Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Thalen

Hey Folks!  We are down a handful of folks but continue pushing forward.  We start off with talking about a world where Arcades did not die out…  aka Japan and what the 2020 Covid crisis did to them.  This leads to a discussion about playing DDR and similar rhythm games at home.  From there Bel talks about the upcoming update to Last Epoch where they are doing a mid cycle reset and some of the reasons why this is happening.  Ammo talks about her experiences returning to Guild Wars 2 and Bel shares his frustrations about how obtuse the achievement system is when it comes to trying to find the major unlocks and legendary crafts.  Bel also questions whether or not Twitch Drops work, to which Kodra refutes with his personal experience.  Lastly, we talk a bit about Visions of Mana the fifth official game in the Mana Series.

Topics Discussed:

• 2020 and Japanese Arcades

• Playing DDR At Home

• Guild Wars 2

• Ammo’s return to the game

• Obtuse System Unlocks

• Do Twitch Drops Work?

• Visions of Mana

Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks!  We actually finally get around to having the Age of Sigmar discussion, and more specifically talk at length about Warhammer Fantasy and the new Spearhead game mode which feels a bit like a Magic the Gathering Format.  From there Kodra talks about his recent experience attending the Dragonflight Convention in the Seattle Area for the first time.  Related to that he talks about his experiences playing Starfinder 2.0.  Tam has made it further into Fallout London and shares some more thoughts about it, and Bel dives into his non-spoiler thoughts about the Janthir Wilds expansion for Guild Wars 2.  Lastly Kodra talks a bit more about Mice and Mystics.

Topics Discussed:

• Age of Sigmar 4.0

• Spearhead Format

• Dragonflight Con

• Starfinder 2

• Fallout London

• Guild Wars 2 Janthir Wilds

• Early Thoughts

• Mice and Mystics

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks!  After taking a week off from it, we are returning to our Dawntrail full spoiler show.  This week we say hi to Tam and Kodra…  before they boop out of the show given that neither has actually played FFXIV recently.  We pick up where we left off with the coronation of the new Dawn Servant and then dive into all of the “things” that happen after that.  We also talk a bit about the story surrounding the first raid of the expansion in the Arcadion. 

Topics Discussed:

• Dawn Servant Coronation

• Visiting Texico

• Some Things Happen

• Some Even Weirder Things Happen

• The Arcadion

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we are taking a break from the Dawntrail topic because Ammo was not available.  As a result we dive into a normal topic load starting with Grace talking about their experience playing Diablo IV Season 5.  From there we dive into a mega topic of Kodra and his recent trip to GenCon.  He talks about True Dungeon, Various Assorted LARPs, and some of the cool stuff from the convention floor.  We also dive into a discussion about how a convention reforms its reputation as being the D&D convention into something more open and welcoming. From there we realize that the Age of Sigmar topic is going to get bumped again…  but end up also having a bit of a pre-discussion.  Finally, we wrap things up with the charming indie game Thank Goodness You’re Here.

Topics Discussed:

• Diablo IV Season 5

• Season of Infernal Hordes

• Adventures in Gencon

• True Dungeon

• Various LARPs

• How does a convention reform its reputation?

• Age of Sigmar Pre-Discussion

• The topic that keeps getting bumped

• Thank Goodness You’re Here

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Thalen

Hey Folks!  For years we have had this tradition of recording a full spoiler show once all of the folks who are actively playing Final Fantasy XIV have completed the content.  We knew this would be an epic undertaking given that we never got around to recording a post-Endwalker show.  This is absolutely going to at a minimum be two shows…  maybe three depending upon how well the next show goes.  We used to record these epic five hour long shows that I edited down into chunks…  but have thankfully since wised up to just splitting them between several weeks.  This week we cover everything that happens after the Endwalker MSQ credit roll until just before the halfway point of Dawntrail.  Be warned, this is a full spoiler discussion as we recount the tale and talk about various details in depth along the way.

Topics Discussed:

• Post Endwalker Content

• Estinien is Bad with Money

• Once More to the Thirteenth

• An Unlikely Mentorship

• The Journey of the Dawnservant

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

This week we dive into the brand new Path of Exile league as we assist the Settlers of Kalguur.  We talk about our experiences with the exceptionally detailed league mechanic so far.  Tam contrasts his experience with this league with his experience playing Last Epoch. We talk a bit about our league starts and how the progress is going in both games.  From there we talk a bit about the Fallout London total conversion mod for Fallout 4.  Lastly we talk a little bit about Zenless Zone Zero the latest hoyoverse title.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile

• Settlers of Kalguur League

• Shipping Mechanics

• League Starts

• Last Epoch

• Fallout London for Fallout 4

• Zenless Zone Zero

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Good Morning Folks!  I am going to give you fair warning…  this is a very Path of Exile episode.  We pushed that topic to the very end of the show but once you hit it… it is pretty much an hour of talk about the upcoming Settlers of Kalguur League.  We start off the show with some discussion about Last Epoch and the most recent market crash that banned exploiters…  but left all the gold in the bloated market economy.  From there we dive into Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail and talk about the new Arcadion Raid.  We then talk a bit more about Bel and Grace’s adventures in alting as they finish ARR and start into Heavensward.  Finally we do a dive into the massive meta breaking changes coming with the Settlers of Kalgurr league in Path of Exile which drops on the 26th.

Topics Discussed:

• Last Epoch

• Market Crash

• Final Fantasy XIV

• Arcadion Raid

• Further Alt Adventures 

• Starting Heavensward Again

• Path of Exile

• Settlers of Kalguur

• The Patch Notes

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back in fighting form with the entire crew.  We start off discussing SGDQ or Summer Games Done Quick a massive speedrunning community event.  From there we talk a bit about the Path of Exile 3.25 Settlers of Kalgur spoilers and some of the changes that are being made.  Then we roll into Last Epoch Cycle 2 which has so many amazing gameplay and polish improvements.  Lastly Bel and Grace talk about their nonsense mission to replay all of the FFXIV content and some of the experiences from running old content with perfect understanding of where the game story is going.  Bel has traditionally played a Lalafell and Grace a pretty dedicated Roegadamme…  and they have dared each other to swap races.  Last night after the show that happened and the show card shows the end results.  Lastly, Bel talks a bit about Blaugust which is coming up in a few weeks.

Topics Discussed:

• SGDQ

• Path of Exile 3.25 Spoilers

• Last Epoch Cycle 2

• So many improvements

• Amazingly polished experience

• Revisiting FFXIV A Realm Reborn

• Redoing Old Content with Full Understanding of the 10-Year Story Arc

• The Fantasia Dare

Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Last night we recorded a show in which we attempted to thread the most delicate needle.  Ammo, Bel, Grace, and Thalen have all finished the Dawntrail MSQ and only really want to talk about that.  Tam however has not even started it, nor has he finished any of the post-Endwalker content.  So we play this game of minesweeper where we attempt to talk about our thoughts and feelings about Dawntrail…  without actually revealing any meaningful information about the expansion.  Bel and Grace also talk about their experiences restarting the game with fresh alts on Kraken a brand new server where everyone is a sprout.  It’s hopefully a fun show and one where we don’t actually spoil anything.  Though we are absolutely looking forward to our full spoiler show at some point in hopefully the near future.

Topics Discussed:

• Talking about Dawntrail without Talking about Dawntrail

• Rerolling fresh alts on Kraken.

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back to a full crew this week. We start off with a discussion about Fallen Aces which leads into a larger discussion of games that feel like spiritual successors to other games. From there we talk about Kodra’s experiences with Origins and taking his kiddo to at least part of it.  We revisit the Nintendo Direct discussion from last week with a few things that Kodra specifically wanted to talk about.  Tam has returned to Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis and how it now has way more content than someone can actually do.  We wrap up the show with some initial discussion of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail which feels like a love letter to South America.

Topics Discussed:

• Fallen Aces

• Spiritual Successor Games

• Origins with a Kid

• Nintendo Direct Revisited

• MIO

• Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis 

• Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

• Our Initial Non-Spoiler Thoughts

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We are down essentially half our folks and as a result we have a bit shorter show than our normal fare.  We start off with some discussion about Grace’s return to Final Fantasy XIV and how Bel “influenced” them into coming back.  From there we talk a bit about Four Job Fiesta and how the White Mage start is REALLY rough.  We dive into Nova Drift and talk about its roguelike take on Asteroids or Geometry Wars. Tam talks about his love of arcade racers and talks about playing the 2012 Need for Speed: Most Wanted and then Ash and Bel try and sell him on Forza Horizon.  Tam also talks about What the Car…  which is also loosely a “car game” but not really.  Then we try and wrap up the show and suddenly remember that a Nintendo Direct happened and talk about some of the games showed off.

Topics Discussed:

• Bel Lures Grace back to FFXIV

• Speedrunning a Post Expansion

• Four Job Fiesta in Final Fantasy V

• White Mage Start is Awful

• Nova Drift

• Need for Speed: Most Wanted

• What the Car

• Nintendo Direct

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Kodra

Hey Folks! We are down a few folks who are travelling this week.  Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.  We start off with Bel talking about the recent controversies surrounding New World Aeternum and the general marketing self-own of that announcement and seemingly ignoring the current player base.  We roll into a discussion about Steam Next Fest and a few games we have played, namely: Flintlock, Dungeon Clawler, and Beastie Ball.  From there we talk a bit about Guild Wars 2 releasing information about the new spear attacks for three more jobs and how fun some of the general off meta weapons can be.  Bel talks about getting his confidence back and tanking once more for the first time in a few years in Final Fantasy XIV.  Ash and Kodra talk about their recent experiences playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon as a Tabletop Roleplaying Game.  Finally, we talk a bit about the influx of monster collection games including some more discussion about Beastie Ball.

Topics Discussed:

• New World Aeternum

• Marketing Self-Own

• Steam Next Fest

• Flintlock Siege at Dawn

• Dungeon Clawler

• Beastie Ball

• Guild Wars 2

• More Spears Released

• Fun with Off Meta Weapons

• Final Fantasy XIV

• Bel Got His Groove Back

• PokeRole

• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon as TTRPG

• Monster Collection Games

• More Beastie Ball

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Bel crash lands the introduction by completely managing to skip over Thalen.  We have a pretty packed show as several things got bumped from the previous show. We start off the show with some discussion of Luck Be A Landlord, a game that was compared to Balatro.  From there we talk a bit about Summer Games Fest, admittedly in a disjointed manner while also talking about the Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail Media Tour Embargo lifting.  Bel has now wrapped up the Post Endwalker content ans is significantly more excited for Dawntrail.  Grace talks about the Alan Wake II DLC and her experiences so far with Number One Fan.  Tam talks about Star Trek Resurgence.  Collectively we talk about some One Shot TTRPG Ideas, and Kodra shares some thoughts about Dropout TV.  Finally we talk a bit about Kodra’s experiences with the Kitsune Tails Demo on Steam.

Topics Discussed:

• Luck Be A Landlord

• Summer Games Fest

• FFXIV Dawntrail Media Tour

• Bel Wraps up Post-Endwalker

• Alan Wake II DLC

• Number One Fan

• Star Trek Resurgence

• RPG One Shots

• Dropout TV

• Kitsune Tails Demo

Featuring:  Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Apologies for another missed show last week but Bel very narrowly missed some Twisty Weather. This week we start off the show with a discussion of Grace’s recent experiences in Diablo IV and how the game has changed for the better. From there we talk about Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail and how a number of us are on the fence about playing it.  Ammo shares her thoughts about the expansion.  Bel talks about his recent experience with Pandaria Remix and how it has jarred him out of his stupor when it comes to forming groups and playing with other human beings.  Bel also shares some of the recent happenings with the Frogger incident.  Tam discusses his dive into Warhammer Orks and how they are maybe the best that game has to offer in the vibes department.  We close out the show with some discussion about a weirdly good Random PVP mode in AFK Journey.

