Lurker > CaptainOfCrush

My local gym (24 Hour Fitness) just reopened today, touting a host of measures for a presumably safer - and assuredly less convenient - experience. I'll go over the changes in dreaded GameFAQs bullet form:

• People can no longer freely walk in. An appointment must be made for a specific time of day. If reservation limits are reached, other members won't be allowed in.
• It's no longer open 24/7 (hence the name). Operating hours are from 5 a.m. - 9 p.m.
• The entire gym closes every hour for a 30-minute cleaning, so there are only ten one-hour gym sessions throughout the time above.
• You can only book one session each day, so you've got an hour to work out.
• About half the cardio machines are taped off for social distancing.
• Disinfectant spray bottles and paper towels are everywhere.

I booked a 5 a.m. session (earliest of the day), meaning I was probably one of the first people to use this gym in months. I wore a mask, as did more than half of the other members there. A part of me expected a madhouse even at that time of day, but it was a very light hour. And yep, at about 5:55, an employee walked by to politely say they'd be showing my ass the door in five minutes.

Overall, if it stays this sparsely populated in there, I won't consider it too risky an environment since I plan to stay masked up. That said... if it DOES stay that sparsely populated, I can't imagine it'll remain in business very long. =/

I'm not 100% sure if I'll stick with this, but I just had to get an early feel for 2020 gym life. So, anyone else gone to a re-opened gym lately? Observations/thoughts?

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Ohhhh PS4 version is on sale. Thanks for reminding me to check!

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WazzupGenius00 posted...

Sky Williams is a literal fucking slumlord psychopath
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14ZFAMu9jh1Ra27vE4I_s14iNrnquFkqgrCpdsnRm8Bg/preview?pru=AAABc0r2FY4*6q-gmNsl8l00RJ4ep5M_0w

"House A/Santa Monica (~2014-2015) A one story house with 2 bathrooms and ~20 residents at one time."

yuck

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ExThaNemesis posted...

SMuffin got a fiancee?!

I've been wanting to ask about this for a while but haven't found an appropriate avenue yet - so thanks!

Apart from politics, Muffin's entire B8 identity consisted of him making topics about how pathetic and woeful he was, particularly with women. The fact that he found a life partner is a huge deal and it's kind of a bummer that he's continued to post about politics (and seemingly from a worse perspective) while he's not giving us any details about the only OTHER aspect of his life that he's known for here. This would be like me from 2009 finding and marrying a redhead named Ariel and SAYING NOTHING TO THE BOARD.

So spill the fucking details Smuffin, politics topic or not. How in the blue hell did you get a wife.

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I didn't see this nomination topic and don't have an acute sense of Board 8's wrestling preferences, so is it more likely that Bruiser Brody made the top 30 or missed the top 100?

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_stingers_ posted...

the new god of war on god of war difficulty was pretty tough. probably that

Fucken A dude, great job. I didn't even bother beating the Valkyrie Queen on NG+ because it was too tough.

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I wish the transformed Chikage was still a one-handed weapon so you can use its Bloodtinge scaling version along with the Evelyn at the same time. I mean yeah, that does seem OP, but the build also seems a little restricted without that option, as you trade in your long range game (on a Bloodtinge build) in exchange for a short range murder sword and vice versa.

Still, it's my favorite build just because it's so damn cool. The Chikage's "bloody" sound effects are my favorite in the game.

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"shocked and saddened by these events"

>_>

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Future Connected PONSPECTOR'D.

I did just about everything, including all side quests, in 13 hours. Despite the relatively quick length, it felt like it dragged, which is not a good sign (though maybe it's because I'm pretty burned out). I've heard praise lavished on the Bionis Shoulder, but to me it just seemed like an ordinary area, eclipsed by a good half-dozen from the main game. The music was also pretty forgettable for Xenoblade... evidenced by the fact that I can't remember it after 13 hours.

The only true indictment, though, is for the party members... seriously, we get two of Riki's annoying kids instead of freakin Tyrea? I can't be the only one thinking Tyrea would have been a crazy party member, maybe a cross between Colony 9 Fiora and Dunban.

All in all, you can't much complain about a freebie in an already complete game, and I like how they gave Melia's arc a very well deserved end.

