BardicKnowledge

I am playing both Crusader and Monk this season, and I have to say while the Crusader is more fun, the Monk is going to be the absolute best class when fully geared, likely without question. 6 piece SSS / EP set running both Gungdo Gear and Madstone (thanks to RoRG) will be able to continually SSS into infinity, triggering _all_ of the damage on Exploding Palm 14 times per use. Holy crap. Will report back when I actually have all of these items instead of merely theorycrafting. On the Crusader side of things, the new Blessed Hammer uniques really complement the new set outstandingly well, and the only reason the class is lagging behind is because Blessed Hammer just isn't a great skill compared to others because it's dependent on the character's position at time of use. If you could replace all of the BH buffs and give them to Fist of the Heavens instead with only, Crusader would be sitting at the top of the boards. Similarly, Falling Sword is an awesome skill, but using it means that you aren't hammering, so it's almost always a DPS loss when you do it, even if it has no cooldown.

The ELCA's New Testament reading for today: "Finally, be strong in the LORD and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak." Didn't catch much of the sermon today, but it's a Crusader for me starting Friday. I hope all of you join us!

Mario fan levels have been around for a long time -- there are at least two projects I know of where I feel the quality is just as good as the original games (see: Super Demo World: The Legend Continues and Newer Super Mario Bros). This mostly just feels like a retail version of Lunar Magic, honestly. That being said, I'm in for it! Looking forward to the musical blocks.

What class is everyone planning to play this season? I'm currently deciding between Crusader and Monk here.

Wait you had this done for a year and didn't let me know even when I mailed you all that Witcher stuff last Christmas? Seriously though, good stuff here! Glad to see you doing yet more styles -- the relaxed Celtic orchestral stuff on display here works really well for you. Looking forward to the next time you are playing the lead, but what a soloist to have found in the meantime.

The only PC mod I'd even consider is to replace the field model for Cloud (the horrible Popeye one) with the battle model. Otherwise you're moving far enough away from the original that it will defeat the purpose of your playthrough.

Addie and I haven't played in quite some time now -- I love the changes though! I feel like once you reach a certain threshold of gear / Greater Rift cleared (right now let's say 40 or so), the amount of effort and/or blind luck with ancient drops you have to put in to improve just isn't fun anymore. I will be back on for the new season and can't wait for it!

Congratulations! I hope that you are finding enough moments of sleep here and there -- it's hard.

The game is amazing -- I just started playing this morning. I absolutely love all of the different strategies I've seen thus far, and can't wait to unlock all of the guns. For those who see this instead of the main Wii U thread, I am RTBardic -- add me!

It stores what direction you were facing before you touch the controller. If you shoot a red fireball motion slowly (but fast enough for it to come out properly) you can see Ryu briefly face left.

AHHHHHHHH the new characters are so good. If you haven't seen the reveals yet, make your way to e3.nintendo.com post-haste, because spoilers abound below...... ......(filler)..... Lucas is really good, and probably the character that makes the most use of B-reverse momentum -- alas, the Magnet Boost technique appears to be gone. I assume Zap Jumping is out as well, but forgot to check. Roy actually feels slightly different now! It's Fox / Falco instead of Marth with a different sweetspot. This is a great step in the right direction for the character, and those of you feeling like we didn't need a 3rd swordsman, I can assure you that the slot isn't a waste. And lastly....holy balls Ryu is fun. He has completely different attacks based on how long you hold down the button for each of his grounded normals. This gives him roughly 2x the amount of normal moves for any other character. Full list below: Neutral: jab (into strong-->fierce for AAA standard Smash combo) or Roundhouse Kick. F-Tilt: St. MK or F. MP (the overhead punch, which destroys shields in Smash as a substitute for "beats blocks") U-Tilt: Close Jab or Standing Strong. D-Tilt: Cr. LK or Cr. MK All of his special moves also increase in damage based on how long you hold the button down....and all of them except Down Special (the focus attack) have a special "EX" version that can be activated by performing the appropriate motion from SF2 and the A button (note: B button works also, but Ryu _can_ use specials with just the normal punch button). So 236A is the Hadoken, 41236A is Red Hadoken (only usable via motion), 623A is Shoryuken, and 214A is the Hurricane Kick -- which gives a nice rising boost if used for recovery. Lastly, all of the standard SF combos function -- Cr. LK --> Cr. MK --> Fireball is a thing, and Cl. Jab --> Standing Strong --> SRK works as well. The character feels like there was MUCH more work put into him than they needed, and it makes the future of Smash DLC look very nice indeed. Thoughts?

I've been doing really well ever since finding this weapon. Hoping to clear rift 50 before season's end, but I'd like to find ancient IK or Wastes gloves first.

I picked up the core bundle since I'd missed Guacamelee until now. Waiting on the final game before deciding if I upgrade my spending amount to $10. I really like this idea though, and I'm glad to see Nintendo putting their money where their mouth is re: indies.

Who's getting it on Friday? It looks really fun....but I desperately wish it were for PC instead of Wii U. I really enjoyed the test session Nintendo held a few days ago, AND it's an FPS that I can play with Owen around, so it has a lot going for it. I will consider it if there are a lot of people here playing. For those who haven't seen it yet, check out Game Informer's preview video here:

The whole game is superlative, but my favorite thing about it is how well the 3D is utilized. It's especially noticeable in the mine sequence with the floating platforms. Dash to the right off of the second one and you can skip the entire cave after a ridiculous flying leap that feels amazing with the 3D turned all the way up.

Saw this quote as a Shoryuken mod's signature (note: it was not Mike Z) and thought of Zircon -- I'm sure he feels the same way. "For me, SF4 got fighting games backward - combos are supposed to be easy and reversals are supposed to be hard. -Mike_Z"

Velocity 2X is absolutely incredible -- get it right now. It's somehow both the best platformer AND the best shmup of 2014. If you do RPG's then I highly recommend you buy the FFIV Complete Edition that was originally released for PSP -- the graphics are all redrawn in HD by hand, and it includes both FFIV: The After Years and a connecting game only available to that edition. It's the definitive release of the game IMO, and it's only for Vita / PSP. For Vita specifically, OlliOlli (and the sequel) are really spectactular for short gaming sessions. Otherwise the console is best used for indie games (Rogue Legacy, Spelunky come to mind) that you _could_ do elsewhere but feel at home on the Vita.

Saturday night is Addie's birthday, but I am hoping to be online next week Thursday and Friday some. Do any of you coordinate in the IRC channel?

Addie and I are really enjoying this season -- the new barbarian and wizard stuff is ridiculously fun.

My Crusader is amazing atm -- found the Mortal Drama / Trove combo and it's meteors all the time -- 2x Bombardment every 6 seconds. I walk through T2 and everything dies without me swinging.

I'm really pumped for this, going to spend some time during Owen's weekend naps watching.

Just hit level 62 on HC -- slowly working my way up to 70 for the first time in Hardcore.

I'll join you now and then -- going to start the season in standard w/ addie though.

Addie and I are going to be playing the new season -- we can't wait for next weekend! As an aside, if Bahamut and zircon aren't playing D3 anymore, could we add someone else to the list of clan admins?

There's a big thread dedicated to this exact topic: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38274