This week we decided to bypass a traditional show and do a full spoiler episode for Star Wars the Last Jedi.  We talk about the latest Star Wars movie and our thoughts given that they are super fresh in our minds at the moment.  This is a very different sort of Star Wars movie and we have a wide variety of opinions on various aspects of the film.  Once again this is a full spoiler show so I highly suggest not listening until you have seen the film…  or in a few of our cases seen it several times.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode185.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:17am EDT

This week we record an unstable show…  and by that I mean a huge chunk of the conversation is about the adventures of Tam, Ash and Kodra in drafting the new magic “un” set.  From there we talk a bit about Unstable being Legal in Commander for a small amount of time and the ups and downs of Iconic Masters.  We talk a bit about the Curse of Osiris DLC for Destiny 2 and the ups and downs of it.  This weekend Monster Hunter World Beta is available on the Playstation Network so we talk a little bit about it and Monster Hunter in general.  We talk a bit about Reigns: Her Majesty and Fire Emblem Heroes 2.0 release.

Topics Discussed:

  • Magic The Gathering
  • Unstable Draft
  • Iconic Masters
  • Destiny 2 Curse of Osiris
  • Monster Hunter World Beta
  • Reigns: Her Majesty
  • Fire Emblem Heroes 2.0
Direct download: aggrochat_episode184.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:33am EDT

We are back from our Thanksgiving Break to record our Divinity Original Sin 2 show.  This originally was going to be our October game of the month but we decided we wanted to give this game a bit more time.  As a result we recorded the Destiny 2 show in October and moved this to November.  Even with that Divinity Original Sin 2 is a really large and complicated game and no one managed to beat it.  However we do have a lot of things to talk about the way the game works and our experiences playing it.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode183.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:20am EDT

Tonight we record a fairly short show at least as far as AggroChat episodes go.  We are down a Kodra because of a holiday party and a Thalen because he has officially cloned himself.  This week we welcomed a tiny Thalen spawn into the world, and as a result we are likely going to have fairly spotty attendance from him for awhile because the new boss is brutal.  This week we apparently played quite a bit of Super Mario Odyssey so we talk about the game and our feelings so far. Belghast spends some time playing Skyrim on the switch and how shocked he is about how well it works.  Grace talks a bit about the World of Warcraft 13th anniversary event, and Ash talks about his thoughts regarding Sonic Forces.  From there we delve into a discussion about Necromunda and various Warhammer 40k things.

Topics Discussed

  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • Skyrim on Switch
  • WoW Anniversary Event
  • Sonic Forces
  • Warhammer Necromunda
  • Tyranids Codex
  • Warhammer 40k Nostalgia
  • Great Games of 2017
Direct download: aggrochat_episode182.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 11:04am EDT

This week we are back recording a traditional show, and as is often the case when we do a game of the month show…  stuff happens that we don’t end up talking about.  In this case BlizzCon happened and the announcement of both a new World of Warcraft expansion and the concept of “Classic” servers.  Now I originally thought we would talk about this just a little bit before moving on to other topics… and instead we recorded damned near an entire show about it.  We also talk a little bit about Wolfenstein 2 New Colossus or at least up to the point where Thalen and Kodra have currently progressed.  From there we talk a bit about Destiny 2 and our experiences in the Leviathan raid.  We discuss the faction rally that is currently going on which leads to a super in the weeds discussion about various weapons.  Finally we wrap things up with Millennium Blades a card game about collectible cards games…  that lampoons every part of the process.

Topics Discussed

  • BlizzCon 2017
    • Diablo 3 - The Forgotten Game
    • Battle For Azeroth
    • World of Warcraft Classic Servers
    • Remembering Vanilla
  • Wolfenstein 2 - New Colossus
  • Destiny 2
    • Leviathan Raid
    • Faction Rally
    • Weapon Discussions
  • Millennium Blades Card Game
Direct download: aggrochat_episode181.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:52am EDT

This week we are doing some nonsense.  Originally Divinity Original Sin 2 was the October game of the month, but we largely decided we needed more time with that game.  As a result we swapped what was going to be the November game of the month in…  since we were in most part ready to talk about Destiny 2 and primarily the PC release.  So this week we are doing that and discussing the game that Belghast has devoted almost 200 hours playing already between both the PC and PS4 releases.  He may or may not be a little obsessed about it, and that's fine because now the other members of AggroChat sorta understand his constant insane ramblings about it.  Join us as we dig into the game and talk about whether or not this really is a worthy sequel.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode180.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:20am EDT

This week we have a more normal show after last weeks super serious one.  We do however have a little bit of a call back in the form of a short discussion about how vocal minorities can negatively impact the press surrounding a game.  We talk a bit about the launch of Destiny 2 on the PC and how relatively smoothly it has gone.  We touch ever so briefly on the madness happening in Warframe right now with Twitch streams and free loot.  From there we delve into Warhammer Shadespire and spend a good deal of time talking about it and past Games Workshop games.  This leads to a bit of a discussion about the problem Magic the Gathering has with onboarding new players.  Thalen talks about his experiences playing Orwell, and Tam and Ash talk a bit about the Legend of Five Rings Living Card Game.  Finally we wrap things up with some talk about clicker games in general and two specifically:  Paperclips and Succubox.

