things like that.

and then jumping back to the first ask to round this out: I think we've had enough time and build up throughout the past eight and a half books that even if number nine is the last one in the series, Sandor could be killed and there would be enough time to figure all that out. he doesn't have a bunch of weird background stuff going on like Kenric or Forkle did that would draw out his death over several books, so I personally think Sandor specifically could be killed in the next book and it would make sense timing wise. All the others feel a little different though, so depending on who Shannon wants to kill, whether or not it would work out would change.

Those are just a few of my thoughts on death in the keeper universe! I don't know if it's possible to keep going and have everyone survive, but the tension has been mounting and we know Shannon is okay killing characters so there's a lot to take into consideration!

[projectshadovv]

Thoughts on shadamy? Or how you see the potential behind their dynamic? 🥺👉👈

gosh i havent thought that much about shadamy in awhile!! i was REALLLLY into it tho, just as much as i was into sonamy, like i honestly couldnt decide which i liked more.

(under read more cause once again i am Just Talk Talk Talk)

obviously now sonshadamy is the way

but ok well, i think i ship them more platonically firstofall (tho im not against romantically, we just haven't seen them together that many times? i would LOOOVE more interaction with them) and she'd be really good for helping him open up more about his thoughts and feelings, encourage him to be kind and thoughtful. people like to say that Sonic is a lot like Maria, and maybe they are similar!- Maria never got the chance to be adventurous or active though, and in SA2, Amy clearly reminded Shadow of Maria just as he was about to watch Earth be destroyed. She reminded and showed Shadow the actual meaning in Maria's words, what she wanted for Shadow and thats how he was able to save the world.

Amy's a really 'get into her feelings' kind of person and i can see her and Shadow having a few arguements and disagreements and lack of communication and understanding between them. It would def be really rocky at first (while Sonic on the other hand, just *understands* Shadow and leaves him be if needed, or confronts him directly and straight to the point). It would take a long time for Amy to really understand Shadow who's a closed door, and Amy's a open book and maybe that scares Shadow. He doesnt understand someone like her, who is so selfless and kind and lends a helping hand to anyone in need, and maybe he hates being on the other hand of that dynamic- he sees it as being weak, and Amy could teach him that theres bravery in kindness.

On a happier note tho, some activities i can see them enjoying together. Clearly Amy cant keep up with him in combat or speed, but she has a good endurance, and i can see her taking him out shopping or to local game arcades, or maybe help him with gardening. he grumbles and complains at the thought of being around people and doesnt like the center of attention but i think he'd think the experience is worth it

In battle, he'd be pretty annoyingly worried about Amy, she's not as strong or skilled as him and Sonic, or as elusive and cunning as Rouge- and you know, he wouldnt wanna lose someone close to him a second time, so he'd prob jump in front of Amy all the time and Amy would get soooo pissed off at him and theyd just get into a yelling match in the middle of the battlefield and everyone else is just face palming and its sooo awkward for everyone.

Finally, sonic who's known amy like his whole life, assures Shadow that shes more than capable of taking care of herself. Yes she was the damsel in distress in the past, but she's gotten stronger, not only for her friends but for herself and he's seen the improvement. it takes a lot of convincing to calm Shadow and so maybe he tries to work together more as a team with her. He's not used to that, so he'll still mess up and still try to get the most enemies defeated, but thats because he wants all the glory. it's still kinda annoying to Amy but he's trying i suppose!

Or maybe I'm giving Shadow too much credit, maybe he leaves Amy by herself TOO much, leaves her to fend for himself, refuses to work as a coordinated team. He's always worked alone, and when he doesn't its with Rouge, and its more like theyre fighting alone but together- if that makes sense. This irritates Amy cause 'arent we friends? friends look out for each other' and he'd be like, ive always been able to look out for myself' and she'll say 'yes but not all of us are Ultimate Lifeforms like you. What's all your power and strength for if not used to protect those who need you?' and once again she reminds him of Maria's promise. She's really good at humbling him and gently or harshly putting him back in his place depending on whats going on.

Amy of course finds herself stumped from time to time and goes to Rouge a lot for advice, to which Rouge is happy to help but says sometimes its best to leave things alone as she's learned to do when it comes to Shadow. Rouge is kinda relived too, now that Amy's trying to take over as some sort of caretaker for Shadow. Takes some of the stress out of the older girl's hair. Amy can't leave things alone though and just pushes and pushes Shadow until he snaps at her and lets her have it. It sucks but at least he's communicating. Again, Amys not one to back down and tells him that what he does hurts her and his friends. Shadow grumbles that he doesnt care but he doooes when it comes to Rouge and Amy, and eventually learns that to have the girls stop pestering him is to just *tell them* what hes thinking or feeling. He learns its just easier to do that than have them bothering him for days and days.

this is a lot of "amy makes shadow a better guy" so let me think of how Shadow helps Amy for once, okay so obvs i think he'd be up to sparring with her on a lower level to help her advance her skills. She becomes a much stronger fighter. Since she doesnt have the speed he or Sonic does, he teacher her to put all she has into her Piko Hammer, helps her go through rigorous training to better wield the weapon in a more convenient manner rather than just swinging her hammer around and wasting energy when it doesnt hit. He'll even rope Omega in who's more than happy to shoot a moving target. Amy will have to skillfully weave and dodge through it all, or use her hammer to block or deflect the projectiles.

