Post-Education Blues

I’m currently sitting at my desk, watching the World of Warcraft Mythic Dungeon Invitational while working on a project. Usually at this time on a Saturday, I’d be at work, but I recently have found myself unemployed. If I had told myself two years ago, during my senior year at college, that this is the situation I’d find myself in, I’d probably not be sure what to say. Before finishing my degree I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to do in life, but so far not much of that has panned out. However, the recent developments have driven me to accept that I need to be more action driven and not settle for the current state of affairs. This is going to be a work in progress, and I hope to be doing more with my life soon enough.

I plan on starting to write again, and I’m fully aware of how many times I’ve made this kind of statement before. Something I’ve realized over this past year, even if it took me a while to fully accept it, is that things won’t improve if I don’t start taking the initiative myself. I plan on spending the next few days doing both brainstorming for writing topics in-between putting out applications for another job.

So besides this sad tale, what have I been up to? I’ve been raiding.

Back at the start of the year, I decided to get back into World of Warcraft. I found myself in a fairly casual guild doing normal mode progression in the current raid, and this was a time for me to learn my class and improve. Now, after quite a journey, I’m an officer in <Menthol>, a mythic progression guild on the Azuremyst-Staghelm server. Check out our website at mentholwarcraft.com.

I plan on writing content about World of Warcraft, Destiny 2, and general commentary on other aspects of culture and current events. My hope is that I can keep this up, and to find ways to improve my situation outside of the internet sphere. Hopefully, this is the first step on a path of positive change.

Blind Perdition – Weapon Review

“It is only a prison if you believe it to be.” —Parables of the Allspring

 High risk, high reward. This is one way to sum up the Trials of Osiris pulse rifle that came in Destiny: Rise of Iron. The burst firing weapons have become a foundation of the game’s meta since The Taken King released, which had them at their peak. Since then, their usefulness has diminished but has still remained strong when it comes to primary weapons. While the current meta may be more reliant on special weapons, firearms such as these are solid choices for when that shotgun or sniper runs out of ammo.

The perks that I was able to get, which I believe is the norm for this weapon, has the ability to be modified for a few different engagement types. The first row of perks has the choice between Smallbore and Hand-laid stock, providing the user with either increased range and stability at the cost of reload speed and magazine size, or increased stability at the cost of even more of a range drop off. I tended to stick with Smallbore due to the need for pulse rifles to be effective at longer ranges, but the lower magazine size can be felt in many engagements. In 6v6 game modes, like Iron Banner this week, I would find myself often facing an empty magazine while there was still opponents  from me. Leaving only 21 rounds to work with can provide the user with two kills before having to reload, but any missed bursts will have high costs. However, bursts that do land were able to down my opponents reliably and efficiently. I was fine with taking the risk, putting the ball in my court to move smartly and not rush into fights I had no business being in.

The second choice of perks is between High Caliber Rounds or Hand Loaded, and while I started using hand-loaded for the range I found that it wasn’t enough of a jump to be more useful that the extra flinch High Caliber Rounds provide. When playing either Trials of Osiris or Iron Banner, it can save your life to stagger opponents more than they expect. Those few split seconds can win a gun fight more than a slight boost of range, especially since I tend to use Smallbore in the perks before.

 Counterbalance and Outlaw offer two very good choices, as they both make this weapon even more deadly in tight situations. Typically I would go with Outlaw for the quicker reload time after precision kills, but due to my character using the Ophidian Aspect exotic gauntlet, my reload speed was decent enough already. Having the gun reload a little faster was not worth using over the incredible reliability that Counterbalance provides. Restricting the kick of the weapon to where it is very predictable and easy to control. For me, Counterbalance was the easy choice, but without gauntlets that increases reload speed for either all weapons, like Ophidian Aspect, or for pulse rifles in general, Outlaw is a very strong choice. As with the previous choices for perks, this one comes down to a lot of personal preference and will likely evolve as the gun is being used by the player.

I’ve had this weapon for a week now, and I really like it. I do not think it will become the new meta, as higher rate if fire pulse rifles still have an advantage in time to kill, but whenever I would either have the jump on someone or have a little bit of a range advantage, the Blind Perdition proved to be quite useful. I’ve been able to reap several multi kills by laying down precise and persistent fire, even when being fired on by several people at once. Once thing that the weapon has in its favor is its red-dot scope.

