This evening we do our traditional Games of the Year show, and apparently we are way less verbose than we used to be.  These shows used to get chopped into two roughly hour and a half long shows… but this year we managed to do it in pretty much two hours straight.  What makes this even more interesting is the fact that we churned through nineteen games in the process. Ultimately we each pick roughly five games that were important to us during the calendar year, and some overlap always occurs.  This year less overlap happened than is normal.


Games Discussed

  • CrossCode
  • Destiny 2 Forsaken
  • Dragon Quest XI
  • Fallout 76
  • Subnautica
  • Gloomhaven
  • Heroes of Hammerwatch
  • Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 2
  • Diablo 3 on Switch
  • Magic the Gathering Arena
  • Night in the Woods
  • Super Smash Bros Ultimate
  • Hitman 2
  • Return of the Obra Dinn
  • Spiderman
  • Hollow Knight
  • Dragalia Lost
  • Monster Hunter World
Direct download: aggrochat_episode233.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:21am EDT

Tonight we are down a few people and have a fairly scattered show where we cover a bunch of topics… but none of them super deeply?  You can tell we were all somewhat out of it because while editing the podcast there were a bunch of really lengthy pauses. Tonight Bel rails in the Elder Scrolls Patcher apparently being blocked by various ISPs including his.  He also talks a bit about the Destiny 2 Dawning Event and making questionable baked goods. Thalen talks a bit about the FFXIV Starlight Celebration event.

Bel spins up a topic from his blog about the seeming return to NDA restricted games testing.  Thalen talks about Return of the Obra Dinn, and Kodra a bit about Gris. We discuss the topic that has bounced around a bit on the significance of going Left in video games.  There is some brief discussion about Artifact and how it is trying to right the ship… and some of the MTG Finance speculation that came into that market quickly that is super angry about the price crash.  Finally we talk a bit about Starfinder and Pathfinder in general and the lack of really good ready made third party modules.

Topics Discussed

  • Elder Scrolls Online Patcher Problems
  • Destiny 2
    • The Dawning Event
  • Final Fantasy XIV
    • Starlight Celebration
  • NDA Testing Makes a Comeback
  • Return of the Obra Dinn
  • Gris
  • Going Left
    • Night in the Woods
    • Metroid
    • Castlevania Symphony of the Night
    • Braid
  • Artifact Tries to Fix Things
    • MTG Finance meets Artifact Speculation
  • Starfinder
    • Third Party Modules
Direct download: aggrochat_episode232.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:53am EDT

Tonight we had more topics than we had time to talk about them, but we managed to hit the majority of them.  First up Bel talks about his frustrations with Black Armory the latest content drop in Destiny 2 and their overarching plan of content releases going forward.  He also talks a bit about the Last Wish raid that he got drug through this week. From there we talk a bit about the Game Awards and how weird it is that they are actually relevant.  We discuss how it is turning into E3 part two as major shows give big release information… and occasionally they give an award for things between the commercials. Grace talks about Hades the new title from Supergiant Games and how it jumps right into her wheelhouse of the Action RPG blended with a Rogue Lite.  This also starts a discussion about how Epic Games is vying for serious competition with Steam by discounting their cut of sales. Finally we talk about the new Smash Bros game and the World of Light adventure mode.

Featured Topics

  • Shiana verifying Tam Was Rogue Class Lead
  • Destiny 2
    • The Black Armory
    • Last Wish Raid
  • GAME Awards
    • E3 2.0?
    • Various Games Announced
  • Hades - Supergiant Games
  • Epic Games Storefront vs Steam Storefront
  • Super Smash Bros Ultimate
    • World of Light
Direct download: aggrochat_episode231.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 11:04am EDT

Tonight we talk a bit about Monster Hunter World Winter Star Event and how maddening the Tempered Kirin is.  From there we talk about the closing of MMOs and specifically the loss of Wildstar. Several of us have returned to Final Fantasy XIV as is often the case at the end of an expansion.  We briefly talk about some frustrations with World of Warcraft and then go into a discussion about puzzle games you can zone out while playing specifically Tetris Effect in VR and the amazing Lumines.

Topics Discussed

  • Monster Hunter World
    • Winter Star Event
    • Tempered Kirin
    • Talking about Various Weapons
  • Closing of MMOs
    • The Last Hours of Wildstar
    • Star Wars Galaxies
    • City of Heroes
    • Games being Bought
  • Returning to FFXIV
    • Main Story Quest
    • Palace of the Dead
  • World of Warcraft Issues
  • Tetris Effect in VR
    • Lumines
    • Bejeweled
    • Peggle Loot
  • Missing Game Forums
Direct download: aggrochat_episode230.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:19am EDT

Tonight we talk about a bunch of differing topics… that sorta blend together into a mix of ideas.  We start off with some discussion of Thanksgiving Leftover abominations. From here Belghast talks a bit about his experiences with extremely Hardcore players on mobile phone games.  This sorta leads its way into discussions of MMO Design problems, which itself leads to talking about the FFXIV Shadowbringers expansion announcement. We discuss the problems with the Blue Mage and how the Limited Class construct is probably not the right way to do it.  This leads eventually into a discussion of the shenanigans that Tam and Kodra and crew have been up to in Fallout 76.

Topics Discussed:

  • Thanksgiving Leftover Abominations
  • Hardcore Mobile Players
  • MMO Design Problems
  • Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringer
  • Blue Mage Limited Job
  • Fallout 76
Direct download: aggrochat_episode229.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:14am EDT

Tonight we talk about a bunch of things starting off with the interesting and also sort of weird experience of watching a movie, and having a live orchestra play the soundtrack.  Ash talks about his experiences with the new Spyro the dragon and the practice of modernizing games without really changing the original gameplay. From there we talk about the insanely charming Pokemon Let’s Go game and how it is seemingly way more sticky for a few of us than core Pokemon games.  Tam and Kodra talk about how with Diablo 3 on the Switch they finally understand what Grace and Bel see in this game. Grace talks a bit about the new Netflix She-Ra. Bel talks about his disappointment in the newest Hellgate: London steam release. Finally we end up in a lengthy conversation about Fallout 76 multiplayer and how this game does not deserve the grief reviewers have been heaping on it.