Topics Discussed:

• Grace’s experiences with Diablo IV

• AmmosArt Explains FFXIV Dawntrail

• World of Warcraft Pandaria Remix

• The Frogger Incident

• Orks are the best of Warhammer

• Random PVP Mode in AFK Journey

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start off the show talking about some of the recent updates to Pathfinder adding a number of player background options including build your own animal race.  Kodra talks about his experience finishing up Animal Well, and Ash talks about playing a game that mimics raiding in Final Fantasy XIV called Rabbit & Steel.  Bel shares his thoughts so far about Diablo IV Season 4, where they gave up on whatever the original vision was and just made the ARPG people expected them to make.  This ends up in a side conversation about how breaking an implied promise and removing content from your game is very hard to pull off.  We talk about still being bitter about Cataclysm and Destiny 2.

Topics Discussed:

• Pathfinder Animal Options

• Animal Well Finished

• Rabbit & Steel

• FFXIV Bullethell Raid Simulator

• Diablo 4 Season 4

• They decided to make the game folks wanted

• Changing Content is REALLY hard

• Cataclysm Blowing up the World

• Destiny Deleting Content

Featuring: Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We have a pretty big show which is surprising given we are down a few folks.  Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there who might be listening to this show.  We start talking about Bluey Surprise! Episode, and then dive into Kodra’s thoughts about Guild Wars 2 Season 1.  Bel talks a bit about why the Fallout series works but the Witcher series did not after the first season. Grace talks about Wylde Flowers a witchy queer farming sim and Thalen his experiences with Little Kitty Big City.  Kodra shares his thoughts about the platformer Metroidvania Animal Well and Tam about the massive changes with Star Citizen 3.23. Lastly, Bel talks a bit about beating “The Feared” in Path of Exile on a non-bossing character.

Topics Discussed:

• Bluey the “Surprise!” episode

• Guild Wars 2 Living Season 1

• Why Fallout Series Works by Witcher Does Not

• Wylde Flowers

• Little Kitty Big City

• Animal Well

• Star Citizen 3.23

• Virtual Tabletops

• Bel Beats “The Feared”

Featuring: Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We have a bit of a “Smol” show at least when it comes to cast.  Last week we had to take that off because Bel was in “duck and cover” mode do to the storm system tearing through the center of the country and producing over one hundred Tornados.  This week we had a bunch of folks with other commitments leaving it with just Bel, Kodra, and Tam.  We talk a bit about the Helldivers Review Bomb, Angry Tarkov Players, and a now-fixed outrageous bug in Path of Exile that allowed for 18 linking a skill. From there we dive into some of Tam’s recent experiences in trying to get Fallout New Vegas up and running and how like Bel said a few weeks back…  the games really still hold up well once you get past the technical limitations. Kodra gives a bit of a round-up of Metroidvania titles that he has been playing recently and then talks a bit about considering Strawberry Jam “done” after beating the Expert Lobby Yellows.

Topics Discussed

• Helldivers Review Bomb

• Path of Exile Ridiculous Socket Bug

• The Effort of installing Fallout New Vegas

• Older Fallout Games Still Hold Up

• Fallout New California TCM

• Metroidvania Roundup

• Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights

• Tales of Kenzera: ZAU

• TEVI

• Celeste Strawberry Jam

•  Expert Lobby Yellows Completed

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We had a bit of a cursed show…  Tam lost power and was essentially knocked out of the rest of the show and then Ash disconnects as well and takes a bit to get back in.  We push through however as we always do.  Bel talks about returning to Fallout 76 and all of the cool changes that have been put in since he last played.  Thalen talks about Open Source Star Control 2 aka Free Stars.  Ash continues his journey into Roguelikes talking about Anomaly Collapse and Inkbound.  Thalen and Kodra share their thoughts about The Sign, the latest episode of Bluey, and Grace shares their thoughts about AFK Journey.  Finally, Bel talks a bit about the recent market crash in the Path of Exile Necropolis league, making many chase items more accessible.

Topics Discussed:

• Steamdeck Modification Adventures

• Returning to Fallout 76

• Open Source Star Control

• Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters

• Roguelike Rundown Redux

• Anomaly Collapse

•  Inkbound

• The Sign Bluey Episode

• AFK Journey

• Necropolis Market Crash

Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! On April 13th of 2014, we recorded the very first episode of AggroChat so last night the stars aligned just perfectly for us to be recording on our ten-year anniversary.  We start the show by discussing a few different AFK games, namely Gnorp Apologue and AFK Journey.  From there Bel talks a bit about the new Fallout TV Series and how it nails the setting and tone of the game.  Kodra and Thalen talk a bit about the latest Bluey episode Ghostbasket.  Kodra and Tam discuss their experiences playing together in Helldivers 2 and then Kodra and Bel talk some more about the Path of Exile Necropolis League.

Topics Discussed:

• The 10th Anniversary of AggroChat

• The Gnorp Apologue

• AFK Journey

• Fallout TV Series

• Bluey Ghostbasket Episode

• Helldivers 2

• Path of Exile

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we are down a Kodra and a Grace but carry on with a short list of topics.  First, we talk some more about playing Secrets of Grindea in its final form.  Tam has ventured forth into Helldivers 2 and talks a bit about what makes the gameplay so infectious.  Thalen introduces us further into Chants of Sennaar a game that he has decided is the spiritual successor to Loom. Bel is amazed at what a difference a few percentages make as Necropolis League in Path of Exile was saved by a very early patch.  Finally Tam talks about the current event taking place in Star Citizen.

Topics Discussed:

• Secrets of Grindea

• Helldivers 2

• Chants of Sennaar

• Necropolis League Saved

• Star Citizen’s Current Event

Featuring: AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Since this episode will be coming out on Easter, Happy Easter to all who celebrate.  Last night we talked about Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs for that more approachable Gloomhaven experience. We took a trip over to the Switch and discussed Mario vs Donkey Kong and Princess Peach Showtime.  Bel talks a bit about his experiences with World of Warcraft Plunderstorm. Then we dive into a discussion about the Hugo Award Nominees and how hopefully 2024 will be a more reasonable year.  This week the Necropolis League started in Path of Exile and Bel and Kodra talk a bit about their experiences with the league mechanic.  Finally, we wrap things up with some discussion of Age of Sigmar 4.0.

Topics Discussed:

• GloomHaven: Buttons & Bugs

• Mario vs Donkey Kong

• Princess Peach Showtime

• World of Warcraft Plunderstorm

• Hugo Award Nominees for Best Game

• Path of Exile Necropolis League

• Age of Sigmar 4.0

Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Thalen, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! Grace has returned to Stardew Valley and we spent some time discussing some recent changes… including the mayo meme.  From there we talk a bit about Balatro as folks have had a chance to dive into it.  Tam talks about his experiences with Pacific Drive and its unique blend of Car Survival games.  This week was the full reveal stream for Path of Exile Necropolis League and we spent a bit of time talking through some of the significant game system changes.  Finally, we end the show talking about some Last Epoch and the experiences that folks are still having with the game including a bit of a dive down the rabbit hole that is Spellblade.

Topics Discussed:

• Stardew Valley

• Drinkable Mayonnaise Meme

• Balatro

• Pacific Drive

• Path of Exile

• Necropolis League Reveals

• Last Epoch

• Tam and the Spellblade

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks we’re back! Sorry for the week off but we return with a full docket of topics.  We start off with some more discussion of Last Epoch and how everyone is still enjoying the game.  Bel dinged 100 for the first time and we talked a bit about buildcraft and approachability.  From there Bel talks about Dwarven Realms an ARPG of a sort that has gained traction this week amongst some of the streamers that is just “big dumb fun”. From there Ash goes down a list of Roguelikes that he has been enjoying lately namely Astral Ascent, Spiritfall, and Balatro. Tam revisits his topic surrounding the ambitious process of remaking Final Fantasy VII and his thoughts after having played a good deal of the second part.  Finally, Bel uses volatile reversal and brings us back to the topic of Last Epoch and namely the impact it seems to be having on the ARPG genre as a whole.

Topics Discussed:

• Last Epoch

• Bel Dings 100

• Buildcraft Discussion

• Approachability

• Dwarven Realms

• So Dumb So Good

• Roguelike Lightning Round

• Astral Ascent

• Spiritfall

• Balatro

• Final Fantasy VII Remake Thoughts

• Entirely remaking a classic

• The Impact of Last Epoch

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we are back with the whole crew. We start off the show talking about how Secrets of Grindea, a game that we did an early gameclub show about…  has FINALLY launched out of Early Access. From there we talk about Last Epoch some more as Kodra was out last week and has much to say about explosions.  We also discussed building different characters and how the game rewards them.  Bel attempts a Tier list but gets shut down as he is the only one who still prefers Path of Exile. Finally, Tam and Ammo share their early thoughts about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Topics Discussed:

• Secrets of Grindea Launched

• Last Epoch

• Kodra Returns and Has Thoughts

• The joy of building new characters

• Bel’s Tier Ranking Gets Shut Down

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back after taking a break last week due to the limited number of folks available.  This week we start off with a topic that has bounced around a bit on our docket.  Namely, we marvel at just how balanced City of Heroes/City of Villians is and what a pinnacle of system design it really is.  Bel spent a bit of time playing Nightingale now that is available in early access, and talks about the mess of a game that it is.  Finally, we dive into our primary topic this week and talk about the Last Epoch 1.0 launch and how phenomenal the game feels right now despite all of the server-side woes.

Topics Discussed

• City of Heroes/City of Villains

• How is the design so balanced?

• Nightingale

• Not a Bad Game, but Not a Great One Either

• Last Epoch

• The 1.0 Launch Woes

• The Massive Graphical Overhaul

• Why we love the game

• Accessible Design Matters

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we have a sick Bel that is trying to hold on during the show and a very long-distance Kodra, but it all works out in the end.  We start off with some discussion about Marvel reprinting the Godzilla comic run that has been out of print for decades.  From there Bel and Grace talk a bit about some recent experiences with Enshrouded and playing it multiplayer.  Bel also talks a bit about the endgame and its strengths and weaknesses.  From there we talk quite a bit about Last Epoch and the reveal of the Falconer and the upcoming 1.0 release.  We discuss our plans for the first “cycle” and how we seem to all be favoring the magic find faction. Lastly, we get into a discussion about how the spoiler-averse culture that we find ourselves in makes it very hard to discuss narrative games.

Topics Discussed:

• Godzilla Marvel Comic

• Enshrouded

• Some Multiplayer Gameplay

• Discussing the strengths and weaknesses

• Last Epoch

• Falconer Reveal

• Looking forward to 1.0

• Spoiler Aversion

• How it is hard to discuss narrative games

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It has been a few weeks since we recorded a normal show and I think we had a bunch of conversation in us waiting to get out.  As a result, we recorded a bit longer than we should have but that is okay! We talk about Celeste 64 and that sort of gameplay translates to a very Mario 64 inspired game.  From there Kodra shares his experiences with Songs of Conquest a game that is very much a nostalgic continuation of the Heroes of Might and Magic Series.  Bel and Kodra talk about their experiences with the other new survival early access game Enshrouded and how it is shockingly complete, and really just needs polish. From there we dive into the main topic of the show where we discuss City of Heroes and how it is this perfect snapshot of the best of MMORPGs before World of Warcraft changed everything.  Finally, Bel actually completes his four voidstones in Path of Exile and talks about what a difference a dedicated bosser makes.

Topics Discussed:

• Celeste 64

• Songs of Conquest

• Enshrouded

• When Crowd Control Mattered

• City of Heroes

• The World before Warcraft

• No Daily Chores is Refreshing

• What a Difference a Bosser Makes

• Bel Kills POE Bosses

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It is that time again, time for our yearly Games of the Year show. Last year we learned that it was far better to record two weeks in a row instead of creating a marathon three-plus hour long show and cutting it in half.  This week we dive into the second half of the show covering the final eleven games.  These are games that were important to us this year and may or may not have actually been released this calendar year.  A lot of them were, but I just wanted to set the expectations.

This year we did not have a lot of overlap, which is to be expected given that the seven of us have some wildly different tastes. It was a big year and I am sure there are a lot of games that you think might need to be on this list that we did not choose. Hopefully, you enjoy our thoughts all the same.