All of the Trials of Osiris weapons for Rise of Iron have scopes which highlight enemies, even through visual restricting effects like Nightstalker’s smoke. These scopes are simply incredible, as they allow for the player to react faster due to less lag between seeing a target and recognizing it. If you see that highlight, you can feel free to fire knowing that you’re aiming at a target.

Yet, all of these things that the Blind Perdition have going for it are simply balancing out the small magazine size. Like stated before, for me this weapon is high risk, high reward. There will be no blind spraying, but smart and controlled fire will reward the player with a weapon that proved to be useful to me all week when playing Iron Banner. While I do have a decently rolled Grasp of Malok, I will continue to use the Blind Perdition as it fits my play style more. Yet, I believe that weapons like Grasp of Malok and the new Iron Banner pulse rifle, Clever Dragon, will prove to be more accepted as time goes on.

From the Cosmodrome to the Lighthouse

It had been a goal of ours for months.

I tend to really enjoy playing the Trials of Osiris in Destiny. However, I also tend to be very apprehensive to start due to my own tendency to feel like I’m not god enough to play and other mental inhibitors. Thankfully, I have a couple of friends who are much better than me and have dragged me into some of the most fierce and enjoyable competitive experiences in any game I’ve yet played.

For those who are unfamiliar, the Trials of Osiris is the most competitive player versus player activity that Destiny has to offer. It’s a 3v3 game type, no revives except by teammates, and the only points that matter win rounds, accomplished by wiping the other team. The first team to 5 round wins will come away with the victory, and only teams who can win 9 games without a loss will earn a trip to the Lighthouse on Mercury where some of the most coveted gear in the game will be waiting for them. However, once you hit three loses you will be kicked out and have to start over. Luckily there is some leeway, as three different buffs can be purchased before a run is begun. The Boon of Osiris will make your first game count as two if you win, the Favor of Osiris will allow you to begin with a win, and the Mercy of Osiris will forgive the first loss. So in effect, if you win the first match you will start with three wins and have to go at least 6-1 in order to succeed. Definitely easier than going through the full nine without a failure, but still daunting to many of us, especially since the matchmaking for Trials since The Taken King expansion last year will try to match you up with players that have the same amount of wins. The final game, if the system works as it should, will pit two teams that both have 8 wins and most likely are competing for the Lighthouse trip.

When it comes to Destiny, I have become a bit of a completionist. I’m not as dedicated as I once was, work and other life responsibilities have taken up a large chunk of my time. but Destiny has remained my go to when I am able to sink some hours into something I love. However, there were two cards in the game’s grimoire that I had yet to unlock and could only be done by one thing.

Going to the Lighthouse.

Because of this, I have dreamed of the accomplishment. Luckily, I have a friend who is just as much of a completionist as I am and is a whole lot better at the competitive multiplayer in Destiny that I am. He and another one of my friends who comes from a Halo background have been my fireteam members in Trials when I put my toes into the water these past few months. Yet, it took one failure to lead us onto a path that would end in victory.

Late this past Saturday night, my clan was doing the Wrath of the Machine raid. We steamrolled to the end, but once again hit a little bit of a wall at the final encounter. We felt like our DPS wasn’t good enough, and the RNG nature of one of the mechanics was starting to tilt us. The decision was made to just go ahead and do something else instead of bashing our heads against it, even though we came to find out that we were doing just fine and could have probably finished. We decided to split into two teams to do some Trials in the hope of getting some better gear. My usual Trails team broke off, and the other three started their own run.

Our first run went about as expected, we won our first few games but then hit a streak of bad luck and bad play against good teams. It wasn’t long before we saw ourselves out and buying passage into a new run. With the sobering reminder that we could easily be beaten, and what some of our weaker decisions had been, behind us, we started anew. The first few matches were once again completed without too much trouble. While my two friends are pretty good at Destiny’s multiplyer, I would say that I’m only about average. I think my overall kill/death ratio is around 1.16, but I’d have to check again and that doesn’t feel like something that would be very self-inspiring.

It was after we hat hit 6 wins that the thought started to drift into our minds that we had a chance. We had come this far before, only to meet teams that would completely destroy us. Yet, we didn’t give up.

