#tactician mode lets go

[blasphomey]

[rosykims]

alright girlies we are doing,, lily playthrough number 4. god help me

[autistichalsin]

I know I am in the extreme minority, but there hasn't been a single change Larian has made to the game post-release that I have worse than neutral about, and most of them I consider moderate to extreme improvements. There are some added lines I didn't like per se, but I never liked those less than what was (not) there originally. Some examples (most Halsin-focused because those are the ones I pay the most attention to)

Neutral:

Changing Gortash's note

Allowing the Dark Urge to have a flirty line with Gortash (if that has been confirmed)

Changes to certain dismissal lines

Halsin's line if you show him Kagha's letter

Spawn Astarion's response if the player sleeps with Mizora

Some of the new lines for Halsin re: Baldur's Gate, Shadow Druids, etc

Liked:

Additions to the epilogue that let you talk to your (former?) love interest if you went to hell with Avernus, rode dragons with Lae'zel, etc

Other new lines for Halsin re: Baldur's Gate, Shadow Druids, etc

Scenes dealing with Vlaakith path Lae'zel ascending, the implications of this, etc in the end

Loved:

New kisses

Camp idle behaviors

The Halsin-Minthara ultimatum

The epilogue party

Halsin's expanded post-Drow discussion

Halsin's platonic path

The updated lines when spawn Astarion gets burned in the sun

Cuddling cinematic post-Drow foursomes/moresomes

The new bad ending sequence, both in terms of animation, and the fact that now romanced Minthara or Ascended Astarion who encouraged the player to take over are spared by the player (if anything, I feel they could change this bit MORE and give us more of the aftermath of the player thralling their friends and loved ones)

The new note in the epilogue from Archdruid Francesca, mentioning sending Ormn to live with Halsin at his commune

The new Speak With the Dead lines for Halsin if he dies to Orin instead of in the goblin camp

Karlach's ending with Wyll and/or the player in Avernus

The option to tell Halsin you want to join him at his commune

... Etc.

I can think of nothing off the top of my head that I think made the game worse. At worst I might go "strange to add that as it didn't change anything," I.E. Halsin's non-reaction to Kagha's note. I didn't hate it- I just felt it added nothing. (Maybe it's a way of setting flags for the dialogues specific to Halsin knowing about the Shadow Druids in case the player didn't investigate Kagha before finding him?) But I can't think of anything that made the story/my experience worse in any way.

I know people keep complaining that Larian is "listening to some fans over others" and such, but to me, I don't think they have done that? Very few of these seem in any way like they were influenced by fan complaints (and the few that were, were, in my opinion, definite improvements, I.E. the player/Wyll going to Avernus with Karlach, Halsin's additional post-Drow dialogue, etc). And of course, Larian has shown they also have no problem NOT adding things when it goes against their vision- they have repeatedly shut down requests for an expanded evil path, haven't added to Wyll's story despite very loud fan outcry, haven't made Halsin monogamous despite a very vocal group of fans calling for this on the Larian forums and Discord... etc. It clearly isn't number or loudness of the fans influencing 95% of these changes- it's Larian adding things that already fit in their vision.

I guess it is also baffling to me because I'm used to games that are either from series that have been dead for decades or are rushed out just as money grabs (Pokemon) with little attention given after besides minimal bug fixes and content for paid DLCs (cough, Pokemon). To see a game that reflects on their story (or just general experience, like their constantly giving Cazador buffs in tactician mode) and constantly changes what they think should be is, in my opinion, pretty admirable. I truly don't understand all the outrage- to me, it's a sign they care about their story and want it to be the best they can make it, even after people have already paid them for it.

I know i'm in the minority here, but the changes make me respect Larian a lot more than I already did.

[missygoesmeow]

missy's tips for honour mode :) (it's very long I'm sorry) (oh and here be many spoilers) (but pictures too!)

please note I am not a pro gamer or anything. I sucked so bad when I first started this game (I had no idea wtf I was doing). Like seriously. I didn't know what an action was. what a bonus action was. "No movement left". WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO MOVEMENT LEFT. I had played DnD once before.

I literally bought this game because of Astarion.

I usually play one game and that is Overwatch. the only other time I stopped playing OW was to play Resident Evil: Village because of Lady D. vampire marketing works on me. specifically evil vampire. damn u Neil and Maggie.

if you have any questions about a specific boss or something feel free to ask! I didn't fight everyone though - like I did not do House of Grief because I didn't need to and also it's hard :)

I think a lot of it just came on down to...

ANYWAY. letsa go! this is very rambling!

Like I said in my reply to anon, the best tip is to do tactician FIRST. You’ll get destroyed otherwise. I didn’t finish my tactician run but I did get to act 3 and I did most boss fights (Gortash, Raphael, Cazador). Bosses have legendary actions in tactician and it’s fucking annoying. All the homies hate radiant retort….

Another tip is fucking collect everything. It’s hard to get gold and certain potion ingredients later on. Potion of Speed (you need hyena ears for this) is the BEST. I used them for my Ketheric fight (second phase) and killed him in three turns. I also used them for the final fight and used one or two with Raphael and Orin.

Smokepowder Barrels. I think people call this Barrelmancy? I didn't use them much. I hoarded them for one reason and one reason only.

To blow Raphael.

His soul pillar towers that is. To blow up his pillars. His big long pillars.

Okay I'm done.

(also I did use three in my last fight against the brain - popped them next to it and blew 'em up) Elixir of Bloodlust - sooooo handy with Astarion!

Invisibility Potion is a must - I used this to escape fights when three people were deaded (this happened a few times😅) and get my good friend Withers to bring them back.

bonus tip: don't go into a fight with half your spell slots because you think "she'll be right". she won't be...as seen above

HOLY FUCK WITHERS. You can pickpocket Withers. I used Astarion to get our money back anytime I resurrected, changed class or got a hireling - he doesn’t care if you fail either, just keep trying.

DON'T BE DUMB LIKE MISSY Don't be like me, don't half pay attention in cut scenes and accidentally press the wrong dialogue option. Or else your good friend Lae'zel will turn on you and you will have A Bad Time.

Gale has a stressful day💗

The githyanki are scary and actually now that I think about it, those were usually the fights I had to run away from like a leetle biatch.

Halsin has a stressful day 💗

I forgot that Psionic Backlash is like a thing that does damage and that if your entire worm filled party does it and the person you are casting is at like...say 19 health...they will die because that is not Passive Damage.

And then Jaheira will leave because you murdered her friend.