Games Discussed:

• I Was a Teenage Exocoloist

• Super Mario RPG Remake

• Boltgun

• Star Ocrean 2nd Story R

• Jedi Survivor

• City of Heroes

• Everspace 2

• Alan Wake II

• Super Mario Wonder

• Honkai Star Rail

• Baldur’s Gate III

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It is that time again, time for our yearly Games of the Year show. Last year we learned that it was far better to record two weeks in a row instead of creating a marathon three-plus hour long show and cutting it in half.  So this week I bring you the first part covering fourteen games and for those who have not listened to one of these before…  these are games that were important to us this year and may or may not have actually been released this calendar year.  A lot of them were, but I just wanted to set the expectations.

This year we did not have a lot of overlap, which is to be expected given that the seven of us have some wildly different tastes. It was a big year and I am sure there are a lot of games that you think might need to be on this list that we did not choose. Hopefully, you enjoy our thoughts all the same.

Games Discussed:

• Risk of Rain Returns

• Risk of Rain 2

• Celeste: Strawberry Jam

• Last Epoch

• Path of Exile

• System Shock

• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed

• Hi-Fi Rush

• Dredge

• Dave the Diver

• Armored Core VI

• New World

• Fire Emblem Engage

• Final Fantasy XVI

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Hopefully, everyone is staying warm this week with the big cold snap hitting the center of the country and more specifically impacting Bel and Thalen. This week we start off talking about the Rogue Trader CRPG and how it is doing a pretty solid job of moving the bar forward.  From there we talk a bit about the upcoming Granblue Fantasy Action RPG and how we have been waiting for it since 2017.  In shocking news, we talk about the City of Heroes Homecoming server and how it is officially licensed and we believe it is the first fan run emulator server project to achieve that status. 

Last Epoch is nearing its official 1.0 launch and with it a bunch more information about the Trade system came out this week so we dive into it for a bit and contrast it with our experiences from Path of Exile.  Peglin has released a bunch of updates and we talk a bit more about that phenomenal puzzle combat game.  Thalen shares some information about how Dungeons and Dragons Online is apparently just giving away a ton of content and selling a bunch of mission packs for cheap on top of it.  Tam finishes out the show talking about how it has taken him the better part of a year but he finally understands Star Trek Online.

Topics Discussed:

• Rogue Trader CRPG

• Granblue Fantasy Relink

• City of Heroes

• Last Epoch and Trade System

• More Peglin!

• DDO Giving Content Away

• Understanding Star Trek Online

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Happy New Year! We are back after the holiday break and are delaying our Games of the Year Show until a bit later in the month.  This week we talk about the Dave the Diver Dredge Crossover, Super Mario RPG and Thalen’s child plotting an interesting course through the game, and a return to Monster Hunter World. With Bobby Kotick leaving ActiBlizz, Bel has stepped back into World of Warcraft and talks a bit about his thoughts so far and the inspirations taken from Guild Wars 2.  From there we talk a bit about missing trade league despite how much of a capitalist nightmare it is and how it makes the players focus entirely on short-term gains. Bel talks a bit about how he has shifted his Chieftain into Righteous Fire and how it is a reasonable replacement for RF Juggernaut.  Finally, some breaking news while we are recording…  we talk a bit about the new FFXIV job Pictomancer, and the new limited job Beastmaster.

Topics Discussed:

• Dave the Diver Dredge Crossover

• Super Mario RPG Remake

• Monster Hunter World

• World of Warcraft after 3 Years Away

• Influences from Guild Wars 2

• Path of Exile

• The line goes up, and financialization of everything in another inflation league

• Righteous Fire Chieftain

• Missing Trade League

• Final Fantasy XIV

• New Dawntrail News

• Pictomancer

• Beastmaster

• OrcaCon

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! This is potentially our last show of the year because the next few weeks and the holidays within them…  are going to make it very hard to gather a quorum.  This week we are going to be brutally honest and tell you that if you have no interest in Path of Exile, then this might be a show for your to skip.  While we have a very brief conversation about Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Kodra saving the day and being the big kid rescuing a stranded party, the show is mostly diving into the “Bel League” private league thusfar.  So yeah we talk about Path of Exile for an hour and a half and if that is not your thing, then that is totally cool.

Topics Discussed

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

---- Making Memories, Saving Wiped Teams

Path of Exile

-- Affliction League One Week In

-- How Our Builds are Going

-- What happens when you follow a bait build

---- How much better the game would be with free respecs

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back with everyone and it is weird how long it has been since we have done a full seven-person show!  Tonight we discuss the Game Awards and some of the negative reception surrounding it.  We talked for a bit about the Monarch television show and the larger Legacy Pictures Monsterverse.  Tam talks about The Exit 8 and the liminal weirdness of an ever-shifting train station. Then we dive into the Path of Exile Affliction League and more specifically our private “Bel League” and how that has been going so far.

Topics Discussed

– The Game Awards 2023

– Monarch and the Legacy Pictures Monsterverse

– The Exit 8

– Path of Exile

   \-- Bel League

   \-- Progress so far

  \-- Affliction League Mechanic

Featuring: Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down basically the front half of the alphabet for this show, but the remaining four of us end up recording a deceptively long episode.  Path of Exile revealed the details of the Affliction League and we had an awful lot to say about that.  We talk through one of the biggest meta-shakeups in the game’s history.  Bel also picks a fight with Kodra apparently when he called Guild Wars 2 more of an ARPG than an MMO.  It all resolves peacefully however as we realize those judgments are based on different points of reference.  We close out the show with Tam talking about some of the interesting choices being forced in Star Citizen.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile

• Affliction League

• Meta Shake-Up

• Death of Righteous Fire

• Ultimatum Returns

• Goodbye Metamorph

• Guild Wars 2 as ARPG

• Kodra wants to fight Bel

• Different points of reference

• Star Citizen

• Forcing Interesting Choices

Hey Folks! This week we start off with a topic about in game events, and how wildly different they can be between various games.  Specifically this topic was inspired by the Star Citizen IAE 2953 event but we give into many different game events.  Ash gets around to playing Armored Core 6 and talks about how awful the intro to the game is.  Bel laments how sometimes maybe being a more Open World experience makes a game worse.  Specifically this is inspired by Jedi Survivor and how it is a much less tight game than Fallen Order.  Shocking to no one we dive into another Path of Exile topic and more specifically how Kodra and Bel completed some dumb Trial of the Ancestors achievements.  Bel has finished Alan Wake II and gives the game another hard plug and then talks a bit about how Guild Wars 2 Secrets of the Obscure is really good.

Topics Discussed:

• In Game Festival Events

• Star Citizen IAE 2953

• Final Fantasy events

• Other Game Holidays

• Armored Core 6

• Why is the intro so awful?

• Sometimes Open World Makes Games Worse

• Jedi Survivor

• Muddied Waters

• Path of Exile

• Doing Dumb things with Totems

• Lament of why Multiplayer is needlessly punishing

• Kodra knocking out achievements

• Alan Wake II - After Credit Roll

• Guild Wars 2 Secrets of the Obscure is good

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start off with a topic that has been bumped for time a few weeks in row as we discuss how complex video games can stick the landing with their denouement. Bel has been playing Alan Wake 2 and talks about how Remedy finally has achieved seamless integration of FMV and rendered gameplay. We talked a bit about Risk of Rain 2 and the buildcraft surrounding the game.  Kodra has officially gone further in Path of Exile than the rest of us and talks about his adventures in bossing. We wrap up the show discussing how Path of Exile does a poor job of telling its story in spite of actually having a very good one compared to other ARPGs.

Topics Discussed:

• The Ending Payoffs for Complex Games

• How to stick the landing

• Alan Wake 2 is Great

• Risk of Rain 2 Buildcraft

• Kodra Kills Against the Bosses

• ARPGs attempting to tell stories

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start off the show with a bit of a reprisal from last week.  Namely, Grace and Bel thought that all of the announcements at BlizzCon were universally good, but it seems that at least for some WoW Pundits they were a bit disappointed.  Ash talks about the remake of Risk of Rain called Risk of Rain Returns and how it improves upon the original.  We talk about the Blast from the Past League in Path of Exile and how Lake of Kalandra is getting a bit of a redemption arc.  From there we talk some more about Cities Skylines 2 and Bel opines that he just really wants a prettier version of Simcity 2000. Tam talks a bit about BOKURA a multiplayer puzzle game where both players are seemingly wildly different things, but need to solve puzzles together. Bel talks a bit about the death of the Draft Booster and what the changes surrounding the “Play Booster” mean for Magic the Gathering. Finally, we wrap up with a few very short topics, and Bel talks about how good Bookshops & Bonedust the sequel to Legends & Lattes was.

Topics Discussed

•  WoW Pundits and War Within

• Risk of Rain Returns

• Path of Exile

• Blast from the Past League

• Cities Skylines 2

• BOKURA

• Magic the Gathering

• Death of the Draft Booster

• Bookshops and Bonedust is Great

Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down essentially our entire Seattle contingency for assorted reasons that I don’t believe are actually connected.  So we carry forward with our Central and Eastern Timezone folks and talk a bit about BlizzCon and how there was a wildly different energy surrounding the event.  It feels like a new chapter for Blizzard is opening that may or may not have anything to do with the Microsoft acquisition.  From there we talk a bit about the Krangled event and how bizarre it is to play with a randomized passive tree.  Bel talks about the situation at Bungie and the general sense of dire straights for the Destiny franchise.  Bel also talks a bit about easing back into Final Fantasy XIV and catching up on the post-Endwalker content.  He has also been playing New World a bit and going through the expansion content while leveling to 65 and farming some new gear.  Finally, we drive off into a discussion about the books that we have been reading and float the idea of a “Books of the Year” show similar to our “Games of the Year” show we often do.

Topics Discussed:

• BlizzCon 2023

• Overwatch

• Diablo

• World of Warcraft

• Three Expansion Cycle

• The War Within Features

• A New Feeling Blizzard

• Path of Exile

• Krangled Event is Strange

• Like Bad Sealed Magic

• Bel League Discussion

• Kodra is Super Serious

• The Bungie Situation

• Easing back into FFXIV

• New World Expansion

• Book Talk

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back but still down several members of our crew.  This week we start off with some discussion about Diablo IV Season 2 and whether or not the game is good now.  From there we talk a lot about the events of the Star Citizen CitizenCon.  Super Mario Wonder has come out and we talk about the experiences with the game so far.  Tam talks a bit about Endless Dungeon and how it might actually be fun in multiplayer.  Kodra shares some news about an upcoming SudokuCon Fundraiser stream he is going to be part of this week.  Finally, we talk a bit about Cities: Skylines 2 and the changes it brings to the genre.

Topics Discussed:

• Diablo IV is Good Now?

• Season of Blood Review

• CitizenCon

• Did you hold the line?

• Super Mario Wonder

• Endless Dungeon

• SudokuCon Fundraiser Stream

• Cities: Skylines 2

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we start off the show with some discussion about the most recent Honkai Star Rail patch and how it does a Pokemans. From there we dive into the Stellaris offshoot Star Trek Infinite and how it is more than just a reskin.  This leads into a long winding conversation about how games feel wildly different once you tweak a few variables.  All of that takes a brief detour into how frustrating it is that the Sea of Thieves PVE mode has some limitations. Bel goes into a bit of a rant about how all live service releases are awful until they have a year or two under their belt and how “the vision” show be burned to a crisp. We talked a bit about the Microsoft Deal for ActiBlizz finally closing and the possibility of World of Warcraft for Gamepass.  Finally, we get moored in a discussion of Path of Exile as we always seem to lately and talk a bit about Kodra clearing his first two voidstones.

Topics Discussed:

• Honkai Star Rail does a Pokemans

• Star Trek Infinite

• How it is more than just a reskin of Stellaris

• How Games Change when you Tweak a few Variables

• Frustrations of Sea of Thieves PVE limitations

• Microsoft Deal Finalized

• World of Warcraft on Gamepass When?

• Path of Exile

• Kodra Clears Gets some Voidstones

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We are down a Grace and a Thalen this weekend so we floundered a bit on the topics we were going to talk about.  While we questioned if we had enough for a show, we still wound up going over by about fourteen minutes. We start off with some discussion about GeekGirlCon 2023 which all of our Seattle contingency attended this weekend.  From there Bel talks a bit about a new Switch device that he picked up called the CRKD Nitro Deck that makes the Switch a bit beefer and feel like a Steam Deck.  Tam has been diving back into Cyberpunk 2077 with the release of the 2.0 update and Phantom Libery expansion.  Finally, we wind around to Path of Exile that Ash, Kodra, and Bel are still deeply engaged with this league.  We talk a bit more about the birth of the “Bel League” private league concept.