Featuring

  • Vocal Minority in Gaming
  • Destiny 2 Launch
  • Warframe Twitch Nonsense
  • Warhammer Shadespire
  • Magic the Gathering Onboarding Problems
  • Orwell
  • Legend of Five Rings Living Card Game
  • Clicker Games
  • Paperclips
  • Succubox
Direct download: aggrochat_episode179.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:53am EDT

We admittedly had grand plans and a whole list of things we were originally going to talk about this week.  However once we opened the monetization can of worms it sort of dominated the show and a hour and a half later we decided it was probably just best to leave things to being a weird single topic show.  This week we are down a Grace and a Thalen and Kodra is recording on different hardware while travelling himself.  As a result there are a few rough spots that we attempted to clean up in post production, but corrupted audio is corrupted audio.  All in all I feel like this is a really important show because it talks about the whole monetization thing from a series of different angles.  I highly suggest you fight through the few rough spots because we unpack a lot of things during the course of this show.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode178.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:55am EDT

This is one of those weeks when we seemed to have more topics to discuss than could possibly fit in a single show.  We even had to drop one for the sake of time that we will hopefully revisit in a future episode.  We start the show off by talking about Shirogane Extreme mode…  or the land rush for housing in the newly opened district in Final Fantasy XIV.  Ash and Tam took one for the team and sacrificed sleep schedule to get us a brand new house.  From there we talk about Guild Wars 2 Path of Fire expansion and some of the things we have noticed so far.  Belghast talks a bit about the Iron Banner 2.0 in Destiny, and some miscellaneous discussion about how clans work.  Ash and Thalen discuss Dragon Quest Heroes 2 and the Heroes game genre in general.  We wrap up with a discussion on Warhammer starting with the brand new stand alone Shadespire game and then talk a bit about Warhammer 40k.

Topics Discussed

  • Shirogane Extreme
  • Guild Wars 2 Path of Fire
  • Destiny 2 Iron Banner
  • Dragon Quest Heroes 2
  • Warhammer Shadespire
  • Warhammer 40k
Direct download: aggrochat_episode177.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:19am EDT

Tonight we talk about the September game of the month Horizon Zero Dawn.  As is always the case with our game club shows, this is a full spoiler jaunt into this post apocalyptic vision by Guerilla Games.  HZD was featured on our Games of the Year show, but since several had yet to beat it we did not do the normal deep dive that we do during a game club show.  We talk about what might be the most interesting new science fiction property in recent memory.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode176.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:25am EDT

We are down a Tam and a Thalen, and in the case of Tam it was due to his birthday celebrations..  So if you see Tam online send him some belated wishes.  This week we lead things off with some talk about Pokken Tournament and its recent release on the Switch as Kodra and Ashgar spent some time playing it this week.  We talk about the Nintendo Switch in general and the fact that we all seem to prefer buying new games on it rather than older Nintendo consoles.  We talk a bit about the release of Ixalan and some general discussion about the decision to go away from ultra rare chase cards.  Belghast talks a bit about the larger Magic the Gathering market place and how this move seems to making prices a bit more stable so far.  We talk a bit about our hopes for Magic the Gathering Arena, and how it might bring us what we actually have wanted for awhile…  actual Magic in a Hearthstone package.  Belghast talks about the Destiny 2 Faction Rally event and how he has collected all 12 weapons currently available from it.  Ashgar talks a bit about his experiences in Guild Wars 2 Path of Fire and collecting mounts.  Finally Bel talks a bit about the Final Fantasy Record Keeper 30th anniversary event that is going on currently.

Topics Discussed

  • Pokken Tournament
  • Nintendo Switch
  • Ixalan Release
  • Magic the Gathering Market
  • MTG Arena Hopes
  • Destiny 2 Faction Rally
  • Guild Wars 2 Path of Fire
  • Final Fantasy Record Keeper
  • 30th Anniversary Event
Direct download: aggrochat_episode175.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:48am EDT

Tonight we are a bit out of sorts since we are once again down two people… and for the most part have been playing games that will ultimately end up in a game club show.  This leads to one of the more meandering shows we have recorded in a really long time where we transition from topic to topic without really announcing the leaps.  This was also one of the harder shows to name so I picked one random snippet of obscure discussion from the middle of the show.  The show starts with me varying my normal announcing order… and it just sorta continues going awkwardly from there.  Enjoy!