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I'm going to double down on my thoughts from last night in hoping that parents pay attention to this. If their minor children are allowed to attend these tournaments unsupervised, there's a chance they'll also find themselves in the adjacent hotels and afterparties, which seems to be where a majority of these stories take place.

People are perverts. Protect your kids.

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https://twitter.com/KTDominate/status/1278618906333192194?s=19

A woman is claiming that D1, who I believe is a popular Smash commentator, raped her in 2016.

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Seems like you're enjoying your second run - glad to see it! Regarding guns, I always stick with the starting pistol if I'm not investing in BLT. I think it's easier to parry with than the blunderbuss.

I'm getting ahead of myself here, but if you ever consider a third run, the Vileblood kit with the Chikage and Evelyn is super slick.

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Time to cut some pizzas

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StealThisSheen posted...

But before all of this came to light, how is it any different from letting your kid go to the arcade, or the mall, or the movies, and so on?

For these parents who were almost certainly clueless, not different at all, which is why I don't blame them at all. They presumed it was a safe environment for their kids... but if these stories have a far enough reach, I'm sure these parents will reconsider, or at least investigate the matter more stringently before deciding it's safe enough for their kids.

These communities aren't "tourneys" alone, however. Just through reading the stories gathered in this topic, you have instances of community members (adults in their 20s, most likely?) traveling together, drinking together, partying in hotels together while sharing rooms. Acceptable behavior for adults, but if you're a parent "in the know", wouldn't you give serious thought before allowing your minor child to attend these events unsupervised, knowing that many of the 20-somethings there are probably staying at the hotel across the street and may start drinking as soon as the tourney ends?

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StealThisSheen posted...

Throwing responsibility at the parents and saying "You shouldn't have let your kid go" is completely missing the problem.

I'm not blaming the parents. The problem is the perpetrators. If the victims decide to go the criminal route, I fully encourage both them and justice. If not, social media will at least cancel these perps.

But there are people here in the competitive gaming scene who've seen it from the inside much more closely than me. If you guys had kids, would you feel safe with them becoming a part of these communities without any parental supervision?

Again, I'm not blaming the parents because most of them probably have no idea this exists at all, and I'm certainly not blaming the victims themselves... but I really doubt I'd be sending my kids to these events if I'm not there with them.

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If nothing else, I hope that all of these stories have an impact on the parents of these young players, who I presume feel that these communities and tourneys are safe playdates for their kids. Perhaps they'll reconsider allowing their early-teen (and pre-teen) children to become a part of adult communities so freely.

Preemptive addendum: I am not, in any way, victim blaming. But if I had a kid, there's no way in hell I would ever send them to events like this unsupervised.

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I don't know much about Ivy Leagues or east coast schools, but the general advice you've already gotten in this topic is really solid.

Join groups and clubs. My biggest regret during my undergrad years was never doing that, so I didn't get as social or memorable of a college experience as I wanted. I rectified that during grad school and had two of the best years of my life. Once you've found some friends - this has already been mentioned - ALWAYS be down for stuff. When you're trying to make friends in a new town, flaking only a couple times might get you labeled a flake and limit the future invites you receive. Just say yes and go with the flow. The rest will work itself out.

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What is "Sova"? It's being mentioned often.

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Maniac64 posted...

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3k332o; Triple H & Steve Austin vs. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho

I'm watching for the first time since it aired in 2001, and man it's awesome watching Austin work his ass off from the get-go. I don't remember him having a gas tank like that. The portions where H is in the ring are so boring by comparison.

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Umm... what the fuck

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Nobody should be identifying that way.

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yep!

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Spends her days publicly worshipping Trump and privately spewing bigotry toward black people despite immigrating here as an Arabic refugee and living off governmental assistance due to disabilities. Was flabbergasted when she found out my brother was dating a Muslim girl and sarcastically told them "good luck".

Name the "absolute gems" in your family, Board 8 Politics Topic.

(I have plenty more)

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Which state are you moving to and from? Which school and field of study, if you don't mind sharing?

I didn't move exclusively for grad school, but it was in a different state than the one I grew up in, so it was a change of scenery. I'll say that grad school was my favorite level of schooling, so I think you'll have a great experience. =)

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Ocarina of Time, 99 >_>

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I also began Future Connected yesterday... it may emphasize the labor in "labor of love".