Topics Discussed

• GeekGirlCon 2023

• CRKD Nitro Deck

• Cyberpunk 2077 2.0

• Path of Exile

• Bel League Gaining Traction

• Random Path of Exile nonsense

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

I promise no books were burned during the making of this episode. We start off the show with a discussion about Warhammer Fantasy and more specifically the latest rendition of Cities of Sigmar.  Tam talks about how Warhammer finally makes humans in a fantasy setting interesting. From there Bel talks about his weekend adventure in the Toucan Treasure League, a private Path of Exile league where everything drops scoured and you start with 25% resistance in the hole.  This leads to a discussion about how overpowered the new Guardian is, and Kodra’s adventures with Hex Blast Mines. Kodra talks about the forming of a Sudoku Convention and how he is helping to organize it.  Finally, we wrap up with some discussion about what is keeping Tam interested in Armored Core 6 even though he has beaten it several times in a row now.

Topics Discussed:

• Warhammer Fantasy

• Cities of Sigmar

• Path of Exile

• Toucan Treasure League

• Law of the Wilds

• Overpowered Guardian Ascendancy

• Hexblast Miner

• Sudoku-Con

• Armored Core 6

• What is keeping Tam engaged?

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start the show by discussing Diablo 3 Season 29, and how it Visions of Enmity are shockingly good.  We praise the Arrrchivists who have somehow managed to make Marvel Heroes private servers a reality…  just currently feature-limited. Kodra and Ash talk about their experiences recently with the Furvana seaside Furry Convention.  Tam begins a discussion about narrative structures and how New Game Plus functions in different games.  Kodra talks about a brand new skip method in Mario 64 and how it essentially branched out of a long-running meme in the speed-running community. He also talks about playing the Mice and Mystics board game with his kiddo.  Finally, we wrap things up with some discussion of the newly announced Bluey Video Game.

Topics Discussed

• Diablo 3 Season 29

• Visions of Enmity

• Marvel Heroes Returns…  Sorta

• Furvana

• Comparing Narrative Structures and New Game Plus

• Don’t let your memes be dreams

• Mario 64 new skip

• Mice and Mystics

• Bluey the Video Game

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Sorry we missed last week but we were down over half of our show members.  This week Bel faceplants the intro and is urged by the entire crew to keep going. We start off with some discussion about the Honkai Star Rail Swarm Disaster event and a bit of idle gameplay with Chillquarium.  From there we dive into some Path of Exile talk as Kodra is now beginning become infected with our madness.  He presents the Magic the Gathering draft analogy and we discuss using that as a way of learning Path of Exile as a whole.  We talk a bit about Unity's corporate failure speedrun by burning off absolutely every bit of their goodwill with some dumb service changes. From there we talk about a game with a very long and contorted name that promises to give you access to all those weird mobile game ads that don’t actually exist.  Lastly, we talk a little bit about the return of Wizardry and how it is the birthplace of the modern JRPG.

Topics Discussed

• Honkai Star Rail

• Swarm Disaster

• Chillquarium

• Path of Exile

• The Magic the Gathering Analogy

• Guardian SRS is Amazing

• Unity Speedrunning Corporate Failure

• YEAH! YOU WANT “THOSE GAMES,” RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET’S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM!

• Does Twitch Viewership Matter to Game Success?

• Wizardry Returns

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start this week with the fact that Bel cannot distinguish a 6 from an 8 when looking at it from the corner of his eye.  We dive into a discussion of Goodbye Volcano High that Kodra has been playing.  From there we talk a bit about what is happening at PAX West this year and this leads into a discussion of all of the games.  We talk a bit about some of our first impressions of Starfield in as spoiler-free a manner as we can.  Finally, Tam talks about rolling the credits on Armored Core 6 and his final thoughts.

Topics Discussed:

• Bel Can’t Read

• Goodbye Volcano High

• PAX West 2023

• So Many New Games

• Starfield First Impressions

• Rolling the Credits on Armored Core 6

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

This week we start off the show with some continued Path of Exile Trials of the Ancestor league discussion.  From there we talk briefly about the new Guild Wars 2 expansion.  Tam has spent some time playing Pseudoregalia and has thoughts about that, which leads into a discussion about our impressions of game generations shifting over time. Tam also spends some time playing Banished Vault and has some things to say about it.  This week Armored Core 6 launched and we talk a bit about a Giant Robot game from a developer who has become mostly known for Dark Souls.  Finally, we close things out with some more nonsense related to the Path of Exile league.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile 

• Trials of the Ancestor League - First Week

• Guild Wars 2 Secrets of the Obscure

• Weaponmastery system

• Pseudoregalia

• How our perception of games changes over time.

• Armored Core 6

• Further Path of Exile League Nonsense

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Sorry, we were out last week but we ended up with too few folks to feel like it was worth recording a show.  This week we are back and talk about the launch of the Trial of the Ancestors League in Path of Exile. Grace talks a bit about their adventures in Genshin Impact and exploring the realm of the Hydro Archon. Kodra gets featured again on Cracking the Cryptic with a Sudoku and then talks about his adventures at GenCon.  Finally, we wrap up the show with an attempt at a spoiler-free discussion of Baldur’s Gate 3.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile

• Trial of the Ancestors

• League Start So Far

• Grace goes SSF

• Genshin Impact

• Visiting the Hydro Archon

• Cracking the Cryptic

• Kodra was featured again

• Kodra’s GenCon Adventures

• Some Spoiler-Free Baldur’s Gate 3 Discussion

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Tamrielo

We have a pretty small group this week as we are down a Kodra, Ammo, and Thalen for various assorted reasons.  We start off the show with Tam talking about Viewfinder a bit which winds its way to Bel talking about the coin pusher indie Clockwork Owl. Grace has been playing a lot of XVI and we talk about the Giant Kaiju Battles that take place when two Eikons fight. Bel got into the Palia beta this week and he talks a bit about what feels like Stardew Valley the MMO. Many of us stopped playing whatever we were playing this week with the launch of Baldur’s Gate III, so we spend a bit talking about that game in largely general terms.  This leads to a discussion of JRPGs and CRPGs and how they are generally telling stories in very different ways. We close out with a few topics and Bel shares that he no longer has concerns about Path of Exile II.

Topics Discussed

• Viewfinder

• Clockwork Owl

• FFXVI Giant Kaiju Battles

• Palia Beta

• Baldurs Gate III

• JRPGs vs CRPGS/WRPGS

• Path of Exile II Updates

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We start off the show with Ash talking about playing through Wandersong.  From there Thalen talks about his experience with Lost Words, and Tam dives into a discussion about how Far Cry does a shockingly good job with its cultural experience.  From there we talk about Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest and the announcement for the Dawntrail Expansion.  Then we talk a bit about the news coming out of ExileCon with Path of Exile II.  We also talk a bit about the changes coming to the first game with 3.22 and the Trail of the Ancestors League.  Finally, we wrap things up with a discussion about Dave the Diver again and how it is this weird showcase for how to make a good mobile game…  even though it isn’t one.

Topics Discussed:

• Wandersong

• Lost Words

• Far Cry 6

• How it gets culture right

• Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

• WOL Goes on Vacation

• Path of Exile II

• Path of Exile 3.22

• Trial of the Ancestors

• Dave the Diver

• Good Mobile Game

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we have the entire crew and can finally talk some more about Nimona and how much we love this movie. From there Bel talks about the Diablo 4 Season 1 Patch, and how it might be the worst live service patch ever. We get that everyone is tired of talking about this game but the hits keep coming.  This week Honkai Star Rail released the next batch of stories with its 1.2 patch, and we talk about some of the events and ramifications.  Thalen was gone last week because he spent nearly an entire weekend playing one game of Twilight Imperium so we talk a bit about that. Thalen also talks a bit about playing Kabuto Sumo and how it is very kid friendly.  Finally, we wrap things up with Kodra talking about using the Steam Deck as a second monitor in his streaming rig.

Topics Discussed:

• Nimona is Great

• You Should Watch It Again

• Diablo 4 Season 1

• Maybe the Worst Live Service Patch

• Maybe as bad as the Champions Online Day One Patch

• Honkai Star Rail

• Immortality Ends 1.2 Patch

• Twilight Imperium

• Do you have a free weekend?

• Kabuto Sumo

• Steamdeck Streaming Rig

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! This week we are down a Thalen which bumps a topic that we bumped last week, but whatever we have more! Bel starts off the show with a discussion about Blaugust coming soon and how the changes in the social media landscape are introducing it to more people.  From there we talk about the One of One Ring search being over, which dives into a discussion about whether or not the Sol Ring being an auto-include is good or not. Kodra has been using the SteamDeck as a primary travel computer and this works shockingly well.  We talk about the weird game that is Dave the Diver and then branch off into a discussion about whether or not Pizza Tower is actually good.  Tam shares some nostalgia for revisiting the Battlezone ‘98 Remaster and how it is a type of RTS that never really had its day.  Finally, Kodra and Ash share some of their progress in Four Job Fiesta as it is nearing the end of that event.

Topics Discussed:

• Blaugust is Coming

• 2 Million Dollar Card Found

• Debate about Magic the Gathering “Auto Includes”

• SteamDeck as a Primary Machine

• Dave the Diver

• Pizza Tower is Good?

• Battlezone ‘98

• Four Job Fiesta

Featuring: Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down Ash and Ammo but carry on with what we originally thought would be a short show.  The curse of saying that means that without a doubt we end up going over. We start off talking about Tam’s new toy, the PlayDate Console, and some of the interesting design choices it presents.  From there Bel talks about the Diablo 4 reveal trailer and the weak reception.  This leads to a larger discussion about issues with Blizzard as a whole and how everything somewhat feels like short-sighted decision-making. Bel and Tam talk about Trinity Fusion a game that feels like a halfway point between Deadcells and Hades that Bel stumbled upon through Mastodon. We dive into a large topic about how games end up shackled by specific traditions and how they have limited various designs. Then we get into a few shorter topics like Gamepad.Club is a lovely community if you are looking for a place to land on Mastodon.  Then we all give you a plea to watch Nimona.  We are likely going to talk about that movie in a full spoiler sense next week.

Topics Discussed

• The PlayDate Console

• Interesting Design Ideas

• Diablo 4 Season 1 Reveal

• Weak Reception

• Problems at Blizzard in General

• Trinity Fusion

• Deadcells meets Hades

• Shackled by Tradition

• Join Gamepad.club

• Watch Nimona

Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we are down an Ash but have the triumphant return of Kodra from Origins.  This week we talk about the self-DDoS of Twitter and Kodra chimes in on the return of P-Speed to a new Super Mario Game.  From there we talk a bit about the newly announced Guild Wars 2 expansion Secrets of the Obscure.  Kodra gives us a bit of a run down on his experiences at Origins and how he has finally played in the most ubiquitous LARP Vampire the Masquerade.  We are somewhat incredulous as for several of us… that is the ONLY LARP we have ever participated in.  Grace gets bit by the Honkai Star Rail bug finally and talks a bit about their experiences.  Nimona is out and we talk a bit about the steps it took to get to this point as well as a bit about the mixed bag that is The Little Mermaid live-action film.  Finally, we wrap things up with a quick topic about Microprose actually still existing in some form and gobbling up former properties like getting back the license to Falcon.

Topics Discussed:

• The Twitpocalypse

• P-Speed Returns

• Guild Wars 2

• Secrets of the Obscure

• Origins Convention

• Vampire LARP

• Honkai Star Rail

• Nimona Is Out

• The Little Mermaid Live Action

• Microprose exists and gets Falcon back

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We started with what I thought was a pretty short show, but as we continued on…  new topics kept showing up in the dock.  We start off with some talk about the most recent Nintendo Direct, then fade into some initial impressions of Final Fantasy XVI. Bel talks about a problem with the Diablo VI community where new players not already engaged with ARPG communities are deeply confused by how seasons work.  From there we talk a bit about the ever-increasing prize bounty around the MTG One Ring. Tam shares some of his experiences with the new Warhammer 40k 10th Edition and the shocking return of Lion El’Jonson.  Thalen talks a bit about the new Fallout 76 season and we dive into a discussion about Steam Next Fest and how large it has become. Bel revisits the topic of Last Epoch and Spriggan builds since Grace is back this week, and they share some of their thoughts about Genshin Impact.