I guess he'd tried to teach her to be more careful of the people she trusted, not to trust so easily and openly. But I think she'd be pretty adamant about it, after all, she trusted him pretty much as soon as she met Shadow, and when she met Omega (E 123 Gamma? sorry cant remember if theyre the same character), along with a bunch of other baddies. She's not afraid of getting hurt or being wrong or trying to be the try hard good guy, she cares more about giving second chances to those who want it. Shadow and Amy agree to disagree but its brought up when its relevant.

hopefully this is good enough?? idk the shadamy fanfics i read back in the day, Shadow was either a really emo guy in highschool or some guy in a gang or mafia, and along came amy this really preppy girl who'd bring him out of his shell and into the sunshine, until one day her life was in danger and he'd have to save her, and sonic was either the villian or some asshole jock kid who get jealous now that amy wasnt always on him, or it was shadow's dad LOL that was THE formula for shadamy fics back then.

[dawnblade]

Okay hi you're like.

One of the only destiny players I follow, and I enjoy watching your commentary and stuff like that!!

Anyway, my boyfriend in the past month has gotten very into destiny 2 and Im starting to want to play too.

Any tips for a new player? 🥺

lord forgive me for the college thesis ive just written

thank you so much, im glad to hear youve enjoyed what ive had to say about this game!!! so, as for tips:

☆first off, ive heard the starting missions dont do a great job of easing new players into the game, so i think my advice for that would be that after you complete those, if you have any of the purchaseable big expansions (forsaken, shadowkeep, or beyond light), play through their campaigns so you can have a more "on rails" guided experience as you learn

if youre playing the free base game, you might have to set more goals for yourself. you can start by playing strikes, crucible, or gambit, OR you could explore each planet and see what they have going on. (i think to get to new planets you need to increase your power level, so thats a goal to shoot for!)

▪strikes are pve, essentially super short linear self-contained stories. you get matched with two other people and do some light combat with a boss at the end to get loot. its very casual and chill

▪crucible is pvp, you have different modes within the crucible to choose from, which are explained in-game. you can play matches for valor- which is more casual, or glory- which is more competitive

▪gambit is a mix of pve and pvp. your team and the opposing team fight enemies to collect something called motes from them. whichever team collects 100 motes, then summons and defeats the final boss first wins the match!!!

**there are also much harder versions of pvp and pve activities (raids, trials of osiris, grandmaster nightfall strikes, etc) but thats all endgame content and you probably wont get into that stuff until youve spent a good amount of time with the game

if you like checking things off a list, there are things called triumphs, which are basically in-game achievements, so completeing those could be your objective. theres a TON of those to complete, so you definitely wont run out of stuff to do LOL

●○●○

☆weapon and armor drops might be confusing and overwhelming to a new player, so personally i wouldnt worry about them too much until you get some experience with the game and start getting into endgame content. getting something with good perks will really help you out later

when you wanna start grinding for better guns, looking up the best perks for each gun is absolutely recommended

trial and error, licherally just messing around, is also very useful to find something that suits your personal playstyle

●○●○

☆the fastest way to up your seasonal rank is to be constantly doing bounties and seasonal challenges

seasonal ranks are mostly just for rewards and include resources and cosmetic items, but also provide some passive gameplay perks that can help you with a seasonal activity or getting better weapon + armor drops

●○●○

☆the fastest way to up your power level is by doing weekly challenges for each activity (strikes, gambit, crucible, etc) and getting powerful gear from them

power level directly affects how hard an activity is going to be. if your power level is too low, enemies will be immune to damage, but if you are just slightly underleveled it can make for a more challenging activity if thats what you want ^_^ otherwise, if your power level is equal to or above whats required, enemy power will scale with you.

●○●○

☆try to have a variety of weapon archetypes (like smgs, hand cannons, snipers, etc) and energies (solar, arc, void, and stasis) in your inventory.

there are third-party apps that let you bring and send weapons to storage without having to stop at the main hub world, but sometimes its just easier to be able to quick-swap for different situations.

having a few armor loadouts is useful as well but again, personally i wouldnt worry about armor modding and weapon perks TOO much when youre just starting out

●○●○

☆if youre not sharing your account, you should use all three character slots on a warlock, a hunter, and a titan. obviously you dont HAVE to, you can be Oops All Hunters if you want, but ive found its super useful to have an understanding of how each class works, especially for endgame content

●○●○

and finally, this game's campaigns tend to be pretty cool, but the lore is absolutely batshit and i recommend reading lore books and lore tabs and such when you can because they are super interesting. theres so many of them though i dont think its possible to actually read all of it, in which case i HIGHLY recommend watching "My Name Is Byf" on youtube if you want all of that information compiled neatly and explained thoroughly to you. or you can read the wikis or a site called the ishtar collective to learn more about aspects of the lore you might be interested in. the lore stuff you read about is mostly gonna be pick and choose regardless

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SO, i think thats about all i can think of. i hope none of this was confusing, if you need any clarification id be glad to explain more!!! this game is a lot of fun with friends, so def play it with others when you can ^_^ plus, theres tons of resources for you to learn from, on youtube or reddit or wikis OR asking folks like myself!! a lot of veterans with more experience than me are also very willing to help you out, so totally dont be afraid to ask!!! i hope you have fun with the game!!!

also, if any other folks have some new player tips, do feel free to share!!