Lurker > Ashethan

I think likely destinations for Stafford are Washington, Indianapolis, and Denver.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Dancedreamer
1. Green Bay Packers
2. 7 pts
3. Packers +10.5
4. 55
5. 432
6. 174

vs

ProfessorLupin
1. Which team will win?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2. By how much?
7

3. In the event you both pick the wrong team, create a spread that will ensure your team wins?
Buccaneers +14.5

4. How many total points will be scored in the game?
63

5. How many total passing yards will both teams get combined?
390

6. How many total rushing yards will both teams get combined?
213

-If the Packers win, Dancedreamer advances
-If the Buccaneers win, ProfessorLupin advances

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Reminds me of when Microsoft was at E3 with XBOX One and was like "Hey guys, guess what! We've got an exciting new feature for you. It's called: Not being able to buy used games and always on DRM! Exciting, right?"

And then Sony came into E3 and won the console generation by simply... not doing that.

Microsoft later backtracked, but by then it was too late.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

masterplum posted...

Democrats going to remind me why I was registered republican for over a decade huh

I'll never understand people who look at the Democrats and then look at the Republicans and say "I could NEVER be a Democrat. But I'm perfectly okay with being a Republican. Those guys are swell."

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Welcome to the playoffs!

1. Please submit your pick to me by within 1 hour of the game start time. I will post them shortly before the game begins. Usually about 5 minutes before game time.
2. Each round one picker will be eliminated. If both users pick the same team, tiebreaker rules will follow.

Final Standings:
(2)Dancedreamer 176-79-1 [200]
(4)Runemistress 174-81-1 [320]
Consensus 173-81-2 []
(10)foxhead84 169-86-1 [290]
(12)ProfessorLupin 167-88-1 [220]
========================================
(1)ElizeLutus 178-77-1 [390]
(3)Buffy_Summers 175-80-1 [420]
(5)MitsuruKirijo 173-82-1 [380]
(6)SwiftyDC 173-82-1 [300]
(7)Crescent-Moon 171-84-1 [320]
(8)Stripperiffic 171-84-1 [240]
(9)Ashethan 170-85-1 [190]
(11)Silvstedt 167-88-1 [270]
(13)Camden 167-88-1 [110]
(14)crazyisgood 166-89-1 [150]
(15)theawesomestevr 163-92-1 [220]
(16)terpaholic 158-97-1 [330]
(17)davidponte 154-101-1 [180]
(18)KCF0107 153-102-1 [240]

Sunday January 24th, 2021
3:05 PM EST
Dancedreamer vs ProfessorLupin
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Green Bay Packers

6:40 PM EST
Runemistress vs foxhead84
Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs

What you will be picking:

1. Which team will win?
2. By how much?
3. In the event you both pick the wrong team, create a spread that will ensure your team wins?
4. How many total points will be scored in the game?
5. How many total passing yards will both teams get combined?
6. How many total rushing yards will both teams get combined?

Full Tiebreaker Explanation:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS654SUsTu0k_MEItWT5TNh53FhUUT9VOdYqd3QwqDjEdjfhi2YpdHXi_LuA7o2fvqVroFPSceaOPt3/pub

Quick Tiebreaker Explanation:
-If both pick different teams, whoever picks the correct team wins.
-If both pick the same team and are right, it goes to by how much.
-If both pick the same team and are wrong, it goes to the spread, where whoever picks the lower number that still wins, advances.
-If both are still tied after the second tiebreaker in either situation, it moves to the next tiebreaker and so on.
-If there's still a tie after the first round of tiebreakers, the higher seed advances.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Letter from Trump to Biden discovered:

"Dear Joe,

Please Pardon me and Ivanka. I will give you $2,000,000 (people are saying that's a LOT of money! The most, believe me!).

PS The yellow stains on the mattress is totally lemonade.
-Donald J. Trump.

PPS I won the election and if you don't pardon me you are admitting that I really won."

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Corrik7 posted...

Nope.

If Corrik thinks it's a bad idea, it's probably a good idea.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Jakyl25 posted...