 

Topics Discussed

  • Through The Ages
  • Fantasy Strike
  • Pokken Tournament
  • Tangle Deep
  • Old School DOS Gaming
  • Guild Wars 2 Content Messaging
  • Games Wasting Our Time
  • Dragonquest
  • Warriors Games
  • Toys R Us Bankruptcy
Direct download: aggrochat_episode174.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 8:56am EDT

Tonight we are down both a Thalen and a Tam and get off on some meandering topics.  We start off with some discussion about the Final Fantasy XIV Rising event that just finished and the introduction of the cheap dungeon.  From there Belghast gets pretty deep in the woods talking about infusion mechanics and Destiny 2.  We branch off from there into a discussion that is really hard to describe.  Functionally we were having a chat about MMOs and whether or not the devs are obligated to provide a uniform experience for all players and all activities in a game.  This branches out into a bunch of directions from the PVP/PVE debate to how uneven some of the artifact weapon quests felt in World of Warcraft Legion.  Kodra talks a bit about his recent journey into the iOS port of one of his favorite Vlaada Chvatil games…  Though the Ages.  Ashgar gives us some updates on his experience playing through Monster Hunter Stories and we delve a bit into the new Magic the Gathering expansion Ixalan.

Topics Discussed

  • Final Fantasy XIV - The Rising Event
  • Destiny 2 Mechanics
  • Providing Uniform MMO Player Experiences
  • Through the Ages iOS
  • Monster Hunter Stories
  • Ixalan Pre-Pre-Release
Direct download: aggrochat_episode173.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:21am EDT

Tonight we have a bunch of stuff on the docket.  We lead off with a discussion about Pax West 2017 that Tam, Kodra and Ashgar attended last weekend.  From there we dive into some discussion about the Destiny 2 PS4 launch and how it has been consuming every moment of Bel’s game time.  Another big accomplishment is that our Guild in Guild Wars 2 successfully captured the Guild Hall…  and have unlocked a completely engrossing minigame in the form of upgrading it.  We delve a bit into the mobile game Legendary Game of Heroes, and then veer off the deep end into some discussion about Sonic Mania and the Sonic Archie Comics.  The insanity that follows continued long after the podcast… and ultimately had a bunch of us leaving the channel to avoid it.  Lastly we talk a bit about Magic the Gathering Arena, their attempt to capture that Hearthstone goodness with actual magic cards.

Topics Discussed

  • Pax West 2017
  • Destiny 2 PS4
  • Guild Wars 2 Guild Hall
  • Legendary Game of Heroes
  • Sonic Mania
  • Sonic Comics
  • Magic the Gathering Arena
Direct download: aggrochat_episode172.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:15am EDT

This weekend we talk about a whole slew of topics that have gathered over the past week.  We talk about Pax West and Gamescom and how the hype and announcements surrounding them seem to not be keeping up with past years.  We talk about Thalen’s descent into Guild Wars 2 and a whole slew of topics related to it.  We talk about arriving on Argus in the 7.3 World of Warcraft patch.  We talk about the recent Destiny 2 PC Beta experience and how it cemented the decision to play on the PC for most of us.  We talk about the Kung Fu MMO of a sort Absolver.  We talk about the Ashes Rise of the Phoenixborn card game, which leads to some discussion about Magic the Gathering Commander and Star Wars Destiny.  Finally we wrap up with a discussion on mobile gaming and some more talk about Legendary Game of Heroes… and a little bit of pining for Glitch.

Topics Discussed

  • Games Cons: Lack of Hype
  • Guild Wars 2 Things
  • WoW patch 7.3
  • Destiny 2 PC
  • Absolver
  • Ashes Rise of the Phoenixborn
  • Magic the Gathering Commander
  • Star Wars Destiny
  • Mobile Games
  • Legendary: Game of Heroes
  • Glitch
Direct download: aggrochat_episode171.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:25am EDT

Tonight we record the August AggroChat Game Club title… Full Throttle.  This was picked by Thalen for a bunch of reasons but at least in part because we had yet to play a classic point and click adventure game.  With Full Throttle being relatively recently remastered, it made it an excellent candidate since it was more or less going to run well on any system.  Unfortunately one of our show members opted to try playing it on a mobile platform where the experience was less than desireable.  We talk about our thoughts on Full Throttle and adventure games in general as the show goes way off the rails towards the end with many wild trips into nostalgia land.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode170.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 8:04am EDT

This is another one of those nights when we thought we had nothing to talk about…  but ended up having stuff to talk about.  We start off the night talking some more about our recent experiences in Guild Wars 2.  From there we get into some Robo Squid fun… and talk about how Gnomeregan is still horrible.  From there Thalen and I talk about how West of Loathing has suddenly caused us to start playing Kingdom of Loathing again.  Kodra talks about finally grasping why Tam loves Agricola so much.  There is a brief offshoot conversation that leads us down the path of Magic the Gathering Commander and the game in general.  We finally wrap things up with a talk that starts with painting miniatures and ventures forth into creativity in general.

Featured Topics

  • Guild Wars 2
  • Gnomeregan Is Horrible
  • Kingdom of Loathing
  • West of Loathing
  • Agricola
  • Magic the Gathering Commander
  • Painting Miniatures
  • Creativity
Direct download: aggrochat_episode169.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:19am EDT

Tonight we return to the normal course of our show after last weeks unintended break.  We start the show off with a brief explanation of what happened then dig straight into some talk about Guild Wars 2 and the impending Path of Fire expansion.  From there we talk about West of Loathing, the pseudo sequel to Kingdom of Loathing one of the longest running web games than I know of.  Grace has been spending some time in the mobile world and talks about two games..  Legendary: Game of Heroes and Rabbit Evolution.  Ash talks a bit about the Monster Hunter Stories demo and gameplay in general.  Kodra dives into a few board games he has been playing…  Macao, Potion Explosion and Scythe.  From there we talk a bit about Magic the Gathering and how folks have been playing a bit of Commander.  Finally we close things out with a discussion of just how well Orcs have clicked with Kodra in Warhammer 40k.

