#patch 2

[loquaciousquark]

Mulling over the news about the upcoming Patch 2 and trying to decide what I want to do here. I'm very, very close to the end of the game--just the dragon quest, Orpheus, and assaulting the Elder Brain left--and the news about the epilogues has me wondering if I should wait to finish until after Patch 2 drops, since IGN suggests it's coming out this week. (I mean, I played ME3 both with and without the Extended Edition DLC, and knowing what came first helped me much more deeply appreciate what came after, but...hm.)

I'm also trying to figure out what exactly is being suggested with this new Karlach content. The Steam post says it's a "more fleshed-out" ending that many have been asking for and that it's a "new optional ending" that's "fiery, poignant, and gives her the ending she deserves." The IGN article quotes one of the devs as saying "it will make a lot of people happy," which...what's going to make them happy other than an implication that her heart can be fixed permanently--but also, what's poignant about that? Hmm.

I don't really care about the Minthara stuff (sorry Larian), but I'm very interested in the expanded epilogues being suggested for the rest of the party. What Larian says on the Steam post, that they were sure fans wouldn't want a long epilogue in a game where you can complete so many quests in so many ways, is silly to me, but regardless, they seem to be addressing it, and I won't argue with more content letting you know how you've affected the world. It's also not clear to me if this patch is going to include new/expanded epilogues for everyone or if Karlach is just first. I've also read about the bugs with the LI post-epilogue scene not triggering unless you let Karlach die in the final battle, and I'm curious to see if this fixes that. Not that I'm exactly over-eager to get Astarion's at this point, ha--though whatever happens there will shape my post-game oneshot, for sure!

It doesn't really matter to me if they add the Upper City back in; I've been reading some of the original material (ads, trailers, and such), and frankly I think people made a lot more of a few throwaway lines than they should have, and I'm not sure that's Larian's fault. I don't even really want another area to explore in Act 3; what we have is plenty! I do think Cazador's palace's entrance is dumb, but meh. Not exactly a dealbreaker. So that they say here that they never meant the Upper City to be more than something to fight through in a climactic battle--fine, sure, good with me.

I am super glad to see performance in Act 3 especially is being addressed. I've had to restart the game for fps drops there more than any other place--it felt like almost every two hours sometimes. I found myself actively avoiding saving because it seemed like every time I saved, I dropped five fps. It'll be good to see that section run more smoothly.

In other news regarding my actual game progress, I finished the House of Hope the other day, and that special fight song at the end has been stuck in my head on loop ever since. I really, really loved that song & how they used it, and I'm going to go listen to it again now.

(I also got the Devil's Fee woman the Gloves of Hill Giant Strength to complete that quest, then stole them right back out of her back pocket and gave them to Karlach. For as generally altruistic as Tavish has become over the course of the game, some habits die too hard, and some items are just too shiny.)

[silver-horse]

oh good. sounds like they might work on the missing act 3 content... so there is hope. And we will have an option to change our character's appearance during the game!! finally!

[avernusreject]

[bumblebeebats]

"Don't just throw ripped jeans away, you can repair them using these 10 cute Visible Mending techniques!!" unfortunately my friend the first point of failure for every single pair of jeans i have owned in my life has been the Crotch and Ass. Knees: fine, cuffs: fine; but 3 years in, and all that stands between the world and my astronaut-patterned taint is 0.5µm of denim worn so thin that every squat threatens to tear it to shreds like wet toilet paper. If the Tiktok craft community could figure out a way to resurrect jeans afflicted in such a way that doesn't involve adding a whole ass buttpatch like some sort of inverse assless chaps situation then that'd be great

[earth-updates]

earth update, v1.1 patch 2

raised max level by one (1) for bards, musicians and fry cooks.

added four empty inspiration slots for bardic classified characters, which refill every 12hrs of sleep (can be spread across multiple sessions)

changed bug into a feature which allows lightning to strike catholics in random events - 1/450 odds.

fixed stack overload which temporarily showed uzbekistan's population as -9999999

pepsi now made to be drank warm, cola to be drank cold - event lasts until 2/12

raised battleship level limit by 12, unless struck by rainbow at which point the level cap is lowered by 12

[qiinamii]

3.4 lantern rite log

[context for the 3rd one]

[vaxxman]

"STOP TAKING THE HEALTH KITS"

He ubered the scout after this.

Additional sketches and some ramblings under the cut.

This is based on an encounter I had the other day, when a demoman took a medkit before my medigun connected with him. When he saw my health was down to 21, he would force me to stand at the spawn point and guarded me until I was healed. Wherever you are now, if you read this, you were a good lad and I love you.

Sometimes I think about how medic is emotionally very invested in the missions (which shows in his voice when he shouts at his team), but off-duty and during friendly taunts he seems to be among the most giggly, and fun-loving mercenaries in the team. I like to think he can get agitated very fast, but cools down just as quickly.

[xhieru]

"I'll just have to look for you if I wind up having another chance at life or magically end up in some other world"

Based on this:

That happiness moment where you go to a play with him got my ass 😭😭😭

I'm a whore for in every universe trope and he just HAD to say that

Anyway, don't be a stranger

[radioroxx]

the

ref + no text

[spacedlexi]

"sounds nice... having a partner"

[moonydrop]

Me too, Mark. Me too

[obsessedwithgale]

An offer for you while we wait for the next patch.

[zenathered]

Hehe, he hop.

[scourge-sympathiser]

SCOURGE SUNDAY 010/???

classic

[awingedllama]

Have you gotten the chance to play with For Rent? If so, how do you like it?

For Rent was by far my favourite expansion pack ever. like a dream expansion for me. i spent a full night last week playing with it, making stuff, working on my save for the first time in ages, planning a *second* new-york inspired save...

and then i went and saved my lot as a residential rental, and all of my meticulously TOOL'ed neighborhood decorations decided to delete themselves (photo taken prior to catastrophe)

so now i have a vendetta against For Rent and i am in a state of semi-permanent shock. still partially in denial that it happened

pour one out for the deleted neighborhood. god rest her soul

[weirdgirlnicorobin]

i'm post time skip