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masterplum posted...

I like this game but I'm pretty sure it's going to be like dark souls where I can take one game like it every few years.

I bought both Bloodborne and shekiro and both games I got a couple hours in and was like nah, not feeling it.

Not sure I want to play another 100+ hour RPG after this one

I feel ya. I just did this and Witcher 3 back to back, logged 100+ in each. I definitely want a shorter game after this one... I've been thinking about Bloodstained for a while, but my skinflint ass refuses to commit before it's on sale for the PS4. There's absolutely no way I can try something like... 100% the FFVII Remake next week.

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LordoftheMorons posted...

Good point on this one; if Congress doesn't extend unemployment benefits etc things are going to go even more to hell very quickly (I'm predicting a month of that and then Mitch comes to the table in a last ditch effort to save his majority).

Yeah, I don't feel this point is discussed enough. That $600 per week UI is pretty generous and is keeping most unemployed people comfortable. It dries up in a month, and at that point, this country will have millions of middle class people who will all of a sudden have to live and budget like poor people. It's going to be bedlam in August.

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I haven't checked if there have been new developments, but I think speedrunners generally consider the Saw Cleaver/Spear the best weapons on the game? They're easy to use and so efficient with stamina. I've goofed around with a few different weapons, but I've never felt more overpowered than the one run where I stuck with the Cleaver.

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Alvis... who are you?

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Agreed, that's one saving grace for him. Some people WILL want to avoid what they deem to be a political circus at any cost. But my counterpoint to that is that we've never had a President so universally loathed. There are Republicans in Congress masking secret boners over the thought of Trump of going to jail. Apart from fringe weirdos like Matt Gaetz, you'll have a hell of a time convincing me that anyone in Washington who deals with Donald Trump actually likes him (apart from his family).

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Surgical, I keep it on my dashboard in the sun to give it a "sun rinse".

I also have an N95, but my brother told me it's complete overkill for day-to-day wear, so I've stopped using it.

EDIT: my brother is a health professional, I usually defer to him on matters like this.

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I'm shamefully ignorant regarding Trump's criminal activity, but even surface level knowledge of human behavior tells me there's a good chance he'll see the inside of a jail cell... because once he loses his power, absolutely no one will come to his defense in the event he's charged with anything.

Imagine if a person of Trump's character and temperament was your boss. If that boss was stripped of any of their authority, would you have any fucken desire to stick your neck out for them? You'd let them rot.

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KamikazePotato posted...

This should be the industry standard going forward.

100%

Like mnk just said, it's really easy to just "find yourself" at level 90 after Mechonis Core, which was a problem on the Wii version because endgame bosses literally couldn't touch you. I gimped myself to 70 for the endgame here and had a great time.

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That's true. Dunban and Reyn are the most gimped against Mechon, but even then, those two are good at toppling so they can get their damage in even without anti-Mechon weapons or constant Monado Enchants.

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

If I start from scratch, what should be my priority in order? Should I put ANY points into strength or dex past minimum requirements before pumping up Vigor?

VIT to 30 before anything else gets touched. It really is the best early-game investment and probably the most important investment outright. At that point, you may have a good idea about which main weapon you wanna run with, so check the minimum requirements there and level STR/DEX accordingly. Once you can wield that weapon... honestly it's not a bad idea to take VIT all the way to 40 before pumping more into STR/DEX. You can take VIT all the way to 50 before diminishing returns become awful, but I'd say 40 is a good point before you start to pump STR/DEX to 25.

One cool thing about the DLC is that the very first regular enemy you'll encounter - who is a bastard - can drop gems that are excellent quality for that point in the game, assuming you enter the DLC as soon as you can. Those gems will keep your weapon quite strong even if your STR/DEX isn't beefy by that point.

EDIT some mo': generally speaking, your late-game stats will look something like this, assuming you pick a STR or DEX weapon:

VIT: 50
END: base (although I'd start putting levels into this before BLD or ARC)
STR: 25-50
DEX: 25-50
BLD: base
ARC: base

If you ever grow addicted and try different builds, Arcane is the one stat you can actually level to 99. Your magic spells at 99 become insane, but the early game for an Arcane build is tough times.