Too bad, they could have been Kingdom Hearts villains

Pretty sure that's why they wanted to buy FOX News in the first place. Their conspiracy theories are the only thing more convoluted than the plot of Kingdom Hearts.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Mass Effect 2 if you spend money like crazy.
Tales of Destiny if you give the sorcerer's ring to a character that leaves.
Fallout 3 can autosave after a glitch that causes you to become stuck.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Dancedreamer posted...

Melanie Martinez - Pity Party

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

At this point, I'm almost expecting the Eagles to hire Doug Peterson as their next head coach, which is just Doug Pederson with a fake mustache.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

VintageGin posted...

Grover Cleveland feels like further proof he still intends to run in 2024, if there was any doubt about that

Feels like he's probably more likely on there because he married his adopted daughter, which we all know Trump would like to do minus the 'adopted' part.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Also, messed up the seeding. Next week's schedule should be instead:

Dancedreamer vs ProfessorLupin
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Green Bay Packers

Runemistress vs foxhead84
Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

ProfessorLupin advances!

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Also since both picked different teams...

If the Saints win, next week's schedule will be:
Elize Lutus vs foxhead84
New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers

Dancedreamer vs Runemistress
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs

If the Buccaneers win, the schedule will instead be:

Dancedreamer vs foxhead84
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs

Runemistress vs ProfessorLupin
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Green Bay Packers

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

ElizeLutus
1 - New Orleans Saints
2 - 7
3 - Saints +7.5
4 - 55
5 - 600

vs

ProfessorLupin
1. Which team will win?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. By how much?
7
3. In the event you both pick the wrong team, create a spread that will ensure your team wins?
Buccaneers +10.5
4. How many total points will be scored in the game?
49
5. How many total passing yards will both teams get combined?
507

-If the Saints win, ElizeLutus advances
-If the Buccaneers win, ProfessorLupin advances

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Runemistress advances!

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Jakyl25 posted...

Henne vs Brady Super Bowl, battle of Michigan QBs

More like Henne vs Gabbert, battle of the Jaguar QB's when Brady goes down.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

The rule is bad because if you fumble literally anywhere else on the field and that fumble goes out of bounds -- the team that fumbled keeps the ball at the spot of the fumble. If you fumble in the end zone, though, the ball changes possession, and the other team gets 20 yards.

The reward is too much for the mistake. And I think most players and coaches agree. Honestly it'd be different if the offense had a chance to recover the ball, but if it goes out of bounds, they don't, and the defense doesn't even have to grab the ball.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

-If the total score is 58 points or less, Runemistress advances
-If the total score is 60 points or more, I advance
-If the Total score is exactly 59 points and the total passing yards are 672 or less, I advance
-If the Total score is exactly 59 points and the total passing yards are 673 or more, Runemistress advances

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Dancedreamer advances!

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Dancedreamer
1. Buffalo Bills
2. 3 pts
3. Bills +14.5
4. 51
5. 584

vs

Silvstedt
1. Baltimore Ravens
2. By 7
3. Ravens +3.5
4. 63
5. 573

-If the Bills win, Dancedreamer advances
-If the Ravens win, Silvstedt advances

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

foxhead84 advances!

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Buffy_Summers
1. Green Bay Packers
2. 10
3. Packers +7.5
4. 44
5. 432

vs

foxhead84
1 :Green Bay Packers
2: by 10
3: Green Bay (+6,5)
4: 48 pts
5: 498 yards

-If the Packers win and the score is 45 points or less, Buffy_Summers advances.
-If the Packers win and the score is 47 points or more, foxhead84 advances
-If the Packers win and the score is 46 points and the passing yards are 464 yards or less, Buffy_Summers advances
-If the Packers win and the score is 46 points and the passing yards are 466 yards or more, foxhead84 advnaces
-If the Packers in and the score is 46 points and the passing yards are 465 yards, Buffy_Summers advances
-If the Rams win by 6 or less, foxhead84 advances
-If the Rams win by 7, Buffy_Summers advances
-If the Rams win by more than 7, and the score is 45 points or less, Buffy_Summers advances
-If the Rams win by more than 7 and the score is 47 points or more, foxhead84 advances
-If the Rams win by more than 7 and the score is 46 points and the passing yards are 464 yards or less, Buffy_Summers advances
-If the Rams win by more than 7, and the score is 46 points and hte passing yards are 466 yards or more, foxhead84 advances
-If the Rams win by more than 7, the score is 46 points, and the passing yards are 465 yards, Buffy_Summers advances

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Thanos

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Ahh yes, it's clearly waiters not paying their fair share instead of Billionaires who use tax loopholes and dodge. Those are perfectly fine.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Honestly, given a choice between a male and female character, I almost always choose female.