Topics Discussed

• Nintendo Direct News

• Final Fantasy XVI Initial Thoughts

• ARPG Seasons Confusing New Players

• The Hunt for the One Ring Continues

• Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition

• The Return of Lion El’Jonson

• Fallout 76 New Season

• Steam Next Fest

• Last Epoch

• Genshin Impact

AggroChat #438 - Teenage Exocolonist Blues

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we start off with a carryover topic from last week and talk a bit about Star Wars Shatterpoint.  From there Ash tells us about the Furry Child Soldier game… better known as Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2. Bel talks a bit about the Overwatch 2 PVE content that is being sold for $15 after the original PVE expansion was canceled.  He also talks a bit about the concerns brewing about a proper cash shop opening in World of Warcraft.  Tam tells us about this delightful-sounding game called I Was a Teenage Exocolonist before Bel brings down the show with talk of the current Corporate Internet Apocalypse.  We talk a bit about the Reddit Blackout and Streamers abandoning Twitch.  Finally, Bel and Ash talk a bit about how nonsensically good the Spriggan that Grace told us about is in Last Epoch.

Topics Discussed:

• Star Wars Shatterpoint

• Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2

• Overwatch 2 $15 PVE Pass

• WoW Cashshop Concerns

• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

• Streamer Contract Paid More than LeBron James

• Streamers Abandoning Twitch

• The Reddit Blackout

• Corporate Internet is Burning

• Last Epoch Spriggan is Nonsense

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start the show with the dangers of bowling in a fursuit and then dive straight into the Not-E3 shows.  The entire crew has finally watched the Dungeon and Dragons movie so we talk a bit about how damned good it was. Tam and Bel talk about Knights of the Old Republic 2 and how maybe not all of the content in the restored patch should have been restored.  Thalen talks about how faithful of a remaster System Shock is and how Nightdive is doing great work.  Bel talks a bit about his experiences with Diablo 4 Endgame and how it is not that great.  Tam talks about playing Wizorb on the Steam Deck and Bel talks a bit about the Honkai Star Rail patch.  Finally, Kodra finishes the show with some talk about Co-Op games that allow players to share the cognitive load of problem-solving.

Topics Discussed:

• Not-E3 Shows

• Dungeons and Dragons Movie Finally

• Knights of the Old Republic 2 and the restored content

• System Shock

• Diablo 4 Honeymoon Over

• Wizorb was Great

• Honkai Star Rail Patch

• Sharing Cognitive Load in Co-Op Games

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We skipped a week due to the Memorial Day Holiday, and while we had a bunch of built-up topics…  we oddly recorded a relatively short show.  We start off this week with some discussion about what happens when you date Cthulhu in Sucker for Love.  Then we talk a bit about the 80s and Marvel essentially making comics for anyone that would pay them…  and the limbo state of several of those properties in theory finally being resolved.  Last Epoch released a major update with 0.9.1 and we talk about the things that were added to the game.  Bel talks a bit about his experiences with the launch of Diablo IV and the drama surrounding the world's first hardcore race.  This leads its way into a diatribe about the icky Live Service Future we find ourselves in.  From there we talk a bit about Honkai Star Rail and how Bel talking the game up…  caused Grace to relapse into Genshin Impact.  Kodra talks about discovering Etrian Odyssey HD and a bit of a rundown of some of the good things that came out of Summer Games Done Quick.

Topics Discussed

• Sucker for Love

• Marvel and Hasbro Made Up

• Last Epoch 0.9.1

• Diablo IV Launch

• Race to 100 Drama

• Bel’s Begrudging Enjoyment

• The Live Service Future

• Genshin Impact

• Honkai Star Rail

• Etrian Odyssey HD

• SGDQ

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we start off the show with what is quite possibly the least nonsensical intro that bends around and becomes a Happy Birthday message to Solaria…  which by the time this releases will be one day belated.  Tonight we talk about the Overwatch PVE Mode debacle and this expands out into a larger discussion of the downfall of Blizzard Entertainment.  From there we talk about Amazon making a new Lord of the Rings Game and some snark towards LOTRO.  Grace discusses exploring what is ultimately a very Free to Play Racing Game called Asphalt 9.  We talk a bit about the Last Epoch 0.9.1 Pre-Patch Hype week of teasers and that Bel has officially given up on killing Maven in Path of Exile.  Bel and Grace talk a bit about a Southeast Asian-Inspired Diablo-style ARPG game that looks like it is straight out of the 16-bit era of games called Ghostlore. Finally, we wrap things up with some discussion of the Star Citizen 3.19 patch and Invictus Launch Week, and the New Player Experience.

Topics Discussed:

• Happy Birthday, Solaria!

• Overwatch 2 PVE Mode Debacle

• The Downfall of Blizzard

• Amazon snarks about LOTRO

• Extremely F2P Racing

• Last Epoch 0.9.1 Pre-Patch Hype Week

• Bel Gives up on Maven

• Ghostlore ARPG

• Star Citizen 3.19 Invictus Launch Week

• New Player Experience

Featuring: Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there in the AggroChat family, and also solace to those who have lost theirs along the way.  Tonight we start off the show with Bel and Grace complaining about the results of Eurovision and how both Finland and Austria “got robbed”.  From there Bel talks about playing some Diablo IV this weekend and how there have been some minor improvements from the last open beta test.  Kodra dives into some spicy takes about Breath of the Wild and how maybe he just isn’t into that game at all, and how it makes him sad about approaching Tears of the Kingdom.  Grace gives an update on Burning Shores' discussion and how she accidentally played it on the hardest mode.  Tam talks about Ixion some more and how it is weird to have boss fights in a city builder.  Kodra talks about some of his recent experiences with This Means Warp and trying out multiplayer.  Finally, we dive into a discussion spurred on by the fact that Thalen has been playing Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster on the Switch.

Topics Discussed:

• Complaining about Eurovision

• Diablo 4 Slightly Improved

• Spicy Breath of the Wild Takes

• Burning Shores Follow-Up

• Borrowed Power In Games

• Ixion: a Citybuilder Boss Fight

• This Means Warp Multiplayer

• Final Fantasy IV is Great

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! This week we have Ammo back and talk about Honkai Star Rail or at least our early impressions.  Grace talks a bit about Horizon Forbidden West and the Burning Shores expansion.  We discuss a better FTL in This Means Warp, and that Vampire Survivors has released a DLC.  Kodra and Ash talk about how if everyone dies but the Tank, you can still win with Middara and this leads to some random discussion of MMORPG.  Tam is the only one of us who has experienced any Redfall so we talk a bit about it and the community reactions.  Lastly we sort of slide into a discussion about Guild Wars 2 without really meaning to.

Topics Discussed:

• Honkai Star Rail

• Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores

• This Means Warp

• Vampire Survivors DLC

• If Everyone but the Tank is Dead It’s Still a Win.

• More fun with Middara

• Redfall Irresponsible Speculation

• Accidentally some Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

This show was one of those times when random discussions that we did not plan happened.  Firstly we had a bit of an impromptu discussion about the Dungeons and Dragons movie which also led to some non-movie discussion.  From there Bel talks about his life as a Path of Exile Vendor as he has become increasingly immersed in the trade market as a seller.  Tam and Bel talk quite a bit about Jedi Survivor and how it is a more open game and might even draw some connections to Breath of the Wild.  Kodra talks about Lone Fungus and Ash about Everspace 2.  From there we fall into some unplanned discussions about how games seem to be moving away from Holiday Season release schedules, and then we get off on this tangent about the Gameboy.

Topics Discussed:

• Dungeons and Dragons

• Bel’s Life as a Path of Exile Vendor

• Star Wars: Jedi Survivor

• Lone Fungus

• Everspace 2

• Games Moving Away from Holiday Releases

• Arguing about the Gameboy

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We start the show with some extemporaneous discussion about Bel and his Three-Legged Backyard Feral Calico Cat…  and how she ran away for a month and is now back.  From there we talk a bit about Last Epoch finally managing to nail down hotbar management for transformation skills.  Bel talks a bit about how free-to-play games have ruined things and that there are folks balking at the $35 price tag of Last Epoch.  Ash and Bel are still playing a lot of Path of Exile and Bel talks about rolling into his second build of the league featuring Toxic Rain Pathfinder.  Tam talks about mods for Half-Life Alyx that allows you to play the game without VR.  From there we talk about Battletech: Mercenaries Kickstarter and how everyone seems to be shocked at how well it has done.  We talk a bit about Gunfire Reborn and how good of a game it is to play with friends.  We also talk a bit about the Stellaris Co-Op Beta and how it functions.  Finally, we wrap up with a bit of discussion about the Dungeons and Dragons Movie.

Topics Discussed:

• Feral Backyard Calico is Back!

• Last Epoch Transform Improvements

• Free to Play Ruined Things

• Path of Exile

• Toxic Rain Pathfinder is Comfy

• Half-Life Alyx Without VR

• Battletech: Mercenaries Kickstarter

• Gunfire Reborn is Great

• Stellaris Co-Op

• Dungeons and Dragons Movie

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We start the show with some discussion about Path of Exile launching the new Crucible league…  and how the seasonal mechanic is sort of awful but the gameplay state is great.  Grace talks about a game hand designed for them called Dredge.  Tam talks a bit about another city builder of a sort called Ixion that causes some rough choices.  We talk a bit about the Super Mario Bros movie and how it is way better than we expected.  Because Nintendo makes screwed-up decisions we talk about hacking the 3DS to use an unofficial storefront.  Ash talks about some disappointment about the first drop in the Battle Network Legacy Collection.  Kodra talks a bit about the series finale for Owl House and playing Burgle Bros board game.  Finally, Bel talks a bit about some of the books he has been reading.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile

• Crucible League Start

• Dredge

• Ixion

• Super Mario Bros Movie

• Hacking the 3DS

• Battle Network Legacy Collection

• Owl House Series Finale

• Burgle Bros

• Book Updates

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Good Morning Friends! Lairs Day has come and gone, but for those of us recording the show…  it was still happening and as a result, we talk a bit about that.  From there we talk about the repeated death of E3 and why maybe they should just call it quits going forward.  Thalen talks about the apparent fact that Crunchyroll is known for killing games.  Bel and Kodra talk a bit about the Zelda Direct and how apparently Tears of the Kingdom is going to be even more sandboxy.  Super Adventure Festival is going on in Guild Wars 2 and we talk about the quirky new Fashion Wars event happening in Lion’s Arch as well as the test release of World 3 of the Super Adventure Box.  This past week the Crucible League announcement stream took place and the patch notes were released…  frustrating a good number of players.  From there Tam talks about Terra Nill an ecological world-building sim.  Finally, we wrap up the show with some talk about the books we have been reading.  Thalen talks about the Broken Earth series and Bel talks about Legends and Lattes and the Bloodsworn series.

Topics Discussed

• Happy Liars Day

• E3 Cancelled for Lack of Interest

• Crunchy Roll Kills Games

• Zelda Direct

• Guild Wars 2

• Super Adventure Festival 2023

• Super Adventure Box World 3

• Fashion Wars

• Path of Exile

• Crucible League Announcement

• Questionable Changes

• Terra Nill

• Some Book Talk

• Broken Earth Series

• Legends and Lattes

• Bloodsworn Series

• The Shadow of the Gods

• The Hunger of the Gods

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! Tonight we are down three folks and contemplated not recording at all…  eventually deciding on the recording to save ourselves from a mega show.  The original intent was to record a fairly short show, but ultimately we ended up chatting away for the full time regardless.  Tonight we talk about Diablo IV again and some of our frustrations.  This weekend Grace got to play the game in the Open Beta so we start out with their opinions and devolve from there.  After that Tam talks a bit about his experiences with Triangle Strategy.  Finally, we talk about Adepticon and all of the news coming out of it for new miniature gaming releases.