Oopsie.

(I lost Shart, Lae'Zel and Jaheira in this run) GENERAL STUFF

Always surprise the enemy if you can, it’s a massive advantage!

Get the eye from Volo. This run was not about looking pretty, it was about getting any advantage I could get. Let that man poke out your eyeball. And make sure it’s your Tav, you will mostly likely swap companions and it’s just better if it’s you. It's helpful in a lot of fights but especially Auntie Ethel

Become half illithid. I did this with my Tav, Gale and Minthara. Astarion was a little bitch about it so I didn’t give it to him but I wish I had made him do it.

She looks Not Great but she can fly (sorry Astarion but Z'hera only likes pussy)

Being able to fly is just SO helpful and cull the weak is OP! Also mmmmm worms :)

MY BUILD/PARTY

A Giant Woman (my tiefling) as a Paladin - Oath of Vengeance.

I broke my oath when I ascended Astarion but you can just get it back. Oathbreaker is still good (that’s what I was in my tactician run) but I wanted my channel divinity charges. I started with the Everburn Blade from the cambion Commander Zhalk on the Nautaloid (when you get Shart, give her the Command Spell and use “Drop” so you can just yoink it off him and save a fight). My final weapon was the Nyrulna which you can get in Act 3 at the Circus. To get this you must pickpocket the genie to take his ring and then play his game. He will accuse you of cheating and send you somewher. The prize at the end is this weapon. I love it. I just went invisible and walked through, I didn’t fight the creatures there.

Astarion - the classic gloomstalker/assasin. I had one level assasin and then did 6 levels ranger before going back to assassin. So he was 6 levels in each. With him ascended, he does INSANE damage. I never swap out that vamp, he’s too useful.

Shart/Minthara - I lost Shart in the Shadowfell - wouldn't let her murder Dame Aylin.

a simpler time. before I killed my beloved and my brain was full of worms.

I had to fight her (it was very sad). I changed her class to Life of Domain Cleric. I then made Minthara my cleric when Shart died (same build). She replaced my lover and my cleric <3

i love my new evil girlfriend

Gale - Evocation Wizard so I didn’t change him at all!

he's so hopeful. and Z'hera is very gay.

TIPS FOR POTIONS

If it’s throwable (like invisibility) group the gang together to throw one on the ground to get you all - saves using multiple.

Potion of Speed has an effect called lethargic that is active for one round after the potion ends. This means you miss a turn. HOWEVER! If you drink another one on the last active round of the potion, your Tav will become lethargic immediately and next round you’ll be fine :) I did this for the Ketheric fight.

It’s also helpful (because of lethargic) to not have all characters take the potion in the same round (if you give it to everyone). I never did, I usually gave them to Gale and my Tav.

I hoarded so many scrolls. I had so many dimension door scrolls at the end.

I did get the Necromancy of Thay and did all the things. And then I never used it :)

BIGGEST TIP ONCE YOU'VE UNLOCKING LEVEL 6 SPELL SLOT WITH CLERIC (ALSO AVAILABLE WITH DRUID)

I saw this on reddit! Pretty much what I did was get a hireling - Cleric - and have that Cleric cast Heroes' Feast on my party.

The affected entity is immune to Diseases, Poisons, and being Frightened, it makes all Wisdom Saving throws with Advantage, and its maximum Hit Points are increased by 12

Lasts until long rest!! I also then cast Freedom of Movement on everyone in the party. I then cast Warding Bond on someone - usually Gale because he's a squishy boy :) If I knew it was a BIG FIGHT! I got another Cleric to cast Warding Bond on another party member.

you can see Heroes' Feast (the condition is called Thoroughly Stuffed) and Freedom of Movement. These all last until long rest!

Pretty much any other companions were respeced as Cleric (though I made Jaheira a Wizard same as Gale so I could use her). I did this so that I could use Divine Intervention multiple times within the game!

I used Opulent Revival and nothing else

KEEP IN MIND.

anything can kill you in honour mode. even an elevator.

it crushed me. somehow.

thanks Larian

(if you want proper guides definitely go to Reddit!)

[hips-like-battleships]

And here's my second Tav, my best baby boy, who I am currently very close to finishing my tactician mode run on. He is just Tav (said with very "I'm just Ken" energy). He only wears clothes I've dyed mellow fruit die colors because he is a sentient wildberry poptart. He looks like Nigel Thornberry. I love him I love him I love him.

He is swords bard archer build, and my baby can do some damage. Primary instrument is the lute, but he can tinker around on anything. He is the annoying guy playing Wonderwall at the campsite. Except if you try and go talk to him about it (please god play anything else?!) he ends up hitting you so hard with the rizz all of a sudden you are singing along. how did that even happen?!

He has a good heart and mostly good intentions, but he will charm and deceive when he needs to get his way. Prefers not to intimidate except when something he really loves is on the line. Also money please. Pay him thank you he needs wine and fancy clothes.

Astarion love interest. And, well. Astarion did try to stab him immediately upon their first meeting. And then the next serious conversation they had, Tav let Astarion bite him. He just rolled right over and showed him that puppy belly.

Which I think Astarion finds CONFOUNDING. Why does this little freckly ginger man trust him so much? Doesn't he know Astarion is bad and will hurt him?

And Tavvy just keeps on trusting. Every time.

Happy as always to entertain bg3/Tav related asks, fic requests, etc!

Photos again by @mynthara.

[shuttershocky]

Do you have any advice on good 4* units to raise? I wanna be able to do better in IS, but I've no idea who is very effective for it (and I trust your opinion over Gamepress).

I already have Gravel and Myrtle (and also Frostleaf bc of Frostnova's chapter) raised, and all the 3* units maxed out. I've heard that Jaye is often useful? Unsure beyond that though! Any advice you can offer is appreciated, thank you!

Jaye - He's not just one of the strongest 4 stars, he's the strongest member of his subclass (Merchants) period. His damage output and self-sustain his stupid broken. Specialize in his S2 skill and feed him DP (he eats up 3 DP every 3 seconds, so in maps with slowed down or zero DP gain he needs to be fed by vanguards), and he'll wreck most enemies even without IS buffs. Remember to buy his module, it makes his DP drain go down to 2 DP every 3 seconds, it makes all the difference!

Ethan - The other broken little shit and another 4 star specialist who's the best in his subclass of Ambushers. Ethan offers crowd control, damage, and survivability via his class' evasion trait, and he has one of the best level 3 modules in the game from how hard it buffs his talent, so even when you're an endgame player packed with resources, Ethan still gets stronger.