The seventh game will be one I remember for a while. These guys were good, and they weren’t showing us any mercy. For each good play we’d make, they’d make one back. When we would lose a man, they would push, and we would do the same against them. After eight rounds it was 4-4, and the next round winner would move on with the victory. We spawned and moved into position. Plays were made, and soon it was two of us versus one of them. However, it was close quarters and only my other teammate was geared for this. I had been playing as our sniper, so when I saw my teammate go down to a shotgun all I could do was use my primary as the enemy charged. His health melted as I emptied my Grasp of Malok pulse rifle into him, but the dastardly range of shotguns in Destiny won the day. From my perspective, he had literal pixels of health. Just another fraction of a second would have seen me on top. Yet, that didn’t matter because they had won and we had lost. Teabagging ensued, and with it, my spirit dropped a bit.

We had lost our Mercy and now would have to go three games without a loss if we wanted to go to the Lighthouse for the first time. I reigned in my emotions and self-doubt, and we went into the next game. It was tough, but we managed to win the next two games through what seemed like our pure force of will. It was at this point that Nate, my friend who is the best out of all of us at PvP and also dreamed of going to the Lighthouse, sat up in his chair. He hadn’t really gotten too hyped throughout our run because, according to him, he didn’t want to burn out his energy. Yet, this was it. This was the final game that would decide everything. We either won here or would see the closest chance we had yet seen slip away.

Looking back on it, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be whenever I theorized being in such a position. We were focused, and our teamwork and strategy had been focused down through tough engagements. We knew how to win from either spawn, we just had to execute. Callouts were made, and before long we were up 4-1. We just needed one more good play.

We were being pushed hard. One of their players with a shotgun had rushed me, and as the sniper there wasn’t much I could do but try to pull off a cheeky quick scope, fail, and run down the broken down escalator behind me. My two teammates were still up above dealing with the rest of the enemy team, and I had full faith in their abilities. As I ran I heard them call out that one of the other players as down, but I knew that if the shotgunner got me and was able to flank, we would be in trouble. Without thinking I turned around and used my super ability, a nova bomb, down at him as he fired his shotgun into my gut. I died from the blast, but not before he was vaporized into void energy.

I called out the kill and directed my teammates to push the final player. They did, and we won. It wasn’t clean, but it was a victory. It wasn’t until the announcer told us that we had won that it really sank it; we were going to the Lighthouse.

To say we were hyped would be an understatement. Maybe a mere hour before I had referenced us as the Jamaican bobsled team of destiny, and summarized our Trails experience with this classic scene, and maybe only a few hours since failing in the raid when we could have pushed on, but now we were basking in the sunlight on Mercury, seeing a sight that we never thought we would see. I didn’t get to sleep until 4 in the morning because of the adrenaline running through my system.

I know there are a lot of people who go to the Lighthouse many times every weekend when Trials rolls around, but that’s not us. We’re just a bunch of friends who finally made it through teamwork, dedication, and a little bit of luck. I know that this success will make me more eager to participate in the Trials of Osiris more often, even if we don’t end up going back to the Lighthouse for a while. Simply, the feeling of standing by your friends and finding the force of will to succeed can do amazing things.

Now, if we could only beat the raid…

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It dawned on me while writing this that my last post was exactly five months ago. For weeks I’ve been meaning to start writing again once time allowed, but it never does. I would say to expect more content on here, but that’s become a sort of cliché for me. In these next few weeks I’ll be doing my best to provide commentary on topics relevant and important to me, most likely Destiny related. Thanks for reading!

Iron Banner, Loot, and the New Meta

Over the past weekly reset period, I was able to play through the Iron Banner event and mess around with the new Crucible meta, and I have to say that the weapon balance has never felt better. During the previous Iron Banner I can remember certain a loadout or two being slightly overused, namely the Doctrine of Passing auto rifle and The Last Word. Now that Bungie implemented a new pass at weapon balancing with the April update, these weapons were still strong but not overused. In fact, I rarely saw a The Last Word during the entire event.

The secondary ammo changes could be felt, most notably with my new Longbow Synthesis only haveing 11 shots maximum in its reserve while receiving only three per brick, but this made me use the weapon much more cautiously and try to better line up my shots. Overall not a change that caused too many issues. However, my thoughts on the changes to heavy ammo are mixed. While it is nice to not have two spawns of heavy ammo play such a big factor in a game, it did make it difficult to complete bounties requiring heavy ammo kills when there is only one spawn per match. Anyone who has played the Crucible knows that heavy ammo spawn can become chaotic and often results in big plays by players who have saved their supers for a risky, potentially game-winning moment, and being on the other end of these actions which can be out of your control can really suck when all you need to do is a bounty. It’s part of the game now, though, and will require teams in the future to be better aware of their surroundings when this time of the match arrives. Also, it makes Defender Titans that much more useful.