Topics Discussed

  • Guild Wars 2
  • Path of Fire
  • West of Loathing
  • Mobile Games
  • Legendary: Game of Heroes
  • Rabbit Evolution
  • Monster Hunter Stories
  • Board Games
  • Macao
  • Potion Explosion
  • Scythe
  • Magic Commander
  • Warhammer 40k Orcs

 

Direct download: aggrochat_episode168.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:34am EDT

This week it is finally time to record the show for the AggroChat July Game Club Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood.  This is one of the smarter picks we have made thusfar as far as club titles, because we knew we would all be playing Stormblood when the expansion launched.  As a result we have held back when we talked about the game prior to this show a bit, thinking that we would unleash everything during this show.  We talk for almost two hours about what might be some of the best of Final Fantasy XIV.  This is a spoilery show so if you have not completed Stormblood I highly suggest you file this away for a later date.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode167.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:27am EDT

This week we have a bit of an odd show, namely because there is far less gaming talk than other stuff talk.  We start off with me botching the intro… then roll straight into a discussion that got dropped from last weeks show due to the already two hour runtime.  Kodra, Ashgar and Tam have been watching a whole lot of anime namely with the new season of content showing up on Crunchyroll.  As a result they run down some of the more memorable shows.  From there we talk a bit about the Destiny 2 beta and the season 11 open in Diablo 3…  or that time everyone played necros.  We wrap things up with some talk about the Final Fantasy XIV escape room experience.

Topics Discussed

  • Anime Roundup
    • Your Name
    • Restaurant to Another World
    • Kinka Bancho Otome
    • Knights and Magic
    • My Hero Academia
    • Gamers
    • Ikemen Sengoku
    • In Another World With My Smartphone
    • New Game!!
  • Destiny 2 Beta
  • Bone Spikes For Days
  • FFXIV Escape Room
Direct download: aggrochat_episode166.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:19am EDT

This is one of the weirder shows we have recorded in a while in part because we went into it somewhat tentative as to whether or not we really had a full show.  Instead we wound up recording for over two hours.  We go through a lengthy discussion of Magic the Gathering in both the paper and online varieties.  This includes some talk about the new expansion Hour of Devastation, but also some general discussion about the history of Magic as a whole.  We get into another long discussion about Warframe and the upcoming “open world” area.  Ashgar has been playing some Final Fantasy XII and we talk a bit about our experiences with the game.  From there we travel into Final Fantasy XIV and talk about how we are experiencing this early drop off from Stormblood.  Finally we wrap things up with a discussion about Warhammer 40,000 and how they seem to have finally decided to move the story forward.

Topics Discussed

  • Sealed Hour of Devastation
  • Magic the Gathering
  • Open World Warframe
  • Final Fantasy XII
  • Final Fantasy XIV
  • 40k Moving the Story Forward
Direct download: aggrochat_episode165.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:15am EDT

Tonight we talk about a bunch of assorted topics.  Firstly we talk about the issues with leveling second jobs in Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood.  We reprise our discussion about how they should have introduced a new tank this expansion.  We talk a bit about the new raid Omega and why we generally think it's better than Alexander was.  From there we get into a discussion about phones and mobile gaming, and the game Grace is currently playing where you collect interesting fish with hats.  We venture forth into a discussion about the Diablo 3 Necromancer and the upcoming Season 11.  Thalen and Ashgar have been hanging out with space ninjas and we get into a discussion about Warframe.  Finally we go into a lengthy discussion about Warhammer 40,000 and how much the game has improved.

Topics Discussed:

  • FFXIV:  Leveling DPS is Butts
  • Omega Raid
  • Mobile Gaming
  • Diablo 3:  Fun with your dead friends
  • Space Ninjas
  • 40k gets good
  • Amonkhet - Nicol Bolas
Direct download: aggrochat_episode164.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:26am EDT

SubNautica was the June AggroChat Game Club game and this one happened to be Grace’s pick.  It is an extremely unique member of the survival / builder genre of games and ends up doing a lot more than simply focusing on combat with crappy weapons.  Join us as we talk about the things we liked and the things that frustrated us.  We had a smattering of different opinions which generally leads to good discussion.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode163.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:14am EDT

This week we totally lied to our listeners because for various reasons we chose not to record the subnautica game of the month show.  There was a significant patch in that game this week and we wanted to give time to experience the changes.  Also we had a lot of things we wanted to talk about with Stormblood since we have now played a significant amount of it, with at least one of us having hit the level cap.  We also talk about The Secret World legends and their “launch” this past Friday.  We wrap things up with a discussion of Warhammer 40,000 and the redesign of the ruleset, in which Tam actually has some good things to say about it.  We also get into a lengthy discussion of 40k things that have disappeared…  like Zoats and Squats.