Mario Brothers 2? Peach!
Mortal Kombat? Sindel! ANd before that Sonya Blade!
Street Fighter? Chun Li!
Resident Evil? Jill Valentine!
Resident Evil 2? Claire Redfield!
Mario Sports games? Peach!
Mario Kart? Rosalina! and before that Peach!
Threads of Fate? Mint!
Mass Effect? Always a female Shepard!
DKC2? Gimme Dixie over Diddy.
DKC3? Gimme Dixie over Kiddy.
Fallout 4? Nora over Nate
Persona 3 Portable? FEMC all the way
Snowboard Kids? Linda!
Diddy Kong Racing? I'm Pipsy.
Skyrim? Female Dragonborn!
Smash Brothers games after the first one? Zelda! (Kirby in the first game, admittedly)

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

colliding posted...

Actually I got the leaked dev notes and it turns out female protag is Trevor's estranged daughter. Trevor gets his brains bashed in with a tennis racket in the first act and you take over as her afterwards. Sorry for the lack of spoiler tags, I don't know how they work!

You misread the dev notes. You start the game as a male protagonist, but then get your brains bashed in by Trevor with a tennis racket. Then your girlfriend, Trevor's estranged daughter, takes over as she has to deal with the fact the dad she never met just killed her boyfriend.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

I think it's a great idea.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Looks like Atlanta is going with Arthur Smith.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

LeonhartFour posted...

and then getting fired again almost immediately!

Not the Jets fault at that point, though!

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

xp1337 posted...

Counterpoint: The Jets job cycle is that you go there for 3 years, average about 6-10 over 3 seasons, then get spit out with no one really seeing you as desirable as a HC after that stint so you end up joining someone else as an OC/DC. This isn't the worst deal for some candidates but...!

Jets last 4 coaches:

Herm Edwards (fired from Jets in 2005, coached the Chiefs from 2006-2008)
Eric Mangini (fired from Jets in 2008, coached the Browns 2009-2010)
Rex Ryan (fired from Jets in 2014, coached the Bills 2015-2016)
Todd Bowles (only one not to get another HC job yet.)

3/4 ain't bad for getting second chances almost immediately.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

I don't think Pokemon Snap works without the rails, considering in-universe anyone walking on foot would have Pokemon to use in case they're attacked.

And you can't imagine having a helper-pokemon who also has a moveset that you can use to set up pictures?

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Immediately lost interest when I saw the buggy.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Stafford might get traded, but I'll believe it when i see it.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Leonhart4 posted...

Reports are circulating that Bienemy may once again not get a head coaching job

I've heard he's been poor in interviews. I think if gets a job, it'll be the Falcons job.

Xuxon posted...

at this point the Jets look like one of the more attractive destinations. lots of cap space and 2nd overall pick to draft a QB. sure the Chargers look like probably the best spot to go, and some might prefer Jags or Falcons, but anyone that actually wants a HC job would accept the Jets, i think. can't say the same for the Eagles or especially Texans.

I'd rank the Jets 3rd personally. After the Jaguars (Tons of Cap Space, a patient owner, Trevor Lawrence, decent talent) and Chargers (Justin Herbert). Followed by the Lions (Stafford is younger than Ryan, and they have a better cap situation than the Falcons), Falcons (At least they're not the Texans), Texans (at least they're not the Eagles) and lastly the Eagles (unless you REALLy believe in Carson Wentz.)

Looks like Jacksonville will be hiring Urban Meyer. Probably not the best choice they could make, but I'm not really sure there's any slam dunk hires this season.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

I need a volunteer to take picks for my match.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Welcome to the playoffs!