Cutter - Normally overshadowed by the other Swordmasters, Cutter's skills have abnormally strong synergy with many powerful IS collectibles, making her a strong pick for the mode. She's also get plenty of versatility, as her skills let her hit drones despite being a ground unit.

May - A Marksman that specialized in Control vs DPS, May's like Cutter in that her synergy with IS collectibles can make her far stronger than the devs intended her to be. Invest in her S1, and combine it with any ASPD buffs or Spinach type collectibles from IS and watch as she puts on a permaslow on enemies while doing a ton of damage.

Beanstalk - If you haven't noticed yet, versatility is king in a game mode asking you to adapt to as many different kinds of stages as possible, and Tacticians being a Sniper-Summoner hybrid sitting inside the Vanguard class makes them versatile indeed. While Beanstalk doesn't boast the same collectible synergy as May and Cutter do, the amount of different niches she can fill in your squad makes her a strong pick.

Myrtle - To this day the most popular Operator in hard content and one of the strongest non 6-star units theyve ever made. You will raise her regardless of using her in IS or on standard content, because Myrtle is the 4 Star Goddess. Her Skill 1 makes a shitload of DP, and her Skill 2 makes a shitload of DP while healing adjacent allies, but with a longer cooldown. Her DP gen is so powerful that she obliterates the resource game entirely and threw the entire class of vanguards into an existential crisis.

IS's highly aggressive stages that throw enemies at you almost immediately was HG's attempt at nerfing Myrtle's effectiveness in the game mode. Cantabile being a disgustingly strong unit was HG's second attempt at competing with Myrtle.

Myrtle does not fight. She doesn't obliterate half the screen with powerful attacks nor does she turn allies unkillable via powerful buffs. She can't block more than one enemy, and she has no ways to defend herself. And yet, if you raise Myrtle, there's no going back to the pre-flagbearer days. You will understand what true resource power feels like, and then you start hunting for Elysium to get a taste of two flagbearers at once and render the idea of DP cost meaningless.

Bow before your new queen

[decarbry]

Noooooo but what's the UA staff and kids reactions to seeing nomuzawa? Like my heart low-key is breaking for them bc the teacher that just fought for them, with no regard to his own safety, was not only taken from them after stalling long enough for backup, but now he's a nomu and fighting them? And mic? Midnight? Allmight? Ughhhhhhh????!!! (But no o love this au so so much lmao)

I'm saving the actual Nomu reveal and reactions to it for later once I decide on a storytelling format but here are some initial reactions to the abduction

all of the students naturally share some level of guilt, even though they only knew Aizawa for a handful of days. nature of heroes in training and good hearts, plus, yeah, they watched this man sacrifice himself for their safety. this version of the event definitely impacts them harder than it does in canon. Not quite their Oboro moment but boy it's the closest so far any have had

Midoriya is Midoriya and is smart enough to know that in the end his (lack of) ability would never have been able to change the end result but still lets the failure riddle him for the rest of his life. Definitely still in crying mode this early on

Bakugou is left shell-shocked by this, possibly to an overreaction. As a tactician he also knows deep down he did his best (as a kid that has been in hero school for literally just a few days) but isn't willing to accept it. He should have been able to do something more. But we all know Bakugou and this is just fuel on the fire

All Might is understandably guilt-ridden as well, since he's "never failed to save someone after arriving", but the situation isn't as straightforward as one would think. It's one thing if a student is hurt/killed/taken but a pro is another, and Aizawa knew what he was getting into by jumping into a 1 v 40 combat scenario. That's just what pros sign up for. All Might is ready to leap into action the moment those investigating need assistance or have a location and certainly does some of his own investigating on the side as time allows

Thirteen feels frustration in herself initially but is able to take solace in the fact that she and Aizawa did what they were meant to do, and knows that Aizawa would be feeling the exact same way

Nezu makes only a single public statement out of respect for Aizawa's dislike of his name in the press, it's short and sweet and truthfully paints Aizawa as a hero that did his job and saved the lives of 20 students. He does commit the school's resources to assisting authorities in recovering the teacher but unfortunately that's where it ends since he needs to focus on the safety of the students as priority and UA can't just go around playing police (until the government makes them lmao)

Midnight was among the majority of the responding faculty that decided to arrive together in a show of power and so didn't witness Aizawa being taken, but is understandably very upset that one of her remaining high school friends is now gone. She's able to steady herself as a rock for Mic out of necessity (unhealthily suppressing her own more-volatile reaction for his sake) and is really the only reason Mic didn't just up and run out to do something unhelpful and reckless. In the hours after the event she cannot leave his side for fear of him running off

Mic is, naturally, the worst impacted. He refuses to wait for the teachers to gather into a group and ran in after All Might but before the rest, and so was the only pro/faculty to get a front-row seat to the abduction as All Might was distracted by the Nomu. He immediately wants to go guns-blazing but without any hint as to where Aizawa was taken or what they plan to do with him, is forced to sit by and wait. He ends up walking away from the school out of frustration after about a month without answers, but no one blames him and they're honestly just shocked he had the self-control to wait that long

[armoredisopod]

Arknights CN 4th Anniversary PVs

New Operators

Melanite, 5* Heavyshooter Sniper

Please check the status of your weapons again to avoid any mishaps on the battlefield.

Silence the Paradigmatic, 6* Welfare Abjurer Supporter

We should explore the meaning of combat, not just let it happen.

Ho'olheyak, 6* Core Caster

Doctor, are you really going to waste your time alone with me, preaching about Rhodes Island's rules and regulations?

Muelsyse, 6* Limited Tactician Vanguard

Rhine Lab, Director of the Ecology Department, Muelsyse, but i don't think there should be such a formal greeting between us, Doctor.

Friston-3, 1* Protector Defender

Greetings, my name is Friston. And yes, "Friston", not "Friston-3".