Things Discussed

  • Final Fantasy XIV - Stormblood
  • Secret World Legends
  • Steam Summer Sale
  • Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition
Direct download: aggrochat_episode162.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:57am EDT

This week we talk about our early experiences with the Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood head start and the numerous technical difficulties.  We talk about our feelings regarding the Red Mage and Samurai so far.  We also delve into the E3 2017 conferences:  Microsoft, Devolver Digital, Bethesda, Sony, Nintendo and UbiSoft.  We highlight a whole bunch of games, too many to list in a blurb.  Of these one of the more important ones was the discussion around Beyond Good and Evil 2 and how Ubisoft had claimed they would not be showing it.  Finally Ashgar talks about his experiences playing Disgaea 5 on the Nintendo Switch.

Topics Discussed

  • Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood
  • E3 2017 Conferences
  • Microsoft
  • Devolver
  • Bethesda
  • Sony
  • Nintendo
  • UbiSoft
  • Games, Comic Books and Continuity
  • Disgaea 5
Direct download: aggrochat_episode161.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 1:25am EDT

This week ushers in the return of Tam who has been in world traveller mode.  We begin the show with talk about the madness that is the RoboSquid Armada… or our attempt to bring back the challenge to low level World of Warcraft by restricting ourselves to green gear and attempting dungeons at the minimum level.  From there we delve into a discussion of the Electronic Arts E3 press conference and how they are bringing roleplaying to sports games.  Also discuss the forced two player prison escape experience of A Way Out, and the huge tease that was the Anthem “reveal”.  Since Tam has been on the road he has been playing a lot of Fire Emblem so we delve into a length discussion about that franchise specifically.  Finally Ashgar and Kodra have been playing Hollow Knight so we do a bit of a dive into why they feel it is the best metroidvania out there.

Topics Discussed

  • RoboSquid Armada
  • Making Warcraft a Challenge
  • EA E3 Press Conference
    • Star Wars Battlefront II
    • A Way Out - from Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
    • Roleplaying in Sports Games
      • NBA Live 18 - The One
      • Madden NFL 18 - Longshot
      • FIFA 18 - The Journey
    • Need for Speed Payback
    • Anthem
  • Fire Emblem
  • Hollow Knight
Direct download: aggrochat_episode160.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:43am EDT

This week we once again have Grace as a medical issue has kept her away a few weeks.  Tonight we have a relatively short show, at least as far as AggroChat shows go.  Thalen has reached the point where he is doing The Taken King and talks about the shock that happened when suddenly Cayde-6 developed a personality…  and is in fact Robot Mal.  We get on a tagent talking about the changings coming soon in Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood, and our thoughts about what might be tweaked during the expansion.  Grace and Bel talk a bit about their recent alt madness in World of Warcraft, and specifically how Bel has leveled and geared a character in a single week.  Kodra talks a bit about Elder Scrolls Legends and why he likes it much better than Hearthstone.  Finally we talk a little bit about the recent phone game craze that is Magikarp Jump.

 

Topics Discussed:

  • Destiny: Personality Changes in Taken King
  • Stormblood Changes
  • World of Warcraft
  • Deathknight Madness
  • Elder Scrolls Legends
  • Magikarp Jump
Direct download: aggrochat_episode159.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:52am EDT

Tonight we sit down to talk about our May game of the month…  Wolfenstein Enemy Territory.  This was Kodra’s pick but in truth Belghast also has been a huge fan of this game since playing through it at release.  We talk about how this game operates on two different levels for two slightly different audiences.  We also attempt to dive into some of the symbolism and subtleties lying just beneath the surface.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode158.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:49am EDT

Last week we screwed up a bit in that we completely missed a topic.  Kodra has been drafting an awful lot of Amonkhet via Magic Online, so this week we talk at length about that.  We also talk at length about Destiny and the Destiny 2 gameplay reveal information.  Belghast talks about his feels and how much he loves the game, and Tamrielo provides the dissenting view of how hard he bounced off of it and how he wanted more than gunplay and occasional space magic.  Regardless we all seem to have a certain measure of hope about the Destiny 2 launch.  We talk a bit about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the slightly increased availability of the Nintendo Switch.  Finally we discuss Fire Emblem and Disgaea and the weird world that they are.

Topics Discussed: Magic the Gathering, Magic Online, Drafting Amonkhet, The Game Room, Destiny, Destiny 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Nintendo Switch, Fire Emblem, Disgaea

Direct download: aggrochat_episode157.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:24am EDT

Since this will be releasing on Mother's Day, the crew wants to wish all of the mothers that listen to the podcast a very happy one.  After a few slim weeks we once again had the full crew, which is always something to be celebrated.  I find it funny how when we have what feels like a limited amount of things to talk about, it also seems like we delve into some of the more interesting discussions.  The shows title this time comes from a game breaking bug that was introduced recently in Stellaris.  We talk a bit about Bel’s experiences starting Knights of the Fallen Empire, and this leads into an interesting talk about our thoughts regarding sequels and whether or not we want the previous cast of characters to continue.  We also talk about concerns regarding the Diablo 3 Necromancer expansion, and that ultimately leads to some discussion about Destiny 2 and the currently lack of a PC pre-order option.