Topics Discussed:

  • Orchestra Plus a Movie
  • Spyro
  • Pokemon Let’s Go
  • Diablo 3 Switch
  • She-Ra
  • Hellgate: London
  • Fallout 76
Direct download: aggrochat_episode228.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:30am EDT

Tonight we are down a few people but pick up with a topic that sorta got skipped from the previous week which is Deltarune the new Toby Fox Game.  From there Kodra talks about his experiences with The Messenger and then the game Getting Over It. At which point we discuss how much Kodra apparently loves meat grinder games.  Bel talks about the purchase of Obsidian and inExile and how it is probably good for the longevity of those studios. From there we discuss the conflict between investors and game players….  Fighting for the soul of a game beginning with the news that Destiny 2 is “Under Performing” and sorta going off in different directions from there. Bel talks about his experiences trying a bunch of new Mobile games and encounters the weird trend of mobile games that literally play themselves.  Finally we move into a discussion about how much Ashgar would like us all to try Cross Code.

Topics Discussed

  • Deltarune
  • The Messenger
  • Getting Over It
  • Microsoft Purchase of Obsidian and inExile
  • Destiny 2 “Under Performing”
  • Trying Action RPGS
    • Last Epoch
    • Grim Dawn
    • Path of Exile
    • Wolcen
  • Mobile Games Playing Themselves
    • Crusaders of Light
    • Lineage II: Revolution
  • Cross Code
Direct download: aggrochat_episode227.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 11:18am EDT

Tonight we have a packed show full of topics to discuss because as we hurdle towards the holiday season… a bunch of stuff is happening.  First up we talk about Super Smash Bros Ultimate and the inclusion of the World of Light single player system. From there with similar Nintendo topics we talk a bit about the Diablo 3 Switch release and just how good it feels.  Chaining off that we get into a discussion about Blizzcon 2018 and the announcement that the community was not prepared for… Diablo Immortal. We try and break this down a little bit, talk about the positives of it, and explain why the community as a whole freaked the hell out in a very toxic and dangerous manner.  

Admittedly somewhere along in here we jump around through a bunch of topics but eventually settle into a discussion of World of Warcraft Classic and all of the things Bel quite honestly didn’t remember from playing on a retro client.  Saturday afternoon Bel, Tam and Kodra spent a few hours roaming around in Fallout 76, so there is some talk about how much they are now looking forward to the release. Finally we wrap up with a brief discussion of Deltarune, which honestly happened in a few places during the show…  but will likely be reprised next week.


Topics Discussed:

  • Super Smash Bros Ultimate
    • World of Light
  • Diablo 3 Switch
  • Blizzcon 2018
    • Diablo Immortal
  • World of Warcraft Classic
  • Fallout 76
  • Deltarune
Direct download: aggrochat_episode226.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:12am EDT

This week we welcome Thalen back from his Japanese sojourn, and with that we have a brief reprisal of the monetization topic from a few weeks back.  From there he talks a bit about his own experiences in Japan and how watching Tam experience it for the first time brought back all the feelings of his own first memories.  We talk a bit about slow game starts, primarily Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and then some talk of Persona games. From there Bel talks a bit about digging into Destiny 2 Forsaken and all of the quality of life tweaks that have been made.  From there we discuss Starlink and how the Nintendo Switch Digital Deluxe version is the correct way to purchase this game. Finally at the very end there is some talk of League of Legends Worlds.

Topics Discussed

  • Monetization Reprised
    • The Sad Demise of Marvel Heroes
  • Thalen in Japan
    • Raubahn is the Scowlingest Soup
  • Slow Game Starts
    • Xenoblade Chronicles 2
    • Persona 5
    • Personal 4
  • Destiny 2 Forsaken
    • Itemization Changes
    • Gambit
    • Haunted Forest
  • Starlink
    • Playing as Fox
    • Switch Digital Deluxe
  • League of Legends Worlds
Direct download: aggrochat_episode225.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:02am EDT

Tonight we lead off the show with a brief explanation of why there was no show last week.  Namely Bel was at a wedding, Grace still in DC, Tam and Thalen in Japan… and Kodra and Ash probably wisely decided not to record a duo show.  No offense to any of the bajillion podcasts out there that are always a duo show… but that isn’t our schtick. Since Tam is in fact back from his vacation we talk a bit about his experiences on his first trip to Japan.  This leads into a discussion about the Pokemon Go culture and how popular the game is there. From there Bel talks briefly about his nonsense “Wireless Ethernet” set up and playing the latest God of War game over it. From there we delve into a discussion about the Hollow Knight Randomizer and Steel Soul mode.  Finally we briefly touch on The Messenger and Gris.

Topics Discussed:

  • Why No Show Last Week
  • Tam’s Adventures in Japan
    • Pokemon Go Culture
  • Wireless Ethernet
    • Parsec Remote Play
    • Playstation Remote PLay
  • God of War
    • Dad of War
    • Wages of Toxic Masculinity
  • Hollow Knight
    • Randomizer
    • Steel Soul Mode
  • The Messenger
  • Gris
Direct download: aggrochat_episode224.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:28am EDT

This week we are down half of our show, but weirdly enough ended up very close to our original line up from the first few AggroChat shows…  only missing Rae. We were concerned we might not have enough material for a show, but wound up only about 10 minutes short of our average which seems pretty good.  Tonight we talk about Monetization in Free to Play games and in part why some games it feels good to spend money on, and others it feels exploitative. This explores mobile games and mmorpgs as well.  From there Bel talks a bit about his experiences restarting with Monster Hunter World PC and how weirdly most of the progress was raising his skill and not necessarily his gearing. Kodra talks about his experiences with Mega Man 11 which leads to a discussion of this golden age of modern 2D side scrollers.  Finally we wrap things up with some discussion about Guilds of Ravnica and how it feels in a constructed and sealed environment on MTG Arena.