Operator Skins Update

Total of 9 new skins, 6 new additions for the Bloodline of Combat brand and 3 new additions for the Ambiance Synesthesia brand

Bloodline of Combat

Orchid's Twines of Time - Free Login Event skin

Ebenholz's Eine Variation

Specter the Unchained's Born As One - L2D Skin

Ch'en the Holungday's Ten Thousand Mountains - L2D skin

Kal'tsit's Remnant - L2D + Special Voicelines skin

Justice Knight's Tournament Fantasy Retrofit Kit - Event Reward skin

Ambiance Synesthesia

Irene's Voyage of Feathers

Lumen's Golden Dream

Roberta's Granter of Colors

Announced skin reruns

W, Rosmontis, Nearl the Radiant Knight's Epoque skins

Mountain, Eunectes, Ayerscarpe and Flint's Bloodline of Combat skins

Series I & II Ambiance Synesthesia skins

~74 skins as part of 4th Anniversary Celebration edition of Rhodes Fashion Review

Operator Modules Update

Melanite and Ho'olheyak being part of branches with modules immediately gets their modules

ARC-Y module base effect increases Melanite's ATK to 105% and allows her to ignore Physical dodge when attacking enemies directly ahead

CCR-X module base effect allows Ho'olheyak to ignore 10 RES

Hexer Supporter and Flinger Sniper branches gets 1 module type each

W and Kal'tsit gets their second modules

ART-Y module base effect allows W to ignore 100 DEF

PHY-Y module base effect increases Kal'tsit's healing effectiveness by 15% when healing units on melee tiles

Events and Stories

Lonetrail, a Rhine Lab side story event

Misc Stuff

CN regional dialect voices for Lee, Aak, Waai Fu and Hung (though for some reason the PV claims there are 11 new additions)

Suzuran, Ayerscarpe, Click and Friston-3 added to recruitment

2 new main menu screen backgrounds, Laterano and Rhine Lab

Livestream Stuff

Showcased Muelsyse being a 6* Tactician Vanguard utilizing a special reinforcement unit that you can deploy on melee and ranged tiles, her reinforcement also comes with a unique skill that lets you deploy any operator on it to clone (most of) the op's base stats and applies unique properties depending on whether the operator copied was melee or ranged, her 2nd and 3rd skills play into this and have different skill effects depending on what mode the reinforcement is in

Showcased Ho'olheyak being a 6* Core Caster that reduces the weight of enemies in her range and utilizes Levitate, her 2nd skill is a rapid-fire arts burst with a chance to Levitate enemies and her 3rd skill makes her attack by sending tornadoes down her attack range and Levitating the first enemy it hits + dealing massive arts damage

Showcased Silence the Paradigmatic being a 6* Abjurer Supporter that gives a Sanctuary effect without any HP prerequisite and the effect becomes stronger the lower the ally's HP is + has a talent that automatically heals allies below a certain HP threshold, her 2nd skill allows use of a drone that can give a stronger Sanctuary effect and her 3rd skill allows the first ally that takes lethal damage in her range during skill duration to survive and their HP will not go below 1 for several seconds

Showcased the event mechanic, adjustable artificial gravity that can affect enemy movement speed and ally operators ASPD depending on the direction it's set to and gravity-affected spheres that can block enemy pathing and ram into enemies, the spheres can be pushed by operators dealing enough hits to it or by operators applying Push to it

Showcased the new gamemode Pinch-Out, Experimental Operation

A different take on the difficulty-select challenge gamemode, you can choose contracts of varying difficulty that are placed on a branching path with rewards scattered throughout the paths, certain rewards are only unlocked by clearing all connected contracts or paths required

After completing a run you can start the next run from certain "checkpoint" nodes instead of starting over from the original starting point

The gamemode has daily maps and missions for rewards

Laterano lore video narrated in Latin, showing the history of Laterano's founding and racial conflict, which then cuts to a room filled with unknown technology, a teaser for the next Laterano event

An introductory video for potential surveyors of the Infy Icefields, the video advises people to go through Sami due to ongoing Ursus-Columbia disputes then elaborates on Sami's geography, culture and society. A teaser for IS4: Expeditioner's Jöklumarkar

Showcased a few of IS4's new content

Temperature which presumably replaces IS3's light levels mechanic

Collectable rune tablets that can be combined to gain buffs and special effects, for example the ability to change nodes ahead of you

Ability to scout upcoming nodes with a special device to peek at the contents, the device can break which will prevent you from seeing what the upcoming nodes are at all

Interference in the form of elements and weather that can disrupt your exploration

Teased the next summer event to be located in Siesta after the events of Heart of Surging Flame, with a title "Wanderland"

Showed teasers for more episodes of the Ceobe mini-series in progress and LDA anime

Showed a teaser for a new comic series centered around Angelina and her travels across Terra

Arknights anime adaptation 2nd season: Perish in Frost teaser

Talked about the Terra settings/world building art book and the Arknights Vol. 2 art book, which comes with an exclusive Planter skin for 3* Lava

Showed art for an Arknights tabletop game, planned to release Late 2023

Showed teasers for collabs with ANTA Sneaker and China Aerospace Science

Announced that Rhodes Kitchen Tidbits and Rhine Lab - Records of Originium will get physical book forms

Ended off the livestream with an animation starring the Rhine Lab cast, from the founding of the company to Saria and Kirsten's parting

Destiny 2 collab teaser, said to be a story collection event and will have collab exclusive skins

[gloomyearthling]

Playing tactician mode for the first time with the bestie, here's a synopsis of my thoughts & feelings for the first few hours of the session:

⚠️ WARNING: spoilers for BG3 below! ⚠️

I made a video (it's more of a slideshow) of this post, if you prefer that format more!

Meet the characters:

Alluna, played by Sunni (me):

Oath of Ancients Paladin/ College of Swords Bard (I'm following this guide)

Asmodeus Tiefling (the guide suggested a different race, but the hellish rebuke has been a godsend)

Romancing Astarion (I have him as a Thief Rogue/Gloomstalker Ranger -- I'm also using this guide for him)

Ivy, played by Bestie

Wood elf (this character is her main go-to)

Monk/Battlemaster Fighter/Thief Rogue (she'll choose rogue later down the line, all guides she's looked up have suggested 4 levels in each class)

Romancing Gale (she's going full Evocation Wizard with him)

Timeline of events thus far...

Fight with the brains

*brain shoots a beam of psychic energy at me, nearly killing me*

Sunni: are you shitting me? They can shoot us now? That's a thing? Ugggh...

Bestie who had played tactician mode a little before rage quitting (she was playing as Gale):

The first night at camp

Sunni: why the fuck is it 80 and not 40?

Bestie: Man, we're fat fucks! Who do you think is eating all the damn food?

Sunni: Alluna is a tiefling, they're probably used to not eating a lot...

Bestie: Ivy is an elf, she doesn't sleep a lot and probably doesn't eat a bunch either.