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Man, I remember my Bloodtinge character where I was determined to get the Chikage as early as possible. What an exercise that was.

But yeah, I'm sure you can jump in right now and beat the DLC without TOO much agony (all bets are off if it's NG+), but a part of me also suspects that you want these new weapons to be effective, and unfortunately, they won't be as good as Ludwig's Holy Blade without the proper prep and practice. LHB is THE cheese of Bloodborne. It's the way I got through my first run and definitely the easiest weapon to just pick up and find success with. Your STR/DEX breakdown as it currently is also works better for LHB than for a DEX weapon like the Church Pick.

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Yeah, I'll also advise you to reconsider waiting until NG+ to tackle the DLC. I did exactly that when it first came out, and there were parts where I almost gave up. It becomes so, so hard. First boss mighta taken me dozens of attempts. Granted I'm not a skilled player, but you haven't played in a year so you may be in the same boat.

EDIT: I'm biased af since Bloodborne is an all-time top tenner for me, but I encourage you to just start over so you can re-spec your character and so you don't put yourself through a brutal NG+ DLC. I generally agree with Lisel - don't touch any other stats until your VIT is at 30, and then you can level your STR and DEX such that you have the minimum requirements for the Church Pick or whichever main weapon you want to use. If you stick to VIT and upgrading your Saw Cleaver early on, you'll reach the DLC (and its weapons) way earlier than you think.

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Beasthunter Saif is a very popular weapon, especially for DEX builds. You can snag it real early as well.

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The DLC has THREE bosses which can reasonably be placed on a short list of "greatest vg bosses ever".

At 92, I think you're fine in terms of level, but you'll still be in for a real challenge. The DLC bosses are relentless, and each area has some normal enemies that can easily ruin your day.

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Not gonna lie, I feel a little guilty. Given the way it is woven into the overall narrative, it's very difficult to discuss Xenoblade without at least alluding to that spoiler. I feel like the old timey fans in this topic have tried to be good, but we've probably let some things slip because it's pretty tough not to.

Also Smash Bros

More than anything, I feel so lucky that I experienced that moment spoiler-free back in 2012, where its weight hit me like a cinder block.

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The second title screen <3

So XC remains firmly in my top ten games of all time, something which I didn't expect to change... but what a fun month it's been. I'll play through Future Connected and dable in NG+ a bit (I never did on the Wii), but after this and Witcher 3 back-to-back, it's time for a break from turbo gaming.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2je88dvbE4

Gamers rise up

Also, I'll never forget how big a mindfuck I felt after the "scenery change" following the penultimate boss.

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All side quests and Superbosses completed, Skill Coins at 250, meaning I missed five along the way (I'm cool with that!). Achievement progress is 139/150 and 50/50. The last 11 are achievements I really don't feel like grinding for, though they should be reached naturally if I decide to jump into New Game+.

Play time at 128:00. There's nothing left for me to postpone this - time to put a bow on it.

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Aite time to bitch

Why can Avalance Abaasy let loose with his ultimate attack (Demon Purging Fire) WITHOUT a vision warning? It wipes two of my guys at full health and nearly kills the tank. Not getting a warning for something like that is a cheap way to inflate difficulty.

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Leonhart4 posted...

It's actually considered good manners to slurp when you eat ramen!

I know, but this has always grossed me out to such an extent that I WILL unironically select it as my Board 8 hill to die on. Disgusting practice.

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The forced slurping sound is an aspect of Japanese culture that I just can't get behind.

Also sweating into your own noodles. Why are they drawn/animated with sweat drops, gross af.

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I swapped Seven for Reyn just now because it's apparently the most OP team (Shulk/Dunban/Reyn), but I really prefer Seven because the Party Meter gets built stupid fast. That said, there's no doubt that Berserker -> Magnum Charge -> Sword Drive is the biggest nuke in normal combat.

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I remember Sharla helping me a ton in my first playthrough when I had no idea what I was doing and needed a lot of healing. Perhaps that was her role for many players - a "first 30 hours crutch" kind of character, but now it's tough for me to use her. I feel like the one major tweak I'd have liked to see to character abilities would have been to change Sharla's Talent Art into something useful. She definitely needed improvements to contend with the rest of the team.

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I think close-grip pull-ups are easier than chin-ups.

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