 

Topics Discussed

  • Free to Play Monetization
    • Mobile Games
    • Dragalia Lost
    • MMORPGs
    • Elder Scrolls Online
    • Star Wars the Old Republic
    • Neverwinter
  • Monster Hunter World
    • Skill Acquisition vs Gear Acquisition
    • Small but awesome PC community
  • Mega Man 11
    • Hollow Knight
    • Shovel Knight
    • Celeste
    • Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon
    • Retro Feeling Modern Games
  • Guilds of Ravnica
    • MTG Arena
    • Sealed Play
    • Constructed Play
Direct download: aggrochat_episode223.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:49am EDT

Tonight my stalwart friends managed to make me completely fail at getting through the intro once more.  The truth is I never know what Ash is going to say when I call upon him… tonight was not a thing I was expecting.  The first game discussed was Spiderman for PS4 which had rolled over from a few shows. Next up the start of the MTG Arena Open Beta and the end of wipes…  so that everything from this point in theory carried forward indefinitely. Kodra talks about his experiences playing Celeste and its interesting variable difficulty settings.  We talk about Dragalia Lost and how it is once again taking the world by storm… as most Nintendo mobile releases seem to. Finally we talk a bit about Battle for Azeroth and why some of the systems and the grind involved with them feels bad and often times pointless.

Topics Discussed:

  • Spiderman PS4
  • MTG Arena - Open Beta
  • Celeste
  • Dragalia Lost
  • World of Warcraft Grind
Direct download: aggrochat_episode222.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:33am EDT

Tonight we have another show largely made up of topics that have rolled over from previous shows when we ran out of time.  We start the show with some reasonable methadone for Justice Monsters Five… in the form of a little early access Android game called Zombie Rollers.  From there we talk a bit about Dragon Quest XI which leads to a discussion about Dragon Warrior and Quest titles in North America. Tam talks about his experiences with Hyperlight Drifter on the switch which leads its way to a discussion about Hollow Knight.  This time said discussion is a spoiler filled dive and I highly suggest playing the game before checking out this segment. Finally at the very end we talk about Diablo 3 Season 15… the upcoming switch release, our hopes for Blizzcon and some of the rumors circulating.

Topics Discussed

  • Zombie Rollers
    • Justice Monsters Five
  • Dragon Quest XI
    • Dragon Warrior NES Games
    • Phantasy Star Series
  • Hyperlight Drifter
  • Hollow Knight
    • Full Spoiler Deep Dive
  • Diablo 3 Season 15
    • Switch Release
    • BlizzCon Hopes
    • Rumors
Direct download: aggrochat_episode221.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:26am EDT

Tonight we record a show that has almost nothing to do with Gorb…  but you are going to get that as a name anyways because reasons. This is another one of those shows that has a bunch of topics that kept rolling over from other shows until we managed to align enough of them that sorta made sense together.  Tonight we talk about MMOs an awful lot covering the life cycle of the new player experience, returning player experience and the completely and total nonsense that happens at end game with power creep.

Rough Approximation of Topics

  • DPS Shortage
    • Why We Apparently Only Know Tanks and Healers
  • The New Player Experience
    • World of Warcraft
    • Final Fantasy XIV
    • Destiny Series
    • Warframe
  • The Returning Character Experience
    • All of the Above Again
    • How The Secret World did it Poorly
  • Power Creep
    • Why did we stat squish only to be irresponsible again?
    • Mudflation the term that actually came from MUDs
  • Nintendo Direct
    • We accidentally talk about stuff coming out on Switch
Direct download: aggrochat_episode220.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:54am EDT

Last week we did not have a show because half of AggroChat was at Pax West and no one really wanted to listen to Grace and I trying to do a show by ourselves.  Tonight however we have the entire gang back with a bounty of games to talk about from Pax West 2018. This is a really long list and we managed to get through all of them in our normal allotted time.  Be warned as we go further into the bowels of this list, the discussion points get considerably more brief. There were twenty eight games that I was able to catch… there might have been more and they may not be in the same order…  but we gave it an attempt to track it all.

  • Kodra is Famous Now
  • Pax West Show Run Down
    • Artifact
    • Dauntless
    • Starlink
    • Untitled Goose Game
    • Never Give Up
    • Risk of Rain 2
    • Get in the car, Loser
    • Necrosphere
    • Exception
    • Gris
    • Dragon Marked for Death
    • Spin Rhythm
    • Star Renegades
    • Soundfall
    • Summoner's Fate
    • Indivisible
    • Decoherence
    • Evergate
    • Party Golf/Party Crashers
    • Children of Morta
    • Pathfinder: Kingmaker
    • Necrobarista
    • Russian Subway Dogs
    • Element Space
    • Zombie Rollerz
    • Dusk: Arena of Shadows
    • Gizmos
    • Felix the Reaper
Direct download: aggrochat_episode219.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:58am EDT

Tonight we have the full group and end up talking mostly about World of Warcraft and the Battle For Azeroth expansion so far.  If you listened last week... Tam became interested enough in the expansion that he renewed his account which lead to a whole sequence of events happening.  One of which resulted in him finding out he had a hopelessly broken character. We talk about that event and the absolutely primo customer service he received as a result of it.  We talk about the lack of players in War mode and how Blizzard apparently is planning on throwing more incentives towards playing in that fashion. We talk about our experiences in dungeons so far and how some seem way harder than others.  We talk about the release of the Queen Azshara cinematic and what that maybe means for the future. We talk about how we are seeing some of the best storytelling in WoW's history through this expansion. Tam presents an impassioned defense of playing "boring" humans in fantasy games, which leads to a discussion more about world building than anything else.  Finally Kodra talks a bit about his new career in Glitchless Speedrunning primarily through VVVVVV, which turns into a discussion about speedrunning and the glitchless variant in particular.