1. Please submit your pick to me by within 1 hour of the game start time. I will post them shortly before the game begins. Usually about 5 minutes before game time.
2. Each round one picker will be eliminated. If both users pick the same team, tiebreaker rules will follow.

Final Standings:
(1)ElizeLutus 178-77-1 [390]
(2)Dancedreamer 176-79-1 [200]
(3)Buffy_Summers 175-80-1 [420]
(4)Runemistress 174-81-1 [320]
Consensus 173-81-2 []
(9)Ashethan 170-85-1 [190]
(10)foxhead84 169-86-1 [290]
(11)Silvstedt 167-88-1 [270]
(12)ProfessorLupin 167-88-1 [220]
========================================
(5)MitsuruKirijo 173-82-1 [380]
(6)SwiftyDC 173-82-1 [300]
(7)Crescent-Moon 171-84-1 [320]
(8)Stripperiffic 171-84-1 [240]
(13)Camden 167-88-1 [110]
(14)crazyisgood 166-89-1 [150]
(15)theawesomestevr 163-92-1 [220]
(16)terpaholic 158-97-1 [330]
(17)davidponte 154-101-1 [180]
(18)KCF0107 153-102-1 [240]

Saturday January 16th
(3) Buffy_Summers vs (10) foxhead84
Los Angeles Rams @ Green Bay Packers

(2) Dancedreamer vs (11) Silvstedt
Baltimore Ravens @ Buffalo Bills

Sunday January 17th

(4) Runemistress vs (9) Ashethan
Cleveland Browns @ Kansas City Chiefs

(1) ElizeLutus vs (12) ProfessorLupin
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints

What you will be picking:

1. Which team will win?
2. By how much?
3. In the event you both pick the wrong team, create a spread that will ensure your team wins?
4. How many total points will be scored in the game?
5. How many total passing yards will both teams get combined?

Full Tiebreaker Explanation:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS654SUsTu0k_MEItWT5TNh53FhUUT9VOdYqd3QwqDjEdjfhi2YpdHXi_LuA7o2fvqVroFPSceaOPt3/pub

Quick Tiebreaker Explanation:
-If both pick different teams, whoever picks the correct team wins.
-If both pick the same team and are right, it goes to by how much.
-If both pick the same team and are wrong, it goes to the spread, where whoever picks the lower number that still wins, advances.
-If both are still tied after the second tiebreaker in either situation, it moves to the next tiebreaker and so on.
-If there's still a tie after the first round of tiebreakers, the higher seed advances.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Murphiroth posted...

Have you backstabbed one of the giant pigs yet?

Did this while grinding. Was pretty funny.
xp1337 posted...

Gehrman is a great boss indeed. Also, having beaten him you can, in fact, buy that scythe he had. Should you pick the game up again it's called the Burial Blade. Scythe is its transformed (L1 form.) I went through NG+ with it, it's pretty fun but of the 3ish weapons I put some serious time into it was my least favorite.

Off the top of my head aside from the poison area you refer to (Nightmarte Frontier, I think? Accessed through the Lecture Hall when the get teleported there by the giant spider that guards the path to what ends up being The One Reborn's level) you also missed two optional areas Upper Cathedral Ward and Cainhurst and the three bosses between them. There's also a bunch of "sidequests" from the NPCs in the world that generally require being pretty vigilant on keeping up with them (and sometimes finding them in out-of-the-way places.)

The story and lore are definitely not something the game explains to you but I found it very fascinating when you put in the effort to put it together yourself (mostly through item descriptions.)

Glad you enjoyed Bloodborne!

I just think Scythes look cool! I'm sure there's some good lore there. I'm admittedly fairly lazy and don't go too far out of my way to look stuff up. (And I didn't want to look up too much while playing)

KamikazePotato posted...

Bloodborne's DLC is phenomenal and the best part of the game, so if you ever decide to re-explore it I definitely recommend that

If I see it on sale I might pick it up. Have too much else to play for now. But definitely something I might check out in the future. I think my next game will be something a bit less rage inducing.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

I go talk to the doll to level up, and she tells me to talk to Gehrman. I go to the building that's on fire, but he's not there. SO I explore the dream and find the gate to the graveyard open. He asks me to submit my life, but not ready to go on, I refuse. But that apparently is the choice to go on?