Topics Discussed:

• Diablo IV

• Grace’s Opinions

• More Frustrations

• Triangle Strategy

• Awful Name Great Game

• Adepticon Reveals

• Warhammer 40k

• Infinity

• Ral Partha Nostalgia

Featuring: Ammosart, Grace, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week Bel talks about his experiences playing Diablo IV Beta and how it is nothing as he expected and mostly Diablo the MMORPG.  From there Bel and Grace talk about their experiences playing Last Epoch multiplayer doing the endgame activity called Monoliths.  Tam talks about Star Citizen 3.18 recovering from its server woes and how fleshed out the new racing league feature is.  Kodra talks about how much he enjoys games that are themselves effectively a tutorial.  We’ve talked about Battletech by Harebrained Schemes quite a bit but we dive into an update about the current state of mods.  Then we end up going off the deep end into a discussion about the 90s internet and the things that are now lost to the sands of time.

Topics Discussed:

• Diablo IV Beta

• Bel Has Concerns

• Last Epoch Endgame with Friends

• Bel and Grace Play Monoliths Together

• Star Citizen 3.18 Recovers

• Racing League

• Tutorials in Games and Tutorials as Games

• Battletech with Mods

• Remembering the 90s Internet

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Good Morning Folks! We start off the show with some random talk about Rick Astley and the history of Rickrolling.  From there Bel talks about getting a Commander tag and going for the obvious best choice…  that Catmander.  Kodra talks about beating Axiom Verge and his struggles with M.A.S.S. Builder not quite being detailed enough.  From there we talk about the launch of the Last Epoch Multiplayer patch and the struggles of instant 8X growth.  We talk a bit about the challenge of a game launch and scaling servers without overbooking capacity.  Then we finish out with some discussion from Tam about the Star Citizen 3.18 patch and its own server capacity issues.

Featuring:

• Superfluous Rickrolling

• Bel is a Catmander in GW2

• Axiom Verge

• M.A.S.S. Builder

• Last Epoch

• Servers Hugged to Death

• Various Discussions of the new patch

• Server Scaling and Massive Updates

• Star Citizen 3.18

• Persistent Entity Streaming

Featuring:  Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we start off with some light discussion about Guild Wars 2 and more specifically the new patch that dropped on the 28th including a brand new map called Gyala Delve.  We talk briefly about wrapping up Diablo 3 Season 28 and looking forward to the Last Epoch Multiplayer patch landing next Thursday.  We talk a bit about Microsoft getting to subpoena Sony for records about their practice of paying companies to keep games from GamePass.  We also talk about the practice of corporate write-downs and how Wizards of the Coast and Funko have gotten caught throwing massive amounts of product in landfills recently.  From there we have a sort of rapid-fire discussion of a bunch of mech names, namely Mechwarrior Online, the upcoming Armored Core game, and Mass Builder.

Topics Discussed:

• Guild Wars 2

• Gyala Delve Content Drop

• Diablo 3 Season 28 Finished

• Last Epoch Multiplayer Patch on 3/9

• Phantom Brigade

• Beating Wagon World

• Microsoft gets to Supoena Sony

• Wizards and Funko Land Fill Disposals

• Mechwarrior Online

• Armored Core

• Mass Builder

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we accidentally recorded an hour-and-a-half-long show.  I guess this is what happens when you punt a bunch of topics to another week because we were missing the folks attached to said topics.  We start off with the discussion about Theatrhythm Final Bar Line that we hinted at last week.  From there we talk about Media from our Childhood that is not cursed… aka The Princess Bride.  From there Tam talks about his further Steam Deck adventures with Eastward and What The Golf.  Bel talks about his experience buckling down and getting his Skyscale in Guild Wars 2.  We talk briefly about the Valve Honeypot catching over 40,000 DOTA cheaters, and Kodra talks about playing Troll Mario Maker levels, more specifically Super Wagon World.  From there we go down this nostalgic trip about pulling dungeons and the puzzles that they used to present and our niche desire for randomized dungeon runs in MMORPGs.

Topics Discussed:

• Theatrhythm Final Bar Line

• Princess Bride and Kids

• Media from our Childhood Still Valid for Modern Standards

• Eastward

• What the Golf

• Bel Gets a Skyscale in Guild Wars 2

• Tam is Experiencing Good Crabs Again

• Diablo 3 Season 28

• The Altar

• Bel’s Rough Start

• Valve Crafts a Cheater Honeypot

• Over 40,000 Bans for DOTA

• Super Wagon World

• Troll Levels for Mario Maker

• Xenoblade III is a Pulling Puzzle

• Nostalgic Trip Down Memory Lane about Pulling Dungeons

• Niche Desire for Randomized Dungeon Crawls

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Kodra

Tonight we have a bit of a short show as we had to punt several topics to next week since Tam and Thalen were out.  Bel talks about his recent adventures since the beginning of the year with the Library system and the Libby App.  From there Ash shares his experience using Character Questionnaires to drive character development in a tabletop pen-and-paper game.  Kodra talks about streaming a day of Celeste Strawberry Jam and his experiences playing the game with a pillowcase on his head.  Bel talks about what happens when a large Mastodon instance closes and over 17,000 folks have to relocate at once.  Bel also talks about his experiences helping to administrate Gamepad.club. Finally, we talk about times when games decided to break their world or remove large chunks of content and why it didn’t work.

Topics Discussed

• Adventures with the Library System

• Bel gets a Library Card

• The Libby App

• Gideon the Ninth / Harrow the Ninth

• The Last Watch

• Catching up with Dresden

• Character Questionnaires are Amazing

• Using a Questionaire to help build character development in tabletop games.

• Celeste Strawberry Jam

• Beginner Lobby

• Kodra plays with a Pillowcase on their Head

• The Death of an Instance

• What happens when a large Mastodon Instance closes

• Bel helping admin Gamepad.club

• Breaking the World Does Not Work

• Guild Wars 2 Living World Season 1

• World of Warcraft Cataclysm

• Evequest 1 to Everquest 2

• Destiny 2 Removing Content

• FFXIV ARR did Work However

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week Bel has been playing Last Epoch quite a bit of late and has roped both Grace and Tam into it.  We talk a bit about how the game has improved over time and how it compares to Diablo III and Path of Exile.  From there Thalen and Tam talk a bit about their further experiences with Lord of the Rings Online.  Kodra talks about his adventures in watching a live stage production of Bluey, and we talk a bit about the show in general.  Tam shares his thoughts on Hi-Fi Rush and dives into a topic about the oddities of Steam Deck Compatibility.

Topics Discussed:

• Last Epoch

• Multiplayer Beta

• Class Design

• Comparisons with other ARPGs

• Lord of the Rings Online

• Bluey Big Play

• The show in general

• Hi-Fi Rush

• Steam Deck Incompatibilities

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We start off the show with a discussion that has been kicking around our list for a while, where Tam discusses the shared DNS of a Good Stealth Game and a Good Metroidvania.  From there Kodra has had time to play Forspoken and talks about his experiences after last week's show.  We dive into a discussion about the news coming out that no one seems to be signing up for E3 and once again we question if there really is a place for that show in the public consciousness.  Lastly, we talk about some of the games that are supposed to be released this year and try and determine which we actually think are.

Topics Discussed

• Shared DNA of Stealth games and Good Metroidvanias
• More talk of Forspoken
• Nobody is Going to E3
• Games we doubt are releasing in 2023

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks!  We start off the show with some updates about Wizards of the Coast and the OGL debacle that they are so rapidly trying to walk back.  Are we going to forgive and forget or is the damage done?  From there we talk a bit about Fire Emblem Engage and how it is quite different from previous Fire Emblem outings.  Tam does his best to combat the bad press and shares with us his thoughts about Forspoken, and how it is actually a really good game.

From there we dive down a rabbit hole that is revisiting Lord of the Rings Online.  We talk about how it has held up through the years and the interesting way that it is continuing to expand now that they have finished the main story arc of the books.  We also talk a bit about what an interesting place the Landroval server is specifically.

Topics Discussed

• Open Gaming License Update
• Wizards Furiously Backpedals
• What this means for the Movie
• Fire Emblem Engage
• Forspoken
• Bad Press not Warranted
• Lord of the Rings Online
• New Content
• Old MMORPG Sensibilities
• Landroval Server

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Folks… after a year of trying to win the housing lottery in FFXIV, Belghast finally gets a house and in the same lot number that we used to have an FC House in Mists.  From there Kodra talks about the tabletop game Middara and how it contains one of the best tutorials for a game that he has seen. One of the negative side effects of recording massive two-part games of the year show is there are hot topics that end up getting thrown on the back burner.  From there we finally talk about the situation happening with Wizards of the Coast, the Open Gaming License, and the entire community abandoning ship.  We talk a bit about Fog Sudoku and Kodra explains what exactly it is.  From there we finish out the night talking about Marvel Midnight Suns and how in some ways it is a perfect game, and in other ways, it completely misses the point.

Topics Discussed

• Housing Windfall in FFXIV
• Middara is a Great Tutorial
• Wizards of the Coast Burning
• Self Own of 2023
• Misunderstanding their Community
• The rise of ORC and fall of OGL
• Fog Sudoku
• Marvel Midnight Suns

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Welcome back to the second part of our yearly “Games of the Year Show”.  I have to admit I greatly enjoy this process and probably this year more than many in the past.  We had a wildly diverse set of games that the seven of us collectively chose this year.  Over the course of these two shows, we talk about twenty-six different games.  Often times there are a few big games that most of us played and put on our list, but this year we all had a pretty wild variety of choices.

I also feel like we have set a standard going forward, that we no longer will we do this nonsense where we record for four or five hours and then split it in half.  Recording two normal shows seemed to feel much better and produce a better discussion.  Hopefully, our listeners will agree.  In this show, we tackle the second half of the list and burn through fourteen more games.

Topics Discussed

• Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes
• Peglin
• Stepmaniax
• Unsighted
• Mindcrack for Celeste
• Vampire Survivors
• Stray
• New World Brimstone Sands
• Pokemon Legends Arceus
• Tunic
• Ooblets
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3
• Citizen Sleeper
• Horizon Forbidden West

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It is that time again for our multi-part episode as we talk about the games that were important to us specifically during 2022.  A bit of a reminder for anyone who has not heard one of these shows before, we are not necessarily only talking about games that were released in 2022.  If we were late playing a game but it was extremely important to us, it might still get the nod here.

Something that is working slightly differently this year is generally speaking we record a marathon show that runs about 3-4 Hours and then I crudely carves it up into multiple shows.  However, what happens is we have one show that is full of short topics and another show that has all of the long discussions.  This year I sorted the list so we got a blend of single honorable mention picks and meaty multi-member picks in the same show.  We are also recording it two weeks apart so none of us have to deal with the late night that this show always brought on.

Hopefully, the changes lead to a better listening experience.  So in this episode, we are going to talk about the first half of our games of the year, and next week we will continue with the rest.

Topics Discussed:

• Digimon Survive
• Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
• TMNT Shedder’s Revenge
• Trials of Mana
• Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons
• Elden Ring
• Fallout 76
• Star Ocean: The Divine Force
• Wordle
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Cult of the Lamb
• Path of Exile

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks!  The gang is all back at the same time…  just in time to take a break effectively until after the new year.  Because of how the holidays fall this year, we will not be recording shows for the next few weeks and returning after that with our usually two-part Games of the Year show.

This week we talk about more Twitter Madness and the time when a journalist misread the now-banned JoinMastodon account and created a fictitious person named John Mastodon that runs Mastodon.  From there we talk about Tam’s epic journey in trying to find some way to comfortably use a push-to-talk key while playing games on a controller.  We talk a bit about a few 2D games on the Steam Deck specifically Ghost Song and Salt and Sanctuary.  After that, we talk about our progress in the Path of Exile Forbidden Sanctum league and just how much madness is associated with learning that game in general.  Finally, we talk about playing Justin Roiland’s High On Life, a game about talky gunfriends.