Topics Discussed:

  • World of Warcraft
    • How Tam Got His Groove Back
    • Battle for Azeroth Expansion
    • War Mode - Please Be Content
    • Dungeon Experiences
    • Queen Azshara Cinematic
  • Why Humans Are Great
  • The Letter F Six Times
    • VVVVVV
    • Glitchless Speedrunning
Direct download: aggrochat_episode218.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:02am EDT

This evening we talk about a bunch of stuff but first Ashgar sings for us and makes me lose my shit…  so working as intended. Grace and Bel talk about their experiences in Battle For Azeroth so far and how it turned out not to be as factiony as we expected.  We also sorta convince Tam to give the story a shot even though we know he will bounce off it eventually. Bel talks about his recent journey into Mastodon and how it seems like a throwback to the early days of the internet.  Tam also has joined in this process and talks about how the experience so far has been better for him than Twitter was. Tam also talks about his experiences with the game Detroit and so far how it seems to be less pretentious than the average David Cage fare.  Finally we talk about some comfort gaming and enjoyable mechanical loops like Warframe, Destiny and Dead Cells.

 

Topics Discussed

  • Battle For Azeroth
    • Convincing Tam to Play
    • Better Story
    • Shockingly Minimal Faction Nonsense
  • Mastodon
    • The New Not-Twitter
    • More like a BBS or Old IRC
    • Strength of Small Communities
    • Totally not another Ello
  • Detroit
    • Interesting story
    • Less Pretentious Cage
  • Comfort Gaming
    • Warframe
    • Enjoyable Mechanical Loops
    • Destiny
    • Dead Cells

 

Direct download: aggrochat_episode217.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:04am EDT

Tonight Belghast completely crashes and has to reboot, during the intro.  Additionally Kodra also crashes at some point during the LARP conversation and we sorta have to move on while he comes back online.  It is one of those shows. You have been warned. We talk about GenCon and the convention going experience. We talk a bit about Steambirds Alliance and what a bullet-hell-perma-death-steampunk-bird-mmo is like.  If you have enough dashes you can connect any genres! We talk about Monster Hunter World on the PC and how it isn’t quite the dumpster fire that the internet reports it to be. We talk about questing in 4X games and why everyone but Bel seems to think this is an awesome.  Then we sorta break down into a lengthy diatribe about Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder and which versions were good at what. It's a Show!

Topics Discussed

  • Kodra visits GenCon
    • Convention Experiences
    • Here we Go A Larping
  • Steambirds Alliance
    • Ashgar Needs This Game
    • Spryfox Is Awesome
    • Realm of the Mad God
  • Monster Hunter World PC
    • Mostly Fine
  • Quests in 4X Games
    • Bel Thinks it sounds miserable
    • Everyone else loves them
  • Starfinder Thoughts
    • Pathfinder 2.0 Thoughts
    • Devolving into a discussion about D&D Generations
    • 3.5 Thoughts
    • 4e Thoughts
    • Open Gaming License was Awesome
    • Bel says some stuff about Palladium Games
  • The Public Nature of D&D
    • Beginning with 3rd Edition to Now
    • Critical Role
    • Talking D&D on Talk Shows
Direct download: aggrochat_episode216.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:05am EDT

As part of the 2018 Blaugust Reborn Initiative the blogger Chestnut from Gamer Girl Confessions (gamergirlconfessions.com) has challenged us to create some mini podcasts.  There is a sequence of questions that we were asked to answer, and in my case I sorta gave some pretty big combo answers for most of them.  You can find the full length of questions as part of this blog post (https://gamergirlconfessions.com/2018/07/30/imposter-syndrome-and-your-blog/).  Essentially Belghast talks about how he got his start with Tales of the Aggronaut and some general advice to new bloggers.

There is still plenty of time to participate in Blaugust this year so check out http://aggronaut.com/2018/07/09/blaugust-reborn/ for more details.

Direct download: blaugustminicast-Belghast.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:36am EDT

Tonight we have as show that goes way off course, but often times those are some of our better shows because we follow the passion.  Bel talks a bit about Blaugust Reborn and the successes so far. All of the talk about World of Warcraft has lead Tam to go back and play Warcraft 3.  We talk about where all of the story beats come from and where World of Warcraft maybe went south around Cataclysm. We also talk about maybe that there should have been a World of Warcraft 2.  We talk a bit about the new Richard Garfield game Keyforge and how Magic the Gathering is not actually the game he intended to design. Bel talks a bit about the concept of a Destiny Pen and Paper game which leads into a discussion about Modern Tabletop gaming…  and how we need the gaming version of a Country Club.


Topics Discussed:

  • Blaugust Reborn
    • 88 Participating Blogs So Far
  • Warcraft 3
    • Where the story comes from
    • World of Warcraft
    • Storytelling Issues
    • Things Went South After Cataclysm
    • We Needed World of Warcraft 2
  • Keyforge
    • Everyone likes random decks right?
  • Magic the Gathering
    • Not the game Garfield actually wanted
    • Magic Shifted Over Time
    • Rebalancing Magic
  • Destiny Pen and Paper
    • Fan Built in spite of what Bel thought
  • Modern Tabletop Explosion
  • Need for Gaming Country Clubs
    • We come up with a business model
    • Someone else make this a thing
Direct download: aggrochat_episode215.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:46am EDT

Tonight we sit down and talk through our feelings about Battle For Azeroth and its fairly tone deaf ad campaign. We dig into the "It Matters" videos and how it feels fairly irresponsible at a time when our country and world is pulled apart already by some fairly serious points of division. We talk about how playing World of Warcraft should be a thing to bring people together rather than pull them apart. We also talk about the Warbringers video series and how we are afraid it is setting up Jaina, Sylvannas and Azshara to be the next set of raid bosses. Finally we talk briefly about the novel and event that are leading up to this expansion. At the tail end of the show we talk a bit about drafting M19 in Magic Arena and Bel's nonsensical luck at pulling cards.