He gets up from his wheelchair, and he draws his weapon and it's time for a boss fight. And it's a doozy! The guy moves around at super-speed and has an awesome scythe (I want that scythe! Why can't I get that cool scythe?) I get him down to about 15% of his health before he kills me after I run out of blood vials.

Death Count: 134

Next time he charges up and kills me after getting him to about half health again.

Death Count: 135

This is definitely a worthy boss battle. On the next try my dodging abilities are significantly worse so I decide to not use too many blood vials so I have fewer blood vials to grind for.

Death Count: 136

On the next attempt, his jump attack kills me, though I figure that I can use my axe swing attack to knock him down each time he gets back up. So that helps.

Death Count: 137

While grinding a bit I die.

Death Count: 138

Then I die again while Grinding because I was careless.

Death Count: 139

Then the stupid canon kills me *sigh*

Death Count: 140

A third time I die grinding.

Death Count: 141

But the enemies near the wet nurse give WAY better Echoes than the other enemies. I die again, this time to 3 Org XIII members, but I'm not complaining.

Death Count: 142

But I go back, and now I have 130k blood echoes from two trips. The shadows are pretty tough fights though. But Ganon is the real money maker. Raking in the bacon! I do die again to one of the shadows while farming on another route (but by then I've at least spent my echoes)

Death Count: 143

Then I get another death from... IDK what. Fighting one of the pigs, but it didn't even hit me.

Death Count: 144

I go kill the giant spider I didn't kill earlier but am disappointed that it doesn't even drop anything. WHAT IS THE POINT OF YOU!? But I die trying to get back to the lamp>

Death Count: 145

Then I try facing him again. But I don't seem to have improved much, as I use way too many vials trying to get him down to 50.

Death Count: 146

I try to be more aggressive, but this time he kills me before I even get him to 50%

Death Count: 147

My next attempt does not go well at all. Don't even get him halfway this time.

Death Count: 148

Next attempt I get him down to about 25% health again. But yeah this is easily the toughest fight in a long time (not counting the beginning of the Nightmare)

While grinding out Vials, I die my 150th Death.

Death Count: 150! (Gotta catch em' all)

Then Sadly I die again doing the same thing.

Death Count: 151 (Mew!)

I buy a BUNCH of Vials so I don't have to grind them out so much. On my next try, it goes pretty well, and I get him back to about 15% health before he kills me.

Death Count: 152

My next try doesn't go well at all. Then I get him back to the 15% mark again. But on the NEXT ATTEMPT, HE GOES DOWN! Aww yeah! I'm a lot more careful and don't even use most of my vials. Then I get eaten by a monster? Now I'm in his place? And that's the end? Credits roll, and I've (apparently) beaten Bloodborne!

Final Death Count: 154
My thoughts on Bloodborne:

It's a fairly confusing game. I'm not sure what the story was. I'm sure I missed a lot of content, but I feel like it wasn't entirely from lack of trying. I explored areas pretty well (except that poison place. Fuck that place like the beginning of Nightmare of Mensis).

It's a difficult and unforgiving game, but also not ridiculously hard. I was able to get through most of the game using only my trust Axe I got at the beginning. I never found much use for the gun outside of early on when one of the Amish Zombies was on top of a car and was hard to reach. I'm sure it's much more useful if you know how to use it, but I never really needed to. The game is mostly unforgiving as far as inventory goes. You use your items, they're GONE. But all you really need most of the time is a full stock of blood vials. Which you can grind out in Central Yahrnam or at the end of the game from the Giant Pigs. I did eventually use a sword a bit, and it came in very handy against Gehrman. I struggled with the last fight largely because I was a bit too cautious when he started glowing when on my first try I wasn't. I just wailed on him and did enough damage to bring him down a bit. Then when he killed me that way once, I got overly cautious until my last try and then I did significant damage and ended up killing him.