Sunni & Bestie: Definitely the humans

Gale and Wyll:

Withers temple fight

*Astarion and I get our ass beat by the fucking Barbarian and die*

Bestie successfully kills everyone (including the Barbarian who was low on health): Wow, that was easy! Can't believe you and Astarion couldn't handle one guy.

Sunni:

Looting

*Bestie looting everything*

Sunni: We don't need to worry about looting, so don't bother

*half-an-hour later*

Sunni: BY THE GODS, LOOT EVERYTHING. WE'RE SO UNBELIEVABLY POOR AND WE NEED SPELLS, FOOD, GEAR--

Bestie:

Blighted Village fight

Sunni: Let's try and fight the goblins, it can't be that hard

*goblin shoots fire arrow, demolishing everyone's health*

Sunni:

*everyone but me dies*

Sunni:

I did manage to kill the remaining goblins after my friend had got them pretty low. 😂 Took some finessing, but I did it.

Stay tuned for more!

(I'm going to add more to this post as we play more, maybe I'll even add clips)

[bananastarion]

Random bg3 confessions:

I fucked the Emperor in my first playthrough, back when only 5% of players had done so

Rolan has accidentally died in various ways in all of my playthroughs, I'm determined to keep him alive in my current one but we'll see :/

I let Astarion drain me of all my blood and kill me because it's hot and I get to punch him after

My characters all let Astarion drink their blood every night because it makes me (and Astarion) happy, and most of the time I don't even bother to remove the debuff

I got a rare achievement in my first playthrough by sparing Sazza's life three times

On my good!durge run, I still got the slayer form anyway by completely cheesing the game

I cut off Gale's hand in one playthrough and sent him off to die alone in another, despite him being one of my favorite characters

I cannot fight with Gale to save my life. Idk if it's a wizard problem or a me problem, but in battle he is constantly dying and missing every attack. Instead of playing on tactician mode I just play with him in my party to up the difficulty.

I regularly breakup with Astarion to hear all his dialogue, then quickly reload a save

I can't bring myself to kill any cats in this game, so I turned on nonlethal when fighting the gremishkas

I am not above save scumming if I'm determined to have something epic happen, like I reloaded countless times to get the displacer beast to side with me

I slaughtered all the people in umberlee's temple in my first playthrough since I lost access to their quest thinking that's how I get the wave mother robe- turns out you can't get it that way.

I went through my whole first playthrough having no fucking clue who Wulbren Bongle is because I failed to rescue the gnomes at moonrise (accidentally)

I skipped the entire mountain pass and a big chunk of Lae'zels quest in my first playthrough

In one of my playthroughs I broke my paladin oath to side with Glut and slaughter all the myconoids, apparently too naive to figure out that there was in fact a "wrong side" to pick in this situation (astarion approving should've been a big hint)

I was too dumb to solve the chess puzzle, so I just blasted my way through the whole thing

Likewise, I just googled the answers to the brain puzzle in the oubliette even though it was pretty simple because I'm lazy

Having a naked statue of Astarion in my camp has become tradition

When I first got Astarion's confession scene, I squealed and kicked my feet like a schoolgirl. I'm 30

I started romancing Wyll in my first durge run, knowing full well I was going to pick Astarion again in the end. I felt so bad turning him down

Even tho most of the characters I play are good aligned, that doesn't stop me from greedily robbing every last little thing from every home and establishment I find like the Grinch. By the end of the game I have more gold than I could ever conceivably spend on anything

I'm pretty sure I got Kagha to redeem herself, solved the problem at the grove, but still slaughtered her in the end anyway with no consequences simply because I didn't like her

I have still never ascended Astarion, or given any of the characters their bad ending (except for killing Gale)

[bigfatlesbian]

saving isobel in honour mode

a (tested and tried) strategy guide in case larian 'fixes' the option to ignore the fight for her good outcome or anyone else who can't miss out on her dialogue in a single playthrough

preface: while i have prepared for the fight by running it several times on tactician (with a slightly different party composition) i obviously can't guarantee it will work every single time (although there are several failsafes you can prep beforehand)

it goes without saying that you should long rest before the fight

you will need:

an abjuration wizard with (preferably) level 9 (you will need at least 1 level 4 spell slot, but it's better if you have several)

spells the wizard needs prepared: arcane lock, greater invisibility, otiluke's resilient sphere

a way to hasten multiple characters (bow and scrolls -> careful with concentration saves + potions of speed -> remember to retake them in turn 3)

4 × elixir of vigilance (and anything else that ups your initiative, you'll want everyone going before marcus)

i also recommend:

potions of invisibility (to throw at isobel)

summons (we took a fire elemental and scratch but didn't need either in the end)

party composition:

my durge had 3 levels in rogue (thief) and 6 in monk (way of the open hand) -> a battle master fighter would most likely have a similar effect

my gf's tav had 9 levels sorcerer (draconic) -> anything that can deal a lot of damage in one turn is good here

we brought a lvl 9 cleric as well but depending on your style you can also bring a paladin and bet on ending the fight faster (that's what i did on my trial runs)

now to the actual fight:

have one character (not the wizard!) talk to isobel and let the dialogue run until the very last choice before marcus attacks

swap characters and start preparing in turn based

hasten your wizard (and others, preferably by tossing a speed potion to the ground)

have the wizard cast arcane lock on the two doors that isobel didn't(!) walk through (the cutscene will open that one even if it's locked)

swap back into dialogue and select the attacking option, skip the cutscene

with your wizard (at the top of initiative) cast arcane lock on the door marcus came through AND cast otiluke's resilient sphere (it doesn't have a 90% + chance so this isn't a given)

in case the sphere doesn't work, throw a potion of invisibility (or even better cast greater invisibility) on isobel

once isobel is safe from at least one round of attacks start attacking marcus with your melee character (disarm/stun him, knock him prone, hasten, action surge, etc, go all out)

marcus should be dead within one round but if he isn't he shouldn't be a threat anymore

once marcus is dead open up a single door (unless the winged horror broke it already, which happened to me in my trial runs about twice)

kill the winged horrors one by one in order of their proximity to isobel

you should be all set!

i hope i didn't forget anything (if i did i will add to this post)

[lumeha]

@eiriee (a beautiful new post for you)

My confusion did indeed come from the fact that the very simply titled Fire Emblem on the GBA is FE7, and more comonly referred to as Fire Emblem Blazing Blade now (thanks to FE Heroes, the mobile game). And, uh, Fire Emblem First Of Its Name (Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light) is (was ?) also available on Switch and somehow my brain went "yeah of course this is totally about FE1", having apparently forgotten that FE7 is. just. named. Fire Emblem. in the West

'cause it's the first game we ever got !