Topics Discussed

  • Battle For Azeroth
    • The "It Matters" Ad Campaign
    • The "Warbringers" video series
    • The "Before the Storm" novelization
    • The "War of the Thorns" quest event
  • Magic Arena
    • Drafting M19
    • Nonsensical Pulls
    • Golgari Pride
Direct download: aggrochat_episode214.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:41am EDT

Tonight we are down a few people... in fact half of them. So you have to deal with the remainder that is left after you take away a Kodra, Thalen and Grace. For those who are caught up with their critical AggroMath skills... you are left with a Bel, a Tam and an Ash. Three individuals who have mostly been playing Elder Scrolls Online and as a result you get to listen to us gush about our most recent experiences... including Bel's Cross-Tamriel murder spree for a creepy dark god. Additionally you get to listen to Ash and Tam talk a bit more about Age of Sigmar and the interesting army choices where we all lose money for Ash not collecting Lizardmen.

Topics Discussed

  • Elder Scrolls Online
  • Age of Sigmar
Direct download: aggrochat_episode213.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:20am EDT

Tonight we continue our recent tradition of picking up on topics that we did not quite have time for on the previous episode.  First off we discuss our general feelings about “cheating” and by cheating we are talking about relying on guides, maps, and walkthroughs in additional to other more traditional cheats and mods.  From there Bel talks a bit about his experiences with Orsinium and how playing through all three factions of the original Elder Scrolls Online content is paying off. From there we discuss long games that have a very clear failure state and how generally lousy that feels when it occurs.  Finally we talk a bit about the recent ArenaNet community issues and share some of our feelings about it.

Topics Discussed

  • Walkthroughs Guides and Cheats
    • Respecting our Time
    • Enhancing the “Fun Loop”
    • When we would not use them
  • Elder Scrolls Online
    • Finishing Orsinium
    • Payoff for finishing all original Content
  • Long Games with Failure States
    • Kingdom Death
    • Civilization
    • Battletech
    • Sim/City Builder Games
  • ArenaNet Issues
    • Emboldening Bad Actors
    • “Other” on the Internet
    • The Stress of Game Development
    • Bel’s Brain Broke
Direct download: aggrochat_episode212.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:27am EDT

Tonight we record a normal show... and by normal I mean one that starts off completely derailing Belghast. We have a new way of trying to make sure topics that don't actually make it on a weeks show roll over to the next week... and as a result there are a bunch of topics that have been sitting in limbo for awhile that we dig into.

Topics Discussed

  • Evoland 2 Reprised
  • Warhammer Age of Sigmar
    • Idoneth Deepkin
    • Stormcast
    • Nighthaunt
    • Games Workshop New Management
  • Disappointing Sequels
    • New Gundam Breaker
    • Deus Ex Invisible War
    • Master of Orion 3
    • Mass Effect Andromeda
  • Gloomhaven
    • Premium Board Games
    • Kingdom Death
  • Elder Scrolls Online
    • Current State of Game
Direct download: aggrochat_episode211.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:03am EDT

Tonight we record our June 2018 Game of the Month Show for the quirky parody RPG Evoland 2.  This was Ashgar's pick because it largely expands on the part of Evoland 1 that felt really good.  We talk about what the game does extremely well and how it fell a little short by maybe letting some of the sequences outstay its welcome.  We also talk a bit about the July Game of the Month that we will be playing next month.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode210.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:28am EDT

Last week we went into the show with a long list of topics, and then wound up only talking about the news coming out of E3 2018.  This week we attempt to pick up the pieces left on the cutting room floor and move on with some of the topics we missed. Bel talks a bit about getting into the survival mode in The Division.  Tam discusses his journies into PSVR with Rez, Skyrim and Moss. Bel talks a bit about firing back up Elder Scrolls Online. We talk a bit about the release of Hollow Knight for the Switch and the beginning of Final Fantasy V Four Job Fiesta with its new Forbidden mode.

Topics Discussed

  • Division Survival
  • PSVR
    • Rez VR
    • Skyrim VR
    • Moss VR
  • Elder Scrolls Online
  • Hollow Knight Switch
  • Four Job Fiesta
Direct download: aggrochat_episode209.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:37am EDT

Tonight we start out with a list of topics to discuss… and never quite make it past E3 2018.  This was one packed year with a bunch of interesting titles announced. We talk about most of the shows and some of the titles that interested each of us the most.  We jump around a lot so it is more of a free form discussion rather than anything structured. This means we occasionally jump off and talk about things that are not necessarily E3 related.


Topics Discussed

  • E3 2018
  • Many titles
  • Very announcements
  • Wow
  • Yes I did just do that
Direct download: aggrochat_episode208.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 11:36pm EDT

Tonight we return with a regular show but are unfortunately down a Tam and a Grace.  We talk a bit about Magic the Gathering and more specifically the Battle Bond expansion set as well as Magic Arena getting the Full Standard compliment of expansions.  Kodra is more excited however about the ability to do draft mode all the time without having to wait for the weekend events. Bel talks a bit about his recent binging of Dishonored and how playing those games in order turns it into a Mass Effect series sort of experience.  From there Bel goes on about the madness he has been doing with Parsec Gaming. We talk a bit about how much we think the Atari VCS is highly possibly vaporware… which leads to some discussion about the lies that are often told at E3. Finally Thalen talks a bit about his experiences with a shop keeper roguelike called Moonlighter.