Was it fun? Yeah. Parts were, anyway. Figuring out the first area was a lot of fun. You needed to figure out the route enemies would take, then go and take them out. You couldn't just take them head-on. That kind of went out of the way after that first area, though. After that, up until the respawning world, you could just rush through most of the enemies. The bosses provided a good deal of challenge and were probably the most fun part of the game. Nightmare of Mensis (the start, anyway) was mostly bullshit and kind of pointless. They put it in there to challenge you I guess, but there's no reason to actually kill those enemies. I didn't, and I turned out fine. They don't drop great amounts of blood echoes, or even really good items as far as I can tell. They're not even an obstacle because you can run right past them. It's challenging, but not in a good way IMO. The bosses were always fun because while they were challenging, they never felt like total bullshit or pointless. The start of Nightmare of Mensis felt like it was designed by some Mario maker creator who wanted to create as much bullshit in his level as he could, but made it so you could just run past the bullshit because he couldn't beat it and had to in order to upload the level.

Boss Ranking: (In terms of how much I enjoyed fighting them)

Gehrman > Shadows of Yharnam > Gascoigne >The Nurse > Giant Spider > Amelia > The One Reborn > Micolash > Cleric Beast > Blood Starved Beast > The Witch of Hemwick

Probably a weird ranking. But I really enjoyed that last fight.

Ultimately I'm glad my topic title was a lie. I finished Bloodborne. And maybe someday I'll come back to it and try to experience more of it. Maybe with a guide. Maybe I'll even learn to use the stupid gun.

Prey Slaughtered

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Decided to play a little more.

I level up once, then head up the stairs. I find some Organization XIII guys, and they're pretty fun to fight again. Less HP, tough but fair. Then I run into the 50 eyed Ganons... and yeah, they kill me. Yikes.

Death Count: 132

Then the shadow guys breathe fire on me and kill me.

Death Count: 133

I fight some more Organization XIII, cheese the fight with the 50-eyed Ganons, and then run into a lady wigh a bloody wedding dress. It won't let me talk to her, and she doesn't attack me. This, however, leeads me to an elevator. I think I hear a baby crying. It takes me a little bit to realize it's in the game, and not in my house. And up ahead is the CLEAREST sign yet of a boss room. I find a shortcut on the left side (there's also a Ioefska's vial, but I'm full. Apparently I can only carry one? Lame!) But I go back to the dream and level up and fill up on Blood VIals. I also use enough Mad Man's Insight to get another Blood Chunk, which means another upgrade! I also level up once more and then decide to grind out another level while getting Blood Vials. Better prepared than not, right? The Forbidden Woods seems like the best grinding spot. You can travel between the two lanterns, and get like 20k per trip. And the enemies are really easy to kill.

After that I'm ready for my first try against the Boss!

Mergo's Wet Nurse is a Raven Lady type thing with a lot of blades. It does a lot of damage, especially once it starts turning the arena dark. After the first time she uses it, though, I figure that you just have to keep dodging and don't have to try to hit her during it for it to eventually end on its own. Then just wail on her. Managed to get her down on my first try! I receive one third of Umbilical Cord. Then I light the lantern and return to the Hunter's dream.

When I return to the Hunter's dream though, I see the place is set on fire!? Crazy! Was not expecting that. I was about to end the update before noticing that.

And that's where I'll leave off for now. Small update, but another boss down! Maybe tomorrow I learn why the place is on fire. Or at the very least learn where I'm supposed to go next.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

No, I don't have the DLC. I got the game for free from PS Plus through PS5.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Peace___Frog posted...

He's generally recognized as one of the more difficult encounter in the game

Really? He was pretty easy. Dodge the attacks, and hit back. He seemed easier to me than the guy before the Spider Boss. Fight was pretty fun, honestly. Maybe I just got lucky. I'd take two of him over the Lightning Monster things at the start of Nightmare of Mensis.

KamikazePotato posted...

The boss 'shortcut' is basically just memorizing the optimal way to run past enemies without getting hit by them. This doesn't do much to reduce rising salt levels though. It's definitely one of the more consistent complaints about From Software games and one I think they could do a better job at addressing.

Yeah, I'm starting to get this now. First part of the game definitely felt like 'Kill all the enemies' but these past two areas for me have been "RUN THE FUCK AWAY Until you reach the boss/shortcut."

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Did a little grinding. Tried going to the Grand Cathedral, but couldn't -- so I walked there manually. Found a black ninja there, which kills me very fast.