Topics Discussed:  Stellaris - Knights of the Fallen Empire - Star Wars Galaxies - Sequels and Continuing with Characters - Replayability - Fallen London - Infinity - Diablo 3 - Playing Catch up in WoW - Diablo 3 Necromancer Expansion - Destiny 2

Direct download: aggrochat_episode156.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 7:33am EDT

This week we dig more into Horizon Zero Dawn… or as it was called early in the show Aloy’s Adventures in Men Are Terrible Land.  Tam is nearing the end of the game, and Belghast and Kodra have made it a bit further… or at least enough to be able to talk about some of the things going on in the game.  Bel has fallen into a rather large Star Wars the Old Republic shaped hole and talks about his experiences with the new systems… and insane experience boost.  Grace has been playing a lot of World of Warcraft and we talk about how playing that game when you really don’t care about progression can be an extremely relaxing time.  Bel talks a little bit about Prey, or the game where you bash things with a wrench just in case they are a mimic.  Kodra has been doing some drafting of the new Amonkhet set in Magic the Gathering Online.  Finally we get into a discussion about our recent foray into Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode155.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:37am EDT

Tonight we talk about our April AggroChat Game Club Game…  Moon Hunters.  This was an Ashgar pick, and bills itself as a Co-Op Personality Test.  We talk about whether or not this title actually is fitting as well as our experiences playing a game designed to be replayed over and over.  We discuss the storytelling, artwork and music of the game and our general thoughts and feelings about the experience.  Additionally we announce the May AggroChat Game Club Game that is definitely going to provide some interesting discussion.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode154.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:16am EDT

One of the things that gets edited down before you get your hands on the podcast is any long gaps between topics.  This week we were seemingly a little bit out of it, and the pauses were significant.  When I sat down to start editing I had 2 hours and 15 minutes worth of recorded audio, and after doing my normal compression pass…  we are down to just a little over 1 hour and 30 minutes.  The result was a pretty wide gamut of topics that we discussed, and between the pauses some of the more interesting conversation about a few things that we had never quite delved into.  Among the topics a lengthy discussion about what is wrong with Warhammer games as a whole, and our fears regarding what is absolutely going to be a crushing tank shortage with Stormblood.

Topics Discussed:  

  • Star Wars the Old Republic
  • Skyforge PC
  • Bomberman Creepy Characters
  • Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap
  • Hollow Knight
  • Eternal Crusade
  • Warhammer 40,000
  • Games Workshop
  • Pips are Important
  • People Don’t Understand NDAs
  • Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood
  • Tank Shortage
  • Dark Souls III
  • Variable Difficulty in Games
  • Persona 5
Direct download: aggrochat_episode153.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:21am EDT

Tonight we talk about a whole list of topics in probably one of our more packed shows in a very long time.  Tam talks some more about how Persona 5 it is a serious contender for his game of the year… and his current soundtrack addiction.  Kodra shares his final thoughts about Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and how he enjoyed it… but not nearly as  much as he had hoped.  Belghast talks about Mass Effect Andromeda and his thoughts upon completing it in as non-spoilery as he possibly can.  We talk about the cancelling of the NES Classic, and how Nintendo sometimes seems like it doesn’t like money.  We talk about the Skyforge and the release on consoles and how they have improved the game since launch.  We talk about what we know about The Secret World Legends… and our hopes that it makes that game into one that we want to return to in A Realm Reborn style.  Kodra talks about the new Magic the Gathering Amonkhet card set release, and finally Thalen talks about the brand new Netflix Mystery Science Theater 3000 series.

Topics Discussed: Persona 5 - Zelda Breath of the Wild Final Thoughts - Skyward Sword - Mass Effect Andromeda Final Thoughts - Nintendo Doesn’t Like Money - Skyforge on Console - The Secret World Legends - Magic the Gathering Amonkhet - Mystery Science Theater 3000

Direct download: aggrochat_episode152.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:56am EDT

Tonight a very sleepy Belghast leads our cast through a discussion of the things that have been sitting waiting to be discussed due to last week being a Game of the Month show.  The year of amazing video game releases continues and Tam especially is extremely amped to talk about Persona 5.  In a weird turn of events Kodra discovers Castlevania Symphony of the Night in looking for things to play on his PSTV and we dive into a length discussion about that game.  We continue on our discussion about Zelda Breath of the Wild and how Tam is just struggling with it.  Belghast and Tam gush a bit about the Nintendo Switch given that Bel just recently joined the Cult by getting one from Amazon during their extremely brief window of availability.  We talk about Specter of Torment the latest addon pack to Shovel Knight, and how it is doing a bunch of different things than either the Shovel or Plague Knight content.  Grace and Bel talk a bit about the Diablo 3 10th Season and how they are desperate for new content… but still finding a lot of fun in the game.  Finally there is some discussion about the World of Warcraft 7.2 patch and how both Grace and Belghast have largely bounced off of it so far.