And it was also my first ever Fire Emblem !

With this out of the way...

Do you like strategy ? Do you like cool pixel art ? Do you like a story that is a lot more personal in scope than the usual fantasy story ? If yes, then Fire Emblem is the game for YOU !

... More seriously, Fire Emblem GBA was my first introduction to Fire Emblem as games, and despite some potential criticism of the changes to Lyn's Story, it makes for a great introduction to the game and how it works. In the Western version, the game forces you to go through Lyn's Story as an easy mode tutorial, to teach you the ropes through her personal quest after she finds you, tactician, just. yeah. you were out there. She had to help you. And you decide to help her when you get attacked by bandits.

And that tutorial does give you all the tools you will need to play the game, when, once you are done with Lyn's story, you get introduced to Eliwood, main Lord of the game. And once you've done that, you can go through the story from another point of view, with Hector's mode. Which is a huge plus for me - Hector's mode is harder than Eliwood's, but they didn't just decide to give you the same old, same old - there are a lot of scenes that reveal more of what happened in the story, things you didn't get to see during Eliwood's side of the game.

So you get one really well made tutorial, especially if you don't know how Fire Emblem works as a game (only downside is that it's not skippable for people who know how that all works), and then you get two versions of the same story, from different point of views, with a cool difficulty slide. I like that personally ! that really grabbed me !

An interesting thing about Fire Emblem Blazing Blade, to me, and something that absolutely grabbed me as a teen, is that while the story does end up having beats of saving the world... it is not as grandiose as most of these stories. It starts about a son searching for his father, and it always stays somewhat in the shadows, partly because FE7 is the prequel to FE6 and its much more open war. People just kind of. Don't know what happened. And I think that's compelling.

Another cool feature you can enjoy with FE7 : having so many little guys and gals to pick from and become obsessed with. While most characters don't get a lot of dialogue, you can and will find Your Special Boy Or Guy (mine's Kent he's a boring stick in the mud and yet I love him <3 but also shout out to Renault and Vaida). Fire Emblem is often known for its support system, that allows unit to build relations and let you get fun dialogue between those units, and it has always been one of my favourite feature ! and I really like the FE7 cast and the supports ! Having so many guys and gals to pick from is just a plus for me :D

And finally : ... a bit like the point I made about NES FE, I have to say, but... it's worth checking FE7 just for the pixel art. I find myself loving it, not only because it's really pretty, and I think there's a lot of reason why people make GBA FE Style pixel art, but also because it's a genuine asset for the game as a strategy game. I always find it really easy to read and a really solid asset for the gameplay : the maps can be large, but it's usually easy to spot ennemy units VS your own, and get a sense of what's going on where !

... and yes, the game makes the calculations before combat for you, unlike FE1, which definitely makes it easier to play and find your own favoured strategy :D

So... I hope I've sold you on it ?

[criticalrolo]

Jsyk cause I just found out and am annoyed about it, cause I think I've seen you mention multiclassing:

there are 3 difficulty modes, Explorer (RP focused), balanced (50/50 rp/combat) and tactician (combat focused). To let characters multiclass you have to play on balanced or tactician mode :/.

Apparently you can change modes just to multiclass and then go back tho. I just learned this so thats cool

Idk what mode youd choose im just giving a heads up lol.

aUAUAUAUGH ok. I am absolutely a Play On Easy Story Mode kind of guy but god. The Allure of multiclassing is so strong…. I Will Think About It

[laikaflash]

im so curious, ive been dying to ask you this:

which soulcalibur ships interest you the most? for the canon ones (lol the few that we have), what about them speak to you? for the noncanon ones, where is the potential for them in your eyes?

Okay, this is probably going to be a bit of a mess, but I'll try to keep it concise. Not jinxing it at all. Going off the top of my head... (drum roll)

Canon

Kilik/Xianghua: It's not for nothing that I summed this one up as "complicated, but dammit if I'm not there for the emotional roller-coaster" in this ask from a while back. I don't want to harp on why the way it ended in the old timeline makes sense to me, but again, I'm a sucker for star-crossed lovers. 'Tis better to have loved than to have lost than to never love at all, and all that... Also, I get the feeling that some overlook the fact that Kilik was raised in a Buddhist monastery as something that plays into his decisions.

Li Long/Chie: The accidental tragicomedy of "My girlfriend's a ninja?!", as I like to call it. Li Long started off as a hotheaded assassin who bit off more than he could chew while deep in enemy territory, and would've bled to death if Chie hadn't found him by chance. I like to imagine them gradually bonding as she nurses him back to health... all while hiding the fact that she and her father are fugitive ninjas, of course. (I've thought about these two a lot because I've had a fic languishing in my drive since 2020. Also, Chie's muteness gives me an excuse to practice describing a range of nonverbal cues for just about anything.) Long story short (pun not not intended), he went through hell and back for her... And it all worked out. Since he ends up in the ranks of the Fu-Ma clan during the pre-SC5 timeskip, I like to think he was a good adoptive dad to Natsu. He probably left the demon stuff to Chie and Taki, though.

Not canon (but I can always dream)

Siegfried/Salia: The Schwarzwind side-missions in Libra of Soul were my fuel, especially with Salia keeping the group together long after Siegfried ran off. ("Because without us, he would have no one to return to...") I think her feelings toward Siegfried were only mentioned in supplementary material before, so I was particularly happy about this part of the "Feelings Shared" side-mission:

Sounds like an open secret to me! (Pardon the uneven cropping.)

To me, Siegfried and Salia have the sort of dynamic that writes itself. Close friends, erstwhile partners-in-crime, leader and tactician... What was that line in Siegfried's SC4 prologue? Something about not letting anyone touch his heart?

(T_T)

To be fair, having a child born with latent Soul Edge energy would be a reasonable worry for him. That might be part of it.

Bonus: according to this relationship chart from New Legends of Projects Soul (page 118), Siegfried's mother sees Salia as "a nice girl, too good for her own son"!

(I'm probably showing more of that section than I need to.)

And now we enter my self-indulgence zone.

I've been playing around with a (very id-driven) Mitsurugi/Taki scenario and went into crackpot mode to flesh it out. It's an AU partly because I think it would take a lot for Mitsurugi to see Taki as something more than She-who-dares-get-in-my-way... Like, oh I don't know, him jumping at the chance to do some mercenary work, even if it means getting caught up in the Fu-Ma clan's business (and Taki watching him like a hawk the entire time). A fair trade for that shard of Soul Edge he picked up long ago? This is all supposed to diverge from some point after Mitsurugi returns to Japan too late for the Battle of Sekigahara (during the pre-SC5 timeskip). For now it's a bunch of notes and scenes clogging my phone's memo app.