Death Count: 101

I want to take the Ninja down, so I go back and kill it without much trouble. Just a matter of dodging. I get the Crow Hunter Badge for my efforts. This made me wonder if there are any other areas closed off, but the only one seems to be the prison, and I can't get back there afaik by walking.

I try to take on the nightmare frontier next, where I get cornered by two lightning monsters who kill me easily.

Death Count: 102

Apparently, the deadliest enemy in the game is being blocked in. The lake in the region is poisonous, so I avoid it. I kill a golem throwing boulders, which is a lot easier than I suspect it'd be. The golems are only really a threat from a distance.

Upon realizing I probably have no choice but to go through the poison, I equip the best defenses against poison I have available to me. I make my way through, but then get killed by a great big brain with eyeballs. Yeah, the enemies in this game are... weird. After falling into a lake of more poison... I decide to use a bold hunter's mark. I think I'm going to skip this area because I don't like poison. I think I'm okay with missing out on this place.

Returning to Nightmare of Mensis... I get killed by the Lightning beasts again.

Death Count: 103

I've noticed sort of a pattern. Normal enemies are fast, with low HP and do a LOT of damage. Bosses on the other hand don't do quite as much damage but have much more HP.

Three more tries. Fell off a cliff once...

Death Count: 107

Also at times I appear to be taking damage from... nothing? The next time, I decide to take a new route and run into some golems. I nearly die, and use all my blood vials. Then I make it to a new lantern and a device that isn't operable right now. I'm guessing this is a shortcut for later. But really not a fan of this new area.

I use some madmens knowledge to buy a Blood Stone chunk (maybe not the best use of them, but I want to upgrade my axe)

While grinding a bit, I learn that I have maxed out quicksilver bullets. Huh. I also die once while trying out the sword.

Death Count: 108! (Stars of Destiny baby!)

Die again while grinding, this time from a direct shot from the stupid canon...

Death Count: 109

I decide to try to grind in the last place, because I'm not sure how many blood echoes you get from there, even with respawning enemies. Then I die...

Death Count: 110

Going through again, the lightning kills me again. WHY IS THIS IN THIS GAME? WHY!?

Death Count: 111

I try the area I'm supposed to be in again.. and once more fall off a cliff. *shakes fist at gravity*

Death Count: 112

Then those two things team up against me and burn me to death...

Death Count: 113

Then while rolling away from them I fall off a cliff again.

Death Count: 114

I try again, but yeah... I'm taking way too much damage from these things. I then try the trusty strategy of RUNNING in the direction of my objective. But these things are RELENTLESS!

Death Count: 115

Then they kill me again. These are the worst enemies in the game. Bar none. Give me the blood starved beast over these things.

Death Count: 116

I manage to kill one, run away from the other, and the other one still follows me and kills me with its stupid worms. And I think this is where I quit bloodborne. Up until now everything's been manageable. Challenging, but fair. Nothing i couldn't handle. But these things? Fuck these things.

Death Count: 117

I finally kill them but use MOST of my blood vials doing so. I get into the building, and the enemies here are spiders. I make my way inward, avoiding unnecessary fights because I have almost no vials. I get to this guy who doesn't look like a normal enemy and makes me think of those ninjas. Low on health... the guy kills me.

Death Count: 118

And I think that's it. GETTING to that point should not be so fucking hard. It's stupid. And the game doesn't explain anything to you. Why do i keep taking damage when there's no enemies around? What inflicts it on me, and how do I stop it? It's not even worth killing these things. You can grind much easier on earlier enemies getting better EXP, and the drops aren't even that good.

I try three more times. Buying the flamethrower and leveling it up, figuring: Maybe I just need to set these things on fire, and that'll take care of them. But nope. These things TAKE OUT HALF OF MY HEALTH. The fuck? It's not like I neglected the vitality stat. Then on the fourth time, I just RUN THE FUCK Past the stupidly designed lightning monsters from HELL. Yes, I said stupidly designed. They look stupid. The people designing these things were hopefully fired and never allowed to design an enemy in a video game again. Then I die twice to the stupid spiders. Fuck this area. Seriously. Fuck it. Next time I fall down an elevator shaft after dodging EVERY ENEMY. Except a couple of stupid spiders becuase those spiders are stupid. When people say "Bloodborne is a hard game." I imagine this is what they're talking about. The rest of the game? Moderately challenging. This part? Pure fucking hell. Then I fall into a chasm trying to get away from some... fertility statue? IDK. At least now I have an elevator though. Then I die trying to defeat the swordsman with the... Ice Thrower?