Topics Discussed:

• John Mastodon
• 5 Year Epic Search for a Foot Pedal
• Ghost Song
• Salt and Sanctuary
• Path of Exile
• Forbidden Sanctuary Progress
• The Madness of this Game
• High on Life

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Tonight we start off with a bit of a correction from last week and I explain how I am no longer involved with Mstdn.games and why you maybe shouldn’t be either.  We talk about Thalen’s trip to Japan and his adventures in Super Nintendo World among other things.  From there we talk about a significant upgrade to Peglin and some of the quality of life improvements.  Thalen talks about roaming around the Nuka World Tour in Fallout 76.  We talk about The Game Trailer show aka The Game Awards and some of the things that caught our attention.  It is a new Path of Exile league and we talk about our builds and the Forbidden Sanctum mechanic.  Finally, Bel goes down a rabbit hole talking about folks who seem to only play Nintendo First Party titles.

Topics Discussed:

• Correction from Last Week
• Maybe Don’t Migrate to Mstdn.Games
• Thalen’s Adventures in Japan
• Massive Peglin Update
• Nuka World Tour in Fallout 76
• The Game Award Show
• Our most notable trailers
• Path of Exile
• Forbidden Sanctum League
• Our Builds
• Attachment to First Party Titles

Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks!  We have our Grace back from moving but we are still down a Thalen and now an Ashgar.  Tonight we start off with some discussion about Warhammer 40,000 Darktide and how it draws from roots like Left4Dead.  Grace and Bel talk about their recent foray into Undecember which seems to be a happy middle ground between Diablo 3 and Path of Exile.  Grace also talks about playing the Slime Rancher 2 Early Access and tending to adorable squishy faces.  Bel talks about the impending launch of Mstdn.Games which is an attempt to fill a niche of missing Video Game devoted Mastodon Servers.  Bel talks a bit about the New World server migration and how Themiscyra is no more and we have become Heliopolis.  From there we dive into a discussion about screenshot capturing in games and specific “photo modes”.  We talk about the Folding Ideas video essay called “Why It’s Rude to Suck at Warcraft” and this week's news that Blizzard is essentially done in China as their relationship with Net Ease disintegrates.

Topics Discussed

• Warhammer 40k Darktide
• Undecember
• Slime Rancher 2
• Launching Mstdn.Games
• New World Migrations
• Themiscyra becomes Heliopolis
• Screenshots and Photo Modes
• Why It’s Rude to Suck at Warcraft
• Blizzard is Done in China

Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We have a bit of a short show, maybe the shortest we have recorded in a long time.  We start off with our recurring topic of Elon Musk and the Corporate Collapse Speedrun of Twitter. From there we dive into some preliminary discussion of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.  Last week during the show Kodra and Ash spent the entire time playing with a Hollow Knight Randomizer and we talk a bit about that process.  From there we dive into the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo of 2952 in Star Citizen.  Tam shares a few hardware topics about his new Flight Stick setup and migrating over to an Ultrawide display.  Finally, Bel talks a little bit about his adventures in New World and hitting 200 in Armorsmithing.

Topics Discussed

• Corporate Collapse Speedrun Week 4
• Vox Populi, Vox Dei
• Twitter is down to a few hundred employees
• Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
• Hollow Knight Randomizer Shenanigans
• Star Citizen
• Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2952
• Big Events in Games
• Fun with Flight Sticks
• Ultrawide vs 4k
• Continuing to enjoy 1440p
• New World Leveling Updates

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

In this show, we start off as we have the last several weeks with a discussion about the Corporate Collapse Speedrun that is Muskrat and Twitter.  We don’t want to talk about it… but each week brand new levels of stupid nonsense keep happening.  Bel talks about his mission to document “camps” and gear drops in New World and how he is having to unlearn some of his “Roleplaying Server” biases.  Tam talks a bit about Battletech, Mechwarrior, and the mods that are currently available for both.  Kodra talks a bit about being “Sudoku Famous” and having a puzzle featured on Cracking the Cryptic.  Ash talks about revisiting Tactics Ogre Reborn now that it is actually on a platform he currently can play on.  Tam talks about the Star Citizen Intergalactic Aerospace Expo coming up this week and some of the progress made for open worlds and race tracks.  Finally, Bel makes a plea that if you are not watching Andor…  you should get on that because it might be the best Star Wars to date.

Topics Discussed

• Corporate Collapse Speedrun Week 3
• Fun with Corporate Account Impersonation
• Real-World Stock Price Consequences
• New World Loot Drop Camps
• Documenting Easy 590 Weapons
• Unlearning Roleplaying Server Bias
• Battletech, Mechwarrior, and Mod Support
• Sudoku with Bases
• Kodra was featured on Cracking the Cryptic
• Tactics Ogre Reborn
• Star Citizen: IAE
• Watch Andor Please

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

This week was one of those shows when I was not entirely certain we had enough material.  Yet in spite of that…  we once again ran over our intended hour-long recording time.  We start off the show with Ash engaging in some Bel-like mechanical nonsense and attempting to repurpose a dedicated dance pad into something more universal.  From there we dive into some discussion about what is going on at Twitter this week and how it feels like somewhere between a guild falling apart and the closing of an MMORPG.  Kodra talks about Overhaul…  which is a roguelike Sudoku.  He completely lost Bel when he got to the Sudoku part.  From there we dive into a discussion about how weird and frustrating it can be to come back to a game after being gone for a very long time, and how none of them really do a great job of re-onboarding you.

Topics Discussed

• Beethoven Virus
• Adapting a dedicated dance pad to general purposes
• Twitter and the Thanos Snap
• Speedrunning the Death of a Company
• Feels like playing a dying MMORPG
• Mastodon doesn’t want to be the next Twitter
• Overhaul
• The Roguelike Sudoku
• Returning to Games
• Games Do a Bad Job of Re-Onboarding Returners

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we have a bit of a weird show, where we start off talking about the nonsense happening over on Twitter with the Muskrat purchase of the company going through.  Bel talks a bit about social media alternatives and how the administrators on the Fediverse/Mastodon instances are straining a bit under the load.  From there we talk a bit about the community being angry at Magic, and Bel’s adventures in buying the cheapest Wish dot com proxies he could find.  We continue to talk about New World and how Themiscyra is now open for business again.  There are a number of interesting changes on the PTR and we talk through those.  Finally, we land on Fallout 76, the game the other half of the show has been enjoying.  The crew playing makes their way into The Pitt expedition and talks a bit about that experience.

Topics Discussed

• Twitter Nonsense
• Muskrat Buys Dumpster Fire
• Fediverse Admins are Tired
• Magic Debacle Continued
• Bel’s Adventures in Cheap Proxies
• Secret Lair Frustrations
• Magic Vegas Frustrations
• New World
• Themiscyra Open for Business
• Gathering still the best
• Weird level-band problems
• Upcoming changes
• Fallout 76
• Entering The Pitt

Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

This week we had a full house with everyone on the podcast.  With the way life has been lately this has been a rare treasure.  We start off with some talk about Grace’s experiences in Torchlight Infinite and Kaichu.  Ash talks a bit about Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom and how the entire Wonder Boy series is nonsense.  Thalen shares his thoughts about the launch of Marvel Snap.  Kodra talks a bit about Mario and Rabbids Spark of Hope and how wrong it is that the Rabbids can now talk.  From there we dive into the New World Re-Roll and how in spite of our best intentions we still could not get everyone on the same damned server.  Finally we wrap up with a little bit of talk about the not-MyLittlePony fighting game called Them’s Fightin Herds.

Topics Discussed

• Torchlight Infinite
• Kaichu
• Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
• Marvel Snap
• Mario and Rabbids Spark of Hope
• New World Re-roll
• Fatal Flaw
• Them’s Fightin Herds

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We start with a topic we did not get to last week and talk about the modern Digimon Card game.  From there we talk about Fallout 76 and Thalen beginning the game, along with the various improvements that have happened over the years.  We talk very briefly and very spoiler free about how good She-Hulk was.  Kodra talks a bit about Taiji and its more approachable and less pretentious version of The Witness.  Bel talks a bit about the Torchlight Infinite Open Beta and how you can actually use keybinds now.  Ash talks about the card game roguelike Roguebook, and while Richard Garfield was involved it is nothing like Magic.  Tam talks about how good the Leagues of Votann are and then dives into a topic about finding his white whale and how dumb limited availability items are.

Topics Discussed

• Digimon Card Game
• Fallout 76
• She-Hulk was Phenomenal
• Taiji
• Torchlight Infinite is Playable
• Roguebook
• Squats are Back
• Limited-Availability is Dumb

Featuring:  Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

We talk about the controversy burning through the Magic the Gathering community of Wizards selling random boosters of unplayable proxies for $250 a pop.  We talk a bit about how this has triggered condemnation from players and the finance community.  From there Grace talks a bit about the Halloween event going on in Ooblets and the costumes you can earn by playing.  Kodra talks about how maybe Mario Odyssey is a bridge too far regarding control scheme complexity for speed run tactics.  We finally have a date for the New World Brimstone Sands patch release and we talk a bit about our plans, and how Amazon is seemingly bungling things again by not having the “Fresh Start” servers ready until November.  We talk a little bit about video game redemption stories and how the tales of FFXIV and No Man’s Sky are seemingly way more common than they used to be.  Finally, we dive into a discussion about Horror Films brought on by Bel’s recent series of top ten lists by sub-genre.

Topics Discussed

• Magic the Gathering Money Grab
• 30th Anniversary Proxy Set
• $1000 for 60 cards
• Ooblets Halloween Event
• Mario Odyssey Control Scheme Complexity
• New World Brimstone Sands on 10/18
• Our reroll plans
• Bungling Fresh Start Servers
• Video Game Redemption Stories
• An Ode to Horror Films
• Bel’s Top Ten Lists
• Science Fiction and Horror

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Thalen

We have one of our smallest shows in a really long time as we are down an Ammosart, Grace, Tamirleo, and lose Kodra about halfway through the show.  This leads to a bit of an odd feeling show.  Tonight we burn through a bunch of small topics starting with congrats to ChainChompBraden who beat a Mario Maker 1 map they built seven years ago…  and have been grinding away on for thousands of hours.  From there we talk about the Donkey Kong Adventures DLC for Mario and Rabbids.  We talk about what appears to be the endless spoiler season of magic these days as Warhammer 40k, Dominaria United, Unfinity, and Brothers War fade into each other.  We talk a bit about Rhythm games and while not inspired by Trombone Champ we talk a bit about that game as well.  Bel talks about the early woes with Torchlight Infinite and how they appear to be buying legitimacy by hiring David Brevik as a consultant.  Finally, we talk about what appears to be the second death of G4 Television.

Topics Discussed

• Congratz to ChainChompBraden
• Goodbye Stadia
• The Future of Cloud Gaming
• Mario and Rabbids Donkey Kong Adventures
• Endless Magic the Gathering Spoiler Season
• Rhythm Games
• Trombone Champ
• Torchlight Infinite
• Buying Legitimacy
• David Brevik Consultancy
• The Second Death of G4

Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks!  We were expecting to be down both a Grace and a Tam but at the very last minute, Tam was available.  We talked a bit about the new Return to Monkey Island game and how it is educating us on important anchor facts.  From there we talk about one of the longest-to-deliver Kickstarter called Two Guys Spaceventure, which styles itself as a new Space Quest game but largely fails at delivering.  From there we talk about the card games of Richard Garfield and what his initial design intent was versus how the games actually play.  From there we talk a bit about Star Ocean: The Divine Force which has released a demo this week.  We talked a bit about the announcement of the 4000 Series Nvidia cards and the 70% price increase that comes with them.  We talked about how Twitch seems to be eating itself and the onslaught of folks shifting to YouTube after changes in revenue splits.  Finally, Bel talks about getting a Steam Deck and how he has already caused his device to get into a boot loop.  We talk a bit about how the hardware works so well for being a completely hands-off console for Tam but also allowing Bel to tinker endlessly with his setup.