Topics Discussed:

  • Magic the Gathering: Battle Bond
  • Magic Arena - Full Standard
  • Dishonored Series
  • Parsec Gaming
  • Atari VCS
  • E3 Lies
  • Moonlighter
Direct download: aggrochat_episode207.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:38am EDT

Tonight we talk about the May AggroChat Game Club game…  Heroes of Hammerwatch. This was Belghast’s pick who largely though we needed a much more relaxing game after the deep feels that A Night in the Woods gave us.  Additionally the first one was a lot of fun and it was well worth exploring what the indirect sequel had to offer. This leads us down a path where we talk about the differences between Rogue-lite and Rogue-like as well as some discussion about procedural generation versus hand built maps.  We also talk a bit about the June game of the month Evoland 2.

Topics Featured:

  • Our New Battle Royale Mode
  • Heroes of Hammerwatch
  • Rogue-lite vs Rogue-like
  • Procedural vs Hand Built
  • Evoland 2
  • Final Fantasy Four Job Fiesta
Direct download: aggrochat_episode206.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 8:55am EDT

Tonight we change things up a bit and instead of recording the Game of the Month show…  we are in fact doing a normal style show. By normal… I mean we are recording with a Tam who has been day drinking.  We start off the discussion with Dauntless that just launched on the 24th… and by launch I mean it is a free to play game going into open beta which is absolutely a launch.  Ash talks about Hyrule Warriors on the switch and his experiences playing through it and all of the new content that came from the 3DS version. Tam talks a bit about Far Lone Sails a game where you drive a sailboat train and constantly keep moving ever steadily to the right.  Finally we talk about games as escapism and this turns into a far darker discussion than I had intended it to. We each sorta talk about how we use games to cope with whatever we are dealing with.

 

Topics Discussed:  

  • Dauntless
  • Hyrule Warriors - Switch
  • Far Lone Sails
  • Games as Escapism
Direct download: aggrochat_episode205.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:07am EDT

Tonight we are down both an Ashgar and a Kodra… and the intro felt really weird to start with Grace.  Tonight we had one of those nights where we felt like we didn’t have an awful lot to talk about… but then wound up running over time anyways.  Bel talks about his experiences with State of Decay 2 on both Xbox One and PC and how it has changed from the original. Grace talks about her experiences with the Warmind Destiny 2 expansion that then spawns a discussion about why we feel D2 has a bad attach rate.  Bel and Grace talk about how not excited they are for Battle for Azeroth in World of Warcraft, but how otherwise generally awesome the experience of leveling alts has become. Tam and Thalen talk about their further experiences with Battletech and coming to terms with the random headshots.

Featured Topics:

  • State of Decay 2
  • Destiny 2 Warmind
    • Bad Progression Design
  • World of Warcraft
    • Battle for Azeroth Angst
    • Excellent Alt Leveling
  • BattleTech
Direct download: aggrochat_episode204.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:37am EDT

Tonight we are down a Thalen because storms cause power outages.  Among the topics discussed is the new Destiny 2 expansion called Warmind.  Belghast has spent a significant amount of time with it and has things to say.  From there Tam goes into his experiences with Battletech and why maybe being absolutely completely true to pen and paper sometimes has issues.  Ash talks about Pillars of Eternity 2… and how he has yet to actually play it but has spent a lot of time digging around in the JSON code. Finally we wrap things up with a discussion of Magic the Gathering Commander…  and how to build a deck designed not to win but instead to do interesting things and subvert the flow of the game.

Topics Discussed:

  • Destiny 2: Warmind
  • Battletech
  • Pillars of Eternity 2
  • Magic the Gathering - Commander
Direct download: aggrochat_episode203.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 11:06pm EDT

Tonight we are extremely happy that Tam is still with us.  Find out how exactly he has managed to be hit five different times by motor vehicles.  With his ability to take a fall he is still with us and healing… but still very sore. We talk a bit about the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general terms and attempt to be as spoiler free as possible.  Largely we discuss what a feat it is to have 19 movies and 11 television series that all more or less interact with each other in the same shared universe. From there Kodra and Belghast talks a bit about Magic the Gathering Arena and the new quick draft mode.  Finally Tam talks a bit about his experiences with Yakuza Zero and what a weird game that ultimately is.

Topics Discussed:

  • Marvel Cinematic Universe
  • Magic the Gathering Arena Drafting
  • Yakuza 0
Direct download: aggrochat_episode202.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:23am EDT

This week we talk about the April AggroChat Game Club title…  Night in the Woods. This was Kodra’s pick and has turned out to be quite the emotional ride of the AggroChat crew.  This game is somewhat of a mirror in that it reflects back the baggage you bring with you. Each of us had experiences that felt very real and similar to things happening in the game but honestly it was a little hard to unpack all of that during the course of a show.  There is a blend of talk about he game and talk about our own upbringings. Definitely one of the most personal AggroChat shows to date.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode201.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:15am EDT

Tonight we are recording our two hundredth episode of AggroChat and we still have no clue what we are doing.  There was a joke floating around this week that “lets make a podcast” is the new version of “let's form a band” and honestly… it sorta is.  April 13th of 2014 I gathered up some of my friends and said, let's do a thing where we mostly just have the conversations we normally have on voice chat…  while recording it. Four years and some change later we are sitting at our bicentennial episode.

Tonight we talk about the Kulve Taroth event happening in Monster Hunter World.  Kodra and Bel talk about Magic the Gathering Arena and how this might actually be the answer to Magic for the Hearthstone crowd.  Kodra talks about his experiences with the Dominaria pre-release draft event. Finally we settle into a lengthy discussion about games with defined metas and the battle between playing the way you want and playing in a way that supports the meta compositions.