Bungie definitely made drops from the Iron Banner much more rewarding. Last time around I only received maybe one or two drops, while this time I was awarded around six or seven that, even if the perk rolls were not the best, would reward me with great infusion fuel. Also, it seems like Bungie has made more of an effort to make vendor gear much more viable, and seeing the weapons that Lord Saladin had for sale made the drive to get to rank 5 even more thrilling. Also, the drops from rank 5 packages being guaranteed to be either at or above your current light made it even more rewarding.

Iron Banner has always been a fun event to take part of because of the competitive nature of it. Both sides want the win for the reputation, and it brings in players who may not have played much in the Crucible, and it throws them all together in battle. Lag was still an issue at times, especially when my clan and I went up against a team of almost all red bar connections. Yet, somehow we were able to scrape together a win and it felt amazing. Destiny’s PvP has to be one of the most fun multiplayer experiences to do with friends since the classic couch-based co-op of yesteryear that has sadly been forgotten.

On a side note, for those interested, here are what my characters use as a loadout. I ran with a Bad Juju, Longbow Synthesis, and Qullim’s Terminus on my Stormtrance Warlock main. My Sunbreaker Titan used a Red Death, 1000-Yard Stare, and another Qullim’s Terminus. And finally, my Nightstalker Hunter was equipped with a MIDA Multi-Tool, Stillpiercer, and a final Qullim’s Terminus. I hate running a rocket launcher because they make me feel dirty.

Also, here’s a nice littel phantom medal I got with my Sunbreaker. Felt nice.

Why I Returned The Division

I finally made the decision.

It would be an understatement to say that I had become disillusioned about The Division. The first couple of weeks with the game was pretty much a honeymoon experience and I really liked it, but the more I played the game the more I started to see the faults break through the seams of what is, on the outside, a solid game. The Division has pretty fun gameplay and a mildly interesting story to contain it all in, but there was a nagging itch in the back of my mind that only came to the light last week.

If you don’t watch Extra Credits on YouTube, you should. They do outstanding videos on game design, the gaming industry, and the culture we have built up around the medium. Last week their video was concerning how The Division takes a serious issue, the shooting of civilians without due process, and basically ignores the ethical implications. I highly recommend that you watch the video if you haven’t already.

It was after I saw this video that I realized what had been giving me so many issues. The idea of setting a game in America is cool and interesting, but it is illegal, not to mention highly unethical, for federal agents to literally walk into town, seize control of the local peacekeeping forces, and basically go around and shoot civilians without any sort of due process. It’s completely against one of the core principles of this country.

Because of all this, and because I had become bored with the game, that I decided to return it. When I bought my Xbox One I had made the choice to try to save all of my games, but this situation made me go against that. Also, I was able to use the money towards the purchase of my PS4 and my copy of Dark Souls III for the Xbox One. Also, the recent free update to Destiny had me back in and fighting the Darkness alongside my friends, and there was just no urge for me to go back into the streets of New York and commit treason anymore.

Unproductive Gaming

I don’t think I’ve been so busy in my life.

This Sunday will be 4 weeks before I graduate from college. These past few weeks I’ve been busy with end of semester projects, tests, and everything else that comes with being in school. It’s weird because this kind of life is all that I’ve really known, and before long all of that will be a thing of the past. I’m going to have to move on into the job market, and frankly it’s terrifying. Yet, the future seems just as busy as I have been, mostly for one reason in particular.

I feel like it’s time to introduce all of you to a new project my friends and I have been planning for about a year  but are now really pulling the trigger on. We have turned our clan, Unproductive Gaming, into a full-fledged channel. Since last Saturday, we have been streaming almost every day on our Twitch page and have a podcast on Soundcloud. I encourage everyone to check out the stuff we’ve been doing and give constructive criticism. It’s a big project, and one that I don’t think any of us could do as well alone, and hopefully it’s something that will continue for a long time to come.

Currently, I am streaming on the channel every Monday, currently doing a run through Valiant Hearts: The Great War. Here is the full schedule, but as with everything it is subject to change as our situations will be very dynamic in the next few months.

Sunday – Podcasts and possible streams, depending on whether someone feels like doing one that day.

Monday – Me, Andrew Austin

Tuesday – Garret Sykes and Alex Mellor, two guys who are awesome to hang out with and fun to watch.

Wednesday – Alyssa Pelto, a friend of mine who has been pretty successful at streaming herself for a while.