Topics Discussed: Persona 5 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild - Nintendo Switch - Specter of Torment - Diablo 3 Season - World of Warcraft 7.2 Patch

Direct download: aggrochat_episode151.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:40am EDT

Tonight we record the show our March AggroChat Game Club game Tyranny.  For those uninitiated to the game, it is a deeply story driven RPG in the proud PC tradition of Baldur’s Gate or more truthfully Planescape Torment.  Six of us played the game… and six of us played a vastly different game experience. Tyranny after all was one of our games we talked about during the Games of the Year show, and for several of our cast they chose to do a second play-through for the show.  Join us as we hash out our thoughts about this truly interesting game.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode150.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:13am EDT

Sometimes we go into a show not really having a clue what to talk about.  This was one of those shows because over the last week the combined six member cast of AggroChat was not really playing that much game wise.  However as is usually the case when we have no fixed topic… a whole bunch of them come out of the woodwork.  Join us as we go through a bit of a topical whirlwind as we have the same exact sort of conversations we have when we are not recording.  Side Note:  At the request of the rest of the staff and several listeners... Bel has re-recorded the intro with less potato quality sound.  It only took 149 episodes to actually do this.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode149.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:28am EDT

We hurt the ones we love.  This week we realize while talking about Zelda that when we talk about games on AggroChat we tend to often times dwell on the negative aspects.  This has been true with FFXIV and World of Warcraft, and apparently also extremely true with Zelda.  Last week I was the only one who had spent any time in Hyrule and this week both Kodra and Tam have as well.  We get off on some odd tangents during the night, like a discussion at the start of the show about Gas Station Food.  Largely however we talk Zelda, the Switch, and Amiibos.  We also have some final thoughts discussion about Horizon Zero Dawn and Final Fantasy XV in a non-spoilery manner.  We talk a bit about the upcoming Mass Effect Andromeda and our experiences with the limited time trial version of the game.

Topics Discussed: Gas Station Food - Zelda Breath of the Wild - Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Wii U - Amiibos - Horizon Zero Dawn Final Thoughts - Mass Effect Andromeda - Final Fantasy XV Thoughts

Direct download: aggrochat_episode148.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:27am EDT

It always feels like we have a bunch of stuff to talk about the week after we record a game club show.  This time is no difference given that a bunch of games released in the meantime…  namely Horizon Zero Dawn and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.  Grace has fallen into a deep Horizon shaped hole and various others have been playing it off and on as well.  We talk about how the game is really good at making you feel competent.  Similarly Belghast has been playing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild… and talks about how that game is coming from a vastly different philosophy and is in turn good at making you feel weak and insignificant.  We talk about our recent indoctrination into the world of Gundam building, and finish off the show with some Mario Maker discussion and namely Kaizo style level design.

Topics Discussed: Mass Effect: Andromeda - Horizon Zero Dawn - Zelda Breath of the Wild - Competing Philosophy of Both Games - Building Gundams - Mario Maker - Kaizo Mario

Direct download: aggrochat_episode147.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 11:04am EDT

Tonight we record probably our most odd AggroChat Game Club show.  Namely because essentially we divided the show into two part.  The first part is general impressions about the game and the second half is full spoiler discussion of the story.  The reason why we drew this line in the sand… is because while Ashgar, Kodra and Tam finished the game, Belghast, Grace and Thalen are still very much enjoying the game at their own pace.  In the end this was a game that was very different for each person playing it.  So join us as we hash out our thoughts.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode146.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:13am EDT

Tonight we have another big rambly show where we start out having zero clue what we are going to talk about… and then wind up recording for a couple hours.  Edited down the show ends up being roughly another hour and a half experience.  Tonight we talk at length about our addiction to Final Fantasy XIV and the Palace of the Dead.  Grace and I talk a bit about the blah feeling this latest patch cycle has given us in World of Warcraft.  Bel talk about getting into the Crowfall pre-alpha and how it is in fact a piece of software that he installed on his system and does in fact launch.  We talk a bit a bit about the weird City of Heroes nostalgia game wave and how there really is only room for one of those titles in the market.  We also talk about the drought of MMOs on the horizon and how instead it seems to be the Golden Age of expansions for existing games.  Bel gives an update on the gaming at work thing, and his first steps into God Eater.  Finally we have a weird offshoot into talking about building Gundams before wrapping things up.

Topics Discussed: Final Fantasy XIV - World of Warcraft Blahs - Crowfall Disappointment - City of Heroes nostalgia - Drought of New MMOs - Golden Age of Expansions - Elder Scrolls Online - Work Gaming Space - God Eater - Gundam Kits

Direct download: aggrochat_episode145.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:20am EDT

AggroChat #144 - Why Doma Fell

Tonight we assembled and thought we had nothing to talk about… but apparently we were super wrong.  As is usually the case with us when we think we have nothing… we wind up recording a two hour show.  While it doesn’t weigh in quite that long this week, it still is a pretty lengthy discussion about stuff and things… and sometimes gaming.  We apparently have an awful lot to say about Final Fantasy XIV and the fact that Stormblood brings no new tanks into the fold.  We also talk a bit about how tank design seems to always fit within the same small box and how they might benefit from branching out a bit.  After this bulk of the discussion we weave through a whole bunch of other topics.