Topics Discussed

  • Monster Hunter World
    • Kulve Taroth
  • Magic the Gathering Arena
    • Preconstructed
  • Dominaria Pre-release
    • Drafting the set
  • Playing the Meta vs Playing the Game
    • Warhammer 40k
    • Destiny
    • League of Legends
    • Heroes of the Storm
    • Monster Hunter World
Direct download: aggrochat_episode200.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:03am EDT

In a human sense AggroChat just turned 5 years old this last Friday…  but in a more correct sense we have now completely four entire years of this podcast.  I still feel like we really don’t completely know what we are doing here. As the patron saint of bad decisions…  Belghast journeys back into Everquest… not EQ2 but the original and talks a bit about how many of those systems have changed drastically.  Grace and Bel talk a bit about their Mythical Nonsense journey in World of Warcraft as they reached Mythic +10 this past week. We go into a lengthy conversation talking about encounter decision with several examples including Monster Hunter World and Dark Souls.  We talk briefly about the Dominaria expansion for Magic the Gathering and the release of Standard Ready Challenger Decks. Finally we wrap up with a little bit of discussion about the MegaMan event happening in Monster Hunter World.

Topics Discussed

  • Four Years of AggroChat
  • Original Everquest
    • Changed Systems
  • Mythical Nonsense
  • Encounter Design
    • Single Player Encounters
    • Multiplayer Encounters
    • Variable Number Encounters
    • Dark Souls Encounters
    • Monster Hunter World Encounters
    • Guild Wars 2 Mistakes
  • Dominaria Magic Expansions
    • Challenge Decks
  • Monster Hunter World Megaman Event
Direct download: aggrochat_episode199.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:21am EDT

Tonight we are back recording an normal show after last week's game of the year show.  This also marks the first show we are purposefully trying to time box at around 90 minutes worth of recording time...  which turns into roughly an hour of run time after editing.  The plan is to make this show a little easier to consume... and also easier to record for those of us who are in central and east coasts because some of our bigger shows lead to getting to bed occasionally around 1 am.  As a result we whittled down the list of topics a bit and wound up with essentially four solid topics to discuss.  As a result oddly enough the conversation seemed to flow much more easily so it may also be a good decision for our content in the long run as well.

Topics Discussed:

  • Bloodborne
    • Soulsian Games
  • Spring Blossom Event
    • Monster Hunter World
  • Neostalgia MMORPGs
    • Project Gorgon
    • Shroud of the Avatar
  • The Way Games Start
Direct download: aggrochat_episode198.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:05am EDT

This week we record the March AggroChat Game Club game…  The Sexy Brutale. This murder mystery puzzle game is Thalen’s pick and the crew talks about their experiences playing the game and sorting out how best to utilize those time warping powers.  This also happens to be the first show ever recorded without Belghast, and while everything seems to have gone off swimmingly… be warned that Bel does in fact sound weird this week. Please Look Forward to It!

Direct download: aggrochat_episode197.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:17am EDT

Tonight we talk a bit about the arrival to Monster Hunter World of the most annoying griefer…  Deviljho… aka Pickle. We also talk a bit about the weapon balance changes. From there we talk a bit about crafting systems in games and what we have liked and where they have fallen short.  From there we talk a bit about Eureka in Final Fantasy XIV and how it's a grind reminiscent of Everquest. Kodra delves into a discussion about Witcher 3 and the game once you get past the cringey bits.  Tam talks at length about Star Citizen and how much game is currently available. Then we wrap up with a short discussion about how Demon Souls has not held up the way the others in the series have.

Topics Discussed

  • Monster Hunter World
  • Deviljho - Pickle
  • Crafting Systems in Games
  • Eureka - Final Fantasy XIV
  • Everquest
  • Witcher 3
  • Star Citizen
  • Demon Souls
Direct download: aggrochat_episode196.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:03am EDT

The worst part about recording a podcast is trying to come up with a title for whatever the hell it was that we did the night before. We talk a bit about Belghast and his journeys into Phantasy Star Online 2.  From there Bel talks a bit about Neverwinter and the Stronghold system. Tam talks a bit about streaming Dishonored Death of the Outsider which turns into a discussion about streaming in general. We have a group of people who have been playing Legend of Five Rings Online and we check in for an update how the game has been going.  We talk a bit about Monster Hunter World now that Thalen and Grace have met Nergigante, which weirdly leads to some talks about Battle For Azeroth, Sea of Thieves and the desire for a Collaborative Sandbox game.

Topics Discussed:

  • Phantasy Star Online 2
  • Neverwinter - Strongholds
  • Dishonored Death of the Outsider
  • L5R Update
  • Monster Hunter
  • Battle For Azeroth Concerns
  • Sea of Thieves
  • Wanting a Collaborative Sandbox
Direct download: aggrochat_episode195.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:06am EDT

This week we have a wide number of topics to discuss starting with the Nintendo Direct from March 8th and the fake out announcement of Smash Brothers.  We talk a bit about Monster Hunter 4U and Generations and why maybe one is a better starting place in the series than the other. We talk about State of Decay 2 and the backlash over it being on the Windows Store only.  We briefly talk about what it would take to make Desktop Linux a reality. Tam talks a bit about finishing the first route in Nier Automata and Bel discusses his experiences with Final Fantasy XV PC including the source of this screenshot.  Finally we wrap things up with a discussion about the Legend of Five Rings Living Card game and that Tam has recently begun playing it online unofficially.