There's just... something about a pair of rivals growing to trust each other enough to show their vulnerable sides, I'll say that much for now. Man, that was a lot of words for what started as my brain going NOW KISS.

Sorry this took two weeks. Thanks for asking!

[fickle-tiction]

Revenge

another random tickletober fic, and a serious throw back.

~~~~

"Anthony Edward Stark!" The words rang out through all the speakers in the tower. "You are dead." Years of experience was the only thing that stopped the soldering iron from slipping through Tony's suddenly limp grip.

"What did you do?" It spoke volumes about the team's dynamic that Bruce looked amused by Natasha's death threat, seemingly unconcerned for his best friend's well-being.

"I don't know." Tony carefully sat the soldering iron on it's stand so he could lean back in his chair and ponder why Natasha wanted to kill him this time. 

If it were anyone else threatening him he would have Jarvis put the lab in lockdown mode, but he knew from past experience that that would just piss Natasha off and she’d bust in through the vents anyway. It was best to just wait for her to come looking for him and ask what why she was out for his blood. For once he felt his chances were high that he would make it out of this encounter alive, since he had no idea why she had it out for him. 

~~

“He’s lucky I noticed before I got dressed.” Natasha was seething as she filled a laundry basket with the content of her underwear drawer. She was wearing gloves and taking care not to let any of the itching powder spill on the floor.

“Are you sure it was Tony?” Contrary to popular belief, Steve Rogers was no blushing virgin and could stand to be in the same room as one of his best friends while she ranted and disposed of her underwear.

“Who else would be stupid enough to do this?” 

“Clint?” It was the obvious answer in Steve’s opinion. 

Natasha mulled it over on the short walk to the washing machine. “Fine.” She decided, dumping her basket of tainted clothes into the washer. “You deal with your idiot, I’ll deal with mine.”

Steve didn’t even bother protesting that Tony was not his to deal with, knowing it would just fall on deaf ears.

“And Steve...make him regret it, or I’ll kill you both.”

~~~

Steve was pleasantly surprised when the doors to the lab opened for him on the first try; he thought he would have to sweet-talk Tony and/or Jarvis into granting him entry. Tony and Bruce were both working at their respective stations, seemingly unconcerned for the death threats a literal assassin was making over the intercoms. 

“Capsicle, what brings you down to our humble abode?” Tony was just finishing up on the section of gauntlet he was soldering. With one final hiss of melting metal he set the soldering iron down on it’s stand and pulled the protective glasses off his face. 

“He’s probably here to protect you from Nat.” Bruce snickered, eyes never leaving his computer--that is, until Tony goosed his sides and made him jump about a foot in the air. He whirled around, hands in front of himself to fend off any future attacks. “I hope she puts bleach in your shampoo.” 

“Actually,” Steve loudly interrupted before the two so-called Science Bros could get into it. “I’m here on Nat’s behalf.” The wiped the smile off Tony’s face, and put a real smug smile onto Bruce’s. “Bruce, if you’ll excuse us.”

“Oh, it would be my pleasure.”

“Bruce, no! What happened to Science Bros before hoes.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Tasha you said that.” Bruce smirked as he tidied up the papers scattered on his desk before making his way to the exit.

“Are you actually trying to get me killed?!” Tony made to follow Bruce out, hoping he could casually slip out before Steve realized what he was doing. He forgets sometimes that Steve is a tactician and was stopped by a large hand clamping down on his shoulder before he even made it two steps. “For the record, Steve is the hoe in that sentence.”

“Tony, quit while you’re ahead.” Bruce advised. “Try not to do any permanent damage. I have grown rather fond of him.”

“Gee, thanks.” Tony muttered as the doors slid shut. “So, what exactly are you going to do to me?” He knew Steve wouldn’t actually hurt him, but if Natasha sent him then he knew he wasn’t going to like whatever was about to happen. “Wait, better question. What does Tasha think I did to her?”

“She thinks you put itching powder in her pan---er--underwear drawer.”

Normally Tony would be delighted that Captain America nearly said the word panties, but he was too busy being horrified by that information. “I did not!” God, the retaliation for that would be brutal, and rightfully so. 

“Really?” Steve’s face gave nothing away.

“Yes, really. Are you crazy!? I don’t actually have a death wish Cap.” Not anymore, anyway. “Barton’s the only one crazy enough to pull something like that.” Seriously, why wasn’t he Natasha’s first suspect. Although, maybe he was and that’s why she sent Steve here.  “You have to tell her that wasn’t me, before she actually kills me.”

“Alright, I believe you.” Steve waited a beat, letting the relief sink in before dropping another bomb on Tony. “But I’m still under strict instructions to make you regret it.” Anyone that truly knew Steve knew that smile never meant anything good. He could be a terror when he was in the right mood.

“But I didn’t do anything!” Tony squawked while stepping out of Steve’s immediate reach. “Wait, what did you plan on doing?” He asked warily, eyes going to Steve’s thankfully empty hands. He wouldn’t put it past Natasha to retaliate in kind if she thought he put itching powder into her underwear, but he didn’t think Steve could be that cruel.

“Funny you ask that.” Tony didn’t find it funny at all as Steve slowly advanced on him with an impish smile. “If you really did do it, I was going to bring you to Tasha and let her have her way with you, which would serve you right.” Tony agreed that it’d be a fair punishment, and he was thanking all the Gods he could think of that he didn’t do it. “But I wasn’t sure what I was going to do to you if you didn’t do it--”

“How about nothing, since I’m innocent.”

“And face Tasha’s wrath when she found out?” Steve asked, eyebrows raised. “But then you actually gave me a great idea for your punishment.”

“Well, I do have the best ideas.” Tony couldn’t keep his mouth shut even when he was nervous and actively backing away from his doom.

“Let me ask you something Tony.” Tony’s knees bumped into the back of the couch and he cursed himself for not looking where he was going. “Are you ticklish?”

Tony froze, eyes going wide and mouth going dry. That was all the conformation Steve needed before he was tackling Tony onto the couch.

“Steve, wait!” Tony yelped, struggling against the Supersoldier straddling his waist that was hellbent on pinning his arms down. “Let’s talk about this!” He pleaded, cursing when Steve gathered both of wrists in one hand and pinned them above his head.