Topics: Final Fantasy XIV Alexander Raid, Fanfest Announcements, The Tank Shortage, Darkness Myth: Cthulhu Otome, Work Console, Shantae, Humble Freedom Bundle, Vampire Campaign

Direct download: aggrochat_episode144.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 11:26am EDT

AggroChat #143 - Samurai Souls

We are back to normal… at least for a little while.  This is the first traditional show we have recorded in three weeks and it felt a little odd to get back in the swing of things.  Tonight we talk about Pax South and the games that Ashgar and Belghast played while there.  We talk about our recent flare up of Final Fantasy XIV and getting back in the swing of things.  Tam and Kodra talk about Samurai Souls…  or Nioh on the PS4 and see how well Team Ninja did at the concept.  Finally we talk a bit about Titanfall 2 and how it improves on the concept of the original.

Topics Discussed:  Pax South 2017, Rime, Dauntless, Dice Throne, Wicked Apples, Mages of Mystralia, Think of the Children, Tower 57, Final Fantasy XIV, Nioh, Titanfall 2

Direct download: aggrochat_episode143.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:38am EDT

AggroChat #142 - The Danganronpa Show

Tonight we talk about the January AggroChat Game Club game Danganronpa.  This game was Thalen's pick and we delve into what exactly we think of truth bullets and the sadistic bear.  Of note like most of our Game Club shows there are massive spoilers.  Also of note...  we have massively mixed emotions about this title.  However if you yourself are a huge fan, we would love to hear from you.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode142.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:09am EDT

AggroChat #141 - Games of the Year 2016 - Part Two

It is that time again.  Time for the AggroChat crew to attempt to narrow down a list of games for our Games of the Year show.  We have never actually been able to reach a consensus so instead we gather up a big ole list of games and talk about it each year as in a two part show. So six hosts… 3 picks per host… 18 games in total, or at least in theory that is the goal.  This time around it seems to have mostly worked out as we have 9 games per episode.

During this second episode we visit our roman numeral friends talk about…

  • Pokemon Go
  • Dark Souls III
  • Overwatch
  • Stardew Valley
  • Stellaris
  • Tyranny
  • Final Fantasy XV
  • The Witness
  • Skyrim Special Edition
Direct download: aggrochat_episode141.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

AggroChat #140 - Games of the Year 2016 - Part One

It is that time again.  Time for the AggroChat crew to attempt to narrow down a list of games for our Games of the Year show.  We have never actually been able to reach a consensus so instead we gather up a big ole list of games and talk about it each year as in a two part show. So six hosts… 3 picks per host… 18 games in total, or at least in theory that is the goal.  This time around it seems to have mostly worked out as we have 9 games per episode.

During this first episode we use up our quota of colons and talk about…

  • Pokemon Sun and Moon
  • Dishonored 2
  • Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
  • Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
  • Destiny: Rise of Iron
  • World of Warcraft: Legion
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
  • Ratchet and Clank
  • 80 Days
Direct download: aggrochat_episode140.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 12:07pm EDT

AggroChat #139 - It’s Raining Bears

Tonight we talk about our general feelings about the Nintendo Switch and how for most of us it is not in the realm of the day one purchase.  We talk about our track records with Nintendo Consoles in general as well.  Belghast talks about the game formerly known as “Game 4” and now called Pit People from The Behmoth.  Tam talks about Event[0] an alternate history game as told through the terminal screen of a Trash 80.  Bel talks a bit about his experiences with the Wrath of the Machine raid and the Outbreak Prime quest.  Finally we all get wrapped up in a sequence of discussions about MMO games…  namely how they are bad at directing new players to new content.  This then spawns a conversation about the trend of open world games also for some reason forcing open world pvp.  Lastly we get into a discussion about our general desires for MMO housing systems.

Topics: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Consoles, Pit People, Event[0], Destiny Wrath of the Machine Raid, MMOs are Bad at Returning Players, Forcing PVP in otherwise PVE games, MMO Housing Systems

Direct download: aggrochat_episode139.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:12am EDT

AggroChat #138 - The Hipster Mushroom

Welcome to the beginning of AggroChat Season 4!  This evening we are back to recording normal shows…  and man does it feel weird.  At first we thought we would be short a Kodra, but got an 11th hour message from him stating “I NEEDS TO PODCAST”.  Of note he is on unfamiliar internets and a machine that he does not regularly record on… so the sound quality is a little iffy at times.  Tonight we delve into a huge list of topics that hit all around the map of the things folks have been playing.

Some of the things discussed: Diablo Anniversary Events, Diablo 3 Season 9 Start, Wildstar, Elder Scrolls Online Housing, Death of Landmark, Fears for Lord of the Rings Online, MMO Maintenance Mode, Inside, Owlboy, Ducktales, Super Mario Brothers Games, Shadow Tactics, Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne, Superhot, Glittermitten Grove, Frog Fractions 2

Direct download: aggrochat_episode138.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 12:17pm EDT

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