Topics Discussed

• Return to Monkey Island
• Two Guys Spaceventure
• As Garfield Intended
• Pokemon
• Magic the Gathering
• Richard Garfield’s Intent
• Star Ocean: The Divine Force Demo
• Nvidia Price Hike
• Don’t buy a 4000 Series Card
• AMD Price Drops
• Twitch Eats Itself
• The migration to YouTube
• Bricking the Steam Deck
• Bel gets a Deck and Fiddles with it
• Logitech G Cloud doesn’t make sense

We start off the show with a hearty congratulations to Tam who will likely be out for a few weeks because he is in dad mode with a very “smol hume”.  From there we talk a bit about the Fall of Babylon…  or at least Babylon’s Fall and the game we never understood why it was a thing officially shuttering in February.  It has been a very Not-E3 week as all major players had a significant presence at the Tokyo Game Show.  More specifically we talk a lot about everything that came out of the Nintendo Direct.  It is time for the Nightmare Tower in Guild Wars 2 as Season 1 Episode 4 drops, leaving we believe only one more episode to go before the story hole has officially been patched.  Bel talks at length about his adventures on the New World PTR and more specifically some of the massive changes to how crafting works.  From there we dive into a discussion about Path of Exile and how it isn’t really a “chill” game.  When the game is good it is great, but when it is bad it is atrocious.  As always though when we complain about games it comes from a place of love, because if we don’t really care…  we just don’t talk about it.

Topics Discussed

• Babylon’s Fall Shutdown
• Tokyo Game Show
• Nintendo Direct
• New World PTR
• Path of Exile Frustrations

Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Tonight we attempt to record a show that is only an hour in length but fail again overshooting by about fifteen minutes.  We are down a Tam because life happens, and Kodra had to travel to Ash’s house to get internet…  but we get a shot out the door regardless.  We start off with a quick recap on the experience of starting Ooblets from scratch, then dive into a discussion about the next Shovel Knight game from a different studio.  Ash talks a bit about his experiences with PAX West and we discuss games that evoke the style of a specific era in console games.  This dives into a whole discussion about our console gaming experiences throughout the years.  Bel talks a bit about the upcoming patch to New World and how it is completely changing the starting game experience for the better.  

From there we dive into a discussion about Path of Exile and how spending some in-game currency on a build can make a massive difference.  We talk about narrowing down the hunt for Atlas completion as Grace and Bel get close to wrapping that up.  Then we dive into a side topic about how easy it is just to write off bad performance when maybe it is something you did to cause it.  Essentially running Path of Exile on a mechanical drive makes a massive difference, and you really should use a high-quality SSD.

Topics Discussed

• Ooblets
• Shovel Knight Dig
• PAX West
• Retro Styled Games
• New World Revitalization
• Path of Exile
• Spending lots of currency on a build
• Closing in on Atlas Completion
• Dealing with Bad Performance

Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks!  What happens when we have a few weeks worth of Path of Exile discussion bottled up?  Well, apparently we record a two hour long show!  Bel was completely oblivious to how long we were recording in spite of the entire crew trying to warn him.  First, we have a few quick topics about Return to Oz and the launch of Ooblets on all platforms including Nintendo Switch.  From there we dive into a long discussion about our thoughts relating to Path of Exile as a whole and how the Lake of Kalandra league has gone.  We have different points of entry from those of us who have been grinding away at maps, and those who have yet to finish the campaign.  We also attempt to scare Kodra who thinks he has seen a lot of systems so far…  but has yet to unlock half of them.

Topics Discussed

• Return to Oz
• Ooblets Launch
• Path of Exile
• Lake of Kalandra League

Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we come back with a normal show after our Questions and Answer session for episode 400.  We were originally going to talk about the Path of Exile Kalandra League, but due to some technical difficulties Grace was unable to attend and we bumped that topic for another week.  We start off with a few new titles that Tam has been playing, namely Eastward and Rollerdrome.  The second of which most of us thought was going to be some new esports title, not a single player rollerderby shooter.  From there we talk about the shocking news of the PS5 price going up specifically in Japan but also in every other market that is not the United States and the ramifications that might have.  From there we pick up the Gaming Futurism topic from the 400th episode and dive into how Tam thinks the future is mobile.  Then at the very end of the show we somehow ended up talking about World of Warcraft, and I am not entirely certain I can trace that journey.

Topics Discussed

• Eastward
• Rollerdrome
• Sony PS5 Price hike and Japanese market
• Epic Exclusivity and the Black Hole of their Storefront
• Gaming Futurism
• Accidental World of Warcraft topic

Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight is a bit of an odd show because it is in fact our 400th episode of AggroChat.  If you had told me in April of 2015 that we would still be doing the show in 2022…  I probably would have given you some side-eye.  However here we are and for the most part, AggroChat has above all other things…  been a time that the seven of us hang out every single week both in the lead-up to the show and events that often spawn after the show.  Last week after the show we kicked around the idea of doing something special, which ended up materializing into a Question and Answer session.

Huge thanks to our listeners who gave us some questions on the spur of the moment.  The complete lack of planning…  absolutely fits the overall theme of AggroChat as a show.  We had a lot of fun answering the questions so who knows…  maybe we will do another one of these at 500 or 600.

Topics Discussed

• Listener Submitted Questions

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Sometimes a big week happens where there is a collision of events leading us to all want to talk about a game.  We welcome Kodra back from GenCon 2022 and he talks about his experiences namely the LARPs he participated in and this leads to a discussion of Warmachine 4.0.  From there we spend some time talking about the Path of Exile 3.19 Lake of Kalandra league reveal stream and the changes it is ushering in.  Bel and Ammo talk a bit about Tower of Fantasy which seems to be a universally better version of Genshin Impact set in a science fiction borderlands/wildstar-like universe.  Finally, we wrap things up with some talk about Cult of the Lamb where you sacrifice your friends for fun and profit.

Topics Discussed

• GenCon 2022
• LARPs
• Warmachine 4.0
• What is going on?
• Path of Exile
• 3.19 Lake of Kalandra Stream
• Tower of Fantasy
• Cult of the Lamb

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we are down a Kodra because he is off enjoying GenCon.  If you see a spot on Fred from Scooby Doo in GenCon photos, that would probably be him.  We start with a topic that was purposefully bumped from last week because the ramifications were not specific yet.  Essentially Star Citizen did a progress wipe and maybe got it wrong with a rounding error causing players to end up with way more money than they had before.  From there we talk about the Festival of the Four Winds in Guild Wars 2 and some purposefully non-spoiler Sandman discussion.  Bel talks a bit about trying out Kingdom Come Deliverance and how their attempt at a clever combat system blows but can largely be fixed with mods.  From there we dive into a weird topic against gatekeeping and the joy of seeing people discovering Kate Bush.  Then we dive into a Blizzard section as we talk about the cancellation of WoW Mobile, grouping issues in Diablo Immortal, and just general issues with Blizzard.  Finally, we wrap things up with a little discussion about Xenoblade 3.

Topics Discussed:

• Star Citizen 3.17.2
• Wipes
• Stipends
• Content Drop
• Problems
• Guild Wars 2 
• Festival of the Four Winds
• No Spoiler Sandman
• Kingdom Come Deliverance
• Fixing it with Mods
• A Case Against Gatekeeping
• The Return of Kate Bush
• WoW Mobile Cancelled
• Exploring the potential whys
• Diablo Immortal Grouping Problems
• 100k Whale can’t get a group
• Blizzard Woes
• Xenoblade 3 Rocks

Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we are back and instead of Bel being sick this time we have Kodra who sounds awful.  First up we start with a discussion about Tam’s experiences with the Steam Deck and how it is a phenomenal device.  From there we talk about Tam dropping down to 1440p high framerate after spending time running at 4K and how he has been a better experience.  Ash talks about Digimon Survive finally released and his experiences with the game.  Bel gets into Dragonflight Alpha for World of Warcraft and talks about his first few weeks.  From there we talk about some of the early experiences with Multiversus and the high-quality smash bros style gameplay.  Kodra talks about the upcoming Kickstarter for Nara: Facing Fire.  Tam talks about Anno: Mutationem and its interesting take on Cyberpunk and that it is not at all connected to the Anno Series.  Finally, we wrap up with some discussion of the recent Ocarina of Time TAS play for Summer Games Done Quick.

Featured Topics

• Steam Deck Ownership
• Downgrading to 1440p
• Digimon Survive Released
• Dragonflight Alpha
• Multiversus
• Nara: Facing Fire
• Anno: Mutationem
• SGDQ Ocarina of Time TAS

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We are back!  Bel was sick last week from an unknown illness that is very likely, not Covid and as such we did not record.  Tonight we had a wealth of topics and in the end, made it through very few of them.  We start off by talking about one of Ash’s comfort games Okami and his recent experiences playing through it on the PlayStation 4.  From there we talk about Stray and how Bel and Grace have deeply mixed feelings about it and Tam loved it.  Since it is always fun to dunk on NFT projects, we talk about Microsoft decimating NFTWorld by declaring that there will be no NFT projects associated with Minecraft.  While this is a bit of an old topic we talk about the return of E3 and how Reed Pop will be running the show in 2023.  We also talk about what this might mean for a shift in the show from being largely industry-focused to more fan service.  Finally, a number of us have reached the end game of Path of Exile and we talk about those experiences.

Topics Discussed

• Okami
• Stray
• NFTWorld Burns
• Reed Pop and E3
• Path of Exile Endgame

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we have a show where we are mostly discovering games that have been out for a very long time.  We start off with Rimworld and Tam’s adventures in this story generation engine.  From there we talk about Wolfstride and how it is a very 90s anime representation of a video game.  From there Tam talks a bit about the Star Citizen Guide program that links someone needing help with a live person to help them, and how recent changes have made that system work strangely.  Finally, we dive into Path of Exile and how the rabbit hole has widened and captured most of us.  We talk about confronting the passive tree and the weird edge case builds it can support along with some early multiplayer experiences.  We also talk a bit about how important it is for games to support a controller and a mouse and keyboard to meet the players where they are most comfortable.  Finally, we dive a bit into the microtransactions within Path of Exile and their general acceptance.

Topics Discussed

• Rimworld Adventures
• Wolfstride
• Very 90s Anime Game
• Star Citizen’s Guide System
• Echos of Everquest Guide System
• Path of Exile
• The rabbit hole widens
• Multiplayer experiences
• Controller Support in ARPGs
• Acceptance of MTX

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We did not record a show last week because the news of our country was a bit too fresh for most of us to talk about video games.  Now another week has passed and the wound has begun to scab over a bit.  Tonight we start down a Thalen and Grace but eventually pick up a Thalen as we go.  We talk about Summer Games Done Quick and have an aside about Wiley Wars coming to the Switch.  From there folks talk about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and trying to play it six-player on a console that does not support that.  From there Bel talks about falling back into Diablo III and finishing out Season 26…  while also playing a horrible ideas class that is really bad at boosting friends.  From there Bel talks about his recent experience diving down the Path of Exile rabbit hole.  Guild Wars 2 made many changes that were not well received by the most hardcore players, but we largely think they are a good thing and talk about that.  Finally, we wrap up with a quick discussion about Outriders Worldslayer and how it is still a very bleak game, but also a great mechanical experience if you can get past that.

Topics Discussed

• Summer Games Done Quick
• Wiley Wars on Switch
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
• Diablo III Season 26
• Bad Ideas Build
• Being a Bad Carry
• Path of Exile
• Bel Goes Down this Rabbit Hole
• Guild Wars 2 Massive Changes
• Outriders Worldslayer
• Still a Bleak Game

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight was a weird show.  Firstly we are recording this show on Belghast’s Birthday, which in our almost 400 episodes I am not sure we have actually recorded on one of our Birthdays before.  We set out with the mission of recording a show about the “Not E3” festivities that have been going on but get sidetracked as one does.  Instead, we go down a path of talking about Diablo Immortal once again, but from the standpoint of how exactly one should be funding game development.  Clearly, the NetEase and Blizzard team chose violence, but how exactly does one fund modern game development costs when the market has shown that if the price trickles up from $60…  folks freak out.  From there we do eventually return to talking about Sony, Microsoft, and whatever Geoff Keighly is running that now serves as the replacement for E3.

Topics Discussed

• Bel’s Birthday
• Diablo Immortal Again
• Funding Games Ethically
• Gamepass Model
• Microsoft Show
• Silksong
• Valheim Cross Play between Gamepass and Steam
• Star Citizen, Starfield, and the era of Space Games
• Redfall
• The Gamesir X2 controller reprised