Thursday – Nate Fox, a new member of our clan.

Friday – Ben Pelto, a friend of mind known for being very opinionated.

Saturday – Group stream, doing things like raids in Destiny and other multiplayer content.

I invite all to join us for our stream on Saturday where we will be doing the Vault of Glass and Crota’s End in Destiny for some of our members who have never completed them. If we have time, maybe a run of King’s Fall to top it all off. It should be fun.

So yeah, that’s what I’ve been working on lately (besides the usual school stuff). I’m still going to try to stream on my own channel, but it’s taken a back seat to this group effort. It’s been awesome to finally start something which we’ve been wanting to do for so long.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans – Review

I tend to be rather selective in my anime. Some of my friends like to experiment and try watching whatever, I tend to reserve myself for series which I either know will be worth watching. There are a few series that have a special place in my heart, namely Fullmetal Alchemist (both versions, I am a savage monster).

There is a distant memory, far in the depths of my mind, of an amine which I watched when I was a wee little lad. Lone images and sounds lingered dormant in my brain until almost two years ago when I decided to rewatch Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Sometimes, you just need a show that you enjoy even though you know it to be sub par. The obsessively reused animations, groan producing dialogue, and illogical “gundanium” was all gleefully absorbed within a matter of days.

And that was that. I had renewed my joy for the mecha genre but my reluctance to start new shows still held. I tried to watch newer Gundam series, and I even was able to watch all of the fan acclaimed Code Geass, but in the end I was let down. Shows where the main character is written to be smarter than the viewer *cough*Death Note*cough* and all of those around them simply annoy me because it’s not difficult to do from a writing perspective; details just have to be left out.

Fast forward to December of 2015. I was laying in bed at home surfing YouTube, and I came across a video highlighting some of the best shows of the current season. One of them, and the one to best grab my attention, was Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. It seemed to take a more gritty approach to its subject matter over the more idealistic tendencies that other entries tend to have (I’m looking at you, Relena Peacecraft).

Within a few days I binged all of the 13 episodes that were available online. With that being all that I could watch, and with 13 being a normal season length, I thought that the show was over for the time being. This upset me because I genuinely enjoyed it. Imagine my surprise when the following Sunday saw the release of a new episode on Daisuki.net, the website which was broadcasting the series online.

It’s now 13 weeks later and the first season is officially over, with season 2 being slated for the fall of this year. Going week to week with only one episode being available is not something I’ve experienced since watching Fringe on Fox, but it was something I had been missing. The show wasn’t perfect, but it pleasantly surprised me.

The characters of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans were, for the most part, like a breath of fresh air. The peace-loving idealist of the series, Kudelia Aina-Bernstein, began as the typical Gundam female does but over time became a character I saw grow. Her idealism was shattered when she saw the sacrifice which was required, and that idealism transformed into resolve.

The members of Tekkadan, the private military corporation which is run by the protagonists, each had their own paths to take. Orga Itsuka, the commanding officer, had to learn to tone down his bravado when faced with the fact that his orders could lead to the death of friends,. Biscuit Griffin had to leave his family behind in order to become Tekkadan’s strategist, but soon faced unease because of everything that was being asked of them to sacrifice. Akihiro Altland had to come face to face with his own past and embrace it in order to move on. And the main protagonist of the show, Mikazuki Augus, started off as a stone cold killer and ended up as a stone cold killer with two girls loving him. Somethings never change about anime.

Mikazuki brings to mind some aspects of Iron-Blooded Orphans that I feel could have been done better. While it was nice to see the typical idealism take a back seat, it still was a prominent aspect of the series. I realize that it’s something that is at the core of what makes a Gundam series, I still felt like it could have been done better. Kudelia and her message was still full of cliché rhetoric, all the while being attacked by an evil organization that is bad because the series decided it.

I did appreciate the fact that Iron-Blooded Orphans was able to confront an idea like child soldiers, something that seems taboo in modern culture. The series did not take the topic and try to take an idealist stance, but showed how these war orphans were placed in this situation and were able to make the best of it. They were seen as space rats and looked down upon, but in the end were able to band together to achieve the impossible, just like in any good anime.

While not perfect, Iron-Blooded Orphans kept my attention from week to week and left me excited for a second season. An uncharacteristic lack of beam swords and a cast of characters that I could relate to resulted in a show that I can easily recommend to my friends to watch, as long as they’re not totally adverse to giant mechs beating the crap out of each other.

Oddly, those people do exist.