“Oh, I’d love to.” Steve’s smile was all dimples and sunshine as he brought his free hand down to hover over Tony’s stomach. “Let’s talk about where you’re most ticklish. Is it here?” He asked, wiggling his fingers over Tony’s ribcage. His reaction was immediate, head thrown back as laughter started pouring out of him. Steve had been expecting him to put up a front, act like it didn’t bother him, but he broke immediately. “Or maybe here?” He walked his fingers up to Tony’s exposed armpit and squirmed them into the concave. 

Tony shook his head back and forth, frenzied laughter pouring out his mouth as Steve switched between his underarms at random. “nonononono” He laughed, feet drumming on the arm of the couch as he tried in vein to yank his arms down.

“No?” Steve asked, teasing the muscle just below the armpit and causing Tony’s laughter to kick up a notch. “That’s not where you’re most ticklish? Then where?”

“Fu-huhuhuhuhu-uck you Rogers.”

“Buy me dinner first.” Tony was probably furious that he couldn’t stop laughing long enough to comment on Steve making sexual jokes, which was part of the reason why he did it. “You know, if you’re not going to tell me then I’m just going to have to try everywhere.”

Tony didn’t answer, and Steve took that as permission to try some more spots. ”Here?” He asked, dancing his fingers over Tony’s stomach. Tony’s body jerked forward, and if Steve wasn’t straddling him he probably would have curled into a ball to protect himself. “Ladies and Gentleman, I think we have a winner.”

“Oh my God.” Tony cackled, trying to twitch away from the wandering fingers. “Shut ahaha up!”

“Language!” Steve mock-gasped. “I think that deserves two hands.”

“No!” Tony yelped, his now free hands coming down to latch onto Steve’s wrists as he attacked his stomach with vigor.  “Steheheheheve!” He giggled, trying in vein to push the Super soldier away. 

“Are you sorry for putting itching powder in Tasha’s underwear drawer?”

“I di-hihihihihihi-dn’t!” Tony insisted, squealing when Steve attacked his neck with gently fluttering fingers. “I di-hihihihihihihihi-dn’t do anyth-hihihihihi-ng!” 

“I know that,” Steve was now tickling spots at random, causing Tony to jump each time a new area was targeted. “And you know that, but Tasha wants revenge so she’s getting revenge.”

“How is--steheheheheheve--ohmygod--hahaha” Steve eased up to let Tony speak. “She’s not even getting revenge!” He pointed out, white knuckled grip useless as Steve poked and prodded his torso at random.

“You really are a genius, aren’t you.” Steve was having way too much fun with this. “Jarvis, send Natasha down here please.”

“Steve!” Tony shrieked, trying to scramble out from under him with renewed effort, but to the same affect.

“I’m already here, you doofus.” 

Steve stopped tickling Tony to look over at the redhead that neither of them noticed enter the lab. Tony groaned and dropped his head back onto the couch cushions, his face blushing a bright red color. Natasha was never going to let him live this down. Oh God, Natasha was here. She was going to kill him.

“I didn’t do it!” Tony insisted, hands hovering as though to protect himself. “I swear!”

“I know.” Natasha was smiling, and that was even scarier than if she looked mad. “I had Jarvis show me the footage. Clint’s been dealt with.” Tony and Steve both winced at the implications of that. “I just wanted to see what Steve would do when I told him to deal with you. Interesting take, Captain.”

“I..” Steve realized he was still straddling Tony and now it was his turn to blush as he scrambled to get off. “I didn’t want to actually hurt him.”

“No, you just bruised my ego.” Tony’s dramatic sigh turn into a startled laugh when Steve reach down and tickled his stomach quickly.

“Your lucky it wasn’t Tony, or I’d be forced to punish you for flirting with the enemy.”

“I wasn’t flirting.” Steve replied much too quickly, ears and neck bright red. He missed the momentary disappointed look on Tony’s face.

“Right. And Tony just lets anyone tickle the crap out of him without asking for them to stop.” Tony sat up at that, face impossible to read as he studiously avoided Steve’s gaze. “Tony, he’s really ticklish on his knees and neck.” Steve looked indignant, but Tony looked like Christmas had come early. “Steve, I’ve tried tickling Tony before and he had no reaction at all.” And now he was back to blushing furiously. “Do with that information what you will.” With those last parting words, Natasha turned and left the lab.

“So,” Tony sidled up next to Steve. “Your neck, huh?” 

[animentality]

I've been doing baldur's gate 3 on tactician mode which isn't so bad most of the time, but can be brutal every once and a while.

But I had this really good team comp that's carried me through half the game.

I'm a warlock, so I'm the ranged spell caster although I sometimes use eldritch blast to push people away from me or teammates, or you know, go for those easy environmental kills.

I have Assassin Astarion who is a goddamn animal and whose sneak attacks and assassinate ability really fuck enemies up at range and up close. Plus i've given him all stealth and dexterity bonuses and equipment that does extra damage and makes use of dual wielding.

I also have Wyll, who I changed into a cleric. But he's a godly cleric because unlike shadowheart he can hit sacred flames and I've built him for healing duty. Plus spirit guardians is so fucking good. All Wyll has to do is bulldoze through enemies. Plus he has items that heal him when he heals.

Then I have Karlach, and I've made her an absolute beast, by giving her all movement and speed abilities, so there's nowhere she can't be. She also doesn't take opportunity attacks most of the time, has charger so she can move even further, and she has that awesome githyanki sword with some nasty damage modifiers.

But I was devastated the other day because I really wanted Halsin on the party.

So I had to say goodbye to wyll.

But I was seriously thinking about turning him into a cleric...and then I thought no.

No, let's see if a druid is as good as a cleric.

I think it is. Druids have a support/tank sort of role, and I loaded Halsin with all cc and area control abilities.

I admit that I cheese the fuck out of fights by simply not allowing the enemy to get close without struggling through fifty different obstacles.

Case in point:

But anyway.

That's my strat for tactician if anyone out there was interested in doing a tactician run just for fun.

Ranged spell caster, cleric or druid support/tank, DPS, and someone who just whales on everything.

My last campaign was similar. I was a sorceror, had Astarion again (of course), had Lae'zel on whaling duty, and had Karlach up until I had Halsin.

I was lacking in a healer but in challenge mode it's fine.

Anyway.

Long ramble that no one cares about but I'm having a good time with my personal challenge run.

It's ironically the run that I'm enjoying the story the most too.