Topics Discussed:

  • Nintendo Direct
  • Phantasy Star Online 2: Cloud
  • Monster Hunter 4U and Generations
  • Monster Hunter Worlds
  • State of Decay 2
  • Windows Store
  • Desktop Linux
  • Nier Automata
  • Final Fantasy XV PC
  • Cactuar Steam Workshop
  • Legend of Five Rings Living Card Game
Direct download: aggrochat_episode194.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:23am EDT

Tonight we record the March game of the month show… Pyre by Supergiant Games.  Transistor was almost universally our first AggroChat game of the year, and as a result we had pretty high expectations about this game.  However we wound up with a pretty wide swath of opinions ranging from love to hate.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode193.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:51am EDT

This week we went a little off course from our normal show.  In truth we are all largely playing the same games we have been playing for the last few weeks.  Instead Ashgar proposed a topic where we discussed what makes a grind work in a game.  This eventually devolves into a discussion of mostly Monster Hunter World because it seems to have a really great grind mechanic.  We also discuss traditional JRPG grinding, MMO grinding, and a bit about why the Destiny 2 grind isn’t really working out.  Tune in and grind your faces off!

Topics Discussed:

  • Grinding in Games
Direct download: aggrochat_episode192b.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:38am EDT

Generally speaking when I think we have a short show…  we end up recording a two hour long epic of nuance and random commentary.  This is not one of those situations.  We are still very much in a Monster Hunter shaped hole that may or may not be the footprint of the monster we are tracking.  That said we do talk a bit about DragonQuest Builders on the Switch and Radiant Historia on the 3DS.  However like clockwork we did in fact dig right back into the Monster Hunter goodness as we somehow managed to get Thalen to buy into this nonsense as well.

Topics Discussed:

  • DragonQuest Builders
  • Radiant Historia
  • Monster Hunter World
Direct download: aggrochat_episode191.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:54am EDT

This week we record our 190th episode and for whatever reason each time we tick off a 10th episode it seems like a big deal.  Last week during the bustle of getting ready for a show I completely missed a topic so we are leading off with that.  Thalen talks a bit about the early access deck building game Slay the Spire.  From there we talk a bit about our continued addiction to Monster Hunter World in spite of its flaws on the group interaction side.  We talk a bit about our new D&D 5th Edition Campaign set in a custom game world of Tam’s design.  Kodra talks a bit about bouncing off of Warframe and that leads to a discussion about games and accessibility.  Tam and Ash describe Night in the Woods…  and it begins to sound an awful lot like Bel’s experiences with his own home town.  From there we attempt to close out the show but get into another discussion about Monster Hunter World before actually succeeding.

Topics Discussed

  • Slay the Spire
  • Monster Hunter World
  • Fallout: The Board Game
  • D&D 5e Campaign
  • Bouncing off Warframe
  • Accessibility and Games
  • Night in the Woods
  • More Monster Hunter
Direct download: aggrochat_episode190.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:14am EDT

Tonight we are back after roughly three weeks off…  one week missed because I had the flu and another week devoted to a game of the month show.  As a result there are a bunch of things we have to say about a wide variety of topics.  Bel discovers Wolcen a game attempting to split the line between Diablo 2/Path of Exile and Diablo 3.  Kodra talks a bit about how well the Switch works as a mobile gaming platform and his experiences with Mario and Rabbids.  Tam talks a bit about Nier Automata and how close he came to just giving up on that game.  Kodra talks about his recent trip back to Atlanta and all of the board gaming that happened.  Bel talks a bit about Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age and how it weirdly follows the Japanese control standards.  Grace talks a bit about her experiences with the recent Final Fantasy XIV and World of Warcraft patches.  Then we go through a big discussion about our feelings in regards to the Monster Hunter World release and how we seem to have fallen into a big hole.

 

Topics Discussed

  • Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem
  • Switch as Mobile Platform
  • Mario and Rabbids
  • Nier Automata
  • Board Games
  • Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age
  • Final Fantasy XIV Patch
  • World of Warcraft Patch
  • Monster Hunter World Shaped Hole
Direct download: aggrochat_episode189.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:57am EDT

This week we are back after an impromptu absence brought on by the Flu.  It is time to record our December/January game of the month show…  Persona 5.  This was Tam’s pick and he went back and forth as to whether or not he should pick such a long game.  However considering we recorded two full hours of packed conversation I am guessing it was a pretty great choice.  We also announce Grace’s pick for the February game of the month…  Pyre a game that surprisingly only one of us has played given just how much we tend to love games from Super Giant.

Direct download: aggrochat_episode188.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:36am EDT

Firstly I feel like I need to lead with an apology.  I’ve picked up some crud over the last few weeks and as a result my voice is pretty rough.  I manage to make it through the show but there are a handful of long pauses where I went into a coughing fit.  Tonight we talk about how jealous I am that Ash is at Pax South and I am not.  The timing was horrible and I wouldn’t have wanted to be there in this condition anyways.  We talk a bit about Destiny 2 announced changes and Kodra’s recent experiences with Super Mario Odyssey.  From there we dive into the recent Nintendo Direct and Tam’s current forray back into Final Fantasy XIV.  Lastly we talk a bit about the Total War series, specifically Warhammer 1 and 2.

Topics Discussed

  • Pax South Stuff
  • Lightseekers Awakening
  • Destiny 2 Changes
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • Nintendo Direct
  • Final Fantasy XIV
  • Warhammer Total War I/II
Direct download: aggrochat_episode187.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:32am EDT

After our long holiday break we return to record the 2017 Games of the Year show.  This time around we have sixteen games to talk about.  When you get six hosts and ask them what their favorite games were for a calendar year… you are going to get a bunch of answers.  Traditionally in the past we have split this into two shows, but this year we recorded it in one go for a show that weighs in a little over 2 hours long.  It was a great year for gaming and as always we would love to hear what our listeners favorite picks were.

Games Discussed

  • Horizon: Zero Dawn
  • Persona 5
  • FFXIV: Stormblood
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • Destiny 2
  • The Sexy Brutale
  • Hollow Knight
  • Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda
  • Night in the Woods
  • Okami HD
  • Opus Magnum
  • Through the Ages
  • Warhammer 40,000 - 8th Edition
  • Wolfenstein II
  • Diablo 3 - Rise of the Necromancer
  • Mixed Bag of Honorable Mentions
Direct download: aggrochat_episode186.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:18am EDT

1