Death Count: 126

This time around I kill Sub-Zero wannabe. He's not that hard. Just does a LOT of damage. Also my sword seems to actually come in handy here, doing more damage than my axe. *cries for my axe* The knights aren't hard to take out, and don't do ridiculous damage. I manage to kill the fertility statue. Everything in this area is far more manageable than the previous area. Seriously, I died like 22 times trying to get through that. I very nearly gave up.

I find another elevator. Then I find another one that's a shortcut. Very nice. I'm almost ready to forgive the game for the earlier part of the level. ALmost. Then I get killed by a skeleton that's really hard to hit.

Death Count: 127

Getting back is super easy. Barely an inconvenience. This time the skeletons are easier to hit too. Then I run into a boss room by complete accident. Oops. At least I have equipped the thing that lets me return to the dream. Micolash will have to wait.

I return to the dream to spend my echoes. It's only enough for one level up, but I put another point into skill since i'm using my sword occasionally now. The increase skill gives to the sword is not insignificant.

Then I have to go get all the blood vials I need. My first attempt goes very poorly because I can't find him when I get him halfway dead, and then I use up all my vials trying to survive his minions. Ugh. This guy is ANNOYING!

Death Count: 128

I get a stupid death from falling while trying to get Blood Vials.

Death Count: 129

On my next attempt, his tentacle attack kills me before I can even get him half-dead.

Death Count: 130

Then the next time, his light attack gets me.

Death Count: 131

The next time, I know what to do, so I manage to beat him without too much trouble this time. And 8 blood vials to spare! As a result I get the Mensis Cage. It's not a particularly impressive helmet. Though it does look kind of funny.

I light the lantern at the top of the area. I also find a new elevator. Not sure how necessary it is, since there was a lantern. There seem to be 4 elevator spots to use. And that's where I stop for the day. The latter part of this area? Fine. The early part? Worthless. Set it on fire and toss it out.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Next Week's Schedule:

Saturday January 16th
(3) Buffy_Summers vs (10) foxhead84
Los Angeles Rams @ Green Bay Packers

(2) Dancedreamer vs (11) Silvstedt
Baltimore Ravens @ Buffalo Bills

Sunday January 17th

(4) Runemistress vs (9) Ashethan
Cleveland Browns @ Kansas City Chiefs

(1) ElizeLutus vs (12) ProfessorLupin
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

foxhead84 advances!

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Starting to look a lot like Marino's last game did.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Crescent-Moon
1. Which team will win? Steelers 26-16
2. By how much? 10
3. In the event you both pick the wrong team, create a spread that will ensure your team wins? Pit +2.5
4. How many total points will be scored in the game? 42

vs

foxhead84
1: Pittsburgh Steelers
2: by 6 pts
3: Pittsburgh Steelers (+8,5)
4: 48 pts

-If the Steelers win by 9 points or more, Crescent-Moon advances
-If the Steelers win by 7 points or less, foxhead84 advances
-If the Steelers win by 8 points and the score is lower than 44 points, Crescent-Moon advances
-If the Steelers win by 8 poitns and the score is higher than 46 points, foxhead84 advances
-If the Steelers win by 8 points, and the score is exactly 45 points, Crescent-Moon advances
-If the Browns win by less 3 points, Crescent-Moon advances
-If the Browns win by 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 points, foxhead84 advances
-If the Browns win by more than 8 and the score is 44 points or less, Crescent-Moon advances
-If the Browns win by more than 8 and the score is 46 points or more, foxhead84 advances
-If the Browns win by more than 8 and the score is 45 points, Crescent-Moon advances

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

Runemistress advances!

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org

I had no faith in Lamar Jackson winning a playoff game.

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Board 8 Mafia Archive: ashchive.altervista.org